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Northern Star (1837-1852), 16th February 1850, Edition 2 of 3, Page 4

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    • THE CHEAKST E8IT10N EVE£ rDBUlHED.
    • BTfl tiOVVtWOlrttM**
    • THE NORTHEM STAB. SAT UK DAY, fEBKUAKY 10, IS50.
  • Adverts (13)
  • Text (10)
  • Transcript

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      M^«M«Wt>M Gtar Pfibrtjaby 16, I860. 4 Th...

      M ^« m « wt > M GTAR PfiBRtJABY 16 , I 860 . 4 THE NORTHERN blAK .

      The Cheakst E8it10n Eve£ Rdbulhed.

      THE CHEAKST E 8 IT 10 N EVE £ rDBUlHED .

      Ad00406

      Price Is . Si , ' A new and elegant edition , with Steel Pla & e < tf the Author , of PAIHE'S POLITICAL W 8 MS . Now Ready , a New Edition oft « R . Q'QOKRQR ' S TOK OH SMftU FARMS Soldfc . Watson , Queen ' s Head Passage , Paternoster row , Lo ^ . » - -A . Hevwood , Oldham-stoaet , Manchester , and lore -rflCo ., 5 , Nelson-street , Glasgow . And" bi all Booksellers in Towa and Country .

      Ad00408

      mPORTAST TO THE CHARTISTS OF SOUTH LANCASHIRE . A SOUTH LANCASHIE DELEGATE MEETING win be held in the CHARTIST ASSOCIATION ROOM , STOCKUOUT , ha * of Waterloo-Inn , Waterloo-read , on Sunday morning , February 24 th , precisely at ten o ' clock , when the following part of a programme of business \ riU be submitted for their consideration : — 1 st—To consider the validity of the objections to the general and local rules of the Chartist Association , referred to by the Chartists of Stoctport , in the northern Stars of Jan . 19 th . and Feb . Oth , 1 S 50 . 2 nd . —The propriety of raising a Local Lecturers plan . 3 rf . _ To consider tbe best means of concentrating the enersy of Chartism in this division of Lancashire , giving an inpetaous to the movement , and promoting the SUCCESS Ot its object . Delegates from the following places are partir . ularly expected :-Hjde , Staleybridge , Ashton , bottom , © Wham / Rochdale , Manchester , Bury , Bolton , Middleton Lrrerpool , Macclesfield , and other places . N . R—AU communications to be addressed to W . Benfold , No . S , Cooper-street , HUlgate .

      Ad00409

      THE GENERAL COMMITTEE OF THE FUND FOR THE WIDOWS OF SHARP AND WILLIAMS . mHE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE beg JL to give notice that the Gekhul ^ Committee wiU meet at AxLHrrox's Hotel , on Monday Evening , March 11 th . instead of March 4 th , as originally proposed . The Executive Committee likewise give notice that tney propose to hold „„„

      Ad00410

      PROCEEDISGS Ef PARLIAMENT . A PUBLIC MEETIJfft , Convened by the Provision-. *! . Committee of the NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION , tvUI be held at the MTERAKr AM > SCIENTIFIC IN 8 TIT 0 TH . JOHNSTREET , TOTTESnAM-COURT-llOAD , on TUESDAY EVENING NEXT , Febobart 19 th , 1330 , for the purpose of Reviewing the Pkoceedisgb is Pabuamen-t during the past Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., M . P ., G . W . M . Reynolds , Esq ., G , Julian Harney , Fhilip M'Grath , William Dixon , Ambrose Tomlinson ( recently liberated from his dungeon at Wakefield , ) and others are expected to address the meeting . Chair to be taken at eight o ' clock . ADMISSION FREE .

      Ad00411

      HT 3 TTURES PERMANENTLY AND EFFECTUALLY CURED WITHOUT A TRUSS I ! A PUBLIC BLESSING !! DE . HENRY GUTHREY'S amazing success in the treatment of aU Tarielies of Single and Double Raptures , is without a parallel in the history of medicine . In every case , however bad or long standing , a cure is guaranteed . The remedy is quite easy and perfectly painless iu application , causing no inconvenience or confinementu-hatever , and isequallyapplicable to "both sexes , of whatever age . Sent ( post-free ) with fuB instructions , rendering failure impossible , on receipt of six shillings by post-office-order , or cash , by Dr . nESRi Gctheet , o ' , Amptou-street , Grav ' s-inn-road , London . Hundreds of testimonials and trusses have been left behind "b y persons cured , as trophies of tlie success of this remedy , which Dr . GcrnaET wiU willingly give to those who require to weal' them after a trial if it Post-office arias must be made payable at the Grav ' s-inn-road OiBce . Dr . GimuiET respecttully requests those persons writing to him to make inquiries relative to the treatment of ruptures , aud to inclose two postage stamps to pre-pay his reply . Hours of consultation , daily from one till four o ' clock , ( the Sabbath excepted . ) In every case a perfect cure is soaranteed .

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      GRAPHIOLOGICAL DELINEATION OF CHARACTER . 'See yourself as others see you . ' —Hebep . T \/ ITSS GRAHAM continues -with , extra-AtJ . ordinary success to delineate persons * characters from their handwriting , pointing out gifts , defects , talents , tastes , affections , 4 c ., aud many other things hitherto unsuspected . Persons desirous of knowing themselves must address a letter stating sex and age , and enclosing thirteen Postage sumps , to MISS ELLEN GRAHAM , C , Ampton-Etreet , Gray ' s-inn-road , London . Tlie thousands of Testimonials Miss G . has received since she first commenced tlie practice of GRAPHIOLOGY three years ago , establishes the accuracy of her system beyond aU doubt . The Mowing Testimonials appeared in the British JSanner , No . IOC , January 9 . IS 39 , page 81 , in an article on "Miss Graham ' s skill in Graphiology : — ' There is , after all , something hi the handwriting , on which people of a certain genius , and people of a good deal of experience , may say things curious and interesting . *

      Ad00413

      BEAUTIFUL HAilt , WHISKERS , & c . BALDNESS AND WEAK IIAIIt CURED . n ^ HE EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS _ -L MISS EMILY DEAN'S CRLNILENE has met with is a sufficient guarantee of its efficacy and superiority above all other prestations offered to the public for tlie Human Uair . It is pre eminently successful in nourishing , -curling , and beautifying the hair , and preventing greyness 5 n every stage , liy its absorption into the roots of the hair , it nourishes it in its embryo state , accelerates its growth , cleanses it from aU scurf , 4 c ., sustains it in maturity , and continues its luxuriance to the latest period of life . For the reproduction of the hair in baldness from whatever = cause , and the production of moustachios , whiskers , eyelirows , & c , it stands unrivalled . It is an elegantly scented preparation , sufficient for three months' use , will be sent , 3 » st free , on receipt of twenty-four postage stamps , by M iss DEAN , 105 , Great Kussell-street , Bioomsburj-square , London .

      Ad00414

      PAINS IN TKE BACK , GEAVEL , LUALBAGO , RHEUMATISM , STRICTURES , BEBILJ . TI , < fcc , DR . DE RODS' OQMPOTINT ) EEJtfAL PILLS are the only cebtais cdbe for the above disfccssing complaints , as also aUdiseases ofthe kidneys and ^ rinarv orsane generally , whether resulting from imprudence or otherwise , which , if neglected , son-equeutly . eiidin etone in the . bladder , and a lingering , agonising death : ! t is an established met that moss-jcases of gout and Rheu - matism occurring in middle age , are combined with diseased urine , how jiecessary is it thee , that persons soaffliotedchonldatonceattend to these-important mattera . JBy the salutary actioE of these pills , « u seidity of the stomach , they . correct bile and indigestion , jmify and promote the ' renal secretions , thereby preventing the formation of-cal- ' cnli , and establishing for life a - . healthy performance of the functions of all these organs . They liave never been fcnovm xo fiiU , and may be obtained ^ through all 3 Iedi-i cine Vendors . Price U . 14 d „ 2 s . Sd .. and 4 s . Cd . per box ., or wiU be : sent free , spth fuU instructions for use , on re-: ceipt of ithe price in postage stamps , iby Dr . DE R 003 .: A considesable saving tweeted by purchasing the larger "boxes .

      Ad00415

      RUPTURES EFFECTUALLY AND PERMANENTLY CURED WITHOUT A TRUSS !« DE . PE T > , 00 & ' amaziug succces in the treatment of every variety of RUPTURB is ample proof of the unfciling efficacy of his remedy . Thousands in aU parts of ihe world are availing themselves of his discovery , wlacji must ere long entirely Danish a complaint hitherto so prevalemt . All persons so afflicted should , without delay , write , or pay a visit to Dr . DE ROOS , who may be consulted daily from 10 till 1 ; and 4 tiU 8 . —( Sundays excepted . ) This remedy i » perfectly painless , free from inconvenience . ^ or danger , applicable to male and female , of any age , and vnjl be sent free , with Ml instructions , & c ., < fcc „ rendermg tolure impossible , on receipt of 6 s . Cd . in cash , Or by 1 OSt Omee orders , payable at the Holborn office , A great number of Trusses have lieen left behind by persons cure ^ as trophies of the immense success of this s & asass ?* *** one rcqvir -

      Ad00416

      MR . G . W . M . REYNOLDS ' S POPULAR PUBLICATIONS . The following Works are published every SATURDAY iTORNLVff . atlfr . Reynolds ' s Establishment , 7 , Welling ton-street North , Strand , and may be procured of las Agents , and may be procured ot all Dealers in'Cheap Publications in Town and Country . REYNOLDS'S MISCELLANY of Romance , General Literature , Science , and Art . This periodical consists of sixteen . large quarto pages , beautifiuly printed , on good paper , and each number contauungat least three , and sometimes more , beautiful rrooa et tac ^ n tents are varied , and therefore calculated to suit all classes ef readers , and aR tastes . Amongst the prominent ieatures the following may be specified- — 1 THE SLAVES OF ENGLAND . —No . 1 . "THE NEEDLEWOMAN . " A Domestic Tale . By Geobge W . M . Kevnoids . ( To be « omn ^ nwfi « w ««^* - > v II . THE MYSTERIES OP TIIE PEOPLE or The History of a Proletarian Family , front the Earhest Ages to the Present Day . Xranslatei from the irench of EU IIL C f IIE DRUNKARD'S PROGRESS . A Tale for Teetotallers . _„ .

      Ad00417

      WEEKLY TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER . This day is published , in a greatly enlarged and improved form , the WEEKLY TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER . Price Fivepciice ; or , Five Shillings and Fivejionee per quarter . Djvotcd to the most advanced principles of Democratic and Social Reformers . AISO I'UBUSHISG , THE MYSTERIES OF THE PE OPLE , the mo ? t extraordinary work of the day . Devoted to the interests of Democracy and Labour , by Ecgexe Sue . This work is issued in an' unabridged form . ' being the only English edition so published ; in Weekly Penny Numbers . Nos . 1 . to V . are now out ; No . VI . will be ready next Wednesday . Part I ., price Sixpence , is also ready . ALSO , JUST PUBLISHED , A CATECHISM OF SOCIALISM , JOL Price One Penny , by Louis Blanc ; being the best and cheapest exposition of the Organisation of the Labour Question ever published .

      Ad00418

      fj 0 0 PER'S JOURNAL . \ J Tlie purchasers of this Journal are respectfully in formed , that with No . 0 ( the first week i-t March ) will be GIVEN AWAY No . 1 . op " CAPTAIN COBLER ; on , the LINCOLNSHIRE ' INSURRECTION : " An Historical Romance ofthe Reign of Henry VIII . By Thomas Cooper , Author of " The Purgatory of Suicides . " The remaininit numbers of tlie Romance will be issued at One Peony , weekly , until it is complete .

      Ad00419

      MP . LEE , Tailor , 19 , Albermarle-• street , Clerkcnwell , begs to inform the public—al , though there are SO many Jews , and other adventurerscrept into the trade , who never served a moment to it , and who derive their profits from robbing the poor unfortunate creatures they employ—he still adheres to the more wholesome system *} alt—namely , to give a substantial article at a low price , retaining a remunerative profit for himself and workmen . LIST OF PRICES . Dress Coats .. .. £ 1 15 s . to £ 2 5 s . Over-Coals .. .. 110 . .. 2 15 Doesldn Trowsers .. 6 14 .. 12 TweedDitto .. .. 0 9 Cd .. 016 Waistcoats from .. 0 6 C upwards . Youths clothing , and every article in the trade , enasilv < chcap . > Obser . ve the number—19 .

      Dr. M®00jall's Family. 'Fffte M'Douafi F...

      DR . M ® 00 JALL'S FAMILY . 'fffte M'Douafi fCoramittee beg ts tender their tiian & s to Mr . Norman , flfenrnor , Isle .-of TVight , for bis-contribution inaidof tke distressed ( family of Dr . K'SouaU , and , at tne . same time , to -call , the attention of all local secretaries , te the suggestion in last weef-a •' Star '—viz ., U > . assist the family . of Dr . M'Douall , who , we aresotry « to state , are an actual starvation . We find thti : the ; peopIe . profesai & g ; the principles , and who have . cheered on the advocates of reform , Are now corapa-ativekf comfortafcle . ; and what can the people expect far this apathy , fiuUhat , when at liberty , Dr . M'Douall svoald abandon % e cause for which he has suffered so juuen , and for which his family have been brought to want and starvation . We earnestly entreat ihat the local secretaries will assist us in a few collections . ' and forward the same to the treasurer , AndrewWFee 6 , Augustine-street , St . Martin ' s , Liverpool . For the Committee , James Sedliss , Secretary . Liverpool , Febuary 12 th .

      A Good Example.—Robert Arkwright, Esq., ...

      A Good Example . —Robert Arkwright , Esq ., of Sutton-hall . intimated to his tenantry , last week that he wished them on no account to force the sales of any of their produce in order to meet their rents , and when they came to pay those rents to put fifteen percent less than the ' respectivc amounts in their pockets . The same excellent landlord on some occasion lately ^ g ave considerable assistance to his tenantry in winter food for their cattle , and does much good to all the country around by constantly ^ employingmany labourers on improvements and other works , which require a number of h & ads constantly engaged on them . ¦

      Btfl Tiovvtwolrttm**

      BTfl tiOVVtWOlrttM **

      «. W„W E«> Boo* And Shoemaebm. - On The ...

      « . w „ w e «> Boo * and Shoemaebm . - On the 26 tk of Ths WECT-iKi > : lh JnUon was got ap and supported pecembor ant , a ^ $ r « of thoW-End of London , ^ r ' two ^ ceV of P rize wo ' rk ( a prize boot and prize ? J ^ . ? he wMeeds to be devoted to the wives and Ses ' of th & isoned Chartists . The distribution toXplacaattheTwo Chairman , Wardour-street , hoho . The amount realised was £ 6 15 s . 6 d ., and expended in the foUowine manner : —December 27 th , for Victim Fund , £ 1 ; January 1 st , ditto . £ 2 ; January 7 th , ditto , £ \ : To William Pool , Gs . ; Thomas Harburt , 6 s . ; Thos . irons , 10 s . ; Mrs . Crowe , 7 s . ; Four Hundred Tickets , 6 s . ; Fj ' tc Sheets of Paper , 5 d . ; Expended , £ 6 ISs . 5 d . ; Balance in hand , Id . —The £ 5 for the Victim Fund has alread been acknowledged in the Star . —On behalf ot the Committee . Secretary , Thomas Dickens ; Treasurer ,

      Charles Harris , 81 , Wardour-street . Charles Ernest , York . —Send your full address to Mr . Harney . Malmsburt . — M .. W . Z . Bowley will find a letter addressed to him at tbe Post office , Malmsbury . Meuthyb Tvdvil . —Mr . J . Jones ( who forwardedan account of the Paine festival ) will find a letter addressed to him at the Post-office , Merthjr Tydvil . Loughborough . —Mr . John Harrop will find a letter addressed to him at the Post-office , Loughborough . J . W . S ., Weymouth . —Many thanks . Send the lines of poetry . Derby . —W . Coleman , bricklayer ' s labourer , will find a letter addressed to him at the Post-office , Derby . J . C , l ' arkhead ; and T . II ., Kentish Town . The lines will not do . Malton Land Membebs . —Your letter has been fonvarded

      to Mr . O'Connor . Mr . Queen , Gainsborough . —Your present quarter expires on the 23 rd inst . Mr . Noble , Hartlepool . —You should have remitted 4 s . along with your advertisement . J . Swret , Nottingham , acknowledges the receipt of the following sum , sent herewith : — For Macnajuba ' s Actios * . —From llucknall Torkard , 3 s . W . Lindsa y , Aberdeen . —Address a line to Messrs Sutherland and Knox , publishers , successors to Mr . Tait , Edinburgh . J . B . Masset , Longright , suggests that if it is thought desirable that a national petition for the Charter be got up , that every person should contribute one penny before signing , which will not only test their sincerity , hut guard against fraudulent signatures , and aid in furthering the object of the petition . The Monument of Williams and SnAnr . —Wc arc requested to state that persons holding subscription cards for the above object are requested to return the same at their earliest convenience . Subscriptions may be sent to Mr . Rider j to the Land Office , per Mr . Boonham ; or to 62 , Golden-lane . . .

      The Northem Stab. Sat Uk Day, Febkuaky 10, Is50.

      THE NORTHEM STAB . SAT UK DAY , fEBKUAKY 10 , IS 50 .

      Timid Law Makers And Power Ful L.My Brea...

      TIMID LAW MAKERS AND POWER FUL L . MY BREAKERS .

      The struggle for a Ten Hours Bill has to be renewed . After years of agitation , and large sacrifices of time , money , and health , oil tho part of its advocates , tho Legislature , three years ago , at length recognised the justice of the principle they contended for , and embodied it in an Act of Parliament . Never was there a law more fully or maturely discussed , or more deliberately decided upon . Its objects

      were distinctly avowed , and its opponents argued the question upon itsmerits . There was no deception , reserve , or equivocation on the matter . It was well understood by all parties , both in and out of Parliament , that the simple question for decision was , whether women and children under a given age , should be restricted to ten hours labour a day—counting from the time the mill commenced working until they left off work .

      Any one who will take the trouble to refer to the debates of the time , will find that this is the case . There eannot , therefore , bo the slightest ground for saying that there was any misunderstanding as to the object and intention ofthe law . No sooner , however , was it put in force , than the millowners—who had resisted its enactment with all the strength of their party , while under discussion—determined to evade its

      provisions by means of a technical quibble . Remembering the old saying , that there never was an Act of Parliament yet passed , through which a coach and six might not be driven by those who had sufficient wealth and influence , they set to work to find , or make , the loop-holes which the legal verbiage always offers to the rich law breakers . They soon discovered one . ¦ The act did not specificall y and definitely express the intention of its framers , that the day of ten hours was to be computed continuously from tho hour that the women and children commenced till the hour of

      their dropping work at night . The millowners , therefore , introduced what is now known as the " shift system , " by means of which , instead pf ten hours , they can command tho attendance of every woman and child they employ for fifteen hours out of the twentyfour . This is effected by moans of relays . After the first set of women and children have been a certain number of hours at work , they

      are succeeded by a second , for a limited number of hours , ( say two or three ) ; the first set of hands are then again called into work , and again relieved , and none of them arc in actual work for more than ten hours daily . The millowners say , that this is a compliance with the Act , though , including the intervals they are in waiting to relieve the relays , the workpeople are really in attendance at tho mill fifteen hours .

      The Government Inspectors , and the factory operatives , alike opposed this flagrant violation ofthe spirit and meaning of the Act ; but the magistrates in the manufacturing districtseither factory masters themselves , or connected with the class by relationship and sympathy—decided in favour of this new interpretation of a Ten ( I ) Hours Act , and refused tolevy the penalties laid down in the law for its infraction . The Government was

      appealed to , and gave an opinion in favour of the operatives ; but with the usual temporizing and equivocating policy of Whigs , " shrunk from taking the decided course of either compelling obedience to their own law , or , if that was impossible , from tho defective construction of a particular clause ) of passing a short declaratory Act , distinctly and authoritativel y declaring the precise meaning and intent of the Legislature on the subject .

      So the matter stood until , by agreement , a single case was referred to the Court of Exchequer , in order that the question of law , so far as it . depended upon the verbal construction ofthe Act , might be determined by the Judges of the laud . On Friday last Mr , Baron Parke delivered the judgment of the Court , and it was adverse to the operatives . The Ten Hours Act is a nullity . The millowners may carry on their " shift system , '' and keep every woman and child they employ at their beck , from half-past five in the morning until half-past eight at night ; or , indeed , keep their factories going twenty-two hours of the twentyfour , if they please . Mammon and Competition are triumphant !

      With respect to this judgment , we think that a little more common sense , and less of critical acumen and . philological knowledge would have added to its weight with the community at large , and to the respect with which we are accustomed to look up to the . Judicial Bench . It may he true , as Baron Parke saiij , that "the Court ' could not act , upon a conjecture , however strong , that the Legislature intended to prohibit the ' shift system- '" but tt » e , contend , that "the Court was not reduced to the alternative of acting upon "a . « oniee ture . " If the Statute had been two or three hundred years old— -if all . the documents which could hara thrown light upon the intentions of its framers iad perished , and the judges had

      been left to eonatrae the Aatsteictl y , according to its literal construction , in < the absence of all correlative information , then we could have understood this excessive judicial delicacy . But it is only two * . or three year * since the Act was passed . The debates in Parliament upon the subject have not yet faded from recollection , and if his Lordship had any d « ubt as to the intentions of the legislature , Hansard would have convinced hilm in ten minutes , even if his power of doubting is ten times as strong as that of the late . Lord Eldon of blessed memory , It appears \ to us , that in disregarding the collateral and ; ^ corroborative evidence to be drawn from this soui ' fc'e in faveur of the opposite view , the Judge has ^ strained atagnat . and swallowed a icamel , " Jt may

      Timid Law Makers And Power Ful L.My Brea...

      be all very well to tell us , that " the Act was a penal one , and as such ought to be strictly construed , for a man was not to be punished except upon plain enactments ; " and it may also be speciously fair for legal purists to exhibit such hypercritical refinement in _ construing sentences ; hut neither Judges nor purists can ignore the cardinal fact , that the Legislature had an intention when it enacted that law—that the penalties were intended to be

      imposed upon those who violated the law , or evaded its enactments—and , therefore , that in administering that or any other Statute , reference must in all cases be had to the object for which it was passed . Once give up this animating and guiding principle , and darkness would fall upon the whole of our Statutes . The soul would be taken out of our jurispru . dence ; it would become a mere caput mortuum a mass of dead words , from which the living spirit had departed .

      Such judgments are the severest blows that can bo dealt against theexisting system . They tend to spread wider , and to sink more deeply in the minds of the masses , the impression that , in this country , there is no justice nor protection for the industrious classes , as against the wealthy and powerful part of the community . Even when —by years of toil and suffering , in the face of gigantic obstacles

      —they have at last succeeded in extorting from a reluctant Leg islature a recognition ol their claims , and a consequent protection against the inroads of all-grasping capital ; they are robbed of the substantial fruits of their exertions , by tho wealth of their masters , tho cunning of lawyers , and the super-refinement and delicacy of judges , when poverty has to withstand the power of wealth .

      What course will Lord Ashley and the Short-Time Committees adopt in this emergency ? If they trust to the present Government to act up to theiv former professions , the result will be , that this decision of Baron Pakkb will render the Act a dead letter . It will be remembered that Sir Gr . Gre , tlie Chancellor ofthe Exchequer , and several members of the Government , were amongst the most earnest opponents of the measure . Mr . Macaula , its most eloquent and philosophical supporter , is now neither in the Cabinet nor in Parliament . The Peelites , to a man , are

      opposed to any regulations which , as they say , interfere between the employer and employed ; and , of course , the Factory interest enter Jain as deep-rooted and active an hostility as ever , to any measure which may tend to curtail their power of rapidly growing rich . The Premier consistently and firmly upheld the Bill when it was last before Parliament ; but , dependent as he now is upon the support of the Peelites and the " Manchester School , " and , having the prospect of a division in his own Cabinet should he take any decided steps to remedy the defect in the law , it may be doubted . whether ho will voluntarily move in the matter .

      What is required—and what should be insisted upon is—the passing of a short declaratory Act , explaining the real objects of the Factory Act , and stating , definitively , that the ten hours labour for women and children are to be reckoned continuously , from the hour when they first commence work in the morning . The factory operatives , and their leaders , should lose not a moment in bestirring themselves vigorously and universally , to get such an Act passed . If they do so , the Premier may be forced into acquiescence . If not , the millocracy will triumph , and wring from the workmen their hard-won victory , despite the deliberate decision of the Imperial Parliament .

      It may be observed , that all the experience that has been had ofthe practical operation of the Act , has been such as to give the lie to the predictions of its adversaries , and to realise , to the fullest extent , the aufcicipsitions of its supporters . Even in the Morning Chronicle itself , that most rabid of all the organs of the " laisses fai re" policy—abundant evidence , of the most incontrovertible nature , is to be found in favour of short time aud regulated labour . The correspondent of that paper , who was sent into

      the manufacturing districts , was evidentl y deeply imbued with tho doctrines of tho Political Economists , and saw most things through the spectacles of the employers . All his generalisations were coloured by his preconceptions on the subject ; and even where the stern realities of actual life shocked and appalled him , the heartless and blinding theories with which he was indoctrinated , induced him to find out , or invent , palliatives for the misery they produce .

      The perverting influence of these prejudices , is , perhaps , in none of his letters more clearly exhibited , than in that which is specially devoted to an exposition of the results ofthe Ten Hours Act . A spirit of petty cavil is displayed throughout . Upon very unsatisfactory data , the fall of wages is pronounced to be from sixteen to twenty per cent , ; while the specific evidence on the contrary , " proves beyond cavil , " to use his own words , that in consequence of the increased speed of machinery , and the greater strength aud activity of operatives employed , during a reasonable number of hours per day— "the quantity of work per hour has been increased since the Ten Hours Bill / ' If

      wages have fallen , therefore , tho millowners have robbed the operatives . But whatever" may have been the result in a mere money poiut of view , there can be no doubt as to tho moral and social benefits conferred by the measure . The writer in the Morning Chronicle states , that he took opportunities of interrogating the work-people in every mill he visited in Manchester , Bolton , Ashton . and Oldham , in order to learn their

      opinions from their own lips . He also conversed with the cotton operatives at their own homes , in the streets , and in the taverns , and in Ins own apartments , What was the result of this examination ? Why , "that with too exceptions , that of a young woman , a winder , in Manchester , and that of a spinner , in a coarse mill , at Oldham , I was told > by one and all , that they preferred the ten hours system to the twelve hours , even if they only got ten hours instead of twelve hours wages . "

      If , therefore , the feelings of the operatives themselves—and their decided adhesion to . a system which enables them to enjoy , to a limited degree , the comforts of a home , and leisure for cultivating the intellectual and moral faculties of their nature—are of any weight , either with the Legislature or the Government , the defective wording of the law oug ht to be immediately remedied by a declaratory act . . ' , '

      We shall now have an opportunity of testing the sincerity of those who go about making loud ( professions of regard for the social and moral welfare of the masses . If their lamentations over their physical wretchedness , and consequ ent moral depravation , mean anything more than the prayers of the Pharisees at the corners « £ / Streets—in . " order & at they may he seen of naeu , and get credit for a philanthropy which is liofe real , but spurious—we shall witness such a vigorous and united movement on

      tlie part of all who-profess themselves desirous to elevate and improve the condition . ofthe labouring classes , aswffi compel even Whigs io act in a just and intrepid manner , and the allgrasping disciples of Alammon to relax their cruel and deadly hold lupon the bodies and soul * of the unfortunate beings whom porert y and competition have bound hand and foot , and delivered up to tho slavery of commercialism . In the first instance , however , the operatives must show that they are in earnest . : " Go » helps those who help themselves . " ¦

      Since the preceding observations were written , we have been highly gratified to learn that the factory hands have commenced a vigorous agitation—thaUhe whole ' cotton « gtnct has - been stirred into action , by the intelligence of the adverse decifiioa <> f ifc $ Court ofi Ex-

      Timid Law Makers And Power Ful L.My Brea...

      chequer , and has assumed a determined and uncompromising attitude upon the subject . The necessity for their continuing to maintain this attitude , is further shown by the answer given to Lord Ashley ' s question by Sir G . Gre , on Tuesday night , in Parliament . As we anticipated , the Government will shirk its obvious duty , if it possibly can . Lord Ashley asked if it was intended to bring in a declaratory act to remedy the defect in the law and the Home Secretary parried the

      question by saying , he had not had time to read the short-hand writer ' s notes , and therefore could not say what he would do in the matter . He , however , very clearly intimated his desire , that a Whig course should be adopted , and a compromise ho come to of eleven hours—a course which would neither satisfy the capitalists , who repudiate all legislative interference , nor the operatives , who feel that ten hours' actual labour are all that are compatible , cither with bodily health or domestic comfort .

      The Short Time party must , therefore , depend on their own energies , and not upon the Government . Fortunately the Whigs are made of " squeezable'' materials , " To your tents , O Israel ! " Now is the time for action . One united and vigorous effort will secure the object in view .

      Colonial Policy. " Great Cry And Little ...

      COLONIAL POLICY . " Great cry and little woo ! . " At the commencement of tbe Session the Premier—in a speech of two hours and a half —has expounded , to a full aud attentive House , the views of the Government as to Colonial Policy , both in the abstract , and with reference to particular measures intended for various Colonies . The mere statement of the fact , is sufficient to indicate what an immense change has taken place in public opinion within the last few years upon this question .

      The Colonies were , in effect , handed over to the irresponsible Government of a bureaucracy , snugly installed in Downing-strect . All that they had to do w-as ^ to suffer , silently and unredressed , the inflictibri of the most grievous injuries—all that , we had to do , was to pay handsomely the officials appointed b y the Imperial and Imperious Colonial Office to inflict these grievances and curse the Colonies by their ignorance and their aristocratic misgovernme nt . But "Every dog has its day ; ' ' and even Downing-street can no longer sin with impunity . Tho harness has galled the

      ill-used Colonies so deeply aud so painfully that they have turned restive . Their grievances have found mouth-pieces in and out of Parliament . Colonial . Reform has become one of the great questions of the day . It is one in . which the people of the Mother Country are deeply and intimately interested . In order to keep the Colonies in subjection to a most odious and oppressive system of misgoverament , we have yearly to raise millions for the support of the army , navy , and ordnance , which would otherwise not be required . These troops and ships are sent to the Colonies

      professedly for the purpose of guarding them against foreign attack . In reality , they are kept up for the purpose of repressing the discontent of the misgoverned and oppressed Colonists . If they were empowered and permitted to manage their own atfairs , they would now , in the majority of cases , be fully equal to the duty of protecting themselves from any possible danger of foreign aggression . The removal of our baneful Protection (?) would speedilyenable the others to attain that strength and independence in which they may now be deficient .

      Lord John ' s speech was eminently Whiggish . He laid down broad and liberal principles of Government as its basis , and ended by constructing a few small mouse-traps upon the magnificent foundation . To have listened to his opening declarations , one would have imagined that every one of our Colonies that was at all capable of undertaking the responsibility , was forthwith to be invested with the power of managing its own local and internal affairs . Again and again his lordship repeated that the ancient maxim of British Colonial government was that , " wherever

      Englishmen were sent , or repaired to settle , they carried with them the freedom ofthe institutions of the mother couu try . " "Wherever Englishmen went to settle , " there should be introduced English freedom and English institutions . It therefore becomes our duty , as far as possible , to act upon the principle of introducing and maintaining political freedom in our dependencies . ' These emphatic and highsounding declarations , were of course received

      with great applause ; but we confess , that having had some former experience of the manner iu which Whig principles and Whig practices disagree , and how the latter fall off , and " grow small by degrees , and beautifully less , " we indulged in a discreet scepticism . The result demonstrated , the correctness of our doubts . The exordium , and tho conclusion ofthe speech , were typified by the solemn cry ofthe Mussulman hawker—¦ * ' * In the name of the Phopiiet —figs !"

      Instead of honestly carrying out the comprehensive and just principles enunciated as those which , should Settle foundation of our Colonial policy , tho Premier propounded various new-fangled , and ingeniously contrived schemes , for placing the Australian Colonies , the Cape , Malta , Guiana , Trinidad , and the Mauritius , under the continued rule of Downing-street and its employes , while they were to be cheated with a delusive appearance of representative and self-elected governments .

      As yet , wc have not the details of tho re spective measures before us , but the course proposed to be adopted in New South Wales and the other Australian Colonies , may be taken as the key-note to the whole scheme , There is to be only one Legislative Chamber , composed of thirty-six members , of whom one-third are to be nominated by the Government , and the remaining two-thirds elected by ( we presume ) a constituency " more select than numerous . "

      Now just lot us imagine the practical working of such a Chamber as this . The one third appointed by the Government , will be generally permanent members ; and necessarily , from that cause alono , gain that ascendancy over the-flucmating portion of the Chamber , which accompanies . the possession-of a definite position , and practised habits of business . But besides this power , on the part of the nominees of the Government , wo must also take into account the direct and indirect influence which it will be able to bring to bear upon the election of . the other two-thirds . We can

      understand— if not approve—of the admission of ex officio members iuto , a Legislative Assembl y , where the presence of these parties is rendered necessary by their official position , and the information that may bo required from them ; but , in that case , such persons should have no vote in the Assembly . Lord John' s scheme swamps the Australian Legislative Chamber , , with a host of Government nominees , whose policy and endeavours vyill naturall y and inevitably be directed to uphold the policy of the Imperial Government , as against local interests and public . ; feeling , and to secure tho duo payment of their own- salaries , and the continued predominance of their own class oyer the Colonists at large . If they succeed in this , the scheme will be " a delusion , a llioe & ery , and a snore . " If . they do not , the Chaiabenvill bo dinded into two parties—the paid nominees of the Crown , and the / unpaid represen & iives of the electoral , body—who will spend much more time and energy in squabbling with each otlier , than in legislating for the foenefit of . the ecnimun / ty , whose interests they are . supposed to . represent and watch over . ' [ In ' . eitber case , the egg , wi \ ichthe . Whigs have been so long : hatching whU Jiurn put to . bo an addled one ,,. '•'• ; "" ' ¦

      Colonial Policy. " Great Cry And Little ...

      In reality , * there is . nothing in the world so much dreaded by the Whigs , as the idea of j » free , full , and bona fide Government by the people , for the people either at home or in ther Colonies ; and , so long as they can prevent it such a Government will never be established ' Meantime , they are fertile in schemes for throwing dust in the eyes of the public , and as fast as they are discovered and exposed ia one trick , . they have recourse to another . With reference to Canada , Lord John stated , that it was the determined will of the Sovereign to resist any attempt at

      separation ; and he expressed himself surprised , that any loyal subject should have dreamed of an . nexation to the United States . Judging , however , from tho concluding sentence of life speech , this was a mere empty threat . His lordship evidently believes that in the case of all Colonies , a time will come , when , having grown strong in population and wealth , they will say to us in the words used by himself :-, " Our strength is sufficient for us to be an independent country—the link has grown onerous to ub— -the time is come , when in amity and good will with England , we can maintain our own independence . " What if that time should have arrived alread y in Canada ? Is tho Premier prepared to resist such a declaration

      put forth in such a spirit , and waste the blood and the treasure ofthe Imperial State , in the endeavour to hold in continued subjugation , a country which he himself admits , must , in the very nature of things ,, in due time , assert its right to self-government and independence ? That would , indeed , he to repeat the '' course of blundering" which his lordship so emphatically condemned as the cause of the " unhnppy contest" with the " loyal provinces of North America "—a contest which ended in their separation , to the immense benefit of both parties . By the enlightened statesman , future separations are as little to he'dreaded as that which has already conferred such advantages , upon the world .

      Parliamentary Review. Work Has Been Alre...

      PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . Work has been alread y cut out in the Commons for at least the next three months . So numerous are the measures that have passed their initiatory stage , and the topics that have been cursorily discusssed—that it is impossible to do more than merely indicate their nature and general bearing , When they advance t » the further stage of a second reading , we shall follow therexample ofthe House , and take the debate upon each of them respectively .

      Three ' measures of considerable practical value have'been brought forward by the Government ,, as supplementary to their Navigation Act of last year . Having by that measure thrown the shipping trade of this country open to competition from all other nations , it is considered just to give the mercantile marine such facilities as may enable it to meet that competition fairly , One of the Bills introduced by Mr . Labouchere , creates anew department of the Board of Trade , by which two captains of the mercantile navy will sit as members of that Board , to carry into effect

      the proposed new regulations for that service . The object of these regulations is to establish a system of examination for Masters and Matca iu the merchant service , b y which the standard of qualification may be raised j to make pro « vision for the improvement of the condition and the discipline of tho crews ; and , lastly , to constitute shipping officers , instead of the present system of licensing agents . A second measure is intended to reconstitute the Merchant Seamen ' s Fund , from which pensions are paid to aged and superannuated sailors . The seamen in the merchant service

      pay at present one shilling a month to the fund , and the pensions granted are not onl y very unequal at dilicrent ports , but in all cases utterly inadequate to supply the commonest necessaries of life . The fund itself is insolvent . ' It is now proposed to raise the contribution from one shilling to one shilling and . sixpence per month—to give all merchant sailors a uniform pension of sixpence a day , when they are placed upon the fund ; and to make up the deficiency which this allowance would cause , the Government intend to grant 30 , 000 / . annually from tho Consolidated Fund , in aid of the contributions from the sailors .

      The third measure connected with this subject is one for improved Measurement of Tonnage . Several bills intended to improve the law relating . to Landlord and Tenant in Ireland , and other important points , have been introduced ; tho most noticeable of this class of measures , however , is one for a reform of the Irish Court of Chancery . The object of this measure is to simplif y and shorten the mode of pleading , to amend and facilitate the mode of proof , and to regulate and d 3 fine the mode of appeal in Courts of Equity . On all these points it is needless to say , there is not only

      great room for reform , but it is imperatively required . The question already raised , however , is why has justice not " been done to England in tins-respect , as well as to Ireland ? Whatever defects may exist in the Irish Equity Courts , are to be found in even an exaggerated form on this side the Channel ; and dealing , as Lord Coxtkniiam ' s Court does , with so much larger a number of persons and amount of property , the pernicious working of the present system is more extensively and more grievously felt than in Ireland . The Court of Chancery , everybody knows , has

      become a standing disgrace to the country and the age . Intended to deal out equity to suitors , unfettered by the dry technicalities of the Common Law Courts , it has become & htigo and complicated instrument of fraud , robbery , and oppression . When a man is once dragged or forced into a Chancery suit , ruin stares him in the face ; and liable as most persons are , to be named as trustees , execu « tors , and legatees , or to take part in co-partnerships out of which disputes and difficulties

      may arise , the reform of this Court becomes a matter of deep and general interest to tho public . Though the SoMcrrou-General has shrunk from attacking the gigantic evil , wo are happy to say that it is not therefore to escape . It is stated that Lord-LANGDAIV ., an eminent Chancery Judge , well acquainted with tho practice of the courts , and Mr . Turner , Q . C ., one of tho most experienced and popular practitioners in them , have both prepared Bills upon the subject . Tho question will ; therefore , be debated in both Houses .

      Local taxation , and especially the constitution . of the-country boards , by which much of it is imposed , has also constituted a subject of debate . On Wednesday three Bills , all having reference to it in one shape or another , were introduced ; one by Mr . Frewest , another by Mr . Milker GitisoN , and a third—which may be considered a Government measure—by Mr . Cornw / ai ^ Lewis . . The object of . Mr . Gibson ' s Bill is to give the rate-payers a concurrent control with the justices over the country expenditure . At present , these gentlemen have the whole matter in their own hands ; they levy rates ,, and expend them as they please . The : Home Secretary stated the adhesion of

      tlie- Government to- the representative principle embodied in Mr . Gmsox ' s Bill , so that there is some chance of its being carried . The Bill of Mr . Lewis had reference to the management of Highways , and was broug ht forward from last Session , when it was thrown out from want of time to discuss it . The Iiusu Secretary , has brought in the promised Government measure on the Irish

      Suffrage . It is as paltry and petty in its details as it is deficient in . princi ple . There can be no doubt as to its paternity ; it is Wh > all over , and meant as far- an possible to promote Whig interests . , In tiie Lords , the Bill to amend the Constitution of the Ecclesiastical Commission , has been introduced by the Marquis of Lansdowne . « J 8 description of its leading provisions , folly

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 16, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_16021850/page/4/