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90 THE STAR OF FREEDOM. September 18, 18...
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THE PARLIAMENTARY REFORMERS. The Parliam...
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LEGAL INVESTMENT FOR THE PEOPLE. Mr. Sla...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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•Justice For The Miners. " The Recklessn...
lhahadthe experience , know that the wages-serf is a cheaper and ( coconsequentiy more profitable article than the chattel-slave . IStSo in the report under notice , the Committee advise the Coal . Mkings that in the long run— -they will find humanity the (^ cheapest ; the ch eapness to be brought about by a reduction < ofof wages to a level with the rate paid to labourers in ordinary (©( occupations . There is ground for affirming that already the ^ remuneration given to miners so closely approximates to the 'wwages of the peasant and the unskilled labourer . What will
iitit avail the miner , that by the steam-jet and other contrivaniccces , his existence is rendered more secure against untimely d death , if his life is rendered a miserable burden by his inability , iiin spite of hard and unremitting toil , to secure a sufficiency of n necessaries , not to speak of comforts , for himself and family ? IThe coal-owners are only too ready to reduce wages without p parliamentary promptings , and we must deplore the shortsighted policy of the Committee as expressed in the paragraph 11 under notice . We say " short-sighted policy " apart from all
c considerations of justice and right , as regards the working i miners—for skilled , careful , herioc labour , and low wages are i incompatible . Moreover , it is not merely the worker himself , I but his family also , that must be taken into account iivcons sidering the question of wages . " The minerisproverbially short 1 lived , " say the Committee . Supposing him to die of natural < causes it is not desirable either for their sakes or the sake of ! society , to see his wife and children reduced to the workhouse ,
in consequence of his death ; not to speak of the probability of crime being superadded to pauperism . Yet what possibility will there be of the miner making any provision for old age or fatherless children , if his wages are to be reduced to a Cumberland weaver s ? The coal-kings may add to their wealth by depriving their workers of a fair remuneration for their toil , but they must lose money , safety , and character—by an addition to its paupers and criminals .
The Committee express their unwillingness to recommend " a compulsory enforcement of any particular system of ventilation ; they would rather point to the conditions under which alone they consider the mine to be safe , and leave it to some improved system of inspections or control , to secure these conditions being unreservedly adopted . " This indication of tone , this truckling to the sovereignty of wealth , is deeply to be lamented . However excellent most of the Committee ' s suggestions , they will be fruitless and valueless , unless enforced by the strong arm of the law . Experience has shown that it
is absurd for the working miners to place trust in the humanity of their empktyers . Wanting the law ' s enforcement , the remedial measures suggested in the Committee ' s Report will have been proposed in vain . The Committee acknowledge the awful character and extent of the list : —the yearly sacrifice of a thousand lives . Surely this is an evil too terrible to be trifled with . If the means exist to prevent or even abate this wholesale slaughter , these means must be employed by the coal-pit proprietors , and enforced by the law of the land .
" It has been suggested that the families of those who perish , should be supported for a certain number of years by the proprietor of the mine . " To this the Committee object that " injustice might be done under such a law ; for the owner might give orders for the proper precautions , and an overlooker or miner might neglect them . " Certainly , these surmises might be realised . But if the coal-pit proprietor knew that the penalty of carelessness would fall upon him , he would take care that the needful precautions against accidents
should be so thoroughly carried out and unceasingly attended to , that carelessness on the part of workers and overlookers , would be morally impossible . As regards his own neglect , or refusal to take precautions to ensure the safety of the workers , it accords with Reason and Justice that he should , in the event or a fatal accident , be compelled to support the families of the victims sacrificed to his avarice and heartlessness . Any scheme of legislative protection , must fail to adequately
benefit the working miners unless it includes the provision rejected by the Committee , that of binding the proprietors to support the families of those who may be destroyed by explosions and other accidents . Were the mines worked for the nation , every one Avould see the justice of the State supporting the families of those immolated in its service . As it is ; the mines are worked for the benefit of individuals , and upon those individuals should rest the responsibility of providing for the widows and children of the husbands and fathers
slain in their service . If the " owners" object , they have an easy remedy . Let them transfer their ( usurped ) ownership to the State , on condition that the nation at large , reaping the benefit of the miner ' s toil , shall ensure him adequate protec-. bn , and compensation to his family in the event of being disced or slain while pursuing his dangerous—but to Society—1 liable occupation .
The objectionable points of the Committee s Report , may fairly be ascribed to the non-representation of the miners in the Legislature . Judging them by the general tenor of their Report , we may fairly assume the Committee to have been composed of good-hearted , well-disposed men . Their errors we place to the account of their social position . Were the
legislature the reflex of the mind of Labour as well as Capital , and were working miners commanding the votes of their ellow-countrymen—free to take their seats by the side of coal-pit proprietors , the country might see a Report emanating from a Committee appointed by such a House of Commons , which would contain all the merits , without the defects , of the document we have reviewed .
In a previous number of this paper Mr . Martin Jude gave announcement to an intended Delegate Meeting of Miners , convened to be bolden at Newcastle in the course of the present month . Of course the Parliamentary Committee ' s Report will come under the notice of the Delegates . Adopting the Committee ' s suggestions , or their own amendments thereto ; enforcing their claims by calm and convincing
arguments ' , and , lastly , organizing their fellow-labourers for the work of wisely-conducted agitation , —they can hardly fail , supported by Public Opinion , to obtain for their order , valuable and lasting amelioration . But let them not deceive themselves , nor disregard the words of a faithful adviser : —• For the Miners , as for every other description of workers and wealth producers , there is no social salvation—thorough and
•Justice For The Miners. " The Recklessn...
entire—but through the political enfranchisement of Labour , the establishment of Manhood Suffrage . To inaugurate Social Justice , class privilege and legislation , mast give place to the reign of Political Equality .
90 The Star Of Freedom. September 18, 18...
90 THE STAR OF FREEDOM . September 18 , 1852 <
The Parliamentary Reformers. The Parliam...
THE PARLIAMENTARY REFORMERS . The Parliamentary Reform Association is a large body-It has , too , that recommendation which is of such great importance in England—it is respectable . Its leaders are men of wealth and station who have the opportunity of speaking their opinions before assembled legislators . The funds which are applied to promote its objects , let them come from what source thev mav , arc considerable . Some hundreds of
meetings have been held throughout the country , at which the crack orators of the party have spoken . Addresses have been issued , and newspaper advocates have not been wanting . With a good cause , straight-forwardly and consistently propounded , such materials could hardly fail to command success . Yet the Parliamentary Association has done as little , perhaps less in proportion to its means and opportunities , as any other political body . Much noise and little work has been the order of the day . They have sounded the trumpet , but have not fought the battle .
To say that Sir Joshua Walmesley and his party have not touched the feelings—excited the sympathies—roused the enthusiasm—convinced the intellect—or won the confidence of the people , is but saying what every one knows . It is equally evident that they have not called into action any amount of very virulent animosity . They are simply treated with indifference . Their best efforts seem to have a wet blanket sort of effect . There is a cold supercilious formalism about
their doings as chilly as a raw damp autumn evening after a scorching day . There is somewhat more than a shade of exclusiveness about their arrangements ; and in what aims to be a popular party , exclusiveness is one of the greatest of errors . It may seem hyper-critical to some to notice such things as these , which lie merely upon the surface ; but those who know how constantly great events turn upon small circumstances will not think so .
It is not only that the association has not gained the masses over but it is remarkable that the most sagacious and powerful of the middle-class leaders have stood aloof . It is seldom or ever that the names of the wily astute Cobden and the thoughtful determined Bright are recorded in their gatherings , or that their voices sound from the platform . The association embodies neither the weight of the obscure many , nor the influence ' of the well-known few . It may , and probably will , linger
on for a while , supported and dragged into notice from time to time by those who have an interest in its existence , and whose political life depends upon it ; but for effective action , it must remain as it is , powerless . The old and trite adage that " those who are between two stools come to the ground" is quite as applicable to parties as to men . The association is like Mahomet ' s coffin , vibrating between earth and heaven . It constantly oscillates between the middle class and the people , but belongs to neither .
This produces precisely that amount of truckling and inconsistency , which is entirely destructive of efficiency . Its advocates , to some extent , obey the command to be " all things to all men ; " but , however applicable that may bo to some cases , in politics it marks the consciousness of imbecility . They obsequiously strive to suit themselves to the company they find themselves in , and to elicit cheers , catch a majority , and swell up the number of members , one orator says one thing here , and another something different there .
Nay , as if to mark the extreme of shiftiness , the same man is Protean in his creeds , having one political faith at one place , and another at another . Just as men dress li ghtly in summer more substantially in autumn , and muffle themselves in thick great coats in winter , so Messrs . the Financials , don different costumes for Halifax , Manchester , and London . Their speeches , when compared , turn out to be a collection of cross readings , at cross purposes . Sometimes they are the
airiest of democrats , ready to ventilate every rag of legislalion ; their talk is a revolution in words . Then they arc the sleekest of respectables setting up property as the standard of all political good , and expounding careful " progressive reform ; " and again they are almost Conservative , thinking the British Lion a very respectable animal , and the triangular constitution which it is traditionall y supposed to guard as the model of perfection in government , with a few small abuses certainl y * just to show that it is a human and
not a divine institution . It is a grand political masquerade , a carnival of opinions in which each practically asserts that " Motley ' s the only wear . " Such a party excites neither ; apprehension nor hope , hatred nor affection . It is neither loved nor feared . Such a body , however , as the Parliamentary Reform Association may do much mischief . We think that it actually does more harm than good . Whatever of the latter it
may effect is done simply by calling attention to political subjects , but on the other hand it divides Reformers , is fertile in petty bickerings about minor questions , and furnishes an opportunity for those who are against us rather than for us to hide their real position . It does something- too worse this ; it tends to bring discredit on a good cause , by diluting its principles , making their meaning uncertain , and rendering them ridiculous by surrounding them with absurd conditions . These is scarcely any more effectual way of degrading a right in the estimation of the many , than
fettering its assertion by some absurd restriction expressed in a ridiculous form . This is exactl y what the Parliamentary Association does ; take for instance the suffrage proposition put forward by its Council . We are told that " it amounts almost to a claim of Universal Suffrage ; that it would exclude only tramps , paupers , and generally those who have no home . Only the people who have no local habitation and scarcely a name are beyond its apparent bounds . If that reall y is its meaning , why not simply and straightforwardly say so at once ? then we should understand it . But take the proposi-
The Parliamentary Reformers. The Parliam...
tion itself and examine it . We have not the pr 0 ( y before us , and therefore only quote it from memory * ? v not the precise words , but its effect , * ' ^ 1 Vla S It claims a vote for every man occupying a house or of a house , and being rated or claiming to be rated t ^ relief of the poor . That is not a household suffra g e i ° home suffrage ; it is simply a rating suffrage . The obiM * indeed it have any object , would appear to be the eonti ^ connection between the franchise and property . It mJ ^? vote , not to men as men , but as rate-payers . If it doc ? mean that , what does it mean ? The condition of clahi ^ to be registered us an elector we could comprehend . ' " \ y'l universal suffrage itself there must be some amn » cmc » f that sort ; but instead of claiming to be rated , you mjwU well impose the necessity of wearing a cocked hat , or a suit " ) livery . ' ' '
Many landlords compound for the rates upon their k « and will continue to do so , because it is pecuniarily adv ^ tageoustothem . Almost all , if not all householders who Wo > let to lodgers pay the rates for their houses , receiving froJj * their tenants fixed sums representing both rent and \\ J Compound householders and lodgers have practically nothin * to do with the rates . By a private contract they ' have ox empted themselves from all trouble respecting them . As rab payers they know nothing of the parish nor the parish o f them . Yet , forsooth , these men are to claim to be rated , often when they know the rates are paid , always when thev know
they are not liable for them . Such a demand is not only vexatious but silly , and men do not like to be called on to do what they know is foolish . They may not mind throwing \ few half-pence to a guy , but they do not like to be made wivs of themselves . Much as Englishmen like money , they are to the full as sensitive of ridicule , and we believe would sooner pay a trifle , or submit to some inconvenience than publicly assume the cap and bells . Political tomfoolery is almost as little to , our taste as political exclusion . A serious duty ou « ht not to be associated with downright absurdity , any more than Richard the Third ought to he played in the spangled jacket of a harlequin . In the one case an audience would be my
voked to laugh at tragedy , in the other the citizen would he tempted to forego his rights . But beyond this which some practical minded individualsmatter of fact men as they are called—may look on as a metaphysical objection , there is no telling what dodgery may be concealed beneath this claiming to be rated clause . When we are dealing with men who are not over consistent in their
opinions or in their expressions , suspicion becomes not only a duty but a virtue . Where we find obscurity we look for artifice , just as instinctively as a child looks for ghosts in the dark , but with far better reason . We have had some experience before this of what law-makers say they mean proving very different from what law-interpreters say the laws mean . The factory Act is a pretty recent instance of that kind ; this teaches us to be wary . If it was a claim to he registered that was required , that would be plain sailing—once registered always registered , The act , and that a reasonable one , once done there would he no further trouble ; but when we
come to rating it is entirely another matter . How often is the claim to be made , and when ? At a certain time or on uncertain contingencies ? Once a year for example , or for every fresh rate , or when the overseer not agreeing with a man ' s opinions or not liking trouble , leaves him off the rate-book ? Here is a field open at once for artifice and chicanery , which , added to the ridiculousness of the whole affair , would keep a large number of those strictly entitled off the register .
^ It this be a blunder of the leaders of the parliamentry association , we say that we do not want to be led by blunderers , if it be an artifice it is a better reason still why wc should not trust them . Either way they are not the men . We would not he content with * Household Suffrage or Home Suffrage- —nothing short of Manhood Suffrage would satisfy us ; but . we have a ri ght to expect that those who , differing with us assume to lead the people , should sav plainly what
they mean and abide by it , not put forward propositions so equivocal as that with regard to the suffrage . There are , no doubt , many good and honest men among the members of the parliamentary association—many true reformerswe ask them to consider calmly their position , to look at its inefficiency , inconsistency , and uncertainty , and then to think whether or not it is time to " conic out from among them and try to do something better .
Legal Investment For The People. Mr. Sla...
LEGAL INVESTMENT FOR THE PEOPLE . Mr . Slaacy ' s bill for the purpose of forwarding and legalising the operations of Co-operative Societies , does not enable ; the working classes to carry out the process of Banking or : Investment for themselves . Legislators no doubt thought I that the mysteries of finance were too abstruse to bo comprc - - bended by intelligent mechanics and clever labourers , audi therefore kindly resolved to save them from the dangor of f attempting to enter into the monetary world . As it is , lw- ' - ever , absolutely necessary that the working classes should d
use the funds they accumulate for their own emancipatio n , i , some other means must be resorted to for enabling them to w do so legally and securely . There is only one way in which this can be effected , ami id that is by taking advantage of the provisions of the -Toiufcut Stock Companies Act , which has been for some time iuiu operation . We believe that this has never hitherto bcenen
done by any association of working men , and the reason ^ » pretty obvious . The machinery of that act has , as thoug h in-intentionally , been made cumbrous , unwieldly , and complicate ^ The deeds of settlement which are registered under it aW tediously long , and require to be drawn with considcra
technical -skill . The preliminary proceedings to be g » ; through entail trouble and loss of time , and the fees to . w ^ paid to the registrar arc unnecessarily large . Compa »» | with large capital constantly take advantage of the act , m ^ e . most of the modern Insurance Companies have done so , ^ some of the most successful of the enterprises of the clay & &
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 18, 1852, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_18091852/page/10/
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