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- Jag« 19, 1850. Tflf! N0RTHERN STAR 7 ~...
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E/ JZi Ceestxey— This Intrepid young wom...
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THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND ^ - question. ¦...
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Disasters to New . Youk "Lixehs."—Two ma...
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OP UNITED TRADES. ,...
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TO THE EDITOB OP THE f-'C-ItinEBN STAB. ...
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THE COUNCIL OP THE NATIONAL REF; ail LEA...
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Tun Nelson Monument.—On. Friday night, t...
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premises of• ' Jfifeiafc^rodi .. brasswi...
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Transcript
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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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The Protection Movement.—Lord Downshire ...
* — ' lb " that Mr . O'Connell does not intend last *? f mr ija ment any longer for Tralee ; and it a tting i « jrv .,. t we sgjji have an election early js anttcipa ; ,, & SmS R Tto ™™^™* S T ^ ^ # ^ san account of two inquests lately held m cop ^ . on bodies of two persons , ' Austin SlLllocand Mary St . Leger , who , it was alleged , ? j £ the effects of destitution . The jury re-^ STrerdict in both cases of " died from the 3 SJ of hunger and cold . ' * - Steou kt . —A daring burglary was committed at » rlv hour on Thursday week on the premises of ^ Findlatcr , of Dublin . The robbers effected , an ^ U nee throug h an unoccupied house next door , dbroke a hole through a wall three feet thick , efficient to admit a man . A considerable sum of money gasman iron safe , which did not attract their attention , as it was covered carelessl y with a sick . Before eleven o ' clock the same morning the fjjtire " ? were found by the detectives , drunk ion lis effects of brandy . . '
. j ^ jj Isgexiocs Forgert . —At the Hillsboroug ' i Quarter Sessions last week , Daniel M'Gurgan and James Grimley , alias M'Guire , were convicted of consp iring , on the 20 th July , at Newry , tt » cheat Bobert Mills , of Moira , of £ 20 , by means of a false civil bill decree , grounded on a forged I 0 U . The manner in which the forgery was executed was curious . An old letter of Mills ' s was obtained , and the I O U was written on the blank space underneath the genuine signature , and then detached from the letter . The prisoners were sentenced to transportation for seven years .
Murders is fippERARY . —The Nenagh Guardian contains the following : —" About the hour of six o ' clock on Friday nig ht , another of those frightful butcheries which have given our county a notoriety in crime surpassing all other portions of Em ope , was committed » n Williim Ardell , steward io Mr . Richard Falkiner , of Mount F-lkincr . The particulars are briefly ' as follow : —As William Ardell was crossing from Mr . Fa kiner ' s hou-e to his own dwilling , a distance of about a quarter of a mile , he ; was fired at by some person or persons unkn : wn , ! and shot dead , ' the contents of the piece having lodged in his heart . He * as found dead betweeu his jown house and Mr . Falkiner ' s , a'tou / - the hour of six o ' clock next moniin ? . No cause . Ins yet been
a-signcd f- r the commission of this outrage Aroeb has left a wife and six chi dren . The © roner , Mr . T . T . Abbett , le't about ore o ' clock on Monday to hold an inquest , but will not have returned in time to give further particulars . ' ' — The same paper asserts : On Thursday last , as a poor , emaciated , and almost famine-stricken man of the name of Magrath , was passing through a turnip field , convenient to the village of Newport , the property of a wealthy and respectable fanner of the uame of Hogan , the cravings «> f hunger prompted him to pull a turnip , having voraciously eaten which , be took another , when llogan came up and nidly caught hold of the poor man . He told him to drop the turnip , said he was a prison * -r , and that he would take him as such to the Bridewell of Newport , * Is it for a turni p you'll make a prisoner of me ? Oh ! for God ' s sake do not—forgive me , I was hungry ; ' piteously ejacu
lated the wretched Magratl j , whose entreaties for liberty were in vain ; when he ultimately said be would not go as a prUoner , and that he would resist Hogan . A . % this part of the contention a farmer arrived , and told Hogan if he felt aggrieved he fcsd a remedy by summons , and suggested the humanit y of letting Magrath go . __ As Majrath was then in the act of quitting the turnip field llogan presented his gun , took -delibera t e aim , fired , and shot the unfortunate man in the left arm and s'de I His arm is shattered , and several slugs are lodged in his side . He lies dangerously ill iu Newport , spitting blood in large quantities . The medical gentleman who is attending : him has no hopes of his recovery . On Friday tlie case was fully investigated oy tfee magistrates at Newport petty sessions , when , for this heinous offence , Hogan was fully committed for trial at the approaching assizes at Nenaslu "
O pposition to Rems . —The Tipperarg Vindicator has au account of the forcible removal of corn seized for rent , at Borrisoleigfc , which , however , was re-taken by the landlord . In this districr , it is stated , there is a ** general system of passive resistance , the laud being completely stripped of stock . " In this same -district , on Wednesday , there was a asle for nott-pivmeiit of rent , but the poor rate collector put in his prior claim , and the residue scarcely paid the fees of the landlord ' s bailiffs . Roman Cathoijc UxiVERnrv . —The Freeman ' s Journal , in urging the necessity of establishing a Roman -Catholic University , says;— " There is a nucleus in the O'Connell Monument Fund which would ge far to erect the first buildings ; and we venture to predict , > hat within fire years the Irish Catholic University would possess more wealth than was owned by Tria-ty Co ! I < ga in the first century -of its existence . "
ScccEiXED Tribute to Me . Joes O'Conxeia . — In reference to a smrgeHion for a national tribute jo Mr . Jobs G'Conhelf . which has recently appeared in a . limerick paper , the honourable gentleman has addressed-a letter to the -Frtcaiturs Journal , in which he says- — *• I respectfully , but most strongly , deprecate ft * being mootrd at ail . 1 have uo claim to , nor expectation « f , whas is therein mentioned ; and the state of the country , a «; d the pressure of the times , render that sug ^ es ti . n if possible stii more inapprop riate and unsuitable . " . Onuses Pkosecctiox . —In the Court of Queen ' s Bench ou Monday , Mr . Whiteside , Oj-C , rose to app ly for a conditional order for a criminal , information against the proprietor of the Lvhlin Evening Pottat tlte suit ef John Jnrdine , uisster of sn
, Orange lodge in the county of Down , and one of the Orangemen charged with participation in the affairs of Dolly ' s llrae , but the court decli : ed to hear him . There are numerous affidavits filed in this Orange case , and they charge that the letter of the Under-Secretary , which led to the dismissal of Lord Roden and the Messrs . Beers , the publication of 3 dr . Berwick's report of his inquiry at Castlewellan , with other documents and evidence published in the Evening Post , were calculated to prejudice the case of John Jardin ' c , and to influence the jury before whom he is to be tried at the Spring Assizes for the county of Down . It is stated that the Orange party " intend to avail themselves of this prosecution in the discussion of the Dolly ' s Brae affair in the ensuing session of parliament .
Eekal Associatiox . —The usual weekly meeting of this body was held on Monday , at Conciliation Hall ; Mr . Mabcn presiding . Mr . Nugent moved that the petition against protection , and in favour of free trade , which had been adopted on that day week , be entrusted for presentation Inthe House of Commons to Mr . John O'Connell , and he hoped tbey would not lose his services until he sat in i lieuown parliament in College-green . Mr . John 0 'Consaid he never played the enemy ' s game , and he was not going to do it then . He would retain the representation until the people were ready to elect a staunch repealer , when he would be obliged to resisn . The rent was announced to be £ 12 4 s . Cd .
EaritESEMAiiox of MiTo . —The Freeman s Journal says : — " We have the authority of our London Correspondent for stating that Mr . It . D . Browne has declined the important colonial appointment offered for his acceptance some days since by Lord Grev . 'When our correspondent first announced that the Governorship of the Falkland Islands had been tendered to Mr . Browne , he expressed some doubt as to the ability ef the honourable member to enter upon the duties of the proffered appointment , and his apprehensions have been realised . Mr Browne having refused the gift of the Colonial Minister , tfcerc will not , as a matter of course , le anv election for Mavo . "
The PnOTSCTWJST Agitatiok , according to the Morning C / tra & itk : —Although a few more sti ay meetings may be attempted , and the exclusive " a ^ gsegate" is yet to come off at the Rotunda in Dublin ; the Protectionist anitaiion in Ireland is " numbered among the things that have been . " The last experiment at a couniy meeting in Clare , was a failure from the outset ' The determination of the requisitionists to abandon the meeting was known in Dub-Jin before it wss announced either in Enuis or Limerick . Trom the latter town , reporters had been seat early on Fri-ayj but upon their , arrival they learned that the coua £ y meftint bad been suddenly abandoned , rcal ' y because the Free-traders had assembled in great force , to perfect their arrangements
for a successful opposi'ioa . In a letter dated " 'Ennis , Friday evening . " ' the reporter of the Limerick Examiner siys : —** On mj arrival here this morning the streets were" crowded with country sqaires , country clergymen , and country farmers — the squires looking sad and sontwfully the clergymen , farmers , and townspeople , expressing their graialations one io another en the signal triumph of free-trade and cheap " food . The arrangements for a counter demonstration in favour of five trade were mo * t p ' e-iecr . TheKev . Mr . Quaid , P ; P- ; Rev . Hr . Sheehy * of Talk ; Iter ! ilr . Macmahon , of Miltowmalbav , " and others of the Roman Catholic
clergy , bad come to dissipate ; the delurion and the fallacies of the Protectionists . The people of Ennis too . Lad named their tjiampions for the occasion , at a preliminaiy meeting , - " The Limerick Chronicle , the lecal Protectionist organ , expresses deep " disappointment at ihe result , and dissatisfaction with tie the pretences put forward by the » equisirionists for postponing tha county meeting . One of the grounds assigned was t e absence of the high sheriff of Dublin . That journal remarts — - Sir Lucira O'Brien , one of ihe requisitionigts , was requested to Preside , in the absence of the liigU sheriff , and" by hisdesire .
- Jag« 19, 1850. Tflf! N0rthern Star 7 ~...
- Jag « 19 , 1850 . Tflf ! N 0 RTHERN STAR 7 ~ " '_ . - ¦ - . - > -. « - ii 1 1 I " ^^^^^ Mi * > i , ll * ' ' " IIMallM , * a «^ M 11 MiMMMMM ^ BWMnilr ^^ ~— - ¦¦ ——¦¦¦¦ ib ii ¦ ¦ - .
E/ Jzi Ceestxey— This Intrepid Young Wom...
E / JZi Ceestxey— This Intrepid young woman who U -1 uow residing at Wyinondham , where she is ewryiu on the business of a milliner and drcssmaker . us ' fcow so far recovered as to be able to walk np stans a ^ d down , without the assistance of either a crutch or . "t'cki it must be gratifying to those ^ ho Lave tak " 611 BDCh deep interest in Ihis . youhg ' * ° aan , to lean . ' - &*& this sufferer is at length re-^ tored to the use J * tflw . limbs . — $ " /<*• # ««* ¦ I
The Condition Of England ^ - Question. ¦...
THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND ^ - question . ¦ . ¦ ,. ~ rr ! « ... _ .
( Condensed from the Morning Chroniclt . ) PHYSICAL COJfDITIoFoF THE LABorfnT'n IN DEVONSHIRE AXD SOMEfIsEtIhirE In some of the Mall valleys in the undulating t ^&^ T ^^ l found ^«* 1 specimens o itS— Ptl 0 a 0 fCOtto S - Ind <* d it was a matter of surprise to me that some of them were inhabited at all , notw ithstanding the miserable accommodation with which a labouring family will put -UP : ihe same may be said of the district , both m Dorset and Devon , l ying around Axminster .
Here the population is very dense—both on account « f the clearing system having been carried to only a trifling extent , since few of the parishes around are close parishes , and of the demand for labour which at one time existed in Axminster , wben it bad some pretensions to being a p lace of manufacturing importance . But it is no longer so . AVho hears of Axminster carpets now ? The population which formerl y collapsed upon the town has recentl y been thrown back again upon the adjoining parishes , in such numbers as to have a sensible effect both upon waqjes and rates , and to raise the value of cottages , whilst they have trenched upon their accommodation . I have been told of more than one instance
m which this has taken place . As new cottages were not at first built to meet the increasing demand ft . r thciii by those returning to their parishes in search of employment , many persons were obliged to lodge with those occupying such dwellings as existed . For this accommodation they of course paid so much per week ; ' the result of which' was , that the price of cottaps was raised in some eases to the tenants . If a small family could accommodate two or three lodgers , which they frequently did , a considerable addition was made to their weekly receipts ; and as this addition came from the cottage , the landlord compelled them to share its enhanced value with him . In some cases in which this ! was
mentioned to me , the tenants looked upon this increase of rent as the work of stewards or agents alone ; in others they were of opinion that the proprietors not only sanctioned but enjoined it , with a view , if possible , of driving the poor people away , so as to get rid of the cottages . I inquired , of several of them if they felt very generally the inconvenience of overcrowding , and if it had recently increased . They replied that it was the greatest inconvenience suffered by them , and that , of late , its increase had been very great , Tidth ironi the natural growth of population , and from the large addition' which had been made to their numbers
within the last few years , from the decay of manufactures in Axminster . In one hovel with two rooms , I found no fewer than eleven people . Tho Sleeping apartment was upstairs as usual , directly under the thatch . There were three beds , two of which were on the floor . In that having a bedstead slept the father and mother and two children—a not uncommon arrangement- ^ the , remaining seven occupying the beds ou the floor . The eldest of the family was a girl sixteen years of age , the next a i > irl about fifteen , and the third a boy of fourteen , they sometines had a large tattered shawl hanging between the bed occupied by the parents and those on the floor , but in winter they generally had - it down , to serve as an additional covering for the children . The family was scarcely ever free from
disease , the younger children being pale and emaciated , and diarrhoea being a very common ailment with them all . Their diet was scanty , and tlie situation of the cottage bad . There , was no drainage , and in wet weather a strong infusion of manure from a neig hbouring dung-heap would trickle iu at the cottage door . They were dirty in their habits , but to have kept their houses anything like clean would have required so constant and energetic a warfare with filth that they shrunk from engaging in it . In addition to . this , the greater port i on of the time of the elder members of the family , including the parents , was occupied in the fields ; and when they came home at night from their toil , they were too fatigued to address themselves to . the task of kebuins their house in decent order .
One otthe cottages visited contained , like too many others , but two rooms . The walls , were of mud , or rather of what is called " cob "—a kind ot mixture of mud and small stones . The roof was of thatch , and had been recently repaired in parts . Each room had but one window ; that in the upper room which was in the gable « nd of the cottage , being extremely small . On three sides of the house there were great cracks or fissures in the walls , all of which added to its discomforts , and one of which positively endangered its stability . 'Tt was iu the front of the cottage , near one of the corners , and ran from the thatch to the ground , occasioned by the end wall having fallen considerably from the perpendicular . I asked her if she was not afraid that the house would come down about her ears . She replied to the effect that her apprehensions had been blunted , as they had been excited by the same cause for the last ten years . I then entered the hovel .
Bad and unpreposessing as was its exterior , it did not half prepare me for what I witnessed inside . The chimney stalk was at the side of the doer , and its side formed with the wall a small passage , about five feet long , at the end of which was anotber door , suspended upon one hinge , which opened into the lower apartment , in the recess formed by the other side of the chimney stalk and the opposite wall was the window , so small and so situated that it threw but a shabby twilig ht into about one-half of the room . The other lialf was equally lighted when the door was open ; hut when it was shut it was in such a . g loom that it was scarcely possible to discern the objects which it contained . I requested her to leave the door open , that I might see to more
advantage , but chiefly—although I did not tell her so—that I mig ht have the benefit of the fresh air , to counteract the sour and sickening smells which were rife within . The ceiling , which was blackened with smoke , was so low that it was only bctweem the small rafters that I could stand erect with my hat on . The . fire-place was of an enormous size ; but although the day was cold and raw , there was not at the time a spark of fire upon the hearth . There were a few chairs and some tripods , in the shape of stools ; about and within the ample fire-place was a bit of l ° g . supported on four rude legs , which formed a kind of bench , on which about three could sit at a time , sheltered by the ; chimney stalk , in which thev sat , from the drafts which pervaded the
room in every direction . At one corner was an empty barrel , which answered the purposes of a tabic , and close to it an old deal chest , over which were two or three shelves full of ^ crockery of all shapes , colours , and devices , and in all stages of fracture . Hard by was a large black-looking tub , in which there was a quantity of flour which had recently been sifted from the bran . Inthe centre of the room was the moiety of an old . round table , at which the family partook of their meals . What these were will be afterwards mentioned . In the deep recess occupied by the window sat the eldest daughter of my guidej working hard at the lacecushion , taking that position as the one which afforded her most light in the rooni . A good deal
of the fabric known as Honitonlaceis manufactured here . The floor of the hovel was of mud . It had never known the covering of quicklime and sand , which frequently forms the flooring of the cottages , and whicli is to ' be seen in some of those in the Tillage . Towards the fire-place it descended so as to form a tolerably deep bole , in which water not unfrequcntly collects , and which has been prevented from deepening still further by a species of rough causeway work with which it is lined . With this exception , you trod nothing , whilst in the lower room , but the cold clay which farmed the uneven flooring . I hesitated ere I ventured up stiirs . The familywas not large , as most of the children were grown up , and were afloat on the world for
themselves . But there were still five at hoine—the father and mother , ft young man of twenty-one years of age , a girl of about eighteen , and another g irl of about thirteen . The five slept in the room above In . this instance it was more the chamber itself than its furniture that was at fault . It was wretchedly lighted , and the room seemed , in , places , to be falling in . To ventilation . it was an utter stranger . The crazy floorshook and crocked under me as I paced it . The bed room was approached by a few broken steps , which rose to it out of a dark recess opposite the door , and in which were stowed away a few pots and pans , some small bundles of faggots , pieces of broken furniture , and a few implements of labour .
At one end was a small excrescence , which had the semblance of a shed or woodliouse . It bad evidentl y been taken for such b y peripatetic billstickers , fox * the door leading into it was plastered overwith " posters" of all sizes and characters . It neveitheless formed the ante-chamber to the dwelling of one of tbe families occupying the house . On entering I found the floor paved with small stones ,, after the fashion of a rough and irregular causeway , with a kind of gutter in the centre to let the water run off , for the house lay low and was . very damp . Passing-through this , which seemed to serve the purposes of a lumber-room , I entered the "day-room" of the family . It was more comfortabl y furnished than I expected to find it , especially , as I had been informed that the tenant
had been disabled for some time by rheumatism from working . How a rheumatic patient could expect ever to recover in such a place was to me a mystery , for the earthern floor was quite dam p and cold after the rains which had recently fallen . His wife was seated at the lace-cushion b y the window , working very industriously , but complaining of her head . Beside her sat a young girl , also with a lacecushing before her , engaged in making large springs , which were to form part of a bridal scarf and veil for some fair lady who was about to be led to the altar . There was still another in the rooman old man , who sat in the corner by the window , sewing a piece of fl . nnel . He was about sixty , but looked older . A few grey hairs still clung to tho sides cf bis head , just about his ears , but M IBP rest
The Condition Of England ^ - Question. ¦...
was bam . HehadoniheStop of ; his ? heada's ' car , which was partly hidden b y a piece of dirty , sticking plaster . He continued , his work , but . in a most unworkmanlike manner , apparentl y taking no ! heed of anything passing aroj ina him ; I stcpped . up to him , and asked what he " was about / to which he ' replied that , having nothing to ; db out ' of doors , ' he was employing himself by \ i doing , a bit of tailoring . " The . whole : picture ' was ac urioUs one : the rheumatio invalid seated by the feeble fire ; ' his wife ; and daughter working busily over their lace-cushions at the window , and the old man making a waistcoat for himself in a way which plainly slicfwcd that " tailoring" was not his avocation . Had tho accommodation been better , it would not have been oh the whole an unpleasant one—but the cottage was one of theworst description , although everything in it in the shape of furniture was neat and clean . The dwelling adjoining it had a better entrance , but the
accommodation which it afforded was not a whit better ^ Here , also , the lace-cushion was in requisition , and the inmates were subject to rheumatism , from tbe dampness of the floor , which , like that of most oi the other housesi . was of earth . A part of it looked as if it had been recently under water . On inquiry , I found that it . had been so- ^ -as it was more or less , indeed , after every heavy rain . In these cases the water was removed by soaking cloths in it , land wringing them dry out of doors . These last-mentioned cottages , with one or two others , occupied the lowpst grounds covered . by the village . Until recently their unwholesomeness and other discomforts were greatly aggravated by a broad stagnant open ditch , which exposed its putrescent contents on the other side of the road . The offensive smells which used to emanate from this hotbed of pestilence were spoken of by tho inmates as something incapable of description .
ASUTON WEAVERS . The trade of the hatter was once a flourishing one both in Manchester and Ashton , but owing to the demand for silk hats instead of heavers , the occupation is now at a low ebb , and hundreds to whom it once afforded subsistence have enlisted in the army ; - We went ' from the old hand-loom weaver s to the house of a man who had been a beaver hatter j but who ; now gained . his bread by winding silk for the construction of the new style of hats . The house was in a muddy lane ,, half the dwellings of which were ruinous and uninhabited . We found the husband presiding at a winding apparatus , which his son , a boy of five years of age , turned . The room in which the machine was- bestowed . ononed from tho kitchen and sitting oliani *
her . Tho aspect of things here was much bri ghter than at'the last house . Tho man used to earn at bis old trade five shillings or six shillings a . day . He now earned , one week with another ,:. twelve shillings ; Some days he made three shillings , some days two shillings , but he had often to " clem" for want of work . However , as I said , his average earnings were twelve shillings a week . It is his house I wish principally to notice . It was a sort of compromise between a house , properl y so called , and a cellar . The lane without was undrained and unpaved , and the mud lay more than ankle deep all along it . From this vile thoroughfare you entered the house by a doOr , certainly not two feet in width , and down a high step , which brought the stbneflagged floor a good eighteen inches bneath the level
ot the lane .. The consequence was , that the place was reeking with damp . There was tolerabl y decent furniture—a clock and other little matters ; but the air of both the rooms had that wet . earthly smell peculiar to underground places—and the -moisture welling up marked with obvious stains the outline of the flagstones which formed the floor . For this house the occupant paid five pounds a year . It was an unwholesome place , he said , but be could not get sufficiently beforehand with the world to more to abetter . The wife told . me that she had never had a day ' s health since they lived there , Nothing but coughs and colds that she could not get rid of , and asthma settling on her chest . Tho poor woman was evidently in a critical pulmonary state . The wet cold air was kiilinr / her . .
X There are very few weavers out of . ' work at Ashton , but I desired my guide to take me to the house of one . It was situated—I am still talking of the old part of Ashton—in a sort of , broad cul dc sac , so broad that it might almost be called a square . There may have been altogether thirty or forty houses composing it ; and near one end of the open space was situated a great ash-pit and three or four privies , common to all the inhabitants , and ingeniously placed so as to be : by far . the most conspicuous objects in the place . In the : low room of the house which we entered , two men , father and son , one of them in the prime of life , the other perhaps between sixty and seventy , wprc seated on either side of the hearth , listlessly peeling potatoes . On a small table beside , them were-the' remains of
breakfast—a coffee-pot , a dirty cup or two , and a fiithy . pewter spoon . The younger man had been sixteen wei-ks out of work . He looked wretchedly ill and languid ; indeed , as he said , he . had never been well since he was "down with . the cholera . ' ' His wife was working in a mill . She earned about nine shillings a week . He had been flung out of work owing to his having refused to submit to what he considered an unjust abatement of five shillmgs . There was nothing absolutely squalid , in the appearance of the room . Its worst feature was the listless , soddened look of the two men as they pursued their unfitting household toil .. Tho old tnnnhad two shillings a week from the union , and went errands , or did any such odd job as he could obtain . The family amounted in all to seven .
ASHTON CELLARS . From the old weaver s cellar wo went to visit some similar dwellings , situated in a group of close undrained and unpaved courts . These were occup ied almost entirely by elderly women , who made precarious livings as laundresses . Sevcr . il of these cellars , though miserably poor , were kept beautifully clean , and the little ornaments and paltry pictures ranged about the walls ofi en showed a touching struggle between pinching poverty and a decent desire to keep up . appearances . One cellar was , however , of a different stamp . We approached it along a foul subterraneous passage , and , on opening the door , a stench so abominable hurst forth , that even my companions , accustomed to scenes of
want and filth , recoiled , and called to the people in the room to open the single swinging pane in a window of about ste—each pane being about four inches by three—looking out into a sort of slit rather than pit , dug down to the level of the window sill from a back court . The place was almost , dark . It contained three low beds , covered with ragged , unmade wisps of bed clothes , A woman and a little girl sat upon stools cowering over a morsel of fire , and' drinking tea , of some decoction which passed as such . In one of the bods lay a third female , moaning in her confinement . She was a married woman ; her husband had left her , and she was now brought to bed of a child bv another man . This woman was a millworker . Al ' l
the occupants of the room professed themselves unconscious of any smell whatever ; but one of them having gone out for a moment , admitted on her return that the sewer was " rather bad to-day . " It turned but that a drain , passing from some other part of the town , ran underneath the house , the stone flags were here and there broken , and through the slimy soil beneath , the foetid gases rose bubbling up , in such strength as to render it physically impossible for me to draw breath in tbe apartment . Yet the inmates had every aperture through which the fresh air could come carefully stopped , and complained when the door and window , or rather pane , was opened of the cold . The rent paid for these cellars is from Is . to Is . 9 d . a week .
AMMCHESTERDE 1 S . . The last place we visited is , I am told , tho " worst cellar in all Manchester . " The outer room was like that of others which 1 had seen , hut following a woman . who held a light , wo proceeded into the inner cellars . They were literally vaults , three of thern opening from one to the other . The air was thick with damp and stench . The vaults were . mere subterranean holes , utterly without lig ht . The flicker of the candle showed _• their grimy walls , reaking with foetid damp , which trickled in greasy drops down to the floor . Beds were huddled in every corner : some of them on
frames—I cannot call them bedsteads—others on the floor . In one of these a man : was lying dressed , and bewde him slept a well-grown calf . Sitting upon another bed was an old man maudlin drunk , with the . saliva running over his chin , making vain efforts to rid himself of his trowsers , and roaring for help .. In thenext cellar two boys were snoring together in one bed , and beside them was A man sleeping in an old battered hat for a nightcap . " Is he undressed V I . said . The police ofhVr , - for . answer , twitched down the clothes , and revealed a stark naked man , black with filth . The smell in this room was dreadful , and the air at once hot and wet . ¦ . .
"What ' s this you have been doing ? " said my conductor to , the landlady , stooping down and examining tho lower part of one of tho walls . I joined him , and saw that a sort of hole or shallow ' cave , about six feet long , two deep , and a little more than one hig h , had been scooped out through the wall into the earth on the outside of the foundation , there being probably some yard on the other side , and in this hole or earthen cupboard there was stretched , upon a . scanty litter of foul-smelling sraw a human being—an old . man . As ho lay on his back , his face was not two inches beneath the roof—so to speak—of the hole . - .. - . - . "He '* , a poor old body , " said the landlady , in a tone of deprecation , " and if wo didn't let him crawl in flicre he would have to sleep in the streets . " . '¦ . ' ' . I turned away , and was g lad when I found myself breathing such comparatively fresh air as can bo found in Angel-mcadow , Manchester . THE DOCK LABOURERS OP LONDON . The dock labourers are a striking instar . ee of mere "rutefoycB with brute appetites . This class of la «
The Condition Of England ^ - Question. ¦...
houris . as unskilled ^ as ' the pwer ot a hurricane . Mere muscleis all , that „ isT < needed ; hence every human . " | ocbmbtive ,, ; is " capable of working there . All that is wanted is-the ' power ' ' t'd' move "Heavy bodies from one place to ; another ; - Mr .- * Stuart Mills tells us that labour in the . physical world is ; always and solely employed in : putting objects in motion ; and assuredl y , if this be the-principal ' end of , physic ' sl labour , the docks , exhibit the ; perfection of human action . Duck wi fitVia ' ' precisely the office that every kind of man is fitted to ' perform , ' and th re we niid every kmd of man performing it : those who are unable to live by the occupation lo which they have been educated can obtain a living there without any previous training . Hence we find men of every calling labouring at the docks . There are decayed and
bankrupt master butchers , master bakers , puhlicans , grocers , ^ old soldiers , old sailers , Polish refugees , OW down Kcntlemen , discharged lawyers' clerks , suspended government clerks , almsmen , pensioners , servants , thiev rs—indeed , every one who wants a leaf and is wil ing to work for it . The Loudon Dock is one ot the few places in tlie metropolis where men can get employment without either chiracter cr recommendati on ; so that the labourers employed there are naturall y a most incongruous assembly . Each of the decks employs several hundred "hands" to ship and discharge tbe cargoes of the numerous vessels that enter ; and as there aro some six or seven of such docks attached to the metropolis , it may be imagined how large a number of individuals aro dependent on them for their subsistence . At a rough calculation there must beat least 20 , 000 souls getting their living by such means .
Ihe London Dock occupies an area of ninety acres , and is situate in the three parishes of St . George . Shadwell , and VYapping . The population of thvse three parishes , in 184 J , W s 55 , 500 , and the number of inhabited houses 8 , 000 , which covered a space equal to 338 acres . This is in , the proportion of twenty-three inhabited houses to the acre , and seven individuals to ' each house : The number of persons to each inhabited house is , despite of the crowded lodging-houses with which it abounds , not beyond the averago for . all London . In my last letter I showed that Bethnal-ffieen , which is said to p o ssess
the greatest number of low-rented houses , had only upon an average seventeen inhabited , houses to each acre , while the average through London wasbut 5 \ 5 houses per acre ., So that it appears that in the three parishes of St . Georse-in-tbe-East , Shadwell , and Wapping , 'the houses are more than four times more crowded together than in the oilier parts of London , and more numerous by half as many' again , than those even in the low-rented district of Bethnalgreen . This affords us a' pood ' criterion as to the character of the neighbourhood , and consequently of the people living in the vicinity of the London Dock .
The . London Dock can accommodate 500 ships , and the warehouses will contain 232 , 000 tons of goods . The entire structure cost £ 4 , 000 , 000 of money . The tobacco warehouses alone cover five acres of ground . The walls surrounding the Dock cost £ 65 , 000 . One of the wine vaults nas an area of seven acres , and in the . whole of them there is room for stowing 60 , 000 pipes of wine . The warehouses round the wharfs are imposing from their extent , but are much less lofty than those at St . Katherine ' s , and beipg situated at some distance from the Dock , goods cannot "be craned out of the ship ' s hold and stowed away at one operation . . According !© the last half yearly report , the number of ships which entered the London Dock during the
six months ending the . 31 st of May last was 704 , measuring upwards of 195 , 000 tons . The amount of earn ings . dufing that period Was £ 230 , 000 and odd , and the amount of expenditure nearly £ 121 , 000 . The stock of goods inthe warehouses last May was upwards of 170 , 000 tons . This immense , establishment is worked by from one to three thousand . Iinnds , according as the business , is either . " . brisk' , ' or " slack . " Out of this number there are always from ' four to five hundred permanent labourers , receiving upon an average 16 s . 6 d . per week wages , - with the exception of coopers / carpenters , smiths , and other mechanics , who are paid tneTusual' wages " of their crafts . Besides . these there are many hundreds — from one
thousand to two thousand five hundred—casual labourers , who are engaged at the rate of 2 s . 6 d . per day in . the summer , and , ' 2 s . . 4 ( 1 ; perlday in the winter months . Frequently , in case ' of many arrivals , extra hands are hired in the courso of the day at the rate of 4 d . per'hour . For the permanent labourers a recommendation is required , but for the casual labourers no " character" is demanded . The number of the casual hands engaged by the day depends of course upon the amount of work to he doiie . ' and Ifind , that the total number of labourera ' in ; th ' e ; docks varies " -from 500 to 3 , 000 and odd ; . Onthe 4 th of . May , 1849 ,. the number of hands engaged—both permanent and casual—was 2 , 704 ; on tnc 2 Gthof the same month it was 3 , 012 ,
and on the 30 th it was 1 , 189 . These appear to be the extremes of the variation for the present year . Tho fluctuation is due to a greater or less number of ships entering the dock . The lowest number of ships entering the dock in any one week last year was twenty-nine , while the highest number . was 141 . This rise and fall is owing to ' the prevalence of easterly winds , whicli serve to'keep the shi ps back , and so make the business " slack . " Now deducting the lowest number of hands , employed from the hig hest number , we have no less than 1 , 823 individuals who obtain so precarious a subsistence by their labour at the docks that , by the mere shifting of the wind , they may be all deprived of their daily bread . Calculating the wages at 2 s . Gd . per day for each hand , the company would have paid £ 370 10 s . to the 3 , 012 hands employed on the 26 th of May
last , while only £ 148 12 s . 6 d . would have been paid 1 , 189 hands engaged on the 3 Jth of the same month . Hence not only would 1 , 823 hands have been thrown out of employ by the chopping of the wind , but the labouring ; men dependent upon the business of tho docks for their subsistence would in one day have been deprived of £ 22717 s . 6 d . This will afford the . reader some faint idea of tho precarious character of the subsistence obtained by the labourers employed in this neighbourhood , and consequently—as it has been well proven , that all men who obtain their livelihood b y irregular employment are the most intemperate and improvident of all—it will be easy to jud ge what may be the condition and morals o ? a class who to-day * as a body may earn , near upon £ 400 and to-morrow only £ 150 . ' .. . ..
The labour is of that heavy and continuous character that you . would fancy only the best fed could withstand it . The work may bo divided into three classes . Wheel work , or that which is moved by the muscles of the legs and weight of the bod y ; jigger or winch work ; or that which is moved b y the muscles of the arm—in each of these the labourer is stationary ; but in the truck work , which forms the third class , the labourer has , to travel over a space of ground greater or less in proportion to the distance which , the goods have to he removed . The wheel work is ' performed' somewhat on the system of the treadwheel , with this exception—that thoforce is applied inside , instead of outside the wheel . From six to eight men enter a wooden
cylinder or . drum , „ upon which arc nailed battens , and the men , laying hold of ropes , commence treading tlie wheel round , occasionally singing the while , and stamping in time in a manner that is pleasant from its curiosity . Tlie wheel is generall y sixteen feet hi diameter and eight to-nine feet broad , and tlie six or eight men dreading within it will lift from sixteen to ei g hteen hundredwei g ht , and often a ten , forty times in ah hour , an average of twenty-seven feet hi gh : Other men will get out a cargo of from 800 to' 000 casks of , wine , each cask averaging about five hundred -weight , and being lifted about eighteen feet , "in ! a day and a half . At trucking , each man is : said to go , on an average , thirty miles a day , and two-thirds of that time ho is moving ! J cwt . at G * miles per hour . .. ' . ' .. f To be Continued :
Disasters To New . Youk "Lixehs."—Two Ma...
Disasters to New . Youk "Lixehs . "—Two marine disasters were announced at Liverpool on Monday , in both instances in reference to members of the magnificant New York liners . The following aro tho details .: —Shortly after 11 o ' clock : that morning , the packet ship Guy Mannering , Captain Edwards , in leaving the Princes' Dock , for tho purpose of proceeding to New York , grounded astern on the north ; ed geof the dock gut , near the outer gates .. Captain Edwards had the water in " the casks started , and everything removed to lrghten the ship ; hut : although four steamers were mado fast and tugged . at her till the tide began to recede , sho remained flrmly fixed . i The position in which shelics-is a very dangerous one , the after part of the ship . ; resting on the stone . edgc of the gut , which is about three feet above the level of . tho basin ] and the fore partiii-the basin , thus leaving the waist ,. pi-centre of the , ship ; wholly withbutlsupport . The
O . uy Mannering . is full of merchandise , and has a large nuraber . of , passengers onboard .. Her draught of water aft was . ' sfatedto be . 21 feet , while tho depth of water on the dock-sill was marked at ever 23 , feet , : hut it is supposed that the stront ^ putlf east wind has in . some degree prevented Im ' tide flowing to its estimate height . The following letter announces the , loss . ' of tho-packet-ship Hottinguor ; ' ' Wexford ' , Jan 12 . —The ship Hottingucr , Captain Bui-sley , ' " ironi . Liv erpbol to : Now York , » ot on Blackwatcr Bank this morning , at six o clock . Part of the : crew have . landed : at . ; Morriscastle . Vessel cxpectedjto be atotal-wreck .-Crew ,, saved ;" "Wexford ,. Jan .. ;!! . —The ; lugger , A < liII \ Horgot , master ,-: from Nantes to Liverpoolrcame on shore last night , about ten mile ' s south' of ithisplaco . iand weiit to pieces . JPour of the crew lost ; , tho master , and two others lost ., " Cargo , wheat : and flour ^ . A part of the latter saved but damaged . " i- .. . i ' .,,
The Ansir . —It ^ stated ' that the reduction is „ to , bo 3 , 400 nieh—Yiz ., tbat tlie 'seveWteen regiments , ; having , now first arid reserve battalions ; are to be , consolidated and ' reduced to- 1 * 000 ^ fflcn eapb ; ithe officers to remain m tiemulK—Glblei ' " v :: ( .- .- - .- : ; -. ; j :., - .. ¦ ! , ' >; . ; ., : % ¦ *¦ ¦ ; ';; - ^ ' -- ; ? . '
National Association Op United Trades. ,...
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OP UNITED TRADES . , : - ' -. Established . 1845 . In . the Northern Star of December 22 nd , the Central Committee endeavoured to shew the enormous power at the . command of the working classes whenever , by Union , they ' chbb . se to place themselves , in a position to use that power for . their political and industrial enfranchisement . It was shewn ,. that . 2 Jd ... per week . from one million of the produding classes , would create an income of £ 500 , 000 per annum , and that this sum wouldenable those , who subscribed it , to immediately remove 10 , 000 of the unemployed from the labour market annually , and place them in a state of comparative
independence , and at tho same time place the trades , from whom this large and crushing incubus had been removed , in a position to reimburse . . themselves for . ' , the trilling self-imposed tax they , had submitted to ,, by an immediate advance in their wages , many times greater , than the amount of their contributions . We assumed this position with the utmost confidence , from a conviction of its truth , but we had not anticipated that our arguments would be indorsed by so high an authority as the Times newspaper , and adopted as the text for an extraordinary , useful , and powerful leader in that influential journal . But so it is , and such is the fcrce of truth , that when persoveringly insisted on , it inevitabl y forces itself upon public attention , and sooner or latter becomes the adopted rule of
action . And it is from an absolute confidence in this unerring law of nature , which has enabled the Directors ofthis Association to maintain their position in defiance of the selfish opposition they have encountered , from influential men connected with the trades , and of the apathy with which tho great mass of their fellow workmen regard any attempt to arouse them to a sense of their degraded petition , and to engender in them a dispofition to move fcr their own deliverance . But , there is a great charm In great names : and a position , however true , if emanating , from mere working men , is generally received coldly , and with considerable suspicion ; we now , therefore , expect , supported as we are by the redoubtable leading journal of Europe , that our plan for the emancipation of labour and the raising
of wages , will be received with more favour by those whoso co-operation is so essential to its accomplishment . ; In the . Times of the 28 th of December—just six days from the appearanco of our article in the Starone of tho clever men who do the Editorial for that journal , commences tho socoHd loader with tho question , "What can be done with half amillion a year ? " and very justly observes "it is hig h time to ask the question . " He then proceeds : " With such means at our command , we could provide 50 , 000 persons every year with a new home , in our transatlantic colonies , thereby releasing so many of our , fellow countrymen from want and misery , and lessening , to a proportionate extent , the pressure on those who were . left behind . " In the . Association ' s article in the Northern Star of December 8 th , these remarks
were addressed to tho working classes : — A practical refutation is about being given to the freetrade assertion—that cheap food would ensure high wages . Reductions of wages are pronounced inevitable in many of the hitherto , comparatively well-paid departments of industry . The absurd extravagancies and iniquitous robberies of railway directories have reiidcrcU ' 'it imperative that these same parties commit another /' arid ' / if possible , more foul robbery , than any of those With which we are familiar . The wages of the most valuable portion of the railway staff aro doomed to supply the deficiencies in' tlie dividend , caused by the previous plunder of the capital of the shareholders . Many of the buUding . trades have had notice of intended reductions in their wages ' ; and , with tho present redundancy of labour in the market , what hopes can be entertained of a successful resistance 1 The
Central Committed of this Association have always contended that the , only effective protection which can be given to the wages of labour , consists in the absorption of the surplus labouiytbrough channels where it can be rendered self-supporting ; that such channels are to be found at home , at our own doors as it were , as well as over the Atlantic ; that its employment at home is infinitely preferable , and more patriotic ; that this , can , and ought to he accomplished , by and through the working classes alone , and not by "the government . In the one case we should create an independent . class of Labour Yeomen ; in the other , companies of government slaves . Thatthe working class possess within themselves ihe means is unquestionable . Themselves organised—the , means , which will give the power ( although it has . been paid that tbey possess neither , ) will be found in abundance , alike blessing and conferring
incalculable benefits upon tho -: c who give and those who receive , llemove the surplus labour by the only practical lever by which that , or any great work can be achieved , — ail organisation of labour , and the means and the ¦ power which that organisation , and that alone , would most surely give . ' " .- ' ... ' . ' : ' ' , ¦ ¦' ... Tlie Central Committee will , in a future report , place seme facts-before ( ho working classes , by which it will he shown that through a confederation of labour—such as they advocate—the surplus labour , which' now presses with such crushing severity upon almost every description of British industry , - may not only be readily withdrawn from the labour market , at the rate of fifty thousand a year , but well and .-imply employed , and made the source of increased employment to the country ; If this thing can be done , " and is not done , then do the wording classes deserve all they now suffer , and all the good things which are now in store for them .
The identity of the Times argument with ours is here strikingly manifest . But the Times continues enumerating several great reforms which could be accomplished with half amillion a year , such as Sidney Herbert ' s Emigration Dodge for tho needlewomen—a scheme by tlie bye which is violently opposed by the free trade ^ party as being a violation of their laizzezfaire doctrines ; Lord Ashley ' s . more unexceptionable p lans for . erecting improved dwellings for the working classes , and for the construction of baths arid washhouscs on a large scale ; the endowment of 500 free grammar schools , county hospitals , & c , & c . " Anv one of these objects , " says the Times , " might bo effected with £ 500 , 000 a year . " But the similarity existing between the Times writer and us is still more strikingly shown ia tho latter part of the article . In our article of the 22 nd- of December , we thus write : —
Land , Labour , and Capital , aro the three elements of production , These elements of wealth are most unquestionably as available to an association of Labour Capitalists' as of ' Money Capitalists . ' Tlie power of cither ditt ' ers but in degree . Whatever a joint-stock company of . capitalists , with £ 1 , 01 ) 0 , 000 sterling , could accomplish in one year , our association , of one million working men , subscribing ten shillings per year , could accomplish in two years . If the one could , render the now worthless bogs of Ireland a source of fruitful employment , and eventually a mine of wealth , as rich and productive as the sands of the Sacramento—well , so could the other . Wc contend , broadly and boldly , that £ 500 , 000 would go very far at the end of the first year appropriated to its collection—to remove effectually the surplus labour from the first trades , who , to the number of one niiUion , united their pence and their
energies to work out their reilcunjtion , wo apprehend that half a million a-year , which would give £ 50 each to ten thousand individuals , would , at least , place thorn in a position , by the economical appliance of associative labour , to wake themselves perfectly independent , with very little furthci'assistance . We are perfectly sure that land may be obtained in the United Kingdom upon long leases , and at excessively low rents , in sufficient quantity for colonising all the unemployed of tlie industrious classes , And that JB 50 per head would be an ample fund for the commencement of such an undertaking . But we content ourselves now , with simply enunciating the perfect practicability of the trades of Great Britain , thus relieving themselves of tho incubus which , is dragging them down to perdition . The idea may appear extravagant to such as have not given the tubjeet consideration . But we think its grave
importance , to the . interests of our order , should , and will , ensure for it , the calmest and most unprejudiced investigation . One of the first effects which would he felt in any trade , who succeeded in producing an equilibrium betweeu tho demand and supply of labour in that particular trade , would be an advance in tho wages of those who remained in it , thus compensating , with probably a very large addition , the pecuniary contributions which had been thus 'appropriated . The tables would thus become effectually turned . Strikes and all their accompanying evils , would be forever abolished—the sure remedy for low wages would have been discovered—Hie ' power of union would then oo acknowledged and appreciated ; aud the uoiv despised serfs of labour , constantly increasing in power and indulgence , would soon force a recognition , of their social and political importance . \ "¦ "•'• ¦¦ •<¦• ¦¦
The limes seizes theidoa , and employs it after the following fashion : — " Wo are assured that any person acquainted with the sufferings of the metropolitan , or manufacturing , or agricultural poor , would unhesitatingl y acknowledge that a government grant ot £ 500 , 000 a year , judiciously appropriated and employed , vould keep 10 , 000 families , of five members each , above the starving point at which they linger , and that , too , without establishing any preposterous ' rights of labour , ' or infringing any principle of sound economy . " . Now , wo think wo may fairly assume , that the manner in which wo have put tho question , has struck conviction upon the mind of the Times editor ,, who sees clearly , and thus indirectly acknowledges , the importance and practicability of tho
policy " we advocate , and recommend to our fellow workmen for their inimodiato adoption . Tho Times evidently dreads the possibility of the working classes , thus working out their redemption by their own unassisted means , and thus , asserting and exercising , by their own energies , the " preposterous rights of labour , " and , tlierefom refers to a govern , went grant ad tho means by which so desireabie an end would bo accomplished ; but , why should honest working men . degrade themselves by being the recipients of eleemosynary aid ; when they can accomplish this , or any other similar object , ' by . their own independent exertions ? They , have '' but io will their deliverance from their industrial slavery
to ofrect it . If there is ono distinguishing feature which has always characterised the National Association , as differing from all contemporary movements , it is the uniform endeavour to lead the working classes to properly appreciate : their own powers , to look to themselves as tho only party , able or willing , to free them from the galling yoke of capital ; " wo . ' repeat " ' it . now , and shall repeat it again and again , ' that it is upon themselves alone they can rely J for ' salvation ; as for petitioning government -for parliamentary grants , or for . establishing homo colonies , etc ., thoy may as well " whistle , jigs to milestones . " It is not the policy of government , as now constituted , that tho people should ho independent . Thoy must bo kept in a state ofvassalage , in order that governments , and thoso upori whom they loan for support , may thrive
National Association Op United Trades. ,...
by the pillage wrung from labour ; therefore to l-. ofe to government for redemption , is as sensible as for the Jambs to place themselves under the protecting guardianship of the wolves . —It is high time that this nonsense , about gpverniiicati aid , was exploded , and a more rational" and manly policy adopter } by those who set " themselves lip as teachers of the people . ¦ There are a few , and hut a few ¦ subjecis , which' the Committee of the National Associi ' . L-m would evor think of reoommciiiiing tlio Association to look to govcrnmenis for , imnjely , those suhj-o . ts upon which they have already shown a "disposition
to legislate , —such as improve : sanitary regulati-.-is , in which all classes of the poople are intoresiod . Improvements , and greater enwney in many laws affecting tho interests of labour which , already exist , but are inoperative ; upon . such subjects , wo think the legislature , even as it now exists , is ay properly and consistently bo a pi ^ aled to ; bu t , : or any great radical measure , whtr-.-by the condition of the producing class is to be ma terially and pei ' tnanently benefited , it is , in our judgment , perfocily futile to expect , and therefore we again" call upon the trades of Eng land to look to ' themselves for tr dir delivcrance .
we are afraid to trespass too much upon 'heprivilege awarded us by the Kindness of the- pro * prietor of tho Northern Star , iuid must , theroiVre , postpone our report of progress to another , an-: we hope early occasion , when we hope to lay b-. i : \> re our members and friends evidt-uses of progression , which wo are sure will he grai \ tying . William Pbel , Sccretai" ' .
To The Editob Op The F-'C-Itinebn Stab. ...
TO THE EDITOB OP THE f- ' C-ItinEBN STAB . Dear Sib , —A report having got into circuli . - . ion excessively prejudicial to the i -. ' . itional Associr ' . ion , to the ' effect , that the Genual Committee ; md formed an alliance with the Protectionists—arming , no doubt , from the fact of che society cptiiljd , "The National Association for tho Organisation of Trades , " having allied itself at tho Stepney meoing with O . F . Young , Esq ., the sircrctary of the rro * tectionist Society , calling iuelf "The JS aii :.: iaI Association for tho Protection of Native Indmslvy , " will you he kind enough , by iho insertion of ' . big note , to aid us in dispelling the aspersion . v fe , therefore , desire to assure our members and friuiida that neither of the above associations are even
remotely . connected with tho National Associati ; : ' of United Trades for the Protection of Industry . ? . nd of which T . S . Buncombe , E : q ., is president , rnd whom , I am happy to inform you and your reajsrs , anticipates being able to resume his Parliamer . j . iry dutiea in three weeks from this time . The Assreia * tion with which I have the honour to be conned / id , is not allied to any political party , but if it cut oe presumed to have any political tendencies or i > r-: di « lictions , they are certainly far , very far , rerr . «> ved from either the Free Traders or Protectionists , from neither of whom do we expect any mea :--. u'ea beneficial to the order of Labour . The mistake has no doubt arisen from the similarity of the titias of tho two Associations referred to , who have en- - ¦'¦¦ . of them most servilely copied that of the Nad . iial Association . In every other rcpsct they are totally dissimilar . . I am dear Sir , yours respectfully , William Peel , Secretn--r .
The Council Op The National Ref; Ail Lea...
THE COUNCIL OP THE NATIONAL REF ; ail LEAGUE TO THE PEOPLE OP GMAT : BRITAIN AND IRELAND . It is every day becoming more undeniably : hafc some modification must shortly take place ' in ; h 9 constitution of this country . Our present ii ! -: 'buttons are so manifestly insufficient to me . ; t ihe requirements of an increasing population , and an advancing public intelligence , that few will b ? I old enough to deny the expediency of adapting our governmental system to the wants and pirnmstances of tho time , by making tho Parliament i-. iat it ought always to have been , —a full , fail ' , and free representation of the whole people .
• Under those circumstance-, we think it a ; aity incumbent upon every man to examine into ihe merits of the various , plans of reform at prisms before tho public ; and to determine how far itch may be calculated to advance the object al-ovo stated . Because we are of opinion that , in a Iv . ^ hly artificial society like ours , a state of prolc-r ^ ed agitation is injurious to all , and more 'especially , to the proletarian or labouring classes . And tli'is : gitation can never cease until the demands o " che People ' s Charter become the law of the'lai--. ! : ic being futile to expect that a real representatw-:: of the whole people can he obtained by any other
means . We maintain , then , that all attempts to e : v . vige the working men of this country in any rc-iorm movement which would stop short of the above end , must be looked upon as , at least , injudicious ; because it is evident that nothing but a " prcr-iiure from without" will induce our present ruV . - . 'S to concede any reform whatever . And we aro convinced that the same effort which must neeec \ -. iily be niade in order . to obtain political freedom &<• a portion of the people , would suffice , if pr-porly directed , to emancipate the Whole ; , and thus put an end to the necessity for further political agitation . It becomes , then , a question of great import' ! nee
how to engage the attention of such of the productive class as may be at present indifferent : iv ihe great political question of the day , as wee . U : noc hope to succeed without the aid of the mass- oi' ihe people . This , we believe , will bo most r ^ dily effected by showing all such persons , that i % is a , social , as well as a political question ; * and by enlightening them upon the nature and valuo of : i : ose social rights whicli are their natural inheri-: ; -,:. ce , but of which , under the present system , they . ire deprived , ( mainly through tho injustice of our land and money laws , ) and which they can hope to j-igiiia only by obtaining political power , and by bio ' iing ' how to use it when- obtained .
By proving ( which we can easily do , ) thai . ; niversal suffrage , with the knowledge and fruition of man s social ri ghts , would speedily banish : > . V : the poverty , misery , and crime , to which our dei " ; otive institutions have given rise ; and would ib > . his without the sacrifice of one human life , or th-. confiscation of ono shillingswortli of any man ' :: :, roperty ; by proving this we cannot fail to obtainche support of a vast majority of tho industrious ck ; :-es . While , by showing Uicm that the horrible cwx'igo and general confusion which have latel y deflated the continent of Europe , are not to be ascribe .: ( as it is falsely asserted they are , ) to the frit . ' . L' of universal suffrage , but , on the contrary , to its enemies , wo shall be ablo to prevent their beini- led away b y the falsehoods continuall y circulated b y the advocates of " things as they are . " Nothing can bo easier than to prove , that had the pei . pl . ; ol France , of many parts of Italy , of Berlin , Viccna ,.
Baden , Dresden , and other places , understood their social as well as their political ri ghts , no counterrevolution could possibl y have been successful ; and that Europe would havo heen spared the infixdon of horrors at which , humanity shudders , perpelnued by the foes of democracy , in the name of liiose principles so dear to every democrat , —peace , ; . iw , and order , — -liberty , equality , and fraternity I While our principal efforts will be thus uvo-. i to rouse the working classes from that fatal i > p ; tby with respect to political ri ghts , which is , pc : " ' •¦ - -ips , the very worst feature of the present asp-: c . of affairs , wo shall not tho less endeavour to soev . re , as far as may be in our power , a proper u . - . ierstanding and appreciation of social questions a ? - ; -ring those who are already , like ourselves ; protls-iett Chartists ; being convinced that 2 > ° Htical without social rights , ' would be , not only useless , but untenable ( for any length of time , J b y the poorer , or dependent classes , —a . fact placed beyond aispu ' x- by late events on the Continent .
These are the objects of our organisation ; and for these purposes we invite the assistance a-i all friends to humanity and progress , We have alrondy issued a detailed prospeotus . jin which the pviik-iylea of National Reform are explained , and to which we invite the attention of reformers of every 'dcKoinination . It has received considerable attention from the Democratic press , as well as from various organised political bodies , and may be had , on application to the Secretary at the office . It is obvious that our only moans of operating beneficially upon public-opinion consists in a wiiely extended organisation , and in the energy and 'devotion of the members composing it . Wo therefore appeal for support to all who have assented to our
doctrines of National Reform , —tho four . main points of which are , —the nationalisation of laud ; the institution of a system of state credit for tho jigger or winch work , or that whicli is moved by tho people ; the abrogation of a currency based on a gold standard of value ; and'the foundation of a system for the equitable interchange of all kinds of wealth ; and we trust that they . will , not be deterred from enrolling themselves as members of our League by any . misapprehension of our objects . ' Many have said that we attempt too much ; . that we agitate for social' reform instead of the Charter . This we
must , once for all , most emphatically deny . Wc demand tho political enfranchisement of the entire population before attempting to procure any of tha social reforms we advocate , taking , however , " !! the pains we can to enlighten the people upon them , both to supply an incentive to . exertion in the acquisition of the Charter , and to ensure its preservation , as well as its beneficial operation , when acquired . ' On behalf of tho Council , J . B . O'Brien , President . J . Ro ers , Secretary ., 72 , Newman-street , Oxford-street .. ' .
Tun Nelson Monument.—On. Friday Night, T...
Tun Nelson Monument . —On . Friday night , the 11 th inst ., the premises of ' Jfifeiafc ^ rodi .. brassfounders , in Bald . win ' s-gardcii ^ ejA ^ o >« ip -, mto , and a considerable quantity o ^ rH ^ i ^ ft | -J 8 & sd '" ff » connected with - tho ' ln ' onfflPjin-sl ^ p ^ WlJM & ls' 6 n ; . trhi 0 h t ^^ W from their . . workshops .. £ ? , fiW ^^' - 'M ~\& s J s ' miscs of Jf & sjyjEJJtnoU .. nrassin ' s-gardcfe / Terii ^ o >« p-, ii ) to , uantity p ^ ri ?^^ M ^ S d nff to ' ln ' onjmfl & Kffl ^ ^ W 5 $ & ta m ^ fimm ^^ ^¦ ' ^ I ^ W £
Premises Of• ' Jfifeiafc^Rodi .. Brasswi...
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 19, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_19011850/page/7/
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