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THE NORTHERN STAR. ______ October 19, 18...
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Leigh Hunt, it is said, tempted by the s...
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THE LATE COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT OLDHAM.
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The inquest on the sixteen colliers kill...
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During the last fifty years 15,052 acts ...
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THE PORTRAIT OF SIR ROBERT PEEL, And the...
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*yAll communications respecting Public, ...
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THE NORIHEM STAR SATURDAY. OCTOBER 19, 1...
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WINTER CAMPAIGN OF THE "LITTLE" CHARTIST...
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INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS. Various indicat...
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PROTECTIONIST PROSPECTS. At the few Prot...
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Northern Star. ______ October 19, 18...
THE NORTHERN STAR . ______ October 19 , 1850 . : 4 — ~_ - ' mi i T" ;_ ——girn ™— ' iimim—»•— irn " — ... . _ _ ^
Ad00411
DU BARRY'S HEALTH RESTORING FOOD TBE REVALENTA ARABICA . CAUTION . —The most disgusting and injurious compounds being sold b y unscrupulous speculators upon the credulity of tbe Public , wider close imitation of the name of DU BARRY'S REVALENTA ARABICA FOOD , or wtih i pretence of being similar to that delicious and invaluable remedy for Indigestion , Constipation , Nervous . Bilious , and Liver Complaints , Messrs . DTJ HARRY and Co . caution Invalids against these barefaced attempts at imposture . There is nothing in the whole -regetablekuig dom that can legitimately be caUed simoab to Du Barr y ' s Revalenta Arabics , a plantwhich is cultivated by Da Barry and Co . on their estates alone , and for tie preparation and pulverisation of which their own ^ "j ™ Machmeryaloneisadapted . let Corn <*^™ ?^ ™ £ pease , beans , lentil , and other meafe under Aeirproper . » r ^« 2 »« ss 5 sssa
Ad00412
.. ^ i , « t dinii'hftve little to complain of , dsc . 5 ME 5 # * KiSS Leice 8 ter « November 2 nd * 1818 ' For the last five years I have been in a most deniorabie ' eondition ofhealth , having been subject during o £ t neriod to most severe paias in the back , chest , right and & ft sides , which produced vomiting almost daily . " ... Next to God , I ewe you a debt of gratitude , t have not had any sickness at the stomach since 1 commenced your Food , 4 c I remain , gentlemen , yours very truly ( Rev . ) Thohas Min-steb , of Farnley Tyas , Yorkshire . —gtSaviour ' s , Leeds , December 9 th . 1847 . Gentlemen , —I am happy to he able to inform you , that the person for whom the former quantity was procured , has derived very greatbenefit from its use ; distressing symptoms of long standing have been removed , and a feeling of restored health induced , Having witnessed the beneficial effects in the above-mentioned case , I can with confidence recommend it , and shall have much pleasure in so doing whenever an opportunity oftevs , & c . I am , gentlemen , very truly yours , James Shorland , late Surgeon 90 th Begt , 3 , Sydney-terrace , Beading , Berks , December
Ad00413
THE BLOOD Our bodies have been entirely formed , art now forming , and will continue to be built up during Lfe from the Blood . This being the case , the grand object is to keep this precious fluid ( the blood ) in a pure and healthy state , for without this purity , disease will show itself in some way or the other . Jt is universally admitted that this Afedieine will purify tlie Blood better than any other , and will conquer " Disease .
Ad00414
YOURSELF ! WHAT YOU ARE ! AND WHAT FIT FOR ! "We shall fiad , Most have the seeds of judgment in their mind . " KNOW THYSELF r— THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIOLOGIST continues to give those graphic and interesting delineations of character , discoverable from the handwriting , which have given so much astonishment , delight , and instruction . Ladies and gentlemen , desirous of knowing their true character , or that of any friend in whom they may be interested , must send a specimen of the writing , mentioning sex and age , or supposed age of the writer , and enclosing fourteen uncut postagestamps to Miss GRAHAM , 6 , Ampton-street , Gray ' s-innroad , London , and they will receive a graphic , minute , and interesting written delineation of what the writer really is , and for what pursuits qualified . ' All my friends say your portraiture is amazingly correct '—Miss H . P ., Leeds .
Ad00415
BEAUTIFUL HAIR , WHISKERS , EYEBROWS , & c , may be , with certainty , obtained , by using a very small portion of ROSALIE CODPELLE'S PARISIAN POMADE , every morning , instead of any oil or other preparations . A fortnight ' s use will , in most instances , show its surprising properties in producing and curling Whiskers , Hair , & c , at any age , from whatever cause deficient ; as also checking greyness , ic , Price 2 s ., or free hy post , with instructions , and « fcc , on receipt of twenty-four postage stamps , by Miss COUPPELLE , 35 , Ely-place , Holborn , London ; who may bo consulted on these matters daily , from two till five .
Leigh Hunt, It Is Said, Tempted By The S...
Leigh Hunt , it is said , tempted by the success of pickens and other authors in periodical literature is about to resume his London Journal .
Ad00416
POLAND AND HUNGARY I FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ ., M . P ., will deliver a Lecture at the BRITISH INSTITUTION , COWPER-STREET , CITY-ROAD , On Monday Evening Nbxt , October 21 st , For the Benefit of the
Ad00417
On Saturday , the 2 nd of November , will be published the First Number of ROBERT OWEN'S JOURNAL A Weekly Periodical explanatory of the knowledge most essential to the happiness of all . Price One Penny ; by post , Twopence . Published by Clayton and Son , 265 , Strand , London MR . OWEN'S " RECENT WORKS , THE REVOLUTION IN MIND AND PRACTICE . LETTERS TO THE HUMAN KACE . CATECHISM . And FAREWELL ADDRESS , Are published by Effingham Wilson , Watson , and Vickers , London .
Ad00418
Education for the Millions , THIS DAY IS PUBLISHED , No . XXII . of . ' •' ¦' . '¦ " THE NATIONAL ^ INSTRUCTOR . " PRICE ONE PENNY . The object of tho Proprietor , Fbarqus 6 . Comor , Esq ., M . P ., is lo place within the reach of the poorest classes that Political and Social Information of which they are at present deprived by the Government " Taxes on Knowledge . " SIXTEEN LARgFoCTAVO PAGES , Price One Penny .
Ad00419
Just Published , Price One Penny , ASPIRATION S OF MANHOOD ; Intended to indicate the solution of the great problems ofthe age . Bv JOSEPH MORGAN . The following are some of- the subjects elucidated in the fora of answers to Questions : — - What is Polities ! What are the fundamental principles T The benefits accruing from the enactment ofthe principles . The Laws of Primogeniture considered . The cause ofthe overthrow of governments . Who are the middle classes 2 Who are the soldiers ? What is civilisation ! & c , & c . Published by J . Pattie , Shoe-lane ; J . Morgan , 39 , Butcher-row , Deptford ; and all booksellers .
Ad00420
On Saturday , November 2 nd , will be published , Number I of a weekly periodical , price One Penny , entitled , THE CHRISTIAN SOCIALIST ; A JOURNAL OF ASSOCIATION . To be conducted by several ofthe promoters of the London Working Men's Associations . London : James Watson , 3 Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternoster-row .
Ad00421
NOTICE . A WEST BIDING DELEGATE xl . MEETING will be held on Sunday , October 20 th , at Mr . Hartley ' s , Temperance Hotel , Manchester-road , Bradford , at Eleven o'Clock in the Forenoon , for the purpose of electing a secretary and treasurer . Also , to take into consideration the suggestion of Mr . O'Connor , on the propriety of holding a Conference in Manchester on an early day ; and , also , to discuss the plan of organisation which is brought forward in London by the Social League , National Charter Association , and the Fraternal Democrats , fov the purpose of an amalgamation of aU grades of reformers into one bond of union . The following places are requested to send delegates : — Bradford , Leeds , Pudsey , Birstal , Dewshury , Holmfirth , Hanley , Berry Brow , Huddersfield , Halifax , Sowerby , Sowerby-bridge , Warley , Lower Warley , Wakefield , Bradshaw-lane , Queen ' s Head , Wilsden , Bingley , Keighley , Haworth , and any other place in the Riding . By order , Thomas Wilcock , West Riding Secretary , To whom all communications must be addressed , to the ' care of Thomas Unipleby , News Agent , Manchester-road , Bradford , Yorkshire .
Ad00422
NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . Office , li , Southampton-street , Strand . H ^ HE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE JL hereby announce the following meetings : — On Sunday , October 20 th , the adjourned meeting of the Democratic Conference will be held in the Coffee Room of the John street Institution . Chair to be taken at three o ' clock in the afternoon . On Sunday evening ( same date ) ,. the Metropolitan Delegate Council will meet at the King and Queen , Foleysireet , Portland-place . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock . On the same evening a discussion will take place at the above house . Subject ; ' Can the Middle Classes be dispensed with ? ' To commence at half-past eight o ' clock . On the same evening , the Emmett ' s Brigade meet at the Rock , Lisson-grove—St . Pnncras Locality , Bricklayer ' s Arms , Tonbridge-street , New-road—Finsbury Locality , Old Dolphin , Old-street—St . Marylebone Locality , Circusstreet , New-read—and Whittington and Cat Locality , Church-row , Bethnfll-green .
The Late Colliery Explosion At Oldham.
THE LATE COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT OLDHAM .
The Inquest On The Sixteen Colliers Kill...
The inquest on the sixteen colliers killed at Oldham , on the 10 th inst ., at a mine called the Bent Grange Colliery , took place on Wednesday . It will be remembered that these men were destroyed by an explosion of foul air in one of the levels in the mine , caused by a fall of earth from the roof upon a safety lamp , which broke away the gauzework , and thus brought the flame in contact with the inflammable gas collected in the workings . The inquest was held before Mr . Dearden and fourteen jurors .
From the evidence given , it appeared tbat there was no air shaft in connexion with the mine , but that Mr . Butter worth was sinking one , and had reached about sixty yards in depth . When tho air was bad in the mine the ventilation was assisted by pouring water down the back of the " brattishmg . " There was no danger in the mine which was not shared for days together by Mr . Butterworth . The jury found a verdict of " Accidental death . "
During The Last Fifty Years 15,052 Acts ...
During the last fifty years 15 , 052 acts of parliament have been passed by the British legislature . The foilowim Extbaobdinabx Cube of a Swollen Lio bt Hollowav ' s Pruts and Ointment is published in the 'Adelaide Observer , 'South Australia . —George Muncton , a settler in the colony , had been suffering for many months with a swollen leg ; the pain was often so intense as to deprive him of sleep . He was recommended to try Holloway ' s Ointment and Pills , and by u & ing them as directed for about a fortnight , a cure was so far effected as to permit him to walk to Adelaide , a distance of twenty mites , to g ive this statement to the editor of tho above-named journal , for the information and benefit of his fellow-creatures ,
The Portrait Of Sir Robert Peel, And The...
THE PORTRAIT OF SIR ROBERT PEEL , And the Magnificent Historical Engraving , of the PORTRAITS OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS , Are now ready . If any of out subscribers hare noi received them , application should bo made to the agent who supp lies them with the paper . Agents are requested , when ordering Prints , to state by what means they are to be forwarded '
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*Yall Communications Respecting Public, ...
* yAll communications respecting Public , Trades , or other meetings , to he sent to Thomas M . Wheeler , 3 a , Kentonstreet , Brunswick-square . Nottingham .- —J . Sweet begs to acknowledge the receipt of the following sums ( sent herewith ) viz .: —For the Refugee Fund . —From New Radford 5 s ; Mr . Taylor Gd ; From the Lord Holland 5 s . Mr . T . Haboitt , York . —We cannot say why Mr . Roberts ' . agent declines furnishing him with the portraits . We have not got the half length , or yet full length portraits you mention . Mr . J . C . Ingham , Abergavenny The omission of the Is . from Wallace Ingram , iu the list of monies announced for the Hungarian Refugees , on the 5 th inst ., was an oversight of the compositor , as I find on comparing my list with the amount given in the Star . I received 12 s 3 d , yet only lis 3 d appears in the published account . W . RlDEB .
Abeboavennt . —Mr . T . G . Ingram acknowledges la from Thomas Lewis , Ragland , for the Refugees . The Foiitbaits for Mr . Traverse , Prescot , and Mr . Russell , Chester , are sent to Mr . Heywood , Manchester . Mr . Walker ' s , Hamilton , and Mr . Crawford Sterratt ' s , Dairy , are sent to Mr . Adams , 21 Nelson-street , Glasgow . Mr . Douglas ' s , Haswell-lane , to Mr . Turnbull , Side , Newcastle . Mr Motherwell ' s , Paisley , to Mr . Love , Glasgow . Mr . Tonilinson's . Sutton-in-Ashneld , to Mr . Plumb . Mr . Sowerby ' s , Dalston , Mr . Whitridge , Carlisle , has no enclosures from Siaipkiss ' . Mr . M'Pherson ' s , Perth , and Mr . D . Morrison ' s , Gallatown , Kircaldy , to Messrs . Robinson , Edinburgh . Mr , Saunders , Newark , to Mr . Sweet , Nottingham . Mr . Lindsey ' s Aberdeen , to Mr , Russell . Polish Refugee Fdnd . —[ The secretary requests that the acknowledgment of all monies bo left to him , as he will not otherwise be responsible . ]—Henry Gale Is—Mr Roe Is—A few sympathisers at JBridgewater Ss—Residue ,
" Kentish Town Concert 14 s—Emmett Brigade 16 s—Per Julian Harney 18 s 9 d-D . Wenlock Id-Mr . Miller ' s Book 2 s—Bonner ' s-fields , per Mr . Stokes 10 s 9 Jd—A . Friend , per Mr . Stokes 2 ^ d—John Hilller , per Mr . Stokes 6 d—Mr . Gale , Cooper ' s Arms Ss 4 d—Mr . Blake Is —Calendar-yard , per T . Brown 3 s Gd—Mr . Fox , per T . Brown 6 d—Collected at Mr . Woods' rope manufactory from work boys , per Miss Morrell 10 s—John-street Institution—2 s 9 d . —Thomas Febgdson , Secretary , 3 Qay ' sbuildings . JElizabeth-street , Hackney-road . W . Habbv . —W . P . Roberts , Esq ., solicitor , Princessstreet , Manchester . In answer to your second question , write either to Mr . Watson , Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternoster-row . or to Effingham Wilson , Royal Exchange . ILTvevseb , New York , will perceive that the purport of his communication was noticed in the Star ofthe 12 th inst . We return him thanks , and hope to hear from him again .
The Norihem Star Saturday. October 19, 1...
THE NORIHEM STAR SATURDAY . OCTOBER 19 , 1 N 50 .
Winter Campaign Of The "Little" Chartist...
WINTER CAMPAIGN OF THE " LITTLE" CHARTISTS . As the days get shorter signs of political activity begin to make their appearance . The middle-class Parliamentary Reformers have broken ground for their winter campaign , and promise a series of meetings in the provinces during the winter . How fstr they may succeed in " getting the steam up " we cannot pretend to guess , but at the commencement , in the London Tavern on Monday , we thought the temperature , like their " little Charter , " exceedingl y moderate .
Our position , with reference to the National Reform Association , is well known . It has not been lightly taken up , and will not be abandoned except upon good and sufficient cause . Anything short of the Charter will fail to do justice to the people . A franchise based upon any other foundation than that of manhood alone , must ever be ( extend it as you may ) a class franchise . It must exclude from
participation in political right some portions of the body politic , and by virtue of that exclusion , hold them in slavery to the rest of the community . We are opposed to slavery of every description , and therefore hold by the Charter as . the only means of putting an end to political bondage , and of giving to the whole people the rig ht and the power of managing their own affairs , instead of entrusting that duty to any number of privileged classes .
But while thus devotedly and inseparabl y attached to Chartism , that is no reason-wh y we should obstruct the path of those Reformers who , either from want of logical power , or from motives of expediency , are unable to go that length , and content themselves with the advocacy of a more limited reform of our representative institutions . As far as their efforts are honest and sincere they must work for us . Every new addition to popular power necessarily becomes a weapon with which to achieve fresh victories for the masses .
Whether they like it or not , whether they mean it or not , the middle class Reformers are fighting for the Charter as much as we are . If the suffrage they advocate was attained , and the electoral body swelled from some eight hundred thousand to three or four millions , the remaining portion of the adult population would speedily find a path opened to them within the pale of the Constitution . The only practical difference between us is , whether political emancipation shall be achieved by one decisive and effectual blow , or by two . They prefer the latter ; for as sure as Household Suffrage was carried , would Universal Suffrage follow in its wake , and that at no distant period .
There is , under such circumstances , no reason whatever in the nature of the two parties why they should oppose each other . In this country , at least , let us frankly recognise and act upon the right of every man to think for himself , and to act upon his convictions , either individually or collectively . Because we differ from tho conclusions to which others have come , we are not entitled , therefore , to impugn
the motives by which they are actuated . They may be as pure and as disinterested as our own ; and , at all events , it is the very essence of tyranny and intolerance , to quarrel with , and denounce them , because they do not see matters precisely as we do . That is tho evil spirit which has , heretofore , immured its victims in the- dungeons of the Inquisition , the Bastile , or Her Majestys Prisons , under the tender care of Sir George Grey . Those
possessed by the demon are but ill-fitted for the exercise of political freedom . They have yet to emancipate themselves from the worst of all tyrannies—that -which prompts them to be tyrannical and intolerant to others . Another reason—powerful , though based on expediency—why Reformers should not quarrel with each other , is to be found in the palpable fact that their doing so strengthens the common enemy . As long as the professed
friends of Parliamentary Reform , whether b y the " Little " or the " Great'' Charter , waste their energies in disputing with each other , the fabric of corruption is safe . Those who profit by the present system know full well that the disunion and divisions of the people constitute their real strength . Those who promote and foster such divisions , however well-intentioned they may be , play the game of the privileged oligarchy , which monopolises power and patronage and legislative influence in England .
Here , therefore , are good and substantial reasons for union among professing reformers of all degress ; reasons which should induce them to seek for points of agreement rather than difference , and to travel cordially together , as far as their respective paths lie together . There is no reason wh y those who propose the longest journe y should stop short of their destination—neither is there any why they should refuse company , assistance , and security . on a part of the journey .
But these considerations apply to both parties . The middle class reformers must not expect an "Irish reci procity" on their own side . If they feel , as they say they do , that the aid of the working classes is indispensable to tho
Winter Campaign Of The "Little" Chartist...
success of their movement , th e > * must , m order to obtain that aid , act frankly and cordially towards the working classes , and the leaders in whom they have confidence . What we saw and heard at the London Tavern on Monday last made as doubt whether they are prepared to do this . The reception of Mr . O'Connor was" not what he had . a right to expect in- such a meeting . . He attended it , io perform . a duty which argued equal moral courage , generosity , and disinterestedness on his part . It is no secret that a section of the Chartist body look
with suspicion , if not absolute hostility , upon the "Little Charter" movement ; and at the risk of his motives being misconstrued , and his influence weakened among the party he has created , Mr . O'Connor attended to declare that he would offer no opp & sition to the middle class movement , and was anxious as themselves for union . But , in justice to his own character and intentions , he was bound to declare , at the same time , that he did not , therefore , bind himself to stop when they stopped , and also to show what he hoped to obtain as a result of
Representative Reform . Mr . O'Connor had surely as much right to state his views upon that point as Mr . Fox , or Mr , Hume , or Sir Joshua Walmsley . If Mr . Fox placed great stress upon Education , arid Mr . Hume upon reduced taxation , why should Mr . O'CONNOR not have directed attention to tbat greatest of all reforms which would place men upon the land , and enable them , by independent labour , to supply their own wants without paying the far heavier taxation wrung from Labour by the profitmongers ? Yet it was while doing this , that some middle-class reformer cried
" question ; " and when -Mr . O'Connor proceeded to show by the example of Guernsey and Jersey how poor rates could be abolished , and five times the number of our present population be maintained in comfort in Great Britain , the indignation of these middle-class gentry and philosophers could only find vent in the appropriate goose-like sibilations which greeted such heterodox statements . The Chairman , so far from rebuking such unmannerly interruption , took part with those who gave it , and several others who are always preaching about union , by their conduct did their be . st to promote separation .
Wo advise Sir Joshua and his colleagues to consider this subject seriously . They have repeatedly avowed their conviction , that without a cordial union between the middle and working classes they cannot succeed in the great and arduous struggle in which they are engaged . If they really mean to promote that union , let them remember that concession is not all to come from one side , If the speakers connected with the middle classes are allowed to expatiate uninterruptedly upon the results they anticipate from the consummation of Parliamentary Reform , the same measure ought to be meted to those whose sympathies and exertions are more especially concentrated upon the labouring classes .
Such occurrences as those of Monday last show the urgent necessity of both parties cultivating a spirit of genuine conciliation and forbearance , if they mean the union to be a substantial and fruitful one . If this is not done it will meet the fate of all shams , and the sooner it does so the better .
Industrial Partnerships. Various Indicat...
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS . Various indications are perceptible of a growing desire on the part of the working classes to have recourse to associative efforts for the improvement of their condition . The recent Co-operative Conference , held in Manchester , brou ght out the fact , that at the present moment there are a considerable number of Societies in the provinces , based upon the Associative Principle ; and the New Central Co-operative Office and Stores just opened in Charlotte-street , Fitzroy-square , may , if judiciously and spiritedly managed , collect these scattered Societies into one powerful and wellorganised Association .
While yet upon the threshold of- such a movement , it will be well for its promoters to understand their real position as recognised by law , and the probably fatal difficulties they will have to encounter , unless the law with reference to such bodies , is amended . Looking back for the last twenty years , we can recollect the deplorable failure of several distinct movements of a similar kind , at least , as extensive , popular , and well provided with the
material means of success as this can be . To whatever other causes their melancholy termination might be attributable , the defective state of the law constituted a prominent element of the combination ; and it is therefore to be hoped that the leaders of the new movement will be induced by the experience of their predecessors to make vigorous efforts for a just and equal law of partnership , as a primary and indispensable preliminary to success .
For many years we have urged the importance of such a law . The want of it caused the destruction of the Labour Exchange Bazaars of Robert Owen , and was a powerful cause of the failure of the Hampshire experiment , made by the same gentleman and his disciples some ten or twelve years later . The Socialist effort shows how the people could be placed on the land , and render themselves independent by their own labour ; itwas followed by that of the National Land Company , which essayed to realise the same object , though in a different way . It also failed , as we have frequently stated , because its Directors had
neither the power to enforce the obligations entered into by shareholders , nor to protect themselves against being plundered by the selfish and dishonest portion of the members . Mr . O'Connor attempted in vain , and at an immense expense , to comply with the cumbrous and costly provisions of the Joint Stock Companies' Act . Having failed in securing legal protection for the Company and himself , he is now exposed to be robbed . b y every ruffian who is conscienceless enough to drag him into a County Court , in which Judges may sit who legislate under the guidance of their prejudices rather than tho dictates of calm and dispassionate equity , j-
We noticed the Report of'Mr . Slaney ' s Committee on Investments for Savings , at the time of its appearance , and hailed with pleasure its distinct and emphatic recommendation that the law should be forthwith amended in this particular . No part of that report is more interesting in itself , or more strikingl y illustrative of the defects of our laws of Partnership , than that which relates to such Cooperative Societies as we have alluded to . We have already quoted the passage in which the Committee describe the nature and object of these associations , and the difficulties under which they labour ; but it is so important and suggestive that we re-produco it , in order that the working classes may have the subject forced upon their attention iu all its
significance : — In some Cases several industrious men work together , under regulations of their own , with a small capital ; they are directed by managers whom they choose ; the goods produced are sold for their common benefit ; and the profits are divided among the contributors of capital and labour , in certain proportions agreed to . At present , the laiu affords no effectual remedy against the fraud of dishonest contributor and
any one or partner , no summary mode of enforcing the rules agreed to for mutual government . Your committee are of opinion , that the difficulties which affect the law of partnershi p operate i with increased severity in proportion to the smallness of the sums subscribed , and the number of persons in eluded in the association . They think that anv measures for the removal of those difficulties would bo peculiarly acceptable to the middle and working classes , and weuld tendtosatisfy them that they are not excluded from fair competition by Tws throwing obstacles in the way oYmen witn sn ^ ll fnl n n / W ? ve italicised aveatrutb tul and emphatic explanation of the failure of
Industrial Partnerships. Various Indicat...
the National L ^ d Company ; and , whj ] T > * law remains in its Resent state , will Q J we fear , the ruin of evei > " co-operative alte ^ ' ' to elevate the industrious eht ^ > It i 8 ) ^ haps , scarcely possible to addnct **/ xmI' ' signal example of the hostile animus wllh \\ J * ' vades the whole of our legislation , wheii gve ¦ the rights or interests of these classes are co ' cerned , than this . Everything seems to {!* mos ^ cunningl y and deliberatel y contrived f the express purpose of keeping them in wag ° i slavery , and preventing them from emergw
as a ciflss , trom helpless dependence upon C capitalist class , Why should not these indn . ^ trial combinations be entitled to the protection which the law affords to other kinds of com mercial enterprise ? Are they not at least » j legitimate in themselves—mo ** meritorious j „ their ultimate objects ? Is it n ot a disgrace to the mercantile code of any civilised country that it should refuge to provide any security for the rights , or any redress for the wron ^ incident to such associations « .
The evidence on which the Committ ea founded their report has since been ia sued , and forms a most interesting and instructive official document . By its aft let us endeavour to show the working of the law somewhat in detail , as exhi bited in the actual organisation of a co-opera " tive workshop . - —Suppose a bod y of twenty tailors , possessing an aggregate capital of £ 500 , made up of individual subscri ptions ranging from £ 20 to £ 40 . Suppose them starting into business on the money thus clubbed together , buying and working up their own materials on their own premises , Bavin *
themselves a fixed rate of wages out of the common stock , and dividing their profits in . defined and mutually agreed proportions .. L u . der the present partnership law of this coun . try , such a body has , in fact , no power either of enforcing their mutual contract , or o { protecting their common property—for the only court which would take cognizance of the rights created by such an agreement is the Court of Chancery . Any one member of the body may indefinitely pledge the credit , vio . late the rules , and even appropriate the pro . perty of the eo-parinery , and his comrades
will be totally without the means of procuring redress . Such a state of things has also this in jurious result , that it prevents wealthy and benevolent persons , friendl y to such undertakings , from assisting them at the outset with loans . They can only do so at the immi . nent risk of losing their money ; for these in . dustrial societies cannot offer to others a secu . rity they do not themselves possess . In such cases , the only guarantee which the lenders have is the personal responsibility of a manager . "Even a bill of sale , " said one of the witnesses , " is no security under the circumstances ; '' you must " trust implicitly to the men who are managing the concern . "
Such is the ordinary law and its conse . quences . Tbe Joint Stock Companies' Act is available where the partners exceed twenty-five ; but how far its protection is attainable by the working classes , may be judged of by Mr . Neale's discription of the expense of registration : I know a bod y of tailors who have taken a house m Oxford-street ; those men ( there are 99 of them , I believe ) are going to raise their capital entirely by shares among themselvesand the
, y have had a communication with a solicitor , to ask him what would be the expense of getting their deed registered , and they found that , independently of the solicitor ' s charges for preparing the deed , there would be £ 14 to be paid for registering it . and the whole cost would come to £ 50 or £ 60 Now the whole capital which those men would raise , and which would be sufficient to start that work , would be from £ 200 to £ 300 ; and if £ 50 of that is to be paid for getting leave to carry on their werk safely , that -would be a serious difficulty . "
It Will be remembered , that the cost of preparing the partl y completed registration deed of the Land Company amounted to nearly £ 3 , 000 ; every penny of which was lost b y the refusal of the Registrar io perform a merely ministerial duty . _ But even if we put out of sight that pecuniary difficulty and hardship , the machinery of the Joint Stock Companies' Act is quite unfitted for these Industrial Associations .
That act provides for a definite capital , divided into a fixed number of transferable shares . The Co-operative Societies on the contrary , are based on the principle of a gradual accumulation of capital , by the small and irregular contributions of individuals , and , as one of the witnesses suggests , " The very essence of these associations is , that the shares shall remain untransferable , " because otherwise , " any person who is interested in the destruction of the association might buy up the whole of the property . " Thus , in which ever way these working class combinations are looked at , we find they are virtually outlawed . The moral and social consequences of such a state of things is forcibl y described by another
witness : — The law will not prevent men from forming their associations ; they will go on working them , and if they prosper nothing more will be heard of it , but if they get into difficulty , there will be endless trouble—there will be a great wrong and no remedy . " ° s "If they prosper !'' Truly " there is much virtue in your « If ! *» The odds are fearfully against such societies prospering . It is only extremely enthusiastic and fervent advocates of co-operation , who resolutely shut their eyes upon the hazards they expose themselves to , that will venture upon industrial combinations , in the present disgraceful and infamous state ofthe law .
It is the custom of the Press in the interest of the money-lenders and profit-mongers to cry down , as visionary and ridiculous , all attempts on the part of the industrious classes to elevate themselves by such means . They tell them , with a lofty assumption of serene and transcendant wisdom , that it is ouly a dense—or , as Lord Brougham would say , a " crass "—ignorance of the sublime science of Political Economy , which leads them to take up with such Utopian notions . Well , perhaps
they may be right , but at all events it is an extremely modest and moderate proposal , that the small j oint-stock capital of the working men , and the largo joint-stock capital of tllfl profit-monger , should find equal protection and security under the law . One of the most enlightened and advanced Political Economists of the day—Mr . J . Stuart Milltruly said , in his evidence before the Committee , that when the working classes thus had fair play , " if the experiment failed , they would see that it failed from some defect either
in tho principle , or in their qualifications for carrying out the experiment . " Iu the one case , it would be an advantage to know that all hopes of improvement from this quarter were essentially fallacious ; in the other , they would set about procuring persons with the requisite qualifications . In any case , they would not have the power of throwing upon an obstructive Government , and a hostile law , the blame of failure , and the odium of hav ing deliberatel y and selfishly , conspired to keep the labouring classes in hopeless dependaiico and destitution . That is the accusation which , & their name , we now solemnly and openly prefer against the Parliament , and the Go-Terninent of Great Britain .
Protectionist Prospects. At The Few Prot...
PROTECTIONIST PROSPECTS . At the few Protectionist meetings n *^ have as yet been held , unequivocal manifest ' tions have been given of there being intern ^ disunion in the camp . The Castle Heding baffl meeting , which last year was honoured Jv being made the occasion for develop ing J » ' Disraeli ' s policy for the ensuing session , « ' » this year not favoured by his presence . * * tection was left to the championship of a I / fifth and sixth rate members of the party , ( make up in obstinacy for their lack of brain s ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 19, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_19101850/page/4/
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