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it is folly to expect any real sub ' J*g...
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CE NTRALISATION INCOMPATIBLE WITH NATION...
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MONIES REGEIYEQ For thk "Week Enmhg Thur...
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AMERICA. ABMVAI. OP KOSSUTH. The United ...
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PUBLIC MEETING TO DEMAND THE WITHDRAWAL ...
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES. T...
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AMALGAMATED IitOU TUADES. Overtime and P...
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Earthquake.— Ihe " Impartial de Smyrne, ...
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LATEST FOREIGN NEWS, FRANCE. Paws , Thur...
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REFORM MEETING AT STOCKPORT. The annual ...
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METROPOLITAN DELEGATE COUNCIL. This body...
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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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'Next Session.' Often As The Promises Ma...
r ^ folly expect any sub-^( Tal WonnSf any measures of general ^ v ntilitY from i * - Ifc wal not be one whit f l ^ in " February 1852 , than it was in ^ ru arr I 851 * for tlie sim P reason of its a twelve months older . The curse of ^ uness is upon it , inherent in its Constitu . - W tbe only chance we have of a
vigo"' liberal , and working Government , is in Section of a new , vigorous , liberal , and lJl j parliament We can already take the measure of "Next - - « iofl , " an < i ^ ^ at to ex P « t from it . ^ eu we get to Easter next year we shall ' ^ petition of the old familiar process , the U faces will present their old and well-known a * ures , and receive a polite intimation that ^ jfy tbe pressure of immediate business r Sder = it necessary to postpone them again tul "if exi Session- " There will be much talk ^ out Beform apropos of a little Whi
gbantt aBd certain middle class rivals . AH jhese p lans ^ " ^ n 0 doubt , meet with deterged opposition from a section of the House " ho ^ 11 point to Prance , and solemnl y tell - to take a warning from the fate of that flountrv , and maintain restricted suffrages , corrnpt borong hs , wholesale bribery , and rank jjxjcal injustice to the great mass of the population . rather than encounter the dangers } J extending popular power , and introducing larger amount of the democratic element
into our Constitution . The atrocious and sanguinary usurpation of the traitor PkesiueST in Fiance will , we fully expect , he found to p lay the game of the opponents of popular r juhts in this country quite as much as of the aSpo tson the Continent . 'Next Session ' srill be as barren as its predecessors in the present enfeebhd check-mated "Whi g Parliament There may he a great cry , but we m . v rely upon it that there will be very little wool .
It Is Folly To Expect Any Real Sub ' J*G...
it is to real ' J * gf » 20185 L THE NORTHERN STAR .
Ce Ntralisation Incompatible With Nation...
CE NTRALISATION INCOMPATIBLE WITH NATIONAL LIBERTY . One great lesson is to be derived from the recent events in France . We have often enforced it before , but it never was so strong l y and p lainly demonstrated as on this occasion . C entralised Government is utterl y incompatible with political freedom . Lotus Kossuth in his speeches attributed the liberty enjoyed in this country to the wide diffusion of the
power of local self-Government among tbe people , and pointed to tbe bureaucracy of France as tbe greatest possible obstruction to ihe realisation of Republican Government . It is by the preservation of the munici pal ri g hts of his countrymen that he hopes to secure the establishment aud maintenance of Con--titnlional Government in Hungary ; and it is die existence of these ri g hts in this country which renders a sudden and violent destruction
of our national liberties impossible . Under whatever form of Government France mav he p laced , it will always in reality be enslaved , until it is liberated from tbe fetters of the bureaucratic system . The whole machinery of that system was originally devised to cAry out absolutist princi p les and despotic Government . It is altogether incompatible with popular Government , because it never pormits the peop le to walk alone , to think for themselves , or to act freely and independently . The Government is always at their heels , directing them to do this , not to do thatwhen to go , and where to go . They are tethered
and pastured at the will of their State-keepers . The p assport system is of itself a proof that the naturalisation of Liberty on French soil is impossible at present . But her popular leaders never appear to have comprehended this fact . The Republicans of 1818 saw nothing antagonistic to individual libert y and national freedom in the centralization of administrative aud executive powers . Ledeu IJoiiix put the machinery in motion to suit lus purposes precisel y as M . De Slojarr puts it in motion ta suit the purposes of the Usurper , and butfor itsexistencetheusurpation never could have succeeded . In fact it must
always ph . ee France at the mercy or any unscrupulous , unprinci p led , and courageous adventurer . The man who has mastery at Paris is the master of the whole country . The Municipal bodies , instead of heing hin-Sraaces to ambitions and selfish designs , as thev -would he in this country , are auxiliaries . Here they would be as they have been beforecentres of resistance to a tyrannous despotism , or , if the Central Government were suddeuly overthrown , centres of authority for their respective districts . In France they are hut links of the chain , the ends of which are held at Pjiris . and which can be made by a Coup
d ' etat to fetter the whole population . The Executive pall the strings and set theproviucial functionaries in motion like so many puppets . To that faet , and that alone , is to be attributed tho immediate success of M . Do . vaiurte ' s Hig h Treason against the Constitution he had sworn to maintain , and the establishment of a Reign of Terror heralded by the Massacre of the Boulevards . To that fact alone is to be attributed the entire suppression of the Press , and the effectivenessof the measures by which an intelligent and independent public opinion is prevented from exercising any influence at the present juncture .
When the Republican party again get the upper hand , as they must do at no distant d a y , vre trust they will not fail to perceive the " true moral of the atrocious usurpation of ' my uucle ' s nephew , ' and hasten to place the administrative machinery of the country in accordance with the true principles of responsible and popular Government . It- is the want of such widely diffused political action which has made the people of France so read y to rush to the barricade in times of emergency . They have never been familiarized to public meetiui's , by means of which , opinion openly
aud p eacefull y expres £ ed , can ba concentrated and brought to bear npon Government . > o doubt the rig ht of such meetings has been guaranteed by each successive constitution , but tlie thing itself has never taken root under the centralized ami bureaucratic system . Ever since the election of Lows Napoleon the rig ht of public meeting has beeu in abeyance . The police and the genidarmes have put their interdict upon it , and the consequence has been as it ever will be , to place the country at the mercy of p lots and consp iracies , carried out b y brute force
and bloodshed . The barricade has , no doubt , to some imaginations , a certain fascination . There were parties in this country , who in 1848 pointed irMi exaltation at the triump hant and rapid manner in which it won Universal Sufirage for the French , and sneered at our slower process of ag itation—public meetings , and appeals to opinion . The experience ot the last four years may , however , now have given these parties cause to be sceptical as to the efficacy of the method they then bo
much admired . Oaks do not grow up in a single dav , and lasting Constitutions are not improvised m street fights- What is won bv force is constantly liable to be retaken by force , unless it be powerfully entrenched and fortified by enlightened pub he opinion , aud the power of making that public opinion felt in action be enjoyed by the great * ttlk of tho population . . There is another aspect of the question oi
great importance to ns at home . It is quite certain that the disastrous aud dep lorable ^ orse of events in France during the last few years , will be laid hold of by the opponents of p rogress ai an argument why no fnrttier concessions io popular 'demands should he made ^ this country . It oug h t to b e st inctl y Bhown that there is V ® analogy between the two countries . In England we have a * Free * ms and elective munici ' oal institutions . The
Ce Ntralisation Incompatible With Nation...
pawBh meeting , the vestry , the wardmote , ' and the public assembl y , are all so many training schools for a people who grow up accustomed to seu-Uorernment , and who feel themselves constantl y responsible to , and restrained by , an all-pervading public opinion . Had there been such a state of things in France , it is impossible that it should ever have fallen a prey to such unprinci p led intrigues and assassins as those who now tyrannise over it . The usurpation of B ONAPARTE is an argument for , not against , the extension of the Suffrage , and the wider diffusion of power among a peop le nurtured amidst influences which enable them to appreciate , and wisel y exercise , the privileges they demand .
Monies Regeiyeq For Thk "Week Enmhg Thur...
MONIES REGEIYEQ For thk "Week Enmhg Thursday , December 18 th , 1851 . NATIONAL CHARTER FUND . Received bv John Ashott . —Bermondsey Locality , per W . MeUimsli 4 s 6 a-A few Friends , per John Co ' . liis 4 s _ Loughborough , per J . Ilarriman 3 s 4 d-Ditto Subscription - ? T ? J ^ £° lld -Kewton , per John RJckanb 8 s . _ local SI Ss 3 d .
FOR DEBT DUE BY REFUGEES . Received by W . Eider .-R . M ., W . 1 L , AV . S ., Bencieh on-Tweed Is 6 d .
America. Abmvai. Op Kossuth. The United ...
AMERICA . ABMVAI . OP KOSSUTH . The United States Mail steam-shi p , Atlantic , arrived in the Mersey , from New York direct , on Wednesday evening , with twentyone passengers , and upwards of 800 , 000 dols . in specie on frei ght . She left New York on the afternoon , of the 6 th inst ., having been detained for a short period in order to take on board despatches from the government at "W ashington , to Mr . Lawrence , the American minister at the court of St . James ' s , relative to the recent firing info the steamer Prometheus b y the British brig-of war Express , at the mouth of the harbour of San Juan de Nicaragua .
The United States mail steam-shi p Humboldt , with Kossuth and his suite on board , arrived at New York on the morning of the oth inst ., about two o ' clock j and the New York papers aro almost exclusivel y occupied with the details of his reception aud speeches . The preparations were most extensive and magnificent , and the reception of the illustrious Magyar most enthusiastic . When the guns of the Humboldt were heard from the Narrows , and the accompany ing rocket signals announced Kossuth ' s arrival at Staten
Island , the people rushed from all quarters to the wharf , and Dr . Doane , tbe officer of health , accompanied b y Colonel Berzcenzcy and several Hungarians , proceeded in the boarding boat to the Humboldt , amidst a national salute of thirty-one guns—one for each state —fired from the Quarantine . On boarding the ship , the salutations between Kossuth , Colonel Berzcenzcy , and the other Hungarians , were most cordial and affectionate . He then received his first formal welcome to the shores of the New World from Dr . Doane . A salute was fired from Governor ' s Island
as the Humboldt passed , and she was greeted also with a discharge of guns from the battery , and from the wharfs of the North River . She reached her dock at three o ' clock . Immediatel y upon his arrival , Major Hagadorn and officers waited upon Kossuth at the house of Dr . Doane , in fall uniform , when the Major delivered an eloquent address to him , in the opening of which he stated that in so doing he was acting in obedience to the command
of Lis general , and the regulations of the American service . He was instructed b y the Major-General of the district to present his respects and congratulations to the illustrious Magyar , upon whom he and a deputation of the municipal authorities of New York would wait in person as soon as they heard of his arrival . The Major , in conclusion , welcomed him to his new Lome and its simple republican hospitalities , and to the blessed liberty enjoyed in America as a common inheritance .
The Magyar was afterwards addressed hy Dr . Bruening hausen , to which Kossuth rep lied . It was after two o ' clock when these addresses were closed , and considerable later when all had withdrawn . After a very brief sleep , Kossuth arose at an earl y hour in the morning , and as soon as it was day li g ht the citizens from the vicinity began to collect at
his lodgings . Great numbers of Hungarians and Poles , who had passed the ni ght on the Island , crowded round to pay their respects . Several addresses having been presented to him , for each of which he briefl y returned thanks , amid tho most enthusiastic app lause , preparations were made for marshalling the procession , which , it was arranged should signalise his public reception hi the Island . From the commencement of
the demonstration to its close the greatest enthusiasm prevailed . When the carriage containing Kossuth , Dr . A . Sidney Doane , the Health Officer of the Port , and the host of Kossuth , with Colonel Berzcenzcy and F . Pulsky , the former ambassador of Kossuth in England , made its appearance at the gate of the Quarantine , the shouting was most vociferous and protracted , and the gallant hero of Hungary acknowledged the compliment paid to him by howingto the multitude . Open ranks of military having been formed , the
carriage took its place in the procession , which then advanced . In the procession were many private carriages filled with the citizens of the Island . On the route to the tent Kossuth was warml y and constantly cheered . Arrived at the tent he was escorted to a raised p latform which had been provided for him . Richard Adams Locke , Esq ., the orator of the day , then delivered an address to Kossuth , on behalf of Staten Island , to which he replied at great length . To some other addresses presented to him Kossuth responded very briefly
and then retired . The Washington papers announce that the President , on learning of the firing into the steamer Prometheus , ordered a competent naval force to repair to San Juan for the purpose of protecting American vessels from future outrages of a like character . Inquiries were also addressed to the British government , to know whether this conduct had been prompted b y official authority . * This is all
very well now ' ( says a New York paper ) ' but it is rather late to retrieve the character of the President , and his cabinet for their imbecility . A naval force sufficient to protect our flag from insult should have long since been stationed in the neighbourhood of the Mosquito coast . Had this been done , the Express would not have dared to fire into theProemetheus or any other American vessel , or if she had , she would in all probability have been blown so far out of the water , tbat she never could have discharged another gun .
Public Meeting To Demand The Withdrawal ...
PUBLIC MEETING TO DEMAND THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR FllOM PARIS . A public meeting was held in the Joiners' Hall on Tuesday , 16 th inst . —Mr . Watson in the chairwhen the following resolutions were carried unanimously ;—That com plicity ivith tyrants is treason to the people . That the countenance given to the usurper Bonaparte , livthe HarquisofNonnanby , in his character of British Ambassador , is disgraceful to the government he represents , and opposed to the statements of the veritable peo Pl T ^ s % ? oS " gorerninent existsinFrance . . the British ^ ve r ^ ment shwld forthwith recall the British Ambas-5 Q ^ W thereby testify & mt ibis nation H-ill Bftt WfiOgnSrtretonaole aud tructUent usurpation of Lou . s
^ ThSrepresentative of the brigand Bonaparte should taSSK tattWte * soUand tmnttheauofthis C 0 ? S ^' nll alliance with , or recognition of , the tyrannical ^ n ^ Tnteof Earope ibould forthwith terminate . hiS £ ^ KiteTtO partWpatein this manifesta tion of opi-° ? « . o * thPrebvthe national name may he preserved jSSS ££ ^ «" rtta ^ ,, ^^ ^ of our fraternal sympathy . A vote of thanks was given to Mr . Harney and
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National Association Of United Trades. T...
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES . T . S . Doncokbe , Esq ., M . P ., President . i ( SIAT 3 VST 11 IA , " "If it were possible for the working classes , by com . biniag among themselves , to raise , or keep up the general rate of wages , it need hardly be said that this would be a thing not to he punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at " Stuabt -Mill ..
Lord Campbell . — ' - ' -but I must confess I look wuh some alarm upon this general Association Bitting m London , dictating to masters what they shall pay their men , and levying contributions for the support of such society all over tho kingdom . ... is that necessary ?" Mr . XUcuiMAKA . — "Yes , my Lord ; but it is perfectly voluntary . The members contribute ( on an average ) Is . id . per week out of their earnings ; and the lunds are distributed again among them when they are out of employment . " Lord Camfcell . —• " That might raise a fund as large as the revenue of some of the sovereign states of Europe , "
We have adopted the above remarks of Lord Campbell , manifesting , so striking l y as they do , the opinions of one of the most acute aud comprehensive minds of the age , upon the power and capabilities of a National Association of Labour , to accomplish for labour all tbat we have ever professed or contended for , whenever such a movement ia reall y nationalised . To make this apparent to the most dull comprehension we call attention to the following fi gures . The adult working population of this country cannot be taken at less than six millions . A contribution of one penny per week would produce a revenue of £ 25 , 000 , or £ 1 , 300 , 000 per annum !' .
It would be idle to speculate upon the uses to which such a revenue mi ght be applied , because we know it to be perfectl y impracticable at present , to induce even a tithe of such a number of working men to unite for any purpose whatever ; but we think we may , without exposing ourselves to the charge of ajrial castle building , imag ine the practicability of speedil y bringing into one organisation one
hundred thousand of the most intelli gent , and , consequentl y , the most powerful , of our fellow workmen . The same insignificant contribution would yield to such an organisation an annual revenue of £ 21 , 666 13 s , 4 d . —a Bum amply sufficient to relieve our redundant labour market of all its superfluous idlers ; the onl y true way of raising wages and superseding strikes .
The uninterrupted progress of the Emigration mania , or the ' Irish Exodus , ' as it has been called , has induced the Editor of the ' Times ' to speculate somewhat prophetically on the possible consequences of its continuance ; and he has discovered the alarming contingency , that the time is rapidiy approaching when the sun of England ' s prosperity will have culminated , when instead of there being three men for one master , there will be three
masters looking out and bidding against each other for one man . We should , indeed , be most happy to hail the adven t of so salutary a change j for certain we are , that no permanent improvement can take place in the condition of the working classes generally , until the great disproportion which now exists between the supply of labour and the demand for it be more equalized ; and we would rather see this most desirable end
accomplished by tho united action of the working classes in the land of their birth , than that they should be driven out as cast-aways and vagabonds b y the twin-tyrant aristocracies of Land and Money . An organisation of some hundred thousand of our most intelligent fellow labourers , with the capability of realising a revenueof upwards of £ 20 , 000 per annum for every little paltry weekly penny subscribed , would soon be in a position not onl y to place itself right in its social and political condition , but would necessarily form the glorious p ioneer corps , to clear a way for its less enli ghtened or less
powerful fellow labourers , the matted mass of ignorance and prejudice , which now forms a barrier impenetrable- to all the efforts of our theorizing and speculative doctors and patriots . We speak of the mighty power of the pence ' as children of millions , billions , & c , without any adequate idea of the reality . We groan and grumble at our condition , and y et refuse to adopt those means which would lead to the onl y desirable ' exodus ' from our present state of worse than Egyptietn bondage . We each , according to our own peculiar ism , produce our elaborate theories of future constitutions , which shall be realised when we and our
p art y are in the ascendant , and are always ready to most heartil y damn each and every individual aud party who differ with us , even in a shadow of a shade ; while we ourselves , in the excess of our egotism , have made no effort to lay even the first necessary stone of the solid substratum , upon which alone can be reared any practicable , aud therefore useful movement . The philosophical Mistress Glass lays down " an axiom which the industrial llluminati of the present day do not
seem to comprehend—that hares are to bo caught before they are cooked j but our modern poetising and theorising ' public instructors' seem t o be completely absorbed in their imaginative cookery of social and p olitical ragouts , while tho hares are frisking about in blessed ignorance of the important part destined for them in the industrial world ' s future feast . Tho necessity for an organisation and effort to obtain it , appears to form no part of their philosophy .
We invite then these parties , these leaders , and teachers of the people , to join with us in our peaceful and constitutional agitation to create an organisation with a maximum oi numbers and power , and a minimum of individual cost ; but producing at the same time large , immedia t e , and beneficial results . There are various ways—direct and indirectby which the wages o ' f labour are reduced and depreciated ; and assuredly the means are as various by which labour ' s miserable dole may be enhanced aud practicall y increased . The entire cessation of strikes , and the annual tax paid by almost every trade to support them , uo longer required , would . be among the
first and immediate fruits from tho adoption of our views . Mr . Perry may be one of the boldest of the bold , and there may be five hundred of his species as bold as he , but we questiou if Mr . Perry , notwithstanding his late magnificent victory , will ever again venture to measure conclusions with even the existing p ower of the so-called National Association ; and we know rig ht well that he and bis compeers , be their names legion , would evince more discretion than ever to cope in individual hostility with the concentrated power of the hundred thousand weekl y pennies of their present desp ised wrkmeu . Oh ! the latent power of the pence is
omni-Let our readers fancy tho ridiculous position of this Stavely conclave conceiving an ukase in their imperial minds , prohibiting to some five hundred of their presumed serfs the exercise of their admitted legal and con stitutional right of combination ; let them , we say , fancy for an instance , such an absurd attempt to play the tyrant , if the 500 men formed but the two hundredth part of a protective union . One of two inevitable results would follow : the five hundred men would le withdrawn frOlll tllfi labour market for so long a time as the
employers could do without their services , or more probably , and much more wisely , a cooperative industrial Bobbing Turning establishment would be reared upon tbe rums ot a doaen petty slave shops . It is amusing to contemplate the laboured efforts of little minds to ape the actions oi your practitioners on a large scale . A coup d'tat of an imperial-minded Bobhm Turner
National Association Of United Trades. T...
is onl y a whit more contemptible , but equall y as detestible as the more magnificent treason of an apostate Republican President ; and we suspect as little calculated to work oat tho guilty desi gns , or add to the reputation of the crafty com p lotter . But we may after all be doing the Stavel y masters an unwilling injustice . They may perhaps bo the victims of some commercial perplexity ; and , like the Newcastle shipowners iu tho memorable money panic year , 1847 , bo driven to the hard necessity of temporising with their embarrassments , by a forced diminution of their weekl y pecuniary outlay ; and to effect this they have offered a proposition to their bauds too monstrous to be listened to or accepted , and thus to force them into a
suspension of their employment , thereby g iving them time to compromise their embarrassments without any apparent stab to their commercial credit . We know that , in our present highly , artificial , and supreml y unprinci p led tividing system , such dod ges are no way uncommon , and ib indeed the most charitable way of accounting for the inexplicable conduct of those parties to their well-conducted and industrious workmen . The Centhal Committee of the National __ Association oit United Trades . 259 , Tottenhain-court-road .
Amalgamated Iitou Tuades. Overtime And P...
AMALGAMATED IitOU TUADES . Overtime and Piece Work . —The Executive Council of the Amalgamated Iron Trades have recently issued two circulars on this subject , one to the members , and the other to the masters . It may be necessary to premise that the Society thus designated comprises the Engineers , Mechanics , Millwrights , & c , and has about 12 , 000 members of the best organised , best paid , and most intelligent working men of thia country ifi its ranks , The Executive state , that after consulting every meinberoftbeamalgamated societies , they havesince
come to the resolution of abolishing Overtime and Piece Work , as evils of the greatest magnitude and the worst character . In consequence of the [ -ractice , men are found " exhausting their own strength , injuring their own health , giving up all opportunities of improvement , and barring themselves out from the comforts of home and the pleasures of society , so that at the week ' s end thoy may add a few move shillings to their wages , and all the while others are begging for the leave to earn their bread by their labour . "
The Council believe , however , that this is , m most instances , done thoughtlessly , and that those who know its effects only submit to it under compulsion . B y taking it up as a Trade question , iionrever , there will he no fear of tho men doing wrong . " The Amalgamated Trades aro strong enough to meet any storm of opposition which may arise , and to support those who are faithful to their order , " Looked at as a common matter of every day interest , those who think—and all are beginning to think now—will see the impolicy of Overtime and Piece Work as a mere matter of wrong . What , if a man who makes himself a slave does earn this
week a few shillings more than he who moderately enjoys life and the fruits of his labours , he wears out sooner . The bow always bent soon looses its spring , and the over-worked toiler , probably in the prime of manhood , becomes a decrepid invalid , a burden to his family and his trade , and a misery to himself ,, while his wiser fellows live to a hale old age of labour . There is more than this , though , to be thought of , for instead of the present apparent gain being really a gain , it is generally an actual loss . You know fully as well as we do that the effects of habitual overexertion , beside degrading the body , deteriorate the mind ; and if large gains are made , habits of reckless intemperance are too often
engendered which squander more than the gains . In addition to that Overtime and Piece Work , as tlie nicans of reducing wages , are greatly assisted by the mental slavishness the system produces . Employers aud the world at large have their own notions of what working men ousht to be allowed to earn . That estimate is not generally a very exorbitant one , but it is founded upon the notion of a day ' s labour of moderate duration . Somo men are tempted on by the greater pay for Overtime , or the increased opportunities of Piece Work , to earn much more than a man can earn at the present price of labour , if he be regardful of his own health . The employer then turns round upon those who have made their wages high , and quotes
those high wages the price of labour . If the men complain—if public opinion is invoked—the Overtime and Piece Work masters say confidently to the public , who only see the surface of questions "We are somewhat lowering wages , it is true , at the present moment ,. but our prices of labour are far above the average of former years . Look at our books , and see that for weeks past these men have been earning very high wages . " If the attempt succeeds—and , baeked by public opinion thus gained , it often does succeed—the Piece Workers are put upon day wages ; their capability for work is estimated by their forced and feverish efforts under a bad system , and the prices of Piece Work are reduced , so as to make their increased toil y ield them about the ordinary rate of wages .
Another effect of Piece Work and Overtime is that it causes a redundancy of labour . There is , perhaps , never too much for all the hands there are to do it—generally too little ; and if men work Overtime , or increase production by Piece Work , they also increase the disproportion between the labour there is to bo done and the number of hands there are out of work . Those hands thrown unemployed upon the labour market , become at once the competitors of the men in work , a » d a burden on the funds of the Society to which they helong . They , at the same time , draw upon the resources of the workers , and enable the umployer , by putting one class against the other , to diminish those resources , and thus a universal game of " beggar my neighbour" is set up , and the broken of to-dav become the breakers of to-morrow .
Feeling strongly the evils generated by this systern , and fertitied by tho universal answer of the Society in favour of its abolition , the Executive Council have come to the follow resolutions : — llesolred— " That all Engineers , Machinists , Millwrights , Smiths , and Pattern Makers , cease to work Pii . 'ce and Systematic Overtime after the 3 lst December , 1851 , Resolved— " That in all cases of breakdowns or accidents , where members of the trade are called upon to work Overtime , that they be paid double time for all such time worked , " Resolved— "That all time worked after hnlf-paat five or six o ' clock in the evening and before six
o ' clock in the morning , be considered Overtime , excepting Saturday , when Overtime commences from tho termination of the usual day . " In the circular to the employers in Great Britain and Ireland , it is stated that , in taking this course thoy " have not the slightest intention of unwarmntahly interfering with , or attempting to dictate to , employers . They have only in view the performance of their duty as the guardians of the interests of the members , and the organs through which the voice of tho trado expresses itself , and ihey trust that , what they have to say will be interpreted in the amicable spirit which animates then . "
So far , indeed , from the discussion of these queations , if properly considered , having a tendency to create angry feelings , wo believe that their satisfactory adjustment is of equal importance to both employers and workmen , and that each party should bo anxious to see them equitably settled . They believe , too , that the present timo is peculiarly fatted for the discussion of such questions as is shown by the interest evinced in them by the public at large , and the general desire which exists among all classes to shorten the hours of labour .
Overtime is injurious to employers , because it is the dearest possible way of doing the work that is to be done . Kbtonly is the rate of payment Jbr time greater , but a higher price is paid to tired workmen , . those capability of work just when they should bo leaving their labour is considerably reduced . Taken as a whole , we should not bo far beyond tho mark , when we say that work done iu Overtime , costs nearly double that which is performed iu the ordinary working hours . linyond , however , tho mere fact of men being less able to exert themselves when they are actually working Ovwtime , the system tends to produce permanent incapability , by injuring the health of the workman , and thus making his ordinary labour of lees value than it would otherwise be .
Besides this , Overtime is one of the most certain causes of ignorance , by preventing men who leave their beds to work , and leave their work to sleep , devoting any portion of their time to tho cultivation of their minds . Every employer knows that it is better to have intelligent men than ignorant ones , for , independent of the former being more tractable and trustworthy , the intelligence they must bring to their work increases their value . Wo hive as * ot said nothing of the system of Piece Work , but it must be obvious that most of
the reasons applying to Overtime aro capable of being urged against it . Whatever evils spring from men working longer hours than is consistent with their health , or moral well-being , spring from Piece Work to the full as much as from Overtime . By it , men are incited to work as long as exhausted nature can sustain itself , and in addition it leads them . to hurry over their work , and leave it imperfectly finished when defects may be concealed .. We would hope , however , that irrespective of the considerations springing from these facts , and which
Amalgamated Iitou Tuades. Overtime And P...
merely effect the interests of emplovers , we mar enlist your sympathies on higher grounds We would appeal to those feelings which dignify and ennoble our common humanity to induce you to give up something of mere gain , if need be , in order to elevate the condition of your workmen . p r that , however , there is no necessity . J « this instance at least , benefit to yourselves and benevolence to your workmen go hand in hand , and w » beg that you will serve at once your own cause and that of your workmen , by intimating to us , that we need not fear your opposition , but rather niaj reckon on your supporting this effort to deal with
the questions of Piece Work and Overtime . In answer to this appeal it is stated that in Manchester the following employers have agreed to the proposition : Sharp , Brothers and Co ., Roberts , Dobinson , and Co ., Higgins , and Co ., Briggs , and Co ., Parr , Curtis and Madley , Kershaw , and Sons , Mayburn , Crigliton , Jenkinson , Collier , Muir , Morgan , E ! ce and Cottam , McGregor , Adam , Booth , Gore , Itoberts , and Heavens , J . Creighton , Bellhouse , Glasgow , Shipton , Divoge , Leeds Itailw « y Station , Govten Itailw . iy Station , Lcngsight Railway Station , Liverpool Railway Station , Marsden E . Jones , Crossley Hetherington . Galloway , Gadd , Lewis , nnd Son , and Piith .
In other establishments in the same town , the employers have resisted the proposal , and discharged members of the societ y as follows : —From Ashbury ' s 21 ; Ellis and Go ' s ., 7 ; Fairbairn ' s , 3 ; Adam Woodward ' s , 2 ; Wren and Go ' s ., 1 ; -in all « J 4 , 5 of whom have found employment ; leaving 29 on the funds of the society . It is not probable that mo e than C or 7 more will bo discharged in Manchester . Twenty men being discharged for discontinuing overtime is not by any means a large number for Manchester . IIow many will be employed through the new regulation ?—We should say more thana hundred . The loss is only a very temporary one , and will soon be felt to be a decided gain .
IIaxdloom Weavers . —The following address to the inhabitants of Great Britain has recently been issued by a Conference of delegates representing the Ilandioom Weavers of Scotland : — "Fellow men —The existing system of society both demon - strates and engenders a fatal misapprehension of tho reciprocal duties , mutual dependence , and true interests of men . Discovery after discovery is announced for superseding manual labour , and for adding to our power of satisfying human wants . Wealth of every description flows in upon us without tho slightest idea of the legitimate purpose for which it is brought into existence , or to which it oug ht to be applied . The announcement of these inventions aro therefore paradoxically accompanied by the voice of want , wailing , woe , and distress , — by statements of famine , poverty , and crime , among the operative class , —of losses ' , bankruptcies , and ruin among the capitalists , —and poverty and pauperism with their natural and certain conse .
quences , misery and discontent are now more general , and in more rapid progress throughout the country , than before the introduction oi these vast powers of machinery . Is it not , then the imperative duty of all , and especially of those who pretend to govern the British people , to investigate the causes of these anomalies , namely , redundant wealth in the hands of a few , poverty " in one class , and uneasiness in others , until they shall actually be ascertained , and until proper remedies are applied ? Why are the British people not now in possession of these numerous advantages to which their
industry , their skill , their machinery , and their capital so justly entitle them ? Why should our industriou * classes be unable to obtain employment ? Why should multitudes pine in want of food , and the common necessaries of life ? Why should discontent , misery , and crime , pervade our land , when the whole population of our country ought to be in the enjoyment of abundance ? In this country we possess means of producing wealth far beyond our utmost wants . We have machinery equal to tbe labour of 600 , 000 , 000 of human beings at our command ; and a capacity to provide food , under judicious arrangements , for many times the number of our
present population . We have clothing for ton times the number of our people . We have matevials and power to erect dwellings , princely , magnificent dw « llhigs , for ten times our present population . Now , the solemn questions are , when wo put all these facts and figures together , why should webe . withoutfood ? Wh y should any be in rags , and without clothing ? And , why should any be houseless , and huddled into dark cellars , and dingy garrets ? Or , why should any be more unfortunate still , and compelled to sleep nnder arches of bridges , in common stairs , in cold barns , and in tho open fields ? IIow can there be too many hungry mouths and too much food co-existing in ' the saine country ? IIow can there be too many naked backs , and too much clothing ? How can there be too many empty houses , and too many houseless people to inhabit them ? And why does cheap cotton cloth
demand the continual sacrifice of humanity ? When we ask ourselves and the British public those solemn and significant questions we leel ourselves justified in declaring that the existing system of society both demonstrates and engenders a fatal misapprehension of the reciprocal duties , mutual dependence , and true interests of men . Tbe public press of our country dail y contains long and sad records of mercantile failure ? , of commercial difficulties , and deep distresses among our trading classes—records of repeated occurrences of severe destitution and ravaging diseases among our working classes ;—of credit destroyed—capitalists ruined —of multitudes of working men in involuntary idleness—of pauperism and crime increasing . The difficulties of the manufacturing and employing classes arc now added to the working c ' asses , hundreds Of thousands of whom are at this moment
without bread or employment . But , of all the different classes who are suffering from theso sad consequences , wo , tho hand-loom wearers of this country , are tho greatest sufferers . The extraordinary increase of tho mechanical powers of improved machinery has both lessened the demand for , and value of , our labour , until we arc at length reduced to the lowest standard of a mean and precarious subsistence . And wherever machinery tends to supersede manual labour , as it has done in our case , it is not difficult to perceive that extreme suffering must be the resale . And we respectfully submit an appeal to the British public , that our present deplorable condition pre eminently deserves and requires the immediate , serious deliberation of
a government commission . Our government is bound , so long as it professes to be paternal , to inquire if some means cannot be adopted to transfer the hand-loom weavers , whom machinery has superseded and reduced to beggary , to somo other useful employment , and to effectually provide for those who are too old for a change of work . We tell our government that it will not do to sot down the com . plaints of masses of our fellow beings as foolish , and not worth notice . A wise government will always look upon destitution and dissatisfaction amongst the people as indicative of grievances which require removal , and of ^ sufforings which require a remedy . —I am , gentlemen , your very obedient servant , " John Yuue . Chairman , "
Ihe same body forwarded memorials to Lord John Russell and Sir G . Grey , briefly setting forth the condition of the body they represented , and entreating the Prime Minister to introduce into the House of Commons ' - , in the ensuing session , a measure , or measures , for the purpose of making a legislative grant « f the public money to enable those of the Weaving body who may be inclined to emigrate to any of the British colonics to do so , and to promote a . ml adopt ; i system of home colonisation , so that the redundant population employed at Hand-loom Weaving may be in part withdrawn from an occupation which does not afford them the means of existance , and locate them on waste , but improveable lands , which they might cultivate not only with advantage to themselves , but with the most incalculable benefit to the community at large .
Of course so rational and practical a request as this was answered in the coldest and most formal style of Rod-tapism . The Weavers are not "Political Economists , " aud they have no votes . Sir G . Grey returned an equally supercilious reply to the request , that he would bring forward a bill in tho course of next session of Parliament , assimilating the law as regards provision for the -support of the able-bodied poor in Scotland , as in England , when suffering destitution through want ot employment .
When thft labouring classes get more political power ministers will he more attentive to their respectful and reasonable memorials .
Earthquake.— Ihe " Impartial De Smyrne, ...
Earthquake . — Ihe " Impartial de Smyrne , in its correspondence from Salonica , has melancholy accounts of an earthquake at Berat . We learn that a part of the fortress had been thrown down , and 400 soldiers buried in the vuins . Some days after the catastrophe , and after great exertions , their lifeless bodies were withdrawn from the ruins , and their numbers ascertained . About 300 houses , two mo ? qut 8 , and a church suffered considerably , and many are uo longer habitable . The Governor of Yanina sent tents and assistance to the remainder
of the soldiers in garrison there . Among Christians and Mussulmans , 800 persons are missing , but it is as yet unknown how many among those have been lost , or how many have sought safety to fliaht . Xdal' tO Herat the top of a mountain was detached from its base , and thrown to a considerable distance . In the centre a crater has been formed , from which dense volumes of black smoke , stones , and lava are emitted . Fetid sulphurous exhalations escape and corrupt the air . The villages and environs at Berat have suffered great damage .
Tub BoihBR Explosion near Bristol . —The Coroner , Mr . W . J . Ellis , has concluded the adjourned inquest on the body of Thomas Waller , who was killed by the recent dreadful boiler explosion at Kmgswood . The Jury , after a lengthened discussion , returned a verdict of »• Accidental Death . "
Latest Foreign News, France. Paws , Thur...
LATEST FOREIGN NEWS , FRANCE . Paws , Thursday , December 18 . —The proclamatiou of tho Governor of Algeria declaring the colony iu a state of seigo is confirmed b y a "egree of the President of the Republic . , -The department of tho Jura is also declared in a state of so igD > making thirty-four ' out of eighty . six d epartments thus situated . U is announced that the Minister of the
Intelloi has received adhesions and addreascs from twent y-one communes of the Vosges , aud from communes , munici pal councillors , mayors , National Guards , & c ,, 0 f tho various p laces in twenty-nine departments , nnd that addresses are in course of signature in 500 Communes of the department of the Haute Saone , The news from the departments continues to be ' favourable . '
M . M . Cretnieux , Leo de Laborde , and ( Jreton , who were confined eit Vinocnnes , have beeu set at liberty . M . M . Duvergier de Hauranne , Bixto , Jorct , Paulin , Durrieu , Teilhard , Lateris , aud General Leydet have been transferred from Vincenue ' s to St . Pelagic , The government has got in readiness a regular fleet for transporting the unfortunate people whom the police denounces as agitators of society .
AUSTRIA . ARREST OP Kossuth ' s Sisters . — The " Times " correspondent states that a special train from Hungary , arrived on'the 10 th inst . at Vienna , with prisoners of both sexes—the men in irons . Kossuth ' s sisters were the female prisoners , and the others cavaliers ( nobles . )
Reform Meeting At Stockport. The Annual ...
REFORM MEETING AT STOCKPORT . The annual soiree of tbe Stockport Reform Association was held at tho County Court flail , on Tuesday evening , and drew together an exceedingly large and respectable attendance of the electors and other inhabitants-Mr . IIampson , president of the association , took the chair , and the company included James Kershaw , Esq . ., M . P . for the borough , John Bright , Esq ., M . P ., Mr . Councillor Eskrii-ge . Alderman Itylands of Warrington , Edwin Oldham , Esq ., Rev . M * . de Yalmonfc , Rev . John Thornton , Mr . H . Coppock .
After the usual toasts , the chairman proposed " John Bright , Esq ., M . P .. and speedy success to the scheme of Parliamentary Reform so ably expounded by him at the late delegate meeting in Manchester . " Mr . Bright replied at great length , and having enumerated the struggles for the repeal of tho Corn Laws , said it was not to be- supposed that Sir II . Peel first discovered iu . November , 1840 , that the Corn Law was a bad law , what he had discovered was that the people had found out that it was a hard law . Mr . Bright then glanced at the representative system , and tho National Debt . He had heard Lord John Russell state more than once
that it was lus opinion—his firm opinion—that the whole of that sanguinary struggle in which this country was involved with Franco in most of the period from 1793 to 1 S 15—that that war was entirely and absolutely unnecessary , ( Hear , hear . ) But the result of that war lias been to load this country with a debt , and an annual payment of that debt epual to an amount which would place every working man s family in the United Kingdom in a tenpoimd house , and pay his rent for ever . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr . Bright then denounced our Colonial policy , and our Government of Ireland . That country had been possessed by us in some shape or other for hundreds of years , and yet Ireland at this moment presents a picture which cannot be equalled in any civilised country in the world . So much poverty is not to be found " in any country on the earth . Mr . Bri ght then entered at great
length into the proceedings of the late Manchester Conference , and said the minister , during the last session , declared distinctly that , at the opening of next session , he would be prepared to submit a measure of reform to Parliament . We believe he will keep 'Jiis promise . His measure may be a very small one , which will be very unstatesinanliko ; or it may he one of substantial improvements . If it be the latter , of course , we who are in favour of Parliamentary Reform-will give it all the support in our power . But hear in mind that a large scctioa of the House of Commons , as in 1830 and 1831 , don't want any reform at all . The gentlemen who want to get back tho corn-laws do not want any reform at all ; gentlemen who sit for corrupt boroughs don't want reform , because they doubt whether they would get back again to the House of Commons . The House of " Lords don't want
reform ; and it is not quite certain that all the members of the Cabinet want reform . Reform is not desirable in their eyes because thoy know its abject is , and its results would in * . ill probability ho , to lessen to some extent their exclusive possession of power , and distribute power more equally amongst tho people—in fact to ask in a larger number of the population to discuss and settle the affairs of the empire . Now if we go to the House of Commons we may make whatsoever speeches we like , and give what votes -we like , but if there is not a manifestation of feeling and opinion out of doors , you will sec at once how incapable we , who arc in a minority , are to cope with bunded and confederated monopoly of power which is arrayed against us . What I want is that the
people ot this country should make up their minds within the next two or three months , freely , and openly , and decidedly , to manifest their opinions on this question . Why have not great meetings i n all those towns ? why not have your reform committee ? most of whom arc here to night , I presume , who should arrange a system by which they can obtain tho signatures of every man in Stockport in favour of a scheme of Parliamentary Reform . Why should they not make a circuit of all the surrounding villages and obtain from each of them also a petition , which Mr , Kershaw , when Parliament meets , may lay on the table of the house and say : "Thisis the opinion of the people of Stockportnot of the electors only whom I represent , but of the vast body of tho people , and of the surrounding villages , too , of that most industrious and very large town . This is the opinion thev have sent me
here to express , and they demand that the House of Commons should give to them that ri ght Which the constitution iu theory says they have , but which our system hitherto has denied them . " Rely upon it , if these meetings were large , and these petitions wero presented thus to Parliament , we who are now in a minority would find ourselves strengthened . Every speech would be equal to two speeches , and every vote equal to two votes , and though now in a minority , baeked by the vast expression of opinion from nine-tenths of the population of this country , who I honestly believe are in favour of substantial Parliament iry Reform , it would be impossible , if there should even be a majority in either house , for any minister whatsoever to maintain the present system , or refuse the population that which reason , justice , and tho constitution alike say that they ought to possess . The hon . gentleman sat down amidst loud cheering .
The meeting vias then addressed by Mr . Kershaw , Mr . Coppock , and Mr . Alderman Rtlands , and several other sentiments having been given and responded to , the meeting broke up at a late hour
Metropolitan Delegate Council. This Body...
METROPOLITAN DELEGATE COUNCIL . This body met ' pursuant to the resolution of the general meetings on Sunday afternoon , at the Literary Institution , Little Saffron-hill . Mr . Barman was called to tho chair , and Mr . Cottle appointed secretary pro tern . Credentials were received from Messrs Mills and Sugg , Chelsea Locality Messrs . Brisck and Ferdiinndo , White Horse ; Messrs . Bury and Harman , Islincton ; Messrs . Knowlcs and Docksoy , Ship , Whitechapel ; Messrs . Osborne and Weedon , Finsburv ; Mr . Cottle , Hoiloway ; Mr . Parrer Hoxton ; Mr . Bryson , Political Victim ; Messrs . Cramp and Clark , Westminster . Mr . Parrak moved "That ' . no delegate should be received whose locality was not paying members ot the National Charier Association . " Mr . Brisck seconded the motion .
Mr . Osbokne moved an amendment : — " That a Committee of five persons be apjjjbinted to draw up rules for tlie guidance of the Delegate Council , and report thereon on the ensuing Sunday , " After considerable discussion , chiefly resting upon the efficiency of the Executive and the capacity of the General Secretary , the amendment waa carried , and Messrs , Crump , Bryson , Sugg , Barman , and Cottle were appointed as the Committee . Mr . . Wekdon , by instruction of his locality , brought forward a motion approving of Mr . T . Cooper as a candidate for the ensuing Executive . After some discussion , a vote was eventually passed expressing n favourable op inion of tnatj gentleman as a candidate , notwithstanding his ineli gibility according to the strict letter of the organisation .
Reports were then given in by several delegates aa to the state of their localities , and the general prospects of the movement . A motion was passed that each delegate be prepared to lay before the ensuing delegate meeting a full report of the state of his district . Considerable fault was found at the non-atteud « ance of any of the Executive body , and the mee { j ! tig adjourned until three o ' clock on the following Sunday . CX , i •^ ¦ fc r \ i ! Ut ^ i I ¦ s-
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 20, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_20121851/page/5/
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