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T0 THE LABOURERS OF ALL CLASSES.
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5fY Friends, t am about to assume the ta...
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raryand the 'Street Orderlies' the meeti...
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* By the third an<t last statement of th...
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Newcastle.—At the branch meeting held on...
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PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF EUROPE. Part...
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EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOR. On Wednesday nig...
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Death of T. Gray, the Railway ' Pioneer....
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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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T0 The Labourers Of All Classes.
T 0 THE LABOURERS OF ALL CLASSES .
5fy Friends, T Am About To Assume The Ta...
5 fY Friends , t am about to assume the task of comment-• ^ opon Tract No - > issued b ytlie Financial Ikforni Association , and as figures convey facts ^ ich words cannot mystify , I leave to that tjsoci ation the simple duty of analysing the | ^ s which I am about to submit in the shape . figures . j yj sh you , when perusing the fascinating statistics of your retrenching friends , to use l oar past errors for your instruction , and not u pon any account to presume that the Reforms ^ tend ed for by that class , however just they JP 3 J- be as part of a whole system , are intended , or in any wise calculated , to relieve your order of a fraction of your present burthens . !
Unlike other writers , it is my practice to subnut to you unmutilated the matter upon which I comment ; and , therefore , here follows the introduction of this fascinating Association , ffliicb , as is the custom of its order , eschews all selfishness , and makes consideration for the toiler the paramount object of its labours : — Ihe Financial Bsforra Association now present to the —Wie the first of a series-of Reports , which thej pur pose Itsuingfrom time to time , on the fiaancial condition „ ftne country . Ihe embarrassed petition in which the nation has oEja p Ucei , through mlnnanagement in the financial Apartment of the government , U both the cause and the justification of their labours . For the proof ol tbiamlsjjunsgement they refer to the following plain facts and fifOTM .
The annnal governmental exp enditure in time of peace , fxcJairre of Interest on the national debt was . Ssr iBg the rel i ef feorje I . about S 2 . 583 . W 0 „ ii George n , 2 . , 068 f „ George 111 , ( 1792 ) 7 670 , 119 „ » George IV . ( 1828 ) 21 , 407 , 679 „ „ William IT , ( 1835 ) .. 15 884 , 649 „ „ Tictoda ( 1648 ) 24280 , 804 The habit of lariib . and wastsfol expenditure , which tras formed during the war , hat never been
ei'lnguubed ; but during the reign of William IV . in oonsecnence of the strong and general expression of the national desira for retrenchment , vigorous and success , fal efforts to economise were made by the governmtnt . These efforts , however , ceased when the national attention was directed to otter matters , and each year the expend ! ura steadily increased . The present government has arrived at an unparalleled height of txtxavagaace . tie expenditure of 18 iS aceuiipg thai a / 1835 bg CM iclf . '
The revenue of the Halted Kingdom for the present year is estimated at the enormous cum of £ 51 , 250 , 000 and yet oar spendthrift governors rcinowledge that their expenditure will amonntto 51 . 596 . 453 fcsvin ? a deficiency of * ..................... S . 346 , 452 to be added to the national debt , at a time of peace , ic & en according to eomnon sense and coalmen bonutj , we ouglit to bi redeeming that debt , instead of jnnreiiingit . Sutthess figures need not be dwelt upon , since the urgent necessity for financial reform it unfortunately too
well proved by the present lamentable condition of the Hagdom . Oar merchant * , manufacturers , and tradesmen , hopeless of the gain which ought ^ to reward their indasiry , have been for years past desperately struggling to preserve themselves from rale ; and many , in spite of experience , ami , and most intense and anxious application , have been unsuccessful in this struggle . Our artisans aad labourers , in return for the severest toil , can obtain only a deficient supply of the bare necessaries of life ; and thousands have been driven , by want of employment , to the workhouse , to save themselves from starvation .
Under these circumstances , the impoverished nation cannot possibly sustain the prodigal expenditure which it has endured in better times ; and It therefore has now become absolutely necessary that tbe national revenue should 03 economised with the mast anxious frugality , sad the expenditure carefully confined within tbe strictest limits of indispensable necessity . Stations as powerful as Great Britain have been brought to revolution and ruin by excess of governmental expenditure over income , and in no country can financial derangements lead to more disastrous ctnseqieaces than in one wkere above £ 700 , 000 , 000 is invested upon the security ef the national credit .
The true remedy and preventive for this excessive expenditure is the diminution of our enormous armaments , the extinction of all sinecures , unmerited pensions , and other unearned , and therefore dishcnourable and unjust payments , f and the practice of a constantand watchful supervision over every branch of expenditure , by the Cflancellor of the Exchequer , and the heeds of the different departments of the gov rnment . But a diminution f tbe expenditure to meet the existing deficiency is not all that is sought for ; an important decrease in tbe present overwhelming weight of taxation ; an entire revision of the existing system of levying the taxes ; and a provision for tbe future progressive diminution of the national debt , are also imperatively called for by the clearest requirements of justice and sound policy . To these measures , hoivererer , the redaction of the national
expenditure is an indispensable preliminary step , and to that ebjeet accordingly the efforts of the Financial Beforca Association will be first directed . They are convinoed that , to be thoroughly effectual , and . the example to be very generally followed , curtailment of expenditure should eriginate in high quarters ; and , accordingly , they now submit the limit within which the cost of Jfojalty should , in their opinion , be confined . The pain falsest of tbe requirements that suggest the propriety of this measure is , they are happy to say , in some degree mitigated by the declaration of her Majesty ' s Prime Minister , Lord Jahn Rusiell , that so large a ecm as is tow expended annually U not necessary for the comfort or happiness of tbe Qaeen . And , beyond securing these two important objects to her Majesty , it is felt that eo further ofclkstion can virtually rest on the people .
SECTION I . Present allowance to tbe Sovereign £ 385 000 Proposed future allowance to the Queen £ 200 , 000 Proposed for furors Sovereigns £ 150 . From the above you will learn that the philanthrop ists have commenced their labours by a proposed reduction of expenditure in her Majesty ' s Household . I am not aware whether they would come under the provisions of the Act of Edward the 3 rd , or the 11 th of Victoria ,
which makes the attempt to deprive her Ma jesty of her royal power , style , and dignity , High Treason ; perhaps in their case a confederate jury may be of the opinion , that reducing her household would not constitute a lessening of her style and dignity . However , as this one item in eur national expenditure constitutes the sum and substance of Tract No . 1 , and as those Tracts are to constitute the lever by which the national mind is once more to be roused . for middle-class agitation , I shall confine myself to its consideration .
The compilers of this fascinating Tract rely more , I have no doubt , upon the political enthusiasm likely to be created by their boldness in first attacking Royalty , than they do upon the saving likely to accrue from theanticipated reduction . They show us , in the first instance , that the annual Governmental expenditure has increased , by upwards of nine millions and ahalf , from the year 1835 to the year 1848 . Here dates are valuable things , inasmuch as the reader must bear in mind that the retrenching Whigs were in uninterrupted possession of office for the first seven years of the period between 1835 and 1848 , and two years from 1842 to 1848—and that , during that period , Free
Traders and patronage hunters constituted the staff which enabled our retrenching Whigs to make this addition to the annual expenditure of the country . They carried Reform by treason and treachery , and the people , having become disgusted with them in 1835 , they were compelled to resort to patronage , as a substitute for popular confidence , until at length the v « y parties who sat behind the Treasury bench , and who either voted for , or abstained from opposing , this reckless extravagance of a weak , unpopular , and trafficking Administration , and who have failed in their Free Trade anticipations , are at a loss for a "GOOD CRY , " and where can they find a better , or a more fascinating one , than "REDUCTION OF THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD ?" Jfowj-oo one looks with more disgust than I
5fy Friends, T Am About To Assume The Ta...
do upon the amount of money lavishly expended upon a set of useless aristocratic officialsmerely for the purpose of creating political support for the existing Government . I have shown you , upon numerous occasions , that the fact of both English and Irish landlords dealing with , their estates by the political instead of the agricultural standard , has led to the ruin of their class—and now that the traders have discovered that your order—the order of
Labour—is no longer able to replenish the Exchequer , they , urged by the same motive , the political use of aristocratic servitude , and hence we are startled with the proposition to diminish the expenditure of the Royal Household by 185 , 0001 . per annum . This is a lamping sum when submitted to the toiler . who , unaccugtomed to calculation , naturally concludes that he individually contributes a large proportion of the amount These fascinating economists commence with the basis of
185 , 000 L a-year—and , no doubt , when the new corps of retrenching Reformers is sufficiently recruited , organised , and disciplined , General Cobden will be elected as General-inchief of the retrenching army , and will cap the pyramid of retrenchment with the two hundred millions a-year lavished upon European armaments . Not satisfied with the participation of political power extended to their order by the
Reform Bill , and disappointed by the result of their Free Trade project , they seek to rally under a new standard , in the hope of acquiring increased political power—and , under those new circumstances , it becomes my duty to submit , truly , plainly , and simply to your understanding , the working man ' s share of taxation , as well as the only practical mode of making your retrenching friends sincere in their professions , and honest in their labours ,
I have always contended that the law makers should be exclusively the tax payers , and then tberevenueofthe Church , andthe revenue of the State , would be regulated by the standard of Christian necessity and constitutional requirement . But I have always set my facejagainst that motley system of taxation which is , in the main , 'indirect , mixed with the paltry amount of direct , upon which capitalists make a large and undefined profit . I have shown you that the man employing a thousand ^ hands , and paying 3002 . a year income tax , upon an annual profit of 10 , 000 / ., will be considered a philanthropic employer if he only reduces the wages to the
of his men ^ by a shilling a week meet increased burden , and which reduction would leave him a profit upon the tax of 2 , 300 ? . a year after paying his liability . If he reduces the wages of his men by only a halfpenny a day , it will leave him a profit of 3501 . a year upon the tax . If he even reduces wages by a farthing a day , it will leave him a profit of over 251 a year upon the tax ; and where is the operative , with the Labour market closed against him , who would not cheerfully accept the alternative of a shilling a week reduction rather than break up his little home , be separated from his family , and become an inmate in the
bastue . And here I wish the toilers , for whose especial benefit this new * ' CRY is raised , to keep one startling fact in view ; it is that the employing class are ^ the administrators of the Poor Law , and that the refusal of the toiler to accept a shilling a week reduction in his wages would constitute his disqualification as an inmate . In fact , the -bastile is the flesh market , where the traffickers and profitmongers bid for labour , and it constitutes the
competitive reserve against those who are not yet consigned to its tender mercies . I do trust , however , that the working classes will look upon their order as one and indivisible , and that they will not , as heretofore , act sectionally as regards this ne-v move , for even the Athenaeum gentlemen , and aristocra tic trades , may rest assured that a successful invasion upon their rights , their comforts , and their wages can only be made through the destitution of the poorer of their order .
Jealousy , drunkenness , want of . union and organisation , have been your bitterest enemies . If you were sober for a year , thoughtful for a year , and united for a year , the proposed reduction of 185 , 0002 . a year in the Royal Household would , as I shall prove to you , be a mere drop of water in the ocean—nay , I will go farther , and prove to you that , if Labour was fairly rewarded , the National Debt and Government expenditure , would be but a flea-bite as compared with the capitalist ' s traffic , and his power of reducing wages . Here follows a list o £ the working classes of Great Britain and Ireland under their several heads — Total number employed
in'Agriculture 2 , 564 , 326 Ditto , in Manufactures . . 1 , 865 , 927 Ditto , in Mines .. .. 196 , 921 Ditto , in the Shipping . . . 818 , 861 Ditto , as Domestic Servants . 1 , 494 , 122 Ditto , Labourers , not included in in the above classes . . 31 , 252 Ditto , employed in Retail trade , or in Handicraft , as masters or ' workmen .... 2 , 413 , 451
Total .... 9 , 384 , 860 Suppose we'deduct Seven Hundred Thousand from the last craft , " presuming that number in the total do not labour , but are merely retailers , then we have as the ! total of Labourers . . . 8 , 684 , 860 , and a reduction in their wages of one penny per day would amount to ELEVEN MfLLIONS THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTYFIVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO POUNDS PER ANNUM . A reduction of twopence per day would amount to TWENTY-TWO MILLIONS SIX HUNDRED AND
FIFTYONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FOUR POUNDS A YEAR . And tojestimate the reduction in the wages of labourers by the Poor Law standard , the competition of machinery , and the power vested in the local authorities commanding those sources , by the Reform Bill , at sixpence a day —which is much below tbe mark—we find a total of SIXTY-SEVEN MILLIONS NINE HUNDRED AND
FIFTYTHREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO POUNDS , annually stolen from the working classes , by those philanthropic financial reformers ; while their proposed reduction in the Royal Household , if the whole saving was conferred upon your order , would amount to the enormous sum of about FIFTEEN FARTHINGS a head per annum , That is , if this reduction was effected each could drink an additional half pot of beer in the twelve months .
Here you have a surplus of fifteen millions a year over and above the interest of your National Debt , and the whole of your governmental expenses covered by a reduction of wages . And hence we find the enormous amount of capital that has been recently invested in railways , buildings , steam navigation , shipping , mining , improved machinery , and the thousands of speculations carried on upon the profits of reduced wages . Now , observe this prominent fact , and never lose sight of it ) it is this—the wages of the liveried servant , of the cook , the housemaid , the scullion , and the dog boy , and of every individual employed in domestic service , is regulated by the wages paid in the producing market . Figure servants ,
5fy Friends, T Am About To Assume The Ta...
grooms , and pantry boys—measure their wages by their parents' ability or inability to support them , and by the amount they can earn in the productive market , and so with all other classes . Even the pay of soldiers and policemen—and especially of soldiers—is measured by the parents' ability , according to the value of productive labour in the market . And I ask you what you think of the cheeseparing of these philanthropists , when you see a set of lazy , idle , useless , non-producing fellows walking with their bludgeons amid starving shoeless paupers ? these fellows , dressed for winter and for summer , with warm clothing provided against wet , and strong boots to keep
the feet warm , oil skin capes to cover their precious shoulders , and paid 185 . a week for the purpose of creating confKsion , which itwouldnot be in their power to create if the work ing classes were justly and fairly treated . If these philanthropists would look at home—if they would cast their eye over the cellar and the garret , and contrast the squalid misery and wretchedness of those abodes of disease and want ^ with their own . happy . homes , their banking account , and their gains—then I would b ? ve some faith in their philanthropy . But as long as they confine their assault to the gilded toy , and leave their own monument of infamy untouched and unprobed , I will heed them not .
What thinkjyou , working men , of the system that depends upon prostitution , dissipation , and beastiality for its support ? What think you of sleek , fat horses , well caparisoned , prancing with whiskey , gin , brandy , ale , and porter behind them through shoals of heart-broken paupers willing to work ? And what think you of a monarch and her Government deriving their chief support from such a source ? I tell you what to think—think as I do , THAT THEY ARE RIGHT AND YOU ARE WRONG . You are encouraged , but you are not compelled , to make beasts of yourselves , and as long as you are beasts , my prayer is that you may be governed by a brute Government .
This 185 , 000 / . a year is only one of the new Liberal crutches . There is anotler—EMIGRATION . And now let me analyse the probable result of this scheme , should it be even partially successful . Let us presume that the hired Press , and the fascinating promises of speculators in land and misfortune , will be able to induce half a nMwn to expatriate themselves . Some of those w'll have , rather large
amounts of money ; some will not have more than will pay the passage ; but as it is not always the poorest that speculate in foreign prospects , I will estimate the amount lowly . I will presume that for all purposes the emigrants average an amount of money reaching 20 ? . a man . Here , then , are ten millions of money gone out of the country , to constitute foreign consumers for our liberal financial reformers .
When 1 set the number down at half a million , of course it embraces all classes , sex and ages ; and when I set down the amount taken away by each at 20 / ., I am rather under the mark , as a large proportion go in the hope of purchasing a little land ; and many take out a sufficient amount of capital to establish themselves in business . Now , mark this ; if those ten millions were expended upon the improvement of the Land at home , I
would undertake to employ every Emigrant at more profitable wages , and leaving permanent profit in the continuous improvement of the soil . But we want the law . Railway Companies , we are told—and all other companies —have been publishing fraudulent balance sheets . Fifteen months ago the Railway pound was worth 50 s ., now the same pound is only worth l 8 s ., while—although these frauds must have been known to the immaculate
instructors of the public mind , the Newspaper Press —not a hint was given to shut the stable door till the steed was stolen ; and now the sufferers are coolly told by this pure and immaculate Press—that made thousands and hundieds of thousands by advertising and puffing the jugglers—that they are all robbed . Not a word of caution while they were making money . So much for the Press . And now for the Law . The Ballot has been declared the monster illegality of the Land Plan , while in reply to several secretaries of Emigration Societies , the Attorney General has stated that , although the Ballot is illegal ,
he will not enforce the law in Emigration cases . Now , what think you of that ? You cannot ballot for a home "AT HOME , " but you may ballot for the chance of shipwreck , the probability of being juggled , and the certainty of making profit for gamblers in human misery . I do not rely upon the evidence of any written words of the Attorney General ; I rely upon my own ears . On the day that Parliament was prorogued , in passing from the House of Lords to the House of Commons , I heard the Attorney General tell a Member of Parliament , interested in these convicts , that he would not enforce the law in case of Ballot—when I
immediately interposed and said— "But , if you do not , I will , as I am determined that you shall not stretch the law against me , and relax it in favour of others . " Now , I hope that every working man will get this letter by heart , and then he will understand the real state of the Labour Question , and the value to the Labourer of a reduction of £ 185 , 000 a-year in the Queen's Household . Your faithful Friend , Feargus O'Connor .
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^^^ j V -T ^ ' V ' -tjvirr ' '" ' tfiBn ' ^ 1 a : / ® i m -im ^^ i " ¦ " ¦ "• C ^^ J _ AND NATIONAL TRADES * JOURNAL . VOL . XL No 574- LONDON , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 21 , 1848 . Five i ^ E ?^ ' * rive suiiiiugg ana sixpence per Quarter
* By The Third An<T Last Statement Of Th...
* By the third an < t last statement of the Chancelltr of the Exchequer ( made on the 25 th August ) , the deficiency now appears to be reduced to £ * , ( ' 31 , 000 . This redaction is referred to with considerable pleasure , at a proof that the general demand for economy has alieadj effected some retrenchment , and as an earnest that continned exertion on the part of the pnblic will came a loach more material saving . ¥ 'Whilst money can be eared either by cutting off nn-B & cessary offices and gratuities , or by checking useless expenses , no Minister ought to apply for an augmentation Of imposts . ¦ ' It is only by a strict and inviolable attention to such a system , that the rulers of a hardened people can flatter themitlves tkat a nation will lone ; remain in qmet sub jection ; for nothing can be mere galling to those who ve oppressed and overloaded , than to see others wallow hig ia riches extorted from them by tbe chicanery and artifices of finance , whilst they can but barely famish ttemsehres ¦« ith the means of subsistence . *— Sir J . £ ia ~ daifi History of He Rtteuie . YoL 2 , p . l 67 .
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Newcastle.—At The Branch Meeting Held On...
Newcastle . —At the branch meeting held on Sunday afternoon , Mr Martin Jude and Mr James Nisbett were pat in nomination to serve as delegates ier this district , to the Birmingham Conference . Litilkiowh . —The Land members of this branch suggest to the district secretaiy , the propriety of calling a district delegate meeting of members in some central place as soon as possible , for the purpose of discussing the various propositions submitted tor consideration . Wootion-um > eb-Edgb . — A general meeting of Land members was held at the Crown Inn , October 16 'h , when Mr O'Brien , of Lowbands , was nominated as a candidate to the Conference , and a vote of confidence in Mr O'Connor , and the Directors , was carried unanimously .
Glasgow—At a meeting of the Glasgow branch of the Land Company , held on Tuesday , the 17 th , the following resolutions were agreed to : — 'That all branches in connexion with this district , send from their local fund a sum amounting to one penny per member on their books , to defray the expense of the delegate to tbe Conference . A balance sheet will be given after the delegate returns , and if any money be left , to . be returned in proportion to the sum sent , ard to be made payable to the returning officers . ' ' That all members residing beyond one mile from tbe cross or place of meeting , are to send their votes for Ihe delegate in writing . '' That the secretary be instructed to send the following list of candidates , being all that are received up to this time : —Duncan Sherrington , Glasgow ; John Russell , Barrhead ; Stewart M'Witters , Falkirk ; David Meilson , Greenock ; Robert Braneh , Parkhead .
Sohehs Tow * . —John Arnottand James Cooker have been nominated delegates to the ensuing Land Conference , Liuehousb—Bbuhswick Hall . — At a meeting of the Land members of this branch on Monday even * ing last . Mr Kjdd was nominated as a delegate to represent the London district in the forthcoming Conference . Cotbmbt . —At a general meeting of Land members held at Mr Pricchard's coffee-house , Gosfordatreet , on Tuwday evening , October 17 th , Mr Hosier was nominated for this district , and other business was transacted .
Present And Future State Of Europe. Part...
PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF EUROPE . Part VI . THE GLORIOUS FUTURE OF EUROPE AND
THE WORLD . The n atural progress of humanity discover-| t ! 8 through s , ow experience , has at length developed to man the causes of good and evil , with the means of overcoming the one and securing the other through all future generations . The cause is known of falsehood , and deception , of ignorance of man of
manof disunion—of poverty and its debase merits—of uncharitableness , and unkindness —of wars , contests , and competition — of sexual evils—in fact , the cause of all human miseries , and the means to remove all , except those of disease , accident , and death , while accidents and disease , in one or two generations , may be reduced to their mini , mum , and death itself be without terrors , and not feared by any one at any period of life .
The causes are also known by which to ensure health , knowledge , good , disposition , habits , and manners ; charity and real affection for humanity , independent of family , country , or colour ; kindness to all that has life , so far as is compatible with the safety and happiness ot mankind ; wealth in superfluity at all times , in all places , with the causes which can produce unity , peace , and love , and an active perpetual progress towards higher knowledge , excellence , and happiness as long as the world shall exist , inhabited by the human race .
Ordinary and inexperienced minds will , without powers of reflection , at once pro nounce such a state of human existence to be impossible , while men of matured judgment and extensive experience know that it is not only practicable but that the causes to create it must be speedily introduced , to save society from its present involved confusion and irra . tional contests , crimes , and misery . Men of observation , experience , and foresight , know that to continue the old mode ot governing the world is become impracticable by reason of its now developed ignorance , false principles , injustice , and cruelty to the mass of mankind .
But no party , which has hitherto appeared , know how to begin to effect this change from ignorance and misery to knowledge and happiness , or , in other words , from evil to good . It is , however , of the deepest interest to all , of every class and country , to inquire how this glorious future may be commenced and brought the nearest to our own time ; also to ascertain , if it be practicable , that those now living may partake , at least in part , of these blessings .
The formation of our characters on false fundamental principles , and the consequent erroneous construction of society through all its ramifications , will necessarily limit the enjoyment of these advantages by the present generation . The generation which exists must be satisfied to derive its pleasures and gratification from being actively engaged in creating the
requisite preparation to introduce the glorious future , which can be fully enjoyed only by their children and succeeding generations . But this first stage of progress will itself be a very delightful period of existence , when compared to the falsehood , Ignorance , injustice , poverty , and cruelty of the present system of suffering , as experienced by the large majority of the human race .
The glorious future will consist in the creation of new and very superior circumstances for all the departments of life ; created to supersede the very vicious and inferior circumstances which now exist in every department , and which have necessarily emanated from the false fundamental principle on which the characters of all , so far , have been formed , and on which society has been alone constructed . True , it will be said , and most desirable to have this glorious future brought near to our day , and yet better if we could , although imperfectly , partake of some of its immense
advantages . But how is this to be done ? If the most wise , experienced , and best of the present generation , in Europe and America , could be induced to unite , and also write on the fundamental princip les of truth respecting the formation of character , then , without interfering prematurely with existing interests and arrangements , a great change in less than five years may he effected in the populations of both quarters of the world , greatly to the advantage of all now living within these extended divisions .
The deficiency in . the formation of the character given to all under the present system of society , is the want of moral courage ; a want which makes all tremble when any attempt is made to express truths in opposition to the most deplorable of all falsehoods—truths the most important for man to know , being the most necessary to secure the happiness of the human race through all succeeding generations . The first step towards the attainment of the glorious future , will be to destroy this moral cowardice in those who most influence
society . - . Those who have discovered the errors and evils of society , and who are in search of truths , are cowed by the terrible fear of the prejudices in favour of falsehood , and are deterred from investi gating truth to its foundation and through all its ramifications . This mysterious fear strongly pervades all classes in all countries , and makes arrant moral
cowards of all . Yes , they say—what iyou state is truth itself , we well know it , and can bring no arguments to oppose ; but we dare not express our real thoughts in ? public . Men who would march direct to the cannon ' s mouth , start and tremble like a horse coming in sight , of a lion , when called upon openly to express what . they are compelled to know are eternal truths of the highest importance to the human race .
It is this mental cowardice which alone , retards the onward progress of society ! to the attainment of real knowledge , charity , kindness , and happiness among all people in all countries , \ nd this cowardice is created by the ignorance of the priesthood of every religion on the globe ; yet each priest is a grievous sufferer by the false and artificial state in which he lives ; a state opposed not only to his natural feelings , but to any pretension to common sense , Ihe life of any priest must be either a life of mental weakness or h ypocrisy , the last quality ever inwardl y preying upon the best feelings of humanity and destroying all reaPhonesty of character . >¦
When this moral defect , so deeply implanted from childhood , through a false education , can be overcome , then will the eyes of the world be opened to the immense power and means everywhere at the command of society to commence immediatel y , and at no distant period secure , the permanent well-doing and happiness of every population over the globe . . This glorious future may be now easily made to commence throughout Europe , by calling a Congress in some central position of it , to be composed of delegates from its present national divisions , chosen from each by Universal Suffrage , defective as this suffrage would be
Present And Future State Of Europe. Part...
m many cases , owing to the ignorance in which the populations have been hitherto allowed to grow up ; yet , under present circumstances and feelings , the least objectionable mode of election . This Congress , at its commencement , openly to denounce the fundamental falsehood on which , hitherto , the character of man and the construction of society have been alone formed , and at the same time to announce the glorious truth , that the faculties , propensities , and powers of humanity , are created solely by the creating power of the universe , and created without the knowledge of the individual .
That society , after the birth of each , well or ill , rightly or wrongly , cultivates the natural qualities of each individual to produce good or evil , happinessor misery , according to the inferior , mixed , or superior circumstances in which they shall be placed ; that society possesses the means and power to surround all from birth with good and superior circumstances only , and that by so doing it would produce the greatest amount of permanent happiness for all , that nian has the power to create or enjoy . The next measure to occupy Congress , would be to form a constitution and code of laws in accordance with those fundamental principles . Such constitution and laws would be plain , short , and easily to be comprehended by every one . and easily to be comprehended by every one .
It is the present false system of society which requires extended laws and mystification , to prevent its falsehood from being too glaring for the public , and by a multiplicity ol words to hide its innumerable errors and evils . A constitution , in accordance with true fundamental principles , would direct the public how to create the circumstances which should produce the greatest amount of wealth , knowledge , goodness , and happiness permanently for all . This result could be effected only by Europe being divided into societies of the most manageable numbers to be the most easily well employed , well educated from birth , and well governed , locallv and generally .
These societies to be , as the separate States are now in North America , independent within themselves ; but to be more intimately and socially united federatively than are those States ; in order that each society may more effectually aid and promote the prosperity and happiness of the others . The circumstances requisite to compose these societies would constitute a new combination of arrangements , that would form beautiful scientific societies for creating and distributing wealth , forming character , and governing in such manner that each one should be well cared for from birth , and secured through life in'the greatest amount of advantages that could be given to the natural organisation of every individual .
And by this simple process , as it will appear to every one , as soon as it shall be seen in practice , Europe may be soon changed from its present frightful insanity into a terrestrial paradise , in which all will be trained from birth to become independent , yet affectionately united , superior rational beings , all actively engaged in promoting each other ' s happiness j and the whole of the population of the
Continent combined into one system of harmony of action , in which there will be no wars , contests , competition , or opposing interests or feelings ; in which there will be , after one generation , only one language and one people , affording an example of order , wisdom , peace , and continually growing prosperity , that the world will most willingly adopt . This will be the future of Europe and of the world . Robert Owen .
Employment Of The Poor. On Wednesday Nig...
EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOR . On Wednesday night a public meeting was held in the leofure theatre of tbe Literary and Scientific Institution , Leicester-square , convened in connexion with the National Philanthropic Association , for the purpose of csnsidering the best means of providing work for the increasing numbers of unemployed operatives in the " metropolis . B . B . Cabbell , Esq ., presided , and a very nume ; ous asfensbla ^ o of residents in the surrounding parishes attended , and took a lively interest in the proceedings . la introducing the business of the evening , The Chairmav said , that the meeting had been convened by a committee of the inhabitants of the parishes of St James , St Martinin-the-fields , and St Anne , Soho , who were
anxiously desirous of ameliorating the suffenngr . of their destitute brethren during the approaching winter months . In the metropslis there were no fewer than 80 , 000 mechanics and 15 . 000 labourers ut of work at the present moment . The labours of : he National Philanthropic Association were especially directed to alleviate such a fearful state of things , and that society was at present employing forty labouring men in cleansing the streets upon the reformed sanitary system . The object of the association in doing this was to set an example to ihe various parochial boards of what might easily be dune to provide employment for as many as 10 . 000 men , in carrying out the sanitary street-cleansing system throughout the entire metropolis . By this
means , 10 . 000 out of the 15 000 labourers now unemployed , could be provided with remunerative work , instead of being allowed , with their wives and families , to become heavy burdens upon the different parishes . At present only 500 men were employed in scavenging the whole of that vast metropolis ; and everybody was convinced that an improved system of cleansing was loudly demanded , in order to improve its unwholesome condition . The forty street sweepers employed by the assoohtion to which he had alluded cost them £ 2 i for wages weekly ; and if each of the 897 bouses within tbe email district which now received the' benefit of the experiment paid only 6 d . a week , ibis would raise a fund sufficient to cover the whole of the outlay . There were upwards of 250 , 000
houses in London , and a charge of 6 d . a week upon each would be ensngh to pay the wages of the 10 , 000 men , who could bo employed in cleansing the streets . By this means the health and comfort of all classes of the community would be most effectually promoted , the poor rates would ba greatly reduced , and lar ^ e numbers of the unemployed would be supported in honest independence , earning their bread by tho sweat of their brow , instead of bring immured , along with their families , as paupers within the walla of the union workhouses , the growing evils of pauperism and distress , and the insupportable weightof taxation , which was every day thrcattning to overwhelm the middling classes in one common ruin with those whom they would s on be ur . able any
longer to maintain idle in the workhouse ? , rendered it the bounden duty , as well as the individual inerest , of all classes to resort to every available means of alleviating the miseries of the poor , and finding them useful employment . For this reason , he trusted s . ha public would be arowsed to direct its anxious attention without delay to the project of the National Philanthropic Association ; and ho earnestly commended it to the favourable consideration ot all the various parochial boards in and around the metroiiolis . ( Cheers . ) MrC . Coohkane thei rose to move the farss reso . ution , and met a very warm reception from the bulk of the meeting . lie spoke at great length , quoting multifarious statistics in order to prove that a vast amount of wretchedness and disease prevailed among the poor in various districts of London . He remarked that a petition from St Marylebone vestry , presented to the House of Commons during tho last
session , alleged that * thousands of operatives and their families in that parish were upon an average at all times totally destitute from want of employment . ' The statistics published by the refuges for the deatitute in 1845 . stated that in that year 50 , 000 persons roae in the metropolis without knowing how they A ere to procure their first meal ; and it could not be doubted if auoh wore their numbers in 1845 , that they had considerably increased since that period . Oae person out of every ten of the populition of England and Wales was a pauper , and the annual cost of pauperism at present was £ 4 . 367 . 055 . These facta revealed an appalling state of things which it was surely high time for those who possessed tbe power to bestir themselves at onoe from their lethargy to remedy . The Natioaal Philanthropic As sooiatioB had shown that 10 , 000 persons might be employed profitably in cleaning the streets , which in these times of danger from Cholera was most neces-
Employment Of The Poor. On Wednesday Nig...
rary , and the 'Street Orderlies' the meeting had just had an opportunity of teeing , were -employed , by that seciety . He had much pleasure in moving the resolution : — 'It having been demonstrated to this meeting that crime , and the cost ot i s > suppression , as well as taxation generally , are decrease' ) in proportion as the psor are employed , this raeotin ? is of opinion that it is the bounden duty , as it is the in . terest , of all parties to do all in thsir power to find work for the labouring chases , rrore especially during the severe wintfr mon ' hfi , when destitution ia so fearfully increased thronichont the CAantrj ;' kwv . and the 'Street Orderlies' tha »»« ,,. i .. ^
Mt Rich & rd Oastlke seconded the first resolution , and in the course of an animated address was enthusiastically ? nd repeatedly cheered . Be said he had great pleasure in standing before them , because he telievedthat tbe great problem which required solving in this country , aa well as in France and Germany was—How were they to employ the poor ? He contended that the people were not treated in a Christian spirit by tbe legislature . In that holy book tbe Bible , it was written , ' That the labourer shall be first partaker of the fruits , 'which was not attended to . It was the duty of tbe rich and titled to look to the comfort of their poorer neighbours- It was the inalienable right of the people to live ; employment should bo oond them , tor which they should receive such good
wages as would enable them to lire well ; but a long cauree of falte and un Christian legislation , which had entailed its present miseries npnn thy country , recognised no such humane principle . The same pernicious legislation had driven large mattes of the rural population to flock into the large towns ; and this was the true source of the increasing evils that continued to afflict our towns and cities / In 1811 the total population of Great Britain was 12 , 598 , 803 , and the proportion then employed in agiiculmrai pursuits was 4 , 408 808 . In 1841 , although the agereaate nopulation of the country had increased to 18 814 , 424 , yet the t roportion employed in agriculture sank aa low as 4 , 145 , 703 . bains a decrease in tbe ngrieulfcura population of 263 , 105 . notwithstanding that the entire
population of the country had increased more than 6 , 000 , 000 How , he asked , was it possible for any country to prosper where such things occurred as thu ? Mr Edmund Stallwood dasired to say a word or two before the resolution was put' fie liked the words ' employment for the poor , ' becsusa it was more consonant with tho feelings of the peo ; la than ' charny for the poor . ' ( Loud cheers ) He liked cL > an streets and sanitary improvements as well as anybody—but both their chairman and Mr Cochrane had shown ( hit in London alone , thern was at leas * , 50 , 000 persons in want of employment , and that the project of the Philanthropic Association , if folly carried out , would only employ 10 , 000 , leaving in tho metropolis olone 40 , 000 totally unprovided for . Now it was at this point he wished to com * mence . He suggested that a Minister of Labour should be appointed , and that such Minister shoald
direct his attention to the forests—such as Epping , Wychwood , and Dean—the common and waste lands , » 8 a means of employing the poor , and that such judicious economy , as recommended by Mr Robertson Gladstone , of the Financial Reform Association , together with the funds now devoted by the government in ' deporting'the most useful people from the land of their birth to tbe colonies , would supply money to thus moat profitably employ surplus labour . ( Loud cheers ) . And as it was said , ' that conspiracy sedition , and treason was now ' put down , ' and in thi <* time of political calm and qniet , let the aristocracy of wealth and tide now come forward and show their sympathy for the people . Let tbera convince us th'it they have & sincere desire to improve and elevate the social condition of the peoplelest , surrounded by the shrieks and agonies of wives and children , in their lingering deltas , they might adopt the fearful Lyonnese motto , to ) ' Live working or die fighting . ' ( Immense applause . )
The resolution was then put , and carried unanimously . Mr Gsoeob ( a Guardian of the Strand Union ) came forward to move the second resolution , as follows :- ' That this meeting is of opinion that a great number of the poor might be profitably employed by the different parishes in cltansing , white washing , and purifying the unwholesome dwellings which abound in the metropolis , and thus prevent the spreading of the Cholera , Typhus , and other diseases ; that it is important that Parochial Registries shou'd be kept in every workhouse , setting forth the name , age , qualifications and cbaraoter ot the unemployed in each district , in order that person * r ; quiring the services of such parties may be enabted to
secure tbam ; and further , that the system of streetcleansing now and for seme time past demonstrated by the National Phi lanthropio Association , in the parishes of St James , St Martin in-the-Fields , St Anne ' s , Soho , offers an excellent opportunity for employing a largo number of tho able bodied Poor ; and that as it has been proved to this meeting that 19 , 000 men could be thus employed throughout the metropolis , with profit to the rate-rayers , the committee of householders and rate-payers' convening this meeting , most earnestly appeal to all ckssesfor thoir co-operation and support , in order to secure the advantages referred to in this and the preceding resolutions , ' and said , although ho could notagrea with the 'Lyonnese motto , 'he thoughtthesut-gestiona thrown out by the gentleman who had just sat down were excellent . He then proceeded ta condemn the conduct of the guardians of the Strand Union .
Notwithstanding all that had appeared in the Morning Chroniczb to the contrary , be maintained now , aa he had done before , that the inmates did not receive their rights , nor were the poor-rates expended in the way they ought to be . He denounced the guardians , because the poor had been condemned to two months' imprisonment for no sin ; he denounced them , because some portion of the food given to the inmates was not fi ; to be used ; he denounced them , because soma women had not received that nourishment which a mother required when suckling her child . He did not think it fit , or proper , or decent , for a guardian to make a law to say that a woman , even although she was unmarried , was to have nothing more than the ordinary diet when she bad a child at her breast , because it was heartless cruelly to visit the sins of the mother upon the head of the unoffending babe . ( Loud cheers . )
The Chairman here interposed to request Mr George to confine himself to the question before tbe meeting . They had not met there to go into what had been done at any workhonao . Mr George apolo g ised , and , after a few farther remaiks , resumed his seat , The Rev . Mr Pownall seconded the resolution . Mr Thompson , a mechanic , roae to move as an amendment that the following words be left out : — ' That it is important that Parochial Registries should be kept in every workhouse , setting forth tha name , age , qualifications , and characters of the un * employed in each district , in order that persons
requiring the services ol such parties may bo enabled to secure them ; ' and that the words he now pro * posed be substituted . —' That the attention of the government and parochial officers be directed to the waste lands as a means of profitably employing the people . ' He thought the Parochial Registries aad application to workhouses or unions fo . employment must tend to bring down the better paid workmen to the level of the distressed , and reduce wages generally , and that in addition to tho proposition of the Philanthropic Association , waste lands would be fonnd a profitable source of employment . Mr Warley seconded the amendment .
The Chairman said , he hardly thought the amendment a legitimate ono , seeing that tbe three parishes who had got up that meeti & g . had no waste lands . Mr Coc ?? iuf > E suggested that the amednment mi perfectly legitimate and germane —( loud Cheers ) - " but he trusted tbe mover would withdraw it , as ho could assure him the getters-up of that meeting had net the most distant idea of interfering with the better paid labourer , ( Hear , hear . ) Mr Isaac Wilsok , of the Trades , ably supported the amendment , quoting in its favour , statistics got up by the working classes themselves ; he wai much applauded . Mr Roqrbs , surgeon , implored the movor of the amendment to withdraw it . which he declined , when it was put and lost by a slight majority , tho resolution was then adopted . A vote of thanks wa ? given to the chairman , and the meeting quietly separated .
Death Of T. Gray, The Railway ' Pioneer....
Death of T . Gray , the Railway ' Pioneer . '— , During the last week Thomas Gray , whose friends claim for him the titles of ' author of the railway system' and the railway ' pioneer , ' died at Exeter , in the 61 st year of his age . Though not an engineer be was cotemporary with the late George Stephenson . His name was brought into note by the publication , in 1820 , of a work entitled , ' Observations on a General Iron Railway ; or land steam conveyance to supersede the necessity of horses in all public vehicles , showing its superiority in every respect over all the present pitiful methods of conveyance by turnpike-roads , canals , and coasting traders . ' At tbe time Gray ' s book was written , all that was known of railways was as they then existed in the rude tramways at Newcastle and its collieies , and considerably before the construction of
those earliest of our railways , the Stockton and Darlington , and Liverpool and Manchester . The gist of Gray ' s suggestion was to carry out a compre - hensive railway at one stride over the whole United Kingdom ; ia fact , to make a simultaneous system to all tbe principal towns , instead of making the work a labour of section and degree . The progress of the railway , system , however , proved that this was impracticable in many , but more especially in monetary , points of view , and the suggestion , from its very comprehensiveness , perished . In 1825 he pelitionei Parliament and Sir R . Peel , but received no encouragement . Latterly he was reduced to poverty , and sold glass on commission , Appeals were made to the railway world on his behalf , but they met with no response , and it is said that he died broken-hearted .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 21, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_21101848/page/1/
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