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Northern Star (1837-1852), 24th January 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4, OPERATIVES AND THEIR EMPLOYERS. THE MERC...

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      Htest Foundati ; ,, . The Northern S^Ar,...

      htest foundati ; ,, . THE NORTHERN S ^ AR , ,, _ .- . : ; ¦ ^ - ^ 2 ^„_ ir ^ - ~ ---- _____^^ ry i § 5 j

      Justrublishea, 12mo. Cloth, Trice 4».-By Post,4s.«. I

      Justrublishea , 12 mo . Cloth , Trice 4 » .-by Post , 4 s . « . I

      Ad00410

      THE BIGHTS AND DUTIES v * * « " - PBRTT . Bv Jobs Saho » teb . London : maSto ** Cc , . * ^** Lane -

      Ad00412

      * aND AND COTTAGES FOB THS WORKING CLASSES ! S nnvn \ ND INTELLIGENT MEN , * L- " r - ~ , „ 7 « f hrisriaenP theirWdiesin the pare and W ^ presern ^ Mr ome wnna ^ ^^ mgi by appl } ASSOCIATIONS , the chief object of * bich shall be to prepare their children at least t ^ fleJtaSto ttewatw are unfitforsuehasuperbr mat of life ) CHRISTIAN COaiMUNITT , towards the formation of which the Advertiser is now ready to deroi * a considerable fortace . Applv personall y to Mr . HuiETT , Fnern Lodge , Close to the Colnev ' Ha' -ch Station of the Great Northern Bailway , Middlesex , fifteen minutes j * urney from King ' s Cross , London . Ueturntickets Xiiepence . .-, A few shares of Freehold BCILDISG GROUND , 50 by 100 feet each , are jet on hand on this ral oafle Estate , a considerable portion of the centre of which is reserved for a magnificent INFANT KORSERY . a true ELTSIDSI , or MOTHER'S BLESSING . On another Estate , twenty miles from London , each CottigerJ may hare any number of Acres , at Forty Shillings per Acre . No letter received unless post-paid , aud none answered unless it contains two Stamps .

      Ad00413

      HENTRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY , V Instituted under Trust , to counteract the system of Adulteration and Fraud now prevailing in Trade , and to promote the principteof Co-operative Associations . Trustees—Edward Yansittart Scale , Esq ., ( founder of the Institution ); aud Thomas Hughes , Esq ., ( one of the contributors ) . Commercial Firm—Lechevatier , Woodin , Jones , and Co . Central Establishment—7 fc Charlotte-street , Fiizroy-square , Ltndon . Branch Establishments-35 , Great Marjlebone-street , Portlandplaco , London ; and 13 , Swan-street , Manchester . The Acency intends hereafter to undertake the execution of aU orders for any land of articles or pr dnce , their operations for the present are restricted to Groceries , Italian Articles , French Wines and Brandies . . . A Catalogue has just been published , containing a detailed list of all artie ' es with the retail prices affixed , with remarks oh adnltaration . Trice 6 d ., or sent free by post for tea stamps . Also a wholesale price fist for Co-operative Stores gratis , or . by post £ jr one stamp . ; Central

      Ad00414

      THE 'FRIESB OF THE PEOPLE . ' . Os Satcbba ? , February 7 tb , 1852 , will be Published No . 1 of a new Weekly Political aud Literary Journal , to be entitled . The ' FfilEND OF THE PEOPLE . ' EDITED RT

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      Ad00416

      Polecats , when hard pressed , discharge a . stream of extremely filthy and unsavoury flmd at their pursuers , the stench of which is not easily got nd of , and when caught they are exceedingly worthless animals . Polecats have then-resemblances among the ««« s Umo . and thsonlady-iri gntisnmehiu be pitied who , by chance or necessity , is brought into contact with them . We are unfortunately ut that portion . Against both wiU and inclination we aave beenforcedinto noticing attacks which , upon principle we shuuid have left unanswered , and tha week we have reMwe ' d a gteat number of letters from correspondents , on the subject , cf which we _ print only a short one , and that the most moderate of ^ i . ateh - ^ i really mast ^ logise to Mr . M'Gowan , Mr . feeler , and other correspondents for the noninsertlon of their statements as to the facts so wretchedl y distorted and garbled by the individual referred to , but we cannot afford to occupy to demolish the flimsy snperstructure of falselocd which he has . aised . and tied together with the meres Lsamer Of snpeificul fact , \ mi-cui bono ? Next week wS should fiave the old . alsebooas set up again , or snbjiitated hv a bran new set oi ingenious inventions eooallv dev „ M « f t ? , W

      Ad00417

      ? HE HOBTHEBS STAB SATURDAY . JAN LAKY 24 . 1852

      Operatives And Their Employers. The Merc...

      OPERATIVES AND THEIR EMPLOYERS . THE MERCIES OF THE MANUFACTURERS . Unconditional submission ! No terms-No conditions—Noarbitration—No agreement . Down-slaves wagesrslaves , and grovel , Not a word-Not a murmnr—damb , abject , submission . Read that , Operative Engineers . That is tBenlfi . ? 2 ! L ^ 7 ° H * Employ ers . There is no room to doubt it , for they haveblazoned it forth in f ™

      - 37 ^ re , at this moment lying before us issued from the Employer ' s office , No . 30 , Bucklersbury , and bearing the si gnature of the redoubtable Sidney Smith Of this pamphlet the « Times' has in its leader columns taken no notice . Bad as the Tunes is , we fancy its conductors would think twice before they eulogised such a production The Chronicle ; however , which has advocated the cause of tha masters has characterised it as harsh , haughty dictatorial , nnforgiwng ; and the 'San ' expreaslysayi tluttoey thought the Masters were right till their wauledi justification made its appearance , and that wrned the balance of opinion in favour of the men . , . ^ T erybody recollects the famnna sentiment * f th *

      'Thft ? l ! ; iNEWCASTI ' ' - eniD 0 dedia the assertion £ r anr * £ adanS 1 » ttodo vhatheliked with hisown . ' mrSaS J recolIect t ° o with what a shout of cianloEr , conten , Pt * e manufacturing politick \ % 7 ? fi ? * atclaim « How ^ chosen their pre £ ^ . F'atforms stigmatised it . How What a theme it » a « Principles of despotism . indignantexec raJon ^ t ^ t f ° r bittc r 8 atire and now said the very ' me « T- eae manafacturersna ' 0 as we do of the nasi 3 ' Bearing a memory i e as ; but no ? thermit ; 0 n S ht ° w eyes mast de' nere U M « unmistakeable cha-

      Operatives And Their Employers. The Merc...

      racters . We claim the right of every British subject ' To do what he likes with his own . ' We have heard the very same Sidney Smith , who , as Secretary , accredits that sentence , himself denounce it and Us author ; and , now he adopts It , knowing , as he must , the wrong it necessarily involves . What is the Employers own ? Let them answer the question . Our capital—our business—our profits —oar establishments . These are our own . We are the masters of them , and we mean to remain so . So

      absolute is our mastership that we will suffer no one to impose any terms upon ns . "We wil \ submit to no restr ictions . We will do as we like . With every respect for noble referees—with no misgiving that their decision would be right and just—we wiU have none of their arbitration . We will settle our own disputes our own way . Our wills shall be absolute . From us there , is no appeal . We want to be let alone . W « . claim to regulate our own business without reference to any body . We have said it , and it shall be done .

      That this is not any exaggeration of ours , men with hard hands , satisfy y ourselves . Buy this pen ' orth of tender mercy and Christian charity , and read . You will find all that there , and more . Sentences will stand out before you , which , if carried into effect , would leave you no better than negroes . We have heard a great deal about feudal tyranny and the power of the lord over bis vassal—we have been favoured with a great deal of rejoicing , that those dark and barbarous times have passed away ; but if the

      Employers can do what they say they will do—if there is no law to stop them—if justice and sympathy are alike powerless , we had better agree to go back to Feudality at once—Feudality which , after all , had some chivalry , some generosity , some nobility about it—which had a soul better than a money bag , some higher aspiration than buying cheap and selling dear . If we ( the people ) are to have masters , in the sense of mastership which this pamphlet enunciates , we had better have the old aristocracy , than a moneyocracy of traffickers and hucksters .

      Again , what is the masters own . Something more they seem to : think , than even they dare explicitly to say . If their pamphlet means anything , it means that the men are their own , and their wages too . They do not call them men , by the way , but ' hands , '— ' our hands . ' Not beings capable of thought or sentiment , but manipulating machines . That must be their covert meaning ; for while they stand up for the right of everybody 'To do what he likes with his own , ' they deny the right of the men to do what they like with themselves , their labour , or their wages . They will buy work on what conditions they please—no one else shall have a finger in their contracts . That implies that the men shall not

      sell their labour on what terms they please , shall not in fact , frame a condition . They will not have anybody dictate terms to them . The people whom they employ shall not enter into combinations . ' Paying them for their work they buy the whole man . In the workshop and out of the workshop , be is theirsall theirs . Men who exist on the wages received at their hands shall not combine against their interests . They will not suffer any combination , and they say tbat while they are themselves combined . More than this , they will not permit any man whom they employ , to support , by the wages he earns , any society whatever . Surely that is doing what they like with their own , and what is not their own too , with a

      vengeance . We believe that such demands—such claims—as these were never before put forward in the face of the world by Englishmen . We can imagine the Emperor of all the Russias directing his head serf to affix tbe sign manual to an ukase of the same character , but never till now did we realise the possibility of men , bred up among free institutions—recognising rights—claiming liberty—talking of libertywriting for liberty—acknowledging such monstrous sentiments as those contained in the Master ' s Edict .

      Wo wonder what Lord Cbanworth—whose letter appears in another column , and who mistaken as he is , is at least temperate and mild—will think of this production . His Lordship expressly says that the law wisely permits all to combine . The Masters are above the law—they contravene the law—they set the law at defiance . They say in effect , ' the law permits it , does it ? So do not we . ' Law or no'law , they have made up their minds it shall not be . Setting at nought the liberal action of the Legislature , which many years ago repealed the statute prohibiting combination , the cabal of Masters , in their secret conclave , re-enact them , and their Prime Minister issues his proclamation to that effect forthwith .

      We never read pages which made us more heartsick than those which contain these outpourings of the most utter despotism . We never turned away from a record of unblushing , undisguised wrong , with more thorough disgust and indignation . Every man who has a spark of right feeling will scout the monstrous propositions that because the workers sell their toil for money , those who stand between them and the public , who receive all tbe results of their efforts , and pay them part back in wages , should be their unconditional masters . That they should be barred from all right to unite—denied all opportunity of common action—prevented from contributing out of their honestly and hardly earned stipends what they can afford to support their unemployed fellows , is not to be borne . To snch a serfdom no one who has

      any regard for his own independence and dignity can possibly submit . All who accept those terms abdicate their right of free action , and convert themselves into soulless machines . We cannot believe that the public will countenance such tyranny , or refuse their aid to those who resist it ; and in order effectually to serve the cause of the men , and arouse public opinion in their favour , we can wish nothing better than that this disgraceful essay—disgraceful alike to those who prompted , and he who wrote itmay be circulated as widely as possible .

      Foreign Invasion And National Defence. T...

      FOREIGN INVASION AND NATIONAL DEFENCE . The Proclamation of the French Republic in 1848 was followed b y the most enthusiastic interchange of friendly visits and fraternal sentiments by the people of France and England . The National Guards flocked to our shores by thousands , and were everywhere received with the warmest demonstrations of welcome . John Bull , so far from being frightened , was delighted to see foreign military uniforms

      crowding our streets , — was quite overjoyed at the sight , and threw open to his strange visitors everything he could think of in the way of amusement , instruction , and festivity . Nor were our French neighbours behind ns in cordiality ; while their demonstrations surpassed ours in elegance , good taste , splendour , and organisation . « They do manage these things better in France . ' How many thousands in this country now look back with pleasure to the succession of

      admirably arranged , hospitable , and varied fetes , in which they were invited to participate by the Republican Government and the Municipality of Paris in 1848 , and the interchange of those sentiments of amity and mutual esteem , which were worthy of the two most enlightened , progressive , and powerful nations in Europe ! As long as the people of France retained any real power in the management of their affairs , this state of things continued . The reactionary factions in the Assembly , and the traitorous conspirator against the Constitution he had sworn to

      maintain intact , only gradually succeeded in stifling the Republican sentiment in France , and with it the amicable relations which had grown up between the two peoples . It is little more than two years since we were present at the sittings of the Peace Congress in the Salle St . Cecile , Paris . Deputies were there from all the then partially free States of Europe , and even from the 'far west' of America ; but- none mustered in such strength and numbers as the English ; to none was so much attention paid , or the hand of friendshi p so frankly and warmly extended . The authorities vied with the citizens in doing honour to their

      visitors , and providing for their comfort and enjoyment . -Day after day were the loctraes of peace and brotherhood between nations inculcated in French , German , Italian , and Euglisj , by men who really believed that we had outlived the barbarous and savage passions , which have heretofore devastated nations , w asted treasure misapplied intellect , and spilt Wood like water . The dawn of the Millenium had come . Nations , instead of settling differences by blows and bloodshed , were in future to submit them to impartial arbitration , and act rationally , not like animals impelled by mere brute instincts . A new and briliant future opened up to Europe . Where is it now ? We stand face to face

      Foreign Invasion And National Defence. T...

      with another European struggle . Shall we have war ? Are we prepared for it ? -arethe two questions which engross the largest share of public attention < Even the Peace Journals , though they deprecate any undue panic , and oppose an augmentation or our army , admit the urgent necessity for setting -.. our house in order , ' preparing for the defence ot < our coasts , by recalling our ships of war from the Tagus , the Mediterranean , - or the Pacific , to the English Channel , and making the soldiers we have , efficient , both by training , and by supplying them with arms equal to those now nsedby the soldiers they may

      have to encounter . . _ . A Boulogne Invasion is a souvenir of the Empire , which Louis Napoleon , who parodies and caricatureshis uncle in all other respects , is not likely to forget . -Even were he disposed to do so , the exigencies of his position are such as may drive binr to make the attempt . He has made himself Dictator in France by the aid of tbe army , and is therefore the slave of the army . He can only rule so long as he panders to it , and keeps it satisfied . The disarmament of the National Guard , the expatriation of every man who has taken a prominent part in public affairs , and the rigour , without parallel , with which every mode of expressing public opinion is suppresaed , are onl y so many proofs that , despite the huge fraud of the seven million and a half votes , the

      usurper knows he dare not for one moment trust the people of France . Continued and increasing exaction ' s to meet the demands of au imperious and pampered soldiery , will , at length , drive the nation into the resistance of desperation , if work and subsistence cannot be found for them elsewhere . ' In what ' quarter is that to be sought ? . Not in the dominions subject to the brother despots of . the Dictator . The few . spots on the Continent where a limited amount of Constitutional freedom yet exists , would speedily be subdued , and occupied by the combined troops of Absolutism , and what remains but to banish Liberty and Popular Government from its last resting place in Europe—the British Isles ! , :

      Already the indications of such a policy are . appa-, rent . Insolent and unwarrantable interference has taken place on the . part of Foreign powers with respect to the shelter and hospitality we give to the political exiles who seek refuge amongst us from proscription and murderous hostility . The smaller Continental powers , where a home might have been obtained , are warned not to provoke the displeasure of-thebrigands who now ride rough shod over the liberties of France . Ere long there will not be a spot in Europe whereon the hunted proscrit can lay his head in safety , except England . " Is it likely that we shall be peaceably allowed to remain that exception ,

      especially when the vast accumulated wealth of thirtyseven years of peace and unexampled industr ial progress , offers such rich and tempting opportunities for plunder to the Praetorian bauds of an unprincipled and perjured upstart ? Such is the danger . How is it to be met ? In the Irst place . by a bold declaration that Great Britain , in any contest whatever , will throw all its influence on the side of the Peoples . It is precisely because our Government has been a consenting party to the measures by which Absolutism has re-established its sway over the Continent , that we are now menaced with danger . Our safety lies in cultivating amicable

      relations with the Peoples , and not with the Rulers who oppress and plunder them . Despotisms can never be either safe neighbours or profitable allies to us , and tbe cheapest way in which we can defend ourselves against them is to give them plenty of work at home . A genuine alliance with the Peoples , for upholding the principles of Freedom , would not only result in preventing all chance of an invasion of our shores , but would be certain to emancipate the enslaved nations , and to unite them to us by the twofold ties of gratitude and interest . Even on the low ground of commercial interest and profit this decided policy recommends itself . A Continental system of

      hostile tariffs , by which British productions would be entirely shut out from the whole of the Continent , is spoken of in the foreign journals _ as one of the means by which England may be crippled and damaged ; and we have too many instances iu which this has been already done , to permit any doubt as to the existence of the feeling on the part of many of tho Continental Governments . It is for the manufacturers of Lancashire and Yorkshire to say how such a prohibitive system would operate on their large establishments now that the state of affairs has so largely altered since Napoleon endeavoured to carry out his 'Continental System . ' British goods then forced their way through all customs'

      obstructions mainly because thoy were the only goods of their kind in the world . Nous avons change tout cela . Manufacturing enterprise , skill , industry , and organisation have been developed in various countries to such an extent that thoy are independent of us . The Great Exhibition settled that fact conclusively . Let the manufacturers and middle classes look to it . A Foreign Minister who will honestly and boldly ally himself with the peoples instead of the despots , is indispensable to the continuance of manufacturing activity and commercial prosperity . If they care nothing for Freedom , let them at least remember that the same ascendancy which destroys it , will damage , perhaps annhilate , their own capital and profits .

      The question of National Defences in such a critical position of affairs will doubtless occupy the attentlon of Parliament immediately after it assembles . We quite concur with those who think that there is not the slightest necessity for any increased expenditure . What is wanted is a judicious distribution of the forces already in existence , and the appointment of persons to superintend our arsenals , stores , and ships who really understand their business , and can use , not waste , the public money . After all , our great arm of defence , should war really occur , and an invasion be threatened , must be our navy and steamers . We have plenty of ships , and all that is needed is to place them where they may chance to be wanted , instead of making them pleasure yachts for ministerial favourites and dillettante aristocrats .

      In the next place we want no addition to our standing army . Had France been less abundantly supplied with that avAiclc , she would not have lain bruised , bleeding and manacled at the feet of the Usurper to-day . Let our Government repeal all the laws by which successive administrations have made popular instruction in military training a crime ; let them give to the people every facility for imparting a knowledge of combined movements and the effective use of arms ; and let them also at the same time , accompany these facilities with such a just and comprehensive Reform in Parliament as will give the nation the power of managing its own affairs , and we venture to promise them that England will be cheaper and better defended than any country ever was in history .

      No number of hirelings , however equipped and drilled , could equal an army of sturdy men , impelled to action by the ^ most powerful of human motive ? , and defending not merely their hearths and home ? . but a constitution which made them really freemen , That would be the impregnable and the most econimical defence of this land of ours against the world in arms . In answer , therefore , to any panic alarmp , or extravagant proposals for increased 'armament ? , let our watchwords be— -Political Enfranchisement and a National Defence Corps !

      The Sessioneven In Ordinary And Untroubl...

      THE SESSIONEven in ordinary and untroubled times the opening of the Session is looked forward to with curiosity and interest . Though the Dramatis persona and the theatre be the same—the " pieces " all « stock" ones , there is a general desire to see them again , and to listen ,, if not applaud . The extraordinary exciting and unsettled state of public affairs at the present moment , has this year natutaHv heightened the interest with which ' the meeting of Parliament is

      looked to . Though the combination of parties is not materially altered , though the old faces will appear in the old places , and the old voices fall on the ear , yet the "firstnight' ' will have an unfailing attraction , in the promise of Ministerial revelations as to the reasons which led to Lord Palmerston ' s summary dismissal from office , and the probable or possible effects of that measure , not only upon the ex-Forei gn Secretary himself , but upon the future co mposition and relation of political parties , and the public policy of this country .

      Certain portions of the Press are resolutel y crying up Lord Palmerston as a Liberal of the first water and the proximate Premier of anew , powerful , and progressive Ministry . It may be so , though we see

      The Sessioneven In Ordinary And Untroubl...

      not the slig on for- such anticipations . No one will deny that ; the late Minister , is a cleveran exceedingly clever—man , that , he was , in : fact , the salt that gave savour to that very tasteless : body , the Whig Cabinet ; Jmt . raere cleverness ia not enough . We want action ; and should like to know what part of Palmerston ' s past career is calculated to . give encouragement to the belief that he would prove a really liberal and practically progressive Minister . We can only recollect liberal professions , belied in every case by facts , in the department under , his special control ; and we fear ., that to translate him into a position of wider influence would be attended with the same unsatisfactory results . 'Fine words butter no parsnips . ' Lord Palmerston ' s speeches were very ' fine ; ' his acts were quite another thing .

      Still , putting aside these , attempts to peer into the Administrative future , as the mere guesses of friendly partizans , or straws thrown up to see which waythe wind blows , there will be an immediate interest felt in havingsomequestionsansweredand some difficulties solved , arising out of the present ministerial imbroglio . Those caused by the dismissal of Palmerston are not the only pressing queries , though they may . have precedence . In the second week of . the Session it is understood that the promised Ministerial Reform Bill will be brought forward ; and we shall then probably get a peep behind the scenes , and a glimpse , if nothing more , of the internal dissensions' iu" the Cabinet ,

      amidst which the Whig bantling struggled into existence ; And the fateof that bantling—what is it to be ? Will the 80 members , who really hold the balance of power in the'House be gulled into its support by the cry , ' Don't disturb the question , because the Government is weak j take what you can get , and at some £ ture time you will be able to " , get more V If we may judge from the meetings held this week in Manchester , Leeds , Nottingham , and several other places , that device of the enemy will fail . The Parliamentary advocates of Representative Reform are awakening to the fact that Ministerial weakness is their opr ; portuuity , and that they have a better chance- of ex- ; torting liberal concessions from a Cabinet which is

      struggling for bare existence than a ' strong Government , 'flushed with the insolence of office . At these meetings there was s ' omesehsible and uncompromising speaking , to which no doubt ; Lord John's contemptuous refusal to receive a deputation materially helped ,. There were also some truths uttered in a " manly and friendly spirit as to the necessity for a union of reformers of all grades , if we are to have anything like a real enfranchisement of the people . At Leeds the principle of Manhood Suffrage was moved as an : amendment to the expe * diency of domiciliary Suffrage , and decided by the chairman to be lost . At Nottingham it is stated the leaders of the ultra movement supported the propositions of Sir J . Walmslby ' s association with as much

      zeal as they they had previously opposed similar ones ; the notable fact being , in both cases , that the middle and working classes were working together ; and though the latter were outvoted in Leeds , they kept their temper , satisfied with having done what they considered their duty , by fairly giving the meeting the choice of saying which of the two propositions it approved of . It is not for Chartists t > complain of the decision of a majority . The practical lesson to be derived from a defeat , is that we must set to work , by peaceful and argumentative means , to convert

      the minority into a majority , We should gladly see similar evidences . of earnestness , activity , and zeal on the part of the Chartists , as those we refer to ou the part of the advocates of smallar measures of Parliamentary Reform . If they are apathetic , disunited and enfeebled , they must not complain of the consequences of that division aud weakness . The Ministerial Bill will be presented , and there must be somebody to take a practical and proper course with reference to it . If the Chartists are not ready , others better prepared must take the place which might

      have been theirs . Some of the Ministerial organs intimate that , though the Government is weak , its measures will be strong—strong , perhaps , for Whigs ; but that is not saying much . Such tactics would , however , be by no means new in their history . That was the expedient by which they tried in 1841 to obtain a renewed lease of power . But the ' strong ' measures of weak men ! You might as well talk of the gignntic stature of a dwarf . They havo neither the comprehension nor the power necessary to devise and carry such measures , even were Parliament and the country with them , which they are not .

      It is supposed , however , that after bringing out one or two of their ' strong measures , ' they will appeal to the country . If so , there cannot be the slightest doubt that they will experience as decided a defeat as they did in 1841 ; and though the Peel , who is to marshal and direct the unorganised popular opinion in favour of bona fide reforms , has not yet made his appearance iu such a shape as to be generall y recognised and acknowledged , all experience proves that with the Hour comes the Man . Certain it is , that events are thickening around us , which demand clear heads and resolute wills on the part of those called to the helm of affairs .

      Our . foreign relations and our means of . defence are matters uot likely to be satisfactoril y adjusted by the men under whose administration , corruption and peculation in the public service have reached a height scarcely paralleled in our history . Parliament tary 'Reform demand , for Its accomplishment men who have breathed a freer and more bracing atmosphere than that of aristocratic cliques and coteries . Colonial policy must be wrested from the hands of the Minister who has alienated from us every colony , and plunged at least one into an extravagant and seemingly endless contest , from which we can reap neither honour nor profit , no matter how it terminates

      There is plenty of work for the next Session , but where are the men to do it ? Or , if we have them how are they to get at the work in good earnest « Perhaps in a week or two more we shall see our way a little more clearly to the answer to both these questions .

      The' 'Manchester Examiner And Times,' Ve...

      THE' 'MANCHESTER EXAMINER AND TIMES , ' VERSUS CO-OPERATION . It has seldom fallen to our lot to wade through nearly two columns of a loading article so desthWof honesty , so much opposed to logic , and at such utter var iance with all that can be looked upon as impartial , as that in a late number of the' Manchester Examiner and Times . ' One thing , however , is now demonstrated , viz ., that the working men of Manchester have their local presss completely against them . There is not one paper in that town which advocates the rights of labour . Tho grand movement towards Cooperation is the thing which must be written down , or Capital , with all its boasted claims and neglected duties , will cease to hold the position it now does . We are

      glad that the question of Associative Labour has become the object of such violent attack , because the eyes ot enemies are generally bo much employed in the search for arguments to sustain their hostility , that the men against whom they wage war havo constantly held up to view a most useful mirror , in which all the evils which are likel y to beset their movement are constantl y represented , so that they may be avoided or surmounted . W e should bedoing the greatest injury to the cause wo wish to serve , were we to say there are no evils to apprehend-in the working out of the Associative princi ples . Those evilho do not

      s , wever , attach to the principles tbemselves , but will be found lurking in the want of intelligence which , to a lamentable extent , exists amongst the operative classes . Wisdom , it which ' hI < T / , iT * P * ' *™ °° m which has led the men to repudiate strikes and to throw the onus ofihe initiative on the Masters- s 31 n ? T * Ume 8 g 0 in Sir E ' Aiuiitage ' s mill , and ls now the 0 ttro amongafc ttie -, Trades-has co t some m . lhons sterling , but having acquired the wisdom thus purchased , they are less Ukely to pay o do . y for anything they may need hereafter . The SteS ^ " *^ the ^ . ^ too wise to adopt such afooheh course ; and hv the tin ™ thA nn « r » HvL

      525 ? TT l hmdreds of P ° unds iQ associative IS ^ mL ^ 7 . S" 5 Spen t milHm iu 8 ttikea > lhe ¦ ffiK ^ w * " ^ have reived the most as PnSI I t \ * H Workin S <^<« will have S ? will hi ^ / oc and brains and s ney will be . considered as having some riahtto stand side by side with capital . ' * 8 ftn ' " P » blic journals , which have any claim to the appellation ' respectable , ' try to run down individuals in order to damage some much-feared organisation , it augurs well for the cause which is thus assailed . Mr William Newton is , by the 'Examiner and

      The' 'Manchester Examiner And Times,' Ve...

      Times , ' held up " as a very suspicious person , ail ( j one of whose proceedings the Operatives should b the most distrustful . Nothing in connexion with thi ! dispute , which has come under our notice , i 8 80 J , of real encouragement as this . The logic of a 'Examiner and Times'is wretchedl y at fault , t is assumed that because former projects have faiy hone can succeed ; if this is reasoning , then we ! j prove anything by that process . There are in Lancashire and Yorkshire numbers of Co-operati » establishments doing well ; therefore , on the prjn ciples of our Manchester contemporary , no co-op * tive attempt can possibly fail . . Besides , many p .: "

      vatehrms and solitary individuals have failed . j f concentration of interest will infallibly succeed , and < i more widel y diffused participation in management and profits induce certain failure , how is it that many individuals are made bankrupts , while John Stock Companies become rich ? We can tell fofl . ^ Examiner' why we have seen so many abortive a 8 so dative attempts;—it is because we have had such journals asMahchester now has , whose vocationit haj been to sow discord and spread suspicion among \ u men , whose masters sustain the advertisements f those papers , the scribes of which work to pattern Another most ^ unfWiri thing in connexion with ifo article in question is , that it never once refers to the

      noblemen and gentlemen who are willing to become . trustees for ' the property vested in co-operative eata . 'hlishments . Now it should be known that men of wealth , of standing , of learning , and of Christi an ' character , are willing to stand by the men 'who wish to work for themselves , and to protect ' others who . may . advance money to help the move-. ment . The' Examiner' laughs at the idea of £ 10 , 000 being thought enough to establish workshops ; we can tell the scornful scribe , that this sum is only a pled » e of earnestness on the part of the men ; and that should the movement go on , as we believe it will , that £ 10 , 000 , 000 will not be wanting to consummate the wishes of the humane , and to liberate the poor from the death struggles threatened by Capital aud Labour .

      Atonw Iitfcikgttwv

      atonw iitfciKgttWv

      National Association Op United Trades. T...

      NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OP UNITED TRADES . T . S . Doscombb , Esq ., M . I ? ., President . " JIAT JBST 1 X 1 A . " "If it were possible for the working classes , by combining : among themselves , to rsuse , or . keep up the general rata tf wages , it need hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . "— Stpabt Mill . The relations between capital and labour are in a very unsatisfactory condition . The law assumes on the one hand that workman have a right , by peaceful combination , to dictate to their employers the terms upon which they consider it would be to their united interest to dispose of thei ? labour ; but they are forbidden , by the same law , to force their fellow workmen to combine or act with thera , or their

      masters to accede to their terms , by means whicli are eel forth most explicitly , viz ., [ " By violence to the person oi property , or by threats or intimidation , or by molesting , or in any way obstructing another , force , or endeavour io force , & c . " ] And , by the fourth section , workmen are not to be subjected to punishment [ "for meeting together , or enter ing into any agreement , written or verbal , among there selves , for the purpose of fixing the rate of wages or prices , which the parties entering into such agreement , or any of them may require or demand for his or their work , or the hours or time for which he or they may work in any ntanu . facture , trade , or business , & C . " ]

      Nov , it certainly does appear to have been the intention oi the-Legislature , to sanction the combination of workmen for the above purposes , within certain distinctly enume . rated conditions . What is the common-sense meaning of the words by which those condi ions are . expressed— "by violence to tlie rerson or properties & c , or by threats or intimidation , or by molesting or iu any way obstructing another , & c . " Da they not all imply violence , threats , intimidation ,

      molestation , or obstruction , in a physical sen e ? Any other defiflition would he absurd , and if intended , should have been differently , and unambiguously expressed . And yet in tbe Wolverhampton Case , and in the raore recent case of the Amalgamated Engineers , where anything like physical violence or obstruction to master or workmen is not even pretended , the acts , proceedings , and intentions , of working men are tortured and twisted by all the ingenuity of literary and judicial craft , into overt and criminal invasions of the rights of capital .

      In the cases of Jones and Potts , of Newton , the Perm , of Wolverhampton , or of Hibtoert aud Piatt , of Oldham , what were the manifest objects and intentions of the combined workmen , but to compel these several parties , in their seve . ral cases , to arrangements which they deemed essentia ! to their interests as skilled workmen ; and whether right or wrong in their views , so long as their proceedings were conducted within the conditions of the statute , fairly construed , we contend they are not , in either instance , obnoxious to tbe legal persecutions and literary vilifications to which a class judicature and a hireling Press have subjected them .

      That , by the success of the men , the employers would be subjected to pecuniary inconveniences , is but the natural , inevitable , and retributional consequence of their own laches . It may be not inaptly compared to the inconvenient operation of some of the conventional laws or arrangements of society , upon the free actions of some of its members , who are , by them , somewhat molested and obstructed in their untiring efforts to grow quickly and inordinately rich , by irregular and very questionable means . If money-getting is a vocation honourable without ^ reference * to the honesty ( or suppose we say the equity ) , of the means employed in its acquisition , in Heaven ' s name ,

      let it be at once publicly and unevasively avowed , and guarded in possession of all necessary exclusive privilege , by the most stringent legislative and legal enactments . Let the political theory of the lata Duke of Newcastle be commercially established in the plenitude of law , ' * that every man has a right to do as he likes with his own , " without reference , immediate or remote , to the interest or well-being of his fellows ; for such is , in unadorned truth , the position claimed by the present race of . capitalists . But , surely , tbe seven millions of unenfranchised serfs of England may be allowed , or allowed or not , they will question the justice or policy of this philosophy .

      There are ( or should . be ) always two willing parties to a bargain , and no such intolerable assumption can he practically acknowledged as a canon of the commercial code , without consultation with , and the assent of , the working men of Great Britain . Unquestionably it is just that men should be profitabt remunerated for the use of their capital ; the converse also holds good : that men should be profitably remunerated for the use of their labour , and their skill , acquired in most instances by a sacrifice of the very best years of their Jives , in directing tbat labour .

      But who shall decide , in either case , the quantum meruit of such remuneration . Our political economists are , in this particular , miserably at fault . They talk # ' / enough of the profits . of capital , without measuring or defining its equitable amount ; but when or where do they speak , or even allude to the profits of labour ? such a term exists not in their commercial vocabulary . . The legitimate profits of capital is now generally admitted to be ( vide , the Corn Law speeches ot Biebard Cohden , John Bright , and other luminaries of the Manchester school ) the difference , which , in any case , remains between "buying in the cheapest market and selling in the dearest , " albeit , two patent robberies may be committed , as , in the ( often quoted case ) oi the Corn Laws , in every transaction . The aid of the Legislature v ? aa wrcce & ffvmy evoVed \ o put an end to the one profligacy , but to interfere in the other , and greater , is pronounced to be out of the category of legislative

      functions . The great Adam Smith , to whom is ascribed the honour of being the first man who reduced political economy to a science (?) rather clumsily slobbers over this very important question of the value of labour , as an essential ingredient in production , and entirely omits laying down any certain ru ! e forUaadjusttMnt wpropoitionment ; but , il we recollect rightly ( for we have not the volume in our prison to iefa to ) , he disposes of the inconvenient question hv the very naive and unscientific dictum " that the labourer ' is entitled to as much as he cm set . "

      Certainly at , and prior to , the time when the grea * father of political economy wrote , when labour was cov sidered and treated as the personal chaUle or slave of thoi « who hud the means of employing it , such a cavalier mow of defending Us rights would pass unquestioned bj tb 8 parties chit fly interested ; but , now , when so lawea p ^ portion of the toilers have become reading , thinking , aD < * reasoning men , it . would be preposterous to suppose to ® they will he longer contented to permit such a non-scie ' tific anomaly to pass current . We know that labour is an important-the mo 'P

      portant element of production ; and we should as soon to * rate the play of Hamlet with its chief character espu ? #° ' as a so-called science , which was divested of all consuls ' tion of its chief and most important element . , Certes , notwithstanding all that the Capitalists , »• J think and do , " backed" with the paid | advocacy of V , " Times " and " Dispatch , " the future relations beW » labour and capital are rapidly approaching a soluti Even the well-intentioned , though laboured l > y pl » u ° l . j spiritingsof that juitly esteemed Judge , Lord CranffO "

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 24, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_24011852/page/4/