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4 THE NOTlfrfaEftN STIR. ^_. - „ AtietJS...
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sic fforrf^
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he Tonsil amd Hongabun Refugees.—T. Brow...
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NOTICE! TO'READERS, SUBSCRIBERS, AND
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THE KORTHERH STAR SATUBBAT, AUCWST SO, 183It
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THE RECESS. A complete stagnation pervad...
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" RESPECTABLE " MURDER AND ROBBERY. Acco...
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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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Ad00407
Just Published , iN NOS . AT ONE PENNY EACH , THE EMIGRANT'S GuiiTfo THE GOLDEN LARD CALIF 0 R N I A ITS PAST HISTOltr ; ITS PRESENT POSITION ; ITS PUTUItB PROSPECTS : wrra x minute aud authestic account of THE DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD REGION , AMD TEE SOBSEQUEST IMPORTANT PROCEEDINGS .
4 The Notlfrfaeftn Stir. ^_. - „ Atietjs...
4 THE NOTlfrfaEftN STIR . ^_ . - „ AtietJST 30 , 1851 :
Ad00408
Jn Nos . at One Penny each , splendidly Illustrated , A HISTOltr OF THE DIFFERENT EXPEDITIONS ENGAGED IX THE SEASCH FOE SIBJ .-FRAIKLffl CONTAINING ALL THE REGEHT VSYA 6 ES TO THE ; POLAR REGIONS . Including iu particular tbe . Expedition sent out under tbe command OP SIR JAMES BOSS TO DAVIS" STBAITS AS ¦ Of Commander Moore and Captain Kellott , to Bearing ' s Straits . "With an authentic copy of the dispatches received from SIR GEORGE SIMPSON , OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY With other important and highly interesting information relative to the Expedition under
Ad00409
Noiv FsbUsldng in Nos . at One Penny each . Hy the Authoress of 'The Gipsei GlBL , ' Each p £ ssr JfcasEB of this Uorel will contain Sixteen Pages of solid print . THE TRIAL ? " OF LOVE OB , WOMAN'S REWARD : nr Mrs . H . M . LOWNDES .
Ad00410
Just published , npHE PROSPECTUS OP THE CENJL IRAL CO-OPERATIVE AGENCY / . —Containing the necessary means for obtaining further information . May be had at the following places : —The Central Office , 76 , Charlotte-street , Fitzroy-sqoare ; the Marylebone Branch , 35 , Croat Marylebone-street , Portland-place ; the Manchester Branch , 13 , Swan-street , Manchester ; the Publishing Office of the Society for Promoting Working Men ' s Associations , 183 , Fleet-street Gbatis—ifby personal application : if by letter , One Postage Stamp .
Ad00411
_^^^ , price une , THE APPLICATION OP ASSOCIA TIVE PRINCIPLES AND METHODS TO AGRIWJj / rCRE : A Lectobe , delivered on behalf of the So-¦ taety for promoting Working Men ' s Associations , on Wed-IJEsdat , Mat 23 , 1851 , by the Ber . Chables Kihgsiet , jun ., Rector of Eversley . London : Published by John James Bezer , at the Office of the 'Christian Socialist , ' 183 Fleet-street
Ad00412
THE CRYSTAL MACE . The following Engravings of this unrivalled edifice , are now ready , and may he had at this Office : — . . I—View of the Exterior of the Building ; a magnificent print—two feet long—exquisitely engraved ; from a drawing furnished by Messrs . Fox and Henderson ; and consequently correct in every respect . Prick ohm SrxrascE . II . —Proofs of the Same Print , printed on thick Imperial Drawing Paper . Pbice One SniDUsa .
Ad00413
SOW PaBLISHING , In Weekly Numbers , Price Only One Pennt Each , and Monthly Parts , Price Foubpence Each , CHEAP VALUABLE and POPULAR STANDARD WOEKS , IUustrated with BEAUTIFUL STEEL EXSKAVINGS . 1 —THE ARCTIC REGIONS , or the Lost Mariners , being a Search after Sir John Franklin , including an account of all the Voyaees in Search of the Missing Ships , both Instructive and beautifully Illustrated with Portraits of Sir John Franklin , Parry , ' Ross , Beechey , Back ; Views , & c 2 ,-STORM'S MORNING DEVOTIONS , for every Lay in the Year . 3 . —EVENING DEVOTIONS , for every Dav in the Year . 4—STURM'S CONTEMPLATIONS , on tho life and Bufferings of Jesus Christ , in Instructive and Devotional Exercises . 5 .- « 0 Ni AN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS , with his Divine Emblems . 6 . —BUNYaN'S HOLY WAR , The Losing and Taking again of the Town of Mansoul .
Ad00415
T BEG TO INFORM THE SHARE-•• - HOLDERS LX THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY , that I have consented to out myself in nomination as candidate for the office of Official Manager under the Windine up Act of the National Land Company . -I feel confident that the business-like manner in which the Bank affairs . / were proved before the Committee of the House of Commons to have been conducted under my ( superintendence , entitle me to the confidence of the Shareholders . . . . . ¦
Ad00420
GBEAT AND IMPORTANT BENEFITS T 6 Alili CLASSES . THE UNITED PATRIOTS' NATIONAL BENEFIT SOCIETY , AND BRITISH EMPIRE FREEHOLD LAND AND BUILDING SOCIETY . Unitedin action . Enrolled and Empowered by Act of Parliament to extend over the United Kingdom . AGENTS BEQBIRED TO FOBM lOCAUTIES IN AZL PAETS OF GBBAT SBITAIK Bankers . —The Commercial Bank of London ( Branch ) 6 , Henrietta Street , Covent Garden . Society ' s Office . —No . 13 , Tottenham Court , Acw Road , St . Pancras , London . Dasbi . Wiimam Rceet , Founder , Manager , and Secretary . -Ms , John Smith , Tnasurer . Soasn ' sMEETtsoHo 0 SE .- « Lamb and Flag , ' Rose Street , New Street , Covent Garden—Meetings every Tuesdav evening at Ei ? ht o ' clock . ' BENEFITS ASSURED IN THIS SOCIETY . ThG Member being Free to Balf the Benefits in Six Months from his date of entering . lsfcDiv . 2 nd . Div . 3 rd . Div . 4 th . Div . 5 th . Div . Cth . Div . msickness p * YTeek 0 18 o .... % to o ' .... * li 0 o 9 o 0 7 o ' 0 7 n ' Death of Member 20 0 0 If ! 0 n 19 ft n in n « " « I „ " ° 7 ° Death of Member's WUWNominee In 6 6 I" V ™ ? J "" ? 0 l '" S 0 n " " ° XossbyFire .. .. From £ 5 to 20 0 0 £ 5 to 20 0 0 £ dVo 15 0 OjEStolO 0 OjEStoll 0 0 " 5 ~ T " o Superannuation , per Week .. .. 0 6 0 .... 0 6 0 .-... 0 4 0 „ .. 0 i «„ .. 0 4 0 ' . ' . For Medicine , Gift , Widow and Orphan , Benefits , & c ., see and read the rules .
Ad00414
w EMIGR ATION . J [ UE BRITISH EMPIRE PERMANENT EMIGRATION AND COLONISATION To secure to each MemhernPa . ™ ^ .. SOCIETY . er a 'Mm of not less than Twenty-Five Acres of Land in America , by small * Irosoo » OFncB- _ i ^ T «« . I efe , y ° Moi » tbly ContribudoH 8 . OBJECT ' ttinl , am -cour .. New-wad , St Pancras .-D . W . Rofft , Secretary . To purchase a large tract of Land in ti ^ w ^ c . VALUE OF ^ SHARES £ eS " to each 2 *? ° ! 0 Cate *^ Ri £ 8 ? t 2 li 5 Ea <* " *> *• of the ultimate value of Twenty-Five Telrlc ;^ wdlin ^ ^ cr ibed for - F T , ds ' * to rdised Monthly <* Weekly Subscriptions , Land ™ fetch mftnfelitZ C 6 rtl ^ ^^ ofihe & s { Mo ^~ SUcttee * Frevious to the anival of the A payment of Ninepence per week for ten years will To provide for the location ff m t „ . amount to £ 19 Ms . ; bonus £ 5 10 s . A payment of SixfecommoD . as wS X- * W holding the land pence per week for fifteen years wiR amount to £ 19 lOs . j t ^ ircollecuveand Se ^ rate ^„ Tio ^ - * SeCW * : ? - ' e & ch tonm & lOe . ¦ Repayments may be made to the Society hi To purchase irr , ™* P ^ ? 6 s ana immunities . -Money , Produce , or Labour . idtenu * Uve ^ C'K ^ SS ^ ' fln . ° Sp 6 CtB ^ f ^ ' Porm 8 of A PP «»« «* Sbare 8 ' WPljwg each Member on locaSwhh fcS «! ^^ e , ?« ther , f , lf 9 - 5 , * had at the 0 ffice « . t » red at cost pnoe . " ««« u w « a me quannty re- above . All applicatio n * by letter , addressed to the Secre ^ " ^ W ^ ajjepot , from which to provide each family ^ "SJlSJEffi ?^ ' ^ ? *>***& fitan , P ^ the requaed quantity of wholesome food , mitil their R « i « JBw We ! ve postage stamps a copy of tht wnlMdpcoduMiIufic 4 tfor th ^ 5 ' tneir fniu ^^ SS &^ Po" « of Entrance bj Agents ttqair fcartsofCteestBritala .
Ad00416
AX ORGAN FOR THE WORKING MAN !! Men of the Trades ! ! . ' If you want to find a voice for your grievances , and a medium by which you can communicate every week with each other—record jour movements and your weekly meetings—aud define your progress , BEAD NOTES TO THE PEOPLE , A Periodical pub'ishea every Saturday , containing forty columns of close print ( besides wrapper ) lor wo Pence , bx
Ad00417
NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . Office , 14 , Southampton-street , Strand . m HE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE X herebyannounce the following meetings : — On Sundaj next , at three o ' clock in the afternoon , the Lambeth locality will meet at the South London Hall , aud Sir . Pattinson , tbe sub-secretary , will be in attendance to enrol members . ' On Sunday evening next , the late Crown and Anchor locality will meet at the White Horse , Hare-street , Bethual . green . On Sunday evening , at the Literary and Scientific Institution , Johu-sti'iet , Mr . Samuel lijdd will lecture . Subject : ' State Persecutions in Naples Florence , » nd Rome . ' On the same evening , at the Literary and Scientific Institution , Leicester-place . St . Peter ' s-tewace , Hattongarden , Mr . W . Broom will lecture . On the same evening , at the Ship , High-street , Great Garden-street , Whiteohapel , a discussion , will take place . Messrs . Shaw , Davis , and others , will attend . On the same evening , the Washington Locality will meet at the Two Chairmen , Wardour-street , Soho , to enrol members , and other business , and also far discussion . On the same evening at 21 , Vine-street , Uatton-garden , a lecture will be delivered .
Ad00418
THOMAS C 0 0 P E E , Author of ' The Purgatory of Sclcides , ' & c , _ . Deuvers Obations on tuk Fowowino Subjects : — The Genius of Shakspeare , as displayed in his ' Hamlet f with Headings and Recitations from the Play , the Music of Ophelia ' s Songs , & c . The Life and Genius of Milton ; with Kecitatioua from ' Paradise Lost , ' « fcc . The Life and Genius of Bums ; with the Music of some of his Songs , Recitations of ' Tam O'Shanter , ' ic . The Lite and Genius of Bjron ; with Readings and Recitations from his Works . The life and genius of Shelley , with Readings and Recitations from his works . Civilisation : What it was in the Past—what it effects for Man in the present , and the universal Human Happiness it must produce in the Future . The English Commonwealth : Founders of the Struggle-Coke , Selden , Elliot , l ' ym , Hampden , & e . — Despotism of the King , and Tyranny of Laud—Civil War—Death of Hampden—Battle of Naseby—Imprison-
Ad00419
TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY .-APPOINTMENT . OF AN OFFICIAL MANAGER . THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE National Land Company , and a Public Meeting of the Members 9 f the Land Company , having unanimously decided to record their votes in favour of Mr , W . H . Grey ( tbe Accountant employed by Government to audit the accounts of the Land Company ) , hereby call upon their brethren in the Metropolis , who have not recorded their votes to attend at the hour of three on Sunday afternoon for that purpose , at the City Chartist Hall , 26 , Golden-lane , Barbican . For the information of the numerous country branches who have applied to them , they have ascertained that votes will continue to be received up to Wednesday . t . it , Woo ® . Secretary , ; :
Ad00421
t „ . i . m . itAKi ' f " an Actto' dissolve 'theNational Land Co ^^ Sy -andtodlpo . eoftheLands „ nd property h tompan > a > u « , r 0 wma up the underiakS ' anaofthe J & tock CompinielWinding-up T ' ' JOSEPH HUMPHRY , ESQ ., 1 \ the Master of tf > e Hig h Court of Chancery , charged „ sA > Id wSb up ' of ( his Company , hereby , give notice « mt I aSrSt S chamber ,, Southampton-buildings , Chancery ane , London .. on Thursday , the 4 th day of Sepww n « t at twelve o ' clo * at noon precisely , or at tember next , at i «« v then-or afterwards fiv nSt an OfflciafAfanager , or Official Managers , ef ^• 'T ™ v And I give notice , that all parties inte-Sed SfcedI to attend at such time and place and to olr proposal or objections as to any such appointment .
Ad00422
Tnrt . P matter of " an Act to dissolve ' the National Land 1 O & SS ^ Bd to dispose of the Land and property beww to the Company , and to wind up . the undertaS '' ando \ the Joint Stock Companies' Winding-up Acts 1848 and 1849 . ' . . , ;• « . NOTICE is hereby given that all parties plaimine to be creditors of the above-mentioned rw ™« J or * to come in and prove their debts before j 2 ErHumptey ? Esq ., the Master of the High Court of cSeryebargla with the Winding-up of the said Comoanv at l . isChambers , in Southampton-buddings , Chan-Kane Loudon . And that until they shall so come , n , they will W precluded from commencing or prosecuting any proceedings for recovery of the . r debts .
Ad00423
& REAT NATIONAL STANDARD THEATRE , opposite the Eastern Counties Railway , Shoreditch . . _ „„ , „ Proprietor—Mr . Jons Douglass . Seventh week 01 the great hit The Trials and Triumphs of Temperance . Third week of The Life Baft ,, which continuTsto bereceived with great approbation . First Night of Xv and Powerful Drama , ThtJPiM ' i Son ; or , The False Key , and First appearance of Mr . ltouse , the celc brated Comic Singer and Provincial Comedian . On Saturday next will be produced , on a scale of splendour never before attempted , a Grand Oriental Romance , with great mechanical and scenic effects , and embracing the entire strength of the Company , entitled Chi ChuAli , the Brown Fiend ; or , Tne Charmed Pirate and the Magio Bracelets . ... "„ .. _ .... „
Sic Fforrf^
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He Tonsil Amd Hongabun Refugees.—T. Brow...
he Tonsil amd Hongabun Refugees . —T . Brown ' s List —Messrs . Hunwick , Back , and Friends , Borough-market , subscriptions announced in small sums , £ 3 lis 3 d—Mr . Wheelhouse , 2 s—Wilson ' s Factory , Wardour-street , 2 s —Mr . Blount aud Friends , Is 6 d .
Notice! To'readers, Subscribers, And
NOTICE ! TO ' READERS , SUBSCRIBERS , AND
FRIENDS . We have lately issued a circular to all our agents , intimating that , on and after Saturday , tho 30 th inst ., the publishing arrangements of the ' Star' will . beplaced on the same footing as those of all other metropolitan weekly journals . From' that date no papers will be supplied except for cash . In consequence of not acting upon this general rule of the trade , Mr . O'Connor has suffered heavily in past times , and has now owing , in small separate sums , an aggregate j
debt of some thousands of pounds . "We have no doubt our readers pay for their papers when they receive them ; we only want the agents to do the same when they take them from us ; and to content themselves with their legitimate profit , instead of taking paper , printing , government stamp , and editorial labour from us without making any return . In carrying out this arrangement , it is quite possible that some of our readers may be disappointed in receiving their papers for the
first week or two . If so , they will know where the fault lies , and they can easil y remedy it . They have only to give'their orders to another news-agent , who is in the habit of observing the trade rule , and sending his money with his orders to his whole-Sale agent , eitherin Londoner in the country . If no such person be available , a quarter ' s payment in advance , or the remittance of the price of a single number in postage stamps weekly , will ensure the paper regularly from this office by post .
[ We find that the circular , which , under present circumstances , we felt it our duty to issue , has given offence to some of our agents . It is a pleasing duty to us to state , that we have many of the most honourable men in the trade acting in that capacity , whose payments are prompt , and whose conduct merits not only our respect and esteem , but the confidence of the public in all trade tansactions . In commencing a new arrangement for the publication of the ' Star , ' however , we were necessarily obliged
to announce the causes of that alteration , without specific reference to individuals ; and we shall deeply regret if that indispensable announcement has either hurt the feelings or , in the remotest degree , injured any honourable agent . To them we shall look for the same prompt and tradesman-like , conduct we have always experienced at their hands ; while we must repeat that the circumstances in which we are placed during Mr . O'CONNOlt ' s absence from England , will compel us imperatively and rigourously to act upon the arrangement of which we have given notice .
The Kortherh Star Satubbat, Aucwst So, 183it
THE KORTHERH STAR SATUBBAT , AUCWST SO , 183 It
The Recess. A Complete Stagnation Pervad...
THE RECESS . A complete stagnation pervades the political world . Not a single meeting in any part of the country has taken place since the recess , on political topics , if we except one , at which Mr . F . Young was the chief performer , and Protection the theme . A meeting of the Parliamentary . Reform Association has been held for the election of officers , at which we are told ' the utmost enthusiasm was
manifested , ' and promises of what it will do were liberally made ; but as yet it has done nothing . Chartism is not more active than any other politicalism . True , that the lecturers connected with the Chartist organisation address audiences in various towns and districts ; that other lecturers of long standing and eminence in the Democratic ranks , like Mr . Thomas Cooper , make lecturing tours ; and that Chartist localities duly meet and transact their ordinary business ; but there is no national movement—none of that universal upheaving which precedes great and radical reforms . ' Nothing is stirring but stagnation .
It is somewhat difficult to account for this supineness and apathy . Certainly it does not arise from general satisfaction with the government , and tbe present state of political affairs . "We do not believe that if the country could be polled , the present Ministry would receive a single vote beyond those of their own immediate circle—their official : subordinates and on-hangers , and place hunters connected With the Whig party . Their utter Incompetency to discharge the duties of a Government has long been notorious to all parties . They feel themselves that they merely retain their places on sufferance—attempt as little as they can , and make ajbotch of everything they do meddle with .
, If . the Ministers are thus regarded , either with contempt or indifference by the great body of the people , the present state of our political institutions is equally opposed to their convictionsof what is just or ' nationally beneficial . Even in St . Stephen ' s itself it is felt and admitted , that under them matters were brought to a dead lock , and that a great change is ] necessary . The unenfranchised masses have long demanded a Manhood Suffrage as the only equitable and satisfactory settlement of the suffrage question—their political creed is well known and distinctly avowed ; but they give no sign of living faith and sincerity of conviction . Even the promise of a Whig Reform Bill next session has failed to stimulate them to action , \^
The Recess. A Complete Stagnation Pervad...
Perhaps , however , in tho midst of this seeming inaction and apathy , opinion and events may be quietly ripening for such a movement as we desiderate . The short days and long nights are approaching , when the watering places , the moor , the game preserves ; and the well appointed yacht , will no longer absorb the attention of public men in the upper classes ; while the shutting up of tho Exhibition , aud the cessation of cheap railway trains , will leave the industrial classes time and means to attend to political questions . By the end of October , or beginning of November , Ave may have a movement begun which will betoken a healthy state of public opinion , and tell on the Whig bantling in embryo .
We confess , however , that we rather hope this will be the case than feel certain of its occurrence . We see on the part of the leaders of the so called popular party , both in and out of Parliament , noneof that union and mutual co-operation which are the essential pre-requisiteto national organisation , or the production of great and beneficial reform . , During the last few years , almost every one of the eighty members who vote for Mr . Hume ' s 'Little Charter' have at all other times
mounted each a separate hobby , and spurred and cantered away thereon , regardless of the principle of concert , and without even dreaming ot the formation of any definite policy as a party—the term is indeed as inapplicable to them as it would . be to a ropo of sand . There is neither cohesion , leadership , nor plan to be found among them ; and hence Whig ministers are allowed to indulge in a Tory policy , and to . prevent all rational and progressive reform on the most miserable and flimsy pretexts . {
If theeighty' had acted in concert with each other , and in good faith on their own professed principles , they would have made the barren sessions of the last few years very different in their character and results . They were numerous enough to hold the balance between the factions , who alternately take possession of place and power . If tlvo Whigs would not go on , they ought to have gone outone or the other of these courses should have been their only alternative . But the parliamentary l Liberals' are all leaders ; there is no rank and file—no organisation , no subordination ,
no acting together . Every man doeth that which is right in his own eyes , and the consequence is , they are powerless , and may be laughed at with impunity-by either ol the factions , who separately have neither the numbers nor the influence , requisite to ensure the retention of . office . Until this , grievous defect in Parliamentary tactics is remedied , the cause of popular progress will have no chance within the Legislature . But we believe that
the remed y itself must come from without . At the next election earnest men must be sent into the House ^ of Commons , who are prepared to take any position in the popular party , to act in concert with those professing the same general opinions , in furtherance of a clear and decided plan of action , and who are not to be . seduced from the manly and independent discharge of their duties , by all the blandishments and seduction of the Treasury ' whipper in' or his masters . . . . i
We como back , therefore , to the people at last , as the real source from , which must emanate a healthy political activity . Limited as the Suffrage is , much might be done at present in the direction we have indicated ; but we trust that the next election will take place with a greatly extended Suffrage ; and to that end we hope before tho close of tho present year , to' see a . movement out of doors that shall demonstrate to the Government , in an unmistakeahle manner , tho attachment of the masses to the principles embodied in the People ' s Charter .
No personal feeling or paltry ambition should be allowed to stand in the way of such a movement on the part of those who have hitherto taken an active part in the Chartist agitation . The remarks we have made as to the want of unity oh the part of Parliamentary 'Liberals , ' apply to the leaders of the Chartist body also ; and that fatal disunion has probably more than any other cause tended to produce the disorganisation aud apathy which we lament . Those who aspire to guide the
people should set an example of earnest devotion to the cause , of self negation , of zeal and determination . In proportion as they do this , and show that , they think habitually more of principles than persons—more of the work in which they are engaged than themselves—will they command the confidence and respect of the public , and acquire that influence over the national mind , which must precede the accomplishment of any great beneficial or enduring reform in our political and social institutions .
" Respectable " Murder And Robbery. Acco...
" RESPECTABLE " MURDER AND ROBBERY . According to the Free Trade journals , England is quite a commercial paradise at present . Competition and cheapness are iu the ascendant , and we are almost deafened by the incessant laudation heaped upon the policy which has produced such glorious results . Now we do not deny that the said policy hat worked very well for the class who live upon the profits of other men's industry , or the clasa
that live by baying cheap and selling dear . The manufacturers and the commercialists may thrive , however , without a co-ordinate prosperity existing among other classes of the community . Nay , their prosperity may he based on the suffering and the oppression of these classes . But unfortunately the oppressed classes have no voice in the fashionable and potential journals . Wealth—which secures the enjoyment of so many other good thingsmonopolizes the ear of the public also , and a depraved public opinion is the consequence .
If this was not true , it would not have been possible for some recent occurrences to have been passed over almost without notice—certainly without appropriate censure and condemnation . In some of the most widely circulated daily papers , we find constant lamentations over the sufferings of the slaves iu the United States , and elsewhere ; while they suffer treatment of the wages slaves in England , infinitely worse in character , to pass without comment
Take for instance the late 'Manslaughter ' —as the coroner's jury termed it—at the Malaga Vale Coal Fit , near Bedminster , Bristol . On that occasion the breaking of a rope caused the death of five poor colliers , as they were being lowered to their work . The rope snapped at the top when they were far down the shaft , and ^ the lo osened mass of material fell upon , and smashed and mutilated
the victims , till they could hardly be ! recognised . This was not an ' accident '—a favourite word in colliery affairs ; it was a deliberate murder we were going to sav , but we Will not GXCeed the moderate verdict of the jury . It was a deliberate manslaughter—if our readers can form an idea of two such terms in conjunction . . ..,.,. ' . „ . ' .
The rotten , unserviceable , and dangerous condition of the rope to which the men employed m the colhery had twice every day to trust their lives , was well-known , It fad been spliced m several places . '; and oneof the witnesses swore that the part cut off and shown to the Jury as that where the fracture occurred , was , not , the part that really broke , but a much sounder part . . On the very occasion the rope broke ;' the attention of the for * man was called to its state by six of the men , who expressed their suspicions as to its security . He looked at it , and said it should be seen to after they had gone' down ! They did go down-the rope / broke ; and all were killed but one , who having landed at a higher level , narrowl y escaped th ^ fate of his doomed cornpinions . But it may be said that the men were aware of the dangeron * amdUioa of the rope ,
" Respectable " Murder And Robbery. Acco...
why did they risk their HV 6 S wltl J their eyes open ? Alas ! the evidence showco that they had only the . alternative of death by starvation , : or death by violence . One man had been discharged for hinting that it wag unsound , and nearly ail the witnesses examined stated that * they dared not speak their minds and that they should be turned away for what they said that day ;' ¦ in other words , that the owners of the pit would punish them for speaking the truth on their oaths , by depriving them of work and the means of existence . Now , we should like to see a working class
jury empaiinelled to try this case , and to have a judge to pronounce sentence upon tho two persons committed for manslaughter , who had as much general sympath y with the working men as judges have with the wealthy and ' respectable' classes of societ y . We suspect that they would take a very difFercnt view of the case to what will be taken by a middle-class jury and judge , under the dominion of the conventional and unconscious prejudices which necessaril y influence his views on all questions that come before him
If the case was fairly tried , it would , wo think , be found oneof the deepestatrocties , and much more worthy of the gallows than many to which that penalty is adjudged . When a poor i gnorant wretch , under tho ma ddenW excitement of passion or drink , deprives a fellow creature of life , tho judge is ready enough to vindicate the sanctity of human life , by condemning the criminal to death , But if we look at the * Malaga Vale' murders carefully , we shall find that they were attended by no such extenuating circumstances as
accompany nine-tenths of the cases in which murder is committed in this country . The depth of the pit was 1 , 500 feet , or about four times the height of St . Paul ' s Cathedral . Tlie ropo was tho sole means of raising to the surface the products of the mine , and lowering and bringing up tbe men employed in it ; but , for the sake of saving a few pounds , the manager and foreman deliberately continued to use the rope long after it was evident to all that it had ceased to bo serviceable . The
cart or basket in which the men went down to their work , was not guarded by any apparatus whatever against the numerous chances of danger while descending the shaft ; aud when the colliers ventured to whisper that it was unsafe to trust their lives to this rotten spliced , crazy machinery , dismissal was the consequence . The killing of the five men was not , therefore , a misadventure , or manslaughter under extenuating circumstances ;—it was a deliberate and coolly-perpetrated murder , with as palpable an object as that of the highwayman or . burglar who kill their victims in order to get their purses or their plate . ¦»
The occupation of coal miners must , under the best of circumstances , be at all times prosecuted under many inconveniences , and surrounded hy dangers ; but it is the boundeu duty of the owners or renters of each pit to take care , not onl y that all the machinery and processes connected with its working are in a sound condition , but that they are tbe best which the science and the experience of the day can devise . In a country like this , abounding in mechanical , chemical , and engineering skill , the chances of danger ought to be reduced to a minimum ; and , in fact , we
believe that plans , patents , and . machinery exist by which all , or nearly all , foreseen causes of injury to life or limb may be provided against . The only reason why they aro not adopted is the expense . Rather than pay the money which it would require to make their pits Safe and health y , the mine owners prefer v to sacrifice the lives of their workpeople wholesale , to rob families of their protectors and supporters , and to drive widows and families by the score and the hundred into beggary or the workhouse . For the obvious and avowed purpose of putting a few pounds in their pockets , they persist in employing processes rivalling in rudeness and
inadequacy the crudest attempts of the moat savage tribes . That most useful portion of our labouring population who are engaged in providing us with the material on which the whole of our manufacturing and commercial greatness depends , are buried in the bowels of the earth , exposed to deadly gases , noxious ' afterdamps , ' and to untimely deaths ; and yet the precautions of science ^ by which their toilsome labours might be alleviated and their safety insured , are not provided from the most sordid and grovelling motives . What are the lives of a hundred colliersc ompared to an extra hundred thousand pounds a year in the pocket of the owner ?
It will be recollected that in the session before last an act was passed , in defiance of a determined opposition on the part of the masters , which was intended to place some check on the numerous and evidently culpable « accidents ' in coal mines . That act does not by any means seem to be sufficient for the purpose , if we may judge by the frequency of these occurrences of late . At one colliery , near Wakefield , two men were killed by an explosion of foul air ; at another , seven were
destroyed by the ignition of the explosive gases in the foul workings ; and , following these , was an awful event at the Washington Colliery , near Newcastle , b y which thirty-fiv poor men were in an instant destroyed by an explosion of choke damp , and their blackened and charred bodies brought up to the surfaco scarcely recognisable by the frantic wives , mothers , and sisters , whose shrieks of woe rise to heaven against the monstrous cupidity which has caused so many murders .
If we turn to other sections of the industrial classes , we find that our boasted prosperity is equally far from protecting them against oppression or improving their condition . In the manufacturing districts abatements andfines are made , by which the nominal wages paid to the operatives are reduced at the uncontrolled pleasure of the mill owners . Each mill has its' black list , ' in which the names of all obnoxious workmen are duly entered by
the conspirators against the independence of the working classes ; and whenever one of the proscribed and doomed men who have had the misfortune to offend any one of the millocracy asks for work , the first question asked is the name of the applicant ; the black list is scanned , and , without any reason assigned , he is told there is no work for him . We wonder whether Mr # < Justice Erie and a special jury would call this a conspiracy to impoverish and starve to death thevictims of suchan infamous
combination j or is the law oulv made to ensnare and oppress the working man alone ? Last week " a . Poor Stockinger ' ' told his piteous tale iu our columns , with a graphic simplicity and pathos which must have aroused the warmest sympathies of our readers . We need not do more than advert to the leading facts . For making stockings he . is paid Is . 3 d . per dozen pairs , or lid . per pair . He dare not work at any other frame than that of his employer , who gives him out just so much work as he pleases . Having made seven dozen pair oi stockings , he took them into the warehouse , expecting to receive the 7 s . 6 d ., which was their price . But the employer deducted in the first ph * the employer deducted in the first p » 6 e
5 s . 9 d . for frame rent , and refused even the remaining Is . 9 d ., on the ground that the stockinger was in arrears . In vain did the man beg for a single shilling to keep him fro 01 starving , from the wretch who had seized upon the fruits of his labour ;; he was repulsed , and ' with a sad heart and broken mind , almost contemplated suicide . We scarcely wonder at it , when for seventeen weeks together he has never received more than Is . Cd . a week for making six dozen pair of stockings * and is compelled to eke out a living by app ing to the parish for relief . Thousands . ©/ his class are in the same position , and it » clear that , under pretence of frame rent , they are robbed , of even the nominal price of their labour by the employers , and thrown OB ^ tlifl
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 30, 1851, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_30081851/page/4/
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