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    188 THE STAR OF I1EEB0M. [OcToBER 30i i....

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    TRADES.

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    THE STRONG BOOT AKD SHOE TRADE—IMPORTANT...

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    " Tipping a Wink."—We believe there is s...

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    LITERATURE. ^ 0

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    A Brief Inquiry into the Natural Rights ...

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    First Report Of The Society For Promotin...

    sressreat many small Associations will spring up , instead of a few large ones , unless woworking-men will look forward and take a broader and more Christian view of ftheiheir work . These small Associations will compete with and ruin one another , santand the slop-system will go on increasing still in all branches of industry , alrthcihough small masters may have become extinct . We will not however dwell npiipon this danger , to point out which we hope will be enough . In one respect tbithe London Associations have shown most favourably ; th « y are always ready to reireceive foreigners where it is possible . In Castle-street there is an Hungarian ; th < the North London Builders have M . Jfadaud , late a member of the French

    Asset sembly , for an Associate ; ami the Pimlico Builders not only took in a Lyons m workman named Iglesia , b >\ t subscribed and collected sufficient to enable him to set send for bis wife and family . If they will go on in this spirit we have no fear of tin their success , for they are taking in and clothing those whose presence will br bring His blessing who has said , " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the le least of these my brethren ye have done it unto Me . " We cannot close this Report without noticing one establishment connected w with , though not strictly a part of the Society for promoting Working Men ' s A Associations , the Central Co-operative Agency , established at 76 ,

    Charlottest street , Fifzroy-square . The Central Agency originated in the desire of enabling the working populalidion of Lotdon to obtain the articles of their ordinary consumption , such as i »] . groceries , & C , of a quality on which reliance could be placed , and at prices as 3 c 3 ow as the necessary expenses of the business admitted . It soon appeared that tl this object would be most surely effected , and a further valuable object be att ; tained , by forming in place of the retail establishments at first contemplated , a c centre , which should furnish at wholesale prices the goods required to establishx tnentssetup either by working-men or others , for the purpose of supplying t their own consumption . Scores of establishments of this nature existed , as it a appeared already , under the name of " Co-operative Stores , " in the north . A

    t disposition to form them existed everywhere . A central house of business , prot vided with sufficient funds , conducted by persons well acquainted with the busii ness they undertook ; carried on under such supervision as should guarantee the 1 honesty of the management , would , it seemed , be of great value , both in guardi ing the existing Stores against the frauds often practised upon them , and in i making it easy to form new stores . The Central Agency was established to t discharge this function , and we are glad to say that it has hitherto done so to i the satisfaction of its founders . Its business transactions with the Stores of . England and Scotland are already very considerable , and are steadily increasing . : _ \ ew Stores have sprung into existence in various places through its means . At ' the same time it is quietly becoming the instrument of a yet more valuable and

    —the end of bringing the widely scattered elements of Co-operative action into direct connexion with each other . For we must caution all our readers who are unacquainted with the subject , not to think that they know the extent to which Co-operation has gone in England when they have read this report . We are only a very small stream of the great flood ; there are , as we have just said , hundreds of Co-operatiue Stores already working , and hundreds of others springing up through the length and breadth of the land , and Working Associations also , although the growth of these in England is more slow . There- are in London itself many bodies of working-men either in Association already or preparing for it , who are in no connexion with us , such as plumbers , weavers , carpenters , and hardware-men . Some of these are on the eve of starting , others have enrolled members , and opened subscription lists , while others again are as yet inorganic , having an existence in talk only , But we need say no

    more , for any one who has been living at all with working-men during the last three years must have been astonished at the wonderful spread of this idea of fellow-work—by people in general called Socialism—amongst them within that time , and above all at the progress it has made within the last nine months , he will be as sure as we are , that great results of one kind or aiiother , must soon follow this steady gathering together of the forces of labour , for mutual help in productive and distributive industry . We hope he will also agree with us . that the part of every honest man just now is to throw himself heart and soul into the movement , and to teach by words and deeds , that men do not come together in Associations to divide profits individually , and heap up capital , but to learn to live and work together like brothers , to see justice done to the weak , and to preach the trade gospel of the duty to labour and the right to live thereby . There is indeed much need at this moment that educated men should come

    forward , to guide the movement if possible , at any rate to share in it ; for the number of these—never enough to do the work which they had to do , well—has of late fallen off , several of the most active members of the Society having gone abroad and others having left London . Meantime the numbers of working-men become larger every day . Our task is done , and the reader who has gone with us thus far , will be by this time aware , that a little society founded by a few clergymen and lawyers to help small bodies of their poorer brothers in carrying on their trades for the benefit of themselves and their familie * , honestly , openly , as christian men in a christian land—a Society not three years old , with a capital of some 1 , 500 ? . and

    an income under 2001 . a year—has had to face for itself and to decide upon most of the difficult questions which are , or ought to be , puzzling the wise heads of political economists and statesmen , We cannot but think that the experience of our Society may be valuable to many besides ourselves , and that wiser heads and stronger wills than ours may find , in , the history of our struggles , hints which will help them in solving the great question which England must solve , or die—" How shall our working people be delivered from their present misery , and be made free men and free citizens ? " May God send wiser and stronger men * 0 lead the van , and that goon , for the time presses ! 84 . Castle Street . Oxford Street .

    188 The Star Of I1eeb0m. [October 30i I....

    188 THE STAR OF I 1 EEB 0 M . [ OcToBER 30 i i . ii « 1 -J n ¦ - i . ~ ii i i - i ~ i i i [— ¦ ' — ¦¦

    Trades.

    TRADES .

    The Strong Boot Akd Shoe Trade—Important...

    THE STRONG BOOT AKD SHOE TRADE—IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETING . On Tuesday evening last , a public meeting was held at the Temperance Hall , Broadway , Westminster , to hear the statement of the men who were thrown out of employment on Monday , Oct . 18 th , for refusing to sign the . " document" put forth by the employers in " Strong Boot and Shoe Trade . " The hall was crowded to excess , and great excitement xms manifested by the unanimous vote of the meeting . Mr P . Chump was called to the chair .

    The CHAiBMAJf having read the placard convening the meeting , said—that in the month February last , au attempt was made by an employer in Westminster to reduce the wages of his workmen . The workmen offered some resistance . The employer stated that it was much against his will , but he was driven to it by the competition of the other employers in the trade . The workmen had so long suffered the greatest privations in consequence of this plea of the employers of " competition" that they determined to work steadfastly and unitedly , to bring about a uniform rate of wages in the different shops , and urged the masters to endeavour to establish a uniform scale of prices for the work distributed to the public . About fifty employers responded to their call ,

    and requested the men to submit their scale of charges for the different descriptions of work . In London there are 10 i employers in the strong trade , most of whom " had risen from the seat'' as workmen , and bad now become the employers of labour . At the meeting of employers , which the first deputation waited on with their list of prices , there were 52 present , and at the request of the workmen they solemly promised not to make any alteration in the scale until the men had consulted other employers and workmen , the employers having stipulated that they should have the support of three-fourths of the trade . Well , in » short time the second deputation waited on the employers , and upon stating that three-fourths of the employers had consented to the scalethey were told that

    , nothing could be decided till they had gained the adhesion of all the employers . The employers followed this by another stroke equally as discreditable they appointed twelve of their number , men by no means leaning towards the workmen , as a "board of trade . " This beat the three tailors of Tooley-street , who were quite as respectable as a dozen " snobs" styling themselves the " board of trade , "—( laughter ) . Their first business was not how they should introduce a fair scale of wages , but Juno they should raise the price of shoes . At this " board of trade" were inclined to take upon themselves the power to decide all cases of dispute between men and employers , the deputation proposed , that at least number of

    , an equal men should sit with them to dispose of matters so nearly affecting their interests-hut the " masters" would hear no such proposal—and why 1 Because they knew there were men to be found now making shoes for a miserable pittance who were not onlv not inferior to any , hut positively superior in intelligence to most of the gentlemen of the " board of trade " They knew they had not the ability to argue them down , and they had not the moral courage to meet the men who had so much of right on their side . But in answer to the appeal of the men , they issued a number of placards , advertising for 500 men to do common work . Ah ! the public little knew what this common work meant . It meant common wages in times when men could not help tnemsdves . There never was two Eorts of work , and it Ms only been a miser-

    The Strong Boot Akd Shoe Trade—Important...

    able subterfuge of the employers to pay low wages for work which they take care shall not be inferior to what they call " best work . " The employers issued a scale of charges far inferior to the men ' s and in addition to announcing that they meant to discharge all their men , on the 18 th inst ., they put forth a document binding the men to sign that they would not support any men who had disputes " with any employer paying these wages . " If the •« master" liked to give more he could , said the employers , but they knew that such would not happen , as the men were precluded from demanding more , and they had " competition" too often on their lips to voluntarily raise the wages of the men . He would explain another infamous system of fraud . The men stipulate that all nhoes made on lasts 10 inches long be paid men ' s wages for , 10 inches is what is

    known as "first size , " but the master ' s have fraudulent " measuring sticks" by which so great is the deception that a " sixth size" appears to be a " fourth size " and they pay accordingly , and instead of getting two shillings and threepence for ordinary shoes , they get but one shilling and sixpence , so if a mnn mnke seven pair a week he is defrauded of five shillings and threepence . The " ¦ masters " declare they will starve the workmen who have made them rich , as some of them are , into compliance . But it is now more than a week since , and although all have suffered great privation , very few , very few indeed have disgraced themselves by signing the - " document . " They have studied other trades knowing that if thev yield this " document" system must have become general .

    Other workmen should feel it as their duty to lend them a helping hand , and with but little assistance they will conquer . The trade is so busy that if all were employed there would be wanted -J 00 or 300 more men . The men feel that this is an opportunity to raise the wages from the miserable pittance they have of late years received . About 200 men are out of work , and although there are 800 in the society , the wages are so low that their brother shoemakers cannot support them . Why , take the year through , good weather and bad , and average the earnings of the men throughout the trade , and we shall find that the average earnings of each man is not move-than twelve shillings per week—( loud cheers , and cries of assent ) . The Chairman concluded by making an appeal on behalf of the men , and resumed his seat loudly cheered .

    Mr . Isaac Wilsojt moved the following resolution : " That this meeting views with surprise the conduct of the employers of the strong boot and shoemakers' trade in discharging the men in their employ for refusing to sign the masters' document . This meeting likewise repudiates the right of" masters" to dictate what workmen shall do with their earnings , and furthermore we pledge ourselves to render every assistance in our power to the journeymen strong boot and shoemakers by dealing only in those shops where a fair rate of wages is paid and no document required to be signed 4 and to raise subscriptions to support the men who have so nobly resisted th's encroachment upon the rights of labour . " Mr . Wilson said he was surprised to find that the greatest tyrants among these employers were the men Who had sat on the stool . Whatever may be their

    plea , the public must determine to put a stop to their tyranny by dealing only with those shops where the men receive justice . We find a dozen " employers " going to " settle" the prices these men shall receive for their labour . But justice would demand that he who produced the property should fix the rate of wages These men would not sell their shoes to the customers who walked into their shops and offered to fix the price they would give . But , as society is constituted , it is nothing but fair that at least as many men as " masters" should decide upon these matters . We must put a stop to these continued repetitions of tyranny by banding the trades together as they were in 1832 , for the mutual protection of the rights of labour . If the employers had consulted justice and their own interest , even as they should have done , they would have worked to bring about

    what the men desire . They would try to put a stop to that selfish competition among themselves by paying uniform wages and taking uniform prices for work worth the money . The public would not then be defrauded in the quality of the work , and all classes would be gainers . Until a careful regulation is made , the men ' s wages will go down day after day . Let both men and employers consider that the employer ' s is the least important branch of the trade . They merely hand over to the consumer what the poor hard-working shoemaker produces , in the meantime taking care to replenish their pockets out of the transaction . The workmen must become more united , and pay attention to these things , and by their united intelligence bring about a system where the mere

    distributor shall not get the lion ' s s-liare ; and if this question is not rectified throughout all society , in a few years we shall have society in a state of anarchy . We must at once make arrangements for the producer and distributor to partake in proportion to their importance . When a man works piece-work , as in the case of the shoemakers , and hands in his work , if he likes , his connection with his employer is dropped , but what are we to think of the men who offer such a thing as this document to a man who is only bound to do a ceriain piece of work each bargain . Let workmen ask themselves Whether they will support such men , or whether they will not rather go to those places where men are fairly paid for the work produced . ( Loud cheers ) .

    Mr . M'Ihtyhe ( of the West-end boot and shoemakers ) was pleased to have the opportunity to second the resolution * Will men believe in future ages that in this day of England ' s greatness , in this time when we boast of our high civilisation , and the superior intelligence of our workmen , that these intelligent workmen themselves are not allowed to put a value on the work they produce for society . Such is the case , and it can only be remedied by the better paid workmen assisting the down-trodden shoemakers . Although 800 in number , their society ' s funds have been so reduced by the continued harrassing of the

    employers last winter , that they are forced to look for extraneous assistance . Let committees of workmen be formed in Westminster and elsewhere to collect the penny subscriptions of those who are favourable to their cause , and we should soon find that if that and Mr . Wilson ' s recommendation to buy of the good shops only were combined , that we should conquer . When the document was offered to the engineers we thought that it would have been presented next to the better paid trades in succession , but they got to extremes—the highest to the lowest ; and here they are calling upon the men of 12 s . per week not to support one another in raising such a miserable pittance to the wages of a free

    man . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Walfourd ( of the Working Builders' Association ) said , that men would lor ever be at the mercy of their employers until they were united in a national union and began to carry out the principles of association . In spite of " Uncle Tom ' s Cabin , " we have a slave trade at home , and we must reform ourselves before we send missionaries across the Atlantic . We can do it if we will Only buy our shoes of those who give their men the better wages . If possible , let a little money be got together , to put the men in shops of their own , and no doubt they would get plenty of ordets . Let working-men remember that if on Saturday night they go short of a pint and a screw they can give half-a-quartern loaf io starving children of the shoemaker . ( Loud applause . ) [ A gentleman here threw a package on the platform , in which were two halfcrowns . ]

    Mr . Seari . es advocated the establishment of local committees to raise penny subscriptions . When these men get 12 s . a week they earn it by working all hours . When the world is asleep , there is the poor shoemaker , with a halfpenny candle , working away to keep body and soul together . Lectures , and mechanic ' s institutions , and cheap literature are not for them . We must work bravely , and do away with such a social anomaly . Mr . Kekdaltj ( one of the " Employers' Association " ) here came forward , and tried to palliate the conduct of the employers by declaring they were animated by a desire for the well-being of the . men . Mr . Kendall ,

    however , so irritated the meeting by his remarks , that it was with difficulty he could be heard , and a most terrific storm of yells and hisses were raised when Mr . Kendall assured them that if they did not come to some terms it isprobable that in the bad seasons the masters would give them only one shilling and sixpence for making a pair of strong boots . ' The Chairman and Mr . J . Wilson having ably disposed of Mr . Kendall ' s view of the question , the resolution was put to the meeting , and was carried with not a single protesting hand . This was followed by a round of applause . A vote of thanks was given to the Chairman , and at his instance , the like compliment was paid to the reporters for the STAR of Freedom and Reynold ' s Newspaper , followed by three hearty cheers .

    " Tipping A Wink."—We Believe There Is S...

    " Tipping a Wink . "—We believe there is such an expression as ' tipping a . wink . " This expression might be applied to the Winking Virgin , for we are positive the Koman Catholic priests only keep up the " wink" on account of the " tipping" that is connected with it . —Punch , The Turn of a Hair—Those who are aware of the expensive habits of Louis Napoleon declare that he thinks less of the dignity of his present position than the salary , and that he is only cultivating the imperial for the sake of the % \ ot ~ Punch .

    Death in SpoitT .-In a report of the proceedings of the British Association Dr . J . D . Marshall stated , on exhibiting a specimen of "Bonaparte's Gull , " that it was "the only one hitherto shot in Europe . " The learned Doctor has forgotten that several hundred Specimens were shot in the streets of Paris on Dec * 2 . —Ibid .

    Literature. ^ 0

    LITERATURE . ^ 0

    A Brief Inquiry Into The Natural Rights ...

    A Brief Inquiry into the Natural Rights of \\ London : Watson , Queen s-head-passage , Pat ernoster . ^' , ^ Of late much has been heard at public meeting con " social rights . " We wish we could add that all that \\ r ^ said relating thereto was calculated to advance the knowl H the people in relation to so important a subject . Unhappii , , sacred question of social rights has been used rather as apart ' than discussed for the purpose of diffusing sound iuf ,, rm - crjf Like lhe char ter , name and all , " " the whole hog , bristles and ? ' the words " social rights" have been abused , where they si i have been used onlyfi n connexion with calm and earnest effort elevate the mvilt > tude from the grovelling depths of i gnorant * ° the glorious eminence of unpolluted knowled ge . « Social iiJ . ' S should be the war-cry of the peoplebut there can be Km 11

    , hope of that as long as men will claim for party what was « J > for mankind ; and not hesitate to do injury lo a noble cause ^ that they may gratify their sectarian intolerance . We welcom ° tins little work in the hope that it may prove an instalment toward * that improved order of discussion in which sense shall t ^ ' ^ place of sound ; and men be more intent upon advancing truS ! lhan eliciting the " thundering cheers" of * passion led pariizans Though the author falls short of realizing all that his title-pasje ma ' lead the reader to expect , he . still lias done something towards pre senting in a tangible shape those ideas of political and social jusUre " which though much talked of are certainly not loo well or too widely understood . In any future work he will do well to adopt

    I _____ ____«» . __ . A _•« M _ rv 4 t \ *___* _ I _ r « 4 " _¦"_ _ Pk _ - » It _ - _ • & _ , *_ - _ .. __ ... __ . ! I more dispassionate tone in relation to reformers , a * honest and fa say the least ) as ultra as himself ; and , in our humble opinion , he w ill act wisely to employ his pen upon something more important than that incomprehensible riddle , religion . Too much of the political sectarian' breathes in his pages . Take for example his accusations against the French Communists and Socialists—imputing to them the ruin of lhe late revolution ; an assertion untrue , unjust , and ungenerous . At the period of the revolution , the most extreme Socialists—ihe only organized Communists , properly so ca . l . d were the followers of Cabet . Immediately on the overthrow of the monarchy they rallied to the republican flag . On the 25 th of

    February the citizen Cabet caused to be posted on the walls of Paris a proclamation , in which he exhorted his friends and followers to unite around the provisional government , to adjourn their own peculiar ideas and projects , to be moderate , generous , and ; o act only as Frenchmen , democrats , and republicans . The communists acted as advised . What was their treatment in return 1 Persecution , calumny , proscription , and menaces of death ! Why ? because they desired to establish the true republic—the republic in which classes should disappear ; while their tradncers and persecutors desired only a bourgr . ois republic , a sham , a mockery , preparatory to the restoration of the old tyranny , under the name of one or other of tbe former royal or imperial despotisms .

    Objections notwithstanding , we can conscientiously and heartilv recommend this treatise to our readers . We give the following extracts : MASOLATRY . Although political government has taken various forms in different countries , and among different races of men , it can scarcely be doubted that the proneness of the herd of mankind to manolatry , or hero-worship—to follow the most

    unscrupulous leader , rather than think for themselves as to What is best for their own interests—has had great influence in the formation of all governments . In every clan or community , there would be found at least one individual possessing more physical or mental prowess than the rest ; and he would be always ready at'the call of his fellows , if not trotn the impulse of his own activity or ambition 6 accept or assume responsible offices , either of trust or danger , and thence to take the direction of state affairs into his own hands .

    Hence the natural origin of despotic governments ; and whether , as ia some nations , government takes an apparently less concentrated form , and becomes what is called oligarchical , or aristocratical ; or whether its base is further widened , and it becomes a democratic republic , its diabolical essence is still the same ; and its results are equally baneful to human happiness . It is still the creation— -either from a slavish and blind subserviency , a stupid fear , or from false notions of expediency , of a vastjwmr , more or less external to the people themselves ,, and , consequently , more or less dangerous and obnoxious to their true interests and liberties . The instalment of kings , tribunes , presidents , or parliaments , is a practical annihilation of the natural equality of human rights and constitutes the fall of man into political tyranny and slavery .

    CLASSES . The division of society into three classes—the higher , middle , and lower—is necessarily destructive of all real liberty , equality , and fraternity among the people ; and if the higher classes make any approach thereto , it is at the expense of the other classes , by rigidly excluding them from their society , and acknowledging them only as useful panderers to the luxury of the rich . It would be in vain to expect more than the pretence of an acquiescence in the Christian sentiment that ' all mtn are brethren' to exist with this system of class , ov rather caste , distinction . It would be in vain , also , to look for any high development of moral ,

    intellectual , or even physical characters in a society so organised ; or to expect that ; pub . ic spirit will often rise above the influences of private interests . Those ) beautiful sympathies of humanity which , as our great poet says , ' make the whole e world kin , ' are gradually undermined , if not obliterated from the hearts of men ; ; and a perpetual antagonism prevails between one class and another . The hauteur > of the aristocracy , and their tenacious grasp of state power , excite the malice and i envy of the middle class ; and the unprivileged and poverty-stricken proletarians < finding their condition get worse and worse , begin , very naturally , to look upon . both classes as their enemies and oppressors . To designate such a state of thins * , society' is an ironical misnomer .

    The two following extracts are quoted by the author of lhe work k under notice from the writings of Mr . J . B . O'Brien .

    LAND MOKOPOI . T . It is assumed that land , mines , rivws , & c , are tit and proper subjects of privatat property , like bales of clotli , pottery wares , or any otber product of men ' s skill . and industry ; and that , accordingly , the works of God ' s creation may be bought and sold in the market , the same as if they were the works of human hands . This is a principle so utterly abhorrent to common sense and reason—it is , ono the face of it , so gross a perversion of natural justice , tha . the rights of property cannot possibly be reconciled to it , nor coexist a moment in presence of it . Onm allow the soil of a country , y ? Inch God made for all its inhabitants , and for » l a generations born upon it , to be bought up , or otherwise monopolized , or usurpeqx by any particular section of any one generations ( be that section large or small . ill knaw

    and that moment your community is divided into tyrants and slaves ; into who wilt work for nobody , and into drudges who will have to work for anyhow or everybody but themselves . No subsequent legislation—no possible tinkerwm or patchwork in the way of remedial measures can sensibly affect a system based * upon so hideous a foundation . You may talk of forms of government , or cr reforms of parliament , but I hesitate not to say that no reform of parliament , «« , ' reconstruction of the government can be of the slightest avail towards amelion . or tion whilst that glaring and gignntic injustice constitutes the basis of private propr perty ; and for this simple reasou , because the rights of labour , and the rigM" «" property which ought to be really one and the same thing , are utterly irredjeo cileable under such a system . As long therefore as it shall prevail , so lon row the rich be insecure , and the mass miserable , whatever moy be the form ot t government , from monarchy to democracy the most pure and unlimited .

    THE NATIONAL DEBT . ^ Parliaments are chosen , and laws are designed , not to ww / . c property y people , but to p rotect it for those who have made it for themselves , or obtej j . a it from those that did , If a man builds a house , or buys an ox , it is bis « g g property , irrespectively of Acts ctf Parliament . The law did not gto ninl to

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 30, 1852, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_30101852/page/12/