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/whether to be during the For thishoweve...
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co -*gr-on*e0s)omieM&*
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"SbrriNGnAH:—J. Sweet acknowledges the r...
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' ] THE HOBTHEM STAS7 SATURDAY, IYOVEMBEK », IS50. j
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"NO POPEKY." Cardinal Wiseman has succee...
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POPULAR EDUCATION. A hopeful symptom of ...
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MASTERS AND MEN. The master class and th...
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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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/Whether To Be During The For Thishoweve...
THE NORTHERN STAR . . November 2 , 1850 . * 4 _^^__^^_ _^^^^^*^ _a _^ _B _* _MWB _* _- _"' _M' _*"'*" _'''" _''''*****'''* _- _*^^ " " _^^^^^^^^^^^^^ _^^* _^ _^* _** _sma _^*— _^ ¦ _^^ I _JtuiPublished ' 7 li
Ad00408
HUE AND LIFE ASSURANCE , _AND ANNUITIES FOB THE INDUSTRIAL CLASSES . ENGLISH AND CAMBRIAN _ASSURANCE SOCIETY ; FOB HKE , 1 IFE , AXXUITIES AND ENDOWMENTS , & c _Zapltal £ 150 , 000 with power of increase to One Muxiok . ( Incorporated by Act of Parliament . ) CHIEF OFFICES : —No . 9 , New _Bridge-street , Blackfriars , Loudon . District Offices . Ko . 65 , Sun-street . _Bishopsgate-streel-, City ; 'So . 67 , Charlotte-street , _Pitzroy-square ; No . 6 , Tnmrjr-street , Trinity-square , Borough ; _Xo . 12 a . Cannon-row , Bridgestreet , Westminster . Jledical Officer . Daniel -Win Eat , M . D ., _G _^ . _^^^^ _S square ( on Monday ) , and 6 , Trinity-street ( on Thursday ) , irom 10 to 3 .
Ad00409
Education for the Millions , THIS DAY ~ IS ~ FUBLISHED , "No . XXIT . or " NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR . PRICE ONE PENNY . The object of the Proprietor , Feargus _O'Connob , Esq ., M . P ., is to place within the reach of the poorest classes that Political and Social Information of which they are at present deprived by the Government" Taxes on Knowledge . SIXTEEN LARGE OCTAVO PAGES , Price One Penny .
Ad00410
THE LONDON CO-OPERATIVE STORES are now opened at 76 , _Cdaeloite _Stbeet , Fitzroy Square , In connexion with the Society for Promoting Working Men ' s Associations .
Ad00411
, . TO TAILORS . By approbation of ner Majesty , Queen Victoria , and H . R . If . Prince Albert .
Ad00412
RUPTURES EFFECTUALLY AND PERMANENTLY CURED WITHOUT A TRUSS . A BLESSING TO THOUSANDS !! EVERT SUFFERER from RUPTURE , Single or Double , and of every variety , is earnestly in . rited to write , or pay Dr . BARKER a visit , _vas in every case he guarantees a cure : During an extensive practice , in manjr thousands of cases , his remedy has been entirely successful , as the testimonials he has received from patients , and many eminent members of tlie medical profession , amply prove . H is applicable to both sexes , old and young ; easy and painless in use , and most certain in effect . The remedy is sent post-free , on receipt of Cs . 63 ., by Post Office Order , Cash , or Fostaffe Stamps , by Dr . Alfbed Babkeb , 48 , Liverpool-street , King ' s-cross , Loudon , where he may be consulted daily from nine tiU one , and five till nine . Sundavs excepted . Hundreds of testimonials and trusses have been left behind by persons cured as trophies of the immense success of this remedy , which Dr . Babkeb will wUliDgly give to auy requiring them after a trial of it .
Ad00413
The _town-council of Leicester has negatived , by twenty-four votes to five , tho motions of two _sartoncal members to provide the mayor with gown and Love . —Miss Martineau says that ' * Love , like the plague , is often communicated by clothes and money .
Ad00414
_Jtui . Published ' , _Y-. 7 li M ROBERT OWEN ' S JOURNAL A Weekly Periodical explanatory of tho means to well-place , well-employ , and well-educate , the whole population _. Price One Penny ; by post , Twopence , Published by Clayton and Son , 265 , Strand , London MR . OWEN'S " RECENT WORKS , THE REVOLUTION IN MIND AND PRACTICE , ls . LETTERS TO THE HUMAN RACE . ls . CATECHISM OF THE RATIONAL SYSTEM . Id . FAREWELL ADDRESS . Id . Are published by Effingham Wilson , Watspn , and Tickers , London .
Ad00415
The Glowing Genius of Filtered , Unmixed , Unadulterated and Unassuming _Cliartism must be Triumphant ! . ' The Chartist Council beg to announce that Onthe 5 _ra of _Novembeb _, A GRAND SOIREE AND BALL JX Will be held in the
Ad00416
NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . Office , 14 , Southampton-street , Strand . rnHE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE X hereby announce the following meetings : — . On Sunday , November 3 rd , tho adjourned meeting ofthe Democratic Conference will he held in the Coffee Room of the John-street Institution . Chair to be taken at three o ' clock in the afternoon . On Sunday evening ( same d & te ) , the Metropolitan Delegate Council will meet at the luug and Queen , Foley _, sueet , Portland-place . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock , On the same evening , tbe Emmett ' s Brigade meet at the Rock , Lisson-grove—St . Pancras Locality , Bricklayer ' s Arms , Tonbridge-street , New-road—Finsbury Locality , Old Dolphin , Old-street—St . Marylebone Locality , Circusstreet , Uew-road—and Whittington and Cat Locality , Church-row , Bethnal-green . On Monday evening , November 4 th , Mr . Beiser will lecture at the Brunswick Hall , Ilopemakers' -fields , Limehouse . Subject : ' The Land , the people ' s inheritance , '
Co -*Gr-On*E0s)Omiem&*
_co - _* gr-on * e 0 s ) omieM &*
"Sbrringnah:—J. Sweet Acknowledges The R...
"SbrriNGnAH : —J . Sweet acknowledges the receipts of the following sums , ( sent herewith ) : —Kkfogee Fo . nd—From the Seven Stars 5 s . ; "Eagle Tavern 2 s . 6 * 1 . _PoLisn a _> _t > Hungarian Refugee _Fran _. —Mr . Coles 5 s , ; Bonners Field , per Stokes ls . lid . ; per Mr . Arnott 10 s . ; Stevens' Book O'd . ; Moody Is . " ; Rossey ls . ; Collection from Poles ls . OJd . ; per Mr . ltider £ 2 10 a . 7 d . ; Welch _, man Is . ; Crocket 3 d . ; H . 13 . Is . ; Mr . Allen , Mr . Smith , Snow-hill 4 s . od . ; Mr . Bligh 3 d . ; Mr . Beck 3 d . ; Walker Sd . ; Mr . Dunnings ls . ; Mr . Ment 4 d . ; Henley 6 d . ; Collected after Mr . Bezer ' s lecture , at the Brunswick-hall , Limehouse 15 s . ; Mr . Peacock Cd . Mrs . Heath , Greenwich , begs to acknowledge ( with
thanks ) the receipt of ls . 9 d ., from the St . Pancras locality , forthe Wat Tyler Brigade , Greenwich . The Discontented Allottees . —Mr . T . Moss , of New Brompton , Kent , has written a lengthy letter denouncing the unprincipled conduct of those parties , and expressing a desire that their names , _occupations , and former places of abode should he published , and held in rememberance as the greatest enemies of the working classes . The writer then pays a tribute of respect to the public and private virtues of Mr . and Mr 3 . Willis , who are well known in Rochester , and whose good character would he attested ( if necessary ) by the signatures of several tradesmen , mnny of whom differ from them in opinion on political subjects . The letter concludes by requesting Mr . and Mrs . Willis to pay no attention to the calumnies of their uuprincipled maligners .
' ] The Hobthem Stas7 Saturday, Iyovembek », Is50. J
' ] THE HOBTHEM _STAS 7 SATURDAY , _IYOVEMBEK » , IS 50 . j
"No Popeky." Cardinal Wiseman Has Succee...
"NO POPEKY . " Cardinal Wiseman has succeeded in creating great excitement , not only in what is called par excellence the " religious world , '* but in circles where ecclesiastical questions are seldom mooted . The document in whicli the Pope formally divides England into Roman Catholic Bishoprics , and states tho reason for that step , most unequivocally points to the reconquering of this country , as a recusant portion of the Papal Church , and treats the present State Establishment , and its recognised Head , Queen Victoria , with silent contempt . The existence of the schismatical Anglican Church is not even hinted at ; henceforth there is to be but one church known in these realms —that of Home—aDd the new Cardinal
Archbishop is to be our visible resident superior . The authorship of that document is ascribed to Doctor Wiseman , and it harmonises with the aggressive policy well known to be entertained and avowed by this ambitious priest . No one who heard the powerful and eloquent , but boastful sermon , in wliich he took leave of the congregation in the Church of St . George ' s in the Fields , previous to setting off to Rome , for the purpose of receivingtheCardinal ' s hat , could doubt , for an instant , that the strongest and most cherished idea of his mind is to bring the people of Great Britain once more within the fold of the Romanist Church . If the
design fails , it will be irom no want of will or lack of exertion on his part . Like all men , however , possessed by one idea , he is apt to _over-estimate and overrate appearances in his favour . Looking at the improved position of the Roman Catholic portion of tho community as compared with what it was at the commencement ofthe century , Dr . Wiseman sees initthe herald of restoration to its ancient supremacy . He sees also the Clergy ofthe English Church torn and distracted with intestine feuds about controverted doctrines , and he infers , therefore , that the church itself is weak . He knows that a considerable number of her Ministers have
been for years keeping up a coquettish dalliance with Mb own church , which , has ended in some of them formally joining it ; and he supposes that , therefore , the people aro prepared to follow the parsons . Never was any man more mistaken . The very fact of our tolerating all religious opinions and sects in tho way we do , is of itself the best proof that , as a nation , we will never again submit to the spiritual domination of any body of men call themselves what they may , or come armed with what credentials they please .
Ono great cause of this delusion in the mind of Dr , Wiseman and that of his fellow conspirators , against the civil and religious liberties of England , is to be found in the existence of what is called Puseyism . For years it has been well known , that Oxford has educated , and English Bishops have ordained to the office of priests , a . body of young men far more attached to the slavish and despotic doctrines of Papacy than the
free , self-governing , and self-reliant principles of Protestantism . The contest , which has for so many years been . waged in town and country parishes , as to whether certain prayers should be said with the face to the west or to the east ; whether the vestments worn should be , at certain times , of a specific colour whether the place where the sacrament was administered should be a wooden "communion table , " or a stone altar ; whether candles wero to be placed on the altar or not , aud if
"No Popeky." Cardinal Wiseman Has Succee...
so / whether they were to be lighted during the day at certain portions of the service ? All these questions , trivial and childish as they appear in themselves , had a grave meaning and incidence , understood thoroughly by those who were actually engaged in the contest . They were the outward and visible signs of an approximation to Popery , and those who stood up for their introduction believed , that if by chicanery or coaxing , or " sharp practice , " they could once get the peop le to don the livery and the trappings of Romanism , it would not be difficult afterwards to super-induce the dominion of Rome itsel f . ill i Ill
Instead of resisting this movement , many of the bishops of the Established Church took an active part in it . Others were conveniently mysterious and vague in their condemnation , and suspiciously tolerant in their conduct . Restoration to the religious condition of the middle ages , when religious belief , and religious action , was regulated by authority ; when the trouble of thinking for oneself was saved , and conscience , thought , and action , were placed under the dictation and the direction of " spiritual superiors , " was , according to this party , the one thing needful for the present and all coming generations .
No wonder that Dr . Wiseman , noting these things , should have indulged in a dream of re-annexing England to Rome , and of bringing about in the nineteenth century , what had failed so repeatedly when tried in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuriesnamely , the re-establishment of Popery in this country . His ecclesiastical education and habits , the almost idolatrous reverence paid to him by those with whom he daily conies in contact , and the immense power exercised in all cases , by the Roman Catholic priest over the minds of his flock , were all calculated to make him seriously mistake , and over estimate the influence which the Puseyite parsons had upon those to whom they ministered in things spiritual . The doctrines of slavish mental
subjection , which find apt and ready recipients , aided by the confessional , and a state of mind which rejoices in ignorance of anything beyond priestly dicta on these subjects as in itself a merit , were not , and are not , likely to find many disciples in the vigorous open air atmosphere of English society . Whatever chance they may have had if the insidious Puseyite conspiracy had been longer carried on under colourable pretexts , they have not the slightest , now that all disguise is thrown away , and the direct and avowed object is the spiritual , and , consequently , political subjugation
and slavery of tho people . One of the immediate consequences has been to make some of the established bishops and clergy , who have heretofore been suspected of favouring Puseyism , array themselves in unequivocal hostility to the new aggressive movement . The bishop , whose flirtation with it , is well known , has , in repl y to an address from the clergy of the metropolitan diocese , spoken out upon the subject . He roundly denounces the impudent creation of bishops by the Pope with territorial dominions , in a country where he has not the
slightest claim to authority , as an act that must be promptly resisted by the duly-constituted powers in this realm ; and not only urges upon his clergy the duty of marked and scrupulous severance in all things from the Roman ritual , but the immediate commencement of a system of controversial preaching , against the doctrines and practices of that Church . A similar spirit has been manifested in other quarters b y the clergy , and before a few days have elapsed there can be little doubt it will have spread over the whole country . The Daily Newspapers have kept the question
constantly before the public , in its political and social aspects , and aferment is perceptible on these points in quarters where little attention is usually given to the sayings and doings of either priests , parsons , or preachers . The probabilities , therofore , are , that we are about to enter upon a period of religious controversy , excitement , and turmoil , of which few persons now living havo had any experience , and which , though not doubtful as to its ultimate issue , must exercise an immediately injurious result upon the tangible and substantial progress of the nation .
For first let us picture to ourselves what controversial preaching is , and its effects upon those who hear it . Political " opponents sometimes forget themselves , and apply terms to each other the reverse of gentlemanly , or polite ; but in their angriest moods , in their moments of utter self-forgetfulness , they never did approach tho perfect aud super-refined Billingsgate of sectarian warfare , and controversy . Every one can conceive the effect of such language , addressed to persons rendered already nervously-susceptible of excitement , by their relig ious , and sectarian prejudices . The ignition of such a train must cause an explosion of rancour and persecution to which we have no parallel in the recent history of this country .
Then , again , there is the not unfounded or unnatural hostility of political , social , ' and educational reformers , who have no sympathy whatever with purely sectarian squabbles , and who do not care which sect has possession of the loaves and fishes , as far . ' as peculiar theological dogmas are concerned . They , however , perceive , that with a few exceptions , wherever Romanism is uppermost , thero _thepolitical andmental prostration of the wholepeople is greatest . France and Belgium are both of them exceptional cases , and the causes of their political activity , and comparative mental freedom , are not difficult to find . But
whereever tho Jesuits have , since the revolutionary outbreak of 1848 , re-established their sway , we find that every vestige of liberty has disappeared . Rome , Naples , all the countries indeed cursed by the rule of the Pontiff , are delivered over to utter darkness and systematic oppression , which it makes the blood boil to think of . Tho policy of Rome is as despotic , as adverse to mental , political , aud personal liberty to-day , as it was three hundred years ago . With all the fair speeches and glozing professions ofits advocates , it is at heart the same thing which our ancestors have so often gallantly fought against , and whicli , in 1 C 88 , caused them to drive James Stuart from his
throne , and frame an exclusively Protestant Constitution . During the last twenty or thirty years , the true principles of Catholicism havo boon gradually making way hi this country—not the Catholicism which puts "Roman" before it , aud would be universal by subduing everything to Rome , but a Catholicism which recognises the universal , inherent rights of all mon to worship God in the manner most agreeable to their own consciences ; to be educated in the best possiblo manner , to fulfil the duties of citizens , and to extend political
and municipal franchises to the great body of the people , as the only sound , safe , and permanent foundation of good Government . The Catholicism of England has been truly uuiversal , because it recognised and found a place for the separate truths embodied in every phase of the progressive movement ; and had the rulers of the Romish church been content with equality , instead of struggling for supremacy , it could not have failed . to confer ample substantial , and valuable benefits upon our The
country . period of sectional , sectarian , and _u-ntating warfare , on which we are now likely to enter will , we fear , retard our onward career . The lessons of a wise and enlightened tolerance , which have been so recently learned , will bo in great danger of being forgotten ; and the fear of being thrust under the domination of an irresponsible and " infallible'' priesthood , may drive the people of England once more back upon measures of repression towards a religious body , to which it will be very easy to give the name of persecution ,
"No Popeky." Cardinal Wiseman Has Succee...
For this , however , Dr . Wiseman , and his Puseyite allies have themselves to blame . They have thrown down the gauntlet , and provoked the contest , of the ultimate result of which WO have neither fear nor doubt . England and Englishmen are constitutionally Protestants . There is something in our skies and atmosphere , in the material structure of our island , no less than in the physical and mental organisation of our people , which leads , ine-Wnr thia _"hnwrnroi _* . Dr . WlSBMAW . and his
vitably , to Protestantism . A people- with such necessities and such capabilities , having such a variety of occupation and such ceaseless activity of mind and body , possessing the means of diffusing knowledge to such an extent , and valuing the privilege so highly , can never be reduced to mental or political bondage . The campaign of Cardinal Wiseman will end as fatally and dearly for Rome as that of Moscow did for Napoleon . Knowledge and Liberty are certain to triumph .
Popular Education. A Hopeful Symptom Of ...
POPULAR EDUCATION . A hopeful symptom of sound and _eteady progress has exhibited itself this week . The Lancashire Public School Association , encouraged hy the numerous adhesions to its plan of Secular Education , supported by local rates , and placed under local management , has held a Conference in Manchester , and converted the Association into a National one . The step
betokens an immense and a real advance towards the object in view . Hitherto the efforts of Educational Reformers have been isolated , intermittent , and incoherent . There has been no unity of design , no concentration of power , no uniform and systematic plan of action . While the opponents ofthe only principle on which education can become truly national , have acted as organised bodies , and therefore exerted an amount of influence on the
Government and the Legislature , totally out of proportion to their real strength and numbers the far greater forces at the command of the Educational party have failed to impress upon our rulers the conviction that the time had come when they must legislate on this subject in earnest , and in conformity with the opinion of a body of men having powerful electoral influence . That is the short and simple way
to a Prime Minister ' s understanding in this country , The most perfect chain of reasoning , the best sustained argument , the most clearly demonstrated public want , or public grievance , have no more impression upon him than water upon a duck ' s hack , unless he can at the same time be brought tp comprehend that a few seats in Parliament are at the command ofthe party who ask for legislation with reference to these wants or grievances .
, This desideratum will , it is likely , now be supplied in the important question of education . The appearance of Mr . Cobden at the Conference , and the active part he took in its proceedings , would lead to the conclusion , that the new association will continue to have his co-operation and advice , perhaps , in an official capacity . If so , there can b 9 no question but that he will bring to its aid a considerable accession of wealth and memhers , and , what is still more valuable , that he will strengthen it by his experience in the organisation and direction of such bodies .
Public education ia a question on which the peculiar mental characteristics of the member for the "West Riding can be most successfully brought into p lay . It is very doubtful whether his course of reading and his habits , are such as to lead him to take any very strong interest in purely political topics . His coolness towards the Middle Class Parliamentary Reform Movement is not to be denied , even by those who would fain claim him as a
co-labourer . But we have known him for the last fifteen years to take a deep interest in Educational Reform , and it would appear from his speech on Wednesday that that interest continues unabated . If he would take the presidency of the new association , and concentrate all his available time and faculties upon its business , he would do more for it , and for his own public reputation , than anything he has attempted since the triumph of the Anti-Corn Law League . The right education ofthe ignorant masses , whose deplorable mental destitution he so graphicall y depicted on "Wednesday , is an object of far higher importance than the saving of a few hundred thousands , or even millions , a year in our annual taxation . In the
neglected faculties , the wasted or misapplied energies of the millions , who in this country are either altogether unsupplied , or only partially supplied , with the merest rudiments of education , a wise government would find a source of wealth richer by far than a dozen Californias rolled together . It is only needful to compare for a moment the monetary value ofa highly intelligent , skilful , self-controlled human heing , with an ignorant , untrained , idle , depraved ; passionate , reckless human being ; and then multiply the difference several million times , in order to find out how much the nation loses annually by its neglect of education . The saving of ten millions more than Mr . Cobden ever dreamed of , would not produce one _twentioth of the beneficial results
that would now from a sound industrial and mental training of the whole population . Here is a field for exertion worthy of the noblest patriots ; one in which success would be of the highest importance , and followed by neither alloy , detraction , nor misunderstanding . Whether Mr . Cobden takes the position and the course we have indicated or not , it is clear that the National Public School
Association will in future exercise great influence in any discussion that may take place in Parliament on the subject . Every one admitted that Mr . Fox introduced and advocated the question in a most able and conciliatory maimer last session . But a man without a party to back him , in the House of Commons is nobody ; unless , indeed , he be a lordliug or a scion of some aristocratic house ; and then he finds a party read y made for him in the House . ¦ Hence it was thatMr . Fox ' sbillwas rejected by a tremendous majority , although the proposer was overwhelmed with compliments .
If the Public School Association does its work properly there will he uo more of such shilly-shally . Members having tho fear of being brought to book will think before they vote ; and many who would not give a vote for Educational Reform for conscience sake , will do so from expediency . It would bo an awkward thing tobe asked everywhere on the hustings , « Why did you vote for keeping the people in ignorance ? " "Why did you
oppose th © right of the people to levy local rates for the education of the rising generation , in a knowledge of those things which are cer tain to concern them all as citizens , without interfering with the instruction they may require in religious matters % " Such questions would be easier asked than answered , and they would bo especially difficult to those flippant fine gentlemen who deny the masses the suffrage , because they are " ignorant . " They would he found to have first made the
disqualification , and then taken advantage of it—to have inflicted one wrong as the groundwork for perpetrating a greater . Believing , as wo do most sincerel y , that every movement that has a tendency to improvo the intellectual character and condition of the people , must , _ at the same-time , necessarily tend to the triumph of Democracy , we shall cordially support any party that honestly and earnestly seeks to make Education generally accessible to the masses , without , at the same time , rendering it subservient to the interests of any church , sect , or party . This the new National Association appears to do In the words of . Sir Kay Shuttlewobth , it ;' seeks to promote Education for wise and just political ends . " It will be useful
ftbWtr _& intos _^ onB _5 elief not onl _* y fl "> _K"at political _«& _rf _^ r _, T _«* t on the _estabttthment of a system ot national education , but also the principles of
Popular Education. A Hopeful Symptom Of ...
civil liberty which proVide for the _protectumTflT _^ nonty , which develope the principle , of C _^ >» i in connexion with it require that the mmfj _^ _^ school should be vested in the local committe _& v of , _t" « tees ; the administration of the funds raised in _rr _*^ dred of a county in responsible bodies , who will > , i .- * W . provide that every man shall have an opportunu elj _traizun- j his phild that he shall be fitted by m . _JS"jJ . ° f so raise himself to the exercise of the poUtical frnnnv m * to advantage to the State . . ranclll 8 e _^ These are great and important objects W may not feel inclined to wait until Sir ' _r * _* Shuttlewobth thinks the Association h * succeeded , in fitting the people to exercise iif franchise advantageousl y ; but as eVg attempt to do that—so far as it succeeds _^ cannot be otherwise than beneficial , we rec nisethe Association as a co-labourer in ff ' cause of the people , and most heartily h \ n - , Godspeed ! J Dia _•' ° " . liber ty which _proVide for the proteetiW 77 _T ~ -
Masters And Men. The Master Class And Th...
MASTERS AND MEN . The master class and the working d m tub , widel y different views of all questions _affecting labour . Placed in antagonistic positions h % the false arrangements of society , they ha looked at the question from opposite points 3 the compass , and hold theories of political economy , which have scarcel y any two prbj ciples in common . It is rarel y , indeed , that the working man s theory get 8 utterance or audience among those who possess _property and , therefore it is but little known . In tho few cases where it is presented to them , it i 3 usually so o _* aricatured or misrepresented that
[ it wears anything but an inviting aspect Violence , spoliation , and plunder , are made to ' appear its principal characteristics , and the operatives are _forthwith condemned as an un . reasonable , unruly , discontented set of fellows , whom it is _necessary to keep in subjec tion by the strong hand . How systematicall y any knowledge of the real sentiments and opinions of the operatives is ignored by _influ . ential journals , may be judged of by the conduct of the Morning Chronicle to the most honest , and decidedl y the most _talented of the " special correspondents" who contributed to
its series of letters on " Labour and tha Poor . " The communications of Mr . _Hesry Mayhew , the metropolitan correspondent , were the most graphic and striking of the whole series , and formed h y far the most valuable and faithful collection of social statistics ever before published in this country . It would ap . pear , however , that he was guilty of too much fidelity ; that forcibly and painfully impressed by the facts he witnessed and recorded , he . made it his business to get at the real immediate causes of the horrible misery , destitution , and prostitution , from which he lifted the veil .
In doing this he was led to adopt the opinions of the working classes themselves , as to the ori g in of the evils under which they groan , Their opinions were not in conformity with the orthodox politico-economical creed professed by the conductors of the Morning Chronicle ; and the consequence was , that a less informed and faithful , or a more compliant correspondent has been found to replace the intrepid and ingenuous delineator of the real "Mysteries of London , " the exposerofthe wickedness , and the tyranny practised by traders of all grades , in their haste to grow rich .
We heard Mr . Mayiiew address a meeting on Tuesday night in explanation of the grie . vances to which the ballast heavers of tb . port of London are subjected . In doing this | it was curious to find , that his actual experience ofthe working man ' s life had thoroughly embued his mind with the same philosophy which we have known to prevail among tha industrial classes for the last twenty years . The only difference we could observe was , that the convictions having been impressed lately -upon a mind possessed of great intellectual power , they were expressed with a freshness
and force that is not to be expected from those to whom such views are more familiar , or who possess lessmental strength and cultivation . In all other respects , his exposition of the detestable theory of buying in the cheapest and selling in the dearest market , and of the wretched ; _consequences it entailed upon society , was such as would have given unmitigated satisfaction to any Socialist or Red Republican whatever . Being debarred from giving utterance to his honest opinions on these subjects through the columns of a morning newspaper , he is about , we understand , to publish them in a
separate illustrated periodical . But here again we are met by the evil results ofthe partial and lop-sided policyof theTriton 3 of the Press . They are afraid to put the whole truth—or the whole falsehood , if you choose to call it so—before their readers . Their readers believe , that they give them all the information they require , truthfully and honestly , arid seek no further . Tho working classes have another and totally opposite literature ; and thus there grows up a great gulf between these two portions of tho
same communit y . Ignorance of the wants , feelings , and sentiment of each other , gives rise to suspicion , dislike , and alienation . Police and standing armies are required to keep up by brute force , a system which has no foundation in mutuality of rights and duties , or ia that enlightened comprehension of the actual position and sentiments ofthe various sections of the body politic , which would make them all work cordiall y for the promotiou of tha general well-being .
The meeting at _Wolverhampton—iepoited inthe Northern Star last week—was a gratifying exception to this unfortunate state of things . For the first time within our recollection the capitalist and the operative came together in the midst of a Trades' strike , to discuss the questions which lio at the foundation of all such industrial revolts . There was neither violence , clamour , uproar , confusion , nor
anger , exhibited throughout the whole of tha proceedings of that large assembly . No one minced the truth , though all felt that there waa not the slightest necessity for stating it in such a way to make it offensive . Above all it was the first effort of tho kind to prove to tho middle classes that tho favourite doctrines of supply and demand— •* * Buy cheap andselldear ' j —however true in their own sphere , have moral and social limits which cannot be
overpassed without entailing the most injurious moral ands acini evils upon the _communit y . Even in a pecuniary sense alone , tlio speakers showed clearl y that the depreciation of wages was an evil not to the workers alone , but to thoso who lived by suppling their varied wants . In a population lita that of Wolverhampton , where so large a proportion are entirely dependent upon weekly wages , a reduction of ten or twenty per cent _, on prices , is equivalent to a corresponding reduction of the purchasing power of the town . Suppose , for illustration , that - £ 30 , 000 is paid weekly to the operatives of Wolverhamp ton j
That sum , or very near it , -will be circulated every week among the bakers , grocers , butchers , tailors , hatters , shoemakers , & o . i promoting a health y activity in all these trades . Deduct twenty per cent , from the wages paid , aud it will at once reduce the sum to 24 , 000 , and withdraw from circulation uo less than £ 312 , 000 a year , and consequently deprive the shopkeepers and tradespeop le of profit on that large amount of money . It ia
true that the masters who pay the less suffl may benefit for a short time b y the re duction in wages , and pocket the sum that is abstracted from the general circulation . But this can only be of very brief continuance . Competitio u speedily reduces profits to the corresponding level , and they are placed in the same relaUva position as before , with this difference , tniw for producing tho same or more w . oi _' k , a have ot a great deal less to spend
g . . Against this suicidal and unjust system tn _^ Central Committee of the National Unitea Trades protested ; they invoked the assistance and sympathy of the employers , as being * matter which , in reality , affected them qu _« a as much as the workers : and though one _flffW
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 2, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_02111850/page/4/
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