Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 4th January 1845, Edition 3 of 4, Page 6, the of hosphates and nitrogen has keen a...

Page 6
Page 6
6 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • ^aviculture anti horticulture
    • Science anu &tt
  • Text (7)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      The Of Hosphates And Nitrogen Has Keen A...

      _S ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦' ' ........... . ......... .,,..-... ... . .... . .... ..-. , January- 4 , _i _84 _* THE NORTHERN STAR . - — 6 ——— - ——»—¦¦ -m—m—mmsBS- _^ ssss- _^ _s _^ ¦ . _ I 4 . L

      Ihe Chambers' Philosophy Refuted. Labour...

      _IHE CHAMBERS' PHILOSOPHY REFUTED . LABOUR PLEADING ITS Ot 7 S CAUSE . THE EMPLOTER AND EMPLOYED . A FAMILIAR DIALOGUE . _—PABI IV . Dialogue bttiiten Smith and Jackson resumed at " Shoddy Hall , " bu special desire of Mr . _» . --' Jackson is announced and shewn into Mr . Smiths s ' tudv , at one end of which is suspended a map of Shoddv Hall , the properwofJ . HoivardPercy Smith E _* andover the chimney-pic * at the other end , thc

      q ., , armorial _Carinas of the Smiths , with a pedigree vnderneatl , , proving their descent from Lelted Will ¦ Howard » . the male , and Ann Percy , sixth cmsin to the second Duke of Northumberland , in the female line . Smith . —Have you wiped yonr shoes , Jackson ? Jackson- —Yes , sir , I have wiped them . Smith . —O , that ' s right . This is a Turkey carpet ; it cost mc eighty guineas , and the least footmark discolours it . Jackson ( aside , vAth a siah ) . —0 , mv £ -500 !

      Smith . _—> 7 ow , Jackson , sit down , and let us hear what you have to say upon the subject of machinery , fer lo fell you the truth , that old Robin has awakened such curious thought * " in my head , that lam staggered like upon the subject . He ' s an astonishing man for his age , that old Robin . Jackson . —Hc is so , sir . But I am told he spoke like a lad at thc meeting last night . Smith . —Aye , hy the bye , about thc meeting ; what was done thero ? Any resolution ? Jackson . —Tea , sir . Your cousin , Mr . Smith , the grocer—Smith . —Pooh , pooh , that ' s all a mistake ; he ' s no cousin of mine , Jackson—he ' s merely of the name , and there are so many Smiths ; but very few from the old stock ofthe Howards and Percys .

      Jackson . —0 , 1 beg your pardon , sir . Smith , thc grocer then , moved a resolution in favour of free trade , as the only means of averting thc impending and existing distress of thc country . Smith . —Well , and was it carried ? Jackson . —No , sir ; Samuel Bewyers , a shoemaker , moved an amendment . I have a copy of it here ; I'll read it for you : — " Resolved , that we , tbe working classes and shopkeepers of the borough of Devil ' s Dust , in pubiie meeting assembled , having long suffered tlie most galling privations , whilst all other classes are daily accumulating wealth from our industry , for which thoy find it difficult to procure an outlet , and believing the nnrestricted use of machinery , as a substitute for manual labour , to have mainly

      led to this unjust inequality , whereby tbe employer becomes rich , as if by magic , in spite of opposing obstacles , whether they arise from natural or artificial causes—from bad harvests or fluctuations in trade , from a scarcity or an abundance of circulating medium in thc country—while the condition of the employed becomes correspondingly deteriorated , good trade , plentiful harvests , and a surplus of the circulating medimnJiaving a tendency to increase rather than to diminish their poverty ; and that in order to correct this unnatural state of things , this meeting is determined never to relax in its exertions untif the people ' s Charter becomes the law , whereby the land of

      this eountry may , by a proper , just , and equitable distribution , be made subservient to the wants of society at large , instead of seeing it barren and unproductive , while those labourers who could make it rich and fertile are desired to look to other countries for a sufficiency of food , or to emigrate to foreign climes in search of the means of existence , which they arc denied in thc land of their birth . " Smith . —Good God , Jackson , who seconded that ? Jackson . —Mr . Sparcrib _, the butcher , sir . Smith . —And was it carried ? Jackson . —Yes , sir . Old Robin tells me that only five hands , in a crowded Hall , were held up against it .

      Smith . —Well , but Jackson , what do they mean by the distribution of land ? lio tbey mean xo take it themselves , and pay no rent for it ? Jackson . —No , sir , they mean no such thing . What they mean is , that , having lost all controul over the labour market in its present artificial state , they are _determined to have recourse to a more just system , whereby those who are displaced by machinery shall tease to be a competitive reserve for the masters to fall back upon , as a means of keeping down wages to the mere existence point . Smith . —Well , but do you mean to say that all the machinery in the eountry is to bo destroyed , or allowed to remain idle ?

      Jackson . —No , sir , I do not : but I mean that those who arc not able to withstand that competitive system amongst the masters , in obedience to which you have before told mc tliey must look to reduced wages to make up profit , and keep themselves safe even in bad tunes , may have some better channel open for their industry than that of " cracking" stones and pulling oakum , in a prison dress , and under the eye of a hard-hearted gaoler ! Smith . —¦ ' Well hut , Jackson , what will become of the trade ofthe country ? Where would the masters get hands ? Jackson . —In abundance , sir ; but they should hire them in the cottage or the homestead , instead of in tiie cellar or the bastile . The people are beginning to think , sir , that thc man gets a better price for his pig if the butcher comes to the styo io look after hiin than if hc takes the pig to thc butcher to buy him , because he is necessitated to sell it .

      Smith . —Well but now , Jackson , what has all this to do with thc question of macBinery ? I am not so dogged in my own pre-conceived notions as not to be accessible to reason ; neither have I been an inattentive listener in our previous * discussions upon the subject ; and if you have anything really to urge against machinery , and your reasoning is sound , 1 shall unlesitatingly confess my conversion . Jackson . —Sir , independently of what Robin has already said upon the general topic , and apart from what I may yet say , you yourself have , though perhaps unconsciously , urged so many weighty arguments against it , that I think I shall only be called upon to furnish you with an analysis of your own reasoning to bring yoa to a different conclusion . Smith . —What have I urged against machinery ? Why I have been all along pleading for maciiinery , andarguingthat the causes of its unjust unpopularity arise irom the " improvidence , " " dissipation , " and " viciousness" ofthe working _clashes themselves .

      Jackson . —That's just the point , sir , and I am happy to have the _admission ; ard I undertake to prove that -what you call causes are eueets ;—thai is , that maciiinery is thc cause , and "improvidence , " "dissipation , " " vice , " and _"immoi-ality" are the effects . Smith . —Jackson , let mc repeat what I kavepreviously said , and which I think embodies my opinions upon the general question ; what I said was this : — The thing which governs them is the general supply of hands—the supply according to the demand . There is a certain quantity of work to be done here and elsewhere , and a . certain quantity of hands to do it . If there be much work , and comparatively few hands , wages will rise ; if little work , and au excess of hands , wages will

      fall . Without any mutual arrangement , the manufacturers come to a uniformity of wages . Indeed , it is not the masters , but thc labourers , who settle the rate of wages . They settle it by compering against each other . In the same way that manufacturers compete against one another , so do the labouring classes compete against _oneanothar . AU find it necessary to work , in order to live ; and to get work , they accept of what wages are to be had . If they , however , hear that higher wages are going elsewhere , they carry their labour thither . They there compete with those who are already settled , and perhaps bring down wages to a lower level . Thus , without any mutual understanding among either masters or men , bnt just by a universal competition , wages get set . tied down at particular rates .

      Jackson . —Very well , sir , I understand you perfectly . Your proposition involves three distinct considerations ; namely , the governing power that you ascribe to machinery ; the means of correcting the evil effects that you admit ; and the result which must natural ] v flow from that correction . You mast admit , sir , that when the population of a whole country becomes deficient in those moral excellencies which all nations , under good laws and fostering government , are capable of attaining , and when immorality becomes the rule , instead ofthe exception , of the national character ( for you have been unreserved and sweeping iu your strictures upon the working classes ) , I say in such case you must admit that there is a < k _* ep-seated evil resting somewhere ; an evil which has _orhxinated with machinery , crown with its

      growth , and strengthened with its strength . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , this is all assertion . Jackson . —It may be so , sh " , but it is assertion founded upou your own admissions , and , as I shall prove , uponanincontrovertiblebasis . When you admit that masters' profits , and then * protection against fluctuations in trade , are made up by reductions in wages , and when maciiinery alone enables them to take this undue advantage of their hands , what other conclusion can be come to , than that the working classes should consider this governing power as their greatest enemy ? And what more legitimate than that they should seek , by combination or otherwise , to destroy its effects ; and what more natural than to seek another channel for their industry , over which . flic same anomalous power can have no controul ?

      Smith . —Jackson , I tell you that in the present depraved state of the working classes no controul or power can emanate from their body that must not hare a prejudicial effect upon their order . Jackson . —Mr , Smith , men arc horn with _propensities , which may bo nourished into virtues or thwarted into vices , according to the training in infancy , the education in childhood , and the treatment practised towards them in manhood . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , that ' s the very thing that I complain of . Look at children _now-a-days . The mother doesn't care for them . Tlie father neglects them . They arc wholly uneducated , and the gin palace , the brothel , or the workhouse is their first introduction to society . Jackson . —I thank you for saying " now-a-days , " because I am arguiiii _** that the governing powers , jnachincrythc principalis— " _now-andays" the cause of the social evils . Aud the lact that it was uot so iu

      Ihe Chambers' Philosophy Refuted. Labour...

      England in olden times , when parents had the bringing up and controul of their families , is proof that some n ew agency has wrought the change . And now , air , let me state my principal objections to the unrestricted use of macnincry . First , it places m an in an artificial state , over wliich the best workman , the wisest man and most moral person , has no controul . Secondly , while it leads to the almost certain fortune of those who have capital in sufficient amount to command those profits made up , as you admit , by the reduction of wages ; upon the other hand , it leads to uncertainty in the condition of the employed , against wbich he is incapable of contending :. Thirdly , it disarranges all the social machinerv of which formerly individuals were necessary items , families honoured branches , and small rural districts _impoitant sections of the one great whole Fourthly , the present fluctuations give rise , m good trade , to an augmentation of artificial classes , it 1 mav so call themwho have no natural position in

      , societv , but are merely called into existence by prescnt appearances , trade upon nothing , traffic in fiction , and , like vour order , speculate on what they mav retire upon when trade begins to flag . Hence we ' find each fluctuation in trade followed by a new race of shopkeepers , who arc grasping in prosperity , compound when appearances change , and retire when adversity comes , leaving a vacuum to be filled up by the next alternation from panic to speculation . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , surely you wouldn t put restraint upon any branch of commerce ? Jackson . —Yes , Mr . Smith , I certainly would impose some restraint upon that branch of commerce which enables masters to make up their fosses in other speculations by a reduction of wages ; and 1 would also apply some wholesome reguktions to those speculations wliich deprive thc infant ofthe mother s fostering care , and the child of proper education , bv depriving the parents ofthe power ot conferrmg both thc one and the other .

      Smith . —Well , Jackson , how does machinery deprive you of that power ? Jackson . —I'll tell vou , sir . I have been working for you for fifteen years , and during that period 1 have been one-sixth of the whole time , or two years and a half , out of empl oyment ; while I have been compelled to submit to reduction after reduction , or to merge into the idle reserve . If there was a bad market or two in Devil ' s Dust , Squint , your overlooker , would come to us on Saturday night , and tell us how tho mill must close , if wc didn't consent to this reduction , and that reduction , and the other reduction . Sometimes it would be three per cent ., sometimes four per cent ., sometimes five per cent ., and so on , till in ' 42 there was twelve per cent . These reductions

      wonld be alwavs made upon the very first appearance of slackness , and then , when the India market and the China market were opened , and home trade became brisk , and wo askcu for an advance , we wore told that since the first reduction the masters had been losing , and that wc were ouly employed upon charity , and that losses for bad years must be pulled up out of the improvement . Well , we thought that even if our produce was warehoused , that our losses and reductions should be made up as well as those of the masters ; and when we met Mr . Squint upon the subject , he told us that we might go to the devil , for Smith and Co . bad got good men that wouldn ' t be always grumbling to do the work of a score ; that tlie machinery was all " double-decked , " and that

      spindle after Bpindle wasto be worked by " mules , " aud tbat the strong man that could do the work of two , with a boy to help him , would only be required to manage each , and that they _woidd have to pay for the boy . Well , what could wc do ? We had families , and couldn't let them starve ; and so we were obliged to work ou at auy price that was offered ; aud wc were too poor to support the surplus created by machinery , and so , as you observe , they became a competitive power ; and when the good trade came again , there was the machinery already to work , with the least possible attendance , and then , when there would have been otherwise work for all to supply the

      temporary demand , machinery competed against us . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , I assure you , upon my word and honour , conscientiously , and as a country gentleman , that for some years previous to ' 42 the masters were losing . Jackson . —Mr . Smith , I don't wish to contradict _, you , but I beg leave to differ with you upon thc meaning of the term . If by losing , you mean that you couldn't calculate your profit so nicely after every market-day , I may agree with you ; but taking them in the lump , I tluiik present appearances fully justify me in coming to the conclusion that you have taken pretty good care of yourselves , and that you so managed matters as , upon the balance of the whole account , not tobe losers .

      Smith . —Well but , Jackson , you must not argue the case from my position as an individual . Jackson . —No , sir , 1 wont . I will argue it from the general condition of the master-class , and then what do I find ? Why , that immediately after confidence is restored , aud trade becomes good , the masters are enabled to abstract nearly two hundred millions of money from _trader—mind , from trade , Air . Smith—still preserving stock and capital ; and to invest that sum in railroads , building , mining , purchase of land , and all sorts of other speculations . Smith . —0 but , Jackson , you are in error ! The masters alone have not been the parties who invested that amount in speculations . All other classes have had a share in them .

      Jackson . — -Pardon me , Mr . Smith , the labouring class that created all , have had no share in them ; so that you see your bad markets led to reductions against wliich we couldn't contend , and improved machinery compelled us to submit to a continuance of those reductions when trade revived . Smith . —Well , Jackson , I confess there ' s much sound reason in your arguments . I have known very many large masters whose dissipation and expensive families I thought must ruin them , and yet , wonderful to say , they have become rich . Yes , indeed , I am sure I havo been often shocked when business has driven me to meet a customer at any of thc hotels , to see tho bar-parlour , at all hours of thc day and

      night filled with masters smoking cigars , and drinking glass after glass of brandy and water ; and as to Aiancnester , the dissipation there is beyond all conception . Jackson . —Well , Mr . Smith , you see , then , that dissipation is not confined to thc working classes , and that the dissipation of the masters neither reduces them to starvation nor prevents theiiifrom educating and providing for their families . So , sir , you must naturally suppose that some portion of the working classes would , if able , discharge their duties to their families . And just see how machinery precludes the possibility of it . You have said , sir , that women ought to be instructed in domestic pursuits . Indeed I think I can repeat your words ; they were very forcible , you

      said—Along with thig species of instruction , it would be of the utmost importance to teach females many useful arts - , iu particular those which bear on domestic economycookery , cleanliness , needlework , and the rearing . of children . To bring up children with good habits is in it-Self a matter demanding tho most careful attention of parents . Now , sir , I fully agree with those sentiments ; but give me leave to ask you how , under the present system , women can discharge those domestic functions ? How can they possibly devote their whole day to unnatural toil iu a cotton mill , aud discharge their family duties ? Smith . —Jacksen , that ' s wrong—it ' s very wrong . That's a thing that shouldn't be allowed . Jackson . —No , sir , it should not be allowed ; but then if you admit the value in after-life of early training under the mother ' s watchful eye , and if you deprive the rising offspring of that salutary protection , can you expect any other result than those

      abominations of which you complain , and which I deeply deplore 1 And is it not machinery that drives man from thc labour market , and _enableB the master to substitute the more pliant female , when she should be attending to those domestic pursuits ? Is that , then , not a cause of dissipation , and is it not an effect also of machinery ? Nay more , sir , you have condemned early marriages , but what can lie more likely to lead to them than displacing man from his natural position and placing woman in his situation ? If young men may be brought to philosophise upon thc evils of early marriage , as you would wish them , you cannot bring young females , with hot blood in their veins , to calculate so nicely . And being made valuable in the market , may it not happen that their wage , rather than their affections , is the thing courted by the young man who has become a reluctant idler ? Smith . —Upon my word , Jackson , you astonish me ' Do you know that I never gave those important subjects a thought before .

      Jackson . —Well , sir , hence I shew you the impossibility of the mother discharging those duties required at her hands ; and then see the injustice , nay , thc palpable indecency of compelling old and young , male and female , robust and weakly , to rise at the same hour , eat at the same hour , work nearly the same hours , and only the same hours allowed toall for rest . Now , sir , I am not an improvident man . No man ever saw me drunk . I was never absent when I could get a day ' s work . My wife worked in Grub ' s mill , and was obliged to pay a kind of step-nurse to take care of thc children while she was at work , and I have never been able to keep her at home—never boon able to spare wherewith to giveiiiy children any education . Just as 1 often hoped to do a little for them , we have been obliged to try and live when we wcre idle , until

      we got employment again . And then , sir , nearly every working man in England lives from hand tc mouth , and are thereby compelled to accept any term ? that the ma « teis choose to offer , aud as vou see tin * working classes are not now able to stand " one week unemployed ; and yet you wonder that hungry men , who are able and willing to work , should prefer looking for some general remedy for all those grievances , te starvin _;* -tamely while all above them have more than tliey know what to do with . Smith . —Well certainly it is a most deplorable situation for the working classes to be in , but why uot look for free trade as a remedy , and open the markets ofthe world to British industry ? Just see what an impetus thc free exportation of maciiinery h ; _is given to thc _mci-hanics' trade ? And why not _srive all other manufactures an equal chance ?

      Ihe Chambers' Philosophy Refuted. Labour...

      Jackson—Free trade is moonshine ! Mr . _^ -Smith . Openall the ports to-morrow , and by that day twelvemonth machinery will have closed them _^ _djuivc blocked up every available avenue . The free export » tii » tf _4 efa _& _oy _kbuthummg the candle at both ends . The law which allows free exportation ot machinery is but young , and yet so great have been the improvements in manufacturing machinery by machinery , that the working mechanics arc deprived of those advantages which would have otherwise flowed from the traffic . And you must , also bear in wind ,

      sir , that the extension of that trade is , day after day , limiting the great advantages which British manufacturers anticipate from free trade . . Surely , sir ,, you cannot be ignorant ofthe progress thatallthe nations ofthe earth arc m aking in the art , and _England cannot suppose that those foreign capitalists will tamely submit to be ruined by cheap English produce . Lou must know full well , tbat the same influences produced here by a class , will be put m operation by the same classes in other countries , and further , that the influence of that class must be alwavs greater in countries where land is cheap than where laud IS

      Smith . —Then , Jackson , you don't advocate a repeal ofthe Corn Laws ? And do yon know , that since I have had time to consider the subject , my opinions upon that head have undergone great alteration . What will be thc effect of a repeal of the Corn Laws upon the land at home , Jackson ? Jackson . —Why , sir , a general stagnationof all pursuits The landlords wouldn't reduce rents until it was too late . The farmers wouldn't employ labourers ; and , as a matter of course , the agricultural labourers would all flock to the manufacturin g market . There would be a general scramble , aud I think that , instead of shooting one another or killing one another , the working classes , operatives , and agriculturists would level everv mill in the country , and demand the land as the readiest means of subsistence . Smith . —Good God , Jackson , is that really your

      Jackson . —It is , sir , my confirmed opinion ; for talk as you may , and reason as you will , you never can drive the belief out ofthe heads of thc people , that that which does their work , while they are starving , istheir greatest enemy ; and you'll mark my words , sir , that before two yean pass oyer your head , Sir Robert Peel will be compelled to tell the fundholders that they must compound , because machinery consumes nothing , while he cannot reach thc profits made of it by thc few . Smith . —Well , Jackson , I hope if that tamo ever docs eome , that the working classes will be forbearing , for certainly they have suffered great _hardllllDS Jackson . —Yes , sir , 1 * 11 warrant they'll never kill or shoot each other when that time comes . Smith . —You see _howneccssary education would be ,

      then , Jackson . ., . , „ .. . , Jackson . —Yes , sir , arid while you talk ofthe want of it , and deplore the existence of immorality , isn t it shocking to contemplate that the English Church establishment , whose principal duty it is to inculcate morality and diffuse education , should receive annually the sum of £ 9 , 469 , 565 , while the people are taunted with ignorance and inunorality . It is not wonderful , sir , that the English people should be ignorant when their education costs annually less than the support and education of the Queen ' s horses ! Smith . —Jackson , I will once more repeat for you what I consider to be the main causes of distrcsa .

      I will speak candidly . I acknowledge , with great pain , there is a considerable amount of destitution demanding compassion and alleviation . By a concurrence of causes , general and particular , large numbers of the labouring population have got into a condition of considerable embarrassment and suffering—from want of education , abandonment to had habits , and loss of selfrespect , perhaps natural incapacity to compete with more skilful neighbours , also by fluctuations constantly increasing the mass of destitution in our large towns . The misfortunes aud imprudences of the higher order of

      workmen and the mercantile classes , also cause much destitution , and swell the numbers of the unemployed . It is very much owing to the offers of this unemployed and half-famishing body of individuals that wages are kept down or reduced . On the principle of "better' half a loaf than no bread , " they will gladly take something belon- the current rate of payment . Hence the vast crowds of poor needle-women who offer to make shirts at three-halfpence each , of lads clamouring to be employed as apprentices , of wandering paupers who are glad to work forthe barest means of subsistence . You see that

      it is tlie unemployed who determine the rate of wages . Whether these unemployed be men dismissed iu consequence ofa slackness of trade , or be new hands , thc same result follows . Jackson . —Now , Mr . Smith , you have furnished me with a long list of those causes whicli you admit lead to destitution , and can you point out one single one that is not of an artificial nature , and created by an artificial system ? You would enforce them as charges against the working classes , and denominate them causes ; while -I contend that they are grievances which they cannot resist , and are consequences of causes oyer which they have no controul at present . But , Bir , as you have admitted that a dependent surplus , created either by bad trade or

      improved machinery , is the great power m the bands of the masters , and the greatest enemy of labour , I ask you , sir , in fairness and reason , according to the laws of nature , and rules tbat govern human transactions , even according to those- Belt-protecting regulations by which the masters make themselves safe against all contingencies , is it not reasonable that the working elasses should devote their undivided attention __ to the means by which this surplus maybe so provided for as to be taken out of the hands of the masters ? Smith . —Well , Jackson , perhaps I may admit that , but then two questions arise—first , as to how the evil is to be met ; and , secondly , if correction is practicable , by whom is it to be administered ? for you know the old saying" Better keep the ills we have _.

      Than fly to those wo know not of , Jackson . —True , sh * , but can you paint a hell blacker than the present , even as depicted by yourself ; for you speak of men , whole classes indeed , receiving from £ 3 to .- £ 3 10 s . a week , being dissipated and wholly abandoned to vice ; indeed your words are—So common , indeed , is it to see men with moderate wages saving , and men with large wages extravagant , that many persons have come to the conclusion that high wages prove a curse more thau a blessing . . The curse , however , is brought on the workmen entirely hy themselves .

      Now , sir , if Iacquiesced in this sweeping charge , and absurd and ridiculous conclusion , that ¦ high wages was rather a curse than a blessing , we miist infer as a matter of course—that is , if vice is uot hereditary , and the exclusive patrimony of the working classesthat large fortunes also ' aro a curse rather than a blessing , and your reasoning would fully justify a recourse to . " equal distribution . " Then , as to the evil , sir , you admit it ; and that the people themselves are the only parties likely to correct it , must be inferred , for this grievance does not come in to that category of evils to which you would apply any legal remed y ; and , sir , to deal with this surplus , and to make it available to national purposes , instead of to the interests of masters , is now the grand and allabsorbing consideration with the working classes

      themselves . And hence you find all those sectional and mere class questions , to which the consideration of the trades wcre confined , giving way to tho more sweeping combination by which they hope unitedly to master the evil . The surplus of each craft is now pressing hardly upon the employed of its class ; and the very moment that the privations ot that surplus , becoming daily augmented , are insufferable , then , sir , will all the sections of labour combine in one general struggle against tlieir oppressors . This is the great tendency of the age , sir ; but the rules of your mill having denied me the right to confederate lor protection of my labour , I am not acquainted

      with the details of combination ; the next branch of the subject to be argued , and as old Robin has been aleaduig man in all trades' movements , perhaps you will have no objection to hear what he has to say upon the general principle ? _tsmith . —No , upon my honour , Jackson , I have not the slightest objection to hear old Robin , for , as I said before , I think we ought to hear both _sidesof the question , and _Ireallydosee _nogoodorsufllcientreaaon why the working classes should not combine to keep up wages as well as the masters to keep up profits * , especially when I remember reading in Chambers ' Journal , of 1833 , thatit was the opinion of the Messrs . Chambers , " that it was kot only the

      INTEREST OF THE WORKING MEN TO COMBINE , BUT THAT IT IS A NATIOXAL ADVANTAGE TO DO SO . " Jackson . —Good God , sir , you don't mean to say that those were Chambers' words ? . Smith . —Yes , but indeed I do , for the conversation that I have had with you and old Robin led me to a closer investigation of those matters , and I have been . since reading many admirable tracts in Chambers ' Journal upon the rights of labour , and the duty ofthe working men to combine . Jackson . —Well , sir , you do astonish me . But it's

      only another instance of the many enemies that thc people have to contend with . They nourish many vipers in tbeir breast to sting them , and , in spite of past warning , they still go on , giving power and influence to tbeir greatest foes , and look coldly and suspiciously upon their best friends . Smith . —Well , Jackson , -1 presume you have now closed your observations upon machinery , and I shall be glad to see Robin whenever the old man can toddle up to " Shoddy Hall , " or I'll send my gig for- him if he should think it too far to walk .

      Jackson . — Thank you , sir . And now , as'the thread of oiir dialogue bas been somewhat broken , 1 beg to submit a summary of my objections ' to machinery . Firstly , the application of . inanimate power to tbe _productionof the staple commodities of a country must inevitably depreciate tlie value of manual labour , aud every depreciation . of the value of man ' s labourin an equal degreelowers the workingman in the scale of society , as well as in bis own esteem : thus making him a mere passive instrument , subservient to any laws that the money classes may choose to inflict , to any rules the owners may impose , andsatislied with a comparative stale of existence . I object to

      Ihe Chambers' Philosophy Refuted. Labour...

      machiner y / because , without reference to the great questions of demand and supply , the masters can nlay with unconscious labour as they please , and always deal themselves the trumps . I object to machinery , because it may be multiplied to an extent whereby manual labour may be rendered altogether valueless . I object to machinery , because under its existing operation vou admit the necessity of emigration , better ventilation , education , improved morality , manners . _habits , \ _ind customs of the working _cesses , thereby showing that a state of recklessness , ignorance , ' want , and depravity exists ; which , as I before said , vou admit to be consequences ot the present system I object to machinery ibr this reason : Mr . Grab , in Devil ' s Dust , employs 4 , 000 hands , and m 1841 after two bad markets , he reduced the hands ek eachand ... . n ...

      upon an average three shillings a we ; since then he has come lower . And now observe , sir , the reduction that this one master had the power to make , and that the hands Iiad no power to resist , gave him an annual sum of £ 31 , 200 , without reference to any other speculation ; and for the three last years has g iven him £ 93 , 600 — a sum out of which those from whom it was plundered might have lived comfortably -through * the present distress . All are alike ; and if all do not employ 4 , 000 men , and cannot have an equal amount of profit upon individual filching , each set of hands has its tyrant to deal with , and equally suffers from tbe infliction . I object to machinery from tho injustice that it imposes even upon you , sir , in your present state . _ Smith . —Upon me , Jackson ! How—how—how can machinery aflect me now ?

      Jackson . —Why , sir , Grab , and thc others that have squeezed thc life's blood out of the poor , and that have coined infants' sweat and marrowintogold , nowtell them to go to the land for support , and to look to the poorrates for subsistence . 1 object to maciiinery , because it leads to commercial tariffs and regulations in all the countries of the world , which affect the priee of my labour , ' and over which I have no controul . I object to machinery , because , although it cheapens produce , it cheapens labour so much more , that 1 am less able with my earnings to buy the cheapened produce . I object to machinery , because , while each improvement diminishes the value of my labour , thc national debt , for the payment of whicli that labour is pawned , increases in an inverse ratio ; for every _shilling taken off my wages I have two additional to pay

      in support of this burthen . I object to machinery , because it prostitutes man , and displaces bim from that exalted situation which nature designed him to occupy . Instead of being thc controller of liis household , and the support of his wife and family , he is as lumber in the corner , dependent npon the labour of his wife . Instead of supporting his family when he ' s unemployed , the bit he eats from the scanty meal of the children is grudged him , and from despair he either betakes himself to dissipation , which prematurely hurries him to the grave , or , tired of existence , commits a crime to avoid the workhouse , which expatriates him from his country . I object * to machinery , because it has made one of my children a dwarf and another a cripple . I object to machinery , because it subverts all the rules of nature and nature ' s God . With a seemly and frugal life , the number of years promised to me is three score and ton , and how

      old would you take me to be , Mr . Smith ? Smith . —Why perhaps turned of fifty , or handy on towards sixty : I ' m fifty myself , and you look some years older . Jackson . —Ah , sir , I am not yet thirty-four . I commenced with you at nineteen ; so you sec , sir , what ravages that hard labour , which you tell me is nothing to the toil of fox-hunting , has made upon me ; while all that "mental anxiety" of which you complain still leaves you the gait and appearance of manhood , aye , and even tho blush of youth . I object to machinery , because overlookers render themselves thc more acceptable to their employers by tyranny , coercion , lying , slander , hypocrisy , cruelty , "fines , " " batings , " stoppages , and plunder of every sort . Smith . —Yes , 'yes , Jackson , I do remember—I well remember , that Squint was always the first to recommend a reduction , and always appeared most happy when the fines , and bateracnts , and stoppages were largest .

      _Jacksom . —I object to machinery , because I find that each " extension" leads to increased reduction ; and because the cheaper the produce of my own labonr becomes , the more difficult I find it to purchase . 1 object to machinery , because I cannot calculate upon any certainty , even of existence , from day to day . I object to machinery , because , while in employment I may be induced to rent a house upon the supposition that that employment will contmue , and because , while out of work , I am obliged to pay thc same rent that 1 compounded to pay out of constant employment . I object to machinery , because it huddles thousands and tens of thousands into large and filthy towns aud cities , where temptation is ever in the way of youth , and dissipation the only resource of the _unwilling idler . I object to machinery , because it

      has made character of no value , * because I am surrounded by an unhealthy atmosphere ; because I never see a greon field—because I never see a tree , or hear a bird singing on its branches . I object to machinery , because it compels me to live from hand to mouth , thought of preserving a wretched existence for another hour of misery absorbing all other considerations . I _[ object to machinery , because , after a hard week's incessant toil , my poor wife is compelled to bustle her way through the market , thronged with slaves , to buy the refuse provisions that have been pawed throiigh the day by her betters , who had the first of the market , out of her sweat . I object to machinery , because , when my children have come home blistered and smarting from the stripes of the overlooker ' s knout , 1 have gnashed my teeth in spite ,

      and cherished afather ' svengeanccin my breast , while the dread of starvation baulked me o a righteous satisfaction . I object to machinery , because I would like to . reverence and adore my God , to love my neighbour , to honour and obey the laws , and all who are appointed to execute them ; but my ragged condition forbids me to enter the house of God ; my neighbour sees in me a competitor in the labour market , and looks upon me aa an enemy ; the Laws crush me , and those who are appointed to execute them punish me if I complain . 1 object to machinery , because its never-varying . motion , with which I am compelled to keep pace , enforces a monotony of labour destructive of strength , injurious to health , and blunting to the

      faculties of man . I . object to machinery , because it is man ' s curse , while I would hail it as a blessing if it was made man ' s holiday , by lessening that toil Cor which it has become the substitute , withoutdepiiving me of the means of existence . I think , sir , I have now accounted for femalo ignorance of domestic duties ; for the want of early training and after education ; for dissipation , dissatisfaction , immorality , and discontent ; for the existence of labour combinations ; for early marriages ; the necessity of emigration ; better ventilation ; poor-houses , increased poor-rates , increased police force , increased taxation , and increasing hostility between tbe classes that rule and riot , and those that are ruled and starve .

      Smith . —Upon my honour you have , Jackson , and you have placed the matter in a light that I never saw it in before . Goodbye , Jackson . Perhaps this trifle may increase your Christmas cheer , and I shall expect to see you and Robin at twelve to-morrow . Jackson . —I thank you , sir , and we'll be with you . Good morning , sir . ( To be continued . )

      ^Aviculture Anti Horticulture

      _^ aviculture anti _horticulture

      The Rotation Of Cbops.—Au Crops Exhaust ...

      The Rotation of _Cbops . —AU crops exhaust a soil , and the whole art of manuring is , to return the ingredients and restore the soil to its fertility , whereby the same crops cau be again grown . And if , as _Boussingault has well written , we could procure an unlimited supply of manure and labour cheap , there would be no necessity for following out any system of rotation—there would be no fear of want of manureand the business of the farmer would be to calculate the probable value of his harvest against the expense of manure and labour . This is exactly what takes place in gardening , but on large farms it has been found that too large crops cannot be raised off ground without the outlay more than counterbalancing it .

      It has been found necessary , then , to adopt some regular system , and instead of additional manure , to alter the crop each year , and this system has been called the "Rotation of Crops . " On tbe model farm of _Glasanevin , under the Commissioners of National Education , and superintended by the intelligent agriculturist , Mr . SItilling , two systems of rotation are followed . The four-crop system consists of It ) acres laid down in fields of 4 acres 3 roods each . The fivecrop rotation consists of 30 acres in fields of 6 acres each . It is laid down in these two systems to show the pupils the practical working of both systems ; were it not so , tho whole would he laid down in the five-crop rotation . The crops raised by the fourcourse shift

      arc—1 st year , Mangold wurtzel _, turnips , & c . 2 nd „ Oats . 3 rd „ Artificial grasses , ryegrass , and clover . 4 th „ Wheat . The five-crop rotation is as follows : — 1 st year , Potatoes , turnips , mangold wurtzel . & c 2 nd „ Oats . ' 3 rd „ Grass pasture , some reserved for hay . 4 th .. _Itnliim _!\« _dnrivOTili ! nl urn _m . _noc _n „ . l „ 1 „ — 4 th Italian and perennial and

      „ rye grass clover 5 th „ Wheat or barlev . This is well suited for light soils , and well adapted for raising f 00 d for cattle ; the four-crop shift ia better suited lor strong , heavy soils , able to bear mueh cultivation . The tbree-trop shift is what is adapted for small farms close by a market-town , inasmuch as more cattle can be kept on the same quantitv of land than by any other rotation , there being two _ercen crops and ono grain crop , viz : — fa _- 1 st year , 'Potatoes and tumins .

      2 nd „ Wheat and barley sown down with grass . . 3 rd „ Cutting grass . The whole art of adopting a cootl system of rotation depends upon suiting the crops to tho nature of the soils , and varying them with each other , so that while the greatest amount of produce is raised off the ground , still that the soil shall not suffer to an undue extent . I bus , after cropping com off a soil , a quan-

      The Rotation Of Cbops.—Au Crops Exhaust ...

      tity of phosphates and nitrogen has keen aj * j » J _& returning the straw in the shape of dung Wf _2 »* _3 silts abstracted , whUc the mtrogenmay bc _^ returned by growing green crops ; andthesc additions can DC m aae whlo _^ a crop of food . _is actually being taken from the same soil , thus saving the _lossj anamg from a naked fallow . — Antisell ' s Agricultural Chemistry . Carrots sown with Oats—I have a field which , three rears since , was so wet that it was considered of little value ; I bad it drained and _^ laid down , ploughing iu a mixture of lime , bog-stuff , and salt , ft Yielded a fair crop of hay the second year ; and lastvear , not considering it sufficiently drained , ana not liking the grass on it , I determined on again breaking it up ; and late in the season ( say i ' ebruarv ) I had it _wett"drained and _subsoiled in _addioWrtptpd . _' *„ _„<¦ _^ _w , _„ w _«< and _nitronen has been aostracreu ,

      tion eighteen inches deep , done first by taking off eijrht inches in breadth with the common plough , havimr men Mowing with the spade , who threw up the subsoil , so as to cover what the plough turned . My neighbours took the liberty of predicting that it would not produce me a crop of oats ; nevertheless , without further plougliing , I sowed it with black oats , at thc rate of sixteen stones to the acre , and m a few perches of it I sowed carrot seed ( red and white ) through the oats ; on the part where the carrot seed was sown I threw a few loads of lime matter from the gas works ; the whole was put in at the same time under the harrow , and rolled . Kow for the results . I had a good crop of oats on the

      whole field , which was reaped in August , and all the field , save where nine perches of carrots grew , was ploughed up , got a good liming , was sown with vetches and rape transplanted , wliich arc now doing well ; and last week I had sixty-six stones of carrots dug out of the nine perches , weighed without the tops . I can readily get 5 d . per stone for the carrots , wliich make the produce £ 1 1 6 One man five days digging them out , 4 s . 2 d . ; but allow half thc expense for having thc ground so well dug , 2 s . Id . I put the tops ofthe carrots against the labour of a woman cutting them off ; so the _expenso will be , for seed l * d . per lb £ 0 3 0

      Labour 0 2 1 0 5 1 £ 12 5 Put £ 20 per acre , besides the oats . Make what use you please of this information . P . S . —Since writing thc above , I recollect that I put about 120 gallons of liquid manure on the carrots after the oats were cut . —J . R . —Farmers' Gasette . Extraordinary Wheat Citors . —A correspondent of the A onuicJi Afcrcimi communicates the following account of some extraordinary crops of wheat;— " The land ( under five acres ) lies in lladdisburgh , contiguous to a homestead belonging to G . Wilkinson , North Walsham , whose intelligent steward , Pucker , took the greatest possible pains to ascertain the exact

      quantity produced , and also the exact measurement of the field , to obviate any doubt as to the perversion of truth . It was Spalding wheat , and the product one hundred and ten coombs two bushels , being nearly twenty-two coombs ( a coomb is four bushels ) and a half per acre . Such a productive crop has never been produced from any given quantity of land within the memory ofthe oldest . Norfolk agriculturist , and many years may elapse before a similar instance can be recorded . Tlie cast of wheat in this neighbourhood generally , the product of this year , is really excellent . Mr . R . Cully , Bacton , has some land which produced seventeen coombs per acre , and land in this and tbe adjoining village of Wilton , belonging to Lord Wodehousewhich generally produces eight or nine coombs ,

      , and last year only from five or seven , has this year produced twelve coombs per acre . The cast and quantity ofthe barley , which was considered likely to have been extremely indifferent , has proved quite the contrary . " _, LiitE . —Lime , whether quick or carbonated , acts m a two-fold capacity , mechanically and chemically . Much ofthe advantage derived from ita application to clayey soils is due to its physical property of lessening the tenacity and increasing the porosity of the original soil : so , also , by applying marl to sandy soils , it serves to bind them more together , and make them more retentive of moisture . It is in this way said to be cooling to hot lauds : but if fresh lime be wished to be applied to sandy lands , it is well to mix it

      previously with a little clay , lest , when the soil is any way wet , it would _combiiw with its sand , and form a gritty mortar , rendering it difficult to be worked . This mechanical effect is well obtained when the form in which the lime is applied is either calcareous sand , gravel , or _sheU ; these last , on stiff land , open and loosen the clods , and allow the youngroots to shoot their radicles in every direction . Where a soil is destitute of calcareous ingredients , lime acts beneficially by becoming one of its earthy components ; to soils , however , which are nearly or entirely destructive of vegetable matter , it is absolutely injurious , and it is in this way its application to over-wrought

      soils that wc explain its hurtful effects on some lands . The chemical effects of lime are various , and are chiefly exerted on the organic matters contained in the soil ; when in the caustic state it is destructive of animal and vegetable life , hence its utility as an application . When weeds are to he got rid of , its action on dead vegetable matter is somewhat different ; in some grounds , especially those whicli are moist , this vegetable matter , instead of going through the regular process of decay , and terminating by the evolution of certain gaseous combinations , stops short , forms a compound—a solid substance , which is quite insoluble in water . —Agricultural Chemistry .

      Cottagers Gardens . —If tho cottager wishes to have a dish of Seakale towards thc beginning or middle of February , now is the time to make preparation for obtaining it . If a _smalTqtmntity of leaves can be collected for the purpose of mixing with a little stable dung or other litter , which will cause a gentle fermentation to take place , there will be little difficulty in effecting this object . Let the roots be covered with tolerably large flower-pots ; any old partly-broken pots or other material tliat will keep thc manure off the tender shoots are suitable for the purpose . On these shake a sufficient depth of fermenting material to raise a heat of from fifty degrees to sixty degrees . Thc heat may be less , but should not exceed sixty degrees , or thc stems will be weakly

      drawn . In the same manner Rhubarb may also be produced early ; but in thc case ofthe cottager possessing a warm dark room or cellar , where potted ro > ts can be placed , Rhubarb may be produced with greater certainty , and with less trouble . At this season , under thc constantly varying weather , little vu \ be dene in . the garden . In light dry sons , how ever , a small sowing-of thc early-frame Pea may be made ; thev will come in a little earlier than those sown in spring . Raspberries and all _lunds of fruittrees , may now bo pruned . With regard to the former , which produce their fruit entirely on tho previous year ' s wood , the old shoots should be removed , and four or five of the strongest of the young ones tied up m their plants , cutting clean off by the root all

      the rest ol the young shoots . After they are tied up to the stakes , shorten them to four feet in _height . In exposed situations , a good way of training _Raspbov nes is to tie the points , of one-half ofthe shoots on tbe stools respectively with each other , thus forming arches , which have rather a neat appearance . Those cottagers who possess a frame , containing a few choice plants , should keep a sharp look-out for insects ; for in winter , tho plants being comparatively inactive _^ cannot readily put forth fresh leaves to compensate for all destroyed . Keep every thing inside the frame as " . dry as possible , and give air every day when not too cold . Carnations do not require much water at this season especially if the soil in wliich they arc wintered is of a rather close texture . —Auriculas . Take care that these plants get no drip , and that the covering , whether glass or prepared calico , is perfectly watertight . —Pansies . Thoselwintered in soil of too rich a

      nature have suffered most . These , with late planted ones , have sustained a severe check . Pansies in order to stand tho severity ofthe weather , with little or no covering , ought not to be of too gross a habit . Look over the seedling beds , as the roots of manv will be thrown out by the frost ; these must be very " carefully replanted . —Tulips will now each succeeding week be getting nearer to the surface ; some slight protection will lie necessary where they are grown for exliibition , in order to prevent all possibility of injury to the embryo bloom . Hoops over the beds , cn which mats may be thrown , will be sufficient . Whore the roots arc not of so much consequence a few leaves will prove equally efficacious . —Pinks mav be sheltered with small pieces of Spruce Fir-boughs stuck round the beds . In snowy weather rabbits and hares devour them with avidity where they happen to be exposed to their depredations . Continue to turn over and make composts at every opportunity , '

      Science Anu &Tt

      Science anu & _tt

      , Institute Of The Fine Arts. -On Saturd...

      , Institute of the Fine ARTS . _-On Saturday evening last the first general meeting for the present season of the members of the Institute was held in _™ great _rJ' ° ? _i tlle Society of Art" in the Adelphi . _1- " _T , \? url 8 tM _» . _who presided , explained the objects of the meeting to a numerous assemblage of artists . and others and described the advantages likely to be derived to the fine arts of the country , and to artists , from the formation of the Institute . Since their last meeting it had been determined by the council that forthe futureladics should _Inadmissible to the meetings . By allowing ladies to participate in the _; _lnstrueuwi afforded , it had been thought that the advancement ut the line avis wmibl be oted

      prom ami the council had resolved tbat every member ' should have the privilege of introducing a lady at each mooting ( Hear . ) Thc minutes of the last meeting were then read by Mr . Fahev , tbe honorary secretary . Eighty-nine members had been admitted since the iast meeting , malting the present number of members 370 . Mr . Foggn then read a paper in answer to the remarks of Mr . _liallam _, in the Third Report of tbe Royal Commission of Fine Arts , on the selection of subjects lor the decoration of thc new Houses of Parliament ; and Mr . Fahcy afterwards read thc address of the council , from wbich it appeared that tlie success of the exertions ofthe Institute in extricating art unions from the difiicuHics

      , Institute Of The Fine Arts. -On Saturd...

      nnder which they had been placed , and proc , _Ihlegislative enactments for their protection , ha j r _ l approved by the great body of artists throu < rh _^ _l kingdom . The Institute was now forniing ° a lib _^ and many works of art had already been Vew ? . The prize of £ 20 for the best essay on _hlsfoVr F _u - ture , and present state of the fine arts in Great i _*^ tain , had been awarded to Mr . George Foggo i ! _nj * tions had been presented to Parliament for , ! ' * formation ofa national gallery of casts _f-- t | le . ' _^ specimens of ancient and modern scul pture anH _^' was hoped the prayer of them would be CriJ ' ? _>' . the Leg islature . Mr . Buss read a paper on tljo •' portance of building capacious studios for _aifist- * which great works could be executed ; a eolW'i such purposes might be built with good effect f „ tf neighbourhood ofBclgrave-square ; and Ur . _Stani under which they had been placed , and nm / ,, . """_ .. _„ „„„„ _'„„ . _f „ ,. _L ; t ; „„„ _. ' . "" P . rocur ,

      read a paper on tne state oi tne arts at alunieh j resolution expressing the satisfaction of the _mcpti at the conduct of the council , and one of thank , * the chairman , having been passed , the company « J * rated at half-past ten o ' clock . " _^ _REMAnKAM-B _Operation for the Ctoe of f ' n _euMPTiox . —The Medical Gazette contains a i r article from thc pens of Dr . Hastings and Mv . _5 Storks , surgeons , descriptive of a remarkabl e one * , tion for the cure of consumption , bythc pDrfcra tiV ofthe cavity of the lung through the walk of chest . It consists in making an opening _botn-c _on , ? f ribs into tbe cavity which forms in the lung _^ J _* the latter stages of consumption . The inmieilhf effects of the operation ( which requires onl y a _C seconds in its performance , and which causes W slight pain ) in the case in question was the ( li mi n tion of thc frequency of the patient ' s pulse , v } . _\ fell in twenty-four hours from 120 to 68 ; freed om ' respiration , which had been a very _uistressiii-r _¦*«» :

      torn ; loss of cough and expectoration , both of _i \< £ had been very severe . This operation , whicli _W established the possibility of curing this hitherto fay disease , appears to have been completely successf ul ! the report of the condition of the patient a luontj ! after its performance being , that ho was ra pii regaining his flesh and strength , whilst his respiratio n had become natural , his pulse had fallen to SO , anj his cough and expectoration had wholly ceased . Potass _aw _> Soda contained _i . v Ska Water . — \ Balford states that , by processes discovered by hiij and now employed in the south of France , ho _eoitlij ' notwithstanding the contrary opinion announced hi Murray and Wollaston , obtain from sea-water nj indefinite quantity of sulphate of soda , and enoii _$ potass for all commercial wants . Further , that _[( . _]_„ efforts hc is now malting be crowned with _sucrtjj the quantity of sulphur obtained from the oxi-sii il phuret of calcium , hitherto rejected as useless , _w'lj perhaps , be sufficient to supplant the _solfatants oi Italy . —Medical Times .

      Compressed Air Locomotive . —M . _Andraiul is the first person who proposed to substitute coinp » _s c air for steam , for the purpose of traction on railways ; he Ls also the first who put in practice , on an cxt on ' sive scale , the new dynamic principle , of which lie _; the promoter . Ho related on a late occasion the curious experiments which he made with an nil- loco . motive of strong dimensions—experiments which lave demonstrated the fact , that the problem was com . _pletely resolved , at least in a technical point of view ; tor it is only by means of a very extensive experiment that we can know what is tobe expected from tho employment of air locomotives in a commercial sense . However , this is well known—viz ., ihat fhese sort of locomotives cannot work profitably but bv the em .

      ployment of compressed an * at a very high degreesay , from eighteen to twenty atmospneres . il . Andrawl has just completed his invention , by thc disco * very ofthe moans of only employing compressed ait at very low pressures—say , one or two atmosphere * At one of the late sittings ofthe Academy of Scicnrcs _] M . Arago explained , with much precision and abili ty , ' of what this new combination of the inventor con . sisted . Here , then , is no locomotive of any descrip tion . Like in the atmospheric system , a tr ial oi which is to be made at St . Germain , there is between the two rails a long tube extending from one end to the other without interruption ; this tube is flexible , being composed of a strong description of cloth , folded over thirty times , and rendered Quits

      impermeable to the air by means of a dissolution of caoutchouc , which forms but one body out of the numerous folds . This arrangement allows the motive p iston outside the cylinder to work , in whicli the air is liberated . Now , the form of this external _j . iston ( which constitutes the basis of thc new invention ) is a simple lathe , composed of two rollers , pressed one against tho other by means of springs , the tension of which may be varied at will by the conductor . Let any one imagine , then , this lathe piston to be fixed at the head of the first or the last waggon of a train , and that tho tube of which we have spoken passes between the two rollers . , it will be then evident that if we introduce compressed air at one extremity of the tube , the other extremit y being open , the tube will expand as far as that part where it is pressed bv the lathe , and that this lathe being pushed like a

      piston , will draw with it the waggon to which it ii attached , and the whole train likewise . It is also clear that thc impulse will be so much stronger in proportion as tlie air is the more compressed , or aa the diameter of the tube is thc greater . Such is the new system presented to us by M . Andraud—a system , as wc may perceive , exempt of all mechanism , and of extreme smiplicity ; this flexible tube having uo land of opening , allows none of tho power to 1 * 8 wasted ; it will De of an extremely trifling cost , and easy to be placed in auy direction . Thc small model which M . Andraud has placed before the _Anulcny has worked perfectly . It is said that the Government , who have already assisted M . Andraud in hi ) operations , will put him in a condition to continue them in a more decisive manner on a line to be provided for him aa a specimen . —Journal des Clicudiu de Fer .

      ! Influence of Oxygen- on Health . — A man in first-rate condition" from training for prize fighting , or for running , will consume much more oxygen than another man in less vigorous and florid health And if he be removed from the pure air in which he has been trained , to an atmosphere less salubrious , he quickly loses his activity and enemy _, lhey do not subside , however , sufficiently sudden to correspond with the imperfect oxygenation in his lungs ; and that portion of food which was previously consumed in these organs , and converted into carbonic acid and water , is now deposited in the svstem as fat . Hence it is that men often become corpulent by exchanging out-door occupation in thc comiuy for sedentary employment in the town . In proportion nj

      the circulation is quickened , from whatever cause , in that proportion does a supply of oxvgcn become requisite . In ardent fevers , for instance , the anxioiu hasty breathing is a necessary consequence of the increased frequency ofthe pulse . If the air the patient breathes bo impure , and the room ill-ventilated , tbe malad yrages with greater violence , and perhaps com . mumcates itself by infection . Hence the advantage ot roomy apartments and fresh air in the treatment ot fevers . For tbis reason , also , fevers arc more rare in the country , and are less fatal there , _thanintowm --in the higher , cleanlier , and less populated districts , than m those that are low , ill-ventilated , and dirty—m large and commodious hospitals , than in small ones—onland than on ship-board , & c—Medical Times .

      The Phenomena or Colouring . —The colour of all organic productions appears to vary -with the position those productions occupy ontheearth ; for , whilst the equatorial regions produce tints of the most opposite and beautiful character in the vegetable kingdom , these gradually degenerate in brilliancy , until approaching the _limitsof vegetation , where the most prevailing colour is that of white . Not only are flower * thus acted upon by climate , but birds and animals _, _incfusivcot man himself , are almost equally _influeuci'd by the geographical position they occupy . —Medical Times . r

      Ingenious Scheme. —Jean Picard, Who Had ...

      Ingenious Scheme . —Jean Picard _, who had beea condemned to thirteen months' imprisonment by the Correctional Tribunal , which sentence hc had undergone at the DcpOt des Condamnes , yesterday ( Friday week ) finished his time , and Ids order of liberation wm signed . At the moment of his departure ho _ofhciouslyoffoi-ed to the overseer of workshops to carry to the cart bclonging to the contractor for tlie work a large sack , which was filled with finished goods , lie Mi ? _J , 1 S ! iM was _& _pwited i _* him at the bottom ofthe velucle _, which proceeded oa ita journey . It had scarcel y arrived in the middlc of tho K , ue de la Roquette , when , tothe great surprise ?; _wtF- i an 8 C _- om uotb _> and _^ h ° had als 0 taken their places in the carrhure . the sack of ! rood 3

      ocgan to make strange movements—an arm was sot a seen to-come frem it , then a head , and thc _comliu-tos remained _stnpified on recognising an individual condemned to five years' imprisonment , and who had recently entered the prison of Roquette to fuliil Ml punishment . He had made an agreement with _l icard , who had put him in the sack instead of the goods and he had hoped to be fortunate enoug h io escape by tbs singular retreat without beine perceived , when a sensation of suffocation had " forced liim to show himself so opportunely . Tho gentleman waa immediately sent back to prison , whither _Picard had likewise to return , — _-Gagewdes _Tribunal Death * at 108 Years op Age . —Diedon _IfowtaJ

      , last , at thc patriarchal age of 103 , Mi * . Morris _'t'lnir-:-ton , of Guinea-street , Exeter . The deceased , up to the last seven weeks , enjoyed excellent health a'J spirits . Ho lived for upwards of sixty years in _t'''j house in which lie died , and never till " latch' allow * any one to go into it . He was a herbal doctor , ¦¦ ' ¦ _<* as such travelled through Devon , work-in ? _marwll '" _' _- cures . De followed his vocation till within the I'' * two months , and such was his repute , tliat peer ' * apphed fo him for advice , and received bis liosiv : _*'' j whilst on bis death bed . He was an alflivmisl , '• _" " an adept in astrology ; and it seemed us if these sv _> dent delusions lingered with hun alone . —A ' ' * _* - _' Times .

      W . ut , vr , \ _x Em—Thc"following advertiscm _^ _li under the sibove _he-ifi , appoai _*? in ' tlic Times of r ' _| ' * day : — " To the seven : ir *)* ' of _Klureiif-, cr their ni !! '! _- ' try . — -The advertiser will _enga { rc _, by _juojiji- _* - ot ' own invention , to destroy or _"ili- _;» n >! _-. ; . o _iIr- ~ _-: in _ e _$ army pr fleet in the world , and will tic-maud ncrenni ' ncration till a demonstration be given . "

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 4, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_04011845/page/6/