On this page
- Departments (4)
-
Text (17)
-
^^^aso. " .„_, __ ^ ygf^ * wy%^ J TAJ^. ...
-
p)eu;g
-
rnTVS "WORLD IS WORTHIER BETTER u MEN. :...
-
SONG OF THE FUTURE, 'ifidst all the stor...
-
ft*me\B$
-
THE PEOPLE'S REVIEW OF LITEHATUKE AND PR...
-
The Spirit of Freedom. Conducted by Work...
-
The Champion, SfC. E. Hobson, Ashtbnunde...
-
The Frame Work-Knitters' Advocate. No. I...
-
^— THB CONDITION OF ENGLAND.-. QUESTION....
-
THE SLOPWORKERS OF, LONDON. My first ste...
-
30uultc &mu0em-mt#
-
DRURY-LANE /THEATRE. On Tuesday night Fi...
-
ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION. Some very...
-
Juvenile Offendbbs.—According . to a Par...
-
•-¦- .* ;-- . •"•;. ;-^' arT*pni?*- * ""
-
•TnE Future heroafter, perhaps,' the nat...
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.
-
-
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.
^^^Aso. " .„_, __ ^ Ygf^ * Wy%^ J Taj^. ...
_^^^ _aso _. " . „_ , __ _ygf _^ _* _wy _% _^ J TAJ _^ _. 3 . ¦ ¦¦ ¦
P)Eu;G
p ) eu ; g
Rntvs "World Is Worthier Better U Men. :...
rnTVS "WORLD IS WORTHIER BETTER u MEN . : Tt's all an idle tale they tell , but , theD , -who blames their telling it ? « r hero < rnes have got-their cant to sell , the world _TATs'Vell far selling it . They say this world ' s a ' desert drear / cursed in their own stark blindnessJ That we were sent to suffer here—what , hy a God of _Jrin dness ? That since the world has gone astray—it must be so for ever , And we most stand still , and obey its _desolators —• never ! Tve'll labour for the better time "With all our might of press and pen ; BelieTe ns , tis a truth sublime- — God ' s world is worthier better men .
In Paradise the world began , a world of love and g ladness—IU beauty hath heen marred hy man , with allh } s crime and madness ; Yet , 'tis a bright world , —still love hrings sunshine for spirits dreary , -filth all our strife , sweet rest hath wings to fold onr hearts a « weary « The snn , in glory , like a God , to-day in heaven is brightlng , A bloom of stars smiles on the sod , as love wiih flowers _werewritins _*;; Earth ' s heart throbs with immortal youth , Her voice still _rings of Eden—then Believe us , 'tis a noble truth , God ' s world is worthier better men .
Oh' they are bold knaves , over-bold—who say we are doomed to anguish , That men in God ' s own imago soul'd , like hellbound slaves must languish , Probe _Nature's heart to its red core , there's more of good than evil , And man , down-trampled , still is . more of angel than of devil , — " Prepare to die V—prepare to live ! we know not what is living , _& S & let us for the world s good give , as God is ever Give love , thought , action , wealth , and timo , To win the primal age again ; Believe us * tisa truth sublime , God ' s world is worthier better men . Spirit of Freedom . Masset .
Song Of The Future, 'Ifidst All The Stor...
SONG OF THE FUTURE , _'ifidst all the storms and cares of lifo , I see a brighter day , Bursting through the clouds of strife , To chase our wrongs away . The advent of that day may seem As though it ne ' er would dawn , And better times nought but a dream , From Fancy ' s empire drawn . But knowledge sows the seeds of right , Which grows in every mind , And teaches men that moral might Will freedom's beauty find . The future opens with a smile , And justice seems to call Upon the toilers of our isle ,
To wafch their tyrants falL The past has heen the age of woe , "Where reason never dwelt ; And men were wont to make a show Of whatthey never felt . Oh I England ' s sons may glory crown Your acts iand deeds with fame ; To conquer base oppression ' s frown , And win a glorious name . A Glove-maker
Ft*Me\B$
_ft * me \ B _$
The People's Review Of Litehatuke And Pr...
THE PEOPLE ' S REVIEW OF LITEHATUKE AND PROGRESS . Edited "b y _Fbiesds in _Cocscn .. So , I , -February . London : C . AEtchell , Red-Lion Court , Fleet-street . Feom both , principle and personal feeling we had hoped to have been able to have given a hearty welcome to ibis Dew publication . Announced as the "Peqpfe _' s Review" we naturally expected to have met , nnder such a title , with a zealous exponent of the people " _^ claims , and a determined assertor . of their rights ; and such a " Review " would have
bad our most earnest good wishes . As regards personal feeling—although we have never allowed that to mislead us so far a 3 to move us to vote black white—we have always been anxious to employ the language of praise , rather than censure ; and , in the present instance having a personal regard for , at least , one of the conductors ofthe People ' s Renew , we should only have been too happy could we bave conscientiously praised tbe work of our friend , and bis coadjutors . But we cannot do
so . The People ' s Review , as a whole , has disappointed our expectations . We question not tiie integrity , nor the talent of the writers ; the one is as above suspicion , as the other is above question . Nor do we dispute that those sections of the " people ' * wbo constitute tbe population of the "Mechanics * Institutions , " " Manchester _AtHenseoms , _" and " _~ WMt _£ ngton Clubs , " may find this Review suited to their . tastes ; but the proletarians—the masses —are not very likely to recognise it as the "People ' s . "
To say nothing of the peculiar views ofthe writers , their manner © f " reviewing" finds anything bnt favour in our eyes , The ability displayed in tbe articlescontained in the present number cannot be disputed , bat the articles are rather essays than reviews ; and , with all respect for the essayists , we would rather have bad less of then * writing , and more of tbe books they undertook to " review . " It wonld "be an imgracion 8 . task to single out particular articles or particular passages for hostile comment . Instead of so disagreeable a performance , -we have p leasure in stating , that at least portions ofthe contents deserve public approbation . The article beaded " History of the Taxes on Knowledge , " cannot be too warmly praised .
That our readers may not hastil y or inadvisedly condemn a new candidate for popular support , * we recommend all who are curious in snch matters , and can afford to expend sixpence , to purchase this first number and judge for themselves . We should add , thatthe work is neatly printed , and more than ordinary taste is evident in the getting-np of tbe wrapper . We trust that on a future occasion we shall be able to speak in terms of unalloyed approbation of the "People ' sReview . "
The Spirit Of Freedom. Conducted By Work...
The Spirit of Freedom . Conducted by Working Men . "New Series . No . IL—February , London : J . Watson , 3 , _Queen _' s-headpassage , Paternoster-row . This publication is pre-eminently the poetical propagandist of the p rinciples bf proletarian progression . Its very prose only needs to be cut up into longs and shorts , to make a description of blank verse which would hear comparison with much that has emanated in that shape irom certain reco <* _-oised " poet * . " Such writers as our friends of the Spirit" of Freedom have their -oaission---a mission others could not so well perform . Young themselves , they address the
young in those fiery words and trumpet-like tones whieh are the peculiar property of those on whom the morning of life yet shines . They dowelL A new generation of thinkers , -workers , and leaders are growing up nnder their teachings—men who will at no distant day emerge from their present obscurity , " and do good work in Liberty ' s "warfare , Let _ns not be mistaken ; that onr friends can be practical , in the ordinary sense of the term , as well as poetical ( which we have shown may also Ibe practical and effective ) , may be Been by tbe article * in this number of tbe Spirit on " -Middle-class Expenditure , ' ' " Clerical _Kobtery " "Ireland , " & c ., & c . The first-named of these articles we shall quote nearly entire .
TnE MMDLE-CLASS _-fiXPEDIEXCT . o _* - ° _- ' _-Bknc , in one of his eloquent Lectures on Socialism , remarks , -when leaders of the people say to tbem , "follow us , " the people should question where tbey are being led to ; now , we think if tbe honest answer was always given ; it . would often be , " aforty years' journey in the "Wilderness ;" ana ; as one . of the people ; we pause , and ask'tbe ttultipIMty of leaders , _*** Whereare-you leading ns ? * _Eor , although we hold that we must conquer tiie state by . political reform , thereby to work out ' tbe social change , we question whether " there are two of
The Spirit Of Freedom. Conducted By Work...
Ihe Chartist leaders who know where they are lead-* hg us too , or how they would apply political reform for the betterance of the : poor , and the ; extinction of misery ; Brothers , it is a vile fraud intended to be practised upon a large portion of bur suffering order , by the rarlianientary and Financial Reformers . Have you read the anecdote of the Kentuckian and Indian , who went shooting one day , the produce of whose sport was a turkey and : a crow ? . on the division of which the Kentuckian plied his sophistry to bewilder the Indian , in the following terms : " Now , " said the Kentuckian , ¦¦ I will have the turkey and you shall take the crow , or you shall take the crow and I will have tbe turkey !" "Well / ' said the Indian , " it sounds very well ; but , _
somehow , you always get the turkey / and I always get the crow ! " This seems to me to illustrate the position of the middle and working classes in the apportionment of the results of reform ; they get the turkey and we tbe crow . The language of the Financial Reformers is this : " Join us , for your own sakes ; go with us for the suffrage in part , not because it is an universal right , but because it is the wiser course ; itis an instalment—a movement in the right direction , which must merge into universal enfranchisement ! " This was the language of Brougham , Russell , and Burdett—that was __ a Bteo in the right direction ; that was a guarantee for the _' farther extension of tbe franchise , and yet that verv measure enabled the treacherous and bloody
Whigs , in 1848 , to pass tbeir infamous Gagging and Alien Acts , in support of which they conld muster 100 , 000 middle-class special constables ! _^ And these were the same men that agitated and clajmoured for the Reform Bill , but having obtained their measure , and acquired power , they were at once the sworn enemies of the unenfranchised , they had become respectable monopolists ; they had got the turkey and we the eron * J Had there been no Reform Bill these men would have been with us in ' 48 , and at sacb a time , when the heart of society was yearning for change , and the spirit of revolution stirred the face of tbe deeps—they , like the _boui-geoise promoters of the reform banquets in Paris , must have been hurried
further than was originally intended , and we could have swept away any government founded on oppression and bolstered by bullying wrong ! " We might now have had a government built on the suffrages and hearts of the people , 'instead of _^ being bamboozled and insulted by the miserable trickery of class legislation . If the middle class have become more honest and sincere , let them come forward boldly and lend a hand for " the attainment of our rights ; and cease this sneaking policy of advocating brick and mortar schemes—cease haggling for pennyworths of that Reforid which must cost more than a crown I for if they willed it fully and unequivocally , we could have Universal Sufirage next session , or revolutionise England ! but , they dp not
will tbat we shonld be enfranchised . We claim the Suffrage as a birthright ! we ask to be recognised as human beings ! to be looked upon as the sons of the same God , and brothers of the same human femily , that each shall have room for the full development of his own nature . ' "We do not work for a change of tyrants , but for the regeneration of society 2 we wish to have this branding mark of slavery efiaced from us , and lift up our brows in human nature ' s nobleness , and the acknowledged equality of mankind ! The middle classes on the contnuy , say it is expedient to enfranchise a portion of the people , on this qualification , if they are utterly selfish , which selfishness means , ( as the world _waes ) sense , that is the sense of taking care
of oneself at the expense of everybody else J it is expedient to enfranchise four millions because they would be sufficient to carry Cobden and Go . into power , and Cobden and Co . know very well that it amounts to this , by giving the vote to four millions , they let in four feet of democracy which they could swim in gallantly ! but by giving the vote to eight millions they would let in eight feet of democracy , in which they would be swamped inevitably , and il Universal Sufirage would not carry them to power , as most assuredly it would not ! it is not likely that when in power they would open the flood-gates to swamp themselves , no , we and the middle class are opposed in interest ; tbey know it , and we must learn it ! "When capital and labour are combined
in action they are one in interest , but separated and pitted against each other they are opposite in interest . Our interests are opposed to the men of capital . Therefore they hold out to us saying " Get ! get ! " " become one of us , " "become respectable ! and by so doing we strengthen their party , and render theslavery . of a large portion of our own class all the more effectual ' . and who does not foresee that a middle class despotism is far worse than the tyranny of feudalism ? Feudalism only crushes humanity in the gross mass , this despotism will crush ns in detail—man by man , woman
by woman , and child by child . By giving unlimited sway to capital in its killing competition with labour , labour must suffer eternal loss ; again , under the iron rule of feudalism , the crushed slaves could make common cause in their misery , and unite to overthrow their oppressors ; but this is impossible under the reign of the tyranny we are bending our necks to , for , with unlimited competition , which is the beau-ideal of middle class liberty , ' every man ' s hand is against his brother , and every man ' s interest antagonistic ! it is the cut-throat course of every one for himself , and the devil take the hindmost !
"Wcmaynot he able to frustrate this movement , for the middle classes will inevitably precede us to power , yet they will not solve the problem of labour : they will not abolish slavery by destroying _proletariat or speculation in man by man ; they will not leg islate to fetter human misery , and it is this for which we combat ; therefore , supposing we Stooi on a polidcal equality to-morrow , our interests would be at issue immediately , for , while they seek a apolitical change in order that they may prevent the coming social revolution , we work for a political revolution , _thereby to eonswaiate the social one , which must follow ; but . as we have not this political equality , we have to fight a double battle , and it behoves the workers to cling together , and if leaders stand in the way , they must be sacrificed at the shrine of principles . T . Massey .
The Champion, Sfc. E. Hobson, Ashtbnunde...
The Champion , SfC . E . Hobson , Ashtbnunder-Lyne ; A . Heywood , Manchester . This faithful champion ofthe rights , and able exponent of the claims of the _factory workerB , continues its useful though unpretending career . . From the number for February 2 nd , we extract the following notice of Tin * FACTORY ACT BEFOBE THE JUDGES . It IS impossible to overrate tbe importance ofthe question submitted to tbe judges in the Court of Exchequer , on Monday last , and now awaiting their decision . It involves not merely the physical , social and moral well-being and happiness of many thousands of our factory population , chiefly children oi
and young persons ol both sexes , especially females , which of itself is a sufficiently serious consideration ; but relatively , from the points likely to be raised in the judgment about to be delivered , it will be found to involve certain principles in the politico-industrial faith of the nation , upon the practical adoption or rejection of which very much of the future fate of England will depend . "We listened attentively to the arguments of the learned counsel who conducted the case on each side of the question , and watched most anxiously the various turns of mere law , which the discussion appeared to take . There were several sentiments expressed in
the course of the argument , as well by th _» judges as by the learned counsel , which appeared to us to be both novel and dangerous , and to which we shall take an early opportunity to revert . For the _present it would be premature and ill-advised to make any remark upon the dicta to which we refer . In the mean time , without at all anticipating the final decision ofthe benchi we would exhort the friends of the Ten Hours Bill to prepare to receive and act upon that decision , whatever it may be , with all tho earnestness and zeal which the nature ofthe case imperatively demands . Events , we believe , will confirm the opinion we recently expressed—that a new . ' crisis in thc Factory Question is at hand .
The Frame Work-Knitters' Advocate. No. I...
The Frame Work-Knitters' Advocate . No . I-2 _* Jbttinghain : E . Sutton , _Bridlesmith Gate . We welcome this new advocate of Labour ' s interests We learn from ihe opening address , that ''theAdvocate wiU , on all occasions , be ready to assist the injured , and plead the cause of the oppressed ; it will expose the abuses , extortions , frauds , and deceits which are still _practised in so many and such various forms , The working men , however illiterate and unlearned , will here find space to . express their thoughts and views , couched in their own terms , and clothed in their own language , providing it coHtain 8 nothing that is unreasonable
or irrational . It will contain occasionall y articles on all subjects connected with the interests of the trade ; such as its ' . history , past -and ' present ; wages , their . rise and fall ; " comparison between the present and past ; local customs in their different varieties ; inventions and improvements in the manufacture of machinery . The laws that afi _* ect the rig hts of industry will meet with due attention , and the social and moral improvement ofthe working man will be our greatest object ; i In short , ft will be ' thefearless advdcate . of alltKe rights ,, p rivileges , and immunities of those , who produce the wealth , of this country . * ' It is almost f-uperflu-kiB to add , that our best wishes are" given for the success _ofthe Frame Worlcknitters Advocate .
The Frame Work-Knitters' Advocate. No. I...
ThePublic " Good : _ISor 1 I-7--Februab , t . ; _TSon _? don : Ci . Gilpin , 5 _^ _Bishopsgate-street . The articlesin this number . of ' the Public Good _are-of the order previously- indicated in' our notice of number one . Perhaps ; the best in the copy before us is'the ' second ' of a a series bn " the undeveloped resources of England . " . "We quote the following from a letter by Yooloo-fou , on board the , Chinese Junk at Blackwall , to his kinsman , Lang-fang , in China : — I have to inform thee , my dear Lang-fang , that I have visited London , which it the largest and richest city in the land of the barbarians . Since the arrival of bur noble vessel , she has been _in-^
vaded by swarms of a peculiar class of barbarians called _Cocknics , together with a great number ofthe principal mandarins . But , if they _wereso curious and inquisitive about us , I was still more eo in my inquiries about them . Know , oh ! Lang-fang that the capital of this barbarian empire is , emphatically , a city of contiasts . . Here are jostled together , as if in hideous mockery of the hopes we entertain of earthly felicity—inexhaustible wealth , and the most squalid poverty ; the most sumptuous palaces , and the meanest hovels ; solemn temples of worship , and execrable dens of infamy ; noble scientific mental institutions for mental improvement , and gorgeous saloons dedicated to the demon of intemperance for mental degradation . Yet they
will tell thee , Oh ! Lang-fang ! that this is the centra of civilisation , the cradle of the arts , tbe mother of humanity , the home of truth , the nurse of wisdom , and the benefactress of the world . Though the inhabitants of this country pretend to be the most moral and enlightened peoplo in tho world , yet there are perpetrated amongst them the most frightful atrocities , and unmitigated villanies . They believe their legislators to be wise , humane , and patriotic ; but the laws which they bave enacted are neither just nor judicious . . The rich man may purchase pardon , but the poor must suffer punishment . I must not omit to mention , that there is a place of assembly for the barbarian _legislators , denominated the House of Commons , in which the affairs of the nation are discussed and decided . Curiosity induced me to visit it ; but what _was my surprise , Oh ! 3 Jang-fang 1 to discover that instead of the
deeds of patriots , and the words of sage ? , that the time was : wasted in frivolous debates , and the public money in _superfluous expenses _.,-Private interests there , as well as in tbe most obscure nooks and corners of the empire , appeared to be the ' aim and end" of these persons selected by tbe public for the public good . Well may we boast of our great Confucius , and ; well may we be proud of the lessons of wisdom which he has taught us . "What would our august Emperor , say to those . mandarinswhom he has appointed to administer the laws throughout the length and breadth of the Celestial Empire , if they were to imitate the example of these legislators ofthe barbarians ? Would he not pluck the buttons from then * caps , thereby ! degrading them before the eyes of his subjects , and command the bamboo to be vigorously applied to the soles of their feet f
^— Thb Condition Of England.-. Question....
_^— THB CONDITION OF ENGLAND .-. QUESTION . ( Condonsed from the Mtrning _Chronicli . ) THE SILK WEAVERS OF MIDDLETON . ¦ Somewhat more than five miles from Manchester , and midway upon the high road to Rochdale , lies , in a pleasant hollow , surrounded by ridging , hills , and watered by the stream of the Irk , the ancient village ef Middle ton . Although near the centre of the charmed circle within which the steam-engine the three-decked mule , and the power-loom are alone potent , and almost as it were beneath tbe heel ofthe cotton capital—still the prevailing spirit ofthe region has passed but lightly over Middleton . Standing on the gravestone-clad hill , beneath the antique balfry of the Norman church , yOu see in your immediate neighbourhood but a few scattered stragglers from the host of tall chimneys which
muster on the horizon . Beneath you , perched upon gardened banks or nestling in petty ravines , lie the scattered streets of an old-fasbioned village , the high-gabled and irregular tenements built of wood which was leafy three centuries ago , interspersed with ranges of modern red-brick two-storied cottages . There is a gas-work rising , spick and span new , close to where the long grass is waving on the ruins of a brave hall ; and a "Manchester omnibus stands at the door of a tavern which may have seen the esquire ride forth to fly his hawks . There is nothing of the suburban character about Middleton . The cits of Manchester , do not resort there . The place has a stamp of its own . Some of the oldest and purest blood of the Lancashire yeoman
keeps its current still unmixed by the hearths of this village . Keedwood and Charnwood sent forth no tougher bows nor . longer shafts than twanged along the banks of the Irk , and amid the coppices ofBirtleand Ashworth . On the northern window of the church transept are emblazoned tbe effigies of the Middleton Archers , who , like Hubert ' s grandsire , drew good bows , not indeed at Hastings , but on Flodden Edge ; There , upon the colourea glass , march , like the merry men of Robin Hood , the staunch Middleton Archers , all of a row , witb their longlight Saxon hair , and their retainers' liveries of blue . Each carries his unslung bow upon his shoulder ; over each bow is painted , in antique letters , tbe name of its owner , and every one of
these names is still borne by an inhabitant of Middleton . It was curious , indeed , after the multitude of brown brioken Sioris , and Ebenezers , and Beth ' esdas , to which I have lately been accustomed , to find myself standing upon the brazen memorials of buried Crusaders ,, amid -millions and quatrefeuils , carved by "Norman , chisels , and beneath mouldering standards and rusty spears , which were probably shaken and couched in the wars ofthe Roses . From what I have stated the reader will be prepared for a population pursuing some distinct and ungregarious species of occupation . He is in the right . The "folk o' Middleton , " to use their own vernacular , are almost all silk handloom weavers , pursuing their craft in their own houses , preserving
an independent and individual tone of character , intermarrying to the extent of breeding scrofulous disease—clannish and prejudiced and peculiar as all such septs are—keeping up even amid their looms a great degreeof the _ruraj and patriarchal tone of bygone times—a few of them handling the plough and the "hoe as well as the shuttle and the winding-wheel , and the entire community great favourers of the old English manly sports .. "When the Hopwood hounds pass the village ( says tho Rev . Mr . Dunsford , the rector , ) there is always a goodly train of sportsmen , on foot , in attendance . " Having asked whether there was any weaver among them whom they thought especially a clever man , and one who knew the history of ; the . trade , public opinion pointing with many . fore-fingers to a certain door , I tapped thereat ,,. and . the latch was raised by a venerable old lady adorned with a pair of silver spectacles' on her nose , and a pipe in her
mouth ; she looked somehow like a nice indulgent grandmamma—she bad such a kind old-fashioned _, face ; but I could . not help staring at it , for never in my life had I seen aa elderly lady ' s countenance embellished at once with a pair of silver spectacles and a clay . pipe . The master of the family was a very intelligent , chubby old man , with grey hair , a pair of twin spectacles , but no pipe . After ascertaining that I was " not in , the . trade , " and that I knew as much about the secrets of "dents" and shute" as about the mysteries of Kleusis , he made me extremely welcome , and we had a long gossip together . In . his workroom stood four looms , one of them the invention of the celebrated weaver of Lyons . - When I entered , the master of the house was . instructing a girl , in the management of the loom . He straig htway left his pupil , and , having heard my errand , launched headforemost into a sea of silk-weaving reminiscences .
I shall not attempt to classify the topics which 1 found scribbled in my note-book . In conversations with working men , it is almost impossible to keep them to the point , and perhaps a more vivid idea is given of . the . colloquy , and especially of the principal interlocutor , by putting on paper his chat , rambling and disjointed as ft was uttered . " Remember better , times ? That do I well . Twenty-six years ago we had 13 d . a yard for what we have 3 _Jd . now . -It _* B the machinery—the machinery as has donejt - —forsee that Jacquard , and the silk in it ( there ~ are many hundred Jaoquavds hereabouts)—well , the weaving of that silk used to be 3 s . a wd . What is it now ?; Why , Is . 3 d . About thirty vears ' ago we were mostly cotton
weavers hereaway . But the power-looms flung us out ofwork _. and we were nigh starved . Then , sir . there came gentlemen from Lunnon , from Spitalfields ( of course as you come from Lunnon you know Spitalfields ) , and they took down silk hero and they set us to work on it . We was . very glad to get the chance . But the masters was using us , tobflte do _* _jn the Spitalfields weavers . Somo of them ,, sir—the weavers I mean—came down here ; but their old masters wouldn't employ , no , not never a man on them , because they would want their old wages and old rules . That was tbe way , sir , that silk weaving became so general hereaway .. Well , but wo was
soon served Just as we had served : the Spitalfields folk . There ' s a place called Leigh , hot far from hero , where there was then a heap of handT loom weavers as wrought cottons and ' such liko . Well , after some time / our masters didn't g ive us our due , and so we combined arid , bad . a . strike . What did the masters do but took the work . . to Leig h from Middleton , just as they didfrojh Spitalnelds to Middleton , ' and the weavers at Leigh wrought at biib ha'penny a yard less than we did . To be sure they was glad to get the _worfcat almost any _^ price , The . wages are not : very . different , now , but there _arejgripvous and unjust _^ _abatements .. . The masters are some of them honourable ' good ' meri- _^ but soma of them _^ very-tyrannous . -They were very tyrai >
^— Thb Condition Of England.-. Question....
nous mthis _wayl _^ Le _^ weavers collected information as to abatements _. and printed it in a book . . [ I have the pamphlet _before mo . ] ; * v " ery often , sir ,, there was _one-andr ' sixpence *" _- _'two- . _and-sixpebce unjustly 'bated out . of , a week ' s work . The poor people could not live under it , They couldn't . " _^ Some folks . live in their , own houses—but I don t . This better , nor factory' work ... Aye , that it is .., Tou see you keep your children at ' home about you , and you don ' t lose control over them . We live very friendly like . There be all sorts here , but we re good folk the ' gether . When the children are ten or twelve yearB old we put them . to the loom ,
but we must attend them , you know , and teach : j " ¦ 5 _, talies longt 0 mak ( " them perfect in the trade . There ' s many drawbacks to a weaver ' s work . Sometimes it takes a week to gate a loom . " ( Prepare it for a web of particular fineness ) . I heard . say that in Spitalfields all that is done at the master _s but here we do it ourselves . How do we { iy ?? Well ; there ' s not much flesh meat eaten . There would be a dealmorc if we could get it . But there stay , ( the Lancashire peasant invariably pronounces the word more Hibernico ) , there ' s tay , and bread and booter—that's ready cooking . In this family we only have an ounce of tay a week ; but l'llju 8 t tell you how we live in homely Lancashire sort . Well , we have tay and bread and booter
morn-ing and afternoon . ' At' dinner we have potatoes , and perhaps a little meat . Here ' s in this house a family of four or five , as it may be . Well , at the end of the week wo buy two or three pounds of beefand that ' s all the flesh meat we have till next week . So we make it into as many , dinners as we can scheme . We cook may b » half a pound at a time , to give the potatoes a flavour like . But what ' s that for eating ?; Why , my Bbare at meal times is not bigger nor my thumb . So I often throw it in and take a fried ingan and two or three drops of vinegar to relish the potatoes . That ' s about our general way of living . To be sure we may get a living in spring time when the spring fashions come ; but very often we ' ve been getting into debt in the
winter ; and . first , you know , we _muat keep : our credit ; and then there's clothes want renewing . _Teatotallers here ? "Ay , there be few on em ; but we ' re all very moderate . I like my glass of ale myself , and I like good company , and a good joke ; and soom ' mut to laugh at , I do . I like , to . sing a song t 00 i " , . Hpw the conversation , turned round I do not remember _; but the next entry I have , upon my note book is , that the old gentleman was fond riot only of a good song , but that' he was especially fond of reading the " _Skootehings "• which Cobbett used to give to people ho didn t like . ; Then we got back to convivial matters , and so gradually to the subject of tbe morale of the village .
" We ' ve got a rural police here . But , Lord ! we hav ' nt no more use for them nor you have for water in your boots . There ' s threo policemen , and tbe devil a thing they have . to do but . walk _aboujt with their hands in their pockets , like gentlemen . Why , they hav ' nt had a job this three months ; except , may be , when a chap gets droonk-like . The sergeant , as they call him , thinks . it quite ridiculous . He lays he never saw such people . If he offends one he offends all . We like each other so well ; and wo turn out after dinner and have a great . talk about politics , and what they ' re doing in Lunnon , and smoke our . pipes .. We have long discussions—we ' re great chaps for politics—and we just go , into each others houses and talk . I like to be idle myself
sometimes—I dare say you do , too , Yes , of course you do .. _--. Well , then , when I feel idle , I go and walk about in the fields may be , and work harder to make up for it after . " The hand-loom' system here appears , so far as family is concerned , to exercise exactly the opposite effect of the factory system . The Middleton weaver keeps not only his _. sons and daughters , but often . his sons and daughters , inlaw , long about him , ; while the children who are top old for the heavy labour ofthe loom , turn the winding ' wheel , and prepare the glistening silk for the frame . They are great politicians the good folks of Middleton , and occasionally given to lazy fits , during which smoking , sauntering , and chatting listlessly are the
amusements most in vogue . The women very _frequently smoke , but it is always witb some pseudo-medical excuse . They feel a * 'rising " or a " sinking , " or a headache , or a toothache , or any ache , or no ache at all . A curious indication of the prevailing shade ef . radical politics in the , village is afforded by the parish register , the people having a fancy for christening their children ' after the hero of the minute . Thus , a generation or so back , Henry Hunts were as common as blackberries—a crop of Feargus 0 ' Connors replaced them—and . latterly they have a few green sprouts labelled Ernest -Tones . A very small proportion of the weavers only labour in the fields ; but in many farm-houses around there , are looms which the women work during the long winter evenings . The Spitalfields hobby of pigeon fancying is not uncominjon , particularl y among the young men ; and pigeon matches , which , give rise to a good deal of gambling , are frequent . The
birds are taken some miles away , and then flown back to tbeir home ' s . Respecting the abatement system , the Chronicle ' s correspondent observes that , in a pamphlet published by the Leigh weavers' committee upon the subject , one fact most damning to the masters , if true , is broadly asserted—viz ., that the weavers who are abated the most , and who , consequently , were the abatements justly made ; must be the worst workmen , received by far the greatest share of labour from the employers . Many of the cases reported by the committee in question seem harsh and cruel to the last degree . As regards the amount of these abatements , I may mention , quoting at random from a great mass of tabular statistics , that out of £ 2 G 5 10 s . 8 d . of wages nominally earned by 171 weavers , £ 4512 s . 3 d . was abated on account of real or alleged imperfections in the fabrics , being an average of 6 s . 4 d . clipped from each man ' s pay .
The Slopworkers Of, London. My First Ste...
THE SLOPWORKERS OF , LONDON . My first step was to introduce myself to one of the largest " _slopsellers" at the East-end of the town ; and having informed the firm that I was about te examine into the condition and incomes of the slopworkers of London , I requested to know whether thoy would have any objection to furnish me with the list ef prices that they were in the habit of paying to their workpeople , so that on my visiting the parties themselves—as I frankly gave them to understand I purposed . doing—I . might be able to compare the operatives' statements as to prices with theirs , and thus be able to check the one with the other . Indeed , I said I thought it but fair that the emnloyer should have an opportunity of having his
say as well as the employed . I regret to saythat I was not met with the candour that I had . been led to expect . One of the firm wished to know why I had singled their house out from the rest of the trade . ' I told him I did so merely because it was one of the largest in the business , and assured him that , SO far from ihy having any personal object in my visit , I made it a point never to allude by name to any employer or workman to whom I might have occasion to refer . My desire , I said , was to deal with principles rather than persons ; whereupon I was informed that the firm would havo no objection to acquaint me with the prices paid by other houses in the trade . . " If you merely wish to arrive at the principle of the _slopbusiness , this , " said one ofthe
partners , •¦ will he quite sufficient for your purpose . " Though I pressed for some more definite and particular information . from the firm , I could obtain nothing from them but an assurance that a statement should be . written put for me immediately as to the general custom of the trade . * * We entered a dirty-looking bouse by " a side entrance . Though it was noonday , the staircase was so dark that we were forced to grope our way by the wall up to the first floor . ; Here , in ; a small back room , about eight feet , square , we found , no fewer than seven workmen , with their coats aid shoes off , _seatedcroBS-legged onthe floor , busy stichingthe different parts of different garments . The floor was strewn with sleeve-boards , irons , and snips . of
various coloured cloths . In one corner of the room was a turn-up bedstead , with the washed-out chintz curtains drawn partly in front of it . AcroBs a line which ran from one side of the apartment to the other were thrown the coats , jackets , and cravats ofthe workmen . Inside the rusty grate was a hat , and on one of the hobs rested a pair of old cloth boots ; _Iwhile leaning against the bars in front there stood a ,, sack , full of cuttings . ; Beside the workmen on the floor sat two good-lookirtg girlsone cross-legged like the men—engaged in tailoring . . ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦¦ . My companion having acquainted the workmen with the object of my visit , they , one and all expressed themselves ready to answer any questions that I might , put to them . They made dress and frock coats , they told me Chesterfields , fishing coats , paletots , Buller ' s monkey jackets , beavers , shooting coats , trowsers _; Vests , sacks , Codringtons , Trinity cloaks , and coats , and indeed every , other
kind of woollen garment . . They worked for tho ready-made houses , or . " slopsellers . " " One of us , " said they , "gets work from the warehouse , and gives it but to others . The-houses pay difiereht- prices . Dress coats , from 5 s 6 d . to 0 s 9 d . ; frock coats the ; same ; shooting coats , from . _i 2 s . 6 d . to 2 s . 9 d . ; . In . the summer time , when trade is busy , they pay 3 s .. Chesterfields , from 2 s . Od . to , 3 s ,, some are made for ' 2 s . ; paletots , from 2 s . Cd . to 3 s . " " Ay , and two days work for any man , ' cried one ofthe tailors with a withered leg , " and buy his own trimmings , white and black _. cotton , gimp , and pipeclay . "! "Yes , " exclaimed another , ' . ' and _we- hnve : to j buy . wadding for . dress , coats ; and soon , I suppose , wo shall have to buy cloth and all together . " ¦¦ ' Tro'wsers from . ' ls . od . to , 3 s ; waistQ ' oats * ft om ls . 'Cd ; to Is . 9 d / ' -Dressandfrook coats will _takeitwb' days _^ and a half ito make each ' , calculating . the _day : fromi six ; in .:. the , morning' till seven at , night . _jj but three days is the regular . time " . Shooting , _coatsJwilLtaK . eVtwo ' . ' days ; . Chesterfields take the * " same time ' as 'drei ' s ' and . '' fteok coats '; _paletotsj two days '; trowsers , one day ;*¦•'• ' * •"' ' _''"•' - " The master -here" ' ¦" _. ( _said ' onoof them scarcely
The Slopworkers Of, London. My First Ste...
• disti hluishable _^^ warehouse at the before-mentioned pr ices : he ei _ves it , out ; tous ; atthesame price , paying us _* when lie receives the money . We are never seen at the shop . . Out of _, the prices the master . , here deducts 4 _s . por week _pei- 'hefld for our- cup of '' tea ' or coffee in the morning ; and teain the evening , and burbed . ' We slepp two In a bed here , and some of us three In most places the , workmen eatj drink , and sleep in one .. room ; . as .. many aB . ever the room will contain . They'd put twenty in < one room if they conld . " ' I should like to see the paper _tbis'll be printed in , " cried the man' with the withered leg . " Oh , it'll be a good job , it should be known . , We should be ; glad if the whole world heard it , so that
the people should know our situation , I ' ve worked very hard this week , __ as hard as any man . I ' ve worked from seven in the morning till elven at night , and my earnings will _belSs _.-this week ; and deducting my 4 s . out of that , and my trimmings besides—The trimmings comes to about Is . 9 d . per week—which makes 5 s . Sd . altogether , and that will leave me Is .- 3 d . for my earnings all the week , Sunday included . It ' s very seldom we have a Sunday _walking out . We ' re _obliged to work on Sunday all the same . We should lose our shop if we didn ' t . 8 s . is the average wages take tho year aU through . Out of this 8 s . we have to deduct expenses of lodging , trimmings , washing , and light , which comes to Ss . 9 d . We can't get a coat to our backs . "
I inquired as to the earnings of the others , Well , it ' s np . arly just tbe same , take one with another , all the year round . We work all about the same hours—all the lot of us . The wages are lower than they were this time . twelvemonth , in 1848—that they are , by far , and heavier work too . I think there ' s a . fall of 6 d . in each job at the lowest calculation . ' ' Ah , that there is , " said another ' a 3 s . job we
don ' t have 2 s . 6 d . for now . ' . ' Yes , it is causing half of the people , ' cried a third , ¦ to be thieves and robbers . That ' s true . Wages were higher in 1847—they ' re ¦ coming down now every year . The coats tbat they used to pay 5 s . for this time two years , tbey are making for . 38 . , 6 ( 4 , . at present—the very same work , but a deal heavier than it was _, two years ago' -This . time twe ' . veraonth we made coats for 7 s . _j and 5 s . this yearis all . we have for the same ' . Prices have come
down jinore . than ; a , quarter , — . indeed about half , during these last ten years . I ' m sure I dont know what ' s the ' cause of it . The master , first says , I can ' t give . no more than such a price for making such an article ,: Then the man * objects to it , and says he can't live by it ; as ' soon as he objects , to it ,, the master . will . give bim no more work . We really are tbe prey of . the master , and cannot help ourselves . Whatever he offers we are obliged to accept , or else ( to starve . ' ' Yes , yes , ' said they all , -. that ' s the real fact . And if . we don't take his offer , somebody else will , that ' s the truth , for we haye no . power to _Btand out against it . The ! workhouse "'' . _won'tvfiave us—we must either go thieve , or take the price in
the long run . There ' s a standing price in the regular trade , but not in this . The regular trade is 6 d . an . hour . The . regulars . work , only from-six in the morning till seven at night , and only do ' bespoke ' " ; work . But we are working for the slop shops or warehouses , and they keep a large stock of ready-made goods . We ' re called underthe-bed workers , . or workers for the ' sweaters . All the persons , who work for wholesale houses are ' sweaters . ' Single workmen , cannot get the work from tbem because they cannot give security— - _£ 5 in money , or a shopkeeper must be responsible for that amount . Those who cannot give security are obliged to . work for' sweaters . ' The reason for the warehouses requiring this security is , because they
pay so badly for the work they are afraid to trust the journey man with it . But in the regular trade , sucb as at the West-end , they require no security whatever . In the slop trade the journeymen do not keep Monday—they can't do it , Sunday nor Monday either—if they do they must want for food .- ' Since we've been working at slop trade we find ourselves far worse off than when we were working at , the , regular trade . The ; journeymen of the slop trade are unable to earn 13 s . where the regular journeyman can , earn 30 s ., and then we have to find our own . trimmings and candle light . I'd sooner be transported than at this work . Why , then , at least , I'd ' have regular houra for work and for sleep ; but now I'm harder worked and worse fed than a cab-horse . ' ( To i > 4 _Continued . )
30uultc &Mu0em-Mt#
_30 uultc _& mu 0 em-mt _#
Drury-Lane /Theatre. On Tuesday Night Fi...
DRURY-LANE / THEATRE . On Tuesday night Ficsco was repeated at this theatre , when it was more favourably received than on the first night . The performance was brought within / three hours' duration , and the applause throughout was frequent . It ' was due to the great reputation of Schiller tbat one bf his tragedies should have the benefit of a full trial . The piece is extremely well put on the stage , and the richness of the costumes and decorations , and the beauty of
some of the scenic representations and of tho general mise en scene , evince a desire on the part ot the management not to spare expense in what is technically termed " mounting" new pieces . At the close of tho performance Mr . Anderson was called for . He briefly thanked the audience for having shown more _indulgence than on the first night ; and expressed a hope that in his future exertions he would better deserve encouragement Mr . "Vandenhofi was also called before the curtain . The play has received some further judicious alterations ; and it is certainly worth a visit to the theatre .
Royal Polytechnic Institution. Some Very...
ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION . Some very splendid specimens of crayon drawings have just been added to the wonders in this institution , and certainly surpass all hitherto exhibited in that department of the art . -They are the productions of Mons . Isidore Magues , a French artist , lately arrived in this country . This gentleman's style ot producing effects is quite , new , the finish being more perfect than any we have seen ; resembling more the fresco than any other drawing , so highly is the finish , and life-like the effect . The female portrait is a most charming production . : It represents a celebrated dancer , Madam Michaux , and is no doubt a most faithful likeness—if we may judge by the . portraits of several of our
friendsalso productions of this talented artist . ' The portraits are five in number , but we understand they will be changed till the whole 'have been exhibited . It is the intention , we have been informed , of this fentleman to open an academy for ladies , this style _eing preferable to oil painting , as drawings of this class may be executed in a drawing-room , where the former would be prohibited from its disagreeable odour , and dirt occasioned by its use . We trust our friends will lose no time in visiting this temple of art and science , and view these beautiful productions—for they must be seen to , be appreciated ; and we are well assured thoy will not be disappointed by the treat tbat awaits them .
Juvenile Offendbbs.—According . To A Par...
Juvenile _Offendbbs . —According . to a Parliamentary return issued on Saturday last , ( obtained by Mr . Monckton Millies , ) there were in 1847 as many as 11 , 195 juvenile offenders ( 11 , 100 in England , and 95 in Wales ) committed to prison , and intho next year 11 , 756 ( 11 , 651 in England ,.. and 105 in Wales ) , making in the two years 22 , 951 . The offenders were all under seventeen years of age . It appears from the document that there are seventeen places in England in the nature of charitable institutions for affording temporary retugo to young offenders when discharged from prison . In tbo county of Chester there are three ; in Devon one ; in Gloucester one ; in Lancaster two ; in Middlesex two ; in Norfolk one ; in Nottingbam one ; in Somerset one ; in Surrey two ; in Sussex one ; : in Warwick one ; and in York ono . When the returns were made in -July last there were I , I 76 juvenile offenders undergoing sentence . The returns extend
to thirteen pages , and contain a good deal of _information as lo the conviction of juvenile offenders ; Cheap Law . —Petitions to both houses ' ' of parliament have been numerously : sighed in Lincoln praying that the jurisdiction of' the County- Courts may be extended to causes involving larger amounts than £ 20 , including suits , _determinable in the Common Law , Equity , and _^ Ecclesiastical Courts , Charities , Ac , Another set of petitions represents that whore the Courts of Bankruptcy are * distant from the residence of the debtor and his creditors , evils occur of tlie same nature-as presented themselves in tlie _. _instance . _ofdebts under £ 20 previously to the establishment of the new County Courts ; and ! the petitions suggest that aii . appropriate remedy may be found in tne extension 01 the jurisdiction of the County Courts to all _caaes where the probable assets ofthe bankrupt shall not amount to £ 300 or £ 400 , and where the residence ofthe bankrupt is at an inconvenient distance from a court . . ¦/ :,. /
Launch , op one . of inn Noeth Amemcan " . Mail Steamers , —At Greenock , on the 3 lst ult ., there , was launched , froni the buiiding-prd of Messrs . Robert : Steelei and Co ' ., ' the British and North 'Amerioan mail- steam-ship 'Asia . ' This is the largest vessel belonging ; to . the company , > or _thatiuasj yet been . laui-. ched from any ; building yard inthe ; Clyde . He , r , leBgth _,. Js 265 feet , breadth , _. _thirty-s _^ ven _^ eet _. _i a ; _id' ; _tonn 3 _gft _? , _2204 ons ,, " n _/* n : „ _^ _. _mde _^ is inuoh aumired . by cbmpetehtjudges ;" and she . is expected fully"to ' _siistam the reputatibn . w thq . Cunardline _? have acbieved for _theirapidity and punctuality ¦ ofitheir _voyagesswross the Atlantic ; .
•-¦- .* ;-- . •"•;. ;-^' Art*Pni?*- * ""
_• _- ¦ - . * _; _-- . _•"•; . ; - _^' _arT _* _pni ?* - _* ""
•Tne Future Heroafter, Perhaps,' The Nat...
• TnE Future heroafter , perhaps , ' the native , of tho 8 e ' _couhtries , wliom Europeans have long tyrannised over , may grow stronger as those of Europe may grow weaker , and the _inhabitants of all the different quarters of thc world may arrive at that equality of courage and force " , wbich , by inspiring mutual fear , can alone overawe the injustice of independent nations into some sort of respect for tho rights of ono another . But nothing seems more likely to establish this equality of force than that En utui _> 1 consummation of knowledge , and of all sorts of improvements which an extensive commerce trom all countries to all countries , naturally , or gjgg "leceshanly , carries along with it . ~ Adam
A Tragedy . —That one man should die ignorant who had a capacity for knowledge , this I call a tragedy . —Carlyle . The following was a puzzle to thc best readers in the Post-office for somo time :-. " Serum Fridavi Londres .- " when , by reading the address aloud . ' with the Trench as well as the English sound of the _vowles , it was solved in— " Sir Humphry Bavy London . " : " : How tub _Lawvebs camk by their Patron Saint . —And now because I am speaking of pettyfogers , give me leave to tell you a story , I _mett with when I lived in Rome . Goeing with a llomane to see some Antiquitycs , he showed me a chapcll dedicated to ono St . _Bvona , a lawyer of Brittanio , who he said came to Rome to entreat tbe Pope to give tbe lawyers of Brittanie a patron , to which the Pope replied , That he knew of no Saint but whatwas disposed of to the other professions . At which Kvona
was very sad , and earnestly Degd of the Popo to think of one for him . At last the Pope proposed to St . Evona that ho should goe round the church of St . John de Latera blindfould , and after he had said so many Ave Marias-, that the first Saint he layd hold of should bo his patron , which the good old lawyer willingly undertook ; and at the end of bis Ave Maryeshe stopt at Saint Michels altar , where he layd hold of the Direll , under _fiaint Michels feet , and cryd out . This is our Saint , let him be our Patvon . So being unblindfoldcd , and seeing what a patron he had chosen , be went to his lodgings so dejected , that in a few _moneths after he die'd . —Notes and Queries . Tub Paris papers state that Madame George Sand has-sold the copyright of her " Memoirs" to a publisher for rather more than £ 5000 .
It has been learned that there is high poetry in common life , and , betore long , di gnity will be discovered in hhonv . —Electric Review . Time in the long run will give the victory ; to Truth . Be nOt therefore afraid _toenlist under her banner : the conflict may be fierce and long , but thclaurel wreath will be won at the close . Ever y one to his Taste .-lately , at a publichouse at Gotham , a party of " wise men" sat down to supper , the dainty dishes before them being two large rat pies . " The " game" was caught and supplied by the Gotham rat-catcher . Among this party of epicures were three butchers of jSbUin ' g-
nam . At tne conclusion ot tho repast , there was not even a bone left for the cat to pick . A few days ago one of the same party , having his hands tied behind him , worried a large rat in two minutes , for the small sum of sixpence . —Nottingham Journal . A Dumb Woman . —It is said that a girl in Pittsfield , Mass ., was struck dumb by tbe firing ofa cannon . Since then it is said that a number of married men have invited the artillery companies to come and discharge their pieces on their premises .: In Loch-Shiejmluig _, in the _Highlanda K there is a small rock island , a crevice In whicli affords a home for three very incongruous companions—a hawk , a rock pigeon , and an owlet—wliich have lived there , in the greatest harmony , for years .
Active Woman . —Aa a general rule , noisy woman do much less than they seem to do , and quiet wo . men often do more . But does not follow that all quiet women are active ; on the contrary , six out of ten are indolent ; and work only on compulsion . Indolent women have their good points , and one of the most valuable of these is their quietness ; it is a great luxury in domestic life ; but , perhaps , itis a luxury which is too expensive for a poor man , unless he can get it combined with activity . The wife of a poor man , no matter what his profession br position , ought to be active in the best sense ofthe word . She ought to rule her house with diliigenee , but make no boast of it . Her managing powers ought to be confined to her own house , and never be sent out to interfere with her neighbours . Her activity should be kept healthy by beins- exercised
upon important matters chiefly , though the trifles must not be disregarded . A woman who will make herself uuhappy because the usual custom of cleaning the house on Friday is , on a particular occasion , inevitably infringed , is inadequate to perceive tHe difference between the lesser and the greater . Some active women , who pride themselves on their housekeeping , seem to forget that the object of _keeping a house is , that human beings may be accommodated in it ; their sole idea seems to be this , that the object of keeping a house , is that the house may be __ kept in a certain form and order , and to tht maintenance of this form and order they sacrifice the comfort the , house was established to secure . Such active woman are pests to society , because they want sense to direct and control tbeir energies .
_ine IRISH church establishment . " The longer one lives the more one learns , " Said I as off to sleep I went , Bemused with thinking of tythe concerns , And reading a book by the Bishop of Ferns On tho Irish Church Establishment . But lo ! in sleep not long I lay When Fancy her usual tricks began , And I found myself bewitch'd away To a goodly city in _Hindoostan : A city , where he who dares to dine On ought but rice , is deemed a sinner ; Where sheep and kine are held divine , And , accordingly , never _drest for dinner , " But how is this , " I wondering cried , As I walked that city far and wide , And saw in every marble street ,
A row of beautiful butohers' shops" What means for men who can't eat meat , This grand display of loins and chops V In vain I ask'd— 'twas plain to see , That nobody'dar'd to answer me . So on from street to street I strode : And you can ' t conceive how vastly odd The butchers look'd : a roseate crew _Inshrined in stalls with nought to do : While some on a bench half dozing sat , And the sacred cows were not more fat . Still posed to think what all this scene Of sinecure trade was meant to mean .
" And pray , " asked I , " by whom is paid The expense of this strange masquerade ?" " The expense—ob _, that ' s of course defray'd " ( Said ono of those well-fed hecatombers ) " By yonder rascally rice-consumers . " " What ! they who must _' nt eat meat ?"— " No matter , " ( And while he spoke his cheeks grow fatter , ) " The rogues may munch their Paddt crop , But the rogues must still support our shop : And , depend upon it , tho way to treat , Heretical stomachs that thus disBent , Is to burden all that won't eat meat __ _,-With . a costly meat Establishment . "
Lord Rosse ' s Telescope . —The naked eye can see twelve times farther into space than the distance of the stars ofthe first magnitude . These stars are at a distance so great that th « light of them has to travel ten years Defore reaching the earth , ' so that we can perceive stars without a glass whose light required . 120 years to travel here . Lord Rosso's telescope , which is 500 times more powerful ,- enables us to descry a single star at a distance so tremendous , that , notwithstanding the marvellous velocity with which light travels , its light before reaching us would require 60 , 000 years to cross the intervening gulf ! Trade , legislation , philosophy , and literature , are all getting more and more imbued with element which , whilst they are in motion , will never suffer despotism either in the shape of oligarchy or monarohy .
Colleges in Russia . —Every now and then wi receive fresh intimations of the disfavour in whick every _means-of culture not connected with military science ia held in Russia . The last few days have brought in a report that by a stroke of the pen two of tho best schools in St . Petersburg-i-the Alexander Lyceum and tbe School of Jurisprudence —have , been converted into military academies . Henceforth _^ the professors must be officers in tho imperial army , and . are to receive their appointments from the Prince of Oldenburgb . " ¦ _ Tub _tiriues are all parts of a circle . Whatever is humane is wise ; whatever is wise is just {' whatever is wise , just , and humane , will be found to be the true interests of states , whether criminal or foreign enemies are the objects of their , legislation . —An American Essay . ' tit . _Truiii is the daughter of Timo _. —Iom . Bacon .
Thk Italians refuse to mingle with their Austrian invaders throughout the peninsula . There are three things that never beoome rusty ; — The money of the benevolent , the shoes ofthe butcher ' s horse , and the woman ' s tongue . — Welsh saying . TiiE . PREss . —The press sends forth in the daily papers a printed surface which amounts in the year to 349 , 308 , 000 superficial feet ; and if we add to these all the papers , that are printed , weekly and fortnightly , in the-metropolis and the provincos , tho whole amounts ; _tOfl _^ i 66 ' 150 , 000 square feet , upon which the ' . press has'lcft ; ' iii legible characters , tho proof of i _^ s labours . ' _^ Of the newspapers , ' fherefore _» thatihave been published m the United Kingdom during tho year 1849 ,.. we . may say , _'that < : they would cover a- Burface of 38 ; C 68 aor _^ s , or would extend- , if jbinedone to another tol 38 , 843 ; miles ; that is , they would nearl y _six , ' time 5 encircle , th _^ ' eartn at the equator . ' _¦•<¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ -
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 9, 1850, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_09021850/page/3/
-