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' "NATlbKAli CHARTER LEAGUE. to which? s...
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' "NATlbKAli CHARTER LEAGUE.. ¦ s- j.' -...
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We, the undersigned, having taken part i...
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-tf- ~: : - . . IRISH DEMOCRATIC MOVEMEN...
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The following extracts are taken from on...
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A Livee Complaint cubed n? Hoilowav's Pj...
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n: fflwrfU -parltemmt; ;
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, HOU^ ^E ^ LOI^S^TnE-CAifrERB^j SlHB . ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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' "Natlbkali Charter League. To Which? S...
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' "Natlbkali Charter League.. ¦ S- J.' -...
' " NATlbKAli CHARTER LEAGUE . . ¦ s- j . ' - 'i ' _i ¦* ' _. _" _- ¦ :-. , . '" :. _- ¦ * _VTJETISG AT THE _NATIONAL HALL , ON _•^ WEDNESDAY , MAY 1 st . « _Tha National Charter :, tM _^ ue _'' . held its . first _«« K at the National Hall , High Holbcra , on _& _jnS £ br evening , May the 1 st , for the _exposilt , rf £ - _pSles , % ., & c . The Hall was _W _^ jSl At a _qua-f-ter past eight o ' clock , Messrs . _fnTk M'Grath , Dixon , £ & , came upon the _plafc-^ amidst hisses and cheers _, - _^ _fr lh xos then moved , seconded by Mr . Clabk : » nat Dr . Bowkett take the chair . " *"" m > Fca os moved , as an amendment , — " That „ -n W Rufiy take the chair ; " which -was _^ n ded by Mr . BiicriMOEE , and carried . Mr _Rufft , on to-- " - *? _^ e ch air . " _**« d he was _, fr _; a _nn-oosed to packed meetings , and he was * ViTThKAli CHARTER LEAGUE .
* " iir _nnnosed to packed platforms , and as the _rfSff _phtfonn had hitherto been closed , i would ask the meeting whether it was its -h that such members of the Provisional _Com-** _* Hpflof the National Charter Association who S he present , should have _Jree access to the _Wrm _fThismetwith an afibrmative response , _n _^ _vewl members ofthe Committee came upon * _T _Xrfnnn 1 The Chairman proceeded , and said _^ _jtS teA c alled together by a party , _appa-^ L tn soke _-Sequesuon whether the Chartists rttSwB * Secti 0 DS * _< Hear ' hear _* 0 ftt a _^ ti ns of "Se men convening this _meethJ Sm to _^ lhe correspondence of the _""tfi _^ T Clabk came forward for that purpose * a -Wived with hisses , and slight cheering . He S _SSJiS the EeV . Mr . Linwood , and _^ n- T _«« ri * anolo-dsing for non-attendance on I _^ _SS _nSuio _" : _-d the address _<* To
_j fr . _^ KOSE a _^ r _we u Commons ' S _^ _ff _& _SSK an institution belonging _SSSablv to the nation at large , but as at _pre-SXSwfcnted , it represents only one-sixth part Jf _& _Sff adnlt community ; it cannot . therefore tSoatelv impose taxes , or otherwise justly Se for the people ; that its decrees are . _eongSfc not _thfacts of the nation , but simply Sates of an enfranchised section . This _meet-Ctherefore records its deliberate protest against Z % _nartwl and oppressive authority , and appeals tothe intelligence , the equity , and the patriotism Sail classes of the United Kingdom , to assist in _oromoiinir . by all peaceable and moral means , a _cWe in - the representative system , based upon the T . 1 fdi *' of Universal Suffrage , Annual Elections , _-fcjfo-- bv Ballot , "Equal Electoral Districts ,
_, flse abolition of Property Qualifications for _"Jfembers ef Parliament , and Remuneration from -fie National Exchequer , for their services ; believing such plan to be most harmonious and coasinent - * rith the true theory of representation , and with the rights and interests of the whole people . " Mr . Hirst said , if the people were desirous of obiaining their rights , they must evince their fitness for them by their liberality , and although there ought be a difference of opinion as to how those fights mightbe obtained , there-was none as to those iKltts . fie regretted that men should come there imbned with prejudices , and allow their passions to get the better of their -judgments . { Hisses . ) Mr . Hirst declared that he was not to be dictated to , and the man who hissed was not worthy the franchise . Mr . Hirst proceeded to refute the objections usuallv urged against Universal Suffrage , and
declared that if the money spent by tbe aristocracy in wars during the last century , had been expended in hnying land , every acre in the country would have been , ere this , bought up . [ A person in the gallery moved that every speaker should be confined to one quarter of an hour , whieh was seconded , and carried unanimously . " } "So one party could carry the Charter , it . must be done by a junction of Reform parties , the middle classes had been aforetime numbered amongst the initiators of good measures . ( Hear . ) Mr . Thomas Clabk came forward to second the resolution , amidst groans and hisses from the body
ofthe meeting , and loud cheers from his friends . He said , the Chairman had told them there were men on that platform capable of refuting anything that the League might advance ; surely , then , in such a large meeting as that before him , it never would be said they were afraid to hear a humble individual like himself . ( Hear , hear . ) The resolution he was seconding was declaratory of the six "pointsof the People's Charter ; and he presumed that there would be no difference of opinion as regards these , although there might be as to the mode of their _obtainment . He had differed with some on
tins point , and in aU probability should again . He believed that no single class could carry the Charter , and hence he was for seeking an alliance with Others . [ A Toice : Why not try to unite the workin * classes firmly ?] Mr . Clark said , he did not flunk the gentleman who had submitted that query was a fair specimen ofthe working classes . ( Hisses . ) He was opposed to all kinds of despotism , and tdieved the people were in favour of free inquiry . ( Cheers . ) The principles contained in the resolution were just , and there did not appear to be any difference on tbe matter . He agreed with Mr . Hirst , that there was a difference of opinion as to how
those principles were to be obtained , which difference never could be settled but / by fair discussion between them ; and he further agreed , that the Charter never could be obtained but by an amalgamation of parties . ( Hisses . ) Hisses never could answer the principles of the " League . " ( Cries of "We don ' t know such a body . " ) Hc / tbanked those who had patiently listened to hint , for their candid , fair , and unbiassed hearing ; and he was content to leave the issue of the meeting in their hands , but he told those who had demeaned themselves towards him as they had—that they had done him no injury ; he despised the despotism tbat had Sought to put him down . ( Cheers and hisses . )
Mr . S . M . Ktdd moved the following as an amendment : — - " That in the opinion of this meeting the People ' s Charter is sound in principle , and fitted to the wants of the age in which we live ; and this _JEeeting recommends the adoption of the same by the People and Parliament of this country . " Mr . _Sydd in a powerful speech enforced his amendment , and ably refuted "the historic reminiscences" of Mr . Hirst , as regards the middle classes , and concluded by declaring that they wanted the Charter not for a section or class , but for the whole people . Bboxtebee O'Bkiex seconded the amendment , but said it required an addendum , which he would move as follows : — " That whilst this meeting cordially agrees with the principles contained in the People's Charter , it records its solemn protest against any and every attempt , by any section or party , to divide the Chartists of this country , or to draw them from " The National Charter
Association , sincerely believing as it does , that it is the interest of the working classes to agitate for their political and social rights in one compact body , striving to amend in the future what time and exper ience may have proved to be wrong in the past ; and this meeting further believes it to be the duty ofthe people to gain a knowledge of their social rights whilst agitating for political freedom , so that having gained political rights it may know how to " sin , maintain , and properly apply her twin sister— - social rights . " He thought it _,-of all things , desirable that they should resolve not to be divided . ( Cheers . ) But before he proceeded further he " * ould propose tliree cheers forthe electors of Paris , who had chosen Eugene Sue as their representative
He proposed those three cheers to the men of Paris , Botonly because they had elected Eugene Sue , but because thev had set an example to the working men of England . They had illustrated the fact that _rightsweretobe obtained without thc aid of the middle _elasses . ( Loud cheers . ) Not tbat the aid of any honest middle-class man would be refusedon the contrary , they would receive such a convert Wh open arms ; but he would tell them precisely the time the middle classes would join them—it ** as the moment they discovered the working Classes could do without them . ( Cheers . ) He did aot wonder at Mr . Clark ' s smarting under what he ( Mr . Clark ) called tbeir intolerance , but , at the same time , Mr . Clark should remember that he had
recently joined a partv that would give no honest ttan a hearing ; for be it known to them , tbat deputations from the National Charter Association and the _National Reform League , had been deputed to " _ffaiton Hie National Parliamentary and Financial Kefonn Conference , in which Messrs . M'Gratb , ware , Dixon and others on that platform , had "sate , for tbe honest and straightforward purpose of Slowing , that any hatred or distrust tbe working CJasseshad to the middle classes arose entirely from themiddle class objecting to Universal Sufirage , and to ask the Conference to give them some tangible proof that the middle classes were sincere "j their professed desire to serve the working _™ ses , —( hear , )—and tbe pledge to be asked was : - ¦ -hat at the next general election they should _* ause to be retiHmed some twenty-five or thirty of " - " _workinir _^ _lascoa nr thoir _fi- * ipnf * 9 . to
Parlia-*™ ent- ( Cheers . ) And as the Parliamentarians a * S £ rted tbey had the middle classes with them , it " * aso _* i "** Mr to assume that tbey must exercise _rj _** 01 over some 300 seats , —( _cheery)—and of Y » * ase had it in their power to do what was asked * _pfrt _^ Hear _*) And ifthey had not or could not S _^ the middle classes with them , how was it to be * * _- _* "i "«* ted that they would unite with the Chartists ? _Wieers . ) But Sir Joshua Walmsley , Cobden , and r * _" " Party had influence , and , " if they willed , eould 8 j « ot all that was asked , and thus give the working r _* _* the opportunity of proving that they were ™ i mere slaves . But thia Parliamentary Refonn J _^™«« nce had contumeliouEly rejected this over" _*"*¦ " _* of the working classes by refusing to hear * j ® r deputies , —( hear , and cheeK _. _J- _^ and under _*** circumstances he thought they would agree "iw nim that he was . justified in proposing his
' "Natlbkali Charter League.. ¦ S- J.' -...
t _ooW _% ri _^ r mi 8 e ma < le to it _» _obnTenew to do _stvlfe stood there as a man , and had hut one S « S _^ _w _" * _^ -Pleased . They no doubt & _S 1 ? 6 Cha er _*&&*¦** soon as possible ; ? JS * * weM tne attempting to do * They had i ? _JW '" a S _^ 8 W 5 ial _revo lution ,- ( hear , _)^ _s « id they aU appeared to agree that it was to be done by peaceful means . ( Hear . ) . He rejoiced as much as any man m the -return of Eugene Sue for Paris , not because of his adherenceto . the principles of Communism or Socialism , bnt as a test of the French peoples loyalty to the Bepublic , ( Cheers . ) He could go with the Chartists for their objects , but they had a different game to play to : that of their Coutmental neighboura ; and his belief was . that ifthey put their names to a . petition or document , reiterating , their demands year after year , a very few years would expire before they obtained all _tnasKed - Mr . T . < J ; iSBBU ' _iaM-i- « aVfi _>^^' -. t .. * _-. _^ .:.- __
ey ; ms conviction was , that after granting an £ 8 franchise to Ireland this year , that the minuter would , of himself , offer something for England next year . A previous speaker had told them that the middle classes could return twentyfive working men ; hia own honest conviction was that they had . not the power to return three . ( Laughter . ) Why look at their divisions in the Honse ; on their own pet questions their minorities were only some eighty-nine . or so ; but what the middle classes could do was to extend their measures , and then get the working classes to unite with them in strikiDg a heavy blow . ( Cheers . ) Do not run away with the idea that the middle classes are . enemies of the working classes . He thought that any man who attempted to set class against class at the . present day was their enemy . He thanked them most cordially for their , patient and attentive hearing , and hoped to meet them again on some future occasion * . ( Cheers . ) ., , ¦ * :
Mr . Richabd Hart said , that the last gentlemau , who was a member of the late Parliamentary Reform Conference , said he was there to justify himself for tbe share he bad taken in that Conference's refusal to hear the deputation ; but had be done so ? . He had told them that he believed the Parlia mentary Reformers had not the power to return three members to parliament . In past ages , they had been governed by lords of the soil , ' bnt now , it appeared , they were just about being governed by the money-mongers —( cheers)—and he must confess he would sooner be governed by lords of high birth than by them . He believed that the People ' s Charter would be got at tbe hands of a weak party , wanting power , and that that weak party would be
the Tories ; hut , should such an offer be made , the people must only accept it on condition that their manhood was recognised , . which could only be done by giving to every man a vote . . And what good would a barren vote be ? . No ; it must be used as a means to obtain social privileges ; and the points of those social privileges were—that tbe earth belonged to the whole people , and that the circulating medium should represent labour . ( Applause . ) Mr . _Pezj-b _Rasixy ( from the gallery ) said be had handed down the addendum moved by Mr . O'Brien , aud he wished it to be put as a distinct amendment , entirely apart from the one moved by Mr . Kydd .
Mr . Kydd had given them a deal of useful information , but be thought his amendment not suitable for the present occasion . ( Hear . ) He entreated Messrs . M'Gratb , Clark , and Dixon , not to attempt to cause division . Mr . _Serle had told them , in a few years they might obtain their rights ; but he ( Mr . Hanley ) believed if they followed the advice of their League friends—the youngest of them now present would not live to see the ypar ofthe advent of their rights and , liberties ; and from the middle classes they might expect to get just such aidas they always had received from the Weekly Dispatch ( Cheers . )
Mr . Enmsaid , to prevent subdivision he would withdraw his amendment , although he wished it to be distinctly understood that he only stood pledged to the People ' s Charter . Mr . _M'Gkath came forward and said , a gentleman had asked what they intended to do with Chartism ? His answer was , hy a tangible and distinct course to make the Charter thelaw of theland . Did they think that such an old agitator as he was , would be put down by any contemptible and despicable means ? ( _Groansl ) He knew the faces of thc old Democrats , and did not see one of them either hissing or shouting . ( Hisses . ) He thought the question for that night was , as to the means of obtaining the Charter . He had hoped , when the "Provisional Committee
of the National Charter Association" bad come on the platform , they would have pointed out the means . He had listened to Messrs . Kydd and _O'Brien , but he contended they had done nothing . He was one of those who thought the Charter should be law in a few years , but if the policy recommended by some of the previous speakers was followed , they would spend another twenty years without it . ( Hisses , and cheering . ) Mr . W . Davies said , had it not been for the allusion of Mr . M'Grath to the body to which he had the honour of belonging , he should riot have intrude ! himself upon their notice , as the Provisional Committee had reeolred to take no part in this meeting ; he therefore appeared on his own personal
responsibility . ( Hear . ) But be must confess that , during the whole time he had been connected with that committee , he had not heard one word as regards physical or moral force , nor had he witnessed any but the most cordial union , to advance the cause by every just aBd legal means . ( Cheers . ) But , supposing that two or three of its members should happen to differ with him , was that any reason why he should desert from the ranks , and set up shop on his own account ? Mr . M'Grath had made a trifling mistake -. it was not the Provisional Committee who had convened this meeting ; hence ,
it was not the duty of its members to submit a Programme of Ways and Means . ( Hear . ) But it was tbe Council of a body , that in his opinion , had not , or ever would , possess an existence , that called it . ( Cheers . ) Consequently , it was Mr . M'Grath ' s business , as one of that Gouncil , to submit the programme ; and his ( Mr . Davies ) , as an humble auditor , together with the meeting , to approve or disapprove . But at the numerous arid crowded meetings the Provisional Coinmitteehad convened , they had not failed to develope their plans , much to the satisfaction of their very numerous audiences . ( Cheers . )
The amendment , as moved by Mr . _O'Briej * , and seconded by Mr . _Haet ; and the original motion , as submitted by Mr . A . _Hibst , and seconded by Mr . T . Clare , were then put . The former being carried by an overwhelming majority . Mr . J . J . Bezer moved a vote to the Chairman , which was seconded by Mr . Haslet , supported by Mr . "W . Dbake , and Mr . Lee , and adopted by acclamation , and the meeting quietly dispersed .
We, The Undersigned, Having Taken Part I...
We , the undersigned , having taken part in convening , and being present at , the meeting which took place at the National Hall , Holborn , on Wednesday evening last , feel it to be our duty to state the facts , connected with the disgraceful frustration of tbat meeting , in " order that they may be fairly estimated by an impartial public . Tbe projectors of the National Charter League dissenting , as tbey do in toto , from the propriety of connecting Socialism , or Communism , with the agitation for the People ' s Charter—and regarding as thoroughly worthless , inefficient , and mischievous , the policy pursued by the Provisional Committee of the National Charter Association—felt it to be ' their duty , and their right , to _inausurate a movement , the policy of which
I would be in unison with their own notions of propriety . In conformity with this conviction , they published and circulated a plan of national organisation , together with a prospectus of tbe policy which tbey . proposed to pursue , in order to ensure the realisation of the Charter . They also announced , by advertisement and placard , that the first meeting in furtherance of the League would be held on Wednesday , the 1 st of May . From the moment that their intention to hold a meeting became public , till eight o'clock on Wednesday evening , the most strenuous exertions were made by our opponents to secure the presence of a sufficient number of persons to stifle discussion , and thereby frustrate the purposes of the meeting . In
thisunprogressiye , and anti-democratic , and disgraceful aim , its votaries were infamously successful . As the hour for commencing business arrived , no sooner did those who were to take part ink—including Dr . Bowkett , Messrs . Searl , Garbonelli , Ward , and the members of the Provisional Council —make their appearance on the platform , than a storm of hissing , yelling , hooting , whistling , and imitation of cock-crowing commenced , of which no descriptive power of pen or tongue could convey an adequate notion . In the midst of this glorious exemplification of the principles of liberty , equality , and fraternity , Mr . Dixon—after a quarter of an hour ' s exertionproposed that Dr . Bowkett should take the chair . This was the signal for a renewal of the savage sport , in which the most disgusting and opprobrious epithets were applied to us ; and among those active in the latter honourable -vocation , we observed
more than one who—if tbey stood to an individual in the same relation as they do to theland Company—wonld now , in all probability , be expiating their delinquencies in her Majesty ' s penal colonies . Some person in the body of the ball moved "That Bufly Ridley do take the chair , " which being put , was carried . _TMb person , whose real name we believe is Daniel Huffy , and who has not been heard of in the Chartist movement for a long time past , and who 3 e membership with it at the present time we very much doubt , commenced a Vulgar and abusive tirade against the promoters of the League , charging them with every vile motive that can make man ' s conduct odiouB , much to the _^ amusement of the _truth-toviug friends of fair play , who , unfortunately for the honour of a sacred cause , formed the majority ofthe audience . _The-meetmg waa then addressed by Mr . Hirst , who moved a resolution couched in dignified and eloquent language in favour of ths six points of tha Charter , ana
We, The Undersigned, Having Taken Part I...
_whichwa ? _secqridea' by Mr . Clark , both of _^ hom were treated ' . by the ; majomty _^ inVa'manner , that would have disgraced an assembly of savages . Mn Kydd moved a proposition in favour . ' of the Charter , whichhe was pleased to call ; an . amendment . He , however , afterwards ' withdrew in favour of _^ the vague ' and and indefinite . ' motion' of Mr . O'Brien , which will be found elsewhere in the Star . Mr . Hart ; _a'Coramunist , wbo had always hitherto opposed Universal Sufirage—except in the ; abstract , seconded Mr . O'Brien's , motion , which , * . of course , __ _--i . . f . ... an _ « . m . __» . _** -- _. _•* - --. _^
" on being put , was carried . We wish the Chartists throug hout the country distinctly to understand that neither Messrs . Kydd , O'Brien , nor Hart , are members ofthe Chartist Association / nor will they be ; so that if . the rule they teach by example is followed , England will never witness an organisation for the enactment of the . Charter . Several other speakers addressed the hieeting , the storm all the while . raging with unabated fury until eleven o ' clock , when the patriotic band , having fulfilled their mission , left the scene of their glorious triumph . . .
Thus ended the first , meeting called by the League . The projectors of that body are nevertheless full of hope . They are not composed ofthe material which would cower beneath brute force . They feel strong in , the consciousness that their cause is right , and in the assurance that , ere long , the policy which they recommend will , notwithstanding tho conduct of a few of the misled men of London , be the adopted ofthe enlightened Democracy of Great Britain . Signed bn behalf of the Conncil , Wiiuam Aixscit ' , William Dixon , Thomas Clark , , . _Puilip M _^ Grath .
P . S . —The following is . tbe resolution to wbich the amendments of Messrs . Kydd and O'Brien were moved-. —" . That the Commons' House ' of Parliament is an institution belonging inalienably to the nation at . large , but as , at present , constituted , it represents only onersixth part of ; the male , adult community ; it cannottherefore legitimately impose taxes , or otherwise justly legislate for thepeople ; that its decrees arc consequently not the acts ofthe nation , but simply the mandates of an' enfranchised section .. This meeting therefore records its deliberate protest against such partial and . oppressive
authority , and appeals to the . intelligence , f iic equity , and the patriotism of all _clashes of . the . United Kingdom , to assist in promoting , by all peaceable and moral means , a change iri the Representative System , based upon the plan of Universal Suffrage , Annual Elections , / Voting ; by Ballot , EquarElcctoral Districts , the abolition of Property Qualifications for Members of Parliament , awd Remuneration from thc National Exchequer , for their services ; believing such plans tobe -mostharmonious and consistent with the true theory of Hepresentation , and with the rights and . interests of the whole people . " _. ,
-Tf- ~: : - . . Irish Democratic Movemen...
-tf- _~ : : - . . IRISH DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT . The Irishman of Saturday last contains reports of meetings of the Irish . Democrats in Dublin ; Cork , Kilkenny , •• ¦ Carrick-oh ' -Sair , Sligo , _Liverpool , Manchester , Glasgow , & c , & c . "New members seem to he gathering to the standard in aU those --places . "We copy from the Irishman the followiatr admirable
ADDRESS TO TnE IRISH DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND . Fellow Couktrtme _** . — We have been taught by bitter experience , that if ever the Democracy , of Ireland is to bo raised from the depth of degradation and unparalleled misery in which tliey arc plunged , it must be by their own exertion . We must become ardent , unremitting-, and united in our labours ere we can , accomplish the task—the highest of human objects , self-regeneration and nationality . It is now high time the work was set . about , by spreading those principles in their true and proper guise , simple and unadorned , without the generously-bestowed trappings of good-natured enemies and charitable detractors , and p lacing before , the people our objects , which are simply " land andlife . "
Is there one among the labouring classes whose life and the lives of his wife and little ones are not at the mercy of rampant capital ? Have yon not seen how the _capitalists created a famine in the midst of plenty , and blasphemously . entitled a judgment pf Providence ; and is it not rather strange , that none of their class perished from want ? No , it was amongst the Democracy—those who toil early and late—that black famine found its victims—the fruits of whose incessant labour went through thc instrumentality of one-sided master-made laws from themselves to augment tbe already large stores of ill-got gain . We who remain may , at their pleasure , ; be
subjected to the same suffering . The farmer who holds land that may have been in possession ofthe family for generations through a choice collection of bad laws , oppressive taxes , and rack-rents , can be reduced to beggary , evicted ¦ from his holding , forbidden to treadthe very fields where his forefathers toiled to support their families , and maintain an honest name , and from whence he fondly hoped should pvocccd , by virtue of Iris labour , the meaii 3 of upholding his self-respect and honesty , and which he should be able to bequeath with his latest blessing to his' children as their future support , and cast upon the wide world ' s flinty way with none to succour or assist the child of sorrow aud of misery .
Nor is tbe artizan , whose skill and industry mininster to the comforts and ornaments of society , iii a better plight . He too , is trodden down and enslaved—his body and mind worn " out—his spirit broken—and . his genius fettered by long hours of labour and petty tyranny . The pittance received lfor the twelve or fourteen hours of daily toil is scarcely sufficient to procure the comforts of his family ; so that , when capitalists think proper to lessen the demand for labour , his home must be stripped of its furniture , and his family of their clothing , to obtain the means of subsistence . His ears are pained , and his heart is riven , as night after night he returns to his cheerless home , after
weary and fatiguing days of fruitless endeavour to gain employmeut , he beholds his starving children huddling together to procure warmth , and hears their piteous cries for food , denied them by the selfishness and injustice of a few fellow-worms _, although the strength and skill of the grief-stricken father is offered in exchange . And should he , exasperated by the weight of Ms suffering , associate with fellow-toilers to oppose the infernal power which wrought such misery , be is immediately accused of " combination and conspiracy , " tried , found guilty , and sentenced to imprisonment in a dungeon , with , burglars and pickpockets for
companions . Such is the position of tho Irish Democracy . They sow , they reap , they labour hard with body and brain , to make the earth and its productions useful to society , and receive as reward insult , injury , wretchedness , and death , while a few idlers carry off the benefits . We ask you , then , should such things Le ? Your feelings , reason , judgment , and justice answer no . Then , for your own . _sakes , advance another steparid boldly , emphatically , and openly , in the face of the worse than Egyptian taskmaster , say , " it shall be so no longer . " Tell them you know ' that labour has a dignity it is in vain for them to attempt to destroy—that it is ' entitled to its due reward , and must be' no longer burdened with the support of
idleness—that you will not be content to receive a scanty allowance , scarcely _suffic-ent to keep together body and soul , but that , as a toiler , you are entitled to the comforts arid happiness of life—you demand them as a right—that you not only proclaim the knowledge of your privileges , but also your determination to have them . Is there any wrong in informing them that their oppressive rule must cease ? Is there any wrong in telling the world that the labourer is a more honourable , and by far a more useful person than the idler , and is therefore more deserving support ? Is it a crime to instruct yourself in the knowledge of the liberties so long unjustly withheld from you ? And having become thoroughly acquainted with them , is
it infidelity to stand by theiri until death has put an end to , or victory shed its brilliant light on , your exertions to possess them ? Who would expect the ravenous wolf to yield its prey unless driven off by force ? And why should we be foolish enough to expect an insatiable wolfish despotism will ever accede to us the power which prevented them from plundering , until fear has made his home in their guilty bosoms ? When we are in a position to make ourselves feared , then , and not till then , will we bo free . We call upon you , then , to put yourselves in that position , by becoming united—by responding to the call of your brother Democrats in Dublin , who have formed themselves into an Association for tho furtherance of those desirable objects , . who are firmly resolved that notwithstanding auy or all opposition , in suite of threats and ridicule , in the teeth of * -- ¦¦ - * 1 L not
• _a-rowed enemies and pretended tnends , anu having the fear of open force before their eyes , and having in their hearts an utter detestation forihe unmanlv , unprincipled , and contemptible artifices of packed cliques and self-interested agitators , tbey will go on in a steady , straightforward manner , to the goal of their wishes and their hopes . ' The Association is no private speculation attair _, got up to advance the interests of individuals , therefore expect not the sublime balderdash of spouters by trade . Oar motto . is , " Wonns , not Wobds . But when we do venture to address you , our thoughts , rough and unpolished as they may be , shall always possess the _rOTeemrngqualitiesoiwutn and sincerity . Expect riot _^ then , the frothy orations of paid speech-makers , nor the coiripany of certain drawing-room respectables , who look oh labour s touch _-wcontaaiuiation . aad would shrink with pain
-Tf- ~: : - . . Irish Democratic Movemen...
_Si _^^^^ P _^ the harMsted men who _furS « _i : v _*" ' counoiI : *» W * M ! J _5 and assemble at ! _^«^?^« _^ ' ' _--WW'W >* to _wi-J-tt _* languid fSoW _%$ _* _% _**' bnt the . valuable _. _supportrifour _SS _? ' ? aot : „< to ; obtain , popuiarity , but _SEfw _^ not _to meanly filohtfie character _^ of iS ' J _™ _groove every . calumny ,: resist every wM _te _^^^^ _Wrt- hMik on , our . own . It the _S : eP _^ rP ° se of vindicating the character of iusticB _? w aC : ? _V an _'wtabliahing their claims to SffihJfe" we bai ! _« 1 ourselves together to battle ¦" -, ? 8 bt against might . our nS Upon _^ _"I _^ y © _ftoxmi V -ve . * demand _2 _dE _^^** _- _y _* 8 iw _* Myomrapport ;' _Demoorw and _^ _omesirresistible . With _audited mSS '¦*• _P ? _r breated > established , and cannof n _? fw ? nd _^ _"Me '' power which gold _stroJ 0 _fcPrhn _^'* _^ eats int 5 mida _te . "or force de- ' _SSSSiS nthee _^ ment 8 of th ? . _„„^ cau 8 e , can there be then for'hesitation ?¦ You are made m the image of God as well as vour on-- _^'^ l- 'V : '•» _. r _^ _n- _^ T ,. ; , _* , ... _' _,,..
nerson ?; _W- _JOU _* , _^ ow , His image in your _LM-JJ . trampled , on ; by thoso who have no ? W * nL i ? r " theu , _Keartlessness-ahd remember , that He hel ps those who help themselves . Shake ™ . j ! aj > al _^ " - ( 1 _nXSeronce which Is' fast sinking you deeper in degradation and suflering . Bo men ! n , ?! ™ for t _^ Pow er of a few individuals to extri-« ovJi ? i- F . _mfoi . y . ou . may wait until the _ticfo - 9 - _. daw " ' . & nd not he a whit better off . Listen not to their balmy nonsense of " petitioning , and so forth . ' Tell such hypocrites to leave the way—that you will-do your own wovk-and that treedom . must be won bystronger _' stuff than sheets ? . ™ ° WP ; Cast aside . all petty differences , and trifling jealousies . Be no longer careless to your own interests , but unite and show the bold front of determined men , whom not all the power that may be directed against them , shall turn from the completion of their work—labour ' s emancipation . : Thomas Moffet , _; Chairman of Committee .
The Following Extracts Are Taken From On...
The following extracts are taken from one of the editorial articles iii the Irishman , headed
REPRESENTATIVE NATIONS . _' Whenever liberty ; having passed her minority , arrived at full age , and sat down to reign over man in a goodly maturity , shalj send her inspired penman to write her biography and to trace the _igvadual progress by which civilisation in one stage chained , in another liberated , and in the last crowned her as the- dominant idea which is at once the political aim and tho permanent basis of society , the historian will find himself everlastingly , reverting to Prance and : seeking there for the great well , head , and fountain bf those rc ' sblutioris , which , spreading over Europe , * first' excited attention , then shook monarchy , and ultimately established freedom . . We have run through the two first stages , the
last approaches . 1 tie great . fugleman . of C hristendom ,. tbe electric telegraph of nations points sternly to coming storms . _Eucaladus prepares orice more to turn his weary side and heave and toss anew the highest mountain tops of society . _.: We may guess from the former two convulsions what the coining one prepares for Europe . What notes of joyous exultation , will rise by the Danube and tbe Spree , by the Thames and the Neva , when the red cap of liberty is once more , tossed heavenward to the shrill battle song of martial Gaul . ¦ , The Revolution of 1 _S-18 , and its ' satelite ' outbreaks in neighbouring countries , were-but thc premonitory symptoms of monarchic consumption . Demo-*
cracy , up to that tune was a ' conspiracyskulking in holes arid ' ¦ by-corners , andmidnight meeting places . It exists now as -a recognised idea , governing the greatest and most military peoplo , for tbo last three hundred years extant . , ; , ; . ' In the election . of Louis Napoleon tho ! Pronch committed a . great and double blunder . . They chose a man without stabiliiy of character , engaged now in the most rash and romantic , again in the most fiivolous pursuits . Their now President had none of those . _lantecedents which-- -. indicate the , stern honesty ofthe Republican chief . IIo was , in fact , only daring in his ambition , in all other respects lie was a punny and a vacillating mediocrity .
But there was a . still moro fatal and dangerous error in the choice of his shadow of a-by-gone name . Louis Napoleon was the direct lineal heir of the Emperor , according to a deed of settlement executed by the elder Napoleon . In this respect his election by the Republicans of Prance was easily construed into a . protest against the Republic itself , and' a recognition of imperial legitimacy . Hence the partisans of Napoleonists generally , and the despotic . faction through Europe looked upon the elevation bf the heir of thc old Eniporor to the presidential chair as but a decent mask for the restoration of monarchy _hrsome one of its phases . ,
The President Prince was equally deceived , he thought the seven millions of votes which called him to tho first magistracy would equally hail , by acclaim , his seizure of the / piirple and tho sceptre . So far did . this delusion prevail that the President ' s prime confidant for the time , General Changarnier , as publicly as insolently exclaimed , shortly after the election , that " ho could , establish the empire as easily as he coukl buy a pound of sugar plums . " The present state of insecurity in Franco doesnot arise from republican institutions , or from the practical regime of the sovereign people , but from the underhand attempts to overthrow the one and subvert the other .
The free men . of France have had to contend against the moral hostility of the world . Established monarchy , realised property , and realised capital , wore" all concentrated into one heavy battery to play upon and breach the republican . institutions of Prance ., They ; hated it for its own existence , and they feared it for its example . We can very well understand the . rancour of the London Times , and the minor vassals of the press that go with it . Their manufactured correspondence and falsified reports are fully appreciated . But , despite of all , France lives—lives in her republic , and loves it . She stands as the great exemplar of groaning Europe . In her fearful death-grapple
with foreign hostility -and domestic treason , she beckons to the groaning . myriads of . Europe , and , with the voice _ofiiecessity , nature , and hope , she crie s _ " Come on , brethren ; on to the victory of freedom ; on to the triumph of justice , the downfall of oppression , and the crowning ofthe sovereign people . " And on they will come . Already the dust rises in . dusky clouds beneath . the feet of enthusiastic myriads , marching to . the , capital and temple of Democracy . Old things are passed away ; former systems havo become an impossibility . Wecannot , if we would , tolerate tbem ; either they must perish themselves , or they ' raust extirpate the race .
. So far we have dealt orily with that which may bo called sentimental republicanism ; but in the current history of France there is a still deeper topic which claims attention , and we certainly havo no intention ofslurring it over . The men whose , blood bought tbe glories of France , and whose bodies built up the barricades of the revolution , were riot soldiers of a name . They sought something iiore than the fanciful privilege of recording a vote at stated periods . They demanded , and they fought for , and bled for republicanism reduced to practice , worked . out to the results ofa healthier tone of society , less public profligacy , lightened burdens , more equable laws , and , as a _consequence , increased comfort and increasing prosperity . Thev . believed that misery was not the natural or
the divinely-destined portion of man . and thoy-saw that it was his existing condition . They , therefore , concluded that society was the ,. victim of systematic crime , and they sought the ' republic not as an end ; but as an engine to rectify that ' crime . ' They believed , arid believed' wisely , that for communal evils the proper remedy lies in communal laws . Having made a government for _thehiselves , thoy expected it would legislate for their benefit . Hence the struggle between the executive and the people—between those who would maintain the old social cancer and those who would justify nature by proving that the elevatiori of man was possible . Out-door combinations have been formed to influence , and , if necessary , * to coerce the administration and the legislature to the dischargo of their respective duties . These combinations have obtained the name of " Socialism , " and are painted in ail the lucid colours of an earthly panderabniurii .
The Socialists are described as aharchists , because they denounce a svstem that crushes the many for the benefit of the few . Europe is adopting the broad principles ; introduced and advocated by tho Socialist school .: They are just , and will make way . Interested patriots may oppose , and prejudiced politicians may denounce , but the day has come for the people's cause , and , ere long , the beacon fires from the battlements of Paris shall , as in 1848 , again ball the masses of Christendom to gird themselves for the fight . Ere long the magic word " arise" will be rung out by the Gallic tocsin , * it will fall here on ready and welcome ears . "Ready , aye , ready , " is now the motto of the Irish " mob . " We , too , bear wrongs , and feel their wants . We , too , havo been oppressed in the name of Constitutions , and have been ground into gross servility , under _^ tho form of liberty ; and we , too , will right ourselves .
A Livee Complaint Cubed N? Hoilowav's Pj...
A _Livee Complaint cubed n ? _Hoilowav _' s Pjus . —Extract of a letter from ; JohnM'Lean Ferguson , Esq ., dated Melbourne , Port Philip , May 9 , 1819 . ' To Professor Holloway , —Sir , —I had been afflicted nearly two years with the . liver complaint ,: accompanied with flying pains ; in my shoulders , dimness of sight , and difficulty of breathing . After expending upwards of 2 M . in medicines' without finding any relief , I w _» b induced to try your Pills , and by their use _antatrict attention to the prescribed reginlen , I am effectually cured . Grateful for the Bame ; I publish thin statement in the hope that others bo afflicted may have recourse to your Invaluable medicine , find , _thwehy derive similar bm & _tf
N: Fflwrfu -Parltemmt; ;
n : _fflwrfU _-parltemmt ; ;
, Hou^ ^E ^ Loi^S^Tne-Caifrerb^J Slhb . ...
, HOU _^ _^ _E _^ LOI _^ S _^ _TnE-CAifrERB _^ j SlHB . i com * . —The Archbishop of _CAniebbubi alluded to the imputations that had been thrown out against him " elsewhere , " for having nominated his son to the reversion-of'the _Begist'rarship'bf the CanterburyiPrerogative ' Court . ; His grace explained that the office to . which , his son , stood in succession was by . no . irie ' ah . 8 a sinecure ,,-and that : in , 184 : 7 'an act had passed placing that , among a mass . ' of similar offices , under the control of parliament , * and therefore in nominating his relation to the reversionary enjoyment of tbat appointment , he simply provided for ; him . an office . regarding which the Legislature bad undertaken to apportion its emoluments to the duties performed . He . did not think , therefore , that his conduct was open to tlie censure it had suffered under . ' ' '' _¦*'¦"• : '¦ '•' ¦ _.- ¦
• _Tho-. Bishop . _of-loNiJoN corroborated the statement of the Archbishop , and called the attention of the . house to the manner , in which , his Grace had filled up the office of registrar ; in the diocese of Chester as conclusive against any charge , of nepotism . ' , Np , w _Ecclssustwal TRiBtiXiL . —The Bishop of London , brought in a Bill to Amend the Administration of Justice in her Majesty ' s Privy Council In all oases of appeal on questions of false doctrine , heresy , and schism . Tho bill did not propose to do away with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as a tribunal of appeal ; but only directed certain references to be mado in questions of appeal in cases of false doctrine . ¦ . ; ..
_CoiiiEur Accidents . —Lord Wharnclif _**!* presented a petition from a large number of miners in tho north of England ,: praying their lordships to g ivo them further : legislative assistance and relief in their dangerous occupations . He . might say . that no class of men . in her Majesty ' s dominions wcre . hetter entitled to the consideration of the Legislature . Tho petitioners commenced by describing the various dangers to ' which they wore exposed , and he was afraid that , do ivh . it he would , their avocation must always remain full of danger . The very nature bf their occupations led to most disastrous occurrences ; but if any causes for those occurrences , wore allowed to exist which could be removed by better ventilation and regulation of tho
mines , and if injuries were occasioned either by tlie parsimony .-or neglect of the proprietor of the mines , itwas not unfitting for the . Legislature to intorfere on : behalf ot the parties whose liability to danger was thus fearfully increased . In looking tothe amount of accidents within the last few years , he was sorry to find that thoy had been very much on the increase . In 1838 the number of lives lost was 049 , * in 1840 , m ; in 1845 , SG 2 ; in 1847 , 462 ; in 1848 , ' 470 ; and in 1849 , 704 . The petitioners referred in their petition to the . various inquiries which -had been made by parliament , and certain public bodies in the north , intothegrievances under which they suffered ; and-it appeared to him not . a little remarkable that from' all these various inquiries was , elicited one universal declaration that the evils wero .-. 'such that redress ought to bo instantly applied to them . He pointed to the
experience _. of Belgium in adopting " precautions against loss of life as . deserving attention ; and having _adiverted to the large proportion of accidents in this country , attribiitablo to defective ventilation , he referred to tho prayer of the petition , that parliament should take steps to increaso the amount of security against accidents in mines . lie differed , in . some degree , however , from ' the petitioners with respect to the mode of affording that security ; and , having expressed his objections to the imposition of regulations by compulsion , as tending to lay the responsibility on the persons exercising the compulsion , he intimated his preference for a system which should increase rather than diminish the direct responsibility of : those who were concerned in the management of the mines . In conclusion , he inquired whether the report of the commission was not ready ? •¦ -.
Earl Gbanvime was understood to reply that the report was in preparation . . ' Tiie . Parish Constables Bill was read a second time-. , : The Process and Practice ( Ireland ) Bill was committed j ) ro / ornKl for the insertion of amendments . HOUSE OF COMMONS .-Australian Colonies . —On the order of thc day for the consideration ofthe Australian . Colonies Bill as amended in committeo , Sir W . _Moleswobtji moved that the bill be recommitted , for the purpose of omitting all clauses which empower the Colonial Office to disallow colonial laws , to cause colonial bills to bo reserved , and to instruct colonial governors as to their conduct in the local affairs of the colonies , and for the purpose of adding -clauses defining Imperial and colonial powers . The bill , he observed , raised two questions—first , as to what was the best form of government forthe Australian colonies ;
secondlya point not yet discussed—what amount of self-government these colonies ought to possess , and wha ! i oxtent of control should be retained by tlio Colonial Office . Lord John Itussell had declared that the colonies should enjoy ' tho greatest amount of selfgovernment consistent with the uni ( y and integrity ofthe empire ; but this bill did not give them tliat amount of self-government , and he proceeded to show that under this bill the Colonial Office would exercise a mischievous right of interference with the management- of the colonies . The colonial parliaments , ho ' maintained , ought to lie invested _with-all legislative powers , except those which were Imperial , and the question was , how to define these several powers so as to prevent the colonial from trenching upon the Imperial ; and he proposed to do this by enumerating those powers and prerogatives which were Imperial , as being most _^ asily defined , and by declaring all others colonial , under
certain restrictions and limitations . Mr . Labouciiere admitted that it ' was for the true interests of tho colonics that the management of their local concerns should be left- to theni , aiid that Imperial control should be retained only for the protection of Imperial interests . His objection to the motion was not , therefore , to the object of Sir W . Molesworth , but because ho was convinced that his machinery , so far from effecting that object , would introduce nothing * but confusion and discontent into the colonies . After a discussion the motion was negatived .
Mr .- Gladstone then moved tho _insertion of a clause empowering the bishop , clergy , and lnity of the Church of England in any colonial diooeso to meet , and by mutual consent make regulations for the conduct of their ecclesiastical affairs , guarding the enactment with various provisos . Premising that the Established Church , as it existed in these colonies , did not rest upon any intelligible or rational principle , but was rather calculated to create impediments to law and order , and to disturb men ' s minds , he explained the nature of the enactments ho proposed , and thc anomalies and evils thoy were
intended to remedy , tho state of the _laj-ge * religious community belonging to the Church Of England in New South Wales and "Van Diemen ' s Land , being , as far as ecclesiastical law was concerned , one of completo and total anarchy . If the objection to his proposition was the difficulty of its working iri practice , all ho could say was , let Parliament remove those impediments whicli lay in the way of members of the Church of England in the colonies which other religious communities did not meet with , — impediments which arose out of colonial , not Imperial law .
Mr . LABoucnERE strongly objected to the very principle of the proposition , which was to engraft upon this bill an ecclesiastical system involving points of great importance . Mr . Gladstone , would establish a synod for certain purposes , independent of tho Imperial Parliament and of the local _Legislatures , empowered to make regulations which should _havti the force of laws obligatory upon members of the Church of'England in the colonies . This proposition was also negatived on a' division by 187 to 102 . , Clauses moved by Mr . Anstey and Mr . Wyld , tbe motions not being seconded , fell to the ground ; others were deferred until the third rending , and the bill as amended was agreed to .
The Distressed Unions Advances and Repayment of Advances ( Ireland ) Bill , the Defects in Leases Act Amendment Bill , and tho Tenants at Rack-rent Itelief Bill , were each read a third time and passed . The Registration- of Deeds ( Ireland ) Bill went through committee . The Convict Prisons Bill and the Public Health ( Ireland ) _BUVwei-o both read a second time . :. Sir . W . Somerville obtained leavo to bring in a bill , to consolidate the acts .-regulating the proceedings in petty sessions and the duties of justices out of quarter sessions in Ireliwid . The other business having been disposed of , the House adjourned at a quarter past _tivelvo o ' _clock . TUESDAY , May 7 tii .
HOUSE OF _LORDSv-This House sat for a short time and adjourned at an early hoar , after disposing of some routine business . HOUSE OP COMMO * SS .-Advertisb « bnt Duty . —Mr . Ewart , after presenting a mass of petitions , praying for , a repeal of the advertisement dutj , proposed a resolution to that effect . Ho characterised the tax as pebuliarly and universally injurious in its operation . It formed a burden upon the interchange of ideas , of information , and of commodities * , interfering with the . business transactions- of every class , whether agricultural , commercial
, littevavy , or artistic It was , moreover , unjust in its incidence , mulcting the poorest advertiser in . exactly tho same amount as . the _riohest , and falling exclusively upon the newspaper press , leaving , the announcements in . books , . reviews , or upon , travelling . plabard carts wholly untouoned . The embarrassment oaused . by these fetters upon publicity , the honourable member illustrated by the large increase in newspapers and advertisements consequent upon the reductions conoeded m 1833 and 1837 , iii duty and stamps ; as well as by the enormous su periority in multitude still _maufcstea
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by tlie ' uritaxed press of America . 'As . it was impossible to make this tax"just ,-by the . introdijction of fhe' ! ii ( t . _vbfor aniyprinbipie ; , _ana-a 3 . it 8 ariiount was comparatively trifling ,, _Realizing / only £ 157 , 600 a yeaty _liei contendedthat the . best course was to abrogate 'it eritirely . " / , / , ' _; 7 . . \ - ,- / ' < - . Mr . Milker Gibson seconded the motion . MivTrelawn ' y opposed the , motion , partly on the ground that' he had . himself amotion on the paper for devoting surplus _revenue to pay off the national debt , and partly because the advertisement tax was paid by the ' consumers ' . , _/ t a p _^ _tiioa of the Exchequer briefly reerred to the reasons he had already repeatedly urged
against any further remissiori of taxes this _S _™ _* kl ° w agrqod _* h the _tJu'"y was objectionable , - _aSIJS ?? ? _S e S 0 me , time 8 ' _* nj « st , but he preferred to alleviate the burdens that pressed upon industry and consumption , or interfered with the health of the lower classes . Ho appealed to the house not to fritter away the resources of tho nation . Mr .. Hume classed the advertisement duty among tlie severest burdens upon industry . Ho . thought the Legislature ought to override thc dicturii of the Chancellor of the Exchequer . To relieve industry was far better than to pay off debts , and retrenchment was the certain means of securing that object . . •* Mr . _Ewaut replied , and the house divided .
Per the motion 39 .. ' . Against 208—169 TouRNEymen _Bakebs . —Petitions pray ing that measures might be . taken for improving the sanitary condition of journeymen bakers were presented by Lord Grosvenor , by Mr . Osborne , and by Loro ! D . Stuart ,- from various districts of tbo metropolis , and by Mr . Cowan and Mr . Duncan , from Leith and other places . * Lord R . * _Grosvknor said , the motion he was about , ' to admit to tho house was ono which appealed to the best feelings of the heart . . He had on a former . occasion ' explained the grievances of which tho journeymen bakers complained , and he could not believe that any serious objection would
be made to his proposal . When bo first brougM forward tlie subject he moved for a committee to inquire Into the sanitary condition of the journeymen bakers . To . that motion the Hoirie Secretary replied , that as papers on tho subject had been laid upon the table , there was no necessity for inquiring into matters : which would , bo clearly developed in those papers . The right hon . member for the University of Oxford then said ho would prefer seeing a remedy applied by a bill , rather than that the subject , should be referred to a committee . Last year lie . ( Lord R . Grosvenor ) moved for leave to bring in a bill to prohibit labour in bakehouses during certain hours of the night . Tho evils under which the men laboured
wevo admitted , and it was not attempted to bo proved that tbe remedy proposed would not be efficient , but a certain set ot phrases were strung together , and all sorts of evil prophesied . from the working of such a bill , and leave was refused . Tho , petitioners whose petitions he had presented stated that they had considered the arguments used against the proposed bill , at : d believed the majority of the house wore under" a complete mis conception as to tho ' effects it . would produci * , and they prayed for a committee of _inquiry . The Home Secretary had admitted that there might bo ii case _ujion tho sanitary ground , and he ( Lord R . Grosvenor ) proposed how to delegate to a committee of inquiry whether the state of the
bakehouses was not extremely prejudical to health , — those houses in which the food of the _people was prepared . * ( Hear , hear . ) It was complained that thoy we ' re ' in such a state as to injure not only the persons working , but the bread made there , —an article liable to be effected by the air that was around it . ;' and every one who had seen tho hoi-rid dens in which the greatest part pf . the bread was prepared in this town , and tho dirty state of tliose who had to prepare it , would concur in thinking that some sanitary regulations were necessary . ( Hear , hear . ) If there were no other reason fora committee , it would satisfy the men themselves , who must know whether tbey wero suffering , and must be host acquainted with their own trade .
( Hear . ) llo hoped ho should not make this appeal in vain . Ho begged to move for a select committee to inquire _wliqther any measures couid be taken to improve lhe sanitary , condition of the journeymen , bakers . Sir G . Grey would Lave been glad if he coyld have felt it consistent with his duty to agree to the motion , but the objections he had had to urge on former occasions remained unrcmoved . Ho felt the force of the argument urged on those occasions by several gentlemen , that it was inexpedient to grant ; committees of inquiry founded upon such petitions , unless the house had some clear and definitive conception of legislative measures , that might be founded upon the report of such a committee . ( Near . ) When the noble lord moved for a committeo
of inquiry two years ago , he was met by the argnment that the evidence upon the subject of the condition of the persons in this trade was taken before tho Sanitary Commission . Statements very painfd to read were made , and it was impossible to deigr that those persons were subject to very serious evils in the prosecution of the business iri which they wove employed * , but tho remedy proposed by tlie noble lord was rejected by a very large majority because it was felt that it would not only be violating the principles of political economy , but that it would be impossible to enforce it , and that if we proceeded to legislate for this trade , there was no reason why wo should not bo ' asked to _legislate with regard to others . He ( Sir G . Grey ) believed , as he had said
before , that arrangements might be made between employers and men , by mutual consent , which would tend to remedy many of the evils complained of ; and that by looking to Parliament the parties were diverting their attention from the means by which they might attain a remedy . ( Hear . ) Tho petitioners asked for an opportunity of proving before a committee that the house waswrong in rejecting thc motion of last year ; but that was matter for the house , not for a committee . ( Hoar . ) The noble lord had pointed to sanitary measures ; if any peculiar sanitary measures were necessary as
applicable to this trade , they might be taken under powers already subsisting , or new powers might be asked for from Parliament ; but Parliament had all the information which would enable it to legislate , if legislation was desirable . He ( Sir G . Grey ) had always avowed bis opinion , that legislation would not accomplish the object the parties had in view , and that the bill asked for would be inoperative and have no practical effect . To agreo to the motion would be acting contrary to princi p le , only to insure ultimate disappointment . Participating in the benevolent desire of the noble- lord , he must , with great regret , object to the appointment of the
committee . Mr . Stafford thought the parties would consider that their case had not been fairly met . If the petitions of the working classes-were to encounter a refusal even to inquire into- the grievances of wliich they complained , or to allow them to state beforo a committee that there- could be a remedy tho right hon . gentleman need not apprehend that other trades would come with their claims ; but experience , whether here or elsewhere , should not lead the House to turn a deaf ear to such complaints , ( Hear , hear . ) It would not bo likely to attach the working classes to the legislation of this
country if they supposed that , under the guise of philosophy and certain dogmatic rules , the Ilouse of Commons desired to conceal their inability to deal with the evils of a social complex system ; and , if Parliament made them feel-that it would do nothing for them , in the long run they would think it extremely desirable to do a great deal moro for themselves than Parliament would wish . If other trades came forward , let each case be considered on its own merits '; no other trade had come forward in such numbers . ' Thequestion was ono of the health and the lives ' of our fellow-subjects , and he should support the motion .
Mr . Bright then follbwed , whose speech will be found in Mr . O'Connor ' s letter . LordD . Stuart had not heard a * : single reason why the committee moved for should be refused . It had beon said that no good could possibly result from giving themselves the trouble of going through a fresh investigation b y the means of a committee . Was it any reason that justice should not be done to these poor men- 'that they had friends who supported their cause , through the agency of the public press ? Was ifc a reason when poor people were oppressed that they should bo further oppressed because some persons wero found to take up their cause ? Surely , when : people had a right to demand a . redress of grievances , tho best way
was to solicid , and if possible obtain , the support of the publio press . Tlio peaceful agitation which I the press created was ovidently the most advantageous mode of gaining any legitimate object in -public affairs . There might be hundreds , peihaps thousands , employed as bakers . Of this therecould be no doubt , that petitions on the subject came from all parts of the kingdom . He would ask , then , when thousands were-dependent for their health and morals on tbe legislation of that __ hoase respecting the present _subject , when the lives of those men were in _dagger or being shortened *! by the present defective state of the law , would the house deliberately refuso to grant an inquiry ? Tho right hon . baronet tho Homo Secretary bad told them
that all tho information which could possibly be obtained on tbe subject was alreardy before tbem ; but how could ho or anyone assert that a grert deal of _informa-ste might _nofc-ye-i he obtained Ho should not detain the House longer than to _ssy that he had resolved to give his noblo friend aU the support in his power on this subject . Mr . G , Thompson said he felt himself called upon to take some notice of what had fallen from the hon . member for Manchester . He had himself been accused of being somewhat too much of a political economist , but if he could imagine that the science of political economy _nocessarily led to such _opiimma as those expressed by v » hon , _roembertor _"Maaoliester _, _U would greatly alter his _sentuaeats
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 11, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_11051850/page/7/
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