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TO THE WORKING CLASSES.
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Mt Friends, r As the great object of all...
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I | AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL. _
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VOL. XII. N? 586. LONDON, SATURDAY, JANU...
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TO THE LAND MEMBERS. My Friends, I am no...
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Royal Polytechnic Institution.—-The usua...
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We extract the following admirable lette...
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THE VICTIMS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHE...
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THE NATIONAL Vliaisi iAJ - .nuui.iiBi, A...
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THE MANCHESTER VICTIM COMMITTEE Brother ...
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TBE FACtC-RY WORKERS. TO TgSlntfOR OP TH...
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m———am—mi—mmamw^am mm—, FINANCIAL REFORM...
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EMIGRATION TO THE TEXAS. TO THE BBIT0R O...
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Thb BL00D.-Mr G. G. White states, in a i...
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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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To The Working Classes.
TO THE WORKING CLASSES .
Mt Friends, R As The Great Object Of All...
Mt Friends , r As the great object of all other classes of society is so to frame laws that they may divide the proceeds of your industry amongst themselves , your object should be to secure a 'share in the making of laws , which would secure for the workman the full fruits of his own industry , and there never was a period when the marshalling of your strength was more necessary , and there never was a time when it could he brought more efficiently to bear udoii the arsenal of corruption . =
You may rely upon it , that whatever changes are proposed by the monied classes—whether political or financial—and however your cooperation may be enlisted , that your class will not derive benefit to the amount of a pipe of tobacco , a pint of beer , an ounce of sugar , or a halfpenny worth of soap , per year , because , now that labour is aggregated , and not individualised , your wages will be keenly and _statistirallv _measured bv the price of those and other
articles , whether cheap or dear , wnen oeer and pork were one shilling a pound , and when the quartern loaf was three times its present price , the labourers of England lived better , and were freer than they are now ; but yet your folly is manifest in your belief in every enthusiastic sentence delivered by those who hold out great promise from tbe proposed changes , while you should bear the fact in ¦ mind , that
" Words are ous wins , ActiomB Bpeak tbe mind ;" and , in general , those who are most philanthropic upon the platform , are the greatest ty rants in tbe factory and in the counting * house ! Before I was sent to York Castle , they sent me for a week to the Queen s Bench Prison , the prison for debtors ; and during that period I could not meet with a man who owed a farthing . I was in York Castle for nearly eighteen months , and there was not a criminal in the nrison . although some were hanged on very
clear evidence . 1 have visited several lunatic asylums , but I never met a madman in one of them . I have never met with a bad woman , a bad bottle of wine , or a bad horse , nor have you ever heard of a publican who could give Toir a bad glass of gin or a bad pint of beer . _2 fow , I lay down those rules for you for the purpose of measuring men ' s language , and yet , from this time till Parliament meets , your fancies will be tickled with the most fascinating prospects of amelioration , while want of unity will prevent the app lication of your power _ond rnnr strength to the adjustment of your
rights . The labouring people of this country con stitute several classes ; and although the interests of all are identical , and should be inseparable , yet to their jealousies and disunion , and not to the union of their opponents , is their every grievance attributable . This is Ihe obstacle v _^ hich I now propose to remove , and these are the means . I propose that the Chartist Executive , in concert with the Trades and the Colliers , should ¦ -ump . a . dav for a Labour Convention to meet
in London , and to consist of forty-nine _delegates ; and as the Labour Question has yet to be solved , and can be best solved by those who have practical experience , and as ignorance ever has been , and ever will be , urged as Labour s disqualification to the Suffrage , I propose that 150 L shall be distributed as prizes for the six best essays upon the Labour Question , and , if the arrangements are properly carried out , I will give 501 ., leaving only a fraction more than 2 l . each to be brought from tim _cov-pral districts bv each delegate .
The Saints , the League , the Financial . _reformers , Professors of Colleges , the Repeal Association , the Peace Preservers , and all parties who wish to push their opinions , have adopted this p lan ; and as ignorance is urged against your class as your disqualification to the Sufi-rage , let ns be able to supply the really ignorant with irrefutable proof of Labour ' s _knowledge : and vou must understand , that ,
as it is with all other competitors , so it is witn the Essayist . If one hundred people compete for a prize , although only one may receive the reward , yet the remaining ninety-nine , who hare competed for it , are also benefitted so it is with cattle-shows , with horse-racing , boatracing , and the other amusements—tbe horse that loses the race is as well fed as the winner —the crew of the losing boat are as well * _-- '""'' = _"ii _ATffirr . _ised as the crew of the
winning boat ; and although only six out or six hundred competitors may receive the prize for the best essay on Labour , yet the labourers themselves will be sure to select their-leaders , their teachers , and instructors from amongst those who have evinced capacity for the office . The Trades , from the beginning to the present moment , have been the principal _obstruc-? _nra Af tho _dhnrter . and of the solution of the
Labour Question . It has been a paying traue to many who have had influence over the more thoughtless , while their services in their present situation would be no longer required , if Labour was liberated , and you will always find that the leaders are the pets of their em ployers , and are promoted according to their standard of value to the master , and not to the noor .
During our agitation , the men who were loudest and most enthusiastic upon the p latform , have ever been the first to desert us , when their own ingenuity or the cunning of the middle classes could find them more profitable and less hazardous employment . And although I am well aware of the odium that is attached to a gentleman who dares to interfere between master and man , yet , as I have very boldly withstood that odium , I am _resolved still to brave it as long as you are prepared to assist , No doubt-that Government and their ofiirials hug then * fttlve £ with the notion that they have killed Chartism ; and , presuming on this , the middle classes will hope to turn the
labouring classes to their own purposes . I propose that every district shall—despite of the opprohium _sought to be cast upon our last monster—get up Petitions forthe Charter , and send those petitions to the Representative of the town or district , no matter whether he be "Whig or Tory ; and I propose that _^ the number of signatures attached to each petition _~\ ... n Ko _on _/ _WsArl on the back ; and that a
correct account of those numbers shall oe transmitted to the Executive Committee , and then 1 shall not be chargeable with any forgeries , obseeaitiaB > or inaccuracies . I propo _^ _thafc jafter the Convention shall have sat _fcjpnvtnight in deliberation , and after it shfn have adjudged the several prizes upon the best Essays , that a District Conference shall be held upon a given week , in the principal towns of England , Scotland , and lVali « s . fnr the _ourDose of discussing , of
adopting , or rejecting , the several propositions tnat may be submitted by the National Convention . And having already decided upon adherence to the . principles of the People ' s ' Charter , I propose that Labour , and the means of its redemption , shall constitute the business—the whole business—ofthe National Convention and the District Conferences ; and during the _sittings of both the Convention and the Conferences , I propose that nightly meetings be i . » u - « T . nBrTn _* i and the several districts , at
which the Delegates best able to expound tne LabourQuestion shall attend and lecture , and by this means if thirty of the forty-nine delegates were suited to the task , there might be ten meetings in Loudon each night , witn three delegates appointed to speak at eacn , and thus in the fortnig ht there mig ht be 120 meetings , and if there was only ll . collected at each , it would pay 11 . a week to each delegate , and leave Ail . to defray incidental expenses , while all England , Scotland , and Males , would only be required to send lOOZ . tobe distributed ae _nriv-As for the best Essays on Labour .
Then I propose that after the convention shall have sat a fortnig ht , and shall have addressed 120 meetings in London and its
Mt Friends, R As The Great Object Of All...
vicimty _. that upon the following Monday there shall he a public meeting , to which the propositions of the Convention shall be submitted . Now there is a plan , the entire expense of which will be 320 Z . gratuitously given , and 50 l . supplied by me , and for which we shall be able to supply the world with the best and most _practicaTsolution of the Labour Question ; and you cannot think this extravagant , when you bear in mind that the Convention of 1839 cost the country over 30 , 000 / ., while the reward of some was transportation , and of
many imprisonment , premature death , widow- hood , weeping , wailing , and gnashing of teeth . Whereas the' Brummagems , ' and others of the middle classes , who were the most _enthusiastic exciting , and dangerous , housed themselves in snug places and offices , or made treachery to Chartism their qualification for middle class patronage and support . While , upon the contrary , if you will adopt my proposition , I will take care that the nicest technicalitie s of "Whig law shall-be-complied with—that there shall be no victims either to the law . to spies , or informers .
If this plan is adopted , I will finish the fortnight by inviting the several delegates to a good substantial _^ dinner , and some Members of Parliament to meet them—and I will ensure the attendance of not a few—and thus we shall have associated all the elements of labour—the trades , the colliers , and the workers of all denominations . My friends , having elected me as one of your representatives in Parliament—having elected me in defiance ofthe National Assembly upon the Executive—and that Executive having new elected me its President—I am not going to shrink from the lion ' s share of labour ;
and if you carry out my proposition , on the Tuesday after I shall have had the honour of entertaining your representatives , I will stand up in the House of Commons , and boldly , if not eloquently , introduce and advocate the principles of THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER ; but , upon the other hand , if you fail in the performance of your duty , blame yourselves , and don't blame me . If any one can propound a more simple or effectual scheme , I am ready to abandon mine ; but no matter what obloquy , insult , or danger may be offered or threatened , and however you may be cowed and lukewarm , I am resolved , though I stand alone , to _oilvnnota tho _naiiSA nf
LABOUR , AND THIS UHAKlJiK to the death . Your , _faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connor . P . S . I trust next week to have an opinion upon this proposition , from every part of the countrv . F . O'C .
Ar00113
I | And National Trades' Journal. _
I AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL . _
Vol. Xii. N? 586. London, Saturday, Janu...
VOL . XII . N ? 586 . LONDON , SATURDAY , JANUARY 13 , 1849 _P _*^ E _fivEPENCE , — _ ¦* - :. . . ¦ ' _* _VJ _^* _" » m _rr Shilling * und Sixpence per Qnnrrei
To The Land Members. My Friends, I Am No...
TO THE LAND MEMBERS . My Friends , I am not going to write you a long letter , I am merely going to impress upon your minds , and to call your attention more minutely to the following proceedings at a meeting of the Royal Dublin Society , and which was published in last week ' s " Star . ' ' Here it is _JtBCLAHVTIOM OF WASTE LANDS . At the last meeting of tht . Royal Dublin Society , Sir William Bentham presiding , Mr Hill read a _*» aper descriptive of tbe effective reclamation of bog and waste lands , particularly upon the property of Mr Colthurst in the county of Cork . The Chairman said the paper read was a very important one . It had been stated that though a bog was reclaimed it returned in two years or so to its original barrenneis and _uselessness ; but Hr Colthurst had denonst » ted that it couid be made permanently productive . He approved highly of the suggestion to employ the able-bodied poor in workhouses in reclaiming land . Mr Haughton painted out the necessity of selfreliance and _induitry in working out the improvements on land , instead of relying upon tbe Legislature , and the necessity nf rendering the purchase of land more easy and _satisfactOrV .
Mr Hancock observed , tbat tbe position or « r jnichurst was peculiar , aid he possessed advantages wh < eh other landlords or tenants did not enjoy ; and as regarded the advance of manufactures ia Scotland , if they had in Ireland the same laws to facilitate their advancement he was sure that a similar result would follow . The Earl of Devon bore testimony to the effective exertions of Mr Colthurst . He had not only drained bog _effectually , but had raised upon it a SHperstructure essential to the purposes of agriculture . The ordinary method of _conveying earth to place upon the surface of bog was the expensive one of carting ; bnt Mr Colthurst bad adopted a more economical and desirable method . The _preceBS adopted by him was highly desirable for , and anniirahieto . manv _uarts of Ireland : but he should say
thero -fere several places in tne country wnere me improvement of land at present under cultivation , wonld prove a far mere remuneratira source of agricultural _pnrsait , and one more calculated to repay tbe expenditure of money than the reclamation of hog . He did not desire to diseouraga the reclamation of bog ; he would be plad to see Mr Colthurst ' s plan followed in many localities ; but they would fall into a mistake if they supposed that this was the first point in the improvement of land to which they should direct their attention . He agreed with one ofthe speakers , that tbey were teo apt to look ior support and countenance from government . The suggestion of Mr Hill , that the government should forward the adoption of the plan recommended by Mr Colthurst , had mot been overlooked when the legislature framed an Act based upon the land commission ; but thnc » nn-areA in that commission Considered it desirable
that if public mosey were to be advanced , it _snouia _db for purposes connected with the improvement of land under cultivation , in preference to the reclamation of bog . It was said that the purchase of land should be rendered more easy , but under the law as it at present stood , a great deal of land coaid be easily purchased , a a good title obtained , and that land made productive by those who desired to improve It ; but he feared that what was wanting was that confidence which would induce people to lay ont their money in the purchase of land . The difficulty which tbey had to encounter arose not so much from any want of legislative interference as from a want of private industry , energy , and confidence in developing tbe re _»» urceB ef the country . He hoped that much would be dom in reclaiming bog , hut heconsi . dered that it would he more judicious and more desirable to apply their capital in the further improvement of lands nt nr-srnt under cnltiratien .
_Now , I have only a few words to say , _oy way of comment . In my beok upon the management of Small Farms , I told you that one acre , or half an acre of a useless hill , would give ample surface to a hundred acres of bog . Well , you see that Mr Colthurst _recommends the very same . But read Lord Devon ' s speech , the chairman of the Great Devon Land Commission . See what he says about _thereclamation of waste lands , and the better cultiva- tion of arable land : and then bear in mind that I told you that bog and waste land was the cold meat in the larder , the selvidge round the cloth , which might be nibbled at as pop _«' lation increased ; that the reclamation of waste land would pay the capitalist a good per centage upon his capital , but that the labour of the husbandman should be applied to the better cultivation of land , which was not _-n .- _m . H ' _vatpd tn one fifth part of its
capability . My friends , as ere long this Land _^ Question will be the question of questions , and as I have stood my full share of taunt for makingstatements , now corroborated by the highest authorities , and commented upon by the Press , that has been lavish in its abuse of me , you will not consider me vain or egotistical in citing those authorities in support of my Plan . Your faithful friend , FpabgUS _O'Conkob .
Royal Polytechnic Institution.—-The Usua...
Royal Polytechnic Institution . — -The usual attractions of this admirable exhibition are enhanced during the present week , by the delivery of lectures on ' The Cultivation and management of the Voice in Singing . ' The committee have engaged Mr G . Clifford , professor of music , for this purpose , and his first lecture was delivered , before a numerous and very attentive auditory , last evening . The lecturer ' s remarks were very agreeably diversified and forcibly illustrated by the performance of a variety of favourite vocal pieces , from the works of several eminent composers ; and their very creditable execution elicited repeated and hearty plaudits from the comDanv present .
We Extract The Following Admirable Lette...
We extract the following admirable letter from the " Times'' It contains a very severe and proper stricture upon those shopkeeping aristocrats , who cater for customers by feeding their game upon their neighbours , and though , no doubt , loyal subjects , prefer violating an Act of Parliament to losing their customers : —
HAREKILLING BILL . TO THE EDITttS OF THE TIMBS . Sib , —Parliament enables any occupier of land , havingthe right to kill hares , to do sn witbout seiner taxed at the rate of £ i 3 s _< d per annum . For tbis , as a small tanner , I am eternally indebted to the wisdom of tbe House , spurred iuto practice by Sir Harry Vemey and others . My success may he almest said to depend upon my immunity from tbe depredations of hares , _threaof which , it ia ascertained , will eat a dinner for a wager against any iheep in England , and very probably win i too . It is mj misfortune , however , to hhvo for one neighhour in tne parish of _RuiBlip _, Middlesex , a large wood of about sou acres swarming with hares , and for another a gamekeeper within 203 yards ofthe place selected by the v-rmin as a suitable spot for an inroad into my premises .
I hare set snares- _according to Act of Parliament , ' and have succeeded in catching a few of my enemies . But 1 find that for every toree snares set , two are invariably gone in a few hours after . They appear to be pulled through the fence with a hooked stick , and certainly in broad daylight . Now . who takes them ? Who but a keeper would do so * This man ' s master is a rich linendraper , who rents all the shooting in iay neighbourhood ; and it is master , not man , I must quarrel with . Now , I do not beliere that any game preserver in tbe House of Commons would give his keeper instructions to prevent the free exercise ofa now constitutional right on the part of an independent tenant or neighbour ; but it seems that rich _lineadrapers are not so nice . Will you use vour influence to _nrotectme and my class from ty .
ranay of this description by pomtmgoutin your columns one great omission in the Hare-killin g Bill ! A clause should have been enacted , imposing a heary penalty on any person ( not' having the right to do so '} ' maliciously and feloniously stealing , or causing to be stolen , one snare , value Id ., ' from any fence or field , such snare being set ior the purpose of killing hares according to law . Until tbis be dune my gratitude to Parliament is somewhat tempered by bitterness , and I must seek my remedy by retaliating upon tbe linendraper _' s pheasants and partridges , whereof I breed a considerable number for this knight of tbe yard every season . I am not a bad shot , and I understand how to coax _biris from a dis . tauce . Let ' yard-measure' beware in time . Ynnr obedient servant . HaBEBBAIN _,
The Victims. To The Editor Of The Northe...
THE VICTIMS . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —Being a constant reader of the Northern Star , I confess I was surpr _ise-d when I read the leading article of Saturday last , with reference to the case of Mrs White . Your informant says , that two friends made a collection for Mrs White , and the Committee refused her the money . This is altogether false , as your informant must be aware if he was present . The facts of the case are simply these : — -A person makes an appeal to a public meeting on her behalf . Twelve shillings is collected . The chairman of the meeting had not arrived . A general shout was made about the other families , which brought Mr Frith lo the platform , uot a memhpr nf the Committee . I believe .
Mr Frith made some remarks about the famines of West , Leach , and others , and it was put to the meeting whether it should go to the Victim Fund , and Mrs White have her quota . So you will see it was the men who gave the money , not the Committee , who refused Mrs White the money . 1 believe there were only six hands held up for her to have the money , aud the rest for the Victim Fund . Now , Mr Editor , these aro the facts of the case , as far aa the Committee are concerned . If the
person that made the appeal to the public meeting had been a member of the Chartist Association , he would have known that there was a Committee appointed to collect money for the families of the victims . In my opinion , he ought to have appealed to them and not to the public . _Nothing , I believe , damages Chartism more than this mode of proceeding , because the meetings are not composed entirely of Chartists , but of all parties , and it tends to Dreiudice the minds of many .
With your remarks 1 entirely a _^ ree , _anu am very sorry that the families of those who have defended the rights of labour should be reduced to such a position ; but , sir , it is those fools who ought to suffer who have shouted and cheered , and cried out ' Pike and gun , ' but when you ask them to pay a penny to aid the Chartist cause , they will tell you candidly they will not , but that they are better Chartists thaa you are . Away with such hypocrites I Yours , truly , Thomas Harper .. _Wnndhnnae . Leeds . Jan . 2 nd , 1849 .
The National Vliaisi Iaj - .Nuui.Iibi, A...
THE NATIONAL Vliaisi iAJ - . nuui . iiBi , AND THE MANCHESTER VICTIM COMMITTEE . I am instructed to intimate to the Chartists of the country , that the National Victim Committee have resolved to share their funds with the wives and families of the Kirkdale prisoners , in common with the wives and families of the victims confined in the prisons of London . The friends who compose the Manchester Committee . in their recent appeal , solicit support not
only for the prisoners themselves out also tor their families now , as the National Committee have to support the families , those persons who subscribe to the Manchester Committee will do so only for the prisoners and not for their families . The National Committee do not make this pnblic statement with a view at all to interfere with the Manchester Committee in their support of the men in prison , but that , as the National Committee have to support the families , all monies intended for their _nssistanr-e mav be sent to the general fund .
The Nationa l Committee mane mis _aniiuum-cment with feelings of high respect and consideration for their friends and brother Chartists of the Manchester Committee . James Grassby , Chairman .
The Manchester Victim Committee Brother ...
THE MANCHESTER VICTIM COMMITTEE Brother Dkmociutb . — We deem it highly necessary to call the attention of true Chartists to our present state . With regard to the imperative duty the Executive and the country have called upon ua to perform ia behalf of our respected brethren now in Kirkdale gaol—Leach , Donovan , Rankin , White , Went . Grocott , Clark , and others—these _generoushearted and noble-minded fellows aro suffering because of their labours in the service of tho people ; they are punished because of their devotion w that cause , tha triumph of which would be the _emanoipation of millions from the thraldom of Whig and Tory misrule . They have cheerfully braved tho dungeon to render ua good service ; we owe them a aawed duty ; they have performed theirs , let ua perform ours promptly . Would it not be most disgraceful to ui , as a party , if our neglect of those brave men in bandage reduced them to the miserable alternative _. e i— z — *„ „ t-a < m th _« nnor _rmvileee of first-class
misdemeanants , and submit to tbe leiouaiaro « uu treatment f These men are best kaown in Manchester , and as far as we are concerned no exertions shall be wanting , iu order to make our brethren comfortable . We do not presume to take the power out oi the hands ofthe general Victim and _Defence Committee , but to co-operate with and assist them , in accordance with the advice of the Executive . We appeal to the _Democrats of the United Kingdom for their cordial support , in our endeavour to illume the gloom of the pa riots ' cell with a ray of comfort and sympathy . We are happy to state that the Chartists nf ManpheRter . since the _arreatB in August last , bave
done their duty nebly . Brother D ¦ _mosrats , to the present time our friends io _Kirkdala gaol have not been in want , bat owing to the low state of our funds we have not been able to support any of their wires and families . We now appeal to all the friends of humanity , to lose so time iu forwarding their donations , for if this is not re-ponded to , our brave patrkts will be in want of food . Give cheerfully , give prudently , and where it is most needed , in such manner as msy do most good . _Hoping this will not bo in vain , but responded to , We remain , yours truly , members of the committee formed for the protection of the Manchester victims , Thos . Whittakbr , Henry Ems , WM . SHK _IMERDrKEi JoHjJ SlIITH , Tnnq . _Orueshkr . secretary _.
Thos . _Kobkris , treasurer , Th \ s . Fildes , chairman . All money orders must be Bent to * Thos . Ormesher 52 Br idgewafer Street , Manchester ; ' made payable to' _Thoa . Roberts , 25 , Mount Street , Hulme , Manchester . ' , _„ _finmmittce Room , January 9 , 1849 .
Tbe Factc-Ry Workers. To Tgslntfor Op Th...
TBE FACtC-RY WORKERS . TO _TgSlntfOR OP THE NORTHERN STAR . Allow me , «' r , to address a few words to your readers on the ever standing and really important subject—' . . " The Condition ofthe lac ' ory population of Yorkshire , ' During a late visit ta that district of England ,. ! mixed occasionally with men of ali classes , aid was myself an observer of the signs ofj the times . A good trade is expected , that sure stimulus for exertion . A Bradford manufacturer assured me that a good trade was inevitable—the fnllnwinir is n hriftf hut correct condensation of a
protracted conversation . A good trade is inevitable because the depression has been of long continuation—the disturbed state ofthe continent has affec ted us materially , Germany more than France ; but if qiiiet ' can be restored , trade will be excellent . We are alipreparihg for a ' go in , ' after New Year . The good trade will not be of long '' duration—there are so _mahy of us—the competition is unlimitedhut , as I jpen say , 'Every man for himself in this world , ' _weMust make the _raoafcdf it while it lasts The Tefi _^ feUrf Bill has _nofe * sj- » t . been tested—I
thurK _itfwrbng ; iff _prrrrtJfpTerTB"ia " wrong to interfere with master and man—it has not been tested , because trade has . been so dull—its effects will now be felt , and cause much uneasiness . Itis foolish and ridiculous to suppose that men can have twelve hours' wages for ten hours' work—we can't do it , sir—it is impossible , and the Legislature will find it out . It is quite true that in some factories th _> re is as much work done in the ten hours as was formerly done in the twelve ; this is accomplished hy increased attention on the part of the workers , and by increased speed in the machinery . The same means would have been at our command in the _eood trade—the result is evident—we then could
have done as much work in the twelve hours as could be formerly done in fourteen . Such would have been to our advantage if the Ten Hours Bill had not passed . You must know that time is everything with us—good trade continues so short a time that we must not lose an hour—we must make the most of it . It is all very well for theorists to speculate—I am a practical man and guided by experience . As y 8 U are a practical man , may I ask if the American manufacturers injure you in the markets of the continent , '' Not at all . ' ' Not at all , you say , —I am surprised . America possessing so many natural advantages and protected by so fine a navy , led me to suppose that in some branches of English
industry she must have been a formidable rival to England . ' ' Nonsense , we can always beat the Yankees , they have no chance with us . ' * How do you account for the success of the English manufacturers over the Americans ? machinery in America is as good—land as fertile—water and minerals as plentiful—and the workmen as frugal and industr ious—I may not be able to account for our superiority , but I know _** hst I have said to be correct . 'I suggested that one cause of English success might -pst nn this—manufactures hava been Ioneer
established in England than in America . ' lie replied— ' i think it is so . Trade is a strange thing . To remove a factory frora one locality to another , even if in the same parish , is always ruinous . 1 was lately offered a factory in Lancashire on what was thought to be advantageous terms . Jt had formerly been used in a different business from mine , but I asked , where could I find hands to work it ? I was told , I could learn thera . I replied it would cost me a fortune to do so—business must be done expeditiously now or wrtf nf oil *
The conversation next turned on tne condition and habits of the factory population . My friend said , the workmen were improvident and of careless habits , had little thought of the future , iu many cases , the higher the wages they received , the poorer they were . He declared , with an air of serious confidence , That the Chartist leaders were rascals . Every maS _^ of them ou ght'to be hinged . ' I smiled at so emphatic a declaration . We stepped out of the omnibus at the Low Moor station , bidding each other good by . He found his way to a first-class carriage , and I was , in due time , seated in the rank below , among a number of butchers and cattle ilpnlerR . who were on their way to market .
I reflected that the gentleman with whom l nan just parted was an excellent type of his class , pos- sessing an aptitude of business talent—shrewd , keen , calculating—a scanty genius for a conception of remote causes , no visioned dream in the future destinies of men or nations to realise ; a narrowed appreciation of the refined in art , or the elevating in nature ; in the counting-house or on the Exchange , a clever merchant ; in the _jury-box a propertied partisan ; it an election a man of influence ; inthe church or chapel a member . At Bingley , a small but _beautifully-situated town , lying between Bradford and Keighley , I found ' ¦ two mills working extra time . This I presume is managed by working relays of hands , or by working male hands above the ages specified in the Factory a m . fnr _recrulatine the hours of labour .
I conversed freely with many oi tne _raciory _vy _cratives of both sexes , and all agree that the Ten Hours Bill is the best measure that could have been passed for their interests . They argue pretty nearly as follows . 'We are not free agents . We , who produce all , have no power of ourselves to limit production ; we are part of the system , and are merely a live cog in the wheels of the machinery ; in good trade , we are worked until we are worn out , and nature decays ; in bad trade , we are chiefly dependent on the parish for support . Tbe manufacturers deduct so much for interest on the outlay of tbeir capital—so much per cent , to be annronriated as poor rates , to sustain us in exist-*
ence . We are here at the bidding of our masters . It is true enough that we desire individual independence , but we cannot accomplish our desires . We are slaves , and it is as much an act of justice and humanity to protect us against cruel usage as it is to prevent horses and dogs from being slaughtered in the streets . ' They feel the good effects of the short hours of labour , and will cheerfully submit to any curtailment of their scanty earnings rather than return to the long hour practice . The Ten Hours Bill , however good in itself , viewed as a restrictive measure of imperative necessity , is but us " a drop in the bucket compared with the j , remedies necessary to physically , menta \\ v' nnd morally , elevate our factory
population . The causes ot tne uecune ui w _« _-v . _~ - men' _^ re remote—and whilst immediate checks are necessary , 'to balance against avarice and rapacity , a change of system is inevitable , before permanent and sure results can follow . I am often told of England ' s manufacturing greatness and the success of her industrial civilisation , but 1 never see these huge halls _filied _. with polished iron and brass , all in motion aud moving with mathematical correctness , but I reflect tbat amidst these proofs of man ' s greatness , and beside this fine and God-like machinery , are ' a miserable little tribe of men-machines , living but half a life , producing wonderful things , but not reproducing themselves , who propagate only for death , and perpetuate their class only by incessantly abenrhine other populations who are engulfed there for
ever : The remodeling of the old system , or a reconstruction of a new one , will not be the work of a day , but of years . How different are the ideas of the manufacturer and operative on the same subject , and that , too , under circumstances the same in themselves , and seen by each every day , and reasoned upon by each differently , every hour of the day : Truly , if the millenium be at hand , these are stormy signs to be indicative of a ealm ; yet from these stormy , differing , and opposing interests the future must be reeulated .
There lies off the way-side , on the road between Keighley and Colne , the small village of Sutton . The trade ot the village is increasing , the fabric is a mixed one of woollen and silk , and consists of gown pieces , vestings _, Ac . Sutton , unimportant of itself , is important as illustrative ofthe progress of our manufactures . Some thirty years ago , the weaving in Sutton was carried on in the houses of the workmen , the majority of whom either owned or rented small plots of land , probably from one to four acres each . They were then an independent and hardy race of industrial settlers , their families were to them a Store of wealth , rich in their guarded plenty , and frugal from habit and desire ; their monied wages were three times their present amount , and their industry was spread over the parish to its
Tbe Factc-Ry Workers. To Tgslntfor Op Th...
boundaries . Each house represented a corporate community—parents and family having one common interest . Things bave changed—the factory system is established —the average wages are probably not more than six shillings per week ; there are few self-contained cottages , and fewer small farmers ; the last specimens of independent weavers are yet to be found , but , no longer able to unite weaving with their garden pursuits , they are reduced and poor , and only serve to instruct the observer in the history ofthe past . How many villages and towns I could name in Scotland and England which exhibit a similar sketch of the past and present , and represent the true tendency of the _aae , in its worst j
form , joint accumulations of wealth aud poverty , side by side , in unnatural contrast . I observe by the reviews in the press , that Mr Macaulay , in his new History of England , ' has furnished his readers with a picture of the past and present condition of England's labourers , showing the great advantages the workmen of the present day enjoy as compared with their predecessors . Facts are stubborn things , and it will require more potent arguments than any that can . be used by the brilliant Whig historian , to conv \ n ' e _^^ _S _^ _iim ( _steajwta _^ ihat _^ . they are richer than their fathers were . They know that house rent was never higher , nor wages lower , than they now are ; and these same Sutton weavers are politicians ; they know that their labour is their capital , and that if their annual income be fifteen pounds , and the monied wages of their fathers was
forty-five pounds per animm , their capital has decreased two-thirds in value , and as they pay taxes and debts from their wages , their liabilities have in-Creased in a like ratio- And asmo _& ey is not intrinsically valuable as a consumable commodity , but valuable or valueless , depending Hpon the comforts and luxuries it enables its possessor to command , it follows that the incomes of the fundholders , clergy , aud landowners , _fcc , have lHcreaserl in a like proportion . No essay on picture galleries , museums , gas lamps , statuary , poetry , the printing press , railways , or any of the other hundred and one illustrations of modern improvements , can drown the plain statements of wages , which nearly every workmen in England fully understands . By the way , M- A . Thiers would be the better of a weaver ' s lesson nn this subject .
As a whole , I may safely own that it is next to impossible , for any one removed from the scenes of misery everywhere to be seen , to form a correct notion of the wretchedness , poverty , and degradation of our factory population . Many of thera seem to have lost all sense of self-respect , order , and propriety , and live more inthe character of animate machines than human beings endowed with moral and intellectual attributes . Those who speak and write of England as a model nation for the world , will do well to visit Manchester , Leeds or Bradford , Wnre thp . v be too Drofuse in their adoration of
manufacturing greatness and modern civilisation . Ana if idle men—distorted , naked and hungry ; prostituted children and women—drunk and filthy ; narrow cellars—dingy and dark ; proud capitalists—vulgar and rich ; a magistracy over-re * . ching and despotic ; a constabulary obstinate and coercive ; a workhonse large and over-crowded ; a gaol filled and requiring enlargement ; be the inevitable and ever indispensable elements of civilisation—let us pray that we may be either favoured with a restoration of barbarism , or a speedy approach of the day of judgment . Leap from the Annals of a Shoemaker ' s Garret . T _. nndon . Januarv 8 th , 1849 .
M———Am—Mi—Mmamw^Am Mm—, Financial Reform...
m———am—mi—mmamw _^ am mm— , FINANCIAL REFORM . GREAT MEETING IN MANCHESTER . On Wednesday evening a meeting of L'beral electors and others was held in the Free Trade Hall . Tbe hour advertised for the commencement of the proceedings was half-past seven . Admission Ivas by ticket only , but such was the pressure and eagerness to be present that shortly after six o ' clock the doors were besieged , and before half-past that hour the vast area and galleries of the spacious building were _crowded to excess . It was calculated that from 6 , 000 to 7 , 000 persons were present . Mr Cobden , Mr Milner Gibson , Mr Bright , and the other members of the committee , were most enthus ' asticallv received .
Mr George Wilson , Chairman ot tne _Anii-uorn Law League , presided . He commenced by saying that it was really a monstrous meeting , and he was glad it was sa , for they had met to consider questions of no ordinary importance . He had _sesn that hall filled on previous occasions so as he never expected to see it Med again , but he confessed , looking to that vast assemblage , it did appear to him to contain more than the usual complement in numbers , and whatever apathy might exist elsewhere , whatever changes had taken place abroad , however old institutions had crumbled to pieces , and new ones had arisen on their ruins , at all events ( here was no _change or re-actien or revolution among the
Liberal electors of Manchester , ne _"espone uieir co-operation in favour of no ill-advised scheme , of no immature project , of nothing which Bhould involve violent changes or changes to be accomplished by violent means . ( Cheers . ) Their aim was to collect into one focus the mass ef floating opinion in the district , to give it force and direction , and concentrate it , for a time at least , upon the practical objects of economical and financial reform . ( Cheers . ) It had been asked , why stir at all at present ; why , in the unsettled state of Europe , do a"ything which might in the slightest possibility interfere with the arrangements of the Government ? In the United Kingdom there was no class of men more in favour of the best institutions nf the country , none more interested in
_supporting order at home ana peace aoruaa , man mc industrious and mercantile community of that district , but they reserved to themselves the right of expressing their opinions freely on all the great subjects affecting the public interest , and 7 , 000 or 8 , 000 people could not be collected together unless the subjects were of great national interest . It was for such a meeting to stand by Mr Cobden ia promoting financial reform . ( Cheers . ) Ten millions was no slight amount in this money-loving country , and that amount he proposed to make flow back into the pockets of the people , instead of passing through the fingers of the tax-gatherers . ( Cheers . ) He called on them to adopt the resolutions which would be proposed to accomplish * with the sli g htest waste of power , and in the least delay , that _mnat _rfoeirahlp rMlllt .
Mr Cobden , who was received with mucn enthusiasm , proposed the first resolution : — ' That this meeting resolves to co-operate with the Liverpool Reform Association and other similar bodies in their efforts to reduce the public expenditure to at least the standard of 1835 , and to secure a more equitable and economical system of taxation . ' Thev had formerly been charged to being the farmers' enemies , now they appeared in another character—as the farmers' friends . They had subjected the agriculturists of this country to competition with the foreigners ; the farmers complained that they were _^ more heavily taxed than the foreigners , and they now came forward to
offer them the right nana or _teiiowslup ana union , to effect a reduction of £ 10 , 000 , 000 in the cost of our government . ( Cheers . ) In 1835 , the affairs of the government were carried on for £ 10 , 009 . 000 _leeB than they were thia year , and in the letter he had published he ventured to propose that they should go baok to that expenditure . He had waited three weeks before he had an opportunity of saying a word in defence of his views , to see what would be _sdd against their reoomraondation _, and he confessed he had not much to answer . It was said that , thn _Bopulat-ioa had increased since 1835 ; out cent
numbers were 125 per , more than in that year , and it was but fair to allow a larger _aum for the government of the greater number . So far aa civil government was concerned , be admitted the argument ; he allowed forty percent , more for civil government tban was expended in 1835 ; but then , he Baid , that thirteen years of additional peace was no valid argument for any increase in our forces . ( Cheers . ) In 1835 , wa spent d 511 . 600 . 000 for Amy , Navy , and _Chdnance ; he proposed tbat they should not expend morethaH £ 10 , 000 , 000 , and he would take theremaining £ 1 , 600 , 000 from the expenditure for wariikn _nurnoses , and add it to the civil _exr-enditure of
M———Am—Mi—Mmamw^Am Mm—, Financial Reform...
lSo 5 . Then it was _enid that both t ' _asi year and the year before there wna a deficiency of revenue , we spent more than we received , and borrowed money , ana _tuercfore , even if his pka were curried out , there would not be £ 10 . 000 , 000 to dispose of in _KaiiBSion of taxes . His answer was tbis—if the _reverse had fallen eff . it was because the balance sheets cf the merchants and manufacturers had fallen off likewise ; but now , with feod at a moderate price , snd taade reviving , _UBbanily they would Bee the revenue increased , 'nd this year or the next , they are certain to have _\ Burplus revenue as surely as there was a _tlefir _ency last year . Givo him the expenditure again of 1835 , and he would guarantee the remission of _4-viii non _onntnTaiinn . fCheerB . ) The country wanted
to reduce the duty ou tea one-half , it mey warned to abolish altogether the taxes on timber , butter , cheese , soap , paper , malt , hops , and house-window * , —if they wanted to put an end to tha system that curtailed those necessary comforts , let them raise thoir voices simultaneously for tho expenditure of 1835 . ( Cheers . ) Where was the diffiulty of returning to that standard ? The whole _question depended oa the amount of our warlike armaments . The question w * g , would the Government be content to w ' _asta £ 10 , 000 000 on an unproductive service like our fighting establishments iu time of peace ? If not , why not ? Ha had the Government on the defensive . He aBked them whether they made the most ofthe money they had got ? How did they dispose of that monev ? They had one hundred and
fifty admirals , besides filty retired admirals , tiow many did they employ when they had one thousand pennants _fljing during the twat of the Fienoh war ? They never employed more than thirty-six admirato at eco time , and with all their ingenuity they oould only now find aotive service for fourteen admirals . So in the ar < _ay there was a colonel for every regiment who did the work , and they had another colonel to every regiment who never saw it , bui who supplied clothes and got the profits ofa tailor ? ( A lau » h . ) He would not lend _hinweU to tha delusion of those who told them that by eoonomy in tho dockyards they might efftct a saving , but thero must be no reduction of force . He told thero plainly from the ' oufset '' tHaV _* if ' ui agr * to _^ e _^ 'S u *» Jh ' a wi duefcion of exoendituro as would afford a _matoHi
relief , and would be felt in the homes and nresia < _ia of the people of this country , they must reduce the number of men—they must be content with a smaller manifestation of brute force in the eyes of the world , ( Loud cheers . ) Wby had tbere been thia great increase in our armaments ? They had increased enormously tha number of tbe men . Lord John _Kusgoll laat session stated tbe increase for army , navy , and ordnance aince 1835 In that yea ? the number of mon of all three services was 135 , 743 , aud in 1 S 48 they were 190 , 063 , _ehowing an increase sinoe 1835 iu army , navy , and ord * nanoa of C 0 . 320 men . The expenditure _during tha same period had been increased from £ , 11070 , 000 to upwards of £ 18 , 000 . 000 . When the number of men was voted there must be large corresponding
establishments in all direotions ; and if they wanted a material reduotion in their armaments , they must at once boldly adopt the plan of reducing the men engaged in those BerviceB . Why should they not reduce them i Why had they been increased ? There had always been some ready _exouse for every augmentation , whether of army or navy , but when the occasion of that increase had passed away thera never was any diminution . In 1835 was the lowest point ; in 183 G the fear of invasion from Russia waa the pretence for increasing the navy ; and in 1839 the Monmouth riots were made to cover an increase of fire thousand men te the army ; but when tranquillity was restored they never heard of thos * five _thousand men being reduced , A similar course otid _tniron whnnwft had a di ' Bnute with the Americans
about the _Mnine boundary and about Oregon , ne contended that there was nothing even in the aspect of _affiirsen the continent of Europe to justify ua in keeping up such large armaments , it was tha interest of France to preserve peaoe on tho the continent . The mass of tbe people in this oountry wore favourable to peace and adverts to war . Besides , we had thii additional guarantee , that it any government ' , or population on tho Continent _ohose to carry oa a war of conquest , it would weaken rather than strengthen tbeir _position ; but , taking tbe very worst that could happen , suppose that some of the continental states should attack their neighbours , was tbat any reason why we should be armed to take part iu the struggle ? We must leave ether people to manage their own affairs . Thnv were tmoEdin ? t « o much as a nation , and while
that was bo their lecal taxation wcuiu go uu _muruuoing . He promised one thing—he would never cease the advocacy of this question till he Eaw the cost of our armies reduced to £ 10 . 000 , 000 , until he saw the expenditure of the country reduced to what it was in 1835 at least . He did not say he would atop there . ( Cheers . ) That was the least they intended to do , and it was something worth the struggle ; but ho repeated he would not stop there—( cheers ); and he sincerely believed that with their assistance , and the growing tendency for peaoe throughout the world , they would not long continue to witness the horrid waste of £ 10 , 000 , 000 on a fighting establishment in time of pouce ; but they would live to Bee the day wheu _one-half that sum would be considered enough —( cheers ); nor did he think that time would hft _long in arrivine-. ' Cheers . )
Mr Cobdbn spoke tor about an hour and a quarter , and was followed throughout hia Bpeeoh with mush oheering . Mr Hbhry , M . P ., seconded the resolution , which was unanimously agreed to . Mr Milner . Gibson , M . P ., proposed the second resolution— ' That no permanent reduction of taxation could b 3 effeoted until the people obtained a more direct control over the Houae of Commons by an extension of the system of electoral representa ' aon . ' The hon . gentleman entered into an explanation of his own conduct in respect to hia late connexion with the present GovRrnment , and stated his reason for his resigning _efhea _, and that he preferred the confidence of his _constituents to the favours of any Government . He _repudiated the notion that there van any s « aotion on the subjeot of free-trade , aud urged its extension to other _artioles of commerce as well as corn . Adverting to tha condition of the T _^ ch _fihni-nh . he _t » av e it bs Mb opinion that there
would never be peace in tbat oountry unui u wna pulled down , and its funds applied to to the general purposes of the community . Ths resolution was seconded by Mr W . Rawson , and oarried unanimously . Mr John Bright , M . P ., moved the third resolution , to the effect that the meeting approved of the course adopted by the Anti-Corn Law League in tha _osteaaion of the forty-shilling freeholders , and their system of watching the register , also authorising the chairman of the meeting to take steps for theiformation of an association to secure the objects of this meeting . He observed that the justification for that meeting was to be found in the fact that jE 6 o . ooo . ooo of taxes were annually squandered by a Government whi-h did not represent the views of the people , from whom that enormous amount was extracted . He urged the infusion of more democratic blood into the House of Commons , and concluded by moving the _reaolution whioh Mr A . Kay seoonded , and _oh . ' _oli wan narried _» lt » j . CO * .
Thanks having been voted to the gentlemen wno _addressed the meeting , and to the chairman , the proc ? edings terminated at near midnight , wheu the vast oo-ftwhUee cmiatly _gejmtated .
Emigration To The Texas. To The Bbit0r O...
EMIGRATION TO THE TEXAS . TO THE BBIT 0 R OF THK N 0 RTHBBN STAB , Mr EBiTOR _. _-At the _reqaost of maay of your readers , I forward you a report of the _Proceedings of a Sooiety who , agreeing with you on the Land Question , ' and feeling their inability to better their condition in thiB country , on account of tha corruption of ita Government , and the apathy of the people , have determined to seek a home in the' fat west , ' and so to combine educational , agricultural , manufacturing , and commercial arrangements , aa to Becare to each other all the advantages of town and _ceuntry life , without the inconveniences whioh now attend / , Bnh . and hv the establishment of co-operative _storea
to ensure to all the just reward of honest ton , _wmoo in tbis country , is denied the most useful portion of sooiety . The name they bear ia the North Texan Colonisation Company . They propose to purchase twenty five thousand acres of land in the most healthy part of Texas , United States of North America , to divide tbe estate into allotments of twentyfive acres ; and in order to prevent the evils whioh attend the largo farm system , to allow no shareholder to possess more than four allotments or one hundred acres . For the sum of £ 22 payable at once , or by weekly instalments of is , 6 d „ eaoh Bhare * shareholder will obtain twenty-five acres of land , —• transit from this country to the estate , provisions during the ttanrtit , and for eight months after location . A portion of the payment need only be made in thin _conntrv . the remainder in cash or produce
after they have taken possession . Suoh has oeen mo _suoee ga ofthe Company , that early in February , an agent , to purchase land , _acoompaniod by pioneers and the Company ' s surgeon , will set sail for tha land of adoption . Already they have tho means of _pnrchasing tho laad , and they have every reason to hope , before many monthB have elapsed , that hundreds of their fellow-countrymen , who now toil foe others , will enjoy the advantages now _offered . On Thuraday evenings the publio are admitted to the members' meetings held at Mr Ellis ' s Sohool Room , 8 , George Street , _Euston Square , when every information oa the subject may be obtained . Hoping you will favour your readers with every information respecting this interesting Society , I am , yours respectfully , Jon ** Vincent .
Thb Bl00d.-Mr G. G. White States, In A I...
Thb BL 00 D .-Mr G . G . White states , in a im ** to the LiKOBT _, that the rumbling Bound _P" _^^ Btopping the ears with tbe hagers proceeds ttom _/ . '• _nniotinn nf the blood .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 13, 1849, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_13011849/page/1/
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