On this page
- Departments (4)
-
Text (13)
-
harderin the eleven than did in the twel...
-
jfrrugn iHobraimts
-
" And I will war, at least in words, I A...
-
DREADFUL. PERSECUTION AM) ESCAPE FROM SI...
-
ALARMING POTATOE RIOTS AT INVERNESS. [We...
-
Enteral SnteUigence
-
Fik-b in thb Metropolis—No less than six...
-
THE TEN HOURS' BILL
-
MEETING OF MR. 'TJARDNfR'S OPERATIVES TO...
-
LORD ASHLEY AND THE TEN HOURS' BILL. Bra...
-
Ahrbican 0_U70ur.—The AW York Herald thu...
-
tmpmal yarlfamtnt
-
HOUSE OF LORDS-Mondat , Fbb » PUBLIC WOR...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Harderin The Eleven Than Did In The Twel...
' _g ... _^ , . _^^^ , . . ., _, -r _,,- ¦ --- ¦ _- ¦ - ; - TH E _No _^ gERN STAR . _February u , 184 U
Jfrrugn Ihobraimts
_jfrrugn _iHobraimts
" And I Will War, At Least In Words, I A...
" And I will war , at least in words , I Ant—should my c ___ w (« - t > happen—deeds , ) With all who war with Thought !" I think I hear a little bird , wbo vrog & The people by and bj will be the stronger . "—B T _ -K .
WAR WITH AMERICA . For the purpose of reiterating the facts of the Oregon question , for fhe information of our rea ders , as well as also for the purpose of marking our derided opposition to the threatened war between th . s country andthe United States , we fcive tbe following extracts from an article in Tait ' t Magazine tot February : — WAR WITH AMERICA : ABB WE JfOT nRETHRES' * tbwev-So \ Meg--dgMMd . _-Awds-TO _' -cb-iKchie Wone , generallv by wars , that I wish the imprudence of uudertaldu tliem were more evident to p _rinci-ii ; _« wk , c " _^' I think thev wonld be less frequent . tt I were
coun-_ _selor to theEmprcs- of _*** . «* ****** - * _-esired to po . se-s _% ome part of the *««" _' « _J " ft . _Signior , Iwould-dvUe her to compute what _0 . e annual t __ _Ts raised fro * _, the territory way amount to , and make Mm an offer of buy in * * * _*» » te « f WW < ° * * twenty veav _*' .-V- _toe . And if I were his counsellor I . 3- _drfcehim to take the money and cede the domimon _ofthat territory . . . Butt _*> _^« *™« _«<* - cent such an oflVr , these potentates should be both -. f then ) reasonable creatures ; and free from the ambition of glory , & c . ; which perhaps is too much to be _snpsosed . " Thus wrote Benjamin Franklin in 17 S 8 .
"It was better to fight for the first inch of Oregon , than the last . Our destiny is onward—its western movement cannot be resisted . * v 7 e caunot recede _; we cannot stand still . . . Texas was our latest acquisition ; I hope it will not be our last . . It ' this administration can secure the peaceable acqu ' uition of California , it will receive the lasting gratitude of the people . [ Voices on tlie 'Whig side—' California . ' 'Of course , California : we must have that / 'And then Cuba V ' We have started , aid must go on . '] Vfe must give twelve months' notice ; and if England persist in her -him , _fta Oregon , } war tans . i __ v \ taWy follow : and it will be a war in which all the strength snd the prejudices of hoth nations will be brought into play . " Thus spoke , in IBIS . General Cass , and other members Of the patty whieh has a majority in the senate , and " an overwhelming majority in the House of Assembly of tbe United States . "
It is melancholy to reflect , that the lapse of sixty years , instead of making the view * and principles of _America statesmen more humane and far-sighted—more philosophical , in ihort—has produced ft diametrically opposite result . Benjamin Franklin , both morally and intellectually , was immeasurably above the contemporary statesmen of Europe ; General Cass , President Polk , and too many more of the existing _ tate « me _ . of America , lave fallen almost to a lend with them . When Franklin , Jefferson , Washington , Adams , organised theTjnion , tbey looked forward to a people and government who were to lise superior to the low _luf-tof t-srritorial aggrandisement , who were to introduce " common sense" into the dealings « f nations with each other , to extend the empire of law aad reason , and narrow tbat of brute force . Wli _. t would these great and good men say to tlie _language that now lings ia the Senate House of Washington !
Previously to the assumption of sovereignty in a territory unoccupied , or occupied on y by savage tribes , tbis public law , Common to England and Jut-erica , regard- tlie region as what civilians . all res nullius ; an object belong _, inginproperty to no one . The theory of law is , that what is nobody ' s property may be made anybody's property by the simple act of taking possession . AH that is necessary is to take posiession , so publicly and with sui-h formalities , that all the world may know that it has been done . " When the nations of Europe have asserted a title to new lands , on the ground of discovery , it has bwen on the assumption that expeditions were fitted out to seek for and acquire those lands ; the act of discovery was the formal and paVIic evidence of the intention to take possession . But so _s-inv discoveries hate been merely
accidental , —so many have been simultaneously made , — so many nominal discoveries hare been actually mere rediscoveries , that this title is universally allowed to be the _weak-st of ail . In the present case , it really seem- out of the question . Discovery on the part ot the United States before Cook ' s voyage to the North-West Coast , _was _impossible _, for the simple reason that there was no United States to make the discovery . Hefore Cook ' s voyage , tin Spaniards had _discovered tlie coast , at least as far north as Xootka , and the Russians as f * r south as Mouut Ellas . The general line of American coast was known to at least two European nations , from Baffin ' s Hay , round by Cipe Horn , to Behring ' - Straits ; and no doubt was entertained of all the land witliin this compass being one great continent . There was nothing left to discover .
The subsequent operations of Cook , Vancouver , Gray , by sea , of _ifackcnsdr _. _Cl-rke and Lewis , by land , are mom properly surveying _expeditions than expeditions of discovery , examinations , in detail , the features ofa . land already discovered . This view wns _recognised aud declared to be public law by ths Xootka convention _betw « eu Spain and England iu 1791 . In that treaty , the coast and continent are ass __ -. n __ d to b- discovered . The two countries solemnly bind themselves to determine their relative positions in that country for the future , —" setting aside all _retrospective -i cassum of the rights and pretensions of the two parti--, *'" on a basis conform-blo to their true interests . " In conformity with this preainable , the country was decl -red open to the trade and fisheries of the subjects of both crowns . A right was _recogttsed in either to plant colonies there , which should be subject to the _sovereignty of the parent state , but wbich , iike the unoccupied territory , should remain open and free to the tradersand fishers ot
the other . In short , the north-westterritory wai , explicitly recognised to be re * _ntdlius ; a tiling , the property of which might be acquired by formally and publicly taking _possession of it . Since 17 D 0 , nothing 1 ms been done there by Spain in the way of occupation . The _treaty with Spain in 1310 , Ujtou which the Americans sometimes repose their claim ! :, ig a blank letter . Spain could convey no title that was not actually _vesud iu her in 1813 : but the only title she then possessed was oue to acquire sovereignty in any part of her north-west territory , by actual occupation , if she pleased : a title which accrued to the United State * , or any other government , the moment that Sj > _- < dtt and Great " _-ritmn disclaimed this sovereignty in 1700— a title upon which the United States profess to have acted on iu 18 U at her settlement of Astoria . Tc _establi-h claims to any p-rt of her _north-Vfcst territory , it is incumbent upon Great Britain and America to prove public and formal acts of occupation .
And in the way of sach proof there is this difficulty : In the beginning « f 1811 , the Hudson ' s Bay Company and ¦ the North-west Company ( Canadians ) had pushed forward their out-settlements to the northern hea l-water « ofthe Columbia . In 1311 , the settlement of Astoria was founded by the agents of J-cob A . tor , a merchant of Xew York . The British _eompanies having learned bis intention to form a settlement iu the North-west territory , iastructrd their agent- to occupy the ground brf-re him . It was a race between the British subjects and the American citizens ; the first ; to carry their fnmu _" erpos t * itt Oregon as far to tlie south , the latter as far to the north , as p » -sibU . They met ou the lower C-l uab _ a , as the _Cyreniatt and _C-irtl . _agei . ian emissaries , on a similar _expedition , met long at the
ago Syrtes . The British reached the north bank ot the river , and the Americaus th .-. south , within four-an _> twenty hours of « . ch _sther . Fort Vancouver is the rksuit ol the Briti-. li expedition , as Astoria wag of _'uie American . During the war whieh broke out in 1812 . _A'toria was occupied by the _Hritisli ( it had , by the way , teen previously sold _ y A * tur * s partners to the servants of the _Xortli-we-it Company ) , but _removed at the peace . Xo further s-ttlements were formed by either party till 1 S 13 . when a convention was entered into , which reserved -. cither nation its fall claims , but established a jointorrupancy of the territory for a definite period . Siuc 1313 . ther . } can have beta no taking of _xxt- ' srssion by * Ulier party ; aud really all that had boen done before , seems too slight and too limited to convev to eith r nation
the sovereunty of the whole territory . The relativ . positions of the British and _American nations in Orejfou appear to ba—since 1 . 12 ( and perhaps tartlet ) . UritUh _e-iL-ration has been _gradually extending from Canada ; andthe Hudson ' s Bay territory to Oregon . Sine 1 S 1-, the Ua _' tcd States e __? : {_ r __> i- _ has _j _ ra « _l _ ally been extending i tO Oregon . Under the convention ot ISIS , tho _occupatioa vf the territory by is citizens , could convey no right of -OT- _ _vijiity _t- _» either g . _tveruiuent . Th _ r _ has been ¦ n . ttt . rit . risA government in Oregon . British citizens -h- » ve remained subject to British laws and tribunals , American to American . The pi ogress of s-ttlement has rendered the continuance of this state « f aff-. n inexpedient . A territorial government is required . Am * rica and England och view with equal jeal . usy and distrust the _contit-teucy of the whole territory being subjected to the other . There is nothing for it but to divide the territory , and no ruie of _division but the relative interests _, of the t « v _<_ _cl-inwnte . In the _lmguage of the
X _* 4 tka-irareuti . il , it is necessary to "determine their relative position in Oregon on a basis _omiformaMa to their true interests . " At lirst view , the fairest method would seem to be . to divide the _farritory as uearlv aspos-Hble , acre for acre . But . iu reality , if either herebv acquired a Kirt of ibe territory oc . uj . ied bv citizens o ' f the _ouur _. _its "true interest *" would not be consulted . It « not territory , hut _u-iffinji and loval subjects that Strengthen a gove . n __ nent . The nationalitv of the settkr- ought to be the rule of division . To the best of our _tan-vledge , _rte bulk of the American settlers are to be _fL-aud in the WW 4 nlmi . v _^ . . „ nd in _t _,, rJ ( . _- tT of _J-ort _* _lw _« s _; the bulk ofthe British around Fort > -Uc <_ _urer , and at the settlements extending from the _lower _C-l-iniYia to the Straits of John de _Fuca . Taking -ta _n-WMfetaj of r-ie settlers as our guide , the line of t-c Lower _Columbia , and of the Salmon River , to the sotum of the latter , and theuc- along the Uockv _Uou-iiaras , 11 tlie parallel of forty-nine degrees north , appears the most eligible bouudarv .
We will not .-it present dilate on the comtnun places against war . _i . \ _-Kf ; tUe truths from the pulpit , thty ar _# , « e fear , toj _fa-ir . liar to have the effect th-y ought to luve . _^ But lct tin most hardened advocate of war , shutting his eyes and e-ire to tlieir _images . u * k himself what will _ -t _ _it-pr « brolec-as-q - ei * . ce- of England aud America _ _, _* ___ . ; r to war ab > ut _Oregon . American privateers tri : l co _ cr the seas and _ptllagti our _jyercliantineii , and on oar pan ra-l .:. t . o : i will b _. cxerc . s . d . Au _Aweric-m army _svili invade C _ _iu _ i < J : _* . ; : ; nd Br _& ii . sqatdrou * will
" And I Will War, At Least In Words, I A...
bombard Boston , XewTork , New _OrW and btock . de the Chesapeake . This is but the _overtju-e . _JMsr na . of themselves or allies . . # ' * * . * . nation called the English has been formed out of a mixture of races within the narrow circuit of the southern portion of one of the British islands . By decrees , it has engrafted its laws , morals , language , on all the divisions of the islands . _Wantiiig elbow-room at home , it has spread itself over the earth . North America , and the Antilles , are filled with it . It is occupying Australia and Oceania . It hae seized on tbe southern _eitremity of Africa . It rules in _Hindostan . Already it has spilt up into two natons . part obeys the occupant of
the old throne in London * , par t a Republican president in Washington . There mny be further divisions . A great independent English republic may bave its seat of government in Sydney . A warrior ca 6 te of English race may enthrone an elective emperor in Calcutta ; and the office may remain for centuries in one family . But the language of Milton , the faith ofthe English Bible , tbe general principles of equity disseminated through our law volumes , like Gratiano _' s two grains of wheat hid In two bushel , of chaff , will be tbe common mould in which the thoughts and feelings of all these people are cast . Into whatever system of states the world may then be dirided , those of English race and English faith will predominate . Now is the time , when these kindred nations are but two—before circumstances have greatly varied their habits of thought , to lay the foundations ofa more just and humane system of public law , to regulate their
mutual relations , than has prevailed among states speak _, ing divers tongues . The good work has beg un in Eng land—niU America hang back ?
Dreadful. Persecution Am) Escape From Si...
_DREADFUL . PERSECUTION AM ) ESCAPE FROM SIBERIA OF POLISH PRIESTS . The Brussels _Jwrnol publishes the following details of the cruel treatment to which the Catholic priests are subjected in Russia . In the autumn of 1842 . nearly 800-families of the diocese of Podlachia in Poland embraced the Greek schismatic religion ; some being constrained by the lash ofthe knout , others yielding to the temptation of gold , for it is thus tliat in unhappy Poland conversions ofthe relig ion of Russia are effected . Soon , however , these sad victims to the intolerance and roachi & velian arts ofthe " Popes" or Greek priests , obeying the voice of then * former pastors , returned to their primitive belief , which most of them had preserved intact at the bottom of their hearts . But knowing the dangers to which they exposed themselves by braving the anger of their new
masters , many sought safety in exile , and took refuge in Hungary , Galicia , and Posen . Unable to avenge themselves on the fugitives , the agents ofthe Emperor fell on the ecclesiastics who bad influenced the return of their flocks to the true faith , and on the night of Jan . 8 , 1818 , 248 Catholic priests , who had contributed to these re-convcrsions , were seized , chained hand and foot like a troop of bandits , and hurried , under the guard of a numerous escort , to Minsk . Here they passed six months , condemned to the most severe _andrepulsive labours , watched by pitiless seids ( Russian soldiers ) , and unceasingly a prey to tbe attacks of vile sectaries , who had recourse to both violence and trickery to obtain their abjuration All , however , preferred the most cruel tortures to apostasy , and among them might be seen renewed those admirable instances of devotion to their faith which
signalised the martyrdom of the nuns of St . _Basd . This resistance to the attempts of their converters was a crime which merited severe chastisement ; and accordingly they were punished by exile to Siberia ! The order soon arrived to transport all the rebels , without exception , to these icy deserts . They were bound band and foot , and confined in cellular carriages , lighted day and night by a lamp suspended from the roof of each cell , and in these gloomy moving prisons they traversed the immense distance which separated them from the horrible regions to which Muscovite despotism had banished them , perhaps , for ever . Scarcely had they arrived at Tobolsk ( 1500 miles from Minsk ) , when death swept away 143 of these unhappy ecclesiastics , whose perseverance in the faith of their fathers had dragged them into exile in thsse frozen deserts . Those who survived their companions
were placed in the fortress ofthis city , along with the most abandoned criminals under thesame discipline and at the same labours . "Water and black bread , such was the common food . They were condemned to saw timber and cut down the trees in the neighbourhood ofthe ritidel _, and when their fatigued arms refused to continue this hard toil , the knout was speedily applied to stimulate their limbs , stiffened by cold and lassitude . On the 8 th of May last a nobleman of Tobolsk rejoieed that on that day a son had been granted him , to perpetuate his name and raee , believing he could not better evince his joy than by distributing an extraordiua .-y ration to eaeh of the prisoners in the citadel of seven pounds of meat ( which these unfortunates bad not tasted since their captirity ) , sixteen pounds of bread , two pounds of honey , and fonr quarts ef brandy . This was an nnusunl festival for these poor
priests , who , for two years , had lived on black bread and water . They gratefully accepted the present of the nobleman , but refused the brandy . This refusal saved them . The officers and soldiers under whose guard they were , less sober than their captives , seized with avidity the drink destined for the hitter , and mixing it with honey , compounded a liquor well known in Siberia . This liquor intoxicated them , and while buried in profound slumber , caused by their excess , the ninety-seven ecclesiastics ( all who survived ) resolved to make their escape . Without loss of time they formed their bed-clothes into a cord , by the aid of whieh they descended , one after the other , through one ofthe windows of the fort , and on the last reaching the ground , they hastily gained a wood , into the depth of which th _« y penetrated as far as they could , the better to elude the pursuit of which they could
not fail to be thc objects . They had also taken care to provide themselves with the bread which had been given them . Their course was long , and it would be impossible to relate all the fatigues they had to undergo ere reaching a place of safety . When by clance they fell in nith any habitations , they pretended to be the workmen ofa nobleman well known in that country . At last , after traversing immense 6 teppes , dense forests , and wide rivers , which they were obliged to cross by swimming , they arrived in safety at the shores of tlie White Sea . Here they found a Prussian ship , whose captain took tliem ou board .. In this vessel they were taken to K ' ouigsb-rg , wfcere , meeting for the first time a free country , they couU at last say they were saved , and thanked , witb all tbe effusion ef their heart , Him whose mysterious pi o tee tion had led them through so many perils and so many sufferings to an assured haven of rest .
Alarming Potatoe Riots At Inverness. [We...
ALARMING POTATOE RIOTS AT INVERNESS . [ We take the following account from the Morning Advertiser . Whoever the " blackguard" may be that wrote it , he deserves to be "lynched" for his insolent abuse of tbe poor starving people , who , instead of throwing the potatoes into the river , would do well to throw Mick scoundrels as him in . ] Iveusess , Febeuart C—The searcity of potatoes in this neighbourhood has led to sundry riots , much aggravated by the large body of navigators employed in the vicinity . Unfortunately there is only a small number of
military at Fort George at present , but as many have come into Iverness as could be spared , so as to leave enough for the defence of that important position . There ap |< - ars to be seventy or eighty who occupy the castle , and under the prudent and spirited command of Captain Campbell , of the S 7 th Irish , they have beeu of important use in preserving order , and as yet nobody has been killed , but the naniber wounded mustbe ten or twelve , soma pretty severely , by the bayonets , which the soldiers were obliged to use when retreating to the castle with ahout a score of prisoners ; and some of the g « ntlemen and constables were severely cut by the stones .
lfiu the course ef the night the navigators , of whom tliere are upwards ofa thousand , overwhelm the military , it is impossible to say where this unfortunate affair will end ; the whole town and neighbourhood will be at the mercy of these blackguards forsixdtys , being the shortest period within which we can obtain assistance . Oh ! for twelve hours for our Perth and Inverness railway ! If anything will open the eyes of government , it is the danger ia _whivh we are at present . The riots began on Wednesday , in the attempt to ship soin _» potatoes at Thorn . Bush Tier . The low population ofthe town opposed it guccesefully , in spite of the police magistrates- , andthe military were sent tor and plactd iu th . castle in ease of _ueed . The town was quiet all day on Thursday , being the Sacramental fast-day ; but in the evening the navvies _marchod in from the canal , and being joined by our own mob , proceeded _bLteti windows , threatened or attempted to set _flretoTs * Trovost ' s
distillery , and it was considered proper to order out the military , who , after a brush , succeeded in capturing about twenty rioters , when the mob dispersed . To-day special constables were sworn in , and under cover of a strong body of _censtaUes , with the Provost and sheriff at their head , aa attempt was made to ship the rest of the cargo . About half way to tbe pier the mob attacked us slightly , but surrounded us in thousands ; and , after the sheriff read tbe Riot Act and a proclamation , we continued our m _. rch to the pier . The mob had taken up a very strong position here close to the place of shipment , and whenever the attempt was made to ship the potatoes we were attacked with the utmost fierceness , and we were all , after « rery short combat , obliged to fly . The soldiers were sent lor , but before they arrived our cart nnd its potatoes were sent into the river . The military shipped another , and so the affair ended in tlie meantime . The _seldiers have behaved very well , aad Mr . Tytler and Provost Sutherland are heroes .
There was a riot in Nairn last night ; aud at Cambeltown , Invergordon , Ac , the same spirit prevails , and not a potatoe will be shipped witiiout a military escort , though the authorities assured us to-day there was an abundance in the country . The following proclamation has been issued by the sheriff of the county : — " Whereas , notwithstanding the proclamation issued by tlie provost and magistrates of Inverness on the 4 th _itist ., the authorities of the county and town were this day deforced and assaulted by a riotous mob , compelled t . read tbe Riot Act , and call in thc assistance of the military power .
" The authorities , in addition to the prisoners already in custody , have marked several others , who were active in the riot and mobbing , and they have been informed thatthe public peace is still threatened ; tbey therefore prohibit all parties from _appeariinj on the streets , lanes , aud roads of the town of Inverness and its suburbs , after
Alarming Potatoe Riots At Inverness. [We...
the hour of nine o ' clock of th _. 6 evening ; ahd they hereby intimate that any person bir persons so appearing on the said streets , lanes , or roads , between the said hour and six o'clock . A . m ., to-morrow , shall be deemed and held to be disturbers of the peace , and act and part in the said riot and mob , and shall be apprehended and prosecutod as felons—the Riot Act already read being stiU in force . " The authorities aforesaid , while they ate determined to enforce the taw , take this opportunity of informing the inhabitants , that measures have been taken for supplying the market of Inverness with potatoes . " God save the Queen . " By order of William Fraser Tytler , Esq ., sheriff of the county of Inverness , and James Sutherland , Esq ., provost , and the other magistrates of Inverness . w _P _ _. a . G _ A _ _., Sheriff Clerk . "Alex . _Mact-VIih , Town Clork . " Inverness , 6 th Feb ., 1846 . "
Enteral Snteuigence
_Enteral _SnteUigence
Fik-B In Thb Metropolis—No Less Than Six...
_Fik-b in thb _Metropolis—No less than six fires broke out in the metropolis on Saturday evening and Sunday morning last . Oneof the fire * at the shop of Mr . Re-beck , oil and colourman , 2 , Cambridgeroad , Milo _End-gate , was occasioned by the exp losion of a packet of gunpowder . The proprietor of the shop , who was seriously injured , was conveyed to the London Hospital , where hc remains in a very precarious state . Another fire ofa fearfu character broKc out on tho premises of J . _Slaney , cabinet *» _" _¦*•« !; »» Skinner-street , _Bishopsgate-street . _^ _' _^ _gft where there can be no noubt the hre originated , vntn
allthe valuable contents ( manufactand » _" * _•»• _" _>«* nufactured goods and workmen ' s tools ) was utterly S _^&*** tim _ber damaged in tit . lower part of the _extensive pile of building . Awrui . SHirwB _ cK ,-The barque Bencoplen , Copt . Claribut , was wrecked on Saturday night last , on Taylor ' s Bank , near Liverpool . Only eight , out ofa crew of twenty-one , were saved , by taking to the boat . The remaining thirteen , including the captain , mates , and pilot , were drowned , when the vessel went to pieces , which occurred very shortly after 8 he struck .
A Murderer Arrested . —We learn from tho _Augsburgh Gazette that the murderer of tho woman whose body was found cut up ia different chests at Naples , has been arrested at Trieste , and taken in custody to Naples , where he will thortly be tried . - _Lvckkdurt Fire . —Df . _ ADroi _D-str-chok . —An incendiarv fire broke out on the premises of Mr . Free , fanner , at Eottisbam , Cambridgeshire , on Saturday morning last . The whole of the _prlniises , with tlie exception ofthe dwelling liouse , together with about one hundred and thirty coombs of wheat , the like
_quantity of b-riey _, and otliev agricultural pro-uce , various implements , a _valuable cart-horse , and some swine , wereentir-lydestroyed . The firenextcaught the adjoining farm , the property of Mr . John Kin _« , aHd occasioned immense loss . This was _notall The wind being high , sparks were conveyed by it to some cottages on the opposite side ofthe village , belonging to Mr . Parker , which soon ignited , . . and fifteen dwellings were soon in "ne blazing mass ; and twenty-four poor families have been thn 3 deprived oi a home . . . ¦¦
A _Suir Des _ r . oted ot _LionisiKC—The ship Bayfield was struck by lightning on the coast of Africa , and was immediately enveloped in flames . Tbe captain and crew were compelled to take to the boat for eight days , suffering the greatest hardships , but WCM at length so fortunate as to reach Sierra Leono iu safety . - Ta _ Civil War ih thb _Girv . —At the Central Criminal Court , on Monday , John Kinchin , E . Mackay , John Podd , John Sinclair , and John Ireland—the first-mentioned defendant being the captain of oneof the Watermen's steam-boats , and the others all being in the service of the same company—were chargea with _creating a riot upon the river Thames , and ajs _. with assaulting several of the constables of the City police force , while in the execution of their duty .
The jury found them gd'lty of a common assault , with the exception ; of Sinclair , who was acquitted . Kinchin wait sentenced to be imprisoned forsix weeks , and the others for three weeks each . Fatal Cabt Accident . — On Tuesday afternoon , about twenty minutes after two o'clock , as a man named Robert Fletcher , aged thirty-five , in the eraploy of Mr . James Stone , carrier , of Chinnor , Oxfordshire , was riding in his master ' s cart , driven by his brother , through Fleet-street , towards Templebar , on arriving at Bride-lane he got out of the cart , and while in the act of stepping front th _» shaft to the ground , his foot slipped , and he fell , the near
wheel passing over his head and chest , resting upon the latter , the cart at the time _being laden with a hogshead of sugar and other goods , weighing nearly two tons , which , it is supposed , caused the rupture of an internal _blotd-vessel , as the blood flowed profusely from his mouth and nostrils . The poof follow expired in a few minutes . Exieksive Fire sear Sunderland . —On Friday last a fire took place in the brown-paper manufactory of Messrs . _ lutton Fletcher , and Co ., at Deptford , about two miles from Sunderland . The whole of the valuable maehinery was destroyed , and the property lies a heap of ruins . The damage will not amount to less than from four thousand to five
thousand pounds . A Man Soucitiso to be Transported . —On Monday , at the Central Criminal Court , James Waylett , convicted of stealing a coat , was sentenced to hie imprisoned for twelve months , * the Judge intimating that he might have been sent abroad for fifteen yours . Prisoner : My Lord , that is what I pray for . Although not proved against me , I admit I have been convicted of small offences and imprisoned several times , and it is impossible for me to get an honest living in this country . I hope your lordship will alter the judgment . —The Recorder , after consulting with Mr . Alderman Sidney , said : Prisoner , your application is a very strong one in asking that you m _< y be sent out of thc country . I hope you havo considered your application well . It appears clear that the only chance of your reform , and that at a remote period , roust be in another country , therefore , at your own request , the sentence is , that you
be transported for fifteen years 1 1 he prisoner , whe shed tears , thanked his lordship for his indulgence , and bowing respectfully , left the bar . The Late Explosion at Haswell Collier .. — The special committee appointed by the united committee ofthe coal trade in thc north of England , comprising the Blythe , Tyne , Wear , and Tees districts , have reported against the suggested apparatus for clearing the " goaves" of fire-damp , or of mixtures of common air and _firo-darap , either entirely or to such an extent as to pment an " underflow '' into adjacent parts of the mine . Such an apparatus was suggested by Messrs . Lyall and Faraday , but is rejected by the committee as " difficult" and " oxpensive , " if not absolutely impracticable . Accident on the Great Westers Hailwat . —On Tuesday night an accident occurred on the Great Western railway . No lives wero lost , but several men were severely bruised .
_Colusioks os the _Riveb Mersey . —Two collisions have this week occurred on the river Mersey . Tlie brig Limena , bound lor Puerto Rico , was under sail on her outward voyage : she ran foul of the Pearl barque . Both vessels were much damaged . Tho John Brooks , an inward bound vessel , lying off the King ' s dock , had her bowsprit carried away by a vessel being towed across her bow . _Sk-kuo-Siure Election . —On Friday week , a Mr . Lockhart , the ministerial candidate , was elected to represent the county of Selkirk in Parliament .
COUUITTAL OF A SHAREBROKER FOR FoKGER-. —On Saturday last , Herman Julius Marcus , a stock and sharebroker carrying on business in Leeds , was committed to take his trial on the charge of forgery . Death op H . G . Knight , M . P . —We regret to announce the death of Ilenry Gaily Knight , Esq ., M . P . He died on the 9 th inst ., at 69 , Lower Grosvenor street , aged 59 . Longevity . —The Univers mentions thc death , in Belgium , of a man named Jean Joseph Dinsart , at the extraordinary age of 106 years , wanting two months . Ue preserved his intellectual fueultioa to the last .
The Weather at St . PETBnsn _. B 8 H . —The annual festival of the benediction of the Neva was celebrated at St . Petenburgh on thc 13 th ult ,, but without the accustomed military pomp , on account ofthe state ofthe weather , which had changed from the warmth of the preceding month to a degree of cold equalling about 2 __ degrees of Reaumur , 22 below zero of Fahrenheit . Annexation of Canada to his United States . —A project is on foot to erect a suspension bridge across the river Niagara , at a point between the
falls and the whirlpool , which , it is said , iB quite practicable . S » Robert Peel . —Thursday last was thc anniversary of the natal day of Sir Robert Peel , who has now completed the . Sth year of his age . The Fall of a Warehouse at Liverpool . —The body of Lacey , the man who was missing after the fall of the bonded warehouse in Liverpool , has been discovered under the rubbish in one of the rooms . The unfortunate man was a widower , and has left five children to mourn his loss .
Fatal Conflict wira Orangemen . —The Coleraine Chronicle , an Orange paper , gives an account of a fatal affray between some Roman Catholics and Orangemen , near Maghera , a district famous for Orange violence for many a year . Its result was , that two Roman Catholics lest their lives , the armed Orangemen having fired indiscriminately upsn a crowd . Editorial Life a Vicksburg . —Two or three of the editors ofthe Vicksburg £ * eutine . have been murdered—among them , the lamented Dr . Ilagan ; and we now learn that the life of the present editor is threatened by an armed man , who is parading the " itreets for an opportunity to shoot his intended victim . Resignation of Mr . Mark _PniLLirs _, M . P . —The Manchester u _« . r .. ian states that Mr . M . Phillips is about t _« resign his seat for that town .
_Siij John Ross , the enterprising explorer of tho arctic sens , has been made a bankrupt . Thc debts ' «_ Miabilities are estimated at about £ 10 , 000 , and the assets at nearly . £ 00 ..
The Ten Hours' Bill
THE TEN HOURS' BILL
Meeting Of Mr. 'Tjardnfr's Operatives To...
MEETING OF MR . ' _TJARDNfR'S OPERATIVES TO CONTRADICT MR _BRIGIUS STATEMENTS IN TUE HOUSE OF COM _Robn Bright , M . P ., having , on _Ttaday night , the 2 _. th ult ., in ths Howe , oi Comm ons , on Lord Ashley ' s motion for leave to _^ " _^ 2 Hours' _Factory Bill , made a statement , m . _oggg on to the motion , to the eftect _* . _/^ . an oSusiast of Preston , and his manager , _* ? J _^ £ _KT 5-in the cause , reduced the hours _^^ jg _^ _K ( Mr . Gardner ) increased the speed ol a » «« . engine and other machinery , and _»^ f _JJL _*} time by taking some minutes from _ttegjj hou « ol his D-ODle . " the operatives of Mr . Gardner s » w _* ry _KSiIesday _nSght last , _VX 5 _XS tradicting the statement so made . . Ihe ' meeting _™» hdd in S pringfield-house , Bow . 4 ane , _andthe factory 400 , with some hands from other mills ( but no roas-¦ _" _$ tKS- fMr . _JameaBrown , seconded by Mr . W . -Iy am , Mr . James Walsh was called to the chair
. .. _ .. _„ Mr . Amos Wilson said—lam not an operative of Mr . Gardner ' s , but there is none among you who feels , tliis insult from John Bright more than I do . I have attended here to see whether it be true or not ; if it be true- _^ which I do not believe—then I and others have been instrumental in causing Lord Ashley to err . I believed it untrue from the first , and thought that Mi * . Gardner ' s hands should have an opportunity of repelling it , and so prove to the wwId that John Bright is a man net always giveri to telling the truth . [ Mr . Wilson then read Mr . Bright ' s remarks as reported in the Standard , Times , and Morning Chronicle , which though slightly varied in expression , were all to the same effect . ] Now , _eontinued Mr . Wilson , it is for you to say whether
you have been deprived of your meal time or riot . I don't think you have heen deprived of tea-time , for there is none allowed . [ A person , whose name we did not learn , here cried out , that he did not think there was a factory in the town , or indeed in the whole country , which ha 3 such long meal hours as Mr . Gardner's . There could be no abridgment of the tea hour , for uo time waa allowed for tea whatever * , but with respect to breakfastand dinner hours , no master could bo less exacting than Mr . Gardner . Another person said , " Wehave often left minutes before , and got back minutes after the bell rung , and were never found fault with , " a statement which was confirmed by others present . ] Mr . Wilson then resumed : — It was thought the public might be Bet right by your
meeting together , and adopting a proper motion ; and I r _. « _ vnK _ e ___ d as many of the boys to bo brought as possible , for if any time is taken from you , depend upon it none know so well as the boys ; they look after the clock as sharply 03 anybody . ( Laughter and cheers . ) Mr . John Sergeant said—Having worked for Mr . Gardner during nearly ten years , 1 can say that . no one in _Lancashire keeps better time with respect to meal hours than he does ; and the speech that John Bright has made in the House of Commons is a groi _» insult to him and the whole county . With rejpect to Mr . Heaton , our manager , being " an _enthusUwt in the cause "—well may he be so , and well might any man who has a spark of philanthropy in liis
_Isosom . Mr . Heaton is a practical man ; he h « a worked within the walls of a eotton-mill since he was eight years of age , and is now in his _seventieth year ; so that the enthusiastic support of such a man , who at his time of life can have no object to gain in deceiving anybody , says much for tne justice and expediency of the cause . ( Cheers . ) I have to move the following resolution * , — " That we , the operatives in the employ of R . Gardner , Esq ., of this town , having heard read a portion of a speech delivered by John Bright , Esq ., M . P ., in the House of Commons , Jan . 29 th , 1846 , in which he states , when we commenced workine eleven hours ner day we came to tt
determination to have several minutes deducted from the time allotted to breakfast , dinner , and tea ; unhesitatingly declare this statement to be false and unfounded . In the first place , we have no time whatever allotted for tea . ' Secondly , we defy Mr . Bright or any other person to prove that we have not always enjoyed thc full time for meals allowed by law , _vi _.., half an hour for breakfast and au hour for dinner . And further , we _declara that no man can require and demand a more strict adherence to the provisions of the Factory Act than our esteemed and respected manager , Mr . John Heaton . " - _ Mr . R . Greenough seconded the motion .
Tho Chairman then inquired whether any person present had anything to say _againet the resolution , and none objecting , ne gave _perma-ion to any one to speak in its favour . Mr . W . Ilyam accepted the invitation . The former speakers , lie said , are from one side of the mill ; let me now turn to the other . I belong to the weaving department , being under thc second engine . I am now in my fourth year with Mr . Gardner , and can declare that I never had such bell-hours as I have wider him . We do not always start at the half-hour —many a time not till five minutes after it ; and though it ig understood we should work eleven hours , it is well known that theengftie does not run eleven / two iemales . "No . it don ' t" }; and our allotted time
for meals is not robbed from us to make up any deficiency ( hear ) . I am sorry that Mv . Bright should have sueh an opinion of us working men as to say that we have made false statements in this room before . I am one of those to whom he alludes , and 1 am ready to bear out what I have formerly said to its fullest extent ( hear , hear ) . Did he know what I am acquainted with in Preston , I am sure he would blush to offer a word against the Ten Hours' Bill . I know , at this moment , a } child in this town entirely ruined through being left by its parents , both of whom are compelled to go to the factory , to the care of a young girl ; and it is not that child alone , but thousands in the districts around us are left in the same hazardous situation . ( A woraau ' s voice— " My
lad , that ' s true . " ) Better views are working their way , however ; and the Ten Hours'Bill would yet be passed in the course of a few years , in spite of John Bright and his opposition . It is further said , continued Mr . Hyam _, that the operatives cannot maintain their position unless they work twelve hours a day . Now , I challenge any overlooker , master , or manager , to examine my number alone , and ht will find that for the last eighteen months I have maintained the position which I formerly had . From what I know oi them I can say this also for the other hands in the mill . After some further remarks on the injurious effects of protracted labour on the human system , and the comparative freedom of Mr . Gardner ' s hands from the evil , Mr . Hyam concluded amidst cheers .
fhe motion was then put , when a whole forest of hands were held up in its favour , and it was then declared to be carried . Mr . James Brown then moved the following _resolution : — " That the thanks of this meeting be given te our employer , K . Gardner , Esq ., for the many benefits ho has conferred on us , by reducing our hours of labour to eleven per day ; and that the meeting hope the time is not far distant when all factory operatives will enjoy a good and efficient Ten Hours' I Bill . " Mr . John Anyon : I bog to second the motion . I wish we had more " enthusiasts . " If Jehn Bright were an " enthusiast in the cause , " his own workpeople would be benefitted , and he would be no loser . _Having been connected with factories nearly
twentytwo years now , I know the effects of long hours , aad short ones too ; and were I not an enthusiast for short hours I should be ashamed of myself . Mr . Bright made some statements respecting our speeding the engines . Now , lean give you the facts upen thai point correctly , and show him and the countrj whether thc hour remitted by Mr . Gardner has been regained by that means or not . A 1 _Uconut-tediwith our factory know that for the last two or three years , until we got _Goodfellow ' s patent pistons and buckets , we have been short of speed in both the power-loom and _spianing departments . Both engines , the powerloom one in particular , instead of running eleven per day , did in fact during that time run much less . This arose from a fault in the premises , there hot
being sufficient boiler room ; but since that deficiency was supplied , we have run full time . Mr . Anyon then read from the power-loom engine time book , lent him by Mr . Gardner , the various entries of time lost by the engine every week from the week ending the 24 th of May , 1815 , till that ending the 16 th ult . In conclusion , he would have Mr . Bright and the country to know that the whole credit of originating the eleven hours' system was duo to Mr . Gardner alone ; and that all praise was due to that gentleman for his kind and _cliristian-like conduct in _avowing his work-people more time to devote to their own self-improvement and domestic enjoyments , whilst he still paid them their former rate of wagos undiminished . ( Great applause . )
The motion was agreed to with deafening aud prolonged applause . The Chairman then observed—I recollect that , on the second reading of the Ten Hours' Bill the last time it was presented , this same gentleman , John Bright , came forward , and told the houso he was prepared to prove that the milliners of London worked twenty-two hours out of the twenty-four the whole year round . ( A laugh . ) This was said by the same individual who made the same statement last Thursday night with respect to your employer , which you have to-night seen clearly disprovod . I leave it to { yourselves to judge whether human nature can labour twenty-two hours a-day the whole year throu and cries
gh . ( Laughter , of "no , no . " ) Now then , judge for yourselves of Mr . Bright ' s veracity . Mr . Amos Wilson then moved a vote of thanks to Lord Ashley ; and having addressed the meeting at Borne length , concluded by observing that their meetme tf- ether was tlieir own spontaneous act ; they hail felt the insult offered them by John Bright , and had met to repel it , and defy him or any body to prove that their employer had deprived theiuof any portion oi their meal hours . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Anyon seconded the motion , and said that when he formerly spoke he had intended to give Mr . Bright credit for one truth he uttered concerning Mr . Gardner - hands , and that was that they worfe « l
Meeting Of Mr. 'Tjardnfr's Operatives To...
harder , in the eleven than they did in the twelve hours . [ A voice— "Aye , because we are not so jaded . " ] The motion was then agreed to . Mr , James Brown moved the thanks ofthe meeting to the Central Short Time Committee , for the patriotic arid benevolent manner in which they carry forward the Ten Hours'Bill agitation . Mr . John Sergeant , in seconding the motion , testified to the deserts of the committee , he having attended the meetings of the delegates at Manchester last month .
The motion was agjreed to . Mr . W . Ward ( the same who took part in the proceedings at an earlier stage , and who is one of those unfortunate victims of industry , styled" factory cripples" ) moved a vote of thanks to Mr . Oastler . He said that however painful it was to have the finger of scorn pointed at him in the streets , he was not ashamed of his misfortune . It was the manufacturers , he considered , who had done it—those for whom he had worked fourteen , fifteen , and sixteen hours a day , when only about fourteen years of age . The motion was seconded by Mr . R . Greenough , and agreed to . The meeting then broke up . —Abridged from the Preston Guardian .
Lord Ashley And The Ten Hours' Bill. Bra...
LORD ASHLEY AND THE TEN HOURS ' BILL . Bradford , Saturda _.. —The usual weekly meeting of the Central Short Time Committee of theWeBt Riding took place at their committee room last night ; Mr . Charles Howard in the chair , * who , after a few appropriate remarks , callod upon the secretary , Mr . Balme , to lay before the committee such information as he might have received since their last meeting . The Beeretary proceeded to lay before them the result of their last meeting ' s request to Mr . Walker—that hc would be pleased to bring
before tho candidates and electors ot the West -tiding , on the day of nomination , which took place at Wakefield last Wednesday , a report of which was read from Friday ' s Times . He then drew their attention to the address which he had issued to the electors of the West Riding , thanking them for the very hearty reception which was given to the Ten Hours Bill brought before them last Wednesday . After which the secretary laid before them an address whicli he had received from Lord Ashley , announcing the resignation of his Lordship ' s seat in the House of Commons ; in reply to which the following address was unanimously adopted : —
" THB _EEPLT OP THE _CEHTB-L enoET time committee Of -UE WEST KIDINO , TO ' LOBD ASME - ' - ADDRESS TO THEM OK DESIGNING BIS BEAT IN TBE BOUSE OF COMMONS . . "My Lord , —It is with feelings of the deepest sorrow that we have received the announcement of your lordship's resignation of your seat in Parliament , Although we perceive , in this procedure , the manifestation of that honourable and noble principle which has alwajs been conspicuous in your lordship ' s character , yet wc cannot forget that , in the course your lordship has pursued , the most serious interests of a large yet powerless class of our fellow beings are placed in jeopardy by the withdrawal of your humane and influential advocacy of their claims in the House of Commons .
"Vfhon we reflect that the _amellorationi . . which have taken place in the condition of tho juvenile operatives employed in factories ave mainly attributabl . to your lordship ' s indefatigable exertions in Parliament , and that without them their degraded position in the scale of humanity would have been comparatively unknown in the legislative assembly , we feel an amount of gratitude which we cannot adequately express . Yet , when we consider that the improvements which have been made in the factory system fall far short of the requirements of justice—far short of what is essential to the rights and very limited comforts of onr children and tbe manufacturing population generally , and of which further Improvements your lordship has been the unflinching Parliamentary advocate ; and when , moreover , we perceive so formidable an array of interested and unrighteous
opposition to the claims and necessities of the working classes , we feel that , by your lordship ' s relinquishment of your seat in the House of Commons , our prospects are less flattering , our expectations are less confident for the time , and the most momentous question of the age—the Factories Bill—may be subjected to a further distressing postponement . * v 7 e do trust , however , that your lordship will be reinstated in your senatorial capacity . IV * trust that the electors of _Dsrsetshtre will do credit to themselves and justice to the country by inducing you to resume your seat with an accession of influence to _yourjolitical station , and that all these things whiebjat present seem against us , may , by God ' s blessing , be made subservient to the advancement of the measures which for so many years have been under jour lordship ' s guidance and care .
"Signed , on behalf of the Central Short Time Committee of the West Riding of Yorkshire , " February G , 1846 . "Johs Bams , Sec , •¦ To the Right Hon . Lord Ashley . " An address to Mr . Fielden , M . P ., was next road and adopted . It was resolved that the best thanks of the committee be given to tkeir friend Mr . Walker , for the able manner in which he brought the subject of the Ten Hours' Bill before the candidates and electors ef the West Riding , on Wednesday last . After some other local business had been transacted , the meeting adjourned at half-past ten o ' clock .
ELEVATION OF LORD ASHLEY TO THE PEERAGE . [ From the Morning Chronicle of Wednesday . ] We hear that Lord Ashley is to be immediately raised tothe peerage . If the rumour be correct , the fact will be welcomed by the country as » welldeserved tribute to the personal character of one whom nature and fortune have already ennobled Lord Ashley ' s generous sympathies for the poor and the oppressed have removed him sufficiently from the sphere of mere party politics , to render his retirement from public life an event which men of all classes would deplore . Differing as we do from many of the views of the noble lord , we have never failed
to recognise the honesty of purpose by which his public conduct has been guided . We have not unfrequently _endeavoured te expose what we believe to be his errors ; but it would hare argued a signal want of candour to attribute those errors to any other cause than an inadequate examination of the bearings of the subject on whicli the noble lord _' B best known efforts at legislation have been made . High qualities , both of head and heart , have alway _. been evinced by Lord Ashley , whether in the conduct of measures like the Mines and the Collieries Act , upon which he carried public opinion along with them , or in the management of his Factory Bill , upon which we believe the sense of tbe country has been against him . Such men are not so common in Parliament that
they can be easily spared . We regret , and the public will regret , Lord Ashley ' s retirement from the House of Commons ; but as he has felt it necessary to relinquish his scat , it is satisfactory to think that the legislature will not lose the benefit of his services . The Premier has not made any promotion which wiil do him more honour than the calling up of Lord Ashley to the House of Peers . It is rumoured that Lord Ashley will succeed Lord Lincoln at the Woods and Forests .
Ahrbican 0_U70ur.—The Aw York Herald Thu...
Ahrbican 0 _ U 70 _ur . —The AW York Herald thus amusingly describes the speech of one of the war patriots : — " Mr . Chipman , in the Ilouse , to the infinite diversion of that honourable body , and the people in the galleries , talked of ' the _mi-ille extreme , ' aud of ' escaping Syllabub to be swamped on Carrybobus , ' of Jefferson ' s gunboats . _*—
"' Here is _gun-beat number _one"Wiggle-waggle went her tail , And pop went her gun ;" and positively affirmed that he would rather be blown np by the British in the capitol , than surrender the first soli _, toy square _jard of Oregon , or the first pebble south of 54 . 40 , washed by the attrition of the _wavei of the Pacific intO the rOUndcd form Ofa semi-circular triangle . And then he told us of the old fable of the hedge-hog and the tnak-t , and said tbat this old British hedge-hog would find the American snake a regular boa-constrictor , that
would gulp him down at a mouthful—hair , bristles , quills , and claws . And then he pledged us , in the event of war , that Michigan would take Canada in ninety days ; andifthatdidnot suit , that they would give it up , and do it over again in ninety , without asking the three days' grace , according to law . But , to be serious , Mr , Chipman spoke like a patriet ; he was strong , he was grand , he was sublime—frequently dipping , at an acute angle , into the ridiculous . But he was funny , and he wound up the proceedings of the day in a hearty round of
laughter"' Thrice renewed , and thrice again . '" Fatal Accidest ok ti » _Rivhr . —On Sunday afternoon , about two o'clock , a female , about eighteen years of age , named Mary Ann Knight , whose parents reside in Ship-yard , _Temple-bar , was plaving with a child , her brother , on the Upper Templebar Pier , and when in the act of stooping to raise tlio child from the deck of one of the inner barges it gave a lurch , and both ftU under the rail into the water . The tide , which was ebbing at the time ' carried both under'thebarge , towards tha lower floating pier . Mr . Hill , the _pier-master on the upper pier , hearing the cry of a woman and child overboard , ran to the lower pier with all possible haste and jumped into a boat alongside in an haw . < _nl
child was floating on ita back , and the tide in a few seconds more would have drawn it under the barces of the lower pier , wheu Hill reached over his boat _, and recovered the child . He then went roundte the Temple side of the lower pier , and saw the _youne woman - shawl floating ou the surface of the water and put his anu underneath , in the expectation of being able to recover her , but , unfortunately the shawl had become detached from her _persoj _. and hS wasnot again seen . Hill continued _ iis JeS fo ? some time , the drags were thrown out , and every Z _ertion was used to recover the body , in which he ul « . _mately succeeded . The child was taken ome / and was reported tobe going on favourably . An inoS Xjt ' the _^ of A * * _We « on i _tSSK _dtthiSdSn l _? , med averdict rf " Acculcnt » i
Tmpmal Yarlfamtnt
_tmpmal _yarlfamtnt
House Of Lords-Mondat , Fbb » Public Wor...
HOUSE OF LORDS-Mondat , Fbb » PUBLIC WORKS ( IRELAND ) BILL The Earl of St . Gmmains , in moving the _. econ . _i reading of this bill , briefly explained its provision . With respect te grants , it would place a furth er _<« , «_ oi £ 50 , 000 at the disposal of the Board of YY \ ff and provide some further facilities for making grant . and with respect to loans for drainage and other im ' p _.-vetaents , it would extend the time from three to twenty years . The commissioners would 6 e enabled to bring home to the very doors of the peasantry tha means of profitable employment , which was the relief to be looked to in the present emergency . No man too , could have seen the great public works execuUd within the last few years in Clare , Antrim , and _otkut counties , and the effect produced by those improve .
mente , without feeling that a more profitable invest _, ment of capital could scarcely be found . The power of consumption on the part of that country was likely thus to be incalculably increased , and the moral and social benefits to be expected should induce us make every reasonable exertion to promote the progress of those improvements . ( Hear , hear . ) Lord Moh _. _ as _ _ approved of the bill . Nothing could be a more grievous mistake than to suppose that the present pressure on the people of Ireland was but a slight pressure ; yet the magnitude of the evil and danger awaiting that country did not seem to have come sufficiently home to the minds of some persons . The reports presented to government not merely shadowed forth a probability of future
calamitous results , but forewarned them ot a slate of things the most distressing and appalling . In the report of Messrs . Lindley and Playfair , dated 20 th Januarr it was stated , "that of thirty-two counties in Ireland not ono has escaped failure in _thepotatoe crop ; of 130 Poor Law unions not one is exempt ; of 2 , 058 electoral divisions , above" 1 , 400 are certainly reported as having _suifered ; and we have no certainty , until the receipt ofthe more minute returns now in progress of completion , that the remaining 600 havealtoge ther escaped . " For those persons who were connected with Ireland thiB matter opened anticipations of evil without example . ( Hear , hear . ) They bud to deal with distress in the thirty-two counties of Ireland at the beginning of the year , and the want
ot food m that country would be followed by fever and other calamities . Tho noble lord proceeded to advocate extensive public works , and a different distribution of the sum annually granted to the constabulary fund as the most immediate and effectual mode of meeting these gr _<* at evils . By a different appropriation of the £ 190 , 000 a-year , from the payment of which it was proposed to relieve the counties in respect to the constabulary force , a new epoch of civilisation and improvement might be commenced in Ireland , by applying the money to the purpose of opening new lines of communication , assisting the drainage of the country , and making all those local improvements to which the noble lord opposite hud alluded . This sum thus annually applied would call
forth funds from other parties , either public bodies or others who were locally interested , and the sum applicable to the purposes he had specified might bo found augmented to perhaps £ 400 , 000 . They might depend on it that the spade , the mattock , tne theodolite , and tlie civil engineer would do more for the peace of Ireland than any other measures _. The Duke _of-WmiitotoN # aid the proposition of the noble lord , with reference to the constabulary fund , was under consideration . Lord C-iword approved of the bill , and the principle of giving relief by the prosecution of public works . The Earl of Devon , after referring the report of the Irish commission on the subject of constabulary force ,
said he thought it was most advisablo to afford grants of money , not only for the prosecution of public works properly so called , but also in aid of those works which he considered of still more importance —namely , tho » e which tended to promote the agricultural improvement of the country . He believed that if such improvements were carried out to a considerable extent , they would not only tend to relieve the existing distress , but would lay the foundation of an increased amount of produce from the fertile soil of Ireland , which , in h ) s opinien , would be the best safeguard against the recurrence of such a calamity as was now impending over that country . The Earl of Rods * said , as a resident landlord ia Ireland , he felt much indebted to her Maiestv ' s
_eovernment for the propositions contained in the hill now before the house . He had listened with sincere _gratification to the observations of tbe noble lord opposite ( Lord Monteagle ); but he had heard with regret the noble lord's gloomy anticipations as to the apprehended famine in Ireland . He was sure that the statements of the noble lord as to that part of the country with which he ( Lord Monteagle ) was acquainted were correct ; but he was sure , also , their lordships would be happy to hear that in the north of Ireland , in which he ( the Earl of Roden ) resided , although there might be individual cases of distress , that distress did not exist to anything like the extent to whicli it prevailed in the districts to which his noble friend had referred . As to the
constabu-Iary force , he thought its management was too much in the hands of the government , and this caused dissatisfaction among the local magistracy , many of whom declined to act iu consequence . The Marquis of Lanbdowke did not wish to pronounce a hasty opinion on this subject ; but he considered that the suggestion of his noble friend , that an amount of money should be annually expended in promoting the extension of public works iu Ireland , was far preferable to the relief of the country from the expense of supporting the police . Lord CorrE . _viiAU objected to the bill , as diminishing the security of parties who bad advanced money for private improvements , and who might , in consequence of the operation of certain clauses , find themselves in tho position of second instead of first mortgagees . The Earl of MooxrcAsnEt , said , that as a Poor Law guardian himgelf , he could declare that the
noble baron ( Lord Monteagle ) had not exaggerated the state of distress of the people in the south of Irelaud . Great anxiety had been shown to provide employment for the people , but in his opinion the works were not brought forward in sufficient time to be of any advantage . In his own neighbourhood tho price ot ; _provisions had risen extremely high , and this month were sold at the prices of June and July , and in the course of a month more he was told ' there would "be no potatoes to be had at any price whatever . He was residing in a part of Ireland that was unusually tranquil ; but in the last ten days or a fortnight very unpleasant symptoms had beenmanilest-d —armed parties appeared parading in the noonday and several murders had been committed ; and lie was sure that they would see more serious tilings still before long . After a few ' words from Lo « l Campbell , on the point mooted by Lord Cottenham , and from Earl St . Germains in reply , to the effect that no new principle , as to securities , had been introduced into this
measure _. The bill was read a second time , and ordered to be committed on Friday next . Their lordships then adjourned .
HOUSE OF _COMMONS-MoxnAi , Feb . 9 . ti , _™ _^ _^ ' _^^ _Respected discussion oa the government measures was nearly as intense % Z X _, If U _? eVeni ? , _* when Sir 1 * _S _opeS them to the house The strangers' gallery * . * opened long before the Speaker ' s arrival and was ( _lensel y througed in a few minutes . The Tody of ™ house , was _mwe numerously attended by members than is usual at the sittings of the _hou- » o at this period ofthe session . What * gave the _Sfe an ut SL _* " _^ _* f bustle was the fact & on the floor and on the seats near the members wen . piles of petitions , _someofthem of no slight ™ S -ions , the greater paction of which had , _\ o fit reference to the important question ofthe evening . rhe _Sr-AKEx took the Chair tt the usual hour ; fmmediately after which Lord Morpeth _aoneared _ _J X _ bar to take the oaths and his _seaffol _: S S 3 . fifi of _Yorkshire . The noble lord ( who was Set mthloud cheers by the Opposition as he _aonSed ) asar the tabIe * *' _wSrtSl
Mr . Macarth y also came to the table to tike the i « r . serjeant Stack Murphy . The hon _maml « r was accompanied to the tabkf-y Mr . _O'cSnSii PROTECflON AGAINST FOREIGN
COMPE-„ . _ TT TITION . o _£ > a . i 1 " _* 0 _™ presented a petition siened bv 2 700 inhabitants of the town ami county _ThMSedv / , tb _^ , l lei , ? ' They 8 tated «»* _*•«* viewed with much alarm the measure nronosed bv _KSSi _^ the _^^ _SSfSZm S } n _S ° _W _^ _WMfM _Pr oposed to them ; and that t at _wll f K 88 tbe ° ?' nm of tlie lan <* _™ re the Wnmi _i _i ° f _^ e _*» _- » ctu « . rs , whose wages had become reduced m consequence ofthe competition with manufacturers abroad .
A great number of petitions for the total repeal of the torn Laws , and m favour of protection to agriculture , were presented . _toiXfcP ™ , , ? ment * P _« o « from the _RSlSl » S _W . , faX * Huddersfieid , Barnsley , Yn _fc & _^ f towns in th e West Riding of ll . lite * n e e _? tcnt of m Petitions , all of _wltich SL « i 9 V _" _" _*/« eption , expressed _themsclves Btioi gly m iayour ; of the proposals of the right hon . gentleman at the head of the government , except m tar as tliey all urged the immediate abolition of the torn Laws . On the motion that thc petitions do lie on t _« table , r
Mr . Ferrand rose , and said—I should like to learn from the noble lord whether the signatures to these petitions are thc free and _unbiased acts ol the parties concerned ? Because I am prepared to prove that the workine men in the different factories in tht West Hiding of " Yorkshire arc obliged to go into the _couiitins-liuusos of the different manufacturers—(" Order ! " ) .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 14, 1846, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_14021846/page/6/
-