Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 15th January 1848, Edition 3 of 3, Page 3, PniLASTnitopr.—The benevolent John Howar...

Page 3
Page 3
3 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • ^oetrjn
    • 3Wifeltt&
  • Text (10)
  • 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.

      H ^Oetrjn Bstter Purpose Could Be Found ...

      January 15 , 1848 . ____^ „ , __ __ ' y H _E N 0 RT H F _rt N stab -

      ^Oetrjn

      _^ _oetrjn

      The Blind Boy's Song . Bx Ebnsst * Jokes...

      THE BLIND BOY'S SONG . BX EBNSST * JOKES . Oh ' wearily , wearily whirls the world , _vVearil y rouad and round ; While tbe atoms ef Ufa are _unceasingly hurl'd Death ' s seed for the chilly ground . And my spirit sits in its _darkened den , And lists to the mighty din ; For gloomy without 5 s the world of men , So I ' ve hung up a lamp within . Hstk ! my spirit sits in its solemn cave , And lists to the ocean of life ; TJp— oTer— and past—there rushes its wave ; With its froth , foam , bubble and girife .

      And ever , as sinks the ebb away , I think , as the pluses fly ; That men may pity my darkened day , Bat they are more blind thaa I ! _Tsey cannot see—who ha 3 robbed their right In the shadow of Alttr snd _Tbrons ; Oh J Liberty—Liberty—couch their sight ! And let tbera distinguish thoir own . They cannot see—the thief at their door , Who steals in the cpen day ;

      Oh ! Let tbem be men like their fathers before , Asa how he wiU slink away ! They cannot its —a friend from a foe , But march like a blindling herd , _Against their own brothers to strike the blow-When their enemies give the word . They canaot see—that the game cf death On the chequered fields of war Is murder , though timed to a trumpet ' s breath Aad loved by a lying law .

      They cannot see—that tbey make the great , That they build Church , Palace , and Throne ; That the power which raUesi another's state Is aids to raise tbeir own . "They cannot _aee—that the charities vaia Of the rich for no gratitude call ; They robbed—and they make jou thank them again _. That tbey did not rob of all ! ' 2 hey cannot see—that a tyrant ' s right , Aud his church and his laws are a He : Oh ! Liberty—Liberty!—court their sight ! For they are more blind than I . And when is it coming , the glorious lime , When the fetters of slaves shall burst , And earth shall be fair as its Eden-prime , And man shall befr _.-e as the first ?

      Oh ! When is it coming , the magical hour , rTIicn Liberty raises mankind I When the arm of ths Giant 6 hall feel its power , And nations shall cease to be blind !

      Caledox Ia. Bt Qeoxqe Hokjisos, Auttior ...

      _CALEDOX IA . BT _QEOXQE _HOKJISOS , _Auttior ot 'M jhacis _' 5 at * -he **? _3 , ' ana _'Timffc , ye , man will ilka " new kirk bae a kirkyard ?' - "I csr _£ _co :, ' : ' f a . _giimpj _; of aula _langsyne , _'—Brsox . 1 h :-i' _-i iesi h « _fv _* ' iu the T _ * r . 3 _? ' _Cskci ; * I na ; _i e _:-u ; d cv _rhai * r ; ad _roy _£ ame ; - i _~ d _piiyia _nr . hue •;¦¦ ¦ _. . _raises " *'•? tear thu : _.-iVr-- . ir < - _scaroe wi * _th-.-ir , ¦ T :: ¦ ¦ - ¦ ' a ru : ai _.-.. -.- ; : > : h ; _-ie : ! _:. i Y- ~ ' e : ; iir . r .- . A . : >' . :. ; ¦ _¦¦ : . •'' . « bi : s " -air , _^ _" _"VS v " "' ¦ _-. , A _ti ? . i . ii - ' , . Th-- ' _"* . " " . . *» - ¦ ¦ - • : i ' . _- ' : ¦ J .. . .. _i-.-aiu . -r ? . _- -C _:-tiE : ii _brer' 15 , Anu i _' _.-b _.- _-, _n-e to that mud _Hj ( =: r .. t _tbere _hVs merry luen _^; .. ? n _;>> uug , to

      . _Tr ; IirV * fcii _frc-it ; i _^ ' _-: 2 ' ; _Ii . i .-e f _. ! _ttho _weiifct o" _i-j _.-ttiuft ' * ?! : _;;;—• Y _= t ; ere ' * t ., _Ctiidonia ' : i " S ! - deu _' t ti . « - iaa _' _t _f -. _sfeclh .-vine , ; . ' i _.- ' cd _J _.-s _» _iit-r _cs-V . _e-j _tbsn ale , _Aui _jsc-l-t _fhe . 'd been to tne in ' _rind , WheH I was sair to blame myiel _* . I ' ve met with dnbs atitber doors That ne ' er were wet wi' winter ' s snaw _, -Aud ken o—re weel less kindly shores Than those of Caledonia . Here fate , amid a sable race , In some blind freak has cast my lot ; -And gladly , now , I greet the face 0 * ane that hears the name 0 * Scot .

      In fortune ' s strife our friends (!) we tine ; Sly _yonthfu' _frien's where are th « y a' ? They only live ix Auld Langsyne 'The lay of Caledonia ! Sing not to me of sunny climes , Hy brow is _bronz'd wi' summer suns ; -Leave Indian serfs their palmt and limes ; I'd blyther be where _Gadie runs , . _Ataong ay native heather bells ; Frao wealth ' s proud precints far aws ' , " _vVhire _untffeetfd friendship dwells—Context in Caledonia . ' The West her verdant lap may spread—Wi' balmy health perfume the breeze ; But sickness larks within the _ibsde Of fragrant shrubs and fruitful trees , O ! bear me back to flowery Don ,

      Or 3 _waetlj flowing Dde ' s green shaw ; Then rooze wha likes the Torrid Zone—I'd sing of Caledonia !

      3wifeltt&

      3 Wifeltt _&

      The Westminster And Foreign Quarterly Re...

      THE WESTMINSTER AND FOREIGN QUARTERLY REVIEW . January . London : 6 . Lnxford , _Whitefriars-street . Tie opening article of this number of the _WssrinssrsB Review is exceedingly interesting , and deserves no small amount of public attention . With the writer's speculations on the possibility of concentrating in _vegetables * a sufficient amount of the chemical ingredients constituting fle 3 h and fat , sons to pass them at once into the human stomach , without _£ oir , < j through the animal form , ' we will not meddle , bnt vre deem tbe following extract oi too great interest to be withheld from our readers : — JTS-TIGBT _GBASASIES .

      Three conditions are essential to ths process of putrefaction ef grain , viz : —heat , moisture and still air , ¦ With wind moisture is carried of : with cold , the decomposing pro : e 33 is checked , as . may be seen hy the carcases cf animals that He through the winter £ n snowy mountains , and dty up to glue . Without air , _everything 1 = _Uekei up and remains in _slaiu quo ; as reptiles hava been _bciied for ages in blocks of stone or ancient _trees , and then resumed their vital functions unchanged by time . In direct opposition to these principles are tbe granaries of Gn . at Britain and other countries constructed . Their _stti is _generally the _banl £ of a river , or tho sea side . Tfcey are built of many floors at a vast expense . _The-y are provided with many windows , each floor b = 5 ng the _heizzih of a man , jet not permitting more than twelve

      to fifteen inches depth of _t-rain on each floor for fear of _heatiag , unless in the case of very old samples . Men arc continually ejnp ' ojed to turr * the grain over to ventilata it , and clear out the v . rsnin ; and the weevil ia naturalised ia every crevice , as surely as bugs in _aeglectafl _Londonheds , or cockroaches _invest Indian sugar Bhip =. It is the admission of air that permits this evil , that ; _rsmotes germination , that permits tha existence Of rats and mice . In the exclusion of air is to be fonnd tco remedy . The _practicilisation of _this _' is neither difficult _EC-r _ce _? tly : on the contrary , clcse pranaries might te constructed at far lc « s proportional coitthan tbe exist _, icg kind . They might be mde uader ground as v / ell as above _ground ; in mnay cases , better . They might ba constructed of cast iron , like gasometer tanks ; or of

      brick and cement or of brick and asphalte , like underground water-tanks . It is only _requirjd that they should be air-tight , and _con-Sotjuen-ly water-tight . A single man hole at the top , Similar to a steam boiler , is all the opening required , -with au air-tight cover . The air-pump hag long Ceased to be & philosophic toy , and has taken its place in tbe arts as a manufacturer ' s tool ; and no difficulty would . exist as to tbat portienof the mechanism . ' Sow , if we ! _sup 5 o = e a large , east iron or brick cylinder sunk in the ; earth , the bottom _beisg conical , and the top domed over ; an air-pump adjusted for exhausting the air , and an Archimedean screw pump to discharge the grain , we _4 iave the whole apparatus complete . If we provide for v ? et gTain , a water-pump may be added as to a leaky _sh-p . Suppose bow , a cargo of grain , partly germina- _;

      _tici _* , _a _? . d _contaising rat ? , mice , and _tveevil , to be shot j Into this resorvoir _, the cover pnt on aud luted , au 4 the ' air-pump at work , the germination would instantly \ cease , and the animal _fucstions would be _suspended , j If it be object-ad that they would rerive with the ad- \ mission of the air , wa answer that the air need not be _; _aimkted . save to empty the reservoir . If it be con- tended that tha _reisrvoir may _bs leaky , we answer so I may a ship ; an 3 if so , the air-pump must be set _' to _wt-rk ; just as is the _cass with a water-pump in a leaky ship . Ihe cost of an underground reservoir would possibly be j mors tfcaaone above gr . _und , buiithns tha _adrantaje j of _ocenpyinj space of otherwise little value . One ob . ; vious ebe 3 _pacss of this improved ' granary over those cow existing is , that the whole cubic contents may bo filled , whereas , in the _existing mode , not abova one- ;

      fourth of the cublc-conteats _c- » n be rendered available . Bet many existing structures might ba _rendcrjd eligible . For example : the railway arches of tbe Eastern ConntieB , the Blackwall , and the Greenwich . In such cases the gram would be dijeharced into them from _tvagcons on ths line , in the mode used with coals . _IUseri-oirs might be erected in farm yards , and the grain threshed out and carried frem the harvest field direct , with the absolute certainty of preserving it any length of time that might be _dcsire-J . Or , inasmuch as it is a certain thing that all farms must ultimately communicate with _railwavs , by means of cheap _kotse-irains , cr stsam _sidiaas _, in order to work to proGt , it would _' be desirable that the granary should be erected at some central railway station , where a steam mill would do the work of exhausting the air , _discharging the grain by Archimedean _ecrawwhea required , and grinding it into _ms & l . _ftu

      The Westminster And Foreign Quarterly Re...

      _bstter purpose could be found to which _to-apply the atmospheric engines and stationg of the Croydon Railway with their _existing air-pumps . Communicating with all the southern _wheat-growing counties of England and also with the Thames , no spot could ba mora eligible at a central depot . Ia connexion with these _arrangement , it would be desirable _ta minimise the cost of transit in every possible way . The articles on 'Aerostation , ' and ' Animal In _Btmct _? , will be found agreeable reading . We have not room for comment , wishing to extract as largely as possible trom a review of TourgueneiFa 'Russia and the Russians .

      B 035 IAX SLAVBBT . The peasants of Russia wh _« are tha absolute ' property of the nobles , we find estimated by McCulloch ( ia I 88 fi ) at _twenty-two millions ; those belonging to the Crown _, at twenty-one _raihioas ; _while the whole privileged classes do not amount to a million and a half . The law of primogeniture does not exist in Russia ; the estates _aro equally divided among all the sons of a noble , and they all brar , even during his lifetime , the same title as himself , so that it is common enough to find nobles living upon tha labour of only two or thres families o ? serfs ; and in these cases , the naked deformity of the system is , perhaps , more striking than on ths great estates . Some of these poor nobles , however , have the _wisdom to employ their means in some branch _c-f

      manufacturing industry , and others grow rich in the service of tbe state , though seldo n by the most _legitimate mean ?; in _[ gen _: ral , an apparent indifference to fortune prevails among them , not , we need hardly , say , from a lofty contempt far riches or the enjoyments they can procure , bat _bscause ' social _distinction depends mainly upon rank , and that they may always hope that some day the dew cf imperial favour may descend upon them , or , _perhaps , a rich _marmga , _affird them the means of _indu'sencs in the habits of luxury and prodigality for which tha Russian nobles ara notorious . ' Tbis clan of nobility , which the law s _^ _arates irom the rest of the

      nation by barriers which it i 3 continually endeavouring to strengthen , differs from it also widely in costnme , in mode of life , and even in language ( for , even In the ' int ; - rior of private life , the- French language is universally adopts J ) , so that it has the air of a race of cosqu _* rora , imposed by ; on » external force upon the nation , and its instincts , _tendsneiea , and interests are wholly opposed to those of the _sreat majority . When we consider thin , and compare the relative _numbers of these privileged classes , and of the myriads whom they hold in subjection —visions of mighty changes , of _faarfnl retribution , seem _« o pass b » fore our sight , and ' coming events to oast tbeir shadows before . *

      But the day of reckoning is not yet at hand ; those myriad * af _huniin souls yet slumber in happy unconscious _, _ness of their _rights—or that tbeir position is other than a necessity and a law of nature , and it is this circumstance , _perlaps , that has preserved them from'some of the worst evils of slavery . Servitude has not degraded them , ' _sayj Jf , _Tonrgueneff , * it seems , on the contrary , when wa compare this class to ethers , that tbe hardships of their position have served to ' ennoble them . ' Often tbe sou ! is purified by misfortune . Tbiir vices are the » ft cts of their condition ; their virtues are their own , aad so much the more _sacreii _t _^ iat tiie ; c _« n _oxjlj- have been _acquired by _aa incessant _a-ad courageous struggle _uuknowa to the rest of the nation . ' The slavery of the preat bulk of the Russian peopla is of no ancisnt origin , the law to which chiefly this treraen-¦ ! . ' . u- _± : 11 Is to be attributed dating no further back than _ir- . » j-

      • In fracbp backward to _it . _t _sosree the history of _tij . _t . 5 _nati-T . ? . v-.. ' . _ai that the greater part cf them -:: _ij- _"fid muo _; lajrsiU . erty than they _pojsesr . nt present A . wf _ms . n of .- ' . ' . tins ( _Madsmsi de Stael _) _, exclaims ini ' igr .. _int at tbo _i-. ir _* i ;' . e -: v "i ' k _riMf _^ in our time , liberty V-.- i ..: net : n t _li-.-. i ; -ic : ii : out ; o tne _rx-cfije , ' _1-. _isde-p 1-' " ' -,- . -y : h \ y _a _^ v . - _, and _liberty which ie ancient ' A _* _., d . ¦ - V .-. .-- _-nrinjes " - . are •" ¦ ' . _- /' ¦ - ¦ — 'V . the strict _Lis ' orira : acc 2 racy " V : £ fi ; j ' _- » . ' . ' ' . '¦ s __ " * true _Ihii f _.-avsry _, pr ! i : _k-al aoi civil , is .-. new _shimr to Ru » . sis . The hrs : _l- - - -i o : thU cation _Wi-ra the _-aws of the _portb . vnen , which _b-.-e the *;* rm of those _rcost _prteicus ar ; _-. t ~ _,. _;* i fruitf ' .: ! : r ; li '_ ertv of _mv-1- -u time .-.

      : _Thz : nsti ! ' . i ' . !> _'i of _cttar . _dar . i petty juries , _c-r cf the jury _of-ifc-issti _.-n _sicd t . s ja-v of _judgment , _coatinusd 13 p _^ _ist : n liusa : 3 , even a : ver it had _jhskea off tbe _jokf of ths _Tartar , ; ? . p _.-2 ? ler' . i a _ssi-rablies psrtirip » ted in the exerei _? _eof the _sovtrrk-u power . If , in _th-.- end , _? . _bs- ! iuti ? : r . _prevailtd , _stiii = ocisl _slavery was _longuakcorjn ...... ' _< ' _: ir . a usurp' ! -, whe _.-. a artful _iiistorians _compete to Cromwell , but ' . Tho ir . _hypoBri'y « _n- ' . _cinnirijr , and iu the murders by which he was btaiuid , much more _resembled Richard IU ., Boris _Gaiiennoff , was tbe _eiroi author of the degradation of the _Russian people . In the desire to attach more closely to himself the class of small landed proprietors , from which the army drew its strength , be forbade the peasants who lived npon- these lands to quit tbem , * * *

      ' It is pretended that he may have had other motives _. The vast regions added to tha Muscovite empire by the _cosquest of Casan and Astracban _, being , it is said , very thinly peopled , tempted the peasants wha lived on the estate of the small proprietors to frequent emigration ; and they were also often induced to settle on them by the great lords asd the clergy , who had seised on vast tracts in those countries , insomu : h that the villages in the environs of the capital were deserted ;—the historians appeal , in confirmation of this assertion , to the words of tbe _English ambassador , Fletcher , who visited Moscow in 1583 . In the sixteenth century , it might have been excusable to think thus , Mai thus was not yet born ; but tho ? e who , in these latter times , bave re . peated su _: h assertions , might have known that conn _, tries are not depopulated b y emigration . Some historians _as » i _^ B to Boris a more plausible motive , in saying that his determination was _suggested by the example of

      tha neighbouring countries of Lithuania , Livonia , and _E'thonia , where slavery already existed , and with which Rn _* _si _& had cany relations . m . . The law of Borip , nevertheless , fatal as it was , did not establish slavery in all its vigour , as it exists at present . The peasants were attached to the soil , like the _gtebm adsetipli of feudal times in Europe ; hut tbey could not be detached from it by the will of the owner . He could not make domestic slaves of them by taking them into bis personal service , or S 9 ll thpm without the laud on which tbey subsisted . All that distinguishes the man attached to the soil from the slave , such as the Russian peasant of the present day , has been of more recent establishment . How has tnis happened ? Who has rivetted mora and more firmly the chains of the unfortunate peasant , and from a serfage similar to tbat of feudal times has _dragged him down to a slavery almost as severe as that of the African negro ? These are questions which Russian historians and publicists take very good care n » t ta meddle with .

      The Emperor Alexander endeavoured to discourage ths iniquity of _iclllnir the peasanti without tbeir lands ; but the fatili-y of this and maay other praiseworthy endeavours on his part , afford abundant proof tbat de « potism , however powerful for evil . Is almost impotent for good . During the sittings of the _congress at _Aix-la-Chapelle or Laybach—while II , Tourgueneff was in the Imperial _Cjuceil—a petition was presenter ! from some glares , who cotnpiaiued of having been torn from their homes , and sold to a Scotchman , who was the owner of a great iron-foundry in the neighbourhood of St _Petersiurgb , nrhere they were employed in the hardest labour . The

      Emperor expressed his opinion in his own hand writing that sach a sale was illegal . The petition wag sent to the C 9 ur : _cil , and though it was found that both Petrr the Great snd Paul had distinctly declared themselves averse to this practice—and though no law could be found authorising it—it was declared by the Imperial Council to be lawful , simply on the authority of a fiscal regulation of the Empress Anne , which in fixing the sums to be paid to the Crown on all sales , had mentioned also that for peasants sold without 1-nd ; and this was considered sufficient to authorise all such sales . The _roenihers of the Imperial Council who gave this decision were , of course , all slave owners .

      M . Tourgueneff passes in _revlaw tbe various grades of servitude in which the cultivators of the soil are held ; but we have net space to follow hun through the enumeration . In general the condition of tbe peasants of the Crotvn appears to be the _lsast intolerable ; but they may at any time be thrown into the moro _QgKravnta-1 slavery , by being given away , along with the soil which they cultivate , to any eonrt favourite ; sinca the time of the Emperor Alexander , however , this practise has been in a great measure discontinued . In general they are divided into villages or _parishes to each of which a cer . tain _quantitr of land is assigned , whieh is divided into

      small portions to be cultivated fry each family according to Its numbers , and for which they pay a tax er rent , besides the capitation or poll-tax . By means of some formalities it is even possible for peasants of this class , if they can arrange the matter with their village , to ejult it , and establish _themstlves in the towns , continuing of course , to pay their taxes . Some nobles , when their estates become too populous , give their peasants leave to settle in the towns , and follow various occupationspaying , of _courss , their obrot _; but tbe amount of this is quite arbitrary , and _tBey hate at no time the slightest security for their position . AU depends on tbe will of the matter .

      There are also peasants attached to tha mines and works of various kinds , sometimes belonging to the Crown , sometimes to nobles , or even to merchants , who could in no other way become owners of slaves ; and when the number of labourers in the mines are found _insufficient , the Russian government has made no scruple of despatching thither bodies of peasants from tho eountry _, or even of recruits intended for tie array . These unfortunate people , totally nnaccustomed to the kind of work at which they are employed , regard it often with great aversion , are treated with excessive severity , and not nnfrequently perish in great numbers .

      'I willnaver fail / . eaji M . Tourgueneff , ' on every cecasion to protest against tbis measure , as useless as it is barbarous : so great has been tbe impression made on me by the distressing scenes occasioned by it which I have witnc « td on the departure of a contingent which was destiued to varions establishments of the crown . The wives of the recruits were ordered to follow their _husbands , but their children , as the property of the masters , were of course to remain behind ; and the poor mothers would often make their escape and return to their habitations to suckle once more the infants _thsy were compelled to _nbtn _^ Qn . ' Shall I tell ail ? Yes—thoug h the tears . 'fill my eyesmy cheeks turn with ibamo .

      , « The dignity of a mother was not allowed to protect tham ; they were seized aad sent back to the escort that was _carrjinj away their _haiband' i and _tbwe _subjects

      The Westminster And Foreign Quarterly Re...

      _to-eorporal punishment , in tha . Russian sense of that terra ! To this had _thtr ministers of finance been led by their steal for _tbeintereaWof the Imperial treasury ; and the director of the mines ,, a man of education and talent , ba'd _suffered _nimtslf icf beoomo ths accomplice in tbis barbarity , A new proof , to add to a thousand _othars , that civilisation , when it _Dtops at the head and does not penetrate tbo heart , easil y _reconciles itself to all th * horrors of _slavery , * 9 e ' When I have sc « n figuring in _thoKeranua Tables the quantities of pure grid extracted from Ihe government _minep , I have sometimes said to these

      gentlemen—• Would you but make a just calculation of what the cost _hasbee ' a to the State of _themasses of _goM you boast of having drawn from the Russian soil , you would be able to judge whether it would not bo more _advantageous to buy the gold in the markets of _Europe than to obtain it in this manner . Ifw _» considnr the number of men employed in these works , tbe officers required to overlook them , the _priea of tho machinery , and the numerous expenses attending them , it is certain that we shell hare aa immense reduation to make from th * supposed profit of tbe mines of the precious metals . ' Such a calculation has unquestionably never been made . '

      THB BVSSIAN _AKMV . The military strength ef Russia has been made the subject of such ' various statements , that it is well never to lose an opportunity of collecting good evidence concerning it . The existence of an enormous-army cannot , of course , be other than an enormous _evil—md yet it is an un . avoidable one to a Russian government . Some years ago it was found that Its maintenance absorbed nearly the entire revenue ; and since it was thought out of the question to reduce its numbers , tha only plan was to practise a wretched economy in Its equipment and maintenance—such as the reducing the number ef horses re . quired for the baggage of the infantry regiments , and stinting the . unfortunate soldiers In food and clothing . The pay and maintenance of these men is accordingly almost incredibly miserable—fifteen franca a year , black bread and buckwheat gruel , with one pound of meat a week , and , per ' _aaps , some trifling addition on particular

      occasions , such as tbat of a review by the E : nperor . The soldiers stationed ia largo towns have to make out a subsistence as well as tbey can by working as daylabourers ; but in - villages , where they have not even this resource , they are ofion literally dependent on the charity of ths persons with whom they are lodged . Aa the clothing is also extremely insufficient for tbe severity of the olinuto , it will not appear surprising that the rats of mortality in tbe Russian army is very _hie-h . The hardships of the discipline to which they ara _subjectedtbe atrocious _severity ef tho _puniihments inflicted for the most trivial offences , solely at the caprice of the officer—the impossibility of the soldier obtaining any re . dress for tbe most flagrant . injustice , and the heartsickness which often seizss on tha young recruits when they are first torn from th * ir homes , which they can seldom hops to see again—these things aho aro among the causes of disease and death . The army of the Caucasus has suffered terribly , M . Tourgueneff says , from the insalubrity of tbe atmosphere in places where it has

      been in cantonments . 4 France was _deeply moved at tho account of the _Bufferings of ths ioluiirjin Africa ; there bio things a thou-and times more mournful , more terrible , to be related concerning those of Russia—but if there could be found a Blanqui to narrate them , there would bs no Courrier Frangais' to give them publicity . ' Tbo eaormous expense of the exorbitant army , which it rrn . 8 nevertheless deemed impossible to diminish , led to tbe establishment of the military colonies—and if the _operation bad been confined to locating as colonists

      ftiose who were _ilready _joldicrs , there would have been little to say against _thsun ; but as it was thought that by this meana tho army _rrji _^ 'ht ba even increased ( and in this _respcat the government is insatiable 1 , Urge budies o'tlio pe _.- \ san » s of _tb-: Crc- 'vn , not yet enlisted , were orders : ! to the >« ecii ! imie ; . Tin n-i _- _vror seldom made . 1 trw _^ _a ! , tr £ iugh . . Jli _3 interior of tu" , _- _^ fr .. _ftitltouit _a" ~ - - . - - — .. _^ . _vi _. _t- _^^ ae _^ . _^ _e-o-j . _ordering the ej ' _-sibi'Mnseut _Tk-TnY . / v . _;^ . . " .: ' . .. . „ .. _^; ' v .. qaer . es . _trtta that thn _* 9 _tir _& _gv _.-sses _tari- ; fteii awi * .... _^ _J _fJnito to _despair the inbabic « _sts of the _coutitriss oa ? iis r onto .

      I _hsard it s-iid one day in tke Imperial Council , ' jays M _Tourgueneff , ' that tha _peasants of one of tha govern raentH in tVe noijthb . _iurl 3 _Cjd of _Moaaow had left _oiTwerkhYj ! after the Empsror _haii passed that way , under th « _id'athat thoj would now soon be iubj « eted to tha colonial _adminisiratitiu . " _- _" ' What h tha _uae , ' tbe ; suii _' _^ ' of _somag and reaping , when they are goincr to _talte it all _awey from u < . " Some Bulgarian * who bad came from Til ! _kish _Beiijarabis , to . t < _iila in th < t Russian pro . vinces , _to-k- ' right at the mention of _tbemiiitiry _coionie-s , and fled back , ' to seek for protectioa _bsueaC tke salie and the Sultan '

      In these military colonies all labour is performed in common under the direction of the officers ; all harvests are placed in a common magazine . No individual exertion—no voluntary toil—is allowed . Military authority regulates even the smallest details of tbe little households of the colonists . Their cottages are continually inspected ; every piece of furniture , every utensil , arbitrarily appointed a place , and woe to those who neglect orders . ' I repeat , ' said a general , in a proclamation addressed to some military colonists , 'I will be a father

      to the good ; but the disobedient need expect no mercy from me . I will exterminate them from the face of their native land _liko children of perdition . ' All tbe male children ef these colonists beloug _, by their birth , to the army ; all the girls , as they grow up , are compelled to marry soldiers , sometimes chosen for them by names drawn at random out of a hat . The aspect of these villages is said to be mournful and oppressive in tha extreme ; everywhere there is , Indeed , cleanliness and _ordsr , and everywhere tbe most odious marks of despotic authority— ' every where a silence as of the tomb . '

      After all , tha object ol their institution has been according to M . _Tourcueneff . very imperfectly _alt 3 ine ( j if , indeed , it has been attained at all , The expunges of the army have not diminished . Without speaking f the Injustece which formed the very condition of existence of these _military colonies , it is known that forced labour is never productive . The results of the experiment , as exhibited to tbe emperor , are entirely fictitious and would hardly deceive any one who was not willing to be deceived . When _Alexandir was coming to inspect one of the colonies , tho officials usually made haste to collect together all that the whole country round could furnish of cattle and poultry , and sometimes even bough t it with raady money In some distant place , and brought it to tke spot . This was distributed in the village that the Emperor was to visit , that he might believe at least in

      the materhl well-being of these unfortunate people . N » one ever dreamed of inquiring what was their moral condition . The Emperor was _sametimes induced to enter one of the cottages ( it was arranged beforehand which , ) and there he was sure to see the colonists about to sit down to an excellent dinner , the sceno having been previousiy got up for his amusement . One day it hap . penod that an officer , who was escorting fresh horses for a cavalry regiment , was overtaken by au order to stop , and his horses were taken from him and distributed among tho inhabitants of a military colony which the Emperor was about to _inspect . His majesty came accordingly the next day , and was oharmed to find that the colenists were so well provided with fine horses , and in the same place lie was * shown large stacks of com , which , in reality , only the outside was corn , the interior being filled with straw and rubbish

      Mortality , says tbo reviewer , _prevail in the Russian army to an extent surpassing anything that the imagination can conceive . In the last war with Turkey , more than 50 , 000 soldiers perished in the hospitals only in the space of a single year . M . Tourgueneff argues that the wars against the Turks , the Poles , and the Circassians , hive proved the Russian army to be anything hut the formidable force it is generally supposed to be . ' The war against the Po ! e 3 did not last ten months ; and if we consider the immense disproportion of the belligerent _armies , and tbe absolute nullity of Polish resources , deprived as the Poles were of all help , and even with all communications with foreigners , what a poor idea dees it give of an army which they were able to keep so long in oheck . ' The remaining contents of this number shall have our attention next week .

      La Canadienne. Romance In Two Vols. By M...

      LA CANADIENNE . Romance in two vols . By Michblox . Paris : 1817 . This is a work by a Fresch member of the Fraternal Democrats ' , and _Democracy breathes in its pages . We are precluded from giving copious extracts from want of space and the fear of weakening the original by ; translation , We recommend , how . ever , nil our friends who understand , or are learning French , to buy this book , written in an easy attractive , and conversational style . As a romance it is replete with vivid description , and situations of thrilling interest , pourtraying to the life Canadian society as it was fifty years aga . The _cons-ultatien scene of the physicians , the dinner party at tbe captain's , the battle scenes , aud the moonlight stag-hunt on the water with its fearful termination are truly masterpieces _.

      Pnilastnitopr.—The Benevolent John Howar...

      _PniLASTnitopr . —The benevolent John Howard , having settled his accounts at the close of a particular year , found a balance in his favour , proposed to his wife to make use of it in a journey to _London , or in fiiiY other amusement she chose . ' What a pretty cottage for a peor family it would build ' . ' waa her answer . This charitable hint met with his cordial approbation , and the money waa laid out accordingly . Rank-worship rather elevates than depresses ; hero-worship , of all sorts , ennobles ; but _manioienworship invariably _degrades .

      Economy . — * D _< sbby , the doorbell rings , and __ you must run , light the match , and touch the shavings , and let the burnt sticks and brands get oa fire in the fireplace , or they will think wo don't keep a Sre in the sitting-roosa , and tbat would not bo genteel . ' ' _Yes ' m—there- ~ it is all _roarinp , and the bell _rinss again—shall I go now ? ' ' Yes . ' ' 0 Lordy , mawn , it was only ji pedlar . ' ' A pedlar ! Confound him —take the fire sipart , and get ready for another alarm . ' 'Yes'm . ' If yon say another crooked word I'll knsok you _brains out , ' said a blacksmith to his _termagant wife * ' ilam ' s horns , you dog , ' exclaimed his , hopeful help S _t nato _, * _R _!\&' 3 b « _aSitfS _& _9 fvn _^

      The Ten Hours Clause In Danger

      THE TEN HOURS CLAUSE IN DANGER

      TO THE Pa CTOBY WORKERS OP GREAT _BRITAIN AND IRELAND . 1 Th 8 cry is still , tbey come !' Mv _Frtbhds , _«« T _? iJs l 0 i _*' er concerns " you all . I wish that every one of yoa wom'd rend it . Ponder over its contents . Tour foei are in the field . _Pr-spara to meet them . Once you have , & j Dl . _' ine aid , conquered them . God will still _defend . _tbe-j _risht i Aftt r an _unprecedented Btnsg _' _jtle of toore than thirty years , yoa have succeeded 1 in obtaining' the sanction of the l > _egislatnre to the Ten _Hsoom Factory Bill . Its operation is < o commence on tha lad day of May ,. 1348 Your unrelenting opponents now _bsp _« to" repeal that law without giving it a trial !

      Same of the ' cotton _millovvswa' < af _Lancashire h * _v _« banded themi > olves together , coder she _nanjo o * "" The Association of _Sfillowners _. 'for _th-e _purpcae of _perjuring Parliament _to-repeal the Ten _IIouTa-B ' _actS'riesB _^ _gulatioii Act . 0 n 7 tb of _December , 1847 , these-man _asaemHad in Manchester _te-eommence their . _fchunraa _tasfc ; aBa " , truly , their firs * movement is _wortSy tbeij unholy object ! They shrink / roin tho odium of their own act , and dishonestly strive to . make you tbe- _instjuments of their selfishness , and of your own degradation ' . They attempt to impute _tipon the public and tiio _legislature by leading them to believe that you , snb they , have ( before it has been tried ) discovered that the- ten hours clause will work injuriously , and that eleven'hours daily labour in factories will be satisfactory .

      These ' associated millowners ' have insnltiHgly prosented you with a copy of a petition to Parliament , praying fur a repeal of the ten hours clause ; thoy hare bad the effrontery to ask you to sign their petition I I need not warn yoa against that snare ; but , _andair such circumstances , silence on my part would be criminal . The ' associated millowners' assert their belief that nil parties will be satisfied with their _arrangement- Hay , they hare had tbe _temerity to insert the following clause in the petition they expect you to sign : — ' That jour petitioners _belisvo that both the _employers and the operatives would take a limitation of eleven hours as a final settlement of the question . ' B fore I conclude , I shall say a few words about ' a final settlement of the question . ' At present , I will deal with _sther _poin's of their petition . Not _having patience to wait for even a short trial of

      the ten hours clause , and knowing that some excuse is required tor their unaccountable proceeding , they bave famished you with tho following piece of sophistry against _regulation of factory labour , or , as they will bave It , against ths ten hour * clause . Supposing that you will be seduced by their subtilty , they have , very prominently , set forth the following for _yoar adoption : — * That your petitioners have for some months past suffered from the want of emp ' _oyment arising from the severe depression of trade ; and the operatives employed in cotton factories have _bien compelled to work , in some cases , only half the number of hours allowed bylaw , and in some cases to cease working altogether . '

      Strange logic will be required to press those facts into an argument for an extension of the hours ef factory labour . Common _seBse woul < l _d-aw ttierefrom cogent Masons for SUeh a limitation of the hours of labour as would hereafter Insure to every millowner , and to every factory operative a fair share of what little employment thtra may happen to be . More on that point hereafter Sea with what dexterity tbe 3 e cunning millowners can pluck 'tho flower safety from tho nettle danger , ' Th » y have prepared the following for _joar sanction : — That the limitation of the hours of labour [ to te : ] will come into operation at a time when your petitioners would otherwise be able , as they reasonably _expeat , by _wfn- _'einr eleven hours , to make up ( though but partially ) for tbe severe loss they aro now _midet ? oing . '

      i'f there be any truth in the _a " xt 7 e , aa _aband-mmento ? all regulation and limitation would fully ' ma '/ e up ' . ' oithe severe _h . )> s . ' Why , then , should you be _vv / uteot rvith i ) ' partial' remedy 1 Oncu _iiclmit this _millowivrs ' _Kt _^ - ' ' _" . and thefoily , m > y _, the wi ( _rkedn _« _ss , of every _legifla-* >; _V . _?' v ? 'f P _'?&*¦ " * " * ,. *' ' ' factor ? labour s , i proved , Tiiisi , ~ 'b * He _?«;* 5 fti \ J . _^^ _VjJ _^ _-. ' . andi / ig their h ; _.-ml ' y _abouf ' a _flnttl settlement of the _quesfibtip "' J _^ oi . 'y . ' _^} at which i tor ; associated _millovvneru' aim . ' -- •— - . It is but reasonable , honever , tha } these men , whv _retjuir ' _-. you to indor _» e their principles , should _£ iva soma proof of their own fui : h . if they are nor stririnp to _ctialee you their dupes—if they have confidence in _ths-lr own nostrum—tbey ought , without hesitation , to guarantee that- , when , _you havo succeeded in obtaining for them the repeal of the ten _houis clause , they _Tvill fiad _evrvj oae of yc >« _sonssnntand _repulsr 3 mp ' c . ycnc :, c , at _eilerm In . _' . ' . r _^ a day ; < d < _se you T / ili _jtIII ; ' in soma e _^ _- . _s ? ., have work f >> r only half the number of _houi- » _aiiuwet ! by law , and in _soniecaso * cohib wovkin . ? altogether . '

      Try the sincerity oi those ' _as < ociat _« d millowners' by that test . Tell them you are _noithei- _co-. _ivlncv-d by th *! r arguments , nor satisfied by thoir ' reasonable expecta . tien . ' Assure them , also , that you aim at more than a ' partial' relief . Mark , it is not even protended that your losses and sufferings ' for some months past , ' have had their origin in the ten hours clause I How , then , can you expect any , the smallest reliof from its repeal ? They wouH havo you believe that , by working more than ten hours a day ( when trade improves ) your condition would ba mended . _Before I conclude I will show you that such hopes pre fallacious .

      Yon all knew that ' the severe depression of trade , ' which is the admitted and avowed cause ot your want of employment , is the natural result of three errors , viz — First , the long hours you formerly worked ; second , the recklessness with whioh mills havo been increased and your numbers consequently multiplied ; third , the frauds in tho manufacture which have been engendered by excessive competition . If your present _advisers demur to tbis statement , ask them to shofv you better reason 3 for your present sufferings . Failing therein , require them to explain how _tht repeal of tbe ten hours clause can remove any such causes of distress . I am greatly _mist-jkeu if you ara not much better political economists _thau thoae who now assume to become your teachers , I think you understand the question of labour and wages—the effect of demand on supply—quite as well ns tbsee ' associated millowners . ' You are not , I trust , so foolish as to hope , by longer hours of labour , to remove the _suffering caused thereby .

      Teach these mould be _schoolmasters , that the only way to secure good wages and good profits will be to regulate the hours of labour so as to keep you all in constant employment—to desist from building mills—and to prevent _frauds in manufacture . You can also remind the ' associated _millon-ners' of that most important fact , announced at Stockport by Mr _CoMen so recently as tho 10 th of December , 1847 . He is an authority whose testimony they cannot reject . With the knowledge that the ten hours _clause will come into operation on the fir _« t day of May , 1843 , Mr Cobden , _addressing cotton millowners , said , 'You havo not cotton in existence to keep your maehincry in employment . ' If Mr Cobden has _stated the truth , you are required to commit suicide , as well as to pave the way for the ruin of your _omployers , when you are urged to petition Par . liament for longer hours of labour .

      Do tbo ' associated millowners , ' knowing that there is not cotton in existence to keep all the machinery in employment * ten hours a day , v . ish for longer hours of labour , in order that they may hava the power to work up nil the cotton in their mills , leaving all other mills without the _menns of employment i You must endeavour to teach them a lesson founded on justice , and promotive of universal prosperity—a _le-s son from tho pure fountain of Move that worketh no ill to hii neighbour . ' They must he taught that , when third is not employment for all the mills and operatives at long hours , employment should be so regulated ns to give to each an equitable share . This will no doubt seem strange _doctrina to tho ' associated millowners . ' Its necessity is , however , enforced by tho facta avowed in the petition they have _prepored for you , and by the drcl _. _iration made by Mr Cobden at _Stocliport . Prom those preraises it is clear that the demand of the world for cotton goods , and that the world ' s growth of cotton , ennnot give ten hours a day employment to tho machinery .

      This , then , is the case of our _opponents ! Under such circumstances it will be madness to extend the hours of labour . _Common 8 e > _nse—nay , the -necessity of the esse —demands a furthor limitation , in order to cause _equitable distribution . It is time _tUut I referred to that part of the' associated millowners '' argument , I _' _spresned in thb following words — ' That your petitioners believe that both the employers and the _operatives would take a limitation of eleven hours as a final _settltmuit . ' On this point lam exceedingly wishful that you _shoald understand my position . I supposed that the ten hours clause was a settlement ot tho question—unless upon trial it should bo proved to work injuriously . As _m-h I accepted it . When that trial has been made , and has been found wanting , it is open to any porty to seek for its repeal . Till then , for myself , it is a settlemtnt ef the question .

      The associated millowners' cannot contend that tho question of ten hours has not been fully sifted t For more than thirty years the Ten Hours' Bill has been resisted by successive governments , aided by all the power that wealth and prejudice could give them _. During that long period the public mind and the serious consideration of Parliament havo been closely directed to this subject . Pamphlets , almost numberless , havo been published for and against the Ton Hours Bill . Hundreds of p » blic meetings , held ift the _m-a ' _mifactnrintr _GBstrietn , as well as in York , London , n » d Edinburgh , have unanimously decided in _favour of a limitation to ten hours a day . Petitions , signwl by hundreds of thou _, sands of every rank , sect , nnei porty , have been pre . sented to tho two nouses of Parliament , praying for the

      T « n Hours Bill , Scores of operatives have _skesilieeA their all in supporting fhl & cause . Numerous aud lengthy debates have occupied tbe time and _attention of the Legislature on this subject . Pour select _pavliaiaen , tary committees have invstigated and reported thereon _. Those committees examined clergymen , pl-. _yfsiciuvis _, surgeons , schoolmasters , magistrates , millowners , overlookers , factory operatives , factory children , _^ and gentle _, men residont in the factory districts , who " had devoted their attention . ie > tbe examination of tko effects of fac . tory labou r . Nay , more ; the opponents of the Ten Houva Bill demanded and obtained a royal _commissk n , _w _' _iioBo members wero instructed to proceed into the fac-1 tory districts , that * tbey might Bee with their own eyes , hear with their own eare , and _thenjeport thereon to the [ Crown , ' Those commissioners , after close inspection

      The Ten Hours Clause In Danger

      nnd investigation , made very long reports , in very thick blue-books . Factory Act upon Factory Act , has been passed ; until , at length , after very long debates in both Houses of Parliament , and by immense majorities in th » Commons and the Lords the Ten Hours Dill has bt . come the law of tha land . And now , after so much expense , labour , and investigation , certain unknown mill _., owners presume to form themselves into a secret a _' iBocJa . t on ( months before tha ten hours _clause can have _, a day ' s trial ) , for the purpose of obtaining the repeal thereof ! The history of the world had not furnished a similar evidence of _abamelessness ! It ia in character , that these men should strive to throw the odium of tbeir guilt upon you I They ought not to be trusted—it is not for them to talk about ' n final settlement of tbis question !'

      If any s _.-heme deserves ro _« _psot , if any Act of Parliament merits a trial , it is the Ten Sours Bill ! No subject _bbs ever more fully discussed , more thoroughly sifted . No law was more solemnly enacted than this very Act of Parliament , that is now _cfa-mJeetiBely sought to ba repealed by a few secret _conspirators I It is true , avarice is insatiable . These- men cannot endure r *» tralnt . They must bo of _tfcore who have ever resisted * any and every restraint on their last for gold ! My _friends , if the Legislature can be _indscBd tortpeal _tife'ten hours clause , wifhoathaviug ; given if a'ttflal , you msy _assureycuraolves , that tho repeal of _nlflaws _aSe-crinjrJieiory _reg-alation must follow .

      _Thsrecannoffbe a doubt that the 'final _settiemBJSS ' whicli'alone enr ? sntisfy your reckless opponents ; , ths ' associated _miliowneri ! , ' ' is , the restoration of theirabsolute _jawer to do what tfrey lifts with their slaves . ' They so _* _k'to revlte > ail the abuses- , the cruelt _& sy the tortures—the _religioes _. _, moral * , _soei _' al , domestic , and physical _crilsof the _anreguIated'fautoTy system ! They pant for _tfta reign of _torrorunder- ' billy-rollers , ' _fastory straps . _wiiS'rmili Inserted ! _tcout the _baeks and brwists of female infant Britomr ! ' They _wooiu - _give more dignity and authority to the heavy clogs of _brettal _overlooksra ; than to the solemn cnactmont of _the-BHtisbLogislatur _? _3-.

      T ' : ey would cripple , drive to'suicide , or other _prematura death , those ' who have no mora work in them . ' They would Open- tho _fountalns-of tears- wSiek Christian legislation has staunched r and , worst of all , thoy ask you to aid them ! . ' For myself ; my course _Ib - plain . Until it is tried and proved injurious , I have taken the ten hours clause as-a settlement-. But the information furnished by the " associated _millowners _' _amJ-Mr Cobden _prores . that _ueither the demand ' nor the growth of the world , can ? ive ten hours a day employment far our ma . _chinery . That _beiny the case , I can- no- longer defend tbat clause . I wait for tbo trial .

      Meantime , I shall leave you and tbe ' associated mill _, owners'in po 3 Pe , « _s ! on of the field . Ton will _f . ich take the course you best approve . I shall look on _Raxiou « ly . I will strive to earn , by industry ( would that , ra doing so . I could _une my exertions fer the improvement ef mnnkind ) , and to save , by t 6 onomy ~ the sinews of wnr . Should the ten hours clause be repealed , I will endea . vour to ascertain , how many hours of tf _sffy factory la . bour , the demand nnd the growth of the wo ldcan em . ploy—that number will certainly be under ten , to that limit ( being fewer than ten ) , I will confine myself . I _conaequfctitly _ndVereina the * associated mittoivner _* , ' _tliat tha _repeal of the ten hours olaue _* stall _» 6 tbo _' afiual settlement of the question . ' I have _crown grey in tbis cause ; what if I should be come bald in your service ?

      Thanks b « to God , I am yet hale and strong _; ray mind ns vigorous , my voice as unfaltering , as when , many years _ajo , I told you , * that the factory _cruc-l'io . « in Bradford furnished me with a fulcrum , whereon to ns ? the lever of humanity , by which , with the help of God , I would overthrow that tyranny , and obtain the Ten Hours Bill ! ' I now tell you , and beg that you will remember it , the facts communicated by the ' associated raillowners' and Mr _Cobdes , pive me a fulcrum , whereon " I ' Htil rest tho _hver of necessity , by which ( when they hi re _obtiiine'l the repeal of the ten hours clause ) . I will , by Divim-aid , obtain an net to _rtgulate nod _littiit _(* n ' y factory labour , to th * _dersund : md crovn - ii of the world , that limit bi in-. ' under ten bour 3 _-x : laj ! You know that when I am _o- _^ ain harness ? : * , _victory wil !<; rown , or death

      will end ; nj _esertions . Infatuated meu _sr _;> these ' _associated millowners , ' _,. ' ¦ ¦ : _•;»"? .. •» dream of _rollinsr back the tide ofpublio " ttt . 'Viy ' r v . _' _^ : ' ' . _?" . " uow yearn for _aborter _hours of _lab-io * _- ' _° . V , "> _« _& , > " _Vjttinor flttenriinsth _a loua vo . " ,, '¦ ' r _, _•*}" , ¦•• , r _,:,.,. _tiaobd _mscussit- ' . . yt , _Vip _.. _„¦* . _- ¦ -. . .. - .. " _.,. ;; threby , the minds . if Ui « u _^ _W , . nnd oi _••* . ..,.. i ; . . . .. . have bo _' _- . n _directed to lbs _rc-iigious , moral , social , im .- tie , nnel _phytica ! welfare of the labouring _eleaj _. s It i _ttov ? _d-lmltted by tho _Icghd _. _iture , that such sacrifices as _hsit-. ' be _* ti , « tia ! I no _Ii-mwi- be _mfi'lo , for the s : i !; o of n < _- _ctimtiliithts wsa _. th . Yet , these unthinking and _utinj . - oon _» _blenii ! _lowii-: rs of ' . ho association , hops to mike 0 ;\ _- _oest s _^ e unlearn , all thr . t the ip-t K _^ _ebis been taught by tha _discussions on the' _iiwloi-y _quMtlou !

      Truly , the ' _associated millowr . ' _.-rs' p _. tg r . s vaia , us they are perfidious . Well , if I must again be forced into a factory agitation _. It will be for less than ten hours . My task may be difficult , bnt my _starting _ground will be better than when I drat marshalled a few poor , emaciated , ' workedup ' factory cripples ( amidst the _scoff-i , and jeers , and pelt _, inga of tho people and their leader *) , against the powerful and united _phalanx of their oppressors . What _snugbTths some of those 'leaders' bave since then _seenred ! Happy factory children ot the present day ! Y . _u know not tho sufferings and woes of your predecessors , nor the labours and losses the . v encountered for your emancipation ! The _'associated millowners ' shall not , in you , revive those bygone tortures ; Talk of West Indian slavery , indeed ! I speak ad . viaedly when I assert , that the condition of infant black slaves was one of happiness ard liberty , compared with that of the white factory slaves !

      We _must * onicnfc to no backward _legislation on the Factory _qutBtion , Forward!—Onward I—must be our watchwords , if tbo ten hours clause should , on trial , prove injurious . What should bo said of tbe West India planters , were thfy to propose , bit by bit , to repeal the Emanci pation Act , and to ask tbe emancipated free men to aid thevn ? Such is the infatuation of the ' association of millowners . ' There is 3 till one sentence in the petition , prepared for you by the ' association of millowners , ' _rhxt ' drmand * special attention : They teach you to address the legislature in these words : — 1 It is boyond the power of Pnrliament to secure for the operative _t-onstanterr . p ' oyment . '

      Nonsense Your instructors do not believe it ! You aro of more value , in th" social scale , than _tt _. eir _spiB < iles ! If it be the duty of Parliament to find ' constant employment' for thiir Fpindlea . lt is no _Icsf il 8 J _* duty , ' to secure for tho operatives constant employment . ' Now , what courso do the millowners pur .-ue , whsn th » ir spindles cease to revolve ? Do they not maUe known their distress to Parliament , and pray for relief ! Do _tluy not send deputations to the Prime _Minister , to urge their grievances _on'his most solemn attention , with a view of inducing him , to persuade the Parliament to pass such measures as will set tbo spindles in motion _, and give them ' constant employment V

      My friends , ie is self-evident , that sf tbe _millowrjers did not believe Parliament possessed Ihe power fo secure fur tbeir spindles constant _employment , ' they would not put themselves to the expense and trouble of applying to Parliament for that _purpose ! And , if spindles , nby not those who attend upon the epiadlea—the operatives ? If the fact were as stated in this petition , all legislation would be useless , It has very lately been proclaim .-d by onr _prestnt _government _, through their organ , tbe _Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland , that . ' The preservation of human life is the sacred and paramount duty of government . ' How , then , would the ' associated millowners' have that ' sacred and _paramous-it duty ' _performed by the _jfnvernment ? B / constantly feeding tbe p ople in idleness , or by ' securing for the operatives constant eai . ployment S ' The former plan has been tried and found very troublesome , dangerous , aad costly in Ireland . _Woulil these ' assoelut-d' Manchester _Solons _recommend itfl

      adoption in England ? If not , persuade them toblottht above piece of _nonsonse out of the petition tbey have asked you to sign . That done—tho r _. _msintle . is men Waste _piipe-r . Do not _Buppoae tbat I hold the insane notion _tl-iat _government can , or ought , daily , to enter every cottngp _, and apportion to each able-bodied individual his _dayV work nnd his day ' s wages . ' That is neither expected , desired , nor is it possible . But seeing that' tho preservation of human lifi is the sacred and paramount duty of government , ' !! is bound by the solemn obligations for which it is created _^ te fraroa laws upon principles wMrti are ° calculated to . ' secure for the operative a censtunt emplojment , ' andtalso sufficient wages . Failing in that , it is bound by its- ' aacred and paramount duty , 'to iind constant food for the operatives .

      Seeing _thaltsuoh responsibility _necessarily reside * _ll ) tbo government , the members thereof must decide whether it > be _wistr- and safer to give constant food _tiidlers , or to ' _-sotuyo constant employment ' and sufficient wages few the industrious ? The former courso must involve them in ' constant ' difficulty and terminate in their rnin—tbo lattpr plan if ( vhen the true principles of jnst government aro dis . cerned and _' _adopud ) safe , and as easy in _opewticn as ABO . Tako tko following ease : — Suppose that , at this moment , the demand for cotton goods and the stock of cotton aro only sufficient to give ¦ si ght hours a day employment to all our machinery , and that the owners of one half of that machinery were _tofoirs

      an' _ivBsoektion of _milluWuen ' , for tho _puvposa cf buying up the whole stock of cotton , and by working thoir milk , sixteen hours a day ( as was often the casa _fon-jMl j' ) _, supplying all the demand ; leating tho _ownt-ri of the other half of the machinery , and all their ' _ha-jos _* without any employment ! In that ease , would t . ' _na _covcru . mt'nt be justified in allowing _sue _^ h _injustice , and couse . quent misery , acknowledging ot the sarae time , ' _thut the preservation of tho'livea of those who would thus be thrown out of employment , is its most , sacred and paramount duty . ' The thought is _mont-trous The ' _sacred _' and _paramount-duty of government' in tbat case is manifest , however _tbatjduty may be supposed to interfere with special private interests , and must _jteli to general public necessity—and the law must ,

      The Ten Hours Clause In Danger

      under such circumstances , so direct , as to _uivite whole among the whole , by an Eight Hour > Act _ani also to prevent tho waste of capital , aad tbe ruinous ope- * ration of competition on tbo mills already built , by for . bidding tbe erection of more mills until increased demand ! for cotton goods and a larger supply of crittm _t-houUi render tbeir erection advantageous to the _louimsawealth , I dare say this doctrine will _stngger the ' _ssanciat ' _oa of millowners . ' The only question to be ashed is—Is it true ? Let them probe it ; and nllen they have fount ! an error therein—state it . This is a most important and mo 3 t interesting _subject * I will pursue it further .

      If its foundation bo truth , it is the _offspiin _, ' of fc > ve , and ean , _consequently , ' work no ill' to any _i-ne . We must " nevsr _forgut that * Love _worketh- no ill to _fcitf _neighbour . ' When we find , under the operatitn < : f any principle , the profit of an individual , or a class , is pro * oured at the sacrifice , or to the lose of another ii : d ; vi _« dnal , or another cla 9 . i _, n > other fact is required to prova that principle _errontouf _. This will seem strange to many . _Yni-ily , my _ftneda _, th ra aro many strung _? things in God ' s holy wori \ _believj-me , they are all true , audit will be _proved , ' m _thff long rosy that any system , founded on principles that aro contrary thereto , _however , for a while , they may _aee-m to prosper , will eventually full .

      I recur to tbe case above supposed . If the govern « mentwere tt > leave ' the trade to fiud its level , " hy non _« interferonco ,, as some would recommend—the owners of _one-half the machinery werald be ruined—tbeir irc-porty would , ( by no act of their own ) , become _valueless—thtf i national _wealiii'would bo so- much diminished— . one half - rhfl operatives _uaiployed in the manufacture of rot _^ ow _ivfould become _warse than useless—ins tead of h _lua _b- « 8 i _hwreasing the wealth of the hive , they would become _dtsnei . extracting : its honey . Nay , worse -ti . I , _heitijj _idftr , they would * _tscoma mischievous , and _sollUra , polfoe , / _indprisons , would bo _reau ' red to overawo . detect ; , . and _jnnish them . Thus would more _wo-ilth be _extracei jfroim 3 _he common stcok ; The other half in e midiiymenC _iwouhllrsaiisa no mor » profit , to the ' nation , than if the-; work _ikid been done by- all . If the millowners , thus en * igagedj . receive more ib ' an tlieir proper share of pr . St , : they wiiSbe heavily taxed , for the sustenance ot -. _Uc-ae >

      jwhio are-out of _employment , and for tbe _mainte'esi ee cf _jsoldiersj _. yolice , Sic , . _TIfey will , also be _aulj'rct t . nLe _depredations of tho _idla-madi _' _-vicietss . Thuir attt n _* _tiowto-buoiness will be so protracted , that they must sacrifice-domestic joy ? , _sscial _pleastsres , and mmtal _improvement—ruducin _^ themselves to a level wirh their machines- ! ' Their 'hands'" _btinj worked Mitt- , n tours a dayv _cawlarow _nothing _bvst- 'bed and- miu '— -bed aad mil ' . ! They will be emaciated and _csrspplsd , until ' all work _is-gone out of them * - —when they wiii bti kicked ( _actually .. _kiolsod ) out of the mills ,. and ofteD , ev . n ia their youth , become _paupers—ignorant—brutalized—» _wretchtd'for life ! Thousands of yon , my iriends , ean testify ro-tbo-truth of'hia _gtattnrent , Another feature of this 'let _aione ' system wou . 13 bo— other capitalist * , ( envying the _yrufits of the ' _Bzccefsful' millowners ) , would subtract from the capital of the BOttuienwr .- . lth , by building mills .

      Our opponents will perhaps sa 7 i the best _feature is _OTlxitled tin , _faigt * _Tra-. B of tho _oparaeWes _tcHo _woulA w . rk _sixtoi-n . _bours a day . Were their wages tifty time * more than > tor ten hours , thoy would not furnish compensation for tho penalty paid by- these poor , men , hi iii n , and _ohiklren , in the loss of every personal , _social , and domestic comfort—in the lo 9 s of health , limb , ai ; d ' lit " ei Bu ' , m ; friend * , I know that he _vrfco _, iu that state of society , should' work sixtet . n hours a da > , would not receive c o much in wages , as each would receive , were < _-ll working only eight hours a day . And why , Be . 0 iu « e , in the _framer state , those out of _ttuployment _w-uul b

      it it on the principle just stated , that you wnuld b 0 deprived of _nny- a _& _Iir . _sual wages , in the long Tun , for the esira h '"; r ni ' labciun , you aro requested to petition _tfcst Parlluuiint -. _v-- > uid sraut . Ifthe wh _lonuovber of _factory op ' _.-r . it ' _vps _ivrf-cai ' ploy .-tl , ( in thotMse above _referred to ) , thero _wouii ' o ? no supernumerary _lnb . > ur _? _rt , and eons- _?; u * n ; : y _iifjprv - _^ sure from without , v _^ _l -. _- .. _igaa _wouiei oe equal to the real _viiifiiol ths- _tvtti i ; _performed , * hie !' ,, with tuacbiiicry * " - .. ' . ''tiplying _itiaa ' _.-:. _labour nuny _hundred-loiri ,-would _" "• 'd _, two on ' y riiu _lueessaries . _Tjut _.-iis j the _com-&' . V _^' 2 " _- J _entraai ' , _> . " . _ _Vi ' _ft'fol'y ! " coni' ' ' _llnte of _10-Ole . ty under ! m _.-tw . > . _jys : [ _. _^ - ; , " !! | ' _J- iU ' . ' . . . : . .. . //_ " ; j _-vusn- 'It is not _the-sr duty to _ssi ; _'l : _' ' - v ¦ . _, __ _,,...... ¦ .,. * " "" _ploynient found . ' _., ,. _,... ; . , __ ..., _• Our _GjjirmL-.-. U assert ' ihecotion-trauc : _- i ——

      -. c . .. . --- _-. - - --- .. _, _* , _^^ a piy sustaininat _wa _^ s for eight hours * work !' reply , to 3 ueU _ot-p'cutrt , i ? ca < _sy _aod ccr . clu-. iTe . ' li * _o , tho folly ' A _fostering a trade that has collected together a _gr _.-nte ? number of operatives , ( trained in its service , untutored in any other _fuiph _^ uKn : ) , than it has the power to _Bustaia , is _dvmonstr .-. te ' . Then , the _wie-kedne . s of founding our staple manufacture oa aforeign raw material , of stinted quantity , ( of which _wa may at any time be d prived , by the _caprics er malice , or a foreign rival ) , is proved . ' _Nature would saera to _Ve _« _-ur schoolmaster , teaching-US _wisdom , by cutting offrur supply of that foreign material . Tbus does _na'ure , when rightly apprehended , lead us into tbe only _sn'e path , and drive us to _agriculture , the only _ratiot-al foundation for a uation ' _s strength !

      I have , now ami _again , told you , tbat the cotton manufacture should , in ( . _'onjeQUMU'A of iU insalubrity , bs _e-nnacted with agriculture— ' a _fe-w hours a day in the mill , and the remainder in the field . ' I did not then _icarsine that facts , avowed and proc ' ainied by onr opponents , would so sotn drive U 9 into that state .. The arrangements for this happy _thanpo present no groat d fficulty . The first _strp will naturally be , a sanitary law , to prevent mills being in futurw trected ice town . ' . Necessity will point out oth _^ r _arrangemruts ; that _necessity being _deinonstratt-d by the facts , that there is not cotton in existence , or demand for cotton goods in th * world , to give tueh hours of employment as wi . I sustain all the operatives iu the cotton manufacture .

      Should tbe- ' association of millowners' o ject to the course of reasoning I bave pursued in this lrt'er , oa the _h-ickneyed _jresuaaption , that ' government hava no right to interfere in mull matters , ' tell th . m that Mi- Cobden repudiated the doctrine of non . inteifsrei ; ce , when at Stockport , In the speech , _betore referred to , he said : — 'Of all the mad things that w ? re ever done by any body of inert , I believe tMat t _^ e II- > use of _Commons , by _urant Hj ; those railway act ? ,, during ; the last trued jears _, bad dune the most insane set ever _pt-rpetrtttd by a public _bojy . ' T ! ie ' madness , ' the _'insanity , ' char ed upon the House of Commons , by _iir Cohdtn , were consequent oa the stinted nature of their _'"inteifirence . ' Thi'J- bad . _n-ji-icted many bills , during that . ' three years ; ' in Mr Oobder / s opinion , they wc-r <> * insane , ' because they bad not ' interfered' more , ' The master-mind of the age , ' ha 3 _thas given the death-blow , to the doctrine of' _non-iaterfurent-e ¦ '

      I _haTE _> be _^ n careful _unm , ; any ' or' _thnso honoured and beloved advocates-of the Ten Hours Bill , who f in and cut of Parliament ,. havo devoted _iluir _tmrgiea and _taloiits , and made great-sacrifices , in the cause , because 2 did not wish , that even the semblance of their approval to the tontei . _ts of this letter , should be assumed . None , save myself , is responsible for what Ii have _vwit ten , At _;& noiv , my friends , until the ten hours clause Is proved to be injurious ; . or , until it is repealed , I bid you fa . rewel , I commend you to the grate and mercy of Almighty GoS . Seek Ilia _e-uidanoe and aid . Hay His spirit be manii / est in nil jour pmceedinira . ' let love ba without di * s-imulation , abhor that which is evil , cldave to that whirk is good . ' IS remain , my friends , Your faithful' Old Kin ? , ' _BlCIIAUD _OASTttE .

      _Fulhtim . Jan . 1 . 1848 ' P . S . Head this letter in your mills , committee's , anil dnbs . I wish you all to stu : _ty its contents , that bef _irojou petition _Parlinaimt _, for the- repeal of the tin hours _, clause , you may be _reaiitided of the struggles , uvxictte ? _, nnd sacrifices which that cl _.-vise has cs » : — -hat you . may understand why long hours of labour _,-onoto _t _^ tain good wages—and , above all that you may be per . * suaded ° not to release _Parliament from tbo dut \ t-f _ecuctini ; an . l supporting laws , by which , ' constant em * _ploymint' and sufficient -wages will be found for jou all . I would print this in pamphlet form , and _eivti you each a copy , had I the msaiis . 11 .. Oi

      Fouu Jhsn Buried, Ai.Ivk—On Saturday Fit...

      Fouu _jHsn Buried , Ai . ivk—On Saturday fitter _, noon , the inhabitants of Bacup and the r _. e- £ iibour > hood were thrown into a state of groat , cxci & i merit * by a report- that four men were burial alive by tne new bi _iihra ( _crossim ; some watf _r-worlss ) b elt-news to the VQ \ t branch railway from _Rawtens'all-to Bacup , at _Watei-. fcot . It app , - _-ai-3 that the late flint ' s bail _causr-ilsomo of the props oftho briJso to im . loose , and when four of tho men , named _Ssaiiit 1 Centley , _Jamss . Halslead , John Dy _^ on , and James Butterworrh . wove repairing or ta > _tc-niitji the loose props , _-1-oW _gofell . The men wcroiimfcii the ruins tor _aereral hours . Eyson aril _letter worth wero pat out afive , but they aro much bruiifil , and in a _^» g * rousi slate . Bentley and Hnlstead _, _% _hoaioboi-n natives i of _Sraallbridge , near Rochdale _* were _ki-leu .

      _IBaih — Thk L-te R « ijBsrj 5 nr a Max r >? Pro . M , _ l \ Urtd Buchanan , t _^ _i _gcatknian _shw-lifter _, who was found guilty at ths city _swoons mi Friday , for _stealing ft pursa _"" _' d scent bottle t > f the value nt " 6 .- - . G . I ., the property of Frederick _3 ;>» : Cb _Ilair-per , was _brought _uo < n _vVtelnesday for juiUm ? j . t . Tho _Rtcovdcrl Mr _Jurclinejsanronced him to three _ek-hUh imprisonment 'villi hard labour . Blackburn . —Rsductios of Wages . —Friday hist . notices were posted in all tho mills of t ho ' o \ - n , apprising the hands that their wages wou'd be r < _dt-c _.-d ( i _. _enei-ally ten per cent . ) nt the expiration of a _iaoi .: _U alter date . In a few instar . _oes tho reduction will bd ten per cent , on the ppnmeia' and weavers ' wages , and 7 _J per cent , oa the wages ot tho _eard-rooun hands ; but iu the majority oi ' instaavei _& _wUlGa uniform ,

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 15, 1848, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_15011848/page/3/