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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th May 1850, Edition 3 of 3, Page 7, THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND QUESTION.

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  • Departments (3)
    • THE TEN HOUES QUESTION
    • THE TEN HOURS BILL
    • THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND QUESTION.
  • Text (7)
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      Trlsfl Democratic Movement. ' Tpu. T Ris...

      _tRlSfl DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT . ' _tpu . T rishaw * of Saturday last contains _re-2 ! > f meetings in Dublin , Cork . Kilkenny , _Cki-on-Smr , & c , & c- The _correspon _C 3 fioni the last named p lace contains the foflovfing _ _^^ _fte satellites of the alien _go-^^ fSu usual , leagued in this town to _^ _Tr _fch manhood , and perpetuate Irish misery , « _# _^ _niT and disgrace . The police were busily _*&? _dnamin" _** whole of Saturday and _Sun-^ _" _^ _fparin" down the placards announcing the _^ _demonstration of the Tipperary Democrats , S ? told here on Sunday next . When these exe-* ° of " law" were asked why they broke tbe cotoI i _£ «» h they were paid to preserve , by pulling _J >* _vSSri which was perfectly "legal , * _^ _toinsulttog and robbing the public , whose _*^ „ m they were , Hie only reply they _condegjrani _s _«*• _' . _ _.. _ _xw ..-W ho- _thenlaMMvl

      8381 _Stal or illegal , they would piul it down . " _^ _^ _, j Constable , attended by another _police-^ also severely threatened the person from _**•• _* _^ a democratic rooms are rented , and orr _* Mm . on pain ot the high displeasure of the _tCritira "to eject them forthwith . But these " r fhv efforts to crush Democracy in _thisloca-° tare had quite the contrary effect , for numbers _^ _™« t recruits are steadily swelling our ranks . _iSe tobe obliged to report , that the _welledFWnpa * _110013 of that „ f ign P ? _f * ¥ & , ' and debauches our gallant people , have in _^ _Lish priest an auxiliary far more powerful _^ ntheir grinning artillery or " whiskered pang - " This reverend gentleman has considered _^ _alduty to preach " passive obedience" from the i « _T on Sunday evening last , and to denounce _^' p rincip les of •¦ liberty , fraternity , and eguantv" which the Democrats cherish and love , and Sch the popular voice of Europe has proclaimed

      n thunder . We give the following extracts from the edi--torial articles in the Irishman : — _Tes-ast-Hioht —The greatest possible mistakes _andmisapprehension prevail with respect to this _Northern Tenant-right . They talk of legalising and extending it to the four provinces . It can ' t be lwalised , and is worthless if it could . It is simply a custom amounting to this—tbe landlord settles fls figure of rent at his own arbitrary discretion ; sodas long as the tenant pays this amount , he is and sell his

      left in undisturbed occupation , may _occapancy to any man whom he finds dupe enough to Is not this a pretty bauble to make a noise _jbont—is it not a valuable hold on the soil—is it not most blessedly calculated to make Ireland the _Jappfes t of lands , and her people tbe most pro _? pe _joiis of peasantry ? The landlord won ' t eject yon go long as you pay the rent . To be sure he will _sot ; bat _hefisestherent . It may be three , or ten , or fifty times the value , and you have neither appeal cr remedy .

      "We must give customs , _aad traditions , and prescriptions , and usages , to the winds of heaven . Ireland has no customs but customs of brute barbarity , plunder , and legal assassination . We will sot build on sneb . We must take common sense and common justice as the guide-line of our progress , for if we do other we only end before we have begun . _Itisperfectnonsenseto talk ofthe existing rights cf landlords . The necessity for action is based on the lasting wrongs of the neople , and these must

      be rig hted at whatever cost . The task requires no subtle dip lomacy—it needs no enermous staff of patriotic committees , fulminating musty statistics , and State blue books . Every Ulster yeoman , and every Connanght farmer , knows perfectly both the eril and the remedy . Both are too deep for an Act of Parliament . Legislators are landlords , and will _neTer consent to cut up their own interests by the roots . We must depend on our own strength , and on that alone , and the simple question at present is to brace and consolidate it .

      Every man who contributes to that end doe 3 a national service , and whoever leads off popular opinion on a wild-goose hunt after adjustments and compromises , is a traitor to his country whether he designs it or no . The land of Ireland for the people of Ireland , is the broad basis on which every thriving structure must rise . There are , no doubt , ideas which require a gradual development , but there are others v > Mch should be decided quick as a mortal combat , sad the land is of the latter class . At the present moment there are in powerful existence _sll the elements for a struggle such as Ireland never saw , and for a victory such as the world has seldom experienced . ""

      The Pabxiamext asd Mosabcht . — That the "Parliament , " executive , and all the other specific expedients for deception and oppression of the people have long since become hated , distrusted , and despised , is a truism palpable to , and confessed by , all who have not an interest , vested or other , ia tie propagation of delusion . So honest Irishman now believes that an English minister has either the power or the will to render the slightest "

      amelioration . " We can all see with spffieient clearness fiat her most gracioas Majesty , and her most valuable public servants are but a convenient traditi _cnaiy mask under which some four hundred and ffty "representatives" of English property , in its Tarious forms , tyrannize over , not Ireland alone , rot the home countries only , but the fairest , the fertikst , the most varied , and the most extensive territory that ever history saw , or fable painted , under the sway of one dynasty .

      Every Irishman sees this . He knows perfectly that the Hanoverian dynasty has sunk into the grave of its predecessors . Its bones have been gathered to the monarchic fathers ofthe empire—to the Stuarts and Tndors , and _PJantagenets . With the comic solemnity of the melo-drama , we may _luzzaforthe birth of princes royal , or gild with gilded ostentation the advent of majesty " on tramp , " but in all we conform rather to an antiquated custom , then defer to an active power , and

      we know it . We see that the regime of the Guelphs las been lost in the dynasty of " Parliament , " that is in the majority thereof , made up ofthe two aristocracies of England—the mercantile and landed interests . Moral asd _Phtsical-Fohce . —A nation of _gaberlonaes nerer yet made a noise in the world ' pages , and we must throw aside the wallet and slang of the mendicant to handle other tools . Every sane man sees , knows , and confesses this . Look at _O'ConneU himself . Even amid the sanctimonious

      "loyalty" of the peace resolutions , he never dropped from bis hand the phial that held the nostrum for Ireland ' s independence . " England ' s weakness is Ireland's opportunity , " was a maxim worked into almost _erery speech that he uttered . And what was this bnt a direct appeal to physical force —what was it bnt saying , " let France , or some other foreign power , engage Eng land ' s right hand , and we shall wrest our own from the left ? " If words have meaning , or man _has __ truth , what was this but _saving , " give us a fair field , make the

      enemy a match for us , and -we'll fight him ? " On tMs point we take it ; there can be no doubt , hut to onr thmMng , there are two ways of equalling an unfair match , either by weakening the stronger , as _O'Connell proposed , through the accidental agency of foreign attack—or by the more legitimate mode , of strengthening the weaker , by bracing up the sinews , teaching muscle to grow , and joints to play , and Catherine into one focus the strength of the _^ _an ; by giving him head , heart , activity , and training ; by telling him honestly what he has to espect , _andwhatis expected of him .

      „ Amrhisoxmest Of A Ltisatic.—A Few Days...

      „ _AMrHisoxMEST of a LtisATic . —A few days since it was accidentally discovered that a young woman , named Charlton , a lunatic , has been confined in a _saiall attic , about eight feet square , in the house of her brother , who keeps a shop in the market-place of _Kingston . The person who first discovered her ts a bricklayer , who was engaged in repairing an _adioining house , and she stated to him that she had been locked up for four years in the same apartment , without fire or a sufficiency of food . The attention ofthe authorities having been called to the case , several meetings of the borough magistrates Were held for the purpose in inquiring into the truth of the statements of the imprisoned woman , and they were found to be correct to a considerable

      extent . The magistrates having personally inspected the place in which the young woman -was confined , and seen her , they were evidently struck with the appearance of the room , or " cupboard , " as one of the magistrates called it , and did not fail to express then- disapprobation , especially as there were so _fc _& ny and better rooms . The young woman was l ying in bed , and moaning ; she was very pale and em aciated—her wrist did not appear thicker than a _cild ' s , and in reply to question ? puttoher she said , it a low , weak voice , she should like to be allowed to get up and walk in the garden , as she did at her father ' s house , and she had not enoug h to eat . Mr . Charlton said the young woman was very violent , she had torn nearly all one of her sister ' s hair off , asd had not her mother Lad her brought there

      ? ne would have killed her . Tbe eldest sister was now _*» Bethlem , and the eldest brother was not right in « is mind . —The magistrates having returned to the t 0 « m-hall , instructed their clerk ( Mr . Jemmett ) to see that the young woman was forthwith removed «> a more comfortable and healthy apartment , that j _* e had not only medical but other attendance , that _*«* diet should be such as was proper and _nutritions , and that she should have outdoor exercise when r _^^ ary , and these regulations they insisted on , _~ ° ? tbey did not separate without expressing their _** knowIed gment of the services rendered by the parochial authorities and tte police . An I _aot a little pale ? " inquired a lady , who _™ s lather short and corpulent , of a crusty old _ggeh * «« iou look more like _* Hg tub , " wa 3 the

      The Ten Houes Question

      THE TEN HOUES QUESTION

      The following letter has been published in the Morning Herald , but was excluded from WBTimes : —

      10 THE EDITOR OP THB TIMES . ont , —I would not " sadlv misrepresent" ( Lord Ashley ) . I rather search for truth . Is ifc to be found in Lord Ashley ' s grave ? Start not—Lord Ashley is dead ! He would have died like Samson —but the pillars of truth are firm , they yield not to the coward ' s grasp ! By his grave—securely based en justice , they still stand—sustaining the factory workers in their " unquestionable right " ( Lord Ashley ) . Those pillars are indelibly inscribed , " The Ten Houbs Aci" — be this his epitaph- He lived beloved—he died unwept , Others may tell the reason—why .

      It would have been more civil had Lord Ashley sent a copy of his last will and testament to the delegates in London before be sent that document ( addressed to them ) to you ; then the antidote could have appeared with the poison . Twenty-four hours are thus unfairly gained . Sever mind , you fairly appeal to the manufacturing counties—let them answer . I , with you , wait for their reply . That of the factory delegates now in London has been promptly given—they gave it on the rumour

      ot what was coming . It is short and pithy—viz ., " That the delegates now assembled are of opinion , that the factory workers will never consent to any variation from the limitation of ies hours per day , and fifty-eight houre per week , unless it be to further shorten the duration of labour . " So think I . We shall see . I am of opinion , that they will be mindful of their vows . 'Would that Lord Ashley had remembered his ! " I will never yield ! I will die in the last ditch !"—( Lord Ashley ) . In that " ditch let him be buried ; adding to his epitaph : —

      " The factory operatives believed and loved bim to the last . " It is a fact ; the very day before be fell , the factory delegates in London passed a vote of" continued confidence in Lord Ashley 1 " Shall I prophesy I If this government stands , the ghost of Lord Ashley will have a place . I remain , Sir , your most obliged servant , Richard Oasileb . Broadstairs , Kent , May 9 th , 1850 .

      From a letter addressed to Mr . James Mitts , Factory Delegate , also _nublisbed in the Herald , we give the following extracts : — Lord Ashley having already , by ignorant bungling or something worse , caused ruinous delay ; after having , iu his last will- and testament , of the 7 th . inst ., thus addressed tbe committees of Yorkshire and Lancashire : — " Now I greatly fear delay ; I refrain from stating my reasons , but I repeat I greatly fear delay , as likely to be productive of infinite mischief "—when we find that , on the 9 th instant , on the order of the day for going into committee on Lord Ashley ' s Ten Hours BUI , Lord Ashley was absent , having , before he left the house , secured a needless

      "delay" to the lata instant . So that when Lord John Manners and Mr . Aglionby ( whose names are on the bill ) wished to proceed Sir George Grey said , " The bill was not under his charge ; and , as the noble lord ( Lord Ashley ) had gone away after expressing a wish that it should be left over until Monday , he did not thinh they would be justified in taking it vp . " . "What will you say when I assure you that Lord Ashley had in his possession , on the 22 nd April a perfect clause drawn by one of the most eminent counsel of ihe day , and when I tell you his lordship rejected it ? He would make belief that our language does not contain words strong enough to prevent cotton lords from committing felony and murder !

      The writer m the Times one day proposes that " the factory operatives" shall decide the question ; they do so , and he declares that he is satisfied . Within a week his doubts bewilder him—he forgets his own arrangement and his own declared conviction of the justice ofthe verdict given by the jury of his own selecting . From "the factory operatives " he now appeals ( May 9 th ) to the manufacturing counties , " when , strange to say ( because that answer is not returned in less than twenty-four hours to the Home Office . ) on the 10 th of May , another jury is appointed , in the hope that they will pull down in a sudden fit of despair what Gould , Sadler , Walter , and Fielden had been thirly years in

      building ! Regardless of all the former reasonings and principles of the Times , this new importation actually asks , " Who are the proper umpires and arbiters of the question ? Who but the women and young persons themselves ? " Ignorantly adding , " ever since the first opening ofthe question we have made a point of asking the opinion of those who were immediately and personally interested in it . The opinion of the men is to be viewed with suspicion . " . Three changes in about a week—and in this last short extract the unreading of scores of most ably written and soundly reasoned columns in tbe Times —are , tomy . mind , simply incomprehensible ! This weakness should not show itself in those who teach

      the people and lead tbe public mind . 2 » o doubt that pen is accustomed to flounder in the Home Office—there it has been trained to change with every breeze . 2 Jo wonder that SHch a scribe should laugh at those "fools" who " stand out" for "high principle . The writer in the Times continues— " Which do they prefer ? Working ten hours a day in relays , beginning one day at half-past five , and working the next day till half-past eight , going in and out the whole day , being left with odds and ends of time that they could turn to no account , and always hanging about the factory ; or working ten hours and a half a day , between six and six , know _, ing always when they will have to get up , when to be at the mill , when to breakfast , when to dine , when to finish for the day , and how much they will have to themselves every day of their lives ? " If the wives and the children are to decide this

      matter , let their case be fairly stated in our hearing . You , as a husband and a father , may surely be allowed to watch the case as it proceeds to see fair play . _Never , never , was a case put more jesuitic . _iliy . You know well enough that the blessings here fully promised , have already been grantedthat John Fielden ' s Ten Hours Act was g iven for tbe purpose of securing them—nay , that it 13 only by an evasion ofthe spirit of that act , that a very few remorseless , unprincipled tyrants rob the women

      and young persons of all those enjoyments ! And , to reward those felons ( such , in the eyes of justice , they are ) this writer in the Times , by unequalled Jesuitry , wonld persnade those poor women and young persons ( depriving them of the connsel of their husbands and fathers ) to give their consent to a law which shall rob them of two hours a week , giving the same to their felonious oppressors ! Worst of all , Lord Ashley—the almost adored of these poor defenceless creatures—aids in this wicked and cruel delusion !

      Let the question be fairly put—the case , as it really now stands before the House of Commons , he' full y stated—then say , is there , save one , is there a father or mother—a son or a daughter—a brother or sister , who would not indignantly reject the proposal to compromise ? This is the true state of the case—let them speak : — " IFc , the women and young persons working in factories , have received from j / ou , the legisture , a law which limits our labour to ten hours a day , and fifty-eight hours a week . We received it as a great boon . We have found it to be very good for us . We are poor and weak , but we have been very grateful , and very mindful , to use the time we gained by that law for the best of purposes .

      Because some wicked men have found a flaw in the wording of your law , Lord Ashley advises us to consent to give up two hours a week to gratify them , at the same time telling us , ' Those two hours are ourunquestionableright . ' We think this is not fair . We did dot make the law . You made it . Not a man among you doubts that you intended the law to be fast and sure . We pray you , therefore , if not for . our sakes , for your own , now to make it so . We ask no more . You told us you made that law expressly to prevent "relays and shifts . ' Do not cbeat and rob us , because we are weak and poor . On your own showing the blunder is your own making . We had no hand in it . We took you to be men ; we believed and thanked you .

      Though our noble leader has forsaken us , we pray yoa do not oppress and wrong ns . You have wives and children . Think if our case were theirs ! Be j nst . Even we are of the same flesh and blood . Our God 13 your God , and He will recompence «" Can English legislators resist that appeal ? If they can , they are not men ! Talk of another outside jury in this case ! Why ifthis 37 i » ej writer were oi the old staff , he would know that on this very question of " compromise " public meeting after public meeting has been held . Every factory town , and almost every factory village , has had its public assembling—some have had

      several , for the express purpose of giving their opinion on this point . In all they have been unanimously resolved to listen to no compromise ! At those meetings , clergymen , magistrates , millowners , and operatives were authorised by Lord Ashley to assure the factory operatives , so long as they were determined , he would never flinch—newer yield one moment of their gained time . These vouchers for his lordship ' s honour , pledged their own , on his behalf . What can they answer now ? Let Lord Ashley tell . Never was a man so deeply pledged—never so much trusted . Talk ofthe treachery of others—Lord Ashley has betrayed the poor . _. - _ . .

      Take my word for it . —and tell all your friends what I say—if ever you agree to give up one single moment that you have gained , " in five or ten years factory legislation will be entirely withdrawn , _provsctioufoifee factory hands m _Tuusb , and the

      The Ten Houes Question

      old excruciating , unbearable , killing tyranny of the mills will be restored . Aye , mj "lad , " "the Old King" knows much better what will follow if you loosen one peg than this fresh scribbler chooses to tell . _HOID FAST WHAT TOU HAVE _GOJ . If one moment should be wrung from your grasp this session , let Lord Ashley bear the blame ; but be not cast down : rather let that wrong arouse the sons and daughters of Old England—aye , and of Old Scotland too ! Meet again , as you were wont , in your countless thousands ; invito your right , true-hearted leader , Lord John Manners , to come

      and look at you , and to listen while you tell your own tale . Thus cheer " the old king ' s " heart , by holding up the hands of him who now is making the best of your case in the House of Commons , and who will win—if mortal can win , after such unheard-of treachery ! I conclude with earnest prayers for success to tbe cause of truth and justice ! May the people unite in that appeal to Heaven , then I know we are invincible . What a glorious struggle we shall have ! Successful , I am sure— peaceful , I hope . Anyhow , James , we cannot fly .

      I have still much to say—let this suffice at pre sent . Always remember—princi ple is truth , expe diency is falsehood . I am , my dear "lads , " " Old King , " Richard _Oasileu . Broadstairs , Kent , May 11 , 1850 .

      The Ten Hours Bill

      THE TEN HOURS BILL

      CEETING OF THE BRADFORD CENTRAL

      COMMITTEE . At a meeting of the Central Ten Hours Committee ofthe West Riding of Yorkshire , held at Bradford on Saturday last , for the purpose of receiving the report ot Mr .. W . Rand and Mr . W . Walker , and for considering the present position of the _Factory Act—the Rev . Dr . Burnet , the vicar , in the chair—it was unanimously resolved : — 1 . That this committee cannot- consent to tbe extension of the hours of labour in factories for young persons and women beyond the period at present legalised of fifty-ei ght hours per week ..... 2 . That the thanks of the committee on behalf of the factory workers of Yorkshire be most respectfully tendered to Lord John Manners , M . P ., for the course he has taken in the House of Commons , nnd for the amendment of which his lordship has given notice , and that the chairman of this committee do address his lordship to that effect . The following is a copy of the letter : —

      TO THS BIGHT HON . LOBD JOHN HAN . VEBS , H . P . My Lobd , — The CeBtral Ten Hours Committee of the West Riding ot Yorkshire beg most gratefully to acknowledge your lordship ' s patriotic and consistent conduct at this crisis in undertaking thecause ofthe young persons and women employed in factories , and in so promptly attempting to secure to them their nndispnted and indisputable right to a continued limitation of their labour to fifty- eight hours per week . They assure your lordship that the proposed extensien thereof to sixty hours would not only be deemed unjust , but would seriously lessen the opportunities afforded to factory workers generally to improve their domestic and moral condition -, and they also _wraader the honour of Parliament pledged to retain tbe limit of fifty-eight hours .

      We therefore earnestly hope that your lordship ' s amendment for limiting factory labour to the present lawful period often hours per day on fire days and eight hoars on the Saturday , with one and a half hour interval for meals _, may he assented to by Parliament ; and at the same time the framework of the measure ot her Majesty ' s Government which confines tbe factory day to the actual hours of work and meal times , may be adopted as tho best means for satisfactorily regulating the working of mills and factories , and also for securing contentment and improvement amongst the working classes . I have the honour to he , my Lord _, Yonr Lordship ' s most obedient and humble servant , ( On behalf of the Central Ten Hours Committee of the West Riding of Yorkshire ) , John Rawson _, Chairman . Committee-room , Bradford , Yorkshire , May 11 th .

      A meeting of the new central committee ofthe Manchester Short-time Association was held on Sunday morning , for the purpose of considering the course which should be pursued in reference to the Government amendment upon the Ten Hours BUI . The meeting included the whole body of the Central Short-time Committee of the county , assembled from Ashton , Bury , Burnley , Clitheroe , Colne , Heywood , Rochdale , Hyde , Littleborough _, Stalybridge , Oldham , Todmorden , nebden Bridge , Mossley , Manchester , Stockport , Dukinfield , and Bacup . Mr . Phillip Knight presided . The following were the resolutions : — 1 . That this committee deeply deplores the infatuation which led to the cause of the factory workers being entrusted to Lord Ashley . 2 . That it is the first duty of this committee to maintain inviolate the provisions of John Fielden ' s Ten Hours Act .

      3 . That any deviation from the limitation of ten hours per day . and fifty-eight hours per week , is a violation of that act . L That the government proposition , recommended by Lord Ashley , to extend the duration of the labours of women and young persons , is an unjust and . cruel attempt to deprive them of tbe protection which Parliament has already declared them entitled to . 5 . That to make this attempt without public notice , and in answer to an appeal from the women

      and young persons' to the justice of Parliament to enforce its own laws , shows a shameless disregard on the part of the government of the honour and dignity of Parliament . 6 . That should any measure he now suffered to pass infringing npon the two limits of ten hours and 5 f £ y-eight hours _. such a backward movement on the part of the legislature will be fatal to the _progresg ofthe cause of mercy and justice not only in fact by legislation , but with reference to all the overworked population of these kingdoms . 7 . That this meeting pledges itself to use every constitutional means to assist Lord John Manners

      in his noble efforts to obtain an effective Ten Hours Bill , and steadi l y to resist every measure , of whatever kmd , by whomsoever proposed , which would in any respect contravene the princi ple and intentions of John Fielden ' s Act . 8 . That the districts be advised to petition Parliament with all possible despatch , in conformity with these resolutions , nnd that a form of petition be now adopted to be recommended to the districts . 9 . That as there is no time to obtain signatures to petitions , the districts are advised to hold public meetings , in convenient rooms or places , in their various townships or other local divisions . That the chairmen of such meetings should sign the petitions , which should arrive in London by Friday mornin _? next .

      10 . That the heartfelt thanks of this meeting are due to Lord John Manners for the generous manner in which he has come forward to aid us at the moment when the base and deliberate treachery of our pretended friends seemed to . have assured our defeat . Resolutions 11 and 12 thank the flople s friends , Oastler , Stephens , and Samuel Fielden , for forewarning them of this treachery , and pledging the committee to make it a hustings question in the event of another election , _v 13 . That this meeting is . constrained to express its deliberate and emphatic censure of the course which the present government has pursued in reference to the now openly avowed proposition to upset the Ten Hours Act , a course which has been characterised throughout by duplicity , evasion , and a treacherous design ultimately to betray the cause ofthe operatives by making their present appeal to the justice and honour of Parliament , a pretext for inflicting stilll further burdens and hardships upon them .

      On the same day a meeting ofthe delegates of the old central short time committee , was held at the Cotton Tree Inn , and there wero delegates preseut from Manchester , Stockport , Bolton , Chorley , Preston , Blackburn , Padiham , Ashton , Oldham , Wigan , Warrington , Dewsbuvy , Huddersfield , Bradford , Prestolee , Tyldesley , Droylsden , Astley Bridge , Leig h , Worsley , Dukenfield , _Halshaw Moor , Cuerden , and other places . There was also a letter from Glasgow acceding to such course as the meeting might determine to take . The delegates present were required to state to the meeting the feeling evinced by their constituents , and from these statements it appeared that in the aggregate there was a large majority of factory

      operatives in favour of accepting the government proposition . They thought , however , that , an effort should be made to improve the government scheme by limiting the hours to fifty-eig ht instead of _aixty . The whole ofthe delegates who had been in London declared themselves in favour of the government plan , and Mr . PbiJip Grant said he should recommend the government plan unconditionally as preferable to Lord Ashley ' s , talcing them upon their relative merits in every respect , though he was willing to try every means of making it an effective Ten Hours Bill . . Mr . Nuttai _. proposed tho first resolution , which was in favour of Lord John Manners' amendment , and condemned the conduct of Lord Ashley .

      Mr Donovan seconded the motion , but it was evident the feeling of the meeting was not with

      this course . r , . ., . .. Mr Grant proposed as an amendment that the limitation ofthe factory day from six in the niorningtill six in the evening was a most important feature in factory leg islation , and most desirable to be obtained without delay . That an effort should therefore be made to engraft upon the government plan a clause for fifty-eig ht hours per week , but that , failing in the attempt , no measure should be adopted to endanger the government proposition , which effects a limitation of the hours of labour from six in the morning till six in the evening . t After , a . discussion of neaAr four hours , this amendment was adopted all _pR unanimously . A circular from the Fielden party was distributed m the meeting deprecating the conduct of Lord Ashley , but tho delegates repudiated any sympathy with its sentiments . Mr . Grant was deputed to proceed to London to forward the proposition of

      The Ten Hours Bill

      Lord John Manners ,, but with the understanding expressed in the resolutions , that he should not , failing success in this course , Oppose the government scheme .

      The Condition Of England Question.

      THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND QUESTION .

      ( Condensed from Out ' . Morning Chronicle . ) IN _^ I _^ 0 TUAL _ANtTmORAL CONDITION ? L _™? , _3 B 01 ( JllER 1 N t _™ SOUTHERN AND WESTERN COUNTIES . Taking the adult class of agricultural labourers , it is almost impossible to exaggerate the ignorance in which they live and move and have- their being . As they work in tho fields , the external world has some hold upon them through the medium of their senses ; , out to all the hi gher exercises of intellect they are perfect strangers . Youcannot addross one of them without being at once painfully struck with the intellectual darkness which enshrouds him . There is in general neither speculation in his

      eyes nor intelligence in his countenance . The whole expression is more that of an animal than of a man . He is wanting , too , in the erect and independent bearing of a man . When you accost him , if ho is not insolent—which he seldom is—l : e : s timid and shrinking , his whole manner showing that he feels himself at a distance from you greater than should separate any two classes of men . He is often doubtful when you address , and suspicious when you question him ; he is seemingl j " oppressed with the interview whilst it lasts , , and obviously relieved « " u 0 ver * These are tho traits whicil r can affirm them to possess as a class , after having come in contact with many hundreds of farm labourers . They be ong to a generation for whose intellectual

      culture little or nothing was done . As a _olnss _^ they have no amusements beyond the indulgence of sense . In nine eases out of ten , recreation is associated in their minds with nothing higher than sensuality . I have frequentl y asked clergymen and others , if they often find the adult peasant reading for his own and others' amusement ? Tho invariable answer is , that such a sight is seldom or nover-wstnessed . In the first place , tho great bulk of them cannot read . Iii the next , a largo proportion of those who can , do so with too much difficulty to admit of the exercise being an amusement to them . Again , few of those who can read with comparative ease have the taste for doing so . It is but justice to them to say , that manv of those who

      cannot read havo bitterl y regretted , in my hearing , their inability to do so . Take the ordinary day labourer on the farm , and viewing him from what point vou will , what manner of man do you find him ? You are first struck with the anomaly presented by the . outward man . In his very dress he seems not to belong to the century in which he lives . The smock-frock was never the garb of active labour , and it certainly but ill beseems tbe labourer of these bustling and competing times . It would be no more in the way in the mine or the factory than it is in the field . Fieldwork requires a great deal of stooping , and perfect freedom ofthe limbs . The frock is neither adapted for the one , nor allows of the other . His gait , too , is awkward , The contrast between him and men engaged in other laborious occupations is sufficientl y

      great to force itself upon the most passive observer . He seems to belong to an inferior grade of beings , when compared with the factory operative , the worker in the mines , the fisherman , the artisan , oi the stable boy . They are dressed , more or less , in keeping with their work and with the times , and are quick and intelligent in their movements , whereas he is attired in the robe of centuries gone b y , and is ; ' awkward , . cumbrous , and mechanical in his actions . The state of his mind has been already adverted to . Education has advanced him but little beyond the position which he occupied in the days of William the Norman . The farm 'labourer has scarcely participated at all in the improvement of his brethren . As he was generations gone by , so he is now—a physical scandal , a moral enigma , an intellectual cataleptic .

      Iu inquiring into the nature and extent of the educational machinery at work in the counties in question , I found that , as regards reliable and authentic information , I had to encounter the same difficulties as formerly . No one seemed to know anything of what , was going on in this respect , beyond his owij district , and few could furnish me with any very specific detail connected even with their own districts . This parish had one kind of school , that another—this one again had both—and that neither the one nor the other . On this , _as on other subjects , people are often apt to bo deceived by sounds , and are prevented only by careful inquiry from frequently running off with tbe most erroneous impressions . Thus , I was informed at

      Blandfordthat not only was there an excellent _. Na ; tional School there , at which the children in the union were taught , but that all the surrounding parishes were provided with schools . " Have they all National schools ? " I inquired . " No , not exactly that , " said my informant . "They have all day . 8 hoo ! _s ,. I presume ? " I added . "Well , " said he , " I am afraid I must say . that some of them have only Sunday schools . " And so it is with many parishes in other parts of the county , which , we are told , are provided with schools . Even in a secular point of view , the Sunday school is better than no school at all . A few of the children who attend them are taught to read—but only a few , for tlie attendance is irreguhr _, and the interval of a week which elapses between every two brief lessons affords the child sufficient time for forgetting the little that may have been learnt . Unfortuately , even when there are dav schools in the parish , it is

      only the Sunday school that the labourer s child . can attend ,. Labour in the fields , for is ., Is . Cd ., or 2 s . a week , absorbs all his time during the six days of work ; and it is only on the seventh day that his miud has any chance of receiving the slightest culture . When the child lives wholly with the farmer who employs him , it is only during a fraction ofthe year that even the Sunday school is attended . lie is kept steadily at work every day in the week , particularly during the season when tho cattle are housed . It is thus that multitudes of tho rising generation are rapidly growing up , and passing without improvement the improveablo age . So fains they arc concerned , their inheritance will embraco the ignorance as well as the servitude of their fathers . Reading is , of course , the only element of secular education taught at the Sunday schools . You can almost always tell when the education of a child has been confined to these schools . He can

      sometimes read well , but knows nothing of either writing or arithmetic . In some parishes , where there are no day schools , there is but one Sunday school ; in others there aro several Sunday schools ; their circumstances in this respect depending upon the extent and zeal of the different sects which may inhabit them . The following may serve as a specimen of some of the teachers even in these schools , in whicli one generally looks for efficiency in the work of education . The circumstance happened in Cornwall ,-in a parish in which there was no school but the British and Foreign School , which was attended by many children belonging to the Church . I was accompanied to the' school by one who took a great interest in promoting the educational system

      to which it pertained . On entering the boy s department , 1 found about 120 of them assembled , most of whom were being noisily instructed in geography . At some distance before them was a Targe map of England , by means of which the teacher was testing their knowledge of localities . Finding the system pursued to be that of permitting all the boys to answer at once , I listened attentively , in order to test their proficiency , to some of the boys in tho back rows , and found that ail they did was to make an unmeaning noise every time a question was asked , leaving those who could to answer correctly and distinctly . In the _noiBe of nearly a hundred voices this delinquincy was undetected by the master . He shortly , afterwards showed me several maps drawn by somoof the boys . One of these was a large map of Scotland , whicli was the conjoint work of two of them . He evidently took great pleasure in showing it as something

      reflected credit alike on master and pupils . On its being unrolled , tho first thing my eye lighted upon was an immense arm of the sea , which , commencing at the head of the Dornoch Frith , stretched in a north westerly direction nearly up to Cape Wrath , almost cutting the county of Sutherland into two nearly equal parts . It was painted so excessively blue that it was impossible to overlook it . I directed tho roaster ' s attention to the county , and asked him if he perceived nothing wrong about it . He said he did not ; whereupon I pointed out the blunder to him , telling him that , independently of geographical teaching , my topographical knowledge of the locality enabled me to detect the error , as I had more than once ridden , high and dry , in Her Majesty ' s mail , over the ground which the map had submerged with an arm of the sea several miles wide . He looked confused and annoyed , but said , at last , with great naivete , "I'm sure it was so in the copy . "

      To do justice to the farmers , a large proportion of them are insensible to the benefits of education . In many cases you cannot distinguish the children of the farmer , by their dress , demeanour , or intellectual culture , from thoso of the labourer ; and this , too , not only in the case of " _smook farmers , " as the lowest class of thorn are tevmfcd , but also in that of some tolerably well off in tho world . There are others who give their own children the benefit of the host education that they

      can afford , but who would deny the same boon to tho child of the labourer . It is bnt a few days since I metono of this class . He did not like the present order of things at all . There was too great a tendency in society _now-a-days to heavo up that which was below to the top . Labourers wore anxious to become masters , and so on . To educate tho labourer . wa 3 only to enhance this . ovil . The child should succeed his father at his toil . His own son was thon at tho University , and , _waa study * _bgfortiwohurch ,

      The Condition Of England Question.

      : . Such are , m too many instances , the men who by becoming guardians of unions are _BninS with the _education of the poT _^ _omotf £ speakout openly , and express their disinclination S ham * them educated . They aro obliged to com p ly withthe letter ofthe law , b _„ _thefoare _noS a master or mistress being qualified for the work of instruction . -These are strong assertions , but thev are borne out by facts , and every one acquainted with tlie views and conduct of tho guardians of many of tho purely rural unions—for it is of them only that I now speak—can attest their accuracy . The character of the teachers will generally bespeak that of the guardians . If they can distinguish between a good and a bad teacher , aud do not remove a bad one—or if they cannot distinguish between

      them—they are not fit to be guardians . The cases are startlingly numerous in whicli they either cannot , or will not , make the distinction . I was informed by a gentleman , on whom every reliance can be placed , that when , some time ago , he entered the school-room ofthe St . Austel workhouse , he found the . master setting a copy to a boy— " A blind man ' s wife need no painting . " It was not even needs . In another school , the master , after showing me their copies , and making the boys read a little in thy hearing , offered , as a test of their arithmetical proficiency , to " put them through a sum in _subsfraction . " In another case , it was discovered that none of the children could write at all . An inquiry was instituted into this bv tho nartv

      whose duty it was to do so , and he discovered that the reason was that the schoolmistress herself could not ¦ write . Ho remonstrated with tho guardians for having such a teacher , but they insisted upon it that _sho was good enough . Of what use was it to teach tho children to . write ? . It only made them bad servants , and they did not want them to write . Ihe schoolmistress was afterwards removed by a higher power , but those same guardians re-elected her to . her post . Whilst tho party who moved in the matter had several letters from the guardians , insisting upon the sufficiency of her qualifications , he had also several lotters from her to which was appended her . mark . On another occasion , the same person ,, whilst _examining a school , asknd a . _fdri

      whata quadruped was , the . word occurring in her roadmg lesson . She could not _answeiv . He then asked the schoolmistress ifshodidnot teach them the meaning of such words . She replied that she did , and that they all knew it , but that "thev were so stupid . " He then desired her to point out one who could tell him the meaning of the word . She went round the whole school , but not ono was found who could do so . It then occurred to him to ask her if she knew it herself . She coloured , "stammered , and at last admitted that she "did not exactly know . " He next asked her if ihe knew what a biped was . That she certainly did not know ; but on being told that she herself was one

      , thought it was something , awful , and afterwards complained to the guardians that her interrogator had called her names . I was informed of another case , in which a master was appointed who could neither , read nor write . On being asked how he could undertake to teach , he said that he made tlie boys that could read teach those who could not , and that he listened to those who could read , and could easily tell when they went wrong . It would he unfair to infer that ail the schools in question are thus miserably provided with teachers , but the system must bo throughout a radicall y defective one which can admit of such cases even as exceptional . .

      Notwithstanding all that has recently been done for . the cause of education , the proportion of children growing up utterly uneducated is very great , in almost every family such is the case with some . I make a practice of accosting almost every boy I meet , and inquiring into his education . I thus accosted one some time ago near Chewton Mandip , m Somerset , who was in his twelfth year , and had , according to his own account , been for some time at school , . which ,. however , he had attended very irregularly . I asked him what he was learning , and he said it was the a _b-ab and the i _b-ibs . I then asked him if he knew the Queen ' s name to which ho replied in the negative . I frequently ask this question of boys , and find that in fully half the cases

      ia which I do so , of boys from ten to fourteen , they cannot tell the Queen ' s name nor have they ever heard of her Majesty . I put some questions in geography to a boy , who told me he had been learning it for two years , " What is the shape of the earth ?" I asked . " Round , like an orange , " he answered . '' What is a promontory ? " I next inquired . " Master alivays skips about the promontories , " he replied . "What is an island , then ? " I demanded . " Master skips that , too , sir , ! ' said he . " Well , what is a river ? " This he answered . correctl y ; but on further questioning him in connexion withthe very elements of the study , the reply in three cases put of four was that his master " skipped" the subject . Nor was this the child of an agricultural

      labourer . He was the son of a tradesman , living in a Cornish town , and attending school regularly . Let it be borne in mind that not only are numbers of the rising generation : growing up defectively educated , but that a larger proportion of them are doing so without any education at all . Our social system is full of anomalies , but there is none greater , perhaps , than that presented by the parochial union school , such as it is . The child of the independent labourer is sent to toil at the age when he should be . sent to school . It is only at irregular intervals that he enters a day school , and it is not always , that he can attend a Sunday school . He never enters any school provided for him by law . But the child of the pauper finds a legal provision for the sustenance of his body and the culture of his mind . His day is not spent in toil , but is divided botween his education and his amusement . When

      he leaves the school-room—which he attends , in summer for six , and in winter for five hours a dayit is to go to the playground , which he frequently finds provided for bim with many of the appliances of childish sports . How different is their fatesthe child of the independent man , and the child of the pauper ! But where is the remed y for this anomaly ? 'The evil is , not that the pauper is too well off , but that the child of independence should not bo abrest , at least as regards his opportunities , with tho offspring of poverty . Having thus glanced generally at tho educational system at work in the four counties in question , I now proceed to state the results of my observations as regards the morals of the labouring classes in all the counties which I have hitherto visited . In doing so , I regret to say , that the sketch which I am about to draw will be by no means of a favourable or encouraging description .

      The facts which I have from time to time stated , as illustrating tho overcrowded condition of a very large proportion ofthe cottages , aro so eloquent of themselves , that it is scarcely necessary for me to ' add anything as to the pernicious influence which such a state of things must have upon the morals ofthe poor . When families of from six to ttvelve individuals , of both sexes and of all ages , are huddled together night after night in two , three , or four beds , all in one room , what aro we to expect as the result but a very general and a fearfully precocious immorality ? I have met now and , then with families crowded in their straitened dwellings who were , nevertheless , pious , lovers of truth , honest in their dealings , and exemplary in their conduct , But such green spots are rarely met

      with in the wide moral waste ; and ono marvels at their appearance at all . With the great bulk of the peasantry there is a laxity of morals , which is as easily accounted for as it is painful to contemplate , The moral sense of many of them revolts at the circumstances in which they are placed ; but the most startling feature connected with the whole matter is , the utter indifference which multitudes , who complain loudly enough of their physical privations , evince as regards the immoralities to which their condition gives rise . In thousands of breasts the distinction betwe ' en right and wrong is but faintl y traced , if it is not altogether obliterated . Perhaps , in all this they are move to be pitied than blamed , for the mode of lifo to which they are condemned would sap the morality of any class of people .

      There are two classes amongst them who suffer from the manner in which the peasantry are herded together in their miserable dwellings . There aro , in the first place , those who , from peculiar circumstances , may have reached maturity with some delicacy of feeling and purity of nnnd preserved to them , of which they are gradually robbed through the pernicious influences to which they are axposed . It is possible that some of these may successfully stem the torrent of immorality which would boav them down , and come puvo and undafiled out of its filthy waters at last . But these are few indeed . It is possible , too , that some of them , having fallen away , may yet reolaim themselves , tho virtues of early lite triumphing at _lasj over

      engrafted vice . But such instances are aiso of rare occurrence * There is ,. in the next place , that other _olass , and b y far the mere numerous ono , tho members of which advance from infancy to puberty aliens to shame and strangers to the common decencies of life . Of these , what ean reasonably be expected , but that the vices which are sown broad-cast in them during _theif youth will grow _withtheirgrowthandstrengthen with their strength ? In the illicit intercourse to which such a position frequently gives rise , it is not always that the tie of blood _iarespected . Certain it is that when the vclationshiD is even but one desree removed from

      that of brother and sister , that tie is frequently overioeked . And when tho circumstances do not lead to such horrible consequences , the mind , particularly of the femalo , is wholly divested of that sense of delioacy and shame winch , so lone _; as tney are preserved , are the chief safeguards of hex cnas tity . She therefore falls an early and ¦ _« eawp _« y to the temptations which beset he _tj _^ ff _™ ; mediate circle of her family . Pe 0 Pj _^ _Jg 3 Tn BBhereBoflifeare but little aware of the extent to Sch _tht ireSiouS demoralization of the female wnicn tms _precouiuu tho country has pro-Sdef BuVho _^ _eJulO bei otherwise ! The W-

      The Condition Of England Question.

      moralist may Inculcate even the worldly advantages ofa better course of life , and the minister of religion may warn thorn of the eternal penalties which they are incurring ; but there is an instructor _con-, _stantly at work more potent than them all , an instructor in mischief , of which they must get rid ' ere they make any real progress in their laudable efforts—and that is , the single bed chamber , in the two-roomed cottage _. Perhaps , the most striking instance of the demo--I'alization of a whole community , from overorowd- . nig and other unpropitious circumstances , is that _., furnished by Sutton Courtney , in Berkshire , for- ' _merl y alluded to in connexion with the subject _, of education in that county . I was not thon aware

      oi the notoriety which this village had already attained . When England was first divided into unions , that of Abingdon was about the first to bo marked off . Tho people of Abingdon were willing that the commissioners should draw any line they pleased , provided they only excluded Sutton Courtney from the union . Its character was then so bad that tho people of the neighbouring parishes recoiled from the idea of being comprehended within the same division with it . Tlie commissioners having acquainted themselves with the grounds on which this request was made , complied with it , and Sutton Courtney was erected into a union of itself , on the understanding , however , ( hat whenever it amended its character , it should merge

      into the Abingdon union . It is now part and parcel of that union , from which it is to be inferred that its character has somewhat improved . It was , therefore in its amended state that I found it . Judging from its present condition , it must formerly havo been inconceivably bad , or the people of Abingdon havo been satisfied with very slight tokens of amendment . Despite tho exertions of the zealous and independent vicar , the Rev . Mr . Gregson , whoso efforts have not been without some _, success , the place is to this day a focus of intemperance and debauchery of _evt-ry kind . Chastity is a thing little known in the village , and not at all respected . The want of it is regarded as no Btauv on a woman s character , nor does it mar her

      prospects in the slightest degree , Herself a prostitute and the companion of thieves and prostitutes , sheis just as likely to marry and get settled—as people in her class of life aro generally settled—as is the honest and virtuous woman in localities possessing a hig her standard of morality . I found more than one family of children going by different names . The mother was unmarried , and the different names ' indicated the paternity of the different children : Again , a whole family has been known to goby different names at different times . Thus , if the mother were living with a man of the name of Smith , the children took his name , but if _sbe changed her paramour and Jived with ono named Tomkins , the family would go by the new name .

      Children have thus been _known to give to parties inquiring one name to-day , and a different one tomorrow . It is distressing to witness the early age at which they commence a life of active immorality . Young girls may be seen at the public-houses sodden with gin or drunk with beer . There is , of course , rto line drawn by them for the regulation of their conduct after this . Indeed , they are proficients in _ licentiousness ere they reach this point . The violence of their tempers , too , leads thera into perpetual brawls and fights . The practice of cohabitation before marriage is almost universal . It is not only a charateristic of low rural life , it is also so with the miners and the fishermen ' ' Even in the fishing village of Mousehole , the people of which are , in general , sO

      orderly , it is the case . Ana this , too , notwithstanding the extent to which temperance has prevailed amongst them . Total abstinence has not effected much in this respect for society . The miners and pitmen , too , are much more under the influence of constant religious teachings than the rural labourer . And yet they are no better than he is , so far as tbe practice alluded to is concerned . When a young fisherman passes eighteen he generally gets a man s wages . Immediately thereupon he gets a new suit of clothes and a watch , after which no fancies himself sufficiently set up in the world to commence a courtship , which generally leads to an early marriage by the course mentioned . In some parts of . Cornwall tho immorality of the females at work about the mines is notorious and proverbial .

      It is on the Sunday evening that most mischief is done in this respect . No ono can enter or leave a rural town at that time without being convinced of this . It is the time when servants , both male and female , are most generally permitted to go out , and ifc is therefore that for which they arrange most of their assignations . They have a slang of their own , in which their arrangements are pretty unreservedly made in the presence of those who , they think , have not the key to it . This , after some time , I became acquainted with , and I havo frequently overheard

      them planning their assignations , which , in ninecases out of ten , were arranged for the first Sunday evening . The extent to which very young persons of both sexes participate in these arrangements ia really shocking . No thing can be more fatal to the young girl , after the training which she has received at home , than tho work to which she is so early consigned in the fields . She there often meets with associates , even of her own sex , who speedily qualify her for any criminalities in which she may he afterwards tempted to participate . ( To be Continued . )

      British College Of Health,. . , ' . ' . ...

      BRITISH COLLEGE OF HEALTH ,. . , ' . ' . New Road , London . Iteport of lieutenant John _ATaclcinnon , General _ITygeian Agent to the British College of Health , New-road , London . Cape Breton , March 16 tb , 1859 .

      TO MESSBS . M 0 KIS 0 N _' . . ; Dear _Snts , —I havo the pleasure to communicate to yo » that nil that my heart could desire has been fully accomplish with _respcel to my practice as your agent since I last reported ; and it would be tedious , indeed , to give a statement in full of Ihe numerous cases of cure and benefits derived from the heaven-blessed medicines of the British College of Health . - Tlie decided superiority of tho Hygeian system of medicine to all ordinary medical practice has been recently tested in our neighbourhood , the particulars of which 1 feel bound to communicate to you . We have lately . been visited with a fatal disease termed by our _doctors typhus fever—and tlie name of the disease appears to be all they know about it ; for all the patients they took in hand were ' ' soon humed to the long home . Among others who fell victims to this dreadful disease was a Mr . Peter Kelly , _agedtwentv-two ; a Miss Mary Musgrave , a blooming young

      lady of nineteen ; and , 1 huve proof that the first doctor employed in this case after administering medicine , and blisterin ? and bleeding to excess , declared lie bad mistaken her disorder ! however , they soon sent her to her account among them . Another who submitted hcrseU . to the doc * tor ' s treatment , was a Mrs . _M'Kay , a young married woman , aged twenty-one , having one child . Sho too , poor _, young thing , was soon hurried to the grave . People now began to get out of conceit of the doctors , and the following individuats . placed themselves in . my hands to be treated with the Hygeian medicineB of Mr Morison ; and under the blessing of God the success of your medicines , gentlemen , has , in the whole of these cases , been satisfactory in a high degree , for aU my patients have been thoroughly vestoiod to health . , ' ' " Miss Mary Ann Moft ' att , same age and related to the departed Miss Musgrave . John Maidore , twenty-four years of age . Mrs . Stalery , twenty-three years- of age .

      The Misses Grant , two sisters , and many others who had the fever lightly by taking the pais in time ; tlie nam * of these I havo not mentioned , but thoso whose names I send you I consider were on tho brink of eternity , but they are now perfectly recovered , and I have every hope the disease has now vanished . It carried off fivo members in , one family near Sidney , and the doctors __ there neither , knew the name of the disease or how to cure it . . , ... " I shall _onry add that I rejoice to linow that thesysteraand medicine of the late venerable James Morison are ' firmly established , and that the honest people who . signedi tho petiiion to parliament against tbe use and sale of-doctors' poison _^ are to have their mimes recorded ; and I feel pride in the reflection that I have done my duty in . the cause on this side the Atlantic , u » d have ten children all thoroughly impressed with tho soundness of the Moriseniau theory . Should I live a few days longer I shall be _sistyi five years of age , and I havo taken in my time 18 , 525 , of your pills ; but during ; thd past four years I have not-taken _asTMttvy in _twelveTOontttaasl-Sovmevly _tooltip one , covin one saouth as many as ( formerly toolc in one day . lam , Gentlemen , very sincerely yours , John _Macsisnoh . _-

      Gusrownen^-—In The Manufacture Of Gunpow...

      GusrownEn _^ _- —In the manufacture of gunpowder it is necessary that the ingredients should be ofthe greatest possible purity . The charcoal employed by government is prepared from the wood ofthe alder , willow , or dogwood —that for the best sporting powder is made from black dry woods /; but any sort of wood is used for common , kinds Of powder . Braddook , in his " Memoir on Gunpowder , " says tbe grambush plant _( cytisus . cajan ) and tho miMedge ( eug > HO > _'bia timcuJh ') ave suitable for that purpose , as is alsoHho ParMnsonia . . When tha wood selected for tho purpose is deprived of its bark , and cut into p ieces ofa convenient size , it is placed in linders or _retorts-of iron , and submitted

      cy • . . « j ? J . it . nJ- if _> _nnoiuona rn / i to distillation , it being found that it answers the _mirposo better by being _bipt out of contact-with line air . It is also said to , be more free from potash , 1 when prepared in this way , and at the same time , _, tbe _produSts of the distillation ( pyrohgnious acid nyroacetle sp irit and tar ) winch are lost by tho old I method aro preserved . The charcoal thus burnt la i reduced to powder ,, and carefully examined , to sea J thit there are no brands or imperfect pieces ' re- _maiain" amongst it . It is then sifted through lawn c sieves , to purify it from any other light or _fijreiga i substances , and ground in a mill , until it , is _suffi- _t _oientlv nulvevised to pass through what is ' called-a i

      bolting sieve , of brass wire , the object being to t bring as near as possible , to the same _sized-par- c tides as the sulphur and saltpetre are seduced to , o which is necessary to produce an int ' uaate mixture , r of tho three ingredients . Powder prepared with t charcoal made in iron cylinders is called cylinder c powder , and that from pit chasegal is called pit powder . _^ _u : The Bodt of a Custom-3 on . se officer , named « Stapleford , whose disappearance from _thoi'Butck * brig . Pallas , . at Portsmouth , about two i " ? _?^? * since , caused _oon 8 idernj > _le excitement , was . piokea $ up floating aw the . _jhwe of Hay _& g _WW * i Sunday . ' ''' T

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 18, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_18051850/page/7/