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Northern Star (1837-1852), 19th January 1850, Edition 3 of 3, Page 7, * - TH£ DOCK LABOURERS OF LONDON. The do...

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      The Protection Movement.—Lord Downshiren...

      - """" - _*" _* that Mr . O ' Conneil : does ; not * intend last _^ oari _' 8 inent any longer for Traleo ; _and-it s 3 ti _^ inatett that w * e 8 hall have ah election early . jgantic » P * „ , ¦ " * - _k _^^ _jnno * ra _KnanSH . —The limerick Examiner tl * an account of two inquests lately held in 65 uin 00 tne bodies of two persons , Austin _& l uoe and Mary St , Leger , who , it was alleged , Co ! _? _£ nffl tbe effects of destitution . The jury _re-^ fVaverdict m both cases of " died from the _^ . _fs oSger _^ dcold . " e _BnB 6 u av . —A daring burglary was committed at * " _~ j _ hour on Thursday week on the premises of -uvRndlater _, of Dublin . The robbers effected an _^ _a nce throug h an nnoccnpied house next door , _^ dbroke a hole through a wall three feet thick , _efficient to admit a man . A considerable sum of monev was in an iron safe , which did not attract _ 5 I _2— _.,- _, , n .. n-ii , An » _a- -nnf . _T mfnn *

      Jheir attention , as it was covered carelessly with a _eict Before eleven o ' clock the same morning the _Entire oang were found by the detectives , drunk fiom the elects of brandy . As _Jtsassiora Forokrt . —At the Hillsborough _naarter Sessions last week , Daniel _M'Gurgan and _james Grimley _, alias _M'Guire , were convicted of consp iring , on the 20 th July , at "iiewry _, tu cheat _jobert Mills , of Moira , of £ 20 , by mean * of a false civil bill decree , grounded on a forged 10 TJ . The mann er in which the forgery was executed was carious . An old letter of Mills ' s was obtained , and the 10 TJ was written on the blank space underneath the genuine signature , and then detached from the letter . The prisoners were sentenced to transportation for seven years .

      M _croers nr Tipperary . —Ihe Nenagh Guardian contains the following : —* ' About the hour of six < fclock on Friday night , another of those frightful butcheries which have given our county a notoriety in _crime surpassing all other portions of Europe , was _committed on William Ardell , steward to Mr . Richard Falkiner , of Mount F « Ikiner . The particulars are briefly as follow : —As "William Ardell was crossing from _' Mr . Fa'kiner _' s house to his own dwelling , a distance of about a quarter of a mile , he was fired at by some person or persons unknown , and Shot dead _^ the contents of the piecehaving lodged in his heart . He was found dead between his own house and Mr . Falkiner ' s , about the hour of six o ' clock next morning . No cause has yet been

      _assHif d f « r the commission of this outrage . Ardell fcaslefta wife and six children . The coroner , Mr . T . T . Abbett , left about one . o ' clock on Monda y to hold an inquesti but will not have returned in time to "ive further particulars . ' ' — The same paper asserts : - On Thureday last , as a poor , emaciated , and almost famine-stricken man ofthe name of Magrath , was passing through a turnip field , convenient to the village of Newport , the property of a wealthy and respectable former of the rame of Hogan , tiie cravings of hunger prompted him to pull a turnip , having voraciously eaten which , he took another , when Hogan came up and rudly caught hold of the poor _mau . He told him to drop the turnip , said he - _« as a prisoner , and thathe would take him as such

      tothe Bridewell of Newport . 'Is it for _n _^ turnip you'll make a prisoner ofme ? Oh ! for God ' s sake -do not—forgive me , I was hungry -, * piteously ejaculated the wretched Magrath , whose entreaties for _^ lib er we re in va in ; when he . ultimately said he -would not go as a prisoner , and that he would resist Hogan . At this part of the contention a farmer _arrived , and told Hogan if he felt aggrieved he had & remedy by summons , and suggested the humanity of letting _Magrath go . As Magrath was then in the -act of quitting the turnip field Hogan presented his " gun , took deliberate aim , fired , and shot the unfortunate man in the left arm and s"de ! His arm is shattered , and several slugs are lodged in his side . He Res dangerously ill ia Newport , spitting blood in

      large quantities . The medical _gentleman , who is attending him has no hopes of his recovery . On Friday the case was fully investigated by the magistrates at Newport petty sessions , when , for this heinous offence . Hogan was fully committed for trial at the approaching asskes at Nenagh . " Opposition to Rests . —The Tipperary Vindicatorhas an account of the forcible removal of corn seized for rent , at Borrisoleigh , which , however , was re-taken bv the landlord . In this district , it is Stated , there is a " general system of passive resistance , the land being completely stripped of stock . " In this same district , on Wednesday , there was a sale for non-payment of rent , but the poor rate collector put in his prior claim , and the residue scarcely paid the fees of the landlord ' s bailiffs .

      _Kosias _Cathoiic _UjMVfcKarr . —The Freeman s Journal , in urging the _utcessUy of establishing a Roman Catholic University , says : — ' * There is a nucleus in the O'Conneil Monument Fnnd which would go far to erect thc first buildings ; and we venture to predict , Ihat within five years the Irish Catholic University would possess more wealth than -was owned by Trinity Collrge in the first century of its existence . " Suggested Tribute to Mb . John 0 Cornell . — In reference to a suggestion for a national tribute to Mr . John O'Conneil , which has recently appeared in a Limerick paper , the honourable gentleman has addressed a letter to the Freeman's Journal , in which he savs : — " I respectfully , but most strongly ,

      deprecate its being mooted at ail . 1 have no claim to , nor expectation of , what is thereiu mentioned ; and the State ofthe country , and the pressure of the times , render that suggestion if possible still more inappropriate aHd unsuitable . " ' Orange _Pbosecction . —In the Court of Queens Bench on Monday , Mr . "Whiteside , Q . C ., rose to apply for a conditional order for a criminal information a «* ainst the proprietor of the Dublin Evening Jtost at the . suit ef John Jardine , master of an Oranse lodge in the county of Down , and one of the Onm _^ emen charged with participation in the affairs of "Doilv ' s Brae , hut the court declined to hear him .

      There are numerous affidavits filed in this Orange case , and they charge that the letter of the Under-Secretary , which led to the dismissal of Lord Roden and the Messrs . Beers , the publication of Mr . Berwick ' s report of his inquiry at Castlewellan , with Other documents and evidence published in the Evening Post , were calculated to prejudice the case of John Jardine , and- to influence the jury before whom ho is to be tried at the Spring Assizes for the county of Down . It is stated that the Orange partv intend to avail themselves of this prosecution im the discussion of the "Dolly's Brae affair in the ensuing session of parliament . usual weekl

      Repeal _Association . —The y meeting of this body was held on Monday , at Conciliation Hall ; Mr / Mahon presiding . Mr . Nugent moved that the petition against protection , and in favour of free trade , which had been adopted on that day week , he entrusted for presentation in the House of Commons to Mr . John O'Conneil , and he hoped they would not lose his services until he sat in their own parliament in College-green . Mr . John 0 'Consaid he never played the enemy ' s gamp , and he was not going to do it then . He would retain tbe representation until the people were ready to elect a staunch repealer , when he would be obliged to resign . The rent was announced to be £ 12 4 s . Cd .

      _ItzrsESXSTatios or Mato . —The Freeman ' s Journal says : — " We have tbe authority of our London Correspondent for stating that Mr . R . D . Browne has . declined tbe important colonial appointment offered for his acceptance some days since by Lord Crey . "When , our correspondent first announced that the Governorship of the Falkland Islands had been tendered to Mr . Browne , he expressed some doubt as to tbe ability ef the honourable member to enter npen the dories of the proffered appointment , and his apprehensions have been realised . Mr . Browne having refnsed the gift of the Colonial Minister , there will not , as a matter of course , be any election for Mayo . "

      Thb Protectionist Agitattos , according to the Ahrning Ckrordclc : —Although a few more stray meetings may he attempted , and the exclusive " aggregate'" is yet to come off at the Rotunda , in Dublin , the Protectionist agitation in Ireland is . " numbered among the things that have been . " The last experiment at a connty meeting in Clare , was a failure from the outset . The determination of the requi-. _sitionisis to abandon tbe meeting was known in Dublin before it was announced either in Ennis or Limerick . _iJroni the latter town , reporters had been sent early on Friday ; but upon their arrival they learned that the county meeting had heen suddenly abandoned , really because the Free-traders had assembled in great force , . to perfect their arrangements

      for a successful opposition . In a letter dated "En-* ois , Friday evening , * ' the reporter ofthe Limerick Examiner says : —*• Qn my arrival here thk morning the streets were crowded with" country squires country - ___ clergymen , and country farmers —• the r squires looking sad and sorrowfully the < _"Ieigyiuen , fanners , and townspeople , _expresswgiheir _^ _ratdkAioBspne to another en the signal triumph of free-trade and cheap food . The arrangements form counter demonstration in favour of freetrade were most _peifect . The Rev . Mr . Q , uaid , _P-E- ; Rev- 3 fr . Sheeny , of Tnila ; Rev . Mr . Macmahon , Of Miltowinalbay , and others ofthe Roman Catholic

      clergy , had come ' to dissipate the delusion and the fallacies of the Protectionists . The people of Ennis too , hacLnamed their champions for the occasion , at a _prehminarymeetiog . " The limerick Chronicle , the local Protectionist oi * gan , expresses deep _^ disappointment at the result , and dissatisfaction with the the pretences put forward by the requisitionists for postponing the county meeting . One of the grounds assigned was tbe absence of the high sheriff of Dublin . That journal remarks — * ' Sir Lucits O'Brien , ona of the requisitionists , was requested to _preode , m the absence of the high sheriff , and : by bis desire .

      ' -""""- *" That Mr O'Conneil: Does; Not...

      _^ _vm-m-i _™ - aAT _, mE _lxnAnmsMN _, STAn . ' ..... . 7 - I lr ' _- * _™* _*' _M _* _' * _' _' a !* _' _***« _' _**' _«*» _- _****««» _M _« _M _^ _-M _MMMM » _iM _^ _MM _«»»^ _MMM _» _a '" V * i .... . .. -nr .....,.,, _fc . . ¦ — i _,.,-,,. i _.. _» inr _» TirirvniTmn 11 ¦¦[ _,., mm _- _mr , _M-, n-1 I II ' -

      Mil Chesisbt.—This Intrepid Young Woman ...

      mil _Chesisbt . —This intrepid young woman who is now residing at Wymondham , where she is carrying on the business of a milliner and dressmaker , isnow so far recovered as to be able to walk op stairs and down , without the assistanceof either * cratch or stick . It must be _gratifying to those who have' taken snch deep interest in . this young w oman , to learn that this sufferer is at length' restored _, to the _uee . of her limbs , —Norfolk _Ntws ,

      The C0i^Iti0io )E Englamr , ' ; _ .:-.:,...

      THE _C _0 _I _^ _ITI _0 _IO _) _E _ENGLAMr _' ; _ _.:-.:, _C _^ : Qm _^ lON . : '" , 7 _^ 7 _^ ( Condensed from the Morning Chronicit . ) V _'? _-. P _TO DEVO _^^^ _M ' _*™ _LABOURER IN DEVONSHIRE AND SOMERSETSHIRE . _, In some of the small valleys in the undulating district around Totnes I found several specimens of the worst description of cottages : Indeed it was a matter of surprise to me that some of them were inhabited at all , notwithstanding the miserable accommodation with which a labouring family will put np . The same may be said ofthe di 9 tfict _,, both in . Dorset and Devon , lying around Axmirister . Here the population is verv dense—both on account " - _^— -w~~— - _^" _z" _* " _—** - _*—^^ . _* ....:......-..

      ofthe clearing system having been carried to only a trifling extent , since few of the parishes around are close parishes , and of the demand for labour which at one time _existed in Axminster , when it had some pretensions to being a place of manufacturing importance . But it is no longer so . - Who hears of Axminster carpets now ? The population which formerly collapsed upon the town has recently _: been thrown back again upon the adjoining parishes , in such numbers as to have a sensible effect both upon wages and rates , and to raise the value of cottages , whilst they have trenched upon their accommodation . I have been told of more than one instance

      in which this has taken place . As new cottages were net at first built to meet the increasing demand for them by those returning to their parishes in search of employment , many persons were obliged to lodge with those occupying such dwellings as existed . For this accommodation they of course paid so much per week ; the result of which was , that the price of cottages was raised in some cases tothe tenants . If a small family could accommodate two or three lodgers , which they frequently did , a considerable addition was made to their weekly receipts ; and as this addition came from the cottage , the landlord compelled , them to share its enhanced value with him . In some cases in which this was

      mentioned to me , the tenants looked upon this increase of rent as the work of stewards or agents alone ; in others they , were of opinion that the proprietors not only sanctioned but enjoined it , with a view , if possible , of driving the poor , people away , so as to get rid of the cottages : I inquired of several of them if they felt very generally the inconvenience of overcrowding ! and if it had " recently increased . They replied that it was the greatest inconvenience suffered by them , and that , of late , its increase had been very great ; both from the natural growth of population , and from the large addition which had been made to their numbers within the last few years , from the decay of manufactures in Axminster . In one hovel with two

      rooms , I found no fewer than eleven people . The Sleeping apartment was upstairs as usual , directly under the thatch . There were three beds ,-two of which were on the floor , In that having a bedstead 3 lept the father and mother and two children—a not uncommon arrangement—the remaining seven occupying the beds on the floor . The eldest ofthe family was a girl sixteen years of age , the next a girl about fifteen , and the third a boy of fourteen _, they sometines had a large tattered shawl hanging between the bed occupied by the parents and those on the floor , hut in winter they generally had it down , to serve as an additional covering for the children . The family was scarcely ever free from disease , the younger children being pale and

      emaciated , and diarrhoea being a very common ailment with them all . -Their diet was scanty , and the situation of the cottage bad . There was no drainage , and in wet weather a ! strong infusion of manure from ** > neighbouring dung-heap would trickle in at the cottage door . They were dirty in their habits , but to have-kept their houses anything like clean would have required so constant and energetic a warfare with filth that they shrunk from engaging in it . In addition to this , the greater port * on of the time of the elder members of the family _; including the parents , was occupied in the . fields ; and when they came home at night from their toil , they were too fatigued to address themselves to the task of keeping their house iu decent order . ; !

      One ofthe cottages visited contained , like too many others , but two rooms . The walls were of mud , or rather of what is called "cob" —a kind of mixture of mud and small stones . The roof , was of thatch , and had been reeently repaired in parts . Each room had but one window ; that in the upper room , which was in the gable end of the cottage , being extremely small . On three sides ' of the house there were great cracks or . fissures in the walls , all of which added to its discomforts , and one . of which positively endangered its stability . It was in the front of the cottage , near one ofthe corners , andran _jrom the thatch tothe ground , occasioned by the end wall having fallen considerably from the perpendicular . I asked her if she was not afraid thatthe house . would come down about her _ ears . She replied to tlie effect that her apprehensions had been blunted , as they had been excited by the same cause for the last ten years . I then entered ' the hovel .

      Bad and unpreposessing as was its exterior , it did not half prepare me for what I witnessed inside . The chimney stalk was at the side of the doer , and its side formed with the wall a small passage , about five feet long , at the end of which was another door , suspended upon one hinge , which opened into the lower apartment , in the recess formed by the other side ofthe chimney stalk and the opposite wall was the window , so small and so situated that it threw but a shabby twilight into . about one-half of the room . The other half was equally lighted when the door was open ; but when it was shut it was in such a gloom that it was scarcely possible to discern the objects which it contained . I requested her to leave the door open , that I might see to more

      advantage , hut chiefly—although I did not tell her so—that I might have the benefit of the fresh air , to counteract the sour and sickening smells which were rife within . The ceiling , which was blackened with smoke , was so low that it was only betweem the small rafters that I could stand erect with my hat on . The fire-place was of an enormous size ; but although the day was cold and raw , there was not at the time a spark of fire upon the hearth ! There were a few-chairs and some tripods , in the shape of stools ; about and within the ample fire-place was a bit " of log ; supported on four rude legs , _ which formed a kind of tench , on which about three could sit at a time , sheltered by the chimney stalk , in wliich they sat , from the drafts which pervaded the

      room in every direction . At one corner was an empty barrel , which answered the purposes of a table , and close to it an old deal chest , over which were two or three shelves full of crockery of all shapes , colours , and devices , and in all stages of fracture . Hard by was a large black-looking tub , in which there was a" quantity of flour which had recently been sifted from the bran . In the . centre ofthe room was the moiety of nn old round table , at which the family partook of tlieir meals .- "What these were will be afterwards mentioned . In the deep recess occupied by the window sat the eldest daughter bf my guide , ' working hard at the lacecushion , taking that " position as the one which afforded her most light in the room . A good deal

      of the fabric known as Honiton lace is manufactured here . The floor of the hovel was of mud . It . had never known the covering of quicklime and sand ; which frequently forms the flooring of _thecottages , and-which is to bo seen in some of those in the village . Towards the fire-place it descended so as to form a tolerably deep hole , in which water not unfrequently collects , and which has been prevented from deepening still further by a species of rough causeway work with which it is lined . "With this exception , you trod nothing , whilst in the lower room , hut the cold clay which formed the uneven flooring . I hesitated ere I ventured up _stairsi The family was not large , as most of the children were grown up , and were afloat onthe world for

      themselves . But there were still five at home—the father and mother , a young man of twenty-one years of age , a girl of about eighteen , and another girl of about thirteen . The five slept in tho room above In this instance it was more the chamber itself than its furniture that was at fault . It was wretchedly , lighted , and the room seemed , in places , to be falling in . To ventilation it was > an utter stranger . The crazy floor shook and creeked under me as I paced it . The bed room was approached by afew . broken steps , _ which rose to it out of a dark recess opposite the door , and in which were ' stowed away a few pots and pans , some small bundles bf faggots , pieces of broken furniture , and ' a few implements of labour . - _¦ '" ¦ ' - ' ¦ -- ' ' _-. . ; ' . At one end was a small excrescence " , which had

      the semblance ofa shed ' or woodhouse . It had evidently been taken fdr such by _^ peripatetic bill ' ' stickers , for the door leading into it was plastered pyerwith " posters . " of all sizes arid characters . ' It nevertheless formed the ante-chamber to the dwelling , of one of " the families occupying the house . On entering I found the floor paved with small stones , after the fashion of a rough and irregularcausevray , with a kind of gutter in the centre to let the water run off , for the house lay low and was very damp . Passing through this , which seemed to serve the purposes of a ' lumber-room , I entered the " day-room" of thefamily . It was more comfortably furnished than I expected to find it , especially as I had been , informed that the tenant

      I had been disabled for . some time by rheumatism | from working . ! How a' rheumatic patient could expect ever to recover in such a place was to " hie a mystery , for the earthern floor Was quite damp nnd cold after the rains which had recently fallen . - His wife was seated atthe lace-cushion by the window , working : very industriously , but complaining of her head .. _Besideher _sat . a young girl , alsdwitffa _lacecushing before" _heri engaged in making . large springs , which were to form part of a bridal scarf and veil for some fair lady who was about to be led to the altar . There was still another in the rooman Old _mani " whosatin the corner by' the _^ window , sewing a piece of fl-mhel . ' He was about sixty , but looked older . A few grey , hairs Btill clung to the sides of his head , just about bis ears , but au tha rest

      The C0i^Iti0io )E Englamr , ' ; _ .:-.:,...

      was ! bald . " He had on the top _' of-his head _" a 8 * _carjwhich was [ partlyhidden by a piece of dirty sticking plaster . ' . He cohtinued his work , but in a most unworkmanlike manner , anparently taking no heed of anything passing around him . I stepped up to him , andasked what he was about , to wliich he replied that , having nothing" to do out of doors , he was employing himself by " doing a bit of tailoring . " The whole picture was a curious one : the rheumatic invalid' seated by the feeble fire , hiB wife and daughter working Ibnsily over their lace-cushions at the '< window , and the old man making a waistcoat for himself in a wav which nlainlv showed that

      " tailoring" was hot his avocation . Had the accommodation been'better , it would not have beenonthe . whole an unpleasant one—but the cottage ! was one of the worst description , although every thing in it in the shape of furniture was neat and clean . The dwelling adjoining it had abetter entrance , but the accommodation which it afforded was not a whit better . Here , also , the lace-enshion _walrin requisition , and . tho inmates were subjeot to rheumatism , from the dampness ofthe floor , which , like that of most of the other houses , was of earth . A part of it looked as if it had been recently under water . On inouiry ,

      I found that it had been so—as it was more or less , indeed , after every heavy rain . In _; these cases the water was removed by soaking cloths in it ; and wringing them dry out of doors . .. These last-mentioned cottages _^ , " with one , or two others / occupied the lowest grounds covered by the village . Until recently their unwholesomeness and other discomforts were greatly aggravated by a . broad stagnant open ditch , which exposed its ! putrescent contents ! on the other side of the road " . 7 _lhe offensive smells which used to emanate from this , hotbed of pestilence were spoken of by the inmates as something incapable bf description .

      .; Ashton Weavers. ,T ,. The Trade Of Th...

      . ; ASHTON WEAVERS . , t _, . The trade of the hatter was once a flourishing one both in Manchester , and Ashton , but owing to the demand for silk hats instead of beavers , tho occupation is now at a low ebb , and hundreds to whom it once , afforded' subsistence have enlisted in the army ..: ' " vtewent from ! the ! old-hand-loom weaver's to the house of a irian whp had been "a beaver hatter , butwho'riow gained his bread'by _\ yinding silk for the construction of the new style of hats . The house was in a muddy lane , half the dwellings of which were ruinous and . uninhabited . We found the husband presiding at a

      winding-apparatus , which his son , a ! hoy of five years ofage , turned . The room in which the machine was bestowed , opened from the kitchen and sitting chamber . The aspect of things here was miich brighter than at the last" house . The man used to . earn at his old trade . five shillingsor six shillings a day . He now earned , one week with another , twelve shillings . Some days he made _^ three shillings , some days two shillings , but he had often to *• clem" for want of work . However , as I said , his aver . _ige earnings wore twelve shillings a week . -. "It is his house I wish principally to notice , It was a . sort of compromise between a house , properly so called , and a

      cellar . The lane without was uridrained and unpaved , and the mud . lay more than ankle deep all along it . Frorii this vile thoroughfare you entered the house by a door ; certainly , not two ' fee ' t in width , and down a high step , which brought ; the stonenagged floor a good eighteen inches bneath the level of the lane .. The consequence was , that the ] place was reeking with !' damp . There was toierably decent furniture—aclock and other little matters ; but the air of ,. both the rooms had that : wet earthl y smell peculiar to _underground places—and ¦ the moisture

      welling up marked with obvious stains the outline of the flagstones which formed , the floor . '" For this house the . occupant paid five poundsayear . It was ariunwholesome place , he said ,. but he . could not get . sufiSeiently beforehand . with the _^ world tb move to a better . The wife told me , that she had never had a day _' shealth since they lived there . Nothing but coughs and colds that she could hot get . rid of , arid asthma settling on her chest . The poor woman was evidently in a critical pulmonary state , . the wet cold au _*; was killing her .

      There- , are very feyr weavers out . of work at Ashton , but I desired my guide to take me to the house of one . It was situated—I am" still ! talking ofthe old part of Ashton—in a sort of broad cul de sac , so broad that it might almost be called a square . . There may have been altogether thirty or forty houses composing it ; and near one end ofthe open space was situated a great ash-pit and three or four privies , common to all the inhabitants , and ingeniously placed so as to be by far . the most conspicuous objects in the place . In the low room of the house which we entered , two nien , father and son , one of . them in . the prime of life , the other perhaps between sixty and seventy , were seated on either side of the hearth , listlessly peelm » - potatoes ; On a small table . beside them were the remains of

      breakfast—a coffee-pot , a dirty , cup or . two , and a filthy pewter spoon . The younger nian had been sixteen weeks out of _, work . ne looked wretchedly ill and languid ; indeed , as he said , he had never been well since he wasi " down with , tlie cholera . ' ' His wife was working in a mill . She earned about nine shillings a week . He had been flung out of work owing to his having refused to subriiit to wliat he , considered an . unjust abatement . of five shill _' _ngs . There , was , nothing absolutely squalid in the _ap-Iiearanceof the room . Its worst feature was the _istlessj soddened loot of the two men as they pursued their , unfitting household toil . The old mail had two shillings a week from the union , and went errands , or did any such odd job as he could obtain . Thefamily amounted in all to seven .

      ASHTON CELLARS . From the old weaver ' s cellar wo went to visit some similar dwellings , situated in a group of close undrained and unpaved courts . These were occupied almost entirely by elderly women , who made precarious livings as laundresses . Several of these cellars , though miserably poor , were kept beautifully clean ; and -the little ornaments and . paltry pictures ranged about the walls often showed a touching struggle between pinching poverty and a decent- desire to keep-up appearances . One cellar was , however , of a different stamp . . We approached it along a" foul subterraneous" passage , and i on opening the door , a stench so abominable burst forth , that even nvy companions , accustomed to scenes of

      want and filth , recoiled , and called to the people in the room to open the single swinging pane in a window of about six—each pane being about four inches by three—looking , out into a sort of slit rather than' pit , dug aown to the level of the window sill from a back court . The place was almost dark . It contained three low beds , covered with ragged , unmade wisps of bed clothes . -A woman and a'little girl sat upon stools cowering over a morsel of fire , and drinking tea , or . some decoction which passed as such . ' In one ofthe beds lava third female , moaning 1 in her confinement . She was a married woman ; her husband ; had left her ; arid - she was now brought to bed of a ; child by another man ' . - This woman was a millworker . All

      the occupants of the room professed themselves unconscious of . any smell whatever ; but one of them having - gone out foi * a-moment , admitted on her return that the sewer was " rather bad to-day . " It turnedout that a drain , passing from some other part of the town , ran underneath the house , the stone flags were here arid there broken , and through the sliuiy soil beneath ; _thefoatid gases rose bubbling lip , in such strength as to . render it physically impossible for me . to ' . draw breath in the apartment . Yet the inmates had every aperture through whicli the fresh air could come carefully stopped ; and complained when the door and window , or rather ' pane , was opened of the cold . Thc rent paidfor these cellars is from Is .. to Is . 9 d . aweek ;

      „ _- , _>; A MANCHESTER DEN . : i j ; : ; The ! last place we ; visited is , I am told ,, the " worst cellar : in ! all "Manchester . " " The outer room was like that of others which I had seeri , but following-: a woinan who held a light , we proceeded into the inner cellars . They wero literally vaults , * three of them opening -froiri one to the other .- The air was thick with damp and stench . : The vaults were mere' subterranean holes , ' utterly -without light . 'The flickeir of _< the candle ,: showed their grimy walls , reakirig with _fmtid damp , which trickled in _greasydrops down to the floor . Beds ¦

      were huddledin every corner ¦' : some of f them on frames—Icannot call them bedsteads—others on the floor ! - In one of these a man was lying dressed , arid beside liim slept a ' well-grown calf . . Sitting upon another ' ' bed was an old man maudlin drunk , with the saliva ' running over his chin , making vain efforts to rid himself of his trowsers , and roaring for help ; In the next cellar two boys were snoring _tc-etherin one bed , and beside them was a man slcbpihg in an old battered hat for a nightoap . " -Is he undressed ? " I said . The police officer , for answer , twitched down _the-clothes , and revea ed a stark naked mari , black with _¦ filth : " The smell m thisroom was'dreadful , and the air at once hot and '

      Wet ' ' '• ' " ' " _' ' ¦' " :: _;¦'¦'" J" .- ' >'¦ ' ' ¦'¦ ¦' ¦ " ' What ' s this you have been doing ? ' said , my conductor to the landlady , stooping dowa and examining the lower part of one- of tho walls ..-.-1 joined him ; arid saw that a sort of hole or shallow cave , about six feet long , two deep , and a little more than one high , had been scooped out through the wall into the earth on the outsido of the foundation : there being probably some yard on the other side , and in this _liole or earthen cupboard there was stretched , upon a scanty litter of foul-smelling sraw _f'a human being-an old man . rAs-ne layon his hack , his face was not two _incheabeneatutue roof—so to speak—of the hole . ¦ " . : ' , . _„ « He '* , a poor old body , " said . the __ landlady , . in atone of Jeprecation _, «* arid if we didn . t let him crawl in _^ there he would have to sleep in the

      streets . " •¦ " " ¦ •' - ¦¦ ' ¦ - ¦•• •• - ' „ ' , - '¦¦«« : I turned away _. and was glad when I found royselt breathing suchcomparatively , fresh air as can ue found in Angol-meaaow , Manchester . _,

      * - Th£ Dock Labourers Of London. The Do...

      * - TH £ DOCK LABOURERS OF LONDON . The dock labourers are a striking _instajice of mere _brutQforce . _Hitkbrute . appetites ,. This class of »

      * - Th£ Dock Labourers Of London. The Do...

      hour is as unskilled- as-the power ot a hurricane . Mere f musc _"« is all that _is- ; needed ; - hence every h ' _umanKJocomotiye _' " _, js capable of ¦ , working there . -Al ] wit is wanted ; is tKe v . power to move . heavy ; bodies _'"* 0 _"'"';?"" f P ' ? ce . _^ tells uatbat labour in the ., ! pliysical _| world _. _^ is always and solely employed , in ;; putting objectsil in motion , ' aiid assuredly , if this be the principal end of " physical labour , the docks exhibit the perfection of human _f- _^ i r ¦ Do ° _k work is-precisely the office that every kinder roan is fitted to perform , and / there _wefind everykind ; of man ; performing it . Those . who are unable to live by the occupation to which they have been educated can obtain a living there without any previous training . Hence we find men of . every calling labouring at . the docks . There are decayed and

      bankrupt master butchers , master bakers ; publicans , grocers , old , soldiers , old sailors , Polish refugees , broken-down gentlemen , discharged lawyers' clerks , _Juspended . government ' clerks _, almsmen , pensioners , servants , thieves—indeed , every- one who _wants > u loaf and is willing toworkforit . ;; . TheLondon Dock is one of the few places in the metropolis . where men can get employment without either character , or recommendation ; so thatthe labourers employed there - " _£ e _^ a , turally a most incongruous assembly . Each of the docks employs several hundred !* ' hands" to ship and discharge the cargoes of the numerous vessels that enter ; and as there are sonie six or seven-of , such docks attached to tho metropolis , it may be imagined how large a . number of individuals are dependent on them for their subsistence . At a rough calculation : there must be at least 20 , 000 souls getting their living . by such means . .

      _.-, the London Dock occupies an area of ninety acres , and is" situate in . the three parishes of St ' . ' George , Shadwell , and Wapping _; The population of th ' -se three parishes , in 1841 ,- was 55 , 500 , and the number cf inhabited houses' 8 ; 000 , - which-covered a space equal to ! 338 acres ; _c _^ This ! is inithe proportion of twenty-three inhabited houses to the acre , ; und seven individuals to each , house . < , The number of _P'Tsons to each inhabi ted house ' is ,, despite , of , the crowded lodging-bouses _;^^ the average for all , London . In' niy last letter I showed that Bethhai- ( rieen , : which is said tb ppssess

      the greatest hiimber of low-rented houses , ' had only upon an average seventeen inhabited houses to each acre , - while' tlie avera $ o : thrcugh London was but 5 . 5 houses per acre . So that it appears that in the three parishes pf St . _. r . _GeorgeJn- . the-East _. iShadwell , and Wjipping , the bouses . pre more than four times more crowded together than in the other parts of London ; and more numerous , by half as hiany f again , than those even in _i the . low-rented district bf" Bethnalgreen . This affords us a ' good i criterion : as to ; the character of the neighbourhood , and consequently of the people living in the vicinity of the _London Dock . ' •¦ i" \ : ;' - ¦¦¦/ ... _.-. ¦ :. !' ¦ . :- •' ' ¦ ¦ , _" .

      The London Dock can accommodate . 500 ships , and the warehouses will contain 232 , 000 ; tons ¦ of goods . The , entire structure , cost . £ 4 , 000 , 000 of money .. The tobacco warehouses , alone coyer five acres of ground . '; The walls surrounding the Dock cost £ 65 , 000 . ¦ _" , i One . of tho wine vaults has an area of seven _acresj arid in _! the whole of them there is room for stowing CO _. OOO pipes of wine . -The warehouses round the , wharfs are . imposing from their extent ; but are , much loss lofty than those at St : " ( C atherine's , and being situated at some . distance from the , Dock , goods cannot be craned out of tho ship ' s hold and stowed ' away at one operation : According to the last half yearly report" the number of ships which entered the London'Dock during the

      six months ending t » e 31 st of May last was 704 , measuring upwards of 195 J 000 tons '' - " ' -The amount of earnings . during ; that period was £ 230 , 000 arid odd , and tho amount of expenditure nearly , £ 121 , 080 . The stock of goods in tlie" warehouse ' s List' May was upwards of 170 , 000 t 6 ns ; -- ¦ /;¦ ¦ ¦• This immense-establishment is worked by -from one to three'thousand hands ,: according as the business is , either ''brisk" or " slack . ";; Out of this number , them are always from four to five hundred permanent labourers , ; receiving upon an ave r _ragve 16 s . 6 d . per Wek wages ,, with the exception of coopers , carpenters ; smiths , arid other mechanics , who are paid the usual ' wages ' ' of their _brafts . 'Besides these there are many hundreds — from one

      thousand . to two thousarid _. five hundred—casual labourers , who are engagedat the , rate of 2 s . 6 d , per day . in . the sammer ,- andf ' . 2 s . ; - 4 d . per , day in thc winter months . Frequently , ; in caso of many , arrivals , extra hands arc . hired in the . course ! ofthe day at the rate of ' 4 d . per hour . ; For tlie perma ' - nent labourers a rccommeiidation is required , but for the casual labourers no " character "; is demanded . - The number of the casual' hands engaged by the day depends of course- upou the amount of work to bo done , and I find that the total , number of labourers in the docks varies from 500 to 3 , 000 and odd ... ,, On the 4 th of May , 1849 , the number of hands engaged—both permanent and casual—was 2 , 794 ; on . _theSCth ofthe same month it was 3 , 012 ,

      and prithe 30 th it was 1 , 1 S 9 . These' appear to be the extremes of the variation 'for the present year . The fluctuation is due to a greater or less number of ships entering tho doekj The : lowest number of ships entering the dock iri any one week last year was twenty-nine , while the highest number was . 141 . This rise .- 'and-fall ; is . - owing , to the prevalence of easterly winds , wliich serve to keep the ships back , and so make the business " slack . " Now deducting the lowest , number of hands employed from the highest iiumbcr , ' have' up less than 1 , 823 individuals who obtain so precarious a subsistence ! by their labour at the dock ' s that ; b y tlie mere shifting ofthe wind , 'they may bb all deprived of tlieir daily bread . . Calculating the wages at 2 s . 6 d . per day for each hand , the company would have paid £ 376 10 s . to the , 3 , 012 hands employed on the , 26 fch . ' of . May

      last , while only £ 148 12 s . Gd . would have been paid 1 , 1 S 9 hands * engaged on the 3 Jth of . the same month . ¦ Hence nob only . would 1 , 823 hands have been thrown outof employ by . the' chopping of the wind , but tlio : ! labouring meii dependent upon the business-ofthe docks for their ' subsistence would in-one day have been deprived of £ 22717 s . 6 d . This will afford the reader some faint idea of the precarious character of . tho . subsistence obtained , by . the _labourei-s employed in this neighbourhood , and consequently—as ii has been well proven , that all men who obtain tlieir livelihood by irregular employniont tire the riiost interiiperate and improvident of all—it willbe easy to" judge what may be the condition and morals , of' a class who _to-day as a bodv may earn' near upon £ 400 and ' to-riiorrow only £ 150 ; : _^ " ' ' _'"' ' : _¦ ' . _? _- "!

      The labour is of that heavy and continuous character that you would fancy only the best fed could withstand it . The _woi-lc _/ may , be divided into three classes . Wheel work , or that which is moved by the muscles of thb legs and ! weight of .. the body ; jigger or winch work , or that which is moved by tlio . musclesof the aim—in ' each of these the labourer is stationary but _in'the truck work , ; whicli forms the third _classj-the labourer has _to-travel over a space of ground greater or _less .: in proportion to the distance , which the goods have to be removed . Tho wheel . work is performed somewhat bu the system of the tread wheel , with this exception—that the force is applied inside , instead of outside tho wheel . " Froiri six "to " eight " men enter a wooden

      cylinde ** or drum , iupon . which . are nailed battens , and the men , laying hold of ropes , commence treading . the ., wheel-round , occasionally siiiging the while , an . d . stamping , in tinie iii a . manner that is pleasant . froni its curiosity . The . wheel is generally ' sixteen . ; - feet-in diameter and eight-to nine feet broad , and the six or . eight men treading within it will ; lift froiri sixteen , to eig hteen ; hundredweight , and often a ton , forty times m an hour , an average of tw , enty rseven feet high . Other men will get out a . cargo of from 800 to _OOOcaska of . wine , each cask averaging about , five .. hundred -weight , arid being lifted about-eighteen ; feet , in a day and a half , At trucking , each man is said to go , on -an ; average , thirty miles a _' day , anil two-thirds . of . that time he is moving _U cwt . at : 6 }; in'Iesp . erhour . ' !! I 7 ' ., ' ! : ' / ¦ '' . ¦ ¦; ( To le Continued '"' ¦ ,. .- _- .:

      ^ Disasters To New' Yobk;"Lineiis;"—Two....

      _^ Disasters to New' Yobk ; "Lineiis ;"—Two . maririe '' dis ' nsfers were linndunced at Liverpool on Monday , in bbth Y instances in reference , to _hienibers of the ! ihagriificant New York liudraV ! . ' ! The ( following are th ' e . details : —Shortly lifter , 11 ! o _* clock that mdrhing , ' th " o' !' packet sliipGuyManner | rig , ! Captain Edwards , in leaving the '' Princes * Dock , for the purpose of ' proceeding to _Ne ' w _' Ydi'k , grounded : astern on the 'n ' orth edge of . ! tlie 'dook . gut , _iiearitho _. outer gates '; .. Captain Edwards ' had the water , in the casks started , " ahd !' eVcvythirig . ' reniovcd to lighten the shi p '; but although" four steamers . were made fastand ' tugged at her till the tide _. begari to recede , she reriiained firml y fixed . ! The position ; in which she lies iS jii very dangerous one , the after part of thc ship resting on the stone edge of the gut _^ which is about three feet ahpve the lcvel _^ of the basin , and thefor ' e part"iii _tne'basiri _. 'thus leaving the .. waist , or centre of tho " ship ; -wholly without support . -The

      uny Mannenrig _ls'tuU'Ot merchandise ; anu nas a largo number of passengers on board . ' Her . draught of water aft was stated to be . 21 feet ;; whilo , the depth of water on the " "ddck-sill was marked at over 22 feet , - but it ia _^ supposed that tho strong . southeast wind has iiv " some degree ' prevented t _"" fci' tide flowing to its ' estimate height . '' The following letter arihounces the loss of the _jacket-ship Hottinguev ; ' _Wexfoi-d , Jan 12 . —The ship lIottinguir , _; Captain : Bursley , 'from 'Liverpool to •"¦ New-York , got on lllack ' water Bank this morning , ; at six . o clock . Part of the crew havo '" landed at : Morriseastle . Vessel expected to be a total v-reck . Crew saved . " '• "Wexford , J _Jari' "' H . —The lugger Adilh Borgot , master , from' Kaiitesi'to Liverpool , camo _^ on shore last night , about ten miles south of this place , and went to pieces . Four of the crew lost ; themaster and two others lost ; - Cargo _^ wheat- and _jflour . A part bf the latter saved but _damriged _. _" i .- ;

      Thk ! ' Ab ' mt _" . —It is stated that the reduction is _* to bd 3 , 400 _meri-4 viz . i"that the sdveriteen regiments , haying now fiMah'lre ' i ' PJrvo : battalions , . are to bq _consoppated _ahdji-edu _^ ed to 1 , 000 men . each '; the _officeMt 6 ' r ' Qma » _^ !

      Natioml-^^'Assbcla' T Iri^W--Mfted = ..:...

      NATIOML- _^^ 'ASSbClA ' T iri _^ _W--MfTED _= _..: - _.-: _o-- * l svi ! _-TRADESr-: ! . " i _* _ViSi

      • . . _- ¦; ;/ . _^ _stobUshecV- _' _mS ; / _"' : ' 7 >\ ;! In the No ' _rttitrnStar of December 22 nd , the Central Committee endeavoured to show the . enormous power at' thd command of the working ! classes w ' henever , by Ukion , they choose to place _theiriseives in a position to use ' ! that power foi ! thoir political and industrial enfranchiseriicnt . It . was shewn , that 2 id ; per . week frorii' one million of the'producing classes , would create an income Of £ 500 , 000 per annum , and that this sum would enable those who subscribe *! it , to immediately' remove 10 , 00 , 0 of the unemployed from the labour market annually , and place them in a state of comparative independence , and at the same time placethe trades , from whom this large and crushing incubus had been removed , in a position to _roimburso

      themselves ior tne trming seit-imposed tax they' had submitted to , by an immediatoadvanco in their wages , many , tiriies greater than' the amount of their contributions ; We assuriicd this position with the utmost confidence , from a conviction of its truth , but we ihiid riot anticipated that our arguments would be indorsed by so high ahauthority as the Times riewspaper , and adopted as the text for an extraordinary , useful , and powerful leader iri that influential journal : But so it is , arid such is the force _. of truth , ' that when perseveringly insisted on , it . inevitably . forces ' : itself upori public attention , and sooner or latter becomes the _adopted rule of he'tioh : ' And it is from an absolute confidence in this uneriiiig law of nature , ' which has enabled the Directors oi this Association to maintain their

      position in defiance of the selfish opposition they have encountered frominfluencial men connected ! with the trades , ¦ and of the apathy with which the great mass of tlieir fellow' workmen regard any attempt to arousethem to a sense of their degraded position , and to engender in them a _disposition to move for their own deliverance . ! But , there is a' great chariri in great names ; arid a position , however true , if e'hiaiiatmg from mere working mcri _. is generally received coldly , and with ' considerable suspicion ; we now , therefore , expecti ' supported as we are hy the redoubtable leading journal of Europe , thatour p lan for the emancipation of labour . irid the raising of wage ' s , - ' will be received with more favour by those whoso ¦ co-operation is so' essential to its accomplishment . : : : _.,::.. _;; ¦ In the -Times' ofthe 28 th of _Decembfir—iiist six

      days from the appearance of our article in the Star—One' of the clevermbii who do the Editorial for that journal , commences the second-leader ' with the question , "'Wlidtcdn be done with half-ai million a year" ? " and very justly observes "it is hig h time to ask the question . " He then proceeds • ' With such means at " oui _*" coniriiarid , ' we could provide 50 , 000 persons every year withariewhome , in our transatlantic colonies' thereby releasing so many o f our fellow countrymen from want arid misery , and lessening , to a proportionate extent , the pressiire on those who were left behind" ; In the Association ' s avticlc in the Northern -Star of . December 8 th , these remarks were a _ddrcsscd-to the Working classes : — - ' ¦ ¦ A . practical refutation is about * heing given ' to the free" trade assertion- ' -thatcheap food woiilu ensure high wages .

      Reductions of wages aro pronounced inevitable in many , of the hitherto comparatively : well-paid departments of industry ... The absurd . extravagancies and iniquitous robberies ! of _* railWay'jdh *; ectories have rendered it . imperativetliat' these Siime parties commit another , ' and , ' . if possible , _riiote foul r 6 hbery _;' tlia ' n any ' of'those with which we are familiar . The wages ofthe ' most valuable portion of tho railway staff are doomed to supply , the deficiencies in the dividend , enused by the previous plunder , of the . capital of the shareholders ,. Many of the , building trades ; have had ' notice , of ' intended ' . reductions ' . ' ' . " their wages ; and , with ' tlie present redundancy-of labour in the market , what hopes can be entertained of a successful resistance ? The Central Committee of this Association'have -always contended that _thes only effective protection , wliich can be given to the wages of lahour , consists in the' absorption of the surplus _^ labour , through _i'liaiiiielswhere" itcaii

      berende red self-supporting that such eharinels are to be found at home , at our own doors as it were / -as ivell as over the Atlantic ; that its employment at home is infinitely ; _preferablti , and tnort patriotic ; that , this can . and ought to be accomplished , by and through tbo working classes alone , and not : b y tho government . _ In the one case we should create' an independent class of Labour . Yeomen ; in the oilier , companies of { -ovenmient slaves . 'That the working class possess withinthemselves ' lft ' e means is unquestionable . Themselves organised—the : means , which will give the power ( although ithas bc-Ju gaid that they possess neither , ) will he found in abundance , alike , blessing and conferring incalculable benefits upon . ' thole , who give and those who receive . ' Kenftye the surplus labour by the only practical lever by which that , or any great work can be achieved , — an organisation ' of labour , and the means and the power which that organisation , and that alone , would most surely

      give . _,.,., . „ .. „ The Central Committee will , in a future report , place seme facts . before the working classes , by ! which it wUl he shown tliat through a confederation of labour— such as they advocate—the _surjjlus labour , whieh now ( presses with such crushing severity upon almost every description of British _industry ,- rnay-not only be readily withdrawn from , thc labour market , at tho rate ; of fifty" thousand a year , but , well and amply employed , and made the source of increased ciiiiiloyihent to the country . If this thing can be done , an'd is iiot done , then do * the working classes deserve all they now suffer / and all the good things which are now . in store for them . : : . . .: . . The identity-of the _ZVwcs argument with ours is here strikingly manifest .

      But the Times continues enumerating several great - reforms which . could be accomplished with half a million' a year , such as Sidney Herbert ' s Emigration Dodge for the needlewomen—a . scheme by the bye which is violently opposed by the-free trade _party as being a violation of their lakzezfaire doctrines ; Lord Ashley ' s ; more unexceptionable p lans for erecting improved dwellings for the working classes , and for the construction of baths and washhouses on a large-scale ; the endowment of 500 free grammar schools , county hospitals , he , « b ' o _" . " Any one of these objects , " says the Times , ''might be effected with _; £ 500 ' 000 a year . " But the similarity existing between the Times writer and us is still more strikingly shown iri the latter part ofthe article . In our article of the 22 nd of December , we thus write : —

      Land , Labour , and Capital , ave the three elements of production , Tliese elements of wealth arc : most unquestionably as available to an association of ' Labour . Capitalists' as of 'Monev CapitalUs . ' The power of either differs but in degreo . Whatever a joint-stock company of capitalists , with £ 1 , 000 , 000 sterling , could accomplish in one year , our assoeiation , of one million working" men , subscribing ten shillings per year , eould accomplish _initio years . If the one could render the now . worthless bogs of Ireland a source of fruitful employment , and eventually a mine of wealth , as _i-ich and productive as the sands of the Sacramento—well , so could the other . We contend , broadly and boldly , that Jt' 500 , 000 would go very far at the end of the first year appropriated to its collection—to remove effectually the surplus labourfrom the first trades , who , to the number of one million , united their penco and their

      energies to _'lvorlf out their redemption . We apprehend that half a million a-ycar , which would give £ 5 v each to ten thousand individuals , would , at least , place them in a position , by the economical appliance ef associative labour , to make themselves perfectly : independent , with very little further assistance . We arc perfectly _, sure that land may be obtained in the United Kingdom upon long lenses , and at excessively low rents , in sufficient quantity for colonising all the unemployed of tlie industrious > classes . And that £ 50 per head wouULbe . an ample fund for . the . commencement of such _ao undertaking . But wo content ! ourselves now , with simply enunciating the perfect practicability of the trades of Great Britain , - thus relieving themselves of the incubus which is dragging them down to purdition . The idea may appear extravagant to such as have notgiveu the subject consideration . But -We'think its grave

      importance , to the interests of our order , should , arid . will , ensure for it , the calmest and most unprejudiced investigation . One ofthe first effects which would be felt in any . trade , who succeeded in producing an equilibrium between the demand and supply of . labour in that particular trade , would be an advance in . the wages of those who remained in it , thus compensating , with probably' a very large addition , the pecuniary contributions which had been thus appropriated : The tables would thus become effectually turned . Strikes , ami all their accompanying evils , would be for ever , abolished—the sure remedy for low wages would havebeen discovered—tho power of . union would then ho acknowledged and appreciated ; and the now despised serfs of labour ,-constantly increasing in power and _; indulgence , would soonibree a . recognition of their social and political importance . . "

      ' 'The Time ' s seizes the idoa ,. and employsit after the following fashion '• :-- ¦ " Wc are assured that any person acquainted with the sufferings of the . riictropolifiiri' " or manufacturing , ! or agricultural poor , ; woiiid _unhesitatingly acknowledge that a government grant ot . _itSOO _. OOO a year , judiciously appropriated , and employed , would keep 10 , 000 families , offive . ine ' rubers each , above tho starving _, point at wliich they linger , arid ' that , too , without establishing : any . preposterous ' rights of labour , ' or infringing atiy principle of sound economy ; " - ' '; ' ¦ _-. ¦ ' " •' _¦ •' - Now , ' we think we may fairly _iissume , ' that the mariner in which wo -havo put the question , has struck conviction upon tho" niind of ; the ; Times editor , who sees clearly , ' and thus indirectly acknowledges , " the importance and practicability of the

      policy wo advocate , and recommend to ' _c-m _* ''fellow wprl'men for their iniinediate : adoption . The 'Timei evidently dreads ' the ' possibility of , the working classes , thus working out their redemption by their own unassisted means , and thus asserting and cic ' _reisingi by their own onorgies , -tho " pfeposiewus rights of labour , " , therefore , _vefers- . _^ to d _' govevh ? ment grant as the means by which , so , _desireablo iin end would be accomplished ; : but , why should hbiiest working men degrado themselves by . being' the recipients of eleemosynary aid , when they can accomplish this ; or any other similar object , Uy their own independent' exertions 1 "They have ; - but " will their deliverance from their industrial slavery to bffect it . _If-thore is © tie _distinguishing feature

      which has always _charaotensed tho _uSationat Association , as _difiuring _, from all , con temporary movements , ; it is the . ; unifovm endeavour to lead - the working . classes , to , properly appreciate , th eir-own _powersj to look to themselves as the only party , able or -willing to free them from the galling yoke of capital ; we repeat itnow , and shall repeat it a ' gairi'arid again , that it is 'upon thehiselves alone they' can rely for salvation ; _-as fon petitioning government' tor parliamentary grants _^ or tor establishing home' colonies ; etc ., they may as well " whistle _jigsiitomilestones . " ' It is not the policy of government , as now constituted , that the people should be independent . They : must be kept in a state of vassalage , in order ' _that _governments , ; arid those up ' ohwhoni they lean for support , may thrive

      Natioml-^^'Assbcla' T Iri^W--Mfted = ..:...

      by the pillage wi : ung ; frp !* n ; labouv ; thereforoto look to governmeritfo ' _rredemption'pis- _as ' sensibl'i as for the lambs to _' pla ' ce' themselves under the protecting _guardiauBhip of the wolves . —It is high time that this , nonsense , about government aid , was exploded , and a morel-rational : and r manly policy . adopted by those who . set . _themselves"up as teachers-of the people . ; There aro a few , and but a' few ! subjects , . vhieh the Committee of the _. _"Yational A 8 S 0 ciation would ever think-of recommending the Association to , Iook to governments for , namely , those subjects upon which ; they have already shewn a disposition to legislate , —such as improved sanitary regulations , in which all . classes . of . the peoplo are interested ; Improvements , and ; greater " efficacy in many laws

      affecting . the interests of labour which already exist , but are inoperative ; upon such subjects , we think the legislature , even as it now exists , may properly and consistently be appealed to ; but , for any , great radical measure , whereby the condition of the producing class is to ; bo materially and permanently benefited ,, it is , in our judgment , perfectly futile to expect , and therefore we again call upon the trades of England to look te themselves for their deliverance . . . "• We are afraid to : trespass too much upon the privilege awarded , us by the kindness of the proprietor of the Northern ( Star , and must , therefore , postpone , our report of progress to another , and we hope early occasion , ! when we hope to lay -before our / members and friends evidences of progression , which we are sure will be gratifying ., _-..-.: William Peei ., Secretary .

      To The Editoh Of Tub Kokthbbn Star; ¦ De...

      TO THE _EDITOH OF TUB _KOKTHBBN STAR ; ¦ Dear Sib , —A report having got into circulation excessively prejudicial to the National -Association , to . the effect , that the Central Committee had formed an alliance with the Protectionists—arising , no doubt , from the fact of the society . entitled , ' The National Association for tbe Organisation of Trades , ? ' having allied itself atthe Stepney meeting with _GvF . _Youngs Esq ., the secretary ofthe Protectionist : Society , ; calling itself " Tho National Association : for the Protection of Native Industry , " will you be kind , enough ; by . the insertion' of this note , to aid : us in : dispelling the asperaion ; We , therefore , desire to assure' our members ' and friends that neither of the , above associations are even

      remotely connected with the National Association of United Trades for the ' Protection of . Industry , ' and of . which T ; S .. Duncbmbo , ' "Esq . _^ 'ispresident , and whom , I ahi happy to inform you andjonr readers , anticipates being able to resume his Parliamentary duties in three weeks from this time . : Thc Association with which I have the honour to be connected , is not ; allied , to any political party , but if it oan bo _presu-ned to have any political tendencies or predilictions , they are certainl y _^ far , very , far , removed from either the Free Traders or _PrbtectionistSj from neither . of whom do wo . expeot any measures beneficial to the order of Labour . " The mistake has no _doubtArisen from tho si / hilarity of the titles of thotwo Associations referred to _^ who have ; each of thjehi most servilely , copied' that of the'National Association . In every other respect" they are totally dissimilar ...... I am , deal Sir , yours respectfully , William _Phel , Secretary .

      ¦ ->¦*:.:- . ¦ ¦ «T*M — . - . - .-. ¦ Th...

      ¦ - _>¦* :.:- . ¦ ¦ « t _* m — . - . _- .-. ¦ THE COUNCIL OP _TilENATIONAL REFORM LEAGUE TO THE PEOPLE OP GREAT t BRITAIN AND IRELAND . .. . _"" It is every day becoming more undeniable that some modification must shortly ; take place in the Constitution of this country . Our present institutions are so manifestly . insufficient to riicet tho requirements of . an increasing " population , ' and aa advancing public intelligence , that few , will be bold enough to deny the expediency . of adapting our governmental : system to the wants and circumstances ofthe time , by making tho Parliament what it ought always to have been , —a full ; fair , and free representation of the whole peoplo . !

      _,, Under , these ; circumstance . * , we think it , a duty incumbent upon every man to examine into the merits of the various plans of reform at present before the public ; and to determine how far each may be calculated to advance tho . object above stated _; Because wo are of opinion that , in a highly artificial society ' ¦ like ! ours , a state . of prolonged _, agitation is injurious to all , and more , especially to the proletarian or labouring classes . And this agitation can never , cease until the demands of the People's Ohaiter become the " law of the land ; it being futile to expect that a real representation of the whole people can be . obtained by any other ¦ ¦

      means . .... , -... - :. "We maintain , then , that all attempts to engage tho working , men . of . this ! country' iu ' ; reform movement which would stop short ofthe above end , must be looked upon as , at , least , injudicious ; bec . iuse it is evident that „ npthing but a '' pressure from without" will induce our present rulers to concede any reform whatever . " And we are convinced that the same effort which must necessarily be made in . order to _ ohtain . political freedom for a portion of thb people ,, would suffice , . if properly directed ,-to . emancipate the whole ; " and thus put an end to the necessity for further ' political ' agitation . It becomes , then , a question of groat iinportance how to engage the attention of such of the

      _productive clas 3 . as may-be . at , present uidiffercrit to the great , political question of the day , as we cannot hope to succeed without the aid ofthe mass of tho people . ! This , we believe , will be most . ' readily effected by showing all such persona that it is a social , as well as a political question ; " ar id by enlightening them iipon'the nature arid value . of those social rights ' whicli are their natural inheritance , but'of .. which , under .-the prcserit system , 'they are deprived , ( mainly _through the injustice of our _hnd arid inbney laws , ) arid which they can hope to regain only by obtaining political power , and by knowing how to _« se it when obtained . _.,.,-By proving ( which wo can easily do , ) that universal suffrage , with the knowledge and fruition of

      man s social rights , would speedily banish all the poverty ,, misery , arid crime , to which our defective institutions have given rise j , arid would do this without the sacrifice of one human life , or tho confiscation of . brie shillingsworth of any man ' s property ; by proving this . wo cannot fail to obtain tbe support of _sv vast majority of thc industrious classes . Whilo , by showing them-that tho " horrible carnage arid general confusion which have lately desolated the continent of Europe , are hot to be ascribed ( as it . is falsely asserted tliey are , ) , to .. the ' friends of universal suffrage , but ,, oh " the contrary , to it 3 enemies , we' shall bo able to prevent their , being led a way . by the falsehoods . continually _; "' . circulated by the advocates of "things ! as they . are . " Nothing _^ can be easier than to prove ; that had the people of Francei of many parts bf Italy , of Berlin , Vienna , Baden , Dresden , arid other places , understood their sociar & s well as thoir political rights , no .

      _counteri-eyqlution could possibly have been successful ; and that Europe would have been spared' the "infliction of horrors at which humanity shudders , perpetrated by the foes of democracy , in the ' -name of _those principles so dear to every democrat , —peace , law , and . order , — -liberty ' , equality , and fraternity ! While our principal efforts will be thus . used to rouse the working classes from that fatal apathy with respect to political rights , whicli . is , ' perhaps , the very worst , feature of the present aspect of affairs , wo shall not the less endeavour ; to secure , ns far as may be in our power , / a proper understanding and appreciation of social questions among those who are already , like ourselves , professed Chartists ; being , convinced that political without social rights , would be , not only useles ' s ; , but untenable , ( for any length of time , ) by the . poorer , or dependent classes . —a fact placed beyond dispute by late events on the Continent ., . : . -

      These are . tho objects of our organisation ; and for these purposes , we invite " . tlie- ' assistance of all friends to humanity aud progress . We have already issued a detailed prospectus , iii which the principles of National Reform _! are explained , and to . which we invito the ' attention of reforracrs of every donomination . It has'received cbrisiderable . attehtion from the Democratic press , as well as from various organised ' _j . political bodies , and iri ' ay be had , on application to the Secretary at the office . , .... ' ... ' It is : obvious that ' our only means of ; operating beneficially uuori public opinion consists in a widely extcnded : organisation , and ia the cnergy . _aud devotion ofthe members composing it . _l We _thereloi-e appeal ior support to all who . have assented to our doctrines --of :-National Reform , —the . four mam points of . which are , _—the-sationalisation of land ; the institution of a _systeat * of state credit for the _iiffger or winch work , or . thai , which is : ni 9 ved by the

      people the abrogation of a eurreney based oi ) a gold standard of value ; and tbo foundation . of a system for , the equitable interclianBe _^ fall kinds , of wealth ; and we trust'that' tbey will ; nqt ; , be _acterred from enrolling themselves as members of pur ,, Lcague by any misapprehension of our objects ., Many have said that wo attempt too much ; that " _rffonsitat- * -for social reform-instead of the Charter . This we must , once for ¦ all * . , most : emphatically ' . deny . We demand tho political _enfranchisAxaient . of the entire population before attempting _toj procure _^ any of the social reforms we advocate , taking ; however , all the pains wo can to enlighten the people , upon them , both to supply- an "incentive . to , exertion in the acquisition oi the Cliavter and to ensure its preservation , as . well as its beneficial opeiation , whea acquired , ; , . _.- , On behalf of the Couneil , - _:..-- J . B ., _CBrum | , PresidenL J . _Rooiria , Secretary . _ 12 , Newman-street , Oxford-street . ! ,

      Thfinfitsonmon«Mem!.^-On Friday Npw Th9 ...

      THfiNfitsONMoN « MEM ! . _^ -On Friday _npw th 9 11 th inst ., _tlio-premisea . of Messrs . Wood , w _^ sfounders , m Baldwin _' s . gardens ,, were . hro ken _intq , ar id a considerable quantity of _ornamente . _roouiuug connected : with the _monument of . the _^ _% ? _$£ Nelson , _whiohthat' _& _mweretoin-W _® _« ro _stowa front thoir _workahops . •> ' 7 // _X' 7 i

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 19, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_19011850/page/7/