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success of their movement, they must, in...
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*TA11 communications respecting Public, ...
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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY. OCTOBER 19, 1850.
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WINTER CAMPAIGN OF THE " LITTLE " CHARTI...
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INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS. Various indicat...
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PROTECTIONIST PROSPECTS. At the few Prot...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Success Of Their Movement, They Must, In...
4 _V THE NORTHERN STAR . - _~^ . _ Qoraa .-ift . iMfl : ' ¦ <~ m _? = _s === . ~ l ~ : ; i _~ _.:-. ' _. " : ___ . . TW « I I
Ad00408
DU BARRY'S HEALTH RESTORING FOOD THE REVALENTA ARABICA _GATJTION . —The most disgusting and injurious compounds being sold by unscrupulous speculators upon the credulity ofthe Public , Tinder close imitation of the name of DU BARRY'S REVALENTA ABABICA FOOD , or wtih % pretence of being sinular to that de-Haons and invaluable remedy for Indigestion , constipation , Nervous , Bilious , and Liver Complaints , Messrs . DU BARRY and Co . caution Invalids against these barefaced attempts at imposture . There is nothing in the whole _TegetableKngdomthatcanlMitimatelyhecalledsiMttABto Du Barry ' s _Keralenta Arahica , a plant which is cultivated "by Du Barry and Co . on their estates alone , and for the pre _^ _paration and pulverisation of which their own _patent Ma _^ neiyalone is _adapted . Let Corn _ChandlOTseUthor -pease , _bwms , lentil , and other meals under Iheu * proper _S _^ _Tnot _& e _wifc the he ** of _Invahdsand _In _BERT'S KBVAiENIA AKABICA
Ad00409
withont a relapse , I shall have little to complain of , to . _SaS _^ M _*«^ t-street _^« ster -November 2 nd , 1848 For the last five years I have been in a most deplorable condition of health , _^ having been subject during that period to most severe paias in the back , chest , right and left sides , which produced vomiting almost daily . Next to God , I owe you a debt of gratitude . I hare not had any sickness at the stomach since I commenced your Food , & c . I remain , gentlemen , yours very truly , ( Rev . ) Thomas Minsteb , of Farnley Tyas , Yorkshire , —St . Saviour ' s , Leeds , December 9 th , 1847 . Gentlemen , —I am happy to be ahle to inform yon , that the person for whom the former quantity was procured , bas derived very great benefit from itB -use ; distressing symptoms of long standing have been removed , and a feeling of restored health induced . Having witnessed the beneficial effects in the above-mentioned case , I can with confidence recommend it , and shall have much pleasure in so doing whenever an opportunity offers , < _tc . I am , gentlemen , very truly yours , James Sboblano , late Surgeon 90 th fiegt , 3 , Sydneyrterraee , Reading , Berks , December
Ad00410
THE BLOOD Our bodies have been entirely formed , art now forming , and trill continue to be built up during Lfe from the Blood . This being the case , the grand object is to keep this precious fluid ( the blood ) in a pure and healthy state , for wit / tout this purity , disease trill show itself in some way or die other .
Ad00411
YOURSELF ! WHAT YOU ARU ! AND WHAT
Ad00412
BEAUTIFUL HAIR , WHISKERS , EYEBROWS , & c , may be , with certainty , obtained , by using a very small portion of ROSALIE _COUPELLE'S PARISIAN POMADE , every morning , instead of any oil or other preparations . A fortnight ' s use will , in most instances , show its surprising properties in producing and curling Whiskers , Hair , & c , at any age , from whatever cause deficient ; as also checkinggreyness , & c , Price 2 s ., or free by post , with instructions , and _Asc , on receipt of twenty-four postage stamps , by Miss COCPPELLE , 35 , Ely-place , Holborn , London ; who may be consulted on these matters daily , from two till five .
Ad00413
Lbwh Host , it is said , tempted by the success of Dickens and other authors in periodical literature ia about to resume big London Journal .
Ad00414
. .. _. ___ POLAND AND HUNGARY ! EEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ ., M . P ., will deliver a Lecture at the BRITISH INSTITUTION , _OOWPER-smBET , CITY-ROAD , On Monday Evening Next , October 21 st , For the Benefit of the
Ad00415
On Saturday , the 2 nd of November , will be published the First Number of ROBERT OWEN'S JOURNAL A Weekly Periodical explanatory of the knowledge most essential to the happiness of all . Price One Penny _; by post , Twopence . Published by Clayton and Son , 265 , Str a nd , London MR . _OWEN'SMiT WORKS , THE REVOLUTION IN MIND AND PRACTICE . LETTERS TO THE HUMAN RACE . CATECHISM . And FAREWELL ADDRESS , Are published by Effingham Wilson , Watson , and Vickers , London .
Ad00416
Education for the Millions , THIS DAY IS PUBLISHED , No . XXII . OF " NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR . " PRICE ONE PENNY . T h e o bj ect ofthe Pro p rietor , Feargus O'Connor , _Esq ., M . P ., is to place within the reach of the poorest classes that Political and Social Information of which they are at present deprived by the Government" Taxes on Knowledge . "
Ad00417
SIXTY-FOUR LARGE PAGES , PRICE 4 PENCE . Orders and Advertisements to be sent addressed to the office ofthe Nort h er n Star , Lon d on , * or to A . H e ywood , Manchester ; W . Love , and G . Adams , Glasgow ; Robinson and Co ., Edinburgh ; J . Sweet , Nottingham ; J . Guest , Birmingham . The "National Instructor" will be supplied bj all the London Booksellers and News-agents .
Ad00418
Just Published , Price One Penny , ASPIRATIONS OP MANHOOD ; j ti . Intended to indicate the solution of the great prof blems ofthe age . Bt JOSEPH MORGAN ., The following are some of the subjects elucidated in the form of answers to questions : — "Whatis Politics ? What are the fundamental principles ? The benefits accruing from the enactment ofthe principles . The Laws of Primogeniture considered . The cause of tlie overthrow of governments . "Who are the middle classes ? Who are the soldiers 1 What is civilisation ? < fcc , & c . Published by J . Pattie , Shoe-lane ; J . Morgan , 89 , Butcher-row , Deptford ; and all booksellers .
Ad00419
On Saturday , November 2 nd , will be published , Number ofa weekly periodical , price One Penny , entitled , THE CHRISTIAN SOCIALIST ; A JOURNAL OF ASSOCIATION . To be conducted by several ofthe promoters ofthe London Working Men ' s Associations . London : James Watson , 3 Queen ' s Head-passage , Paterno 3 ter-row .
Ad00420
NOTICE . A WEST RIDING DELEGATE il MEETING will be held on Sunday , October 20 th , at Mr . Hartley ' s , Temperance Hotel , Manchester-road , Bradford _, at Eleven o'CIock in the Forenoon , for the purpose of electing a secretary and treasurer . Also , to take into consideration the suggestion of Mr . O'Connor , on the propriety of holding a Conference in Manchester on an early day ; and , also , to discuss the plan of organisation which is brought forward in London by the Social League , National Charter Association , and the Fraternal Democrats , for the purpose ofan amalgamation of aU grades of . reformers into one bond of union . '• The following places aTe requested to send delegates : — Bradford , Leeds , Pudsey , _Birstal , Dewsbury , Holmfirth , Hanley , Berry Brow , Huddersfield , Halifax , Sowerby , Sowerby-bridge , Warley , Lower Warley , Wakefield , _Bradshaw-lane , Queen ' s Head , Wilsden , Bingley , Keighley , Haworth , and any other place in the Riding . By order , Thomas Wilcock , West Riding Secretary , To whom all communications must be addressed , to the care of Thomas Umpleby , News Agent , Manchester-road , Bradford , Yorkshire .
Ad00421
NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . Office , li , Southampton-street , Strand . 11 HE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE . herebyannounce tlie following meetings : — On Sunday , October 20 th , the adjourned meeting of the Democratic Conference will be held in the Coffee Boom of the John street Institution . Chair to be taken at three o ' clock in the afternoon . On Sunday evening ( same date ) , the Metropolitan Delegate Council will meet at the King and Queen , Foleystreet , Portland-place . Chair to be taken at seven o'cloek . On the same evening a discussion will take place at the
Ad00422
THE LATE COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT OLDHAM . The inquest on the sixteen _colliers killed at Oldham , on the 10 th inst ., at a mine called the Bent Grange Colliery , took place on Wednesday . It will be remembered tbat these men were destroyed by an explosion of foul air in one of the lev el s in the mine , caused b y a fa ll o f ea rth from the roof upon a safety lamp , which broke away the gauzework , and thus brought the flame in contact with the inflammable gas collected in the workings . The inquest was held before Mr . Dearden and fourteen jurors . From the evidence given , it appeared that there was no air shaft in connexion with the mine , but that Mr . Butterworth was sinking ono , and had reached about sixty yards in depth . When the air was bad in the mine the ventilation waa assisted by pouring water down the back of the _brattishing . " There waa no danger in the mine which was not Bhared for days together by Mr . Butterworth . The jury found a verdict of " Accidental death . "
Ad00423
During the last fifty years 15 , 052 acts of parliament have been passed by tho British legislature . The FoiLowwa _Extbaobdinabi Cube of a Swollen Lio bit Holeowat ' s Pills and _Ointkent is published in the ' Adelaide Observer , ' South Australia . —George Muncton a settler in the colony , had been suffering for many months with a swollen leg ; the pain was often so intense as to deprive him of sleep . He was recommended to try Holloway ' s Ointment and Tills , and by ubing them as directed for about a fortnight , a cure was so far effected as to permit him to walk to Adelaide , a distance of twenty miles , to give this statement to the editor of the above-named journal , for the information and benefit of his fellow-creatures .
Ad00424
. TW « THE PORTRAIT OF SIR ROBEET PEEL , And the Magnificent Historical Engraving , ofthe PORTRAITS OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS , Are now ready . If any of our subscribers have not received them , app lication should be made to the agent who supp lies them with the paper . Agents are requested , when ordering Prints , to state by what means they are to be forwarded .
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*Ta11 Communications Respecting Public, ...
* _TA 11 communications respecting Public , _TradeB , or other meetings , to bo sent to Thomas M . Wheeler , 36 , Kentonstreet , Brunswick-square . * Nottingham . —J . Sweet begs to acknowledge the receipt ol the following sums { sent herewith ) viz . * - _?» b _™& _«*• ; FtroEE Fond . —From flew Radford 5 s ; Mr . Taylor 6 d From the Lord Holland Ss . ,, „ .., Mr . T . Haroitt , York . —We cannot say why Mr . Roberts went declines furnhilung him with the portraits . We have not got the half length , or yet fuU length portraits you mention . .. „ _.., Mr . J . C . Inobam , Abergavenny . —The omission of the ls . from Wallace Ingram , in the list of monies announced for the Hungarian Refugees , on the 5 th inst ., iwas an oversight of the compositor , as I find on comparing my
list with the amount given in the Star . I received 12 a 3 d , yet only lis 3 d appears in the published account . W . Rideb . _ABBRGAVEt-rar . —Mr . T . C . Ingram acknowledges ls from Thomas Lewis , Ragland , for the Refugees . The Pobtbaits for Mr . Traterso , Prescot , and Mr . Russell , Chester , are sent to Mr . Heywood , Manchester . Mr . Walker ' s , Hamilton , and Mr . Crawford Sterratt ' s , Dairy , are sent to Mr . Adams , 24 Nelson-street , Glasgow . j . Mr . Douglas ' s , Haswell-lane , toMr . Turnbull , Side , Newcastle . Mr Motherwell ' s , Paisley , to Mr . Love , Glasgow . Mr . Tomlinson ' _s _, _Sutton-in-Ashfield , to Mr . Plumb . Mr . Sowerby ' _s , Dalston , Mr . Whitridge , Carlisle , has no enclosures from Simpkias ' . Mr . M'Pherson ' _s , Perth , and Mr . D . Morrison ' s ,
Gallatown , Kircaldy , to Messrs . Robinson , Edinburgh . Mr . Saunders , Newark , to Mr . Sweet , Nottingham . Mr . Lindsey ' s Aberdeen , to Mr . Russell . _Polish Refuses Fdnd . —[ The secretary requests that the acknowledgment of all monies be left to him , as he will not otherwise be responsible . ]—Henry Gale Is—Mr Roe ls—A few sympathisers at Bridgewater 5 s—Residue , Kentish Town Concert 14 s—Emmett Brigade 16 s—Per Julian Harney 18 s 9 d—D . Wenlock 4 d—Mr . Miller's Book 2 s—Bonner ' s-fields , per Mr . Stokes 10 s OJd—A Friend , per Mr . Stokes 2 Jd—John Hillier , per Mr . Stokes 6 d—Mr . Gale , Coopers Arms 5 s 4 d—Mr . Blake ls _—Calendar-yard , per T . Brown 3 s 6 d—Mr . For , per T .
Brown Gd—Collected at Mr . Woods' rope manufactory from work boys , per Miss Morrell 10 s—John-street Institution—2 s 3 d . —Thomas Ferguson , Secretary , 3 Gay ' shuildings , iElizabeth-8 treet , Hackney-road . W . Habrt . —W . P . Roberts , Esq ., solicitor , Princessstreet , Manchester . In answer to your second question , write either to Mr . Watson , Queen ' s Head-passage , _Paternoster-row . or to Effingham Wilson , Royal Exchange . H . _KETSER _. New York , will perceive that the purport of his communication was noticed in the Star of the 12 th inst . We return him thanks , and hope to hear from him again .
The Northern Star. Saturday. October 19, 1850.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY . OCTOBER 19 , 1850 .
Winter Campaign Of The " Little " Charti...
WINTER CAMPAIGN OF THE " LITTLE " CHARTISTS . As the days get shorter signs of political activity begin to make their appearance . The middle-class Parliamentary Reformers have broken ground for their winter campaign , and promise a series of meetings in the provinces during the winter . How far they may succeed in ' _« getting the steam up " we cannot pretend to guess , but at the commencement , in the London Tavern on Monday , we thoug ht the temperature , like their " little Charter , " exceedingly moderate .
Our position , with reference to the National Reform Association , is well known . It has not been lig htl y taken up , and will not be abandoned except upon good and sufficient cause . . Anything short of the Charter will fail to do justice to the people . A franchise based upon any other foundation than that of manhood alone , must ever be ( extend it as you may ) a class franchise . It must exclude from
partici pation in political ri ght some portions of the body politic , and by virtue of that exclusi o n hold them in slavery to the rest of the community . We are opposed to slavery of every description , and therefore hold by the Charter as the only means of putting an end to political bondage , and of giving to the whole people the ri g ht a nd the power o f manag ing their own affairs , Instead of entrusting that duty to any number of privileged classes .
But while thus devotedly and inseparably attached to Chartism , that is no reason why we should obstruct the path of those Reformers who , either from want of logical power , or from motives of expediency , are unable to go that length , and content themselves with the advocacy of a more limited reform of our representative institutions . As far as their efforts are honest and sincere they must work for us . Every new addition to popular power necessaril y becomes a weapon with which to achieve fresh victories for the masses .
Whether they like it or not , whether they mean it or not , the middle class Reformers are fighting for the Charter as much as we are . If the suffrage they advocate was attained , and the electoral body swelled from some ei ght hundred thousand to three or four millions , the remaining portion of the adult population would speedily find a path opened to them withip the pale of the Constitution . The only practical difference between us is , whether political emancipation shall be achieved by one decisive and effectual blow , or by two . They prefer the latter ; for as sure as Household Suffrage was carried , would Universal Suffrage follow in its wake , and that at no distant period .
There is , under such , circumstances , no reason whatever in the nature of the two parties wh y they should oppose each other . In this country , at least , let us frankly recognise and act upon the rig ht of every man to think for himself , and to act upon his convictions , either individuall y or collectively . Because we differ from the conclusions to which others have come , we are not entitled , therefore , to impugn the motives by which they are actuated . They may be as pure and as disinterested as our own ; and , at all events , it is the very essence
of tyranny and intolerance , to quarrel with , and denounce them , because they do not see m a tters precisel y as we do . That is the evil spirit which has , heretofore , immured its victims in the dungeons of the Inquisition , the Bastile , or Her Majestys Prisons , under the tender care of Sir George Grey . Those possessed by the demon are but ill-fitted for the exercise of political freedom . They have yet to emancipate themselves from the worst of all tyrannies—that which prompts them to be tyrannical and intolerant to others .
Another reason—powerful , though based on expediency—why Reformers should not quarrel with each other , is to be found in the palpable fact that their doing so strengthens the common enemy . As long as the professed friends of Parliamentary Reform , whether b y the " Little " or the " Great" Charter ,, waste their energies in disputing with each other , the fabric of corruption is safe . Those who profit by the present system know full well that the disunion and divisions of the people constitute their real strength . Those who promote and foster such divisions , however well-intentioned th e y may be , play the game of the privileged oligarch y , which monopolises power and patronage and legislative influence in England .
- Here , therefore , are good and substantial reasons for union among professing reformers of all degress ; reasons which should induce them to seek for points of agreement rather than difference , and to travel cordially together , as far as their respective paths lie together . There is no reason why those who propose the longest journey should stop short oftheir destination—nei ther is there any why they _Bhould retuse company , assistance , and security , on a part of the journey . _# But these considerations appl y to both parties . The middle class reformers must not
expect an "Irish reci procity" on their own side . If they feel , as they say they do , that the aid of tho working classes ia indispensable to the
Winter Campaign Of The " Little " Charti...
success of their movement , they must , in order to obtain that aid , act frankly and cordially towards the working classes , and the leaders in whom they have confidence . What we saw and heard at the London Tavern on Monday last made us doubt whether they are prepared to do this . The reception of Mr . O'Connor was not what he had a right to expect in such a meeting , He attended it to perform a dut y which argued equal moral courage , generosity , and disinterestedness on his part . It is no secret that a section ofthe Chartist body look success oftheir movement , they must , in
with susp icion , if not absolute hostility , upon the "Little Charter" movement ; and at the risk of his motives being misconstrued , and his influence weakened among the party he has created , Mr . O'Connor attended to declare that he would offer no opposition to the middle class movement , and was anxious as themselves for union . But , in justice to his own character and intentions , he was bound to declare , at the same time , that he did not , therefore , bind himself to stop when they stopped , and also to show what he hoped to obtain as a result of Representative Reform . Mr . O'Connor had surely as much right to state his views upon that
point as Mr . Fox , or Mr . Hume , or Sir Joshua Walmsley . If Mr . Fox placed great stress upon Education , and Mr . Hume upon reduced taxation , why should Mr . O'Connor not have directed attention to that greatest of all reforms which would place men upon the land , and enable them , hy independent labour , to supply their own wants without paying the far heavier taxation wrung from Labour by the profitmongers ? Yet it was while doing this that some middle-class reformer cried " question ; " and when Mr . O'Connor proceeded to show by the examp le of Guernsey and Jersey how poor rates could be abolished , aud five times the number of our present population be maintained in comfort in Great
Britain , the indignation of these middle-class gentry and philosop hers could only find vent in the appropriate goose-like sibilations which greeted such heterodox statements . The Chairman , so far from rebuking such unmannerly interrupti o n , took part with those who gave it , and several others who are always preaching about union , hy their conduct did their best to promote separation . We advise Sir Joshua and his colleagues to consider this Bubject aeriouBly . They have repeatedly avowed their conviction , that
witho ut a c or dia l uni o n bet w een th e middl e and working classes they cannot succeed in the great and arduous struggle in which they are engaged . If they really mean to promote that union , let them remember that concession is not all to come from one side . If the speakers connected with the middle classes are allowed to expatiate uninterruptedl y upon the results they anticipate from the consummation of Parliamentary Reform , the same measure ought to be meted to those whose sympathies and exertions are more especially concentrated upon the labouring classes .
Such occurrences as those of Monday last show the urgent necessity of both parties cultivating a spirit of genuine conciliation and forbearance , if they mean the union to be a substantial and fruitful one . If this is not done it will meet the fate of all shams , and the sooner it does so the better .
Industrial Partnerships. Various Indicat...
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS . Various indications are perceptible of a growing desire on the part of the working classes to have recourse to associative efforts for the improvement of their condition . The recent Co-operative Conference , held in Manchester , broug ht out the fact , that at the present moment there are a considerable number of Societies in the provinces , based upon the Associative Principl e ; a n d th e New Central Co-operative Ofiice and Stores just opened in Charlotte-street , _Fitzroy-square , may , if judiciously and spiritedl y managed , collect these scattered Societies into one powerful and wellorganised Association .
While yet upon the threshold of such a movement , it will be well for its promoters to understand their r e a l position as recognised by law , and the probabl y fatal difficulties they will have to encounter , unless the law with reference to such bodies , is amended . Looking back for the last twenty years , we can recollect the dep lorable failure of several distinct movements of a similar kind , at least , as extensive , p o pular , and well provided with the
material means of success as this can be . To whatever other causes their melanchol y termination mi g ht be attributable , the defective state of the law constituted a prominent element of the combination ; and it is therefore to be hoped that the leaders of the new movement will be induced by the experience of their predecessors to make vigorous efforts for a just and equal law of partnership , as a primary and indispensable preliminary to success .
For many years we have urged the importance of Buch a law . The want of it caused the destruction of the Labour Exchange Bazaars of Robert Owen , and was a powerful pause of the failure of the Hampshire experiment , made by the same gentleman and his disci ples some ten or twelve years later . The Socialist effort to show how the people could be p l ac ed on the l a nd , and render themselves independent by their own labour , was followed by that of the National Land Company , which essayed to realise the same object , th o ugh in a different way . It also failed , as we have frequentl y stated , because its Directors had
neither the power to enforce the obli gations ent e red int o by shareh o lders , n o r t o p rotect themselves against being plundered by the selfish and dishonest portion of the members . Mr . O'Connor attempted in vain , and at an immense expense , to comp l y with the cumbrous and costly provisions of the Joint Stock Companies' Act . Having failed in securing legal protection for the Company and himself , he is now exposed to be robbed by every ruffian who is conscienceless enough to drag him into a County Court , in which Jud ges may sit who legislate under the guidance of their prejudices rather than the dictates of calm and dispassionate equity .
n We noticed the Report of Mr . _Slaney's Committee on Investments for Savings , atthe time of its appearance , and hailed with pleasure its distinct and emp hatic recommendation that the law should be _forthwith amended in this particular . No part of that report is more interesting in itself , or more strikingly illustrative of the defects of our laws of Partnership , than that which relates to such Cooperative Societies as we have alluded to . We h ave alread y quoted the passage in which the _Committee describe the nature and object of these associations , and the difiiculties under which they labour ; but it is so important and suggestive that we re-produce it , in order that the working classes may have the subject forced upon their attention in all its
significance : — In somo cases several industrious men work _together , under regulations of their own , with a small capital ; they are directed by managers whom they choose ; the goods produced are sold for their common benefit ; and the profits are divided among the contributors of capital and labour in certain proportions agreed to . At present , the law affords no effectual remedy against the fraud of any one dishonest contributor or partner , and no sum .
mary mode of enforcing the rules agreed to for mutual government . Your committee are of opinion , that the difficulties whieh affect the law of partnership operate with increased severity in proportion to the _smollness of the sums subscribed , and the number of persons ineluded in the association . They think that _anyi measures for the removal of these difficulties would be peculiarly acceptable to the middle and _working tr ? _£ u ? _* T ? t 0 nd 5 . _* _^ them _thatZy a" ! not excluded from fair competition bv laws SS tacles in the wa _* 8 _^ - & _£ 3 The passages we have italicised are a truthmi aM emphatic explanation , of the failure of
Industrial Partnerships. Various Indicat...
the . National Land Company ; _andT _^ iw " law _remans in its present state , will pr 0 v we fear , the _rafr of every co-operative attemM to elevate the _indu _^ _trioua classes . It j 8 j _~ _£ h a ps , s c arcel y _possibi _^ to adduce any m 0 j signal example of the _noiw-k animus which p er vades the whole of our _legislation , whenever the ri ghts or interests of these classes are con . cerne d , than this . Everything -seems to be most cunningl y ahd deliberatel y contnVed for the . National Land Company ; and . _whiiTir
the express purpose of keening them in wages ' slavery , and preventing them from emergin g ) as a class , from helpless dependence npon the capitalist class . Why should not these _indus . trial combinations be entitled to the protection which the law affords to other kinds of com . mercial enterprise ? Are they not at least aa legitimate m themselves—more meritorious in their ultimate objects ? Is it not a disgrace to the mercantile code of any civilised country that it should refuse to provide any security forthe rights , or any redress for the wrongs incident to such associations ? '
The evidence on which the Committee founded their report has since been i 8 . sued , and forms a most interesting and " instructive official document . By its aid let us endeavour to show the working of the law somewhat in detail as exhibited in the actual organisation of a co-opera * tive workshop : —Suppose a bod y of twenty tailors , possessing an aggregate capital of £ 500 , made up of individual subscri ptions rang ing from £ 20 to £ 40 . Suppose them starting in business on the money thug clubbed together , buying and working up their
own materials on their own premises , paying themselves a fixed rate of wages out of the common stock , a nd dividing their p ro fit s in defined and mutually agreed proportions . Under the present partnership law of this country , such a body has , in fact , no power either of enforcing their mutual contract , or of protecting their common property—for the onl y court which would take cognizance of the ri ghts ereated by such an agreement is the Court of Chancery . Any one member of the body may indefinitel y p led ge the credit , violate the rules , and even appropriate the property of the co-partnery , and his comrades
will be totally without the means of procuring redress . Such a state of things has also this injurious result , that it prevents wealth y and benevolent persons , friendly to _Buoh undertakings , from assisting them at the outset with loans . They can only do so at the immi _. nent risk of losing their money ; for these _indugtrial societies cannot offer to others a _security they do not themselves possess . In such cases , the only guarantee which the lenders have is the personal responsibility of a manager . " Even a bill of sale , '' said one of the witnesses , " is no security under the circumstances ; " you must "trust implicitly to the men who are managing the concern . "
Such is the ordinary law and its consequences . The Joint Stock Companies' Act is available where the partners exceed twenty-five ; but how far its protection is attainable by the working classes , may be judged of by Mr . Neale ' s discription of the expense of registration ; 1 know a bod y of t a ilors who ha ve t a k e n a house in Oxford-street ; those men ( there are 99 of them , I believe ) are going to raise their capital entirely by shares among themselvesand tbey
, have had a communication with a solicitor , to ask him what would be the expense of _getting tbeir deed registered , and they found that , independently of the solicitor ' s c ha rges for preparing the d ee d , there would be £ 14 to be paid for _registering it , and the whole cost would come to £ 60 or £ 60 Now the whole capital which those men would raise , and which would be sufficient to start that work , would be from £ 200 to £ 300 ; and if £ 50 of that is to be paid for getting leave to carry on their work safely , that would be a serious difficulty . "
It will be remembered , that the cost of preparing the partl y completed registration deed of the Land Company amounted to nearly £ 3 , 000 ; ever y penny of which was lost bv the refusal of the Registrar to perform a merel y ministerial duty . But even if we put out of sig ht that pecuniary difficulty and hardship , the machiner of the Joint Stock Companies' Act is quite unfitted for these Industrial Associations . That act provides for a definite capital , divided into a fixed number of transferable shares . The Co-operative Societies on the contrary ,
are based on the princi ple of a gradual accumulation of capital , b y the sm a ll a nd irregular contributions of individuals , and , aa one of the witnesses suggests , "The very essence of these associations is , that the shares shall remain untransferable , " because otherwise , "any person who is interested in tha destruction of the association might buy up the whole of the property .- " Thus , in which ever way these working class combinations are looked at , we find they are virtually outlawed . The moral and social consequences of such a state of things is forcibl y described by another witness
!—The law will not prevent men from formih _? their associations , * they will go on working them , and i i they prosper nothing more will be heard of it , but if they get into difficulty , there will be endless trouble-there will be a great wrong and no " If they prosper ! " Trul y " there is much virtue in your < If !' » The odds are fearfully against such societies prospering . Ifc is only extremel y enthusiastic and fervent advocates of co-operation , who resolutel y shut their eyes upon the hazards they expose themselves to , that will venture upon industrial combination * , in the present disgraceful and infamous state ofthe law .
It is the custom of the Press in the interest of the money-lenders and profit-mongers to cry down , as visionary and ridiculous , all attempts on the part of the industrious classes to elevate themselves b y such means . They tell them , with a lofty assumption of serene _andtranscendant wisdom , that it is only a dense—or , as Lord Brougham would say , a crass '—ignorance ofthe sublime science of Political Economy , which leads them to take up with such Utopian notions . Well , perhaps they may be right , but at all events it is an extremel y modest and moderate proposal th a t
, the small joint-stock capital of the working men , and the large joint-stock capital of thc profit-monger , should find equal protection and security under the law . One of the most enli ghtened and advanced Political _Econoir-ists of the day —Mr . J . Stcabt Milltruly s a id , in his evidence before the Committee , that when the working-classes thus had fair play , " if the experiment failed , they would see that it failed from some defect either in the p rincip le , or iu their qualifications for carrying out the experiment . " In the ono
case , it would he an advantage to know that all hopes of improvement from this quartet w e r e essentiall y fallacious ; in the other , they would set about procuring persons with the requisite qualifications . In auy case , they would not have the power of throwing upon an obstructive Government , and a hostile law , the blame of failure , and the odium of having deliberatel y and selfishl y conspired to keep the labouring classes in hopeless dependance and destitution . That is the accusation which , in their name we now solemnly and openly prefer against the Parliament , and the _government of Great Britain .
Protectionist Prospects. At The Few Prot...
PROTECTIONIST PROSPECTS . At the few Protectionist meetings «« icl 1 have as yet been held , unequivocal manife _^ j tions have been g iven of there being i 11 _- _*^ _* disunion in the camp . The Castle Hedingniim meeting , which last year was honoured p 7 being made the occasion for develop ing _^ ' Disraeli ' s policy for tho ensuing session , w * this year not favoured by his presence . * ' * tection was left to the championship of a w _* fifth and sixth rate members of the party , _»•* make up in obstinacy for their lack of braw » ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 19, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_19101850/page/4/
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