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TO THE LABOURERS OF ALL CLASSES.
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M t Friends, j am about to assume the ta...
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* By the third ana last statement of the...
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Rational aano (Sowpatf.
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Newcastle.—-At the branch meeting held o...
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UJL- XL NO 574- LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBE...
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Part VI. THE GLORIOUS FUTURE OF EUROPE A...
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EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOR. On Wednesday nig...
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Death of T. Gray, the Railway ' Pioneer....
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especiauvin--suggestion^fro&bl lufi}^2^^...
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Transcript
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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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To The Labourers Of All Classes.
TO THE LABOURERS OF ALL CLASSES .
M T Friends, J Am About To Assume The Ta...
M t Friends , j am about to assume the task of _commentwnpon Tract No . 1 , issued by the Financial _inform Association- and asfigures convey facts _ybich words cannot mystify , I leave to that Association the simple duty of analysing-the f acts which I am about to submit in the shape _jf figures . I wish you , when perusing the fascinating s tatistic s of your retrenching friends , to use v past errors for your instruction , and not ip on any account to presume that the Reforms contended for by that class , however just they may be as part of a whole system , are intended , or any wise calculated , to relieve your order of a fraction of your present burthens .
Unlike other writers , it is my practice to submit to you unmutilated the matter upon which I comment * and , therefore , here follows the introd uction of tbis fascinating Association , which , as is the custom ofits order , eschews all selfishness , and makes consideration for the toiler the paramount object of its labours : — ThB Financial Reform AitoeUaoa now present to the pablie the first of a serie * of Reports , which they purpose Issuing from time to time , on the _fimandol condition of the country . The embarrassed position is which the nation _hsb teen placed , through _mUmonagemen t ia the financial _apartment of the government , is both the caase and tha jas tJficatloa of their labour * . For the proof ol this _misnuasgement they refer to the following : plain facts and figures .
The annnal governmental expenditure , In time ef peace , exclusive of interest on the national debt was , Baring the reign of George I . abont „ £ 2 , _683 , S 00 j _» ti George II 2 . 7 € 6 , 00 e , „ G « orgeIU , ( 1792 ) _7670 _. U 9 „ „ GaorgelT , ( 1818 ) 21 , 407 , 679 „ „ William IT , ( 1835 ) . .. 15 . 884 , 640 „ „ Tictorla ( 1848 ) 24 . 280 , 804 The habit of lavish and wasteful expenditure , wbich was formed daring the war , hoc never _heen _ex-. ltu
_goished ; bat daring the reign of William IT . in _con-eqoence of the strong and general expression of the national _detira for retrenchment , vigorous and _raccetsfill efforts to economise were made by the government . These efforts , however , ceased when the national atuntion was directed to other matters , and each year the expendi'ure steadily iacreased . The present govern . meat has arrived at an unparalleled height of _txtravopoace . _Oeerpendifure of 1848 _exceeding that _# / lS 3 S by ate half ! _^ J
The revenue of the United Kingdom for the pr-sent year is estimated at the enormous * nm of £ 51 , 250 , 0 ( 0 end yet our spendthrift governors -chnowledge that their expenditure wUl amount to . _„ „ # i < # 54 , 596 . 4 * 2 leaving m deficiency of * S _. 346 453 to be added to the national debt , at a time of peace , when according to common cense and _co-amon honesty , we ought to ba redeeming that debt , instead of _lscreasingit _.
Bat these figures need not be dwelt upon , since the orgeat necessity for financial reform ia unfortunately too well proved by the preieut lameatable condition ofthe -kingdom . Oar merchants , _mtnufactorers , and tradesmen , hopeless of the gain which onght ' to reward their _indastry , have been for yean past desperately straggling to preserve themselves fiom _i-ds ; aad many , in spite of experience , skill , and most intense and anxious application , have been unsuccessful In this struggle . Oar artisans and labourers , in return for the severest toil , can obtain only a deficient sapply ofthe bare _necetsaries of life ; and thousands have been driven , by want ef employment , to the workhouse , to save themselves from starvation .
Under these circumstances , the impoverished nation cannot possibly sustain the prodigal expenditure whieh it hat endured in better times ; and it therefore haa now become absolutely necessary that the national revenue should be economised with tbe most anxious frugality , ssd the expenditure carefully confined within the strictest limits of Indispensable necessity . 5 ations at powerful oa Great Britain have been brenght to revolution and rain by excess of governmental expenditure over income , and in no country can financial derangements lead to more disastrous _consaqiesces thaa in one where above £ 700 , 000 , 000 is invested apon the security ef the national credit .
The true remedy and preventive for this excessive expenditure is the diminution af oar enormaas armaments , the extinction of aU sinecures , unmerited pen-ions , and other unearned , and therefore uMonourablB and unjust _payments , " ¦ and the practice of a constant ond watchfal sapervisloa over every branch of expenditure , by tbe Chancellor of the Exchequer , and the heads of the different departments ofthe gov . rnment . Batadimiaatlon of the expeiidltaK to meet the _e-dstug deficiency it not all that it sought for ; as important decrease in the present overwhelming weight of taxation ; an entire revision of the _exisdag system of levying the taxes ; and a provision for the future progressive diminution of the national debt , ore else imperatively called for by the clearest requirement * of jastice and sound policy . To these measures , howevever , the reduction of the national
expenditure is an indispensable preliminary step , and to that object accordingly the efforts ofthe Financial Heform Association will be first directed . They are convinced that , to be thoroughly effectual , and tie example to be very generally followed , curtailment of expenditure should originate in high -matters ; and , _accordingly , tbey now sabmit the limit within wbich the cost of _aojtlty shonld , in their opinion , be confined . The pain falsest ol the requirements that suggest the propriety of this measure is , they ore happy to aay , ia some degree mitigated by the declaration of her ltsjesty " s Pr ime UiuUter _, Lord _John Russell , that so large a sun as is sow expended annually ii not necessary for tha comfort or happiness of the Qaeen . And , beyond securing these t * o important objects to her Majesty , it is felt that bo further obligation can virtually rest on the people .
SECTION I . _Present allowance to the Sovereign £ 385 600 Proposed fatare allowance to the Qaeen ...... £ 200 , 000 Proposed for fatare Sovere _' gat . £ 153 000 From the above you will learn that the philanthropists have commenced their labours by a proposed reduction of expenditure in her Majesty ' s Household . I am not aware whether they would come under the provisions of the Act of Edward the 3 rd , or the llth of Victoria , which makes the attempt to deprive her Ma
jesty of her royal power , style _^ nd dignify , High Treason ; perhaps in their case a confederate jury may be ofthe opinion , that reducing her household would not constitute a lessening of her stvle and dignity . However , as this one item in eur national expenditure constitutes the sum and substance of Tract No . 1 , and as those Tracts are to constitute the lever by which the national mind is once more to be roused / or middle-class agitation , I shall confine myself to its consideration .
The compilers of this fascinating Tract rely more , I have no doubt , upon the political enthusiasm likely to be created by their boldness in first attacking Royalty , than they do upon the saving likely to accrue from theanticipated reduction . They show us , in the first instance , that the annual Governmental expenditure bas increased , by upwards of nine millions and ahalf , from the year 1835 to the year 1848 . Here dates are valuable things , inasmuch as the reader must bear in mind thatthe retrenching Whigs were in nninterrapted possession of Sice for the first seven years of the period between 1835 and 1848 , and two years from 1842 to 1848—and that , during that period , Free
Traders and patronage hunters constituted the staff which enabled onr retrenching Whigs to make this addition to the annual expenditure of the country . They carried Reform by treason and treachery , and the people , having become disgusted with them in 1835 , they were compelled to resort to patronage , as a substitute for popular confidence , until at length the very parties who sat behind the Treasury bench , and who either voted for , or abstained from opposing , this reckless extravagance of a weak , unpopular , and trafficking Administration , and who have failed in their Free Trade anticipations , are at a loss for a "GOOD CRY / ' and where can they find a better , or a more fascinating one , than " REDUCTION OF THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD ? " * _Xow , no oue looks with more disgust than I
* By The Third Ana Last Statement Of The...
* By the third ana last statement of the Chancellor of the _Exchequer ( made on the 21 th Angnst ) , tbe defi . cieney now appears to be reduced to £ 2 , « 31 , 000 . This redaction ls referred to with considerable pleasure , as a proof that the _gentral demaad for economy has aheady effected some retrenchment , and as an earnest that confirmed exertion on the part of the public will caase a mach more material saving . 1 ' Whilst money can be saved either by cutting off nnaecrfsary offices and _gratuitiet , or by checking _nselest "spaises , no Minister ought to apply for on augmentation fimposts . ' It is only hy a strict and inviolable attention to such a _sjt tern , that the rulers of a hardened people can flatter ttemselves that a nation will long remain in quiet subjection ; for nothing can he mere galling to those who " ¦ " * oppressed and overloaded , than to tee others wallow . Eg ia riches extorted from them by tte chicanery and artifices of finance , whilst they can bat barely farnish th _emselves with the means of subsistence . *—Sir J . Sin _Stir ' s Distorv af tke _Xcvenue . Vol . 2 , p . 167 .
* By The Third Ana Last Statement Of The...
do upon the amountof money lavishl y expended upon a set of useless aristocratic officialsmerely for the purpose of creating political support for the existing Government . I have shown you , upon _numerous occasions , that the fact of both English and Irish landlords dealing with tkeir estates by the political instead of the agricultural standard , has led to the ruin of their class—and now that the traders have discovered that your order—the order of Labour—is no longer able to replenish the Exchequer , they , urged by the same motive , the political use of aristocratic servitude , and hence we are startled with the proposition
to diminish the expenditure of the Royal Household by 185 , 000 / . per annum . This is a lumping sum when submitted to the toiler . _wnojUnaccuitomed to calculation , naturally eondudes that he individually contributes a large proportion of the amount . These fascinating economists commence with the basis of 185 , 000 * . a-year—and , no doubt , when the new corps of retrenching Reformers is sufficiently recruited , organised , and disciplined , General Cobden will be elected as General-iuchief of the retrenching army , and will cap the pyramid of retrenchment with the two hundred millions a-year lavished , upon European
armaments . Not satisfied with the participation of political power extended to their order by the Reform Bill , and disappointed by the result of their Free Trade project , they seek to rally under a new standard , in the hope of acquiring increased political power—and , under those new circumstances , it becomes my duty to submit , truly , plainl y , and simply to your understanding , the working man ' s share of taxation , as well as the only practical mode of making your retrenching friends sincere in their professions , and honest in tbeir labours _.
I have always contended tbat the law makers should be exclusively the tax payers , and then the revenue ofthe Church , and the revenue ofthe State , would be regulated by the standard of Christian necessity and constitutional requirement . But I have always set my face against that motley system of taxation which is , in the main / indirect , mixed with the paltry amount of direct , upon which capitalists make a large and undefined profit . I have shown you that the man employing a _thousand'hands , and paying 300 ? . a year income tax , upon an annual profit of 10 , 0001 * ., will be considered a
philanthropic employer if he only reduces the wages of his _menjby a shilling a week to meet the increased burden , and which reduction would leave him a profit upon the tax of 2 , 300 ? . a year after paying his liability . If he reduces the wages of his men by only a halfpenny a day , it will leave him a profit of 350 ? . a year upon the tax . If he even reduces wages by a farthing a day , it will leave him a profit of over 25 / . a year upon the tax ; and where is the operative , with the Labour market closed against him , who would not cheerfully accept the alternative of a shilling a week reduction rather than break up his little home , be separated
from his family , and become an inmate in the bastile . And here I wish the toilers , for whose especial benefit this new " CRY'' is raised , to keep one startling feet in view- - It is that the employing class _arejthe administrators of the Poor Law , and that the refusal of the toiler to accept a shilling a week reduction in his wages would constitute his disqualification as an inmate . In fact , the baa tile . is the flesh market , where the traffickers and profitmongers bid far labour , and it constitutes the
competitive reserve against those who are not yet consigned to its tender mercies . I do trust , however , that the working classes will look upon their order as one and indivisible , and that they will not , as heretofore , act sectionally as regards this nev move , for even tbe Athenasum gentlemen , and aristocra tic trades , may rest assured that a successful invasion upon their rights , their comforts , and their wages can only be made through the destitution ofthe poorer of their order .
Jealousy , drunkenness , want of union and organisation , bave been your bitterest enemies . If you were sober for a year , thoughtful for a year , and united for a year , the proposed reduction of 185 , 000 * . a year in the Royal Household would , as I shall prove to you , be a mere drop of water in the ocean—nay , i will go farther , and prove to you that , if Labour was fairly rewarded , the National Debt and Government expenditure , would be but a flea-bite as compared with the capitalist ' s traffic , and his power of reducing wages . Here follows a list of the working classes of Great Britain and Ireland under their several heads * ~ Total number employed
in'Agriculture 2 , 564 , 326 Ditto , in Manufactures . . 1 , 865 , 927 Ditto , in Mines .... 196 , 921 Ditto , in the Shipping . . . 818 , 861 Ditto , as Domestic Servants . . 1 , 494 , 122 Ditto , Labourers , not included in * jn the above classes . ' . 31 , 252 Ditto , employed in Retail trade , or in Handicraft , as masters or workmen .... 2 , 413 , 451
Total .... 9 , 384 , 860 Suppose we * _, deduct Seven Hundred Thousand from the last craft , " presuming that number in the total do not labour , but are merely retailers , then we have as the total of Labourers - . . 8 , 684 , 860 , and a reduction in their wages of one penny per day would amount to ELEVEN MILLIONS THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTYFIVE _THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO POUNDS PER ANNUM . A reduction of twopence per day would amount to TWENTY-TWO MILLIONS SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTYONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND
EIGHTY-FOUR POUNDS A YEAR . And _tofestimate the reduction in the wages of labourers by the Poor Law standard , the compptition of machinery , and the power vested in the local authorities commanding those sources , by the Reform Bill , at sixpence a day —which is much below the mark—we find a total of SIXTY-SEVEN MILLIONS
NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTYTHREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO POUNDS , annually stolen from the working classes , by those philanthropic financial reformers ; while their proposed reduction in the Royal Household , if the whole saving was conferred upon your order , would amount to the enormous sum of about FIFTEEN FARTHINGS a head per annum . That is , if this reduction was effected each could drink an additional half p ot of beer in the twelve months .
Here you have a surplus of fifteen millions a year over and above the interest of your National Debt , and the whole of your governmental expenses covered by a reduction of wages . And hence we find the enormous amount of capital that bas been recently invested in railways , buildings , steam navigation , shipping , mining , improved machinery , and the thousands of speculations carried on upon the profits of reduced wages . Now , observe this prominent fact , and never lose sight of it , it is this—the w ages of the liveried , servant , of the cook , the housemaid , the scullion , and the dog boy , and of every individual employed in domestic service , is regulated by the wages paid in the producing market . Figure servants ,
* By The Third Ana Last Statement Of The...
grooms , and pantry boys—measure their wages by tbeir parents' ability or inability to support them , and by the amount they can earri in the productive market , and so with all other classes . Even the pay of soldiers and policemen—and especially of soldiers—is measured by the parents' ability , according to the value of productive labour in the market . And I ask you what you think of the _cheeseparing of these philanthropists , when you see a set of
lazy , idle , useless , non-producing fellows walking with tbeir bludgeons amid starving shoeless paupers ? these fellows , dressed for winter and for summer with warm clothing provided against wet , and strong boots to keep the feet warm , oil skin capes to cover their precious shoulders , and paid 18 s . a week for tlie purposeofcreating confusion , which itwouldnot be in their power to create if the working classes were justly and fairly treated .
If these philanthropists would look at home—if they would cast their eye over the cellar and the garret , and contrast the squalid misery and wretchedness of those abodes of disease and want with their own happy homes , their banking account , and their gains—then I would h ? ve some faith in their philanthropy . But as long as they confine their assault to the gilded toy , and leave their own monument of infamy untouched and unprobed , I will heed them not .
What think you , working men , ofthe system that depends upon prostitution , dissipation , and beastiality for its support ? What think you of sleek , fat horses , well caparisoned , prancing with whiskey , gin , brandy , ale , and porter behind tbem through shoals of heart-broken paupers willing to work ? And what think you of a monarch and her Government deriving their chief support from such a source ? I tell you what to think—think as I do ,
THAT THEY ARE RIGHT AND ; YOU ARE WRONG . You are encouraged , but you are not compelled , to make beasts of yourselves , and as long as you are beasts , my prayer is that you may be governed by a brute Government . This 185 , 000 ' . a year is only one of the new Liberal crutches . There is _another—EMIGRATION . And now let me analyse the probable result of this seheme , should it be even partially successful . Let us presume that the hired Press , and the fascinating promises of
speculators in laud and misfortHne , will be able to induce half a million to expatriate themselves . Some of those w'll have rather large amounts of money ; some will not have more than will pay the passage ; but as it is not always the poorest that speculate in foreign prospects , I will estimate the amount lowly . I will presume that for all purposes the emigrants average an amount of money reaching 20 / . a man . Here , then , are ten millions of money gone out of the country , to constitute foreign consumers for our liberal financial reformers .
When 1 set the number down at half a million , of course it embraces all classes , sex and ages ; and when I set down the amount taken away by each at 20 * ., I am rather under the mark , as a large proportion go in the hope of purchasing a little land * and many take out a sufficient amount of capital to establish themselves in business . Now , mark this ; if those ten millions were expended upon the improvement ofthe Land at home , I
would undertake to employ every Emigrant at more profitable wages , and leaving permanent profit in tbe continuous improvement of the soil . But we want the law . Railway Companies , we are told—and all otber companies —have been publishing fraudulent balance sheets . Fifteen months ago the Railway pound was worth 50 s ., now the same pound is only worth _iss . _j while—although these frauds must have been known to the immaculate
instructors ofthe public mind , the Newspaper Press —not a hint was given to shut the stable door till the steed was stolen ; and now the sufferers are coolly told by this pure and immaculate Press—that made thousands and hundieds of thousands by advertising and puffing the jugglers—that they are all robbed . Not a word of caution while they were making money . So much for the Press , And now for the Law . The Ballot has been declared the monster illegality of the Land Plan , while in reply to several secretaries of Emigration Societies , the Attorney General has stated that , although the Ballot is illegal , he will not enforce the law in Emigration cases . Now , what think you of that ? You cannot
ballot for a home "AT HOME , " but you may ballot for the chance of shipwreck , the probability of being juggled , and the certainty of making profit for gamblers in human misery . I do not rely upon the evidence of any written words of the Attorney General ; I rely upon my own ears . On the day that Parliament was prorogued , in passing from the House of Lords to the House of Commons , I heard the Attorney General tell a Member of Parliament , interested in these convicts , that he would not enforce the law in case of Ballot—when I' immediately interposed and said— " But , if you do not , I will , as I am determined that you shall not stretch the law against me , and relax it in favour of others . "
Now , I hope that every working man will get this letter by heart , and then he will understand the real state of the Labour Question , and the value to the Labourer of a reduction of £ 185 , 000 a-year in the Queen ' s Household . Your faithful Friend , Feargus O'Ccwnou .
Rational Aano (Sowpatf.
_Rational _aano ( _Sowpatf .
Newcastle.—-At The Branch Meeting Held O...
Newcastle . — -At the branch meeting held on Sunday afternoon , Mr Martin Jade and Mr James Nisbett were pnt in nomination to serve ae delegates fer thia district ; , to the _Birmingham Conference , Littletows . —The Land members of tbis branob suggest to the district _secretary , the propriety of calling a district delegate meeting of members ia some central place as soon as possible , for the purpose of discussing the varioas propositions submitted for consideration . _Woorrou-UHDEB-EooB . — A general meeting of Land members waa held at the Crown Inn , Ootober 16 th , when Mr O'Brien , of Lowbands , was nominated as a candida-e to the Conference , and a vote of confidence ia Mr O'Connor , and tha Directors , was carried unanimously .
Glas « ow . —At a meeting ofthe Glasgow brsmoh of the Land Company , held on Tuesday , the 17 th , the following resolutions were agreed to : — 'That all branches in connexion with tbis district , send from their local fund a sum amounting to one penny per member on their hooka , to defray the expense of the delegate to the Conference . A balance sheet will be given after the delegate returns , and if any money be left , to he returned in proportion to the sum sent , and to be made payable to the returning officers . ' ' That all members residing beyond one mile from tbe cross or place of _rceeting _, are to send their votes tor the delegate in writing . '' That the seoretary be instructed to send the following list of candidates , being all that are received np to this time : —Dunoaa Sherrington , Glasgow ; J <) hn _Rnssel ) , Barrhead ; Stewart M Witters , Falkirk ; David Meilson , Greenock ; Robert BraugbParhhead .
, Sombhs Tows . —John Arnott and JameB Cooker have been nominated delegates to the ensuing Land Conference , LncEHOusB . _—Brosswick Hall . —At a meeting of the Land members of this branch on Monday evening last , Mr Kydd was nominated as a delegate to represent the London distriot in the forthcoming Conference . Coyshtbi . —• At a general meeting of Land members held at Mr Pritchard ' a coffee-house , Goafordstreet , on Tuesday evening , October 17 ch , Mr Hosier _nas nominated for this district , and other business was transacted .
Newcastle.—-At The Branch Meeting Held O...
PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF EUROPE .
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_^^^¦ S 8 _[^ 9 ri \ v __ t _j *_ m Pf _fca . j _^*____\ r _^ Jc _*** i 59 _ntte-w / AND NATIONAL TRIPES' J 9 URML _.
Ujl- Xl No 574- London, Saturday, Octobe...
UJL- XL NO 574- LONDON , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 21 . . 1848 . f , _„ _^^ J _™ _" _^ _- _*^ |
Part Vi. The Glorious Future Of Europe A...
Part VI . THE GLORIOUS FUTURE OF EUROPE AND
THE WORLD . The natural progress of humanity discovering facts through slow experience , has at length developed to man the causes of good and evtl , with the means of overcoming the one and securing the other through all future generations . Tbe cause is known of falsehood , and deception , of ignorance of man of manof disunion—of poverty and its debase ments—of uncharitableness , and unkindness —of wars , contests , and competition — of sexual evils—in fact , the cause of all human miseries , and the means to remove all , except those of disease , accident , and death ; while accidents and disease , in one or
two generations , may be reduced to their mini _, mum , and death itself be without terrors , and not feared by any one at any period of life . The causes are also known by which to ensiireVvhealth , knowledge , good , disposition , habits , and manners ; charity and real affection for humanity , independent of family , country , or colour ; kindness to all that has life , so far as is compatible with the safety and happiness of mankind ; wealth in superfluity at all times , in all places , with the causes which can produce unity , peace , and love , and an active perpetual progress towards higher knowledge , excellence , and happiness as long as the world shall exist , inhabited by the human race .
Ordinary and inexperienced minds will , without powers of reflection , at once pronounce such a state of human existence to be impossible , while men of matured judgment and extensive experience know that it is not only practicable but that the causes to create it must be speedily introduced , to save society from its present involved confusion and irra . tional contests , crimes , and misery . Men of observation , experience , and foresight , know that to continue the old mode ot governing the world is become impracticable by reason of its now developed ignorance , false principles , injustice , and cruelty to the mass of mankind .
But no party , which has hitherto appeared , know how to begin to effect this change from ignorance and misery to knowledge and happiness , or , in other words , from evil to good . It is , however , of the deepest interest to all , of every class and country , to inquire how tbis glorious . future may be commenced and brought the nearest to our own time ; also to ascertain , if it be practicable , that those now living may partake , at least in part , of these blessings . The formation of our characters on false fundamental principles , and the consequent erroneous construction of _society through all its ramifications , will necessarily limit the enjoyment of these advantages by the present generation .
The generation which exists must be satisfied to derive its pleasures and gratification from being actively engaged in creating the requisite preparation to introduce the glorious future , which can be fully enjoyed only by their children and succeeding generations . But this first stage of progress will itself be a very delightful period of existence , when compared to the falsehood , ignorance , injustice , poverty , and cruelty of the present system of suffering , as experienced by the large majority of the human race .
The glorious future will consist in the creation of new and very superior circumstances for all the departments of life ; created to supersede the very vicious and inferior circumstances which now exist in every department , and which have necessarily emanated from the false fundamental principle on which the characters of all , so far , have been formed , and on which society has been alone constructed . True , it will be said , and most desirable to have this glorious future brought near to our day , and yet better if we could , although imperfectly , partake of some of its immense
advantages . But how is this to be done ? If the most wise , experienced , and best of the present generation , in Europe and America , could be induced to unite , and also write on the fundamental principles of truth respecting the formation of character , then , without interfering prematurely with existing interests and arrangements , a great change in less than five years may be effected in the populations of both quarters of the world , greatly to the advantage of all now living within these extended divisions .
The deficiency in . the formation of the character given to all under the present system of society , is the want of moral courage ; a want which makes all tremble when any attempt is made to express truths in opposition to the most deplorable of all falsehoods—truths the most important for man to know , being the most necessary to secure the happiness of the hum an race through all succeeding generations . The first step towards the attainment of the glorious future , will be to destroy this moral cowardice in those who most influence
society . Those who have discovered the errors and evils of society , and who are in search of truths , are cowed by the terrible fear ofthe prejudices in favour of falsehood , and are deterred from investigating truth to its foundation and through all its ramifications . This mysterious fear strongly pervades all classes in all countries , and makes arrant moral cowards of all . Yes , they say—what ' you
state is truth itself , we well know it , and can bring no arguments to oppose ; but we dare not express our real thoughts in _^' public . Men who would march direct to the cannon ' s mouth , start and tremble like a horse coming in sight of a lion , when called upon openly , to express what they are compelled to know are eternal truths of the highest importance to the human race .
It is this mental cowardice which alone retards the onward progress of society _^ to the attainment of real knowledge , charity , kindness , and happiness among all people in all countries , \ nd this cowardice is created by the ignorance ofthe priesthood of every religion on the globe ; yet each priest is a grievous sufferer by the false and artificial state in which he lives ; a state opposed not only to his natural feelings , but to any pretension to common sense . The life of any priest must be either a life of mental weakness or hypocrisy , the last quality eyer inwardly preying upon the best feelings of humanity and destroying all _realfhonesty of character . *
When this moral defect , so deeply implanted from childhood , through a false education , can be overcome , then w ill the eyes of the world be opened to the immense power and means everywhere at the command of society to commence immediatel y , and at no distant period secure , the permanent well-doing and happiness of every population over the globe . } This glorious future may be now easily ma de to commence throughout Europe , by calling a Congress in some central position of it , to be composed of delegates from its present national divisions , chosen frem each by Universal Suffrage , defective as this suffrage would be
Part Vi. The Glorious Future Of Europe A...
in many cases , owing to the"i gnorance in which the populations have been hitherto allowed to grow up ; yet , under present circumstances and feelings , the least objectionable mode of election . This Congress , at its commencement , openly to denounce the fundamental falsehood on which , hitherto , . character of man and the construction of society have been alone formed , and at the same time to announce the glorious truth , that the faculties , propensities , and powers of humanity , are created solel y b y the creating power of the universe , and created without the knowledge of the individual .
That society , after the birth of each , well or ill , rightly or wrongly , cultivates the natural qualities of each individual to produce good or evil , happinessbr misery , according to the inferior , mixed , or superior circumstances in which they shall be placed ; that society possesses the means and power to surround all from birth with good and superior circumstances only , and that by so doing it would produce the greatest amount of permanent happiness for all , that man has the power to create or enjoy . The next measure to occupy Congress , would be to form a constitution and . code of laws in _accordance with those fundamental principles . Such constitution and laws would be plain , short , and easily to be comprehended by every one . and easily to be comprehended by every one .
It is the present false system of society which requires extended laws and mystification , to prevent its falsehood from being too glaring for the public , and by a multiplicity of words . to hide its innumerable errors and evils . A constitution , in accordance with true fundamental principles , would direct the public how to create the circumstances which should produce the greatest amount of wealth , knowledge , goodness , and happiness permanently for all . This result could be effected only by Europe being divided into societies ofthe most manageable numbers to be the most easily well employed , well educated from birth , and well governed , locally and generally .
These societies to be , as the separate States are now in North America , independent within themselves ; but to be more intimately and socially united federatively than are those States _; in order that each society may more effectually aid and promote the prosperity and happiness of the others . The circumstances requisite to compose these societies would constitute a new combination of arrangements , that would form beautiful scientific societies for creating and distributing wealth , forming character , and governing in such manner that each one should be well cared for from birth , and secured through life _in'the greatest amount of advantages that could be given to the natural organisation of every individual .
And by this simple process , as it will appear to every one , as soon as it shall be seen in practice , Europe may be soon changed from its present frightful insanity into a terrestrial paradise , in which all will be trained from birth to become independent , yet affectionately united , superior rational beings , all _actively engaged in promoting each other ' s happiness ; and the whole of the population of the Continent combined into one system of harmony of action , in which there will be no wars , contests , competition , or opposing interests or feelings ; in which there will be , after one generation , only one language and one people , affording- an example of order , wisdom , peace , and continually growing prosperity , that the world will most willingly adopt .
This will be the future of Europe and of the world . Robert Owen .
Employment Of The Poor. On Wednesday Nig...
EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOR . On Wednesday night a publio meeting was held in the lecture theatre of the Literary and Scientific Institution , Leicester-square , convened in connexion with the National Philanthropic Association , for the purpose of _considering the best means of _providing work for the increasing numbers of unemployed operatives in the _' metropolis . B- B _, Cabbell , Esq ,, presided , and a very numerous assemblage of residents in the surrounding parishes attended , and took a lively interest in the proceedings . Ia introducing the business nf the evening ,
The Chaibha _** said , that the meeting had baen convened by a oommittee of the _inhabitants of the parishes of St James , St _Martinin-the-fields , and St Anne , Soho , who were _loxiously desirous of ameliorating the sufferings of their destitute brethren during the approaching winter months . In the _metropolis there were no fewer than 80 , 000 mechanics and 15 , 000 labourers ui of work at the present moment . The laboura of he National Philanthropic Association were especially directed to alleviate suoh a fearful Btate of things , and that society was at present employing forty labouring men in cleansing the streets upon ihe reformed sanitary system . The object of the association in doing this was to Bet an example to
tbe various parochial boards of what might easily bs done to provide employment for as many as 10 , 000 men , in carrying out the sanitary street-cleansing system throughout the entire metropolis . By this means , 10 . 000 out ofthe 15 . 000 labourers now unemp loyed , could be provided with remunerative work , instead of being allowed , with their wives and families , to become heavy burdens upon the different parishes . . At present only 500 men were employed in scavenging the whole of that vast metropolis ; and everybody wai convinced that an improved system of _oleaosing was loudly demanded , in order to improve its unwholesome condition . The forty street sweepers employed by the association to whioh he had alluded cost them £ 24 for wages weekly ; and if eaoh of the
897 houses within the Email district whioh now received the benefit of the experiment paid only 0 d . a week , this would raise a fund sufficient to cover the whole of the outlay . There were upwards of 250 , 000 houses in London , and a charge of 6 d . a week upon eaoh would be enough to pay the wages of the 10 , 000 men , who oould bj employed in cleansing the streets . By this means the health and comfort of all classes of the community would be moat effectually promoted , the pr or rates would bo greatly reduced , and htge numbers of the unemployed would be _supported in honest independence , earning their bread by tha sweat of their brow , instead of bting immured , _nlcing with their families , as paupeis within the _wal _' s of the union workhouses . The growing evils
of pauperism and distress , and the _insuppoi table weightof taxation , which was every day threatening to overwhelm the middling o ' _asgea in one common ruin with these whom they would s _: on be arable any looger to maintain idle in the workhouses , rendered is the bounden duty , as well as the _iadividual in ' erait , of all classes to resort ta every available means of alleviating the miseries of the poor , and finding them useful employment . For this reason , ho _trusted the publio would be aroused to direct its anxious attention without delay to the project ofthe _NBtionV Philanthropic _Association ; and he earnestly _commanded it to the favourable consideration ot all the various parnohial boards in and around the metro _jolis . ( Cheers . ) MrCCoohrank then rose to move the fi . ac
reso-. ution , asd met a very warm reception from the bulk of tho meeting . He spoke at great _lenalb _, q toting multifarious _utatisties in order to prove that a vaBt amount of wretchedness and _disoaBe prevailed _mong the poor in various districts of London . He _tmark _' d _* wt a petition from St Marylebone veetry _, oressnted to the House of Commons during the las ] _Session , alleged that' thousands of _operatives and beir families in that parish were upon an average at ill times totally _dostitute from w-nt of employment . ' _rhestati ' BtieB published by the refugeB for the _desfinte in 1845 stated that in that year 60 , 000 persons how
rose in the metropolis without knowing they ware to procure their first meal ; and it could not be doubted if such were their numbers in 1845 , that they had considerably increased since that period . One person ont of every ten of the sopuhtion of England and Wales was a pauper , and the annual cost of pauperism at present was £ i , 367 055 . These faots revealed an appalling state of things which it was surely high time for those who possessed the power to bestir themselves at onoe from their lethargy to remedy . The National Philanthropic As _aociation had shown that 10 , 000 persons might be employed profitably in oleaning the street ? , which in these time * of daneer from Cholera waa most _naoei _>
Employment Of The Poor. On Wednesday Nig...
my , and tho ' Street _Orde _' -lii _* ' the meeting had just had an opportunity of seeing , were _employed by that _saciety . He had raueb . pleasure in moving the resolution : — ' It having been demonntrated to thia meeting that crime , and the C 03 t ot is _supprewion , as well sb taxation generally , aro _decr _« a ? _ei in proportion as the poor ara employed , this meeting is of opinion that it is the bounden duty , as it is the interest , of all partie * to do all in their power to find work for the labouring classes , core especi _a lly _durimr the severe _winter _raonih ? , _^ hen destitution is _so ' fearfully increased thn ; u _» bont the country ;' Mr Richard _Oastlbk seconded the first resolution , and in the course of an animated address was _enthusiastically and repeatedly cheered . He said he had great pleasure in standing _before ihem _, because he
t elieved tbat the great problem which required solving in this country , as well as in France and Germany was—How were they to employ tho poor ? He contended that the people were not treated in a Christian spirit by the legislature , In that holy book the Bible , it was written , ' That thelabourer shall be first partaker of the fruit ? , ' which was not attended to . It waB the . doty of the rich and titled to look to the com * . fort of their poorer neighbours . It was the inalienable right of the people to live ; employment should be found thera , for which they should rcceivo such good wages as would enable them to live well ; but a long _ciurBO of falte and un Christian legislation , whioh had entailed its present miseries upon the country , _recognised no suoh _hunrino principle . _Taa same pernicious legislation had driven large masses of ths rural population to flock into the large towns ; and this was the true source of the increasing _ovils that
continued to afflict our towns and cities- " In 1811 the total population of Great Britain was 12 , 596 , 803 . and the proportion then employed in agricultural pursuits was 4 , 408 808 . In 1841 , although the ag < -re <; ate copulation of the country bad increased to 18 . 844 , 424 , yet tho ¦ raportion employed in agriculture sank aa low as 4 , 145 , 703 . being a decrease in the agriculture population of 263 , 105 , notwithstanding that the entire population of the country had increased more than 6 , 000 , 000 How , be aBked , was it possible for any country to prosper where such _things occurred as thia ? Mr Edmund Stallwood desired to say a word or two _hafore the resolution _wa 3 put He liked tho words * emplo-ment for tho poor , ' _becsusa it was more consonant with the feelings of the peopk than ' _charhy for the poor . ' ( Loud cheers ) He liked
clsan streets and sanitary improvements as well as anybody—but both their _chiirman and Mr Cochrane had shown tint in London alone , _thure was at least 50 , 000 persons in want of employment , and that the project of the Philanthropic Association , if fully carried oat , would only employ 10 , 000 , leaving in tho metropolis alone 40 , 000 totally unprovided far . Now it was at this point ho wished to commence . He suggested that a Minister of Labour should be appointed , and that such Minister should direct hia attention to the forests—suoh _asEpping , Wyohwood , and Dean—the common and waste lands _,, ai a means of employing the poor , and that such judicious economy , as reoommended by Mr Robertson Gladstone , of the Finanoial Reform Association ,
together with the funds now devoted by the government in ' deporting'the most useful people from the land of their birth to the colonies , would supply money to thus most profitably employ _aurplm labour . ( Loud oheers . ) And as it was said , ' that _oouspiracy sedition , and treason was now ' put down , ' and in thi * time of political calm and quiet , let the aristocracy of wealth and title now come forward and show their sympathy for the people . Let them convince us that they have a sincere desire to improve and elevate the social condition of the peoplelest , surrounded by the shrieks and agonies of wives and childron , in their lingering deaths , they might adopt tho fearful Lyonnese motto , to . ' _Liva working or die fighting . ' ( Immense applause . ) The resolution was then put , and carried unanimously .
Mr Gbohge ( a Guardian of the Strand Union ) came forward te move the second resolution , as follows :- ' That this meeting is of opinion that a great number ofthe poor might be profitably employed by the different parishes in _oleansisg , _whito washing , and purifying the unwholesome dwellings whioh abound in the metropolis , and thus prevent the spreading of the Cholera , Typhus , and othev _iheases ; that it is important that Parochial Registries shou'd be kept in every workhouBe , setting forth the came , age , qualifications and character of the unemployed in each _diatrist , in order that person requiring the services of such parties may be enabled to secure them ; and further , that the system of streetcleansing now and for some time past demonstrated by the National Phi _lanthropio Association , in the
parishes of St James , St _Martin-in-the-Fields , St _A . nne ' 8 , Soho , offers an excellent opportunity for employing a large number of the able bodUd Poor ; aud that aa it has bean proved to this meeting that 19 , 000 men could be thus employed throughout the metropolis , with profit to the _rate-rayers , the com . mittee of householders and rate-payers convening this meeting , most earnestly appeal to all classes for their _oo-operation and support , in order to secure the _advantages referred to in this and the preceding resolutions , ' and said , although he could not agree with the 'Lyonnese motto , " he thought the _sujfgeBtionB thrown out by the gentleman who had just sat down were excellent . He then prooeeded ta condemn the conduct ofthe guardians of the Strand Union . Notwithstanding all that had appeared in tbe _Morwns Chronicle to the contrary , be maintained now , as he bad done before , that the inmates did not receive
their rights , nor were the poor-rates expendoJ inthe way thoy ongbt to be . Hedesounced the guardians , beoause the poor had been condemned to two months' _imprisonment for no sin ; he denounced them , because some portion of the food given to the inmates was cot fit to be used ; he denounced them , because some women had not received that nourishment which a mother required when suckling her child . He did not think it fit , or proper , or decent , for a guardian to make a law to say that & woman , even although sbe was unmarried , was to have nothing more than the ordinary diet when she bad a child at her breast , because it was heartless cruelty te visit the sins of the mother upon tho head of the unoffending babe . ( Loud cheers . ) The Chairman hero interposed to request Mr George to confine himself to the question before the meeting . They had not met there to go into what had been done at any workhouse .
_MrGsoHQE _apologised ,-and , after a few further remarks , resumed his seat . The Rev . Mr Pownall seconded the resolution . Mr Thompson , a mechanic , rose to move as an amendment that the following words be left out ;—1 That it ! s Important that Parochial Registries should be kept in every workhouse , setting forth the name , age , qualifications , and characters of the unemployed in each district , in order that persons requiring tbe services of suoh parties may be enabled to secure them ; ' and that the words he now
proposed be substituted : — 'That the attention of tha government and parochial officers be directed to the waste lands as a means of profitably employing the people' He thought the Parochial Registries aad application to workhouses or unions foi employment must tend to bring down the better paid workmen to the level of the distressed , and reduce wages generally , and that in addition to the proposition of the Philanthropic Association , waste lands would be found a profitable source of employ meat . Mr Warlet seconded the amendment .
The Chairman said , he hardly thought the amendment a legitimate ono , seeing that the three parishes who had got up that meeting , had no waste lands . Mr Cochrane suggested that the amednment was perfeotly legitimate and gormju _» _# - ( toud oheers )—but he _trusted the mover would Wthdraw it , as ha could _nsure him the getters-up of that meeting had net the most distant idea of _interfcrring with the better paid labourer . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr Isaac Wilsoh , of the Trades , ably supported the amendment , quoting in its favour , statistics got up by the working classes themselves ; he was much applauded . Mr Roqsbs , surgeon , implored the mover of the amendment to withdraw it . which he declined , wheuitwftaptttatt'llo . at by a alight majority , tho resolution was then adopted . A vote of tbnnki was given to the chairman , snd the meeting quietly separated _.
Death Of T. Gray, The Railway ' Pioneer....
Death of T . Gray , the Railway ' Pioneer . 'Duiing the last week Thomas Gray , whose friends claim for him the titles of author of the railway system' and the railway ' pioneer , ' died at Exeter , in the 61 st year of his age . Though not on engineer he was cotemporary with the late George Stephenson . His name was brought into note by the publication , in 1820 , of a work entitled . ' Observations on a General Iron Railway ; or land
steam conveyance to supersede the necessity of horses in all public vehicles , showing its superiority in every respect over all the present pitiful methods of conveyance by turnpike-roads , cane ' s , and coasting traders . ' At the time Gray ' s book was written , all that was known of railways was as they then exist . ° d in the rude tramways at Newcastle a ' . vl its eollieies , and considerably " before the construction of those earliest of our railways , the Stockton and
Darlington , and Liverpool and Manchester . The gist of Gray ' s suggestion was to carry out a compre . hensive railway at one stride over the whole United Kingdom ; in fact , to make a simultaneous system to all the principal towns , instead of making the work a labour of section and degree . The progress of the railway system , however , proved that this was impracticable in many , but more monetary , points of view , and the its very comprehensiveness , perished . petitioned Parliament and Sir R . Peel no encouragement . Latterly he poverty , and sold glass on commission were made to the railway world on they met with no response , and it died broken-hearted .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 21, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_21101848/page/1/
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