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Northern Star (1837-1852), 23rd September 1848, Edition 3 of 3, Page 5

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      The Kight To Labour. ¦ ^^ Our Neighbours...

      remedy * either for the evils which press upon uS present , or those which threaten us in the future . It is nothing short of sheer insanity for a great nation to be exporting its labour—the _frig iBal source of all wealth—in search of food , to be raised an uncultivated soils in foreign lands * * the great proportion of our own lands are most wretchedly and imperfeetly cultivated , for want of that very labour , and while 15 , 000 , 000 acres of cultivatable wastes yet remain , on which capital , skill , and Labour , wisely directed , would produce a certain and a fair return of real wealth . - _

      The "do nothing " and "letalone * system approaches its termination . In spite of plausible theories—in spite of systematic selfishness , hiding itself under the guise of a learned jargon , dignified with the name of " philosophy , and taught at Universities as such—in spite of an organised Government machinery to enforce these principles—in practice it is impossible much longer to maintain it . All the great influences of the age—the mighty principle of moral justice and equity inwoven in the universe , and the sentiments implanted in our own nature , which may be perverted , but cannot be destroyed—all these offer an everlasting ceunter-action to the perishable momentum of the present system , and must , in due time , bring it to a stand-still .

      Political Economists , acting as the mouthp ieces of a selfish aristocracy , and a still more selfish moneyocracy , may proclaim as loudly as they please that there is neither the right to Labour nor to subsistence in society . The contrary is written in man ' s wants , and the capacity of _^ Nature to supply them . If these classes will insanely stand in the way , and prevent these two things from being most naturally and fruitfully united , on their heads be the consequences . We can understand how a Lord TomNoddy , or aSir Jabesh Windbag , may talk such nonsense , having learned no better .

      We can imagine that such nonentities may like the present , which gives them in return for nothing , power , wealth , and luxury . But they should recollect the world was not exclusively made for them ; that , in fact , it is getting every day less and less fit for them to rule in , and that in proportion as books , leading articles , and lectures grow more accessible , and machines more deadly in their war against mere flesh , blood , and labour , so will it become every day a world in which such useless and mischievous animals _willbeas much out of place asthegeologicalmegatheriums or iguanadonsin the British Museum , would be in the present

      day . Wiser will it be for these classes to betake themselves in time to the study of those principles which will enable them to constitute a well-ordered and prosperous community , in which the welfare of each class will spring out of , and depend upon , the prosperity of all other classes . As a foundation for this really free condition of man , thepolitical franchises which are the

      natural right of all , must be first frankly conceded or extended by such means as the Constitution affords ; and concurrently with the extension of these rights , the potter of obtaining subsistence in return for willing labour , must be guaranteed to every citizen . These are the only true princip les of really civilised society , and wherever they are denied or not operative , the nation , whatever it may call itself , is as yet savage , and under feudal domination .

      We are glad to observe that Mr O ' Connor has given notice of a motion for next Session , which , in effect , will moot the whole of the important questions at which we have hastily glanced . The proposition that each union workhouse should have land attached to it , whereon the able-bodied poor , for whom the present system finds neither work nor wages , should be employed for the benefit of the community , is one which must commend itself to the judgment of all impartial and enlightened

      men . It ha ? , indeed , always appeared to ns one of the strangest solecismsin the English character , that a people proverbial for their acuteness in commercial and money matters , should have been induced to throw away , year by year , not less than six or seven millions sterling , to keep inlforeed idleness a number of people whose labour , if set to work by that capital , might have been reproductively employed for the benefit of all classes of the community .

      Mr O'Connor ' s motion , if adopted and carried into operation on the scale , and under the arrangements it ought to be , would strike at once a deadly blow against our gigantic pauper system , and our increasing poor rates . It -would guarantee to every able-bodied willing labourer , the right to labour at a minimum price , and having thus properly tested destitution , it would amply justify us in sending to undergo primitive discipline in penal workhouses , the lazy and idle vagrants who wished to live on the labour of others .

      It was the disgrace of the late Session of Parliament that the rights , claims , and position of Labour found no voice , elicited no consider ation . Shoals of class measures , and pettyfogging bills intended to promote snug little jobs , found their way through Parliament , but the mGSt useful and most numerous had , as usual , no representative there . It is time that this were changed . Successful or net , the interests and the rights of industry should be perseveringly and boldly urged upon public attention . We believe it would not be so in vain , if done in a proper spirit , and we hail Mr O'Connor ' s motion as a hopeful commencement of a new system of legislation .

      ^ September 23, 1848. ' Ffhe N0rtherjni ...

      _^ September 23 , 1848 . ' _ffHE N _0 RTHERJNi STARr . 5 ; i- ' ' ¦ — ¦¦ _,.-. -. — .- , , ¦ __» _.. . _. _.. _ . — _..- _> . , , 7 _^ _T _^^ ' _^ ' _^^^^^^ ' _^ _mt _* _^^ _' _* _mmm _*^ ' _*»—» _a*— _' ** a— _aaweB * mmaaamaaa _aaamaaaa _^^ " _^ . . — . : _--.---. : ¦ - - ¦ - — - ¦ ¦ ¦ - —• —— .- —— ¦ ¦ _¦» , ¦¦¦ _iraiTfn _¦»¦¦ ¦ i _nnr-a > ¦¦¦¦ mi *—I *¦ I ¦ _urmiMill UN I _iiinim m mur in

      Co &E&Er3 & Comsoonijents

      Co & e _& er 3 & _ComsooniJents

      Mr O'Coxso* Begs To State, In Reply To A...

      Mr _O'Coxso * begs to state , in reply to a _ludlow correspondent , and others who make similar _applicationsthat he will use his influence with the geTerncent to secure places for individuals—that itis no part of his duty -. thathe has never been applied to by hit own constituents for snch a purpose ; and be begs to inform some who write pressing letters , and then impertinent ones when thev are not answered , thathe has neither time nor inclination to devote to their service . Jl _Wos-axs-UAN . —reclined . Exclusive Dealing—Mr Edward Phillips has written as a long article , in which he strongly urges upon the Chartists the advantages to be derived from exclusive dealing ; the question , however , has been io ably discussed asd advocated in the columns of the _Nokheui Sta * . that we cannot find roomfbr the addresses on the subject at present . - 3 owo-u > , near Banbury . —A few poor labourers at this place hare subscribed 6 s 9 d , for the _defence of Ur Cuffay , and the London Chartists . J £ r _FrrzexmcK . —We have no room for your coawnuni _nications . 3 . Lawib _. Salisbury , will find his question answered , by referring to a paragraph headed * Hr O'Connor ' s

      Propositions . . _jjs & EB _Covestet recommends the formation ol mutual improvement classes , for the education ot the people . -W * KniBEf , Tiverton . —Received . Mr H . will write

      shortly . ..... _* . Has M'DoCAii . —Mr Aitien has received a letter from Mrs M'Donall , in which she states , if a sum of money could be raised for her to commence a small shop , she would be less dependent , and might ensure , at least , bread for her children , during her husbands long _con-Jfr Hahek , Oldham . —If repeated , the advertisement will be charged 4 s . 64 . each insertion . _ 3 Ir W . Pickyasce , Bolton , had better correspond with tba Bars friends . "Mr Skis _CCkmnorriUe . —Tour advertisement was in _Accordance with the copy forwarded by Mr Stallwood . Ellis _Sampsoh , Manchester . —We know but one society of the description you have named , asd tbat is of a de cidedly disreputable character . J SHIKBO _* . _- , Aberdeen . —We have already refused to give _nublicity to statements ( in addition to those which bave already appeared in our columns ) hostile to Mr Shirron ; itis , therefore , unreasonable for him to txpect us to re-open the controversy . We must abide by the decision annourced in last Saturday ' s Star . Sevebal _CosutcsiCATioss will be noticed in our next Will Hr Simpson be hind enough to acknowledge the receipt of 2 s 6 d sent in Postage Stamps for Mrs Jones , from the Boyal Oak Locality , Sneinton , Notts , periR .

      Whitley . D . K . JdoKGAN , Merthyr _Tydvfl . —Mr W . P . Boberts requests us to say he will , in the next week's Sta * , give a statement of tte sums received by him on account of Dr M'Douall . Mr Boberts apologises for not havjag dona this before , buthe has been very busy in London , preparing for the defence of Ur Cuffay and the other thirty persons , charged with offences against the Treason BUI passed last session . This will be an answer to Mr Morgan and some others . Fob Victik Fund , per J . Sweet :- £ s . 6 * . From a Pcor law Guardian ... ™ 7 , \ _i „ MrOldknow — _" J J „ Mr Kirk ... J J « „ Mr Knott ... ' o O 3 „ Mr Shepherd J * » » „ MrBirgin - _ » » „ Mr _Chijrndale — — — * ' „ « The King of the French ... ... 0 17 „ _Hjson Green « . «•• ••• 0 1 A

      Mr O'Coxso* Begs To State, In Reply To A...

      RECEIPTS OF THE NATIONAL LANS COMPANY , FOE THB WEEK ENDING . THURSDAY , SEPTEMBER 21 , 1818 . PER HR O'CONNOR , _ams . £ s . d . York m 4 II 6 Birmingham , _Thrislington M 210 8 Goodwin ., 010 0 Market Lavington 0 10 Long Buckby M 0 16 Whittingtc-nand Knaresborougu 52 0 0 Cat _„ 215 7 _Crayford « 2 0 0 _Bermondsey M 017 0 Hartlepool .. 118 6 Royston , Barrow 5 0 0 Nottingham , Isham M 5 0 0 Sweet „ 0 8 0 Manchester M 110 6 Sunderland „ 1 li 0 Bangle ? , Lowe 2 5 6 JGri & tbs „ 115 6 Oldham . M 0 5 0 James Cuttris H 0 5 0 Glasgow M 114 0 £ 86 15 3 EXPENSE FUND . York m 0 4 0 _Barnsley , Lowe 0 4 6 _Whittington and Nottingham , Cat - 0 6 0 Sweet .. 0 8 6 Market _Layingtou 0 16 J Griffiths .. 0 2 6 £ l a o AID FUND . Geo Allison .. „ « 0 1 0 Land Fund ... 3615 3 Expense Fond ... 12 0 Aid Fond ... 0 10 £ 37 18 3 Wjr . Dixon . Chxistopbex Doiu , Thos . Cms * - , ( CorreB . Seo . ) Pfliirp M' _6 iUTH , ( Pin . Seo . ) THE LIBERTY FUND . Huddersfield , per Rochdale , Leigh Enoch Sykes .. 0 8 0 Gleane .. 0 15 0 Haaley , ditto .. 0 5 0 Leeds , per H High Burton _M 0 2 2 | Snmmeregill 0 3 0 Almondbury M 0 8 0 Brighton , per W LasceUesHall _^ 0 2 0 Flower .. 0 510 District Fund .. 0 0 9 J Hastings , per J Findlay , Mason 0 16 Edwin More - 0 12 6 Greenwich , Mr Shiney Row , per Floyd , Baker 0 I 0 ThomasBlockey 8 ill £ 3 6 9 JohnM'C & _ae , Secretary : FOR FAM 1 L 1 ESOF VICTIMS . XECE 1 VXD BY W . BIDE & . Brighton , per W Alfreton , perW Flower .. 010 2 Williamson _ 0 4 0 W Webster , Mans- J Bryan , Alfreton 0 l 0 field M 0 0 3 C Tinley , Alfreton 0 0 6 T Bell , ditto m 0 0 6 Leicester , per H Barrow .. 0 5 4 £ 1 1 9 Leicesibb—The sum of 16 s . 4 d ., was received for the Victim Fund from the female Chartists of Leicester , per Miss A . Smart , snd ought to hare been previously acknowledged . RECEIVED AT USD OFFICE . Hull , Mr ( Hark _ _„ _„ „ 0 7 0 FOR DR _M'DOUALL'S DEFENCE , HECBIVXD BT W . RIDEE . Brighton , per \ _T J Parker , Cam-Flower .. 0 8 0 berwell _ 0 19 £ 09 _ 0 FOB THB EXECUTIVE . Hyson Green , Mr Clark _ „ . « 6 10 DEFENCE FUND . _BECSIVED AT LAUD OFFICE . Mr Barnes , Lynn ' 0 16 Market Lavington Merthyr , J Burley 0 10 ( Levy ) _~ - 0 4 0 ' Halifax , Mr Clark 12 0 £ 1 8 6

      To The Chartists Of England And Scotland...

      TO THE CHARTISTS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND . A plain statement of facta is always the beat gna rantea for a continued friendship , and I beg of yon to attend to the following : —Since the incarceration of Mr Jones I hare paid to Mrs Jones , on behalf of her husband , for some time , £ 2 per week , and np to Saturday , the 9 th , £ 1 ; the redaction being caused by the want of funds . I have paid to Mrs M'Douall , since the imprisonment of her husband , in all £ 2 . Daring nearly tbe whele of this period I hare received no salary , although employed almost day and night in discharge ef the duties of the office to which yoa elected me . I therefore ask of yon to adopt some practical steps to support the wives and children of those men yoa have so often professed to honour .

      I am net disposed to write appeals to yoa every week , like some vagrant beggar craving for a crust . I faithfully premised Mr Jones and Dr _M'Boaall that I woald asemy _icflaenoe oa behalf of their families It was the very least I could do for men whose principles I honour and whose _sufferings I deplore . The rest remains with yoa . I may also add , that I cannot much longer continue to serve yen unpaid . My attachment to Chartism does not depend on any pecuniary qualification , and I feel it as a humiliation to have to write to yon on such a Bubject , and if the case were exclusively my own J . would not have written the above sentiments . I am , ai ever , yours faithfully , Sep . 21 st , _Sauujx Kybp .

      Defence And Victim Fund. Received By Wic...

      DEFENCE AND VICTIM FUND . Received by _WicRmiB . £ _s . d . Barrhead Chartists , per J . Howie ... 0 16 0 Brighton , per "W . Flower 0 16 8 Winter ' s , near Hebden Bridge , per J . Mann 0 1 8 ATollColleetor 0 10 Birmingham , per H . _Radhall ... ... 0 2 0 Bipponden , psr J . Wrigley " ... ... 0 4 4 Radstock , 'A Brother Snip / for Coffay ' s defence O 0 10 Horsham , X .. . ... 0 2 6 Nuneaton a few friends , per Mr Shaw ... 12 6

      3 . Parker , Camberweii ... ... 0 10 _Tintwistla , per 3 . Woodhouse ... ... 0 19 J . Heaton , Giggles wick ... ... 0 10 Chartists of Newport , Isle of Wight , per T . Self 0 5 0 Liverpool , per H . Smith ... ... 0 3 6 Plymouth , per J . Rogers ... ... 0 15 5 Coventry , per W . Hosier ... ... 0 12 6 Malmsbury _, per S . Hudson ... ... 0 4 9 Cheltenham , per J . Eentmia .. . ... 0 3 0 Ditto Ditto ( for Cuffay _' s Defence ) ... 0 7 6 Llanelly , per W . Arthur ... ... 0 5 3 Hanley and Shelton { Eastwood Yale ) , per

      MrDeaMn 010 0 Brig ? , Two Friends , per H . Barton ... 0 10 Scarborough , per L . Sanderson ( _Caffisy _' a D < ifemoe ... ... ... ... 0 3 0 Birmingham , per H . Badhail ... ... 0 2 0 Derby , per W . Short 0 10 0 _Laeds , per H . Snmaeisgill ... ... 0 3 0 _Eccles , per W . Gregory ( Cuffay's Defence ) 0 4 9 6 . Bubb , _Charttrrllle ( „ ) 0 5 0 Nine Men , Newark , per W . Walker ... 0 7 0 WortleyandArmley _. perC Raistrick ... 0 2 6 London , per Mr Snute ... .,, ... 0 2 0 £ 3 17 0 DR M'DOUALL'SDEFENCE FUND . From No . 2 Branch , Leicester ... ... 0 17 0 Mr ¥ . BMer , Si ** " Office ... .. . 1 15 3 Kidderminster , G . Holloway ... ... 10 0 £ 3 12 3 W . AiiriM .

      South Lohdos Chas-Oss Hall.—-Walter Coop...

      South _Lohdos _Chas-oss Hall . — -Walter Cooper will lecture on Sunday evening next , September 24 , at eight o ' clock . Subject : The life , character , and writings of Robert Burns . '—Mr Kydd will lecture on Monday evening next . Subject : ' The four pillars of the state . ' Mr Ktdd will lecture at 83 , Dean-street , Soho , on Sunday , the 24 th instant , at half-past seven precisely . Subject : — The Four Pillars of tie State , JVational Greatness , & o . '—Mr Kydd will also lecture in the John-street Institution on Tuesday Evening next , at eight o ' clock precisely . Subject : — 'England ' s commercial and trading aristocracy ; wealth of nations , misery of people ; Free Trade—ita principles and ejects ; cheapness its tendency . '

      Toww Hamlets . —The district committee will meet on Sunday evening , at five o ' clock , at the Globe and Friends , Morgan-street . —Mr Barber will leoture at the Globe and Frienda , on Sunday evening _. at eight o ' _olcsk . A Gbasd Cokcxbt , ( the proceeds of whioh will be given to Mrs Beza ) , is to be held in the Milton street Theatre on Tuesday evening next , at half-past seven 'clock . The programme includes the names of sixteen distinguished vocal and instrumental performers . The situation of Mrs Bezel ' s family is peculiarly distressing . It is therefore koped that the Chartists of London will muster strong on this occasion . The charges of admission will be muoh below the usual scale .

      South London Chabtist Hall . —A public discussion will take ' place at the above hall , on Sunday morning , at _eleven o ' clock . Subject : * Which wonld most benefit the nation , emigration or home colonisation . '—The Land members will meet at six o ' clock in the evening . Babbicah . —On the 2 nd ef Ootoher , a gold seal , presented by Mr E . Brand for the benefit of tbe viotirns , will ba disposed of at eight o ' olock in the evening , at Cartwright's Coffee-home , _Redcross-street . —The committee for the disposal of the gold seal for the benefit oi the victims , are requested to meet on particular business , at Cartwright ' s , on Wednesday , at eight o ' olock .

      To The Working Classes. —— — I ' Words A...

      TO THE WORKING CLASSES . —— — i ' Words are things , and a small drop of Ink Falling—like dew—upoa a thought , _predseeo That which makes thousands , perhaps millions think' BiaoN .

      THE FRENCH' REPUBLIC BB 0 IHHB PBOLErABIANg , ' The work goes bravely on . ' Nest to having the veritable Republic—* democratic and _sochl _'—which the brave people of Paris imagined they had achieved by their immortal victory on the 24 th of February . —next , I say , to the possession of that great and glorious prise , the best thing that can happen for France and the world is , that there Bhould be no Republic at all . That consummation has in reality come to pass ; for the thing called a Republio is no more so tban is the system which in Russia permi ' . s _Nichoi _, w to say , ( after Louis XIY „) ' I am the Btate ! ' Indeed tha Russians have this advantage

      over our French brethren , that they are not humbugged by names . With them the rale of a tyrant is acknowledged despotism . Nicholas does not slay and exile his miserable subjects in the name of ' Fraternity , _'—nor plunder them in the name of ' Equality , '—nor deny them the _rishts of free Bpeech and free writing in the name of' Liberty . ' Happily the despotism of the French bourgeoisie is fast becoming as transparent as that of the _Rusaian autocrat . Flushed with their triumph over the heroes of _Juhb , the intriguers and traiters are throwing off the disguises they have hitherto worn , and are openly denying and scoffing at the phrases under colour ol wbich tbey have waged a too successful war against the veritable ' Liberty , Equality , and Fraternity '

      fought for by the victors of Febraarr . 'Wbatis a RepublicV asked Robesfierhb , and the Roland , and her word-mongering taction were struck dumb . It was not , as has been fakely _asserted , _becaur e Robkspibrbe was hostile to a Republic that he put that question to the Girondist mouthers ; bnt _because he knew that those vain and hollow pretenders desired , under the guise of a Republic , a mere change of men and names , bat not a change of system and principles . What does it matter to the working men whether they are plundered and oppressed in the name of a King or a Presidentwhether they are enslaved by one despot called an Emperor , or by some hundreds of scoundrels calling themselves a 'National Assembly ? ' The mere

      political Republicans are the greatest fools or rascals under the sun . They have either never thought on the phra-e 'Republic / or if they have thought , they wilfully lend _themcelves to a juggle for the purpose of mistifying the multitude . The Weekly Dispatch admirably represents these Republicans . It used to astonish some innocent people bow to reconcile that paper ' s advocacy of Republicanism with its bitter hostility to Cha-tiBm ; suoh _steming inconsistency never puzzled thinking men . The Dispatch used to objeot to the Chartists , that tbey went' too far' in demanding Universal Suffrage , at the same time it objected te them , that because they did not avow themselves Republican ? , they 'did not go _fareneugh . ' In spite of this

      seeming inconsistency the Dispatch was quite consistent . 'Publicola , ' and the other writers in that journal , detesting _'kings , priests , and lords , ' wasted a Repubiie— but a bourgeois Republic . They deoiaimed against Universal Suffrage , beoause they wonld have preferred the rule of the devil himself to ths establishment of a ' democratic and social Republic' It is true that the present National Assembly was _ej ected by Universal Suffrage ; but , thanks to the ignorance of the French peasantry , the conspiracy of the bourgeoisie , and the multifarious intrigues , frauds , and lies of the political schemers , the Republic , which for a moment promised to be a verity , has become a despotism of the most hateful character . # Neither kin ? , nor priests , nor lords , divide rule with the bourgeoisie . Middle

      class terrorism is triumphant , and the Dispatch Republicans are satisfied . How often the Dispatch has thundered against the laws of September ; bnt not one word has it uttered against the thousand-fold more infamous laws against the press and public meetings passed by the present Assembly . The Dispatch was never weary of denouncing the despotism ef Louis Philippe , yet it now defends and extols the far more monstrous tyranny of dictator _Cavaigsac . The reason is obvious—tlera-callysystem at _present existing in France is precisely the sort of Republio the Dispatch men would like to see established in this conntry . ' ' Thank you for nothing , ' gentlemen . From such a Republic tbe Lord deliver the working men of Francs , and save the working men of England .

      I grant that the _warking men of France , up to this moment , do possess ona advantage over the working men of Eagland—the Suffrage . An inestimable possession , if tbey but knew how to make use of it . But it will be seen , that if in the elections whioh have juBt taken place in Paris , ( the returns of which are not known to me at the time I write)—if the working men hive shown tbe good sense to elect tbe ' Red ' candidates , it will be seen , I say , that Universal Suffrage will be attacked by all the organs of the bourgeoisie both in the Assembly and the Press ; and the Dispatch will jein choruB with the Timbs and the _JoubsaidbsDibats , in demanding a curtailment of the Suffrage , ta' save the Republic' If the enemies of Chartism believed that the suffrage

      would be , at the present time , asd henceforth , as badly used aa it was in France in April last , they would offer no opposition to the Charter ; and as long as the bourgeoisie have confidence in the ignorance of the French working men , they may allow the continuance of nominal political equality in the shape of Universal Suffrage . Bnt if once the bourg-eoisfe have cauBe to apprehend tbat the working men are likely to elect a majority , or even any considerable number of veritable Republicans—men determined to make the Republic 'democratic and social , ' they ( tbe bourgeoisie ) will at once proclaim war to the knife against Universal Suffrage . TheBOonerthatwaris proclaimed the better , for when things come to the worst , a radical change is comparatively easy . Another revolution in France iB inevitable—a social revolution . My earnest prayer is , that tbat revelation may be accomplished by

      peaceful means—through the ballot box , not the barricade . But by some means or other come it must . The triumph oi tbe workmen may be near or may be remote-may be the conclusion ef a war of words or a war ef Bwords—but ' come it slow , or come it fast '—come it by peaceable cr forcible means , come it must . The author of the ' Cc mpabativb Sketches of _Fhasce and Ekgland , ' writing in March last , remarked , that' If the bourgeoisie persist in occult or in open resistance to the revolution , they must share the fate of aristocracy and monarchy . ' Even another June massacre would not prevent the victory of the workmen , it would but embitter the strife . The days of mere political revolutions are numbered . The Republic—but ' the Repubiie democratic and social , ' is the prize for which the masses of Franceand more countries tban France—will henceforth contendand contend until victorious .

      , If this view of the future be correct—and time will tell—the working men of Europe generally , who have so great an interest in the progress of their Freneh brethren , need not despair because of the infamous proceedings of the National Assembly . It was not enough tbat that Assembly had proscribed its most _htnest members ; extinguished the liberty of the press ; crashed the popular associations ; excited civil war ; substituted trial by court-martial for trial by jury ; decreed the transportation of thousands ef unhappy workmen ; re-imposed odious and grinding taxes : repealed the revolutionary decree fot tbe

      curtailment of the _hooM of _labaur ; _abandoned Poland ,-betrayed Italy , and degraded France in the eyes of all the nations ef Europe—all these acts of treason to the Republic , were seemingly thought not enough to render the counter-revolution sufficiently marked and offensive . Another step into the wrong' was deemed necessary to make the deceived workmen more keenly feel their humiliation , and , at the eame time , gratify the insolence of tbe bourgeoisie ; that step has been taken , in the insulting erasure from the new Constitution of the declaration of tho droit du travail—the right to labour . *

      The Revolution of February was effected for the avowed purpose of obtaining social regeneration- The Provisional Government—as I have shown in former letters—declared that 'the Revolution , having been accomplished by the people , ought to be accomp lished for the people . ' That government also ' guaranteed an existence to every one through labour—work to every citizen . ' Upon the * e principles , the Revolution of February was based ; upon opposite principles the Assembly haa voted the erasure of the droit du travail from the preamble of the Constitution .

      The counter-revolution is complete I In the debates on this question , the man who cut the most ' contemptible figure was decidedly Lamartinb . If he has net succeeded in rendering himself acceptable to the etiem . it a of the Republio , hie failure has not been caused by want of effort on his part to juggle away the principles of the February revolution . Under the pretence of attacking' Communism , ' Lamabiisb contrived to unsay all thepledgesgiven by the Provisional Government ta the workmen . Iahis first speeoh on this subject , this well-fed ar . _stoorat charged on the advocates of the rights of labour , that ' they abandoned the spiritualising _tendency of the Rovnlntinn . to murtue miserable _mtettions of eating and "

      drinking , of capital aud of nett revenue . M . _Mathie-j , in developing his amendment in favour ot the right to labour , well said that these * miserable questionsof eating anddrinking' were thegreat . causes of revolutions . Ono of the majority exclaimed , that is the doctrine of savages . ' You Bee bow refined thesemenotproperty _arewhenthequestionin debate is the workman ' s Btomach ; but touch their means of eating and drinking , ' y « u would Bee how soon they would _become ' savages . ' The character of Lamabtinb ' s speech will be fully understood , when it is added , that on descending from the tribune , the majority hailed him with loud acclamations , - snd Odillon _Barboi made himself conspicuous by the

      To The Working Classes. —— — I ' Words A...

      warmth of _lus admiration . ' This was a _veiy proper return for tho declaration that 7 ie ( _Lamautinb ) adored property ! More than , one correspondent of tlie London papers has asserted that in the _election which have just taken piaee , Lamabtine has given his support to Marshal Bugkatjd ? Bugeaud , whose hands m , i red wiln tho blood of Ddi /< _no-Dopokt bs _lEube _' _s adopted son ! Bugeaub , tho _horobutchor of the Rue _Transnonain maesaore ! Bugbacd , whose Algerian cruelties have excited the disgust and indignation of every people on tha face of the earth . ' Thia fellow , lately Louis Philippe ' s bravo , and now _eold to the Legitimists , has the support of Lamabtine ! Can it be true ? Is Lamartinb determined to win for himself tbo reputation of being the great traitor ef 1848 ? How are the mighty fallen !'

      The ' great gun' of the debate on tke Labour Question , was the notorious Thiers , who gave utterance to a string of fallaoieB respecting prooetty , comnetition , civilisation , & c , _whioh-thanks to the pohtioal _eoonomiats-we , in this countr y , are too _wailacquaiutcd _witt . I would _^ ngage to find in every mm in Manchester , and every weaver ' s shop in Macclesfield , men who , though they have never _iYS _' _™ l , sten »? S senates , would , nevertheless , v _!™^?" , . _^ _, , _111288 b _? utteriy confuting all his wonderful' facts . ' To say nothing of others , I wish Jons West , the weaver , James Leach , the factoryworhr _, or Samokl _Kvdd _, the shoemaker , had a chance of drubbing M . Thiers ; « I guess , ' they would make ' everlasting smash' ef his political economy .

      In the _Bpaco within which I must limit these _remarKs , it is not possible for me to follow Tbieks , each sentence and fallacy seriatim . I must , for the present , limit my notice of his oration to a point or two thereof . Like Lamabtine , _Thikeh asserts , that wherever property is best protected , there the people are most free , prosperous , and happy . If _theee statesmen had said , that in all countries these classes whose property was protected , were most free and prosperous , I could admit the truth of their a ? sertion . For it is true that—in tbis country for _instance—the man who possesses property , is both politically and socially free ; and the very _po-session of property implies prosperity . But tho _* e wbo have no property but their labour , and

      which property is not protected , how do they fare ? Are they free and prosperous ? If any _onawserts so I deny the truth of that assertion . The entire political _sjsiem of tbis country , national and municipal , is based upon property qualifications . The masses ara politically outlawed . Socially the slavery of the people is still more intolerable . The workman is dependant , week by week , for the tread of his children , upon the _good-will or caprice of his employer . To want work is to die—or at least to saner the degradation of seeking , but not always finding , barely _SEfficient at the workhouse to keen body and soul together . The black _slavo labours for the profit of another under the fear of the _scouree : the white slave performs the behests of his master

      under terror of starvation . I hope to have other opportunities ot going fully into this question . I hope to prove the veritable slavery of the m » _sseB under tbe present system , and to be able to _mtike the means of their emancipation ' clear aa the Bun at noon-day . ' It is not against the protection of property I contend , but against its unequal protection . Under the laws of England a workman who may steal a pennyworth oi greasy rags from the fac tory of a milloorat may be sent to prison as a felon ; but the law has no punishment for the employer who , at his own caprice , and for his own profit , reduces the wages of a thousand 'hands' sixpence or one shilling weekly , thus pocketing _twenty-five or fifty pounds weekly , over and above regular profits .

      Manufacturers could be named , who having contributed a hundred pounds to the League Fund to promote ' Free Trade , ' took the means just stated to re imburse themselves , which they did , according to the number of the hands they employed , in two . or three , or four weeks' time ; and even when they had made good their outlay , in the cause of ' no monopoly , ' they did not raise wages again . The plunder wae sweet and they stack to it , * indemnifying their 'hands' with the _^ _romise of ' _oseap bread . ' "Godand Society told man ' work , work , and you will receive tbe * eward of your labour . ' The produce of your toil shall ba your patrimony and that of your children . '" Thus said Thibb * . But the reverse is notoriously the case . The men who

      work _^ bave _ no patrimony . The _eclwmera and idlers of society divide amongst _themselveB the patrimony created by , and whioh of right belongs te , _thelabourers . Thiers was singularly unfortunate in one of his illustrations of the blessings of competition . He showed that , owing to the introduction of machinery , the cotton fabrics of India were no longer r equired by Europe ; on the contrary , the cottons manufactured in Europe had destroyed the India manufacture . This he professed to regard as a great triumph for humanity . He forgot to tell his applauding auditors , that ene great result of that triumph had been the literal extermination of the Indian woikere . But this is not all ; notwithstanding that articles of cotton manufacture can now be produced so cheap , tbat even the rice-fed Indian cannot

      compete with the English manufacturer , still thousands of Englishmen have no sufficient Bupply of those very cheap __ cottons . The same is true of France . It is in vain that _Tuieb' gabbles over his cunningly arranged statistics to prove the cheapness of manufactures , the nominally higher wages of a few particular trades , and tha greater amount of articles of we and luxury consumed by the nation in the aggregate ; his figures cannot confute the appalling tact , that along with the growth of what is called' national greatness , ' there continually marches the misery of the masses . To fully show this I should need columns , but one fact—well known to _Monsieor Thiebs— will suffice to answer his fallacies . The barricades of Juno were manned by the victims of the system he so much admires , and on their banners ran tbe

      inscription'Le Travail ou la Mart !' Here is a second fact , as reported by the Timbs correspondent in tbat paper of tbis day , Sept . 21 st : — Ia aid of political discontent very serious reflection * are _sngjetted by tbe situation of the poorer and working classes . Micery exists to a greater extent tban Is generally bn » wn _, and tbo want of employment throws on the streets thousands of athletic and destitute men . It is truly melancholy to _wltuesi _wbatpaBBes every daj at four or fire o ' clock on the Piece du Carrousel , Io the part of tho building formerly oconpied by the

      Hat Major of the National Guards is stationed a battalion of a regiment of ths line . They dine ot five o ' clock . Lang before that hour may bo seen con . gregated round the steps leading to the barrack , thirty or forty men and youths waiting to receive a portion of their rations , which the poor _soldle-B _gentrouBly divide with them , and it Is painful to _witaeBB tbe avidity with which their donations are swallowed . This obvious misery and want of employment mutt be attended to and relieved or obviated eome way or other , or we shall have a very UBpIeasant winter of it .

      I Thiebs requires a third fact , he has it in the elections just terminated . Sinoe the first part ef this letter was written , later intelligence leaves scarcely adonbt of the eleotion of _. ' at least one of . the Red Republic ; n candidates , and the very near eleotion ot two more . And this in spite of the massacre , transportation , and imprisonment of thousands of the democratic workmen ; in spite of the lies of the press , and the intimidation exeroised by the government and the bourgeoisie . If even only one ' Red' candidate is elected , I will make two predictions—1 st , as lhave aboveisaid , that ' Universal Suffrage' will be assailed by the organs of the bourgeoisie ; and 2 nd , — that the enemies of the proHtaires will plot another insurrection , for the purpose of bringing abont

      another massacre , and again ' striking terror' into the hearts of the ouvriers . I will add a third prediction , that if General Cavaiohao hesitates at going ' the' whole hog * with the bourgeoisie he will be flung overboard , and Changarmer _, Bugeaud , or Louis _Napoijson—whichever of the three may be thought most likely to aot on the witches' advice to Macbeth— ' be bloody , bold , and reeolute , ' will be adopted as the ' defender of order , ' that is the nominal chief of the nation , but really the tool of the bourgeoisie I God save the wot king men of France from the machinations of their enemies , ' Vive la Ropublique _demoeratlque et aooiale !' L'Ami du Pbupie . September 2 Ut , 1848 .

      Thb French Habvbbi.—The Harvest Has Been...

      Thb French Habvbbi . —The harvest has been an excellent and a bountiful one . The vintage will be in quality superior to tbat of 1846 , and indeed to any known during many yeaw . In quantity it will not be more than an average one , but this is not regretted , as _thetuperabundance of last year's vintage was astonishing , and even embarrassed the wine growers . A Child Crushed to Death . —On Wednesday Mr Baker held an inquest at the North Country Pink , _kers

      _Ropema _' _-walk _, Limehouse , on tho body of Catherine Meaghan , aged thtee years . On Monday atternoon last the deoeased was playing in Forestreet , Limehonse , a very narrow street , allowing only one oarnage to pass at a time , when a cart ap . preached her , and the only way she had of saving hereelf was by getting behind a post . Aa she was doing this the wheel struck her head , and completely smashed it against the post . Tbe poor child was of course killed upon the spot . The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental death . '

      Desperate Suicide ibom Losbbs oh the late St _LsoEB—On Wednesday morning , a young man named Norman Howard , aged twenty . one , lately residing ini _uoha-atreet , Tottenham Court-road , having been out during the night of Tuesday , visiting tho different _Baloons and other plaoes of nocturnal resort , got into a cab at the Regent ' _a-oircuB , Piccadilly , and , placing the muzzle of a pistol in his month , blew _ouo his brains . The deoeased , who had held a very lucrative Bituation in a large tailor ' s firm , had , during the laat few days , exhibited a great depression of spirit * , owingto some heavy losses consequent upon speculations on the recent St Leser , at l ) oncaster .

      Thb French Habvbbi.—The Harvest Has Been...

      LJ _^ A r TO THE RIGHT HON . THK i _> nSl _° I CLARENDON ON THE PRESENT STATE OF IRELAND .

      By Robert Owen . * __ London , 17 th Sept ., 1848 . My Loud , Permit me , owing to the extraordinary crisis in which we live , to request your calm attention to the printed proof enclosed , being explanatory of part progress of measures intended to be submitted to the British Government . To those who interest themselves in the improvement and safety of society , it is evident that Ireland , Great Britain , and Europe generally , are in a state of rapid revolution , and if a decisive , new direction , in principle and practice , cannot be given to it , endless disorder , with great and increasing loss of life and property , must ensue .

      If not from the statesmen of Great Britain , where is aid to be looked for , to find a practical remedy for evils which threaten to overwhelm the civilised world ? Surely , there will be found sufficient moral courage among our statesmen and men of business in the British isles , to probe the cause of the evil to its foundation , and to apply the only remedy which can effect a cure . At the commencement of your Lordship ' s Government of Ireland , I sent you , by Mr Pare , a work published twenty-five years since explanatory of the cause of the evils of Ireland , and a plain , straightforward , practical remedy , given in outttne , and most minute and accurate detail .

      The incessant business of this extraordinary crisis has , no doubt , in the fulness of daily pressing official duties , prevented your Lordship from reading , much less from maturely investigating , a work that requires much study and great investigation of the statements and calculations there made to give permanent end most beneficial employment to the Irish population . This , my Lord , is what you must come to if Ireland is to be valuable to Great Britain , or not a grievous burden and dangerous enemy to every administration . And it had better come to that at once , for the longer the delay , the worse will be the effects produced .

      If the measures had been adopted which the work mentioned recommended in 1822-3 , how many millions of wealth would have been saved J How many millions of new wealth would have been created ? How many millions of lives made valuable would have been saved from famine ? How many millions of crimes prevented ? How much substantial power would have been added to the empire , and through the example of Ireland , in what different condition and position would Europe now be ? To that work , written twenty five years ago , and which is as correctly true to-day as when written , I again beg to refer your lordship for sound practical measures , based oa true principles .

      That which has passed is unavoidable , but it is never too late to abandon false princi ples and injurious practices for those which are true and beneficial . Bad as the state of Ireland has been allowed to become , it is practicable even yet to raise it to a state of permanent prosperity . Cannot a Government be now formed by a fusion of parties with sufficient strength and moral courage to carry practical measures of urgent necessity through both Houses of Parliament , when those measures shall be demonstrated to be equal to the task now required , not only for the good government of Ireland , but for all Europe ?

      The proceedings which occur daily in the National Assembly of France , and in the Germanic National Assembly in Frankfort , are demonstrable proofs that the statesmen of Europe are unequal to the new position which society is about to take from a necessity unavoidable ; and that France , Germany , Italy , and other part 3 of the Continent , are utterly at fault what measures to recommend , and they look to Great Britain for advice and aid to overcome their new and daily increasing difficulties .

      A party cannot longer govern Europe , or any one nation in it ; . there must be now national Governments , based on true principles , and the whole people must be governed for the benefit at least of the majority , even at the commencement of the change . Is it not practicable now to form a strong government for the British empire to be composed of the most efficient members of all parties , who could act together on neutral ground , as the old must be from necessity abandoned ?

      This neutral ground may be made easy of practice , and consistent for the cordial cooperation of all parties , without being chargeable with error for a coalition on such principles for such objects . All that would be required from such administration , would be to have sufficient moral courage to adopt principles of nature unassailable from any quarter , and practice in accordance with them that would be permanently beneficial and most profitable for all , from the highest to the lowest .

      Permit me , for the sake of humanity , suffering most uselessly throughout Europe , to urge upon your lordship , in connexion with the most advanced of British statesmen , the necessity of leading and directing the revolution from wrong to right , which is now unavoidable over the civilised world , and to effect the change in peace , and with wise foresight . It is now too evident that the National Assemblies of France and Germany have nothing

      but old exploded . aristocratic or democratic measures to bring forward , all totally useless for the period which has arrived ; the last hope amidst the present anarchy of nations for the change to be effected wisely and in peace , is in a strong British national administration . 1 have the honour to remain , faithfully , the friend of humanity , and your lordship ' s servant , Robert Owen-

      Present And Future State Of Jkurope. Pab...

      PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF _JKUROPE . Pabt IV . No one who thoroughly understands society as it is—who fully comprehends the causes of its evils and the sufferings which they produce to humanity , can desire its longer continuance , or not wish , ardently , for a radical _^ change ; especially if it can be effected with order , in peace , and beneficially for all . This change would have been made long ago , had not the middle and upper classes been afraid that it would place them in a worse position than they now possess .

      • This fear has arisen chiefly from two causesthe first is the very injudicious manner in which , through defective knowledge , the change lias been advocated , and the want of experience in the attempts to force it into practice before the public were convinced of its advantages or before the parties were prepared with the requisite capital and means to ensure its success . The second is , the misapprehension of the upper and middle classes as to its principles and their results in practice , and especially of the truth and value of the new fundamental principle on which the proposed change is founded . #

      " ***—o These fears and this misapprehension and ignorance must be overcome and removed by those who advocate the change and are deeply impressed with the magnitude ofits future advantages to the human race . The transition state must , therefore , 'be made easy of execution , and introduced without injury to existing interests ; interests which have been created , not by living individuals but through the ignorance of our inexperienced ancestors , who , * : misled by their imagination of first impressions , adopted the false system from which so large a portion of

      Present And Future State Of Jkurope. Pab...

      the human race-. are at this . hour cruelly nnd needlessly suffering . Tlie transition proposed is , to enable society to pass , peaceably and most advantageously , from a false and injurious , to a true and most beneficial , state of human existence ; yet to pass so gradually that no existing interests should suffer during the progress of change , but , on the contrary , every interest , artificial as they are , may thereby be made more prosperous , in consequence of the manner in which the change is proposed to be effected . It will be asked how are the ?< e promises te be fulfilled ?

      This is an important question at this crisis of European affairs—Great Britain , Ireland , France , Germany , Italy ; in fact , all Europe as well as the United State ? Df North America , lire anxiously awaiting & solution of this problem . ' To understand the answer required , it is necessary to keep in mind what is to be accomplished by passing through the transition state proposed .. It is to attain anew creation of well-devised arrangements on new sites , properly chosen for health . These new arrangements are to be so combined

      as—1 st . —To create the greatest amount of the most valuable wealth , in the shortest time , with the least capital and labour , and with the most pleasure to the producers and benefit to the consumers , and creating also wealth more than sufficient for all . 2 nd . —To distribute the wealth , so created , the most advantageously and economically for all . 3 rd . —To form from birth a superior physical , mental , moral , and _practical character / or all , according to their natural organisation . 4 th . —To govern beneficially for all , without the false stimuli of individual rewards and

      punishments , but through a new stimulus of a continued life of excellence and happiness for all . 5 th . — -To effect these apparently wonderful results , by- gradually superseding the present degrading , inferior , vicious , and criminalcreating circumstances—now everywhere _abounding—by those onl y which are superior for creating and distributing wealth , forming character , and governing . ;

      6 th . —And to effect these changes without prematurely disturbing the existing order of society , or in any way interfering with existing private property , family arrange men ts , or any of the various contending religions of the world , and , in fact , without producing injury or evil to any one , from the highest to the lowest . To carry into execution the _arrangements competent to effect these results , will be found , on reflection , to be the great business of life , and the fair and full investigation of these subjects to be the most important to which the British Parliament , the Congress of America , the National Assembly of France , and the Germanic National Assembly in Frankfort , can now direct their attention ,

      Hitherto , these Assemblies , to which the population of the civilised world is looking for sound knowledge , and for the adoption oE means lo prevent poverty , disunion , and crime , have occupied themselves in vainly attempting to effect an impossibility ; that is , to found a virtuous and happy society upon a false fundamental principle . They are , even now , wasting their efforts to produce a permanently happy and rational state of human existence ,

      based on an eternal falsehood , which , while it shall be ignorantly maintained , will render every change they make to effect their object fruitless and of no avail . While they shaft blindly pursue this ' course , as well may they expect to gather grapes from thorns , as to succeed in producing true and good results if * practice , from a false and vicious fundamental principle , on which all their laws and institutions are and have been baBed .

      Until society , acting through the authorities of the leading nations of the so-called civilised world—although it is yet not half civilisedshall openly abandon this now glaring falsehood—tbis demon of the human race—this father of all lies , and destroyer of the germs of charity in all made to receive it—the world must continue , through a glaring , and now palpable , everlasting falsehood , to be made ono great lunatic asylum , in wbich all are always talking and acting in direct opposition to their own well-being and happiness , " while now , with the abundant power and materials at the control of society , were this falsehood abandoned , it would be

      most easy to adopt new measures on the only true fundamental principle given by nature to man , that would ensure knowledge , union , wealth , goodness , and happiness io all . But the population of the world need not be over anxious or doubtful on this subject , for the time has arrived when no earthly power can much longer maintain this gross falsehood ; a falsehood which makes the strong man the oppressor of the weak , and a monster of iniquity and hypocrisy , although by such conduct he destroys his own highest happiness , as well as the progress and happiness of those he oppresses . The transition from the false to the

      truefrom anarchy to order—from all that is inferior and evil—to all that is superior and good , has been made to be the object of terror to the authorities and rich men of the world . It is like the ghosts of old , or the Satan of the so long deluded mentally weak ; let moral courage be given to them to look the fancied phantom of transition fairly in the face , and like the ghosts and Satan of the frightened and timid , this new-made bugbear will be discovered to be mere monsters of disordered imaginations , of minds trained to be afraid to examine facts , and investigate truths , although to them and their children these facts and truths will prove to be of the highest impor tance to be known and practised .

      Let these poor deluded timid persons , now so numerous in every rank of life , be encouraged to look at this transition state of society without these ghost-like fears , _.-ind they will soon perceive that instead of its being a monster of error and wickedness—as their wronginformed instructors have made tbem _beliena —that it is true and good , and will ultimately prove to be the salvation ef the population of the world , from its present overwhelming anarchy and confusion , and be the means ol establishing order , wisdom , and permanent prosperity throughout all the . nations of the earth . _^ Robert Owen London . Sent . 21 . 1848 .

      Chabok Of Poisoning.—-On Wednesday Evoni...

      Chabok of _Poisoning . — -On Wednesday _evoninga coroner ' s _inquest was held in the vestry-room of St Andrew ' s , Holborn , on the body of William Ilenry Greene , a child which iat the time of death was a twelvemonth old , and bad been buried about two yeara since . Tho it quest excited a good deal of _interest in tbe neighbourhood , Irom tho _freely-circuculftt'd rumours that tho child had been poisoned by its own _mother , and from tho _it . quiry having beea demanded by it * owu father , who stated to tbe coroner , Mr W . Payne , thathe verily believed _theramours wore founded in truth , and that _ue had always entertained strong suspicions on tbo subject , although he had not , up to tho present moment , sought for an investigation . At tbe time cf tha child ' s death , tbe parents lived at 103 , Fotlcr-lan * where the father carried on tho trade of a buteber ; but it appeared tbat the husband and wife bad lived together very unhappily lor several years past ; and

      that the woman had seized the opportunity of her husbahd'iJ imprisonment for debt to elope from him , leaving her living obildrcn tq tbo _car <> of tho parish , —The body was exhumed . — Iftr Hutchinson , _Burgeon , residing in _Farrinsdon-sireet , Btated , his opinion from variour tests be had _u-ed _, that tbo child hai i ot died of poison . —After the nurse who attended the child had been _examined , _tfeo father o •• nm eaesd a violent tirade against _hii wife , whom he oharged with _adminiptericg poison to his child , aod with Binoe having eloped with aneighbouriag tradesman . Since she had threatened to poison him , about eight years aj ? o _, he had been afraid to eat either pie or pudding made by her , leBt she should bave carried her threats into execution . —The jury here intimated to the coroner that their minds were all thoroughly made up on the _uubject of the inquiry , and immediately returned a _uaanimous verdiot , that * Thera was so evidenoe to lead thejury to suppose that the deceased had come to his death unfairly ,

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 23, 1848, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_23091848/page/5/