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RICHARD COBDEN'S BUDGET
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TO THE INDUSTRIOUS CLASSES. mwmmmm m • M...
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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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Richard Cobden's Budget
RICHARD COBDEN'S BUDGET
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
TO THE INDUSTRIOUS CLASSES . mwmmmm m My Friends , —As political feeling—or _xather political bias—is generall y spiced with a little personal influence , many of you will imag ine , that , o wing RichardCobden moi e than a personal grudge or two , that I shall hase my commentary upoa his Financial Bud get upon the narrowness of personality—but I ° shall do no such thing .
This is the very course which , for centuries has led to your prostration . I shall , therefore _^ take a double view of this Bud get—the one financial , the other political . The marrow is contained in the following figures , and 1 shall , firstly , analyse the value of its realisation to your " class , and for that purpose I shall take the several proposed reductions seriatim , and shall then show you the value of that reduction , if made , to each individual , making : no distinction of class , hut presuming that the pauper in the workhouse consumes as much tea , timber and wood , malt , hops , soap and paper , and pays as much window tax and advertisement duty , as the richest Peer in the realm .
NATIONAL BUDGET . £ Proposed reduction o _? expenditure 10 , 000 , 030 proposed legacy and probate duty apon real estate , whether en . ¦ tailed or unentailed .. .. 1 _. 500 _. ODO Proposed amount of Burplusre */ en * aj .. £ li , 500 , 0 C 0
PROPOSED REDUCTIONS OP DUNES AND TAXES . _COSTOKS DUTIES . LOSS of _RtttWC . Tea—Duty to be reduced to one £ _-JaMngperpouna 2 , 000 , 000 Timber and Wood—Duty abo--Ji _?" -. ** v -- - 9 * _* ° _09 . Batter , cheese , and upwards of on » hundred smaller items of the tariff-Duties abolished .. 5 i 6 , oOO
Total loss upon Customs £ 3 , 461 * 400 EXCISE DOTIIS . Malt-Duty abolished .. .. 4 , 260 , 000 Hops— „ „ „ .. .. 4 ie , co 9 Soap- . i , a 850 . 009 Taper— r > . j > .. .. .. _ia >» , oo » _TotrtlottoiJJS-gM- * , _, , ,. . _- . .. £ 6 _^ 46 , 009 TAXES . _Wndow Tax-Abolished .. .. 1 , 610 , 000 _AdTertis-aaent Duty—Abolished I 6 i ' , 000 Total of Taxes ~ ~ . £ 1 . 770 , 090 TotalIossupoaCustoms , ExciEe , _andTaxes £ ll , 477 , 00 fi
The population to he affected in its individual capacity by these several reductions , we must estimate at twenty-seven millions ; and then I will show what the proposed saving to each would be . The two millions on tea , would amount to ls . 6 d . per head ; the nine hundred _andfoTty-fite thousand saved on timber and wood , would amount to not quite 8 | d . a head ; on ihe J ive hundred and sixteen thousand on butter and cheese , and other articles , not quite fourpence halfpenny ; on four millions _ttco hundred and sixty thousand , malt , not quite three shillings and twopence a head ; on four hundred and sixteen thousand , hops , not quite fourpence ; on eight hvndred and fi fty thousand ,
soap , not qnite eightpence ; on seven hundred and twenty thousand , paper , not quite sixpence halfpenny ; on one million six hundred and ten thousand , window tax , not quite one shilling aud threepence , on onehundred and sixty thousand on advertisement duty , not quite three halfpence ; and thus we make the following sum of the annual saving to each individual by the proposed reduction contained in Mr Cobden ' s budget . The sum which he proposes to realise , that is , the saving which he proposed to make , amonnts to eleven millions four hundred and seventy-seven thousand per annum ; and here follows the saving that would accrue therefrom to each individual , for the whole year .
s . d . Proposed redaction of Tea „ .. 16 Ditto ou Timber and Wood ,, .. 0 8 _J Ditto oa Butter , CUeese , and upwards of a hundred other articles .. .. 0 il DittooaMalt .. 3 2 Ditto on Hops .. 6 4 Ditto oa Soap 0 8 Ditto on Paper 0 6 _ Ditto Window Tax .. 13 Ditto , _ildrertisement Dnty .. .. 0 1 } 8 8
Now , that would be the annual saving to each individual , in case the manufacturer of those several ra * y materials remitted in the price of the manufactured article , the whole amount of duty paid on the raw material—a boon which the consumer could not expect , as he did not receive it when the duty upon leather , timber , and other raw materials was reduced . If you multiply twenty-seven millions by eight shillings and ei ght pence , you will have 1 * 1 , 700 , 000 / ., or 223 , 000 / . more than Mr Cobden ' s proposed reduction . So that you find eight and eight pence per head , per annum , is the saving to be achieved by each individual , allowing that he pays his share of window tax ,
advertisement dnty , and duty on paper ; aHd presuming that the peer ' s famil y and the peasant ' s family consume an equal amount of tbe other articles , and then you will find , if you estimate tbe working days in the year , ( leaving out Sundays and holidays ) at 300 ; and if , in consequence of the reduction of this eleven millions four hundred and seventy seven thousand per annum , the capitalist reduces the wages of his labourers by one halfpenny a day , that would amount to 12 s . 6 d . a year , or 3 s . l 0 d . over and above the proposed boon ; but to take the reduction lowly , and very lowly , too , at a shilling a week , he would find a loss of two pounds tbree shillings and fourpence a
year . I know the question of family will be urged , and I might answer that by at once striking off the major portion of the Budget contained in two items , namely—the malt tax and window tax , neither of which would press upon the infants or children not working of the labouring class . But if I take the family view of it , it would stand thus—snppose each family to consist of five—three workers and two youths —then that family , even allowing them their
share in the malt and window tax , would save tw » pounds three and four pence a year ; that is , ifthe wfcole five are included , and ifthe wages of the three workers is reduced by a halfpenny a dav each , that alone would amount to one pound seventeen shillings and sixpence a year , or nearly tbe amount of their share of the proposed reduction . But if you take it at the probable amount , namely—a shilling a week , it would amount to seven pounds sixteen shillings a year . _cuiiiuigs a year .
Now , labouring men , notwithstanding the odium cast upon the advocates of labour , in consequence of their association with the principles of Chartism , and in spile of the class and party odium—nay , of persecution—heaped upon _ffiej merel y in consequence of _myunswervingadterence to the cause ot Labour , I caution you , iu the face of this about to he resuscitated capitalists' agitation , and I tell you that Government is not centralised , sectionalised , or localised , but is individualised ; and
that every employer , whether in er out of Parliament — whether in or out of the Cabinet — is a member , and a powerful fflernber , of that government ; and that the individual power of those individual rulers is sectionalised in their locality , and centralised _« the House of Commons , and there constitutes the worst and most hideous description ° f tyranny ; and this I wish you to bear in mind when I come to consider the question _uader its second head , namely—its political _bearing .
Mr Cebden , in his very elaborate , but yet , _* ell condensed letter , shows a great deal of _^ t He acts upon the old principle , that ev stratagem is fair in war , and he very _w , sel y and very prudently p lays the "Chronicle z S-mst the "Times , " and Wellington and 835 , against Russell and 1849 ; this is not _wly justifiable but just , both las regards finance and politics—what he states ot tne _tteiiingtos Cabinet is true , and as long as _representation and legislation depend upon party , the politician , like the client , must • etain the ablest advocate ; aad Cobden knows
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
full well , that Wellington is the most powerfid advocate in the House of Lords , and he knows that , although questions of finance helong to the Commons , that Wellington and his party can influence their party in the Lower House . I even go farther , as I rejoice to think that I stand in that position which enables me to speak of men as they deserve , without fear or control , and I \ assert , without fear of contradiction , that the Duke of Wellington made the most sweeping- financial reforms of any minister known to British historyand not
, only that , but he reduced the staff of clerks and officials to the requirements of office . It was his constant custom to attend at the several offices just at the hour when the clerks and officials should arrive , and without ceremony or favour , those who were behind time were scratched , as they say in Lancashire . Wellington cared not a fig for patronage for his party ; name did for him what patronage does for the Whigs . I now come to the political consideration of the question , and upon _this'I base my approval of the propositions contained in the
COBDEN BUDGET . The great principle upon which the Whigs have ever held office has been patronage ! and although the proposed reduction in Cobden ' s Budget of upwards of eleven millions a year , would give but a slice to each labourer , even allowing that it was not soured by more than a corresponding reduction in wages , yet when distributed in the shape of patronage by a Whig government , it affects each labourer to an enormous
extent , so enormous that it is impossible to calculate it . This amount taken from the Whigs they will be compelled to reduce the idle staff , and the quills of their subservient supporters in the Commons will bristle like porcupines when their votes can be no longer paid for . As regards the useless squadrons afloat on foreign stations , and every item repudiated ia Mr Cobden ' s budget , no working man , no honest man , ean gainsay the justice of the proposed reductions . Of what ; possible avail are they except for the purpose of feeding a set of pampered idlers , and making them supporters of a reckless government :
The" * nrM » _, "itis true , takes Mr Cobden sorely to task for his sins of omission , but does not disturb a single one ef his arguments . The " _Ttmes" says— " Do not the landlords pay tithes , and Poor-rates , and ' pro bono publico rates / and numerous other local rates and taxes ? " No doubt they do , and they got their estates chargeable with those taxes ; but , still further , the whole of the tithes and a very large portion of the Poor-rates still belong to the family dish , and constitute the incomes of the younger sons of the proprietors of those lands , and they are the trustees and the distributors of this stock fund , which is a lien upon
the land , and the first charge upon the land ; and the great majority of English estatesnay , nearly all—having changed hands since these burthens were imposed upon the land , the present owners have purchased subject to those charges , and still preserve the right of distributing them amongst the younger branches of their families . For instance , 256 of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal have the presentation to 2 , 927 Church livings , and does not the " Times'' suppose that the presentation to those livings neutralises the tithe
burthen imposed upon the land ? Here follows the analysis ofthe House o Lords , and from it you will learn , that the adoption of Mr Cobden ' s Budget is not to be simply viewed as the means of conferring 8 s . 8 d . ayear upon every labourer , but is to be taken as the future standard of governmental capacity , the effect of which would be to drive the Whigs from office , and place them in antagonism to the present system of monopoly and centralisation . Here follows the analysis of the House of Lords : —
HOUSE OF LORDS . Officer * in ths Army .. .. 8 ) . Navy .. .. 10 - — Hilitit . .. 55
Officials including officer * of State , and persons ia the Household . < * sc .. 43 Peers possessed of Clerical influence , _incladinglnglish ahd Irish Bishops Patrons Livings Patrons livings _Patrens Livings 49 of 1 2 of 17 3 of 47 85 .. 2 1 .. 18 1 .. 56 27 .. 3 I .. 19 1 .. 59 20 .. 4 1 .. 3 ) 1 .. 62 13 .. 5 S .. . 22 1 .. 63 19 .. e l .. Si l .. 68 14 .. 7 1 .. 26 1 .. 76 10 .. 8 1 .. 27 1 .. 79 7 .. 9 1 .. 29 1 .. 89 $ .. 10 1 .. 30 1 .. 99 12 .. 11 2 .. 81 1 .. 9 * 6 .. 12 1 .. 33 1 .. 99 1 .. 13 1 .. 38 1 .. 118 5 .. 14 2 .. 36 1 .. U 9 3 ... 15 1 .. 42 1 .. IS 1 .. 45
Number of Peers 256 , who aro Patrons of 2 , g 27 . Livings Now , I think that will afford you the means of guessing why the Peers , both Temporal and Sp iritual , do not look upon tithes as a great burthen , and the amount of patronage arising from Poor-rates , and other local rates , pro bono publico , and all conferred upon younger children and poor relations , will reconcile you to their toleration of these other burthens . You shall now have tbe analysis of the House of Commons , and I think yeu will see a reason in its constitution for the destruction of too much patronage . Here it is : — HOUSE OF COMMONS . Sons of Peers ... ... 37 Ditto Military Officers ... ... 12 Ditto _WaYal ditto ... ••¦ * Ditto Militia ditto ... •» W Ditto Officials ... •« —86
Brothers , _JTephews , Cousins , tnd others connectedwith Peers ... •¦• 3 ° Ditto Militia . Officers ... — * Ditto Miltt'iy ditto ... — J ? Ditto _Vaval ditto — - _| DittoOfiicwls ... ... _•¦ '„ —66 Members not included in the above but holding offices in the Arm */ » . 23 N « y ... - " * Militia ... - j » _OfficiiOs ... — - 2 fj 0 _„
Clerical influences exercised by 87 Members who have S 02 livings S 7 Members having I living ... 37 25 ditto 2 « . 80 U ditto 8 » — — _, _* 6 ditto 4 „ ... _" 4 ditto S „ «• • " _*• 3 ditto 6 „ ... ] _J 2 ditto 7 „ ... « _ ditto 9 ,, . « " 18
a 2 « 6 Irish Peers Sons of Peers , Brothers , Nephews , Cousins , Sons-in-law of Peers , * c , _lnclooiogSary . Army , and Militia Officers , . and Officials . ... 152 Members holding Commissions to the Army , _Bsvy . and HilitU , not included . in the above ... - " . Members who are patrons of Church livings ... ¦ " | 337 Kumber of _Members ... - 658 or nearly oae half of the _Houio of Commons , as at present constituted , being directly opposed . to the . _interests of the working Classes .
The _«• Times" is very wrath with Mr Cohden for baiting his trap with a kind of allspice , but I dare say , that if he had confined his Budget to a reduction ofthe Paper and Stamp Duties that he would have been a living Pitt . The maxim of the Whigs , that "taxation without representation is tyranny , and should be resisted . " does not at all apply in their eyes to
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
the present system . That maxim held good when taxeB were direct aad when aids were granted to the monarch , and when those aids and supplies were voted by those who had to pay them , and who had aot the power , as under the present system , to recover them with enormous interest in the shape of reduction of wages . In my opinion , Mr Cobden ' s proposition is _over-moderate—he proposes to return to the Budget of 1835 ; but surely with the hope of retrenchment held out by the Reform Bill , and retrenchment not being very extensivel
y earned out up to the year 1835 , he might have taken a wider range ; however , that may follow , and lam not disposed to utter a word calculated to place the working classes in antagonism to those who advocate a measure above all others calculated to destroy the horrifying system of governmental patronage . Machinery and the power tbat it gives to the individual capitalist , and the Reform Act , established a completel y new system in this ountry ;—a system which the Whigs hoped to convert to party purposes * and in order to make both branches pf the legislature
harmonise , they created , during their administration from 1831 to 1839 , no fewer than ei ghtytwo mongrel peers—a larger number than was created for a century after the Revolution of 1688 , during which time we had an American war , and great continental and _domestic convulsions , circumstances , which always lead to honour and promotion ; they created a larger number within those nine yeaw than were created from 1788 to 1815 , the year of peace , —ajperiod embracing the French Revolution of 1793 , the Irish Rebellion of 1798—the
Union of 1800—and almost a continuous period of naval and military warfare , and from which promotions and honours invariably spring . This has been the invariable policy of the Whigs ; they have preached economy—they have indoctrinated the people with the most physical force maxims , and when by those means they have possessed themselves of power , they _. have become the most oppressive tyrants . Free Trade is a very ramified principle ; and I look upon this Bud get of Cobden ' s as ; a . step well calculated to open the eyes of all parties to what must be its inevitable result--namely ,
the representation of Labour when patronage is destroyed , and , through that , the highest cultivation of the national resources under a national Government—the inevitable effect of which must be to make the rich richer arid the poor rich . Under these circumstances , I trust that ho working man will measure his opinion by the financial standard which I have submitted _, but by the inevitable political results which nuist follow . When I see a man like Cobden raising himself to the highest position that industry and talent can achieve , it does
not accord with my principles or your interest tbat I should measure my opposition by personal feelings . If I did so , I should be justly considered , as one of Rigby Wason _' s " oneeyed men , " only capable of seeing through my own telescope , while , at the same time—as with the question of Free Trade , so with that ofthe present Budget—as one of your instructors , it is my duty to analyse it financially and politicall y for you , merging the apparent financial incapacity in the inevitable political result .
I will now show youhow taxes put on , and how taxes taken off , affect the consumer in each case . When the stamp upon newspapers was fourpence , the price ofthe paper was sevenpence— -now the stamp is a penny , and the price of daily papers is fivepence , and the price ofa majority of the weekly papers is sixpence —thus the proprietor has bad a remission of threepence in the article for which he must pay ready money , and he makes to the purchaser a reduction of a penny . But I will show you , upon a general principle _oftaxa-HVj , the pressure of indirect taxation upon the consumer . Suppose a manufactured article to consist of one , two , three , or four raw
materials , upon which no duty is paid , aud suppose a shilling ' s worth of that or those raw materials , when manufactured by Labour , to sell for two shillings . Call it a yard of anything _. Suppose , then , that a tax of threepence is imposed upon that or those raw materials , the price in such case of the manufactured article —in order to repay the manufacturer—would be 2 s . 3 d . ; whereas , we may estimate it Jowl y at an increase to 2 s . 6 d . a-yard—thus giving the manufacturer a profit of one hundred per cent , upon the conversion ofthe raw material into manufactured fabric—that is , a profit of a hundred per cent , not per annum , but per conversion—and if he is enabled to convert the
raw material into a manufactured article in a fortnight—which he can , and less—and as there are twenty-six fortnights in a year , be makes a profit of one hundred per cent , in a fortnight , or two thousand six hundred per cent _, per annum . If , then , as I have explained to you scores of times—that if taxes were direct instead of indirect—fair competition would destroy this system of making profit upon taxation , the taxpayer would be the legislator and the tax-assessor—and , I promise you , that he would then look more narrowly even into the expense of tax collecting .
Tbis system of indirect taxation is a kind of hobgoblin , a thief in the dark ; it takes the money slily and covertly out of your pipe , out of your mouth , out of your nose , out of your eyes , and out of your breeches pocket ; it is a kind of a _will-o'the-wisp , and if you bought everthing tax and duty free , and if the taxgatherer called upon you on quarter day for an equivalent in hard cash for what the system thus cunningly takes from you at every meal , you could kick him out of the house ; and you may rely upon it that there is not a branch of expenditure into which the greatest
supporter of our present system would not narrowly and jealously look , if he had to put his hand into his own pocket , instead of putting both hands into your pockets . Thus I have shown you a thousand times the effect of indirect taxation upon labour , and I will repeat it , and no operative in England or Scotland will gainsay it . When the Income Tax was laid on , nearly every employer reduced the wages of his hands—some ten , some fifteen , and some twenty per cent , but I will
take it lowly at a penny per day , or sixpence per week , and I will assume , for illustration , a master employing a thousand hands and re turning an income of £ 5 , 00 ( ra year ; upon that income he should pay £ 150 tax , and by the reduction of even sixpence a week he would make a profit , after paying the tax , of £ 1158 a year . But suppose he only - reduced his wages by a farthing a day , he would still realise " a profit of £ 175 , and if he reduced wages by half _* a-farthing a day , or three farthings a week . he would actually make a profit of £ 25 after
pay ing the tax . Now observe , _half-a-farthing a day is only three farthings a week , and what I have always endeavoured to draw your undivided attention to is this , that if the £ 1300 taken from you in the shape of tax was paid to you in wages and distributed by you amongst the shopkeepers , it would be better for that class than if accumulated by the capitalist , and applied to the purchase of land or to some speculation . This is the great evil of the system . It is framed , not to represent solid keepable property winch has no active mind to look to its interests , but to represent the living , fleeting , fluttering genius of floating
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
capital ; which ig . able to muster round its standard the most enthusiastic feelings upon the most Utopian schemes , When you understand those things , you will understand the principle of representation as _applicable to Labour , and you will understand tte Labour Question as applicable . to the most profitable cultivation of our national resources , and upon the solution of which , believe me , the peace ,, the prosperity , and happiness ofJBritain depends ; . and when you think less of pikes and folly , and more of the Labour Question and thie cultivation of the national resourcesthen
, foUy will no longer be urged as your _disqualification for the suffrage , but on the contrary , ifJcnowled ge became ; taxable , the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer . would appoint a whole fiost of _brain-guagers _, ; whose business it would be to _take-stocfcof every man ' s intellect , and if _**? e miia .. _W -gnwance is NOW urged as his die-qualification , THEN pleaded ignorance , ldiotcy or insanity , the official would set him down as a Newton , and place him in schedule A . amongst the first-class _tax-payers .
Let me give you a very apt illustration of the standard b y which'the wages of aggregated serfs is measured . After Father Mathew ' s visit to Leeds ; _Teetotalism for a time became Very general , and a _ilargeV employer , with becoming Christian . spirit , wasone of its principal _advpcatfe ; arid when cheap cold water became _^ jeiibstitute for gin and beer , he told his hands that they could - submit to a reduction of wages , as thei _£ wants were fewer and ' their means comparatively greater .
The "MorningChronicle'' of this week has a very lachrymose article upon the present condition and future prospects of the Farmers , but you will recollect how since 1834—but especially in 1843 , 1844 , and 1845 , when tbe " Times '' ima" Chronicle" were laughing at the fears and anticipations of the Farmers , how I predicted the very events which have occurred , and which both are now deploring . Oa Saturday week I published a list of American _exportationa of food to this country , within a very shrift period . I showed' you that the Statician in the patent office in America proved
that this year America could export twentyeight million quarters . of corn , and that America every year could produce enough to feed the world . I gave you the long catalogue of bread stuns and other stuffs grown in America , and to compete with John Bull in his own highly taxed , country . I have since taken the trouble to sum up the amount of Land—of English Land—that would be required to produce the amount of produce sent to us , and I find that , averaging the produce of wheat at twenty-four ( bushels to the acre , they have within that short time exported to this country
in corn alone the produce of over six hundred thousand acres ; while in oil cake , lard , butter , cheese , baked bread , ( think of that !—beef , pork , and other articles the produce of the Land , they have exported as much as could be produced by about four hundred thousand acres more . That is the produce of a million acres of first-class English Land . ' And at the foot of this letter you will find another list of importations ' , and if we add to it what has come from other countries , you will discover that to the middle of December , about three months after harvest , and while Free Trade is yet in
its infancy , that we have received the produce of over two millions of British acres ; while M'Culloch estimates the amount of Land in cultivation at twelve million acres . Thus , alread y , with a duty of six shillings , America —taking the standard of English produce at a very high rate—lias exported into this country one-sixth of what her own Land could produce . I dare say you recollect that in 1845 the "Times" assured us , that America for many years could not send us 500 , 000 quarters of
corn , and I hope you will bear in mind that when I was carrying on a brisk fire against all the Free Trade journals and Free Trade party , that I stated that when the rich maw of the world was opened to the produce of the world , glut in our own market would be the only standard that would measure the price of hi ghly taxed produced ; and I ventured to assert that from the banks of the Seine , French corn would be shipped for the English market , and could be delivered there at a lower rate of freight than it could be delivered from the inland
counties of England , or than from any Irish county . Well , every body laughed at this , and all said , " What a fool he must be , when France is an importing country . " I replied , " Yes ; France kept down her produce to thestandard of restriction j but when you destroy protection for home produce , a portion of the cotton lands of America , and ofthe vineyards and grass lands of France will be turned into corn growing land for the rich market . Well , as the Lord sometimes does deliver my enemies into mine hands , read the following from last week ' s Gloucester market note—mind , Gloucester alone , and that the corn must have been shipped at Havre , which is at the mouth of the Seine . Now here ' s the answer , and read it : —
Free Thade in Corn . —About twenty French vessels laden with com arrived at Gloucester during tke past _toeek . Before the Repeal of the Com Laws the average arrival there of French vessels was not more than twenty-five in the course of ( he year ; but within the last two months alone the arrivals have exceeded fifty . Well , then , the reason why I objected to Cobden ' s Free Trade Budget was , because 6 uch reforms as he now proposes , and many others , should have preceded Free Trade ; however , there is an old saying , "Never show your
work half-finished to a FOOL or a WOMAN , " and perhaps Cobden has evinced good policy in snaking the foundation before he pulled down the whole building . He now discovers that he has " tried up" the brains aud prejudices ofthe old aristocracy , and out of these new materials he may erect a more secure house . But as my crying sin has been the dealing with the whole question of Labour , and not treating it piece-meal , I now tell you that the Russell system of Free Trade has so shaken the base and superstructure of society , that all proposed financial reforms are mere
MOONSHINE . I assert it for the hundredth time , that the landlords of this country and of Ireland are irrevocably bankrupts ; that their every debt and their every engagement was based upon Protection ; that the rents by which they were enabled to meet those engagements were measured by Protection , and that that Protection now gone , and with farmers—as the " Chronicle" admits—paying rents nut of their capitalunder these circumstances , I say there is no hope for any interest in this country , as all materially depend upon the condition of our farmers , but a thorough settlement of eld accounts UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM .
England will never feel the entire effects of Free Trade until there is a thorough failure of our own harvest , with an abundant harvest in other countries ; or , to show you that she must hang upon one or other of ihe horns of the dilemma , she will be in as . bad a condition when there is an abundant harvest at home , and also an abundant harvest in other countries , and when her farmers meet Jonathan ' s untaxed produce in the competing market . By taxed English corn , and untaxed American corn , L wish you to bear in mind , hilt
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
Free Trade has in nowise relieved English corn from the innumerable burthens to which it was and still is subjected . Even your National Debt is based upon Protection , and that Protection being taken off , it now remains a greater burtbea upon produce reduced in value . Always keep the condition of your farmers , with their multitude of labourers , and the agricultural towns and villages dependent upon them , in view . They are your best customers ; they are at your door . The transit of your produce costs you little or nothing . They pay you in produce or in cash , and that class is now upon the inevitable" road to ruin . " They can measure their rent engagements , _<
and taxes , which are direct , better than you can measure your engagements and taxes , which are indirect ; and in order tbat you may have their actual position . vividly before you , here it is . Wheat gives the standard value to gold and precious stones ; and although all lands are not wheat lands , the value of wheat , under Protection , establishes the standard value of grass lands , and all other lands . Suppose , then , that , independently of a superabundant harvest , when low prices were compensated by increased produce * rent , by Protection , was fixed at 7 s . a bushel for wheat ; and suppose the . average produce—as I have
taken itr-to he twenty-four bushels ; and suppose wheat to fall to 5 s . a bushel , and ere long you will see it much below that ; but suppose 5 s . —ift that case , the farmer loses 2 s , a bushel upon twenty-foiir bushels , or 2 / . 8 s . an acre , while his rent is , perhaps , a pound an ' acre ; and , therefore , instead of the pound , he is now paying in rent and loss , 3 / . 8 s . an acre ; while the landlord , with that instinct of SELF-INTEREST which no human power can eradicate , . will still have to pay his four or five per cent , on mortgages-Hhe interest iipon marriage settlements , or perhaps the principalprincipal and interest upon simple contract and bond debts , tithes , LARGER POOR
RATES , PRO BONO PUBLICO RATESall other rates , and to keep up his social dignity . . " .. _' . Now , then , ifthe mortgage and bond debts are larger than the National Debt , let Mr Cobden ' s attention next be directed to the fair settlement of the "landlords' and farmers ' account ; arid let all contracts , based upon Protection , which was national faith with the farmer who expended his capital under its banner , and with the landlord who contracted those debts under the same influence—let them be revised also , and let us not have the
double anomaly of paying their engagements as well as the National Debt , with 30 s . in the pound . And , above all things , let the Financial Reformers take heed , lest they fall into the egregious error of making machinery against land the casus belli , for they may rest assured , if they do , that the well-fed serfs will—when" urged to the last point—rally under their heretofore feudal lords and masters , and then tbat agricultural power , so long sluggish and dormant , will spring into a lively existence , and such an agitation as will astonish the weak . minds of their
opponents . I always told you that Free Trade was carried by the local appliances and engines at the command of its advocates—that they could muster their adherents with a few hours' notice by an advertisement , the bell , or a few posters on the walls , while the sluggish landlords and the confident tenants were scattered over the face of the earth , and could offer neither resistance nor opposition ; but let them rest assured , that there is a vast difference between a powerful interest in a state of torpor , uncertainty , and doubt , and the same interest awakened by experience to its position . It is then , labourers , because I consider the
very discussion of this Cobden Budget as calculated to settle those longstanding accounts , that I say to you , that i beg of you , implore of you , and beseeech of you , not to allow the Whig enemy and its Press to play the Chartists against the present movement . Sup port the proposition politically—abandon all thoughts ofits financial bearing wbich I have thought it my duty to submit to you , and let Cobden aud his party understand that MY MYRMIDONS are not to be rallied for Whi g purposes , as his proposition will shake them to the very foundation ; let them understand that we are for measures when measures are good , and that , although we are never to be made tools , we know when to become auxiliaries .
This proposition , above all others , will cause a split between the p lace-hunting Whigs and _thejveritable Liberals in the _. House of Commons ; and in return for their many entombed victims , let us have the consolation of seeing them at _' the bleak side of the Treasury . No sincere Chartist—no discreet ' working manwill offer any resistance to the COBDEN
BUDGET . Your faithful friend aHd unpaid servant , Feargus O'Connor . P . S . Here follows the farmers' death warrant : — Amebican _Pbovibions . —The following largo and nume . rous arrivals of provisions and grain have lately taken place from the United States of Asaevica . The vessel Arcale has brought 3447 brls . of flour , 14198 _bels of com , 50 tierces of beef , 1 ' 8 barrels of apples , and 1429 bushels of wheat ; the John Marshall from Alexander , U . S ., 5730 bags and 4040 bushels of Indian corn , 5 H bags ef wheat , and 510 barrels of flour ; the Stephen Lurman from Baltimore , 5720 barrels of flour ; the _Masconomo from Baltimore , 1400 barrels oiflcur _, 10360 bags of Indian corn , and
2772 bags of wheat j the Lisbon from New York , 3877 boxes and 15 casks of cheese , 1491 barrels of flour , 98 tierces and 8 !) barrels of rice , 59 tierces of beef , and 123 casks of oil cake ; the Diadem from New Tork , 5500 barrels of flour , and 12260 bushels of Indian corn ; the Bertrand from New Orleans , 8230 sicks of Indian corn ; the Margaretta from New Orleans , 305 barrols of flour , 518 barrels of pork , 23 ) barrels of beef , and 140 tons of linseed cake ; the Hendrlck Hudson from New York , 7195 boxes and 749 casks of cheese , 284 casks ef apples , 213 casks ot pork , 150 of beef , 41 of rice , 2066 casks of lard , and 45000 Sis . weight in hulk , and about 100 casks of oil cake ; theE . Z . from New York , 1878 barrels ef flour , _lOtf tierces of beef , 1856 bushels of barley , 8703 bushels of wheat , and 14635 bushels of Indian corn ; the
Con-» lantino from Now Orleans , 1200 bushels of flour and 100 casks of oil cake ; tue David Cannon from New York , 8311 barrels of flour , 6501 bags ef corn , 21 casks of cheese , 59 _barrelsof general provisions , and 1146 bags of wheat ; the American from New York and Halifax , 56 u barrels and 70 half barrels of apples , 122 boxes of bacon , and some of biscuit * , beef , and potatoes ; and John It . Skiddy from New York , 3652 barrels of flour , 1534 boxes and 70 casks of cheese , 266 of beet , 252 bags and 3273 bushels of wheat , 19287 bushels of Indian corn , 861 b . _rrels and 498 palls of lard , 35 boxes of bacon , and 34 of hams ; the Devonshire , irom New Orleans , 1 , 599 barrels of flour ; the Bellei 6 le , from Boston , 751 busholsof Indian corn ; the Wataga , frora Baltimore , 1 , 300 barrels of flour , 4 , 402 bags of wheat . J 87 bags and 7 , 445 bushels of Indian heads 250
eorn , 59 _balea of lard , 40 barrels of pigs' , boxes of cheese , 41 barrels of Indian corn meal , 70 boxes of medlars , 56 Cask's of shoulders of bacon , and 390 tierces of beef ; the Sarah Sands , from New York , 6 ; 29 boxes , 421 casks of cheese , 222 boxes of bacon , 875 barrels , 97 half and 8 quarter oarrels of apples , 812 tierces of beef , 20 of pork , 912 ' barrels of _flaur , 100 pails . 100 kegs , and 238 barrels of lard ; the Austria from Philadelphia , 4750 ban els of flour , 500 barrelB of corn-meal , 13005 bushel i > and 913 bags of Indian corn . 168 _tierees oflbeef , and 14 oi Pork' the Fidelia from New York , 2962 boxes and 92 casks of cheese , 798 barrels of flour , 962 sacks 15 , 035 bushels of wheat , 105 boxes of bacon , 35 of pork , M barrels lard , 211 of apples , 940 bags of Indian corn , 116 boxes aud 37 bar . _rols of biscuits , some packages of potatoes , and various other articles ; the Wellington from New York , 278 casks and 1187 boxes of cheese . 246 barrels of apples , 207
tierces of beef , 365 barrels of oil cuke , 59 of beef , ii of pork , and 200 of lard ; the Medora from Charleston , 788 bags and 93 tierces of rice , and 1002 baits "f Indian corn the Martha Ward from New Orleans , 2500 barrels ef flour ; the Shannon from New York , 882 boxes nnd 203 casks of cheese , 2100 barrels of flour , . 2000 other packages of cheese , and some of bief and apples ; the Delia Walker from Slew York , 4575 boxe =. aud 1789 casks Of cheese , 100 pails of lard , 30 ot general provisions , 38 of pork , and 28 o 7 barrels of flour ; the _Huina from New York , 344 barrel * of corn-meal , 16994 bushels of Indian corn , and nearly 200 barrels of apples ; the Monument , from Charleston 185 tierces of rice ; the _SuSolk , from New Orleans ' 1796 barrols of flour . 185 bags of wheat , and 3044 bags of Indian corn ; the London , from Boiton 888 ) bags of Indian corn ; the WUliam Penn , from Philadelphia 841 barrels < dian corn meal , 17178
To The Industrious Classes. Mwmmmm M • M...
bushels of wheat , lmbM _^ lhdTaji cwn , 15 * 8 t > arrel 8 of flour , _ISpackages of beef _. _'SftdB of applet ; the Spartan * from New York 6194 barrett of flour , 16940 bushels of wheat ; the Sir Charles Naffler , from New York 484 bags ofcorn , 15 / 2 sacks of _wheatjiand 7088 barrels of flour ; the James Town , from New _; York 6 74 barrels of flour , 1125 _saoKs of wheat , 178 tierces _ofbeef , W barrels of pork , and 254 barrels anil 296 tierces of lard ; the . Columbian , from New Orleans 57 01 sacks and 1854 bags ofcorn , 102 * barrels of flour , 154 tierces of bacon , and 845 barrels ol bread ; the _Defence , from Charleston 1160 Backs of Indian corn ; the Merchant , from Vfrgeria I 0 _| O barrels of floor j the Dumbarton , from New Orleans 3032 barrel- of flour , asd 1942 baas of Indian eorn s the Mary Irvine , from _ushelTofwheat , _im _^ A \\ m % _\^!^^ c % offlour , 15 packageiofbeef , fnd 6 ofapple »; theSpa * v « . ** v .. "» RtOL _Rd « _. l . a . l * i _» . « a * . * ... _-enm t . H _. t .
Philadelphia 8280 bushels of Indian corn and moarreu of flour ; the _John'Ravenal , frora Charleston 800 bags of corn ; the Hercules , from New York lOaO barrels of flour and 58 « f rice ; the Remittance , from Hew York 6650 bar-I rels of flour and 6297 bushels of wheat ; the Maine , _frc-rat New York , 4921 barrelsof flour , 67 JO bushels of Indiaa coro , 862 bags and 8122 _bnshels of _-rfcent , and a quantity of pork , beans , bread , oatmeal , and rice ; tbe Bristol , from New York 1971 barrels of flour and 18 boxed oC biscuit *—the whole the produce of the United States . The American line of packet ship Margaret Evans , arrived in the docks from New York , bas brought 14270 boxes and 583 casks of cheese , the produce of the United * . States of America , being the largest quantity of _oheeso which has been brought on one occasion .
Now , then , what will our Cheshire and Gloucestershire friends say to the " Margaret Evans" alone , bringing FOURTEEN
THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY BOXES , AND FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE CASKS ' ofi Cheese .
Bushels Of Wheat, Lmbm^Lhdtaji Cwn, 15*8...
/ fc > £ iA -- _^ Ju _^ aV _^ O _^ f _/^ SL _^ y _^ i _^ ' i < _X _t _^^ _X / _f tax _**^ _U J , . . * _^ A \ _eW / A r | \ . ¥ '¦ :. taW . X / r jam I
/Fc> £Ia --^ Ju^ Av^O^ F ^ /^Sl ^Y^I : ^...
¦ AND NATIONAL _TJAjiSV JQURML
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"" ~ - ' . _^— " — _"Tr _^^ - - ¦ •¦¦¦¦ l it ¦ : ¦' : ¦ : "¦ i - ' _-i . i :. ' ¦ ¦ ¦ : VOL . XII . N 9 584 . LONDON , SATlJRDAYJ ) _^ _iM _^ ~~ _^^^^^ ~~ " * _^^^^^ * _S ? _J ***************** - **» - » ---- » _--- » _--- » _- _»»» . _» _m _«^ _m _^^^»^^^^_^^ . _ _j . _^^_^____^ _'' _- . ' . _'' _. _'J ; V . : ; _•' .: ' " .. j ; . - ¦ . . . :
The Kirkdale O Cur Ust Prisoners. And Th...
THE KIRKDALE O CUR UST PRISONERS . AND THE INFAMOUS MEANS BY WHICH THEY WERE CONVICTED . The _foliowiag is a truthful summary of the in * famous treatment experienced _^ by : the Chartist defendants at the late Liverpool mites , authenticated by the victims themselves . 'Read and judge lOB yourselves .. "* Tho first witness placed in the box was Mr Bet * wiok , Chief Superintendent of the _Manchester police , who gave general evidenco . as to the disturbed state of Manobester , and swore to the fact of appro _, hending various parties tor supposed politioal of * fences . It shonld be here remarked thatthe whole Of the parties apprehended at Manchester ie August ,
were taken withont Warrant or . authority , save the mere caprice of _Bewick and the _magistrates , _aijq ( that when they we called up , no charge coald * preferred . The next witness was a member of the detective ! police named Gookbod , who had previously been a 'drapert _aMiBtany . _^; , _ifeanlro _*/ . He gave _evider-o _* as to having attended _vafiourineetiiiRS in Manches * ter , at whioh West , White , Lracb , _Ponovan , Rankin and others made speeches , and read the extracts whioh he had ttken in such a glib and apparently connected manner , as if it had been one continuous and uninterrupted address ; showing clearly that his notes were carefully compiled by some other persona . The defendants condnoted their own case , and the follow *
ing cross-examination ensued : — Hare yoa been in the habit of taking notes pre * ' _wous to joining the police force 1—Yes ; Do yoa swear that these notes whioh yeu ha y *) read are correct ?—I do . Did you report the whole of the speeches , or onlj . apart?—Only a part . By White . —Suppose I were to address a meeting setting forth Chartism as the fundamental princip les of Christianity , and representing the Chartist body aa the true conservators of society , would you report that ?—No . ! What are your notes . Are they a verbatim re * port , or merely extraots ?—Merely extracts . How happens it then that they read so eon * _nectedly , and appear like a regular _spesoh ?—Can' 6 tell .
What are your instructions regarding taking notes of Chartist speeohes ? are you not ordered to take the violent portions without reference to the con * text ?—I sba ' nt answer that _question . I insist tbat you Bhall . —Well , that has been mf rule . Now I intend to read a speech to you in order _td test your memory . Baron Alderson . —I can't allow it . Were you in conrt when the Attorney-Genera opened this caBe ?—Yes . Well , then , give a description of his _address . or tha substance of it . —No , I ca ' nt , there was too muofe confusion rhere I stood . You have stated that there was much confusion aC the Chartist meetings , ' and yet you could report several speeches in one day ; How is that ?—Can't tell .
White . —My lord , I wish to know whether yoa persist in denying me a chance of testing ths memory of this witness ? Baron Alderson . —I don't see any need for it , as ig shall not be used by tee when summing up . _Cottint _* , a polioe deteotive _, was then called to prove a meeting at Blackstone Edge , which _wasjaddressed by White , Leaoh , Donovan , and others . This witness * was _crosss-xamined by White , and admitted being previously disoharged from the polioe for rob * bine an orchard .
Tho next witness was one of the _Powell school , James Abraham Ball , who's lying evidence hai been ahead ? given * t length in this journal . The report of his cross-examination , as giren in last Saturday ' s Stab , was not so full as we have seen iff in some of J the looal journals ; we therefore reprint a fuller account of the latter part of ( his gentleman ' s self-exposure . The witness was then crass-examined by Mr Atkinson , at great length , with reference to the speeohes which he had delivered at various meetings , and he admitted , with the utmost _ooolness , that the reports wbich the witness _Cookson had given of his speeches were substantially correct . After pursuing this course of cross-examination for Borne time , Mr Atkinson asked the witness if he could
point oat the defendant Grocott . —Ball replied that he oould not at the distanoe at which he stood . — Ha was then told to come round immediately in front of the dook , and was requested to point out eaoh of tha four defendants , Rankin . _M'Donougb , Grocott , and Chadwick , who Btood there . —After looking at thera , he pointed out , and named correctly , Rankin and M'Donough ; but he said that Grocott was Donovan , and that he did not know Chadwick . He was thea told to go close up to the other defendants , Donovan-Cropper , Leach , White . West , and Nixon , who were seated at the table , and all of whom he had spoken to as having been present at the oommittee meeting of the llth April , and to name eaoh ef them , if he could . On going up to them , he said , after com *
hesitation , that he did not Jenow one of them . —His lord * ship then asked him to point out Clarke , Cropper , and Ball , after looking carefully at the defendants , said that Chadwick was Cropper . —On being teld of his mistake , he _attempted to _oxouse himself by saying that . having been jn prison had affeoted his eyesight . —A burst of hisses and groans followed this miserable attempt to cover his apparent want of any knowledge of the persons of all but two of thc defendants . —His Lordship : I shall dear the court , if that is repeated . We are trying a set of men , I hops , fairly ; and we shall not try them fairly , if the an * dience presume to have anything whatever to do- ' except to sit still , and pay respeot to the law- Unless that ia done , I will dear the oourt . Let me hear any man that dares resist the law of England . I
know that although I sit here alone , I sit here with all the majesty of England behind me , and let who dare faoe me . —The Attorney Ganeral tben again told Ball to look at the defendants and see if he kne-f them , and if not , say so . —Ball said , after again looking at the defendants , that he knew Donovan by sight very well , but that he did not know his name . —White then asked Ball if he had ever been a Char * tist lecturer ?— -Ball said that he had never been » paid servant ofthe Chartists , but that he had beea connected with that bod ; , and had advocated their prinoipleB . —White indignantly repudiated the idea that the Chartists had ever had anything io do with Ball . —The Attorney Ganeral asked Ball if he kneir White ' s voice , and Ball said that he did not . —Ilia Lordship then _, with an air of disgust , told Ball to get out of the court , and he accordingly went .
As a r roof of this gentleman ' s veracity . Leaob , one of the defendants , left Manchester on tho first day of April , and did not return until the 24 th , «* although tbis perjurer swore that he wai present at private meetings oa the ll'h and 12 ch ia Manchester , and _Btarted for Ireland on the 13 . h . A similar statement can be made as to West , Donovan , and White—not one of whom were within fifty mi ! e 3 of Manchester at the time . The whale affair was a man of baseness and villany , but the remain ior shall be deferred till next week , when the animus ol the prosecution aod defenoe shall be laid before the reader * of the Northern Star .
Free Trade.—Phospects For Stockport.—A V...
Free Trade . _—Phospects for Stockport . —A very short time ago—aud it is quite certain no improvement has taken place in the trade of the borough since that period—there were 2 , 177 empty assessments . We are speaking now of the township of Stockport , not of the whole borough ; for it the empties in the other townships were to be added , they would form a more fearful picture . The empties , at the period we allude to , were as follows . '—Houses with shops , 92 ; cottage houses , 1 , 222 ; cellar dwellings , 419 ; warehouses , rooms in factories , & c _, Hi—making a total of empty
assessments , in the township o Stockport alone , of . 2 , 177 !!! And jet , in the face of thispovertystiieken picture , there are tbose amongst us , calling themselves Liberals , economists , and _Free-traders who would increase our local burdens , by adding fresh ones to them , when 5 , 000 , persons at least haye been absolutely driven out of the township , because they could not afford any longer to pay its hcaltaxatiou . Further , let ui just remark , that this amount of emigration has ' al < en __ place , within tlie last twelve years , commencing with 1836—tbe year when Stockport p _* first Messed with corporation .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 30, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_30121848/page/1/
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