On this page

• Text (2)

  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.

  • 

    6 THE N 0 R H E R N STAR December 9, 183...

  • 

    JDUPORTAKT FACTORY MEETING AT HUDDERSFIE...

• Transcript

  • 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.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    6 The N 0 R H E R N Star December 9, 183...

    6 THE N 0 R H E R N STAR December 9 , 1837 .

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    JDUPORTAKT FACTORY MEETING AT HUDDERSFIELD . - — - — - _«¦ On Monday evening last , one of tlie most "important meetings ever hoi lien in the town of _Huddersiield _* took place in the _large room of the Philosophical Hull for tht purpose of petitioning _Fajlisment conjointly with Edward Baines , Esq ., M . P ., and [ he . people of Leeds , lbr the adoption of 3 I > _laiu , but efficient , Ten Hours Bill . The mom _iras crammed with persons of all _glides and all jiartiea . A portion of ihe platform was occupied bj 3 . number of females , to the amount of fifty or sixty , at least , who appeared to take a lively interest in -Ok _proceedings , while the other portion was _occupied by the Hudderstield Short Time Conmiiti . ee , 3 ¥ _i & their friends ; amongst whom we _observed Mr . R . Oastfer , the Hev . G . S . Bull , the Rev . J . B . Stephens , Mr . F . O'Connor , and Mr . William Hill . "WILLIAM STOCKS , Jim ., Esq ., was _unani-. _^ Hov . jly called to the chair , and opened tbe proceedings of the _meeting in a short but very appropriate ¦ speech , which was well received and repeatedly cheered

    . Mr . BUCHANAN having being called upou to move the first resolution , spoke ; u > follows : —Again had the _agitation of the Factory Question been forced upon them reluctantly on their part . Again ¦ was another trial of strength about to take plate -between might and humanity , _agaisst tyranny and _araurica ; between the good and _benevolent who beheld _maEkind in a higher light than mere producing machines , and those callous and calculating _individuals who view the human _species as " wheels _-fflf _tt'ork aud articles of trade , to grace the proud 3 ju 3 noisy pomp of wealth /' The _resoluiinn he held in his band , was as "fiJlows : — "That as certain mill owners are xt present busily engaged in concerting plans to take . away the protection afforded to children , by Lord _Altimqi'sAel , _iind have recently made an _unsuccess ful attempt at Leeds , ( through the medium of tome of _l _& _elr _understrappers ) , to obtain tht _station of a _^ public meeting , as an _excuse for the bringing of Jtbeir plans before parliament . : this meeting in _caujiinction with the men of Leeds , resolved not to _tsjuntenanee any alteration in the _cxistitig Aei , tha _^ mould introduce into the Factory , as labourers , little _riuidien of eight years of age '; or wh . ch would _extend the labour of children under thirteen year ? « fage , bevoud the limits of tight hours per day or which would mate [ he labour of young person o thirteen years and upwards ; lucre than ten hoar ; . per day . " It is a well . known fact that certain flf tbe mill-owners of _Bradford , in conjunction with Baker , tlie inspector of Factories , have lately been wishful to resuscitate their old stalking horse , the " _™ Eleven Hours' Bill" with the repeal of Lord -Aititorp ' Act , so as eo do away with all protcctior to children ; and that after mature deliberatior they decided that Leeds , from ita being so deeply -saturated with poisonous Mercury should be first experimented upon . Moreover , it _isalso _weUjknown Chat a lickspittle , of the name . of V * riggleswonh and a few other " Masters' Men" who had fnrmarlv . _signalized themselves in apposition to the Ton Hours' BUI , were the Masters' organs to do thei dirty woik on the occasion _refei-red to . However cautiously and calculating !}" _though tbey laid their _niot to entrap tbe _unwary —insidiously an _< _indusriiouJythough with svren wiles they attempts

    , ¦ to delude the operatives of that too-much-iinposei upon population , their fold and tveaeherous scheme were scattered to the four winds of heaven , ani She champion of the Factory child , girded with th _3 raiour of eloquence and truth , manfully came to th rescue , and covered the enemies of righteousnes _asid humanity , with ignominy and disgrace . ( Lou _^ heers _, ) Well then the contest is renewed , an * -Letds haw been saved the shwnie of being a party 3 b 2 , base conspiracy , to rob the _i'aetory Child of thi _present partial _slueld , which the law throws aronndii The mill owners know that their pet _measure concocted _ia Palace-yard , dues not work well ; ir _^ _Ct they never intended that it should work well They thought its _resatious and "bothersome " _workbigs" would break the hearts of the Operatives , and _ntike them give up agitations for legislative _piotec _tion ; bnt now since they have found oat _tliat it ia a gmat deal worse for the masters than the workmen they are anxious to have it repealed ; however _, pint * the ; have go ' , into the pit , let them stic t _& ere till they profit 1 by their folly , and go hand-ia band with tho Operative to a final adjustment o the question . ( Cheers . ) Yet , vesatious thong " Lord Al thorp ' Act be , There is one thing in it whie _ffoould not be parted with upon jmy consideration said that is the limitation of the hours of labour o children under thirteen years ot age , in the raasi _auinr to eight hours per day . In calling them t pass the reaolutinti he hail _rcsii _^ _, lie _uieruSy n _& t " . them to ratify that which the Commissioners o inquiry in their report to Parliament _declared to b nothing but bare justice . That Commission ileelarei _tiiar no young person under fourteen years of _yg _should _ivork more than eight hours per day . Th . _Parliament with the alteration of thirteen for four teen years , ratified the report , hy the _enactment o Lord Althorp _' s Bill . This question had been reasoned over and uver again ; it had been reasouci _asao _. _uL'stion of commercial and political economy and on thtse _, the most _teaahle of all the _niHS ters positions , they were defeated . It had bee . reasoned 33 a question of morals , health , imellect ; and the cause of the Factory child , lie power that would " grind it in the dust o misery * ' was reasoned triumphantly : why I hen d _< _* _so hear of _miJlowners labouring in defiance of a " ihe _jacts that liave been elicited against them _Alignment itseemswill notconvince them of the ' error . They verify the saying of Hudibras " Convince a man against his will ,

    He ' s of the same opinion still . " They are _dazzled by the glittering show of the ! golden idol , and will iiot be _convinced until they _bt Mught in _language which can not be misunderstood The _Faotory System seems to have destroyed al iind and sympathetic feelings hetweeen the employe and employed It is a cruel—it is a . barbarous system , that would _paralvzs the hand of infant play "fulness with premature toil—that would shed on _* b / e living flower of youth , the _withering curse o _ybySical , moral , and intellectual imbecility—tha would ea » _ae those moments when the young ey _. should sparkle brightly , and the ruddy glow _o hsalth beam sweetly frcio the countenances o _England's future falhei 3 and mothers , to be bBghtei by the mildew of a _hearless and _degrading _slavtrv _iifld the sickly gla _^ e of the e ye which ought t _fcave _^ righteaed with young life ; and the pale a ])' _lajryujd countenances which might have bloomed with health , should denote the dreadful _ravages—Ihe-eaiiker worm of tyranny had infixed , which il Swept the colour from the cheek And lefc the roses pale . " Talk of national prosperity ! if these things are U ; he allowed it will he hollow and deceitful , because _l > _39 ei ! on the blood-of innocence , and soon—¦ * " "Will England's glory be In ruin hurl'd And Britain full the liulwark of the world . " _f Laud cheers ) Will the fathers and mothers 1

    . o Lancashire and Yorkshire look on us idlers , nud Ir ™ by the destruction of the health _nnd happiness of _ttieir offspring?— "Will the men and womtn o 1 _ETndderslield tolerate s system that jnakee little children the producers of wealth , and throws the _afole-bfldied out of employment r 1 Shall the LeviaihSa _prcpriet-ors of the monster , steam , be allowed only to admit the existence of the adult male and female population ,, as so _rnasy machines for th _breeding of young slaves to wait upon their inachijrery , and build their palaces with their bones , and cement them with their blood ; and that the growntip and muscular- —those ( wbo by the law of naEure ought to labour for the maintenance of the rising gEoeration _)!& hould , after ha , _ving brought a number of _jBMng _slaves into the world , be shelved as surplus population" and incarcerated in a Poor Law _Bas * fife , or more shocking place , if worse can _besnfeswt by [ the murderous toil of the weak and helpless -beings ( hey have brought into existence ? _Siolt these things be allowed in England ? men of _Hudrfersfielri ' _—in the land of your fathers—withoat _vflu raising your voices in _thunders of _indifina-Sion against them . —( _Lond cheers . ) No ! rather in ibe words of Mr . Ficldtn , throw manufactures to She winds than allow such things to be _jierpetrated . —{ _CheerfJ But it very _strangely happens , _tlmt _"TWimber of those verv men who have always been . -t _& e enemies of the Factory children , and who are now _aci'ng against them , can sympathize very _Tmteh with the black slave , and are great _jidvocates _"fiw a system of national education . ! N _" ow , it _ought to be recollected that there _ia a clause in the Act of Emancipation , providing that the ncgru population -of the British -Colonies should not wort more than -forty-five hours per week ; and _} et those worthy _•^ _Ritiemeu who can shed crocodile tears over negro _siarery , when their _interests are involved in white in _& Ht slavery , throw their benevolence to tlie winds am ! -8 upport a measure that woulo extend the labour _nf . tbe iittle children of British _ITreemeu eightefn _--iEnrs _eaci ' week over that of a full-grown negro . — _$ 3 _feame . ) Mock philanthropy IP a rery convenient _horfie to ride . _upoB , pounds , shillings , and pence fip . not _ _ijteF'i 1 _' to capsize the _lifcr . _Begarding _^ the

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    vstem of national education , he wondered what time they meant for factory children to receive the _benefits of it . It was evident , that if children were o be worked eleven hours per day , they could have leisure time or disposition to acquire knowledge . He knew not what Baines and Co . meant to do irith the system , people were to be worked to " eath by long hours , unless it were to cure himself nd his party of the moml disease cf ] ; _ing , or to rain them froln continually blundering in inconsiseucies . ( Laughter and cheers . ) The subject of _duration was one of great importance , hut if the iraetice of long hours of labour be _persisted in . tnprovement was nut of the question . _Meehanics ' f _nstitutinns , Libraries , Schools would not avail in making a moral and intelligent community , unless the means were given to all to enaole them to reap tbe advantages of such _institutiona . He conceived that Ten hours labour was plenty if net much for any human being to toil , but more particularly when the great mechanical jiuwfirs which exist atpresent ought to abridpe to a great extent _tho hours of labour ; therefore _hewished all grown up persona to have their labour shortened and protected by law against the' capitalist , as well as Ihe little children- He would say in conclusion ( as there were others more elcquimt and better acquainted with the _question than himself to follow , ) that as they prized their homes and their fire-sides which they vrished to see peopled by happy and intelligent beings ; as ihey valued the health and prosperity of the rising generation , who were entrusted to their care ; and by their known hatred of tyranny , but more especially that covert and insidious treacherv that had lately been attempted against them to pats the resolution . In tbe sacred names of humanity and justice , which _woifld b _> trodden upon with impunity , he _demanded the pass ing of the resolution . —( Loud cheers . ) Mr . B . Con eluded by moving Ihe resolution .

    - Tlie resolution was seconded hy Mr . _JOBS LKliCH , arid supported in a lengthy and abli speech by the Rev . C . 3 . BULL , who entered _intosn historical account of the agitation cf the Factor Question _fronf the time of Mr . Sadler ' s iniroductio of it into the House cf Commons . He . wished ju : ticc to be dojie to the memory of that great ami _gooi mane . . It had . been _shaiiiele . _^ bsly _asserled-, that Sadie _agitated-the Factory Question to serve his party u the Houie of Common . He ( Mr . Bull , ) bud _knoivi Mr . Sadler long before there w as any probability o his going there ; and he had uniformly expressed thi same sentiments in his private study and drawing _, room on the Factory Question , as he afterward expressed in the House of Commons . ( Hear , hear . Mr . Bull then read an extract from the report of th Factory Commissioners , pronouncing children to b free agents at 14 years of sf , e—he denounced thi _estract as calculated to Iling down the whole bu ! warks of Society . After a long and excellen address Ihe Jtcv . gentleman sat _doyid amidst km ; and continued cheering .

    , , " : The resolutions were all carried unanimously . The Chairman called npon Mr . J . _HABSOJN t move the second resolution , who said , Mr . Chaii man , Ladies and Gentlemen , I have to con f _ess ' . ha like ? . truant school-boy , I have neglected my task My _canvass has only a few scratches upon il towards a rough skeleton , because I knew then would _ba several present more _desterouB at the gra phic art , whn would give a full and finished portra ' of the system . However , Mr . Chairman , I recoiled that when the _enormitiiS of the Factory System were _beguu to be esposed to the public , many won . dered that they had been so long overlooked . If their surprise was proper , how ought we to be _aston isbed at those who _UaAe continued that system , v . ot withstanding that exposure , and our opposition!—I is up « ards of seven years _sinte Mr . Oastlcr uttaekei this system in the Leeds Mercury , when even th Mercury itself admitted , that if Sir . Oastler ' s repre _fleutations were true , the system was indeed moaih trous . "—Mr . Oastler was probably led to _attac Infant Slavery , from observing , that those who h number of operatives in _Huddersfieiil were _sulferin under Ihe effects of long hours and machinery , an at the prompting of experience they were _enquiring how to better their condition . From this a _correapon dence was opened between them and Mr . Oastler which led to a complete _agitation of the suhjec Many have been our battles . _Olten have w unhorsed Moloch , and driven Mammon from th field i—At aE our meetings , the humanity and th moral sentiments of th ' , ' people prevailed . _Morai ; st and educationists declared that the Factory _Sve tern corrupted the morals and almost obliterate : the intellect ; while physiology denounced it aa on of murder and infanticide . Arguments from ties i- _' nume * _wct-p = rcfiVr _^ _nt fur the ei » rnnm"ify nt _lurgw hut alas ! the _Legislature was not moved by reason of this kind . No : avarice would net relinquish he screw ; and our opponents endeavoured to _frighrei

    " us with the hagbear cf foreign trade , and tha shorter hours of labour would lower wages . Bui 1 am happy to say , that all the arguments of Shi ; description have been fully and repeatedly answered I understand even that Mr . Baines is become acquain ted at _iastwith the true philosophy of wages . —In th 1 Mercury , Sep . 7 , 1833 , Mr . Baines stated , ' < w , have repeatedly expressed our opinion , that if th unwise demand for tbe Ten Hour Bill had been com plied with , tbe operatives would in a very _fev months have petitioned for its repeal . "—How _dii Baines know tbatp "Why he said it had been trie in America , and the masters reduced the wages o their workmen in the same ratio , and the men wer _> ; jlad to get back again . to tbe old time . " Very likely But that was an arbitrary and partial act . Tha was not brought about by the market-inn nonce—b the relative value arising from suoply and demand—No : it was an arbitrary act , and would have beci defeated if th " e men had w _atted for the re-action o the market , and caused ihe rule to become general If it were true that shorter hours would _untimaiel ; lower wages , the converse ought to be true , tha _Iohjt horns should give high _wegiH—hut have vre no tried long hours 14 , la , and even Ifi hours per day Ami what w ; _is our reward !'—Continual reduction in wages and stagnations in trade from glutted markets ( Cheers . ) Mr . Hanson indulged in a few irooica remarks upon the Elysium of Economists , who _wis ' to fee England become the " work-shop of tbe world , and the green fields of Britain stratified with vdca _. nic lava , —and concluded by hoping , that all _snch schemes would be defeated , and that the factory-chik " would soon have an opportunity afforded for _menta and moral _improvement—that it might rise ti > thi true standard of humanity . — -Mr . Hanson then move ' the resolution , which was to the effect : " That thi meeting is ready to concur with any such alteration of the present Factory Act _that proposes to _dispenst with _ths vexatious interference of _Inspectors provided that the real protection of the children bi ensured ; and that this Meeting is of opinion that tha object will be best attained by a Ten-Hours' Bill Kith heavy penalties , personal punishment , ur a restriction on the moving power . Editor of the Northern

    Mr . WILLIAM HILL , Slur , was received with cheers . He said , Mr Chairman—If there be one ohjeet , the attainmen of which , is more deserving of the best attention the unwearied diligence , and continued exertion of the . philanthropist than unv-other , tbat object is the amelioratiun of human suffering , under whatsoever form it may exist , and the promotion of such an understanding , and the establishment of such a relative position , between the several parties who compose society as shall enhance the happiness of _facb lo the greatest possible limit of enjoyment . This ft the object which every good nnd wise man place ' continually before bim . The attainment of this object governs ail his purposes , regulnres all his movements and stimulates all hie actions . He pursues whatever line of conduce lies before him the more earnestly ; the more _vigourously , and the inure determinedly , as he perceives it to be more capable o " effectuating this great and sacred object ; and inas _. much os the direct endurance of pain aud misery is the necessary converse of _hiunau happiness , and as , therefore , tlie alleviation of these serves ihe double purposes of _decreasing pain and inerea & iag pleasure al the same moment , the exertions of the true philanthropist arc ever bent , in the first instance , towards the removal of those circumstances which operate to the entailing of misery and _suffering Upon _hisfellow-men ; and inasmuch as unequal pressure makes heavy burthens still heavier tohe borne , he neverfailsalsoto direct those first _and greatest energies to the relief of those oa whom the ills of life _liave been made by the arrangements of society to nil with greatest weight ( cheers ); the more cspe-¦ _Ul lyif that greatest weight shall chence to alight ipon the weakest frame . _( Senewed cheers *) If his sir , he a true character of him whose noble uind seeks to evince its direct procession from the lernal fountain of benevolence and good by _corren'cnding _acto of mercy ; if this , sir , be the conluct which pre-eminently distinguishes the _philan . hrophist , then must I be allowed to _congratalnte F ou , sir , in common with the respective members of i- ¦ - _¦ . humane , and active , and laborious bodies , the _icveral _gejtvmc _, old , and well tried Short Time Committees of this country , in having earned for ourselves that high and honourable _appellstion . Hear , and cheer ? . ) I must also beg to associate

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    , _ffith you and them in this high distinction a _numrerofDiSTiNGTiiEHEiiindividu als—dintinXttiahetl by he laborious industry , distinguished by the patient _lerseveranee ; distinguished by tha generous conempt'jf scorn and contumely and hatred which they have manifested in the prosecution of the great _ibjeet for the furtherance of which this meeting has _jecn convened . For what purpose , sir , was society originally _onstituted P For what purpose is i t now main _taiuedi ' ! s it not that man may help his brother man ?—that he who tins , may contribute to the , necessities of him who has not , and Eo _distribute with impartial and the common benefits of a common God amongst all his children ? Surely then wherever this golden ule is palpably departed from , wherever the rich are found to oppress the poor that they may increase their riches ; whenever the strong are'found to trample on the weak tha : they may derive a brutal gratification . in the accomplishment of their selfish urposes , through the medium of their _sunWings ; whenever the silken bonds , which hold society : ogether , aro converted by the rnthl _^ SB dealing of unfeeling man into chains of iron Hnd fetters of brass , beneath which the groaning captive is ready to sink _exhausted , he who steps boldly forward to . naintain the cause of tbe aillieted and to uphold the right of tbe poor—who braves , " The _oppresi-ois wrong Th' proud man ' s contumely and aE The whips and scorns o ' th time . " that he may Iliug the mantle of protection round the child of thriildoni—he I say is worthy of the highest and most honourable title which is found in human language—the benefactor of his kind . —{ Lend cheers . ) And who that looks abroad upon society as it exists in this country , can avoid

    purceiving that the relative position of those who produce all the wealth and of those who benefit by their productions has been inverted by the successful machinations of avarice and craft ? "V » ho can avoid perceiving that the blessings of prosperity—of civilization—of intellectual culture—and of physical e _ijoyineiit are most _enftjuallj distributed P Til _« t want and _uoterty and _ignorefcee are the _entaile ' inheritance of those by whoi _' _q exeTtions all the blessings Of seciriy are _produced—foriall its _rodfiibera—except themselves ? For a long _series of years ift tbe densely populated _manufactilriug distri ; _-+ j the heaviest ; _hurtlens 'of society—the direst _IoiJ . h of . social calamity—have bom horne by _thoi-j whom Nature and v . hom Natures God _designed should beur no burdens at a ] L Infants of tende years have been made the pedestal on which the whole weight of the commercial edifice has been thrown . They hav « borne up the ponderous column at the _sacrifices ? _yocthful ease i of infant viv ; tcHv , of physical health , and , in _thousands of cases , of bodily life , shortene _^ by disease , the cons quence of premature labour ; nay more , they have upholdeu that column at the sacrifice of that mental information—that moral _culture and that religious _training which is necessary fir their eternal welfare : year after year havethe hillsnnd dells and _vulk-j-s o ' this riding and of _Lancashireoeen constantly _arTrii .-hted by _asystcEi of _infanti _? dcv ; _isy " _¦¦; . " which has seldom had its parallel evepiu the horrifying chronicles of war . Year aft'r year hue night been made hitleons by the lurid _^ tare of the illuminated dens of labour , _tenanted'hy the infant sons and daughters of poverty , _whtfe little limbs have borne the pressure in many _instfnecs of 14 , 1 G , \ $ , 20 , 24 and even 30 hours of indssantty continued labour Labour of an excessive ; _harscter performed in _ai unhealthy _atmosphere , for a remuneration no worthy of the name ; _tlAt a few individuals in eac ! district might become _immensely rich and thus afford a pretext for the cnckio-nole of " national prosperity . ¦' —( Immense _clecring . ) Yes , , experience of tbe _most diro and _gainful _character has proved to as that * national _iro _^ perity '' means nothing more than the _tlisbursenent of the gifts of fortunethe emptying of the la ] of wealth into the coflers of a few crafty individuate , while the toiling millions slill groan under the loul of inadequately requited labour—still droop unto 'he very earth beneath an accumulation of woes tto great to he sustained . Yes , _sir , this demon cry of u national prosperity ' raised by the callous traders in human blood ; _t ; id hones , and sinews , has been often fearfully responded by the silent and unheeded glances . of a consumptive eve , whose _brilliante has been- clouded and destroyed before it reached the mid-day of

    mararity . Often ha ?; the emaciated frame of _infiiney the distorted figure and the . _clipped limbs , ( the legs bent like sickles with the HBight of labour ); _oftcii hive these given an _emplmiie but unheeded lie to the _vaunticL-g of tbe yelliw locusts about national prosperity—often has tha tear of the louc widow trickling down her _ciircwarn cheek as she behold the sufferings of her _Httfe ™ es __ whom she _uoulu not _assist—often lias tlie _stliwh _^ _roau of a _heark-hroken and heart-sickencd father , , sore against his will consumed his own time in idleness and b _' ved npon the earnings of those little ones the fruit of his ou n _body , who were being murdered by inches to procure that food which lnu _^ t keep him and them from starving—often have these joined with the half articulate and half inanimate wailings of expiring infancy in one _decp-tonrd and _pierting :, though unheeded protest . " We are nut prosperous _—wg am sot happy—we are _mistruhh" Their cry was unregarded—their tears and groaus _were uti replied to—their humble _supplications were _laughed to scorn . But , sir , though the ironhearted _tftsk-master eared not for the sufferings of his slaves—though the ministers of the gospel of grace and mercy ( with but few exception *) echoed not their wailings , and hurled not the thunderbolts of heaven at the head of _tJseir oppressors , though it has been asserted , hy the instructor , of the public mind , that their petitions would be _Ijtughcd _c of the House" if laid before the _legislatord _cf Christian country , though humanity in this its most helpless state and most distressing _cirenmstnnee has met with little sympathy from those from whom much sympathy might have been expected , it has not escaped £ h « kindly notice of the God of truth and mercy . He heardthe cry of the afflicted—tbe complainings of the poor c ; ime up before him , and he raiaed op men like _Guulii and Sadler—inen like those who laboured by the side of Sadler and who now labour in h ' _- ~ vocation to re echo the cries of the afflicted , and to _insist upon their wrongs until that House of Christian men which had before time "laughed" at their petitions was compelled from very shame to _uithdraw its interception from the ear of royalty and aek : iow _~ _letlge that " _soincthingitiustbedone . " The complaining voice of poverty was permitted to reach the secluded ear of Majesty , and a Commission Merey was appointed to see with their own eyes-1 o hear with their own ears and to _tn-Jtv the whole truth whether these Ihings were so . Tnat Com-1

    mission wss appointed , and theresult of its labours shewed that in all the piteous tales which had been detailed before Select _Cmiuittecs of the House Commons , the half had not been totd . —( Cheers . ) They declared that the _systeia , on which British manufacture was being carried on , was a system of _infanticide—a system of bloodshed—a system murder which no gains to indivdual purses coufd justify or palliate . They declared in terms most _soleiJip- and unequivocal tliat such things weru ae ought not to be , and that a great change of system must take- place . And in spite of . ill . . arts * T selfish and designing men — _inangra all the _egbrts of the _arth-primatc of the infernal regions—the protean demon , _Mntnmun , incarnating a hundred oims at once—notwithstanding tlie mutilation practised on the report of tho Commissioners , until IE authors knew it not again—and one of them affirmed that it was no more the report of ihe twelve men who went out' t *> see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears , then it was the report of any twelve _geatltmnn who might be met by iihance in St . Paul ' s church -yard . —( Lr . ugh ler and cheers . ) In spite of all the activity with which their associate spirits from the world of _darkuess could inspire the " bit of an opposition Parliament " assembled "in Palace Yard , " it became ckarly vident that " _somethiugniust be done . '' A race of humanity was then started by the Fsctory Masters : ind their adherents against the genuine phihtnfhro-) ic friends of order and of justice : they _vrlio had itlierto been the assailants m the combat were in their turns virtually branded with cruelty for not ? arrying further their invasion into ttie territory of ippressiou and child butchery . Ten hours was djudged too long and eight declared to be the tmost limit to which tUe child of tender years _ihould be permitted to drudge . The cry of victory nss enthusiastically raised by those Wbo had withstood , with all their might , The onward progress of the right-It was caught eagerly up by their acknowledged rgjiu and borne by the press as on the wiugs of _jhe wind—till it re ? erberatei ] through the neighbouring oeks , and hills , and woods . The goal of huinaiiity ,-aj reached by our enemies and we were declared o have been left far , far behind in the race _, "igilance—beyond ought we dared to ask for , was . romised to bo exercised in Ihe protection of the ¦ hlldren . "VYe aeked only that the law should fix he hours of labour with a proper punishment fur ts infraction to be proved m best we could . The "bit ofa Parliament" In their anxiety tu Out-

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    strip ns in the race , caused provision to he made for the appointment of spies _whu should watch every movement of the master—who should overhaul his books—who should tamper with his servants and report all his doings . —( _Chetrs and laughter . ) "We asked only that the parents of the children shnuld be allowed to educate their own offspring—The " of a Parliament" caused provision to be made for compelling it—at the risk and peril of the _masters . We merely _hoped that the Uibour of sixteen or eighteen hours might be shortened to ten ; the ¦ ' hit of a Parliament ' declared that to _J > e au inhuman proposition and decided upon eight -tours as the extreme limit to which infants sf tender years should bo allowed to drudge . Moat gladly would vve have accorded them all the honour of the race" Most thankTully would we have _sitten down at the distance _post—if they would have gone forward to the end of the conrse . _fLong and continued eheere . ) But , sir , the crack-Tit of the Factory Lords being wind-galled , with exertion , was _completidy blown at the thirteen-year-old mile _itcne and refused to budge another inch . —( Laughter and cheers . ) Twelve hours of incessant and _excessive l & _Tiour must be inHieted on all infants of thirteen years of age—or rather on all whose personal appearance would induce any mercenary

    surgeon to certify that theylooked tn be thereabouts . "Twas in vain that we remonstrated against this as an uuf : iir aud an impracticable distinction . In vain we told them that the Tit was _over-weightedtltat tbe inspectors and _superinteadants , and the whid _^ system of espionage would be found an intolerable inconvenience . Mercury had buckled on hi- wings ami he flew past us at such a speed that be could not hear a word ; so the que _^ ion was " settled . " _Oastler and Bull and others were consigned to nil the fury of popular indignation which is justly due to those who seek to oppress their poorer-brethren by imposing ou them an unnecessary amount of . labour , _whiist the Factory Lords on ! heir _PegasKS , were chuckling at their _succib ; in having over-reach _e d the " HumanLty-Mongera ; " — declaring thai they _Ifc-sw the measure tobeimpracticable , a _<;(/ seppurte 4 > l mi that luxouat . —( Chee ; s . ) Sometime ? , however , the wicked is token in his own snare . The serpent who i _£ more , subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord Godhas made , _Somuiimes to uimiing for himself . The Devil _iloes sometimes _overshoot his own mark , and he never did so more palpalily than in this eight hour , tweWe hour , humbug Factory Bill . It was found on trial to be not altogether impracticable , but only attended v _. ith almost ius'i ( _Td : able inconvenienea and annoyance ro the matter ; , The Ten Hours' Men , therefore , who had been left behind in the ' race , ' quietly down to watch the kickings and prancings of the mill-owner _pegasus under { he vexatious burden whichhis riders _hi _. d _ilnpc-fed upon him . And he aoon _began to plunge so terribly that Mr . Po » lett Thompson tried to stroke him down a little by withdrawing tbe protection from one year of infancy . ( Cheers . ) . But that same voice of thunder which had previously taught the Parliament that '" something must be done , " now taughr them that _something must not be done . Aud the thing was settled to _remain in _sttlltt quo for some time longer . True it wiS attended with mam- iuqonveniences to the mHSti-rfor which we were truly

    _, sorry , because there are m _^ n _) ' factory masters who do honour to the name of uian . ( Cheers . ) They are not nil tyrants ; and it is hard that good men should _suii ' tr inconvenience because bad men require to ! je coerced . For this reason , therefore , I heartily concur in the words of _tht resolution , which has V . een put into my _bnnds as a seconder ; I am willing to aid . k > the extent of my ability , _uny alteration of the system which shall relieve go & d men from unnecessary inconvLnj elite , while at the same . _time it protects my pets _agsinat the possibility of again coming under the talons of tha harpies with whom these good men have the misfortune to be associated in trade . Let that be noted as a point in . the question that is quite " _settled . " That no retrogade movement shall he tateu . We have , at least , one advantage in being left behind in the ll race "—that we are in a good position for stopping those who would run back . ( Tbinders of applause . ) Onward as fir as you please , Gentlemen , but no going back . If the factory masters , who are so _teat _^ galled with riding their own sharp-ridgpd "hack , that they can sit no longer in the saddle , will gi _^ e us an eleven Hour ' s Bill-for . ill alwve thirteen , I for one will thauk them , _because eleven hours is better than twelve . If they make it . ten I-will thank them still more cordially , and acknowledge that if they have not beaten us in the _" rase of _hiunanHv ''—they have , at leas- , ridden upon our shoulders to the winning post . But if , in their _detertnination to win the race , they will wake it an eight Hour ' s Bill for all ages , I will th » n _accoril them the prize of superior swiftness , and acinoii ledge that I , and my friends , _^~ 1 _^ O £ tfit " 1 _^* 11 v \ T ¥ l ( _tj 11 - " _* i _™ m _^ _q _\ _jfauF"c . _Ln 41 _"Q _ul _^ oo 4 _iQ _iait predicament which has obliged our enemies , after seeing th ; it they could neither buy us off the road , nor drive us off the roud , nor frighten us off the road , to start an opposition coach , and run us doira . ( Loud cheers and much lar _. ghter . ) Mr . Hill proceeded , at some length , to congratulate tbe real Short Time Committee and the friends of the Ten Hour ' s _cause generally , in its present aspuet and position , and to review some observations in the Lcetls _Mpstwry on the late factory meeting at Leeds , and on what the editors of that paper _pleas-e to call the " ? _few Twelve Hour Lung Time Committee . " He then concluded , _amidst the enthusiastic cheering of the whole assembly .

    - Mr . STEPHENS then rose to support the motion , and said , if we are not methero tonight 'o make laws for others , we _hsive at least assembled , in the exercise of civil right , and in the discharge of social duty , to say what we think of the laws which ethers have made for us ; li < w far they have folSlled , or whether they have answered at all ; the ends for which alone Lfiiv of am kind ought to exist . The gathering together of the people for free and open debate , is essential to the liberty of the subject , is the only legitimate annel through , which the thought and judgment of ( he wise and goad can proceed tfl the legislature , so as to inform and influence where _"knowledge and power are so much needed is the only safeguard ; the freedom of the press being of course an integral part , of _frttidom , of dtbate , of security , and _perroanancy , for such _institutions as abide the test of reason and experience , aiid so become sacred r . nd venerablenot because they possess an _advantitious antiquitybut because , being in their very nature good , they ought never to Tie _changed . There is then the _WcdiyofLAw . There arc certain a priori principles , which ought always to be placed betore the eye of the legislator , or lather mwoven with our very beinjr , so as to render it impossible for any law to be _enacted in opposition to them—or if enacted by one party , at onra rejected by the other . Love is the priucple—law _Sa the practice— -itiGHT is the end—law the means to ertect that end- —every lots therefore which does not flow Jiom the first as its spring , and lead to the second as its natural ana designed result , ought never lo have been made _ftim . and _unglit , by all means , to be abrogated _stnd annulled . I argue thus , because our _inodi _^ nlegislation is either chaotic—without principle—or morally _des true rive , ns nctuated by bad principle , _iase _ioc _jjuimiujv _yi . ui .- < ii . i inch mt . ihiupi . ui iind practice of the day u [ ion the " Factory _Quea . lion os . an _usaraple . It is laid down ns he ' ¦ a ; . iom" in notifies -that . Parliament baa no ere between ' m ; ister and iiluin _. in p tight to interie .. . employer ami _employed—the _itpplicntioQ of tlie Wealth of the rich , as a s _* o _ci _? ted with the service or labour of ihe poor—1 ) 0 restriction on capital—no protection'for poverty—away with all laws and the _rjglii to make lttwa in defence of the free bondsmen- _Pj _^ e trade _ftud _natiojurl prosperity is the cuckoo cry of our new political _BJonoinista . Hear Mr . Itobert Itvde _Qreya _fireat authority on

    , this question . _\< iSv our poor laws and our charities _iseiiave pauperised and _almoxt mined the tounlry . " ¦ 'By our well meant hut injudicious attempt to foster and protect , we have constantly been driving capital from production into , unproductive channels , encouraging tlie 5 mu ! _riH _* r > checking our commerce , _aad _stontlng our manufactures ; and our _elibrts to procure to the operatives a fair remuneration for then labour has always ended in a reduction of their wages , or in depriving them altogether of emplovment . " Mr . Grey then goes on to rejoice in the improvement that _haa . taken plac _» in our modern legislation , and " confidently predicts " that " in matters of commerce _ninl manufactures , at least , we shall approach continually to a . condition of _wnip ' e / e _aii'l uaresfricted freedom _^ ' Now , sir , it is , I contend , _exactly in proportion tQ this wniitiual _ipprotieli of the capitalist to his paradise that the " pauperism , ruiit , _retl'Mltift'i _ofwugw _, andwant of employment _^ ' which Mr . Grey declares to exist have progressively advanced . They are two parallel lines . _Whenever the inonied freebooter rejoice * in his liberty , the unhappy wretch who toils to make him rich , groans in bondage and pines in poverty and _wretchedness . As well might be argued that [ he taw ought not to have interfered with- between the belted knight and the bold haron of tha _oldno time on the one hand , and the serfs that quailed _leneath the power of his sworn , , that _tha law _iught not now to step in between _the-. _jiower of the purse as _weileil by the capitalist , and . the still enthralled—the far worse enslaved _ftcttntui who has nothing left _hifa in the wide wurld l > ut _viiat they call

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    his Uibtnrr . wliich he hns the mock privilege of carrying to their m & rket . whom he _ii compelled to sell it at whatever price tiiey choose themselves to put upon it . As you have _adverted , sir , _lu the laws of onr ancestor ? , whose icisjtom has long _been the _sjiort of our ne # _fangled _philusopkg , I will cnll the attention of this meeting to one or two of the statntes of the " dark aifes "—the times , ales , gonp bye . but soon , 1 hope , again to be ushered in—when our ignorant , superstitious * and bigoted forefathers bluitrlereit away in their ttknred attempts to harmonize society , and preserve the balance _vfp-neer not abroad , but at home—not between one foreign nation and another , but between the different _vrders and degrees of men of which all society is composed . Look at the following statute of Philip and Mary , in which the legislature boldly and righteously grapples with the _jntmftpttl y of the rich , as it always affects , not some _rieal monopolist—hut the labouring population a , t large . SECOND AND THIRD PHILIP AKD MARY . C * p . 2 .

    Fou . _AsML'cH as the weavers of this realm have as well at tLispreseut parliament , as at divers ether times , complained that tbe rich and wealthy _ci-thiers do many ways oppress them _, some by setting up and keeping In l . heir _houses divers looms , and keeping ami maintaining them by journeymen and persons unskilful , to the _decay of a giv ? at number of artificers _wMeh were brought up in _tha said science uf weaving , their families anil household ; some by _ingrossing of looms , into their hands and possession * , and letting ttiem out _at'such _unreasonable- rents , a __ s Che poor artificers are nor able to maintain themselves , much less their wives , families and children ; some also by _giving much less wages and hire for the weaving and workmanship of clothes , than in times past they did , whereby they are _informed utterly to forsake their art and occupation vvherein they had bewi _brought up . 2 . tt is therefore fsr remedy of the premisses , find " for the nv _< _fiding" of it great number of _ineoimmieiiws _whiehmay sruwr ( if in time it be uot foreseen ) ordained , established and enacted by authority of this present parliament . Tliat no person using tbo feat or mystery of cloth making , and dwelling ont of a city ,, _borough , ' market town , or corporate town _, shall from the seat of St . Michael the Arohange , now nest _ensiling heep , retain or have iu his possession any nri _^ _e-or" above ij \ i _& wooleu loom- at one time ; nor shall by any means directly or indirectly receive or _takiyany manner profit , _tfaai _ercotfimndity _, by letting or setting any loom , or any house whereiu any loom is or shall be used and occupied , which shall fu ; together Iiy him set or let ; upon _pttiii of forfeiture for every week that any person shall do contrary to the tenor and true meaning hereof , _twenty shillings . 3 . And be it fnrther ordained and enacted by like authority . Thatuo woolen weaver nsing or exercising the feat or mystery of weaving , and dwelling " out oi ' a city , _borough , market town or town corporate , shall after the said feast or keep at any one time above t _& e . number of two woolen looms , or receive any profit , gain or commodity , directly or indirectly as is aforesaid , by any more than two _loom . s nt one timt > , upon pain to forfeit for every w _& ek that any _[ _icrsoii sliill oifriid or do _ta the contrary , twenty _shiliiuge . "

    Here we have the law restraining the oppresaor of the poor —( bear , hear)—the rioh man who _. keeps back _thu hire of the labourer by fraud as well as by force—and I fearlessly put it to the working men and to their employers now before me whether such is not the true spirit of legislationwhether any other kind of legislation _cjtii _exist withoat producing social anarchy and ruin . Instead of adopting new principles , we ought to have _adopted these good old principles to the changes which science and civilization have effected in the ever _chunginizforms of society . The invention of tho Steam Engine , and its application t « machinery i instead of becoming a curse , would then have been made a blessing , instead of _redwmiff _wn _^ _es , and throwing out of employment , _msking women and children _intotcor _& things , to support their husbands and fathers in unwilling idleness ; we should have seen every m . _in fully occupied—hi ? toil lightenedhis work-time shortened , and his wages raised . Every industrious man would have been enabled to maintain his family and children , as this old statute savs , in happiness and comfort . I will not , I need not depict the said reality of things , under the znodem system offrce trade and foreign competition . It is fast approaching to its inevitable results , _nat only tlie beggary and wretchedness of the poor , but the bankruptcies and ruin of the rich .

    _So far from talking the crude and vapid trash ( philosophy forsooth ) of political cconomv _, taking laliour to market and getting what the money-mongers pleases to _jitve for it—our _fpalish forefathers thought that the price of lahunr ought always to btar such a relation to the price of bread , that whether there were scarcity or abundance , whether *> _m irorr cLc ; i ] i or dear , " the hii _? _bandmau , _iliclabourer , should be first partaker of the fruits of his-industry and toil . Allow me to quote the following from a statute of Qeeen _^ Elizabeth , ( good Queen Bees after all . )

    FIFTH ELIZABETH . Cap . i . Anaet containingdiversorders farartificers , labourers servants of husbandry and apprentices . " Although there remain ami stand hi force presently a great number of acts and _statutes _concerning the wages , and orders of apprentices , servants , and labourers , as _wellin . husbandry as L in diver other arts , and _occupations ; yet partly tor tlie imperfection that : is found , and 00 th appear in sundry of tbe said laws , that the wages anl allowances limited and rated in many of the said statutes , are in divers places too small and not answerable to this time , respecting the advancement of prices of all _thinjis belonging to _rhesaid servants aud labourers _; tbe said laws cannot conveniently , _wit-htut tha great grief and _bnrdon of the poor la , bmi : er and hired man , be put in _£ _ood and due _execution : and as the siiiil several acts aud statutes were , at the time of tbe making of them , thought to bo very good and beneficial for the commonwealth of this realm ( as divers of them are ;) so if the _substanoe of as many of the said laws as are meet to be continner ! , shall be digested and reduced into one sole law and statute , there is good hoiie that it will come- topass , thatthi ! _sanielaw ( being July executed ) should banish idleness , advance _linsbanory , and yield unto the hired person , both in thi ? time of scarcity , and in the timu of plenty , a convenient proportion of wag <* s . This applies not merely to agricultural labourers but to 2 The sciencesrafts arts

    . " , c , _mysteries or' woolen clothiers , cloth weavers , _tuckers , fnllers , cloth workers , shore-men , dyers , ' hosiers , taylors , slioomakers , tanners , _pewterors , bakefi , bre ' werf . glovers , cutlers ,, smiths , farriers , curriers , _sadlsn , spurriers , turner * , capjjejs , _hatmalters , or _feltmakett , bowycrs , fletchera , arrow-head-makers , _butchers , cool ;? , or millers . " Then we have the " Time Bill" not for babies . hut for men—not for children but for their independent fathers . — 12 . "And be it further enacted by the authority afore-said . That all artificers aud labourers , being hired for wages by the day or week , shall _betvrist the midst _ofthe months of March and September be and continue nt their work , a * or beforo five of She clock in the- _morning , and continue at w ork anJ not depart until betwixt seven and eight of the clock at night ( _escejit it be in the time of breakfast , dinner ur drinking , the which times at the most shall not exceed aSove two hours nnd u half in a day , thot Li today , at every _driiikiBe one half"h < _ra > , for his dinner one honr , nnd for his sleep wheu be is allowed to sleep , the which is from the midst of May to the _miitet of Angus ! , liulf an hour at the _inoet , _andateiery breakfast one half Lour : snd all the said artificers and _lab < nirers , between tho midst of September and the midst of March , shall be and continue at their worlt from the spring of the day in the morning nntil the night of the s ; ime day , _esceptitbe in time afore appointud for breakfasi and dinner . " This Time Bill he it observed is for

    " , " adult labourers—is a . sort of universal law for ( very species of labour —( hear , )—and _labaup which _iit that time was wholly agricultural or domestic . Contrast the wisdom—economyphilosophy—humanity und religion of such a law , with the state of things under the Factory System , with the project of Mr . Baines to work babies ( in he a father ?) _nt eight years of age , and under , in a cotlim factory , five , , or seven iiours a day I to work children of eleven years old , or under , eleven or twelve hours a day exclusive of meal times and rest in a Cotton Factory ! Where are we , Sir , and what has _maramos maje us , that a British Christian legislature should declare children of _! 4 , independent of their parents , free to make their own contracts , to hire their own lodgings , and to carry their labour to the Cottou Masters " Market ! Aye , and for the express purpose of making them , little girls of fmirtteii and under , independent labourers in this onr happy state of continued approach to uurestrieted freedom !!! But I forbear—

    -Well , but passing by Baines and Baker , nnd the other humane propounders of this new " benevolence" to the children of their fellow countrymen , have we not a "Factories Regulation Act ? " "We have . But when and . by whom was it passed ? Contemporaneously with the proposal of the New Poor _iuw , and by the authors of that damnable statute—lain it « M _9 f , it is but a parchment f _/ _lol—taw , it never can be—no , bo ; at whatever

    Jduportakt Factory Meeting At Huddersfie...

    hazards , tliat doctrine of devils i never shaii b * the Lam of England . The connection between theFactory System and the new system for the poor , ought always to be borne in mind . In the year 1833 , the present "Factory Act" was passed ; but the protective provisions of the Act were not to come into operation before the year 1836 . By that time it was expected by the humane anthori of that act _oiinereii that the Poor Law would "be in fall operation , for immediately after its introduction into the agricultural districts , a Poor Law Chimp , Muggfiilge , _nuder the name of il migration _ftgent , '' was _established in Manchester , in an . " office ' well furnished widi the necessary apparatus for carrying on thu "business ''—the traffic in human flesh , between the " Union Officers '' . in the South of one part , and the " Mill-owners" of the North of the other part . This Slave broker was connected with his brother Monster , Dr . Kay , who was established as kidnapper in the Counties , where the il Law worked so well ; between the twe , thousands , aye , thousands , of the wretched labourers were bargained for and bought by the Mill-owners of these districts . I have in my possession the llb 311 a of parcels , " and the letters of _clergymen , nnd the . placards of the board of guardians , plenty _ivork and good wages—and the threats of separation and starvation , & c . Sc . bj means of which these poor deluded creatorej £ eU into the snare and became the victims of man itealers , as completely as ever the negroes on the coast of Guinea were drives or decoyed into the hands of the merchant , under the _tilate Trade for the "Colonies . " In the year 1 B 3 U , the Factory act was to hare been repealed—all was to have been ready- —but the cold-blooded calculators had reckoned with out . their host . In spite ofO'Connell's venal support ., the mitchhie-iniinstri / was defeated and reluctantl to affect determination

    y _compelled a to see the law enforced . I _* ay , to affect ta carry ont the provisions of t / teir own act , fo . ' every one knows they never meant to do it , and never have done it effectually . Mr . Grey , indeed , talk * of the- " seeerity" with which this " Regulation . Act " lias been enforced—severity ! where and upon whom : ' IS the _governmens were sincere in their _pretended efforts t » carry this . law in . io effect / we alt know they _arq not' without ample means tbr the purpose . In enforcing ANOTHER t . aw no one can question their sincerity—the tenacity with which they adhere to its spi-it—the determination they evince to benefit , and improve , and confer boons upon the poor , in spite of the blindness and stupidity which they oppose to the recep tion _ofall tbuir _kindnessj Government is resolved to maintain the dignity of the Jjtw and to assert ths prerogatives of the execution as respects another act—why not—as respects the Factory Act . Wn hear no " High Commission Court , " ( Oastler , Bull , Stephens , for instance ) with power to make their will greater than the law itself—no rural police , with olndgeona and broadswords—no troops with _sanre aoii carbine to put down this tralfic in the flesh 'of children—to _prevent the murder of their babes whom _Ihe law has taken under Its protection , hut whom the executor leaves to the mercy of the _millowner _, _aotoriously h \ league with thi ; hireling inspector , the interested and partial magistrate . If _« hnt I have read he true , Sir , the Poor Lawhas been let in into tho bodies of Englislunen hy the sharp point of the sabre 1—has been introduced into their breasts by the bullets of British _tmops , wearing the Queen ' s uniform , but commanded into action by an usurper ' s of the Queen ' s authority . In England , thank God , we know T _. _liat the duty of a _magistrate is , and we know o-rir own duty , if the laws _ar _£ inefficient to protect us . ( Cheers , ) Tbe law teiiclu's us thnt treason is a crimp ; our senses tell us that l'ower ban been a traitor , ( cheers . ) because h « has misdirected the servants of the crown , and blood haj followed "his falsehood . ( Cheers . ) Aye , and he is traitor at large ; and the old _authorities , ( those under whose _goren m 'tit life was worth preserving , ) tell us , thac whoso killeth tt traitor cominitttth no murder . ( Great cheers . ) The mills ara now upstanding , but his treason will be more powerful than " battering ranis , or cannon ball . (( _Jbeeri . ) Yes , if they do fall , the ruin be on his guilty head ; and may [ he unholy piles be laid low anil circled with the dust , e ' er they become the receptacles of infant slavery . ( Cheers . ) The time has arrived when our duty to out God tells us that a ' crusade has been made against his people , and a voice from _abme , pronipU the _Christiim soul to stop tlie tyrant ' s uplifted hand , and we must obey . Mr . Svpiifns _siit down amid _thj most enthusiastic cheering and clapping of hands .

    Mr . 0 _ASTLEB _^ -Mr . Chairman—Ladies and Gentlemen—Onoe more T appear before my fr iends , my neighbours , and my deaoly enemies , for when I see Bloody "Whigs here , I know that I am in _preaencsof my foes , —onee more , after a long season of repose , I . euter the field of factory agitation . Thi * night , in presence of a _Kussell spy , I , without one feeling of disloyalty towards my beloved Queen , ( whom God long preserve . ) as " King , " unfurl the royal standard of innotieoce—the standard of toe Ten Hour's Bill . Yes , Mr . Spy , you will , 1 bnpe , inform your bloody masters that I am a " King , " — _nominated hyDAiNP . s , and cheerfully acknowledged as " King " by hundreds of _thonsands of honest Englishmen . ( _Cheers . ) Sir , tliiH _^ py Is sent to watch my movements , nnd to note nty words ; let him do his business well . ( Cries , yo / t need not to bt frightened of him . ) No , not I indeed , nor of his bss ; and bloody masters—but let me teli you that they who sent him here are fri & htened of _yvier _"Kiug . " ( Cheers . ) Sir , It is said that the Factory Act does not work well . That being true I have a right to ask , whoSB fault is it ? It was not made or reeommended by me . It ia clear , then , that I am not to blame . It was made hy ihe _nia-sUrs and the Whigs . It _waa a bungling job , as all the acts of the _TVhigs havc proved to be . I neither made it , nor have I __ impeded its operation . No , Sir , when that Act passed , I knew that it was" intended to vex the factory workers—I knew that the Whigs intended to annev the workers , and then to lay the blame on me . And so it wan . You all know very well that men in this town . —Whigs—men who pretend to preach the gospel , have told you often " to blame Oastler , " aod when hands have been thrown out of work , those pretended followers of Jesus have ecntemptrously told vou " to go to _Oastler and he would keep you i" The bloody wretches did this to induce you to kill me in revenge . But ye _we : e always loyal to your King "—and now we have given the law n fair trial—mid despite the malice of these Christian (?) murderers , we are this night all friends . ( Cheers . ) I resolved when the Act was passed thnt I lEvttld do no act to interrupt its workings . I appeal to many who hear me that , often , they have urged me to agitate agriin , and my reply hss been— "No , let the Bill work . " I h » vi ! said , " The masters have put the _banicsg on let them wear it—soon they will kick , and then I will he ready to seise the reins . " Yes , , I have home the _triuntinfrs of our enemies , I have resisted the importunities of our friends;—nay , even _Hl"NDl-EY himself has charged me " with forsaking the Factory Question . " I have , however , never once lost sight of the subject . My object was tn prevent my enemies from charging ihe failure of tht act rtjjoji tnyre ' f . I knew it never could worlt

    well , and nun- ite authors openly declare u it is a failure . ' Well , _« o be it . They are bunglers , that _jn ' prnved . And all I have to say 5 s , they shall either keep their ouii _Ast or lake ours ( _Chears . ) And now sir , it is time I told you a secret . Some three months ago I was in BltADfokii , I there saw a very large factory Master , and be told ine that _Bikt . r , tbe Factor ) -Superintendent bad waited _upon him , and told him ¦ that he was going to get a new Factory Act ! " That he had discovered that " the migration" system would not answer—but that there teas in the manufacturing districts a large native field _nf Hm _/ _tati mill of useful labour slill unoccupied . Thut _children from eight to nine years mere teasiing time it * play _tittd idleness , and thut five or sue hours ti day of profitable labour , teas thus entirety shut nut of Hi * market t ( shame , shame , ) and that children from eleven to thirteen gears of age , mho w » only worked eight Jiaurs a day , ¦ were as able to work eleven Iiours a day vs any full grown man ! ' . ! ( Shame , shame . ) He then told me at ! the particulars of B 4 i > _JBa' of Wribqi . eswokts ' s Bill . My answer was , — | " Tell Baker to attend to hia own business and leave mine alone . The act _Ehall not be altered without my consent . The question shall never rest till we have obtained the Ten Hours Bill . " About two months after I'had seen this Millowner , the pig slipped out of tbe poke ; Mr * BilKRS inserted 3 . paragraph in hia Leeds Mercury , saying that , " iof understand , the Mill-owners have determined to apply"to Parliament for n new Factory Bill ; " and then he went on to state _everyitena and I particular of that Bill , in the very words which had been , told to vie two months before—I _way the very words , and in the same order and yet the man now says—he had no hand in it ! ( Laughter . ) But there wanted an . operative tn male the thing wort . In a _fortnight , one is found , one _Wrigbleswobtii _, ( may his name never be forgotten ) and out comei his c » ll for a meeting uf the Mill-owners _aud'MiUliands of the United Kingdom , te be beld iu Leeds , at fowr days notice , in the _Leedi Mercury !! L This ICmctvded in the Eighth Page . \

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 2, 1837, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/nss_02121837/page/6/