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M ONIES RECEIVED BY ME. NATHANIEL WOBLIN...
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THE FREE-TRADERS IN HUMAN FLESH, CHEAP S...
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RECEIVED BY MR CLEAVE. FOB P. M. 1C DOUA...
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JOINT-STOCK BANKING, BEGGING AND ONE POU...
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IHE tfO&THJSAH STAR SATURDAY, MAY 25, 18...
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THE * RAG ROOKS" TACKLED. the haxds of t...
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THE COLLIERS' STRIKE. We beg to direct a...
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Co Meabevst mm (govvegMttoenW
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J. Mitcuel.—No such report was received....
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for the executive £ s d William Johnston...
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dfottttgn ttxiMXiQevite
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FRANCE It appears that the Government ha...
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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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Ar00417
M Onies Received By Me. Nathaniel Woblin...
M ONIES RECEIVED BY ME . NATHANIEL WOBLINO _, BRIGHTON , FOR DR . P . M . _M'DOUALL'S RETURN . BRI 6 HT 05 , May 14 th , 1844 , £ s . d . Sheffield National Charter Association , per Mr . George Cavill ... ... 2 S 0 _Bnlron ,: per Mr . James Fnlton ... ... 0 7 _HJ _bljrley , near Leeds , per Mr . Moses _Nioholls 0 5 0 Bury , per Mr . Jones—Prom the Spring Water Printers 0 12 0 Garden-street lecture room , on Mr . O'Connor ' s visit to
Bnry 0 10 0 1 2 0 Hay 15 . From Barnsley , per Mr . _Yalanee 0 10 4 Dundee , 2 nd subscription , per Mr . Kidd ... 0 9 3 Messrs . Nicholls and Jones will oblige if they Frill favour me with their address , _NaTHAXIEL lIOMJKfl .
The Free-Traders In Human Flesh, Cheap S...
THE FREE-TRADERS IN HUMAN FLESH , CHEAP SUGAR , versus THE RI _» _HIS OP MAS . Kb . Editor . —There is no nation under Heaven which has _ao many institutions professedly - for the Improvement of the human race , as England . The philanthropy and _jjererosity of our middle and upper classes , devalope themselves nnder a variety of phases . What _orjecfc Is there tbat we hare not associations for promoting and securing ? We have associations to secure to the people the blessings of cheap bread and
cheap religion . We have a society , expending annnally its thousands in the conversion and enlightenment of the heathen , while we are told that the people are lamentably ignorant at home ; and we have another whose object is the extermination of slavery from all psrta of tbe earth , except Eng _l and . Bnt not a _single association will these classes form , _patronlzs , or support which has for Its object the eradication of those political and social causes which embitter with _poTerry-and wretchedness the lives of the tolling millions of this empire .
On Friday last , one of these creations of middle and upper class philanthropy held its annual meeting at Exeter HalL For several days previously , tbe public Were _informed by large placards , borne through the City , that Lord Brougham wculd take the chair . Many , like myself , whose presence at tho meeting" ""as induced by a feeling of cariosity to eee 'the political nondescript , were doomed to disappointment , as s _letter was _resd to the meeting , alleging a few lame reasons for non-attendance . Conld not the Anti-Slavery Society find a more consistent and respectable character to fill ths _presidenrJal chair , en this occasion than the _vacillating Lord Brougham 7 What sort of a roan did tbe occasion
_req-dre ? A tried friend of humanity—a fearless advocate of the rights of man—a man whose lift ) was characterised by rectitude and consistency of conduct—a man of stem and unbending devotion to kumanity , truth , and justice . Is my Lord Brougham . such a _TTntn ? _"WTio is the individual that will respond iD the affirmative ? It is true that some of the richest efrisiooa or Brougham ' s eloquence have been poured out in the denunciation of the horrors and injustice of slavery . Bnt men of wisdom , as the Committee of the Anti-SlEvery Society pretend to be , should demand stronger proofs of political integrity than tinkling professions , or flowers of rhetoric . They should vigilantly scan the actions of the man .
Was the Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society oblivions of the fact , that Brougham vras tho _strfcEuous _supporter « f that culminating act ot _"Whiggisb treason against the people , the Poor Lav Amendment Act ? law vrhich outrages the tenderest feelings ef humanity , in the severance of wife from _Tmiband _, and children irons ; both _Trhicb clothes the vicSms of law-made poverty more _degradingly , and feeds them more sparingly than the vilest felons ! Were they . not a-ware that this same Lord Brougham , this uncompromising advocate of the God-defying , humanity-desecrating New Poor _Liw , was seen the other day prostituting his talents at the shrine of the heartless nullocrats of this country , by denouncing the humane proposition -for limiting the hours of female labour in factories to ten
hours per day ! Surely , the selection of such a ckairman _' _e-nderces litis discretion on the part of the Committee . For how conld such a man stand before an enlightened meeting to declaim against slavery while , at the same time , he gives unlimited scope to the murderous factory system ? With "what pretension to consistency sould snch a man denounce the _^ _horrors of American and West Indian thraldrom , while he sanctions the immolation of the health and happiness of the [ air _wivas and daughters of free-born Englishmen on the blood-besmeared altars of insatiable avarice ? Brougham was aware of these things . He knows the _ncenvisble position which he occupies in popular estimation , and hence his _non-attead & _nce at tne _Anij-Slarery _me-. ' dnz .
Much ha 3 been said and written by the _frse-booting cheap bread men , and their v _= nal press , abont " _Chutist _interfEienr * at public meetings 5 but never since the commencement of the agitation were the Chartists guilty of _snihsn act of int _^ nuption as were the decorous Free Traders in Exeter HsU , on Friday , last . At one _ttatj the Free Traders asd Anti-Slave party became so _vociferous in yelling and hooting at each olher , that tfc < _= y _sppearefi more like a crowd of maniacs thin an _assembly of rational beings . The turmoil was commences by the _inierferenea of the _Leagne psrty . Three lone Free trade orations were inflicted on lha meeting ' s patience , by Messrs Geo , Thompson , O'Connell , and _Bright . Mr . Thompson commenced by saying that he came to the meeting the representative of no party ; he csm & to represent his own feelings . Bright , however ,
revealed the secret , shewing clearly that Thompson was there as tbe mcntbpieee of the League ; be said that he and _3 i . Thompson had arrapffed as to the course tbey should _pursue at the meeting ; thus proving that it Was a premeditated move to bring Free Tradeism _before the meeting . Bnt it may be asked what had Free Trade to do with the object of that meeting ? How _eoold * n eh a _snbjact he introduced ? The report _krought _forward by the committee _expressed satisfaction at the fiscal regulations enforced by Government for the _disctnragement of slavery . George Thompson moved an amendment to the adoption of tbe report to the effect that all fissal regulations should be _ducsuntecanced > . y the _^ society , because the enforcement of such regulations required th * aid of secular power ; tbe socitty deprecated force in suppressing slavery , ergo , all fiscal regulations should be deprecated .
To tv . _in bit of special pleading I should reply that it Is the imperative duty of Government , to repress slavery by vise and salutary _leya _' _atiac ; and as a matter of _co'oiso , to resort to force if necessary , to compel ob & dieEce to the _decrees of reason and justice . Mr . G : jo . Thompson has a different opinion ; he ib now one of the oratory of the _hypocri _^ O ! _League , and , _perhaps , in the plenitude of his Free Trade notions , he thinks _cammercein human flsahshould be as "free" as he tells us trade in everything else should be . He said he would be clear and explicit with the meeting . Government , he said , imposed a high _differential dnty on slave-grown _sugar , in favour of the produce of onr free colonies . This he _eonsidertd a
piece of gross injustice to the people of England , because they should be _allswed to go to the cheapest market for their sugar . I never yet heard one of tbe agents of this Leviathan combination of hypocrisy and fraud , but my mind was impressed with the idea that he wouia readily _sacrince every principle of justice , religion , and humanity at the shrine of grovelling , aonSd , self-interest . George Thompson _thinfta it ri _$ ht that the prodnce of slave labour skonid have the same advantages in the markets of the "world as the prodnce of free labour . Would it , I ask , be justice to the free col -mea 10 throw their labour into _competition with foreign slavery ! Wonld it be justice to reduce the free labourer to the _degradation of the manacled slave ? Yes , naponds George _Thompsan and the League , because by so doing we could procure our sugar at a cheap rate . So much for League morality and religion I But it Ib consolimj to know that such notions of justice can
only find resting places in the avaridons pericraniaias of Com Law Bepealers . Suppose , said this doughty champion cf _^ r _^ ebootism , J bad ten yards of cloth for sale . ; I want to buy sugar for it j here are two persons in the market ; one will give me _SSlbs . of sugar for my cloth , the other will give me 501 ' os . ; would it not be an act of folly on my part to refuse to take the . greater _quantity ? This argument embodies the whole theory and practice of Free Trade . George Thompson seems to think that men have lost all idea of religion , morality , and justice . Before the impartial tribunal of his reason , the rogue and the honest man , the fair dealer _nnr _> the slave dealer stand npon an equal footing . Me would give them egual advantages in the markets of the world ; he would patrcnizi the robber in preference to the honest man , becanse ths former could minister to his cupidity more plenteoasly than the latter .
But I deny the right of the man with the 50 J > . o slave grown sugar to come into the market at alL __ Bi is a _robber—a dealer in men , women , and-Children "; 1 ¦ vender of the blood-bespattered produce of slavery The attribute of " cheapness" which recommends hii foods to George Thompson , is given to tbem by thi nefarlousness of the means employed in their produo tion ; every sentiment of reason and morality rises nj in reprobation of such a wretch ; and just , wise , anc salutary , in my opinion , would be the law that wouli exclude him from social intercourse , and bis stole : goods from the markets of the globe . Mi . Thompsei conld see no criminality in patronising the traffieers ii
Buman flesh ; no culpability in purchasing _= She produo ef slavery ! I wul prove from the logic uf this _Soloi that there is no _criminalit y in slavery itself . If m rule of equity is violated in buying the produce 0 _a ' avery , none is _broksn in selling it ; for the right 6 bey implies the right to sell . The right to buy am * 6 H evidently implies the right to produce . If there fore parties are justified in buying , selling , and pro dueling , they are justified in the means of pro-Suction or , in other words , in the establishment and cocao _lidatioh of slavery . This ia a fair hiference , dedu able from the logic cf this modern _politics _ttsntot '; _loadon May Si , ibil jiudlx
The Free-Traders In Human Flesh, Cheap S...
TO THE WORKING MEN . Mr _Fribnds , —I have reeslved a great number of invitations from all paits of the country . I now announce my intention of fixing on the dates of my lectures in tbe various places to whioh I have been invited , in the Star ot each week . On Monday ard Tuesday , 1 shall be in Coventry ; on Wednesday , In Birmingham ; and on Thursday , in _Macclesfield . On Friday , I shall visit Manchester , and remain at rest until Sunday . The arrangements which may be made at Manchester I cannot now relate , as I shall leave them entirely in the hands of the committee . After Manchester , 1 shall visit Todmorden ; and if possible that shall be on Tuesday or Wednesday , the 4 th or 5 th of June . I shall announce in the succeeding Star the future arrangements decided upon .
From tbe state of my lungs , 1 fear it may be possible tbat I cannot make a speech in all the places mentioned ; but nothing save a very dangerous state of health shall prevent me from meeting my engagements . Ever sincerely yours , P . M . _M-Dodall .
Received By Mr Cleave. Fob P. M. 1c Doua...
RECEIVED BY MR CLEAVE . FOB P . M . 1 C DOUALL . £ . 8 . d . Mr . Elliot 0 16 A Friend ( Convention Boom , Manchester ) 0 10 Mr . Browett ... ... ... ... ... # 10 Mr . Williams ... ... 0 10 A Lover of Jostles „ 8 10 Mr . W . Peace 0 3 0 VICTIM FUND . White Horse Locality , Whitechapel ... 6 3 i Lambley , Notts # 80
LIBERATION OF CHARTIST PRISONERS . TO THE EDIIOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —I have much pleasure in informing you that John lovell and Jtnkin Morgan , two of the Chartist prisoners tried at . Monmouth , under the Special Cammission , with Mt . Frost , myself , and others , and sentenced with Charles Waters , R & ece , and Lewis to six years' imprisonment in the Millbank Prison , have arrived in Newport . Lovell , arrived by the packet from Bristol , on Thursday morning ; and Morgan on Saturday , by tbe same conveyance ; both mnch shattered in constitutional health and strength , particularly Morgan , who is almost . oo feeble to Wa . i alone .
Lovell states th « t he obtained _permission to petition the _Secretary of State , which be did ; and their discharge was sent , no doubt , in consequence of their bad state of health . Morgan and Waters were both in the Infirmary ; the latter so DI that he had not arrived at home in Chepstow yesterday , and they express their fears whether he ever will be able to leave tbe place which , until within a few days , was more crowded than ever . The other two prisoners who were sentenced with them have been discharged these three years back .
Mrs . Lovell , by the most praiseworthy perseverance and bard labour in the garden they occupied , has preserved a comfortable home for her husband on bis return , which was quite _unexpected . I had the pleasure of _assisting Lovell to hia borne , welcomed by every one we met oi saw . Nut so comfortable or pleasing are the prospets of poor Mr . Morgan , whose circumstances , previous to the affair that led to his apprehension was superior to almost any in the ranks , with the exoeption of Mr . Frost : but HE HAS LOST HIS ALLhis cows , a rick of hay , worth upwards of £ 100 was distrained upon for re „ t , sold for less than its value by one-half ; and to support the wife and family his two houses were sacrificed . His wife retired to her friends , and poor Morgan has returned shattered in his constitution , without a home to go to . Since his arrival he has recovered a little , and has gone into _Glammorganshire , where he has a brother , a farmer , living near _Pyle ;
bnt his intention is to return to Newport when recovered , and by the assistance of his friends , if he can , to resume his work in life as usual , as a milkman . It is hoped that the friends to the Victim F _^ hd will NOT _FOHUET F # OB JENE . IN MORGAN , WHO HAS suffered _Fora tears a . _nd-a-half _jmphisoi _*» ent . A letter has been received last week from Mr . Frost , which is very satisfactory to his family and friends as it respects the ofiice he fills , snd the kind treatment he receives from those in authority . P . S . —I hope you will get this in time to make it public this week . 1 should have sent it sooner bnt I waited to bear from _GhepsteW concerning Waters until this _morning ( Wednesday ) . Youib _, respectfully , Sakuel Ethebidce . Newport , _Monmsnthshire , May 22 ad , 1844 .
Joint-Stock Banking, Begging And One Pou...
JOINT-STOCK BANKING , BEGGING AND ONE POUND NOTES . To the Editor of the Freeman ' s Journal . Sir , —Everybody , rich and poor , merchant and shopkeeper , farmer and labourer , are one and all interested in the circulating medium of the country , while but few , give that attention to the subject which its vast importance demands . Some people are o f opinion that tbe currency question is beneath their notice , aud consequently know nothing of the effect which any change in it produce upon society . There are many who hold the opinion that the more banks are established and the more one-pound notes are issued , the more the country is benefitted ; in short , that banks and bank-notes cause prosperitywhile others are of opinion , and do conscientiously believe , that an unlimited power of issuing one-pound and other notes brings in its train unmitigated misery and destitution , ' especially amongst the working classes .
I am , Sir , one of those who hold this latter opinion , and I look upon the whole banking system to have been from the beginning to the present period highly injurious to the community at large—a system which has tended more to keep up rack-rents , high prices , and low wages , than all other systems and circumstances put together ; besides whieh , it leads its advocates into the most shameful inconsistencies I don 't see how a man can be a member of the Anti-Corn Law League , whose sole object is to pull down the price of corn and all farming produce , and at the same time the strenuous advocate of jointstock banks and one-pound notes , for tbe avowed purpose of keeping up the price of corn and farming produce .
We have beard it stated that" trade is paralyzed in Ireland for want of banking accommodation ; that the internal resources of the country are not developed , nor cannot be developed until such banking accommodation is afforded . " Let me ask what trade is paralyzed for want of banking accommodation ?—and what is meant by the development ofthe internal resources of the country 1 Now with respect to trade , I state a fact , when I say that in nine cases out of ten whore a country shopkeeper could not meet his bill punctually , his excuse uniformly was , that there were too many traders in the town of late ; that trade was over done , in consequence of whioh , profits were out of the question , and sales could scarcely be effected except at a great sacrifice . Every body knows that is literally true .
As to the beneficial effects of banking accommodation , let us havo an example . One fact is worth a thousand arguments . There are at present , and have been for several years past , fOvr banks in the city of Kilkenny . There was bnt one in 1800 ; yet the trade of Kilkenny was ten times greater , and tho city more prosperous in 1800 , than it i 3 at the present time . Will the advocates of joint-stock banks let us know how this has come to pass 1 Have the joint-stock banks increased trade in Kilkenny , or in any other town or city where they have been
established } I admit that joint-stock banks have increased the price of provisions , kept np rack rents , and diminished labourers' wages . Joint-stock banks have increased _wofully in Kilkenny , C lonm e ll , Carrick-on-Suir , Waterford , Dungarvon , Tipperary , Limerick , Cork , Tralee , aud other places , without . any increase in the trade and prosperity of these towns and cities . The issuers of one pound kites have contrived to get _possession of the hard earnings of honest tradesmen , and in nine cases out of ten have driven those tradesmen into the insolvent
calender . It is asserted " that the agricultural , commercial and manufacturing prosperity of Scotland may be ascribed to a wise and well regulated system of joint-stock bauking . " In reply to this statement I say that those who know Scotland ascribe its poverty , wretchedness , and destitution , to their true cause , which is known to be joint-stock banking . The great body of the people of Scotland are in the most wretched condition . The poor are licensed to beg ; and in the prosperous cities of Scotland eight tickets for the poor are sold for one penny . When a poor Scotch beggar seeks alms you give him the eighth part of a penny , for which he is very thankful , so that here to begin with the Scotch beggar is
four times as badly off as the Irish beggar , who gets a halfpenny . The joint-stock banks in Sootland have given a fictitious value to everything : they have made the poor poorer , and added to their numbers ; tbey have made the rich richer , and added to their numbers ; but then for every man who has become rich by me ? ns of joint stock banks 100 have been redaced to beggary by the same means . He who has been successful shines forth as an example of the _benofioial effects of joint-stock _backing , while those who have been ruined by its operation hide themselves in lanes and alleys . They are lost to society . The superficial observer looks only at the sunny 6 ide ; he oan see nothing but that which he expects will promote his own interest . The
beneficial effects of Scotch joint-stock banking can be seen in the undeniable fact that the constituted authorities in the manufacturing districts have been under the necessity of paying visits periodically to London for the purpose of soliciting alms to save the manufacturers of Scotland from perishing of hunger . No great proof of manufacturing prosperity this , surely . Agricultural prosperity may be seen amongst the wretched labourers who are compelled to herd together on tbe great laird ' s farntf ia " boothies , and f eed on brose ; _'' that is , on un Voiled oatmeal , salt and cold water , with _occasionilly a little milk . The Sootoh joint-stock banking has had the effect of increasing the _number of poor in Scotland , by keeping up rack-wnts and
the price of all kinds of farming produce without causing any advance in the wages of labour ; the result ol which is , that there are more poor in Scotland in proportion to the whole population than there are in any other country in Europe . There were very few beggars in _Sootland prior tothe present " wise and well reguJated system of joint-stock _bauks . " The proportion that the poor bear now to the rest of the _population is frightful . The working people are not to blame for this ; they are honest , fru g al , and _induitrions . Their poverty and destitution are caused by tbe vicious system under which they are forced to live . For instance * Scotland does not contain more inhabitants than the province of Ulster . It contains nearly three
times as many acres of land , fifty times as many beggars . It is , therefore , obvious that the Scotch system of joinl-stook banking has increased pauperism in Scotland . If it has not , let those who pnsh themselves forward as public instructors enlighten the public upon this Bubjeot . It is incumbent upon them not only to show that banking has not causeo beggary , but also to show what else has caused" . Scotch joint stock banks have enabled some Scotcnmen to come and buy the potatoes in the _ndges before they are ripe , and the cabbages in the gardens in the neighbourhood of Dublin and Belfast , thus adding to the distress and misery of the poor Iri _'^ h labourer , by raising the price of those _arDcies a * his own doorabove his to buy them . _UtVUtMAi
, , means — m . «»» .. w . VM UW * , ** W 7 _W Ui ** , » V _«*» . J — It is true that that vicious system of joiut-stooK banks in Scotland , which has raised some men from obscurity to affluence , has had , ou a minor scale , * similar _effect here , where we find some men w » failed in every other pursuit which depended for ns success upon industry , honesty , sobriety and sum have become successful as bankers . . * t , VEN _tt Malone" was but a novice compared to tbe greas Bankers we have nowadays . .. It has been recently stated by ft very high authority , "that the suppression of one-pound notes in Ireland would diminish the price of all farming produce , and inflict the _egreatest calamity on tne country . " This _dootrin baa been _formaliyi _«*»
Ihe Tfo&Thjsah Star Saturday, May 25, 18...
IHE _tfO & _THJSAH STAR SATURDAY , MAY 25 , 1844 .
The * Rag Rooks" Tackled. The Haxds Of T...
THE * RAG ROOKS" TACKLED . the haxds of the ** old ladt or _THREADHEEDLE BTBEET" TIED AT LAST .
PEEL AKD THE BANKERS . ABTICLE TH 1 HD . Is the two former articles on the Monetary quest ion , we tracsd the operation of paper-money f r om the establishment of the Bank of England in 1694 to the year 1826 , when the _meafure proposed by Sir Robekt Peel in 1819 , for the resumption of cash payments by the Bank , came into extensive operation . On the present occasion we have to show what the effects of that most devastating measure have been on the productive interests of the Kingdom .
In the first place we must acknowledge , that , in principle , Peel ' s Bill was correct ; that thb object sought to be accomplished by it was just ; and that tbe injustice which it has _inflicted arose from the fact , that the measure was not accompanied by other measures , adjusting the fixed e _> gagemekts of the country , as well as ail private contraots , to the altered circumstances which that Bill wa 3 certain to bring about .
It must be manifest that a law to compel the Bank to pay its debts wa 3 just in its nature ; and one aeon : which there could be no _hesitation in passing , as far as the principle on which it was founded was concerned . The Bank Dtver ought to have been protected from the demands of its creditors ; it never ought to havo been BE » _iBicr £ D from its due and honest payments ; it never ooght to have been enabled , by law , to maintain its station as a
_Tsad-I 5 G Ccmpa . m , when it was notoriously insolvent , and only preserved from wreck bj the law enabling it to set its creditors at defiance : this clearly ought not to have been , for it was most unjust to all other traders , and utterly repugnant to and destructive of the principles that _govern trade and credit : therefore the measure known as Peel's Bill , which was to take away this unjust protection , this unnatural _BESTBicnox , was . of itself , a perfectly just and
necessary _measure . But when we come to view that measure relatively ; when we view it in connection with the amount of Debt incurred during the Ba _> k Restbictiom ; with the increased amount of taxation consequent on wars—on increased salaries—on new offices of State —on _augmented Gvil Lists—on long Pension and Hsif-pav Lists : when we view the measure in
connection with theso things and with the fact that its operation was sure to augment every debt owing in the kingdom : when we view the measure thus _relatlvely , we are bound to designate it as the most cruel and monstrous national ii . juatice ever perpetrated , notwithstanding the fact that the measure was founded on correct principle , and was perfeotly just in itself .
It has before been explained that the vast amount of paper money afloat during the existence of Ea > h . Restbiciioh caused the price 3 of all produce to become very " high ; '' that wheat which had ou a long average of years sold for 5 s . a bushel , " rosi" to 153 . ; and other produce in proportion . In other words , the circulating medium of tbe country was bo large in amount that its value
was depbeciated ; greater quantities of it had to be given fox a certain amount of produce , —the bushel of wheat , for instance , for which three times the amount of " money" had to be paid in the depreciated currency to what had been paid before such depreciation . We have also explained that the operation of these things had necessarily oaused a violation of all contracts : that the interest of a mortgage entered into some twenty years before
could now be paid with Borne one half the sum formerly given . That is , the amount of produce required to be sold to raise the nominal amount of money required for such interest would not be more than one half . This violation of contracts , aowevtr , was in favour of the debtor . It enabled him to get dear of hi 3 engagements much , more easily than he conld olherrme have done : but
The * Rag Rooks" Tackled. The Haxds Of T...
though it might and did favour the debtor , it was no less an injustice ; a palpable injustice to the creditor , who was forced to be content to receive one-half of the amount contracted to be paid ; and unjust in its very nature , when it enabled the debtor thus to forfeit or evade his bargain . Bnt if the operation of a measure to produce " high" prices was an act of injustice to the wholo community , inasmuch as it thus violated _contracts , though in favour of tho debtor , what must be the nature of a measure to suddenly produce " low " prices , and violate contracts against the dehtor ,
causing him to part with double the amount of real wealth he had contracted for ?! This was done by Peel ' s Bill ! And this alone , and of itself , would have been sufficient to have characterized the measure as the most monstrously unjust one ever enacted : for it is well known that the Debtor class are the most weak portion of the trading community ; and to pass a measure to double their debts was , in fact , to consign twothirdB of them to irretrievable ruin , and expose the whole to enormous difficulty and danger . This alone , we say , would have been sufficient to stamp the devastating scheme , _aa the crowning act of _injustice connected with the infernal _system of
Paper credit ; but when to this we add the injustice inflicted nationally , in causing the producers of wealth to pay the interest of an overwhelming Debt—a Debt mainly contracted in a depreciated currency—in " gold of full tale and fineness "; and in causing those same producers of wealth to continue to pay all the other charges of Government , which had been raised and augmented because of the enhanced prices of produce consequent on the depreciation of money : when to the act of injustice perpetrated on the private debtor class of England , we add these acts of national iljustice , tbe whole measure appears to be one of such a monstrously unjust character , that language f ails to supply terms sufficiently strong wherewith to characterise it .
It had its effdot on the Pbivate Debtob class . It brought thousands of them to insolvency . It Bent hundreds to the parish . Many a on _« who had fancied himself in a situation of competency , and who indeed was competent , under the then circumstances of the country , was reduced to the necessity of breaking stones on the highway to procure the " coarsest sort of food" wherewith to keep soul and body together . By doubling dekts , as this measure did , it necessarily took the property out of the bands of one class of property-holders , and conferred it upon another . No act of confiscation could have
been more complete . The operation was stlent ; was unseen ; but it was sure and effective . The debtor had to part with more than double ihe amount of real wealth in exchange for a nominal amount of money ; and he had to hand over that nominal atno unt to Mb creditor , who thuB became possessed , in reality , of his debt twice over . Could there be any wonder that i _' hsolvency followed on suoh a confiscating measure as that ? People have been amazed to see the property they possessed melt out of their grasp ;
silently disappear ; bnt they knew not the cause _. They knew that at one time they bad it ; that they had at one time , when * ' weighed up , " they bad more than would satisfy all claimants—as much as wonld leave them a good competency , when all their deb ts were paid . Tbey saw a time come when all they possessed was not sufficient for the satisfaction of those debts . They saw the whole decrease in value , and thus became swallowed up : but thet knew Not the cause . That cause was
Peel ' s Bill ! just and righteous as the measure was in itself 1 The 3 e eff e ct s followed from reducing the nominal value of produce , by decreasing the amount of circulating medium : and the error was in attempting and effeoting that , without a previou s adjustment of contracts . The _effect that the measure would have on prices was well known toils promoters . Experience had sufficiently told them that . Every attempt on tho part of the Bank to prepare even for the resumption of cash _payments had driven down prices ; bad produced all but universal confusion . There could be " no mistake" then as to the effect which this Bill was _s-ire to have on the debtor class , by those who originally framed it . Equity , then ,
would have told them , that if thty must pass a measure to reduce the value of property so that double the amount would prove to be sold for a nominal amount of money , that it must be accompanied by another measure _adjusting contbacts , so as to prevent the weak debtor from b ing robbed . And had _equity ' s call been attended to in this respect , mnch of the misery , many of tbe heart-burnings _, much of the suffering and want , since known in England , would have been unknown . Hundreds and thousands of those who have been reduced to beggary , would still have been in affluent circumstances ; and hundreds more , who have actually starved to death , would still have been in tho land of the living ,
The call ef _equity , however , was not attended to ! It was ntterly disregarded , not only in the case of the private debtor , but also in the case of National Engagements , The _effect on tho former we have already seen : let us now treat of the effect on the latter . In 172 / Geo . II came to the throne . He reigned _thirty-thrce-and-a-half years ; and the average annual amount of taxation during his entiro reign was £ 8 ; 2 _i 9 , 247 . Geo . Ill succeeded him in 1760 : and for the first thirty-three years of his rei _^ n tho taxation averaged , £ 16 , 230 , 0 26 . This was before
Bank Restriction . "' The currency was then , as now ; partly gold , partly paper : the paper currency convertible into gold : or in other words , the Bank forced to give gold in exchange for its paper to those who demanded it , as long as it had gold to give . In 1797 , however , as before set forth , the Bank Restriction Act was passed : and with it came those immense issues of paper money that so greatly depreciated the Currency , or so " raised" prices , as to cao 3 e the quarter of wheat , which ia 1727 had only fetched _^ 1 17 s 4 d , to fetch , in 1800 . £ 5 0 s lOd ,
and in 1812 £ 5 16 s lOd 1 To meet the altered state of things , additional ta x atio n was needed . It was represented to Parliament that it was utterly impossible for the common soldier , for instance , to " live on his sixpence a day" ; tbat the enhancement of prices of provisions totally put it out of his power ; and his pay was raised to _thirteen ponce , having a one-half and one-sixth added to it . What was true of the soldier was true also of the judges , and the other officers of State . On the salaries , which were ample when wheat was thirty-seven shillings and fourpence a quarter , they could not
maintain their station when wheat was at 100 s or 116 s a quarter , and other things in proportion . So also with the pay , or rather allowance , to the King . Parliament could never allow the King to starve on M dear bread : " so , as a matter of course all the wages , salaries , and allowances , were tremendmendously augmented by Act of Parliament ; some of them being considerably more than doubled , and all of them nearly so . In addition to all this , loans were being constantly resorted to . We were at war during the whole time from 1793 to 1814 with the French , to put down Republicanism , and prevent _Reform at home : and during part of the time with _^ Immcn also , to , k depose James Maddison" and de s tro y t he " home of the free "—
[ would that it were really so!]— in the west . To carry on those wars in the expensive manner thoy were carried on , by money raised from the people in the ordinary manner , was utterly impossible : so , therefore , the respective Governments borrowed from the Jews and the loan-mongers ne less a sum than £ 570 , 000 , 000 1 ! on which they left the people the interest to pay ! Not that the Governments actually received from the lenders the above astounding sum : far from it . For the nature of the whole transaction was so inherently rotten , that the loanmongers could not be induced to part with their " money , " '' worthless rags" as it were , unless great advantages were offbred to them : and it is a fact , as shown conclusivel y by Marshall , in his "Digest ofthe Finance Accounts , " that for every
The * Rag Rooks" Tackled. The Haxds Of T...
£ 100 of money— (" worthless rags" )—netted by the Government from the loan _mongers , no less than £ 173 of _Srocu was created : that is , the most thinking people in the world" were induced to pay , and still continue to pay , interest on £ 570 , 000 , 000 , fvery £ 100 of that amount being accounted as £ 173 1 [ On this faot wo shall dwell more at large when we come to treat of the _Equitable Adjustment that is yet to take place ] It must be remembered too , tbat these loans were made in a depreciated ourrenoy ; most of them when wheat was at Ids . a bushel .
When therefore it was determined to resume cash payments , common justice towards the tax-pa ) ing people diotated the neoeessity of so adjusting the _national engagements , as to meet the altered circumstance that must inevitably be brought about . The resumption of cash payments was as sure to reduce prices of produce , as tbe Restriction had produced high" prices . The one effect was jast as inevitable as the other . And if it was just and necessary to augment the salaries of the judges , the soldiers and the sailors , the Civil List and the Pension List ; if it was just to augment these because of the enhanced prices of produce , surely it was
no less just to reduce those payments when the prices of produce were to be reduoed ! And if this was true of the salaries , was it not also true of the interest of the debt l No man can be blind to the fact that , ia reality , all p ayments are made in produce . The nature of the transaction may be disguised because Money is used ; and the payment may appear to be made in money : but before the money can be had , the grower of corn , or the maker of shoes , must sell his produce : and it depends on ihe relative prices at different times HOW MUCH PRODUCE HE HAS TO PART WITH FOR A nominal sum cf _uoney . When Wheat was at fifteen
shillings a bushel , one bushel stood in the place of three with Wheat at five _shillings a bushel : or . in other words , it would take three bushels at tho later time to raise fifteen shillings , while one would do it at the former time . To pass a measure then , to reduce the bushel cf Wheat to five shillings , and still leave the grower of wheat to pay engagements entered into when it was at 153 . was in faot to rob him of two bushels out of every three . And this is what has been done by Peel ' s Bill J 11 It has reduoed prices . It has brought down the value of every description of real wealth . But it maintained and still maintains the salaries and the interest of the Debt : and it has ,
iu fact , doubled the taxation of ihe country : taking from the producer more than twice the amount of produce to give to the tax-eater , whether in the shape of Judge , Minister , Pensioner , Queen , or recipient of . interest of Debt . And this it is that constitutes the great injustice of Peel ' s Bill . The people had before time been taxed to the top of their bent . It was overwhelming and crushing before this later infliction . Peel ' s measure , however , just doubled that which was intolerable : and the effect is to bo seen in tbe inquietude , disaffection , and alleniation of feeling of every class—( but the tax-eaters )—from the Government of the country .
Suoh have been the _efffcts of Peel ' s Bill , as far as it has gone . We shall show on another ocoasion that it has not yet been fully reduced to practice . and that the now Banking scheme introduced by tho Minister , is intended to further apply the principle of his Bill of 1819 . But as far as it has gone , such has been , in brief , its devastating effects . It has stripped the debtor of his all . It has reduoed hundreds of thousands to beggary . It has given to the fuudholder more than twice as much as he ought to receive . It has enabled him to rob the land-owners , the house-owners , and the performers
of labour of all sorts . It has enabled him to assai _^ the funds of the poor : and it will in the end make it necessary for him to produce a convulsion , iu which must be destroyed all tha Ancient Institutions of the country , unless the people should havo the wisdom and the resolution to put a stop to his ravages , by reducing his interest according to the principles of reason and of justice . Tbat END Peel is engaged in producing . He dare not propose to deal justly with the nation . The power of the Jew Monster is more than he dare face . But he does the next best thing . He applies principles , and puts in action , measures , that must compel the nation to do justice for itself !
The Colliers' Strike. We Beg To Direct A...
THE COLLIERS' STRIKE . We beg to direct attention to an article in our 3 rd page , extracted from The Miners * _Magasiine , stating clearly and fully the demands of the Pitmen of Northumberland and Durham , who have now , for _noarly two months past been engaged in a contest forced upon them by the heartless cupidity of the "Coal Kings , " who refuse so simple an act of justice as concession of the reasonable and necessary demands in that article set forth .
When the publio hear ofa " Strike , " the idea ofa demand for higher wages , or at any rate resistance to a lowering of wages , is immediately uppermost . A w a re of this , the masters have industriously laboured to prejudice the public by representing the pre .-ont struggle as one for the obtainment of higher and exorbitant wages . The meu certainly demand a fixed sum of wage 3—four _shillings per day . Can any man say that such a sum is exorbitant 1 Tnat it is more than a " fair day's wage 1 " Will not all reasonable men admit that so far from the sum being extravagant , it is far too small , —greatly _ini-ufiicieuc to provide for the wants of a family iu this profitcursed and tax-ridden country !
But tho wages question is by no means the most important of those connected with this strike . There is tho question of labour , and the term of its duration per day . The Legislature has refused to interfere for the protection of the working man . It has " thrown him upon his own resources" ; told him " it would be wrong to _restriot his freedom of working (!) for as long or as short as ho may please" ; that " ho is the best judge of what is good for himself , " and " the best protector and champion of his own interests . " Acting upon this doctrine the men of the North have determined to limit tbeir
labour to a term of eight hours daily ; knowing that by so doing they will not only be ia a position to improve their own minds , cultivate thoso of their children , and attend better to the duties of home , but that also they will thereby equalise _employmenjt , and ultimately secure for themselves better wages than they now have under a system which compels them to work for any number of hours which thoir taek-masters may think proper to impose . Sir Robert Peel , in his late speech on the Ten Hours question
quoted an address from tho Miners of the North ; and speaking of this demand of Ei _^ ht Hours ' labour , characterized it as " most mischievouss" and " one that would be most injurious if conceded to those who demanded it . " Let it b e borne in mind that the Miners seek no Eight Hours * Bill . They act upon the decision of the Parliament for themselves to regulate their own labour . They act upon the theory of Sir R . Peel , that " the labourer should be free to dispose of his labour as to him seems best . " Thinking eight hours per day amply sufficient , they endeavour to make suoh regulation , when Peel at once turns round— " turns his back upon himself , " as Castlereaqh would have said ,
and would , if he oouid , deny the working man the privilege of doing that for himself which _Parliament refuses to do for him ! and which that _Parliament tells him " can best be done without its _intebfebence . " Sir R . Peel characterizes this demand of the Miners of the North as " mischievous , " and " one which if carried J out would be productive of the most _irjurious results "; appearing to be in a state of most blissful i gnorance of the faot that the Miners of the South work no more than that term of hours daily . _YiiTiSUCH is the fact ; The lead and copperminers of Cornwall work only eight hours daily ; and though they have the option of working longer if they please , they do not do so , but rigidly confine
The Colliers' Strike. We Beg To Direct A...
themselves to that term withont any of those lamentable consequences which Sir R . Peel predicts would be the result of a similar regulation being carried out in the North . ; We have not space to comment at length upon the various other regulations demanded by the men , and which will be found fully set forth in the article above alluded to . We ask for thorn the attentive perusal of our readers , assured that if such bo given , no one will be found to gainsay the justice of the regulations and the necessity for their adoption . What more just than that having performed a full
week's work , the Miner should be paid a full week ' s wa g e , the moment ho has fulfilled his share of the contraot ? Yet this the masters refuse , and thereby proclaim , impudently proolaim , their determination to intimidate the workman . A week ' s wages is always to be kept jback , to keep the poor Miner nnder the thumb of his purse-proud oppressor . What more just , than , if a body of men are to be the bound servants of a master , to work for him and him only ; and even though wanting work of him , not allowed to work for another , under pain of going to gaol ; what more just , we
ask , in return for this worse than feudal serfship , that the master shall be compelled to guarrantee to the men at least five days' work in the week , or fifteen shillings 1 Yet this the masters refuse ! They refuse to guarantee either work or wages ; though ] they will send a man to prison who , wanting work from his regular employer , shall seek work anywhere else to save himself and his children from starvation and death . For the points in dispute respecting the mode of calculating by weight or measure the pay-bill _^ fines , & c , we must refer our readers to the artiole
in our third page . ' Fraud and meanness is indelibly branded on the foreheads of the masters who can refuse regulations so just as those in dispute . The refusal to employ " trappers" ins tead o f usin g " fly-doors , " and that of medical attendance and weekly relief iu case of accident , or a certain allowance to the widows of those who may be killed while toiling for those cormorants of Capital , proclaim them the most heartless and cruel of slave-drivers . Gold is their god . The
possession of mammon their only hope . Broken limbs and mangled carcasses , are , with them , but tho trophies of their successful brigandage—like the scalps of the Indian warrior , the witnesses of their triumphs over their prostrate fellow-creatures . Widows' tears and orphans' cries soften not their hearts . They are at war with justice and mercy The union of the million and the voioe of an enlightened publio opinion can alone bring them to a sense of the right , and induce them to grant to fear that which they refuse to reason .
Had the Press been honest , this struggle would weeks ere now , have been brought to a close . Everyday events 6 crye to convince us that of all engines of fraud and oppression—even the Pulpit not excepted—the corrupt , class-fettered Press is the most formidable for ; evil . Whatever differences of faction or party divide the " raoe that write" under ordinary circumstances , plaoe before them a body of hard working ill-paid ground-down and plundered working men ; let these working men be simply contending for the right to live ; let them only demand something like a deoent remuneration
for their ton ; let tbem exhibit ought of a spirit of resistance to the _selfidh oppression of their taskmasters , and forthwith the entire pack of bloodhounds are on the scent to hunt down the def enceless , and destroy tho unprotected . This has been eminently the case iu the present instance . The press of Northumberland and Durham , of all parties , from the Newcastle Journal to the Gateshead Observer ; from the Tory glorifier of the great Northern Duke down to the Calveshead champion of CenDEx and Sturge ; all—all have combined against Labour and in support of Capital . Had these pretended exponents of publio opinion , but argued the case between the contending parties on its fair merits ; had they stated the facts and left it
to public opinion to settle tho question ; the masters would at once have been driven to the performance of that justice which they are now moving earth and hell to evade . Next to the masters , these soulless pervert erg of tho truth are chargeable with all the suffering which is , and has b e en , _aod which we very much fear for some time , will yet have to be . To the gallant Pit _? men we Bay let " peace and pet severance be your motto : and despite the tyranny o f your oppressors , and the falsehood of the faithless quill drivers who support them and calumniate you , you will ye * succeed . The public , as they come to know the real facts of your position , will come to your rescue , and compel a concession to your just and reasonable demands .
Co Meabevst Mm (Govvegmttoenw
Co _Meabevst mm _( _govvegMttoenW
J. Mitcuel.—No Such Report Was Received....
J . Mitcuel . —No such report was received . Stars to Ireland . —Any locality in England desirous to send Stars to Ireland , will be supplied with a list of fit and' proper peraona to send tbem to , by applying to W . H . ; _Dyott , No . 26 , North _King-BtreHt , Dublin . i William Johnston is referred to the advertisement of the _Duncombe Testimonial in our first page . A Factory Worker suggests that the factory operutives should immediately take steps to ensure the _tjactfou of all M . Pi' , at the next election , who voted against tbe Ten Hour ' s clause , particularly all _profeasin _; liberals , such as Roebuck , Ward , Warburton , 0 isboine , and Co .
J , B ., Bishop-Auckland , writes ub that the men of tho North are mora than ever determined to maintain tbo struggle , and are in a better position now than when the strike began . The shopkeepers see that tbe demands of tho men are just and reasonoble , and this baa induced tbem to give any amount of credit to tbe men so nobly | stiuggling for their own . The trades too are comh . g to the rescue , and respectable faraitrs ate not afraid to leud £ 40 or £ & 0 on the word of an hoc ast pitman . For instance , at the Black Boy Cjliiery , on its becoming known tbat
some individuals were in want of necessaries , £ 40 was immediately advanced by one friend , £ io by another , and a third pledged his word for £ 50 worth of _gopds ; or , even a £ 160 , if necessary . The new | move of the " Coal Kings '' is to turn the men and their families out of their houses ; this they have already done at Hunwick Colliery , but this will only rivet the men more firmly together aud excite that universal storm of indignation among all other claspes , before which tbe tyrants must cower and give way .
Samuel Lloyd appeals to the Chartists of _Bilaton and its neighbourhood to attend the tea-party on Whit-Monday , for the benefit of Joseph Linney . Ho also hopes tbat other measures will be adopted to provide a handsome ) subscription for tbe victim on his approaching release . Allerton Bv water . _Collieut . —The statement of reduction of wages is not authenticated , as it must be if we publish it . H . c . H ., Duck in field . —We cannot answer his question . J . _m-Farlane , Northampton—We noticed last week on tho authority of bid " Daddy" Richards himself , that the person going about the country , and sponging on the Chartists , as old Mr . Richard ' s son , is an impostor .
For The Executive £ S D William Johnston...
for the executive £ s d William Johnston , Basford 0 1 0 VICTIM RICHARDS . A . few Handloom Weavers at Haggate , near Burnley ... . ; 0 2 " 7 A few friends at Burnley , by T . _Rickards 0 12
Dfottttgn Ttximxiqevite
_dfottttgn _ttxiMXiQevite
France It Appears That The Government Ha...
FRANCE It appears that the Government have ordered _increastd precautions to insure the King ' s personal safety during the residence of the Royal family at the Chateau of NeuiMy . This , haa given offence to the National Guard , in whose name the Reforme states that- _^ - " Louis Phillippo and hia f amily were scarcely established at Neuiily than the National Guards ha _^ reason to complain ofthe manner in which _themilri . tary service of the palace was arranged . As _soonas the hour arrives for marching the patrols the commanding officers are ordered to see that the r _joldiers of the line under their ) command load their , muskets with ball cartridge , whilst _tke Nationrj Guards who are performing the sa » ie service , have neither ball-cartridge nor flints in ' their guns . TU _^ tTCEY _CoNSTiNTiNorLK , Aje & u . 27 . —the accounts from Albau ; a are daiiy _hucoming of a , more gloomy cha-
France It Appears That The Government Ha...
racter . Advices from Corfu affirm that intelligence had arrived there to the effect that the Pacha of Scutari had been killed in an onset upon the insurgent Albanians . It is affirmed there that 25 , 000 of the insurgents had occupied a causeway in a commanding position leading to the town of Scutari , and were attacked by a body of 3 , 000 of the Nizam , brought from Janina ; that the body of the Albanians was dislodged and signally routed , and that tbeir Pasha ( or the Turkish Pasha , for the accounts vary ) was killed just as tha Turkish troops had succeeded in relieving the towD . Other communications front Salonica , of very recent date , bring dreadful reports of the Albanians haviDg destroyed Palanka , iu the mountains near Iskupe , and butchered 2 , 000 of the Christian inhabitants . The amount ofthe insurgents in arms was said to be not less than 30 , 000 . Official accounts from Adrianople announce that detached predatory bands of Albanians are now infesting the whole of that neighbourhood .
ITALY . The late Executions at Bolcgna . —A writer in the Times , dating from the Stato Pontjcio _, states that the parties recently condemned by the military Commission were most of them of the working class , and all of them young . Of tha fifty persons tried , thirty-three varied only from eeventeen to twenty-three years . Of these fifty , there were twbnty condemned to death , thirteen to the galleys for life , one for twenty years , five for fifteen , three for ten years , and two , aged respectively seventeen _nad _twentv-three years , to the galleys for five _i
years ; ihe remaning six were discharged in liberta provisiona—that is , they may ; be again tried for their lives , should further evidence be adduocd . This Military Commission opened its proceedings with the " divine sacrifice of the mass " and the recital ofthe accustomed prayers , " and their ferocious sentences on misled boys were pronounced after the solemn " invocation of tbe most holy name of God . " Of those condemned to death six have been executed ; they were shot in the back in the _Pra'o di St . Antonio , at Bologna , on the morning of the 7 _tb inst . ; three of them aged twenty-one , twentythree , and twenty-eight years respectively . "
SWITZERLAND . Civil War— " Besancon , May 21—A supplement of the Novelliste Vaudois ofthe 19 : h of iVlay , at noon announces that civil war has broken out in tha canton of _Valois . The inhabitants of the Upper Valoia have seized on Sion ; those of the Lower _Valoise have risen en masse- Each party have some pieces of cannon , and a battle was imminent on the 18 th . "
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 25, 1844, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/nss_25051844/page/4/
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