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THE JSORTHERN STAE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1841.
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The W£8T-RiniNG Lieutenakct.—At the Coan
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<£i)arttjSi Stttenttentt
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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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CITY OF & 0 N DON . —Last Ssaday evening , Mr . Co wen lectured in the Political sad Seiemtific Institate , xm Bailey . A diseuuion took ptoce by Messrs Oibore , Mathewa , Peat , and Waddtogton . Soho . —At the Chartisti weekly meeting , it the Three Dovei , Bersrick-ttreet , it was resolved to send a Northern Star weekly to Ireland . Mr . Balls attended , sad delivered an excellent lecture . Westminster . —Mr . Brown fectnred at the Charier t 3 ofiee House , Stretton-ground , on Sunday evening . SBOREDiTCH .- ^ Mr . Rowlacd lectured at the Albion Coffee House , Church-street , on Sunday evening . Nine new members were enrolled .
Camber-well asd Walwobth . —The Chartlsfes met as xunaX at tiie Mortpelier Tavern , Walvortli-road , ¦ on Monday evening . Two members were enrolled . It was resolved that a public meeting be held on Monday evening , Dae . 28 ib , at the Hontpelier Tavern , Walworth-road , at eight o ' clock , to adopt the National Petition , and memorialize ber M » jetty , on behalf of Frost , Wiliiams , and Jones ; also that a pablk meeting will be held on Monday evening , Dec . 27 th , at the same place &ad time , to choose » delegate to the Middlesex Council .
Hackxet . —On Tuesday , at TvestonlB Temperance Hcte'i , Mr . Rowland in the chair . Six shillings was ToUd to tbe O'Brien Press Fond . Mr . Allen moved , * tk 1 Mr . il-Hord seosnded the adoption of the National Pdtitii-n , -which was carried -unanimously . Mr . Wheeler tien lectured to the satisfaction of his audience , " On the evils of a standing army . " At its conclusion , a deputation was received from Qloba Fields , requesting tbeir co-operation in a roetting to be held at the Court House , Osborae-street , Whitechapel , to consider the distare-ss of tbe -country , * c . "This being concurred in , ' Messrs . Taylor and Ckn » k were appointed a deputation to act with the Tower Hamlets , Globe Fields , and Albion Localities , and measures concerted to obtain slg-B&tores t j the requisition . A vote of th * ny » ynjt given to the lecturer and the meeting adjourned .
Ai . sios Coffee House , Chcrch-Stbebt , White-CHAPEL . —Messrs . Rowland and Dale addressed » numtroaa sssembly here , on Sunday evening . Several member * were enrolled . St . Pa 3 ! cras—Mr . Balls lectured here to a nume rous audience , on Suadiy evening . LiMEHOlSE . —Mi FnsseU leetored to aa excellent audience at the Association Rooms , Limehouse Causeway , on Tuesday evening , on " Church property . " The lecture was deservedly applauded . Lo . vdox DELEGArE Meetixg . —The following resolution was -nTTaniiconsIy carried , " That considering the Etyiish CkaHisi Circular to be a most efficient 3 fent in the spread of Chartism , and anxious to farther the interest of the cause , we declare that we highly approve of that publication , and call upon our brethren to give it their utmost support "
Hammersmith . —A meeting waa held at the Black Soil , fianziseramith Road , on Tuesday , and Messrs . Seed and Preece discussed the question of Socialism sad Chartism . It was then resolved , on tbe motion of Mr . SLaUwood , that they should f « m a portion of the National Charter Association , which was unanl-SKiusiy agreed to . Fourteen names were given in . Mr . Beed was appointed sub-Treasurer , and Mr . Dob » on , « ub-Secretary . After the trassacdon of other business the meeting adjourned . Tailobs—The tailors held their weekly meeting at he Three Crowns , Richmond street , Soho , on Sunday
Digit . Mr . Fussell delivered the first of a course of 1 lectures on church property . j Xakbith . —At a meeting of Chartista in this locality on Tuesday evsaing , the Secretary of tbe Committee ! appointed to raise funds for the Petition Convention , ; reported that they had determined on holding a ball i and concert on Monday evening , Jan . 3 d , at the Social ' Instituticn , Westminster-road , Lambeth , and that to \ xseet the circmnrtances of all partis * they had fixed the price of tickets at Is . single , and Is . 6 d . double , and ' had also engaged a good band . ¦
WAJfDS'WOBTH . —The Chartists of this locality met as usual at the King ' s Head , en Monday evening , when the following resolutions were agreed to : " That for tbe more effectually carrying out the objects contained in the National Petition , this locality be divided into districts , to obtain signatures for the same . " •« That a letter be sent to Mr . MajTi 3 rd , requesting him to for-- ward the petition sheet ? and headings , " also twelve earda of membership . " " That for the future we do pay to the Executive and General Ceundl one-fourth of the moneys we have in hand . " BOSTON . —On Thursday evening , Mr . Mason « Jeiivered & lectors ia tbe Association room ; tbe place "aras-deoaely crowded . At ths conclusion of the lecture several new memben were enrolled .
05 TfiiBAT , Mr . G . "White , of Birmingham , Addressed the females of Bllcton , on the necessity of osgaiasing thesiselves , and using their exertions to obtain the redemption of thair country . The meeting was cumerouslj attended . Upwards of sixty names were enrolled ; the number has since increased to eteb . ty- £ ve . © s Souay , tie meetings were nomeroDS ; the Council were enkny occupied In making preparation for the reception of Mr . O'Connor . Ah Association has been formed , at Catchum , a Tillage about a mile from Bilaioa , which is likely to prosper ; their cumbers increase every week . Another Association is been formed at Portobello , a village in tke sase neighbourhood . Mr . Stiran lectured there on SJonday night , to in a ti estiva auiieace , luauj" cf whom joined the assodaUon .
CARL 1 SLE . —Signal Defeat of the PLAGrE , asd TRIUMPH of the Ciiaktists—We noticed last week a lecture given by Mr . Cartis , an American , in favour of a repeal of tbe Corn Laws . The lecture to ¦ which , we aUnded was attended by a very-small nvmber , in consequence of the charge being twopence each . A Becond lecture was asroaneed for Monday evening , Dae 6 " -h , admission gratis . Long before the lecturer made his appearance , the place was crowded to excess , and great numbers could not be accommodated with seits . About eight o ' clock , lbs lecturer rcse to
commence Ms address , when Mr . H . Bowman rose , and said , Mr . Curtis , before yon commence your address , I wish to know if , after yon have finished it , you will answer questions which mBy be put to you , and allow disenssion ? Mr . Curtis replied , that he was not there as a disputant or gladiator , but would williszly answer aay questions which might be pa ; to Mm , and willingly heir the opinions of any gentleman present . Mr . Bowman expressed his satisfaction , and the lectaiur proce : Aed to address tbe mefctisg at considerable Itcg'h , oa ite great resources of Amtrica t - > supply Britain "with food , on condition that it would take American cTain ia exchange for its manuficture . Tbe only this . ? tiat rankles in the minds of the Americans is , said air . Curtis , that exchange is not allowed ; and
if this Eastern be eontumeu , America - soon find rn&ms to mEcniacture for itself . After Mr . Curtis hid cenela-ied , Mr . Bowman toss and £ a : d , that he wished to put a few questions to Mr . Cnrtis . It wouid be supposed r > y this aucieccs , from the statements of Mr . Carti .- « , . said Mr . Bo-welsh , tha-t America did not n \' , - Dufactu : e a * , ail ; wiiereis it would stein from the following qn = sdon , that he ¦ srouid pet to Mr . Cuttis , tbLt America not only msiufac ' . ured . ^ but that to a griit txieai The question that t : fc T 7 ould pat to ilr . Curiis was , " Knowh . g that tte Americana have a strong desire to be independent of foreign countries for a supply cf clothing , and at present are engaged in a kind of rivalry with Britain , audit is certain tb ^ t they art fast ovtrturicg il , both in the txcdieDce and
cheaptsss 0 : thtir products , and thatsiiiLe I 7 ' ji > , when button manufactures ^ tere first introduced , up to 1 S 32 , the naraber of mills in twtlve states were 7 i * 5 ; of spinales 1 , 246 . 503 ; potrer-looios 33 , 5 C 6 ; peraonsengaged 57 , 446 ; amourt 01 capit \\ empioyea , £ ^ , S 7 o , 000 ttrriing ; bfcin . ; one-fouitb . cf i ^ e whole ca-p-til inTe * t * d in the smue ferar ^ h in Brxihi . Ih-t ovtvins can be bai mucl : eheapc * thr . n in England—ta-. t ho-asehold njaaafactare of worllen , lintn , and cotton are made to a grtst extsrt—that 12 e silk t--adeis being ictrodnced with great sacceEs . Is it not mure tian probable that Araerica will soon supply itself independent of cthar countries ?" li tie Corn Laws were repealed to-morrow , would that ^ -enefit Vie working elasses , Beeing ttit labour ia -unpr-t it si , and tie pow&r of machinery , scch as to
he able u fupply slmust double the present demand , Wit ' aoct making any addit ' -on to manual labour , ir ; ucLi leas increase wa : es , for they had fallen 50 per cer . t- per-Tioas ti lSie / when tie Com Bill was put on ?' Wouid not a total repeal of the Corn Laws , with tbe present high rents and taxes , rein tbe whole farming interest of Ed gland , and icHnaate the whole manufacturing districts with agricultural labourers , which would tend to a great reduction of wages ? " " Seeing the present constitution of the House of Commons , and knowiog that it refused to hear the Anti-Corn Law League at the bar of tD 3 t House , by . an immense »» jtjrity , -what hope can yon have of that body , compoaed as it is , of ever entertaining the qnestioa of a total repeal of the Corn Laws ? ' Mr . Curtis answered ( he first question ia a very satisfactory manner , by showing thai manufactures existed in America to a treat extent , and . was likely soon to supply itself with all necessaries ; bat he cigually failed in answering the
other questions which Mr . Bovxn&n had put to him . Mi . Joiepb Broome Hassoa then come forward and addnsMd tha meeting at great length on the subject of " Hz . Curtis ' * lecture , ami showed that he ( Mr . Curtis ) knew nothing of the affiirs of this country . He moved the following resolution , which being seconded by Mr . Bowman , waj put U the meeting and carried nnani-JBwmsiy : —•• That wilh tti © present system of representation , the corrupt suxs of the House ' of Coiun . ons , and the unjust and oppressive system cf taxation , which presses so heaviiy on all the inddstrious classes of the community , this meeting is of opinion that there V no hope of mi end being pat to monopolies , « n / -h ag £ he Coxa Lavs and others , which exclusively ceBtfit ttfi aristocracy and tlie . capitalist , nntil that Bonse is pwjed of iU present corruption by £ fair and fall lepresentatio * of the people , suet as that which « xist « in the United States of America , and which can only be effected by tbe adoption of the Peoples Charter . '
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BRISTOL , —On Sunday evening last , after a lengthened debate of upwards of three hoots , in which Messrs . Onion , Clifton , Copp , and Simeon took part , It was pat to the vote and carried— " Thai the code of ! atrB in this country la unjust , cruel , oppressive , and productive of Immorality . " A question was then given oat for next Sunday . Monday Eyesing . —A pnblic meeting -was held at the Chartist Room , 56 , Castle-street , Mr . Newman in the chair . The first resolution— " That a memorial be forwarded to the Secretary of State , Sir James Graham , for presentation to ber Majesty , praying for the rtstoration of Frost , Williams , and Jones , " wu proposed by Mr . Simeon , and seconded by Mr . Bloore . The
memorial was then read and proposed by Mr . Clifton , who , is aa excellent speech , remarked npon the present Btata of affairs—that the people had the power , with a proper direction of that spirit -which , bad bo long shewn itself , of restoring to their families thoM men who had been victimised by certain parties , and tinjustly been convicted of crimes they never commuted ; and ablj pointed out to the meeting tbe distinction between the rhiwpxr * of those persons who , it is repotted , are to be let loose upon society , and those men whose characters were irreproachable , but merely because they differed in opinion with the rulers of this country , are subjected to punishments which they do net deserve . Tbe memorial was seconded by Mr .
Seed . The National Petition was then proposed by Mr . Copp . He argued for the right of the people to the several points in the People ' s Charter , contending that the present distress demanded a change ; that tbe right of making , or having a voice in making , the laws was a birthright of man , and after urging the people to sign the petition , he withdrew . Mr . George seconded and supported the petition . It was then proposed by Mr . Onion , in a few short and effective remarks , and seconded by Mr . Flint— " That the petition be entrusted to the People ' s Convention for effectual presentation , and that letters be written to the
Members for Bristol , requesting them to support the prayer of the petition . " Several members were enrolled , and a vote of thanks having been given to tbe chairman , tha meeting dissolved . A letter from the Whig Member , F . H . F . Berkeley , to Mrs . John Frost , was read at this meeting , in which all his election promises ( if any ) were dwindled into the following frothy declaration : — " That he hoped that altar a term of years had elapsed she would be restored to her husband . " This letter lies in the hands of the subsecretary , acd may bo seen by any person who desires to he convineed of the folly of believing «• Whig or Tory" at election times .
BIRMINGHAM . Fbost , Williams , and Jo . nes . —This Committee held it * usual weekly meeting on Tuesday evening last , Mr . Koakes in the chair ; when a memorial waa received from . Hamilton , and it was resolved that all memorials from the country be sent to this Committee to secure presentation . A memorial was revi , and after some discussion upon it by this Committee , adopted ; after which it was moved by Mr . Thorp , seconded by Mr . Sinks , that a Utter be immediately aent to the Home Secretary , requesting his uBeqnivocal answer , as to whether he will present this Committee ' s respectful memorial to her Majesty . Several matters were entered into with regard to the soiree on the 25 th instant , and it was resolved , that J . B , O'Brien , Esq . be corresponded with , to invite tbAt gentleman ' s attendance at the said soiree .
MOSSt . ET . —At a public meeting here on Monday night , a memorial to tbe Queen , in favour of Frost , Williams , and Jones , was unanimously agreed to . Mr . Duffy addressed the meeting with great talent and at considerable length . Twenty-eight members were enrolled . DXRBY . —A pnblic meeting was held in the Old Assembly Rsems , Nov . 23 , for tbe purpose of adopting the National Petition . Public Meeting . —Thursday , Dee . 9 th , was the day on which tbe long-t&lked-of Great Midland Counties Free Trade Meeting took place . Tbe ChartisU of Darby , determined on giving the delegates battle , dispatched a delegate to Leeds to request Mr . O'Connor to be present ; bat net not being able to obtai n him , they drew up the following challenge , and sent it with a deputation to wait on the Free Trade Committee : — To the Gentlemen of the Free Trade Meeting , to be held on Thursday , Dec . 9 , 1841 , —
Gentlemen , —We being a body of men belonging to the National Charter Association of Great Britain and Ireland , having for our object the conferring of happiness to oar fellow-countrymen , of nuking oar nation , as it once was , "tbe envy of surrouading nations , " and of restoring trade and commerce ; and seeing that there are two agitations in this country , and as it is impossible for the working elasso * to do j tut ice to both agitations , respectfully challenge you or any of your advocates to a fair and open discussion , which of tbe two agitations is the most worthy of support—Corn Law repeal or Chartism .
The above challenge was refused by tbe free trade gents , en the pl-a that there was not time for a discussion ; and seeing that they would be opposed , the meeting was altered from a public meeting to a ticket meeting , carefully excluding all Chartists . Tbe Chartuts were not U be lulled asleep by that ; they immediately took the theatre for a public meeting at night , which was crowded , Mr . Johnson , fancy silk-weaver , in the chair . Mr . Dean Taylor , from Nottingham , moved the first resolution , — "That it is the opinion of this me * t-ng that tbe Corn Laws are unjust , and ought to be repealed as well as every other bad law ; bnt being satisfied that the removal of tbe Com Liws would
only be a partial measure of justice , are resolved to seek the establishment of the universal principles ol the People ' s Charter as a remedy fully adequate to the removal of the evils that afflict our country •" this was seconded by Mr . Bairstow , missionary for Leicestershire , and was carried without a single dissentient . Mr . Tatt * m then moved a memorial to her Majesty in favour of Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was seconded by Mr . James Farnsworth , and carried unanimously . A vote of tbanks being carried , Mr . Bairstow stepped forward and proposed three lusty cheers for Mr . O'Connor , and for Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was heartily responded to .
The Jsorthern Stae Saturday, December 18, 1841.
THE JSORTHERN STAE SATURDAY , DECEMBER 18 , 1841 .
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WAGES OF LABOUR . We hear a great deal said of the benefits that have accmed , and that are to accrue to the manufacturing working popu ! ation , from " extcnded commerce . " The free traders , as they call themselves , premise us all manner of blessings , including *• cheap food , higb wa ^ es , and plenty to do" if the labourers will but help them to " extend" commerce , by procuring for them a Repeal of the Corn Laws . To induce the labouring people lo join the leviathan manufacturers in an union for the accomplishment of this object , every possible means have been used .
Money without end has been spent in almost every imaginable way that could at all tend to create or iiifijeEce public opinion . Lecturers have been engaged ; pamphlets holding out the most delusive hopes have been extensively circalafed ; "Leagues " haTe been formed ; the lowest species of cajolery aud deception h&ye been resorted to , to entrap the fforkiDg people into Operative anti-Corn Law Associations ; newspapers tave bten established to advocate the views of the " Leaguers , " and have been gratuitously circulated ; the existent newspaper press has been extensively subsidised for the
promulgation of these high-sounding promises , and to ir . fl'ienc * the pnblio mind in each locality ; personal vituperation and wholesale denunciation have been resorted to and extensively used against those " Leaders" of the people who would not join in the League ; in short , every art that ingenuity could devise has been UBed to induce those who live by the wages of labour to " league" with those who live on the profits arising from the employment of labour to procure an " extended" commerce . Bat all these means have failed 1 The money , and time , and talent employed ; the seductive arts and
the large delusive promises of advantage , have all gone for nought ! The bait would not take . The Anti-Corn Law agitation has fallen dead , dead . The working people have stood completely aloof . Without them no agitation has any life , any souL Every movement must have them energetically with it , or it fails ! The money and the influence of the middle and trading classes , without the active co-operation and aid of the wobkebs , avail nothing in political agitations . Without the personal energy
and dogged perseverance of the labourer , every movement for an extensive legislative change affecting great conflicting interests must faiL And rightly bo . It is the only protection the working man now enjoys—the only power he possesses , in the absence of Universal Sufpraob , to ward off the "heavy blows and sore discouragements " which would be inflicted on his interests through the rapacity and cupidity of the classes who live out of the profits made of bis sinews and bones .
The attempts , then , of the Millionaire Manufacturers , to induce the labourers to demand from the Legislature an " extended" commerce , hare failed , signally failed ! All their efforts to this end have proyed abortire I Their wrigglings and twistinga
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hare afforded amusement enough ; and their pompous swelling of erery village gathering of half-sv doien JrOadUs wider the drilling of the slavish overlooker , into an important demonstration in favour of a Repeal of the
"CORN LAWS AND COMMERCIAL REFORM , " bare bat Berred to raise the load laugh of ridioulo , against their whole proceedings . Their agitation has fallen flat ! They have neither produced alarm nor excited fear . Their sudden discovery of national distress , and their loud clamour for immediate measures of relief , have not answered the intended purpose . The people have refused to liBten to the voice of the charmer . '
That this state of feeling exists in the body of the working people , ia to us matter of the greatest ppratulation . We have laboured hard to induce it ; we have seconded the able labours of others to this end ; we have implored of the working people to consider well what it was they set their hands to do ; we have cautioned them against being led away by every will-o ' -the-wisp that presented itself , without first inquiring whither they were going , and what would be the end ; we have advised them to demand of all who asked their aid , their reasons for such
co-operation , and to insist on a quid pro quo before they touched—a guarantee that they should enjoy some of the benefits resulting from their labours . To this end have we laboured : and it is matter of gratulation and delight that our labours have not been in vain . That they have not been so , the present woe-begone condition of the " League ' s" agitation fully proves . They have more than one-half of the entire newspaper press of the kingdom on their side , and no want of money : and yet they have failed in kicking up a ferment . Their power to act on the public mind has vanished—is gone !
* Extended" Commerce : " Why Bhould we agitate for that V has been the very reasonable and very first question that the producers of wealth have put to themselves , and to their beguilers . Aye , in troth , why 1 Has not Commerce been weefully " extended" since the year 1800 ! and what has been the workman ' s benefit t Has it " extended" his comfort ! his wages ! Has it added to his stock' of clothing ! his stock of household furniture ? his stock in the pantry 1 Commerce has been w extended " many times over , and oft ; but has it added to the working man ' s " meal-kist" ! has it hung more bacon
upon the joists ! has it filled the milk-bowl more often ? These are questions which deserve answering . They are questions which the working people have pat to themselves , and to one another ; and before the anti-Corn Law League can expect that their high-sounding promises of " cheap food , high wages , and plemt to do , " as the result of another " extension" of Commerce , will take with those who ask these questions , they must furnish satisfactory answers to them . They
must demonstrate that every former " extension" of commerce has had the effect of putting more " porridge" upon the plates , and more " havercake" upon the " creel" of those engaged in labour , before they can with any face ask us to take all their promises for granted , as to the effects of another " extension . " When they have done this , we promise them that the working people shall "league" with them for " extension" upon " extension f but not before .
We hear it often asserted , that the nation is much richer ; i . e . that we have more wealth ia the country now than we had before our commerce was so much extended . " Now , we think this assertion admits of very grave doubt . We are not disposed to admit that we have more national wealth now than we had before the commencement of that ruinous race of competition among * t our manufacturing masters , which has produced the " national distress" which the Leaguers have so lately discovered to exist . We freely admit that we have more fixed capital , ia the shape of machinery and buildings for
manufacturing purposes ; but these are not wealth ; they are only the means of producing wealth . We freely admit that we hare more of stinking cotton and tawdry " prints" than we then had ; but the linens and the woollens , even though the latter were "linsey woolscy" were more valuable , more durable , and more congenial to our variable clime . We freely admit that we have a greater profusion of " fine '» woollen cloths than we had ; i . e . we have good wool mixed with " shoddy" and dirt "devilled" out of rsga brought even from Constantinople , and then " boiled" after they are woven to make them " fine * '
and give them a " finish , " until they are rotten ; but the Yorkshire cloths , before these " economical" and M scientific" processes were established , were better more durable , and more valuable . We freely admit that we have more of knives , and razors , and scissors made , like Peter Pindar ' s , to sell ; but our former enes were not labour thrown away , —valueless . We freely admit that we have more manufacturers now who can boast of having saved their millions , ( and yet insult the operative whose cupboard has been emptied to swell the huge store , by daring to address him as a , fellow sufferer . ) than we had before fortunes
began to be made by steam . We freely admit that we could not then boast ef our Gotts and our Makshalls ; who left the •* counting-house" and the "heckling Bhop" to become possessed of millions in " fixed" and " floating" capital ; nor of our Stabkey ' s , who jumped from their " clogs" and the " raising nelly" to their carriage and the bench ; nor of our Hydes , nor our Gekgos , nor our Ashwobths , et } ioc genus omne , who so recently boasted of having wrung from labour , in a few years , more than would buy up all the landed aristocracy of the kingdom . We freely admit that we have more of these gentry now than
we formerly had : but we ask where is the domestic manufacturer gone , with his stock of tools and fixed capital , amounting in the aggregate to an enormous amount \ We ask , where is the " Master Cropper , " the "Master Weaver , " the "Master Spicner , " the "Master Slubber , " the "Master Cutter , " the " Master Dyer , " the " Master Finisher V Where are theEe gone ! Had they no wealth 1 Do the few enormous amounts , gathered together in heaps , amount to more than the 6 ums formerly extensively distributed amongst so many hands 1 Who dare say yes ! He will be a bold man ! and ready to speak without his book .
We ask , also , is there more wealth diffused amongst the labouring classes ? Havo they better houses—more substantially built , and more convenient dwellings ! Is their furniture equal in value to what it then was ! The very question is an insult . Look at the " cottage property" in our manufacturing towns ! Substantially built , forsooth !—gingerbread ' —and worse . Comfortable ? ! —not fit for pig-styes ! No drainage , no paving ; thrust into confined places j no ventilation ; the abodes of disease , misery , and death ! Their furniture valuable ! Go to the broker ' s shop ! see the
" things" be there has for sale , cheap ! Compare these with the chairs , and the tables , and the beds made fifty years ago . Ascertain their relative cost . Then go to the proper furniture tradesman—the cabinet-maker . Ask Aim how many of the working people purchase household goods from him . Ascertain these things ; and then say whether the workman has more wealth now ia furniture than he then had ! then an eight days' clock was an almost indispensible article of furniture ; or at the least a good twenty-four hours' clock , ia a neat
mahogany or an oaken case . AW , how many working men who have commenced housekeeping within the last twenty years , can boast of such an article ! Very few ! Where they are to be found note , it is mostly where they have descended in the family as heir-looms , and have been saved from the wreck of most of their other "bits of things , " " because my mother and grandmother used to set such store on it ! " The eight-days' clock , worth at least £ 9 , has given way to the Dutch clock , ( where there in one ) worth from 10 s . to 253 . Then
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it was a usual thing for the working man to have at least one feather bed , on a good bedstead , either four-posted , camp , or turn-up ; with good flock beds for the children and ' prentices ; and linen sheet ? , hear ; blankets , and " quilted" coverlets for all . Not * where is the feather-bed in a workman ' s house ? where . are the linen sheets ! where the quilt ! The former given way to chaff , or at the best to flocks ; the sheets to nasty filthy pousement , called cotton-blankets , made . from the refuse of cotton—cotten waste . The quilt , whiob , used to be the pride of the mother , and which cost her
weeks and months of labour in " quilting , " given way to » hoTae-cloth-sort-of-rug , . made from "stuff" procured from the tearing up of filthy rags , collected from all quarters of the globe ! Then the working man ' s cottage was adorned with a pewter case , and » quantity of pewter , which was generally worth more than the whole of a modern working man ' s stock of household furniture . Then the "meal-kist" was an indispensible ; and it had something in it ! The sight , when the young ones were set to tread down
the new meal in the " kisfc , " so as to make it keep all winter over , was one as joyous as it is now uncommon . The flitch of bacon , with the ham , and dried cheeks , and piece of hung beef , and winter ' s stock of potatoes , shewed that the owner of the dwelling earned wages sufficient to enable him to have a little before-hand to go to market with , and "to provide against a rainy day . " Is it so now ? Where is the " meal-kist" ! where the bacon ! where the hung beef f Can the workman now provide a winter ' s stock of provision , either in meal or meat !
It is these questions we want answering , before we can consent to throw up our cape , and cry "hurrah for an extension of Commerce . " We want to see what former " extensions" have done for us . We want this matter probing to the bottom ! We want no theorizing npon the eubject . We want no such paltry put-effs , as " look to the fact , that the factory girl can be olothed in a nice-printed muslin gown , and wear a pair of silk stockings , which is more than , at one time , Queen Elizabeth could do . " We want no such evasions as these J We want to know all about it . We want to see the amount of
wages paid to the working man at the beginning of the present century , and the amount he receives not * . We want to know what amount of the real necessaries of life could be procured by the workman in return for his labour then and now . To see this we must consider all the habitudes of the people ; we must consider them not in relation to the desires respecting them resulting from our own views and principles ; not in relation to the wilfully distorted pictures of interested orators and crotchet advocates , but in relation to facts . We want to see , then , hew much bread the labourer could
then purchase with his earnings , and how much beef , and bacon , and beer ? Aye , and beer ; for , notwithstanding our well-known views of the mischievous character and tendency of beer drinking , and without qualifying in the least our often and strongly expressed opinions upon the subject , it must be borne in mind that we are now enquiring into facts ; and we cannot in this enquiry overlook the fact that then home-brewed beer was as common in a working man's house aa it is w » -common now . He was not then compelled to labour in an atmosphere artificially heated to ° 0 or 96 * , for twelve or fourteen hours ; and
then have only the common brewer ' s nasty mees of poison to drink at the beer-house to recruit or excite exhausted nature ; or forced to swallow a deleterious mixture of vitriol and turpentine , called gin . He had then the" Home-browed ; " and he could get it His wages would allow the wife to purchase her " strike" or bushel of malt ; and fill him his barrels with a drink which did not contain either " grains of paradise" or any other poisonous drug . Will his wages allow him now to purchase the " strike " of malt ! If he did , we fear the bread pot and potatoe basket would have to remain
empty ; and the bit of salty , undried hog sflcsh , which he gets from the provision dealer as an excuse for bacon , must remain unpurohased . We also want to know what his wages now abe ! We want to know ,-too , what amount of food these wages will purchase for him , to compare it with the amount he got formerly 1 We want to know how his stock of clothing now is ? Has he throe " suits V—a working suit ; a " second-best ? and a " Sunday-suit" ! He formerly had ; and his wife and children were equally well clothed . Have
they as much now ? These are the things which we want the world to know , before we can settle the question of whether another " extension" of our commerce will do us good . Working men ! how axe your backs , and how are your bellies 1 Are the former well olothed , and the latter well filled ? If they are so , and better than they were fifty years ago , " extensions" of commerce have done you good 1 If they ore not , " extensions" of commerce have been an evil to you ! To you we appeal then , to answer these questions . We want factsno crude theories—no guess work—no delusive
statements . Let us have the figures . There are facts in figures ; but not muoh reliance to be placed on the assertions of the " Leaguer , " who says that you are now better-off than you formerly were . Let us have ihese figures , then . Furnish ua with them , and we will take care to let the world know what your actual condition is , in this respeot at least . What we want you to do is this : to furnish ua with statements of the amount paid as wages of
labour in all the great departments of manufacturing industry , from the year 1810 to the present time Bhowing the amount paid in each year for a similar amount of work . We seleot 1810 , because our commerce may then be said to date her great " extensions ; " and we are anxious to exhibit at one | view , either the gradual rise or the gradual fall of your wages , since that time , whichever may turn out to be the fact . We request that the officers of the respective Trades will endeavour to procure these tables for us . We want to know how muoh the
weaver of woollen cloth , either broad or narrow , has received for a string of the same number of reed , in every year from 1810 to 1841 inclusive . We wish to know what the slubber received and what he know receives , in like manner ; likewise the spinner , the carder , and the fuller . To ask what the Cropper ib receiving for cropping , would be to insult him : for he is entirely superseded by the " Lewis" and the " Perpetual "; but those of his class who have been fortunate enough to get permi esion to attend upon a " Gig" or watch a " Lewis , " or to roast himself in a " stove" or " dry house" can state what they now earn
in these " new walks of industry " as compared with the amount they could earn when to be a journeyman cropper was " to be next door to being a gentleman . " Wo wish to know too from the flax-heckler , and from the flax-spinner what their earnings have yearly been for the same period ; or rather the amounts that have been paid to them . We wish for similar information , too , from the wool-comber and stuff and worsted weaver . The working cutler , too , should ahew how he has fared ; and the journeyman hatter . The working fustian weaver of Lancashire , and the spinner , and carder , and fustian-cutter , and calico
printer , and bleacher , and all engaged in eur great " cotton trade , should shew how they are and have been circumstanced . The linen-weaver , and the stocking-weaver—in short , all in the great departments of industry , should furnish similar information . Let us have the fact ? . We will make them known . We will take care the "League" sees them ; and then the working people and ourselves can decide whether another " extension" of Commerce , which will sacrifice the farmer and agricul * iural labourer , is desirable , or fit to be contended for .
To work ) then , all who are interested . Get up these tables . Consult your wage books . Get returns from the books of the respectable masters who dare open them for such an object . Be very correct Set nothing down of which you are not qaite sore
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Let all be fact : and then we shall know both what your condition has been , and what it now is . Wb . DARE THOSB lUNUFACnJRKHS WHO BAWL FOB A BEPKAt OF IHB CORH LAWS , AI » D WHO BBPHKSENT THAT A FUBTHBR u BXTMJSIOH" OP OUB COHMEBCE Wilt GIVB THE WOBKMAIf U CHEAP FOOD , HIGH WAGBB , AND * PLENTY TO DO , '" TO FDRNISH FROM THBIR LEDGERS CORRECT BETDBNS OF THE StTHS THBT HAVE PAID AS WAGES FOR THB SAME DESCRIPTION OF LABOUR DURING THB PERIOD NAMED . If they dare not do this , there is neither sincerity honesty in their representations . * t WJ" ^^¦ ' — — ¦ "" — . — . » —
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nor 7 « Wf ftV' * V «^ W » " -v- ~~~— - - ^^^ . ^ . ^ ^^ yV ^ . ^ ^ ^^^/ ^^ . ^^ NATIONAL EMIGRATION . The observations we deemed it our duty to submit to the public in our last , have not , we are happy to find , been lost upon our readers . It would , indeed , be strange if , on a subject of snch vast importance , the energies of the working classes were not roused into activity . We have now a Parliament prepared to adopt any measures , however unjust or unconstitutional , which may enable the irresponaibles to gorge themselves a little longer with the fruits of spoliation ; and wa have an Executive Government fully as despetio and reckless as the last , with rather more of obstinacy , aud of the show of
manly bearing . The Wnigs , aided by their Tory allies , contrived to butcher and starve the people at home in the name of political economy and Maithueian expediency ; and the Tories , without the aid of the Whigs , are prepared , it seems , to drown them in the ocean , or enslave them in the colonies in the name of State Christianity and constitutional freedom . The people , however , about whom the factions practically know nothing and care less , have a duty to perform towards themselves , their families , and their country , from which neither the cunning of the Whig 3 nor the despotism of the Toi 4 ftH must be allowed to turn them aside .
We last week demonstrated that the scheme of emigration supposed by the London journals to be contemplated by Sir R . Peel , was unjust , dishonest , inhuman , and opposed to every dictate of common sense ; and we now ask our readers to seriously consider what the condition of the colonies under the curse of aristocratic misrule now actually is , and what would be the condition of the unhappy emigrants , on their becoming located in those boasted dependencies of the British crown .
It is obvious that the only motive which could induce any one voluntarily to quit the land - of his birth and seek a settlement in a distant land , would be the hope of bettering his condition , and of improving the prospeot 9 of his children . To render the attainment of this hope ^ practicable , he must become an independent possessor of a portion of the Boil ; he must be provided with the means of comfortable subsistence , and also the means of entering beneficially into the pursuits of honourable industry , in order that the means of subsistence may be continued ; and he must also be secured in his possessions by the guarantee of general and municipal rights .
Any man who should voluntarily leave his native home without a fair prospect of obtaining these advantages , would prove himself a fool , evidently unfit to be entrusted with the management of his own affairs . Parties , however , who can by emigration secure to themselves these advantages , must possess a certain amount of property , or capital , to enable them to become proprietors ; and such have already gone forth and taken deep root in all our colonial possessions . It is necessary to bear this fact in mind , in order that we may clearly understand the position in which those will be placed who are to be transported to the colonies at the expense of the mother country .
The lands of the colonies , having been purchased from the Government ( whose right to sell them was very questionable ) in large allotments , by proprietors who bought them as a speculation , have become a monopoly in the hands of the colonial landowners , who will not of course sell or farm any portion of them so long as they can realise a greater amount of profit by holding them in their own hands , and cultivating them by hirod labour . But , suppose
the influx of new-comers into any given colony to be persons who would find it moro advantageous to cultivate lands as small proprietors than as tenants , or labourers ; it is clear that there would be a scarcity of tenants or labourers ; and , ia order to prevent the sale and cultivation of unappropriated lands of an inferior quality—for the best lands can only find purchasers in the first instance—the large proprietors would be compelled to sell their lands in small allotmontB , and at a moderate price .
But suppose the influx of new-comers to be labourers—that is , working men of all descriptions , having no property , but depending upon their labour for support—then it would require great care that the supply should not exceed the demand ; in other words , no more labourers should be brought into the field than could find employment :, affording them an ample remuneration for a reasonable day ' s work . If there be more than these , a spirit of competition will ensue , the consequence of which will be a combination among landed proprietors , either to lower wages aotually ; or if that should be deemed nnadvisable , to accomplish the same thing by checking the produce of corn and all other articles of Colonial
consumption , and thus of raising the price to the labouring consumers . All this our knowledge of human nature would lead us to infer , if we were reasoning from abstract principles only ; wa aro , however , reasoning from facts , and refer to the whole of our Colonial history in proof of the positions we have here laid down . A letter is now before ub , reoeived from one who has himself been an eye witness of the facts he relates . Ia which , afterreferring to Mr . MONTqomeuy Martin ' s assertion , that an inhabitant of the mother csmntry , who only consumes five pounds of British manufactures yearly , requires twenty pounds in his new home ; aud to our remark that " we have no doubt he may require it , but the question is , will he find the means of getting it ?" he
says" I answer No : so far from obtaining the means of getting twenty pounds' Worth of British manufactures in his new home , he will not be able to get five pounds ' worth . Wages in the Australian colonies are very low , taking into account the high prices or provisions and rents . There are in those colonies already more labourers than are employed beneficially to themselves , for the same system of combination to ke ^ p down the price-of labour that is carried on here is practised to a greater extent in that far distant land ; in fact , tha working people of those climes ate merely allowed to eke out » miserable existence from hand to mouth , like their
brother slaves at home . How can it be otherwise ? The land is sold in such large allotment * that the working man cannot buy any : the landholders will not let it ont in small farms . This mode Of disposing of the land , combined with the continued influx of labouring emigrants , all tend * to keep the price of labour down to tae lowest possible point ; so that whatever amount of British manufactures our colonial labourers may require in their new homes , any reasonable being may readily perceive their means of getting them is rather questionable . The colonial system of farming tends not to tbe comfott of tbe working man . The agricultu rist lays down bis Bomber of acres of wheat according
to the number of tbe population ; he allows twelve bushels per head per year . Thus , by a regular combina tion amongst the formers , they grow little more than is necessary to maintain the people from year to year . This ia to keep up high price *; and when there Is a dry season , which often happens , then famine pervades the whole land . In the winter of 1838 , aoup-kitcbens were erected both in New South Wales and Yan Di « - men ' a Land , and toup and bread were gratuitously distributed , to save the working men from absolute starvation . That year bread roae to the enormous price of 9 d . a pound in Van Diemen'a Land , and la . a pound at Sydney . Emigration to these colonies cannot better the condition of our distressed fellow-workmen . "
It is quite clear that even if the influx of labourers were regulated apparently by law , still the same causes which have led to snob , disastrous consequences and unparalleled distress in this country , are in full operation in the colonies . There , as here , a grasping aristocracy predominates . There , as here , land and capital are accumulated in comparatively few hands . There , as here , a military force is maintained to put down and overawe public
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opinion . There , as here , magistrates having 100 % or no sympathy with the mass of the people , preside over their tribunals ; and there , aa here , labour may be driven out of the market by th « operation of unchecked machinery at any taome&t when it shall pleas * tbe bloo 4-flucfcers who fattea on public misery to call it into existence . And this is the Eden of repose ! the paradise of delights j the Goshen of plenty ! into which tha
merciful , considerate , and enlightened statesne i who govern the destinies of this empire , propose to pitch headlong two or three millions of the best and most productive of oar working population { To ; tbis misery , wretchedness , and death it is said the tender-hearted head of the Cabinet intendi to doom those whose sweat and toil and blood have bee * coined into hordes of wealth for the enrichment s himself and others of his order 1
It is pretended that this scheme is intended for the benefit of our surplus population . W « have shown , in our former article , that thera is in reality no surplus population . W « have shown that the lands of the United Kingdom could produce food sufficient for at least four times the number of its present inhabitants . We have shown that fifteen millions of acres of waste landj wait only for the application of human skill and labour , to yield their hidden treasures forthesus tentation of industry . These facts we have demonstrated ; and we now ask Sir Robert Peel and
those of both factions who may be inclined to sup . port him in the imputed design , whether , in ti « face of these facts , he dare submit themurderoui plan to Parliament , and through Parliament fa the country ! We ask the Ministers and member of Christian churches , whether they will ventura , with their Bibles in their hands , to brave the jostiot of the Deity , by silently permitting the violation < f his express command , " Thou shalt not kill . " "We beseech the " Lords Spiritual and Temporal , " not to add to all their injustice , the crowning one «
supporting a measure so accursed . And we lmplort the Queen , should an Emigration Bill obtain tht sanction of the legislature , to strengthen the inde . cision of royalty by the natural feelings of the womaa and the mother ; to trample under her feet the infernal Act ; and to drive from her presence and favour the parties by whom it is presented . This appeal we make on behalf of suffering and insulted humanity to the powers that be , —with , we confess , but small hope ol its being effectual . There is , however , another claa to which we can appeal , and we know that to then it will not be in vain .
To the working classes , who are interested in thii great question more than all other classes put together , we say , let the subject be oarefully pondered over , and well understood . One great cause of the oppression under which you groan , is that spirit of reckiesBnea which has allowed many acts of mischief t « become consolidated before you were aware that they were even ooatemplated . This mistake must never again occur . We have beaten the Aati-Corj Law faction by our union and our watchfulness The landowners declared that a repeal of the Con Laws would be ruinous to them ; and , bo believinr ,
they were perfectly right in opposing the repeal We know that the landowner ' s plan of emigration would be ruinous to us ; and so knowing , we faith * fully promise them that it shall have an opposition no less effectual . No doubt the pinch-bellies will , like their brethren the Anti-Corn Law quacks , get up meetings , employ lecturers , circulate information , and try to gull the public by details of " cheap food , " u high wages , " " salubrious climes , " fertile lands , " " murmuring brooks , " and a thousand ether storiei of " moonshine" connected with the delightfu l settlements on the other side of the globe . This let them
do ; but let them recollect , that the people aw not inclined to stand any of their" botheration !" They know too well what the professions of either Whig or Tory are worth , to put any confidence in the men who sever deem themselves safe unless they can delude and betray an . unsuspectiBg people . At the meeting recently held in London , Mr . Crawford stated , truly enough , that " the state of our country unhappily presented a frightful mass of pauperism , which converted that portion of the population which ought to be our principal strength into a' source of weakness ,
and a striking evidence of decay . " And this admission , one would thick , shonld induce the adoption of measures to restore the health of the patient . Cutting off the limb is a desperate experiment , which should never be resorted to while % hope or chance of cure remains . Mr . Crawford , however , seems to be a weak but well-meaning man ; he has evidently been deceived in reference to the Colonies . We fear he has been taking some of Mr . Montgomeht Makxin ' s nostrums ; and Mi . Montgomery Martin has evidently proved himself a mere vender of political drugs , of which lie
knows nothing . He can tell us the number of square miles in the Queen ' s dominions ; the number of mouths on a square mile : he can tell us of the rich territory of Canada ; of the number of cut-throats maintained in the colonies , —as if that would be any temptation to the people to emigrate : he can it form us of the amount of Colonial revenue , and of the extent of Colonial skipping ; but not one word does he tell us of thedomestfo slavery endured by the labouring population in those distant regions—not a word of the uses to which the valour of the British soldier is applied in those
lands to which he would exile his starving countrymen ! No , no ; this would not suit the purpose of the emigration gentlemen . Like the kidnappers who allured the agricultural labourers into the manufacturing hells , by promises of roast beef and plum pudding , these monsters of cruelty would allure those whom their avarice has reduced to abject poverty into distant climes , where they might terminate a miserable existence , after creating a mass of wealth for their iron-hearted task masters , unpitied and unknown . If we had any doubt as to the purpose of these emigration gentlemen , it would be entirely set
at rest by the fact of its receiving the cordial sopport of one Mr . Maubkre , who declared himself aa admirer of the heartless crew who united themselves together , Bomo time since , under the name of the Children ' s Friend ' s Society , and of whose doings the Press took such cognizance as to rouse public indignation , until the ugly abortion of Malthusian demonism was consigned to its last resting place . Our contempO ' rary , the London Phalanx , in notioing the Londoa meeting , at which Mr . J . Rogers proposed the sum of forty millions to be expended in getting rid of five million paupers , observes , " nothing , hovrerer j
was said respecting the nature of this nation al scheme proposed ; and this silence augurs ill f * the scientific principles of these political economist How are the poor oreatures to ba sent out , and how are they to be kept when they are out , and what are tbe arrangements proposed for Bubduing the bou and preparing it for the production of food for mm and beast ! Is each man to be furnished with » plot of ground , and then left to do his best wito the reluctant earth ! Is he to be dependen t solely upon his own capital and labour , and left to toil ,
unaided , in converting the wilderness of nature uw a garden of civilisation I If so , the scheme w $ prove a failure . " These would , indeed , be weight ! considerations , if the design was entertained for really honest purpose ; bat it is not . They want to get rid of the people , because they hate and fetf them . The people must meet , then , and floor the * at every emigration meeting . Let every man do W duty ; let every woman exert her influence , and tM fate of this transportation plague will be inevitably sealed .
The W£8t-Rining Lieutenakct.—At The Coan
The W £ 8 T-RiniNG Lieutenakct . —At the Coan
at Windsor , the 10 th day of December , 1841 , P «« « 2 the Queen ' s Most ExcellentMajesty in Couaci ^ B * Majesty having bees pleased to appoint tbeWP ' Hon . James Archibald Lord Wfaarncliffe , the L «« President of the Council , to be Lord-Lieu tenant «» Custos Rotulorum of the West Biding of the conniy of York , his Lordship this day took the Mo ^ gS appointed to be taken thereupon , instead of tneow *" of allegiance and supremacy .
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4 THE NORTHERN STAE . __^______ - ¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ m \ ~(— 1 ¦ - --- . - ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ " - ; ; ' - ¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦ 1 » ¦¦ . . 1 ¦ ¦ ii ¦¦ ii—^—i ¦ - ¦ ¦ " —— .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 18, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1140/page/4/
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