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TO THE PEOPLE.
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Untitled Article
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THE NOETHERN STAR. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1843.
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Untitled Article
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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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To The People.
TO THE PEOPLE .
Fbiesds , —It seems that the guess of iheLtveryooJ Times ma right , and that tho " Honest" Government have stolen a month from the end or the time which they themselves accorded to us and to jwi for preparing to encounter them in the foul field of legal figoi . I have not yet received any notice of this last " move" upon their crooked Chess Board ; but yon wffl see from Mr . O'Connor ' s letter that he ias j and I liTs , therefore , in daily expectation of fee benefit . There seems to be now * o doubt that ware to be hauled up" on the 25 th inst , at Lancaster instead of liverpooL The * more" is in
perfect accordance with the whole conduct of the mean , treacherous , and cowardly factions . They never . dare tc-rest their cause upon its merits . Snbterfu # 3 and cunning are the only weapons they can cril their own . And these they never fail to make 4 * e indices and agents of their usurped power . We-can cnly meet their cunning u doubles" with renewed -determination and redoubled diligence . I ksov not ¦ what may be the effect of this alteration of the time and place of trial upon the fees which haunt « verj jrtep of the oppressors' -course , I hare no doubt that it -mil be to make the expences heavier . At all events 1 know that it iBto lessen the ability to meet them ,
ly shortening the time for the collection of the neoessary funds . Upon you , then , devolves ihe dnty of convincing tyranny of your ^ termination to uphold the assertion , by your friends and champions , of the principles of right , and of tas futility of all their pony efforts to suppress them . From the time this paper reaches johx hands , two weeks only must elapse before the -victims will be tronght within the precincts of the unhallowed temple , and the pampered menials of oppression will be arranging the formalities of sacrifice . Permit me , therefore , to add my urgency to that of Mr . O'Connor upon this occasion . I have
3 xot often ** dunned" you . I have served you zealously sod faithfully for many years ; and my reward has l > een" continued turmoil where I might have had peace and quietness , th&excoaDge of * ' respectability " for contumely , of hard labour and inquietude for personal comfort and enjoyment , and of lncrative professional advantages and prospects for pecuniary loss . I may therefore , for once , urge you to exertion , not for myself—bat for those good men , and thtre are many of them , whom , -unless you step in to aid them , this villanpua prosecution must involve in ruin . It may be hard
-work , and I know it is j but you must stir now . Many of these men who hare thrown themselves into the gap for you are utterly unable to procure fee legal aid which their defence requires . Will yon suffer them to be lost for want of it !! Many of them have familie ? , who , in the event of their incarceration , lose their only prop . Will you suffer these families to -want that aid and comfort which the advocacy of your cause takeB from them !! Will per psrmit the father aid the husband to leave his cheerless home without the knowledge that his loved ones shall be safe if he
xetnra no more to them of months ! ] Many of your fictim friends need present help . Many of them want the necessary personal aids and . comfortB which are indispensibla to their position . Many of them are a * great distances from the scene of purposed sacrifice—the * Justice Hall" < 3}— 'Tisfor you they go there ; and they have a right to look to you for means to get there . You must stir J Stout ! j , briskly , vniversaVt / i at oace ] Abont the work I And laugh at faction ' s scoundrel efforts to depress you . The aim of power and faction is to keep itsiold upon jour liberties and resources . And this thty will 4 o
if yon-suffer men who have sacrificed all for yon -to besacrificed without due exertion on yonr part to sustain , them . With such exertion , manifested , S 3 it must be if you love yourselves , in all ways possible—yon may successfully defy them ; for the ¦ words of Holy writ are trae , thai ** Thongh a lighteons man fall seven times daily , he shall yet lise . " The power of right will overcome all if honestly put forth . The whole ease ib before you , and your appreciation of the efforts which have been made for you will be best evidesced by the manner is which you meet it .
You will see that the time is now short enough in all conscience fox those who have yet made so preparation , to begin tolthink about bow they shall iafite the foul conspiracy , aod what they shall say to My Lords fhe ~ Q aeexfo Justices , " and * the Jurors sworn , ' anent the matter . I happen to be one of those . 1 have not yet bestowed a single thought upon the matter . I must do so sow ; and this mast be my answer { to the many requests for lecturing and preaching visits which I have thislweek received . I had purposed to spend the whole of next week in Uorth Lancashire , and to take at least
another -week before the Liverpool H meeting , " for the" purpose of visiting the various places in South Lancashire and Cheshire , to which I have been invited ; but when it is considered how short the time is and how many preparations and arrange-XBentB I strut-have to make , I am sore my friends in all | hose places will require no farther apology I am one of those who never anticipate defeat , but jet always provide against the worst . I shall go % o trial fully relying upon principle and trnth to triumph over prejudice , even in a
middleflare Jury . I expect a verdict of Not Guilty "; but I shall provide for a different result , if it should come . This gives me much work . I have many arrangements to make both at LeedB and at - pnTij independent of the necessary preparations for defence . These things make it impossible , for me to remain in Nonh , iatfcashire longer than Tuesday CTesing , and impossible for me to go any where else until after the trials . The same reasons must excuse my answering the letters of many of my xood friends . 1 may not have time to do so .
The trials , however , though important , must sot engross our attention , to the exclusion of the means for carrying on the movement and amending our agitation . These SBbjects mu > t be kept in mind ; but I suggest that as far as practicable you remain * quiescent on them till the trials are over . The nominations for the New Executive should be now going on , and they should come into office os the first of March . 1 have received some nominations for publication ; there being no Secretary to whom to send them . 1 have not published them , for this reason ; 1 think it
much better that the people should wait till the trials are over , and see what men are in the field . Hearly every man of mark is in the net so skilfullj thrown over ns by the combined hands of factions tyranny and treachery in our own camp- Let us Bee the net broken and the men at liberty , and then our choice ^ can be made freely . Snch'is my advice . But if the people determine to go on with the ¦ nominations , it is not fer me to dictate . " They shall be published if anything like a general desire for it is manifested . I advise the people , however , to do all great things cautiously . " Discretion is tha best part of valour , " and of patriotism likewise .
In pursuance of this maxim , 1 think it right to advert to a report which has reached me of a proposition to make Lancaster and the neighbourhood the " seat of agitation" during the assizes . I hope this ¦ will not be dose . It is just one of those things which may do harm , and can do no good . The court ¦ will he an arena quite sufBcient for the healthful exercise of prowess in defending our glorions printiples ; and I hope that none of their advocates will so far let their teal outrun wisdom as to give a suedtes handle to the enemy . I have always thus counselled ; and had I been more heeded , many severe , struggles with the enemy—perlaps ihiB
one —might have been avoided . I never seek idanger though I never shrink from it when it comas j J always choose a post which is defensible at aU points ; and then I -stick to it : 1 aever ran . away . Order and truth are my weapons ; prudence aad perseverance , my watch words ; and * « ons » teney uy shield . With these I have hitherto fooght against the enemies of yonr righta , whether openly ranged wkh your foes or cunningly con eealed among yourselves . 2 shall always do bo ; and , reeommendiDg . the like coarse to yon , I bid yon " God speed" in your holy warfare , an d augur a speedy asd triumph&ai issue . I am , as over , Yoar faithfkl friend and servant , WlLUAX JJjLL . Nirihern Star Office / Leeds , Th «» day , Prfrro » ry . Stb , 1842 .
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TRIUMPHS OF "EXTENDED COMMERCE "!
THE LEAGUE CUTTING THEIR OWN THROATS . The cause of * Extension" is doomed to die by the hands of its own advocates ! Nearly all the ** heavy blows and sore discouragements" which it has been fated to reeeive , have been administered to it by its own friends . Never were men so infatuated ! They attempt to adduce facts and reasonings in support of their darling project , — while every effort they make tells against them ! and proclaims , trumpet-tangoed , that " Extensions of Commerce" have not , hitherto , been of service to the great body of the producers and distributors of wealth ; and that consequently they have so interest to induce them to join in an endeavour to procure another Extension . "
A great ** pother" has recently been raised about this same Extension . " We have bad noise enough , and stir enough . We have had a party moving heaven and earth , as it were , to force the question of " Extension" upon public attention . They have held ** ticket-meetings" in all parts of the country at which one set of > aii > performers have had all the " say . " They have subscribed some £ 50 , 000 ; and boasted of setting some scores of tons of tracts loose upon the public , to convert every man of us to the cause of Corn Law Repeal . They have expended some portion of their £ 50 , 000 in building a League Hall , in the town of Manchester , in which to hold a meeting of Deputies from
all the TownB in England and Scotland , that the £ 50 , 000 could procure to be sent . They have thus called together all the talent they can boast of , whether sincerely attached to their cause from a coaTiction of its righteousness and justice , or hired from the ranks of those who are ready to prostitute themselves for pay . They have had their u Aggregate Meetings . " For one whole week has the pres 3 of the Empire teemed with their sayings and doings . [ The £ 50 , 000 has not been without its uses in that quarter !} The " Extension * ' men have had full scope ; ample fling : every opportunity has been given them to establish the justice of the claim they put forth , and show the reasonableness and efficiency of their much-vaunted measure .
As one means of preparing to meet the public , and demonstrate the advantages to be derived from the adoption of the " Extension" plan , the League recently addressed a number of queries to certain partieB all over the country , for the purpose of ascertaining the present condition of the people . The answer returned to these queries they have embodied in a report , which , on Friday last , was sent forth to the world , stamped with all th «
authority that an " Aggregate Meeting of Delegates to the Anti-Corn Law Demonstrations" could give it . It was drawn up by a Committee which boasted ot "Messrs . H . Ashwobth , T . Batlet , jun ., E . Baines jun ., and . SJpoius Punt , " as Secretaries . It is the production of the concentrated wisdom of the League ; and contains their " strong reasons" for the meaeujs of " Extension" whioh the League calls upon the public to adopt .
Now it fortunately happens that this question of u Extension" is not a new ? r an untried question . It is not bronght before us as a' question respecting which we know nothing ; and whioh , it is argued , might probably act in such aad such a manner , and lead to such and such an end . We have had emperience of its working ; for we have had many u Extessions of Commerce" within the memory ot not very old men ! That knowledge , therefore , has only to be brought to bear to demonstrate the advantage , or otherwise , of such Extensions . "
On several former occasions we have shewn , that , during the last fifty yearc , our Commerce" with foreign nations has " Extended" SIX TIMES OVER , All that the League had to do , thereTore , was to show that each Extension" had benefited the people ; and that the aggregate of " Extensions " was purely an aggregate of benefits f This of eoose they could' easily have done , had ( he facts been so and this , would , hare been reason sufficient to all minds to show that another ^ Extension" would be an additional benefit .
It is well known , what the condition of the producing many was fifty years ago , before Commerce * was much "extended . " It is well known that employment was plentiful ; and it is also well known , to use the words of Mr . Heaps , at : the late Leeds Squeaking Heeling , that ** the working men had wages for working for . " Of course the concentrated witdom of the " Aggregate Meeting of Deputies , " under the guidance and direction of ** E . Baijtes , Jun ., and Tbojus Pijht , " of Leeds , reported that in these particulars , the people were now much improved ! That , as we
have * Extended our Commerce" SIX TIMES OVER , employment is six-times as plentiful ; and wages six times as bigb ! Of coarse , these sapient gentry did this , as the very least they could attempt to do , to demonstrate the advantages of u Extension , "and to cause us to endeavour to procure another ! Indeed , but they did not ! They never eve n attempted it 1 They showed , most conclusively that employment is very scarce ; that wages hare monstrously falleB , and that they are still failing They Bhowed that the Poor Rates in " all the great
seats of industry , " have doubled since 1839 JI while pauperism has increased in ratios varying from 300 to 600 per cent !!!! They showed that the amount of Bankruptcy and Insolvency is frightfully large , and that capital is alarmingly diminishing in the manufacturing districts . They showed that these are thetffeois , after we hav * " Extended " our Commerce with the Foreigner SIX TIMES OYER ! and they adduced these things as reasons why we should seek for another ** Extension " 3 . "
Were ever men so fool sh 1 ! Were ever men so infatnated 1 ! To cut their own throats with their own pettitoes in bo shocking a manner ! 1 Never did swine in water do it eo effectually , as these wiseacres have done , when once afloat in the lake of " Political Economy" i But we must have this Report recorded . It is too valuable to be silently passed over , or tuffered to fall into oblivion . It testifies too strongly , as to the effect of our present application of Machinery , and to our condition after a SIX TIMES OVER
** Extension" of our Foreign Commerce , to be despised . It is a pnblio admission , of the truth of the statements made , thousands of times , by the suffering sons of toil ; but whioh statements have been pertinaciously denied by those who now adopt them , and promulgate them , as reasons why they should be permitted to do again at this day what they have ever done in the past ; get the upper hand of the labourer , annihilate his personal freedom , and deprive him of all comfortable enjoyment .
Here , then , is the " Report " . Lei the labourer study it well 3 Let him peruse it again and again J Let him remember that it is put forth by those who want him to join in . the ery for "More Extension" ! Let him reflect that these are the reasons addressed to him , to convince him that it would be his interest to so join , and so ery 2 And let him not forget that this picture of the condition of all classes in the country , has been drawn at the end of a SIX TIMES-OVER * Extension *! Here are the Leagne Seasons ! Here they are THE THIUMPHS OP "EXTENDED" COMMERCE
Mabchbstjsb , Fridat ETBHina . _ The aggregate meetof of the Deleaates to the Amti-Com-law Itemonstrajtons in Manchester was held hero ttiia morning in tho Town-taU , to receive the reports of the Committees , and to determine tie future « onrs 8 of proceedings to te adopted . ~*—s =
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¦ . ' , ¦' , ' ¦ Mr . H . Ash worth we a called to the chair , and Mr . Plint , of Leeds , and the Rev . Mr . Scales , of Leeds , successively read the following reports : — Report of the Committee of manufacturers to the aggregate meeting of the Deputies of the Anti-Corn-law Association of Great Britain , aB&enibled in Manchester , Feb 3 , 1843 . The Committee met on the 31 st of January , and appointed as secretaries , MeBsra . H . Ashworth , X . Bay ley , jun ., £ . Baines , jun ., and Thomas Plint , to whom were committed the voluminous decanients transmitted to the Council of the League , in reply to the queries as to wages , employment , pauperism , < kc ,
sent out to all the manufacturing districts in December last . These documents they carefully inspected , and a digest of the principal portion was prepared and presented at the meeting of the section on the following day , by Mr . H . A ah worth . This digest referred principally to the cotton trade , aod evidence on tbe same trade wax presented by Messrs . W . R . and R . H . Greg . On the woollen trade statements were made by Messrs . T . Bay ley and T . Flint ; the silk , by Mr . F . J . Tannton , of Coventry ; the shipping ; by Mes&is . Jobnassohn and Hardcastle , of Sonderland ; on the hardware trade , by Mr . J . Scholefiald , M . P ., of Birmingham ; on the linen trade , by Mr . G . Baxter , of Dundee ; and on the hosiery trade , by Mr . H . Dawson , of Manchester .
The details presented by these gentlemen are much too voluminous to be presented to the meeting in full . Toe Committee , therefore , have carefully analysed and classed them ; and they hope the following abstract , arranged under distinct heads , will be found accurate and
faithful—First—THB BAT * OP WAGES AND THE AMOUNT OF EMPLOY KENT . There Is alleged on ail hands a considerable falling off in the demand for labour ; as a necessary const qu « nce there appears a very general and serious decline in tbe rate of wages . The per centage of both is variously stated ; certainly a reduction of the amount of employment is not over-stated 20 per cent ., and of wages an equal reduction , the combined result of which- to tbe operatives indicates a less command of the necessaries and comforts of life OF NEARLY TWO-THIRDS , as compared with their means in 1804 5-6 . In the woollen trade the falling off in the amount of employment and the rale of wages combined , is certainly not
less than one-half the aver&ge of thoBB years ; whilst iu the trades dependent on ship-building , and iu tbe manufacture of steam-engines and machines , the decrease is still greater . Collaterally with this falling off in tbe staple trades of tbe nation , it appears that , in the handicraft , trades , such as bricklayers , masons , smiths , fee , tbe want of employment is very general , aod tbe rate of wages has , in many instances , undergone a redaction ; a faot deserving particular notice , as indicating a severe pressure on the labour market , these trades being protected trades , and in times of severe depression having generally main tain yd entire tbe established rate of remuneration . THE TENDENCY OF WAGES IS STILL DOWNWARDS , and in several casts has under none very recent depreciation .
POOR RATES AFD PAUPERISM . If the ratio of decreased employment and wages is in boiu 9 degree conjectural , the rate of the increase of pauperism and poor-rates , nnhappily , admits of no doubt or caviL From all the great seats of industry tbe evidence on this head is uniform and distreBBiDg . Since 1839 , the sums expended in tbe relief of the poor fcate , on an average , doubled ; whilst the number of applicants has increased in various ratios , from 300 to 500 per cent The painful fact , too , appears , that in several principal to * ns there have been very numerous applications for relief from a class of persons who , until the last two years , either from tbe comparative independence of their circumstances , or their independence of mind , sever before applied for parocitia ! aid .
THH CONSCMPT 1 ON OF ANIMAL FOOD . The falling off in the consumption of butchers' meat is testified in all the reports mads to the Committee . The decrease is variously stated at from 20 to CO per cent . It is impossible to define with any accuracy the average decline of consumption ; but the fact is an admitted and palpable one , and the great redaction in tbe price of farmers' stock affords strong collateral proof . That the food of the mass of our population is deficient alike in quality and quantity , is attested by tbe reports of several medical men in different parts of tbe empire , and it 1 b fully borne out by the statistics of tbe dispensaries , infirmaries , and hospitals in all our large towns—while there ifl a very large increase of disease and death . The returns tl » o t « the queries addressed to sick and benefit societies lead to the same melancholy fact
INSOLVENCY AND DEPRECIATION OF CAPITAL . The fact , that during the last four years a very large amount of bankruptcy and insolvency has taken place throughout the wholesale and retail trades of tbe em * pire , needed no confirmation at tbe meeting of Wednesday . Various particulars , however , were furnished , especially with respect to the towns of Sunderland , Dundee , and Leeds . There can be little 4 oubt that , taking the great staple trades of cotlon , woollen , and iron , tbe loss of capital has been veiy large , and that
there u an alarming diminution of the whole floating capital of tbe manufacturing districts , both absolutely estimating the sum total , aod relatively , estimating the amount of labour to be employed . There la too much reason further to conclude that tbe capital is still decreasing , p artly b ? the constant attrition of FIXED CHARGES ACTING ON A NARROWED RETURN . and partlyby the RUINOUS COMPETITION of those having mill property—a competition unnatural as the activity which , in some branches of our trade accompanies it , i * feverish and unhealthy .
TBS SHIPPING INTEREST , The evidence produced on this head leaves no doubt as to a large and ruinous decline in the state ot the shipping trade , as well owners as builders . The evidence produced as te the important ports of Liverpool , Bristol , Sunderland , and Whitehaven , and more especially tbe two latter , is minute * nd startling . The fall in the price of vessels and freight , and the very contracted scale of building operations , leave no room for seepticUm as to the fact ot a serious declension in tbe condition of our shipowners . Tba details asto Sunderland will be read with peculiar interest
THE CHARACTER OF OUR EXPORT TRADE . The searching analysis of out exports in cotton fabrics , presented to tbe meeting by the Messrs . Greg and Rawson , developed a great change in the character of our exports—a change which has been in progress for four or five years back . This analysis shows a great and rapid increase in tbe export of yarn , and a serious decline in the export of goods in the woven and printed State . Thia applies particularly to the European trade , and it is to be accounted fer by the rapid growth of manufacturing power on the Continent , first exhibited in the departments of weaving and printing , aud now
manifesting itself in the rapid erection of hi ills for spinning . The process , indeed , wbicb is going on alike in the cotton , linen , and woollen trade , points to the ultimate , and perhaps not very remote exclusion of our manufacturing products , either yarn or finished fabrics , if the restrictions on the import of food are continued ; and points out the sound policy , nay , the absolute necessity , of opening new markets for oar goods in those quarters of tbe world where tbe immediate and natural tendency ef industry is to agricultural employment Another fad was developed relative to our export trade , that an INCREASING
MASS OP tOMMODlTliS IS YEARLY EXPORTED FOR A stationary rbturn ! This fact admits of only one solution , allowance betes ; made for tbe greater cheapness of commodities arising from improved skill in manufacture , vis ., that as one range of imports is artificially narrowed and contracted by tbe practical rejection of agricultural products of foreign nations , and as our manufacturers and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for Buch a return as law permits , they are giving ; more and more goods for a
stationary return . The ruinous sacrifices made in our staple manufactures in foreign goods , and wbicb are so often pointed to as indicating an excess of production here , only indicate , in reality , therefore , the measure of tbe difficulty experienced in procuring returns . We do not maka more than other nations can buy and pay for ; but we limit their power of payment by excluding tbe principal commodity they have to offer , and virtually to create a keen and ruinous competition amongst ourselves to secure such custom as we permit them to offer us .
HOSTILE CHARACIBR OF POREIGN TARIFFS . "Within fifteen months five hostile tariffs have been published , viz , the tariffs of Portugal , Russia , France , Belgium and the United States . By these tariffs tbe duties on our goods are doubled . Coupled with this fact is the equally starting one , that in the kingdoms of Prussia and France the increase of the woollen and cotton manufactures since 1830 shows a rate of progression quite outstripping tbe progress of the same manufactures in this country , and which threaten our early exclusion from the markets of the Continent . That our corn and provision 1 &wb have led to these hostile tariffs
admits of no doubt ; whilst it is equally clear , that to the exclusion of their agricultural produce ifj to be attributed the encouragement and rapid growth of infusing skill amongst the continental nations . That growth cannot sow be stayed ; perhaps the time when it was desirable for the * interests of this country and of tbe Continent that the one should be mainly a manufacturing and the other an agricultural one , is passed ; but this is at least clear—Great Britain has no resource but to open her ports to the free import of food with all the world as the only means of finding a market for her various manufactures .
In conclusion , the Committee have to express their dear , decided , but palnfnl conviction , that the distress of 1842 , emxtded that of 1811 , bad ai that was ; THAT THE CONDITION OF ALL CLASSES IS DETERIORATED ; the embarrassments of all producers aud dealers greater ; that the physical condition of the people la alarmingly worse , and threatens in ifa final consequences serious demoralisation , and perhaps danger to the public order and peace : in one word , that we are reaping tbe bitter fruits of a practical limitation of an increasing population to the stationary produce ol the boms soils . We must not pass this cut-throat document over lightly ! It is all-important ! It does Jor the League . '
Untitled Article
Under the be ' ad " Rat c of Wages and Amount of Employment" the J ^ eagtie Report and testify that " there is a cons iderable falling off in the demand for labour "; and , ' a serious decline in the rate « f wages . " They testify , too , that the operation of these two evils has been to cause the operative to have tjess command of the necessaries and contfbrts of life ^ ov nearly- tVo-thihds as con ' pared with their means in 1834-5-6 . " Now how stands the question of " Foreign Commerce" at thesa two periods ? For an answer to this question may serve to show us whether there be any virtue in ** Extended Commerce , " to prevent the awful affects the League have but too truly described !
, In 1834 we exported of British Produce and Manufactures , according to Official Value , £ 73 , 831 , 551 . In the year ending Jan . 5 th , 1842 , we exported , Official Value , 102 , 180 , 517 !! During tho&e seven years we " Extended'' our Foreign Commerce , no less than £ 28348 , 966 , Official Value !! an increase equal to one-and-ahalf times of the whole amount of foreign trade we had in 1798—fifty years ago !! And yet , notwithstanding this enormous "Extension "; this
vast addition to the amount of our foreign trade , it is declared by those who wish to accompli u h another" Extension , " that at the end of that seven years , " the operative has a leis command of the necessaries and comforts of life , of NEARLY TWO THIRDS , as compared with his means" in the beginning of that same seven years ! ! And the brazen-faced varlets have the impudence und audacity to force upon the operative's attention another " Extension of Commerce" as a means of
bettering bis condition !! The increase to our Foreign Trade during these seven yeara , was , as just shown , £ 28 , 348 , 9 b' 6 Official Value . The whole amount of our Foriegn Trade , in 1798 , was £ 19 , 672 , 503 , Official Value . The Real value , however , of the trade in 1798 , was £ 33 , 148 , 682 . Had we been paid for tho £ 28 , 348 966 increase iu 1842 over the trade in 1834 , at the same rate as we were paid for our goods in 1798 , we should have realised from that increase alone , no less a sum than £ 49 . 723 , 023 ! We only did jrealise for that increase £ 9 985 , 432 : consequently we lost
upon that increased quantity of produce and manufactures cent abroad no less a sum than £ 39 , 737 , 591 !! or a Bum equal to the amount of the interest of the National Debt , the payment of the army , the discharge of the Civil List , and cost of ( he Courts of Justice for one entire year !!! No wonder that the means of the operative to command the necessaries and comforts of life are diminished nearly TWO-THIRDS during Che last seven years ! And the operative may take consolation to himself from the concluding words of the first section of tho League ' s report—" the tendency ofwages is STILL DOWNWARD . "
Under the head "Poor Rates and Pauperism " the fact is proclaimed that " since 1839 the Bums expended in the relief of the p < or in the great seats of industry , have , on an average , doubled ; whilst the number of applicants has increased in ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent . " Poor Rates doubled since 1839 ! and pauperism increased in ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent ! Pretty well this , good folks , in three years ! Famous increase of Pauperism : pray how stands the question of Foreign Trade \ We must surely , during those three years , have had a monstrous
falling off in that department 1 It cannot be possible that these effects can have followed the maintainance , even , of " our Foreign Trade . " Had we maintained the position we occupied , in 1838 , in relation to the foreigner , we should , at all events , hare been as well-off as we were in 1838 : and could we have " improved" that position , by an " Extension" of the Foreign Trade of 1838 , we should surely have been better-off than we then were : for "Extended trade brings extended employment ; extended employment brings extended wages ; and extended wages must make us better ofp . "
Well , then , let us see how the faots stand . In the year ending January oth , 1838 , we exported of "British Produce and Manufactures" £ 92459 , 726 Official Value . In the year ending January 5 ih , 1842 , we exported £ 102 , 180 , 517 Official Value . Consequently the increase to our Foreign Trade during those three years alone , was £ 9 , 721 , 286 ! ! an " Extension" equal to one-half of the entire Foreign
Tra : ein 1798 2 ! And , yet with this enermous tncrease : with this vast M EXTENSION" during the LAST THREE YEARS , " Poor Rales have , on an average DOUBLED ; and the number of applicants increased i ; ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent" I ! / And another " Extension" is the remedy proposed to rid us of increased Poor Rates , and increasing Pauperism ! 1 What wisdom we have amongst us !
'We have before shewn what the Official Value of Exported goods in 1798 produced to us in real value . Had we been paid in 1842 for tbe £ 9 , 721 , 286 Official Value increase over 1839 , in the rate we were paid in 1798 , we should have received for that increased amount of Foreign Trade the sum of £ 16 , 574 , 341 . The amount we did receive was only £ 1 V 573 , 653 !! On the increase therefore , we lost the sum of £ 15 , 000 , 000 ; or a sum equal to the cost of the Army , the Navy , the Civil List , the Annuities and Pensions , the Salaries and Allowances , and the China Expedition in 1842 !! ! Is there no cause for the " doubling of tho Poor Rates" and " the 500 per cent , increase of Pauperism" in this 1 Let " E . Baines , Jtin . and Thomas Plint" answer !
Pass we on , in the consideration of this most extraordinary report of the men who issued it to serve the cause it so utterly annihilates , to the section headed " Insolvency and Depreciation of Capital . " There , these proves that former " Extensions of Commerce" have done good , say , that , taking the great staple trades of cotton , woollen , and iron , the loss of capital has been very large ; and there is an alarming diminution of the whole floating capital of the manufacturing districts . " Indeed I This ie a curious effect , after a Sl ^ TlMES OVER "Extended Commerce" ! Do , pray , g&gd ^ gentlefolks , look at what you are doing ! Have a little mercy on yourselves : pray do ! It is miserable work this , to see you hack and mangle your own throats in thia shocking and self-murdering manner !
But the Iron Trade : is it suffering ! Has the loss of capital been great there ! Is its diminution alarming in that department ; that really staple trade ! If so , pray how does it come to pass ? There is no " Foreign Competition" to be feared by the Iron Manufacturer . Pray how does it happen that this trade is suffering T W « know you have a ready answer to all complaints respecting the depreciation of prices in cocton and other wove fabrics : and that you instantly utter forth tbe two words " Foreign Competition ; " and ascribe to such competition the cause of the depreciation . But this you cannot do in the case of the Iron Trade . According
to ; Mr . Marshall , the Statician , " the only country in the world , besides England , that makes a sufficient quantity of Iron for its nse is Sweden , where it is made at a cost exceeding a half more than it is made for in England . " " Foreign Competition " cannot , therefore , operate here . Pray tell us , Ijpw it is , that the price of Iron , under these circumstances , should have depredated as much as the price of woven fabrics ! Ascertain the reason of this very strange and anomalous fact ; and then eay whether you think another " Extension of Commerce" will Btay the decrease of capital in the three great staple trades of the country 1
There are , however , two reasons assigned ia this same section of the League ' s Report of their own madness , to account for the alarming diminution of capital in the manufacturing districts ; " which reasons ate " the constant attrition of FIXED CHARGES on a NARROWED RETURN ; and the RVIXOVS COMPEWTION OF THOSE HAVING MILLprofkrty . " The League have hit it at last ! How it has happened that they have at length seen ( and been fools enough to report that thty have so seen ) what every bedy tlse has been to long familiar ,
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with , is a question pregnant with enriosfty . " The constant attrition of fixed chabges on a narrow kd betitrn . " Yes , in troth , that is one reason why capital is diminishing 1 We have the " fixed chabqes" of 1798 ; but we have not the " returns ' of 1798 . And , whatever the League may think , until we o ' ither raise the " returns" up to the " fixed charges" standard , or reduce the " fixed charges" to the standard of onr present "Jretpbns , " "CAPITAL" WILL STILL CONTINUE ' TO "DIMINISH" at an " alarming" rate ! spite of all the " Extensions of Commerce" they can effect ! Nay , it will " diminish" faster and more " alarmingly" with every fresh " Extension , " until it be , in a very short timei entirely swallowed up !
The other ! reason assigned for the " alarming diminution of capital in the manufacturing districts " is "the rdinous competition of those having Mill-Property . " Right again 1 The nail driven home But how comes it that the League have hit on this I With them there should be no such thing as " ruinous competition . " With them all should be'" free . " Ruinous competition is an impossibility , " according to the doctrines of free-trade . " Competition is the only corrective in all matters relating to the production and distribution of wealth . The market for the products of labour ought to be free ; and
competition will establish the proper value . The labourmarket ought also to be free ; and competition will also establish , its value . " So say the Leagued economists . But if competition CAN be " ruinous , " iNTERFEaENCE IS JUSTIFIABLE : and then away goes the whole superstructure of " freedom i" If competition CAN "be ruinous " , those who are in danger of being * ' mined" have a right and a just claim to be protected : and thus the League establish the very principle they are leagued together to overthrow !! What a miserable set of suicides they are !
The seotion under the head " Character ; of our Export Trade " , calls for some little notice . Here the League proclaim that this trade is undergoing a complete change . The foreigner , generally speaking only now requires our yarns , to weave up into fabrics with his own machinery , for his own consumption . Indeed he i « procuring the necessary machinery to enable him to spin the yarn for himself j and thus render himself independent of our manufactures altogether . And can any one wonder this is so ? Is it not right it should be ! Would they not be injuring themselves , not to take advantage of those means which will enable them to produce for themselves all that they require 1 If manufacturing and machinery be of benefit to us , will they not be beneficial to the Foreigner ! Could we reasonably
expect to secure these advantages to ourselves alone ? Whatever expectations we may have entertained in regard to these matters , or whatevercalculations we may have indulged { in , based on the supposition that toe alone were to ( possess machinery , and use it for the production of clothing for the world at large , it is dear that we [ have " reckoned without our host . " Other nations have procured machinery ; other nations are manufacturing ; and in spite of all the " Extensions of Commerce" that the League can procure , either by the " removal of the restrictions on the import of food , " or by any other means , the " process which is going on alike ia the cotton , linen , and woollen trade , points to the ultimate and perhaps not very remote , exclusion of our manufactured products , either yam or finished fabrics . "
Yes ! the " process ** ' of excluding us from the Foreign market "is going on alike in the cotton , linen , and woollen trades " . In proof of this , read the following from the New York Weekly Herald of Saturday , December 31 st .: — " In the village of Wooduocket , R . I ., there are eighteen mills in wbicb there are are 1 , 268 looms , 50 826 spindles , and 1 , 162 hands . The aggregate number of yards of goods produced during the past year is 9 739 , 717 , of which there were 250 , 000 yards warpg ; 684 000 yards flannels , 364 000 yards jeans , 62 400 yards negro cloths , 156 , 000 yards satinets , 5 : 645 . 000 yards cotton prints , and 3 , 117 . 000 yards cotton sheeting . " This in one village J Verily , tho " process is going on !"
And this " process" cannot be stayed J Whatever course of policy we may pursue , we cannot induce other nations either to refrain from setting op new manufactories ,: in which shall be used our last new and improved machinery ; or to discontinue the machinery theyjare at at present using . Ic is idle folly to expect it . On this point the great political teacher of bis day , Mr . Cobbett had some very apt and apposite remarks . His strong and commons-sense mind saw the question in a common-sense light ; and some short time before his removal from amongst us , he distinctly told the " working Manufacturers of the North" what they might expect as the result of tbe introduction and application of machinery , in relation to our being able to maintain a superiority in the markets of the world . His words were : —
" It is my opinion that the nutnufacturing game is nearly over : it baa been a profitable game to a great many persons : it has made yonr employers rich , proud , insolent , cruel , and base ; but the days of their prosperity are . in my opinion , never to return . Aa long as manufacturing was carried on by tbe hands of people , so lonn England enjoyed , and was likely to enjoy in this respect , a great superiority over other nations ; because English people , if not more ingenious than those of other countries , ( are more industrious , more addicted to order and punctuality in business , more in the habit of prompt obedience to employers , m < ich more persevering , much more proud of peiforming of excellent
workmanship , und , are , at the same time , blessed with a climate that knows so Uttlo of extremes , as seldom or ever to be a hindrance to the labourer . But when the hand of man came to be supplanted by machinery , the principal part of these advantages must , in a short time , be greatly diminished : when fire , water , iron , steel , tin , and uthor things employed in a certain way , rendered the hand of man almost unnecessary , it was impossible that the former superiority could be' maintained to the same extent ; because all these materials are to be found iu ail countries ; and because the interest of ether countries would naturally introduce tbe use of them . If one farmer were , by some accident , to
discover the means of raising greater crops than his neighbours , at a tenth part of the expence , he must ; until his secret became known to other farmers , be thriving at a rate most prodigious ; bob as soon as his secret becHine known , it would be nothing worth to him : all other farmers -would use thfa same means ; and be would be , with respect to other farmers , just where he was before tbe discovery of his invention . Machinery , as long as it is confined to one nation , gives to that nation a great superiority over others : it adds , in f / ict , to the riches and power of that nation ; but when introduced into other nations , it may make the situation , I mean the relative situation of the first nation , a great deal worse than it was before .
" If , for instance , there be a man who understands well how to reduce or enlarge tha scale of a map ; if he understand bow to reduce this upon mathematical principles , without the assistance of any instrument ; and if this be understood by comparatively a very few others , the tol « nt of that man is valuable to him : others who want plans reduced or enlarged , must apply to him Or to some Buch rare person ; but if some one discover an instrument for this purpose , by which such reduction or enlargement can be effected with perfect accuracy by any human being tbat has fingers , and thumbs , and eyes , or who is as capable of as much attention as is necessary in tbe act of decently patting
victuals into one s mouth ; if there be an instrument of this sntt discovered , tbe mathematical knowledge of the clever man will become of no use to him ; and he , as far as this manufacture is concerned , might as well not know how to ! multiply or divide any sum of whole numbers . So , also , if there be an instrument or machine , which , upon being merely set in motion will make calico or cloth , as well as the most active and ingenious spinner , and weaver , the Ingenuity , the cleverness , the industry , all tbe excellent qualities of the spinner and tbe weaver become of no use . When I was last in Ameriea , I went to Pattison , In New-Jehsev , where I saw , in one place , a spinning jenny , or some such thing , turning cotton into a sort of string , or thread , or whatever it is called ; and in another place ,
three or four power-looms , I think they are called , weaving the strings into doth , and twisting It round upon a sort of reels . These devils of things bad only a couple of Yankee girls to attend them , aa it were , to see fair phy . X&e whole of this machinery was set and kept in motion by a stream of water thai came tumbling down from tse top of a rock , afe tbe top of which nature had made a large basin , that had a gap ia one of the edges of it , out of which the water came tumbling . ' Oh lj Oh ! ' said I , ' if cloth can be made by these things , and the cotton grow in this country , % is impossible tbat the cloth can come from Eagiand for many years . ' Tw , o or three Bnglishmen hud made the machines , and had taught the Yankttsbow to do the like .
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"I do not blame the discoverers of injjeaion . cbinery ; I do net censure the thine in ~ ltsni # ' w ?*" Bay that the discovery has been an evil t « this ™ ' n » ! baca » je it bas taken from it , or will very t ^ V from it , that great manufacturing superiority ^ , i , t * , possessed over the test of the world . Machined i-Jfc love and death , is a leveller : It puts nations ?^* level : and if the dreadful engiriej which w-uX * have been invented for the sending forth of cannn £ to with ton times , or ten thousand times , I beli 6 ^ quickness ot cannon and ponder ; if thatcr uMh 9 been bronght to perfection , and made to act . it in a Bhoit time , bave put almost all nations n ^ level , in nnint . nf w : irTifc « tmt \ a Tk ^»> . > .. P ° Q a levelin point of warlike forceTherefore
, . , I tHnv V manufacturing game is nearly over ; and that sen to place no reliance upon any thing to produce a ^? of the former cfrcumstancea of yeur business . ^ cotton , and the wool , and silk , are every wher ? first iand the last in a greater abundance abroad ^ they are here ; and there being machines ia aM tries to convert them into articles of dress en e °° n * sense forbids us to expect that other naUons ^ l ? ^ at the expance of paying for shlpa to fetch these cles from us , and give us a profit for makine them « the bargain . The thing cannot be : it is preDZ . to suppose it ; and , therefore , if om GovernmentT » ¦« 9 i 8 e , it would be making preparations acconii nRio * *
To this it is unnecessary to add another w m Faots and experience prove that the opinions clearly and so forcibly expressed were correct , n manufacturing game was nearly over . It « 8 joBt about up ! u The process which is ™ ° on alike in the Cotton , Linen , and Woollen Tnrf ^ points to the ultimate , and , perhaps , not t ** behote EXCLUSION of our manufactured **' ducts , either yarn or finished fabrics , " fron , ^ markets of the world .
In this same seotion of this famous aurf «»• able Report , there is one sentence which al deserves , and loudly calls for , a separate and < f tinot article to itself . The nature of the question involved in it , and the many considerations it gives rise to , preclude the possibility of a full exami . nation of it at this time . It is a sentence ore nant with mighty meaning ! The Leaguers say : " another fact was developed relative to our Export trade ; tbat an INCREASlKR
MASS OF COMMODITIES 19 YEARLY EXPORTED » 0 B 4 STATIONARY return . " So ! we have pinned the League down to the consideration of this question at last ! Well , thank God , our labour has not been in vain ! To this li fact" we have been for years constantly calling their attention ; but this is the fim time that they could be induced even to notice it The " fact" is stated as if it was but just now " developed ; " notwithstanding we have been ding . donging it in the ears of the public for so lone a
period . Thia , however , ws do not mind . The League have been at last compelled to notice it . The havoc it was making in their ranks , whenever it was brought before the attention of their deluded followers , has caused them to endeavour to account for it , and to make it fqnare with League notions . Thia they have attempted to do . How far they barg succeeded in that attempt we shall presently see Let us first , however , have the" fact" more in detail before us .
An increasing mass of commodities is ytirly et * ported for a stationary return . " Never were words more true , generally speaking : and never was greater condemnation of the whole course of our Export Trade ! We have to give an increased mass of commodities for the same amount of money ; nay , even for a less amount of money ; and this "fact" tells as , most emphatically , tbat oar Foreign Trade , instead of bejng a benefit to us , is a losing gama whioh impoverishes us the more the longer it iB continued and the deeper it is played .
The amount of our Exports in 1836 was £ 85 , 223 , 837 , Official Value ; which brought usin Real Value , £ 53 , 368 , 572 . As we have twice before stated , in tbe yea r ending Jan . 5 , 1842 , the amount of Exports was £ 102 , 180 , 517 Official Pa / w ; for which we received in real Value only £ 51 , 634 , 623 ) The increase ia " mass of Commodities" in 1842 over 1836 was £ 16 , 950 , 680 Official Value ; while the " beturm" instead of being ' stationary" mt £ 1 , 733 , 949 LESS for the greater quantify of produce ! ! ! In fact , we have been burning our candle at both ends : and when it is neatly burnt out , we turn up our eyes and viondei how it happens that the eabstaoee ia wasted 5
Now , then , for the League ' s solution" of the " developad fact . " Say they : " as one range of imports is artificially narrowed and contracted by th « praotical rejection of agricultural products of foreign nations , and as our manufacturers and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for snob a return as the law permits , they are giving more and more goods for a stationary retirn . " In other words , this "fact" is ascribed to the operation of the Corn Laws : for it is those laws which practically reject the agricultural products of foreign nations . " It has become the fashion now-a-dayB , to ascribe all the evils that afflict society to the operation of these same Cora Laws : and here we have a splendid specimen of the aecaracy of the reasoning employed by the Leaguers .
If this solution of the " fact" thus offered by thfl League be a correct one , it will follow that the " fact" has only been " developed" since the Com Laws came into operation : for if it w& 3 " developed " before the Corn Laws were passed , it is clear that the Corn Laws cannot have been tbe cause of it ; and the League ' s " eolation" will turn out to be no solution at all . Let us examine . The Corn Laws were passed in the year 1815 . We shall take the list of exports in 1802 , and again in 1815 ; and see whether this " fact" was not then " developed ; " aye , evenibefore the Corn Bill was introduced into Parliament at all !
The OffiAal Value of the exports in 1802 w as £ 27 , 012 . 108 ; and the Real Value was £ 48 . 500 , 683 . The Official Value of the exports in 1815 w » 8 £ 41 , 712 , 002 ; producing in Real Value £ 49 , 652 , 245 . The increase in the " mass of ( . commodities" exported at the latter period over the former , was £ 14 , 699 , 894 , Official Value ; while the Returs w « all but " stationary ; " we having only received for that monstrous increased "mass of commodities '
the insignificant sum of £ 1 , 151 , 562 . HadtheREiCRM in 1815 been e < iual to the return in 1802 we should have received the sum of £ 74 596 , 332 , instead of only £ 49 , 652 245 . It follows , therefore , that upon the " Extended" trade from 1802 to 1815 , BEFORE THE CURN LAWS WERE ENACTED , we lost the enormous sum of £ 24 , 944 , 087 . Here is . a ;> aCT " developed ? ' which upsets the " solution" of the Leagued Solons ! Mr . " E . Baines , inn ., aad Thobis
Plinx" must try their hands again ! The section headed *» The Hostile Character of Foreign Tanffij" mast have more consideration than we can now bestow upon it . That consideration . i * shall shortly have . It opens up the whole questiea of" Protection to native Industry , " in contradistinO ' tion to the principle of "freedom" advocated by the League . We hold , speaking generally , that the respective governments have acted in accordance with true principle and sound policy , in passn * those " Host ile Tariffs : " and this we engaga to mafc « plainly apparent on a future occasion .
In conclusion , we must entreat the reader W wei ^ b well the words of the last paragraph of thw most suicidal Report . Those words are inieei pregnant with meaning and purport 1 They distinctly affirm tho destitute condition of the producers of wealth , even after a SIX-TL \ 1 ES OVER increase of Foreign Trade ! And they as distinctl y read the death-warrant to the League project to get us out of the dimcnlties therein set fox * . Never were nien so unfortunate as the infatuated men of the League ! This report proves tha *
although they may have " brass , " they have not all the " wisdom in the world"I ? With their own hands have * py deprived Leagueim m life . They have effectually cut its throat ; and mangled its defunet carcase most awfully by their hacking and wangling with dull and blunt weapons of offence : and we now pu& « to the people at lar ^ e , as a jury , whether the verdict ought not to be : " Homicidb at the ha » ds o » its friends ; committed while i . v ^ s' - * 0 T Mental Derangement . "
The Noethern Star. Saturday, February 11, 1843.
THE NOETHERN STAR . SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 11 , 1843 .
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T H E ¦ 4 NORTHJERN STAB .
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 11, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1199/page/4/
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