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3far*t£n aSnfcfltsettt**
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THE NOETHEEN STAR SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1844.
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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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YRtfsGE . Fes ghtftl Yimtation . —We ha ? e given in another coIoed , icmeaeeonnt of the disasters , at Cette , but that account appears to hare been anything bnt perfect in it 3 detail of these sad disasters . The following tuci-s accurate statement is contained in a letter from Crt-p . dated the 22 nd nit . — A r 5 ghtfnl misfortune has this afternoon plunged ocr whole population into a state of consternation acd ^ e ~ pair . About four o \ &ock an electric waterspent i > D upon the town , and committed such ra-TS £ P 5 , lhat at the present moment it might be supposed rhat the town bad been submitted to all the horror ? of a siege . This terrible phenomenon , which arrived in the direction of the Tortress of St . Pierre ,
skirted the mole in its whole length , and when it came apposite ihe engineers establishment , attracted probably by the conductor ajid the zino roof of the hou =-e , it turned round the edifice , and at last fell with violence upon it . At the same moment a tioleut ? xplosion was heard , and the whole population thought that its last honr was come . Dnri £ g two miBu-es space of time a terrific crash resounded in the air . The roofs of the houses Iwere smashed to piee ^? , and the fragments were carried to the most distant part of ihe town , The building belonging to tb ? -nsineer ? hag been entirely sackedi its zinc roof wa ? carried off in the twinkling of an eye , and the viYt- ^ fcecie demolished aBd razed to the ground , so that nothing now remains of it bnt the back and
side wails . Another house , four storks high , new and solidly built , belonging to M . LabaiHe , was literally crashed to the earth . In eTery apartment the separation tnVs were destroyed , the windows torn out : everywhere destructive traces have bsen It-ft . Uev >» r in the memory of man has so frightful a catastrophe been witnessed in our town . Alas ! however , we have still further misfortunes to narrate . A fearful inundation , joined at the same time its ravages to those of the electric waterspout . In an in ? rant the waters of the canal rose and flooded the quays . It -Bis a pisiable spectacle to see all the lighters loaded with wines torn into the current , driven one agsinst the other , and then swallowed by the element . At least a doz-wi bos . tR were snnfe in
the canal itself , and what was Ihe most terrible is , that most of tbena had ibeir crews on bosrd . Seme few Tfcre able to save themselves , the others h&ve perished . It is supposed that nearly _ thirty have been carried down with their boats . Five or sis large vessels have been completely wrecked , and remain with their keels uppermost . As to the leaser injuries dose amoDg the masts , rigging , Jtc , they are innumerable . Jn the streets and on the quays are everywhere to be seen wounded wretches , some "with bloody heads , others wish mutilated limbs . A body has just been dug out of the ruins of the hon > e belonging to the engineers . In front of the Cafe de la Bourse , a merchant of this tows , M . Prai- 'Cois Labatre , was crushed beneath the ruins of a huge structure belonging to a party of strolling
play-rs , staiiened at the extremity of the old bridge . Per > on g are missing in their families , and it is to be feared that they have perished in this awful siorm . It is impossible to give any description of the feelings of terror prodnced in the minds of the -whole population . Parsons are to be met with in every Street running io ami fro demanding news of different members of their fanydies , and ii is with fear and trembling that each s ? k 3 the other , " 1 ? there bo one destroyed in yoar house V We are unable , from the lateness of the hour , to give . any further details , bn ; those already given are exact , although a fetble picture of the horrors that snrronnd ua . At this moment a violent south-east wind is blowing . Grant heaven , that we have not to givemore wretched details to-morrow .
Hoax Dreadful Stobms . —Yiolent storms cont inue to produce considerable ravages in the South of France . In Marseilles the inundations were so great , that the water rose above the carriage wheel 3 in the Etreets . In Toulouse a terrific storm visited the towa on the 24 th inst . At Avignon and other towns the Rhone , the Durance , and the Saone had overflowed , and committed considerable ravages .
SPAIN . _ The Journal iss DabaU of lie 24 tb nit ., pnblishes a summary of the innovations on , or ( as they are termed ) reforms of the Spanish constitution , presented to the Cortes on the 18 ih inst , " We have received by extraordinary express from Madrid an analysis of the bill of reform of the Spanish constitution , presented to the Cortes in the silting of the 18 * h of thi 3 month . . We lay it beiore our readers without any further reflections : — " It 13 proposed in the first instance to suppress the preamble of the constitution of 1837 , as offensive to Royalty , inasmueh as it is there expressed that it was the nation assembled in Cortes extraordinary that decreed it , whilst , in fact- it was with the concurrence of Royalty that the Corte . * were assembled and summoned to constitute the fundamental law of the monarchy .
M The article respecting the institution of the NaiionsJ , Grz * rtl 3 13 a'so suppressed and replaced by SUD-Ler , which Jed&rfiS that the Government has ftie power of organizing the national militia by locilkifes , according to the necessities of ths country and of public security , whenever it may be deemed advisable . * " The article that gives th « Corte 3 the right of assembling in the month of December every year , if not eaTiier convoked , is also suppressed , inasmuch as it insinuates that tbe executive power is capable of violating the constitution . ** The most important modifications concern the pre ? s , the Senate , and the marriage of the Queen . Political crimes and accns&tions against the press are no longer to be laid before the jury , which is eiJy retained for non-political crimes and effences .
" The Senators , instead of being elected at every reorganisation of the Chambers , are to be nominated for Jife and chosen by tbe Crown . " The new article respecting the Q-if en ' s marriage iocs not oblige Her Majesty to demand beforehand the consent of the Cortes ; it only calis upon her 10 Eisi . 6 known her marriage before concluding it . a la . iv -will then regulate its conditions aid tbe position of her hnsbsnd . " " A letter from Madrid , " = ays the P-iri 3 Siecle—K which contains too many proper names to be published without inconvenience , aSnns that Spain is in full revolution . f I do not know , ' says our correspondent , * what day the conflict will commune ? , but there certainly will be a battle . The
Spamarscould not , in fact , without forfeiting the est<— r . which their national character has acquired . ? vS r with impunity ihe insolent and ridicujuns Te&a i-n sought to be imposed npon them . A Bonap ^ ric might effect an 58 h Bnnnaire , to svhich a nation might Fubmit wimout abdicating their dignity ; but that a Xarvaez . aided by nun all remarkable * or ; h--insufiiciency of their talent 3 and the impo : er , c-: ol their character , should dare to sax : —Hen ^ ancf your national sovereignty , which broke the cl . a-i . ? forged by monkish and monarchial degpotirm ; a ve me unlimited authority to make laws by or * h . si ; c , and I answer for all—such conduct is into ! . . h > . odious , and absurd , Tbe Minister tins , howler , presented his plan of reform , and is determined to
gnpport it , if necessary , by military force . '" Madbtd , Oct . 20 . —Yesterday there were piic-. rcs posted throngh the city in favour of Espattio , and the population went so far as to shout in various quarters of the city , Viva la Con * li ! uciDn de } 837 : $ muera Naryajz 2 Mnch agiianun was exciied ; part of the garrison was under arms , and some arrerts were made . Phivate lettebs fbom Madbid " sHte that the Spanish Government had received despatches from the frontier , announcing the arrest of several Spanish officers of superior rank , who vrero
preparing to commence a civil war in Spain . It appears likewise that Brigadier . Lemefich had quitted "V ailadolid , and no trace of inn had been disco--Fered . Ii vronid seem thai the p ' -n of a simultaneous insurrection had been formed in tbe provinces of Girona and Tarragona . ISorwnhstaDriing the capture of many of the chiefs , ' another dai ^ erous peruonage , Quintana de Ponte de Melina , hau suc--ceeded in crossing the French frontier , aDd had aciually entered the Ampndan with a party of insurgents . The Government , in order to defeat the object of the insurgent * , had dtspatehed a Tfgi-IBent of infantry , forming part of the garrison of Madrid , to Logrono , and a regiment ol cuv&lry to liadolid
Ta . A letter from the frontier ? of CsTalenis' of the lDh in = t . states , that the movement made among tbe Spanish refugees in the French depots has given occasion to the greatest vigilance of the French police along the frontiers . At Carcassonne on ihe liih , were arrested Colonel Maritll , one of the chiefs of the last insurrection of Figneiras ; MiraJles , an ex-adminstrator of the finances ; and persons of the cames of Parera , Endava , and Torrens . At liimona , on the 14 tb , Colonel I > avontj on the ] 5 : h , si Isarbonne , Ccrtadeillos , Calabra . Meriada , and Criado ; at Carcasonne , on the I 6 tb , Yabregne . ^ 11 these refugees belong to the Centralist party . It was supposed that their purpose in clandestinely going over to the frontier was to effect a movement in Catalonia .
Another refugee , of the name of Jose Maria Laden , a comrade of Larcmbe , and designated as a xedonbtable party chief , has also been arrested at Bordeanx , wnere he had arrived withoat proper papers . Xaieb tbom Stxc . —RrMorRED IyscBEEcncjr—Accoaatsfrom Madrid are of ihe . 22 aa . The country appears to be at length recovering from the &tnpor jut © which it was thrown by General Narvaez ' i » fcroeions H reform" of the constitution . ' The feeling
in opposition to the measure is becoming more and more " marked tvery day . In the provinces the excitement ia Tcry great , and It was -reported in Madrid , by the latest accounts , that at Y- -go and Tuy , in Galllcia , an inearrecrion had actual !? broken out . Logrono is also in a very difturbed state , and General Oribe has been sent fo take command in that district . At Taliadolid several persons have been arrested by the GoTerrment for an alleged conspiracy , the object of which was to proclaim the fit-nstitutioi * - " * - -sear 1812 . It is d ; fiicalt , bow-
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ever , to judge whether these arrests are the result of a real movement on the part of the people , or of more wanton violence on the part of the authorities , The French Government doc 3 every thing in its power to aid the cause of Absolutism . On the frontiers the strictest guard is kept , and every Spanish emigrant residing in the French frontier towns is either actually arrested , or placed under tbe surveillance of the police . A letter from Barcelona , of the 22 nd , mentions that accounts have been received there of the arrest , by the French police , of Colonel MaTtel and nine other Spanish officers , on tbe borders of Catalonia .
The government appears to be afraid of some movement at Logrono , where several arbitrary arrests and banishments have lately taken place ; they want ako to get hold of General Zarbano it is said . Brigadier Oribe has left to-day to take the military command there , and takes with him the Union Regiment of Infantry , of which he is Colonel , together with the Maria Christina Regiment of Cavalry , and a battery of mounted artillery . A battalion ol the In / ante Regiment of Infantry has been sent to Cmdad Real . In rtturn the regimeat 9 of Gallacia and Bsilen are momentarily expected from the south .
The trial of the Erpcctador jcurnal came on today at the Audicncia Court . Tee artiole which was denounced by tbe Crown prosecutor , was defended vrith great ability by SeDor Qaievedo , a young adrotate , and the journal was iiual ' y acquitted by the jury , to the great satisfaction of a crowded court , the Crown fiscal being well hissed . The jury , as ic was modified by a recent decree , is selected from householders possessing a very high property qualification ; but so decidedly liberal is the tendency of nearly all the cit ' zen class , that the Government has no other means of putting down the press than that of doing away with tbe jury system altogether , as it is now trying to do . The above ia from the Chronicle . The Times says : —
LettcrB from Pampeluna represent the northern provinces of Spain as in a most threatening state . On every side it was said thai Carlist refugees were constantly entering the Spanish territory in spue of the authorities . It was added that 25 , 000 muskets were ready to be introduced into Navarre , upon the breaking out of the first disorder . It was generally anticipated , that the two expected levies of soldiers wou 2 d prove the signal of events the consequences of which conld not be foretold when the present Btate of the dispositions taken by the Government was considered . A letter from Perpignan of the ISih states , that orders were given on that day for : he formation of a cordon upon the frontiers . This measure , it was supposed , was connected with the movement and subsequent arrest of several Spanish refugees upon the frontiers of Catalonia .
It sppearsthat the new 3 of the arrest which had taken piaee npon the frontiers ot Caalonia of several kiiuenrial persons attached to the Progresista party , hud produced considerable sensation ia Madrid , insiinuch a 3 it gave a certain weight to the reports of an expected movrment . The departure of General Aymerich , formerly Governor of Madrid , from Valladolid , had been also confirmed , and the Government , for the purpose of preventing the existing agitation from becoming more ' serious in old Ca ^ - tille , had sen ! two regiments of the garrison of Madrid in that direction .
TURKEY . CoNiTANTiNOPLR , Oc * . 9 . —In the night of the 2 nd of this mouth Pera , which has so often suffered by fire , was again visited by a great coi > l » gration . The fire broke but in the quarters built of wood , and spread with great rapidity towards the north-west , and was not got down tiil it had raged for einht bour 3 . The great street of Pera owed its safety chiefly to the long stone wail of the building belonging to the Russian Legation . The lowest estimate makes the number of houses reduced to ashes 210 , the highest 400 . We need not wonder at the difference ; the streets and lanes , with few exceptions , being without names , and all the houses without numbers . According to other letters , the fire which destroyed the handsomest aud richest houses in Pera was wilfullv caused bv the Turks .
SWEDENLetters from Stockholm state tbat the King of Sweden had demanded the authorization to concede to a foreign power , which is not named , and under most disadvantageous conditions , the island of St . Bartholomew . Jn making this demand the King remarked that this cokny was onerous rather than useful to the resources ot the country , and proposed that until the Diet should have decided upon this point , the island should be administered by the Department of the Finances instead of by the Crown . St . Bartholomew is one of the small Antilles Island ? , situated to the north of Guadaloupe . It has a population of 5 000 inhabitants , and its capital is Gurtavia . Its port , which is open to large vessel ? , is excellent . It has belonged to Sweden ever since 1794 , when it iTas ceded to that country by Franee . CIRCASSIA AXD GEORGIA .
Glorious Vicioriks of the Wol ^ tai ^ eerb . — Tabriz StPTEMBER 22—Letters from T . 'flii of the 12 ih of Septemitjr , ¦ written by Armenian merchants established in Georgia , and commurlisted to Mr . Bonham , British Consul-General at Tabr ' s announce that tbe campaign of the Russians against the mountaineers of Dagbestan is terminated , for this year . The Commander-in-Chief , M . NsWbart ,- haa returned to T ; flis , to t-njoy some repose after the extreme fatigue of his last expei'itibn . The following , in few words , is the result of the summer campaign of 1844 : —The Russian it-k . forcements which arrived daring the last winter i- rht Caucasus from Southern Russia amounted to SO 000 men , comm-jtidtjd by General Luders . Another Russian division , consisting of 20 , 000 men ,
• was d » - * ratchefi from the Trans Caucasian provinces to atf crV icv left flank of th « insurgents on the rivers Sir- ; -. ; i r . d Koisu . Before those troops had arrived at tht r -iliaation , Schamyl quitted t ^ o district of Anden , in :. » -- loonniains o . ' Digbe&tan , his usual place ut rrfc .. and -vr ti 2 o , oco men attached the fortress of Chuu-ik . Toe R-jsaiau garrison of tbiB fortress beirg ia * r in : of provisions made , sorties several and on the thir . i aiu-ir . pt to procure Bnppiies , tbe mountaineers er , crc-d the fortress pell-null with the Russians , and < .,-. ' ^ k was captured . Tee * trong fortress of Temir-C . nichusa met the rame fate . The garrison , being ' c-bied by disease and hunger , and not being a--. c io resist the assault of tbe Circassians * ur-Tru < iiTe < l at discretion to Schainy 1 . Ths latter
'• iiaoved the Cirnon and military stores which ha foucd in ti-ose fortresses , destroyed the fortifications , ard retired into the mountains . His lieutenants , Hntij ^ - > lorat ai * J Hadji-MoUan , attacked with a strong b ?> Jjr of L ^ sii ' ^ the towns cl Tarii and Dc cbent , on the borders cf the Caspian S .-i . Tarki was csptured , plundered , and burnt . D ^ cbent resisted . A f « w days ^ fU > r tht > 33 events occurred in Daghestan numerous Rjssiaa rbLnfureercents arrived , coniamiidid by Generals Garko and Fieitig . They were followed by 30 , 000 'i . tn under tfc-- orders of General Nt-iJhart , Commaiidi-r-in-Chifcf . The Russians entered the mountains uf the province of Tscbetschaia , where Schomyl had r . iui-ira-sn -with al 3 the plunder be hid procured at Ciunsak and Terair-Cnantchusa . Sims sanguinary
battles were fonghi with serious loss to both parties . Several of tbe mountain villages were burst , and much cultivated liud laid waste by the Russians , but they brined no material advantage during the ctxtpaign . bchamji still remains master of the mountains , where he had concentrated his partizoiB . Whilst these battles were being fcught in the Techetschaui , a LtBghian chief , named tbe Snlt&n Daniel , entered Xichetia Bud captured the town of Cheki , wbicb is the principal rnvtet of the country for silks and wines . The town was piilaged , and about 100 Russian soldiers were massacred . The Leaahians advanced to within twenty-two
leagnes of Tiflis . The population of tbe capital of Georgia being destitute of troops , tretrh' . ed at the approach cf their terr-bie enemy . TsflU was saved by BentTil Schwartz , Who , with 5 008 infantry , repnlsed Ihe LrszbianJ ; Irat the 1 ob 3 of the Russians amounted to 1 000 men . Tbe Rus-ilans thvraaelvbs fconfeBS that their c-impaign of this jcar fc > s completely failed . The faiVuie 13 aitri ^ nteo to the discord wbish j rivalled between Gcser ^ ls Iraders , Gurko , and Schwartz . It appears beyond donbt that a change of generals will t-k- place iu the Cancasns during tbe next winter . Tbe plan of making a winter campaign is entirely hbindoned .
FOREIGN MISCELLAKY . Etiquette cf tjie Scaffold . —A letteT from Pr&sbnrg , of S ^ pt . ' . 3 , in the Gczctte des Tribunaxn , i-ays , " The murderers of M . de Kizoaet , one of the Deputies of the Diet of Hnngary , have just been tried and executed . One of them was Conrad Tornyi , the servant of the deceased , and the other a shoemaker Earned Kowaiz , who not only aided in the crime , but afterwards robbed his accomplice of all the articles of value which were in M . deKrzine ^ s apariireDt at Pre ? burg . TorDji avowed hid gnilt , aa J acknowledged that bo had cut up the body in pieces . The Bentenca of the Court was , that Ti-rnyi should be quartered , his body burnt , and the ashes thrown to the wind ; and that Kowai z should
be decapitated . The prisoners appealed , but the King confirmed tbe sentence of death , changing Twnji ' s punishment into simple beheading . This sentence was carried into execmion two days back , in the market-place , and a strange incident added to the terrible interest of the scene . The judgment ordered Kowaf z to be first executed ^ but this Tornyi protested ag&inBt very strongly , declaring that as he was of noble blood he was entitled to die first . His claim being ejected , he fell en Kowaez , and endeavoured to pull him from the block . Kowa ; z sent him back with a violent blow on the chest : and
Tornyi wa 3 on the point of giving blow for blow , when the executioner ' s man seized him , and bound him so tightly as to prevent him making any exertion . They Were both executed in a J « rr ruinates after . This singular ambition of Tornyi to have his claim of birth attended to in such circumstances , calls to mind an execution at Copenhagen in 1816 , where , when some were sentenctd to death for exciting their fellow-prisoners to revolt , three of the number had bees beheaded , but the fourth refused to place his head on the block , on the ground that the person before him had been a Jew , and that he , teiEg a Christian , could cbject to having his blood
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mingled with that of a Jew . After some parley the magistrate granted his objection , and the man liaYing cleaned the block of the blood aawellaa he coald , placed his head down tranquilly , and uaderwent the sentence . " Sebiocs Riot in Quebec— We copy the following paragraph from the Montreal Courier of Friday — " We understand that there has been a serious row at Quebec among the Irian . It appears that on Wednesday last there was a procession and illumir nation , in honour of the liberation of O'Cennell , and that in consequence of some parties having refused to illuminatet their houses were attacked , upon whick tho assailants were fired upon from the houses and several of them wounded . —New York Evening Post , Latest pbom the Mobmons . —The Mormon war
is over—at Jeast for tho present . On the 30 th ult , the Governor held a treaty with the individuals against whom writs had been issued for being ea * gaged in the killing of the Smiths , and after somei considerable negotiations the matter was finally settled to the satisfaction of all concerned . Col Williams and T . C . Sharpe agreed to surrender if they could be taken to Quincy for their examination . This was agreed to on the part of the Governor . Further , they were to have an oscort to protect them while in the custody of the officer . It ' sufficient evidence was adduced to warrant the JlldtfO to commit for trial , the prisonera were to givo moderate bail for their appearanoe at court . If an indictment is then found , they are to have a continuance and a change of venue . —New York Mirror , Oct . lofA .
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EFFECT OF "PROSPERITY" ON WAGES . A most " melodious song of triumph" is just now being sung by the Free Traders , grounded on the fact that in one or two instances some trifling addition has been made to the amount , of wages paid to the manufacturing operatives . In this fact they pretend to hav « it demonstrated , that their
theory of " cheap food—high wagps" is unerringly true : and they use the fact as an additional " argument" (!) why the workers sV . ould join in tbe bawl for the removal of all regulation aud restraint on the transactions of commerce . It is our inteniiou to examine into the alleged "fact" and to show that the " fact" is no fact at all : but that on the contrary , " with decreased prices of prodacs haro come lower wages . "
To act honestly in this investigation , it will be necessary to do more than the Freo Trade writers and spouters do : it will be necessary to extend the inquiry over a pretty considerable length of time , and not merely confine the contrast of the present period , with a ** pickod one" of only tho other day , and that the "lowest depih" of the "late terrific depression . " The Free Traders will not establish their point by merely showing that bomo ten per cent , is added , in a few department , to the wages of 1842 : it will be necessary for them to establish the
fact that on a period of years , say ten or twenty , ; ho theory they propound holds good : and that the vastly increased trade and low prices 1 of 1844 afford and give higher wages than the comparatively small amount of trade aud high pries of 1854 or 1824 . If they do this , the question will assuredly be theirs ; and they will be entitled to argue from it the benefits and advantages of further extension : but if they fail in this , it will be manifest that pact contradicts the pet theory , and that the people have been right in their refusal to swallow and act on a doctrine so opposed to all experience .
Tbat there has boen an immense addition to the amount of our trade during the period just indicated admits not of dispute : aud that prices generally , for every description of produce , agricultural as well as manufactured , have materally decreased , is also matter of notoriety . Both facts are established by the official Returns . Let us go back for twenty years . In 1824 , tho gross amount of our foreign trade was £ 48 , 030 . 037 : this was official value—the measure ef quantity . In the year ending the 5 th January , 1844 , the gross
amount , or oficial value , of British Produce andi Manufactures exported , was £ 117 , 877 , 278 !! bein <{ just £ 2 \ , 8 \ 7 , 204 more than double the quantity of 1824 ! Here , surely , is increase sufficient . Here , surely , is plenty of addition to trade , to test tho soundness of the Free Traders' theory , that " increased trade" and " cheap food" bring higher wages . We shall see . First , however , let us ascertain what the relative value of prices were at tho two periods of contrast : for this ia a necessary portion and important branch of the question : the
theory being tbat " low prices induce high wages . ' Well , then , how do matters stand ia this respect In 1824 , the £ 43 . 030 , 037 official value , or quantity , brought in £ 37 . 573 . 018 real value . Let tho reader mark theso two amounts . Lot him note the proportion that tho real value bears to the ( fficial . Let him mark that the difference ) is but some £ 11 , 000 , 000 , or but one quarter ol the whole . In 1844 , the £ 117 877 . 278 official value brought in only £ 52 , 278 449 ! ! or considerably less than
half ! For the £ 69 , 847 , 241 ADDtiiWAL « cantitY . in 1844 over 1824 , we only reoeive the paltry sum of £ 14 704 531 !! Here's deprecation enough ! Here ' s low pkices ! Here are all the requisites for " high wages " : increased quantity ; decrea-ed prices . How stands the " facl % " as rcgarda wages ? What has been the effect on tho price paid for labour . - for on the solution of that question dopeuds the soundness or uu ^ ouudness of tho Free Traders ' " theory . "
In 1824 a weaver , for waving twelve yards of the 60 reed 6-4 ihs cambrics , received 4 s : in 1844 , for the same amouut and quality of work , he receives 8 J !! I O , sound "theory . " O , rare " fact , " on which to ground a " bong of triumph . " Trade increased oae-aud-a-half-tinita in twenty years , prices decreased more than 100 per cent : all the requisites for producing " high waged" according to the philosophers : and the ( fi \ ct on wages is , a reduction of three hundred and thirty-three per cent !!!
" Ah ! but , " exclaims Mother Goose , who is of the foremost in the present delusivoaud dishonest cackle about" low prices—h \ yh wages , ' '— " it is the price of food we mean : not the price of manufactured produce . Food is cheaver than it was : employment is also more abundant ; and as a consequence we seo that wage 3 are raising . " How stands that fact . It is true that food is cheaper . Tho price of wheat in 2824 was 62 s a quarter . The last six week ' s avcrage was 45 i 11 d . Food therefore -is much cheaper : and it ought to follow , from Mother Goose's premises , that
wages in 1844 ate much " higher" than in 1824 . This conclusion is inevitable , if the theory be correct : and if the conclusion . does not follow , it ou ^ ht to cause us to su ? pect that the Free Traders have not yet **• monopolized" all light and reason to themselves . And will Mother Goose dare to assert , tbat wagea are higher than in 1824 ' or any thing near tlo high ! Will she have the face to contend that in any one large walk of manufacturing industry more than one half the amount is paid to thd labourer ,
that was paid in 1824 ? Wo mean not iu fancy trades . Wo take the large walks ; tho weavers , the spinners , and the dressera : in any of these employments are wages one half the amount they were 1 And if not , what becomes of the " theory' ! What becomes of the sense , and discrimination , and wisdom , of Mother Goose ? Is it not apparent that the either does not know of that of which she prater , or that she is attempting a gross imposition for party purposes !
But let ub come lower down . Let us come to a period that the Free Traders lovo to use as an illusitration—the " cheap food" times of 1836 7 ; or just ten years ago . And here we shall find that the same rule holds good . We shall find that we have tremendously increased our trade ; decreased our prices ; and lowered wages . To the proof . In 1 S 53 the exports wore £ 85 , 222 , 337 official value ; real value £ 53 308 . 572 . Wo have before shown that in the last yew we exported £ 117 . 877 278 official value for £ 52 / 278 , 449 real value ; or in othtr words we have txported iu 1844 , £ 32 647 441 in quantity moke than in 1836 , and received for the whole amount , increase and all , £ 1 , 090 , 123 less in rtal value !!!
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What wages were , and are , let the following testify . It was given us by a weaver , iu an assembly ot some hundreds of his craft , in tho best paid district for weaving in the kingdom . It relates to the weaving of woollens , in the Iiolmfirth valley : a place where reduction has made the least havoo . On that spot the good old plan of making cloth from wool , and not from " muck , " almost universally prevails . The depreciation of woollen goods is notoriously not near so great as in the other departments of OUT " great" manufacture : nor have wagea suffered in this walk of industry nearly as much as in the silk , cotton , or linen branches . And yet what are the revelations made in this comparatively well-to-do trade 1 Let the following statement of facts tell : —
" In 1837 a warp of forty-eight portiea , twenty-fout woves long , would weigh from forty-one to forty-two pounds , and would take nineteen pounds ot weft to weave it : the weft being spun on to bobbins , would tnko seventeen bobbins per wove , with 220 shoots on each bobbin ; and the weaker teceiveil Is . 7 d . per wove , having the weft to spin , and gears to find . In 1844 a waro of fifty-eight porties , twenty-four strings lon ^ , will weigh from thirty-two to thitty-thiee poundg , and will take twenty-flre or tweuty > six pounds of weft to weave it : the weft being spun oa to bobbins , it will take twenty-five bobbins per wove , with 330 shoots on ench bobbin ; and the weaver receives lOd per string , with the weft spun and gears found . In 1837 the
master allowed 3 % for the weft spinning , which would amount to l . ^ d . per wove j for gears the weaver was allowed 21 . pur wove : tl'us he had left , after these charges were defrayed , Is . 3 ^< 1 . per wove for weaving . He now weaves by the ' string . ' A . ' string' is nine or ten inohes larger than a wove . ' He has t wenty-five bobbins to weave into a ' string ' , whereas seventeen bobbinB made a ' wove . ' Three thousand Beven hundred and forty picks , or shoots , would make a wove in 1837 , for which be ha i is . 3 ^ 1 .: In 18 * 4 be lias to throw the shuttle eight tb . ouau . ud two hundred and fifty times , for 1 » d . j i . e , he has to do considerably more than double tbe amount of work lor less than two-thud * tbe amount of pricu" !
There Messrs Free Traders : what say you to that ? There is proof of "high wages" produced by increased employment , and cheap food ! There is a "fact" for you : how does it square with your throry ? Let Mother Goose try to make " things fit" if she dare . She will , if she be not conscious of practising deceit and " extending" delusion iu her last essay on " Wages rising . " Tho above Wo set forth as true . Its statements
we have tested among tho craft . Wo heard their explanations of it , and their vouching for its accuracy . And this is in the best paid district in tho kingdom ! This is in a spot where the old custom of good manufacture aud high wages obtain as much as in any that could be selected . And if tho abovo be true of the best—what in heaven ' s namo are wo to think would be true of the worst ? Togivosonie idea , we will relate what the author of tho abovo statement related to us personally . He is a weaver . He has been euch all his life . He is a " hard-worker , " as all weavers must be who
live at all . // is not * eleven years since he could afford to get a coat for himself . The last he bought was in the year 1833 . He had it on , when we saw him . t is needless to state , that his appearance betokened the poverty of his condition . During tho time that he has been unable to get a coat to cover his own back , —which is , as all will suppose , just naked , —/ ic has produced with his own hand as much cloth as would clothe 2 , 753 individuals , at six and half yards each person : « . e . he has produced just upon , ' 18 , 000 yards of good woollen fabric for clothing , without being able to devote one single yard of thai immense heap to his own use ! What a glorious effect of Free-Trade-produced
" increased employment and cheap food . " God knows that his " food" is cheap enough : i . e . it costs him little enough : for he has little of it , and less to pay for it with . His average wages for some time past , including even now tbat " wages are rising" ( according to Mother Goose and the League ) havo . beeu 10 s . 10 d . a-week ; and out of that pittance he has to maintain a family of five . And this horrible state of things arises , he is told by the all-wise , because be is prevented from sending moke of his cloth abroad for the foreigner to wear . ' Hb thinks he has already sent far too much ; and thai if he OOUld only have kept some of it at home for his own use , it would have been quite as sensible , and a deal more com / e ? table . What says the reader \
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Aa yet Mr . Duffy may [ suppose that we but criticise his simplicity , and fiad fault with his temerity . jNo saoh thing . What we condemn is not his letter , but the article which succeeds that letter in the " Nation" And however some of the jealous tribe of liberal editors might have raised a cry against Mr . Duffy ' s contumacy , disobedience , and revolt ^ Hot one of the " distinguished patriots " could by possibility have shaken Mr . Duffy's well-Chosen and tenabla position , had net that gentleman been guilty of a much more serious crime than even that with which he charged the Magician . It is a very remarkable fact , that , whereas n * arly
every newspaper in the kingdom commented on Mr . Duffy ' s familiar letter , not one that we have seen has touched his subsequent editorial effusion . No : that has been left for cs . Mr . Duff-y objects to the plunge from " simple Repeal" to Federalism in his letter ; while in the very next number of the Nation we jfind the following dive into the muddy stream of jWhiggery . We extract the following paragraph from one of those wordy effusions , signifying nothing , and meaning as little , that so often appear in ihe columns of our exuberant cotemporary . Here it is . We read it three times before wo ventured to believe its reality : —
Can any dispute or doubt this fact , now part of history ? The ! WhiRS , though out of office , are a ' powerful party . Tbe ? niad off England is ur questionably iu their favour . The ministers of the Of p > sing party sre constrained to mould their measur < s so ss to harmonise ¦ with tbat mind , as their best security for a permanence of power . There is . nothing to prevent a combination of English Whigs and Irish Liberals , so overwhelming in power anil sweeping in its results as t ) leave no bopa for Conservatism in Ireland but that aspiring for Irsh freedom in wbicb tbe voice of party finds no echo , and which absorbs all tbe less dignified promptings of history and hope . Now , then , what say tbe Young Ibei-axvbrs to ihatt and-whatwill the Hod . Hely HuiCUINSON
say 1 and what will Daniel O'Connell say , who has said that " the Whigs are worse than the Tories V But above 11 what will Mr . Dcvfy say , when he reads it three times over , while hjs fingers are burning ? Woma 8 t | really have a word of closer reasoning on this production of the democratic Nation . We will take the precious morsel sentence by sentence . 11 The Whigs , though out of office are a powerful party" !!! : Indeed ! In what ? When ; even before they had got their own machinery , were they , as a party , so utterly powerless , so miserably hopeless , so thoroughlyjdeepised , and bo jistly distrusted ! " The mind of England is unquestionably in their favour . " The MIND of England is the very potter that keeps
them from office ! and thaHsame mind has grown in hostility and increased in hate . What does the Nation call ; the mind of a country ? Is it that indiscribable nondescript ** something , " of whioh no estimate can be made ! or ib it a thing whioh may be denominated a majority of sound thoughts , views , and understandings ? And if go , why has so powerfel an agency been so wholly unable to command representation for that party which the Nation tells us represents it ? No . The fact is , the whole mind of England is opposed to Whiggery : and if our cotemporary had taken the trouble to enquire , before be ventured to assert , he would have learned tbat there is not a party in England that ventures to take tho name of Whig .
Now aa the next sentence is a gem , and confirmatory of the principle , " men not measures , " we beg to call undivided attention to it . It runs thus : — " The ministers of the opposing party are constrained to mend thtir measures , so as to harmonize with that mind as their best security for a permanence of . power . " Now we , not the Nation , have put those seven words in striking characters and we ask if it would be possible to advance a stronger argument in favour of Sir Robt . Peel ' s Government than our cotemporary has thoughtlessly stumbled on ? So , then , wo have the fact , or rather the Nation ' s admission , that Ministers do mould their measures to harmonise with the hind '; that is , tho mind that oukht to be represented— " the mind
that is unquestionably in favour of the Whigs . Well , what more does the Nation want than the representation of tho mi . vd of England ? of the Whig ) mind too ! Then , in the next sentence we are told , that there is nothing to prevent a combination of English Whigs , and Irish Liberals , and all this , that , and the other thing . No , in faith ; there is nothing whatever to prevent the fraternizing of the two j scrambling place-hunting factions ; but , thank God , there is a m $ » in England to prevent their ascendancy ! There is a mind in England against which they contended before , and which overthrew ; them , —and overthrew them too , because they did not represent the mind that they themselves had created !
So we learn that Peel does represent the mind of England ;! and we know that Melbourne was kicked tut of < nice , because , with the assistance of the Irish jLiberal 9 , ho attempted to subdue the wind of England , and to govern by the sword . No doubt our friend would tell us that the Whigs possessed Me ; mind and affections of Ireland , \ when they gave \ her Coercion and proclaimed war to the dcuih ayainst the Repeal !! It would be wholly on' of the : power of langnage to exceed the foregoing extract in folly , ignorance , or apostacy . Mr . Duffy did not wait to be kicktd out of the way . Ho very speedily took himself off ; whereas he might have sustained a glorious position . So much for the Jettor and the spirit of Youkg lRELAr <» ; and now one word about " Ould Ireland . "
W- ! have repeatedly asserted that the treachery of CiiAnLpMu . vr and tho Whigs , after they had actiioved their own victory , and tbe consequent disappointment of the Catholic Volunteers , led to the Iridh Revolution of 1798 . We have asserted that the treachery of the Reformers led to the further demands of the people We have asserted that the treachery of the Whigs , in 1839 , led t 6 the establishment of some Secret Societies iu England ; and we have the strongest evidence that the treachery of O'Connell' will lead to a precisely similar res lit . in 18-13 . when all was hope and promise , Ribbonism
was suspended . From October to April was not long to wait , either for O'Connell ' s h « ad or Repeal . The national fire had extinguished the heart-burniogs of pauperised individuals . But , mark the change I No sooner does the General temporise and the leader j compromise , than again , as if by magic , the standard ot Ribbonism ia raised with increased resolution ito confide iu itself , being taught that" Who would be free , themselves must strike the blow . ' There is not a gathering of fugitives at the Conciliation Hall that is not now marked by a denunciation of increasing Ribbonism , and tho dismissal of refractory Repeal Wardens , who cannot' all at once
" swallow tho leek . ' In Ireland , in Scotland , and in Manchester wo learn that ihis order ' of "hereditary bondsmen" is fast and fearfully increasing and we a 3 $ ert that Mr . O'Connhll is the father of Ribbonism , and is answerable for every single crime to which , his own treachery and treason shall give rise . Our only hope now is , ihat when tbe " be ^ inp - baj > " is filled on the 16 th , Ireland , poor Ireland , will have ; socno months repose , from the begging , juggling , spouting crew of pound-shilling-and-pencepatriots . We repudiate Ribbouism as heardly as an ) one can do : but we must , and do consider it a consequence of the treachery of Irish leaders .
To conclude with Mr . Duffy , ss we commeoced with that gentleman , we would strongly recommend him' in future to " think three times" before he writes once : and we would further recommend him to inform himself on the state of the English mind beforo he ventures to calculate upon its pliancy . He never will live to Bee a union between the Whigs and the mind of England .
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to be , aa one of Mdrdeb , because it could have ben prevented—ot rather because the means of preven . fcion that have been solemnly recommended by men of science and experience , and backed by the authority of a Committee of the House of Commons , hara not been applied , but the suggestions suffered to stan d on the face of the Report unheeded and despised , while hundreds of working men have been sacrificed , and thousands have been made to mourn thg loss of the beings that gave them birth , and who should have been their support and guide in life . It is of no use for the Weekly Chronicle
to tell us that the " uniform tendency of tbe evidence at the Inquest was to shew that there was no indifference ; no neglect ; that the ventilation was admirable ; " and all that sort of iank rotten stuff . All that we knew before ' . Hate not our ears rung with it for the last month , t ' n the teeth of the fad that the Coroner— " just Judge" as he was—refused to allow other and contradictory evidence to be given ; that he constantly and unceasingly interfered to prevent answers being given to questions by those who t $ cre examined , which would have made the truth apparent : that he refused to
allow men of practical experience and scienifio knowledge to " view" the place of " accident , '' and judge of the "best regulations" and the " excellent system of ventilation" so muoh vaunted , and only consented to their appoint * ment when he knew that Government had taken cognizance of his conduct , and when the owners themselves had been shamed into the avowal that 11 they had new no objection f that he closed the inquest , and fUtiy refused these men an opportunity of reporting the result of their examinations aud observations ; that he peremptorily refused permission to Mr . Ryan—a man whose scientific attain .
ment 3 on the subject of ventilating minus have produced him the large gold medal of tho Society of Arts , and induced the late Sir Humphrey Davy to declaro publicly that " Mr . Ryan ' s priuciples of ventilation wero so clear that he should consider every life lost in future by explosion as manslaughter , "—to explain how the " accident" could have been prevented : in the teeth of all this , we have heard the wicked prate that '" every precaution had been taken ; " " nothing bad been teft undone : " " the pit was the best ventilated in the whole district : " and it did not need the Weekly Chronicle to din it ia our ears , to cause us to understand the real merits of the Haswell
Des-. O , no : of all tho " siag-song" we have been fully cognizant : and it is because we know it to be untrue ; it is because we know it to be a lie , —a wicked damnable lie , that wo tear the veil of assumed innocence and kindly regard from off the Hmb 8 Of GUILTY NE « LECT and CONSUMMATE IGNORANCE , and pronounce the " accident" which hurried ninetyfive human beings into eternity at one fell swoop , aa one that could have been averted , had the suggestions ofseienco been listened to , and the plans of experience adopted .
The Weekly Chronicle surely forgets , that every man of these same ninety-five , —sacrificed to IGNORANCE and NEGLECT . Were OUT ON BTRIKE for nineteen weeks because they deemed the " beat ventilated pit" to be unsafe , and demanded tbat before they risked their lives for the upheaping of wealth for the Owners , some portion of the accumulated 11 thousands" should be applied in nuking tbe " place of death" as safe as science possibly could ; that this just request of the men was spurned at , rejected , despised by the " considerate ' and " precautious" owners , and the " Poor
Oppressed were starved into the pits again , to become a prey to the devouring flame and the suffocating blast ! It may be all very well for the staid , prim , stifly-starched , nervous old lady of tbe Weekly Chronicle , with hex feelings enlisted in favour of those who do her the honour to " drink tea" with her ac times , to forget all these things , and affect a " pious horror " of Jacobinism " which sees in every rich man" — ( of this sortj—" an oppressor , " and "in every foob man" —( of that sort)— " a victim to avarice " : it may
be all very well for old Tab * y , when seated in her damask chair , with feet lolling on the soft hassock , and with philosophic spectacles on her nose , to do thi 3 , and act thus : but for vs none of your mawkishness will do ! We look at things as they are . We strip off the guise . We proclaim neglect when we find it . We expose ignorance when it manifests itself : and we call a spade a spade . We cannot torture ignorance into ¦ " precaution "; we cannot make neglect into " careful attention ; " nor can we slide Murdeb into "Accident "
" Every precaution , " sayn the Weekly Chronicle championising tho Coal-kings , " was taken to pitvent accident : not a single man can point out a single thing done , or left undone , by reversing which the blow might have been averted . " And this , too , when it is matter of record , that Foster , tbe viewer , betrayed a total ignorance of science , and such an overweening conceit of his own abilities that he could not believe it possible that any human being could improve on his system : when Scott , the underviewer , the man who fcaa the charge of the pit in Foster's absence—tbe nan
who has had it in charge for a fortnight togetherwhen this man confessed that ho knew not of the " proportion of carburretted hydrogen and atmospheric air required to become explosive . — " knew nothing whatever of the gas , either practically or theoretically" ! - — " could not say whether there was any carbonic acid gas in the pit or not . —evidently did not know what the term carbonic acid gas meant , for he " mpposed it was called choke Jamp" \—knew nothing of what should be doM to a person injured by choke damp to restore him in tho face of all this gross and stolid i « noranca
and unbearable conceit , Goody of tho Chronicle says that "every precaution against ' accident' h » been taken" ! Rare " precaution" that , to place tho lives of hundreds constantly exposed to imminent danger in the care of a man whose stolidity would have been a disgrace to the merest tyro m chemistry ! a man who knew nothing of the natorfl of the airs and gase 3 from the prevalence of wbiw the danger arose ! Rare precaution that , WWC denied that it was possible for a draught of air « force the flame through the meshes of the Da *! lamp , or for the men to draw tho flame through to tne
" to lifcht their pipes" ; and then sent a . miner tread-mill for doing that which they denied the possibility of ! Rare precaution that , which did no provide DAM- » ooRsto supply , spontaneously , th e place of the blown-out stoppings , and thu 3 direct course of the " best ventilation" to tho P ^ ™ of euffjcation from the carbonic acid gas , or c 0 damp , that invariably follows the firiugof the exp sivo mixture of hydrogen and common air ; especJ when it has been established that such a " P * ° is effectual ; the probability being that in this four-fifths of the sacrificed" would have been s& nonld the " best ventilation" only have D « n *
served in its ordinary course . Rare ^«™ . that , which made " stoppings" of half-mcB baards ; fragible materials , liatb to be Wojn Ji by a strong current of the " ventilation i much loss stand the force of the destructive o ; an " explosion . " Rare " precautions &il m . deserving of the encomiums of Goody over ^ tackle : but rather serious matters for those into the pits with their lives in their hands . li
We suppose that Goody Anti Jacobin ^ J ° flh 4 in the " Coxlodgo inquiry" a uniform tended / ^ evidence in favour of the owners aud rie * ' thoso who couid , by employing « ' ' , . n E r the jtcahave prevanied tha « violation , " and I » P ' ' » . „ derfd viotim- ( let tbo Chronicle note tw , the land of the living . The devil ' s in i * , rf » 0 At all events , it will not be the Coroner ^ is not so . There the thing was ^ f ^ it ^ it was open , fairly above board , i _ ^ made plain , apparent , what Coroners i » . are for . We have been ln » r J »> ° g * prf , that they had bean instituted for
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11 YOUNG IRELAND" CROUCHING . " EAT YOUR PUDDING , ELAVE !" Mr . Charles Gavan Duffy , prinoipal Editor of the Nation newspaper , not being satisfied with Mr . 0 'Coivxei . l ' s hasty conversion from Repeal to Orangeism—( for that is the real meaning of Federalism)—recently penned a letter to the " Great Magician : " and doubtles 3 its contents cabt a glimmer of hope over the drooping spirit of " Young Ireland . " In his familiar mode of remonstrance , preferring the " Epistolary" to the ** Editorial" style , Youxg Ireland contends that Repeal is not only a thing , but THE thing that Irishmen should look for . The letter wa <* printed in every newspaper in the kingdom ; and thus Mr . Dufit had every chance of fair tliy .
Most of our contemporaries commented very flitteringly on Young Ireland ' s production . True , there was nothing very striking in the style ; but then there was something refreshing > u the fact , that a newspaper of tho largest circulation of the whole" Brothel" prc « a of Ireland should have ventured upon a tilt with tho " Bully . " We , too , printed Mr . Duffy ' s letter ; but then wo did not venturo a comment . No ; in faith , we were too wise . We had before , on many occasions , witnessed tho diffi-iviifio between Young Ireland ' s measured
proeo and unmeasured poetry , to justify usm takii . g one letter , or one article , however strong on a principle , as decisivo of tho opinion of You . nc Ihe-LAyn . Wo therrforo wai'cd till tho Nation bad made Mr . Durrv ' s " lcap good ; " until that print should have given the stamp of hearty approval to the epistle ot its principal conductor . Very fortnnato it is that wo did wait , as wo have nothing now to unsay .
There was once upon a time , as all story-tellers say , a chattering littlo girl , who was in the habit ot saying very awkward things before company . She lived with her grandmother , who had suffered much annoyance from this childish habit . Well , grandmother , to break the child of so bad a habit , said to her one day : " folly , my dear , always think three times before you speak . " One evening , shortly after tho child had received this admonition , she was sitting at tho fireside with Granny , who vvaa engaged in knitting a pair-of stockings . In compliancejwith the recent inunctions ,
Polly said " Grandmother , I ih . uk" " Grandmother , 1 thitk " ' Grandmother , 1 think " " Well , well , child , what do you think V " Why , grandmother , I think your ball of cotton is under the grate , and will bo burnt if you don ' 6 take it out . " Now , although the grandmother sustained the loss , the value of the lesson was worth it . Mr . O'Connell spoaks without " thinking , " : because he uover scruples to deny anything when charged with it . In faet , it is the easiest and far the least troublcsomo mode of dealing with a '
charge . It prevents the necessity of t xplanatioD ,, and qualification , and retractation , aud all that sort of thing . However , though this is Mr . O'Con- ^ nell ' s practice as regards speech , there is no man j who " thinka" oftener before ho writes a letter . ] That btcomes fair game for the critics , and therefore for thevit and not for the common reader , is it prepared . Ou the other hand , Mr . Duffy appears j to have writteM first and "thought" afterwards . Mr . Duffy did not rtflect , before he had written his
young , fresh , aud thoughtless aspirations , that the lb \ h of November had been decided on aa the National Rent Day ; and that Mr . O'Connell ' s lever was the annual feeler . Mr . Duffy did not know enough of Irish enthusiasm and Irish confidence , to understand ihat " simple Repealers" will be distrained on for the National Rent , on the plea that " O'Connell has merely propounded the question as one for discussion" ; while new tenants will be entrapped on the prospects arising from a Federal connection . In fact Mr . ^ DcPFY never once saw that the whole thing inoant " To be Let . "
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THE HASWELL TRAGEDY ! i AND ITHE COXLODGE FARCE , At the risk of again shocking the delicajte nerves ef the " old woman" who mangles for the Weekly Chrcniclejvre venture to designate the recent Has * well " vjsitatiois "— " accidental" though it was held
The Noetheen Star Saturday, November 2, 1844.
THE NOETHEEN STAR SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 2 , 1844 .
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4 TH E NORTHERN STAR . j November 2 . 1844 .
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 2, 1844, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1287/page/4/
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