On this page
- Departments (3)
- Adverts (2)
-
Text (13)
-
s=— — fomm $tobemtnt& *
-
Untitled Article
-
ilarfeet Jnfelltgttttt*
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
TO MR. PROUT 229 STRANDLONDON.
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Ad
, , , VTcdncsbunj-, Sept . 2 , 1844 . J DlR , —I havebeen an agent for BLAIR'S GOUT and { KJ RHEUMATIC PILLS upwards of four years ; during j that period very many cases of cure by their use have : ] k-eii effected and come under my notice in this town and .., neighbourhood , which has Becured to , them a celebrity ! i , unequalled by any other medicine . I , therefore ,, in jus- ' ; ( tice feel bound to state to you the following insta ' ncc ofj j their efficacy : — jy [ 1 A person of the name of Turner applied to me in Au-i gust , 1840 , for a box of Blair ' s Pills . He had been subject ! to violent attaclts of Rheumatic Gout for ten years , an * d ' compelled to give up work for weeks at a time . He luuT tried medical aid , and everything bo could hear of , or that his friends had recommended . He was then labouring under one of thoso attacks , but by taking Blair ' s PUls according to the directions , he was quite restored . Since then , whenever be feels an attack approaching , by taking only a few doses it speedily vanishes . Ho wishes me to state these facts to you for the benefit of others . You are at liberty to publish the above if you think fit . 1 am , sir , your obedient servant , p FREDERICK C . LADBURY , Chemist . The decided superiority of this medicine over every other hitherto offered to the public for the cure of those dreadfully painful diseases , gout , rheumatic gout , rheumatism , lumbago , sciatica , &c , is so fully manifested by the increasing sale , and the testimony of thousands in every rank of life , that those who are aware of the existence of such a remedy , and have not availed themselves of trying its efficacy , cannot truly be objects of sympathy . The testimonials of the astonishing effects of this medicine are universally accompanied by the fact that no inconvenience of any sort attends its administration , but that the patient , without feeling the operation of the medicine , is universally left in a stronger and better state of health than experienced previous to being afflicted with this disease ; and in all cases of acute suffering , great relief is experienced in a few hours , and a cure is generally effected in two or three days . Sold by Thomas l ' rout , 229 , Strand , London , price , 2 s . 9 d . per box ; and , by his appointment , by Ilcaton , Hay , Allen , Land , Haigh , Smith , Hell , Townsend , Baines aud Newsome , Smeeton , Reinhardt , Tarbottom , and Ilorner , Leeds ; Brooke , Dewsbury ; Dennis and Son , Bnrdekin , Moxon , Little , Hurdman , Linncy , and Hargrove , York ; Brooke and Co ., Walker and Co ., StaffovdrFaulkner , Doncaster ; Judson , Harrison , Linney , Ripon ; Foggitt , Coatcs , Thompson , Thirsk ; Wiley , Easingwold ; England , Fell , Spivey , Huddersfield ; Ward , Richmond ; Sweeting , KnaresboTOugh ; Pease , Oliver , Darlington : Dixon , Jletcalfe , Laugdale , Northallfrton ; Rhodes , Snaith ; Goldthorpe , Tadcaster ; Rogerson , Cooper , Newby , Kay , Bradford ; Briee , Priestley , Fonfefract ; Cordwell , Gill , Luwton , Dawson , Smith , Wakeficld ; Berry , Dcnton ; Suter , Leyland , Hartley , Parlter , Dunn , Halifax ; Booth , Rochdale ; Lambert , Borougbbridge ; Dalby , Wetherby ; Waite , Harrogate : Wall , Barnslcy ; and all respectable medicine venders throughout tho kingdom . Ask for BLAIR'S GOUT and RHEUMATIC PILLS , i and observe the name and address of " Thomas l ' rout , 229 , Strand , London , " impressed upon the Government stamp affixed to each pavt of the Gcnuiue Medicine .
Untitled Ad
2 s . 9 d ., 4 s . 6 d ., and 11 s . each box ; or , post free , 3 s ., 5 s ., and 12 s . COPAIBA AND CUBEUS ENTIRELY SUPERSEDED . WRAY'S BALSAMIC PILLS , a certain , safe , and the most speedy remedy ever discovered for the permanent and effectual cure of strictures , seminal weakness , pains in the loins , affections of the kidneys , gravel , rheumatism , lumbago , gonorrhoea , gleets , local debility , irritation of the bladder or urethra , and other diseases of the urinary passages . The unprecedented success that has attended the administration of these pills , since they were made public , has acquired for them a sale more extensive than any other proprietary medicine extant , and the circumstance of their entirely obviating the nttessity of having recourse to those disgusting , nau » eojB , and in many cases highly injurious medicines ( as copaiba , cubebs , fcc ) , has obtained for them a reputation unequalled in
Untitled Ad
w the annals of medicine . Prior to being advertised , thest pills were employed in private practice in upwards of l , 80 > cases , many of them most inveterate—in many thousand cases since , nnd in no on * instance known to fail , or to produce those unpleasant symptoms so often experienced while taking copaiba , and that class of medicines usually rcsorted to in these complaints .. The proprietor pledges himself that not one particle of copaiba , cither resin or balsam , cubebs , or any deleterious ingredient , enters their composition , Copaiba and cubebs have long been the most commonly employed medicines in the abov . o complaints ; but , from the uncertainty in their effects , . together with tlieir utter inoffiency . in many coses , are fast declining in reputation ; and , from tht unpleasant symptoms invariably produced from taking copaiba , especially in the early stage of the complaint , many of the most able modern practitioners condemn it as dangerous , and a medicine not to be depended upon . Many persons , after having suffered more from the effects of the remedy than the virulence of the disease , and , afteu a-patient but painful perseverance , have boon compelled to relinquish its use , the whole system having become more or less affected , and the disease as bad , if not worse ,. than . at the commencement . As regards cubebs , it j true that thos » violent effects arc not experienced as w . uc uddng oopaibs , but they seldom effect a cute , unless , h » , eaotive medicines are administered . The Balsamic Pills are free from any of the above objections ; they act specifically oa tho urinary pagjages : and , from their tonic properties , tend to strengthen the system and improve the general health . Th « y require neither confinement nor alteration of diet ( except abstinence from stimulants , where considerable inflammation exists ) , and , as experience has amply proved , they will effect a cure sooner than copaiba ( the dangerous results of which , iu the inflammatory stages , arc too well known to need comment ) , ov auy other medicine in . present use , and may be justly considered the only safe and efficacious remedy in all stages of those disorders . In addition to these advantages , the very convenient form in which this invaluable preparation is offered to th « public ,, must alto a desideratum . Prepared only by M . O . Wray , and . sold , wholesale and retail , at 118 , Holborn-hill ; and at the West-end Depot * 344 , Strand , London . May also be had of all respectable medicine venders in town and country ,. Patients in the remotest parts of tile country can O « treated successfully , on describing minutely their case , and inclosing a remittance for medicine , which Ciiu be forwarded to any part of the werld , securely packed , and carefully protected from observation .
S=— — Fomm $Tobemtnt& *
s = — — fomm $ tobemtnt& *
Untitled Article
JSl ^ tert ^" *™* at oent of the Faw S / ft ° ^ ^ ? m we »»» to the law provided for their relief , which , when they qet cently afford them the magnificent sum of A « tf-a wm a year ! The provisions of this lw were explicitly stated in one of the letters ™ ™ from the ^ TZ ^^ Star : a referenc e to thaUetS ,,, - / -5 > y an Act passed in the rei « m nf . T *™
iUsiSfr T itrates and fustics were authorised to tax the inhabitants of parishes accord . S a * 5 e r substence , to such amount as might be sufocieiit to sustain the poor . 2 nd . Thatby a proclamation of William and Mary , O . e ministers an < Felders ( the Kirk Session ) were to meet twice a year to levy an assessment for the proper support of the poor , one-half to be paid by the hentors , and the other half by the householders of the parish ; the relief to be distributed to the poor by two overseers . r J
3 rd . A subsequent proclamation of the same reign makes the magistrates a party to the assessing of the Heritors and inhabitants generally for the support ot the poor , and the sheriff is ordered to fine all defaulters double the sum they neglect to pay . 4 th . It has been settled in practice that heritors although not inhabitants of the parish where their property lies , may be assessed for the support of the poovoftheparoh . 5 th . It has been decided in the highest court in Scotland—the Court of Session-that refusal of relief , or adequate relief to a proper object is illegal , and the wrong done may be redressed by the Supreme Uurt commanding the heritors and Kirk Session to grant adequate relief . Our Scottish readers will do
well to turn to the case of Elizabeth Duncan v . the Heritors and Kirk Session of Ceres , given in our last , trorn the Times . In giving judgment in this case , Lord JBFFBEr , one of the judges of the court , said : — If anything is clear in law , nothing 6 eems to me so clear a » that the poor of this country have a legal title to needful sustenance . Indeed , at common law , if a man has not forfeited his rights , I should think he has a good right to needful sustenance , which is only , in other words , a right to live . This right , I » uspect , lies a little deeper than the right of property itself ; butl don't go into that . We agree with Lord Jeffrey that the natural rights of man—the first of which is the right to liveis even better founded than the right of property but his Lordship says , "I don't go into that . " Of
course noi : suca an inquiry would not be a very safe one for Lord Jeffbet ' s " order . " We thank himj however , for the admission he has made ; and we beg to tell him that the inquiry he declines going into , we will , before we have done with this subject , go into for him . On the 2 nd of April last the Lord Advocate introduced the Government measure for the amendment of the existing law . We have not seen the bill , nor any abstract of it , except what appeared in the report of the Lord Advocate ' s speech ; that report we here reprint . We do so that our Scottish readers may have all the information we can afford them on asubjectBo materially connected with their well-being . The following is the abstract of the Act as reported in the Lord Advocate ' s address : —
The Lord Advocate described the present state of the law in Scotland relative to the relief of the poor , showing that thetwo 8 tatutes—one passed in 1579 , and the other in the reign of ¦ William and Mary—on which that law rested , made provision for the infirm and debilitated poor only , and not forthe able-bodied pauper , whom want of employment or other causes might have plunged into distress . In explaining to the house the Scotch law of settlement , he stated that in Scotland settlement arose from four causes only—namely , from birth , from parentage , from residence , and from marriage ; and that , when once acquired , it could not be lost until another settlement was acquired in another parish . He explained that the funds for the relief of the poor were obtained from contributions made every Sabhathat the door of everv parish church in
Scotland , from voluntary contributions made at other times , from sums mortified for the use of the poor , and from assessments on landward parishes , and on large towns , levied at stated times , and under various conditions . The law did not prescribe that the relief given to the poor should be given in any particular form : it only declared that it should be given for their needful sustentation . The poor had a statutory right to relief in some parish . In every parish there was an administrative body armed with power to afford relief ; and if that body did not perform its duty in a satisfactory manner , the courts of law were armed with power sufficient to compel them . There existed , therefore , under the present law a right to relief , funds to administer relief , obligation to provide relief , and power to
enforce that obligation . In Scotland no parish was bound to relieve a pauper except that where he had a settlement , it might be very distant from the parish in which he was suffering under destitution , and if he went to i t he might on bis arrival find his right to relief resisted . Supposing that to be the case , he had no mode of redress , except by an appeal to the supreme courts of Scotland . He ( the Lord Advocate ) proposed that in future the pauper should be relieved from these difficulties , and that he should obtain relief in the first instance in the parish where he happened to be when the necessity for relief fell upon him . He further proposed chat the parish which sought to relieve itself from that burden should be liable to afford him relief until it had established the right of another parish to relieve him !
By this arrangement the pauper would obtain relief immediately . He further proposed , that if the parish in which the pauper was , refused to relieve him , lie should not have occasion to apply to the supreme courts , but that the sheriff of the county in which the parish was should have the power to decide on the right of the pauper to be admitted to relief . If the ' sheriff decided in favour of the pauper , and if the parish appealed against his decision , he proposed that in that case the parish should relieve him until an adjudication was made on the appeal . The pauper having thus obtained his admission on the roll for relief , the next thing was to provide for his obtaining relief adequate to his necessity . To secure this object he proposed that there should be in each parish a party to attend to the wants of the poor , who should keep a list of all applicants to him for relief , and a reeord of the manner in which the application was
met , and relief administered . He also proposed that there should be a central authority , to whom all those lists and records should be sent . That would keep public attention alive to the subject ; and that consideration brought him to the question , what was to be done in case the local authorities neglected their duty ? It was quite evident that it was for the interest of all parties that the right of appealing to the supreme courts should be placed under regulation and control . For that purpose he pro * posed to constitute a board of supervision , consisting of nine persons . Three of its members should be appointed by the Crown , and one of them should be paid for the performance of his duties . The other six members should be ex ojteto members of the board . He proposed that one of them should be the Lord Provost of Edinburgh another the Lord Provost of Glasgow , and a third the Solicitor-General for Scotland for the time being . The three other members should be the sheriffs of three
important counties In Scotland—namely , of Perth , of Ross , and of Benfrew ; and to each of them he would make a small annual allowance in addition to their present salaries . Having a board of this mixed character , he would now state how he would make it useful in controlling the rightof appeal to the courts of session , which he considered to be injurious at present bcth to parishes and to paupers . If the parochial board should give to any pauper aliment which he deemed insufficient , the pauper shiuld state it to the board of supervision . If the board of supervision should concur with the parochial board in considering jt sufficient , then he proposed that that judgment should be held conclusive ; but if the -board of supervision should think that injustice had been done the pauper , then he proposed that their opinion should be sufficient to enable
him to plead in forma pauperis before the court of session , and the board of supervision should determine what amount of relief the pauper should receive , and that amount he should be entitled to receive until his liti gation with the parish was determined . Considering the constitution of the board of supervision , in which there must always be some eminent lawyers , he thought it most probable that the parishes would generally acquiesce ia its deci-lons ; but if they did not , he left them at liberty to litigate the matter in the ordinary courts of judication in Scotland . He then proceeded to describe the construction of the local boards of relief . He proposed to extend the period which gave a legal settlement from three years to seven years ; and in cases of removal , he provided that the parish alimenting the pauper should , when his right parish wa » ascertained , give notice of the fact to
that parish , and should be at liberty , after a given time , to send him to his proper parish at the cost of that parish . With respect to providing funds for the poor , he did not think it necessary to make it compulsory on the local boards to assess the inhabitants . If the funds were sufficient , the parties might raise them among themselves , as they deemed most fitting ; but if they were insufficient , power should be given to raise them by assessment . He then proceeded to describe the powers which he gave to the different boards in order to provide education for the children of the poor , medical relief for such of the poor as were sick and infirm , and refuge in asylums for such of them as were lunatic and distraet . He also gave power to the towns to erect workhouses and to assess the inhabitants for the money necessary to erect them ; but he did uot make it compulsory upon the towns to erect such buildings .
The above abstract is very imperfect , but it is the only one we have at hand . The proposition to relieve the pauper' without regard to whether , when wantnig relief , he might be in his own parish , would be a good ore provided it were made absolute : but the parish board may refuse relief ; in which case the * pauper" will have to apply to the sheriff of the county , may decide in favour of the pauper , and then if the parish board appeals against the sheriff ' s decision , the board must , until the dispute is adjudicated
on , supply relief to the applicant . But eon . siderthe situation of the pauper while waiting the decision of the sheriff . Suppose the poor man in the c 0 U » i -1 Ayr suppose Wai to be at New Cumnook , or Aluirkirk , when requiring relief : suppose his appeal to be rejected , and that he is compelled to apply to the sheriff , if the sheriff resides in the town of Ayr or its neighbou rhood : in thatcasethe " pauper " would hare to walk from the former place above twenty mites , andfr pm the latter nearly thirty miles ; or if the appeal to the sheriff be permitted in writing
Untitled Article
he may not be able to write ; but even if he can H ^ wT ^ * ? , aUowed * k Ms appeal to reach the sheriff and for the return of an answer ; in the meant me the poor creature , while tramping to Ayr , vS " ^ answer t 0 his appeal , may die of star •„ JSf ° - f th at ob -Mi ° nable features of the bill inZlr- ^ ro | a tion of the r of appeal to the & ™ . W ° J , ? ession ' On this P ^ on of the Shov ^ lV ^^ co mment from the Tims . with every word of which we concur : — The construction of the Board of Supervision , or , in 2 Zf ; ° therbatCh ° fPoor L ™ Commissioners , with their powers and authorities , occupies the first fourteenclausesin thebill . The powers o / tos £ s on sible body are ample for inquiry and deliberation but SS !^* They Sdeet
««« : directed to make an annualreport to » one of her Majesty ' s principal Secretaries of State ou the condition of the poor , ' and tins comprises nearly the wholeof their active and positive duty ; but they have another duty assigned to them , of an anomalous character—the duty of acting as turnkeys on the Supreme Court of Appeal , the Court of Sessions . At present the poor have a right of appeal ( which is just beginning to operate equitabl y ) against the mockery of relief awarded by heritors and Kirk Sessions the Lord Advocate ' s Board of Supervision is to be vested with power to lock the doors of the Court of Sessions against such intruding claimants , and entirely shut them out from any chance of obtaining redress on appeal . This audacious attempt to procure the authority of Parliament for such afrauuulent and unconstitutional proceeding is set forth in the bill as follows : —
Be jt enacted , that it shall not be competent for any court of law to entertain or decide any action relative to « 1 ZT / < f relle . . 8 ranted by Parochial boards , unless the Board of Supenunon shaU previously Urn declared tM there is o just cause o / action . This contemplated outrage on the established right of the poor , s one of the Lord Advocate ' s contrivances for impnniwsthe adunnistration of relief under a Poor Law which imperatively directs that the poor are to be sud plied with " needful smtentalion !" The construction of the local board is not stated in the abstract of the Lord Advocate ' s speech ; we find it , however , set forth in the Times , and here give it together with the comments of that paper , with which ' we entirely agree : —
"In every landward parish in which the funds requisite for the relief of the poor shall be provided without assessment , the parochial board shall consist of the heritors and KftfySeisiMi of titeh parish ; and in every landward parish tnwiiicti it shall have been resolved , as hereinafter provided , to raise the funds requisite for the relief of the poor by assessment , there shall be added to the heritors and Kirk Session of such parish , in manner hereinafter mentioned , such number of elected members as shall be fixed by the Board of Supervision ; and such elected members , together with ( he heritors and Kirk Session , shall constitute the parochial board of such parish : provided always , that it shall be competent for any heritor to appoint , as heretofore , by a writing under his hand , any other person to be his agent or mandatory to act and vote for him "
Thus , where there is no assessment for the relief of the poor , the heritors and Kirk Session are to retain their power , under the appellation of a " Parochial Board ;" and wh » re there is mi assessment , their authority is to be shared with some persons elected b y themselves and the other ratepayers . Now , as the Lord Advocate ' s bill docs not provide for a compulsory assessment , and as it rests with the heritors and Kirk Session to determine whether there shall be an assessment or not , it follows that they are to have the power of retaining and perpetuating that administrative authority which they have generally so grievously abused . Even in cases where there is an assessment , the only change would be , that a few persons elected by the ratepayers would be incorporated in the " Parochial Board , " where they would not only be powerless against the resident heritors and Kirk Session ,-but would be liable to be utterly swamped at any time by the proxies of a body of absent heritors .
Ihe main defect of the present law—the want of a compulsory assessment for the poor—is not " amended" in the Lord Advocate ' s bill . In introducingthat measure , he is reported to have said , He did not think it requisite to make it compulsmy upon all parishes to assess themselves . If tAe funds were provided—if the poor did receive sufficient reliefit was a matter of no general importance in what manner they were so provided . The parties interested ought to be allowed to raise the necessary funds in the manner most agreeable to themselves . "
Now , the manner of raising the necessary funds " mostagreeable" to the heritors has hitherto been not to raise them at all ; and the Times well remarks , " What they did give must have been the measure of their liberality , and of their sense of justice , too . And if we are still to trust to that liberality and sense of justice , what authority have we for assuming that it will be more operative for the future than it has hitherto been , especially as there is a premeditated design to close the Court of Appeal against starving claimants ? " The Times adds : —
But the Lord Advocate declared in Parliament , in support of biB proposition , " that there was in many parts of Scotland a great reluctance to the assessment . " A great reluctance to t&e aitessment ! To be sure there is ; but what , in the name of common sense , has that to do with the matter ? Let the Legislature once admit the principle that such reluctance is to be considered u valid reason for relinquishing compulsory payments , and who would give one per cent , for Consols ? What would be the market pvice of arent-eharge of £ 500 per annum ; or a rent-roll of £ 50 , 000 a-year , payable on that voluntary system which the Lord Advocate would adopt for the
relief of the poor ? Reluctance to submit to an equitable apportionment of a just demand urged as a plea by a lawyer ! Why , if it Avere not forauch reluctance , laws would be little better than speculative impertinence . If men can be safely left to the promptings of their own will to do that which is strictly just , the statutes may be made a bonfire of . But the very object for which laws were framed is to oppose authority to reluctance to banish mere self-will from the agency of human affairs , and to place all , both rich and poor , equally under the restraint of a sovereign justice , paramount to all will , and armed with authority to coerce reluctance .
It will be seen that power is given to towns toerect workhouses , and to assess the inhabitants for the money necessary to erect them . Against the workhouse system we protest in toio : and we hope that the people of Scotland will also protest against it universally . Let them declare in a voice of thunder that they will have no Poor Law bastiles in Scotland . We fear very much that unless the people of Scotland bestir themselves , this bill will only make bad worse . The assessment of the working classes , which will be nearly sure to follow in all towns where rents are high , and the institution of the abominable workhouse system , will make this bill a measure of oppression instead of redress , and but add to the misery and discontent at present existing . Our own notion
ot a Poor Law for Scotland would be—in its main features—no workhouses ; the right of relief to the aged , infirm , and destitute made absolute ; relief to be apportioned with regard to age , sex , number of family , and where located ; a compulsory assessment , payable mainly by the heritors , and partly by all others ( not being landlords ) subjected to the income tax , rates to be levied in proportion to income . The poor have too long kept the poor : it is only right that the rich should now have a spell . Turn-about ' s fair play . We hope the people of Scotland will consider this bill , hold public meetings to discuss its provisions , and use every means at their command to procure , if possible , the " amendment" of the Lord Advocate ' s " amended" Poor Law .
We now come to the last act of the Glen Galvie " weeding . " The following appeared in the Times of Monday last : —
THE CLEARANCE AT GLEN CALVIE . Ardgay , near Tain , Hossshire , May 27 . I returned to this place for the purpose of witnessing the sequel of the clearance of the poor Highlanders out of Glen Calvie , an account of which I sent you some days ago . It will be remembered that eighteen poor cottiers living in Glen Calvie , near here , tho legal process for turning them out of their homes having been completed , gave bond peaceably to leave on the 24 th , after which the value of tlieir stock was to be given to them , and they might go where they listed . It will also be remembered that these eighteen families , consisting of ninety-two individuals , supported themselves in comparative comfort , without a pauper amongst them ; that they owed no rent , and were ready to pay as much as any one would give for the land , which they and their forefathers had occupied for centuries , but which it seems is now to be turned into a sheep-walk .
Were any such clearance attempted in England , I leave you to conceive the excitement which it would be certain to create—the mob processions , the effiey burnings , and the window smashings , with which every instigator and instrument iu so heartless a scene would be reminded that there are principles of action which are thought more honourable , more worthy , and which make living amongst our fellows more pleasant , than mere money-grubbing . These poor Highlanders , however , apart from their naturally mild aud passive nature , have been so broken in spirit by many such scenes , tliat not a murmur , not a remonstrance , escaped them in the completion of this most heartless wholesale ejectment .
I drove over on Sunday to the parish church of Croick , which is near Glen Calvie . Close by the bridge leading to the glen the whole of these poor people , and the inhabitants of one or two neighbouring straths , were assembled to hear one of their elders read the Psalms to them . They numbered about 250 persons . They were all seated in the Gaelic fashion , on the hill aide , in a circle , facing the officiating eider ; the women all neatly dressed iu net -aps aud wearing scarlet or plaid shawls ; the men wearing their blue bonnets , and having their shepherd ' s plaids wrapped round them . This was their only covering , aud this was the Free Church . There was a simplicity extremely touching in this group on the bare hill side , listening to tlte psalms of David in their native tongue , and assemoled to worshi p God—many of them without a home . I drove on , ana went to the Established Church . The servjce was partl y in Gaelic and partly in English , but the congregation was miserably thin . There were but ten persons besides the minister in the church . Behind the church ' , in the churchyard , a long kind of booth was erected " , thereof formed of tarpawling stretched
Untitled Article
over poles , the sides closed in with horse-cloths , rugs , blankets , and plaids . On inquiry I found that this was the refuge of the Glen Calvie people . They had kept their word , and saved their bondsmen . The old pensioner of 82 years of age , whom I mentioned in my last account , had special permission to remain iu the glen , it being believed that his removal would kill him . Another family also , engaged on the Duke of Sutherland ' s fish , eries , had permission to continue occupants of their cottage . , With these exceptions the whole of the people left the glen on Saturday afternoon , about eighty in number , and took refuge in this tent erected in'their churchyard . Their furniture , excepting their bedding , they got distributed amongst the cottages of their neighbours ; and with their bedding and tlieir children , they all removed late on Saturday afternoon to this place of temporary shelter . In my last letter I informed you that they had been round to
every heritor in the neighbourhood , and twelve out of the eighteen families had been unable to find places of shelter . With the new Scotch Poor-Law in prospect , cottages were everywhere refused to them . I am told it was a most wretched spectacle to see these poor people march out of the glen in a body , with two or three carts filled with children , many of them mere infants ; and other carts containing their bedding and other requisites . The whole country side was up on the hills watching them as they silently took possession of their tent . A fire was kindled in the churchyard , round which the poor children clustered . Two cradles , with infants in them , were placed close to the fire , and sheltered round
by the dejccted-looking mothers . Others busied themselves in dividing the tent into compartments , by means of blankets , for the different families . Contrasted with the gloomy dejection of the grown-up and the aged was the , perhaps , not less melancholy picture of the poor children thoughtlessly playing round the fire , pleased with the novelty of all around them . Of the eighty people who passed the night in the churchyard with most insufficient shelter , twenty . three were children under ten years of age , seven persons were sickly and in bad health , and ten are about sixty years of age ; about eight are young married men . There are a few grown-up children , aud the rest are persons in middle life , from fortv to fifty years of age . They are still remaining there . *
Yesterday , was the day appointed for settling with them , according to the arrangement previously made , aud for paying them the value of their stock . The young men walked over to Ardgay for the purpose of receiving it , where they were met by Mr . M'Kenzie , writer , of Tain , the law agent employed to settle with them . This painful duty , so far as this gentleman was concerned , was executed with much kindness and consideration for the poor people . Amongst the dozen men and women that I saw , there was not the least noise or disturbance ; and cruel as was their position , not a murmur escaped them . Each family had on an average about £ 18 to receive , as the appraised value of tlieir stock , and as their distributive shavt ; of £ 7210 s ., agreed to be given to them to emigrate on going out peaceably . To go out , however , the people were compelled under any circumstances .
The sum they bad to receive is sufficient evidence that they were respectabl y supporting themselves . This sum , however , will soon be spent , and in the search for places and employment in the south , it is a moral certainty that most of these unskilled men and their families will be reduced to pauperism . This is the benefit the country derives from such proprietors and factors as have owned and managed this glen . This cruel and unfeeling act is , however , now completed . WUeu the men had settled with the law agent last night , they sent word to me that they wished to bid me good-bye . Great as have been your exertions in the
cause of tho poor and friendless , and large as are the sums which for years you have expended in advocating their cause , that meeting was more than repayment for all . As representing here your gveat establishment , the poor people crowded round me , and held out their hard , labour-worn hands to shake hands with me as tlieir friend , who had spoken for them . Their Gaelic I could not understand , but their eyes beamed with gratitude . This unbought spontaneous , and grateful expression of feeling to you for being tlieir friend is what their natural protector—their chieftain—never saw , and what his factor need never hope for .
« any nian can , without emotion , vead the above ; if the tears start not from his eyes , and his heart throb not well nigh to bursting , we envy not his philosophy . We have all heard of the " Social Contract , ' according to which each member of the community entered into an agreement of mutual and equal protection , binding on all only so long as all were protected . What protection has society afforded to the " weeded out" cottiers of Glen Calvie ? And why should they acknowledge any obligation to society ? Every ^ subject of these realms owes allegiance to the sovereign ; but only so long as the sovereign guarantees protection to the subiect .
What allegiance do the cottiers of Glen Calvie owe to VicioRu ? The Parliament and Government should be the protectors of the weak against the tyranny of the strong , but both have regarded with brutal indifference the perpetration ofthis abominable atrocity . Could tl ( e cottiers of Glen Calvie be worse off , though neither Government nor Parliament existed ? A social system which permits a piece of wholesale spoliation like this at Glen Calvie is a system of brigandism : a Government which pretends to rule equally and do justly , and at the same time allows so monstrous a wrong , is indeed an " organised hypocrisy . "
We cannot trust ourselves to comment on the particulars of the last act of the Glen Calvie tragedy , our blood boils too furiously to permit us giving vent to our indignation in words . But " last act" this clearance will not , cannot be ! 0 , no , a day of retribution will surely come . We had written thus far when we encountered the following paragraph from the Times : — The Harlestone Association for the Protection of Pro . perty regularly keeps bloodhounds for the purpose of detecting sheep-stealers , What next ? How long will it be before the outraged people keep bloodhounds to detect the landrobbers ?
Ilarfeet Jnfelltgttttt*
ilarfeet Jnfelltgttttt *
Untitled Article
London Corn Exchange , Monday , Junk 2 . —The supply of English wheat was tolerably good during the past week , and the arrivals of flour rather large ; but of barley , oats , beans , and peas , the receipts coastwise were small . From Scotland a few hundred quarters of barley and a moderate quantity of oats came to hand ; of the latter grain the supplies frem Ireland and abroad wcro to a fair extent . This morning the show of wheat by land-carriage samples from the home counties was moderate ; there was very little barley fresh up , nor were the rceipts of oats or beans large , whilst the arrival of peas was scanty in the extreme . The foreign wheat and barley received during last week was not generally offered free . The weather remained cold up to Friday last , but since then it has been very fine . There was much less inclination to buy wheat to-day ; in the early part factors insisted on the rates of this day sc ' nnight ,
but before a clearance could be effected a reduction of quite Is . per qr . had to be submitted to . Foreign free wheat also moved off slowly , and to have made sales to any extent less money must have been accepted . In bond there was little passing , and the rates recently current were not obtainable . Flour sold tardiiy at previous rates , the attempt to put up the top price of town made having been abandoned . Barley , though not much enquired for was held firmly , and the value ofthis grain had rather an upward tendency . Malt was likewise quite as dear . For oats a good demand was experienced , and fine corn , whether of British or foreign growth , commanded fully as high rates as on Monday last . Beans were not so saleable as of late , butno decline was submitted to . Peas , being exceedingly scarce , brought previous prices . Se ' eds of all descriptions hung heavily on hand , and canary-seed was certainly somewhat easier to buv .
CURRENT PRICES OF GRAIN , PER IMPERIAL QUARTER . —British . 8 8 si Wheat , Essex , « fc Kent , new 4 s old red 43 19 White SO 65 Norfolk and Lincoln . ... do 4 * 48 Ditto 48 52 Nortlium . and Scotch white 43 48 Fine 49 53 Irish red old 0 0 Red 43 45 White 47 48 Bye Old 30 31 New 28 30 Brank 31 K Barley Grinding .. 24 26 Distil . 27 30 Malt . 30 83 Malt Brown .... 52 54 Pale ' 56 59 War * 69 62 Beans Ticks old in new 34 37 Harrow 36 39 Pigeon 40 43 Peas Grey 85 38 Maple 37 38 White 88 89 Oats Lincolns 6 Yorkshire Feed 22 23 Pohtnd 24 2 S Scotch Angus 22 24 Potato 25 2 » Irish White 20 23 Black 29 21 Per 2801 b . net . g b | Per 2801 b . net . s Town-made Flour ... 42 44 I Norfolk & Stockton 83 84 Essex aud Kent .... 35 36 1 Irish 85 36
Freg . Bond-Foreign . ¦ ¦ i Wheat , Dantsic , Konigsburg , &c 53 57 38 89 Marks , Mecklenburg 51 52 88 88 Danish , Holstein , and Friesland red 43 45 28 3 D Russian , Hard 44 46 Soft ... 44 46 28 39 Italian , Red . . 47 48 White ... 51 52 32 35 Spanish , Hard . 46 48 Soft .... 48 52 31 34 ltye , " Baltic , Dried , ... 28 30 Undried . . 28 30 22 24 Barley , Grinding . 24 26 Malting . . 28 32 19 24 Beans , Ticks . . 34 35 Egyptian . 84 35 27 30 Peas , AVhite . . 37 39 Maple . . 36 37 28 31 Oats , Dutch , Brew and Thick 24 26 19 31 Russian feed , 21 22 18 It Danish , Friesland feed 21 23 15 17 Flour , per barrel 24 25 19 20
London Smitufield Catile Market , Monday June 2 . —Since this day se ' nnight the imports of live stock for our market from abroad have been liberalviz ., 116 oxen and cows from Rotterdam , and 4 oxen from Hamburgh ; while from the former quarter , 30 sheep and 4 calves have come to hand . At the outports 150 beasts and 90 sheep havebeen received from Hollaud . 'Ihe number here to-day consisted of 50 beasts and 10 sheep . Amongst the former we observed some remarkably well-made-up animals , which were held by the salesmen for very high prices ; but the sheep were in very middling condition , and as such commanded scarcely any attention , though a clearance of them was effected previous to the close of business . In consequence , we presume , of the late enhancement in the quotationsthe bullock droves J { j ] , ,
, fresh up to this morning ' s market were on . the increase and large for the time of year , while we may observe —notwithstandingthe epidemic was much complained of—the condition of the beasts , as to weight , was good ; indeed , we have r iot had a better display of beef on any markeii day during nearly the whole of the present season . These circumstances , together with the arrivals of slaughtered meat from the north being on the increase , had adepressinginfluenceupon the beef trade , and the quotations suffered an abatement of quite 2 d . per 81 b—the very highest figure realised for the best Scots not exceeding 4 s . 4 d . per 81 b . From Norfolk , Suffolk , Essex , and Cambridgeshire we received 1800 Scots , homebreds , and shorthorns ; while from the northwn counties , the receipts comprised j ¦
200 shorthorns ; from the western and midland districts , 200 Ilerefords , runts , Devons , &c . ; from other parts of England , 100 of various breeds ; and from Scotland , 500 horned and polled Scots . As we have anticipated , the numbers of sheep for our market continue small—there being here to-day ten thousand fa than were brought forward at the corresponding period in 1844 . For nearly every breed—but more particularly the prime old Downs—the demand was somewhat active , at fully , but at nothing quotable beyond , last week ' s currencies . From the Isle of Wight 200 lambs came iresh to hand , but the general supply of that description of stock was small . The lamb trade was steady , and previous rates were well supported . GaWes and pigs , the supplies of which were moderate , moved offslowly , at unaltered figures .
By the quantities of 81 b ., sinking the offal . s . d . s . d . Inferior coarse beasts . . . -10 8 2 Second quality .... 3 4 3 6 Prime large oxen .... S 8 4 0 Prime Scots , &c 4 2 4 4 Coarso inferior slieep ... 3 8 4 0 Second quality . .... 4 2 4 4 Prime coatee woollcd . . . 4 6 4 S Prime Southdown ... 4 10 S Lambs 4 10 C I Large coarse calves , ... 3 10 4 ( Prime small 4 8 8 0 Suckling calves , each . . . 18 0 30 « Large hogs 3 0 S 8 Neat small porkers ... 3 10 4 2 Quarter-old store pigs , each . . 16 20 6 HEAD OF CATTLE ON SALE . ' ( From the Books of the Clerk of the Market . ) Beasts , 2 , 835-Sheep and Lambs , 23 , 590-Calves ,
164-Pigs , 300 . LivEnrooL Cattle Market , Mondat , Jwe 2 . — Our market remains much the same as of late , there being a fair average of stock for this time of the year . The market was a brisk one , a numerous attendance of buyers being present , and higli prices were obtained . Beef 6 d . to Old ., mutton Cd . to 7 R , lamb 7 d . to lid . Liverpool Corn Market , Monday , June 2 . —A favourable change of wind has , within the last two or three days , brought up a numerous fleet of vessels , both from abroad and our own coasts , and these have supplied us with a good show of samples of grain , flour , and oatmeal . There is an advance of Is . per quarter in the dutv on foreidi lm-lnv . whinh forma
the only alteration this week . The " principal business in wheat during the week has been in bonded ; live or six cargoes of Baltic red have been taken up on speculation , at prices equal to 4 s . Cd . to 4 s . 9 d . per 701 bs . for Wismar , Rostock , and Stettin . In British , wheat or duty-paid foreign the town ' s and neighbour * ing millers have bought rather sparingly , at similar prices to those quoted last Tuesday . Sack flour has met only a moderate demand , without any material change as to value . A few hundred barrels of United States sweet , in bond , have been disposed of for export at 19 s . per barrel . The demand for oats and oatmeal has been limited , and , except for the beat quality of each , scarcely so good prices have been obtained . Barley , beans , and peas have met only a re i tail sale , at late rates . - . «
Untitled Article
RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN GERMANY . ( From the Paris Constitutiamcl . ) Whilst Poseyian and the debate on Maynooth agitate England , an analogous movement is manifested in all Germany . A priest , discontent and uneasy , > L Rouge , is trying to walk in the footsteps of Luther and Calvin . Above all , he wages war with the Latin language , and , like Abb 6 ChateL he wants mass to be said in the language of the country . But M . Renge goes much further , and wants to extend Ms reform to other things besides Latin . First of all , he demands the complete abolition of confession ; next , the marriage of priests , and the unopposed marriage of individuals of different religions ; and , finally , the complete independence , with respect to the Court of
Borne , of the German clergy , or , to speak more pro perly , of the German Catholics . M . Ronge has explained his principles , defended them , and showed what he hoped for , in various discourses pronounced at Breslaw and other towns in Germany . A series of pamphlets has been published in support of these fust declarations , and , at the present time , all the Confederation is engaged in the quarrel . Several celebrated professors haye taken part for if . Ronge , who has proclaimed himself provisionally chief of the German Catholic Church . Professor Binrickh , of Halle , amongst others , has published a manifesto , which has produced the most lively sensation throughout Germany . At Friburg , in the Duchy of Baden , a distinguished professor , M . Schreiber . hasplacedhim selfatthe head of the movement . M . Ronge has
suffragans everywhere , whom the bishops of the different dioceses where they preach hasten to excommunicate . As a matter of course , that step has been had recourse tolons since against M . Ronge himself , and that act has not a little contributed to give him a celebrity which he undoubtedly -would not have acquired if left to his own resources . As in the time of Luther , the sovereigns intervene in the quarrel , and more than one prince is disposed to recognise the new doctrine of M . Ronge , Primate of Germany . This reformer appeals at the same time to Catholics and Protestants . To the former he offers a religion , in his opinion , more easy , freed from auricular confes sion , augmented by the marriage of priests , and relieved of many other regulations . "To the Protes
tants , M . Ronge presents a form of worship more apparent than their oym , and appealing more to the seases ; he offera them in addition , he says , a certain unity which would put an end to the differences now giving birth to the innumerable sects that at present split Protestantism into pieces . Thus recruits are found in both camps . Protestants and Catholics place themselves under the banner of ML Ronge ; and his standard-bearer , M . Czeraky , another fugitive from the Catholic Church , serves him with effect in his conquests . The inferior clergy are more particularly appealed to , and in various districts they seiee m the opportunity of escaping from the yoke of authority and discipline . The movement is propagated throughout all Germany , and it is even
penetrating into Austria , notwithstanding the precautioss taken by the government to arrest its progress . The Austrian journals are forbidden to mention the name of M . Ronge and of his adherents ; the police and the censorship aid each other to crush the new doctrine in the bod . The King of Hanover prosecutes it as anti-monarchical , and the King of Bavaria as communist The German CatholicsofSaxony haveaddressed a protest to the Minister of Worship , and call on the Saxon Government to askBavariafor explanations on the measures which she proposes taking ; and they defy the Bavarian Government to find a trace of communism in their doctrines . In his last discourse , Czersky has given his partisans notice to prepare for persecution . It appears , in fact , that Austria
intends proposing to the Diet severe measures . In other places , the temporal power has shown itself indulgent . In Prussia , Saxony , and other States of the Germanic Confederation , the authorities , without precisely approving of the reforms proposed by M . Ronge , throw no obstacle in the way of their discussion , and the Rongists or Separatists are making rapid progress in Breslaw , Leipsic , Berlin , Madgeburgh , llildesheim , Frankfort , Mentz , Offembach , &c The German press , in seizing on the question , displays a prodigious activity ; and special publica tions , destined to propagate the new doctrine , are distributed in considerable numbers in every part of Germany . The Refome , the organ of the German Catholic body , which is published at Berlin , has , it
is said , nearly "( 5000 subscribers . The last catalogue of the fair of Leipsic contains the names of upwards of 200 pamphlets and works approving of , or condemning , thenew German Catholic Church ; and rarely has a question so powerfully agitated both the minds of thinking men , and of those persons who are least accustomed to meddle with matters of theology . But simple discussions are not the only things , thought of . Everywhere , the material means of celebrating the worship of the new church are being augmented ; and atarecent meeting , not only the dogmas and the doctrine were canvassed , but the temporal interests of the church , and they did not separate until everything was arranged to the satisfaction of the dissenters . Dr . TVi « ard presided over the meeting . At Slentz , Frankfort , and the towns of the
Duchy of Hesse , manifestations of the same kind have taken place ; they arc in general favoured by the municipal powers , and several Governments seem inclined to enter into the news of the Reformer of Breslaw . The archbishops and bishops employ spiritual arms to oppose the movement , but , as always occun > in such circumstances , the thunders of the Church remain without effect , or , to speak more correctl y , they only serve to extend the schism , and become a determining motive for all that remained donhtful . But , on the other hand , the importance of this movement must not be exaggerated . Germany , sime the Reformation , has always been
agitated by religious questions . The Governments nnd jt serviceable , for , in plate of politics , the doctors "avc recourse to theology ; Germany is , therefore , the classic land of n-ligious sects . All kinds of fantastical bodies prosper there ; the Rappists , the Shakers the Pietists , and a thousand other varieties , wintccd forthe religious domain o » Germany . The Separatists are not . an absolutely new p henomenon , wit they form an additional chapter in the curious ^ tory of religious transformations in Germany ^ M . Ronge will not be the least celebrated of the ^ altitude of Reformers , who demand a place ™ the ^ eaastiecl annals of their country .
Untitled Article
. < iud I will war , at least in words , / jlad—should my chance so happen—deeds ) , tf-, flia 31 wbo war with Thought !" 1 think Ihear a little bird ,-who sings The people by and by will be the stronger . "—Bibok
Untitled Article
AMERICAN AFFAIRS . ff e had intended to have this week given the first j a series of articles on the Texas Annexation and Ot&m Territory questions , but the great length of ^> Land" article compels us to postpone this for a * have received copies of Tomg America of ipriiseth and May 3 rd . The first of these papers ^ cs one of our articles on the recent eveuts in Switzerland , _ with a promise to give the rest . The t jjond contains a report of the proceedings of the Trades Conference recentl y held in London , also tsfcen from the Star . We give a few extracts from fovag Am ^ ta : —
Gov £ RSO « Dobk . —The legislature of Maine has passed , scries of resolutions in relation to the case of Governor nrfT , *» ** tJ ^ nsmittea to other states and to the PresSent , af" > S which is the following : — "Thatthe state jf Maine , by her legislature , hereby inters her solemn jg gtg against the imprisonment of Thomas "W . Dorr , in jfc state prison , in the etate of Bhode Island , by the au thorities thereof , as unjust , illegal , malignant , and tyrjimical , unbecoming the age in which we live , and degtfriug the marked disapprobation of the American people ; and in the opinion of this legislature it is the imperative daty of the general government to adopt any and a < l legal and constitutional measures for his immediate release . "
Oksgok . —I think there will be no fighting about Oregoa soon ; but should things be so managed as to bring about a fight , let the landlords , tins time , do the fighting The landless men performed most part of the fighting of the Revolution , and of the last war . Those who have profited most should now take their torn . Uolacklander should ever fight unless on condition that he and his children shall have an equal share of the country after the fighting is over . Isn't that right ? The Ou > Copsrsr . —The British ministry say they can do nothing to relieve the poor , as their sufferings arise innn natural causes ; they may naturally teach the aristocracy a new lesson soon .
The Ajm-. KE . vr troubles continue , and many ef the Xew York papers are crying out for coercive measures to put downthe free soil-farmers . Two of tbeprofitmouKers ' papers , the Courier and Enquirer and Commercial Advertiser , are actually attaching trial by jury—so that the march of the aristocrats toward worse even than English despotism , is becoming beautifully accelerated . So much the better ; the Americans will the sooner be brought to that struggle for social justice which is indispensable to consummate their political revolution . The Cosvemiox of the Isdustriocs Classes tves to assemble in New York on the 5 th of May . We wait with much interest the next arrival .
Untitled Article
' . 1 ^* German Ca tholic CncKcn . —Prince Mettcr-^ ' ¦ kasjUB i addressed the Austrian rep resentatives at wmiM ) Courts to recommend the discouragement , ? I as lies in their power , of the schkn lately ^ fifn oKt in the Church .
Untitled Article
. Asothee Austhauas Native . —There is now living * Gaiesktad one of the aboriginal inhabitants of ^ Australian continent , an orphan boy , brought to f-neland by Mr . Forster , of GattsLead , who went out * couth Australia , tome years SfO , as the agent of ff « »» . F . Angas . The lad is an orphan , aud was » k « ionti ; lthe"bush . " He speaks broken English , « ° » read and write , and is as iutelligent as the or-! ° marj run of boysof hisage . —Newcastle Jmmal . ZZL
Untitled Article
- THE LAND ! TOn that land was many a malcontent , Who curs d the tyranny to which he bent ; The soil fuU many a wringing despot saw , Who worVd his wantonness in form of law . „ . Byron . »« J ^ tS- am ( 2 ! s whom ei ^ ity reigned , would posse » s everything they wanted where they possessed the
hi ™ ^ «? i H Produce . darter from heaven , or iKwoSSS a " ^ ^ esdm than Ws " There could be no such thing as landed propertv ongmaUy . Man did notnaitotlufearlli ™ Znfffe ^ fs n ««^ ng ^ ° ? " > - ' * fc *^ ight to UMe as ftw proper ^ tn perpetuity any part of it ; neither did the w «« ° I ^ e ^ fl ** a land office , from whence the fiist title deeds should issue ^ -r ^ mo * Paine . Theland shall not be sold forcuer . —Jfoses . There is no foundation in nature or in natural law wny a set of words unon carnhinpnt cimnid Mum . * i—
dominion of lani "_ 2 % <* ito ) ie . J *"" The had or earth , in any country or neighbourhood with everything m or on the same , or pertaining thereto belongs at all tunes to the living inhabitants of the said country or neighbourhood in an equal manner . For there M no livmgbut on land audits productions ; conse-E ^ ? hat - ^ P ^ Kve without we have the S property in as in our hves . » -2 'A (» n < Spence . Thelandisthepeopltfsinheritanca ; andkings , princes peers , nobles , priests , and commoners , who have stolen it from them , held it upon the title of popular ignorance rafter than upon any right , human or divine . ' -ftarmu vOoMiior . *
"My reason teaches me thatlond cannot le soU . The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon , and cultivate , as far as is necessary for their subsistence- and so long as they occupy and cultivateit , they have the rightto the soil—but if they voluntarily leave it , then any other people have a right to settle upon it . Nothing can be sold but such things as can be carried away . "—Black Hawk ' /' Every individual possesses , legitimately , the thing wnicn his labour , his intelligence ( or more generally ) which his activity has created . "This principle is incontestible , and it is well to remark *\ r ? tauis expressly an acknowledgment of the right of alltotheson . For as thesoil has not been created bv man , it follows from the fundamental principle of prdperty , that it cannot belong to anv small portion of the
munan race , wno have createdit by their activity , let us tben conclude that the true theory of property is founaea on the ' ereauon of the thing poaaud . ' * -JourW ^'" L 1185 a "S ht to light , air , and water , which no one will attempt to question , he has a right also to the land , wmch is just as necessary for the maintenance of his subsistence . If every person had an equal share of the soil , poverty would be unknown in the world , and crune would disappear with want "—JlfiJte WaWt . " As the nature aud wants of all men are alike , the wants of all must be equal ; and as human existence is dependent on the same contingencies , it follows that the great field for all exertion , and the raw material of all wealth , the earth , is the common property of all its inhabitauts . " - ^ JWui . Francis . Brav .
" What monopoly inflicts evils of such magnitude as mat of hind ! Jt is the sole barrier to national prosperity . The people , the only creators of wealth , possess knowledge ; they possess industry ; and if they possessed land , they could set all other monopolies at defiance ; they would then be enabled to employ machinery for their own benefit , and the world would behold with delight and astonishment the beneficial effects of this mighty engine , when properly directed . "—Author of tin "Xeproof of Brutus . "
Untitled Article
THE PROPOSED " AMENDMENT" OP THE SCOTTISH POOR LAW . —THE LAST ACT OF THE GLEN CALVIE " WEEDING . " The statements we have already published from the Times , furnished by that journal ' s very able " assistant commissioner , " will have made known to our English readers something of the deplorable condition of their northern brethren—a condition which exceeds anything , however appalling , yet witnessed in this part of the island . Our readers will have seen that human beings , destitute , aged , and friendless , are left to subsist in what way they may upon such sums as six shillings and three hahpenee , live shillings and elevenpence , and even four shillings , ayear (!) , which , reduced to weekly items , rive about .
three half-pence , one penny farthing , and something less than a penny a-wcek ! Many only get half-acrown a-year , or a halfpenny a-week , to live on ! But even these miserable sums are mostly subscribed , not by the landlords , but by the poorthemselves for their still poorer neighbours . In nearly all the parochial districts the principal source of the relief fund is the collections made at the church doors , the heritors or landlords in some places contributing amiserable sum in addition . But in many parishes the heritors contribute nothing , leaving the entire burden of the support of the poor upon those who , many of them , are but one step above the recipients of the relief . Thus , in the district of Croick , in which there are twentyseven '__ paupers . " How many " poor" there are not recognised " paupers , " we are not told . For their
support the seven heritors , who divide the district between them , and derive [ plunder ] a total rental oi £ 2000 , give—nothing . TnBr kever cave one fakthtsg ! In the parish of Assynt , of which the Du ke of Sutherland is sole heritor or landlord , there are fifteen hundred people ; they are nearly all poor—very poor ; but the very poorest , " the feeble and the aged who can do nothing , " are seventy in number . There is collected in Kirk Session for these poor people from £ 11 to £ 18 ; to this the Duke adds the sum of £ ( i annually ; while from that parish aloue he collects a rental of £ 3000 a-ycar ! In the third letter of the correspondent ot the 2 » m «( LetterI . in last Saturday ' s Star ) is given a list of different individuals the writer visited in Sutherlandshirewith theparticularsof their wretched
, condition . They were mostly women , and we beg the reader to mark the names of the poor creatures ; we give them just in the order in which they will be found in the writer ' s letter : —Ann Campbkh , Ellen Cameron , Fahht Mubkat , Janet Museo , Catherine Gordon , Eliza Ross , Axdeewina Mackie , Kate M'Leod , Margaret Gret . The reader , who is fami liar with the writings of Scott , and the lyrics ol Burns and other Scotch poets , would , were he unacquainted with the painful circumstances connected with the persons who bear the above names , most likely conjure-up in his imagination visions of plaided lasses treading the mountain heather , bare-footed but not bare-clad , health and beauty their attendants , and love and joy their companions . Alas ! what a difference is there between the romance and the
reality of Highland life . The very reverse of this imaginary picture is the real state of the women whose names are givea above . Instead of buoyant youth , we see enfeebled , decrepid , sightless , and imbecile age—age made seven-fold wretched by the dreadful destitution in which the last lingering days of these poor creatures are permitted to be spent . The writer in the Times avers that he never saw human beings in a lower state of degradation and wretchedness . We have called attention to their names . " What ' s in a name ? " it may be asked Much sometimes . The noble names of these poor Highland women lead the memory back to tales of Highland chivalry and Highland devotion ; of what the clansman did and suffered for his chief , and the glory and safety ef the house whose name he bore .
But they remind us also of the black ingratitude ot the chiefs , the persecution and extermination they have waged against the children of the soil , the dark deeds which , for the last fifty years , render infamous the records of Highland landlordism . The tyranny charged to the account of these Highland landlords equals anything , however atrocious , imputed to the Emperor of all the Ruffians , NicHOLAshimself . We pass by , just now , the atrocities charged against the Duke of Sutherland . Of him and his deeds we shall speak hereafter . Not only at times are entire families , numbering , in the aggregate , hundred : } of individuals , swept from the face of the earth—" weeded out , " as in the Glen Calvie case , but the most fiendish and remorseless persecution is also waged against individuals who exhibit
anything like independence of spirit or humane feelings . Witness the case of the miller who , on applying to his landlord to do something for a poor woman who had been driven from ner holding , was himself beat with a stick from his tyrant ' s door ; and this brutality was followed up by the poor man and his aged mother being suddenly turned out of their house and mill , in the midst of a winter ' s night , with the snow upon the ground . This man , and his father and grandfather before him , had for a great number of years , rented the mill of the heritor . When unfortunate creatures are starving to death , and , to save their lives , desire to be placed on the pauper-roll , they cannot , in many cases , get their neighbours to sign the petition , the poor people ( who are tenants at will } being afraid , if they append their names , of being driven from their own homes .
Well may the correspondent of the Times exclaim , " here is a kind of slavery ten times worse than that which for so long a period disgraced Britain . " The persecution waged against the " Free Church " has been also most infamous . Not only have the Free Chunk congregations—comprising / we believe , in the Highlands , not less than three-fourths of the population—been refused sites of ground on which to build churches—which is the case wherever the autocratical Duke of Sutherland rules—but in many places the adherents to that Church have been pitylessly persecuted for clinging to their ministers . One heritor alone has turned away from houses and lands , and service and employment , no less than between fifty and sixty persons , because they would not renounce the Free Church . We are no admirers oi the Free Church ministers—a gloomy , dogmatic ,
bigotted theocracy : but Hith their single-hearted , conscientious , suffering congregations we have every sympathy . They are the assertors of what they believe to be a righteous principle . They demand the simple ri ght of being allowed to worship the God of their fathers after the manner that their own convictions dictate—and depots of the blackest dye are those who interfere with their sacred right so to do . Yet , for doing this , men , women , and children have been driven from their homes . Onepregnantwoman , turned out of her house when at the point of labour , brought forth her child on the bare , cold earth ; and a woman of seventy years of age , a widow , who was expelled from her cottage , and had taken refuge in a bani , was driven from that refuge by order of the heritor—" weeded out" on a cold , rainy night , with no place of rest left her but the hill-side ! Such are the hellish crimes ef Highland landlords !
To Mr. Prout 229 Strandlondon.
TO MR . PROUT 229 STRANDLONDON .
Untitled Article
J the tre TcKB 7 , 1845 . . THE NORTHERN STAW
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), June 7, 1845, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1318/page/7/
-