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THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 .1847.
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EojRea&ers ^ CamgDoionitt
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THKPSOPLE'S VMTdRffls '' AT '' ra '" ]
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Glasgow Seahbsu— On Tuesday,the 14th instan ( ,
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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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A PUBLIC DINNER , IK CEWBtlTIOK OF THOSE MnJMTBJ , Will , BE HELD AT THE CROWN AND ANCHOR TAVERN , STRA ND ; Oh MONDAY EVENING , Ociobee 25 rs , 1 M 7 . Dinnw on Table at Six o'Clock precisely . Tickets , 3 s . 6 a . each . 2 Ir WILLIAM DIXON , of Manchester , iwB take the Chair . ThefoUowing Members of Parliament navofceea invited , and ars expected to attend : —T . 3 . Dausombe , T . akley , F . O'Connor , George Thompson , T . P . Tkompion , W . J , Pox W . 3 . Crawford , Charles Seeley , John Wllmis , Sir J . Walme&ley . C . Pearaon . S . Gardner , J . Bawring , J . Hume , O'Gorman Mahon , Ralph Osborne , W " . shofield , Charles ffindley . G . P . Munti , J . Brotharton , Sir B . Hall , John Walter , andlnrd Robert Grosvenor . kerns tha following gentlemen , who . 8 S candidates , vindicated the cause of tha people at the hustings : —P . Grath , T . Clark , B . C . Jones , J . H . Parry , H . Vincent , J . Fielden , B . Miall , J . M . M . Cobbett , J . Hardy , liarlesCochrane , W . WiUiams , J . Sturge , W . P . Roberts , DrEpps . S . Kydd , andG . J . Harney . The pnblic will be admitted by ticket , after dinner , at a charge of Threepence each . Tickets to b » had at the Uesssrs Colliwrt Coffes-hoose , Holywell-street ; Skelton , Cecilcourt , St Martta ' s-lane ; Parkes , little rindmill - street ; Milne , 1 , Union . street , Berkeley , square ; W . Cuffay , Portland-street , Poland-* eet ; A . P «! ksr , Hews Ageat , Harrow-road ; B . Roger , cooper , lambeth . walk ; Edwardi , jeweller , reston-street , Bermondsey ; Godwin , Great Chesterfield-street , Harylebene ; Clark's ' Coffee honse , 111 , idgware-road ; 8 tallwood , 2 , Ktfle Vale-place , Hammersmith-road ; W . Dear , Workman's Own Shop , 11 , Totten . im Court-load ; Northern Star Office , Great Windmill-street ; National land Office , 114 , High HoiborO ; Of the bmtnlttee , at their place of meeting ( every Tuesday evening ) , Assembly Rooms , 8 } , Dean-Street , SoOO ; and all bees of meeting of the Land and Charter bodies throughout the metropolis ; of the Secretary , Mr James * aisby , 8 , Noah ' s Ark-court , Stargate , Lambeth , and at tha bar of the Tavern .
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to 24 Humbers , Oblong foolscap . Price , to Schools , 10 s . 3 d . per 100 , or ljd . each !! ROSTER'S PAROCHIAL SCHOOL COPYBOOKS ; Pbeing a Hew and Improved System of Teaching fitmg , dedgaed more especially for the Instruction of StOdren or ADULTS , in large numbers , at the least and ossibte expense of time and money . Tha Contents of his Series are as follows : — XcltolO . Initiatory exercises . So . 11 and 12 . Initiatory exercises ; text-hand , with guidance . Xo . 13 andU . Capitals , Figures , and lessons ia text and round-hand . Jfo . 15 and IS . Text-nuid Sentences . Bo . 17 and 18 . Bound-hand Sentences . Ko . 19 and SO . Small-hand Sentences . Ho . 31 and 22 . Large-text Words , &c . Ko . 23 and 2 * . Text , Round and Small-band . * * The system developed in Foster's Copy-books has teod the test of time and experience . It is simple , nctical , and perspicuous ; combining , in a high degree , he essential qualities of chkaikess and exceixehcs . In tort , such are the facilities it affords , that any person lay learn to write at an expense of 2 s . fid !! ' oblisbed by C . H . Law , Fleet-street , and may be bad of all Booksellers , or of the Author , 161 , Strand , London .
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WBSTLY DOMINATION THE BANE OF NATIONS , lis day , a new and improved Edition , price reduced to 5 s ., of the jJOPBLAR HISTORY OF PRIESTCRAFT , in all . Ages and Nations . By Whuak Howrrx . Eighth dition , with large Additions . Howitfs History of Priestcraft has long passed tho man of criticism . -Its services to the cause of civil ad religious freedom cannot well be rated too highly , Bdwelookuponitasoneofthegreat agents in enabling te people to resist the effort * of the traitor priests of ths ttablishments . In this edition there is a great mass of sw matter , and above all , the book now appears at a ceafly reduced price . '—Exeter Western Times . ondon : Effiinghtm Wilson , Publisher , 11 , Royal Exchange .
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i COLOURED DAtUERREOTYPE PORTRAIT in X best morocco case for los ., which is 15 s . less than sy other London establishment , and warranted to be foally good , by MR EGERTON , 118 , Fleet-street , ( petite Bouverie-street , and 1 , Temple-street , White , riars . Open daily { ram mine till four . Foreign Ap-« ratus Agent to Voigtlander and Iiribonrs , a complete ( Wko £ Instrustiau , priea 7 s . &L , by post Ids Pri e ( ttisentpostfree .
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FOR ONE SOVEREIGN ONLY . rr \ O FERSOKS wishing to obtain a correct knowledge X of the Art of Distillation . The Advertiser having had thirty years' practice in ne ot the first Distilleries in London , is willing to give instructions , by receipt , to such parties as may wish to team the above , Art . His process in the Distillation reefers it entirely free from the smoky flavour , at present ¦ o predominant . On advance of Post-office Order to John Alger Hancock , No . 5 , Faircloth-place , High-street , Lambeth , Lond » 3 , the fall instructions will be forwarded .
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A MEMBER of the NATIONAL LAND COMPANY is willing to DISPOSE of a FOUR ACRE SHARE in fee THIRD SECTION , on account of it bsinginconve . ¦ lent to him , at present , to change his residence . —Apply to E . Hobsoa , News Agent , Old-street , Ashton-under-Ijne .
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"WARRIN 6 T 0 N CONSPIRACY !!" A GENERAL MEETING of Engineers , Machinists , and other branches of trade , will be held at the CROWN AND ANCHOR TAVERN , STRAND , on Saturday Evening , September 25 th , when W ; P . Robebts , Esq ., viil attend and give an exposition of the case , so fer as it has hitherto proceeded . Chair to be taken at Seven o ' clock .
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acasewa 3 decided at tne Justice of reace Court , Glasgow , under the Merchant seamen ' s Act , 7 & 8 Tie ., chap . 112 ., in-which Mr James Fildes , superintendent of the Seaman ' s Rendezvous , was the plaintiff , and Coll Ji'Donald , of the Cl ) de Tavern sad Lodging-house ,, was the defender . M'Donald took a seaman named Eavlej toglodge with him , and the same day , another seaman was trapped from the same ship , ' the British Isle , ' and the last Bum when he got paid saw Ma bill made oat , and fan off , and paid nothing . Seeing it so large , Hitonald then charged Eavley the whole amount , £ d 4 ? . 10 d ., for two meals and one night ' s lodgin-, and a trifle of lent money . This Eavley would not pay . The landlord then skinned him ( stripped ) of
all the new clothes he had oqaght , and hischest and iammock , and turned him out in his shirt and boots ' Eavley got the balanra ot his wages from his captain , and went to Mr James Fildes , according to ah captain ' s advice , who sent Mm to demand his Sects , and pay what he justly owed . He followed the advice , bnt was refused his clothes , &e . The ease was then taken into court , and CollM'Donald © jt the ca-e dismissed by getting frBOTUnneTatO year that he was a lodger in the house , and was fcimself a ship-broker and general commhaiou agent ) to , Jamaica-street , and that he had nothing to do wiih the Clyde Tavern . The ease was fully proved , lot dismissed for-want of proof that he was connected . Mr Fildes being out of town , at the time , the poor sailor was cast . As soon as Mr Fildea
retmrned , he took the case in hand , proved the whole affair before the tame Justices , who found the defender guilty of all the charges contained in the indictment , and fined him ( Coll M'D . ) in the fall pe-Mity sf ten pounds , and a farther sum of eleven pounds four shillings expenses to be paid , or go to prison . From what we see of this case , it is one of the manyfraads to which seamen are liable in our sea-ports where there is no Sailors' Home . We think that there is much need of an officer , such as Mr Kldes , being appointed by the government in al tax 6 ea-ports . The expense would be nothing to speak of , and much good would be effected . We
untestand that ; Mr Fildes , in the office he fills of licensed shipping agent under the Board of Trade , las totally suppressed theobnoxtons system ot crimping , and has convicted several of the crimps at his wnexpense . We have not lost sight of the valuable services of Mr Fildes , when he gave evidence before a select committee on the Seamen ' s Fund in 1844 , which , in the words of the Liverpool Mercury , ' threw light into the committee-room that was refreshing to the contemplation . He proved himself indeed the Seamen ' s Friend . ' We trust he will be . rememfeied in the proper quarter , We shall perhaps speak a this subject again .
Wakembld Weivers . —A braneh of the National Trades' Association haabeenformed , and Messrs John Ward and Joseph Senior , appointed secretary and treasurer . The meetings will be held at the Volunteer an , Kirkgate . Eiccp . —A . camp meeting will be held on Sunday ¦ ext , the 19 th inst , at Derpley , by the operative power-loom weavers of Messrs Thomas and John Aithen , who are out on strike . The fallowing gentle-Ken will address the meeting : —Mr Parker , agent of the National Trades'Union ; Mr Wheelwright and Mr Thomas TattersSll , from Burnley . Chair to be teken at 2 o ' clock in the afternoon .
Plait Beidoe Miners . —The members of the Miners' Association , at the above-named place , celekated their fourth anniversary on Monday last , at the home of Mr Marsh , King William the Fourth , when upwards of one hundred and sixty of the hardy sns of toil partook ot a substantial dinner , provided by the worthy host of the above-named inn . Mr Henry Ingham was unanimously called to the chair , and delivered a very excellent address . MrD . Swallow also delivered aa address of great merit , which called forth repeated bursts of applause . A variety of toasts in connection with the Miners * Association , together wiih the healths of F . O'Connor , Esq ., M . P ., W . P . Soberts , Esq ., the editors of the Northern Star and Hours ' Advocate , were duly honoured . A multitude f songs and recitations increased the harmony of the entertainment .
Rochdale . —At a public meeting of the factory perattves of Rochdale , convened by the committee f the Rochdale branch of card room operatives , for lie purpose of organising the various branches in Che National Association of United Trades , the following resolutions were adopted : — 'Thatwe , the factory operatives of Rochdale and its vicinity , ia public meeting assembled , being of opinion that the National Trades' Society , is the only association qualified to work ont the objects requisite to benefit the working classes , namely— ' A fair day ' s wages for a fair day ' s work ! ' hereby pledge ourselves to form an associated body of the same as soon as posaible . ' 'That in order to show the public at large the exertions of the card room ^ operatives efRoch-< ale to get a general organisation of working-men , it is necessary * o send a reoort of our proceedings t * the Northern Star requesting insertion , ' At the eancUuiia of the meeting , several persons of various Mks were enrolled * .
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THE LABOURER ; Tha ensuing number of the Labovmb will fee entirely devoted to a treatise upon the National Land Company , and tin National Land and Labour Bank , as an auxiliary to that establishment , written by Feargug O'Connor , M . P ., and should be preserved as a part of tha literature ofthe day , by everyone who feels an interest in the progress of human happiness , and the stability of our National Institutions , As this treatise proves indisputably the influence that the project is calculated to exercise overall future go . Ternments ; it is the intention of the proprietor to place a number in the hands of every individual member of Parliament , so that , when the pigmy privileges of a worn out aristocracy shall be . called upon to yield to the progressing knowledge of the age , none shall be able to pliad ignorance of the influence which has sapped this mine of corruption and folly .
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Now Ready , a New Edition of MR . O'CONNOR'S WORK ON SMALL FARMS . To be had at tka NsrUitm Star Office , 16 , Great Wind , nil ! Street ; and of Abel Heywosd , Manchester .
The Northern Star Saturday, September 18 .1847.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 18 . 1847 .
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A PILL FOR POLITICAL ECONOMISTS . In returning , according to promise , to the objections urged by the newspaper critics against the plans of the National Land CoMPANv . we propos e t » grapple with one which they consider the most formidable , namely—the subdivision of the soil int * mall holdings—which constitutes so prominent a feature in these plans . One of the canons of modern Political Economy is , that the most economical and productive mode of cultivating the soil is to tirow
it into large farms , and that a general sub-division of the soil into small holdings , is , in ail cases , concomitant with a low general condition of the people , so situated and employed . Acting upon this principle , the most persevering efforts have been made la modern times for the extension of the large farm system . By many writers , the evils of Ireland are mainly attributed to the existence of smallholdings ; while the comparative prosperity of Scotland , with
Us large farms , is triumphantly adduced as a proof of the superiority of that system . Latterly , the opponents of small farms , have cited France at another instance of the pernicious effects of the subdivision of the soil , and even Belgium ; and reasoning from these data , they assume that the extensive introduction of that principle into this countrythrough the medium of the Land Company—will be productive of national injury , and individual loss .
There is something exceedingly specious in these arguments , when looked at from one point of view . But when they are closely examined , their fallacious character is easily detected . In the first place , it ought to be kept constantly in view that , in arguing the comparative merits of the two syeteniB , the Political Economists try everything by their usual standard—how far it contributes to the increase of wealth , and the interests of capital—without reference to its moral and domestic tendencies . Mr Sehior , one of the most celebrated doctors of the new
economical philosophy , explicitly states , that Political Economy , as such , has nothing whatever to do with moraU . Its legitimate object being simply to enquire into the means of increasing the national wealth at the smallest cost of capital and labour . The celebrated Scottish system of farming is based upon this principle , quite as much as the manufacturing system of Lancashire , and acts with precisely the tame results' —so far as the labourers are concerned . The farmer keeps the smallest possible amount of manual labour for the necessary
attendance on the steam-engine , the machines it drivesthe inventions of the modern agricultural implement maker—and the few manual operations , which have not yet been abrogated by the inventions of the mechanic . To these labourers the lowest possible remuneration is given . They assist in growing large crops of the finest wheat , but it may be almost literally 6 aid , that not a grain of it reaches their table . It is carried away to be disposed of in the distant market towns , while they are fed upon bread composed of the meal ground from barley and peas . A
white loaf is , or at all events used to be , within our own recollection and experience , a rare visitor indeed to the cottage of a Scottish "hind . " In this reipect , that dess are placed in an analogous position to the operatives in the manufacturing districtsthey work for exportation , not consumption . The labourers , in both cases , are looked upon merely as part of the machinery requisite for producing a given amount of wealth , which has afterwards te be turned into gold for the benefit of the landlord and farmer , the manufacturer and the merchant . The question of conomising fuel for the engine , stands on the same
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ground , comes under the Mme category ' as'ttie subiWtenceof the' labourer who has to supply it , and both . are , accordingioHhe orthodox and recognised creed of Political Economy , to be provided at the smallest possible ' cost . It is very obvious that however much this system may facilitate the production of calicoes and corn , it leaves out of sight certain essential elements in the constitution of a prosperous and happy nation . The wealth which isthus made the sumntumbonum of human existence , becomes , in consequence of the non-observance of the moral obli gations which are the
real cement of society , a curse and not a blesBing to the nation which conducts its business on such false and depraved principles . Despite of the learned ' jargon written by closet-bred philosophers , and the flippant oratory spouted by counting-house patriots , there are inwoven in the constitution of nature , principles of ri ght and wrong , which cannot he systematically violated without entailing certain retribution . The state of affairs , and the general condition of the people , in every nation of Europe at this moment , afford melancholy evidence of the manner in which the avenging Nemesis ever dogs the offenders against the natural laws of equity .
Theupholders of the orthodox system of Political Economy may , perhaps , say that these observations , while they impugn the system of which they are the advocates , do not prove that on whichtheNmoNAij Land Company is founded to be correct . Before closing this article , we propose to show , by reference to facts , that the latter , when fairly carried out , is productive not only of the moral and domestic advantages which we des'derate , but is also productive of a higher degree of general comfort and of physical enjoyment , than is now realised by their own boasted system .
Few travellers of modern times have more closely or philosophically observed the working and effects of national institutions in the various countries he has visited , than Mr Samuel Laing . In his work on Sweden and Norway , published a few years since , he exhibited a remarkable political phenomenon , which is best described in his own words : — "The two kingdoms of Europe , where crime ' is highest and lowest in amount , are found side by side , and in every circumstance , « a «« political and social institutions , precisely similar ; Bave that m soil and in climate , Sweden enjoys considerable advantages over her poor and hardy , but intelligent , virtuous , and independent iwter ( Norway ) . "
Intelligence , virtue , and independence , an almost complete exemption from crime , aud the diffusion of general comfort among a people , are not things to be met with every day in the pages of the traveller ; when they are , they deserve a little more attention than the speculations of the . 'mere theorist , no matter though his head may be crammed with all the elaborate propositions contained in all the tomes of political economists , from Adam Smith down to J . R . M'Cullqch .
In commencing an enquiry into the causes of Norwegian prosperity and rural superiority , we are met at the threshold by the fact , that the very system decried by our theoretical economists and Free Traders , exists in that country , Mr Laing resided in different parts of Norway for abonfltwo years . He evidentl y made use of every op . portunity afforded him of scrutinising the moral , domestic , and social , as well as political position of the Norwegians , and , after a minute and careful examination , he deliberately concludes them to be the happiest people in Europe , if not in the world . Mr Laing explicitly attributes this to " the extensive
diffusion of landed property among the people , and the general equality which is maintained by the mallness of the estates . In a population of rather less than 1 , 000 , 000 , there are about 41 , 656 landed proprietors . Mr Laing estimates , that one man in every 22 is a landed proprietor in Norway , and , in Scotland , only one in every 700 of the population . Though the estates are generally small ( consisting , in general , of from forty to fifty acres ) , they are sufficient to furnish all the comforts aud many of the elegancies of life . Indeed , the whole nation is , according to Mr Laing , well lodged , well fed , well
clothed in their household manufactures , and have abundance of fuel . Leisure and ease of mind are largely enjoyed by all the Norwegians . The feverisb excitement which pervades English society under the reign of Political Ecoaomy , > unknown among them . Nor is this the description of one class . The housemen , or married labourers , and workmen of all descriptions , are in a much better condition than the same class in other countries , Almost every Norwegian playa on some instrument , and the nation is fond of dancing , to which pastime their long winter nights , and easy , social habits , are peculiarly favourable .
Mr Laing presents the following picture of the rural ^ population in "this country | of small estates . It presents a delightful contrast to that observed in this country , where low wages , inauffi . cientdiet , and squalid hovels , are the lot of most of the agricultural labourers , under the system of large farms and larger estates . " The bonder , or agricultural peasantry , each the proprietor of his own form , occupy the country from the shore-Bide to the hill foot , and up every valley or glen as far as corn can grow . This class is the kernel of the nation . They are , in general , fine athletic men , as their properties are not bo la *™ »<¦
to exempt them from work , but large enenlh to afford them and their household abundance ; and even superfluities , of the bast food . They farm not to raise produce for sale so much as to grow everything they eat , drink , andwearin their own famiUe * . They build their own houses , make their own chairs , tables , ploughs , carte , harness , iron-work , basket and woodwork—in short , except window glass , cast-iron ware , and pottery , everything about their nouses is of their own fabrication . There is not , probably , in Europe so greata population in so happy a condition as these Norwegian yeomanry , "
Yet these happy Yeomanry are not only ignorast of Political EcoHomy , but live in a manner which sets at defiance every one of its canons . A set of greater economical infidels cannot be conceived than parties who do not produce so much for sale as for home enjoyment , and who , despising the crotchets about subdivision of labour , make almost everything they want at their own happy homes . Here is the finish of the portrait , which is enough to make every genuine economist ' s hair stand on end , " like quills upon the fretful porcupine •" - « 17 i !»? ' ¥ ' " » statesand consume
, , we produce without seeking te barter or sell , except S ~ nn ^ pay 5 nstheir taxefl . «« d the few articles of luxury they consume . There is nomoney getting spirit amongst them , and hone of extravagance , lhey enjoy the comfort of excelleD * houses , good furniture , bedding , linen , olothing , fuel , vie ! SIm 1 " ? ' f 'W ? - of their own S !? Tldl S % * > J ood fui ; n » ture , and clothing being all home-made , the difference in these mattera between the family and the 8 ervants !" s very ? m " l » The servants are , however , lodged in a distinct building adjoining the family house . The Borstue , or unmarried servants' house , is better than many
of the farm houses in Scotland . It consists of a large well-lighted sitting-room , with a good stove , benches , chairs , and a table . A kitchen adjoins , for cooking and washing , and the upper story is partitioned into bed-rooms , each with a window . The whole of the building , whether parlour or chambers , is " as warm , cheerful , and clean as those of the main house . " A female domestic attends regularly , to cook and clean for the inhabitants . Compare the provision thus then for the domestic comforts of those who assist these small working proprietors ef forty or fifty acres , with that made for the same class in Scotland , by the landlords who own counties , » nd the farmers who hold on nineteen years' lease ,
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faln « H"fr 6 ^^; 000 t 6 ^ 000 ^ resy"desctibed by Mr Lainq , most 4 r « ly , jn ;( the following sewtence : — , ¦ . . . : " ;;< '" ~ : " : : ¦ ¦ ' ¦¦ : ¦ ¦ ' , " It is highly characteristic of Scotland that . withjn sight of its Parthenon , human dens may be found in wliioh wbalefamiUes-fathw , mother , aid grown-up dau ghters and « ons-are lodgeduuder one roof . witbout other division into-apartments , for the decent separation of the sexes , than is made by the wooden
bedstead placed in the middle without piner noor than the raw earth ; the wall of stones and Bodsnot lined inside ; the roof , a mass of damp , rotten straw , and decayed vegetable substances , supported by a few sooty rafters ; the windows , a single pane or two of glass , stuck in a hole in the thateb . or the wall ; the family provisions of meal , salt meat , herrings , milk , butter , all huddled together in the single room . "
Truly the Norwegian rural labourers have reason to be thankful tnat their employers ? re not Political Economists , and are contented with their small holdings , little dreaming of the dense state of ignorance which they are in , and of the superiority of large faros , large estates , and toe substitution of machines—driven by steam—for happy and willing labourers .
This article has grown to such a length , that we are compelled , perforce , to stop for the present . As the internal economy of Norway presents , however , a complete practical answer and refutation of many of the fallacies of the opponents of the Land Scheme , we propose to resume the consideration of the subject in our next ; and shall afterwards present other examples of countries in which comfort is diffused in connection with a minute sub-division of
the soil . Example is better than precept ; and we prefer infinitely to meet the declaration and arrogant assumptions of the Economists by facts , than to imitate them in these respects .
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STATE OF TRADE—FUTURE PROSPECTS . The proposition for an entire cessation of work in the manufacturing districts , to which we recently called attention , has been rejected by the masters . The Mill-owners' Association , at a meeting held this week iu Manchester , resolved , it is said unanimously , that such a measure was not only
impracticable , but in the highest degree undesirable , and likely only to lead to very severe privations among the factory operatives . The rejeetien of this plan will not , however , prevent the operatives from enduring " very severe privations . " The markets weat as gloomy an aspect as it is possible to conceive—the state of trade is deplorable—and the long-continued stagnation of business has resulted
in a pretty general attempt of the manufacturers to reduce wages . The Millowners ot Stockport , Ashton , and Mossley have , it is stated , given notice of a positive reduction of prices ; and the movement threatens to become general in the district , The operatives , on the other hand , aware from past experience that however easy it may be , under the pressure of ? ' bad times , " to bring wages down , it is always a most difficult task to raise , them again , no matter how brisk the markets may be , are stated to have met in several places and come to the resolution of resisting the reduction , and to prefer standing idle for a time .
The state of affairs in the mercantile is no better than in the manufacturing world . Several very large failures have taken place this week . The houseof Gower , Nephews , aud Co ., largely and extensively engaged as General Merchants , and having transactions in nearly every part of the globe , have failed for au amount which is variously stated from $ 800 , 000 to a million sterling . The responsibilities on bills alone are alleged to amount to £ 600 , 000 . The house appears to have been kept for some time on its legs in consequence of one of the partners being a Director of the Bank of Eng .
land . The recent bankruptcy of the Governor of that Incorporation , in connexion with the previous failure of other parties holding the same position , has caused general uneasiness among the mercantile classes . It is said that Gower and Co ., could not possibly have kept up such a degree of credit as they did , but from the circumstance of their being connected with the direction of th « Bank , aud that this has , consequently , aided in causins tue wide and crushing consequences whiohmust , now ba sustained . The fall of Gowshs . J ephews aud . Co ., broUgU flown , immeiMately afterwards ,
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AXI 80 N , COMBKBIEDGE , ^ aiid Co . ^^^^ in the South American trade , and this ^^ M by the failure of Sanderson and Co /** fol ! o * J brokers ) , for a very large amount . ' c **» 3 with these failures , the price of the ° ? J has been on the decline during the we v N difficulty of obtaining money fer the »^ M quirements of trade in the City has almtT'N paralysed business . The only staple T "N in the country which appears to be i ^ Sn condition is the iron trade , which is saidt ""] a state of great activity , and likel y to contin ^ " a long time to come . es (« The 7 Vme 4 inds a solution for all the d fs and disasters to which we have referredI ^ failure of the potato crop , and consequ enf ' ' * oi ioou irwn
, uw . wan , me snort suppl y of 1 and the rapid extension of railways , anj ^ H hopefully looks forwnrd to the cheap brTl plentiful supplies , which may be antici pated i result of the present bountiful harvest , to iT I out of all our difficulties . But , allowin g mH can be claimed on these grounds : and ,. i . H w i MHU j ftuYmH * 1 that its anticipations may be temporaril y f the question recurs—are there no means of i ing this monetary manufacturing and z ^^ system , which so often goes wrong , and •^ wide-spread misery on the tens of thou sa operatives , who are helplessly dependent m , ? and yet , a ? the same time , have not the sU , '
control over its movements ? . ' | F » r our own part , we hesitate not to say tw look upon every extension of the present system *' being calculated , in the end , only to piunge a nation into a gulph of ruin , from whence it ^ n all but impossible to extricate it . Every step ( ward is a step away from the direction in ^ , true national prosperity is to be found . If Wej abroad , it will be seen that all countries in ^ the same manufacturing- and commercial sw .
exists , are similarly affected with ourselves . tJ manufacturers of Rouen and Lyons are 33 yj situated as those of Manchester or Macclejfieli ti The fact suggests the inference , that it is nei ther tiil a short cotton , or potatoe crops , to Irish loans , Ot J railway mania , that this disastrous state of thin j is primarily attributable , but that it is owing J something inherent in the nature of the sy j itself . This inference is supported b y the fact , tUt similar stagnations have occurred without any % currence of causes , such as these which the Tkti now alleges as palliatory or explanatory reasons
The truth appears to be , that the enormous gain , realised by the modern manufacturing system , h J blinded the great majority of persons to its radical imperfections as at present conducted , and led to J rapid expansion for the purpose of promoting k dividual advantage , without any corresponding provision for the public well-being . We do not now allude to the moral , domestic aud physio ] evils , so notoriously endured by the factory ope , ratives , but simply to the econemical effects of tk manufacturing system on the nation at lar ^ e . Tfe
frequent periodical recurrence of panics , whicl throw out of employment the operatives of a wholt district , the longer continuance of each of they panics , when they do occur , and the consequeal prostration and weakening of the national energieij which ensue , are all facts pregnant with matte ' for deep reflection . Statesmen and legislators would do well to give the subject more consider . ation than they appear to have done hitherto and
to ask themselves whether , in reality , manufacture ! constitute a sound , judicious , or permanent fo « J dation for national Well-being , It appears to u ? , that in making it so , we are inverting the order of nature . Food is the first want of humanity ; cloth . ing stands second on the list . Agriculture should therefore constitute the basis of natural industrf , and absorb the largest portion of labour , capital and experience . Manufactures ought to occupy a secondary position . Since the introduction ol
the modern manufacturing system , the tendency has been in the contrary direction . Capital , science , and enterprise , have been all attracted to manufactures in a preponderating degree ; and though we admit that agriculture has , during the same period , made great progress , it is nothinj compared with the strids emade in the production of textile fabrics . But while we have been pursuing this course , other nations have been running a parallel race . Emulous of the fortunes , and extensive commerce of England , they have naturally sought to gain for themselves some of those advantages of which our writers and statists have 30 much boasted
a « the results of our manufacturing enterprise and skill . The consequence is , that we now meet with rivals in almost every market , and that already manj of those which we supplied at the commencement of the new era are entirely lost to us . Wages and profits have fallen in proportion as the competitisa became more intense , as the markets and the sellers increased , and the buyers diminished , until at length the slightest turn of the balance is sufficient to plunge the population of the districts , occupied in supplying these markets , into all the misery , dissatisfaction , and destitution , inseparable from the cessation of their accustomed means of support .
The prospect forthe future affords no hope of any alteration for the better . The present cloud mi ; pass away , and for a short season all the mills be set at work again , but the operation of the sam ! causes will inevitably soon bring us to anotnei deadlock . It is time , therefore , that this vital question-which affects so deeply and so generally all classes of the population—were receiving thai attention which its paramount importance demands
It is time that we should iuquire , whether the wonderful and gigantic powers of modern science and mechanism , are to be rationall y applied to the promotion and diffusion of general comfort , intelligence * and prosperity , or continue as , at present , to be insanely used for the demoralisation and pauperisation of the working class 5 to be the cause of bart * ruptcy among the trading classes ; and the source of constant uneasiness to the Government and the Legislature .
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MISOILUNIOUS . M H « H O wT ' 8 LlN o D c"Mw ««» r , - John Hilton , rf Hojle HiU , near Barnsley , writes as fellows :-I am ahand-loom weaver , I hava read the Jforthtr * Star , and have followed your plan respectine potatoM . 'I choose the largest for sets , and in my little plot of ground I have had five pecks of potatos * to tweM square sards of land , each peck weighing twenty pounds , and the potatoes , for size , and quality are such that my neighbours are' giving up tha old way and following the excellent plan you hav » laid down . ' * ' T . B . B . —A Chartist member of the LandrCompa » Ji and a resident of Jersey for twenty , years , sendi o * a letter commenting on a letter fcy T . K . R ., onJe »« affairs , which appeared in this paper of the 28 tn » August . As we hara already given one communicatio * from Jersey containing similar statements to the «« Bet forth in the communication before us . it is no '
necwaary to give T . B . B . ' a letter . We may i »»> however , that T . B . B . considers the whole of *« reforms * assailed by T . R . R . necessary and calculi * to advanoe the cause of real' progress' in Jersey . ,, J . VTiuon , Halifax .-The lin « s are not exactly fitted f <> publication . Nottwqhak Election Idno . —J . Swaet , ackuowlaof ^ the receipt of the following sura , witu thanks . —Ash W ' under-tyne , per Mr Filling , £ 1 . .. Birmingham . —Charles Goodwin acknowledge ! the rej «; J of 5 s , for the Land Company , from J . 8 . G . C ., ^ burgh . - to ft . Webieb . —Address to the Literary and Scientific » stitute , John . 8 treet , Tottenuam . court . road , London . Glasgow . —Aaron Benttey , StocVport , wishosto two " . the address of Duncan Sherrington . .. J Gehbbai , Election Fond . —Julian Harney has receiM V ' an'd paid over to the committee , the fo llowing S ( * "JI < awith ; other sums previously annruneed ); Laneliyi *' ; Q ; Jenkins , l « s Brechin , A . Campbell , ls ; Sr » W < J . LasseU ' . HBlQd ,
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PORTRAIT O ¥ ERNEST JONES , Esq ., Barrister-at-Law . A splendid full-length portrait of Ernest Jones , representing him to the life itself , is now beiHg engraved upon a steel plate , and when a sufficient number is printed it will be given with the Northern Star to subseribers only , that is , to all subscribers ^ from tliejfirst week in October until the portrait is ready . All parties who have seen the portrait concur in the opinion that it would be impossible to procure a more perfect likeness . As the proprietor of the Northern St r has lost considerable sums on account of portraits , it must be understood that none but subscribers can receive the plate , as no more will be printed than are required to supply subscribers .
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NATIONAL LARD AD LAB 0 D 1 BANK . In future , all letters intended for this Establishment are to be addressed simply , ' To the Manager of the National Land aud Labour Bank , 144 , High Holborn , London . '
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• THE PALACE AND THE BASTILE . The strange inconsistencies in the relative positiou of the wealthy and the working population , are becoming daily more apparent . "Murder will out , " and thus a knowledge of the sectional ill-treatment of the poor , is fast spreading among the general body . For a long time the fastidious rich ignored the condition of those beneath them ; their delicate nerves must not be shocked by the sight or sound of
misery ; and thus they dwelt apart in a world of their own . The voice of complaining , however , reaches their ears at last ; but the special subexecutive of the laws distort facts , and prejudice the humble plaintiff . The sufferer has to speak through an official speaking-tube , or to entrust a petition to official bands J and those among the great and privileged , who have a more tender conscience than the rest , lay the flattering unction to their souls , that misery is the fruit cf idleness and dissipation , or ¦ ' " A cunning trade
By which the rogues do thrive . *' By and by , their eyes are opened , and then their mock philanthrophy fleets to the winds , since they see their ' own splendours have caused the wretchedness of their fellows . Those splendours have become a second habit—and then follows the long struggle to maintain them ; then succeed the laws made by the rich to rule the poor ; then results the administration of those laws by the rich over the poor ! then comes the payment of the rich , official by the poor ; and then , hedged in by the vast machinery
brought in support of this system of legislation , those splendours , which aristocracy was wont to shroud within the stately seclusion of high walls and portals , grow more public and more apparent , as the wealthy orders , relying less on that respect and veneratiou they bave forfeited , f hrow themselves on the armed power they have created , and which they are increasing daily . Thus we find the veil removed more and more from before the expensive habits of the two aristocracies of land and money . The houses , which used to conceal internal magnificence
behind external gloom , are now becoming showy and costly in exterior decorations ; Corinthian fronts ,. Moorish fagades , Elizabethian structures , vie with each other—while the luxuries of furniture , losing the massive cast of baronial times , degenerate into the effeminate costliness of Sybaris ; the grand pomp of the past , is sinking into frivolous inanity ; and where formerly envy or hatred were engendered , the people are beginning to feel contempt and anger . This is further increased by the loose tone of morality pervading the upper classes ,
and especially in France , where public and private degravity is digging the grave of corrupt and worthless institutions . Furthermore , we find illustrated , as a sure concomitant of shameless effrontery —( we can call waste and splendour , amid a starving population , by no term less harsh)—that the sinews of power are being braced and strengthened . A few years ago a new Police force was established , good in some points , but placing a powerful agent in the hands of Government . Shortl y afterwards a detective force was added to this . Then unwonted
encouragement was given to the army . "Good conduct stripes , " and " Good conduct pay , " were bestowed , to keep up an emulative spirit , and supply food to the petty ambition of the soldier ; admission to public gardens from which they had previously been excluded ; then medals were distributed and badges given in memory of sundry " great . fights , " in rivalry of that " crowning carnage , Waterloo ;"—presentatio urs , and banquets are lavished to keep up the " feeling of the soldier "—till his enthusiasm is so roused that he
emulates the beast of draught , and degrades his manhood by harnessing himself to the carriage of some man who had the " glory" of ordering him and his fellows to play the murderer to the sound of music . Thus , and by every possible y ^\ ns , a distinctive feeling is kept up between jta army and the bulk of the people-that pe ( | hwbO 88 mightily expressed public opinion thoife fly tQlliera may have to thank that the lash hUHn tons their backs , and that the murder at the fe | ugl 6 $ | not added to the " murder in the field . " Bi t thi disease
administers us own corrective-the « . 1 ha 3 but to be known-to be remedied-not by the Legislative , nor by the Executive-but by the People . The apparent apathy of the people was not to be attributed to a waut of feeling , or real energy , but to a want ol knowledge of their own general position . The local grievance may engender a feeling of discontent , but the universal misery preaches the general crusade against oppression , since it forms the great union of a fellow-feeling among the oppressed , and that union is strength .
Meanwhile the palaces are rising , and the sentries are pacing around them ; the revelries are proceeding , and the police throng the steps of the mansioiu lest the gazing poor should feel too hungry ; the sportsmen are bagging their game , where they havt pulled down villages and sent their inhabitants to the Bastile that they mi ght form deer forests , where once cottages stood and corn fields wavedl Her Majesty may still see the ruins of those
homes in the neighbourhood of Ardverkie—they once rose in the Breadalbi ns d ? er forest of 60 miles by 40-they may be seen by Bort William , where Lord Abinger has swept awsy tin cultivation encouraged by his predecessor-they may be seen in the Isle of Rum , whence Lord Sahsi TOY has banished men to shelter deer-they may be seen in Iona , whence the Duke of Abgvle has exiled a major part of the population ; families as old as his own , and with an honest ancestry more noble by far ! They may be 83 en around Ardtornish , where the LoRD of the Isi . es once rallied their vftstand well-fed vassalage
where now sheep haye ; usurped the place- of-men , aud deer are displacing the sheep . We hope Her Majesty and the Prince have reflected on : these things , while they have been ihooting deer instead of protecting men ; We hope they have thought how many glad hearths were now dark and cold , and how many fond hearts were now beating faint in exile , or sickening in the Bastile , that those forests might wave , and the deer bound in those solitudes . We hope the pernicious effects of classlegislation were thus brought home to the " volati l e young Prince of Wales , " ( as the courtly press has called him , ) and that her humane tutors brought this home also to the tender heart of the young Princess Royal , when
" Her Majesty and the Prince reorossed the loch in a barge , and were much delighted on finding that , during ; ^ eir absence the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal had been furnished with fishing-rods by Mr Perdue , the Queen ' s fiBherman , and that the Princess had succeeded in capturing a trout in a rivulet . which runs into the loch at Ardverikie . " Alas ! we fear the royal thoughts may have been fixed on the mountain of stone adding to Buckingham Palace , which is not large enough for the ac
commodation of one family . To be sure , that family happens to be a ROYAL one 1 At the cost of vast treasure that structure is added to the old one . Meed how pitiable the condition of Her Majestt roust have been , ' how very little room she must have had , if we are to judge by the vast size of the addition ! Meanwhile there are others not quite so well housed as Her Majestv , even before she had the addition to her Palace ; as witness the report brought up at a meeting of the directors of the poor in St . Pancras , where
" Mr Pitt , the agent of the Board , brought up , and wad a lengthened report as to the over-crowded state of the workhouse , from which it appeared , that on theSth inst ., there were 1 , 630 inmates , for the accommodation of which number 43 . 911 feet of houBoroom existed . In the first-floor , to accommodate 780 newons and 6 children , there were but 624 beds Rooms between the new vestry-rooms and boys ' school , 5 i beds to IS persona . Infirmary ( men's 1 side ) beds 44 , persons 46 . Infirmary ( women ' s side ) beds 126 , persons 165 . Total , 170 bedB , and 211 persons . Bays' school , S 3 beds , and 165 persons . Girls ' school , 136 beds , and 296 persons . " And this almost within sig ht" of Her Majesty ' s Palace .
Might one not regret - that the money spent in that palace was not appropriated to buying land and cottages for those paupers ? As much employment weuld have been afforded to the mason and the carpenter , but with a far different effect . The same impulse would have been given to the trade—but with a fat mote beneficial tendency . Not foreign luxuries , but home comforts , would demand the hands of the artificer—and the sovereign would not have the pang to know that the ruin of thousaudt resulted from the building of that palace—nay , that the very men ^ who built it , were languishing in the Bastile , while she was entertaining foreign
potentates . We do not write this in disrespect to Her Majesty —we blame not her , but her advisers—her Whig Ministers . They may have enjoyed their release from their Parliamentary duties—they may have been delighted with their rambles through their deer-forests , and over their moors ; while Whitfield , the old , blind , paralytic pauper of St Pancrai , was not allowed to go and see his mother—even when he said he could obtain a friend to guide him . That Government has a hireling Press , and a venal House to plead its cause before the great tribunal of public opinion ; that pauper is heard with scorn by the Board , brow-beat , disbelieved , though he appeals to the many witnesses he has to prove his assertions , and the bars word of the accused official
taken against him . His mouth was stopped when he dated to speak—he was accused of teMing a falsehood , as witness the following : _ " Whitfield : —I again repeat , that although a pauper , 1 have a character , I have not told a falsehood , which can be proved by the people in the ward , if they are called . I think I have a right to speak when I find , as well as the other inmates , the master enforcing rules opposed to humanity . If you were to see the poor miserable creatures driven about as they are here , no matter what their ages are , at 6 o ' clock in the morning—The Board refused to hear more and Wbitfibw was removed . "
The official was not accused of uttering a falsehood—he was not ' silenced—not removed ; while the witnesses the " pauper" mentioned , were never heard . We will not . here say , whose statement was correct—but let not the Board dignify this scene by the name of ¦ « INVESTIGATION . " The palace towers , the deer-forest flourishes , the exile dies , the Bastile is over-gorged , the tongue of the paralytic pauper is silenced : but the CHARTER spreads , the LAND is being won , the cottage riies , the TRADES flouri ? h-and no power of man can still the thunder of the people ' s voice , that cries : — OUR RIGHTS , AND NOTHING LESS I OUR RIGHTS , AND NOTHING MORE J — - ¦ — - - dfc . _ _
Eojrea&Ers ^ Camgdoionitt
EojRea&ers ^ CamgDoionitt
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JUST PDBLT 3 HBB , NO . IX . OF "THE LABOURER , " IMCKUfcUKM . Letters ( pre-pai » to be addressed to the Editors , 16 Qreat Windmill Street , Hajmarket , Loadcm . Orders reoeiredby all agents forthe "Northern Star " and all booksellers ia town aid country .
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Erratum . —In the doting paragraph of the first eaderlast week , a ludicrous error appears . " But by union the increased knowledge arising from iacreased expenses , " for " expenses" read japeriw *
Thkpsople's Vmtdrffls '' At '' Ra '" ]
THKPSOPLE'S VMTdRffls '' AT '' ra ' " ]
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* ¦ , THU NAHTHERN STAR ; V . September is i « ,. I
Glasgow Seahbsu— On Tuesday,The 14th Instan ( ,
Glasgow Seahbsu— On Tuesday , the 14 th instan ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 18, 1847, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1436/page/4/
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