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THE BATj&XS O' THE MILL .
Air— Calm Dewy M > min \ Have you heard on acauld -wintry mornin * , When snaw mantled ntuirlaud and hill , The horn or the bell loudly warnin ' The barefooted bairns to the mill ? gae dinsome it rings through ilk dwellin * That sleep flees thepuir bairnies' e'en "While , waefu ' , the mother is eallin ' To rise , her wee Johnie and Jean . TVT puir tremhlin' forms and wan faces , They ' re roused frae midst tatters and straw A sicht which old Scotia
disgraces—A sicht which our sires never saw . The wee ra » gifc things then maun wander Awa through the cauld Crispin' snaw , To toil midst the mill's boomin' thunder , While dull dreary time flits awa \ Sweet spring sune shall garland the willow , And blossom the rose in the glen , " Wliile winter afar o'er the billow Maun flee to Ma dark norlan glen . The gay rosy morn then shall gladden Ilk wee thing that wanders at will , But , ah ! how the breists it will sadden Of bairnies confined to the milL
0 when shall the laws of our country Bringjoy to the bairnies of toil , Or when shall the kist and the pantry In plenty ' s embrace greet their smile ? The Power wha can calm the wild ocean . His word this great end can fulfil , To him then in fervent devotion 0 pray for the bairns of the mill ! rollokshaws . Thomas Watsos
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THE COMMONWEALTH . No . U . March . London : 16 , Great Windmillstreet , Haymarket , Ocr readers may remember that we extracted from the first numuer of this Magazine , a paper on the writings of Loos Blasc . The Lalf-critical , half-biographical review of that eminent man , is continued in the number of the Commonwealth for March , and that continuation we have transferred to another part of this page of the Star . Our " wholesale appropriation" of the article in question , sufficiently speaks our sense of its merits . "We may add that we are equally well pleased -with the general contents of this number of the Commonwealth— -really a talented and worthy champion of the cause of Democratic and Social
Edbrm . "The Crime of the Government against the People" is the title of a powerfully-written article on the neglect of themental , moral , and social culture of the masses , by their aristocratical ' pastors and masters . " Fourteen -years ago , Lord John Russeli>—then Secretary of State HI the Melbourne Administration , observed in the course of one of Ms parliamentary orations , that : — "A State is culpable in its punishment for offences , wliile it fails to uso its most strenuous efforts for their prevention . " On this text the editor of the Commonwealth founds his "discourse ; " a ' discourse , " we Avfll assert , containing more wholesome truth and sound doctrine than our
readers are likely to hear preached from any pulpit in any church or chapel between John O'Uroat ' s and the Land ' s End—excepting , perhaps , some half-dozen , whose preachers are anything but orthodox . How Orthodoxypolitical and religions—governs the people , is well set forth in the following comments on "Hagged Schools " : — According to Lord Ashley ' s showing , not Jess iluin 3 < t , < i ( K ) boys and girls are growing up in this metropolis , without home , occupation , or instruction , in the ordinary acceptation of these terms . They are a class of outlaws who constitute the
y ?' jvlaa of our criminal army ; materiel from which iti numbers and strength arc continually recruited , t evcrr large town , at least the same proportion of outputs may be found , predoomed , as it were , to grow up into criminals , if not cut off by disease before arriving at an age which fits them to join in depredations upon society . The establishment of a meagrely supported word-mongering school , for a few scores or inindreds of these unhappy victims of a bad orjranisation of society , or the annual fitting O"i of half a hundred of the ' best conducted of such solars for our colonies , seems to us a hideous DKvktt-y of the admittedgigantic proportions of this social evil .
AVe must find room for the following graphic picture of the working of the judicial portion of OCR G 1 OBI 0 US IXSTHTJUOXS . t The imorant law-breaker is offered up tothe laws Tadictiveness with a " pomp and circumstance analogous to that which distinguished the sacrifice of Laniau victims in some of the sanguinary religious of antiquity . The judge is marshalled into t : ~? assize town with the sound of trumpets and the ringing of bells ; his horses are richly caparisoned ; te is surrounded by the noble and wealthy , the learned and the wise . He makes a ceremonial visit to the stately cathedral or antique parish church , a ? a solemn " preparation for the discharge of his
; ta 3 k : and having thus g iven a sacred character to } it , he ascends the judgment-seat and dooms his fel-| low-creatures to stripes , chains , dungeons and death . I That being done , he dines with the sheriffs , the corporations , the lawyers and magistrates , and toasts , I with throe times three , " Our glorious constitution I in Church and State " I Alas ! did we rightly comprehend our duties and I interests as human beings and children of one comtluon parent , such proceedingswouldnotbe tolerated . I Tie entrance of a judge into a town would be a sea-I son for general mourning ; streets would be hung ¦ wit h black ; bells would be muffled , and theday would lie one of solemn crief that such a visitation had I come upon it Cholera and pestilence are dreaded , ¦ and the prospect of their approach rouses into
activity the instinct of self-preservation . "Why should v . be otherwise with this moral pestilence ^ bich -walks abroad more deadly to all the highest and noblest interests of society than any disease , howi «* ur virulent The withering miasiiia of ignorance ^ steads its influence through every ramification of p-e social machine , and engenders lawlessness , pogu'ry , chicanery , and injustice in all directions . Ui--.-: zcs , juarter-sessions , and other courts , judges , P ^ - > tnut-jUdgcs , and the host of luensed lawyers , tr * Ue to cope with or subdue it . Powerful but r ^ SHitm law judges of the act—but in the majority K fiances there it stops . Of motives it does not l&-WM ? irUance ' and where ifc does > fails t 0 aefc fe Cp : ' w V ° the knowledge .. It can punish , and Pi- ' '' ow 7 f this awful power it punishes daily , E f tie ho 1 i are lt 3 punishments ! The coercion , I ' ** $ not coaYince or a . tcr tlie mind ; it
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only hardens still more the hardened offender ; and the inutility , the cost , tho grievous failure of our past efforts ought to convince us that penal statutes , public executions , and all the paraphernalia of force , are a huge mistake , and lead us to substitute intellectual , moral , and industrial training in their place . The elaborate and excellent article on "Home Colonies in the ^ Neth erl ands , " would alone justify us in earnestly recommending this number of the Commonwealth to the friends of social reform . At the moment that the attention of the London Trades is being directed to the important subject of Home Colonisation , this article , showing the working of that system in Holland , is , indeed , well timed , Democratic and Social Reformers will serve their own cause by doing their best to promote the circulation of the Commonwealth .
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The National Debt , and Pai / ic Funds , simplified for general comprehension , &c , &c . By Juste * Brexax , London : E . Wilson , Boyal Exchange . We have much pleasure in recommending- this cheap and useful little hook to that very numerous portion of the public unacquainted with the nature and distribution of the Debt called " National ; " and the management and working of the Government Funds . An attentive perusal of this work is all that is necessary to render every one enlightened on the important matters it treats of . All those who desire to penetrate that " mystery of iniquity "the funding system , will do well to study Mr . Brenan ' s book , as a necessary introduction to works of loftier pretensions .
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The National Reform Almanack , for 1849 . New York , IT . S . : published at the office of " Young America , 5 C , Chatham-street . "A Free Soil for a Free Feople , " is the admirable motto emblazoned on die title-page of tMs Almanack . "We may observe , that without a Free Soil , a Free People is not possible . Polititical Institutions may confer the means of establishing a state of Freedom , but the actual amount of freedom enjoyed by a people will depend upon their Social Institutions . The National Reformers of America
deserve the good wishes of all true Democrats , for their efforts towards making the Declaration of Independence a verity . May they succeed ! ~\ Ye hope to make use , on a future oecaaion , of some of the valuable matter contained in this Almanack . We are glad to learn that there are now , in the entire Union , not less than two hundred and fifty Newspapers devoted , or favourable to the National Reform Movement . This progress , in five years , is most encouraging , and gives promise of a final , and not very distant , national triumph .
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PAMPHLETS . 1 . An Appeal to the Chartists Proper , &c—2 . Draft of a National Franchise Bill . —3 . . State Education Vindicated , &c . —4 . Free Trade , " notproven , " &c . ByB . Oastler , Esq . 1 . The author , who entitles himself The Pimlico Hermit , " has written sixteen pages of exquisite twaddle , devoted to abuse of "Red Republicans , " "Communists , " &c . ; laudations of the aristocracy , and denunciation ftf CoBBES and his movement . Our
verdict on this pamphlet will be best expressed by the Americanism—bosh I—2 . A pamphlet published by the " National Franchise Union of Great Britain and Ireland , originated in Liverpool , on the 22 nd of January , 1849 . " The outline of a Bill to establish Universal Suffrage is given . The other points of the Charter , with tho exception of the Ballot , are omitted" because on some of those points many persons do not and never would agree , who are
yet desirous of extending the Franchise to the whole people . "—3 . In a well-written pamphlet Mr . T . Emery vindicates State Education from the objections of the votaries of Voluntaryism . — 4 . An exposition of Mr . Oasxleh ' s views on "Free Trade , " in a series of letters to the People of England ; with an introductory address to R . Cobden , M . P . Well worthy attentive perusal and general circulation .
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Received : —XJnreformed Abuses in Church . and State . &c . &c . By John Wade .
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SADLER'S WELLS THEATRE . Beaumont and Fletcher's play of the Honest Man ' s Fortune , remodelled by Mr . R . H . Home , was rei'ived here on Wednesday night . The story is very artificial , and one feels little or no sympathy with any of the characters , notwithstanding that the leading feature of the play is the downfall of a man whose honesty makes him an object of compassion . Thi 3 part was played by Mr . Phelps ; but it afforded him very little opportunity for display , and it was not until the last act that the ordinary pl-iy-gocr could conceive why so good an actor had chosen , so poor a vehicle for the exercise of his abilities . Montague , is a nobleman of unblemished honour , who is ruined bv a law-suit which has been
instituted between him and the Duke of Orleans , a rival suitor to a high-born lady , to whom , he had formerly been devotedly attached . By this reverse of fortune he becomes reduced to a dependant position ; and in the midst of his difficulties he falls a prey to the fraudulent propensities of men who before had treated hini with the respect due to his rank . He is succoured in his distresses by Lamira , who in secret loves him , and for whom he cherishes a passion which he has never confessed . Beyond the interest which arises from this point of the play , there is little or nothing to enlist the attention of the audience , and it is only when they find that Montague exposes in very strong ^ language the villany of the fellows bv whom he has been duped
that any excitement is produced . In this scene Mr . Phelps acted with much earnestness and vigour , and added another proof to those he Las already given , of his determination to take nature for his model . The three characters , La Poop ( a pretended seacaptain ) , Lavendinc ( a fop ) , and Malicorn ( a sharking merchant ) , were played bj Messrs . G . Bennett , Scnarf , and A . Younge . The first-named was a variety of the Bobadil genus , a specimen of humanity somewhat common in the days of the author . The bombastic cowardice of the pseudo sea-captain ¦ was humorously rendered by Mr . Bennett , the extravagant ' language in which the character iudulges being peculiarly adapted to his emphatic mode of intonation . His worthy companions were also well played , and the antics of the disreputable trio afforded * great relief to the duller portions of
the play . Miss Cooper performed . Lamira with much taste and discretion , and the other characters were embodied in such a manner that the general effect was hig hly creditable to those under whose direction the piece was produced . In speaking the lines which are affixed by way of ep ilogue , Mr , Phelps suddenly forgot his words , and apologised to the public , attributing the misfortune to the nervousness incident on the production of the piny . He was answered by long and repeated cheers from every part of the house . It was pleasing to witness this good feeling on the part of an audience towards a manager who has laboured so hard to elevate the character of his establishment , and who at that moment was giving evidence of his continued energy by the very complete manner in which the nonaii 3 km's Fortuncms put on his stage .
Royal Polttechsic Institution—A new and highly interesting subject has been commenced during thepast week , by Dr . Ryan , at this establishment , entitled " The Chemistry of the Breakfast Table ; " more particularly for the purpose of introducing the newly-invented process for preserving milk for long voyages , patented by Mr . Moore , holding a medical appointment in her Majesty s household . By meat's of this process the milk was kept perfectly clear and unadulterated . The milk was preserved in . a solid state , and this was done by
separating one of its component parts—water . The lecturer observed that he was not then speaking of what was termed London milk , but pure and proper milk , which he said was composed of two things , solid mass and water . This water bein 01 separated , the solid mass was placed in cases maSe air-tight , and fit for sea-travelling . It might be kept for any length of time . Several specimens exhibited on the lecture table , had been to the East Indies and back , and had kept perfectly good and sweet . The learned professor wa 3 followed by Mr . Shaw , who g ave explanatory lectures on magic , illustrated by humorous and pleasing feats of slight of hand .
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Save rs from ocr Fbiexds . —Most of our misfortunes are wore supportable than the comments of our friends upon them .
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* ax j _ i j . i v _ f JlV LOUIS BLASC : THE BISTORT OF TE . V TEARS . ( From the Comr , wn \ iea . lth for March . ) In our last number we remarked on the extraordinary influence of the " History of Ten Years , " not only in the production of the late revolution , but in giving to that revolution its peculiar and distinctive characteristics . From the nrst page to the last the author ' s mind seems to be brooding over the sad condition of the working classes , " the unregarded struggles of the poor ; and whether he is engaged in recording tue changes of dynasties or the revolutions of empires , still we find him looking below the surface , and saying to the humble man , " How is it with you , my poor brother ? where did this change find you—where has it left von t "
True , the revolution has so far disappointed the hopes of many ; the bourgeoisie have again regained their power in part , Louis Blanc is in exile , and the poor have gone back to their burdens ; society is , as they say , reconstituted—order restored . In reconstituting s ' ociety , however , and in restoring order , let us hope that they are not sowing the seeds o | another revolution , more terrible in its nature and more complete in its results than any which has yet taken place . We are no advocates of violence , and we believe we mav safelv sav that no men more sincerely
deprecate violence that those who are called social and democratic republicans ; but they have the wisdom to see , and the boldness to declare , that there is a worse state of things than that which arises from revolution ; namely , the pestilent unwholcsomencss of stagnant and allowed corruption — such corruption as was allowed in France duriDg the last years of the reign of Louis-Philippe . The strife of a revolution may enlarge both the intellect and heart of a nation , whilst the peddling meanness protected by power must , as a matter of necessity , kill its very soul by obliterating all manly instincts , and subduing all generoua and noble
sentiments . This is abundantly testified by tho struggles of the republican party in France during the reign of Louis-Philippe , and Louis Blanc has placed it " beyond ill dispute in the work now under consideration . In this work he has passed under review not only the actions of the various parties , but he has also indicated the various passions by which they were . actuated ; he makes no apology for the mistakes or even for the vices of these who call themselves republicans , but at the same time he shows no mercy to the delinquencies of kings , op thfl meanness and fraud of the so-called
respectable classes — the man and his motives are alone regarded . We shall make no attempt to give an abstract of this work that , . within our present limits , would be impossible . We shall content ourselves by giving a few extracts , whereby the principles and spirit of the Republicans may be known as far as £ heir principles had developed themselves up to that period where the work breaks off . In tho introduction to this remarkable-book , he proves that Napoleon was sacrificed by the bourgeoisie for the promotion of their own interests , and that after the Restoration tho privileges of the Bourbons and their old nobles were continually combated by the same power , until , in 1830 , the king himself , after a desperate effort to maintain
hi 3 prerogatives , was prostrated by this same party , aided and assisted by the Republicans and the people . Indeed , in the July revolution , as in the revolution of February , this class of trading politicians were carried by the people much further than they of themselves intended to go . In July , 1830 , the Republicans and people meant a Republic , and when the conflict was over , they sought for one ; but there was a juggle not then played out , namely , a Republican Monarchy , and this farce at the time got countenance from some of the most sincere friends of the people . There was , however , a large number who were not taken in by this , who saw through the whole thing from the beginning , and who from the moment ofits
establishment _ warred against it fiercel y and incessantly . This party trae composed of tllC choicest spirits of the time ; and although many suffered and some fell in the struggle , it was not without leaving to the world an inheritance worth having . It is curious to remark how purely political wove the objects of this party at the commencement of the fight ; but as the battle proceeded , we observe a gradual enlargement of their aims—a desire to take into consideration not only the political rights , but also the social claims of the people . To illustrate this , wo shall quote a speech of Godfxoi Cavaign . ie , when accused , during the first year of Louis Philippe ' s reign , of an attempt to establish a Republic : — " ' My father , ' he began , ' was one of those who , in the Convention , proclaimed the Republic in the face of then victorious Europe . He defended it in
the armies . For this it was that lie died in exile , after a proscription of twelve years ; and whilst the Restoration itself was forced to leave France the fruits of that revolution he had served—whilst she loaded with favours the men the . revolution had created , my father and his colleagues alone suffered for the great cause which so many others betrayedlast homage of their feeble age tothe country tlieiv youth had so vigorously defended ! That cause , messieurs , is therefore bound up with all my feelings as a son ; the principles it embraced are my patrimony . Study has confirmed this bent naturally given to my political ideas ; and now that the opportunity , at last , presents itself to me this day to pronounce a word which so many others proscribe , I declare , without affection and without fear , I am , in my heart and by conviction , a Republican . '
"After this noble exordium , Gavaignac repudiated , with singular elevation of thought , all the reproaches addressed to the Republican party . It was accused of conspiracy . An idle accusation . Ever since revolutions had t > een in vogue , conspiracies had counted for very little . The Republican party was too sure of the future to lose patience , and refuse to rely on the fortune of the popular cause . It was much better pleased to let Monarchy conspire for it by a host of incurable blunders and iniquities . "Why should the Republican party be over-hasty ? Could it fail to know that a dissolving agency was so potently at work on all the means of government , that the latter would require to be wholly reconstructed ? Did it not know that , tormented as the world was , by new , immense wants , even a god would find it more difficult to govern than to reconstruct it ? The bloody deeds of ' 93
were cast in the teeth of the Republicans ! But men of sense , those who judged history by its results , had , doubtless , not forgotten that the Convention had defended the national soil , extended France to her natural limits , and fecundated the germ of every great political idea ; and that of all the governments that had successively . appeared during a space of six-and-thirty years , the Convention alone had retired because such was its willretired triumphant amidst the thunder of the cannon of the Yendemiaire , Disappointed ambition was imputed to the Republicans . Those who cast that slur on them were men whose ambition had been gorged to excess . Passing on to considerations of another kind , M . Cavaignac showed hovr mueh deliberate and practical gooa sense there was in the notions of the Republicans , who had too much enlightenment to antedate their programme , and to live on the reminiscences of Athens and of Rome .
He argued against Monarchy considered m its action , not on France , but on the secondary powers . Thank Heaven I France carried within her what enabled her to surmount the most fearful trials ; but what was to become ot the nations placed under her aegis , and which it was one of the necessary conditions of the Monarchy to abandon ? ' The revolution , ' said M , ' Cavaignac , in concluding Ma address , 'is the whole nation , with the exception of those who fatten upon tho nation ; it is our country fulfilling that mission of emancipation confided to it by the providence of peoples ; it i 3 all France which has done her duty towards them . As for us , messieurs , we have done our duty towards her , and she will find us ready at her call , whenever she shall have need of us ; whatever she demands of us she shall obtain . "
These were the views of the Republicans at the time indicated . It will here be observed that the social aspect of the question is but very obscurely hinted at ; still it is plain that the thoug hts of We Republicans were beginning to entertain it , and with such men to entertain such a question was to understand it and proclaim it . At this time the disciples of St . Simon attracted so much attention as to bring upon themselves a prosecution . They were men of great ability , and counted amongst their number such names as tarnot Chevallier , Thierry , Pierre Leroux , and many other men of great practical and literary ability . Our historian gives a most instructive account of this system and its effects on French society , ana shows how Fourierism and St . . Simonianism penethose humane
tTated republican sn , and produced pSs which tre cannot help noticing as character-* % ! &fi £ i ! S ' w » to enter into a mmutc detail of the many encounters which took place SStSa ? 1 r gSM ^ Sp oonaucrSf wurage that characterises hose in SS who have taken the people ' s cause in hand , ,, nvof whom still occupy tho front ranks in the Sfc We shall , howeveV , fill up our remaining K 2 V giW a few Snecimens of the style W Seof tWTitof thelustonan BV
"'" . Hir ^ FBEXCH PEOPLE GAIKBP TUB MiT&m
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Duke of Orleans s paper , exclaimed , ' You have always been the bravest and most heroic of mon . Honour to you , brave Parisians ! And the mntristrates Of the city , not less enthusiastic , outdid them m praise . ' Who , said M . Alexandre do Lnborde , m a proclamation to the inhabitants of Paris , ' who can flatter himself as meriting the rank of first magistrate of a population , whose heroic conduct has been the salvation of freedom and civilisation ? And this while bread was wanting in manv lamilies , and many a weeping mother was soon searching for a beloved corpse on the cold flags of the Morgue . "
natioval education . " Education can be made national by no other means than by considering it as a debt on the part of the state , and as a duty on that of the citizens . It must therefore be at once gratuitous and compulsory . In Franco it couW not have been rendered the latter Without interfering with the rights of labour , since , through the effects of a government as foolish , as barbarous , the poor workman was universally compelled to look upon his cliildren as a means of increasing his wages , and had too great need of then-services to caro for their instruction . io torce the father to die of hunger , in order that the son might be educated , would only have been a cruel mockery . But this very fact ought to have shown the absurdity of every partial reform ; and that the only true reform is one which shall ho
bound up with a body of reforms constituting a thorough , bold , and complete social renovation . . • . When authority has an end in view , it ought to impel society towards it with uniformity , steadiness , and vigour of purpose . "With regard to instruction , there cannot be too strong a centralisation . _ To allow , in a country torn by party , of the silly rivalry of private schools , is to instil into new generations the poison of civil discords , and to afford rival parties the means of propagating themselves in the midst of an increasing confusion of opinions and principles—it is like sowing chaos . The education of the people , a sublime priesthood when the state provides it , is , when abandoned to individual caprices , but a speculation replete with danger ; and what is termed liberty of teaching is only the gestation of anarchv .
MM WIEsE . V * SYSTEM . " As for the social system desired and upheld by the bourgeoisie , it has been marked by a complete abandonment of the poor . ' Every one for himself ; charity begins at home , ' has been the maxim of their leaders ; loathsome , base maxim , which contarns all oppressions , \ intil it gives birth to all disorders . The error of the bourgeoisie has been this , that it believed freedom to be sufficient for progress and justice , under circumstances of no equality in the means of development . But what signifies it that the right to acquire wealth be granted to all , when the instrument !) of labour and when credit belong only to a few ? What signifies a right to prosperity without a possibility of realising that right ? what matters a broad and level road to the wretch who cannot move ? True freedom
consists , not in the right , but m the power , granted to every one to develop his faculties . Freedom is there but a lure , but the hypocrisy of despotism , wherever the possession of the instruments of labour is a monopoly ; wherever the doling out of credit is in the hands of private individuals who lend only to the rich ; wherever competition leaves the sinall capitalist at the mercy of the great ono ; wherever there are commercial dealings between wealth and hunger ; wherever the lives of citizens depend ,. not on their good conduct and forethought , but on the visitation of a disease , on the cessation of a commercial demand , or the invention of a new method ; wherever the children of the poor are forced away from the school where they would be instructed ,
and buried alive in thefactory , where they are starved and stinted ; wherever there is no freedom of the press , except in favour of those who can deposit an exorbitant sum of caution money ; wherever , in fine , there are children of seven years of age working twelve hours a day for their bread , gins of sixteen prostituting themselves for bread , vagrants found asleep on the steps of inhabited palaces , infanticides from penury , journeymen whom the discovery of a machine turns into the streets to starve , and thousands of working men who wake up some day with pale faces and raging hearts , and rush to the fi g ht with this cry : ' Let us live by our labour or die fighting . ' " And in this the fault is not in men , but in things . Feudal tyrannv was composed of proper names , it
could be looked in the face , it could be touched with the finger . There is nothing of the sort in that tyranny which is only liberty misunderstood . Mysterious , impersonal , invisible , almost defying all effort to grasp it , it enfolds the poor man , compresses and stines him , without his being able even to comprehend the nature of the evil against which he struggles , miserably and in vain . " The destruction of a despotism of this sort is , therefore , an affair of science , not of revolt . It is the princip le that is impious ; it is the situation that is guilty . Men do not take vengeance upon a pinciple , they supersede it for a better ; men do not punish a bad state of things , they change it . Fierce appeals to the wrathful feelings of tho oppressed would , therefore , be as frivolous as they would be mischievous : the more so , as the bulk of
the people is not now enlightened enough to have a clear idea of what it ought to seek , and of what is possible . Still the duty of seeking a remedy for so many ills is but the more imperative ; and , as regards the bourgeoisie , it is matter of urgent interest . It , too , is undermined by competition , which gradually swallows up moderate fortunes in the vortex of great capitals , What security can the bourgeoisie have against the danger of popular outbreaks on the one hand , and tho oligarchic yoke slowly forged for it on the other ? Striking and novel proof of the inevitable co-partnership that unites various interests ! The bourgeoisie , if it look not to it , is going to destruction by the same route on which the people is toiling on in wretchedness and suffering : unfortunately , it does not seem hitherto to have had any suspicion of the fact . " M . Blanc eloquently points out the true policy of the middle classes in France and every other
country . " If the bourgeoisie is nobly prompted , it can do everything for the regeneration of this country . Captive in its monopolies , devoted to the sordid passions to whicli the selfishness of its principle condemns it , it would ruin France and itself , possessing , as it would , but the smallest nortion of those qualities which high policy requires . Instead , therefore , of standing aloof from tho people , it must unite with it indissolubly , by taking the first steps towards a system which should make association , not competition , the rule of trade , which should generalise the possession of the instruments of labour , institute the banking power of the poor , and , in a word , abolish the serfdom of labour . In such an enterprise there would be equity and wisdom , intelligence and charity . Gathering fresh , racy vigour from its contact with the people , and strengthened by its co-operation , the bourgeoisie would find incalculable resources in its recovered
security . Peacefully and for ever victorious over the spirit of sedition , it would not fear to look the Europe of the kings in the face , and restore to France the language and the bearing of command . It would , moreover-, in becoming tho nation , acquire all the virtues it now lacks ; for if it has much to give the people , it has much , too , to receive from it . It can give the people instruction , true liberty , and the treasures that tiow therefrom ; it will receive from it energy , the might of manly instincts , love of greatness , aptitude for generous devotion . Precious exchange , which would save and exalt our country by the harmonious employment of the will and the virtues of all her children . ' " Having thusgiven , with sufficient imperfection , a slight sketch of the meaning of this most extraordinary work , and a few specimens of the style of the author , we shall , in conslusion , present our readers with a short notice of his life .
Louis Blane was . born at Madrid , in October , 1813 . His father was Inspector-General of the Finances in Spain ; his mother was of Corsica , where he was brought up till the age of seven ; ho was then sent to the Collce of Rhodes , from whence in 1830 he joined his father in Paris . But from that time to [ he revolution of February he has constantly laboured with his pen for tho promotion of the popular cause , through the pages of the " Bon Sens , " the National , the " Republican Reviews , " the " Rovue do Progros , " and many other publications , as well as by the more important works which we have already enumerated . In porson he is exceedingly small , somewhere about five feet , with a countenance remarkable for
the beauty of its form and the nobleness of its expression . His figure is exceedingly well-proportioned , and altogether ho strikes you at once as a most remarkable man ; his voice is full and flexible , in conversation most winning , in speaking publicly , rich , and forcible ; indeed , we are disposed to think that he is quite as good an orator as he is a writer , and we have no hesitation in saying that , taken altogether , he is one of the most remarkable men of the age . Were he the advocate of kingly power , we doubt not ho would be one of the most noted men in Europe : being , however , the champion of the oppressed , he must -wait for his reward , such as it may be , until the day when the poor man is dolivered from his thraldom . Lot us pray that it may > e soon !
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Ixcliked axd xot INCUSED . — " Why . don t you wheel that barrow of coals , Ned ? " said a learned miner to one of his sons ; " it is not a very hard job —there is an inclined plane to relieve you . " "Ah , " replied Wed , who had more relish for wit than work , "the plane may he inclined , but hang me if I am . " Marriage . —Two persons who have chosen each other out of all the species , with a design to be each other ' s comfort and entertainment , have , in that action , bound themselves to be good-humoured , affable , discreet , forgiving , patient , and joyful , with respect to each other ' s frailties and perfections to the end of their Mss % tT-Aldimu
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Simple-minded , honest dupes that we were , we bad thought that the Ten Hours Bill was law . We forgot that the English constitution was centred in the Bank of England , and the acts of the Legislature administered by factory lords . The mistake we regret , but have much to say in extenuation . The agitation in favour of regulating the hours of factory labour was protracted over a period of years ; discussed , and re-discussed . Sometimes we heard is
THE TEN HOURS BILL AND MANCHESTER LAW .
in the rough voices of native Yorkshiremen , headed by Mr . Oastler , the Factory King . The outspoken preaching of Stephens told its ( ale . The humane pleadings of Michael Thomas Saddler , the patient details of Ashley , the practical experience of John Fielden—the late member for Oldharo , and experienced factory owner—were all heard . The League newspaper , the Economist , the Times , Chronicle , and Post , wrote and reasoned . The question was narrowed to a diacuasion on the principle of political economy .
Lord John Russell recanted—Mr . Bright replied . The text was ten hours labour per day—the pleadings on both sides were from those premises . After a discussion , in which every argument had been exhau 8 tedv the last struggle ended in a vote in favour of a Ten Hours Bill ; not a Twenty Hours Bui , with a relay of hands . No—the labour of women and children was restricted to ten hours per day by Act of Parliament . We Englishmen thought that the distinction between day work and night work was plain and unmistakeable . But the Manchester magistrates cannot see the difference . There is no clause , it seems , in opposition to the relay system—therefore , all the spirit of the act
must be lost sight of , its effects neutralised . The Manchester magistrates tbink it honourable to evade the law—and why this evasion ? It even does not end with the evasion of the law . It destroys the law , and enacts , executes , and , allows to be $ jtecUled , a law in favour of the relay system . It is Manchester law against Parliaraent-made law , and Manchester triumphs . The Manchester Ministry , too , have their official organs , Your cautious neighbour , the Morning Chronicle , recently animadverting on a speech spoken by C . Hindley , Esq ., M . P ., says that the law provides ; ' Only that no young person or female be employed for more than the statutory number of ten hours in auy one day . Many mill-owners have availed
themselves of tbe facility thus unexpectedly afforded for taking advantage of the recent revival of trade , by employing two sets of juvenile and female operatives in each day , and giving extra wages , for extra hours , to the male adults , ( with whose liberty to dispose of their own lime and labour even the Ashley majority nwet dreamt of meddling . They are enabled to realise all the substantial benefit of indutriah freedom , without trenching on the code of legislative benevolence . Can anything be fairer ? Six , seven , or eight hours per day , for those whom a protection Act of Parliament restricts to a maximum of ten—and as many hours as may be mutually
agreed upon , for those whom parliament leaves to be the judges of their own interests , and the master * of their own actions . There are doubtful propositions involved in the last part of the paragraph , which , we for the present , purposely omit to discuss , and call attention to the words , ' many mill-owners have availed themselves of the facility thus unexpectedly afforded . The words facility and unexpectedly explain all . If such facility be not enacted against , and - unexpectedly used—why allow the unexpected facility to be practised ? Such might be a fair argument from the lips of a barrister defending a law breaker , but comes with very bad grace as a defence for tbe acts of a magistrate or a judge .
Lord Bacon , in his essay on judicature , writes " Judgesought to remember that tbeir office is ' Jus dicere , ' and not Jus dare —to interpret law , and not to make law . " The same , authority con . tjnues , ' Fons tur&atus et vena cornpla at Justus cadens in causa ma cor am adversaria . ' ' The just man / ailing in his cause before his adversary is like a troubled fountain and a corrupted vein . ' And , again , A judge ought to prepare his way to a just sentence , as God useth to prepare his way by raising Tallies and taking down hills : so when the e appeareth on either side a hi gh hand , violent prosecution , canning advantages taken , combination , power , great counsel , then is the virtue of a judge seen , to make inequality equal , thathe may plant his
judgment as upon an even ground . ' Fourthly , judges ought , above all , to remember the conclusion of the Roman twelve tables , ' . Salus populi stijjrc ma lex' - ' The safety of the people is the highest law ; and to know that laws , except they be in order to that end , are but things captious , and oracles not well inspired . ' We recommend these passages for the consideration of the writers of the Chronicle , and the perusal of the Manchester magistrates . Men must be , indeed , sunk deep into the slough of iniquity if they cease to respect wigdom and virtue , even if they , every hour of their lives , practice despotism and injustice ; it may be , however , after all , ' that we are casting pearls before swine , ' so far as factory magistrates and one-sided journalists receive our consideration .
Although not gifted with second right , we have seen the object aimed at b y the millowners and magistrates , { torn tbe time tne . cases of evasion were first raised before the Manchester bench . It is nc other than a hope on the part of the factory lords to re-open the subject of factory legislation . After a long lapse of dull trade a revival of trade is expected , and the keen ¦ sighted capitalists are ripe and ready for the chase . it is in vain that you remind them of the fearful ordeal they hare passed through—unequalled bankruptcies , and approaching revolt . Commercial crises —and their results only whet their appetites for gain . Those whs have suffered from bankruptcy ,
hope to amend their decayed means . Those whose fortunes enable them to withstand every shock are enriched by the late misfortunes of others . Tbe Ten Hours Bill stands in the way . The Russell Cabinet exists by . sufferance , and perhaps they will have to legalise the relay system , or pass an uniform bill of eleven hours . The men who said— ' Free Trade or a revolution' —now say , ' Long hours or a change of ministry . ' What will be the result ? It cannot be supposed that the workmen , who for years struggled patiently and perseveringly for a legislative enactment , to protect flesh against Mammon , " ^ iU yield quietly and without a struggle ; and those who know the
character of the Economists—their skill in the subtle * ties of argument—their endless repetition of refuted fallacies—their willingness to write up or write down a cause for 1 ; ire—and know also that the commercial aristocracy are men of business habits and incalculable fortunes , will not look fonvard for a speedy and satisfactory settlement ol this question . Tor our part we are on the look out , and say to the working men of England , be prepared for the future . Factory operatives , read Mr . Oastler ' s speech as reported in the Star ' ot Saturday last Remember , « Be ready boys , be steady boys . ' A Leaf from the Annals of a Shoemaker ' s Garret .
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AsEcnoiE of -CnoMWEix . —In the venr 1 C 57 Oliver entered lntoaleagtio , offensive and defensive , with France against Spain , in which lie would not allow the French king to call himself Kin" of France , but only of the Trench , and took to himself the title ot Protector , not of England Scotland , and Ireland , but of France a \ so . Aml ' in the instrument of the trcatv , he insisted that his ( the Protector ' s ) name should be put before that of the French monarch ; and jt was so done accordingl y . In short , I know of no prince that bore his character so high as Oliver did in his treaties with crowned heads . Dutch Pjiovehb . —The Dutch have a proverb that " when the French arc asleep the devil rocks the cradle . " They arc quiet for the present , but what devil is rocking the cradle futuzv events must show .
Sentiments . — " Behold , Miss Flora , how glorious Nature looks in all her bloom ! The trees are filled with blossoms , the wood is dressed in its green livery , and tho plain is carpeted with grass and ttowe ' rs !"— " Yes , Charles , I was thinking of the same tiling . These flowers are dandelions , and when they are gathered and put in : i pot , with a piece of good fat pork , they make the host greens in the world !" Thk KuLi . vo Few . — " Only by making the rulingfew uneasy , can tho oppressed many ootaiu a particle of relief . "—Bentham . AnisTOCRACY . — " The ori gin of Aristocracy was worse than Popery . The first aristocrats in all countries were brigands ; those of later times , sycophanta . "—Paine .
A >" D BECAUSE . Why is a railway train like , ! vision of the night ?—Because it goes overtho sleepers . Why ia a spendthrift ' s purse like a thunder cloud ? —Because it keeps continually light'ning . Why is a solar eclipse like a woman whipping her boy ?—Because it is a hiding of the sun . A " Flba axd Butterfly" Rate !—Sunderland , it seems , is one of tho few towns by which a rat © has beon laid , under Mr . Ew . irt ' s bill , for the mainteuancfi of a . public museum . Ono learned and worthy member , however , of tho town council , when
the Museum committee had presented a report last ¦ week , took objoction to an item in the accounts , remarking that ho could not see the advantage of imposing charges on the ratepayers for " fleas and butterflies . " Thk Schoolmaster Abroad . — " In a village in the West of England , " the Arbroath OulJe relates , the following is seen to flourish upon a sign-board over the door 9 ! ' an ancient couple : — ' 1 curs a goose , and my wife curs the ganders . ' The meaning intended to lie conveyed is . — ' I cure , nguos , and my wife cures the jaundice . "
Blue Eyes . Blue . ' 'Tia the light of heaven—the domain Of Cynthia—the wide palace of the sun—The tent of Hesperus , and all his train—Tho bo 8 omer of clouds , gold , grey , and dun . Blue ! 'Tis the life of waters' ocean And all its vassal streams : pools numberless May rage , mid foam , and fret , but never can Subside , if not to dark blue nativencss . Blue ' . Gentle cousin of the forest-green , Married to green in all the sweetest flowers—Forget-me-not—tho blue-boll—and that queen Ot secresy , tho violet : what strange powers Hast thou , as . 1 mere shadow . ' Hut how great When in an Eye thou art alive with fate ! From Literary ltemuim of John Keats . An I . vfallible Sr-Eciric—The late Lord Er . ikine being one day intfisposed in the Court of Kind's Bench , told Mr . Jokyll , " that ho had a pain ia iiis bowels , for whicli he could get no relief" " I'll give you an infallible specific , " suid the humorous barrister , " get made attorney-general , and then you will have no bowels . *'
Thk Largest Baby Yet . —A Race ok Giants . — Mr . and Airs , ltaudall the celebrated Scotcii giant and giantess , have recently had a son born to them , at theiv residence , near Mincy ;\ l-pwi » t ) "Wisconsin , whose weight , at three days old , was twenty-two pounds ! This is their first child , and is , we believe , the first successful experiment in modern times , in the production of a race of giant 3 . They do groat things in Wisconsin now-a-days;—we give this us a . specimen . —Boston Chronotypc . " Uothing can be done well , " said Dr . Kitchener , " that is done in a hurry . " " Exvcyb catching fleas , " adds a wag at our elbow .
All Kioht . —An Irishman being asked , on a rainy day , what he would take to carry a message from Drummond ' s at Charing Cross , to the Jinnk , answered , " Faith 1 I'd take the threepenny bus . " The Outward Sigss . —At a . rouont examination of girls in Cheshire for the rite of confirmation , in answer to the questions , " Whiuli is the outward and visible sign and form in baptism ? " The reply was , " The baby , sir . " Puugatort . — " Molly , " said Joe Kelly ' s ghost to his wite , " I ' m in purgatory at this present , " says he . " And what sort ot a place is it ? " says she . — " Faix , " says he , " it's a sort of half-way house between you and heaven , " says Joe , " and I stand it mighty aisy after laving you , " says he .
Domestic Lifk . —Recreation is to a woman what the sun is to the flower ; if moderately enjoyed , it beautifies , it refreshes , and it improves—if immoderately , it withers , deteriorates , and destroys . Bufc tho duties of domestic life , exercised , aa they must be , in retirement , and calling forth all the sensibilities of tho female , are perhaps as necessary to tho full development of her charms as the shade and the shadow are to the rose^—confirming its beauty , and increasing its fragrance . A Smart Dou . —A shepherd once , to prove the quickness of his dog , was lying before the fire in the house where wo wore talking , said to 1110 , in tho middle of a sentence concerning something else , "I ' m thinking , sir , the cow is in the potatoes . "
Though he purposely laid no stress on these words , but said them in a quiet , unconcerned tone of voice , the dog , who appeared to ho asleep , immediately jumped up , and , leaping through the open window , scrambled up to the turf-root of the house , from which he could see tho potato field ' . lie then ( not soein"' the cow there ) ran and looked into the barn where she was , and finding that all was right , came back to the house . After a short time the shepherd said the same words again , and the dog repented his look-out ; but on the false alarm bein ?• a third time given , tho dog got up , and wagging his tail , ookeu his master in the face with so comical an
expression of interrogation that ho could not help aughing loud at him , on which , witli : i slight growl , ho laid himself down in his warm corner with an offended air , and as if determined not to be made a fool of again . A House-Flic . — Two gentlemen : uigling in the Thames at Ifewham lately , could not agree upon the appearance of one of their favourite baits , the horse-fly , and they agreed to refer the question to a rustic whom they saw ploughing at a little distance , and accosted him thus : " you ever see a horsefly ? " "Whoy , " said Hodge , with some astonishment , " noa , d ' rat it ; I never seed a horso fly , but I once seed a cow foil down a hole . "
Sedition . —The surest way to remove sedition 15 totako away the causes thereof . —Bacon . Equal Rights . —Mankind will never be in an eminent degree virtuous and happy , tili each man shall possess that portion of distinction , and no more , to which he is entitled by his personal merits . — ° \ alv ' k of a Husbaxd . —In the Court of Queen Bench , on Thursday , Sophia Tucker recovered £ 100 compensation from Messrs . Chaplin and Co ., the camera for the dodth of her huslmml , n porter , occasioned by the breaking'of tackle , and by a bale , in charge of the defendants' servants , falling on the cceased . . .
A Hint to Rulers . — "When concession is inevitable , it is wise to concede before necessity destroys both freedom of thought and dignity of movement . Self-Respect axd SKLF-DmxDuxcK . —Be and continue poor , young man , wliile others around you grow rich by fraud and disloyalty ; be without place or power , whilo others beg their way upwards ; bear the pain of disappointed hopes , while others gain theirs by flattery ; forego the gracious pressure of the hand , for which others Gringo and crawl . Wrap yourself in your own virtue , and seek a friend and your daily bread . If you have , in such a course , grown gray with unblenehed honour , bless God and die . —lleuizclmann .
A Wife ' s Co . vsolatiox . — Tho Indiana State Journal tells a story of a prominent democrat of that city , who , on hearing Taylor was elected , went home a good deal chopfallon . His wile , to console him , remarked that Taylor might die as Harrison did , and the administration might thereby come into the hands ofvthe democrats . " Die ! the devil ! " replied the husband , "thunder couldn ' t kill him . " : Shakspbrb ' s BbtrotiiisoHim * . — A few weeks since Mr . Crofton Crokcr , the well-known author , purchased for a few shillings , of a silversmith an Gloucester , a massive gilt ring , of tho time of Queen Elizabeth , containing the letters W . A . in an untied true-love knot . ' i'he silversmith stated , in answer to an inquiry made by Mr . Croker , that
he purchased it from a poor woman at Stratford-on Aron , in whose garden it was found about five years ago ; but it was oftl ) ' within tl \ o last few days that . 111 opinion of its probable connexion with the great dramatist has been entertained . On comparing tlia scroll with that on . the poet ' s seal ring described in . Halliwoll ' s Life of Shuksnere , and with a similar scroll on a , p iece of painted glass from 'New Palace , competent judges have come to the opinion that the ring thu 3 singularly recovered , by Mr . Croker was ia all probability the betrothing-ring of "William and Anne Shakspere . , '• ' '; Genius axd Common SEXsE . r- ^ -Genius , like the lark ,, is apt to despise its nest upon'the earth , and pastes its time in fluttering ami quavering among the clouds ; but common sense is the humbler fowl which picks up the barley corn ? , and crow antt fattens at leisure .
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TO MY COUNTRY , Air—Grama ree . The long , long wished for hour has come , But come , mastore , in vain , And left the unavailing hum Of sorrow . ind of pain . My light of life , my lonely love , Thy portion sure must be The scorn of man , -wrath from above , Acushlagalina ' cree . * Twas told of thee , the world around , "Twas hoped by thee from all . That with one gallant sunward bound , Tnou'dsfc burst long ages' thrall ; Thy faith was tried , alas I and those Who perilled all for thee"Were cursed and branded as thy foes , A cusMa gal ma c ' ree . What fate is thine , unhappy Isle ! That even the trusted few Should pay thee back with fraud and guile
Where most they should be true ; 'Twas not thy strength or spirit failed , Xor those whose souls were free , By moral force thou tvert deceived , Acushla gal . ma c ' ree . I ' ve given thee my youth and prune , And manhood's waning year 3 , I ' ve blest thee in thy sunniest time , And shed with thee my tears ; And mother , though thou ' st ca 3 t away The child who'd die for thee , My fondest heart-pulse thrills for ay , A cushla gal ma c ' ree . I ' ve tracked for thee the mountain sides , And slept within the brake ,
More lonely than the swan that glides O'er Lua ' s fairy lake ; The rich have spurned me from their door , Because I'd set thee free , Tct do I love thee more and more , A cushla gal ma c ' ree . I've run the outlaw ' s dark career , And borne his load of ill , His troubled rest , his -waking fear , "With fixed sustaining will ; And should his last dread chance befal , E'en that will welcome be , In death III love thee more than all , A cushla gal ma c ' ree . CjrJ : Examiner . Michael Dohest .
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Public Petitioxs . —Every member presenting a petition to the Ilouse must affix his name at the jeginning thereof , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1833 , March 20 ) . Every petition must be written , and not printed or lithographed , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1793 , May 6 ; 1 S 17 , March 12 ) . Every petition must contain a prayer , [ vide Commons' Journals , 1849 , July 10 ) . Erery petition must be signed by at least one person on the skin or sheet on which the petition is written , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1817 , March 12 . ) Every petition must bo written in the English language , or 00 accompanied by a translation certified by the member who shall present it , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1821 , March 16 , March 21 ) . Every petition must be signed by the parties whose names are appended thereto by their names or marks , and by no one else , except in case of sickness or incapacity , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1675 , November 8 ; 1619 , November 14 ; 1774 , June
June 2 ; 1826 , December 13 ; 1 S 36 , June 23 ) . No letters , affidavits , or other documents may be attached to any petition , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1820 , February 20 , November 28 ) . ' No reference may bo made to any debate in Parliament , ( vide Commons' Journals , 1822 , March 28 ) . No application may be made for any grant of public money except with tho consent of tho Crown , (\ iide Standing Orders ) . —Globe . Advice to me Fair Sex . —Women should be unacquainted that beauty lias any ch . irms , but the inward one of the mind , and that a gracefulness in their manner is much more engaging than that of their persons ; that meekness and modesty are the true and lasting ornaments ; for she that has these is qualified as slic ought to be for the management of a family for educating her children , for an affection for her husband , and submitting to a prudent wav of livin" These only are the charms which render wivesiimiable , and give them the best title to our respoqt . —^» Vwft » .
,, . Mr . John Duscan , the African traveller , whose journey through and beyond the territory of the Kin" of Dahomey has already been made public , is , it isttndcrstood , about to leave England shortly oh another expedition , with the view of prosecuting iurther discoveries in the unexplored regions of tliat g « in . tJy «
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^ March 3 , 1849 . THE NORTHERN STA R . _ 3
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 3, 1849, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1512/page/3/
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