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THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND QUESTION.
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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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Ereiantf . The Protectionist Agitatios . —Several county meetings are fixed for the ensuing vreei . The landlords , yielding to an epjmt de corps , are joining - « rith apparent zeal in this movement , although they mast be convinced in their hearts that the expert * ment is utterly hopeless , and that the agitation cannot be carried on without certain danger of still farther exciting the demand for tenant-right and greaAy reduced rents . The county of Monaghan has been convened by the high-sheriff for Tuesday nest , the Sth inst . The requisition is signed by Lords GlonmelandBlayney ; Mr . C . P . Leslie , one of the county members ; the Messrs . Shirley ; Mr . E . Lucas , formerly Under-Seeretaryfor Ireland ;
and more than twenty of the local gentry . Other counties ( including the 2 Jorih Biding of Tipperary ) stge convened ; but the most presentable requisition i 3 that for the county of Dublin , summoned by the Jigh sheriff , "Mr . John Ennis , for Friday the 4 th ihsfc ., which is signed by Lords Brabazon , Milltown , Oormanstown , Longford , and St . Lawrence , and by the gentry , "Whig and Conservative , to a considerable extent- A challenge has recently been offered to tne : Marquis of Downshire , to test public opinion open free trade , by an open meeting in the county of Down , where himself and other landed proprietors ordinarily possess such paramount territorial influence '; but where the tenant-farmers , as well as the manufacturers living in the towns , or scattered through the rural districts , would have an
opportunity of proneuiu-Ing their real opinions upon the questions now engaging the anxious attention of all classes . According to the Northern ^ Yh ^ g , a zealous and judicious supporter of free trade in Ulster , the noble Marquis fa not unwilling to accept the challenge ;— " Lord Downshire /* says tliat journal , " is , ¦ we understand , anxious to have , a meeting of the county of Down ; aud we certainly cannot predict xery much discretion when he takes it into his head io act . - "We trust , however , that there are in the eounty a sufficient number of prudent men to counteract his lordship on this occasion . The more we iear from -various districts , the more thoroughly satisfied are we that there are no men in the community so much interested in preventing agricultural agitation as the landlords . The tenants know
• well that there will not be a return to protection ; and the more the landlords agitate in its fhviour , just so much the more will they demand reduction of rents ,-or perhaps become reluctant to pay any . Tve know a large estate where the least reduction that is insisted upon amounts to one-fourth of the present rent . The possibility or probability of ejectment for non-payment of rent is looked to ; and we have been assured that if that were to take place , no new comer would be permitted to enter into possession . " Of the existence of this spirit amongst many of the tenant farmers in Ulster there Is ample evidence .
~ Thh Great Aggregate Mbetisj . — -The following is the requisition upon which the jreat aggregate meeting , to be fcolden on the 17 th of January , is convened : — " We , the undersigned , deeply impressed with the importance of giving the fullest effect to the great national demonstration of Irish opinion upon the present condition of this country , and the absolute necessity of a change in the policy of recent legislation , as contained in an address to Her Most Gracious Majesty , of the Peers , Members of Parliament , sentry , magistrates , bankers ,
merchants , and tenant farmers of Ireland , hereby request a meeting of those who hare signed that address , to be held at the Rotunda , in Dublin , on Thursday , the 17 th day of January , 1850 , at the lour of eleven , to deliberate upon the best mode of presenting the address to her Majesty , and to adopt petitions to Parliament , praying for the immediate redress of the grievances under which Ireland labours from the withdrawal of protection to her agriculture and the oppressive burden of the present svstem of Poor Laws /'
The Texaxx Movement . —A vast out-door meeting was held at Templembre , in the county of Kerry , on "Wednesday last , in pursuance of a requisition couched in the following rather formidable terms : — BESTS ! BESTS 2 ! SECTS ! ! !—1 OW PRICES ! MW BESIS !! A public meetin" trill be held on St . Stephen ' s day , at the Cross of Reen , to petition Parliament iotake into consideration the state of the farming class , as well as to lay before the landlords of this impoverished union the utter impossibility of their continuing to exact the present exorbitant and oppressive rents , without ruining themselves and their unfortunate tenants . The chair will be taken at two o'clock precisely . Down with the rents I and hurrah for cheap land , cheap food , and plenty .
The meeting was a very important one , and the most distinct expression of the feelings of the Irish tenant-farmer class , on the question of protection , jet given utterance to . The chair- was occupied by T . 0 * Sullivan , Esq ., of Prospect-lodge , and the following were among the resolutions adopted : — " That it is the opinion of this meeting , that the free importation of corn into thi 3 uiiion is essentially necessary , not only for us well-being and prosperity } but for its actual existence ; and that any attempt to re-impose a duty on the importation of food can only have the effect of swelling the purses and increasing the rentals of a few
landlords , whilst it must , of necessity , tend to the starring of the people . " ¦ ' ~ ** That we do not by any means concurorparticipate in the cry ' that is being raised against the present Poor Law , inasmuch that , with all ita defectsjit places the burden of the poor on those who are Jest able , and who ought , to bear it It , to a cerfcun extent , relieves the struggling farmer of a peavy burden he had hitherto , solely and unaided fry tbe landlord to bear , viz ., the support of tbe rooor : and ; it leaves no choice to the landlord gietween supporting the poor idly and unprofitably p the workhouse , and their useful and remunerative employment in the cultivation of the soil ktotside " -
"That the rents of this union have been at all iffies immoderate , and of late years so oppressive s to render it impossible to hold out any loager mdersogrieviousaburden . All our means have [ one ont for the import of food during four succeswe famines , our fanning produce has iallen to half ts-value , taxation has been doubled , and yet the ame rents—with few exceptions—have been deainded and paid with as much severity as they Uve been in times the most prosperous and flourish-% Seeing , therefore , no disposition on the part cthe landl ords to take our case into consideration , me . seeing them meet and come together for no K ^ l | ° than t 0 mate more gr ievous the yoke patflfis been for centuries cast upon us , it only pains for us to resign their lands , and betake prselyes to a country where a man may feel that P 13 labouring for himself and where the irnits ItntS .- m likcl * £° otier than
talargemeetbgortheCoIeraine Tenant Right ociaboiUeld on Saturday last , J . Boyd , Esq ., i&JS ^ 'S !!***? . * " Mowin s re-LaKjk . unexampled disaes which has prfif ^ loudl Y for every iadmu ' qal and legislative
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effort that can be made ; to check its progress and remove its diwstrous effects . " . '" V . 7 " • " That much of this "distregs has arisen from the want of remtfaeratije employment for the laVjuring population , which is mainly caused by the absence of all legal security , to the tenant farmers for their permanent improvement of the soil . " ' - ) 1 That in order to enable the agriculturists of this cehntry to meet with' success the competition of foreigner ;; an extensive reform is required in the law of real-property and-, conveyancing , a general reduction of rents to a level with the present prices of agricultural produce , and a secured interest to the tenant farmer in the benefit of all snbstaniial improvements' which his own capital shall accomplish /' ! ' That if these just demands were" conceded , there is enough of energy , enterprise , and scientific skill in Great Britain and Ireland to enable' the tenant farmer to compete with foreigners as successfully as the manufacturer is now able to do . " ' ¦¦ . ' ¦ ' :
" That petitions be forwarded from this meeting ,-afid tts far as possible from all the surrounding districts , to both houses of parliament , praying for the legislative reforms pointed out in the foregoing resolutions . " ; The Repeal Association . —A meeting of this body was held on Monday at Conciliation Hall , Mr . Keloh in the chair . Mr . John Connell , M . P ., handed in £ & 10 s ., the subscription for himself , Mrs . O'Coo nell , and their seven children . He said ' that he had anticipated ifhe time for handing in his' subscription by one day , because the period for giving in the ' necessary funds had come round when perssna should prove their devotion to the principles and the great cause ef repeal . ( Loud cheers ] Some letters having been read , Mr- O'Connell addressed tbe meeting in
opposition to the Protectionist movement ; and oa other topics , and concluded by reading a long address to the people of Ireland , calling upon them to make " one more struggle for Ireland" to obtain a native parliament . The following is an extract of the address : — " Were yon jj ' . ent when the session opens , who can say whethtF the Glengall dodge—the rack rent and bread taxing movement that Glengall , and others like him , only known by aieir immitigable hatred of you , your religion—nay , your vcryexis-Unce-rhawe been getting up under the delusive cry of Protection '—who can say but that it will be assumed that this wretched and shameful delusion has succeeded with you , and that your old oppressors have of a sudden become your chosen representatives ! What ! ihe people of Ireland wishing for a
tax on bread—for a tax to stint by one half or more tiie scanty measure of food to the working man and his shivering family—for a tax to swell still more the grinding poor-rate by the heavier cost of food—for a tax to bolster up the tottering system of rack rents and cruel extermination ? No , no . Lord Glengall , and you noble lords and honourable gentlemen ; you may delude yourselves , but you ' cannot ^ you shall not delude the right-minded and high-minded people of Ireland . " The rent was announced to be £ 1217 s . 2 d . Death of Mr . J . F . I * ilok . —This young gentleman , whose writings on the . land question in the United Irishman , and . subsequent ) productions as editor of the Fddn , excited so much sensation , died oh ' the . 27 th * ultimo . Mr . Lalor was put into prison in 1848 , and , although released in a few months , never , it is said , recovered the effects of
incarceration on a delicate frame . The Great Southern and Western Railway Company have so reduced the tariff of charges lor the carriage of meat , poultry , vegetables , &c , that any one residing in'Dublin may obtain these necessary articles of food from the country at the provincial prices , the * rates of carriage being so small in proportion as scarcely to be taken into consideration J This course is adopted to breakdown the monopoly of the retail dealers in food . The Freeman ' s Journal states , on the authority of a letter from Borne , that the Very Rev . Dr . Cullen , for many yeafrstho-. agent at the Holy Sec of the Ir eh Roman Catholic Church , has been appointed to the vacant Roman Catholic primacy in Ireland . . ¦ -
The mills of Jklessr 3 , M ' Cann , ne * Ferrybank , were entirely destroyed by fire on Friday evening . The destructive element raged nearly the whole night , and an immense amount of property , it is stated , was lost in the flames . The premises were insured , but not to any suni that could nearly cover the value of the property consumed . ¦¦¦ ¦ - " The new mayor-of Dregheda has given £ 50 to be distributed among the poor , instead of spending it on a civic dinner , Accounts of two or three deaths from destitution in the west of Ireland are given in the papers this morning . - - '
The workhouse of the Carrick-on-Staannon union is described as being in a most deplorable state from fever , neglect , and want of funds . The frost still continues uninterrupted , and skating can now be practised on all the ponds in the vicinity of Dublin . Bobbing or the MaB .. —Some few nights ago as the mail car was on its way from Kenagh to Teinplemore , the driver was attacked near Moneygall , and the mall bags taken out of the car . The bags were found by the police near the town on the next » ornm < r , being robbed of their contents . of
Attack os Doyehih , Hocse . ^ —A party seven or eight armed men , on Friday last about the hour of nine o ' clock , went to the residence of Joseph Crawley , Esq ., at Dovehill , near Thomastown , and demanded admittance . "When Mr . Crawley heard the knocking , he went into tho hall , and having asked what was wanted , they told him to open the door ; he refused to do so , and was then ordered to discharge from his employment his present workmen , and to . employ others ; in case he ( lid not comply , they told him they would find him at another tiine . At that moment Mr . Crawley fortunately stepped across the hall , and two or three shots were fired through the door ; the contents shattered a table , a clock-case , and the railings of the stairs . About the hour the attack was made , it was Mr . Crawley ' s habit to accompany his herd to see if the stock was all safe . —ifijio ' s County Chronicle .
The Lises Trade . —The . Banner 0 / Ulster thus reports : — " TVe regret to report a still further reduction in the prices of linen fabrics during the past week , amounting in some districts to a farthing a yard , and others a halfpenny . _ The consequence has been a very general reduction of ten , and in many cases fifteen per cent ., on the wages of the weavers . The trade is fully as brisk as ever , the decline in prices having been caused by the immense increase of hands at the looms , not by any want of demand on the part of customers . The export from Belfast , during the past week , amounted , to 1 , 374 packages—considerably above an average . " ¦ ' _ _ "
„ Hephesextation of Limerick . —Mr . J . O'Connell has rather unexpectedly resigned the representation of the city of Limerick , and already several candidates are mentioned for the seat thus vacated ; amongst others , Colonel Tereker , son of the lute Lord Gort , and Captain Gougb , son of Lord Gough , both on Protectionist principles . On the Liberal side , Mr . F . Vf . Russell , of the eminent firm of Russell and Sens , has formally addressed the electors ; and Mr . G . J . O'Connell , it is said , means to try his luck on the Repeal " dodge . " In his valedictory address Mr . J . O'Connell thus states the motives Trhich have induced him to bid adieu to Parliamentary life : — " Circumstances not of my
own creating have so limited my means aa to necessitate the resumption and pursuit of my profession , abandoned twelve years ago at roy father ' s desire ; and the attention requisite for this purpose must incapacitate me from giving even occasional attendances in Parliament . 1 feel that it would be flagrant ingratitude , as well as gross injustice , were 1 to retain my high position as one olyovu ? representatives when unable any longer to discharge even occasionally its duties in Parliament . I therefore shall divest myself of the high honour you so . generously conferred upon me in 1847 , at the first intimation of your being ready and willing to proceed to a new election . "
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Stafpoedsiube Mixebs . — The miners of the northern part of this county being convinced that union alone can save them , are again organising themselves . Large and successful meetings have lately been held at Tunstall , Bursiani , lianley , Longton , < fcc , which have been addressed by Messrs . Daniells and Lawton , and many added to the ranks of the association . Mr . Daniell 3 has also attended meetings at the Working Man ' s Hall , Longton ";; the Odd fellows * Hall , Bradley Green ; and at Sorton . Altogether the cause of union is in a prosperous condition here , and co-operative societies are forming . All letters for the JTorth Staffordshire miners to be addressed to Edward Lawton , 1 , "Williamson-street , Tunstall ,
Stafford-Shire . The 3 fEcno Emtehoh . —My first view of him was as he was riding through the city , as his custom is on every Sabbath morning , after having reviewed the army . His colour is the most thorough coal black , but his nose , lips , &c , are more European than one would expect from his colour . From liis forehead to the top of his bead he is entirely bald . He rode a gray horse—very good for this countrywas accompanied by a hundred or more of his life guards on horseback , preceded by cavalry mnsic , and passed through the principal streets of the city , uncovering his head and disposing freely his bows and his smiles to the crowds as be rode rapidly
past them . He was dressed in full military uniform of a very rich character ; - the entire front of his coat , as well as other parts of his dress , being overlaid with heavy golden trimmings . His age is a little above fifty , nis form large and erect , near six feet in height , weighing about two cwt ., and well proportioned , with the exception of some corpulency . ¦ His horsemanship is of the most perfect character . This attracts the attention of all for reigners , and their universal remark is that in this respect he is rarely equalled . He usually rides to the Bureau of the Port , the Custom House , and through some of the Btreete of the city , attended by a few of hia guards , twioe during tbe week .-rKm York Enquirer . . . .
The Condition Of England Question.
THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND QUESTION .
( Condensed from the Horning Chronicle . ) ^ mt ^ SS ¦ THE' ^ GRiC TJLTIIRAIi LA ' BOURERS IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE , BERK
SHIRE , WILTSHIRE , AND OXFORDSHIRE . . Amongst those , not practically conversant with rural affairs , the impression prevails that the bujk of the labourers live in detached residences on the different farms , with a certain tie existing between them and the . soil , ; and , by consequence , between them and its occupiers . In Scotland , and in some portions of the north of England , this is the case to a great extent although , not now to the same extent in Scotland : as ; formerly . The times are past when , in the Lowlands , the farmer and his . workmen were mutually on such a footing that , after toiling together in the , same fields , they eat down together at the Bauie table , and in many cases slept under the same roof . But still the bulk of
the labourers there live yet upon the farms , accommodation being generally , in such cases , afforded them in the " square , " the term frequently applied to the . farm buildings . The consequence , is , that farm labourers are in Ssotland a less distinct and detached , class than they are in England , itoid theyare farle ' ss frequently to-be . found ,. oearing % mind the relative proportions of the two cowitries as to ' numbersj-clustercdtogether in towns and village ' s , of which they-chiefly constitute the population . In England the case is different . .-Many labourers are hiredj with their board included , when accommodation is of course provided fliemon the farm .. But the'greiii bulk . qf them form a distinct slass of sooiety , inhabiting the outskirts of the , rural towns
and the villages , which they monopolise to themselves , having no capital or resource but thein labour , no certainty that that will be called into exercise , awl no guarantee for its employment , even when it is called into use , beyond a week at a time . It were better for them , as a class , to be kept more apart from each other than they are—for it is not ijider all ciroumstance * that men improve from the constant intercourse which : is the result of their congregating in masses together . In some cases , the sites oftheir villages belong to one proprietor—in others , to several ; . but it by no means follows that they are employed either on the farm of which a village site may form ; a part , or even on the property of which the . farm may be but a
nortion . indeed , it frequently happens that the only connexion between them and tnp proprietor or occupier of the soil on which their habitations are erected , is that of landlord and tenant . Their labour is at the command of any me who lids forit ; and astheiivemployment is precarious , and : tiheir wages fluctuating , their lives are spent , in the majority of cases , in" constant oscillation between their homes and the " workhoiis * , with no alternative beyond lut starvation orthe gaol ,. .. . '¦ ¦;* ¦ : . - Much has , of late years , been said in this country in reference to the dwellings of the poor , and public sympathy has been largely excited on the subject . . Both in the towns and in the country districts the matter has been vastly investigated , and facts
Drought to light which were a disgrace to tho natiOH , because revolting to . humanity . The coBaequonce has , been that much has been done for the amelioration of the domiciliary condition of the lower orders , but , though much , it has fallen far short of what is required . The very fact that , notwithstanding the extent to which the subject has been agitated , such frightful revelations in reference t © tho dwellings of the poor have lately been made in the metropolis , where one would have supposed their horrible condition was least likely to have escaped observation , will of itself suffice to indicate flie trifling extent to which improvement in this respect has been pushed in the country districts , where its absence is less likely to obtrude , itself upon the public attention . What has been ' done has not been effected on any large prectneerteu
plan , calculated to embrace the whole of a neglected class in the benefits , of its operation . The effect has been local and partial , not national . Here and there a proprietor , from motives cither of shame , benevolence , or interest , has , by improving their dwellings , enhanced the comforts of some of , or perhaps of all , tbe peasantry on his estates . But there lijIS been no general action in this direction , and ordinary comfort is a thing yet estranged from the great bulk of the habitations of the poor . For onegood cottage , with adequate accommodation for a family , numbers are still met with utterly unfit for human occupancy . There is no large district in the group of counties now under consideration in which the improvements have been universal , and there are few estates ori , which the bad are not yet largely intermingled with the cottages of a better description . .
The writer , describing thcslceping-aecommodation of spe of the families visited , says : —They all sleep in ? the same room—if the scanty space between the lower celling and the thatch can be called a room There is no bedstead . The beds are lar ^ e sacks stuffed with chaff . The boys and girls sleep together . They undress below , and crawl over each other to their sleeping-places . There are two blankets on the bed occupied by the parents , the others being covered with a very heterogeneous assemblago of materialsIt not
. unfrequeutly happens that the clothes worn by the parents in tho day time form the chief part or the covering of the children by night . Such is the dormitory in which , lying side by side , the nine whom we have just left below at their wretched meal will pass the night . The sole ventilation is through the small aperture occupied by what is termed , by courtesy , a widow . In other words , there is scarcely any ventilation at all . What a den m the hour of sickness © ir death What a den , indeed , at any time !
Let ltnot be said that this picture is overdrawn , or that it is a concentration for effect into one point of defects , spread in reality over a large surface . As a typa of the extreme of domiciliary wretchedness in the rural districts it is underdrawn . Some cottages have only one room both for day and night accommodation . Some of them , again , have three or four rooms , with a family occupying each room ; the families so circumstanced amounting each , in some cases , to nine or ten individuals . In some cottages , too , a lodger is accommodated , who occupies the same apartment as tire family . Such , fortunately , is not the condition of all the labourers in the agricultural districts ; but it is the condition of a very great number of Englishmen — not in the back woods of a remote settlement , but in the heart of Anglo-Saxon civilisation , in the year of grace 1849 It behoves the
— gentlemen of England , Who live at home at ease , " to ponder seriously upon the condition of such of their fellow-subjects as are so wretchedl y circumstanced . Such anomalies . but ill accord with the civilisation to which we lay claim . In its main outline our national fabric may be brilliant and imposing ; but is it sound in all its component parts ? Whilst improvement has brushed over the prominent points , burnishing them brightly , it has passed over many of the deep crevices which intervene , and in which the gangrene is being engendered which is silently eating into the very vitals of society . . But it may be urged that the misery here depicted is exceptional , and that it cannot be
accepted as the type of the condition of any numerous body of the peasantry , Ispeiik now of only four of the forty counties of England , and assert that it is the type of the condition of the great bulk of the peasantry in these counties . They may not be all equally wretched as regards some of the comforts of life , because they are IlOt all equally burdened with large families . But . the house accommodation of the great majority of them is of the lowest and most miserable description . The universal testimony , indeed , of those in better circumstances on the spot is , that the accommodation of the peasantry in this respect is far from what it should be . There is ground for this opinion in the condition of the labourer on the great bulk of what was once
the Duke of Buckingham ' s property , as also in that of some of the peasantry on the Marlborough estates . The state of their domiciles in the vicinity of Aylesbury , Wycombe , and Crendon , will also attest its truth ! Leaving Bucks and passing into Oxfordshire , we have not to go far for evidences of its soundness . Taking the town . of Thamo as a centre , and describing around it a circle with a radius of about seven miles , . we have abundant proof in the portions of the circle which fall within that county—again excepting the property of Mr . Henley—that the house accommodation afforded to the labourer is not what it should be . Close to the town of Thame is the hamlet of Moreton , where any change made must almost necessarily be one in
the direction of improvement . The same may be said of the village of Tetswortli , about three miles from Thame , and of Lord Churchill ' s property in the vicinity of Crendon . But , perhaps , the climax of misery in this respect , in the district , is to be found in the village of Towersey , about a mile distant from Thame . One house was pointed out to me there with four rooms , each room occupied by a separate family , some of the families being very numerous . It was a two-story house , covered with tiles . There was no communication between the upper and lower stories , the former being approachpd from the outside by a flight of stone steps , which rose ; over tbe door leading into the
latter . One of the families counted eight or ten , of both sexes , some of whom had attained maturity . The immorality to which their domestic condition gives rise , I shall have occasion hereafter to refer to . There was a common necessary for all , situated at a little distance from the house . It had no door , and its occupant , of either Bex , was exposed to tho gaze of the pa 8 ser-by . This relation may shock delicate nerves , but it is as well that the truth should be told without mincing it . - All around was filthy it the extreme . As the soil about waB heavy and wet , the drainage was most imperfect . Something has recently been done in tho way of improvment under the Sanitary Act , but the state of the village . is BtillBucu . that the work , seems yet to be
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begun . Such is the specimen of iht condition of British , subjects within twelve miles ' of the greatest seat of learning in the world , and one o f the foci of British Christianity . . ; , , '•" . . : ;¦ . : ;' - ' ¦ - * *> . - ¦ : " ¦ v : d : ¦ ij .-. i ¦ .- ¦¦ •' . * ¦ r . ' -vu ' - ;' -- ' , Passing into Berkshire , we find iriusffioiency and even wretchedness of accoiumoda . tionto be the rule in almost every direction . In the neighbOuih " eod : of Lamboura and Huhgerfo ' rd , hot' far from Reading , and almost under the shadows of old Windsor itself , this is found to be the case . In Wiltshire , it is notoriously and' extensively so . Not far from Calrie are cottages of , a very inferior description . Near Chippenham , in excellent situations , like that of Colerne , notfarlroin Bowqqd , in the vicinity of Marlborough , m the north-east , and of Mere in the south-west of the cfcuntry ; , iri ; the Winterbourns . and alone the
whole line leading from Salisbury towards Hungerford , they are , in the majority , of cases , worse than bad . Almost midway between Old and New Sarumj too , specimens of a very questionable description may be seen ; ^ The Old arid the New ore here bought within the ^ compass of i . a single vision , showing the advance which society has made in the lapse otj ^ ni turles . ; , JBut the peasantry-seem not to have participatedin that . ad yance . The old Beems to havq . gradually merged into the new without including-thein in the change . ' , '' V ! :. ' " ! .,, - ' , '' -,.. , For the accommodation which ; theypossess , ; ihsuffi % cient and scanty ^ as it ^ is ^ the eoUagers . almost invariably pay-rent ; and in seme oacesvhigh rent ., Tho rent variesfrom 6 d . rto-2 s : per % eek , the amount of rent not being so much' determined by the character of the house as by that of the landlord . Mr . Camm ' s tenants paymuch . higherrents than Lovd Pembroke ' s for which they are in general far less comfortably lodged . In , most eases a small piece of ground is
attached tothe cottage by way of a garden . In Bucks , Oxford , and part of Berks , this , which seldom exceed ^ the eighth of an -acre , isinclude"dinttierent ; but in other pa ' rts of Berks , arid throughout Wilts , generally , it-is riot ; Here again the Pembroke estates are in exception ; When , extra rent is charged , the lowest is three-halfpence : a pole . In some cases it is three-pence ; fand in others as , high . as a shilling . Now the avefage ^ h tal of land in Wilts is about £ 1 per acre , or . about three-halfpence a pole . The poor wretch ; . there ! ore ; -- who rents , ' say twenty poles , and pays 2 si' 6 d ; a year for it , pays the farmer's rentpro tantol \ Iu cases in which he pays , beyond that , the farmer makes a profit out of him . In addition to this , allotments are sometimes made tb them in the fields : This , is particularly the case in Bucks arid Oxfordj where they take each , on the average , from a quartertp half an acre ,, tor , v / hich , they pay at the rate of about 303 . per " acre . , " , ' . , of
Even were ^ he diet the ' peasantry good and ample , personal and domestic cleanliness would be indispensable to their health . ' But , existing as they , do on insufficient food , to which they are condemned by the scantiness of their wages , their only chance of preserving ; health is ; by keeping cleanj their persons and dwellings . Soap and soda , the chief ingredients in the process of washing , are now . cheap , and many keep their cottages , persons , arid wearing apparel as clean as possible under these circumstances . But whilst their miserable condition gives many an excuse for the filthiriess to - whichi they are prone , it drives others , originally better disposed , into careless and untidy habits . There is a point at which man ceases to struggle with his fate , and resigns himself to the seeming necessities of his condition . Many an
English peasant is , in his circumstances , sunk so . far below tbe line of comfort , decency , and self respect , that the effort to reach it seems beyond Mb pp \ yer . He convinces himself that he cannot better himself , and ceases the endeavour . At length he does not even cherish the wish , arid becomes inditfei eut . " How can we be clean with eight in a room ? " replied one of them , on ray nlluding to the state of his lodging . Hence the complicated forms off disease with which the small communities in the rural districts are so often afflicted , x Diseases of a catarrhal character , dysentery , and fevers ^ particularly , o ( the typhoid type , are coustantly lurking about their . wretched inhabitations . Hence , too , the vice which so alarmingly prevails , for impurity of mind becomes the invariable concomitant of habitual impurity of body . - .. ;<¦ ¦ * : ¦ '¦ ¦ ¦ .- , . "' ¦¦ - . ' ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦• ¦ ¦' :- '• : - ' ¦ THE FACTORY WORKERS OF LANCASHIRE . . The house of the Manchester operative , -wherever it be— in the old district or the new—in Ancoats , or Cheetham , or Hulme—is -.-unUqrmly a , two-story dwelling . ; Sometimes it is of fair-dimensions , sometimes a line fourteen feet long would reach from the eaves tothe ground .. In the eld localities there is , in all probability , a cellar Beneath the house , sunk some four or five feet below the pavement , ' arid occupied perhapsby a ' single poor old woman , , sr by a family , the heads of-which arc given to pretty regular alternation between their subterranean abode and the neighbouringiwine-. vaults .-In-the modern and improved . quavtiert , the cellar retires modestly out of
sight , and is put to a more legitimate use as a home for coals or lumber . .. The worst class of houses , not being cellars , commonly inhabitated by the " mill hands , " consist each of two rooms ; not a "but-and-aben , " but ah above and below , the" stair to the former leading directly up from the latter , arid the door of the ground floor parlour being also at-the door of the street . In some cases the higher story is divided into two small bedrooms , but in the superior class of houses there are generally two . small but comfortable rooms on the ground floor , and two of corresponding size above . The street door in these tenements opens into a narrow passage , from which the stairs to the bedrooms also ascend . The window of the ground floor room , opening to the
street , is always furnished with a pair ef substantial outside shutters , and the threshold is elevated from the pavement , so as to admit of very emphatic stone doorsteps with flourishing scrapers , both , of which , by the way , are generally , to be found in a very commendab'e slate of purity . A local-Act of Parliament obtained a few years ago , and providing that every house buik after its enactment in Manchester should be constructed so as to possess a back door opening into a small back yard , has been of immense advantage to the newer portions of tho town . The unhealthy practise of building houses back to back was thus at once put down . A free-current of air was permitted to circulate in the roar as well as in front of the tenements , and ample space was obtained for
the necessary cesspools , ashpits , &c , &c , while convenient approaches for the cleansing , of such receptacles from the back were everywhere formed . Take , for example , a part of Hulme , which I inspected the other day in company with Mr . ' 'I'aylor , thn exceedingly intelligent manager of Mr , Birley ' s mills . Between every street were two rows of the best class of operatives' houses , each with four rooms and a cellar a piece ; and between each of the rows , running the whole length , was a paved courtway , with a gutter in the centre , formed by the back walls of the yards of the tenements on either side : the walls _ in question being ; pierced with apertures , through which all sorts of domestic refuso could be : easily got at and conveyed away , - with as little annoyance to the
inhabitants as may be . Certainly the plan was a vast improvement upon the old style of : building . Still more mighthave been done ' . -Most of the streets were provided with regular drains and gratings . The ren 18 paid by . operatives in Manchester vary from 3 s . to 4 s . 6 d ., and in some'eases , 5 s . per week . This is for an entire house . Cellar dwellings fetch —I give the statement ; upon the authority of Mr . P . II . Holland , surgeoB . whosereport upon the sanitary condition of Chorlton was published in 1844—from Is . to 2 s ' . weekly , according to size . There is , however , I am happy to understand , upon all sides , a growing disinclination to those unwholesome abodes ; but as tlteir rent is low , a period of stagnation , in trade often forces the people to occupy them . In 1844 Mr . ; Holland calculates that in Cuorlton one cellar in ? every six was empty . The number of cellars , as compared with- that of houses , Was then
one in twenty-eight " . Mr . Holland adds , they ( the cellars ) are much disliked , and justly bo . They are alwayB badly lighted and ventilated , and generally badly drained . " In Chorlton Mr . Holland calculates that about one-third of the working population live in houses constructed -back to baeff , and consequently without : any thorough ventilation . About oue-ei / Jhtli live . in " closed courts , or streets which are little better than courts . " Now Chorlton being neither a very new nor a very old " - "district , '' - may be taken as . giving not a bad idea of the general style of the working homes of Mauchester . ' The proportion of people living- iri' uhventilated , undrained , and unwholesome buildings ; in tho districts * traversed by the St . George ' s-road , the Oldham-road , and Great Ancoat ' s-street , must be mueh more considerable , while in such districts as Hulme the case is reversed . •»
Manchester , like most great manufacturing and commercial cities , is scantily supplied with water , and that which is to be procured is not by any means universally transparent or . tasteless . . The streams which traverse the town are incarnations of watery filth ; A more forbidding-lnoking flood than the Wedlock ; as it may be seen where it flows beneatli the Oxfordroad . it would be difficult to conceive . The black fostid water often glistens with the oily impurities which float upon jts surfaco j and tho wreathes and patches of screen froth which tesselate it prove the effervescence produced by impure gases . For any household purpose whatever , the water of this uncovered sewer is quite out of the question : and the contents of the larcer stream of
the Irwell are not much better . Manchester , therefore , obtains its water partially by means of pipes , partially by means of wells and pumps . The last satisfactory statistics , which have been published upon the subject are those contained in the " Manchester Police Returns , " compiled by Captain Willis , the head of the constabulary force , for 184 ? :, By these returns itappearo that the number of "Streets , squares , alleys , Ac , within the borough of Manchester , " was ; at the date in question , 2 , 9551 The number of dwelling-houses wag 46 , 922 . Of these there were " supplied with pipe water in the interior , including shops , " ll ; 190 ; while not less than 12 , 776 " houseB , &o ., " derived their water from a common cock or tap in the street . The number of bouses
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which reaped no advantage , cither from pipes con * ducted into their interiors , or from taps in the streels , was aearly O 3 ' great as the amount of-dwellings provided for in either of these ways , being 22 , 956 . , The number of dwelling cellars in tlieborough was 5 , 070 . Of these only -1 , ' 108 were provided with pipe water . Upwards ot 1 , 968 had the advantage of a common tap , and 1 , 934 were entirely , dependent upon other meania of supply . The watersold by the Waterworks Company is derived from a tunnel called Gorton ' s Brook , which is principally land drainage . So intensely : Jmpureisthe atmosphere over Manchester , ftiat the ' ra Jn water is unfit evenfor washing until it has stood , 'for some time to purify and settle . \ Many of the-poor who have ho cisterns to allow the water
to rest iriiarid ^ probably , no room for , them even if they had , carry the fluid to be used for washing and scouring from tke canals , and are frequently . so economic in their use of it' that they keep a buoket-full iiutil it stinks . Mr . Hollandhas " frequently detected the practice by the abominable ? meli produced in a patient's sick room . ' ; Generally the laridlbrS of a set of houses sinfrs one or more wells , covering them of course with pumps " , font he use of hi 3 tenants . The right to , draw water from ^ so sources is purchased by , thie neighbours at the ' rate of frdin 6 d . to Is . per quarter ; - ' .,-v ' - . . ¦ '¦ " !' : : ;; '"' ' " ' ' "' , _ "'" , ' . ' ,.. ; ,. ' , .. It would " appear as if , ' in the manufaoturing dis-. trictsj everyming moved quicker than in any other parts ' of the world ,,:: The , child toils sooner ; attains
physical develppement sooner , marries sooner , has children in his turn sooner , and in the . present sanitary state of ' -. plotters , JUes . ' sooner . But ' . over and above this hatuvali precocity—the crowding together , as it were ; of . the ordinary epochs of life ^ -it may be observed ' -that an existence of constant' labour , and not unfrequent privation , has an universal tendency to diminish the time during which the family tie subsists in all cohesivepowers . The ' members of a family living [ in comfortable ease , continue bound together far lonyer than those of a family struggling to , live . This rule , is as natural as it is . universal . : In the latter case each cliild , as it ¦ grows , up ,: must neces sarily labour for itaejK ' The faniily inWme is not earned by . a common head , nor . dbeg it flow from a
common source . ; The circle becomes a sort of , jointstock co . mpapy , and as that '" great and universally ; - prevailing law of self-preservation comes gradually into play , the force of habit and of affection weakens , whilo that of individual interest strengthens , - and as surely aB ; the different personages of the company begin to pereeive that they are contributing , either in money or in comfort of situation , more to the family than the f » mily contributes to them , so surely do they withdraw from the association to labour in isolation , ov to form new . ; arid more profitable social combinations for themselves . I om assured on the very highest * ithoriiy , that nothing in Manchester is more unconamou than a child after the age of sixteen' systematically contributing to the support of his
or her parents , or parents doing anything for the support of a child ; above that age . The family tie may , thereforey be considered—a lpwing three children tocach family-as broken up .. aboBt twenty years after the marriage from which' the children spijhg . .- 'Nothing , "says my informant ^ a gentleman of Wgb . ; qffleial standing , " nothing can be more keen than the affections of parents' throughout the cotton districts for children ,-so long as they continue childrenyahd nothing more remarkable than the lukewarm carelessness , of feeling which subsists between their parents and their , children after the latter are grown up and doing for themselves , " In this respect the instinct ' observableinthe lower animals is strongly developed . to the classes of which I speak , ' Affection
lasts inits strong degree only so long as helplessness subsists . It is as in the case of the birds-the young one , when lull feathered , flies away , and parents and nest are forgotten together . If , in the manufacturing districts , the flight takes place unduly early , it is oecause the plumage appears unduly early also . .. - . A vast proportion of the mortality in Manchester Js that of children ; but ' of children , bo it observed , under the . age te labour in the mills . Out of every 100 deaths m , Manchester , more than forty-eight take place . undfer five years of age , and more than fifty-one wider ten years of age . In somo of the neighbouring towns—particularly Ashton-under-Lyne— the proportion iJ still more appalling . There , by a ! calculation made embracing the nve . years
ending with June 80 , ' 1843 , it appeared that , out of the whole number of deaths , 67 percent , were those of children under five years of age . It is , of course , generally known that tho first five years of life are the most fatal in all districts ; but upon comparing a series of cotton spinning districts in the North with a series of purely rural districts in the West and South , I find that , while the infant mortality in the former is about fifty per tent ., ipcaMng in round numbers , that of the latter is only about thirty-three per cent . ; In this difference of proportion is to be found the great evil of the factory system as it at present exists , an evil not committed by the work of the mills , tut by the work of the mills drawing individiials > in certain conditions from their
homes . , ' ... " ... ; .. , , . :. . ; . . . ; - ' The . undue proportion of infant mortality , tho principal portion of which arises from the neglect of mothers who are compelled to leave their young children at home while they labour at the mill . This I hold to be the blackest blot on the factory system . Whether it can be remedied is a question which ' I will not attempt to answer . "Pregnant women , " says Dr . Johns , " frequently continue their work up io the very last momevt , and return to it at soon as ever they can move about . " "In Ashton-under-Lyve , " . says Mr . Coulthard , " it « s no unfrequent occurrence for mothers ' of the ienderest age to return to their work in the factories on the second and third week after confinement , and to leave their helpless offspring in the charge of mere girls or superannuated old women . " The same authority mentions the case of a nurse
" suckling three of these children , " and so ; exhausted as to be " unable to walk across the roorii , " while the children were " almost unable to move their bands and feet . " . The inevitable ' . esult of-this system is HierecHess and almost universal employment of narcotics . First , the child is drugged until it sleeps and too often it is drugged until it dies . There is a notion abroad that laudanum , as a stirriulent , is frequently used by adults in the manufacturing districts instead of spirits . Upon this subject I have made inquiries , which have convinced me that the practice , if it exists at all , does so only in exceptional cases . Medical men have generally ; said that little or nothing of the kind came under their observation . Druggists are exceedingly sky and reserved upon the whole subject of narcotic dosing , and indisposed to admit that laudanum : is commonly
given in any cases except those in winch it is medically neceasary . The truth is , however , that in England opium-eating , or drinking what De Quincey calls .. " laudanum toddy , " is an anti-social vice , practised in secret , and of which its practisers are ashamed . The man who thinks no harm , of admitting thafclie . takes'his" class [ ot wine , or his tumbler of grog , or hia pint of porter , will ho sorry to make any such confession in favour of preparations of the poppy ! If he gets drunk on opium pills , ho will keep the failing to himself . In the ease of infant drugging , although ! the subject isgenerally mentioned with reserve both by those who sell and those who employ the medicine , the practice is too notorious and universal to be for an matant denied . Still , says Mr . ' Coulthard , writing of Ashton—and his oxperience corroborates my own—" both buyer and seller are aware that they are' doing wrong , and try to mistify tho facts . " The truth "is , there is
not a more thoroughly household word through the cotton spinning towns than " Godfrey ; " Indeed just as the gin-loving race of London delight to call , their Javourite beverage by dozens of slangy affectionate titles , just as tliere is " Cream of the "Valley , " \ and . " Regular Flare-up , " and " Old Tom , " so there is to be found in the druggists ' shops in'the lower districts here , "Baby ' s Mixture , " ; " Mother's'Quietness , ' ^ "Child ' s Cordial , " '' Soothing'Syrup , " : and so forth , every one of these lulling beverages being a sweetened preparation of laudanum . In Ashton these abominable doses are actuall y sold at many of the public-houses , and 1 think it highly probable that the same practice may exist in . Manchester ! ' In the , former town , the weekly sale of the navootio dirugs in question , by fifteen vendors , was on the avei-ago six gallons twoquarts one and a half pints . In Preston , as it appears from the report of tho Rev . J . Clay , twenty-one druggists sold in one week of— ¦ '••' ¦ L
, . ' lbs . 02 s . drs ; Godfrey's Cordial .. .. .. 23 5 S Infimt ' s Preservative ,. .. 18 4 0 Syrup of Poppies ,. .. .. 16 9 o Opium .. ... .. .. 1 . 1 6 J Laudanum .. .. .. .. 7 . 8 2 , Paregoric .. 0 ' 9 . 0-
G 8 l 5 J Appended to the return made by ihe'largest of these twenty-one vendors is the ibllowirig note : — " Such preparations are only given , he believes / to enable the mother to work at factory . " ' A small quantity of laudanum is noted as sold for adult consumption , buithe proportion is quite trifling .. . ¦
THE SPITALFIELDS WEAVERS . The term Spitalfields , at an early period of the history of London , designated the suburban fieldssituate between the ancient highway of Bishopsgate-street and the Whitechapel High-street . In the year HOY one Walter Brune , a citizen of London , founded in these fields a large hospital for poor brethren of the order of St . Austin ; hence the surrounding meadows were called Hospital-fields , and ultimately Spilalfields . One of the district of Spitalfields , the
weaving population for a long period was chiefly confined to Christchurch , but it ' . £ as \ emigrated principally to the parish of Bethnal-green . This was formerly one of the hamlets of the ancient manor of Stebon Heath , now called Stepney . In 1740 , according to , tbe act of parliament for making it a distinct parish , and erecting a parish church , 'the hamlet contained 1 , 800 houses , and 15 , 000 people , being upon an average rather more than eight persons to eacti . house . Its extent at that period is not stated . Now , however , it occupies an area of nearly one square mile and a half , and constitutes a little mor « than" a tenth part of
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the metropolis , The population in 1841 was 74 , 088 , and the number ofinhabited bouses 11 , 782 , being in the proportion of rather , more than six individuals to each hiiuse , arid' nearly ^ seventeen 'houses to each acre . ;• The ^ average t uriiber of individuals per , l : puso throughout London is 7 . 4 , and the . ayerage number of houses per acre ig 5 5 , jo that we ' see , though each Earticular house contains one individual less , still each acre ot ground has twelve houses more built upon it than is usual throughout London . " From this we should nj ^ urall ^ ' infer that the gerierality / of teneffients in this district would be of a small and lowjented character j arid accordingly we find , from the returns of Mr . Bestow and the other parish officers , in 1830 , that the number of houses rated under £ 20 was about 11 , 200 , but of 11 , 700 and odd . Hence we
see tne truta of the remark , that there is no parish in or about London where there is such amass of low-rented houses . " The houses ot the weavers , ' - ' says Dr . Gavin in his valuable " Sanitary Rambling 3 , " generally consist of two . rooms on the ground floor and a work roorii' above . This work-room always has a large window for the admission of light during their long hours of sedentary labour . "Whole streets of such housed ' abound , in Bethnal-green , and a great part of . the population is made up of weavers . There arc some , but riot a great number of dwellings consisting : of .. one room . . only ., . Such houses are always of the worst description . "With very few exceptions , the dwellings of the poof are destitute of most of those structural conveniences common tothe better classes of houses . There are
never any places set aside for receiving coals ; dust bins to hold the refuse of tho houses are exceedingly rare , and cupboards or closets are neai'ly altogether unknown . There are never any 6 inK § , andtiie fireplaces are ^ constructed without the slightest regard to the convenience or comfort of tho inmates . " The history of weaving in Spitalfields is interesting , and tends to elucidate several of the habits existing to this day among the class . Upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685 , numerous French artizans left their native country , and took refuge in the neighbouring states . King James II . encouraged these settlers , and William III . published a proclamatloni dated April 25 , 1689 | for the encouraging the French Protestants to transport
themselves into this kingdom , promising them his royal protection , and to render their living here coihforttably and easy to them . For a ; . considerable time the population ol Spitnlfields might be considered as exclusively French ; that language was universally spoken , and even within the memory of persona now living their religious rites were performed in French in chapels erected for that purpose . The weavers were , formerly , almost the only botanists in the metropolis , and their love of flowers to this ddy ft a strongly marked characteristic of the class . Somo years back ; wo are told , they passed their leisuro hours , and generally the whole family ; dined oa Sundays , at the little gardens in the environs of London , now mostly built upon ! Jfpt very , long ago
there was an Entomological Society , and-they wera among the most dilrgent entomftlogists in tho kingdom . This taste , though far less general than formerly , still continues to . be a type . of the class . There was at one time a Floricultural Society , an , Historical Society , and a Mathematical Society , all maintained by the operative silk-weavers ; and the celebrated Dollond , the inventor of the achromatio telescope , was a weaver ; so too were Simpson and Edwards , the mathematicians , before they were taken from the loom into the employ of goverrtment , to teach mathematics to the cadets of TYoolwich and Chatham . Such were the Spitalflelds weavers at the beginning of the present ceniury ; possessinir tastes and following . pursuits the
refinement and intelligence ' of which would be an honour and a grace to the artizan even of the present day ; but which shone out witha double lustre at a time , when the amusements of society were almost all of a gross and brutalising kind . The weaver of . our own time , however , though still far above the ordinary artisan , both in refinement and intellect , falls far short of the wearer of former years . Of the importance of the silk , trade , as a teanch of manufacture ,, to . the country , y $ may obtain some idea from the estimate of the total value of the produce , drawnup by Mr . M'Culloch , withgreat care , as he tells us , from the statements of intelligent , practical men in all parts of the eountvy , conversant with the trade , and were able to form an
opinion upon it . The total amount of wages paid in the year 1836 ( since when , he says , tho circumstances have changed but little ) was upwards of £ 370 , 000 ; t ' je total , number of hands employed 200 , 000 ; the interest on capital , wear , tear , profit , &e ., £ 2 , 600 , 000 ; and the estimated total value of the sillj manufacture of Great Britain , £ 10 , 480 , 000 . Now , according to the , census of the weavers of the Spitalfields district , taken at the time of- the Government in 1838 , and which appears to be considered by the .. weavers themselves of a generally accurate character , the number of looms at work was 9 , 302 , and those unemployed , 894 . But every two . of tho looms employed would oocupy five hands ; so that the total number of hands engaged
in the Bilk manufacture of Spitalfields , in 1838 , must have been more than' double that number—say 20 , 000 . This would . show about one-tenth of-th « . silk goods that were produced in Great Britain . in that year to have been manufactured in ' Spitalfields , and henco the total value of the produce of that district must have been upwards of one million of money , and the amountpaid in wages about £ 370 , 000 . Eowj from inquiries made among the operatives , I find that tliere has been a depreciation in tho ' rvalue of their labour of froni fifteen to twenty per cent , since the year 1839 ; so that , according to the above calculation , the total amount of wages now paid to the weavers is £ 00 , 000 . less than what it was ten years back . By tho preceding estimate it will foe seen
that the average amount of wages in the trade would have been in 1839 about 7 s . a week per hand , and that now the wages would : he about 5 s . 6 d . for each of the parties employed . This appears to agree with a printed statement put forward by the men themselves , wherein it is affirmed that . " the averago weekly earnings of the operative silk weaver in 1824 , under the act . then repealed , taking the whole body of operatives employed , partially employed , and unemployed , was 14 s . 6 d . Deprived of legislative protection , " they say , " there is now no means of readily ascertain * ing the average weekly earnings of the whole body of the employed and unemployed operative silk weavers ; . but , according to the best approximation
to an average which can be made in Spitalh ' elds , the average of tiie weekly earnings of the operative silk weaver is now , taking the unemployed and tho partially employed , with / the employed of those remaining attached to the occupation of weaver , only 4 s . 9 d . But this weekly average would be much less if it included those who have gone to other trades , or who have become perpetual paupers . " Hence ifc would . appear that the estimate before givon of 5 s . fid . lor the weekly average wages of the employed is not . very far from the truth . It may therefore be safely asserted that the operative silk weavers , as a body , obtain £ 50 , 000 worth less of food , clothing and comfort per annum now than in the year 1839 .
JSow let us see what was the state of the weaver in that year , as detailed by the Government report , so that we may be the better able to comprehend what his state must be at present : " Mr , Thomas Heath , of So . 8 . Pedley-street . " says the Blue Book of 1839 , " has been represented by many persons as one ofthe most skilful workmen in Spitalflelds . lie handed in about 40 samples of figured silk done by him , and they appear exceedingly beautiful . This weaver also gave a minute and detailed account of all his earnings for i 30 weefts , boing upwards of eighiti years , with the names of the manufacture and the fabrics at which he worked . The sum of the gross earnings for 430 weeks is £ 322 3 s , 4 d . ; being about 14 s . 11 Jd . —say 15 s . a week . Ho estimates his expenses ( for quill-winding , picking , &c ., } at 4 s ., which would leave lls . net wages ; but take
the expenses at 3 s . 6 d ., it is still only lls . 6 d . He states his wife ' s earnings at about 33 . a week . He gives tho following remarkable evidence : —Have you any children ? No ; I had two , but they are both dead , thanks bo to God ! Do you express satisfaction at the death of your children ? I do ! I thank God for it . I am relieved from the burden of maintaining them , and they , poor dear creatures , are relieved from tho troubles of this mortal life . " If this , then , was the condition and feeling of one of the most skilful workmen ten years . ago , earning Us . Gd . a Aveek , and when it w . tg proved in evidence by Mr . Cole that 8 s . 6 d , per week was thoaverage net earnings of twenty plain weavers—what must be tho condition and feeling of the weaver now that wages have fallen from 15 to' 20 per cent , since that period ? ( To be Continued
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LonD Coke a " Free Trader . "—It should Me mentioned to the credit of the chief justice _ that he steadily supported free trade in commodities ' . A bill " to allow the sale of Welsh cloths and cottons in and through the kingdom of . England . " being opposed on " reasons of state , " he said , " reason oi state is often used as a trick to put us out of the right way ; for when a man can give no reason for a thing , then he flyeth to a , higher strain , and saith it is a reason of state .. Freedom of trade is the lifo of trado . "i On tho same principles ho supported a bill " to enable merchants of tho staple to transport woollon cloth to Holland , " and a bill being brought
in " to prohibit tho importation in corn for the protection of tillage , " he strenuously opposed ifc , saying , " If we bar the importation of corn when it aboundoth , wo shall not have it . imported .-when we lack it . I never yet heard thai ^ a bill was ever before preferred in parliament agiiinst the importation of , corn , and I love to follow ancient preceqehtsi I think this bill truly speaks Dutch , and ^ is for th » benefit of the Low Countrymen . " ^ Campbell ' s lives of the Chief Justices . '• , ; , ¦¦'¦ , ' . I ¦ never reoeive suoh' comfort from others as from myself . I should consider inability to comfort myself under a misfortune afar greater evil than tbe misfortune itself , —// awWf .
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the ground under the . causewa ^^ d inimediately S fr ^ ntofXos . 21 and 25 ;^ th . ^ fc , hasforfiome *» e been formed into vaults , which are at present e&rapied by Mr . lauder , George-steeet , as an ice-S ^ The mainpipeof the Old Gas Company j as we understand , rnVs along the causeway at-fl » See Of the gutter , -near Bath-street , and is . Oiub S to the fault adverted to . It is conjectured , SSts ^ sidence of the grouM . at . thwponat , ^ ich halbeen observed for some time , that the earth had been pajrially ^ ^ scooped from underneath Se&y appears t « baTe forced i « through the iwrand in a Jatezal direction , and the lce-honse in lE ^ t aStiimpregnated . Xb danger of exin thei vaultitselt as
rfosiori ^ apprehended , the Kiad been visited oa Saturday night , when no 1—llTrasfelfc . Monday morning , however , three S , inthe . empby mentof Mr . Lauder , who were Sntto the vaults witliearts , for a supply ofvx , had m sooner entered the place with lighted candles tkan atremendsus explosion took place . The unfortunate individuals who had not got many yards past the door , were thrown with great ^ violence against the Trill dreadfully Ecorched and bruised , and how any Of them escaped with their lives is a matter of asfenishment . As before observed , the -whole of tke atmosphere around being completely charged with the combustible vapour , the explosion was simul--loT ^ miB in every ouarter where it had collected in
an y quantitv , and this accounts for the great destruction of wCflWg kss which took place at so many different points . The hous ^ T that have mf . ftred most are those of Mr . Corbetfc , 21 , and Mr . Srown , 25 , Bath-street , which appeared to have Been situated in the very focus of tho explosion , inhere baTdly one pfcie has escaped destruction , ^ ifle " the cheeses suffered considerably . In Dr . U'Leo'd ' s house , lyest-Kile-street , which is about arty yards distant , no fewer than twenty panes of < tes have been smashed , and at the opposite corner of the same street a few have also been broken . We
jpnret to say that the most lamentable effect of tho catastrophe ' is its probable result , so far as theiniBred men are concerned . They were immediately conveyed to the infirmary . Two of them who acted as shopmen to Mr . lauder , respectively named O- 'IIara and Tfiallace , are very much injured , particularly "Wallace , " whose life , we understand , is despaired of . The . third man , whose name we have not ascertained , is less severely scorched , though soa&of them are beyond danger . 2 fo other casualty has occurred , notwithstanding the violence of the c oncussion was so great that rnaay of the houses -dually shook .
Untitled Article
r . -- . ¦ ¦ ¦ . .: .. ¦ ¦ • :. ' . ¦ ¦ . ¦ .. ¦ - . : ¦ r I - Jashary 5 , 1850 . j THE NORlHiRN STAR . 7
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 5, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1555/page/7/
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