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fttaBes Etttemgjttw
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wo-«j pwiffl». ifoitllimtt
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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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^ T ^ nne m oral elevation of the whole " ruthan all the acts of Parriament passed J ? ° the time of . Cromwell , * and all the ^ J ? _ preached since the days of Laud . ^ t arn the current of compassion for human or and suffering , the benevolent desire to i ** " ! e oar fellowheings from degradation , desr ) - or vice , into this channel , would he , in ** truly Christian recognition of that cornbrotherhood , which constitutes theessence i Christm as festivities andboonties . Nor need I ° l \ he any fear , that if by such means the f ** ghonld cease out of the land * there \ Id hejant of opportunity for the exercise ]' ' *?? ^ Sfcc affections , or the gratification 7 $ t those social and kindly instincts of our ' tore which receive happiness b y beiug * Wed to confer happines on others . On the ^ trary * the circle of home sympathies and Nat ions voald he expanded—the happiness risibz fr ° *^ bestowal and participation in . ^^¦ h an aUthe act s of P arliament passed
aicrS happ iness , increased . Tnere would ^ jii foe ample occasion for the tender and * O jatory o&cea of friendshi p—the kindly fferin" of human sympatby'for human sor-* : ^ hong h the platform of society would elevated and a huge mass of preventive priL suffering and bib , be removed , yet , in a ^] . j of imperfection and progress , there staid remain a boundless field for the exercise fall the noblest and best faculties of our B 3 Above ali i such a rational and brotherly , of the soil given to na as a common heri-7 re—of the faculties * created for ns by a
comon Father—or the weaita wmcn iias resulted ^ om the centuries of labour and experience of 4 $ whole people , would , by promoting the ajterial welfare , the mental elevation , and $ e moral purity of all classes , make the Christian religion a reality . Instead , of the Jatteraess of sectarian hatred , the -war of 1 creeds and classes , the ' malice , hatred , and 1
\ all nncharitableness ; which now pervadeA { he so-called Christian Svorld , "we should , per-} aps before the close of 2 , 000 years from its silent , witness the accomplishment in practice of the systeujK ajijjonnced to the shepherds ¦ « nthe p lains ^ Bst heleflk as intended to pro-( Icce ' Glory r ^ lrP !] ifc-rthr Highest : on Tvjth Peace and Good will to men . '
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that they may gain something ; in the contusion . The members ; at large- are ' : satirised as ignorant , deluded dupes , and the public are enjoined to put down at once the deceivers and deceived , and as Louis . Napoieon said when he was meditating hiB coup d ' etat * to save society' from their machinations . ' It would be useless to say a word about the limes . It is too well known to need that anything should be said . Its mendacity is taken tor granted . Its calumnies are notorious . Its vindictiveness ia undoab ted . Its hatred of f reedom and its dread of the advent of - ^ P V may sain ' somethine .-in . th « con
popu lar power too evident to be disputed . Nobod respects it . Nobody believes it , Many despis it , and more hate it . It i 3 a patent exampl of might dissociated from ri ght—of Intellec at war with truth and morality . Our children children will probably read in the pages c some future historian some such pas a <* e a this : — 'About this period existed the " Times at once the most unscrupulous and powerfu Journal of the world . ' That . paper we mus leave to be dealt with by public opinion , whicl is alread y beginning to act strongly , and will m due time , make itself felt . Bntwewonh ask the masters to consider well the conse
quences of the course they are pursuing . Thi loss of both money and character which mus ensue if they persist , the probable alienatioi of trade from their district , are worth bein | takeu into account , and the animosities the- * are breeding up , deserve consideration . Pos aibly , too , after all their pains will be fo : nothing , for they are now face to faoewitt rhe strongest and best organised trade asso ciation which ever was formed—an associatioi whicb , according to the opinion of the Attor ney-General , taken and paid for by the Ooun cil , is strictly s legal one , and the ' members o which we hope are too well-advised to be ex cited by injuries into any uulawful acts , oi cowed by threats into abject submission . Thi Manchester masters will do well to be wis <
while there is yet time , for whatever effect the \ may have upon the Amalgamated Society " they cannot escape scatheless from the struggles , which is sure to entail upon themioss ] vexations , and perhaps absolute ruin . ( jEfct Times' may be prepared to risk suclrW issue ; but whether or not it ^ is their * tfm interest to brave the chance , is a question foi them to decide .
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MINISTERIAL HUMBUG . We did not expect that the anticipations of ' nest Session' expressed last week would so soon receive official sanction . On the same day that our Leader was published , there appeared a note from the Pkemiek , refusing to receive the Deputation from the Manchester Conference , on the ground that it would be inconvenient to receive a deputationi from a particular district on a question which attects the whole country . This is , in one word , Hambn * . ' SirB . Peel—who understood ministerial etiquette at least as well aB Lord John Russell— never assigned such a reason for
declining an interview with a deputation on any public question ; and Lord JoHN himself in the day s when public opinion and public support were more needed and more appreciated by him than they are now , was happy to receive deputations from Birmingham , or anywhere else , in support of his own policy , without dreaming of auch a fantastic distinction as he haa now made upon the subject of deputations . The Manchester Reformers are naturally very indignant at this cavalier treatment , and at a meeting held on Tuesday used some rather atrong language as to the
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Bh \ if&tagfcqiiduct ' of , a , man , ; who—ao th bitterly co ^ fessea-c-liadirepaid , their parli flaentary support with sapercilious contumel and official insolence . ; ; ' , V ; ; : ' . But that is the smallest part of the affav The Manchester ' Liberals f- may : digest . tl affront they have received 'as best they mai They deserve little sympathy for havin propped up a Ministry which has for the la « five , or si x years been an obstruction to a reall y useful reform , and which has on man occasions dragged them through the mud an mire of Whiggism—made them vote black on night and white the next , merely to keep th ^ . higs in place . Whether they will bo con tent to continue lacqueys and lickspittles to th iliifflin ^ sS a ' f ' k ; - « . « ' T v" V
tamily clique , or revenge the slight nov put upon them , by refusing their support as i bod y next year , rests with themselves . Th ( point for the public is the certainty which thi ; refusal implies—that the coming Reform Bil will be a mere sham . If Lord John had mem anything like a real reform of our representa tive system , he would have courted public sup port and sympath y . He would have been happ ) so have heard from recognised . and influentia leaders of public opinion inall parts qfthecoun try , what was the real feeling of the people or this important question . He has . shut himseli up m haughty seclusion—gives even his own Parliamentary , supporters no chance of approaching him—and the conclusion of all thie
is plain enough . His mind is made up . The reform he promised last year is to be so miserable , so paltry an evaajonof the question , that he dare not come into contact even with moderate middle class reformers , lest they should takeaway from him all excuse for presenting to the Legislature such a mockery and abortion . ' . . The course of the sincere advocates of Parliamentary Reform cannot be mistaken . Instead of asking themselves what Ministers will do , or fostering division among themselves , they ought to take a bold and a
determined position with respect to a well-defined and practical measure . If this isaofc done , the Whigs will carry ii sham Reform Bill , ' and then , in answer to future demands for real reform , telljus that we can ' t have a revolution in ( his country every five or ten years . To u'event our being thus actually thrown backwards , there ought to be such a demonstration of public opinion on the subject , that if we fail next year in getting , an efficient measure , Lord John shall have no . chance of passing a pretence . The ground must ,: at all events , be left clear—that is all we can expect to do with lie present Ministry ,
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MONIES RECEIVED Fob ihk \ Ykkk Ending Thursday , December 25 th , 1851 . NATIONAL CHARTER FUND . Received t > y John ARNOTr . — B . Savage , Lambeth Gd-LeasiiiKthorn , per J . Richardson 2 s 2 d-Groe » wieh LotTa lity , per J . Morgan 5 s—Manchester , per T . Ormeshaw 10 j —Total 17 s Sd .
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CON 5 FIRA . CY OF MASTERS AGAINST THE MEMBERS OF THE AMALGAMATED SOCIETIES OF IRON TRADES . Last week we gave the circulars addressed by the Executive of the Amalgamated Society to the members of the Society and the employers , relative to the abolition of overtime and piece work . The proposed change lias resulted in the formation of one of the most formidable conspiracies of Capital against Labour ever known in this country . The Manchester employers met on the 17 th inat ., and , after setting forth that collectively they employed , in the aggregate , upward * of 10 , 000 men , they continued *
We . have unanimously determined to close our rstablisbments in case any turn out of suoh wo ? &-people , or of the workpeop le-ia the- employment of any of us , should take p ] a « 9 ontb » 31 st inst ^ «? at any subsequent period , ca . the- ground that such demands have not beotseompliadYnth . We alao deolare that w ^ a * e- eompelleA to ade » t t his course as a nur ^ da ^ BSire step agAiast the
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V interference and diGfafinn t . i " ' - ] xM \ . ' " ; I rous cl .-, of aguS \ $ lu „?*" ¦ ] \ ko * r ' llsoilie ' sS 23 %# 5 S 5 as can , only end in y » W mdrtaa to theLaT yVOnSt and industrious artizan . The first name on this list" was that of the / Inn o ' Hibbert , Plattand Son , which h ^ O * signed an agree , ment tocommence the new system ,. ati ( i which nowrepudiates it s own solemn engagement , and abuses the parties with whom it \ m made . The formation of this Master ' s League was followed by an attack on the men in the " Times by a writer under tbe si-^ in n 7 i i n nni , 1 ' , r"' ~ TT *
gna ! . !? i , j " A , n " ' . " and by a leader from the Thunderer , " in which the usual reckless disre . gard of truth , and atrocious falsehoods and mere presentations were resorted to for the purpose of damaging the Society in public estimation , l he next step of the conspiracy was for the employerain the metropolitan district io meet , at the instigation of their brethren of Manchester , for the purpose of declaring war against the men in tbeir employ . All the principal establishments were represented , and a series of Free Trade and politicoeconomical resolutions having been agreed to as a I ) tt 8 l 8 , they tesoUei as / bi / ows : —
f , h » ii n ^ pl ° { er 3 1 here pre , sent ' such others as snail adhere to these resolutions , ; take this earliest opportunity ofannouncing that , solely a 8 » me ; i sure of self defence , and a protection to their independent workmen , they will , in the event of the hands of any establishment in London , Manchester forl&te fioiD ? \ stm > or 9 tbwvh 9 en . ™ i o 1 h <^' def > and 8 of the Amalgamated Society on the 31 st of December , 1851 , or at any subsequent period , entirely close their establishments on
SJ 0 K / u Januar ^ 1852 ' or ^ itliin one week »« nL I- . ° ^ " period re « Pectivoly , until the ca . rtickbave rendered this step necessary shall have been removed to the satiafactioa of the Executive . Committee . A SWlfy was formed under thfi title of tbe Central ^ WISRon of Employers of Operative bngineers . ^ lc . ; for the purpose of carrying the foregoing resolutions into effect , and an Executive Committee appointed , consisting of the following persons : ;— ' , , .
John Scott Russell , Thomas Maudslay , Joshua Field , John Penn , George Rennie , Richard Ravenhill , John Seaward , Bryan Bonkln , jun ., Henry Gnssell O .. E . Amos , John Blyth , Joel Spiller . and GeoraeBftvilI . Esqs ., together ^ Yith the Chairman and ireaaurer , with power to add to their number . Amicus returns to tbe attack in the 'Times' of Thursday , and an able defence of the-men by Mr . W , Newtou follows bis letter . Mr . Newton denies that tbe Society demands the discharge of the men not belonging to the union , as Amicus ' alleged ; they do nor , as was attributed , demand aa equality of waaes , or highar wages . . . The ' Times , ' with cool audacity , appends the following note to Mr . Newton's letter , although it was an official one , and signed as a member of the Council : —
We only ; isk that men should be allowed to leave work when their day ' s labour is done , except in case of accidents , which call for continuous attention until the repair is completed . What humane man can object to auch a request as this ? Why are the mechanics' institutions of this country neglected by mechanics ? Wh y are the lecture and tho class rooms abandoned by all but the middle find upper classes of society ? Because the mechanic is compelled by the arbitrary power of bis employer to work until eight and ten o'clock at night , This may not be generally known , but thousands of our trade are continually doing so when trade is but moderately good , although at tho same time there are hundreds out of employment .
We only ask that men should bo allowed to leave their work when their day ' s labour is completed ; and none can objeet to this but those who aro embued with the cold and heartless principles of economics known as of the Manchester School . Your correspondent asks " whether in obedienca to the caprice of an agitating committee , the dismissal of good and faithful servants , who have in no way miseondnefced themselves , should follow aa a matter of course . " If workmen are to be dismissed because they hare decided onJy to work six days per week , who will dismiss them ? Do workmen enter- into such foul conspiracies as that entered into by some of the Lancashire employers ? If one firm havo a dispute with their workpeople ,
do tho workmen of other firms attempt to punish another and a worthy employer . Ko , Sir , it is the employers of Lancashire who have adopted that principle , and they declare " that they will discharge their good and faithful servants , who have not misconducted themselves , if the bad and faithless servants of others do misconduct themselves . " \ Yas ; there ever conspiracy equal to this ? Who ought to dread the decision in the Staffordshire case ? . Who are now tho combiners and the conspirators Of Society ? Let " Amicus " answer who . He further states that we are advising threats and intimidation . I defy him to the proof . Read our circular Sir , and say if it is not respectfully couched , or if there is aught offensive or dictatorial in it .
[ Ed . —We give insertion to the above letler , alibougu there is nothing in it to show that the persons who are now engaged in disturbing the ttanquvllity of 11 ) 6 manufacturing districts are identical with the directors of the " Amalgamated Society of Mechanics , &c . " The authors of the present communication , in fact , distinctively W * pudiate the outrageous demand made upon the manufacturers by the directors of the " Trades ' Union" for tha discharge of a certain class of wo » kmen , although they may agrno with them upo " overtime , " and " piecework . " It would be useless to offer any comment upon the letter until the connexion of its authors with the present troubles in the manufacturing districts bas been properly ascertained . ] Thus the masters first repudiate their engagements —make " troubles , " and then throw the blainft upon the men . It is the old fable of the Wolf and the Lamb acted to the life .
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Execution in Switzerland . —The Supreme Court of Berne , in October last , condemned a Frenchman , named Gilliotte , to death , and a woman named Varin , with whom ho had had an adulterous connexion , to twenty-five years' imprisonment with hard labour , for having murdered tho husband of the Intter . Gilliotto petitioned the grand counoil for a commutation of punishment ; but i was refused , and he was ordered for execution on . the Utb . Before being taken to Porrentruy , where tho murder was committed , and whore the execution was to take place , he had an interview with the female prisoner in the presence of a Protestant p . istor and a Catholic cure . IIo exhorted . her to confess her guilt , but she peremptorily refused , and i 6 was not without reluctance she Bhook hands with him in reconciliation . On reaching Porrentruy he
requested permission to address the crowd from tho scaffold , and was told that he might do so . He was first taken to the Town-hall , where tbe judges and authorities of the district were assembled . There tho sentence was read to him , and he was given up to the executioner . He was afterwards taken in procession to the scaffold , the executioner wearing a red and black cloak , and his sons , both on horseback , marched first , tho prefect , in black uniform , followed , carrying his mace—he wes also on horseback : then catno the condemned on foot ; led by a cord ; he was followed by four ministers in full cc cieaiasticai costumr-s , and after them was a cart containing a coffin . Dragoons and gendarmes accompanied the cortege . The condemned walked firmly to the scaffold , although it was situated somo distance from the town , lie mounted it without
assistance . A Protestant clergyman standing by his side then read , in his name , a speech exhorting the people not to imitate him , and to take warning by his example . When he concluded the condemned uttered several religious ' exclamations , and repeatedly expressed his repentance . The executioner having bandaged his eyos and bared his neck , placed his head on the block , and with a blow with the sword severed it from his body . It rolled to the ground , but was picked up and shown to the people . The last words the condemned uttered ¦
were " 0 God ! come to my help " As the head , fell an extraordinary incident occurred , A man advanced with a glass in his band , filled it with tho blood , and drank it off ! IIo vras quite epileptic , and it i 3 the popular belief in that part of Switzerland that tbe blood of a condemned is the OUly remedy for the malady . A Protestant pastor then harangued the crowd on the awful spectacle they had witnessed , and the body was removed . This was the first capital execution which had taken place in the district of Porrentruy since 1825 .
The number of building societies registered in England is upwards of 2 , 000 , and the eapital invested in them at least four millions of money . Miss Wray , of Bath , has bequeathed legacies of £ 1 , 000 each to three clergj-men , from VfhOSB preaching of "high Calvinistio ' ' views she believed herself to havo derived much benefit—the Bav , J . J . West , recto * of "Winchilsea ; the Rey , A . Hewlett , of 'Ashley , near Manchester ; and Mr . Doudney , an Irish clergyman . She has also bequeathed £ 2 , 000 to Mr . J . A . Walling ** , minister
ot Uethesda Chapel , Bath , who somo . years ago seoeded from the Established Church . Mr , Wallia » gef and Captain Wray , brother of the deceased , are appointed residuary legatees . Diplomatic CHiKGES . —We have reason to believQ that the Marquis of Normanby is about to leave Paris , and that Sir H . Bulwer is likely to replace him as our Minister in France . Wo hear , also , that Count Flahaut will shortly arrive in England as Minister from the Trench Republio , in the place of Count Walew&ki , who is about to return to France . "JDaily Paper . ¦ .-
. . _ , „ ., ,, . Prince Albert has transmitted to the treasurer of the Slough Mechanics' Institution a cheque for £ 20 , as his Royal Highness ' " donation to its fends . i
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The TRU& Trip of the Fkari-rss , Auxhurv Screw Stramkh . — The application of auxiliary steam power to the mercantile marine of this country is now engaging general attention , as its importance is being eTery day admitteii now essential it will bo to the prosperous carrying on of our increasing commerce , and every successful experiment cannot fail to be deeply interesting to all connected with shipping . The Fearless , built in our port , is the property of a new company , started for the purpose of the Mediterranean trade . The Fearless , which is built of iron , is 126 feet long , twenty-three feet beam , twelve feet depth of hold , 111 tons register according to new measurement , her mean draught of water being eleven feet of water when loaded , her engine being a direct acting high pressure condensing one , of thirty-five horse-power , with a six-feet screw . The Fearless is schooner rigged , and singularly enough , drawn on similar lines below water with tho far famed
America yacht , although being laid down previousl y to tho arrivnl of the America in this country . On Monday morning she started from Cumberland Basin , upon a trial trip down the Channel . At the time of her reaching Kingroad she was going at the rate of nine knots , against a flowing tide , her surew making 110 revolutions in the minute . Uuun coming to the measured mile she ran over it against tide in five minutes and thirty seconds , the ' pnsasure on the boiler at this time being thirty pounds to the square inch , and the engine making 134 strokes per minute , and upon going again over the
measured mile just after high water , the engine making 138 strokes , with thirty . pounds pressure , she ran over it in five minutes and five seconds , her mean time , with and against tide being five minutes and seventeen and a half seconds . Having called in at Portishead , she ran down Channel , passing the Ayr steamer with great eaeo , and her engines were worked up to 140 strokes in the minute , the Fearless going at the rate of ten and a-half knots , according to the log , which was carefully hove under the superintendence of Admiral Cockaley . —Bristol Mirror .
Jerome Bonaparte and bis Dinner Bill . —It ' to be lamented that the bill of the supper given by Jerome Bonaparte , on the evening of his nomination as King of Westphalia , to Pigault le Bruit ' and another friend , at the Palais Iloyal has not been preserved . When the repast was over , » nd the bill presented , his Majesty found that neither himself nor his guests could muster enough to settle it . In this dilemma the host was summoned , and the difficulty explained to him . He nsked the name of his debtors , but when tbe two friends announced themselvoB as tho chamberlain and librarian of the Sing of Westphalin , the host , thinking it a joke , said , " I suppose you will tell me next that your fat companion ia the King ot Westphalia ? " " Precisely , "
replied tbe newly appointed monarch . But the landlord , believing he had to do with a Bet of rogues , declared they Bhould relate their pretensions to the guard ; upon which Jerome , in a terrible taking , offered his watch as a pledge , and departed . The trio were scarcely out of the house when the restaur ateur discovered , the Imperial cypher on the watch , and flew with it to the commissary of police . The commissary posted to the prefet , the prefefc to the Minister , and the Minister to the Emperor . The nest day his Majesty of Westphalia departed to enter on the government of his kingdom . —JW ; n Father Gavazzi has announced bis intention to some friends in Dublin to visit the Irish metropjni in the month of April next for ( he pnrpoBe of / de ^ livering a seriea Of orations . /
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POSITION AND PROSPECTS . OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES . om ^ ffi lan » u . ' " ^" r P rofeM !' OT who ha * Sin ' ° mthl 3 C 0 untr - v tothe U < "ted States , the tiiL , ? c ? nt £ mP ° rai 7 an interesting sketch of SociK f f ° rtS raade b * " > -iouS D schools of oXn , » A W » tho P flCu ! iftl < d 6 etri » eSof Peruii-w l £ ? facl I - ^ offered to them by tha Federal $$ &ff il % ? £ * ™ tiMi ™ . «* ' «» " % experiments aro *
M . TT ^ J ^ ™» « .. Ita , of them ofVcartTnTSva ' sta / diS sufficed already to JfiT dSTLvS points . The . r number and extent are greater than is supposed m Europe . I am informed , on respectable authority , that there are fifty-two Shaker villages in the United States . These prove at least , one thin £ , that starvation , or the possi-Ullty Of Starvation , is by no means necessary as an inducement to labour . Anil more , they prove that neither the pressure of want , nor the incitement of competition , is necessary to suur to Droduction .
iuo ShakewareuniremiJlt- industrious—as industrious as they can be . Their productions are proverbially excellent in the highest de » ree . Their religious systeraalone prevents the higher developments of industry—intellectual , artistic . " On tho other hand , not the Shakers alone , but a great variety of other communities , seem to havealmost equally well established tho fact that systems involving eommuDity of property are destructive of persona ! liberty to such as extent aa to render them unbearable , except where either strong religious fueling , or some other dominant influence , CXIStS Sufficient to render men willing subjects Of despotici power . I know not how many attempts to establish communities on what were supposed to bo rational principles , have failed from this cause , but tbe number is large . " 2 'here is oertaiBly one exception . But this
example would not be taken intoaccount at all by the English public ; and you may judge of tbe extent of freo inquiry in this country as compared witU Mgland , when I tell you that hero the exception to which I refer is the subject of much attention and dispassiopnto consideration . It is the case of certain religious sects , and in particular of one called by themselves The Free Church of Christ / who have adopted what they call ' complex , marringe . ' This is , in fact , what would be at once stigmatized in England aa the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes , although it is rer . lly not so .
But one great difficulty that bas helped to assail all uon-reli » i&ns communities is at One stroke CUt entirely away , 'fhe abolition of private property , and the retention of any system by which one indi vidual ha 3 a monopoly of the society and intercourseof any other individual , is a flagrant inconsistency . These' Free- Church' men have rejected that inconsistency . The great leading principle of tfaia singular people is , that all the actions of life ought to be undertaken with a view to the attainment of perfection—perfection in all , perfection in being , perfection in production , perfection in tbe individual , perfection in the race .
" But I need waste no more time or spaco over these perfeciionists . I will only say that they consider all intercourse with each other should be in every respect ro « nlated by this perfective law ; tbafc in it they should seek their own perfection and each other ' s , as well as that of their offspring j that , following this idea , and bringing to bear upon tho question certain alleged physiological facts , they abolish all marriage as between individuals and live together as one husband and one wife , the details of which arrangement I need not enter into . I am informed that they are a large and prosperous community ; that the utmost harmony and affection prevail ; that to strangers they appear like one family of brothers and sisters ; and that they are enabled to conduct their affairs without the despotism which stains other communities , while free inquiry on all subjects prevails amongst them , and , consequently , a high decree ofintelleetual and aesthetic culture . "
The honour of solving the great Social problem is * reserved for America , not only from the experience accumulated in those experiments , but from " the fact that here the land—the all in all—i 3 available to the people . " . Another element of success is , that the habits of the people have prepared them for rapid changes of employment . " And . then there are our political immunities . Wo have no such atrocious partnership laws as you
cau boast in England ; no Joint Stock Companies Act ! no Combination Lawa ! no jealous govern * mental interference . And if we had any legal hindrances , we should abolish them in a trico . Whilo on the other bund , the laws are themselves continually recognising and enforceing more and more of . the social rights claimed for tUo people . Ifc would fill the remainder of this sheet to detail the admirable , the glorious concessions to social advance that have of late years been inscribed on the Statute Book of New York State !
' Another reason , the people are nioro independent here than in Europe ; let foreigners say what they will , the people are more independent both of law and of custom . You may have heard of our talked of new female cosfume . Now , apart from the fact that an industrial aim lies concealed in this very reform itself , what did we see last 4 th of July ? Tbo factory girls of Lowell setting the fashion ! With perfect decorum and order did these most veritable young ladies parade tl » 8 streets of that town , arrayed in the new and beautiful Bloomer dress ; and if they attracted attention , they met "with no sign oi disrespect .
" I thought then , a year ago , that to have any chance for living myself in the midst of superior social arrangements , or even for leaving my children in such when my own life had passed away , I must come to this country ; and now I think so very much move than I did thoa ; or rather , I think that the social Reform will come here not merely sooner than in Europe , but soon . "
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THE TBIES , THE EMPLOYERS , AND TBE TRADES . None of our readers will forget the recent asof the "Wblverhampton Tin Plate Workers . ] n that case the Messrs . Perry have , jl a fearfnl expense , if not comparative unn to themselves , succeeded in inflicting a &r months" imprisonment upon men who , acisated by a sense of right , did their best to
aefencl the interests of labour . It was easy io foresee , however , that even that limited and jcstlj triumph would tempt men of tyrannical aiods to venture upon a course of persecution , rlenever they fonnd their despotic wills ihrarted hy combinations of their workmen , sA events are taking place in Manchester tMch serve to show that , ; our ideas are very Sely to he realised . '
It id !) , perhaps , he the hetter course to Sate simply the facts of the case to which we c ? alluding , before we proceed to mafce any tsmnents upon it . The Executive Council of He Amalgamated Society of Engineere , Ma-Mnists , &e . —aLodycoiBposed of about 12 , 000 h the most intelligent of the English opera- ' fires—associated together for the purpose of alp in sickness and death , sustenance during
? ant of employment , and mutual protection b all trade disputes , has had its attention ¦ frected to the . evils of the system of piece tst \ and ^ overtime . The Council patiently instigated the subject , and finding that ¦ ftrkinen were making continually seven and e $ t , and sometimes nine and ten days each lieek , and working late and early at piecerat , while hundreds of their fellows , as aabla and industrious a 3 themselves , were
ddng in vaiu for employment , and living in astrained idleness upon the funds of the defy , came to the conclusion that piecework d overtime were great evils , and that it said be far better , if what there was to do tse divided more equally between all there ; = re to do ifc . As , however , this was a matter f great importance ^ and they only desired to R esent th » wishes , and Berve the real insreets of the whole trades , they did not act son their own judgment , hut caused the opiinof the Operatives in all the tranches to
B taken . In answer to these inquiries , it was hn& that a large majority in every locality , timg a correct "view of their best interests , nre decidedly in favour of piecework and fanatic overtime being discontinued . Their kb strong impressions being thus fortified , a-3 supported by the vast majority of their tente , the Council issned two circularsas to the workmen , declaring the result and ssmmending tho commencement of the new Mm with the new year , the other to the emiWs , announcingthe fact , and cravingflieir « nsait and co-operation . "We quoted portions aboflitlesecirculars in ourlast week ' s impres
® n , and with regard to that addressed to the 5 &r afacturers , we maysay thatamorerespect-% , moderate and conciliatory document never eatd from a body of working men . It coniased no exaggerated statements—no denun-^ on 5 , no querulous complaints , no titter apaches , hut was couched in those straight-{; i ** aid terms whieh every honest and indepafcnt man ought to be able to use to l ! f ttll&r , ' BD- maHerhow hig h his station , or how r liis wealth , without the risk of offence , ^ idea of intending to interfere dictatorially ^•» een employers and employed was utterly ^ claimed . An endeavour wasmade to show fe manufacturers that which we believe to be
Perfectly true—that piecework and overtime ai the " dearest way 3 of getting work badly ** e , an < i equally iniurious to hoth partieB . Ac appeal was made to those better and higher feelings , which aTe common to men of every ? la & , and whicb . one would think would f ^ finpt those employers who thought rightly , l 2 &er to see all moderately employed and a J 9 jing fair opportunities lor social comfort ^ intellectual improvement , than some ^ idle ® i others so overworked as to have neither = jJtngthnor the capability for thought ieftafter * x £ t labour was over . An earnest appeal * Js also made that the words of the Council
^ pt be received in the same amicable spirit a that in which they were used , and the help 5 tbe masters was craved to carry out the ¦^ ge which was likelv to woduce so much I ^ toall . It is difficult to know , if the Council of the ^ od gamated Society were io act at all , how % could possibly have acted in a more derate or conciliatory manner ; but it seems Ht the masters were of a different opinion , far foul fl , e ninth of December a meeting of * leads of what are called some of the fifing Engineering firms of Lancashire , ¦^
place , and some resolutions of a perfectly ^ De character were passed . Tbe most im-- knant of the series was , that if thework-* f ple of any of the firms turned out on strike , ^• tho other members of the Association * ° « & at onea shut up their factories and f& their workpeople adrift upon the world . ac& a compact as that is so evidently un-Wods , that men who could agree to it ^ ju 3 « have but little faith in each other . ¦ J 5 mething more binding than morality—^ etbing more s acred than a promise , was f ^ ed aeceBgarv to keep this treaty from
^ Ing [ violated ; and quite consistently with the r ^ frmes of the thorongh « bred Manchester J ^ Qofe—the pupfls of which know no higher orsjii p than that of Mammon , nothing more 5 than wealth—a money security was o «* lved to be taken as a pledge of fidelity F fla the part of each member . That , evincing man p ^ e mion of these i Manchester * w « aetttrers toward each other , was
deternamed o ^ and it was accordingly resolved that every one joining-the Association should ST I ' e ^ the workmen in his employ , the money to be forfeited if the agreement was broken . The 16 th of December was the day fixed for gathering in the ' . headmoney and we suppose that it was duly paid , for sometime before the 20 th of December , the representatives of the conclave funds , hand of that evSw i ^ u ^^ l ? " 1 ^ ^
m ^ course , sought the congenial spirits who preside over the destinies of the Times' newspaper . Onthatday an advertiBement appeared in the « T imeB' deliberatel y stating that the dozen or more commercial despots who signed it employing ten thousand human beings to make wealth for them , had determined , if the workpeople of any one of them struck , to turn the whole of their hands out without employment upon the world .
No doubt some of these gentlemen are scandalized at Irish landlords turning their tenants out of their holdings by the hundred to starve in the highways or rot in the union house ; but are they doing any more justifiable act ? We never yet heard—we think we never shall hear ~ of Irish landlords—bad as they are—covenanting with each other that if the tenants of one do not pay their rent they will all commence a general crusade against the occupiers of their estates , and
punish the innocent for the faults . of the guilty . The law of illegal conspiracy is in a very unsettled state , and sadl y in want of definition . We are called upon to obey it , although it is past our comprehension ; and we can find no one with any . certaint y to tell us exactl y what it means *; even the judges themselves are , we believe , at issue upon the matter ; but , whether in the legal sense of the term , this combination be a conspiracy or not , every man with a well-ordered mind , judging it by the standard of right , will hold it to be an atrocious offence against the best sympathies of humanity . It really seems to us that the world is turning upside down . Just as we see the authorities in other countries
becoming insurgents , and rising in rebellion against the l , w , here we see employers , who bavebeen eloquent about the mischeyiousness , the wastefulness , and the carelessness of strikes , banding" together to have a strike themselves , and a * strike / too , of the worst and most unjustifiable kind . Workmen of the Amalgamated Society have sometimes , struck against an , employer whom they conceived to be acting oppressively ; but those who were working under good masters did not , therefore , leave their work . The madness and
wickedness of such an idea would have ensured Us rejection , but the masters are , it would appear , less wise and less conservative . If one set of men offends they will puhiBh all alike , including the contented and the discontented , in one . common condemnation . An old Latin writer says : — Those whom God wills to destroy he first makes mad . ' > If that he true , if madness does go before destruction , let those manufacturersllook to it . The symptom has shown itself—destruction will not be far behind .
As the great organ by which parties work is the press of course these Manchester manufacturers must have their organ . _ What organ should they choose ? It is a wise ' say < ing that there ne ^ r was any evil , no ma ^ how detestably planned , but agents couWrtm found base enough to execute it . V ^ fe . should they look ! for an advocate but to that paper which has proved itself ready to ignore truth , and to disseminate the blackest calumnies . That paper which probably many of them had seen burnt amidst unanimous execration ? . That paper which , urged on the Ferry ' s at Wolverhampton in their
suicidical course—that hounded on a special jury only too ready to convict , to give an adverse verdict when men who asked for the rights of themselves and their fellows stood at the barthat urged the Judges , when sentence was to be passed ! to make law the instrument of persecution , and to turn justice into vengeance . In short , a feeling only too correct in its instinctive action , led them to the ' Times' when they had dirty work to be done , and , impelled bv a fellow feeling of hate against the producers of wealth , the ' Times' espoused the cause , and kept to it all the weight of its talented , unscrupulousness , and ingenious
mendacity . The advertisement we have already said , appeared in the * Times' of the 20 th . On the 22 nd a letter appeared , signed 'Aiucus , ' written , most probably by an employe < rf the " Times , ' under the direction of the Manh ches * er conspirators . That letter blendM trnth and falsehood as perhaps only a * Tintfei ' writer knows how . The poisoners of a past age possessed a deadly art confined to a few breasts , and , happily , their secret seemB to have died with them . The power of compounding the intellectual poisons vended by
tbe 'Times / we would hope is equally limited , and tbafc to the next generation it will be only a tradition of an evil that was . Amcus who , whatever else he may be a friend to , is not a friend of truth , accuses the Amalgamated Society of interfering so dictatorially with masters as to prevent the proper management of their own establishments ; as demanding the abolition of piece-work and overtime , aud as requiring the immediate discharge of all the labourers employed at the machines , and the fillinw up of their placeB with mechanics
belonging to the Trades' Union . _ As a useful means too of rousing public opinion against the workers , the Amalgated Society was said to be one of Socialists and Communists , desiring to equalise wages , to put the lazy and the industrious upon the same footmg , and to carry out the theories of Louis Blanc . A hawker is reported to have said to a disappointed customer that his razors were not made to shave but to sell . ThiB letter of Amicus was not written to convey the tratb , but to serve a sinister purpose . The-wish of
the Amalgated Society to abolish overtime and piece-work , are the only part 3 which approach to correctness . The society have alwavfi snffered the wages of individuals to be fixed by themselves , have never encouraged the idle or the improvident , have never either recognised or repudiated Loms Blanc-,-or ' "i ven in their adheision to Socialism or Commanism . They have in fact not interfered with these matters , as they felt called upon to deal with facts actually existing , leaving theories , whether right or wrong , to avail their own time for development or
extinction . On the 23 rd , no doubt , aa part of a preconcerted arrangement , the Thunderer ponred forth one of its anathemas against those who support the rights of labour in tbeir simplest and most obvious form . There waa nothing new about this outpouring of wrath . It bore a close family resemblance to those savage articles which were produced about the time of the Wolverhampton cases . The likeness , indeed , was so strong that we almost fancied they had been resuscitated to do duty again . It is said of reptiles , that there is only a
certain quantity of venom in their fangs , aud that after a number of bites they become inuoccous . Let us hope that in his capacity for baseness , the caluminator is likewise limited , and that once having discharged his spleen , he can only revert to his old Effusions . The best minds of the Amalgamated Society , those men wnohave de-? oted during the best years of their life , all Iheir energifs to the elevation of their class always without so great a pecuniary reward as the same talent and perseverance would * ™ broueht them in other avocations , often aevoieu
withou * payment at all ; men wftose - S and disinterestedness wmld shame the corrupt ' Times , ' are denouaeed M unpnma-^ mischief-loving , nerewary demag ogueg , SrivhVg to m * 9 Ufa *** « d maSE ?> w
Untitled Article
WHAT IS TO BE OUR FOUEIGtff POLICY . *_ Lord Palmerstkn ' s resignation or dismissal from a position which , with short intervals , he has held under governments of varied political opinions for half a life time , portends great changes in our relations with the continent . At firBt it was imagined that the Grey party in the Cabinet had at length triumphed , and effected the expulsion of a colleague between whom and themselves there has never been any sympathy . But the ' Times' distinctly deuica that this is the case , and from the way in which it speaks leaves it to be , inferred that the late foreign Minister
has beeu removed by the Sovereign herself , and not by any Cabinet intrigue . Lord PaliIEESTOJ ? has , as our readers know , TneveT . possessed our confidence . His liberal professions always kept the word of promise to ilie ear but broke it to the heart . Tfofty werelike the dead sea fruit , fair to the eye ^ ut dust and ashes to the taste . There Is not a nation on the' Continent that trusted to . his assurance of . sympathy and support which haa not been deceived—not a popular leader who believed he could reckon upon him , that has not been betrayed , or placed in a worse position than he would have been if not deluded by his specious liberalism into the belief that England would not stand tamel y by and see the liberty of nations destroyed .
But the time chosen tor . the removal ojfjm * 'judicious bottle . holder , ' as ' Punch'' Wnp the late Secretary of State for YomgtiJpa . pt , is , to say the . least of it , an omino ? $ ; onv People cannot help thinking that , income way or other , ifc is owing to the reception'of the FinBbury and Islington deputation on the KOSSUXH affair , and the language he then addressed to those deputations . We know that our Ambassador - at Vienna only recently obtained an official reception after tbe derfy d . several weeks , and it may be that it w € s- ^ corded on condition that Lord Palmersxon should be dismissed . Should this be tbe fact , then this country has fallen under the dominion of the despots who lord it over Europe . The black shadow has slready crossed the channe }/ and lours over England . The Cabinet of St . James ' s crouches to that of St .
Petersburg . But , on the other hand , while Palmerston affected to oppose Austria and sympathise with Kossuth , he courted a closer alliance with Louis Bonaparte , and . was the first to recognise the unscrupulous and unprincipled usurper , who , by Woodshed aud perjury , has just succeeded in forcing himself upon the people of France as supreme aud irresponsible ruler . If Palmerston ' s love of constitutional liberty was sincere , he could not have nulde any advances of a friendly nature to ^ aGo ^ ern ment which is a flagrant violatiojr / SNrtl / tbO
great principles of society . Eve ^ fth /* f » pTdmatic reason for an alliance between such a Government and our own , that a French Imperial Cabinet would be a good set-off against the Northern despots , would not have justified such an alliance had it been possible . But , unfortunately for Lord PALareKSTON , it seems that , among other seizures on the 2 nd of December by tbe police , there waa a correspondence of our Ambassador , in which the 'noble Marquis' had very freely expressed his contempt for M . Bonaparte's pretensions and character . The result is , that Paimerston found himself in a fix , both with the Austrian and the French Government , that Lord
Normanby has been recalled , and Sir H . Buiaver sent in his place . These are only the heralds of other chanaps . Ifc must now be obvious to all that we caKHfl * keep ourselves clear of Continental Ponies . In these days of steam and railways ana electric telegraphs , England is practically annexed to the main land , and cannot escape from the perturbations and shocks to which it is subject . It is necessary , therefore , that all classes in this country should in future pay more attention to Foreign Politics than they have hitherto done . We stand on the eve oi momentous events , and their consequences to Great Britain will greatly depend on the formation and exercise of a powerful aud enlightened public opinion .
Untitled Article
THE ELECTION IN FRANCE , By force , fraud , and deception M . Bonaparte has succeeded iu his object of making Europe believe he ia the choice of the French Nation . Tho incomplete returns from sixtyeight Departments give hini a total of 5 , 400 , 000 rotes , or only G 00 , 000 less than the number by which he waa elected President of the Republic . In tho present state of the French Press , and dependent as we are upon the organs . of the Usurper , and the tampering of the police with all intelligence , it is impossible for us to state correctly to what peculiar agencies this result is attributable , or how far
it has been manufactured by the unscrupulous officials , who ia all parts of France have been the zealous agsnts of an unprincipled and bloodthirsty usurpation . By and bye we shall know more ofthe facts , and bo qualified to judge how far the returns warrant any anticipations as to the durability nf tbe rule which violates all the . established principles of human government . In the meantime this is certain , that whether the vote has been extorted by force or cancelled b y fraud , LOUIS NAPOLEON has pulced ; himself in a position , which will render dfl his acts in future amenable to sterner criticism , than ever . Fov the tywmWl and reactionary . policy of his , J&MmK $ vernmenfc he " himself blamed tlftr late
Assembly . That he has destroyed aud swept out of hia party every man of influence with tho parties opposed to him . The country 13 at his mercy , and he can do what he likes . We shall see . The very means by which he has attained his perilous position demand ¦ from him unusual exertions to maintain . If he fails to meet the expectations of thosewfio voted for him , there is but one tyrant to deal with and to depose instead of many , ;
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Untitled Article
The Woolcombera of Halifax and the district around it have issued an address to the public , in which they complain that tbeir employers , not satisfied with the repeated reductions of wages within the laal thirteen month ? , to which they have compelled tKeCombera to submit , have now deprived them pOheir light and fire money—a Tight which they have enjoyed from time immemorial , and / with other reductions , rcakes a total reduction of # earty thirty pp . r cent , within tbe last thirteen months , Messrs . Wfaitvronh and Co . were the first to deprive tbeir workpeople of . this ripht , an infraction which was gradually followed by other ? , and , last of all , we
presume in Bel . ' -defe » ce , by Messrs . Akroyd and Son . This destruction of their last remaining privilege has caused great excitement among tbe trade , and a general meeting was held on the 9 th inst ., to consider what steps should be taken . After the meeting bad been addressed by several speakers , it was resolved to appoint deputations to wait on the respective firms , to try to get back their right ? , of which they bad been unjustly deprived . The deputation was received l > y Henry Akroyd , E : q ., ( one of tbe representatives of the firm of Messrs . James Akroyd and Son , ) in a gentlemanly manner ; lie listened to their complaints with attention and
promised to restore whai they wanted , on condition hit Whitworth and Co . would do ihe same ; he ijindly favoured the deputation with a r . ote from his hand to that effect , and that as he ( Whitworth ) was the first aggressor , he ought to be the first to comply . This , however , Whitworth refused to do unless ' all the other firms in the district would favour him with a similar note as Henry Akroyd , Esq ., had done . Accordingly the principal firms were waited upon , but they objected to gratify hi 8 ( Wbitworth's ) ambitious desires with their signatures , and so the
labours of the deputation proved unavailing . The pjeneral meeting which had been adjourned to the 15 th inst . again met to bf ar the report of the deputation ; after which , it was resolved an < ffort should be made io provide ways and mean ? by subscriptions among the Woolcombers of all firms , and that an appeal be made to a generous public in order to prevent one firm from holding a whole district of Woolcotnbers in bondage . A committee and collectors have been appointed , whose books are signed by tbe secretary , John Hammond , and we trust this appeal to the district will be liberally responded to .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 27, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1658/page/5/
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