On this page
- Departments (4)
- Adverts (2)
-
Text (12)
-
Untitled Article
-
THE NORTHERN STAB, SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, IJJ52.
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
£0 Qmrrtwoimexm.
-
Crates' Jhrtdltgmcfc ...... MJW_l_^^**^* MMM ^^^_TMi^^B_l_^—M—WMttMfl—"V^I—MMfflMfl—fc^^*~fcfc~*"l ^"* 1 ^"M ''*^ M^~~'^—rfca» i
-
*•- -¦ GRATIS
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Ad
"WITH THE "DISPATCH" OF SUNDAY , JA * . 4 th . nPHE SUBSCRIBERS to the " WEEKLY X DISPATCH" will be presented with a hifiWy-finished ColonredChart , shoeing by diagrams and at one Tiew , the a * " ™** of persons who dafly , during a period of fire monfs , ™? £ . ^ Ciystal Palace , theamonnt of money taken atthedoorssnd wcewett feom various sources , and other statistics of an »^ jr £ r ? u Meter . Ana on Sundayyan . Uth , the Chart will be P £ M ? Jf Purchasers of the "Dispatch" who are not "f ^^^ ri ; The Chart , which is surmounted with an engraved "ew ofttebreat ExMbMon of thelnanstiy of AU Nations , has b « nprepared ^ per . mission of the Bojal Commissioners , from dM X ; nprfSd » 4 ed . Gardner and J . Hack , of theRoval Sappera 8 n ^^^ fs i" ™ f l ^ agenflmanwhc ^ mUmateacquaintance wi ^ matterswn . * ect& with the management must ensure itt correctnesR . Orders maybe given to all neWnders in town and country , or forwarded to Mr R . J . Wood , 139 , Fl e :-street , London .
Untitled Ad
FUEKHOI . D tAND TO BK SOIiB ( In Ireland , with Parliamentary Title , ) For One Pound per Acre !!! In the XoKranw Swsof 12 th July last appeared an advertisement
Untitled Article
Ihe HosEsrr Fcxd . —Wm . Hatwood , of Xorwood , ask * the friends and followers of Mr . O'Connor , if something cannot be done for that gentleman . If a proposition is made , W . H . will cheerfully contribute his mite . G . Makch , Brigbtlingsea . —Received . TistiEVD , Kedditch . —Yes .
The Northern Stab, Saturday, January 10, Ijj52.
THE NORTHERN STAB , SATURDAY , JANUARY 10 , IJJ 52 .
Untitled Article
THE ENGINEERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS . INTELLIGENT CO-OPERATION . "We begin this subject by performing our last Greek ' s promise , of exposing the petty intrigue which has brought about the present straggle between the Operative Engineers and their Employers . In May last a dispute between Messrs . HnJBEBTand Piatt , of Oldhatn , and their men , took place , . which was apparently terminated mainly througn" the intervention of Mr . W . Newtox , by an agreement Between the Masters and the Operatives . That agreemeLt
was reduced to writing , and duly signed , by the representatives of the contending parties . But some people—the Jesuits of Commerce—deal in mental reservations ; and it has transpired that Messrs . Hiebert and Plait , while seemingly negotiating in good faith with the men , were playing over again a part something similar to that of Perky , of Wolrerhampton , by endeavouring to stir up other employers to an organised resistance . At that time the attempt failed ; and , therefore , Messrs . Hibbert and Plait executed an agreement which there is too much reason to suppose they did not mean to keep , and in the meantime set about exciting the fears of their brother capitalists , in order to gain allies .
Matters were in this position when the Executive Council of the Amalgamated Society issued their circular against compulsory overtime , and arbitrarily priced piecework . That was a godsend to Messrs . HiBBEBTand Platt . That enabled them to terrify the alarmists into combined resistance . That was , probably , happening as it did at the time when the agreement was to bo performed , just what they wanted . It was a pretext which exactly suited their purpose ; and as they did not think it necessary to tell the plain truth , they added to the requests of the Amalgamated Society the matters in dispute between them and their
own artisans ; assumed the existence of a wide-spread conspiracy , drew frightful pictures of the consequences , terrified the other manufacturers into joining them , and fixed all to the new masters' association by that strongest pledge of commercialists , a money deposit , to be forfeited in the event of withdrawal . Under the cover of this confusion , Messrs . Hibbeut and Plait think to escape the performance of their own Hrritten bond , and to inaugurate a contest which thall degrade Labour into the abject bond slave of Capital , by depriving their men of the power in the future of making terms with the'e who claim to be their irresponsible , absolute masters . Surely the annals of
commerce never exhibited a more glaring instance of deliberate promise-breaking than that—no maker of false pretences ever descended to a meaner shuffle . If that be the morality of commerce , those are right who say that the savage is a higher being than those whose whole 3 onl is wrapped up in the love of wealth . Apart , however , from the morality of the affair , it is worth while considering it in another aspect . The papers on the side of the masters have been constantly reiterating the assertion that the Amalgamated Society is made up of a few desi gning scoundrels , and a host of ignorant dupes—that the deceivers and deceived are mingled , the small minority of the former
leading the large majority of the latter to inevitable destruction . False aa that assertion must evidently appear to those who are acquainted with the engineering operatives , it really does seem applicable in some degree to their employers . The Association have teen made the dupes of Messw . HmBKitiand Plait , and a few others—they have been entrapped into a fearful struggle of which they cannot see the end , in order to cover a gross breach of faith , and it has oozed ont ~ that so sensible are some of them of this , that they haTe declared , if they had known at first as much as they know now , they would never have suffered themselves to be betrayed into their present false and dangerous position .
It is worth while , also , to notice how this involuntary tendency to describe themselves , while attempting to traduce others , has characterized some of the after proceedings of the Masters' Association . Ono of the charges the roost constantly in their mouth was , that the leaders of the Operatives' Association were venal , greedy mercenaries . This is the cry always raised by those who would deprive working men of thepower to combine for their mutual support and protection . Conscious of die fact that the wants of the many will never be earnestly represented except by men of their own order , and aware that whatever rich men may be able to do , poor men cannot give their time to the service of their followa without compensation , they are always ready to shout out at the top of their lungs ' Paid egitatore . ' We want , once for all
to meet the catchword , which , contemptibl y atnpid as it is , when cunningly used produces an effect There is no disgrace in being paid for doing right—no ' ghame in receiving a fair reward for advocating that which yon believe . The mental labourer is as much entitled to his wages as the manual worker—he who makes ideas , and spreads them abroad , is as useful as he who spins cotton fabrics , and contributes at least M m £ ? to ^ real wslfare of Eociety . Will those C - !}? areBOTeryindig ! laDta { aworkiDgman S ? 2 ^^ ehe but ^ Sk 3 i force > s « ° w ^ JL ? , «*»* **¦ not pay its officers . Bible So .
FrSd iTS ** " * ** HflM&njio Societies , nSatatriSh ^ fies , Registration Societies fcom the h £ w in S * i Btate pa& ^ frofficBTB ^ &j ?^ £ sra
Untitled Article
its Council , they would speedily ceaBe to exisifc . Just imagine a Manchester political agent , receiving for attendance at a meeting , occupying six or seven hours of his time , the allowance awarded to a member of the Executive Council . How he would turn up his nose at the magnificent Bum of two shillings aa the recompense of his devotion , and how determi . nedl y he would resolve never to again waste his time on so barren a cause . This objection of' paid agitators' comes , above all , badly from the Manchester School , whose whole political history has been one of paid agitation . From the League , with its quarter of a million fund , its
swarms of employes , and its hosts of paid lecturers , and its eighty thousand pounds testimonial to the arch-paid agitator of all , through shoals of smaller combinations , runs the same vein of payment . No set of men have ever spent more on agitation . One would think , too , that common modesty would prevent Mr . Sidney Smith , the Secretary of the Masters' Association , from being the mouthpiece of this clamour , and from writing newspaper articles in which it is echoed . The men throughout have fought this battle themselves ; the men who have stood forward hare stepped from their own ranksnone but Engineers'have interfered ; but the Masters ,
perhaps labouring under a sense of their own inferiority and incapacity , have engaged a sort of literary gladiator who has no personal interest in the dispute , and no ri ght to meddle in it , Is lie a paid agitator ? We suppose the Masters pay him , for his history tells us that he would not be likely to work for them without ample payment . He was a paid lecturer of the League—a paid looker after the registration—a paid electioneering agent—a paid political writerand the paid instrument of almost as many other schemes as there are days in the year . What right has he to talk about venal mercenaries , when he reviews bis own life ?
Mr . Smith may some day come again before the working-classes . They will do well to remember his present conduct , not so much because he is paid , as because there is something like proof that he receives wages for supporting what he believes to be wrong . A man cannot conscientiously believe two opposite creeds . Yet Mr . Sidkey Smith , who has been stigmatizing the Amalgamated Society as Socialist , wrote , only some twelve months ago , a little book called ' Mother Country , ' where Socialism is vividl y advocated : and in that same work are assertions of
the physical and moral evil of such constant labour as the English operative endures , to which is traced his asserted intellectual inferiority to his Continental compeer . Yet the same man who penned that , now asserts , as a matter of business , the right of masters to work men as long as they will , and calls those who oppose this industrial slavery , ' paid agitators , ' and unprincipled demagogues . Really , with such antecedents , Mr . Smith should be more careful and courteous , if he cannot be more straightforward and consistent .
We are glad to say , however , that all the efforts of their opponents have not , up to this time , frightened the operatives or alienated them from their natural leaders ; and it is probable that the result will be what the masters never reckoned on . They thought to force the men to consume in idleness the funds they have accumulated , and starve them into abjectness ; but itislikely . thattheresultwillbeBuch an Intelligent Industrial Co-operation as has never before occurred . If the masters are mad enough to strike , and refuse to help in doing the pubiio work , the men will do it themselves , without the masters ' aid or the burden of the masters' profits . Easion and Amos ' s men have already subscribed their money for a Workmen ' s Factory , and the Amalgamated
Society contemplates the application of £ 10 , 000 of its funds to the same purpose . In this effort the workmen are not alone . Men of station and capital , disgusted with commercial tyranny and falsehood , are coming to their aid with offers of substantial help , and the Masters' Association of deceivers and deceived , with their active and talented Secretary , bid fair to find that in striving to aggrandise their power into dtspotism , they have brought it to the verge of annihilation . Well , wiser men than they , sharp as they no doubt are , have , before now , realised the fable of the dog and shadow—losing the good they might have enjoyed in a greedy attempt to grasp the fancied benefit which they were unable to attain .
Untitled Article
WHAT IS TO BE OTJR FOREIGN POLICY . Lord Palmebston ' s dismissal and its causes still continue to occupy a large share of public attention , and various statements are put forth in the dail y papers , each professing to be the most correct version of the affair . The general conclusion to be deduced from these explanations however is , that the substitution of Gkanville for Palmerston may be safely taken as an indication that the tone and tendency of our Foreign policy is not to become more liberal .
However little may have been thought of tho late ForeigH Minister ' s attachment to Constitutional Government , or his desire to aid Foreign nations in any legitimate attempt to secure the power of self-government , we shall have to think still less of the Foreign Policy directed by Russell , and administered by a younger member of the Family Party , if by any mishap these two ' noble lords' should remain long in office . It is tolerably certain that the coup d ' etat which so suddenly ejected Palmerston from office , was entirely Lord John ' s concoction , and , though the fact has been denied by the ministerial'Times' that it was with
, the previous knowledge and sanction of the Austrian Court . In fact , we shall probably find , when the Parliamentary explanations are made , that the dismissal of ihe late Foreign Secretary was the price demanded by Prince Schwartzenberg for the official reception of our Ambassador , after he had been kept kicking hisheels for six weeks in the ante-rooms of the Palace at Vienna . Should this be the case , it will demonstrate beyond the possibility of cavil , that the Whigs , whether in or out of office , do not intend to make commoucau 8 e with the people of this
country , so far as their feelings and opinions were manifested by the enthusiastic reception given to KossuiH . Instead of fraternizing with the oppressed peoples of the Continent , and giving them such aid as we could fairly give to enable them to free themselves , we shall , if this policy is consummated once more see English treasure lent to despots for the purpose of trampling out in blood every vestige of freedom in Europe ; perhaps even our fleet and our army may be called into action to aid in the unholy and brutalizing task .
At the present juncture , the forei gn policy of any English government is even superior in importance to its domestic . No one will suspect us of uadervaluing the movement for Suffrage Reform or other measures long claimed and patiently advocated ; but when on all hands the indications of another war against freedom by the combined despots of the Continent thicken around , it must be evident the firat duty of to-day is to prepare for resistance to such a disastrous and threatening aspect of affairs
Nothing is more certain than that the achievement ot Political Emancipation for the millions at home will largel y depend on the issue of the struggle for national freedom abroad . Wo cannot separate ourselves from Continental politics if we would . We are now , to all intents and purposes , part of the mainland , ateam ships , railways , and electric telegraphs , have placed us in direct communication , and we must be affected by all the perturbations—share in all the successes or reverses—which may occur in the course of the great struggle for Freedom .
If the British Government enters into alliances with the Absolutist Courts , the terms of which are shrouded in diplomatic secrecy , we shall know w hat to expect . Louis Kossuth has taught the great lesson that the only national foreign policy that can tend to national benefit is that which is honestl y and openly proclaimed . That lesson we believe has sunk deep in the minds of the people of this country , and of the United States , as constituting the starting of
point a new species of national diplomacy under which the juggling and swindling of despots and their tools would be impossible . la the absence of such an avowal there is reason to fear that vr * rr ~~ again be involved in a similar war to that which at the closing struggle at Waterloo left us involved in debt , and which in its consequences has ever since hnng like a millstone round our necks , and formed the ready answer to all appeals for the reduction of taxation or public improvement That is a consideration which ought to set every man in Great Britain and Ireland thinking ^
Untitled Article
THE CO-OPERATIVE "MOVEMENT . The promises we have made in relation to the Cooperative Movement we mean to fulfil , not only from our own love of the subject , and our belief in its importance as a movement in the right direction , hut also from the fact that Co-operation , in Borne form or other , isj found in every corner of the Kingdom amongst the most liberal and enlightened of the working people , not only as a faith , but as a most important living reality . -
This faith in Co-operation is not a forced growth , springing under the breath of a vigorous agitation—it is rather a thing of slow and natural development , beginning , in its present form , with the people themselves ; supported by them , and managed by them , natural in its birth , healthy in its growth , and promising , in its ultimate development , large advantages to the masses of the people . We do not mean that Co-operation , so far as it has gone either in shopkeeping or manufacturing , however successful such concerns may be , should be regarded as final or satisfactory ; but as first steps they are most admirable .
Unadulterated food at prime coBt , adding the cost of distribution is a very great advantage , bo is selfemployment in a Co-operative Workshop ; but the great value of a Co-operative Store does not lie in these , bo much as in the union of numbers which they command , and the machinery which they afford for organising , completely the consumption of tho people , and controlling , by such organised consumption , the labour necessary for employing it . The weekly consumption of the whole of the English people supplies , in a considerable degree , the labour by which the working people subsist , and the larger the control they get over this by the means of co-operative shops , the more completely will they bo enabled to command their own future destiny .
There are means of development in the Cooperative idea , which many of those engaged in the work of Co-operation cannot now see ; but the more they work as Co-operators the more they will comprehend their true duties to the idea they are seeking to promote . In Lancashire and Yorkshire , as well as in Sootland , these shops abound , and most of them have surmounted the difficulties and dangers of their infant efforts . In many of the towns in these localities they are doing very large trades , and have obtained a character for honest dealing , and superior goods , highly creditable to them . Hitherto , however , individual men only , have cooperated with each other in their respective neighbourhoods . It is now full time that the stores and
manufacturing establishments should co-operate . Those engaged in this movement must not continue to call themselves Co-operators , unless they really mean to co-operate , and trade in perfect good faith the one with the other , each aiding the other by advice and custom , in fact by every species of assistance which men should render who are struggling in the same
cause . Co-operation will never be safe so long as it allows its resources to flow into the coffer of competition , Those who have the practical management of it , betray the cause they should promote , when they expend a single shilling outside their own movement that might be spent in it , as in doing so they are putting the sinews of war into the hands of their enemies . Every member of a Co-operative Store
Bhould put every order he needs executing , whatever it may be for—shoes , stockings , shirts , coats , hat ' s , bread , butter , tea , sugar—everything , and all th ngs —into the stove , and compel the managers to execute them , through organised labour if possible , if not possible , then the best way they can . Co-operation to be efficient must be complete , and it never can be complete unless it supplies all the wants of all its members with the produce of organised labour .
In Colonial and Foreign produce , the Central Agency , 76 , Charlotte-street , can do this admirably , and it is to be hoped that no one of the stores neglects so excellent an opportunity as this establishment offers . If it is so , co-operation , so far as these parties are concerned , is a dead letter , and cannot be expected to do much good in their hands . In all movements , whether political or social , the great thing needed is a full comprehension of the work to be done by the people engaged in it . Sham republicans , and blind republicans , have assisted to destroy the Republic in France , and they did it too , with the very instruments given to them for its protection . Universal Suffrage and Vote by Ballot , in their hands , worked as effectually for the establishment of 'despotism as the swords of the Cossacks could have done .
Let us not play this blind and false game in England ; let each man know his work and do it , wisely and faithfully , whether he be Chartist or Co-opera tor , and we doubt not that liberty in its truest forms will take root and grow in our land . We desire to see this , and sb far as we can , to help it , and therefore we [ call upon all who can furnish us with the sober facts of the Co-operative Movement to da so , and we will take care that they shall be used for the benefit of the cause . ;< We shall return to this subject again and again .
Untitled Article
THE RULER BY VOTE AND SABRE . Opponents of Universal Suffrage point with exultation to the vote b y which M . Bonaparte has just been created Dictator in France . They consider that it demonstrates conclusively the incapacity of the masses to distinguish political right from political wrong , and their consequent unfitness to be entrusted with the exercise of political power . Wo confess that if we looked upon that vote as the free and unbiassed approval of the people of France of the acts of a perjured usurper and wholesale murderer , we should feel less sanguine as to the progress of humanity than we now do . But there are
many reasons why this conclusion ought not to be come to . In the first place , it is notorious that the only portions of the Press permitted to exist in France were in the hands of the Government , which dictated exactly what it thought proper to appear , and , it is now confessed , has manufactured falsehoods upon the most astounding scale to suit its purposes . In the next place , the voting , however apparently accompanied by all the accessories for a fair and free exercise of the right , was defective at the very commencement , inasmuch as it left the voter no alternative but a Dictator or no government at all . Besidesthere
, waB the conviction , that even if the requisite majority was not deposited in the ballot boxes , the convenient tools whom M . Bonaparte had thrust iuto office throughout the whole country , would have no hesitation in cooking a majority to make things pleasant . The destruction of the ballot papers immediately after the result was ascertained , was a capital device for preventing any scrutiny in after years , or any detection of the frauds that might be perpetrated by these functionaries . But with all their care and anxiety to please their led
unprincipemployer , they have unconsciously discovered the fact that the votes have been tampered with . The whole population of Franco is about thirty-six millions , and upwarda of eight millions of adult males are said to have voted . Now it is a high average to take one adult in every five of the population , and that would give a total of forty millions instead of thivty-six . The zealous functionaries have overdone it . They have given us too much of a good thing , and it is clear that the return of tho number of votes is ag much to be depended upon as Louis Napoleon ' s oaths .
Making- all allowance , however , for these deductions , there still remains the fact , that a very large proportion of the people did say . ' « ,- to the fid intT ^ h ^ dvi 0 kted his ni 08 t solemn engage , men s to the nation and in the pursuit of a low selfish h ? S ? 5 T - £ e peopIe of Pa » s t 0 be shot down in the streets w-th as little compunction as if they had been game at a Jattuf . ™ Hovr are we to account for that fact ? i « if ^ followin S y hel P a solution :-It ParHn ft « iT * thaU - ° rkin S classes tookn « ZhtZ if at "" P *** - They had nothing to fight for . It was , they saw very clearly , merefv a » A etween the majority o ? the As enS LS
ssiit ^
Untitled Article
was ever ready to hound him on in attacks upon publio liberty , but as invariably united to oppose him whenever he desired to do anything for the ameliora * tion of the owners ; and they had seen too many instances in which this assertion looked like the truth . From the majority , therefore , they had nothing to expect . On the other hand , they saw M . Bonaparte offered them the restoration of the Suffrage , and by his audacious coup d'etat , they found he had swept that portion of their enemies out of the way . The political game became less complicated . Instead of having to deal with many tyrants in future , they would have to reckon only with one . Louis Napoleon could no longer throw the blame upon the majority if he did not satisfy the demands of the people . By the
very mode he had himself selected he became directly and personally responsible for the whole policy of his Government , and if he failed to fulfil either his promises or their expectations , it would be easier to settle accounts with one than many . They got rid of a complicated irresponsible Government , and had in its place a simple , definite , and reepongible ruler . If , after a fair trial , thai ruler abused , instead of using the immense powers placed at his disposal , it was only necessary for the proletarians to have their coup d ' etat and sweep away , by force , a Government based upon force and bloodshed , and perjury—which has no moral claims on the allegiance or the confidence of the country , and which will only be tolerated as long as it is successful .
Reasoning like this , though unsuited to our sober country , where Parliamentary Government and popular agitations take the place of coups d ' etat , would be quite in place in France ; and it appear * to us satisfactorily to solve the otherwise anomalous fact , that such a man—or rather monster—should have been placed in such a position . But the end is not yet . On the contrary , 'his troubles , perils , and difficulties are but beginning .
Untitled Article
THE RICKETTY WHIG MINISTRY ON ITS LAST LEGS . ' Last year the conclave of incapables , who have misgoverned the country since 1846 , broke down soon after the meeting of Parliament , and it was only because there was nobody willing to take their places , that they were allowed to retain office . This year , although we are so near the commencement of the Session , it is doubtful whether they will take their seats on the Treasury Bench . If any number of public men of reasonable standing and abilities can be found to accept Ministerial responsibilities before that time , we shall be happily rid of the greatest caricature of a Government ever seen in this
country . But are there any such persons to be found ? We candidly confess that at present we do not see where they are to come from . The composition of parties remains almost the same as it was last February . The "Whigs are weakened bjfcthe dismissal of Lord Palmerston , but their political rivals are not strengthened . Lord Derby will still have to face the 'impracticable' men of his own party , who will look upon anything short of the restoration of ' Protection ' ag a treason . Thereis still tho same want of men accustomed to the routine of office , and familiar with administrative functions—all the reasons which induced him on two successive occasions to decline the duty of forming a Cabinet , "'exist as strongly as
ever . . y . On the other hand-- ttie overtures made by Lord John , to such practised officials as the' Duke of Newcastle , Sir J ; Graham , Mr . Card well , and others of the Peelite section of the House , are Baid to have experienced a similar reception to that of last year . " They have been rejected , and , had ^ hey been accepted , their accession would not have strengthened the Cabinet in popular estimation , but the contrary . They are excellent chiefs of departments— ' good men of business '—but no one expects any large or liberal policy from them ; and Lord John has shown , that whatever may have been his pretensions in former times , he is becoming more and more reactionary ,
and opposed to popular progress . The course he has pursued has also had the effect of repressing whatever amount of administrative ability might have been found in the ranks of his own party . His Government has been purely a family clique . Out of fifteen Cabinet Ministers nine belong to a family cabal . The three houses of Grey , Bedford , and Howard consider they have a right to monopolise the Government ; and if the secret influencca could be traced , by which the nine ' brothers-in-law' and ' Cousins' have been induced to let in the six , whose relationship does not appear in Debrett ' s Peerage , no doubt the same element would be found predominating .
This system of breeding in and in seems to be as fatal to Cabinet Ministers as it is to men and animals . It produces a stunted , feeble , imbecile race . If the present Ministry were enumerated one by one , and described as they really are in trutbful terms , the nation would be ashamed of having been so long subject to a body of men not fit to rule the affairs of a petty corporation . Wo are certain that not one of the large merchants who sit behind the Chancellor of the Exchequer would give him £ 150 a year in their own counting-houses ; and yet they have been content to Bee him misman iging the national finances ,
and committing , year after year , such arithmetical blunders as would have drawn down smart punishment upon any boy on the third form of a public school . The few members of the Government not affected by congenital stupidity , or intractable capriciousness , are worn out , physically and mentall y . Of some of them it may be literally said , that they can scarcely stand on their legs . Feebleness or wrong-headedness is stamped upon tho Russell Ministry at a crisis in European affairs when energy , combined with farseeing wisdom , are peculiarly and urgently requisite . ^ r ^ out ! i the P ™ Whig party , to that which the of
assumes name 'liberal' and gives the trovernment what is called an ' independent' support , the prospect of finding efficient statesmen is not much improved . There are , no doubt , in the ranks of that party , men of considerable ability , many L , fi Tf- **? f "" 6 0 fUfe ' accustomed to the iZ * ° T eSS ; but their f » culti <* and EK ? ff-T . een sy 8 tematically trained and applied to > public buginess . Instead of applying themselves to the task of organising a party acting up jn one clear and definite principle upon all occasions , and mastering the details of administration so that when
, the time came they might take office with the confidence of the country ; each individual ' liberal' has ridden his own hobby , despised all action in concert ; allowed Whig 3 or any other party to take the initiative m practical business ; and but for an oratorical uisplay now and then , have been made mere political nobodies . The light in which the head of the family clique looks upon them , may be seen by the insolent snubbing he gave to some of them when they asked for an interview on the Bubject of the promised Reform Bill .
Such , then , is the state to which aristocratic and middle class Government has reduced the nation at this momentous juncture . They have repudiated popular Government , and their own has expired from inanition . No violent revolution has thrown the state machine out of gear-no factioua opposition has caused the Ministry to breakdown . It has stopped of itself , and there is no chance of its being set a going again , until it is wound up anew , and fresh springs and motive powers are added to it The onl y immediate practical solution of the dimr 2 ? r * WV ° ^ r latkm of lament and a General Election . Perhaps that might so alter tl-e Comtitution of tho present Parliament S tt ! equipoise of parties , which impose ToHcal staena ion uPon lt , would be succeeded by such ^ ll ^ Z
*« 5 . -i-iS w ^^^ tSJi long" f LordYH ? C ? « ' d - calfto his ^ ti "" ft - -yhody he will
Untitled Article
had been ' t «^ . ja £ ^ & « L » -. "
Untitled Article
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES . T . S . Duncoubb , Esq ., M . P ., President . " FIAT JOSTITU . " " If it were possible for the . working classes , by combining among themselves , to raise , or keep up the general rate of wages , it need hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . "—Sidart Mill . We have been for a loug time aware that amongst a small section of the democratic party a considerable hostility or jealousy existed against Trades ' Unions generally , and the National Association iu particular . We have seen Beveral manifestations of this feeling . We have seen hybrid National
Associations cunningly framed to catch the social , industrial , and political tastes of the day . And we have seen the difficulty which even the promoters h ave found in framing workable institutions amidst the conflict of differing and opposing opinions . And we have Been with regret immense sacrifices of time and talent—we think we may say wasted in elaborating Eutopian—because impracticable socio political cont stitutions—which have died in their birth from want of nourishment ; but we have not seen that any human beings among the working classes of Great Britain have been socially , industrially , or politically , morally , or physically benefitted by these well , intended , but unavailing efforts .
It certainly appears that the great bulk of the working classes of this country are either not demo , cratically inclined , or want faith in the prudence and judgment of the political leaders of the day . We know not how else to account for their apathy .
But although , unfortunately , working men of England will not , or do not , combine for political purposes , they have always evinced a strong and very natural disposition to band themselves together in defence of their industrial rights , and it certainly is not correct to say that these , their efforts , have been uniformly and entirely unsuccessful . It is equally incorrect to say that reductions of wages have not been prevented to a large extent , and in very many instances , by combination , and its usual weapon , strikes . The Iron Trades of England have maintained their wages by a non-political combination . Mr . Ernest Jones attributes this to the absence of
surplus labour . He is mistaken . During the years 1848-9 , they expended upwards of Eighteen Thousand Pounds to protect tkemselves from the competitive action of redundant labour—this they could not have done but by combination . The Building Trades ' have maintained their wages by combination and strikes . The Great Builders' Union of 1834 ,. notwithstanding many serious defects in its constitution , and its consequent dissolution , completely established the power and efficacy of Union , and although existing now only in isolated bodies , they still are so animated with the spirit of Union , that every attempt to encroach upon their wages orjprivl . leges have signally and invariably failed .
The Printers , the" Coopers , the Paper Makers ,. Brush Makers , Cork Cutters , and many other , largeand important bodies , have equally proved by experience the advantage and necessity of combination ; and although they have not yet discovered a perfect substitute for strikes , we believe they never resort ' to them but an a last resource . We cordially admit with Mr . Esnest Jones , the Editor of the ' Times » and otker opponents and enemies of Trades' Unions , of the evils of Strikes , and none could have worked more sedulously to introduce a more ratioual policy to both employers and employed , than the Executive of the National Association .
Our experience has proved that the present impossibility of superseding strikes mainly rests with the employers . ' They will not be dictated to . ' Mr . Perry and his friends would not be dictated to , and the machine masters will not be dictated to , aud however averse tho men in either caso may be to a strike , the masters force it upon them . If the men and masters cannot be brought mutually to concede the abolition of strikes , by submitting their disputes to impartial arbitration , we know of but ono mode by which so desirable a consummation can be effected , and , that is , by a National Federal Combination , where each separate branch of labour will be under the care .
guardianship , and protection of all . Strikes , then , and not till then , will become impossible . But Mr . Ernest Jones is move opposed to the nationalising of labour , thau to isolated unions . He says « That it appears to me much preferable that strikes should be supported on tho voluntary principle , than by anyorganised compulsory subscription—the latter always fails to realise their objects . ' (?) And then heproceeds : — ' That he believes the voluntary support of the same trade aud the same neighbourhood is much more likely to be rendered when the emergency arises , than a sum to bo collected beforehand , for pro spective cases which may or may not arise . Experience proves the truth of this . '
Wo beg respectfully to assure Mr . Jonea that our umtid experience proves exactly the reverse , and is altogether in favour of the small compulsory payment , ranging over a wide field , and collected from a variety of different trades , instoad of tho voluntary subscription of men iu the same trade , and in the ssme neighbourhood , for the following amougst other reasons : — let . Ono penny a week from 12 , 000 men is equally effective aud less burdensome to the donor than oneshilling per week from 1 , 000 . 2 nd . The twelve thousand , consisting of different trades , and located iu different places , are loss within the reach of the counter combination of the capitalists , and entirely unaffected by local parochial aud municip al middle-class influence .
. jra . ine regular and continued payment of the 8 ma 11 compulsory penny is more to bo depended ou than the large voluntary shilling . A strike conducted and supported upon this principle can never fail , if the men aro true and faithful to themselves and each , other , and abstain from acts of illegality . A strike having nothing to depend upon but voluntary aid , seldom succeeds ; the act of voluntary contribution is very fatiguing , and soon tireB the contributor—afact which we thought Mr . Jones had already discovered in the many unavailing efforts to recruit the Uiartist exchequer by voluntary means . In short , if any improvement has taken place within these few years , in the conduct and policy of Trades ' Uni
ons , it has certainly been by an extension of thenbase , by au amalgamation of isolated sections of the same trade into ouo organisation , as is the c ase with the Engineers , Printers , Masons and many others . We therefore advocate au extension of this principle . We think that Mr . Jones ' s opinion upon the genera / question is merely theoretical , which a more intimate practical acquaintance with the subject would have corrected , or materially modified . However desirable it may be that the working classes evince a more lively interest in their political position , we are of opinion they would commit a fatal error , if they permited the political question , upon which there are bo many , and such wide differences , to be mixed up with the wages question , udou whinh the ™ i * t , 00 « i «
an unity of sentiment . " } We are not quite sure , that if the Charter were carried to-morrow that the powtion of Labour would be materiall y changed . We fear that the mere capinS SI * :- ? £ v ° ng tiffle « reatly Preponderate in the Chartist Parliament , as we find to be the case in the United States Congress , where the imprescriptible rights of man are still held subservient to the conventional rights of property . Need wo refer to the protection still awarded to the slave owner ? It is not so much political as social changes we require , and a more extended knowled ge of our social requirements would infallibly lead to the political action necessary to obtain thorn .
If we think the opinion of Mr . Jones , upon the general question of Trades' Unions , is crude and unsatisfactory , his views of the National Association of United Trades is still more lax and opposed to faots . We beg to state , for Mr . Jones ' s information , that the wages of the members of the National Association have not been 'constantly' reduced since their adhesion . On the contrary ( we believe without one exception ) every attempt that has been made to reduce
our members wages below the market price nas been defeated , and generally without the intervention of strikes . In many instances , advances have been obtained and maintained , while the parties remained members of the Association , of which they * ^ f deprived immediately upon their withdrawal . The Wo lverhampton affair which Mr . Ernest Jonec selects as a proof that the National Association haa tailed m its object , ' has established . the very opposite conclusion . If the Messrs . Perry have to this period
£0 Qmrrtwoimexm.
£ 0 Qmrrtwoimexm .
Crates' Jhrtdltgmcfc ...... Mjw_L_^^**^* Mmm ^^^_Tmi^^B_L_^—M—Wmttmfl—"V^I—Mmfflmfl—Fc^^*~Fcfc~*"L ^"* 1 ^"M ''*^ M^~~'^—Rfca» I
Crates' Jhrtdltgmcfc ...... MJW _ l _^^**^* ^^^_ TMi ^^ B _ l _^—M—WMttMfl— "V ^ I—MMfflMfl—fc ^^*~ fcfc ~*" ^ " * ^" ''*^ ^~~ ' ^—rfca » i
*•- -¦ Gratis
*• - - ¦ GRATIS
Untitled Article
a , ; THE NORTHERN , STAR . January 10 , 1 § 52 . * E ' . - ' * L- *¦ . « * . ' - > . '_ ' ' . ' 2 *' ; ? i H& ^_^_^ _¦ a _^ a _^_^_ a- _
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 10, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1660/page/4/
-