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Before the conflict commences there is generally fc little in the work of preparation worth recording . i see and know bat little of the dull details upon i arrangement of which the future depends . Foes are very much like a drama—those who are ore the curtain gaze at a blank till it is lifted , but > se behind it know that before that happens the J work has been almost concluded . Unable , then , we are , to penetrate into the recesses of state seits , where plots are hatched and intrigues planned ; at out , too , to a great extent , from the conferences partiei where Parliamentary campaignsare marked
t—we , are fain to lay hold of the little incidents lieh appear upon the surface , in order to form a jgment of the course events are likel y to take . - First of all , we mark—and this is a notable fact , irthy of special remark—that the Free Traders are ginning to be afraid . This is no tague idea of our n—no chimera floating in our own imaginationst a Yeritable fact stated in plain words by one of the ) stable , philosophic , and uncompromising of the poical Economists . No lees a personage than Colonel iompson , in fact , is our authority . At a aner , given at Leeds on Monday last his honour , the gallant gentleman with a hesitation
most pitiable—with an evident inclination to let i dare not , wait upon I would' let out the secret . e said that he wished to hold his peace , and that he so wished to speak the truth , and the unpalatable nth was , that they must pray to be saved from a ssolution of Parliament . That they must support e ^ Vhig Ministry , which was inclined to stand by e people , and endeavour , as they best might , to stave F the immediate future , for , if a dissolution came eedily , it was his conviction that they would be aten . That is the position to ' which the Great : ee Trade party has come . After triumphing over e aristocracy , and carrying all before them—after
trenching themselves behind the bulwarks of the v , they fear that they will not be able to hold iirown . We think that opinion of Colonel Thomas ' s is not far from a correct one . Whatever may the merits of Free . Trade , however philosophical y be its theory , and beneficial its practice , it has ; n enunciated so coldly and unsympathisingly , that supporters have failed to take hold of the affections the masses . There is , socially speaking , almost as le a gulf between the Labourers and their
nployers as between those whose only property it sir toil , and those who possess the soil of the coun-. There is no fellow-feeling—no real agreementtrue amalgamation of intereits—between those o buy and sell , and those who produce . They have ed their splendid opportunities so badly , that , pro * bly , the advent of the Manchester party to power aid be the herald of as much popular discontent as ; return to office of the ultra-Tories under the ¦ emierehip of the Earl of Derby . It is the sense that which makes Colonel Thompson eo anxious
preserve the stain quo—to keep things as they are long as possible , and , till some turn takes place in e current of opinion , or , perhaps , we should say of sling , to prevent a dissolution from converting a Dry Minority into a legislative majority . All that , irtling as it is to those who thought the re-poseeg-> n of power by the aristocratic classes the wildest visions , we can fully understand ; but what olonel Thompson means by his exhortation to the eople to stand by a Government which is not ready » stand by them , we cannot comprehend . We ate terly at a loss to know when the Whigg ave ever stood by the people with
anying like sincerity and effect : —when they kve been anything but an aristocratic clique when they have ever forwarded anything ider than class interests : —when they have ever ins heartily to work in the cause of real liberty ? We collect when Colonel Thompson thought very fferentl y of these same Whiga . When ha would are given them a very different character than that f being prepared to stand by the people ; but now , i Colonel Thompson says . — 'These aro times , * ich times as , perhaps , men will never see again ; id , with the ship of Free Trade adrift on the sea
political economy—he is glad of even the draggingichor of Whiggiim , to keep the vessel from driving ton the shoals of Protection . What Mr . Cobdes links of the matter we have not had the opportunity knowing ; it is impossible that he does not seethe nger ; but he has been ominously silent , and poasiy his absence from the Reform platform of late may ean that he is furbishing up his ' unadorned elolence in defence of his past efforts and then-results . It is not absolutely beyond the bounds of possi-Ity that Colonel Thompson knows more of the inntions of the Whigs than we do . Lord Johs ussell may have let him into the secret of the
mrag new Reform Bill , and that may be sufficiently > eral to enlist his support and prompt his ex&ortapn . With regard to that we are completely in the irk ; but there plainly enough stands the fact that e Whigs are tottering—the Manchester men afraid the people alienated—Free Trade in danger , and le Tories bearing down npon place and power . Thus loomily opens the political year—gloomily , indeed , ben the Whigs are pointed to as the props of iberty . These Whigs , whose newly made Foreign ecretary not many days since introduced an nbassador to her Majesty as the representative of ie Prince Pkesidext of France—a title which was
uly recorded in the official gazette . If Pbixce Pbeidext , why not Kejg President or Empekob Phebesx ? There is no more inconsistency in the one lan the other ; but which ever be the chosen title , it a bad presage of the willingness of the Whigs to and by the people and their liberties . Still it is rident that ' the Whigs must do something , must proound a reform of some Mud or other ; and the nature : tha'Seasure they propose will be a tolerably irrect index of their strength . If they feel capable holding their ground , we shall have the old story "er again of the mountain in labour producing a ouse . We shall hear great principles enunciated ,
> be followed up by the smallest and the pettiest of Beds . But if they see that their fall is inevitable , and lat they must appeal to the country , they will be kely to rouse great expectations , and promise great meliorations , if it be only to render office untenable y their successors . Added to the difficulties which lower over England , e must not omit to notice that the Irish difficulty is ssuming the gravest aspects . It is not that there is nore distress there , for it would be difficult when nisery reaches its worst to aggravate it ' . It is not hat pauperism is increasing , for famine , pestilence , nd emigration have eo thinned the ranks oi the
leasantry , that the workhouses are more thinly enanted , and labour is growing in demand . Neither & it that the Priests are more rampant than usual , or more absolutely sway the minds of their devotees , for intolerance and superstition seem long ago to have reached their climax , But it is that a mo ral leprosy seems spreading over the national character . The wild justice of revenge has entered into the Irish learfc . No longer indigenous to the South and West , it is overrunning and tainting the hitherto comparatively peaceful and prosperous North , and everywhere be same hideous circumstances present themselves . [ t is not merely that murderers , by design , lurk in ditches by the roadside to shoot down their unsuspecting victims . Bad as that is , that reveals only
half the enormity of the crime—discloses only a portion of the degradation of Irishmen . But theBe offences , against the law of Man and God , are planned by organised societies , who draw lots for the office of executioner , and endeavour to sanctify the deed by desecrating the forms of religion . Murder is growing into a faitii . with those European Thogs who preach . 'the holy text of pike and gun ; ' and so deeply have their savage doctrines sunk into the mindB of the people , that those who hear the shot , and see their fellow man fall , passively abet the murderers by aiding then * escape , refusing assistance , and withholding information from the authorities . What can be done with a population of murderers we know not . We cannot indicate the laws which will
meet the exigency of the case . The law of the people is the blunderbuss , and then : court of justice the ¦* y side dyke . We may go on sending among them talented and venerable chief justices to try and condemn—we may garrison the country with soldiera—* ° way keep the hands of the hangman busy , and ™ 6 read y noose ever dangling from the scaffold , but beyond the stretch of the policeman ' s arm there is no 8 ecQ rit y for lifeor property . The social evils and the ZQ oral and mental degradation upon which the appetite for blood rests , are to deep to be touched by mere *** of repression . Political / economyis powerless wnen its arguments are answered by a ehargeof
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slugs . Ccapital runs away from the fated land where safety is unknown . And till some statesman , such as has not yet appeared , rises among us , and , with wisdom and firmness , lays bare the social corruption which is devouring the national heart , and applies the cautery , Ireland will continue but a conquered pro * vince , whose only law is force—red murder will spread over the land , and one of the faireBt iBles of the earth will remain what it is—the abode of poverty , misery , suffering , crime , and barbarism .
For the reBt—we may say shortly , that the Engineers' strike still continues , and will be found treated of in detail in another column . That the world is waiting in expectation for the outburst of the volcano which iB smouldering in France , and which , it is possible , will set Europe on fire . And that the panic on the subject of National Defences is gaining ground . More forts are to be erected—more batteries mounted—more soldiers enlisted—more ships put into
commission—more screw steamers built , and , perkaps , the population , or a portion of them , will be armed , We say jjerftops , for the authorities evi . dently Bhrink from putting weapons into the hands of those who are barred from political rights . And , unless some scheme can be devised , by which rifle clubs can be kept well in hand , and a guarantee furnished that the volunteers shall threaten no one but a foreign enemy , the arming and training of the people will be the very last , resource .
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[ As the columns under this head are open forth * free expression of all opinions , the Editor is not responsible for , or committed to , any . ] MASTER ENGINEERS' STRIKE . 10 THE EDITOR OF THE KOETHERN STAB . Dub Sib , —As your articles and remarks on this unfortunate strike appear to me generally impartial , I am induced to address these lines to you . Tbe object of the Engineers is , undoubtedly , to adopt what they conceive the most efficacious means to keep up their rate of wages , and the aim of the Masters is to maintain the power to reduce their earnings whenever they have an opportunity . And why desire to rednce the price of labour ? One of the greatest curses that can come upon any country is a low rate of wages for labour ; inasmnoh as it reduces the great mass of the population to poverty , pauperism , misery , and crime ; and , therefore , these individuals and classes , if there be such among us , who are systematically endeavouring to radnce the wages of labour , are the greatest enemies to their country , and will , in the end / bring ruin
upon themselves . Low wageB have rained Ireland , and driven one-third of its population to seek a better home in America . There the poor labourers , who were starving on 4 d . and 6 d . a day in their native land , are now earning 3 s . or 4 s . per day , living in the midst of plenty , and saving , and sending here , hundreds of thousands of pounds to carry over their poor relations . Two hundred thousand of this population were shipped from Liverpool alone last year . Are we improving the condition of Ireland by thus diminishing its population ? If we were sending away the sick , the infirm , the halt , the blind , the paupers , beggars , loafers , placemen , pensioners , and other non-productive classes , you might hope for improvement . But those who go are principally the young , the strong , tbe energetic , the enterprising , farmers , mechanics , labourers , shopkeepers , and for the most part those who have more or less of capital . Each emigrant thip , therefore , leaves Ireland poorer and more helpless than it was hefore .
And what an immense amount of misery has been pro * dnced by low wages , as developed by the " Morning Chronicle" and " Times" Commissioners , iu every part of England and Scotland . And why have these unfortunate individuals been brought into this sad condition ? It was because they had not the wisdom , or had not the means of combining together to protect their wages . And if the Engineers , and some few other trades , by combination , have hitherto been able to maintain a tolerably fair rate of remuneration for their labour , will it be for the benefit of their masters , or the public , to reduce their wages to the level of the starving unskilled labourer ? Are the wages now obtained by Engineers and Smiths , from 20 s . to 36 s . per week , more than is necessary to enable them to support their families and educate their children properly ? Would any one of their masters who have closed their manufactories against them , like to be compelled to bring vp their own families on a leas sum than the highest wages they have been paying .
What is the necessary consequence of low wageB for lal ) our ! By depriving the great mass of the people of the power to consume , and use the articles they make , it ruins the home trade , which is much larger , and of far more importance than all our commerce with other countries . If a man can earn no more than from Is . to 2 s . per day , it is all spent for coarse food , fire , and rent in a garret or cellar . He has nothing to spend with the tailor , shoemaker , mercer ironmonger , or cabinet-maker ; and the poor Irishman earning Qd . per day can never le better than healwayshasbeen—apauperor a beggar . And of what use will be our railroads , if we deprive the labouring classes of the power and means of travelling ? The second and third railway dividends , and much of this comes from the best
circumstanced workmen . Give workmen generally better wages , and they will travel still more , for they generally spend their wages as freely as they earn them , —almost every workman travels ( by railway or steam-boat ) in America in summer , because tkey get good wages , and can afford it . Wonderful pains are taken to teach the working classes Political Economy . They are told that trades' unions , and strikes , and combinations of every kind , are perfectly inefficacious and useless , inasmuch as labour , like every other article , will nuturally rise and fail in proportion to the abundance or scarcity of it in the market . The engineers know that fact ; they have known it for many years ; and their object is to guard themselves against its evils . They wish to maintain a fair price for their labour , and , as the price depends upon the abundance or scarcity of their
labour in the market as compared with the demand , they either try to diminish the quantity of labour on sale in the market , or to increase the demand for their labour . Many masters are working overtime—working fourteen , sixteen , or eighteen hours per day , which is more labour than any man ought to do , or can do without injury to his constitution ; and this is done whilst there are thousands of men without work ; and the consequence is , that these are compelled to undersell their fellow workmen , in order to dispose of their labour at all . The Engineers say , "We will not act this suicidal part any longer , merely for the sake of a present trifling advantage to ourselves , as we know that it must end , from the law of supply and demand , in a permanent reduction in the wages of all . £ i future , we will none of vs work longer titan from six tiU six , taking off two hours for meals ; and if our masters cannot execute their orders with their present bands , they must employ a
larger number , and thus relieve the glut of labour and keep tip its price . " " But , " Bay the masters , " we ' wish to reduce wages , that we might be able to reduce the price of our articles ; and thus we shall increase our sales and the demand for your labour ; for it is another principle in political economy , that , in proportion to their cheapness , von increase the demand for your useful productions . " The Engineers , and others of the working classes , say , " We know this , also , as well as you do ; and therefore xve are desirous that you should introduce every improvement in machinery , in chemistry , in science , and in the modes of working , ' to enable you to reduce the price of our articles ; but we cannot live in comfort on less wages than xve are now receiving ; and we will therefore use every means we possess to prevent any reduction whatever . These are some of the reasons why we will not systematically work overtime . " And in this , I say , thev are perfectly right .
Then , as to piecework , Engineers , I apprehend , would have no objection to it , if the prices giwn would enable the workmen to earn a fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work , and they had per fe ct f reedom in making the bargain ; but they have great and just objections to masters , without consulting them , making a bargain with a foreman or fellow workman to do a piece of work at such prices as will not enable this middle-man to give fair wages , and then giving him power to compel them to work for him for reduced wages , or be expelled from their situations ; and filling their places with unskilled hands-and this middleman sometimes beeping a public-house , where he pays their wages , or such portions of it as is not expended in his filthy articles . These are a few of the abuses of piecework , there are others which we need not here enumerate . The necessary consequences of such a system must be deterioration Of morals , reduction of wages , increase of working
hours , and the enslavement and degradation of all . Bat these and others that mi ght be mentioned are abuses in the piecework system which might be remedied ; and we must not condemn the use of a thing merely from the abuse of it . I believe that piecework , under proper regulations ; , will greatly promote the interest and comfort of both the masters and the men ; it will encourage the sober , steady , intelligent and expert workman , and be a means of reforming the drunken , idle , and worthless fellows , ( who I am sorry to say are found in considerable numbers in every large workshop , —a disgrace to the Asso . ciation when members , amTa pest to their employers . These men . working by . the day , will not do a fair day ' s work for their money , nor will they do that which they perform in a workman-like manner , unless they are watched continually . ) 3 ? ow ; the Amalgamated Trades must be aware , that almost every thing that u ' doneia Engineering ,
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by contract , at fixed prices , according to specification , both as to materials and workmanshi p . The mag . ter knows the quantity and prices of his materials , Jut he cannot safely give in his estimate unless his workmen will aito limit the charge they will make for their labour ; and thatis the principle of piecework . I know an engineering firm that were in the habit of acting in the following way with their men : —An advertisement appears in the papers that a llailroad Company wants ; say 500 sets of wheels and axles or 500 luggage waggons , a bridge , a railway shed , or other articles , and drawings and specifications { were received they sent for some of their principal workmen , and laid the case before them— " Men , you are aware we are getting short of work ; you see this advertisement , and these plans and specifications ; this job , if we get it , will find you emfor
ployment some months , we are , therefore , very desirous of getting it if we oan ; but , as there will be great competition , we shall be obliged to cut as fine as we can «« to materials and our own profits ; but we have no wish that you should work at such prices as will not enable you to get a fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work ; but wt must know what your labovrmll coslut , or we cannot with any safety make such an offer as is UMy to bt accepted ; go and consult with your fellow workmen , and then let us know what yon are willing to do the work for , in ? strict accordance with , the speDifioation . " And that firm frequently found that by treating their men in this way ' : they got tbe work contracted for by their men very much lower than they had been paying for day work ,, and the men still earned larger wages iu the same time than they did before , whilst at the same time the work went on more regularly arid steadily and cheerfully , almost without superintendence , than they would get it done by constant watching before
. The reason was became Mere were no sliniers and tdlert . The men watched one another . ;< a £ til , therefore , there was no need for their employers to watch thorn . By this mode the interest of employers and workmen were felt to be the same , and the men were as anxious that their employers should obtain , a contract when it was offered as they were themselves , and felt as much , or more , regret if they lost it . If the Amalgamated Trades begin business for themselves , it appears to me that they must act upon similar principles if they expect to succeed . Men wanting to lay out large sum will contract for the work to be done , Firstly , for the purpose of getting it done as cheap as they can ; and seoondly , ( and more important still for Engineers as well as themselves ) to know whether they have money enough to pay for what they are going to order . And if masters must work to contract , men must work piecework . I therefore think ( with the best feelings towards the Amalgamated Society ) that they must compromise in some way their resolutions to do away with piecework . '
In the preceding observations I have given you my opinion on the two points , the only ones really at issue between the Amalgamated Trades and their employers—viz Overtime and Piecework . But Lord Craoworth has drawn in a third question , and which he affirms is the principal one—tho employment in engineering shops of persons not regularly brought up to the trade , or , as . they are termed by the men , illegal hands ; and thus , whilst Lord Cranworth professes to decline giving a judgment in the case , arguing on false assumptions , he proceeds to give a moat unfair aud one-sided opinion against the workmen . But suppose the question had been as Judge Cranworth states it , and the engineers had determined not to work with men who had not been regularly apprenticed to their business . What is there so intriguously unjust in this ?
Does not Lord Cranworth belong to the Trades' Union of lawyers ? And will the members of that union allow any raan to praotice as a lawyer or councillor , or to sit on the bench , unless he has been regularly trained to it ? Then there is the Trades' Union of medical men , when none are allowed to practice till they have gone through a regular training . There is tho Trades' Union of clergymen also , when none are allowed to practice unless regularly trained and duly appointed ; and even Dissenting ministers require to be trained or registered before they oan legally address the people ; and no man is allowed to act aa a soldier unless he be legally enlisted , that he might be drilled snd exercised , in order to qualify for the profession . And will any one say that it does not require as good a school education to begin with , and afterwards many years of praotical
experience in the various kinds of work that have to be done in his shop , before he can become a properl y qualified working engineer , millwright , or machine maker 1 Surely , when we consider that the constant employment and daily bread , and the safety and tho lives of so many thousand * of men , women and children , depend upon the proper construction , and correct fitting up of these machines and engines , it must be allowed to be of as much importance to society that they should be skilful workmen who construct and make them , as that men should be good lawyers , doctors , priests , or soldiers . But it is said "It is not necessary to have skilled workmen to attend various machines in an engineering establishment— an unskilled labourer can do it just as well . " Iu reply to this wo ask , " Would not your apprentices do the same , and in order to learn their business properly , should they not at first be put to simple and easy wovk of this kind , and be
successively removed , during their apprenticeship , as they improved in strength and experience , from one machine and employment : to another , so that by tho time they were free they might thoroughly understand their business « " This is the sensible" plan adopted in the United States , and English workmen that emigrate there , and oan only strike , or forge , or file , or attend a lathe , or plaining machine , ara laughed at and despised by tbo native Americans , who aro mostly neat engineers , and not the ninth part only of engineers , like most English workmen . The division and subdivision of labour is all very viell in its way , but it is carried out to an absurdity where men are found who know how to do nothing but put a head upon , or a point to a pin . The Amalgamated Trades have declared , that it ; is not their wish or intention to require the discharge of the unskilled labourers , who have hitherto been employed in tendine machines , in their workshops , but I apprehend that common prudence will lead them to prevent , as far as they can
tne lurtner increase ol such hands , whilst their own experienced fellow-workmen aro vainly seeking employment But why are the masters so determined to employ an unlimited number of unskilled labourers . Undoubtedly it is for the purpose of reducing the wages of this part of the labour immediately ; and thus , by overstocking the trade with hands they know that as soon as a Black time comes they shall be enabled to reduce the wages of the skilled labourer as they think proper ; and we all know that in * proportion as the labourer ' s or mechanic ' s wages are deduced , the less power has ho to resist further ™ rfnnt . inri « -
till at last his condition becomes the same as that which the last number of the " Manchester Examiner , " ( a great advocate of the masters ) says , in the present state of a large number of the ( free , not combined ) labourers of that city tho effect of low wages . The writer in that paper says :-We mentioned that , in this locality , 'fustian cutters' are a somewhat numerous class of persons ; and'to gave a short aeoonnt of the general appearance of their rooms and garrets of the r worlts aud remuneration , of their poverty and nretehadnesR Tint we likewise find fa , ; tho district , operatives and laiour ers fo lowing almost every > ind of employment , with not a few others whos . means of livelihood are gained by the various oneumt . i , ™ Z
grancy The general condition of the people , however , is remark , able only for the whence , degradation , and immoral ity which it displays . The homes , generally , are old and decaying tenements which are divided into a number of rooms , each of which toffi bitedby a separate family . Kjs not unusual to see at lea threi beds in one small apartment , and to learn that they are occmiPd by adult persons of different sexes , having no reffinshi p to each other , and no means of separation or privacy . It isimDossib ' e tUat any feelings of modest , or delicacy can < 4 t in such Km stances . A balf-raw and indigestible moss of inferior articles of food is commonly the . reault of their attempts at cookerv If the natural relishor appetite be not gratified iS oneiSfuislikey to demand indulgence in another . Besides , the heariness and fla tulence proceeding from unsuitable diet , h . We * tendency to exd ? e a craving for intoxicating liquor . J luCA " These are the effects of free labour , which has broueht these poor creatures into an infinitely worse physical condition than any black slave I ever saw in the Southern States of America , ( and I have been in most of those States ;] i in racial ! tu . ^ there are WelMed * JJ most iv uiu
tne p » , wcn-vucu , anu look more fle ^ hv and healthy than their masters . There a heal ™* loxSl maJ with a wife and five children , will sell for 3 , ooo dollars or £ 600 ; but here we see they are not worth their meat and lodging . There must be something-rotten , therefore , in the State , for the labour of those slaves enable their owners—in growing corn , cotton , rice and sugar—to wellfeed and clothe them , and repay them the money they have given for them . And is this a time , I would ask , to set rich against poor , masters against servants , and servants against masters ? With England and Ireland full of wretched objects like those above described , the country in a comparatively defenceless state , and surrounded with vast armies of well-diBciplined soldiers who envv our
wealth and bate our tree institutions ? In case of j n vasion , what have the poor creatures above described ( and there are millions of such in England and Ireland ) rob worth fighting for ? They cannot bo worse off under any form of government . It is time this senseless dispute was put an end to . I believe the workmen would listen to any reasonable overture , and as it is the masters who have turned out against the men , and not the men against the masters , it appears to be their dutj ? to meet , at least half way , to effect a settlement , that we mi ght all be united and proceed at once to place our country in that state of defence that we could safely defy the world in arms against us . I am , respectfully , Dear Sir , yours , Liverpool , Jan . 15 . j 0 Hs Finch .
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¦ . A CALL TO MINERS . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHKIW STAR . :. ' . Sir , —So doubt many of your readers , like myself , have beheld with concern the mighty struggle between Capital and , Labour . The master-class , through . " competition " with each other in the market , areobljged to have a certain portion of woijk done , as cheap as possible , an order to gell aa cheap as their neighbours , or , in other words , to use all the economy ( waiters ' , economy ) , as they call itj both in re" I
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ference to the raw . materials and the working up of the flame . In order to do this , and get "fat" ( rich ) they are obliged to make ' use of such laws or stratagems as will enable them always to keep the latter party ( Labtur ) very " lean , " or -poor and slavish . And , in order to have their slaves "fast bound , " they have always be& Hocunning enough to haTe a sufficient quantity of Lab $ fi $ [ ands on play from each respective trade , for the jWmow 'tit any time they may think fit ) of shooting into f ^ Iwrvation fold " those who shall attempt to offer any resistance-to their god ( oppression ) . If it should so happen that tkose masters should have a larger amount of work ; or orders to fulfil in a given time , than they have labour handB to perform it rather than call in a few surplus labourers , they will have recourse to overtime , or double working of one portion of . a given trade , and force their parishes to maintain the minor or surplus portion of the same 4 t « de : whilst
if they had an equal portion of Labour doled ^ dt . { 6 each individual , there would be six days work eacb . ; a ^ mployed and unemployed . Whilst I behold , wilh ~ pleasu ^! pnany trades struggling for their lawful rights , I have alsS-ndiiced a most useful branch of English industry—the Coal Miners —remain inactive , whose dangerous occupation calls for some strenuous efforts being made on their part | as much as any oppressed trade in this country . Thei * number is large—their wants many—their oppression great—and yet their produce is the most useful , and they aro the lasttp make any effort to redeem' themselves or awert their rights . Now , if the coal miners of England were bombihed with tho Engineers ' aooiety , what power could withstand suoh acombmed force ? ... Trusting those brave men will take the hint , and beoome a wmg of the noble army of Labour ' s sons who are now so nobly cpnteading for their rights , ^^^•^^ S ^' Tte ^
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¦ CO-PPERATION . - TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —Several letters which have reoently been addressed to mo on the question of Co-operation , induce me to solicit a corner of the " Star , " for a few remarks thereon . One of my correspondents asks , " Do you think it desirable that the Chartists should oppose the formation of Cooperative Stores ? " I do not think it desirable that any man , whether he is or is not a Chartist , should oppose working men in any endeavours whioh their knowledge and abilit may warrant them in making , with a view to the acquisition of property to be owned by themselves . I know
towns in whioh Co-operatives Stores have been established for more than twenty years—conduoted by working men , and conduoted successfully . I have also known instances of their failure : showing that they , like all other trading speculations , are subject to risks , losses , and mismanagement . The weight of my experience is on the side of success . I do not say to any Chartist , "Accept of my dictum as your rule of action . " But I apeak by the book when I aver , that many of the oldest , staunohest , and , as I think , the wisest of the old Radicals and Chartists , have been decided friends of co-operative movements . The west of Scotland , and the north of England , contain many standing proofs of the truth of my statement .
Another of my correspondent 9 asks , "Doyounotthinkthat partial movements , benefifcting only a few , are injurious , by preventing that few from joining the great body of the people in their demands for political power ? " I have no confidence in the logic of misery . Men who demand political power because they feel the gnawings of hunger , ask for what they do not want . Such men want bread ; and their remedy is to be found through an industrial poor law based upon the principle of the 43 rd Elizabeth—namely , that the right of the labourer to food , olothing , and lodging , is as sacred as the right of the landowner to rent , or to tbe land from which he derives it , In periods of extreme oommeroial distress—such as aro sadly too common-itfrequently follows that the moat active and most generally known of such working men as to take a part in politics , in the simplicity of their intentions , and the eagerness of their desire for political change , address vast assemblages of starving men , who , in their anger and maddened enthusiasm , hasten their accepted leaders into
danger . And I say , with sorrow as frequently leave tnem to pay the penalty of their ill-guided but generous endeavours to improve the condition of their fellow men by allowing them to Btarve in gaols , and their wives and little ones to suffer much misery , and sometimes to seek for shelter in a union workhouse . When the clamour , noise and anger of starvation are expressed in a demand for political power , the phrase political power is always convertible into another—bread and work . Hitherto mercantile panics have been injurious to the Chartist party ; they have strengthened , a weak government , and weakened its opponents . Ireland has been long steeped to the lips in wretchedness ; and while I write , the living are fleeini ? from the dead , the dying , and the land of tbeir fathers . Misery has not given " Ireland to the Irish . ' I repeat , I have no faith in the logic of misery , and would rather see any section of the great army of labourers lifted up than cast down ; and therefore answer iny correspondent that I do not think tnat " partial movemonts , benofitting only a few , are injurious , &o . "
My friends further ask : " Do you think that Co-operative movements alone can lift the working men out of the mire ? " The working men havo been so long and so deeply in the mire , that to " lift" them out of it is no easy matter . I am very far from thinking that " Co-operative movements" alone can , to any very great extent , prove practically and continuously effioacious . The regulation of industry has long been with me a favourite theory , which I much wish to see reduced to practice . Still I am in no way opposed to Co-operative movements so far as they are practical ; and I have seen , with a satisfaction that I can ill express in words , the generous efforts of many gentlemen of intelligence , and some of fortune , in favour of an extensive Co-operative and Associative Organisation in England . I observe also , with pleasure , a growing tendency among literary men , and thinkers of all parties , to investigate some of tho root questions of political economy , suoh as labour , capital , and property , —a knowledge of fr ' true nature and usos of tho last named alone would intrO '
duco a new era in industrial organisation . It was said of old : " The gods must yield to necessity . " Tbe modern one eyed political economists , who only see aa far as their own ledgers and the pitiable maxim of " Buy cheap and sell dear" will allow them , will soon be as cognizant ef that saying as were the ancient 3 . It will bo as certainly written in the Gazette as it is in the pages of the Heathen mythology . I do not think that an improved system of poor laws , the regulation of industry , a more extensive and better diffused knowledge of men and things , looked at separately , would materially and suddenl y elevate the conditions of the working classes . But I am of opinion that their united influence would be decidedly beneficial ; and I do not see how the partial success of any one of them can be prejudicial to the success of the others . Industrial , social , moral , educational , and political advancements , as I apprehend and understand them , are not opposing influences , but on the contrary , are parts of the same whole , —a wisely developed humanity reflected in a truthful , and , therofore , a harmonious civilisation . 1 am , your obedient servant , Norwood , Surrey , Jan . 28 , 1852 . Samukl M . Ktdd .
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ATTACKS ON THE " STAR . " TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR , Sir , —Perceiving that Mr . Ernest Jones is endeavouring to induce the Chartist body to subscribe money to set up a newspaper , the proprietorship of which is to be vested in him , I wish to enlighten those whom he thus addresses in respect to a few points of law . Ih the first pLace , Mr . Jones , by applying to tho Insolvent Court , has invested all he possosses , or nviy possess , until his debts are paid , in the hands of the Offioial Assignee of that court , and all his future property , of whatsoever kind , is ever liable to be seized upon by that Official Assignee until the full liquidation of his debts shall enable him to take his schedule off tbe file . Therefore , suppose this nn nL rt « ST o t d thhit » as the proprietor , he will have ? . ° - - - r ±° $ , »??¦? «? *• T ^ fi . , but can be dulv cited to them all into
pay the hands of « ta o& l ^ ee of the Insolvent Court . But further still , the newspIP itself could be seized and sold by the Official Assignee towards payment ^ of the debts recorded in Mr . Jones ' s schedule . For the law is clear enough upon thepoint ,-tbat a discharge ander the Insolvent Act is very different in its effect from a certificate in Bankruptcy , the former leaving the insolvent still liable for his debts , the latter quashing those debts altogether . But Mr . Jones is not oven yet diaoharged , and it is a most unheard-of thing for a man in an utter state of insolvency , to attempt * * * to establish a property for himself with other people ' s money . Indeed , until the judgment of the court is pronounced , every-& 1 * - b 0 Ve the va ! ue of necessaries for £ 20 he is bound to give up at once to tlie court . He oan possess no property while in this position . As aBarrister-at-Law he ought certainl y to be acquainted with these facts . But there is another point not a legal one , that I wish to bring under your notioe About a year ago , he and another gentleman ( much mnra wm-th
than htraseif ) issued a prospectus for getting up a newspaper . Money was subscribed to the amount of about £ 40 This money , the expenses for printing being deducted , has lately been divided , or else ia proposed to be divided , between Mr . Jones and the gentleman referred to Of this I do not complain ; the transaction is . fair and honourable enough m respect to all parties concerned . But can it any longer be considered ; fair and honourable on Mr . Jones s part to issue another prospectus for more money fora similar object ? Does , it not look very much like an attempt to raise . the wind for his own personal benefit and advantage ? Does he not look forward to another failure £° i , w ? h ? l 1 T 5 raoUnt ' that whatever may
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Sm T TI 1 E EWI 0 R oP THB NORTHERS STAR . fipnnn-T * reokless manner in which you aro assailed on vooanv ! 5 L . T "Mo ; improved , and highly intelligent add " ty It li % ha People ' s Cause , makes it the imperative reason l * L • cnn distinguish between bombasfc and efforts Thft ' y their determination to support your whidh ' i ' htve -liTl effectual method of doing so is that - ¦ onK ^ u ^^ opted ^ Bamolyi to become a budlas ? sinfi ? S ^ ' £° ^ o of E ^ ones , delivered 'Northern kr '' l \ eo P d e ° P ) e ; , In ^ t » % n | ain 9 V the , ihat diaoourse-it A ? exaou { f ? «> e character of expeot from . him . tly 8 uch a one aa yon would Manchester , Jan . 28 th , 1852 A CflARrm > laKeLJ ^ ^ peaM ^^^ eond Ed % pf / f AMALGAMATED SOCIETY OE ENGINEERBi-TnJ Last night _ a meeting , composed exolusivfii * « r i » u
connected with the shops which are cl ej-in th 0 E «? London-district , took place at the Phoenix Tavern Ti ' to receive the report , of a deputation appSd &T previous evening tolconfpr with -the : e ^ hm £ sna the Amalgamated Society , upon the . position-which th « ¦¦ labourers were to : occupy with regard to means of 4 tU port during tho continuance of the strike . Mr . AldridJk occupied the chair . , Mr . Mastors , one of the de putation above referred to , stated ; that , in company with his coadjutors , ho had waiteebbponth ' e exeoutiye Council ' that morning , to oomplninVofowhat they thought a grievance viz ., the difference between-the- sums ; , allowed for lasf > eok * ° tnelaoourers andithe ' n ^ n-society men . A good deal Jia d been said upon the occasion '; but he was sorry to say the deputation had met with but little success . The only arrangement whioh could be made ' was this : the Council said that they claimed for the society men exclusively , . the whole amount which might be raisea . 7 the contributions of a day ' s wages per weak
» j- w i ? moml > ers , and wifch regard to subscriptions w j" £ h might come from other organised bodies , suoh as the W » m& ^ ,. fi ^ , the : Councilintended to apply toat * m » w&it * tI ^! i B ^^ SifA « ^ Abonr 81 f " l lnM * P WoWe subscript - unnrl , ni A i ? m the g ^ eral public , including those from cH SSpVT ° ?> \ r > which the Executive Coua-« m ? W ^ ould be theirs exclusively . At the same &fite % ? £ !!? wi 8 hed ,. them t 0 W * » comraittee to -Mr Evan , /« y f ? rt t 0 . their own idea 8 of J Ui »« ce . 7 p « L i ? * " . of t deputation ) said he thought they were hard y treated fairlv by the Amalgamated Society nl '
UPDorY than ? . * ° ,, m f ° [ " - me ^ 8 eCUVC ™™ KL a n p - ubllc subscriptions . They were in a fnd S the ? ° Unci h , ad treated the de P utati ° " courteously , » . JT / ' i perhaps ' * htin their arguments , and he recommended reliance upon the Council as the best course to be ™ - , T resolution of reliance upon the Council was , after S-fr ?" UDanimo ^ l y adopted , and a committee ap-K * d O te a rmina UnCtiOn ** ^ ^ ' ^ * ^ ni ^ , . 1 " f f- ' " ^? Manohester ^ p lovers have issued a o router , stating that the members of their association are at liberty ^ to employ labourers and apprentices in dean-& $ T ^ F ? & 0 - > the rul ° ( Passed a * the meeting which decided upon tho closing of workshops from the lOtt ?«™ H i ??'? re 1 uirin £ that the engine should be stopped , and that no productive labour be carried on " A deputation has also been sent to the Central Association in
. London to conter with that body upon the propriety of reopening the workshops generally to the non-society men and unskilled labourers , giving also the option of resuming work to . members of the Amal gamated Society on condition that they renounce dictation of forei gn interference leaving all questions in dispute to bo decided between the workmen of each establishment and their employers . Tho workmen are actively engaged in raising public subscriptions for non-soeiety and unskilled men ; and the sooiety of Fine Spinners have voted £ 40 , and the House Joiners £ 25 , towards their relief .
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Gakotte Robbery is Losbos . —Yesterday morning , about one o clock , Mr . Huckle , of No . 24 , Gral ' ton-street , FiUroysquare , was returning home through the above-named square at a slow pace , having a roll of music in one hand and an umbrella in the other , when , near the corner of Charlotte-street , he was suddenly pounced upon by three men , two of whom having secured his arms and drawn his head back by means of gripping his throat , prevented his giving any alarm by placing something over his mouth , w t tlU V ^ ! ' d . nroceeded to rifle his pocuets . Fortunately Mr . Hucklo only had 5 s . Od ., which they took , as also tho silver spectacles he wore ; but on looking at tho roll of paper , and finding it music , one of them exclaimed " Let the old buffer keep that and his umbrolla . " They then started off . It was some time before Mr . Huckle recovered from the violence to which he had been subjected , when he
finding was very near home ho made the best of his way thither . Mr . Iluokle describes all three to have been dressed in the garb of stablemen . Loss of Life by a Naptha Lamp . —Yesterday Mr . Wakley , M . P ., held an inquest upon the body of Archibald Calder , thirty-four , who ) o « his Hfe on Wednesday last in consequence of injuries received by the acciden'al ignition and explosion of a Holliday lamp , at his resign e in Wardour-street , on Friday night , the 16 tli inst . The particulars of the accident have already been given , and evidence of the same was repeated at the inquest . As at the Highgate inquest , which originated in similar circumstances , the degree in which the accident was referable to the construction of the lamp , or the want of suitable caution in its use , was left in uncertainty , it was thercforo considered better to adjourn the inquest to alloir time for further evidence on these points . .
. .. WinTEciurEL . —At the members' meeting on Sunday eveniag , at the Ship Inn , High-street , a discussion took place relative to the position of the Executive . Mr . Copper reported that lio hud written to Messrs Wheeler a ' ndLe Blond , informing them of their nomination to the vacancies in that body , but that ho had been unable to communicate with the Secrotary of that body , owing to having mislaid his address . A letter was read from Mr . * Shaw , who was detained from the meeting by serious illness . Mr . J . G . Stratton addressed the audience at great length , and considerable local business wbb transacted
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Yesterday the monthly report of the Amalgamated Sooiety , for January , was printed for private circulation among the members of the Executive Council . Having been provided with a oopy , we extract from it the following address upon the sub ject of the strike , as likely to be interesting at this moment : — " Fellow Members , —This report contains the number of members that were out of employment at the commencement of the present month ( given subsequently ) , and therefore those who were discharged on the 10 th of January are not included in tho list . According to tho returns already received we conclude that the whole number of members now out of employment is short of 2 , 500 . This certainly is a loss number than we anticipate , and , if the 9 , 411 remaining in work subscribe cheerfully one day ' s wages per week , our members may receive the necessary benefit without a large reduction of the society ' s funds . We are aware Jiow anxiousl y the reduction of the funds of the society is looked for by our opponents , and our object is to disappoint them in the supposition that our funds
were to be wasted in one month ' s struggle . The old system iB exploded ; strikes have taught working men a lesson , and that money which has been previous ] v wasted is about to bo used to give industrious men profitable employment . To do this , the members who ' are in work are requested to subscribe one day ' s wages per week . This will be sufficient for present purposes ; for of course immediate support is necessary for those men who have now been out of work for a week . There never was a moment which called so earnestly for tho support of men interested in the success of labour ' s struggle . All eyes aro directed to us , and upon the issue of this contest dopends the future condition of our trade . If tho employers are successful in their object of crushing our association , tho condition of our trade
must inevitably deteriorate , and its tendency will be downward to the state of the lowest paid labourer . All those who are interested in our success , then , —those who value their trade—who depend upon it as a me . uu- oi support for themselves and families—who look fonr . n-d to the time when portions of their own families may six-cceu thorn in their callings—whether they be men out of emptfe / meni or men working—all are dependent on the > ue « : sst \ ji issue of this contest , and all should come forward to support the position oocupied b y the Amalgamated SocWv . j \ Kcvwwas a movement of working men oharacteris&d by such moderation , never was one based on greater acts of justice , and , therofore , tho support of the trade must be equal to the emergency in which it is placed .
" Tho subscriptions already received are very good , considering the short time there has been to organise committees to receive subscriptions ; and another week will considerably augment the sum already received . In order that this may be done properly , an account of all subscriptions which are received on Saturday evening must be forwarded to the general office , so as to be received on Monday morning , in order that the money may be equitably distributed over the various districts where men are unemployed . Ifc is not necessary that the money itself should be sent so speedily , but on account of it , and by this means tho workmen may be paid in each district on Tuesday morning . Tho number of members who are out in consequence of this dispute , and the number of non-society men and labourers ; must also be Bent each week . Tho Council . beg to impress upon every secretary tho necessity of attending with great punctuality to this arrangement .
" Returns have already been received from 100 branches relative to the voting of £ 10 , 000 for co-operative workshops . We are happy to inform the members generally that ninetenths of the votes are in favour of the resolution of the Executive . Those branches not having sent in their votes are requested to do so ; for , the time being fixed and the question being urgent , steps must be promptly taken to carry out the system of self-employment . "Thenumber of members last month was 11 , 752 ; this month there are 11 , 011 ; being an increase of 15 !) members" By order of the Council , " Joseph Musio , President . " William Allan , General Secretary . "
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' / t-LjU ^ / I should not trouble you , Mr . Editor , with these remarks ,, particularly a ? , until , very lately , I ^ have been a warm-supporter and admirer of Mr .-Jones , but I really cannot allow his present proceeding to pass unnoticed , and " without explaining the legal difficulties of his posit&ffip '• Tru 8 tinK , thoroforo , to your kindness for the ihs ^ tion of this letter , . I remain , Sir , : . . . " . - iV :. ; , , j . . Your Obedient Servant , " ¦/ ¦ ••_ ! A Law Clerk and Stau » nch CnAmia * , - St . PanoraB , January ' 27 th . .
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*¦ - ¦ ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ; . . , . , . ; : .. . /^ - # AND NATIONAL TRAJfilJOUMAT ,. "'
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must be done Mjy . SQ . 743 . MBKftttTI ^^ JMIim ml ^ - - . - . ^ . JS ^ £ —^ ~~
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 31, 1852, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1663/page/1/
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