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Northern Star (1837-1852), 3rd September 1842, Edition 2 of 5, Page 3, Untitled Article

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    • THE lYOftTHEJlN STAH. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1842.
    • Socal an& <BfeneraI ZrtielXizence.
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      THE CHASTER . The Ch 2 itista when they first began To advocate the rights of man , The factions all like tigera tm To crush our infant Charter . Bat to its rescue thousands flaw , "Whilst bold O'Connor did pursue , Who from the fangs of faction drew The bantling from this murderous crew : Tob nation 'with one mighty voice With gratitude did then ryoiee , And hail'd tnis champion as their choice , To nurse their infant Charter Tae wily WhigB did then adTiae Tieir minion tools to paraliK , By treachery and fiendish spies ,

      The progress of our Charter . This hellish plot they did pursue , When soon fire hundred patriots true Were cast in dungeons by the few , por daring to maintain their due . Although with gold they tried in rain , Yet not one convert could they gain , Sach swore they ever would mniTitnin Their dearest rights , the Ca&rtei The Corn Law Lsague soon did adrance To snow there still was left a chance " That Poland , G-srmany , and France

      Their Corn with us would barter But by restrictions we were bound From trading with the world around , "Whilst thousands of the poor were found To starve from want on British ground . " Thus did they rant to gain applause , Still careful to evade the cause That all our ills were class-made laws And only cure the Charter . The people being wide awake The foxes' " clap trap" would not take , Which made the shopocrats to quake

      Lsst we shou ' . d have the Charter Then every shift they Ciuld invent By treachery , in conclave , spent Tnose canning knaves , being firmly bent Oar glorious progress to prevent . They feign'd at last to sympathiza With those wh » fell a sacrifice—Whose blood for retribntion cries As victims to our Charter . But now Sir Bobby ' s Income Bill

      Will make them peep within their till , And force them out agaiast their will To advocate the Charter . Well may humanity recoil To see the poor who sweat and toil , WhBftt wanton idlers waste and spoil The produce of this fruitful soil . New Movers all then pray beware , Last our hard fate should be your share ; To Freedom's standard now repair ,

      To gain the People ' s Charter . Reformer * , then , of every grade , Who toil at amvil , loom , or spade , No more of phantoms be afraid , Bat join for Tresdom ' t Charter . Tonr ooantry now teem rain estb ; No longer be a willing slave , Bat like a patriot true and brave Chase tyrants to oblivion ' s grave . Then soon will peace and plenty reign , When all their equal rights will gain ; So new assist us to obtain Oar long-lost rights , the Charter . CrEOSGE LlltDSAT Patrieroft , July 13 th , 1842 .

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      CHARTIST LINES , FOR RECITATION . Upon its mother ' s throbbing breast An infant lay , but could not rest 3 It wanted food , and aft its parch'd lips tried The Tniivi « . q teat , by woe and famine dried—Then scream'd with pain . ' Ruth J baby sleep , " The mother cried , " I can but weep . ' Yes , wretched parent , but grief ' s hot skower Will not restore thy timeless drooping flower . The child is dying ; thou thyself must die—Famine by law decrees it Tis sad to see The jftung thing writhe and hear its famish'd cry , And know no help at all can cose from thee . The pelican will shed her blood To give her famish'd nestlings food , And so wouldst thou ! but all in vain ;—It will not sleep , —nor can " gt thou soothe its pain . 11 0 G > d , " she cries , " 0 God cf earth and heaven , Save me aad my sweet babe to day—Perhaps to-morrow Eometaiiu ? may be given , And we may live—Great Gtod , I pray . " She saw no hope ; in wild distress , LLge H * g ?\ T in the wilderness , She laid her gasping infant by—She could not bzai to sss it die ! Then frantic flaw from that sad spot , ¦ But could not rest where it was not . Its look cf pain—its fetble cries Haunt her heart where ' er she flits . Back she return'd ; her faded fljwaf * Smiled as it lay—fr lovely smile ! Her tears fell fast as they could pour ; But death sat on its face the while .

      She caught it up;—oh i load of lead . ' What weight so heavy as the dead ? But more she loved it now than ever , And ciasp'd it close—no more to sever . Yes , mother and child are now as one-Cold as forms of scnlptur'd stone . And where was the husband , that child ' s hapless sire He had left them that morning , his brain was on fire With their cries for relief , their moan * of despair Which he could not ease—he only could share . Twas in vain to beg , toz no one wonld give-He would not steal , then how must be live ? 2 fo work could be had , not a friend had he ;—There is nothing bat hardship for poverty 1 AH he could sell had long been sold ,

      And now they were starving with hunger and cold « Oh God , " he cri&d , " and must I stand by And see my poor wife and infant die , While the rich are roiling in luxury Eobb'd from the wants of such as me ? If I must not work , then what must I do 7 You shall not die—I'll fight for you !" He rush'd from home , rwolVd for food , And his cry as he went was " Bread or blo » d !" He join'd a crowd that was gather'd there , All listed together by wild despair . Hunger , ' tis said , will eat through walls . And miw ^ fr « B cares not for cannon balls . Spite of the swords cf cavalry And the bayonets of infantry ,

      That tewn was sack'd , and , mid flame and blood , The starving poor got plenty of food . Away ran this father and said " I come ! " But when hereach'd once mere his home , What a sight was there . ' transfir'd he stands , And the bread dropt from hifl palsied hands . He stood without motion , no more than they On whoa he g £ ted , as in death they lay . The soldiers came and bound him fast ; He strove not , he Btirr'd not , he stared aghast . Bat " hen they would force him out at the door , He Li-rst his bonds and fell on the floor . " My wife ! my wife ! my child ! " he cried ; His heart had burst , and so he died . J . W

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      OPPRESSION . Shall we for ever lick the dust Or fear the tyrant ' s boding frown , And cringing , pander to the lust Of pamper'd minions of a crown ? Shall we for ever bear the Bcoro Of hearties * wealth and fancied power ? Bequeath to ages yet unborn Our arj&ctness—a galling dower ? Shall we for ever be the spoil Of greedy avarice ? and brood O ' er festering wrongs and thankless toil In r ^ rn and melancholy mood 1 Shall we beheld the festive halls ,

      Where the loud laugh or revelry Echoes along the tinselled walls In mockery of our misery ? Stall we a blind submission pay To stdel'd oppression ' s ruthless reign ? Quiescent sigh ? and meekly pray Of death to end our rant ! ing pain ? Forbid it , God ! the dignity O ! manhood must awaken'd be ; Justice demands , and Liberty Proclaims we must and shall be free ! d . a

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      LEEDS . —National Schoolmasters' Pbovidett fcoaETT . —Un Saturday last , at noon , a general gating , convened by circular , of masters of the ^ Uional Schools in the dio » e «* of York and Ripon , ** s held in the Girls' School Room , High Court-« a « , Leeds , to take into oonsideratiom the propriety © f forming a society to be entitled , " TheNational SchoolaasterV Provident Society ; " th # object of * hich should be to render mutual a&siiUnee to each <* o « . Dr . Hook , Tiear , of Leeds , took the « bair , and expressed his conturrenee in the object ! of the meet-* ng , althottgh he doubted whether a sufficient number cf subscribers could fee obtained to meet all the contemplated objects . The Rev . Mr . Hessay , of Huddersfield , moved the first resolution , and stated " »* the Yicar of Huddersfield would have been Present but for a domestic affliction . The resolution was . "Thai as national schoolmasters , as a body

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      have no resource to fall back upon , neither in age or sickness , it is deBirable that a society for * ° f £ ^ Purposes be immediately formed , under the title of'The National Schoolmasters' Provident Society . " Mr . Bell , of Hudderefield , seconded the resolution , which was carried . The Rev . Mr . Morris moved the Becond resolution , " That a committee be appointed to carry out the object 3 of the first resolution . " Mr . Roberts , of Leeds , . seconded the resolution , which was also adopted . Mr . Bell , of Hudderfield ^ was requested to act as secretary until the society be folljestablished . Mr . Simrns moved , "Titat the committee , with the chairman , be empowered to draw up the rules and regulations of the society , and submit the same to a general meeting

      of the subscribers hereafter to be called by the secretary , and that they apply to his Grace the Archbishop of York , and to the Lord Bishop of Ripon , to become the patrons and presidentsof the society ^ nd to the Archdeacons of the two tiiocesess to become vice-presidents . " Mr . Blanehard seconded the resolution . Mr . Edmondsen moved the fourth resolution : — " That all schoolmasters who are now present , and who approve of the society , do immediately after the meeting signify the same to the Secretary , and become enrolled members ; that all the national schoolmasters in the two diocesses who have not assented to the proposed society be written to and requested to become members thereof ; and that any person wishing to become

      a < oember of the society , whose school is not in union with the National Sooiety , must produce a certificate from the clergyman of his parish , stating that the school is conducted on the principles of the Church of England , and i 3 under his superintendence . '' . Mr . Braithwaite seconded the resolution . Mr . J . Lee moved the next resolution : — " That the head master in each iistrictbetheSecretary ( pro . tern . ) for such district , and that such Secretary be authorised in the name of tie society , to solicit the clergymen in his district to assist and co-opf rate in the view 3 of the society . " Mr . Bisks , of HolmSrth , seconded the resolution . Mr . Eastham

      moved" That at the formation of the society , such masters as have signified their intention to become members , bs called upon to pay their first quarterly subscription , on the 30 ; h of September , or as soon as convenient . " Mr . J . Collingwood , of WMtkirk , seconded the resolution , which like all the others was carried unanimously . The following persons were then appointed a committee , viz —Mr . J . S . Ball , Seed Hil ) , Huddersfield ; Rev . H . Braithwaite , Trinity Church , ditto ; Rev . F . Holroyde , Woodhouse , HudderBfield ; Mr . J . Haywood , Lockwood , and Mr . C . Binks , Holmfirth , with power to add to their number ; and thanks having been voted to the Rev . Chairman , the meeting broke up .

      Stealing Monet . —On Monday last , a woman named Ann Cowbuxn , who Lad been for a few days cook at the Griffin Inn , Boar-lane , Leeds , was brought before Griffith Wright and Anthony Titley , Esqrs ., at the Court House , on a charge of having stolen four sovereigns , two aprons , and other articles , the property of Esther Moorhouse , barmaid at the Grifna . It appeared that the prisoner and prosecutrix slept in the same room , and on Friday night , on retiring to rest , the prosecutrix bad thirteen sovereigns in her purse ; she was awoke during the night by the prisoner feeling about her pillow , but not snspecting anything , did

      not examine her purse , and consequently did not mis 3 any money until Saturday night , when she missed four sovereigns . She charged Cowburn with the theft , who denied it , but on searching her , four sovereigns ( for which she could not satisfactorily account ^) were found in her pocket , and two aprons , also the property of the prosecutrix , were found in her box .. The members of Mrs . Riley ' s family had lost various articles , which were found concealed in different parts of the kitchen , no doubt for the purpose of being taken off . The woman made the usual defence , that the thinga were her own , and after examining all the witnesses , the woman was committed for trial .

      Pi . ro Dbawirg . —On Saturday last , three men , named Edward Chappell , cloth dresser , Hunslet , John Sampson , miner , Birkensbaw , and John Scott , miner , Beeston , were committed to York Castle for trial , by the Lseds Borough Justices ; the former charged with being concerned in "drawing the plug " at Messrs . Tatham ' s , at Holbeck , and the two latier being parties in a similar offence at Royd ' s inilij daring the recent disturbances .

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      LEEDS BREWSTER SESSIONS . The annual Brewstor ^ SessionB were held on Monday morning last at ten o ' clock . There were present the Mayor , ( whopresided ) , JamesHoldforth , E ; q ., Anthony Titley , . Esq ., J . R . Atkinson , J 5 * q ., Rilph Markland , Esq ., Darnton Lnpton , Esq .. Wm . Smith , Esq ., Richard B-amley , E * q ., Gnffit-h Wright , Efq , George Goodman , Esq ., William Cadman , Esq ., James Musgra 7 e , Esq ., and Hamer Stansfeld , Esq . The Mayor addressed a few words to the assembled publicans , and remarked that all persons to whom

      licenses were granted were expected to keep tkeir houses in an orderly manner , not to allow the assembling of disorderly company therein , but to conduct them according to the tenor of their respective licenses . Th . 9 Magistrates had a list of those publicans before them against whom complaints have been preferred during tee past year , and the lic * ns

      The licenses were then proceeded with . The following were withheld for further inquiry : — Mr . Thos . Moss , Queen ' s Arms , Kirkgate ; Mr . Thos . Eshelby , Gilber t's Anas , Wortley ; Mr . Robert Cross , Pack Horse Inn , Briggate ; Mr . Shires , Wellington Hotel , Wellington-street ; Mr . John Witton , Old Parrot Inn , Call-lane ; Mr . John Bairstow , George and Dragon , Marshlane ; Mr . Wm . Swale , Old Red Lion , Holbeck-lane ; Mi . Charles Collister , King ' s Arms , Holbeci ; Mr . Charles Wainwrigut , Aire and Calder , Calllane ; Mr . Joseph Beevers , Drysalters' Arms , Beeston ; Mr . Thomas Banks , Chequers' Inn , Marshall-street , Hslbeck . These licenses will be further considered on Wednesday , the 14 th of September , till which day they are suspended .

      The magistrates then proceeded to hear applications for new licences , when the following were granud : — Thos . Hall , Queen ' s Arms , Sonny Bank-street ; Henry Robinson , Coach and Hones , BusJingthorpe ; John Tate , Aire a : d Calder New Backs , Crown Point ; Ktlita . Thompson , New Inn , Dewsbnry-road , and to Jonathan Alderson , Giptou Wood Iun , Roundhay Road . The two following cases were ordered to stand ove * until the adjourned bre ^ ster sessions : — Matthew Bywater , New Inn , Wilson-street , Meadow Lane ; and BeDjamin Robertshaw , British Qaeen , Greenside , Wortley . The following persons had given legal notice of application , but were refused : —

      John Black , Victoria Bridge Inn , Srhool-street ; Tkos . Thornhill , Waterloo Inn , Buslingthorp ; Wm . Craister , the Queen , Roundhay-road ; James Thompson , Shepherd ' s Inn , Bridge-street ; Joseph Robinson , York-street ; John Riplsy Chandler ' s Arms , Mill Garth ; John Castelow , Commodore Napier , Charles-strest , Top Close ; Qeo . Wiseman , Jolly Sailor , Kirkgate ; John Cummins , Hope and Anchor , Pearson-street , Pottery Field ; Joseph "Webster , New Inn , Hunsle :-lane ; Samuel Clay , Grey Mare , Hunslet ; John William Hirst , White House , Dcwsbury Road-end ; John Critchley , Prince Albert . Foster-street , Huiislet-lane ; John North ,

      British Queen , Grsps-street ; Joseph Cooper , Claremoiit House , Braithwaite ' s Field , Hoibeck ; John Cnadwick , Moulder ' s Arms , Watet-lane , H&lbeck ; John Brooke , Fountain Inn , Armley New Itoad , Holbeck ; G = orge Horgard , Threa Tuns , MarehaV .-3 ' jreet ; John Morton , Globe Ion , Holbeck ; John Nicholson , Barley Corn , New Wertley ; Thomas Cawootf , Golden Lion , Bramley ; Jonas Hanson , Waggon and li ^ r ^ c " , S winnow Moor , Bramley ; Jeremiah Shiers , Brown Cow , Swinnow Moor , Bramlty ; Wm . Verity , Hocgh End , near P ^ rk Spring Wood , Bramley : and John Cooksoa , Qaeen ' s Arms , Chapel Atlerton .

      The further proceedings were then adjourned till Thursday , the 14-h of September .

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      Royal Visit to Scotland . —Her Majesty , Prince Albert , and suite , left Windsor Castle on Monday morning at twenty minutes past five , and arrived at the Paddington terminus at ten minutes to six . From the terminus they started direct for Dspiford , where relays of horses were waiting to cenvey them to Woolwich . It having been generally known for some days past that it was her Majesty ' s intention to embark at seven o ' clock from Woolwich for Leith , great preparations had been made by the steam-boat proprietors for the immense number of passengers who it was supposed would leave London at an early hour for the purpose of witnessing the departure of the Queen from the shores of England . The morning at four o ' clock was calm and baautiful , and gave

      every promise of a fine day . As the day broke , however , the clouds began to gather , and at a quarter before five the rain commenced falling in torrents , and continued in one unintermitted pour until after eight o ' clock . The rain at about half-past six o'clock somewhat abated ; and at Woolwich the sight , notwithstanding the chilling influence of the weather , was exciting in the extreme . The Royal George , with the Royal standard flying at her main , her yards manned , and her officers and men at quarters , formed the most conspicuous object . Close alongside her was the Commissioners yatcht , the WilJiam and Mary , with her yards manned . She was profusely decorated with flags , The Lightning , the Salamander , the Monkey , and several other steam-vessels wero in attendance . Flsgs were seen floating over the dock-yard , the barracks , tho arsenal , and the other public buildings . The shores on

      both side 3 were crowded with spectators . Precisely at seven o ' olock a royal salute , fired from a battery Btationed in the dockyard , answered by another salute from the arsenal , announced tho embarkation of her Majesty . In the course of a few seconds the Royal George got under weigh , and being taken in tow by tha sUam tug Monkey , W . Bryant , proceeded at a rapid rate down the river . The Royal George was preceded by the Lightning steamer , Lieut . G . Snell , which cleared the way for the progress of tho royal fleet , also the Shearwater , Captain Washington , the Fearless ( steamer ) , Captain F . Bullock , and tho Radamanthas , Lieut , T . Laen , brought up the rear . As the royal fleet passed down the river , royal salutes were fired from the barracks and from the arsenal , as well as from the dockyard . The royal squadron was off the Nore at eleven o'clock this morning .

      Tns coal whippebs of London struck work on Wednesday , in order to relieve themselves from a large per centsge which reduces their pay from seven farthings per ton to one penny , and which is exaoted by certain middlemen called " under-undertakers , " at Shadwell ani other places below London ; and to throw off their thraldom to agents who are also publicans , and who oblige tho men whom they employ to consume certain quantities of beer . The DuguN Papers mention three brutal murders . Thomas Long had his brains dashed out near Limerick , on Saturday ; Honeen , wjod-ranger to Mr . Yandelour , was killed by a drunken companion , as they were going to renew a broken temperance pledge , in Clare , on Friday ; and on the 10 th , one Mercer was beaten to death at Glonkean , near Londonderry . No cause was known for either of these m orders .

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      THE WEST-INDIAN CAPITALISTS AND FREE LABOUR . Two important Parliamentary Reports inreforence to Africa and the West Indies , have been laid upon the table of the Hous * of Commons ; and as we deem them of considerable importance , we take the present occasion of inviting public attention to them , as documents in which the labouring ' population of this country are deeply interested . The war of capital against labour is as unequal as it is unjust . The powers possessed by the antagonistic parties are such that the one must , under existing circumstances , yield to the other , and in every state where capital gains the ascendancy over labour , an injury is inflicted upon industry in every part cf the world . Thus it appears that the rampant dominion of the non-producing classes in England , has

      excited the hopes and the cupidity 01 their brethren in the West Indies , who are now straining every nervo to rob the emancipated negro of the fair results of that freedom , so dearly bought for them by the toiling millions of this land , and Bhould thny be allowed to succeed in their infamous and murderous design , we may rest assured that their doing so will , as a natural consequence resulting from tho laws of action and reaction , result in an increase of depredations on the part of the monied classes over the industrious bees of thi 3 island hive . And hence arises the necessity of watching most carefully any emanation from that den of darkness in whioh the demon of class legislation and legalised oppression forge the chains by which honest labour is to be fettered to the earth .

      The first report to which we are desirous of calling the attention of our readers is that of a Select Committee 011 the West-India Colonies ; and was got up for the purpose of examining into the effects of the Emancipatien Act upon the prosperity of the planters . " The questions immediately submitted to the Committee which first reported were , whether Negro Emancipation has or has not entailed certain evils , iD withdrawing large numbers from the labour-market of the West Indies , and bringing the planters , through the

      compulsory payment of lavish wages without securing adequate supplies of labour , to the verge of ruin ; and whether those evils can be repaired by free immigration of negroes from Africa—ojficina genlis . The Committee examined witnesses both for and against the planting interest , from the Colonies of St Vincent , Trinidad , Barbaaoes , British Guiana , Grenada , Antigua , St . Kitt's , and Jamaica . They had no time lost session to make a detailed report , and therefore they sum up their conclusions in the subjoiaed resolutions ; which they introdmse

      thus—• ' In recommending those resolutions and the evidence to the attention of the House , your Committee feel bound to state , in eoEciusion , that they cannot regard the present state of the West-India Colonies , unsatisfactory as it is , with any feeling of despair . They believe that the distress now prevailing in those colonies is very great , and requires immediate attention : they ctnnot indicate any remedy by which they can be san * gvine enough to suppose that such serious distress csuld be speedily removed ; but they have offered suggestions , in the subjoined , resolutions , the effects of which they confidently hope may be ultimately though gradually successful .

      " They believe that if those suggestions are considered and acted upon in a spirit of equal justice to both proprietors and labourers , prosperity may be restored ; and that , under the blessing of Divine Providence , the world may witness the complete success of the great example which this country has afforded . All th " i 3 at first sight may appear reasonable . The Committee would evidently induoa the House and the country to conclude that the inquiry has been gone into without any bias one way or tho

      other ; and we are sufficiently acquainted with human nature to believe that they have in reality persuaded themselves into a belief of that which they are evidently most anxious to impress upon the public mind—their own strict impartiality . Still we must not forget , and the people must not lose sight of the fact , that this Select Committee was composed of men of property , and that the invejtigation was instituted on behalf of the Capitalists and Planters in our West Indian settlements ,

      Bearing this in mind , we request our readers to ' mark , learn , and inwardly digest" most carefully the subjoined resolutions , and we much mistake if they do not find in them another additional motive for continuing and increasing their exertionB , until the Charter is obtained , the enactment of which can alone give just protection to property by securing and upholding the rights of labour . As the resolutions are but 6 hort , yet most important , we give them entire : — " Resclved—That it is the © pinion of this Committee , " 1 . That the great act tf emancipating the slaves in the West Indian Colonies has baen productive , as regards the character and condition of the Negro population , of the most favourable and gratifying resulta

      " 2 . That the improvement in the character of the Negroes in every colony into the state of which this Committee has had time to extend inquiry , is proved by abundant testimony of an increased and increasing desire for religious and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage and to fulfil the duties of domestic life , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased sense of the value of property and independent station . ? ' 3 . That , unhappily , there has occurred , Bimultaneeusly with this amendment in the condition of the Negroes , a very great diminution in the staple piodwjtioD 3 of the West Indies , to snch an exbjnt a » to have eaused serious and in some cases Tuinoua injury to the proprietors of estates in those colonies . " 4 . That while this distress has been felt to-a much leas extent in some of the smaller as . d mor&nogaloua

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      islands , it has been so great in the larger colonies of Jamaica . . British Guiana , and Trinidad , as to have caused m any estates , hitherto prosperous and productive , to be cult ivated for the last two or three years at considerable ; loss , and others to be abaudoned . " 5 . Thi \ t tho principal causes of this diminished production ant t constquent distress are the great difficulty which has b een experienced by the Planters in obtaining steady and continuous labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken and indifferent work wWch tbey are able to procure .

      " 6 . That the dlmiaiahed supply of labour fs caused partly by the fact that some of the former slaves have betaken themselves to other occupations more profitable than field labour ; but the more general cause is , that the labourers are enabled to live in comfort and acquire wealth , without , for the most part , labouring on the estates of the Planters for More than three or four days in a we * k , and from five to seven hours in a day ; bo that they have no sufficient stimulus to perform an adequate amount of work . " 7 . That this Btate of thinga aris e * partly from the high wages which the insufficiency of the supply of labour , and their competition 1 itu each other , naturally compel the Planters to pay ; but it is principally to be attributed to the easy terms upon which the use of land has been obtainable by Negroes .

      " 8 . That many of the former slaves have been enabled to purchase land , and the labourers generally are allowed to occupy provision-grounds subject to no rent , or to a very low one : and in these fertile countries , the land they thus hold as ownera or occupiers not only yields them an ample supply of feod , but in many cases a considerable overplus in money , altogether independent of and in addition to the high money-wages which they receive . 11 9 . That Hie cheapness of land has thus been the main cause <> t the difficulties which have been experienced ; and tbat thia cheapness is the natural result of the excess of fertile land beyond the wants of the existing population .

      " 10 . That in considering the anxious question of what practical remedies are beet calculated to check the increasing depreciation of West Indian property , it therefore appears that much might ba effected by judicious arrangements on the patt of the Planters themselves , for their own general advantage , and by moderate and prudent changes in the system which they have hitherto adopted . " 11 . That one most obvious and desirable mode of endeavouring to compensate for th ' . s diminished supply of labour is to promote the immigration of a fresh labouring population , to such an extent 3 a to create competition for employment .

      " 12 . That for the better attainment of that object , aa well as to seeure the full rights and comforts of the immigrants as freemen , it is desirable that such immigration should be conducted under the authority , inspection a > i& coniroul of responsible public officers . " 13 That it is also a serious question , whether it is not required by a due regard for the just rights and interests of the West Indian Proprietors , and the ultimate welfare of the Negroes themselves , more especially in consideration of the large addition to the labouring population which it is hoped may soon ba effected by immigration , that the laws which regulate Vie relations between employers and labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early arid careful revision by their respective Legislatures . "

      We are sure that our reaJor 3 must see at once that a decided bearing to the fancied interests of the planters is visible throughout the whole of these resolutions . It is admitted that the Emancipation Act has , as far as the condition of the negro population is concerned , been productive of great and manifest advantages . And , in proof of this , tve are told that in every Colony into the state of which inquiry had been made , there was , on the part of the enfranchised blacks an increasing desire for religious and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage , and to fulfil tho duties of domestic life :

      improved morals , rapid advance in civilization , and increased sense of tho value of property , and of independent station . This , to a mind rightly constituted , would bo a source of unmixed satisfaction and delight . But property-men , as a class , whether in the Colonies or at home , have no conception of great and philanthropic principles . Their hearts generally are in their purses , and to look for tho noble feeling * and generous sympathies of humanity among such worshippers of /( old ia an act of the greatest absurdity . The negroes are free , and are becoming moral and religious ; but they demand remuneration for their labour , and this the planters are by no

      means disposed to give . This country gave , to thorn the costly offering of £ 20 , 000 , 000 , to purchase freodom for the slave . They willingly took the gold , and bow they would introduce indirect slavery , as the introduction of it in a direct form is no longer possible . They complain that the labour market is not Buffioient'ly supplied , and this pliant Committee endeavours to persuade the Legislature to sanction the importation of fresh workmen from Africa , in order to bring down the wages of the newly-emancipated bondsmen , and realise a vast profit from a people reduced to starvation , in addition to the blood money so generously paid by the mother country .

      The Committee tells us that "They believe that the distress now prevailing in those Colonies is very great , and requires immediate attention ; " and o f course they directed their best attontion to devising a remedy for such distress . We will examine the proposed remedy in its proper place , but let us now look at the evidences of distress which are glanoed at in the resolutions , and upon which the belief 0 / its prevalence is founded , if such belief existed at all . The first proof of distress which soems to have struck the notice of the Committee is the increasing prosperity of the negro population . The West India Colonies are on the verge of ruin ,

      because the negroes are evincing " an inoreased and an increasing desire for religion and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased sense of the value of property , and independent station . " All this appears to us very questionable evidence of the prevalence of general distress . Let us look at proof second : —The Committee stateB that " unhappily there has occurred a very great dimunition in the staple productions of the West Indies , " which diminution they trace to the great difficulty experienced by the planters ia obtaining steady and continuous

      labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken and indifferent work which they are able to procure . " This looks something like distress , to be sure , but it is only on the part of the planters , who are , even according to the testimony of their own committee , in part at least , to blame for their own mishaps . We agree with the committee in thinking that the planters have themselves to blame for the distressed condition in which they find themselves . But we slightly differ from them as to the particular aots to which blamo is to be attached . According to the resolutions , tho planters are a most generous and ill-used body of

      men . They have let their former slaves have land for little or nothing ! They remunerate tbom bo highly as to injure themselves , and yet the ungrateful wretches will not work , but by their idleness are reducing their tender hearted benefaotors to absolute ruin . Let it be remembered however , that these same idle rascals are rapidly advancing in civilization ; taking upon " them tho obligations of marriage ; and though the most unprincipled villains , only evincing their villainy by conducting themselves like sensible and honest men . The planters may indeed exclaim " Save us from our friends , '' when they receive this extraordinary string of resolutions .

      Then comes tho third evidence of distress , whioh is presented to us in the shape of a complaint that the negroes are too comfortable aud too industrious "Some of the former slaves have betaken themselves to other occupations more profitable than field kbour . " And again , The labourers are enabled to live in comfort , and acquire wealth , without , for the most part , working on the estates of the planters , for three or four days in a week , and from five to seven hours in a day . " We fear the Committee are somewhat inconveniently troubled

      with defects of memory . We recollect that when the emancipationists urged as one plea for the abolition of Blavery , the arduous nature of the labour performed by the blacks , they were told , that the toil endured , except at particular sea = OB 3 , was far less than that to whioh the major . ty of the working classes in England were Bub , * eoted , and that the negroes had ample time to seour .-e their own freedom , if they were disposed to de , so , by extra labour . If their statements are forgotten-by . the colonists , their friends are not so re . ady to forget .

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      From all that appears , the planters are in a most pitiable condition . They have a soil bo fertile that it produces more than abundance witL comparatively little labour ; they are surrounded by a population from whom they have nothing te fear , but who are , on the contrary , forming the best of all the elemeiita of national prosperity—a moral and industrious community ; a community which finds its present condition and future prospects so cheering , that it resorts , to the hymeneal altar , without even the shadow of dread or alarm as to the contingency

      of raising up a surplus population ; and they have received their own price , £ 20 , 000 , 000 of British gold , as a compensation for the supposed loss to which the new order of things might possibly expose them . We ask for what was the £ 20 , 000 , 000 given if this wasrtiot its object ? It was not voted because the right of the planters to acquire property in human flesh was recognised , for that was emphatically cenied by the whole body of abolitionists , both in and out of Parliament . But it was said that capital , to a vast amount , had been embarked in West Indian property , under the sanction of British law , and that the act of emanci

      patios woula entail numerous losses upon West Indian proprietors , unless compensation was granted . And we are ready to admit , that probably no grant ever passed the House of Commons , with so much of popular approval as that which was to purchase the freedom of 800 , 000 of our suffering fellowmen . And now we call upon the advocates of tho negro race to speak out , and to declare that the rascally avarice of the insatiable planters shall not frustrate this mighty effort of British generosity . The planters have had their price , and the newly enfranchised population must be secured in the freedom which this costly offering procured for them .

      We are satisfied that the friends of the negro never intended to redeem him from tho lash , in order to leave him exposed to the Btill more horrid scourge of starvation and ill requited lab&ur . Yet this is the fate to which the tender mercies of the planters would inevitably doom him ; but from this fate ha must , and will be saved , if the people of this country are not prepared to forgo every claim to ba considered either men or Christians .

      But is tho coaditiou of the planters indeed such that their estates will not yield a remunerating profit for the labour bestowed upoH them ! Let aa reason from analogy . The eighth resolution tells us that the late slaves holding land as owners or tenants , find it so productive as not only to yield them an ampla supply of food , but in many cases a con . ? iderable overplus in money . Now , if the provision grounds of a late helot be

      thus profitable to him , is it not fair to infer that the rich planter , with all the advantages of capital , might make his large plantations equally productive . Of course it is , and we must therefore come to the conclusion , that it is not a fair remuneratory ptofit that is sought , but such a command of the labour market , as will enable the rich to trample upon the rights of industry , and to establish slavery in reality , though not in name .

      The great distress , then , which is said to exist in the West Indian colonies , is all on the sido of the planters ; and we must remind our readers , that , when to suit , as it afterwards appeafod , their own purposes , they rejioted the boon held out to them in the apprenticeship clauses of tho Emancipation Act , they not only virtually declared that the Negroes were fully competent to exercise the rights of freenisn , but that a state of labour in which the workman was at liberty to make his own terms with his employer , wa 3 likely to be of more advantage to

      both parlies , than the apprenticeship system proposed by Parliament . The relinquishaient of the apprenticeship system was hailed with delight by the friends of Africa in this country ; but soon the application for , aud the granting of certain orders in Council , authorising tiie importation of foreign labourers into the colonies , tore away tho ma 3 kj and displayed the planters and their Whig supporters at home in their native arid . " most ' disgusting deformity . . Nor must it be forgotten that it wa 3 at that time declared , and the statement was not

      contradicted , that the reason why the blacks refused to work was , that the wages offered by tho planters were inadequate to supply the necessaries and comforts of life . Another fact should also be borne in mind , namely , that , according to the colonial press , such was the non-productive character of slave labour , then enforced by the lash , that many of the estates did not pay the expences of cultivation ; while the same press , especially in reference to Barbadoes and Jamaica , declared that under the influence of free labour the islands were rapidly advancing in prosperity and improvement .

      Leaving these somewhat contradictory statements to be reconciled as best they may , by those whose interest and business it is to reconcile them . We proceed to inquire into the nature aud effects of the remedies pointed out by the committee for this problemmatical state of distress . The first remedy it is thought might be found in "judicious arrangements on the part of the plasters themsolvoSj / or their ouw general advantage , and by moderate and prudent changes in the system which they have hitherto adopted . "

      We are not told ia what these " changes" and "judicious arrangements" are to cdnsist , but we can make a shrewd guess , even without pretending to the spirit of prophecy . The committee tell us" that laud has boen obtained by the blacks on too easy terms . That they caa get a good living , and earn money with but a moderate amount of labour ; thafor field labour the planters pay a rate of wa ^ ea much too high , and that a portion of the coloured population have discovered means of employment which will pay better even than field labour

      and that using the privileges of freec . en , they have betaken themselves to such employaenta as may enable them to acquire property and attain to independent station . The remedy of course for this disastrous state of things would be to advance the price of laud , so as to render it all but non-productive to the occapant , and which of course would be a death blow to their prospects of prosperity . The rate of wages paid

      for field work must also be reduced , and means be devised by which the produce of Negro skill and industry may be rendered unprofitable when brought into the market . All this might to some extent be effectsdby a combination amongst the planters and thia 13 . tho plain English of the suggestion of the committee . The advice contained in tho tenth resolution is really to let tha planters combine to starvo tha Negroes into any terms they please .

      But this experiment might / ail . Many of the b ' acks have became holders of land , aud they can produce more than they consume , and thua have something they can bring into the market ; and this might induce them to assume an independence of character by no means in accordance with th « designs of thoir monopolising employers . Thi 3 contingenoy the Committee have foreseen , and in the eleventh resolution they propose a remedy . They Bay " Tbat one most obvious and desirable moans of endeavouring to compensate for this diminished

      supply of labour is to promoto the immigration of afresh labouring population to such an extent as to create competition for employment . " We request our readers to mark well the words we have printed in italics , and to ponder well this diabolical scheme of the indefatigable planters to destroy snd blast the prospects of their so recently redeemed bondsmen . Observe the Committee , and here , at all events , it ia tho mouth-piece of tho planters , recommends tho immigration of a fresh labouring population , tad ' ' that to such an extent at to create competition for employment .

      Now , bear in mind that the land is so fertile , that with moderate labour it will produce an abundant Bupply for a much larger population than is at present to bo found in the Colonies , and recollect also , that the negroes are taking upon themselves the ciblintions of £ marriage , and aie seeking to fulfil

      Untitled Article

      j the duties of domestio life , the result of which must j be a gradually increasing popalation who wouid bo attached to ., the 8- ? il by that mysterious tia which biads man by a peculiar affection to the land of his birth ; and then say where 13 the necessity of rereplenfohinff the labour market by an immigration of new-comers . The necessity exista nowhere but in the foreign-fcrade mania , whioh seem 3 a 3 ripe ia the West Indies a 3 in England . They wan ; a population so numerous as to create a competition for labour . Or rather they would by indirect means extirpate tfae race of negroes who have been wrested

      from th 9 irmeroile 3 s grasp , and whom they hate with the most deadly malignity , aud at the same time , they would grind down wages to the 8 tar ? ation point by so overstocking the labour market , taat thsy could dictate their own teras whenever it was found convenient to do so . We hare no doubt but that the design is to deapoil the present coloured populatioa of the rights they have acquired in the soil so soon as it can be dona with safety , and to so overwhelm the native artixans by a new labour popula-ion , aa to check the growing propensity for marriage which has done so much in the way of improvement for the negro race . In their resolutions not one word is said about secuting to the emancipated blacks the legitimate fruits of that freedom which this country

      purchased for them . All the care of the commute © is directed to the welfare of the new-comers , " to secure the rights and comforts of the immigrants , " and that of the West Indian proprietor , and for that end they recommend " that the laws which regulate the relations between employers and labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early and careful revision by their respec ' ivo Legislatures . " These Legislatures , be it recollected , are composed of the employers , and in them the labourers have not even the shadow of representation * We think it will not require much skill to discover how far the interests of the working population would be cared for in any revision of lawa conducted by such assemblies . '

      But let us now look for a moment at tho eecosd report , in order that we may discover from what eource this "fresh labouring population" is to ba derived . The Committee on Western Afrioa begin by explaining that their appointment originated in the discovery in 1839 , that foreign slave-ships were permitted to trade for goods at the British settlements on the Gold Coast ; and in Dr . Maddsn ' s report of tha inquiry , which , on that discovery , he was deputed to make . Their Report relates to the several subjects of the British settlements , the state of the slave-trade , emigration from Africa to the West Indies . . ' : .

      On tho subject of emigration some calculations , though not very precise , are made respecting the > population whose emigrants might b ^ drawn to tha Gold Coaat , among tho Kroomcn , at tho Gambia , and at Sierra Leone ; coming to tho general -conclusion , that if emigration were permitted , the materials for it would probably prove to bo considerable . And then they proceed to tr . quira , whether it would be a desirable change for these

      various classes to be in the West Indies rather than , in Africa . As data the Committee quote , at considerable length , from cfScial documents—the despatches of Sir Charles Metcalfe and tho report 3 of Magistrates—respecting the temporal , tho moral , and religious advantages to bo enjoyed by the black ia the three principal colonies , Jamaica , Br . ' thh , Guiana , and Trinidad , ranged under the several heads of those colonies .

      We beg to call special atteahqn to the following extracts from this report : — " Now , after looking at sucb . a picture , dra ^ n fro m the moat unsuspected sources , iva cannot doubt thai , whether for the homeless Negro just rescued from tha hold of a slave-ship , or for the ignorant and uncivilized African who comes dovn to our settlements to pick up a ama . ll pittance by the hardest labour and to return with it to his barbr . rouj home , it would hd of the highest advantage , it would be the greate 3 i bl > jssi :: g to make such ari exchange . " '

      " To suca as thua leave their homes , a free passage back at tbe end of a certain period , say tnrea or four years , might ba promised , with full permission to them to return at any time at their own expmse . To tae homeless African , newly liberated , the option shsuld ba given of settling at once in tbe Woat Indies if ha please , with permission to return hereafter aS his own coat , or of removing from Sierra Laone , or of remaining in it on the first adjudication if he undsrtake for hi 3 own maintenance , or cau find friends or relations who will undertake it for him . " We havo not space at present for farther extracts , but from these it Is clear that the new labourers vrbo arc to

      compete with the coloured population of the West Indiea for the benefit of tbe avaricious and cruel planters are to be drawn from their native homes is Africa by promises which will bo falsified , ajci by hopes which never can be realised in their foreign home . Thia diabolical design must ba prevented , British patriotism and philantrophy must rush to the rescue , and the friends of the negro must resolve that their so anxiously-planted tree of liberty ' shall not be blasted just when its fruits are ready to appear .

      Let the object sought be ever kept in mind . That object is , TO SENDER THE ESTATES OF THE PLANTERS PRODUCTIVE OF ISIMENSE WEALTH , AT THE EXPENC 3 of labour and industry . It is not a labouring population , moral , industrious , comfortable , and prosperous ; that is wanted . Such a population exists , and is increasing . But it is a population ia whioh more hands shall be found than can obtain a profitable return for their labour , and who must in conseqnence become aotually slaves , bound hand and foot , to the chariot wheels of capital .

      The Committee hope that a large addition to the labouring population will be effecied by emigration . What wpiild- D 8 tha result ? First , a demand for provision ' grouncb to such an extent as would appear to justify ' the .. planters in demanding a ruinous advance of rent ; next the superseding the pre . 'enfc race of field labourers , who are considerably advanced in civilisation , and have acquired a . tasta for a superior style of living to that of their less civilised fellows , by men but a few degrees removed from the savage Btate , and who are in consequence capable of working at a much less rate . of remuneration than what is demanded and felt to be necessary by those with whom they are brought into competition . Third , the

      desire to contract marriages will receive a check , and the religions and moral feeling 3 , now beginning to develops themselves , will , as a consequence , retrograde . Then , from tho spirit of competition , and the consequent continued diminution of wagss , the immigrants themselves must suffer , and their progress in civilisation be materially retarded ; until , at length , a maddened and starving population , seeing themselves robbed of all the benefits which they justly expected from the Act of Emancipation ^ will make common cause with the betrayed and deluded immigrants from Africa , and rising in the unconcontrolled . fury of determined resolution , will drive the guilty authors of their misery into that gulph of irremediable ruin whioh their insane folly has provided for themselves .

      Now we ask will the poople allow all this mischief to be inflicted loth upon the Colonies , Africa , and the mother country t If so , then all tho wrongs inflicted by tha monster capital upon labour , will be , in appearance at least , sanctioned by the popular voice , and man will become in truth merely the machine made use of for the fabrication of wealth , and for subserving the purposes of avarice and ambition . We call upon the Rood and wise of all ola ? se 3

      and of all creeds to unite in the prevention or this monstrous iniquity , and to declare , in a manner not to be mistaken , that the great act of Negro Emancipation shall hare fair play until it beoomes productive of its legitimate results . And wo say especially to the workin g classes , let nothing turn yon from your righteous purpose to achieve that freedom , and those politoal rights , which by securing the equality of all before the law can alone give adequate protection to labour , eithor in tho Colonies or at Home .

      Sortrg.

      Sortrg .

      The Lyoftthejln Stah. Saturday, September 3, 1842.

      THE lYOftTHEJlN STAH . SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 3 , 1842 .

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      Ferjiext amoxg ihb Bishops . —We understand that the eeriou 3 illness of the Archbishop of Canterbury has occasioned an extraordinary ferment among the Bishops , all of jvhom are as busy as a certain notorious personage is said to be in a high wind . . Exeter has laid aside his intention of paying a second visit at the public expense—to the Scilly Islands , and is preparing , instead , a pamphlet , whose object is to prove that the present Government is the best of all possible Governments , and Sir R . Peel the best of all possible Premiers ; while Londos , equally on the alert , has been seen frequently , within the last few days , flitting uneasily to aud fro between Whitehall-gardens and Downing street . The Episcopal Bench has sot been so active as it is now since the death of the last Archbishop . The news of the Pope ' s landing at Dover with a cargo ef faggots would not occasion half such aa excitement among them .

      Dseadfci , Death fbom swallowing Vitriolic Acid . —On Friday , one of the mechanics employed in the moulding department of Woolwich dockyard , died in the Marine Hospital , in consequence of the extensive internal injuries he received by swallowing a large quantity of vitriolic acid . Th-s deceased , it appears , was at work in the workshops of the moulding department , and , becoming thirstv , he took up a mug containing that cestructive liquid , conceiving it to be spring water , and took a draught , which burnt his moutfi and throat in a dreadful manner , He was conveyed to the hospital , where every attention was paid , but , after lingering for nearly forty-eight hours , he expired , having suffered the greatest agonies . It appears the acid is an article frequently required in tbe work . The deceased , whose name was Edward Nicholson , was a * yotm £ man only twenty-five years of age , and ha . 4 but recently been married .

      Socal An& &Lt;Bfenerai Zrtielxizence.

      Socal an& < BfeneraI ZrtielXizence .

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      . THE NORTHER N STAB . ___^ 3

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 3, 1842, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct446/page/3/