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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st December 1844, Edition 2 of 4, Page 6, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      "" THE " GaiSBfiKS >"' PHII . OSOPHT " jREFTJTEDLABOUB PLEADING ITS OWS CArSE . THE EMPLOTEB A 2 fD EMPLOYED . A TTMTT . TfR DIALOGUE . PART Uifr . SsutV and Jfr . Joc <* GiuH *?««>« Ota Bohin and Richard Jackson is a private room in the " ~ Stran pcrls Some " public house . Mr . Smith . — -Well , Jackson , too see 1 am not unmindful of my appointment , f am glad to see you ; how is Robin to-day f - . Robin . —Thankye , ihankye , Maister Smith , I be's a jogging on for ninety years come Martinmas . I have nothing to complain of , on health account ,

      ihankGod . . QuilL— -WellBobin , and how do do ? Robin , — Ay , dear life , Haister Jacob Quill , I am not so strong as "when I and thy father used to go to Sunday school four score years sin ' , long enough before thou wert born or thought of . QmlL—Hem , hem . Rohm , Pm told that you and our . good Mend Jackson here , and some other of the town-folk , hare taken it into your heads to think that machinery is a Terv injurious •* V" -ng to the woikiBgclasses . Robin .-rE'cod then , Maister QuID , that ' s a notion I hare had this many a year . QuiH . —WeE now , Robin , my time is precions but always anxious to confer any service in my power on

      the "working classes , I have consented , at the request of Mr . Smith , to forego the most pressing and important engagements for the purpose of destroying this hobgoblin that you hare got in your head about machinery ; and as I know that all " the Young chaps loot to your opinions on the subject , X think it a duty that I owe to you , to myself , to society at large , and especially to raj misguided townsmen , to convey to them , through you , my notions on this allunportant subject , at any sacrifice to myself . So now , Robin , let us begin . . Robin . —Well , Mr . Quill , that ' s just what I want . Ton may be sure though , that though my time is not

      asTaluable as thine , ninety years isn ' t fond of long winded speeches . So go onVwe be ' s here to hear what thou hast to say in favour of thy client . Smith . —Nay , nay , Robin , you are Mr . Quill ' s client . ^ He his come here to plead your cause . Robin . —E'eod , I thank him . Lawyers don ' t often nlead for poor folk for aowt . So I'll hear what Maisfet Q , \ aH has to say for me . Smith . —Well , come * shan ' t we hare a drop of something to cheer us before we begin ? "What will you have , Mr . Quill ? Mr . - QuilL—WeB , a glass of brandv and water" eold without . " Smith . —Robin , what will you take ? Robin . —TO have nowt , thankye , Mr . Smith .

      Quifl , —0 , come , Robin , I hear you ' re fond of a glass of ale . Robin . —Aye , I could take my glass after a days , work when I could "brew it myself ; but I have no fancy for thai there staff they iroth with " fettlinsr . " It always gives me the gripes " . Smith , —Well , Jackson , what will you have ? Jaeison . —Thankye , sir , Pm a teetotaller . QuilL—0 , damn your teetotaUsm—that ' s another of the crotchets that you working men have got into your heads . Robin . —Now , then , Maister QuiH , as they say in the law courts , "just open thv case . "

      \ Jn 2 L— "Well now , Robin , what I say is this : — ThoHgh I am not as old a "man as you , I can well re collect the state of society in ' theVillage of Devil ' s Dust before the introduction of machinery ; and every "man who has had eyes to see , and brains to understand the rapid progress " that this village has made , even within the last fifteen years , when Providence put it into the head of Mr . Smith to settle amongst us , must , if he is a candid man , admit that we have progresed rapidly in wealth and civilization * ; and you , as the father of a family , must have partaken , to a considerable extent , of the general advantage . For instance ; things that were wholly out of your reach -wien yon -were a -working man , are "now articles in

      common use -with the -trorkinir classes generaUv . The produce of machinery , from the facility of producing so much more goods than could be produced by manual labour , has so increased the supply of that description of produce as to compel the masters who vest their capital in those descriptions of fabrics , actually to be obliged , as it were , to invite the purchaser to take them at any price . And then , again , see the extent to which this much-reviled machinery gives employment to the whole family . of the workinc daises . - Surely , Robin , you remember the time , —for I am Wnnger than" , and I remember the time myself—whan all these new streetsbehindMr . Smith ' s , and Ifr . Twist's , and Mr . Cobb ' s , and Mr . Grab ' s ,

      « id Mr . Screw ' s , and Mr . Bait ' s , and Mr . Thimble's , and Mr . Bigg's , were all open fields , 'and children used to be there of eight , nine , ten , eleven , aye , and twelve years of age , idling their time at plav at cricket , and iarap , and marbles , and ball , and hop-Jstep-and ^ ump and running , and leap ; frog , and doin ? all sorts of mBchief from morning till night : now ~ all those , even tO'dkb / verv youngest , are employed in ¦ fire ttiTRs , instead tjf ^ fwssing their time in idleness and viciousness , anaWckedness , that brings them to file gallows at last . - . Robin . —E ' eod , stop ; not so fast , maister . We hadn ' t a lawyer in those days nearer than York , twentythree miles from Devil ' s Dust ; so folk wasn ' t very wicked : now we have twenty-seven in Devil's Dust alone .

      QoilL—WeB , weH , Robin , that has nothing to < io "with it ; if yon h&Ye twenty-seven in Devil's Dust they spend their money there . Robin . —2 vay , they 3 pend other folks ' s . "We could manage to do without them . QniH—Well come , Robin , we won't dispute that point ; but to return to machinery . Had you a Town-iaD slxtv years ago f Had you a Mechanics ' institute ? Had you three banks ? Had you a railway coming up to your very door to convey your produce to all parts of the world ? Had you such hospitals , infirmaries , and cemeteries as vou can boast of now i Had you such a refuge as stands on yonder hill , the "Union workhouse , phere the unemployed may live at ease , -aye , and in luxury too—I say in luxury , notwithstanding all the foul-mouthed " denunciation of demagogues ? TTas not the occupant of every £ 10 house a vote ? and is not that within the reach of

      every man of good character and common industry { Have tou not shops -with fronts fine enough to dazzle the passenger , especially when lit up at night ? Don't they look like fairy palaces ? Have you not now fourteen churches built by all denominations of Christians , instead of the one miserable little parish church that stands prominently conspicuous as a memento of our former poverty , when compared "with the splendour of-those grand edifices which mark the progress of civilisation ? Have tou not all these thingsand are they not one and all the result ; ofmachinery ? Then again , see the amount of capital that it zSnnnaDy circulates among the working classes . See the mnnber of foreigners that frequent this formerly almost -anknown , out-of-the-way village ; and think , Hist after besto-wing all this grandeur and these improvements at home , it enables us to export the surplus to all the countries of the world ; and further , that if our mad rulers would untrammel it of those

      restrictive laws which limit -its produce , and thereby necessarily limits the employment of the wocking classes , it would be an unalloyed , unmixed , and undeniable— -aye , I repeat it , wn&eniablt source of profit to all classes of the community , and to the . working classes in particular . Those restrictive laws , Robin , once removed , would open ererr pore of industry ; -would create an amount . of competition among the masters , tlpt would lead to the employment of thousands and tens of thousands of unemployed-lands that are now competitors against their own class , or obliged to be supported on the industry of those at work ; and thus could we make the whole population one united , happy family , all units in the social circle , instead of , as now , setting labourer against master and master against labourer . Robin , ¦ wha t was England before the introduction of

      machinery , and -what is she now ? iSot to draw our conclusion from this one isolated spot , let os east a glance at the great national improvements that have taken place . See , then , the great improvement in navigation , whereby you apply the steam , engine , — the mainspring , wmay call it , of machinery , —to the transmission of the produce of British industry to the Temotest part of the habitable globe . See the substi tution of gas for tallow ; and the printing machine for the old dull system of printing by hand . Seethe stupendous railways , anTnhilflti-n g both " time and space" —passing , as it were , through the bowels of the earth , levelling mountains , and flying with an as-, tonnuing exactitude over a mere . Hoe , as it were , running between two terrible precipices , conveying a moving-village by this mainspring , as I before called it;—this movingpower of machinery—the triumphant steam engine , that never tire * .

      Robin . —Bas't done , or nearly done , Maister QnjH }? fox , e ' cod , thou ' st spun such a long yarn that I can scarce keep the tale in my old head . QuDL—Done , Robin I 5 o ; it is a theme upon which I conld expatiate for hours , days , weeks , aye months , together . What ma-n of common feeling can Teflecfc on this national boon without feeling a meritorious desire to explain to those who are too dull to comprehend its advantages ? and surety a sensible man like you , Robin—the verymind and organ of the workme classes ( 1 sav it without flattery )—cannot be

      indifferent to the vast advantages that machinery has conferred upon the working classes . At all events , yw , and several other different trades , such as Carpenters , Buildere , Ironmongers , Potters , Cutlers , Cabinet-makers , and so forth , can have nothing to complain of , as it hasn ' t interfered with your labour : And yet , strange to say , those very parties are most ¦ vehement declaimers against -the ' present system , and loudly complain of their present poverty . Robin . — -Well now , Mr . Quill , when so many folks . complain , as they say , " there ' s never Bmoke without fire ? ' so there can't be so much complaint without

      cause . Smith . WeD , but stop , Robin : don't interrupt Mr . Qofll : he hasn't finished ; and 1 am sure if vou came here to learn , you must be equally delighted as myself—and I think I may say as our friend Jackson appears to be—with the hicid , clear , candid , and 1

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      will add unanswerable , exposition of our friend . I thought that you came to hear , and to be convinced ; and surely it would be a waste of your time and mine to attempt to urge anything against the philosophical and philanthropic reasoning ol our friend . Robin . —Maister Smith , Maister Quill knows that if one side had all the talk , there would be but little call for judges or juries ; and , as I am an old man , I have got in my head now as much as I can think on for a bit . So , with your leave , I'll just have a word . Quill . —Well , come , let us hear what Robin haB to

      say . Smith . —WelL . if you wish it , with all my heart . I merely interposed for Robin ' s own benefit , and for the benefit of his class . 2 * ow , go on , Kobin ; but be brief , for its twenty minutes after eleven now , and I have ordered my carriage to be at the door at one . Robin . —Well , Maister Quill , 1 se'ed a blind man manv a vear sin' a taking notes , as they call it , of what follis said , by knotting a piece of string , and I bare tied down what thou hast said on this here ; and , e ' cod thou seestils full . Kow I'll begin where thon began ; and all thou ' st done Maister Quill , is just to show me all the changes that have taken place sin' machinery was introdueed ; and thou hast put them all down to machinery . Why , Maister Quill , I reads a bit of history now and then , and I reads of the time whenthe poor was "serfs ; " and I

      read of the revolutions ; and I read of the kind of houses that folks and kings lived in , and of our rude and uncivilised manners and customs ; and 1 have lived to see what the historians call the improvements in the arts and sciences , and in living , and in civilisatioR , and these going on year after year , before the world ever thought of the steam engine . I se'ed them , and noticed them , aye , and felt them myseli too , Maister Quill ; but now thou would put down all the improvements that have taken place within the last fifty years , and twenty-nine of them in peace too , to machinery . Kow , Maister QuDl , -what ^ 1 say is this : In them there old times , when folks lelt that they were born with fingers to do summut for one and another , we hadn't so many classes ; and whenever any improvement took place , aye , even at the top , in the palace , another would take place in the poor man ' s house . I remember the times that thou call ' st

      the wicked times , when young folk used to run about the fields ; when farther and the older children used to do the work , and when the mother used to tend all , and had all under her own eye . If a call come for one of the young ones to bear a hand , he -was always ready and willing ; and now , Maister Quill , m tell you the change I've seen in my time , and all has been brought about by them there flying devils doing the work of young and old . I remember when there was—say a population of about 2000 in this parish . There would be about twelve maisters , big and little , and about 200 Hand-Loom Weavers . Then there was Shoemakers , and all the other trades . There was no cotton-mill alwavs running by steam ;

      there was no banker in the parish ; there wasn't a lawyer , Maister Quill , nearer than York ; there was no Town-hall then , no Mechanics' Institute , no hospital , no infirmary , no union bastile . No , nor no police , Maister Quill , except Bumble , the beadle , and me , and the like of me , that all had an interest in the peace of the parish . Then , Maister Quill , Bumble ' s staff carried authority with it , and he never had to use it ; for he knew every man in the parish , and knew where to find him in his own house if the justice wanted him . At that time there was only the little parish church , and old parson Flower , to preach in it , and the Catholic chapel , that the Rev . Mr . Faithful used to attend . "We hadn ' t the fourteen churches then , Maistt-r Quill .

      Mr . Smith . —Robin , what has all this to do with machinery ? Machinery didn ' t build the churches . Robin . — 'Ecod ' . it did though—and made the parsons too . Smith . —Well , Robin , what is it you are driving at ? Politics , 1 am afraid , Robin . Robin . —>" oa , Maister Smith , nor at religion neither . We can talk of churches and parsons now-adays without thinking of religion . I am an old man ; you must give me mv own way ; Maister QuiJl has tlraTrn a picture of -what Devil ' s Dust ¦ was , and what it is now , and he says machinery made all the difference ; and I am going to shew him that all them there things , aye , " ecod , everv one of them , that he calls "improvements , " is all t ' other way for the working classes .

      Sniitt—Ah I ah ! ah ! QuiU . —He ! he ! he ! Robin . —Well , wait a bit . I was saying , that at that time , there were the two churches , and two religions ; and Master Flower , and Master Faithful would go down and preach ; and thev'd meet after in the street and shake hands , and all folks would see them and think that howsomer they differed in the pulpit , they met like friends outside , and that other folk should do tbe same . But now e'cod , we hav e the Wesleyans , the Unitarians , the Methodists , the >" ew Connection , the Old Connection , the Baptists , the Anna-Baptists , the Ranters , the Puseyius , and the Infidels . E'cod . its no wonder that folks' brains should be bothered when there ' s fourteen different parsons all at work together , every one telling folk that there ' s only one road to heaven , and that ' s their own .

      Quill . —Come , come , Robin , let us not enter into questions of religion ; those are subjects between man and his Maker ; and , no doubt , those fourteen piou ? men are , one and all , in quest of truth . Rnhin . —In quest of the devil ! They are in quest of the brass , Maister Quill . Smith . —Robin , my time is too precious to listen to such infidelity . If you have anything to say to tin * point , I am ready to hear you . Robin . —Then come to ihe point . Maister Quill sayB as bow machinery has been a blessing to the poor ; and Maister Jackson axed me here to shew what effect it had upon them there trades that it didn ' t do the work of yet . Smith . —iNow , that ' s it—that ' s coming to thtpoint .

      Robin . —Well then , now let us see what -was the condition of the people of Devil ' s Dust before all these blessings , and what it is now . 'Ecod , but you have roused me , Ma 3 ter Smith . In those days 1 was a Shoemaker , and I had a wife and five children ; and all the affairs of the parish were so nicely balanced that J conld calculate within a trifle of what the Saturday neet would bring . There was no "fluctuations" then to give us a good week , a bad week , and no week at all . M y eldest son , Robin , was put to the loom , and the wile and children , when they wengrowing , would card and spin , and -wind , and reel , and get bobbins ready , and all that ; and I'd work at my trade , and all at home . Well , if Robin ' s Maister got a fresh order , or wanted a piece finishing in time , he'd come to the lad and say , " Well , Robin , how does ' t get on , lad ; can ' st finish thy piece b # 5 aturday neet ?"

      and if Robin would say * ' Noa , Maister Fairplay , not ¦ without a fe-w extra hours ; " then Maister Fairplay ¦ wou ld tap him on the shoulder , and , giving him five shillings , would say , " Well , come . Ilobin , there ' s extra for thee : " and Robin would finish the piece , and whistle and sing all the after honrs , ail the family lending a cheerful hand , because the five shillings went into mother ' s purse on Saturday neet . And when Robin took , the work home on Saturday neet there was no batingi , norjLnu , nor damning his eyes , but a glass of home-brewed ale , and a shake o' the hands , and a " Thankee , Robin , thou art a good lad . " And so it was with all the men ; if there was brisk demand they had their share , and if it was slack they never were the ones to murmur . In that way Robin would bring home , the wages of himself and the help the little ones would give him , from -30 s . to 35 s . per week .

      Smith . —Well , but Robin , what can they all earn now—five of them . Robin ( seeping ) . —2 sowt now , master Smith . Robin will never earn no more . QuilL—Well but , Robin , I ' m told that was his own fault—that he died from the effects of drink , a confirmed drunkard . Surely that wasn ' t the fault of machinery ? Robin . —Damned , it was machinery killed him . Smith . — Why , how do you make that out , Robin ? Robin . —Well , up to twenty-five years he worked at home , under my roof , and for that time no man ever see'd Robin the worse for drink . He'd rather make the weeks wage more , and laugh when he'd tell Parson Flower , on Sundav , what he made for faither and

      mother . But machinery took the loom from Robin , and forced him into a damned " rattle box , " to work sixteen hours a day ; and then at the end of the week , with fines , and batrngs , and reductions , he was brought down , and down , and down , in health , in body , and inspirits , with only sometimes 9 s ., sometimes 8 s ., and sometimes 6 s . 6 d . " a week , till at last he got ashamed of coming home at all . He got into company with others that were broken-hearted like himself ; and he'd drink a day , and work a day , and play a day , till he broke his mother's heart . He died sure enough , but it was the damned " rattle-box" that killed mv hid . 1 could well afford to make twelve pair of shoes a year for my own familv , out of Robin ' s pay put alon / with theirs ; but I lost that

      housetrade ; and according as them there " rattle boxes " came here , I lost all mv old customers , one after the other , until at last them there cast-iron men of M&ister Smith ' s , that works without shoes or stockings , e ' erfd , drove my old feet to these here clogs : for I couldn't afford to make shoes for myself . Smith . —Come , come , Robin , you are going a little too fast . Surely there are more shoes sold in Devil ' s Dust now , fifty to one , than there were in your time . So somebodv has got the trade ! Robin . —' " Eeod , I wish them joy of it . Its like your calico , MaiEter Smith : they are obliged to make them " cheap , " to tempt folk to buy them . They make them by dozenB , and paste and peg them

      together anyhow ; and after all , "cheap' * as they are , poor folk can't buy them . Well now , at the time that I speak of , it was a rare thing to see an idle man in the parish j and if wages -were too low , why the old Poor Law came in and made it up : so that one could spend with another . I had a brother , a tailor , and he had his customers ; and he would nearly guess what hit wage would be every Saturday neet ; for , somehow or other , the old Poor Law and the parish interest levelled those things all through . Well , in those days the working classes could support one another . ' They had a share of all that was K ° ing-They ' d brew a ' bit , and give the cooper work . Young folk , when they went a courting , or company-keeping ,

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      liked to be as smart as they could afford—and some would have a watch . Then every man ' s house was well-stocked with plenty of provisions . We'd haf e a bit of cutlery , and the cutler would have a pair ; of . shoes : , And we'd have a dresser and delph-jcase ' trith crockery ; and meal-kest , and all other furniture fitting for poor folk . ' . . ; Smith . —Well , but Robin , surely you can get all those things now for less than a third of their former price , j ' Robin . —E ' cod , I know it ; but I can ' t get the money to buy them ; and when I get them they ' re not worth a tenth" part of the things that I gave more money for . So you see , Maister Smith , if you get machinery to do man ' s labour , the man wont be worth as much ;

      he won't have as much to spend in the market . And now mark me : Richard Jackson tells me that if you and yourmen made a fair division of your profits for the last fifteen vears , the men would have £ 34 , 000 more than . they have got ; and if they had that , they'd have better houses , the building of which would employ Stonemasons , and Bricklayers , and Tilers , and Plasterers , and Joiners , and Plumbers , and Painters , and Glaziers , and Labourers , and Nailmakers , and Brickmakers , and Quarrymen , and Limeburners , and Colliers , and Iron Miners , and Smelters , and , in short , doing every thing for the seventy families , that Jackson tells mo that you say your £ S 0 , 000 spent in that way did so much good , to . Now the people employed in all those works would be better customers to the Grocer , and the Tobacconist , and the Chandler , and the Shoemaker , and the

      Hatter , and the Tailor , and the Hosier , and all the rest of them : and then , if the seventy men . —mind , only vour seventy , Maister Smith—and although they be but few , their case applies to the whole system ; well , if the whole of the poor devils who have been robbed of £ 500 a piece had better houses , they'd have more furniture , a little education for their children , a few books , and so on : they'd be customers to one another : and , Maister Smith , its the pence of the many going through the hands of the many , and not the pounds of the few going into banks , and railways , and mortgages , and all those sort of . speculations , that makes a full till and a cheerful face on a Saturday neet for the Shopkeeper , and a good exchequer for the Government too . Now there isn't one of them there trades that I have mentioned as works by machinery , and they are ono and all crying out and complaining .

      Smith . —Pooh , pooh ! They are always complaining—and they have nothing to complain of . Kobin . —E ' cod , when men complain , and are able to give a £ 100 , 000 to relieve themselves , and able to pay ( as they say ) the national debt if they liked , poor folk needn ' t be blamed ; for they wouldn ' t complain if they had ' nt some reason . Quill . —Well , and what is the reason , Robin ? Robin . — Why machinery is tho reason , Maister Quill—machinery that does the work of man , and eats nothing , and wears nothing , and uses nothing while it ' s at work , but a drop of oil . Quill . —Well , but Robin , tho landlords and the farmers , and the parsons , and the agricultural labourers complain as well as you , and surely machinery doesn ' t affect them .

      Robin . —Bygow , but it does ! Aye , and it will make them lads squeal out yet . Why , Alaister Quill , if if you reduce the value of labour you reduce the value of every thing—I beg pardon ; except tlie national debt and mortgage * , and Jixed salaries , and " iUad ' M-fight" and pensioners , Master Quill . 'Ecod , these are like the leech ¦ , they'll fasten somewhere : and if machinery leaves nowt for them in the working man ' s carcase , they'll fasten on to the landlords ami the fanners , and tlio parson , —aye , and on the Queen too , or on tho devil himself , Maister Quill , before they'll go without . As hose AS THET UAVE THE BAYONETS THEY ' LL 8 CRKW IT

      OUT , SO MJLTTEI 1 WUERE IT COMES FROM 1 ho that you see , Maister Quill , rather than Itit folks starve , Sir Robert Peel was obliged to set his wits to work to see how he could get " cheap" provisions to square with the " cheap" wages ; and the landlords arc beginning to find out that the inanimate non-consuming producing power , —them there cast iron men , and wooden boys , and littlcjwire girls , that Maister Smith is so fond of ; they arc beginning to find out that them there eats notliing ; and that those whose work the cast iron men do , must get their / ood as " cheap" as possible . So the landlords and the parsons , that measured the value of their estates by the necessity of putting " Boncy" and the " Jacobins " down , mutt come down themselves in turn . That

      puzzler , the great Wizard of the North , would be puzzled : to pay the £ 50 , 000 , 000 a year , and all them there gambling debts and money owing to the Jews , out of what maeAitiery leaves to the working cldisev afur living : and , Maister Quill , the £ 50 , 000 , 000 a year most be paid . That mus go , nMraao , Maister Quill ; or thou , and them like thee—them folk that has got all the produce of labour , —mun pat it . Aye , thou may look , and thou may laugh , and thou may ' wink at Maister Smith , but thou mun pay it , or the folk that gets it on quarter day mun do without it . Quill . —No , Robin , 1 was only laughing at the idea of my being supported by labour , when f assure you , on my honour , 1 have never had a working man in iny office , except to do him a service , in the way of recommending him to settle any dispute he might have with his master ; 1 never got a guinea from

      labour . Robin . —The devil you didn ' t ! Quill . —No , not a farthing . Robin . —And who are your customers , Maister Quill . Quill . —Why landed proprietors , master manufacturers , and some of the parsons , Robin . Robin . —Well , and how do the landlords pay you , Maister Quill . Quill . —O , in money to be sure . Robin . —Would ye take it in grass , Maister Quill . Quill . —0 , no , no , no . Not in grass—not in grass , Robin ; I am not a Nebuchadneziar . I'll tell you what , Robin—if there was necessity for it I'd take it in hav . Robin . — 'Ecod , that ' s labour , Maister Quill . Quill . —Well come , Robin , I'd take a good fat pig : that ' s not labour surelv .

      Robin . —Ecod then , it must be grass-bacon . Q . uill . —Why , how ' . what do you mean ? Robin . —Why musn ' t thepig have summat ] to eat , — meal , or barley , or ' tatcrs , or sunimat of that sort < Quill . —Yestobesnre , but then they can be bought . Robin . —Aye ; but they must be jjroduccd before they ar « bought , Alaister C £ uili . Smith ( aside to Quill ) . Tou had better not go into detail . Keep him to the question of the improvement in Devil ' s Dust , and the increased wealth of the countrv . Quill . —Well , but Robin ; to come from the Haters to the public buildings and the present appearance of Devil ' s Dust , and the improvement in the condition of the working classes .

      Robin . —O , very well . In the times that I speak of , every family was happy , and every man in the parish " was known to one another . I had five children , all of different ages ; and although all , th ' ank God , healthy , —of different constitutions . The mother watched them -, and if they weTe carelesB about playing with other children , or if they did their work negligently , she'd give them their supper a bit earlier and let them lie-a-bed a bit longer . All were treated according to their health and constitution . No scrambling for a candle then ; no rushing and crushing about the house when the big bell rung * at five o'clock of a winter ' s morning , to rouse all lolks , old and young , sick and well , weak and strong , to get up at the same minute . No running of the poor

      mother to the bed full of children , shaking all of them out of sleep , dealing the most tired a box on the ear and a "damn thee , thou lazy baggage , " or "thou skulking rascal ; " and then saluting the father and the husband , with a " get up with thee , and be damned to thee ; doesn't ta hear t' factory bell ? Give me that there child ; " and then taking the child in her arms , " come here with thee , —take thy suck , before I g o—ay , what a bitch thou art ; this is three mornings I was five minutes late , —and fined threepence for thee . " Then hurrying off , with the little suckling child , to the factory door , and the husband with a half awake child upon his back , to bring back the baby , she goes to work , and he to the beer-shop all day , while Maister Smith ' s strangers' is doing his work . Smith . —O yon exaggerate : you talk nonsense , i

      Robin . —No , Master Smith , I don't ! I see it every day of my life . Well then , I say , we had nowt of that sort when paid more money for everything that we used tecause they were good ; and when , after we had paid more for everything we wanted , we had more at the end of the week . In those times good character was the best fortune a poor man could have ; and if a man or a lad in the whole parish was seen'drunk , or did a had tiling , or said owt wrong of aneighbour , I'll warrant me he'd be marked , and he'd have a visit from 1 'arson Flower . Sunday was a day of rest , and a welcome day . Folk would put on thebest they hadnood , decent , warm covering , and go to the parish churchwith bible andprayer-book , to thank God , and hear good old Parson Flower . When the parson came '

      out of the pulpit , he'd shake hands with the old folk , and kindly inquire after them and their families . He was as keen as a shepherd : if he missed the littlest one ofhisflockthatoughttobeinthefold , he'dsay , "Well , Robin , where ' s Will to-day ; why wasn't he at church ? " or "where's your dame , Robin ? " And then I'd say , " why , please " you , parson , little Bill is but poorly , and mother set up with him last night . " And then Parson Flower would say , " Ay , dearee me , dearee me ; poor little Will—poor little Will ; I must go and see him , and see what s the matter with him before Igo todine with Farmer Jones . " Well , Maister Quill , that ' s the way we lived when the row came down to Devil ' s Dust about " Boney and the

      Jacobins , " and "Church and King , " and the 11 Church in danger . " Well , we met among ourselves , though we had no Town-hall then , Mr . Quill , and we heard what waa wanted . Parson Flower and the Rev . Mr . Faithful came together to tke churchyard , and they axed us if we " would defend our Church and our King . " We had good wages , and we thought that the King had something to do with giving them ; and Parson Flower , to us , represented the Church , and he was a good man ; and we loved the little church where we used all to meet in on Sundays ; and so we shouted " Hurrah for Church and King !" and ' We'll fight , we'll fight and die for King George

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      and-Parson Flower . * ' -Word went off , and down came waggon loads of muskets , and swords , and pikes , and drill Serjeants , to teach us how to shoot and stick the ¦ French : We gave a whole day in every week * and ai . bit of every A&y , to learn this new trade of butehering ; but ' we minded nowt about it , but still pulled up the lost time by , working later and earlier , and cheerfully ; but , by Gow , itwehad known what we were working for tften , &nd how dear we ' ve had to pay for it since , much as we loved Parson Flower , we would have left fighting to King George and his soldiers . QuiD . —What , Robin , wouldn't you fight now for the Q , ueen and the Church ? Robin . —Fight for Queen and Church ! Noa , noa ,

      Master Quill ; yoct know better than that . The Queen ? wh / its Kitig still , Master Quill . Quill . —King ! King ! what do you mean , Robin ? I mean Queen Victoria and the Church . Robins—I mean ,- that the Steam-engine is King now ] and folk wouldn't know which ol the churches to fight for ; Quill . —Which of the churches ? Why the right church—the Church of England , to be sure . Robin . —Maister Quill ; its because so many says that this church is reetj and that church is reet . and because the Church of England hasn ' t done ' what's reet , that we hear of so many infidels that ' s gone away from all churches . Quill—What , Robin , are you an infidel ? Robin . —Noa , Maister -Quill , but I ' m going to shew you how infidels are made . If I-was a traveller , making my way to Devil ' s Dust , and if I came to a pass where there was another road , and if there was

      a finger-post saying— " this is the road to Devil's Dust , " and "this is the road to Shoddy Hall , " 1 Bhould be all reet then ; but if I came on to forty or fifty different turns off the one road ; and if there was a finger-post to every one ; and if all said— " this is the road to Devil ' s Dust , " then I should be regularly bewildered ; T shouldn't know which road to take , so I might get lost and go astray . And so it is with them there infidels . They hear all the parsons saying that this road , and that mid , " and t ' other road is the only road to heaven , and , like me , on the road to Devil ' s Dust , they get bewildered . Quill . —Well but , Robin , suppose that arms were sent down now to fight for the Queen and the Church , do you mean to say that the people wouldn't take them ?

      Robin . —Noa , I say nowt at sort . They'd take them fast enough : but they'd fight J ' or grub and cottage , instead ot Church and Queen . But , don't you fear , Maister Quill ; Government will never try that scheme again . So now you see , your fourteen ckurcheB are only wrong finger-posts , leading us all astray : your Town-hall is never open , except for the masters and free traders to put down wages , though We built ifc . ^ Your banks are only to discount your paper flimsies , your speculations on our labour ; your railroads , steam-navigation , and all those things are but machinery for cheapening our labour in all parts of the world ; your hospitals and infirmaries are built for fear that your sort should take the infection from our

      sort , since you huddled scores of filthy starving paupers into garrets and cellars ; and your big bastile is a grinding machine to grind the faces of the poor , and to make them work for owt rather than go into one of them ; your Mechanics' Institute is only to enable you to fight " genteel" labour against poverty ; and your cemetery is your Free Trade burying-ground , by which you get as much as you can from poor folk when thoy are dead . It never will be looked on with the veneration , reverence , and respect , Master Quill , that attaches to yon Kttle old church-yard , where rich and poor lie buried together alongside , as they lived together m harmony and fellowship . There iised to be no doubly sanctified grave , here and there , railed in and beautified , making one man better than another . And as for that Parson Barebones , that-has £ 2 , 000 a year form-caching sermons all about the "improvidence" of the ' poor , and for flattering up them that

      gives himcood dinners , and all that sort of stuff , —ay , my God Almighty , when I sees him slapping through the street , _ not minding to ride over poor folk , and when sees his wife and family turning up their noses when poor folks pass ; and when I think of poor Parson Flower upon £ 200 a year , praying for the poor , I no longer wonder that taere should be a " uron" and a "low" church . I tell thee what , Maister Quill , if a rich man has a shepherd he'll run from his dinner or his bed if he hears there ' s a sheep on his back in a furrow ; and the herdsnKin will sit up all night with a sick cow . We are told that Parson Barebones is our shepherd ; and I should like to see him leave his bottle at the " Squire ' s , " to take one of the poor flock of Devil ' s Dust off his back ; or gee him sitting up with one of his sick flock all neet . Maister Quill , when poor folk see more respect paid to the dumb animal ? of the rich than to the flesh and blood of

      beings with souls to save , they don ' t like it , Maister Quill . Smith . —Well now , Robin , it ' s my time—I must be off ; and as you have appealed to me as one of the jury to decide between you and Mr . Quill , I think I shall convince you that I am neither prejudiced nor partial . I confess that I did think my friend Quill ' s arguments were unanswerable ; but I also candidly confess that many of the points you have so shrewdly urged have presented a new view of the case to my mind , especially what you have stated as to the likelihood of the land being compelled to satisfy those

      demands which have heretofore been supplied to the Government by labour : and now , Robin , as I have still a hankering after the old spot , if you will meet me here after the market on Tuesday next , —Mr . Quill and Jackson , I ' m sure , will attend , —I'll have great p leasure in hearing the conclusion of your reply . Robin . —Well , I'll meet you : I'm told thou ' st purchased "Shodd y Hall" and the estate from Squire Gambler . Ecod , what " comes over the devil ' s back goes under his belly ; " and thou'lt find that the taxsucking-folk will be after " Shoddy Hall" when the panic comes : and it ' s a-cooniinir !

      Smith . —Well , well , Robin , don t suppose me so sordid as to have made the appointment from an interested motive ; but be punctual , and I'll attend . Robin . —I'll-be here ; and when-I ' ve done thou'lt hear Jackson about machinery , for lean only speak to one point . Smith . —Yes , yes . I think its quite right to hear wlmt every man has to say on his own behalf . It ' s what I should like to have myself . My motto has always been , " Do as you would be done by . "

      Jackson . —Then I am sure , Mr . Smith , as you'd like to get £ 500 from inc if I had it , of yours , perhaps , according to your maxim , you will give me back mine Smith . — Good morning , Jjickson . Good bye , Robin—shako hands : yoii are a wonderful man of your age . Come , Quill . Robm . —Ecod , I remember when there were many men betwixt four and five score in the parish of Devil's Dust before the machinery came here : but now a man of forty is almost a wondev . Good bye to ye . ( To be continued . )

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      Death op a Chelsea Pensioner . —An inquest was held on Tuesday evening , at the Kings Head , Knightsbridge , before Mr . Higgs , on the body of Mr . Glassbroke , aged 60 , formerly a private in the 2 nd Life Guards , and latterly an out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital . Sarah Glassbroke said that she lived with the deceased , her husband , in Rose and Crown-yard , Knightsbridge . He left the army six years ago , and since then had nothing to depend upon but a pension of Is . per day , of which sum 2 s . ( kl . per week was paid away for rent . He was much addicted to drinking , and was the worse for what he had drunk on Thursday night . On Friday he quitted home , and witnesses searched all over the neighbourhood for him , but without success , and it was not until the

      following evening , when he was brought home in a state of utter insensibility , that she knew where he had been . She was informed that he had been found in s wapping . Having taken care that his neckerchief was loose , she left him lying on the floor , and on visiting him the next morning , found him dead . The jury consisted of fifteen persons , twelve of whom were for a verdict ' of "Died by the visitation of God , " and three for one of " Died from excessive drinking . " Twelve being a sufficient number to constitue a jury , the coroner received the first-mentioned verdict .

      -Daring and Impudent Robbery . —On Monday evening about seven o ' clock , a carter in the employ of Mr . West , town carman , brought nine chests of tea to the house of Messrs . W . Marshall and Co ., tea dealers , in the Strand , and whilst in the act of delivering the last chest but one , which did not occupy him more than a minute , two men in a light eart drove up alongside of that containing the tea , took the last chest , placed it in their cart , and drove off . The tea was fine gunpowder , valued at between £ 21 and £ 22 . c Extraordinary Death . —On Friday last William Mann , aged sixteen , died suddenly at Kidderminster , in a boat called the Sarah and Jane , which waB on its

      way from Tipton to Gloucester by the Worcestershire and Staffordshire Canal , before medical assistance could be obtained . At the inquest held on the body at the Pheasant Inn , on Saturday , before Mr . W . S . P . Hughes , coroner , it appeared from the evidence of Mr . Cornelius James Philbrick , surgeon , that he was called to attend tho boy on Friday , about a quarter before 1 p . m ., and that before he could arrive the lad had expired . Mr . Philbrick made a post mortem examination of the body , and found the abdomen filled with fluid that had escaped from a hole in the stomach , about two inches from the gullet , on the left-hand side . He found in the stomach a large round worm , about a foot long , TheBtonftach

      througnout its entire surface presented appearances oi inflammation . He gave it as his opinion that death had resulted from the perforation , which was the effeet ofinflamuiation . probably produced by the p resence of the worm . The father of the boy stated that he was taken ill with violent vomiting on the Sunday night previous , and that on Monday be applied to a druggist at Wolverhampton , who furnished medicine , which gave no relief . The boat was on its journey from Sunday till Friday , so that there was no opportunity of Obtaining medical advice till it reached Kidderminster , where the fatal event took place . The jury returned » verdict of " Died by the visitation of God , "—Fbrcesfer Herald .

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      DRBADjui Fxoes , : AT .., Ltme , ; R ^ , qis . —Intelligence was received in the course of Wednesday at tfie several fire insuranceroffices in the metropolis of two most destructive fires having taken place at LymQ / Regis on Sunday night , occasioning a serious loss of property . The outbreak happened between 11 and 12 o ' clock , whe ' n , on the alarm being raised , it was found to have originated in an uninhabited house in Churchstreet , and , f from circumstances which have since transpired , it is too sadly fearedthat it must have been the work of some incendiary . Owing to the reof ofthe building being thatched , like most of the other in the town , and a-fstrong S . E . wind blowing at the time ,

      the flames raged with extreme fury , and fired the ad-J ' oining houses fouv of which fell a . sacrifice . Scarcely lad the inhabitants recovered ;) from their / alarm before they were again startled by the bursting forth of another fire in the same street , about 60 yards higher up , on the opposite side of the way , at a house in the occupation of a Mr , Garland . The firemen and their engines were almost immediately in attendance , and , notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions on their part , they were unable to stay the progress of . the names , until three buildings , in addition to the one tenanted by Mr . Garland , were . destroyed . This second calamity is also said to have been caused by some miscreant intentionally .

      AjfarnER Incendiary Fire in Herts . —On Wednesday night a very large straw rick on Highfieldfarm . ' Hemet Hempstead , in the occupation of Mr . Thomas Woodman , farmer and auctioneer , was discovered to be on fire , and no doubt the contents of an extensive and valuable farm would liave been destroyed , had not the burning rick been a considerable distance from the others , and also from the buildings , sheds , out-houses , < fcc . Yoke . —Tiie Condemned Criminals . —We understand that the execution of Win . Potter and Win . Kendrew , the former for setting fire to the dwellinghouse of Wm . Neville , at Wistow , near Selby , and the latter for the murder of Mr . Wm . Inchbald , at Low DunsiWtn , near Boroughbriuge , will take place ( should no reprieve be received ) on Saturday week , the 28 th inst .

      Death fhom Destitution i . v the City . — On Wednesday afternoon an inquest was held in the City Bridewell , be fore Mr . Payne , the coroner , on the body of Sarah Henley , a native of Inverness , aged thirtynine , a prisoner , committed on the 29 th ult . for breaking wiridowa at the Mansion-house . Mr . John Crooks , the ( assistant surgeon , said that he saw the deceased on the 30 th ult ., the day after her admission , and found her in an extremely low and enfeebled condition , apparentl y from the effects of want and exposure to the cola , without any marked signs of disease . Fever of a low typhoid character gradually came on , and she was treated for it until her death , oh Monday last . When he first saw her

      she was suffering from great depression , both mentally and bodily . Mary Anne Simpson , a prisoner , committed at the same time and -for the same offencejas the deceased , said she first met her at Bishopsgate workhouse , where tliey both had a night's lodging and left in the morning . The next time she saw } her sitting on the steps at the Mansionhouse . Deceased told her that she was in want , that she had nowhere to go , and that she waa . about to break a window at the Mansion-house , to get taken before the Lord Mayor , that something might be done for her , forj she had been told there was no other way of getting to see him . Witness told her she was going to do the same , and so they then went together and threw stones at the windows and broke them .

      They were told that if they broke windows , the Lord Mayor would ; do something tor them ; did not say she had sought relief at the union . The coroner ana jury made some feeling remarks upon the dreadful state to which the deceased and her companion must have been reduced before they took such a strange mode of obtaining relief . Verdict—Natural death . Dangerous Effects of Burning Charcoal . — Three Persons Suffocated . —Chatham , Dec . 16 . —On Sunday morning last , considerable sensation was created in the village of Luton , near Chatham , in consequence of three husbandmen in the employ of John Oakleyi Esq ., fanner , at Darling , having been found dead in their bedroom . It appears that the

      men , whose ; names are Joim Stedman , 25 years ; Thomas Webb , 18 ; and George Wright , 17 , lodged at the bailiff ' s "cottage , which stands on the opposite side of the road to the farmhouse ; and in consequence of the severity of the cold , they had for the last few nights begged ofthe bailiff's wife to warm their room . On Saturday night last , the night being very cold , she yielded to their wishes , and as the bedroom had not a fire-place , she procured a stable lantern , and filled it with i charcoal , and placed it in the centre of the room , sp that the fire should do no mischief . About eight i o ' clock on Saturday night Stedman retired to rest , ] and he was followed about an hour afterwards by th < j other two , Webb and Wright , closing the bedroomtdoor after them . Nothing was heard ot them until next morning , when , not coining down down stairs ' at the usual hour of a Sunday , morning ,

      the bailiff , about seven o ' clock , went up stairs to rouse them , iuid on his opening the door of- the room the most melancholy sight of three dead bodies presented themselves . Wri g ht was found lying on the floor behind the door , having evidently dropped down dead the instant he entered the room , which ' nmst have been tilled with carbonic acid gas . Webb was lying on his back on the bed , with his hand to his handkerchief , as if he was , when seized with death , in the act of untying it . Stedman had his jacket off , and had partly pulled off his trousers , and had fallen back on the bed . } Medical assistance , which was immediately procured , was unavailing , as the poor fellows must have died a few minutes after entering the room . Stedman has left a widowed mother , who partly depended on him for support .

      Destructive I * ire ix Spitalpields . — On Sunday evening , shortly before five o ' clock , a fire broke out upon the extensive premises belonging to and in the occupation of [ Mr . G . Leslie , oil and colourman ,, No . 59 , Brick-lane , Spitalfields . The fire originated in the lower part of ; the premises , immediately behind the shop , which -was stocked with inflammable articles , and the flames spread with extraordinary rapidity , destroying the partition between the shop and parlour , and setting fire to the stairs . At this juncture an elderly female , deaf and dumb , appeared at one of

      t h * back windows , and finding all hopes of escape from tho burning building cut off , she signified by agonising gesticulation that she was in danger of being burned ] to death . One of tlie men in the employ of Mesa's . Truman and Hanbury , whose brewhouse is close by the spot where the outbreak occurred , observing her perilous position , instantly procured a liidder , and rescued the affrighted creature from a horrible death . Notwithstanding the utmost exertions ofthe firemen , the house is burned through , and the valuable contents generally destroyed .

      Frightful ! Accident at Whitechapei ,. — Shortly before nine o ' cleck on Monday night , a dreadful accident occurred opposite Aldgate Church , close by the junction , of Aldgate with the WMtechapel-road . About four o ' clock in the afternoon Mr . Bagget , a commercial traveller , in the oil and colour business , left Romford for the metropolis in a gig with a spirited horse . On arriving near Whitechapei Church the animal shiedj and immediatel y afterwards started off at a rapid pace . By the rattling of the vehicle over the stones he was much frightened , and , notwithstanding the ! utmost exertions of the driver , it was impossible to ] hold him in . At a frightful speed he reached the corner leading to the Minories , close by a pile of newjbuilding , where , unfortunately , two omnibuses were : passing each other . Mr . Dagget , to escape a collision , pulled one of the reins , but the

      road being narrowed at that spot , and there being a temporal * y platform for foot passengers , the ' horse ran upon it , amongst the people who were there crowding the pathway . ; The scene was frightful ; no less than nine or ten persons were knocked down , and the policeman , Goodman , 591 , city , who was passing along his beat , was dashed to the ground with great violence . The gig was : instantly overturned ^ and the driver thrown out upon the pavement . A gentleman , who we have since ascertained is seventy years of age , was knoekedjdown and severely injured . Mr . Dagget is much cut about the head , and bruised all over the body . A gentleman of the name of Wincklow was also much injured . Six persons were conveyed to the London Hospital . Goodman , the constable , it is feared has received a concussion of the brain , which renders his recovery very doubtful .

      Alleged Confession of a Murder . —Some years ago , a man named Thomas Willey was tried in Exeter for the murder of a person namod Cropp , a tailor , ¦ who was foiind drowned below Trew ' s Weir . He was , however , acquitted , from some defect in the evidence . On Friday last he died , in a state of great misery , in the Exeter Workhouse , and it has been reported thai ,, previous to his death , he confessed to the chaplain of the workhouse that he was really the murderer , arid that two other men were implicated with him in the foul transaction . This is not exactly correet . That he saw the chaplain very shortly

      indeed before his death , is quite true , and it is also true that he appeared most anxious to make some communication to him , but his condition was such that he waa not able to articulate more than a word or two . It was the chaplain ' s impression , fromhis manner and from all that he saw at the time , that he was really about to make a confession of the crime of which the rev . gentleman was aware he had been accused , and j he addressed him accordingly ; but , as there was certainly no confession in express words , and as the man became insensible almost immediately afterwards , and remained so until the time of his death , it is fright that so much at least should be stated . —Devonporl Independent .

      Tub Tripfinagh Adduction Case . — Arrest op Three or the Principals . —Killamey , Monday . — In a few hours after information was received , head constable ThornhilL with a strong party of police from this ^ station , proceeded to the lands ot Inchmore , beyond Kenmare ( a distance of thirty miles ) , and succeeded in ] taking , in bed , Jeremiah and Patrick Ilouran , brothers to the principal aggressor , and Dennisj Prindcvillc , his cousin , anu lodged them in Bridewell this day . The fugitives had a watch nightfand day until they could ^ effect their escape to America .

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      Discovery o / ' a' loxg-coscealebi ' Mubdbheb . - * Cbesteb , SiTUKDAT . ' ^ A-considerable sensation ytg produced here this morning by the arrival of two police-officers , ones front Parnell , m Wanrnkshire , and the other from Alcester , who seyar ^ yir ^ pr ^ sente ^ l ^ Mr . Hill * tie superintendent of the Chester police , that they were m search of a man .: named Jaines Crowley , of Parnell , charged with the % Uful muriler of Williain Tilsey , also of that glace ; as far back ^ ai the 25 th of December , 1842 . In ^ consequence' ofin formation supplied by the officers in prirsuity Mr , TTill sent soine of his men to the Black Dog pubEohouse ,. where theparty in question had teen staVine

      for sometime . Jae had , however , renipvea to al < w "« in § in the Eaton-road , leading to the seat ' of the- Mar quis of Westminster ; bnt it was ascertained thai his trunks and other moveables had recently been tafen . to the Castle and Falcon , a small public-hduse'in Watergate ^ treet , fcept by a person namM JJary Jones , at which place he occasionall y called for : t ©« freshmenis , and , on inquiry , Mr , Hill was giVeaftb understand that he ( Crowley ) was expected there at about noon to-day . Accordingly two officers from Parnell and Alcester , accompanied by two ofthe Chester police , repaired to the house at the time specified , and there found Crowley seated with ' a glass of ale before him . It was known that he was

      always provided with pistols , and , therefore , due precaution was used in apprehending him . He was seized by each arm before he was at all aware of the presence of the officers , who then informed hhn of the nature of the heavy charge alleged against him . "I admit it ! " he at once exclaimed ; and , subsequently , as they were placing the kandcufls upon him , lie added , " I am a dead man . " He was forthwith , taken before the mayor and magistrates ; and , on being searched , thirty-six sovereigns were found updo , him , together with a double-barrelled pistol , "lie weapon was not loaded ; but a paper , containing a number of balls , and a flask of ' powcfer , were fomuf in one of his pockets . It appeared by the statement

      made before the magistrates , that the prisoner had formerly resided with his parents at Parnell ; but , in consequence of his violent conduct , his father had forbidden him the house , at the same time providing for him a small cottage in the neighbourhood , and allowing him £ lper . week , and a horse to ride on . Notwithstanding this arrangement , however ; - % he father having still reason to dread some fatal act , of violence on the part of his son , had one of his farmservants , named William Tilsley , sworn in as a special constable for his ( the father ' s ) protection ; and pa Christmas-day , 1843 , the family and a party ' of friends having just taken their seats at the dinnertable , the prisoner ' s mother suddenly started up , and

      said to her husband , " For God ' s sake go up stairs ; there ' s James coming across the field with his gun . to shoot some of us . " The old man accordingly hurried from the apartment , and the prisoner , who had ' been seen by his mother through the window advancing , in the way she described , went round to the back of the house , and thrust the muzzle of his double-barrelled gun through a pane of glass . In the meantime Tilsley went out to expostulate with the prisoner , who / on seeing him , retreated a few paces , exclaiming , "It ' s you , is it ? " and at the same instant fired at the unfortunate man , and shot hini . dead upon the spot . He then shouldered the gun , and was heard to say ; as Ivn . aTnllrnrl n-nTHOT ' * 4 T '* m It « t # v 4-VlA- *« AllQIVTa 4 A « £ f / VTVI nVlAi'T *» he walked "I ' another charge for somebod

      away , ve y else . " No one ventured to stop him . He went home , saddled his horse * rode to Tring , and there left his horse at an inn , tookthe train ?( but stopped at tho first station , where he bought a pja ^ iof spectacles : to disguise his person , and was heard ofj . io more until a few days since . He has , vit appiBara , been in"the United States in the interim , hut Mai . resicled ever since March last in Chesteri A woman with whom he has recently cohabited , in a-fit of jealousy betrayed him . The prisoner , after having been . duly cautioned , signed the following declaration : — " I have to say 1 am guilty of what I should do again to-morrow . ' I did shoot the man in open day . I think I did my duty . " He was ordered to be taken to Warwick , where he will undergo further examination .

      Fatal Accident at Wakefield , —On the evening of Friday last , an accident , fatal in its results , occurred to a man of the name of Broadhead , of Primrose hill , Wakeficld , through falling into the river in Thomes-lane . The poor man was walking down a plank laid from the shore to a vessel in the river , and from its slippery state occasioned , by the frost , he fell into the water unobserved . The water wag but three feet in depth , yet from the intense coldnesSjhe was unable to get out . He was discovered on ^ Satur day afternpon , and removed to his house on Primrose hill , where an inquest has since been held , and a verdict returned according to the facts of the case .

      Extraordinary Case ot a Married Womas Concealing , the Birth of her CmiiD . —Within ths last week the , body of a new-born infant was discovered in a privy at Leytonstone , and it was ultimately traced to belong to a young woman who was only married about seven weeks ago , and resides at the above place , A warrant has been issued for her apprehension , bat not havingrecovered from hev confinement , two of ihe police arc in custody ofthe house till she is well enough to be removed to undergo an examination , before the county magistrates . —Essex Standard .

      Destructive Iike in the Commercial Uoaik—On Tuesday forenoon a fire broke out in the marine signal light-manufactory , in the occupation of Messrs Itobeson and Highams , the patentees , situate in the Commercial-road East , near the Regent's Canal . The progress ofthe fire was unusuall y rapidy and in the course of a few minutes the building , became one complete naming mass . Notwithstanding that the firemen exerted themselves to the utmost , they were unable to extinguish the fire before fie stock in-trade and the building were nearly destroyed .

      Fivr . Persons Drowjted . —Letters were received yesterday , at Woolwich , announcing the death oi Sergeant Sskinner and four other persons , belonging to the Daedalus , by the boat upsetting . The body oi Serjeant Skinner , who belonged to the Woolwich division of Royal Marines , is uie only one yet found , and life was not totall y extinct at the time , but he died in about half-an-hour , on board the Firebrand . Fatal Accident in Threadneedle-street . —On Tuesday evening , about half-past five o ' clock , a van belonging to a Mr . Maynard , carrier , of Barking , wan proceeding up Threadneedle-street , towards Bishopsgate-street ; when the right wheel came in contact ¦ with a quantity of paving stones . At the same

      moment a truck , drawn by a poor man , in the employ of Mr . Stevens , of Minerva-street , Hackney-road , waa passing the vehicle on the other side , and , in consequence of the wheel passing over the stones , the van was completely canted over on to the unfortunate man , throwing out at the same time a lad , named Chalk , with much violence into the road , who was seated with the driver . On the cart being lifted upj the ill-fated mantras found dreadfully mutuated about the head . He was promptly removed on a stretcher , as also the lad , to St . BarthomoleVs Hospital , but on arriving there he was found to have breathed his last . As regards the boy , it is sadly feared that he has sustained some serious Internal hurt . The driver of the van was immediately taken into custody by the police .

      The late Case of Sufpocatiox near C h atham .- " On Monday afternoon an inquest was held by Mr « Hinde , on the bodies of the three unfortunate farm labourers ^ ' who died at Lin ton in the course of Saturday night , in consequence of charcoal having been used to warm the room in which they slept . After hearing the ., evidence , the coroner , in summuig op , remarked that it was most lamentable that three young men should have been thus cut off in the prinw of their lives , through the unfortunate ignorance < rf Chapman , and his wife , to whom there was much blame to be attached , although they pleaded their ignorance ofthe dangerous tendency of charcoal . After a short deliberation , the jury returned a verdict- " " That the deaths of the ' young men were accidental , caused by suffocation by charcoal being burnt in the room . "

      Murder in the County op Clare . —Anothel murder has been commited in Clare . On Friday afternoon Thomas Hefferman , a farmer , residing near Ennis , the assize town of the county , was fired at oj some miscreants who lay jn wait . He died instantj / j The murder was committed about three o ' clock , ana it is stated that some of the neighbours of the TJctam were quite near at the time . This murder , Hi 8 almost all the crimes perpetrated in the south , was connected with disputes about land . Dreadful Murder is Ireland . — Last Friday * murder of a most atroeious nature was committed 00 a female , respectably dressed , and far advanced &

      pregnancy , but whose name could not be ascertained On the following day an inquest was held before Messrs . Duckett and Gamble . It appeared 'by-tne evidence of persons examined on the inquest , tna « the deceased and supposed murderer were traveling on the road from Tramore to Annstown , at one o ew * on Friday ; and at two o ' clock on the same day-tn » poor woman was found on the road about ^ . T ^ lt from a cabin into which the murderer went to ngn ta pipe , with her head Completely smashed . — Corresp /^ dent of the Carlow Sentinel . [ The Waurm > Chronicle states that the snpposed murderer has been arrested and fully committed for trial . ]

      Wales . —Explosion of Fire-damp . —Anoth ® ?* these accidents , of too common occurrence in t »» mineral district , took place on Friday last , at tfle Edwards Colliery , Pontypridd , when five person were severely burnt . It appears that the explosion took place in consequence ot Simon Daries { tae i » a nager ) and his son going into an old stall , which . w » been discontinued working , with a naked candle . Cambrian . Fire at PoLSTBAD . —On Saturday morning b& between seven and eight o ' clock , a fire broke out in » a + nKI « ViATrtnmniv + n a nr ^ nm natnaA TCinCT ; WllO G& *

      m fowls and eggs , and had just previously started v > Colchester market . The flames soon communicaw with a barn adjoining , in which were the prodUM " two and a hah" acres of wheat in thestraw ^ andaoou siderable quantity of barley straw , the whole--ot-wju" * was consumed , together with the barn , stable , ana shed . The neighbours were soon at the spot , w «» exertions saved the dwelling-house from ae 8 trucw »' The fire was occasioned by the servant bovgomf im the stable with a candle and lantern , which fie »; some means let fall amongst the fodder .

      Untitled Article

      £ ¦ THE NORTHERN STAR , | December 21 , I 814 .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 21, 1844, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct518/page/6/