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3UtaJ antJ <Br«m*aJ £ttt*Ut£nwe ========== _ THE NORTHERN STAR.
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O'CONNOR ON THE FREE TRADE QUESTION.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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3utaj Antj ≪Br«M*Aj £Ttt*Ut£Nwe ========== _ The Northern Star.
3 UtaJ antJ < Br « m * aJ £ ttt * Ut £ nwe ========== _ THE NORTHERN STAR .
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W OSCESTEB . —Whig Pcritt and Libe-Siiirr Exekplified . —The following was received ioo late for our last publication . Wilde . the Whig Solicitor-General and prosecutor of Frost , Williams , and Jones , baa started as a candidate for the representation of Worcester ; and one of his first acts of morality was , to open five or six public-houses for the purpose of brutalisicg the working people . The Chartists being determined that the people of Worcester should know the real character of the Whigs 5 sent for Mr . George White , of Birmingham , jrbo arrived on Wednesday evening , and addressed a large meeting in the open space of grouad , adjoining the Greyhonnd Inn , New-street . He denDtuiced both Whigs and Tories &s enemies of the people , and warned the poor voters not to be cajoled Kt the unmeaaing words and high-soandine
promi-es of their friends . He reminded them thai aeither of the factions would give the people their rights , and that their promises were not to be relied en . Daring the delivery of his address , he was fre-Sientlv interrupted by the Whigs , who kept up the d cry of " He ' s paid by the Tories . " He was leudly entered by the working men , and wa 3 ultimately ordered to desist by the owner of the pre-EiseS ) " , of course , wanted to sell bis ale . At Bight , the most di = ^ usting scenes were exhibited . Hundreds cfnen , women , and even children , were to be scan reeling through the streets belching forth" Htrrah for Wilde ! he ' s a Liberal 1 " The peaceable inhabitants were kept awake the whole of the night , by the yelling and hooting of the drunken gangs , as they emerged from tie open houses cT her Majesty ' s virtuous and liberal late Solicitor ( now Attorney ) General .
BtTRNUSTT . —A Cors Law Repsali . vg Sai . vt X correspondent say a that & few days a £ e , a T > oor wids"ff wo man * with four until children ,- went from Suaaysice to Bnraley , to a calico warehouse not four yards frem the Methodist Chapel , Ksighley Gieen , to deliver in to her employer four super cuts , each th rty yards in length , and what did this Sundsy Siint and Monday Devil offer the poor ¦ widow for the weaving ? Heir it , ye who bawl out for a Krpeal of the Com Laws , in orOr ihsi oar manufacturers can underssll foreigners !—j \ ist fonrpence ! One pency for thirty yards 1 Fourpence for one hanired and zwenty yards I Is a Repeal of the Corn Laws rtqiisite to enable us to undersell
foreigners , when a poor woman , after having travelled a distance of " sevea miles from her loom : o the warehouse , with scarcely food enough in her body to sustain her on ier journey , is offered foarpecce for one hundred aud twenty yards oi ' super cotton cloth ! One penny each to carry back sever , miles to her fatherless children , and this , too , offered iy a Christian . ' Christian , did we say ? A demon raiher . The poor woman indignantly refused to receive tho sum , and told the Repealer itat If she could live with wearing four cuts for foarpence , and carry them backward and forward seven rnilej , she could do without , and came away without it . — Correspondent .
KEIGrHLET . —Whig Libertt of Cosscievcb . —The following ease of Whig liberality , which occurred the other day , canno : fail to go far towards prorLng the righ t of rha : party : o the term " Liberal " Minetiaes bestowed upon them by Baices and others . A few woolcombers , working at the honse © f Jir . William Rhodes , in Greengate , having observed , on Tuesday last , several yell « w fligs sported around them from different buildings , came to sa agreement amosgst themselves to exaibis a green one , in accordance wi : h their Radical principles . They accordingly hoisted the emblem of their political faith , » t the top of the house , on a long p ^ le , where it continned to wave in opposition to its yellow neighbours . The house , as it happened belonged zo the Messrs . Greenwood , whose Whig principles and weighry influence through cotton and laud , make them great favourites wnh my Lord
Morpeth , and his thick and thin supporters at all elec-iions . These gentlemen , it appears , hid seen the &ag , and taken offence at its colour , i ' or un meeting with Mr . Rhooes in the market on the following day , ihey ordered him , in the most iasoleat and ' domineering manner , to take the jLza down , otherwise they would send men to lake it down for him . Mr . R ., thinking that he live ! in a land where one man had as much right to his colour as another , asked them if he was not to be allowed his own opinions . " No , " said the Waigs , no : on our premises . ' " What * do I not pay my rent s " said Mr . Rhodes . " O , " said they , t # ihat his nothing to do with the business ; we insist up ^ n jou taking down the Sag , oiherwise yon must find a fresh house . " So saris & ihe two Liberal Whiglib&rtv-of-conscience men walked away .
WI © TO 2 T . —During the visit « f the Whig and Tory candidates to this town , two half barrels of ale were ordered to be distributed in the streets by the latter , in order to make himself the nsts : popular . But no sooner did this anemps at bribery and drunkenness become known , than a few working mea , despising the base arts of the faction , seized the carrels , run the liquor out , and then dashed them to pieces , amidst the cheers of those assembled , who then gave three cheers for the People ' s Charter . A : a democratic temperance meeting , the " same evening , a resolution was passed , condemnatory of those who would thus induce the working clashes to pr-jsriruie themselves , end co : upiimei :: iiig ih-.-s-j brare men who had so aobly conducted themselves .
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UNITED STATES . President ' s Message . —The 27 th Congress of -he Caned Slates assembled at Washington on the 31 st nil . The Eousa of Representatives having be = r organised , the election of Speaker wss disposed ot on thsTery first vote , Mr . John White , of Kentsctv , the Ministerial caad ; date , received 121 vote .-, aad Mr . J . W . Jop . es , late Chairman of the Ways aud Mean ? , 64 . Nest day , the 1 st of June , tht-President transmitted to both Houses of Con ^ reis V . 5 message . It is britf , compared w . th Presidential aessages generally , ar . d appears to have given general « arirfac : ion . " Us zlludes briefly ' . 9 the laEeated dtath of his prcdtres : or , General Karrison , and pass-es on to tiie financial and ger . eral pssiuon of American matters . In ailusion io ite case of M'Leod , he is reported to say : —
" A correspondence has taien place between the Secretary of State tad the Minister of her BritsuDic 3 Is ; estj accredited to this goverrinent , on tLt rabj . c : of Alexaader il'ieod's jadicrmeEt sn l iinprJsor . aient , copies of ¦ which are hereTrith con-musieatetl to Coi ; - creas . In a-ldinon to vrhut ar-pe-rs in these piper . * , it may he proper to state that Al-xauJer M'Leod has been heard by the Supreme Court of th « S ^ ite of New York on his motion to be discharged from imprisonment , and that the decision of that Court had not as yet been pronounced .
" So far as it depends on the ct-arse of this governmeat , oar relations of good-will and friendship will be secolouriy c&luvated with ail nations . Tee true American policy ml ] be found to consist in the exerciss of i spirit of justice to b- ? mzziiesis-l in the dlfciarzs of all our international oMkatijns , to the wsikest of the family of cations as well as to the most puWer . ul . Occasional conflicts may arise , bnt -when the discuasiou 3 incident to them are conducted in the language cf truth , and -with a strict regard to justice , tha scourge of vst will for the most part be avoided . lbs time ought to be rfegtrded as having gore by -wken a resort to irras is to tie esteemed as the only proper arbiter of tstioss ' i differences . "
The President then goes on to say that in his opinion there exists notnin ^ in the extension of the American empire ov ^ r her ackriO ^ iedtjed possessions to excite the alarm of the pa : r : yt for the safety oi the institutions . The Federative systtm leaving to each state the care of : ts domestic onseni ? , and devolving on the Federal Govfrnmc-nt those of general import , admits in safety of the greatest expansion ; bst a ; the sarae time he deem-.-d it proper to add , there would be found to exist at all times an itopfrious necessity for res : raining all tie functionaries of the Government within the range of their respective powers , thert-bj prest-rving a just balance betweeQ the powers granted to the Ggvemment and those reserved to the States ani the people .
He then alludes , in an elaborate address , to the state of the currency , to the banking in the States , and generally to the liabilities oi ibe country . Tae following is an extract : — " I cannot svoid recurring , in connection with this rabjso , to the sfeeemty which exists fox adopting some nia , &le nsfeasure whereby the unlimited creation of lasts by the State * may be corrected for the iutare . Scch results can be mos : reiuiiy achievrd by the consent of the Stites , to be expressed in the form of a compact among themselves , which they can oni 7 enter int » ¦ with the consent and approbation of this Government A eonseni "which mighi , in the present emergency of ptblie dtmauas , justifiably be given by Congress in &QTaEc& of anv action bv the SiaWs a » an indacement to
action ., upon terms "well defined by teider . Sach a mea « ure , addressiog itself to the caba RSection of the States , would find , in the experience of ttte pait , and the eondiuen of the present , much to sustain it ; and it is greatly to be doubted "whether any Kheae of finance can prove , for any length of time j ^ ssesful , -while the States shall continue in the imre-^^ iaed povrei cf creating bulking corporations . ^ bi » power can only be limited by their consent "VTith the adoption of a financial egency , of a saciste&OTj chancier , the hope may be indulged that £ e country may once more return to a state of pros Peritv .-
, The New York money market wore a faronrxole aspect ; nearly every description of stock had ^ Proved .
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Divisioxs , —The number of divisions which have taken plaee sp : n Tarions public and private bills in the House of Commons during the past session altogether amounts to 1 C-9 ; of -which no lees than nineteen yrtre upon the Poor Law- Amendment Sill , Biae on the County Coroners' Bill , five on the Paabiiaesj of Death Bill > &nd six on Lord Morpeia ' s Insh Registration Bill .
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Lord Surret has been called ap to the House of Peers under the title of Baron MaHravers . 6 : r John Campbell ' s title is Baron Campbell . Mr . Williah Bcsh , a civil engineer , is engaged in building a lighthouse on Goodwin Sands , and has made some progress . He expects to secure the foundation before the equinoctial gales . New Con . —What parliamentary candidate ' s name speaks his own sentiments , that of his co-candidate ? , and all the Whig and Tory candidates of the United Kingdom ? Do you give it up !— " Lie-All , " the chief of the four Conservative City candidates . The stbikb of the journeymen hatfers in Lancashire has terminated . They have at last acceded to the masters' tenss . No fewer than 5500 persons haft : been out of employment for sixteen weeks , and npwsrds of £ 407 ) 00 in . wages have been kept out of circulation .
Moeb Platthings . —There have lately arrived from the continent , for h ' i 3 Royal Highness Prince Albert , thirteen beautiful milk-white goats , of a peculiar and Talnable breed , which are now in ths de « r-pen , near the statue , in the Great Park . A Tot . —A . few days ago , at Exeter , a nurse give an infant , nine months old , a bottle containing eil of vitriol , " to amuse it 1 The poor child contrived to get out the cork , and drank part of the liquid , which caused its death . The Losg Parliament .- The late House of Commons has existed longer than any which has been elected darjag the last fifteen years ; that which was summoned in December , 1826 , having only existed about three year 3 and a half . The one just expired may , therefore , not unaptly be termed the " Long Parliament . "
Anti-Beep and Mcttw Pabtt . — At Meribyr , DowLais , Trede ^ ar , and Naniyglo , the Chartists , and many other workmen , have ' declared war against the present high price of meat—8 d . per 1 b . ; they have signed a solemn declaration not to purchase any till the price be reduced to 4 . ' , d . per lb . Nearly all the butchers that attended the above markets last Saturday returned with their meat unsold . Great Ship . —The great iron steam-ship now beiDg bu ' : l $ at Bristol , wHl probably combine a greater number and variety ef untried principles than were ever before united in one enterprira of the fame magnitude and
importance—( about 3 600 tons , it is said)—her material—{ plate iron )—her engines , nearly twelve hundred horse nominal power—cylinders ono kundrsd and twenty inches in diameter !—no piston rod 3 •—no beams !—the connecting rod laying hold immediately on the piston , and a moveable hollow casting playing through a stuffing-box in ilmopof the p : ? ton to give play to the said connecting rod lan unlimited application Of the expansive principle ! —and to crown all , do paddle-wheels ! co paddleboxes projecting from her vast sides !—bo apparent propeJHng power , bat ari unseen agent revolving under her keel and eaablinc her to
" Walk the waters lite a thing of life . " Verily , verily , wo live in an age of wondors ; and if the mechanical genius of the era give safe birth to this cre 3 tnre of its conception , and ioster her into vi ^ orons maturity , it will be difficult henceforward to set any bounds to locomotion over the waters of the deep . Middlesex Sessions—Satcrday . —PnocrxDi . ves r . vDsa the Weights and Measures Act . —Messrs . Wilson , Knight , Wilkes , and ether magistrates oi the county , assembled on Saturday , to hear and determine the following cases of fraud : —William Thompson , of Little Gray ' s-inn-lane , milkman , was fined Sve shillings and costs , for having two of his measures slightly udjusC . The defendant said that
ne purchased the msasares froa his predecessor , " ud ha had considered them of the legal standard . Mr . Knight said bis conduct had been very loose , and by way of caution , the court felt bound to infl ' -ct the penalty . Sarah Cri ? p , al = o a dealer in mi'ki was fijied fire shilling- ; for having jn me oeg jn-asure , the same being unjust . Mary Newhara , of No . 55 , Gray's-inn-iane , coal dealer , was chared with having in nse a seven pound weight , lijzht of ihat qaaatity seven ounce ? , and fined twenty shillings . Thos . Cooper , cheesemonger , oi M , Brook-streef , llollora , was nest fined . Mr . Turner , ihe as ? istant inipeccor , saidbefound thedt-fendant'sweighiTjg machine with a draught dgainst a purcaaser of seven drachms , cccas ^ oaed by a hslfpenoy being placed under the ?? aic .
Fined twenty shillings . Ja . me 3 Bromley , No . 7 , Fox-courr , Gray ' s-inn-lane . coaldealer , was ordered to pay twenty shillings for havjrg in use a machine three quarters of a pound against a purchaser . Samuel Alexander , ironmonger , N& . 1-24 , Goswellstreet , Si . Luke's , was complained of under these circumstances . Mr . Turner said that hu had seized on the defendant ' s premises three weight ? , purporting to be of oSlbs . each , deficient of that quantity from three ounces to three ounces aud a half . Fined twenty shiilines . John Lea , 8 , Church-street , Lower-road , Islington , coal and potato dealer
appeared on a summons urder these circumstances . Mr . Turner said that defendant's coal-machine had a false balance of ten ounces ; a seven pound weight was light nine drachms ; a one pound , iour drachms deacient ; and a half-pound , two drachms short . A penalty of thjrty shillings was inflicted , the bench Telling the defendant that they considered it a deliberate case of fraud . At the conclusion of the investigations , the magi .-tra : e 3 complimeured - Mr . Child-, the Inspector of Weights and Measures , aud his witness , and requested them do : to relax in their exertions to punish and expose the plunderers of the poor .
HlGI ' . WAT KOBBERT AND ATTEMPTED MCEDES . —A corrtspo ; den ; has furnished us with the particulars of a d # ed of intended murder , for the sake of plunder , scarcely second in villainy to that which occurred in Ludiow Jasi Au ° ust . The scene of this new crime was at the foot of Lilleshall Hill , on the road from N-wport to the Iron Works at Dounlngton Wood , in the county of Salop , close adjoining the village ol Lillei-nail , and the seat of h . s Grace the Duk ? oi ^ u : heris . ud , Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire . Mr . Brka ; . n , a respectable grocer at Newport , has been accustomed for many years to supply the charterni 2 . iter 3 at Douuington with the c ^ sh in silver and copper recfived by him weekly , varying froa £ 30 ro £ i 00 , for the purpose of payiBg the men employed
in the iron-works . This money was usually scat on the Friday , in a light cart , in the custody of one of ilr . Britain ' s servants . Some time a ^ o a married man , named Thomas S : mms , was entrusted with lhis charge , but having left Mr . Britain ' s service , he comae"ced ; he business of selling fruit in the town and nrfghbonrhoodof Newport . Lately the charge wa ? entrusted to a young rnau , named BeDJamiu iS ' ichoils , a servant in the employ of Mr . Britain ; and with lhis fact the former servant , Simms , was perfectly acquainted . On Friday week , owing to some delay , tfts money was not forrrarded as -usual but about eight o ' clock on Saturday morning Nicholls was despatched to the ironworks on horseback , having £ 10 in copper slung acros 3 the saddle , aud a further
sum of £ 5 m copper secured on the pommel of the saddle , on . the top of which was place ! i' 50 in silver , tied up in a shot bag . He arrived at Lilleshall Hill about nice o ' clock , and on parsing a stiie which terminated a footpath leading from tie top , be was accosted by S'imms , who crossed over the stile , and asked Xicholls where he was going ? He replied that he wa 3 going to Doacington works . Simms t > . en crossed the road from left to right , behiud the horse , saying that be was goi :: gtowards Wellington ; and placing his left hand on the animal , walked ~ jue by side for a short time . On a Egdden Simms exclaimed , " Look ? what ' s on the hill ? " aud immeciattly drew forth a hammer , a pound weight , and ii-fiv . cted two tremendous blows on h'icholi ' s head .
Fortunat-elr . for the young man , he did not turn his head in the direction of the hill , fearing that the money m ght fall from the saddle , otherwise the blows must have fall-in on his temple ; as it was ; the blows were received on bi 3 forehead , and he became powerless and stunned , but did not fall . The horse immediately sprang forward , and the bag of silver , and the 45 in copper placed on the saddle , fell to the ground , and the latter parcel burst , and its contents were scattered on the road . As soon as Nicholis recovered his senses he galloped on to Newport , raising an alarm of " Murder ! " In the mtan time Simma picked cp the bag of silver , and ran np the hill , but meeting a person who had heard theories of distress , he turned back into the
read , and escaped . In a few minutes afterwards his wile , Harriet Simms , was seen by persons who had heard the alarm to descend from the monument a : the summit of the nil ) , which had been erected by a grateiul tenantry to the memory of the Duke o : Sutherland , and approach the hedge along which her husband had been si-en to ran . She was observed to kick the long grass on the margin of the ditch , as if in search of something which had been dropped ; but not succeeding , she departed in the direction of Newport . The intended victim , however , succeeded in arriving first at Newport , and having raised a hue and cry , the woman was taken on entering the town . Several of the inhabitants and police immediately commenced a pursuit after Sijrm ? , and about noon he was takeu by Mr . Preston , a publican , wilhin a few miles of Newport . Information was then given
to Mr . Baxter , superintendent of police , who made striet search in the ricinity of the place where the oatrage was committed ; and , after considerable pains he discovered the bag of silver in the drain at the foot of the hill . The hammer was also fond near the spoi . Simma and hi 3 wife were then taken be-Uto Charles Morris , Esq . a magistrate of the Newport district . In addition to the above facts , evidence was given to prove that the prisoners were 6 © en waiting on Lilleshall Hill nearly th © -whole of Friday , the day on which the money was usually conveyed to Donnington . Much astonishment was excited by the fact of the outrage being committed at such a time on the highway , particularly as it was Newport market day . ' The prisoners were folly committed for trial at the next assizes , on the capital charge of highway robbery , accompanied with violence . We are happy to state that Nicholls is recovering from his wounds . —Shrewsbury Paper .
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Ships of the Line . —A first-rate man-of-war ( sach as the Trafalgar , that was launched at Woolwich on Monday week ) , require ? , about 60 , 000 cubit feet of timber , and uses I 80 , 000 ! b . of rough hemp in the cordage and sails for it . The ground on which the timber for a seventy-four gun ship ( little more than half the size of the Trafalgar ) would require to grow , would be feurteen acres . It requires 3 , 000 loads of timber , each load containing fifty cubical feet . One thousand five hundred well-grown tren 3 , of two loads each , will cover fourteen acres at twenty feet asunder ; 3 , 000 loads of rough oak , at 2 s . per foot , or £ 5 per load , will cost £ 15 , 000 .
How to Gain Five Hcsdred Pounds . —Any person who has received a bribe may get a third paity to prosecute the briber , himself give evidence agaias ' . his corrupter , and not himrelf be exempt from all penalties , but share with b ; s friend the penalty of £ 500 . The individual bribed will , of course , only proceed against sach persons as can pay the penalty on conviction , the whole of which the law awards to the prosecator . The casea in which such prosecHtions can be instituted are these " . —First , where money has been paid down for a vote ; secondly , where a promise is made that a certain sum shall be paid for a vote ; thirdly , where a situation , a
receipt in full for a debt , the settlement of an action , a long price for a cabbage , cat , canary bird , &c , ot any such inducement to vote on the side the veter would not have voted on without such inducement is given or promised not to vote for a particular candidate , or not to vots at all . The briber is , therefore , completely at the merey of the bribee . It i 3 true thai the proceeding would not be vei-y creditable to the party , but it is not a whit worse thaa the selling of the vot ? , and he that has bartered his conscience for the paltry sum of £ 5 , or £ 10 will hardly scruple at such a peccadillo when the prize in view is £ 509 . —Sun .
Despotic Contact of Parish Officers . —The shop of Mr . Marshall , a news agent , residing at No . 20 , Brown' -lane , Spiialfields , it appears , has become marked as an object for official vengeance . ? . Iawwormism is rampant in Spitaifields ; saints flourish in that locality , and have become as plentiful as blackberries . At eleven o ' clock last Sunday morning , Mr . Graham , an auctioneer and appraiser , residing at tho coraer of Wood-street and Churchstreet , and who is , also , constable of the parish ; Mr . Home , undertaker , New Montague-street ; together with three or four other persons , accompanied by the two beadles , Messrs . Pilbrow and
Hart , approached the shop of the above-named individual , and desired him to take down several show boards , ou which tho bills of content ? of the various Sunday journals were posted . Mr . Marshall , in a very civil manner , replied , " Certainly , pass on , Geu'lemen , aud I will at once do so . " The parties retired two or three yards , anil just as Mr . M . was in the act of taking a board iu doors , they rushed bsck , and Mr . Graham himself having ecizod a placard , the beadles followed hi 3 Christian-like example , and posssssed themselves of all the postiug bill ? , besides six penny unstamped papers ; and threatened Mr . Marshall , if he resisted , to lock him up !— Weekly Dispatch .
Barbarous Murder in Shacwell . —On Friday evening , a brutal murder was committed in a street called Blue-ga-. e Fields , High-street , Shadwell , by two women of the town , named Mary Long , alias Owen , aud Hannah Covington . The victim wa 3 a Mr . Thomas Briggs , an elderly gentleman , who ha 3 been for many years residing at No . 18 , Norfolkstreet , Turner-street , Commersial Road , aud who was the owaer of many houses in the neighbourhood of St . George ' s East and Shadwell . He was passing 3 long Blue-gate Fields ou Friday evening , about seven o ' clock , when he was assailed by the two women , who beat him in a most savage manner ; and from the effects of these iiijurie 3 he died a few miuuteg afterwards . The women were taken into custody , and have been committed for trial for the aurder .
Last Glimpse of the President . —The packet ghip Orpheus , C 3 pt . Cole , which sailed hence ou tho 11 th of March , in company with the ill-fated President , arrived yesterday from Liverpool . Captain Col < j had the last glimpse of the steamer on the 1 * 2 Ji of March , the day beforo the most terrific gale that ever blew on our coast . Nothing has been heard oj seen of her since that morning , unless the wreck seeu by Captain Bowman was her . Many and many a pei > en will remember that dreadful gale , which raged for two day 3 , the 13 ih and 14 ih of March , strewing the broad Atlantic for miles wjih spar ? , masts , hu ' ih , and wrecks of &H kinds .
Capt . Cole said he never experienced snch another . So strong did the wind blow , that it took the sails , fuTleu iifihtiy oil the yards of the Orphens , completely off , and tore them into rags . And Captain Comstock , of the steamer Massachusetts , who was in Long Island Sound ou the first night , reports that he never passed through such a n ght . That he and all his passengers were saved was a miracle . Several of the passengers say that they are indebted to the skill and coolness of the captain for their lives . Wo give these facts to show the severity of the gale the President , with her heavy bulky machinery , had to encounter when only two days out . —New York Paper . June J .
Cruel application of the Law . —We were induced to inquire if any measures had been taken for the relief of the poor creatures lately convicted of hawking a few trifling articles without licenses , &c , whose cause was advocated in the T * wu Council , and Police Boards , by Bailie Grieve and Mr . DJdd , and wo ascertained that a petition in their behalf would be forwarded to Lord ISormanby , to be presented to tho Queen . We know not when any instances of hardship equal to those of tho poor people to whom this petition refers have been brought
before the public . Tho first case is that of Mary Tominay who is upward * of fifty years of age . She wants the power of her right hand , and was trying to pick up a liviDg by disposing of a few articles oi delf-ware in the streets . Tr . e 2 jd . is a similar case . The 3 d , Heleu Lunn &r Nott , sent out by a cobbler to sfclJ a few patched-up shoes in a basket . 4 tb , the child of the person last mentioned employed in the same way . 5 : h , a woman of fifty , who carried a basket with a small stock of comb 3 , worsted , &c . 6 ih , a discharged pauper trying to maintain herself in tho same manner . All these have
been severally convicted of hawking without a license , and fined in twenty-five pounds each , which penalty , in regard to their ability to p 3 y , might as well have been £ 25 , 000 . la default of pajment they have been sentenced to be imprisoned for three month . 3 . The 7 th case is that of au infirm man , aged sixty , sentenced to one months imprisoumeut for hawking deif-ware without a license , and tho 8 ; h another man aged fifty-five sentenced to three month 3 impriionnK-nt for the crime of selling a few tapes , laces , and iucifer matched without a license 1 Uader what despotism could there be anything more cruel perpetrated on the poor and helpless thau this I
The petition states that none of the individuals convicted were aware that they were infringing the law or were informed that they were doing so tiii they were taken up and subjected to al ! it 3 rigour . Tne touching circumstance is also mentioned that none of them ever suffered a day ' s loss of personal liberty till they bscame the victims of a stretch of law , which every p-.-rson of ordinary feeeling must stigmatise as cruei in the extreme , if the prayer of this petition for a remission of a heavy punishment where no punishment is deserved is disregarded , it may well ba supposed that there is neither mercy nor justice to be found in the high places where power is lodged . —Scottish Patriot .
Teetotalebs , Beware . —Spurious Tea . —William Terry , grocer , dec , of Greek-street , Soiio , was charged , on Friday , before the Commissioners of Excise , with having in his possession a quantity of spurious tea . Mr . Francis Charles Wingrove , on being sworn , ? aid he had been in the Excise thirteen years , aud from information which he received he had made a seizure of 1331 bs of leaves on defendant ' s premises . It was made in this manner : — In September last , he was looking after a man named Dellahoi , whom he saw deposit a chest in the shop of the defendant , and again on the 22 ad of December , he saw him deliver two more chests to the servants of Mr . Terry . He on the latter occasion went up to the cart to question Dellahoi , when that person took to his heels , and baa since been at hide and seek . Witness immediately thereupon broke open the chests , and perceiving that they contained stuff in imitation of tea , Beized it , and
conveyed it , with the horse and cart , to her Alajesty s stores . While he was examining the rubbish , Mr . Terry made his appearance , and on being interrogated by witness , he said he bad one previous dealing with Dellahoi , of whom he knew but very liitle , and that the article he then had from him was genuine and good at the price , which was 4 s . 4 d . a pound . Mr . Gonlding Bird said , he had examined the contents of the two chests , and discovered that it consisted of sloe and hawthorn leaves , and redried tea-leaves . ( Ho produced to the Court many Ear oples of them , opened and pasted on white paper . ) He liad extracted from the leaves , and there was not the slightest taste of tea . By direction of the Board of Commissioners , witness bad Been the defendant , and examined his stock , some of which was very bud indeed . One of the shopmen was grinding some leaves , and when asked his motive for so doing , the accused £ » id tb * t old women frequently asked for tea-dust , and he was making them some .
i ( Laughter . ) Terry Baid the chests were sent to him as samples . Mr . Waddington— Did he tell you ! the prica he was to give ! " Mr . Bird—No . He ' said they had not agreed upon the price . " Mr . i Waddiflgton— "Could sach stuff be palmed on an experienced person as genuine tea ! " Mr . Bird—¦ " it would be utterly impossible . " Mr . Wadding-! ton— "Did the defendant Bay anything of Dellahoi . " i Mr . Bird— " He merely observed that he wished he had never seen him , aud that he was ashamed of 1 transaction . " Mr . Stephenson said , that as the ! defendant had not examined the contents , it could ' not be said that he had a guilty knowledge of the ;• affair , and he thought the infomafcion ought to be i dismissed . The other Commissioners concurring , i the case was accordingly dismissed . The Court I ordered the rubbish to be burnt .
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Mb . William Baines , ( he church-rate victim , after an imprisonment of more than seven months , having been incarcerated on the 13 th November last , was released on Wednesday morning ; and on quitting tbc prison , without going into tho towu at all , started immediately for Hallaton , a village at some distance , where his parents and some of his brothers reside . Mr . Baiues has not paid the rate , nor have any of his frienda . Population . —The population of Vienna amounted in 1840 to 357 , 927 , of whom 204 , 298 were Austrians , * » i £ rest foreigners . Tho increase since 1837 ia 23 , 427 , but these are chiefly foreigners . The national manufactures have within the last ten yeara made immense progress . The population of the whole kingdom of Saxony amounts to 1 , 687 , 141 . The produce of the mines for ] 839 was 7 , 000 , 000 f . The woollen manufactories employ between 3 , 000 and 4 , 000 looms , making annually 160 , 000 pieces of cloth . The national debt amounts to 56 . 9 » 8 . 327 f .
The Fhke Tjrade Humhug !—The following statement has been compiled from the report of the lato Factory Commissioners appointed by thelibertylovins ; and labour-rewarding Whigs . Our hardworking artizans may judge from it what would be the effect upon their own wages were the free-trade and anti-corn law principles of the party carried out before the working men themselves had secured a voice in the making of thelaws . Cheap bread would be literally beggara' wages : —The factory operative in England works 69 hours per week , for which on an average he has lls . wages . In America he works 78 hours , and han 10 s . wages per week . In Franco he works from 72 to 84 hours , and has 5 s . 8 d . per week . In Switzerland he works 78 to 84 hows , and has 4 s . 5 d . per week . In Tyrol he works 72 to 80 hours , and has 4 s . per week . In Saxony he works 72 hours per week , and has 33 . 6 d . wages . And in Bonn , in Prussia , he works 94 hours , and has 2 s . 6 d . wagesjper week .
The Beastly Poor Law But ,. —The Nottingham Guardians have offered a bold front to the Somerset House Bashaws , whoso days , happily for the comforts of the poor , we hope are numbered . We would wish that every other Board in tho kingdom would act in a similar becoming spirit . It appoura from aroport in the Nottingham Mercury , that the Guardians had made application to the Commissioners fora dissolution of the Union ; but that the latter have not yet oomo to a decision on the subject . In the meantime Mr . Senior , an Assistant P « or Law Commissioner has attended a meeting of the Board , in order that any communication , touching tho subject of the dissolution , might be made to him . Mr . Senior , however , said that ho had seen
tho reasons mooted in the support of-that , measure ; the first was , that the Union was " too extensive to be conducted with proper arrangement aud attention . " On this head Mr . Senior urged " that the Guardians brought forward no faces to support their position . " Whether they have or have not , we are unable to state . Wo have not seen tho reasons that were sent by them to the Strand despots ; but we could produce a hundred good and sufficient arguments to show why Unions should berostricted to siZ 3 ; leaving out of tho quostion the baneful effects of the centralization scheme , a . 3 tending to create patronage , and ultimately to crush the people . The second reason for bringing about a dissolution was this , " that it is impossible
to carry out and strictly abide by the principles of the New Poor Law . " Mr . Senior uaid nothing was easier . In this he was perfectly right , and tho Guardiaus manifestly wrong ; for thVflint-hearfced Bashaws make no bone 3 of carrying tho strict tetter of the law into effect at tho expense of the bellies of thepeor . What the Guardians meant to urge was this , and the feeling is good , and does credit to their hearts—that it was " impossible" to carry out the principle of the Bill without bringing the poor to a by hr worse condition than tho very beasts of the field . It requires an iron-nerved man to enforce such a law as this ; and none but such persons an aro entirely destitute of feeling are chosun to fill * Sices under it . Hear what Mr . Hicklin said , in
reply to Mr . Senior— " Ho happened to be waiting at a Union workhouse , in a room leading to the passages , when a cleanly and respectably clad young woman made an application to see her parents and younger brother . After some delay , sUo was permitted to see her mother , who was then taken back , and her father and brother were then brought . She was not allowed to see them togothtr , and the schoolmaster stood within a few yards all the time , with his hands in his pockets , totally preventing any interchange of those domestic sympathies which they know so well how to value , and from the situation in which the parties were placed , would in this case bo rendered doubly dear . Thess unfeeling regulations ought to be broken down , as they were
contrary to the spirit of mercy in which the laws of England were framed . " Tho " presumption is , that this regulation ih enforced , lest tho paupers communicate totheir friendsthohorrorsof tho Bastile system . But is not this a dreadful state of things that our workhouses are in every respect , as far as discipline is concerned , on a footing with common gaols , and by far worse , when prison fare is contrasted with prison diet . It was really shocking that this poor girl was not allowed to converse with her brother and her parents without the presence of tho schoolmaster . Nobody bu $ a positive fiend , a wretch in human shape could have advised such a monstrous regulation . We are glad that the Nottingham Guardians have made a etir in the matter . The old English plan of each parish managing its
own affairs , is more satisfactory than tho present sweeping system of centralisation , at which every real Briton ought to look with an eye of jealousy . These Guardians have been a sharp thorn in the side of the Magnates ; they rejected tho diet tables , and an apology was sent to them , that the sending the starvation tables to Nottingham was all " a mistake . " la the adjoining Union , where there appears to ba a want of proper spirit , the master is compelled to adopt the Somerset House scale , and weigh out the food to the nicest fraction ! At Loughborough , there has actually been a controversy about dividing a potato ! Mr . Senior recommended the finishing the new workhouse , which might be done at a cost of £ 1 , 500 , but it was clearly shown by a practical man ( Mr . Soar = ) , that £ 10 , 00 t would not be more than sufBcient to dfect the
object . Let the Nottingham Guardians delay this project . At no distant period the lay must be carried out by persons interested in their own and the welfare of the poor ; aud when that is the case , tho Guardians will find accommodation for the poor , without expending £ 10 , 010 over and above what has already been laid out . At the forthcoming election , we call upon the constituency to exact pledges from the candidates that they will vote in tiie House of Commons for the dismissal of the Strand gang , and for tho law being carried out , as of old , by properly elected Guardians . There is a pleasing difference in the management of the poor iu workhouses without the scope of tho withering pauper starvation act . The poor old folk are happy ; they get tea , sugar , and other little comforts ; the young , while they are properly worked , aro not harshly treated ; and children are permitted every
rational erjoyment . There is noneot that severity in tho old system , that prevents a father speaking to his child unleES in the presence of the schoolmaster or some other appointod person . Under the old plan of management the poor are not locked up in dens , which have no light , except what is admitted through the roof ; and at seasonable hours , and at appoiuted times , they are permitted to visit their friends , in order to pick up a few pence , or obtain a sapply of tobacco , snuff , and other trilling things that add real valu 9 to life ; while in the bastile none of these things are permitted ; the belly-griping gruel , the pork-water , and the bread and cheese dietary , are all that the paupers have allowed them , and if these fail to support life , they must make up their minds to inhabit a premature grave . Down , we say , with the Commissioners ; and modify the accursed provisions of the Poor Law . — Weekly Dispatch .
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COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH . —Wednesday . Mr . Mozon , the publisher in Dover-street , was indicted for publishing a blasphemous libel in a recent edition of the poetical works of Shelley . The casa was tried by Lord Dcnman before a Special Jury . Three passages from Queen Mab were set out in the indictment . Sergeant Talfourd , for the defence , argued that the passages objected to made not more than the three hundredth part of a work of twenty thousand lines , and would give not only an imperfect but a wrong impression of the whole . The book was a history of the stages which a great mind had gone through , in its gradual developement ; and ii would only be sought by persons likely to appreciate the combination of the several parts with each other , and the tendency of the entire
composition . In many passages of Paradise Lost , Satan was made to utter sublime defiances of Almighty power . Indeed , the publishers of the works of Milton , Gibson , Byron , Rousseau , and Shakspeare himself might as well be prosecuted as the publisher of the present poem . Lord Penman said , that he and the Jury were , however , bound to proceed on the law as handed down from all time—that the publisher of a blasphemous libel was clearly punishable , if he was guilty of doing so with the knowledge of its character , which made & part of the offence . The motives of the publisher were beside the question ; for he was responsible for the direct consequence of the publication itself . There could be no doubt that , in the passages quoted ,
an intention was shown to cast reproach aad insult on the Christian God . Such an intention , however , in mere passages was insufficient , ifthe work contained a genuine condemnation of it in the context . They would , therefore , consider the tendency of the whole , and judge if it were correctly described by the terms used to bring it within the criminal law . It was certainly true , aa remarked for the defence , that this extraordinary poem was composed by a youth of eighteen , and that in many places it contradicted itself ; but that could not prevent it from being mischievous and offensive , or from producing injurious effects en Bociety . It might also be true that the author's latter works would qualify the effects of bis earlier works ; but still they would not thenoe bo justified in acquitting the publisher oi
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the passages now prosecuted , Any writer of an auth \ t's life was allowed to state that he had once en ten ained opinions such aa these ; or even to express i hem in the author's own words . Whether this wa 3 such a casoas that , they would now decide . He hunt 'elf thought that it was better to subvert such sent iments by reason and argument than to suppress i hem by the prosecution of their authors . The Jury l "bund tho defendant guilty . There wei "e two other cases , that of ihe Queen v Fraser , and ; the Queen v . Otley , in which the defendants were t'harged with the sale of the work in question ; bat they were not pressed , and a VCfdiot Of " Not Guilt > " was given to each .
O'Connor On The Free Trade Question.
O'CONNOR ON THE FREE TRADE QUESTION .
The following lex'ter from Mr . O'Connor to Mr Thomas Crone , one oi * the frieza coat electors of the County of Cork , is appended to the address of Mr . O'Connor to the frieze c ^ at electors and non-electors upon the great question now at issue . It will be read with deep attention , as coming from one who appears to understand most minutely the several interests of the belligerent parties . Mr . O'Connor has addressed a Beries of letters to the landlords of Ireland , for the first of whieh we regret we cannot this week find space . Those letters speak
a warning to the Lords of th 8 soil , and will , we doubt not , rouse the sleeping energies of those drowsy gentlemen . The first shall appear in our next , and when all are before the public , they will be judged of according to their merit as a whole . The address of Mr . O'Conhob , including the letter to Thos . Crone , has been , as appears by an advertisement inserted elsewhere , printed very beautifully upon a single sheet , by our publisher , Mr . Hobson , and we commend it to the serious perusal of all , but especially to the Irish Catholics resident in England .
TO MR . THOMAS CRONE , ( OF MANCH , ) FARMER AND INDEPENDENT ELECTOR OF THE COUNTY OF CORK . My Dear Tom , —I have published an address , or rather , a caution to my brave Frieze coated soldiers . I send 5 > 0 copies to you for circulation . I send them to you because you are a . honest man , a Wise man , and a good man . Now Tom , here goes to make the whole subject as plain to you as tlie nose on your face ; and , Tom , you have a long one . Tom , you have the best landlord in Ireland ; he is also the best magistrate , the best
grandjuror , the best Blaster , the best rich man ' s friend , and the best poor man ' s friend . Though he is my first cousin , I but do him justice in saying this . In the aggregate he has so equal . Yon have also , as a spiritual adviser , the Rev . Mr . Doheney , than whom a more faithful , pious , zealous , and affectionate pastor breathes not I have always had great confidence in him ; and that confidence lias been much increased by the fact of my sister , who lately died a Catholic , having left every farthing she was worth in the world in trust to him , for the benefit of his flock , to be administered by him as a faithful shepherd .
But , Tom , yoar landlord is " hall a Whig , " and a great supporter of what he considers Whig principles : and should he ask you to support the Government candidates because he is a Whig , which , however , he will not do , as he never interferes with bi 3 tenants ' votes ; bnt his party being bard pressed , theald he , now , attempt to do so , say to him : — "Sir , is not my vote to have some effect ? and is not that effect to be the cheapening of the produce of the land for which I pay you , under existing circumstances , a certain rent ? " Tom , don't forget " existing crciumstances" upon any account !!! Then say : — " If you agree to take the average of the last seven years' price of wheat , and suppose it to be thirty shillings a bag , and suppose my rent to be one pound , ¦ will you , if the existing circumstances are altered , ( put ' eatistivg circumstances' in again ) : win you , if the existing circumstances ate altered .
agreo to take rent on account , for the next seven years , till wb can strike a balance , and acree upon terms and rent ? and if wheat is reduced to fifteen shillings a bag by the then ' existing circumstances' will you let lue have my land as before for two-thirds of the price , that is , ten shillings ? If you . do , I will vote for the moonahine . " Then go to the H © v . Mr . Doheney , and say unto him : — " Sir , for the la * t twenty years I have cheerfully given you so much a year for religious consolation , and other services which you have performed for me and my family , but henceforth , although yon cave earned it hardly , I can only afford to give you one half that atnotmt , but yet you must not relax in your duty . " And then if you owe any debt upon bond or note , go and ask the person to whom you ewe it , " if he will take half : " but be sure if any one owes you anything , go at once , under existing circumstances , and get U all ! Mind that , Tom !
Now , Tom , thus make those parties who would use any influence over your vote , parties with equal interest as yourself in the result . Now , Tom , observe . Let me , as there is only a step between the ridiculous and the sublime , just take both extremes , and have a word . Which , then , do you think it would be best for you to pay twenty shillings per acre , and get thirty shillings a bag for wheat : or to pay ten shillings per acre and get fifteen shillings a bag ? Now I will show you that it would be better to pay twenty shillings , and get thirty shillings a bag ; than to pay ten shillings and get even twenty shillings
a bag . First then at twenty shillings . From an acre you will have six bags of wheat : that would produce nine pounds at thirty shillings a bag ; that is eight pounds more than the rent . If you pay ten shillings per acre , aud have six bags at one pound a bag , that will leave you only five pound ten shillings over the rent ; and if you faid twenty shillings ttn acre you would be inueh more likely to have six bags from it , than if you paid but ten shillings ; and for this reason you would prepare your ground better , by expending more in labour and upon manure , fur you would have mote to expend .
The same rule that thus applies to wheat , applies equally to all other articles of production , and consumption , and value ; to butter , beef , and pork ; to cloth , calico , and leather ; to gold , silver , aud brass . Wheat is the standard which regulates the value of all . Now , Tom , suppose yon got five pounds a bag for your wheat ; must H not ruin every single operative now out ef work in England , and for whose advantage the masters -wish , to reduce wheat to ten shillings a bag ? No , Tom ; no snch thing . It would on the contrary , as if by magic , Bet every unemployed operative iu England to full work ; and here is the other extreme . If you got five pounds a bag , and paid three pounds rent ,
what would be your first step ? Why , to kill a few more pigs ; to buy a few more coats , and - breeches , and hats , and shoes , and gowns , and shirts , and shifts , and stockings , and a bit of furniture , and delf , and knive 3 and forks ; and also a new saddle and bridle , and pillion , for the Stasjgeen , to take yourself and Norah to mass ; and to make Tommeen , and Shauncen , and Norreen , and Judeen , all the more neat , and clean , and decent ; and get a book or two also , Tom , into the bargain . And , Tom , all your land would be cultiva ' ed to the highsst , and Jack Brickley would begin to look for more wages , and he and his wife get a " new shoot , " ( suit . ) But , by Jove . ' Tom , if Jack is put out of work he'll have another sort of SHOOT !
Well , now , how -would that affect the Irish artisans , mechanic , operatives , tradesmen , and shopkeepors ? Wbj , Tom , it would make them aa £ aucy as ginttemen ; and instead of having only a smell of tlie cheap loaf going to the rich man ' s table , they'd bav < a the dear one in toast , buttered on both sides , Tom . Well , and the English operatives ? Why , Tom , inasmuch as it would be better for you to have high prices and high rents than low prices and low rents , so would it be better for the English operatives to see their produce sold for one shilling a yard , instead of twopence ; and for this reason -. when it is over ch » ap it is a drug in the market ; bat when it is dear , it becomes not less a necessary to the rich , and more easily obtained by the very men who produce it When
potatoes are two-pence for tweuty-threo pounds , the Irish are always starving , while the potatoes are rotting ; and now , ¦ while every article of English manufacture is lower than ever , the very people who produce all , are lying without sheets or blankets , walking almost half-naked , while they are obliged to look upon warehouses full of their manufactures ; thej are indeed actually starving ! Now , Tom , 1 contend for it , that dear wheat — ( always understand me us arguing under the " existing circumstances" )—is the only thing to make dear cloth , dear calico , dear sboes , dear hats , dear fenders , pots , and fire-irons ; while at tho same time it allows those who cannot now afford to buy the fame articles at a drug price , the moans of buying them at a fancy price . Tom , such a ' atate of things would bring every Irishman from . America , France , and England , and raise their zcagex at home ! Whiie it would take them from the English res erve , and raise English wages also , by sending hu ndreds of
thousands upon increased wages to the lazy i , to railways , aud to a thousand other works ; v , d then we should be working for the full homo » iirket , and ( ending the redundancy at increased pr ices abroad : and ttan the GENTLEMEN would be oti iged to come homo also ; things would rise on the Cor itinent , as our high prices would give increased value f co every article of luxury and even necessaries there nit q , Now , Tom , I undertake to prove that dear lafc JU r in England-, under existing circumstances , is tb » or . lylock upon the uneven Canal by which the level t ^^ be preserved , between England with her heavy < f eDt # expensive government and tribe of pensioners , * and other countries owing bo money , ami having ' less expensive Governments to uphold . I aw , for Free Trade all over tba -world , but I * m for first breaking down-all tile expen 3 iv » J . ocfca upoa the canal , through which all produce ha * to pass ; ani when it ceases to make labour to pay . tr , \\ t then will I give my consent to produco going te £ } free . Tou , before you
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get cheap food * get cheap land to produce it . TOM , before yon reduce the price of labour , reduce fixed incomes , debt , and salaries of public offices j and bofuTeyou reduce the price of produce , reduce the price of land . TOM , I am for Free Trade all over the world ; but , Tom , you may as well think of rnnniug a race : gainst me with one of your legs tied up , as think of having a Free Trade with nations more free by being less taxed than yourselves . Ireland , though nominally not taxed , id situated as regards taxation and
commerce consequent upon taxation , precisely the same as England . Tom , I undertake to prove my position against all the humbugs in the world I Always bear in mind that " cheap" and " dear" are relative terms ; and that "svhen cloth is cheapest you find it hardest to get ; so when bread is cheapest tne labourer may find it hardest to get . And O f it is a sore and a could thing for a poor craythur to stand with his teeth watering , grinning through the windy at the big Russian loaf without a penny in his pocket to bay even a slice of it ! '
Now , Tom , you most understand all about the men who want chead bread to feed their poor slaves ; and in order that yen may perfectly understand their motives and humanity , I submit to yon the following evidence taken on oath before a ComHiittee of the House of Commons , as to the tender mercies of cheap-bread gentry . And , mark , the evidenw is from their owa overseers or overlookers on oath . Bear in mind that the master m » Bt implicated by that evidence , from being faimeelf a common working boy , has made nearly two ' millions . of money out of the Isbour of those h « has used so badiy : ' and yet he is not satisfied ! Having drunk deep of English infant bleod , he would now tap the blushing veins of Ireland , and thus make her face as pale as he and his murderous associate * have made the face of Britain . Here follows tne evidence of the witnesses-:
—Mark Best said —•• I am about fitty-six years old . I have been engaged as overlooker in the flax mill of Mr-Marshall . The regular hoHrs of work are , frsm six to seven . When they are ' throng , ' from five to nine at night ! They only allow forty minutes for dinner No time is allowed for breakfast or drinking ! ' The children put the food on one side , and eat it as they can . Sometimes , when their work is bad , they are prevented getting it at all ;—they have then to tote it home again . Sometimes it is bo dirtied , that it is rendered unfit to eat The dust flies about till they can scarcely see each other ! In the card-rooiua the refuse hangs about their mouths , while they are eating their food ! Sometimes , in those dusty places , it takes away their appetites , and they cannot eat They
beat the boys and girls with a strap , t » make them look sharp . When they are fatigued and tired , they are obliged to use them worse , to make them keep np . ' The masters know very well that the children are thus beaten aad strapped ; they encourage the overlookers to do it ! The straps are about one foot and a half long , and there is a stick at the end of some of them ; and the end or the strap , which they beat them with , is cut or slit into five or six thongs . They are regularly made for the purpose J Unless they are driven and flogged up , they cannot gtt tho quantity of work they want ftonv them . They are fined as well as beater . They are fined for speaking io one another ! —for combing their hair!—for washing themselves !—or cleaning their shoes!—or doing any thing , so as to go homo decent at
night ! They are not allowed to do any such thing , if the work was going on ever so well . Profound aileace is enjoined ! The children were exceedingly fatigued . The Uiual hours of labour are too long for children to bear . When they go' home , if they get set down before the fire , they are asleep in a few minutes . The fine spinning rooms are very much heated , and full of steam . In winter the clothes of those who live at a distance , will be frozen to their backs , and quire stiff before they get home . I have known the period of long labour from five to nine continue for five or six months together ! When the children are at home in consequence of illness from over-working and long hours , the master neither pays their wages nor for the doctor ! When any visitors are coming to look * over
the works , they used generally to come round , balf an hour before , and tell U 3 to cease , and get our machines clean and tidy against the time ! There was no strapping or cruelty going on when the visitors were there . " Samuel Djwne , of Hunslet Carr , near . Leeds , said' * I am twenty-nine years of age . I am a native of Shrewsbury . I was about ten years old when I began to work at Mr . Marshall's mill , at Shrewsbury . When we were brisk , we used generally to begin at five in the morning , and run till eight at night ! The engine uever stopped , except forty minutes at dinnertime ! These long hours were very fatiguing . The children wero kept awake by a "blow or a bex ! Very considerable severity was used in that mill . ' I was strapped most severely , till 1 could not bear to sit upon a chair
without having pillows : and I was forced to lie upen my face in bed at one time ! and through that 1 left I was strapped ou my legs , and then L was put upon a man ' s back and strapped I and then I was strapped and buckled with two straps to an iron pillar and flogged ! I After that , the overlooker took a pieca of tow , and twisted it in the fchape of a cord , and put it in my month , and tied it behind my bead . ' He thus gagged me , and then he ordered me to run round a part of the machinery , and he stsod at one end , asd every time I came round , he struck me with a stick , which I believe was an ash-plant , aud which he generally carried in hia hand , till one of the men in the room came and begged
ma off !!! At ose time I was beaten so that I had not the power to cry at all !! I was then between ten and eleven years old ! It was winter timo , and we worked by gas-light , and I could not catch the revolutions of the machinery to take the tow out of the hackles ; it requires some little experience , and I vras timid at it , and pricked my fingers very much with the hackles . I cannot assign at ; y other reason for it ! He was not discharged from the milL We were never allowed t 9 sit ! We were not allowed to talk !—not at . all , by no means ! if this nun htard ns , he came to us with his stick ! Yoitng women were beaten as well as young men ! !"
Jonathan Dowue said— " I reside in Lseds . I am twenfcy-iive years old . I first went to work at Mr . Marshall ' s mill when I was seven years old . Very severe methods were adopted , in order to compel us t 9 work tbeir long hours . I have sten boys knocked down with a strap : they have been called from their work flogged , and then knocked down on the floor ; and when they have been on the floor , they have been beaten till they have risun , and wlitsn they have risen , they have been flogged to their work again ! That was very common . ' I know mai > y who have been bound ta pillars , and then flogged—it is quite common to do so I Females were also chastised ! No means were taken to remove the overlooker who inflicted such extreme chastisement ! If we had csmplained to Mr . Marshall ,
¦ we should have been-discharged ; and -whatever hand was turned away from Mr . Marshall ' s , ' Mr . Benyon ¦ would not employ ; and whatever hand was turned away from Mr . Benyon ' s , Mr . Marshall would not employ ; and these were the only two mills in Shrewsbury . I have known , a mother of two children in Mr . Marshall ' s employment at Shrewsbury knocked down by tlie overlooker ! Horseman , the manager , will go to the overlookers , : md if they have not done something severe , he will say , ' I have never heard of your doing anything—you have never quarrelled with any of the hands ; do something ,, that I may hear of it , aud I will stand your friend ! ' It is the- usual practice to prepare mills previous to their being inspected by strangers . It is a frequent thing at Mr . Marshall ' s mill , where the
least children are employed , ( there are plenty working at six yeaTs of age !; provided a child should be drowsy , the overseer walks round the room , vrith a stick in his hand , and he touches that child on the shoulder , and says ' Come here . " In the corner of the room , there is an iron cistern—it is filled with water ; he takes this boy up by the legs , and dips him overhead in the cistern , and senaa him to his work for the remainder of the day ! and that boy is to staud , dripping as he is , at his work ! he has no chance of drying himself . ' That is- the punishment for drowsiness ' . —for other offences there is a stool fixed up to the end of the room ; the boy who offends is put to stand on this stool , sometimes ou both legs , and sometimes on one of bis legs , with the other up , and be has a levsr to bear in his hands , raised and stretched over bis head ; and there he has to stand for ten , or fifteen , or thirty minutes , just as the overlooker
chooses ; and , provided he should lower his arms ( and it is a great weight to bear for a quarter of an hour ) , I yhay . e seen the overlooker go on and say , ' Hold up I * aad sometimes the boy 'Witt try to hold it up , and yet not have strength to raise it , and . the overlooker cuts him with his stiek until he does actually get it up ; and the tears will ran down his face when he i 3 there standing . ' I have seen this done there frequently—it is the regular practice ! "We have a ¦ 'east number of cripples . Some are crippled tram loosing their limfcs—many from standing too long . It first begins with » pain in the ancle ; after that , they will ask the overlooker to let them sit d « wn—but they mast not Then they begin to be weak ia the knee—then knock-knee'd—after that , their feet turn out—they become splay-footed , and their ancles swell as big as my fist I know many deformed in the way described , "
Sow , Tom , "hold your » rm to . be bled if you wish * b » t if yoa a «» the weaker for the operation , or Wed to death , I shall be no party to the murder ! Tom , you -will be told that this is paid for by Tory gold . Tom , hoar ise ! There is no use in telling you to the contrary , because . you wouWSt believe your priest that money could bribe Feargua O'Connor ; but , Tom , others may believe it , so hear me . I » m now in the presence of my Go * and your Qod -, and I hope , Tom , that this moment might be toy last , i * I have ever in all my life , directly or indirectly , aceepted one fraction of a farthing from uiy man , or body of men , for any political act during the wholo of Iife . —not eren where I was entitled to it ; and I neter mil , so help me God J ¦¦' ' * . « Tom , I have printed this at my own expense ; and if it serves you and your friends , » y friends , and the friends of Ireland , I am more than repaid !
I am , Tuta , Tour faithful and uncompromising Friend and Countryman , Fjubods O'Coiwob , In the fourteenth month of solitary confinement , ta a condemned cell , in York Castle , because money could not buy me , psrsuasion induce me , ot threat intimidate me from the advocacy of the ause of ihe Poor Oppresssed against the Rich Oppressor ! Hurrah for Liberty ! sad ao humbug . Torn
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 3, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct713/page/3/
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