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Cf)avttet EntelKopHcc
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THE ] N T OKTHEKtf STAE. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1841.
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The West-Riding Lieutenanct^- At the Court at Windsor, the 10th day of Dewmber, 1-841, present*
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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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Cf)Avttet Entelkophcc
Cf ) avttet EntelKopHcc
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CUT OP LONDON . —Last Sunday evening , Mr . Coven lectured In the Political and Scientific Instate , OM Baiiey . A diseasaion took place by Messrs . © sborn , Mathewa , Peat , ud Waddington . Sosa—At tbe C&ariMtfB -wecXij meeting , at the Three I > oveg , Berwick-street , it was resolved to 8 % ud a northern Star weekly to Ireland . Mr . Balb attended , and delivered an excellent lecture . Westminster . —Mr . Brown lecture *! at the Charier Coffee Eotue , Stretton-groucd , on Sunday evening . SeoREDiTCH . —Mr . Rowland lectured at the Albion Coffee House , Cburdi-sVreet , on Sunday evening . Nine new members were enrolled .
Cahberwell asd Walworth . —The Chartists nut u usual at the iiontptlier Tavern , Wai worth-road , on Monday eTening- Two members were enrolled . It -was resolved that a public meeting be held on Monday evening , Bee . Kits , at the Montpelier Tavern , Walwortb-road , at eight o'clock , to adopt the National Pe--fcition , and memorialize her Majesty , on behalf of Froat , Williams , and Jones ; also that a public meeting trill be bold on Monday eTening , "Dts . 27 th , at the same pl&ee sod time , to choose a delegate to the Hiddlesex Council .
Hackxet . —On Tuesday , at Weston ' s Temperance Betel , Mr . Rowland in the chair . Six shillings was voted to the O'Brien Press Fond . Mr . Allen moved , And Mr . SI'Hord seconded tbe adoption of the National Petiti * n , which was carried unanimously . Mr . Wheeler thtn lectured to the satisfaction of his audience , " On the evils of a standing army . " At its conclusion , a deputation was received from Globe Fields , requesting their cc-operation in a meeting to be held at the Cour : House , © sborne-Btwet , Wlutechapel , to consider the distrt *» of the country , Ae . This being concurred in , Messrs . Taylor and Cook were appointed a deputation to set with the Tower Hamlets , Globe Fields , and Albion Localities , and measures concerted to obtain sigaaturefi 1 > tha requisition . A vote of thanks was given to the lecturer and the meeting adjourned .
AXBIOX O 0 FTE 2 EOtSE . CHCUCH-SlBXET , WHilt-Chapel . —Messrs . Rowland and Dale addressed a juunirous assembly here , on Sunday evening . Several members were enrolled . St . Paxcras . —Mr . Balls lectured here to a numerous audience , on Sunday evening . LlUEUOfSE . —Mr . Fnssell lectured to an excellent sadience at the Association R / xims , Ximehoose Caose-• way , on Tueedsy evening , on ' Church property . " The leetare was deservedly applaadod . Londos Delegate Meeting—The following resolution was unanimously carried , " That considering Hw Ef 2 gtish Chartist Circular to be a mart ciBcient agent in the spread of Chartism , and anxious to farther the interest of the causa , we declara that we htehly approve of that publication , and call upon our brethren to give it their atmo * t support . "
Hammersmith . —A meeting was held at the Black Bull , Hammersmith Road , on Tuesday , and Messrs . Heed and Preeee discussed the question of Socialism , and Chartism . It was then resolved , on the motion of Mr . Stallwood , that they should f « nn a portion of the National Charter Association , which was unani- ' jnensly agreed to . Fourteen names were given in . Mr . Beed was appointed sub-Treaturtr , and Mr . Dobson , ; * ub-Secretary . Aft ^ r the transaction of other business the meeting adjourned . - Tailobs —The tailors held their weekly meeting at be Three Crowns , Richmond street , Soao , on Sunday jdgit . Mr . Fussell deh ' vered the first of a course of i Jeetnres on church property . j
Lambeth . —At » meeting of Chartists in this locality ob Tuesday evening , the Secretary of the Committee appointed to raise funds for the Petition Convention , reported that they had determined on holding a ball * ad concert on Monday evening , Jan . Sd , at the Social Institution , Westminster-road , Lambeth , and that to seet the dremnstsxiees cf all parties they had fixed the price of tickets at Is . single , and Is . 6 & double , and hid also engaged a good band .
WaSDSWOBTH . —The Chartists of this locality met atnssal at the Sing ' s Head , en Monday evening , when the feBowing resolution * were agreed to : " That for the Store tfiectoally carrying out the objects contained in the National Petition , this locality be divided into district * , to obtain signatures for the same . " " That a tetter be sent to Mr . Maynaxd , requesting h : m to for-Hrf the petition sheets and headings , also twelve earda of membership . " " That for the future we do pay to the Executive snd General Canntil one-fourth « t the moseys we har # la hand . *
BI&STOH . —On Thursday evening , Mr . Mason delivered a lecture in the Asaodation room ; the place was densely crowded . At the conclusion of the lecture ¦ ever&l new members were enrolled . ; Ox Fbu > at , Mi . G- White , of Birmingham ,: addressed the 'females of Bilston , on the necessity of organising themselves , and using their exertions to obtain the redemption of their coon try . The meeting vu numerously attended . Upwards of sixty names were enrolled ; the number has since increased to eighty-five . Os Surd at , the meetings were Eumerons ; the Council were chiefly occupied in tnnUng preparation for the reception of Mr . O'Connor .
As association has been formed at Catchum , a -vBlage about » mils from Bilston , which U likely to prosper ; their numbers increase every week . Another Association is been formed at Portobelio , a village in X& 8 same neighbourhood . Mr . Stiran lectured there on Monday night , to an attentive' audience , many of whom joined the association . CARLISLE . —Sigsal Defeat or the Plague , ; ¦ A 5 D TRIUMPH OF THE CHARTISTS —We noticed last : -week a lecture given by Mr . Curtis , an American , in favour of a repeal of the Corn Laws . The lecture to ' 'Which we allnded \ ras attended by a very small number , in consequence of th « charge being twopence each . ' A second lecture was announced for Monday evening , Dec . 6 th , admission aralis . Long before the lecturer ;
mads his appearance , the place was crowded to excess , > and great numbers could not be accommodated with '• » ests . About eight o'clock , lie lecturer rose to coza- j mence his address , when Mr . H . Bowman rose , and \ aid , Mr . Curtis , before you commence ycur address , I < ¦ wish to know if , after you have finished it . you will answer questions which may be put to you , and allow discussion ? Mr . Curtis replied , that he fras not there as a disputant or gladiator , but would willingly answer xiy qMes ! ion 3 which might ba pu * . to him , and willingly bear the opinions of any gentleman present . Mr . Bosnian expressed his satisfaction , and the lecturer proceeded to address the meeting at considerable length , on the great resources of America to fnr-r >) y Britain -with food , on condition that i \ would take is for
American g ^ -sin exchange manufacture . e only thia _ 2 t " jat rankles in the minds of the Americas is , said Mr . Curtis , that exchange is not allowed ; and if this system be continued , America vro'dld soon find meins to manufacture for itselt After Sir . Curtis hid concluded , Mr . Bjtrman rose snd said , that be wished to put , a few questions to Mr . Curtis . It -wsuld be snppssed bv 1 Mb audience , from the statements of Mr . Curtis , said Mr . Bowman , that America did not maauiacture at all ; whereas it would E&em from the following qatr-ion , that he would put to Mr . Curtis , tbit America not only manufactured , but that to a gr = £ t extent . Tbe question that he woolil put to itr . Coriis tras , " Knowing that the Americans haTe a attong desiie to be independent of foreign countries foi
a supply of clothing , and at present are engaged in a kicd of rivalry with Britain , and it is certain that they are fast cverturing it , both in the excellence and cheapness of tbeir prolncts , and t ' oatsinee 1759 , whin buttoii ir . snn ? actnjes were first introduced , up "to 1632 , the number of mills in twelve states were 795 ; of spindies 1 , 246 , 503 ; power-looms 33 , 506 ; persons engaged 57 , 440 ; aacouct of cap . til employt-d , ££ , 375 , 000 iteiling ; being oae-foutta of tie whole eapitil inveited in the snue fecaach in Br ; tiiiu Xbtt buttons caii be had much dtesper tian in EnglanC—Vtet household minufect'ore of 'woollen , linen , and cott jn are made to a grc-at estatt—tbat tie silk fade is being introduced wita great sneceas . Is it noE more than probable that Atttrica ¦ will soon EETiply itself independent of ether countries ?¦¦
" If tie Com Laws were repealed t > morro-5 r , -would "ttet benefit the warkliig UaaaLJ , weteg ~ thai . Uboui 14 anpnt ct ^ i , and tie power of machinery , such as to be able t j supply almost double the presei-t demand , ¦ wrtactt aakiBg any addition to manual labour , mucc leas increase wages , for they had iallen 50 per cei . t pervjous ti 1 S 16 , wben tae Corn Bill was put oa ?" * ' Would not a total repeal of the Corn Laws , with the ptesent high rents and taxes , ruin tfee whole fanning inter * Et of England , and inundate the whole manu-Jactnring distritts with agricultural labourers , ¦ which would tend to a grtat reduction of wages ? " " Seeing tbe present constitution of the House of Commons , and knowing that it refused to hear the Anti-Corn Law League at the bai of tbit House , by an immense
majority , what hope can you have of that body , composed as it is , of ever entertaining the questioa of a total repeal of the Corn Laws ? ' Mr . Curtis answered the &i * t question in a very sitisiactory manner , by ihowing % h %± manufactures existed in America to a great extant , and wai likely soon to supply iUelf with &a necessaries ; but he signally failed in answering the other questions which Mr . Bowman had put to him . Mr . Joteph Broome Hanson then came forward and Addressed the meeting at great length on the subject of Mr . Curtis ' i lecture , and showed that be ( Mi . Curtis knew nothing of the affairs of this country . He moved the following resolution , whkh being seaonded by Mr .
Bowman , was put tu tke meeting and carried unanimously : — " That with t > oe present system of representation , the corrupt state of the House of Common * , sad the nsjost sod oppressive system cf taxation , which presses so heavily on all the industrious classes of the community , this meeting is of opinion that there is no hope of an end being put to nonspolies , * ach as the Cora Laws and others , which exclusively bt-nr-fit tbe aristocracy and the capitalist , until that -House is purged of its present corruption by a fair and full representation of the people , such as that which exists in the United States of America , and which can only be effected b / tbe adoption of the People ' s Garter /
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BRISTOL . —On Sunday everting last , after a lengthened 4 ebate of upwards of tbree hours , in which Messrs . Onion , Clifton , Copp , and Simeon took part , it was put to the vote and carried— " That the code of l&wa in this country 1 b unjust , cruel , oppressive , and productive of immorality . " A question was then given oat for next Sunday . Monday Evening . —A public meeting was held at the Chartist Room , 56 , Castle-street , Mr . Newman in the chair . The first resolution— " That ft memorial be forwarded to the Secretary of State , Sir James Graham , for presentation to her Majesty , praying for the restoration of Frost , Williams , and Jones , " was proposed by Mr . Simeon , and seconded by Mr . Bloore . The
memorial was then read and proposed by Mr . Clifton , who , in an excellent speech , remarked upon tbe present state of affairs—that the people had the power , with a proper direction of that spirit which had so long shewn itself , of restoring to their families those men who had been victimised by certain parties , and unjustly been convicted of crimes they never committad ; and ablj pointed out to tbe meeting the distinction between the characters of thoae persons who , it i * reported , are to be let loose upon society , and those men whose characters were irreproachable , but merely because they differed in opinion with the rulers of this country , are subjected to punishments whioh they do net deserve . The memorial was seconded by Mr .
Beed . The National Petition was then proposed by Mr . Copp . He argued for the tight of the people to the several points in the People ' s Charter , contending that the present distress demanded a change ; that the rizht of making , or having a voice in making , the laws was a birthright of man , and after urging the people ta sign the petition , he withdrew . Mr . George seconded and supported the petition . It w&s then proposed by Mr . Onion , in a few short and effective remarks , and seconded by Mr . Flint— " That the petition be entrusted to the People ' s Convention for effectual presentation , and that letters be written to the
Members for Bristol , requesting them to support the prayer of the petition . " Several members were enrolled , and a vote of thanks having been given to the chairman , the meeting dissolved . A letter from the Whig Member , F . H . F . Berkeley , to Mrs . John Frost , was read at this meeting , in which all his election promises ( if any ) were dwindled into the following frothy declaration : — " That he hoped that aft 9 r a term of years had elapsad she wonld be restored to her husband . " This letter lies in the hands of the subsecretary , and may ba seen by any person who desires to he convinced of the folly of believing " Whig or Tory" at election times .
BznnriwsHAZtt .- —Fkost , Williams , and Jones . —This Committee held its usual weekly meeting on Tuesday evening last , Mr . Noakes in the chair ; ¦ when a memorial was received from Hamilton , and it was resolved tbat all memorials from the country be sent to this Committee to secure presentation . A memorial was read , and after some discussion upon it by this Committee , adopted ; after which it was moved by Mr . Thorp , seconded by Mr . Sinks , that a lttfcer be immediately sent to tbe Home Secretary , requesting his naequivocal answer , as to whether he will present this Committee ' s respectful memorial to her Majesty . Several matters wera entered Into with regard to the soiree on the 2 Sth instant , and it was resolved , that J . B . O'Brien , E ? q . be corresponded with , to invite t ' aa ; gentleman ' s attendance at the said soiree .
MOSSliET . —At a public meeting here on Monday nicht , a memorial to the Queen , in favour of Frost , WiliianiB , and Jones , was unanimously agreed to . Mr . Duffy addressed the met ting with great talent and at considerable length . Twenty-eight members were enrolled . DSRBT . —A public meeting was held In the Old Assembly Rs » ms , Nov . 23 , for the purpose of adopting the National Petition . Public Meeting . —Thursday , Dec . 9 th , was the day on which the long-talked-of GreatMidland Counties Free Trade Meeting took place . Tbe Chartists of Derby , determined on giving the delegates battle , dispatched a delegate to Leeds to request Mr . O'Connor to ba prefient ; but net not being able to obtain him , they drew up the following challenge , and sent it with a deputation to wait on tbe Free Trade Committee : — To tke Gentlemen of the Free Trade Meeting , to he held on Thursday , Dec . » , 18 * 1 , —
Gentlemen , —We being a body of men belonging to the National Charter Association of Great Britain and Ireland , having for our object the conferring of happiness to onr fellow-countrymen , of making our nation , as it once was , "the envy of surrounding nations , " and of restoring trade and commerce ; and seeing that there are two agitations in this conn try , and as it is impossible for the working classes to do juitice to both agitations , respectfully challenge yon or any of your advocates to a fair and open discussion , which of the two agitations is the most worth ; of support—Corn Law repeal or Chartism .
The above challenge was refused bj the free trade gents , en the plea tbat there was not time for a discussion ; and seeing that they would be opposed , the meeting was altered from a public meeting to a ticket meeting , carefully excluding all Chartists . The Chartuts were not t * be lulled asleep by that ; they immediately took the theatre for a public meeting at night , whkh was crowded , Mr . Johnson , fancy silk-weaver , in the chair . Mr . Dean Taylor , from Nottingham , moved the first resolution , — " That it is the opinion of this metV . ng that tbe Corn Laws we unjust , and ought to be repealed as well as every other bad law ; but being satisfied that the removal cf the Com Laws would
only be a partial measure of j ustice , are resolved to seek the establishment of the UDiversal principles of tbe People's Charter as a remedy fully adequate to the removal of the evils tbat afflict our country ;" this was seconded by Mr . Bairstow , missionary for Leicestershire , and was carried without a single dissentient Mr . Tattem then moved a memorial to her Majesty in favour of Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was seconded by Mr . James Farnsworth , and carried unanimously . A vote of thanks being carried , Mr . Bairstow stepped forward and proptsed three lusty cheers for Mr . O'Connor , and for Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was heartily responded to .
The ] N T Okthektf Stae. Saturday, December 18, 1841.
THE ] N OKTHEKtf STAE . SATURDAY , DECEMBER 18 , 1841 .
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WAGES OF LABOUR . We hear a great deal said of the benefits that have accrued , and tbat are to accrue to the manufacturing ¦ working population , from " extended commerce . " The free tradtrs , as they eall themselvts , premise us all manner of bkssings , Including * ' cheap food , high wages , and plenty to do , " if the labourers will but help them to '' extend" commerce , by procuring for them a Repeal of the Corn Laws . To induce the labouring people to join the leTiathan manufacturers in an uaion for the accomplishment of this object , every possible meanB have been used .
Money without end has bsen spent in almost every imaginable way that could at all tend to create or inflnence public opinion . Lecmrers have been eDgagc-d ; pamphlets holding out the most delusive hopes have been extensively circulates ; " Leagues " have been fcrmed ; the lowest species of csjolery and deception have been resorted to , to entrap the working people into Operative anti-Corn Law Associations ; newspapers have been established to advocate tbe views of the " Leaguers , " and have been gratuitously circulated ; the existent newspaper press has been extensively subsidised for the
promulgation of these high-sounding promisee , and to iDfluecc ? the public mind in each locality ; personal vituperation and wholesale denunciation have been resorted to and extensively used against those " Leaders" of the people who would not join in tb * -League ; in Boort , every art that ingenuity could devise has been used to induce those who live by the wages of labour to " league" with those who live on the profits arising from the employhe-yt of labour to procure an " extended" c » mmerce . But all these means have failed ! The money , and time , and talent employed ; the Beductive arts and
the large delusive promises of advantage , have all gone for nought i The bait wonld not take . Tie Anti-Corn Law agitation has fallen deatL , dead . The working people have stood completely aloof . Without them no agitation has any life , any soul . Every movement must have them energetically with it , or it fails ! The money and the influence of the middle and trading classes , without the active co-operation and aid of the wobkebs , avail nothing in political agitations . Without the personal energy and dogged perseverance of the labourer , every movement for an extensive legislative change
affecting great conflicting interests must fail . And rightly so . It is the only protection the working man now enjoys—the only power he possesses , in the absence of UjavjotSAt Scffbagb , to ward off the " heavy blows and sore discouragements " which wonld be inflicted on his interests through the rapacity and cupidity of the classes who lire out of the profits made ef his sinews and bones . The attempts , then , of the Millionaire Manufacturers , to induce the labourers to demand from the Legislature an " extended" commerce , haTe failed , signally fa iled ! All their efforts to this end have proved abortive ! Their wrigglings and twistings
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have afforded amusement enough ; and their pompous swelling of every village gathering of half-adozen toadies under the drilling of the slavish overlooker , into an important demonstration in favour of a Repeal of the "CORN LAWS AND
COMMERCIAL REFORM , " have but served to raise the loud laugh of ridicule , against their whole proceedings . Their agitation has fallen flat ! They have neither produced alarm nor excited fear . Their Budden discovery of national distress , and their load clamour for immediate measures of relief , have not answered the intended purpose . The people have refused to listen to the voice of the charmer .
That this Btate of feeling exists in the body of the working people , is to ns matter of the greatest gratnlation . We have laboured hard to induce it ; we have seconded the able labours of others to this end ; we have implored of the working people to consider well what it was they set their hands to do ; we have cautioned them against being led away by every will-o' -the-wisp thai presented itself , without first inquiring whither they were going , and what would be the end ; we have advised them to demand of all who asked their aid , their reasons for such
co-operation , and to insist on a quid pro quo before they touched—a guarantee that they should enjoy some of the benefits resulting from their labours . To this end have we laboured : and it is matter of gratulation and delight that our labours have not been in vain . That they have not been so , the present woe-begone condition of the " League ' s" agitation fully proves . They have more than one-half of the entire newspaper press of the kingdom on their side , and no want of money : and yet they have failed in kicking up a ferment . Their power to act on the public mind has vanished—is gone !
" Extended" Commerce : " Why should wo agitate for that V has been the very reasonable and very first question that the producers of wealth have put to themselves , and to their beguilers . Aye , in troth , why ? Has not Commerce been woefully " extended" Binoe the year 1800 ! and what has been the workman's benefit ! Has it " extended ' his comfort ! his wages 1 Has it added to his Btock of clothing \ his stock of household furniture ! his stock in the pantry ? Commerce has been " extended " many times over , and oft ; but has it added to the working man ' s "meal-kist" ] has it hung more bacon
upon the joists \ has it filled the milk-bowl more often 1 These are questions which deserve answering . They are questions which the working people have put to themselves , and to one another ; and before the anti-Corn Law League can expect tbat their high-sounding promises of " cheap food , high wages , and tlkntt to do , " as the result of another " extension" of Commerce , will take with those who aek these questions , they must furnish satisfactory answers to them . They
must demonstrate that every former " extension" of commerce has had the effect of putting more " porridge" upon the plates , and more " havercake" upon the " creel" of those engaged in labour , before they can with any face ask us to take all their promises for granted , as to the effects of another " extension . " When they have done this , we promise them that the working people shall "league" with them for M extension" upon " extension r" but not before .
We hear it often asserted , that tbe nation is much richer ; i . e . ' that we have more wealth in the country now than wo had before our commerce was bo much " extended . " Now , we think this assertion admits of very grave doubt . We are not disposed to admit that we have more national wealth now than we had before the commencement of tbat ruinous race of competition among * t our mannfaoturingemasttt * * whioh has produced the national distress" whioh the Leaguers have so lately discovered to exist . We freely admit that we have more fixed capital , in the shape of machinery and buildings for
manufacturing purposes ; but these are not wealth ; they are only the means q / " producing wealth . We freely admit that we have more of stinking cotton and tawdry " prints" ihanwethenhad ; but the linens and tke woollens , even though the latter were " linsey woolsey" were more valuable , more durable , and more congenial to our variable clime . We freely admit that we ti&v « a- greater profusion of " fine * ' woollen cloths than we had ; i . e . we have good wool mixed with " shoddy" and dirt "devilled" out o rags brought even from Constantinople , and then " boiled" after they are woven to make them fine '*
and give them a " finish , until they are rotten ; but the Yorkshire cloths , before these " economical" and 11 scientific" processes were established , were better , more durable , and more valuable . We freely admit that we have more of knives , and razors , and scissors , made , like Ptter Pindar ' s , to se ll ; but our former ene 3 were not labour thrown away , —valueless . We freely admit that we have more manufacturers now who can boast of having saved their millions , ( and yet insult the operative whose cupboard has been emptied to swell the huge store , by daring to address him as a fellow sufferer . ) than we had before fortunes
began to be made by steam . We freely admit that we could not then boast of our Gotts and our Marshalls ; who left the " counting-house" and the "heckling shop" to become possessed of millions in " fixed" and " floating" capital ; nor of our Starkey ' s , who jumped from their "clogs" and the " raising nelly" to their carriage and the bench ; nor of our Htdes , nor our Gkeggs , nor onr Ashworths , et Two genus omne , who bo recently boasted of having wrung from labour , in a few years , more than would buy up all the landed aristocracy of tie kingdom . We freely admit that we have more of theso gentry now than
we formerly had : but we aek where is the domestic manufacturer gone , with his stock of tools and fixed capital , amounting in the aggregate to an enormous amount ? We ask , where is the " Master Cropper , " the "Master Weaver , " the " Master Spitner , " the "Master Slubber , " the "Master Cutter , " the * Master Dyer , " the " Master Finishei V Where are these gone 1 Had they no wealth \ Do the few enormous amounts , gathered together in heaps , amount to more than the sums formerly extensively distributed amongst so many hands 1 Who dare say yes ! He will be a bold man 1 and ready to speak without his book .
We ask , also , is there more wealth diffused amongst the labouring classes ? Have they better houses—more anhBtantially . _ huilt ,. and more-caava : nie&t dwellings 1 Is their furniture equal in value to what it then was 1 The very question is an insult . Look at the " cottage property" in our manufacturing towns I Substantiall y built , forsooth !—gingerbread 1—and worse . Comfortable ? ! —not fit for pig-Btyes ! No drainage , no paving ; thrust into confined places ; no ventilation ; the abodes of disease , misery , and death I Their furniture valuable ! Go to the broker ' s ahop I see the
" things" he there has for sale , cheap ! Compare these with the chairs , and the tables , and the beds made fifty years ago . Ascertain their relative cost . Then go to the proper furniture tradesman—the cabinet-maker . Ask him how many of the working people purchase household goods from him . Ascertain these things ; and then say whether the workman has more wealth now in furniture than he then had ! Then an eight days' clock waa an almost indispensible article of furniture ; or at the least a good twenty-four hours' clock , in & n 6 at
mahogany or an oaken case . Note , how many working men who have commenced housekeeping within the last twenty years , can boast of such an article ! Very few ! Where they are to be found now , it is mostly where they have descended in the family as heir-looms , and have been saved from the wreck of most of their other " bits of things , " " because my mother and grandmother used to set such store on it ! " The eight-days' clock , worth at least £ 8 , has given way to the Dutch clock , ( where there is one ) worth from 10 & to 25 s . Then
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it was a usual thing for the working man to have at least one feather bed , on a good bedstead , either four-posted , camp , or turn-up ; with ^ ood flock beds for the children and ' prentices ; and linen sheets , heavy blankets , and " quilted" coverlets for all . Not * where is the feather-bed in a workman ' s house ? where are the linen Bheet&t where the quilt t The former giren way to chaff , brat the best to flocks ; the sheets to nasty filthy pousement , called cotton-blankets , made from the refuse of cotton—cotton waste . The quilt , which used to be the pride of the mother , and whioh cost her
weeks and months of labour in " quilting , " given way to a horse-cloth-sort-of-mg , made from "stuff" procured from the tearing up of filthy rags , collected from all quarters of the globe ! Then the working man ' s cottage was adorned with a pewter case , and a quantity of pewter , whioh was generally worth more than the whole of a modern working man ' s stock of hoHsehold furniture . Then the " meal-kist" was an indispensibl ©; and it had something in it ! The sight , when the young ones were Bet to tread down
the new meal in the " kist , " so as to make it keep all winter over , waa one as joyous as it is now uncommon . The flitch of bacon , with the ham , and dried cheeks , and piece of hung beef , and winter ' s stock of potatoes , shewed that the owner of the dwelling earned wages sufficient to enable him to have a little before-hand to go to market with , and " to provide against a rainy day . " Is it so now ? Where is the " meal-kist" ! where the bacon 1 where the hung beef ! Can the workman now provide a winter ' s stock of provision , either in meal or meat ?
It is these questions we want answering , before we can consent to throw up our caps , and cry "hurrah for an extension of Commerce . " We want to see what former" extensions" have done for us . We want this matter probing to tbe bottom I We want no theorizing upon the subject . We want no such paltry put-effs , as " look to the fact , that the factory girl can be clothed in a nice-printed muslin gown , and wear a pair of Bilk stockings , which is more than , at one time , Queen Elizabeth could do . " We want no such evasions as these ! Wo want to know all about it . We want to see the amount of
wages paid to the working man at the beginning of the present century , and the amount he receives not * . We want to know what amount of the real necessaries of life could be procured by the workman in return for his labour then and now . To see this we must consider all the habitudes of the people ; we must consider them not in relation to the desires respecting them resulting from our own views and principles ; not in relation to the wilfully distorted pictures of interested orators and crotchet advocates , but in . relation to facts . We want to see , then , how muoh bread the labourer could
then purchase with his earnings , and how much beef , and bacon , and beer ? Aye , and beer ; for , notwithstanding our well-known views of the mischievous character and tendency of b « er drinking , and without qualifying in the least our often and strongly expressed opinions upon the subject , it must be borne in mind that we are now enquiring into facts ; and we cannot in this enquiry overlook the fact that then home-brewed beer was as common in a working man ' s house as it is un-common now . He was not then compelled to labour in an atmosphere artificially heated to 90 or 86 , for twelve or fourteen hours ; and
then hare only the common brewer's nasty me&a of poison to drink at the beer-house to recruit or excite exhausted nature ; or forced to swallow a deleterious mixture of vitriol and turpentine , called gin . He had then the" Home-brewed ;'' and he could get it His wages would allow the wife to purchase her " strike" or buthel of malt ; and fill him his barrels with a drink whioh did not contain either " grains of paradise" or any other poisonoHa drug . Will his wages allow him now ^ to purchase the " strike " of malt ! If he did , ' we fear the bread pot
and potatoe basket would have to remain empty ; and the bit of salty , undried hogV a ? sb , which he gets from the provision dealer as an excuse for bacon , must remain unpurchased . We aWwant to know what his wages now asbI We want to know , too , what amount of food these wages will purchase for hint , to compare it with the amount he got formerly 1 We want to know how his stock of clothing now iai Has he three ** suits 1 " —a working suit ; a " second-best f and a "Sunday-suit" ! Ha formerly had ; and his wife and children were equally well clothed . Have
they as much now J These are the things which we want the world to know , before we can settle the question of whether another " extension" of our commerce will do us good . Working men 2 how are your backs , and how are your bellies ? Are the former well clothed , and the latter well filled ! If they are so , and better than they were fifty years ago , " extensions" of commerce , have done you good 1 If they are not , " extensions" of commerce hare been an evil to you ! To you we appf al
than , to answer these questions . We want factsno crude theories—ne guess work—no delusive statements . Let us have the figures . There are facts in figures ; but not muoh reliance to bo placed on the assertions of the " Ltaguer , " who says that you are now better-off than you formerly were . Let us have these figures , then . Furnish us with tbem , and we will tako care to let the world know what your actual condition is , in this respect at least .
What wo want you to do is this : to furnish us with statements of the amount paid as wages of labour in all the great departments of manufacturing industry , from the year 1810 to the present time showing the amount paid in each year for a similar amount of work . We select 1810 , because our commeroe may then be said to date her great ' extensions ; " and wo are anxious to exhibit at onegview , either the gradual rise or the gradual / a // of your wages , Bince that time , whichever may turn out to be the fact . We request that the officers of the respective Trades -will endeavour to procure these
tables for us . We want to know how much the weaver of woollen cloth , eithor broad or narrow , has received fora Btring of the same number of reed , in every year from 1810 to 1841 inclusive . We wish to know what the slubber received and what he know receives , in like manner ; likewise the spinner , the carder , and the fuller . Tq < jute what the Cropper is receiving for cropping , WOj ^ Jje to insult him : for he is entirely superseded l ^ Wtee "' Lewis" and the 11 Perpetual" ; but those of ^ HolaBS who have been fortanate enough to get permi . ssfa > n to attend upon a * <^'' orwarc 1 ^~ "ltfw tt ^^
" stove" or " dryhouse" can state what theynowearn in thesa " new walks of industry" aa compared with the amount they could earn when to be a journeyman cropper was " to be next door to being a gentleman . " We wish to know too from the flax-heckler , and from the flax-spinner what their earnings have yearly beenforthe same period ; or rather the amounts that hare been paid to them . We wish for similar information , too , from the wool-comber and stuff and worsted weaver . The working cutler , too / should Bhew how he has fared and the journeyman hatter . The working fustian weaver of Lancashire , and the
spinner , and carder , and fustian-cutter , and calicoprinter , and bleacher , and all engaged in eur " great " cotton trade , should Bhew how they are and have been circumstanced . The linen-weaver , and the stocking-weaver—in short , all in the great departments of industry , should furnish similar information . Let us have the facts . We . will make them known . We will take care the " League" sees them ; and then the working people and ourselves can decide whether another " extension" of Commerce , which will sacrifice the farmer and agricultural labourer , is desirable , or fit to be contended for .
To work , then , all wno Me interested # Get up these tables . . Consult your wage books . Get returns from the books of the respectable miw Sho dare open them for such an object . Be very correct Set nothing down of whioh you are not quite wire
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Let all ba fact : and then we shall know both , what your condition has been , and what it how is . We DARE thosk manufacturkbs who bawl FOR A . BEPKAL OF THE CoBN LiWS , AND WHO BBPBESSMT THAT A . FURTHER " EXTENSION ' OP OPB COMMERCE WltL GIVE THB WOBKMAN u CHBAF FOOD , HIGH WAGES , AND ' PLENTY TO DO , '" TO FUBN 1 SH FBOU THEIB LEDGERS COBBBCT HBTDBN 3 OF THB SDMS THEY HAVE PAID AS WAGES VOB . THE SAME DESCRIPTION OV LABOCB DUBIKG THS PEBIOD NAKED . If they dare not do thisy there is neither sincerity nor honesty in their representations .
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NATIONAL EMIGRATION . The observations We deemed it our duty to submit to the public in our last , have not , wo are happy to find , been lost upon our readers . It would , indeed , be strange if , on a subject of such vast importance , the energies of the working classes were not roused into activity . We have now a Parliament prepared to adopt any measures , however unjust or unconstitutional , whioh may enable the irresponsibles to gorge themselves a little longer with the fruits of spoliation ; and wa have an Executive Government fully as despotic and reoklesa as the last , with rather moro of obstinacy , and of the show of
manly bearing . The Wnigd , aided by their Tory allies , contrived to butcher and starve the people at home in the name of political economy and Maithusian expediency ; and the Tories , without the aid of the Whigs , are prepared , it seems , to drown them in the ocean , or enslave them in the colonies in the name of State Christianity and constitutional freedom . The people , however , about whom the factions practically know nothing and care less , have a duty to perform towards themselves , their families , and their country , from which neither the cunning of the Whigs nor the despotism of the Tories must be allowed to turn them aside .
We last week demonstrated tbat the scheme of emigration supposed by the London journals to be contemplated by Sir R . Peel , was unjust , dishonest , inhuman , and opposed to every dictate of common sense ; and we now ask our readers to seriously consider what the condition of the colonies under the curse of aristocratic misrule now actually is , and what would be the condition of the unhappy emigrants , on their becoming located in those boasted dependencies of the British crown .
It is obvious that the only motive whioh could induce any one voluntarily to quit the land of his birth and seek a settlement in a distant land , would be the hope of bettering his condition , and of improving the prospects of his children . To render the attainment of this hope ]! practicable , he must become an independent possessor of a portion of the soil ; he must be provided with the means of comfortable subsistence , and also the means of entering beneficially into the pursuits of honourable industry , in order that the means of subsistence may be continued ; and he must also be secured in his possessions by the guarantee of general and munioipal rights .
Any man who should voluntarily leave his native home without a fair prospect of obtaining these advantages , would prove himself a fool , evidently unfit to be entrusted with the management of his own affairs . Parties , however , who can by emigration secure to themselves these advantages , must possess a certain amount of property , or capital , to enable them to become proprietors ; and such have already gone forth and taken deep root in all our colonial possessions . It is necessary to bear this fact in mind , in order that we may clearly understand the position in which , those will be placed who are to be transported to the colonies at the expense of the mother country .
Tbe lands of the colonies , having been purchased from the Government ( whose right to sell them was very questionable ) in large allotments , by proprietors who bought them as a speculation , have become a monopoly in the hands of the colonial landowners , who will not of course sell or farm any portion of them so long as they can realise a greater amount of profit by holding them in their own hands , and cultivating { fcsatrby hteod labour . But , suppose
the influx of new « comera into any given colony to be persons who would find it more advantageotts to cultivate lands as small proprietors than as tenants , or labourers ; it is clear that there would be a scarcity of tenants or labourers ; and , in order to provent the sale and cultivation of unappropriated lands of an inferior quality—for the best lands can only find purchasers in the first instance—the large proprietors would be compelled to sell their lands in small allotments , and at a moderate price .
But suppose the influx of new-comers to be labourers—that is , working men [ of all descriptions , having no property , but depending upon their labour for support—then it would require great care that the supply should not exceed the demand ; in other words , no more labourers should -bo kbrought into the field than could fiad employment , affording them an ample remuneration for a reasonable day ' s work . If there be more than these , a spirit of competition will ensue , the consequence of
which will be a combination among landed proprietors , either to lower wages actually ; or if that should be deemed unadvisable , to accomplish tho same thing by checking the produce of corn and all other articles of Colonial consumption , and thus of raising the price to the labouring consumers . All th ! a our knowledge of human nature would lead us to infer , if we were reasoning from abstract principles only ; we are , however , reasoning from facts , and refer to the whole of our
Colonial history in proof of the positions we have here laid down . A letter is now before us , received from one who has himself been an eye witness of the facts he relates . la which , afterreferring to Mr . Montgomery AIartin ' s assertion , that an inhabitant of the mother country , who only consumes five pounds of British manufactures yearly , requires twenty pounds in his new home ; and to our remark that " we have no doubt he may require it , but the question is , will he find the means of getting it !" he
says" I answer No : so fat from obtaining the means of getting twenty pounds' -worth of British manufactures in his new home , he will not be able to get five pounds " worth . Wages in tbe Australian colonies are very low , taking into account the high prices of provisions and rents . There are in those colonies already mere labourers than are employed beneficially to themselves , for the same system of combination to ketp down the price of labour that is carried on here is practised to a greater extent in that far distant land ; in fact , the working people of those climes are merely allowed to eke out a miserable existence from tend to mouth , like their
brother slaves at home . How can it be otherwise ? The land is sold in such large allotments that the working man cannot buy any : the landholders will not let it out in small farms . This mode of disposing of the hind , combined with the continued influx of labouring emigrants , all tends to keep the price of labour down to the lowest possible point ; so that whatever amount of British manufactures our colonial labourers may require in their new homes , any reasonable being m » j readily perceive their means of getting tLem ia rather questionable . The colonial system of farming tends not to the comfort of the working man . The agriculturist lays down his number of acres of wheat according
to the number of the population ; he allows twelve bushels per head per year . Thus , by a regular combination amongst the farmers , they grow little more than is necessary to maintain the people from year to year . This ia to keep up high prices ; and when there is a dry seaaan , which often happens , then famine pervades the whole land . In the winter of 1838 , soap-kitchens wera erected botb in New South Wale * and Van Diemen'i Land , and aoup and bread were gratultotuly distributed , to save the working men from , absolute starvation . That year bread rose to the enormous price of 9 d . a pound in Van Diemen ' i Land , and la . a pound at Sydney . Emigration to these colonies cannot better the condition of our distressed feUow-wotknwa . "
It is quite clear that even if the influx of labourers were regulated apparently by law , still the same causes whioh have led to such disastrous consequences and unparalleled distress in this country , are in full operation in the colonies . There , as here , a grasping aristocracy predominates . There , as here , land and capital are accumulated in comparatively few hands . There , as here , a military force is maintained to put down and overawe public
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opinion . There , as here , magistrates having U * or no sympathy with , the mass of the people , prejtS over their tribunals ; and there , as hm labour may be driven out of the market bf jp operation of unohecked machinery at any » oa « j when it shall pleas * the blood-suckers who faty on public misery to call it into existence . 7 i And this is the Eden of repose 2 the paradW the Goshen
delights r of plenty ! into whwh | ti merciful , considerate , and enlightened stated who govern the destinies of this empire , prcp ^ i to pitch headlong two or three millions of the W and most productive of our working po pulatio ^ Tojthis misery , wretchedness , and death it is said JL tender-hearted head of the Cabinet intends to &T those whoso Bweat and toil and blood hare bt » coined into hordes of wealth for the enrichmenthimself and others of his order <
It is pretended that this scheme ia intend ^ for the benefit of our surplus population , ty have shown , in our former article , that th * is in reality no surplus popnlatioa . \ have shown that the lauds of the United Kingdom could produce food sufficient for at least four ting tho number of its present inhabitants . We han shown that fifteen '; millions of acres of waste laid wait only for the application of human skill v& labour , to yield their hidden treasures for the Sti
tetttation of industry . These facts we have demoj . strated ; and we now ask Sir Robert Peel ^ those of both factions who may be inclined to sap . port him in the imputed design , whether , in ^ face of these facts , he dare submit the murdera ^ plan to Parliament , and through Parliament t , the country ! We ask the Ministers and memb * of Christian churches , whether they will ven < j& with their Bibles in their hands , to brave thejust * of the Deity , by silently permitting the violation 4
his express command , " Thou shalt not kill , " % beseech the " Lords Spiritual and Temporal , " n *{ to add to all their injustice , the crown&jg one rf supporting a measure so accursed . - 'And weim pfcfc the Queen , should an Emigration Bill obtain % sanction of the legislature , to strengthen the inda . ciaion of royalty by thenatval feelings of the womai and the mother ; to trample under her feet the infernal Act ; and to drive from her presence and favour Um parties by whom it is presented . This appeal we make on behalf of suffering and insulted humanity to tha powers that be , —with , we confess , but small hope of its being effectual . There is , however , another elaa to which we can appeal , ami we know tbat to then it will not be in vain . ' .
To tho working classes , who are interested in thig great question more than allother classes put together , we say , let the subject be carefully pondered over , and well understood . One great cause of the oppression under which you groan , is that spirit of recklessnea whioh has allowed many acts of mischief to become consolidated before you were aware that they were even contemplated . This mistake must never again occur . We have beaten the Anti-Corn Law faction by our union and our wstchfulneea The landowners declared that a repeal of the Con Laws would be ruinous to them ; and , so believing ,
they were perfectly right in opposing the repeal We know that the landowner ' s plan of emigration would be ruinous to us ; and so knowing , we faithfully promise them that it shall have an opposition no less effectual . No doubt the pbch-bellies will , like their brethren the Anti-Corn Law quacks , get up meetings , employ lecturers , circulate information ) and try to gull the public by details of " cheap food , " M high wages , " " salubrious climes , " fertile lands , " " murmuring brooks , " and a thousand other Btorici of " moonshine" connected with the delightful settlements on the other aide of the globe . This let them
do ; but let them recollect , that the people are not inclined to stand any of their " botherfttion !" They know too well what the profeasuMtf of either Whig or Tory ai& worth , U put any confidence in . the men who Sever deem themselves safe unless they-can delude and betray an unsuspeciiag people- At the meeting recently held in London , Mr . CiuwFonj > 8 tated , truly enough , that u the state of our country unhappily presented a frightful mass of pauperism , which converted that portion of the population which J > aght to tie our principal strength into a source of weakness .
and a striking evidence of decay . " And { his . admission , one would think , should induce the ado j tionof measures to restore the health ot the patient . Cutting off the limb is a desperate experiment , which should never be resorted to while a hope or chance of cure remains . Mr . CaiWFOBD , however , eeems to be a weak but well-meaning man ; he has evidently been deceived in reference to the Colonies . We fear he has been taking some of Mr . Montgomery Martin ' s nostrums ; and Mr . Montgomery Martin has evidently proved himself a mere vender of political drugs , of which he
knows nothing . He can tell as the number of square miles in the Qaeen ' a dominions ; the number of mouths on a square mile : he can tell as of the rich territory of Canada ; of the number of cut-throats maintained in the colonies , —as if that would be any temptation to the people to emigrate : he can inform us of the amount of Colonial revenue , and of the extent of Colonial skipping ; but not one word does he tell us of the domestic slavery endured by tha labouring population in those distant regions—not a word of the uses to which the valour of the British soldier is applied in those
lands to which he would exile his starving countrymen ! No , no ; this would not suit the purpose of the emigration gentlemen . Like the kidnappers who allured the agricultural labourers into the manufacturing hells , by promises of roast beef and plum pudding , these monsters of cruelty would allure those whom their avarice has reduced to abject poverty into distant climes , where they might terminate a miserable existence , after creating a man of wealth for their iron ^ hearted task masters , unpitied and unknown . If we had any doubt as to the purpose of these emigration gentlemen , it would be entirely set
at rest by the fact of it 3 receiving the cordial sup- port of one Mr . Madbbbb , who declared himself an admirer of the heartless crew who united themselves together , some time since , under the name of the Child * ren ' s Friend ' s Society , and of whose doings the PreSS took such cognizance as to rouse public indignation ! until the ugly abortion of Malthueian demonism was consigned to its last resting place . Our contemporary , the London Phalanx , in noticing the London meeting , at whioh Mr . J . Rogers proposed the stun of forty millions to be expended in getting rid of five million paupers , observes , "nothing , howeveri
was laid respecting the nature at this nationlT scheme proposed ; and this silence augurs ill fat the scientific principles of these political economists . How are the poor creatures to be sent out , and now are they to be kept when they are out , and what ais the arrangements proposed for subduing the soil and preparing it for the production of food for man and beast ! le each man to be furnished with * plot of ground , and then left to do his best with the reluctant earth ! Ia he to be dependent solely upon his own capital and labour , and left to toil ,
unaided , in converting the wilderness of nature ant * a garden of civilisation ! If so , the scheme will prove a failure . " These would , indeed , be weighty considerations , if the design was entertained for » really honest purpose ; but it is not . They want to get rid of the people , because they bate and fear them . The people must meet , then , and floor the * at every emigration meeting . Let every man do nil duty ; let every woman exert her inflnence , and'th ? fate of this transportation plague will be inevitably sealed .
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the Queen ' s Most Excellent Majesty in CounciLHer Majesty having bees pleased to appoint the Riga * Hon . JameB Archibald Lord Wharncliffe , the Low President of the Council , to be Lord-Lieutenan t aua Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of toe county of York , his Lordship this day took the usnal «»»* appointed to be takes thereupon , instead of theo « M or allegiance and supremacy .
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4 THE NORTHERN STAR . ___ J
The West-Riding Lieutenanct^- At The Court At Windsor, The 10th Day Of Dewmber, 1-841, Present*
The West-Riding Lieutenanct ^ - At the Court at Windsor , the 10 th day of Dewmber , 1-841 , present *
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 18, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct873/page/4/
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