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IliE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1842.
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%oczl amr General Zntem&ertce.
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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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THE CHARTER . The Chartiita wlieii they first began To advocate the rights of man , The factions ail like tigers ran To cruah onr infant Charter . Bat to its rescue thousands flew , Whilst bold O "Connor did pursue , "Who from the &a § s of faction drew Tie bantling from this murderous crew . The nation with one mighty voice With gratitude did then rejoice , And haii'd this champion as their choice , To nurse their infant Charter The -wily Whigs did then ad-rise Their minion tools to paralize , 3 j \~ tzzheTj and fiendish spies ,
The progresa of oar Charter . Ti' -s hellish plot they did pursue , "When soon five hundred patriots true Were cast in dungeons by the few , For daring to maintain their due . Although frith gold they tried in Tain , Yet not one convert could they gain , Each s ^ vore they ever would maintain Their dearest rights , the Charter The Corn Law League soon did advance To show there still was left a chance ' That Poland , Germany , and Franca
Th&ir Corn wi ; h us would barter Bat by restrictions ve were bound From tracing with the world around , Whilst thousands of the poor were found To starve from want on British ground . " Thus did tier rant to gain applause , Still cartful to evade the cauee Teat all onr ills were class-made laws And only cure the Charter . Its people being wide awake 1 h 3 foxes" " clap trap" would not take , Which made the shopocrats to quake
Lsst we shou d have the Charter Then every shift they c-uld invent By treachery , in conclave , spent Ticse cunning knaves , being firmly bent Oar glorious progress to prevent . They feign'd at last to sympath za With those who fell a sacrifice—Who 3 e biwd for retribution cries As victims to on ? Cinrler . Bnt now Sir Bobby ' s Income Bill
Will maie thorn pec-p within their till , And force them ont asr / mst their will To advocate the Charter . Well may humanity recoil To eee the poor who sweat and toil , Whilst wantcn idlers waste and spoil The produce of this fruitful soiL " * ¦ 3 * ew Movers all then pray beware , " List our hard fate shtuM be your share To Freedom ' s standard now repair ,
To gain the People's Caarter . Reformers , then , of every grade , Who toil at anvil , loom , or spade , I \ o more of phantoms be afraid , Bn > : pin for Freedom ' s Charter . Ton ? country now from ruin save ; Ko locker be a willing sltve , Bat like a patriot true and brave Caase tyrants to oblivion ' s grave . Then soon will p ^ ace and plenty reign , When all their sqaal rights will gain ; So new assist us to obtain Our losg-loit rights , the Charter . George Li ^ dsat Patricroft , July ISth , 1 S-12 .
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* m CHARTIST LINES , FOR RECITATION . Upon its mother ' s throbbing breast An infant l ^ y , bat could not rest ; It wanted food , and eft \ U parebAl lips tried The miltless teat , by wos and famine dried—Then ecreaaj'd with pain . * ' Hash J baby sleep , " Tke mother cried , " I can but ¦ wt ~> p . '' Yes , wretched parent , bnt griefs hot akowa Will ntt restore thy timeless drooping flower . The child La eying ; thou thyself must die—Famine by las ? decrees it . Tis sad to see The ysung thing writhe and hear its famish'd cry , And know no help cl all can come from thee . The pelican will shed her blood To give her famiafc'd nestlings food , And so wuulcLsi tben ! tu ; ail in vain ;—It will not sleep , —nor canst thou soothe its pain
O God , " Ehe cries , " O G ^ l eartb . heaven , Save me and my sweet babe to day—Perhap ? tc-morrow something may be given , And we may live—Great God , I pray . " Sie S 3 W no hepe ; in wild distress , Lire Hsgar in the wilderness , She laid her gasping icfant by—She c ^ nld not bear to see it die ! Then frantic 3-w from that sad 5 pot , Bat cculd not rest where it w& 3 not . Its look of psiu—its fetbie cries Haunt her heart where ' er she fli-, 3 . Back fche rctura'd ; her faded fijwer Smiled as it lay—a lovely smile ! Her tears fell fiit as they could pour ; But death Eat on its face the while .
She caught it up ;—oh I load of lead ! What weight bo heavy as the dead ? But more she loved it now than ever , And clasp'd it close—no more to sever . Tcs , mother and child are now as one—Cold as forma of scatptar'd stone . And where was tie husband , that child ' s napless sire ? He had left them that morning , his brain was on fire With their cries for relief , their moan * of despair Which ha could not ease—he only could share . "Twas in vain to beg , for no one wonld givs— " He would not steal , then how must be live ? Ho work could be bad , not a friend had he;—Tfcere is notbirig but hardship for peverty I All he could sell had long been sold ,
And now they were starving with hunger and cold " Ob . Gud , " he cried , " and must I stand by And see my poor wife and infant die , While the rich are rolling in luxury Robb'd from tee wauts of such as me ? If I must not work , then what must I do ? Ton shall not die—111 Sghtfor you . ' " Ho rush'd from home , r&solv'd for food , And bis cry as Le went was " Bread or blo » d ! " He joiu'd a crowd that was gather'd there , All listed together by wild despair . Hunger , ' tis said , wid eat through walls , And madness cares net for cannon balls . Spite of the swords of cavalry
And the bayonets of infantry , That hsu was saek"d , and , mid flams and blood , The Etarving poor got plenty of food . A-sray rui this father and said " I c ^ rne I " But when he resch'd once more kis home , Whit a sight was there : transfix'd fca stands , And the bread dropt from bis palsi&d bands . He stood without motion , no more than they ¦ On TCoa he gtzed , as in death they lay . The soldiers came and bound him fast ; He strove not , he Btirr'd not , be stared aghast . Bat when they would force him out at the door , He burst bis bonds and fell on the fl ^ or . " My wi £ < 5 ! my wife ! ray chiid I" Le cried ; His hc&it had burst , and so he died . J . W
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^ OPPRESSION . Shall we for e- ? -: r lick the dust Or fear the tyrant ' s boding frowa , Ar . d cringing , panrler to the lust O : pim ^ cr'd minions of a crown ' : Shall ire for ever bear the scorn Of hearties * wei ; th and fancied power / Bequ = ath to ages y-. t unborn Our aYjiCtness—a gilling dower ? Shall we for ever bs the spoil Of greedy avarics ? and brood O ' er festering wroacs and thankless toil In calm and melancholy mood ? Saal ; we beheld the festive halls , Whore the leud iangh of revelry Ecbos ? along the tinselled walla In mockery of our misery ?
Shall we n blind submission pay To rteel'd oppression ' s ruthless reign ? Qiiescent sigh ? and meekly pray _ 0 / death tt > eas our rankling pain . ' Forbid it , God ! the dignity Of manhood must awaken'd be ; Justice demands , and Liberty Proclaims we must and ahall be free f D . C
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LEEDS . —KaHOKAL SCHOOLIUSTKRS' PSOTIDETT Society . —On Saturday last , at noon , a general taeeting , convened by circular , of masters of the National Schools in the dioeeses of York and Ripon , was held in the Girls' School Room , High Courtlaas , LeedB , to take into consideration the propriety of forming a society to be entitled , The National Schoolaastera' Provident Society f the object of which Ehonld be to render srntnal assistance to each other . Dr . Hook , vie » r , of Leeds , took the ehair , and xprtssed his consurrence in the object * of the meetiag , although he doubted whether & sufficient number of subscribers oould be obtained to meet all the contemplated object ? . The Rev . Mr . Hessay , of Bnddersfield , moved the first resolution , and stated * Hat the Vicar of Haddersfield would have been ¦ preaen t hui for a domestic affliction . The r « oludon mu , "That as naiioaai ecatolmist ^ ri , a * a body ,
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have no resource to fall back upon , neither in age or sickness , it is desirable that a society for t ° e ^ e v Purposes be immedidtelj formed , under the title of The National Schoolmaster' Provident Society . '" Mr . Bell , of Huddersfield , seconded the resolution , which was caiiied . The Rev . Mr . Morris moved the second resolution , " That a committee be appointed to carry out the objects of the first resolution . " Mr . Roberts , of Leeds , seconded the resolution , which was also adopted . Mr . Btll , of Hudderfield , was requested to act as secretary until the society be fully established . Mr . Simma moved , "That the committee , with the chairman , be empowered to draw up the rules and regulations of the society , and submit the same to a general meeting
of the subscribers hereafter to be called by the secretary , and that they apply to his Grace the Archbishop of York , and to the Lord Bishop of Ripon , to become the patrons and presidents of the society , and to the Archdeacons of the two dioceses ? to become vice-presidents . " Mr . Blanchard seconded the resolution . Mr . Edmondson moved the fourth resolution : — " ThaE all schoolmasters who are now present , and who approve of thesociety , do immediately after the meeting signify the same to the Secretary , and become enrolled members ; that all the national schoolmasters in the two diocesscs who have not assented to the proposed society be written to and requested to become members thereof ; and that any person wishing to become
a ; .. ember oi' ihe society , whose school is not ia union with the National Society , must produce a certificate from the clergyman of his parish , stating that the school is conducted on the principles of the Church of England , and is under his superintendence . ' Mr . Braithwaite seconded the resolution . Mr . J . Lee moved ih-i next resolution : — '' That the headmaster in each districtbe ihe Secretary { pro . tern . ) for such district , and that such Secretary be anthorisedin the name of the society , to solicit the clergymen in his district to assist and co-operate in tbe views of the society . " Mr . Bisks , of Holmfmh , seconded the resolution . Mr . Eastham
moved" That at the formation of ths society , such misters as have signified their inteutiou to become members , bo called upon 10 pay their first quarterly subscription , on the 30 ch of September , or as soon as convenient . " Mr . J . Colliitgwood , of Whitkirk , seconded the resolution , which like all the others was carried unanimously . The following persona were ihtv . appointed a committee , viz —Mr . J . S . Bel ] , Seed Hil ) , Huddersfield ; Rev . H . BraitWaite , Trinity Church , ditto ; Rjv . F . Holroyde , Woodhousc , Huddersfield ; Mr . J . Haywood , Lockwood , and Mr . C . Binks , Holmfirth , with power to add to their number ; and thauks having been voted to tho Rev . Chairman , the meeting broke up .
' Stealing Money . —On Monday last , a woman named Ann Ckmimrn , who haa been for a few days cook at the Griffin Inn , Boar-lane , Leeds , was bruu ^ ht before Griffith Wright and Anthony Titley , Esqrc ., at the Coart House , on a charge or having stolen four sovereigns , two aprons , and other ariides , the property of Esther Moorhouse , barma id at the Griffin . It appeared that the prisoner and prosecutrix slept in the same room , and on Friday night , on retiring to rest , the prosecutvis had thirteen sovereigns in her purse ; she was awoke during the night by the prisoner feeling abont her pillow , but not suspecting anythiE £ i ^ id
net examine her purse , and consequently did not miss any money until Saturday night , when she missed four sovereigns . She charged Cowburn with tbe theft , who denied it , but on searching her , four sovereigns ( for which she could not satisfactorily account , ) were found in her pocket , and two aprons , a ' so the property of the prosecutrix , were found in her box . Tie members of Mrs . Riley ' s family had lost various articles , which were found concealed in different parts of the kitchen , no doubt for tbe purpose of beiug taken off . The woman made tbe usual defense , that the things were her own , » nd after examining all the witnesses , the woman was committed for trial .
, Plug Drawirg . —On Saturday last , three men , naaed Edward Chappill , cloth dresser , fiunslet , John Sampson , miner , BLrkcnshaw , arid John Scott , miner , Beestoa , were committed to York Castle for trial , by ihe L . cds Borough Justices ; the former charged wiih being concerned in "drawing the plug " at Messrs . Tatham ' s , at Hulberk , and the two lat : er being parties in a similar offence at Rojd ' s mil ! , daring tne recent disturbances .
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LEEDS EREWSTER SE 3 S 10 X 3 . The annual Brewster Sessions were held on Monday morning last at ten o ' clock . Toere were present the Mayor , ( wnopresided ) , James Holdforta , E q ., Anthony Titley , E ; q ., J . R . Atkinson , E-q ., Ralph Markland , E » q ., Darntun Luptoc , Esq .. Wm . Smith , Esq .. Richard Branilcy , E : q , Griffith Wright , E q , Goorge Goodman , Eiq ., "William Gadman , Esq ., Jamta Musgrave , E : q ., and Hanier Stansfeld , Etq . The ilAYOK uddress&d a few words to the assembled publicans , and remarked that all persons to whom
licenses were granted were expected to keep tfeeir honsts in an orderjy manner , not to allow tbe assembling of disorderly company therein , but to conduct them accoTxiiEg to the tenor of their respective licenses . Tae Magistrates had a list of those publicans before them atainst whom complaints have been preferred during the past year , and tbe licenses of the * e persons would be withheld until an inquiry into their comluct had been madt * : the applications f . r new licenses would not be entertained until the others had been all disposed cf .
Tae licenses were then proceeded with . Ihe following were withheld for farther inquiry : — Mr . Thos . Moss , Queen ' s Arms , Kirkgate ; Mr . Thos . Eshelby , Gilbert ' s Anns , Worthy ; Sir . Rsbert Cross , Pack Horse Inn , Briggate ; Mr . Shires , Wellington Hotel , Wellington-street ; Mr . Joan Wittoa , Old Parrot Inn , Call-lace ; Mr . Jobn BairstoWj George and Dragon , Marshlane ; Mr , We Swale , Old Red Lion , Hoibeck-lane ; Mr . Charles Collister , King ' s Arms , Holbeck ; Mr . Charles Wamwrigbt , Aire and Calder , Calllane ; Mr . Joseph Basvers , D .-ysalters" Arms , Beeston ; Mr . Thomas Backs , Chequers' Inn , Marshall-street , H ?! beck . These licenses will be farther consid ered on Wednesday , the 14 th of September , till which day they are suspended .
The magistrates thes proceeded to bear applica . t \ ons for new licences , when thefo ' . lovring weregranttrt : — Tics . Eall , Queen ' s Anns , Sunny Bank-street ; Henry Robinson , Coach and Horses , Buslingtborpo ; John Tate , Aire a \ d Calder Naw Docks , Crown Point ; Kr = lit 3 Thompson , New Inn , D ^ sbury-road , and to Jonathan Aiders ja , Gipton Wood Inn , Roundhay Road . The two following eases were ordered to stand over until the adjourned brew * ter sessions : — Matthew Bywater , Is ' uw Ieb , Wilsun-street , Meadow Lane ; and Benjamin Rubettsbaw , Britiib Queen , Greenside , Wortley . The following persons had given legal notice of application , but were refused : —
J .. l ; n Blact , Victoria Bridie Inn , School-street ; Thos . Tborahin , Waterloo Inn , Busiingttorp ; Wm . Craister , the Qaeen , R'jucdhay-road ; James Thompson , Shepherd ' s Inn , Bridge-street ; Joseph Robinson , York-street ; John Ripky . Chandler ' s Arms , Mill G ^ rth ; John C ^ stelow , Commodore Napier , Charles-street . Top Close ; Geo Wiseman , Jolly Sailor , Kirkgate ; John Cummins , Hope and Anchor , Pearson-street , Pottery Field ; Joseph Webster , New Inn , Hunsiet-lane ; Samuel Cisy , Grey Mare , Hunslet ; John William Hirst , White House , D = wsbury Road-end ; John Ctitcbley , Prince Albeit , Foster-street , Hunslst-lane ; John North ,
BritiEb Q'i =-en , Grsps-street ; Jostpii Ceoper , Clareraont House , Braitt ^ aite's Field , Hoihtck ; Joan Cnadwick , Moulder ' s Anns , Water-lane , Hnlbeck ; John Brooke , Fsuutaia Inn , Armley New Road , Hoibeck ; George Hoggard , Three Tuna , Marshal .-street ; John Morton , Globe Inn , Holbeck ; John Nicholson , Bar ) < . y Corn , New Wortley ; Thomas Cawoc-d , Golden Lion , Bramley ; Jonas' Hanson , Waggon an ' ' H rs e * , Swinnow Moor , Bramley ; Jctomiah Sbiers , jj own Cow , Switnow Moorj Bramlty ; Wm . Verity , Hough End , near Park Spring Wood , Bramley : and John Cookson , Queen ' s Arms , Chapel Ailerton .
The farther proceedings were then adjourned till Thursday , the 1-lih of September . Ferment amosg the Bisuops . —We understand ' . hat the serious illnesa of the Archbi .-hop ot Canterbury has occasioned an extraordinary ft / ment amons ; ths Bi £ bop 3 , a-U of whom are a 3 bssy a .= 5 a certain notorious personage is said to be in a high wind . Excttr has laid abide his imeution of paying a second visit at the public expense—to the Scilly . Islands , and is preparing , instead , a
pamphlet , whoso object is to prove that the present Government is the best of ail possible Governments , and Sir K . Peel the best of all possible Premiers ; while Londoa , equally on the alert , ha 3 been seen frequently , within the last few days , flitting uneasily to and fro between Whitehall-gardens and Downing street . The Episcopal Bench has not been so active as it is now since the death of the last Archbishop . The news of the Pope ' s landing at Dover with a cargo ef faggots would not occasion half such an excitement among them .
Dbeadpul Death fbom swallowing Vitbiolic Acid . —Oq Friday , one of the mechanics employed in the moulding department of Woolwich dockyard , died in the Marine Hospital , in consequence of the extensive internal injuries he received by swallowing s large qn&niitj ot vitriolic * eid . Th # deceased , it appears , was at work in the workshtps of tho moulding department , and , becoming thirsty , he took up a mug containing that destructive liquid , conceiving it to be spring water , and took a draught , which burnt his month and throat in a dreadful manner . He was conveyed to the hospital , where every attention was paid , but , after lingering for nearly forty-eight hours , ho expired , having suffered the greatest agonies . It appears tbe acid is an article frequently required in the work . Tbe deceased , whose name was Edward Nicholson , was a joong man only twenty-five years of age , and had bat recently been married .
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Royal Visit to Scotland . —Her Majesty , Prince Albert , and suite , left Windsor Castlts on Monday morning at twenty minutes past five , and arrived at the Paddington terminus at ten minutes to six . From the terminus they started direct for Daptford , where relays of horses were waiting to cenvey them to Woolwich . It having been generally known for some days past that it was her Mij ^ sty ' s intention to embark at 6 even o'clock from Woolwich for Leith , great preparations had been made by the steam-boat proprietors for the immense number of passengers who it was supposed would leave London at an early hour for the purpose of witnessing the departure of the Q'leen from the shores of England . The moming at four o ' clock was calm and beautiful , and gave
erery promise of a fine day . As the c ' ay broke , however , the oloads began to gather , and at a quarter before five the raia commenced falling in torrent ? , and continued in one unintcrmitted pour until after eight o ' clock . The rain at about half-past six o ' clock somewhat abated ; and at Woolwich the sight , notwithstanding the chilling influence of the weather , was exciting in the extreme . The Royal George , with the Royal standard flying at her main , her yards manned , and her officers and men at quarters , formed the most conspicuous object . Close alongside her was tho Commissioners' yatcht , tho William and Mary , with iKr yards manned . She was profusely decorated with flags , The Lightning , the Salamander , the Monkey , and several other steam-vessels were in attendance . Flags were seen floating over the dock-yard , the barracks , the arsenal , and the otner public buildings . The shores on
both side 3 were crowded wiih spectators . Precisely at seven o ' clock a royal salute , fired from a battery stationed in the dockyard , auswerrd by another salute from tha arsenal , announced the embarkation of hi . r Majesty . Jn the cours 3 of a icir seconds the Royal Georgo got under weigh , and bein « taken in tow by tbe skam tug Monkey , W . Bryant , proceeded a : a rapid rate down the river . The Royal George was preceded by the Lightning steamer , Lieut . G . Suell . which cleared the way for the progress cf tho royal fleet , aiso the Shearwater , Captain Washington , the Fearlesa ( steamer ) , Captain F . Bullock , and the Radamanthus , Lieut , T . Laen , brought up the rear . A 3 the royal fleet passed down the river , r . iya ! salutes were fired from the barracks and from the arsenal , as well as from the dockyard . Tho rosal Equadion was off the Nore at eleven o ' clock this morning .
The coal whippers of London struck work on Wednesday , in order to relieve themselves from a large per centago which reduces their pay from seven farthings per ton to 0110 penny , and which is exacted by certain middlemen ceiled " undor-undertaker ? , " » t Shad well an j other places below London ; and to throw off their thraldom to agents who are also publicans , and who obliga tha men whom they employ to con 3 urao certain quantities of beer . The Dublin Papers mention three brutal murders . Thomas Long had his brains dashed out near Limerick , on Saturday ; Honeea , wjod-ranger to Mr . Vandeleur , was killed by a drunken companion , as they were t ? oing ta renew a broken temperance p ' esige , in Clare , on Friday ; and on tho 10 th , one Mercer was beaten to death at Gknkean , near Londonderry . No cause was known for either of these murders .
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THE WEST-INDIAN CAPITALISTS AND FREE LABOUR . Two important Parliamentary Reports in reference to Africa and tho West Indie ? , have been laid upon the table of the Hou 3 « of Commons ; and as we deem them of considerable importance , we take the present occasion of inviting public attention to them , as documents in which the labouring populatior of thid country are deeply interested . liiovarof capital again 3 t labour is as unequal as it is unjust . The powers possessed by the antagonistic parlies are such that the one must , under existing circumstances , yield to the other , and in every state where capital gains the ascendancy over labour , an injury i 3 ii flicted upon industry in every part cf the world . Thus it appears that the rampant dominion of thenon-produchigclasses in England-has
excited the hopes and the cupidity of their brethren in the West Indies , who are now straining every nerve to rcb tbe emancipated negro of the fair results of that freedom , so dearly bought for them by the toiling millions of this land , and should th « y be allowed to succeed in their infamous and murderous design , we may rest assured that their doing so will , as a natural consequence resulting from the laws of action and re-action , result in an increase of depredations en the part of the monied classes over tho industrious bees of this island hive . And hence arises the nec ? ssity of watchiuc most carefully any emanation from that den of uarKness in which tho demon of class legislation and legalised oppression for ^ e the chains by which honest laloar is to be fettered to the earth .
The nrtt report to which we are desirous of calling the attention of our readers is that of a Select Committee on the West-India Colonies ; and was got up for the pnrposa of examining into the effects of the Emancipation Act upon the prosperity of the planters . " The questions immediately submitted to the Committee which first rtported were , whether Negro Emancipation has or has not entailed certain evils , in withdrawing large numbers frcm the labour-market of the West Indies , a :: d briDging the planters , t ' jroueh the
compulsory payment of lavish wages without securing adequate supplies of labour , to the verge of ruin ; and ¦ whether those evils can bo repairtd by free imnrgration of negroes from Africa—officina qenlis . Tiie Committee examined witnesses both for and azain&t the planting interest , from the Colonies of St . Vincent , Trinidad , Barba ^ oes , Britifh Guiana , Grenada , Antigua , St . Kitt's , and Jamaica . They bad no time last session to make a detailed report , and therefore they sum up their conclusions in the Bu ^ oiaed resolutions ; which they
intiuiiuikjthus" In recommending those rosolnhons andthe evidence to ihe attention of tha House , your ConimiUve feel bound to state , iu conclusion , tint thvy cannot regard the prtieiifc state of the West-India Colonies , unsatisfactory as it is , with any feeling cf impair . They believe thiit the distress now prevailing in those colonies is very great , and requires immediate attention : they csnnot inOicate any remedy by which they can be sanguine enough to suppose that such serious distress c ^ nhl bo speedily removed ; but ! hey have offered su ^ tstions , in the eu \ joined resolutions , the effects of which they confidently hope may be ultimately though gradually successful .
" They bflieve that if those suggestions are considered and acted upon in a spirit of equal justice to both proprittors and labourers , prosperity may be restored ; and tLat , uniier the blessing of Divind Providence , the world may witness the complate success of the great exiiinp ' . e which this country has afforded . All tliis at firsi sight miy appear reasonable . The Couimittee would evidently iwduce the House and the country to conclude that the inquiry has been go : ; c into without any bias ono way or the other ; ana wo are sufficiently acquainted with human nature to believe that they have in reality persuaded themselves into a belief of that which they aro evidently most anxious to impress upon tho public mind—their own strict impartiality .
S ; ili we must not forget , and ths peapla must not lose si ;; ht of tho fact , that this Select Committee was composed of men of property , and that the invesv ^ ation was instituted on behalf of the Capitalist : and Planters in cur West Indian settlements . i ? carii ; g ihid in mind , we request our readers to ' mark , learn , and inwardly digest" most carefully the subjoined resolutions , and wo much mistake if they do not find in them another additional motive for continuing aud increasing their exertions , until the Charier is obtained , the enactment of which can alone give just protection to property by secunug and upholding the rights of labour . As the icsolutions are but shorfc s yet most important , we eive them entire : —
" Resolved—That it is the opinion of Into Committee , "l . That the great act of Emancipating the slaves in the West Indian Colonies has been productive , aa regards the character and condition of the Negro population , of the most favourable and gratifying results . " 2 . That tbe improvement in the character of the Negroes i : i every colony Into the state of which this Committee haa had time to extend inquiry , is proved by abundant testimony of an increased and increasing desire tor religious and general instruction , a { rowing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage and to fulfil the duties of dome » tio life , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased E&nse of the value of property and independent station .
" S . That , unhappily , there has occurred , simultaneously with this amendment in the condition of the Negroes , a very great diminution in the staple productions of t' 20 West Indies , to sach an extent as to have cau-. sd st-rioas and in some cases ruinous injury to the proprietors of nutates in those colonies . " 4 . Th&t TshAa this distress has been felt to a much less extent in some of the smaller and more populous
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islands , it has been so great in the larger colonies of Jamaica , British Guiana , and Trinidad , as to have caused many estates , hitherto prosperoua and productive , to ba cultivated for the last two or three years at considerable loss , and others to be abandoned . " 5 . That the principal causes of this diminished production and consequent distress are the great difficulty which has been experienced by tha Planters in obtaining Bteady and continuous labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken and
indifferent work which they are able to procute . " 6 . That the diminished supply of labour is caused partly by the fact that soma of the former slaves have bs taken themselves to other occupations more profitable than field labour ; but the more general cause is , that tbe labonrers are enabled to live in comfort and acquire wealth , without , for the most part , labouring on the estates of the Planters for more than three or four days in a week , and from five to seven hours in a day ; so that they have no sufficient stimulus to perform an adequate amount of work .
" 7 . That this state of things arises partly from the high -wageB which the insufficiency of the supply of labour , and their competition * ith each other , naturally compel the Planters to pay ; but it is principally to ba attributed to the easy terms upon which the use of land has been obtainable by Negroes . " 8 . That many of the former slaves have been enabled to purchase land , and the labourers generally are allowed to occupy provision-grounds subject to no rent , or to a very low one : and in these fertile countries , the land they thus hold as owners or occupiers not only yields them an ample supply of food , but in many cases a considerable overplus in money , altogether independent of and in addition to the high money-wages which they receive .
" 9 . That ihe cheapness of land has thns been the main cause i . f the difficulties which have been experienced ; and that this cheapness is the natural result of tbe excess of fertile land * beyond tha wants of the existing population . " 10 . That in considering tbe anxious question of what practical remedies are best calculated to check the increasing depreciation of West Indian property , it therefore appears that much might be effected by judicious arrangements on tho part of the Planters themselves , for their own general advantage , and by moderate and prudent changes in the system which they have hitherto adopted .
" 11 . That one most obviouB and desirable mode of endeavouring to compensate for this diminished supply of labour is to promote ihe immigration of a fresh labouring population , lo such an extent as to create competition for employment . " 12 . That for tbe tetter attainment of that object , as well as to secure the full rights and comforts of the immigrants as freemen , it is desirable that such immigration should be conducted under the authority , inspection and controul of re $ ponsible public officers .
" 13 That it is also a serious question , whetae * it is not required by a du 6 reeard for the just rights and interests of the West Indian Proprietors , und the ultimsto welfare of the Negroes themselves , more especially in consideration of the large addition to the labouring population which it ia hoped may soon ba effected by immigration , that Vie laws which regulate ihe relations between empl oyers und labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early and careful revision by their respective Legislatures . "
We are sure that our readers must see at once that a decided bearing to the fancied interests of tho planters is visible throughout the whole of these resolutions . It is admitted that the Emancipation Act has , as far as the condition of the negro population is concerned , been productive of great and manifest advantages . And , in proof of this , we are told that in every Colony into the state of which inquiry had been made , there was , on the part of the enfranchised blacks an increasing desiie for religious and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage , and to fulfil the duties of domestic life
improved morals , rapid advance in civilization , and increased sense of the value of property , and of indep 3 ndent station . This , to a mind rightly csmstituted , would bo a source of unmixed satisfaction and delight . But property-men , as a class , whether in the Colonies or at home , have no conception of great and philanthropic principles . Their hearts generally are in their purses , and to look for the noble feelings and generous sympathies of humanity among such worshippers of gold is an act of the greatest absurdity . The negroes are free , and aro becoming moral and religions ; but they demand remuneration for their labour , and this tho planters are by no
means disDosed to give . This country gave to them the costly offering of £ 20 , 000 , 000 , to puroha-se freedom for the slave . They willingly took the gold , and now they would introduce indirect slavery , as the introduction of it in a direct form is no longer possible . They complain that tho labour market is not sufficiently supplied , and this pliant Committee endeavours to p ; rsuade the Legislature to sanction the importation of fresh workmen from Africa , in order to bring down the wages of tho newly-emancipated bondsmen , and realise a vast proflt from & people reduced to starvation , ia addition to the blood money so generously paid by tho mother country .
The Committee tells us that " They believe that the distress now prevailing in those Colonies is very great , and requires immediate attention ; " and of course they directed their best attention to devising a remedy for such distress . We will examiue the proposed remedy in its proper place , but let u * now look at the evidences of distress which are glanced at in the resolutions , and upon which tho belief oi its prevalence is founded , if such belief existed at all . Tho first proof of distress which seems to have struck the notioe of the Committee is the increasing prosperity of the negro population . The West India Colonies are on tho 'verse of ruin ,
because the negroes are evincing " an increased and an increasing desire for religion and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves tho obligations of marriage , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased sense of the value of property , and independent station . " All this appears to us very questionable evidence of ihs prevalence of general distre . s . Los us look at proof second : —The Committee states that " unhappily thero has occurred a very great dimunition in the staple productions of the West Indies , " which
dizniuution they trace to the groat difficulty experienced by the planters in obtaining steady and continuous labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken aad indifferont work which they are able to procure . " This looks something like distress , to be sure , but it is only on the part of the planters , who are , even according to the testimony of their own committee , in part at least , to blame for their own mishaps . We agree with the committee in thinking that the planters have thoranelves to blame for tho distressed condition in which
they find themselves . But we slightly differ from them as to the particular acts to which blamo is to be attached . According to the resolutions , the planters are a most generons and ill-used body of men . They have let their ibrincr slaves have land for littla or nothing ! They remunerate them so highly as to injure themselves , aud yet the ungrateful -wretches Tfiil not work , but by their idleness are reducing their tender hearced benefactors to absolute ruin . Lot it bo remembered however , that these same idle rascah are rapidly advancing in civilization ; taking upon them the obligations of marriage ; and though the most unprincipled villains , only
evincing their villainy by conducting themselves like sensible and honest men . The planters may indeed exclaim " Save us . from our friends , " when they receive this extraordinary string of resolutions . Then comes the third evidence of distress , which is presented to us in the shape of a complaint that the ne&roes are too comfortable and too industrious ! "Some of the form « r slaves have betaken them-Belves toother occupations more profitable than field labour . " And again , The labourers are enabled to live in comfort , and acquire wealth , without , for the most part , working on the estates of the planters , for three or four days in a week , and
from five to seven hours in a day . " We fear the Committee are somewhat inconveniently troubled with defects of memory . We recollect that when the emancipationists urged as one plea for the abolition of slavery , the arduous nature of the labour performed by the blacks , they were told , that the toil endured , except at particular seasons , was far less than that to which the majority of the working classes in England were subjected , and that the negroes had ample time to secure their own freedom , if they were disposed to do bo , by extra labour . If their statements are forgotten by the colonists , their friends are not bo ready to forget .
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~ " '¦ . . . ¦¦¦¦¦¦ . — . - j r--From all that appears , the planters aro in a most pitiable condition . They have a eoil so fertile that it produces more than abundance with comparatively little labour ; they are surrounded by a population from whom they have nothing t » fear , but whoaie > on the contrary , forming the best of all the elements of national prosperity—a moral and industrious community ; a community which , finds its present condition and future prospects so cheering , that it resorts , to the hymeneal altar , without even the shadow of dread or alarm as to the contingency of raising up a surplus population ; and they
have received their own price , £ 20 , 000 , 000 of British gold , as a compensation for the . supposed loss to which the new order of thing 3 might possibly expose them . We ask for what was the £ 20 , 000 , 000 given if this was not its object ! It was not voted because the right of the planters to acquire property in human Sesh was recognised , for that was emphatically denied by the whole body cf abolitionists , both in and out of Parliament . But it was said that capital , to a vast amount ; , had been embarked in West Indian property , under the sanotion of British law , and that the act of emanci
pation would entail numerous losses upon West Indian proprietors , unless compensation was granted . And we are ready to admit , that probably no grant ever passed the House of Commons , with so much of popular approval as that which was to purchase the freedom of 800 , 000 of our suffering fellowmen . j And now we call upon the advocates of the ne ^ ro race to speak out , and to declare that the rascally avarice of the insitiabla planters shall not frustrate this mighty effort of British generosity . The planters have had their price , and tho newly enfranchised population pius ! bo scoured in the freedom which this costly efforin ^; procured for them .
Wo aro satisfied that the friends of the negro never intended to redeem him from tho lash , in order to leave him exposed to the still more horrid scourge of starvation and ill requited labour . Yot this is the fate to which the tender mercie 3 of the planters would inevitably doom him ; but from this fate ha must , and will ba saved , ifthe people of this country are not prepared ' to forgo every claim to ba considered either men or Christians .
But is the condition of the planters indeed such that their estates will not yield a remunerating profit for the labour bestowed upon them 1 Let as reason from analogy . The eighth resolution tells us that the lato slaves holding . land a 3 owners or tenants , find it so productive as not . only-to yield them an ample supply of food , but in many cases a considerable overplus in money . Kow , if the provision grounds of a late helot be
thus profitable to him , ia it not fair to infer that the rich planter , with all the advantages of capital , might make his large plantations equally productive . Of course it is , and we must therefore * oome to the conclusion , that it is not a fair remuneratory pi ont that is sou&ht , but such a command of the labour market , as will onablo the rich to trample- upon tho rights of industry ,, and to establish slavery in reality , though not in name .
The great distress , then , which is said to exiat in the West Indian colonies , is all on the side of the planters ; and we must remind our readers , that , when to suit , as it afterwards appeared , their own purposes , thoy r- j . ctcd the boon , held ou ' , to theoi in the apprenticeship clauses of the Emancipation Act , they not only virtually declared that the Negroes were fully competent to exercise ihe rights of freemen , but that a state of labour in which the workman was at liberty to make his own terms with his employer , was Jikely to be of more advantage to both parties , than the apprenticeship system
proposed by Parliament . The relinquishment of tho apprenticeship system was hailed wiih delight by the friends of Africa in thi 3 country ; but soon the application for , and tho granting of certain , orders in Council , authorising the importation of foreign labourers into the colonies , tore away fhe mask , and displayed the planters and their Whig supporters at home in their native and mo ^ t disgusting deformity . Nor must it be forgotten that it was at that tim 6 deolared , and the statement was not contradicted , that the reason why the blacks refused to
work was , that tho wa ^ es offered by tho planters wero inadequate to supply the necessaries and comforts of life . Another fact should also bo borne in mind , namely , that , according to the colonial press , such was the non-productive character of slave labour , then enforced by the lash , that many of tho estates did not pay the expences of caltivaiion j while the same press , especially ia reference to Barbadoes and Jamaica , declared that under the influence of free labour the islands were rapidly advancing in prosperity and improvement .
Leaving these somewhat contradictory statements to be reconciled as best they may , by those whose interest and busiuess it is to reconcile them . We proceed to inquire into the nature and tffects of tha remedies pointed out by tho committee for this problemmatical state of distress . The first remedy it is thought might bo found in "judicious arrangements on the part of the piasters thom 3 olvos , / or their own general advantage , and by moderate and prudent changes iu the system which they have hitherto adopted . " We ara not told ia what these " changes '' and "judicious arrangements" are to consist , but we can make a shrewd gue 3 S , even without pretending to tho spirit of prophecy . * The committee tell us that
laud has been obtained by the bhtcks on too easy terms . That they can get a good living , and earn money with bu 6 a raadarateamaun !; of labour ; tha for field labour the planters pay a rate of wa » es much too high , and that a portion of the coloured population have di&oorered rnenns of employment which will pay better even than field labour and that ' ¦ u-fin ^ the privileges of freemen , they have betaken themselves to such employments as may enable them to acquire property and attain to independent station . The remedy of course for this disastrous state of things wculd be to advance the price of land , so as to render it all but non-productive to the occupant , and which of cour .-e would be a death blow to their
prospects oi prosperity . The rate of-wages paid for field work must alao ba reduced , and means bo dovbed by which the produceof Negro skill aud industry may ba rendered unprofitable whtn brought into tho market . All Una might to some extent b 3 effect id by a combination amongst tho plaat-jw and this is the plain English of the sugg ' - 'stum of the committee . The advice contained in the tenth resolution is really to let . the planters combine to starvo the Negros 3 into any terms they pka = e .
But thi 3 experiment might fall . Many of the blacks havo become holders of laud , and they can produce more than they consume , and thus have something they can bring into the market ; and this might induco them to assume an independence of character by no means in accordance * with the desigas of their monopolising employers . This contingency the Committee have foreseen , and in the eleventh resolution they propose a remedy . They say ' * That one most obvious and desirable means of endeavouring to compensate for this diminished supply of labour is to promote the immigration of
afrefh labouring population lo such an extent as to create competition for employment . " We request our readers to mark well the words we have printed in italics , and to ponder well this diabolical scheme of the indefatigable planters to destroy and blast the prospects of their so recently redeemed bondsmen . Observe the Committee , and here , at all events , it ia the month-piece of the plantera . reeommends the immigration of a fresh labouring population , and that to such an extent as to create competition for employment .
Now , bear in mind that the land is so fertile , that with moderate labour it will produce an abundant supply for a much larger population than is at present to be found in the Colonies , and recollect also , that the negroes are taking upon themselves the obligations of ([ marriage , and are seeking to fulfil
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the duties of domestic life , the result of which must be a gradually increasing population who wonld be attached to the soil by that mysterious tie which binds man by a poculiar affection to tha land of his birth ; aud then sav where is tho nccessi ' - y of rareplenishing the labour market by an immigration of naw-comsrs . Tho necessity exists nowhere but in thuforei ^ n-trade manii , ' . which , seams a 3 ripain . the West Iadio . sas in England . They wan ; a population so numerous a 9 to create a competition for labour . Or rather they would by indirect mea . is extirpato the race of negroes who have baen wres-. ed
from their merciless grasp , and whom they hate with the most deadly malignity , and at tho same tim , fchoy would grind down wages to the starvation point by so overstocking the labour market , that they could dictate their own terms whenever it was found convenient to do so . We have no doubt but that the design is to despoil the present coloured population of the ri ^ V . ts they havo acquired in the soil so soon as it can ba dono wiih safety , and to so overwhelm the native artizins by a new labour popula ' . ion , a 3 to cheek the growing propensity for carriage , which has done so much in the way cf improvement for tire negro race . In their resolutions not ono word 13 said about securing to the emancipated blacks tha legitimate fruits of that freedom which this country
purchased for them . All the caro of the committeo is directed to tho welfare of the new-comers , " secure the right * and comforts of the immigrant ? , ' * and that of the West Indian proprietor , and for th . it end they recommend " that the laws which regubta the relations between employers and labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early and careful revision by their respective Legislatures . " These Legislatures , be it recollected , are composed of the employers , and in them the labourers have not even the shadow of representation .. We think it will not require much ekill to discover how far the interests of the working population would D 9 cared for in any revision of laws conducted by such assemblies ,
But let us now look for a moment at tha sccoad report , in order that we may discover from what source this " fresh labouring population" is to be derived . The Committee on Western Africa begin by explaining that their appointment originated in the discovery in 18150 , that foreign slave-ships w ; re permitted to trade for goods at the British settlements on the Gold Coast ; and in Dr . Maddkn ' s r » p . ; rt of tha inquiry , which , on that discovery , he was deputed to make . Their Report relates to the several subjects of the British settlements , tho state of the slave-trade , emigration from Africa to the West Indies .
On tho subject of emigration some calculations , though not very precise , are mado repp . cciiu ;< the population whos 9 emigrants might b drawn to the Gold Coast , among the Krpomen , at the - . Gambia , and at Sierra Loonc ; coHmig to the general conclusion ,, that if orr : ii ; faf . ion wero permitted , the ' csztcrifrla for it would probably prove to be cou ? idsrablo .. A : ; d then they proceed to ei quiro , whether it would ba a desirable chain ; - ; far these
various classes to be in the West Indies rather than in Africa . As data the Committee qtiotOj at considerable length , from official documents—tho , despatches of Sir Charles Metcalfe and tho reports of Magistrates—respecting the temporal , tho moral , and religious advantages to bo enjoyed by tho black in the three principal colonies , Jamaica , British Guiana , and Trinidad , ranged under the su-vvraheads of those colonies . .
Wo brg to call fpecial attention to the following extracts from this report : — " Now , after looking at tuch a pitture , drawn from the in&Bt unsuspected sources , we . cannot tloubt thai , whether for the homeless Z > * e ? ro just re ^ cug : ! from the holrt of a slave-ship , or for the ignorant and unchiiiz ;« i African who coihhs down to our aettlemeute to pick up a ? mctll pittance by the karJec-t labour and to return ¦ with it to h ' iS barbarous home , it would ba of the highest advantage , it would be the greatest bleh 3 i ! 'g to mafce such an exchanee . '
" To such aa thus lcava their homes , a free p . is ^ ase back at the end of a certain poriocl , say t ' iree or four years , might be promised , with full permission lo them to return at any time at th&ir ' own cxpensa . To the homeless African , newly liberated . th 9 option should be given of settling at once i 11 the West Indies if ha plsase , with pehnis ^ iou to return hereafter at hid own c si . or cf removing from Sierra Leone , or of remaining in it on the first-adjudication if he ¦ undertake for his own maintenance ,. or can tiad friendb or relations who will undertake it for him . "
We have not spaco at present for further extracts , I ut from these it is clear that the now labourers who aro to compete tvith tha coloured population of tho Wast I&uIeB for the benefit of tho avaricious and cruel planters ara to be drawn from their native homes in Africa bj promises which will be falsified , and by hopes which never can bo realised in their foreign homo . This diabolical design must be prevented , British patriotism and philautrophy must rush to the rescue , and the friends of the negro must resolve that their so anxiously-planted tree of liberty ' " shall not ba blasted just when its fruits are rtady to appear .
Let the object sought be ever kept in mind . That object is to rs ^ deh tub estates of the plantehs PRODUCTIVE OF IMMENSE WEALTH , AT THE I . XPENCB of labour and INDUSTRY . Ic is not a labouring population , moral , industrious , comfortable , and prosperous ; that is wanted . Such a population exists , and is increasin ;; . But it is a population in which more hands shall be found than can obtain . a profitable return for their labour , and who must in consequence become actually slaves , bound hand and foot , to tha chariot wheels of capital .
The Committee hope that a large addition to tha labouring population will be effected by emigration . What would be tha result 1 First , a demand far provision grounds to such an extent as would appear to justify ^ tho planters ia demanding a ruinous advance of . rent ; next the superseding the pre ; em race of field labourers , who are considerably sdvancad ia civilisation , and have acquired a ta-te for a superior style of living to that of their less civilised fellows , by men bnt a few dogrscs removed from the savage state , and who are in consequenca capable of working at a much less rate- of ramuaeration than what is demanded and felt to be necessary by those with whom they are brought into competition . Third , the
desire- to contract marriages will reseivo a check , and the religious and moral feelings , no \ r beginning to dovelope themselves , will , as a consequence , retrograde . Then , from tho spirit of competition , and tha consequent continued diminution of wage ? , the immigrants themselves must suffer , and their progress in civilisation be materially retarded ; until , at length , a maddened and starving population , seeing themselves robbed of all the benefits which they justly expected from the Act of Emancipation , will make common cause with the betrayed and deluded immigrants from Africa , and rising in the unconcontrolled fury of determined resolution , will drive the guilty authors of their misery into that gulph of irremediable ruin which their insane foliy has
provided for themselves . , Nq& we ask will the poople allow all this mischie to be inflicted both npon the Colonies , Africa , an < the mother country ? If so , then all the wrong , inflicted by tho monster capital upon labour , wil bo , in appearance at least , sanctioned by the populai Yoiee , and man will become in truth merely tb < machine made use of for the fabrication of wealth and for subserving the purposes of avarice and am
bition . We call upon the good and wise of all classes and of all creeds to unite in the prevention of this monstrous iniquity , aad to declare , in a manner not to be mistaken , that the great set of Negro Emancipation shall hare fair play until it beoomes productive of its legitimate results . And we say especially to the working classes , let nothing turn you from your righteous purpose to achieve that freedom , and those politcal rights , whiob . by securing the equality of all before the law can alone give adequate protection to labour , either in tho Colonies or at Home .
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Ilie Northern Star. Saturday, September 3, 1842.
IliE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 3 , 1842 .
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• THE NORTHERN STAR . . o
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 3, 1842, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct904/page/3/
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