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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1843.
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HOBSON'S at.twta-wAtvte
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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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In the Press , and speedily will be Published ^ Price Threepence , THE POOR MAN'S COMPANION , FOR 1844 . H OBTAINING a mass of Statistical and other U matter , bearing on the Political and Social questions of the day . Compiled from authentic documents , BY JOSHUA HOBSOH . (® - The day of Publication , with a list of contents , ¦ will be duly set forth next week .
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* * 10 THE CHARTISTS OF NOTTINGHAM AND SOUTH DERBYSHIRE . BB . OTHBB PEMOCiATS , —The Committee appointed to carry out the Iiocal Plan of Organization sod reaolo iioiiB which vrere agreed to at your . Delegate Heeling , feeW at Nottingham in Jane laat , wish to remind 70 a that the term of their serrioes . bsa nearly expired , and to lay J ^ fore yon a statement of your afiaim . We are happy to state that much good has arisen from She labours of our indefatigable lecturer , Mr . Doyle , Owing to Hie hitherto imperfect state of out Organixa -Jaon , the Lecturers' Fond is deficient to the amount of nearly £ 7 . To this ^ we earnestly direct jour attention , end hops that the various localities 'Will immediately kansmit to the Treasurer the various auraa agreed ta ¦ T * J
A Delegate Heeling will be held at Ilkeatone , on Sonday , the 5 th of NovemW , "when -we hope that eTery locality * iH seed a delegate to consider the best means -of liquidating the debt , and transacting other important VrrfnTirJWi "Soros , TespeefcfnDy , SAMT 7 EI . Bookhah , Secretary . Kottangbsm , October 3 lBt , 1843 ,
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* m TO THE CHARTISTS OF BIRMINGHAM AKD THE STJRXOXTSDISG DISTRICT . Bbothbbs , —Toe Committee for the sapportof Mr . 45 eorge White once more appeal to yonrsympa'thiei , ind te yoar justice . Fire months of the time declared iy inignitons law-adminjsttator » to be necessary to expaate , irithin atoos mtllr , the heinoot crime of defending the poor and demanding for them their rights , hare passed , Isaving thbbe yet to be endured , and those three , alas ! amongst the most severe of the year . Six . While , apjuming theatumpts 'which have generally been made to degrade the leaders and teachers of file people , demanded ^ be treated as a first-class misdemeanant . His demand was acceded to , and he vas
Imprisoned Jin the Queen ' s Prison . By this act he did Itis duty to his ieRovr-vrorklng men . When the sates of the prison dosed xrpon bim , justice and honesty claimed Ih&t ihfl WOlilng-mea sboold jdo ihdr duty to him . B&T 8 ihtydonesD ? Yes , in part—they iav 6 done it inLon-£ on , where he went amongst them a stranger . But in Bixjunghasi and the district where he was well known , and much admired for hifl boldness , and unquestioned political integrity—the town and neighbourhood which aboold hare set a generous example to others at a distance , has done lifcUe or notbing . Sow true it is of Chartism , aa of oth « i systems :, that its aerants are sever honoured in their own country .
The CnaxtutM of London stepped between George White and destitution . Had he depended on those who -wapiti to hare supported him and shielded him from the iron gripe of a sanguinary law eode , penuryjaud neglect would have been tha ungenerous return from those with % » hcm he lived , for twelve yean' service in their cause , and for more than once endangering his life and health . For the five months already passed , Birmingham and the district hare not contributed five shillings per week . This is not honest—this is not just Tyrants will serer fear you . until you respect yourselves j and yon are Wanting in proper respect for yourselves when you allow yoni enfeffiiBs to treat- -tritb cruelty and contempt those whom you put forward to defend your liberties and demand fer you those rights which justice declares to be reasonable .
Bro £ ie»—Show that it is only necessary for yon to -know your duty to perform it Costbibute quickly , freely , and cheerfully for tbe assistance and support of as honest man of your own class , for the remainder of the time which tyranny wDl retain him in its grasp-By Order , W . CHU . T 0 S , Secretary . 38 , BromBjrove-street , or Place of Meeting , 57 , Peck-lane , Birmingham . P . S—The committee would mention that social teaparties , concerts , etc ., have been found of great assistance by the . London friends .
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THE GBEEIfW 1 CH PENSIONERS AND TfiE XELSOIS MONUMENT . Tbe most disgraceful , degrading spectacle , that has evsr been inflicted upon Englishmen , was witnessed last week , when the statue of tbe immortal Nelson was exhibited to the gsz % of the public It iB impossible to express in language the indignation which tola unparalleled spcetade exeitea in the breasts of tbe citizens of London ; and when ihe "United Kingdom is informed cf it , there win be , no doubt , raised from one extremity to
the other one general shout of execution , Our readers are aware that during the last two days » be statue of Lord Nelson was open to public inspection in Trafalgsrfiqoare . From all parts of the Metropolis , and the suirocDdicg districts , crowds wended tbtir way to the apot , to gaze upon the monuirental « S ? y of tfce greatsst xa * al hero that ever England has produced . What was their dismay , when , as they approached the entrance to Trafalgar-square , the / beheld three 'kegging-br > xea , guarded by a body of Greenwich pensioners , who seemed to exclaim-
" Why , good people all , at what do you pry ? la * t tfie Bttuup of mj arm 01 nj leg T Oi the pla * e-where 1 lest my good-looking ejs ? Or is it to see me beg ?" Over these begging-boxes , and above the -veteran taw who guarded them , were large placards , bearing the subjoined inscription : —
" England expects every man to do his duty . " " The -veterans of Copenhagen , Si . Tisceut , the NilB , and Trafalgar , humblj beg to r-mte the British public to vie * B-ifltya statue of their immortal hero in TrafeJxar-sq ^ sre . on Friday and Saturday next , and trasfc they -will drop a copper in the locker for the eniartaaiHneni'riuen is to be g ' rren to P «> rJack , on the glorious anniversary of the battle of Copenhagen . Ko charge made , but the nm ^ llert donation thankfully reeeived . " Tj it possible to conceive a more humiliating Instance of national ingratitude 2 Can Englishmen , whose character for even a reckless generosity and pTofuseotaa is . notorious , / wherevertoB mms of Briton haaJbeen heard , behold those veteran warriors to whom Esgiand is indebted -for the lofty and independent political atUtade she holds , among surrounding nations—some
rivals , * and all Jealous of her naval power—thus leduoed to the condition of tbe most abject meadicitj ? Yet each i » the melancholy isct Tbers stood at * he base ef tbe monument raised to Keisotfs memory , Haae Teteran ta » who fought under him at the rattles ol CoDenbagBn , St . Tincent , Q » KBe , and Trafalgar , tttoatoTw itii cold , and beg ^ ng for » day * meal ! Hie JriatoriaH ' a weord of Lord Melsra * foneial , fa trhiAia makes ^ fiven royal dukes pall-bearers to tin Olfanfc warrior , dusj rarely be a faWe or jan ole ^ tV talt ; for if bis mortal remains minted bucI - toBona , Wb » TO companions in asn * wcujI ar-: ^^ such » husrffiating fate . Who after th-B ew ei U w » Tti& >** , a charitable , abum ^ o , »»««" iVwi . jastpeoplei- ! Alttoroh wf - fcmrSlDnkffl TBBV& £ l ** * Baris , 5 & Tii-ccunts , ma 2 *
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Boons , with incomes -varying from £ 50 , 000 to £ 100 . 000 and £ 800 , 000 a-year , yet tbe paltry sum ot £ 290 cannot bo raised to give a dinner to the men whose daring courage and valour have seenred to them the safe and quiet possession of their titles , Tjohours , and properties , unless through the medium of the begginf-box . The Qneen Dowager can eontribnte to the erection of a church in Malta ; tbe Qaeen can lavish £ 1 , 000 npon French soldiers ; Sir Robert Peel can enrich an ovssbloated Church with a donation of £ 5 , 000 ! a Tory Noble Duke , whose mansion overlooks to » Tery site of the column , can snbscribe from £ 2 , 000 to £ 5 , 000 for Church extension ; yet all these r # yal and distinguished personages can ' witness , without shame , the weather-beaten heroes of the ocean , supplicating for penny subscriptions!—Weekly DispaiA .
[ Detesting as we do all wan of aggression ; believing -with the poet , that" War is a game which were their subjects wise , King * would not play at ;" and holding in unmitigated abhorrence the memory of that infamous conflict of & quarter of a century waged to pat down democracy in France ; we certainly have no great admiration of " England ' s greatest hero , " whose crimson laurels were aainly won in that ever-tobe execrated contest But if thb nation will yet honour the destroyers rather than the benefactors of the human , race , at least let it be consistent , and not outrage common decency by such ungrateful conduct to the men whom it has dubbed defenders and heroes . At any rate let not the priests and aristocrats forgot the men who poured out their blood for the maintainence of their usurpations .
Notwithstanding our contempt for such *• heroes" as Nelson , we must still acknowledge that we have a hearty respect for the weather-beaten " hearts of oak , '' who have
Braved the battle ani the breeza , " in defence of what they thought was the cause of right and country . Our disgust is therefore inexpressible at tbe conduct of tbe Government and the aristocracy , in tins treating the gallant veterans . Well might Byron ask—¦ " Y « men who shed your blood for kings like water , What have they given your children in retnm ?" Behold the answer—bayonets and bastiles for tbe " children , " and begging boxes for the " men"themselves ! We thank our contemporary for calling public attention to this matter . —Ed . N . S 3
The Northern Star. Saturday, November 4, 1843.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 4 , 1843 .
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MACHINERY . WHAT HAVE BEEN ITS OPERATIONS « . The " profound Political Economists" of our peculiar &ge and generation , hare contended stoutly , against the common sense of mankind , that the operations of machinery hare conferred unmixed good upon society at large ; and that no notion ever entertained was half so foolish and nonsensical as that which aUiibuted any evil to the -workings of machinery . Work npon workhaa been written to support and prove this position . We have had the pen of Miss Harriet Maetinkau plied to that end ; and Lobs B&ovgham himself has condescended to enlighten the dark nnders tandings of the people on the " Results of Machinery . "
When the operatives have complained , that the introduction and use of particular machines b&s displaced them in the labour market , they have been told that they knew nothing on the subject : that the nature of machinery was not to displace human labour , but to call more of it into requisition ; that if the employment of the steam-loom , with only one girl to attend two of them , seemed to displace the two uss who would have been required to work the two hand-loams , yet it teas only a displacement in appearance , am > sot in bkautt ; for while machinery seemed to close up , as it were , one channel of labour , it opsned other and more remooerstlTe obasncla } and ttat thus tie balflTlttfl W&S On Hid Side of machinery . It was argued , that when we took into account the nnmber of mechanics that
the making of machinery had set to work ; the number of lion makers ; of workers in other metals ; of workers in wood ; of distributor ^ of the productions of machinery ; of the sailors , to carry those productions to other climes ; and of the ship-builders , &o . 4 c .: it was contended that when the argument was made to embrace all these , as bj right it ought to do , we should find that the Results of Machinery had been to call into play a great amount of human labour , and not to displace it .
These arguers have also had & standing illcs * tbatios , which they were sure constantly to pitch ' whenever a doubt was expressed as to the conclusion they thus so speciously arrived ai . Intimate ^ no matter how modestly , that you feared the acttjautibs of the case did not bear this conclusion ont , and yon were instantly " closed-op" with the " stereotyped" illustrat ' ioo . " " Look at the printing business , " every arguer would instantlyexclaim , in a triumphant tone ; ** see a pioture of the workings of machinery there ! Look at the old printing press ; then look at the printing machine . Has machinery
there superseded human labour 1 Has not it rather called it into requisition \ Are there not more primers now engaged , than there were before the invention of the printing machine ? Look at the amount of printing now performed , and compare it with the amount formerly performed . See the quantity of labonr that that increased amount employs . There are more rags required for paper ; conseqnently more rag gatherers ; there is more paper used , consequently more paper makers ; there are printing machines required , consequently more machine-makers employed ; there is more printing-ink consumed , consequently more inkmakers set to work : atd then there are the
porters , and carters , and booksellers : increased employment being found for all . How then can you say that the tendency of machinery jb to displace hnman labonr ? Taen look again at the results in another point of view . The operation of the printing machine has been to lessen the cost of production of books and paper ? : consequently they can be solo cheap ; thus an enlarged demand is caused ; and to supply that demand , more labour must be employed Therefore , you see that the operation of printing machinery is beneficial to all : beneficial to the printer ; for it oreatesa demand for his labonr , and enables him to enforce higher wage ?; beneficial to society at large , by giving it ksowleme at a low
cost . " Snch is the pet iilnstralion . Every " profound political economist" has it at the tongue ' s end . It comes off , most trippingly , should you but venture to bint that possibly the " Results of Machinery " have not been qaite so beneficial to all , as some bo stoutly contend . That illustration is very specious : more specious than real . In the first place , machinery is only yei partially employed in tbe production of books and papers . The operation of the printing machine has been to supersede the Pbjssmbn . They were a distinct branch of the printing trade : they now have no existence . There are the Compositors . Tbe Printing Machine haa not interfered with their
department at all : that is to say , the Printing Machine has not boon made to ** set up" the types ; bni . only to print the paper from the types , when aJl the labour that the Compositor has fco employ , has been employed . This printing cass , therefore , is not a true " illustration . " Take the manufacture of Calico . There machinery does all tfce work , with & very slight attendance of women aod children , from the " blowing" and " carding , " up to ths paste-daubing and " finishing . " The " tumming stock" of the Carder has been superseded by the Carding Engine . The " single spinning wheel , " and the "jenny" has been Buprrseded by the mule ; and the " mule" in its turn bj ¦ the d&uble-snd-treble-decker , and by the Belf-actor , 1
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The " band-loom" has been superseded by the steamloom ; and m a c hiner y has revolutionized every department in the production of calicos . Not so yet with books and papers . In only one department of printing has machinery been brought extensively t o b e ar : th e refore the "illustration" brought from the operation ; of maohinery in printing is not complete . Besides , the printing business employs only a comparatively sma // number of our population . It has , teo , been an aristocratic trade . In the first place , a tolerably good education iB needed , to en-^^
able a man to become a compositor—a member of the OBEAT branch of the printing trade . Printing is not therefore open to all : for the major portion of the sons of the labouring many are utterly without that education that isindispensable to qualify a man to become a compositor . It is therefore an exc l u s ive trade . It is confined to the sons of the better-paid operatives , an d the "lower order ' of the shop-keeping class . These circumstances have enabled the " trade" to maintain their position much better than the operatives engaged in any obsat department of our great manufactures . '
It has also been customary for the employers to have premiums with their apprentices , for teaching them their " trade" j and this , too , has tended to keep down the number of men employed in printing . A favourable combination of circumstances ha * enabled the " trade" to maintain an " Union , " particularly in tbe country ; and they have had a regu " lation to restrict the number of apprentices , according to the number of taen employed . This also has serve d , and greatly too , to maintain their strong position . Master printers have been in the hands of the men ; particularly so in the country . If the compositors stopped work , till was stopped ; and their place has not been very easily to be supplied . A stoppage
to a large printing concern , particularly one engaged in Periodicals , was ekstb'dction to it ; and , therefore , the Printers " Union" have had great power It will be at onoe apparent that these circumstances placed the trade of printers in a far different and more impregnable position than the great body of * our operatives , either agricultural or manufacturing occupy . And yet , " the profound political economist , " when reasoning on the general operation of a general question , presses all theBa peculiar and adventhionB circumstances into his service : and from them draws an " illustration" to illustrate the general whole ! To do so however is honest 1 according to " profound" notions of honesty 1
Notwithstanding the glib-talk of the " profound '* ones , and the pet illustration , " Machinery is reaching even the printing-trade , favourably circumstanced as we have shewn it to be ! la London the ** Bnrplns of labour" is so great , that the w Union " is all but powerless ! The masters there can make their own terms . The " apprentice regulation" is broken through . There are " offices" now in London , and a many of them too , where there are a score of u boys" to one man I Nor are the boys apprenticed . " The good old system of indenturing is now being discontinued ; and " boys" are taken in to the " office , " and retained there for a few years , at a low rate of wages .
These have no legal claim on the master to' learn them the trade . " Should they , when they are approaching manhood , ask for a higher wage than is paid to boys of twelve or fourteen , they are speedily dismissed , and others , younger , " put on" in their stead . Thus is the trade , in London , inundated with M hands ; " and there is always a large " reserve" in the labonr market . This is having its effect on the country trade . The London labour market , although the great one , is closed against the country " hands . " There is little chance for a country ** hand" to get employment in
London , or buc little sense in his trying , when there iB so large an amount of unemployed labour constantly waiting to be hired . And yet London is the place that ! most flock to : it being a sort of passion for all to go to the great wkn , if they can but accomplish it . This augments the evil : and this again tells upon the men employed in the country . The "Union" iunds are hardly laid on : parties out of work having to " tramp" from town w > town ia search of it , and live out of the " relief " affjrded them by the " Union" and the charitablydisposed of the trade .
Besides , a Machine has been invented to dispense with the compositor ! That machine will , even now , do his work . Tins bad been held to be an impossible feat . The labours of a compositor must be directed by the operation of mind . It was therefore deemed utterly impracticable to arrange any machinery that would even aid him . The u impossibility" is now possible ! A machine—nay there are two—has been invented , by means of which females and boys—( cheap labour /)—can perform the operation of * ' setting" types faster than the most experienced , and " fast" eompoaitor ! Those
machines are not yet introduced to any great extent ; and the printers are hugging themselves with the notion that the thing " oan ' t-bedone . " It will bk donk . As surely as ever the printing machine has superseded tbe hand -press in the printing of the greatest portion of the work , so surely will a Composing Machine supersede the compositor in the greater portion of the ? ' book " and " news" work ! We say A Composing Machine ; not the Composing Machine : for it would have been as billy to have expected that the jenny
of thirty spindles was tho perfection of spinning , as it is to think that the present Composing Machines are the best , or most satisfactory adaptation of the trlncifl ? that machinery can compose type . We may reasonably expect to see great and wonderful k * improvements" in them . Even now they succeed . Even now they are a , work ; composing works at a cheaper rate than by " hand . " And if the first application of the principle is so successful , what may we tot expect from future and more perfect applications I
Will the introduction of those machines , with the suppoeeable " improvements , " have no effect on the printing trade ! Will the ** profound" men then resort to tbe printing trade for an "illustration" of the " beneficial operations of machinery" I Will they then contend , and appeal to the printers for proof , ifaat machinery calls into play more labour than it displaces t Will they then sny thav there arc hore printers than there were before the introduction of printing machinery ?
Having shewn what baa been the effect of machinery , upon even the favourably-aituated and small exclusive trade of printers , let us neXD look at the condition of the TrrK-Founns . FS . Here i 3 a body of men , that must have benrfitted from machinery , if any body of operatives in the kingdom could by possibility be benefittad . They are small in number ; their business is a peculiar one ; if printing be in great request , it must have the effect of causing a demand for type ; aud the "type" must be cast , " before it is used . Therefore , if any class of operatives in England could be benefitted by machinery , it must be a body of men so circumstanced . There jsas < b&en no machineky ikventkd to
in-T £ RFKBE WJTH THEIR LABOUR , IN A DIRECT MAN " « kr : bat rhfc-n we are told that printing maohinery has brought more printing labour into request than it displaced : and if it brought any into request , it must have operated on the type founders . Printing cannot go on without them . They are , as yet , indipensable . What then has bees their share of tbe " benefit" Let us hav& the " illustration . " We know that w <> are told , that" increased demand far produce , employs more labour , and tends to make the supply of labourers scarce : when labourers are aoarce , increased wages can be obtained . " Let us see how this fits .
The Type Founders are now out ! and for what cauee ! Because the masters have determined to reduce wages ! There is an "increased demand " for types ; and the" benefit" to the operative Type Founder is reduved wages I The masters are trying xo tufoToe a reduction , varying from 25 to 75
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pe rcent ! Plent y of , benefit" this ! Rar e "Results of Machinery . " This case of the Type Founders ia a very instructive one . They are peculiarly situated . The business is one very destructive to health . On this point we quote from an address of the turn-outs , calling upon t h e pu blic to su ppo rt th e m a g ainst the effor t s of their employers to-give them a " benefit . " In that address they say : — ;
" The trade of a type-founder is unhealthy in the extr e m e , and very destructive to life . The beat is so intense in the apartments alloted for casting , occasioned by such a multiplicity of furnaces being crowded together , that but few individuals can withstand its baneful influence for any length of times without experiencing very serious injury arising itheretrom . Moreover , the atmosphere whioh the type-founder has to breathe is bo oppressive , that it' would be inconvenient to a person who had bees brought up in a tropical country—an atmosp here , heated to such a degree , that the thermometer will range from seventy to ninety degrees in
winter time . Not only has the type-founder to endure such an oppressive atmosphere , b ut he h a s to stand ia one position for twelve or fourteen hours per day , with his head very near to a pan of metal , which for casting small type ., must be red hot . The composition of this metal is regulus of antimony , tin and lead , with a portion of copper , the fumes of which are rank poison . Nor is this all , for the particles of metallic dust which fly off in the process of dressing and other departments of our trade , are constantly being inhaled by those who are employed in the manufacture of type . The above causes bring on many Dainfnl diseases , premature old age , ana untimely death . "
Yet notwithstanding the dreadful nature of this description of employment : — "The Londoa and Sheffield master type-founders have formed a coalition league to take from us 3 d . out of every shilling in several kinds of work ; in others 6 d . ont of the shilling ; and in some cases the moderate sum of 9 d out of the shilling . " This would be : — " A reduction of twenty-three to seventy-five per cent , i . e ., a reduction of the wages of the men who aver ' aped under 18 s . * wtek to Twelve Shillings" I 1 J
Here i a a " result" ! Rare " benefit , " is it not ' from " printing machinery" ? Extended employment is likely to land them in a very enviable position ! A " heat of from seventy to ninety degrees in winter time" ; " standing in one position for twelve or four teen hours over a pan of red hot metal ; " exposed to , and forced to inhale ^ " the fumes of regains of anti , mony , tin , lead , and copper , all of which are poisons" ; the recipients of " painful diseases , " that hurry oa premature old age and untimely death" and all for an average of TWELVE SHILLINGS A WEEK ! O ! what " benefit" I
It is true that the men are not yet reduced to this twelve shillings a-week : but they are out , contend ' ing against it . Unless they are supported , they must accede to the demands of the masters . They must fall-to , and offer up their health , and even their lives , for the twelve shillings . Will the other " trades" permit them to be so " benefitted" ! Will not the printers interfere ? If they do not , their TURN COMBS NEXT ! !
Oa examination then , the fact is established , that the operation of Machinery has been most destructive and most oppressive , even in favoured and ex * elusive trades . And if we find such to be the case there , what may wo expect to find ia the open and exposed trades 1 Just that whioh we do find ! The manual labour superseded . Females and children called in , to attend to the operations of machinery because their services can be had at a cheap rate . A dearth of employment ; discomfort ; poverty ; misery ; destitution : turmoil .
Such are the "Results of Machinery" to th e labourers . With the employer it is another matter . He does not always come to " ruin" although some do . There are among them men who have done WELL 1 There are those to whom the results of Machinery"have been very ' * beneficial" ! Richard Cobdkn , we are told , was a farmer ' s son , only midlingly situated : Richard Cobden is now reputed to be worth his hundreds of thousands of pounds . John Bright is anothe rwhohaB feathered his nes to a considerable tune . John Marshall , of Leeds , was the son of a linen-draper , and began the world with borrowed money : John Marshall is now said to be possessed of millions . Now these are
M Results of Machinery" that we are not fond of ! We have no notion of iwelve shillings a-week to the workmen , and hundreds of thousands , and even millions , to the employer ! We are for a more eguitable distribution of the " resvlts" ! We are not for taking all from the many ; nor for giving all to the few ! We are pot for starving the workers to death , that Mr . Cobden and Mr . Brioht may lay up '" treasure on earth" ! Wo are for giving all their fair share of ' the " benefits" " resulting" from the use of machinery , and then as much machinery as you like " The more the merrier . " How that fair share is to be apportioned and secured , we will tell another time .
When we set out with this article , we intended to give , and reply to , a most foolish and nonsensical article in the Calf ' s Head Observer , on OUR use of machinehy . The general question has , however , drawn us out to such length , that we must defer the stewing we bad intended for the Calf Head But let him not repine . He shall be served-up some day , with brain sauce . He shall be duly boiled .
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MORE OF THE COAL KINGS . The females are still in the pits ! No law proceedings are yet instituted . 2 Nay , so daring are the Coal Kings becoming , in oonsequenoe of Sir James Graham ' s lenity , that nearly the whole of them are setting the Act at defiance . . And why not t If the Duke of Hamilton is to be permitted to work sixty FtMALEa ia JAts coal pits , why not others-do the samet If he } is to be a lawbreaker , why not the smaller fry have their share of the plunder accruing from chea p labour ? If the Duke ; the Lord Lieutenant ; is to be protected in bis lawbreakings , who will dare to enforce the law on his 4 k britber" coal owners , should they follow his example ? They are determined to try this , as the following most abundantly proves : —
With regard to tbe Act anenfc tbe the females , it may be said to be a deau letter in Scotland . I am infbtnuid that last week ttie females have returned to thuir employment at Loan Head ( belonging to Sir George Cierk ) where they carry coals on their backs . It was in this work where the interesting child , Margartt Leveuton , six yeurB of age , worked . To the Comoiiaa . oner she said she had " Been down at coal-carrying » ix weeks ; makes ten to fourteen rakes a-day ; carries full 58 lbs . of « oal in a wooden bucket . The work ia na guid ; it is > o very aair . I work with sister Jesse and mother j diuna ken tae time we gang ; it ia gal dark . "f A . most interesting' child , and perfectly beautiful . I
ascertained her age to be six years on tbe 24 th of May , 1840—aba was registered at Inverness J H , H . Franks , E ^ q ., evidence No . 1116-360 . "A brief description of tbla chad ' s place of work will better illustrate her evidence . She has first to descend a nine ladder pit to the first rest , even to which a shaft is sunk to draw up the baskets , or tabsjof coals filled by the bearers ; the then t : iKu 8 her creel and pursues her journey to the wall face , sbe tben lays ] down her basket , into which tbe coal is rolled , aud it is frequently more than one map 1 an do to lift the burden on her back . In this girl ' s cage she has that to trundle about fourteen fathoms leightj'four foet ) from walUface to the first ladder ,
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which is eighteen feet high ; leaving the first ladder she proceeds along the main road , probably three feet aix inches to four feet six inches high , to the second ladder , eighteen feet high ; so on to the third aud fourth ladders tUl ahe reaches the pit-bottom , where she casts her load , varying from . 1 owt , to l £ owt Into tbe tub . Thh one journey is designated a rake . The height ascended , and the distance along the roads , added together , ereeed the height of 3 t Paul ' s Cathedral ; and it not unfr © . quently happens that the tuggs break , and the load falls upon these females who are following . "—Baport page 91—82 .
Here , then , ia no fancied picture of slavery , and yet it is said , the females are returned to work in this colliery ; but the cause should come ont ; and it is thia ; —the coal-maaters are greater than the Hotts © ot Com mons and Lords put together . The East Country masters , finding that the Dake of Hamilton , the C ' arron Iron Company , and the Shotta Iron Company , where there are sixty females employed , and tha Gartcherrie Iron Company , and the Gartdose coal-owners , and Rose Hall Iron Company , per Messrs . Miller and Aidre ,
and M . M « Andrew , of Carfln coJliery : ~ the masters in tbe East , seeing that all those ia the North and in the Wesfct were setting the law at defiance , will uow do the same . Nothing can stop this but the plan suggested in last week ' s Star . Let the Miners of Scotland only sacrifice the price of one gill of whisky , and prosecute the employers . The Scotch press is to blame in this . Accidents have taken place of which the following ia one , which was refused jnsertion in the Glasgow Saturday Pest , Glasgow Journal , and Glasgow Chronicle , July 4 th , 1843 : —
" Killed at Palace Craig Colliery , belonging to W . Biird , Eq . M . P ., and Cs . a man « f the name of Vicker , and his drawer , a young female of the name of Mary M'Ewan , a girl of sixteen years of age . The pit is near the Room pace . "
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THE TYPE FOUNDERS OF SHEFFIELD TO THE STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERS . Gentlemen , —We wish to call your earnest attention to our present position . We have been for the last tea weekjsoat of employment in consequencejof our employers attempting a reduction on our prices of labour of from 25 to 75 per cent . In your never-to-be-forgotten strike of 1836-7 , we , as a body , assisted you by all the means in our power , both by counsel and pecuniary aid ; and we earnestly entreat you will take pur ease into your serious consideration , and try by all the means in your power to alleviate our present distress .
We remain , yours respectfully , Thb Commttte of Operative Typb Fopnders , Committee Room , Three Cranes , Queen-street , Sheffield , Oct . 30 th , 1843 . Ashton Shoemakers * Strike . —The " two or three reports" out friends havejsent us have not come to band , or they would Uave been noticed . We give the following from their present communication : — ' " An advertisement having appeared in the Northern
Star ot last week , stating that Mr . Lord , of this town , was in want of a number of good workmen , unconnected with the Shoemakers' Society , and stating that the dispute between him and the club-men was in no way connected with wages , we deem it our duty , in order to prevent the unwary from being misled , ( as others have been to their sorrow , ) to lay before them the cause ef the strike , and leave them to judge whether it is or is not connected with wages ; and whether we ate not justified In resisting to tfle utmost ot ova power such base attempts apon the rights of labour .
" Mr . Lord ' s father U owner of some cottage property , which is in snch a dilapidated condition , that they are not fit for human beings to live in ; but which Mr . Lord tells his men' they must inhabit or leave his employment , and for which they nave to pay an extortionate rent This , along with other acts of petty tyranny , was the cause of the strike ; and thia is the reason he prefers married men to coop up In bis hovels . Several families have been induced by Mr . Lord ' s
statements to break up their homes in other towns , and come here in the hopes of bettering their condition ; but alas ! have been miserably deceived and compelled to leave again after suffering a great loss . With respect to the statement of wages , Mr . Lord Bays he will pay , ail we have to say is , that Mr . Lord never did pay such wages , and we cannot but think tbat it is nothing but a decoy to entrap the unwary into his power , when we know that for the last two years be has strove to tbe utmost of bis power to reduce the wages of his
workmen . " Signed on behalf ef the trade , " William Woodroffb , Scotland-Brook . " Publications received for Review . — " Tail ' s Magazine ,- Hewitts History of Priestcraft i" " TliA New Ape ; " and tbe " Fromethian , " fcc . & 0 . && Veiutas beads a letter " To the Citizanaof London , " with the following quotation ;—" It is in the last twenty years of the funding system , that all the great shocks begin to operate . "Pains .
He says" The times are big with important events . Breakers area-head ! Tae mountain ia in labour , aye ! and will bring forth more than a mouse . 1843 gives us the Governor of tbe Bank of England , member for the City of London , pledged to the Repeal of the Corn Laws , laws passed to prop up the funding system . What ananomaly ! Ah ! ' most thinking people * (!) of tne most enlightened city in the world' (!) when will you cease to act with your eyes closed against facts . Pattison and the Anti-Cora Law League are gulling you ; you will be made to suffer ; you will be squeezed a little longer , to keep tbe Bank afloat . Be not so deceived , come out for the rights » f allthe Chatter . Then you will have a more extended and fruitful field to choose your representatives from . ''
MR . Leach OF HYDE , is continually receiving letters from Ireland , praying for mote Star-light , He appeals to his brother Chartists to send their papers to the " green isle , " and offers to undertake the task of sending them , if parties will forward their Start to him when done with . Address , J . M . Leach , 82 , Charles-street , Hyde , Cheshire . Stars to Ireiand *—What are tbe Sheffield friends about ? We know that the circulation of the Star is rapidly increasing in their town , wby not give their Irish brethren toe benefit of it ? Let tnem use the list sent them by the Irish Universal Suffrage Association . The little trouble of to doing will be amply repaid by the great and lasting good that will M effected .
The Coventry Chartists appeal to their townanifB to come forward and join the new org anisation : especially the avowed Chartists , who will prove ttett sincerity by responding to the appeal . We hope tney will do so . " England expects every man to do ma
duty . " Mr . Charles D . Stuart writes to us , that he contemplates visiting Darlington , on Sunday first ( for tne delivery of lectures on Chartum ) , and , inthf eoorse , of the ensuing week , Tann , Stockton , Middlebora , Sunderland , dec Quack Atvix ^ CKS—M edicus writes as 'o \ loW »! r 1 think you should caution your reader again ** mo Penny Almanacks wherein pills and nostrums axe recommended by the authors of such publications to M taken at particular times of the year . Such Aloiana <* f are a gross imposition on the unwary , being entirely g «» up by the Qiacks , who , to sell one box of tfietr piUX do not mind giving the Almanack for nothing . i «" that there , are several such AJiusoaakfl aaye >\ MQ *" 1843 , "
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WHO ARE THE IBISH ? " Ireland for the Irish , " it has been said . Qiite just and proper : but let it be understood who are the Irish-Though Mr . O'Connrll has consented to relinquish the BM of the word ' * Saxon , " be has not denied that he regards that epithet as tbe logical antithesis to " Irishman . ** Let us see if the Gs&ie race is exclusively entiiled to be called "the Irish . " Ireland was Dot possessed by an exclusively Celtic pcpuisrion at the time of Strongbow ' s invasion , and " the Irish" -who opposed Strongbov were not exclnsively Celts . Tbe predominant population , if . not the founders of Limerick » " ^ of the msxitinie cities of Ireland , -were the Ostmans—a Teutonic race , the kin&men of the Saxon * mnd Normans . Tbe moat prompt and enereetScof Stroagbow ' a " Irish" opponents at his first
f ""* fag " were the Ostmsas of Waterford . Tbe Ostmans of Dublin offtsred a more uncompromiaiog resistance to the English invaders than the Celtic "Irish" of that city and ita vicinity . An entry is the Botulns Platitorrxxn of the 4 th of Edward II . enables us to estimate the relative proportions of Ostmans and . Celts in the native population of the deanery of Limericki—KscogniUo beta ( a-C . 1201 ) per aacnanentum 12 Anglorum , et 12 OEtmannorum , et 12 Hiberaenaum de terris , eeclesiis , « t ( SBtexis pertirenliis , &d XiBieneensexn ewipgjnTn apectantibus . ** The conquering race , though fever in TmrnWr , » Wft > v warn * -arptx * •» txpality of YOlCeS
on the inquest ; bnt n « reason could have led to the equality d representatives of the two snbjngated races , except thai they in reality constituted nearly equal parts of the population . -The Teutonic ingredient in tbe original " Irish" people vraa increased Jby Hie English families , "who became "ipsis Hibernieis Eiberniores . " The Celtic-speaking population- of Ireland are no more a pure Celt c race than the Englishlpsaking population can ha considered ( seeing the fre--quent intermarriages between English and Irish that havB taken place in the lapse of csntnrUa ) can he considered a purs Saxon race . In the matter of stock > of -blood , all inhabitants ef Ireland are one race .
3 utitTriIlT »« aidthafc the Celtic-Leaking people of Ireland have retained the traditional national character , While the B&glisb-speaking race have -with its language adopted the convendocsl morals aaJ faith of England-So be it . Ikmbtless the people from whom a nation inherita its literature and religion are more truly its ancestors than ita physical progenitors . But who are tbe leaders of tits " Irish" of tbe present day ? In this viflw of the gnaitlon , they «*» * ¦ Saxo »» " to a man . Their jfilih la not that of lbs old Irish Church , but of the Romish Church ; ¦ which , H not originally introduced , mi first flinily established by the Angloliorman rulers . Th « r language , -when they discuss religious , philosophical , or political topics , is
Bngihh . O'Connell may now and then treat ilia auditors to a scrape of " Irish Gaelic , " aa country gentlemen have been known to quote Latin in the House of Commons ; but could O'Connell frame a Bsform BUI , or a Constitution , or srgne . lheir pros and tons in Iiiah * Could the acute and energetic -writers in Tfcs Nation find -words and phrases in the " Irish Gielit to express their idea *? A Parliament assembled in CoHege Green arnst talk " Saxon , " legislate in a *• Saxon" spirit , reason accordisg to "Saxon" habits of thought " Irelandfor the Irish , ' if "Ssxon" i » to be held the antithesis of " Irish , ** pronounces sentence of proscription asd feaoianmEnt against all educated Bspealera . —Spectator .
Hobson's At.Twta-Watvte
HOBSON'S at . twta-wAtvte
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CANADA AND MR O'CONNELL . The New York Examiner . —M . r . Mackenzie thus speaks of his former gallant , but unfortunate , " companions in arms , " the Canadian patriots : — " Canada Affairs . —What is called the Parliament of Canada , was to have met yesterday at Kingston . The new agent of the English Government is Sir T . C . Metcrlfe . Tbe official folks employed under him and tbe Colonial Office , are an odd mixture of old Tories , young rebels , and Reformers so called . Fear , on the one band , and pe \ f on the other , are evidently their chief bonds of union . Some of the leading revolt cionfets of 1837 ate pardoned ; and I hope that a general
amnesty will be granted , so that the gallant Prescot boys may be enabled once more to look on those they love , now 14 , 000 miles distant . As for myself , I am , by ray own free choice , an American citizen , never more to return under the eoloniai yoke . Others may ' ask pardon *—I did no wrong : others may own that our gallant comrades , Lount , Matthews , dec , were justly condemned . I know tbat they were cruelly murdered , put to death in cold blood , by a power which takes for its motto , ' my might makes my ri « fbt . ' But this Juurnal is not established to discuss Canadian grievances , and frontier strifes . My highest duty is to join with those who
sincerely seek tbe welfare of America , and the perpetual harmony and union of the members of tbie great confederacy . Let us cultivate peace ntid quietness ; and if we would revolutionise Canada , the true way to do it is to set them an example of a just , generous , and prosperous people , thriving under the institutions of their free choice— 'industrious , enlightened—a band of brothers , each one scorning a mean action . Aa their legislative aesBion progresses , I will ve * y briefly notice aught that may be interesting . Messrs . Rolph , Montgomery , and Duncombe , have returned to Canadaand a door is epened for Messrs . O'CaUaghan , Papineau . and Brown , should they also prefer British rale , which they probably will not . "
Query . Mr . Mackenzie is a violent anti- "V ANBukenite , and at the same time appears to be an adtdirer of O'Conmeli .. Not the least of his reasons for being opposed to Mr . V . B . is , we apprehend , because the Ex-President did not " sympathise' * with the Canadian patriots ; Very good . Bqfc has Mackenzie forgotten that ofaU the traitors to the prinoipleBfor which the Canadianscontended . O'CoNNELL is the most infamous ? Did he not aid in epiriting-on the Canadians to resist British tyranny ; and then in the day of conflict , and the hour of danger basely detert them , und-r the plea that they had resorted to * ' physical force ?
Let Mr . Mackenzie be consistent . He may feel convinced that Mr . Van Burbn is not the man the democracy of England suppose him to be . But let him *? enquire" into the "history" of O'Connell and he will find that whilst the "Liberator" sold the English Factory children for a Thousand Pounds , he also bktrated the cause of the Canadians for the filthy patronage op the '' Base , Bloody , and Brutal Whigs ;"—ihe remorjseleSB despots who ravaged Canada with fire and awoid . We can assure Mr . Mackenzie that these things &rt > not 'forgotten , in England . We have long skce on this side of St . Georgia channel , lilted tae veil of Mokanna !—> £ . AT . s .
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SCOTCH MAGISTERIAL TYRANNY . VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT OF FREE
I DISCUSSION . Our readers may remember that in tie Star of the 23 rd of September last , a pp eared a notice under the ] head of " Religious Intelligence , " of certain pranks played by a set of mouthing H Liberals " styled " Non-IntrusioniBts , " who , meeting to protest against " prosecutions for blasphemy " when the " blasphemer" was one'of their own kidney ;
did at that meeting refuse to allow other parties a hearing , and assaulted and ill-used tbe said parties ; winding up with introducing the police , and dragging the " offenders' ^!) , who only insisted upon the right of " free discussion" wh i oh th ei r pe rs e cutors were met ostensibly to promote , before tbe bar of justice" ( I ) . Tile " case" was not t hen d eci d ed on ; but we promised to make known the decision whenever given . Now for the result .
The f o ll o w ing h as been forwarded to u s as co p ied from the Scotsman : ¦ — M The adjournek trial Of Mr . Jtffery , the Socialist Lecturer , who stood charged with having disturbed a public meeting in the Waterloo Rooms ( Edinburgh ) in September , came before Sheriff Tait , on Thursday last . The meeting referred to , as will be remembered , was called to sympathise with Dr . Kalley . A number of witnesses having been examined , and the facts of the case brought out , a conversation ensued between the Sheriff and Mr . Jeffery . The latter maintained tbat the meeting being a public one , he had a right to appear there and move
an amendment to any motion brought forward-. He also objected that the Chairman ( the Lord Fro * vost ) had exceeded his power in refusing to heai him without having taken the sense of She meeting upon the matter ; [ which , he contended was the origin of the whole disturbance . But the Sheriff deolared it as his opinion ib&teven granting this to be true , the Chairman of & meeting has an arbitrary power of deciding who shall or shall not be heard , and that whatever arrangement may be come to , is of legal force for the timei no tribunal having the power of reviewing such arrangement * . He , therefore , ordered Mr . Jeffery to find bail in £ 20 to keep the peace for twelve months . " I ' - ¦
We have been given to understand that "the man Patehson , " ] who should also have appeared , sent a letter to the Sheriff , excusing bis non-attendance ; his reason ; for not being forthcoming being that he had his defence to prepare against a charge of l 'blasphemy , ' | on which he will be tried in the course of the present month . How Mr . Jeffery ' s ; attendance resulted , we have seen by the Scotsman . That gentleman writes to us that after being confined in a cell for two hours , with several felons , he was liberated by Mr . Robert Peddie , the late inmate of Beverley Gaol , becoming his security in the sum required .
A word upon this shameless and senseless decision of tbe Edinburgh ; Sheriff . Shameless , because tbe parties who should have been bound over to keep the peace , were those who " dragged Mr . Jeffery from ihe platform . " Those who " seized Mr . Paterson by the neek and dragged him through the meeting . Those who "tore the hair from his head , beat him with sticks , and laid his head open . " These bloodhounds , calling themselves Christians (!) , were the parties who should have been " bound over to keep the peace , " and not Mr . Jeffbry , who peaceably heard every other man ^ and only insisted ( upon bis right to free speech ia a public , aud what ought to have been , a deliberative assembly . i
But the decision was as senseless as it was shameless . For the first time we have it announced that the Chairman of' a publio meetiDg , elected to his office by that meeting , can do as he pleases : i . c , he can refuse to hear any speaker if he pleases—he oan dissolve the ] meeting at the very outset ,, and burke the whole proceedings whioh he was elected to aid in carrying out ! Such is the legitimate conclusion to whioh j this monstrous decision may be carried . Further , this modern Minos of " Modern Athens , " whose legal decisions might &hame even those of the Cretan Judge of the " infernal regions , ' tells us that whatever is the Chairman ' s decision is of " legal force for the time being . " May we
be saved from Edinburgh law , say we ! But let us whisper to the Sheriff that the power tbat made , can unmake the ) chairman , —Edinburgh law . notwithstanding . ' To our readers we Bay , take care that when you attend a public meeting , whether of Scotch Non-Intrusionists or English freebooters ; bo ture to see that a man is appointed to the chair who will hear every man , and do justice to each and to all . j Had oar Stock port friends so aoted , they would { not have been insulted aud mocked at , as they were by the blood-suckers calling themselves " gentlemen , " who have about as much gen * tility in them as Edinburgh magistrates have of justice .
Our readers wjll see by Mr . O'Connor ' s . letter that the Nona , of Dumfries have been playing tbe people a dirty trick , with the view of burking ( he expression of public opinion in euppori of the glorious principles of Chartism . True they did not attain their ends ; but no thanks to them for that . Let their conduct not be forgotten . Mr . Maitland Mackoill Chrichton , the Don Quixote of the " Free Church" (?) ' movement , has for some time past
been engaged with others in levying " black mail " upon the English lieges . Wherever these parties hold their meetings in public—wherever the advocates of truth and justice j think it worth their while to attend these mountebank displays , held in support of priestly domination , let them not forget the conduct of these Free Churchmen to Messrs . Jeffery aud Paterson ; aud insist upon some explanation oi conduct so much the reverse of their professions .
We have no objection to " Free Churches . " We would have every ! man ** free" to support his own priest , if he thought well to pay for one ; and " free" to be excused from paying for the keeping of another man's . But , above all things , we are for "Free Discdssion , " without whioh no other species . of freedom { is attainable . Having which , we m * y Btrip error jof her cloak and falsehood of her mask ; and finally annihilate the monster trinity of political usurpation , priestly fraud , and competitive accumulation : the triune evil which , for thousands of generations baa made thia earth a hell , and rendered wretched : and brutish the great family of mankind . ! " Delenda est Carthago /"
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TRIUMPH OF THE CHARTISTS IN LEEDS . The Municipal Elections are just over : and ia them the Chartists have been most triumphant ! In the HolbeckWard they started Mr . Joshua Hobson ; and ia the West Ward Mr . John Jackson , the corn miller . In both wards have they been eminently successful ; but particularly so in the Holbeck Wark . Here was the deadly opposition . Here was concentrated all the fear ; all the dread . Here was every means adopted , —fair , fool , and DAMNABLE , to prevent success : and here it was that tbe Chartists have heen . triumphant !
Mr . Hobson was returned at the head of the Poll ! He bad a majority of eighty over his colleague ; and a majority of one hundred and seventys even over the defeated Whig . The joy of the ChartistB is unbounded . Tbe victory is greater than they had , in their fondest hopes « anticipated . The feeling in favour of Mr . Hobson was most enthusiastic . A great portion of his votes were plumpers . Five hundred and seventy-one votes were recorded for him . The working people made the contest their own . They brought Mr . Hobson out : they have carried him most gloriously . Without funds ; without aid ; by dint of their own labours and their own enthusiasm , they have set an example to all the rest of the borough of Leeds , and to all other boroughs .
The vile and scandalous attacks made oa Mr . Hobson have contributed in no email degree to hia success . His enemies over did it . They showed the Electors that they feared the man ; and the Electors acted just contrary to tbe desires and expectations of Faction . *
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A THE NfORT HERN STAR . . ¦ 1 ¦ 1 -s j ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ii-- ' .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 4, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct983/page/4/
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