Current:

Tomahawk (1867-1870), 2nd April 1870, Edition 1 of 1, Page 126, 126 THE TOM AH A WK. {April 2, 1870.

Page 126
Page 4
4 of 16

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • HALFPENNY POLITICS.
    • THE ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES.
  • Text (5)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Happy Is The Man Who Can Exchange The Tr...

      Honourable John Bright was a very different person to " Jack Bright . ' He went to Court—to the very centre of that aristocracy which he had so often proclaimed to be bloated . He lost by this a large share of the popularity he had once enjoyed with the Mob , and to regain the position he had once held in the hearts of his many followers was guilty of the dangerous expedient of abusing the House of Lords . Half a traitor to his friends , half a friend to his foes , he dragged on a ¦ support wretched of existence the roughs without and did power not or gain influence the confidence . He lost of the the , country . Of course , this could not last very long . Popularity to Mr . Bright is as the breath of his nostrils . He took yet one more step , he made a bid for the love of the landowners . He deserted his quondam friends , the dram-drinking workman , and the discontented artisan , scoffed at their woes , and laughed at their demands . He talked about the rights of property , and would have nothing to say to the poor . And this last move proving a failure , he proceeded to fill his third and last character—that of the " Retired Politician . " We admit frankly we prefer him in tliis last role . He was a nuisance as an Agitator ; a laughing stock as a Minister ; but he is a public benefactor 1 as an x \ bsentee . " Though lost to sight to memory dear , ' is Mr . Bright—when at a distance . We often remember the benefits he has conferred upon us with pleasure when there seems little chance of his returning to our service . "Absence makes the heart grow fonder "—verymuch so , indeed , in the case of Mr . Bright . We will love him very much if he will but stay away . As the " Retired Politician " his conduct is admirable . We do not hear his voice , we do not see his face , we do not read his letters ! What more could we want ? An excuse is made for Mr . Bright's absence which we trust is no more than an excuse . Mr . Bright must not listen to the council of pretended friends . Let him but stay as he is in ( we trust ) pleasant retirement , and we will guarantee him a popularity as lasting as it will be wholesome .

      126 The Tom Ah A Wk. {April 2, 1870.

      126 THE TOM AH A WK . { April 2 , 1870 .

      Halfpenny Politics.

      HALFPENNY POLITICS .

      Last Week We Said A Few Words On The Sub...

      Last week we said a few words on the subject of a cheap rate of postage for printed matter . While arguing that , as far as the public were concerned , they had a right to the measure , we expressed a very decided doubt as to whether , after all , the spread of cheap printed matter was really a public gain . In short , we had a hit at what is popularly known as " cheap literature , '' which , by the way , by a certain class of reforming philanthrop tional ists medium , seems , of to the be ago regarded . Now , as withou the one t picking great out moral the educa choice - little bits of news selected from racy police reports , the "seducwhich tions , " most " abductions of the penny , " " outrages weekly , papers " arid are other chiefl stirring y composed stuff of , we take , at random , a slip or two from what really is not at all a badly written letter , signed by its tremendous author , " Gracchus , " and published in the columns of a cheap Radical organ of large circulation . Under the stinging title of " Damaged Idols—Royally and Aristocracy , " "Gracchus" indulges in a very Lords unfai , and r Commons attack on coming existing in Eng for lish it pretty Institutions hotly . , — We Princes note , the article because there is spirit about it , and spirit just of sufficient force to carry conviction into not over-scrupulous intellects . Perhaps a specimen or two that can be quoted safely might illustrate the matter more clearly . For instance , apropos of the pluck of the English nobility , " Gracchus " observes : — " We all know it was once imagined that the English aristocracy was the bravest and the best in the world . The Russian War showed them to be nothing better than a pack of poltroons , who seized the first opportunity to turn their backs upon danger . " and Now yet , this no doubt is , in the , it is face accepted of it , a as hopelessl gospel wherever y outrageous the charge "large , circulation " carries the sparkling pennyworth of intelligence in which it is set . Along with it , of course , is swallowed the fierce onset that follows , in which Secret Service Money , O'Donovan

      Last Week We Said A Few Words On The Sub...

      Court Rossa , , the the Imp Prince urity of of Wales the Aristocracy the Duke , of the Edinburg Immorality hfurnish of the respectively material for some , very telling and tall , writing . Exhausted at last , however , " Gracchus " winds up , and before he does so , delivers himself of the subjoined happy tu qitaque : " blood Royalty ' that and runs aristocracy in their veins are . accustomed But what decent to boast person of would the care to be descended from such a thorough-paced scoundrel as Henry the Eighth , or be connected in any way with such a filthy profli of royalty gate as and George aristo the cracy Fourth , that . It may , in truth , be said , both 1 A murky tide of foul and filthy blood Runs through their veins , and curdles into mud . '" to And God then to concludes forbid that , we he cannot " should exactl write y one see - word why , with that an mig appeal ht be construed as a reflection upon that fair young princess , who , " and then he goes on rather unnecessarily , and perhaps a little vaguely " good and gracious as I well know her to be , has been transplanted from her own pure and virtuous home to the polluted atmosphere of the English Court . She is worthy of our utmost sympathy , and the warm-hearted English people will not give it grudgingly . " Now , it is difficult not to feel a sort of admiration for the style of " Gracchus , " and appreciate the shrewdness of the management that secures his services . Newspapers are merely commercial speculations , and a Radical organ is only good when it is conducted socially and politically on the bull-in-china-shop princi arise from ples . the Whether conveyance any advantage of such sentiments to the nation to Land is likel 's End y to , ) at the reduced rate of a halfpenny , is another matter . Political and social discontent is no doubt an excellent thing in its way , but it would be better for the country if it came out on toned paper , priced sevenpence stamped .

      The Roundabout Rambles.

      THE ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES .

      [Continued By Our Special Correspondent....

      [ CONTINUED BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT . ] Lugworth Hall , March 25 , 1870 . When I closed my last from the Charing-Cross Hotel , you may remember that I had first heard that the Indian Chief , whom I have ever since been juisuccessfull y endeavouring to get rid of , had got sole charge of the engine of a Greenwich train , and that seated he was 011 last the seen chimney passing . It S appears pa Road that at seventy at Greenwich -two miles the an Station hour , officials were extremely uneasy about the arrival of , the train at this pace , as not only would there be a difficulty in collecting the at tickets the , Greenwich but a good station deal of somehow danger in arriving the station - up stairs itself . , They the trains calculated , therefore , that at an impetus of seventy-two miles an hour it would clear the newspaper stall , refreshment department , and secretary ' s private room , and take a full leap from the first-floor windows into the street below , depositing" the passengers either among somewhere the in ferry the -boats mud near in front the " of Shi the p , " both Hosp obviousl ital grounds y incon , or - venient points to those making for Blackheath . At the last moment , however , a happy expedient was hit upon . It was determined that the train should not go to Greenwich at all , at least for the moment , but be turned off on to the South Eastern main way was line opened by the to pointsman it , and when . By it this became happy eviden ruse t , that a clear the road same - catastrophe anticipated at Greenwich might be brought about at Dover , at Reigate other points were opened 1 , and the train again reasonabl shunted off y , conjectured still at full speed that a , collision for Reading could . B alway y this s means be avoided it was and that , with enough line to run on , the whole matter merely , resolved itself into a question of steam and time . The last / heard of the train , was that it had been up to Glasgow and back , twice down the Great Northern , several times into Wales , and that the authorities at Ciapham J unction had got accustomed to seeing it turn up about every seven hours . With this little affair on my hands which , I I need received scarcely an invitation say , I jumped from a at rich . I old arrived aunt at at this Lugworth place , last night , . It is a delightful old country house , and full of visimy tors , solici and , tor thoug s , thank h the goodness railway companies I have not have heard got anything the address from of them yet /

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), April 2, 1870, page 126, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_02041870/page/4/