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Leader (1850-1860), 5th November 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 15, HOTEL CHARGES. {To the Editor of the Lea...

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      Free Speech In Coventry. (To The Editor ...

      leaving urireligious or unorthodox or heretical persons , to get liberty how they could . He pleaded for fair play to all parties— -Secularist as well as Christian . Differing Avidely from Mr . . Holyoake , Mr . Gordon yet frore generous testimony that the privilege of free speech would be perfectly safe in Ms hands . Despite the memorial of all the Clergy , the Mayor ( all honour to his name ) granted the use of the Hall , and Mr . Holyoake lectured on tl Secularism the Positive Side of Free Inquiry , " to a large audience on Friday , 21 st of October last . The place and subject were conceded . The triumph was legitimate and complete . It was a stand up battle of reason , influence , numbers , fair play , heresy , and progress—against prejudice , precedent , coteries , intolerance , and standstillism . The great party of things as they are in the Churches , foughtand the modern party of things as they ought to be ,

      won . Other ministers—let the fact be recorded—may be supposed friendly to equal liberty in Coventry as well as Mr . Gordon . The Eev . Mr . Delf , Independent Minister , said publicly afterwards , that had he been present , he too would have spoken also for a free public Hall for Secularists . Very good—respect for those who would have done it—reverence for him who did it . Conservative Coventry shared the advanced sentiment . Various persons unconnected with these proceedings , sent presents of money to cover any possible costs of the contest—and the working-class , at the bottom of the movement , conducted their part "with good sense . They displayed resolution without invective , and the town ( as it always will in 6 uch cases ) went with them . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦' . .

      Did not the press in Coventry take part ? " Didn ' t they ? " Didn't the glorious old Standard shake its banners—in exactly 39 tatters ? It predicted massacres , insubordinations , rapes , immoralities in general , and Freneli Revolutions in particular . It wove prophecy out . Insensate Coventry , it heeded not the aged Mrs . ' Harris . The Standard is a fine old Tory fossilrather clipped and dulled b y being shown week after week as a new living literary organism . But there is a live" fibre in it . Its petrifaction is perfect . It is , as was said on Friday the 213 t , in -St . Mary ' s Hall—it is

      the Rip Van Winkle of Warwickshire politics . Winkle , that immortal , immovable , and unalterable patriot , described by Washington Irving , slept twenty-five years under the Catskill mountains , and on awaking , laudably proceeded to lecture his fellow villagers on the necessity of loyalty to old King George , twenty years after the Declaration of American Independence had been signed ! And with liko relevance , the Coventry Standard talks homilies and municipal politics of the days of Lady Godiva to the people of tho 19 th century .

      Ihc Coventry Herald took the part of the people and progress , and rendered honourable and vigorous service to principle . It rose in the estimation of the inhabitants in consequence , showing that decision and courage are honoured in the city of spires as elsewhere . Other provincial papers with half the ability of tho Coventry Herald , attract tho metropolitan eye , and rule local opinion . The Coventry Herald has shown the power to do this . Good men pray that it may bo exercised oftener . N . O . I .

      November 5, 1853.] The Leader. • 1071

      November 5 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 1071

      Workmen And Machines. {To The Editor Of ...

      WORKMEN AND MACHINES . { To the Editor of the . Lender . ) Sir , —In your "Open Council" of tho 22 nd ult ., there was a communication , which as it ban some interest for "between three , and four thousand pontons in Scotland , " we have taken the freedom of asking for a small nook in your paper , therein to enter our protest against tho extermination that your learned correspondent ho naively encourages vu \ , the block printers , to submit to ; and as if tho names of Archimedes and Euclid were potent enough to induce us quietly to yield our breath , quotes them , wo know not to what purpose . We nhall leave all mention of these \ ancient gentlemen , noting of Archimedes , that had anything of tho kind been proponed to him , tho lovor to pitch ' tho world out ° f its couiho , ; uid into destruction , would , in all probability , have been in instant requisition ; Euclid , wo "iay suppose , would , more rationally , have taken his land surveyor ' m chain , and moled out his share of alina mater , seeing that his artificial pap had been taken away , by man's wicked invention . Ah avo can make nothing more clone , nt best , than a vague surmise as ><> how these persona would have demeaned themselves , "ad fchoy been . shawl printers , in tlnisoour Union , ' I pass ' ¦ ° the oon ; ii < U > raUon of tho List paragraph in your corl >(! Hpondent ' N opiutloas tho mutter that I would mainly

      , <> ' » jeet to . it runneth thus : " Methinks , then , it wtiro well to pause , before he ( the printer ) blaino . " 'Veil and wisoly said . No light thing is it , tinder any (; ireunistaiMu ; H , to blame , till , at least , a pause , nay a Very long panne , has been made . In ji question like 'his , of the politico-economical kind , a reading of Adam ?^ iiiith and hj H commentators , would an naturally suggest itself n . n would a visit from tlio doctor to a nick 1 )(! 1 ' » " a tank , this , implying » pause that , even were . Your correspondent of tho Lord Eldon school , must mire . ly norm of nmTu : ien 1 , length . In addition , the Writings of one who has obtained Home umall respect Jiiuong hiH fellow-mt-ii , homo and foreign , might bo

      advantageously glanced at : as , for instance , what think you of this , in Carlyle ' s Fast and Present , treating of a Manchester strike ? ¦ " And this was what these poor Manchester operatives , with all the darkness that was in them , and round them , did manage to perform . They put their huge inarticulate question , ' What do you mean to do with us V in a manner audible to every reflective soul in the kingdom . " Your correspondent has probably read this—surely may profit by reading it again . But allow us , in the meantime , to assure him that there are printers , though , it may be , not of his acquaintance , who have paused and reflected on this subject , long before his advice had

      reached the light , yet , nevertheless , do continue to throw blame , heavy blame on all discoveries that diminish the amount of labour to be done , no provision being made by society for those who are thus supplanted . As a grateful return for the doubtlessly wellmeant advice to " pause * " we will give to the readers of the Leader , who take an interest in shawl printers , apart from their mechanical value , and as men , our notions on this particular aid to production . It is intended , then , by a good many of the operative printers , to club their shillings , purchase machines , and work them , too . What think you of this ? You must surely give us credit for thought here , and to some

      purpose , too , about machinery , and its effects upon our temporalities . Our forefathers would have thought of breaking , burning , preceded by , of course , long denunciations of the machine , because of its unfitness . We act differently . We propose waiting till those who have become fat in their purses by our labour , shall have demonstrated the fitness of this discovery , to effect the printing of a shawl or plaid , and then to step in and share with them . We think ourselves fully entitled to this favour at our employers' hands , in return for our having elevated them , or many of them , at any rate , to a position they could never , Unaided by our order , have reached . Will this satisfy Tim ? Oct . 26 , 1853 . PlSTIS .

      Hotel Charges. {To The Editor Of The Lea...

      HOTEL CHARGES . { To the Editor of the Leader . ) Eoulorrne-snr-Mcr , Wth Oct . 1 S 33 . Sir , —Your kindness in giving room in your columns to the few lines suggested to me by what I had read in the Leader respecting the new system of hotels , projected by the "Crystal Palace Company , " makes me bold enough to submit to your consideration the rate of charges that mirjht be established in hotels at Paris conducted on a similar system ; as also tho great advantage that it would be to the many . English who come to France cither for pleasure or for business . One may well suppose that the wealthy who travel from place to place in company with their " ennui , " care very little whether they spend "so much" or " so much . " I 3 ut the artist—we do not mean the " millionaire" —the observer , the poet , who wish to visit a country for the sake of instruction , the artisan of a cer tain class , * will be glad when the sum which brings them as far as the natural limits of home will give them a much larger field for exploration . For instance , take the present charges of secondary hotels on our side of the water . You will find : — breakfast , 2 francs ; dinner , 3 f . ; wine , ordinaire , 2 f . ; tea , If . 50 c ; bed , from 2 to 3 f . ; servants—we can ' t say . But we pick one from among " the lot , " and say If . ; altogether rather above than under 1 If . 50 c . That sum of course does not include the many items so overcharged in hotels of all description .

      Now , let us calculate what it might be under a now system : — -Breakfast , If . ; dinner , 2 f . ; good sound wine , If . ; tea , Of . 75 c . ; bed , If . ; servants , 50 c . Altogether ( if . 25 c , allowing at once n , saving of 5 f . 25 c . per diem . . . . Of course " items" woidd be in tho name proportion ; and , again , a tariff might allow a reduction either for a family , a party , or for travellers staying a certain number of days in the hotel . Nay , wo have no doubt even , that hotels could be established under the following rate of charges , viz . : — Breakfast , 75 c ; dinner , If . 5 () c ; tea , (> 0 c ; bed , 75 c ; wine , 75 c ; servant . ) , 50 c Altogether Ai . 85 c

      Now , who would not be natislied to live am well , or better perhaps than many respectable families live , that is cold meat , coffee or tea , and bread and butter for breakfast . A . good substantial dinner , composed of;—potayc , fish , a good joint , salad and cheese-, with pudding «>» ' pi" . Admitting , therefore , that ; many would be satisfied . _ -: ui < l many do not . require more with a good breakfast and dinner , including half a bottle of wine , it would reduce the expense to lif . IKIc , that in JJ » . % l . per day with . servants .

      Another groat advantage that might be adde \ l to the new system of hotels , woidd bo to organize it so that in each hotel there would bo a person for tho almost exclusive purpoHo of giving the travellers all tho information they generally require , and that with sincerity and truth . - . - In fact Uio traveller should ho considered ns a friend visiting another friend . Some people will Hay , but , how is it possible to reali / . o so ideal a thought' { We think it just as easy as it ih for any company to have good n , gontn , for wo * Until ( ravelling ' «) Drought within Hie mean : ) of iilnioul , every cIuhh ,

      suppose , of cou rse , that each hotel would be conducted by a director chosen by the company , and who would be responsible for the comfort ; and welfare of his guest . It must become clear to every one . that the traveller , whether travelling for pleasure , instruction , or business , would in either case know " that tho moment he had intrusted himself to the protection of the company , he would be surrounded with every kind of attention , and that , free from the mercenary motives which prompt the many idlers that assail him and settle upon him . like so many flies on a lump of sugar . And , again , what a comfort for those travellers having to make several stations on their way to the point of destination . . . . How often have we known travellers who could not afford outrageous impositions , or defenceless ladies suffer from want of refreshments sooner than submit

      to extortions . Hoping again that you will excuse the "English " of a Frenchman , I remain , Sir , your very obedient servant , P . Bonnefoy .

      Mr. Gough And Humanity. {To The Editor O...

      MR . GOUGH AND HUMANITY . { To the Editor of t 7 ie Leader . ) Burrhead , 24 th . October , 3853 . Except an accidental allusion to Mr . Gough in the " Non-Elector ' s" sketch of the Earl of Carlisle , I confess to my disappointment not to be aware that any distinct mention of him , or his orations , has appeared in your journal . ^ Now this much I can say for Mr . Gough , that in this thriving village where I reside , his appearance as an orator was the greatest event of the kind which has happened in it . With difficulty our Mechanics' Institution sells 300 tickets , at Is . each , for a course of lectures , while twice within one week , tickets 6 d . each , Mr . Gough filled a church which holds eleven hundred persons . His popularity was greater than that of Padre Gavazzi .

      In some lights this fact ia a moral triumph . Consider what a motley audience had to be kept awakethose wlio would otherwise have been chewing tobacco , and chuckling over the last " clever dodge" at the trcet corners . The overtoiled mechanic , who otherwise would have been yawning on a chair , the farmer , whose eye scarcely ever grew irradiate , save over healthy cattle and enormous turnips , tho man , whose soiil swayed most particularly with the markets and tho funds , the young lady , who had got little else to think of but a party or a pniyer-meeting , the young gent , whose smartest remark was a feeble echo of " Bell ' s Life , the person whose loudest laugh was sacred to tho card-party , and the well-balanced individual who never laughed at all ; these were all of tho audience , and their attention , upon the whole , was remarkably vivid during three hours of Gough .

      Then consider what was the subject-matter which produced this unusual intellectual activity—personal reform ; not upon authority , but by the recommendations of experience . Every one in that audience was told he had in his constitution the test of the truth or falsehood of the orator ' s remarks . For once , in talking about morality , a Scotch audienco failed to hear of Palestine . Moses and the prophets were no longer seen in a glare . But positive conviction was sought to bo established , regarding many social duties , upon knowledge furnished by the Benaes , or by information ,

      tho best quality of which was , that it was always ready to become our knowledge by further inquiry . Many of the orator ' s similes were vividly condensed accounts of interesting natural and social phenomena in America , tending to arouse interest in such things . Altogether , although I would have been prouder to have seen Mr . Emerson attended like Mr . Gough , I must way tho latter is such a vast improvement on our clergy with their own subjects—ho much of tho human and progressive element was in the man's discourse— -that , since hearing him , I h .-ivo grown more hopeful , of humanity . Tim .

      Notions To Corrksponpknts. No. Ix. Of Th...

      NOTIONS TO CORRKSPONPKNTS . No . IX . of tho " ( Jovcriiin ^ ( JIiihhch " - —Sir Jmnun Graham—la unavoidably deforml till next , week . We huvo forwarded the lrmoiiHtnuico of a " Ntoekport Mormon" to the writer of the lettern apihiHt which lie protentn . •• Wo cannot undertake to correspond with iiiipiihliMhori lxxitH , ntill less to return tho I . oiih of verno wliicli we are in Hie habit of receiving from ffuiiMt'nicii who wrikti in tlw SpeuNermn Htun / . ii . Aim imciAT . Fi . owkk-m A h'l NO ,- --Artificial / lower-making is not mi insignificant trade . An inquiry was nmdo into tho iudiiNtriiil H !; iitinli (; M of I ' aria in eighteen hundred and f ' ortyneven , which ! eln un into a littlo Hwret in thin mutter . Tho totfd maiiiilaeturo of cambric ( lowers in Unit your was prft

      digiou . H , amounting i >> value , to nioro l . liari ( bur hundred thousand poundrt Hlerling . We , in Knglund , only took twelve thoiiMiiinl pound * ' worth of thin vuluo ; lor wo prido ourHclvru on Hieing nblo to mala ? our own artificial Howerfl . The cambric , muslin , giuizo , velvet , silk , and other niftterialH were procured from St . Ktioimo , Nt . Quontin , and I . yoMii ; tho dyes and colours wero prepared expressly for t ) in purpose by manufacturing cheuiinlH ; tho buds , loaves , pel Ah , Hlumoi ' , pinlil .-t , anil oilier component parts , won * made in mrm 11 worlcithops by perwonn who each attended Io only one park of a ( lower ; while tho whole wuro fitted together in other workshop . ' ) . iOvon Ihrfio workshops aro frequently limited to one r . inglo kind of ( lower ouch ) ao completely in th <> division of labour carried out .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 5, 1853, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05111853/page/15/