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    8&2 THE LEADER. [No. 337/Saturday,

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    LA MAS™?w5$S3& R ?J °* ™> SOHO0LMAS1ER ....

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    The Consolations Of Cayenne. For A Long ...

    startled by the announcement of treason at the seat of Government , rushing to the defence of the laws , protesting , in concert with the highest cour ts of justice , against the -violation of the constitution , insisting that tlie chief magistrate shall observe his oath , does not stand on a moral equality -with men who bribe t & e army , perjure themselves for the sake of ijpower , raise the sword a"bove the law , and celebrate their achievements by gratuitous

    massacres and acts of cruelty . There is no equality in the case ; indeed , that ia a necessary inference from the journalist's own admission , " they tad the right on their side . " They were Conservatives resisting the violent overturning of every pnblie institution ; and a lingering death in the case of many , and five years of misery in tlie case of all , have been the penalties of their " few hours of resistance . "

    YYJiat we must particularly point attention to , is the fact that these inen . have "been studiously maligned by the apologists of the Bokapabte usurpation ever since the cowp d ' eiai of December . The appeal that has been m ade is an act , not of m ercy , but of common justice . The public now knows that IiOtfis Napoleon attains his political ends by means exactly identical with those by whicli the King of Naples attains 7 iis , or the lEnaperor of Attstiila his , and . that these three confederates urge the same plea—the

    necessity of protecting society . It is the necessity of protecting society that causes a sentence of death to be passed upon five 3 fxench citizens , a long time after the commission of the offence imputed to them . It is this necessity that justifies the Russian process—lately learned at Paris—of kidnapping suspected individuals by night , and transporting them on one hand to the cold but healthy settlements of Siberia , on the other to a spot more fatal to the European constitution than Cape Coast Castle .

    However , if any glimpse of Europe ever reach the political exiles at Cayenne , they will now learn , that public opinion , in England has been taught by leading authorities to regard them as prisoners of war , who failed in a just cause ; who , suffering for no crime , must be counted among martyrs , and who have more right to be in Paris than the Emperor of the Fuenoh himself . That has been the result of their appeal through MY Louis BiiA . No to the humanity of Europe . More cannot be expected . Our intercessions being repulsed

    at Naples , we shall , pro"bably , lay aside , for a time , our official sympathies . But the exile 3 , it they cany their reflections further , will not find much to console them . Suppose that the Russian war had continued , and that we had heen dragged into new adventures "by pur military ally , "who would have heard of Cayenne ? "Who heard of it ; last year , except through our columns ? fox it was tlien untimely to remember tlie hideous scene of revenge exhibited permanently in the galley settlements *

    of Guiana . Hadthe fever of flattery lasted seven years , the political detenus anight have worn their chains , and suffered tlie scourge , and our journalists would not have presumed to notice them . There is no forgetfulness lik « that of admiration , especially when the object to be admired is powerful , and appears to use his power in our behalf . But lot -ua rejoice that there is justice of sentiment at last , and believe it , by all means , sincere . ' Onl y , we wonder of what use , to toe iuture hiatorian of our times , will be the leading articles of leading journals !

    8&2 The Leader. [No. 337/Saturday,

    8 & 2 THE LEADER . [ No . 337 / Saturday ,

    La Mas™?W5$S3& R ?J °* ™> Soho0lmas1er ....

    LA MAS ™? w 5 $ S 3 & ? J ° * ™> SOHO 0 LMAS 1 ER . WANTED I N T HE N 011 TH utate Of intellectual culture among business

    men . It is true that things are better in this respect than they used to be , and it is not an uncommon occurrence to find here and there merchants and ^ manufacturers having a very considerable acquaintance with the liberal arts , and who prove , by the manner in which they expend the princely fortunes which their industry and energy create 3 that they know something about matters of greater

    worth aud nobility than watering the turn of the market and carrying out an operation in yarns . Some of the most liberal and enlightened patrons of art of whom this country can boasfc are to be found among the business men of Lancashire and the Midland Counties . There is the present Lord Belpeii , for instance , late Mr . Stetjtt , a manufacturer from his youth , but whose family has long been known for its connexion with the intellectual

    improvement of the people in their neighbourhood ; there are tlie Gxad stones of ILiverpool , the Tateses , the Saudbajohs ; in Manchester , we find such names as Bazlet , Whitwoeih , Fairbatbit ; all these names are borne by persons who may be placed in the very first rank wherever culture , liberality , and honour entitle men to precedence . Everywhere in the business community we may discover meii whose superior ; - intelligence , fructified by good education and ripened experience , gives tliem a considerable amount of influence among their fellows . Unhappily , however , this is by no means universally the case ; on the contrary , vee fear

    that it is exceedingly exceptional , For one man of cultivation and intelligence ( we speak , of course , of intelligence not exclusively commercial ) you will find fifty who are the very reverse of this —men who recognize no higher pursuit than money getting , and who despise every accomplishment that does not directly lead to that end . This is so true , that among some of the business classes the possession of great accomplishments , unless allied to the possession of great wealth , will bring a man into great contempt among his fellows . " He is a schollard , " say they ; " thinks unself mighty wise , but give us a man who can make lots o' brass . " The Indian

    who returned to his native state of savagery after acquiring the refinements of civilization , was not looked upon with greater suspicion and contempt than an educated and accomplished gentleman is by certain merchants and manufacturers unless he can also prove the possession of those qualities which they admire only—ability , shrewdness , power of money-making .

    Seeing that this is caused by the fact that a very large body of the present business men are persons -who have raised themselves from the uneducated or ill-educated classes , it is probable that the evil will be to some extent modified when they pass away and the next generation arises into their place . Young Lancashire is even now a very different sort of a fellow from his father . You would scarcely recognizo any similarity between them . The latter smokes his pipe in a pot-house , and boasts of his ' brass' in the

    coarsest vernacular of his country ; but the former lias been to Eton , mayhap also to college , dresses like a gentleman , travols alittle , and knows a great deal about the fine arts . Altogether he is a much more human creature than his venerable progenitor , who slaps his breeches-pockets with a knowing leer , and says , " Cfet brass , boy , get brass : honestly if thou canst ; but—get brass . "

    But , in the meantime , and whilst wo await that golden time when the insolence of ignoranco and the tyranny of vulgarity shall be banished from the counting-house and the mill , it is interesting to reflect how much oi the misunderstanding which is constantly arising between the employers and the

    employed in our manufacturing districts arises from this want of cultivation on the part of the former . There is a poverb in Lancashire that the biggest tyrant is invariabl y a master who has onee been an . operative . No taskmaster like a coarse , vulgar , ignorant fellow " who has had the industry and the shrewd ness to rise out of the ranks . Such a man can never control the passions of his opera tives for he never could control his own . He can never reason with them , for he lacks the power ; and , when a dispute arises , his only expedient is to defy them , to swear at then }

    and to tell them that he will grind them into the dust . How can such a man teach , his workpeople to understand the laws of political economy , or demonstrate to them the necessity under which he lies of reducing their wages , when he does not know how . He makes the deduction ; they come and remonstrate ; he is ashamed to confess ignorance , and therefore blusters and refuses flatly to do that whicli is entirely out of his powerexplain ; discontent ferments into irritation , harsh words beget harsher reprisals , and a

    strike is the result , when all might have been calmed by a few plain and logical words delivered in a gentlemanly spirit . It is all very well to say , Educate the operatives ; -we say , Educate the manufacturers , teach them to be gentlemen if you can , and depend upon it that you will hear very little more about strikes and the like senseless abominations of stupidity . During the last Preston strike and lock-out ( that gross piece of folly which cost the community nearly a million sterling )

    incidents were constantly occurring which proved the total absence of cultivation and of gentlemanly feeling among a large number of the richer disputants . One British slavedriver said that the operatives should be glad to lick the dust from his shoes ; another swore roundly that lie would ' pitch his mill property into the Atlantic' ere he would give way one jot ; many of them talked the direst and most tragic nonsense about ' doing what they liked with their own . ' Surely the schoolmaster would have been of service here !

    The immediate cause of these observations is the report of a speech lately delivered at the anniversary dinner of the Royal North Lancashire Agricultural Society by a Preston manufacturer , one Mr . George Smith . Let it be reraembered that this speech was delivered in the presence of a large company of some of the leading men in the comity ,

    among whom we may name Lord Stanley , Sir James Kaye Shuttlewobth , and James Hetwood , Esq . ; let it also be remembered that the orator is the employer of a large amount of labour in Preston ( several hundreds of operatives ) , and that he was one of those very manufacturers who took part in that huge piece of folly and cruelty called ' The Lock-out' Let all this be

    remembered , and our readers will find no difficulty in understanding what we mean when ye say that the schoolmaster is sadly wanted in the North . The speech was made in acknowledgment of a toast in honour of * the town and trade of Preston . ' Mr . George Smith , on rising , said : — "My lord And gentlemen , I waa not a-waro that I should bo called to rttum thanks for tho town and trade of Preston ; but ns I am now to do that which I hope I shall bo able to give you sufficient satisfaction , and return thanks for tho town which vra belong to it . ( Hearhear . ) Tho town ia

    , one—{ hear , hear )—and tho trade ia another . The trade is one , -which there is two points to bo discussed upon . ( Applause . ) IVhen a clergyman takes his toxt , he always divides it . ( Cheers and laughter . ") If wo look back to the town of Preston , as my noble friend has stated , -which I havo had to work in tho town along with h \ s father , first at tho time when ho was the represented of Preston—( laughter )—one of his committco at that timo ¦ when wo sent him from the town as our representative . ( Applause . ) Look at tho different improvem ents that Jiavo taken place over since then . Look at those great institutions which is now established in Preston , so lately

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 6, 1856, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06091856/page/12/