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Leader (1850-1860), 24th July 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 10, ROMANCE AND RASCALITY. FANNY Mum left he...

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      Ar01007

      Pboposed Authors' Co-Operative Publishin...

      PBOPOSED AUTHORS' CO-OPERATIVE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION . The following extract from an ably conducted provincial journal , the Dover Telegraph , is doubly interesting as bearing on the booksellers' contest ( which , though nominally settled , is really as active and as fierce as ever ) , and as illustrating the great co-operative principle which now meets us at every turn— -the inevitable solution of all enigmas , social and commercial , —the unfailing Deus ex maehind of all public writers , who , in their very denunciations of socialism , become thus its unconscious supporters and propagandist _^ : — " The whole bookselling and publishing machinery in

      . London is one enormous conspiracy , by which the highest intellect is made to labour as the slave of the lowest cunning . It is Newton gazing at the stars while a vagabond picks his pocket . Men like Macaulay , Dickens , or Thackeray—authors who have a popularity , whether true or false—do not feel this , because your publisher wants them as a call-bird to entice others . Such men learn their value , and will be paid in hard money , and trust to no accounts of profit and loss . It is your men of science , your ardent searchers after truth , your men before their time , who are understood only of the few : these are the men who grind their very souls , but to whet the appetite of some modern Curl or some Osborne of the

      day' Still , for stern Mammon , do they toil in vain , And sadly gaze on gold they cannot gain ;' —these are the men who are the victims of a thousand petty arts , the whole sum and object of which are to bring out a balance of loss at the end of a sheet full of figures . " But why , it may naturally be asked , should not an author write his own book , have it printed , and subscribe it to the trade just as a publisher subscribes it ? Because no bookseller would take a copy . Why should not a bookseller sell a book for any price he can get for it ? Because the publisher would , according to the rules of the 'Booksellers' Association , ' refuse to let him have any more at the trade per centage . Thus it is that the system is made mutually dependent and mutually supporting . The publishers are keen to see that if the interest of the

      booksellers in maintaining the system be taken away , the system itself will soon crumble , and the reign of sordid cunning over intellect must pass away . " Messrs . Longman and Murray , however , have placed themselves , like the two-winged lions at the entrance to the palace of Nhnroud , at the very gate of this temple of Mammon ; and we must regard them , not by their own course of business , but as the representatives of all that is done therein , by every member , honourable or otherwise , of ' the trade . ' They have the commerce of literaturenay , more , they have the reputations of authors—in thenhands . Messrs . Longman have the Edinburgh Review , Mr . Murray has the Quarterly . They can cry up any work they please ; they can ' tomahawk' any author they dislike .

      " An instance of how they use this power was brought to our notice not long since . Some writers of hi gh reputation joined together to produce an independent review , with the especial object of protecting the numerous bookclubs _throughout the kingdom from being misled as to the contents , origin , nature , and merits of the books , of which the members of these societies could onl y judge previously by the advertising announcements and mercenary puffs put forth in the papers . Orders immediatel y went forth that the new review—it is called the New

      Quarterlyshould not be ' recognised ; ' and wo dare say that every dodge is now being employed to prevent its circulation . The attempt has fortunately signally failed . The talent , independence , and cheapness of this New Quarterly at once gave it a position ; and a thousand book-clubs already take it , read it , bind it , and aro guided by its counsels . ' The Trade' is utterl y impotent to do it , harm ; for we are informed that the proprietors , whenever the slightest difficulty occurs , eend it free to the subscribers through the Post-office .

      " This is tho secret by which the whole system we denounce will , ere long , be broken up . Rowland Hill is more than a match for all Pufernostcr-row . The tyranny of capital and trade monopol y is working its own ruin . The day is not far distant when an association will he formod to print and publish our author ' s works at a small discount—just enough to pay for office expenses—to din tribute them to the retailers , if i , nu retailers will take them ; but if not , to send them direct to the public throuqh the Post . Whenever this shall happen , your wholesale houses will topple down like bouses built of cards ; books will be cheap , _trush will cease to be published , and literature will bn free . "

      Romance And Rascality. Fanny Mum Left He...

      ROMANCE AND RASCALITY . FANNY Mum left her parental home in April , I 860 , to keep house for her brother , . lohn Bird . _IIih father had just taken a small farm , and water corn mill for him , at Shirhuid Park , in Derbyshire . She was then twenty-four years of age ; a lively , tolerably educated girl — " the light of the household . " But near to Shirhuid Park there lived one George HaiiHiill , a young furmcr of twenty , gay nnd heartless ; and he made

      love , desperate love , to _hanny Bird . He wrote to her , and , after the fashion of impatient mini , demanded un instant reply . He should be " uneasy" until he heard . But Fanny wan a timid young woman , and did not reply ; aud George _Bansnll , still uneasy , met tho lady at Mansfield fair , went homo with her and her brothers in their gig — ( a capacious gig by the way)—wooed his fair one the same evening , ar . d won . Now all went happily for some time . _Bansall made constant visits , wrote very bud poetry , und guvo gifts of lovo and

      Romance And Rascality. Fanny Mum Left He...

      _riendship to poor Fanny Bird . The parents knew of the engagement , and in duo time George told Fanny that his father was about to take a farm for him , and then they would be married . Unhappily , seduced by his promises , in a fatal moment the simple Fanny yielded that which women prize most to his impatient suit . When she discovered the consequences , she told her Theseus , and _Jie said there was nothing to fear , but that on the first Wednesday after the 1 st of April , 1851 , he would marry her . The ring was bought , the wedding clothes were prepared . But Bansall put off the dav . as the farm was not taken . What should she

      do ? He suggested flight to Australia , and some preparations were made ; but the scheme was soon abandoned . He fixed another wedding day , but did not come . Then , broken in spirit and health , poor Fanny went home , and a child was born in October , 1851 . Bansall was again applied to , but he would not reply ; and , finally , an action for breach of promise was brought , tried at Nottingham last week , and a verdict of 800 ? . damages obtained . Meanwhile the sufferings of mind and body have quite destroyed the health of Fanny Bird ; and for lost honour and forsaken love , what consolation is there in 800 Z . ?

      A similar drama was , it seems , going on at Caerphilly , in Wales , about the same time . There the lovers were a Miss Davies , daughter of a farmer , and a Mr . Rees . The lady was overcome and deserted by Rees . Evidence was given in proof of the promise , and the jury awarded 400 _? . damages . We commend this spirit in juries . Rees and Bansall are a worthy couple .

      How To Get A Stock Of Portraits Thomas C...

      HOW TO GET A STOCK OF PORTRAITS Thomas Coilins , a man of sixty y ears of age , has been engaged for several years in fraudulently obtaining portraits from the " nobility and _g entry , " on pretence of engraving them . "Eminent military men , eminent Conservatives , eminent Liberals , " and _Members of both Houses of Parliament , have been applied to for their portraits to form his collection of notables . He sought after the portraits of ladies , to form a publication which he called The Female Aristocracy of the Peign of Queen Victoria . It does not seem quite clear to what extent his professed intentions were carried , but the portraits which he obtained seem generally to have reached the pawnbroker ' s shop sooner or later . Some complaints have been made against him at various times , but the prosecutors have in 6 very case abandoned their proceedings upon their pictures being sent home .

      He has at length been prosecuted , and was brought before Mr . Arnold on Tuesday . The first charge was made against him by the Earl of Desart , who stated that in the summer of 1848 the prisoner ( as he believed ) called upon him , and asked him for hia portrait , from which he might engrave a copy for publication in his work of Portraits of Conservative Statesmen . His lordship gave him permission to hwve it , with an understanding that it was to be returned the following season , but it never came back , and he heard no more of it until about three weeks ago , when he received a pawnbroker ' s duplicate for the portrait , pledged for 21 ., and tho following letter : — " My Loan , —I have really now no other alternative but to write to you and describe what must bo to me most

      painful . I struggled but wholly failed in my efforts to publish your lordship ' s portrait in my national work of eminent Conservatives , and during the Whig Administration all my efforts were in vain . A distress on my property was the result , and in order to save the property of others , I was compelled f o adopt a most disagreeable mode to do so . Your lordship ' s portrait among the rest is in safety , at a considerable expense to myself . How , my Lorn , I rejoiced when Lord . Derby ' s Government was installed . ' I made myself quite certain of conquering my difficulties by proceeding with my national work , and my

      resolution was formed to place your _lordshqi ' fl portrait in hand forthwith , but , my Lord , unexpected tr _*>« _w «« uavo come upon me , ami I therefore candidly and openly confess my position . I _incloeo tho document ( tho _pawnbroker ' s liokoi ) , tu _niiorr that tho property is in safety ; but , my Lord , not being able to conquer tho troubles with which I am now visited , 1 have resorted to your lordship without loss of time . J will not enter into any details as to my present position ; _suflice it to nay it is excruciating . " 1 have the honour to be your lordship ' s faithful , humble servant , "Tiioh . Collins . "

      Lord Desurt Hinted , upon cross-examination , that , he had given his name as a subscriber to the work which Collins pretended to publish , and that he had received somo copies of it work of the name name . It was , however , proved by a gentleman connected with Virtue and Co ., that that linn were the publishers of a publication so named , which had been discontinued ten _yeuvB tvgo , and of which the prisoner might huvo purchased a few copies . If was further proved that this portrait was pawned on the very day on which Collins hail obtained it . Another ciiho wan mentioned , in which ho had pawned the portrait of Mr . Miles , M . I \ The portraits of Lord and Lady Paget had been obtained in a similar way above « ix mouths ago , and the pawnbroker _^ tickets had boon sent lo Lady Puget in a letter tmuilur to that given above . The prisoner wits remanded , his solicitor declining to say anything at present .

      T1ik Panama Railway. Mil. Al.Kxanpkit Wy...

      T 1 _IK PANAMA RAILWAY . Mil . Al . KXANPKit WyIjIH , chief engineer of tho _Royulnuiil steamer Trent , has published a brief account of tho railway now in progress , intended to unite the

      T1ik Panama Railway. Mil. Al.Kxanpkit Wy...

      Atlantic with the Pacific by traversing the _Iathmu Panama . s ° _^ " The Atlantic terminus of this railway is _pla _^ Manzanilla Island , in Navy-bay , and separated from _n _? mainland by a narrow channel , with ten feet _denth water in it . The trains start from the wharves where t _^ steamers lie , and run every day . From the wharves Navy-bay , to Gatun , a distance of seven miles , the count through which the railway passes is a complete _swam _^ presenting , in that climate especially , the most _foimidahf ' difficulties , and rendering it necessary to pile every foot % the road . This work was performed b y steam _pile-drfy at the rate of 250 feet a-day in the easiest parts , _while _^ f other places , where longer piles were required , not _mor than 58 or 60 feet forward could be done in . same tin . _° Above Gatun , where the first view of the river Chagres is

      obtained , the ground becomes of a more solid description consisting principally of a clayey red loam , which is carried down dany in lar _^ e quantities by the ballast engines for the purpose of filling up the road between the pifes . TV worst parts have already been made good , and m less than a year , banks of this earth , which the heavy rains only render more compact , will have superseded the piles , which may be termed the pioneers of . the line . Further alone the road , freestone of an excellent quality is seen in abundance , and is now being largely used in the construction of culverts , and it is intended to replace the bridges over the numerous gullies with this stone , wood having been used in the first instance for the sake of expedition . The

      whole line passes through the wild primeval forest , with all the rank and luxurious vegetation of the tropics . It _ig remarkable how few of the trees which have been cut down produce serviceable timber , as it is only here and there that a tree is seen really solid , the majority of the palm tribes being soft , and the large trees nearly all hollow . This is to be noticed more especially in the swampy districts . Near Tavernilla , the present terminus of the line , the native trees are being converted into sleepers . The rails , 641 b . to the yard , are laid on cross sleepers , without longitudinal balks , a construction which admits of the sleepers being replaced , laid closer together , or lifted without at all disturbing the road .

      "There is at present only one line of rails , but the laying down of a second or third line , which the great traffic across the isthmus will undoubtedl soon require , will be as easy as the first was difficult . The principal diffi . culties have been triumphantly overcome , and the work , when finished , will be a lasting monument to Colonel Stetton , the engineer-in-chief , and the other brave men connected with him , who have laid down this great engine of civilization through forests hitherto untrod by the foot of man , tenanted only by the tiger , rattlesnake , and iguana , and this , too , in a climate proverhially fatal to Europeans . A contract has been entered into for the completion of tho line through to Panama by the 1 st of August , 1853 ; and when it , is considered that not more than 20 months have

      elapsed since the commencement of the work , there can be little doubt that this stupendous undertaking , of such universal interest , will by that time have connected tho Atlantic and Pacific Oceans . The speed at present obtained on the line , though at times rising to 25 miles an hour , does not average throughout above 10 or 12 . Tho total rise on the line does not appear to bo very great , as at Tavernilla the height above the river is not , more than 50 feet . The gauge is five feet . There is only one class

      of carriages , on the American plan , having a communication from each carriage to tho driver by means of a checkstring running along the roof . The fare to Tavernilla , a distance of 21 miles , is 7 \ dollars , and the earnings of tho railway aro stated to bo 30 , 000 dollars a month , and the great California and Pacific traffic now passing over confirms this statement . Passengers' luggage to any umount is checked , taken charge of , and delivered on the production of the checks given , with tho greatest promptitude and regularity . "

      A Peep At Melbourne. Onk Of The Thousand...

      A PEEP AT MELBOURNE . _Onk of the thousands who have left Scotland for tho gold fields of Australia has written home a p icturesque and statistical account of things as they are in Mcl-W _..... O , «« , a iris friend * h _^ e _pulilistietl his letter in tno Posshire Observer : — " Melbourne , March 23 , 1852 . —We sailed in November , last year , from Greenock , and had altogether a very favourable passage . We arrived here five weeks since . Iho first night I bad the key of tho street—no getting a bed , and houses very scarce . I got into the theatre the first night I . came bore , at a very small salary , as there was no vacancy inst then . However , I got 10 * . of a rise last week .

      () f course you would rend of this now being tho best gold country , superior to Sydney , to which place the most ot the slop Cuthbert ' s passengers were going . With this fold business everything is more than doubled in pneo . head , 4 lb . loaf , Is . 2 d ., short weight , included ; butter 2 * por lb . ; cheese , 2 s . ( id . per lb . ; eggs , lis . ( Ul . a dozen ; potatoes , 8 « . per ewt . ; tobacco , _tyd . an ounce , nnd very bad ; but most , people smoke cigars at Md . each . Ten , common black , Is . ( Ul . per lb . ( Jood moist sugar at 4 rf . per " _>• Prior to landing here , our third nuilo used to accost us with- — ' Come gents , give us a pull here hurra for the diggings ! ' He nor we never dreamed of such a thing at rvia . il _,,,,,,... „ ..... i i ,, a , c . ji ..... ' .. a . i .:.. _...: u i .,:..,.- ; .. _ilm bav for _tiirt'Ki _^^ . _! _tiii > iittuia mill' miu -----

      • •• . .- _*** « _« jr _« _a _»^ _»»» _^ want of hands . Now for wages . A charwoman going out at _neven iu the morning till six in tho evening gets os- a n '' her meat . Tho charge of it washerwoman is ( Is- a dozen _ahirta ; a droNN-maker for making a gown , tis . ; a carpen-Icr or joiner , per day , 15 k . ; some 11 . and nomo M- 10 « . for particular work ; a tailor , U ) s ., _noino 12 * . per day ; , l _labourer , Hs . por day , anil somo !()« . ; blacksmiths , from •> ' - to Rl . weekly ; tinmen . 1 cannot say ; they seem to mo _a _» if they were making their fortunes . They Hot up shop » _t nook or cornor , aim thrive—ho much tin-work being required for tho diggings . Aro nil fortunate- that go to tho diggings f No . Many como back with ompty po cke ts

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 24, 1852, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24071852/page/10/