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Leader (1850-1860), 17th April 1852, Edition Town of 1, Page 361, Untitled Article

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      " Industrialism goes on corrupting hearts and policy ; it invadea Sa-i * enllaves men—it dares to say to the poet hun-IStf Uke the tempter to Jesus , Sieadens adoravert 8 fmAphe poet S ^ rostra tel WeU , be it as J t may , as lone as we have a f £ Ztl of life , though our voice be fated to , be browned in the immense clamour of all the insurgent cupidities in alarm , we SftT for out part at least , combat these degrading tendencies ; ^ Twin demand that disinterestedness be still ranked among lof t ^ virtnes ; honour , glory , the satiflfaction of a duty accom-3 ed , be still proposed as an aim and a recompense to human P «* , HHr we' wilf insist that Man shall not be impoverished to 8 ^ ch ^? degreeXt he has no other incentive but tnat of gold . " * And observe , that these are not a few passages culled for the service of the cause . The entire treatise is written in the same sense . The doctrine which it develops entirely reposes on the idea of devotedness , on the idea of duty . Here is the PKOOF , drawn from the very refutation of the work which M . Michel Chevalier undertook in the Journal des I > 6 bats . ¦

      "One of the two leading ideas of M . Louis Blanc , which Bierce throug h every page in his book , is the following -. —Human gocieties may be principally , if not absolutely , governed by the sentiment qf duty . " f » * ? ? • '' The basis whereon the system of M . Louis Blanc reposes has neither solidity nor consistency . The sentiment of duty alone is incapable of founding a society . The reformer who reckons without personal interest neglects the most powerful incentive of human actions . '"^ Is it not truly heart-rending ? You bring forward a doctrine , the radical vice whereof in the eyes of certain of its detractors is , that it does not sufficiently take into account personal interest , that it supposes human nature to be better than it is , that it g ives to devotedness toolarge a share in life : and whilst one party is rousing against you

      the hostility of vulgar minds and narrow dispositions , the other is striving to render you hateful to men of generous hearts , to choice spirits and cultivated intellects , by accusing you of suppressing the idea of duty , of exalting unduly personal interest , of inciting the workman to selfishness . ! But this is not all ; Socialism has not been content with preaching to the people devotedness , from the obscurity of a few" books more or less known . That generous apostleehip it has had an opportunity of exercising officially , invested with power , before an immense auditory , from the height of a tribune that re-echoed through the world . This is the language in which Socialism at the Xuxembourg incited the workmen to egoism : —•

      " Yes ! personal interest , thrown back on itself , is an incentive of great power , but it is an incentive of deadly character . The emulation which springs solely from personal interest is a ¦ weapon , and a murderous weapon , do not forget ! The emulaT tion which springs solely from persona ! interest is bound up with suspicion , withJiatred , with a aesire to make a atepping-Btone of victims . " There are , believe me , more elevated and more fruitful incentives . For such an emulation I would propose to substitute one that springs from the sentiment of fraternity , from the glory that consists in doing good to our fellow-creatures ; and Si were to be told that it ; is an Utopian dream , I would reply : Yott calumniate human nature I" §

      I might fill a volume with citations in this spirit , The Moniteur , in which the preceding words are reported , records ( to the eternal honour of the French people ) that they were received with the loudest applause ; and if the trace of the influence of Socialist doctrines \ p pursued through the history of these latter days of ours , the facts speak loud enough for themselves , thank Heaven ! For what were the indirect but incontestable manifestations of that influence P The labour of the associations , o those associations in which poor 1 workmen preferred , to the material advantage some of earning five or six f rancs a day under a mastor , the moral advantage of practically contributing to tho triumph

      of a great cause by earning only two francs , one franc , sometimes ten centimes a day , at the cost of the most cruel privations undergone by themselves , by their wives , and their children . So much , for civil devotedness ! and let any man show me a page more touching than that , throug hout the history of that heroism which consists iu braving starvation ! If you ask for an ensamplo of warlike devotedness , you have only to recall the insurrection * i ? ^ '• aTld let any man show me a page moro prodigious than that , in tho history of that heroism which consists in braving death ! Louis Blantc . { To be continued . )

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      ELECTION MATTERS . The writ having been issued for the election , of a representative for Harwich , in accordance with a vote of the House of Commons , Sir Fitzroy Kelly , the Solicitor-General , was duly returned on Saturday without any opposition . The learned gentleman made a vory short speech , and tho proceedings passed over tamel y—all excitement and contestwith tho other

      , adjuncts uBual at Harwich , being reserved by general consent for tho general election . Mr . Frederick Peel made * a public profession of his convictions , on Tuesday , to u select audience , assembled by ticket , in tho Town Hall of Bury , Lancashire . Tho gentlemen within the hall were very hoart y and upplm * slv < e but without thore was a mob and n donkey , and each brayed his boBt .

      Mr . Pool thinks that Parliament will not last long Mter Easter ; hois decidedly of opinion that Protection cannot bo restored ; and lie would prefer a tax on wealth to a tax on common articles of consumption . A mconao tax hud expired , and tho question was whether tho 5 , 000 , 000 / . thenco derived should bo now 1 " * " .. in i i ¦ in ¦ ¦¦ . - i . ¦ i i j rn-i .

      sucked up from the earnings of the poor , or again drawn from the resources of the rich . He should certainly feel no disposition to raise it upon those articles which entered into the consumption of the masses of the people . ( Applause . ) 22 , 000 , 000 ? . of our revenue was already raised , by taxes upon six articles— -tea , coffee , sugar ; wine , spirits , and tobacco ; all of which were , raised upon the energies of the people , and he

      was not disposed to carry it further . ( Hear , hear . ) He hoped there would still be a reduction of the duties on sugar , coffee , tea , and timber . Mr . Peel would rather increase the standing army" than call out the militia . He was averse to touching the Maynooth grant ; thought education and intelligence , as well as property , should be recognised in the franchise ; but though anxious to see bribery and corruption prevented at elections , doubted if it would be cured by the ballot .

      Mr . George Hudson , " M . P ., arrived at _ Sunderland on Tuesday forenoon , and met the electors at the Commission-rooms , High-street . In his address he declared , that although he had always opposed Sir R . Peel ' s Free Trade measures " no one would now oppose the repeal of the present corn laws more than their humble servant . " It is said that Mr . Hudson ' s seat is secure , but that it would not have been so if he had not declared himself a Free Trader . Mr . Booker is busily canvassing in Herefordshire , and dined at Ledbury on Saturday with a party of Protectionists , whom he addressed in a speech of some length on-the old topics of the horrors of Free-trade , to their great delight *

      A requisition to Mr . Montague Chambers , Q . C , to allow himself to be again nominated for the borough of Greenwich , has been signed by nearly 1 , 300 electors . Of these it is said about 500 voted for Admiral Stuart . Mr . George Byng addressed the electors of Tavistock on Thursday week , and declared himself an advocate for-free trade and progressive reform . He was opposed by Mr . Samuel Carter , a barrister , who stated that Mr . Byng sought the suffrages of the electors solely on account of his ancestry . _ Sir Willoughby Jones , of Cranmer Hall , near Fakenham , has accepted an invitation from the Conservatives of Cheltenham to become their candidate at the forthcoming election .

      The return of the Right Hon . M . T . Baiues and Sir George Goodman , the two liberal candidates for Leeds , is now placed beyond doubt . The requisition has received many additional signatures , and the joint promises are between 2 , 300 and 2 , 400 . A numerous and influential meeting of the Liberal voters of Aylesbury have resolved to ask Dr . Layard to come forward as a candidate at the next general election in the room of Mr . Bethell , Q . C . Mr . Adderley has issued an address to the electors of North Staffordshire , in which he solicits their support at the next election as a Conservative , but no longer as a Protectionist , being convinced that any return to tho former system is impossible .

      Mr . Slaney retires from the representation of Shrewsbury at the next election , and has just issued an address to the electors stating his intentions . Tho inhabitants of Edinburgh wero taken by surprise on Saturday morning by an announcement from Sir William Gibson Craig , that it was his intention to retire from the representation of the city at the ensuing dissolution of Parliament . In his address ho states that his determination has been formed entirely on private and personal grounds . No successor has yet been named . A Mr . W . T . Haly , of London , stated by his opponents to bo " a pcnny-a-liner , " is a candidate for Paisley . No property qualification is required in Scotland .

      Mr . Macgregor , in his address to tho citizens of Glasgow—after recapitulating the services ho has rendered during tho period ho has sat in Parliament , and stating that ho is in favour of un extension of free trade , and of tho removal of all restrictions on tho building and manning of ships—concluded by saying , that ho Iuih como to tho " common-senao decision" not to ask them to olect him again , " unless ho Jhll a manifestation shall bo made by yourselves that thoro may bo no causo to approhond a , dofoat . " Thoro are now no loss than five candidates for tho county of Down , luunoly—Lord Edwin Hill , Mr . Vandolour Stewart , and Mr . Kor of Moritilho , Protectionists ; Mr . Sharmnn Crawford and Lord Castlorengh , Froo Tradors . '

      Sir Thomas Rodington will moot with tromondoviH opposition at Now Ross , though it is said that tho Reform Club will put forth all its powers to bocmu-o a victory over Mr . Duffy , tho editor of tho Nation . The offlciai labours of Mr . Wilborforco have iiIho conunoriood . The following are extracts from a lottor received from tho Catholic Defenco Association , dated 15 , Kutlandsquaro East , April 0 , 1852 ;—

      " Gentiemek , —There is no class of candidates , of whatever political or religious profession , whom this association will more strenuously oppose than that to ¦>¦ which Sir Thomas Redington belongs—namely . Catholics who > prof essing liberal politics , sold themselves to support and serve an Administration which was passing a penal law against their own religion , and passing it with many gratuitous and unnecessary , circumstances pf studious insult and dig-, respect . , '• . . "It is essential that the Catholic electors of Ifew Rpjs , by hearty union among themselves , and by sacrificing minor differences and individual wishes , should rnake the return of such a candidate impossible . " Heney W . Wujbebfobce . " A . Shanahan and W . Power , Esqrs . "

      It will be observed that in this letter there is riot a word in favour of Mr . Duffy . In compliance with a requisition from a body of the Coleraine electors , Lord INaas has signified his intention of presenting himself , for the second time , as a candidate for that borough after the dissolution of Parliament . The Waterford Chronicle says : — " We have much pleasure in announcing to our readers that it is intended to put in nomination at the coming election for our representation Messrs . William Keogh , the present M . P . for Athlone , and Mr . William Coningham , of London . The latter gentleman is well known for his determined opposition to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill ,

      and for the prominent part he has taken in advocating the cause of Ireland . Mr . Coningham possesses an ample private fortune , is completely independent of all party or Government influence—and , from his connexion with Ireland ( he being an Irishman ) , as well as his intimate knowledge of its requirements , we know no better man to represent us . We may add , that Mr . Coningham ., in conjunction with Lord Goderich , has distinguished himself by endeavouring to bring about an adjustment of the difference between the engineers and their employers . He is a warm supporter of Mr . Shavman Crawford , and we know most sincerely desirous of a speedy settlement of the landlord and tenant question . It is needless to say he is a Free-trader .

      ELECTORAL MANIFESTO OF CHEISTLLN MINISTERS . London , March 11 > 1852 . We , Christian Ministers , whose names are hereunto attached , having long been deeply impressed with the evils of the existing electoral system , feel it to be-our duty , at the present juncture , to call the attention of our brethren to the moral aspects of this most important question . *

      It appears to us that the question of a large extension of the franchise is deeply connected with the moral , social , and intellectual condition of the great mass of the community , from which in future generations the real strength of the Church of Christ must be drawn . This question seems to have claims on us , as ministers , which ordinary political questions do not present . The administration of public affairs is , to a lamentable extent , adverse to the moral welfare of the empire . The masses of the people see this ; and they aro convinced that , if they had that influence on the legislature to which they are justly entitled , they could remedy the evil of which they complain . We very earnestly share in that conviction . Wo feel that there

      is no more than simple justice in tho claim of every Englishman , who has a home in tho country , to share directly or indirectly in the management of public affairs . We believe that , through advanced and widespread intelligence , tho working classes of this country nre , as a body , in every sense as fit to bo trusted with tho franchise as tho men who hold it now . We feel that tho desired improvement would raise tho working classes in the scale of society , and that this in turn would act beneficially on the welfare of our churches and tho extension of true religion in tho land . We must look to tho elevation of the whole body of the working people for the increase of our usefulness ; and on this ground we earnestly recommend tho subject to tho attention of every Christian man .

      There is another affect of the question winch very forcibly strikes us—tho ensnaring temptation to which tho people aro exposed in tho present limited constituencies , many of thorn offeringgroat facilities for intimidation , bribery , and corruption ; and thus demoralising tho community to a melancholy extent . We are persuaded that wo need not dwell on this . Many of you know , by your own observation , tho Bad scenes of vico , and its attendant misery , which an olcction on tho present system often croatos , Wo av ' o ( Irmly assured that nothing but such an extension of the suffrage as wo have indicated , and tho protection which would be afforded "to conscientious electors by tho ballot , will clear away existing evils , and purify our electoral institutions .

      Wo cannot of coureo overlook the fuct , that the bill introduced by tho lato Prime Minister , and which professed to be a moosuro of parliamentary reform , admits tho Vioious naturo of tho present system ; but his lordship ' s bill , whilo it contains sanio provisions of which wo approvo , appears to us to bo dofectivo , inasmuch as its loading principle is to prosorvo tho balance of into *

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      * Organization du Travail , pp . 151- —162 . t Ibid . p . 188 . t Ibid . p . 100 . g Monitm ; Samodi , 18 Maw , 18 A 8 .

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      .. Ax&siM 1853 . 1 THE LEADER . Ml

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 17, 1852, page 361, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1931/page/5/