Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 2nd May 1846, Edition 2 of 3, Page 4, THE TEN HOURS',BILL, '

Page 4
Page 4
4 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (3)
    • THOMAS COOPER, TBS CHARTIST'S I WORKS.
    • THE r^ORTHEEN STAR.. SATURDAY, MAT 2, 1M6. ¦
    • €o ^eaUersf # Co mstomtoimt&
  • Adverts (11)
  • Text (9)
  • 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.

      — — R-W—,-,— ~^R^« R«^T, ^T^ .,¦-«><*..,...

      — — r-w— ,-, — ~^ r ^« r «^ T , ^ T ^ ., ¦ - «><* .., ¦ ¦ . ,. - ^ . ; \« PMu a VM j .... «** ¦ fe' -mr ^ * ¦ - i i > 'i- »^^ " ?*» 1 MB ,

      Thomas Cooper, Tbs Chartist's I Works.

      THOMAS COOPER , TBS CHARTIST'S I WORKS .

      Ad00409

      To he had of John Cleave , and all booksellers . { Price One Shilling . )

      Ad00410

      A GOOD FITWA ^ ^ - ; j TTncnPTT Aro ^ '' «^ - ™ '' - ^¦¦? ' ^ ^¦ 1 « * TT ^ n ^ luit ofSuperfine Bla ck , any size , for £ 3 ; U cfP ^^^ g iiud Black , £ 3 108 . ; and the SUpe wfsnTerfine Saxony , £ 6 . warranted not to spot or T ^ f colour JuvenuTsups rfine Cloth Suits , 24 s . ; IAveriescq . uSHy cheap-atthe Great Western Emporium , Sot 1 and 2 , Oxford-street , London ; the noted house for eond black cloths , and patent made trousers . Gentlemen can choose tlie colour and quality of cloth from the largest stock in Louden , he ivt of cutting taught .

      Ad00412

      TO TAILORS . Howready , THE LONDOX and PARIS SPRING and SUMMER FASHIONS , for l « te . By approbation of her Majesty Queen Victoria , and his Royal Highness Prince Albert , a splendidly coloured print , beautifully executed , published by BEN JAM'S READ and Co ., 12 , Hartrtreet , Bloomsbury-sqaare , Lendoa- ; and O . Bergw , Holy well-street , Strand , London . Sold by the publishers and all booksellers , wheresoever residing . This superb Print will be accompanied with full size Riding Dress and Frock Coat patterns , a consplete pattern of the new

      Dagurreotype And Calotype. The Apparatus...

      DAGURREOTYPE and CALOTYPE . THE APPARATUS , LENS , CHEMICALS , PLATER CASES , and every other artickused in making and mounting the above can be had of t . Egerton , No 1 , Temple-street , Whitefciars , London . _» escriptire . Catalogues gratis . LEREBOURS' celebrated ACHROMATIC TRIPLET LENSES for the MICROSCOPE , sent to any part of the country at the following prices : —Deep Power , 60 s . ; Low Power , 25 s . Every article warranted .

      Ad00419

      EMIGRATION TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA . FREE PASSAGE . ' THE UNDERSIGNED ARE AUTHORISED BY HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL LAND AND EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS TO GRANT A FREE PASSAGE to the above eminently healthy and prosperous Colony , to married Agricultural Labourers , Shepherds , Male and Female Domestic and Farm Servants , Bricklayers , Carpenters , Masons , Smiths , and Miners . The demand for Labour in South Australia is urgent , and is well remunerated in wages , provisions , lodging , & c , All particulars will be furnished on application , personally , or by letter , to JOHN MARSHALL k CO ., 2 G , Birchin-lane , London ; 79 , High-street , Southampton ; or at the Emigration Depot , Plymouth .

      Ad00418

      LABOUR'S EMANCIPATION FROM CAPITALIST TYRANNY . " The working classes must resolve no longer to be the slaves of their own gains , but to become their own Masters . "— William Mowitt . rrjHE " STRONG BOOT AND SHOE MAKERS , " in J . the employment of Mr . Kendall , of Drury-lane , Jbc , were , by a most gross exercise of the master power deprived of their usual means of existence , merely because they declined assenting to such terms , dictated tothein , under peculiar aggravating circumstances , by Mr . Kenfools COultt accede to

      Ad00416

      NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CONNECTING RAILWAY . The Managing Committee have much nleasure in informing the Shareholders that their BUI has passed the Standing Orders 0 «™ W * ^ Secretary . 71 , King William Street , April 28 , 1840 .

      Ad00417

      MUSIC FOR THE MANY . THE MUSICAL HERALD , edited by an eminent Writer A New Periodical , containing four quarto na » es ot ' select music , andfour > f entertaining andinstructiveMusi . "" ! Literature , will be published on the Second rfMav an'd every succeeding week , for tha small charge nf Twrn-ri-iTS . Notwithstanding its unprecedented cheap-? L { nil in . ere of music are invited to inspect this Smiof a n ^ -Era . To be had of all Booksellers . This h another < tep towards the promotion of aiuusic . il t « te hi thte conn -try which deserve general enpeurage-£ « ul The -2 - ' ^ oth beautiful and correct .

      Ad00411

      • ¦¦ ¦ " 1 HOMAS DUSCOMBEi EBfVM . P . " ! /• ' ' PsicE Sixpence , "¦ TH 2 , SPLENDID PORTRAIT of this tried Friend " of his Country , presented some time ago with the " •¦ Northern Star" is now offeroil for gale at the above price . It was originally published by his friends ; and admirers , and sold at One Guinea . . A . II . was not award that any of the above stock remained on hand , hut a few having been accidentally misplaced . he no ^ ys . offersthem for public competition . ^ Abel Hcywood , 88 , Oldhamstreet . Manchester , and all Booksellers .

      Ad00413

      . SMALL FARMS , Now Ready , price 2 s . 6 d ., cloth . * PRACTICAL WORK ON , THE MANAGEMENT i \ . OF SMALL FARMS , by F . O'Connor , Esq . Manchester : Abel Hcywood , 58 , Oldhani-street ; J . Watson , Queen ' s Head . pussage , Paternoster-row ; «>• Cleave , Shoe-lane , Fleet-street , London , and all Booksellers .

      Ad00414

      WISDOM AND CHEERFULNESS . THE FAMILY HERALD . —Parts 35 and 80 , of this popular and interesting literary miscellany , price only Sixpence each , contain MalinaGray , hy Mrs . Stephens ; The Lady Helen , Valerie , or the Young Italian , The Selfish Wife , The Sleep Walker , by Zyschokke ; La Vendetta or th '• Vud , by Babyac ; Uncle John and his Nephew , Alonso and Zamora , The Professor ' s Daughter , and several other charming talcs , ' with n variety of ' useful , moral , entertaining and instructive reading for the intelligent and reflecting of all classes . Everybody reads the FAMILY HERALD , the most universal favourite ever published , and just tlie . kind of periodical for whiling away a leisure moment agreeably and profitably ., To be had of all Booksellers . With No . 157 , ( the commencement of a new volume ) will be presented GRATIS , the first number of the MUSICAL HERALD , containing eight 4 to . pages of Music , aud Musical Literature .

      Ad00415

      LABOUR'S WRONGS AND LABOUR'S REMEDIES By J . F . Bray . Price , cloth , 2 s . 5 Paper , Is . 9 d . An able Treatise on the Production and Distribution of Wealth : which , iu these times of co-operation , combinations for buildinits , and allotments , ought to be read by all , for it concerns all . ... . Published by David Green , 166 , Briggate , Leeds ; and Sold by Clark , Warwick-lane , London ; Heywoou , Manchester ; and all other Booksellers . •'

      The R^Ortheen Star.. Saturday, Mat 2, 1m6. ¦

      THE r ^ ORTHEEN STAR . . SATURDAY , MAT 2 , 1 M 6 . ¦

      The Ten Hours',Bill, '

      THE TEN HOURS ' , BILL , '

      From 1833 to 1839 was a period within which Whig treachery had done more for the cause of democracyin this country than ever the staunchest advocates of that principle could of themselves effect . The detestation of the Whigs had become so general and confirmed that the mind of the country by degrees became radical . In the year 183 S , so strong had this increasing feeling become , that it sought a manifestation of its strength in a national representation ; and ' so motley , piebald , and heterogeneous was the character of that representation , that , had it not been for tbe strength of the principle itself , the cause and progress of democracy must have fallen a

      sacrifice to the wiles and machinations of its pretended friends . A section of the Birmingham rump , who had long tampered with public opinion and lived upon public confidence ; a knot of CoBBEirnrjes , who were as unlike their leader as a horse-chesnut is to a chesnut-horse ; and a cliqne of the London working men Whig hunters ; together with a sprinkling of individual freebooters , a species of camp followers , had become part and parcel of the national representation . Each of those sections had its moving power outside . Attwood ruled the Birmingham rump . The Charter newspaper , a weak , trashy thing , edited by the physical force Carpehtbr , and controlled by the Whig hunters , professed to * be the government of that section , while Whittle , With his Champion , contended for a spurious Cobbettibm .

      The camp followers acted upon the independent principle—every man for himself : " The Lord love ye , we are all for ourselves in this world . " A party thus constructed , with £ 9 , 000 TO BE SPENT , was not calculated to inspire the country-with confidence , or to give strength to a cause . And however it may have escaped the recollection of the heedless , the anxiety that we felt during the long reign of this patchwork Parliament has not , nor is likely , to escape oar memory . For eight months our mind was npon one continuous strain , to devise means for

      lessening the evil of the threatened danger , until at length we were fortunately relieved by the exhaustion of the exchequer . Now precisely the same difficulties stand in the way of the Ten Hours' Bill movement that stood in the way of the Chartist movement . Men have joined in it who have no earthly interest or concern in tho question beyond the amount of individual benefit that they can eke out of it ; and hence , after two years , we how find it transformed from a gigantic monster , threatening Ministerial existence , to a pigmy dwarf , against which the Home Secretary wage * war with confidence .

      As to Mr . Fiblmbm ' s conduct , it is above censure , and deserving of all praise . His support is too generous , his arguments are too convincing , home , and unanswerable , to leave the slightest impression of indifference , or to convey the nation that he , at least , has enlisted in the cause for any party or personal purpose . Not so , however , with the ruling body , whose last instructions to their delegates we hero publish : —

      INSTRUCTIONS TO DELEGATES . 1 st . —The object for which they are sent to London is , to represent to the Members of Parliament the wants and wishes of the Factory Workers of Lancashire , and are therefore to promote by every means in their power the passing of the Ten Hours'Bill . 2 nd . —In no case are they to represent to Members ol Parliament , or any other persons , that the working classes will be satisfied with any measure short of an efficient Ten Hours ' Bill . 3 rd . —Should the Ten Hours' elause be lost , the Delsgates are to assist in the passing of any measure which limits the hours of labour in factories .

      4 th . —Their business shall be to canvass Members each day , until this Committee shall deem it right , by the advice of fiord Ashley , Mr . J . Piemen , Mr , C . Hindley , and Mr . J . Brothertou , to recall them . ,. _ ¦' . ' Sth . —They shall put themselves under the control el Lord A * hley , Mr . J . Fielden , Mr . C . Hindley , and Mr . J . Brotherton * iu all matters that may arise during their stay in London , and should any overtures be . made to them by the Government , or any other party , they shall , before accepting them , take the advice of those four individuals , and , if practicable , tkat of this Committee and the Districts . 6 th . —la no case shall the Delegates mix with any political movement , nor identify themselves with any other movement whatever , which has not for its object the shortening the hours of factory labour .

      7 th . —That a book be kept by the Delegates in-which the proceedings of each day shall be duly entered , noting all particular circumstances that may . transpire , which bosk ehall be returned to this Committee , and published , ifnecessary . < 8 th . —That a letter be sent every morning from the Delegates to this Committee , giving a full and accurate account of the day's proceedings { Sundays excepted ) . 8 th . —That each Delegate write to his respective District at least tnice a weak during his stay in London .

      Let us now ask if any man with a particle of sense can read the third of those instructions , and then read the assurance of Mr . Ainswobth , ! who seconded Mr . Fislden ' s motion , without coming to ] the conclusion that the short time committee , has betrayed its trujfc . That honourable member expressed a hop * that "THE PROPOSITION

      WOULD BE ADOPTED WHICH HAD BEEN HELD OUT BY THE OPERATIVES , THAT A COMPROMISE SHOULD BE COME TO ; AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ADOPT THE TERM OF ELEVEN HOURS ; AND THAT SO AN ARRANGEMENT MIGHT BE COME TO WHICH WOULD BE SATISFACTORY TO ALL PARTIES . " Now , in the name ofthe Short Time Committee—and they must and shall answer the question—and in the name of the

      operatives , we ask if they are consenting parties to this compromise ? If they are not , public opinion will compel them to speak out within the fortnight ' s breathing time allowed ; if they are , public opinion will compel them to abandon a position which they are not fitted to maintain . We nave a right to entertain the opinion that the Short Time Committee has joined in this compromise , but we have no right to entertain the opinion that the operatives are parties to it .

      Had our advice been followed , when Lord Ashley first surrendered his vantage ground to ministerial threat and convenience , Mr . Fieldk . v and the question would have occupied a much betterposiiion now , And had tbe friends of the measure still put ¦¦ No Compromise" upo ir banners . Sir James Graham

      The Ten Hours',Bill, '

      masters and- operatives themselves would come to * kn amicableamrj ^ raent upoti ' a subjecti theimportance of wfrich he ; wj » free to corifessV into open opposition , to the measure . Wo rather incline to Sir Jamt-3 Graham ' s version of the result , than to that of The Times . Sir Jambs argues that the inevitable consequence must he a reduction in the hours of , adult labour ; The Times , upon the other hand , contends that the question is only meant to affect the labour of women and children . If such were the case , and if ho other result were to

      follow , we should still contend for the measure . But it is because we see the inevitable effect that j the measure must have upon adult as well as infant and woman ' s labour , that ; we hail it as the realisation of the great principle ; of restriction—the extensive v iew that we have ever taken' of the measure . j We shall now direct attention to the grounds upon which masters , free-traders . ; and political economists base their opposition . Firstly , philanthropy compels them to oppose the measure , because the shortening the hours of labour must necessarily entail a reduction of wages . - Secondly , the operation of

      manufacturing the same ; amount of goods with a limited number of handsi will either entail the expense of additional machinery , or else the masters will be compelled to produce one-sixth less than their present amount . Thirdly , there is a fear lest the operation of the measure might compel the owners of capital to seek more _ unfettered markets for speculation . Now , upon the first point , we hold with Mr . Gardner and others who have tried the expert ment , that the produce of ten hours' labour , of active energetic labour , is more remunerative to the employer than twelve . hours slothful , sluggish ,

      exhausted , tired drudgery . , The day ' s labour , does hot apply to the day ' s worls only . " It applies to the week , to the . year ; yea , , to'the very life of man . ; ; ' l £ will not do to say that ten hours of the ' twelve hours labour is as good as , the sole ten hours' labour , ' and that the two hours additional is so much profit tothe master and advantage to the operative ; - - The man who works sixty hours in the week will have done more : work and better work , and will be fresher for his Monday ' s work , than the man who has worked

      seventy-two hours in the week . ' He will'be younger at 50 , upon ten hours' work , than _ at _ 40 upon twelve hours ' work . Apart from this arithmetical calculation , all the best feelings of our nature step in and rebel against the notion of a woman who shall have the charge of a family , and her infant of 13 yearsjof age , being compelled prematurely to exhaust nature in compliance with the arrangements necessary for the government of an unbridled licentious system .

      Secondly , we know of no limitation to the expenditure of capitalists in preparing machinery to make profit , and we know of no greater benefit that the state could confer upon reckless " speculators than placing a limit to production , the surplus of which constitutes their most dangerous competition . Fivesixths of the present amount of GOOD manufactures would produce more money and leave larger profits than what ig now realised upon the whole of the na « tional rubbish , and would go far to rescue the mercantile character of England from that odium in which it is held throughout the civilised world .

      Thirdly , there is no danger of our leviathan capitalists seeking other climes for tbe expenditure of their capital , and for the simple reason that in no part of the known world would they find so extensive a slavery to be preyed upon as they have created in this HAPPY ENGLAND . Apart from these considerations , we have the answer of those whose interests are , , at stake , and it is at once conclusive and unanswerable . They say that they are prepared to relieve their wives from a life of eternal drudgery , and their infants from a life of unremitting slavery , at the hazard of the

      threatened reduction of wages . This noble declaration upon the part of the men is irresistible , unless indeed the system requires a nation ' of slaves to prop it . Let us now analyse Mr . Fibuieic ' s simple and irrefutable arguments , and let it be borne in mind that Mr . Fielden has written more ably and spoken more forcibly upon this question than . any man lwv & g , added to which , he is amongst the largest , if not the most extensive , manufacturer in the kingdom . Mr . Fielden says that he and his family have made their wealth by manufactures—that he and

      his brothers are still engaged in the trade—that he employs from two to three thousands hands—that nine factory bills interfering with labour have been passed , from each of which in turn ruin to the master was foretold—that in the face of this bill , which must pass , and which threatens inevitable annihilation to the trade , he is bringing up his children in the same walk—that he has an interest in their interest ,- and for his own interest , his brother '? interest , his children ' s interest , the interest of his hands , of his country and his order , he feels himself bound to support a Ten Hours' Bill .

      What sophistry can a fox-hunting , plaee-hnnting , landlord Home , Secretary oppose to this plain and simple reasoning , other than that he is the hired tool of a class p owerful in capital and supreme in representation . What sophistry can Mr . Mark Phillips , a wholesalehaberdasherofManchester . offertothisplain and simple reasoning . True , he tells us that the experiment has been made and failed : but this places the question upon the simple issue of a man producing as much in ten hours as in twelve hours . He

      does not eee that that may fail as an experiment , " which may succeed as a system . He does hot understand , that the vices of the general system have oi themselves defeated experiments made upon the principle . He does not understand that the philanthropic experimentalist is subjected to all the casualties of a vicious competition , which a Ten Hours Bill alone can destroy , by equalizing the number of hours and placing all upon an equality in the competitive market . , ^

      This conscientious haberdasher fears that his conscientious vote may deprive him ofthe confidence of his supporters , while he knows well that a truckling subserviency to their will and interest alone induces him to give that vote . We are satisfied to test the question by ballot , and we undertake to ' say that there will be few silent votes oif Englishmen recorded for the voluntary perpetuation of their own and their family ' s slavery . Again , then , we call upon the men of England , the women of England , and the children of England to shake off and purge themselves of the damning sin of willing slavery , sought to be branded

      upon them by the third instruction given by THEIR Committee to THEIR Delegates . The time is come when the Trades , the working class , without distinction , the payers of poors' rates , police rates , taxes , and legal expeccee , when the shopkeepers and peaceable inhabitants who have an interest in peace and tranquillity , must unite , one and all , in the assertion of the great principles of restriction of labour and equitable distribution . The time is coming that Lord John Russell will be compelled to admit , that what is necessary for the comparatively idle shop boy is indispensable for the over-worked slave—the unprotected mill operative .

      In conclusion , we trust that the ten days' breathing time yet allowed , will be used for the profitable purpose of strengthening the hands of Mr . Fielden , and that the operative , seeing the manner that they have been juggled , deluded , and cheated by the governing body , will get up business upon their own account , upon the assurance , and with the conviction , that if their work is to be done THEY MUST DO IT FOR THEMSELVES .

      The Trades' Conference. Strike Of The Bu...

      THE TRADES' CONFERENCE . STRIKE OF THE BUILDING TRADES . " There's nothing like leather . " Again wc turn to the all-important consideration of Labour ' s struggle for justice . We call especial attention to the advertisement of the shoemakers dismissed from Mr . Kendall ' s employ , announcing the cheering intelligence that they have at length discovered the practical mode of meetinu their mas-

      The Trades' Conference. Strike Of The Bu...

      Mrs' oppressiqu . We . shallhavai much more to say on this subject hereafter , and shall , for the present , merely comment upon what , under the . ciroumstances , becomeu the duty of thet labouring classes . The principal boot and shoemakorsin London send the stuff , when cut , out to Stafford or Northampton , and to many more distant towns , from which they receive the boots and shoes when made . Of course , lower

      rents , lower taxes , cheaper food , and an abstinence from metropolitan gaiety , enables the country journeyman , to work at a lower rate of wages ! But , if the masters are enabled to undergo the expense of double transit , and still make a profit , surely a comr bination of working men can incur tho expensoof one transit , and leave a more becoming remuneration than that which the masters' regulations now permit . ' '''

      If , therefore , this first move in the right direction should fail , it will justify the masters in increasing their oppression , andjustify the world in increasing its denunciation against the working classes them selves . We may be told that master boot nnd shoe makers . can only take advantage of this' traffic requiringdouble transit , by being able to measure their customers , and sending tho cut-out work to be made in the country , and that , therefore , the traffic of the National Boot and Shoe Depot will be limited to that sphere within which they could measure their customers . This , ' however , is a fallacy ,, as there are two modes of meeting the presumed difficulty : — :.

      Firstly , The Association may have a measuring shoemaker in every town in the kingdom , who might act as corresponding secretary , and send up the mensure of those who were particular as to fit . Secondly , If the ' " Association were sufficiently wealthy ,. they niight'furnish the required supply of ready-made boots and shoes tothe several towns in the kingdom ; where there was likelihood or promise ofrsupport ; but ' they must be guarded upon two points : firstly , the funds must be INDISPUTABLY

      AND SATISFACTORILY PROTECTED AND ACCOUNTED FOR ; and secondly , the / very best article must be . supplied , at such a profit as will secure the stability of the Association ; and if those two indispensable objects are systematically attended to , kept in view , and acted upon , there is no earthly reason why the National Boot , and Shoe Depotshould not become the most extensive manufactory of the kind in the kingdom . For ourselves we shall wear NO OTHER MANUFACTURE so long as we are , fairly served ; while

      we shall become active canvassers for the patronage and support of our friends . Thus we strengthen the bond by our mite , and if all who have h greater interest than ourselves in the success of the project will act upon the same principle , this branch of labour will be for ever secured against the inroads of capital . It will not do , however , forth * multitude to argue after the old fashien , that , as so many will deal with the association , their custom will be useless : such indifference has been the rock upon which every trades' movement , every political movement and every popular movement has split .

      We now turn to the still more important , because immediately pressing , question of the strike ofthe building trades in Lancashire . It appears that the men are resolute and determined , and we are told by the Liverpool Times , that the master builders of Manchester have imported a number of " knobsticks" from Plymouth' and Devonport , via Liver " pool . We are also told that these intruders . were met on their landing at the Clarence Dock by the piquets of the unionists , and that notwithstanding the closest vigilance ofthe police some of the picquets contrived to pop a slip of paper into the hand of one of the strangers , winch contained tke following

      words— "You d—— . blacks , your fate is sealed : you will be havocked and ¦ murdered . " We need not assert that this threatening notice was the production of one of those masters belonging to the building trade , who had a long interview with Sir James Gbauau on Saturday last , and who no doubt presented th ° horrible death warrant to the astonished gaze of the advocate ofthe Masters and Servants'Bill . We are further informed that the strike has been much protracted in consequence ; of the Liverpool Dock Trustees having a large number of men in their employment , most of whom are contributors to the funds of the union ; and we are further informed that on Thursday week the trustees came to a

      resolution to give notice to seventy of their men who acknowledged to being unionists that their services would not be further required , unless they ceased to belong to that body . And we are still further informed that the Birkenhead Dock Commissioners expressed . their readiness to suspend their works provided the Liverpool Dock Trustees did the same . Let us now in fairness ask who are chargeable with violation of the law , and with direct and palpable tyranny ; the men who have a legal right to apply their earnings as they please , and who apply them to the . politic , praiseworthy , and creditable

      purpose of supporting their brethren in the struggle for the freedom of their trade , or the Trustees ofthe Clarence Dock and the Commissioners of the Birkenhead Dock , , who tyrannically obey the mandates of the masters' union and unjustly dismiss from their employ men who have violated neither contract , bond , nor law ? Will this , or will itnot , teach the working classes that the masters , strong in government countenance , powerful in their union , supreme in representation , commanding in capital , and holding the terror of the lawover their bondsmen . can only

      be resisted by aunion equally confiding , equally strong , equally unanimous , equally determined , and equally unbending as their oppressors . . For ourselves we hope speedily , with the consent of our brother directors , to set a large number of the building trades hearer to Manchester than London to work . and while Commissioners and Trustees , master bullies and tyrants , make the act of belonging to a union a disqualification to labour or live , the required qualification by us shall be proof that the applicant belongs to the union of his trade , and that he has paid up , or willallow us out of his first receipts to pay up , his

      arrears . Whenever the working men are prepared to resist that species of grinding tyranny to which they have so long tamely Bubmitted , they will find boats of backers springing up to aid and comfort them , but while thoy passively submit to every degradation that whim , necessity , or caprice may impose upon them , they will fail to possess more sympathy than is due to destitution , or more comfort than arises from pity . It appears that the old practice of idle beggars quartering themselves upon trade necessity is beingput intoactiveoperation , and that many scamps

      representing themselves as collectors on behalf of the men on strike are making a begging tour . Now , in the name of common sense , arc the building trades so destitute or so deficient in the art of management as not to have selected proper persons , supplied with books bearing the stamp of the Union , also giving notice ^ that none others are authorised to receive contributions . One consolation is , that the time for holding the Trades' Conference is not far distant , and that those who have so nobly struggled so long will still persevere , despite all danger . untilthey learn the

      course to be proposed by the directing body , and to be decided upon by their representatives . Again expressing a hope that we shall hear of an active agitation from the present to the time of holding the Conference , and that the assembly will consist of delegates of probity , character and wisdom , we conclude for the present with a reiteration of our belief , that the next gathering will be a ^ representation of the democracy of labour , and not the mere whining of its former aristocratic controllers .

      Farliamentary Review. The Irish Curfew B...

      FARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . The Irish Curfew Bill has not passed its firstrcadmg at the time of our writing . The debate was again adjourned on Monday night , and is expected , whether correctly or not we cannot say , to bo con eluded on Friday night . Whether it will ever ad-

      Farliamentary Review. The Irish Curfew B...

      vance farther than this preliminary stage , ' seem a doubtful matter . The determined opposition nf the . Irish members will not be without its effect on the Premier , who may , perhaps , think that lie hag already sacrificed sufficient to Parliamentary ^ quette in persisting with the first reading . Instead of forcing on a measure which , in its subsequent ; stages , may be made to consume the remainder of the session , he will better < shoTr \ the sincerity of bjg professions of friendship to Ireland in the debate of Monday night , by offering to its representatives the social and political remedial measures which they

      demand . . The wern-out , oft-repeated , and as often unsuccessful expedient of attempting to suppress by force the natural and indestructible . discontent of an oppressed people , should be , discarded by a Minister who seeks to establish the reputation of a great states man ; Sir Robbrt has-on various ^ occssions shown that , he looks forward to the judgment of posterit y and wishes it to be a favourable one . The leaving of the beaten track of his predecessors , and striking out a comprehensive , just , and humane policy with regard to Ireland , would be such a novelty as would go far towards securing that verdict in his favour .

      The conduct of Mr . Smith O'Bmes in refusing to serve in English or Scotch Committees , which hag occupied so much of the time of Parliament this week , and which has ended in his being committed to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms for contempt of the House , is looked upon by the English press as mere popularity hunting and a morbid desire for martyrdom . The member for Limerick is , we be lieve , actuated by higher motives . He despairs o £ wringing any really beneficial measure from parlia ment by ordinary means , and conscientiously be l ' veves that by adopting this course he can mest

      effectually force upon its attention the wrongs of Ms country . While [ upon this matter we cannot Jielp noticing once more , what baa been often previously noticed , namely , the warm interest taken in any p ( r . sonal matter such as this compared with that evince in measures of a political character . On the same evening that Mr . O'Biuen defied the authority of the House of Commons , Mr . P . Schope asked leave to bring in . a Bill for the reclamation of waste lands in Ireland . The House was filled during tbe personal discussion—' . 'a beggarly account of empty" benches was the principal feature of the debate on the practical question . Of ,. the fevr who remained to help te make " a House , " several were fast asleep , and the

      sonorous snoring of one or two ; " honourable members" was so overpoweringly loud , as to put the mover somewhat out in his speech . We admit that Mr . P . Scrope ' s oratory is not of the most attractive ; description ; but the obj ct he had in view , its applicability to the present wants and exigencies of Ireland , its capabilities of supplying a home-employment , and comfort to the pauperised masses of starving peasantry , whose woes we mock with empty coramisseration , ought te luvre secured a better attendance and more attention , Is it wonderful , that with such facts before them , Irish members doubt the will of an English Parlia * ment to legislate justly and practically for their country ?

      The other matter of importance which has occu * pied the attention of the Commons this week , forms the subject of a separate article . The debate , as well as the preliminary discussion , brought out , in all its nakedness , the natural antagonism of the AJalihusian economists to the rights ef labour . The very men who are crying out against the Irish members for obstructing the progress of the Corn Bill , impudently tried to prevent the House from entertaining the question of the partial emancipation of the fac * tory slave . " Brown-bread Joseph , " whose acquaintance with tbe working classes and of the practical

      bearmga of the Factory system , are of the most meagre and theoretical description , had the audacity to move the rejection of a measure recommended by John Fielden ! The hon . member for Oldham has all his life been engaged in the Cotton Manuiactures . He is now one of the largest employers in this country—and yet , it is to the deliberately ex . pressed opinion of such a man , based upon ample experience and guaranteed by the risk of his fortune on the measure he proposes , that Mr . Hume ventures to oppose the sophisms and common-places of ¦; . a selfish , heartless , and exploded theory .

      We must not interfere between employer and employed , forsooth ! ''The maxims of political economy forbid it . They insist upon letting things alone . " We reply , that the dictates of morality , justice , and humanity , demand interference on behalf of-the weak , when oppressed by the strong—pf the poor , when trampled upon by the rich . The annals of the manufacturing system abound in instances of atrocity , caused by the almost irresponsible power which the peculiar circumstances of the occupation , and the large capital possessed by the masters , in conjunction with this "letalone'" system , give rise

      to . One ' recent case ot oppression of the most unjustifiable and disgraceful description , we were pre * vented from noticing at the time it was brought before Parliament by the representative Jof the labouring classes in the Legislature—Mr . Duxcombe . We allude to the imprisonment for ten days , cf six factory girls in Dundee , for the CRIME of asking for an advance of one halfpenny a day from their employers , the Messrs . Baxter . That this was the real crime there can be no doubt , because the pretext for the infliction of such a punishment their being absent from their work for ah afternoon—is evidently a mere pretext , and nothing more . The pressure of other matter prevents vis this week from

      entering upon the details of this flagrant case of factory oppression and tyranny and the expression of the feelings of indignation which it excites , but we shall endeavour to treat it fully next week , inasmuch as it forcibly illustrates the / necessity for that interferencc and watchfulness on the part of the government and the Legislature , which the advocates of the Factory Bill contend for , and the Leaguers resist as an infraction of " sound principles . " These are merely fine words to cover the deformity of their allgrasp ' mg avarice ; the dust which th » y throw in the eyes of their dupes to blind them to the real nature of their insatiate thirst for wealth and the unscrupulous acts by which they pursue their object .

      There ought to he , and we hope there will be , no delay on the part of the operatives and their representatives in speaking out upon this question . Now is their , opportunity . The protectionists are waiting the chance of revenging themselves upon Peel ; they are no longer under his leadership . Causes of dis-. union are not wanting on the opposition benches , while the most eminent members of the Whig party a re pledged to the principle of the Bill . Now , then , we repeat , is the time to " strike home . " . The weakness and division of all parties is the strength ofthe factory cause . Let us have the question honestly settled this time .

      €O ^Eauersf # Co Mstomtoimt&

      € o ^ eaUersf # Co mstomtoimt &

      Cobbespondikg Societies And Lectube-Koom...

      COBBESPONDIKG SOCIETIES AND LeCTUBE-KOOMS . — Mr , Thomas Buncombe ' s bill to amend the laws relating to corresponding societies and the licensing of lectnrerooma , which also bears the names of Sir De Lacy : Evans and Mr . Aglionby , was printed on Tuesday . There are five clauses in the measure , and their object is to repeal certain sections in various acts of Parliament now in force—39 Gaorge III ., c , 2 ; 33 George III ., c . 79 , s . 15 ; 57 George III ., c . 10 , s . 25 . By the acts S !> George III ., c . 76 , and 07 George III ., c . 19 , certain offences are created , and certain penalties are attached to the commission thereof . It is declared that the provisions of the recited acts have given occasion to

      vexatious proceedings by common informers , and that after the passing of this hill they shall only be commenced by the law officers of the Crown . The repeal of the several enactments is not to extend to other societies , vrnich , by the acts are declared to be unlawful combinations and confederacies . Sales of Land . —A great numbar of advertisements of property to be sold , for which wo thank our correspondents and request that all will continue to send us suih notices , but we do not engage to purchase ALL the estates to winch they refer . Thomas Mondv cannot have read the rules , of the Chartist Co-operative Land Association , or he ccu ' il not have written such a jumbling letter . Can he not understand what is meant by a lease for ever at a

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 2, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_02051846/page/4/