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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th July 1845, Edition 2 of 4, Page 4, DARLESTOX. LecTrJtEl-rrQa Wednesday even...

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    • Ctatfet InifHignitf
    • HIE NORTHERN STAR. SATIMDAY, JULY 5, 1S1-3.
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      No ' Worn-Out Man Cannot Be Renewed By A...

      Jtar 5 , lUb . 4 THE NORTHERN STAR . M ... _ ' "' *\ - * . ¦ - ' ** I be

      Ctatfet Inifhignitf

      Ctatfet InifHignitf

      Darlestox. Lectrjtel-Rrqa Wednesday Even...

      DARLESTOX . LecTrJtEl-rrQa Wednesday evening List > fr . Tfcos . Clarkldflivcred asecomllecture on «• the Land and its capabilities . " The meeting , which was a numerous one , paid the greatest attention , and secmcii to be highly interested . A branch of the Land Society las been established here , and promises to do well . BILSTON . Tim Lixn . —On Thursday evening a lecture was delivered in the Chartist-room , Stanley-street , by Mr . Clark , of the Executive Committee . The suijectof the lecture , which Mr . Clark treated to the satisfaction of his audience , was "the Land . "

      THE POTTERIES . PSOGUESS OP THE L . VXB SociETV . —TllC COIHUlittCC Of the Hanlcyand Shelton Workins Man ' s Hall beg to inform their friends and the nubile generally that a second deposit of £ 215 s . his been made towards the Land fund ; making , in all , upwards of £ 50 which has been paid in . They request that all who are friendly to the above object will at once come forward and assist them in accomplishing this very desirable end . — The general meeting called for Monday , June 30 tu , by resolution , stands adjourned to July 7 th , when business of the utmost importance to the shareholders will he transacted . The mcctine ¦ will take place at seven o'clock precisely , at the Bouse of Mr . J . Yates . Miles Bank , Shelton . ¦ Lb civss . —On Sunday last Mr . Thomas lllack Icctuied on the Crown Lank , on " the origin aud design of Government "

      I 1 CDDERSFIELD . The Laxb . —The weekly meeting of the committee aud members of the lluddcrslicld district ot the Co-onerativo Land Society was held . on Tuesday evening last , at Turner ' s Temperance Hotel , Chapcihill , when eight new members were enrolled , making forty shares taken in this district . At this meeting it was resolved unanimously , that" A correspondence be opened with the secretaries of the respective district committees in this part of the West Riding of Yorkshire , to suggest the propriety of inviting Mr . O'Connor to visit the district , to explain the objects which the society lias in view , and also the benefits and advantages to be derived from it . " We hone { he united solicitations of the committees of Leeds , Bradibrd , Iluddcrsfield , Dewsbury , Barnslcy , & c , Bill prevail on Mr . O'Connor to giant their request . —Any communications to the Iluddcrsfield District Committee may be addressed to Mr . Johu Leech , Iluxtoiwoad , lludilersficlJ .

      ceived with marks of approbation . A committee , consisting of the following person ? , was then elected , to carry the recommendation of the Central Committee into . effect : —Messrs . Overton , Dunn . Cover , Wi ! s « n , ' Ilo « rini < l , and Caughlin . TllC business of the evening concluded by the Chartist choir singing several beautiful hymns , composed by Mr . Cooper during his incarceration in Stafford gaol , Mr . Cooper himself leading , in his well-known talented style . The largest number of members was enrolled since Mr . O'Connor ' s lecture here in ISi ? i . —The sum of ± 2 4 s . ( Id . was received fov the Land fnnd .

      Someks Tows . —On Sunday evening last , Mr . Kuffy Uidiey delivered a most excellent lecture on priestcraft , at Mr . Duddridge's liooms , IS , Tonbridgc-strcct ; Mr . Harris in the chair . The lecturer handled his subject iu a masterly manner , and ably proved Unit priestcraft had been the stumbling-block to human progression in all ages . Alter the usual Totes of thanks the meeting dissolved . Cirr LocAUir . —The members of this locality met on Sunday evening last , when the Address of the Central Registration Committee was read , and

      refullest extent the organisation to which they have given their adhesion . Wc duly appreciate , and Lighly commend your noble exertions in sending honest , faithful , and cfiicicnt delegates to the late -Chartist Convention , men who did their duty . You testified your approval of their labours by taking out cards of membership , under the organisation they decided on , which organisation expressly recommends the formation of district councils ; but in neglecting to adopt this wise and useful recommendation , wcarc of opinion y « u have not done your duty . To show in detail what has Iwon achieved by the Metropolitan District Council ; to glance at what might be done if this council was duly and properly supported ; to expatiate on the necessity of an amalgamation and con & -ntration of all our energies is unnecessary , inasmuch as you arc thereof already fully cognisant . * A word to the wise is enough . ' Signed , on behalf of the Council , Jonx Anxorr , sccrctarv . "

      to build a cottage , and that two acres of land were nat sufib-iem . to keep a family comfortably . Mr . O'Connor replied lo these objections . Mr . Cooper then sung another Chartist song , and thanks having been voted to the chairman , the . Meeting dissolved . Metijopolitax District Cocxcil . — This council met on Sunday afternoon l .-t-t . at the Hail , Turnatstinlanc . Delegates attended from Cambei'woll , I-ambcth , Vomers Town , and Wkhechapel ; Mr . Mallard was called to the chair . On the motion of Messrs . Simpson and Mills , it was unanimously agreed to , that the following brief address to the Jh-tvopoiilan Loealilics not represented on this council be sent to the Star , respectfully soliciting its insertion : — " An AdJrits from tin Metropolitan District Ci—uril to the 2 Jctf » f > 0 litan Localities not rtpretentol on this Council . Brother Chartists , wc address you on a sulycct which we consider of great and vital importance , to _ , tho imperative duty 0 ? all to cany out to the

      Thr-efinny 'fnuh . Mr . O ' Connor adverted t » the 1 mh \ Agitation iu Aiiierha , speaking in very high terms of Mr . I 5 ri < bane and the other leaders of that movement , lie next described the social sfcvte of the French peasantry , which contrasts so favourably wish that of the English , owing to the former Ix-ing to a groat extent in possession of the land . Mr . O'Connor commented at great length on the plan of the Co-operative Society , aud com-iuded by cliallengiiitrdisi-usMdi ) ou its merits . He resumed his * at amidst enthusiastic applause . Mr . Etizzon said he approved of the plan as far as it went , but thought that . &! ii was too small it sum with which

      standing on the same platform . If one thing more than another could aiford pleasure to the sincere advocate of their principles , it was that of healing division , and causing union to reign triumphant among its advocates —( hear , hear ) , and , after mutual explanation , he was now free to confess thai the difference lu . 'twccn himself and Mr . Cooper bad orkmau .- ; , liis p .-. ri In error aud mistake . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr . OV- ' oinior then a . ldR-sscd himself to the question of the evening , replying at arvat length to the objections and calumnies of Hill , Carpenter , and the r « -st of the disreputable trantr represented in Vi . wl ' . *

      LONDON . The Chaiitist CV < . rr .: ; ATivr . L . vxn Sotii-. Tv . —A numerous and : v * j : wta !> V public meeting was heal in the Assembly Hi . on . T-, St- Martin ' s-lano , on Tuesday cvpiiim :. July i * r . loL-aran n < Mivs ? from Feargus O'Connor , Es . ; .. on the . ill-important subject of the Laud . Mr . Vi ' m . Outlay was unanimously called to the chair , and briefly opened the proceedings . Mr . Co- 'pcr , lVrmeriy « f Leicester , then sung a Chartist song , which was much applauded . Mr . O'Connor , who 011 coning to the front of the platform was greeted with the most entlnisia ^ ic cheering , then pr . « ce * h d t « address the meeting . lie said he must , at , starling , allude to one circumstance , that « f Mr . Thomas Cooper and himself

      Ajtaujxg Juchdeb.—A Marder Was Committed...

      Ajtaujxg JUchdeb . —A marder was committed at Galashiels on the evening of Thursday week , under must distressing circumstances . The deed was committal on Mrs . Lees , an old woman of S 2 years of age , by her daughter , Euphemia Lees , who for a number of years had been residing with her ; and at so former period had she ever exhibited the least severity or hardship towards her aged parent , but had always been esteemed for her kindness and devotion to her mother ' s wants . From inquiries which we lave made , we have ascertained that the daughter iras subject to fits of melancholy and Iowness of spirits ; aud also that she was periodically afflicted Wllu paroxysms of rage , at winch per iods she became Violent iu her temper aud manners . On the Sunday previous a neighbour observed her countenance and manners to wear a different aspect , and on the

      evening of Thursday she became violent and outrageous . Iu fact , her whole conduct , previous and subsequent to the tragic event , leaves not a doubt but that she was insane at the time she committed the deed . From what she admitted—and the jiost mortem examination of the body confirms the statement—she had pouueed on her mother while the latter was in bed , and thrust her hand into her mouth and throat , producing death by suffocation . " When some of the persons who live in the same house obtained admission , the body of the old woman lay on the middle of the floor , steeped in blood—a blood-vessel having been ruptured iu the death-struggle—and in the bed sat iiie insane murderer , with " her hands and arms recking with blood , singing at the top of her voice , ** Highland Laddie . " Cu ^ eing ask ed what induced her to kill her mother , she answered , " I have killed the devil ; had 1 not done SO , I would have boon in h—31 to-morrow , " words which at oucc indicate her

      insanity . it Rcssiis Covsr , ms Covstvss , asd Cihuikkx Bcust mjve bv tuuia Seufs . — We have received from Southern Russia the news of the tragical end of C « ant Apraxin , well known for his divorce from his first wife . This gentleman , who treated his serfs with ; i : ! hcard-of cruelty , has , together wilii his second wife and children , fallen a victim to their vengeance The infuriated people at midnight surrounded his castle , aud having gutted it of its contents bound the

      inmates and svt iirc to it . The Count , who had freed him-elf , attempted to e ? eapc . hit was overpowered and beaten to death by litis savage horde . TJse first wife of the Count Apraxin had married an Hungarian nobleman , but the 1 'ope would not give his consent to flic marriage , which besides wWnot moguized by law , her iirsf husband being still alive . The catastrophe which lias taken place has now , however , removed this obstacle , and the union having bum sanctioned by the H « ly See , the Countess has l « s » n received at the i ' mut of Vienna . av : d by lY-nee

      Ajtaujxg Juchdeb.—A Marder Was Committed...

      A ^ Ew Pexal Settlement . — We are enabled to state , that authentic information has . readied the colony of the intention of Government to form a penal settlement on the northern coast of Australia , beyond the limits of this colony . The exact spot has not , as we understand , been fixed upon . Halifax Bay is spoken of as likely to f . rm an advantageous position fur the purpose . The first ships , with convicts on board for the new settlement , may be expected shortly to arrive at Sydney . A meeting , it is said , isto take place between Sir George Gipps , Sir Eardicy Wilmot , and Mr . Latrobe , the superintendent ot i ' ort Philip , in order to take into consideration , and report upon , the course which they may consider most advisable to adopt in the formation of the settlement , and the carrying out a judicious and comprehensive system of penal discipline . —Australian .

      1 hk Si > i . iciT « n-Gi : si : iL \ t . —The vacant place of Soiicitiii-Gciieral , occasioned by the elevation of Sir 1 " . Thc-iger to the Attorney-Generalship , has , up to this evening ( Thursday ) , not yet been supplied . Hxeteii Election . —Sir John Duckworth is the Conservative candidate for the representation of this city , in the room of Sir \ V . l- \> lk-tt , deceased . The High-Sheriff has fixed the nomination lor Monday , and the polling for Tuesday . Amxghux Election ' . —The candidates arc the new AiHirncy-Gencral , Sir F . Thesigcr , who by his acceptance of the Attorney-Generalship has been compelled to vacate his seat * and on the Liberal side fu'iieral jC ' auIiield . The nomination takes place on Moudav , aud the pollim * on the following day .

      Daktmocih Election . —Dartmouth , July 2 , 1 m "> . —The nomination took place here this day . Twti candidates were presented to the electors , Mr . George Motfatt , a Liberal and Free-Trader , who was defeated by the late member , Mr . Somes , in the contest which took place about six months since ; and Mr . Henry IVinsep , a gentleman of Conservative opinions , and who , it was said , had held office in India , where lie had resided jaaur years . Afar the usual speeches , a show of hands was then called for , by the mayor , who after repealing it , the numbers being so even , declared it in favour of Mr . I Vinson . A poll was demanded on behalf of Mr . Moft & tt . Fl . v . ii . State of tjji : Poll . —Lo . vdov , Friday Mon : - ixo : —Motfatt . 12-5 ; l ' rinscp , 111—Majority , 14 .

      Hie Northern Star. Satimday, July 5, 1s1-3.

      HIE NORTHERN STAR . SATIMDAY , JULY 5 , 1 S 1-3 .

      The Uume "Job." Axotiiek Pensioner Saddl...

      THE UUME "JOB . " AXOTIIEK PENSIONER SADDLED OX THE PEOPLE . Xothixg is so easy for a public man in opposition , as to build up for himself a character for ECO . vo . ur , even when he docs not possess one single requisite to entitle him to it . Placed in a position where he has not the dhjjcnmg of the public money ; being only a member of a body , where there is always a thundering majority to vote any " grant , " however extravagant , and impose any tax , however unnecessary : circumstanced thus , he litis only to carp at the respective accounts submitted to him ; to suggest that

      this item of millions should ue reduced some ± 5 , 000 ; to make motions for reduction which he knows will not be carried ; to propose that this insignificant clerk be dispensed with—and that that paltry tidewaiter be discharged : a " member" in opposition iias only to do tins , always taking cave to confine his attention to the mere candle-ends of the estimates , on the principle of " take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves ; " a " member " has only to act thus , aud he will forthwith be looked up to as THE ECONOMIST par excellence : and when he is satisfied by the Minister , as to the rca

      sonablcness of any charge , or the necessity of any impost , it will be held that nobody else has a right to grumble . Such a man is as indispensable in our " glorious constitution" of taxes and pensions , as the Minister himself , lie acts two important parts . He is a : once a . foil for the tax-exacting Government —and a means Of AMl'Slxu the people while they pay . He takes care to give no opposition likely to be successful in saving for tJie payers , nor embarrassing to those who live on the fruits of industry absorbed out of the hands of the producers by the engines of Slate : but his conduct docs induce a

      belief in the minds of the simple aud confiding among the people that he is doing his utmost for litem—because he pokes his nose into so many IMc holesseems so earnest after the farthings—detects every plateful of cheese-parings—and triumphantly exhibits himself as a watcher over tlieir interests , when he has knocked off the odd pounds , shillings , and pence from a £ 0 , 001 , 025 12 s . 4 id . estimate for the pay of a standing army in time of peace . There are times , however , when his real character developes itself . Let a motion be made to stop the pensions paid to the toadies of

      tlte aristocracy , aud to those who have prostituted their powers of mind to the service of a corrupt and unprincipled Minister ; and the ecoxojltsi will be Sound not to vote for it . Complain Of tllC heavy burden of the £ 00 , 000 , 000 a year taxation ; point out that £ 30 , 000 , 000 of this is paid to the class who call themselves xaticxal creditors , for having ( as they say ) performed an utter impossibility , — -lest the nation 800 , 000 , 000 of " money , " when there is not that amount in the whole world , if it was all gathered together ; adduce the fact that what they purported to lend were mere depreciated " promises

      to pay ; ' and that they themselves were so conscious of the rotten nature of the whole transaction , that they stipulated that for every £ 100 they lent of this depreciated «/< am " money , " they should receive interest as if for £ 200 ; tell of tlte effects of Peel ' s 15 ill , in reducing prices from 122 s . for a quarter of wheat in 1 S 12 , toJSs . in 1 SA 5 , thus more Hum doubling the value of " money , " and mailing the producers pay the interest of £ 400 for every £ 100 of depreciated " premises" borrowed : complaiu of this , aud of its " pauperizing" and its national-existence-endaiigcr ing effects ; adduce these facts , aud propose an

      BtcmsoE adjustment between the nation and its " creditors ; " propose that it shall be fairly ascertained what tlie amount of the loans really was , and that a seduced interest , commensurate with tlie present value of money , should be paid en what is actually due till the principle can be liquidated ; propose this , aud your flowing ecoxomist will he the very first to bawl out against it ; to denounce you as robbers and spoliators ; to charge you with being thieves in intention—worse than the Pcansylvamaarepudiators It will be in vain that you show hira that bare justice to the payers of the taxes demands that this should be

      done ; that , by the present system , they aue nonnED of four times the amount they ought actually to pay , admitting ( for the uoncc ) that they owe something of a debt which they never contracted ; it will be in Tain that you show that unless the course you propose is pursued , all talk of economy is mere idle wind ; it will be in vain that you show that the soldiery , with all their £ 6 , 000 , 000 ayear expense , are necessary to keep down commotions and insurrections , prompted by the poverty of the people from whom the means to pay the national creditor are collected at the point of the bayonet : it will be in vain that

      you show that armies of police are raising in every direction , to aid the ana of " authority , " becoming weak even when backed by the swords and muskets of 100 , 000 men ; it will be in vain that you demonstrate , tliat the most expensive parts of the system must be maintained , if the £ 00 , 000 , 000 is to be collected , but which would become useless and unnecessary if REMxnos were made in the proper quarter it will be in vain that you do all this , making it as plain as the nose on your face ; still your prime economist will disregard it all—and meet you only bv

      the cry of plunderer and thief ! He is , essentially , a part of the system . With its existence his own is bound up . lie knows that your proposal , if agreed to , would remove the tax-eaters from off the industry of the country , leaving what they now live on tobeenjoyed by the producers and the distributors of wealth . Ik knows tfot the slugs and caterpillars of the State would fall and droop away , like lice from off a gooseberry bush when smothered in smoke . He knows all this—and that he himself would eujfer with them : aud , therefore , he cannot bear to hear of " econ'omt" in tliat direction .

      Precisely such a character as this , is Mr . Josemi-Hche . For now a period of thirty years has he played the character of " first-rate economist . " He has been the most eminent phhllcr that ever at

      The Uume "Job." Axotiiek Pensioner Saddl...

      GREAT in littles . It was indeed a worthy sight tO see him deeply engaged in the sliilliugs-and-penco columns of " an account , " descending to every little miuutia , even to the halffarthings , while the millions of pounds in it were dismissed , as if too insignificant to look at . Hundreds of motions has Joseph made , just to be able to say he had made them ; and then withdrew them , " without troubling the house with a division . " But it would be impossible throughout the whole of his "Economical" career , to point out one single instance where he fairly grasped the subject of Economv , and attempted to effect a saving ! that

      would have been felt by the people in diminished taxation . To the candle-ends and the cheese-parings has his "Economical" attention been exclusivelydirected ; except indeed ou occasions when other members have essayed the real question , aud submitted motions that would have resulted iu a diminution of the burdens of the people . Then Joseph was the man to oppose , " He was , as every one knew , a rigid Economist . He would yield to no one in that particular . If there was any one thing for which he was distinguished from another —[ always conveniently forgetting all about the Gheek PIE]—it was for his

      love of Economy . But then his economy was always practical . He did not aim at what he knew could not bo effected , lie confined his attention to the points where little savings could be effected , without detriment to the ^ public service . The proposition so ably —[ ably ; always think of that . It is very cheap to say so much respecting the speech of an opponent , and it has a wonderful effect , if you compliment a man before you fetch him a back-handed blow in the chops]—the proposition so ably moved by the lion . Member did not do this . It involved charges and arrangements which could not be effected

      without producingturmoil and confusion to the whole system of government : and therefore ice could not support it . " Thus has many an honest proposal been shelved—and many an incipient troublesome customer had his legs knocked from under him . There is no oppositioa so fatal to a public man as the "damaging support" or the patronising disagreement of an " economical friend . " The one is sure to land him in the mire of defeat ; and the other will effectually prevent his rising above a very common level , unless he has the tact and the determination

      to take his repressor by the neck , dangle mm up to public view , shew him masked and hooded as lie really is , and then quietly sntfj uim out like one o / the farthing candles he has so long delighted to dabble amongst . This is the only mode of getting rid of " the people ' s man" with the wet blanket . Deal firmly and energetically with him , and he soon feels and finds his utter insignificance . He soon finds that the deference paid to him was purely conventional—appertained to the character he had assumed and was not commanded by the intrinsic worth of his

      mind . But " Economical" Joseph has lately appeared in another character . Finding that his old dodge of piddling with the estimates has been thoroughly smoked—thoroughly appreciated , he has ventured out in another line . After having spent a pretty long life-time in small endeavours to save the public money , without much success , ho determined to try his hand at expending it : and , sorry are we to record the fact , with better success than he even wished for in any of his efforts in the saving line . He had but to make his motion , and forthwith it

      was agreed to . True he did not withdraw this " without putting the House to the trouble of a division . " He did not content himself with merely moving it , that he might boast o £ it afterwards . Tlic request he made—that a man who had no claim on us should be pensioned on the public purse—was at once acceded to : and the poor inmates of the Coal Holes in Bradford and White-abbey have to thank Mr . Joseph Hume that their industry is taxed some £ 1 , 500 a-ycar , because a man named Pottixoeh has succeeded in beating the Chinese for their endeavour to take satisfaction of " our merchants" for smuggling into their dominions a demoralising and

      physically-debasing drug ! While toiling in their bed-chambers , over their charcoal fires , with iheh ' sick wives laid exposed to their gaze , and the dead bodies of their children " laid out" in the same apartment , they will have the satisfaction of knowing that £ 1 , 500 a-ycar is partly raised from them to keep in luxury a man whose only merit is that he was successful in ivar against a people who had been so long at peace that tuey kxew not how to fight And they will have this satisfaction heightened by the reflection that this last drone has been palmed on them through the exertions of Mr . Save-Jerry Hume !

      The facts of this case fire just these . To Sir Henry Pottixoer was entrusted the " management " of the dispute our Government had with China , when that people refused to submit to the smuggling of " our merchants" in the teeth of their laws and regulations . After duo aud repeated warning , the Chinese seized a large quantity of opium thus attempted to be smuggled into their dominions , and confiscated it . For this act of justice and true policy , our Government demanded compensation ; and because the Chinese refused to pay the worse than highwayman ' s demand , vessels of war were sent out

      against them , and some of their towns and cities battered to the dust , and their junks burnt to the water ' s edge . When the Chinese found that they could not cope with us in war , they acceded to speedy terms of peace , and entered into & treaty of commerce , which placed this nation in a f ar better position than she had before-time occupied in relation to the people we had wronged . Sir Henry Pottixoer was this country ' sPlcnipoteHtiavy in the negociation of this treaty : and because he was so ; because , as such , he only did Ms duly ; because , as such , he obeyed the call of patriotism , and made the best bargain in his power for his country ; because he did only what he ivas receiving his country ' s ample pay for doing , and for neglecting to do which he would have been a traitor

      because he only did this , Mr . " Economical Hume , " of all men in tlte world , moved an address to the Queen , " praying" that she would be " graciously pleased to signally reivard such eminent services , " & c ., ic .: and the Queen , " being desirous of conferring some signal mark of favour and approbation on the right hen . baronet Sir Henry Pottinger , 6 . C . B ., in consideration of his eminent services , and particularly on account of the zeal , ability , and judgment displayed by him as her Majesty ' s Plenipotentiary in negotiating a treaty of peace and commerce with the Emperor of China , recommended the House of Commons to concur in enabling her Majesty to make provision for securing to Sir Hexry Pottixger apensioti of £ 1 , 500 a year , for the term of his natural life . "

      Now , aU this might have been allowable , if it had been out of the pocket of the Queen that the said £ 1 , 500 a-year was to have come , providing she had worked for it before it got there : but when it does not so come ; when it is out of the public purse that it has to be taken ; when it is out o f that exchequer , to replenish winch thousands have to go without the commonest necessaries of life , and pig in the stews and COAL-HOLES of Bradford

      and other of our large towns , that this pension for the term of his natural life" has to be paid : when this is the case , and when there are laws on the statute-book avowedly framed to " reduce the working people of England to live on a coarser sort of food , " then the whole thing becomes a scandalous shame to all concerned , from Shoy-Hoy Hume down to Sir Robert Peel , who advised " Her Majesty " to seek the concurrence of the Commons in " granting" £ 1 , 500 a-ycar of other people ' s money !

      The whole thing is indefensible on any principle of justice towards the tax-payers . Here was a man , paid for his services ; who accounted the pay high enough , by his accepting the undertaking at the price ; who did no more than his duty ; who would have been liable to severe and condign punishment , had he done less : here was this man , so circumstanced-, not wounded " . in his country ' s service ;" not worn-out ; not disabled ; not rendered incapable , i-r i < ; : ie-.. < v .- ;( -. ' :: > k'leiv " !!¦ . ¦• : r : i . _ . V-yin . ;!! ' ! .-ut

      The Uume "Job." Axotiiek Pensioner Saddl...

      rather more likely to receive it from the opportunity afforded him to signalise his worth ; here was this man , under these circumstances , made a pensioner on the people ' s industry for " the term of his natural life , " however long that may be , and whether he may be engaged in other employment or not . Is not this monstrously unjust , —particularly when we ie " mem bcrthat there are no pensions for the workers . ' no rewards for industry—no provision even for tho destitute poor but the hated bastile , with its workhouse dress , its bone-crushing mills , its starvation diet , and its separation of those who have pledged themselves in life " To live and love together !"

      And is it not an act of baseness uuniatchable-an act of baseness past all comprehension for Hume to have the impudence to stick one who has not a shadow of a claim on the people's moans , on to the people ' s backs , there to remain for "tlio term of his natural life , " while he , the same Buowx-Bbead Hume , has been the most unblushing supporter , and the most brazen defender of bastilks poi : the poor—who only arc poor because their means have been taken to pay the idle pensioners , and other drones who live on them without labour ?

      Let no one say that the amount in tlus case is not very large— " only £ 1 , 500 a-year , " and that that is but a sinalf item out of the £ 00 , 000 , 000 a-ycar . Large items arc made up of small ones ; and small as this p ension' for life is , when compared with the annual amount of our taxation , it is just upon half of the amount of the salary the-America as give their Presedcnt for presiding over and conducting the whole concerns of their Government ! That people don ' t pension their

      public oliicers , nor allow them retiring salaries . They pay them for their services while they are in o ffice : not extravagantly , but reasonably : and when die services are withheld or dispensed with , the pay ccasa , as it ought to do . Their Presidents for instance : —While in office they receive the salary of office , a salary not equal to the amount paid to ottr " oewoaw , " but still equal to the real wants of the Heap Magistrate of a great and powerful pcoplc And remember that this functiouarv iu the States is

      not a mere puppet . He takes an active part in governing . He is indeed the centre and main-spring of tho whole . lie is not like some little body that could be named , denuded of all power ; unable to choose bed-chamber attendants ; a mere painted doll , for the Minister to play with . The President of the United States is not like this—but the mindthe soul , of his Cabinet , acting for the people , and making that people known and feared to tho end of the earth -. and though he has not a " civil list" oi £ 170 , 000 , including a " privy ' purse" of £ 60 , 000 , still he is able to perform the functions of governor , and sot an example in this way too which it would be

      well for some nations to follow . Nor is it iound that the £ 5 , 000 a-year only for the American President prevents talent from being engaged hi the service o / the American people . While they can boast of their Washington's , tlieir Jefferson's , their Madisons , their Muxkoe ' s , their Jacksons , their Vax-Burexs " , and tlieir Polks , they may safely contrast them with our Catholic-hating , man-hanging , debt-contracting " mad George ; or our wife-repudiating , Green-bag concocting , sensual , bloated , rotten " Ftar the ' 9 tit Fourth ; " or our simple , silly , shilly-shally "Reformer ; " or our nameless vixen , who " Threw a cup of tea in his face ,

      l- 'ol do dol I " and slapped Miss Marshall , the Mill-owner ' s " maid of honour . " They may satcly leave their Presidents to be judged of by posterity in contrast with the wearers of tho diadem iw the "Mother Country , " even though they do allow them only £ 5 , 000 a-year , without tho " privilege" of either pension or retiring salary . To secure talent , it is not there necessary to hold out these inducements : and were they abolished with us wc should find far more manliness—far more energy of mind and character—far more of self-reliance aud less of effeminacy and nauiby-pambyism

      among our public oflicers and legislators than pn £ vails at the present day . Is itnot a national degradation , that this "great" country should be governed by a man of whom the dest that can be said is , that iic is : i " sublime mediocrity V Is it no satire upon our " high and haughty" aristocracy , that not a member of their body , immediate or distant , can be found to dispute power with tho son of a cottonspinner , who is not possessed of a spark of genius ; who has not an atom of originality in his composition ; who is merely a plausible adapter of other men ' s ideas , and an advautage-taker of

      circumstances , so as to govern without any of tho high and ennobling qualities requisite to COUSfcitlltO ft gOV 01 '_ nor ? The fact Is , that luxuriousness and dissipa tion hsve enervated the aristocracy—made them a peurile and a contemptible body—split them up into powerless sections , without mind or energy , without union or concert—and degraded their very " House " itself into a mere " guard-room , " with an old doting "Field Marshal" for a commander . The extravagance and reckless squanderings of the public money , in tho shape of high salaries , pensions , allowances , grants , dead-weight , and sinecures , has mainly contributed to the engendering and spread o

      the dissipation that has worked such lamentable results : and the abolition of nearly all of these modes of living on the industry of the people , throwing the recipients of unearned incomes " on their own re _ sources , " will be of immense advantage to the Go vernors of the country as well as to the people who are now taxed to death to pay them . Talent , under such circumstances , will seek for employment . Mind will make its way . Mediocrity would have to succumb to genius ; the General would have to give way to the Statesman and tho Governor : and we should have a Government respectable and respected , because able to command respect .

      The Land. 0» Wednesday Night Mr. Cowpek ...

      THE LAND . 0 » Wednesday night Mr . Cowpek again brought forward his Field Garden Allotment Bill , when , as usual , every one of the * ' free traders" were up in arms against the measure , all agreeing that wages alono should constitute the hope , the stock , the store , and the all of the working man . That petulant

      economist Roeuuck headed the opposition , and received a severe and well-merited castigation from Mr . Siurjiax CitAWFOKD ; but what we much prefer to the reputation of tho speculative notions of would-be economists , is the positive and irrefutable statements of practical men . Wc , therefore , attach much more importance to the following short speech of Mr . Mangles than to tho wholesale rubbish of the member foi the borough of Bath : —

      Mr . R . D . Mangi . es aeiited that wages wore the sole support of tkc agricultural labourers . In many parts of the country tho labouring classes could get no wages , owing to want of employment for them , It was only a fortnight since that he had met u countryman in his own district who told him he hail not had aday ' s work for a week past . Would the lion , and learned member tell the houso where the labourers were to get wages under such a state of things 1 He had spoken of the bill as tending to lower the condition of the agricultural labourers ; but he could show him that one of the worst symptoms of the present

      jmes was the hopeless condition of tho labouring agricultural classes . Tlio shopkeeping classes were in a far better position ; he would show that ffhoi' 0 one agricul tural labourer raised himself above his condition , fifty shopkeepers effected that object . He never knew a single instance of an agricultural labourer raising himself above that condition who did not effect that end by means of the allotineut system . Under the administration of the l ' oor Lnws , and by the operation of the law of settlement , the agricultural labourers had become the most helpless class in the whole- kingdom .

      That is a very sensible speech ^ and from it welearn that for every man who makes the fortunes upon which fifty retire from business , not more than one toiler is placed in the same position , and then only by means of a bit of land . Iu faith , this land question is making its way : Lord Lincoln is engaged in enclosing the remaining portion of the people ' s commons with a oxe nrxDnuD axd sixiy-ose clause power ; and in an article in a recent number of the Times , descriptive of the lightness and looseness , the stringency and laxity of the proposed measure , we find tho following four lines ami a half , which , to 0111 mind , is worth all the speeches c \ 'Cr miulc ill Parl ' m-• ilC'iC V . [ ' . - i- 'iv . V ' . ! 'l' < . '' .. j . CiV ti ' . i . v . '• :. ¦ , ••? , J ' . ui . l !•• ' . i'V ( n

      , - .- „ ^„„ : i ™ id them , and remember w 0 ri « ng man in England read them , and remember that they caw from the Times , that is real by every ma , woman , m \ ihitd in the world that con read ; and that the thing of greatest value to the proprietors Is a good guess upon coming events ; and that those . messes are , for the most part , made from a close watching of passing events , and a shrewd put . mg ot " thai axd thai " together well . The Tim has the following , worth any money : — " Wk are inclined to hope that loxc before the CLERGYMAN , CHURCHWARDEN , OVERSEER , AND TBSTBV AUE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THIS BILL , ME LABOURER WILL UK ABLE TO OET AS MUCH LAND AS WILL BE OF UBAL USE TO HIM WITHOUT ITS ASSISTANCE . " We shall not add one word to this prophecy , based upon the knowledge of a people ' s wish and a people ' s power of accomplishment , when they wish 111 the right direction .

      Shout Hours. For Some Time Past The Su K...

      SHOUT HOURS . For some time past the su ject of early shop-shutting , and the general diminution of the hours ot labour , have much engaged the attention ot the wellmeaning and intelligent , and the arguments in favour of such a svstem are alike urgent and obvious . Without at all entering upon the general merits oi the question , we think there is one argument winch , if not overlooked , has at least not met with that consideration . which its importance deserves . It is all very well to talk of humanity and leisure fur mo . ut ami intellectual improvement to men prepared to feel the force of such positions , but we need scarcely ivminrk that views of this kind are either simply

      unknown to many masters , or regarded by them , from whatever cause , as visionary and extravagant , it is for this reason that we now propose to argue lor short hours upon a purely economical ground . vV e design to show that any extension of work beyond a man ' s ordinary physical powers is attended with loss to his employer , and that any reduction within proper limits is followed by a corresponding gam . >> c mean , in other words , to establish , from facts before us , that men worked considerably within the limits of their power perform a greater amount of labour , and execute it more satisfactorily ; that they arc more intelligent , more apt to comprehend , more active , and more inclined to be obliging , than those who arc worn-out and fagged by long aud incessant

      It is evident , if a man be overworked to-day , that to-morrow he will be less able for his average labour ; and that if a svsteni of overworkinsr be persisted in , the period will be hastened when he shall be totally unfitted for that species of labour , or be laid aside by disease . The same reasoning holds true in reference to time . If ten hours a-day be the average at which a man can work cheerfully and well , then twelve hours will render him dull and fatigued ; and though ho may continue at the work , he will not do one whit more , or , if he should do so one day , it will be at the expense of the labour of the next . This is viewing man as a mere animated machine , whose thews and sinews are capable of exerting a limited

      amount of force , and to which we can apply the mecbanical axiom , " that greater power cannot be gained but at tho expense of time , and time cannot jje saved but at the expense of power . " But this reasoning will not altogether apply to an intelligent being ; and , in estimating the amount and duration of human force , wc must take into account the inseparable attribute of mind . There is scarcely any species of labour—certainly none of the mechanical or mercantile—but requires care , vigilance , ingenuity , reasoning ; and these are qualities so intimately depending upon a sound and vigorous bodilysystem , that it were folly to look for them from an overtasked and worn-out man . Reasoning in the abstract , then , wo think it very palpable that any

      master must be a gainer , both in the amount of labour and manner o f execution , by exacting from the workmen he employs rather under than above tue average time during which their attention and activity can be maintained . Among the many practical illustrations of this doctrine , few could be more directly applicable than the following ^ which recently came under our notice . In Fifeshire , where the hours of tho ploughmen are of average durationnamely , during daylight in winter , and from five to six , with a breakfast and midday interval , at other seasons—the men , as a class , arc active , energetic , and well-skilled in their various duties . In activity we will back them against any similar class in the island , and the trial of skill which a few

      years ago came off between twenty of them and a like number from the Lothians ( a pre-eminent agricultural district ) , places them foremost on the list at least as ploughmen . In Strathearn and the Carse of Gowrie , on the other hand , where the hours of labour arc notoriously long , the farm-labourer seems to be quite the antithesis of his brother in Fife . A farmer in the fatter county , a few years ago , engaged two of tho first-rate Cars !) hands at the highest wages , and placed them at the general labour of the farm along with seven native ploughmen . In a few weeks the difference between tho imports and the natives became painfully apparent ; lor , with every disposition to oblige , they 110111161 ' performed so much labour , nor executed it so well , nor with so much alacrity , as the latter . " I ' ve had enough of your Carse men , " said the farmer to us one day , and his reason was as nearly as possible in the following words : — " They ' ve got a wrotched system of long hours in the north : they

      work the very spirit out of their men , and so it is that these have not half the smeddum ( smartness ) of our Fife lads . They ' ve neither the sameskill nor activity , and when a push comes , 1 would make my foreman work round a couple of them . " But you'll find them very willing and obliging ? "Oh yes , they are patterns in that respect , and are certainly not so independent in their way as our own blades ; but they want the energy and aptitude , and really don't give their work the same finish . For one order that I have to give my own men , I have to give two to them . They'd hang as long as I like at the plough-tail , but 1 want through-put ; and so commend me to my own men aud reasonable hours . " . Now , these are not the preachings of any of your sentimentality men , but the plain words of a hard-driving money-making Scotch farmer , who saw from tin ' s comparison the obvious advantage to himself of keeping his men on short hours , and of never exacting from them more than they could do cheerfully and well .

      'the same argument applies to every species of labour , and with double fovco to those employments which require intelligence and care . As soon as the body begins to tire , the spirit droops , the attention rlaijs , and if positive carelessness does not SUpervone , there follows at all events a dulncss and lethargy which arc anything but favourable either to amount of work or to manner of execution . Nor can there be any remedy for this but rest and repose . It is true you may apply artificial stimulants ; but these , too , will shortly fail ; and their use only renders the bodily system of their victim the less capable of being re-invigorated . These remarks apply in a special manner to in-door labour , where tho long-hours abuse is more frequently seen , notwithstanding that a

      restrained position of body , want ot fresh air and ventilation , should bo potent arguments for a course quite tlio reverse . Kor do wo argue upon mere theory , for in tnis case , as in the other , we have for . tutuitely a most convincing illustration at hand . It is that of a large spinning-mill , situated beside a cotMtry village forthesakcofwator-powc ^ andin which tlu hours o f labour are f rom six in the morning till seven at night , deducting an hour for breakfast and another for dinner , thus reducing the hours of actual work to eleven—a space still too long , but considerably shorter than that required in any other of the neighbouring factories . In addition to this reduction , the wheel is stopped at five o ' clock on Wednesdays and at three on the Saturdays ; three half days

      a-year are allowed for fairs , two days for church fasts , two for . NW Year ' s Pay and Handsel Monday , and one for the anniversary of tho mill ' s erection—an event seemingly of great local importance . Now , however small this may seem to some , it is in reality an amount of freedom and relaxation not enjoyed , so far as we are aware , in any similar establishment . And what , according to the owner , has been tho resuit ? Not a single spindle of yam less , a great redaction of disease ,, better executed work , feiver accidents of damage to the machinery , a more orderly and more obliging set of workpeople , besides the satisfaction that he is contributing in some degree to the happinett of his fellow-creatures . It may seem contradictory at

      first sight , that a reduction of hours in such an es . tablishment should not be followed by a diminution of produce ; a little . reflection , however , will clear away the dubiety . ' The last two years' wage-book shows the merest trifle of absence from ill-health ; the lessening of damage has caused f ewer stoppages , and even a greater degree of speed can be obtained , inasmuch aa tho attention of the workers is nay w relaxed by long and tedious conancmTOt . The stoppage on Wednesdays permits the women to attend » little to their domestic concerns , while it allows the mill to be cleaned and the machinery to be overhauled : the advantages of the Saturday afternoons are too obvious to be adverted to .

      From these examples , then , we think it sufficiently obvious that moderate hours arc conducive alike to the interests of employer and emplsycd . The latter enjoys moro the life of a rational creature , and the former rather adds to , than subtracts from , his gains inasmuch as he has the same amount of work , aiiu has it more highly and more carefully finished . It may be urged , to be sure , that there is uo tirin » of the steam-engine and machinery , and . that the longer these revolve , the larger the amount of produce

      This would be true and just if the machine were selfacting ; but in nineteen cases out of twenty , it requires the regulation and aid of human hands , and it is to these that our argument applies . Wo hav * no objection that a man work his machinery till every wheel and axle be worn to a skeleton , for its pkeo can be readily supplied ; « hat we condemn ia . the grinding oi" workmen to a skulap condition , w ! bn it is obvious that an opposite course is in the long-run the more adviiiitagetM * . The steam can bo let tin at ' /> - -: y > : v «; v ) 'Ac % ' . \ m-wni »\ Km ;|^ sir " - ' ' - ' : ! -.-i ;•

      Worn-Out Man Cannot Be Renewed By Any Si...

      worn-out man cannot be renewed by any similar , r „ cess ; he must have leisure and repose ; and wC this is denied him , his bodily mechanism mill shortly become diseased and impotent . It {^ J * sorry excuse for the emidoyer to urge that , as he 1 ,, * laid out some forty or titty thousand pounds in ,, ? chinery , so he must "keep up tw steam , " inoi >; the more speedily to repay himself ; nor does it I , muI his position to put , as l » o sometimes douc , the qmi tion-Would you have all that machinery to | , ee . f ployed only ten hours out of the twenty-four ? \ vii-. indeed , is the use of machinery , it it be not to kW , the amount of human labour and druikjcrv : . „ , ! what tho purpose of the invention of mind , ' if j i " not to increase the amount of our comforts ami w , piness ? It would appear , were wc to admit the -iV worn-out man cannot renewed by any simil

      guments of some folks , that the purpose of mai-Jii „ , was rather to enthral than to exalt mankind ; au ([ i is curious that many manual enjoyments , suvh those of the mason , joiner , slater , labourer , and tk like , should have custom sanctioning the labour h 0 u . ^ from six to six , with breakfast and dinner interval ,, while those which have been . called into existence kmachinery imve been tasked like slaves from ii - seven , or even beyond these limits . A or is it t | , reasoning of a humane or enlightened mind to vei . hthat if the workmen feci themselves aggrieved , tl ^! can turn to some other employment . Is it ri g | , .- anv man , because lie has power on his side , to al u , it ; * or can the fact of a few thousand pounds' nos sd

      sion dissociate him from his fellow-men , or free liilu of the reciprocal duties which the necessities of uur condition have imposed ? Every argument that militates against the great law of brotherly love I ! il | xt be unsound ; and it is only because this law is | too little respected , that there is so much of in . equalitv , oppression , and poverty aiBosi" --- r-s Against this view ot short hours of labour it ^ sometimes urged , that if ten hours can be proved to be more advantageous than twelve , would not ei »| , t or six be more advantageous still—and where , th « , were the limit to the diminution ? This species u reasoning is entirely beside the question . A cei-tai ,.

      amount of labour is to be performed , by an agent having limited powers ; there must be an averse at which this power can be exerted , and our aig uintnt onlv goes this length , "that it is more profitable to tax these powers within than beyond this ascertain . ^ average , " In dealing with human power , wc cannot apply the mathematical formula by which wc calculate the force of gravity , of heat , or any other purely physical agent ; but we must regard it as a jiowcr imbued with mind , and as a power which nature reinvigorates by one process , and one alone . Again , it is said that any additional leisure would in all likelihood bo devoted to idleness or dissipation , but

      , founding upon past experience , wc have no ground for such a decision . It would not be idleness , surely , for the toiled mechanic to betake himself to the iields and lanes for that air which the pent-up workshop denies ; nor would it be dissipation to indulge in the harmless games of the public green , or in the amusements of our halls and lecture-rooms . Or , granting that some were to dissipate , arc we to withhold from eighty a just and natural boon because twenty choose to abuse it ? The truth is , that where there has been little time for mental culture , we are not to wonder at some little abuse of any new privilege , imd wc can only hope for the rectification of sii ' eli

      faults when men have more leisure to learn better modes . A . holiday to our population at present is a boon so seldom granted , that it acts upon them like intoxication ; and any extravagances they may commit should be laid to this account , rather than to any innate disposition to absurdity and folly , liut lie this as it may , we have taken up the reduction of the hours of labour upon other grounds—namely , its obvious advantage to the masters themselves—throwing aside altogether every consideration as tv irainanity , and leisure for moral aud intellectual culture ; and we leave it for the reader to determine whether our reasonings be in any degree corroborative of out-

      Opinion. Wc Dare Wager A Trifle That The...

      opinion . Wc dare wager a trifle that the most " constant reader" we have , has not hitherto suspected that tie article he has been reading is not by the Editor of tho Star . The philosophy of it will be as f amiliar to him " as a household word "—it having been weekly enforced on his attention during the seven-and-a-half years that the Northern Star has been in existence : and there is nothing observable ill tllC article itself to induce a doubt that it is not from our usual manufactory , unless indeed it be that the style is somewhat more free and polished than that in which the reader is wont to bo addressed iu these pages .

      The confession , however , that it is not ours would but tend to puzzle the reader , were wc to leave him to " guess " the source whence wc have derived it . We might safely do so , —were we inclined to enjoy his bewilderment , —without much chance of his " bitting on . " We dare give him the whole of a " factoryday , " the " last two hours" and all , wherein to tax his best powers of " guessing , " without f ear that he will approach within one hundred miles of tho reality . He might run the whole British pre s through and through , without once thinking of naming Chambers ' s Journal as the source whence wc have derived an article of that stamp . Such an idea would be most unlikely to cross his mind : and his amazement would only be equalled by his gladness when he was told that such was the fact .

      Who that remembers tho infamous " philosophy of wages" taught In the tract of " Chambers ' s , " so well dissected by Mr . O'CoKXOR , and the hint sort of Political Economy almost constantly inculcated by that firm throughout their numerous publications ; who that remembers this , could imagine it possible that an article , breathing the spirit of the above , and having for its object a high beneficent purpose for the despised worker , could have obtained admission into tho pages of a journal conducted by men who have done so much to popularise the inhuman dogmas of Malthus , and assert the superiority o f Capital over Labour ? Who could have expected that those who have held and maintained that " Capital is justified , in taking every advantage to keep down the price of Labour , " would be found

      pleading that the sentient intellectual being Should not be trenched like the iron machines of the mill ; but that the latter should actually be made to wait on the convenience and comfort of their animated attendants ? Yet so it is . But it is only proof that t he question of humanity has made such progress that even Malthusians themselves are forced to be come its advocates , aud acknowledge its high and just behests . As the Herald well said last week , "the numiof the cause litis carried it forward : " made even those , whose philosophy regards not man only as an instrument for the production of wealth , confess that the claims it makes for time to recruit exhausted nature , for due recreation and enjoyment , and for the cultivation of the intellectual and moral faculties are neither « visionary nor extravagant . "

      lot )* reasoning of the writer in Chambers ' s it is not necessary to add in the slightest decree He manfully grasps the whole question , aiufwoi-ks it thoroughly out . Not content with the enunciation of Journal principles , 30 plainly stated and 90 obvious ; as to carry with them general consent , he adduces > vuemn , and shows from actual /« a that even sordid I cupidity has nothing to fear from the dom * of mere > justice : for the gain from the labours of those-mode- - rately worked is tar greater than from tho labours of f others who are tasked beyond their ordinary powers s of endurance . The examples he gives will have con- 1-siderablomauencein " justifying" his " princile" "

      p with those for whom they are intended-thoso em- , 1-ployers of labour who plead so strenuously for the ic last two hours , " predicting RUIN not only to to themselve s but to the State itself , if they are not al- Jlowed to exact more than the full task : and wc may ivy not unreasonably expect that they even will b * iu-. uduccd to forego opposition to such a settlement of tho- he-( inestion as shall gtre due wtotiontotliephTfflcalial powers of the worker , and enable him to daily resume me his occupation recruited and invigorated ,-bettartar able to realize n given amount a ! profit rath ten hours' i » * labour than with twelve .

      the fact is , the question of short limeis settled i » # «> # « $ P » Uh mind . There it is agreed on . It has ninrun the gauntlet-passed through all the phases that pro-propositions for Reform have to pass , before they bocoinannoj incorporated in our " glorious constitution . " Whetfheni first worked , it was laughed at—sneered at-scoucdiflcdl at—denounced as " wild , " and " visionary , " and amid " ruinous . " Its advocates were despised ,, ill iM treated , persecuted . Those who had been made Me ta feel the full effects of the heavy scourge ; these wh < wk < . yrero deformed in body through excessive toil , am . unit i who told the public of their sufferings and heavy iiry iuu

      factions , were dismissed from their employments cuts s and every means resorted to , to prevent the cryin , ryin ; i ; iniquities o ? the system from being known . TliciTliCfll the question was entertained — considered ; pre pro nounced to be worthy of attention ; and some modifnodilil cnlioji of tlie o .-J-: ? i : ' - system veiled , rukl ' iib" . .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 5, 1845, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_05071845/page/4/