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    iAugust 14,1852. THE STAR OF FREEDOM. 9

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    THE FACTORY LORDS — PROTECTION FOR THE C...

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    The Political Aspect. A New Parliament H...

    < e e will deal first with that part of the subject which tlithe most obscure . No one can tell exactl y how aniny will follow Lord Derby in his general measures Protection being given up . ) It is equally uncertain 11010 will cling to the fallen fortunes of Lord John iisassell—who will give their adhesion to Lord Palmermxm—who will favour the pretensions of Sir James irarahaui , or who will pin their faith to the politicians of

    < s s Manchester School . To attempt calculation here ( Cicins like attempting to reduce chaos to order . It is mate that the various daily papers give lists i . i which acIcIi man ' s part is set down for him ; and the sheep and , 6 : 6 goats being divided , so many are handed over to ueie ministerial , so many to the anti-ministerial party iitit unfortunately these lists only increase the obscurit y 5 i to the fact

    . Among the multiplicity of fa ... ions , it c easy making the poltics of a man a shade lighter , r a tinge darker , to class him with thi . s or thai . action * miid accordingly , while the so-called liberal journalists iiaaim a majority for Her Majesty ' s opposition , the advocates of the putters down of democracy triumphantly oioint to a numerical superiority . It is the old story of tine Chamelion over again , each seeing the aiu . ual of a iiifferent colour .

    There are , however , some indications which do seem ioo point out a leaning to the semi-Liberal or Whig iiide , which we must not overlook . Thus , the . Graham Marty—if wc may judge by the speech of Sir . fames at L " arMe—might be willing to concede the prop-ty < uiaiification , and grant the ballot : two movements which Ihe Earl of Derby would not be particularly pleased to

    % ee his own lollowers joining in ; and there would seem tto be a probability of the Whigs and the Manchester iiinen agreeing to shake hands upon the Suffrage question , and arranging to bring in a new Reform Bill , with ai £ 5 rental instead of a £ 5 rating as the qualification for the Borough Suffrage . If these possibilities , loomiing in the future , grow into facts , then an amalgamated jparty may be made up of the moderate Conservatives , ithe Whigs , and the Political Economists , sufficiently

    strong to shake down the present Administration . In that case , we might expect to see the names of Russell , Graham , and Cob'den figuring among those of Her Majesty's advisers , and look for Whiggism as the essential element in the policy of the State , flavoured by a dash of Peelism , and a few drops of Liberalism and Financial Reform . As yet , these things are as dark as the next winner of the Derby ; and it is hardly safe to

    imitate the racing prophets , by predicting a " certainty . One thing , however , is quite clear , that with no such tinkering of old pots and pans , and patching up and eking out of old ragged party garments , will the people of this country be satisfied . " Their unwillingness to sit still under the rule of the Lords will hardly lead them to give their adhesion to a mess of parties , having in it but little that savours pleasantly to popular palates . Perhaps of the two they would rather meet those who are openly opposed to them , than bear with a hollow alliance of men whose want of common principle would

    drive them to the tricks and shuffles of expediency , m order to maintain the appearance of unanimity , and to preserve their position . Stepping beyond the mere considerations of party tactics anf combinations , we come to the main character of the new Parliament itself , and that certainly is yn satisfactory enough . The people at large are little enough , disposed to view it with respect , because it is not then- choice , but the elect of a comparative few who hold in their hands the elective power of the

    nation . It is well enough to talk of " the reverence due to our rulers / ' of " giving unto Ciesar the * things which are Caesar ' s , " and of " doing our duty in that state of life to which it has pleased God to call us . We have heard non-electors told oi all those precepts , as proof positive that thev should be satisfied— -that " uch admoni

    thev should take things asthey come . S - tions might do very well for the " times when the workers did not distinguish between the dejure and the de facto , between what is and what ought to be . That day is past , and the masses must now be talked to and reasoned with after another fashion . The men with hard hands say , We will respect our rulers , but from those rulers we now ask their credentials and their authority , vy e

    want to know who made them rulers , upon what right to rule they stand , and what is their fitness for toeir calling . We do not believe it right that one should elect a ruler for other six without their consent . Vv e put the right and the fact together , and see that they do not agree , and we say if we are to respect our rulers , we must have respectable rulers , respectably ^ elected . As to giving "to Caesar the things which are Cesar's , we say yes , to that too . Let every man have his own . Show us what is Cssar ' s , and Cassar may forthwith

    appropriate it . We should like to see that doctrine widely and practically applied . But our rights to be well ruled , and to judge when we are well ruled , and to choose the men who shall well rule us , are our rights , and we would ask fear "to do unto others as he would

    The Political Aspect. A New Parliament H...

    that others should do unto him , " that is , to give them their own . We are also willing to do our duty in any state of life to which it has pleased " God to call us , " but we want to be quite sure that it is not the Devil who has called us where we find ourselves . Yes , gentlemen , the Devil , in the shape of men ' s lusts , and ambition , class-pride , and exclusiveness , hope of power , and desire of gain . For our part , we think that by far the most likely , that dark potentate , being the prince of this world .

    The fact is , we must not have any talk of duty and obedience , willingly rendered to this or any other parliament , or this or any other state of things , because they are . That is a scrap of the Babel of the old world of politics . Uncouth political gibberish to those who think . We want quite other reasons than that . We ask for ability , integrity , and usefulness—for a comprehension of the progress of the world and its people—for wise laws to help them forward , without respect to old sheep-skin formalities , and parchment precedents , even without much regard to the strict rule of thumb , called political economy . We do not choose to be hindered bvbad

    statutes , or to be let alone by " devil take the hindermost" folk—to be made slaves by Toryism , or serfs by circumstances which we are prevented from controlling . We ask for guidance on to real freedom . How far the new Parliament is likely to comply with that demand we may judge . Materials for forming an opinion about that are afforded by our experience of what the last Parliament was . Its successor is a child of the same stock—an

    hereditary transmitter of the imbecility of class rule . Its predecessor was powerless . Split up , divided , iarriug , bickering , contesting , it could do nothing worth doing well . It could not support a Government , either Whig , Tory , or Radical . It could not pass measures except by sufferance . It had no real political life , and it felt it , and all it did at last was merely to hurry out its own wretched existence . It looked to itself like the

    ghost of a dead fact , and was anxious to retreat to the shades before more light dawned upon it . It fled through the last session as though from the wrath to come . That lesnicv it left to its heir . It felt that it was not only thoroughly rotten itself , but the product of a rotten system . It , and the source from which it sprung , had stagnated into decay . In what essential respect is this Parliament different' ? In none that we can perceive . There are a few new and good men , but not sufficient to leaven the mass . Just as the clown at

    Christmas informs us " tlere we are again ! " and brings with him pantaloon and harlequin , and all the shifts , changes , and juggling of the pantomime , so the old remembered faces will announce themselves , and drag behind them all the old party dodges . What can they do more than they did before 1 An old fable tells

    us of a giant who , when overthrown , gained new strength , and rose refreshed from the touch of his mother earth . If senators were like him , we might have some hope , but they do not get any stronger by going down to the parent soil of the constituency . The same men , the same factions , the same want of principle , the same absence of confidence in the people . What hope do they afford ? None !

    What must we do then ? We must hi these people fi ght it out , hoping that they may realize the fable of the Kilkenny cats . We must take what we can get from the contests , but in the meantime , standing upon principle , holding fast to right , putting forward Universal Suffrage , and the Old Charter in its entirety , we must endeavour to rouse public opinion , and organize the people for the coming struggle . It would seem that the duration of this galvanized imitation of a legislaturemust be short . Its own want of the elements of life-like vitality forebodes that ; but even before its death happens , such a party may be gathered as to leave in no doubt what is the will of the people , to exercise a vast influence over the next election , and to pave the way for the final triumph of the Cause of the Many , f

    Iaugust 14,1852. The Star Of Freedom. 9

    iAugust 14 , 1852 . THE STAR OF FREEDOM . 9

    The Factory Lords — Protection For The C...

    THE FACTORY LORDS — PROTECTION FOR THE CAPITALIST — PUNISHMENT FOR THE LABOURER , Absolute freedom for the capitalist and for the labourer is the professed aim of those writers and orators of the Manchester school who are never weary of denouncing the selfishness of landlords and the tyranny of aristocrats . Those of our readers who have the misfortune to live under the paternal rule of the millocracy will comprehend the utter hollowness and

    falsity of these brawling Liberals . The workers of Yorkshire and Lancashire rightly estimate the patriots who , like John Bright , would liberally pull clown every description of tyranny save their own , The o-ross and systematic violation of the Factories Act is sufficient to p rove that the real aim of the commercial aristocrats is to make themselves lords-paramount of

    The Factory Lords — Protection For The C...

    this country , and to reduce the working classes to the condition of vilest slaves . The widely-organized conspiracy to render the Factories Act a dead letter—a conspiracy in which the lawbreakers are supported by the local magistracy—has at length aroused a spirit of resistance which bids fair to revive the Ten-Hours Bill agitation , and again convulse the factory districts with the strife of contending powers—the one formidable in

    numbers , the other all but omni potent thromrh the force of wealth and legislatorial and magisterial " influence . Once again " The Ten-Hours '' Bill "—to be enforced by restriction on the moving poioer—is the battle-cry of gathering multitudes . ' May the new agitation , wisely and honestly conducted , result in complete and lasting victory ! " To the workers , in their contest for Right , we offer the use of our columns , and pledge to them our most earnest and heartv aid .

    A remarkable illustration of Free-trade liberalism has this week been presented to the public , through the medium of the Assize Court at Gloucester . On Tuesday last a cloth-weaver named Peter Smith , " a wrv respectable , intelligent-looking man , " was arram-ned before Mr . Justice Williams , charged with having cut before Mr . Justice Williams , charged with having cut

    certain cords belonging to a loom prepared for weavingwoollen cloth , the property of one William Flucic , of Stroud . It appeared from the evidence that the defendant is a very clem * weaver of Venetian cloth—the finest sort of fancy work . The prosecutor , who in June last stood towards Smith in the relation of employer , had charged him with having badly woven a piece of cloth . Upon this , or shortly afterwards , Smith left Fluck ' s employment , and on leaving cut the thrum

    and half a dozen cords of his loom , and slackened the rest . This was his offence . In his behalf it was urged that the prosecutor was actuated by political mali gnity , lie having solicited the defendant to vote for the Free-trade candidate , which Smith declined doing ; and it was only after Smith had so declined that Pluck discovered him to be a bad weaver ! It was also explained that the defendent cut the strings which constituted the thrum merely as a matter of

    selfprotection , e v ery skilled workman having his own mode of tying the thrum , and Smith ' s peculiar mode being the secret hy which ho maintained his own superiority as a workman . That secret was , in fact , the " capital" of Peter Smith , but which would have heen lost to him had he left the loom , as he had prepared it , to the hands of a new workman . At the

    first glance it may appear selfish on the part of Smith to desire to keep his secret to himself . But " every man for himself and devil take the rest" is the supreme law of the competitive world . It is well known with what jealousy every manufacturer guards the secret of any superiority of production he mnj be possessed oi ) and that possession the law very properly protects . But , if the capitalist ' s secret is of value to him , how much more valuable to the worker must bo his secret ,

    enabling him to command , not riches certainly , but better remuneration than the mass of his ill-requited fellow-workers . So must have thought a number of the jury , for at first the majority evidently inclined towards a verdict of acquittal ; ultimatel y , however , a verdict , was returned of guilty , and the defendant , after being lectured by the judge , who , further , expatiated on the necessity of protecting masters was sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour !

    I his case strikingly evidences the tyrannical character of the sham Liberals of the Manchester school . Well mi ght the counsel for the defendant declare that " the prosecution ought to be scouted with indignation , as an outrage upon the principle of freedom of election , and upon the still more important and sacred princi ple

    of the right of every man to live by honest labour , and to keep to himself , so long as he pleased , the secret of his own superiority and excellence as a workman . " Mr . Cooke added : — " Though the manxfactuven tallied so much about freedom , of trade , they took very good care to allow no freedom of labour , so far as they and their slaves ¦ mere concerned : and allowed freedom and their slaves were concerned- and allowed freedom

    , neither of thought nor of labour to those who had the misfortune to be dependent on them for employment : '' This case also illustrates the unrighteous character of our judicial system . The prejudices of the judge were avowedly with the master class . A jury composed of Smith ' s " peers" would certainl y have acquitted him . Even the middle-class jurors in this instance leaned to the side of justice rather than law j they , nevertheless , round the defendant guilty . Probably they shrunk f rom contesting the " right divine " of sovreign capital .

    And the law itself ? We have yet to tell that whereas Smith was merci f ll y sentenced to four months' imprisonment , he might have been transported for li fe , or he might have been imprisoned for any term not exceeding four years , and once , twice , or thrice publicly or privately whipped ! Lei working men reflect—and act . Let them first

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 14, 1852, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_14081852/page/9/