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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th October 1846, Edition 2 of 3, Page 4

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    • .Kow ready, Prii-a One Shilling. THK SECOND EDIT10S OF
    • K0TICE TO AGENTS.
    • THE NOETHEM STAR SATPKDAY, OCTOBER 17. 1846.
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      I, 4 __ The Northern Star. : , Octobeu L...

      i , 4 __ THE NORTHERN STAR . : , Octobeu l ,, 1840 .

      .Kow Ready, Prii-A One Shilling. Thk Second Edit10s Of

      . Kow ready , Prii-a One Shilling . THK SECOND EDIT 10 S OF

      Ad00409

      MY LIFE , OR OUR SOCIAL STATE , Part I . a Poem , by ERNEST JOi'ES , Uarristcr at Law . "Wc hope the author will be encouraged bv tha public to continue ! us memoirs LUtrart / Gazette , ' Au uuttpiivfii-ally strange and eventful bistorv _ Os « i-inir inits quality . —Xerninq HiraUl , ' " -wnw Xady Ca « -leoi > and her Lord are portraits true as am that Lawmire ever pamttd . Beautiful i „ description tender native a * d stating in the aftections of the heart , the an hor s pen is not without a turn for satire .-Naval ana jiilitaTy Gazette . It bear ? forcibly and pu-ueutly on the exisiins state Of society , its vices , its follies , and its crimes .-Co . ir / Journal . Tu-bBshea dt iir . > : ewby , 72 , Jloitimer-strect , Caveu-• ish-stjuare- Orders received hy all bookseller ? . In the Press and shortly will be published , MI LIFE , Pakt II . Bv the same Author

      Ad00410

      "THE GliEAT HOOT OF ALL OUR NATIONAL EVILS . " This d . iy , second edition , price reduced to 5 s : bouad in cloth ., THE ARISTOCRACY OF ENGLAND : a History for the People . By Jons Haxpskx . jun . " Their history is one coiitb-ued series ' of spoliations committed ou tlie people from the time of the Gorman Conquest downwards , : ; nd well is that history told in tlie work before us . "—J ? ri < j 5 ? . jn Herald . IVe conscientiously pronounce this to be one of the best works everUsued from tlie press . Since ' INine ' s Rights of . Man' there has not appeared so formidable an assailer of the aristocratic principle : and ' siuee the publication of

      Ad00411

      IMPORTANT TO PHOTOGRAPHISTS . AN appPcation was made on the 22 nd September , to the Tiee-Ciianetllor of England , by Mr . Beard ( who , acting under a most extraorduiy delusion , considers Mniseif the sole j & ienUe of the riiotographu- process P to restrain SIR . ESSKTtKr , of I , Temple-street , and H $ , Tieei-streer , from taking I ' aotygr . iphic Portraits , which lie does by a process entirely dift ' ere » t from and very superior toJlr . JJear « S > . aud as one-half the charge . Jfis Honour refused the applicat on in tolo . No license requhvd t >> pras-t iee this process , which is taught by Jllr . Xgertwi iu a i ' eiv lessons at a moderate charge-Ali lheApprr . ii'J-. Chemicals . Jtc . fobs had as usual at las I' -.-pot , i , T \ 2 iK >! e-sirect , V , iiitcfriars .

      Ad00412

      LITHOGRAPHIC ENGRAVINGS e ? THE BUNCOMBE TESTIMONIAL . MAT still lie Tiail at the Office of Messrs . 3 TGow . * aud f » ., H . Great Windmill Street Ilajmarket London : thr .-ngh any ivspei-iable bookseller in town 01 country * ; or at any of the agents of the Northern Sisr . The Vi -. jri-xivhic is on a large scale , is executed in the inost finished sty ' e , is jisie ' v printed on tinted pai »; r . and gives a imiiuie iiescriptktif of the Testimonial , and has the luscnptiyi ! . if .. » Vc . e ; :- » T . tvcd up » n it . PRICE FOCRPENCE .

      Ad00413

      A GOOD FIT WAltRA > . TED . 1 TU 5 DELL AND CO ., Tailors , are now niacins up i . \ J coinpM-e ? ai'' -jf Superfine Black , any size , for £ j : Superfine "> Vesi of England Black , £ 0 10 s . ; and the very brst Superfine Saxony , £ 5 , warranted not to spot or clinn ^ e colour . Juvenile S-up ^ rline Cloth Suits , 2 is . ; Liveries equally cheap—at the Great Western Emporium . Kos . l anil ' . Osiord-strest , London , ; the noted house for food blatl ; cloths , an-3 psteat made trousers . Gentlemen can ch . 'os :. ' the colour and quality of cloth from the latest stork inlocdon . The ¦* . t of cutting taught .

      Ad00414

      12 STM 1 TA 5 T 10 lOTISG iSD HEAILTUl MES . UNITED PATRIARCHS BENEFIT SOCIETY . Patron : T . S . DDSCoMitE , Esq ., 31 . P . London Society House : —Round Tarjle Tavern , St . . Marim ' s Court , Leicester Square . Jons Cji . ? , Treasurer . X-jnilon Office : —IS , Tottenham Court , New Rca < L St . Pauci-as . rusii-L WitiiAM Rcmr , General Secretary . An opportunity is offered for a short time to Healthy lien , Huntr forty-Five years of age , to become member ? of this institation . It is Enrolle-1 . and empowered by Act ef Parliament to have Agents , Medical Alu-iiduits , Branches , and Rraneh Committees , with other important privileges , and to extui-I over the Unii- d Kiugcom .

      Ad00415

      TO TAILORS . LONDON and PARIS FASHIONS FOR AUTUMN A . \ " l > WINTER , I 34 C-47 . Bv READ and Co ., 12 , llart ^ irect , Sloonishury square , London ; And G . Peig r , ilulywcll-strect , Strand : May be had of ail booksellers , wheresoever residing . SOW » EiI >* , By approbation of he ,- Majesty Qu & tn Victoria , ant " his Ro yal Highness Pi iac . Albert , a splendid tu hit

      Ad00416

      CHARTIST POEMS , BY ERNEST JONES . Price Three Pence . The wish having been expressed in several quarters for the author to publish in a collected form his Poems that have appeared in the Northern Star , he begs to announce that a revised and corrected selection under the above title is now ready to be issued . A fine edition , printed on thicker paper , and in an elegant binding , will presently be published at Gd . Agents arc requested to send their orders to the author or to Mr . AVliecler , at the office of tlie N . C . A ., 83 , Dean Street , Soho , London , or to M'Gowan & Co ., Printers , 1 G . Great Windmill Street , naymarkct . London .

      K0tice To Agents.

      K 0 TICE TO AGENTS .

      All Agents Who Have Had Their Accounts T...

      All agents who have had their accounts transmitted , and do not forward the amount forthwith , will be handed over , without distinction , to Olir solicitor . We will not be fooled by the pretext that the poverty of the people obliges agents to give them credit . We don ' t believe it : it is false , and if they did , they must not speculate upon our property . The people all pay for their papers , and we must be paid .

      Malcolm M'Gregor. In Our First Page Will...

      MALCOLM M'GREGOR . In our first page will be f ' oiiml No . 1 , of the narrative of Malcolm Ai'Gregor , a Scotch traveller , now on a tour in Ireland , to be continued in each successive nuiiibcr of the Star , until the English public shall be put in possession of a familiar , true , and unadorned , history of Ireland and the Irish , and from which we pledge ourselves they will gain more sound , vtluable , and interesting information than from the Times Commissioner , the Devon commission , and all the Commissioners and Commissions and writers that liavc ever volunteered to write Ireland ' s history , to suit the taste of ibuir eniplovors .

      The Noethem Star Satpkday, October 17. 1846.

      THE NOETHEM STAR SATPKDAY , OCTOBER 17 . 1846 .

      \ "The Nation" And "The Ciiartek." J " W...

      \ " THE NATION" AND " THE CIIARTEK . " j " We have received a printed address from tin j Chartist's vf England to the Irish people , with a re fjue . it that we should insert it in the " Nathm ' We desire no fraternisation between the Iris ) people and the Chartists—not on account of tin bugbear of physical force ? but simply liecaust some of their fire points are to vx an alomhudhn and the whole spirit and tone of their proceedings though ivell enough for England , are so essentiall y English that their adoption in Ireland would luiihet be probable nor at all desirable . Between us- ana them therein a gulf fixed ,- we fosire not to bfdlt jt ft over , but to make it wider and deeper " Frvm the " Nation" of Jug . 15 , 184 < y . . SUMMARY OP ABOMINATIONS . GOVERNMENT . Br Government is meant the delegation of powe ~ tothe chosen few of that party-which-a majority of the electoral body shall have selected nuder the representative system as most fitto he entrusted with the management of state ainilrsj and with the appointment of the- necessary machinery for the adjustment of domestic regulations and foreign arrangements ; and , therefore , as-all persons of every decree—but more especially the-weak-and impotent —have an interest in those several raatiers , it becomes the paramount duty of all to-struggle for a participation in the selection of the Government .

      Upon the Government for tho- time being devolves the responsibility of enacting laws , as with it rests the power of doing so , from its command of that majority of whose will it is the executive . The ministers are the government ; and the executive , whether elective or hereditary , or howsoever appointed , is their servant , bound to affirm their acts ; and , although possessing a negative power of refusal , yet seldom , if ever , daring to use it . Indeed , the executive may he justlycompared to a hangman , whose only duty is to obey . When the Government of a country possesses such vast and irresistible power , ITS greatest danger , as well as the greatest danger to the state ,

      consists in the limitation of its appointment to a class or section , who may have interests antagonistic to those of the commonwealth , while ITS greatest safely , and the general welfare of all , consists in its resjionsibilily to all , universal approval , or , at least , the sanction of the majority upholding it , against sectional dissatisfaction and factious complaint . Under such a system the laws would he yielding to mercy and stern against oppression , with an executive exacting an implicit obedience to their mild authority . Upon the other hand , when Government is a mere emanation from the capricious will of tlie powerful few , it becomes an object of distrust , contempt , and resistance to the many , who recognise in their rulers a surrender of mind to the fascinations

      of patronage—the barter of national justice and universal right to class necessity . The many struggles that have disturbed the peace of this country from the period of Harry ' s plunder of the poor down to the MURDER OF THE IRISH WHO ASKED FOR LABOUR , TO BUY FOOD * IN DUNGARYAN , have been one and all consequences of the responsibility of Government being confined to that class who have the power of making and unmaking it . Hence , for centuries the "Whigs , as well as the Tories , were the slavish Government of a landed aristocracy , in whose hands was nlaced

      the power of appointment ; and since manufactures became ths active competitors of sluggish agriculture , that class has now assumed the ascendant ; and thus it matters not whether the Government is "Whig or Tory , Peel and Russell must equally bend to the new control . The Reform Bill was the last ereat struggle for the transfer of irresponsible power from the few to tb ? many ; but so great was the obstructive influence of the laud party in the upper House , that the Commons were compelled to bailer the principle of the measure to insure the acquiescence of the Lords , by the enfranchisement of 108 , 000 of their agricultural slaves , or more than 25 ncr cent , of the whole rural constituency ; a

      circumstance which emboldened Peel to fight the battle of resuscitation in the Registration Courts , anil the result of which was the anomaly of a majority of ninety-three Tories in the eighth year of Reform , a much larger majority than Mr . Pitt could command in the rampant days of corruption and boroughinongering . ltnssell , Lord Palmerston , and Sir Henry Parnell , very speedily discovered the effects of the Reform Bill upon the rural constituencies , in their unceremonious ejectment by their old friends , and the necessity of taking refuge in small boroughs . The effect—the inevitable effect—of this reliance of Government upon class approval is the source of the master

      grievance—CLASS LEGISLATION ; and it is , therefore , for the entire , not -the partial , destruction of this grievance , that the NOW weak and impotent contend—not weak and impotent in numbers , skill , and industry , but weak and impotent in resistance to class-made law ; too weak and impotent to resist the most unjust or tyrannical exercise of the law , but sufficiently strong and powerful to change the source of law from the narrow channel of class caprice to the boundless ocean of universal progressive thought . The waste of the popular strength in mere pigmy assaults upon the

      breastworks of corruption has been the great , and indeed unpardonable error , of most popular leaders ; they have contended locally and sectionally against laws which judges have told them MUST BE OBEYED , HOWEVER HARSH , while the same strength that has been vainly spent in these sectional crusades , if wisely directed against the system from which the grievances emanate , would have been irresistible and long since triumphant , The Reform Government being the bond-slave of the manufacturing interest , and slill hound by the Chandos £ 50 tenant-at-will clause to the landed aristocracy , very speedily disco-

      \ "The Nation" And "The Ciiartek." J " W...

      vered the impossibility of serving two masters , and hence arose the anomalous necessity of satisfying the double cravings of represented land and machinery by the plunder of unrepresented labour and parings from the clerical board . The English people were sacrificed to the Malthusian policy , which would secure cheap labour for the manufacturer , and diminished poor rates for the landlord and his serfs , and in each the unrepresented poor were sacrificed to the represented rich ; but , as we foretold , the monopolists are now compelled to disgorge , when the policy of their Government has subjected fhcir properties

      to Hie uascrupNlous re-assumption of the famishing sufferers . We have said that the greatest , danger to the state , consists in the limitation of the appointment of . ts government to a class or section , who may have in-• crests antagonistic to those of the commonwealth . And as the two rival interests which are now placed in deadly antagonism are machinery worked by unbounded capital and credit , and protected b y its owners government , and laws ; and unrepresented labour , limited by the laws of competion , capricious speculation , and uncertain demand , the forthcoming

      struggle should be solely confined to the realization of such a representation , if not a government , as wili make labour a dangerous rival , and ultimately a successful competitor for representation and a representative government . We have great confidence in the machinery of trades unions for the regulation of trade affairs , bnt we have no confidence whatever in those who would urge them as a substitute for governmental protection ; but on the contrary , we have ever , and ever shall , look upon such men as the O'CONNELLS OF LABOUR , who would preserve Wrong and misrule ,, that a few mav fatten upon tho

      promise of redress . Landlords , merchants ,-and manufacturers , although protected by their own government- nevertheless see the necessity of associations in the arrangement of their several class affairs , and upon the same principle we have contended for the necessity of Trades' Unions ,- even with a Chartist government , while in the present struggle for the achievement- of labour ' s right we brand the limitation of their" exertions to the mere arrangement of trade affairs ,-as treachery , treason , and fraud , of the blackest die—treachery , treason , and fraud , the more vile and damning , becanac it entails the

      perpetuation of labour's wrong for the benefit of labour ' s idle deceivers . And , truth to say , we shouldwish to see the vrhole machinery of Trades' Unionsconducted and managed hy men who worked by day , and met , IN TUSS , by night , to-concoct the means of speedily healing the fresh wounds- and blisters from recent toil . IMie idea cf telling , sla-ves whose fetters are forged : n the political fire , that they must steer clear of politics-, is digusting in the extreme ,-and 1 only reminds -jstof the new version of moral force , which says , ' '' stay not the hand that is raised tb slied vour blood , but console vourself with the

      Christian revenge of-assuring the assassin that he is WRONG , VERY WRONG . " When- did : remonstrance ever stay the-tyrant ' s vengeance , or when will suppliant labour : ever wrench the grasp of capital from labour ' s neok , or humble-its * proud-oppressor ; or when will Trades' Unions-ever secure for labour that protection which representation end a- representative government alone can give . T-iie charm of government should consist in the equality of the laws , and-the assuranceof obedience from respect rather tha : r-coercion ; a blessing . which , however , can onlv spring-from so Iamej-so just , and

      sc-uiitrammelled a representation of the whole people as -will make disobedience of laws a national insult , insiead'of meritorious daring ; that will secure- a just punishment instead , of vindictive revenge for ths -offender , and that will leave the minority of malcontents so small that their opposition will be contemptible , because the nation's will , would be backed-by the strong executive of national strength .. Much a better system than that by which the caprice of faction is enabled to outlaw a nation ,. and would , lead-to a more strong , respectable , respected and : moral government lhaivihe present tool of faction , which lives upon popular-licentiousness aud dissipation , and should bend or fall before a . virtuous , moral and reformed mind .. We believe that even in

      Jlusaell there is more of good than of- evil , and therefore , even in justice to him and those of his class- similarly situated , we call upon the whole peophi from the Land's -Slid to John O'Gvoat ' s , to apply the magic wand of virtue to the human mind , to -. levclope the good , in all , that evil . may be subdued , and thus establish such a government as may ye ^ even yet , make England the envy , of die world and the admiration of surrounding nations . This can only be accomplished by the PEOPLE'S CHARTER , and thersforc do we now appeal to the virtuous and strong to seize the hour of faction ' s weakness to secure for labour a RESTING-PLACE , for the monarch a THRONE , for the Government RESPECT , for the-kws OBEDIENCE , and for the whole people PROTECTION by the enactment of

      THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER A Charter strong in its entirety ,, hut incomplete if shorn of any one of those points- which the Nation has characteri & hed as abominations . And now , having developed and analysed the several points of the People ' s Charier , and having shown the inevitable necessity of such a government as can emanate from its enactment alone , we- call upon the Nation to convince-us of our error in supporting it ,. or to retract its , error in having denounced it .

      — .*¦ •*¦***—Rr^S*-*:. ^G^ .-.—' -^^Y^-—...

      — . *¦ •*¦***—rr ^ s * - * :. ^ g ^ .-. — ' - ^^ y ^ - —¦ - — " — . FAMINE . Whan the grim monster FAMINE stalks through the land , the Peer feels COMPASSION FOR HIS TITLE , the landlord for his DOMAIN , the mciiey lord for his TREASURE , anil the Minister for his RESPONSIBILITY , but none really feel sympathy for the sufferers . Hunger is the great leveller of distinction , and in its progress stays not at the law ' s bidding or at authority ' s command . The bullet of the soldier mav mow down whole

      ranks of the enemy , but every gap is speedily filled up by an unconquerable reserve , until a thinned population shall no longer press too hardly upon the remnant of subsistence allowed to the industrious from tlie store-bouse of their own produce , and then vengeance is satisfied with its triumph . How often have we told the working classes that , however laws may free the wholesale article from restriction , yet the poor consumer would fail to recognize his share of the change in the retail article , when checquercd with all tbe profits of speculation and risk . Ten shillings increase in a

      quarter of wheat cannot be arithmetically distributed upon its produce in quartern loaves , and as all to the baker will secure his profit upon the rise , the retail art cle becomes nearly double in value , or , at least , in price , when placed on the consumers board . Thus we find that , however the government of a class may sincerely desire the improvement and protection of the people , that , yet , the power of class will absorb to its own kindly use all the proposed relief . When gaunt hunger is fast threatening the Irish people with extermination , and when the enemv is weekly nearing our own door ,

      wc cannot bring our minds to bear upon any of the minor grievances which affect society . We may abuse the government , which , hy the acceptance of power , incurs all the responsibility and dangers consequent upon the calamity , but abuse of the government will not feed the hungry or arrest the destroyer's march . It becomes the duly of every man of common feeling and humanity to aid by suggestions , even the most ridiculous if they are the solemn convictions of reason , in the hope that out of a multiplicity of advice , wholesome action may spring . We have done our share , and we modestly but proudly assert more than any living man . to

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      provide against thtf possibility of famine , while we have attached more dignity to the Chartist cause than the allegation that its advocate * C 0 nsist of the desperate , the needy , and the idle . Chartism has been denominated "A hungry howl '' , and , truth to say , the apathy of the labouring classes ill seasons of prosperity in part sanctions the charge ; but ' yet we cannot war with a nation even iu error , if error

      bespeaks the national character . We ascribe error to the law ' s oppression , or , as the result of misplaced confidence in the continuance of delusive and capricious , and only partial prosperity . If rulers undertake the responsibility of governing , and surrender the calm of private life for the pomp of office , they are morally , socially , legally , and equitably bound to administer the whole national property for national purposes . We shall not now clog our

      observations with the general principle of " equitable destitution , " but we aver that a contingency like the present demands a prompt and instantaneous relaxation of all the ordinary rules of government , and imperatively calls for a religious and moral , rather than a strictly legal and constitutional administration of the national wealth . The English will not tamely submit to be butchered in the streets for the crinw of hunger , and as the universal epidemic is fast approaching to THEIR doors , we ask in time , whether a seasonable surrender of a portion of the existing wealth , or the loss of all , is preferable . Let it be borne in mind that a kindly disposition to meet the calamity will

      considerably augment the scanty store , or , at least , make it go much farther than if it is capriciously divided or recklessly destroyed by a starving people . Famine , when partial , is not unfvequently i ncreased by tlie improvident consumption , destruction , and waste of those who help themselves in the general scramble , and to avert this calamity , as well as to insure some safe estimate % which the worst may be discovered and the most may he made of the present amount of provisions , we would strongly urge upon the government the propriety of taking stock of every man ' s store of food , and , in defiance of the laws of political economy , to assess the price at which it should be sold and the mode of sale , assigning to each his- rightful shave , nevthcr

      committing waste noi' sanctioning any improvident use This , by parochial valuation , could be done in a- week ; in another weak government could be in possession of the amount , and could calculate tb 9 necessity and , sljould fecble'resistancc be'offered , the people would cheerfully act as-the " posse wmitatus " to aid-government in this truly useful commission . It is-w-e-rse than childish follv to undertake the farce

      of the- alow process-of ' baronial assessnient . -or of talking just now to afatnishing ; people of next season ' s prospects ; which in truth ; .. increase in gloomy anticipations . Food . eMisting food ,, is the thing wanted , is the thing existing , is-the thing , visible and convertible into immediate relief , and a soant supply may be much augmented in amount , if , by some process , the starving can-be assured that THIS is NECESSARY , and-that AIL ABOVE ' - HIM PARTICIPATE . IN

      TUB-CALAMITY ; but tbe producer will not tamely consent to be the only sufferer , while the idler increases his vreallh b y his- necessity and want . A thorough knowledge of the ulterior results , as well . as the immediate consequences of ths failure of the potatoe crop , is indispensable to a fair adjustment of the question ; - ami as no portion of' tlie press lias handled the subject otherwise than as an immediate and pressing necessity , to be met by political device or the laws of political economy , we shall lay bare the whole significance , import , and importance of the potatoe failure . There are main * wiseacres who

      confine their estimate of lossto the mere value of the lost commodity , without note or comment upon the collateral contingencies . We have laboured incessantly to-draw the distinction between-PRODUCTIVE AND NGN-PKODUSTIVE LABOUR . We have shown that the erection of huge mansions and colossal railway stations , of palaces-anilgaols , and poor houscs , and what are called-public works . are UNPRODUCTIVE . Labour—while the rudest cultivation of the soil is P RODUCTIVE labour ,, because the husbandman can live upon his own . produce while he is reproducing ; , but not so with the-operative ,

      me-chanic ) . artificer ,, or artizan engaged , iiu unproductive work . Wo do not mean to say that all unproductive labour . - is . useless * labour , far from it ; . but we do mean to say ,. that the most productive ) useful , necessary , and indispensable ,. the means of providing sustenance , should not bo the least encouragc-tUnd protected . The Irish Landlords , appear to- have learnt this lesson tardily , as we find they are now petitioning to have the pauper labour expended upon the cultivation of the soil , instead of being foolishly lavished upon " unproductive" public works . We-shall now furnishan illustration so plain and simple- of the consequences of the failure of the potatoe- crop , that neither Editor .

      minister , or political economist can refute-or deny , j : Wc have frequently reminded the working classes of the simple fact , that they must sell their labour before they can buy food at any price . This then is the present Irish difficulty . The food upon- which ths Irish usually live is gone , aud its failure renders , it impossible for them to procure a substitute at any price . The usual operations in this particular-season of the year , in those districts where distress has become most imminent and appalling , are diggiii " potatoes , and thrashing a sufficiency of corn to pay the Michaelmas rents , and the partial collecting of

      manure for the ensuing season ' s , crop . Now all these resources are closdd , there are no potatoes to dig , and the farmers gloating over the famine , and prospect of a rise wont thrash ; but prefer lugging out some of the OLD GUINEAS , of which , as Lord Stanley told their Lordships , there is still an inconceivable quantity in Ireland , while the two . successive years failure of the national crop , and manure being solely ap plied to that crop as a preparation for wheat , has so paralysed the agriculturist , as to render all preparation for its further growth so much labour lost . In passing , we may observe , that hot one part in overv

      hundred of the manure made m the south of Ireland , where distress principally prevails , is applied to any crop save potatoes . A potatoe crop is always the preparation for wheat . There is no such thing known as your " clover lay , " your fallow , or your turnip crop . Having said so much , we now proceed to our sum of the loss contingent upon the potatoe failure . In the most distressed counties one seventh of every farm is invariably under potatoes ; that is , a farmer renting seventy acres will have ten ] acres of potatoes ; an acre of potatoes requires thirty men to dig them , and fifteen

      women or boys to pick them . We are informed that at least two-thirds of the crop has been ploughed lip , or will he allowed to rot in the ground . It would require three hundred men to dig and a hundred and fifty women and boys to pick ten acres of potatoes , and allowing two-thirds to be left mulug we find that two hundred men , or two-thirds of the required number , and one hundred women and boys , are deprived of this source of employment upon every seventy acres of ground ; that is , of COUl'SD , two hundred men and one hundred women aud govs lose one day ' s employment upon every seventy acres , or about twelve individuals lose a month ' s

      employment . If , then , we estimate the loss sq low as six hundred thousand acres , we find that twenty-seven millions of people have been thrown out of employment for a day , or ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-HVE . THOUSAND FOR A MONTH ; now , in ordinary years , this would not be so material a grievance , inasmuch as nineteen in every twenty Irish labourers grow a sufficient quantity of potatoes TO PUT THEM OVER CHRISTMAS , till the spring work begins . This calamity cannot , therefore , be estimated by any arithmetical rule , the result is PERFECT STA - VATION . Add to this the fact that the farmers

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      will not thresh , another of the usual operations at this season , and the further calamity that . they will not go to any expense In making manure , which means the collecting of old earth and bog stuff to put in the farm yard and up to every door and window of the house , and the still "greater calamity the stoppage of the usual credit when a partial failure only occurs , and the reader has a simple sum of the calamity , present and future , of the potato failure . In those districts where the system of renting " con acres" prevails , the calamity will be still worse , as there the tenant of the mere potato

      crop will not even dig two-thirds , or any portion , lest he should be charged rent for the whole The amount of wages thus lost to the people is as nothing in comparison with the value of money , but becomes incalculable in value as well as considerably increased in loss , when the increased price of provisions and the impossibility of procuring any sum to purchase them , is estimated . When the potatoes fail in Ireland , the people have no market for their labour , and they are unaccustomed to live from hand to mouth . We asserted last year that the full effect of the failure could not then be

      estimated , while we now caution the government against the folly of presuming that national habits and national customs can be changed by any jerking process , and that a whole nation , however susceptible of that pliancy which may be occasionally turned to the most opposing policy , while living upon potatoes and hope , can be as easily reconciled to starvation and despair . The Repeal of the Union can be kept within the bounds of individual cunning and caprice , aud will be kept alive by hope ; but hunger knows no such capricious limits , and will break through stone walls , and the most stringent acts of

      Parliament by which power can hope to fence its possessions . Let the Government , then , understand in time that it has as yet but seen that miniature , of which next season will present the monster painting of a starving nation , and that its only safe rem * dy is in productive labour , sweetened , encouraged and increased by the assurance and guarantee that the husbandman shall be the first partaker of the fruits of his own industry , and secured in possession of the land upon which he shall expend it , beyond thepower of tyrants or class-made Jaws to eject him . The land is God ' s gift to man , his existence is his title-deed , his strength is his capital , his industry distinguishes him among his fellows . The land

      furnishes everything that man | lives upon and lives In , wears and sleeps upon and exchanges , its loss has made him a slave , its possession alone can make him a FREEMAN , and therefore what we counsel i-S ) an immediate a-nd impartial assessment of the amount of food in the country , with a view to its bsc"aud necessary application to a pressing demand , and-the restoration of the land to its Creator's original purposes , to serve man ' s necessities instead of his- tyrant's cupidity and lust . Let speculation , wait upon surplus after an abundance for all ,-and ,, in the-namc of justice , let us recognise our country ' s greatness in individual happiness instead of mercantile speculation *

      At present distress would appear limited to the south and west of Ireland ; and yet , those who- undertake- the management of thai eountrry ' s affairs , and the-press which enli g htens them , are ignorant of the reasons why the people of those parts should be first affected by the national calamity . Upon several previous occasions we have described the peculiar habits , manners-, customs , and mode of life of the several provinces . We have explained that while the people of Connaught and Munster for the most part ,. if not wholly ,. live upon potato diet ,, that those of Ulster and Leinster live upon oaten cake ,

      stir-about , bacon , eggs ,, milk , and butter . Again , Leinsterand . Ulster being . thinly populated , as compared with Connaught and Minister , the poor of the two latter provinces flock to the two former in droves , to reap the harvest and di g the potatoes . The Galway , Roscommon , Cork ,. Kerry , and Limerick poor especially , migrate to the interior or midland counties , to perform these works . That channel is now closed—and hence we find Skibbereen , Clonak-iltry , Youghal , Galway , and those very remote districts . against whose poor this source of living is closed ,. have become the scenes of- the most appalling

      distress , lo meet such a calamity as this , the Government obeys the economic dictates of the Morning Chronicle , by raising the- price of food , lest speculators in famine should be'baulked of a ; portion of their plunder ! . while its new ally ,, the Times , in . vokas the religious aid of the " SURPLICED RUFFIANS " whose mission , authority , and power , the trembling sycophant now recognises and acknowledges ; while it has been wont to assribe every national want and grievance to that source to which U now submissively prays for protection * We , too , trust , that the shepherd will exercise hjs influence to

      protect his hock from the ruthless hand of tbe assassin ; but , we also trust that he will fulfil bis holy calling , which the Times now acknowledges , by teaching the people that their suffering is the dispensation of class-made laws , and has been increased 13 } per cent , by a class-made government , in deference to the laws of political economy , which are the devil's edicts , and not God ' s ordinances .. We trust that the Catholic priesthood of Ireland , will make the distinction between God ' s dispensation and man ' s monopoly , and that they will speak to the

      people thus— " Behold , my children , the land which the Lord your God has given you , see its produce gathered , harvested , granaried , stacked , and stored , avid fenced in by the laws of man , and withheld from the kindly uses to which the Great Giver hath assigned it . Get the land , my children , and fence it with an equality of power , live upon it , cultivate it , harvest its produce in your own storehouses , and if you have surplus after comfortable subsistence , barter it in the commercial market for those necessary commodities which machinery can supply at a cheaper rate than individuals can produce . "

      Schism In The Church. Tlie Archbishop Of...

      SCHISM IN THE CHURCH . Tlie Archbishop of Canterbury charged with blasphemy , by the Archbishop of Dublin . " The Archbishop of Dublin protests against the form of prayer prepared by tho Archbishop of Canterbury , and agreed upon by her Majesty in Council , as well as to that settled by the Lord Lieutenant ol Ireland , humbly imploring the Almighty God to avert from these countries the impending calamity of famine . The objections are of a two-fold naturelegal and spiritual . Dr . Whately denies the

      constitutional right to issue such a command : and , as he considers the visitation a direct judgment from Gnd , he looks upon any attempt at propitiating the Divine wrath in the nature of a blasphemy , His Grace preached a . sermon upon tins subject on Sunday in tho Episcopal Chapel of St . Stephen , in which he expounded his views , political and religious . Copies of the form of public prayer , a 9 it appeared in the Gazette , were distributed throughout the church , but wore subsequently removed , and the prayer not was road—orders , as it was said , to that eil ' cct having been issued by tho Archbishop . "

      This is a precious go . We presume that his Grace of Dublin , rather than have no prayer at all to avert famine , adopted the prayer of the Archbishop Chartism , which was no doubt more to his taste , as bis Grace is the head of the Malthusian tribe—and , therefore , in that prayer . whicli recommends increased labour with INCREASED PROFITS , he sees the realization of the true principles of political economv . However , when Archbishops fall out , it is hard to

      expect their ( locks to agree , so that , according to the old adage , we may expect that HONEST MEN WILL COME BY THEIR OWN . Wc should be glad to know if cither of their Graces have suffered from the famine ; and if not , how it is that such high and mighty vicc-gcrents have been overlooked in the dispensation . I lowcver , wc have supplied a prayer , and wo shall now supply a grace for tiieir Grace ' " O Lord , we thank thee for these thy gifts , and all the good things of this life , which thou hast been

      Schism In The Church. Tlie Archbishop Of...

      pleased to furnish for our use , and we pray that thou wouldst be pleased to ALLOW thy servants to share this , thy bounty , with thy poor and famishing people Amen . "

      Weekly Review. Ireland Still Occup Ies T...

      WEEKLY REVIEW . Ireland still occup ies the foreground among home topics , but there are scarcely any new features in its condition . The step taken by the Lord-Lieutenant , of advancing public money for the improvement oi the soil , seems to have met with universal approbation on both sides of the Channel , as a common sense and practical measure in itself ; although wc find that many of our contemporaries take the same view as we did last week , as to tlie impropriety of allowing the landlords to reap the entire ultimate benefit , which the expenditure of naticnal capital and labour will inevitably produce . Even the ultra-economical Chronicle lias been driven into something like ordinary reason on the occasion , and advises , that if we are to employ the unemployed people of Ireland in improving the partially cultivated lands of that country with the money of the public , it shall be on such conditions as shall ensure to the labourers so employed , tlis ultimate possession and enjoyment of the soil thus reclaimed and rendered fruitful .

      But the difficulty of dealing with a powerful bod / of landowners , who would almost universally unite to resist what tliey would call an aggression on tlie privileges of a position , the duties of which they either do not know , or are unable , to fulfil , seems to frighten the Prime Minister now at the lieim of affairs . Ha lodes on silent ami inactive , at the very time when of all things promptitude , decision , and comprehensive measures , are imperatively demanded . The Irish branch of the Executive are actively , if not always wisely , employed in the endeavour to avert or alleviate the calamities of the sister Island . The

      Home Government give no sign of life save in the occasional holding of a Cabinet Council , the results of which are >» 7 . This conduct has not escaped animadversion in Ireland . The papers speak c-ufc . on thesubjeci ; . Mr . O'Connell "danms" the "Whigs" with faint prais-:. " His copious and exaggerated eulogiums on the bravery and wisdom of Lord Besbo- ' rough are only so many left-handed hits at Russell * In truth , the crisis demands far other Statesmen than those who now administer the affairs of the country . From the details we have given , as to the state of things in Ireland , it will be seen that the southern , western , and some of the midland counties , are' tlio seenes of serious and increasing suffering ,

      and its- concomitant outbreaks . The shipment of provisions ia obstructed , and their inland transit prevented " . Provision shops and stores are plundered . Corn iV carried from the haggard and -openly thrashed by the road-side . In some districts the tumults' have almost assumed aa insurrectionary charactsr . Dungarvan may be said to be in a state of siege . At Cork arrangements have been made for the military defence of the town ; troops are concentrated' at' Athlone , ready to act as occasion may require , in-repressing risings in the adjacent counties ; and both the naval aud the land forces at the disposal of tho Irish tfovcrnment , has been , greatly augmented .

      In the vei-y midst of this appalling state of things , tho empty puppets who play Punch and Judy at Conciliation Hall , aro squabbling amongst themselves aa to who shall sit for this and that borough , evincing by their conduct the callousness of their hearts , and tlic-slender degree of real interest they feel in the fate of their unhappy country . If the calamity which has-strieken it , be only of service enough to open the eyes-of its popuhttion to the rascalitv venality ,

      selfishness , and vanity ot those who have so long misled them , it will not have occurred in vain . Suck disgustiiigscer . es- as those enacted between . Messrs O'Seil and John O'Covmell ; Shea , Lawlev and tlier same worthy descendant of the great humbug , are surely enough to exhibit these worthies in their true character of traders in their country ' s miseries . Until Ireland gets rid of its quacks , it will never be in a healthy state .

      One gleam of sunshine has broken athwart the formerly unrelieved gloom which hung over the fortunes of Ireland . It is reported that " m several cases , where-the potatoes had been given up as hopeless , tlie fine September weather lias restored them to health ; and- that , though small in size , and an inferior crop as to quantity ,, they will yet be fit lor food . Should this be true to any great extent , it would mitigate tb . 3-distress ,. bufc by no means afford any excuse for relaxing those continuous and comprehensive efforts , which must now be made to rescue that country from being ever on the verge ofstarvation . There is land enough , and labour enough in it , to produce abundance for all . Whatever obstruction stands in the war of the union of those two primary elements of all

      wealth ,, and their consequent offspring plenty and fertility , must gfre way . If the Church is the obstruction , remove it ; . if the landlords are the barrier * clear them out . ' ¦'• What is sauce for the goose is sauce for-the gander . " When the poor are driven by thousands , from their humble homes and holdings , it ia justified on the plea of state necessity and the public good . Yfe only ash that the same measure may , at this emergency ,, be moted out to those who have urged that argument . The objects of all human institutions arc , or are assumed to be , the happiness of those who Jive under them ; when , as in tho case of Ireland , the existing institutions are confessedly aa utter and hopeless failure ; it is time that they should no longer be permitted to cumber the ground .

      The new member for St . Albans has launched a somewhat showy and imposing scheme under the title of the National Anti-Poor Law Union . The objects of this confederacy , at first sight , appears desirable and moat philanthropic . It is true , there is no great novelty in them , nor in ths machinery for carrying them out . Friendly Benefit , Benefit Building , and _ Life Assurance Association Societies have long existed among us . The new features o £ Mr . Cabbeli ' s society seem to he simply their agglomeration into one association , and the somewhafc queer condition , that nobody shall be a member

      unless recommended by a parson of some sorfc „ and that all benefits shall ho forfeited if the meuibers " cease for three months , ( not being sick or otherwise legitimately prevented ) from attending some place of divine worship . " This last is certainly a novelty and one of such a character as will , we are bold to say , deprive Mr . Cabbell of any support from the independent and mentally free industrious classes . They have had enough of priestly domination in times past , without voluntarily running their heads into a new parson-trap „ however cunningly disguised .

      Mr . Cabbell we believe to bo a very charitable man , but it is clear he knows nothing whatever of the task he has taken in hand—the very , constitution of his society implies that the existing Poor Law , with all its abominations in priiieiule and practice , is to bo lot alone , aa fit for , what he calls , the idle and vicious classes of society . But there are some pre liminary questions to be asked before we agree to his premises . What made these classes idle and vicious ? Tho vicious and most immoral institutions of society , which , as it were , predestined them

      to poverty , ignorance , and the influence of bad example . Society having made thciu thus by its own neglect has no right to take advantage of its own laches , and condemn them tothe limbo of poverty , vice , and its attendant retributions for ever . In the next place , why should the industrious and prudent of the labouring class be called upon to provide by means of a voluntary association , that relief in cases of sickness , old ago , accident , or want of employ * raent , while they are at the same time taxed for the support of the idle and vicious by law ? Mr . Cabbell has made a mistake at the beginning as many a better man has . He must "hark back" and

      tryagain . Meetings to memorialise the Government for the " opening of the ports have been ' held at Dundee ] and Manchester . At the latter place speeches were made in support of this measure , which are quoted by the Chronicle in an approving leader , aa being tha

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 17, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_17101846/page/4/