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Northern Star (1837-1852), 26th January 1850, Edition 2 of 3, Page 7

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      '-Protectionist Meeting In Dublin.—An Ag...

      ' ¦^ STwffl- ° e «« m e » i ^ qo «» tities Tot j & ^ . very hand that can be employed u put to ! these . ** Aeries , « " * the production will he more S ^^ ent for the demand . The ^ new tariff in tW ? ^ Tnroduce happy results , and prove ben gp ^ n wui F * jjnen trade , the duties having been fiehd * ° Si reduced . "We look forward to a good CN & & --JL as well at home as abroad , and hope , sP ^ - Aeof aU classes in this province , that it * * « aa healthy and steady one . The exports jnaf ^ 7 fost , during the past week , -with a few oc-W ^ Dibments , not previously noticed , since c ^ w inst , were as follows :-l , 265 . boxes , 11 the i « ^ jes- y am , 35 hales . 8 skips , 3 cwt . ; ca # ^ " 33 packages ; muslin , 8 ditto . " f ^^^^ — " 1 inilli ' iiMiiililiiirif

      ' Wffl «« Me»I^Qo«»Tities Tot J™** M * A...

      j ™** ' m - ¦ smsmmtkmtUkWfg-n :: - : , ^ ~—~ I '"" " " " ¦ " ¦¦¦¦ ^ . ^ -. ^ -v ., - : — .,-- ^ - — .- ^^^^ g >^ -., ^ -. ^^ ,- ^^ ,,, , :,, fH „ ...,. ¦ . ^ - J-- ^ , ;» .--- - > ¦; -. -. ; : :. „ .:..: ; „•; . ¦ .. - * -

      ^Ntersmfi St Prosecutions Agaefst G° Yb ...

      ^ nTERSMfi ST PROSECUTIONS AGAEfST G ° BUILDING LOTTERIES . qgEETiBJ ) , Fsi » at . -7- Early last year some par-^ « ho were amdona to dispose of a lot of unpro ISfle houses in Manchester , known as "the S ^ ong h-buildings , " not meeting readily with a ^ chaser , adopted the expedient-of-putting the fflBperty up ™ a lottery to subscribers of one Linea each . Though tbeaihountat which the prolerty was valued in the prospectuses of the scheme { nsinore than double its real worth , the subscriptions flowed in so rapidly that before the day fixed for th e drawing of the lottery , all the shares were disposed ot The success which attended this speculation led to a number of schemes of the same character being started in Manchester . Birminghan ,

      Sh e ffield , Leeds , die . In Sheffield ; " a young man , jjjuned "Bridges , got up a ^ schemeforthe disposal , in 5 , 000 shares , of one guinea each , of some houses in Suffolk-road , the real value of which -was little more than £ 2 , 500 . The scheme succeeded beyond expectation , and was followed . by no less than twenty others in Sheffield alone , the sums to Be subscribed varying in amoant from £ 200 to £ 17 , 000 . The principal of these yet undrawn is a " Second distribution of property" by Mr . Bridges , in 17 , 500 shares of a guinea each . For the sum thus subscribed tbe winners are to receive leasehold proparty worth about £ 3 , 000 . These fraudulent and lUe ^ a ! schemes have at length increased so greatly in number as to attract the attention of

      government , and orders have been , issued by the Lords of { he Treasury with a view to their suppression . Mr . Bridg es has been selected as the party against -whom proceedings should be taken in this district , and application was made to the Sheffield bench of magistrates on Saturday last to grant a summons against him as a rogue and vagabond . Mr . T . W . B . ODGEB , solicitor , in making the application , said he had received his instructions , from the Lords of the Treasury . His application was made under the 42 nd Geo ; III ., e . 119 , which , in addition to penalties against parties taking part in lotteries , rendered a person keeping an office for the sale of lottery tickets liable , at the suit of the Attorner-General , to a . penalty of £ 500 . By another

      clause it was enacted , that where proceedings had not been taken by the Attorney-General to recover the penalty , the party offending mi ght be brought before the magistrate as a rogue and vagabond , and punished as such . It was a matter of public notoriety that for some time past there had been various lotteries got np in Sheffield , having for thei-Object the sale of lots of property , at prices far beyond their real value . Lotteries were prohibited hvlaw , and the extent to which these " property distributions" had been- carried , had induced the government to direct theJpresent proceeding against MrTBridges , ihe projector and principal agent in

      getting up such schemes in this part of the country . Mr- Bridges' schemes had been advertised , " net only in Sheffield , bnt in the metropolis , and in almost every town in England . Some idea might be formed of the scale on which the business was carried on when he stated that for one scheme alone no less than half a million prospectuses had been printed and circulated by Mr . Bridges . Besides having agents in all parts of the country , Bridges had also kept an office in Sheffield for the sale of lottery tickets . . A-witness having been called to prove the fact that Mr . Bridsres kept an office in Sheffield for the sale of ticfcetsTfor his lottery , the magistrates intimated that a sufficient case had been made out to

      warrant their granting the summons . Mr . Fbeison , solicitor , said Mr . Bridges having received an intimation that the government contemplated proceedings against him , had instructed him to watch these proceedings on Ms behalf . The only Object the government could have ia view was to stop these illegal practices being pursued in this country . He believed that object bad been attained , Mr . Bridges having issued notices to his subscribers that the lottery -would not he drawn in England . Mr . Bodgebs said he had forwarded one of those notices to the Treasury offices , and so far from the

      government being satisfied with it , his instructions in reply were— " So time must be lost in making an application for summons against Bridges for Seeping an office in Sheffield for the sale of lottery tickets . ' The issuing of the notice by Bridges was a mere tk « , the fact being that he had opened offices in Belgium , where he intended to draw the lottery , and to continue the offence against the laws of this oauntry by obtaining subscribers here . If Bridges were really abandoning the scheme , why did he not return the ' guinea subscriptions which he had revived from his dupes in every part of the country . The magistrates granted the summons . when

      The case was fixed for hearing on Monday , - Bridges appeared by his attorney . Mr . Bodgebs declined to proceed with the case unless defendant appeared in person , and applied for a warrant to apprehend him . He bad reason to beiieve that Bridges was in London , and might be apprehended there if the warrant was granted immediately , but tbe delay of a day mig ht enable him to escape to Belgium . Mr . Fbesiox opposed the application on the ground that , as the defendant appeared by his attorney , the case could be heard in his absence . Mr . Bodgers : H Mr . Fretson -will so far stand in the place of his client as to go to prison in his stead I have no objection to dispense with Mr . Bridges ' personal appearance here . ( Laughter . ) Mr . Fbeison : ' I cannot undertake " to do that .

      The Bench intimated that , as the ends of justice might be defeated by hearing the ease in Bridges ' absence , they should grant a warrant for his appre hension . Mr . Fbeison : Though I cannet undertake to go to prison for my client , I will undertake to say that you won't catch him .

      Illegal Laxd Lotteries. — On Saturday La...

      Illegal Laxd Lotteries . — On Saturday last . Mr . Joseph Pallowfield AJasaer , lithographer , of Leeds ) was brought before the mayor and a full bench of magistrates , at the Leeds Court-house , on the charge of-having unlawfully and publicly kept open and exposed to be drawn , in a certain public place called the Saloon , in the Music-hall , a certain lottery not authorised by parliament , to wit , a lottery of and for an estate called the Fallowfield Terrace Estate . —Mr . Blanshard . barrister , appeared in support of the charge ; and Mr . . Middlefon , barrister , conducted the defence . —Mr . Blanshard said le had the honour to appear before the-bench , insirncted on behalf of the crown , and in support of an

      information laid against Mr . Joseph Fallowfield Masser , under the provisions of the 42 Geo . III ., cap . 119 , an act passed for the suppression of lotteries . By this act any person engagedjn any lotterj , ' , game , or "little go , " was liable toa penalty of £ goo , which could only he recovered in one of the superior coutts ; and then tbe act declared that all persons so offending should be deemed to be rogues and vagabonds . Having stated that the 21 st section of the Yagrant Act provided that all persons guilty of this offence should be dealt with as vagrants , he proceeded to state the facts of the case . " In the month of August , the defendant " issued ' a prospectus , headed " £ 230 per annum for one guinea , " and then stated that theFallowfield-terrace

      Estate , which consisted of seven spacious houses with _ gardens , coach-bouses , & c ., would be put up fcr distribution in shares of one " guinea each , and drawn for when the whole number of shares , of which 2 , 300 had already been taken , should he subscribed . Accordingly on the 20 th and 21 st September the Mnsic Ball was engaged for the - lottery , the tickets wereput info * two revolving cylinders and drawn out by two boys , one end being -for the number ofthe tickets held b y the shareholders arid the other for the . prizes . Mr . Masser issued the prospectus , engaged the llusie Hall for the lottery , andjontbeday onwhicbittook place declared the winner of ihe principal prize , the estate , a portion of the shares being appropriated to other prizes of

      £ 2 a , £ 10 , and £ 1 each ., All these facts were very dearly provedby aman' named Benjamin Knowles , who had paid a guinea for a ticket , which had been drawn a blank . —Mr . Middleton , in defence , urged t ' aat the clause relied upon was a general one , such as is to be found in all penal acts of parliament / and ought not to be . strained to . meet ; this . case . , The general tenor of legislation had been to make , parties engaged in these lotteries subject to heavy fines and penalties , instead of ponishing them as rogues and wgabonds , and he called npon thebench not to oon-Ticthis client , who ; atthetime of the lottery ; ' was flat aware he was doing an illegal 80 ^ 1116 Mayor , Jiter coirfenine with the other justice * , said the

      "WH-h , looking ; at ~ atl the ? circumstances of the case , 'ere of opinion that the defendant had brought tanself within the meaning of tbe act of parliament art adjudged him to ^ imprisoned and kept tohard Jcorin flie House of Correction for the term of wen d ays . - Thia bring the first case brought ^ ' pretjjen i , they were disposed to tale a-Ienient S * of it , but as they were convinced that the 'Jtet ofthe gevernment waa . to check this species of ^ nig , they shimld , if . any other- cases ' were ^ Snt before them , inflict npon the parties a much 72 *** praiiBhmnit . « -Mr . Blansford said he ua ? gr ^^ tisfied , and believing that the public sotoriety V * this case ' would have the desired effect , he 5 ^ withdraw a second charge which he had been ^ tfed tomake .

      Rmtttttttl I N T^Ack^St?^^ Jthe *Oss Of

      rmTTTTTTTl I n t ^ ack ^ St ?^^ jTHE * oss of

      This fine ship , the Hottingeur , of 1 , 500 tons burthen , commanded by Captain BursleyV saBfrom JS ?&*^' - ~ - % ^ «^ JanuaryS ; S goton Biackwatersand bank on Saturday morning , at six o clock , ^ two hours before daylight . The vessel bumped heavily several times , and they then made signals of distress by . burning lights and firing rockets , and at daylight flags were hung out from the masts . At half-past eight o ' clock the captain summoned thepassengers and " crew on the quarter deck , and stated that he had drifted about thewhole of F"day , and , that he did not then know exactly where he was ; he recommended order and obedience , and by that all hands would be saved , as

      there were boats sufficient . The sea was not rough at the time , and the -wind was light ; he also stated that he mistook the Tuscar light for the flolyhoad lights , the night being so dark . At aflbut eleven o ' clock the preventative boat came alongside , and took on board the captain ' s son , with the log-book and papers-of the ship , and a young-woman who was going out as servant , and then made for the shore , which was about six or seven miles off .: One of the ships boats then left , having on board thirteen of the crew , two men that . were stowed away in the shipand the mate ' s daughter , and Mrs . Chapman and son cabin passengers . On landing at the beach the boat was nearly swamped , but all landed safely . The first mate then took the quarter boat

      with five seamen and pushed oft refusing even to take two passengers ; the other boat from the shore then took off the Rev . Mr . Doherty , his . wife , and four children , and Mrs . Milburn , passengers ... These boats promised to return to the ship but never came , it being too rough to venture , there ; were then oily two boats left—the life boat with one pair of oars , and the long-boat on the deck , which was then slung over the side ready to be lowered in the water , but there was no sails , mast , or rudder , or oars for it . At eight o clock the two arichors were let down , as tho wind was then increasing , and she was then striking very heavy , and . continued to do so all night : the night was very dark .: The crew and three remaining passengers were all in the se >

      cond cabin , anxiously wishing fop daylight , and the hours seemed unusually long . On Sunday morning our prospect was still worse . The sea was rough and tte wind was increasing , and no signs of any assistance at hand . The anchors were then slipt , and thewind being in our favour , drifted us off the bank . The sails were immediately set , and . the pumps were sounded .: It was found there were seven feet of water in her hold . At nine a . m . the Hose , screw propeller , Capt . Rochford , of this city , came alongside , and communications were made between the two vessels by chalking words on boards . Captain Dursley continued to sail by Captain . Rochford ' s directions , until between one arid two o ' clock , p . m ., when she had then about fifteen feet water

      in her hold , and would not steer . It was evident to all she could not float long . Myself and the two remaining passengers were not permitted to leave the deck , but had to work with the men . The captain then ordered the life-boat to be hauled alongside and bailed out ( the long-boat had gone , to pieces shortly after it was lowered down , ) and three remaining passengers , viz ., Mr . F . Chapman , Mr . Robert Millburn , Mr . Michael Murray , with ; four seamen and a boy , that had stowed himself in the ship , were lowered in the boat , and made towards the propeller , which-we should never have reached had not Captain Rochford made towards us , and taken ni on board . The life-boat was to return to the ship for the remainder , of the hands , but by the

      time we got on board the ship had altered her course and was drifting fast on shore when she grounded on AtMow sandbank ; two miles from the shore . Captain Rochford thought it of no use for the lifeboatmen then to return , as it was certain death to them if they did . The vessel was then among the breakers . The conduct of Captain Rochford during the whole of the time he sailed round and about the ship until she drifted on shore—his anxiety to save the lives of those on board is beyond all praise . He attempted to lower his long boat and send his mate on board the distressed vessel with a chart of the coast , bat bis boat was struck with a sea and stove in . Captain Rochford left with much regret that the ship had not continued her course-for a

      half an hour more , when he might have got the vessel ashore , and probablv all Jives might have been saved . " Ko communication could he had with the ship from the shore , and thecapt & in , the second and third mate , the carpenter , the steward , two cooks , and six seamen , have all perished . Part of the poop has been washed ashore , and some of the goods . The ship is now fast going to pieces . —The foregoing particulars have been furnished ^ to us by Mr . P . Chapman , one of the three last passengers that were taken off the wreck , and is now , with his wife and child , at : the Commercial Hotel , in Marlborongh-street . They have lost all they had . in the world , and only escaped with what they have on their backs . We hope the extreme hardship of

      their case will meet with the sympathy of our citizens , and that something promptly will be done to relieve the distress into which they have been so suddenlv thrown . —We have just seen a letter addressed to Mr . Chapman , in which it is stated that only one man was saved from the wreck , that he was taken off en the morning of the 17 th inst ., and that it was now certain that the ' eaptain and all the others who were on the wreck when Mr . Chapman left were drowned with-the single exception here mentioned . — -Dublin Freeman . ¦ ¦ As Captain . Biirsley stood deservedly high in the estimation of all who knew him , and as he was one ofthe oldest captains frequenting our port , we have gleaned a few particulars of his life , which may not

      be uninteresting to our readers . The gallant captain was born at Cape Cod , Massachusetts , in the year 1798 , and , consequently was in his fifty-second year when he died . He seems to have imbibed a desire for a maritime life from his infancy , for before he was twelve years of age , he entered the mercantile marine of tbe port of Boston , ^ and so quick was his progress-inbis chosen profession that before he attained-his" twenty-first year he commanded an-East Indiam ' anfrom Calcutta to Boston ; It is now upwards of twenty-one years since he first entered the Mersey as master ofthe Dover , a firstclass vessel of the orig inal Boston line of packetships , since when he has been a frequent visitor to our port . At a subsequent period he became

      connected with the Black Ball or Sew lork line , in which he commanded the Silas Richards and the Orpheus , and afterwards the Cambridge , belonging to the same line . It will be in the recollection of many of our readers that the Cambridge was severely tried , as were also the nautical skill and judgment of her commander , during the ' great gale of 1839 . On that occasion Captain Bursley could not obtain a tug-boat to tow him out of the river , and when the storm arose in its violence and might , his ship slipped her anchors and was driven on towards the Frince ' s-pier . Every precaution was made by both master and men to arrest the threatened destruction of the ship ; trusses of hay were lashed over her sides to protect her , hawsers were made fast where

      available , and when every other inducement faded in procuring a steam-tug , the commander exclaimed with his accustomed liberality , " £ 1 , 000 for a tug . " But none would venture , so imminent wastho peril . In this emergency the remaining anchors were tried , and as they held , the noble ship was preserved from becoriiiriganimmediate wi'eck . He has often experienced the hardships of a seamen ' s life . About fourteen years ago ( in company with Captain Marshall , new of the Republic ) he was nearly wrecked in the Orpheus , on which occasion he had to put' back te this port for extensive repairs . Fifteen years ago his brother , then captain of the Lyons , r was lost off Port Patrick , where he was interred , and a monument erected to his memory by tbe subject of this sketch . At the close bf his career with the Black Ball line he took an actire part in

      the organisation of Fielden ' s lin «> , to which he has since belonged , as master ofthe Hottingeur , a . fine , vessel , about seven or eight years old . No better sailor left this port ; and it is affirmed of him that nomah'knew the Channel better than he did ; and therefore the cause ofthe calamity referred to remains a mystery at present . "We believe that he intended that this , if successful ^ should"have been his last trip ; and that he felt delighted at the prospect of enjoying in ; ease arid happiness , - amidst his friends and in the hosom of msfairiily , that oft ' um cuin dignitoU to which a long , laborious , and weli-spent iife . eminentiy entitled him . The deceaseo was highly esteemed by all who had the ' p leasure of his acquaintance' as a sincere friend , an honest man , and a geod Christian . Hehas left a wife and family to ^ mourn their os * . —Everp 6 oI Albion . '

      Bohaxcb Of Real Life.—In The Year 1179 T...

      BoHAxcB OF Real Life . —In the year 1179 there lived in "Wrexham Captain Jones , an elderly gentleman , and a young doctor , named Manning . They were friends until from some cause they quarrelled . We believe that Captain Jones ' s daughter was the ' subject . of ; dispute ;; A duel was fought , Captain Jones was idled ; and Dr . Ma iming became , deranged . Be resided at Wrexham a fewyears afterwards ,, and :. was then sent to Kitkdate Lunatic Ayslum . After a confinement of nearl y fifty years , he died last week ; and his body was brought to Wrexham for interment . His property is said to haTeaccuiriulated tirabout £ 70 , 000 , which will be

      divided amongst his relatives . Curing the last week this incidenthas been the subject of much-fireside conversation among the old people of Wrexham , many of whom remember the circumstance of the duel . —Chester Chronicle . . A Goon Old Ace . —There is now living at Norton , near Worcester , an old woman , named Ann Finch ; who has , very nearly attained the age of m yeaniJ She is blind , almost dea £ and has been tadridden for the last few months , but she still eats heartily , and drinks a quantity of cider each day , Ann Burrow , her eldest daughter , who is lmngat Groomed'Abitot , and regularly attends Worcester market is sixty-nine years of age . '

      The Condition Of England -: O- ;?;- Ques...

      THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND -: o- ;?; - QUESTION ;' ( CondonsediroihtheMorning CftWefc . ) __ WAGES OF THE AGRICULTURAL

      LABOURERS IN DE VON AND SOMERSET . On inquiring into the rates of wages in the different localities which I visited , I found them in all cases low . Throughout the , Kingsbridge union , which comprises a large portion of the extreme south of Devon , I found 9 s . a week : to be the aver rage rate . There is more grazing in this neighbourhood than in soirie of the eastern parts' of the county , where wages are much lower , whilst the holdingsare , -in themain . ' miich'larger : Throughout the union , too , the . population , as compared

      with what it is at some points near the borders of Dorset , is thin . The consequence is , that the demand and supply are more equall y-adjusted , which tends to keep wages up . The farmers likewise are , more or less , men of capital , keeping about the same number of persons in constant employment , and thus preventing ; the fluctuation which would occur in the rate of remuneration if whole droves of workmen were to be occasionally thrown out of work to compete with each other , as is too often the case in the over populous districts , and in parts where the farmers are destitute of capita ) . -

      In the line from Exmouth to Kxeter , the rates generally paid are 8 s . and 7 s . a week . The great bulk of the property in this neighbourhood is part ofwhat is known as the Rolle property / left by the late Lord to the . second son of the present Lord Clinton . In the other directions-round Exeter ; I found 7 s . a week more prevalent than 8 s . Whilst driving from Exeter to Honiton , I inquired of two of my fellow-travellers , who were from different parts of the interior of the country , ' what the rate of wages might be in their : respective localities . Both pufcthem down ' at " about 7 s . a week . " I asked if it wasi possible for men to live on such a pittance ? "Eet if they have large families , " observed one . "At least , one thing : is clear , they

      can t live honestly on it , " said the other . I afterwards took the opportunity of asking the driver of the coach , who drove daily between Exeter and Dorchester , and the amount which he named was also 7 s . a week ; ' Arrived at Honiton , I inquired for myself , and fourid scarcely any case in which 8 s . were being given . In the parish of Southleigh , already alluded to , and . in , the conterminous parishes , this was the maximum rate . One woman , whom I questioned , told me that her husband and son had both 7 sV a week , but that the work was not steady , so that they could riot be said to earn 14 s . a week between them for many weeks together ! The son was quite a young man , and on my asking her if there was no difference' made in thewages paid to

      married and single men , she informed me that an attempt had been niade to get her son to work for less , but that , ashecould 'do ' a man ' s work ; he had consequently refused to . work for' less 'than a . man ' s wages . It was in the neighbourhood of Axminster , and in the north of Devon , near . the . extinct lead mines , that Ifound the lowest scale of wages paid . In many cases , in these localities , the' labourer was receiving but 6 s . a week , and it was apprehended that there would be a very general reduction to that standard . ' , So far I have riot spoken of the wages ! of women . They are more gerierally employed in Soinerset than they " are in Devon . Indeed , there are ; parts of the latter county in which it is rarely that they : are seen at work in the fields . This is the case in : the line

      of country-extending from about Sidmquth to the neighbourhood of Totnes . I not only remarked this myself , but it was mentioned to me by others , who could not account for it in any way . ; . In the interior of Devon , arid along the . Torridge , they are as frequently seen at work as in Somerset . In that counfy , however , '' there : is far more work for theih of a kind for which women are more adapted than men- —dairy farming being carried , tb a much greater extent in Somerset than iri Devon . ' T am now speaking , however , ' of labour in the fields . ' This comprises a variet y of occupations , 'in connection ; with which cheap , female comes in competition with dearer male labour . ' ; Women hoe turnips at ' a much less ' Mte thau' men . ' ' A nian ^ however ^ will'do much more in the course of a day at this kind of work than a woman will'do . It is also too laborious

      an occupation for women very generally to engage in . They also plant and dig potatoes at the proper seasons ; they weedthe fields particularly when fresh land is being ' cleaned preparatory to a crop ; they pick stones from the land arid winnew tho corn ; they plant bean s > and fill , and somethhes drive , the manure carts . These are but specimens of their work , for which they receive , on : the average , from 7 d . to 8 d . a day . I have known cases in which'lesa was given , but about 7 id . may be taken as a fair average of the present rates . During harvest time they sometimes , earn as'much as 6 s . a week . ¦ ' " - ' - ¦ '; : ' ' '' : ¦ :-- ' ' . " . '"' - ' .

      ' In ' these counties the labourers generally receive , in addition to their moiicy wages , so much cider per day . This is not confined to men—the women , and children employed in ' the fields also , coming in for their cider : In some cases this is compounded for , and a higher rate of wages paid ; but in the great majority of cases the money-rate of ' wages , when stated , is exclusive of the dole of cider . Soriietimes , however , the farmers will include it , and ; thus mislead the inquirer . ' Thus , at Exmouth ; I was informed by a labourer , who pointed out his employer tome , that his ' wages were 7 s . 6 d . a . week . A few minutes afterwards I wag in conversation with his master , and on inquiring into tho rate of wages in his neighbourhood , was told by him that

      he himself paid 9 s . The discrepancy between ' the two statements staggered me a littie . atid I mentioned it to him . " Well , , ' to be sure ; " said he , ' *« I do pay but 7 s . 6 d . in niOney , but'then , he has his three pints of cider a day , which I reckon at Is . Cd . more . But the farmer always reckons tho cider more than the men do . A disinterested appraiser would ,-taking into account the rough quality ofthe cider gerierally given to the labourer , value the eig hteen pints a week which he receives at about Is . By . suchstatements , those unacquointed with the mode in which things are managed are often led astray . '"'' ; ' ;'" . " '' " '' = : ' . ' . ' But in ^ estimating the condition of the labourer , and that 0 f his family , nothing can be more

      fallacious than to include this dole of cider as part and parcel of his wages . It has no effect whatever upon thecomforts of his family , and cannot therefore be taken into account inconsideiing the extent ' of their means ; Lr the case of a man working for hiinself alone , who mig ht find his wages sufficient to eriable him to indulge a little during the rweek , were he inclined to drink ' cider to some , exterit / that which is handed to hini in the field mi g ht be taken into account ai so jmuch ' money , since it might' save him so much , provided he were contented with what he got in the field . But even iri his case ; if he were not disposed to'drink , bnt anxious to save his money , 'it would be anything but a . gain to him . The value of the beverage in money would , in more

      ways than one , be far better for biro , for ifc would not only eriable' him to save more , or to procure more substantial aliment , but it might also avert a dangertoflwhich he is ' otherwiVe exposed—that of encouraging a tasteformbre cider than begets , arid ultimately for somethirigstronger than cider . ' Iri the case of the married man the system is far-more . objectionable . He'does not work for himself alone , having others ' , arid somctimcs many others '; dependent upon him . " He has , therefore , no money to spare out of his scanty wages to indulge a taste for drinking cider , or any other liquor . He has hone to spare for such a purpose even when his claim for cider is coihnourided for . by a money payment . And itis hard to comper 4 » irii to take as part of his

      wages that which he could not afford to purchase were his earnings paid hini iri full in mOneyi ; If-he is entitled to 9 s ., why force him to take ls ; 6 d . worth of it in cider . r Wheri he could riot afford to buy Is . 6 d . worth of cider if the 0 s . were all paid him in money ? The word "forced" is here not unadvisedlyapplied , for thegreat ' mnjority ofthe labourers , particularly the married men , would prefer the ciderjs worth to the cider itself . The cider ' s worth ' would go to enh arice "the " coiriforts - of the family ^ Tlie ' ' cider itself does' not arid" cannot . It is ; iri almost all cases , drunk on the field—in other words , the labou'ff fsperids daily about 16 per

      ' cent . " of his earnings in drink . 'Whenever-it is compourided'for , it is for the labourer ' s benefit that ! the arrangement'is' made ; . " ' arid what benefits him in one instance would , he advantageoiis to'him in all . The difficulty iri . ' th ' e . way is chiefly with the farmers , who have ari interest ' -in' keeping up the mixed system ' ofwages . ; To soiirie extent it is the truck system , and nothing else . It is equivalent to saymg to the labourer ; ¦« I will employ you at so much a Week , but then I expect you to remember , that 1 keep acider ' shop , and ' that youmust buy so much cider from inV at such and such a . -p'rice , ^ ev ery week" —the price being one which secures to the cider producer a profit at tho expense of , tne cider

      consumer . - . . , ' .. " ,, , ,. The cider given to the women is frequently drunk by themselves—it being sometimes given to 'their husbands . That given to the boys is almost invariably " drunk by them . They get less than a man ; but in the same proportion to their strength and wages . It is perhaps in respect to them that the system develops itself in its most pernicious aspect . '" I wouldn't work without my cider , said a saucy little imp of about eleven years of age , one oi those-who surrounded me in ExmouthV B f . * ® time- they reach maturity they ; are . accompljsnea drinkers , arid this from a necessity ; Of their position . To make them accomplished : smokers instead would be equally justifiably . There is no more sense or justice in compelling them to drink cider as part ot their wages , than there would be in forcing them to smoke or chew tobacco . If the farmers of the west produced tobacco instead of cider ; every labourer would be seen with a cigar in his mouth .

      How are the many families dependent npon agricultural labour for their support to subsist during the winter on wages averaging less than 8 s . a week . Ask the question of anybody- ^ veh of those most

      The Condition Of England -: O- ;?;- Ques...

      likely from their -position : to be acquainted with the means and contrivances of such families—and they will shrug their shoulders , arid tell you that it passes then- com prehension . ¦ - ' T . Labouring men have freq ' u ' eritly complained tome ol the mode m which the farmers , iri : some districts , make use of the position-arid conduct of yoriftg men to affect the general rate ' of wages . " Where the prac-: face of making a distinction as to amouiit in favour pt married men prevails , thehighest rate thus : paid lsonen a lowone , as compared with the fates paid elsewhere . If young men receive less than inarried men , the wages of the latter are frequently lowered on the next plausible pretext—the farmers telling tnera that ,- as they can oet- Vomi ri- men tn do thfiir

      work for . ^ given sum , there is no necessity for their employing others at a higher rate . " Sootier' than be thrown entirely Out of work , the married labourers often' submit readil y to the reduction—which again IS Wade USe Of to lower Still more theVages paid to the single men ; sothafctbe form ' er difference is reestablished between them ; but with this advantage to the farmer , that he is paying less , to both . One of the . greatest-evils that I find attending the low rate of wages now paid in so many of- ' the ' rural districts , is the want of a change of clothing for the labourers , both male andfemalo . Most of them wear flannel whilst at ¦ work , but few have ii change oven-of that . The 'consequence is / that they wear the samegarmerit next the skin day arid

      night , although for many hours ' of the d * y it triay " have been soaked with perspiration . I : have fre- ' quently seen both men and women ; whilst at work , perspiring most freely , with their ' clothes quite wot upon them . It is deemed essential to the health of a miner that he should exchari go for a dry suit the clothing with which he ' comes dripping frorii the mine . _ But the field labourer almost invariably permits the garments which have been made ^ wriiiging ' wet with perspiration to dry upon' his personand that , too , not merely when ; he is iri'o . v ' orcise , hut when he is lying onhis'bedasleep ' r for he

      'frequently lies down enveloped iri 'flannel , cold ; moist , and ' clammy , after the day ' s toil . There may be many a labourer , ' married arid single ^ tolerably well off in Devon and Somerset , but there are ^ multitudes so immersed in the depths of wretchedness , -that it is impossible to fancy them sirikiriglower . There are hundreds of families , with four or five children , whose sole dependence is the earningsof the husband—the . children being too young and the wife too busy at-home to . work , abroad—their earnings not exceeding 7 s . a week . It is on this sad feature of the diversified picture that public attention should be most closely riveted .. .: - . ; , ' ¦¦ :

      There are many ¦ especially , amongst the farmers , Whoiare prone , to malign the labourers , and who maintain that the miseiy so prevalent amongst them is of their . own making . . There isno doubt but that the privations which they endure are in very many instances aggravated by their own-carlessness or misconduct . : But it is a calumny . to say that their situation _ would be equally deplorable , no matter what ; their wages . were . I have seen too many instances of prudence , - thrift , and comparative comfort to subscribe to such a doctrine—instances few and- far between , it is true , in the icounties that I have hitherto * visited in connexion with this inquiry , but which form the rule and not tho exception in other districts , where higher wages prevail ;

      and where the well-being ofthe labourer is attended to by his employer as a matter of paramount duty . Jn these cases , instead of ' the extra wages being squandered in drink and licentiousness , leaving' the family to pine in wretchedness at home , they are frequently ^ ' applied to enhancing its comforts-and improving its position ; In cottages where this is observable ; I have often seen the extra ; pairs of shoes for the parents arid the children , and in some cases the . extra clothing for the Sunday . - Let thelabourer have but ari adequate amount of wages , and he-will improve both the condition and the appearance of liis family . Persoris who think otherwise , only fall into the views of those who would ; make their own gratuitous aspersions of him one of the many reasons which theyassign for keeping his remuneration as'low as possible . "¦ ' .. ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ " ' ¦ ' ' ' : ' . ¦ '' ¦• t Soine days since I was conversing with" an old

      man , near Bndgewater , on the subject of wages . He had been a farm labourer in his youth , but had abandoned the fields for a trade , at which he had made a little competency , which , he remarked , sufficed to keep hiiri out of the workhouse in his old age . ' He did not speak very charitably of the farmers , "whoni he characterised as a very selfish ^ and hard-hoarted race of men . I observed to him that they justified the present reduced rates of wages by the prevailing low price of corn ; He replied that it was not on the side of wages ' that the shoe veally pinched them . He reiriembefed wages high , when corn was about as low as now . " -How came they , " I asked , ' ^ tokeep ' uj the wages theri ?" " I tell you what , " said he ; ' "they kept them up , and could afford to do sb , 'because they neither lived in such style nOr paid such high-rents as they do now . " : ¦ •' - ' - -. ' -: ; ¦ ¦ ''•''

      THE DItrjGGIATG ? SYSTEM IN THE FACTORY . DISTRICTS . I have already alluded to the practice , too common in the cotton districts , of dosing infants with ; narcotic medicine ; to ; keep them quiet while theiri mothers are at their daily : work in the factories . The information given to me by medical men was general in its character , arid may be summed up in the evidence elicited from Mr . 'John Greg Harrison , one of the , factory ; medlVal inspectors , and a g qritieman carrying on a very large practice amongst . the operative classes . ; . " The system of drugging children is exceedingly common , and one ofthe prevailing causes of infant

      mortality . ' Mothers , and ; nurses both , adihinistev narcotics ; the former , however ,, principally with the view of . obtaining an undisturbed , ni g ht ' s rest . The consequences produced are imbecility , caused by suffusion on the brain , . ' and an extensive train ; of mesenteric and glandular diseases . The child sinks into a low torpid state , wastes away . to a skeleton , except the stomach , which swells , producing what is known as bot-belly . . If the children survive the treatment , ' they are often weakly , and stunted for life . To , this drugging , system , and to defective nursing , its-certain ; concomitant-rnot to any fatal effect inherent in factory labourthe great infant mortality in the : cotton towns : is to be ascribed . " . . > , ; , '; , ; , : -.

      ' Dr . Harrison added , that the practice of procuring abortion was sadly common , particularly among unmarried women , and among married women living ; separated from their husbands . A person in Stockport is notorious for the extent of his practice in this way , instrunientsyandinot drugs , being the usual means employed : . .. ! . ^ : >? - . To return to . the narcotic part of tho . subject . From . evidence given me by mill hands themselves I- select the following cases , observing that they merely serve as samples of the ordinary stories told m ' e by those who were sufficiently candid to speak out ; upon the subject . ;;;;; . ; : , .. •; ¦ ,,, * . ; , . ; , ; ,. An > intelligent male operative , in the n-Messrs .-Morris ' s mill , , in Slaford , stated that he ; and his

      wife put out their first ; . child to . be nursed . , The nurse gave the baby " sleeping stuff , '' and it ; died in nine weeks . The neighbours told his wife how the baby was dosedj ; butthe riiirseidenied , that the child , had ever got ; anything of the kind ; . They never . sent a child out . to , be . nursed again .- rFor that ; one they paid 3 s ; Cd . a week , 'and the weeks that the nurse washed for , hy 4 s .., The niotber had to get . up at four o clock and carry -it to ' the nurse ' s every morning ; but the distance was too far for her to suckle it at noon ,-so the child had no milk until , the nurse , brought' it homo at night ; ; The nurses are often . old-womeni > . , who takein washing , and sometimes they have three or , four children to take care of . The mother can often smell laudanum

      in the childs breath when it comes home . ' As for inofliers themselves , they give , the '' sleeping stuff " principally at night , to secure their , own rest ; . :, Another . operative in the : same mill , gavethe , following evidenceir-i-He had put ; out one child * . id nurse , ! and he and . his missus . ha'd sorely ruled- it ever since ., The ; child , ; a > girl : had 'never been healthy ? or strong , and the doctors told them , when she was fourteen months oldi : that she had been dosed , and how it , woqld be with . her . , They paid os .. - a week ; to the nurse . His wife . thenearned 15 s . a < week in ¦ > a mill .: '•¦ . 'At present 'be : thought 4 s ; was about tlie average paid for iiur ' siri g childrenV The nurses ve ' ryoften take in washing ; arid ' put the childreri . to . , ' sleep-by ; drugging them . He had six

      children , and they . were all hearty except thefirst .: | Afemale weaver , in a mill at-Chorlton , stated the case of a littlegirl who was nurse'dbya neighbour ! of hers , arid who ' got " sleeping ^ stuff ; " 'The child . seemed to ; be alwaysasleep . arid lay with , its oyes half open ,: Its head got ferribiy'bi g , arid its finger- ; nails blue . . The mother took the child from , tho nurse and carried it to the doctor , " who said . it' was poisoned .. The mother , went on her kriees crying , arid said she had never given the child anything ; but it died very soon after . . ' . - ; .. " , ' ¦ „ . '' ,. ' : Another woman , employed in the weavirigroorii of the sariio ' mill , had put out all her children to nurse , and had lost none of them . ; But she had a good kind nurse — a married' woman—riot one of the regular old nurses who , niade a . trade of it . She ban often heard of children getting '¦ * ' * . sleeping

      stuff . ' It made therii that they were always dozing , and never cared for food ; , They p iried , away , their Jiea ' ds got big , arid , they died ' , ; . ' She carried her . owri child every morning to the . riiirso , rising foi'this purpose ' a full hour before she Went to the mill , ' be cause tho riurse lived some way off . The , nurse did not rise at the same time , but she ( the mbth ' erj ' . put the baby into bed to her arid ; left it there ; " till the evening . She did riot suckle it iri the course , of the day , because the distance ' was too far to go . All her children were thriving . : ; ; ' ., , : ; I now come to the druggists . " With : one or two honourable-exceptidhsj - theses individuals either point blank denied that the drugging system existed or deblined ' giving any information whatever . More than one of the proprietors of the most ; rioted " Godfrey shops" in Manchester were amorigst the latter class , while of the others , who repudiated the

      The Condition Of England -: O- ;?;- Ques...

      traffic entirely . several : of them had their windows crowded withannouncehienteofdifferent forms of the medicine , which they werecool enough to declarn 1 . 1 . ^ - ' f J * 1 ' "ii ' l '*'! " * " < : ' T ' . " ' i : i -- ' < ** » » " ** HIV they did not deal in .- .,,. ] - . '; . ; ;> ,,,, - ; - " .-.. ' . ; . ; My inquiries' extended to the use of laudanum in different forms' by people " of : ali ; ages , arid ,. I transcribe ; the' evidence of tlibso ' druggists frorii whoiri . I received' any iriforniatibri worthy of the name . '" ' : ; ' ' ' " ; '; ' ;'; , ' . ¦;¦ . ; " ., " ; . '" .. ¦" . . A highly-respectable druggist iri ; Salford states ' as follows ¦ : —' . ' The rise of Jaudarium ' as a stimulant by male and feiriale adults is riot at all uncommon . His , sales in that way are , however ^ small . He disposes of about a shilling ' s worth weekly , in penny-worths . Some of his customers wilttake a tea-spoonful or a tea-spoonful and , a . half of laudanum ; arid , iri bad

      times , when they have noanoney , they coirie andbeg for a dose . ' The sale of crude , opium Jias , he thinks , diminished iri his , part Of the town , ; When people come for laudanum , Tto use ^ itasa . stimulant , he sells it mixed with tiricture of gentian , in the hope that it may do . them less harm . ; Children are drugged either with Godfrey ' s Cordial or ' strdriger decoctions of opium . Every druggist makes his ^ own Godfrey , and the . stronger he makes'it , the faster , it is bought . 'I'hemedicirie consists of laudariuni , sweetened By a syruji ; and' further flavoured by soine esseritial oil of ' spicel' Mothers soriietimes ) dose their infants , but the nurses carry . the practice to the greatest exterit . ; The ;¦ mother takes the infant from the w ; aim bed . at five o ' clockiri . the morriirig , arid carries - it to the nurse ' s ,. where it is left till noori . " and'often it ¦

      drugged to kec ^ quiet . " ; ' ';; . . . '" , ¦ Among the druggists who were obviously disingenuous upon tho point : I may ' particularly mentiori one , riot far from the Rochdale-road . lie tried ; to pooh-pooh the whole thing .. "He " sold nothing of the . kind , ' at least next toriothirignothing ^ worth . mentioning . ; ' , "Oh ! . rioi The" fact ; waa that a great'deal qf n orisense was , talked lipbn the subject . ^ Isolated cases might , be fourid , -. but to say that there wasanythirig ; like a gerieralpractic ' e of drugging children ^ was tpjraiso axriere bugbeaf . " Now ; during : our , ' conversation , ^ hich occupied about . fiyomiriutes . myvcool . arid' candid , friend actually suited the action to ;; the word , ' by hhilding over , the counter to two . little : jgirlsf three distinct pennyworths of the very drug the deiriand for which

      tie was ^ resolutely denying ! I would have given something for that gentleman ' s pOw ' er of fa ' cei I thinkit ' cquld beriiado useful ;; ' , . " "';" , '" .. ' ; . ' .. '" .. I begto direct particular , attentiori to the following evidence , given "by a 'riiost"int ' elligent druggist carrying on a very large business in , a poor neighbourhood surrounded by mills ) and a geritleriian of whose perfect caridOur . arid good faith I have certain knowledger- ^ - ' , ' ; ' " " .. ; "Laudanum , in various forms , is used to sonic extent by the adult population , male arid female , and to a terrible exterit for very , young children . I sell about 2 s ; worth a week of ; iaudariuni , in perinorths , for adults . . ' Someuse raw ; bpiuiri instead ; They either chew it ; or make ; it into pills arid s wallow it . The cburiti'y ' . people uselaudariiirii as a stimulant , as well as the town rieople ' . ' On market

      day s , they come in from Lymm arid Warrington , and buy ' the pure drug for themselves , ' . ' arid ' . Godfrey , ' Or ' Quietness , ' . foi : the ' children . ' . 'Godfrey ' is an old fashioned preparation ^ arid hiis boon more or less in vogue for riear / a ; century . ' It is , made differentl y . 'b y differerit '' vendors , ' ; but gerierally speaking it ' contains jiri ounce -arid a half of pure laudanum" to a quart . This dose : is froin half a teaspoonful to two teaspoonfu ' Js ., Infant ' s Oordiat or Mixture ; is stronger , contairiingbri the ' average two ounces of laudanum to ii ' quart . ^ Occasionally , paregoric , ' which is bno . forth part as , strong as laudanum , is used . ' Mothers ; sonietiriies ; give ; narcotics to their children ; - but raost commonly the nurses' are in fault . , The stuff is frequentiy administered by the latter without the mothers '

      knowledge , but is occasionally given by the riapthers , without the fathers' knowledge ; I . believe , that women freq , uently drug their children through pure ignorance of the effect of the practice , ! and because , haying becn . brought up iri , mills , " they know nothing about thefirst duties . ofmothers . ' . The nurses sometimes fake children for Is . Cd . a week . They are very often laundresses . Ilalf-a-crowri a week mav bo the average charge of the riiirse , ' and the ' nursing' commonly consists of laying the infant in a cradle to doze all day in a stupified State produced by a teaspoonful of ' Godfrey , ' or' . Quietriess ? Bad as , the practice is , it would not be' so ' fatal if the nurses arid parents would obey the druggists' instructions in administering the medicine . But this is what often takes place . A woman conies and

      buyspennorths of'Godfrey . ' Well , all is right for five or six weeks . Then she begins to complain , that wc don ' t make the / Godfrey' so good as wo used to do ; that she has to give r tho child more than it needed at first ; arid so nothing willdo but she must have ' IrifariVs Quietness ' , instead , for , as she says , she has heard . that that is . better , i . ' e . stronger . ' But in process of time , ' as the child gets accustomed fo the . drug , ' the do so mu st be . made strongei ^ still .: Thbri ; the nursesi and ^ ometinies the mothers ; take to making the stuff themselves . Thev buy pennorths of aririiseed , and treacle and . sugar , add ; the laudarium to it , and make the dose as strong as tliey like . ' The midwives teach them how to

      brow it , and if the quantity , oflaudarium conies ex pensive ; they iise . crude opium instead . Of course numberless children arc earned off in this " way ; I know a child that has been so treated at once ; it looks like a little old man or woriian . "I can tell one in ah instfint . Often arid often-a riiother comes here with " a child that has been out to riurse , fo know what can be the matter with it . 1 know , but frequently I dare hardly tell / for If I sny what I - ' am sure of , the mother will go to the riurse arid charge her with sickening thb child ; the nurse ; will deny , point blank , that she did anythirig of thesort , and will come and make a disturbance here , daring me to prove what of course I can't prove ! legally , and abusing me for taking away her character . " : " : ;

      THE CASUAL LABOUREBS AT THE METBO

      . POLiTANpocks . .. ' _/ -.: '; , ;; , ; " .. . The scenes witnessed at the London Docks were of so painful a . description—the struggle . for-one day ' s work—the scrariible , for ' twentyrfour , hours ' extra subsistence and ' extra life were of sotragic a character—that ! was anxious to ascertairi , if possible , the exact number of individuals in and ; around the metropolis who live by 7 dock labour ., . At one of the docks alone I found that 1 , 823 stomachs would be deprived of food b y the mere chopping of the breexe . "It ' s an , ill wind , " - says ; the proverb , ' , 'tliat blows nobody any good ; " and until I came to ; investigate the condition , of the dock labourer , I could not have believed impossible that near upon two thousand souls , in one place alone , Jived ,. chat molcon-like , upon tlve air : or that an easterly

      wind ; despite the wise saw , could deprive so . many of bread . It is indeed " a nipping ; and , an eager air v ' TThatthe ^ susten should ' bo as fickle aVthevery breeze ; itself ; -that the weather-cock should be the index of daily . want or daily ease to such a vast nuinber of ' men , " women and children , was'the ' cUhTax " of misery and wretchedness that I cpuldnot [ have imagined ; to exist ; and since then I have witnessed such scenes of squalor , and crime , and suffering , as oppress the mind even to the feeling of awe ., ;; .. ' . ; - ' ^/¦¦ y . ^ c \ ! Thcsodbck ' si however , are but one of six similar esfablishriients—three being on the north arid three ori the south side of . the Tliafnes—and all employing a greater or less number , of "hands , '' equally de : pendent upon-the winds for -their subsistence . . Deducting , tfieri ,. the highest fi'pm . the lowest : nuriiber bf labourers engaged at thei" London Docks—the

      extremes ; according to the books are under 500 and oyer . 3 , 000— - \ r ' e have a ' a ; rnany as 2 , 500 . individuals deprived of . aday ' s work . and a living by ; tho preynience ^ of . ari : easterly wind- ; and' calculating that the same effect takes p lace a ^ the other docks— the East / ind West India , for . ins ' tance , St . ICatharine ' s , Commercial , Grand ' Surrey , ' arid East Country , to a greater " or less / extent , ' " arid that tKe hand ^ employed to loa ' d and unload the .. vessels ; . cntei'irig ' : arid quitting aU ^ theseplacesarcpnly four times more than those required at the . London Docks , we have . as many . as twelve . thousand individuals , or families , [ whose daily bread is . as fickle as the . wind itself—Whose . ' wages ,,, in fact , are '' ono day collectively as riiuch as £ 1 , 500 , arid ' . the , next , as . Io > y as , £ 50 Pt-so thaietghtthousandineri are" frequeritly . th ' roiyri . out Of-employ ; . while the earnings ; of . ' the class to-day amount to brie thousand' pounds less tharithey did yesterday .,,,, . . ..:... •" . .., ' " \ . ' ,-..,. ' ,- ' . .. i ; .. " , ''

      • 'The account of the vaiiation m the total number bf hands employed , and the , sum ' of money paid as wages to them , by the different ; dock companies iwhen ' . the business is ; .-brisk or slack , inay be , stated : as-, follows :- — .., ;• '¦¦ ; '''¦' -. ' . . '''• , '' '' . . ¦ . .: ' ¦ . •¦' ¦ ! At the'Lorido ' n Docks the difference between ¦ ! ¦ i' the greatest and smallest number is .. 2 , 000 hands . At theEast and West India Docks .. .. 2 , 500 — ; At the St . Katharine Docks .. ,, ,, ] , 200 ' ¦ -, •' { At the remaining docks ( say ); . ; ' .. .. 1 , 301 ) — fotal number of . dock-labourers thrown out of employment by the prevalence of .

      easterly winds .. ' .. .. .. -.. 7 , 000 — The difference between the highest and lowest ¦ amount of wages paid at tho London Docks is .. £ 1 , 500 At the , East and West India Docks . i' •'¦ .: ¦ - .. 1 , 875 : At the St . Katharine Docks •'• . ';¦ - ' : v . :.- ' .. 000 At the remaining doCiS ., ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦; . ¦ ' ... .. .. 97 D : '" : "'' , ' " - ¦¦ V " . ' A 250 From the above statement , then , it appears' ; that , by the , prevalence of an easterly windj no less than 7 , 000 but of the aggregate number of persons living by dock labour may be deprived of their regular income - and ¦; the entire ibooy may hare , aa , much ; as £ 5 i 250 a week abstracted from the ^ amount of their collectiye earnings at a period of active employment ^ But the number . of . individuals .. who depend upon the quantity of shipping entering tho port of London for tJieir . daily subsistence ia far beyond'this -amburitl' ¦ Indeed , 'we ' are assured by ; agentleriian filing , a hig h ' situation in St . l ^ tharirie ' s . IJbcks ' , " and ' whofroiri his sympathy with the labouring poor has evidently given no slig htattention to the subject , > that , taking into considerftUoa tho number of wharf

      The Condition Of England -: O- ;?;- Ques...

      - ; y - ., . . / . * 77 T-. '^ , .. Ji t . i v . i ; : ¦ > . ; U >„/ i i ^ U \ . J . -: * ¦ - ,. ¦ labourers , ' dock labourers / lightermen , riggers and lumpers , shipwrights , caulkers , ship carpenters , anchor smiths , corn porterg ,. fruit , and-coal meters , and indeed all the , riiultifarious-arts ; and callings connected ' with shipping , there are no less than from 25 , 000 to 30 , 000 individuals who are thrown w holly out of employ by a' long continuance of easterly wmda . Es timating , 'then , the gairia of this laigo body of . individuals 3 at , 2 s . - 6 d . per asy , * or } r % ' !' IL- VTcek / when fully employed , we ,, shall find , that the . loss , to those who depend upon the London shipping ^ , for . their ., subsistence amounts to £ 20 , 000 per week ; arid Oorisidering that , such winds are often known to jprevaU " froin a fortnight toitbree weeks at a time ; it foUows that the eritire loss to this large class will amoririt to from £ iO O 0 O

      to AU 0 . 000 within a month '; an amount of privation to the labouring poor which it is pORrtiyelT awful to contemplate . Kor is this tbewilr eva connected with an enduring easterly , wind . Directly a change takes place , a Vglut'f , of vessels enters the metropolitan port , arid labourers flock from all quarters , ; indeed they pour from every part . where the workmen exist , in a greater quantity than the work ; From 500 to 800 vessels frequently ' arrive at one time in London , after the duration of n contrary wind ; , and then such is the demand for-workmen , and so great tho press : of business , ' owing to the rivalry ! among merchants , and the desire of each owner to have his cargo the first in the market , that a sufficient nuriiber of hands is scarcely to be found .

      Hundreds of extra labourers , who can find labour nowhere else , are thus led to seek work in the docks ; But—to rise the words 6 l our informant —• twopr three weeks are sufficient to . break ; the ' neck of ari ordinary glut , ' and then the vast amount of extra hands thatitbe excess of business has brought to the neighourhood are thrownout of employment , and left , 'to . increase .- either ; the vagabondism of the neighbourhood , or to swell the number of paupers arid heighten . the rates ' of the adjacent parishes .. // . ; ¦ .. '" •' . ' .. V- ¦¦ . .- "' . " . - .., ' ' ..., ,- . ""' . ! . This may in s ome measure account hot only , for the poverty and wretchedness of the people located in j the many courts and-alleys round about the dopkS / . butitseoms also to-afford' jTread y explanation asto . the amount of crime to be found there .

      A few days ago I made an' attempt to : fathom the : secret of one of the low lodging houses in the neighbourhood '; and though I had proof demonstrative that the endeavour was attended with considerable personal risk , still ! was determined to compass my end . so as to be enabled to give the public some idea oflthe ' misery and crim ' e that infested that' part of the town ;; : -- ^¦ ¦¦^ ¦ ¦ ¦ : . : . ; - ' ¦ ¦ ^; - -J -i :: ¦ n : - . - Entrusting myself to an experienced guide , I was led to one of the most frequented and cheapest lodging houses in the nei ghbourhood .: It was . a " , large out 7 house about the size of a small bara , and about as rudely put together .: The walls were unplastered arid the tiles above barely served to cover it jn ; ; . In the wet weather wewere told itleakedlik ' e ' a ' sieve .

      Around the room fan a long ; dirty table , ' at !' which sat some score " of ragged greasy wretches ^ ' The others were ? huddled round the fire . -. Some were toasting herrings , ; others ; drying ends of cigars for tobacco , and others boiling potatoes in coffee' pots . I soon communicated to them the object of my visit * and having Inquired how many , of those then present worked at the docks , I . fourid ' tbeiri ready to answer any question ' sinariipre courteous' manner than I had expected ; There were'twenty-nirie people in the shed , and about a fourth' were occasional dock -labourers .:- "I worked'at the docks half a day this afternoon , " said one ' . ' and ; all yesterday , and halfaday on Monday—three days last week , . and neverabove two or three days in the , week tthese last nine weeks . " This one appeared to have been

      about the most successful of the number ; and when 1 asked the rest what they did whcrijtiiey ' were wholly unemployed , the answer was , that they , were forced to walk the streets all night , and starve . " There are plenty of us , " said another , " ' who have to walk thestreets of a night , though f-the bnnks * ( beds ) are only twopence here , and there's no other crib so cheap any where near . " Tasked those who spoke of having walked the , streets all night till daylight what they had done for food ? ,. ' 'I ' , been two days , " cried one , " without taste or sup ; " and one in the corner , with his headdown , and his chin resting on his chest , cried , "I ' ve been three ; days without food—haven ' t had a bit in the world ?' ¦ . " Ah ! it ' s plaguy hard times ; in the ; winter turie with us , that it is , " said a youth who could not have heen more than , seventeen ... . i

      " Average it all the year-round , " cried a tall fellow in a cariyass-sinock , f I ' ve , ; worked eleven years in the dock as an extra , and it don't give more than five shillings in the week . 'Why , we ' re . very olten three or four weeks arid earn nothin ' g-in th © wintertime . " "Butyou must get something , "I said . " Yes , we goes about jobbing , ' doing -things down at Billingsgate . We gets a twopenny anda threehalfpenny job , very often .. If we . don't get that , wo have to . go , without anything for lodging , and walk and starve . " !" , I'll liave to do that tonight , sir , " cried the man ' at the corner of the room , who still sat with his chin on his chest— - "Pll have to walk the streets all night . " " Yes . " said a

      second , " and there ' s another besides hiih that'll'be obligated to walk , the streets .- CThe Refuge isnlt open yet . " I asked them 7 what they / usually . ; had to eat . One had had " taters and herrings and ; a pound ofbread . " . Another ' . 'a pound of bread and a farthirig ' s worth o f coffee . " . "I ' ve had two ' or three hard crusts , "' cried tho man again who sai alone at the end of , the room ; " That ' s about'the , living we all has , " I was told . "When we ; gO ' without food all day , " they said , "it ' a generally the depth of winter , wet weather , ' ' or'something like that .. We give those that want a bit o ours , whatever it may be . We gather all round for him ' ¦ if we can . " , „ ¦ . ¦ . , ... :,... ..-..

      I asked them how much money they had got . T'jI ' ve got fdurpence , " cried one .,. "; " I've " gbtone shilling and threepence , " cried another . "I ' ve got just enough for my bed . " "I ' ve got thrce-half-. pjjnce . " "I ' ve got brie' penny 7 '> "I haven ' t one halfpenny , " said the man at the end of the room . "No more have I , " cried a second . " There ' s another , one here hasn ' t got one ; '' exclaimed a third . "Ah , if you was to come in here to-morrow night , you'd find half of us had not ' got any—full half . " . ' I then inquired as to the state , of their ' clothing . "I ' ve got a clean shirt to put on to-riiorrpSy morning , and that ' s the : first I've had these . ' eight months , " cried the first . "I ' got no shirt at all , " said : another . " "I've none , " said a'thifd"and that there down , thero ; ain't got none , ' - ! know ; " he spoke of the same man at the far end of the room . < .- : ¦¦ , , '

      : Next I sought to-find out how many among the number . had been confined'in prison . " rrebeea in quod , sir , I have , " cried one . . 'f Tve been iri , too , " shouted a second ; . And finding the answers to coriie too quickly for mo to take down , I requestefl those who had been inmates of a gaol to hold up their hands . They did eo arid I counted eighteen out of -the twenty-nine who were my companions . VAh , there ' s quite that , " said the best-looking man of the party ; " if the whole twenty-nine of us was down , it would not , be too much , I ' m sure . " . Tlie young beggar-boy here ; advariced again to mcj and with a knowing wink , cried , 4 ' 1 can't tell how many times I ' ve been ' in-i-oh ! it ' s ' above counting ; I ' m sure it ' s above a dozen times . " , . . ' ¦ : ( To be Continued ' , .

      ! Caution To Buvers Of'gawk.—A Few Days ...

      ! Caution to Buvers of'Gawk . —A few days ago a Lincoln gentleman who was out shooting . picked up adead . partridge , which , having no mark of injury upon it , excited- his attention . On arriving home he opened the bird , and submitted the wheat , ifec , in the stomach to analysation .,, The , quantity of arsenic discovered was prettyriearly sufficient to have poisoned an -entire family , and bad 'this bird been found by poachers , -or netted by thcm . vwhen unable to fly , it would in . all probability have . been : sold to the ' dealers , and thus \» very ; serious affair might have resulted . Farmers now' very generally steep their seed'in . arsenic—Ifacohishwe Chronicle . ¦) \ Arinivjas 07 Specib . —The following arrivals of specie have ; just taken ; pJaco ; from- the cooritries ^ riientioned : ;^ - The . vessel-: Java , from ; Bbm [> ay ; brought 7 cases of silver ; consigned to order ; tho Diamond , from ; Callrio ; lbox' " of gold ; addressed ' to an eminoh t house ; and 1 ' -bar of silver , -and' 1 . box « F gold ; consigned to the Banfr of England ; the

      Jlighlander ; Ironr Oporto , ' 4 cases of ' sibrcriconsigned ^ to order ;; < the Free-trade , t from' Onorto , 2 cases i of . i specie addressed ,-and 1 case consigned to order ; tBoi ! ( Qlenelg , from Port Adelaide , Bonibay ,-snd the Cape j of Good Hope , 5 , 491 : bags of coppery Jconsigriedito . i order , 1 case of specieifrom the iCape ;! addressed , ;; and 16 boxes of . silver from Boriibay , consigned < t ©;; order ; the Charles Brown well , from Coqurinbo and < Valparaiso , 325 bars of copper ; addressed to ^ firmr of eminence ; the Parliament , from Boston ;• Vniteflr States , 600 bars of , ( Chili ) copper * sinulariy adr r dressed ; the Carnatic , from Cuddalore , Madras ; and :. - the Cape * 1 box : of specie from the / latter plaeeil consigned to order ; the Essex , from ; Calcutta and i the Cape , 1 box of specie . frdm the latter ; place » : ad- j dressed to a firm of eminence ; -tbo ; Black-IrVhice ; ) from Aricy and Islay , L 3 , 000 bags ! of , icopper , ad-: dressed to a house of commercial eminence ; and ? : the vessel Coldstream , from Calcutta , 5 hoses iof : silver , -consigned to order . - .: -io « i ' . iiv . -r , c ; : ¦ > . -.- ' ; , - =,

      MATHBMATlCAl , PniLOsorHitns ^ Tho most absurd b " obk in nature is that ; of amathematkiaD , certainlyi '" Dr ; Gregory 'ori Philosophical Necessity :- * He fancied « iofive « ought ; to . act '^^ lik ©/ orV » in- phyj ' sics , ' if necessity were true ; arid- that' to ' ¦ offer a * porter a guinea to go a mile 8 onth « wcst and another ] to ; go a mile- > south-east , ' - ought to act . bhn in itbe" ¦ mean " , directionbetween the two , due south ? Be wfotean octavo to prove thisj and when the worlfl ' laughed deemed himself ill used ! . ! i A ! TERY'RAW MiTEWAU--3 fr . ^ the'land ' is ' tfie landlord ' s raw is . - Butlaridlords ' . havea m \ ieh the minds ' of those farmers whom , continuing to pay excessivo rents . owws hopo of ft p « -viia 9 tinwVvf tt »

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  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 26, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_26011850/page/7/