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Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th December 1851, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, MONIES RECEIVED Fob the "VVkek Ending Th...

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    • errafas sntemgme
    • ffiflsfljjrra ti-w ZnitUimm
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      How Everybody Might Have " A Merry Chris...

      ^^^ a ^ MMiHMtttf n ^ nT ^ nd the moral elev ation of the whOlo * -j than all the acts of Parliament passed See the time of Cromwell , aud all the * ' ons preached since" tLe days of Laud . S tarn the cnjrenfcoicompassionfor human fHoff and suffering , the benevolent desire to *! Lne our fellow brings from degradation , des-* r ~ tion or vice , into this channel , would be , in teed a truly Chriitian recognition of that com-A broth erhood , which constitutes the essence " f Qbristmas festivities and bounties . Nor need ? hereto 8 * 5 fear tQat if t y Bttc ^ me ! ms tQe « «> r should cease out of the land - * there ; and the moral elevation of the whole

      ouldbenowantot opportunity lor tne exercise ] S domestic affections , or the gratification t those social and kindly instincts of our attire , which receive happiness by being ° nabled to confer happines on others . On the ^ ntrary , circ * ° ^ nome 8 T P athies aud R ations "would be expanded—the happiness r jH | , from the bestowal aud participation in ofineral happiness , increased . There would

      " till ba amp le occasion tor the tender and C onsolatory offices of friendshi p—the kindly fferin" of human sympathy * for human sor-! Lf . though the platf > rm of society would i , e elevated , and a huge mass of preventive e vil , suffering and sin , be removed , yet , in a vorld of imperfection and progress , there v 0 nld remain a boundless field for the exercise * ] l tbe noblest and best faculties of our -nature .

      . .,,, .. , Above all , such a rational and brotherl y nse the soil g iven to us as a common herit age—of the faculties created for us hy a cornea Father—of the wealth which has resulted from tbe centuries of labour and experience of the whole people , would , h y promoting the material welfare , the mental elevation , and the moral purity of all classes , make the Christian religion a reality . Instead of the

      oitt erness of sectarian hatred , the war of creeds and classes , the ' malice , hatred , and afl ¦ ancharitaWeness , ' which now pervade the so-called Christian world , we should , perhaps before the close of 2 , 000 years from its advent , witness the accomplishment in practice ofthe system announced to the shepherds on the p lains of Bethelera , as intended to prodnca Glory to God in the Highest : on Earth , Peace and Good will to men . '

      ^^ A^Mmihmtttf N ^Nd The Moral Elev Atio...

      December 27 , 1851 . * ^« m THE NORTHERN STAR . J ' T : - : ¦ 7 * ^ . ¦ - ¦ ¦¦ n . i .. ii . , *^> tfctM — 5

      The Tbles. The Employers, And The Trades...

      THE TBLES . THE EMPLOYERS , AND THE TRADES . 2 fone of our readers will forget the recent case of the Wolverhampton Tin Plate "W orkers . In that case the Messrs . Perky Wve , at a fearful expense , if not comparative rain to themselves , succeeded in inflicting a -few months' imprisonment upon men who , actuated by a sense of right , did their best to

      defend the interests of labour . It was easy to foresee , however , that even that limited and costly triumph would tempt men of tyrannical mmasio venture upon a course of persecution , whene ver they fyund their despotic wills thwarted by combinations of their workmen , and events are taking place in Manchester which serve to show that oar ideas are very likely to be realised .

      It will , perhaps , be the better course to state simpl y the facts of the case to which we are alluding , oefore we proceed to make any comments upon it . The Executive Council of IheAmsigamaten Society of Engineers , Machinists , & c . —a body composed of about 12 , 000 of the most intelligent of the English operatires—associated together for the pnrpo .-e of help in sickness and death , sustenance during want of employment , afcd mutual protection in all trade disputes , has had its attention directed to the evils of the system of piece

      mrk and overtime . The Council patiently investigated the subject , and finding that workmen were making continually seven and tight , and sometimes nine and ten days each a week , and working late and early at piecework , while hundreds of their fellows , as capable and industrious as themselves , were seeking in rain for employment , and living in constrained idleness upon the funds of the society , came to the conclusion that piecework and overtime were great evils , and that it would be far better , if what there was to do

      vere divided more equally between all there were to do it As , however , this was a matter of great importance , and they only desired to represent the wishes , and serve the real interests of the whole trades , they did not act upon their own judgment , hut caused the opinion of the Operatives in all the branches to be taken . In answer to these inquiries , it was found that a large majority in etery locality , taking a correct view of their best interests , were decidedly in favour of piecework and systematic overtime being discontinued . Their fortified

      OTsm strong impressions being thus , and supported by the vast majority of their members , the Council issued two circularsone to the workmen , declaring the result and recommending the commencement of the new system with the new year , the other to the employers , announcing the fact , and craving their consent and co-operation . We quoted portions of both these circulars in our last week ' s impression , aud with regard to that addressed to the manufacturers , we maysay thata more respectful moderate and conciliatory document never

      issued from a body of working men . It contained no exaggerated statements—no denunciations , no querulous complaints , no hitter reproaches , but was couched in those straightforward terms which every honest and independent man ought to he able to use to another / no matter how high bis station , or how vast his wealth , without the risk of offence . All idea of intending to interfere dictatorially hetween employers and employed was utterly disclaimed . An endeavour wasmade to show

      the manufacturers that which we believe to be perfectly true—that piecework and overtime are the dearest ways of getting work badly done , and equally injurious to both parties . Aa appeal was made to those better and higher feelings , which are common to men of every class , and which one would tbinlc would prompt those employers who thought rightly , rather to see all moderately employed and enjoying fair opportunities for social comfort and intellectual improvement , than some idle and others so overworked as to have neither

      strength nor the capability for thought leftafter their labour was over . " An earnest appeal was also made that the words ofthe Council ffii ght he received in the same amicable spirit as that in which tbey were used , and tbe help * f the masters was craved to carry out the hange which was likely to produce so much gtod toall . It is difficult to know , if the Council of the - ^ Dal gamated Society were to act at all , how "• ey could possibly have acted in sl more "federate or conciliatory manner ; but it seems

      t , l at the masters were of a different opinion , f «» r a hout the ninth of December a meeting of the heads of what are called some of the fading Engineering firms of Lancashire , tool place , aud some resolutions of a perfectly ^ ique character were passed . The most im-F « na nt of the series was , that if the work-Pf ¥ e of any ofthe firms turned out on strike , ad the other memhera of the Association ^ ° ald at once shut up their factories and * ° rn their workpeople adrift upon the world ! ^ nch compact as that is so evidently un"Shteous , that men who could agree to it but little in

      ^ nld have faith each other . feb *» eihhig more binding than morality—^ aielhing more sacred than a promise , was ^ med necessary to keep this treaty from ^ g violated ; and quite consistently with the ^ trines of the thorough-bred Manchester Sel ! o ol 6--the pupils of which know no higher ^ wship than that of Mammon , nothing more 0 , y than wealth—a money security was ^ solved to he taken as a pledge of fidelity "fon & ? part of each member . That , evincing it ( U <} fhe opinion of these Manchester ^ anufaeterers toward each other , was deter-

      The Tbles. The Employers, And The Trades...

      i 2 ined on , aud it was . accordingl y resolved that every one joining the Association should deposit IPs . for i & J-h of the workmen in his employ , the money te he -forfeited if the agree , ment was broken . The i & U of December was the day fixed for gathering m' the ' headmoney , ' and we suppose that it was duiy paio , for sometime before the 20 th of December , the representatives of the conclave funds , hand ULWed on , aud it was an-v-wWi- * ....... i . ^

      m of course , sought the congenial spirits who preside over the destinies of the limes newspaper . On that day an advertisement appeared in the ' Times' deliberatel y stating that the dozen or more commercial despots who signed it employing ten thousand numan beings to make wealth for them , had determined , if the workpeople of any one of them struck , to turn the whole of their hands out without employment upon the world .

      * ° doubt some of these gentlemen are scandalized at Irish landlords turning their tenants out of their holdings by the hundred to starve in the highways or rot in the union house ; but are they doing any move justifiable act ? We never yet heard—we think we never shall hear—of Irish landlords—bad as they are—covenanting with each other that if the tenants of one do not pay their rent they will all commence a general crusade against tho occupiers of their estates , and punish the innocent for the faults of the guilty . The law of illegal conspiracy is in a

      very unsettled state , and sadly in wa » t > . of definition . "We are called upon to obey , it , although it is past our comprehension ; and we can find no one with any certainty to tell us exactl y what it means ; even the judges themselves are , we believe , at issue upon the matter ; but , whether in the legal sense ofthe term , this combination be a conspiracy or not , everrman with a well-ordered mind , judging it by the standard of right , will hold it to be an atrocious offence against the best sympathies of humanity . It really seems to us that the world is turning upside down . Just

      as we see the authorities iu other countries becoming insurgents , and rising in rebellion against the law , here we see employers , who havebeen eloquent about the mischeviousness , the wastefulness , and the carelessness of strikes , banding together to have a strike themselves , and a strike , too , of the worst and most unjustifiable kind . Workmen of th « Amalgamated Society have sometimes struck against an employer whom they conceived to be acting oppressively ; but those who were working under good masters did not , therefore , leave their work . The madness and

      wickedness of such an idea M'ould have ensured its rejection , but the masters are , it would appear , less wise and less conservative . If one set of men ofieuds they will punish all alike , including the contented and the discontented , in one common condemnation . An old Latin writer says : — ' Those whom God wills to destroy he first makes mad . ' If that he true , if madness does go before destruction , let those manufacturcrs'look to it . The symptom has shown itself—destruction will not be far behind .

      As the great organ by which parties work is the press of course these Manchester manufacturers must have their organ . "What organ should they choose ? It is a wise saying that there never was any evil , no matter how detestably planned , but agents could be found base enough to execute it . Where should they look ; for au advocate hut to that paper which has proved itself ready to ignore truth , and to disseminate the blackest calumnies . That paper which probably many of them had seen burnt amidst unanimous execrations . That paper which urged on the

      Perry's at Wolverhampton in their suicidical course—that hounded on a special jury only too ready to convict , to give an adverse verdict when men who asked for the ri g hts of themselves and their fellows stood at the barthat urged ihe Judges , when sentence was to be passed ! to make law the instrument of persecution , and to turn justice into vengeance . In short , a feeling only too correct in its instinctive action , led them to the ' Times' when they had dirty work to be done , and , impelled by a fellow feeling of hate against the producers of wealth , the 'Times' espoused the

      cause , and kept to it all the weight of its talented , unscrupulousness , and ingenious mendacity . The advertisement we have already said , appeared in the ' Times ' of the 20 th . On the 22 nd a letter appeared , signed ' Amicus , ' written , most probably by an employe of the * Times / under the direction of the Man ches * er conspirators . That letter blended truth and falsehood as perhaps only a * Times ' writer knows how . The poisoners of a past age possessed a deadly art confined to a few breasts , and , happily , their secret seems to have died with tbem . The power of

      compounding the intellectual poisons vended by the 'Times , ' we would hope is equally limited , and that to the next generation it will be only a tradition of an evil that was . * Amicus' who , whatever else he may he a friend to , is not a friend of truth , accuses the Amalgamated Society of interfering so dictatorially with masters as to prevent the proper management of their own establishments ; as demanding the abolition of piece-work and overtime , and as requiring the immediate discharge of all the labourers employed at the machines , and the

      filling np of their places with mechanics belonging to the Trades' Union . As a useful means too of rousing public opinion against the workers , the Amalgamated Society was said to he one of Socialists and Communists , desiring to equalise wages , to put the lazy aud the industrious upon the same footing , and to carry out the theories of Loras Blanc . A hawker is reported to have said to a disappointed customer that his razors vrere not made to shave but to sell . This letter of Amicus was not written to convey the truth , but to serve a sinister purpose . The wish of

      the Amalgamated Society to abolish overtime and piece-work , are the only p arts which approach to correctness . The society have always suffered the wages of individuals to be fixed by themselves , have never encouraged the idle or tho improvident , have never either recognised or repudiated Louis Blanc , or t / iven in their adhesion to Socialism or Communism . They have in fact not interfered with these matters , as they felt called upon to deal with facts actually existing , leaving theories , whether right or wrong , to await their own time for development or

      extinction . On the 23 rd , no doubt , as part of a preconcerted arrangement , the Thunderer poured forth one of its anathemas against those who support the rights of labour in their simplest and most obvious form . There was nothing new about this outpouring of wrath . It bore a close family resemblance to those savage articles which were produced about the time of the Wolverhampton cases . The likeness , indeed , was so strong that we almost fancied they had been resuscitated to do duty again . It is said of reptiles , that there is only a certain quantity of yenom in their fangs , and that after a number of bites they become innoccons . Let us hope that in his

      capacity for baseness , the caluminator U likewise limited , and that once having discharged his spleen , he can only revert to Ins old effusions . The best minds of the Amalgamated Society , those men who have devoted during the best years of their life , all their energies to the elevation of their class , always without so great a pecuniary reward as the same talent and perseverance would have brought them in other avocations , often without p ayment at all ; men whose devotedness and disinterestedness would shame the corrupt ' Times , ' are denounced as unprincipled mischief-loving , mercenary demagogues , striving to create animosity and misery , so

      The Tbles. The Employers, And The Trades...

      that they may galu ' something' in the confusion . The members ' at . ' arge are satirised as ignorant , deluded dupes , anu l P < - are enjoined to put down at once tho deceivers and deceived , and as Lows Napoleon" aaid when he was meditating his coup d ' etat , ' to save society' from their machinations . it would be useless to say a word about the ' Time * . It is too well known to need that anything should be said . Its mendacity is taken fw granted . Its calumnies are notorious . Its vmdictivenees is undoubted . Its hatred of Freedom and its dread of the advent of popul .. ..... ..

      ar power too evident to be disputed . J \ obody respects it . Nobod y believes it . Many despise it , and more hate it . It is a patent example of might dissociated from right—of Intellect at war with truth and moralit y . Our childrens ' children will probably read in the pages oi some future historian some such pas age as this : — ' About this period existed the " Times " « t once the most unscrupulous and powerful Journal of the world . ' That paper we must leave to be dealt with by public opinion , which is alread beginning to act strongly , and will , in due time , make itself felt . But we would ask the masters to consider well the

      consequences of the course they are pursuing , The loss of both money and character which must ensue if they persist , the probable alienation of trade from their district , are worth being taken into account , and the animosities they are breeding up , deserve consideration . Possibly , too , after all their pains will be for nothing , for they are now face to face with she strongest and best organised trade association which ever was formed—an association which , according to the opinion of the Attorney-General , taken and paid for by the

      Council ^ is strictly a . legal one , and the members of which we hope are too well-advised to be excited by injuries into any unlawful acts , or cowed b y threats into abject submission . The Manchester masters will do well to be wise while there is yet timo , for whatever effect they may have upon the Amalgamated Society " , they cannot escape scatheless from the struggles , which is sure to entail upon them loss , vexations , and perhaps absolute ruin . The ' Times' may be prepared to risk such an issue ; but whether or not it is their true

      interest to brave the chance , is a question hi them to decide .

      What Is To Be Our Foreign Policy. Lord P...

      WHAT IS TO BE OUR FOREIGN POLICY . Lord Palmerston ' s resignation or dismissal from a position which , with short intervals , he has held under governments of varied political opinions for half . a life time , portends great changes in our relations with tho continent . At first it was imagined that the Gkey party in tho Cabinet had at length triumphed , and effected tho expulsion of a colleague between whom and themselves there

      has never heen any sympathy . But the 'Times' distinctl y denies that this is tho caso , and from the way in which it speaks leaves it to he inferred that the late foreign Minister has been removed by the Sovereign herself , and not by any Cabinet intrigue . Lord Falmerston has as our readers know , never possessed our confidence . His liberal professions always kept the word of promise to the ear but broke it to the heart . They werolike the dead sea fruit , fair to the eye , hut dust and ashes to the taste . There Is not a nation on

      the Continent that trusted to his assurance of sympathy and support which has not been deceived—not a popular leader who believed he could reckon upon him , that has not beeii betrayed , or placed in a worse position than he would have been if not deluded by his specious liberalism into the belief that England would not fitand tamely by and see the liberty of nations destroyed . But the time chosen for the removal of the

      'judicious bottle holder , ' as 'Punch' called the late Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs , ia , to suy the least of it , an ominous one . People cannot help thinking that , in some way or other , it is owing to the reception of the Einsbury and Islington deputation on the Kossuth affair , and the language he then addressed to those deputations . We know that our Ambassador at Vienna only recently

      obtained an official reception after the delay of several weeks , and it may he that it was accorded on condition that Lord Paimersto ^ should be dismissed . Should this be the fact , then this country has fallen under tho dominion of the despots who lord it over Europe . The black shadow has already crossed the channel and lours over England . The Cabinet of St . James's crouches to that of St .

      Petersburg . But , on tho other hand , while Palmers-ton affected to oppose Austria and sympathise with Kossuth , he courted a closer alliance with Louis Bonaparte , and was the first to recognise the unscrupulous and unprincipled usurper , who , by bloodshed and perjury , has just succeeded in forcing himself upon the people of Trance as supreme and irresponsible ruler . If Palmeeston ' s love of constitutional liberty was sincere , ho could not have made any advances of a friendly nature to a Government which is a flagrant violation of all the great principles of society . Even the diplomatic reason for an alliance between such a

      Government and our own , that a li-hnch Imperial Cabinet would ba a good set-off against the Northern despots , would not have justified such an alliance had it heen possible . But , unfortunately for Lord Falmerston , it seems that , among other seizures ou the 2 nd of December by the police , there was a correspondence of our Ambassador , in which the ' noble Marquis' had very freely expressed his contempt for M . Bonaparte ' s pretensions aud character . The result is , that Falmerston found himself in a fix , both with the Austrian and the French Government , that Lord Normanby has been recalled , and Sir 11 . Bulwer sent in his place .

      These are only the heralds of other changes . It must now he obvious to all that we cannot keep ourselves clear of Continental Polities . In these days of steam and railways and electric telegraphs , England is practically annexed to the main land , and cannot escape from the perturbations and shocks to which it is subject . It is necessary , therefore , that all classes in this country should in future pay more attention to Foreign Politics than they have hitherto done . We stand on the eve ol momentous events , and their consequences to Great Britain will greatly depend on the formation and exercise of a powerful and enliorhtened public opinion .

      Ministerial Humbug. We Did Not Expect Th...

      MINISTERIAL HUMBUG . We did not expect that the anticipations of ' nett Session' expressed last week would so soon receive official sanction . On the same day that our Leader was published , there appeared a note from the Premier , refusing to receive the Deputation from the Manchester Conference , on the ground that it would be inconvenient to receive a deputation from a particular district on a question which affects the whole country . This is , in one word , « Humbu-V SirE . Pbbl—who understood

      ministerial etiquette at least as well as Lord John Russell—never assigned such a reason for declining an interview with a deputation on any public question ; and Lord John himself in the days when public opinion and public supp ort were mofo needed and more appreciated by him than they are now , was happy to receive deputations from Birmingham , or anywhere else , in support of hia own policy , without dreaming of such a fantastic distinction as he has now made upon tbe subject of deputations- The Manchester Reformers are naturally veny indignant at this cavalier treatment * and : at a meeting heM on Tuesday used soms-zfsl & sr stress langoage as to the

      Ministerial Humbug. We Did Not Expect Th...

      Shuffling conduct ' of a man , who—as they bitterl y confeased-had repaid their ptf lhv mentarv ^ p ^ , B pfeS & m & Ml and oihcial Insolence , But that is tho smallest part of the affair , -the Manchester Liberals' may digest the affront tbey have received as best they may . They deserve little sympathy for haviuf Propped up a Ministry which has for the hS . five or six years been an obstruction to all reall y useful reform , and which has on many occasion s dragged them through the mud and mire of Whi ggism—made them vote black one

      night and white the next , merel y to keep tho Whi gs in place . Whether they will be content to continue lacqueys and lickspittles to the famil clique , or revenge the slight now P « t upon them , by refusing their support as a bod y next year , rests with themselves . The po . nt for the public is the certainty which this refusal implies—that the coming Reform Bill will be a mere sham . If Lord John had me lit anything like a real reform of our representative s ystem , he would have courted public suppork and s ympathy , He would have been happy to have hoard from recognised and influential leaders of public opinion inall parts ofthe

      country , what was the real feeling of tho people on this important question . He has shut himself up in haughty seclusion—gives even his own Parliamentary supporters no chance of approaching him—and the conclusion of all this is plain enough . His mind is made up . The reform he promised last year is to be so miserable , so paltry an evasion of the question , that he dare not come into contact even with moderate middle class reformers , lest they should take away from him all excuse for presenting to tho Legislature such a mockery and abortion .

      lhe course of tho sincere advocates of Parliamentary Eeform cannot be mistaken . Instead of asking themselves what Ministers will do , or fostering division among themselves , they ought to take a bold and a determined position with respect to a well-dofined aud practical measure . If this is not done , the Whigs will carry a sham Reform Bill , and then , in answer to future demands for real

      reform , tell us that we can ' t have a revolution in this country every lire or ten years , To prevent our being thus actually thrown backwards , there ought to be such a demonstration of public opinion on the subject , that if we fail next year in getting an efficient measure , Lord John shall have no chance of passing a pretence . The ground must , at all events , be left clear—that is all we can expect to do with the present Ministry .

      THE . ELECTION IX PRANCE . By force , fraud , and deception M . Bonaparte has succeeded in his object of making Europe believe he is the choice of the French Nation . The incomplete returns from sixtyeight Departments give him a total of 5 , 400 , 000 votes , or only 000 , 000 less than the number by which he was elected President of the Republic . In the present state of the French Press , and dependent as we are upon tho organs of the Usurper , and the tampering of the police with all intelligence , it is impossible for us to state correctly to what peculiar

      agencies this result is attributable , or how far it has been manufactured by the unscrupulous officials , who in all parts of France have been the zealous agents of an unprincipled and bloodthirsty usurpation . B y and bye we shall know more ofthe facts , and be qualified to judge how far the returns warrant any anticipations as to the durability of the rule which violates all the established principles of human government . In the meantime this is certain , that whether the vote has heen extorted by force or cancelled by fraud , Louis Napoleon has placed himself in a position , which will render all his acts in future amenable to sterner

      criticism than ever . For the tyranical and reactionary policy of his past government he himself blamed tho late Assembly . That he has destroyed aud swept out of his party every man of influence with the parties opposed to him . The country is at his mercy , and he can do what he likes . We shall see . The very means by which he has attained his perilous position demand from him unusual exertions to maintain it . If ho fails to meet the expectations of those who voted for him , there is but one tyrant to deal with and to depose instead of many .

      Monies Received Fob The "Vvkek Ending Th...

      MONIES RECEIVED Fob the " VVkek Ending Thursday , Decemubr 2 otu , 1851 . NATIONAL CHARTER FUND . IloPMYed by John Arn'mt . —15 . Savage , Lumlieth 6 < 1-Lcasin * -thorn , per J . Richardson 2 s ' 2 d— Greenwich Locn ii ' y , per J . Muvgan 5 s—Manchester , per T . Ormeshaw 10 s —Total 17 s 8 d .

      Errafas Sntemgme

      errafas sntemgme

      The Woolcomhers Of Halifax And The Distr...

      The Woolcomhers of Halifax and the district around it have , issued an address lo the public , in which tl ; ey complain that their employers , not saiiafied with the repealed reductions of wages within the last thirteen months , to which they have compelled the Combers to submit , have now deprived ihem of their light anil fire money—a right they have rnicved from time immemori-il . and which , with other reductions , makes a total reduction of nearly thirty per cent , within the last thirteen months . Messrs . Whilworth and Co . were the first to deprive their workpeople of this right , an infraction which was gradually followed by others , and , Inst of all , we presume ' in se !' -defence , by Messrs . Aktoyd and

      Son . This destrnction of their last remaining privilege has caused great excitement amonpt the trade , and a general meeting was held on the 9 th inst ., to consider what steps should he taken . After tie meeting had been addressed by several speakers , it was resolved to appoint deputations to viait on the respective firms , to try to get hack their rights , of which ti . ey hail heen unjustly deprived . The deputation wfs recived hy Henry Akroyi ' , E q ., ( one of the representatives of the . firm of Messia . James Akroyd and Son , ) in a gentlemanly manner ; he listened to their complaints with atiention and promised to restore wha" tbey wanted , on ronnition that Whitworth and Co . would do the same ; he kindly favoured the deputation witli a note from hia hand ' to that effect , and that as he ( Whitworth ) was the first aggressor , he ought to lis the first to

      comply . This , however , Whitworth refused to do unless ' all the other firm-: in the district would favour him with a similar note as Henry Akroyd , E ? q ., had done . Accordingly thn principal firms wer * waited upon , but tbey objected to ( - . ratify his (\ Vhit * . vorih ' s ) ambitious desires with their signatures , and so the labours of the deputation proved unavailing . The general meeting which had been adjourned to lhe 15 th inst . again met to hear the report of the deputation ; after which , it was resolved an effort should he made to provide ways and means hy subscription * among ibe Woolcombers of all firms , and that an appeal he made to a generous public in order to prevent one firm from holding a whole district of Woolcombers in bondage . A committee and collectors have been appointed , whose hooks are signed by the secretarv , John Hammond , and we trust this appeal to the district will be liberally responded to .

      CONSPIRACY OF MASTERS AGAINST THE NUMBERS OF THE AMALGAMATED SOCIETIES 0 ? IRON TRADES .

      Last week we gave the circulars addressed by the Executive of the Amalgamated Society to the members of the Society and the employers , relative to the abolition of overtime and piece work . ^ The proposed change has resulted in the formation of one of the uW iorcnitaWe cotiapwaeies of Capital against Labour ever known in this country . The Manchester employers met on the 17 th inst ., and , after setting forth that collectively they employed , in the aggregate , upwards of 10 , 000 men , they continued ,

      We have unanimously determined to close our establishments in case any turn out of such workpeople , or of the workpeople in the employment of ; iny of us , should take place on the 81 st inst ., or at any subsequent period , on the ground that such demands have not been complied with . We also ifeolare that we are compelled to adopt this coum- aa % purely asfe-naive step against the

      The Woolcomhers Of Halifax And The Distr...

      interference and dictation of -v will u „ f . vous class of agitators ., who r ! 7 n i but ! " . " < clll ° - fotce all well . dispo . edCXeo 1 tt , ° Un ,, g * ° tiC , with their -ploJe , KS ^ - - oan om ' y en ; i uvmisery and ruin to the re 11 ? ho cM an ^ industrious artizan . ' " - The fir *; - " •*""« «"> Ms list was that of the firm 0 f Hibbert , Plati" *"'* Son , which had signed an agreetneiu to coin ma nee He new system , and which nowrepudiates its own solemn * engagement , and abuses the parties with whom it was made . Tlie formation of

      this Master s League was folluwed f-y an attack or the men in the " Times by a writer ond .-r the s-gtiature of " Amicus , " and by a leader from " the "Thunderer , " in nhich the usual reckless d ' are .-gard of truth , and atrocious falsehoods , and mere presentations were resorted to for the purpose of damaging the Society in public estimation . The next step of the conspiracy was for the employers in the metropolitan district io meet , at the instigation of their brethren of Manchester , for tbe purpose of declaring war against the men in their employ . AH the principal estaliliahin"i ) ts were represented , a : id a series of Free Trade and politicoeconomical resolutions having been agreed to as a basis , they resolved as follows :

      The employers here present , ;; nd such others as xhall adhere to these resolutions , take this earliest opportunity of announcing that , sololy as a - * je ;* - suvq of self defence , and a protection to their independent workmen , they will , in the event of the hands of any establishment in London , Manchester , or elsewhere , going out on strike , or otherwise enforcing tho demands of the Amalgamated Soeielv on the 31 st of December , 1851 , or at any subsequent period , entirely close their establishments on tlie 10 th day of January , 1852 , or within one week after such other period respectively , until the causes which havo rendered this step nccessarv shall have heen removed to tho satisfaction of the executive Committee .

      A Society was formed under the title cf lhe Central Association of Eiaj-loyera of Operative Engineers , etc ., for the purpose of carrying ihe foregoing resolutions into effect , and an Executive Committee appointed , consisting of the following persons : ' John Scott HusspII , Thomas Maudslay , Joshua Field , John Penn , George Rennie , Richard Ravenl . ill , John Seaward , Bryan Donkin , jun ., Henrv Gnssell , 0 . E . Amos , John Birth , Joel Spiller , and George Bovill , Esq ? ., together with the Chairman and Treasurer , with power to add to their number . Amicus returns to the attack in the 'Times ' of Thursday , and an able defence of the men by Mr . W . Newton follows his letter . Mr . Newton denies that the Society demands the discharee ofthe men not belonging to the union , as ' Amicus ' alleged ; they do not , as was attributed , demand an equality of wa-res , or higher wages .

      The ' Times , ' with ool audacity , appends the following note to Mr . Newton ' s letter , although it was an oflicial one , and signed as a member of the Council : — We only ask that men should bo allowed to leave work when tkoir day ' s labour is done , except in case of accidents , which call for continuous attention until the repair is completed . What humane man can objuct to such a request as this ? Why are tho mechanics' institutions of this country neglected by mechanics ? Why su-n thu lecture and the class rooms abandoned by all but the middle and upper classes of society ? Because the mechanic is compelled by the arbitrary power of his employer to work until ei * lit and ten o ' clock at night . This _ may not he generally known , but thousands of our trade are continually doing so when trade is but moderately good , " although at the same time there tire hundreds out , of employment .

      We only ask that men should bo allowed to leave their work when their day's labour is completed ; and none can object to this but , those who a ' ro ombued with lha cold and heartless principles of economics known as of the Manchester School . Your correspondent asks ' whet-. er in obedience to the caprice of an agitating committee , tho dismissal of good and faithful servants , who have in no way misconducted themselves , should follow as a matter of course . " If workmen are to be dismissed because they have decided only to work six days per week , who will dismiss them ? Do workmen enter into such foul conspiracies as that

      entered into by some of the Lancashire employers ? If one firm have a dispute with their workpeople , do tho workmen of other firms attempt to putii & h another and a worthy employer . Ko , Sir , it is tbe employers of Lancashire who havo adopted that principle , nnd they declare " that they will discharge their good and faithful servants , who have not misconducted themselves , if the b * . d and faithless servants of others do misconduct themselves . " Was there ever conspiracy equal to this ? Who ought to dread the decision m the Staffordshire case ? Who are now the combiners arid the conspirators of society 1 Let " Amicus " answer who .

      Ho further stales that wo are advising threats and intimidation . I defy him to the proof . Read our circular Sir , and s *» y if it ia not respectfully couched , or if there is aught offensive or dictatorial in it . [ Ed . —We give insertion to the above letter , iiUhnugh there is nothing in it to show that the persons who are now engaged in disturbing the tranquillity of tbe manuiacturing districts are identical with the directors of the " Amalgamated Society of Mechanics , & c . " The authors of the present eoainiunication , in fact , distinctively

      repudiate tbe outrageous demand made upon the manufacturers by ihe directors of the ' * Trades ' Union" for the discharge of a certain class of wotK " men , although they runy agree Willi litem upon " overtime , " and " piecework . " It would bs useless to offer any comment upon the letter until the connexion of its authors wiih the present troubles in the manufacturing districts has been properly ascertained . ] Thus the masters first repudiate theirengagements —make " vronblas , " and then throw the blame upon the men . It is the old fable of the Wolf and the Lamb acted to tbe life .

      The Titiar. Trip Of Tub Fkmiless, Auxili...

      The TitiAr . Trip of tub Fkmiless , Auxiliary Scrrw Stbambb . ~ - Tho application of auxiliary steam power to the mercantile marine of this country is now engaging general attention , as its lHiportiinue U Wing every day admittel how essential it will be to the prosperous carrying on of our increasing commerce , and every successful experiment cannot fail to be deeply interesting to all connected with shipping , 'lhe Fearless , built in our port , is the property of a new company , started for the purpose of the Mediterranean trade . The Fearless , which is built of iron , is 126 foet long , twenty-three feet beam , twelve feet depth of hold , 111 tons register according to new measurement , her mean draught of water being eleven feet of

      water when loaded , her engine beins ? a direct acting high pre .-sure condensing one . of thirty-five horae-powev , with a six-feet screw . The Fearless is schooner rigged , and singularly enoui'li , drawn on similar lines below water with tho far famed America yaehfc , although bei . * . / - * laid down previously to the arrival of tfi 3 America in this country . On Monday morning she started from Cumberland Basin , upon a trial trip down the Channfil . At the time of her reaching Eingroad she was going at tbe rate of nine knots , against a flowing tide , her s re w making 110 revolutions in the minute . U | xn coming to the measured mile she ran over it against tide iu rive minutes and thirty seconds , the

      pressure on the hoiler at this time being thirty pounds to the square inch , and the engine making 134 strokes pur minute , and upon going again over the measured mile just after high water , tho engine making 188 strokes , with thirty pounds pressure , she ran over it in five minutes and five seconds , her mean time , with and against tide being five minutes and seventeen and a half seconds , llaving called in at Portishead , she ran down Channel , passing the Ayr stwimer with great , ease , and her engines wore worked up to 140 strokes in the minute , thu Fearless going at the rate of ten and a-lialf knots , according to the log , which was carefully hove under the superintendence of Admiral Cocksley . —Bristol Mirror .

      Jehomb BoNAi-AmE and his Disser Bn , ij . ~ It is to be lamented that the bill of the supper given by Jerome Bonaparto , on the evening of his nomination as King of Westphalia , to Pigault le Brun and another friend , nt tho Palais lloy «| has not been preserved . When the repast was over , and the bill presented , his Majesty found that neither himself nor his guests could muster enough to settle it . In this dilemma the host < m summoned , ami the difficulty explained to him . lie a .-ked the name of his debtors , but when the two friends announced themselves as the chamberlain and librarian of the King of Westphalin , the host , thinking it a joke , said , "I Mippo . se you will tell me next that your fat companion is the King ot Westphalia ? " " Precisely , "

      replied the newly appointed monarch , But the landlord , believing he had to do with a 86 t of rogUi * 8 , declared they should relate their pretensions to tlie guard ; upon which Jerome , in a terrible taking , offered his -watch as a pledge , and departed . The trio were scarcely out of the house when the restaurateur discovered the Imperial cypher on the watch , and flew with it to the commissary of police . The commissary posted to the prefet , the prefet to the Minister , and the Minister to the Emperor . The next day his Majesty of Westphalia departed to enter on the government of his kingdom . —Frotr . Father Gavazzi has announced his intention to some friends in Dublin to visit the Irish metropolis in tha month of April next for tho purpose of delivering a series of orations .

      Ffiflsfljjrra Ti-W Znituimm

      ffiflsfljjrra ti-w ZnitUimm

      Position And Prospects Of Socialism In T...

      POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES , A gentleman of the legal profo .-sion who has emigrated from this country to the United States . g : ves in a contemporary an interc-nig --ftetch of ti-s practical efforts made bv various sahoals of oculists m America , tho peculiar doctri-tea of , " „ . v ' i : and l h facilities orb-red to them by ths Kndp « f « ° ,. con , iit -o * - nnii institutions cf the fuleial Jtepnblio . He any a :-¦ of Sil 1 " ) t * goingr

      , „ w' ^ , ° " rapw- »« . nro on . AJany of them » f y , ara ' « nd , ears' stamlrug ! ' m ' , ' , ' , ' These experiments bars ' sufficed already to aettl .. definitely several points . Iheir nomber and extent are -re .-. te-r than is supposed in Europe . I n „ , informed , ¦ m n-spectaf . Ie authorit y , that there are fifiy-two Shaker villages in the United States . These prove , at least , one thing , that starvation , or the possibility of starvation , is by no means necessary aa an inducement to labour . " And iii . " . rt \ they prove that neither the pressure of want , nor the incitement of

      . competition , is necessary to * -pur to production , lite Sliaker . s are universal ! v h- idu * tr i * u 9—as inCustrious as they can be . Their productions are provernially excellent in the behest degree . Tneir religion .- systnn alone pi events the higher develop , meiits of industry—intellect * - * . *! , artistie . " On tho other haml , not the Shakers alone , but a great variety of other comiiiunitie .-:, seem to havo almost equally well established tlie fact that systems involving community of property are destruo live of p < .-rsoi , al liberty to buch as " extint ha to render them unbearable , except where either strong religious fooling , or some other do ; , inant ii fluence , exists sufficient to rentier men willing subjects of despotic power . I know not how many attempts to establish communities on what we supposed to bo rational winei-des , have failed from this cause , but the number is large .

      " There * is certainly one exception , Dot this CXample would not be taken intoaccuunt at all by the En < fli * h public ; and you may judge of the extent of tree inquiry in this country as compared with England , when I tell you that here tlie exception to which I refer is the suhject of much attention and dispassionate consideration . It is the case of certain religious sects , ; , nd in particular of one called hy themselves « The Free Ciurch of Christ , ' who havo adopted what tbey call ' compVex m .-friage , ' This is , in fact , what would be atonco stigmatized in England as the promiscuous intercourse of tho sexna , although it is re .. tty not so .

      But one great difficulty that has helped to assail all non-religious communities is at One stroke cut entiryly away . The aholiuon of private property , and the retention of any system by which one indi vidual has a monopoly ofthe society and inU-rcourso of any other individual , is a flagrant inconsistency . These ' Free Church' men have rejected that inconsistency . The great leading principle of this singular people is , that all the actions of life ought to bo undertaken with a view to tho attainment of perfection—perfection in all , perfection in being , perfection in production , perfection in the individual , perfection in the race .

      " Hut I need waste no more time or space over these perfectionists . I will only say that ih .-y consider all intercourse with each other should " be in every respect regulated by this perfective law ; that in it they should s ** ek their own perfection and each other ' s , a & vr-a-U as that of their offspring ; that , following this idea , and bringing to bear upon tho question certain alleged physiological facts , they aiiolish all marriage us between individuals and livo together as one husband and one wife , tho details of which arrangement I need not enter into . ' I am informed that they are u large and prosperous community ; that the ' utmost harmony and affection prevail ; that to strangers they appear lilts one family of brothers and sisters ; and that they are enabled to conduct their affairs without the despotism which stains other communities , while free inquiry on all subjects prevails amongst theut , and , consequently , a high decree of intellectual and ¦ Esthetic culture . "

      The honour of solving the great Social problem is reserved for America , not only from tho experience accumulated in those experiments , but from " the fact that here the land—the all in all—is available to the people . " Another element of success is , that the habits of the people have prepared them for rapid changes of employment . " And then there are cur political inimunitiei » . We have no such atrocious partnership laws as you can boast iu England ; no Joint Stock Companies ' Act 1 tto Combination Laws ! no jealous gove ' rnmeiU . il interference . And if we bad any legal hindrances , we should abolish them in a trice . While on the other hand , the laws are themselves continually recognising and enforceing more and moro ofthe social lights claimed for the people .- It would fill tbe remainder of this sheet to detail the admirable , the glorious concessions to social advance that have of late years be' -ti inscribed on ' the Statute Book of New York State !

      " Anotherreason , the people are move independent here than in Europe ; let foreigners say what they will , tho people arc more independent both of law" and of ctir' ^ m . You may have beard of outtalked of ncw ^ male costume . Now , apart from the fact that an industrial aim lies concealed in this very reform itself , what did we see last 4 th of July ? The factory girls of Lowell setting the fashion ' . With perf .-ct decorum ni * d order did these most veritable young ladies parade tho streets of that town , arrayed in the new and beautiful Bloomer dress ; and if they attracted attention , they met with no sign of disrespect .

      " I thought then , a year ago , that to have any chance for living myself in the midst of superior ^ " *'' social arrangements , or even for leaving my children in such when my own life had passed away , I must come to this country ; and now I think so very much more than I " did then ; or rather , I think that the social Reform will corno here not merely sooner than in Eurnp ? , but soon . "

      Execution In Switzkklaxd.—The Supreme Co...

      Execution in Switzkklaxd . —The Supreme Court of Berne , in October last , condemned a Frenchman , named Oilliotte , to death , and a woman nan-md Varin , with whom be had had an adulterous eotii . .-. Mi , to twenty-five years' imprisonment with bard labour , for having murdered the husband of the latter . Giliiotte petitioned the grand council for a commutation of punishment ; but i w . ia refused , and ho waa ordered for execution on tho 11 th . Before being taken to Porrentruy , where the murder waa committed , and whore the execution was to take place , he had an interview with tho female prisoner in the presence of a Protestant p istor and a Catholic euro , lie exhorted her to confess her guilt , but she peremptorily refused , and

      it was not without reluctance she shook hands with -aim in reconciliation . On reaching Porrentruy lie requested permission to address the crowd from the scaffold , and was told that he might do so . H « waa first taken to tho Town-ball , where the judges and . authorities of the district were assembled . There the sentence was read to him . and he was given up to the executioner . He was afterwards tiiktii in procession to the scaffold , the executioner wearing a red and black cloak , and bis sons , both on horseback , marched first , the prefect , in black uniform , followed , carrying his mace—he wes abo on horseback : then came the condemned on foot , led by a . cord ; he was followed by four ministers in full ecclesiastical costunns , and after them w-. « . s a curt containing a coffin . Dragoons and gendarme ' s

      accompanied the cortege . The condemned walked firmly to tbe scatVohl i nltbough it was situated sot-no distance from the town . He mounted it without assistance . A Protestant clergyman standing by his side then read , in his mure , a . speech exhorting the people not to imitate him , and to take warning by his example . When he concluded the condemned uttered several religious exclamations , and repeatedly expressed his repentance . Theexecutionei * having bandaged bis eyes and bared his' neck , placed his head on the block , and with a blow with , the sword severed it from bis body . It rolled to

      the ground , but . was picked up and shown to the people . The la .-t words the condemned uttered were ' O God ! come to my help ! " As the head fell an extraordinary incident oocum-d , A nilaa advanced with a g ' ass in his hand , filled r , with the blood , and drank it off ! He was quite epileptic , and it is the popular belief in that part ot Switzerland that the blood of a condemned is tho only remedy for the malady . A Protestant pastor then harangued the crowd on the awful spectacle they had witnessed , and the body was removed . This was tl o first capital execution which had taken place in the district of Porrentruy since 1825 .

      The number of building societies registerediia England is upwards of 2 . 000 , and the capital invested in them at h-ast four millions of money . ; MtssWray , of Math , has bequeathed legacies of £ 1 , 000 each to three clevgjmun , from" whoso preaching of " high Calvinistic " views she believed herself to have derived much benefit—the Bev . J . J . West , rector of Winchilsea ; the Rev . -A . Hewlett , of Ashley , near Manchester ; and Mr . Doudney , an Irish clergyman . She has also bequeathed £ "J , QflO tO Mr . , 1 . A . Wallinper , minister of Bethesdti Chapel , Bath , who some years ago seceded from the Established Church . Air . Wallinger and Captain Wray , brother of the deceased , are appointed residuary legatees .

      DirwMATicCHAsoKs . —Wohave reason to believe that the Marquis of Normanby is about to leuve Paris , and that Sir II . Bulwer is likely to replace him as our Minister in Franco . We hear , also , that Count Flahaut will shortly arrive in England as Minister from the French Republic , in the place of Count Walewski , who is about to return to France . —Daily Paper . - '• ' . « Prince Albert has transmitted to the treasurer of tbe Slough Mechanics' Institution a cheque foe £ 20 , as his Royal Higlmess ' a donation to its funds .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 27, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27121851/page/5/