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¦"¦-¦ ¦ ¦ ¦( 4 THE NaWfHEilN STAR. Septe...
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UrilllfeH EMPIRE FREEHOLD LAXD AND BUILDING SOCIETY * -' Ua au Advance vour Rent is Saved,—you become your own Land and Householder.
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Co Qrovre*!Mm3eKi*
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Ma. James Sweet, Nottingham, begs to ack...
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!IIE I0BTHEB! STAB SATCISD.VF, &EVTEMBER 29, IS49.
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OUR SYSTEM, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS...
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THE BRITISH CALIFORNIA. The means by whi...
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ROBBERY BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. Last ye...
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RECEIPTS OF THE RATIONAL LAND COMPANY Fo...
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TIIE CURREXCl' QUESTION. TO TIIE IIDITOn...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
¦"¦-¦ ¦ ¦ ¦( 4 The Nawfheiln Star. Septe...
¦"¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦( 4 THE NaWfHEilN STAR . September 29 , 1849 ^ ^^^^^^ B ^ BUm ^ tMmmtmma ^^^^—^ - ^——^ - . ___— ^^— ^ b ^ m ^^^^^^»^^^^»^—»^""™ - I- „ — ¦ " ^^ ^^ W >
Urilllfeh Empire Freehold Laxd And Building Society * -' Ua Au Advance Vour Rent Is Saved,—You Become Your Own Land And Householder.
UrilllfeH EMPIRE FREEHOLD LAXD AND BUILDING SOCIETY * - ' Ua au Advance vour Rent is Saved , —you become your own Land and Householder .
Ad00410
« EroJW .-T . S . Dcscombe , JEs * ., 1 LP . T . \ f jklet , "Esq ., MP . B . B . Cabbem , Esq ., M . P . L . J . TLmsiW ) , Es * , M .. P r j sJr rS ' ~ fl " Commercial uank 0 f Lo „ aon ( Branch ) , 6 , Henrietta Street , Covent Garden . umaon Office . —So . 13 , Tottenham Court , Xew ltoad , St l ' aucras , London . —Damel WuaaAJt Rem , Secretary . _ j ¦
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ALSO , 1 IHE UNITED PATRIOTS' AND PATRIARCHS' BENEFIT SOCIETIES . Enrolled pursuant to Act of Parliament Thus securing to its members the protection of the law for their funds and prope r ^ . Legalised to extend over the United Kingdom , with the privilege of appointing Medical Attendants , Agents , & c An opportunity is now offered to healthy persons , up to Forty Years of Age , of joining these nourishing Institutions in town or country . Loxoos Office . —13 , Tottenham Court , Xew Road , St Pancras ( thirteenth house eastward from Tottenham Court-road ) Daxiex . AVmuii Kuffi-, Secretary . 2 S Patrons .- T . S . DascomE , Esq ., M . P . T . Waklet , Esq ., M . P . B . B . Cabbell , Esq ., M . P . i \ O'Cossor , Esq ., M . P . L . J . Haxsabd , Esq .
Ad00412
% g ~ ¥ o . 5 , of the Democratic Review contains A HIGHLT-IXIERESTIXG XaRKATIVE , AXD EXPLANAtion , of the events of " the thirteenth of June . " By Victor Cossideraxt , Representative of the People . SOW BEADY WITH THE MAGAZINES FOR OCTOBER , No . V . of
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BUPTUEES EFFECTUALLY CURED WITHOUT A TRUSS!—AU sufferers from single an double Ruptures © f every variety , however bad and long standing , mav be nermaneutly cured by Dr . Barker ' s remedr , which lias been established several years , aud acknowledged by many eminent members of the profession , to be die only efficient one extant . It is applicable to ¦ both sexes of all aires , easy and painless in use , and certain in effect Hundreds of testimonials and trusses have heen left behind by persons cured , as TROPHIES of the immense success of this remedy . Sent post-free , with full instructions , on receipt of Gs . in postage stamps , or by post-office order , bv ML ALFRED BAlUvEtt , Medical HaU , 108 , Great Russell-street , Blooinsbury-square , London ; where may be consulted daily ftom two till eight o ' clock ; Sunday , ten till oue . Medical aud Surgical Advice , GRATIS to the poor , on all disease * .
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PRICE THREEPENCE STAMPED . NEW WEEKLY NEWSPAPER . On Sat itT'l € >/ , Ocioler Eth , mil he FaUislied A ' o . I . of ( lie ¥ EEKLY TRIBUNE , Uniform with the Smctatok . DEVOTED TO THE EJJEBCEnC AND INDEPENDENT ADVOCACY OF DEMOCRATIC REFORM AND SOCIAL AND MORAL PROGRESS .
Ad00415
TO BE SOLD , AT SXIG'SEXD . A FOUE , ACRE FARM , situate on the Meet . The crops consist of wheat , barley , beans , peas , swedes , potatoes , and splfndid mangel wnrzel , in addition to which tiiers are tivofinestore pigs . The whole of the land is cropped , and in good condition . Price £ 5 B . Application to be made to the Directors at their Office 141 , High Uolborn . ' This is one of the bsst far . * us in the cossesswa . of the Ce « : pany . ' " "" -
Ad00416
THE CHEAPEST EDITION EVEil rCBLJSHED . Price Is . Gd ., A new and elegant edition , with Steel Plate of the Author , of PAINE'S POLITICAL WORKS . Now Ready , a New Edition of * r . Q'GOSRQR'S WORK OH SMALL FARMS Sold by J . Watson , Queen ' s Head Passage , Paternoster row , Loudon ; A . Ileywood , Oldham-street , Manchester and Love and Co ., 5 , Nelson-street , Glasgow . Aud b > all Booksellers in Town and Country .
Co Qrovre*!Mm3eki*
Co Qrovre *! Mm 3 eKi *
Ma. James Sweet, Nottingham, Begs To Ack...
Ma . James Sweet , Nottingham , begs to acknowledge the receipt of the following sums tor Victim Vund : —A Friend , ( id . ; W . Smalley . Xew Radford , 2 s . lid . ; Mr . Vend , Od . ; from King of the French , 8 d . AxTl-ItalBUG . —We quite agree with you , hut think that the publication , of your letter would not . effect the object you desire . AV . Hasvev , Dowlais . —We cannot answer your question . Mr . JhcooK , Ifuddersiield . —Your last letter is in type , but postponed for want of room .
!Iie I0btheb! Stab Satcisd.Vf, &Evtember 29, Is49.
! IIE I 0 BTHEB ! STAB SATCISD . VF , & EVTEMBER 29 , IS 49 .
Our System, And The Means By Which It Is...
OUR SYSTEM , AND THE MEANS BY WHICH IT IS UPHELD .
Perhaps it would be impossible for the most profound politician to invent a system more repugnant to the feelings and interests of a people , aud less in harmony v . -ith common sense , than that under which we now live ; and the cause—the onl y cause of its perpetuation—is , the disunion and infidelity of the working classes . When we use the term infidelity , we mean it in a social aud political , and not in a scriptural sense—we mean tho want of faith in their o vn order , arising , perhaps , from a want of knowledge as to what their united strength could achieve .
There is au old saying , "That after a storm comes a calm , " and it is equally true that after a calm comes a storm ; and that that storm is now brewing , no man with a particle of common sense can doubt . It is true that there is an absence of political agitation , but it is equall y true that the lull is consequent upon the mere temporary satisfaction now existing in the manufacturing districts , the operatives there being generally employed to supply neighbouring countries , that have boon had customers , or 110 customers , during two years of revolution . And this constitutes not only the danger of the Government , hut the weakness of the working classes .
Upon the one hand , tho Government will act upon the principle of "Let well enough alone ;' ' they will appeal to national tranquillity and absence of agitation as proof of loyalty and prosperity ; while—as regards the people—as soon , as their trado vanishes from an overstock of produce , those who are now apathetic because comparatively well employed , will exclaim when they are again discharged , "Wc are ready , now lead us on to death or glory 1 "
Have the working classes ever reflected upon the fact , that their power is greater when then ' employer requires their labour , than when they hecome inmates of the workhouse , in consequence of stagnation in their several trades ? If this is an admitted fact—and none we presume will venture to deny it—the people themselves , and not the Government , the constitution , or the institutions of the country , are their greatest enemies .
The people may rely upon it , that as long as any government can cany on the system of feeding idle , aristocratic paupers , upon the industry of their dependent slaves , that they will uphold that system ; a most iniquitous system , hased upon the folly of our ancestors , and the injnsiice of their rulers . We are now bowed beneath an amount of taxation which it is impossible for the people to submit to ; and the more thoroughly acquainted thev are with the system , tiie more thoroughly opposed will they be to its continuance . We have move than once commented upon the injustice of compelling the people of this age to pay a debt contracted b y the feudal lords of former days , and extracted from their fears by the apprehension of the loss of their estates .
However , if it is true in law that an infant cannot he hound by any contract that he nu'y sign—and if the Duke of Buckingham is deserving of thafc slander so copiously heaped upon him for inducing his son to join him , when twenty-one years of age , to make the paternal propert y of the Plantaganets liable lor the extravagance of the race—it is still mors unjust to hold persons—not born ' when
Our System, And The Means By Which It Is...
this national contract' was made with the lender , to observe faith- —which he never guaranteed . The present generation did not contract the debt , and was no party to the plunder ; while our Church and State , that is—our parsons , our soldiers and our sailors—receive annually more than would pay the interest of that enormous debt ; and now allthefinanciafreformers of our day , are competing in prize essays , as to the best mode of meeting the great difficulty .
The Church , poor rates , and stamp duties , amount to more than the interest of the National Debt ; . while the impossibility of an enlightened people , living in this most enlightened age , to expound or understand the law , and their necessity to pay large fees for its construction , amounts to more than the interest of the National Debt . If an owner of property wishes to dispose of that property , it requires six , nine , or twelve months to
investigate the title ; and , if purchased , upon the clearest opinion as to its validity—there may be new trials—different pleadings of lawyersdifferent interpretations of judges—different verdicts of differeutjuries—and appeals to God knows how many superior tribunals ; and thus every attorney ' s office is a robber's den , and every barrister ' s chamber a conspirator ' s hiding-place ; and this in this most civilised country , in this most civilised ago .
Hope , in his splendid work entitled " Anastatius , ' tells how his hero was loaded with presents by the barbarians and uncivilised tribes ; and how , upon entering civilised Europe , he was cheated and plundered by the civilised merchants , of the valuable skins aud other property presented to him by the barbarians . We may go still further and show a larger amount of expenditure , all consequent upon the evils of our present system , aud all unprofitable because not reproductive expenditure . For instance , if we take our gaols , our workhouses , our court-houses , our barracks , our police stations , our gaolers houses , our bankers houses , our brothels , our lock-ups ,
our gin palaces , our churches , our meeting houses , our schools—established for the purpose of teaching sectarian doctrines—and estimate their expenses , we will find that they constitute an enormous national debt ; while the privileged classes live ' upon dissipation , drunkenness lewdness , plunder , deception , aud injustice , under our pious , glorious , and immortal Church and State system ; while Right . Rev . Fathers in Gob luxuriate in tho ignorance , religious dissensions , and differences created by the various and numerous expounders of an all-wise and beneficent Creator ' s views , relying upon the bayonet , the musket , the cannon , the bludgeon , and the law ' s terror , as the upholders of OUR national faith and THEIR national plunder .
We have now foreshadowed , but faintly however , tho present system , showing that our enormous expenditure is , in many instances , consequent upon the tyranny requisite to uphold such a system—that is , the Governmental tyranny , and what are called Governmental expenses—while wo fearlessly assert , that the dependence of the people , in consequence of their not being represented , enables their privileged employers to plunder them annually , of a larger amount than would pay i ,
the interest of tho National Debt , tho cost of Church and State , and all the other Governmental expenses . And yet such is the apathy of their order , that they have ever been satisfied with the mere transfer of power from jugglers to promisors ; and hence Ave repeat it , that their every suffering is a consequence of their own apathy and indifference ; and our most anxious hope is , that their next squeeze may recall their attention from a change of men to a change of measures .
The British California. The Means By Whi...
THE BRITISH CALIFORNIA . The means by which permanent profitable employment may be found for the increasing population of these islands ought to be tho paramount question with all statesmen , as it is the most momentous and pressing in fact . "Wc have , on various occasions , shown tho inadequacy of Emigration and extended Competition iu Manufactures for this purpose ; and the present state of the working classes , even under a so-called season of commercial aud manufacturing prosperity , supplies ample proof that new fields of reproductive aud beneficial labour are required .
Year by year the burdens increase which grow out of tills want . The people for whom there is no honest labour provided , cither fall on the rates , and vegetate in workhouses , or betake themselves to criminal courses , and lead an active life of plunder , which it costs an enormous amount annually to watch and punish . No radical cure , either for pauperism or crime , exists , save one . Employ the Puc-ple . Give them the means and opportunity of
supporting themselves , and they will do so ellbctually , besides contributing Avillingly and largel y to the legitimate expenses of the Government , and the wealth and prosperity of the community at large . If it is asked" How arc tho masses to be profitably employed ? " we reply— " On the Lasd . " In our own soil wc possess an almost illimitable and inestimable mine of wealth , and the time has come when it must be worked prudently and vigorously .
It has been the habit of certain journalists to decry the Land 1 'lau of Mr . O'Connor , as visionary , fallacious , and impracticable ; and even yet , as was shown last week , there are some scribes who calculate so securely on the ignorance and prejudices of their readers , that they talk of its failure , aud ridicule the idea of a man being able , by spade husbandry , to support himself and family on four acres of laud .
Wc arc happy to observe , however , that ignorant eilrontery is no longer to have its own way . There aro numerous indications that a better time has come , and that , in influential quarters , the capabilities of spado husbandry to promote individual independence and comfort , and collective prosperity , are fully recognised aud admitted . The Royal Agricultural Societ y lias just awarded a first class prize to an essay by Mr . John BitAVENDEPt , of Cirencester , on the advantages , or disadvantages , of breaking up grasslands ; in which the writer , in a practical and forcible manner , demonstrates that a remedy for pauperism aud crime lies at our own doors , and that we have only to stretch forth our hands to secure it .
Hitherto , an almost inveterate prejudice has prevailed in the landlord class against breaking up grass lands , aud , we believe , that feeling is still very general , though , iu some districts , it has been very much shaken , and iu most grass laud districts , portions of the permanent pasture aro being broken up . But these are , as it were , only slight " clearings " compared with the enormous breadths of second and third rate pasture land , which ought to be brought under tillage . The reasons why it should be so , are both weighty and conclusive . In the first place more capital , activity , and agricultural knowled ge , are
reqvaiedtomanagc an arawefann , than one principally laid down in grass , and any tiling which tends to attract these qualities to * agricultural pursuit * , from the feverish and gambling competition of manufacturing and commercial life , is , per se , aii advantage to the country . Secondly , a given quality of arable land , properly managed , will keep more live stock , and give more lueat , or dairy produce , than the same land , exclusively pasture , can do ; while , at the same time , there will be a vast produce of grain in the one case , which is altogether absent in the other . And lastly , that , while thus bringing into profitable occupation the capital and intelli gence o f the country , and
The British California. The Means By Whi...
augmenting the means of subsistence to the nation—that it will supply a constant , healthy , and profitable occupation for the labourer . This last consideration is of vital importance . A man , and perhaps a boy , to each hundred acres of pasture , is probably beyond the average amount of labour employed on pasture farms throughout England ; while , even under the present mode of cultivation pursued on wellmanaged large farms , each hundred acres of arable land furnishes employment , on an average , for four or five men—a difference of considerable importance in the Labour market .
Mr . Bratender—who has evidently bestowed great attention upon the subject , and is thoroughly and practically conversant with it— -treats it under three heads : " Down Land , " " Cold Pastures , " and " Grazing Ground . " It is not our intention to follow him through these various divisions , but merely to point out the manner in which he has—under the sanction , aud with the approval- of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng land—substantiated all Mr . O'Connor ' s propositions , with respect to the value of spade husbandry and small farms .
The worst grass lauds are those denominated " Cold Pastures , " of which a very large portion of our pasturage consists . On these lands Mr . Bra vender is of opinion tho labours of tho large farmer would be unprofitable , and that the onl y way to cultivate them advantageously is by the spade—in small farms . According to Professor Johnson , " The next great achievement which British agriculture has to effect is , to subdue the stubborn clays , and to convert them into what many of them arc yet destined to becomethe richest corn-bearing land in the kingdom . " When such land , however , has once been brought to a . high state of fertility , it can be kept up at less cost than lighter land .
How is this " next great achievement of British agriculture" to be effected ? How are the worst grass lands to be converted into "the richest corn-bearing lands in the kingdom ?" Mr . Bravender and the Royal Society of Agriculture , unite with Mr . O'Connor in replying , "by spade husbandry and small farms . " Tho facts in support of this reply , adduced by Mr . Bravknpeii , are so important , and at the same time so interesting in themselves , that we cannot occupy our space better than by giving them in full : —
In North Wilts there is a considerable extent of land called Braydon , wliicli is singularly notorious for being worthless land . When disforested and disposed of by the crown , it was literally a wilderness of waste . It became tlic property of various persons , some of whom had estates joining , who either planted it ov broke up the turf , and cropped with corn as long as they could get a new corn for an old one . For many years those portions which were not planted appear not to have received any improvement from cither the occupiers or proprietors . Tho cultivation of that which had been broken up was abandoned to nature , and those portions which had been left untouched by the ploughs still continued to produce a very scanty pasture , considerable portions being covered by furze . Whilst in this state several years elapsed , and year after
year the entire unsevered produce was put up by auction , which very seldom , if ever , realised more than 3 s . Gd . per acre , but more frequently 2 s . O'd . per aero . One proprietor , however , not content with this state of things , in which there appeared no hopes of amendment , took a bold stop , and parcelled out some of his estate info mall holdinr / s or cotfajc / imtis , varying them in extent from five to twentyfive acres , to suit tiie abilities of tenants ; and wit / tout draining , or in amj other way improving ( lie land than by the erection of cottages and outbuildings , let it at rents which vary from 25 s . to -10 s . per acre , in addition to the rent for the buildings , the proprietor taking i ![ ion himself to pay all rates , tithes , and taxes . It must not be supposed , amongst a number of tenants adopting various modes of cultivation—some , for want of information , abandoning
themselves to chance , and others content to watch nnd imitate the processes of their more favoured neighbours —that all of them were successful in their management ; but those who were not so on their first attempts soon saw in what they erred . In describing the practice of those squatters of the forest , I shall select four tenants whose management may he taken as an index of the general practice amongst them . One of those whom I have selected did not succeed at first from having committed an error which experience has corrected . A . occupies live acres , and has done so for eight years , The rent is £ •_> . per acre for the land ( the house and building being charged iu addition ) , but was a little less the two first sears When he took the laud it was pasture almost covered with t ' ur / . e . He grubbed up the furze ard burnt it , and without
paring and burning the sward , dug the land from four to nine or ten inches deep , according as the soil would admit , taking care not to turn up the poisonous yellow clay . K was then planted with potatoes , tho crop failed , the produce being only fourteen bushels to the acre . After the potatoes were off , the land was manured and dug over again , and sown with wheat , which was hoed in . The wheat was a moderate crop , twenty-i % ht bushels to the acre . The land was very rough during the growth of the wheat , being covered over with rods and course grass , which injured it . Paring and burning would have pvel vented this , and by omitting this essential preliminary , he lost his potato crop , and damaged the succeeding wheat crop . —B occupies CJ acres , and has had it eight years , lie paid MSI . 13 s . 4 d . per acre , for tho first three years , and
afterwards £ 2 . per acre , exclusive of the buildings , lie cultivated it all with the spade and fork . On first breaking it up he divided it into two parts , on one of which he grubbed up the furze , pared off the sward , anil stifle burnt it , heaping on furze , sward , and soil as much as he could burn . The other part was done in a similar manner . Both divisions were dug from four to nine inches deep , the depth varying as the soil varied , and were planted with potatoes . On the part which was stifie-burut his produce was upwards of three hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre , but on tho other part of the crop was scarcely worth getting in , After the first year this man commenced a regular system of cultivation * ; having two acres in wheat , two in potatoes , aud two acres planted with various crops , small portions being in barley , beans , peas , pulse , turnips ,
carrots , parsnips , cabbage , mangold wuvr / . el , iVe . 'ihe land is always manured for wheat , and wheat always follows the potato crop , He manures with such dung as is produced from his crops , and with such as he can purchase from the neighbouring towns . Tho wheat is sowed broadcast and hoed in . Peans do not answer very well until the land has received two or throe years cultivation , and then they arc always sown mixed with peas , producing a crop which is colled pulse . His first crop of wheat produced thirty-six bushels to the acre . The produce varies a little with seasons , but under his cultivation the crop will average thirty-two bushels . His potato crop will average 300 bushels , barley thirty-six bushels , oats forty to fovly-cight bushels per acre . Turnips ten to twelve tons per acre ; carrots , cabbages , and parsnips are generally a
good crop—cabbages especially . Xo lime or avlificial manure is used . 0 . occupies five acres , and pays Hi per acre , besides payintr for the house , lie broke up half his laud and stifle-burnt in the first year . lie heaped on as liiueh soil as he could without putting out the fire , with a view of charring it to change the texture . He planted the land with potatoes , and the produce was nunrt than : ' , 0 U bushels to tho acre . Tho next spring he stifle-burnt the remaining half , and planted with potatoes ; and in ihe autumn of IS 42 sowed the other halt with wheat , which produced thirty-six bushels to the acre . He always manures for wheat after potatoes , and believes the best course to be . 1 st , potatoes ; 2 nd , wheat ; : Jrd , barley uud green wops . C . recommends that the laud should be manured after potatoes for wheat .
_ Here , then , is the practical answor of a practical man to a question of universal and paramount importance . Land , which retained , ns dairy farms must continually depreciate in value —Lantl , which in the long run becomes absolutely worthless—which in its natural state is of the most unpromising character , becomes , under the magic influence of labour judiciously bestowed , a mine of the most valuable wealth . Corn fields wave where once the yellow furze grew . The " wilderness of waste " disappears , and is replaced by a district rich with varied crops . The " solitary place becomes glad , " for the voices of happy and usefully-employed human beings are heard there , and the smoke of their homes gladdens the eye of the traveller .
Aud all this is done with money profit to every one concerned in the fertilising and noble process . Mr . Bravender says , the profit of breaking up such Land will be is . 2 d . per acre to the tenant—to the landlord 4 $ . per acre—to the labourer eight times the expenditure per acre . In all these calculations fifteen per cent , is allowed to the tenant on the extra capital employed by the tenant iu the
conversion . Taking these calculations as correctthough , we believe , it could easil y bo shown that they arc much under the actual results that would bo realised—it will be seen that this mode of giving employment to the people offers an immediate outlet for all unemployed labour—that it would reduce the burdens imposed on the community , for the support of involuntary able-bodied idlers—that it would convert those who now live upon the toil of others , not onl y into self-supporting kbem-ers but make thorn , in turn , a source of ire « ll wealth and strength to the State—that landlords would receive better rents , capitalists be provided with secure aud remunerative investments , the subsistence of the nation enormously augmented , and its power and influence thereby increased .
In order to obtain these desirable and ma * . mficent results wo have onl y to marry the unemployed labour to the unemployed laud of tho country ; aud we . cannot doubt , but that Sided by such a powerful auxiliary as the Ivoyal Agricultural Societ y of England , My
The British California. The Means By Whi...
O'Connor will yet succeed in bringing about such an auspicious and happy union .
Robbery By Government Officials. Last Ye...
ROBBERY BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS . Last year the public were startled by the disclosures of the gross mismanagement of the Woods and Forests , and the Land Revenues of the Crown . The Commissioners apppointed to protect and control the management of these large estates , were proved to
have—if not connived at—at least suffered the unchecked existence of an unparalleled system of wholesale and unblushing plunder by their subordinates . In consequence of these disclosures , a number of the minor officials in the New Forest , who had been engaged iu these robberies of the National property , were , together with some timber merchants in the vicinty— -partkeps crimims—arrested and committed for trial . The fact of the Forest having
been p lundered to a large—but unascertained extent—was certain . It was equally certain that it could have been done by no other parties than persons who were entrusted with its safe-keeping , and , iu fact , the legal evidence implicating them , was generally considered conclusive . Of course a severe and exemplary punishment was anticipated in such a flagrant case of dishonesty on the part of the servants of the Crown . A formal prosecution "was
instituted—some of the persons were brought to trial at "Winchester , and , much to the surprise of everybody , acquitted I The others were suffered to drop , and tho whole subject remained iu an obscurity , which it appeared vain for non-officials to attempt to penetrate . Tho veil has just been lifted from this mystery , and to say the least , the disclosure of the manner in which the business of the State is conducted , is more astonishing than
satisfactory . Lord Duncan , on the ground that the Committee of last year had not finished its Inquiries at the commencement of the last session , applied for , and obtained the reappointment of the Committee . Thoy have just published their first Report , a second is to follow ; and if their first be a sample of the stock , we shall certainly have , in the aggrogate , such an exhibition of shameless neglect of duty , dishonesty and rascality in high places , as never before was exhibited to the world .
Nor can it be alleged that the Report is a partisan one . The Committee was composed of fifteen members ; one ( Sir B . Hall ) never attended ; and two ( Sir R . Inglis and Mr . Tkeuwey ) appeared but once . Of the remaining twelve , six were office-holders ; and Mr . Hayter—the same worthy who tried so hard to blacken and destroy the Land Company—acted as the whipper-in , and defender or palliatcr of the monstrous abuses which the investigation brought to light . After sitting forty days , and examining a great number of witnesses , Lord Duncan prepared and submitted a report embodying the evidence , and , ol course , as an honest m an , strongly condemning tho conduct of the parties implicated . Tho official members of the Committee were too
strong to permit such a document to pass . They debated it during three successive sittings , and at last , on the motion of Lord Jocelyn , they cushioned it , by resolving that they were unable satisfactorily this year to report their opinions , but would do so in the event of their being rc-appointcd next year . We have no doubt but that if the officials could have burked the Evidence , as well as the Report upon it , thoy would gladly have done so , but the practice of Parliament would uot allow them to do so ; and whether authoritatively condemned bv a Parliamentary Committee
or not , the facts stated m that evidence must produce but one impression on the public mind , and that is , that the permanent officials in this department have most disgracefully neglected theiv duty , if not absolutely counived . at the plunder of the very property they were appointed to take care of . After the revelations of last year , respecting the New Forest , people were prepared for any disclosures , however extraordinary , as to the management of these estates . But we venture to say , that the facts narrated -with reference to the Salcey Forest , are of such an astounding nature , that unless wc had them published under the authority of Parliament , they would not be believed .
These facts , as gathered from the evidence , seem to have come to light only by accident . Though Mr . Milne—the permanent and Managing Commissioner—must have been full y aware of them , not a whisper was allowed to escape which might put tho Committee on the qui vice , or provoke unpleasant resetvrches . The present Deputy-Surveyor of Salcey was anxious to refute some evidence which had been given respecting it last year . In his zeal
ho tendered himself as evidence , and was accepted . In the course of his examination the fact oozed out , that there was very little old timber in Salcey Forest—perhaps not more than a thousand p ounds' worth , at tho utmost ; that there had , however , been a very large amount of timber in the forest before he was appointed , but that it had been cut down b y his predecessor , Mr . Kia'Ct Kent ; that , in fact , this Mr . Kent had " cut down the whole
of the forest ; " that there were reports of "irregularities ; ' * and that Mr . Kest was ultimately transported some thirteen years ago , in consequence of these "irregularities . ' ' Tender and delicate as the word "irregularities'' is , when applied to the cutting down of tbe timber of a forest which , previous to Mr . Kent ' s appointment , returned nearly cloven thousand pounds sterling annually—it was still *| touching thequkk" too acutel y for the ' officials to bear without wincing . Mr . IIaITER led tho witness and tho Committee a wild goose chase after some "Will o' the wisp , " and took
their attention off the subject . But the hint was not lost on Lord Duncan . Ho followed it up ; and , by the examination of subsequent witnesses , extracted that some years since , through the instrumentality of Mr . Milne , this Mr . Kent—who was an attorney ' s clerk , totally iguovaivtof themanagement of timberwas appointed to a situation of great responsibility ; that in that situation he had absolutely cut down , and sold for his own purposes , tho
whole of Salcey Forest ; that this wholesale depredation continued for several years , unchecked by the Commissioners of Woods aud Forests ; and at length , unable upon some occasion to settle a quarterly account—an agent was sent down . Tho honest Deputy Surveyor took the alarm—absconded— . was captured—placed at the Old Bailey on a simple charge of embezzlement , aud , having pleaded " guilty , " was seutenced to transportation , in which he died .
By this ingenious process , the facts were all nicely hushed up , and prevented from coming before the public . How much additional plunder Mr . Kent pocketted for kindl y pleading " guilty , " will , perhaps , never be known ; but there can be no doubt it was a very convenient arrangement for the Commissioners who received the public money , and allowed the public property to be robbed in this way . To render the chance of detection still more difficult and to hide this ugly affa r cratetii ^ darkness—if n » e * 'liW . u „;„„ ., i .... i .. 1 ... a aarkuess-if ossible-it singularly
p happens , tliat Mr . Milne can neither remember the name of the person who recommended Kest to him ; nor can the minutes of the Commissioners be found for tho period at which he was appointed . In addition , the personal appearance and manners of this protege of Mr . Milne ' s was so unfavourable , that a laud surveyor who was examined , declared that he refused to associate with him , that he was not at all fit for the situation ho held ; and that , in fact , he refused to associate with him on the ground
Robbery By Government Officials. Last Ye...
of Ins bad character . AH this time tho num was cutting down a national forest , and aonlv ing tho proceeds to his ¦ own purposes , ' 4 hil the innocent and amiable Commission ers ven > totally unaware of anything being Wro „ -, From tho time of his appointment in 18-77 * ' 1035 , the nation lost some 0 , 000 ? . a year 1 this 'S'ory intelligent" protege of ' \ J Milne ' s ; " and at tho present time , instead f returning a revenue of nearly ' 7 , 000 / ., ' ,. , 1 11 . , , ¥ >> WJt , ( l-VpOji to tho public treasury , it entails an M « uii loss of 5001 . a-year , which the tox- pavm le
tins over-ridden and over-burdened „ ., f have to pay . Only think of an estate f 13 , 000 acres , entailing a loss of 500 / . a-ve-. upon its proprietor ! Only think that histeZ of receiving any revenue from such a nolle tract of land , we have absolutely sunk 7 ^ 1 in its management ! ' * This , however , is a specimen of tho manner in which nearly 250 , 000 acres of public lands are managed by the Woods and Forests From such a magnificent propert y , it appears that the revenue last year was not simply ? jiy but that it absolutely entailed a loss of 1 ' \ i 22 ! the
upon public , exclusive of all the charges of the London office , lawyers' bills , and other matters , which at tho lowest may be put down at 12 , 000 / . more—making not far short of a « annual loss of 17 , 000 / . upon a propcrty ' of the most valuable description . It is hi « h ti mo that this monstrous ini quity should bo exposed —that the evil doers should be brought to justice , and that such extensive tracts of counfnf instead of being jobbed aud plundered , to suit tho personal interests of office-holders , were made subservient to the public welfare aud advantage . In future papers we shall pursue the subject with this object .
Receipts Of The Rational Land Company Fo...
RECEIPTS OF THE RATIONAL LAND COMPANY Foil tub "Week E . vpi . vg Tmj . nsDiy , SiiraaniEtt 27 , 1 S 10 . SHARES . £ s . d . £ P . d . Tcignmouth .. 1 19 S Maidstone .. 10 0 Ncwcastlc-upou- C . Mowl .. 0 1 l > Tyne .. 3 2 G K . PattUon .. ( j >> 4 Worcester .. 1 14 0 U . II . Chatwin .. 0 2 0 Whitliiigton and Cat .. .. 3 8 1 £ 12 410 Loughborough .. 0 14 0 ^^^ EXPENSE FUND . Worcester .. .. .. .. .. Old
MONIES RECEIVED FOR THE PURCHASE OF MATH 0 N . T . N ., Malvern .. 143 0 0 J . H ., Dcvonport 12 0 0 P . s ., Learning- A . Y ., Gateshead 10 0 0 ton .. .. 3 0 0 W . A ., Malvern 78 0 a J . S ., Sowerby .. U 10 0 l \ E ., Clartluim .. 30 14 5 M . II ., Gateshead 104 0 0 W . S ., Todding . £ 533 4 5 ton .. .. 148 0 0 -
TOTALS . Land Fund 50 I 10 Exjwnse ditto ... ... ... 0 10 Mathon 538 4 5 JJouus ditto ... ... ... 20 14 tj Transfers ... ... ... ... Old Returned Aid Money and Rent ... 41 0 I ) Hay Hold ... ... ... ... G 00 £ 018 5 9 W . Dvxox , C . Dotlb , "" "" T . Claim , Cor . Sec . P . M'Giutii , Fin . Sec .
EXECUTIVE FUND . Jlcceiveil by s . Kydd . — Waterhead Mill , £ 1 ; Todinoiilcn , 4 :-. yd . ; Todmordcn , 10 s . FOR COSTS OF M AC N AMARft ' S ACTION . Received by W . Hidek . —A few Working Men , Almvielc . per J . Young , Ss . ; T . Kerr , Leicester , ( id . FOR WIVES AND FAMILIES OF VICTIMS . Reecral by W . Uider . —Xotlingliam , per J . Sweet , 4 s . ( id . ; a few i ;« il HtpuWicans . Manchlinc , Avrshirc , 5 s . Chartist .-Issociation , Leiewfer . per IV . JJradsivortli , -5 s . EXPENSE AT INQUESTS ON WILLIAMS AND SHARP . Received by \ Y . IIidhk—Peterloo . : » . ¦ -. ; C . Kendall , Uradford , Wilts , lid . Received at L ^ ni > Orace . —Mr , Pavey , Is . FOR WIDOWS OF THE LATE MESSRS- WILLIAMS
AMD SHARP . Received by W . Uiueb — Oakham , per O . Drake , Is , Received ntLxw Owice . —J . M . \ Y . Rnimtree , od . FOR THE WIDOW OF J . WILLIAMS . Received at Land Office . —A Friend , per Mr . Lee , 5 b . VICTIM FUND . Received by S . Booxiiam—Uaveutrv , as . ; Richard Hallain . ls . ; . lames Greenwood , Is . ; colfectcl at the Jolinstrt-ut Institution , after an appeal by Mr . Thomas Cooper , £ - ' Ws . ad . ; J . 1 ) ., Is . ; Mr . Middluton , Is . ; T . Enticott , Is . : John Morgan , Is . ; (! . S . Ployd , U . ¦ T . D ., o \ ; Whittnigtun and Cat , Us . id . ; an Kneiny to Oppression , 1 « .: O . ilranstbrd , Is . ; > Yilliam Rider , 14 s . Cd . ; Mr . Wj-Iden , Is . ; Maiylobono Chartist Locality , 2 s . Id . ; Thomas Allar and Friends , 4 s . Kid . ; Hamilton , £ 'i 10 s . ; Cripplcgate , Js . ad . ; Profits on Article extracted from the evening Suit , £ 1 Ts . 3 d .
Tiie Currexcl' Question. To Tiie Iiditon...
TIIE CURREXCl' QUESTION . TO TIIE IIDITOn OF TIIE XOKTHKItX STAII . Sin , —I am glad to find thnt Mr . Culpan and myself agree on one important point on the Currency question at any rate , namely : —that banking and paper mouey making , as at present conducted , is a " gigantic swindle , "—that the present race of bankers are " robbers by license , "—and their ijosscssions are just so much public plunder . It is not for me to dictate to Mr . Culpan as to tho maimer in which lie should conduct his case , but I rcrtainly think , that a heaping together of a string of assertions , without giving anything in the shapeof proof to any of them , is not likely to be ( ho must convincing , lie intimates " that the present laws do not allow the currency to expand in a just proportion with an increasing population . " I don ' t
know what he means by " expansion , " ami its necessity remains to be proved , but surely we liavo " expansion " enough . The Bank of England folks acknowledge to have twenty-eight millions in circulation . All the other banks , I suppose , will have about the same amount ; and if we add Exchequer bills , accommodation bills , cash credits , shinplasters , and all the other infernal devilment , wo shall have 110 difficulty of reckoning up a paper circulation of in ore than two hundred millions Surely there is enough here to satisfy the most craving-appetite . If " bur friend wants * more t'lHH tills ho will have to strip the very shirts ctt ' otil backs in order to procure a sufficiency of the raw material for the manufactory of the fabric on which to print his notes .
"We are told "tliat gold is liable to be bought tip by the foreigner , and . " thus abstracted from circulation , and that such abstraction produces rc . idftf serious in its consequences to the labourer bv reducing bis wages . " When ? Jr . Culpan gives ; : s liief proyi ' s of all this it will be time enough to rcpl v ; fertile present , it is sufficient to ask him if he would part with a sovereign either to the foreigner or any body else without receiving something in exchange , which he believed to be of qreater value thau tho ; sovereign ? And , bear in mind , that as the sovc- reigns were "abstracted" by the foreigner , those 1 that were left would increase ' in value , which would I very soon bring their "abstracted" brethren back ; again in order to restore the equilibrium . i siiouui
nice to know how an increase of paper : e money would prevent the evils of competition . If if the establishment of a , " veal Bank of England" " could be made to increase the means of the workin * % man , or the small capitalist , would it not also in- 1-crease the means of the Barings and the Rothcliilds 13 m the same proportion ? If by some & o « ujmcus is you could double the nominal wealth of the man 111 with ten or twenty pounds , could not the same con- njurjiig trick double the nominal wealth of the ma . \ a . witli one hundred thousand or a million ? Most at certainly it would ; and the disparity in their res- ; sconditions
pectivc would be precisely the same aa r 3 before , and the power of the rich to oppress tho ho poor would m , t iu the least be abated . " Oh , " says ija Mr . Culpan , " but this bank would lend its notes to i to the poor man for one per cent ,, and therefore tho tho rich capitalist would be compelled to lend at tko tho same . " Iu reply to which , I will onlv sav , that ii ' t si all this could be accomplished , the same power that hat eouW accomplish it , through the medium of a bank , nk , could make the rich lend their money , and let their leir property , at one per cent , without thebanl ; and thushus save all the expense of management—an item wortlwtu saving , mctliinks .
"Area ! Hank of England , having its centre ifo iiU London , and blanches in every town in the Uuitcditcdl Kiiii-vtam , hwd , like the national debt , upon thotkof property 01 the nation ; issued ou the produce cfc off tho nation , and withdrawn as that produce wentventt into consumption , and thus establishing a jtistjustit equilibrium between produce and money ; " Tlusi'liias bank is to lend its notes at one per cent , just to pn $ pnjj the expenses of management . Now suppose all tbh thiiii practicable , instead of being , as it certainly isy is ? nothing but the greatest imaginable nonsense ? nse ? What « ' 0 tild the seven and half per cent , gentry b < y bo < doing to allow it to come into operation ? Again , \ in ,, ' . ask , would not the same power which could enforeiforeci such a regulation , so inimical to the interests of thf thh moncyiuonger , and so beneficial to their phindci'cdci'cc victims , compel tho money lord to submit to or , o or , n per cent , without the Bank ' ? and thus save the Me en penso of some thousands of bunking « 6 t , abli 55 ltott «» t'a « tttiti
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 29, 1849, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_29091849/page/4/
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