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Northern Star (1837-1852), 23rd May 1846, Edition 3 of 3, Page 7, " And I will war, at least in words, (An...

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    • Cotton Manufactures.—(From tbe 3fanche$ter
    • tfovtivpi ^obtments*
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      Greenwich And Deptj-0rd: A General Meeti...

      _j _, 5 l country which render such a measure as thu _neces-^ _rv toour continued well-being , and which _authtriies _g _^ a change as is now _propesed . " If we are a commer _jj and manufacturing people , and if commerce is flourishing , why should not manu & ctnres be prosperous * _jjaiow it has been said , and may he said _again , what _glgnifies agriDulthrein a country _eBsentJally wnunerciai « _nJ mannfacturing ? But now I come to the parties _v ho are likely to put these questions , and who have been opposed to us * in the course of this struggle . I find a _^ _o av of men eminent for their _eloquence , _distinguished fbrthW energy , _andmore _distingaislied for their _energy and then * eloquence than fortheir knowledge of human _juture or their acquaintance with political science . I am not one of those who have ever spoken _disrespectfhll _rfthatbodyofmeatlseein them a great commercial

      _confederation , exercising a great Influence ever their _fellow-snbjects . ll _"* hou » _n 1 disapprove of thew doctrines , yet the same liberty of speech to which all other men are entitled , must not be denied to them . Although I disapprove of their doctrines , I admire the men who , possessing their abUiry , and who , filling a private station , yet proud of their own energy , banded themselves together for the purpose oi accomplish ing a great , and , what appeared to them a laudable object Although they seemed to me to take only a onesided view of the question with which they undertook to deal , yet I never could forget that they were engaged in ihe promotion ofa great cause , and I should be the last to say that they are not entitled to the public respect This country exists by free discussion . If any man _supposes that opinion can be put down _otherwise than hy

      _fMBuiscussion , he makes a very great mistake , and he contributes to the invasion of our liberties . If the Anti-Corn Law league be pt-rmcious—if its doctrines be deleterious—if they lead to confusion—if they be adverse to the interests of a free country—if there be a party in this country wh _« thought all this , and who thinking it prepared te resist that vast confederation by similar _energy hy active organization , by intellectual power , and who also devoted themselves to that which they believed ta be just and right , what hope would there be for the _conntiy if they did possess an able advocate ; but finding one in wfeosa ability theyplaced confidence , and whose integrity ihey never for a moment doubted , and finding him , tbey found with him those who not only accepted the trust of guiding this great party , but eagerly sought for the possession of that trust , " ftoud cheers ) The foUowing j

      _bsdy—they who wera represented by these elected chiefs , or those rather who assumed to be leaders—the represented body , I say , naturally slept at their posts ; it was not ferns to come forward . Bnt even if we had come forward we did not possess the organization which is calcinated to impart that confidence te others which would enable ns to meet hostility ; instead of that we trusted to Others . ( Much cheering . ) We trusted that others who accepted and challenged the position of our leaders would protect onr interests and carry out our views , But what happens ! Therighthon . baronettold hisfriendsduring fhe present session that he had on previous occasions given them Tery many significant hints . 21 c told us that even so far back as last year , Lord Grey had found him out ( lond cheering ) ; and the right hon . baronet seemed surprised to find that people could have been so long

      mistaken in him . But these observations do not apply to me . I was not quite so late as others in making the discorery . Two years ago he rose and appealed to me as a _TratettionUt ; butt thought then , and I said so too , that protection was , in 1 S 44 _, pretty nearly in the same state that Protestantism was in the year 1828—some of my friends were at that time quite indignant at my saying any thing ofthe sort , bnt they are now good enough to acknowledge that this instead of being a calumny was only a prophecy , and the right lion , baronet may now congratulate himself on the complete success with which he has entirely deceired his parry . ( Cheers . ; Eren the noble lord the member for Lynn , in a moment Of frank conversation , assurred me that he trusted in the right hon . baronet , because he believed that he could make the best bargain for tke Protectionists ; and he assured me farther that it j

      was not until the last moment that he entertained the least doubt respecting the intentions of the right hon . bait . He thought onr leader , as he then -was supposed to be , was about ihe Important work of making the best bargain that under the circumstances could be hoped for ; but in time there seemed tobe some ground for suspicion , and doubts arose as to whether or not he was likely to make the best bargain . Bo honourahle gentlemen now think that he has made the _bett possible barg un for ns % ( Cheers . ) Suddenly the absolute truth came out , and file discovery of it seemed to confound every one who sits in this part of the house , if I except the humblest of the number . At last the announcement was made , and it was regarded as a social revolution : and what were the circumstances under which it was made ! Were hon . _gentleman called together ; was there any thing like an assemblage of the members of both houses , or of either house of Parliament f _JJo , the announcement was made ia the columns of a public journal—there it was made

      for the first time . It is well known that that journal is careful never to insert intelligence of importance except upon the highest authority . ( Cheers . ) The eftect of this annoucement upon foreign Courts and upon foreign "Ministers was indeed _remaihnhp _. I happened to be abroad at the time , and I can bear witness to the effects which it produced . _Foreign potentates sent to Snglish Ambassadors demanding .-in explanation . There were Ambassadors calling upon "Treatpotentates _^ and assuring them that there was not a word of truth In the statement . _( Htar , hear . ) Members of the government were ioond Calling upon other newspapers , and prevailing on them io State that the first announcement was nothing but an impudent fabrication { Hear , _hearj _lafermany negotiations the _ommpatait minority ofthe Cabinet prevailed , but not nntil _sereral Machiavellian _manoeuvres had been tried , and Cabinet after _Cabinethadbstn formed and _icformed ; and then , after all this , the right hon . baronet acts as if we had _deserted him . ( Hear . ) "Who can forget his tone _* -Wko can force ! Ids indignant glance .

      " Tectaborhuaitris tunc ego m : _nncisequ _2 S _Hcceque terra cedit insoleutiffi ;" which is to say that a protection Minister means to govern _Borland with tke aid of the Ami-Corn ia _' . v _League , and as for the country gentlemen , they may snap their fingers . ( Cheers and laughter . ) But it _appeared to me even then that the right hon . gentleman had no cause to complain of his party . It is very true , that on a subsequent occasion 240 gentlemen recorded their sense of his conduct ; bat he might have remembered thai a considerable sec tion of _thirm were converted and obtained at the last hoar . ( Hear , hear . ) "Why , what a _eompliment it was io a _ffinisttr , not only to vote for him , but to vote against their own opinions and in favour of _opinions which he had always drilled them to oppose ! ( _E- - -ar , hear . ) It Was a scene , I _believe , unprecedented in the Ilouse of

      Commons . Indeed , 1 recollect notning equal to it , _mifegg it he the conversion of the Saxons by Charlemagne That is the only historical Incident which bears any resemblance to that illustrious occasion . ( Itenewed cheers and laughter . ) The Saxons turned from the banks of the Baine , determined to resist br every means the movements of the army ef the great _Cicsar ; but when the emperor himself appeared in person , instead of conquering tiiem , he converted them . And how did he convert them ? IVhy , he _converted them in battalions , and baptized them in platoons . It was utterly impossible to _brins tliera in from a stare of _repcobadaa to a state of grace with a celerity sumdtntly quick ; ( Load cheers . ) _"Wiica I saw his 112 followers , rank and ale , I was irresistibly reminded in a moment of the incident on the banks of the Khine . And now I _insst say a word in

      vindicauonoftheTiglithon . baronet . ( _Laughter . ) I think _ihax great injustice has been done t « him throughout the debate ; that a justifiable _niiseonet-jiion has universally prevailed respecting the _right lion , gentleman . He has been accused ofalcng meditated deception , of a desire worthy of a great statesman—even of an unprincipled one —to give up aU the opinions by whlchhe rose to power . 1 acquit iberighthon . gentleman of any such intention , and 1 Co so for this reason , that when 1 _tsarnine the career of _tae Minister who now nils a great spi . ee in the _ParUamentay history of this country , I see that between 30 and 40 years , from ths days of Horner down to the days of the hon . member for Stockport , tlie right hoa . gentleman has traded on theideas and intellects of others . ( Cheers . ) His life has _bten a great appropriation clause . ( Renewed Cheers andlaug hter . ) He ha 3 "been-the "burster of others

      intellects . Open the inaex of _Beaison _. _andfrom the days of the Conqueror down to the termination of last reign you will find no statesman who has committed petty larceny on so great scale . ( Cheers . ) TC believe , therefore that when the right lion , gentleman _andertook our cause on either side of the house he was _p-xfeetly sincerein his advocacy . But as in the course of tlie discussion the conventionalities he had imbibed crauiblrd away from his grasp , feeling no creative power to sustain him with iiew arminents feeling no spontaneous sentiment to force upon him conviction ; the right hori . gentleman was reduced at last to defending the noblest cause , based on tbe highest principles , the right hon . gentleman , faithful to Ihe law of his nature , embraced the new doctrines , the more -rigorous , life-like , popular doctrines of free-trade , just as he had embraced the doctrines of Horner ; just

      as he had embraced the doctrine of every leading man this country for the last 30 or 40 years , with the exception of * the doctrine of Parliamentary reform , which the "Whigs wisely kept as their own , and did _notaUow to grow to _suffieient maturity to fall into the mouth ofthe right hon . gentleman . ( Loud cheers . ) The right hon . gentleman tells us he does not feel humiliated . It is impossible for any one to know what are the feelings of another ; feeling depends in a great measure upon _temperatement ; it depends upon the _idiosyncracy of the Individual ; it de ; pends upon the organization of the animal that feels . ( Laughter . ) But I tell the right hon . gentleman , that althoughhemaynot feel humiliated , the country ought to feel humiliated . ( Loud cheers . ) In place of the _self-COmplaccncy of a great nation—in place ofthe justifiable pride ef Englishmen ii one whofrcm his position has contrived to occupy the highest rank amongst his

      fellowcitizens , it is felt , as Bean Swift said of another Minister , "that he is a . gentleman who has the _perprtual misfortune to he mistaken j _auS even now In thU , the last scene of the drama , when the party whom he unintentionally betrayed and unintentionally annihilated—even now at the last scene , tbe right hon . gentleman , faithful to the law of "his being , is going to pass a project , wliich I believe it is matter of notoriety is not of his own invention ; one which may have beeu somewhat _modified , but "Which I believe , was in substance offered to another Government and by that Government wisely rejected . ( Hear , hear . ) The first day after the right hon . gentleman made his exposition to this house , a gentleman well known to the house , and learned in aU the political secrets behind the scenes , _ttet me , and said , " What do yon think of your chief ' s _Jlau l" \ saia i ay not jinow exactly what to say about

      Greenwich And Deptj-0rd: A General Meeti...

      , but , to use the phrase of tlie hour , I supposed it was a great and comprehensive plan , ( Laughter . ) "On , " he replied , " we know all about it it is not his plan at all _. itisPopkins ' _a plan . " ( Roars of laughter . ) And Sir , is England to be governed and convulsed for Pop _^ kins ' splan ? "Will he go to the country with it ? _Tfill he appeal to the people upon such a plan ? -Will he appeal to that ancient and famous England which was once _geverned by statesmen such as Burleigh and " Walsingham , _Bolingbroke and "Walpole , Chatham and Canningwill he appeal to England on a fantastic scheme of some presumptuous pedant ? I wilt not believe it . ( Cheers . ) I have that confidence in the common sense and common

      spirit ot ray countrymen to believe that they will no longer endure the huckstering tyranny of the treasury bench , or of the political pedlar who bought his party in the cheapest market and sold them in the dearest . ( _Ltraghtcr and cheers . ) I "know that there are men who tell me that the time is gone by when we may appeal to thehigh and honourable impulses that were once the mainstay and main element of the English character . I know that we appeal to a people who have been debauched by public gambling , and who have been stimulated and encouraged by an inefficient and shortsig hted Ministry . I know that the public mind has been filled to intoxication with schemes by which the people might become rich , without the interference of industry and toil I know , too , that all confidence in public men 18 lost . ( Hear , hear . ) But I have faith in the primitive

      enduring element of English character . ( Cheers . ) It maybe that now , in the midnight of their intoxication , they will not heed me , but I tell them that there will be an awaktning , and in the springtide of their frenzy _^ I warn them of the end of trouble . That dark and inevitable hour will arrive , and perhaps they will then recur to those principles which made England great , and which , in my opinion , alcne can keep England great ; and it may chance that they will remember , not with nnkindness , those who , betrayed and deserted themselves , were neither ashamed nor afraid to struggle for the good old cause ; the cause associated with principles the most popular , sentiments the most entirely national ; the cause oflabonr , the cause ofthe people , the cause of England . ( The hon . member resumed his seat amidst applause which lasted fully two minutes . )

      Mat M:.L$Tp.. The Nqilthjern Star .Ai

      Mat M :. l $ tp .. THE NQilTHjERN STAR . ai

      Cotton Manufactures.—(From Tbe 3fanche$Ter

      Cotton Manufactures . —( From tbe 3 fanche $ _ter

      Examiner.)— The Following Is An Account ...

      Examiner . )— The following is an account " of the total quantities and declared value oi * cotton manufactures , entered by the yard , exported from the United Kingdom , in each year from 1 SH to 1 S 43 , both inclusive : " Quantity "Declared Talue . Yards . £ 1814 ... 192 , 340 , 825 ... 16 , 480 , 750 1813 ... 252 _, SS 4 , 029 ... 38 , _1-5 S , 172 1816 ... 183 , 265 , 731 ... 12 , 809 , 079 _1517 ... * 236 , 9 S 7 , G 69 ... 13 . 475 , 584 _1518 ... 2-55 , 331 , 695 ... 15 , 70 S , 1 S 3 1810 ... 202 , 514 , 65 * 2 ... 11 , 714 , 507 1820 .. . 250 , 956 , 541 ... 13 , 209 , 000

      _1521 ... 2 CC , 495 , 901 ... 13 , 192 , 904 _1522 ... 304 , 479 , 691 ... 13 . 853 , 954 _1523 ... 301 , 816 , 254 ... 12 . 980 , G 44 _1524 ... 344 , 651 , 133 ... 14 , 448 , 255 18 * 25 .. . 336 , 466 , 69 S ... 14 , 288 , 010 1826 .. . 2 G 7 _. 0 G 0 . 534 ... 9 , S 6 G , 623 1 S 27 ... 365 , 492 , 804 ... 12 , 943 , 035 _1525 ... 353 , 323 , 431 ... 12 , 483 . 249 18 * 29 ... 402 , 517 , 197 ... 12 , 516 , 247

      1830 ... 444 , 57 S , 49 S .. . 14 , 119 , 970 1831 ... 421 , 385 , 303 ... 12 , 163 , 513 1 S 32 ... 4 G 1 _. 045 . 50 D ... 11 , 500 , 630 _1 S 3-3 ... 496 , 352 , 096 ... 12 , 451 , 060 _1534 ... 555 , 705 , 809 ... 14 , 127 , 352 _1535 ... 557 , 515 , 701 ... 15 _. 1 S 1 . _lSSd ... C 37 . CC 7 , 627 ... 17 , 183 , 167 1 S 37 ... 531 , 373 , 663 ... 12 , 727 , 989 1838 ... 690 , 077 , 622 ... 15 , 554 , 733 1839 ... 731 , 450 , 123 ... 16 , 378 , 445 1 S 40 .. . 790 , 631 . 997 ... 16 , 302 , 220

      1 SJ 1 ... m , Uo , m ... 14 _, 985 , SJ 0 1842 ... 734 , 098 , 809 ... 12 , 8 S 7 , 220 1 S 43 ... 918 , 640 , 205 ... 15 , 108 , 464 1844 ... l , 04 _fi , G 70 , S 23 ... 17 , 612 , 146 1 S 45 ... 1 , 091 , 636 , 069 ... 18 , O- _' 9 , S 0 S Tue Mormos Emigration * . — The Mormoms of Nauvoo are fairly en route for California . Tliey have all lei their old residence , aud at the last accounts were just crossing thc head waters of the Chariton river , about 1-50 miles west of Kanvoo . A Locofoco paper has been established at Nauvoo since their departure , and contains some very interesting items of intelligence concerning the _progress of the _expedit-on , and the general prospects of the country . Itstates _, on the authority of a gentleman travelling

      with the company , that everything has gone on well , that the pany is in good health , aud the grand caravan moved slowly , but peacefully . Their progress has been materially retarded by the want of fodder for their live stock ; the grass not having fairly started , reduced them to the necessity of labouring for the farmers on the route , to supply the deficiency . They travel in detached companies , from five to ten miles apart , and , in point of order , resemble a military _expedition . The editor of the Hancock Eagle , the paper referred to , says that lie _visisted the camp before it broke up . It was in the rigorous weather of February , and the tents were blockaded by snowdrifts ; yet the scene seemed cheerful and animated . From appearances he thought it certain that they would _suffer most severely before reaching their destination . It was the intention of at least some of

      the companies to halt m the valley of the Sweetwater river , and put in a crop for the subsistence of themselves and others who may follow . Numbers were on their way from the eastern states to join the expedition . The same paper says , that in the whole town of Nauvoo it would ba impossible to purchase a drop of ardent spirit ! No drinking , gambling , or any similar vice had ever been introduced there , though , as a new class of emigrants was pouring in to take the phee of the Mormoms , it seemed altogether probable that they would bring with them the accompaniments of " civilization . " The Temple was for sale , and a wealthy bachelor gentleman from the south had arrived , with the intention of purchasing it . His object , it is said , is to convert the Temple into an asylum for destitute widows and orphans , and to purchase lands and town lots , and endow it out of the rents of the same .

      SniFwnECKs . —During the last few days the _followhis" serious losses have bsen made known at Lloyd ' s , the information involving the total wreck of three American traders , and tbe destruction of a large ship , supposed to be an Indiaman , by fire . Foremost on the list is the wreck of the Trinidad , while on passage to Liverpool , from St .. Andrew's where she belonged . She bad a general cargo ou board , and had every prospect of " a quick passage , when suddenly she sprung a leak , whicli tbe crew found impossible to stop , and they took to the rigging , where they remained for three days , when they were taken off by the _schooner Pink , and taken to Savanah . The ship is supposed to have foundered _during the night they were taken off . The next loss recorded is that ofthe Catherine , a large and valuable American , Captain Dill , master , also bound to Liverpool from Halifax . She had thirty-six persons on board , all of whom had a most miraculous escape ,

      the ship having foundered in 4 C deg . Jf . lat . and 43 deg . W . long . They were picked up in the boats by the ship Braeus , on " board of which they received t \ _-e greatest hospitality . Tiie third American trader lo _? t is the licsa , with 1 , 036 bales of cotton on board . She left Mobile on the fall ult . for Barcelona , and two days afterwards a fearful gale drove her ashore within a few miles of the port , where she became a total wreck . The "William Hannington and the Suir , two _larse ships , above 300 tons burthen , the former on a voyage from Quebec for London , and the latter | for Llanelly , have both been wrecked in St . George's Bay . On the night of the 22 nd ult . a ship , apparently an Indiaman , -was seen on fire in 35 deg . N . lat . 39 deg . "W . long . Her masts had fallen overboard , and her deck appeared burnt through , and when last seen she was burnt down to the water ' s edge . The vessel bringing the intelligence ( the Crescent , _oflvewcastle ) , put about in search ofthe unfortunate crew , but could sec nothing of them .

      SixGUhiR Combat . —Mr . James , of Plumpton , Cumberland , has some out-buildings which are very much infested with rats . On Saturday morning one of these gentlemen entered a place where two geese were sitting , doubtless on the Jook out for young goslings , but he met with a warmer reception than he had anticipated ; the geese engaged the lawless intruder , and , after a desperate struggle succeeded in luriing him . Thc _insalent wretch was awful !}* mutilated , for the goose _eontinuGd nibbling liim for vexation long after he had breathed his last . A Child Killed bt as Opiate . —On Saturday afternoon an inquest was taken before Mr . Baker , at the Duke of Sussex , Haggerstone Bridge , on tbe body of Mary Anne Birch , tliree weeks old , whose death was caused by an overdose of opium mixed with some syrup . It appeared from the evidence that deceased was living with its mother and father , a ladies' shoemaker , at No . 3 , Mark ' s Place , and that on the

      _luesuay preceding , as it was very cross , the mother was advised ti give it some" stuff outof the barrel , " a preparation ol opium mixed withsyrup to compose it . . She sent a person for it to Mr . Day , chemist , _lungsland Road , who prescribed half a tea spoonful , which was _giren . Shortly after it was taken , deceased was attacked with convulsions while the surface of its face and bodv became black . Mr . Hooper , a surgeon , soon attended to deceased , and applied the stomach pnmp and administered other remedies , but without effect , and it died the following day . The coroner _sa- d he wished that Mr . Day was present , in order that he might caution him against selling such a material , and he directed Meadow , the _SR _^' u ? on _Wm . and to state to \ T _£ l tJ" ? e eren - f _« similar case being investigated by km ho might , in _charing thejury , hold him responsible lor the death . The _lurVreturned a verdict to the effect , "That _deatf _^ probably caused by a narcotic poison , which had been incautiously administered . " ho _^? _^ T 3 ° ihe _impress of Russia _dunnmonS m Italy ' arecstiaated at £ 10 , 000 p j

      Examiner.)— The Following Is An Account ...

      STRIKE IN THE BUILDING TRADES . ( from the Times of Monday . ) ' The strike of the building trades in the north of England is still kept up with a vigour wbicb _bIibws the organized power of the workmen and the firm determination of their masters . In Li verpooJ and al J the great manufacturing towns ( except Birmingham , where matters have been very recently settled by an amicable compromise ) the hand of labour is staid by an enforced i _/ _Ueness , and the developement of the teeming resources of the empire arrested by

      an obstruction which seems of sufficient force to resist all ordinary impulses and incapable of removal except by the extraordinary powers of the State . We mentioned , not long ago , the existence of a exeat central association ofthe workmen of the United Kingdom , to which _^ the local societies are only secondary and subordinate . It is our purpose now to treat more fully of this congress of the tiades , to describe its organization and its aim , and to inquire how far the professed objects of its institution can be carried out without violating the laws of tbe land .

      It is necessary in the first plaee to explain the state of the law as it affects combinations of workmen generally . They are not , we believe , obnoxious to the common law , unless they amount to what is termed conspiracy . Now , conspiracy has been defined in various ways , so various that it wonld seem hardly to bo capable of definition . It has been called a combination between several persons to effect a purpose hurtful to some individual , or to particular classes ofthe community , or to the public at large . It has also been said to consist of an agreement either for an unlawful purpose , or to effect a lawf ul purpose by unlawful means . The first of these descriptions is obviously too loose and general ; it might be made to embrace every society that

      ever was formed . The second' which is the mora correct , may or may not include the combinations in question . "Where they are strictly confined to a simple agreement among the individual * - composing tbem to demand a certain rate of wages and not to work for less , it will not include them . But if their objects are extended further , and pretend to affect the particular relations between masters and men , by dictating to the former what persons they shall employ , or in what manner they shall carry on their business , or by compelling the latter to leave their env > loyer 3 , or not to hire themselves , or to become members ef the combination , then it is plain tbey are nothing less than conspiracies . So much as this has been repeatedly asserted in the Ilouse of Commons ,

      where the assertion was stamped by the high authority of the late Chief Baron of the Exchequer , and the present Chief Justice of the Queens Bench . It is needless , however , to pursue this branch of the subject further , for whatever the common law may be , the statute law is clear beyond a doubt . The 6 th of GeorgelV-, _^ . 129 . reciting that these ¦ ' combinations are injurious to trade and commerce , dangerous to the tranquillity of the country , and especially prejudical to the interests of all who are concerned in them , and that itis expedient to make provision as well for the security and personal freedom of individual workmen in the disposal of their skill and labour , as for the security of the property and persons of masters and employers , " enacts , that

      if any pei son shall by violence to the person or property , or by threats or intimidation , or by molesting or in any way obstructing another , force , or endeavour to force" workmen to leave their employment , or to return work unfinished , or not to accept employment , or to belong to an assoeiation , or to contribute to a common fund , or to pay a fine for refusing to comply with rules made to obtain an advance or to reduce the rate of wages , or to lessen or alter the hours of working , or to decrease or alter the quantity of work , or to regulate the mode of carrying on business ; or if any person , by such violence , & e ., as above described , shall endeavour to force masters to make any

      alteration in carrying on their business , or to limit the number of their apprentices or workmen ; such person shall be liable to imprisonment upon conviction before two justices of the peace . But meetings " for the sole purpose of consulting upon and determining the rate of wages or prices which the persons present" shall demand for their work , or the hours during which they shall work , and agreements among the persons present for fixing wages , or prices , or hours , shall not be subject to any prosecution or penalty , any law or statute to the contrary notwithstanding . In like manner meetings and agreements of mysters for similar purposes e convcrso are declared to be legal .

      Let us apply this statute to the "Association of United Trades lor the Protection of Industry , " which has its throne in the once lordly purlieus of _Bloomsbury , and of whicli the rules and regulations , drawn up in August of last year , are now before ns . First the occasion of the institution is declared to be "that the industrious classes do not recieve a fair day ' s wages for a fair day's work . " Secondly , the object is confessedly by organisation to multiply tlio powers of each trade , " by enabling it to fight its individual battles with tne whole strength ofthe association . " Tiiis last sentence savours strongly of " champerty" and " maintenance ; " there is nothing in it , however , opposed to thc language of the Cth George IV ., if we except the premable . Thir _^ Jv ,

      the composition of the association is by delegates from the various Trades' Unions throughout the kingdom , in whom ' * the legislative power "is vested , and who are elected for a year . There is also a central committee to whieh is intrusted " the general executive power . " It consists of a president , vicepresident , and eleven other members , all elected by the delegates , five from the London trades , who are to " carry out the routine business of the association , " and six from the provincial trades . The presidents need not be members of a Trade Union , and they must always belong to a London district . Among the duties of a central committee we find

      this— " by mediation , arbitration , and legal proceedings , to protect the interests and promote the wellbeing of the associated trades , in all cases of trade disputes and difficulties . " . The words in italics would seem to stamp this branch of the proceedings with an illegal character ; at the best , they p _' acc the committee on the Tery verge , anil if put in action , would certainly carry it beyond tlie law . Fourthly , the funds are raised by a contribution from each member of a penny a month , which , if wc reckon the members at half a million , a very moderate estimate , would place an annual sum of nearly £ 25 , 000 at the disposal ofthe London board .

      It must be confessed that there is nothing in the constitution of this federal republic whicli can be deemed to contravene the express provisions of the statute of _GnoncE IV . But there are other associations , parts of tlie great union , which are less moderate iu their views , or less prudent in thmr language . Among the declared objects of the " United Building Trades' Mutual Protection Society of Manchester , Salford , and their vicinities" will be found the following : — "The prevention of non-unionists encroaching on their respective employments " - —in cases of dispute between workmen and employer to " call tlie complaining trade , or any other trade or

      the whole of the trades , from the employer or his sub-contractors "—in thc event of a strike taking place to " get tramps out ofthe town that have come to work in the place of the men on " strike "—to obtain tho names of men who work whilst a strike is pending , " in opposition to the rules of thc society , " and to circulate them throughout thc country—to " adopt such means as " may be deemed practicable to induce non-unionists " to join the society . " There is little doubt that every one of the purposes above set forth is illegal under thc statute , and it would , therefore , appear a matter of no great difficulty to suppress this Manchester association by criminal proceedings .

      On the whole lt will hardly be denied that these combinations , whether of employers or employed , and for whatever purposes they may be formed , are both immediately and consequentially highly injurious to the welfare of society . " Whilst they last they foster discontent , create poverty , give a rein to seditious and designing spirits , fetter thc liberal flow of capital , and derange the whole system of trade . Even after they arc over , there is left behind a rancour and distrust , a remembrance of mutual ill , the bitterness of fancied oppression and the vind ' etivencss of real injury—in short , a general wreck of those kindly feelings of reciprocal reliance and protection which should never be absent from the breast either of master or man . We do not dispute the

      right of workmen to _combino for purposes of defence . It is a sacred right , and should never have- been violated . "We go the whole length with Adam Smith , and admit that the property which every man has in his own labour , as it is the original foundation of all property , so it is the most sacred and inviolable . The patrimony of a poor man lies in the strength and dexterity of his hands ; and to hinder him from employing this strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper , witLout injury to his neighbour , is a plain violation of his most sacred property . "Without injury to ins neighbour , " however , this must be done ; -for it , happens unfortunately that in effect these _ccnibinations always do work injury to other * , and no t to others only , but in a far greater degree to the . parties themselves . This is the important _trut ' _n tbat we would impress upon the minds

      o | the _deluded workmen who are now loitering in idleness or i the high road to poverty , and too probably totter-ing on the brink of crime . Let them net think tc o confidently that the time of labour is only remove J a little distance , 'that they have merely to say thf ; word and their masters willre employ them . Itetur ning sense may come too late . It may bo that when they offer themselves for work no work will be S n to them . Capital is like the stream which wb en you dam its natural current will find itself oi ner channels and still flow on . This is a fact and J" io conjecture , and many late accounts attest it . It is a serious matter for these misguided workmen . When it is brought heme to them with all the attendant horrors of poverty and disgrace , they will look upon us , who now denounce the whole system of _com-, biuations , as their truest friends .

      Examiner.)— The Following Is An Account ...

      11 _UWDEE FACTORY GIRLS . J ) rara : E , Mat ll . -The Committee which was appointed at a public meeting of the inhabitants , to conduct the inquiry into tbe legal treatment of the six tactory girls , by the Messrs . Baxters and our civil authorities , delivered their report this evening before a densely crowded meeting , in Bell's Street Hall . Mr . Iudd was called to the chair . He opened the business by giving a brief and very able outline ol the voluminous matter , whieh : was _afterivards laid before the meeting by MrMc Crae

      . , who read a long list of correspondence between himsell and persons holding _hfeh and responsible situations under the British government . It would seem quite evident , if we hold by the Lord Advocate s affirmation , " that no similar treatment of factory workers or others , shall again be allowed in Scotland , " that the present case has been grossly illegal , therefore the meeting resolved to sue all the parties who had been engaged in tlie condemnation and punishment of these girls , before the Court of Session .

      The following resolutions were then unanimously agreed . to : —Moved by Mr . John Mc Crac , and seconded by Robert Stivens , boiler maker , "That this meeting repudiate anv participation in the sentiments contained in the petition of Baxter and Brothers , presented to the British Parliament . And farmJy deny that it represents the feelings of the public at large , and is at variance with that of Dundee . Many of the statements in that oetition are grossly false , and this meeting looks upon it as a puny effort to cover a deed , which has met with thc strongest condemnation from every candid , humane , and philanthropic man and woman in Dundee . " Moved by Mr . Archibald McDonald of Aberdeen , and seconded by Thomas "Whitten , "That the warmest thanks of the meeting are due , and now

      tendered toT . S . Duncombe , Esq . ; M . P ., for the kind services which he has rendered to the inhabitants of Dundee in taking up the case ofthe six factory girls , and in particular for his bold and _uncompromising advocacy of their cause in the House of Commons , notwithstanding thc many efforts which appear to have been made to induce Mm to abandon those poor and helpless persons to the mercy of avarice and wealth ,. which was exerted to stifle all knowledge of their wrongs , and which are now before the country , and laid bare among their fellow factory slaves . And also , that this meeting tender a vote of gratitude , which is richly due to all tliose honourable members who supported Mr . Duncombe , while urging upon the house to urge a full and particular inquiry in this extraordinary case . "

      N . B . —The enthusiasm which prevailed when the foregoing resolution was put from the chair , was extraordinary in the extreme , Fifteen hundred hands were instantly upraised as if by magic , but this of itself did not satisfy , for three thundering cheers followed , which seemed to shake thc substantial building within which the meeting was congregated . Moved by Mr . Gow and seconded by Mr , Wm , Scott , Flesher , " That this meeting approves , and will support carrying the case before the Court of Session , also that a committee be instantly appointed to carry the same into eftect , with a view to its speedy termination ; and also , as no doubts exist of a triumphant victory , this meeting binds itself to aid the _committer with the necessary expense in donations and subscriptions . "

      The meeting then elected a committee to carry forward the business , after which it gave a unanimous vote of thanks to the old committee , and all those who had lent their aid to stem thc torrent of might against justice and right ; and closed tho evening ' s proceedings with a cordial vote of thanks to Mr . Kidd , for his manly warmth of feeling in behalf of the sons and daughters of toll , and likewise , for his conduct in the chair . _CORRESPONDEST .

      Arbroath Shoe Makers Strike. Fresh Discl...

      ARBROATH SHOE MAKERS STRIKE . Fresh Disclosures of Cossriiucy . Tyraxsy , and Oppression of tub Masters . —Mr . Editor , —In my last correspondence , I told you the masters had sent forth their " drill sergeant , " to ride I ' rom town to town to enlist recruits to strengthen their ranks to beat off the journeymen , who found it necessary to leave the town in quest-of employment . When I said this , I did not think it would be possible for the masters to find adherents to crush their men , through the want of work and the necessaries of life , to succumb to their master . * , but true it is , they have done so , and not in a solitary instance , for the contagion has become very general . The whole ofthe principle shops in Dundee , are refusing to give work to tliemcn of _Edinburgh and Arbroath , and with one solitary

      and honorable exception , it is said , Montrose is alike infected with the pestilence . It is confidently reported that Forfar , Ivimmuir , and Brechin , are likewise one in the holy covenant , and have subscribed tlio non-intrusion ' act of grace against tho devoted journeymen . The most active conspirators ; in Arbroath are two leather dealers , and these hold ihe conscience ofa large number of masters in very firm keeping , not only as respects this place , but elsewhere ; consequently any sign of unwillingness to comply with tii > rapidly . But what seems to have created no little mirth in town is , the curious circumstance of a good number of little " Corks" ( masters ) having suffered

      their names to be appended to a handbill , setting forth humiliating-terms , which they call upon their men to submit , to , and resume work , when true it is , that few or none of them ever could muster trade or cash to employ or pay anybody , and when a " hack " pair was per chance made by way of favour , the wages were seldom immediately forthcoming . The masters have put forth two advertisement ? , both of which arc couched in artful language to mislead the public , and in doing this , they have resorted to thc _gros ? e _.-t falsehood in order to shield themselves from the bitterest public indignation . In the first instance they say ¦¦ that thoy ( moaning the union men ) have determinedly refused to baud them a copy , or even read the rules by which they , thc master ? , were in future to he governed'" The union men did offer to

      explain , and read over to the masters such portions as affected them , and James Walker , when he made this proposition , made by order of a general meeting , was treated by Mr . Brown with everything but common civility . But does not everybody know that such a course was stepping somewhat far to oblige them , and tbat the rules were not framed with the intention to guide thc masters , but thoir workmen . May it in return be asked , what law in the constitution of our country authorises them to embody a rule forthe government ot * their business as employer ? , to hiinfthe men down throughout Forfarshire , nnd the adjoining counties ? In their second bill , which appears to have been drawn out with more care , as it wears the garb of legal formality , there are a variety of false conclusions and mean strictures set before thc

      public . It affirms that thc journeymen have formed themselves into an " illegal combination , " and they insinuate that sueh combination will be injurious to the public interest , while they know full well that the society of journeymen looks to the public interest by not allowing the masters to palm upon the people inferior work at a high price , and contrary to the British law , and in opposition to what is meant for the public ' s good , they have had the barefaced impudence to tell the world that thoir _hole-aiul-cm-ner meetings are strictly legal , while that of their workmen held with open doors whore tliey could enter arc illegal . The masters are now struggling for what a child may easily discern to be base—for indeed tliey have explained * thc fact themselves . It is this , as

      stated in their advertisement in the Arbroath Guide . They say , " We want to maintain our authority in the management of our own business . " Wow the true meaning of this is , to have it in their power to mix coarse and fine workmen together to do their work , and then they w ' U ¦" manage , " having also the power to fix the rate of wage ? , to realize a sweeping profit . Their second bill requests thc men upon strike to abandon their just principles and unite with them in a scheme wliich would go to defraud thc public and destroy the " customary" ( bespoke ) trade , which has hitherto owed its superiority over the sale to the combination of the workmen , who have struggled hard to enforce wages to enable them to do something like bare justice to tlie customers .

      The editor of the Arbroath Guide has devoted a very considerable space , detailing what he considers the law of the case ; and has taken special _[ earc in the course of his reasoning to try and work the public mind into the belief that tho journeymen are wrong . This editor must return to school before he will be able to convince any ono "that , if a workman have a right to fix his rate of wages , which ave refused to be paid , lie has no right to threaten to leave work _through such refusal . " "Would any sane person support thc proposition , that a , man has a right to reap tiie benefit of a society who never contributed one farthing to its funds ? Thc reasoning of this sage editor says " yes ; " for he labours to convince the people of * Arbroath that it was wrong to strike a man out ef the _benefits arising from the

      funds of the society , while that man was pocketing tho fruits which they had created . So far has he joined the non-intrusion principle , and I am not angry at his late conversion but when ho dishonestly clubs with the masters , by affirming thatcheap and dear made bo 9 ts and shoes should be mixed in one batch , and vended to the public as genuiue " customary work , " the Society of Journeymen , I trust , will lack faith to follow him . In thc meantime a determined spirit still prevails among tho few men who , as yet , cling to their homes upon a scanty fare ; but those will soon remove , and leave the ' drill-sergeant" and his co conspirators to manage their business according to the opinion of " legal advisers , " and the Arbroath Guide . I A OOultESrOBDEflT .

      Penesiriasism.—-On Tuesday The Half-Mile...

      PEnESiRiAsiSM . — -On Tuesday the half-mile race for £ 10 , between _Reilv and Anderton , was decided at Camberwcll , and won by tho latter , who covered the distance in two minutes and a quarter _.

      Tfovtivpi ^Obtments*

      _tfovtivpi _^ _obtments _*

      " And I Will War, At Least In Words, (An...

      " And I will war , at least in words , ( And—should my chance so happen—deeds , ) With all . who war with Thought !" " I thiuk I hear a little bird , who sings The people by and by will be the stronger . " - —Brae : * . EASTERN EUROPE AND THE EMPEROR . NICHOLAS . NO . III . In the course of our review of this work it will be our duty to notice the state of the Finnish portion of the Russian empire , and to show , as we shall do , the gross injustice of that act of "annexation " which made Finland a portion of the Russian empire . We shall also be able to show , tliat the Finlanders , although not of the same stock and race as the Poles , entertain no affection for their paternal Tsar—on the contrary , if they may not exist as an independent people , they would be too happy to transfer their

      allegiance to the Swedish Government . Previous to 1815 , Finland was united to Sweden ; but the partitioners of _nalions severed this connection , and handed Finland over to the Russian robber . A letter f rom Helsingford , of April 20 th , says : — " Two nights back , between eleven and twelve o ' clock , this town was thrown into confusion by the appearance of 500 or 009 young men , chiefly students of the University , who promenaded tho streets singing national songs . They stopped before the bouses occupied by the Russian functionaries , and broke thc windows with stones , crying out— ' Poland for ever ! ' ' Down with the Muscovite tyrants ! ' * Oscar I , for ever ! ' "

      llus letter adds , that a great number of the students have been arrested , and will be tried by courtmartial . For the sake of thc noble students we regret this demonstration , as in all probability they will suffer perhaps the knout and Siberia , or at least fifteen or twenty years of servitude as common soldiers in the Caucasus , in reward for their patriotism . But whilst we mourn the- victims of Russian . barbarity we must not forget , that this demonstration is another proof ofthe hatred existing towards the Russian despotism in the countries annexed to the Muscovite empire ; another presage of the fall of that empire when the moment shall come for the long enthralled nalions to rise .

      The voico of humanity cries loudly for the overthrow of the accursed tyranny of thc Tsars . Lately we read the following revolting statement in the Siecle : — The Knout . —" Madame do Kalerdgi , who rereceived the knout at Warsaw for having , according to the Augsburg Gazette , kept up a correspondence with tlie propaganda of Paris , is a niece of M . de ! f _esselrode . But itis not owing to a correspondence with the _propaganda , but because she aided tho escape of Count Dombrousld , the husband of one of her intimate friends , that she had to suffer that dreadful punishment . Countess Orloff , the aunt ofthe minister , was whipped for having- _rcct-ived persons in her house who were ill disposed towards the Government .

      M . Nes 3 elrode is a Minister of the empire , and one of the most powerful of the Russian grandees , and yet his relations , and those relations Women , have been subjected to the horrid torture of the knout 1 If a Russian , of the station occupied by _NussEMODE , cannot save his family from these cruel humiliations , what must be the abject state of tho great mass of the people ! Since the above was written , we have read a statement in the Reforme , narrating the flogging to death of a Polish lady , Madame _Kuosnowska _, a widow , twenty-six years of age , for the crime of corresponding with the Polish exiles in Paris !

      What will England ' s Queen , and England ' s female aristocracy say to these new specimens of the infernal acts of the dear delightful miscreant who gladdened tho hearts of policemen , flunkies , Ascot racing blackguards , and creatures calling themselves women , or rather "Ladies , " by his liberal distribution of monies , snuff-boxes , and condescending smiles ? Wc might pardon the admiration felt by flunkies and blacklegs for their lies o , but shame ! Oh shame ! to England that any one of her daughters could be found to consort with this womantorturing monster whose accursed _presence should never have been permitted to blight the soil of Britain . The second chapter of the Work before US is devoted to thc Slave population , showing the

      Idestity bkiwebn the _TKnus Sl . vvk ' asd _Si-kf , is Russia—Distinctions _hktwui-x the Emperor ' s Slaves asd the private Slavus—Coxmtiox , _Peos-1 _M-CTS ,, ASD FkKMXGS OF BOTH . Properly speaking , the entire of tho inhabitants of the Russian empire , including Poland , Finland , and the German and Caucasian provinces , are slaves , seeing that their every action and word is subject to the imperious will of a despot who may take from their , tlieir property , their personal Iiherty , and their lives , if he will . But there are distinctions of class amongst these unhappy people , some of whom , if they are not their own masters , arc , at least , thc

      masters cf others . The unhappy victims of this double despotism—tho _univei-sally-recogniscd slave class—form an immense multitude . Taking- the whole empire , forty-five out of every sixty-three individuals are in a state of absolute serfdom ; but , taking the Muscovite population only , we find it almost wholly in that deplorable condition . " Thc proportion of slaves whicli it contains , exceeds thirtyfour out of every thirty-six of its number . " It must be understood , when we speak of Russian serfdom , and apply thc word " seri" to Russian slaves , that that serfdom is a state infinitely _inoi-e degrading

      than any system of servitude known hy that name ir . former times in the countries of we-tern Europe . The condition of the English serf in the days of Norman tyranny , though little to be envied , never fell to that utter abasement of mind and body which is the condition of tho Russian serf of the present day . Even thc worst abominations of negro slavery have but rarely approached those of Russian serfdom ;* , and in al ! but _exceptionally cases , thc negroes of Cuba and Carolina are belter eared for , leis cruelly used , and happier than the slaves of Eastern Europe . We will here give a few extracts from the work before us , proving thc above assertions : —

      CONDITION OP TIFF * _PHIVATS SLAVES . The fate of tho privnto serfs diff-. rs us much as the character of their many masters . The vices , the personal inhumanity , the avarice , the necessities , the inattention or absenteeism of the lord , all _aperate upon tbo destiny of the slave . According to law ,, n slave proprietor can be punished for _putting his serf to death , —but only by incarceration in a monastery , _aven if he had burned him alive , or . cruciiietl him ; aud ssch horrors have been _pcrpetrafed before now ;—let us hope , for _fto sake of those « ho committed them , in a moment of temporary insanity . J 5 nt another law forbids any court to receive the evidence of a slave against his masier . It oy « s Us origin to an ukase issued in 17 G 7 , by the _Emprass- Catherine , which

      savs : — " If a serf , forgetful of the obedience he owes his lord , mako any complaint against him , partieuhnly to imperial majesty , both the authoi' of the peti _' . _km and he presenting it shall be amenable to the punishment whicli the laws award . " This punishment is thu infliction of tho knout , ami exile to Siliutia . This ukase has b _.-en confirmed by anolhc ? Issued _b-y the Emperor Nicholas in 1 S 2 S , with a slight modification ; so that us the law now stands , ( article 57 . T of that division of the llussian code which treats on serfdom , ) it forbids thc serf to accuse or give evidence against his master , _umlerpcnulty of capital punishment , in any but . the two . following eases ,- —via s 1 , Treason against tho- Crown . 2 . Concealment of the number of his slaves liable to the _iinjicrial poll-tax .

      As long , therefore , ± s a master confines his cruelties to his own slaves , without interfering with those of other people , he is practically sale . The law itself is therefore , in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred , neutralised by this contradictory clause ; but if'it could even be put into execution , tho most barbarous murder of a slave docs not recoive the . punishment due to capital o ( Yence 3 , whieh in Kussia is exilo . lo Siberia , and the iuiliction of thc knout . The law thus , in its very theory , docs not pretend to give the slave tho protection which _five-and-thirty years ago was practically extended to the West India negro by the legislature of Great llritain . During the administration

      of Spencer Perceval , on the Sth of May , 1811 , tho Honourable A . _} Y , Ifodgc _, a member of his Uritannic Majesty ' 3 Council at Tortola , was executed for thc murder of one of his negroes by excessive _flagging . * * * Besides this , the proprietor , where a certain distance _raHQYeilU-Qul a _p'lliCC station , cau punish without other legal limitation than tho responsibility which falls upon him if his victim dies within three days ; and at all times he has a right to send his serf , male and female , and of any age , as often as he pleases , not for trial , but for eor . _l-CCtion , to tho police authorities , without incurring the remotest risk . # * # ** ¦

      _Tractically , therefore , the . private seri : is life and limb at the disposal of his master , as completely as slaves have ever been in any country . He can be sold or hired out like a beast of burthen . The law now wills that a certain portion of land must he sold with liim , but land is of mere nominal value . The master may remove one

      " And I Will War, At Least In Words, (An...

      or all his peasants for life from one estate to _anothfthe though thousands of miles _apat t . Iu purchasing a slirriirvi he has , therefore , only to j , o through the formality . of rf r cfciviii |» from the former _proprietor a few acres with hiniin of which he soon forgets the possession , and from _whiciic he may remove the slave , separating him for ever frorron Ins family , and dooming liim to perpetual _buiushuieneiT from his home . . . . The slave , male or female , cannot marry without thttn permission of the lord -. —the law stipulates that the _* iej shall not be forced to marry against their inclinationsnsi but does not _offcr to protect them ; and thu means oi ol coercion iu tlie power of the masters are so efficient , _thadal

      resistance to their whiles is unknown . A soured olcbld maid may sometimes be seen , forcing all the handsoniest'st girls in the village to wed the _m- 'St repulsive objects ; a 6 n 8 another , an experimental agriculturist will range hiais male and female slaves ky _. _cate _^ m-ius , and _mnrrj-thcmmi aeeoi'dinif to some fanciful theory which ho believes willilll tend most rapidly to the reproduction of the _spocies . _Notfo further respect is paid to the fctlings of the father or ofofi the husband , ofthe daughter or the wife ; and _thu-ro aroroi no purposes , the most infamous , to which « the slare is not it alwaysliable to be devoted , and frequently applied , Theie master may at any time send his male ¦ •• lave to Siberia , onr t ' ov a soldier , —aud soroche must constantly choose fonr this service .

      Of course , the unhappy condition of the slaves is ! s not without exceptions ; but these exceptions are e always dependent upon the individual character of f thc master . A humane and enlightened master will , _, of course , treat liis slaves in the spirit of justice and I kindness ; but the experience of all time declares I how uncertain are the chances of happiness under a ; despotism , national or private . A body of serfs , en- joying comparative happiness under n liuinapc mas- ¦ tor , arc always liable to be handed over ton tyrannical aiid cruel lord , cither by the death of their master or the sate ol * the estate to which they arc attached . Hence , it is obvious that instances of thc good ti eatlncnt of individual slaves , or slaves belongiag to a particular property , prove nothing in favour of the system above shown to be l _.-avbarms and revolting in the extreme .

      We now proceed to extract illustrations of the COXDITIOS OP THE _KMl'IiUOU ' s SLAVES . The imperial serf is not ' cither liaUe to the same extensive prirations which the private serf endures , nor to the same extent of capricious cruelty of which he is at times the victim . lis can more readily obtain leave to move about the empire ; and he enjoys some of t ! ie advantages , —of belonging to an extensive and wealthy proprietor , but then it is of an absentee proprii tor , wiio has abandoned th _< _s administration of his _overgrown estates to overseers and agents- Thi-comparative exemption from utter misery and unendurable tyranny , '

      which the Crown serf to some extent enjoys , is not however , without exception Thc vast and corrupt body which adnv . mslc . i-s this prodigious estate , is sometime ! guilty of incredible barbarity and injustice ; and the im . nerial serfs aro sometimes _decimat-.-d by hunger , as Well as those _belonging to private individuals , —und to an extent of which the writer of these volumes was not aware , even when he published the _"Ittrelations of Kussia . " Though it is . true that in cases ' of famine relief is always afforded from the imperial treasury to this popu _' _ation , the sums intended for that purposo seldom reach their destination . * * * * * #

      Tne imperial serf is taxed at the stipulated sum of fifteen roubles annually ; he is bound to keep the roads in order , and to contribute a portion of his labour td works of public utility ; and bo receives _fi-oni thu Crown for his support tsn dsiatincs of land to cultiruti 1 . Ho is bound to feed the troops quartered upon him , Mid to afford means of conveyance far the puUic service , and is ostensibly aivan ' _e-I _p-iyment for the same . _PiviciiraUy , however , ho is so much at tlio mercy of the vast establishment of officials comprised in the administration of the imperial domains , tbat the annual tax extends to double and treble its avowed amount ; ' ¦ : : ¦ cannot stir from the plaee of his birth without till ! _dl'iivlj , ' purchased permission of these rapacious agents , and \\ u is _liuble with his family to any _corp-.-ral punishment it pleases them to

      inflict , or to banUhment to Siberia at their will aud pleasure , What he most dreads , however , and what is consequently used as the readiest means uf _extoi-tioi ' , is being selected for the army , or for tlie government works . The disgust and hoi ror entertained by the lower order of "Muscovite : * for tiie military prnfessi . in , which after a certain period of service frees them fr . itn slavery , is so profound and deeply rooted , that it is only fully to be accounted for , by tiie innate aversion of thiipminc people to everything warlike . Uninviting as nuiy be the prospect of the _soldier , it is si ill _sirangc to sec the tenacity with ivhirh t } : « peasantry' will cling to the most wretched _modeofUl ' e rather than be enlisted ; but their dread of serving in the public works or thc _ni- _' _iiiufacioi-ii'S of tlie Crown , is _pn-fectlv natural .

      When the traveller is shown the mines an- ! canals , _o- _* the vast imperial _mamifactoiies and iron _-woi-lss , —when he sees thi _stuptrndeus doci ' siu _tiioports of the Black ? e : i and of the Baltic , V _. e is seldom aware of the tvue condition oi ' _tiie unfortunates _h ? whom they have been _creetul and ave chiefly tilled . They are forced labour .-vs , slaves of tlie imperial domain , it is _eonsidvrtd' that as they are tho emperor ' s property , they are hound to do the work he wisbes _liotiu _, _nti-iout remuneration ; and they _conscqueaily _receive only the _coai-se _ratiwns _nccessa-. y for

      their support , and the almost nominal pay ofthe soldier . So far from any encouragement _bciii }; held out _fi-r tbe zeal they may show , or the proficiency they may attain , they see by _espc-ihuee that the more tbo uoil'iuan is valued , the _longer and the harder is the toil at W _-, ' eh he is kept , and the ' . ess chance of ever . heinj ; _usniis'e . to his village ; whii _.- _'t , on the other hand , as it is tho habit of the slave to conceal his dexterity , the awkwardness he may show is always supposed to hu feigned , aud it is only utter a long course of cruel treatment thnt it is believed tc be real .

      The robberies practised on private serf ; by their lords , and the additional punishment imposed upon thc Crown serf ' s in the public works in proportion to the ability exhibited by them , has " _rendet-id it a maxim ofa traditional wisdom amongst the slaves of both classes , obstinately to conceal tlieir aciiuirements as much as possible . " Tiie overseers of the serf-, awaro of this , have recourse to _flogging on all occasions when any want of ability real or feigned is exhibited bv the serfs . The author of this work

      cites instances of Englishmen and other _loroigners being : employed in the public works at heavy . salaries from their _supposed extraordinary _proik-ieney as workmen , whereas these foreign workmen have known that some of thc slaves were as clever as themselves , but this , the slaves would never confess as they welt knew thnt if tlieir abilities were once known instead of _bein-j rewarded thc result would be a retention till a later age in the government factories .

      The Tsars have laboured not unsuccessfully to disseminate the idea throughout Europe that they desired the emancipation of the serfs , bnt were- prevented fulfilling their generous desires by the tyrannical obstinacy of the nobles . This is not true . liis true no doubt that the past and present policy of tin * Crown is to remove the private serfs-from the power of their lords , and this policy is acted upon whenever a nroprietor falls into disgrace and is punished by tho l ' ovfoititre of his lands , or when serfs mortgaged to the Crown become forfeited by tlieir owners . Bui : these serf's on _boinir transferred to the Crown arc tioi ; set at liberty , on thc eon _' mry they arc added to tho twenty-one millions and n half of serfs belonging to the Emperor . Nicholas is tho chief slave proprietor in the _emnirc , — " holding upwards of twenty-one out of every forty-five serfs within it !"

      The serfs ave immersed in tho lowest depths of ignorance , and indeed , the policy of the present Emperor , a 3 regards all classes of the empire , is designedly retrogressive . The nobility are not allowed to travel . NiciiojiAs has by ukase " ¦ prohibited the admission of the lower _ordess fri'in ihe elementary to the superior schools ; hchas / _ori / cWcii ihc establishment of temperance societies , and has branded the literary tastes which ins servants may exhibit , by classing it ivith . insubordination a ? id drunkenness—as a * vicious tendency'C . 'J on which it is tho duty of their superiors to report , "

      This hugo slave owner , this _encounter of vice , this brutal enemy of education and _euli-ilitenitK-Jit , this incarnation ofall evil , Nicholas , is one of tho sovereign signers , of Autt-slave-trade-trcaties , and a subscriber to , or-patron , of , ' the _Englisii Bible _Soc-1-jtyl 0 ! monstrous hypocrisy ! Nor dors tiie imperial hypocrite $ _t- \ v . & alone . The eanting _auti-si-wci _*? _- mongers who make Excter-lmll rin _? with _ihi- ' r denunciation' } of the vulgar Hush-robbers of Cuba and the Bra / . ils , have not a word lo say a » ainst the bloated slave-driver of Muscovy . Hut , _tiu-u , we must allow that tho humane Nicholas gives his signature to treaties to put down trade in black slaves , besides which , he supports the Bible _Sue ' iely 1 " 0 ! for a forty-parson power , To sing thy praise hypocrisy !"

      Is not _ttie Russian " a man and a brother ? " Shall no voice be raised in behalf of tho slaves of Hu -sia ? Yes , a voice has been raised by tho author of this work , and we will echo its tones , ringing in the unwilling ears of pious , _Tm-votshipping -Anti-davcry men , " that " these forty-five millions of fellow creatures , the Russian Serfs , are in every sense- ofthe word , as completely slaves , as ihe negroes captured on thc coastof Africa , and sold in ( he _marixts ofthe nm _xwld , "

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 23, 1846, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_23051846/page/7/