Current:

Northern Star (1837-1852), 27th April 1850, Edition 3 of 4, Page 3, THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE. - The result of ...

Page 3
Page 3
3 of 8

On this page

  • Departments (5)
    • poetrj
    • iisixf'a)
    • 30ti6lic SUtmsfmiittg
    • VRmim
    • If Mankind are liable to on* disease more than another, qr if there are any particular affections of tbe buman body we require to have a knowledge of over the rest, itis cer-
  • Adverts (3)
  • Text (18)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      ' April 37,1850. ' The ^ Or C T H ^J^ St...

      April 37 , 1850 . ' THE _^ OR c T H _^ J _^ sTAJt _, ; 3

      Poetrj

      _poetrj

      ^3hxisters ."V70n'T Go! A Toot's 1ame5i....

      _^ 3 HXISTERS . " v _70 N ' T GO ! A TOOT ' S 1 AME 5 I . _.-..-nesent Opposition has done era-jibing that any _^ £ n " ever did , or ever could have done , towards ° J _* - * _?^ t a Ministry ; but _notmthstandinff . the usual _**""^« been so frequently given , the _ilinisters won't _^ _tjKnvU _. _f Post . Tbo hard we strive with might and maia The "Whigs to overthrow , And lost dominion to regain—The Ministers won ' t go 2 As sticks the stnhhorn limpet race Fa st to the rocks , just so -n Ministers stick fast to place , And swear they will not go ! "We ' ve asked them once , we ' ve asked them twice ,

      We've asked them thrice ; ont no , They laugh to scorn all good advice , And swear they will not go ! Stanley looks jaundiced with despair , * " * reel black as any crow ; But wh at avails their patriot care ? The Ministers won ' t go ! _£ _' Sibthorp _' s threats appal them not , Xor Shaw ' s _long phiz of woe ; Like oaks ' , they brave our rattling shot ; And swear they will not go ! Last week defeated , one and all , I thought they'd march : but lo ! They stuck the faster for their fall , And swore they would not go !

      Tho' some of us cried " Shame , and some Ejaculated "Oh !" And others from surprise were _dumb'Twas vain—they would not go ! 'lis m y belief , if Satan sself ( Their patron saint you know ) Would _sav , " Be off 2 " from Inst of pelf , They'd answer , _« ' We won t go ' .

      Kkgs Axd Priests. Ah' There's A Curse Ha...

      KKGS AXD PRIESTS . Ah' there ' s a curse has gone abroad—It withers half the works of God ! It changes men to beasts : It bellows from the lo west hell I It echoes but one damning knell—The curse of kings and priests I This is ihe curse that sears the earth , JLnd hurries dessolation forth In all her dread array . Jn darkest mummeries enshrined , It prostrates the immortal mind , Till Jill its powers giTe way .

      It narrow ? , freezes half the soul—Distracts the great harmonious whole With blind s _" ectarian pride ; Pours one unmixed , nnbroken flood Of precious guiltless human blood Till earth ' s blest soil is dyed 1 M'QOEBS

      Iisixf'a)

      _iisixf'a )

      Jh Tchono-Thermalist; Or People's Medica...

      Jh _tChono-Thermalist ; or People ' s Medical Enquirer . March , 1850 . London : Charles Gilpin , 5 , Bishopsgate-street Without . * _No"nvrrHSTASDiXG the great development in p hysical science which distinguishes the present day , it is universally admitted that the art of medicine has not kept pace with the movement of progression . This retardment , we are inclined to "believe , may he traced to that narrow-minded policy which

      characterises the majority of those helonging to a profession that , of all others , should he the most liberal and enlightened . As a class , medical men have always dreaded innovation , and , attached to theories which have no foundation in nature , they have hitherto attacked with derision and obloquy every writer who has come forward with the laudable endeavour of exposing error , and offering views , whereb y their art might be improved .

      Br . Samuel Dickson—the author of "Fallacies of the Faculty , " and who has jnst published the first number of a periodical , en--fitled the Chrono-Thermalist—forms a striking fflustration how far envy and jealousy are xaneorously cherished towards those who have the moral courage to lay bare the false and dangerous theories of an art , the advancement of which , as it has been justl y said , bears no proportion to its antiquity . Dr . Dickson tells us—in language which indicates deep-injured feeling—that he has been treated as the overloaded ass treated the good-natured man who "relieved it of a part of its burden ; " he has teen , " he informs us , "kicked _andcalumni--attd , and belied—kicked b y the asses he would

      have befriended . " Alluding to his former work upon the errors of the faculty , he goes onto remark , "If his enemies think he is dead , ihey were never more mistaken . He was only asleep ; and now he awakes , to agitate , agitate , agitate—to know no rest till the eyes of the public be opened to the infamy of a class of men , to whom—fearless alike of open force and secret fraud—their combined numbers , and their silent machinery of corruption and collusion—he now flings down the gauntlet of contempt and defiance . Creatures who "traffic in the blood and sinews of a nationwho eat their dishonest bread at the expense of the sick , whose sufferings they prolong—who turn one of the most noble and God-like arts

      mto tbe basest and vilest of callings—the author ofthe Chrono-Thermal system has armed himself at all points , for the long and sustained encounter 1 " Such a defiance , and such terse , bnt severe allegations , may be rather startling to tliose unacquainted with the real state of medical practice . "We , however , must candidl y avow Dr . Dickson has not been treated fairly . _~ We have carefully perused his work , and are disposed to believe that much is required to place the profession in a more honourable position than what it- now enjoys . The errors which prevail , and the deplorable ignorance

      that exists amongst the general herd of practitioners , have long disfigured it in the estimation of the intelligent portion of societ y . There are many high-minded and enlightened men belonging to the medical professson who admit the prevalence of great evils . Even so iar back a 3 the time of Boerhaave , the medical art was in so disgraceful a condition , that he boldl y declared , more of mankind were killed b y medicine than cured b y it ; and in our ° * n day , the late Sir Antony Carlisle , expressed the same sentiment . Dr . Dickson has fearlessl y denounced and exposed its errors , in broad and unsparing language ; and we would ¦ _"nggest to the writers of medical reviews , that

      it would be more fair and candid to meet the _Ohrono-Thermalism npon other grounds than those of abuse and calumny , for " who , " according to _Hilton , " every new truth put to B _^ ° rse in a f ree _-md open encounter ?" e a _* " not here enter npon any investigation "regarding the theories of disease propounded jj _j Dr . Dickson , but we should be doing _-aan great injustice were we to withhold our avowal of praise to the talent which he evinces whilst _dncidating his doctrines . The views which he _developes in regard to the predisposing causes of Cholera , we deem highly correct and concur with him freel when he says , that we primary seat ofthe disease is to he found in the brain and nervous system . The

      treatment of this disease reflects great opprobrium upon medical men in general j and we are the " Store impressed with the science of- Dr . _Dickon ' s views hy knowing , that in decided cases ti Cholera , the most beneficial results have a _^ Seu b y directing attention to the cerebrospin al system j one application of a sinipism a _)* m g the course of the spine , we have seen in ?} 0 r e than one instance arrest , almost imme-5 * * % ; the progress of this terrible malady .

      " _-a- _onld be well that the majority of the _medi-^ profession would think for themselves , and _^ _tMnplicifl _yfoUowdoctrinespregnantwiththe ° _« mischievous and fatal consequences . _Mc-^ men , unfortunatel for their patients , are _J _^ _lJ _^ aialltherubbish _oftheschrol - , " _$ _"? ' - _"ickson deserves fully the gratitude € rro _^ _^ j * in exposed the numerous ra and false theories propagated hy those _^«« ning to themselves the title of Profe * _-- _*™

      ft _mSr _i _** - Dickson done nothing else , as _^?» cal reformer , than denounced the _indis-^ - _^ ate use of blood-letting , and the absurd

      Jh Tchono-Thermalist; Or People's Medica...

      and devastating practice of low diet , in the treatment of diseases in general , he would have richl y merited the hi ghest praise . Trul y has it been said , that more of mankind have perishedby the lancet than b y thesword . " Poor Byron fell a victim to this dreadful practice ; it is , however , consolatory to know that some intelligent practitioners participate liberally in those scientific views which Dr . Dickson has , with so much moral courage , boldly proclaimed . Contemplating the medical profession in its present deplorable state , we have no hesitation in saying , that it is one vast system of quackery ; and yet , we hear , that in the

      present session of Parliament a bill is to be proposed , whereby additional powers maybe g iven to those bodies , whicb , constituted as they are , deserve no other character than that of huge antiquated monopolies . Still , we trust , the Legislature , debased as it is by its unprincipled conduct in resisting all political reform , will have some portion of common sense left , as to reject at once this measure , and look upon it as a piece of bare-faced effrontery . The growing intelligence of the peop le will ultimately be the best means of checking empiricism , Avhether it be confined to legal or illegal practitioners . Giving power to incorporated bodies that are in themselves the models of

      rapacious avarice , and the types of error and ignorance , would onl y perpetuate those evils which have so long disgraced the profession . Monopolising laws will never make men either wise or honest . "We are no advocates for exclusiveness in any department of knowledge . Wc respect intelligence , combined with integrity , aud are pleased to recognise it , whether the elements of science are acquired in a college or a garret . Convinced that Dr . Dickson is influenced by every generous impulse in the exposition which he has brought before the public , and that he is actuated by the best of motives—so as science and art may be rendered subservient and useful to bis fellow creatures—we earnestl y recommend his zealous animadversions to the notice of our readers .

      The People's Review. Edited By Friends O...

      The People ' s Review . Edited by Friends of " Order and Progress . "—London : C . Mitchell , Bed Lion Court , Fleet Street . Tnis publication has breathed its last . In its d ying words , complaint is made ofthe '"Northern Star" having " denouncedarticles , written by men not yet recovered from the wounds and fatigue of revolution , as reactionary papers . " " Observe the mischief of men writing under a mask ; but for this statement , we should not have imagined that the authors of

      the articles alluded to had anything revolutionary about them . If the writers in this "Review " did indeed take part in the struggles of 184849 , we must say , that judging them by their own literary productions , we regret not their failure . Better is it that the present system should endure until the veritable revolutionists are strong enough to establish their ascendancy , than that those who at present rule should be cashiered only to make way for the Friends of" Order and Progress . "

      The failure of this publication is easil y ac counted for . Its conductors , too liberal for the " Friends of Order , " are too tame and indefinite for the " Friends of Progress . " Men who p ride themselves on believing in the integr ty of tyrants , and on acting up to that belief , have no vocation for editing a " People ' s Review . " The assertion that " beneficial changes are at the command of those who can reach the understanding of rulers , " is , as

      the Americans wonld say , all bosh . According to the editors ofthe " People ' s Review , " "Nicholas , Metternich , Guizot , Thiers , Russell , Cabral , & c ., are mere innocents , who do wrong only because they don ' t know better . Poor dears Why does not Bob Thin start a " ragged school" for the instruction of these unfortunates ? The Lord save us from all evilparticularly the nuisance of political sentimentalism .

      The articles in this number on " Progress , " " American Literature / ' the " Factory Question , " the " Polish Question , " and " Democracy , " are all ably written ; but , with one or two exceptions , are disfigured by blemishes Ave have before complained of . We cannot regret the extinction of this " Review ; '' but if its editors will act on Burn ' s Advice to tbe Devil , — "tak a thought an men , " we shall be happy to meet them again . Democracy cannot tolerate half-and-half partisans . A word to the wise is sufficient .

      The Progressionist. Published Weekly. Lo...

      The Progressionist . Published weekly . London : Collins , 113 , Fleet-street . This periodical we have on several occasions recommended to our readers . In the number before us , there are several excellent articles from the pen of the editor , and also from the able and fearless John Rymill , and other contributors . We select the following : —

      OCR SOCIAL SYSTEM . In another place we have alluded to the ten hours bill , and from those remarks it willbe seen , that we attach importance tothe decision ofthe Legislature ou this question . As there stated , we heartily wish success to the men who are seeking to establish the ten hours system on a proper and legitimate footing ; because that system recognises the right of the Legislature to interfere to protect lahour from the tiger-like grasp of capital , —aright which we have constantly maintained in opposition to the views of the _let-alone , free-trading school of political economists , —views which in our heart and conscience we loathe and abhor .

      But because we wish success to the ten hours movement , we wish not to be understood as holding the opinion , that bills of this description can effectually protect the industrious classes from the avarice and cupidity of the profitmongers . No . We hold that the bill in question is but a palliative of the evils incident to our social system , and not that it will destroy those evils . We believe the evils under which our working millions groan are the necessary results of the system itself—a system which divides tlie population into lords and serfs , into masters and slaves , and wbich must , a 3 a matter of necessity , chain the latter to the selfish desires , whims , and caprices of the former .

      "VYe have a landed aristocracy , renowned in history and experience for its hatred to popular right and liberty , and its extreme jealousy of the people ' s power . And thU _aristocracy , existing , as it pretends , by divine right , and under divine sanction , holds the land ofthe country locked upasthonghin a prison . "Not one inch of soil can the industrious classes lay their hands on , without the special sanction nnd permission of this powerful class . If we cultivate that soil , it must be done chiefly for the profit and advantage of this same aristocracy , and those under them , who , for a share of the plunder , assist in _riretting our chains , and so prevent our escape from tlieir deadly grasp . "We areallowed , it is true , to eat just so much as will enable us to

      continue our horrible drudgery ; but beyond that , with some few exceptions , our wealth goes to glut the avarice of the idle , and the physically , mentally , and morally worthless members of society ; and even a large portion of our own class they keep unwillingly idle , as a reserve upon which they can fall back with tolerable certainty , in case their slaves should become restive under their galling yoke , and so refuse to go through their menial occupation of working in order that others may enjoy on just such terms as thc sla ** _ehoWera choose to offer . By these means they are enabled to go on continuall y augmenting their own gain 3 , and as continually to draw from the resources of the workers . And if tbey dare but complain , they are pointed to

      numbers of their own elass , who are kept idle , and whom they threaten to take in their places if they do not accede to their brutal terms . And thus they make a portion of the oppressed the very means of perpetuating their own misery and the misery of their unfortunate brother workmen . Hence the want of union amongst the producers . Hence those bitter dissensions that exist in the ranks of the labourers themselves , who behold in tho persons of their fellow labourers ( whose industry is brought into competition with their own ) their veriest enemies ; and well do the guilty oppressors of their species know the effect which their horrible system

      must produce ; and well do they , with the nicest calculation , count on those burning dissensions as the means of perpetuating their hellish craft . And , so long as the soil of the nation continues to be the property of individuals , so long must the landless continue to be the slaves of the landowners ; because it is in the power of this class , by suffering the land to lie waste , always to keep a snrplnB of labourers in the market , and then , if those labourers complain of their condition , they are insultingly told , that at home there is no room for them , and , if they are not content to be under the fostering care ofthe _atarYe-gut philosophers be-

      The Progressionist. Published Weekly. Lo...

      longing to the ranks of their idle oppressors , they must betake themselves to Australia ; while there are 15 , 000 , 000 acres of good land at home which has never yet been put under the plough or the spade , nor made available for any purposes whatever of cultivation . If the surplus population , as it is insultingly and blasphemously termed , had but the chance , they would speedily alter this ; they would turn the now barren wastes of our country into smiling gardens of cheerfulness and plenty ; they would , by their labour , cause the deserts of our country to bloom with the Creator ' s luxurious vegetation . But now their arms are palsied , their bodies stricken with decay ; because under the blasting curse of landlordism . Destroy this power , and one-half the work is accomplished ; continue it , and it will be impossible to eniov social

      happiness , as it is impossible for the'deadl y Upas tree to he promotive of health and life . To repeat the laws of primogeniture and entail is only to trifle with the question . It mi g ht have the effect of throwing more land into the market , and thus give a chance to wealthy capitalists to purchase ; but who does not see that this would be a conservation ofthe aristocratic principle ? That it would be merely substituting on _« _j aristocracy for another , and by no means a more humane or benevolent one than now exists . If we wish to make the soil really contribute to the welfare of society , we must abolish individual ownership entirely , and make the nation , through a freely elected legislature , the sole proprietor of its own natural inheritance . Unless this be done , we may repeal taxes , pass ten hours bills , and the like , but thpre will never be any effectual protection to industry .

      FRENCH DEMOCRACY ASD THE ENGLISH PRESSOANG . The thousand and one Etnas of the pressgang , have been spitting forth their burning lava , their fiery hate , and smoky lies upon the sacred champions of liberty . They have hurled the barbarous bolts of hatred ; they have applied the engines of malice ; and they have used all the inventions of men and fiends to blacken , and blast , and damnify the men who have given up liberty , property , family , country , and in many cases life itself , for the achievment of their country ' s freedom . The infernal pressgang of England have rendered themselves eternally infamous by their dastard and damnable endeavours to cover the sacred names of continental patriots with shame , and

      overwhelm them with reproach . But their endevours to traduce the motives , blacken the characters , and blast the fair fame of our beloved patriot brethren will prove abortive . The base and truculant crew of hireling scribblers , and ir * ean mercenary thieves , who employ their time to wound the feelings , misrepresent the intentions , and damnify the character of honourable mon , will find their services rewarded in the well merited contempt of all honest men . The baso wretches of the pressgang sek to throw back the glorious cause of freedom—social and democratic—by traducing the character of the men who spend their time in the advocacy of these principles . The Times is daily Yentine its mean and paltry spleen against

      the brave democrats and socialists of Paris , * . it represents in every issue of its filthy broad sheet , that the socialists are "drunkards , " "thieves , " " spoliators , " " seducers , " and ' ' murderers , " and contends , that should socialism triumph , universal pillage , drunkenness , vice , and murder would be the order of the day . But the Times is an old liar . The democrats and socialists of Paris are not drunkards , ' seducers , and murderers ; they are gentlemen , not of parliament progeny , but of heaven ' s own making ; men of probity , truth and courage . They are not guilty of the horrible crimes imputed to them ; and the Times' correspondent knows as well as we , that such is not the case . Every

      christian man is bound to curae these fiendish men of the press with heart hatred . They are infamous and measureless liars , and they merit the derision of all honest men . They should be scouted from society , spurned from the threshold ot every home , and generally avoided as a plague or a pestilence . They have cast their nets in hell ; fished for falsehood ; and circumvolved the world for lies , with which to assail and assassinate the bravest and the noblest men that ever took human flesh . But the pressgang has signally failed . The elections of Carnot , Vidal , and De Flotte , in the recent contest at Paris , prove most completely , that social democracy is stronger than ever .

      The heavens put on blackness ; the rumbling of the distant thunders may be distinctly heard ; the lightnings will soon career across the sky ; the revolution is at hand ; it can be delayed but a little longer ; it will speedily be ushered in ; and then will the veritable democratic and social republic be proclaimed ! If this triumph be not achieved before the general election of 1 S 52 , most assuredly it will be achieved then . "We fervently hope that Frenchmen may be able to secure their social rights by the exercise of their political rig hts . Most sincerely do we hope that they may never have to draw the sword in defence of freedom any more . But if the plotting tyrants who now rule France succeed in destroying the republic , and wresting universal suffrage from the people , then we say it is the duty of the people to resist their tyrants by the force of arms , and may God defend the right .

      Englishmen ! as you value your country—as you love your wives and little ones—as you value truth , honesty , and freedom , 'I call upon you to prove your devotion by your faith , your earnestness , yonr sacrifices , and your works . Push onward the ark of Truth—man the ship of Freedom—forsake her not in storm or in tempest—and depend upon it you will have the satisfaction of seeing her enter the haven in triumph , and into the port of happiness and peace . John Rymill .

      30ti6lic Sutmsfmiittg

      30 ti 6 lic _SUtmsfmiittg

      Royal Polytechnic Institution. Sir Henry...

      ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION . Sir Henry R . Bishop has commenced his second series of admirable lectures on music , at this Institu . tion . The lec ' ures are extremely simple and imtructive . which make them su valuable to an establishment of this kind , where all science must be in a popular form . Several airs frora the ' Miller and Irs men ' and other compositions of the lecturer , were executed by tbe vocalist , and accompanied on the pianoforte by Sir Henry . All ihe illustrations were executed admirably , and called forth repeated p laudits from the audience , who appeared to realish this musical treat , provided by the Directors , most highly . The chenreal lecture by Mr . Pepper is , at present , on the different methods proposed to be used in . conveying pyrotechnic and other signals to the expedition of Sir John Franklin in the Artie Regions ;

      The Taxes On Knowledge. - The Result Of ...

      THE TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE . - The result of the division was sadly against the friends of knowledge , and the fact of 190 members being found to vote for a continuance of these scandalous taxes prove pretty conclusively the state of our House of Commons . Among the friends of the " Taxes on Knowledge" and the lovers of dear newspapers appear the names of Peel , father and son , the junior Peel proving himself , on every occasion , the exact counterpart and imitatorof his respected father . Really people hoped better things from "theTamworth conjurer , " who however , of late , seems determined to show tbat there is little difference between him and the premier . The Peelites are every day 'becoming small by degrees and beautifully less , " and no wonder , for their leader refuses to initiate any bold and reforming line of , policy * which might have the effect of enlisting the sympathies of the people on his aide . Between Peel and Russell there is not

      much to choose , the chief difference being that the former is less obstinate and more acute than his Whig rival ; but as for politics , Peel has shown himself quite as conservative and quite as opposed to the reasonable demands of the people . One can scarcely wonder that his followers diminish day by day , and that the Peelite party bida fair to become the most insignificant in the house . His attorney-general , Thesiger , has long become tired of waiting upon Sir Robert , and Smythe , the member for Canterbury and the writer of some clever , but unintelligible , articles in the Morning Chronieli , is often found at issue with his old leader . But , however surprised one may be to find Peel supporting the government in their maintenance ofthe Taxes on Knowledge , nobody can

      be at all astonished to find the name cf Walter _. the proprietor of the jfifmes _, oa tbe same side . Walter naturally trembles lor the monopoly of the Times , which would , doubtless , be endangered by the removal of the newspaper stamp and advertisement duties . It is all very well for " the leading journal" to declare that it would probably be a gainer by the removal of these taxes . Everybody knows that the Times trembles at the idea ofthe _competition to which it w ould be exposed from the more recently established , but more liberal , newspapers . Of course , the benefit of the abolition of these taxes would be chiefly felt by those journals which are most in accordance with the views and _ptinciples of the great mass of the people , and it is notorious that the great mass of the people heartily detest the Times . Walter , notwithstanding of his

      the professions made in the leading columns journal , takes good care to vote for the maintenance of these taxes . The penny stamp and the advertisement system answer very well at Printing-housesquare , and a charge might very possibly alter things for the worse , while it could hardly improve them . This is tlie mode in which the operation of theM ) taxes is viewed by the proprietors of old-established papers generally . They are very comfortably off now , and do very well with things as they are , and , like the rich peer who could not bear the idea of death because he felt persuaded that he should never be SO well off any where else as in this world , they have an instinctive dread of any change , which cannot improve , but may deteriorate , their _posHiwr- _Uoretspondrnt of tH Birmingham , _JMsrcury , _.

      Nationa L Reform League. ' , Mr. O'Brien...

      NATIONA L REFORM LEAGUE . ' , Mr . O'Brien , the president of this association , held his usual weekly meeting , at the John-street Institution , on Friday evening last . "In the course of his address , he drew attention to the cheering fact that , according to the Irishman—a copy of which excellent paper he held in his hand—a large open-air demonstration had recently taken place at Kilkenny , at which the broadest democracy had been advocated , as well as the doctrine that the land _*** as the _peoplo ' s— " from deepest earth to highest heaven ; and that the people should prepare themselves to hold it . Mr . O'Brien , after saying that this was the most advanced move ever yet made in Ireland , went into a history of the various fruitless agitations which O'Conneil had

      fosteredparticu-, larly his plan of tenant-right ; and showed that even the boasted Emancipation Bill had made the mass of the people less free than they were before . He then showed that , although the clergy were always the inveterate enemies of everything having a democratic tendency , yet that Atheism could do nothing for the peoplo . It was true Christianity that we wanted—not such Christianity as the Pope ; for had that man believed in the real doctrines of Christ , he would ' never have allowed French and Austrian butchors to murder his people in order that he might preserve his domination at Rome . Whatever such a man professed , he was practically an Atheist . Mr . O'Brien then referred

      to the approaching Conference of delegates to the Financial and Parliamentary Reform Association , and to the proposed deputation from the National Charter Association and the Reform League to that body , to test the good faith of the Financial Reformers towards the working classes . If that body were in earnest , in desiring a union between the middle and working classes , they would so arrange matters that , at the next general election , the working classes should have the power of electing and sending trom twenty-five to thirty men of their own choice , to represent their interests in Parliament . Mr . O'Brien then called upon the meeting to approve of that plan by show of _hnnds , which was responded to in the most unanimous

      manner . Mr . Stallwood then addressed the meeting on the subject of the Conference , and showed , in reply to an objection which had been raised , that the pro ? perty < _juali 3 catioii difficulty had been often very easily surmounted _. At this meeting—previous to Mr . O'Brien ' s lecture—the second quarter ' s Report of the . Council of the National Reform League was read to the members present . It began by recording several circumstances of ti " congratulatory nature , in relation to its progress ; and stated , that the council had no apprehension as to the ultimate popularity of its principles and objects , although its numerical strength had not yet reached a very large number . One cause of their deficiency of numbers might be found in the co-existence of numerous other reform

      bodies—all professing different objects and views , and thereby tending to confuse the minds of tho people—especially when they saw that the leaders of those different parties had arrived at no unity of opinion as to what positive reforms were required , that would be worth struggling for , and how they could be best accomplished . This want of union among the popular leaders of the day was much to be lamented , and it enabled the enemies of the people to deride their agitation , because they knew that while divisions existed in the popular camp , the unprivileged and unenfranchised classes could never gain either . their political power or social influence . The report recorded the late missionary tour of the president , and stated that branches of the League had been formed at Glasgow , Edinburgh , and Sheffield . It also alluded to the series of resolutions

      which had been passed at a crowded meeting of the National Regeneration Society , held recently inthe Leicester-square Institution , on the motion of the president . These resolutions had been cordially inserted in their papers by tho editors of the Aorthern Star and the Tribune , 'but had remained unnoticed by several of the cheap stamped papers to which they had been sent—showing the little sympathy they had with tho people ' s cause . A few evidences of the recognition of the principles ofthe League which had recently appeared in print were noticed . A recent correspondent in' the Leader had forcibly argued against private property in land , and had put forward the sound axiom , that " each man has a ri ght to require that those conditions of existence , under which God originall y placed man on the earth , shall be preserved substantially in all the stages of human progress , " which may be considered a parallel to ono of the

      fundamental principles of the League . A letter of Mr . Hugh Doherty , in the New York Tribune , was also noticed , complaining that tho French Socialist leaders did not grapple with the question of land monopoly ; and at the same time advocating the principle of legislative revolution , with regard to abstract laws of common r : ght , and non-interfenee , with regard to the habits and customs of thepeople . The report concluded by deprecating the apathy , indifference , and luke-warmnesa which the majority of the working classes— especially of London — exhibited towards all movements for political or social reform , proving the deep degradation wliich a long course of political and social slavery had engendered , and whieh had induced them to believe that they had nothing whatever to do with such questions , and that it did not concern them who made the lavs , or what were the principles upon which they were governed as men and citizens . But that lamentable fact would not be allowed to

      drive the members of the National Reform League to the conclusion which most of the followers of the " dismal science of political economy" have arrived at , and which has led them to assert that extreme poverty must always accompany a high state of _civilisation , and that it is a natural and unalterable ordination for tlie great body of the peoplo to be the passive instruments of the privileged and civilised classes . All members ofthe League would emphatically deny the truth of a philosophy so unchristian and so unphilanthropic , and would do all they could , ' . lowever little , to disabuse their fellows

      of any such belief . And , in so doing , they would not only be performing their duty , towards others , but to themselves ; because while the present laws upon land and money are maintained , and while the corrupting and dangerous power of huge armies of soldiery and _polieo is heedlessly conferred upon governments , no real approach could bo made towards the realisation ofthatglorioustrinity of aspirations—Liberty , Equality , and Fraternity—which is now floating before the mental vision of a large portion of the family of man , giving them faith and courage to pursue their arduous struggles against error , despotism , and oppression .

      British College Of Health, New Road, Lon...

      BRITISH COLLEGE OF HEALTH , New Road , London . ARSENIC IN CHOLERA !!! OH ! OH ! Oil ! Fellow-countrymen . — What to do think of this J Arsenic in cholera ! Oh ! Oh ! Well , if yon will take the trouble of looking into the Medical _Timesi you will find printed in large letters , 'Case ok Asiatic Cholera successfully treated with Arsenic . ' A doctor positively advising arsenic in cholera—the case is also reported at length in the 89 th number ofthe Hygeist , to be had at the office , 3 C 8 , Strand , price Id . or SO . hy post . Well , can you be surprised , my friends , that wc should have so many cases of felonious poisoning throughout the country by arsenic S What is the real difference between thc prisoner and the doctor ? Why , that in one case the party , when he dies , is said to bave been murdered by arsenic , and in the other , to have died of some disease or other . Let things , we say , be called by their pr . per names . The doctors have made the public so faftiilinr with poisons , that the lower classes think there is no harm taking a lesson from the ' Guinea trade gentlemen ; ' and , for our own part , we do not see any real difference between the felonious prisoner and the doctor—the only difference is , that the doctor , in some

      cases , gives the poisnn in such doses as not to kill , though in many he docs kill , but then don't you see it is called * death or dis ease' and not ' _wurdar ' Now , fellow _countryme-, can you be surprised , that wha was called cholera last yi ar , should have been so fatal , whilst such poisons were given for its cure ? Arsenic , opium , & o . That this doctor ' s advice was generall y taken about arsenic in cholera we will not say , but it waspublished in the columns of a' widely circulated medical paper , and answered the purpose intended mightily—viz ; , of pro-OLAIHIilO DEADLY POISONS AS CURES FOR CHOLERA—Oh " , oh . What a pity that the aqua tofana . is unknown to _doctoi-8—they might just give a little of it to some unfortunate patient , and then publish to the world with trumpettongue , _ ' that the acqua tofana was an excellent remedy for some disease or otlu-r , ' and the poor ignorant and confiding public would swallow all . We should then see ' aqua ofana _( marked on fine bottles in the chemists' and _druggists' shops ot this lair island . ' Let the people arise from their lethargy ! . The members ofthe British College of Health , therefore call for the total prohibition of tlie following deadly poisons as medicines -

      1 . Arsenic in all its forms . 2 . PrusicAcid in all its forms . 3 . Opium ih all its forms . 4 . Mercury ia all its forms . 5 . Nux Vomica in all its forms . . The different metals in all tlieir chemical combina-Jons , which , being wholly indigestible do not , and ev _» r can , assimulate with fle 3 h and blood .

      Return Of A Siberian Exile.--Tho Little ...

      Return of a Siberian Exile .--Tho little town of Montastrue , near Toulouse , ha 3 recently been signalised by an event . An old soldier named Dames has re-appeared there after an absence of forty-two years . Tho following is a brief sketch of his history , which wo are sorry we cannot give in all its details —Dames entered the service in 1808 , and in . 1812 took part in the Russian campaign , in which ho had tho misfortune to be made ai prisoner . His family had ' received no tidings of him from that time , and every one believed him dead , when he suddenly presented himself to the astonishment of those of the inhabitants of Montastrue who remembered him . This memorable relic of the Imperial armies , who has been thirty years in Siberia , whence he has returned . by order of the Emperor , is said to have amassed a considerable fortune during his captivity . — ConiUtutionnel .

      Garment without a Seam . —A weaver in Manchester lias invented a machine by which trousers or even co _^ ts may be woven , complete in ono piece , requiring not a touch of the needle .

      Vrmim

      VRmim

      Anecdotes Of Sir Isaac Newton. —Some Of ...

      Anecdotes of Sir Isaac Newton . —Some of these stories may be true ,, md some may be only Joe Millers . Such as that wherein the philosopher lost in the stars while sitting by his English fire-sid e and . becoming extremely uncomfortable , rings the bell and says hastily , " John , John , take away the fireplace ! " And again , that history of tbe visit by Dr . Stukeley , the antiquarian , who being hungry , picked the bones of a fowl and put them under a cover , and then waited till Newton came down stairs , and took off the cover , saying , " Oh dear , I thought I had not dined , but I see 1 have I" Entering immediately into conversation with his friend- —too intent on science to be subject to the cravings of nature ,

      except as a form ! " I will not make oath that either of these anecdotes are true , though it is related—if 1 remember it arig ht—that good honest' Stukeley declared that his adventure was " a fact ! " More strange and notable than either of these stories , however—if true—is that of Newton and a certain fair lady . There was one , it seems , who _h-tl tender thoughts towards him ; but , alas for the lady , tliey were not reciprocated in the breast of the philosopher ! He never thought about the sex—he could not get time to think about them- inveterate bachelor as he was to the ( lay of his death . And sitting in his night-gown in his chamber—some say , often with but one leg in his inexpressibles-even till afternoon—calculating , unable to resist the sudden mathematical thought that would dart through his min * * as

      soon as he awoke—who would not pity the fair one that might have happened to become his wife ? Yet this lady had some such thoughts , until one day being left alone with him while he was smoking his pipe—so runs the record—Newton became abstracted : forgot all about the lady ; shot up among the comets ; the lady sighed , and—mechanically , let fall her lily hand on the philosophers _^ knee ! Behold , the philosopher took it up—and , still amon _^ the comets , in spirit—mechanically made use of the lady ' s little finger as a tobacco stopper . —Thoinas Cooper . L \ diks don ' t know whether they like smoking or not ; with special favourites , " they like it ; " with general favourites , •¦ they don ' t dislike it ; " and , with no favourites , " they detest it . " -

      During the recent fire at Limehouse church a burial took place in the grounds ; and after its destruction a marriage took placo in the vestry . ' I he bride climbed over the ruins to confirm her hopes . A Man very much in ' ox ' cated was sent to prison . " Why don ' t you bail him out ? '" inquired a bystanderof his friend . " Bale him out ! " exclaimed theother , " you couldn ' t pump him out !" Thb _Ssptbnhial Act . —Dr . Johnson , one of the most furious of Tories , in his life of Addison ,

      _alladmg to the royal prerogative of creating peers to make a majority , says , " it was an act of authority violent enough , yet certainly legal , and by no means to be compared with that contempt of national right with which , some time afterwards , by the instigation of Whiggism , the'Commons , chosen by the people for three years , chose themselves forshven !" The _Amehican _ambassador , on returning thanks for his health at the Mansion-house , on Easter Monday said , that ' . 'When the loyal cup went round , he drank for 22 , 000 , 000 of his countrymen , "

      GrenadiEns . —Frederick William , King of Prussia , had a pet regiment of giants , many . of whom he actually bought up at fancy prices . Nothing gladdened his eyes like a man s _' x or eight feet in height . One day he met a peasant girl seven feet good in _heii-ht . Having called her to him , he gave her a letter to the colonel of his Brobdignag grenadiers , containing positive orders to have the bearer instantly married to the tallest man in the regiment . The girl did not know the king , who had appeared like an everyday private gentleman : but she was somewhat suspicious . So she gave tho letter to n little old woman , ugly enough to make ' a horse break his bridle . _Judsje of the astonishment of the colonel when he read the king ' s letter , and looked on tlie shrivelled and crooked form of the bearer ! Judge , too , of the feelings of the nolens volens bridegroom ! The girl found out the trick which had nearly been played upon her , and congratulated herself on her

      escape . uuitiosiTY in Knowledge . —Nothing wraps a man in such a mist of errors , as his curiosity in searching into things which are beyond him . How happily do they live , who know but what is necessary ! Our knowledge does but show our ignorance . Our most studious researches , are but a _discoreiy of what we cannot l " now . We see the effect , but we cannot guess at the cause . Learning is like a river , whose head being far in the land , is at its first rise , small and easily viewed but still as you proceed , it gapes with a wider bank ; not without pleasant and

      delightful windings , while it is on both sides , set with trees , and the beauties of various flowers ; but still , the farther you follow it , the deeper and broader itis ; till at last it empties itself into the unfathomable ocean ; there you see more water , but no more shore , no end of that fluid expanse— Owen Felltham . A professm of Hebrew at Oxford , iu the course of his lecture , made frequent mention of radical wordB . After it was ovrrtwo of the bedmakers , who were among the auditors , wero talking together , when one said to the other— " I say . Jack , how he touched up the Radicals—didn ' t he ? _' "

      Grocers ano others who sell marmalade are in the haoit of stating , as an additional recommendation of the commodity , that it is an excellent substitute for butter . An old woman purchased some , believing it to possess all the proprieties of butter . Some time afterwards she called on the dealer , and said she had been imposed on , " as it was nae substitute for butter at , a , " fir she had tried to fry fish in ' t , and they were burned to a cinder . " Upon the door of a house near Bridewater ,

      occupied by father and son , the former a blacksmith , and publican , the latter a barber , is a board with the following inscription : — "Barnes and Son , blacksmith and barber ' s work done here ; horse shoeing and shaving , locks mended , haie curling , bleeding , teeth drawing , and all other furriery work . All sorts of spirital _lickers according to the late comical troaty . Take notis my wife keeps skool and lays fokes as ushuall , teaches reding and writing , and other lanwatches , and has sistants if required to teach horitory , sowing , the mathewmatics , and other fashionable diversions . "

      An Old Legend with a Nisiv TAiL .---In her Memoir of an Hungarian Lady , Theresa Pulsky tells the following story , tipped with a political sting : — "A miller at Branyisko ( a steep mountain path , when his mill had stopped , being overwhelmed with sorrow at the prospect of starvation fnr his wife and children ,. plunged into the forest . There he met a fine gentleman , With a cloven foot , a red cloak , and a cock ' s feather iu his hat , who promised to get him water for the mill if he gave up an object he possessed without knowing it . The miller ( it is n » t doubted ) recognised the gentleman ; but , need proving more powerful than conscience , he

      • cquiesced in the proposition , and _hastened home . There he found the mill in full activity ; and hir . mother-in-law met him joyfully , with the news that his wife had happily borne him a son . The poor man was struck dead on the spot with horror . The fine gentleman soon came , and carried the baby away under his red cloak . Fora long , long time , the little one ' s mother heard nothing about bim , and mourned for him : till at last the tidings reached her , that her son , owing to his eminent education , had grown a doctor of law 3 , and a mighty . grand gentleman , Minister of the interior at Vienna !"

      * A " dandt black" stepped into a provision sh _*> p in Boston recentl to buy some potatoes ; before purchasing he nave the following '" truly eloquent description of it * nature : — - "De tater is inevitably bad or inevitably good . Dereis no meliociity in the combination ol de tater . De exterior may , indeed , appear remarkably exemplary and butisome , whi ' e the interior is totally negative : but , sir , if you wends tho article ' pop your own recomwendations , knowing you to be a man of probity in all your translations , why , sir , without further circumlacutions , I take a bushel . ' " A medical man was employed by a labourer to

      attend his wife during her illness . The doctor hinted ( according to his custom of snch good folks ) his fear of not being ultimately _remunerated for his trouble . " I ' ve £ 5 , " said the poor fellow , " and if you kill or cure , you shall have ' em . " The poor woman died under the doctor ' s hands ( it may be charitable to add that she would hare done so without his help ) . and after a reasonable time had elapsed , Bolus called for his £ 5 . The msn put the _followint- questions to him : — " Did you kill . my .. wife ? " " No ! " was the reply . "Did you cure her ? " "No"" again " Then , " said the disconsolate , " you have no legal demand . " A wRiTim in Notes and Queries gives the following " wicked but witty" epigram by La Monnoye : —

      * ' The world of fools has such a store , That he who would not see an ass Must bide at home and bolt his door , And break his looking-glass . " A Yankee contemporary says , — " When we see a neat , pretty girl , with a free but innocent air—with cheeks like roses , and heavenly blue eyes , which seem to repose in serenity beneath their silken lashes—we always wish _i-ho was near a mud-puddle , and we had to lift her over . Patiunce . —The most striking picture of patience we remember to have seen is that of the apple women at the corners of some of the large

      thoroughfares . Their whole stock-in-trade rarely exceeds a dozen apples , a few sticks of candy , and perhaps a half-peck of chestnuts . There thev sit , generally smoking a pipe , while they watch their little store , waiting for a penny customer . Probably the whole day ' s sale rarely exceed two _fh _^ lings , and hardly half of this can be prolit . Yet ihey never appear restless ; they are at their post , rain or shine , early and late , never showing the least signs of impatience , but apparently enjoying a philosop hical rumination amid the _rank-smell of tobacco and tte fumes of the pipe . " Patience on a monument" -it s no companpon at aU - _, we _sbeJl always affirm in lutun by apple _win : n ,

      If Mankind Are Liable To On* Disease More Than Another, Qr If There Are Any Particular Affections Of Tbe Buman Body We Require To Have A Knowledge Of Over The Rest, Itis Cer-

      If Mankind are liable to on * disease more than another , qr if there are any particular affections of tbe buman body we require to have a knowledge of over the rest , itis cer-

      Ad00319

      tainly that class of disorders treated ot in tne new and Im proved edition of the "Silent Friend . " The authors , in thu 3 sending forth to the world ahotlser edition of . their medical work , cannot refrain from expressing tiieir gratfi . fication at the continual success attending their efforts , which , combined with the assistance of medicines , exclusively of their own preparation , have been the happy eause of miti gating and averting the mentaland physicalraiseriea attendanton those peculiar disorders ; thus proving the fact _. that

      Ad00320

      HEALTH WHERE'TIS SOUGHT ! HOLLO "WAY'S PILLS . Cure of a Disordered Liver and Stomach , when in a most hopeless state . Extract of a Letter from Mr . Matthew Harvey , of Chapel Hall , Airdrie , Scotland , dated the 15 th of January , 1850 . Sib , —Your valuable pills have been the means , with God's blessing , of restoring me to a state of perfect health , aud at a time when I thought I was on the brink , of the grave . I had consulted several eminent doctors , who , after doing what they could forme , stated that they considered my case as hopeless , I _outfit to say that I had been suffering from a liver and stomach complaint of lorn ; s ' _aiulim ,-. which during the last two years got so much worse , that every one considered my condition as hopeless . I , as a last resource , got a box of your pills , which soon gave relief , and by persevering in their use for some weeks , together with rubbing night and morning your Ointment over my chest and stomach , and right side , I have by their means alone got completely cured , and to the astonishment of _myself and everybody who knows me . —( Signed ) Matthew _Hahti-y . —To Professor Houowat .

      Kinds Weakness, From Whatever Causo C , ...

      kinds Weakness , from whatever causo c , _dsc _, _, . n _^ . . Houloway _, ' 2 _lj most all respec _; tliruu _** .: _butitlH . ljd „ ; 28 , Dd .. is a _coft-ijter * . _"L - _£ * ,. Patients * _jfoi ' - *' er * j zr _% \ X i'i : » jl ;' :: _throtaK- _$$ ? , 8 » Y _6 _an-jft » " ! _^ _- - _^ bids akness _, from hatever causo C , d ! C , most all respec _^ ' _^^ ii _^^ tltruug _.:. but ; . the > J . 1 *" sra s . lid .. ; _iSB . * _)*] . "•• ' * : » _" _-pa _^ re is u coii : ider . - . 't _^ ' _^ _fe _** vY > _..:,,. _"** ¦ ¦ *"• f _"* f _*>* & : _% J ti ;* r ; iC IM ? " ia _* _--ES " - - _" > t # * f' _iSS * d thrc _^ _Jfe _^ _" _^^ ¦ ¦ ¦¦¦ ' _;¦ _<^ m

      Ad00321

      Lately a small tortoise waB remitted _throtaK- _$$ ? post-office to London , just as captUVQd , 8 » Y _6 _an-jft » " stiaall label wis pasted on It . ! _^ _- - _^ " ia _* _--ES " d thrc _^ ¦ ¦ ¦¦¦ ' _;¦

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), April 27, 1850, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_27041850/page/3/