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Northern Star (1837-1852), 4th January 1845, Edition 1 of 4, Page 6, Untitled Article

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    • Agriculture an* horticulture.
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      Untitled Article

      THE-CHAMBERS' PHILOSOPHY REFUTED . LABOCK PLEADING ITS OWX CAUSE . THE EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYED . ' A TAMIUAB DIALOGUE . —TAUT IV . Dialogue letneen Smilh and Jackson resumed at " Shoddy Jaatt , " fry sjrcdal desire of Mr . Smith . — Jaekson is announced and theivn into Mr . Smith's studv , at one end of uJdeh is susiKnded a map of Slioddy HaU , the proj > erty of J . Howard Percy Smith , Ef'i ., and , over the chimnev-piece at 1 )> e ollicrend , the annorial barings of tie . Smiths , with a 2 > cdigree mulerneatii . proving their descent from Belted H ill lloward in the male , and Ann Percy sixth cousin to tJic mond Duke of Northumberland , m the female line . Smith —Have you wiped your shoes , Jackson ? Jackson .-Yes / sir , I have wiped them Smith . —0 , that ' s right . This is a Turkey carpet ; it cost me eighty guineas , and the least footmark discolours it .

      Jackson { aside , witlt a sighJ . —O , my £ 500 ! Smith . —^ gtv , Jackson , sit down , and let us hear what van hare to say upon the subject of machinery for to ' tcll you the truth , that old Robin has awakened sucli curious thoughts in my head , that I am stag-. gered like upon the subject . He ' s an astonishing man for his age , that old Robin . Jackson . —He is so , sir . But I am told he spoke like a lad at the meeting last night . Smith . —Aye , by the bye , about the meeting ; what vras done there ? Any resolution ? Jackson . —Yes , sir . Your cousin , Mr . Smith , the grocer— « Smith . —Pooh , pooh , that ' s all a mistake ; he ' s no cousin of mine , Jackson—he's merely of the name , and there are so many Smiths ; but very few from the old stock of the Howards and Percys .

      Jackson . —0 , I beg your pardon , sir . Smith , the grocer then , moved a resolution in favour of free trade , as the only means of averting the impending and existing distress of the country . Smith . —Well , and was it earned ? Jackson . —rNo , sir ; Samuel Bowycrs , a shoemaker , moved an amendment . I have a copy of it here ; I'll read it for you : — " Resolved , that we , the working classes and " shopkeepers of the borough of Devil's Dust , in public meeting assembled , having long suffered the most galling privations , whilst all other classes arc daily accumulating wealth from our industry , for which they find it difficult to procure an " outlet , and believing the unrestricted use of machinery , asasubstituto for manual labour , to have mainly led to this unjust inequality , whereby the employer becomes rich , as if by magic , in spite of opposing obstacles , whether they arise from natural or artificial causes—from bad harvests or fluctuations in trade ,

      from a scarcity or an abundance of circulating medium in the country—while the condition of the employed becomes correspondingly deteriorated , good trade , plentiful harvests , and a surplus of the circulating medium having a tendency to Increase rather than to diminish their poverty ; and that in order to correct this unnatural state of things , this meeting is determined never to relax in its exertions until the people ' s Charter becomes the law , whereby the land of this country may , by a proper , just , and equitable distribution , be made subservient to the wants of society at huge , instead of seeing it barren and unproductive , while those labourers who could make it rich and fertile are desired to look to other countries for a sufficiency of food , or to emigrate to foreign dimes in search of the means of existence , which they are denied in the land of their birth . " Smith . —Good God , Jackson , who seconded that ? Jackson . —Mr . Sparerib , the butcher , sir . Smith . —And was it carried ?

      Jackson . —Yes , sir . Old Robin tells me that only fire hands , in a crowded HaU , weiv held up against it . Smith . —Well , but Jackson , what do they mean by the distribution of land 1 Do they meanjo . tfiks it themselves , and pay no rent ff :. V ~ Jackson—Xo , sir , they > - .., no such thing . What they mean is , that , hr ^ iost -ji controul over the labour market ii « -.. present artificial state , they are determin "' __ , ugxe recourse to a more just system , whcr : ' . those who are displaced by machinery sIku ! '" jse to be a competitive reserve for the nias-*"! , w fall back upon , as a means of keeping down wages to the mere existence point . bmith . —Well , but do you mean to say that all the machinery in the country is to be destroyed , or allowed to remain idle ?

      Jackson . —No , sir , I do not : but I mean that those who are not able to withstand that competitive system amongst the masters , in obedience to which you hare before told me they must look to reduced wages to make up profit , and keep themselves safe even in bad times , may nave sonic better channel open for their industry than that of " cracking" stones and pulling oakum , in a prison dress , and under the eye of a hard-hearted gaoler ! Smith . —Well but , Jackson , what will become of the trade of the country ? Where would the masters get hands ? Jaekson . —In abundance , sir ; but they should hire them in the cottage or the homestead , instead of iu the cellar or the hostile . The people arc beginning to think , sir , that the man gets a better price for Ms pig if the butcher comes to the stye to look after him than if he takes the pig to the butcher to buy him , because he is necessitated to sell it .

      Smith . —Well but now , Jackson , what has all this to do with the question of machinery ? I am not so dogged in my own pre-conceived notions as not to be accessible to reason ; neither have I been an inattentive listener In our previous discussions upon the subject ; and if you have anything really to urge against machinery , and your reasoning is sound , I shall unliesitatingiy confess my conversion . Jackson . —Sir , independently of what Robin has already said upon the general topic , and apart from what I may yet say , you yourself have , though perhaps unconsciously , urged so many weighty arguments against it , that I think I shall only be called upon to iurnish you with an analysis of vour own reasoning

      to bring you to a different conclusion . Smith . —What hare I urged against machinery ? Why I have been all along pleading for machinery , and arguing that the causes of its unjust unpopularity arise from the "improvidence , " "dissipation , " and " viciousness" of the working classes themselves . Jackson . —That's just the point , sir , and I am happy to have the admission ; and I undertake to prove that what you call causes are effects;—that is , that machinery is the cause , and "improvidence , " " dissipation , " " rice , " and "immorality" are the effects . Smith .-7-Jackson , let me repeat what I have previously said , and which I think embodies my opinions upon the general question ; what I said was this : —

      The thing which governs them is the general supply of hands—the supply according to the demand . There is a certain quantity of work to be done here and elsewhere , and a certain quantity of bauds to do it . If there be much work , and comparatively few hands , wages wiU rise ; if little work , and an excess of hands , wages will ¦ fall Without any mutual arrangement , the manufacturers coinc to a uniformity of wages . Indeed , it is not the masters , but the labourers , who settle the rate of wages . Tliey settle it by competing against each other .

      In the same way that manufacturers compete against one another , so do the labouring classes compete against one another . All find it necessary to work , in order to live ; and to get work , they accept of what wages are to be had . If they , however , hear that higher wages are going elsewhere , they carry their labour thither . They there compete with those who are already settled , and perhaps hring down wages to a lower level . Thus , with out any mutual understanding among either masters or men , but just by a universal competition , wages get settled down at particular rates .

      Jackson . —Very well , sir , I understand you per-. fecfly . Your proposition involves three distinct considerations ; namely , the governing power that . von ascribe to machinery ; the means of correcting the evil effects that you admit ; and the result which must naturally flow from that correction . You must admit , sir , that when the population of a whole country becomes deficient in those moral excellencies which all nations , under good laws and fostering govenanent , are capable of attaining , and when immo ^ rality becomes the rule , instead of the exception , of the national character ( for you have been unreserved and sweeping in your strictures upon the working classes ) , I say in such case you must admit that there is a deep-seated evil resting somewhere ; an evil which has originated with machinery , grown with its growth , and strengthened with its strength . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , this is all assertion .

      Jackson . —It may be so , sir , but it is assertion founded upon your own admissions , and , as I shall prove , upon an incontrovertible basis . When yon admit that masters' profits , arid their protection against fluctuations in trade , arc made up by reductions in wages , and when machinery alone enables them to take this undue advantage of their hands , what other conclusion can be come to , than that the working classes should consider this governing power as their greatest enemy ? And what more legitimate than that they should seek , bv combination or otherwise , to destroy its effects ; and what more natural than to seek another channel for their industry , over which the same anomalous power can have no controul ?

      Smith . —Jackson , I tell yon that in the present depraved state of the working classes no controul or power can emanate from their body that must not nave a prejudicial effect upon their order . Jackson . —Mr . Smith , men are born with propensities , which may be nourished into virtues or thwarted into vices , according to the training in infancy , the education in childhood , and the treatment practised towards them in manhood . Smith . —Well but , Jaekson , that's the very thing that I complain of . Look at children now-a-days The mother doesn ' t care for them . The father neglects then . They are wholly uneducated , and the gin palace , the brothel , or the workhouse is their hryt introduction to society .

      Jackson . —1 thank you lor saying " now-a-days , " ' because I am arguing that the governing powers , machinery the prineipalis—" now-a ^ lays" the cause of the social evils . And the fact that it was not so in

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      i— - ^* - ——¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦—————^ == ^——— . England in olden times , wheuparentshad the bringing up and controul of their families , is proof that some new agency has wrought the change . And now , sir , let me state my principal objections to the unrestricted use , of maclmeiy . rh-st it places man in an artificial state , over which tne . best vroikman the wisest man and most moral person , has no controul . Secondly , while it leads to the almost certain fortune of those who have capital in sufficient amount to command those profits made hp , as you admit , by the reduction of wages ; upon the other hand , it leads to uncertainty in the condition of the employed , against which he is incapable of contending . Thirdly , it disarranges all the social machinery of which formerly individuals were necessary items , families honoured branches , and small rural districts important sections of the one great whole . Fourthly , the present fluctuations give rise , in good trade , to an augmentation of artificial classes , it 1 so call themwho have no natural position in

      may , society , but are merely called into existence by present appearances , trade upon nothing , traffic in fiction , and , like your order , speculate on what they may retire upon when trade begins to flag . Hence we ' find each fluctuation in trade followed by a new race of shopkeepers , who are grasping in prosperity , compound when appearances change , and retire when adversity comes , leaving a vacuum to be filled up by the next alternation from panic to speculation . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , surely you wouldn t put restraint upon any branch of commerce ? Jackson . —Yes , Mr . Smith , I certainly would impose some restraint upon that branch of commerce which enables masters to make up their losses in other speculations by a reduction of wages ; and I would also apply some wholesome regulations to those speculations which deprive the infant of the mother s fostering care , and the child of proper education , by depriving the parents of the power of conferring both the one and the other .

      Smith . —Well , Jackson , how does machinery deprive you of that power ? " Jackson . —I'll tell you , sir . I have been working for you for fifteen years , and during that period I have been one-sixtlTof the whole time , or two years and a half , out of employment ; while I have been compelled to submit to reduction after reduction , or to merge into the idle reserve . If there was a bad market or two in Devil ' s Dust , Squint , your overlooker , would come to us on Saturday night , and tell us how the mill must close , if we didn't consent to this reduction , and that reduction , and the other reduction . Sometimes it would be three per cent ., sometimes four per cent ., sometimes five per cent ., and so on , till in ' 42 there was twelve per cent . These reductions

      would be always made upon the very first appearance of slackness , and then , when the India market and the China market were opened , and home trade became brisk , and we asked for an advance , wo were told that since the first reduction the masters had been losing , and that we were only employed upon charity , and that losses for bad years must be pulled up out of the improvement . Well , we thought that even if our produce was warehoused , that our losses and reductions should be made up as well as those of the masters ; and when we met Mr . Squint upon the subject , he told us that we might go to the devil , for Smith and Co . had got good men that wouldn't be always grumbling to do the work of a score ; that the machinery was all " double-decked , " and that spindle after spindle was to be worked by " mules , "

      and that the strong man that could do the work of two , with a boy to help him , would only be required to manage each , and that they would have to pay for the boy . Well , what could we do ? We had families , and couldn't let them starve ; and so we were obliged to work on at any price that was offered ; and we were too poor to support the surplus created by machinery , and so , as you observe , they became a competitive power ; and when the good trade came again , there was the machinery already to work , with the least possible attendance , and then , when there would have been otherwise » 'OPk for ah" to supply the toffipsrary demand , machinery competed against us . Smith . —Well but , Jackson , I assure you , upon my word and honour , conscientiously , and as a country gentleman , that for some years previous to ' 42 the masters were losing .

      Jackson . —Mr . Smith , I don't wish to contradict you , but I beg leave to differ with you upon the meaning of the term . If by losing , you mean that you couldn't calculate your profit so nicely after every market-day , I mav agree with you ; but taking them in the lump , I think present appearances fully justify me in coming to the conclusion that you have taken pretty good care of yourselves , and that you so managed matters as , upon the balance of the whole account , not to be losers . Smith .- ^ - Well but , Jackson , you must not argue the case from my position as an individual .

      Jackson . —No , sir , I wont . I will argue it from the general condition of the master-class , and then what do I find ? Why , that immediately after confidence is restored , and trade becomes good , the masters are enabled to abstract nearly two hundred millions of money from trade—mind , from trade , Mr . Smith—still preserving stock and capital ; and to invest that sum in railroads , building , mining , purchase of land , and all sorts of other speculations . Smith . —0 but , Jaekson , you are in error ! The masters alone have not been the parties who invested that amount in speculations . All other classes have had a share in them . Jackson . —Pardon me , Mr . Smith , the labouring class that created all , have had no share in them ; so that you see your bad markets led to reductions against which we couldn't contend , and improved machinery compelled us to submit to a continuance of those reductions when trade revived .

      Smith . —Well , Jaekson , I confess there's much sound reason in your arguments . I have known very many large masters whose dissipation and expensive families 1 thought must ruin them , and yet , wonderful to say , they have become rich . Yes , indeed , I am sure I have been often shocked when business has ¦ driven me to meet a customer at any of the hotels , to see-fee bar-parlour at all hours of the day and night filled with masters smoking cigars , and drinking glass after glass of brandy and water ; and as to Manchester , the dissipation there is beyond all conception .

      Jackson . —WelL Mr . Smith , you see , then , that dissipation is not confined to the working classes , and that the dissipation of the masters neither reduces them to starvation nor prevents them from educating and providing for their families . So , sir , you must naturally suppose that some portion of the working classes would , if able , discharge their duties to their families . And just see how machinery precludes the possibility of it . You have said , sir , that women ought to be instructed in domestic pursuits . Indee d I think I can repeat your words ; they were very forcible , you said—Along with this 6 pecies of instruction , it would be of the utmost importance to teach females many useful arts ; in particular those which bear on domestic economycookery , cleanliness , needlework , and the rearing of children . To bring up children with good habits is iu itself a matter demanding the most careful attention of

      parents . Now , sir , I fully agree with those sentiments ; but give me leave to ask you-how , under the present system , women can discharge those domestic functions ? How can they possibly devote their whole day to unnatural toil in a cotton mill , and discharge their family duties ? Sniith .-Jackson , that ' s wrong—it ' s very wrong . That ' s a thing that shouldn't be allowed . Jackson . —No , sir , it should not be allowed ; but then if you admit the value in after-life of early training under the mother ' s watchful eve , and if you deprive the rising offspring of that salutary protection , can you expect any other result than those abominations of which you complain , and which I deeply denlore ? And is it not machinery that drives man

      from the labour market , and enables the master to substitute the more pliant female , when she should be attending to those domestic pursuits ? Is that , then , not a cause of dissipation , and is it not an effect also of machinery ? Nay more , sir , you have condemned early marriages , but what can lie more likely to lead to them than displacing man from his natural position and placing woman in his situation ? If young men maylje brought to philosophise upon the evils oi early marriage , as you would wish , them , you cannot bring young temales , with hot blood in their veins , to calculate so nicely . And being made valuable in the market , may it not happen that their wage , rather

      than their affections , i 3 the tiling courted by the young man who has become a reluctant idler ? Smith . —Upon my word , Jackson , jou astonish me ! Do you know that I never gave those important subjects a thought before . Jackson . —Well , sir , hence I shew you the impossibility of the mother discharging those duties required at her hands ; and then see the injustice , nay , the palpable indecency of compelling old and young , male and female , robust and weakly , to rise at the same hour , eat at the same hour , work nearly the same hours , aud only the same hours allowed to all for rest . Now , sir , I am not an improvident man . No man

      ever saw me drunk . I was never absent when I could get a day ' s work . My wife worked in Grub ' s mill , and was obliged to pay a kind of step-nurse to take care of the cluldren while she was at work , and I have never been able to keep her at home—never been able to spare wherewith to givemy children any education . Just as I often hoped to do alittle for them , we have been obliged to try and live when we were idle , until we got employment again . And then , sir , nearly every working man in England lives from hand to mouth , and are thereby compelled to accept any terms that the masters choose to offer , and as vou see the working classes are not now able to stand one week unemployed ; and yet you wonder that hungry men , who are able and willing to work , should prefer looking for some general remedy for all those grievances , to starving tamely while all above them have more than thev know what to do with .

      Smith . —Well certainly it-is a most deplorable situation for the working classes to be in , but why not look for free trade as a remedy , and open the markets of the world to British industry ? Just see what an impetus the tree exportation of machinery lias given to the mechanics' trade I And why not give all other manufactures an equal clianco ?

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      Jackson Free- trade is moonshine ! Mr . .. Smith . Open all the ports to-morrow , ' and by that day twelvemonth machinery will have closed them , and have blocked up every available avenue . The free exportation of machinery is but burning the candle at both ends . The law which allows free exportation of machinery is but young , and yet so great have been the improvements ' in manufacturing machinery by machinery , that the working mechanics are deprived of those advantages which would have otherwise flowed from the traffic . And you must also bear in mind , sirthat the extension of that trade isday after day ,

      , , limitingthe great advantages which British manufacturers anticipate from free trade . Surely , sir , you cannot be ignorant of the progress that all the nations of the earth are making in the art , and England cannot suppose that those foreign capitalists will tamely submit to be ruined by cheap English produce , i ou must know full well , that the sanie- influences produced here by a class , will be put in operation by the same classes in other countries , and further , that the influence of that class must be always greater m countries where land is cheap than where land is dear ?

      Smith . —Then , Jackson , you don't advocate a repeal of the Com Laws ? And do you know , that since I have had time to consider the subject , my opinions upon that head have undergone great alteration . What will be the effect of a repeal of the Corn Laws upon the land at home , Jackson ? Jackson . —Why , sir , a general stagnation of all pursuits . The landlords wouldn't reduce rents until it was too late . The fanners wouldn't employ labourers ; and , as a matter of course , the agricultural labourers would all flock to the manufacturing market . There would be a general scramble , and I think that , instead of shooting one another or killing one another , the working classes , operatives , and agriculturists would level every mill in the country , and demand the land as the readiest means of subsistence . Smith . —Good God , Jackson , is that really your opinion ? ¦ . . . ... „ , ,, for talk

      Jackson . —It is , sir , my confirmed opinion ; as you mav , and reason as you will , you never can drive the belief out of the heads of the people , that that which , does their work , while they arc starving , is their greatest enemy ; and you'll mark my words , sir , that before two years pass over your head , Su « Robert Peel will be compelled to tell the tundholders that they must compound , because machinery consumes nothing , while he cannot reach the profits made of it bv the few . ....... Smith . —Well , Jackson , I hope it that time ever does come , that the working classes will be torbearing , for certainly they have- suffered great hardslllDS Jackson . —Yes , sir , I'll warrant they'llneverkillor shoot each other when that time comes . . Smith . —You see how necessary education would be , then , Jackson . . _ ... „ ., want

      Jackson . —Yes , sir , and while you talk of the of it , and deplore the existence of immorality , isn tit shocking to contemplate that the English Church establishment , whose principal duty it is to inculcate morality and diffuse education , should receive annually the sum of £ 9 , 459 , 563 , while the people are taunted with ignorance and immorality . It is not wonderful , sir , that the English people should be ignorant when their education costs annually less than the support and education of the Queen ' s horses ! Smith . —Jaekson , I will once more repeat for you what I consider to be the main causes of distress . I will speak candidly . I acknowledge , vrith great pain , there is a considerable amount of destitution demanding compassion and alleviation . By a concurrence of causes , general and particular , large numbers of the labouring population have got into a condition of considerable embarrassment and suffering—from want

      ofeducation , abandonment to bad habits , and loss of selfrespect , perhaps natural incapacity to compete with more skilful neighbours , also by fluctuations constantly increasing the mass of destitution in our large towns . The misfortunes and imprudences of the higher order <> £ workmen and the mercantile classes , also cause much destitution , and swell the numbers of the unemployed . It is very much owing to the offers of this unemployed and half-famishing body of individuals that wages are kept down or reduced . On the principle of "better half a loaf than no bread , " they will gladly take something below the current rate of payment . Hence the vast crowds of poor needle-women who offer to make shirts at three-halfpence each , of lads clamouring to be employed as apprentices , of wandering paupers who are glad to work for the barest means of subsistence . You see tliat it is ffifi unemployed who determine Vie rate of wages . Whether these unemployed be men dismissed in consequence of a slackness of trade , or be new hands , the same result

      follows . Jackson . —Now , Mr . Smith , you have furnished me with a long list of those causes which you admit lead to destitution , and can you point out one single one that is not of an artificial nature , and created by an artificial system ? You would enforce them as charges against the working classes , and denominate them causes ; while I contend that they are grievances which they cannot resist , and are consequences of causes over which they have no controul at present . But , sir , as you have admitted that a dependent surplus , created either by bad trade or improved machinery , is the great power in the hands of the masters , and the greatest enemy of labour , I

      ask you , sir , m fairness and reason , according to tlio laws of nature , and rules that govern human transactions , even according to those self-protecting regulations by which the masters make themselves safe against all contingencies , is it not reasonable that the working classes should devote their undivided . at tention to the means by which this surplus may be so provided for as to be taken out of the hands of the masters ? Smith . —Well , Jackson , perhaps I may admit that , but then two questions arise—first , as to how the evil is to be met ; and , secondly , if correction is practicable , by whom is it to be administered ? for you know the old

      saying" Better keep the ills we have , Than fly to those we know not of . " Jaekson . —True , sir , but can you paint a hell blacker than the present , even as depicted by yourself ; for you speak of men , whole classes indeed , receiving from £ 3 to ^ 3 10 s . a week , being dissipated and wholly abandoned to vice ; indeed your words are—So common , Indeed , is it t 6 see men with moderate wages saving , and men with large wages extravagant , that many persons have come to the conclusion that high wages prove a curse more than a blessing . The curse , however , is brought on the workmen entirely by themselves .

      Now , sir , if I acquiesced in this sweeping charge , and absurd and ridiculous conclusion , that high wages was rather a curse than a blessing , we must infer as a matter of course—that is , if vice is not hereditary , and the exclusive patrimony of the working classesthat large fortunes also are a curse rather than a blessing , and your reasoning would fully justify a recourse to " equal distribution . " Then , as to the evil , sir , you admit it ; and that the people themselves are the only parties likely to correct it , must be inferred , for this grievance does not come in to that category of evils to which you would apply any legal remedy ; and , sir , to deal with this surplus , and to make it available to national purposes , instead of to the interests of masters , is now the grand and allabsorbing consideration with the working classes themselves . And hence you find all those sectional

      and mere class questions , to which the consideration of the trades wero confined , giving way to the more sweeping combination by which they hope unitedly to master the evil . The surplus of each craft is now pressing hardly upon the employed of its class ; and the very moment that the privations of that surplus , becoming daily augmented , are insufferable , then , sir , will all the sections of labour combine in one genera ] struggle against their oppressors . This is the great tendency of the age , sir ; but the rules of your mill having denied me the right to confederate for protection of my labour , I am not acquainted with the details of combination ; the next branch of

      the subject to he argued , and as old Robin has been a leading man in all trades ' movements , perhaps you will have no objection to hear what he has to say upon the general principle ? 6 mith . —No , upon my honour , Jackson , I have not the slightest objection to hear old Robin , for , as I said before , I think we ought to hear both sidesof the question , and I really do see no goodorsufficieutrcason why the working classes should not combine to keep up wages as well as the masters to keep up profits ; especially when I remember reading in Chambers ' Journal , of 1833 , that it was the opinion of the Messrs . Chambers , " that it was not qxlt the

      IKTEBESI OF THE W 0 RR 1 K& MEN TO C 0 MBIXE , BUT THAT IT IS A NATIONAL ADVANTAGE TO DO SO . " Jackson . —Good God , sir , you don ' t mean to say that those were Chambers' words ? Smith . —Yes , but indeed 1 do , for the conversation that I have had with you and old Robin led me to a closer investigation of those matters , and I have been since reading many admirable tracts in Chambers ' Journal upon the rights of labour , and the duty of the working men to combine . Jackson . —Well , sir , you do astonish me . But it ' s

      only another instance of the many ononuos that the people have to contend with . They nourish many vipers in their breast to sting them , and , in spite of past warning , they still go on , giving power and influence to their greatest foes , and look coldly and suspiciously upon thoii best friends . Smith . —Well , Jackson , I presume you have now closed vour observations upon machinery , and I shall be glad to see Robin whenever the old man can toddle up to " Shoddy Hall , " or I'll send my gig for him if he should think it too far to walk .

      Jackson . —Thank you , air . And now , as the thread of our dialogue has been somewhat broken , 1 beg to submit a summary of my objections to machinery . Firstly , the application of inanimate power to the production of the staple commodities of a country must inevitably depreciate the value of manual labour , and every depreciation of the value of man ' s labour in an equal degree lowers the working man in the scale of society , as well as in his own esteem : thus making him a mere passive instrument , subservient to any laws that the money classes may choose to inflict , to any rules the owners may impose , and satisfied with a comparative state of existence . I object to

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      machinerv , because , without reference to the gieat ^ cttioriS ^ - ^ I ^ ma ^ a ^ wroly ^ e ^ iBnrtorB . 'CBn play with unconscious labour as they please , ami always deal themselves the tramps . I objectjto machinery , because it may be multiplied to an extent whereby manual labour may be rendered altogether valueless . I object to machinery , because under its existing operation you admit the necessity oi emigration better ventilation , education , improved morality , manners , habits , and customs of the working classes , therebv showing that a state of recklessness , lgnorance /' want , and depravity exists ; which , as 1 before said , you admit to be consequences of the present system . I object to machinery lor this reason : Mr . Grab , in Devil ' s Dust , employs 4 , 000 hands , and in 1811 after two bad marketshe reduced the hands

      , , upon an average three shillings a week each ; and since then he has conielowei . And now observe , sir , the reduction that this one master had the powei ^ to make , and that the hands had no power to resist , gave him an annual sum of £ 31 , 200 , without reference to any other speculation ; and for the three last years has given him £ 93 , 000—a sum out ot which those from whom it was plundered might have lived comfortably through the present distress . All are alike ; and if all -do not employ 4 , 000 men , and cannot have an equal amount of profit upon individual filching , each set of hands has its tyrant to deal with , and equally suffers from the infliction . ' I object to machinery from the injustice that it imposes even UDonvou . sir , in your present state . _

      Smith . —Unon me , Jackson ! How—how—now can machinery anect me now ? . Jackson . —Wliv , sir , Grab , and the others that have squeezed the life ' s blood out of the poor , and that have coinedinfants ' sAveatandmaiTowinto gold . nowtelltliem to go to the land for support , and to look to the poorrates for subsistence . I object to machinery , because it leads to commercial tariffs and regulations m aJJ the countries of the world , which aftect the price of my labour , and over which I have no controul . 1 object to machinery , because , although it cheapens produce , it cheapens labour so much more , that 1 am less able with my earnings to buy the cheapened produce I object to machinery , because , whde each improvement diminishes the value of my labour , the national debt , for the payment of winch that labour is nnumnrt innvnnsfis in an inverse ratio ; ior every

      shilling taken oft" my wages I have two additional to pay in support of this burthen . I object to machinery , because it prostitutes man , and displaces him trom that exalted situation which nature designed him to occupy . Instead of being tlic controller of his household , and the support of hut wife aud family he is as lumber in the corner , dependent upon the labour ot his wife . Instead of supporting his family when lie s unemployed , the bit he eats from the scanty meal ot the cliildren is grudged him , and from despair he either betakes himself to dissipation , which prematurely hurries him to the grave , or , tired of existence , commits a crime to ayoid the workhouse , which expatriates him from his country . I object to machinery , because it has made one of my children a

      dwarf and another a cripple . I object to machinery , because it subverts all the rules of nature and nature's God . With a seemly and frugal life , the number of years promised to me is three score and ten , and how old would you take me to be , Mr . Smith ? Smith . —Why perhaps turned of fifty , or handy on towards sixty : I ' m fifty myself , and you look some years older . Jackson . —Ah , sir , I am not yet ihirfcy-four . I commenced with you at nineteen ; so you see , sir , what ravages that hard labour , which you tell me is nothing to the toil of fox-hunting , has made upon" me ; while all that " mental anxiety" of which you complain still leaves you the gait and appearance of manhood , aye , and even the blush of youth . I object to machinery , because overlookers render themselves the

      • more acceptable to their employers by tyranny , coercion , lying , slander , hypocrisy , cruelty , "fines , " " batjngs , " stoppages , ana plunder of every sort . Smith . —Yes , yes , Jackson , I do remember—i vrell remember , that Squint was always the first to recommend a reduction , and always appeared most happy when the fines , and batements , and stoppages were largest . Jackson . —I object to machinery , because I find that each " extension" leads to increased reduction ; and because the cheaper the produce of my own labour becomes , the more difficult I find it to purchase . I object to machinery , because I cannot calculate upon any certainty , even of existence , from day to day . I object to machinery , because ,, while in employment I may be induced to rent a house upon the supposition

      that that employment will continue , and because , while out of work , I am obliged to pay the same rent that I compounded to pay out of constant employment . I object to machinery , because it huddles thousands and tens of thousands into large and filthy towns and cities , where temptation is ever in the way of youth , and dissipation the only resource of the unwilling idler . I object to machinery , because it has made character of no value ; because I am surrounded by an unhealthy atmosphere ; because I never sec a green field—because I never see a tree , or hear a bird singing on its branches . I object to machinery , because it compels me to live from hand to mouth , thought of preserving a wretched existence for another hour of misery absorbing all other

      considerations . I ; object to machinery , because , alter a nard week ' s incessant toil , my poor wife is compelled to bustle her way through the market , thronged with slaves , to buy the refuse provisions that have been pawed through the day by her betters , who had the first ot the market , out of her sweat . I object to machinery , because , when my children have come home blistered and smarting from the stripes of the overlooker ' s knout , I have gnashed my teeth in spite , and cherished a father's vengeance in my breast , while the dread of starvation baulked me of a righteous satisfaction . I object to machinery , because I would like to reverence and adore my God , to love my neighbour , to honour and obey the laws , and all wlio are appointed to execute them ; but my ragged condition forbids me to enter the house of God ; my neighbour sees in me a com petitor in the labour market , and looks upon me as an enemy ; the laws crush me , and

      those who are appointed to execute them punish me if I complain . I object to machinery , because its never-varying motion , with which I am compelled to keep pace , enforces a monotony of labour destructive of strength , injurious to health , and blunting to the faculties of man . I object to machinery , because it is mail ' s curae , while 1 would hail it a& a blessing if it was made man ' s holiday , by lessening that toil for which it has become the substitute , without ; depriving me of the means of existence . I think , sir , I have now accounted for female ignorance of domestic duties j for the want of early training and after education ; for dissipation , dissatisfaction , immorality , and discontent ; for the existence of labour combinations ; for early marriages ; the necessity of emigration ; better ventilation ; poor-houses , increased poor-rates , increased police force , increased taxation , and increasing hostility between the classes that rule and riot , and those that are ruled and

      starve . Smith ;—Upon my honour you have , Jackson , and you have placed the matter in a light that I never saw it in before . Good bye , Jackson . Perhaps this trifle may increase your Christmas cheer , and I shall expect to see you and Robin at twelve to-morrow . Jackson . —I thank you , sir , and we'll be with you . Good morning , sir . ( To be continued . )

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      The Rotation of Crops . —All crops exhaust a soil , and the whole art of manuring is , to return the ingredients and restore the soil to its fertility , whereby the same crops can be again grown . And if , as Boussingault has well written , we could procure an unlimited supply of manure and labour cheap , there would be no necessity for following out anjj- system of rotation—there would be nofeav of want of manureand the business of tlie farmer would be to calculate the probable value of his harvest against the expense of manure and labour . This is exactly what takes place in gardening , but on large" farms it has been found that too large crops cannot be raised off ground without the outlay rcoro than counterbalancing it .

      It has been found ncccssavy , then , to adopt some regular system , and instead of additional manure , to alter the crop each year , and this system has been called the " Rotation of Crops . " On the model farm of Glassnevin , under the Commissioners of National Education , and superintended by the intelligent agriculturist , Mr . Shilling , two systems of rotation are followed . The four-crop system consists of 10 acres laid down in fields of 4 acres 3 roods each . The fivecrop rotation consists of 30 acres in fields of 6 acres each . It is laid down in these two systems to show the pupils the practical working of both systems ; were it not so , the wliole would oe laid down in the five-crop rotation . The crops raised by the fourcourse shift

      are—1 st year , Mangold wurtzel , turnips , &e . 2 nd „ Oats . 3 rd „ Artificial grasses , rye grass , and clover . 4 th „ Wheat . The five-crop rotation is as follows : — 1 st year , Potatoes , turnips , mangold wurtzel , &c . 2 nd „ Oats . 3 rd „ Grass pasture , some reserved for hay . 4 th „ Italian and perennial rye grass and clover . 5 th „ Wheat or barley . This is well suited for light soils , and well adapted for raising . food for cattle ; the four-crop shift is bettor

      suited ior strong , heavy soils , able to bear much cultivation . The three-crop shift is what is adapted for small farms close by a market-town , inasmuch as more cattle can be kept on the same quantity of land than by any other rotation , there being two g reen crops and one grain crop , viz : — 1 st year , Potatoes and turnips . 2 nd „ Wheat and barley sown down with grass f ] 3 rd „ Cutting grass . The whole art of adopting a good system of rotation depends upon suiting the crops to the nature of the soils , and varying them with each other , so that while the greatest amount of produce is raised off the ground , still that the soil shall not suffer to an undue extent . Thus , after cropping com off a soil , a quan-

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      ———^— i —» ^ _ titv of phosphates and nitrogen has been abstracted ; returning the straw in the shape oLdwg restores the salts abstracted , while the nitrogen may be returned by growing green crops ; and these additions can be male while a crop of food is actually being taken from the same soil , thus saving the loss arising from a naked fallow . —Antisell ' s Agricultural Chemistry- ^ Carrots sows with Oats—I We a field which , three vears since , was so wet that it was considered of little value ; I had "it drained and laid down , ploughing in a mixture of . lime , bog-stuft , and salt , It yielded a fair crop of hay the second year ; ad last year , not considering it sufficientl y hwf ' J ™ . not liking the grass on it , I determined on « BMn breaking it up ; and late in the season ( sayJchi . nni . vl T had it well drained and subsoiled in

      addition eighteen inches deep , done first by takmg oit oiffht inches in breadth with the common plough , having men following with the spade , who threw up the subsoil , so as to cover what the plough turned . My neighbours took the liberty of predicting that it would not produce me a crop of oats ; nmrthe en , without further ploughing , I sowed it with black oats , at the rate of sixteen stones to the «« . ^» a few perches of it I sowed carrot seed ( red and white ) through the oats ; on the part where the carrot seed was sown I threw a few loads of . lime matter from the gas works ; the whole was put in at the same time under the harrow , and rolled . Aow fm- the results . I had a good crop of oats on tne

      whole field , which was reaped m August , ana an the field , save where nine perches of carrots grew , was ploughed up , got a good liming was sown w / tJi vetches and rape transplanted , which are now doing well ; and last week I had sixty-six stones of carrots dug out of the nine perches , weighed without the tops . I can readily get 5 d . per stone tor the ^ carrots , which make the produce .... £ 1 / o One man five days digging them out , 4 s . 2 d . ; but allow half the expense for having the ground so well dug , 2 s . Id . I put the tops of the carrots against the labour ot a woman cutting them off ; so the expense wiU be , for seed lid . per lb £ 0 3 0 Labour . " ... 0 2 1 . 0 5 1

      £ 12 5 Put £ 20 per acre , besides the oats . Make what use you please of this information . P ! S . —Since writing the above , I recollect that I put about 120 gallons of liquid manure on the carrots after the oats were cut . —J . R . —Farmers' Gazette . Extraordinary Wheat Crops . —A correspondent of the Norwich Mercury communicates the following account of some extraordinary crops of wheat : — " The land ( under five acres ) lies in Haddisburgh , contiguous to a homestead belonging to G . Wilkinson , North Walsham , whoso intelligent steward , Ducker , took the greatest possible pains to ascertain the exact quantity produced , and also the exact measurement of the field , to obviate any doubt as to the perversion of truth . It was Spalding wheat , and the product one

      hundred and ten coombs two bushels , being nearly twenty-two coombs ( a coomb is four bushels ) and a half per aero . Such a productive crop lias never been produced from any given quantity of land within the memory of the oldest Norfolk agriculturist , and many years may elapse before a similar instance can be recorded . The cast of wheat in this neighbourhood generally , the product of this year , is really excellent . Mr . R . Cully , Baeton , has some land which , produced seventeen coombs per acre , and land in this and the adjoining village of Wilton , belonging to Lord Wodehouse , which generally produces eight or nine coombs , and last year only irom five or seven , has this year produced twelve coombs per acre . The east and quantity of the barley , which was considered likely to have been extremely indifferent , has proved quite the contrary . "

      Lime . —Lime , whether quick or carbonated , acts m a two-fold capacity , mechanically and chemically . Muck of the advantage derived from its application to clayey soils is due to its physical property of lessening the tenacity and increasing the porosity of the original soil : so , also , by applying marl to sandy soils , it serves to bind them more together , and make them more retentive of moisture . It is in this way said to be cooling to hot lands ; but if fresh lime be wished to be applied to sandy lands , it is well to mix it previously with a little clay , lest , when the soil is any way wet , it would combine with its sand , and form a gritty mortar , rendering it difficult to be worked . This mechanical effect is well obtained when tlie form in winch the lime is applied is either calcareous sand , gravel , or shell ; these last , on stiff land , open and loosen the clods , and allow the young roots to shoot their radicles in every direction . Where a soil is

      destitute of calcareous ingredients , lime acts beneficially by becoming one of its earthy components ; to soils , however , which arc nearly or entirely destructive of vegetable matter , it is absolutely injurious , and it is in this way its application to over-wrought soils that we explain its hurtful effects on some lands . The chemical effects of lime are various , and are chiefly exerted on the organic matters contained in the soil ; when in the caustic state it is destructive of animal and vegetable life , hence its utility as an application . When weeds are to be got rid of , its action on dead vegetable matter is somewhat different ; in some grounds , especially those which are moist , this vegetable matter , instead of going through the regular process of decay , and terminating by the evolution of certain gaseous combinations , stops short , forms a compound—a solid substance , which is quite insoluble in water . —Agricultural Chemistry .

      CoiTAOEns' Gardens . —If tlic cottager wishes to have a dish of Seakale towards the beginning or middle of February , now is the time to make preparation for obtaining it . If a small quantity of leaves can be collected for the purpose of mixing with a little stable dung or other litter , which will cause a gentle fermentation to take place , there will be little difficulty in effecting this object . Let the roots be covered with tolerably large flower-pots ; any old partly-broken pots or other material that will keep the manure off the tender shoots are suitable for the purpose . On these-shake a sufficient depth of fermenting material to raise a heat of from fifty degrees to sixty degrees . The heat may be less , but should not exceed sixty degrees , or the stems will be weakly

      drawn . In the same manner Rhubarb may also be produced early ; but in the case of the cottager possessing a warm dark room or collar , where potted roots can be placed , Rhubarb may be produced with greater certainty , and with less trouble . At this season , under the constantly varying weather , little can be done in the garden . In light dry soils , 'however , a small sowing of the early-frame Pea may be made ; they will come in a little earlier than those sown in spring . Raspberries and all kinds of fruittrees , may now be pruned . Withregardto the former , which' produce their fruit entirely on the previous year ' s wood , the old shoots should be removed , and four or five of the strongest of the young ones tied up in their plants , cutting clean off bv the root all

      the rest of the young shoots . After they are tied up to the stakes , shorten them to four feet in height . In exposed situations , a good way of training Raspberries is to tie the points of one-half of the shoots on the stools respectively with each other , thus forming arches , which have rather a neat appearance . Those cottagers who possess a frame , containing a few choice plants , should keep a sharp look-out for insects ; for in winter , the plants being comparatively inactive > cannot readily put forth fresh leaves to compensate for all . destroyed . Keep every thing inside the frame asldry as possible , and give air every day when not too cold . Carnatimis do not require much water at this seiison , especially if the soil in which they are wintered is of ' a rather close texture . —Auriculas . Take care that theae plants get no drip , and that the covering , whether glass or prepared calico , is perfectly watertight . —Pansics . Those ' wintered in soil of too rich a

      nature have suffered most . These , with late planted ones , have sustained a severe check . Pansies , in order to stand the severity of the weather , with little or no covering , ought not to be of too gross a habit . Look over the seedling beds , as the roots of many will be thrown out by the frost ; these must be very carefully replanted . —Tulips will now each succeeding week be getting nearer to the surface ; some slight protection will be necessary where they are grown for exhibition , in order to prevent all possibility of injury to the embryo bloom . Hoops over the beds , on which mats may be thrown , will be sufficient . Where the roots are not of so much consequence a few leaves will prove equally efficacious . —Pinks may be sheltered with small pieces of Spruce Fir-boughs stuck round the beds . In snowy weather rabbits and hares devour them with aridity where they happen to be exposed to their depredations . Continue to turn over , and make composts at every opportunity .

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      ***" r *< rt s ^ r r * ft , , ¦* * ff ? ft * t ft t f \ t i t , , , # Institute of ? he Fine Arts . —On Saturday evening last the first general meeting for the present season of the me mbers of the Institute was held in the great room of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi . Mr . F . G . Hurlstone , who presided , explained the objects of the meeting to a numerous assemblage of artists and others , and described the advantages likely to be derived to the fine arts of the country , and to artists , from the formation of the Institute . Since their . last mooting it had been determined fy tlie council that for the future ladies should be admissible to the meetings . By allowing ladies to participate in the instruction afforded , it had been thought that the advancement

      of the fine arts would bo promoted , i ii council had resolved that every member should have the privilege of introducing a ladv at each meeting . ( Hear . ) The minutes of the last meeting were then read by Mr . Fancy , the honorary secretary . Ei ghty-nine members had been admittoil since the last meeting , making the present numbei of members 376 . Mr . Foirgo then read a paper in answer to the remarks of " Mr . Hallam , in the Third Report of the Royal Commission of Fine Arts , on the selection of subjects for the decoration of the new Houses of Parliament ; and Mr . Fahey afterwards read tlic address of the council , from which it appeared that the success of the exertions of the Institute in extricating art unions from the difficulties

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      under which they had been placed , and pro curing legislative enactments for their protection , had 1 m > cu approved by tliegresit body of artists throughout th e kingdom . The Institute was now forming a library and many works of art had already been presented ' The prize of £ 20 for the best essay on history , litoi-a . - ture , and present state of the fine arts m Great Ri- ; . tain , had been awarded to Mr . George Foggo . p ct tions had been presented to Parliament for tilc formation of a national gallery of casts from the best specimens of ancient and modern sculpture , and if , was hoped the prayer of them would be granted by the Legislature . Mr . Buss read a paper on the im . portancc of building capacious studios for artists , in which great works could be executed ; a college for siifih mimoses micht be built with good effect in tlm

      neighbourhood of Belgrave-souare ; and Mr . Stanley read a paper on tlie state of the arts at Munich . ^ resolution expressing the satisfaction of the meeting at the conduct of the council , and one of thanks to the chairman , having been passed , the company saparated at half-past ten o ' clock . Remarkable Operation' for the Cure of Cos . sumption . —The Medical Gazette contains a lonoarticle from the pens of Dr . Hastings and Mr . Robert Storks , surgeons , descriptive of a remarkable opera , tion for the cure of consumption , by the perforation of the cavity of the lung through the walls of the chest . It consists in making an opening between the ribs into the cavity which forms in the lung during the latter of Tho

      stages consumption . immediate effects ot' tho operation ( which requires only a few seconds in its performance , and which causes but slight pain ) in the case in question was the diminu . tion of the frequency of the patient ' s pulse , which fell in twenty-four hours from 120 to 68 ; freedom of respiration , which had boon a very distressing symptom ; loss of cough and expectoration , both of which had been very severe . This operation , which lias established the possibility of curing this hitherto fatal disease , appears to have been completely successful * the report of the condition of the patient a month after its performance being , that he was rapidly regaining his flesh and strength , whilst his respiration had become natural , his pulse had fallen to 80 , and his cough and expectoration had wholly ceased .

      Potass axd Soda contained is Sea Water . M , Balford states that , by processes discovered by him and now employed in the south of France , he coind ' notwithstanding- the contrary opinion announced by Murray and Wollaston , obtain from sea-water an indefinite quantity of sulphate of soda , and cnouch potass for all commercial wants . Further , that if tlie efforts lie is now making be crowned with success , the quantity of sulphur obtained from the oxi-sulphuret of calcium , hitherto rejected as useless , will , perhaps , be sufficient to supplant the solfataras of Italy . —Medical Times .

      Compressed Air Locomotive . —M . Andraud is the first person who proposed to substitute compressed air for steam , for the purpose of traction on railways , * he is also the first who put in practice , on an extensive scale , the new dynamic principle , of which he is the promoter . He related on a late occasion the curious experiments which ho made with an air locomotive ot ' strong dimensions—experiments which have demonstrated the fact , that the problem was com * pletely resolved , at least in a technical point of view ; for it is only by means of a very extensive experiment that we can know what is to be expected from the employment of air locomotives in a commercial sense . However , this is well'known—viz ., that these sort of locomotives cajinot work profitably but by the employment of compressed air at a very high

      degreesay , from eighteen to twenty atmospheres . M . Andraud has just completed his invention , by the discovery of the means of only employing compressed air at very low pressures—say , one or two atmospheres . At one of the late sittings of the Academy of Sciences , M . Arago explained , with much precision and ability , of what this new combination of the inventor consisted . Here , then , is no locomotive of any description . Like in the atmospheric system , a trial of which is to be made at St . Germain , thoro is between the two rails a long tube extending from one end to the other without interruption ; this tube is flexible , being composed of a strong description of cloth , folded over thirty times , and rendered quite impermeable to the air by means of a dissolution of caoutchouc , which forms but one body out of tlic

      numerous folds . This arrangement allows the motive piston outside the cylinder to work , in which the air is liberated , _ Now , the form of this external pston ( which constitutes the basis of the new invention ) is a sunple lathe , composed of two i-ollers , pressed one against the other by moans of springs , tho tension of which may be varied at will by the conductor . Let any one imagine , then , this lathe piston to be fixed at the head of the first or the last waggon of a train , and ' that the tube of which we have spoken passes between the two rollers ; it will be then evident that ; if we introduce compressed air at one extremity of the tube , the other extremity being open , the tube will expand as far as that part where it is pressed by the lathe , and that tins lathe being pushed like a piston , will draw with it the waerg ' on to which it is

      attached , and the whole train likewise . It is also clear that the impulse will be so much stronger in proportion as the air is the more compressed , or as the diameter of the tube is the greater . Such is the new system presented to us by M . Andraud—a system , as we may perceive , exempt of all mechanism , . and of extreme simplicity ; this flexible tube having no kind of opening , ' allows none of the power to be wasted ; it will be of an extremely trifling cost , and easy to be placed in any direction . The small model which M . Andraud has placed before the Academy has worked perfectly . It is said that the Government , who have already assisted M . Andraud in his operations , will put him in a condition to continue them in a more decisive manner on a line to he provided for him as a specimen . —Journal des Chmim de Fer .

      Influence of Oxyg en on Health . — A man in "first-rate condition" from training for prizefighting , or for running , will consume much move oxygen than another man in less vigorous and florid health . And if he be removed from the pure air in which he has been trained , to an atmosphere less salubrious , he quickly loses his activity and ener They do not subside , however , sufficiently sudde correspond with the imperfect oxygenation ii lungs ; and that portion of food which was previi consumed in these organs , and converted into . bonic acid and water , is now deposited in tho syst as fat . Hence it is that men often become corpule . by exchanging out-door occupation in the country ft sedentary employment in the town . In proportion m

      the circulation is quickened , from whatever cause , in that proportion does a supply of oxygen become requisite . In ardent fevers , tor instance , the anxious hasty breathing is a necessary consequence of the increased frequency of the pulse . If the air the patient breathes be impure , and the room ill-ventikted , the maladyrages with greater violence , and perhaps communicates itself by infection . Hence the advantage of roomy apartments and fresh aiv in the treatment of fevers . For this reason , also , fevers ave more rare in the country , and are less fatal there , than in towns —in the higher , cleanlier , and loss populated districts , than in those that are low , ill-ventilated , and dirty—in large and commodious hospitals , than in small ones—on land than on ship-boaro , &e . —Medical Times .

      The Phenomena of Colouring . —The colour of all organic productions appears to vary with tho position those productions occupy on the earth ; for , whilst the equatorial regions produce tints of the most opposite and beautiful character in the vegetable kingdom , these graduall y degenerate in brilliancy , until approaching the limits of vegetation , where the most prevailing colour is that of wliite . Not only are flowers thus acted upon by climate , but birds and animate , inclusive of man liimsGlf , are almost equally influenced by the geographical position they occupy . —Medical Times .

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      Ing enious Scheme . —Jean Picard , who had beca condemned to thirteen months' imprisonment by the Correctional Tribunal , which sentence he had undergone at the DepOt des Condamnes , yesterday ( Friday weck ^ finished his time , and his order of liberation was , S 1 gned . At the moment of his departure he officiously offered to the overseer of workshops to cany to the cart belongingto the contractor fov the work a large sack , which was filled with finished goods . He got into tho cart , where the sack was deposited by him at the bottom of the vehicle , which proceeded on its journey . It had scarcely arrived in the middle of the Rue de la Roquettc , when , to the great surprise of the guardians conducting it , and who had also taken thoii' places in the carriage , the sack of goods began to make strange movements—an arm was soon

      seen to come from it , then a head , and the conductors remained stupified on recognising an individual condemned to five years' imprisonment , and who had recently entered the prison of Roquette to fulfil his punishment . Ho had made an agreement with Pieard , who had put him in the sack instead of tlic goods , and he had hoped to be fortunate enoiigh to escape by this singular retreat without being perceived , when a sensation of suffocation had for ced him to show liimself so opportunely . The gentleman was immediately sent back to prison , whither Picard had likewise to return . —Gazette des Tribunaux . Death at 108 Years of Age . —Died , on Monday

      last , at the patriarchal age of 108 , Mr . Morris Thurston , of Guinea-street , Exeter . The deceased , up to the last seren wecka , enjoyed excellent health nno spirits . He lived for upwards of sixty years m tut house in which he died , and never till lately allow ca any one to go into it . He was a herbal doctor , ana as such travelled through Devon , working marvellous cures . He followed his vocation till within the laat two months , and such was his repute , that people applied to him for advice , and received his nostnuxl wliilst-on his death bed . He was an alchymist , and an adopt in astrology ; and it seemed as if these an « cient delusions lingered with him alone—Exeter Timet .

      War at as End . —Tho "following advertisement , under the above head , appears in the Times of Friday : — " To the sovereigns of Europe , or their minis * try . —Tho" advertiser will engage , by means of his own invention , to destroy or disperse the largest army or fleet in tlic world , and will demand no remuneration till a demonstration be given . "

      Agriculture An* Horticulture.

      Agriculture an * horticulture .

      Srie M* Aim &Rr*

      Srie m * aim &rr *

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      JAJNUAKY 4 , 10 10 . ™« t iTATimrTPDW CTiR ¦

      c

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 4, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1296/page/6/