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CHAMBERS' PHILOSOPHY REFUTED.
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So Utunm ana eoiwuontrents
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THE NOETHERN STAR. SATURDAY JANUARY 181815.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Just published Price Fourpence ( forming a Pamphlet . of 56 pages demySvo ., in a stiff wrapper ) , A FULL and COMPLETE REFUTATION of the PHILOSOPHY contained in a TRACT recentiy published by the MESSRS . CHAMBERS , of Edinburgh , entitled the "Employer and Employed . " This valuable little work contains the most complete defence of the demands of the Working Classes for their fair share of the enormous wealth created by MacMnery , as well as a justification of Trades Unions . The numerous appeals that have been made to Hr . O'Connor from nearly every part of the kingdom for the publication , in pamphlet form , of those Dialogues that have recently appeared ia the Star , have determined him to gratify what appears to be the almost unanimous wish of the Labouring Classes . Heywood , 58 , Oldham-strect , Manchester ; Cleave , 1 , Shoe-lane , London ; Guest , Bull-street , Birmingham ; at the Northern Star Omce , 3 iO , Strand , London ; and may be had of all Booksellers and News Agents hi Town and Country . All Xews Agents in Lancashire and Yorkshire will save carriage by ordering of Mr . Heywood , from whom they will receive the Pamphlet upon the same terms as if supplied from the northern Star Office .
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- ^ = SHIPPING XEWS . Brazils . —The brig John Dalton , from Sydney Aug . 18 , for London , when off Cape Negro , on the niglit of 3 ? ov . 11 , and intending to put into Rio , encountered a gale ; when the captain was induced to throw out an anchor with forty fathoms of chain ; the force of the storm , however , drove her « p hi g h on the beach , and a ladv passenger was drowned . The Toronto , in the Downs , from New York , experienced a heavy gale from N . E ., 11 th ult ., lat , 39 , Ion . 62 , spoke the brig Hogsden , of Boston , dismasted . The Conservativefrom Galveston to Liverpool , was
, wrecked on Long Key Shoal , jS ov . 25 , crew saved , cargo savedin a damaged state A ship , of about 800 tons , coppered , was passed , bottom up , and with stern-boat and spars floating near here , 24 th ult ., lat . 41 , Ion . 59 , by the St . Patrick , arrived here , which had experienced very severe weather on the day of passing the wreck , and lost maintop gallantmasts , sprung foreino 3 t , &c ., and was obliged to slip fiom aa anchor . A long line of muddy water , stretching as iar as the eye could reach , and supposed to rise from a sunken guano ship , was passed Oct . 27 , lat . 23 , Ion . 7 , by the Clydeside , arrived at Cork .
Dan ,, Jax . 10 . —A Russian ship from the north , coals laden , got on the Goodwin Sands this morning , but was assisted off by a Ramsgate boat , _ with loss of anchor , and at five pji . was riding in the Gul Stream . Nine p . m . : blue lights have been burning and guns firing in the direction of the Goodwin Sands for some time past—it k supposed a ship is ashore . Several boats have gone to ascertain the cause . A vessel , apparently ashore on the Bunthead , is burning a tar barrel , the Gull Light has fired several guns and rockets , and the boats have gone to her assistance .
Eaxai , Shipwreck . —Letters received in town , inform us of the total loss , in Carnarvon Bay , of the ship William Turner , commanded by Captain Evans , with all hands on board . The melancholy catastrophe occurred either during the night of the 10 th , or early on the morning of the 11 th instant . The wind was blowing stronglvfrom the sonth-west at the tune . The "William Turner was 4 SS tons burden per register , and was laden with guano at the port of Ichiboe for Liverpool . Portions of the wreck and manifest were found on the beach . —Liverpool Albion
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Fuaii Effegt 3 of Dbixk . —Singular Verdict . — On Iriday 2 th \ Higgs Held an inquest at "the Jfevrcsstlo-upoii-Tyne Tavern , Broad-street , Goldenqnare , on the body of Thomas Melting , aged 33 , a iu-plate worker , of No . 9 , Cambridge-street , St . James ' s . "William AVorley , of Little Windmiil-street , said that on Tuesday last he accompanied deceased to the Crown public-louse , in Park-street , Gros-Tenor-square , where he met his brother-in-law They remained drinking together about four hours . Witness , the deceased , and two or three others , left the Crown at eight o'clock in the evening for the purpose of returning home . On getting into Grosvenor-square the deceased proposed to have a race with witness , and whilst they were preparing for the start , the deceased ' s brother laid hold of Ms coat , and also grasped the coat of witness , which caused Mm to stumble and fall to the ground . Whilst witness was
down , the deceased fell into Ms lap . Witness did not think he was hurt , but he thought he was shamming to be asleep . He was the worse for drink at the time ; a cab was called , into which deceased was placed and conveyedhome . About an hour afterwards witness heard that deceased was dead . William Randall , the deceased ' s brother-in-law , said he thought the deceased was asleep , in consequence of which he assisted to carry him up stairs and put Mm to bed . Mr . W . Wadsworfh , surgeon , said he was sent for to attend the deceased on Tuesday night ; he found him on the bed , and after breathing seven or eight times lie died . The most probable cause of death was , that the back bone had received some Injury , 'which might produce concussion of the brain . Af ter a consultat ion , the jury returned a verdict of Died by the visitation of God ; one of the jury remarking at the time , that that verdict would include everything .
Casb of Poisosiso at Sheebke 3 s .- —Sheerness , " hursday week . — Considerable excitement exists here at present in consequence of the sudden death of a yonng and handsome Jewess , daughter of Samuel Eussell , a general dealer of Mile Town , under circumstances of a very suspicious nature . An inquest was held on Wednesday afternoon , at the Bell and Lion Tavern , before Mr . Hinde , the coroner for East . Kent , and a respectable jury , and adjourned to Monday , the 13 th inst ., to allow time for a . post mortem examination of the-body , and a thorough analysis of the contents of the stomach . Front the evidence of the mother and father of the deceased , it ^ appears that on the morning of the 7 th inst . the deceased
save birth to * child , which the witnesses found dead on being called to her assistance . They as-Berted that they bad no previous knowledge of the deceased being pregnant . The father , shocked at seeing Ma daughter in her unhappy state , asked her why she did not communicate her state to Mm , when she replied , " 0 father , you have lad enough to trouble you without this . 0 the villain that deceived me ! " A doctor was fetched , but the deceased died before Ms arrival . The father stated he had reason to suspect that his daughter had poisoned herself ; and to ascertain by post mortem examination if this were the case , the inquest was adjourned .
Mtsierious Death of a Spitalfields Silk ManutjlCXVBEb- —On Friday week an ' . inquest was held at the City of Paris , Bishop Bonnefs-fields , Bethnalgreen , on the body of Mr . Win . May , aged 44 , silkmanufacturer , of King-street , Old Ford-lane . The evidence condensed showed that deceased had been missing since the 9 th of last December , and his body was not found until Thursday night last , when it was discovered in the Regent ' s Canal , between Bonnerhall Bridge and the new union workhouse . When deceased was seen last alive , he had in Ms possession Several sovereigns ; when found but one . The body was found a mile distant from Ids house , and in an opposite direction , and his hat and handkerchief more than a mile from the canal , and some
bills belonging to Mm at a quarter of a mile from Ms home . He usually carried a snuff-box and spectacles In his pockets , but they were not found in them after death , llr . J . Salter , a , silk-manufacturer , who parted with deceased at the Job ' s Castle , Nortonfolgate , on the night of the 9 th ult ., at eleven o'clock , left him in good spirits and of sound intellect , and was of opinion that his death was caused by some unfair means or other . Mr . Storey , surgeon , of the Mile-end-road , who had examined the body , found the tongue protruding , several cuts on the forebead , on the right eyebrow , and beneath the eye ; several of the upper teeth were forced from their sockets , and were found loose in themouth , and there were cuts inside each lip . The left arm was fractured , and
so were several of the ribs . The witness thought , both from external and internal appearances , that deceased had been immersed in the water during life , but that the severest of the injuries described had been caused after death , probably by the bottoms of the barges . He considered it rather a case of suicide than of death from violence on the part of others . It having been proved that the deceased was a sober , sensible man , - inprosperons circumstances , the foreman and jury intimated that they could not come to a conscientious conclusion without further evidence , and were of opinion that , by due diligence , some of an important character may be yet discovered . They proposed the adjournment of the inquest for a week . Adjourned accordingly .
Adjourned Corojjeb ' s Inquest . —On Friday night Me . Higgs resumed , at the Star and Garter , Great Peter-street , Westminster , the adjourned inquiry concerning the death of Mary Cotton , aliae Brown , who , it was alleged , had died from the effects of injuries received at the hands of a man named Harman , with whom she cohabited . The evidence taken at the two preceding inquiries went to show that the deceased had resided for a fortnight at No . 22 , Peterstreet . On Sunday morning , about two o ' clock , the man Harnian came home drunk , and threatened to " serve out" the deceased for not opening the door sooner . Shortly after that , a strange " wheezing " noise "was heard , as if caused by the deceased being so closely pressed as to be unable to speak . This was
accompanied by a bumping upon the floor , wliich lasted nearly half an hour , at the expiration of which time Barman , who had since been given into the custody of the police , called out and said his wife was taken Tery ill . Upon one of the lodgers going into her apartment , she was found lying on the floor , with her hair scattered over her shoulders , and quite speechless . Mr . Ilaiiley , a surgeon , was sent for , but deceased had died before he had time to reach the house . That gentleman stated that , upon examining the body , he found the right side injured , apparently by a fall , or Jrom being pushed . Her brain was congested , which was the immediate cause of death . The jury returned arerdict of Manslaughter against Isaac ilanaan , and the coroner , made out his warrant for Ms committal to . Newgate .
Chambers' Philosophy Refuted.
CHAMBERS' PHILOSOPHY REFUTED .
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O'CONNELL AND THE POPE . There has been for some time , as it now appears , a secret conspiracy existing between the See of Rome and a portion of the Catholic hierarchy of Ireland , aided and assisted by English ministerial agency , having for its object the full , complete , and entire annihilation of civil liberty in Ireland , to be made palatable by the sweetness of a blissful eternity as the people ' s share—and a more comfortable present as the portion of their spiritual advisers : that is , as in all bargains made on behalf of the poor , they are to receive the promised "inward and spiritual grace , " while their zealous " martyred" advocates are obliged to put up with the mere " outward and visible sign . " It appears that as early as the 12 th of March , 1839 , this now full-blown conspiracy was in the bud : and
although not cognizant of the fact , we augured trear cnery from unpropitious omens presented in the conduct of Archbishop Murray and a portion of . the Catholic Merarchy with respect to the Repeal agitation of 1840 . When we ventured to predict an evil future from the ill omens then observable in the following terms , we were met with torrents of the most unmeasured abuse . So long ago as the period we speak of , the Northern Star said : " However a portion of the Catliolic Merarchy may now appear to give countenance to a hetylcss infant , not yet threatening in feature , size , or form , nevertheless when the popular breath has swelled Repeal to a monster , tJien the hierarch y of Hie Catholic Church , like tli « hiemrcJiy of < xl , other churches , will be found purchasing temporal advantages for themselves at the expense of the national will . "
Por tliis expression of opinion we were denounced in most unmeasured terms . Orators inveighed against us ; pamphlets teemed with the most foulmouthed slander ; and the sentinels of the Catholic Church held us up as " ruffians , " who had dared to cast suspicion upon the Catholic Merarchy of Ireland . We think , however , that we may now turn to the conductors of the Irish Repeal press , and ask , if one prediction makes a " ruffian , " how many does it take to make a " prophet ? " We predicted before the event , and were " ruffians ; " Mr . O'Cossevl predicts after the event , and is a " prophet . "
The present absorbing controversy , wMch we limit to Mr . O'Coxxeu . on the one side , and Pope Grkgokt XVI . on the other , has already assumed an importance compared with which all other considerations , even the Repeal itself , merge into utter insignificance . We pass over the amusing quantity of newspaper speculation that has been hazarded on the subject , and come at once to a consideration of the case as it really stands between the disputants . And to aid us in this , we shall take the conditions upon which Popo Adrian , an Englishman , was graciously pleased
to bestow the Irish nation upon Harry the Second , another Englishman ; and we shall contrast thoie terms with the duties assigned by Pope Gregory XVI . to the Roman Catholic priesthood of Ireland in Ms recent rescript . In 1841 , when defending the Repeal agitation against the assaults of the English press , we * published at length the Bull of Pope Adrian , which constituted the earliest title of the Crown of England , to the Kingdom of Ireland ; and we reprint the following extract from that precious document , the better to serve our present purpose . Here it is : —
we , therefore , with that grace and glad acceptance suited to your pious and laudable design , and favourably assenting to our petition , do hold it good and acceptable , that , for extending the borders of the church , restraining the progress of vice , for the correction of manners , the planting of virtue , and the increase of religion , you enter this island , and execute therein whatever shall pertain to the honour of God , and the welfare of the land ; and that the people of the land receive you honourably , and reverence you as their lord ; and so forth .
Now , if Adrian had a right to sell , and if Harry had a right to buy , and the people were satisfied to be sold , all succeeding Popes became-trustees for the Irish people ; and it was their duty to see that the conditions in the grant were strictly performed by the grantee and his sucessors : that is , that " vice was restrained , " " manners were corrected , " " virtue was planted , " and " religion increased . " Those were the sacred conditions under which the English Prince claimed the allegiance of the Irish people
;•—and each of his royal successors , down to the present day , having violated every one of the stipulated conditions , by encouraging the progress of vice , and having neglected-the several other injunctions , we contend that if Mr . O'Connbu . can show that the Repeal of the Union would have a stronger tendency to " restrain the progress of vice , to correct manners , implant virtue , and increase religion , " Ms title to the faithful following , if not to the allegiance , of the Irish people , is superior to the title of the British jtown .
Let us now see whether or not the injunctions contained in the rescript of Ms Holiness Pope Gregory XVI . may be considered a faithful discharge of Ms duty to the Irish people , as the successor of Pope Adrian . His Holiness says : — This , moreover , is the cause why the Sacred Congregation hastens again to write to you about this important matter , at the desire of our most holy Lord . You Tery well kuow , most gracious prelate , what is tho ecclesiastical duty and its character , and how much it behoves , and how important it is for the safety of religion , that those who are devoted to sacred things , ministers of the King of
Peace , and stewards of the mysteries of God , but especially placed over the spiritual direction of the faithful , should iu no respectinvolve themselves in secular concerns ; should assiduously cherish among the people quietness , tranquillity , and peace , which is the bond of Christianity ; should constantly , by example and word , impress that subjection is due to the temporal power in those things which relate to civil affairs , and exhibiting exemplary prudence and moderation of mind , preaching Christ and him crucified only ; should most cautiously avoid whatsoever might even slightly excite , rouse , and draw aside from the mildness of the law of the Gospel the flock committed to them .
The letter of Mr . O'Conkell to the Rev . Dr . Casiwell , the Roman Catholic Bishop of Heath , is so conclusive , so complete , and so unanswerable , as to the dangerous tendency of the Pope ' s interference in temporal matters , that we should pass over the above without comment , was it not for the dangerous result that must inevitably follow an observance of the tyrannical doctrine of Ms Holiness . He says , "inipressthat subjection is due to the temporal power in those things wMch relate to civil affairs . " Monstrous !!! and incredible , if coming from any other portion of the globe , except that press-dark spot , held blindfold and trammelled by the Austrian
despot . Was Ms Holiness not aware that to the unequal civil power possessed by the English minister , the Irish people trace all their wrongs , and her priests the degradation of that religion which his Holiness is bound to increase , and wMch he can only effect through the instrumentality of civil power ? Does the conspiracy of the British Cabinet , the intrigue of a piebald English Catholic , the apostasy of an Irish archbishop , and the subserviency of a few Irish Catholic prelates , constitute a combination of civil authority , to whose injunctions the Catholic priesthood of Ireland are enjoined to tender that " subjection due to the temporal power in those things which relate to civil affairs ? " for if so , Irelanc has indeed become a nation of serfs , and in vain hare her priesthood struggled to preserve those rights of
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wMch Popes , prelates , and ministers , would fain have robbed them . When we have seen Mr . O'Conneli , engaged in any struggle in which honesty is not only his best , but his only safe policy , we have never shrunk from the task , for such indeed it is , of defending Mm . He is now engaged in a great and most important struggle : and groat as is the importance that we attach to an independent native legislature for Ireland , yet is even that matter of perfect insignificance when compared with the result of the present issue . Let us . firstly , consider that branch of the subject—and ,
secondly , whether or no Mr .- O'Conxellcannot , —consistently but possibly , —abandon the field of ' controversy until the battle is fairly fought . Having exhausted all tho arts of seduction , intimidation , and finesse ; having attempted to manifest an Impartial bearing towards Catholic Ireland in the appointment of some of her degenerate Catholic sons to places of trust and emolument ; having strained the law , violated the constitution , and defrauded the nation of the sacred right of trial by jury ; having garrisoned a whole country with an . armed soldiery ,
and blocked her ports with war-ships ; having in turn coaxed and threatened , bullied and crouched ; and all appliances having failed to seduce the Catholic people of Ireland from their allegiance to their country , their priests , and their cause—the dastardly and polluting policy of the British Minister— " Divide , and Conquer , " is now resorted to , as the means of perpetuating misrule and upholding British sway . And at length the spiritual arm of the Catholic Church is to be raise * against the temporal power and civil rights of the Catholic people .
Well indeed may it be said that Ireland has never been conquered but by her own sons , and never can be released from bondage but by her own exertions . Treating Mr . O'Connbll as a man and as a politician , with whose policy we havo seldom agreed , we now come to the consideration of the second question —whether or no he must fight the present battle fairly to its close . If , then , Mr . O'Connell is sincere in his demand for a Repeal of the Union , honesty is not only his best , but only policy ; because the triumph of the Pope ' s spiritual power over hit temporal Influence would give the death-blow to the question . If , on the other hand , the agitation" is relied on as a source of profit , the priesthood being the agency of communication
between him and the people , will , if polluted by the see of Rome , abstain from farther interference in the " fiscal" department . And , however the Liberal press of Ireland may thunder and declaim , denounce and exhort , Mr . O'Cohseli , well knows that those millions upon whom he mainly depends in the south and west , in Munster and Connaught , are not readers of newspapers , but hearers of their priests ; that from " oral tradition , " and not from printed papers , they learn their duty , and by its influence are induced to contribute their means ; that , however powerful the press may be , there is a power behind the press more active and greater than the press itself : and that power is found on the altar of every Catholic chapel .
Theaddressof condolence , from fifty Catliolicpviests , to Archbishop Murray , might , were we not aware of the devotion and patriotism of the whole body , stagger our confidence in this fruitful source of agitation : but cognizant as we are of the integrity and indomitable courage of the Irish priesthood generally ; and , aware of the increasing intelligence by which the Irish mind is now guided , even in the south and west , we rely on the united exertions of the shepherds and their flocks , as a means of resistance to the prowling wolves that would devour them .
We may hold with the Times as to the difficulty of reconciling the evidence of Mr . O'Coxneia , before the Parliamentary Committees in 1827 , with his recently published objections to any alliance between the State and the Catholic Church of Ireland . The Times , however , appears to forget that the Charitable Bequests Bill is but the section of a question , while the Emancipation Act was promised , ' and intended to be , n whole question that , although wrung from tho fears of the British Minister , the principle of emancipation has been violated in every subsequent
Act , and that Mr . O'Connell was , in the first instance , stating what might Hun have been effected by just policy , and is now referring to what maybe anticipated from a further strengthening of the hands of the deceiver . When Mr . O'Conneli , spoke of the " golden link" by which the Catholio people and their priesthood might be bound to the English Crown , we presume that he meant a link mutually binding and mutually attaching one to the other , and not a kind of " slip-knot , " a "NOOSE , " encircling the head of the Pope , while the Minister held the other end and pulled it at pleasure .
Wo Jhave thought it necessary to deal rather at length with this subject , because it is one which must vitally affect the interests of every man living under the government of the British Crown . We have already had a fearful foretaste of the influence of one State Church ; and God preserve us from the double infliction ! The minister hears the old hen left without a brood , " clucking" ominously ; : and in her disconsolate singleness he would give her a helpmate to aid her in her pilgrimage . The press would not only tolerate , but encourage , State , Church demagogues who preach orthodox temporal doctrines ,
while it inculcates spiritual submission to the nopolitics doctrine of his Holiness the Pope . In the outset of the recent hot Repeal agitation we declared that one of three sacrifices must be the resulteither that the priests must be sacrificed , O'Conneli , must be sacrificed , or the Union must be sacrificed . Upon Mr . O'Cokhell ' s own conduct depends the fate of each . If he beats "the Pope , the Devil , and the Pretender , " which we sincerely trust he may , the Union must be sacrificed ; if the priests relax in the agitation of Repeal , they are fated ; and if he swerves even a hair ' s-breadtli from Ms present position , his doom is sealed . We
have strong reasons for believing that the mind , of Ireland will be found too powerful for the conspiracy of the English Minister , the intrigue of the Austrian despot , the apostacy of tha piebald English Catholic , and the subserviency of the Irish Miniltorial prelates . However , come what may—and especially at the present ominous moment for the Church of England , when the crisis is rapidly coming upon her—we look on the present struggle as the most portentous , important , and astounding , since the day that the adulterous Harbt turned us all to Protestants , that he might confer our estates on those who sanctioned his lewdness and murders .
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THE PROJECTED TRADES' CONFERENCE . NO TIME FOR DELAY ! Whamveb steps the Trades themselves may take , or even if they take none at all , it is matter of certainty that the question of Trades' Combinations will come before Parliament at its next assembling ; and from the manner in wMch Labour questions have been dealt with by that august " collective " body , —especially since the Reform , when elective power was conferred on the middle and the trading classes , and the " house , " though made to represent to the scattered worldly-wisdom of the
Profitocracy , —there needs not much of the spirit of divination to augur what will be the result . There is no possibility of mistaking the " signs of the times . " Trades' Unions are to be assailed Whatever the mode for the accomplishment of the object aimed at may be , it is as apparent as the sun at noon-day that the suppression of Trades ' Combinations is intended . and will be tried for . There are all the indications of such intention . The press which has always to prepare the public
mind for the reception of measures of oppres rion and tyranny , has had its gue ; and is exer cising its vocation most lustily . " Raw-head-andbloody-bones" stories of the "evil '' and " pernicious" effects of Trades' Combinations are bandied about in right good will ; and the fears of the property-men and the cupidity of employers are being played on , to jjet than " up to the mark , " that due and convincing influence may be brought to bear on the "free and independent" members of
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Parliament . There is an established mode in England , ; by wMch the passing of all measures detrimental to , and assaults on , public liberty , is secured . The attentive observer , when he sees the niacWnery of the press , the pulpit , and the platform put in requisition to " write" and "talk down" any question or party of the day , cannot be mistaken in inferring the intention on the part of " our rulers" to interfere with " the strong arm of the law , " if sufficient support from the middle and trading classes can be evolved , or the opposition of the party attacked paralysed . That machinery is at work now
against the Trades ! It was not for nothing that Earl FiTZWiLLiAM made his speech at the Cutlers ' dinner in Sheffield . He did not attack and denounce Trades' Combinations without object . It was not fov nothing that the Messrs . Chambers have published their infamous farrago of cruel , hard , pinch-gut " philosophy , " as a blind to the insidious blow they were aiming at Trades' Unions . It is not for nothing that the daily and weekly press are pressing on the attention ol their readers and supporters , the " higher and middle class , " the distraction caused to employers and the ruin inflicted on trade through the insane
conduct of the workers ; in demanding unreasonable wages , and in attempting to resist tyrannical " regulations . " It is not for nothing that the Manchester Guardian has been for weeks " writing down" the Colliers' Union ; representing the men as a band of conspirators combined for the purpose of raising the price of coal ; and anon making it appear that the Unionists themselves are subjected to the sway of a " tyrannical oligarchy , " because they haye placed the conduct of their affairs in the hands of an executive body chosen by themselves . It is not for nothing , all this . It is not without meaning—without object—without aim—without end ! It has an end : and that end the Trades will speedily find , to their
bitter cost , if they are not alive to what is enacting around them—if they are not warned by what is passing under their eyes—and if they are not duly prepared to resist the assault when it comes . He is a bad general who remains quietly encamped , and holds himself not in readiness for the fight , when he knows that he has an active and energetic enemy in Ms immediate vicinity ; and if he suffers Mmself to be surprised , and his entire army taken captive under such circumstances , Ms character will not stand very Mgh for either bravery or vigilance . The Trades are in a similar position . They have an active and implacable foe in the field : a foe not over brave , it is
truebut as full of finesse , and cunning , and low-trick , as an egg is full of meat . That foe is " circumventing' ' the whole position of the Trades . It is stealthil y drawing around and around , in the intention of entirely surrounding the "combined" camp , and of thus making them surrender at discretion . And all the while this is going on , the Trades' Army ia inactive J The sentinels sleep on their posts ; the " staff" are dreaming in fancied security , and have no plan of operations determined on—indeed , seem as if they deemed it not needful to operate at all ; the subalterns and the soldiers are thus necessarily at rest—their arms piled away , and the whole camp is anything but a scene of union , discipline , or of
reacimess . . Is it not time that the alarm tvas sounded ? Is it not time that the Trades awoke to a sense of the danger that threatens them ? Is it not time that they had scouts out , and other means taken , to see what it is that the enemy is about ? Is it not time that they endeavoured to ascertain tho nature of the movement too-unmistakeably determined on ? At all events , is it not time that tho men buckled on their armour to prevent their camp from being overrun , without even a show of resistance ? "
Metaphor apart , it is time that the Trades were up and doing . If they remain much longer in their present apathetic state , they will be overwhelmed If the spirit and power of resistance wMch they possess , bo not soon evoked , they will find that their own torpidity has been their undoing . Men generally , when awaking to a sense of danger wMch they did not apprehend , confusedly exclaim , "What are we to do ? " No doubt such a feeling will prompfca similar query in the case of the Trades . To that query we > espond—take counsel together . Before entering on a campaign , or before engaging
in battle , a council of war is holden , at wliich the different generals attend , determine on a plan of operations , andjthen each performs his part with his section of the grand army , to make the plan successful . Just so in this case . The Trades ivant a council of war . If they would bo united to be successful , —AND TO-BE SUCCESSFUL THET MUST BE UNITED , — such council of war they must have . The leaders must confer together . They must have a defined plan of operations . They must know what it is they have to do , and have a settled mode of doing it . If not , all will be disunion—all confusion—all effort worse than useless , because energy thrown away .
But it is not alone to meet the schemes and designs of the great enemy , Capital , that the Trades require a Conference ; though that alone would form ground sufficient to justify one being held . Indeed , if for that object alone , a Conference would be indispensable . But there are other , and higher grounds still . The one we have first put , is the low one of mere existence . It is true that that their very existence is threatened ; that the end and aim of Capital is to compass the entire destruction of all working-men ' s combinations . It is also true that to defeat such intention and avert such danger is the first duty of
the parties so jeopardised . But then comes the question—to exist for what ? What is life worth , without object ? The mere existence of Trades ' Unions is not worth a row of pins : it would not be worth lifting a finger for , of itself . It is because Trades' Unions are of use , that their existence becomes valuable and necessary . But of use for what ? To protect Labour from the unceasing , never-ending encroachments of Capital ; to stand the labourer in stead of that legislative protection wMch ought to be accorded , but which Capital withholds . And then comes the question of
the best means of accomplisliing such protection at the least expense and with the greatest certainty . Though Trades' Unions have been formed for that purpose ; though they have had that end as their constant aim , still it is but too true that they have not fully accomplished the object—they have not fully protected the labourer . In spite of the numerous struggles in which the Trades have been engaged , ' and to the aid of which all the niachi nery of combination has been directed , yet have the wages of labour been reduced , and still reduced ; and the utmost that has been hitherto done by "Union "
has been to throw obstacles m the way of Capital , without defeating its purpose . Still the fact , that they could , on their then tack , interpose such obstacles , — prolonging the fight , and in some degree putting off the evil , —proves that Labour Combinations possess a power for good , and induces the inquiry whether the cause of failure was not more in the meant wed , than in the institution itself . To conduct such , inquiry with effect and advantage , a Confcrenceis needed . To the solution of the question mooted must be brought wisdom and experience : net the wisdom nor the experience of one man , nor one trade ; nor twenty men , nor twenty trades ; but the " combined " experience of all trades . It is a question deeply affecting all trades : not one trade more than
another . Hitherto all have been on one foundation . Hitherto the means used by one and all have been the same . The partial failure , therefore , has been as general as the means ; and it interests all to discover a means that will ensure success . ¦ This can be best , indeed can only , be done by bringing united experience and observation to bear . A Conference of delegates , composed of the long-headed men of each trade—the men who have had their eyes and their ears open during the time they have been labouring for their order , and who have jotted down thoir observations , noting the causes that led to success and the causes that superinduced failure ; these are the sort of men that ought to conduct such an inquiry , because they arc the sort of men that can alone get to the bottom of the subject , They can
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dive below the surface They will not be satisfied with mere superficialities , but will prove , and examine , and satisfy their owa minds . Get a Conference together of such men . aa these , to tell their experience ; to utter their suggestions ; to detail their plans ; and out of the " combined" wisdom would be formed a plan for the future conduct of Trades' Unions wMch could not fail to accomplish the desired end . We say a p lan that could not fail ; for , here are principles applicable to such combinations , wliich could not but ensure success . It is only the means of application that are needed . To fight the battle that
Labour has to fight with Capital , Labour must use the weapons of Capital . Whenever this is done , the day is Labour ' s own : for though Labour without Capital , is powerless when opposed to Capital , yet Labour with Capital is all-powerful : for then the two powers are combined . Labour , therefore , has to acquire Capital—capital fob itsblp . It has to aupply that Capital s > that it shall not be lost . It has to learn how to make it re-productive—how to make it yield increase ; and tMs , too , for the benefit of Labour ' s self . This is what Labour has to do : and the moment this is done , that moment is Labour free ! Then how to do this , is the question . That
question can be bestsolved by a Conference of Trades ' Deputies , who can bring their minds and knowledge to cause these simple principles to bear on the somewhat complicated macMnery of the different Trades . It is a good omen to see the manner in wMch Mr . Duncombe ' s letter to Mr . Dbury of Sheffield , has been received ' by many of the Trades . The Associated Trades' of London havo " pronounced" in favour of the course there recommended . They have done wisely : and it will be well if the example they have so promptly set be as promptly Mowed . If it berths cause of Labour is safe : if it be not , it receives a blow when Parliament meets that will send it reeling and staggering to the earth .
The time named l ) y Mr . Duncombe is the best that could be fixed on for the holding of such Conference . The intentions of the Minister—tho home Minister —he who has suchacare forth © homes of the producers as to seek to make them dens of slaves ; the intentions of this fit successor to Canning and Sidmouth , —or rather the mode in which he purposes to accomplish Ma intention , the subjugation ofLabour , —willbethenknown ; and the Conference could then bring to bear the whole machine ry of the United Trades to defeat Ms measure and his purpose . With a Conference in London at that time , anything could be done .
Meetings , such as were never held before , could bo had ; deputations to the Prime Minister , and to every other member of the Cabinet ; deputations to the individual members of both Houses ; petitions , remonstrances , and all the artiUeiy of popular agitation could be brought encrgeticciUy and effectively to bear ; and both Minister and people read a lesson which neither will be the worse for learning . Without such machinery ; without a rallying point ; without such a concentration of power as a body of delegates
representing the entire Trades of the country would be : without this , it is to be feared that all efforts to defeat the settled purpose of the Minister of Capital would be futile , because isolated—without force—without union—not directed to the one point , but divided in efforts . There is every reason , then , on oveiy ground that can be thought of , why the Trades—the whole Trades—should immediately determine to haye such Conference , and prepare for its due holding . '*'
Talk not of the expense . ' More has gone in one week on a single Strike—which has failed after many , very many weeks , than the whole Conference from first to last would cost . The first cost to the body of workers would be a mere flea-bite ; while tha saving that would result from the properly-directed labours of such a body would in one year amount to as much as would employ thousands of present-competitors on farms of their own , relieving the manufacturing
labourmarket of some of its surplus , " and calling into existence a new and valuable market for the products of the operative manufacturers' labour . Talk not of cost then : the present system of effort is indeed most costly : and every Week lost now in applying the new principles of action which experience has evolved is a dead loss to the Trades , compared to which the cost of the Conference would be but a mere bagatelle . Let no one therefore boggle at "the cost . "
With the Trades the question must now rest . They have to saynot only whether they will seek to improve their action in accordance with the advanced knowledge of the times , but also Avhether they will suffer themselves to be extinguished without effort or not . And what they do , they must do quickly . Time presses . If they are wise , they will at it at once : if they are resolved not to awaken out of their sleep , they sleep the sleep of death !
So Utunm Ana Eoiwuontrents
So Utunm ana eoiwuontrents
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The Beeb Teade . —An effort is just now making by the beer retailers to have the trade of dispensing fermented and distilled liquors thrown open , and the restrictions under which the beer-sellers labour removed . They are petitioning Parliament to that end ; and making other efforts to secure their object . As might be expected , the " regular" publicans , on the other hand , are up in arms against such a proposition ; and have ' lately held a conference of delegates or deputies from all parts of England to devise schemes to protect what they call their " vested rights : " i . e . the exclusive privilege of dealing in certain articles , and the right to keep their shops open for a longer period for the sale of other articles than their brother tradesmen , whose houses are closed by law at a comparatively early
period of the night . And thus there is about to be a pretty severe " battle of tho barrel . ! ' it would be well if those who are the customers to both these descriptions of gentry would take a lesson from them , and " combine , " and " agitate , " aud " confer , " and " petition" for the right to obtain andifceepthe means of purchasing the commodities which those " retailers " are so anxious to supply them with , Wero they to do so ; they would be considered far more " respectable " than they now are , aud more deference paid to them , even by those who seek for the exclusive privilege of easing them of their earnings . James Tipping and Fbiends , Brighton . —They really must excuse us . "We cannot make the Star into a perpetual " begging-box" for every individual act of
oppression or individual grievance that may arise , more especially when such act does not at all affect or concern the Chartist body . Were we to do so , the paper would soon become nothing else . In the case they seek to make public , as one calling for the pecuniary aid of the Chartists , there is nothing that we can gather from their address that would at all justify us in inserting such appeal . In the first place , the party is not even known to us by name . TVe have uo recollection of lus having taken a prominent or active part in the movement : not that eveuftat would justify an appeal to the pockets of the Chartist body in a case which merely concerned the individual : but when , as in this case , the party is unknown , and the grievance purely individual , what claims can there be on the pockets oftlic public 1 The
party in question may be known to the friends at Brighton , and they may have reason to respect and honour him , because of their knowledge of his individual worth . If so , that is a reason why they should aid him to the full extent of their power as individuals . Appeals , however , to the Chartist body for procuring aid can only be justified when there exist strong public grounds fov such appeals . In this case we can see » u »>«; and therefore must decline to insert the address . "We had intended to have done this without an explanation—fov we did not wish to damp tho energies of the immediate friends of the party involved—but the sending of the address a second time , with an cxpression of" surprise" that the former one had not been inserted , leaves no other course than to explain the principle on which we decline to give publicity to the appeal . E . B . J ,, Glasgow . —His second letter on Trades' Unions
next week . We shall be glad to hear from him as ofton as he pleases . >¦ Aw Anomait of cur Social Ststkk . —Our Bradford Correspondent sends the following , as tho " state of trade" in that town for the week . It is in itself » o perfect a picture of the working of the present gygtem , At far as the worker is concerned , that we present it here as such . It is tnnKum tn parrso—much in little : — ' The worsted business in the spinning department is improving rapidly . The whole of the mills arc running full tune . There are no stocks of worsted yarn on hand , and tho present desire to create a stock is attributed to an expected advance in the price of yarn . The piece market , on Monday last , exhibited , more briskness than had been experienced for along time . ' The ycagesof tte wooleorntttrs are on t ?« decline ; each week brings forth afresh reduction ; every other trade is similarly circumstanced . " When will the Trades devise and practice the means of producinc for theraselyeB ? :
W .. C , Martlebohe . — -We really cannot aid him to the information he seeks . Robebt Allan , Edinburgh . —Some day wo will use his favour , ¦
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lit , Hood am > Miss Bbown ' s Pensions . —Our " b 6 st possible instructors" have during the last week or-two b « en making no little fuss concerning the liberalit y fine feeling , « fcc , exhibited , by Sir R . Peel and "ladj-1 Peel in bestowing pcimons upon Mr . Hood , tln ; autti w of the " Song of the Shirt" and Miss Fbancbs Bno the blind poetess of Ulster , whose singular personal history appeared in this paper ( copied from the Ath * . nceum ) a tew weeks since- The fact of the bestowalof a pension on Mr . Hood we confess caused us sorrow in . stead of joy : sorrow that so talented , so truly noblo a man , should need help ; and that needing it , the help should come from such a quarter . The author of the " Song of the Shirt , " and the other almost innumerable contributions to literature which have excited the delight
and moved the sympathies of thousands , should fa iu a difierentposition to that of a recipient of a beggarly £ lflo a year from the taxes of the country ; and we cannot believe but that he would have been , had his writings been appreciated as they deserved to be by those classes on whose patronage the literary man . has to depend . In objecting to the source from which Mr . Hood ' s pension will be drawn , we make no personal allusion to Sir R . Peel : lie may have beon actuated by the best of motives in selecting Mr . Hood rather than any one else ; rathor than any one of that class of political and private profligates , male and female , too many of whom take precedence of Mr . Hoow on the pension list . It is against the system itself we protest . —that of pensioning individuals at the expense of the
nation , the nation itself having neither voice nor Tote in the distribution of the fund . Sure we are too , that it must bo galling to Mr . Hood ' s feelings to be placed , on a level with the crew who mainly , almost entirely compose " the list of State paupers : -a crew of political parasites , Pavliamentavy jobbers , court sycophants , soul-selling literati , and body-prostituting harlots who receive their pensions for " services performed" in " Their hot youth , when . Fum the Fourth was King . " Such a position is altogether unworthy of so excellent a man as Mr . Hood . Nor can that gentleman beun . mindful that his £ 100 is wrung from the farthings of the wretched shirt-makers , whose sufferings and sorrows his pen has made known round the world . . Their miserable pennyworths of bread , tea , soap , candles , Ac ,,
are all taxed and nibbled at , to make up his pension and the pensions of those with whom he is now unhappily associated . "We cannot suppose that his paltry stipend will make any difference in Mr . Hood ' s earnest advocacy of the cause of his suffering fellow-creatures , though such things havo been before now , —Soothjv , for instance , persecuting his own Wat Tyler , aud Montgomery repudiating his Church and Warming Pan ; but the history of some of the literary ( pensioned ) predecessors will provoke suspicion and anxiety ; and on this ground too we deplore Mr . Hooa ' a annexation to the pension list . Much as we detest , heartily as we abhor the " damnable doctrines " of Miss Mabtinead ' s " political economy , " we cannot withhold from that lady our warmest esteem for refusing the pension offered her by tUe lato Whig Government , on the ground that the nation not being universally represented , the representatives of mere classes had no rightful authority to disburse its funds . The pea .
sion to Miss Buown is open to the same condemnation , and on the same grounds as that to Mr . Hood , The sum is contemptible , £ 20 ; but that makes no difference in the principle involved . The letter which the Premier addressed to Miss Brown apprising her of the grant was as follows : — " Whitehall , Dec . 24 . Madam , —There is a fund applicable , as vacancies may occur , to the grant of annual pensions of very limited amount ; which usage has placed at the disposal of the lady of the First Minister . Of this fund there is a surplus of £ 20 per annum . Lady Peel lias heard of your honourable and successful exertions to mitigate , by literary acquirements , the effect of the misfortune by which you have been visited—and should the grant of this pension for your life be acceptable to you , iMdy Peel will have great satisfaction in such an appropriation of it . —I am , &c . ( signed ) Robert Peel . " "Wo leave to the Examiner the task of criticising the manner anil stylo of the above . Our able contemporary says : "Sir RobcrtPecl has to learn thatnoiicbuthe-niiltiiiera
and haberdashers talk of their ' ladies . ' air Kobert Peel , as a gentleman and a Prime Minister , needs not be ashamed of writing of his wife . He may rust quite assured that the world will know that his wife is a lady without his studiously telling it so . Foreigners will aik what is the distinction between a gentleman ' s lady and his wife , whether they are convertible terms , whether there are Ministers' wives who are not ladies , or whether there are ladies who are not wives , and why the equivocal word is preferred to the distinct one , and why the wife is treated as if it were the less honourable . Formerly men used to have wives , not ladies ; but in the announcements of births it has seemed finer to Mr . Spruggius and Mr . Whiggins to say that his lady has been delivered than his wife , the letter sounding homely and low . But Sir Robert Peel should uot b «
led away by these examples . He is of importance enough in the world to aftbrd to mention his wife in plain , honest , homely old English . " We have seen , with much disgust , that respectable publication , the Athenctum , making a fool of itself ia announcing the above facts . The Athenaeum calls on its readers for " a hearty cheer for Lady Pool , " for h » r " considerate thoughtfulness , " " womanly sympathy , " &c , in—mark this , people of England!—making « grant of £ 20 per year to Miss Bbown ; not out of her own fortune , hit out of your money . '—out of the taxes wrung from jou ! Magnificent liberality ! Beautiful sympathy ! A cheer , by all means—a " hearty cheer " —for Ladx Peel ! Once for all , let us disclaim , unequivocally and strongly disclaim , any other feelings towards Mr . Hood and Miss Bbowh but those of the sincerest esteem and admiration . Our
present comments have been caused wholly by what we believed to be the duties imposed on us by patriotism , and our country ' s best interests . Some persons may ask , what would we have ? We answer—first , that tho nation's rulers should bo the nation ' s representatives ; the nation ' s revenue at the disposal ] of the voice of tho entire people . Then , if the peoplewilled pensions to the truly noble of their countrymen and countrywomen , well and good . Secondly , we would have tlio whole people properly educated . Mark , we say properly ; then would the masses , equally with the " . better orders , " kuow how to appreciate the beauties of literature ; and also , under a just government , enjoying the full fruits of their labour , be ablo to purchase the works of tho sous and
daughters of genius , and thus give that support to sued men as Mr . Hood—support which the wealthy never will give to those who dare to pen the truth . This would prevent the necessity of pensioning those whose talents and labours should mak « them the real prince * ¦ of the earth , the only rightful aristocrats , because armed with nature ' s patent . Mode op Dispensing Justice . — "We have received tho following statement from " our own reporter , " as to tho manner in wliich two cases , involving the liberties of four "free-born Englishmen , " were disposed of . If tho statement is anything like correct , and the writer avows that it is so . the affair wants looking into . Though the parties « ier « " shirtless and shoeless , " we apprehend that justice ought to have been satisfied that she wan right ,
before she impounded their bodies "for two months . " Besides , ought not the four " shirtless and shoeless " beings to have been informed why justice evinced such a solicitude for their welfare , as to give them shelter "for two months ; " whether it was froin commiseration at their forlorn condition , or in vengeance at thoir daring to be destitute ? Ought they not also to have had an opportunity of learning who it was that recommended them to the kind care and keeping of the Lord Mayor , and heard the reasons or grounds' on which such strong recommendations were based , as thoso which led the tinaeaountaUe Mayor to act in so unaccountable a manner ? Besides , should not the partial if
have been ask ^ d they had any objection to urge against the sort of " asylum" to which it was determined to " commit" them , or . any reason to advance why tbeir kind friends should not have the " custody" of them for so long a period as "two months , " if over at all ? Really . it does ^ altogether seem to bo a qiceer business . Our correspondent docs not say what time of the day it was , when justice was in this tremcndou 9 hurry , as to dispose of two cases in two minutes . ' We wonder if it was anywhere near dinner-hour ? fit is only the " shirtless and shoeless" that go without dinner !] We have heard of strange doings " in the City " at times in connection with dinners and courts of
j : and it may have been in this case that tlie symptoms of flatulency in the alderman Lord Mayor ' * paunch remindedhim that both himself and the " poor devils" before him "had not dined , " and that motives of humanity caused him to send the " shirtless nud shoeless" to a place where they would for a time 1 ) 8 sure of a sort of " blow-out , " Or it may foe that tlio " committal" of the poor and unfriended " for tiro months" was the speediest means of ridding himself of the annoyance that interposed between him and ft& won mutton ! Consider it as we may , it is , » wo said before , a queer Bort of a-business : ono that ought to be examined into ; and we hope that Lord Mayor Gibbs will be able to give a better ao&n ™ of his motives and actions in this case , than he has of
his proceedings as churchwarden of VTalbroolc . Hert is the letter of " our reporter" : ~ I atten ded il » Mansion House Police Court on Saturday last , in off capacity of reporter , and was much astonished at tltf i mode in which the Lord Mayor dispensed justice ! Two ; cases came before the court , in which two persons were ; concerned in each case . Allthe four , two young ntf" and two lads , were shirtless and shoeless . What tw i nature of the offences they were charged with was o " not transpire . If there was any charge , it was , CO"' j fined to the police sheet . There was an entire absence o ; prosecutor , of evidence , and oi defence . They wef' j committed to Bridewell for two months each . TB whole "hearing" of the two cases did not occupy nif ^ than two minutes . I feel it my duty to lay this »
before you . Respectfully , your Repobteb . T . Stabtin , Bibmingham . —Go to an attorney , an dcat " the ' party to be prosecuted in one of " our ^ m { Westminster . " Hois not " outof . the limits" of v * court . Mr . Clark shall have the portion of thele ^ relating to the subscription . J . H ., Coventby . —Yes . All " arrears of rent" can I * demanded . The late Act relating to executions ow prevents the body from being seized , if the debt be unO : £ 20 . All the " worldly goods" and possessions ca » j swept away just as before . ^ j ] W . B . Jerbold . —His favour is appreciated . " try to use it next week , !
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RETIREMENT OF THE LORD CHANCELLOR AND THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL . Tho Globe of SaturdayeTeningjxintainsan ^ nnouncejnent of changes affecting the law officers of the Crown , asnnder : —The following has been received By us , from a source likely to be well informed , as arrangements which have been made for important changes in the present law officers of the Crown . We present them to our readers as we have received fhpiw , -without pledging ourselves to the accuracy of the entire list . We have reason to lwlieve . however ,
ihat a few days , perhaps hours , will show that the event will verify the greater part of the statement . Lord Chancellor , Mr . Pemberton Leigh ( with a Peerage ) vice Lord Lyndhurst . Sir Frederick Thesiger , Chief Justice of the Common Pleas , vice Sir N . Tyndall , who retires . Mr . Fitzroy Kelly , Attorney-General , vice Sir W . Follett , whose impaired health forbids the hope of his being able to resume Ms oineial or professional avocations . The Hon . Mr . Wortley Solicitor-General , in the place of Sir F . Thesiger , elevated to the bench , as Chief of the Common Fleas . "
The Noethern Star. Saturday January 181815.
THE NOETHERN STAR . SATURDAY JANUARY 181815 .
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a THE NORTHERN STAR ! Janfaby % 1845 .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 18, 1845, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1298/page/4/
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