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Northern Star (1837-1852), 22nd February 1851, Edition 1 of 2, Page 4

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    • THE HOETHEEH 8Til SATURDAY, FEBIIUAUY 23, 1851.
    • ENLARDEffiEHT OF THE NATIONAL I8STRUGT0R. '
    • Co coimuouBeiufi,
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      Untitled Ad

      So . V 1 IL of tbe Sew Serie 3 < OF " THE NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR " 13 now ready . ' SIXTEEN LABGE B 0 YAI / OCTAVO PAGES , Price One Penny . i IT B THE ADVOCATE OF PCL 1 T 1 DAI , SOCIAL . ADD INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS II COSIA 1 SS A WEEKLY LAiSOUK USCCOISO . ( The Autobiography of Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., M . V :, ' Original Articles on Social and Political Questions . ] Tales : Beviews : Poetry : Gleanings , &c . j Contents of > o . VIII . 1 Wbat should a People ' s Parliament do ? 2 The Student of St . Petersburg . { Continued . ) j 3 . The State Clock . ¦ L Austrian State Prisoners . ( Concluded . ) s 5 . Adventures of Fc-argus O * Connor , Esq ., M . P . ( C . F ^ ustin ; Emperor of Hayti . ( 7 . J 5 ew Books—llaiubies beyund Railways ; or Notes in C ornwall taken afoot . S . Labour and Co-operative Record . Xow Ready , A Title , t ' ontcu £ s Index , and Prefa cc to the I'irst Volume . ; TheXnnibers and Parts of the First Series of the National Instructor that were out of print , have now teen reprinted , aud may bs had on application . Subscribers arc requested to complete imperfect copies forthwith . The " National Instructor " is supplied by all the London Agents for similar publications : or by A . Hey wood , Manchester ; W . Love , and G . AdauiB , Glasgow ; llulrinson and Co ., Edinburgh ; J . Sweet , Nottingham ; J . Guest , Birmingham .

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      LEEDS MSTIUCT . A PELEGA . TE MEETING of this dis-¦ Q- trict was held oa Sunday , i ' ebruanr 9 th , in tlie Bazaar , Leeds , when it was unanimousl y resolved : — "That a delate be sect to the Conference in London , on the Srd of Marcii . " It was likewise resolved : — " Tlmt the Hiettins should be adjourned to the 23 rd of February , when all delegates were to be prepared with their iiroiiortioH of the expenses . " Tlis meeting will therefore be held in the Bazaar , on Sunday , Feliniary 23 rd . at ten o ' clock in the morning . "Birstall , Dewsb ' ury , Wata-fiidd , L ' udsey , and Ifcitley , are requested to seud delegates .

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      Terfect freedom from Coughs in Ten Minutes after-use , ; andinslant relief , and a rapid Cure ofAst ftma , Consumption , Coughs , Colds , and- all disorders of the Breath and Lungs , are insured by ] DK . LOCOCK'S PULMONIC WAFERS . ; A few facts relating to the extraordinary surcess of Dr . Loeock ' s Pulni'Miic Wafers , in iLe cure of Asthma ' and Consumption , Coughs , Colds , and It flaenzi , Difficult 3 reailnn £ , Fains in the Chest , Shortness of Breath , Spittingoflilood , lloar ~ cneis , &c , cannot fail to be interesting to all , when it 5 s borne in mind how many thousands fall victims annually to disease of the clitst . JMroKTAJfT TESHMOSIAIS . Mr . W . J . Cooper , Surgeon , Medical Hall , Canterbury . . Gentlemen , —Having heard your Wafers very highly Epoten of by sureral persons who had taken them with decided btnlfit , I have recommended them iu sevtral cases of confirmed : is ; lnna , and their good eflects have been truly astonishing . I now recommend them iu all obstinate cases . ( Signed ) W . J . Coopes , FurgMn . Another Care of viol&it Couph , Sore Throut , Ac . Sib , —Hating an ulcerated sore throat and violent couch for several icuutUs , accumvavnwl with cscessive expectoration , aud obtaining no reiief from my medical attendant , and being recommended by my neighbour , Mrs . M : iddis : m ( who bad experienced great tx-nclit from -r . LocosU's " Wafers ) , to try them , I v . as induced to do so . and fee !' great pleasure in bearing my testimony to a sjieedy cure experienced by me from oue box > mly ( Signed ) Charlotte Bead . — " Witness—ilr . John Xoblc , bookseller , Boston . — Kirton , Boston . Cure of Twenty-nine Years' AstJunatie Cough . Sib , —I am now forty-four years of age , and I have bten afslicted tvhh an asthmatic cough since 1 was a boy of fifteen years of age ; during that time I have resorted to every means in my ]> oivi ; r to remove ir , but in vain , until last Sunday , when 1 sent for a small bo £ of lir . Locock ' s "Wafers . 1 have talicn two boxes siucf , and from the efiVcts they have had upun me I feel no doubt of a speedy Tecovery . —U . Stringed . —Witness , M . Lynch , Chemist Uarket street—Micdleton , near Manchester . Improvement of Vte Voice . Estract of a letter from tile ltev . Morgan James , Rhymney Iwm . WovkS , Ofcur Abey ^ aveuny . Sir , —I have tried one lies of Dr . U * ock' s 1 ' ulmonie "Wafers for my voice , and received great benefit from them , &c—M . Jaues . S ' ap&t Minister . They have a pleasant ta < te , and may be taken by infants as well as adults . l'riee Is . lid ,. 2 s . 9 J ., and 11 s . per bos . To Singers and Public Speakers Dr . Locock's Pulmonie "Wafers are invalurUe , as by their uctiou on the throat and lungs , they remove all iioarteuess in a few hours , and wonderfully increase the pouvr and flexibility ot the voice . Full directions are given with every box in the English , German , and French lan ^ ua ^ es . Prepared enly by the Proprietor's Agents , Da Siiva aud Co ., 1 Bri'le-lnne , Fleet street , London . Sola l > y all respectable Medicine Vendurs . Also , inav be bad DR . LOCOCK'S FAMILY APERIENT AX !) ASTlMLiqUS WAFERS . A mild and gentle Aperient Stomachic Medicine , having a most agreeable taste , aud of great efficacy for resulutinV the Secretions , and correcting tlie action of the btosjacii and liver . Sold at Is . lid ., 2 s . 9 i ., and 11 s . per l < ox . A 1 S 0 DR . LOCOCK'S FEJ 1 ALE WAFERS , The best medicine for ladies . Have a ]>! eji : uit . aste . Full directions are given with eveiy box . I ' .-ice Is . lii , 2 E . 9 d ., am ! 11 s . per box . All 1 'ILLS under JimUar nai-ies are COUXIEUFEITS . IMPORTANT CADT 1 OX . Many medidus vendors vrhen asked for Dr . Locock ' s Medicines attempt to sell * Pills . ' Wafers , ' and other preparations , under nearly similar names instead—beeiusc they obtain a larger profit by the Side of such counterfeits than can be obtained by vending tbe genuine medicine . The pilule is turn-fore cautioned , that tine only geumue has the words , Dr . LOUOGK'S WAFERS' in wh-te letters on a red ground , printed on the Government Stamp outside each box

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      Matrimony marfc easy ; or how to tw ' a- L » ver . MIS S ELLEN DAWSOX coutiuues to stud free to any address , on receipt of tliirtcen postage stacips and a directed envelope , plain directions to enable ladi s or gentlemen to win the anei * t ous of as many of die opposite ' sex as their hearts may dcire . Tfie proposal is siuiiile , but so captivating and enthralling that all may be lUlirriml . lrresi > ective of ajjc , appearance or jk > - ation , youns and « ld , p .-er and peeress , as well as the peasant , are subject to its influence , and last , it can be arranged with such ease and delicacy that detection is impossible . S . B . —Beware of ignorant pretenders . Just Published , Third Edition ,

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      ; ' Liberty—Equality—Fraternity . ' IN FEBRUARY WILL BE PUBLISHED The First Xutnbw of 'THE PEOPLE . ' We'll struggh on till all be won tbe good God hasdesigned . The Empire of the People—the Monarchy of Mind . ' A NEWSPAPER established by private -ii individuals is manifestly inadequate to the attainment of any great National object * It is , ' says a distin . guished Irish writer , -in many particulars defective , in many others injurious , and in some dangerous , unsafe , and untrustworthy ; it may be bought or bartered ; it may be traded with and trafficked on ; it may be corrupted , conquered , or intimidated , and ofitrs no guarantee for firmness , independence , or honesty . ' '—Influenced by these considerations , a number of Iriihmen—deeply interested in the welfare of their Native Land—have resolved on the establishment of a National Weekly Journal , which , founded by the People , will be alone responsible to them , and will have for its immediate aim and object the unc mpromising advocacy of their rights—their interestsand thtir libertv .

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      NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOOlATlOiN . Office , U , Southampton-street , Strand . THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE i hereby announce the following meetings : — On Sunday afternoon at three o ' clock the Metropolitan TV-legates will meet at the City Hall , 26 , Golden-lane , Barbican . At tbe s ? me time the Lambeth locality will meet at the South London Hall , and Mr . Pattiuson . the sub-secretary , will be in attendance to enrol members . On Sunday evening next at the Rock Tavern , Lissongrove—Princess Uoyal , Circus-street , Maryleuone—lirick-1-ijers Arms . Tonbridge-street , Xew-road—Crown and

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      TO TAILORS AXD OTHERS . ExniwnoN , issi . % Approbation of Her Majtttu Queen Victoria , and Jl . ll . II . Prince Albert . THE LONDON aud PARIS SPRING i- and SUMMER FASHIONS for 1 S 51 , bv Mes-rs . I > HXJAM 1 K READ & Co ., 12 . Hart-street . Bloomsburv-Miuarc , London : and bj GEORGE lilillGER , JlolywcU . str .-st , ^ traml , will be ready early in March . The View f ll > 2 Grand Building in H-, de park for the ensuing ExhibitiDU . is esveuted with extraordinary skill , and will be snw-iior to anything of the kind ever published , producing an txeijlcnt m . d beauiifuUy coloured PRINT , represent ! » ng v : uioiis Costumes of diftrent nations , without anv additional charge . This splendid PRINT will be accompanied » vith the usual numberof fail-sized Patterns , Dress Riding : « ul Frock Coats ; Youth ' s new Fashionable Polka Jac-ktt AHo , the Novel and Fashionable Registered Exhibition Riding Coat , with illustration of all particulars , and every iafurination for Cutting aud Makinij-up the . « hide . Thi- elegant new ALBERT Ruling Coat , registered bv Read ¦ k to . W h of January , 1851 , f » r the benefit of Subscriber * « : irf y ; all others are liable . Price , with all tiie Patterns and information as usual , 10 s . ; price for the PRINT alone ( S ., pos-t free , on a roller . Sold br Head & Co ., 12 , Harts : rett , lilnunisbury-square , London : G . JJe : ; geu , Uolywellstieet . Strand , ami all Vuuks-diers in the ljuiud lii ! i"iiom .

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      T > cei . li . \ g ix Fka : ; ce , —! t will lie remembered i 5 is : t il . Alexander Dumas ar-d ! ! ¦ Merry were some utiw ago fii , eu by the Tribunal of Correctional 1 « .. nce UOO francs for having acted as the seconds to il . Charles Hugo in a duel , aud M . Delapisrrc and M . Onnialdi were fined 100 francs for having been the seconds of M . Viennot , M . Charles Hugo ' s adversary . All the four parties appealed on Satur-% J !^ & ? X ^^* w *

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      r . W ., Tutbury—Sent : Mr . Kicuoiu , Morl « y . —The aum you sent for Windlng-up Fund wa « 3 s . 6 d ., but , by a misprint , was announced as only 2 s . Gd . . . . BtkcKsTONE Edge . —We are requested to state that all the localities represented at the late Blackstone-edije delegate meeting are requested to forward their quota of expense * to tho treasurer , Mr . Bake , Church lane , Rochdale , with > ut delay . ¦ :.. . Mr . Melville , Ma . kinch .-The Gd . from J . Donaldson should have been for the Honesty Ftwd , not for Windintrup the Company . Alex . M tchell ' s address was stated to bs Ferryiiort-on . Crai ( T | ingtead oi Mavkincli . ' Nottingham . —J . Sweet acknowledges the receipt of the following sums ( sent herewith ) , viz .: —For Honestt Fosd : —Mr . Brown ; Gd j Mrs . Burbnge , Gd Fon

      Winbiss-up l'OSD : —Mr . Brown , Gd j Mr . C . Barker Gd Mr . T . Marriott , Is ; Mr . J . Tiukler , 6 d : Miss Tuns ' tall 6 d ; Mrs . Hajes . 6 d . Mr . B . RnsHTOs , Halifax . —The 5 s Gd from W . Maud , and the Ss from IV . Fletcher , should have been under the head Honeaty Fund , but by mistake was placed to that for the Windiug-upof the Land Company . Mr . M . Newbold , Loughbro ' . —The sum sent last week for the Winding-up Fund was is Gd . It appeared ouly as 4 s in the Star . Ho tgabian i-. ZFOGEES .-T . Antill begs to acknowledge the receipt of I 5 s from Mr . Harney . 6 . B . —We cannot answer your question . R . IIodson . -Your intelligence is of too old a date . We should be glad to receive earlier reports from this quarter .

      The Hoetheeh 8til Saturday, Febiiuauy 23, 1851.

      THE HOETHEEH 8 Til SATURDAY , FEBIIUAUY 23 , 1851 .

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      A PEDLAR'S BUDGET . Sir Charles Wood will be the death of the Whig Ministry . For the sake of the partyif for nothing else—they should take care of him , and instead of allowing him to he at large , should send him to some quiet " Retreat , " where his hallucinations would ho harmless . Last year , with a considerable surplus , he contrived to do as little good , and to produce as

      much dissatisfation , as previous to the exploit , one could have imagined was in his power . This year , however , he has shown ; that his capacities in that way are not to be easil y guagcd . With a larger surplus , and , consequently , a better opportunity of affording palpable and substantial relief to the over-burdened tax payers , he has contrived to create universal disappointment and a , howl of indignation and conte mpt from one end of the country to the other .

      Previous to the meeting of Parliament deputations from the interests that thought themselves most entitled to consideration in the framing of the Budget for the year , pressed their claims on tho attention of the Financial Minister . Sir Charles received them " courteously' '—in many cases familiarl ylaughed and joked with them in high good humour and—declined to say anything till he revealed , once for all , his scheme as a whole . The only thing real about these deputations appears to have been Sir Charles ' s

      merriment . He could not help laughing at anybody being so "jolly green" as to come and ask Aim to take off any of their burdens ! What matter , though he had a surplus ? He could not , with the two or three millions at his disposal , satisfy them all , and , therefore—Oh , Wight idea '—he -would go to work in such a way as should satisfy none of them ? In his endeavours to he original and striking in his Budget , he has exhibited a perverse ingenuity , and ac elaborate infelicitousness , in discovering modes of making his surplus do the least possible good , which is positively astounding , It reaches the very sublime of financial

      maladministration . For a third tims he proposes the renewal of the income tax , with all its inequalities and monstrous injustice to those who have to earn their bread by the sweat of their hands and their brains . The lordl y owner of broad acresthe wealthy possessor of streets , warehouses , and factories—the snug recipient of dividends on stocks and shares , —all those whose incomes arederivedfromrealproperty . independentaliko of their health or sickness , and which at their death will descend to their heirs without diminution in value , are to continue to pay

      sevenpence in the pound . The poor clerk , who out of £ 150 a year , has to maintain himself and family , keep a respectable appearance , pay house rent and taxes , and insure his life , to leave a few pounds to his widow or children in theeventof of his death—is to pay exactly the same ! Professional men—hardworked authors—journalists , and reporters , whoso brains are incessantly on the rack , to the shortening of life , and tho deprivation of enjoyment Avhile living , are assessed at the same rate as the proprietor of Chatsworth or

      Woburn Abbey . How often do these poor slaves of the lamp look wishfully at the £ 5 noto , hardly earned , which ou ght to pay for the schooling of their children , but of which they are plundered in this infamous manner by the Chancellor of the Exchequer , and , as a consequence , theiroffspring deprived of tho education which is the only fortune their parents have to bequeath to them . But what cares Sir Charles Wood for all that ? There are "difficulties" to an equitable adjustment , and , therefore , he proposes it shall remain as it is .

      That its continuance in its present shape , will not ouly perpetrate a gross injustice and downright robbery on the classes we have mentioned , but at the same time perpetuate a wholesale demoralisation of public opinion , fri ghtful to contemplate , iscvident from thoreturus of tho number of persons who pay the tax . Out of the 30 , 000 , 000 of inhabitants of this country only about 500 , 000 pay this impost . Of these a large proportion are individuals whose incomes just come vrithin its range . But the large traders , brokers , manufacturers , and successful professionals all

      contrive to escape almost scot free . . There must be more individuals , with incomes ranging from one to two thousand a year , in tho single parish of Marylebonc or Ptuldington , than are returned for the whole of Great Britain . The tax is opposed to tho innate common sense and justice of the community , and they enter into a wholesale conspiracy to evade it . The big fish escapes because the Government dare not institute a strict inquisitorial investigation ; they catch the small ones who have no iuiluence , and wlit > nuv , therefore , be robbed with impunity .

      Basing his scheme on this fundamental injustice , Sir Chaules Wood proceeded to construct another scarcely less flagrant and intolerable . Apparently repealing the windowtax , he proposes to substitute a house tax nominally one-third less in amount , but which iu many cases , will amount to as much or more than the tax it replaces . The house tax will , to a great extent , fall peculiarl y heavy on the same classes who , are so unjustly treated by the income tax ; aud thus a second robbery will he committed upon them . The return of houses and persons assessed to the window duty , show that , like the income tax

      it is paid by a very small portion of the commuuity ; and though the substitution of a house tax has the recommendation that it will not necessarily shut out li ght and air , yet it is invidious and unequal in tho selection of tho houses to which it applies , an-l the manner in which they are to be assessed . Thus au old house , rented at i'lOO a year , which has formerly paid £ 15 15 s . for window duty will m future pay two-thirds or £ 10 lOi . ; while a . new house , rented at £ 100 , will only have to pay £ 5 house duty . We should like to knew on what conceivable scale this gradation has been framed .

      We have said that the Budget exhibits elaborate and perverse iugeuuity in dovisiug modes by which ;» . s little good as " possiblecould be done . Let our readers judgo cf the fact . Out of nearly two millions of a surplus , we are to save £ 700 , 000 a year by tho substitution of the house for the window duty , in the manner we have indicated . The rest is frittered away in several unmeaning , if not ridiculous , small boons , or

      Untitled Article

      apparent boons to the landlords , the colonial interest , and the farmers . To the landlord he gives £ 150 , 000 , by placing the charge of couuty lunatic asylums to that extent on the consolidated fund ; to the farmers he gives £ 30 , 000 a year , in the shape of a reduction of duty on foreign seeds ; the colonial interest he proposes to propitiate , by equalising the duty on coffee and making it an uuifbrm rate of 3 d . in the pound ; and to the shipbuilder and farmer he offers a reduction on sawn and hewn timber of 10 s . and 7 s . 6 d . a load . That is the Bud get . Neither more nor loss ! We

      forgeta few hundred thousand pounds are reserved to buy down the National Debt , in which laudable process Sir Charles tells us , he had been engaged already to the extent of about two millions sterling . A very gratifying statement on the face of it . But our gratification is rather modified , when we learn that our " wooden" Chancellor has been buying in the debt at £ 96 per £ 100 , which he contracted himself lately at £ 80 per £ 100 , and has thereby sacrificed about a quarter of a million sterling . That is paying too dearl y for such a whistle as Sir Charles Wood !

      We can scarcely imagine that a financial plan , so utterly devoid of any pretensions to common sense , or common honesty , which fails to relieve , in any perceptible degree , the burdens of any one class or interest of the community , which , with a large surplus in hand , squanders it so ridiculously , will be permitted to pass in its present shape . It has been hailed by an universal outburst of execration and condemnation by journals of all complexions , and representing all parties , and it

      will have to encounter a most determined opposition in Parliament . There is only one fear , and that is , for want of some well-digested and workable plan on tho part of the opposition , Sir Charles may carry the day with his wretched abortion . If the opponents of the Budget mean to succeed in their opposition , they must be prepared with another . If they are not , it will bo a deliberate denial of their responsibilities as members of the Legislature , and an abdication of the most important of their functions .

      We have often complained of tho enormous loss entailed upon the country , by keeping such a mere pedlar in office as the present imbecile and incompetent Finance Minister . Here is another and more forcible illustration of his incapacity . When will the patience of John Bull give way ? Had Sir Robert Peel been alive , and entrusted with such a surplus , how different would have been Ids plans , and our prospective payments !

      Enlardeffieht Of The National I8strugt0r. '

      ENLARDEffiEHT OF THE NATIONAL I 8 STRUGT 0 R . '

      Co Coimuoubeiufi,

      Co coimuouBeiufi ,

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      AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS . Affairs in this country appear to proceed on the see-saw principle—one up , the other down . When the manufacturing districts are said to bo enjoying " prosperity , " tho agricultural are plunged into the deepest " distress , " and vice versa , Their seems to be no possibility of both being prosperous together , under our present

      arrangements . Why that is the case , ov how it might be remedied , are , however , not the questions to which we now propose to direct attention . The immediate result is , that the duration of the Whig Ministry is threatened by it—that , last week , it was only by desperate exertions they saved themselves by a narrow majority of fourteen , in a House of upwards of five hundred and fifty members . Those who only read the Free Trade papers

      —which are in the habit of ridiculing Protection and Protectionists , and of studiousl y concealing from their readers tho facts on which they base their agitation for the rcconsideration of our late commercial policy must have been considerably surprised at the closeness of that -division . A party which can muster so strongl y is neither to be d espised , nor cau it be supposed altogether without some fouudation in fact for its complaints , and its demands for redress ; and while the balance is so nearly equal , the question cannot , by any means , he said to be settled .

      Much of the success which attended Mr . Disraeli ' s motion has , however , been ascribed to the defectionof someof the Irish members , who usuall y vote with Ministers , because they disapprove of the Papal Aggression Bill . Perhaps this had some influence ; but we believe that such has been the injury inflicted upon Irish owners and occupiers of land by Free Trade , that , under any circumstances , they were certain to have voted with tho " Couutrv Party . "

      ^ The weakness of that party appears to consist in the want of a definite and a practical policy . Tho elaborate and varied speech of Mr . Disraeli , did not supply that want . It was , no doubt , a very clever essay , and indicated a range of reading , thought , and reflection , which hitherto have not been expected from so purely rhetorical a speaker . But it wanted simplicity and directness . The very length of its exordium was a fatal blunder in its

      construction . There was no necessit y for spending an hour and ten minutes in " preliminary remarks , " for tho purpose of proving that the most eminent men on both sides of the hous 3 had been mistaken in their calculations as to the probable effects of free trade on the prices of corn ; aud therefore that all parties ought to enter upon the consideration of the subject unbiassed by anything that had formerly occurred . Tiie unwield y introduction was appropriately closed by as extensive and ponderous a collection of remedies , or rather hints as to remedies , which , couched in Mr .

      Disraeli ' s language , must be vevy bewildering to the farmers . We wonder , for instance , if Mr . Ciiowleu , the valiant hero , whose bold defiance to mortal combat at the Crown aud Anchor none of our readers can have forgotteu , comprehends his leader ' s programme in the House c-f Commons . A string of measures , which it takes an hour to recite , will never make a good " cry" at a General Election . Mr . Disraeli may be vevy good at constructing a three volume novel , ' or a political essay suited for the atmosphere of the House of Commons , but ho has yet to learn how toconstruct a working partv .

      Among tho long list of measures alluded to by him , however , there were many pregnant indications of a ripening of public , opinion on important questions . Foremost among these is tUe necessity for . a complete revision of our whole Financial System , with the view of redistributing and equitably adjusting its burflews . Another , not less valuable , indication was tho allusion to the improvement of our laws of partnership , aud tho consequent improved cultivation and value of the land , which would arise , by a number of persons with small capital being enabled to embark in agricultural Sir

      pursuits . James Graham , who made the " crack" speech on the Free Trade side of tho question , expressed his surprise that , after Mr . O'Connor ' s experienco in Joint Stock Cultivation , Mr , Disraeli should have dreamt of such a-thing . We are surprised at the audacity of Sir James ' s remark . No man knows better that it was precisely because of tho want of a proper law of partnership ; because the Land Society was deliberately excludoil from the protection of law , that the hoi ) , member for Nottingham has been obliged to bring in a Bill for wiudiug-un the affairs of that Society .

      Wo observe , with much pleasure , that Mr . Slaney has followed up his Committee of last Session , by another Select Committee , the leading object of which is the . introduction of something like common sense and common justice into our laws relating to partnerships . In connexion with tho measure of the Attorney General , for registering deeds uud facilitating the transfer of estates , it will greatly tend to the diffusion of landed property among the people , and thereby to tho breaking down of the huge system of exclusion and monopoly , which shuts out the masses from all

      direct interest in , or connexion witfi , the soil . The unwholesome ( stagnation , the artificial Bterility , and under-cultivation , which results from locking up the land from the bulk of th"e population can only be effectually remedied by measures that will permit industry , enterprise , and capital , to be applied freely to it , and that , not for the benefit of landlords or usurers , out the actual cultivators .

      ' It cannot be denied , however , that at the present moment the agricultural districts are suffering severely , and it is questionable whether even the formal abolition of rent would be equal to the losses the farmers are sustaining under present prices . From 50 s . to 56 s . was estimated even by Sir Robert Peel , as the lowest prices at which wheat could be permanently and remuneratively grown in this country ; and it was estimated that upon an

      average of years , taking into account tho cost of freight , and other expenses incurred in importing foreign grain , that would be the ruling price . We find now , however , it is down to 37 s . with every prospect , ia future , of the average not ruling higher that 40 s . in the best of cases , To the large and wealthy markets of England all countries are certain to seud supplies . Low prices must continue to be the rule in that market as an inevitable

      consequence ; and however , pleasant that may be to those who live on fixed incomes , or who derive incomes from usury and profitmongering , it will be no joke to tho 3 o who have to bear the burdens , and produce the provisions sold at these low prices . If such is to be the . permanent condition of the " owners and occupiers of laud , '' a revolution—not the less real and extensive because it has been quietly made by act of Parliament , instead of barricades and cannon—is certain to follow . In the course of that

      revolution we expect to see many singular conjunctions , as it is proverbially the office of misfortune to make strange bedfellows . I 3 it beyond the scope of possibility , that landlords and farmers should join the labouring classes against the domination of the money power , which grows mightier every day at the expense of both landlord and labourer ? We have no doubt , whatever , that if tho suffrage were commensurate with the adult males of this country , that a very different system to that of unregulated and uncontrolled " competition , would be instituted in this country . In

      America , under the most Democratic constitution tho world has yet seen—and with the cheapest Government also—a carefully-constructed protective system exists , by the will of the masses . Tho Political Economists have not yet persuaded the industrial classes to surrender their interests to the keeping of those whose business it is to sell dear , and buy cheap ; and , in all cases , to take caro that whoever loses they will win . It is very doubtful whether the example of this country will ever he of so fascinating a kind as to induce them to do se .

      Meantime wo conclude by expressing our belief , that " agricultural distress " will not be cured by speeches from Mr . Disraeli , nor even by the formation of a Protectionist ministry . Tho first step towards that object , will be for those who are really engaged in the cultivation of the soil to make . common cause with tho producers of wealth in every other department ; they tiro all preyed upon by the non-producing , rent , profit , uud

      taxeating classes . If they mean to be "first partakers" of tho fruits of their own labours , they must have a thorough searching Reform of Parliament , which will give them the command of the purse strings ; they will then ho able to " cut the coat according to the cloth ; " and if they must still continue to compete with foreign nations , they will take good caro that it shall bo on something like more equitable terms , as far as national and local burdens are concerned .

      South Nottinghamshire has shown that the tide flows that way . The candidate of the " Dukery" has been beaten , and an active business man , comparatively poor , and acreless , sent to Parliament to vote for diminished taxation . Revolt number one . Who'll follow ?

      Untitled Article

      THE FACTORY ACT OFI 80 O . The reports of tho Inspectors of Factories may be briefly described as a collection of official contradictions to the assumptions and theories of the Political Economists and Free Traders , with reference to tho legislative regulation of labour . Ever since 1 G 1 G , when it was first proposed to place the factory workers under the protecting care of Parliament , the v > l >] cction luis been incessantly repeated that such

      an interference was utterly opposed to all sound principle , and could not fail to be pernicious and mischievous in practice , by either driving our manufacturers from thi s countr y to others where such meddling was not permitted ; or by artificially raising the price of manufactured goods to such a height as would render our manufacturers unable to compete with those of other countries .

      Successive enactments constantly increasing in stringency have had the invariable result of falsif ying all these predictions . Thomaiiufactures of this country have not decreased , but the contrary . Capital has not departed to ^ seek out investments in forei gn lands . Prices have not risen and prevented us from fiuding customers . On the other hand , all the anticipations of the advocates of regulated labour have been fully realised ; we find that the physical , domestic , and social improvement of the condition of the operative classes has been exactly concurrent with the extent of our legislation in this direction . Whenever the one has stopped the other has stopped also .

      Last year , notwithstanding the accumulation oi tacts all demonstrative of this general conclusion , the freebooters iu and out of Parliament stoutly resisted any further interference ; when , in consequence of the clumsy manner iu which a clause in Mr , Fielden ' s Act was drawn — the cunning with which it had been evaded , and the sympathy of millmaster magistrates with the offenders—or all these causes combined , rendered fresh legislation necessary , There was no doubt whatever that it was the iutention of the legislature to give the factory workers a bona fide Ten Hours Bill , by the act of 1847 ; aud finding themselves cheated out of this boon , they na-. turally and justly applied to the Government .

      to enforce the act . Tho question was tried in a superior court , and the evasion having been pronounced to bo no infraction of the letter of the law , no alternative remained but to appea to Parliament again , to explain its own meaning in such a way as to prevent any misconception , or chance of evading the provisions of the act with impunity . The Whi g Cabinet however , was not prepared to take that honest audstra . ghtiorward step . They arc too dependent on the votes of the " MancWiT School" to risk offending its membm ' J hence Sir George Grey nronnanri „ „ ' I ™ ..-.. « . „ . » Y * AMtv * ii urisy proposed a

      comnr-n mi * , by which ten hours was replaced Kn hours ami a halt ; as the working day for , men and young persons during five davS of he week-work to cease at two o ' clock on Satuigs instead- of , four , as enacted b j the 1 AM . llus regulation was accompanied bv another important provision , nS tint Sr *? " ? P *«»»^ M onlyit ! hou 3 n ? - - 1 h ° Ursandilllalf bet ™» the hT 1 ^ ** •" ? mornin e aud six iu th ° even" f thus fwng them time for domestic occupatioiw , or for healthful lelaxation . So far this

      w as an improvement on formeracts , being equivalent to a restriction on the moving powcr j u the case of tho class to which the provision v ,, , HadUteencan ' ied ° utconsistently it would have effectually prevented all poBsibUity of evading the law , and dispensed with tho necessity for an expensive , cumbrous , and we fear , in too many instances , ineffective

      machinery of supervision and penahw s giving to any person the power of 1 , !• % information at common law , against 1 g ? n owner who ran his machinery before n" 11 ' the prescribed hours , and giving the i ° f after a moiety of the penalty for the iufpir , m ° of . the law , the practice would havefcp ° lneil (; tualty put down . But this was too > 2 f * expect from a trimming Minister Vi , to George Gbey . Instead of doing tr Sir proposed an arrangement which anup ., 1 ' 8 ' lle it had been deliberately framed f $ , V * 9 it press purpose of furnishing the mill e ** with fresh loopholes . He proposed to Ucr 8 " children" from the clause which l ^ the hours within which " women and persona" were to be employed Ti , youn S ployers had thus the power of u- " them to work before six in the vSti aud of keeping them at work after v ?' the evening , on condition that they did " employ any one set of children more th-in •' hours and . a half iu any ono dav .

      ^ of time for meals . The effect , of this 7 T vious . As the legislation did not annlvT adult males , the millowners had it h t ] . power to work two sets of children with u ^ spinnors—and , in fact , to make "thedmr > J ° the latter fifteen hours , instead of twe lve eluding the time for meals . ' " We have now the Reports of the T T ^™^™* ?™^™ for % 5 ending 31 st October 1850

      year , , and why have just been presented to Pariiammf They fulfil , to tho letter , the auS " tions we expressed in the Star atthotil the bill was under consideration . Mr . Hors £ p says , that the pernicious arid unjust system of ^ working young persons and women U shifts has been put a stop to ; and , conj quontljytho last three months of the ha \ j year during which the new act has ken fa

      operation , have been a period of comparative quiet and contentment . He admits there are to be found some who still contend for the " Ten Hours Act in all its integrity ; but he adds—and we think the explanation is very obvious—the reason very natural , "They ai < j not be found among ' the young persons and women' whose labour is restricted by the Act but among the adult males only . " Those who have obtained what is equivalent to a ' * ' Teu Hours Act , " taking Saturday into ths account , are contented . Those " who have not are discontented . What more natural ? '

      As far as young persons and women are concerned , we cheerfully concur in the stalemeut of Mr . Horner , that the act of last session is a great improvement on any previous act . They have now at their disposal , at least something like a reasonable tim 6 for the purposes of rest , domestic duties , mental improvement , and recreation by the cessation of their work at an early ho ' urin the evening . The greatest , boonhowever

      , conferred by the act , has been the cessation of work at two o ' clock on the Saturday afternoon . All classes of factory -workers seem to pnzo it highly . In cases where attempts have been made to induce adult males to work after that hour they havo refused to comply , prefering the leisure to the additional pay ! Mr . HoRNEit adds , "I have heard many emphatic expressions by the workmen , of the satisfaction which the enactment has

      given ; and the generality of masters full y admit the advantages of it to the men they employ . " Another result mentioned by Mi " . Hoisssr as coincident with diminished hours of labour is , that the amount of produce keeps up to very nearly to that of twelve hours under tlve old system . This was the strong point of opponents of factory legislation . We remember Sir Jamek Gbauam in 18-17 , backed by Mr . Bright and the factory interest , * most energetically denouncing Mr . Fieldes ' s bill as certain to bring ruin upon the mauufacturers of this country . A reduction of

      onesixth of the working hours was declared by them "to be equivalent to a reduction of one-sixth of production and if so , the suu of England ' s prosperity was set for ever . In that , as in many other cases , " Political Economy" led its disci ples astray . Dealing with human beings always as if they woro mere machines , they fall into lamentable mistakes on very _ important matters . Ex . perince has confirmed the statements of the advocates of regulated labour . The manager of one of the largest aud best managed cottoumills in Mr . Hoiurait ' s district , made the following voluntary statement on this sut . icct -.

      —" Wo aro now turning off tho same amount ot work as we did when we worked twelve hours . When 1 came to this mill nine yean ago , the quantity turned off in the spinning department was the same as we turn oft " , and there hus been no change in the machinery , no increase in the speed . I set down the keeping up of the quantity entirely to the greater oHention and activity of the hands . thuy are aisle ' i'O WOliK . BETTER BY THE SHORTER TIME THEY ARE AT IT . ' '

      Ihe "Economists ' who mystify themselves and mislead society by niouutaius of statistics and fallacious averages , should carefully consider all that is involved in the sentence we have emphasized in this extract , ihoy might have puzzled their brains over their dogmas and abstractions to all eternity , without even hitting on such an important truth , or such a natural deduction . The manager of another mill equally large , made a similar statement , except that there had been a small increase in tho speed of tho machinery .

      V > Q can only repeat , that wherever an approximation has been made to the principles of the advocates of regulated labour , the results have proved the soundness of these principles , the correctness of tho anticipation founded on them , and their beneficial character when carried into practical operation . . The same experience has equally demonstrated the injurious nature of the ' arrangements framed in opposition to these principle Jhe exclusion of children from the clause ap

      plying to young persons and women , has led not onl y to great dissatisfaction , but is a source of constant controversy , annoyance , fraud , and inconvenience to all parties . I " Scotland the opposition of tho employers seems to be peculiarly bitter . Captain JviXcaird , the Inspector of the Scottish District , states the abandonment of the relay system "hnsled the millowners to have rccourso to modes of working more inconvenient , and troublesome , both to themselves ami the porous id their employment . "

      One plains to run the machinery , with the aid of men , J omoii 1 and young persons , dunnj , ' the wdhmrv wurliiKS « oura . trom sixtun . to six p . m . Tliewbnuii and . vwn'S iemn « then leave , and their places are tnlwn by cliildn'n under thirteen , who , nlunifwith the same men . " c . htv or . lie work till lmlf-past ^ , un MiUiy cfliic ,, . uarc tuns kept at work thirteen hours a dav . Other niill-mvners , l \ y employu ^ " wales «« ' > ' ' , eigutt'i-n , run their machinery ailnitf hr—aniude i-t ' worKiiir iil'vnysobjVoiioiiaWe ; for while it imposes on ill" nil 1 ' " OAvncr vxtru cxpeuce in wages , live insurance , lis litii ' pi *(; ., it is h-iraiding and rtemoialisinL ' to the person * employed , inducing to habits ot intemperance , with all its » ' tendant evils .

      Another objection to the act of last Session , which is strongly urged by all the Inspectors , is its interference with the employment 01 children on alternate clays . By tliu former 8 ) stem , tho children went to school , both fore noon and afternoon , on the days they did "ot work , and by changing his working days every week , the manufacturer gave the child live entire days of schooling every fortnight , ty

      tic wording of section 31 ofyhe act ot ll » * i this is now rendered impracticable in conjunction with the provisions of the law of 1050 , the serious injury of the children , who , when they work half time each day under the present act , are obliged to go to school " « J their working dresses—very often bo smeared with d ye and grease , that they aro not only placed in disadvantageous contrast with the other children , but are refused admiftfiou . to

      Untitled Article

      4 THE NORTHERN STAR . ' ^ ; rrni n n , ii ' | ... [ February 22 , l 86 i :

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 22, 1851, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1614/page/4/