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      Untitled Article

      BATTLE OX BRAYELY . 0 ' sweet is the fair faeeSture , when Spring ¦ .. TOth liting flower-rainbow , mglory hatb . Bpanned t cii «^ a a « ll and the music of birds on the wing , B MakettSaS m- a beautiful fair ? land AnddSr h our first-love ' s young spmt-wed bride , WillTher sweet eyes just waning in tender eclipse , when the sound of onr voice , calls her heart ' s ruddy tide Uorushing in beauty to melt on her lips ! Bat earth has no light , half so glorious to see , As a People up-girding its might to he free . To see men awake from the slumber of ages , . . With brows grim from labour , and hands hard rnd tan , Start up living heroes ! the dreamt of by Sages , And smite with strong arm the oppressors of man . To see t hem come dauntless forth ' mid the world ' s

      warring , The midnight mine-workers and slaves of the sod , Show how the Eternal within them is stirring , And never more bend to a crowned clod . Dear God ! 'tis a sight for immortals to see , A People up-girding its might to be free ! Battle on bravely , 0 , Sons of humanity , Dash down the cup from your lips , 0 , ye toilers ; Too long hath the world bled for tyrants' insanity . Too long our weakness been strength to our spoilers . Por freedom and right , gallant hearts wrestle ever , And speak ye to others , the proud words that won ye , Tour rights conquer'd once shall be wrung from ye never , 0 J battle on bravely , the world ' s eyes are on ye . And earth has no sight half so glorious to see : As a People up-girding its might to he free .

      Untitled Article

      The Rights and Duties of Property ; with a Plan for paying off the National Debt . By JOHN Sangster . London : Whittaker and Co . ^ Political economy , though an important , is by no means a popular , branch of the tree of knowledge . How much of this may he owing to the intrinsic character of the study—how much to the style in -which it has been treated , we do not pretend to say , but the fact is patent . To the general reluctance to

      embark in the study of this subject can alone be attributed the power which was , within the laBt quarter of a century , attained by a comparatively small sect of economists , who paraphrased the tenets of Dr . Adam Smith in a manner to suit the interests of one or two powerful classes in society , and adopted his mode of inquiry and reasoning to the new facts which have since arisen , with a very decided partiality in favour of the holders of land and capital , and an equally decided hostility to the rights and claims of Labour as the source of all wealth .

      The founders of the' Edinburgh Review' were farsighted men . But for their persevering expositions of the principles embodied in * The Wealth of Nations , ' it is probable that , even among the upper and leisurely classes , the work itself would have been regarded as more carious than instructive , more abstract than practical . The reviewers saw that by adopting the principles of economical science , developed by the Kirkaldy doctor , they could make themselves a power in the state . They did so ; and , especially since 1824 , a small school of thinkers have practically ruled the destinies of this country . They have trained a host of ready writers and fluent speakers , through whose instrumentality tiie public mind has been saturated ¦ with their doctrines , familiarised with their

      phraseology , and almost bullied into the belief that Political Economy , as propounded by them , is a perfect science—that nothing more remains to be learned or discovered , and that every opponent is either woefully ignorant , or lamentably depraved and anarchical . Their doctrines are alike potent in the closet of the Cabinet Minister , and the counting-house of the merchant . They stamp their imprimatur equally npon the Statute Book and the rules which regulate the commercial transactions of the empire . They are , in fact , the ruling power in the country , notwithstanding the frequent and sad contradictions which the state of society offers to their theory . The facts which are at variance with that theory are either disposed o f by ingenious sophisms , or admitted , but set down as inevitable and ineradicable social

      evils . Of late years , however , there have not been wanting instances in which there has been a disposition to relax the iron rigidity of the so-called science of Political Economy , and to admit that the error may be in it , and not in the social phenomena , of which it has hitherto not taken cognisance , or which it has failed to analyse and classify satisfactorily . The work of J . Stuart Mills is one of the most recent evidences of this progress among the recognised and orthodox Economists ; and it may be hoped that others , occupying a similar authoritative position , will follow the example of that eminent writer , and admit that the opposite , or Socialist School of Economists , are not so hopelessly and radically wrong as they have heretofore been supposed to be .

      It is a carious fact , that the Political Economistsproper have had scarcely any influence with the producing classes ; while their doctrines have received almost universal acceptance from those who live npon rents , annuities , or profits . The reason of this may be found in the fact , that the whole of them have assumed , as a starting point , that the present system and existing classification of society are natural , just , and final . In investigating and developing the laws evolved by that social machine , therefore , they suppose that the whole question is settled , and men have nothing more to do but to submit themselves to the operations of forces which—as certainly , invariably , and eternall y—act upon society as the law of gravitation in the physical world , or attraction and repulsion in astronomical science .

      This is a great mistake , which the opposite or Socialist School of Economists have not fallen into . They accept every phase of society as merely successive developments of Humanity ; but they look into the organisation of man himself for the light by which alone we can be guided a 3 to the nature of the external institutions , which will most completely harmonise with that organisation , and bring into play all its varied capabilities with advantage to the individual and the community . The essential distinction between the two schools is , that one makes Property primary , and man secondary ; whereas the other places the creator of Property before the creature .

      3 Ir . Sangster belongs to the last school of economists ; and yet in his lncid and admirably w / itten work he has never shifted the ground from the premises assumed by the orthodox economists , nor carried the question beyond the limits they arbitrarily prescribe . He does not attempt to develop any new form of society , or busy himself with the construction of Social Utopias or Communist Icarias . Accepting in the main the definitions and the dogmas

      propounded by the admitted authorities , he shows , by a ski' ^ ally combined process of exhaustive reasoning and f elicitous illustration , that onr present system is subversive not merely o f the principles of abstract justice , bnfc also of the g-eat canons of political economy itself ; and by so doing , has not only done good service individually , but has also shown toothers what may bo effected by this new mode of advocating the true doctrlnes . of social science . Seeinsr the

      enormous and overwhelming power which within the last t ™ rty years has been acquired by a sect of active , clever writers , taking a class view of these questions , wiiy should there not now be a practical and a com-Dinei efibrt made to form a school of writers who could treat the question in a comprehensive and . catholic spirit , and , atthe same time , with that logical ngeur and mastery of detail which should , in dae tlme » command general assent 1 A Quarterly Eeview established for that purpose , and properly supported , would be certain to succeed in effecting this object , t

      Decanse , hough not so well represented in the newspaper and periodical liter ? . ture of the day , there is no doubt that large numbers among the educated and wealth y classes feel the inefficiency of the popular economic creed , either for presentpnrposes , or the solution of future social problems ; while the industrial maBses , where they have thought at all , are thoroughly at variance with a philosophy which dooms them—with a few fortunate exceptions—to a life of unremitting toil and scanty remuneration . In a few years such a sc hool of writers , steadily pursuing a definite , policy , and expounding their great theme with that variety

      « "lustration of . which it is susceptible , would undoubtedly make itself felt both in Parliament and in » e press , and effect , peaceably , such a change in the current of public opinion , that the vast powers , which we now perverted and misapplied , would become a « ° Mce of universal prosperity and well-being : in the oest sense of these two terms . ; .,., . : -,. ; T owards this new school of literature , as we hav e saw , Mr . gangster has made a valuable contribution

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      and we cannot too strongly commend his work to those who wish to -masterJitae fundamental principles of Political Economy , and at the same term , to see these principles , applied to existing institutions by a fearless and a just writer . Beginning at the beginning , he briefly defines the origin of the time , the scope and objects o f the science , and its gradual growfli . From this foundation he proceeds to discusB the nature of Labour , its results and claims . Having shown that Labour is now partially , but will one day be solely , the means by which man niay ea ' rnhis bread , that nature , though not parsimonious in her onn «** a mm *« ma £ £ >** & . 1 ^ 1 ¦ 1 ¦ _

      gifts is irregular in her distribution of them , and that man has received the world as his inheritance , and must perfect his title by completing the work which Nature has commenced , the author enters upon one of the * most searching expositions of the ' Eights and Duties of Property * in all their phases which we remember to have met with , and which at the present moment , when these questions are attracting so much attention , cannot be too earnestly recommended to the attention of all who take an interest in these allimportant questions . We hate left ourselves scarcely any space for the numerous passages we had marked for extract . We must , however , find room for the following : —

      . PEESONAL PROPERTY C 05 ST 1 T 0 TED BY NATDRAL RIGHT . Since nature has given the earth and its products equally to all , any natural right to personal property is destroyed ; for where unlimited equality of possession exists , there can be no personal property . As it ib the right of one individual , or corporate body , to enjoy certain privileges to the total exclusion of every one else that legally constitutes property ; and as there can be no uatural right to personal property , it necessarily follows that property must be of social creation , having its foundation on social rights , and those rights cannot be otherwise based than on conventional reciprocity . By legal appropriation , therefore , personal property doeB not exist but by social-right only . —In order , therefore , that property may be tolerated

      by society , it must fulfil and discharge through the medium of its possessors , the conventional conditions implied ; by the social compact . If it fail to do this through any of its holders , it has broken the compact , and must revert . to the sovereign head of the society , that he may put his executive prerogative in force , and compel the recusant party to fulfil its obligations to that society whose property it originally was , and who only parted with it on certain recognised conditions and considerations ! If any of the . parties , who tacitly undertook by their act of taking possession to fulfil those conditions , should refuse or wilfully neglect to pe form them , then have they forfeited the right , to the property which they hold ; and the property equitably

      reverts to the original granters ; that is , to society in the aggregate . The very act of the possessors of property iavariably appealing to society for its protection when at any time it is assailed , proves that they themselves' really feel and understand from whom they receive it in trust , and for the benefit of whom they are indulged in holding possession . If they hold it not from and for the benefit of society , why appeal to society to arise and protect it ? for if is were not held by them for the benefit of society , this call to arms by the possessors of property would be tantamount to summoning society that had been expropriated and plnndered of its rights to put on its buckler , and unsheath its sword in order to enslave and annihilate itself .

      Property is the social share guaranteed by the laws of property to each individual proprietor , in exact proportion to his perseverance and dexterity in prosecuting the unsocial struggle between capital and labour . Property Was created , by society , and is now perpetuated and augmented by it from the surplus revenue of the labour of the industrious classes , —or rather , it might be described as proceeding from the Bavings effected by society on its gross reveaua by the people not living up to their income ; in other words , by the producers of wealth abstaining from spending the full amount of their production , and thus denying themselves the present enjoyment of the whole of the fruits of their labour for the future gratification of becoming proprietors , and thereby recompensing themselves for their present self-denial by the interest aud compound interest which property bestows on its possessors . This

      interest , compound interest , and rent , which property holds out to its votaries , and actually puts them in possession of , through means of its laws , exclusive of society , are the source of the evils which at present render society : a turmoil and a waifare of capital against labour ; for by these laws the proprietor obtains a commanding position , from which he finds it easy to subjugate the labourers ; and the higher he ascends the hill of property , he is able with g .-eatey effect to hurl the weight of capital on the labourers in the valley ; so that they are obliged to labour not . only for their simple existence , but also to produce wealth for him , which he at his pleasure ( not being responsible ) may forge into future chains to bind them still faster , or to annihilate them by its weight . ; The practical result of this system is well depicted 5 n the' subjoined passage : —

      By the constituted right 3 of property , the labourer does not labour for himself ; in a majority of circumstances , he is only used as a machine to produce wealth for others , as the allotted share of his productions is simply as much as will enable him to accomplish his task most advantageously for the benefit of those who profit by his labour . Every machine , besides its original cost , requires an amount of expenditure to keepitinworkini ? order ; thus , the labourer must be kept in efficiently working condition , so as to produce the most profitable amount of work . When he is able to labour , he is sustained in motion for the advantaga of the wealthy , who do not at all take into consideration , in paying Win his wages , that they have allowed mm nothing on his original cost , which they did not pay ,

      as they were obliged to do when they purchased their machines , and which they must repair and renew at their own expense ; neither do they count on allowing him a recompense over and above what is necessary for his actual consumption , so that he may provide a fuud to support himself in his old age . Such being the case , the labourer when exhausted and unfit to perform any longer the work assigned to him , is sent to the hospital to be repaired , or to the workhouse to break up by the course of nature at the public expense , thereby rendering the last asylum of the labourer one of the authors of his misery , in the victims who are being driven on towards the same altar , being obliged ultimately , ( as labour only is productive ) to bear the expense of keeping up workhouses , and all other charitable institutions .

      Our readers can apply for themselves the principles embodied in the extract which follows , to the present state of affairs between the operative engineers and their employers . Labour could not sufficiently protect itself without the aid of society , so neisher can society cxiBt were labour to withdraw from supporting it ; both are therefore indissolubly dependent upon each other for support ; so that they must to a certain degree stand or fall together .. If the protection of society were to be taken from labour , man would retrograde towards a Btate of primitive barbarism , where society would become extinct ; not quite so with labour , that , though it rrt'ght be reduced to its lowest ebb of production and usefulness , would nevertheless survive

      its degradation , and phenix-like arise out of its very ashes , tore-establish its ancient power and to resuscitate its former concomi nnts . society and property , with all their train of dependants . Thus , the eternal round of . man's happiness and misery is continuously produced through apparent discord ; not politically understood , but which , when comprehended , will be ultimately turned by political economy into an universal harmony . However , before this desirable altitude shall have been half attained by society , the labourers will have long and painfully to suffer in bearing their burdens up the hill of transformation ; and hecatomba of victims will have to bleed , on the altar of selfish

      monopoly and irresponsible property . AH , therefore , that can be practically done , by political philanthropists , during this disastrous inarch of society , will be to alleviate , as much as possible , by judicious council " the privations and sufferings of the industrious classes , that will have to pass through the heavy and well-directed cross fire of monopoly and property , unitedly pointed against them in their ascent : and moreover , to endeavour to bring about , as quickly as possible , a reconciliation between capital and labour , with a recognition , by property , of the claims of the labourer to a just participation in its benefits .

      The relation in which labour the parent of society , and property the child of society , stand connected , is so very close , and they are so much dependent upon each other m this relationship , to effect either good or evil , that it is the duty of the state , the guardian of social rights , delegated by society , with full power , to maintain an equipoise of justice between the exorbitant demands sometimes made by labour on the one hand , and that of the haughtily uncompromlssorial pretensions , steadily urged by property on the other ; to restrain labour from asking too much concession , and to constrain property to grant what may be considered to be for the general good of society . If any of the landed proprietors , or great capital , istsof the country , monopolise those resources , from the beneficial use of which the industrious classes might derive a competent living , then it is the duty , as well at the privilege of _ the government , to afford crntefitioti to the on .

      pressed , by demanding of the trespassers to respect social obligations And , m case of their non-compliance , the Btate has the power vested m itself , to enforce that obedience which the preservation of social order requires . In the second part of this work Mr . Sangster developes a plan for li quidating the National Debt , which , whatever may be thought of its practicability , will be admitted . to be just , inasmuch as it throws the major portion of the burden on property , to pro . tecfc which that debt was professedl y incurred . Apart however from the interest

      which the details of this plan may excite , the general reader cannot fail to be instructed by the excellent and well condensed history of the debtitaelf , the pretences on which it . was contracted , and the details which are given respecting the number and classification of the fund-holders . « The History and , Mystery of the National Debt » is not the least valuable ' portion of Mr . Sangster ' s valuable volume , towhichweshall probablybe indebted in future for much instructive matter on most important and pressing social and financial questions .

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      The Christian Socialist ,, Vol . 2 ., London Bezer 183 , Fleet-street . < * ¦¦ * , ' " WE ' nave , ion so many previous occasions - expressed our approval of . the spirit , in which the conductors of thiB periodical disehargei . their disinterested and selfimposed' duties ^ that it is unnecessary to say that we commend it ; inits collected form . Like manyother experiments of earnest and . sincerereformers , ; we find it has not met with pecuniary success , and the present volume closes its existence as the 'Christian Socialist ' ¦ though it is perpetuated undersomewhat different management under ' its second , titles the .. Journal of Association ] ' from which ; we : infer that in future it ! m * ^»» . . . . __ . _ . _

      will be > more a = recordof facts , than an exponent of principles , " or a vehicle for discussion . ¦ : It is in such works as these that the future ; historian will ifind registered the ^ gradual , intermittent , but upon the whole , steady march of > society ,. onward to the discovery' and • application of higher principles ; of social action , and--in ; this point of view they possess a permanent and increasing value . But apart from the recommendation of the volume in thia respect it contains ¦ numerous . papers of permanent interest , and all of them- inspired by the spirit so admirably described m the following lines / which we transcribe from the title page : We sought to speak the truth in love to ail-Always we have not done eo , whioh we mourn . Not mourn we for the jeers of party scorn The hate of all that unto self stands thrall Not mourn we over ill buccoss , but cell ' It joyful to do right , and go forlorn Of earth ' s praise to Goa ' s ' glory . Yet the corn bnall grow , that these our rude hands do let fall Yet shall brave hearts , made braver by our speech : In higher tones , yet larger lessons teach . We men may fail , but God's word cannot lie Duty , Faith , Love , are yet the threefold truth Whereon earth ' s life must feed or earth must die But in theae three words lies a fount of deathless youth ,

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      The Literary Almanack , and Publishers Booksellers , ' Authors ' , Editors ' and General Reader ' s Directory for 1852 . B y J . Pabbmobe Edwards . ' London : Horsecshoe-ourfc , Ludgate-hill . Me . Edwards has struck out a new idea . ' We have not only another almanack , but one peculiarly adapted for . the large and important class whose wants it is designed to suppl y . Of course it can scarcely be expected that perfect accuracy should characterise the first issue of such a work , but as far as we have looked into it , it merits the praise of fulness and correctness , and any defects will be discovered and rec

      tified in future editions , by the cooperation of the vanous parties to whom such a publication must prove a dewded acquisition . It gives a coinpletHisfcof the books published in 1851 , a classified list of the London and provincial newspapers , stating where and when they are published , when thay were established , their politics , price , and circulation . This is followed by a Bimilar list of weekl y , monthly , and quarterly publications , and an alphabetical list of the principal publishers in the metropolis , the principal colleges , learned institutions , ' museums , schools of arfc , private galleries , and nictures : in

      London , and mechanics and literary institutions ' in England . The mere enumeration of these items will at once suggest the wide-spread usefulness of an almanac which-oug ht to have been issued sooner for the pecuniary interest of the publisher . Among other contents we should not omit to notice the obituary of eminent persons for last year , which is carefully and impartially done , and an equally painstaking collection of literary and artistic memoranda , which those engaged in these pursuits will find valuable for reference .

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      Wealth : how to get , preserve , and enjoy it . By Joseph Bentiey . London : 13 , Paternoster Row . It would be a work o f supererogation to analyse or review a book ; which has reached a third edition , and which its author has now printed in a cheap form for that wider circulation which its contents so well deserve . Mr . Bentley has devoted himself with unflinching devotion for very many years to the cause of popular education , and few men have written better or more practically on the subject . His statistical contributions , the result of his own extensive and unwearied personal investigation and inquiry , are of great value to all who take an interest

      in a question which underlies all others , and which must be mastered before any general or permanent improvement of the masses can take place . We may briefly state , that the special topic of the volume before us is Industrial training for the people , and that it contains a very large collection of statistical and practical information respecting the various Insurance Offices and other means of investing Savings , and guarding against all the contingencies of life which are susceptible of being foreseen and prevented , or ameliorated by prudence , self-denial , and the present state of the science of Assurance in this ' country . As a sample of the way in which this question is treated , and also as containing useful information as to the principles and modes of operation of Life offices , we extract the following : —

      When the first of these most valuable institutions was established in 1706 , by the Bishop of Oxford of that day and other benevolent forethoughtful men , thrss principles were then very dimly seen ; and to makeup for thia uncertainty , for . to the uninformed nothing seeni 3 more uncertain than human life , they subscribed a large capital , to give the public confidence that all the engagements of the office would be fulfilled . Since that day , however , knowledge has been wonderfully increased , and on no subject more usefully than this , the statistics of . human health , life , and conduct . We have indeed attained such a position , in reference to these apparently most . uncertain of all earthly things , that we can pronounce with the most surprising accuracy , the exact amount of sickness , disablement from work , death , pauperism , or crime , that will befall any considerable number of men or women ; if we can obtain tolerably correct answers , to some half a dozen or half a

      score simple questions . We may not be able to point out each individual from the crowd , that will be disabled from work at any particular time ; who will dio within a certain period , or commit some breach of trust , or become bankrupt , or go to the workhouse , or be taken to prison , in any year that may be mentioned ; but we can tell how many out of the whole number will , in tho average of each future yeav of life , meet with any or all these misfortunos . Take for example the case of life . Here , suppose we have three men before us , just twenty years of age ; each , apparently , enjoying equally good health , and the same probability of living to the utmost duration of life . But though we cannot easily perceivo it , there may be a considerable difference , in the constitutional intensity or

      tenaciousness of vitality , possessed by these three men . The dwellings in which they live , and the employments by which they earn their bread , may be very different , in their healthful tendencies . One may he in these things most favourably situated , as regards , all the essentials of prolonged life—he may have the good fortune to inherit the best of constitutions from his parents , with such knowledge and prudence as will enable him to avoid abusing it —he may always have good sense enough to live in the most healthy of houses , and follow the trade that will be most conducive to his own health—and doing these things , and enjoying all these blessings , we may estimate this man ' s probable expectation of future life at eighty years . Having now lived twenty , that he may not die before he is 100 years of age .

      The second of these men may only possess these advantages in the ordinary degree , in which they are now enjoyed in our country . His parents may have been moderately healthy , for a year preceding and following his birth—they may have paid about as muoh rational attention to the rearing and the education of their son , as most parents are in the habit of doing ; and , should he avoid following an unhealthy trade , and living in a house injurious to health ; should his life bo moderately prosperous , and should he obey the laws of health in a fair degree ; then these things all being so , we may calculate this man ' s probable expectation of life at Bixty-four years—that having now lived twenty , he niay expect his life to be continued till he is about eighty-four years old ... SuDnosiner the third

      man at present to enjoy . none of these advantages—that his parents knew not or disobeyed the laws of health—that he himself does not heed them or care about them , either as regards his persons , his home , or his employment—tbon , in that case , this poor unfortunate though now apparently very healthy fellow , cannot expect to live beyond his sixty-eighth year . Having already passed twenty summers , we cannot estimate his future ones at more than forty-eight . The utmost dut&twn of life in these three men would thus be , eighty , sixty-four ,. and forty-eight years respectively ; notwithstandingtheir apparent equality in this respect , at present . One might live something over and another not quite so long a period of time in these'individual cases ; but , taking a larger number , say five or ten

      thousand individuals , such is found to be the extreme decrement of life—the rate of mortality—the law of vitality among men , at the present day , in our own country . By actual experiment in real life , as tested by the recorded duration of millions oflives , it is found that , if we take this extreme duration , of human life , the present unexpired portion of it , in any given instance ; and divide those probably remaining-tb-be-lived years by two , we obtain the actual number of yearB that will be lived , by any large number of-men in England . - This rule has been practically adopted by actuaries , for . a quarter of a , century ; and it is now set down among our / natural lays by men of scierioe , with Such physical laws as'those which' govern the flowing and . ebbing-tide ,-and the setting of Hhe sun-or ftiooh . Nearly two hundred millions-sterling of property in pur countryrepoBes . on this . law , - in greater aafetythan any

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      other existing wealth , and more than ^ S ^ muumuTTT is annually paid in premiums , entirelj of tfffS o ' f it ?" Any actuary would take these three men ' s iivea mm ™ ing each of them' wanted to secure £ 100 to his relat ;! W s friends , whenever they happened to die ; and , S uf ° W ing a . word to them , w . ould . calculatoVs fa aho ^ i ^ - The utmoEt , expectation of life in these S * Z \ l eighty , sixty-four , and forty-eight years respectively ni vided'by two , their certainty of life is fortyi ' thiny-two ami twenty-four years ,-and each must pay to our office such an annual premium , as will be sure to amount , during these years , to the sum we engage to pay at death , with all expenses and risk ; and . leave a 2 > ro # on the business that will raa ' ko it . wqrth our timo attending to it . " Valuing each of these according to the rules laid down by his " professional oraftij" modified by the resolves of his Board of Directors these threes men would , be told by the officer the terms on ' ' ' * —¦ - ¦¦ -. . ^^^^*^—r ^—^^—1 »

      > wliich his office would become bound to pay tho required ; sum at death , be it £ 100 . or £ 5 , 000 . - Praotioally , this business is transacted , by the party proposing to assure his life filling up , truthfully , all the questions in the proposal paper , of tho , office—being examined by a duly qualified medical officer-furnishing personal testimonials from some respeotable party that has known him for a number of years and . from his own . medical attendant if any ; and if not ' from a second person , as to the past and present health of thfl proposer and his family ; and after appearing personally before the board , or before the ageut of the office all these facts thiia brought together , are submitted to the ' Directors , and they deoide on the terms under which thev are willing to accept the life proposed , for the sum named in the documents . . . .

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      LITERARY EXTRACT . THE DOMESTIC TRAGEDY 01 ? THOMiB H 0 LCB 0 FT THE . DRAMATIST . . William Holorqft was his only son , and favourite child and this very circumstance , perhaps , led to the . catastrophe whioh had nearly proved fatal to his father , as well as to himself . He had been brought up , if anything , with too much oaro and tenderness ; he was a boy of extraordinary capacity , and Mr . Holcroft thought no pains should bo spared for his instruction and improvement . From the first , however , he had shown an unsettled disposition ; and his propensity to ramble wab such , from his childhood , thai when he waB only four years old , and under tho cave of an aunt in Nottingham , he wandered away to a place at some distance , where there was a ooffee-house , into whioh he went , and read the newspapers to the company , by whom he was taken care of , and Bent home . This propensity was so strong in him , that it beoame habitual , and he had run away six or seven times before the last :

      On Sunday , November 8 th , 1789 , he brought his father a short poem , A watob , which had been promised to him as a . reward , was give to him ; hia father conversed with him in the moat affectionate manner , praised , encouraged him , and told him that , notwithstanding his former errors and wanderings , he was convinced he would become a good and excellent mau . But he observed , when taking him by the hand to express hi 3 kindness , that the hand of the youth , instead of returning the pressure as usual , remained cold and insensible . _ . This , however , at the moment , was supposed to be accidental . He seemed unembarrassed , cheerful , and asked leave without any _ appearance of design or hesitation to dine with a friend in tne city , which was immediately granted . He thanked ' his . father , went down stairs , and Beveral times anxiously inquired whether his

      father was gone to dress . As soon as he was told that he had / left , his room , he went up Btairs again , broke open a drawer , and took out forty pounds . With this , the watch , a- pocket-book , and ' a pair of pistols of his father ' s , he hastened away to join one of his acquaintances , who was going to tho West Indies . He was immediately pursued to Gravesen d , but . ineffectually . It was not discovered till the following Wednesday that he had taken the money . After Beveral days of the most distressing inquietude , there appeared strong presumptive proof that he , with his acquaintance , was on board the Fame , Captain Carr , then lying in the Downs . The father and a friend immediately set off , and travelled post all Sunday night to Deal . Their information proved true , for he was found to be on board the Faroe , where he assumed a false name , though his true situation

      was known to tho captain . He had spent all his money , except fifteen pounds , in paying for his passage , and purchasing what he thought he wanted . He had declared he would shoot any person who oame to take him ; but that if his father came he would shoot himself . His youth , for he was but sixteen , made the threat appear incredible . The pistols , pocket-book , and remaining money were locked up in safety for him by his acquaintance . But ho had another pair of pistols concealed . Mr . Holcroffcand his friend went on board , made inquiries and understood he was there . He had retired into a dark part of the steerage . When he was called , and did not answer , a light was sent for ; and as he heard the ship ' s steward , some of the sailors , and his father , approaching , conscious of what he had done , and unable to bear the presence of his father , and the open shame of detection , he suddenly put an end to his

      existence . The shock which Mr . Holcroffc received was almost mortal . For three days he could not see his own family , and nothing but the love he bore that family could probably have prevented him from sinking under his affliction . He seldom went out of his house for a whole year afterwards ; and the impression was never completetely effaced from hiB mind . —Mm Mtford's Recollections .

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      MR . THACKERAY'S LECTURES . This well-known and popular writer is at present delivering a series of lectures on the writers and literary men of England , in the time of Queen Anne , in the Marylebone Literary Institute ; they attract large and fashionable audience ? , and are distinguished for the felicitous style in which the wittiest literary man living treats of his predecessors . Sneaking of Congreve ' s literary efforts , they were summed up as a feast flaming with lights , at which men and women sat round the table drinking wine and bandying wit as immoral as it was brilliant . But wit without love was a sorry feast , mad intoxication at night , indigestion and blank headache in the morning . As for love , Congreve made love in full uniform , with fiddles playing , as the young officers in

      ' Grammont ' s Memoirs' marched to the siege of Lerida in evening costume . All was hollow and artificial . One flash of Swift ' s lightning , one touch of Steele's feeling , one beam of Addison ' s sunshine , would cause his playhouse taper to disappear for ever . Willingly the lecturer , and most willingly the company along with him turned to the honoured name of Addison . Full justice was done to all his merits of skill , of good nature , and of character . But here , again , a lonping look was cast back at the luck that followed writers in Queen Anne's time , as the Buccess of' The Campaign ' was recounted to the audience . That liberal angel that enabled Addison so' To ride the whirlwind and direct the storm , ' aa to get into a snug haven in the shape of a place worth £ 1 , 500 a year , was humourously wooed to the second floor windows of modern authors . The ' do' on Lord

      Som . ers was made apparent by a recitation of the last lines of the poem of which Moses ' s poet would spurn the parentage . The company heartily enjoyed the joke , perhaps not remembering that places are given for just as foolish reasons at the present moment . Addison never wrote love sonnets , because he knew little about women , and his matrimonial reminiscences were by no means calculated to stimulate complimentary effusions . He was a man of the clubs , and the mall , and hence the charm of the ' Spectator , ' to which full justice was done , and the criticisms were rightly appreciated . The lecture on Steele introduced a vivid picture of the state of Bociety at that day .

      His audience seemed as much surprised and delighted as if some wonderful traveller had just arrived with a complete history of a newly discovered continent and its people which had never before been heard of . The ' Exeter Fly , ' performing Us journey in the incredibly short space of eight days , surprised a generation who make excursions ' . to Bath and back on a day ticket ; and the country inn with its snug kitchen , in which the curate smoked his pipe while the soldier talked of Ramilies and Malplaquet , and the mysterious gentleman , who owned a famous grey mare , and sat in the corner coolly waiting the departure of the stagecoach , which it was his intention to rob , were described with all the fidelity of a Flemish picture . Then came a description of the fast' men of six 8 core yeara since ,

      The trial of Lord Mohun for the murder of Dick Mountford , and the attempted abduction of Mrs . Bracegirdle , were admirably told , with the stern justice of his peers , who could not think of hanging one of their order for merely ' pinking ' a play-actor . Then there was the loner Btratum of society , quite as jolly and nearly as profligate , with , its captains from the Low Countries , its bailiffs and its coffeehouses . All these things Dick Steele had seen and mingled with— -had gone home tipsy after many a bottle , in many a tavern , and Had run from many a bailiff . Steele projected first the ' Tatler , ' and afterwards the ' Spectator' and Guardian , ' and by their success completely extinguished the ' British Apollo , ' and all similar rubbish . His first comedy was ' damned for its piety , ' but he persevered ,

      and both on the stage and in the serial succeeded in establishing purity of language and of sentiment . Steele wrote more than half of the papers in the ' Tatler , ' ' Spectator , ' and * Guardian , ' and , therefore , should have some share of the laurels which are too exclusively given to Addisou . His career as Prince of Bloomsbury , ' oppressed by his allies , of Chancery-lane ( the bailiffs ) made everyone laugh . Last , though not least in intereat , came Steele ' s literary merits , which the lecturer pointed out with hia usual exquisite discrimination , dwelling in forcible terms on his naturalness , his feeling , and his truth ; and the justice of the

      criticism was completely affirmed by the different effects produced upon the audience by the extracts from Swift , Addisoii , and Steele , with which the lecture was brought to a conclusion . Swift ' s savage sentiments met with no response . Addison ' s aublime reflections ' in Westminster Abbey were co $ ly listened to , but Steele ' s touching little story : about the scene between his mother and himself over his father ' s coffin melted both the lecturer and his audience , and sent both home convinced : that Dick , though he did take an extra bottle of Burgundyon occasions , ' was still a man that ? everybody liked , ' , and that : everybody had justification for their liking . ; . ...-.=., . .. , .. ... . . . . - . ¦ =

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      " Cos .-What article of'ladies' winter attire does a sinpid negro resemble ?—A sable muff . pa . The man who ate his dinner with the fork of a river has been attempting to spina mountain top . A Com ) . —A correspondent : ' of a "Picayune" paper 13 afflicted with such a cold in his head , that he can ' t wash hia face without freezing the w-tcr . „ A Qukstiou for Consideration . —When an extravagant '" end wishes to borrow your money , consider which of the two you had rather lose . atanir m i . en aro instr « cted by reason ; men of less underandTi . " ? . exr 3 rience ; the most ignorant by necessity ; urute 3 by nature . An .-, n WCTioNARY ( PEOPLE ' S EDITION . ) W 1 Jb ? ' ? h D « abilities Bill . ABAK ^ aVham r t 0 vote supplies . AnRnPT ?' "T Lord John Russell ' s Measure of Reform . discusSo - ut isssss > t the House during the ¦ a s ^^ Sar--

      Skakspeare . g Dy llam ^ ts have murdered in ^ " « rrK ^ taF ^ gulate when they once take to going wrong TOlty t 0 " " A Caution .-A young man has died at Hull from outtine talh ) W en a pimple on hls face . The tallow confflarS and verdigris had accumulated on the candlestick Good ADViOB .-Always do as the sun doeB-look at the ¦ bri ght-side of everything ; it is just as cheap , and three times as good for digestion . ™ Sheridan , having threatened his son Tom to cut him off with a shilling , received this retort : — " Where will von get it ? " 3 A monster gun has been made in America , which throws a ball three and a half miles ! Its caliber is twelve inches There is one gun in the British service that throws a solid shot two and a half mileB . Our Sogiai SYSTEM . —The institution in Manchester for taking oharge , during the day , of the children of women employed in factories is succeeding admirably , and the charges have been reduced from 2 s . Gd . to 2 s . per week . [ Query . What are the workwomen ' s wages ? J ., thb Threu Losses—It is a Spanish maxim that" he that loseth wealth , losethmuch ; he who loseth a friend , losethmore ; but he who loseth his spirits , loseth all . " So keep up your spirits , and a fig for care ! Temperance . —Our physical well-being , our moral worth , our social happiness , our political tranquillity , all depend upon the control of our appetites and passions , which the anoients designated by the cardinal virtue of temperance . —

      A Lono Nose Warranted . ~ A certain manufacturer having by accident received a severe cut across the nose , and having no court-plaster at hand , stuck on his unfortunate organ one of hia gummed trade tickets , on which was the usual intimation , "Warranted 350 yards lone . " Febrdary 1852 .-Th 8 re will be five Sundays in February n . ext \ ~ JL , ? \ r cvei ? t w ' 11 occ "r after twenty-eight years , viz ., in . 1880 . Afteifwwd 9 there will be no similar occurrence for forty years , viz ., 1920 ; because the year 1000 will not be leap year , owing to the dropping of a day on the completion of each century . EXTRACTS FROM " PUNCH . " Hushaby BABy . —Franoe is enjoyin ? its Little Nap- ! 'A Make-Shift ExiSTENCi :. " -Making shirts at Sixpence a-piece . " The Head , and . Front" op a Woman ' s "Offend-1 NG a" ~ APPeannB a * the breakfast-table in curl-papers ! A Melancholy Reflection . —A very young placeman was heard to remark , " How very soon one grows Grey in the public service !" " Clenliness is next to Godliness . "—TI 113 is literally ™ jein a street near Trafalgar-Square , for the Baths and Wash-houses there are next door to a Chapel ! Sotjnd Advice . —Master Tom . "Have a Weed , Gran ' pa ? " Gran ' pa . " A what ! Sir l " -Mastev Tom . "A Weed ! -A Cigar , you know . " Gran ' pa . " Certainly not , Sir . I never smoked in my life , "—Master Tom . " Ah ! then 1 wouldn't advise you to begin . ' The Trees of Liberty—The French trees of liberty are all to be cut down , and the wood given to the poor for fuel . Thus Frenchmen have liberty to—warm themselves . An impddent Bird Fancier . Strange that Louis Napoleon should have such a predilection for the Eagle . The Kite , by all accounts , is the bird which he has been most used to flying . Rather Eciuivocal . —A Morning Paper , in an article on the Pans Exchange , says— " On the Bourse , at the opening , a rumour had been artfully got up that the President had been fired at , and with such success as to have caused a fall . "—Of which ? President or prices ? The Crown Jewels of the City . —To commemorate the acquisition by the Corporation of London of the privilege of levying a tax upon coals , it is proposed that the Lord Mayor 3 Cap of Maintenance shall be decovated with black diamonds , which would be the brightest jewels of the civic Crown . Food for Foreign PowDER .-The British troops are all picked men ; but since they now-a-days neither know how to ride nor fire , or , if they do , have horses that won't go and muskets that won ' t carry straight , the circumstance in question will not appear until they get into action and are picked —off by the enemy . Inconsistency in the English Character . —The charactcr of J > hn Bull presents strange anomalies . Appended to advertisements for servants we constantly meet with the intimation that" No Irish need apply . " It is singular that we English , who are so fond of the Turf , should exhibit so ¦ very unreasonable a prejudice against a Rice . TEDEUM . Being the real Prayer of the President on his 2 ¥ ic-Dieu at tho late Installation . BI R . If . HORSE .

      Oh , God of Bayonets , all my own , I thank thee on this day , When Notre Dame , with priest and psalm , My glory doth display . I thank my generals , prefects , tools , For deeds of skill and note ; For barricades and massacres , And for my people ' s vote . I thank the priesthood for their aid , And will remember them ; I thank the friends of " order "—trade—I thank the press ( ahem !) I thank Baroche for his good speech—My mission ' s own suggestion ; Though dishes cook'd with forced-meat ba'ls Require a strong digestion . But most of all I thank myself , And my nepotic will ! Ambition and hypocrisy , That shall direct me still . Wherefore , oh God of Bayonets , Grant me my uncle ' s crown . And you shall soon invade a land , And sack a wealthy town . 1

      ii « L 6 To Uns- —Mother send me for the doctor . " Why , my soni" " Cause that man in the parlour is going to die—he said he would if sister Jane would hot marry him —and Jane said she wouldn ' t . " Rioh and Poor— " Ma , " said an inquisitive little girl , will rich and poor people live together when they eo to heaven ? " "Yes , my dear , they will all be alike there . " " Then , ma , why don ' t the rich and poor Christians associate together here ? " The mother did not answer . What is a Lad ?—Tbe other day' says the "John O'Groat ' s Journal , " the teachers ofa lady ' s school in Wick , while putting a company of juveniles of the gentler sox through their facings in the spelling-book came to the word ' lad , " of which , in accordance with the modern method of tuition , she asked the signification . One little puss , on the question having been put , with a sidelong look , blushingly answered , " For courtiu' wi *; " a reply which we record for the advantage of future lexicographers . Tit for Tat . —A chimney-sweeper's boy went into a baker ' s shop for a twopenny loaf , and , conceiving it to be diminutive in Bize , remarked to the baker that he did not believe it was right . "Nevor mind that , " said the man of dough , " you will have the less to carry . "— "Very true , " replied tho lad , and , throsungthreehalfpence on the counter , left the shop . Tho baker called after him that he had not left money enough . "Never mind that , " said tho young sooty , " you will have the less to count . " Timely Preparation . — " John , " said an angry parent to his son , who had committed a misdeed , "John , go to the next room and prepare yourself for a severe flogging . " The boy departed , and when his parent had finished the letter he was writing and sought the offending youth , he was surprised at the swollen appearance of the young rascal ' s back . " What does this mean ? " he asked : " what is on your back ? " — "A leather apron , " replied John , " three double . You told me to prepare myself for a hard flogging , and I did the best 1 could ! " The hard-set features of the father ' s countenance relaxed , as also did the muscles of the hand which grasped the whip , and he let John off ; " for that once , " with a gentle admonition , ' ' Royal Performers . —Once , at Marie Antoinette private theatre , the little comic opera of Rose and Colas was performed by the royal family and court . The queen played a part in it ; and , just as she finished one of the songs , a sharp hiss' was heard . The spectators looked at each other in surprise ; but Marie Antoinette , who felt at once that in all the crowd of grandees and courtiers there was but one person who would venture to take such a liberty , came forward to the front of the stage , and , addressing herself to the Icing , after saluting the audience , " Sir , " said she , '' since you are not satisfied with my singing , if you will take the trouble to step out , your money shall be returned at the entrance . " A thunder of appjnuse greeted this sally , in which the king joined most heartily . "L et her Be . " —A Detroit mercantile gentleman , who ' was travelling eastward a short time since , went to the clerk ofdneofthe Ontario boats to be shown to his state-room . The clerk handed the applicant a key , at the same time pointing to a door at some little distance , marked '" B . " i Our friend went in the direction indicated , but opened tbS / ; door next to his own , marked " A ., " whore he discovered ^ f ^ lady passenger making her . toilet , who , upon the stranged ?) & appearance , uttered a low scream . "Go away ! go affr . y ^ fFf Boreamed the lady . " Letler B . " yelled the clerk . " I $ & £ § not touching Herat all 1 " shouted theindiguattmerchsnUnU

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      toPAitY 24 , 1852 . THE NORTHERN STAR , " ¦ * J

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 24, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1662/page/3/