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Northern Star (1837-1852), 20th March 1852, Edition 1 of 2, Page 3, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      THE ROEBUCK AXD C OPPOCK CONTROVERSY Air- " Oh ! no , we ntvtr mtntion Mm . " Oh ! no , I never mention him , His namo is never heard ; I qnite forcot the money , though ; I did , upon my word . From Club to Club they hurry me , To join some festive set ; And though I dine at the Reform , The fact I do forget . They bid me recollect the cash That Coppock paid to me : They say my speech was rather ra 3 h But what is that to me ? "Tis true that I no longer need The aid of such a set ; And when I've had all that I sought , Of course I may forget .

      They tell me I m confuted now , Or was the other day ; They hint I was mistaken—hut I heed not what they say ; Perchance ' tia hard to struggle with A fact that can ' t be met ; But those who talk as I have talked . Hust now and then forget—Punch

      Untitled Article

      Trie Master Engineers and their Workmen . By J . M . Ludlow , Esq . London : Bezcr , Fleet Street . At the request of the Society for Promoting Working Men ' s Associations , Mr . Ludlow delivered three Iecture 3 on the 'Relations of Capital and Labour , ' at the Marylebone Literary Institute . Those lectures constitute the neat and compact little volume before us , and deserve commendation as a valuable contribution to the literature of social science . Though tbe immediate questions discussed are those arising out of the dispute still pending between the Master and Operative Engineers , the scope of the lectures embraces , in fact , all the points which are so frequentl y at issue between Masters and Workmen in everv

      department of industry . It is generally assumed by the propertied and the educated classes , that in such disputes the men are almost invariably in error , in consequence of their ignorance of the great fundamental principles of political economy ; and , further , that that ignorance constantly leads them to contravene the operation of the great natural laws which regulate profits and wages . Mr . Ludlow has analysed this assumption with ereat still and acuteness . Taking the political economisfs on their ownjgronntl , he shows that ibo principles of political economy , as developed b y Dr . Adam Smith ( the acknowledged father of the modern school of political economy ) are in reality in favour of the man . He proves in the most convincing and

      conclusive manner , that so far from considering the desire to keep wages as a thing to be discouraged , or a natural , but ignorant resistance to - the operation of irresistible tendencies in the contrary direction , Adam Smith is decidedly in favour of high wages , as the cause of general prosperity to all classes of the community . * No society , ' says he , ' can surely be flourishing and happy of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable . It is but equity besides , that they who feed , clothe , and lodge the whole people , should have such a share of the produce of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well fed , clothed , and lodged . ' Malthus , Eicardo , J . S . Mill , and other authorities , are citad io the same effect , and in support of the general proposition that : —

      Hi » h wagesfor the labouring classe 3 are admitted to be beneficial to the community ; and any endeavour of those clashes to keep or to raise up wages , tends , at leastprim& jacic , to the social good ; is , at least prima fade , to be looked upon with favour and not with hostility , to be encouraged and not to be put down . By the aid of these great authorities in economical science , Mr . Lndlow demonstrates that , the great and inexorable laws of social and political economy ' which

      the masters , in the pamphlet containing a statement of their ' case , ' cited against the employed , are in reality opposed to the position taken np by the employers . Having disposed of this point , the author nest proceeds to expose the gross inconsistency of the masters in speaking of the relations between Capital and Labour aaa « lawful bargain , ' of the independent privileges of labour ; and yet at the same time claiming to be 'Masters . ' 'To talk , ' says Mr . Ludlow : —

      In the same breath of mastership and a bargain , that is a very different matter . If between buyer and seller the one is to be master to the other , the other is no longer servant but slave . You cannot talk of buying and selling between two men of whom ene claims to bemaster . There i 3 no free nor fair bargain possibly between thoss two ; by the very way in which tbe master speaks , you sea that he doe 3 not mean to buy any but slave-labour . The employers pamphlet brings the whole question to an issue of brute force . If the masters of labour are to be nothing raore than the buyers of it , woe be to that nation which

      jielps to deliver over the sellers of it into their power ! If , the relations bstween employer and employed being treated as a bargain , the one class claims openly the advantage of such bargain , in avowing the determination to be masters , —the other clas 3 , all other classes , must endeavour to meet such determination by an opposite one , must try to prevent spall men from being masters in their own sense . To let icem alone , —to give tbem their own way , is simply to accept or foster slavery . And has not Adam Smith told us that , even on the score of cheapness , this should not oe , since "the work done by freemen comes cheaper in tae end than that performed by slaves ?" If therefore

      science only establishes a prima fade case in mour of the working man ' s attempt to keep up his own wages , if its favourable presumptions are liable to be reoutted in each particular instance by the particular circumstances , one thing is clear henceforth , that the case against the masters iu this instance is , on their own showin sj not prima facie , but complete . They pretend to be chiming freedom of contraci , and from their own claims it appears that the freedom is to be all on one side . There u to be such freedom of contract as that they shall be and tffiJJ ?^? r thebar £ ain - A pleasant bargain , j iii k rounot , is this of labour , in which the buyer begins £ m& wn * ! Jt is h ' << fixed determination" to keep the upper-hand of the seller ! The lecturer gives a graphic and-atrilcing picture of the district in which the offices of the Executive of >¦ ae Operatives are situated : —

      borriSl i' ! : street ls Sltuate in the immediate neigh-Sri a thB great Eas ^ end thoroughfare ot White-SLf k 2 ! , lnt 0 , that of thc Commercial-road . I Sl . 'J * tht Amal S amated Society placed here their rtS P 6 - rhap ? by reason of tbe Proximity of two or SwT " ^! fms : perhaps for no reason definite •¦ 0 taemselves . But however this may be , I cannot conceive of any spot better chosen for the head-quarters of ?» iraae-soeiety ; ono better fitted to remind the working aanat every step , at every hour , of those evils against waich . such Societies are instituted to contend . To the

      West , within a few minutes' walk , towers the hu ° e Aidgate palace of the king of slop-sellers , whilst many of his orethren , Jew and Gentile , whether in the clothing , the shoe-trade , or indeed any other " cutting" trade , display their plate-glass fronts in the chief thoroughfares , and the jack streets swarm with the dens of thesweaters , chamberaasters , &o ., by whom their ticketted rubbish is supplied . Immediately behind lietothe south theDocks , —those huga ssyluaig ofihe " casual labour" of London . -where hundreds of unemployed "hands" of all descriptions , the jjiekpocket seeking to be honest , the stnrved-nnt Snital .

      , J weaver , the agricultural labourer turned adrift , wait Md scuffle for the privilege of a day ' s hard work . Further 'J , ! , „ Wards the ri « r-side he might find some of those pubviw v > ^ ere the power of capital exhibits itself in the 2 aW ~ \ perha P that it has eTer put on towards tho benmn " ' ** thec ° a ^ hippers of old , so the ballasttion whw ( ?} , only earn employment through intoxicaand the It a USDal P « T'kg e 8 of labour are reversed , OTer br * h ' honest , sober man ia invariably passed drimfcw- Witracthut publican , and the reckless " Sb ? " SUre Of a J ' ob- Eastward are thickly scattered the "K f t of the chea P cabinet-trade , the men f ' - , ler toiling dav anil niohf . tn mnl-otin nnnu > nippA nf

      thron " h « , . to 8 taSger forth with it on their backs farther I " f ! tr tsin search of a purchaser . Somewhat qniete ^ , j * - -7 0 uld find the Spitalfields' weavers , whom ft , tin » dest , perhaps , of London operatives , sWelv f " ., COmpetltlon of machinery has deprived succcsand nhiiL u f part of their Kg 11 educational , musical , W " ? K acquirements , their tastes , their com-^ erahw ^ altb to j often ' ! ind ha 3 now reduced to the aroundT ? " f of some 63 . to 9 s . a-week . Whilst all t : 'eeol ™ f tte Lngest field of what may be called , alas * a all S S 0 I 7 Potation of London . Courts and alleys 3 e * sioiiai !?• e not the abade of ° P » unblushing , pro-« lJ » , re filled with those wretched women , the ^ " and ! n ? J the 9 weat « rs' slaves , who must often toil f ( * food ^ a } ° - ^ rn 2 s - - OT 33 - ' week . enough , perhaps , 3 ielter a « H . rlnk > —and what are they to do besides for hti ° nof « * J * ment What , with the vast floating popupoc fcfcis L ? « swaying about in boisterous idleness , with Tncre ¦ WJlIc h if fuu ^ y cannot drain too qu ; c y ? Kfi e » aliT fi k «> our * market there , in which the devil ' a work lc a 5 t ^ i more willin S P urck » ser , and often , at t ieoutStt ' ' a binder ° . ne » than the terrible foreman at * orit er s > whose eye is so quick to detect imperfect fine fordpi IDar r t ! ie m } nnte 3 OTer tne appointed hour , to tUre s » h 2 v ° . r v « nnin , for impertinence , the poor create life-blood perhaps , is ia th » garmeat *

      Untitled Article

      Make up the picture with the low lodging-houses and their vagrant denizens , with the " fences " of Petticoat-lane and the thieves who resort to them , with the outcast children , trouping on all sides in rags and filth , striving generally to keep up , even to themselves , a semblance of industry , with a handfull of Iucifer-boxe 3 , with half-a-dozen oranges or as many onions , and on these the last outskirts , so to speak , of the labour-market , competing keenly , as I saw , not a month ago , three sellers to one purchaser , for the sale of an onion . .... I say that if ever there was a place in which there seemed to rise from every housetop the cry of Fee uicfis to the conquered workman ' in the struggle of competition , it is that east-end of London , in which " Little Alie-street , Whitechapel" is situate . Severely as tho master may feel " the

      , loss of interest on his capital , and of profit on his business , " the working man see 3 there accumulated round him in afir severer form all the evils wising from or connected with low wflges , irregular employment , superabundance of labour . " Keep up your wages ! keep all at work , or if not , keep off the competition of the unemployed Overtime for some is the loss of employment for others ! is the first and universal Ies 3 on . Low wages there , m its most naked form , seems at least clearly to mean , for the man , intellectual debasement , recklessness , starvation ; for the woman , starvation or vice ; the unsexing of the one , the un-humanising of both . I do not sav that these lessons are to be gathered from

      tho rules or reports of the Amalgamated Society ; still less , that the peculiar wretchedness of the East-end of London has had any appreciable effect upon this vast combination of 12 , 009 skilled workmen in the best paid trades , throughout the length and breadth of the country . But the picture contains within itself the summary as it were and concentration of all those influences , unheeded mostly by us who have not to earn the weekly rewards of manual labour , which , in all parts of the country , are perpetually warning the working-man of the terrible consequences of a fall in wages , perpetually inciting him to resist , by every means in his power , any the slightest diminution of his weekly pittance , to place his chief point of honour , and almost his main law of duty , in that resistance .

      The question at issue is thus narrowed to two points : — 1 st , that of the method by which their object is sought to be carried out ; 2 nd , that of the particular measures adopted in order to obtain it . The method in this caso is simply , —combination . " Union is strength , " says the proverb . If working-men wish not to see their wages lowered , or to raise them , they roust agree Tot that purpose . Such mere agreement constitutes the simplest form of a trade combination . But soon it is found that mere agreement is not efficient to effect the object . Twenty men working at £ 1 per week may be quite

      resolute to-day in refusing a reduction to 18 . < . ; but tomorrow ? and the next dayi if the master holds out and keeps his door shut . . . The young , the strong , the childless man , the batchelor , above all the provident man , who has a nest-egg at home , may persist ; but what of the old . the weak , the husband , the father , the improvident ? What was resolution yesterday becomes heroism to day ; desperation to-morrow , —sheer madness the next day for these ; the unemployed from outside begin to clamour for the work at any price , —halt-a-loaf is better than no bread , —the neediest go in , the barrier is broken , and a permanent reduction is effected .

      It is to provide against this contingency that the Trade-Society has been established , in order , by the subscriptions of men who are in full work , to form a fund for the relief of those who are out of work in the same trade . The first effect of this is to place a . check upon the competition of surplus labour in the trade . Where a man has nothing to depend upon but his daily exertions , sheer necessity may make him often accept work at 10 s . where £ 1 has been pai'l to a brother worker , whatever may seem to be the treachery of such an aot amongst working men . But let his trade society offer that ; man 7 a . a-week , or oven 5 s ., and in all probability the 103 . will no longer be to him a sufficient lure to make him an instrument in the intended

      reduction . For not only is there the same point of honour as before at work upon him , and in addition to it tbe offer of present relief , though to only half the amount of the wages carnable : but he knows well that the 10 s . are offered by one whose interest is adverse to his own , who would willingly pay him less if he could , whilst the 5 s . are offered by those whose interest is in accordance with his own , who would gladly pay him more ; he knows well that the duration of the 10 s . employment is wholly uncertain , that he will be turned adrift as soon as he is no longer wanted ; whilst the 5 s . will be forthcoming , provided the trade subsists , as often as he shall be thrown out of employment again .

      I can hardly express to you my sense of the benefits ¦ which have been conferred on our country by trade-societies , through at least this negative working of theirs , the relief of the unemployed . The sums so laid out are in fact a trade poor ' s-rate , dispensed upon quite the opposite principles to the national one . It is a poor's-rate , the receipt of which casts no shame upon the recipient , for he has earned a title to it by his own exertions , and his equal contributions while in work have gone to swell the fund out of which ht is relieved , and may again restore to it the cost of his present maintenance . It is a poor ' s-rate , doled out in no niggardly spirit by the distributors , for they feel that they may be claimants upon it afc any time , and in the meanwhile , that they are actually benefiting themselves in maintaining their fellow-tradesman , by keeping up the wages in their trade . Further on Mr . Ludlow says ;—

      Eow I do not fear to say . that so long as the relation between the employer and the employed " remains that of payer and receiver of wages , so far as it i 3 considered merely ag a bargain , in which each party seeks to get the advantage , the method of a trade-society is not the best , but almost the only method which the working man can employ to guarantee his own interests—in the present generation , whatever might be the effects of Mr . Malthus's preventive check upon the next . We who move in other walks of life , know scarcely of Trade Societies but through their evils and their excesses . We only learn of them through strikes which paralyse trade , through the violence committed by unionists on knobsticks , or men who choose to work at leas wages than the rate sanctioned by the society ; and they appear to us something , monstrous disorderly , conspiracy-like . But to the working-man they appear in a very different light . He looks around him ,

      and ho sees that , a 3 a general rule , those handicrafts alone are flourishing , in which strong Trade Societies exist , because there alone is there that organised point of honour among large classes of men , not to accept of insufficient remuneration for their labour . He sees that the downfal of an influential Trade Society is almost invariably the ruin of the trade itself ; as for instance in the tailoring trade , that crucial experiment of the competitive system amonest working men . lie joins such a society if he can ; and behold ! he is struggling ' no more alone ; there are hands stretched out to help him whenever he is in need . It is through its regular working that he knows the society . However severely he may reprobate an occasional outrage by a fellow unionist , he knows that those outrages are " only occasional ; the body whose feuds with competitors from without may be just now convulsing the town where he lives is for him the same that has maintained him

      through many long and weary weeks of forced idleness , when he might have starved otherwise a hundred times ; the very criminals are those who have week after week contributed to his maintenance out of their not excessive earnings ; barbarous though their acts may be , he knows that there is a right and true feeling at bottom . Feeling so strongly the advantages of such societies , Mr . Ludlow expresses his conviction that Trade Societies should henceforth be legalised in the same manner as Friendly Societies , as being one of the very chiefest means of developing the forethought , thrift , and well-being of the working men under the Competitive System . '

      In subsequent portions of the volume , Mr . Ludlow examines very fully the measures of the Amalgamated Society , and proves that political economy is aB much in favour of the abolition of overtime , and to a certain extent of piecework , as he has previousl y shown it to be on the general question of high wages . He contrasts also with great force the difference between the high moral line of the arguments adduced by the men in support of their proposals with the purely selfish and class-arguments relied upon by the masters ; whose rejection of arbitration he considers as self-condemnatory—a conclusion in which every impartial person will readily concur . After adverting to the demand made at Oldham for the substitution

      of mechanics in the place of unskilled labourers , Mr . Ludlow grapples with the usual argument , that improvements in machinery do not , in the long run , injure the working classes , and that they are not even temporaril y injurious to them in the aggregate . It is not , ' says lit . Ludlow : — With , aggregates we have here nothing to do , tot with individuals . What right have I to say to a man , is thrown out of work by the machine whioa his own skill has just or might have constructed , that two or three others whom he has never known perhaps , or at best cares little for , will be benefited to the same extent as he

      suffers ? What right have jou , especially , who take your stand upon the " lawful bargain" of labour , who erect self-interest into the mainspring of action , and sneer at all those great ideas of human brotherhood , mutual dependence and helpfulness , upon which Christianity relies ? A man must be a very good Christian indeed , who should find sufficient comfort for his own death in the thought that bis dead body will afford a good meal to half-a-dozen of his fellow-creatures . Our preachments about the blessings of machinery to the very working-men who are being ruined for the time being by its introduction , must sound to them very like the speech of some hi gh-priest of a Feejee Island Devil-god , on the EOCial advantages of cannibalism .

      « We must face , ' ho proceeds : — Sooner or later , —I trust it may make us face all the sooner , —that most important social inquiry , How are the displacements of labour effected by machinery to be conducted for the greatest benefit of society at large ? Are there any limits to its wise introduction " ? Are there any degrees to be observed m that cheapening of production which is its necessary effect ? To whom should the benefits of it belong ? or what compensation should be procured to those who are injured by it , and from what source ? I do not pretend to have solved these queries ; but 1 believe that they may be solved every one of them . I believe

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      firmly that the principle of compensation for social chanraa effected for the benefit of the many , but to S ? lerfo 5 IK jury , of the . few , is one which will bave . to be develoned and applied to an extent which would appear to us now-almosfc inconceivable . I rejoice to think that in no countrv haq it ever been applied so constantly and systematically as in our own . What if Mr . Deputy CtaAwa ? , 3 claim compensation on the abolition of his office , however Ibene ficial the measure may be to all the rest of hop M'ljealy ' a subjects . Give it him by all means ; surely it is better to buy perfect justice , even though somewhat dearly than to do injustice gratis . But Mr . Deputy Chaff-wax only claims compensation on the ground of liis faithful service in thifc

      ( to him ) important office . What if you had required him first to frame the measure providing for the new order of things ; next , to instruct the officers who are to carry it out , on the clear understanding that he was to have mo compensation whatsoever when discharged ? Do you not think Mr . Deputy Chaff-wax would murmur , would refuse to do your behests ? Durst you be surprised if he were to knock you down ? Would it not be altogether a Christian thing in him not to do so ? And is not every skilled Oldhvm mechanic , displaced by a self-acting machine which he has constructed or could construct himself , of more valnn than a hundred Mr . Deputy Chaff-waxes .

      We must return to this valuable and suggestive volume for an excellent description of tha French Tribunals , for the settlement of trade ' s disputes and the practical results upon society . In the meantime we cannot refrain from quoting the fo llowing passage with which we earnestly commend the work to every class of the community , as an argumentative temperate , but , at the same time , oarnest and eloquent exposition of the great questions treated of b y the author : — It is not a class-victory that I seek , but the cessation of a war between classes . And if , to restore as it were tho balance of argument , I have been forced to seeming narti zanshipon behalf of the men , it is only for this purn ' ose " that seeing how much can be said on both sidos of this important question , every one here present may feel how great is the need of seeking a solution of it whioh shall harmonize the interests of both contending parties

      And I stand here to proclaim , that on the ground of the compotitiveplutonomy of the day , on tbe ground of the lawful following of self-interest , of the lawful bargain hetween capitaland labour , that solution never can be found Look at the facts before you . Here is a trade , as I have said , peculiarly national ; one in which our manufacturers have acknowledged supremacy throughout the world in almost every department of their industry ; in which their establishments are , many of them , the pride and boast of our country , and the names of the firms owning them " familiar as household words » in our mouths . And it is m like manner , and naturally so , a trade in which our artinns are skilled above all others ; provident , intelligent , self-denying ; capable , by the employers' own admission of banding themselves together in an oganisation tbe roost powerful and complete ; able to act well nigh as ono man through long weeks of want of employment . And yet whilst these two sets of men , each the flower of their respec ive classes , act only from the ground of their resneo .

      nve interests tne result is sim Ply .-a dead lock , or at least seeming y a drawn battle .-tbe disarrangement of our commene , the possible loss of foreign markets .-bard words , hard deeds-the misery of 20 , 000 industrious Engluh families . These , I say , are the results of your compeitive system ; these the fruits of your seliworship . A temble , Protracted battle , in whioh the only issuo asfm visible is . either thQ humbling of the employer class , or the enslavement of the worker ; the subjection' of capital , or the prostration of labour as its feet " , ' with all those ulterior miseries which such prostration brings with it . Surely in either case , an awful issue lone which every honest man should seek to avert !

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      The Bookcase . Vol . I . Accross the RocJcy Moun-. tarns from New York to Galifornia . B y W . Kelly , Esq . London : Simms and M'Intyre . Mr . Kelly ' s animated and powerful description of the perils and dangers of the overland route to California obtained a wide celebrity when it first made its appearance , and was noticed favourabl y in'this journal . The enterprising publishers of the 'Parlour Library'have chosen wisel y in makin g it the first volume of a new series of cheap and popular works , though whether the new series is to supersede the old be

      , or published contemporaneously , we are not given to understand . In preparing the second edition for the press , the author haa carefully revised it ; and though the overland journey to the American El Dorado is now divested of many of the dangers and difficulties he encountered , the record of these dangers and difficulties will continue to excite the breathless interest which such stories of daring adventure , hair breath ' scapes , and brave endurance of hardship and suffering , never fail to produce . Since Mr . Kelly and his small party first traversed the almost trackless desert , replenishing depots have been established at

      convenient points in the wilderness : the faint Indian trail has become a beaten thoroughfare ; the morasses no longer threaten to engulph the traveller ; tho rapid rivers are ferried over ; tho thicket is pierced ; the forests felled ; the rugged pass smoothed over ;—there is a well in the desert , and the terror of retribution keeps the savage Indian in awe . ' But the journey , with all these ameliorations , is still both toilsome and dangerous . As the Mormons are reported to bo preparing for the establishment of an independent republic in the valley of the Great Salt Lake , perhaps our readers will feel interested in the following glimpse of their settlement in 1849 , shortl y after it was established . It is , of course , now much more populous and powerful .

      As we entered the precincts of the town the inhabitants came to the front of their houses , but showed no di 3 position to open an acquaintance account , apparently believing us to be an exclusively American caravan . So soon , however , as they were undeceived , they came about us in great numbers , inquiring what we had to dispose of . They were neatly and well olad , their children tidy , tho rosy glow of health and robustness mantling on the cheek of all , while the softer tints ot female loveliness prevailed to a degree that goes far to prove those " Latter-Day Saints' have very correct ; notions of angelic porfectability . We politely declined several courteous offers of gratuitous lodging , selecting our quarters in a luxuriant meadow at the north end of tho city . Before we had our tents well

      pitched we had loads of presents : butter , milk , small cheeses , eggs , and vegetables , whioh we received reluctantly , not having any equivalent returns to make , except in money , which they altogether declined ; in faofc , the only things we had in superabundance were preserved apples and peaches , a portion of which we presented to one of the elders , who gave a delightful party in the evening , at which all our folk were present . We found a very large and joyous throng assembled ; tho house turned inside out to make more room on tho occasion , with ga . iety , unembarrassed by ceremony , animating the whole ; making me almost fancy I was spending tho ovening a ongst the crowded haunts of the old world , instead of a sequestered valley lying between the Utah and Timpanago mountains . After tea was

      served—There tvere thc sounds of dancing feet Mingling with tones of music sweet ; or , as Dermot MacFig would say—We shook a loose toe , While he humoured the bow ; keoping it up to a late hour , perfectly enraptured with the Mormon ladies and Mormon hospitality . I was not aware , before , that polygamy was sanctioned by their creed , beyond a species of etherial Platonism wbich accords to its especial saints chosen partners , called " spiritual wives ; " but I now found that these , contrary to one s ordinary notions of spiritualism , give birth to cherubs and unfledged angels . When our party arrived we were introduced to a staid , matronly-looking lady as Mrs .

      ; and as we proceeded up the room , to a blooming young creature , a fitting mother for a celestial progeny , as the other Mrs . — , without any worldly or spiritual distinction whatsoever . At first , I thought it a misconception , but inquiry confirmed the fact of there being two mistresses in the same establishment , both with terrestrial habits and duties to perform , which I found afterwards to be the case in other instances , where the parties could lay no claim to any particular Baintliness . On Saturday morning we had a very early levee at our tents , with fresh milk , butter , fowls , and eggs , and a light waggon in attendance , with a side of beef , a carcase of mutton and one of veal , all of superior quality ; the latter articles for sale commercially , but certainlv on most

      moderate terms , the prime joints not averaging over one penny per pound . The other matters we were forced to acce pt , and gave to the donora what we could afford of coffee , sugar , and tobacco , which were not to be had in the city for the last two months . In addition to those timely presents , we got all our washing done in the very best style of art . After breakfast we went out returning visits , and were most graciously received in every quarter . The houses aro small , principally of brick , built up only as temporary abodes , until the more urgent and important matters of enclosure and cultivation are attended to ; but I never saw anything to surpass the ingenuity of arrangement with which they arc fitted up , and tho scrupulous cleanliness with which they are kept . There were tradesmen and artisans of all descriptions , but no regular stores , or workshops , except forges . Still , from the tireing

      of a waggon to the mending of a watch , there was no difficulty experienced in getting it done as cheaply , and as well put out of hand , as in any other city in > America . Notwithstanding the oppressive temperature , they were all hard at work at their trades , and abroad in the fields weeding , moulding , and irrigating ; and it certainly speaks volumes for their energy and industry to see the quantity of land they have fenced in , and the breadth under cultivation , considering the VQ » y short time since they Wo founded the settlement in 1847- There was ample promise of an abundant harvest , in magnificent crops of wheat , maize , potatoes , and every description of garden vegetable , all of which require irrigation , as there is little or no rain in this region ; a Salt Lake shower being estimated at a drop to each inhabitant . They have numerous herds of the finest cattle , droves of excellent sheep , with horses and mules enough and to spare , but very few pies : persons

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      hating them being obliged to keep thenTni ^~] T ~ fencesare not dole enough to prevent theft ^' - ^ crops . Howe . ver ,, they . have legions . supSi "Wthe that they live in the monfc plentiful ¦« ffiS , Si ? v 2 exchanged and purchased some mules and hK Wa favourable terms , knowing we would stand in neSdnf i wry teams in crossing the Sierra Kevada . eed of ttt 0 Ii S On Sunday morning early we went to the hot spring , » mile beyond the town , where the authorities Were ereoH ™ a handsome and commodious building , and had a elorini bath , in sulphur water , at a temperature juat as hi « h •» could be comfortably endured ; drinking , too , of the stream as it gushed from the hill side in a thick volume , beinetold it possessed certain , medicinal properties of whioh we all stood in need . The Mormons make a boast of their pood health , and attribute it to bathing in those springs : manv ''that I met declaring they came to the valley perfect oripples , and were restored to their health and aeility by frequenting them . After bathing , we dressed in our beat attire -and prepared to attend tbe Mormon service , held for the present in the large space adjoining the intended temple which i *

      only just above the foundations , but will be a structure of stupendous proportions , and if finished according to the plan , of surpassing elegance . I went early , and found a rostrum , in front of whioh there were rows of stools and chairs for the townsfolk : those from the country who ar rived in great numbers in li g ht waggons , sitting on chairs " took up their stations in their vehicles in tho baekeround after unharnessing their . horses . There was a verv hrea and most respectable congregation ; the ladies were attired in rich and becoming costume , each with a parasol and I hope I may say , without any imputation of profanity a more bewitching assemblage of the sex it has rarely been my lot to look upon . Before the religious ceremony commenced , five men mounted the rostrum , who were as I learned , the weekly committee of inspection . The chairman read his general report of the prospects and proceedings of the colony , and then read a list of those deservine of particular commendation for their superior husbandry the extent of their fencing , and other improvements whirl !

      was followed by the black list , enumerating the idle , slothful , and unimproving portion of the community , who were held up to reprobation , and threatened , in default of certain tasks allotted to thorn being finished at the next visit , to be deprived of their lots , and expelled the community . The reading of these lists produced an evident sensation , and , 1 am satisfied , stimulates the industrious to extra exertion , and goads the lazy to work in self-defence , This over , another , " the gentleman in black , " got up , and without any form of service or prefatory prayer , read aloud a text from tho Book of Mormom , and commenced a sermon , or discourse , "de multis rebus etquibmdam aliis ; " taking a fling at the various other religions , showing them up by invidious comparison with the creed of the valley . He then pointed out the way to arrive at Mormon sanctity , in which there was nothing objectionable as laid down , and exhorted

      the congregation , not only as they valued their salvation , but their corps , so to demean themselves , and endeavour to propitiate the favour and indulgence of the Supreme Being ; calling to mind that , in the year of righteousness ( last year ) , he sent sea-gulls , a bird never known to visit the valley , to devour the crickets , which would otherwise , from their numbers , have annihilated all vegetation . Ue then adverted to . the barbarous treatment they received at the hands of the Americans , forgetting to avow his charitable forgiveness- ; and expressed a belief that their avarice would yet induce them to cove !; their possessions at Salt Lake ; but he entertained a hope that the Mormons by that time would be strong enough to guard and maintain thQir rights and independence . He talked of the gold of California , which he said was discovered by Mormon energy ; but they freely abandoned it to American cupidity , as they ( the MorraonB ) did not dosiro such worldly aggran « disement .

      With this ended the entire ceremony ; and then began a simultaneous series of greetings and salutations amongst town and country folk , which led to luncheons , and dinners , and all manner of civilities , and tender tete-a-tetes , until evening , when another sermon was delivered , which ended the religious duties of the day . 1 can't say I was much impressed with the sanctity or sincerity of the preachers ; nor did it appear to me , from the deportment of the con gregation , that any very devotional feeling pervaded them ; for , with all their affected contempt for worldly wealth and pleasure , they appear to me to pursue tbe one with as active a zeal , and onjoy the other with as little restraint , as any other sect of professing religionists I have ever become acquainted with . The affairs of churoh and state here go strictly hand-in-hand ; tho elder 3 of the church being the magistrates and functionaries in all oivi \ and criminal matters , the framers of the law . and chancellors of the

      exohequer , with whom it is expected that every member of the community will lodge whatever wealth he may acquire beyond his immediate wants , taking treasury notes of acknowledgment . This the law strictly requires , on pain of expulsion and forfeiture ; but I have heard several grumble at it ; and I understand it has led to numerous secessions , if not from the Mormon faith , at least from tbe Mormon valley , to get beyond Mormon authority . A Scotchman , fresh from tho old country , who with his sister lately joined the sect , complained to me of the grievance , stating that on his arrival he lodged a considerable sum with the treasurer , part of which he lately required to try his fortune in California , but wait peremptorily refused , with a , rebuke for his lust of gain . "Hedidna see whar' this wad load to , or how it wad end ; " but notwithstanding his strong dialect , I question if he is clean-bred Scotch , after so simple an act as he avowed himself guilty of .

      There were no written laws amongst them ; but trespasses , outrages , and such matters , are taken cagnizanco of by the elders , and adjudicated on summarily , according to conscience ; fines and public floggiug being the punishments most in vogue . The authorities " have a mint , from which they iBsue gold coin only : it is plain , but massive , without any alloy . I only saw two issues , five and ten dollar pieces , with the amount on one side and the date of issue on the other , without any emblem or device whatsoever . ^ 1 got evory information I believe they possessed elative to

      r the new route to California ; but , to make assurance doubly sure , I was anxious to procure a guide who had travelled over the line , and engaged a man , with the consent and approval of my party . However , when it came to the ears of the rulers , they forbade his leaving ; for I believe they are apprehensive that the golden inducements of that rich country might empty the valley of its population if they came to be particularly disseminated : a reason , too , why they deprecate the travelling of emigrants by their city , which they say ( and , I believe , with truth ) is two hundred miles of a round .

      There are , as far as I could learn or judge , about five thousand inhabitants in the town , and seven thousand more in the settlements , which extend forty miles oach way , north to tho Weber , and south towards Utah Lake . The valley , at its greatest width , is not over fifteen miles , and I think seven would be a fair average : its soil is a rich black loam , and is irrigated by innumerable springs of good water and streamlets flowing from the snowy mountains , besides the Jordan , which flows through itB contro from utah to Salt Lake ; but it has a naked , bleak look , for want of timber , which renders the effects of the sun next thing to intolerable . The city is situated on the south-east end of tho lake , about nine miles from its shores ; but I think a much more eligible site might have been chosen , where t' e land would have boen equally fertile , the olimate fully as salubrious , and timber , which they exclusively burn , much more convenient , for at present they have to bring it from twelve to fifteen miles over a bad road .

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      Brodsliaio ' s Raihvay Guide . London : Adams , Fleet Street . The distinctive and new feature of this well-known publication is a large map , upon which , by means of red figures , the page in which the Time Tables of each particular Railway and ateach Station . is tobefound . Those who recollect the loss of time and temper occasioned by hunting through the mass of Tables comprised in « The Guide , ' will readily understand and appreciate the advantages of this arrangement .

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      ConS .- —Why are the crow 9 the most sensible of birds ? - Because they never complain without caws . ^ yhy are tho members of the new Administration Hfce raring men ' -Because they aro all in for a " Derby , " Trub liberty allows each individual to do all the good he can for himself , without injuring ; his neighbour . . The Nkw Ministry . —Some say that the Derby Ministry is i rotectionist , othors say that it is not ; for ray part ( said * * ag 1 believe neither one nor t'other . cn "w ? R 's more frequently coveted with a view to the C ° of lhe faults of otherB than our own . a title cn f - " ~ The whole court caIendar doe 3 not contain tial nrivit ernnB so much real dignity , and so many substan-2 WeST / I ? a - , aBthl » tof " apenon to be trusted . " - // om «

      sUsaKYn ( 1 ? heffi ? ld bowt a lot a alebarrilsata ookhe eot Imam hi , a cloaie line a'ufft inta wun on em when If Ate 1 ? , bein ^ - u wite . " Well , ah do declare , lass , AhSack * nethls barril hcxint turned roap > j . " -Po < , moor Jbr J ^« Ji ? BS 2 SSrg' - March says the best , cure there is nothing 1 ke hri 3 r lit ? rvant ; Slrl- In hl 3 ° P . ini 0 D f keep the nervous systemVomT * ™ useful 0 CCU P T *» women think they wanu nh « u Unst r Y Son ? need a scrubbing-hS P * C " > he 8 ays ' wbea the ? only boSn ^^ Kd SSdt mXT ? ^ new work , entitledi iWn ^ ± *^ % ffi £$ * A maid-serrant asked her mistress to g 0 out on a part culS afternoon , as she was going to have a wrty of her fS , and ivanted lhe loan of the drawing-room , " Kai 3 > A Witty Cockney .-Everything has ' ita ludicrous point ot view , and funny incidents occur even on auch grave occa sions as funerals . A certain Cockney Blue Beard , ov reome by his sensibilities , fainted at the grave of his fourth spouse # What shall" we do with him ? " asked a perplexed friend of his . " Let him alone , " cried a waggish bystander , " he'll soon reunite /"

      A Discovery of considerable importance to ironmasters ha 9 been communicated by Dr . Penny to the Philosophical Society of Glasgow . It appears that the soot which collects m the flues of blast ir .. n furnaces , yields forty-three per cent , of pure potash . A substance which has not hithert © been applied to any practical use will henceforth become a marketable article , and be turned to good account . Two iron vessels , of 500 ions each , are being built by Messrs . Vernon and Son , of Liverpool , for a London coal company , to competo with the railways , which have latterly diminished the coasting trade in coals . If they succeed , as trial ships , twenty more of a similar kind will be built for tno same company . They are to be propelled by the screw , in addition to sales , and are to be so masted and rigged as ta go under the bridges on the Thames .

      An ignorant fellow , who was about to get married , resolved to make himself oerfect in the responses of the marriagei service ; but by mistake ho learned the office of baptism tor those of riper years ; so when the clergyman asked him m J th , , - J ? , " Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife ? the bridegroom answered , in a very solema . > ' t , . Unce thcra all . "—The astonished minister said " I think you are a fool . " -To which he replied , " All this I steadfastly believe . " A good prosy minister , of the old Scotch stock , used to catechise privatel y even the adults of his flock . Adam E— -, long a respected elder , was suffering from afallia the dark after his tenth " toddy , " but ihis was to be a profOUnd 8 ecret from all but Adam and his newly-married young Wife . " What do you think , " said the minister to his wife , " caussd the fall of Adam ? " The wife , thinking only of her aw guile man , answered innocently , " Deed , sir , just the drink .

      DEFINITIONS . Slave . —One of God ' s children , kept out of his property by a brother . Lovb .- Tho sun ot life ; most beautiful in morning and in evening , but warmest and steadiest at noon . Bank . —A gilt barge on the river Credit , in which grandee 3 are carried forward by the labour of the horses on the towing-paths . Sincerity . —An ill-used child of humanity , continually flogged , and kept in a dark cellar on bread and water . WiNB . ^ The solvent in which minds effervesce and melt down . Faith . —A strong arm to work for us in health and youth ; a firm shoulder to lean upon in siokness and age . Lawybk . —A brass-headed nail to keep things together . Power . —A wild horse ; difficult to seize , but more difficulfi to ride .

      Music—The winds caught and tamed . —Council of Four , New Edition , Master and Man . —If a gintleman brakes a horse ' s heart , he ' s only a " bowld rider , " while a poor servant is a " careless blackguard" for only taking a sweat out of him . If a gintleman dlirinka till he can't see a hole in a ladder , he ' s only " fresh , " but "dhtunk" is the word for the poor man . And if a gintleman kicks up a row . he ' s a "finespirited fellow , " while a poor mau is a " disordherly vagabond" for the Bame ; and the justice axes the one to dinner , and sends th' t ' other to gaol . Oh , faix , the law is a dainty lady ; she takes people by the hand who cau afford to weat ^ oves , but people with brown fists must keep their distance . —Handy Andy , by S . Lovbb .

      Poetry.

      poetry .

      22ubfeto&

      22 Ubfeto&

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      The Amazon Fund . —Southampton , March 13 fch . — The aggregate amount of subscriptions to the Amazon Fund for the relief of the sufferers by that distressing catastrophe is between £ 11 , 000 and £ 12 , 000 . It is fully expected that the latter sum will be reached when the whole of the foreign subscriptions shall havo been received . Pending the report oi a sub-committee , appointed to investigate into and report to the general committee upon the exact position of each suflerer , temporary relief has been administered to tne most necessitous cases—such as widows and orphans , who have been left without moans of support by the loss of £ i tI In thi v aya vast amounfc of g ° odha 3 been done . The general committee will shortly meet in Southampton to receive a report from the sub-committee , S ? h » fn « H ? ?{ 5 ? * ? u wiU be PK * ented for disposing of the funds , and for distributing the subscriptions so as to secure the best and most permanent method of relief for the numerous persons who have been cast into such deep affliction and distress by this calamitous event . The London committee will amal gamate with the Southampton Committee for the consideration of these measures . At is in contemplation to relieve several of the sufferers by granting them sums in full , amounting to from £ 5 to £ 200 fni ; ^ , ev .: Mr < Blood and Mi 8 s Smith it ia proposed to present the latter amount . The Rey . Mr . Blood has reffl [ , reoeiTe ? the presentation of a living , while Miss Smith has received from £ 200 to £ 300 by private subscriptions , to ally irrespective of tho Amazon fund proper . It is probable that tho widows will be divided into three classes , to receive annuities of £ 20 , £ 15 , and £ 12 a year respectively , and the children will bo allowed similar sums in the shape of annuities , with which to place them at school , apprentice them , &c . A good number of the children will be placed in orphan asylums . Trustees will be appointed in the usual form to receive the income derived from the tunds and to pay the annuities and allowances , under due restrictions for their proper application . It is stated that the sub-committee are prepared to recommend that the crew of the first boat which is supposed to have left the Amazon , and which landed at Plymouth , should be excluded JhT » iS neifc from ^ e aubacriptions , for first deserting ! , nl f t w ? u imK ^ P ^ taoted investigation ! hS » WRft ° W * , ° y LMail Steampacket Company , and SnJt i ? Of i ' rade ' have not resulted » affixing any censure upon this pabular boat-load of unfortunate human beings , and why the sub-committeo should seek to loroe any opinion upon the matter appears to be in the last degree incomprehensible and superfluous .

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      The Home . Part IX . Edited by Richard Oastler . A more than usually instructive , varied , and interesting part of this valuable periodical .

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      Horfield MASon . —Tho Bishop of Gloucester lma eon * Yeyed the whole of his propery to trustees , for the benefit of small livings in his diocese . Tithes . —The Archbishop of York and Mr . R ., a Baptist minister , whilst one day conversing on the lawfulness of tithes , the archbishop remarked , " Mr . R ., I do not see that in the same light as you do . " Mr . R . ( without replying ) took a pencil and wrote " God" in small characters . "Do you see that ? " said Mr . R . " Yes , " replied the archbishop . Mr . R . then took a sovereign and placed it over the wont " God , " and then naked the prelate if he could sec w then ? The archbishop replied that he could not . iuen BaidMr . R ., " now you perceive why you consider b Jhea lawful . Before the gold intervened , you bad . God , > n ™ w , but when the gold came in view , you lost sight of uoti . with wife

      Respect Due to Wives .-Do not jest ; your upon a subject in which there is danger of jrounding her fe-b . 'ssa jsasb"je zi s Sis&tA ^ s SHsHi ^« « s not respect y ^ u more or lovo you better or it . Do not Sraid you ? wife in the presence of a third party ; the sense of your disregard for hw feelings wll prevent her from acknowledg ing her fault . Do not entertain your wife by praising the beauty and accomplishments of other womeni If you would have a pleasant home and a cheerful wife , pass your evenings under your own roof . Do not be stern and silent in your own house , and xemathable for sociability elsewhere . - .

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      A Coloxial Misnomer . —In consequence of lhe nature of the intelligence that has for some time past arrived from the Cape of Good Hope , it is in contemplation to alter the name of the Colony to the Abode of Despair . A Joke Craftily Qualified . —The danger of abolishing tho property qualification lor Members of Parliament is this , —that if some of our legislators were to be without their property qualification , tlit-y would have no other qualification whatever . Gus ( who is always so full of his nonsense J— " Dash my Buttons , Ellen ! that ' s a Stunning Waistcoat . I wish you'd give us your Tailor ' s Address ! " Ellen . — " Don ' t you be rude , Sir—and take your arms off the piano . "

      EXTRACTS FROM " PUNCH . The Long Vacation . —The Throne of France . " England ' s 'Weakness . "—The strongest proof of thi 3 is the present Ministry . Two op a Tradb Nevkr Agree . —The Autocrat of , Russia , and Monsieur Louis Napoleon are already quarrelling . Rather Infra . Dig . —The government in refusing to ) incur the expense of bringing home Cleopatra ' s Needle , has been guided by a praiseworthy disinclination to stick it into us . A Firm Foundation . —In case of an invasion , the walls of Old England would be formed by every man turning out a brick , and by the Ordnance supplying all that might be necessary in the way of mortar .

      A Parochial Autocrat . —What is Louis Napoleon to call himself , when heshall have consummated his despotism ? Not" Emperor , if he is wise , for that will confirm the common accusation that he is the mere plagiarist of his Unele . We can help him in liis difficulty . He rule 3 the French , people as if they were children : let him then , take tho appropriate title of Beadle of France . A Shaky Condition . —It is not to be wondered at tliat the Pope feels his position to be anything but firm ; for , instead of his having been fixed in his place by real Roman Cement , he has been merely dabbed down where he is with , a little Plaster of Paris . Mosey Market and City 'NossESSTt . —Mowed men aay , that considering the present state of affairs in France , it is a comfort to them to sec that the French funds exert a favourable influence on our Three Per Cents . ; but surely this is a deceitful consol—ation .

      Naval Intelligence . —We are informed by the German papers , that the "German Fleet is for Sale . " JSearles , the eminent boat-builders of Lambeth , have sent in a liberal tender for the purchase of it . We may shortly expect , therefore , to see the German Fleet safely anchored off Westminster Bridge , With this strong reinforcement , our various rowing clubs may be able to get up a Thames Regatta next year . A Present for Kossuth . —The Mrs . Rev . J . T . Di nxhue , of Ohio , has presented Kossuth with her grand .- o . i r aged eleven months ; "to be so trained" for Hungary ' -as to raise his little hat in honour to God and liberty . " The Magyar asks for muskets , but hardly for children in arras . But ' Mrs . Donahne has , doubtless , a shrewd eye for at onco profit and glory ; and thinks it " smart" to turn an olivebranch into a laurel branch ; the more so , as laurels maybe cultivated from suckers .

      " Pay for your Breakages . "—We should like to see the same law carried out in the Naval , as is generally enforced in the Domestic Service ; namely , to make the servants of the public pay for everything they break . If this law had been in operation , we do not think the late Lords of the Admiralty would have had to receive much , at the end of any one year they were in office , out of their year ' s salary . In fact , ' taking the iron ships into calculation , we think that they ( instead of the nation ) would havo been considerably out of pocket every year they remained in the public service at the Admiralty .

      Fariettes,

      Fariettes ,

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      March 20 , leg . ' T HE STAg , i ^ g- ^ 5 ^ 5 S !^^ S ! " ' ^ T ^ MM—liM———— Mmm ^^ ^^ 3 " ¦ •«

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 20, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1670/page/3/