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Northern Star (1837-1852), 22nd May 1852, Edition 1 of 2, Page 4, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      No . T . —The SIiliia Bill asd Foseigx AriAiR ? . TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR OF FEEEDOM Silt , —I am reminded thut in enumeratm * tUe vari ots owwfians cow interesting public indolence I omitted to mention the MHii-nBiU , and the option of our foreign Policy . I flunk tW < iUeSti quite -sruiy of separate couaideration , and they ou « rh " t to as vory } : romiaent at the coming election . " TVith re gara to t ! u- first question , 1 cannot better < rqwc « s my ¦ mi opinion of its importance , tliau b y quoting ( of ea-stxtaz . ad ! wrin to the particular phfaSB-lowv ) " 11 . 0 opiaiuiou 01 lae r , ew Tory Chancellor of tlui Exon , qu « , Lrajaaua Disraeli . II . m is his explanation oi wlnt ought t «> s . e Use oV-jwt of the Bill now before psrlun : ? iii .

      LETTERS FOR WORKING Me £ T . PiTTRRS IT / YD vsrn-DirTKjn « . ^ , » r

      , ^ : ? ' *' "' ^ "it'JHpt t' > li al ; : tnate the people yi tv ? .- ^ - -. r- t 0 thsuso of arms , to which they ' -ver r . < -t ai . ; : ]¦ . ¦ sr-ut ge-ier . illv accustomed . Circam-= a- ^ . s , irresht-bc circumstances , had , for a long jpl ^^^ 'i such a . policy necessary ; aud it * this iiiH sbouli Le adopted , though it was not a measure tnat would produce a disciplined army able to cacounj tertlie veier-na ] egi «» 3 of the world , it uould be the 1 first step in a rigid direction , and would lay the 'foundation of a caasHlulional system of national de' fence '

      W'Lea I mad this (; t was before the flogging clause had damuei tho measure ) I cou-d not hel p saying ( spite of all one ' s irreconcilable hatred to Toryism ) tim man at least hiovs what is wanted . I could not help contrasting such a sentence with the miaerable cowardly denials of danger ( cowardly because most of those denials spring from fear of Iiavino- to frost the danger , and tho shopkeeper would rather make ssrrile tGi-ius to save his windows ) the shabby objections to auy Militia , of the peacemen , and the

      M .- . neuesier men , and the dinners at the Elysee , with Me 33 T 3 . Hume and company ' s quibbles about economic divisions of cmyloymems and consequent advantage of a regularl y trained army ; a standing army ( on t : ie same prin : iple , I suppose , as those other divisions of masters and wages slaves , free sad unenfranclosed , governors and governed , ' garrison' and garrisoned ); with Mr . Cobden's insolence in branding as vagabonds all whom a bonntv of £ 6 could induce to serve their country ( as only uprinciuled va ™ .

      bonds who would tike the money and go directly to America ) , as if ' Free' Trade had so bettered " the condition of the working classes that a bount y of £ 6 could be no inducement to any decent labourer ( This comes well from the man who impudently pocketed £ 70 , 000 for being carried at the head of a movement which owed infinitel y more to Colonel Thompson , Ebenezer Elliott , and others , than to Richard Cobden ); I say , I could not help contrasting Disraeli ' s speech with all the imbecile utterances on the other Bide . It seemed as if wo must learn principles from the tones ; for Whigs and Radicals alike ¦ were incapable of comprehending anything beyond

      some party manoeuvre . Even on Sharman Crawford ' s Tenant-right Measure—the best measure before the House—there was room for Tory Lord Xaas to taunt the framer with having left untouched the case of the labourers , * as much entitled to a fair share of the emoluments of the land as the tenant farmer or the landlord . ' Truly , as I have sadly noticed , the only readings of principle which the public have had of late from Parliament-men orpublicists , havebeenfrom the purely despotic side . To return again to the Militia : what nonsense for men to oppose the bill on the ground that if £ 8 was given to men at the time of enlistment they would pocket it and desert . Was

      not this the simple answer : them pay them afterward , instead of beforehand ? But never a clearrighted statesman could give this answer . Never a clear-headed statesman , theoretical or practical , could rise to the real points at issue : — Was there danger ? Was it well to adopt the principle of trusting to the people for their own defence / How immense the gain of such an acknowled gment of principle , however bare the acknowledgment ! Not one of the economists par excellence could even see that the

      maintenance of our vast military establishment is pretended to depend on the necessity of sufficient defence , and that if we could have a Militia ( not very costly ) for that purpose , we should have the strongest ground possible for afterwards reducing the standing-army . I must own that I have never felt more ashamed of what is called the English Liberal Party , than in watching the amp , insufficient , qnibbliug , unprincipled , narrow , niaiioeuverinjj , factious , paltry objections made by oae or other liberal to this measurea measure by no means satisfactory , but in which a

      great princi p le was involved—the princi ple of a National Militia , worth asserting at almost any price . And out of doors public opinion seemed not one whit more enlightened . How , then } could I speak of this Abhtia Question , as one on which to call out the sense of the country ? Seeing that none are more afraid than tho Manufacturing Reformers of trusting arms rathe hands of the working classes ( for fear of the ' vagabonds , ' Mr . Cofcden !); and that so many of thewarking classes themselves are ready to forego any patriotism or political advantage for fear of some httle drilling or loss of a few days' pay ? Since I last wrote

      , however , public opinion has found one point of agreement agaiast the Bill . These Tories who could 'habituate the people to the use of arms , ' would habituate us also to the lash . Thank you for nothing , Mr . Disraeli ! We would have no ' step in the right direction' on any such brutal terms . "We may not be freemen ; but we are not such slaves as to care to show scarred backs to our companions after a mouth ' s learning to be soldiers . £ Q i 8 not high enongh for even fifty lashes . These Tories can learn nothing . With a splendid o pportunity before them , right in the mam , and not an opponent able to

      sranple with them on the fan : principle of the Bill , they lose all , give Cobden a ground of right , and justify themost factious opposition , by their inherenttendency to their old brutal usages . Let the indignant sense of , the country mark them at the elections . It is a point worth speaking on . But even that may not ^ . * " ! P lac < Lof our peaking for the Suffrage . Thia Militia Question now is no longer the question whether tee shall have a beginning of self defence ( by ourselves instead of by tools hired for despots uses ) or not ; but whether we will take a step in the right direction at an infamous price . Every decent man

      must answer—No ! Tour flogging claase ouaht to whip you out of office , and restore the Whi «* s Lord Palmerston voted for the lash ; Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham would not vote against it . Let them be remembered . And here we may see how thvrc ughly of one mind these rival aristocratic parties are , except on questions concerning only their own perstnalities . A stronger argument can hardly be needed for giving all first attention to universal ( manhood ) Suffrage , togetrid of both of the Charlatans—Whig and Tory , and to put something better than the shabby hydra which is called Radicalism , at our head . On foreign affairs the twobodied aristocracy

      has just the same one-mmdedneas . Malmabury ana Palmerston are dike admirers of the French W LoTd John Busscll qnite as much so : for Palmerston W J £ ? S T beCaUSe Of his ad «»^ tion , tut becaugeof the indiscretion of expressing it before we knew the aenhments of our friends afPetersburgll « * T , l d also ^ cause her Majesty , the Queea of England ( who , the < U ' estininster Review ' informs us , is beginning , like her old friend Louis Philippe , to rule as well as reign . Rather

      unconstitutional , Ma amKwas for the moment a little flustered , thinking what might be the effect upon « uncle Le ? pold . ' She does not of course interest her-Eelf in popular revolutions , but where our personal CoburgiBms are concerned . Well , no matter . The alliance of crowned heads iu Europe is quite a perfect family compact . Not one missing . The Czar the treacherons Prussian , Young Austria , Coburgh urnanu , and Cousins German without end , cracked a ?* BaVl " * an Greece , KingBomba , Pius IX ., ana other Italian celebrities , those charminrrlv

      virtu-\* JLounS ladiea of Spain and Portugal , Louis 3 J ^^ . irreproachabJe Queen "Victoria . It is all one bnt aU » -If * Oc « asi 0 ttaily by private considerations , SrdDX ? \ H ainst the Wopte . Does not proud in Entone ^ Ln / k n 7 tascaU J court and government 3 ) oeanD K 2 * lC 2 ^ tlt 8 ia * <* his lieutenants ? ^ . Mt SK 7 ^ *™' our Frime the Prince Preaiaent ' a » S roVln S under the assurance of ^^ between & £%££ & *** ' «» t newr have the n-SE ^ Hr-fe ^

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      eir country—these Tory enemies to Freedom ? It will not be supposed , noticing this foul alliance of powers , that 1 underrate the importance or urgency of the English People showinj : at least some interest in the couse of right , e u ; on waiters of foreign policy . Let them speak out as soon :. s they can , disclaiming tho uu-Eoglish policy of our Uaiu-t and Cabiuet ( say Cabinets ); whether they adopt the advice of tbo JWen * of Italy , "by taking care that among the tests submitted to candidates at tiioapinroKbing elections , shall be one pl edging them in the face of the coujitry to an honourable and liheral course of proceeding oa all questions ; iffoctin 2 our foreign rmtions , especiall y us regards our hospitality toward the Iwofugees , or whether they pursue the course pointed out by the few who have ask <; d for i . 't' : iame an * a subscription of one shilling for European freedom from ev . ru Imr of the lightens cause , ni or « U > r that tae strupfflia .- » . suiilerine T'tople 3 on the con-*^ ^———

      tuicnt , tuny count tbe roll of their English friends , and so be encouraged in their arduous warfare . One way or ether—or rather loth uaw , let good men ' s voices move ( m tho latter course the voices and shillings of good women will bo equally effective ); and so let a beginning of ngUt action on this important question be made among us . Let iho subscri ption he pushed rapidly through the country ( who is so downtrodden as r . ot to sp ^ re even one shining to the martyrs of European Freedom ?); let the question of ;< u honourable foreign policy confront the diplomatists and the tradesmen on the nest hustings . Let both questions—that of a right to arms , ivithovt ihc whip , and the duty of maintaining English honour , even in the face of friendl y relations of crowned villains—be heard at the next election ; but let neither sujcrsede the dominant question of Manhood Suffrage ; for , till we are recognised as pavtsof the state—till we hare political existence—) iovi shall wo savo our own backs from dishonourable burdens , or be . in any Condition tofulfil our duty to our neighbours . Spaktacus .

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      A . SOIREE , consisting of a TEA TARTr AND PUBLIC MEETING , IN HOSOUB OE " IKE STAR OV FKESOOira , " Will be held at the Literary ana Scientific Institution , John-street , Tottenham-court-road , on Tuesday evening , June 8 th , 1852 . _ Tea on table at half-past six o ' clock precisely ; the public meeting to commence at eight o ' clock . Several friends to political and social reform will attend and address the meeting . Admission to the Tea and Pohlic Meeting , 9 d . To Public ileetinij only , Gallery , 3 d ., Hall , 2 d . The proceeds will be givea to the Democratic Reecqee Fgsd . Further particulars will be duly announcsd .

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      Messrs . Babbas , Pabkinsox , and other correspondents , are requested to send all monies , and make all Post Office-orders payable to John Bczer . An , letters to the Editor to be addressed 4 , Btnnswick-row , Queensquare . Bloomsbury , London ; and all letters , monies , &c ., for . the Publisher , to be addressed to John Bezer , ' Star of Freedom ' Omee , 183 , Fleetstreet , London . Mr . Johssox . —Received . We beg t a expess our regret that so many of our Town subscribers werei disappointed in procuring last Saturday ' s numher . The de . mand largely exceeded thatof the previous week . Wetrnstthat we snail make arrangements as will prevent all such disappointmenisferihefutnre . Baiarot , Bradford , Nottingham , Ashton-unflDr-Ljne , and other places . —Oar correspondents at the above-named places are respectfully informed that Giving to a press of matter , we have ueen compelled for thisweskto postpone their reports . Our friends will si e that the report of the Conference could not he inserted without the exclusion of other matter .

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      THE STIR OF FREEDOM SATURDAY , MAY 33 , 1852 .

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      THE ALMIGHTY L . S . D . As we anticipated , the reported assertion of Mr . Disraeli , that ' The Masters had acted iu a manner subTeraive of the law , ' has called down the denunciations of the Free Tradera on his head . The « Daily News '—that head pedagogue in the Manchester School —has had an nrticle on this subject , in which the writer , with Pecksniffian hypocrisy , thankfully records his conviction , that at tbis moment there is so much sound knowledge among the Working Classes on

      industry , wages , machinery , and all those important economic questions which most deeply affect the material well-heing of Society , ' that Mr . Disbaeli ' s words can do but little harm ju 3 t now . He further says : ? It is this soundness of feeling that makes the country at a juncture like the present feel calm and assured . ' Either this is the most unsophisticated and unmitigated ignorance as to the state of feeling among the Working Classes , or it is the impudent vaunting of the bully , who conceals his cowardl y terror beneath the mask of bombastic braggadocio . What ! do these men think that because we have

      made strenuous endeavours to emancipate ourselves from the tyranny of the feudal aristocracy , that we are eager to establish the despotism of the riatonomists , and their competitive regime . If so , they are fatally mistaken , and their security is but as the slumber of one who sleeps on ground beneath which a volcano is readj for bursting . We look upon the tyranny of the Manchester men—the moneyocracy—as the most degrading and the most cold-blooded that the world as ever yet submitted to . Feudalism waa bad enough , but this ia even worse . It ia more terrible in its efflcts and

      more prolific of human misery . With the feudal despotism there was a link between the serf and his lord . It-remained for the money-grubs to gnaw this link in twain—it remained for these to deetroy the last ties , and crush human beings out of existence , by slow torture in the Bastile . It remained for this Mammoth tyranny to rob the whole world aud end with its miserable and degrading Poor Laws at home . Let ub attempt a brief sketch of this power , which , Hfca Aahon ' s rod , is fast swallowing all other powers . It is based in selfishness — greedy , unscrupulous , inexorable selfishness ! Lust of gain is its highest incentive , breeches ' -pocket music its proudest

      aspiration . It is deaf as an adder to the cries of the crushed masses , the moans of little children , and the groans of its victims trampled in the strife . Cold , impassable , and relentless , as the iron car of Juggernaut , it marches on its way , utterly heedless of the death aud desolation it creates , and the ghastly wrecks of murdered Hmnanity , which it leaves behind . Indeed they are the trophies of its triumph , akin to the Indian warrior ' s scalps . The great weapon of this tyranny ' s warfare is Competition—unfettered aud unlimited competition . Competition which gives certain victory to the power of gold over the liberty and life of Labour .

      Competition which gives to Capital all the organised forces of society in its murderous warfare with the producers of wealth—the craft of law and Btate to support it and ojforce its inexorable decrees , with the sanction and blessing of Priestcraft to absolve it , and to consecrate its civilised cannibalism ! Competition , which seta father ; gainst son , and children against parents ; which drives the married man who ha 3 no children , to work cheaper and undersell the man who has ; the unmarried man who has no wife nor children , to work cheaper still , and undersell both , and lastly , makes the children work cheapest of all , and thus undersell all adult labour , and flush

      the money-till of the tyrant taskmasters , out of their white-slave trade , with its own home market . Corapetition , which means defeat for the poor , and victory for the wealthy , in whatever struggle they may engage 2 Which , means that the tender lives of infants must be used up in pestilent factories , to enable their parents to eke out their scanty incomes , that poor girls who have not the courage to resist starvation , must sell the name o f love to buy bread . This competition is the principal agent , or chattered bully of this Middle Class despotism . And the only lure it has to offer to the world , is comprised in the word Cheapness . ' It is by virtue of this talismanic influence , that it holds its present position . Cheapness ,

      no matter at what coat soever . Though fleBh and blood have to compete with steam , and fire , and iron——though arms and hands , muscle and sinew , be pitted against never-tiring wheels and shafts , it must have Cheapness . It sets six hundred millions of steam men , which perform all the functions of the labourer , competing with human machines , which must be beaten , because they work at sucn fearful odds ! Cheapness ! though the condition of the pauper be belter than that of the active , able-bodied , labourer , and that of the criminal better than both , as it t 3 at present , so that it is an incentive for the working num . to get into the worJchouse , and there com ' mit crime , to be sent to prison for the betterance of hi 3

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      physical condition . Cheapness it must have , it isits ? Sw ? , t 0 lwati 0 D ' ; ind that Cheapness is a itmoiy fatal snare , w hich we , of the working classes , iiavenrat found out , because we have been the first to leei the visitation of its fearful consequences . It is out ot our productions , our labour , our sweat , and tears ana Wood that tbi indillg < cheapness k manufactured . This is hw all England o ' er , -Manchester ' s grim law we guess ; 1 * 85 they civB for more and more ,

      More they tuke for less and less . f k a whh their spurious Free Frade , what uo tney do with tho profits they get out of our proauctions but , place them in tho hands of bankors and stockbrokers , who league together and purchase the whole year's produce of somo foreign goods , which wo consume , and raise the price of it in the « " * i ' 5 market to whatever maximum they think h That is their Free Trade ! Reciprocity all on ono side . They rob and cheat us in all they export , and rob and cheat us iu all the imports Yfhicii

      we need for our consumption . Such is the tyranny of the moueyocracy—the Almighty £ s . d , And working out its baneful supremacy , what terrible things it has doue , and is still doiug ! What discords it has sown—what noble feelings it has crus hed—what proud aspirations it has destroyedwhat brave hearts it has broken ' . How it tramples wL ' aild affeotioil > and chivalry out of men . hat wars it has caused , and what glorious ideas it has iought against . It has set up a canting respectability and a gilded hypocrisy in the place of honesty and truth . It has installed hollow shams and living lies in the throne of simple , noble , Manhood . It is

      eating out all the heart and spirit of humanity with blind selfishness , iustead of glorifying it with the radiant spirit of self-sacrifice . It is encircling us in a system which kills us body and soul , slowly , but surely , instead of giving us room for healthy action and higher-development . Moreover , it is a doubleedged sword and cuts both ways—thoso who give tho blow , and those who receive it . ' It makes tyrants and slaves , and grinds all the manhood out of both . Such is the power which the scribe of tho "Daily News " thinks we . fthe Working Class , entertain great respect for ; and , therefore , we shall bow down to it in lieu

      of the feudal aristocracy . The Masters have acted in a manner subversive of the law , human and divine , but they are only a part of their system , and the slaves of the Almighty £ ,. s . d . ; a system which the working classes are beginning to comprehend and out of which they will not escape without much tribulation and misery .

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      All things are portentous of a new revolution in France . Spite of Bonaparte ' s Pratorians—sp ite of his manyefforts to gain the support of the ignorant and unthinking among the masses-spite of his appeal to the martial spirit of the people , and the remembrance of the military glories of a bygone time , the fe e of the 10 th of May , intended by its originator as the day for his inauguration of the new empire , has demonstrated , by the sullen silence of the people , the storm that is gathering around the base and perjured betrayer of that country , which had , in its blind and generous confidence , bestowed upon him far more than royal distinctions .

      THE RESU RRECTION OF THE EAGLES

      Who has Bonaparte gained ? Not the noblesse who see m him only the usurper of the throne of divine right , andjte whom he is but an obstacle in the way of the re-establishment of the thrice slain monarchical and aiistocratical system . Neither has he won the bourgeoise , for he has not crushed the revolution—he has not destroyed that mighty movement of modern Europe , nor is ; he able , as he promised them , to perpetuate the existing state of things , and allow them to struggle on as of old in

      trading selfishness , oblivious of all principle and duty . And what has he done to deserve the gratitude of the workers ? He has proclaimed to them his desire to ameliorate their condition , and relieve their miseries ; but in what has their condition-been made better ? Pray , how much has their burden of woes been li ghtened I A sufficient answer is given by the Bonapartist journals themselves , when they tell us of men dying of hunger on the highway , as they wander in search of work and food . Such accounts do not give much reason to believe that iWoerism

      nas Deen , or is likely to be , extinguished during the reign of the ex-prisoner of Ham . Moreover , > , the many amongst them , true-hearted , though mistaken , who received his coup d ' etat in December , with « U a tarn fat , ' cannot now be otherwise than undeceived , I have onI y , ' - Said he' departed from Law to return toltight ; and this he and his minions have since cont ! . ed to repeat , adding , that by eight miliionsof suttrap , tho sovereign people has approved of what they have done .

      But it cannot be so . Even the freel y expressed suflrages of a free people could not amnesty the crimes and treasons of the perjured miscreant , whoswore again and again that he would be the devoted servant of his country , and of her republic . < I have only departed from Law to return to Right . ' Is Ri ght , then , that merciless despotism with which France has been afflicted since December ? If the nuusaore of the unarmed people , the death and transportation of the noblest and best of the children of Fvanoe—the

      destruction of the liberty of the press and of freedom of thought and spoech , be in accordance witluuatico and with Right , doubtless Bonaparte Is the saviour of societ y and of France . If the French poople can be persuaded that perjury , murder , and robbery are the attributes of ri ght Louis Napoleon will seem well worthy of their gratitude , and in spite of the noble and dignified language of Arago , and tho withering scorn of Changarnier the fete of the 10 th ot May , indeed usher in an era of Napoleonic rule for France .

      The fete of the Eagles has , however , a far diffe . rent signification . The spirit of opposition becomes deeper aud more widespread every day , as misapprehension and violent party spirit becomes gradually t ^ - : , tif , il ! ' * ° await certato ruin , bo the Dictator boldly plays his last card , by introducing on the 10 th of May , the last act of the monstrous Bo ! napartist drama-parod y , mingled with the wildest ££ ? l 6 Played the stage of

      ' ^ .. ^^ ' upon Europe . That act consists of WAR-War to the Revolution and to Liberty , within and without tho frontiers of France . To aid the liberticidal work , comes the time-serving priesthood , who thundered the Marseillaise' -in February , and who now come to kneel at the feet of the perjured traitor , and to bestow their benediction on his ridiculous and bloody bird and m the bayonets intended to be sheathed in the hearts of the patriots of the world .

      The Dutch hero of Strasbourg and Boulogne can no longer exist on the mere name of the Corsican bandit Accordingly , he can now but seek to work upon the people ' s passion fov military glory—to raise their enthusiasm for him as the leader of victorious France or see himself swept away by that current of opposition which grows stronger every day . Poor , indeed , has his success been as yet . All the pomp and magnificence with which their eyes were sought to be dazzled , could not raise in the as ' sembled multitude even that very small amount of enthusiasm that would have sufficed to induce him to mount the Imperial throne .

      Oreater success he will not have . We have not lost all faith in France . We do not believe that that noble country , whose children have so often shed tbeir blood to strike down t yranny , and to form a union of European peoples , Republican and Free , will lend herself to the task of establishing a solidarity oi Despotism , or will ever feel the ignoble desire to make France , herself enslaved , the mistress of Jiurope m chains . What could not be done by JNAPoiEojr , a genius and a soldier , will never be accomplished by his servile imitator , who is neither . At the news of his first defeat , the Republic will arise from her ruins , and extend the hand of fraternity to the conquerors of the Despot . Verily , the resurrection of the Eagles is tho beginning of the end

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      The flourishing condition which England assumes to the eyes of foreigners , is something like a decaying building covered with green and growing ivy The very thing which gives it the apperance of strength and stability , is feeding on its life and living on its £ ? L ^ f , . , the ivy » ifc iB there you will find the work of dissolution and death going on . Look beneath the shining splendour , thf hoarded wealth , and the magnificence of England , and there

      THE EMIGRATION OF ENGINEERS

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      you will find Misery , Disease , Decay , and Death , prey ing at the heart of her . We are , at the same time , the richest and the poorest nation iii the world . Wo transcend all the nations of antiquity in the breadth of our possessions , aud the extent of our sway . The boat of the drum which signals the hour of sunset , is caught up from station to station , and travels all round the tilcbo as it marks the track of England's rule . We have at this present time twenty millions of gold in the bank , and somo fifteen millions of acros of land lying fallow . And beneath this power . and wealth , cowers pauperism , and Starvation , nnd crime , iu the most horrible profusion . It is a singular anomaly which England presents . We have too much woalih and too much poverty ; that is , too niitnv starving , and too much food to

      toed them ; too many naked bucks , and too many clothes to cover thorn . This snems strangely paradoxical , bus nevertheless it is true ; and the reason of this is that Eugland in her blind hurry of mad competition , has concentrated all her energies upon the production of wealth , and lost sight of its proper distribution . Why we are actually rich enough as a nation to exist for tho next half century without labour . But what is that to us , when hundreds of our

      fellow creatures go down to tlio pauper ' s grave today aud hundreds will follow to-morrow , crushed out of life by disease , over toil , and other deadl y causes incident to poverty ' s boll of torture . We have machinery enough to clothe the whole world ; but what is that to us if we cannot get clothed ourselves ? We can produce wealth at the rate of twelve times faster than our forefathers , which fact might lead us to think that where they toiled twelve hours , we need only toil ono , whereas , our labour must double theirs , to enable us to obtain the

      means of subsistence . England has exhausted herself with over-production , and Labour perishes from over exertion . We have impoverished ourselves to enrich tbe wliole- world . Labour , which creates all , upon an average gets in return only one eighth of its own produce , society robs it of the other seveneighths . Capital is now predominant—it buys and sells us in the world ' s market at its own price . ln » deed , we cannot live in our own land , we are too poor to purchase our own productions , the work of our own hands ! What a horrible state of things ! What government and statesmanship it must be to

      bring us to this ! In a country overflowing with riches , there is no room for us , and the best and bravest of the working-men , those who have some spirit still left in them to resent oppression , are being driven from among us , to seek a land where labour may reap the reward of its own exertions , without being forced to submit to the degradation of signing the abominable ' document' of tyrant masters ' who are bound together , like a band of robbers , for the protection of stolon property . Is it not mournful ?—is it not heart-rending , that the men who utter such noble words as these , should be compelled to emigrate ? * $% '

      AVe are defeated , and the conditions of our " gallant conquerers " are , that before we resume employment , we must append our signature to a document of a most infamous and degrading character j of 6 e bate a description that hundreds of our fellow mcn \ . hers In London , men who have suffevtd much , who have looked blank misery sternly in the face , are still determined , rather than yield that ennohling quality of honour , which finds aresting place in the boEom of the mechanic , as well as in the breast of the wealthy , that they will repreS 3 the rMng love of country and home , they will sever the sweet ties of friendship and love , will tear aSUUflt'I' the bonds which bind them to their families , and seek a home and a livelihood in some ioreign land , preferring exile , even death , to dishonour .

      These are not the men to emigrate . If the tyrants can rid the land of such as these , they can crush the soulless slaves who remain behind , and perpetuate their murderous tyranny for another century , Emigration is good , but not for the men who plough and sow , who build the house , and delve the mine , and create the wealth of the world , but for the rich rogues , and palaced paupers , who squander our hard earnings , and fatten their rotten carcases on all life ' s luxuries , and wallow in mad riot with their drunken courtezans , their pimps , and parasites—the fat-paunehed and greasy Mammonites , for whom a thousand instruments of torture are set at work , and a thousand hearts are wrung , and all those whose path is marked with tears and blood , curses and groans , broken hearts and desolated homes , these are the men

      to emigrate I If we could only rid the land of these , or make them work to win an honest livelihood , it would bo a better and a happier land . If all the ablebodied paupers who are pensioned in palaces really did some good thing in the world , and were working in those occupations which their natural aVilitiea fit them for , there would be no need of any Emigration for the children of Labour . 0 , you , men of the Iron Trades ! how much more of suffering and misery will be necessary to teach you that you must go with us in changing this state of things , which ia dail y killing the noblest life , and blasting the bravest energies of England ? All that is necessary to accomplish this is , that the Working Class should join in an united phalanx to demand their Freedom and Right—to say to the powers which crush them : —

      Our birthright is liberty ; our patrimony is the soil ; and cursed are thoy who destroy our inheritance . Either you must give us the jund , nnd leave to work and live , or we ahall take it . It is tho Digest blasphemy under heaven to talk of over-populntion . while you shut up millions of acres of God ' s earth . To ub , Nature bares her beautitul bosom , earth smiles a welcome invitation upon us , and we shall not always suftbr , starve , and die , while there ia plenty Let such a demand of Right , backed by the invincible logic of Mi ght , be made by tho people , and we should speedily have a Government based on the hearts and suffrages of the workers , instead of being bamboozled by this miserable mockery of Class Legislation , for even as it wa 8 said , ' Let there be light , and there was Light ; ' so let the people say , Let there be Freedom , ' and they shall be Free .

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      t THE FORTHCOMING GENERAL ELECTION . A public meeting , convened by the National Reform . League , waa hold in the EcclccMc-hall . Denmark-street . Soho , on Tuesday evening , May 18 th , 1852 , " to take into consideration the best means of influencing the forthcoming metropolitan elections in favour of Chartist candidates , pledged to the social rights of tha people !'' At nino ; o ' cloek Mr . Blair was called to the chair , and read a letter from Mr . G . W . il . Reynolds , highly complimentary to the League . Mr . C . Muiwuy . said , the question- was an opon one—open to all present . It was the duty of Labour ' s advocates to stand forward on the hustings and proclaim tho great principles of political and social rights in such a way as to make them understood . If those men were not returned , it would bo a solamn protest on Labour ' s behalf against tbe wrones inflicted . 6

      Mr . Harrop suggested that certain steps might be taken that would induce the trades to give their aid in favour of candidates who advocated tbe rights of labour . Mr . Dick suggested , that committees of electors and noneleotors should be formed in each borough for the purpose mentioned by Mr . Murray , and that each candidate should give a written pledge . Mr . Osbornr moved , That tbi 3 meeting is of opinion that all ti-ue reformers should , a ' tne approaching elections in the metropolis , taUe measures lo brine ttSiW iI ; Cal V rt > P , IedKedt 0 £ upP 0 ltthe socialas wel 1 " cnmSM ° J l ' e people ; and U wemnmenfo that a central committee be formed to encourage such candidates to come for

      »} j' a ° . ? . RIEIf ' f » 8 " > g to second the resolution , was received with great applause , and entered into a candid m ™ H ) f l - ? P en ( llI ) e contest between the territorial and S \ l& ? n % iw ™ ?< ° th of whom might bo fairly desig-SI fe ° W 0 alth Cl > eated b ? the Proletarians , SG Xnfni ^ A people s ! l 0 ulli be U P atirring to SJiiiSrffi ? £ . COming elcction 8 ' depicted , in KKJ i i - 5 caused ^ tllQ »«« eQt system , colrnnon ^ f ^ 61 ' 0 ^ 1 ^ l > le 3 sill gs that would be tbe Sn " TZpI ? ' ? ™ S" *? f Political and toeial rights , not 0 "& £ , wJ ™ i > - " > but t 0 tlie K- ' ° Ple in & ** &- Mr . f w ^ Umed hl ! aeat loudl y ap plauded . « thiS « JT , W r . 1 ; d 8 fl ' Messi r s - Hunniball . Mills , and A v ' oS VAS f ws carri 0 ( 1 unanimously . mwtSr wm » r T - t 0 tho Chairman , and the 'S oK J unfcil Tuesday evenin s liextthe

      Untitled Article

      bratedo ^ , MnnT The B ^ rth y of Rober * Owen was cole-Tea Par yS , A ? « in the Social Inatitution , by a read Sn 1 l * When an a ^ resa from Mr . Owen was Ktam rvJ ? I fro |» our Society to him .-WiLKmsoN fheTdd ? esS ] SeC >~[ W ° Wwehave not room for r- £ u A ^ E * l 0 NSTER- -The brig Village Girl , which arwitl riSeri J hursdRyraornii * last - trom Pa o tflgo ? JmI Thifn 3 f « ano , brought home a large Seonine ofl iha IK , ™ " ^ e dee p was captured on an island whiitin % T aa coast on the 18 tl 1 of Decen » ber last ' hn L Smnl . te - repose - One of the crew observing the W JS »•«! Mpin 8 on shore » armed himself with a crowbar , and , with morecouraw than nr . uiPnr . p . nrocceded to the

      innTrt * , > "T ^ fd * a approaching the animal without F « X £ A u -. deritOttta Most formdiableblow upon its dffhlS TO lr * aa ^ rely stunneu , but tot altogether disabled . Bleeding profusely from the mouth and nostrils , w Z > u re " itself « P <> n » t 8 hind feet or fins , and ff si . w a i u the brea 8 t o * » 'b assailant , covering him ™ 5 ,-vt ! M J bufc before the wouDded . creature could re-OOver itseit . it was attacked by four or fire other seamen , by whom u was ultimately despatched . The monster was upffa - i ? 5 » meteen feetin length , and is supposed to have weighed about two tons and a half [ -WhMav'n Herald ,

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      A W 0 R » o ^ S ^ SST ^

      TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR m Sw , -Thl 8 i 8 said J mEDox < . sspt ^ Sr s-SSLfams ^ tttE&M f SS SI ^ pS J tho oompoC ot ' pS labo aUChCS Of S ami most injurious to ti , L ¦ T bour Is sev

      piSSSS ^ S ^ ssssis having for its object the good of aM Thit Jft ^ ^ i ^ J ^ -ai ^ ti !* - ^^ -as ^ Jfr ?? menaryevil ; but it will behovo tho au £ ri& ? S S 3 ?\? r- " ^'« S tiut working tailors and shoemakers shall be o B to work at such rates of wages as will renlr f "toggle and a burthen , ratherth « „ ZIt * wluclutoughttobeto all , and to none 2 tS to an industrious working man . It is ouKJ-S * that ' Progress'in ' public eeonomy'Sv ? n * cases , be also Progress' in private and unfathonS "" aery . It WO uld beewme even the IW S Wdliatnm of parliament to look beneatl ZLS * and aauune the moral , 8 Ocial , and physical eftSaTf tho Progress'in low wages , arising koui'llj ment contracts . '

      govern-The building of improved dwellings for lb f portion of the labouring communit y * adnii t dZ be a proof of advancing < Progri > ' f ^ dt ° bishop , a member of parliament , or a benevolent lady , cannot , it may be , find a more becomingZ Te ful employment . It will not be amiss , however £ such parties cast an eye behind them and se ' hit while they are engaged in building streets of house m our cities , their neighbour * ,, or it may be theZ selves , are not engaged iu pulling down cottages in he country . It would also become lords andffifi to look into the houae accommodation of the farm labourers employed in cultivating the laud which thov Of

      h » Sf v ^* fagged kind < Pro 8 WM' that ex . Jausts itself in a minor city humanity , and leaves the vast agricultural population to grub on iu misery nltli , and rags . Such a Progress' will end in a confusion , for which its devotees are not looking bome of them are even now beginning to wonder way it ib , that , notwithstanding all their efforts nieu are still to be found who are sceptical about the' Pro . gress of the age ? One day tho over-conGdent belieyers in street building « P rogress , ' should they fail to look into the condition of the agricultural labourers may discover the cause of such scepticism

      . Eight Honourable Chancellors of the Exchequer liaveof late years made considerable 'Progress' iu reducing national expenditure ; and take credit to tlrcmselves for lightening the burthens of labour , inore was much room for 'Progress' in that direc turn But even Chancellors of the Exchequer may not always be correct in their conclusions . It is true that taxes have been reduced . The 'burthens' of abour are not withal lightened ; and why ? Simply because the reduction in taxes has not been by a long way so great as has been the reduction in tho warn

      or labour , lhe wooloombon of Bradford , the weavers ot Wigan , tho flax-spinners of Shrewsbury , the silk-weavers of Spitalfiolds , tho toot and shoemakers ot Norwich , Stafford , Northampton , and London , are all agreed , that of late years their wages havo been making ' Progress' downwards . A statement which it will become Chancellors of the Exchequer to remember , when they assert that of 'late years the burthens of labour have been reduced . ' A reduction ra taxes to the amount of ten shillings per annum » ia very desirable , thing considered b y itself . when balanced against a reduction of wages amounting to ten pounds per annum . The ' reason why the burthens of labour are not reduced is self-4 bU

      , . ' -wvuvw ^ uuv * "J ( 3 CH " The Malthnsian philosophers , with Lord Brougham at their head , professed to have made great 'Progross when they enunciated that they would put down pauperism by abolishing the old Poor Law of Mizabeth and introduced the new Poor Law with all its indignities , being avowedly ' astep iouo Poor Jjaw at all . In order that the conditions of relief should be sufficiently 'irksome , ' workhouse diet waa fixed lower than that of gaols . Vagrancy was to disappear , mendicancy to die out , and a new and improved social and moral system to be instinctively inaugurated . The workhouses were built purposely like gaolsunder the

      , erroneous impression that tlicir very rapulsiveness would prevent them from being "ffj- * Progress' was the order of the day . Alas ! for the frailty of human ambition ; again aud again wo have seen the workhouses filled to overflowing , along our highways vagrants tramp from town to town , our city streets have a population of their own- ' street people . ' Mendicancy is an organised profession ; poor rates have increased ; and in our anxiety to put down pauperism by repression , we have filled our gaols , and peopled our penal settle ments to overflowing . It is all Progress : ' unluckily £ ° gves 8 > on tho wr ° side

      w ng . Well , but there is educational ' Progress ' -steamboat and railway < Progress —postage and telegraph progress '—scientific , chemical , and mechanical Progress '—all very important . Another day , aud then we may glance at them . Meantime , we ask our patient readers to reflect on the followiug declaration , quoted from the most popular of modern political economists : — ' Hitherto it is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened tho day ' s toil of any human being . They have enabled a greater population to live tho same life of drudgery and in > prisonment , and an increased number of manufec *

      turers and others to make large fortunes . They hava increased the comforts of the middle classes ; but they have not yet begun to effect those great changes iu human destiny , which it ia in their nature » ud iu their futurity to accomplish . ' Such is the testimony of John Stuart Mill . And what a melancholy testimony on the' Present' it is . Our ' Progress , ' according to such authority , is for tho aggregate masses of our countrymen ao advancement—no improvementit is ' questionable' if we have mado any rea * ' Progress' of late years' in the accomp lishment of the greatest object of existence—How to live profitably and well ; and how to enjoy life

      Really this ' Progress' question is a great one , not to be slightingly cast aside , nor decorously evaded . Some kinds of' Progress' have progressed rarely— " *" form . Bill' Progress '—Exeter Hall ' Progress '—? peccflmaking « Progress '—Cant ' Progress '—Charitable Institution ' Progress '—free export and import' Progress '—lo ^ wages Progress '— 'devil take tha hindmost' 'Pr ogress . — ' great sacrifice '' Progress '—and sundry others , springing from the same parent stock ; branching out niw brotherhoods and cousinshipg ; bufc all members of tint

      very old family , in fact , though not in name— ' Humbug-A family which working men will do well to reject as m being , by ! legitimate relationship , in aoy way conn ectca with them ; Representatives of the family of 'Humbug , ' with but few exceptions , may be fairly judged of by marking we » tho answer they give to the folloffingquestion . AH hesitation being a bad omen : — 'Do you think it just anddesiraoW that working men , on the average , should work leaa than they now do , and enjoy a greater share of the necessariw and comforts of life ? ' A distinct answer in the affirniativa is a good sign . Gracchus .

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      Aberdeen . —The members of the iWdfle Go-operflW ^ Store held a soiree on Friday evening , May 14 th . i »? soiree was held principally with a view of presenting a testimonial of esteem to Mr . Wishart , he having complete" «' fifth year of management of the above Store . Mr „« Anderson took the cuair . Mr . David Burns , on behalf ot the society , presented , with a very appropriate address ,, beantiful silver snuff-box to Mr . Wighart , who returne o tnanka ; and aome eloquent addresses were given by Messr * D . Burns , Work , and Ilall , on the progress of Co-operatioOi and an a greeable evening terminated . — Corrbspokdb 1 ' *

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      • This is the medicine of nature . '—Sir J . HiiL , M . D . DE-ISSUE OF THE SECOND EDITION yv of Two Thousand of DR . SKSl . TOiVS FAMILY MEDICAL ADVISER ,, on Saturday , June 5 fli . Price 2 s . 6 d . Also , the First and Sicond Kumbers of the' Monthlv Botanic B « cord and Family Herbal . ' Price Is . Maybe had of all book sellers in town and country the first Saturday of every month . Published by WaUon , No . 3 , Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternosterrow , London . In the Press , and shortly will be Published , price ls . Gd :, 'A Plea for the Restoration of the Veget ible Practice of Medicine . '

      #Otttts Ana Anstoerft To Comssjwttimtte.

      # otttts ana anstoerft to Comssjwttimtte .

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      THE STAR OF FREEDOM . ** 1 ^« - - ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦ — ¦ - ¦¦ ¦ IViA'v On •¦ -

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 22, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1679/page/4/