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Northern Star (1837-1852), 28th December 1844, Edition 2 of 4, Page 6, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      THE CHAMBERS' PHILOSOPHY REFUTED I ^ ABOUR PLEADISG ITS OWN CAU SE .

      THE EMPLOYEE AM ) EMPLOYED . _ A TWfTTTVB DJXLOGVZ . —PART 3 H . According to appointment the four parties to the dialogue respecting the ^ Employer and the Employed , met in the room of the " Stranger's Borne " public-house , in the town of DcviFs Dust , after the dose of Tuesday 1 Toarkft ; -and the dialogue was this resumed : — Robin . — "Well , Maister QuHL , -Is there owt sfrange since we met last ? Ecod , but Maister Smith looks ten jears older :. Smith . —Aye , Robin , aye , I can feel for tie -woes of others . Robin . —Why , what ' s up now ? Owt Tad Tin the market ?

      Smith . —Market , market ! It ' s anytMng but a market . Robin . — "Whv , Maister Smith , what ' s the matter ? Smith . —What ' s the matter 1 "Why , just as I predicted . . They ' re overdone It . Robin . —Overdone what , Maister Smith ? Subtil . —Why the China and India market . They are -all glutted : the "worst news thafs come into iJeviPs Dust since ihe last panic Sobin . —Eeod , hut I thought there was summat gone -wrong ; for all them there mills that -was busy ooflding a -week ago , as folks said for the India and China market , are all give up : and there's a "wonderful to do among the Brieklayers-and Stone-masons , Carpenters and Joiners , and , in fact , all the

      trades . I don't go out to read ihe papers now , Maister Smith ; but Maister Sparerib , ihe butcher , came to me on Saturday neet , and axed how it "was that so much meat "was left on his hands more than other weeks ? But as he is a grumbling in" the best of times , I didn't mind him much- but he -was lamenting over the case of poor folk , and saying as how them as would have a nice joint on Saturday neet , said they'd try a scrag of mutton ; and others ¦ would take a lot of broken meat ; and them there as had a scrag ,-would he content "with"a . pluck ; and the good worknienthat "would havean extra joint , to feast their friends at Christmas / would "wait for a week ; and so on . Ecod , Maister Sparerib said he wished that sheep were all scrags and plucks ; for folk wanted nowt else on Saturday . He axed me the

      reason , and I told nim that It was all machinerythem there flying devils that folk with money was building palaces for—brought Ihe Stone-masons and "Bricklayers , and all the rest * of them Joiners , and < 3 arpenters , and 2 vail-makers , flocking here , and Tailors to make clothes for them , while all the work "was done afore they came ; while them warehouses and big pawnshops was full of as much as would fit the "world : and so instead of nature we had' everything Sction-like . And , ecod , sure enough , but I hear Maister Sqneezegut , overseer of that there fine refuge for the paupers , says that he ' s like to have custom enough ! for , ecod , nehasn't house room for all that ' s applying for relief . Smith . —Well , well , but Robin , how could tee have foreseen all those things ? Don ' t yon see there-was a demand ; and shouldn't " we , as a matter of course , and as good Christians , endeavour to supply the wants of others ?

      Robin . —Ecod , Maister Smith , thou needn't look so bine about it . Thou ' st quit Devil ' s Dust in good time .. Smith . —Confound it , Robin , "good time" do you call it ? Look here . Here ' s a notice 1 have just received of a public meeting of landed proprietors to be held in the Town Hall this evening , to take into con sideration iihe best and speediest means of relieving £ h&present distress of the working classes , by

      voluntary-contributions , or snch other means as shall prevent an additional levy on landed ' prop erty . Robin . —Ecod , Maister Smith , but that ' just what I said ; and thon'lt find that " Shoddy Hall " will have to pay its share . ' Maister Sparerib axed me to come and move anamendment for '' protection for labour , " as he says his eyes are opened to the infernal system , as he calls ft , that wont allow hardworkxngfolk to buy a bit of meat on Saturday neet . May be , Maister Quill , thon'lt second it .

      Qmn —T tell you what , Robin , you may depend upon it that all " those things are better left to the management of the monied classes . A good petition , founded on a sensible resolution , setting forth the prevailing distress , will nave much more effect on the Government than all your ridiculous and absurd propositions about " protection for labour . " Hasn't Mr . Smith dearly pointed out to vou that his situation is just as pitiable as yours ; and shown you that in the long run the grievances of the peonle must ultimately fall upon the shoulders of their superiors I Robin . —That ' s what Pm hearing every year . If s aD alike : until something pinches ihemseh . 'et , thev care nowt for the condition of ' the working classes : an < 3 then when " thev meet , ifs all to " PROTECT" themselves from the burthen 1 Bnt I'D tell thee what , Maister QnlQ ; who arethey to petition i

      QmIL—Why , Sir Robert Peel and the House of Commons , to be sure-Robin . —Ecod , but Peel and them folk will have enough to do to get taxes now 1 and its hard to think that folk that tcovldn ' t hear poor people tiffing th-. ir own distress will give owt for others to make a story for themi Blessmy life ; don't I remember what all them landlords and capitalists said when Maister Ferrand axed them for £ 1 , 000 , 000 forpoor folk ? and , eeod , = £ 1 , 000 , 000 Ttillbenowt amongst them all shortly . QuilL—rWell , but Robin , the case is different when Mr . Ferrand asks for a grant of £ 1 , 000 , 000 , and when the capitalists petition tor relief . 5

      Robin . —Whats the difference , Maister Quill ? Does'nt see that machinery has enabled its owners to collect most -of the money in the eountrr into their own hands ? and , ecod ,, JP eel has but -to look out for the scrapings wherever he can catch them . Time was . Maister Quill , when Government had the cream and folks had the -miTk between them ; but them there flying Perils and cast-iron men have hipped up all the cream and left the Government only the skim

      milk , and the licking of the pan for poor folk . I'll tell you what , Maister Quill , you told me to look at all the churches , and all the improvements that machinery had made for Devil's Dust : and , ecod , when panic conies they'll none of them put a bit on the poor man ' s platter ? Then where's all your great ioast about the " cheapness" produced by machinery ? Quill . —Well , but surely Robin , under any circum-Jtances , it would be better to have things " cheap " than " dear ?"

      Robin . —Maister Quill , that s another piece oi "wisdom "we have long heard of ; and when you complains of demagogues and philosophers , and will hear nowt that they say , we must come to common sense , and common ' reason , and ask vou what vou mean by " cheap" and "dear ?" QuilL—Now , Robin , you speak like a man of sense . Robin . —Wait till you hear what I've to say . Well then , 1 remembers eighty years . 1 remembers all the years that things were " dear , " and all the vears that things were * " cheap . " And , Maister Quill , in the " dear" years , I could get the " dear " " food and "dear" doth , and " dear" every thing , and have more money at the end of the week than I had when all ihingswere" cheap . " I rememberewhen the quartern loaf was two shillings in Devil ' s Dost ; and , ecod , " dear" as it was , poor folk could have it . Now ifs sixpence ] and , ecod , its a scramble , and a god-send to set it .

      QnilL—How do you account for that , Robin ? Robin . —Account for it ? why can ' t thon account -for it 1 Doesn't see that whOe erery thing is being " cheapened , " labour has been made cheapest of all ; and , ecod , thou ' st made it so cheap , that thou must give folk summat to eat to tempt 'em to take itloike . So thon gjv ' st their labour to foreigners to tempt them to take it at a 3 L QnilL—Well , but Robin , don't you see its not fair to ascribe all these evils to Machinery ? machinery

      and its blessings are , as it were , but half developed . Restrictions , as I mav say , of which those upon human food are the most barbarous , sit as an incubus , nay pres 3 as a nightr-mare on the breast of machinery , and withhold all those benefits which would" otherwise freely flow from it , from the working classes . Once pnshaekle industry and untrammel trade , by allowing the produce of English labour to be exchanged "With those who would " give us food in return , and

      then—Robin . —Ecod , and then we d l > c worse of than > ier ' What would ' st ta' call Free-trade , Maister Quill ? Why , ifs free enough to have turned the little village of Devil's Dust into a great city , to send two members to Parliament I And hasn ' t seen mill piled on 7 nil \ and house on house , one after ' tother ; and hasn ' t everv additional mill been a bit of " extension , " as they call it ? and don't I tell thee that " everv " extension " has been followed by a reduction of wages ? Well then , here ' s a question , Maister Quill : if the end of all them " extensions" has been a bigger reductions in wage , can ' st tell me how much reduction the great

      "extension" of all would bring about ? Why , good God of heaven , just look at all them there Indians , and them there Chinese , that folk tell us is nigh hand one >»^ f the world ; and see w on them there flying devDi has completed all orders . irom those parts . Aye , aye , Maister Qmll ; you say trade with those who would give US food in return . Ecod , it ' s Mr . Smith andihe cotton lords that would get the " food in retain f and if we may judge by the past , we might see big warehouses full of wheat at one side of the street , and warehouses full of clpth and calico at 'toiher side , and those that made the one that bonght the other "walking naked and hungry between both I

      Smith . —Pooh , pooh , Robin ; you talk nonsense . How is it possible that masters would be so dead to their own jnterest as not to exchange the wheat that they got in return for produce , for labour , to produce more ? Kot but I admit , Robin , that yon have considerably staggered , my notion infavour " of a free-trade in corn . Robin . —Tea , Mr . Smith , you'd exchange it sure enoughi but then you'd exchange all .: you'd be maister of the wage of labour , and the price of wheat ; and you'd tell the labourer that competition com peDtedyou to give his produce so " cheap , " and competition for corn made you buy it so " dear , " that you'd hare to get Chambers , and Chadwick , and Mug teridee , and Jemmy Graham , and Johnny Rnssell ,

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      and that there damned ould fooil , ould Brougham , and that there ould woman , Joey Hume , ana Frankey Place , with two or three doctors , to draw out a table with figures that would reach from here to York , shewing the amount of food that folk could live on and work , and how " low living" and "frugality" teas good forTietilth . ' and bow good livingled to dissipation and idleness , and brought bastards ! We should have cart-loads of" books , and waggon-loads of " reports " rom committees of capitalists and commissioners of bankers and cotton lords !—new-fangled stuff , and coroner ' inquests , telling us the length of poor folks ' guts , and how much blud poor folk owt to have , and aD that kind of stuff , as if poor folk hadn't as many guts as rich folk , and wern t made like 'em ! Why damn it , Master Quill Quill . —Bold , hold , Robin ; swearing is no argument .

      Robin . —It ' s enough to make folks swear to sea the way poor folk is talked about , and wrote about , and treated now-a-days ; and to see Maister Smith and his sort , and thee and thy sort , supporting newspapers by advertising to get £ . i or £ 3 per cent , for "thy" money , and covering the walls with speculations and prospectuses as to how thou might make more of it ; and boasting that in ten years thou ' st invested as much " brass" in one damned speculation and another as would pay the interest of the national debt r and then leaving poor folk to pay the debt after all I Eeod , Maister Quill , 1 tell thee what :

      thou may ' st bring down all the books in thy shop and read them all , and thonTt never convince the working people that the laws are just that allows thee and the capitalist to do these things , and leaves the poor to starve . And I'll tell thee more too ; that whatever price free trade allows the mas ters to purchase corn at , no law that thou can make will ever regulate the price of the loaf that comes on the poor man ' s table . And I'll tell thee more than that too ; that landlords alone will have to pay taxes and the interest on the national debt , unless they look about .

      QuilL—Aye , aye , that's it . The landlords are the men 1 Have at them I They must enable the working classes to live . Robin . —Ecod , but not by " cheap" bread , though . Quill—What then , Robin ? Robin . —Why good wage ; to be sure I Let them work on the land , and then they wont care what price bread is . They'll have it out of their own sweat—and " dearer" and better . They'll eat enough ; and get more for surplus , and be good customers in the manufacturing market . Quill . —What , Robin ; then you are opposed to machinery altogether I

      . Robin . —Jsoa , nowtof the sort' 1 remembers reading after Cobden , when he was at Bradford , and he axed a Hand-loom Weaver that opposed him if he was against machinery ? The poor man's name was Butterworth , and his answer was : " Noa , Mr . Cobden ; I ' m no | . opposed to machinery , iou may so to bed by machinery , and get up by machinery , ana eat by machinerv , and drink by machinerv , and put on your clothes by machinery ; aye , and pick your teeth by machinery ; if your machinery doesn ' t take my bed from under me , the coat of my back , and the loaf off my table . " Ecod , but that was wisdom ' It was worth all the tons of tracts that ever was issued by that skin-flint of a League .

      Quill . —Well but , Robin , why talk of tilling the land at home , when we can get corn so much " cheaper" from abroad ? Besides , youknow that the very best authorities tell us that the land of England does not produce , and indeed is not capable of producing , enough of corn for the people ? Robin . —There you go again , Maister Quill , with your " better to get ' cheap' corn from abroad , than grow it at home . " 3 say that the man that grou-s it at home trill hi ablt to have enough of it , independent of all laws and restrictions ; and he'll be a better customer in the market with his surplus , than all the Chinese

      and Indians and other folk in the world . And it's all gammon about England not being able to produce enough ' Why there ' s nearly twice as many folk now in England as there was sixty years ago ; and there ' s just as much land as when we had only a half of the population ; and then I remember , some folk would talk that foolish stuff , that England couldn ' t feed them alL But now we see this very year , that the same land is capable of supplying the whole population I Aye , Maister Quill , and if we had four times the population we have , we'd find that the land would produce six times as much as it does now .

      Smith . —Well but , Robin , how would you make the land produce more ? Surely men that expend their capital in land are more conversant with the subject than you are ; and they make it produce as much as it can ? Robin . —Kay , nay , Maister Smith ; let the population "press on the land ; " then folk will begin to see that the land was of no value till labour was applied to it ; and if labour was applied to it , thou would not find it so easy to make £ 90 , 000 of thy £ 20 , 000 in fifteen years , as thou did ' st when thy cast-iron men and wooden women , and wire children , " pressed hardly on the means of subsistence . " Smith . —Well Robin , you appear to wish to check honourable speculation altogether .

      Robin . —> ay , Maister Smith , not so : but I'd stop that speculation that allows the few to put the money that belongs to all into their pockets , and compels the many to stair e , or to petition Parliament for relief ; or to ax the Queen to write a begging letter to Parson Barebones to beg for charity to keep them alive that keeps her , and ieeds that German husband of her ' s , and all them young half-German princes and princesses . Andnow , Maister "Quill , do'st think thy farther ever remembers the time in Devil's Dust when maisteis and men wrought together , that niaisters were buying hind and spending in speculations ; while the King was begging , and Parson Flower preaching charity sermons for poor folk ? Aye , Maister Quill , we had no Town Hall then , sure enough , because folk

      didn ' want to do what Bess ' s Old Poor Law did for them : And then thou talkest of the " dissipation , " and "improvidence , " and "discontent" of the working dasses . I'll tell thee what , Maister Quill : just thou get Peel and the Government to shut up the gin palaces , public-houses , and beer-shops , ana see where the National Debt will go to ! and see where the sailors' pay , and the soldiers' pay , and the pensioners * pay ; aye , ecod , and the Queen ' s pay , too , will come trom ! Wby , bless my old life , talk of ** dissipation : " don't 1 live down there in West-street , between a man that sells penny publications that folk can only buy on Sunday , and a big public-house ; and isn ' t my brain addled on Sundav neet with drunken

      folk in the public-ionse , whileMaister Smith and the bench of magistrates fines the poor devil that sells penny tracts on Sunday , to try and get a living ? Who makes them '' dissipated , " ^ laister Quill ? Why its the Government that lives on them , and the maistere that encourage them ; and Til be bound for it , that before machinery came to DevD ' s Dust , thy faither never saw " jolly Sailors" open after nine o ' clock on any neet in the week . Nay , if poor old Maister Grudge , that kept it for fifty years , allowed alad to drink , or a man to get drnnk there , Bumble , the beadle , would be at him , and parson Flower would be about his ears . And then about the "

      discontent ; " I've seen famine , or nearly like it ; I ' ve seen when thy faither and I were put to shifts to get a bit for the children ; and we wem't " discontented" theti ; for it was all famine alike . It came from God , then , Maister Quill ; and it came on all without distinction King would come down something , and Duke come down something , and Lord of the Manor , and Squire ; but no begging letters ; no praying for the poor alone , but prat / ing to avert the famine from jlll . And then Parson Flower knew what every man in the parish had to spare . He was bookkeeper , like ; andmany's the neet , Maister Quill , I , and my wife and children

      went to bed without supper—and we thanked God we had dinner , and we blest God , and blest the King , and blest Parson Flower , and blest the laws too : we wern't " discontented" then , Maister Quill : but sow I see poor folk workin | fourteen hours a day , skulking down the lanes wi ' out stockings , and lying a bed a Sundays , and cursing , and damning , and blaspheming at the laws that let ' s the rich grind the faces of the poor . They sees one set of folk rich and happy , and uith plenty every day in the year— in " good harvest , " and "bad harvest "—wi " good trade , " ! ' and "bad trade : " jlsd the FiMixE 13 always ox the tolk that

      mak ' s them rich ass pat . So thon seest , Maister Quill , it would be a strange thine if j > oor folk were otherwise than " dissipated " and " discontented . " Quill . —Yes , but Robin , I tell you it ' s all a consequence of their " improvidence ; " they might be better off . Robin . —I'll try that with thee , Maister Quill . Ifs always Terr easy to lay the burden on poor folk ' s shoulders . " One man may steal a horse , while another must not look over the wall . " And now , Maister Quill , just see here . I'll take poor folk , and thou shalt take rich folk ; and let ' s see whether rich folk is so " provident" and " careful . " Now , let ' s begin with a lump : rich folk owe a national debt of near ei ght hundred viittions of money . ' The Queen

      , they say , is cutting down her establishment because she ' s in debt . Working folk had to pay the Duke of Tork ' s debts . The King of Belgium left poor folk to pay Ids debts . The Duke of D— owes two millions . My God : and all the poor folk together onk axed for half that to carry them over the bad season ! Marquis of A owes a million and a half . Lord C owes two millions . The Lord of the Manor here has sold off " Shoddy Hall , " and " Twist Castle , " and a whole parish , to pay the interest of his debts . In short , tney owes among them four thousand millions to the Jews : and then they talk of poor folk being '' improvident I" Ecod , when they

      set about building a house they mortgage the walk to put the roof on ! And then see how folk compound and begin again : but poor folk mun always pay twenty shilling in the pound . ' Now , Maister Quill , hare I proved that folk were better off before machinery come to Devil's Dust ? { Loud shouts without . ) Smith and Quill ( speaking together ) . — What ' s that ? What noise is that ? ( Procession passes with bands and banners ; on the first flag , " Procession of the Unemployed . " ) Smith . —O ! ifs only a muster of the damned tagrag-and-bob-tail Chartists . Robin , —( Standing at the window . ) Ecod , all folks are Chartists when they get hungry : but I see many a store , and noaDy a hundred too , among them that

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      never before was known as Chartists . ( Shouts of " To the Town Hall ! " Down with the Bastile !" "Bread or blood ! " ) Quill . —Do you hear that , Robin ? They are calling for bread . Robin . —Ay , but not for " cheap" bread , Maister Quill . See-that there flag , " Down with the League !" See 'tother , " More pigs and less parsons . " Ecod I hope Parson Barebones will sefljtfta * . See here , Maister Smith , coom and look . Smith . —Nay , Robin , I don't wish to be seen . Robin . —Ecod , but hero ! here's all the men that ' s worked for thee , passing now : coom and see . Smith . —No , thank ye , Robin ; I'd rather not .

      _ Robin . —Ah , there it is , Maister Quill ; in them times , before machinery was here , ihe maister was never ashamed nor afraid to look his men in the face ! Smith . —Aye , Robin ; but it is the men that have grown "impatient" and "insolent" now-a-days . They can't have been hungry longer than since Saturdav last , and they ' re crying out already . Robin . —Ecod . ' Maister Smith , in former times , if it were not a downright famine , we could stand a quarter or more before we'd complain , because we had summat laid up ; but now folk cry out when they are hungry , for hunger conies slap on them . They can't wait . See here , Maister Smith ; see here , Maister Quill , " Down with ihe bastile . " " Equal rights . " " Fair day ' * wage for a fair da *? s work . " " Annual Parliaments , " " Universal Suffrage , " " Vote by Ballot , " " Equal representation , " " No property qualification , " and " Payment of members . "

      "THE CHARTER IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT : — We'll die or have it . " Smith . —Yes , yes ; I was right , they ' re Chartists , never satisfied . Robin . —Ecod , then it was machinery that made them Chartists , as well as made the churches , the banks , and the bastile . ( Shouts of " To the

      Townhall I" ) Smith . —Robin , will you accompany us ? Robin . —Thankee , Maister Smith , I ' m over old to make my way through a crowd now ; but you and Maister Quill can go down . Quill . —No , I certainly shan ' t . I've nothing to do with it . Smith .-r-I thought it was to be a meeting of landed proprietors and rate-payers ? Robin . —Ecod , and so it is ; the folks there ought to be the proprietors , as they are the rate-payers : so coom and hear what they have to say , Maister Smith . Smith . —Come , then , Robin , if you'll go I'll go . Take ray arm , Robin .

      Robin . —Nay , Ecod . That would never do , Maiater Smith . Ecod , they'd hiss me ; or happen hustle me . Smith . —Well , Jackson , give me your arm . Jackson . —Thankee , sir ; I ' m too shabby . ( Quill boltij Smith . —Good God ! am I to be left here alone ? Jackson ; ihy good friend , Jackson , you were always an honest man ; will you stay and take care of me ? Jackson . —Yes , Mr . Smith , I'll stay and take care ° f 7 e . Now I trust that you'll see and understand that the working classes , howsoever oppressed , never cherish vengeance in their breasts , or withhold protec tion , when called for , even from those who oppress thpnv

      Smith . —1 thank you , Jackson . Do you think "' ey'll come back ? Do you think they saw me ? Robin . —Farewell , Maister Smith . " A clear conscience is the best property that a man can possess , and the best safeguard against all the dangers that threaten . I have nowt to fear : so I'll go and face my townsmen . ( Shouts without of "Old Robin , " "honest Robin , " " three cheers for Robin , " "take care of Robin , " " don't press him , " " carry him on rourshoulders , " " put Robin in the chair , " "he ' s nttest to preside , " " no cotton lord , " " no Free Trader , " " three cheers for Robin . " ) Jackson . —Mr . Smith , do you think old Robin would change places with you now , and take " Shoddy Hall" into the bargain ? ( To hi continued . }

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      French Academ y of Sciences . —At the sitting of Dec . 9 th , M . Hector Ledru laid before the academy some specimens of cold-drawn iron , and other tubing . A few years ago the only tubing made in France , for gas and" other purposes , except lead tubing , was made by hand . ; ln England , iron-drawn tubing ( by heatV without soldering , was first made , and was importea , by special permission , into France on account of its vkst superiority over hand-made soldered tubes . Within the last two years the French have , in this branch of manufacture , eclipsed the English , for they now , by pressure , draw tubing cold , and it is in every respi-ct perfect , indeed much more perfect than the hot-drawn tubing . A letter was received from M . Rougetde 1 ' Isle , claiming for an English chemist ,

      in 1625 , and whose name he gives , probably erroneously , as Frebet , the merit of the invention of the acrotherm ovens , respecting which so much has been said lately , and also that of the incendiary rocket of Capt . Warner , as described by M . Jobard , of Brussels . We think it liighly probable that the method of baking bread by hot air was known in 1025 ; and if we knew what Capt . Warner ' s invention was , we might offer an opinion on that subject also ; but we have no other authority than the description given by M . Jobard , and how arc we to know ttiat he has hit upon Capt . Warner ' s real or pretended secret ? M . Selligue made another communication respecting his mode of propelling vessels at sea by an explosive gas , instead of steam . M . Selligiie appears to be more

      and more confident of the superiority ofhis plan . A paper was r eceived by the academy from Dr . Natalia Gui-Iott , on the black substance resembling charcoal which is found in the lungs of man , and to which some of the French physicians have given the name of melanoes This substance goes on accumulating in the respiratory organs in men of a certain age , and particularly in old men . It has all the character of pure charcojil , and is in a state of extreme division . A recent analysis has been made of it under the eyes of M . Dumas anil M . Melscus . The causes of this deposit have been differently explained ; some of the faculty have even supposed tliat it arises from small particles of charcoal dust , or the dust from carbonised wood used as fuel , conveyed by the respiratory action into the lungs , and accumulating there until it forms a compact mass . This opinion appears , from the researches of M . Guillot , to be an erroneous one . He shows clearly that the cause , whatever it mav be . is

      not external . When this substance has accumulated into a mass only a millimetre ( the thousandth part of a metre ) in thickness , theair tubes and venous conduits are obliterated ; the tissues then are transformed into a black substance , which sometimes covers half the pulmonary organs . Respiration and circulation are now alike impeded , ana , as the disease goes on , death ensues , the whole of the pulmonary organs being hermetically sealed against the admission of air . This is frequently the case with persons of advanced age . When tubercles exist in the lungs , and this black matter is deposited around them , they do not undergo the changes peculiar to consumption in its normal character . The tubercles become calcareous , are free from unctuous matter , and do not increase in volume . No vessel of new formation is developed , or , if this has been the case before the deposit of the melanose , they become obliterated , and the progress of the consumption is arrested .

      Sitting of Dec . 16 th . — Antiquity of the Earth . —The sitting to-day offered but little interest , and was of short duration . M . Elle de Beaumont made some observations on a question submitted for consideration , viz : — "What relation exists between the progressive cooling of the earth and thatof its sxirface . " M . Elle de Beaumont has calculated that the annual cooling of the surface of the globe has been greater than that of the globe itself during a period of 38 , 359 years . According to this solution the antiquity of the period when our globe was entirely incandescent , isof a remoteness which defies calculation , and shows that persons who attempt to fix the age of our planet by geological deductions must still be very distant from a perfect knowledge on this subject . Some recent discoveries in geology have , indeed , shown that the earth is much older than the earlier discoveries

      have led us to suppose ; but if , as is generally believed , the globe was at one time incandescent ., the rate at which M . E . de Beaumont calculates the pror gressive cooling of it , in relation with the surface , would give to it an antiquity far greater than any that has hitherto been assigned to it . The Etusolooicjo , Society of Looto . w—We purpose giving regular reports of the proceedings of this society , which we trust , will be found interesting to our readers . It was founded in November , 1843 , by Dr . King , the Polar traveller . As naturalist to the expedition in search of Sir John Ross and his party , when shut up in the ice of Regent ' s Inlet , he had the opportunity of studying * the physical and moral condition of the Red Man , and his narrative of that expedition bears

      testimony of his labours in Ethnological research . After studying the subject for some years , and stating his views in an appropriate prospectus , a sufficient number of known scientific men formed themselves into a body , under the name of the " Ethnological Society of London , " for the purpose of affording that co-operation which Dr . King required and the science merited . The object is , to inquire into the distinguishing characteristics , physical and moral , of the varieties of mankind which inhabit , or have inhabited , the earth , and to ascertain the causes of such characteristics . Various interesting-papers have been read at the meetings of this society . The first of the present

      session , entitled the ' 'Natives of Guyana , " by Chevalier Schomburgk . was read on the 2 fth ulti , Admiral Sir C . Malcolm , President , in the chair . The aboriginal inhabitants of Guyana consist of Ararawaaks , Wa * - rauB , Caribs , Accawais , Macusis , Arecunnas , Wapisianas , Atorais , Tarumas , WoyawaiB , Maopitiaus , Pianaghotto , and Drios . Their united numbers amount to 6 , 850 . The AtOTais are nearly extinct ; and the Maopitiaus number only fourteen men , eleven women , eight boys , and six girls . The form of the Guyana native hut marks the tribe hj which it is raised ; and while that of the Warrau , Arrawaak , and Carib is a mere shed , the houses of the Macusis and Wapissianas are frequently built of mud , sur-

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      mounted by a roof of a pointed form of almost eastern character , and thatched with plain leaves . Each tribe has its own hunting ground , and each family its own plantation . The natives of Guiana , while yet infants , are betrothed . The youthful lord is bound as soon as he is able to assist the family of his intended until she becomes his wife . The naming of the child devolves upon the Piaimati , or coniurer , who performs certain mystic ceremonies in a dark hut on the occasion , the duration of them depending upon the amount of the fee which is presented to him . On verging from childhood the

      youths are subjected to severe trials : the boys , as a test of their courage , are put into a bag with stinging ants , or are lacerated about their breasts with the teeth of the wild hog , or the beak of the toucan ; the girls are deprived of their long hair , and then slung in their hammock over an incessant smoky fire , an ordeal which frequently costs them their life . Characteristic drawings by Mr . Goodall , the artist to the expedition , ornamented the walls of the meeting room ; and there was a living illustration in the person of a Macusi . —From " The Institute : " a new weekly scientific journal .

      Interesting Discoveries at Nineveh . —The news of the progress of M . Botta ' s excavations at Khorsabad , near Mosul , Palestine , are always interesting . There are at present one hundred and sixty workmen engaged thereon , and besides the walls , which are covered with sculptures and inscriptions , many antiquities of a peculiar and at present inexplicable nature are met with , For example , under the large bricks , of which the floor consists , are stone repositories , which are filled with small clay enamelled figures of men and beasts , without anything on the surface indicating the existence of such repositories , or there being anything within them to explain their contents . In another place they discovered great rows of earthen vases of a remarkable size , placed on

      a brick floor and filled with human bones , and similar to those which have been found at Babylon , at Ahwaz , and other places in South Persia . The palace seems to have oeen totally plundered before its destruction , for neither jewels , nor instruments , nor even the small cylinders , so numerous in the neighbourhood , are anywhere found : merely some bronze images of beasts ( for instance , a very fine lion ) have been discovered , as also a part of the bronze wheel of a war chariot . But the most incomprehensible circumstance is , that the alabaster slabs with -which the'walls are cased , and which are covered with inscriptions and sculptures , bear on the back , likewise , inscriptions in arrow-headed characters , and certainly not in the Assyrian , but in the Babylonian

      language . As it is naturally not to be presumed that the architects could have been so foolish as to have graven these inscriptions where no one could have seen them without pulling down the wall , it must bo presumed that the slabs have served twice , first belonging to a Babylonian palace , ' and afterwards have been transposed by ihe Assyrians , and fresWy graven . At present no sculptures have been found on the back , which would , indeed , be of the greatest interest , no Babylonian sculptures having ever yet been discovered . Some of the lately found bas-reliefs are especially remarkable : for instance , one representing the siege of a town situate on an island ; the sea is covered with ships , the fore part of which form a horse's head , and which are

      occupied in bringing the trunks of trees for the purpose of erecting a dam . The water is covered with all : kinds of marine animals—fishes , crabs , and winged sea-horses . The richness of the details , and the mass of sculpture which the palace contains , are amazing , and it is incomprehensible how so magnificent a building should have been so strangely buried in the earth . The French Ambassador at Constantinople has not yet obtained permission from the Porte to send to Paris those articles of antiquity which will bear transport , Which says little for their interest there , at a time when the English arc removing whole cargoes of antiquities from Lesser Asia to London . —Augsburgh . Gazette .

      New Nautical Invention . —A useful invention is now in the act of being applied to one of our men-ofwar . It is called a " manoeuvrer . " It is the proposition of R . Fullerton , Esq . ; is an Archimedean screw fitted through the dead wood of the ship at right angles with the keel , and set in motion by the capstan , for the purpose of turning the ship round when , from calm weather , the helm has no effect on the vessel . It docs not project in any degree , so as to impede the ship ' s way through the water ; and must be highly useful in the case of a ship being aa tacked by steamers or gun-boats , in bringing thtbroadside to bear on them ; or it may even assist e ship in the act of staving .

      Agriculture Aittr I&Orttmuttrr.

      Agriculture aittr i&orttmUttrr .

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      Horticulture- —It is a common opinion , though a very fallacious one , that recently planted trees or « hrubs are liable to injury by frost , and therefore , that after the winter may be fairly said to have set in , all planting operations should cease till spring . Plants of a vory delicate habit , and under any circumstances liable to bb injured by frost , it ia perhaps desirable to have established before winter ; but in the case of fruit trees , and the general run of hard y trees and shrubs , planting may be carried on with perfect safety during intervals of fine weather , and the plants will thrive much better than if left undisturbed till spring . —The Greenhouse . Although the weather has been unfavourable , by reason of the long-continued absence of the sun , the greenhouse is

      by no means destitute of flowers , fho early plants of pink , blue and purple cinerarias are in full flower , as arc also the Chinese primroses , the forward camel-Has , and not a few of the tulips and other Dutch bulbs . If the weather continues damp , it is essential during these short days to have a little fire heat ? i'casionally , and water must be all but withheld . — 'he Flower-garden . Look over the half-hardy perennial plants in pits and frames , and pick off carefully every decaying leaf , and let the lights be off all day when the weather is dry . —The Kitchen-garden The cauliflower and lettuce plants in frames should not be covered except during rains or frosts ; it is desirable by constant exposure to the air to render them as hardy as possible , and to prevent them from being drawn up . —BelVs Weekly Messenger ,

      Saoo Palmist . — -Of all the palm-trees which arc natives of Asia , the sago palmist is one of the most useful and interesting ; a liquor runs from incisions made in its trunk , which readily ferments , and is both salutary and agreeable for drinking . The marrow or pith of the tree , after undergoing a slight preparation , is the substance known by the name of sago in Europe , and so eminently useful in the list of nutritious food for the sick . The trunk and large leaves of the sago palmist are highly useful in the construction of buildings ; the first furnishes planks for the carpenter , and the second a covering for the roof . From the leaves are also made cord , matting , and other articles of domestic use .

      Spade Husbandry . — A correspondent writes as follows ;— "As the ' allotment system' baa become more common of late , I beg leave to letthepublie know what may be done by ' spade husbandry . ' William Inman , of Bolton , near Bradford , gardener , had two plots of ground which had been broken up two years , measuring together 248 yards—six yards more than the twentieth part of an acre—which he sowed with carrot seed last March , and reaped the crop the latter end of October , filling sixteen sacks with clean carrots , which weighed fourteen loads of 2521 bs ., and 11 stones ( 161 bs . per stone ) , which he sold for 8 s . per load , a market price , amounting to £ 5 18 s ., or the incredible sum of £ 115 10 s . per acre . N . B . — M v . Inman will allow any person to measure the ground , and will prove the quantity reaped if desired . " ^ Bradford Observer .

      Destruction of the Mealy Bug . —This formidable enemy may be extirpated without injury to vegetation by a solution of soft soap , or soft soap and sulphur . Take a leaf with some of these pests on it , and smear it over with soft soap and sulphur , and it will almost immediatel y kill the insects . On account of the mealy bug , however , secreting itself and its larvae in very small chinks and crevices , it is difficult to destroy it ; and this appears to set at defiance all attempts to extirpate it with one or two dressings , without recourse to something injurious to vegetation . However , it may be got rid of by persevering in the use of a solution of soft soap and sulphur , luke-warm , and applied with a painter's brush , rubbing it well into the crevices .

      Destruction of Oiives , —The inhabitants of the South of Franco and Italy , who cultivate on a large scale the olive tree , complain of the severe losses caused by insects , and which they seem unable to guard against . The olives are attacked by a small caterpillar , which penetrates into its kernel , on which it lives , and escapes , about the end of August , by an opening near the pedicle , and , by means of a thread which it spins , reaches the ground , where it undergoes its -metamorphosis , and then becomes a butterfly . The caterpillar , in making the hole through which it escapes , causes the pedicle to die , and the olive falls before it is ripe . Once on the ground the caterpillar seeks a dry leaf , or some crevice in the earth , constructs a light silken Web , is changed into a chrysalis , and , in the space of from three to six days , the butterfly appeal's . At the

      instant the caterpillar leaves the olive it meets with numerous enemies ; thus—birds , while it hangs by the thread ; ants , as soon as it reaches the earth ; and , finally , a small hymenopterus deposits its eggs on its bod y , and these produce small larvae , which live on , and are developed at the expense of its flesh and fat , without attacking the vital parts . As soon , however , as they are completely developed they kill the caterpillar , or chrysalis , and make under its skin from fifteen , to twenty oval webs . In order to destroy a great number of these lepidopterce , the following plan may be followed :--At the end of August , when the caterpillar leaves 'the olives , a trench of about an inch- or two in depth must be dug around the tree , and filled with dry leaves so as to lurnish a convenient hiding-place for the caterpillar to form its web . In the beginning of September the leaves must be collected and burnt , and the trench filled up , go as to bury any that may remain under the clods .

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      The AiAOtMExir System inWorcestebsbire ,: —In the Morning Herald of the 13 th ult . was published a report of an influential meeting held at Worcester on the 11 th of the } same montE , for the purpose of affording the benefits of the allotment System to the operatives of Worcester and its neighbourhood . A society was then established , under the presidency of the lord bishop , and a committee of management was appointed for carrying out the object in view . This committee has since been actively engaged in drawing up rules , procuring land , and other necessary business , arid Monday last ( December 23 ) was appointed to receive proposals from parties willing to take allotments . In proof of the anxiety evinced by the labouring classes io avail themselves bfthe system , we may now state applications of this nature were received from no less than 121 parties . These applications

      were written upon a printed form prepared tor the purpose , in which the applicants were required to state their name ) age , occupation , residence , name and residence of their employer , rate of wages per week , whether they were married or single , and what was the nnmber of their family , these particulars being asked for in order to guard against misrepresenta tion . On comparing the returns with regard to wages , it was found that they varied from 4 s . to 21 s . per week . Grants of land for the purpose of allotments have been offered by several parties , and there is no doubt that ! as much can be procured as is required . It is eipected that Sir John Scbright , who is an extensive landed proprietor in the immediate vicinity of Worcester , and who has tried the allotment system upon a Large scale , will grant a valuable piece of land close to the city .

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      DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS . Toulon , Dec . 17 . — The most extraordinary bad weather we have experienced during the past week has caused much damage along the coast , and prevented many vessels from reaching their destination Amongst others , the transport Mehagere , wfiich sailed from this port on the 6 tb , for the Island of St . Marguerite , to take on board Arabian prisoners ; ^ and carry them to Algiers , has been obliged to return to Toulon to-day , with a leak and the loss of both her anchors and cables . The steamer Montezuma , Captain Fournier ., from Algiers , was obliged to run into Port Mahon , with her paddle wheels broken and her boilers seriously damaged . The Montezuina left Port Mahon on the 14 th , arid anchored in our roads this afternoon . She brings no news of importance .

      The transport Expedition , Captain Meniac , sailed from Toulon on the 2 nd for Rio Janeiro , was obliged to seek shelter in Port' Mahon , much injured . Three thunderbolts fell on this vessel . The brig Jollet , from Nantes , also ran into Port Mahon ; the lightning set fire to the vessel , and nearly burnt all her cargo . I have just learnt the loss of the following vessels yesterday , at the entrance of the Porte of Cette : —The Russian ship Helena , Captain Enlierg ; the Norwegian brig Iduna , Captain Peterson : the Dutch galliot Angelina , Captain Meendin ; and the French boat Josephine , Captain Lebriten , for Newfoundland . Ten vessels , whose names I could no t learn , were lost at Agde , near to Cette .

      Amsterdam , Dec . 19 th . —The ship Polly , which was stranded off Texel , on her way from Amsterdam to Newcastle , has arrived in the North Holland canal , near Blaawe Keet . The crew left on the lYth , for the Nieuwe Diep . The Albion , Captain McKenzie , from Newcastle , is still safely moored off the Due d'Alven , near Rotterdam . On the 18 th inst . the Helvoetsluys was full of ice . On the 15 th the Catharina , Captain Mowle , of Liverpool , arrived off Egmondaan Zee , where the captain landed to procure provisions . December 20 . —The English and French post did not arrive here to-day . The ship Catharina Jackson , of Baltimore , was towed up to Helvoetsluys yesterday . The Texel yesterday was full of driftin g ice . Up to this day no tidings have reached this city of the ship Joanna , which left Elbing , for Hull , in August last .

      Extraordinary Shipwreck . —The Esk trader , Captain StokeB , left Newcastle on Saturday afternoon , shortly before high water , on her voyage to London , with a valuable general cargo . She was towed by two powerful steamers from the usual berth at Newcastle-quay down the river , and on rounding Whitehill-point , near Shields , she grounded , in consequence of taking the point too closely , oil a rocky bank , which extends some distance into the river . She heeled round and was towed off , as was supposed , with little damage . The steamers towjed her slowly down the river and across the bar , without any leak being discovered . She being supposed all tight , went to sea . The wind blowing from the east , it was desirable to give her what is called " a good offing , " and she Was towed out about seven miles . The steamers then left her . ' and in about an hour

      after it was discovered that , she was making water rapidly . The pumps were entirel y useless agai&st the rapid ingreas of water , and ttip long-boatjjjfas launched , into which the creW ' had just tiiue to get when the Esk went down . The crew were unable to save anything , and had they not been prompt in launching and getting into the boat , all hands would have suffered . It was broad daylight , and several other vessels were near , into one of which the crew were taken . It is supposed the vessel was strained by getting oft" the ' bank / an'd" theiieavirrg-Of-die-sea had caused her to spring a ' ^ bulk head ?' . ' It is somewhat remarkable that a vessel belonging to the same company , also called the Esk , likewise foundered at sea , when all hands perished , in her voyage from Newcastle to London , some years ago , and the vessel which foundered on Saturday last was built to supply her place .

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      A FARtHING FOR REPEAL ! When a traveller finds that the farther he goes the more he increases lus distance trom the place ofhis destination , he is very apt to conclude that he is on the wrong road ; j and the simplest of simple Re-Repealers must surely begin to marvel at this fact , that the farther ftiey follow their guit ' e , the farther off they are , by his account , from their goal . The nearest way to Repeal would , indeed , seem , like the nearest way home , to be the farthest about . Last year it was to be had in six months ; a few days ago the cause was declared to be so prosperous that it was hardly possible that by any mismanagement it could miscarry ; but lo ' . last Tuesday it . Was

      proclaimed that i there must be more money , and three yeais was the time talked of . Mr . O'Connell , ] unlike the sybil , raises his terms as he gets his prize . [ ' Give me six months of peace , and you shall have Repeal at the end of it , " said he , in ' 43 . He got his get the Repeal . | six months of peaice , —and the beguiled people did not "The cause is in so fair a way that itishanllv possible you can by any mismanagement lose it , " was the next assurance . This was a great comfort ; for it promised that the thing would require no further trouble , and carry itself . But what comes next is in quite another note .

      Give £ 50 , 000 a year for three years , and you shall have all yoii want . " Will not six months of peace do as well now as in ' 43 , for peace has the advantage over £ 50 , 000 a year of requiring no contributions ? And as the cause was hut a few days ago so flourishing that it could be hardly so mismanaged as to miscarry , how can it possibl y want £ 50 , 000 a year for three years ( Leave well alone . But let us hear Mr . O'Connell ' s last proclamation : — " The year ' 43 j was the year of monster meetings — ' 44 that of patient forbearance and peaceful determination . Let ' 45 be that of Repeal organization

      and weekly collections . Let there be a collection" from every district , if it be only £ 1 , a shilling—ay , a penny . Who was there who could not pay a farthing a week i ( 'No one . ' ) Then let every man do so . ( Cheers . ) If every man in Irelfind paid a shilling a year , it was all he asked , for it would amount to £ 100 , 000 a year . Let every man in Ireland consider that he owed a farthing ' to his country . How little would it be to him , but of what inexhaustible advantage to Old Ireland ' . —( Cheers . ) If there was a collection of £ 50 , 000 for three years , there did not exist in Europe a statesman so stupid as not to see that-the time had arrived tehin Iceland could no longer be refused her rights . " \ '

      We are come to that scene in the play where Iago says to Roderigo" I have p rofessed me thy friend , and I confess me knit to thy deserving with cables of perdurable toughness . / could jiever better stead thee than now . ¦ Put money in thy purse—I say , put money in thy purse . " In the Irish reading , it is put money in my purse ; but we have the text without variance in the next speech : f Thus do I ever make my fool my purse . " ; ' , It is in an act to which we have not yet come that the dupe begins to complain — "Every day thou doff ' st me with some device—your . words and performances are no kin together—I have wasted myseli out of my means , and begin to find mvself fobbed in it . " I

      There is far more of the quack , however , : than of the Iago in Mr . O'Connell ; and th

      And what was said oi this class of adventurers in the main exactly fits our Repeal charlatan—Arhm habent sine arti , partein sine parte , quorum medium est mentiri , vita eorum mendicatum ir $ . The simplest of Repealers will see how unnccessarv it is for him to answer the call for the farthing lor Repeal , bearing iu mind that it is scarcely possible so to mismanage the cause as to mar it . lie may therefore , with" per fect safety , keep his farthing in his pocket , resting assured that it will make no difference , one way or the other , in the progress of so indestructible | a cause . The question , as Irishmen have been' told jbv their great authority , is too

      flourishing to be spoiled by mismanagement ; but the peasant ' s state , not so happy , will hardly bear the mismanagement of even a farthing . Let him , therefore , look to his farthing , and hold to his farthing , and feel easy about Repeal . We will not pretend to assess the value of a Collegegreen Parliament . It may be worth three farthings to people of green longings ; but what seems to us unreasonable is the requsition of a farthing , or any fraction of a farthing , for a thing declared so certain , so inevitable . | As -well call upon poor folks to subscribe a farthing for the rising of the sun ; they would do better to spend it in a rushlight for the intervening hours of darkness .

      • Is there a banker in Christendom who would give three farthings for this note of hand ?—I Derrynane , Dec . 16 , 1844 . Three yearsj after date I promise to pay to Patrick or his order a jParliament in College-rgreen , for value received . i

      £ 0 0 03 . i Don Quixote ' s bill for ass-colts , at three months after date , was a negotiable and eligible security compared with this * . We know that we shall have our Parliament sitting in Westminster next February , and would we give a farthing for it ? Certainly not , or our next of kin would soon clap us in a mad-house as incompetent to manage our jaftairs . And how much more reason is there for tb : e Irishman ' s sticking to his farthing , looking eithei * at the value of Parliaments , or probability of events ? No ; but keep your farthing in your pouch . A farthing in the hand is better than any number of Parliaments in the College green bush . The Repealibutton has distinctly signified thus far and no farther shalt thou go—the button for Repeal : and button up your farthing safe with that token .

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      6 ; THE NORTHEBN STAR . I December JS 8 , ^ 1844 . -

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      Another of Peel ' s Difficulties . —Save me from ur Friends !^— Fair Play for Ireland . —rlreland is deprived of her fair proportion of influence and power in the administration ot public affairs . Irishmen are treated with peglectand scorn . The Queen ' s cabinet contains not I a single Irishman . The subordinate officers of the Government , with the exception of the petty place assigned to Mr . Emerson Tennarit , and two or three more of " such small deer , " are exclusively held b . y English and Scotch . From all public departments iu Great Britain , Irishmen are excluded , whilst English and Scotch officials shoulder them out of the direction of affairs in their own country . Towards thej liberal professions the same partial

      course la pursued : and never was it pursued with a more unvarying monopoly than within the last four years . Next comes the Church , towards which the rale is rigidly enforced—namely , that Englishmen are worthy to be set in the highest offices in Ireland , but no Irisli clergyman entitled to aspire to the meanest preferment being in the gift of Government . Did any one -ever hear of an Irisli clergyman being made an English bishop , or an English dean ? The difficulty experienced by Irish gentlemen in procuring the promotion of their sons in the Royal Navy is almost as gr ^ at , as if the gun room were a cathedral , and every midshipman a holden urebendarv .. Even

      the Army , which is indebted in a great degree for its high renown and pre-eminence to the valour and conduct of Irish gentlemen , is now assuming the character of an exclusively British institution . Numerous complaints have reached us from quarters of the highest rank and respectability , of the influence of national partiality at the Horse Guards . Irish gentlemen in v ^ ain solicit permission to purchase coini missions for jtheir sons . The answer they receive is invariably the same—full of smooth hope , delusive , promise , enitling in nothing . These things tend to make the Repeal movement the formidable entrine of anarchy it is . —Dublin Evening Mail .

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      Earthquake in Savoy . — An earthquake of some violence was felt in Savoy during the night of the 10 th inst . At Rumilly and Chautagne the furniture in the apartments . was so shaken that the glasses and other articles left on tables were thrown down . At Chambery , however , it was so slight , that it was perceived by only a very few persons . Suspected Poisoning . —Last week the officers of justice proceeded from Caen to Sallenelles , to effect the exhumation of the body of a female named Alexandre , the wife of an ex-mayor of that commune . Her death had taken p lace fifteen months before , and suspicions have arisen that her husband had poisoned her . He was arrested , and after being interrogated was lodged in the gaol of Caen . <

      The English in Rome . ' —A correspondent writes from Rome , that never before were there go many strangers in that city . There are said to be 4000 English families ; but this must be an exaggeration . The rents of houses and apartments are up at an enormous height . Novel Adventure . —A young gentleman of Troy , while on his way up the Hudson in the Swallow , thrust himself in his sleep through the small window in bis berth , in the forward cabin , Until his feet touched the water . Coming out just in front of the paddle-wheel , where the spray moved rapidly , he awoke from his dream , and found he was situated in the midst of a horrid reality . He could not crawl back , so he shouted for help , but no one came . He then knocked on the window of the next berth , and dually roused up a person who gave the alarm . The captain supposed it was some insane man , and immediately lowered the boat , and the unfortunate man was rescued from his extraordinarv situation .:

      —Ame rican pape r . Raising the Wind . —During the bustle which prevailed at Alnwick fair , Northumberland , lately , a fellow had the courage to try the temper of the multitude by a new stratagem for raising the Wind . His show-board was inscribed with the following intimation : — " Wonderfully curiosities of neature ; you may see alive heer , the most wonderfullesfc clieiree-coloured cat , ^ from Shropshire , and the stipenduous rose-coloured pigeon , Iron the West of England . Also secrets worth nowing , by the proprietor . All for twopence . " Such prodigies , and at such a price , could not fail of attracting a crowd of spectators , who , on their admittance , were gravely shown « black cat and a white pigeon ; they then very naturally stared at each other , when the exhibitor , trusting to their good-humour , very confidently

      addressed them— " Naow , ladies and geniinen , I have perform'd my promise we ' oe—for you must no as haow , there be black cherries and white rooascs , and such be the colors of my cat and my pigen » I have shoon you , mor eover , a whole tent full o' people not half so wise as they think for , but wiser naow than wHen they came in ; and naow ( pulling off his hat ) I hopes you will keep rny secret * and not make other folks outside as wise as y oursel , until they ha' paid for it , as you . Now , my secret is , that you have relieved a poor fellow at a trifling cost , that must ha' gone to bed supperless , witlfnis woife and children , if you had not ; and I ' m sure you are too good natured to be angry wi ' me for that . " Honest John Bull and his family did not disappoint him ; for each successive company went away in good humour , leaving others to enjoy the wonder at the same expense , and keep the secret in turn for their own sakes .

      The Prince op Wales' Income . —It appeal's , from documents just prepared , pursuant to the order of Parliament , that the total revenues of the young Prince of Wales , the heir apparent to the British realms-, amounted , in the year ending 31 st December last , to no less a sum ( from the two duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster ) than £ 73 , 100 and upwards . This is a tolerable revenue for a three-year-old Prince What a fact to contrast by the side of thousands of others with reference to the condition of the oppressed and down-trodden labourers of England ! This sprig of royalty , not more than three years old , possessing an annual income of something like three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars ! while more than t hree millions of people are actually struggling with all the horrors of starvation and famine ! And where is this amount of money or value producedand by whom ?

      , In those slave shops , the English factories , and bj those very wretched people who cannot themselves procure enough from their daily toil to keep them from a wretched death . And why is it that fhose who perform the labour which creates the value which supplies the income of this ignoble Prince , do pot themselves receive it ? Alas ! the question is for them almost if not utterly useless . The fact is before us ; and for our own admonition and on warning the question should be asked and answered . ^ see before our own eyes the same thing in miniature . The same influences are working out the sam 6 results ; and ere long we too may ask of ourselves why must the income of some of our wealthy manufacturers or merchants be so enormous , while we , of whose toil that income was produced , live and diem want and utter misery ?—Boston ( U . 8 ) Labourer .

      The Improvements in Westminster . —On Friday the long-talked-of improvements which are to-| je effected from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace were in reality commenced , a number oi men being employed to pull down the houses on one side of Little Tothfll-street . It is contemplated ^ remove those sinks of infamy—the Almonry , "* , ' chard-street , Duck-lane—and to form one wide ana spacious street from the west door of Westminster ' Abbey to the Buckingham Palace end of ' ¥ & }» % Orchard-street contains the remains of some of W » oldest houses in Westminster , and a part of one w Oliver Cromwell's palaces still stands there .

      Holloway'b Pills and Ointment . — Edward WhiW . residing at 45 , Clement ' s-lane , Strand , was an ^ - door jpatient at King ' s CoDege Hospital , withan » Pseessin the thigh , and a wound nine inches long ° » the same limb . He could neither bend his ^ ee « put hisfoot tothe ground . He rented ther&wr five , months in bed , when he was informed Pr nothing could be done for him . ? ' He y ^^ en ^ lied to his home , and commenced using ¦ ¦ ¦ ""* W * invaluable medicine ? . He can now wuk -aww ? j * 3 the day long , and is quite cured by the n ^ oj . these wonderful medicines , and this to the astoniwr ment of all who knew him .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 28, 1844, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct519/page/6/