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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th February 1842, Edition 3 of 5, Page 4

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    • THE -ITOSTHE&lf STAR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1842.
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      Untitled Article

      THE MASON'S STRIKE . An extremely large public meeting -was held on Monday , in tbe large room of the White Conduit House Tavern , for the purpose-of taking into consdetalicn the present position of the masons , and also for the purpose o ? comidering the best means to be adopted in supporting them in their present strangle . Mr . Wakley wai one of the first -who ascended the platform . Me . Dpkhikg , a bookbinder , 'was called to the Chair . Be sud that in taking the chair that nigbt be felt the greatest pleasure , The strike had then continued twenty weeks . In the strike there had been 375 persons , of whom only fire had proved false to the cause . The circomstaoees peculiar to the trade which then solicited their supp » rt , tendered that support at kbat moment the more essential , as the mason * . &t that

      time of the year , were generally out of employnieaS from sue end of the kingdom to ths ether . Therefore , it became those of the other trades to come for « -aru and assist them ( the masons ) , - which -would enable tbsxa . to get over the present pe-iod ; anl when that period was got over , there -was no feaT as to the resiiit of the strnrgle , because ti ) e New Ryral Exec&n ; e , the Museum , ard -various otheT public buildings , -woul-i be commenced , and when that took place , they migb * depend upon the Tictery . ( Cheers . ) He need nor go into the case of tbe masons since their strike . They b * d taken a high moral stand—a stand the result ol education . He hoped they vrould still adnere to th ^ cause , and soon bring it to a successful termination Ha would condade by calling on Mr . Golton to move toe first resolution .

      Mr . Goltoit , painter , cad he rose -with much pits-• ore to propose ths following resolution—" That i : it the opinion cf this meeting that ] the stwdy . upright , and msnly conduct of the masons during such a long and arduous struggle pre-eminently deserves the ntmost praise , and our additional support" 1 Cheers . ) He would endeavour to lay before them such facts a 3 Would , he was pure , cause them , to c ^ rry out this resolution , and which would not only prova to them that the masons deserved their applause , but all the support they could possibly bring to them . It had been stated to them that 375 men were on the strike , andjof that number not one had broken thela-rrs of his country . They had never seen any police reports inserted m any of the papers respecfayr them . lacir struggle was loundei on Christian an 4 humane principles , to resist the oppression of a "beinz who was not worthy the name

      of an Englishman , -who had been raised t * his office for the sale purpose of pursuing a system cf slave-driving . He ( J !> . Golton ) would endeaTour to show that the » asons' interest was tha interest of the master * . He then went into the various details relative to the strike , and which finally led to the men leaving their raploymenfc , all of which details havs appeared in our r eports of the -various speeches delivered at the earlier meetings of the masons . He concluded a very tong speech by calling on them to use their utmost exertions in supporting the masons , and then they -would sot hare to return to their work comfortably with Allen , as Mr . Grisaell had last Wednesday said they would . He had said that "inthe course of thrae weeks they will all be comfortibly back again . " "But , " be also added , " 1 must confess these men of principle were the best meD I ever had in my life . "

      Mr . Waklei briefly socondad the resolution , which » ras put and carried unanimously . Mr . Clarke , a painter , aaid he fe ! t great pleasure in taMiTig their sttentlon to a subject of the highest impoituice t-y them as men—a subject they had mtt that eveniEg to advance—that of oltiining for the working din thst moral , that social , and political standing , which sheBons of labour , the creators of all wealth . ^ ere so fully , lairly , and jujf . y eit tled to . They h-. d been opposed by the combination of capitalistu but owinir t- > tbe

      united effoita of the trades , they had been able to itind agsinst them—( hear , hear )—and if they ftil held together ,. they mus-t . and would be successful . Many perhaps st this moment would ask , " whst have we to do with that strike , we are net masons—we have nofchini » to do trith stone ; " but he -would endeavour to show that they had to do with it , that they were attacking ths strong hold cf corruption , and what was * he masons' situation then might be theirs to-morrow Xft them come forward and break the chain of tyranny s&mler :

      1 *\ us unite with hearts sincere in truth , Our mental nii | : fc . t to t ^ is * ennobling work , The mind's regeneration , and become Messiahs in the cause of liberty , If or cease until from out tha book of life We blot the name cf tyrant and of slave . —( Cneens . ) EiB resolution he had to propose was" That it is the opinion of this meeting , that the bold and decisive conduct adopted by the quarry-men , in f cobly refusing to prepare stone for the supply of Messrs . Grixsell and Peto , until justice has been conceded to the injured masons , thereby sacrificing their employment , deserves our cordial thanks , and creates in us a greater stimulant to action . " Mr . Thomas brieSy seconded the resolution , which , OQ beii £ put to the m-eting , was carried amidst loud fcpplaiis * . . .

      ilr . Eeargus O'Connor then entered the room , and was received with a tremendous burst of cheering , which lasted a considerablo time . Mr . JnoE said he could assure them that he fcad alirays anticipated success with respect to the quest ion at isrus , aud he was now itill further confident of tbe result from that meeting . The resolution be had to propose bore something of a political tfcaracter : — " That it is ths opinion of this meeting , that the partis ! cesduct of tha Commissioners of Woods and Forests , and the Board cf Admiralty , in assisting Messrs . Grissell » sd Peto against the masons now onstrike , deary proves that the Government is determined to oppress the working classes ; and therefore it is absolutely nee . ssary that extensively organised unions should exist for the purpose of protecting ourselves against tbe combined efforts of those who live upon the fruits of our industry . ' fLond cheers . )

      Ee did not trtinV he need be under any apprehension in that resolution being received by them . They knew perfectly well that Lord Lincoln , and other gres . hsce in the Government , had done all in their power u » starve the men into submission , but he traited the good men uf the trades of the metropolis woui , ! ntvrr allow them to become the easy tools of such a base faction . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Bakes seconded the resolution Trithout comment . Mr . A . Walt 03 rose to speak to the resolution . The resolution just submitted to them , coLderaaaiory cf the Commissioners © f Woods and Forests and the Bjari of A < -minilty , be trusted , would meet with their entire concurrence . He rejoiced at their ag < -. in as

      sembiiag on that occasion . It -was a" proof that tbey felt the deepest interest in thst straggle—that they were folly sensible of the fact that the Cuiumissioners of Woods and Forests and the Eoari of Admiralty had rendered their services to Grissell an * Peto , for the purpose of oppressing the masons . They ( the masons ) wrote to the Commissionrra of "Woods and Forests , and they Eent an answ r to the letter , Etating that they could not iatafere , vbild they ¦ jrere actually holding a secret correspondence with Grissell and Peto ; and -when a deputation of the masons waited on ths Earl of Liscc > ln , for the purpose Of explaining tha strike , he said tbey were dtciuedly opposed to trades' onions or combinations . Gr : sseJ and Peto were lefs to do what they thought proper , and

      they were protected . The quarrymen heard of the conduct of Alien , and immediately rtf used to produce any more stone until he was dismissed . The Commissioners of Woods and Forests wrote a letter by their agents , Messrs . Burgess and Walker , stating to Messrs . Grissfcll and Peto , that they might get stone from any part of the country they ebose . He ( Mr . Walton ) called their attention to the systematic union amengst those tarties , whilst the Eirl of Lincoln was condemning uuioa amongst ths -working classes . The Times had said that if they could not get fitone from any part of England they could get from South America . He ( Mr . W . ) thougit it would be rather an unprofitable speculation . ( Laughter . )—Th 9 Times had recommended the Government to reenact the combination la-ws , but if ever they attemptsd to crnsh trades' unions , that would raise such a tempest rounrt their heads as would with some diffijul ' . y be Duelled . eera . ) The Government ought not to have

      , ^ interfered ; and , if they did so , they should have Biade inquin = a into the merit * of the case . Tbe masons had * t all times been ready , and were so still , to subunt the c * se to arbitration ; and if the reporter of the Time * * & 3 in ttat room , he trusted he would take that declaration , and let them know the fact . Bu ; they woaic never a . i justice frem the present Government , iJor would they e-rer get justice from tholr representatives , nntil th * y were made responsible to the people for their actdor-i ( Loud cheers . ) They might as well expect to fled the * un la darkness— tbey might as well exptct to find the great universe acting in opposition to the established 33 T 3 of nature , as expect the Government to have any thing like sympathy far the people whilo that G-ovenmeDt was based upon a system of class legislation . He would enfiesvour to Bh . ow them the exteat of onion which existed amongst them , as thsy could appreciate the value of union as well as the Govemmeat . He would endeavour to show them

      the abwluts neceaeity of uniting for their owd protection . All dassea of society , except the -work-Ing men , were protected by law . He would take for instance the solicitor , the physician , the surgeon , all these were under the protection of the law , and no one could practice in either unless he had taken his degrees . - But where was tbe protection for the honest and industrious working man ? He would tell them ¦ wfaat their protection must be . It must be unionmnion which would tend to their own welfare an « i be the means of bettering their condition , and which would be the instrument of their own regeneration For this union it waa indispensably necessary that delegate committees sheuld exist in London and through the province * In every town in England they should be forme-t , ' and tbe whole of these sniona , directed by intelittenSe , would show to the world that tht > y wort . i » t tbsfc bloody and fcanguine mob they were reprsientgd to " be , but an upright and generous people aateraiined tpfceiree . tf ^ tu

      .. ^* _ . ., „„ Bto mbWtita ;™» P ** «* ^ " ^ " ^ loud ^ jf ^ aijrsis&opoKA tbenest resolution ;—

      Untitled Article

      " That this meeting do , individually and collectively , declare their determination to assist the masons while the . strUco } asts . " ¦ . This resolution "was received with loud cheers . Mr . Tbibe seconded the resolution . Mr . Anderson having spoken to the resolution , it was carried unanimously , and with vehement cheering . The Chairman then stated that a meeting would be held every Monday evening at the Craven Head . Drarylane ; and every Tuesday evening at tho Prince ' s Head , Prinsfc ^ -street , Westminster .

      Mr . Walton said it was the intention of the Committee to have had a ball on Wednesday wetk , but . as that was Ash Wednesday , the landlord had been threatened with the loss of bis license , and therefore tbe " ball was postponed till the Monday following . Perhaps it wonld be thought ttrange teat they came so far from the centre of the fewn , but the proprietor of the room had given & gratuitously . — ; Lond cheers ) Mr . Waklet tben presents ^ himself , and was received -wita cheering , which continued for some mincttA As soon as eiience was restored , he said he could assure them thst he had attmded Viere tbat nigLt for t '^ e purpose of wi tnessing tbeir proceedings , wita mat ^ st ' . sfact ' . on . Jfotiing could be more grateful to his

      feelinjs than thst of discovering tV . » a large portion of his countrymen were struggling for their rights w . ta a determination of being victorious . In the spe « he » they had heard , which had been delivered for their information , were the details of grievances which the men employed on the Houses of Parliament had endured ; and he would ask them , and he was bold to make the appeal not only to them but to the whole of England , whether it was possible for one man to possess an honest English heart who did not sympathise with the hardships these men had endured ? It was an easy thing for those who had capital , which had been accumulated by the labour ef the people , to say that unious were mischievous , anfl that the working men were acting tyrannically . Thty had heatd ef physic being

      protected by the law ; they might go further , and gay the Church also : in fact , the aristocracy of England were united as one man against the interests of the working man . If they wanted a clergyman for their parish , could they have him ? No ; h * . was set down as a black . ( Laughter . ) The church said they would not have your black , but would have a black of their . own . ( Cheers and laughtar . ) Take the law , of which Mr . F . O'Connor was a member , and they knew how he had taken up the cause of ths people , and bo tbe law sent him to Coventry . ( Ch 8 ers . ) Suppose they wanted him ( Mr . Wakley ) to plead their cause in any court of law , could they have him ? No . It would be a very bad thing for him if they did . But that was not to the point Could they exercise their own will and

      judgment ? No : because the benchera would denounce him ( Mr . W . ) as a black in law ; they would not have his coif and gown , as it would not be according to their liking . < Lou « l laughter and cheers . ) Take the practice of physic , and look to the Apothecaries Company . They were a -voluntary company at first , but they had a charter granted to them by James , and then came the 53 rd of George III ., by which Act any man who dared to prescribe a dose of rhubarb or jalap , unless he was a member of the said society , must forfeit £ 20 -for that very grave offence . Yet the parties who crested these unions denounced tbe working men of London as tyrannical because they had the sagacity to stand up for their own protection . Who did not feel the spirited conduct of the men at the two Houses of

      Parliament ? they had taught even hospitality to Griseell and Peto , for tbey fead had a dinner party , and one thousand seven hnndred of their workmen bad dined at tbe Horns Tavern , at Kenninsron ; aud lh » se men oHaiiied a good dinner by means of ihe masons' sfcrike . ( L-jud cheers . ) He never could believe that nearly 300 men would throw themselves out of employment , at & season of privation and db % ress , without feel ing that they were right in doing so . The Hon . GcLtieman then wett on st csnsiderable length , urging upon them each tj subscribe a weekly sum , - so that the masons might have a permanent income that would last as long as the strike lasted . Ho was willing , as long as he had a shilling in his pocket , to contribute his share . The political unions in the House

      of Commons were such , that he had seen , in close divisions , the leaden of adverse factions bring in idiots and lunatics to give their votes . He pledged his word and honour that he had seen idiots and lunatics voting in making lavs for this empire . Theae were the men who had denounced their unions , and were prepared to denounce them still , and who would , if they allowed them , pass laws for the abolition of all Trades' Sotittles . The Hon . Gentleman then went into very lengthy details respecting the Dorchester labourers , and his exertions in their behalf . The Hon . Gentleman concluded an extremely long speeck by calling upon them to assist heart and hand in the masons' cause , and then to form associations for Vbe purpose of obtair ; im ! Universal Suffrage , and never to rest till they had obtained it

      Mr . Feabous O'Coskok then rose and said , if the conc . uding advice uf Mr . Wakley had been taken and acted upon s » .-me few years ago , the masons would not hive been in tie painful position of being obliged to look to that meeting for suppor t . He rejoiced in making one of teem there that night- He rejoiced the rr . oT& in consequence of the lost sentence be had heard from Mr . Butler , when he ( OConnor 4 eutsred the T-:-om . He told them that tbe motion bore something of a pol t ' . cal complexion , and VUis % was thbt gave nim ( O'Connor * so much satisfaction . As Mr . Wakley had said , it wea net so much toe aristocracy who press&d upoa tbe working classes as toe middle classes of society , who trampled on the people . No troth could be plainer than the rights of these four hundred

      sitn who had given up the sources of their own maintenance rither than injure their trade , or allow these tyraLts i "> have tbe viitory over them . He h : id t >! d Lord Grey , Lcrd Brougham , Lord Stanley , and the rest , hi the time the poor Dorche :- * er labourers case was brought before the House of Commons , that they" ought to be in the convict ' s dress , and going on bu-ard the huiks . Tbey were new in a po&itian to assert their rights , and to go at once to tbe root of class : tjri £ : ation . Mr . Wakley would be going down to the Houss of ComnionB , and be coped he woald stand h = re the leader of those -who -were the master-arm of the satj- ' -n . Uniyn was necessary in order to effect triumph . The King of Prussia was going dow » to the opening of -Parliament , and would sit by the side of the Queen in

      that House of Incurables . What -would he think if he was told by Mr . Wakley , that in tbe other House idiots and lunatics voted in making the laws ? He wouid think that one was an Hospital of Incurables , and-iheother an Hospital for Lunatics . He ( Mr . OC . ) bad ; cen in the Queen ' s Bench , and he never found a man there that was in debt : he had been in York C . i . stie amongst thieves and vagabonds and he never fouBd a thief or a vagabond there yet ; and so in the House of Commons and the House of Lords , they -would never find an enemy t * j the poor . The presf-t . t t me put him in mind of that when Charles Jan ! = s F-. ; X accepted office . They 4 . T-n coi . trnoed for

      all the six poii . t < "which be ( Mr . OC . ) did , but when tbey got en the ether side of Do-wning-slrctt , all tbey did was to remove a few contractors from Parliament , and deprive revenue officers of their Vt ^ ss . It was like the old laly when she got her fett on ihe fender , sbe did not think the poor people could be cold . So when C . J . 'Fcx and his party were in office 4 bey thought the slzU of the nation was net half so bad as -when they were out . He concluded an extTemely long speech , of which we are only able to give the heads , by expressing a hope that those men who had taken tbe place of those in i-trike , would get the new Houses of Parliament built by the time tbe Reformed Parliament was ready to take possession of . ( Eond cheers . ) A vtte of thanks was then passed to the Chairman , and tbe meeting separated .

      The -Itosthe&Lf Star Saturday, February 5, 1842.

      THE -ITOSTHE&lf STAR SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 5 , 1842 .

      Untitled Article

      USE , AND ABUSE , OF MACHINERY . TTCXDRED 3 of times has it been asserted in the columns of the Northern Slar , that machinery , wlicn rightfully applied , i 3 one of the greatest of blessings to man , both individually and socially . Uun dfeds of times have we shewn how it might be made into " JSIaris Holiday , " instead of being , as it is at present , man ' s greatest enemy and onrse . Hundreds of times have we explained the difference in result upon the happiness and well-beiEg of the operative

      community , arising from tho me or abuse of machinery . Often and a ^ ain have we declared ourselves to be in favour of as much and as perfect michinexy as can by possibility be introduced , provided it be rightfully used ; and often aud again have we shewn that the wrongs and miseries entailed upon the working people by the present extensive use of it arises from the fact that if it rtbt rightfully applied ; that it is most foolishly , most insanely abused .

      By a proper use or rightful application of machinery , we mean Buch an use or application of its powers * b will kksuks to the working pe $ ple their fair share of all and every bentfii arising from its introduction and employment . By the abuse of machinery , we mean such * n application of its powers as enabled Johx Mabshall of Leeds , in less than forty year * ,, to accumulate to himself upwards of two Him--K 8 0 f money ! while it consigned those- who tcorked the machinery , which was sailed his , to penury and want ; to long hours , shore wages , and , by consequence , dear food !

      It , is so plainly apparent that whatever can be introduced thai his the eff . ct of lessening man ' s toil aud increasing his means of prouuciug wealth must , of itself , be a good , that we imagine ic would not be possible to find > the face of the earth a single human being who wo Id attempt an objection

      Untitled Article

      to machinery m the abstract ; and it is also as plainly apparent , that if machinery were rightfully applied , —applied so as to be of immediate and certain benefit to all , workman and employer , producer and consumer , that it would be as difficult to find an honest objector to its use . It is equally apparent that , if the new powers , or aids to human labour , supplied by machinery , be so used and applied as to confer the whole benefit upon a very few , and to inflict misery destitution and death upon the produoing many , no justification for that application can be offered .

      It is also equally as apparent , that our machinery has always'hitherto been so applied ; to the raising and gathering together of large heaps of wealth for the " great" owners of it , and to the driving from the workshop the man who had to " earn his bread by the sweat of his brow , " and dragging into his place ( where a sentient being was still needed ) the woman and the child , inflicting upon them longer hours of toil than the man had to endure before his supercession ; and involving all in a race of commercial strife , which continually takes from the wages of the work-woman and work-child , and inflicts suffering and poverty npon all who haVe to live by daily toil .

      Tell us not that these things must continue I Tell ns not that it is impossible otherwise to apply machinery ! Tell us not that it is impossible to secure the working man his fair share of the benefit accruing from every improvement ! Tell us not that thin cannot be done ! We tell you , not only that it can , but that it must ! And if those in power cannot find out the way to do this effectually and

      un-injoriously to all , they must give way to those who can . A better and more just distribution ; of the " fruits" of toil must be made ; and if our legislators and governors be unequal or indisposed to this task , out they must come ! That which is of itself one of the greatest of blessings , must not continue to be made into the greatest of scourges and curses . It mttst bk RFr , m , iTED ! It must be used within due

      limits ; and its benefits must be diffused amongst and secured to all concerned . These are our views , then , upon the general question of machinery ; views reiterated again and again . We allude to them here , and set them forth in this plain and connected form , because it is necessary that we meet and destroy a dastardly attempt of the enemy to inculcate a notion amongst the factory masters that we are weekly endeavouring to decry the use- of machinery altogether . The Whig " Establishment , " utterly unable to rebut the facts

      we have adduoed , showing , conclusively , that our present application of machinery is a wrong one ; utterly unable to refute the reasoning we have employed , and the data we have given ; utterly unable to upset the positions we have thus made good : the Whig press , unable to defend the system which at present obtains , and conscious that the assaults that have been made upon it , if not counteracted by some means or other , will end in its downfall and the establishment of another and a better : the Whig organs , seeing and

      dreading this , because of the sensitiveness of class interest , meets us only by wilful and infamous misrepresentation ! We denounce those workings of our present system which have reduced the labouring people to that state of poverty and want , that their Masters find them " wishing the Almighty weuld put an end to their sufferings before morning f and we show that this poverty and want have been brought on by the

      dreadful and suicidal misapplication of the immense powers of production we have at our command ; and forsooth we are represented as denouncing the existence of the powers themselves ! We plainly and clearly expose the enormous abuses connected with the present working of machinery ; wo strongly and iorcibly " shew up" the insanity of tho arrangements which engender and continue these abuses ; and we are immediately represented as objecting to the use of machinery itself !

      Noihing on earth was ever more palpably false or more palpably gross . It is * to the abuse alone that we object : none but foolB would object to its use . We hold that it is as impossible to return to the rude and unskilful processes of former times , as it will be to prevent the invention and discovery of other machinery and processes to supersede those now in use ; and we hold that none but a besotted ninny would attempt to do either .

      At the same time we hold that every addition to our means of producing wealth ought to be beneficial to the whole , and ought not to inflict injury upon any . If this be not thejease , the blessing is averted and withheld . These are the principles that have actuated us in our labours for the poor upon this question . We have asserted their right to a fair share of all the benefits resulting from new and improved means of national wealth , and we have strongly denounced all who denied them this right , or interfered to prevent the establishment and enj uyment of it .

      It was not likely that parties actiDg as we have acted would be ailowtd to pursue such a course unmolestedly . Every man whose means of livJDg without labour depended upon the existence of the abuses we exposed was sure to be up in arms ; every toad-eater and bribed advocate in the land was sure to espouse the cause of their patrons and employers ; and every means that malice and fear could invent or prompt were sure to be put in requisition .

      They have been so ! From one end of the kingdom to the other the press has had its jibe , its sneer , or its stab at poor Pil-garlick . And yet '" Pil " survives ! aye , and even yet bids defiance to them all !! Envy , too ; rancorous , dirty-souled , mo 3 e- ? pirited enyt , has been at work ! Where it has not been prudent to openlj denounce , whisper has been emplojed . If a division in the consolidated ranks ol the poor , whose cause we have espoused , and whose ifi \> rtsw 8 are guiding to the establishment of the above defined rights could be made , tbe enemy mi ^ h :, still continue to triumph , and wallow in his wrongly-gotten gains . Pretended friends have ,

      therefore , been employed . These have been instructed to join the associated bodies ; to tcorm themselves into favour and good grace ; to get into ofixjea of power and trust ; and to judiciously use the iufiuence they by these means acquire to the destruction of the character of each and every leader of the people who is too honest to be bought , and too independent to be unworthily ussd . All these means have failed , though ! and will fail spite of all that can be done to prevent their failure 1 Tha people have at last gotten the truth so well grounded in them , that it is no longer possible to deceive . The traitors and spies are , oue and all , bundled out of the camp the moment they show the cloven foot .

      And thus will it continue to be , until the cause of the people overcomes all opposition . The principles which are now openly espoused and convincingly advocated by the entire working psople , are those alone which can save this country from utter and irretrievable ruin . And the establishment of those principles is certain , —guaranteed by the fact , that they are bo espoused aud advocated b / the working people ! Once get the workiet right , and all is done ! They alone move society !

      To this end have we laboured ; and m this have we been successful . When did England ever before see the working people standing aloof from the other classes ; resisting and despising all efforts at seduction from the cause they have set their hearts npon ; aad resolutely bent upon the prosecution of their own work , for themselves , and of themselves ? When was ever such a sightl exhibited to the Politician ' s eye in this land before ?! Never !! and it is because of this ; it is because the working people have banded themselves together , and undertaken their own work ; it is because of their resolute determination , evidenced i a thousand ^ inatanceB , to

      Untitled Article

      resist all attempts to swerve them from the path of duty ; it ia because of these things , that we , in their name , bid defiance to all their enemies , open , or covert—bull-dog like , or wormingly insidious 1 : ¦ ,: ' ¦ ' . ; .- ;•/ . . ¦ . ;;'•;¦' .: / ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ . ., ' ¦ ¦ ¦ r ^ -C-- ; ;" Spite of every obstacle ; of every difficulty , of every opposition , the principles we have laid down respeotiBg machinery and its use , will be triumphantly established . Its benefits will be secured to all ; its present erroneous evils will be rectified , and not allowed to press upon any .

      Untitled Article

      THE OPPRESSED FACTORY SLAVES AND TREIB . CI-DEVANT ADVOCATE . Elsewhere , we give a somewhati lengthy and well written address trimrthe ]^ ds Short Time Committee to the working men of the factory districts , in reference to the brutal exhibitions of falsehood and violence lately made by an unprincipled public writer , the conductor of a paper which in former times has done good service to the cause of justice , but which has lately lent all its little power to the milloorats and Corn Law repealers ;

      Our readers will find in that document a sufficient reply to the calumnious attack of the Whig apluttereron the Short Time Deputies , about not pressing on the attention of Ministers the People ' s Charter or the repeal of the Coin Laws . Ab the former of these objections has been also urged by some very honest but ' short-sighted and unreflecting persons among the working classes , we recommend the answer of the Committee to their reading . * To us at least that answer is sufficient and satisfactory . They were not sent to do it ; it formed no part of

      their duty . It would have been malapropos , and wouid have defeated their own purpose , without effecting any other purpose for good . They had neither power , nor right , to force upon the attention of Ministers any other subjects than those which formed the immedia te subject of their mission . They were deputies from known and established public bodies . ' ; bodies composed of men holding various opinions about the People ' s Charter ; but one and the same opinion upon the necessity of a ' more efficient legislative protection for the faetory slaves .

      No one knows better the constitution and character of the Shott Time CommUteeB of the factory distriots than does Sib Robert Peel , and if these gentlemen , waiting upon him in the character of delegates from those committees , to solicit the attention of his Government to the evils of the factory system , had begun to press upon his notice and attention the " . People ' s Charter , " he would no doubt , and we will add properly , have considered and treated the deputation as that which this impudent scribe has ihonght fit to denominate it for not doing so , —a ' fraud and a hoax . " He would have said

      "Gentlemen , I expected a deputation of factory workers , or their advocates ; I find a deputation of Chartists . If the Chartists have not sufficient confidence in themselves , or their principles to trust their cause to its own merits , but must have recourse to the disgraceful trick of bringing it here under the borrowed oloak of the Short Time Committees , that cause is certainly not good nor important enough to merit the serious attention of a great and strong Government . " The deputation would have been bowed out ; the Chartists would

      have been laughed at by the . Tories , for their abortive effort to hoax the Minister ; while they would have been vilified and abused by the Whigs and Corn Law repealers for having thus destroyed all trust and confidence in the character of public deputations , and all chance of another deputation being decently received or attended to ; nor would any hound of the paefc have been mofe . loud in its yelpings against the disgraceful trickery and fatui-; ous blundering of the Chartists than the " ' thing " against whose present ravings this remonstrance of the committee is addressed .

      Let but honest and right-thinking Chartists reflect a little , and they will perceive this to be a right statement of tbo case . Many memo * rials from various quarters have been adopted by the Chartists of the three kingdoms , having for their object the liberation : and return of Fkost , Williams , and Jones . They have been committed to Mr . O'Co . vnqb for

      presentation to the Queen . And yet who expects Mr . O'Connor upon that occasion to expatiate to her Majesty upon the merits of the People ' s Charter ? whioh would be a course just as reasonable , and just as right to be adopted , as that which the dishonest Anti-Corn-Law scribblers seek sow to persuide the uuthinking of the Char- ' tists ought to have been adopted aiid pursued by this deputation . . ' . ...

      We are quite sure , however , that this reasoning is as clear to the Chartist body , as a whole , as to ourselves . They have no . difficulty in estimating the character of this new card in the hands of an old gambler . The most dextrous playing of it cannot blind the lookers-on ; the " pass" is too palpable ; and the bsffbd cheat , no doubt , enjoys mightily the indignant rejoinder of the Coimmtteo in their reply : —

      " Well , but then , we are told , that the deputation dvd not press upon tho Minis ; ers . the adoption of the People ' s Charter . And who " complains of this ? The Leeds Tunes man , who haa done his . 'little best 10 swamp the Charter agitation ! The man who has omitted no opportunity of doing his uttermost to suw . division in the Charcist camp ! who has maligned the motives , aspersed the characters , and ijJii tf Vy misrepresented the conduct of the Chartist leaders ! the man who put words into the mouth , of Mr . G . J . Harhoy , at the last election , for the purpose of hounding on . the Whig physicals to trounce his

      bones—put words into his mouth wnich were never uttered , aud represeuted him as uttering them in Lreds , when he never saw Leods ^ on the day named ! a maa who has systematically traduced tho character of J . B . 0 Brien , and of Mr . F . O'Connor ! a man who has culled from every source all that he possibiy could lay his hands on , which would at all serve his purpose of exciting jealousy and disunion amongst the Chardst ranks ! a man who iS ; secretary to the Fav and Goose Club— -a society formed for the express mid avowed purpose o ? swamping tho Charter agitation . This is the man to cmplain that the deputation did not do that which they were not sent to do ! This is the naan to seud his toolstwo geese ; two members of tho Fox and Goose

      Society , to move at the Leeds Music Hall meeting , that the deputation bo censured for not pressing upon Ministers thi People ' s Charter ! This is the man to act tliu . « , when A * and bis tools hava schemed in every possible way to overreach aiid put down the Charter agitation ! The men who mo red the amendment at the Music Hall , are both membtrsof the Fux and Goose club ; and the " amendment" so artlessly dictated by the modest mover on the platform , was concocted and arranged , by the Foxes , before tho mover of it came near the meeting at all . And these , forsooth , ure the men to complain that the deputation omitted tnat whioh formed no portion of their duty !

      . "Ah ! working men , you will need no spectacles to enable you to see through all this ! You will need no aid to enable youi to divine the cause of this newborn zeal for the Charter , and love of the Chartist agitation ! ' ' Truly , and so we think . Whatever may or may not have been the faults or merits of the deputation , the splutter of this base hireling , about their having omitted to mention tho People ' s Charter , is too rich to be read by any man without laughter , spite even of the melancholy evidence which it affords of the depravity of human nature when acted upon by the full influences of the system , to the support of which this creature has sold his miserable intellect and wretched soul . The Committee have

      certainly made this apparent , and have exhibited it very strongly both in the paragraph which we hav « quoted , and in the following one : — " Not long ago , the party of which the Leeds Times is now ^ the paid tool , themselves sent a deputation to the Tory Ministers . Of course Dr . Smiles and hi .- ; co-workers took care to instruct their deputation to name the People ' s Charter to the Ministers , as : a measure of relief ; of course they took care that the Ministers had thai subject brought uitder their notice . Not they , indeed j They sent their deputation to press for Corn Law Repeal alone ! and the deputation never mentioned the Charter ! . Of course Dr . Smiles censured them for this omission ^ Not a word of it ! It wouldiiot have served his purpose . "

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      Asnp man could at first avoid weing that to press the People ' s Charter , under colour of a factory deputation , would have been dishonest and impolitic , so no man who has read the reply of the Committee can fail to see the ** passed' card which they have dragged from under the " cheat ' s * sleeve , and thus exhibited . ¦; : } - f- ^ . - : - ' : . ' iS .: ' ^ : . - ' ¦' . "¦ : . : .. ' One word npon the notion which an insidious attempt has be « n made to engender in the minds of simple , earnest , but unreflecting Chartists ; and in a large mass ef people there are always more or fewer of this character . It has been stated that the

      recommendation of the People ' s Charter was the more confidently to be looked for from this deputation , because several of its members were avowed Chartists , and especially because one of them was Mr . Joshua Hobson , the publisher of the Northern Star . From him , of course , nothing but the Charter could emanate . His meat , drink , and evacuations must be " the Charter , the whole Charter , and nothing tut the Charter . " This is , of necessity , either a very knavish or a very silly mode of talking ; and it is because knaves sometimes act upon simple minds and make fools of them , that we

      bestow a passing glance upon it . The objection goes on the assumption that a Chartist should be nothing but a Chartist ; that he should have no concern in any other matter than the Charter ; that he should lend himself to the accomplishment of no other purpose , however good or desirable . Carry out this principle , and it would put an instant stop to all the operations of society ; churches , benefit societies , literary institutions , transactions of trade and commerce , all the ordinary and neces-Bary occupations of life , must be abandoned by every man who is a Chartist : for he who is a Chartist must

      be a Chartist always , entirely and exclusively . He must Kind nothing , seek nothing , and accept nothing but the Charter . We don't stop to say that in this argument the witling of the " Repeal " press has a little over-stepped himself ; that it would necessarily preclude all hope of that which he affects to be very anxious to obtain—co-operation of the Chartists in the Corn Law Repeal movement j we don ' t stop to show this shallow-pated mole that it offers the best possible justification for the policy of upsetting t ( Repeal" meetings , about which he has so often and so coarsely abused the Chartists :

      we give to his impudent but transparent "fraud" of a M new-born zeal for the Charter , " this flimsy covering very willingly ; but weremind our Chartist friends upon whom tho "hoax" is attempted to be played , that it would also have the effect of neutralizing , or putting a stop to , all their exertions in behalf of Feost , Williams , and Jonm , all their virtuous detestation and righteous resistance of the " amended " Poor Law ; and ail their efforts for the abrogation of theills of poor Ireland consequent upon the Act of Union j as well as every effort at redress for individual grievances however great and galling .

      No Chartist was ever thus Charter-mad . No man ever thought that the promotion of all such religious or social , or special and individual , benefits as might be attained without interposing any let or hindrance to the Chartist agitation was not a thing to be desired . No Chartist ever thought that it wa not necessary and advisable to keep actively in play all subh means as might combine with and strengthen and uphold the ChartiBt agitation . And amongst all these , where is the single one that has engaged the amount of public sympathy and public interest Which appertains to this question of the protection

      of factory workers against the ravages of Capital ; and the assertion of the rights of Labour iu its struggle with the giant power of machinery ? This is a great and wide question ; ' tis one in which the interests of the poor , both manufacturing and agricultural , are essentially bound up ; ' tis one in which the feelings , affections , and sympathies of human nature are all merged and from which they are inseparable ; 'tis one which . Charter or no Charter , sooner or later , and at no distant period , must be made the subject of deep and searohing investigation , in order

      that the hand of legislation , to what arm soever it may be attached , may be enabled so to adjuyt and regulate the framework of society as to prevent its violent disruption . Things cannot go on as they are now doing . Wealth cannot continue to be brought into existence exclusively for those who are already wealthy . The few cannot be permitted to continue this clutching of all the good things of an all-bounteous Providence , while the many look mournfully , but vainly , for the bare means of eking out a miserable life . The great question of the adjustment , and control , and

      guidance of our productive powers , i is the question of the Short Time Committees—not simply the Ten Hours' Bill , which , as the deputation rightly informed the ministry , has lost by delay much , if not all , its efficiency as a specific measure . This question will , or ought to be , the very first to occupy the attention of Parliament so soon as Parliament shall be made to represent the people . Nothing can therefore be more necessary or important than that it should be well canvassed and well understood ; that those who are now in power should be made to feel and comprehend the

      importance of it ; and that , at all events , whether they can be induced to anticipate to some degree , ( however small , ) the rule of right or not , the discussion of it should be kept before the public ; that the people may understand it ; that they may see all its bearings ; all the principles by which they operate ; all the effects flowing from those principles , both sanatory and perniciouSj for the public weal : that so , being well-studied in the matters most vitally affecting their own interests , they may , when the Charter shall have been established , find no difficulty in

      testing , knowing , and instructing those whom they shall send to legislate upon the subject . And hence , as O'Connor in his speeches and writings keeps consfcautly in view the question of the Land—the small-farm and rural population—the connection and blending together of manufactures and agriculture , as a result desirable to be -effected by the Charter , and therefore ' to be understood now ; as Mr . O'Bbien , from precisely the same motive and principle , we

      doubt not , keeps constantly before the people his notions upon Land : and Cubrenct , and other matters ; so the Short Time Committees , most of thorn excellent Chartists , all of them we have reason to ¦ . believe beneyolcntly-minded men , think it not less neceseary that the public mind should be instructed upon this the greatest of all questions , and which , in reality , includes all the others—the relative rights and powers of Capital , AJACHiNBar , and Manual Labour .

      We wonder not that the Leeds organ of th « Millonaries should be frantic at the revival Of this question of a legislative interference with the hours of labour ; because they know that it is necessarily inductive to the opening-up of the whole merits of the whole question . They know too the power that this Short Time question has upon the minds of the" workies . " They know that a faithful adherence to its prosecutioa has enshrined Oastler , though calling himself " a Tory , " in their very heart oi hearts ; while its desertion by O'Connell , like the touch of magic , blasted , in a moment , all his power and popularity , and made him the deserved object of their deepest hate . We wonder not , then , that

      the mad-dogs should foam and howl at its resuscitation . They thought they had succeeded nearly nine years since in getting rid of it . They thought they had choked the complaining throats of the factory-workers with Althobp . ' s " impracticable" Act , and that the working people would be happy to have done with factory legislation . A leap instigated by infernal principle brought them foremost in the ' ^ race of humanity . " Their eight-hour-twelve-hour nionster was produced and supported avowedly because they ; "knew it to bei impracticable . " The Short Time Committees were not , however , to be done . " They laid down their oars , but quitted not their post . They protested against the monstrous

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      substitution , and sat down te watch its workinga untU its authors should be sickened by it . This has been done . The " Masters' remedy" for the evils of the factory system has been tried , until they themselves acknowledge that it has failed , and that they are sickof its operation ; and now , therefore , the Short Time Committees again promptly and properly tak © up the question which , as tbe representatives of those who fed most keenly all the operations of the system , they best know and understand . To have taken this step with a Whig Ministry in office , the creatures oi ihd milloorats and MiUionairgtthings who had before testified their subserviene * to "capital and commerce , " would have been

      futile ; and these watchful guardians of th » interests of the working many evinced hot less thear wisdom than their " faithfulness , in seiiing npon the earliest opportunity , after the accession of a new Ministry , to assert the claims of labopb ere the bias might bo given to its purposes by the insidionj applications of the enemy . They were right to have the first run . And they but just had it . The Masters have had their deputation * since then * waiting upon Ministers to urge Corn Law Repeal and "Extension of Commerce , " which mean tha further and more complete prostration of labouk before capital and : machinery . The event will prove whether Sir Robert Peel and his ministry have been more accessible to the voice of laboub

      and the demand for justice , or to that of wealth and the cry for the upholding and " extension" of its fell domination . The Millionaire deputies said nothing to the Minister about the Charter ; even the " amended Charter , " though its author was one of the deputation , formed no part of their recom * mendations . Yet they are not ; censured for thia omission by the cur whose snarlings are directed by their bidding . Nor do we censure them . They acted rightly and consistently in adhering to the purpose of their visit ; but they should not then hound on their curs upon the people ' s deputies ,

      because they , too , acted rightly and consistently . Anything , however , to secure the quarry . The whole produce , of the workman ' s labour , the removal of every bar to the "free" ravages of afhal , is the game hunted ; and the whole pack , big dogs and small , will bark to any tune , so that it may be had . The diversity and contrariety of note ainid their yelp * ings bring to mind the wretched soldier writhing beneath the Jash . " Strike high or low ; there ' s no pleasing them" any way . The Chartists adhere at all proper times , and in ail public meeting ! , where they have the right to do so , to the

      practice ef bringing forward , urging , and insisting on the Charter ; the " Extension" and Repeal gentry denounce them' as insolent brawlers ; Col Thompson declares them " to be impracticable , " and Bays that he cannot work with them , because they will talk about nothing but the Charter ; Mr . Knowlks , the Chartist of Keighley , goes to Skipton to a meeting of Dr . Smiles , and other foxes , for " Extension" and Repeal of the Corn Laws ; he there talks about the Charter , and is blackguarded , bruised , beaten , kicked off the platform , and

      pitched headlong down stairs ; and , anon this same Dr . Skileb is shocked and scandalised at the shameful omission of duty on the part of a deputation , some of whose members were Chartists , but who neglected to pitch the Charter into Sib Robebi Peel , instead of the business they were sent about * How yery shocking 1 and what naughty boys this deputation were , not to afford the Tory minister at all events the chance , with a much better grace and reason , of calling in hisi servants to serve them as the "Extension" and Corn : Law Repeal foxes served poor Knowles at Dr . Shiles ' s meeting I .. ' = '

      We have deemed it neoe 33 ary to say something upon this subject , because in some portions of the country there may be honest ChartiBts , who know little- either by experience or observation , of the horrors of the factory system ; who have had few opportunities of studying Or making themselves acquainted with the principles involved , in the great question of the struggle of Manual Lajoub against Machinery ; and who might , therefore , lacking better information , be induced by the villanous artfulness with which the Charter has been S played" on this occasion by the ci-devant advocate ( now bitter

      enemy . ) of the factory workerSj to suppose that there may have been some forgetfulness of the unswerving allegiance which is due to their ow cause * either by the Chartists of Leeds , Huddersfield , and Bradford generally , or by the many active and excellent Chartists belonging to the Short Time Committees of those places individually in this matter . We have devoted many years to the study of this question ; expended much time , much labour , and some pecuniary means , in the prosecution of such actual observance as should afford us a ¦ ufBciency of facts and data for conclusions on the

      whole matter . We have lived amongst ij our whole time . We have watched the rising , we have seen the development , we have noted the operation , of that system of production by inanimate machinery , which under the management and regulations that have hitherto guided it , has become the blight of the poor man ' s hopes—the devastator of his homestead —the demoraliser of his family—the assassin of his connubial and parental happiness—the destroy * of everything dear to him , save physical xistence ; and which threatens , if not gude 4 in its movements otherwise than it has yet

      been , to rob him erelong of that too ! Entfrtainipg deep and conscientious feelings oh the subject , we have ever held it to be our stern duty to the people to givejthe factory labourer our most hearty and uncompromising support . It may not have been al . ) that we could have wished it . It may have lacked power , or energy , or talent , or influence ; but has not lacked sincerity , consistency nor disinterestedness . It has been a support voluntarily accorded . No " scores of pounds '' of the hard earnings of the factory workers have been paid to purchase us . Without pay ; without having been constituted their advertising medium ; we have asserted and supported the rights of the enslaved factory workers , on a : l ocostsions which

      might bring them under notice , throughout our entire career . We have done so from principlej because we believe their cause to be identical with that of the whole people ; to bo ia fact the eauser-ihQ cause of labour against wealth—of Oppressed against Oppressor , for the adjustment of which the enaction of the Charter is required . Often and again have we declared that we would liot give a straw for the Charter otherwise than as a means to an end , and that end the upholding of the Rights of Labour . It is a pretty thing , then , that we , who have always upheld the factory workers , should be accused of " fraud , " of "hoaxing , " of "dishonesty , " because we upheld the factory workers still , by the / thing who Clustered for the Ten Hours' Bill

      when its advocates were his best paying customers and patrons , and who foams and froihd about it as an "impudent hoax , " " excessively absurd attempt , " " a gross and palpable fraud , " nosv that he is stated to have been bouud , for some twenty months back , to do the bidding of its euomies in return for the M chink '' with which his services were purchased ! A stupid effort is made to identify u ? with the Short Time Committee , because , forsooth , the addreBBupon which we have written theBe observations , was printed by Mr . Hosson , who also prints the Northern Star . Having read thedocument , wehave

      no hesitation in averring that to the principles contained in it we snbscribe in full ; and that we hold the reasoning to be conclusive and unanswerable . It is for these reasons , and because we think it , along with many other laudable exertions of the body whence it emanates , calculated to serve the real interests of the : working men , that we have given insertion to it . We have omitted from the address some expressions personal to Dr . Smiles We have neither wish nor need to rest our cause upon personalities . It may have been deemed necessary , and perhaps it Was necessary , for the Committee , in rebutting hia slanderous attacks upoJV

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      _ 4 TflE- ^ NPjB ^ ggR ^^ B-T ^^ r .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 5, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct585/page/4/