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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th February 1843, Edition 3 of 4, Page 4, THE 50ETHEEN STAR. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1843.

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    • TO THE PEOPLE.
    • THE 50ETHEEN STAR. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1843.
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      To The People.

      TO THE PEOPLE .

      Fbiesds , —It seemB that the guess or me t . werpooi Times was light , and that the « Honest" Go-Terament hav « stolen a month from the end of the time -which they themselves accorded to ns and to you for preparing to encounter them in the foul field of legal fight . I have not yet received any aotiee of fhislasi " move" upon their crooked Chess Board ; but you -will Bee from Mr . O'Connor ' s letter that he has ; and I liv « , therefore , in daily expectation of the benefit . There seems to be now no donbt that w « are to be "hauled up" on the 25 th inst ., at

      ianeaster instead of laverpooL The u moTe" is in perfect accordance with the whole conduct of the mean , ireacheroBB , and cowardly factions .- They never dare to rest their cause upon its meritfl .. Subterfuge and ensuing are the only weapons they can call their own . And these they never fail to make the indices and agents of their usurped power . "We can only meet their cunning " donhles " with renewed determination and redoubled diligence . I know not what may be the effect of thi 3 alteration of the time aad place of trial upon the fees which haunt every jtfep of the oppressors' course . I hare no doubt that it

      rnB be to make the expences heavier . At all events I know that it is to lessen the ability to meet them , by shortening the time for the collection of the necessary fends . Upon yon , then , devolves the duty of convincing tyranny of your determination to uphold the assertion , by your friends and champions , of the principles of right , and of the futility of all their pony efforls to suppress them . From the time this paper reaches your hands , two weeks only must elapse before the -rictims will be ironght within the precincts of the unhallowed temple , and the pampered menials of

      oppression will be arranging the formalities of saciifice . Permit me , therefore , to add my urgency to that of Mr . O'Connor upon thi 3 occasion . I have not often * dunned" you . 1 have served you zealously » nd faithfoDy for many years ; and my reward has been continued turmoil where I might have had peace and quiefcnesB , the exchange of " respectability " for contumely , of hard labour and iDqmetnde for personal comfort and enjoyment , and of lucrative professional advantages and prospects for pecuniary loss . I may therefore , for once , tuge yon to excrtion , boi for myself—but for those good men ,

      and there are many of them , whom , unless you step in to aid them , thiB villanoua prosecation must involve in rain . It may be hard work , and I know it i 3 ; but you must stir now . Many of these men who have thrown themselves into the gap for yon . are utterly unable to procure the legal aid which their defence requires . "Will you safer them to be lost for want of it \ I Many of them have families , who , in the event of their incarceration , lose their only prop . "Will you suffer Jhese families to want that aid " and comfort which the advocacy of your cause takes from

      themi ! "Will per permit the father aisd the husband to leave Mb cheerless home without the knowledge that his loved ones shall be safe if he return no more to them of months 11 ' Many of your victim friends need present help . Many of them want the necessary personal aids and comforts which are indispensible to their position . Many of khem are at great distances irom the scene of purposed sacrifice—the * Justice Hall" U)— 'Tib for you they go there ; and they have a right to look to you for means to get there . You must stir I Stoutly , briskly , universally , at okce ! About the -work i And laugh at faction ' s scoundrel efforts to depress you .

      ! Ehe a . im of power and faction is to keep its hold upon yonr liberties and resources . And this they will do if you suffer men who have sacrificed all for yon to be sacrificed without due exertion on your part to sustain them . With such exertion , manifested , as it must be if yon love yourselves , in all ways possible—you may successfully defy them ; for the words of Holy writ are true , that "Thongh a righteous t" ^ " fall seven times daily , he shall yet rise . " The power of right will overcome all if honestly put forth . The whole case is before you , and your appreciation of the efforts which hive been made for you will be best evidenced by the manner b which you meet it .

      Yon will Bee that the time is now short enough in all conscience for those who haTe yet made no preparation , to begin to ] ihink about how they shall tgiftptag-ftm * wiuiyiirnvji-moiTwhui Itbvj AaU bsj to * ily Lords the Queen ' s Justices , " and " the Jurors sworn , ** anent the matter . I happen to be one of those . I ba ^ e not yet bestowed a Hi «? le thought upon the matter . 2 most do so now ; and this must be my snswerjto the many requests for lecturing and preaching visits which 2 have this | week received . 2 had purposed to spend the whole of next week in Jforih Lancashire , and to take at least

      another "week before the Liverpool " meeting , " for the purpose of visiting the various places in South f tTTfAg > pTy and Cheshire , to which I have been invited ; bnt when it is considered how short the time is and how many preparations and arrangements 2 mustJiave to make , 2 am sure my friends in all those places will require no further apology . I am one of those who never anticipate defeat , but jet always provide against the worst . I shall go to trial fully relying upon principle and trntn to triumph over prejudice , even in a

      middleelass Jury . 2 expect » verdict of " Not Guilty "; bat 2 sfrafl provide for » different "result , if it should come . This gives me much work . 2 have ¦ many arrangements to make both at Leeds and at Hull , independent of the necessary preparations for defence . Tsese things make it impossible , for me to remain in North Lancashire longer than Tuesday evening , and impossible for me to go any where else nntil after the trials . The same reasons must excuse iny answering the letters of many of my mod friends . 2 may not have time to do so .

      The trialB , however , though important , mnst not engross our attention , to the . exclusion ef the means for carrying on the movement and amending our agitation . These subjects mn > t be kept in mind ; bat 2 suggest * that as far as practicable yon remain quiescent on them till the trials are over . The nominatioss for the New Executive should be now going on , and they should come into office on the first of March . 1 have received some nominations for publication ; there being no Secretary to whom-to send them . 2 have not published them , for this reason ; I think it

      much better that the people should wait till the trialB are over , and see what men are in the field . Nearly every man of mark is in the net bo skilfully thrown over us by the combined hands of factious tyranny and treachery in our own camp- Let us see the net broken and the men at liberty , and then our choice jean be made freely . Such is my advice . Bnt if the people determine to go on with the nominations , it is not fsrmeto ** dictate . " . They shall be published if anything like a general desire for it is manifested . 2 advise the people , however , to do all great things cautiously . " Discretion is the best part of valour , " and of patriotism likewise .

      In pursuance of this maxim , 2 think it right to advert to a report which has reached me of a proposition to make Lancaster and the neighbourhood the * seat of agitation" during the assizes . 2 hope this will not be done . It is just one of those things which may do harm , and can do no good . The court will be an arena quite sufficient for the healthful ex-« rrise of prowess in defending our glorious principles j and I hope that none of their advocates wiD so far let &eii zeal outran wisdom as to give a «« ft »* handle to the enemy . 2 have always thus counselled ; and had 2 been more heeded , many severe struggles with the enemy-perbaps this

      « - might have been avoided . 2 never uek danger though I never Bhrink from it when it comes ; 2 always choose a post which is defensble at all poinU ; and then 2 stick to it : 2 Mver run away . Order and truth are my weapons pradence and iwrseveranee , my " watch wards ; and onnsteney my shield . "With these 2 have hitherto fimght against the enemies of your rights , whether penly ranged with yonr foes or eunningly concealed among yourselves . 2 shall always do so ; aad , recommending the like coarse to you , 2 bid job M Godspeed" in yonr holy warfare , " and augur a tweSy and triumphant issue .

      2 am , as ever , Yoar faithful friend and servant , WlXllAM glji . Hcrihem Star Office , Leeds , Thursday , February . 5 th , 1 & 42 .

      The 50etheen Star. Saturday, February 11, 1843.

      THE 50 ETHEEN STAR . SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 11 , 1843 .

      TRIUMPHS OF "EXTENDED COMMERCE "! THE LEAGUE CUTT 2 NG THE 2 R OWN THROATS . The cause of " Extension" is doomed to die by the handB of its own advocates 1 Nearly all the " heavy blows and sore discouragements" which it has been fated to receive , have been administered to it by its own friends . Never were men so infatuated ! They attempt to adduce facts and reasonings in support of their darling project , — while every effort they make tells against them ! and proclaims , rrumpet-tenguedj that " Extensions of Commerce" have not , hitherto , been of service to the great body of the producers and distributors of wealth ; and that consequently they have no interest to induce them to join in an endeavour to procure another " Extension . "

      A great * ' pother" has recently been raised about this same " Extension . " We have had noise enough , and stir enough . We have had a party moving heaven and earth , as it were , to force the question of " Extension" upou public attention . They have held " t icket-meetings" in all parts of the country , at which one set of paid performers have had all the " say . " They have subscribed some £ 50 , 000 ; and boasted of setting some scores of tons of tracts loose upon the publio , to convert every man of us to the cause of Corn law Rppeal . They have expended some portion of their £ 50 , 000 in building a League Hall , in the town of Manchester , in which to hold a meeting of Deputies from

      all the TownB in England and Scotland , that the £ 50 , 000 could procure to be sent . They have thus called together all the talent they can boast of , whether sincerely attached to their cause from a conviction of its righteousness and justice , or hired from the ranks of those who are ready to prostitute themselves for pay . They iave had their u Aggregate Meetings . " For one whole week has the press of the Empire teemed with their sayings and doings . [ The £ 50 , 000 ha 9 not been without its uses in that quarter !] The " Extension ' men have had full scope ; ample fling : every opportunity has been given them to establish the justice of the claim they put forth , and show the reasonableness and efficiency of their much-vaunted measure .

      As one means of preparing to meet the public , and demonstrate the advantages to be derived from the adoption of the " Extension" plan , the League recently addressed a number of queries to certain parties all ov <; r the country , for the purpose of ascertaining the present condition of the people . The answer returned to these querieB they have embodied in a report , which , on Friday last , was sent forth to the world , stamped with all the

      authority that an Aggregate Meeting of Delegates to the Anti-Corn Law Demonstrations" could give it . 2 t was drawn up by a Committee which boasted ot "Messrs . H . Ashwoeth , T . Baixet , jun ., E . Baines jun ., and Thohas Punt , " as Secretaries . It is the production of the concentrated wisdom of the League ; and contains their u strong reasons" for the measure of ** Extension" whioh the League calls upon the public to adopt .

      Now it fortunately happens that this question of " Extension" is not' a new or an untried question . It is not brought before us as a question respecting which we know nothing ; and which , it is argued , might probably act in such and snob , a manner , and lead to such and such an end . We have had experience of its working ; for we have had many " intensions of Commerce" within the memory of not very old men ! That knowledge , therefore , has only to be brought to bear to demonstrate the advantage , or otherwise , of such " Extensions . "

      On several former occasions we have shewn , that , duriDg the last fifty yean , *• our Commerce" with foreign nations has "Extended" S 2 X T 2 MES OVER . All that the League had to do , therefore , was to show that each " Extensions-had benefited the people ; and that the aggregate of Extensions " was purely an aggregate of benefits ! ThiB of oouse they could easily have done , had the facts been so , and this , would have been reason sufficient to all minds to show that another ** Extension" would be an additional benefit .

      It is well known what the condition of the producing many was fifty years ago , before " Commerce " was much "extended . " It iB well known that employment was plentiful ; and it is also well known , w use the words of Mr . Heaps , at the late Leeds Squeaking Meeting , that "the working men had wages for working for . " Of course the concentrated wiBdom of the " Aggregate Meeting of Deputies , " under the guidance and direction of " E . Baines , Jun ., and Thomas Piwi , " of Leeds , reported that in these particulars , the people were now much improved 3 That , as we

      have "Extended our Commerce" SIX TIMES OVER , employment iB six-timea as plentiful ; and w&geB six times as high ! Of course , these sapient gentry did this , as the very least they could attempt to do , to demonstrate the advantages of "Extension , " and to cause us to endeavour to procure another ! Indeed , but they did not ! They never eve n attempted it ! Thiy showed , most conclusively that employment is very scarce ; that wages bare mo nstrously fallen , and that they are still failing They showed that the Poor Rates in " all the great

      seats of industry , " have doubled since 1839 ! 1 wtile pauperism has increased in ratios varying from 300 to 500 per centl !!! They showed that the amount of Bankruptcy and Insolvency is frightfully large , and that capital is alarmingly diminishing in the manufacturing districts . They showed that these are the effectB , after we hav 6 *• Extended " our Commerce with the Foreigner SIX TIMES OTER ! and they addnced these things as reasons why we should seek for another *» Extension " !!!

      Were ever men bo fool sh \ I WerB ever men so infatuated *! To cut their own throats with their own pettitoes in so shocking a manner 11 Never did swine in water do it bo effectually , as these wiseacres have done , when once afloat in the lake of " Political Economy" i But we must have this Report reoorded . It is too valuable to be silently passed over , or suffered to fall info oblivion . 2 t testifies too strongly , as to the effect of our present application of Machinery , and to our conditisn after a SIX TIMES OVER

      " Extension" of our Foreign Commerce , to be despised . It is a publio admission of the truth of the statements made , thousands of times , by the suffering sons of toil ; bat which statements have been pertinaciously denied by those who now adopt them , and promulgate them , as reasons why they should be permitted to do again at this day what they have ever done in the past ; get the upper hand of the labourer , annihilate his personal freedom , and deprive him of all comfortable enjoyment .

      Here , then , is the " Report " . Let the labourer study it well i Let him perase it again and again Let him remember that it iB put forth by those who want him to join in the cry for "More Extension" ! Let him reflect that these are the reasons addressed to him , to convince him that it would be his interest to bo join , and so cry 1 Amd let him not forget that this picture of the condition of all classes in the country , has been drawn at the end of a SIX TIMES-OTER * Extension * i Here are the League Reasons I Here they are THE TSLXUXOPHS

      ^_ __ OJ * "EXTENDED" COJttMEBCE . mm

      Untitled Article

      Mi . H . Ashwobth was called to the chair , and Mr . PtiMT , of Laeda , and the Rev . Bit . SCALES , of Leeds , Bnocessivelv read the following reports : Report of the Committee of manufacturers to the aggregate meeting of the Deputies of the Antl-Corn-law Association of Great Britain , assembled in Manchester , Feb S , 1843 . The Committee met on the 31 st of January , and appointed as secretaries , Messrs . H . Aahworth , T . Bayley . jun ., E . Baines , jun ., and Thomas Plint , to whom were committed the voluminous documents transmitted to the Council of the League , In reply to the queries as to wages , employment , pauperism , &c ,

      Bent oat to all the manufacturing districts in December last . These documents they carefully inspected , and a digest of the principal portion was prepared and presented at the meeting of the flection on the following day , by Mr . H . ABhworth . ThiB digest referred principally to the cotton trade , aDd evidence on the same trade was presented by Messrs . W . B , and B . H . Greg . On the woollen trade statements were made by Messrs . T . Bayley and T . Plint ; the silk , by Mr . F . J . Taunton , of Coventry ; the shipping , by Messrs . Jobnassohn and Hardcastle , of Sunderland ; on the hardware trade , by Mr . J . Soholefleld , M . P ., of Birmingham ; on the linen trade , by Mr . € h Baxter , of Dundee ; and od the hosiery trade , by Mr . H . D&vson , of Manchester .

      The details presented by these gentlemen are much too voluminous to be presented to the meeting m full . The Committee , therefore , have carefully analysed and classed them ; and they hope the following abstraot , arranged under distinct heads , will be found accurate and

      faithful—First—THE BAT * OF WAGES AND THE AMOUNT OP = . EMPLOYMENT . There is alleged on all hands , a considerable falling off in the demand for labour ; as a necessary consequence there appears a very general and serious decline in the rate of wages . The per centage of both is variously stated ; certainly a reduction of the amount of employment is not over-stated 20 per cent ., and of wages an equal redaction , the combined result of which to the operatives indicates a less command of the necessaries and comforts of life OF NEARLY TWO-THIRDS , as compared . with their means in 1804 5-6 . In the woollen trade the falling off in the amount of employment and the rate of wages combined , is certainly not

      less than one-half the average of those years ; -whilst in the trades dependent on ship-building , and iu the manufacture of steam-engines and machines , the decrease is Btill greater . Collaterally with this falling off in the staple trades of the nation , it appears that , In the handicraft trades , such as bricklayers , masons , smiths , fcc , the waut of employment is very general , and the rate of wages has , in many instances , undergone a redaction ; a fact deserving particular notice , as indicatins a severe pressure on the labour market , these trades being protected trades , and in times of severe depression having generally maintained entire the established rate of remuneration . THE TENDENCY OF WAGES IS STILL DOWNWARDS , and in several oases has undergone very recent depreciation .

      POOR RATES AND PAUPERISM . If the ratio of decreased employment and wages is in some degree conjectural , the rate of the increase of pauperism and poor-rates , unhappily , admits of no doubt or caviL From all the great seats of industry the evidence on this head is uniform and distressing . Since 1839 , the sums expended in the relief of tbe poor have , on an average , doubled ; whilst the number of applicants has increased in various ratios , from 300 to 500 per cent . The painful fact , too , appears , that in several principal towns there have been very numerous applications for relief from , & class of persons who , until the last two years , either from the comparative independence of their circumstances , or their independence of mind , never before applied for parockial aid . THE CONSUMPTION OF AJIMAL POOD .

      The falling off in the consumption of butchers' meat is testified in all tbe reports mads to the Committee . The decrease is variously stated at from 20 to 60 per cent It is impossible to define with any accuracy the average decline of consumption ; but the fact is an admitted and palpable one , and tbe great redaction in the price of farmers' stock affords strong collateral proof . That the food of the mass of our population is deficient alike in quality and quantity , in attested by tbe reports of several medical men in different parts of the empire , and it is folly borne oat by the statistics of the disponsaries , infirmaries , and hospitals in all our large towns—while there is a very large Increase of disease and death . The returns also t « the queries addressed to sick and benefit societies lead to the same melancholy fact

      INSOLVENCY AND DEPRECIATION OP CAPITAL . The fact , that during the last four years a very large amount of bankruptcy and insolvency has taken place throughout tbe wholesale and retail trades of tbe empire , needed no confirmation at the meeting of Wednesday . Various particulars , however , were famished , especially with respect to the towns of Sunderland , Dundee , and Leeds . There can be little doubt that , taking the great staple trades of cotton , woollea . and iron , the loss of capital has bten very Urge , and that

      there is an alarming diminution of tbe whole floating capital of the manufacturing districts , both absolutely , estimating the sum total , and relatively , estimating the amonnt of labour to be employed . There is too much reason further to conclude that the capital is still d « - creasing , partly by the constant attrition op P 1 XED CHARGES ACTING ON A NARROWED RETURN . and parti ? oy the ruinous competition of those having mill property—a competition unnatural as the activity which , in some branches of oar trade accompanies it . U feverish and unhealthy .

      THE SHIPPING INTEREST . The evidence produced on this head leaves no doubt as to a large and ruinous decline in the state of the shipping tra 4 e , as well owners as builders . The evidence produced as to the important ports of Liverpool , Bristol , Sunderland , and Whitebaven , and more especially tbe two latter , Is minute nod startling . The fall in the price of vessels and freight , and the very contracted scale of building operations , leave no room for scepticism as to tbe fact of a serious declension in the condition of oar shipowners . Tbe details as to Sunderland will be read with peculiar interest .

      THE CHARACTER OF OUR BIPOKT TRADE . The searching analysis of our exports in cotton fabrics , presented to the meeting by the Messrs . Greg and Rawson , developed a great change in the character of onr exports—a change which has been in progress for four or five years back . This analysis shows a great and rapid increase in the export of yam , and a serious dedine in the export of goods in the woven and printed state . This applies particularly to the European trade , and it is to be accounted fer by the rapid growth of manufacturing power on the Continent , first exhibited in the departments of weaving and printing , and now manifesting itself in the rapid erection of mills for spin oing . The process , indeed , which is going on &like in the cotton , linen , and woollen trade , points to the

      ultimate , and perhaps not very remote txciusion ot oar manufacturing products , either yarn or finished fabrics , if the restrictions on the import of food are continued ; and points out tbe Bonnd policy , n » y , the absolute necessity , of opening new markets for our goods in those quarters of the world where the immediate and natural tendency ef industry is to agricultural employment Another fad was developed relative to our export trade , that an increasing MASS OP COMMODITIES IS YEARLY EXPORTED FOR A 8 TATIONABY RETURN S This fact admits of only one solution , allowance beirg made for tbe greater cheapness of commodities arising from improved skill in manufacture , -viz ., that as one range of imports ia artificially narrowed and contracted by the practical

      rejection of agricultural products of foreign nations , and as oar manufacturers and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for such e . return as law permits , they are giving more and more goods for a stationary , return . The ruinous sacrifices made in our staple manufactures in foreign goods , and which are so often pointed to as indisating an excess of production here , only indicate , in reality , therefore , the measure of the difficulty experienced in procuring returns . We do Dot make more than other nations can buy and pay for ; bat we limit their power of payment by excludiug the principal commodity they have to offer , and virtually to create & keen and ruinons competition amongst ourselves to secure such custom as we permit them to offer us .

      HOSTILE CHARACTER OF FOREIGN TARIFFS . Within fifteen months five hostile tariffs have been published , viz , the tariffs of Portngal , Russia , France , Belgium and the United States . By these tariffs the duties on our goods are doubled . Coupled with this fact is tbe equally starting one , that in the kingdoms of Prussia and France tbe increase of the woollen and cotton manufactures since 1830 shows a rate of progression qaite outstripping the progress of the same manufactures in this country , and which threaten oar early exclusion from the markets of the Continent That our corn and provision laws have led to these hostile tariffa

      admits of do doubt ; whilst it is equally clear , that to the exclusion of their agricultural produce is to be attributed the encouragement and rapid growth of infusing skill amongst tbe continental nations . That growth cannot now be stayed ; perhaps the time when it was desirable for the inUrests of this country and of the Continent that the one should be mainly a manufacturing and the other an agricultural one , is passed ; but this is at least clear—Great Britain has no resource but to open her ports to the free import of food with all the world as the only means of finding a market for her various manufactures .

      In conclusion , the Committee bare to express their clear , decided , but painfal conviction , that the distress of 1842 , emoudsd that of 1841 , bad as that was ; THAT THE CONDITION OF ALL CLASSES IS DETERIORATED ; the embarrassment * of all producers and dealers greater ; that the physical condition of the people ia alarmingly worse , and threatens in its final consequences serious demoralisation , and perhaps danger to the public order and peace : in one word , that we are reaping the hitter fruits of a practical limitation of an increasing population to the stationary produce of the home soils .

      We must not pass this cut-throat document over lightly ! It is all-important ! It does for the Lsagi . e !

      Untitled Article

      Under the head " Rate of Wages and Amount of Employment" the League Report and testify that " there is a considerable falling off in the demand for labour '; and ' a serious decline in the rate ef wages . " They testify , too , that the operation of these two evils has been to cause the operative " to have less command of the necessaries and comforts of life , OF nearly two-thibds as compared with their means in 1834-5-6 , " How how stands the question of " Foreign Commerce" at these two periods ! For an answer to this question may serve to show us whether there be any virtue in ' * Extended Commerce , " to prevent the awful affects the League have but too truly described !

      In 1834 we exported of British Produce and Manufactures , according to Official Value , £ 73 , 831 , 551 . In the year ending Jan , 5 tb , 1842 , we exported , Official Value , 102 , 180 , 517 11 Daring those seven years we " Extended" our Foreign Commerce , no less than £ 28 , 348 , 966 , Official Value !! an increase equal to one-and-ahalf times of the whole amount of foreign trade We had in 1798—fifty years ago I ! And yet , notwithstanding this enormous " Extension" : this

      vast addition to the amount of our foreign trade , it is declared by those who wish to accomplish another " Extension , " that at the end of that seven years , " tbe operative has a lees command of the necessaries and comforts of life , of NEARLY TWO THIRDS , as compared with hia means" in the beginning of that same seven years ! ! And the brazen-faced varlets have the impudence and audacity to force upon the operative's attention another " Extension of Commerce" as a means of bettering his condition !!

      The increase to our Foreign Trade during these seven years , was , as just shown , £ 28 , 348 , 966 Official Value . Tbe whole amount of oar Foriegn Trade , in 1798 , was £ 19 , 672 , 503 , Official Value . The Real value , however » of the trade in 1798 , was £ 33 , 148 , 682 . Had we been paid for the £ 28 , 348 966 increase in 1842 over the trade in 1834 , at the same rate as we Were paid for our goods in 1798 , we should have realised from that , increase alone , no less a sum than £ 49 , 723 , 023 t We only did realise for that increase £ 9 . 985 , 432 : consequently we lost

      upon that increased quantity of produce and manufactures cent abroad no less a sum than . £ 39 , 737 , 591 !! or a sum equal to the amount of the interest of the National Debt , the payment of the army , the disoharge of the Civil List , and oost of the Courts of Justice for one entire year !!! No wonder that the means of the operative to command the necessaries and comforts of life are diminished nearly TWO-THIRDS during the last seven years ! And the operative may take consolation to himself from the concluding words of the first section of the League ' s report— " the tendency of wages is STILL

      DOWNWARD . " Under the head " Poor Rates and Pauperism " the faot is proclaimed that " since 1839 the sums expended in the relief of the poor in the great seats of industry , have , on an average , doubled : whilst the number of applicants has increased in ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent . " Poor Rates doubled since 1839 ! and pauperism increased in ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent ! Pretty well this , good folks , in three years ! Famous increase of Pauperism : pray how stands the question of Fokeio . v Trade ? We must surely ,

      during those three years , have had a monstrous falling off in that department ! It cannot be possible that these effects cau have followed the maintainance even , of " our Foreign Trade . " Had we maintained the position we occupied , in 1838 , in relation to the foreigner , we should , at all events , have been as well-off as we were in 1838 : and could we have " improved" that position , by an " Extension" of the Foreign Trade of 1838 , we should surely have been bbttee-off than wo then were : for " Extended trade brings extended employment ; extended employment brings extended wages ; and extended wages must make us better ofp . "

      Well , then , let us see how the facts stand . In tbe year ending January 5 th , 1838 , we exported of "British Produce and Manufactures" £ 92 459 , 726 Official Value . In the year ending January 5 th , 1842 , we exported £ 102 , 180 , 517 Official Value . Consequently the increase to our Foreign Trade during those three years alone , was £ 9 , 721 , 286 ! ! an " Extension" equal to one-half of the entire Foreign

      Trade in 1798 !! And , yet with this enormous increase : unth this vast M EXTENSION " during the LAST THREE YEARS , " Poor Rates have , on an average DOUBLED ; and the number of applicants increased i , ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent" !!! And another ' Extension" is the BEHEDr proposed to rid us of increased Poor Rates , and increasing Pauperism ! ! What wisdom we have amongBt us !

      We have before shewn what the Official Value ot Exported goods in 1798 produced to us iu real value . Had we been paid iu 1842 for the £ 9 , 721 , 286 Official Value increase over 1839 , in the rate we were paid in 1798 , we should have received for that increased amount of Foreign Trade the sum of £ 16 , 574 , 341 . The amount we did receive was only £ 1 , 573 . 653 ! ! On the increase therefore , we lost the sum of £ 15 , 000 , 000 ; or a sum equal to the cost of tbe Army , the Navy , the Civil List , the Annuities and Pensions , the Salaries and Allowances , and the China Expedition in 1842 !! ! Is there no cause for the ' doubling of the Poor Rates" and " the 500 per cent , increase of Pauperism" in thist Let " E . Baines , Jan . and Thomas Punt"' answer !

      Pass we on , in the consideration of this moat extraordinary report of the men who issued it to serve the cause it so utterly annihilates , to the section headed " Insolvency and Depreciation of Capital . " There , these provers that former " Extensions of Commerce" have done good , say , that , " taking the great staple trades of cotton , woollen , aud iron , the loss of capital has been very large ; aud there is an alarming diminution of the whole floating capital of the manufacturing districts . " Indeed ! 77 » m is a curious effect , after a SIX TIMES OVER "Extended Commerce" 1 Do , pray , good gentlefolks , look at what you are doing ! Have a little mercy on yourselves : pray do I It is miserable work this , to see you hack aud mangle your own throats ia this shocking aud self-muidering manner I

      But the Iron Trade : is U suffering 1 Has the loss of capital been great there 1 Is its diminution alarming in that department ; that really staple trade ? If so , pray how does it come to pass ? There is no " Foreign Competition" to be feared by the Iron Manufacturer . Pray how does it happen that this trade is suffering ! W « know you have a ready answer to all complaints respecting the depreciation of prices in cotton and other wove fabrics : and that you instantly utter forth the two words " Foreign Competition . ; " aud ascribe to such competition the cause of the depreciation . But this you cannot do in the case of the Iron Trade . According

      to Mr . M abshall , the Statician , " the only country in the world , besides England , that makes a sufficient quantity of Iron for its use is Sweden , where it is made at a cost exceeding a half more than it is made for in England . " " Foreign Competition " cannot , therefore , operate here . Pray tell us , how it is , that the price of Iron , under these oircamstanoes , should have depreciated as much as the price of woven fabrics 1 Ascertain the reason of this very strange and anomalous fact ; and then say whether you think another " Extension of Commerce" will etay the decrease of capital in the three great staple trades of the country !

      There are , however , two reasons assigned in this same section of the League ' s Report of their own madness , to account for the " alarming diminution of capital in the manufacturing districts ; " whioh reasons ace " the constant attrition of FIXED CHARGES on a NARROWED- RETURN ; end the RUINODS COMPETITION OF THOSE HAVING HILLpbopertt . " The League have hit it at last ! How it has happened that they have at length seen ( and been fooh enough to report that they have bo seen ) what eV ' -ry body the hag beta so long familiar .

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      with , is a question pregnant with cariosity . " The constant attrition of fixed charges on a narrowed return . " Yes , ia troth , that is one reason why capital is diminishing I We have the " fixed charges" of 1798 ; but we have not the " returns ' of 1798 . And , whatever the League may think , until we either raise the " returns" up to the " fixed charges '' standard , or reduce the " fixed charges" to the standard of our present " returns , " " CAPITAL" WILL STILL CONTINUE -TO " DIMINISH" at an " alarming" rate ! spite of all the "Extensions of Commerce" they can effect ! Nay , it will " diminish" faster and ] more alarmingly" with every fresh " Extension , " until it be , in a very short timei entirely swallowed up !

      The other reason assigned for the " alarming diminution of capital in the manufacturing districts " is " the RUINOUS competition of those having Mill-Property . " Right again ! The nail driven home Btit . how comes it that tbe League have hit on this ? With them there should be no such thing as " ruinous competition . " With them all should be " free . " Ruinous competition is an impossibility , according to the doctrines of free-trade . " Competition is the only corrective in all matters relating to the produotion and distribution of wealth . The market for the products of labour ought to be free ; and

      competition will establish the proper value . The labourmarket ought also to be free ; and competition will also establish its value . " So say the Leagued economists . But if competition CAN be "ruinous , " INTERFERENCE IS JUSTIFIABLE : and then away goes the whole superstructure of " freedom / " If competition CAN " be ruinous " , those who are in danger of being Ruined" have a right and a just olaim to be protected : and thus the League establish the very principle they are leagued together to overthrow !! What a miserable set of suicides they are !

      The section under the head Character of our Export Trade " , calls for some little notice . Here the League proclaim that this trade is undergoing a complete change . The foreigner , generally speaking only now requires our yarns , to weave up into fabrics with his own machinery , for his own consumption . Indeed he its procuring the necessary machinery to enable him to spin the yarn for himself ; and thus render himself i independent of our manufactures altogether . And can any one wonder this is so ? Is it not right it should be ? Would they not be injuring themselves , not to take advantage of those means which will enable them to produce for themselves all that they require ? If manufacturing and machinery bo of benefit to us , will they not be beneficial to the Foreigner ? Could we reasonably

      expect to secure these advantages to ourselves alone Whatever expectations we may have entertained in regard to these matters , or whatever calculations we may have indulged in , based on the supposition that we alone were to possess machinery , and use it for the production of clothing for the world at large , it is clear that we have " reckoned without our host . " Other nations j have procured machinery ; other nations are manufacturing ; and in spite of all the " Extensions of Commerce" that the League can procure , either byj the " removal of the restrictions on the import of food , " or by any other means , the " process which 13 going on alike iu the cotton , linen , and woollen trade , points to the ultimate and perhaps not very remote , exclusion of our manufactured products , either yarn or finished fabrics . "

      Yes ! the " process" of excluding us from the Foreign market " is going on alike in the . cotton , linen , and woollen trades" ! In proof of this , read the following from ; the New York Weekly Herald of Saturday , December 31 st . : — " In the village of Woodsocket , R I ., there are eighteen mills in which there are are 1 , 268 looms , 60 826 spindles , and 1 . 1 B 2 hands . The aggregate number of yurds of goods produced during the past year is 9 , 739 , 717 , of which there were 250 , 000 yards warps ; 584 000 yards flannels , 364 , 000 yards jeans , 62 400 yards negro cloths , 166 , 000 yards satinets , & 045 000 yards cotton prints , and 3 , 117 , 000 yards cotton sheeting . " This in one village ! Verily , the " process is going on I "

      And this " process" cannot be stayed ! Whatever course of policy we may pursue , we cannot induce other nations either to refrain from Betting up new manufactories , in whioh shall be used our last new and improved machinery ; or to discontinue the machinery they are at at present using . It is idle folly to expect it . On this point the great political teacher of his day , Mr . Cobbett had some very apt and apposite remarks . His 6 trong and commons-sense mind saw the question in a common-sense light ; and some short time before his removal from amongst us , he distinctly told the " working Manufacturers of the North" what they might ; expect as the result of the introduction and application of machinery , in relation to our being able to maintain a superiority in the markets of the world . " : His words were : —

      " It is my opinion that the mmnufacturing game is nearly over : it bos been a profitable game to a great many persons : it has made your employers rich , proud , insolent , cruel , and base ; but the days of their prosperity ore , in ray opinion , never to return . As long as manufacturing was carried on by the handi of people , so lorn ; England enjoyed , and was likely to enjoy in this respect , a great superiority over other nations ; because English people , if nat more ingenious than those of other countries , iare more industrious , more addicted to order and punctuality in business , more in the habit of prompt obedience to employers , mach more persevering , much more proud of performing of excellent

      workmanship , and , are , at the same time , blessed with a climate that knows so little of extremes , as seldom or ever to be a hind ' erance to the labourer . But when the hand of man came to be supplanted by machinery , the principal part of these advantages most , in a short time , be greatly diminished : when fire , water , Iron , steel , tin , and other things employed in a certain way , rendered the hand of man almost unnecessary , it was Impossible that the former superiority could be maintained to the same extent ; because all these materials are to be found in all countries ; and because the interest of ether countries would naturally introduce the use of them . If one farmer were , by some accident , to

      discover tbe means of raising greater crops than his neighbours , at a tenth part of the expence , be must , until his secrot became known to other farmers , be thriving at a rate most prodigious ; but as soon as his secret became known , it would be nothing worth to him : all other farmers would use the same means ; and ha would be , with respect to other farmers , just where he was before the discovery of hia invention . Machinery , as long as it is confined to one nation , gives to that nation a great superiority over others : it adds , in fact , to the riches and power of that nation ; but when introduced into other nations , it may make the situation , I mean the relative situation of the first nation , a great deal worse than it was before .

      " If , for instance , there be a man who understands well how to reduce or enlarge the scale ot a map ; if he understand how to reduce this upon mathematical principles , without the assistance of any instrument ; and if this be understood by comparatively a very few others , tbe talent of that man is valuable to him : others who want plans reduced or enlarged , must apply to him or to some such rare person ; but if Some one discover an instrument for this purpese , by which such reductiou or enlargement can be effected with perfect accuracy by any human being that has fingers , and thumbs , and eyes , or who is as capable of as much attention as is necessary in tbe act of decently putting

      victuals into one ' s mouth ; if there be an instrument of this sort discovered , tbe mathematical knowledge of the clever man will become of no use to him ; and he , as far as this manufacture is concerned , might as-well not know how to multiply or divide any sum of whole numbers . So , also , if there be an instrument or machine , which , upon being merely set in motion will make calico or cloth , as well as the most active and ingenious spinner aud weaver , the ingenuity , the cleverness , the industry , all the excellent qualities of the spinner and the weaver become of no use . When I was last in Ameriea , ] . I went to Pattison , in New Jeb-SET , where I saw , in one place , a spinning jenny , or some such thingi turning cotton into a sort of string , or thread , or whr . tever it is called ; and in another place ,

      three or four power-looms , I think they are called , weaving the strings into cloth , and twisting it round upon a sort of reels . These devils of things had only a couple of Yankee girls to attend ahem , as tt were , to see fair play . The whole of this machinery was set and kept in motion by a stream of water that came tumbling down from the top of a rock , ab the top of which nature bad made a large basin , that bad a gap in one of the edges of it , out of which the water came tumbling . ' Oh ! Oh r said I , * if cloth can be made by these things , and the cotton grow in this country , ft is impossible that tbe doth can come from England for many years . ' Two or three . Englishmen had made the machines , and had taught the Vaokti 3 how to do the like ,

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      •« I do not blame the discoverers of InamioiM ,. chinery ; I do net censure the thing in itself '¦ i , * Bay that the discovery has beea an evH te this coS beca « se it has taken from it , or will very soontv ' ' from it , that great manufacturing superiority whfehu possessed over the rest of the world . Machinery K love and death , is a leveller -. i % puts nations n , ™ level : and if the dreadful engine ; which wasS " h » ve been invented for the sending forth of cannon i » i > with ten times , or ten thousand times , I believe ^ T quickness of cannon and powder ; if that could JmT been brought to perfection , and made to act itmnl ? in a Bhort time , have put almost all nations anon level , in point of warlike fotce . Therefore , I tbiot a , * manufacturing game fs nearly over ; and that you oudSv to place no reliance upon any thing to produce a retn of the former cfrcomstances of year businesi t ^ cotton , and the wool , and silk , are every where i ? first { and the last in a greater abundance abroad th » they are here ; and there being machines ia ail con tries to convert them into articles of dressj com ^ * sense forbids us to expect that other nation ' s will l » at the expence of paying for ships to fetch these art ? cles from us , and give us a profit for making them to the bargain . The thing cannot be : it is preposteron * to suppose it ; and , therefore , if our Government *» f wise , it would be making preparations accordingly- ^ To this it ia unnecessary to add another wOr ( i Pacts and experience prove that the opinfong go clearly and so forcibly expressed were correot . n manufacturing game was nearly over . It \ % now just about up ! " The process which is qdtu .

      on alike m the Cotton , Linen , and Woollen Trades points to the ultimate , and , perhaps , not vbkt behote EXCLUSION of our manufactured products , either yarn or finished fabrics , " from ita markets of the world . In this same section of this famous aud serviceable Report , there is one sentence which along deserves , and loudly calls for , a separate a , nd distinct article to itself . The nature of the questions involved in it , and the many considerations it gives rise to , preclude the possibility of a full exataination of it at this time . It iB a sentence preg . nant with mighty meaning ! The Leaguers say : " another fact was deveb ped relative to our Export trade ; that an INCREASING

      MASS OF COMMODITIES IS YEARLY EXPORTED POH A ST AT ION AR Y beturn . " So ! we have pinned the League down to the consideration of this question at last ! Well , thank God , our labour has not been in vain ! To this " fact" we have beea for years coq . Btantly calling their attention ; but this is the first time that they could be induced even to notice it , rhe " fact" is stated as if it was but just nOW " developed ; " notwithstanding wb have been ding .

      donging it in the ears of the public for so Ion ? a period . This , however , ws do not mind . The League have been at last compelled to notice it . The havoc it was making in their ranks , whenever it was brought before the attention of their deladed followers , has caused them to endeavour to aceonni for it , and to make it square with League notions . This they have attempted to do . How far they have succeeded in that attempt we shall presentl y see Let us first , however , have the" fact" more in detail

      before us . " An increasing mass of commodities is yearl yet ' ported for a stationary return . " Never were words mere true , generally speaking : and never was greater condemnation of the whole course of our Export Trade ! We have to give an increased mass of commodities for the same amount of money ; nay , even fora less amount of money ; and this "fact" tellat | us , most emphatically , that our Foreigu Tradej * instead of being a benefit to us , is a losing game which impoverishes us the more the longer it is continued and the deeper it is played .

      The amount of oar Exports in 1836 via £ 85 , 229 , 837 , Official Value ; which brought 03 in Real Value , £ 53 , 368 , 572 . As we have twice before stated , in the yea r ending Jan . 5 , 1842 , the amount of Exports was £ 102 , 180 , 517 Official Value ; for which we received in heal Value onJy £ 51 , 634 , 623 ! The increase in " mas 3 of Commodities" in 1842 over 1836 was £ 16 , 950 , 680 Official Value ; while the " returh" instead of being " stationary" wag £ 1 , 733 , 949 LESS for the greater quantity ot produce ! ! ! In fact , we have been horning our candle at both ends : and when it is nearly burnt out , we turn up our eyes and wonder how it happens that the snbstance is wasted !

      Now , then , for the League ' s " solution" of the ' * developed fact ! ' Say they : ' as one range of imports is artificially narrowed and contracted by the practical rejection of agricultural products of foreign nations , and as our manufacturers and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for each a retHrn as the law permits , they are giving mora and more goods for a stationary retmrn . ' * In other words , this "faot" is ascribed to the operation of the Corn Laws : for it is those laws which " practically reject the agricultural products of foreign nations . " It has become the fashion now-a-days , to ascribe all the evils that afflict society to the operation of these same Corn Laws : and here we have a splendid specimen of the accuracy of the reasoning employed by the Leaguers .

      If this solution of the (< fact" thus offered by the League be a correct one , it will follow that the " fact" has only been " developed" since the Corn Laws came into operation : for if it was " developed " before the Corn Laws were passed , it is clear that the Corn Laws cannot have been the cause of it ; and the League ' s " solution" will turn out to be no solution at all . Let us examine . The Corn Laws were passed in the year 1815 . We shall take the list of exports in 1802 , and again in 1815 ; and see whether this " fact" was not thea " developed ; " » ye , even before the Corn Bill w * s introduced into Parliament at all !

      The Official Value of the exports in 1802 w * 3 £ 27 , 012 , 108 ; and the Real Value was £ 48 , 500 , 683 . The Official Value of the exports in 1815 was £ 41 , 712 , 002 ; producing in Real Value £ 49 , 652 , 245 . The increase in the " mass of ^ commodities" exported at the latter period over the former , was £ 14 , 699 , 894 , Official Value ; while the Return was all but " stationary ; " we having only received for that monstrous increased " mass of commoditiesr

      the insignificant sum of £ 1 , 151 , 562 . Had the ketdbk in 1815 been equal to the return in 1802 we should have received the sum of £ 74 , 596 , 332 , instead of only £ 49 , 652 , 245 . It follows , therefore , that upou * & " Extended" trade from 1802 to 1815 , BEFORE THE CORN LAWS WERE ENACTED , we lost the enormous eum of £ 24 , ^ 4 , 087 . Ht , n is . s >* ct " developed which upsets the " solution" of the Leagued Solons I Mr . " E . Baines , jnn ., and Thokib "

      Plint" must try their hands again ! The section headed " The Hostile Character of Foreign Tariffa" must have more consideration than we can now bestow upon it . That consideration it shall shortly have . It opens up the whole question of" Protection to native Industry , " in con tradistinction to the principle of " freedom" advocated bf the League . We hold , speaking generally , that W respective governments have acted in accordant with true principle and sound policy , in passing those " Hostile Tariffs : " and this we engage to BttM plainly apparent on a future occasion .

      In conclusion , we must entreat the reader to weigh well the words of the last paragrap h of tins most suicidal Report . Those words are ind «» pregnant with meaning and purport ! Tiey » " * tinctly affirm the destitute condition of tbe J ^ l ducers of wealth , even after a SIX-TIMES 0 VE » increase of Foreign Trade ! And they as distin « lj read the death-warrant to the League project w get us out of the difiicnlties therein sat fo ™* j Never were men so unfortunate as the infatuaU * men of the League I This report proves th » f

      although they may have " brass , " they hare nW all the " wisdom in the world "! With their own hands hare * ey deprived Leagueim , ° » life . They have effectually cut its th J and-mangled its defunet caroase most awfully by Their hacking and hnangling with dull -and blunt weapons of offence : aad we now pok » to the people at large , as a jury , whether the verdkt OHght not to be : " Homiciob at thb hands Of ITS BRIENDS ; COMMITTED WHILE I « A STrfB Of Mental Derangement , "

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      4 T HE NORTHERN STAR . ,

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 11, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct637/page/4/