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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th December 1841, Edition 4 of 5, Page 4

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    • THE KOfiTHEEN STAE. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1841.
    • Cl)artist SBnteHforeiut
    • Thk Wesi-Riding Lieutenancy. — At the Court
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      Untitled Article

      CITT OP IiONDON . —Last Sunday eTening , Mr . Coiren lectured in the Political and Scientific Institute , OH Bailey . A discussion took place by Messrs Osbom , Mathews , Pest , and Waddington . SOHO . At the Chsrtisfa weekly meeting . « i the Three Dovet , Berwick-street , it was resolved to send a northern Star weekly to Ireland- Mr . Balls attended , snd delivered an excellent lecture . Westmikstkb . —Mr . Brown lectured at the Charter Ca&e House , Stretton-groond , on Sunday evening . BB 0 BED 1 TCH- —Mt . Rowland lectured at the Albion Coffee House , Church-s * reet , on Sunday evening . Nine ¦ n ew members were enrolled . -

      Cambers eia akb Wavwobth . —The Qiartist s Toet as nsnal at the Moutptlier Tavern , Walworth-roa < j , xm Monday evening . Two members were enrolled . it -was resolved that a public meeting be held on Monc Ay evening , Dec 20 th , at the Mootpeliex Tavern , W /¦ & ! . worth-road , at eight o ' clock , to adopt the National "Pq . tition , and memorialize her Mb jaety , on behalf of F tost , Williams , and Jones ; also that a public meetin g - ^^ be held on Monday eTening , Die . 27 th , at the same place and -time , to choose a delegate to the Mi < " juleseX ConneiL

      Backset . —On Tuesday , at Western ' s Te ^ Aperance Hctsl , Mr . Rowland in the chair . Six shi lings was Totsd to the O'Brien Press Fund . Mr . Al &n aoved , » nd Mr . M'Hord secendcd the adoption of t ' je National Petiti' -n , ¦ which -was carried nnanimoaaly . ? £ r . Wheeler then lectured to the saiis&tction of tin au iience , " On the evils of a standing army . " At its conclusion , a deputation was received from -Glebe Fields , requesting ttevccc-operation in a meeting to beheld at the Court Souse , Osboree-street , Whitechspel , to consider the distress of the country , fee . This being concurred in , > 4 essrs . Taylor and Cook were appointed a deputation to act wife the Tower Hamlet * , Globe Fields , and Albion Localities , nod measures concerted to obtain signatures ta the reqvtsition . A vote of thanks was given to the VeCtiartx and the meeting adjourned .

      ALBIOX COFTES HOCSE . CHtTHCH-STBEBT , WHITECHAPEI Messrs . Rowland and Dale addressed a s&mf-roai assembly here , on Sunday evening . Several members were enrolled . St . Panoras . —Mr . Balls lectured here to a numexoos audience , on Sunday eTening . XlHESOTSE , —Mr . Fustall lettowd to an excellent audience at the Association Rooms , Llmehoose Causeway , on Tuesday eTening , on " Church property . " The lecture was deservedly applauded . Lokiwx Delegate Meeting . —The following resoJntion -was uutnimoa&ij- earned , " That considering ths Eolith CkaHisl Circular to be & most efficient agent is the spread of Chartism , snd anxious to further the interest of the cause , we declare that we hichly approTe cf that publication , and call upon our brethren to give it their utmoit support . "

      Hammersmith . —A meeting was held at the Black Boll , Hammersmith Road , on Tuesday , and Messrs . B ? ed and Preece diseussed the question of Socialism and Charrfcm . It waa then resolved , on the motion of Mr . Stallwood , that they should ferm a portion of the National Charter Association , which was unanimously agreed to . Fourteen names were given in . Mr . Beed was appointed sub-Treasurer , and Mr . Dobson , sub-Secretary . Altjr the transaction of other business tfce meeting adjourned . TAILOBS—The tailors held their weekly meeting at he Three Crowns , Richmond street , Soho , on Sunday aaigit . Ur . Passell delivered the first of a course of lectures on church property .

      Lakbeth . —At & meeting of Chartists in this locality on Tuesday evening , the Secretary of the Committee ppointed to raise funds for the Petition Convention reported that they had determined on holding a ball and concert on Monday eTening , Jan . 3 d , at the Social Institution , Westminster-read , Lambeth , and that to &eet the circumstances cf all parties they had fixed the price of tickets at Is . single , and Is . ed . donble , and 2 nd also engaged a good band . WaITDSWOBTH . —The Chartists of this locality met as usual &t the King ' s Head , en Monday evening , when the following resolutions were agreed to : " That for the snore effectually carrying out the objects contained in the National Petition , this locality be divided into district * , to obtain signatures for the sama" " That a letter be sent to Mr . Maynard , requesting him to forward ths petition sheets and headings , also twelve cards of membership . " " That for the future we do pay to the Executive and General Ceuneil one-fourth of the moneys we have in hand . "

      BlXSTOJf . —On Thursday evening , Mr , Mason delivered a lecture in the Association room ; the place ¦ was densely crowded . At the conclusion of the lecture several new members were enrolled . OS FB . TDA 1 , Mr . G . White , ' of Birmingham , addressed the females of Bilston , en the necessity of orgm-isine themselves , and using their exertions to obtain the redemption of their country . The meeting was numerously attended . Upwards of " sixty names vere strolled ; the number has since increased to vAsj&ty-frrc Oh Scsdat , the meetings were numerous ; the Council were chiefly occupied in muting preparation Cor the reception of Mr . O'Connor .

      An Association has been formed at Catch urn , a Tillage about a mile from Bilston , -which is likely to prosper ; their numbers increase every week . Another Association is been formed at Portobtllo , a village in tfee same neighbourhood . Mr . Stiran lectured there on Monday night , to an attentive audience , many of ¦ whom joined the association . CARLISLE . —SlGXAL DEFEAT 07 THb PLAGUE , asb Teichi"H of the Chaetists —We noticed last -week a lecture given by Mr . Curtis , an American , in ¦ fevour of a repeal of the Corn Laws . The lecture to ¦ which we aliuded was attended by a very small num"bzr , in consequence of the charge being twopence each . A second lecture was anuounced for Monday evening , jyee . 6 th , admission jrraiis . Long before the lecturer

      made his appearance , the place was crowded . to excess , and great numbers could not be accommodated with ] Srits . About eight o ' clock , the lecturer rose to com- j meace his aldress , when Mr . H . Bowman rose , and ' said , Ur . Curtis-, before you commence your address , I wish to know if , after you have finished it , yoa will answer questions which may be put to you , and sliow discassien ? Mr . Curtis replied , that he was cot there ms a disputant or gladiator , but would willingly answer sny questions which might be pu : to him , and willingly bear the opinions of any gentleman present . Mr . Bowman expressed his satisfaction , and the lecturer proceeded to address the metting at consiccrabla lccg-. h , on the great resources of America to supply Britain with food , on condition that it ¦ would take

      American stmti is exchange for its manufacture . The enly thiaa fiat rantles in the minds of the Americans is , saivi iLr . Curtis , that exchange is not aliowed ; and if this EVttera be continued , America would soon find means to raacufactura for itself . After Mr . Curtis bad concluded , Mr . Bowman rose and said , that be wished to put a «« questions to Mr . Curtis . It wenli be snppc * ed t > 7 this naaience , from the statements of Mr . Curtis , * iid Mr . Bo ? rnian , that America did not ma-Bufact-are at ail ; whereas it would seem from the following quesdon , that ho would put to Mr . Curtis , thit America not only manufactured , bat that to a ^ rctt extent . The question tha t he 'B cmld put to Mr . Cnnis -a-zs , " Knowirg that the . Aisericans have a etrens desire to be independent of foreign countries for

      a supply of clotting , sd « at present are engagt-d in a Jdru cf rivalry ¦ Rith Britain , and it'Ls ctrtain tkst they are fast overturir . g it , both in the excellence and cheapness of their products , and tiatsinee 1790 j , when buttor . Tn ^ trafactnres ^ Tere first introduced , up to 1 £ 32 , the number of milis in twelve Etstjs were 795 ; of spindles 1 , 240 , 503 ; powti- ' . oonis 33 , 5 C 6 ; perBon 3 engaged 57 , 446 ; amcuEt of cap : t \ l employed , £ 9 , 375 , 000 sterling ; being oae-icuita cf t ^ e whole capital inveited in the saEie branch in Br . tiin . Thit tuttsas can be had much cheaper tium in England—tost household manufacture of woollen , lin * n , and cottsn axe made to a great extant—that tie silk t-ade is being ictroduced with great bocceia- Is it not more ttan probable -that America "Wi 51 soon supply itielf independent of ether countries ?"

      " If t- > s Com Laws » rere repealed t ^ morrotr , would that benefit t ^ ie working ela&ses , seeing that labcur is uopr-1 it .-d , and tia power of machinery , such as to be able t j supply almost double the present dtmand , wit' ^ ovt laakiEg any addition to manual labour , much less increase wages , for they had fallen 50 per ceit per--riotis t- > 1816 , ' wben tue Corn Bill was ptit oa ?" 41 Would not a total repeal of the Cera Laws , "with tne present high rents and taxes , ruLi the whole farming interest of England , acd inundate the whole manufacturing districts with agricultural labourers , "which would tend to a great reduction of wages ? " " Seeing tiie present constitution of the House of Commons , and knowing that it refused to hear the Anti-Corn Law League at the bar of that House , by an immense

      majority , whet hope can you have of that body , composed as it is , of ever entertaining the questioa of a total repeal of the Corn Laws » ' Mr . Cnrtis answered tbe > first question in a "very satMactory manner , by lowing that manufactures existed in America- to a great extent , and was likely soon to supply itself with all necessaries ; but he signally foiled in answering the other questions which Mr . Bowman had put to him . 24 r . Joseph Broome w «»«/ wi then came forward and addressed the meeting at great length on the subject of Mr . Curtis ' i lecture , and showed that hs ( Mr . Curtis ) knew nothing of the affairs of this country .- He moved the following resolution , which being seconded by Mr .

      BoTOan , was pat Ui the meeting and carried unanimously : — " That with the present system of representation , the corrupt state of the House of Commons , and the unjust and oppressive system cf" taxation , wtich presses so heaviiy on all the industrious classes of the community , this meeting is of opinion that there is no hope of an end being pnt to monspolies , « ach as the Corn Laws and otbera , which exclusively benefit the aristocracy and the capitalist , until that House is purged of its present corruption by & fxx and full representation of the people , such as that which exists in the United States of America , and which can ~< ly be effected by the adoption of the People ' s

      Untitled Article

      BBISTC ji ^ —Qa Sunday eTening last , after a lengthened debr te of upwards of three hours , In which Messrs . O nion , Clifton , Copp , and Simeon took part , it "w » Put to the vote and carried— " That the code of laws in this country is unjust , cruel , oppressive , and produc 1 ^ v 6 of immorality . " A question was then given out far . -next Sunday . Mr i * DA 7 Evening . —A public meeting ma held at the ' Jbartist Room , 56 , Castle-street , Ur . Newman in the chair . The first resolution— " That a memorial be for warded to the Secretary of State , Sir James Graham , f& : presentation to her Majesty , praying for the r « stor itioa of Frost , Willia m * , and Jone » , " was proposed 1 Mr . Simeon , and seconded by Mr . Bloore . The

      memorial was then read and proposed by Mr . Clifton , who , in an excellent speech , remarked upon the present stats of affairs—that the people had the power , with a proper direction of that spirit which had so long shewn itself , of restoring to their families those men who had been victimised by certain parties , and unjustly been convicted of crimes they never committed ; and ablj pointed ont to the meeting the distinction between the characters of those persons who , it is reported , are to be let loose upon society , and those men whose characters were irreproachable , but merely because they differed in opinion -with the rulers of this country , are subjected to punishments which they do not deserve . The memorial was seconded by Mr .

      Seed . The Natiohal Petition was then proposed by Mr . Copp . He argued for the right of the people to the several points in the People'a Charter , contending that the present distress demanded a change ; that the right of making , or having a voice in making , the laws waB a birthright of man , and after urging the people to sign the petition , he withdrew . Mr . George seconded and supported the petition . It was then proposed by Mr . Onion , in a few short and effective remarks , and seconded by Mr Flint—• ' That the petition be entrusted to the People ' s Convention for effectual presentation , and that letters be written to the

      Members for Bristol , requesting them to support the prayer of the petition . " Several members were enrolled , and a vote of thanks having been given to the chairman , the meeting dissolved , A letter from the Whig Member , P . H . F . Berkeley , to Mrs . John Frost , was read at this meeting , in which all his election promises ( if any ) were dwindled into the following frothy declaration : — " That be hoped that aftar a term of years had elapsed she would be restored to her husband . " This letter lies in the hands of the subsecretary , and may ba seen by any person who Aesires to he convinced of the folly of believing " Whig or Tory" at election times .

      BIRMINGHAM . FfiOST , WILLIAMS , AND Jones . —This Committee held its usual weekly meeting on Tuesday evening last , Mr . Noates in the chair ; when a memorial was received from Hamilton , and it was resolved that all memorials from the country be sent to this Committee to secure presentation . A memorial was re&d , and after some discussion upon it by this Committee , adopted ; after which it was moved by Mr . Thorp , seconded by Mr . Sinks , that a Utter be immediately sent to the Home Secretary , requesting his unequivocal answer , as to whether he will present this Committee ' s respectful memorial to her Majesty . Several matters were entered into with regard to the soiree on the 23 th instant , and it was resolved , that J . B . O'Brien , Esq . be corresponded with , to invite that gentleman ' s attendance at the said soiree .

      WOSSLET . —At a pnblic meeting here on Monday night , a memorial to the Queen , in favonr of Frost , Williams , and Jones , was unanimously agreed to . Mr . Duffy addressed the meeting -with great talent and at considerable length . Twenty-eight members were enrolled . Bl RBY . —A pubUc meeting was held in the Old Assembly R »« ms , Nov . 23 , for the purpose of adopting the National Petition . Public Meeting . —Thursday , Dec . 9 th , was the day on which the loDg-talietl-of Great Midland Counties Free Trade Meeting took place . The Chartista of Derby , determined on giving the delegates battle , dispatched a delegate to Leeds to request Mr . O'Connor to be present ; but net not being able to obtai n him , they drew up the following challenge , and sent it with a deputation to wait on the Free Trade Committee : — To the Gentlemen of the Free Trade Meeting , to be held on Thursday . Dec . » , 1811 , —

      Gentlemen , —We being a body of men belonging to the National Charter Association of Great Britain and Ireland , having for our object the conferring of happiness to our fellow-countrymen , of making our nation , as it once was , " the envy of surrounding nations , " and of restoring trade and commerce ; and seeing that there are two agitations in this country , and as it is impossible for the working cIajsos to do juttice to both agitations , respectfully challenge you or any of your advocates to a fair and open discussion , which of the two agitations is the most worthy of support—Corn Law repeal or Chartism .

      The aboTe challenge was refused by the free trade gents , en the plea that there was not time for a discussion ; and seeing that they would be opposed , the meeting was altered from a public meeting to a ticket meeting , carefully excluding all Chartists . The Chartiila -were not t » t » lrtaei asleep \ jy tlist ; tticy immediately took the theatre for a public meeting at night , which was crowded , Mr . Johnson , fancy silk-weaver , in the chair . Mr . Dean Taylor , from Nottingham , moTed the first resolution , — " That It is the opinion of this met ting that the Com Laws are unjust , and ought to be repealed as well as ererj other &ad law ; but beiw ; satisfied that the removal of the Com Laws would

      only be a partial me&sare of j uatlce , are resolved to seek the establishment of the universal principles of the People ' s Charter as a remedy fully adequate to the removal of the evils that afflict our country ;" this -was seconded by Mr . Bairstow , missionary for Leicestershire , and was carried without a single dissentient . Mr . Tattem then moved a memorial to her Majesty in favour of Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was seconded by Mr . James Farnsworth , and carried unanimously . A vote ol thanks being earned , Mr . Bairstow stepped forward and proposed three lusty cheers for Mr . O'Connor , and for Frost , Williams , and Jones , which was heartily responded to .

      The Kofitheen Stae. Saturday, December 18, 1841.

      THE KOfiTHEEN STAE . SATURDAY , DECEMBER 18 , 1841 .

      Untitled Article

      WAGES OF LABOUR . Wi hear a . great deal said of the benefits that have accrued , and that are to accrue to the manufacturing vroTkmg population , from " exteDded commerce . " The free tradtrs , as they eall themselves , premise us all manner of bkssings , including u cheap food , high wages , and plenty to do , " if the labourers will bat help them to "' extend" commerce , by procuring for them a Repeal of the Corn Laws . To induce the labouring people io join the leviathan manufacturers in an union for the accomplishment of this object , every possible means have been used .

      Money without end has been spent in almost every imaginable way that could at all tend to create or influence public opinion . Lecturers have been engaged ; pamphlets holding out the most delusive hopes have been extensively circulated ; " Leagues " have betn fenned ; the lowest species of cajolery and deception have been resorted to , to entrap the working people into Operative anti-Corn Law Associations ; newspapers have been established to advocate the views of the " Leaguers , " and have been sratuitously circulated ; the existent newspaper press has been extensively subsidised for the

      promulgation of these high-sounding promises , and to influence the public mind in each locality ; personal vituperation and wholesale denunciation have been resorted to and extensively used against those " Leaders" of the people who would not join in the League ; in short , every art that icgenuity could devise has been used to induce those who live by the teases of labour to " league" with those who live on the profits arising from the employment of labour io procure an " extended" commerce . Bat all these means have failed ! The money , and time , and talent employed ; the seductive arts and

      the large delusive promises of advantage , have all gone for nought ! The bait would not take . The Anti-Corn Law agitation has fallen dead , dead . The workicg people have stood completely aloof . Without them no agitation has any life , any souL Every movement must have them energetically with it 5 or it fails ! The money and the influence of the middle and trading classes , without the active co-operation and aid of the workebs , avail nothing in political agitations . "Without the personal energy

      and dogged perseverance of the labourer , every movement for an extensive legislative change affect * ing great conflicting interests must fail . And rightly so . It is the only protection the working man now enjoys—the only power he possesses , in the absence of Universal Sc tfease , to ward off the "heavy blows and sore discouragements " which would be inflicted on Ms interests through the rapacity and cupidity of the classes who live out of the profits made of his sinews and bones .

      The attempts , then , of the Millionaire Manufacturers , to induce the labourers to demand from the Legislature an " extended" commerce , have failed , signally / ailed ! All their efforts to this end have proved abortive ! Their wri gfi lnigs and twistinga

      Untitled Article

      have afforded amusement enough ; and their pompous swelling of every village gathering of half-adozen toadies under the drilling of the slavish orerlooker , into an important demonstration in favour of » Repeal of the "CORN LAWS AND

      COMMERCIAL REFORM , " cave bat served to raise the loud laugh of ridicule , against their whole proceedings . Their agitation has fallen flat 2 They hare neither produced alarm nor excited fear . Their sudden discovery of national distress , and their loud olamour for immediate measures of relief , have not answered the intended purpose . The people have refused to listen to the voice of the charmer .

      That this state of feeling exists in the body of the working people , is to us matter of the greatest gratulation . We have laboured hard to induce it ; we have seconded the able labours of others to this end ; we have implored of the working people to consider well what it was they set their hand 3 to do ; we have cautioned them against being led sway by every will-o ' -the-wisp that presented itself , without first inquiring whither they were going , and what would be the end ; we have advised them to demand of a ll who asked their aid , their reasons for such

      co-operation , and to insist on a quid pro quohdore they touched—a guarantee that they should enjoy some of the benefits resulting from their labours . To this end have wa laboured : and it is matter of gratulation and delight that our labours have not been in vain . That they have not been so , the present woe-begone condition of the " League ' s" agitation fully proves . They have more than one-half of the entire newspaper press of the kingdom on their side , and no want of money : and yet they have failed in kioking up a ferment . Their power to act on the public mind has vanished—is gone !

      * Extended" Commerce : " Why should we agitate for thai ? " has been the very reasonable and very first question that the producers of wealth have put to themselves , and to their beguilers . Aye , in troth , why ? Has not Commerce been woefully " extended" since the year 1800 ! and what has been the workman ' s benefit ! Has it " extended" his comfort f his wages t ' Has it added to his stock of clothing 1 his stock of household furniture 1 his stock in the pantry ! Commerce has been " extended " many times over , and oft ; but has it added to the working man ' s "meal-kist" ! has it hung more bacon

      npon the joists ! has it filled the milk-bowl more often ! These are questions which deserve answering . They are questions which the working people have put to themselves , and to one another ; and before the anti-Corn £ aw League cau expect that their high-sounding promises of " cheap food , high wages , and rLBNTT to do , " as the result of another " extension" of Commerce , will take with those who ask these questions , they must furnish satisfactory answers to them . They

      must demonstrate that every former H extension" of commerce has had the effect of putting more " porridge" upon the plates , and more "havercake" upon the " creel" of those engaged in labour , before they can with any face ask ns to take all their promises for granted , as to the effects of another extension . " When they have done this , we promise them that the working people shall "league" with them for " extension" upon " extension C but not before .

      We hear it often asserted , that the nation is much richer ; i . e . that we have more wealth in the country now than we had before our commerce was so much " extended . " Now , we think this assertion admit ? ot very grave doubt . We are not disposed to admit that we have more national wealth now than we had before the commencement of that ruinous race of competition amongst our manufactur ing masters , which has produced the " national distress" whioh the Leaguers have so lately discovered to exist . We freely admit that we have more fixed capital , in the shape of machinery and buildings for

      manufacturing purposes ; but these are not wealth ; they are only the means of producing wealth . We freely admit that we have more of stinking cotton and tawdry " prints" than we thenhad ; but the linens and the woollens , even though the latter were "linsey woolsey" were more valuable , more durable , and more congenial to our variable climo . We freely admit that we have a greater profusion of " fine '> woollen cloths than we had ; 1 . e . we have good vrool mixed with " shoddy" and dirt " devilled" out o rags brought even from Constantinople , and then M boiled" after they are woven to make them " fine '»

      and give them a " fiuish , until they are rotten ; but the Yorkshire cloths , before these " economical" and ' * scientific" processes were established , were better , more durable , and more valuable . We freely admit that we have more of knives , and razors , and scissors made , like Piter Pindar ' s , to sell ; but our former ones were not labour thrown away , —valueless . We freely admit that we have more manufacturers now who can boast of having saved their millions , ( and yet insult the operative whose cupboard has been emptied to Bwell the huge store , by daring to address him as a fellow sufferer . ) than we had before fortunes

      began to be made by steam . We freely admit that we could not then boast of our Gorrs and our Mabshalls ; who left the " counting-house" and the " heckling shop" to become possessed of millions in " fixed" and " floating" capital ; nor of our Stabkey ' s , who jumped from their " clogs" and the " raising nelly" to their carriage and the bench ; nor of our Hydks , nor our Greggs , nor our Ash WORTHS , el hoc genus omne , who bo recently boasted of having wrung from labour , in a few years , more than would buy up all the landed aristocracy of tie kingdom . We freely admit that we have more of these gentry now than

      we formerly had : but we ask where is the domestic manufacturer gone , with his stock of tools and fixed capital , amounting in the aggregate to an enormous amount \ We ask , where is the " Master Cropper , " the " Master Weaver , " the ** Master Spitner , " the "Master Slubber , " the "Master Cutter , " the " Master Dyer , " the " Master Finisher I" Where are these gone ? Had they no wealth 1 Do the few enormous amounts , gathered together in heaps , amount to more than the Bums formerly extensively distributed amongst so many hands ? Who dare say yes ! He will be a bold man ! and ready to speak without his book .

      We ask , also , is there more wealth diffused amongst the labouring classes ? Have they better houses—more substantially built , and more convenient dwellings ! Is their furniture equal in value to what it then was ? The very question is an insole . Look at the " cottage property" in our manufacturing towns ! Substantially built , foreooth !—gingerbread !—and worse . Comfortable ? ! —not fit for pig-etyes ! No drainage , no paring ; thrust into confined places ; no ventilation ; the abodes of disease , misery , and death ! Their furniture valuable ? Go to the broker ' 6 shop ! see the

      " things" he there has for sale , cheap ! Compare these with the chairs , and the tables , and the beds made fifty years ago . Ascertain their relati ve COSt . Then go to the proper furniture tradesman—the cabinet-maker . Ask him how many of the working people purchase household goods from him . Ascertain these things ; and then Bay whether the workman has more wealth note in furniture than he then had ! Then an eight days' clock was an almost indispensible article of furniture ; or at the least a good twenty-four hours' clock , in a neat

      mahogany or an oaken case . Now , how many working men who have commenced housekeeping within the last twenty years , can boast of such an article 1 Very few 1 Where they are to be found now , it is mostly where they have descended in the family as heir-looms , and have been Baved from the wreck of most of their other " bits of things , " " because my mother and grandmother used to set such store on it I" The eight-days' clock , worth at least £ 8 , has given way to the Dutch clock , ( where there is one ) worth from 10 * . to 25 s . Then

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      it vras a usual thing for the working man to have at least one f eather bed , on a good bedstead , either fouT-posted , camp , or turn-up ; with good flock beds for the children and ' prentices ; and linen sheets , heavy blankets , and w quilted" coverlets for all . Now where is the feather-bed in a workman ' s house ? where are the linen sheets ! where the quilt ! The former given way to chaff , or at the best to flocks ; the sheets to nasty filthy pousement , called cotton-blankets , made from the refuse of cotton—cotton waste . The quilt , whioh used to be the pride of the mother , and whioh cost her

      weeks and months of labour in * ' quilting , " given way to a horse-cloth-sort-of-rug , made from " Btuff" procured from the tearing up of filthy rags , collected from all quarters of the globe ! Then the working man ' s cottage was adorned with a pewter case , and a quantity of pewter , Which was generally worth more than the whole of a modern working man's stock of household furniture . Then the " meal-kist" was an indispensible ; and it had something in it ! The sight , when the young ones were set to tread down

      the new meal in the " kist , " so as to make it keep all winter over , was one as joyous as it is now uncommon . The flitch of bacon , with the ham , and dried cheeks , and piece of hung beef , and winter ' s stock of potatoes , shewed that the owner of the dwelling earned wages sufficient to enable him to have a little bofore-hand to go to market with , and " to provide against a rainy day . " Is it so now ? Where is the " meal-kist" ! where the bacon 1 where the hung beef ! Can the workman now provide a winter ' s stock of provision , either in meal- or meat ?

      It is these questions wa want answering , before we can consent to throw up our caps , and cry "hurrah for an extension of Commerce . " We want to see what former " extensions" have done for us . We want this matter probing to the bottom ( We want no theorizing upon the subject . We want no such paltry put-effs , as " look to the fact , that the faotory girl can be clothed in a nice-printed muslin gown , and wear a pair of silk stockings , whioh is more than , at one time , Queen Elizabeth could do . " We want no such evasions as these ! We want to know all about it . We want to see the amount of

      wages paid to the working man at the beginning of the present century , and the amount he receives not * . We want to know what amount of the real necessaries of life could be procured by the workman in return for his labour then and now . To see this we must consider all the habitudes of the people ; we must consider them not in relation to the desires respecting them resulting from our own views and principles ; not in relation to the wilfully distorted pictures of interested orators and crotohet advocates , but in relation to facts . We want to see , then , how muoh bread the labourer could

      then purchase with his earnings , and how much , beef , and bacon , and beer ? Aye , aud beer ; for , notwithstanding our well-known views of the mischievous character and tendency of beer drinking , and without qualifying in the least our often and strongly expressed opinions upon the subject , it must be borne in mind that we axe now enquiring into facts ; and we cannot in this enquiry overlook the fact that then home-brewed beer was as common in a working man's house as it is un-common now . He was not then oompelled to labour in an atmosphere artificially heated to 90 or 96 , for twelve or fourteen hours ; and

      then have only the common brewer ' s nasty mess of poison to drink at the beer-house to recruit or excite exhausted nature ; or forced to swallow a deleterious mixture of vitriol and turpentine , called gin . He had then the" Home-brewed ; " and he could get it His wages would allow the wife to purchase her " strike" or bushel of malt ; and fill him his barrels with a drink whioh did not contain either " grains of paradise" or any other poisonous drag . Will his wages allow him now to purchase the M strike " of malt ! If he did , we fear the bread pot and potatoe basket would have to remain

      empty ; and the bit of salty , undned hog ' sflesh , which he gets from the provision dealer » s * n exoneo fox bacon , muBt remain unpurchased . We also want to know what his wages now are 1 We want to know , too , what amount of food these wages will purchase for him , to compare it with the amount he got formerly ? We want to know how his stock of clothing now is \ Has he three " suits ? " —a working suit ; a " second-best /' and a " Sunday-suit" ! He formerly bad ; and his wife and children were equally well clothed . Have they as much now f These are the things which we want the world to know , before we can settle the question of whether another " extension" of our commerce will do us good . Working men !

      how are your backs , and how are your BELLIES 1 Are the fermer well clothed , and the latter well filled ? If they are so , and better than they were fifty years ago , " extensions" of commerce have done you good ! If they are not , " extensions" of commerce have been an evil to you ! To YOU we appeal then , to answer these questions . We want factsno crude theories—no guess work—no delusive statements . Let us have the figures . There are facts in figures ; but not much reliance to be placed on the assertions of the " Leaguer , " who says that yoH are now better-off than you formerly were . Let us have these figures , then . Furnish us with them , and we will take care to let tho world know what your actaal condition is , in this respect at least .

      What we want you to do is thiB : to furnish us with statements of the amount paid as wages of labour in all the great departments of manufacturing industry , from the year 1810 to the present time showing the amount paid in each year for a similar amount of work . We select 1810 , because our commerce may then be said to date her great ' extensions ; " and we are anxious to exhibit at one £ view , either the gradual rise or the gradual fall of your wages , since that time , whichever may turn out to be the fact . We request that the officers of the respective Trades will endeavour to procure these

      tables for us . We want to know how much the weaver of woollen oloth , either broad or narrow , has received for a string of tho same number of reed , in every year from 1810 to 1841 inclusive . We wish to know what the slubber received and what he know receives , in like manner ; likewise the spinner , the carder , and the fuller . To ask what the Cropper is receiving for cropping , would be to insult him : for he is entirely superseded by the " Lewis" and the " Perpetual "; but those of his class who have been fortunate enough to get permi ssion to attend upon a " Gig" or watch a " Lewis , " or to roast himself in a

      " stove" or dry house" can state what they now earn in these " new walks of industry" as compared with the amount they could earn when to be a journeyman cropper was " to be next door to being a gentleman . " We wish to know too from the flax-heckler , and from the flax-spinner what their earnings have yearly beenfor the same period ; or rather the amounts that have been paid to them . We wish for similar information , too , from the wool-comber and stuff and worsted weaver . The working cutler , too , should Bhevr how he has fared ; and the journeyman hatter . The working fustian weaver of Lancashire , and the

      spinner , and carder , and fustian-cutter , and calicoprinter , and bleacher , and all engaged in eur " great " cotton trade , should shew how they are and have been circumstanced . The linen-weaver , and the stocking-weaver—in short , all in the great departments of industry , should furnish similar information . Let us have the facts . We will make them kuown . We will take care the " League" sees them ; and then the working people and ourselves can decide whether another " extension" of Commerce , which will sacrifice the farmer and agricultural labourer , is desirable , or fit to be contended for .

      To work , then , all who are interested . Get up these tables . Consult your wage books . Get returns from the books of the respectable masters who dare open them for such an object . Be very correct Set nothing down of whioh you are not quite enre

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      Let all be fact : and then we shall know botb what your condition has been , aad what it how is . We DARE those mandpactobkbs who bawl FOB A BKPBAt OF THB COBN LAWS , AHD WHO KKPaKSBNT THAT A JURTHEB " EXTKKSWN OF OUB COMMERCE WILL GIVE THE WOBKMAN M CHEAP FOOD , HIGH WAGES , AND ' PLENTY TO DO , ' ** TO FUBNISH FBOM THEIR LEDGERS CORRECT RETURNS OF THE SCMS THEY HAVE PAID AS WAGES FOR THE SAMB DESCRIPTION OF lABOPR DURING THE PERIOD NAMED . If they dare not do this , there is neither sincerity nor honesty in their representations .

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      NATIONAL EMIGRATION . The observations we deemed it our duty ttf submit to the public in our last , have not , w « are happy to find , been lost upon our readers . It would , indeed , be strange if , on a subject of Buoh vast importance , the energies of the working classes were not roused into activity . We have now a Parliament prepared to adopt any measures , however unjust or unconstitutional , which may enable the irresponsible ^ to gorge themselves a little longer with the fruits of spoliation ; and we have an Executive Government fully as despetio and reckless as the , last , with rather more of obstinacy , and of the show of

      manly bearing . The Wfiigs , aided by their Tory allies , contrived to butcher and starve the people at home in the name of political economy and Malthusian expediency ; and the Tories , without the aid of the Whigs , are prepared , it seems , to drown them in the ocean , or enslave them in the colonies in the name of State Christianity and constitutional freedom . The people , however , about whom the factions practically know nothing and care less , have a duty to perform towards themselves , ' their families , and their country , from which neither the cunning of the Whigs nor the despotism of the Tories must be allowed to turn them , aside .

      We last week demonstrated that the scheme of emigration supposed by the London journals to be contemplated by Sir R . Peel , was unjust , dishonest , inhuman , and opposed to every dictate of common sense ; and we now ask our readers to seriously consider what the condition of the colonies under the curse of aristocratic misrule now actually is , and what would he the condition of the unhappy emigrants , on their becoming located in those boasted dependencies of the British crown . ;

      It is obvious that the only motive which could induce any one voluntarily to quit the land of his birth and seek a settlement in a distant land , would be the hope of bettering his condition , and of improving the prospect 3 of his children . To render the attainment of this hope ^ practicable , he must become an independent possessor of a portion of the soil ; he must be provided with the means of comfortable subsistence , and also the means of entering beneficially into the pursuits of honourable industry , in order that the means of subsistence may be continued ; and ho must also be secured in his possessions by the guarantee of general and municipal rights .

      Any man who should voluntarily leave his native home without a fair prospect of obtaining these advantages , would prove himself a fool , evidently unfiC to be entrusted with the management of his own affairs . Parties , however , who can by emigration secure to themselves these advantages , must possess a certain amount of property , or capital , to enable them to become proprietors ; and such have already gone forth and taken deep root in all our colonial possessions . It is necessary to bear this fact in mind , in order that we may clearly understand the position in which those will be placed who are to be transported to the colonies at the expense of the mother country .

      The lands of the colonies , having been purchased from the Government ( whose right to sell them was very questionable ) in large allotments , by proprietors who bought them as a speculation , have become a monopoly in the hands of the colonial landowners , who will not of course sell or farm any portion of them so long as they can realise a greater amount of profit by holding them in their own hands , and cultivating them by hired labour . But , suppose

      the influx of new-comers into any given colony to be persons who would find it more advantageous to cultivate lands as small proprietors than as tenants , or labourers ; it is clear that there would be a scarcity of tenants or labourers ; and , in order to prevent the sale and cultivation of unappropriated lands of an inferior quality—for the best lands can only find purchasers in the first instance—the large proprietors would be oompelled to sell their lands in small allotments , and at a moderate price .

      But suppose the influx of new-comers to be labourers—that is , working men ' of all descriptions , having no property , but depending upon their labour for support—then it would require great care that the supply should not exceed the demand ; in other words , no more labourers should tbe ( brought into the field than could find employment , affording them an ample remuneration for a reasonable day ' s work . If there be more than these , a spirit of competition will ensue , the consequence of which will be a combination among landed proprietors , either to lower wages actually ; or if that should be deemed unadvisable , to accomplish the same thing by checking the produce of corn and all other articles of Colonial

      consumption , and thus of rawing the price to the labouring consumers . All this our knowledge of human nature would lead ua to infer , if we were reasoning from abstract principles only ; we are , however , reasoning from facts , and refer to the whole of our Colonial history ia proof of the positions we have here laid down . A letter is now before us , received from one who has himself been an eye witness of the facts he relates . la which , after referring to Mt . Montgomery Martin ' s assertion , that an inhabitant of the mother country , who only consumes five pounds of British manufactures yearly , requires twenty pounds in his new home ; and to our remark that " we have no doubt he may require it , but the question is , will he find the means of getting it ?" he

      says" I answer No : so far from obtaining the means of getting twenty pounds' worth of British manufactures in bis new home , he will not be able to get five pounds ' worth . Wages in the Australian colonies are very low , taking into account the high prices of provisions and rents . There are in those colonies already mere labourers than are employed beneficially to themselves , for the same system of combination to ke <* p down the price of labour that is carried on here is practised to a greater extent in that far distant land ; in fact , the working people of those climes are merely allowed to eke . out a miserable existence from hand to month , like their

      brother slaves at home . How can it be otherwise ? Tne land is sold ia such large allotments that the working man cannot buy any : tne landholders will not let it out in small farms . This mode of disposing of the land , combined with the continued influx of labouring emigrants , all tends to keep the price of labour down to the lowest possible point ; so that -whatever amount ot British manufactures our colonial labourers may require in their new homes , any reasonable being may readily perceive their means of getting them ia rather questionable . The colonial system of farming tends cot to the comfoit of the working man . The agriculturist lays down his number of acres of wheat according

      to the number of the population ; he allows twelve bushels per head per year . Thua , by a regular combination amongst the farmers , they grow little more than is necessary to maintain the people from year to year . ThiB is to keep up high prices ; and when there is a dry seosen , which , often happens , then famine pervades the whole land . In the winter of 1838 , soap-kitchens were erected both in New South Wales aad Van Diemen ' s Land , and soup and bread were gratuitously distributed , to save the working men from absolute starvation . That year bread toae to the enormous price of 9 < L a pound in Van Diemen ' a Land , and la . a pound at Sydney . Emigration to these colonies cannot better the condition of our distressed fellow-workmea . "

      It is quite clear that even if the influx of labourers were regulated apparently by law , still the same causes which have led to such disastrous oonse . quences and unparalleled distress in this country , are in full operation in the colonies . There , as here , a grasping aristocracy predominates . There , as here , land and capital are accumulated in comparatively few hands . There , as here , a military force is maintained to put down and overawe public

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      opinion . There , as here , magistrates having littla or no sympathy with the mass of the people , preside over their tribunals ; and there , as her * labour may be driven out of the market b y tig operation of unchecked machinery at any moment when it shall pleas * the blood-suckers who fattej on public misery to call it into existence . And this is the Eden of repose ! the paradise of delights the Goshen of plenty 1 into which th »

      merciful , considerate , and enlightened statesmen who govern the destinies of this empire , propoa * to pitch headlong two or three millions of the begj and most productive of our working population } Toithis misery , wretchedness , and death it is said the tender-hearted head of the Cabinet intends to doo * those whose sweat and toil and blood have been coined into hordes of wealth for the enrichment < rf himself and others of his order !

      It is pretended that this scheme ia intended for the benefit of our surplus population . Wi have shown , in our former article , that there is in reality no surplus population . Wo have shown that the lands of the United Kin gdom could produce food sufficient for at least four times the number of its present inhabitants . We hav * shown that fifteen ^ millions of acre s of wastelan ds wait only for the application of human skill and labour , to yield their hidden treasures for the sustentation of industry . These facts we have demon , atrated ; and we now ask Sir Robert Peel and those of both factions who may be inclined to sup .

      port him in the imputed design , ' whether , in th » face of these facts , he dare submit the murderoui plan to Parliament , and throagh Parliament k the country * We ask the Ministers and membem of Christian churches , whether they will venture , with their Bibles in their hands , to brave the justice of the Deity , by silently permitting the violation cf his express command , " Thou Bhalt not kill . " We beseech the " Lords Spiritual and Temporal , " not to add to all their injustice , the crowding one of supporting a measure so accursed . And we implore the Q , ueen , should au Emigration Bill obtain the sanction of the legislature , to strengthen the indecision of royalty by thenatiral feelings of the woman

      and the mother ; to trample under her feet the infernal Act ; and to drive from her presence and favonr the parties by whom it is presented . This appeal we make on behalf of suffering and insulted humanity to the powers that be , —with , we confess , but small hope of its being effectual . There is , however , another class to which , we can appeal , and we know that to then it will not be in vain . To the working classes , who are interested in this great question more than all other classes put together , we say , let the subject be carefully pondered over , and well understood . One great cause of the oppression

      under which you groan , is that spirit of recklessness which has allowed many acts of mischief to become consolidated before yon were aware that they were even contemplated . This mistake most never again occur . We have beaten the Anti-Cora Law faction by our union and our watchfulness The landowners declared that a repeal of the Corn Laws would be ruinous to them ; and , so believing , they were perfectly right in opposing the repeal . We know that the landowner ' s plan of emigration would be ruinous to us ; and so knowing , we faithfully promise them that it shall have an opposition

      no less effectual . No doubt the pinch-bellies will , like their brethren the Anti-Corn Law quacks , get up meetings , employ lecturers , circulate information , and try to gull the public by details of " cheap food , " •* high wages , " " salubrious dimes , " fertile lands , " " murmuring brooks , ' * and a thousand ether stories of "moonshine" connected with the deli ghtful settlements on the other side of the globe . This let them do ; but let them recollect , that the people are not inclined to stand any of their " botheration !" They know too well what the professions of either Whig or Tory are worth , to

      put any confidence in the men who sever deem themselves safe unless they can delude and betray an unsuspecting people . At the meeting recently held in London , Mr . Chawford stated , truly enough , that " the state of our country unhappily presented a frightful mass of pauperism , which converted that portion of the population which ought to be our principal strength into al source of weakness , and a striking evidence of decay . " And this admission , one would think , should induce the adoption of measures to restore the health of the patient . Cutting off the limb is a desperate

      experiment , which should never be resorted to while a hope or chance of cure remains . Mr . Crawford , however , seems to be a weak but well-meaning man ; he has evidently been deceived in reference to the Colonies . We fear he has been taking some Of Mr . Montgomery Martin ' s nostrums ; and Mr . Montgomery Martin has evidently proved himself a mere vender of political drugs , of which he knows nothing . He can tell us the number of square miles in the Queen ' s dominions ; the number of mouths on a square mile : he can tell us of the rich territory of Canada ; of the number of

      cut-throats maintained in the colonies , —as if that would be any temptation to the people to emigrate : be can is form us of the amount Of Colonial revenue , and of the extent of Colonial shipping ; but not one word does he tell us of the domestic slavery endured by the labouring population in those distant regions—not a word of the uses to which tho valour of the British soldier is applied in those lands to which he would exile his starving countrymen ! No , no ; this would not suit the purpose of the emigration gentlemen . Like the kidnappers who allured the agricultural labourers into the

      manufacturing hells , by promises of roast beef and plum pudding , these monsters of cruelty would allure those whom their avarice has reduced to abject poverty into distant climes , where they might terminate a miserable existence , after creating a mass of wealth for their iron-hearted task masters , unpi tied and unknown . If we had any doubt as to the purpose of these emigration gentlemen , it would be entirely set at rest by the fact of its receiving the cordial support of one Mr . Maubebe , who declared himself an admirer of the heartless crew who united themselves together , some time since , under the name of the

      Children ' s Friend ' s Society , and of whose doings the Press took such cognizance as to rouse public indignation , until the ugly abortion of Malthusiau demonism wa 3 consigned to its last resting place . Our contemporary , the London Phalanx , in noticing the L ondon meeting , at which Mr . J . Rogers proposed the sum of forty millions to be expended in getting rid of five million paupers , observes , " nothing , however , was said respecting the nature of this national scheme proposed ; and this silence augurs ill for the soientiflo principles of these political economists . How are the poor creatures to be sent out , and how are they to be kept when they are out , and what are the arrangements proposed for subduing the soil and preparing it for the production of food for man

      and beast ! Is each man to be furnished with a plot of ground , and then left to do his best with the reluctant earth ! Is he to be dependent solely upon his own capital and labour , and left to toil , unaided , in converting the wilderness of nature into a garden of civilisation ! If so , the scheme will prove a failure . ' * These would , indeed , be weighty considerations , if the design was entertained for a really honest purpose ; but it is not . They want to get rid of the people , because they hate and fear them . The people must meet , then , and floor them at every emigration meeting . Let every man do his duty ; let every woman exert her influence , and the fate of this transportation plague will be inevitably sealed .

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      at Windsor , the 10 th day of Deoember , 1841 , present , the Q , \ xeen ' 8 Most Excellent MajeBty in Council . Her Majesty having bee& pleased to appoint the Riga * Hon . James Archibald Lord Wharncliffe , the Lord President of the Council , to be Lord-Lieutenant ana Cuatos Rotulorum of the West Riding of the county of York , his Lordship this day took the usual oaths appointed to be taken thereupon , instead of the oatM of allegiance and supremacy .

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      4 THB NORTHERN STAR . . _ _

      Cl)Artist Sbntehforeiut

      Cl ) artist SBnteHforeiut

      Thk Wesi-Riding Lieutenancy. — At The Court

      Thk Wesi-Riding Lieutenancy . — the Court

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 18, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct733/page/4/