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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th February 1843, Edition 4 of 4, Page 4, Untitled Article

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      TO THE PEOPLE- ' Jsjxsds , —It seems ihat the guess of the Liverjyool Tunes-was light , and that the " Honest" Goren : taent hare stolen a month from the end of the time w-hish i&ey themselves accorded to us and to yon fcr preparing to encounter them in the foul field of lejrai % hi . I have not yet received any Eouce of tins-la-s " move" upon their erooked Chess Board ; lotion wUl see from Mr . O'Connor ' s letter that he has ; aad I Eve , therefore , in daily expectation of

      &e bi-nrfiu There seems to he now no doubt that ¦ we ar » ta be hauled up" on the 25 th inst , at Lancaster instead of Liverpool . The " more " tb in perfect accordance with the whole conduct of the mean , treacherous , and cowardly factions . They neTer dare to rest their cause upon its merits . Subterfuge and ensuing are the only weapons they can call their own . And thes * they neTer fail to . make the indices and agents of their usurped power . We can < olj meei their cunning ' donbles " with renewed determination and redoubled diligence . 1 know not

      what may be the effect of this alteration of the time and place of trial upon the fees which haunt every jtep oi the oppressors' coarse . I hare no doubt that it ¦ wfl ] 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 neoesssry funds . Upon you , then , devolves the duty of convincing tyranny of your determination to uphold the assertion , by your fritndf and champions , of the principles of right , and of tha futility of all their pony efforts to suppress them . Prom -the time this pat > er rtaches your hands , two weeks only

      muM elapse before the Tietims will be brought within the precincts of the unhallowed temple , and the pampered menials of oppression mil be arranging the formalities of BaciiSse . Permit me , therefore , to add my urgency to that of Mr , O'Connor upon this occasion . I have Dot ofitn " * dunned" you- I have served you zealously and faithfully for many years ; and my reward has been continued turmoil where I might have had peace and quietness , the exchangeof ** respectability " for eonramelj , of hard labour and inquietude for personal comfort and sDjoymentj and of lncrative

      professional advantages and prospeets for pecuniary loss . 1 may therefore , for once , urge yon to exertion , not for myself—bnt for those good men , and there are many of them , whom , unless you step in to aid them , this villanous prosecution must involve in ruin . It may be hard work , and I know it is ; but you must stir now . Many of these men who have thrown themselves iato tike gap for you are utterly ¦ an&ble to procure tile lejral aid which their defence requires . Will you suffer them to be lo ^ t for want of it !! Many of them have families , who , in the event of their

      Incarceration , lose their only prop . Will you suffer these families to want that aid and comfort which the advocacy of your caase takes from them II "Will per permit the father , and the husband to leave his cheedesB home without the knowledge that hi 3 loved ones shall ba sate if he return no more to them of months * 1 Many of your Ticllm friends need present help . Many of them mail via necessary personal aids and comforts whivh are indispensible to their position . Many of them are at great distances from the scene of purposed sacrifice—the * Jtistice Hall" (»)—' Tis for yon they go there ; and they have & right to look to you for means to get there . You must stir 1 Stoutly , briskly , -universally , at oscx ! About the work ! And

      laugh at faction ' s scoundrel efforts to depress you The aim of power and faction is to keep its hold upon your liberties and resonrce 3 . And this th « -y will do if you suffer men who have sacrificed all for yon to be sacrificed withoat due exertion on your part to sustain them . With such exertion , manifested , S 3 "it must bs if you love yourselves , in all ways possible—you may cneeessfully defy them ; for the words of Holy writ are trae , that "Though a righteous man fall seven times daily , he shall yet rise . The power of right will overcome ail if honestly put forth . The whole case Ib before yon , and your appreciation of the efforts which hiTe been made for you will be best evidenced by the manner ia which yon-meet it . . . . .

      "You will see thai the time 13 sow short enough fn - *\\ miww'mM fiyr tHnsw "who ^ ll » . Vg . " ^ et Tgads no preparation , io "tfegia ioSSifik aboaihow Sly sEall baffla the foul conspiracy , and what they shall say to ** . ily Lords . th ^^ aeen ' B Justices , " aad ** the Jurors sworn , "' anent the matter . I happen to be one of those . I hsre not yet bestowed a angle thought upon theitattei . 1 must do so now ; and this must be my answer / to the many requests for lecturing and preaching visits which I have this » week received . I had purposed to spend the whole of next week in North Lancashire , and to take at least another -week before the Liverpool "

      meetiBg , " for the purpose of visiting the Tarious places in South Lancashire and Cheshire , to which I have been invited ; but when it is considered how short the time i 3 &nd how many preparations and arrangements I mint have to make , 2 am sure my ' fpeads , in all those places will require no further & P ^^ K I am one of those who never anticipate defeai / tral yet always provide against the worst . I . shalljgfc to trial faQy reiving upon principle and trntt to triumph over prejudice , even in a middle-|

      class Jury . I expect » verdict of * Not Guilty "; but I shall provide for a different result , if it ahtndd -come . This grres me much work . I have many arrangements to make both at Leeds and at Hull , independent of the necessary preparations for defence . These things make it impossible for me to remain in North Lancashire longer than Tuesday evening , and impossible for me to go any where else until after the trials . The same reasons must excuse my answering the letters of many of my good friends . I may not have time to do * o .

      The trials , however , though important , must not engross our attention , to the exclusion ef the Beans for carrying on the movement and amending our agitation . These subjects mu > t be kept in mind ; but 1 suggest that as fax as practicable you remain quiescent on them till the trials are over . The nominations 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 . I hare not published them , for this reason : I think it

      much better that the people should wait till the trials are over , and see what men are in the field . If early every man of mark is in the net so skilfully thrown oTer 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 jxa be made freely . Such is my advice But if the people determine to go on with the nominations , it is not ferme to " dictate . ' They shall be published if anything like a general desire for it is manifested . I advise the people , however , to do all great things cautiously . " Discretion is the best part of valour , " and of patriotism likewise .

      In pursuance of thi 3 maxim , I think it right to advert to a report-which has reached me of a proposition to make Lancaster and the neighbourhood the " seatof agitation 'during the assizes .. I 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 exercise of prowes 3 in defending onr glorious principles % and I hope that none of their advocates will 80 far lBt their seal outrun wisdom as to give a needless handle to the enemy . I have always thus counselled s and had I been more heeded , many wrere Btrnggles with the enemy—perbapB this

      one — might have been avoided . I never seek danger though I never shrink from it when it comes j I always choose * T > ost -which is defensible a * nU points ; « nd then I stick to it : I sever ion away . Orderand truth are my weapons ; jrodeBee and perseverance , my watch words ; and consistency hij shield . With these I have hitherto feaght against the enemies of your rights , whether openly landed "wMa your foes or cunningly concealed among yourselves . 1 shall always do bo ; snd , recommending . the like course to you , I bid job " - ¦** € fod speed" inyonr holy warfare , and aognr a speed ; and triumphant issue .

      I am , as ever , Yonr faith / sl friend and servant , Wiuja * iixu Nirihem Slar Office , Leeds , Thursday , February . 9 th , 1 &T 2 .

      Untitled Article

      THE JS OETHERJN STAB SATURDAY , FEBRUARY 11 , 1843 .

      Untitled Article

      TEITJMPHS OF " EXTENDED COMMERCE "! THE LEAGUE CUTTING THEIR OWN

      THROATS . The cause of " Extenbios" is doomed to die by the hands 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 ! Thty attempt to adduce facts and reasonings in support of their darling project , — while every effort they make tells against them ! and proclaims , trumptt-tengned , that Extensions of Commerce" have not , hitherto , been of service to the great body of the producers and distributers 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 tad noise enough , and stir enough . We have had a parly moviBg heaven and earth , as it were , to force the question of " Extension" upou public attention . They have held " ticket-meetings" in fel parts of the country , at which one set of paw 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 public , to convert eveTy man of U 3 to the cause of Corn Law Repeal . They have expended some portion of their £ 50 , 00 . 0 in building a League Hall , in the town of Manchester , in which to hold a meeting of Deputies from

      all the Towns 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 i * . s righteousness and justice , or hired from the ranks of those who are ready to prostitute themselves for pay . They have had their ** Aggregate Meetings . " For one whole week haB the press of the Empire teemed with their sayi ngs and doings . [ The £ 50 , 000 has not been without its uses in that quarter . ' ] Tht > " Extension" men have had full scope ; ample fling : every opportunity has been given them to establish the justice of the claim they pat forth , and show the reasonableness and efficiency of their much-vaunted measare .

      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 over the country , for the purpose of ascertaining the present condition of the people . The answer returned to these queries they ha ^ e 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 . It was drawn up by a Committee which boasted o ! ** Messrs . H . Ashwokth , T . Bailey , Jan ., E . Baines jun ., and Thohas Pllnt , " as Secretaries . It is the production of the concentrated wisdom of the League ; and contains their " strong reasons" for the measure of " Extension "' which the League calls upon the public to adopt .

      Now it fortunately happens that this question of il 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 snch a manner , and lead to such and such an end . We have had experience of its xcorking ; for we have had many " Extensions of Commerce" withia 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 "lExtenriobs . "

      On several formtx occasions we have ehewn , that , during the last fifty yeart , " onr Commerce" with foreign n » tioM "hfca " Extended" SIX TIMES OVER . All that the League had to do , therefore , ws 3 to show that each ** Extension" had benefited the people ; and that the aggregate oF Extensions " was purely an aggregate of benefits ! This of couse they could easily have done , had the facts been bo , and this , would nave 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 produoing many was fifty years ago , before tl Commerce " was much " extended . " It is well known , that employment was plentiful ; and it is also well known , to use the words of Mr . Heaps , at the late LeedB Sgueaking Meeting , that "the working men had wages for working for . " Of course the concentrated wisdom of the " Aggregate Meeting of Deputies , * ' under the guidance land direction of " E . Baixes , Jun ., and Thomas Ptr ai , " of Leeds , reported that in these particulars , the people were now much improved ! That , as we

      have u Extended our Commerce" SIX TIMES OVER , employment is six-times as plentiful j and wages six times as high J Of coarse , these sapient gentry did this , as the > ery 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 1 They never even attempted it ! Thty Bhowed , most oonoluavoly that employment is very scarce ; that wages ha ~ re mo nstrously falleD , and that they are still failing They showed that the Poor Rates in " all the great

      seats of industry , " have doubled since 1839 ! 1 wfcile pauperism ha 3 increased in ratios varying from 300 to 500 per cent III I They showed that the amount of Bankruptcy and Insolvency is frightfully large , and that capital ie alarmingly diminishing in the manufacturing districts . They showed that these are theeffectB , after we hav 6 " Extended " our Commerce with the Foreigner SIX TIMES OTER i and they adduced these things as reasons why we should seek for another " Extension "!!»

      Were ever men so fool sh ! ! Were ever men so infatuated 11 To cat their own throats with their own pettitoes in so shocking a manner ! ! Never did swine in water do itlw effectually , as these wiseacres have done , when onoe afloat in the lake of " Political Economy" i Bat we must have this Report recorded . It is too valuable to be silently passed over , or suffered to fall into oblivion . It testifies too strongly , as to the effect of our present application of Machinery , and to onr conditien after a SIX TIMES OVER

      " Extension" of oar Foreign Commerce , to be despised . It is a public admission of the truth of the statements made , thousands of times , by the suffering sons of toil ; but 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 ! Let him peruse it again and again Let him remember that it is pat forth by those who want him to join in the cry for "More Extension" ! Let Mm reflect that these are Has reasons addressed to him , to convince him that it would be his interest to so join , and so cry I And let him not forget that this picture of the conditien of all classes is the country , has been drawn at the end of a SIX TIMES-OVER * Extension *! Hsre are the League Reasons ! Here they are THE TBIUBXPHS OF "EXTENDED" COMIHEIICE

      Makchxsteb , Fbtdat Evkhisc—Hie aggregate meeting of the Delegates to the Aati-Corn-la \ r Demonstra * ons in Manchester was held here this morning in the Town-hftU , to receive the reports of tie Committees , and to determine the fntore course ot proceediocs N > te adopte-J . ^^ *

      Untitled Article

      Mr . 0 . Ashworth wfa called to the chair , and Mr . Plikt , of Leeds , and the Rev . Mr . Scales , of Leeds , successively read the following reports : — Report of the Committee of manufacturers to the aggregate meeting of the Deputies of the Anti-Corn-law Association of Gbeat Britain , assembled in Manchester , Feb 3 , 1843 . The Committee met on the 31 st of January , and appointed as secretaries , Messrs . H . Ashworth , T . Bayley . jun ., E . Bainea , jun ., and Thomas Piint , to whom were committed tbo voluminous documents transmitted to the Council of the League , in reply to the qaeries as to wages , employment , pauperism , dec .,

      sent out to all the manufacturing districts in December last Toese documents they carefully inspected , and a digest of thB principal portion was prepared and presented at the meeting of the section ou the following day , by Mr . H . Ashworth . This digest referred principally to the cotton trade , and evidence on the sums trade was presented by Messrs . W . R . and R . H . Greg . On the woollen trade statements were made by Mt-ssrs . T . Bayley ajid T . Plint ; the silk , by Mr . F . J . Taunton , of Coventry ; tht- shipping , by Messrs . Johnassohn and Hardcastle , of Sunderland ; en the hardware trade , by Mr J . Scholefield , M . P ., of Birmingham ; on the linen trade , by Mr . G . Baxter , of Dundee ; and od the hosiery trade , by Mr . H . Dawaon , of Manchester .

      The details presented by these gentlemen are much too voluminous to be presented to tbe meeting in fall . The Committee , therefore , have can fully analysed and classed them ; and they hope the following abstract , arranged under distinct beads , will be found accurate and faithful—First

      —THE BATE OF "WAGES AND THE AMOUNT OP EMPLOYMENT . There is alleged on . all hands & considerable falling off in the deiuaud / or labour ; as a necessary coastqiitnce there appears a veiy 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 reduction , the combined revolt 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 tne 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 in the manufacture of steam-engines and machines , tbe decrease is still greater . Collaterally with this falling off in the staple trades of the nation , it appears that , in tbe handicraft trades , such as bricklayers , masoca , smiths , lea ., the want of employment is very general , and the rate of wages has , in many instances , undergone a reduction ; a fact deserving particular notice , as indicating 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

      OP WAGES IS STILL DOWNWARDS , and in several cases has undergone very recent depreciation . POOB KATES AND PAUPEBISM . If the ratio of decreased employment and wages is in Borne 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 the poor have , on an average , doubled ; whilst the number of applicants has increased in Tarious ratios , from 300 to 500 per cent . Tha painful fact , too , appears , that in several principal towns there have been very numerous appli J catiojis for relief from a 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 parochial aid . THE CONSUMPTION OP ANIMAL FOOD .

      The falling off in the consumption of butchers' meat is testified in all the reports mads to tbe Committee . The decrease is variously stated at from 20 to 60 per cent . It is impossible to define with an y accuracy tbe average decline of consumption ; but : bt » fact ia an admitted and palpable one , and tbe gtc . t reduction in the-price of farmers' stock affords strung collateral proof . That the food of tbe mass of our population ia deficient alifce in quality and quantity , is attested by the reports of several medical men in different parts of tbe empire , and it in fuily borne out by the statistics of the dispensaries , infirmaries , and hospitals in all our large towns—while there is a Very large increase of disease and death . The returns aUo t » the queriea addressed to sick and benefit ; societies lead to the some melanckoly fact INSOLVENCY AND DEPRECIATION OP CAPITAL .

      The fact , that during the last four years a very large amount of bankruptcy and insolvent ? baa taken place throughout the wholesale and retail trades of the empire , needed no confirmation at the meeting of Wednesday . Various particulars , however , were furnished , especially with respect to the towns of Sunderland , Dundee , and Leeds . There can bs little doubt that , taking the grtat staple trades of cotton , woollen , and iron , the loss of capital has been very large , and that thtre is an alarming diminution of the whole floating capital of the . manufacturing districts , both absolutely , estimating the sum total , and relatively , estimating the amount of labour to be employed . Tbere is too much reason farther to conclude that tbe capital is still decreasing , PaBILT BY TUB CONSTANT ATTRITION OF FIXED CHARGES ACTING ON A NARROWED RETURN . and parity bv the kuinous competjtiun of those having mill property—a competition unnatural as the activity which , in some branches of our trade accompanies it , is feverish and unhealthy .

      ¦ - THE SHIPPING INTEREST . The evidenoe produced on this head leaves do doubt ! as to a large ana ruinous decline in the state of the shipping trade , as well owners as builders . The evidence produced as te the important ports of Liverpool , Bristol , Sanderland , and Whitehaven , and more especially the two latter , is minute rind 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 the fact of a serious declension in the condition of our shipowners . The details as to Sunderland will be read with peculiar interest

      THE CHARACTER OF OUR EXPORT 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 our exports—a change which has been in progress for four or five years tuck . This analysis shows a great and rapid increase in the export of yarn , and a serious decline in tbe export of goods in the woven and printed state . This applies particularly to the European trade , and it is to be accounted f er by the rapid growth of manufacturing power on the Continent , first exhibited ia the departments of weaving and printing , and now

      manifesting itself in tbe rapid erection of mills for spinning . The process , indeed , which is goiDg on alike in the cotton , linen , and woollen trade , points to the ultimate , and perhaps not very remote exclusion of our mannfacturing products , either yarn or finished fabrics , if the restrictions on tbe import of food are continued ; and points out tbe sound policy , nay , tbe absolute necessity , of opening new markets for our goods hi 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 OF COMMODITIES IS YEARLY EXPORTED FOR a stationary return ! TMb fact admits of only one solution , allowance being made for tbe greater cheapness of commodities arising from improved skill in manufacture , viz ., that as one range of imports is artificially narrowed and contracted by the practical rejection of agricultural products of foreign nations , and as our manufacturer * and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for such a return as law permits , they are giving more and mare goods for a

      stationary return . The ruinous sacrifices made ia our staple majiaiaetares Id foreign goods , and which are so often pointed to as indieating an excess of production here , only indicate , in reality , therefore , the measure of the difficulty experienced in procuring returns . We do not make more than other nations can buy and pay for ; but we limit their power of payment by excluding the principal commodity they have to offer , and virtually to create a keen and ruinous cere petition amongst ourselves to secure such custom as we permit them to offer as .

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

      admits of no 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 tkin amongst the continental nations . That growth cannot now be stayed ; perhaps the time when it was desirable for the interests of this country and of tbe 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 bat 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 have to express their clear , decided , but painful conviction , that the distress of 1842 ; eaceedtd tiat of 1841 , Bad as that was ; THAT THE CONDITION OF ALL CLASSES IS DETERIORATED ; the embarrassments of all producers and dealers greater ; that the physical condition of th people is alarmingly worse , and threatens in its final consequences serious demoralisation , and perhaps danger to € he public order and peace : in one word , that we are reaping the bitter 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 Le * g 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 » f wages . ' * Thoy testify , too , that the operation of these two evils has been to oause the operative " to have less command of the necessaries and comforts of life , pp nearly two-thikds as compared with their means in 1834-5-6 . " Now 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 bufc too truly described !

      In 1834 we exported of British Produce and Manufactures , acoording to Official Value , £ 73 , 831 , 551 . la the year ending Jan . 5 th , 1842 , we exported , Official Value , 102 , 180 , 517 ! ! During 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 ! ! 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 , " the operative has a lels command of the necessaries and comforts of life , of NEARLY TWO THIRDS , as oompared with his 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 ehown , £ 28 , 348 , 966 Official Value . The 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 , 6 ' 82 . Had we been paid for the £ 28 , 348 . 965 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 asum than £ 49 , 723 , 023 ! 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 discharge of the Civil List , and cost 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 peats of industry , have , oa an average , doubled : whikt the number « f applicants has increased in ratio varying from 300 to 500 per cent . " Poor Rates doubled sinoe 1839 ! and pauperism increased in ratio varying frem 300 to 500 per cent ! Pretty well this , good folks , in three years ! Famous increase of Pauperism : pray how stands the question of Foreign Trade ? We must surely , during those three years , have had a monstrous

      falling off in that department ! It cannot be possible that these effects can 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 ia 1838 : and oould we have " improved" that position , by an " Extension" of the Foreign Trade of 1838 , we should sureiy have been better-off than we then were : for " Extended trade brings extended employment ; extended employment brings extended wages ; and extended wages must make us better off . "

      Well , then , let us soe how the facts stand . In the 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 : with this vast " 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 600 per cent" 11 ! And another " Extension" is the REMtDV proposed to rid us of increased Poor Rates , and increasing Pauperism !! What wisdom we have amongst us !

      We have before shewn what the Official Value of Exported goods in 1798 produced to us in seal value . Had we been paid in 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 , 674 , 341 . The amount we did receive was only £ 1 , 573 , 653 ! ! On the increase therefore , we lost the Bum of £ 15 , 000 , 000 ; or a sum equal to the cost of the Army , the Navy , the Civil List , the Annuities and Pensions , the Salaries and Allowances , and the China Expedition in 1842 ! I ! Is there no cause for the " doubling of the Poor Rates" and " the 500 per cent , increase of PauporiBm" in this ? Let " E . Raines , Juu . and Thomas Plint" answer !

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

      Bat the Iron Trade : is tt suffering ! Has the loss of capital been great there ? 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 f We know you have a ready answer to ail complaints respecting the depreciation of prioos in cotton and other wove fabrics : aud that you instantly utter forth the two words " Foreign Competition ; " and ascribe to such competition the cause of the depreciation . But this you cannot do in the case of the Iron Trade . According

      to Mr . Marshall , 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 " canuot , thereforeitpperate here . Pray tell us , how it is , that the" price of Iron , under theBe ciroamstancea , should have depreciated as much as the price of woven fabrics % Ascertain the reason of this very strange and anomalous fact ; and men say whether you think another " Extension of Commerce" will stay 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 ? ' which reasons ase * ' the constant attrition of FIXED CHARGES on a NARROWED HETURN ; and tM HUINOtJS COMPETITION OF THOSE HAVING MTLLproperty . " The League have hit it at last ! How it has happened that they have at length seen ( and becm fools enough to report that they hava so seen ) wliat ewry body tho has betn ho long fa&iilmr

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      with , is a question pregnant with curiosity . ' Tha constant attrition of fixed charges on a narrowed return . " Y ^ es , in troth , that is one reason why capital is diminishing I We have the " fixed chahges" of 1798 ; bnt wehave 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 chakges" to the standard of our present " returns , " » CAPITAL" WILL STILL CONTINUE "TO " DIMINISH" at an " alarming" ri * te ! 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 time > entirely swallowed up !

      Tae other reason assigned for the " alarming diminution of capital in the mauufacturiog districts " is " the rpinous competition of those having -Mill-Property '' Right again ! The nail driven home But how comes it that the League have hit on this ? With them there should ba no such thing as " ruinous competition . " With them all should he " free . " Ruinous competition is an impossibility , according to the doctrines of free-trade . " Competition is the only corrective in all matters relating to the production and distribution of wealth . The market for the produo f s 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 claim to be protected : and thus the League establish the very principle they are leagued together to overthrow ! ! What a miserable set of suicides ihey are !

      The section \ under the head " Character of our Export Trade ? ' , calls for some little notice . Here tbe League proolaim 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 ia procuring the necessary machinery to enable him to ] spin the yarn for himself ; and thus render himself 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 be jof benefit to us , will tney 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 tee 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 cur host . "

      Other nations i nave procured machinery ; other nations are manufacturing ; and in spite of all the " Extensions of Commerce" that the League can procure , either b ^ the " removal of the restrictions on the import of food , ' or by any other means , the " process which is going on alike ia 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 "u 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 .:

      —" Fh the village of Woodsocket , R . I ., there are eighteen mills in which there are are 1 , 268 looms , 50 826 spindles , and 1 , 162 hands . The aggregate number of yards of goods produced during tbe paat year is 9 . 739 , 717 , of Which there were 250 , 000 yards warps ; i > 84 000 yards flannels . 364 , 000 yaids jeans , 62 . 400 yards negro cloths , 156 , 000 yards satinets , 5 645 000 yards cotton prints , and 3 , 117 , 000 yards cotton sheeting . " ; This in one village ! Verily , the " process is going on !"

      And this ' process" cannot be stayed ! Whatever course of policy we may pursue , we cannot induce other nations either to refrain from setting up new manufactories , [ in which 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 jit . On this point ! the great political teacher of his day , Mr . Cobbett had some very apt and apposite remarks . His strong 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 onr being able to maintain a superiority in the markets of the world . His words were : —

      " It is mf opinion that the mmnufacturing game is nearly over : it ! has been a profitable game to a great many persona -. it bos made your employers rich , proud , insolent , cruel , and base ; but the days of their prosperity are , in my opinion , never to return . As long as manufacturing was carried on by the hands ot people , so long 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 , are more industrious , more addicted to order and punctuality in business , more in the habit of prompt obedience to employers , much 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 hinderance to the labourer . But when the hand of man cnlme to be supplanted by machinery , the principal part of these advantages must , in a short time , be greatly diminished : when fire , water , iron , steel , tin , and other things employed in a certain way , rendered the band jof 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 j in all countries ; and beeauae the interest of ether countries would naturally introduce the use of them . If one farmer were , by some accident , to

      discover the means of raising greater crops than bis neighbours , at a tenth put of the expence , he most , until his secrot became known to other farmers , be thriving at a rate moBfc j prodigious ; but as soon as bis secret became known , ] it would be nothing worth to him : all other farmers would nse the same means ; and he would be , witb respect to other farmers , just where he was before tbe discovery of his invention . Machinery , as long as it is j 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 ot 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 tha scale of 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 , the talent of that man is valuable to him : others who want plans reduced or enlarged , most apply to him or to some such rare person ; but if some one discover an instrument for this purpose , by which such reduction or enlargement can be effected with perfect accuracy by any human being tbat has fingers , and thumbs , and eyes , or who is as capable of as much tttention as is necessary in the act of decently putting

      victuals into one ' s mouth ; if there be an instrument of this sort discovered , the 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 and weaver , tbe 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 Jebset , where I saw , ia one place , a spinning jenny , or some such thing , turning cotton into a sort of string , oi thread , or whatever it iff-called ; and in another place ,

      three or four j power-looms , I think they are called , weaving the strings into cloth , and twisting it round upon aaort of ( reels . These devils of things had only a couple of Yankee girls to attend them , as tt were , to see fair play . 1 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 , aft the top of which nature had made a large basin , that had a gap in one of the edges of it , out of which tbe water came tumbling . ' Oh ! Oh r said I , ' if cloth can be made by these things , and the cotton grow in this country , It is impossible that the cloth csn come from England for many years . ' Two or bhree EnRlitbruen had made the machines , and bad taught the Yankttshow to do tbo like .

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      " I do not blame the discoverers of !*?« , chfa-ery ; I do net cenaure the tfab ^ : in St \^ say that the discovery has been an evil to ft *? ; bttt l because it has taken from it , or win ve £ 7 £ ?* * J from it , that great manufacturing wp « to « L ; J 2 ** possessed over the rest of the wwIA Si * li love ifitffcslli , is a tarfto * tt ^ JSJ ^ WIb level : and if the dreadfal engine ; which w ^ 1 ^ 8 have been invented for the sending forth of cannn < * ^ with ten times , or ten thousand times I beT quickness of cannon and ponder ; It tbat conMuL been brought to perfection , and made to act t in a short time have put almo 8 t _ all nation , & levelin oi waniKe iorce

      , poms . Tnerefore I thl i manufacturing game is nearly over ; stttd that yZ ° 9 to place no reliance upon any thing to predoee & ^^ of the former cfrcumBtances of yeur business » cotton , and the wool , and silk , are every where n ? first iand the last in a greater abundance abroad th they are here ; and there being machines in aji tries to convert them into articles of dress dm " * sense forbids us to expect that other nation ' s *»? £ !! at the expence of paying for ships to fetch thW ii cles from us , and give us a profit / or making them hT ' the bargain . The thing cannot be : it is prepmlz ' to suppose it ; and , therefore , if our Govern ment * wise , it would be making preparations aceoaliBgly »

      To this it is unnecessary , to add another word Facts and experience prove that the opfoions clearly and so forcibly expressed were correct , Th manufacturing game was nearly over . It j s n just about up ! " The process which U g ^ on alike ia the Cotton , Linen , and Woollen Trad points to the ultimate , and , perhaps , not Ter eemote EXCLUSION of our manufactured . ducts , either yarn or finished fabrics , " ( torn tjj markets of the world .

      In this same section of this famous and service . able Report , there is one sentence which &W deserves , and l oudly calls for , a separate and 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 exami . nation of it at this time . It is a sentence pre « . nant with mighty meaning ! The Leaguers say : " another fact was developed relative to our Export trade ; that ak INCREASING

      MASS OF COMMODITY IS TEARLY EXPORTED FOB k STATIONARY return . " So ! we have p inned the League down to the consideration of this question ^ last ! Well , thank God , our labour has not been in vain ! To this " fact" we have been for years constantly calling their attention ; but this is tae first time that they could be induced even to notice it The " fact" is stated as if it was but just now " developed ; " notwithstanding we have been dingdonging it in the ears of the public for so lone a

      period . This , however , wa do not mind . Tbe 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 deluded followers , has caused them to endeavour to account for it , and to make it square with League notions . This they have attempted to do . How far they Java succeeded in that attempt we shall presently see . Let us first , however , have the" fact" more indetail before us .

      " An increasing mass of commodities is yearl ^ w ported for a stationary return . " Never were words more true , generally speaking : and never was greater condemnation of the whole course of our Export Trade . ' We have to give an increased maas of commodities for the same amount of money ; nay , eren for a less amount of money ; and this "fact" tells us , most emphatically , that our Foreign Trade , 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 our Exports in 1836 me £ 85 ,-229 , 837 , Official Value ; which brought us 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-Jot which we received in real Value on 5 y £ 51 , 634 , 623 ' , The increase ia " mass of Commodities" in 1843 over 1836 was £ 16 , 950 , 680 Official Value ; while the " return" instead of being " stationary" was £ 1 , 733 , 949 . LESS for the greater quantity of produce ! ! ! In fact , we have been burning our candle at both ends ; and wheu it is nearly burnt out , we turn up our eyes and wonder how it happens that the substance is wasted . ' - . ^ Xii'J

      Now , then , for the League ' s " solution ^ oi the " developed fact . " Say they : " as ona raW& ^ . imports is artificially narrowed and contracWBy tie practical rejection of agricultural products of / oreiga nations , and as our manufacturers and labourers are respectively competing amongst themselves for such a return as the law permits , they are giving more and more goods for a stationary retirn . * ' In other words , thi 8 " fact" 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 accaracy of the rewooisg employed by the Leaguers .

      If this solution of the fact" thus offered by the League be a correct one , it will follow that tfo " fact" has only been " developed" since the Cora 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 sea whether this " fact" was not thea " developed ; " aye , even before the Corn Bill was introduced into Parliament at all !

      The Official Value of the exports in 1802 W £ 27 , 012 , 108 ; and the Real Value was £ 48 , 500 , 683 , The Official Value of the exports in 1815 was £ 41 , 712 , 002 ; produoing in Rbal Value £ 49 , 652 fi * 5 The increase in the mass of ^ commodities" exported at the latter period over the former , ml £ 14 , 699 , 894 , Official Value ; while the Rexuek wafl all but " stationary , " we having only received &r that monstrous increased " mass of commodities '

      the insignificant sum of £ 1 , 151 , 562 . Had ih ^ wsms in 1815 been equal to the return in 1802 wedioala have received the sum of £ 74 , 596 , 332 , instead of OflJJ £ 49 , 652 , 245 . It follows , therefore , that apoutM " Extended" trade from 1802 to 1815 , BEFORE THE CORN LAWS WERE ENACTfiD , vre \ o the enormous sum of £ 24 , 944 , 087 . HtreiaffiM " developed" which upsets the " solution" of tf » Leagued Solons ! Mr . " E . Baines , jun ., and ThoiuS

      Plint" must try their hands again ! The section headed " The Hostile Character of Foreign Tariffs" 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 contradistinction to the principle of " freedom" advocated by M League . We hold , speaking generally , that tw respective governments have acted in accoroan with true principle and sound policy , in passing those " Hostile Tariffs : " and this we engage to niaKe plainly apparent on a future occasion .

      In conclusion , we must entreat the x ^^ f .. weigh well the words of the last paragrap h . wjW » most suicidal Report . Those words * w ^^ pregnant with meaning and purport 1 1 hej 5 tinotly affirm the destitute condition of * M ° " ducers of wealth , even after a SIX-TIME 3 QVJStt increase of Foreign Trade ! And they as . distiaeW read the death-warrant to the League project w get us out of the difficulties therein set fort" . Never men so unfortunate as the infatuate *

      were men of the League 1 This report proves W » although they may have « brass , " they have not all the " wisdom in the world "! With tbett own hands have * ey deprived leagvets * « life . They have effectually cut its thros * . and mangled its defun . t carcase most awfnllj by their hacking and { mangling with dull « w blunt weapons of offence : aad we now pain to the le at largeas a jury , whether the verdict

      peop , ought not to bo : " Homicide at th * «*** o its friends ; committed while W a 3 W " ° Mental DfiRA . NtiEMEM , "

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      4 ¦ THE 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-ncseproduct790/page/4/