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Northern Star (1837-1852), 30th September 1843, Edition 4 of 4, Page 4, PORTRAIT OF

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    • PORTRAIT OF
    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1843.
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      Untitled Ad

      W . P . ROBERTS ,, ESQ . Mr . O'Conkob his received communications from many districts in all of which-a very great desire is expressed to have a pobtba IT of Mr . Roberts , the people's Attorney-General . We cannot wonder that a strong wish should be entertained to possess a Likeness of so truly amiable , talented , and true a man ; and although we know that Mr . O'Connor had determined to givt no more Portraits , yet we have the pleasure to announce that all Subscribers for Three Months , from Saturday , the 23 rd of Sept , wUlTeeeWe

      Untitled Ad

      THE LAND I THE LAND ! I THE LAND III Feargus O'Connor , Esq . will Lecture on the above important subject , in the Large Theatre of the Rotunda , Blackfriars Road , on Tuesday wening , October 3 rd . Platform Sixpence ; Upper Circle , Three-pence ; Pit , Twopence . . Doors open at Seven , Lecture to commence at Eight o ' clock . "Working-men ! do your duty ! Attend , hear , and judge for yourselves 11

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      % atal sxto « f * ne * al gxteUizencs

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      Du » X > be . — . Death of a Black Shkep . —Died , on [ Friday rooming last , at twenty minutes past seven o'dwi , sged ninemonths , the Herald newspaper { late Chronicle ) . ' : Since the birth of this dwarf , symptoms of premature dissolution have been visible , and , notwithstanding all the care and unremitting attention 'which its too fond surges could bestow upon their pet , it got "weaker under their caresses , instead of gathering strength , until at last it sunk into an everlasting slumber in its father ' s arm 3 , at the time above stated . The immediate cause of death as Uething . It had no teeth ; and howeverangry it might be , It was perfectly iarmless in . the biting tray . Some years ago the Dundee Chronicle newspaper was for rale , and the Chartists here

      mustered their strength in order that they might , by purchasing it , procure a local organ through which , under their own management , the principles of the People ' s Charier might be prominently kept before the public The result was the purchase of that paper at the sum of eight hundred pounds sterling { £ 300 more than its ralue ) . Shares in the concern were rapidly taken up , and instalments thereon regularly paid for a considerable time . The paper fell into the hand * of the new proprietors , hcwerer , long ere one third of the purchase money teas paid up , and of course they had to borrow what they

      were deficient of . This state of things leathern into obligations to some persons who were enemies to the Chartist causa . These parties did all that in them lay io frustrate the only object which was had in Tiew lit purchasing the journal , namely , to forward the cause of democracy . This difficulty might have been got over had the people continued to pay the instalments upon their sharesTegulariy . The Chronicle was sot long under Chutist management , however , when it became evident that a certain party of professed friends , from some of wkom better things might hare been looked for , wished to have it in their own hands , and undtr their entire control . This had the effect of

      damping the energies of those who felt no interest in the undertaking , except as far as the advancement of the great public cause was concerned . Some continued to pay and grumble ; others stopped payment at once ; ultimately , the paper did fall into the hands of those who seemed so anxious for it . Shortly after this a gentlem&n ^ from Manchester , srasbrought don n to edit it j but a few articles which appeared in the Scar , put a seal upon his labours in this quarter . Since then editors , managers , reporters , ( 1 ) printers , and printers * devils have been changed and leehanged with the changes of the moon ; bnt all proved unavailing . At last they thought of changing tio came of the paj > ex ; but , alas , what after all Is in a namel The Herald arose from the ashes-of

      Old Gkrony ; but , like its predecessor , only existed to experience the contempt and neglect of all honest politicians . And if ever the well-known fable of the *• Old JIan and Ms Ass" was verified to the letterit has been in ite brief existence . It was ^ a professed StuTKeite ; yet in its half-grown pages , it was led away by every wind of doctrine . In attempting to please every body , it offended all and was pitched overboard into the bargain . [ We give the above as weieceivedit , trusting to the Teracity of our correspondent for the truth of the statements it contains . "We should not have noticed the matter , bnt that we understand great dissatisfaction prevails among a nnmber of the Chartist body in Forfarshire , who subscribed their money for the purchase and

      support of * paper , whioh did not at all represent their sentiments when bronght under , as they supposed , Chartist management . They conceive that their aoney , has "been wrongfully applied ; how far they may be right they are ihe best judges themselvesj ^ Sheffield . —More " Spumous Cdtlkbt . "Mr . John Pearson , of Angel-street , appeared before ihe magistrates on . Friday last , to answer a charge made against him for having in his possession a quantity of blades marked ** cast steel , " thej being made of common steeL It appeared that there was an informality in the summons , and it was dismissed ; but rke goods were detained , and another summons granted , charging him with the manufacture of spurious cutlery , for the purpose of sale . There are

      some awful exposures taking place . The Independent , the organ of the free traders , and the Mercury are at open war , the " freebooter * ^ " journal palliating the conduct of the ** respectable manufacturers , " and alleging that the- Corn Laws compel the manufacturers to " get up" these inferior goods . The Mercury , however , without denying the right to make inferior goods , justly charges the freebooters with dishonesty , in imposing on the world as " superior entlerj , " the cast or ** sow ussxiP goods which ihey for a lose time have been making in great abundance . The * tricks of the trade , " too , . are

      being l&id bare : London merchants getting their goods BUfcde in Sheffield , and having them marked vrith their own tuhs as . London made , and extorting as hi ^ h as eighty per cent , profit upon them . Sorely , these things -willopen the eyes of those who are continually bawling out thai we have lost our foreign trade because of our protective duties ! Many a tame iave the Cfeartist lecturers , in their -discusaions with the " League" men , stated these things ; bnt they have been nnblnsbingiy denied . However , now they cannot deny them . Let them only come to Sheffield , and thej shall hare them thrust xisder their notes .

      Thx Trades . —The trades are going on with ihe jfood work of enrolling themselves into an associated body . Twenty-seven have already joined . The table-knife blade makers , to the number of 600 , have turned out for an advance of wages , and are likely to sacceed , as several masters have already acceded to their demands . There is one feature connected with this turn-out , that evidently denotes the " March of mind , " At their first meeting , it was debated , whether it would not be advisable to purchase or Tent a piece cf laud , to employ the turnouts upon , with a view to increase their funds , and prevent the waste of capital and labour . The proposition mat with TiniverBal satisfaction , and we believe the associated trades will take the question up , and deposit their funds in a solid bank , and not trust «> the chance of being bilked by the " rag rooks , " as many of the benevolent societies have heen by a certain swindling shop now defunct . .

      BATH —Seizures tox Chubch Sates . —Our Correspondent writes' . —One of those disgraceful scenes bo opposed to the character and interest of true ChristiaBity , has been enacted in this city . It appears that some of the inhabitants of Snow-hill and Tining-lane . in the parish of St . Saviour ' B , refuEing to subscribe towards the support of a Church the doctrines « f which they disavowed , declined to pay the rate of fourpence in the ponnd levied for thai purpose ; the result of which was that the holy ( 1 ) * officials" of religion songbt a distress warrant to be levied upon the goods p f the reensants , which keinjc gras » ed"was doly put into execution on Friday ,

      and a watch "was taken from Mrs ,-Curtis , and one also from Mr . Sinkins , some bed clothes from Mr . "Watlock , and a cart from Mr . Winslow , who is an out 3 n ont Chartist . A short time ago a poor man in "Wiltshire was distrained on for Vicarial tithes , to the amount of 10 a « expences incurred upon » rate of 1 =. 4 d . when the worthy successor of the apostles risted the man ' s wife who was ill at the time , and Bndiag no money forthcoming , immediately left , and no sooner had he done so than the baiLff entered and took the chairs and one of the man's two tables . How well to these " apostolical" harpies apply the lines lately given in the

      Examinerm The Pharisees of old heaven ' s path to seek Gave tithes of all , and fasted twice a week ; Oar wi ? er saints snch plans have far surpassed , Thej take the tithes and leave the poor to fast . " SAHISSCE 7 . —The town is in a state of excitement jd consequence of the attempts , of some of the masters to xeaoce wages . The attempts of Norris asd Co . to break through the printed list of prices has failed , and the men nnder their employ have returned to their work ; but antiher stroggle has sow commenced . Haxwonh and Co . have long

      manifested a disposition to reduce wages . On Monday , the 18 ih , a public meeting of the workmen was held on May Day Green , when it was unanimously resolved to strike sooner than * submit to a further reduction of their miserable wages On Jlondsy last another public meeting was . held ob May Day Green ; the meeting was addressed by Messrs . Grimshaw , Harper , and Garbutt . Information respecting the progress of the strike was given , and the weavers of Barasley pledged themselves m > support the strike against Hax worth and Co . to the last . .

      rJ * *** * - —M the usual Council Meeting of the GhsrUgt body , holden at the Black Horse and Windmill , Fieldgate-street , Whitechapel , en Taesday evemeg last , the following resolutions were unanimously agreed to :- " That we highly approve of the 5 f iSf * OrgMuation i that we have the fullest eonfidence in the integrity of the persons - who have been selected as the Executive , p ^/ um Jand we pledgeour « lve * £ aid and ass ^ lhm tfeir ^ out th ^ Plan of Organization by all means ia our Southwask , —Eras op Putrssu . Fair-street Tooi ^ rBiB ^ -Mr . M'GrathSone ^ tKS Plendid » d edifying kctnres upon the principles © f Government that n has ever been our goSd forine to **** ' P ** & * * eatiou of the Chartists of this ftsghboarhood to open » Branch of the National Char ter AsKxnation-at ihu house . Aboat fort *

      Barnes an already in the list of persons that wiu join the New Organisation . LAiiBttH . —BBnaunoA Cotpxe House , Wate * - xoo Road . —At die nsual weekly meeting of awmben in this locality , the following resolution was passed : » That this meeting consider themselves bound te support the Plan of Organization drawn up by the ihirty" -one delegates in Conference at Birndnghaa , and hereby pledge themi elves to use every exertioa in their power to carry out the same . Political tsbmuxs , Turkagaih-lxm , Sunday moraicg . The . adjourned oiscus&ion oh the benefits produced by the . Protestant Reformation , was resumed , and excellent rpeeches , pro and eon , were made by Messrs . Bathbose , Orerten , Cooper , CLeary , Alien' and others , Thesnbject was again Adjourned ; Mr . Skelk * lectured in the same place in the evening .

      Untitled Article

      OUR " IMPROVED" TRADE . MORE " PROSPERITY , " At length we have another gleam of sunshine ; and much is sought to be made of it . We have had seven loDg years of "depression ; '* two good harvests , and THE STATS OF HANUFACTTJBES IN SPAIH have M revived" us a little ; and the journals of both factioms are claiming for their respective parties , the credit of having caused that " revival . " The Tory Standard says that Peel has " restored

      prosperity f the Whig Chronicle says that Tesl has caused " our merchants to give tlieir goods away" !! The Standard says that "in two short years , Peel has wrought a glorious and happy improvement : " the Chronicle makes answer , that " Pkkl has , first of all , sacrificed the Farmer , to enable the opulent classes to pay the income-tax : and since then he ? ias sacrificed the Alerchant and Manufacturer to ketp up the shadow of Foriegn trade" !

      All parties are however agreed , that we have a *• better trade" ; i . e . we have more of it just now than we had . The cotton manufacturers are busy ; the demand for woollens h mnch more " active "; the worsted and stuff trade is " great : " in fact , in all departments of our clothing manufacture more is doing : but at what cost ! What i 3 the price we have to pay for our ** prosperity" ? How has it been brought about ! BY A SACRIFICE OF ONE-TWELFTH OF OUR PRICES ! By giving the foreigner and the tax-eater all the advantage of the PsEL-forced reduction in cost of living . "

      Is » this doubted ? Read what follows from ihe Chronicle of Tuesday . It is worthy of great alten . tion . It is another proof of the improved tone of feeling" which the Chronicle of Monday glorifies so rollickingly . It proves that neto modes of thought are manifesting themselves amongst the Fhkk Traders , as well as amongst the Chartists . It shews that there is even in the Chronicle a " disposition to listen to economical tbtjths "—a desire " to eompre ' hend principles" ; and we must congratulate the Chronicle most heartily on its conversion to , and enunciation of , the doctrine so long exclusively eonfined to the pages of the Northern Star , and so hag derided and opposed by even the Chronicle

      himself . O ! yes , there is a change in the tone of the publio mind : and the following extract from the Chronicle is one great proof of it . Let the reader of the Star look over it well ; and let him call to mind the scores of times that similar facts have been adduced by us , as reasons why we should not adopt the theories of free trade ; because they were calcalated "TO BENEFIT NOBODY , except a few foreigners ; and except annuitants and office '

      holders at home , ths pubchasiko rowss . or whoss ixcohes thst would increase" ! Glad we are to have the reluctant testimony of the Chronicle to the truth of oar reasoning , and the force of our objections . That testimony is all the more valuable , because the Chronicle shows that it is founded on , and borne-ont , by the operation of the Free Trade Tariff . Such an admission from such a quarter we certainly did cot expect . Here it iB , however : let the reader treasure it up well . : —

      " In the finance accounts of the year ending January 5 , 1843 , the value of the produce and manufacture * of the United Kingdtm exported , calculated at the official rates of valuation , traa is the year ending the 5 th of JaEuary , 1841 , . £ 102 . 705 , 372 j 1842 , £ 102 . 180 , 517 ; and 1843 , £ 100 , 260 , 101 . Every person knows that these official rates ef valuation do not correspond either to the declared or the real value of the commodities exported . They signify only quantities ; and we learn , therefore , from these return * , that the quantities of exports in 1840 exceeded those of 1841 , and those of 1841 exceeded those of 1842 . Tbe ttlling-offin the year 1842 . as compared to the bad year of 1841 , was £ 1 , 920 , 416 . That diminution in tbe quantities of our exports in the year thst the tariff came into operation , is another proof of its disastrous effects .

      " The same returns supply us with the declared valne of these exports , which were , in the year ending January 5 , 1841 , £ 51 , 406 , 430 ; 1842 , £ 51 , 634 , 623 ; 184 S , £ 47 , 381 . 023 . Tbe increased value of the exports in the year 1841 corresponded to the increased quantity-Last year , however , the quantities of tbe exports were reduced £ 1 , 920 , 416 , say one-fiftieth ; but the value , -which is of much more consequence , was reduced £ 4 253 600 , or one-twelftb . To enable our tnxaivfadiartn and merchants to erpcrt and sell even that

      diminished quantity , tbbt webs obliged to submit TO A SACK 1 FJCE OF £ 4 253 600 . OR DNJB TWELFTH OF THE WHOLE "f ALBE OF THE EXPORTS . Sir Robert Peel boasted a little , in Jnly , of our reviving trade , which it now appears Ac has forced to the injury of our traders , by degrading prices . By his scheme , he first of all , sacrificed ~ the fanner to enable the opulent classes to pay the Iscome-tax ; and since then he h&s sacrificed the merchant and manufacturer to keep np , under his restrictive system , the shadow of a foreign trade .

      " It is well known that tbe price which our manufacturers can obtain abroad for their commodities determines , in a great measure , the price for which they can be sold in the borne market . By not allowing a free importation of those foreign commodities for which ours can be exchanged , a comparative glut of the latter was produced in tbe foreign market Onr merchants were compelled , to a certain extent , to give them away , The result , therefore , of Sir Robert Peel ' s legislation to degrade prices was , first to injure his agricultural friends , and next to injure the merchants and manufacturers . He has htnefiiled nobody , except a few FOB . EIGNEBS , iMMBDtATEl / l , not ultimately ; and exfept ANNUITANTS AND OFFICE-HOLDEES AT HOME , ihe PURCHASING POWER OF WHOSE INCOMES , including those of the First Lord of the Treasury , HE HAS INCREASED .

      It is a very strange fact , but it is most certainly true , that we had procured the Ansnal Finance Accounts , / or the express purpose of laying the facts contained in the above extract before ihe readers o / the Star , and grounding on those facts precisely just such conclusions as the Chronicle has bo convincingly arrived at j At the present moment thoBe Accounts lay open before us ; and we can truly say that the " facts in figues" quoted by the Chronicle are correctly extracted .

      But what a blow to Free Trade" those facts give ! What a stunner J They show , most con elufflvely , that its effects can only be , ** to sacrifice the Farmers first ; " and then the Merchant and Manufacturer * to keep up the shadow of a Foreign frade . "! 1 That IT CAN BENEFIT NOBODY , except a few forei gners ; and annuitants and officeholders , THE PDBCHAS 1 HG FOWEB OF WH 03 B IKCOKES IT WILX INCREASE . " Thank you , Chronicle . Pretty fair for a beginning ! Excellent , for a first manifestation of ° an improved feeling . " Go on , good Chronicle . Pnrene the path you have thus entered upon . Evince more of this " disposition to listen to economical Hurras , " and you will so on be able « to comprehend principles "; and -when you do compmhkkd - the

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      principles yon have now ( perhaps by chance ) enunciated , yo * will find tbat they lead to anything but the establishment of the theories of Free Trade ! The facts adduced by the Chronicle fully show what has been the price at whioh we have purchased our present trading ' prosperity . " Those facts also show that we have not mnch to boast of ; that we had better sing-small : or we may chance to have to sing , in a very short time , a far different tune . Our " prosperity" has not any o ! the elements of endurability in it . It Is bnt a gleam . The clouds are not all chased away , A Bhort time may see the sun of " prosperity" completely shrouded from view : completely hidden behind the black darkness of utter despair .

      With the light afforded by the Free-Trade Chronicle in the foregoing extract , read the following twaddle from Mother Goose : — 11 Food is now cheap , and trade is brisk ,. These two facts Btand in the relation to each other of cause and effect . Trade is brisk because food is cheap . The great body of consumers , having less to spend on food , have more to spend on clothing and ether necessaries . Hence the makers of cloth , and cotton and linen fabrics , are now comparatively busy . Here , then , is a knock on the head to those foolish reasoners who say that if the Com Laws were abolished and food were made cheap , tiade will immediately fall off ; " the fact being directly the xeverae .

      • ' Another fact is worthy of notice . THE tendency of "Wages is mow io xise . At Bradford and Halifax , such is the demand for labour , that a considerable advance of wages has , in many cases , been made . The same is observed in Scotland , in several towns where trade is brisk . Now , be it observed , at the very time when this increase of employment , and rise of wages , have taken place , food has been falling in prite . Here , then , is another knock on the head to those foolish reasoners , who say that if the Corn Laws were taken off , and tbe prices of food lowered , wages would fall ;—the fact being , as in the former case , exactly the reverse . "

      Here Mother Goose is strongly at war with its " leading organ , " the Chronicle . Both are Free-Traders : and both assign different and distinct causes for the " briskness of trade . ' * " Trade is brisk , because food ib cheap" says Goosey , " Trade ig brisk , because Peel has forced our merchants to give their goods away , " says the Chronicle . Whioh is right ! We vote for the Chronicle . He shows the most " improved feeling . "

      " The great body of consumers having less to spend on food , have more to spend on clothing . " So says Goosey . What a falsehood 1 Is it not well known that the reductions in wages during tbe last two years , are more than equivalent to the reduction in prices of food ? How then is it possible that the great body of consumers can have more to spend" on anything ? Have the colliers more , who are now receiving only , in many places , eightsen-pencb a day ! Have the spinners of Lancashire more t Have the weavers of Lancashire morel Have the silk-weavers more ? Have the

      frame-work knitters more ! Have the linen-weavers of Barnsley more ? Have the men employed in the Iron-works more ? Have the copper-makers more t Have the woollen-workers of Yorkshire morel Have the men employed in the neighbourhood of Heckmondwike more 7 Have the power-loom tenters of the Huddersneld Stahket ' s m $ re 1 Have the fancy-weavers , of the fancy district , morel And above all , and before all , have the printers in Mb . COBDEN'S employ at Chorlet MORE ! Answer , Mother Goose ! And in doing so , mind and not give yourself another "knock on the head , " as a "foolish reasoaer . "

      "The tendency of wages is to bisb . " We are very glad to hear it 4 Good news it will be to those who are now just wagelesa ! We fancy however they would much rather feel the " rise , " than hear fit it . Have the wages of the cotton spinners , a tendency to rue ! Or the wages of the cotton weavers ; or the copper makers ; or the furnace-men ; or the silk-weavers ; or the linen-weavers ; or the fancy-weavers ; or the woollen-workers ! If they have a tendency to rise , we fear it is to rise downwards ! ! What say Mr . Cobdbn ' i printers !

      " At Bradford and Halifax , such is the demand for labour , that a considerable advance of wages has in many cases been made . " Very [ considerable < truly 1 Something indeed to boast of 1 A few workers , in one department , that of wool-combing , in the towns of Bradford and Halifax , have just effected a very slender advance" in their wages , for a time ; and this proves that the " tendenoy of wages is to rise . " Poor Goosey .

      There is before us at this moment a table exhibit-Ing the prices paid for the combing of all sorts of wool , previous to the rise , and the amount ef the advance on each sort . It was furnished us by the men themselves . It is accompanied by the following statement , which will shew the *? More" that the wool-combers have gotten , even with the * ' rise " : — " To show the actual condition of tbe Woolcombers , even after the advance in wages has been effected , we will show you what amount of labour be has to perform , and what bia weekly earnings , with incessant toil , will only amount to . We will suppose , therefore , that the

      Woolcom \« r gets from the warehouse 64 lbs . of wool , marked , Bay , long M . This has to be washed ; then combed ; a second tima washed , and combed over again . He will then have about 48 lbs . of wool to be paid f « r ; the remainder being waste to tbe Woolcombet . These proefsses will take him sixteen hours a day for ihe week through . The result "will be . that for all THIS LABOUR HE IS REMUNERATED WITH TEN SHILLINGS , EVEN AT THE ADYANCED PRICEI It naed not be wondered at , if we think tbat tbe masters yielded to our wishes more through tbe dread tf despair than any sympathy with the condition of their slaves "

      Rare tendency to rise" I Plenty of M more" Ten shillings a-week , for sixteen hours' labour each day 1 What an amount to spend on " cheap food . ' What ever did the woolcombers get , when food was dear ! Can poor Goosey say ! We will wait to see . The Times , i . e . the Old Times , has also had its " song of triumph" en " odr Prosperity . " That journal of Tuesday last is full of boast of the great " improvement" in all branches of trade . We would ask the vaunters of what avail is this , or any other , improvement to that portion of the working classes who toil from day break to mid-night to make profit for their taskmasters , without the means of absraoting from their [ wages a single farthing to add

      to that Btore which , after a long life of toil , should he ample as a retiring salary for the overworked operative 1 Where is the fund put of which compensation for loss of limb is to be awarded to the sufferer 1 or out of which the widows and the orphans are to be compensated for the loss of their supporter ' s life ! Does not the bastile haunt them as the only refuge for premature old age ! Is not the combination of the masters , under the double influence of capitalists and administrators of the law , so complete , as to enable them to reduce wages to the merest' existence f Where , then , we would ask , is the slave ' s share of our great " commercial triumph "? /

      Amid this boast of general " improvement , " have the poor rates been diminished f or can they be diminished ! Are the long lines of our best meohanics , now turned into street-sweepers and Btonecrackers , by aught reduced ! Not a bit of it . The great advantages of " improvement" are confined to the owners of tbe nonoonsuming producing power ; to the foreign jobbers , who traffio with them ; and to the tax-eater . If this great" improvement in trade " is not generally beneficial to all , of what avail is it to the working I classes ! Do the proceeds circulate equitably through all classes of society ! Have the community of shopkeepers joined in the "O , be joyful" of the manafacturers ! Or , will the quarter ' s revenue , the test of consumption , evince a corresponding improvement ? We shall see .

      But if we even admit that the Times ' s picture was true , a perfeot portrait of the " improved" condition of the whole nation , how long will it be before it is daubed over by the brash of the foreign artist i And then , from what source are our useless , because unemployed , operatives , artizana , and mechanics to be supported ! This , after all , is the great—the greatest consideration—the question of questions . The working men have had their u haloyon days '' before ; and the long and dreary night of " adversity ' ' has followed their short day of " prosperity . " In the days of sudden transition , they were satisfied to

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      rise and fall with the times . They neither saw or thought of the causes which subjected them to periodical changes . They have discovered , however , that certainty was caprioious , and bnt of short duration ; while Uncertainty was sure to follow , and was ot long existence . So much for the mere commercial branch of the subject : let us now direct our attention to the agricultural portion . This great " improvement" is in the main attributed to a succession of two good harvests . We would ask , then , ought not the farmers , in such oase , to be the loudest in

      exultation !¦¦; Has the eystem become so complicated and entangled as to deprive the grower of all participation in "improvement , " while his industry and capital furnish increased means for the manufacturing speculators to gamble upon in the manufacturing market ! Does Irtland , a wholly agricultural country , participate in this general" improvement . " Have the operations of Bubkcca , solel y based upon agricultural distress , been relaxed in consequence of this succession of two good harvests ! Has Mr . Cobden erased one foul epithet from his agricultural vocabulary in consequence thereof ? Have the

      complaints of the English and Scotch farmers been in any wise diminished ! Have the landlords evinced their satisfaction at this "improved" state of things ! Has the agricultural hostility to the Prime Minister , who has brought them about , been silenced , or in any degree lessened 1 No : and for this simple reason ; because the system of which he is the head and front is a system of centralization , by which the few owners of non-coaauming producing power are enabled to appropriate to their own " sole use behoof and benefit , " all the resources which

      legitimately belong to all the people ; £ &nd even he , the Misister , will find himself , in the midst of this " prosperous" system , like " the Btarving man in a cook shop . " The money is there : we admit it : but it i s not there f or his benefit , or to his account . Ten per cent additional assessed taxes will not contribute much to his Exohequer ; because each House has not its fair share of the nation's wealth ; and we muoh * doubt [ that his Exohequer will receive any increase of Income Tax , consequent upon the boasted " improvement of trade . "

      We have no desire to deny that more cotton is imported , that more goods are manufactured , and that the manufacturing world is just now " active ;" on the contrary , we rejoioe at it ; and for this especial reason : the co-existing poverty of the PEOPLE WILL BE THE PRACTICAL ANSWER TO THE Free ¦ > Trade Malthusians . A " succession of two good harvests , " with a " brisk trade , " and " reduced provisions , " will convince the working classes that such a multiplication of advantages having

      failed : to confer any , the slightest , benefit upon their order , they must henceforth look , not to the chances of capital for employment ; not to the manufacture of foreign cotton as the field for the exercise of industry ; and not to the power-loom as the only implement of labour . They will look to their arms as their capital—to the Land as their labour-field—to the spade as their working implement—and to their Charter as the means of insuring CERTAINTY , and of conferring the permanent advantage upon themselves .

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      THE LEEDS MERCURY AND HIS " BUBBLE . " Of all th « turning , twisting , slippery , ell-like opponents that any one ever engaged with , sorely the Leeds Mercury is the most tortuous and the most disingenuous ! He is indeed " canning offence " : a regular trickster in debate . In the Ntrthem Star of August 26 th , 1843 , we had an article on the Land question , founded on a statement of the doings of Mr . Linton , of Selby ^ for the present year , 1843 . In the course of that article , we noticed a controversy that Mr .

      O'Connor had formerly had with the Leeds Mercury » and again adduced Mr . O'Connor ' s triumphant answer to the sneer with which his inferences from actual fact had been met by the " profound political economist" of the Mercury : that answer containing , from the Leeds Mercury itself , statements of doings on the Land , which left Mr . Linton ' s far in the shade . We made a little merry on the occasion ; sod concluded by stating that in another article we should prove , from Mr . Baines himself ,

      that " the Land , the Soil , was our last and only resource , " as a remedial measure for the many evils inflicted upon us by the labour-displaying operations of machinery : that Mr . Baines had himself , long ago , seen that" there was no help , no employ ^ BUT IN THE SOIL . " In the Mercury of the succeeding week , i . e . the 2 nd of September , this artiole of our ' s drew forth from the " profound political economist , " a leader , whioh opened thus : —

      "The Land Bubble . —In tbe Northern Star of last Saturday , we find four columns of words , with about the same number of ideas , to prove that farmers of four acres of land may , by the skilful management of their farms , realise a profit of £ 300 a-year , after paying their rents , taxes , and wages !! t " Oa the latter portion of his assertion we joined iBsue with him . We denied that we had attempted to prove any Buch thing as that " a profit of £ 300 could be made from four acres , after paying rents , TAXfcs , and WAGES . " We stated that it was not possible for him to have drawn such a statement

      from our •* words ; " that it was a purely false and groundless assumption ; an assumption made too , under such circumstances as precluded its being attributed to mistake or accident : for in no less than four places in the course of the article he pretended to be replying to , we had distinctly set forth that the £ 300 was the " return FOR LABOUR , after rent taxes , seed , and wear and tear of implements had been , paid for ; " that in fact , the £ 300 was THE wages : not" CLEAR PROFIT" after wages had

      been paid , as the Mercury in another portion of his 2 nd of September article asserted . We put it to himself , whether he had not bein g practising " gross delusion" upon the publio , in putting forth such a statement as if it was ours ; and then reasoning on that statement , and on that statement only , for the purpose of exposing its " absurdity . " We further desired him to explain how the mis-statement had happened ; to meet the question f airly , allowing us to state our own oase , and not tax his powers of invention to misrepresent .

      Mow it was the article in the Star of August 26 tb , the " wordy" article with only " four ideas" in it , that the Mercury said had attempted " to prove that farmers of four aeres might , by the skilful management of tbeir farms , realize a profit of £ 300 a-year , after payment of rents , taxes and wages . " It waB to that artiole , and to that article alone , that his assertion applied . It was that artiole , and that artiole alone , that we charged him with wilfally misrepresenting : for as we shewed him , the misrepresentation could not be accidental * It was to the statements in- that article tbat we invited him to turn his attention , and combat fairly ; offering , if he would do so , " to tussle the matter with him , "

      The strong case of glaring wilful misrepresentation that we made out , would not allow the Mercury to shy off . He felt himself convicted before the publio of a very dirty triok , unless he could manage to wriggle ont of the mess . Te leave it where it were , would be damning . Some attempt must be made ; and accordingly in last week ' s paper we had it . He took a fortnight to consider on the matter ; , giving a week ' s notice that he would have " something more to say . " And , accordingly , on Saturday last we had it .

      Andjhow does the reader imagine that he met the charge of misrepresentation ! How does he imagine that the Mercury proves the correctness of his assertion , that the Northern Star of the 26 th of August , had attempted to show that a " PROFIT of £ 800 , after payment of rent , taxes , and wages , " could be realized from four apres of land ! How does the reader think that , he ? proved" this ? Why , by quoting from the Northern Star of the 22 nd of April last ! - ' !! Slippery Mercury ! Twisting Mercury / Tricky Mercury !! You asserted that the "four culamns ^ of woids" jnjtbe Northern Star , of August

      Untitled Article

      26 th , attempted to prove certain , statements ; and when you are accused of wilful misrepresentation , you rebut that accusation , by quoting from the Star , of the 22 nd of April !! Clever debater 1 Fair man 1 ! But the whole of the Mercury ' s paibnbss is not yet apparent . It was to oub article that he took exception . It was with our " words " , "idealess " an they were , that he found fault . It was to its that he attributed the attempt to " prove the £ 300 CLEAR PROFIT , after payment of rent , taxbs , and wages " . It was to the Editor of the Yorlhern

      Star that he was addressing himself in his article of the 2 ad of September ; and it was the Editor of the Star that charged him with misrepresentation ; with downright sheer invention , for the shallow purpose of replying to his oum-created " absurdities " , as though they had been ours . It was to us that he had addressed himself ; it was with us that the controversy Jay . And how does the fair man ; the honest man ; the ingenuous man : how does he prove that the statement whioh he had

      attributed to us had been , as he said , made by us ? How does he prove that ? By quoting from a letter written by Mr . O'Conror , and signed with Mr . O'Connor ' s own name , and whioh appeared in the Northern Star more than four months before the artiole of ours , to which he took exception , was even thought of !!! If this be not an honest way of getting out of a | mess , commend us to one that is ! O , the virtues of a shift ! O , the usefulness ' of a trick I O ! the convenience of a stretching conscience ! ;

      And after the fair man has thus acted ; after he has thus tricked ; after he has thus dodged ; after he has done that , which a man with a spark of honour would have despised himself had the bare thought of doing it only \ crossed his brain , after he has just | done this , he modestly Bays : — " We do not know that it is necessary to say another word in answer to the vapouring of the Northern Star ot the 9 ; h instant ^ except that all the terms ' misstatement' , * wilful ; misrepresentation , ' ' disingenuous conduct , ' && , &c ., irecoil , not by assertion , but by demonstration , upon the heads of those who use them . "

      Was ever impudence more impudent than that on this earth ? If there were , pray what was it like The terms are applicable to you , and to you alone , Mr . Mercury . You have net shaken them' off ! You have only fixed them more certainly . With the ingenious calculations the Mercury has based on the quotation from Mr . O'Connor ' s letter of April 22 nd , we shall not , at present , meddle . We have no need to do so . They cannot by possibility have anything to j do with the question in dispute between the Mercury and us . What was written by Mr . O'Connor j on the 22 ad of April cannot by possibility be made to appear as an article of our ' s of the 26 th of August . To that article we pin tho

      Mercury . It was to that he replied ; designating it as " four columns of words with about the same number of ideas . " ] From that we shall not at present budge . We are not going to allow the Mercury to lead us & dance over any period of time he likes . Our dispute is a simple one . To ourselves be must confine it , if he pleases . If he is beaten let him say so . If he is conscious that he cannot longer maintain the controversy , unless he gets some one else to aid him , let him also say so : but till he does so confess , he must pardon us for not permitting him to " run from the question . " To the articles he has attacked he must reply ; and not Beek to justify those attacks by quoting from others .

      Wo feel the less compelled to examine his calculations , so founded , because he himself gives them up as of no moment . He distinctly says : — , " Tbe issue to be decided , however , does not depend upon three or four pounds an acre in wages , but upon the infinitely more important question , -whether any such profits as £ 70 or £ 80 an acre , wages included , can be made yearly by land in general We deny that onetenth part of that sum can be realized in ordinary years

      and by ordinary crops , under any system of cultivation ; and we say tbat if either the rich or the poor should embark their time ) or their money in laid under auy such expectations as those held out by Mr . O'Connor and the Northern Star , they will find themselves grievously deceived , and will be apt to throw np in disgust a pursuit , which , if followed with perseverance and with sober and well-regulated expectations , might conduce essentially to their- happiness and to tbe general prosperity . " j

      Now here , for the first time , we have something tangible . For the first time is tbe question fairly put . For the first time has the Mercury given us a chance of anything to reply to . The Mercury " denies that one-tenth part ' of £ 70 can be realized in ordinary years , by ordinary crops , under any system of cultivation . " But on what does he found his denial 1 Does be adduce facts t or does he disprove those we have adduced ? No . His bare denial { is all that he essays to offer . Whether the world will consider that denial sufficient , when contrasted with the facts of other people , remains to be seen .

      On an former j occasion , on the 26 th of August last , we said that Mr . John Linton , who lives only at Selby , some nineteen miles from Leeds , had conclusively proved that he could grow upon little more than three-fourths of an acre of land , produce which would bring him in £ 57 33 . 4 d . after he had paid a rack rent ; paid taxes ; paid for seed , and for w ^ ar and tear of im plements . This statement we have given the figures fer , under Mr . Linton ' s own hand . Thai Mercury must , therefore , excuse us , if we prefer Mr . John Linton ' s hard fads , the result of actual experience ; to his soft denial . Mr .

      Linton has certainly proved tbat it is possible , with a certain " system of cultivation , " to get more than " one-tenth of £ 70 an acre , wages included . " We might be content to leave this portion of the question just where it is . The pitching of & fact against a mere assertion ; an assertion unaccompanied by reasoning ; is generally thought to be sufficient . But we are not bo content . The Mercury shall have more facts . And when he replies to them , we trust tbat he will attempt to gainsay them by something stronger than mere assertion or denial .

      The fact we shall next adduce , to show that more than " one-tenth of £ 70 can be realized from an acre of land , " is the experience of a farmer not more than two miles from the Mercury Office . door . He pursues a certain " system of cultivation "; and the following is what he has to say on the subject : —

      TO THE EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN STAR . K Sir , —Having been for some time of opinion that the " Land" was the only resource ; tbe only means by which we can employ the labour of our machinerydisplaced population ; I have been much Interested in the various accounts of experiments in farming which you have published from time to time in the " Star . " I have also read with pleasure your account of the " Potato * " war which you have been carrying on with the Leeds Mercury . I have seen his last article in the Mercury ot Sept . 23 rd , in which be " settles' tbe ques tion in the old-fashioned " can't-be-done" mode ; by saying " we deny ! that one-tenth part of £ 70 or £ 80 ,

      wages included , can be made yearly , in ordinary years by ordinary cropa . " And does Mr . Baines really think that this assertion of bis will be taken as argument against the facts detailed by Mr . LlNTON ? If so ,-1 send you a few more such for him to " settle" in the same way : being convinced that tbe causes trhich have produced bare backs and empty bellies with gorged warehouses ; which have produced such an enormous amount of labour unemployed , while the Land is comparatively a barren wast * for the want of that labour , will very soon be apparent to all , if the question is to have many more such " settlers" aa the Mercury has attempted to give it

      First , then , for ; "Potatoes , " as they seem to be a standing dish . On Monday last I was so curious as to try how many potatoes I bad upon two drills , two feet apart , and ninety [ yards long : and . though I bate net yet got them to grow " 160 pounds per score yards , " I have not the least doubt but that I shall improve , after reading the instructions for outting , manuring , sprouting , planting , && , contained in the article you copied from the IMereury . That article was a gem , wbioh would have been lost to the world had you not

      dragged it to light : and I mart thank the Mercury and you tor the real benefit I have received from the reading of it From two drills ninety yards long I weighed sixty-nino atones of potatoes : which will be about 1071 bs . to the drill twenty yards long : or 1601 bs . to twenty square yards . This gives to the aore 2 , 7 8 . ^ stone . My crop of potatoes will be followed by a cr < m of rape , te be cut about March and April next . 'Vhe ground will then be sowed with 8 weed turnips . The following I calculate as tbe produce of the two . yeara course : — i

      Untitled Article

      IRELAND

      Untitled Article

      A THE NORTHERN ST A R . ¦ j _ L __

      Portrait Of

      PORTRAIT OF

      The Northern Star Saturday, September 30, 1843.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 30 , 1843 .

      Untitled Article

      £ a d 1 acte of pov * toe » t 2783 atones , at 4 d ......... 43 t & Part tops of t ' o- 60 days eating for ene cow 3 0 0 1 acre ot tape . after the potatoes ; first cutting , in tbe beginning of March next , will feed JO cows 32 days ...,..,.. 32 0 0 Second cutting at th e end of April , will feed 20 cows 16 days • 15 0 0 laore of Sweed tnm . ip >» after the rape ; topsoftbeHweeda , food for 20 cowa , 7 days 7 0 0 S 32 drilla , 2 feet apart , 220 yards long ; tbe turnips 15 incbea apart in the drill , will give 16 , 824 turnips averaging 5 pounds each , or about 38 tons olhnYba : these , with 1216 stones of straw , will keep 20 cows 61 days ..... 61 0 0

      £ 191 7 8 Deduct for 1216 stones of straw * , at 3 d . per atone ^ ......... Iff 4 I

      And you bave produce of 1 acre in two years ... £ U 6 3 g Four acres at the same rate ......... £ 584 15 $ Giving as the worth of produce for four acres , for one year .... £ 292 7 4 The potatoes I have calculated at less than I ana Belling at I now sell at sevenpence per score , of twenty-one pounds : I have calculated them at sixpence . The rape I have calculated at less than what the beet writers on agriculture give aa the average produce and worth . Th « produce of the turnips is from my own data . What I have easily done , I expect to be able to do again .

      I calculate the worth of food for a cow at one shilling per day . Mr produce , actual and estimated , I have measured by that standard ; and the foregoing is the result Had I only calculated the produce when converted into milk , and sold in Leeds , as I sell mine , at 2 * d . a quart , the result would have made the Mercury stare . But I am free to confess tbat if I pursued " any system of cultivation , " I could not thus realize ; but pursuing tbe method of acting generously to the land , both with laboar and manure , the land acts profusely towards ine . The following extract from Mr . Blacker ' s work on Small Farms , will shew that I have not over-estimated my coming crop of rape . He says : —

      " The immense produce of rape , when we ll manured , is beyond anything that can be imagined . If let stand until it gets into blossom , it grows to the height of six feet . I am almost afraid to say that I believe that with the addition of some straw , an acre will keep thirty head of cattle in full milk for a montb . ' I am therefore much nnder the mark ; for I have calculated for two cuttings ; and Mr . Biaeker says one will do nearly aa much aa I have set down for both ; My turnip crop is only an average one . Fifty-fire torn have been grown to the acre . Trusting that yon will follow up the Mercury well , I am , yours , respectfully , A . Leeds , September 27 th , 1843 .

      Now , this is from an occupier of land just under the nose of the Mercury , He " holds " under the present M . P . for Leeds ; and we have not yet heard that he has been " liberal" enough to avail himself of the " frae" hint of the Mercury to raise his rent ! We believe he is content with the rent he gets . Let us not be misunderstood , however . We mean not to contend that it is possible to cultivate every acre of land to such a result as that of either Mr . Linton or oar correspondent A . We never intended

      to do any such thing . In all that we bave said , in all that we have done , we have merely tried to show the great value of labour , when scientifically applied to the land ; and to show this , we have produced facts as to what has been done : but we well know that the result must always differ , according to local circumstances . Under all circumstances , however , we certainly do contend that it is possible , on any land , if it be land at all , to realize yearly much more than " one-t « nth of £ 70 , wages included , " by a proper and scientific " system of cultivation . " The Mercury further says : —

      " We are glad to see the Chartists turning their attention to the cultivation ef the land ; it will give them an increased interest in the tranquillity and good order of society , and make them anxious to preserve whatever is valuable in * the Government and Institutions of the eountry . We bear that a plan was promulgated at their late Conference in Birmingham , for the purchase of 1 , 000 acres of land by this body ; on which our principal fear is , that it will never be realised . *'

      It is something to have the Mercury * s good wishes . He is " glad the Chartists are turning their attention to tbe land . " He was not very " glad " when he sneered at them , for doing so ; or , if he was , a sneer was a rather curious mode of expressing " gladness . " Has not his " gladness" sprung oat ef the position in which we have placed him , in relation to this Land question ! We have shown that in " turning attention to the Land , " the Chartists

      have but followed the advice given them , years ago , by Mr . Baines , in the report from his pen which we lately inserted in the Northern Star : and ire opine tbat it is the appearance of that document j that truth-telling document ; that has changed the tone of the Mercury ; and not "the plan promulgated at the late Conference at Birmingham . " Changed , at all events * that tone is . Now , he no longer sneers , but expresses gladness . "

      He fears that " the plan for the purchase of 1 , 000 acres of land will never be realised . " Let him render aid then . If he really entertains this fear , he may do something to qaiet it . He has "shares " we know , in some concerns , not as likely to realise " one-tenth of £ 70 a-year , " as an acre of land wellcultivated is : let him " invest" with the ChartiBta , and he will have done his part towards getting that which he now fears never will be realised . We

      have a right to expect , if there beanyfoar / in this expression of "fear" and " gladness" that every exertion will be used by the Mercury to " give the Chartists an increased interest in the tranquillity and good order of society . " It is all the Chartists desire . Give them this , and they will be content : "anxious to preserve whatever is valuable in tho Government and institutions of the country . "

      DEVELOPEMENT OF THE NEW "HOLY ALLIANCE . " PRANCE , SPAIN , AND

      WHO IS THE PROPHET T It was really very presumptuous in us , nob only to have made a prophecy but to have inenmbered its fulfillment with so many details , and neverthel ess we receive daily proof that we were correct not only in our prediction , but in the very means by which it is to be fulfilled . The English press allowed our bait to float for sixteen days upon the surface , until dire necessity compelled the fish to nibble ; and since then we have had a succession of greedy bites , not only from our English contemporaries but from our brethren upon the Continent . La Presse , a French journal , very hostile to

      England now anticipates the enlistment of a large French force for the advancement of English policy to the great cost of France , while the Debats * a journal devoted to the service of any ministry that Louis Phillppe may honour with his countenances deals in an unusually lengthy declaration against Daniel O'Connell , and the Irish Repealers . Add to these facts the one that Olozaga , the coadjutor of the bloody Narta */ 3 e , has left Madrid upon a secret embassy to Qa'jen Chbisxina and the King of the French . As wj have no wish to mistake the opinions of Fre ' jreh writers we will here set forth those port ions upon which , we mean to

      comment : — La Pretse say 43—" The resigna tion of our ambassador , whoever may nplace him , wifl , restore to England tbe ground she hu lost , andmaket m lose all the advantage we had gained still fortunate , tf-we arejiot asked to interfere to ^ crease our deficits , to interrupt our great works , and to lend the support , otour arms to advance British poliey under the plans ! ' * i e pretext of the necessity there exists of patting an end to the convulsions of that anibrtunato country . ' •» Fror a the above we learn that the writer anticipates a deficit in the French Exohequer occasioned by the application of French funds for the payment of ^ reign troops to aid Englend in her foreign

      PUicy . Now let us see what we wrote upon the 7 tb of September and published upon the 9 th , under tho head " Work of the Session . " " We and oor contemporaries have reviewed th « Ministerial work ot the paafc Session , according to on * several political peculiarities , but more with ref . r * nce to the disappointment created at home , than with reference to ita effect abroad . If the Tory Ministry D »

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 30, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct821/page/4/