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Northern Star (1837-1852), 30th July 1842, Edition 5 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, JULY 30,1842.
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      Untitled Article

      £ ^ A . T ^ HARTia BEMOlfSTRATION IN Hp ^ DFg p ? F . O'CX ) NNOK , ESQ . Mokday , July 25 . ^ oth ^ can ex ceed ; the enthusiasm of those meet-Bigs t T | e jieatfrineir of the factions has been asgam rtog btit by 40 * 000 tongues , and new life aid : fipml £ infdwd into the giant of popular will . Mr . Oxitfefflr , arrived in Nottingham by the Derbj brain-at ten o ' clock , and almost immediately drove in * n open carriage into the Market-place , to join the procession to the Calverton tea-party . The Market-place of Nottingham , one of the most beautiful Mid spa # ious B ? narea in the kingdom , presented one immense ma 83 of human beings , over "whose heads floated a goodly number of beautiful flags and banners , garlands , and Siar portraits , got tip for the occasion , with admirable taste .

      A fine military band was in attendance , and upwards of fifty carriages , loaded with respectable Well-dressed persons , each decorated with garlands , devices , mottos , &c , drew up in order of procession ; amongst them we remarked the follow ing : — The Shoemaker , with the splendid banner of their ' Union , led the Tan , flanked with the beautiful green silk flag of the Bice-place National Charter Association . The motto upon the Arnold flag ( also green ) was—Injured Justice demands the release of Frost , Williams , and Jones . A green Cap of Liberty , bordered with gold . - Carriogton flag , motto—In honour of Feargus O'Connor .

      The carriage containing Mr . O'Connor , Messrs . Clark , of Stockport , Yicars , of Bel per , Sweet and Langmire , of Nottingham , E . P . Mead , - o £ Birmingham , -was preceded bj the band , and decorated by portraits 01 FrOBt , O'Connor , Emmett , & « ., with garlands . In another ear was a profile medallion of O'Connor , . surrounded wiii a garland , and crowned ' with laHrels , motto—Now let merit be crowned—the banner ' s , unfurl'd , The signal of triumph all over the world . ' -..- ¦ . And numerous others .

      ¦ Mr . O'Cokhob addressed the . assembled thonsands for a Tery considerable time , and the procession moved on in beautiful order up Cumberland-street , and along the Mansfield-road , accompanied by nearly the whole population , of the town j as far as Arnold , four mile 3 ' of 7 £ be ' Tonte , the spectacle was ft sublime oqSj when t&j Carrington , Basford , Arnold , fineknal , and BaUwall Associations feU . into the line of march ; the " day was splendid , and the scenery of the whele line of march was beautiful indeed ] About & mile from Calverton , their Association , headed by the Satton brass band , met ns , leading the procession , with several beantiinl flags , banners , garlands of fresh and living flowers ; and

      the scene on entering this peaceful Tillage was most striking ! We drew up in an open , space at file extreme end of the Tillage dose by the church , and being introduced by Mr . Yicars , Mr . O'Connor , bare-beaded , beneath a blazing sun , again addressed the multitude . Then the people gv ? e three cheers for Frost , Williams , and Jones ; three for O'Connor , and three for ihe Charter , when we at once prooeeded to the festive scene . A tent , forty yards by ten , erected in ft beautiful pasture bounded by splendid weod , a marquee , and various stalls , exhibited a coup d * eel inconceivably grand . ~ Nearly a thousand of the sons and daughters of toil partook of excellent tea , plum and plain cake , bread . and

      putter , to , to their hearts' content . Too much praise cannot be given to our worthy old friend , Mr . George Harrison , member of the late Convention , and his honest dame , for their indefatigable attention to the accommodation of the Chartist friends . At one time we suppose there could not be less than 5 , 000 persons attending this moral fete , in honour of O'Connor and the Charier ; all sorts of innocent amusements—kiss in the ring , country dances , and fun , ad infinitum : amongst the ress we observed a Nigger , a real Nigger , accompanied by two fiddlers , dancing Jim along Jcsey m leal Nigger style . At seven a waggon was drawn into the close or meadow , which terminates in a rising height , where the people stood in

      amphiiheairical order to hear Mr . O'Connor ' s address , of whieh we cannot give evea a- mere outline . He spoke zieariy tvro hours , - and when completely tired out lie retired amid the reiterated shouts of the gratified and immense multitude . We calculate a vast amount of good has been done . The lads . 3 nd lasses kept up the amusements of singing , recitation , &c , Mr . Mead took the chair for the evening , Mr . Vicars , of Belper , and our young frolic-loving friend Paddy Clark , from Stockport , addressed the company in the course of the night , and the bonny moon was " glanting her horns i ' th the lift sa high , " and the ruddy hue of Aurora enamelled the horzon , ere the happy assembly separated io snatch a brief repose , to enable them to bear the exertion of to * momow , at Sntton-in-Ashfield .

      One cireamstance we must not omit , In order that it may act as a caution to onr poor friends , especially to our lecturers . There is evidently a Tigilant espionage kept up by Government . A party of our Newark Mends have feretted outanindividual of this genus , who followed them to Calverton . He lias frequented ¦ their room and introduced himself to several of our Iscvhsis , tryi&g to gift , ont what are onr ulterior measures , and talks very big about our Charter cot going far enongh . In this way he trie-i to entrap Duffy and Mead , but was not wily enough to disguise his cloven hoof . He is a slender , thin , liigaly respectable looking individual , with a dark

      snrtout and fancy trouser 3 , carries a silver-mounted rattan , and has the appearance of a military officer . He has no ostensible means of living , and nobody has any knowledge of him or his business in Newark . He followed the Newark party to Calverton , was pointed out and interrogated , but denied ever having been in the Chartist room , till Mead identified him . Trnly our friends ought to be cautious . The silent system would be certain death to some of them . ^ Tuesday morning , we started from Calverfcon , at June , Mr . O Connor , Harmon , Mrs . Harrison , Vicars of Belper , Ckrkof Siockport , in the carriage , and Commodore Mead on the bos .

      As a report of the speeches would be useless , a description of the scenes of this day ' s eventful history is all we can attempt ; and it is , after ail , bus an attempt—a mere rongh sketch . Within about three mile 3 of Mansfield , stands Byron ' s oak , at the gate . leading to New 3 tead Abbey ; here the aTant-couriers of the day ' s grand spectacle Biet us , like so many running epistles of Chartism , each containing a pithy paragraph printed upon Tarions slips of coloured paper , fluttering in the breez 3 , from the napless hat 3 , tattered caps , and bare j > oles of these juvenile Mercuries of Chartism . — Amongst these pithy sentences we observed the following : — More fat pigs , and fewer parsons . Holberry and Clayton were martyr'd by the Whigs . The jndgment of Heaven is labour for foodbut

      , the judgment of kings , is toil and starvation . Welcome , welcome , brave O'Connor . Frost , Williams , and Jones—never forget them . We will , we will , we will be Free I !! Down with the Corn Law humbug , and up with the Charter- - A tear of sympathy for the martyrs—Clayton and Helberry . There was a black flag also belonging to Sntton , bearing this motto : —"' Thou shalt do no murder , " and on the reverse— " We are men of peace . " Peace , law , and oTder . The Charter , and no mistake . H&il thou Whom the people delight to honour .-Vojrpopuii , For Dei . Equal right * for all—Cheap justice . These and many others fluttered m the breeze .

      The number of these living enistles , read and nnderstood of all men , was surprising ; from six or eight to eighteen or twenty years of age , we suppose more than 400 met us a mile ox Ewo in advance of the procession , and ran along -with the carriage . At length we came up with the vanguard , headed by a Snefiand ; and the black banner used at poor Hoiberry ' s funeral , and numerous flags , of all size ? , colours , devices , and tints , from the toy paper one of rae / iyoung Feargus ' SjOf which sort there were a . tVcUj considerable number , to banners taking up the whole breadth of the road . The entree Sate the town of Mansfield was splendid . 7 . After bearing our innumerable emblems of liberty TOOnd the town , the high priest of Chartism Cas Lord dandVHambleton calls him ) mounted Ihe hustings , « & 4 ^ Hibbard , a working man , being called unafiimoTEhr to tbe chair , Mr . John Hambling read the placard containing lie requisition , when the following resolution was Jaored : —

      u That this meeting do adopt the memorial to the Queen , agreed upoa fey the late National Convention ol tbfi working olaasea . ' - This haying being seconded , Mr . O'Connor , in f t long and stirring address supported it , and concluded amid thunders of applause . The magistrates ware sitting in conclave in the Town-hall . The boiled lobsters stripped off their sheik , were crawling About in all directions , as thick as land crabs in Barbadoes burial groonds—persons who bad been selected by these sapient Uogberries to ttUtft nans of on * speeches upon paper ; bat we

      understood the trap too well to be caught . We are too old sparrows to be eaoght with chaff . -.. Thomas Clark of Stoekporfc , Vickera of Belper , and Harrison ' each addressed the meeting briefly . Three cheers were given for the Charter , three for 0 'Connor , and three for frost . Williams , and Jones , and we separated till four o ' clock , when ihe trumpet again sounded the gathering note , and we Etarted for Satton , three miles of road , with thirty or fbrty thoasand human beings , two military bands , and . hundreds of banners . Belper sent twenty ; Kottinghwn , CalvenoD , Alfreton , Hneknal , Arnold , Chesterfield , Sheffield , Mansfield , Satton , And jwreral other localities lent their ensigns of Chartism fi » r iha occasion , and augmented their immense mm . ¦ - - ¦ - . ¦ - ¦

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      Abont two miles out of Sutton , the Female Chartists , two and two , bearing most elegant gar * lands , and headed by a large black flag , with a white lace border , bearing this touching device : — * A tear of sympathy for the martyred Clayton and Holberry j " Flanked by two elegant garlands of black and white crape most tastefully designed , were met ; the young females bearing them , and also those bearing the other gay and elegant garlands , were dressed in white , with black handkerchiefs and bonnets . At length the moving mass entered the Tillage . O 1 heaTens' what a sight J Doors , windows , and w&IJb presented hundreds of Chartist mottos , Star portraits , flags , garlands , oak-bonghs , and evergreens ,

      and roofs , windows , and walls were crammed with human beings . The shouts , as we passed the . streets , rent the weikin . In our passage down the liigUn , w © passed under several triumphal arches , which were suspended across the street from house to nouse . At length we reached the hustings . Mr . Samuel Fox , being unanimously called to the chair , read the placard and requiskionists' names . The memorial was proposed and adopted . Mr . O'Connor again addressed the assembled thousands amid thunders of applause and *• God-blera-you ' s , " and was followed by Clark , Vicars , and Commodore Mead . We then repaired to the tent—a spacious erection , and enrions , too , as spacious , the sides and ends being composed of house and chamber doors , the covering , of bed quilts and counterpanes ; it was fifty yards long by fifteen wide , and about twenty

      feet high , elegantly adorned with portraits , flowers , evergreens , devices , chandeliers , flags , and banners . The . tea and accompaniments were excellent . — Commodore Mead enng , — * Awa ' , Whigs , awa ';" responded to the sentiment— " The people , the only source of legitimate power ; " and delivered an enthusiastic speech appropriate to the Befitiment . Mr . Hardy , of Arnold , sang , — " The brave Northern Star ; " and the Commodore gaye , as a sentiment , — " The Tories suspended from infamy ' s gibbet , and the devil pelting them with Whigs . " — A soDg by a young man with excellent taste , — " Then here ' s to the maH , the fcraTe true man , who stands in our cause . " The Commodore gave the health of the brave true man , Feargus O'Connor , with three times three , with £ Birmingham broadsides , in regular ship-shape .

      An address was then presented to Mr . O Connor from the brave lads and lasses of Sutton , to which Mr . O'Connor returned thanks in a most eloquent speech ; after whieh a native poet sung a most laughable comio song , with recitation , which elicited rounds of applause . Mr . O'Connor then retired with his friends , and we started for Nottingham in the carriage about eleven o ' clock , and arrived there about two . Thus ended the great and magnificent Demonstration for Nottinghamshire—one of the most splendid and enthusiastic ever witnessed in these parts . We believe this will indeed make Tories tremble , Whigs curse God and die , and the working millions resolve to be free 1

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      TO THB KD 1 TOS OP THB NORTHERN STAB . Dear Sib ., —I have been asked a thousand times about the china model of Hunt'b monument , but could give no answer ; if you would insert the following in tiie Siar of this week , it would satisfy many of your readers , and save me the trouble of writing , and the expense of posting , a large number of letters . Tours faithfully , Wm . G&iffix . 8 j Robert-street , Bank Top , Manchester , July 27 th . ) Bnrslem , July 26 tb , 1842 .

      SIR , —Tou msy perhaps think I have been neglectful in sot writing to you sooner respecting the Hunt ' s Monument ; but the fact is the colliers have turned out , and consequently there has been no coal to be got , which has prevented me from firing ; buJ I have now between upwards of two hundred passed through the first kiln—they have to pass through two more fires , which I shall be able to accomplish in a few days , and then I will send you a specimen , npen the reception of which you will pleasa to Bend me word how they are approved of , together with any other information you may think necessary , 2 remain , Tours very respectfnily . Wm . Beach . Bell Works , Burslem . To Mr . Wm . Griffin , Secretary to the Hunt ' s Monument Committee .

      The Northern Star Saturday, July 30,1842.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JULY 30 , 1842 .

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      SOLUTION 0 ? THE ASTOUNDING ANOMALY , THAT OVER-PRODUCTION OF CLOTHING AND

      FOOD , CA > ' AND DOES EXIST AMONGST A STARVING AND PINING PEOPLE . We live in queer times . Every thing around ns betokens wealth ; and everywhere is the cry of poverty and ruination raised 1 Our means for producing wealth have increased in an almost incalculable degree ; and yet destitution and misery arising fiom the want of the barest necessaries of life increases on every hand 1 One entire elaes , the working class , are enduring the most horrible and hitherto ( in England ) unheard-of privations ; and another class , the shop-keeping class , are fast approaching the same condition !

      We live in queer times . Every thing around ns seems to be anomalous ; but the most astounding and most perplexing anomaly of all , ig Jovbb-FHODECTibs of wealth co-existent with destitution and want amongst its producers and distributor ? !" We are aware that ovbb-pbodcction" is denied We are aware that cuckoo-sayings are bandied about by surface-skimming economists , the moment B ovER-production" is named . We are aware of the question ; " how can there be ocer-production , when

      the people are starving and naked" \ We are aware of the cry : " over production means that the people are too industrious . " We are aware of these stock phrases , and a good many more mouthed forth by the Anti-Corn Law gentry and " Extension of Commerce" advocates : but , m&ngre it all , we mean to show and to make plain to men of common understandings , that ** OTKS ^ aontJcnoN" can exist along with poTerfcy and misery ; nay , that M overproduction'' eatises poverty and want amongst a trading community .

      It would be enough for our purpose ( were wediEposed or forced to rely solely on it ) to point to the i&ct , thai from a certain point , ' as Great Britain has increased Her means of producing wealth , in the same proportion has her people been reduced frwn comparative plenty to . want and destitution . It would be sufficient for ns ( had we nothing else ) to point to this fact : that as production has

      increased from a certain pointy so also has iacre&sdd penury and indigence . It would be sufficient for ns , were we so disposed , to throw this fact into the teeth of the denyers of ** orEE-paoDtrcnoN , ' * and ask them to account for ft on any other hypothesis . But we Bhall not so act . We will show the tehy and the wherefore . We will show the modus operandi . We will make the subject understandably plain and clear .

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      That poverty and indigence ' biye inQreasei with production , is a faoV now admitted on all hands . That increased and increasing want is endured by the two mvn classes of sooiety , the producers and distributors , the workmen and shopkeepers , is attested by even the " Extension of Commerce" men themselves . In fact they are now , even at this moment , pressing most urgently , the fict , that the working people are starving to death ; that they are utterly unable to procure for themselves the commonest

      necessaries of life ; and that the shopkeeping class are reduced to bankruptcy and rjixk . The Extension of Commerce" gentry ; the denyers of " oter production ; " the Anti-Corn Law Conference , are now , at this yery time , pressing , urgently , vehemently , importunately pressing these facts upon the attention of the Minister of England ! There is no dispute , on any hand , as to the existence of dire distress and privation . The Minister himself admits it , and deplores the fact .

      That our means of producing wealth have increased daring the last fifty years in an enormous and astounding degree admits also of no dispute . The introduction of the eteam engine ; the increased application of water power ; the invention and employment of the spinning-jenny , the mule , the willy , the throstle , the power-loom , the Lewis machine , the heckling machine , the combing machine , the flax-spinning machines , and a thousand others , which are well known to all engaged in manufacturing processes ; all these thiDga betoken an increase of veins for producing wealth .

      To understand this subject thoroughly , however , we must particularise . We must endeavour to ascertain what the increase in our means of production really is . We must compare oar means in this respect at the present time with our means some sixty years ago . In 1792 we are stated to have ad a population of 15 , 000 , 000 . By far the greater proportion of that population was occupied in agricultural purguits . Manufaolures were , with them , a secondary

      consideration . They seemed to aot according to the diotates of nature : food first : clothing the next . The inventions of Watt and AaKwuieaT were then sew . Their introduction into use was but slow ; yet they were being introduced . The population , too , possessed at that time other mechanical and scientific power . According to the Statioians of the day , about one-fourth of the population were engaged in manual labour . At that time , however , human labourers were men , - aot women , or children . ¦ ¦ -.. ¦ ¦

      The producing power of England , at the period we speak of , has been oompnted by those most conversant with the subject to haTe been : —

      Manual labour ... ... ... 3 , 750 , 000 Mechanical and scientific power equal to ... ... ... 11 , 250 , 000

      Total ... ... ... 15 , 000 , 000 The population was also 15 , 000 , 000 . Thus the aggregate productive power and the population in 1792 were aboufr equal , or as one to one . The condition of the population then , was that which it has never since been . Indeed they experienced a degree of substantial prosperity , equal , if not snperior to that of the inhabitants of any other part of the world . Pauperism was comparatively unknown . The poor rates amounted only to

      £ 2 , 000 , 000 ; and out of them were paid , as now , the county rates , salaries , and ) avr expences . Now , we are told , the poor rates amount to £ 8 , 000 , 000 !! This can be acconnted for . The manufacturing system had then attained that point which gave the highest value to manual labour , compared with the price of the necessaries and comforts of life , which it was calculated to afford ; and it had not then introduced the demoralizing effects which soon afterwards began to emanate from it .

      Such was the amount of producing power in the year 1792 : and such was the state of the popnklation . Let ns now see how both these matters stand at the present . ' Manual , or rather hnman , labour has been increased . The labour of women and even children has been called into long unceasing daily action . ¦ To such an extent has this beentho case , that Staticiana now estimate that one-third of the population are engaged in hand labour , instead of onefourth as computed in 1792 . '

      But if the producing power of England has been increased by addiog to her « nan > nal labourers the wives and daughters , and the infant boys and girls , of working men , what , O what ! has been the increase in her mechanical and soientifio power ?! In the year 1817 , when the population was estimated to be 18 , 000 , 000 , it was found that there had been a real increase in onr mechanical and scientific power to produce wealth equal to that of much more than two hundred millions of stout , active , well-trained labourers ! an increase equal to more than ten times the then population 1 an increase equal to more than thirty times the manual labour England could then supply for the production of wealth !!

      In 1817 , then , the producing power of England stood thus : — Manual labour , ( one-third of the population , 18 , 000 , 000 ) ... 6 , 000 , 000 Newly-created scipntifio power , from 1792 to 1817 , understated 200 , 000 , 000 Soientifio power in 1792 ... ... 11 , 250 , 000

      Total producing power ... 217 , 250 , 000 !!! Tbe population at this period , as we have before seen , was 18 , 000 , 000 . The proportion which the producing power now bore to the population was as twelve and a fraction to one . In 1792 the proportion was as we have before seen , just equal , — as one to one . Here was an increase ! What ought to have been the result ! The people ; tbe whole people ; workmen as well as masters ; the producers and the

      distributors ; all ought to have been twelve times richer in 1817 than they were in 1792 ! They had increased their means of producing wealth from the proportion of one to one , to more than twelve to one ; they ought to have been twelve times more wealthy ! The workman ought to have had twelve times the amount of wages in 1817 than he had in 1792 . The employer and distributor ought to have had twelve times tbe amount of profit . These things clearly on ^ bt to have flowed from such an increase to our means of producing national wealth .

      We will not stop here to inquire whether this was the , case or not ; whether the condition of both employer and employed was the better , or worse , for this -vast increase in our producing means . We will hot enter upon that inquiry here ; but proceed to ascertain what the amount of our producing power is at the present moment ; ascertain what has been the increase since the year 1817 . The population at present ,. as appears from the last census , is , in round numbers ,. 27 , 000 , 000 . As

      the employment of femaleB and children since 1817 has not decreased , but , on the contrary , greatly increased , we adopt the last estimate , tbat one-third of our population is employed in hand-labour . ( We are now arguing generally j and not withpreference to the present "depressed state of trade" as it is called , and consequent want of employment . ) Those most conversant with the question aVer that we hate now a mechanical and scientific produeive power equal to the labour of more than six hundred millions of " hands" !

      This is no random guess . It ia the result of deep and searching inquiry , and extensive practical knowledge . One of the meanB to ascertain the amount may be here stated . It will givei an idea of the kind of data . on whioh the conclusion just named is founded . ; . Some time ago , three of the principal British manufacturers of cotton yarn in different parts of the kingdom , made separate estimates of the quantity each workman in their respective establishments produced , compared , with ¦ the average production of one person on the plan formerly pursued ; that is , with hand-cards and single

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      sp inning-wheel . They found , on examination , thi > t they agreed in the conclusion that the proportion between the quantity produced by one person with the then machinery and one man on the former plan , was a « one hundred and twenty toorie ! Sab-Sequentimproyement 8 have raised the proportion to that of more than two hundred to one . It is computed that there are above 300 , 000 persons employed in cotton'spiuning in Great Britaia . V It

      would therefore require 60 , 000 , 000 of work-people to produce on tho old method , and unaided by the late mechanical and chemical inventiong and improvements , as much cotton yarn as is now produced by thek 300 , 000 1 Now 60 ^ 000 , 000 is juBt ombtenth of 600 , 000 , 000 , —the estimated present amount of mechanioal and scientific producing power : and yet cotton-spinning ia only ohie branch of one manufacture !

      The present amount of producing power pos Bessed by ua , then , would appear to be : — Manual labour ( one-third of the population , 27 , 000 , 000 ) .:.,....... ; 9 , 000 , 000 Mechanical power .... ; ......... * ...... 600 , 000 , 000

      . '; Total producingpovrer ...... 609 , 000 , 000 ! I ! Showing an increase since 1817 of power equal to the labour of 371 , 756 , 000- . »• hands" 1 ! ^ 1 ^ The proportion which our present producing power bears to the population is more than twentytwo to one ! !! ; ' . -. . •; : ¦; , ¦ . ¦'"'' . ¦ " We haTe before argued on the assumption that one-third of our population is engaged in producing . It follows , from that assumption , that each producer in England at the present moment is enabled , by means of meohanioe , chemistry , and other sciences , to produce as much in any given period of time as would , before 1792 , have taken sixty-seven workmen to produce in the like period ! I Great Britain , therefore , SHOULD BE sixty-seten times more wealthy NOW than she was then !! i ! ¦ ;

      What is the fact ? Let the " Cora-Law Repealersanswer ! Let the *• Corn-Law Cohference '' answer 1 ! Let the statements laid by them before the Minister answer !! 1 Let the Squeaking meetings of tho ehopocracy answer S !!! Let the loud eutories of' ^ starvation ^* ' ? bankruptcy , " RTJtN " answer ! II 11 Let the Queeu ' e Speech and ihe " S YMPATHI 3 INGS" of the Premier answer !!!!! 1 Let the stripped homes , the shirtless backs , the shoeless feet , tho empty bellies of the producers

      answer III I III Let the fact that more than omfourth of the population of the very town in which We write ( itself one of the best in the whole kingdom ) is pauperized i , let that oneTact answer !! ! !! Here is a strange faoi : when our product ! re power was , as compared with our population , only one to one , we found means to exist ; and [ toexist comfortably , too : now that we havei ' a ^^ productive power increased to the proportion ol twenty two to one , we are in th ^ very jaws of dea th from famine }! ' : r ¦ ' . - - : ' )¦ ' ¦ '¦ \ - ' ¦ : ' ¦ - . ' ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦ : ' : ¦ ¦ ¦ .

      L 8 t the reader ponder over this fact well ! Let him weigh and canvass it in all its bearings j Let him study ihe lesson it gives ! it teaches that formerly one sixty-seventh part of England ' s present means of producing wealth afforded her population subsistence and comfort ! It teaches that an increase of ^ hose former moans \ six ly-sevmtimes over lias not added to the meal-tub on the bread-creel of the working man ! It teaches that the comforts he once enjoyed have been snatched from him ! It teaches that the working men of England are not ( from tome means or other ) permitted to enjoy anything like so much as a siXTX-SRYistiTU part of the wealth they produce !!

      Whence this evil ? From " over pboduction " 1 ! is eur answer : and thus we prove it . Every step we have taken in increasing-production , from 1792 to the present moment , has been a step in the downward path of ruin ! This is proved beyond all disputo by the fact , that we were comfortably off , " well-to-dOv' when we started on the journey ; and are not * nuiNjED even long before we have arrived at our jouraey ' a end { This fact completely and unanswerably proves our

      position . All tho reasoning ; all the sophistry ; all the speoiousness ia the world cannot upset that position , nnless it can Alter the- fact . We were ** well ' tO'do ; " wo have increased our productions sixty-seven times over ; ia the exact proportion Sfl we have increased those productions , in exactly the same ratio have we decreased the workman ' s means of comfort and eTen hard living ; and we have ended in a consignment of him to penury , destitution , and death ! while we have brought the shopkeeping class to beggary and euin ! |!

      Now why \ & thisl- ^ - Attend . Wealth is the aggregate of those objeots that supply the wants and contribute to the comforts of man . He who has a regular supply of the objects of necessity and comfort is a wealthy man : he who has not this regular supply is a poor man . It is evident that if each man could produce ftr himself all tho articles of wealth that he needed , he would be a wealthy man ; and no possible injustice could happen in the distribution of his products : for he would ^^ himself consume that which he produced .

      Such a Btate of things , howeTerj is impossible , without giving up the immense advantages attending a division of labour , and a returning back to what is denominated ** the sayage state . " A workman cannot produce with advantage either to himself or the community more than a Tery few different kinds of wealth . These , it is evident , cannot supply all his wants . He can , himself , . duly use hut a small part of the things he has produced : and the rest he must exchange with those of his fellowmen who have , in like manner , produced a surplus of other articles of wealth .

      Hence arises Commercim . Exchange , or Tkad-I ^• Q : and it is the manner in which these necessary exchanges &r& NOW made , that produces want and poverty ! In other words , it is thb present sys > TEM OF COMMEKCIAL EXCHANGE THAT DEPRIVES British laboubers , in some way or other , OF MORE THAN SIXTV-SIXTIBTHS OF THE PRODUCE OP THEIB INDUSTRY ! AND CONSIGNS THEM TO FAMINE BECAUSE THEY HAVE OVERSTOCKED THE MARKET , AND BECOME USELESS AS PRODUCERS !

      Let ust traco the working of the system . Let ns suppose England to be inhabited by one large family , the various members of which are of various occupations : some growers of food ; others builders of houses ; others makers of wearing apparel , and others bakers of bread . Further suppose this family producing for its own consumption . The farmer would have to exchange some of his grain with th 6 maker of clothing : for while the one cannot do without grain , the other cannot do

      without covering . The builder would exchange the products ofAJs labour with both : for while shelter is necessary to all , he too must haTe food ? ind dress . Arid so throughout the whole family . To facilitate thflse exchanges , they would make use of money as a medium of exchange . Haying established a staTidard of value , the one would sell hia surplus produce , and buy the surplus produce of his brother . This is the Commercial System in-ItsI simplest and least injurious form . ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦ , . ' ¦ ¦ ¦ - ' :. ' ' . '; •'' . ' ¦ . V [' -. ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ ¦ ' . ' ¦ ¦ . ¦' ¦

      Further suppose that this family ate just able to supply their aggregate wants j that the farmer grows just enough of food ; the builder makea just enough of shelter ; the wearer and tailor produce just enough of clothing ; the baker is able to bake Just enough of bread ; in short , suppose that the family ' s tnearwo / produoiion are , in proportion to their number , just on * to o « e : is it not apparent that with' such a simple form of necessary exchange ,

      all muBt be comfortable 1 The farmer , as soon as his grain is ready , brings it to market and finds a ready customer . With the money he f cceivea for his produce he goes to the tailor and buys what he needs to clothe himself ; and the money he leaves with the tailor , as the representative ef the wealth given him in exchange , enables the latter to go to the baker to buy bread : and thus each would regularly obtain the means of purchasing the different articles of wealth he daily required .

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      An increa $ e of pioduotiTe power would greatly inorease the ^ aggregate wealth of the family . . Eacfc one would then be able to supply muchmore ^^ than bis portion towards the family wantsi What follows ! Why ^ that the market is OTerstoeked ; Thersupply is greater than ; the demand . The farmer brings his grain to market ^ but finda that eaph one is fluppHed with food j and he cannot Bell . The weaver ptoduoes his cloth ; but every one is already clothed , and no more is required . What : lhen follows ! Why ; that the farmer , though he has grain enough and to sparej , can get nothing else : the baker has bread : ; but : he can obtain no money wherewith to purchase other articles of necessity : the weayer ,

      though he has plenty of cloth , cannot procure food for a single meal ! If we auppose that these persons have ^ saTed ^ a little money , still they will purchase but sparingly , not knowing where they may Obtain more . Diminishing consumption increases each member ' s stock on hand . At last the market is fairly glutted . rAera one fanner , or other producer , lowers his price , that he may undersell the others . Others are forced to follow his example , though conscious that by so doing they are obtaining less and xess for their labour . Even low prices , will not induce the members to buy more grain or more of other produce than their means will permit them to consume : so that such relief is but momentary , arid is ultimately ruinous . '¦ : ¦ . : "¦

      What , then , remains to be done ! To look out fox a market abroad , where the wants of other families are not so Ailly supplied ; and thus dispose of their surplus produce for the money they reqaire , to obtain from their brethren the necessaries of life . But here another diffloulty presents itself . The meaHs of production increase , ^ both at home and abroad . The foreigner requires less and less . The English family must make more and more . To induce a purchase , ; they reduce their . prices below those » f the foreignei ; . , This ; increases the difficulty . To make up for reduced price 3 , longer hours of work are necessary . More must be produced to make up the former sum . Still the markets are full and fuller : and still production is increased

      and increases . The labour of the ^ littte one" is called in to aid the father ; and ultimately the mother is'forced to take her stand by the eide of both : This but adds fuel ' to the fire . At last the foreign market is glutted , as well as the home market ; . The warehouses and granaries are weighed down with Wealth ; and the producers of all are compelled to starve to death because they cannot sell ; because they cannot procure MpNEY to buy the different articles of wealth everywhere abounding !!! because the members of the family have , each one , so much wealth that they cannot find Bieans to exchange products with one another !! because , in fact , they are ' oymrsupPLiED with all the necessaries of life to such a degree t that

      THEY KNOW NOT HOW TO : PREVENT THEIB MEMBERS STARVING FOR WANT OF THEM !!!} ; This would be the state of a family under the present Commercial System , even where every one is a producer ; and where every one has the opportunity of keeping his own products to himself till he can either sell or barter them for other products he needs for bis sustentation and comfort . Apply the supposed case to our actual condition : and consider , if such be the case where everything is in favour ; of

      th « producer , as far as the keeping to himself his own productions is concerned , what must be the condition of those who are obliged to daily sell their physical energies for their daily bread 11 Each one in that state is not ovEn-suppZied : and yet his want arises from OVER ^ pRodcction J The jproduce of his labour is not in his own hands , for sale ; it is , ho we ver , in the hands of others , taaiting for sale ; and it is because it is unsold that his employer does not bay more of his energies : and there he is ! starving , —BEeiiisE he has produced too much !!!

      The Political Economists when they speak of the impossibility of " oveb production" leave one or two essentials out of their calculation , which make all the diffcirence between their conclusion ' and oars 1 They forget , or will not remember , that there is buying ¦ aud selling in connection with Our present Commercial exchanges : and they also forget that buying and selling is necessary in order to other buying and selling . The ^ accumulated produce of labour must be sold , before other labour can be employed or bought . If the market is overstocked , no first buyer can ba found . If the first one is wantingj the second is wanting too ! and thu . " , all is at a dead look . l

      An aneodote told by an old friend , of onrs , whose teachings on this subject will not soon be forgotten by thousands of the working peoplej will truly illustrate our present poBition . He represented two Manchester mea as having met in converse on the "hard times ; " and that Bill had just asked Joe , " when he thought times would mend . " The answer was ? " I konno tell . Theaw knaws ' at warehawsesat' au full i ari * ' at we konno get wark 'till ther ' n emptit , They korino * be emptit ' till we get ' n brass to go boouyt ' stuff . We kouno get brass ' till we get ' n wark ; an' we konno get walk ' till we

      get'n brass . 3 o thaw sees we ' ar au fast togeither !" A perfect picture of England ' s present condition ! and a poser for the deniers of over-production !! And is it always to be thus \ Does it necessarily ifbllow that every increase in the means of producing wealth must lead to this dire result ? Is that whioh must , in itself , be a blessing , always thus to prove a curse !! Must it always be that an increase of wealth must inorease our poverty 1 Is not it possible to prevent over production ^ without at the same time preventing the illimitable increase of Wealth ! -. " ' : ¦ . ' ' ¦ ¦ :: '>¦ ' ' ¦¦ ' ' ¦¦ . - ;

      No J things are not always to be as they are ! It does not necessarily follow that the increased and increasing poverty of the people must be the price of an increase in the means to produce national wealthv It is possible TO PREVENT over . production , and yet allow of the iUinaitable inorease of wealth l Other principles , however , and other practices , to thoie adopted by our present Commercial men must be brought into play . The necessity of having to wait for buyers of labour ' s products before labour itself can be bought , must be superseded ; The benefits and blessings of every improvement in mechanics must ba Becurod to all , Ttien \ produce away ! Then K enjoy yourselves , every one to the top of your bent 1 TAm . no want ; no fear of want ! Then , no " over production '' !

      Imagine , that when the members of the family we formerly supposed , were locked completely fast for want of a market , both at homo and abroad ; when they were ; starving for want of the respective articles of wealth , of which , in the aggregate , they kad more than enough ; imagine , that , when in this state , they had agreed to dispense withbuying and selling ; Skgreed . each one to place his particular sort of wealth in brie common stock , from which all should be supplied as he had need ; and suppose , further , that they had agreed that all the wealth each one afterwards produced shtinld be

      so dealt with : imagine this ; and tell us , could bvER-PRpDUCTiON ^ en exist ! ; Let the " ExteiiHion men" ^ ^ answer 1 Let them crack Yfta ^ nut , and proclaim what sort of a kernel they find ! We have learned how to produce wealth : we havo not yet learned how to distribute the Wealth w « produce . . . v ' . " - . 7 .. "' / : " ¦ ¦ ¦' ' ¦ / ., --- ' ¦ ¦'¦ : '¦' . '' : : ' . ' ¦" : ¦ ¦ ¦ ' '¦ ¦¦ Our position , then , is iJrotJcn . ' ' * Ovbb sboddo tion of wealth" can and does exist amongst a starring and pining people . ** Oveb pboducxion " of wealth is a necessary consequence of the present

      Commercial System . But oveb . production may be Buperseded ; and full play given to the energies and inventive faculties of man , with a full certainty of adding to the comforts and blessings of all 1 The latter : object certainly cannot be obtained by listening to thedemandsofthose who bawl and threaten for another "Extension" of bar present ; commerce : while it is equally cerlain that that " Extension " would continue to us in an increased degree all the evfls we are now enduring ftoin H OVER PBODUCtlON ^' ¦ ' 7 ' ' ¦' ¦' ¦ . . : .. ¦ ¦/' ¦' ' ' ¦'¦ " ' v : ' 77 V ; ; ; . V 7 \ ... ,.: 77

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      DOINGS OF THE SQJJEAKERS THEMayorof Leeds and some other eight or ten gentlemen , havei just had an interview with Sir Robebt PeeI and othersi of the Ministers to press upon their attention Corn Law Repeal as ' & mftnu io " extend" bur commercct A loiig report of their ^ interview" with the ^ ftender > as been pubUshedTin the Sun , whioli we regret out inability io transfer to our olumns this week , with appropriate cbm ^

      mentary . That report coritaiha the « ason » nrge ^ ny the Mayor of Leeds and hif attendants for further " extension . ' - They are too important * o be passe 4 over I They must be 7 ^ zeite 4 ! Nasi week we will I 17 to immortaliM both MkPawsow , of Leeds , and onr good old friend , Biixy Bbook , of ^ ^ Huddersfield . Two such "burninR and shining lights" should not be placed under a bosfel . '; 7 lt shall not be ^ our ftult if they are ^ J not - ^ sbenrbf men" ! : 7 . - ¦ ¦ v- ¦ ¦ . " 777 : V - ; : : ' ; " - y -i- -: ' " ' - - ;¦ ¦

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      THE EXEGUTIVE AND THE LEICESTERSHIRE DELEGATES . W ^ | t will bei seen ^ on reference to another column , that bur Leicesterahire friends : have put us *• in a pretty considerable fix , " aa Brother Jonathan would say . They have come to resolutions , which Tthey recommend to the serious consideration of their Chartist brethren throughout the Kingdom ; and in which they dissent very decidedly from some of the opinions , and censnre very freely , ^ omei aoto , . bf ; the JSxe ^ utive , while they require information regardinff othflrs Not to have published those resolutionBWonld , of course , have been to ••* . Burke" ; the resolutions of the people ; publishing theni , we shall , ¦

      of course , be said to "denounce" the ; . Executive . H aving ; therefore , no escape Stop both Soylia and ^ Gharybdia , wecaoose ^ ^^ to publish them , and ieaTe them to the people ' s , consideration ^ And , while we do so , we ^ llmerelyjasi observe , that we think they merit the serious attention of the JExecutive . They Jcome from a fe ^ Iwge OTd jui portant section of the ChJ ^ isi bbdyj to whose opinions and convictions considerable deference is due . We know that Chartists in 7 other localities besides those of North and South Leicestershire hold similar opinions , especially on tho matters referred to in the first resolution . ; 7 >

      Individually , our opinion is that if the Leicestershire friends require only ; their own satisfaction on these matters , the business might have been better done by letter to the General Seoretary , thaa in thia public way . If , however , as seems to be the . cage , they wish to have the opinion and sense of their brother Chartists through the kingdom , they have . a perfect right to ask for it , and we have no right to prevent their doing so through our columns , as the acknowledged National Chartist organ .

      Wo think their demand for explanation in the first resolution ia almost as xague aa the statements they require explaining . They should , in our judgment , have pointed out some , if not all , of the particular : items of u postage , ' * and ^ agitating ; expences /* which they think need exposition . This might have materially lessened the labour of explanation on the part of theExecutive . ¦" : - . - ; ¦/¦ - ¦ ¦ . We sincerely hope that the assertion of the second resolution , that "thesixth article of the plan of organiaation , whereby it is provided that f a book shall be kept by the Executive Committee , in which

      shall be entered the names of the members of this association , throughout the kingdom / has beeen neglected , " may prove to be unfounded . If this be indeed so , th © Exeoutivo have grossly and shamefully neg-Jected their duty ; and have wantonly and needlessly exposed themselves and the whole Association to much danger , which proper attention and a little trouble would have precluded ; if it be not so , our LeicesterBhire friends have been very hasty in their conclusions , and are highly censurable for their indiscreet public attack on the Executive , on a matter which they had always the means of knowing , ; : ' . ' _ ¦ \ .:: ¦ : ; : . . ¦ . ' : 7 , ; ' ¦ ¦ ; . '¦ . ¦ : ^ -7 ; ' -. - - ; 7 :- ¦;• . ; , ;¦

      We believe that all oar readers will bear witness that from the first establishment of ; the Association , the ' Executive have always found in us steady and consistent supporters ; we wait anxiously for their response to the resolutions of the Leicestershire delegates ; and we tell the delegates fairly that we shall be well-pleased to see them answered to their own perfect satisfaction , 7 7 7 7 y Meantime , the whole Chartist body , will looker the result with an anxiety not less . .. . intense . than ours . If the Executive meet and pass through this investigation triumphantly , they will weave for

      themselves a web ofpublic confidence more enduring than eventhatwhich they have hitherto worn ' ; if they donot the people will be nothing daunted or discouraged ; they know that disappointment always follows those who trust implicitly to men as individuals ; they will know that though the Executive as a body of individuals may have forfeited their confidenot , the organization yet remains , the masses are yet firm to out glorions principles , and the triumph of democracy , will but be manifested in the fact of all matters of personal estesm and reverence , being merged in one common , earnest , aad all-absorbing crybfduty . ' . ¦ . " 7 ; : -7 .-.- ¦ 7 7 '' . ¦ : : -- ' . ; -.. - '¦ , 77

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      THE ANNULLING OF THE JUDICIAL ' ¦ '¦ ¦ . . v . " FUNCriONS ; ¦;¦ ¦ ¦ '¦ ¦ V f " . THE POLICE CONSTITUTED JUDGES !! ' Our readers will perceive from the report of the debates in Parliament , that the Staffordshire victims are to have no redress . The petitions of the people , and the motion made on behalf of the sufferers , are , as per custom , treated with contempt ; and Sir Robert and Sir James seem determined to proVe themselves worthy successors of Castlereaq and SiDiiotTTH . ; : ; ¦ :,

      The Chartists nowsee ihe exact position in which they stand . All that any thick-headed or blackhearted constable needs for the dispersion of a Chartist meeting is that he be disposed to disperse it ; he being the sole judge of what is legal and what is illegal . And all that he needs to make the most illegal capture perfectly legal is the verdict of a middle olass jury , founded upon his own evidence , He may then snap hid fingera at the world ; and . it becomes a base and wicked libel in any man not being an M . P . in his place in Parliament ^ to saj that his conduct was not deserving of all praise .

      Well , well , so it is ! and so we augur it ever will be , until" the powers that be" are consigned to the tomb of all the Capulets . When the Ethiop changes his skin , and the leopard his '" - ' spots ,- then , bat not till then , can we expect justice to emanate from the pest-house of faction , or mercy to ooza from the callous heart of an oligarch . ; Mason and his colleagues are honest men—mea intent upon aiding in the work of political regeneration—men who from their souls abhor Ithe cannibal system which , in its baneful operationi has spread poverty and its numberless concomitant evils throughout the Whole ! length and breadth ; of ^ the land ; they are men seeking the good of their country and kind , and men too of spotless charabter . 7

      Should ^ we marvel , then , that such men are the prey of the insatiable wild beasts who pro ^ or send prowlers , through the land in quest of victims 1 No , we marvel not . They were iaarked men ; and we may rest assured that they are not the onlymarked men . The snare of the fowler ia still laid ; and as the end of "despotism draws to a close , the number of victims will multiply , and those victims will be the bravest and ohoicest of our troops . This is oae of the last kicksi .-of tyrajitiys-bat we- « pnjnreiilie people not to be exasp « fated thereby great desideratum ot pur rulers at 7 the present joifi )* ' * & ' :.: ¦ ¦ - ' : ¦ -7 : 7 7 ^ . 7 , V > 7-r £ ri : ^* P $ !? % : ¦¦' :: - ' ¦" . ' ¦ : ' "¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦" ' . - . ¦ ¦¦' , ' , - ¦ :. ¦ : ¦ ¦ ' .. ¦ jiOll :

      • , Keep a sharp look out . Eye well ybnr ^ mjanyj parUoiilaWy ' new ^ bmiers . ; ^ nioht ofeaoh ^ rtnuigeri , | ^ ^« h /^^^ jMQ ^ f J ^ * Think not that the pragmatical ^^ ompo ^^ Sedgele >; yolepy the ^^ consiab ^' Jia fe ^ pander of ^ the Ijca ^ rpmng woli «^ ,, 7 i ^ rinfest ) this ili-fat ^ Bdi country ^ j 7 T ) i «» ' ^ JmrnyMi ^ s taa kidney , wittt ^ brief authority , " and without |« W all these" will be held juiltless by ^ the ciiqutf wBi » administer the laws of the land . Whatever may be the atrocity of their deeds , the shield of usurped power will be heli ( oWthem / whUff & Ire of oppressor Vrlttfee ^ pbur ^ ouiunoa ( to igial ^ esj ? ^ unsuapeotirgviotim- ^ " ¦ ' " "

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      STAtEYBRIDGE . —On Sunday evening , we aad a glorious lectnre delivered in oar Boom , by Mr . P . M . Bropby , from Dablin . Mr . Brophy impressed on his hearers the necessity of coming forward and joining the Charter Association , A number of men came forward and enrolledj&eir names , aud took their cards at the dose . F

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      uj . ' " - / Tf E TOBTHto . .. ; - ;¦ ¦ ,.-,-: .., "W . : ' Y ~ j 2 ^ :

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      TO THE CHARTISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN " . AH APPEAL TO THE SYMPATHISING CHARTIST PCBI . IC OS BEHALF OF MRS . ROBERTS , OF BIBMJAGHA 3 I . beethbes , —On the 2 ist instant I received a comroanicatioB from the unfortunate and bereaved Mrs . Hoberts , of Birmingham , detailing her sufferings and destitution . If asaEtancobe not promptly and Efficiently rendered , she and hei fatherless children will be driven to the horrible necessity of seeking shelter in a Whig and Tory Tastile . .

      . Oil Sunday eveniog Lust , I related her truly distressing case to tne meeting of the City of London Chartists , ¦ when tbe sum of eight shillings and sixpence was immediately subscribed . She -wishes to be provided with a mangle , for which purpose , together with other requisites , I trust that a sum not less than £ 20 wUl be raised . With the fullest confidence that this appeal will not be made in Tain . I am yours in the cause of humanity , 12 , Dorrington-street , RICHARD Cameron . Cold Bath-square . P . S . —I shall be happy to receive any sums that may be subscribed for Mr . Roberts .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 30, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct899/page/4/