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724 «!>e VLeabtt. [Satuhda,
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ROMAN CATHOLIC CONSECRATION. Four new bi...
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THE ECLll'SIfi OF MONDAY. The eclipse of...
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THE LAND OF THE LABOURING MAN. Mississip...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Mr. Coningham's Lecture At Brighton. Gen...
of them , named Delbrouck , was condemned to fifteen months' imprisonment , to 500 francs fine , and to be deprived of his civil rights for five years . Instead of resorting to decided yet moderate and legal measures of repression , when needful , and thus endeavouring to gain strength , by a gradual development of constitutional principles , and by a wise toleration of public discussion , this caricature of Imperialism has only prolonged a reign of terror and violence . Three millions of electors have been insolently disfranchised , as felons and vagrants ; the education
of the people deliberately sacrificed , in order to propitiate the priests and Jesuits , headed by Montalembert ; and a regular crusade proclaimed against the press , or rather against the organs of the Republican party . Of course , with such a select company of jurymen , convictions follow each other in rapid succession , and fine and imprisonment has been inflicted by these mild , papal , propagandists for an article against capital punishment . Such is the novel form of constitutional government in France at this moment , which has received the support of an influential portion of the English press .
But , consolidated as it were by the pressure from without , these adverse circumstances seem to have imparted additional vigour to the cooperative principle ; an d the associations , by their own internal strength , have been enabled to resist the blind fury of the political storms which threatened these industrial edifices with destruction . Thus , in defiance of papacy and absolutism , France —the great experimental laboratory for all new social and political theories—having , in 1848 , initiated a vast political movement , which must ultimately absorb all the Continental powers of Europe , as into a vortex , is now silently but actively engaged , with her myriad-handed people , in consolidating her republican institutions , by means of a peaceful social movement— " The self-organization of labour . "
Why , then , are you , the people of England , so apathetic on all social and political questions ? Absorbed in your present prosperity , have you lost all recollection of past sufferings ? Do you not anticipate the possibility of future calamities ? For you political action has become a moral duty , because it is so inseparably connected with your social emancipation . Indeed , the enfranchi sement of the adult male population is valuable only as a step to other organic and social reforms , among which I regard as the most important , in connection with the cooperative system , an improved distribution , and largel y increased subdivision of property—especially of landed property , and an amended law of inheritance—the j abolition of primogeniture .
Land , in this , is different from other kinds of property , that it was the original inheritance of the human race ; and though public reasons exist for its being appropri ited , yet the mode of its distribution is a matter of human institution . This , therefore , depends on the laws and customs of' society , and the rules by which it is determined are very different in different ages and countries , and may be still further altered and improved whenever society choses . The vast accumulation of wealth in a limited number of hands has a tendency to generate luxury and extravagance ; and while one class of the community is engaged in supplying wants thus artificially createdand " their
, labour diverted from its legitimate channel of useful production , another large class is deprived of even that " proper nourishment and convenient clothing ** which the state owes to every citizen , andhas toendure n kind ot hte altogether incompatible with health Hut a * Mr . Mill very wisely says , " It is not the subversion i , i individual property that should be aimed at , but the improvement , of it , and the participation of every member of the community in its benefits . The principle of private property has never yet had a fair trial in any country ; and 1 i : hs so , perhapsin thus
, country than in some others . The social arrangements of modern Europe commenced from a distribution of property which was the result , not of just partition , or acquisition by industry , but of coiiquost and violence ; and notwithstanding what industry has been doing for many centuries to modify the work of force , the nystem still retains many traces of its origin . ' The Iiiwh of property have never yet conformed to ' the jmnciplcs on which the justification of private property rests . They have made property of things which never ought to be property , and absolute
property where only a quahlied property ought to exist . They have not held the balance fairly between human beings , but have heaped impediments upon some to give advantages to others ; they have purposely fostered inequalities ami picvcnt . t .-ri all from atariing fair iu the . race That all should indeed Start on perfectly equal terms , in inconsistent witli any law of private property ; but if I ho tendency of legislation hud beou to favour ( he diffusion , instead of the concentration , of wealth ,- —to encourage the subdivision of the large iuuhhcs , instead of Htriving to keep them together , — the principle of individual property would have been found lohave no necesmiry connection with tho physical and social evils which have made ho many iinndn turn eugeily to any prospect of relief , however desperate . The Lecturer wound up with a brief account of the -BttgUiiU Absoeiutions
724 «!>E Vleabtt. [Satuhda,
724 «!> e VLeabtt . [ Satuhda ,
Roman Catholic Consecration. Four New Bi...
ROMAN CATHOLIC CONSECRATION . Four new bishops have been lately consecrated , owing to the rapid way in which the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill made its way in the Lords . The first consecration took place at the Church of St . John , Salford , on the 25 th of July . There , amid a blaze of wax lights , Cardinal Wiseman consecrated Dr . Turner Bishop of Salford , and Dr . Errington Bishop of Plymouth . Persons were admitted to see
the spectacle , by the payment of five shillings , to the choir and nave aisles , and half-a-crown and eighteenpence to other parts of the building . The place was crowded . The ceremony was as gorgeous and impressive as Roman Catholic ritual could make it—and the . accessories to the ceremony were of the highest order . Dr . Paul Cullen , primate of Ireland ; Dr . Briggs , bishop of Beverley ; Dr . TJUathorne , bishop of Birmingham ; and Dr . Wareing , bishop of Northampton , and several other prelates were present .
But the provincial celebration was surpassed in grandeur by the ceremony performed on Sunday in the great metropolitan Church in St . George ' s-fields . It is more than three hundred years since Roman Catholic prelateswere consecrated with English territorial titles ; and on Sunday there was not only the novelty of the spectacle to attract , but the unusual circumstances of the occasion invested it with additional interest . Soon after ten o ' clock mass the church began to fill , and by eleven o ' clock it was crowded in every part . Meanwhile a double row of acolytes robed in white and bearing lighted tapers , took their station along
the aisle . Wax-lights shone forth from the altar , around which hung wreaths of flowers . Soon after eleven a procession coming from the sacristy marched up the aisle , composed of the two bishops elect , Dr . Burgess of Shrewsbury , and Dr . Brown , Bishop of Clifton , each supported by two bishops , and Cardinal Wiseman , the bishops elect in simple sacerdotal vestments , the assistant bishops and the Cardinal wearing full pontifical robes . When they had reached the altar and seated themselves , the choir , accompanied by the organ , sang the " Gloria in Excelsis" and "Kyrie , Eleison . " - When these were concluded the " Ecce Sacerdos" followed , and the Cardinal with the bishops proceeded to the consecrating altar . Here the two bishops elect were presented to the
Cardinal ; the bishops made confession of their faith in the Holy Catholic Church ; an d the ceremony of investiture was performed . Their simple vestments [ were thrown aside ; and the gorgeous garments of a Catholic prelate assumed instead , the golden cross on the breast , the sandals , the stoles , and the rich adornments for the hands and feet . Then they knelt down , the Cardinal standing , while the edifice rung with the echoes of the Lirany of the Saints , and when the last notes died away along the roof , the Cardinal uttered a short prayer , made the sign of the cross above their bended heads , laid on the shoulders of the candidates the Book of the Gospels , at which moment they received from him " the tradition of the Holy Scriptures . " Cardinal Wiseman made the
sign ot the cross on the foreheads of the kneeling prelates with the blessed oil , wiping it away afterwards , while the organ and choir performed the " Veni , Creator , " the Cardinal himself singing the first and second verses . Then the croziers and episcopal rings worn by Roman Catholic bishops were presented , " having been previously sanctified and sprinkled with holy water . " A gift of the Gospel and the Kiss of Peace" completed the ceremonial . Thus consecrated , they partook of the holy communion , received the benediction of the Cardinal and their mitres and gloves , acknowledged his authority by three genuflections , marched twice round the church , and dined in the evening with Cardinal Wiseman .
The Eclll'sifi Of Monday. The Eclipse Of...
THE ECLll'SIfi OF MONDAY . The eclipse of the sun on Monday was an entire failure as an exhibition in London . Grey clouds scudded thick and fast over the sky , and the existence of the sun itself had to he taken for granted . There were some smart showers in the forenoon—in deed up to two o ' clock , when tho weather partially cleared up , and the clouds were thinner 11 round the sun . Soon after two , tho beginning- of the eclipse was visible to very persevering mortals ; the huh looking much like n ball of illuminated ground glass with a piece chipped out . Hy degrees an the clouds separated , tile patch of darkness assumed a more decided form ; and some time before three o ' clock , the ( onn of the moon was visible , and more than half of the sun obscured . Hut after three , down came dark
masses of cloud , carefully concealing the sun and moon and everything else skyward . Smoked glass telescopes censed to he of the slightest use . The Kii / . crs Kuvo the matter up in despair . Everybody went about his business with his accustomed alacrity and , in th ( j classical language of the turf , the whole thing was a sell . " Even the darkness which had " ¦ en predicte d did not come off . On a gloomy day like Monday , half a down moona might , have all come between us and tho nun and made no difference mtheliKht . London was dull , it is true ; but then it is so often dull that nobody took any notice of that phenomenon . c
In Devonshire there was a drizzle , and in Durham fine weather . The good folks of Dublin saw the eclipse to perfection . But nowhere in England was there darkness which may be felt ; and all antici pations proved erroneous . In Paris the eclipse was very visible , the sun shining with great brilliancy at the moment when the moon rolled between us and the solar rays . All Paris looked upward and saw . At Frankfort the weather was likewise fine . The whole progress of the observation was visible . Great numbers were on the look out . The darkness was not at all remarkable . At present the light was likened to moonlight ; in Germany it is called shade .
The Land Of The Labouring Man. Mississip...
THE LAND OF THE LABOURING MAN . Mississippi , June 12 , 1851 . My dear Sir , —I know that you have a good deal of anxiety relative to the subject of emigration , for your sympathies with the toiling thousands of Great Britain have been often and eloquently expressed in your paper ; and I must reproach myself for having remained idle for so long a time in not communicating with you . Since I enjoyed the comfort of an English fireside amidst my friends and relatives , about twelve months have elapsed . Prior to that time , I had ample opportunity of inquiring into and making myself acquainted with the condition of the
workingclasses of the agricultural districts of Various parts of England ; and as I was born and raised amongst the noble-heaxted agriculturists of Lincolnshire , you will not be surprised at my fellow feeling" with that class of the community who have to subsist upon the cultivation of the soil . Fully believing in the doctrine that " labour is the source and parent of wealth , " I could never see without regret the producers of wealth so neglected , so injured , and , I must confess , so imposed upon , as they were and still are . I had been taught to consider that it was upon the labourer and workman that we had to depend for our daily bread , for our comforts , our prosperity and inessIt is
happ . they who till the ground , who reap the harvest , and who transform the rough material of Nature into some useful purposes for the benefit of the human race . Whenever I saw a demonstration amongst the rich , there attached were the marks of the workman . At the balls , routs , and festive gatherings , where joy and mirth held undisputed sway , as " my lady" tripped with graceful ease in her superb trappings , my mind oftimes asked in what garret reclined the wearied form and aching head of the poor needlewoman who made the ornaments , or the poor weaver who spun the fabrics ? Whenever I saw a dinner given to " lord , " and the " tables groaning" beneath the weight of the choice and
substantial viands , my thoughts wandered to the agricultural labourers , who , perhaps , in ignorance and want , might be pining out their existence . Contrary to what , in my humble judgment , I conceived to be the just and equitable position of the working-classes , I ever saw them looked upon in the meanest light , and treated rather as burdens upon , than useful members of , society ; and thus partially obliterating every manly feeling of honourable eelf-dependence which they ought to possess . It is now about two years since I travelled over various portions of the county of Lincoln ; and if at that time any human being could look upon the condition of the agricultural labouring population without feelings of sympathy , I can onl y say that such a one must have had an
unnatural or marble heart . I found tho peasantry working for seven or eight shillings per week , and even then begging for employment . Out of this pittance they had their families to maintain and houHe-rent to pay . But how they accomplished such a feat was to me a perpetual wonder . It is needless that I should add , fathers had to cat sparingly to givo their children a portion of tho coarse provisions and mothers with the child at the breast had often to suffer with the requirements of nature unsatisfied '
My duty was to collect small debts from these humble villagers , whom " hard times " and worse circumstances had driven slightly into debt . I found on one occasion an aged son of the soil / whose gaunt hmbsi portrayed _ the great physical power that once dwelt withm him ) reclining upon a bed of straw iu ii ! -o ; lM auswer t ( > my application for a debt ot 2 k ., ho candidly confessed— " It cannot be paid , { sir ; for my H , m ! UU 1 his wife almost starve themselves to maintain their family and myself , who cannot work , and if it wasn ' t f « , r my lady , the cler K ymnn a wife , we should not be able to live at all . " On UUOfher OCCilMinn I ii . wil ; .., ! r ,.,. „ 1 -n : i- .. a . iotber occasion I lied for shillmof
app one K a woman of rather youthful appearance ; she wept , and declared her inability to pay , but at the hiiuio time "eggeel that her husband might not be acquainted with the particulars , for lie luul sworn ruthcr to die than get mto debt , and she did not know what ho would do t f he discovered she owed tho shilling . At tho end she . promised to pay in u month , and at tho expiration of that time who walked seven miles and paid half the amount—viz ., sixpence ! Other instances 1 could enumerate of a similar character , but finch cases are too well known amongst men of cunull business in the country . Every man of rutioual understanding van conceivo
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 2, 1851, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02081851/page/8/
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