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STATE. O» TAiADE,, I^^B^UR, AND THE, • '...
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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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Provincial Meetings On Our Milimi-Ftingb...
' " One of the most important of these was held in th <^ Tbwa > H *» ' of » Birmingham o » the evening of Thw * 4 «» . week * Jbeit « bc < 3 « yene < ion > the requisition of £ MT Iwgtfxed > o & the princip « d Jfinas a » dinbabitants > TJw chair , was occupied by the MaycBj and tetwesa sj » w & aejfe » . tihi 6 oa » nd : persons : were pxesenfc The pris < m > aj : ppeiafcersl ' were ^ Mn W , MaHhaws , Mr ? G : l ) ixon , Mr . George Dawson , Mr . T . Hi GiUi and Mcr T . . WriB ^ s « arf . a vrorbing . » aik . Mr . HVf & tthe . ws . . cojnMaented ; severely on the mae WgeineRt of : tbe ; wfl « . The business of the country tw * nofer been placed in the hands of prope * vmen ; a # ? X ithepeopie muatsayvto their rulers that they , will Jwyefnormore . ofthis-jobMng ; that merit must : bere < - warded , cjime punished , and responsibility fixed , iyjr . Matthews , expressed great pleasure at the resignations of : Sw 4 « aes Graham * Mr . Gladstone , and Mr * Sidney Herbert *
Mr > Gewrge . Dawson , wha was received with , pro- * lqj > ged cheering , said , they , were , not there to discuss : tjja war-Hgelf . They iuetj at the invitation of others , t « denoand . an in ^ uiryv . Did they thi nk that evea tfeati great hoU : we » kL- hold ; every widow , who wept fWrtlieslaift ? ; w In these , days silence is a sin . They-who ljft up . tneir voices , shall say with the Apostle in the olden time , "I o »& you- aU to witness , the day , I am guiltless of the ljk ) od : o | re , very voaru" ( fiheeraS ) He dreaded the time , fiye ^ orrBtsjryears to come , whea these orphans will grow up to be men » , paying , " Tell me the story of my father ' s death * . " I £ he said it was at Alma's glorious steeps , at B , sl » klavar ' s . awful charge ,, at Inkerman ' s terrible fight ,
l ©; icpul ( i sayat : withr joy ; but to say , " Your father-died of rags ^ of ; vermin , starved , choked by a green coffeebprry , kaiednin the , roadless Crimea ; and , as he lifted up . his accusing voice , a nation stood dumb and calm-, and allowed Government to . shuffle- in and out of plajce , a . Bd , not ? to embarrass a Minister , took no part in the aoleinn inquest of blood "^ -toteil them that there ' s shame ill prospect for us . { Cheers . ' ) In the . army the system was rotten * Who had not seen Field Marshals made in flftday ? Who had not heard of officers blooming out into fyiu skill by purchase in an hour ? It was a strange system— -One bought skill in the army / No man could : bttjy brains , skill , or learning in . the law or letters * but : in ~ the . army , if we could ' nt buy- either
s & 31 on bjcains , they > could have the-fiction- of thorn-. Itj"was > a < miserablesysteBa . altogether . Boysw « re . put over the heads ofmeniiwho had seen service , for no better reason than / that the former were members of the aristocracy . Waa there no brave-hearted man that would cut through at a , daah the entangled meshes of routine—who would dftre to he censuredj cashiered , tried by- court-martial , and broken for duty- — { cheers ) —no man who would come home and say , " Ihave-eaten- the show bread of routine ; I have sinned . Ii didn't do my duty as a soldier , but I did it as a Christian and a man ? " { Loud Cheers . ) We would keep , at it ^ then , till we got the right men . Thenoama the g * een coffee question ^ He should like to paint them a picture . He should like to show them an English
soldier in rags , hungryy gaunt , and lean , with the top of a , tin- pet ,- and twenty green coffee berries , with a rushlight underneath , ' trying to roastthem-pand-thnt-donej too , under an inclement sky . up to the - knees in mud . Glorioua picture- ! Sing " Rule Britannia , " and . let fifes and drums strike-out " * The Roast Beef of Old England . " QLoud cheered ) He would put the picture to them * r-a tinpotvrashlight , and green- coffee berries ; misery , wet , cold , mud , rags , and dirt , and the meal necessary to save tho poor- fellow's lift ) . ( 8 kout * of " Shame / " ) He would pnt it- to them of'men lying for hours after battle uncared for > unattended , stiffening slowly into death . "Ob , " said the-aristooracy , " -that was the medical department - ? rit was- their- fault—we have nothing to do with . it . "
Wo said , " No , " { Cheers . ) We asked who put the surgeons down , snubbed them , gave them the cold shoulder ? Why don't-surgeons go into the navy ? Why , if they were not of the proper blood , clique , class , ororder , they were snubbed ,, put down at once , sent to mess with some pert midshipman . The nation demands that the whole system- of England shall be altered—not the army and navy only , but all . the Government departments , which should bo open to approved - ability , tried by examination . The Indian service , has been reformed , - and is now open to all' England ; and . that should to the rule for all services . He doubted the . efficacy of
the commissions . that were to bo sent out to the Crimea ,, and had- no confidence , in Lord Palmeraton ; but would give his humble , support to any Government who would seo us bravely and honourably through tliia war . { Cheers . ' ) The fallowing , resolutions were unanimously adopted : — " That- this RwoUntg is of ' opinion that our national LtOnou *< an 4 safety ) and 'the lives of our country ineiii in the BaaP-rttor dearer-to . us than any administration or listinction of party—imperatively require a full and icarching inquiry into tho causes of tho disasters in the > iinoa « , and thin meeting , strongly urgea on the . Legislature the necessity of such , inquiry .
. " That in the opinion of this meeting tho system of wrobMing cotnoaUsions , and ]> roniotions is calculated to fteok ) the-advancement of military genius ; that it is an njustfaov . to the . officers * noncommissioned officers , and 1 nivateoy and'tl ^ stmotive to the best service and interests > f the nation . "
Apetition , founded on . these . resd » UGn . a -m adopted , and was presented on MondaymgUti . to the House of . Commons by Mr . Muntz , A meting , took . place , a * , the Corn Exchange ; of WAke & dd on Wednesday week , at which Mr * . Georgia Thompson mad * , a ,, long addressee * prove , t ^ Bngr land ^ ghfe-not . to tove , declwedw ^ r . agamst , Russia . Mn- Thompson did not deny that Russia . is , an aggmndisiwa Eower * but as , he argued , the . Greete Gbwch is tUe national religion of Russia , as tUer & are 4 $ i 00 Q ( K ) a of that commvunion in . ; tl * e empire , axuk
, the Emperor of Russia " is the acknowledged head of that . Ghurchr the Greeks-in . European Turkey naturAllyvlook w > to the , G ? ax as tbeir protestor against the , -oppression * . of their . Twkish "vvsters .. Mr , Thowpsou . defended tha couwb . adopted by Russia to defend her : claiin ag protector of the Greek Church in Russia , and .. argued that it was a fata -mistake not to leave Turkey to defend herself after she , had jeje ^ tedi . the Vienna , note . Mr .. Serle . denounced , the ittenAptS ; of . the . PeAce . Society to make the . war uuppp-ular , a » tfmoved aresoUition— that the with
" Tbftfc this meeting ia-of , opioion- . war . . Russia . ougjit to b & cawied on , with . vigour ^ until , an hftnojwabhj .. peaee .. can ; , be . obtawqd ,. and ,, that . no ; terms ought ; to . be . 4 ^ greed to , wliich . do ,. , not , rscognise the destruction of Sebastopol and the free navigafcwni of the Danube and B 4 « pk ; . Sea « . " m ¦ * 1 - I » spiite of thft . effwfcs of JVtr , G . Tlrpmpson and lus ftienda ,, thi 8 . < resol , « jtwn was . e £ urried by , about 20 to 1 . Ee | i 3 ti 0 * s- to . both House & -in fayour of tte objects o £ tl »© m » rf and pstiyias f « r , a vigorous prosecutioa osf'hoatilUifis , together withuaseajrehingmquiry iato the * canges . . of tlves' -late disafiter ^ have been uuanir mpwly-. sign !^ at . Chester Sold , ^ 4 , t ta . meeting in Newcastle ^ upon ^ Tyne , where reso ^ ioaaAveKe . passed deftouncjng th » present , military system , and in favour of , the , abolition of the la & b * the- following ; letter was read : it was-addressed tftjthe chairman . the Mayor of Newcastle ;—
-, « . Sir ,- "I ; have ! this moment seea . the , announcement of amf 5 eting , to , bo held in istejvcastle . on Thuxsday next , to cQnsvtec - . the subject of ppwnotion in the British , army . "Ii dgepjy regret . that , the same cause which at . preseotremoveaane from the , House ; of . Commons -prevents ray ; attending to , take a . personal , slaare : in your proceeding ^ . ¦ „ _ _ -. *• , ' A « -I kflOw » q questwa wlijcfe' at- th » disastrous- and disgraceful conjuncture njftie imperatively demands ' .. the . atteotion of ; all thinking ; Englishmen , than that of our arrangements , for . military pTODiotion , Our present system of purchasing . conM » issi , ons- is precisely , calculated ; to . close every prospect of distinction . to the private seWier ,- to-paralyse . the legitimate , ambitiono £ meritorious officers , and to ^ commit the ultimate dii » ctian , pfc ai . cam .-paign . to thefeeble hands of such leaders « e those , whose guilty . incompetence haa lafcejy sacirificed the fijfteat . army that ever left } th « . sh { Kes of > England ..
" I se « that ; thja question has ,. been . taken up by . I *> rd Goderich . I am sure that it could not be entrusted . ; to an ; honestier , or ; I . wiU Add , a mwe ; pyudent public man . It ia to hia ^ efferts ,, added , to those ^ of my , gifted friend , Mr . Bayard r that we . in .-Argreat . measure , shall owe . any response on the part of Parliament td the cry of indignation at recent mismanagement ,- which was so powerfully originated . ] by tbq . press , a » d has bee * so generally eebped throughout , the . country . u Let me take this , the first opportunity , of thanking my kind friends for the sympathy which I have received , under my late severe attack , from , all classes and parties in Newcastle ; and also for the unexampled forbearance with which they have aqquiesced in my temporary withdrawal from the House of Commons . I trus £ , with God ' s blessing , that I may be shortly enabled to resume the active discharge of my duties as one of your representatives .. . " Let we . remain ,,. dear Sir , your , faithful servant , "jr . B . BkACKism " Cockayne IMley , St .. Neots , February . 21 , , 1855 . " A puMiq meeting of the working classes of . Nottipgham was held on Tuesday eyenlog , the . 27 th ult ., in the Assembly Rooms , Nottingham ., Resplu , tioiMi . ujcgiog theGoveruiMcut to , pyr , 3 uo aninquijy iutQ the . cawaeiof , the ., disastrous state of the ., ajmy , & c , were , adt » pted ^ . A crowded meeting was Held At . Prestofl ^ . ou Tugsday , eyenujg , for , Hjq pprposc of . " denouncing , the
grwfl . rnisi » anagpme . nt whiclxhas bepn .. displayeAjn cppncxipix witU tjie , war » and . demanding ^ q ,,. scwclxinfif revision of our military system , and . an .. inquiry into tho . ctusea of t \\ Q decimation of one . of tho finest armies that ever left England . " Tho chnir . waa taken , by Mr . W . Livesey . Tho speeches and . reaolutioufl woreiof a vigoroua character , and a . petition . to JPnrliooncnt ; waj 9 odppjted , praying . for w .. elective proae ^ cution oftljo . war , apd a , copipletq reform in our military system .
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State. O» Taiade,, I^^B^Ur, And The, • '...
STATE . O » TAiADE ,, I ^^ B ^ UR , AND THE , ' POOR . Tub state of trade is generally depressed . In Manchester this-depression continues unabated in tho cloth and yuv » market ; tho demand from tho home trade is on a limitalecale , while the advico * fron » nearly all th & foreign markets are of a cheerless and" imeaiiafactory clmractci * ,-
and tb # past , week ' ^ businessfhas ., bgeu . wanaiportant , in am © unt ,.. with drooping , priees . Tba , houses , engaged ia the print trade are nett generally well , employed , but some of the leading firms are busy , and the productions embrace , some patterns of great novelty ; 'and taste for the coming spasww T & e * iron , trade : of . South . Staffordshire has been reported to be , in , some districts , ift consequence 6 f toefro ^ ea state-off th « canals ^ alaxoat . entirely suspended * . Some furnaces have been put on , halfrblast and some , entirely blown .. out ; andit is a longlabour to restore a blown-out furnace . Many of the mills , are standing for coals , but it is stated that the stocks of pigs will not increase , inasmuch as the furnaces are nearly as ill off . Orders are not improving , andthe reduction of prices has not at all increased the American , trade , as some had
expected . Some branches are still rather active , as in beavy ironfoundry , or hardware , or cutlery for export . The lace , and'hosiery manufactures of'Nottingham are for from prosperous ; and trade has been greatly checked by the recent frost . In Leicester , some of the worsted mills have been working short hours . The business of the port of Gloucester has beea . quite : stopped for ten days or a fortnight by the frost ; . many of the working classes have been thrown out of employ ; the timber trade is almost entirely at a stand-still ; and trade in general suffers greatly . At Leeds , the tone pervading almost all mercantile and commercial transactions is of a very glfcomy character . The wooll ^ rt manufacture 13 undergoing a downward tendency , and . large numbers of artisans are out of work .
Hie state of the poor in Birmingham and the surrounding districts continues most lamentable . Several , members of the clergy , both of the Dissenters and of the Church of England , as well as other charitable individuals , have visited the habitations of the poor , and report that great distress prevails among the industrious classes- in consequence of ' , the short time adopted in several manufactories and the almost entire suspension of work in- others ., The rectors of three of the largest parishes in Birmingham , represent the privations of these classes aa great in the extreme . During ; the last week there nave been from 3000 to 4000 , individual applica-i cations , for relief at the workhouse , and these , may bo said to represent at least 12 j 000 persons . These . numbera do not include at least all those who hav & received extraparochial relief contributed by public subscription and
private charity . Althoug h , oh one or-two occasions there nave been symptoms of . approaching disturbances , yet with , the exception of a sligh e ' neute , which occurred on Wednesday the 21 st , the starving population of the town have exhibited great patience under their privations , gratitude , to tueir benefactors , and regard for the Jaw . At Stafford , Coventry , Kidderminster , and Redditcb . ) where the staple manufactures of the districts are much depressed ,: and in . Stafford , where the shoe , trade , has . not been worse for the last twenty years , tb , e work-people suffer terribly . At Redditch , more particul & r . ly , great distress exists , in , consequence , of , the , bad ., state of , tb & . needle manufacture .. Qae of the largest , works , -closed , for . tlus week on the 14 th inst ., and the operatives . flndthjeir wives are in , a most distressed condition . Add to this the inclemency of . the season and the entice , suspension of outdflfttwork .. and tb , e _ picture of misery will . be complete .
Immense . numbers of destitute poor sought . relief oh Monday at tlie Thames Police-court , on w # Ued at thu doors , of the workhouse in the hop , e- of . obtaining assistance . At the polise-offico , upwards of 15 0 0 persons , th « . greater nnpxbpr of whom were . Irish were relievca with bread , and . small su » jb of money from the poor-box fund , during the last week . On Monday , Mr . Yardley , the sitting magistrate ,, awarded 10 s . each to . 53 families , 5 s . each to 50 other married / couples , together with other sums , and loaves of bread ; to . various claimants . The alnwst total suspension of work on . thp river and in tho docks , owing to the frost , had caused , a fearful amount of destitution j but this is now diminishing . Tho ministers of various denominatiQns have each , received a sum of money from the poor-bpx fund of , the abovu office , for tbo relief of distressed persons belonging to their , flocks , . and whom they belioved to bo worthy 0 ?
consideration . The east end of London has again become perfectly quiet ; the thaw having removed all fear of future rioting by unemployed labourers . Tho bakers and other provision shopft are no longer in a state of siege , although a'few extra policemen m < iy still bo seen in the principal thoroughfares . Had the frost continued anothor week , the peace of the City might have been seriously endaugercd ,, aa the numbers and the desperation of the starvingworkmen increased day by day . Buaipess has been TOSumQd . in tho . docks and shipping ; and the money voted by tho corporation and collected from , varjou * sources has been nil distributed .
' A . largo . number of . labourers and n & eclianics-have been ' out of employ in Exetee and other parts of Devonshire , and groat outruns has been experienced . To mitigutu this in Exeter , a , soup kitchen , on u . seale of conniderublo magnitude , haa been i » active operation , for tUo last flvu weokp . . 11 1 Business ' in Dublin continue * wretchedly dull ; mm large , numbers of workmen lmvo . bean thrown out tit their occupations by tho reoont s « veu 4 » y ' o £ the weatJiur . The accounts from thenorkbof Irelamioontmuo glouiny ; tbb- weavers- oro uuiVaruag' grsati dit » tare # n ^ Tho fluids , hpwever / have oxperionccil but little- fluutuntHoa . ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 3, 1855, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03031855/page/6/
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