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TIIlS CASK OF ANN HICKS. | The subjoined...
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A JUDGE INSULTED. Mr. Baron Platt has be...
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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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' Tiik Journals And Ru.|.; Laijoult Move...
of 1688 , and the Reform Bill , to say nothing of all the events that have happened to " any community . ' There is another reason , however , why we may expect a Reform Bill at the hands of the Whigs within about six years : — " The Reform Bill of 1832 was again in a great measure looked on , as the liquidation of a debt with which the W » i # s had charged the fortunes of their party during a quarter of a century of Opposition . " Thus the Whigs pay their debts once in a quarter of a century , which would make the next instalment due in ' 57 , so that it is not too soon to begin introducing it .
" So , we repeat , that if Lord John Russell's fortune ¦ waits on him till next spring , he will be the first English Minister who will have come forward to anticipate an evil day , to repair the flaws and fill up the deficiencies which ihe wear and tear of the last twenty years has made perceptible in his own early handiwork . " The statesman of the journal reduces the political problem to the arithmetical rule of proportion—As the rotten borough regime was to the Reform Bill , so is the Reform Bill to the coming sera : — " If , then , we obey our own rule , and speculate on the next twenty years from the character that has most strongly marked the closing stage of the similar period that has followed the Reform Bill , it is scarcely rash to predict that what one such cycle has done for the middle class , the next will do for the working population . "
Only Lord John is to take twenty years about it . Long life to him ! for the Minister , who is now entering on his third debut , is sixty years of age . The Globe has now and then hinted at the possibility of giving the working-class such a degree of representation as would enable them to affect the composition of Parliament without swamping it ; and , with an adroit use of juxtaposition , it calls to mind how it has" Often noticed the stress which Lord John Russell has laid on the importance of insuring some measure of representation to the ¦ working-class . "
It is Lord John ' s share in this future that we doubt : the Globe sees him through the lens of its own admiration . If you survey the country through the lens of a lobster ' s eye , you shall see sixty church steeples where ordinary human beings who are not lobsters see but one ; and the Globe eye we take to be endowed with a magnifying power equal to that multiplication where Lord John is the object . But let our safe readers , some of those friends who send us iiiolerating cautions , warnings , dampers , and other wholesome correctives , peruse the following survey of the Future , and remember that it is from the columns of an experienced journal , which discusses subjects of politics in a philosophical manner , with the help of high attainments and much ability ; from the cjlumns of a moderate paper , not even a Radical one , but the sole Whig organ , the Ministerial paper : —•
" As wo have alread y said , the Reform Bill only gave facilities ( or working out the doctrines that had taken p < Bse . ~ sion of the ablest minds in England under the last years of George IV . The repeal of injurious or unprofitable taxes , the abolition of the corn laws , the amelioration of our prison discipline , the reform of our colonial sys ' em , these have onl y filled up the outline traced in the years that preceded th < - Reform Bill , by Mackintosh and R > milly , by Bentham and Colonel Thompson , by Horner and Macaulay . Without , the Reform Bill , their agitation might have nhakcu the monarchy to its centre ; with it , their succeus has beta as smooth and gradual as it haH been sure . And on the whole , whatever we may say of
aristocratic influence , the entire scope of our recent legislation—in trade , in taxation , iu religious politics — has been such as to give the freest development to the middle-class , and to their saving principle of competition . But he must he a very blind observer who does not Bee that the peculiar wants and sympathies of the workingclass are attracting precisely that description of stir and interest which from 1820 to 1830 had concentrated itself upon the hopes and prospectH of the bourgeoisie . It is im possible to enter on halt ' the signs of the times which indicate Kiich a direction in the public current of opinion . The precise and systematise *! exaggeration which the
cl . iiiiH of the working-class have assumed in France , the m > dified form in which such claims are doubtingly pref , rrcd and diseussi d at . home , the various crude attempts a «>¦ ccling the principle of association as a corrective of t * o ( U [>< tition ami its excesses , tin ; tact with which these elements h ; tve been appreciated by theological partisans and philanthropiral enthusiasts , —all these enable us to reckon pretty surely on the general character which , under ( iixi ' s blessing , the next twenty years of our 1 < niti l ; ti iou will present , and for which every provident Itcloiinrr will try to insure the widest , and therefore the safest , ncope . "
Cluing south of the Metropolis , we alight upon the following comment on Mr . Conih ghiim ' H lecture on Association , in the columns of the llriyhlon Herald : - " Mr . Coningbani alluded to the associati'Min that oxint < ( I in thin country in M . ixon tinus , and which have continue I to exist for hundreds of years in Germany , an d Htiil do ; but . most of these associations were in rcguid ^ ] 1 U 1 | O that held in common , us nm commons , to a certain extent , still nre , and « n reference to forests , Sec Sci \ Jle referred iilso to the uHHociation of fishermen on the coast of France , and , on inquiry , Mr . Coi . inglmm wnl hud that that kind of association Iihh been in operation . n this count ., long , wo believe , before the Conquest . At thin tiiao thero i » u oyslom of Bhurnig among our own
fishermen , all regulated by law . The boat has so many shares ; the nets no many ; each man so many ; and the boys have each half a share . Sometimes a man has nets , as well as the owner of the boat , and then he takes so many shares for fyis nets as well as for himself- But this system , so long in operation , is said not to work well , and it has been to a considerable extent superseded by capitalists paying men regular wages ; for by the sharing system every man is a partner , and any differences that arise can be settled only by a chancery suit ! It has frequently happened , as we are informed , that the men will go ashore at some distant place , sell their fish , drink till all the money is gone , and come home without a farthing ; but nothing can be done with them , because they are part ners . So , in favourable weather , the owner of a boat
cannot compel them to go to sea , and the opportunity of a good ' catch ' is not unfrequently lost . Sometimes one man belonging to a boat gets drunk , or is not disposed to go to sea , and all the rest of the crew and the boat are detained in consequence . Nothing can be done withth *" man ; he is a partner . This has induced some capitalists to build boats of their own , and to man them with a crew at fixed wages , and this brings them within the reach of the law . These boats'are at sea when others are not , make distant voyages , and earn much better wages , on the average , than under the old associative system . It may be said that the law ought to be altered . We admit it . But we have said enough to show that even the associative system may be worthless , unless founded on sound working principles .
Now , we hail with pleasure the above criticism , as being both healthy and perfectlyjustin itsconclusions . What is most needed is , not the blind adoption of associative principles of association by the press , but the discussion of them . Severe strictures will do no harm , but much good , when , like the above passage , they are written m good faith . The Lincolnshire Chronicle sets apart space for a species of " Open Council , " where any political and social opinions find a place—the editor declaring himself not responsiole . In this column there is a letter on the " Contract System , " by Mr . Joseph Flint , himself a trader , from which we pick out the following remarks . The letter bears on the injurious effects of that system : —
" In common with others , I sent tenders to some of the institutions on the last contracting day ; and , in order to test the judgments of the managers or directors , roost of the articles which I sent in were marked at the cost price ; and moreover they were truly and properly described ; not , for instance , describing a Nottingham lace as Brussels . I thought I stood a fair chance of success ; but , alas ! vain hope . I was completely checkmated ; and from light which has since burst in upon me , I find that if I want % o obtain a contract , I must call things by other than their correct names . In one of the institutions , the successful person tendered the " best London soap" at 5 s . per stone , a sum , with the carriage ,
less by 2 s . per cwt . than he can buy it for , though he takes ten tons at a time : another article , the " best or finest Souchong tea" was tendered at 3 s . 74 d ., when every man in the trade knows that this is a similar case : again , the " best Jamaica coffee " at Hid . per lb , when the market value is very considerably more ; whilst , as to sugar , that may fairly be left out , as it is patent to every one that a profit rarely attaches to that article . From this statement it is plain , that one of two things must occur when tenders such as these are successful , —either the contractor contrives to live by losing money on the goods , or else he does not supply the institution with the quality and description which he contracts to do ! "
The editor appends the following note : — " A letter from Mr . Flint , of Lincoln , exposing the evils of the contract system , will be found under our correspondence head ; the subject is really a serious one , anil it is fast becoming a grave question , whether grosn robbery and fraud are not fostered by the system in question . Vincent said at Peterborough , the other day , that the more the competitive system was developed , the greater would be the welfare and happiness of the people . For our parts we begin to feel that the competitive
principle has not only arrived at the end of its tether , but that that tether is creaking and straining before the unnatural pressure which it has to bear . Who can say whether or not ' free-trade , ' or , in other words , the competitive principle , may not inaugurate the associative , or cooperative ? This , at least we firmly believe ; competition can be cairied no further ; health , morals , physical and spiritual life are all Haoiilioed to the great slavedriving piinciple . After life what , will be the character of the resurrection ? A fearful question , and who can answer it ?" Will not tin-He specimens of what diverse men are thinking about in relation to sociiil « x ; conomyf operate us an encouragement to our friends mid renders who hold more decided tuul fur-going opinion !) ?
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Tiils Cask Of Ann Hicks. | The Subjoined...
TIIlS CASK OF ANN HICKS . | The subjoined hitter appeared in the Times of Monday , to which we readily give additional publicity . ] Sir ,--Whatever be the merits or demerith of Mis Hicks , I would submit the following cases of cruel injustice to the impartial consideration of your readers , ami 1 moreover pledge myself to bring forward , if necessary , documentary evidence iu proof , or the persons themselves , to substantiate my titiitements : — Charles , and his wife Henrietta , Lucy , now living at . l ' , i , Bury-street , Paddingtou , kept , a fruit stall at Victoiia-^ ate , within Uyde-paik , for the last twenty years ; and his father for ten yeurs previously , by permission of Lord Sidney , the ranger . All these persons were , industrious peoplo of unonpeachable character , uh Homo forty of tliu mobt reHpectuble inhabiuvuta of Maxyleboue can testify ,
who have allowed their names to be made use of . Yet Lacy and his wife have been turned out of Hyde-park after thirtv years' possession , without cause and without inquiry . " The father of Lacy , now dead , had been soterrified , it appears , by a keeper with threats of expulsion that he was induced to pay him a weekly sum of 5 s . Charles Lacy himself made some of these payments , and , falling in arrear , was threatened with having his goods seized for the money . He wrote to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests for " time ! " The matter was inquired into , the payment stopped , and the keeper reprimanded . This keeper , strange to say , still holds bis situation in the park , while Mrs . Lacy is nearly out of her senses from excitement consequent upon being turned out of it , and thus deprived of the means of supporting her famil .
y _ . Joseph , and his wife Mary , Spicer , now living at 11 , Lancashire-court , New Bond-street , kept a stall for some years near Grosvenor-gate , within Hyde-park , by a written permission from the late Duke of Cambridge , which is now in their possession . Spicer is a man of forty-six years of age , a smith by trade , crippled from a cut across the muscles of bis wrist , and has two daughters . When ejected from the park they were living in George-street , Oxford-street , and as soon as their landlord discovered that they were deprived of the means of gaining a living he seized their goods . They contrived , however , to save their stall tent , worth seven guineas ; now pawned , from necessity , for 30 s . They are now living in a room , with a flock bed in one corner of it , two chairs and an old deal
table . They have both excellent characters , and can be well recommended by a number of distinguished persons . Denis Keefe , now in Kensington workhouse , till of late kept a stall near Apsley-house by permission of the Deputy Ranger . He bears an excellent character , is aged and infirm ( ruptured ) , and was turned out of the park without any pretence whatever . He served six years in the " Guards , " three years on board a revenue cutter , and worked on the roads in the park for seventeen years . In thi 3 occupation he was taken ill , in consideration of which he was allowed to keep a fruit stall . Lord Seymour , when applied to by Lord Monteagle , refused to give him another situation . His present condition i wretched ; he is " breaking his heart " in the workhouse and was only driven to it by " starvation . " »
William Corderoy ( blind ) , now living at 4 , Gore-lane , Park-place , Kensington , kept a stall in Hyde-park , near Prince ' s-gate , by permission of Lord Morpeth ; is an old man , with a wife and daughter in the greatest distress , and is himself in a dying state . The wife has now got permission to " pitch " a stall on the road , near Prince ' sgate , and was obliged to leave her husband alone until she could " take some money to give him a drink . " The day I speak of she took only 5 d ., and has not more than a shilling ' s worth of cakes on her stall . She looks halfstarved . These poor people shall be relieved ; but I would ask these noble lords and commissioners whether they imagine such crying injustice will be tolerated in this country on the plea that the stalls might interfere with the Crystal or any other palace ?—I am , Sir , your obedient servant , Kemptown , Aug . 2 . William Coningham . P . S . The site of Lacy ' s stall is now occupied by another person , and there are several stalls or tents still permitted to remain in Kensington-gardens .
A Judge Insulted. Mr. Baron Platt Has Be...
A JUDGE INSULTED . Mr . Baron Platt has been grossly insulted , in his public character as Minister under the Royal Commission , " by Sir Horace St . Paul , in his public character , as a servant of the Crown . Sir Horace is sheriff of Northumberland , and the insult consisted in meeting thejudge atNewcastle-on-Tyne with a very plain , not to say shabby Clarence carriage , without any ornament whatever , and having a rumble behind , in which were two footmen in plain liveries . " And this dreadful insult was mude more poignant by tho fact that the * ' carriage mountings were plated" and the harness mountings in brass ; " and there being no " javelin men , outriders , trumpeters , or attendants of any kind '' nothing in short but the driver , and the two footmen ' in tho rumble . " Mr . Baron Platt
resented the insult . In his address to tho grand jury he said : — " As I have the honour to address those whom I see before me , and in the presence of so many respectable individuals , I cannot leave you without expressing my great regret that in this great country , and in this great county of Northumberland , the gentry are so reduced as not to show the ordinary respect and loyalty to the Crown . It is not merely as judges that we come here . We are ministers under the ltuyul commission . We have the honour to attend before you under the commission or sign manual to her Majesty ; und in this country , whero any disloyalty or any disregard to the administration of justice ia considered a slur , I . do rtgret that the usuul and ordinary garniture by which that loyulty is disp layed ^ should not have been exhibited oh the present occasion .
The High Sheriff , rising in considerable perturbation , said : 1 have been directly charged with disloyalty . 1 publicly declare that " the accusation is unjust and unfounded . I am us loyftl a subject us there is in any county in the kingdom . His Lordship : I must certainly say that , as a gentleman of ample meaiiH , that loyally to tho Crown and respect for her Majesty ' s commission has not been exhibited 44 Thin little opiaodo " the UHsize account continues , 44 crcutcd quito a sensation in the court , and was tho subject of conversation and remark during 'ho course of tho ( lay , und in accordance with hit * lorurthip ' n desire it is said tho trumpeters were went to heruld Mr . Justice Williams to the court on nw arrival , and on August 3 they prw « dod tho oi | r « ag «
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 9, 1851, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09081851/page/8/
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