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892 THE LEADER. [Saturday-,
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DEAR BEEAD! The crusade against the bake...
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IFRANCE UNDER THE EMPIRE, TxiEitB 1ms be...
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FRENCH JOURNALISM. So mm little time ago...
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THE AUSTRIAN TKOOPS AT BUCHAREST. A corr...
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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Transcript
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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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892 The Leader. [Saturday-,
892 THE LEADER . [ Saturday-,
Dear Beead! The Crusade Against The Bake...
DEAR BEEAD ! The crusade against the bakers goes on . They yield only to pressure ; but that continues to be applied : — " In Somersetshire , it appears , that , notwithstanding the recent agitation , the price of bread at Bridewater is considerably higher than in any other town in the county . So great , indeed , has been the pressure of the bakers' monopoly on the labouring classes , that the sanitary board in the borongh of Bridgwater have felt it within their province to inquire into the matter ; and the result has brought to light the existence of a combination among the bakers and millers , which , by the statute 2 nd and 3 rd of Edward VI ., is declared illegal , and subjected to certain penalties . The Bridgwater bakers , it appears , have entered into a compact not to undersell each other , and a forfeit of 5 ? . is the penalty agreed to among themselves for any breach of the combination rules ! At Bath the 4 lb . loaf has been reduced to 5 id ., while at Wells , the same as la Bridgwater , the price is 7 d . for * seconds , and 7 } d . for fine i " There lias been a partial abatement of price in Devonshire : —
" The contracts for tread for the various unions just entered into show a great diminution , over the last quarter , but generally speaking the public have not yet participated in the downward currencies of the corn trade . In the Totnes district the average price of the 41 b . loaf for the 30 parishes in the union , for the quarter ending Michaelmas , is 7 | d- ; and for the ensuing quarter , from Michaelmas io Christmas , the contract price is 5 Jd . Flour also shows a similar reduction in price in the same period—viz ., from 57 s . 6 d . la 37 s . per sack . At Plymouth and Devonport , last week , the bakers reduced the price of bread from Is . 3 d . to Is . Id . the 81 b . loaf ; "but the public are yet anxious for a further instalment of their rights , and it is thought the bakers must yield . Thecitizens of Exeter are now charged 6 | d . and 7 d . 41 bloafbut this rate hardl
per . , can y be maintained in tie face of an organised opposition . A jpublie meeting was held a few days ago , when Jfwas resolved to form a bread company for Exeter and the South of Devon , and communications were made from similar societies established elsewhere . The working Classes appear determined to have the power in their own lands to assimilate the price of bread and flour with the puuce of wheat * and a number of friendly societies have promised to subscribe the necessary funds to commence the undertaking . To prevent a recurrence of what is termed ' rigging tie market' by a few of the wealthy millers , tbe town council have issued notices that they intend in futae to authorise the opening of the Exeter corn-market at eleven o ' clock on Fridays , and that it will be closed two hours earlier than heretofore . "
A Bristol paper says : —¦ " The bakers of Bristol have lowered the quartern loaf another halfpenny last week ; this makes a reduction of one penny since the great fall in the price of wheat , but we believe the public are entitled to demand one halfpenny more off , three-halfpence on the quartern being the proportion to the fall in the price of the wheat per quarter . We suppose , however , we are to be thankful for what we have got already , until such time as the iakers condescend to let us have the benefit , the whole benefit , and nothing but the benefit , of the bounteous harvest with which we have been blessed . " There is a popular demonstration for cheap bread in Dorsetshire : —
" The walls were placarded , and the bakers and millers de . nonncedas vile monopolists , and movements made for establishing bread consumers' societies , before the purveyors would give , way . A lakers' and millers' society has existed in Sheroome many years , and at their weekly meetings tlie rise and fall of prices are deliberated on and decided . It is the practice for the bakers to adopt one price , the milleas , on the other hand , bind themselves not to supply flour to any baker who does not belong to the local club , and by these means competition is evaded . A baker from a distanco recently began selling bread at a Iotv remunerating profit , and the society , backedby the millers , tried to rain mm bv
selling their commodities below the actual cost j this ultimately brought the new comer into connexion with the society , and the rule of monopoly was maintained ! A few weeka eiuce , however , another cheap bread-shop was opened , and this circumstance at once brought down the price of bread in Shorborno from 8 id . and 9 d . per loaf to 7 jd . and GAd . The cheap bread Hollers now offer bread at 6 d , per 41 b . loaf weighed on delivery . " In connection with this question arises that of the wagea of agricultural labourers . It has been predicted that one of the consequences of the abundant harvest will be a cry next winter of " agricultural distress . "
1 he farmers are preparing- against the evil day , by the simple process of cutting off a shilling or two iier week from , the wages of thoi * labourers . A Berkshire paper states ; -r" That in consequence of the £ roat fall in the price , of wheat most of the agriculturists aro reducing their labourers ' wages . In many instances the reduction will commence immediately , and in this neighbourhood it will fco to tho oxtent of 2 a . por week—viz ,, from lla . to 9 s . "
Ifrance Under The Empire, Txieitb 1ms Be...
IFRANCE UNDER THE EMPIRE , TxiEitB 1 ms been an Imperial manifesto on tho stato of things in Franco . Tho abject is to show what advantages have been derived from tho Government of Louin Napoleon , tho English alliance mnong thorn . Tho Moniteur speaks : — " Frnneo is now enjoying tho fruits of tho honourable n » d firm policy inaugurated by tho E mporor . In spito of fmnine , opidomlo , nnd war , tlio jnntioniil nativity him not boon diminished » nd tho public credit lias not been slmkon . Thanlca to tho wlao resolution of tho Government , < so well Bcoonilcd by tho courngo wnd conttdonco of tho country , throo of tho
most formidable scourges which can afflict a nation have been reduced , with the exception of losses to be for ever regretted , to the limits of passing difficulties . The epidemic is being extinguished ; the famine has been succeeded by an abundant harvest ; the war , commenced under happy auspices , inspires no more alarm than the ambition which created it . Within a short time the nations , faithful to their appointment , will re-assemble at Paris to take part in the pacific struggles between industry and the arts . " What an immense change has taken place in opinion as well as in position f At the same time that France resumed in Europe the eminent rank which belonged to her , she witnessed the disappearance of that distrust of which the recollection of the past rendered her the object . That nation , against which every other country thought it had the right to cherish jealousy , has become by an unexpected change the most solid support of European order . It is no longer towards the north that weak or menaced States turn their
attention ; and , what is still more astonishing , the fears which France inspired have ceased by the accession of him whose glorious name seemed calculated to awaken them . What has just taken place at Boulogne forms an indication more exjressive than any words . To that shore , whence Napoleon fifty years ago menaced England , and whence he rushed to the conquest of Germany , have come the Prince , the husband of the Queen of England , generals from all the States of Germany , and also the King of the Belgians , and the King of Portugal , to visit the heir of Napoleon . They were present as allies , as friends , at the manoeuvres of an army which by its discipline and its bravery , still more than by the spot where it was encamped , recalled to recollection the Grand Army of the first empire . " The ;; fact is , that every one is now aware that those valiant soldiers only threaten the enemy of the peace of the
world ; that the memorable words at Bordeaux j -which at first appeared irreconcilable with the reality , have become an incontestable truth to all ; that no one doubts that , with the causes of division which still exist in Europe , with the weakness of certain' States and the hesitation of others , if France lad not been satisfied with the re-establishment of its National Government , if her strength had not been concentrated in a firm and skilful hand , , the question now to be decided in the East would have become the signal for one universal conflagration . It is because every one is convinced that a prompt and energetic war was the only way to re-establish peace upon a solid basis ; and , in short , that this war , entered upon not in the spirit of conquest , but made imperative for the honour and safety of all , was only tmdertaken after Europe , represented by a sort of grand jury , had pronounced with unanimity against the guilty
aggressor a sentence which it would have been dishonourable not to execute . France and England could not shrink before that consequence . United in action as they had been in opinion , the two great maritime Powers share the glory of the yi gorous resolution which forms the security of the present and the guarantee of the future . " Assuredly , the relations of good neighbourhood between England and France do not date from yesterday . Long years of tranquillity , the progress of enlightened views , and more frequent relations between the two people , had weakened national antipathies ; but this happy change was more rapidly effected among the superior classes than in the mass of the people , and there was a long step from such a state of things to the fraternal relations which now 60 closely unite the two nations . " The transport of our troops to the Baltic in tho English
fleet , and tho enthusiasm which the visit of the Emperor on the . occasion excited , had already proved to Europe the intimacy of our alliance . The visit of Prince Albert to the camp of Boulogno , and the cordial reception he experienced from our population and our soldiers , formed , as it were , a final nnd solemn consecration of that alliance . The records of history added still more to the significance of this great event . Upon those very localities which had been the scene of our former struggles the union of tho two people seems to have been effected by a closer tie , and the forgetfulness of tho past wa « rendered moi-e complete . "We must do the English Government tho justice of saying that it spared nothing to hasten such a desirable union . From tho first announcement of the re-establishment of tho Empire , when others wero undecided as to the course they should adopt , England did . not hesitate . On his part , tho Emperor , mudo wise by history , and faithful to tlio idea
or his uncle , who so oloquontly deplored tho evils which England and Franco had created by their divisions , while their union would liavo boon so profitable to their interests and to the cause of humanity , was desirous < to free the second half of the century from tho calamities which had desolated tho commencement of it . " Thanks to the good faith which has characterised the relations betweon tho two States , tho policy which -wisdom dictated to them has triumphed , without cither having sacrificed its interests , its independence , ov its dignity . Old antipathies have suddenly given place to vociprocnl friendship and esteem , Tlio attacks of public journals have boon turned into united gratitude and admiration . Tho alliance formed not only between the Governments , but between tho people , is now cemented by tho blood which their soldiers and sailors shed togotlior for tho triumph of tho most noblo cnuso .
1 ho causes which led to tho adoption of this alliance guarantco the duration of it , and tho results which it haw already produced indicate will * sufficient clearness tho consequences which may bo expected from it . "
French Journalism. So Mm Little Time Ago...
FRENCH JOURNALISM . So mm little time ago tho Const tout ionnel received a warning from tlio French government on uccount of a pnrUcular article which appeared in it . Tho editor , Viscount do la Querroniorc , shortly altorwimlB published a lcttor repudiating tho rosponalbility of tho nrticloin question , nnd migrating that it would not have appeared but for lib having beou in tho country at tho time .
notorious charges , of ancient as well as recent date , affecting his professional character . Unless the gentleman in question be very much maligned , he has long been in the habit of exacting fees from the authors and actors whose writings or performances he criticises . Indeed it is said that in private he ' * owns and justifies' the charge , using an argument analogous to the celebrated one advanced by Lord Bacon when convicted of taking bribes—that he had sold ' justice , ' it -was true , but never ' injustice ! ' So this critic protests that he would scorn to take money for an opinion against his conscience , but that he sees no harm in receiving a gratuity for taking the trouble to give a conscientious opinion . M . Cuehevai Clarigny distinctly refuses to be a party to the recognition of this principle as applied to the duties of a writer for the public press . " The Union says that M . de la Guerrpniere is appointed political director of , the Moniteur . There are rumours to this effect , but it has not been ascertained whether tfie appointment has been actually made . "
Great indignation was felt in newspaper circles at this recreant act , and the Sxecle did not spare the sinning editor . It is now announced that M . de la Guerronifcre has been , in consequence of his conduct , dismissed from the editorship of the Constitutionnel . It is said that this act is universally applauded among the press people as one of proper spirit on the part of the proprietors . " By way of consolation to M . de la Guerronlere for his dismissal from the editorial chair , government has conferred upon him the office of Councillor of State . ( Test un 4 tat comme tin autre . M . Cuehevai Clarigny is the new editor of the Constitutionnel , hut it is understood that he has only accepted the appointment upon condition that a certain eminent theatrical critic shall no longer be connected -with the journal , unless he can satisfactorily refute some very
The Austrian Tkoops At Bucharest. A Corr...
THE AUSTRIAN TKOOPS AT BUCHAREST . A correspondent of the Daily News at Bucharest gives an amusing- account of the the " personnel" of the Austrian troops on their entry into the town . lie says : — " When the Austrians were said to be two leagues from the town , I rode out , in company with a Sardinian officer , to have a look at them on the march . We proceeded ten miles under a hot sun before we saw any traces of them ; but at last caught sight of a picket of cavalry hulans , resting themselves in a small grove close to a village , the horses fastened to the trees , and the men engaged in knocking down pears from the brandies with stones . Notwithstanding they had been two months on march , both one and the other looked remarkably well . A few yards further on we met the officer , a fine tall strapping fellow , brilliant and neat as if he had just issued from a bandbox , but evidently by rto means inclined to underrate his own importance . " The Austrian flag was waving over one or two houses in the village , and hal f a mile in advance we came upon a battalion in a field by the road side , where they had been resting themselves , and were just putting on their knapsacks , for the purpose of resuming th « ir march . They were all Hungarians , and wore the tight-fitting pataloons which form part of their national dress , and were making a great uproar in good , strong , guttur al , jaw-breaking , unmistakable Magyar . Soldiers were leading officers' horses about , and doctors were walking up and down in cocked hats and blue coats , looking as melancholy as possible , I was unwilling to approach to near or remain too long , lest 1 should either bo insulted , or arrested ns a spy , according to a long-established custom amongst the Austrians , , like the Irish boy , ' God help ' em , tbev ' re afcured of iviry body . ' It is always dangerous for a civilian , or any one classed as a civilian , to approach an Austrian officei
; tue cnanccs avo ton to one he Jails foul of him , and conducts him before his general , who makos a few polite inquiries as to his private and personal affairs , the object of his journey , and the manner in which ho gets hia living , which an Englishman ia always loth to answor . Wo accordingly ' nriovcd on , ' passed another battalion a little higher up the hill , a band with a dog drawing tho big drum in a neat little cart , and toiling right willingly at his task , notwithstanding tho great heat . The largo drums of all the Austrian bands nro convoyed in this manner—placed endways in tho cart j thu drummer walks behind , and taps a-w-ny . Tho dogs receive regular rations , besides odd morsols bestowed on them by the men , nro in capital condition , and 1 have no doubt lead a happy , and I think I may add , a useful life . A Wallachian peasant , who was acting ns our eukle , wassoticklod by this spectacle that ho screamed with laughter , placed his two handy on his ribs , and roljod about in convulsions . Tlio musicians scorned to think his mirth cxtrandv ill-timod ,
ono might judge by their surly looks , nnd I was at one niomont afraid tlioy wore going to lay violent ljan <]« on him . At other points wo « aw two battalions more , ono battery of artillery , but no cavalry . Tlio road all tho way into Bucharest was covered with carts containing tlio bn ^ gugo JUid ammunition , nnd tlio sick , of whom , however , them > vcro no grout nunibor ; but tho lew that wore to bo Boon must hnvo been suifcring dreadfully from tho heat nnd dust . 3 s o precaution scorned to liuvo boon taken for their protection lrom either . M y object in going out ho fiir was to seo them in working trim , knowing wull that they would brush tlicmhcIvoh up on tho clay of tholr entry into Bucharest , that ono could consequently not ; form on tlmt occasion u correct idea of thoir npficnranuo and uquipmont . I inuat Buy that tlio roHiilt of tho lmtity inspection fin- aurjinascd my expect at ion . Everything on nnd about tlio soldiers warn clean and neat , us it' they wero just issuing from garrinon inntoad of loing at , tlio oIomo of ii two ihoihIih' innruii . Their white coats wero BtuinlcBH , thoir Mhakoa apparently not in tho Irnsttlio woi'ho of tho wear , tliuir arms , bolts , mid accoutrements brilliant ns on . h liold-diiv- « t Vicnun , tli « artillery hoi-acn wer « iW * J > - looking nnd moq | c nni ] tho bngKiigo-wuKK <> ii » "" d linnices in purloct ordor . " ' bb
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 23, 1854, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23091854/page/4/
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