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that spot . It was felt that if the Shah of Persia made himself master of that city , the influence of Russia would be paramount in Afghanistan . But Lord Palmerston began at last to see that something must be done , unless England were prepared to submit ignominiously to whatever indignities Russia might choose to inflict . In the summer of 1838 , a message was sent to the Shah of Persia , warning him that he must withdraw his troops from Herat , or we should be forced to adopt severe measures . The following portion of the message to the Shah will show that our Government entertained a rather strong objection to the taking of Herat for Russian purposes in 1838 , whatever view it may take of the same encroachment in 1851 : —
"I am directed to inform your Majesty that if Herat should have surrendered to your Majesty , the British Government will consider your Majesty ' s continuing to occupy that , or any other portion of Affghanistan , as a hostile demonstration against England . Her Majesty ' s Minister Plenipotentiary anxiously hopes that , by speedily withdrawing the Persian army into your Majesty ' s own dominions , your Majesty will avert the inevitable consequences of persevering in a course of hostility to England .
" Your Majesty is no doubt informed by the Government of Fars , that a body of British , troops , and a naval armament , consisting of five ships of war have already arrived in the Persian Gulf , and that for the present the troops have been landed on the Island of Karrak . The measures your Majesty may adopt in consequence of this representation will decide the future movements and proceedings of that armament . "
This " firm " language , backed by the English ships of war , speedily brought the Shah to his senses . He had been told by the Russian agents that England had entered into recognizances of a thousand millions to keep the peace , that even if we were disposed to go to war , our army and navy were so reduced as to leave us entirely at the mercy of our neighbours , and that now was the time for his Persian Majesty to tread in the footsteps of Nadir Shah , and march forward to Delhi . The appearance of the English armament in the Persian Gulf taught the silly Shah that he had been imposed upon by the wily agents of Russia ;
and as this bad news came immediately after the signal failure of an assault which the Persian army Lad made on Herat , under the guidance of Major-General Count Simonich , the pacific Russian Ambassador , lie prudently took the hint which Lord Palmerston had given , raised the siege , and withdrew his army into liis own dominions . Then followed a brisk diplomatic correspondence between Lord Palmerston and Count Nessclrode , respecting the underhand part which Russia had played in all these transactions ; the upshot of which was , that the wily Count distinctly disavowed all intention of the Russian Government to disturb the British
empire in Asia , and expressed his strong disproval of the expedition against Herat ; and that Lord Palmerston declared himself perfectly satisfied as to the sincerity of the Russian Minister's disavowal . And now , looking back at the llusso-Persian foray into Afghanistan in 18 : 57-8 , with the additional light which recent evcntH have thrown upon Russian policy , the question for Englishmen to ask ih : —Why should we now stand quietly by and allow Persia to take possession of Herat ? In IH 3 H , our Government warned the Shah that his
continuing to occupy that city , or any other portion ol Allghanistan , would ho considered a hostile demonstration against England , and prompt measures were taken to convince him that we were in earnest In ISf » l , when everything conspires to make us more jealous of Russian influence—more . suspicious of Russian intrigue , the Shah of Persia—the mere satrap of the (// ar— -is allowed l , o take possession
of the chief fortress in the most defensible country on the whole road from the Russian frontier to the Punjaiib , without even a word of remonstrance . Is tliis another of the adroit diplom atic schemes by which lOngland is to he conveniently frightened into keeping the peace at some future crisis , when a bold policy on her part would scatter consternation among the despots , and give usminuiee to the friends of freedom from one cud of Europe to the oLhcr ?
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T 11 I-J P llliHH IN S P A I N . Thk TribiDia del l ' ueblo \ un \ boon condemned to a fino of />(> , <)()() ri'uliiH , alter a previous fi'ie of . 'IO , O ( H > realoH ; a heavy ushiuiIi , on u journal which bunt-A its kucocsh on opinion alone . " We Bought , " flays tho Tribuna , " the war of icU-as , and not of bullion . We thought that lor our purpose , tho weupoiiB were to bti nought in the armoury of intelliKence , and not in the purae . Illusion !
Before you can think , before you can discuss , before you can expound ideas , you must possess money — much money . With much money you may enjoy the privilege of poisoning public morality ; without it , you can neither do good nor propound useful ideas . " It is not quite so bad in this country . Success and free opinion are not incompatible ; but money enjoys vast privileges of slander and depravity . Meanwhile , the Tribuna " reposes " from the contest , and retires for awhile from public view , to gather " fresh munitions . " Success to it : our contemporary has fought bravely and well ; its labour will not have been in vain . Its bread thrown upon the waters will be returnable in 1852 .
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THE NEW GOVERNOR OF MALTA . The morning papers state that Colonel Reid and Mr . Dilke have both declined the remuneration offered them , by the royal commission , for their valuable services in connection with the Great Exhibition . Mr . Dilke , as a matter of personal feeling , being fortunately able to afford the sacrifice , has given his services gratuitously . The ground on which . Colonel Reid declines the sum offered by the Commissioners , is that , being retained in the Government pay , while acting as chairmain of the
Executive Committee , he was bound by military etiquette to render all the aid he could without any additional reward . It appears , however , that his services at the Crystal Palace are to be rewarded in a much more munificent manner than by the gift of two or three thousand pounds . The governorship of Malta , to which Colonel Reid has been appointed by Government , with a salary of £ 3500 per annum , only a few hundred less than that of the President of the United States—the chief magistrate of 24 , 000 , 000 people—is a very handsome honorarium for his last twelvemonth ' s labours .
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MANCHESTER FOB . THE IRISH . Cheap cotton and cheap corn ! What more did Manchester millowners ask in order to give them enormous profits ? And yet with such elements of prosperity Manchester finds that its pauperism has been increasing at a more rapid rate during the last few years of abundance and low prices than those previous to the abolition of the corn laws . Of course , the Protectionist organs appeal to so startling a fact as the most unanswerable proof of the ruinous consequences of Free-trade . This is sheer absurdity . It is merely a striking illustration of the mischievous operation of the ten times tinkered Poor-law
Amendment Act . Since the abolition of the power of removing paupers who have resided five years in any township , the depopulation system in Ireland and England has filled our large towns with the surplus agricultural population . These victims of our wretched landlord system contrive to scramble on for a few years in a miserable , half-starved manner , and then throw themselves upon the poor rates . The rapid increase of the population in Manchester and other manufacturing towns ip not a healthy increase . More than half of the new
arrivals are forced to take refuge there , because they have neither Bpirit nor funds to take them to America , Canada , or Australia . But although this explains why pauperism increases so fast in Manchester , it does not show how the evil is to be encountered . The Times takes up the question in its usual grand way , places it in the most alarming light , and then winds up by saying that , so as far it can perceive , nothing can be done . On that point we dUfer from " the leading journal , " and we bhall endeavour to show why in a future number .
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CHKAP OMNIIIDSKH . In Liverpool and Glasgow there arc omnibuses which curry passengers uhort distances at the rate of a penny per mile . Why should we not have the same cheap conveyances in London ? A bold attempt has been made , we understand , in one of our busiest thoroughfares to establish a line of omnibuses on the same principle as those of Liverpool ; but it is questionable whether it will succeed under our wretched , scrambling , wasteful system of unregulated competition . The advocates of laissezfaire may kvu an illustration of the evil working of their favourite dnrlriiw in ( lie omnibus waifare which bail
lately been confounding Oxford-street . Wo sooner had the cheap vehicles been started to the ( Treat delight of the public , than tho wealthy l ' addington Conveyance Association placed a number of omnibuHCH on the same route ; at equally low faren , for tho expiesn purpose of running the introducer of the cheap system oil ' the road . Should they succeed in doing ho , tho reimlt will , no doubt , be a return to the old fans , and the triumph of laissezfaire . Now , if penny omnibuses p ; iy in Liverpool , where wages arc quite as high hi they mo here , why should they not tmcceed in London ? If they fail , will it not be simply because the present companies contrive to preserve ii virtual monopoly of the paauenger traflic ?
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1042 tot ) * & ££ & £ *? [ Saturday ,
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SOCIAL REFOR M . " NOTES OF A SOCIAL CECONOMIST . " THE COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS OP ENGLAN
VII . " The development of . the human faculties * t > a * v formation of human character , take place accord !* fixed laws imposed by the Creator for the regular to both mind and body , and to be successful ( in edueir" ° / our endeavours to modify either must be made in ' forraity with divine arrangements . " - —Combe on th \ lu ' nagement of Infancy . Ma - " The benefits of Circulation ( of wages ) , and the \> sistence of the working classes , would remain as i great results of a labour which yet would give no ttrJt to the employer . "—Partnership " en Commandite ™ h t . wi-lson . ' ° y
The result of his experiments at Manchester and at New Lanark convinced Robert Owen of the truth of the principle that any general character , from the best to the worst , from the ignorant to the enli ghtened but endlessly varied according- to the diversities of physical and mental constitution , may be imparted to any communityy even to the world at large , by an application of the means , which are already to a great extent at command and under human control . The
astute policy of governments * and of priests had hitherto formed for society the general character of mankind . Robert Owen , therefore , determined to go forth as a pilgrim lecturer—a missionary , or martyr if need were , of the gospel of Reasonpreaching the strange doctrine " That the character of man is formed for , and not by him—the most important divine principle ever yet taught to man , for all eternal truths are divine . " He could do no
more , he thought , for a manufacturing population , and determined to leave New Lanark ; but finding that the profits of the concern were so much larger than any parties ought to receive from the labour of others , he proposed to two of his partners to allow the workpeople to have it to themselves for their own profit , after paying five per cent , for the capital there invested ; and he offered to continue to manage it for them until they could conduct it for themselves through directors of their own
appointment . But this was at once declined . For even , in 1822 , William Allen wrote to him— " Our principles ( religious ) are diametrically opposite ( to rational ) . At present , however , it is quite plain that we must part . " After several years of preparation , during which he made the necessary arrangements for departure , Robert Owen sold his pecuniary interest in the concern , and finally retired in 1829-Between the autumn of the year 1824 and the summer of 1829 , Robert Owen was four times in the United States of America , once in the West
Indies , and once in Mexico . These journeys were made to promote the great object of his life , " l ' (! permanent happiness of the human race . " What , then , were the moral , political , and pecuniary results of this great experiment , carried on for nearly thirty years ? The circumstances surrounding the population of New Lanark had been completely changed . The inhabitants , who were originally idle , dirty , intemperate , and iminorul , became induHtriouH , sober , cleanly , and inora ,
under circumstances which at the best were veiy defective " compared with those in which all peopl " ought to be placed , thus proving the natural ^ goodneHH of humanity when properly trcuted ; ; inl they were made contented and happy by the Himi process of removing inferior and injurious circiimfltanccH and substituting those which were kciicf" * an-1 Huperior . Thus the " ( JitifiAT Tkuth w * evolved . „ . ,... i t : voiveu . „ , ] ciwcu
The political chunks which had been - , were manifested by the absence of litigation , a by the gradual introduction of feelings ol ctu"A and good will between the different aeclH ; M . . sY / -iinsurance of tho people again . st age aii < ( irinity by weekly subNcriptioiw ; and by tn « ( abxeiic-o of parochial relief , or charity from wil » * It . wnH the dyiiiK injunction of Henry IV- ll ^ not to ullow the KiiK liHh to remain long at jmi _ , wan apt to breed iulcKtiuo commotions : 1 »» l l iu ^| , t them in foreign expedition ^ by which tho I « £ > « acquire glory . This Prineo allowed the r « ^ tlirco of hin HulIragunH , the Hiahops <>* * ' »»< i ' j WlU , ii cheater , and Hi . David '* , to burn tko good hold ^ Vl us u Lollard or Wiokliilito .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1851, page 1042, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1907/page/14/
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