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coupled with . county rates and other taxes , & ? F a *™ amounted almost to a disinherison , and have proved . so ruinous an exaction in many of the seats of manufacture as to cripple that very independent industry m behalf of which our opponents profess so much anxiety r those ^ hb alarm themselves by conjuring ^ up ; £ hqstof evils as cer&intospring from the adoption of ^ une ™* tive industry by the unemployed poor , the use in , houses of thJprJducts manufactured , or the saleof them outside , not under market price , appear to overlook the fact that the principle has been long in operation in different institutions in these countries , without , as far as we are aware , any complaint of its evilresults . In many unions , both ' in England and Inland the system has been partially introduced , in spite of the obstinate hostility offered to it by the authorities entrusted with the of the statuteand in where
administration ; every case an enlightened and painstaking management has been evinced , the effects have been most gratifying , not only in the reduction of the rates , but in the amelioration of the condition of the poor , by restoring them to society with the means of supporting themselves , instead of being , as formerly , burdens upon it . Putting aside altogether the pecuniary benefit to the community , no one who has travelled in Ireland can have failed to be forcibly struck With the contrast presented between the discipline , cleanliness , and health , preserved in houses where the self-supporting system has been introduced , and the disease , filth , and general degradation , which are certain to shock the spectator who visits the institutions abandoned to the cruel ma . ndate of enforced idleness , and which might have appropriately engraved upon their portals , the dismal
motto" Let all who enter here leave hope behind . " In our gaols , bridewells , and penitentiaries , the prisoners are buckled to productive employment , and the articles manufacture dare ei therii 8 ed-by-the 4 nmates ^ er-sold-for the purpose of reducing the county rate . Then we have numerous benevolent associations , founded and maintained for the purpose of instructing and rewarding the destitute— " the lame , the halt , and the blind "—whose products , whether basketwork or needlework , are sold to diminish the expense of supporting them . Who would have the hardihood to plead for the extinction of these institutions by referring to the bugbear that they interfere with independent labour ? Agricultural societies ,
organized to disseminate instruction and to distribute seed , gratuitously , to struggling cultivators of the soil , are clearly illegitimate , if the reproductive employment of the poor by a board of guardians be so , ~ as they may be said to interfere with the independent farmer , who pays for his own seed and instruction . Because some persons pin their faith to an angular and wire-drawn version of political economy , are we to condemn the admirable allotment system established by Lord Dartmouth , in the progress of which hundreds of acres , heretofore neglected , have been rendered productive ,
and thousands of persons saved from indigence ? Again , the establishment of National Schools by the State , and the foundation of Schools by the Church of England , and other religious denominations and general associations , may be said to have interfered with independent labour , as they have effectually extinguished the ancient race of village schoolmasters and school dames ; yet no one who reflects upon the strides which popular education has made under the auspices of these institutions , calls out for their annihilation , upon the grounds advanced against the reproductive employment of the destitute .
"We are justified , therefore , in summing up our views as follow : — 1 . The existing administration of the poor law has been fraught with disaster to all classes in England and Ireland , by sinking the poor still lower in the scale of humanity , and augmenting the burden of the poor rates . 2 . A change is absolutely necessary . 3 . The employment of the poor in works of a productive character has been advocated by the first statesmen and public writers who have adorned the annals of this country ; and the soundness of the principle and its advantages both to the poor and the ratepayer have been demonstrated in numerous workhouses and other public institutions . 4 . All objections to the reproductive and self-supporting system , on the score of its interference with the " testing " of destitution , or with independent labour , outside of the workhouse , are fallacious .
To impress these truths upon the public , the Legislature , and the Government , is the task which the Poor Law Association has undertaken . We appeal for aid in this work-To the Christian , who sees tho principles of his Master , who was emphatically the friend and advocate of the Eoor , practically ignored under the present system of lioness , misery , and immorality : — To the Philanthropist , who cannot contemplate without anguish the spectacle of his fellow creatures immured within the four walls of a poorhouse , and there doomed to rot and languish , a burden to themselves and sooiety : — To the Statesman , who , if he were wise , would seize tho
present period of tranquillity and prosperity to grapple with this monster evil : — To the Manufacturer and Merchant , who cannot fail to attribute the greatness of this empire , and their success and position in it , to the development of human skill and industry :- — To the Landed Proprietor—whose broad acres aro threatened with virtual confiscation : — To the Farmer—the . " Trader—the Shopkeeper —( in a word ) to the Ratepayer—who finds himself doubly mulcted , first for the relief of the poor in the wretched and unnatural style we have described ; and , secondly for tho support , in our gaols , convict ships , and ponai settlements , of tho criminals engendered by an absurd and degrading system . " We believe thatUthe suggestion s wo present to our
countrymen afford the true solution of the difficulty—an unfSS wmedy for the evil-and that their general aonroval and adoption will realize the prediction ^ of $ Knt St ; Albans , who , nearly 300 years ago , when *? S ^ o ^ m find provision , and otjer people the sweetness of the abatement of the tax . v The youth and the adult will be instructed in habits of industry , so that while under the protection of a beneficent statute , they will , more or less help towards their own sustamment , and when they choose to withdraw from its protection they can start into new life as useful , loyal ; and independent members , of the great human family . . _ Tivr ,.. * , niin h » vi > nlrparlv p . nneurred in the . objects oi
the Association are earnestly invited to promote them , not only in their respective localities , but by forwarding its " Addresses " and other publications to their friends at a distance . In every town and utuon it behoves them to confer with those who hold similar views , and concert measures for the practical enforcement of them ; to convene public meetings ( the clergyman or chief magistrate of the place being invited to preside ); to pass _ resolutions , and , if thought expedient , petition the Legislature in favour of productive employment ; and endeavour to prevail upon the guardians themselves to introduce such employment as early as practicable . . Among the means which the committee purpose adopting to carry out the objects of the Association are : — ¦ 1 . Lectures , by a number of gentlemen , upon the moral and economical evils of pauperism under the present tne cultiva
system ; upon spade husbandry , drainage , - tion of flax , &c , and the various kinds of useful labour capable of being introduced in different unions . _ The fifst lecture has been delivered by the Reverend Hugh S to well , Honorary Canon of Chester and Manchester . 2 . The circulation ofi , tracts , and 3 . The publication of a periodical , the Poor Law Ctr ~ cit / grrto-advocate- ^^ -p """ * ?^ ° f the Association , and disseminate practical information respecting the beneficial adoption indifferent places of in and outdoor employment for the destitute ^^
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Several hundred gentlemen of position and influence in different parts of the three kingdoms are members of the general committee , but it is deemed sufficient here to repeat the names of the Vice-Presidents : — The Lord Bishop of Ripon . Sir John Stewart Forbes , Baronet . . Sir Thomas Tancred , Baronet . SisJE . Armitage . Sir A . Clarke , M . D ., F . R . CS . E . F . French , Esq ., M . P . James Rersnaw , Esq ., M . P . Geoffrey Martin , Esq ., Chairman of Guardians , Ballinrbbe . R . Musgrave , Esq ., ditto , Lismore . Thomas Carlyle , Esq . Reverend R . C . Clifton , Canon of Manchester . S . D . Darbishire , Esq . Reverend R . Durnford , M . A . William Ewart , Esq ., M . P . William Fairbairn , Esq . Reverend William Harness . James Heywood , Esq ., M . P ., F . R . S . Reverend W . F . Hook , D . D . Leonard Homer , Esq . John Owens , Esq ., High Sheriff of Antrim . Reverend Canon Parkinson , D . D ., Principal of St . Bees . G . Poulett Scrope , Esq ., M . P . Reverend J . Sherman . Reverend Canon Stowell . W , Watson , Esq ., Sheriff of Aberdeen . W . Woolryche Whitmore , Esq . T . R . Wilson Ffrance , Esq . The Honourable and Reverend Grantham Yorke . Henry Thomas Hope , Esq ., M . P . ' Colonel T . F . Burke , Chairman of Cork Union . Subscriptions in aid of the funds of the Association are requested to be sent to Thomas Greig , Esq ., Treasurer , Cornbrook-park , Manchester ; the Secretaries , T . Wheeler , Esq ., S . C . L ., St . John ' s College , Cambridge , Temple , London ; J . Toulmin Smith , Esq ., Highgate , London ; T . H . Battye , Esq ., Huddersfield ; James Winder , Esq ., Bolton ; and to T . Worthiiigton Barlow , Esq ., and Archibald G . Stark , Esq ., at the head office of the Association , 9 , St . James ' s-square , Manchester , from whom can be obtained all the Addresses , &c , issued by the Association . Subscribers will be enrolled as Members on the payment of 10 s . and upwards , and be entitled to receive ,, free , all the publications issued by the Association , including the Poor Law Circular . Smaller donations will be acknowledged by a copy of the Circular . Signed , by order of the committee , T . WOHTHINGTON BAHXOW , ) ao ,- « t 0-: «« Archibald G . Stawc , ) Secretaries . 0 , St . James ' s-square , Manchester , January , 1852 .
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THE STEEL AND THE CORD . A touching story is told by a correspondent of the Journal of Commerde , as the climax to several shocking oases of Lynching in California . The scene of the tragedy wbb at Downievilje , far up in tho mountains of Yuba county . The victim was a young girl . " She was a Mexican senorita , with all the passions and frailties which attach themselves to the race . One day she slabbed a man , so that he died in a short time . Public opinion varies as to the enormity of this crime . Some assert that it was a wanton and treacherous attack ; others consider it to have been an ordinary murder , under circumstances of insufficient but considerable provocation ; while many affirm that the blow was struok in defence of her person against a drunken assault . The better ppinion is , as far as I can learn , that tho killing
was unlawful , but under palliating circumstances . It is of little consequence to my present purpose to examine into the degree of crime . ; I am ^ merel y torelate . hpw a woman was ' punished by unlawful hands in this nigh noon of the nineteenth century . a > . « . . „ ¦«« It seems that an example was needed in Downieville . Little or no retribution had fallen upon former murderers in that vicinity , and it unfortunately happened that the dead man had many friends in the city , while the ^ girl elicited no svmnathv . Her nation was despised , and she
was of a character which always draws more companions than friends in California . The many-headed monster cried , ' Blood for blood . ' " The Mountain City is situate at the confluence of two branches of the North Yuba , and is connected with the opposite bank by a long bridge . The cord was thrown over a crossbeam in the middle of the bridge , and thither the multitude hurried their frail victim . Her bearing was haughtv and composed in the highest degree . She was a beautiful girl , but neither her beauty nor unusual roundness of form excited the slightest compassion in
the majority . "At this point of the proceeding a young lawyer mounted the bridge railing , and denounced the whole affair in words of more bitter justice than discretion . He was not suffered to speak long ; a dozen hands pulled him down , and as many feet were vigorously applied to him along the whole length of the bridge . When upon the opposite bank he was forbidden to enter Dbwriieville again , under penalty of being tarred and feathered . " Even the perpetrators of this outrage should have been shamed into common humanity by the next appeal . A physician , well known in the place , stated , upon his professional reputation and most sacred honour , / that the girl was enceinte , and demanded for her the reprieve which was always granted by the merciful common law of England , even in the darkest ages , and most barbarous periods . But no 1 Mercy to a murdress ! Time 84 loodl
tb give birth ~~ to- ^ no 1 hcir ^ f ~^ he ^ i per ^ - ) ^ - ^ TJiey ^ ^ hooted at the idea . The physician was ordered to leave town within three days , for having dared to disturb the majesty of the people , arisen to assert justice . " Meanwhile the girl had been looking on with the utmost nonchalance . At the failure of this last appeal a scornful smile distorted her lip , and she at once began to perform the last offices for herself . The manta was removed from her head and given to her paramour , with a watch , purse , and ornaments . Her black hair fell in masses over her shoulders , but she calmly grasped the noose , dangling near by , and , passing it round her neck , concealed the hideous knot beneath the thick fall of her hair . She made but one request—that her hands might be left untied and free to give the signal . Strange to say , they did grant her one privilege , but one which , in cases where the nerves were not made of steel , would have been the most injudicious of all .
" She then drew a bunch-of cigaritas from her bosom and distributed theln among the bystanders , reserving one for herself . This she lighted and half-smoked , then drew it from her lips with— ' I would do it again , the maldito ——! ' She did not finish the sentence , but dropped the cigarita . This was the signal ; and her light form shot rapidly up in the air , hardly struggling , so powerful was the will that kept her free arms stiffly pressed against her sides . There she hung , over that foaming river—between sky and earth—the mark of deepest disgrace upon all our fair land "
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FOREIGN POLICE IN ENGLAND . Who is our Governor , Louis Napoleon or Queen Victoria ? We are in doubt . The Hants Independent states , on " unquestionable authority , " the following shameful fact : — "An Inspector of Customs was down here on Friday , and rigidly searched the captain and crew of the Grand Turk steamer from Havre , for the purpose of endeavouring to find some private correspondence expected from Paris !! but nothing was found . He also endeavoured to stop the mail bag , but the man refused to allow him to do so till he had placed the mails in the hands of the Post-office authorities , and consequently the inspector accompanied him to the Post-office . "
Will Englishmen consent to endure tamely insults and outrages like these P We are crying out loudly for a national armament to protect our land against a possible invasion , and we sit quietly under a real invasion—an invasion of the basest kind . Is this the rule of Granville ?
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QUITE GUILTY . A Chinaman , with a long tail , called Achilles , the carpenter of the American ship Hannah Crooker , from Calcutta , now lying in St . Katherinc Dock , was brought before Mr . Yardley , charged , on a Custom-house information , with smuggling twenty-one pounds of Manilla cheroots , b y which ho had incurred a penalty of £ 100 . Mr . Symonds , the chief clerk , read the information , and the steward of the Hannah Crooker , who acted as interpreter , was directed to translate it to him . He whispered some gibberish to Achilles , and Mr . Yardley requested him to speak aloud . The Interpreter : You won't understand it . Mr . Yardley : No ; I am hot acquainted With' the language of the Celestial Empire ; but whatever it is , let us all hear it . The interpreter said he had been speaking in broken English to Achilles . Mr . Yardley : What ! have you come'here to be an interpreter of broken English ? The interpreter : Why , if I speak to him in full p lain English , such as the English and Americans speak , he would not be able to understand it , sir . He understands my broken English . Mr . Yardley : This is the commencement of a composite language , I suppose .
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m my e & * *** & [ Satdsbat ^
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 24, 1852, page 80, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1919/page/12/
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