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It will not do , Mr . Editor . The dictation is all on the other side : our church ( not a " ginger-beer" one , but a cle ansing " Holy -Water" one ) has no smell of brimstone , fagots , and fire . Saint Holy well neither seeks to enforce his dogma on the Dissenting brother on the one side , nor on the Homan-ca . thol \ o on the other . He simply wishes ( as far as acts go ) to Tceep his own hands clean ; and to persuade , not force , others to do the same . True tolerance does not require that we should ( out of politeness , ) affirm a glaring evil to be a probable good ; or abstain from uttering the needed truth , because it may be unpalatable to a fastidious somebody .
The Teetotaler speaks in this wise : " Gentlemen , — Mine is a Pure-water Church . We avow that faith and follow that practice here ; and you must excuse me for not allowing another faith to force itself into our Crystal Tabernacle , or myself to be converted into a Ministering Priest at its ( to me ) unholy rites . In your own sphere you must do what seemeth good to you ; but in my sphere , not what seemeth evil to me . I can no more suffer you to pollute my temple with your impure liquor , than my hearth with your impure language . There is room for both of us . Devil-Alcohol has a splendid temple over the way , where you may worship after your manner . If you think you can cleanse that temple ; well , go and try—I do not : to stop its mischief , you must forsake and destroy it . "
Would we had never heard of dictation worse than this ! that all debateable questions were left to be battled out by the like " moral intolerance . " " Ion" professes to write for the " reformation" of our reform . I admire his design , and hope some good will come of his efforts . But he must see that , if the views I have indicated are those of the great body of Temperance teachers , they can only regard his criticisms as tending , by their glaring misrepresentations , to strengthen , not the cause of Temperance , but the prejudices of the public ; to corrupt the principle of the movement , not to purify the proceedings of the men who advocate it . I am not dogmatically affirming that our views are true , but that , such as they are , our
final hope of ridding the world of drunkenness , reposes on the belief of this truth , though calling in aid all other things that are true and beautiful , and of good report . If " Ion" will join issue on this fundamental point , Temperance men will be glad to hear him ; nor will they be ungrateful of good services in other directions . All wise criticism is advantageous to a good cause , and is to be received as such , even though mingled with unpleasant truths . He , however , who undertakes it , should bring to his task competent knowledge , and apply fair and correct tests , under the benignant guidance of a generous spirit . If I am obliged io confess that I have not found these qualities in the strictures of " Ion , " it is with much disappointment and unfeigned regret . —Yours , respectfully , W . A . 1 ' alt . tstkr .
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Having boon favoured with a perusal of Mr . Pallistcr ' s letter , 1 beg to ofJ ' er my testimony to the correctness of his general representation of the Temperance movement , and of the principles on which it is based . l ' 'or one , I should desire to understand " Ion ' s" objections to the Pledge , and to perceive the rule by which lie would separate the moral responsibility of sanction' >»;) a system which one may regard as evil , from the : ' < 't of providing the material agents involved in it ? Such a discussion would be profitable . Though I regard " Ion ' s" criticism as indited in no unfriendly spirit , it is not the less inaccurate on that account , as n representation of Teetotalism , as I have known it ,. Take the literature of the society as the Advocate , the * ' foiiicle , the Jiaviaw , and its oflieial manifestos , and no candid critic , would be able to find such doctrines in 'I * as " Ion" linn imputed to us . No doubt , some wild and illogical doclaimers may find remarks applicable to Mt'in , but no accredited hinders , 1 think , of the movell »< - .. 1 <\ K , JiKKS .
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ION AND THK TUMI'KIfANCK CAHSK . ( To tho / editor of tho Leader . ) ' 'H , ' All jjjreat movements , in which vast numhci'H ¦"• ' concerned , necessarily include a large average oi '' ninaii infirmity , which is mire to break out , in a va-I'luty of repulsive forms . This inevitable evil may be Klai . ed to lie Jn ni | , ; (() (]„ , numbers . It , may be exl )( ' < "tc ( l to display itself most , widely and offensively in ' ¦"" iiexion with social movements , mainly impelled by "" ' working , in ot . her words , the uneducated , classes Hn < 'h as tho Temperance movement ,, which may be described mm a . great mor . d insurrection of our artisans '' J'niiiHt , tho ( liiininaiicy of vicious custom . It , will bear '' ii ( . it , strong marks of its origin some of the vio-( '" « ' of so innneiiNo u transition . "h multitudinous meetings are always more or lens '"" iroHHt ' d by nion reclaimed from inteinperuty habits ,
and therefore , besides the ordinary defects of the uneducated mind , we may expect the rudeness and exaggeration of mis-educated faculties , acting under the exciting sense of former folly and wretchedness , of present liberty , and of the possibilities of the future . A fair estimate of the Temperance movement would have included and allowed for these inseparable considerations . To omit them is a great philosophical defect , and a manifest , however undesigned , injustice to one of the noblest and most remarkable , social phenomena of our times .
Who is " Ion , that he should ask to measure men by his standard , and pronounce accordingly ? To apply it to a wide confederation of the sort here spoken of , and to expect such men as are Lere indicated , to speak according to the usages of good taste and the rules of logic , is more than ridiculous . A juster estimate of the " great fact" itself—a kindlier tone of sympathy with the men mainly concerned in promoting it , and a
more generous allowance' for the whole circumstances of their case , would have made the counsels of " Ion " more welcome and more effective . My fear is , that great numbers will turn away from his scoldings , saying , " This man is unjust—he is ungenerous . His tone is too cold to warm into life or admiration . His manner is like the rattling hail . Let him , if he can , address himself to it in another manner , and good will come of his labours . "
Excuse me in the further remark , that " Ion" does not seem to appreciate the teetotalers' view , that a physical relation lies at the bottom of the question itself : " That which cannot withstand , lias no standing . " A power to stand implies a power to repel , and repulsion ; and he who finds that , will protest himself annoyed , aggrieved—not appreciating the ground or reason of the force which repels him . Had " Ion ' s " " literary friend , " at the house of " Lemonade , " but understood this , how much ludicrous indignation it would have saved him , and how many words of empty scorn about bigotry , " intolerance , " and so forth , to " Ion" himself !
Men do-not try questions in geology by the principles of jurisprudence , nor test the truth of mathematical axioms by the rules of rhetoric—yet , given the physical basis of the Temperance reformation— " Ion " tries it solely by a literary test ! What is this but the old error of the inquisitors , applying interpretations of Scripture to the question of the earth ' s mobility ?—of the condemnation of geology in our day by a similar canon ? The only difference is , one was theological , the other is literary . Both the qne and the other are just now bearing hard against the Temperance movement , while the scientific fact , which teetotalers hold to be quietly lying at its basis , is asking to be examined . Will " Ion" look into this subject , and accept these considerations from One ov o ^ ie Uneducated . Leeds , Sept . 2 nd , 1852 .
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TIIE SUBJUGATION OF WORKMEN " . ( To the IMitor of the Leader . ) Criiyfonl , Kent , Sept . 21 , 1852 . Sir , —You were informed of a dispute which existed among the calico block-printers of this place and their employers , Rome timo ago , and you promptly inserted a notice in your ]> aper ; since then the difference hut * been complicated by the oiler of a document to the men by their employers similar to that presented to the operative engineers by their employers . The men have now been upwards of two months away from their work , and the masters have sought men from
Manchester , and obtained some , but very few m comparison with tho number out , and those of such a character as to impress the men with confidence as to the ultimate attainment of their object . Some men have been sent to prison for leaving their work , and some for charges of assault arising out of the matter ; but only one person—and that a youth in the capacity of an apprentice —has {{ one to work out of tho whole number out ,, about , 140 . They are sustained in their endeavour to resist , this reduction by the whole body of the trade in IOnglund and Scotland , who , from the peculiar nature of the trade , feel any reduction of price immediately it is mnde in any part of the trade .
Kudosed is an address presented to the musters by the men , * at , an early stage of the proceedings , with a view to a settlement of the question upon mutual terms . It , was disregarded , and mutters have taken their course , lending to a . protracted stagnation in tho business of the factory of the originator of the mutter entailing upon bin men privation mid trouble , upon him flie inevitable loss of his reputation as a first , ( -lass manufacturer , upon which his past , prosperity has been built , and the currying away of the trade ; of the village to oflfor places and other men . It is hoped by the men that your influence will ho
used through the press to disabuse the public mind in reference to them , as the word strike conveys an impression of active aggression on the part of any body , which is not applicable to them , who are only resisting an offered reduction of prices and curtailment of privileges , made and originated by one master , but operative immediately upon all the men in the London trade , and elsewhere . Thanking you for your previous notice of the matter , and apologizing for having kept further information from you , on the ground of the excitement arising out of the matter , I remain , on behalf of the Society , George Hudson , Sec .
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THE ADDINGHAM CENSORS . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Sir , —Addingham is a village in Yorkshire , which can boast its mechanics' institute and its readers of the Leader . One of those readers , wishful to promote its circulation , caused a copy of it to be laid upon the table in the reading-room of the Mechanics' Institute for the purpose of introducing it to the attention of the members . It remained upon the table till it fell , under the notice of some of the members , who regarded it as dangerous . They summarily proceeded to the death of the offensive copy of the Leader . By means of fire they reduced it to the elements of the phcenix , apparently forgetting the doctrine of the Resurrection . The cruel death of this isolated copy excited attention . A meeting was convened , —the Leader was proposed , —its merits discussed ,- —and the votes were equal . It therefore devolved upon the chairman to give the casting vote , which he did in favour of the Leader , assigning as his reason that it had been unjustly dealt with . Another meeting was convened . The chief spokesman was a very eloquent Methodist local preacher . Its fate was doomed by these learned village censors , —its further reception was prohibited . Also an act of banishment of the copies which had been taken was attempted ; but , to the honour of a few members , was most signally defeated . The writer , thinking that the publication of such incidents may act as an inducement to the friends of progress to continue their efforts in securing an unshackled press , and a wider circulation of its most potent organs , oilers these observations . J . It .
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* jju sortod in another place .
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September 25 , 1852 . ] T H E LEADER . 925
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Indian Notions . —The Indians have no idea of time or space that I could discover : they talk of so many moons and of when the sun is at a certain altitude . Their calendar of months is rather curious : — January , month of storms ; February , month when racoons travel ; March , month " mal mix yeux ; " April , the month that the game begins to arrive ; May , when trees are in leaf ; June ( in lower country ) , straw be try month , ( in upper country ) , the month when the buflalo run ; July , month of ripe cherries ; August , corn month ; September , month when flowers on the Prairie blossom ; October , month when they grille the rice ; November , deer month ; December , month of " I forget what . " —SujiLTVAN ' s Humbles in America .
J 5 in . \ iwu > Huntjjvu .- Running buflalo for the ; first time , and the sensation of galloping alongside a bruto that appears as large as a haystack , is novel and exciting ; but after running them a few times tho sport loses its excitement , and for my part , 1 would rather have ten minute ^ with a pack of hounds across the wornl , country in Kngland than kill nil the buffalo on the prairie . The bulls generally allow you to approach within 500 yards before they start oil" a la course . A good horse ; will catch them in half a mile , and once up and alongside the pleasure is over , as you keep on loading and firing as fast as you can at a distance of five or six yards fill the animal drops or stops , when you dismount and finish him ji . l your leisure . The deatli-struggl es of such an enormous bruit ; ( and they die very hard ) are most ;
painful to witness . The sport is just , dangerous enough to keep ii ]) a wholesome excitement , and to originate tales of hair-breadth escapes without number . It is not nearly so dangerous as shooting in cover with five or six excitable sportsmen . There ; is Mm chance of your horse putting Iuh foot into a . fox or badger-earth ; then ; is ( he chance of the hull stopping suddenly and turning round , in which cane most probably he receives the horse on his horns , and you make a voyage of discovery over his head ; and there is the chance ; , if you lire fortunate , of his running at you when hi ; is wounded . I only speak of these dangers from hearsay , as all tho bulls I saw were in far too great a hurry to get , iiwuy ¦(<> have any idea of turning upon their pursuers . Suj . wvan ' h Rambles in America ,
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NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS . "F . L ., " who writes , from Edinburgh respecting tho review of Messrs . Todd and Bowman ' s Physiology , is informed that the passage wherein Strength is said to exist as an entity independent of muscular tissue , was employed—as he reads it—to show in a parallel the absurdit y of supposing Mind had a separate existence from nervous tissue . The arguments used by meta " Xihyaicians to prove Mind an entity may with equal justice bo applied to prove Strength an entity .
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 25, 1852, page 925, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1953/page/17/
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