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numerically and physically , but wanting Mind , they remain as they are—that is , as a whole—being debarred f that skill by which deliverance alone is to coin©—the skill of a wholesomely-planned and thoroughly organized mode of action . ° Is it fair , then , even should the unknowing child thrust its hand into ^ the fire :. in . quest of some bewitchin ' brightness , that that child should be as unc onditionally , as unpityingly blamed , assured as we are
that it has not yet been taught any better ? And hence , also , is it fair that some ten or twelve thousand dock labourers are to be considered as meriting no improvement in their daily circumstances , merely in consequence of the fact that they had not knowledge enough , spread through and actuating among the body at large , to compel a fairer reward for their hard labour than that which they at present receive ?
Craving therefore , for my own sake and m my own rWit as a free-thoughted working man , as also in the general behoof of labour in all its branches and ramifications , that the Leader , on these considerations , will somewhat subdue the harshness of what it appears to still insist upon in respect to the two cases under notice , I now close this communication , which already has extended much beyond what I had purposed ; and this although there has been no attempt to illustrate the positions advocated by any statement of special factsa proceeding which would have spread over a considerably wider space . J . D . D . August 23 , 1853 .
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THE LAW OP DIVORCE . ( To the Hlditor of the Leader . ) gIK )—The article in your last number , entitled " The Norton Case and the Law of Divorce , " is too forcible and practical tfcot to have made a strong impression on many of your readers . In the belief that I am expressing , to some extent , their convictions as well as my own , I beg to offer the following remarks to your consideration .
That a man should be morally free to submit to what he looks upon as an evil , instead of seeking with all his might to remedy it , appears to me to be possible only on one of two conditions : either the evil must bear wholly and solely upon himself , or he must believe it to be of such a nature that resistance can only strengthen it . Now , if it can be shown that , in the case before us , both these conditions are wanting , will not the more conscientious of those who " derive from
the practical evils of the present law a conviction that , in part at least , it is essentially erroneous , " feel themselves no longer at liberty to continue in passive acquiescence ? I say the more conscientious only , for with the mass of mankind conscience appears to exercise a purely negative influence ; strong to restrain it is powerless to impel ; and for one man who rests his claims to bo considered a Christian on what lie is and does , you will find a hundred who base their pretensions solel y on what they avoid .
Confessing , then , that our hopes must bo exclusively fixed on the numerically weak , but morally strong , class , with whom conscience is positively as well as negativel y efficient , I submit to their consideration , first , whether the evils occasioned by the present law sire " wholly and solely" confined to the immediate sufferer , or whether they do not extond to children , relatives , dependents , and society in general . In the latter < ' » so , both directly , uh in the instance which called forth 'lie editorial article in your last ,- and indirectly , inasmuch as in the dogreo in which any man ' s strength is wasted b y individual and private sullering , in that degree in . society a loser .
1 'he second point to be ascertained is , " whether tho < -vil referred to be of such a nature that resistance can "Uly s trengthen it ; . " hut this question , whether put upon abstract ground '"' llis ( « ric : nl , must equally be answered in tho negative ' ¦'" '"is to mo a thing self-evident . Not only does the 0 ) < m Mat moral ovil cannot bo successfully resisted """ Min t virtually to atheism , but history and
experi'"ee are full <>[ ' instances in which resistance has kiic-!' . '''"• ¦ "' it bo borne in mind also that the success "IIktIo attained is entirely duo to individual exertion , "" iittenipl ; having yet been made to strengthen rosist-! m < '" by any plan of organiy . ed mutual mipport , I . fcnink w « ' shall bo convinced that , no ' / ar from our task loolcin hopeless , there needs but resolution and persever""<•« to bviiijr it in ( Jod ' H good time to a mimwHfuI lHSlle I i <• n 1 nin , . sir , yours respectfully , (' A '' K « Ht : «) tli , lHB 3 . ¦¦ ' . ^ .
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HIM law AS TO SERVANTS ' " CHARACTERS . " ( To tho Mfl / or of tho Loader . ) ¦ . ' * ' tnist tliat you will aflord mo the meaiifl of "yniij bofore tho public a cane of oppression for which
the law , in its present state , affords no practical redress . A few days since a poor woman , in deep affliction , called upon me and desired my advice under the following circumstances : —She had been in service as cook and housekeeper in several fashionable families , and had left , twelve months ago , her last situation , in . which she had previously remained ten months . Since quitting it she had repeatedly applied for others , and had referred her intending employers to her last mistress for her character . The result was invariably refusal . Those
who declined her services moreover , considering the communications from her last employer as confidential , refused to inform her of the reasons of her rejection , except that it was the character they had received from her reference . At length one , more candid than the rest , showed her the letter from her late mistress , falsely representing her as extravagant and uncleanly . Witnesses , the poor servant assured me , she could produce in abundance , to testify not only to her own aptness and capacity , but also to the general malevolence and vindictiveness of her oppressor .
Under these circumstances I wrote and sent a letter of civil remonstrance to the lady . The result was a note referring me to her solicitors . Then , where lay the legal redress ? I might , it is true , have brought an action , and perhaps have recovered damages . But to effect this I , a party legally disinterested except as to costs , must have laid out a large sum on the hazard of the truth of the
statement of my client and her witnesses , with the certainty of not receiving a penny if the action failed , or if the defendant , losing , absconded or became insolvent . I must , moreover , have braved an exposure in court and in the press as an attorney who brought a speculative action , and . might possibly have been reminded by the learned ,-judge that the man who brought suits into court for the mere purpose of costs was a disgrace to his profession .
I could not advise proceeding in the County Court , for cases of slander and libel are expressly exempted from its jurisdiction . The magistrate was equally powerless . Therefore , sir , having the reputation of my profession at heart , and the fear of a learned judge before my eyes , I did all I could for this poor creature by sending her forth to starvation or crime , as circumstances might lead her .
Sir , is this right , that one woman should thus possess the power of utterly ruining a helpless dependent , by depriving her of the means of honest labour ? Supposing even that she has committed an offence justifying her dismissal , is the memory of it to cling to her through her life , in spite possibly of bitter repentanco and atonement ? Even supposing the punishment to be amply merited in some instances , can that be an argument for a system under which the victim mny suffer equally if innocent ? And are women , whether intellectual or half demented , liberal or spiteful , to be judges in their own causes , and pass sentence for life upon their fellow creatures in" a land where barristers are plentiful ?
One short net , sir , empowering a magistrate or a County Court to hear and determine cases involving tho characters of domestic servants , would meet this evil , mid I cannot but believe that were tho attention of our legislators called to this subject such an act would bo speedily passed . I am , sir , yours , A Young ! Solicitor .
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SUNDAY IN GLASGOW . ( To tho Editor of tho Leader . ) G-laHfjow , AuguHf , 30 l . Ii , ] H . ~ > : ) . Deah Sin , —Your Glasgow correspondent , of last week , ficeniH highly indignant with " Ion" for writing a letter of truthful statements , respecting the " Sunday boat . " " Ion" said truly that ; tho working-classes are debarred from breathing tho invigorating air of the coast on Sundays . John Mnegregor flays , No!—" a person can leave Glasgow at eight o'clock Saturday night , and be hack at . seven on Monday morning , after enjoying the fresh air all Sunday . " Very true ! A man with money may do this , but I deny that a mechanic with liS . v . or
\ L a-week can avail himself of these means . There in no !; an inn on the banks of tho Clyde where a . single man can be accommodated with a bed for two nights and bin meals on Sunday , for lens than lO . v ., which is halfhi . s weekly . salary . Hut if lie takes lri . s wife —( and where does it good husband like to g-o Avithout her Y ) —¦ it is of course wtill more expensive : to enjoy tho privilege of the return-tickets , fresh air , and the consequent hearty jiiciiIh , would cost him the whole of his hard-earned wages . Now neo tho difference by tho i ' Jmpcror on SiindayH : . Breakfast before starting , sandwiches in a basket , a finv bincuil ; n , and the ( rip coutu but l . v . (\ d ., for which mini the pa . snengorH are taken forty or fifty milcH amd back , and tho name day , thu «
avoiding the expense of sleeping at inns . This is one of the great advantages to the working-man . With regard to the meeting at the City Hall , it was a packed affair , having been duly announced from the pulpits of all those churches where the Jewish Law takes the precedence of Christ . I have been to many public meetings on exciting subjects , but never was in such a riotous and disgraceful assembly in my life . You may form an idea of the ; impartiality of the movers in the affair , when I tell you the speakers against the " Sunday boat" were allowed to speak any length of time , while those who supported the amendment were confined to five minutes !
Mr . Macgregor deprecates the interference of the English with Scotch affairs . I can assure you the more liberal in religion of the Scotch are trul y thankful for English influence , in support of which I take an extract from a letter by a " strickit minister" to one of the Glasgow papers : " I really believe that were it not for our union with England we might yet have to thank our clergy for a renewal of the ' thumb-screw ' and the ' boot / that they might screw us up in holes on Sunday , and kick us out of them at their divine pleasure on Monday . " I am sorry to say that the intolerance of the Scottish clergy leads one to such a belief . Yours truly , An Englishman .
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SUNDAY IN GLASGOW . ( To t 7 ie Editor of the Leader . ) SlE , ;—Mr . Macgregor ' s letter is more remarkable for telling us' what " Ion" did not say than for refuting what he did say . Mr . Macgregor's application of the doctrine of noninterference is amusing , although it comes with a bad grace from one apparently identified with a class who endeavoured to rouse the working ' classes of Scotland to resist the opening of the Crystal Palace on Sunday . Union is strength , and it behoves the English workman to help his Scotch brother . But I believe there is enough of the sturdy spirit of the Covenanters among us to fight our own battles , and resist , as they resisted , all forms of religious bigotry and intolerance . The paradoxical impudence of these Sabbatarians is astonishing to all consistent men . You will hear them continually invoking the memory of the Covenanters—invoking the memories of men who laid down their lives for liberty of thought and action ! Mr . Macgregor points to the City Hall meeting as invalidating the statement of " lou , " that " all classes of people of nil religious persuasions approve of tho Emperor sailing on Sunday . " No one who has studied the religious aspect of Scotland will deny that there is
a section of tho nation , a rapidly growing and influential section , comprising all opinions , who believe that the present fanatical observance of Sunday in Scotland is at the root of a great many of her social evils—such as drunkenness . And these people , putting aside their differences of religious belief , endeavour to provide some healthy antidotes , of which the Emperor is the precursor . This is all , 1 believe , " Ion" means when he asserts that " all classes of people of all religious persuasions approve , " &e .
Mr . Macgregor takes oiiencc at " Ton" for ascribing to Kirk influence ; tho unseemly conduct of those who hoot , and otherwise abuse the passengers of the Empcror . Why , what other influence could make cautious * Scotchmen , so far forget themselves ? Certainly not any secular influence . What is the worth of Mr . Macgregor's wordy flourish about seven days' toil , & <\ , when it is known that the " hands" of the Ewjtrror have a day in the middle of the week as a substitute for Sunday ? Hut why all this talk about , Sunday labour Y Even the Shorter Catechism allows " works of necessity and mercy" on Sunday , and certainly wholesome amusement conies under that , designation .
I have seen the whole argument of the Sunday cjuestiou briefly but . ably staled in your journal some time ago . It will bear repetition . We require amnsc . nwnt on Sunday , and we do not require cotton fabrics and all th <» various productions of I lie oilier . six days of tho week . . . Hoping thai . Scotsmen will bear in mind the honour and dignity of their country , and act accordingly ; and as a Scotsman and a workman , thanking " Ion" and yourself for your ' valuable aids , 1 Kub . scrilje myself yours very respectfully , '
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HuMOinc . —Humour is one of the elements of genius , but if if ; predominates it becomes a mako-. sluft . Humour accompanies I he ( Iodine of art , which it ilcni ; roy , and annihilates . — I'Yom ( h ^ tlic ' x Opinions-. Conviotion and I ' f . ubuabion . —Few are open to conviction , but the majority of men are open to pernuaflion . — From Goatlu ?*) Opinions .
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September 3 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 857
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 3, 1853, page 857, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2002/page/17/
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