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achieved it that fro admire . As our fanner or tradesman [ pursues bis way he may pass by a pleasant lane , , with a secluded house on one side—Mackarv End , which Charles Xamb has made , the subject of one of his charming essays in £ lia . Or , perhaps , as he drives through Ayott StXawrence , le may pause to survey , in the green fields around nim , the possessions of Harold , the last of the Saxon kings . At Weliryn he wili point to the square white house , opposite the church , in which Dr . Young composed his famous Night Thoughts , and in which , in onr own time , resided the most profound scholar of modern time , my lamented frond , Mr . ITiennes Clinton . To the right be will se « Danesbury , ia which Saxon England rose against the usurpation of the Danes ; bo , as he jogs on towards Hitchin , he sees to the left what -was once , the demesne of the Knights . Templars ; and not far thence lies Prestonj in ' which it is said there resided the original Uncle Toby , in Sterne ' s Tristram Shandy . Certain
It is that Sterne often Visited the old house , and when ] ¦ was a boy , nounjc fortifications like those erected by Major Shandy wen ' still existing . At Offley , the great Saxon Sing Offa sometimes .. held his court ; , . and in that sequestered village he closed his stormy life . At Hitchin itself—in those streets now perambulated by peaceful Quakers—were formerly seen the gown and cowl of the St . Benedict monks ; and ther « was transplanted , from Calajs , in the reign of Edwardlit ., the mostnWishing -wool staple in ancient England . Again , if you pass in another direction , you . see the fair park of Brocket , which cur posterity will find historical as the favourite residence © r one who , if not among the greatest Ministers who have swayed this country . waS one of the most accomplished
and honourable ; men who « ver attained to the . summit of constitutional ambition . And it is a striking anecdote of Lord Melbourne , that . he once said ia my own hearing—• he rejoiced to have been Prime Minister , for he had thus learnt that men were much better , much more swayed by consci ence anel honour , than he had before , supposed ; ' a saying honourable to the Minister , and honourable s 1 iil more to the public virtue . of Englishmen , Further pn tfaere will sise before you the stately towers of Hatfield , built by the immortal ancestor of an illustrious line , round the site of the old palace in which dwelt the princess , afterwards so illustrious as . Queen Elizabeth . There , from the shadow of Utoose venerable trees , still existing , the last and greatest of the Tudore passed to the throne , among anxious crowds .
doubtful what form of religion the royal authority would proclaim ; and when afterwards in solemn procession tferough the streets of London the clamorous thousands beheld the new Sovereign- —with that commanding countenance which seemed formed for a regal crown—clasping to her breast the Bible for VrMch martyrs had perished in the itimes—all inew that the Reformation was secure , and the Book of life had become the heirloom , of the English people . Going on towards Barnet , you pass the great battle-field which closed the war of the Boses , and , by breaking up the feudal power of , thai barons , made the first epoch of our modern political system ; while yon see at Badley the church by which the unfortunate . Henry VI . stood to learn the defeat of his cause , and to . pass again to the prison which he only
left for his grave . Thus , not to weary you with countless instances of the associations which adorn the history of our county—you may see how- a little effort of knowledge and memory serves to give' interest and charm to places we Ought otherwise pass with indifference , and how much such recollections can increase the pleasure of our common existence . But you at St . Allan ' s are doubly bound to cultivate all recollections that justify the p ride of Hertfordshire men and unite themselves to intellectual occupations and resources . Here , before the time in which Caesar invaded the island , stood the old city of Verulam ; here the most powerful of the kings of Britain held their court . Here ,. your predecessors resisted the Roman legions , and . finally , were enrolled among Roman oitizdis . Here marched the heroine Boadicea—conquering for a while even civilised discipline by the energies which
freedom and the love of country lent even to the first barbarians who trod this soil of Britain . Here lived , preached , and died th « dauntless saint from whom your town now receives its name ; here , too , a humble schoolmaster established one of the earliest printing-presses in England , and close bv this city , in possessions now worthily held by the coble Larl ( Verulam ) who presides over us this day , dwelt the very man whose authority ia constantly quoted im favour of the knowledge we aro met to disseminate—Francis Bacon , Lord Verulam , —and this wonderful man , who was to philosophy what Shakespeare is to poetry , who , traversing a range of learning that may almost be called universal , brought into all its recesses the boldest imagination and the most original conceptions ^ —we are yet more entitled to demand as a son of Hertfordshire by descent , for my noblo friend ' s allueion to my family permits me to say that Lord Bacon ' s grandmothw was a Lytton , of Knebworth . "
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but these have been greatly magnified , and up to the time of which I write I have not received intelligence of any event to warrant the expectation that a riot is imminent . . , ' During the week it has . been apprehended that the Blackburn employers are about to take a course which , if persevered in , may still further complicate the difficulty ; but information which I have received justifies me in believing that the contemplated reduction of wages will not lie universally adopted there . The fact is that the counsels of the Blackburn Associated Masters axe divided , one partybeing in favour of reducing ; prices , add the other being determined to leave them untouched ; and it
is a fortunate circumstance for the operatives that the latter party includes the largest and most infiu * ential employer of labour in that town , Mr . William Henry Hornby . This gentleman is said to have set his face altogether against a reduction , and it is believed that his influence and example will have the effect , in most cases , of rendering the-notice of reduction a mere empty threat . Such a notice was given this morning at many of the Blackburn mills , and that to the extent of 10 per cent , from weaving prices , and 5 per cent , from spinning ^ but this is not the first time , that similar notices- have been served in the Blackburn district during the last two months , and they have hitherto been withdrawn for the cause hinted at above . l *
It is difficult to conceive what grounds the Blaekburn employers can . have for contemplating a reduction of wages , for I understand that "business has been , so brisk with them throughout the winter , that large orders for exportation have not been executed without delay ; and I am further informed that the demand for that s description of light jacconet which forms the staple of the Blackburn trade is fast and
healthily increasing . The quoted prices also of eightpound Bhirtings ( which are the Preston , staple ) are also mending , having risen during the past three weeks from three to four a cut ? and when it is remembered that 10 per cent , upon the price of weaving such goods is only one , penny per cut , one cannot feel greatly surprised at the refusal of the operatives to lake the state of the market as a reason for reducing their prices . ; ; - . The following is a statement of the sums expended and persons relieved by the committees :-
—THE LANCASHIRE LABOUR-BATTLE . ( From o-ur Coi-respondent . ') Preston , Thuraday . The rumours which I hinted at in the postscript to my last , relating to the Stock port strike , are beginning to assume consistency , and I may now state It as highly probable that in a few days nlTairs will be so arranged there as to remove the difficulties into which , the Preston operatives have been thrown by a rival Btrike of such magnitude and importance .
In spite of the violent rashness of a few hot-headed and interested men , a feeling has become prevalent umonfr the Stockport operatives that a continued perseverance in their present course would inflict an irreparable injury upon Preston , to support which bo many districts hnvo already mavde great sacrifices . It is greatly to bo regretted tliat the antagonistic zeal which animatea those who halt between the two opinions has caused a few alight disturbances around eomeof tlio nulls , especially thutuf Messrs . Kakrjggi '
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several months , without any extraneous assistance whatsoever . The Weavers * Committee entertain a very confident expectation of being able to dispense with any further loans in meeting the necessities of this week ; and indeed ,: if they cannot do so , it would be by far the wiser course to faring the payments down to four shillings once-more ; rather than incur the responsibility of seeking any further loan . ' I fear , alad , that the weavers are incurring liabilities in other quarters , for , neither in this > nor the former balance-sheet , is the serious item of ! expense incurred for the printing of the balance- < 8 heeta themselves to be discovered . ¦ : >
The increased allowance granted to : the weavers . < out of the funds of the Amalgamated ^ Committee is explained in the weekly report of . that body . It should be stated that the w ^ nalgamait ^ d Committee was formeid for the purpose of ct&ecthi ^^ eTjnoneya subscribed by the general ; pubUc ' { hzcrpg | iput ; the kingdom , and of dividing the > same ^ aetiiirdihg to the necessities of the different hodie # . -Th ^ f Amal gamated Committee , referring to a report prevalent during the last few days , stated r ,- . ¦ ' f- ; ; "Asa specimen of tbe disgraftefbl falsehoods which * are resorted to for the purpose ; Jot damaging the cause of the operatives , w& will ; refer to a statement in the Manchester Gwarrfion , « f the 26 th inst ? , as follow ^ :: —•' - . ., ? " >< ¦ > " ¦ vjjj " •* On Monday the weavers were / paid ,. the usual weeklr
allowance of 6 s ., ; and , therefore , in tne early , part cft | ie d fyv it was thought that either sufficient funds had ; . &e& received for the week ' s expenses , or that the commi ^ ee . hkd : ' -akayi succeeded in borrowing a gum large enough to etlal ? le theut to meet the usual callsT A , t a"later hour , however , it Decaine ' known that the Amalgamated Cdminittee , who disipenie ^ tdr the various other committees' the mon ^ y collected fromtne public of Preston , had struck off the card-room hands fironiarty participatioh in the division : of tbflsef unds ; aiefcttint flio amount at the disposal of the Weavera ^ Committee , had tbeeri thereby-augmented , to the extent bjEupwards of 200 / ., the sum usually give ? to ; th * card-room JbwKis / . ( t l . v , ^ v- , " Now , the fact is ( and we refer our ^ readers , to _ th ^ ^ figujfes below ) , that the cara-rebm hiinds have received ' 6 ?? ., from the Amalgamated 'Committee , and the weavers ! t ( f 9 if . jQoir * •*¦ : j ^ Ht ( it-ital \ Eiir • TL * =. t '__ L" » ii ' il'i 1 ^ . Jii . 'i-S . L . tjTr . -iS ^ l . ^ . rtauera uuta lime oueiic dq
_ wixj perceive , now creuence xu given to the statemetitsthat are hemr cbfttlnuall ^ ior ^ 'for the purpose of injuring our caiise : ^ Whileupoh thetfubjijet of the card-room hands ! ,, we may infonnithe tra $ es <(* nd ^ the public that they and the , throstw-spinnefs ^ M-ere in receipto £ nearly all onrlundsdarioc . the last-month ; they , wer ^ e not well supported by theiriellows , in other towns ,. and ihe con-, sequence was , that latterly a great number of ^ tfleinTetiiniBA to their . Work at the lnilli . W , eV t ^ refor ^ , in conjunction with the committees of card-rww , ; h 4 nclii apd throstle spiuuers , deemed it wise an'd ^ di elous to in ) Ae a ; fresh disposition of the funos-entruVte ^ to . us / ai | d ^) n . ce . ntratQ as ; much of oar forceasfossiWetipon the weavers « ed spinners ; the ' principal contending parties , and thfr succSst ofi Vrhose cause roust carry a universal victory ^ and bo for thai good 0 fAI . lw ' : f' - ¦¦ ; . ' ' v . . . .., / , } .,- ¦ ' , . s v /\ . ' ., J . i > ii : ' : Ww <
With this sacrifice of their interests to those of tlie spinners and weavers , the Catd-room Gommlttge is naturally very dissatisfied , arid in an appeal iust j > Uft forward ; and headed ^« fTo rriits BIeUcUbj ' it tlius ' ex ^ presses its indignation .: — ¦ „ ¦ : ¦ ' ; ¦ ! ' ' : ¦ " ' 1 " . "The spinners and weavers , appear determined ^© Bacriflefl our position by making us subservient to the interests - ' of our late employers ,, thnt'they may accomplish their object at the expanse of-the wretohedness anftidegt'adation of the card-room workers . ! -I » it fnota 4 wcll-knowri f ( Metyramorigst the trades * and the public-generally , -thstvthe Arnaigamated Committee was formed upon the principle of necessity ; to render assistance to that branch whose -necessities required it the most—that each should have equal facilities and advantages in working out this mighty question of Labour ? Yet , stranse to say , that aportion of-working men should
An analysis of the weavers' balance-sheet proves the extent to which the Easter holidays , and the deficiency caused by the Stockport strike , have acted upon the receipts of the Unionists , From the Preston mills , now at work with the ten per cent ., the subscriptions this week amount to scarcely half the usual sum , and even Blackburn only sends 486 / . 14 s . 7 d . ; but , in some of the districts , short time haa not been suffered to Literfere with the amount seut to Preston . At Darwen , for example , the average earnings last week are said not to have exceeded Is . 8 d ., but 120 / . was sent to Preston ; to raise which sum a levy of Is . a head would be required .
The small and unimportant body of the throstle-Bpinners h ^ ve given in , and the money entered against , their names has been laid out in paying their debts and winding . up the concern . In making its bow to the agitation , the Throstles * Committee thus expresses itself : — 41 We regret to say that this , the thirty-first report , Isj the last we shall issue . Henceforth the throstle bands : retire from the struggle to obtain for factory labour its just reward . We cannot point out in the limits of this address the causes and reasons why there has been left to us no alternative . Suffice it to say , that in thus retiring , we feel that our defeated claims are as just as they were on the first day -we appealed to our friends and the public . Those upon whom we have principall y depended have deemed it right that we should withdraw , in order to strengthen other contending branches . Wo have done so . We thank all friends for p < isc kindness , and venture to hope the victory denied to the throstle hands may be won by .. those brandies who are still contending for freedom and justice to factory labour . "
The total amount actually subscribed for the weavers , excluding their allotment of the moneys collected by tUo Amalgamated Committee , appears to have boon only 1441 / . The deficit appears to have been made up by a loan of 40 O ? ., and an increased allowance from tbo funds of the Amalg-amatcd Committee , and by these means they were enabled to pay live shillings ] 1 fcr head as heretofore . In . accounting for these loans , which can only be made upon the personal responsibility ot the Unionists , I have reason to believe that they are made out oltlio funds of tlio spinners , whoso union , it will be remembered , is of very longstanding , and who aro said to have a sufficient balance in hand to euublo theni to continue tlic battle , if necessary , for
continue to drive another from tha field that they nay enjoy the laurels of victory , by stamping the hand of social slavery upon the other . ¦ . ' _ . ' " Fellow working-men , wo appeal to you at the present crisis to come to onr rescue and show to the world your abhorrence of elevating one class of industry at Hue'expense of the other . In spite of the injustice the other branches have inflicted upon us , we aro determined to march on in the mighty struggle of Labour ' s Redemption—that we may free ourselves from the iron grasp of Capital—and that future generations may taste the fruit of social emancipation . We hope this appeal will not be made in vain , trusting , as we do , to thu noble and generous spirit that beats in the bcart of all truo Englishmen , to assist us at the present crisis in freeing ourselves from a stato of slavery that , a faction is determined to impose upon us . "
Now the fact is , that the card-room hands have hitherto been in the receipt of a . larger proportion of the moneys at the disposal of the Amalgamated Committee than any other body of operatives ; and the Amalgamated Committee having judged it better to sacrifice a comparatively unimportant body , and one whoso resumption of work would be of the least possible service to tho employers , rather than withhold Bupport from the weavers , it is questionable how far tho card-room hands have a right to complain at being refused a further enjoyment of the lion ' s share of the public moneys . Many of these card-room hands , finding themselves incompetent to the task , of living upon a shilling ( which was the exact amount of the relief distributed among that body this week ) have gone in , and it is said thai some of the masters are having them instructed ic the art of weaving .
Easter week , bo far as has influenced the sunae coming into Preston , has not restricted its effects to tho side of tho operatives : " the Associated Mao-
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April 20 , 1854 . THE LEADER . $ m
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Persons relieved Sums expended . Weavers .... 75 S 9 £ 1923 15 1 Spinners . . . . 2920 685 1 6 Card-room hands . 1689 ¦ 173 2 2 i Throstle spinners „ ...... ¦ . 45 2 0 $ Tapes-machine sizers : 40 , ..- 19 5 10 12 , 208 ' | 2846 16 8-,
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Leader (1850-1860), April 29, 1854, page 393, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2036/page/9/
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