On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (6)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
/t1\ *+A** /fi y -n++ *?*>?! (ii/Bul VilAUiUUU '
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
Monday—the representative intellect ( the Commons —not the Ijords ) and the representative beauty ( the ladies—not the Lords ) of England present—all Europe awaiting his -words—could JLord Aberdeenone foot in the grave , as he said a year ago , and feebler every day , sick , very sick that day—have been equal to the conception of a cheat ? At such a moment , with such a moment , a Lord Palmerston
¦ would cease to be a charlatan , and a Lord John "Russell would cease to talk of himself . Judge of ihe effect produced by his earnest address—rendered more earnest by that absence of fluency so necessary to delude the English people , and which Lord Aberdeen , with no opinion of mere talk , has never cared to practise—by the circumstance that Lord Derby , vindictively ready for mischief , declined a comment , and that the debate was confined to those two
Whig " supporters , " Clanricarde and Beaumont — supporters in the heraldic animal sense . Perhaps Lord Aberdeen ' s vindication would have been less successful had it been delivered to the promiscuous House of Commons ; and he would certainly have been hooted down by the longshore men in Guildhall , or by the bargees collected together by "William John Hall , who , it was rumoured , was thus about to take the opinion of the people of England on the character of the Premier — the liberal journals being apparently disgusted that "William John Hall has refrained from that severe
judicial proceeding . But in the Xords the defence ¦ was complete . The Lords , who know more of the realities of English statecraft than other classes , can comprehend Lord Aberdeen ; and are enabled , unaffectedly , to sympathise with him when he condescends to use such a set of phrases as may remove from him dangerous unpopularity-Lord Aberdeen is not carried away by the excitements of a * 'popular war . " He does not detest Nicholas as a despot ; for , being logical , that would compel him to detest a French and Austrian alliance , which would be inconvenient . He does not suppose
that Great Britain , which is in a chronic fear lest a Reform Bill should be carried , and in a permanent funk because all the electors are corrupt , is in a condition to teach the nations how to live , and , so , to lead in a revolutionary war to put down Russianism and put up freedoms . Lord Aberdeen , cold and cynical , merely understands that his business , as a Minister , in this matter is to protect the independence and integrity of Turkey ; and ho says he will do that , and take proper guarantees for that , and he will say no more . All this the House of Lords perfectly understand ; even
the House of Ladies on the occasion comprehended that ; and when Clanricarde , after a conspicuous folly of an hour ' s duration , rejurne d his seat , and Lord Beaumont rose to talk lm Whig old-womanisms in a neuter voice , the Lords and ladies bustled off to their carriages , smiling and sneering , —quite content that Aberdeen had stopped an inconvenient Ministerial crisis . Mrs . Masham , who was in the gallery , prominently grand , was evidently satisfied that Argylo was safe . And , of course , the fato of the Ministry "being decided , the object of the war is determined .
Unless , indeed , as said so often in this column in the course of this session , the Kadical party should think it worth while to be true to si deluded people , there cannot , certainly , be much hope for Radicals , who , like Lord Deadly , think that Palmoraton should 1 ) 0 Premier . But an absurd idiosyncrasy of this species is only allowed to run wild because there ia no party organisation to keep him quiot and teach him common sense . Mr . Cobden ' s speech in the Partnership debate was very hopeful . It lifted him out of , and away from , the wretched Manchester
School , and indicated a heart aa well as a head for the people . That debate , altogether , developed nmsaivo intellectuality in tlio Radical party—Mr . Collier ' s statement was as perfect , in its way , as Mr . Cohdon'a logic , —Mr . Lucas's syllogistic declamation was as admirable , in House of Commons completeness , aa Lord Goderich ' a philosophic dissertation . With such powers among bucIi n sot of men , tl « oro must bo Bomothing grossly wrong , seeing that thoae powers we at present all but thrown-awny , and that ia renl political effectiveness those men are impotent . Saturday Morning , «« A . Stranohb . "
Untitled Article
There is no learned man bxit -will confess he hath much profited by reading controversies , his senses awakened , and his judgment sharpened . If , tnen , it be profitable for him to read , why should it not , at least , be tolerable for his adversary to write . —Milton .
Untitled Article
PENNSYLVANIA NEVER REPUDIATED HER DEBTS . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) London , 19 tli June , 1854 . Sir , —I have read with mucli interest your excellent remarks on the character and writings of the Eev . Sydney Smith , but beg that you will permit me to correct one error , as it is an important one , into which he seems to have fallen , and into which he has led you . Pennsylvania , although selected by him as the representative of repudiating states , really never repudiated her debts . I have heard it stated that Sydney Smith did not hold any Pennsylvaniah Bonds at the time -when he wrote , his pungent satires against her ; but used her as a target at which to shoot his arrows intended to pierce repudiators wherever they existed , and I am disposed to
believe this statement to be correct . I was not only in America and in Philadelphia at the time when that state suspended payment of -the interest of her debts , but I actually held Pennsylvanian Bonds , and I hold them still . I read the proceedings of her governor and legislature with the interest which a creditor naturally feels in the exposition of his debtors' affairs , and I am bound in duty to say that these authorities never hinted at repudiation . On the contrary , the governor , ia his annual messages , explained the circumstances which had rendered it physically impossible for the state to pay the interest of her debts ; he distinctly acknowledged the incumbency of the debts on the state's resources , and asked only for time j and , moreover , the legislature never separated without solemnly acknowleding -the debt , and expressing their anxiety to discharge it .
As I was personally cognisant of the state of financial affairs in Pennsylvania in 1838 , 1839 , and 1840 , I know that the causes assigned by the governor for the suspension of the interest were real . The state had chartered banks , and encouraged the issue of paper-money to such an extent that the people engaged in the wildest speculative enterprises —worse than our railway mania of 1846 . This was carried to so great an extent that the balance of trade with Europe turned strongly against the United States , and forced them to export almost all their gold and silver coin and bullion ; but still the drain went on . The United States Bank first suspended cash payments , and soon became "bankrupts .
Innumerable country banks then collapsed ; and all papsr ^ money was discredited . The gold and silver were gone to Europe , or hoardedj and , literally , there was not an accredited circulating medium existing , even in Philadelphia , sufficient to serve for carrying on the ordinary transactions of life . Debts were paid by cheques on the few banks remaining solvent , and they were marked as " good" by the bank on which they were drawn , and carried to the bank of the creditor , which received them as money , and placed the amount to his credit . In the rural districts trade was reduced to barter ; and harvest labourers were paid in wheat , pork , and potatoes , which they exchanged for other necessaries in the shops of the villages . When the tax-gatherer came to the farmers , they offered him pork , wheat , rye , barley , and other produce , at his option ; but the
duties of a provision merchant were not included in his commission , and the state could not pay its creditors in kind by sending such commodities to them . Suspension , therefore , was a physical necessity in the circumstances ; but as soon aa her financial circumstances were reduced to order , the state paid all arrears of interest , and her stock ia now in excellent credit in the markota of Europe as well as in those of the United States . I have not lost a penny by my Pennsylvanian Bonds . On the contrary , they stand higher in market value now than they did when I purchased them , sixteen years ago . Sydney Smith ' s satire -was richly merited by a number of the western and southern states , which did repudiate , and it did excellent sorvico in shaming themi into honesty ; but it was a positive misfortune in him to havo inflicted a vicarious enstigwtion on Pennsylvania , which never deserved it .
In settling the interest on the nrrenrs of interest which had accumulated during tho period of suspension , that state allowed only 44 per cent ., which was thought shabby , as her debt itself lore 5 or 0 per cent . ; but this is tho only complaint which tho moat rigid creditor can make against her . It haa givon mo pain to see Sydney Smitin's charge ropoatcil again and again , ev « n by tho most respectable mombers of tho preHS in England , such as tho Times and your own n # por knowing , aa I do , how keenly this injustice ia felt us n moral wrong in Pennsylvania . Beaidoa , it tends to screon tho really dol . inq . uont states by constantly buttering tho innocent
with the blows which should have been bestowed on the guilty alone . —I am , &c , George Combu , of Edinburgh . [ Mr . Combe is perfectly right , and we are very much obliged to him for the correction . The reader will , no doubt , have observed that the inadvertence passed in a department of our paper where vigilance upon political details , and still more upon financial details , must be expected to be less keen than on the political side . ]
Untitled Article
THE CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN PA 111 S AND LIMOGES . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Kcmptown . Juno 28 th . Sir , —The foreign correspondents of the English press have repeatedly announced the total failure and the final dissolution of the co-operative workshops , established in Franco , sinco 1848 , and in winch the principles of self- government , self-employment , and the pro rata division of profits among the working members of the associations had been successfully elaborated . These reports I have now the satisfaction to inform you are unfounded .
The principal co-operative associations in Parissuch , for instance , as tha , t of the block tinmen , the arm-chair manufacturers , the carriage-lamp makers , the coach-builders , the file-cutters , the last , the chair , and the piano-forte manufacturers , are not only still in existence , but they are eminently successful and highly prosperous ; and in their moral and social , as well as their material and commercial aspects , are in a perfectly satisfactory condition .
At Limoges tlio large and important Association of the Potfers has , like its vigorous and laborious prototype , thrown olf three separate swarms , each of which appears to be as prosperous and successful as the thrifty and energetic parent society , whose statutes were framed in accordance with the principles of the most enlightened economists , and the individual interests of each of its members a $ studiously cared for and secured , as the collective interests of all .
The success of these self-employing and governing industrial institutions , in -which the rights as wtflas the duties of labour have received practical illustration and acknowledgment , is truly surprising , especially when we reflect upon the unparalleled difficulties and obstructions of every kind , as well as the ordinary trade competition , with which they have had to contend . The foundation of such institutions as these is among the permanent and indestructible products of that glorious revolution of 1848 , in which the rights of labour , not of stock-jobbing , were proclaimed by national decree , and by which was inaugurated anew era in the history of the rise , progress , and social emancipation of the operative classes in the Old World . I am , sir , your obedient servant , "William Coninguaji .
Untitled Article
LITERARY CLUB . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Euston-placo , Juno 23 , 1854 . Sir , — I entirely agree -with your correspondent , E . B . A ., that the proposed Athenaeum Institute is defective in principle , and not calculated to meet the wants of the general body of intellectual or literate men , whether engaged in journalism or any olher description of literature . In the first place there is a confused jumbling together of two subjects essentially distinct and separate , ^ yhat , I ask , lias Life Assurance to do with tho establishment of a central Exchange or resort for all who are connected with literature ? There is no sort of connexion between the two propositions , and I confess the thus thrusting
in , as an essential qualification for mcmborsliip , the rather intricate subject of Life Assurance , is not only hampering and unnecessarily complicating a most desirable institution , but is positively endangering its existence . The too curious inquiror is apt to think that it smells of tho shop . Again , wliy talk about " Incorporation ? " A charter of incorporation can only bo granted by Act of Parliament , at an oxpenso of some two or three hundred pouuds . An enrolment under tho Friendly Society ' s Act would answer all tho purpose , and would cost ' M , To meet tho views of It ,. B . A ., and in order to secure a rendezvous for literary men and journalists at once , 1 would propose as a first stop that 500 Kcutlcnion ,
whether reporters , authors , journalists , or litoratc mon , should each subscribe 10 s . Now GOO annual subscribers at 10 s . would produce tho aum of 250 / . Expend 50 / . of this amount in fitting up an eligible apartment from 70 to 10 O feet in length and 2 ( 1 to 30 in width . I should rely fully for n permanent income for this society on tho sound principle of tub association of MuniuRits , und it should bo tho object and chief design of this literary association to afford all its members a comfortublo and well-ventilated room for meeting and conversation : and also it roading or newsroom containing tho boat worka of our beat authors , as well as tho most talented reviews and journals of the day . I am , sir , your obedient nor van t , M . U . F .
/T1\ *+A** /Fi Y -N++ *?*≫?! (Ii/Bul Vilauiuuu '
< £ > petr CtmnriL
MX TH 13 DEPARTMENT , AS ALL OPINIONS , HOWEVKlt EXTRKUE , ACT ALLOWED AH EXrttESSlON , TI 1 K KD-lTOIt NECKS 3 A . K 1 LY U 0 U > S HIMSELF RESPONSIBLE FOlt NONB . l
Untitled Article
616 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), July 1, 1854, page 616, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2045/page/16/
-