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^ n . ., (O llfll Cfr -niinril ¦ ' ^ T VW ^ U U U l *' *
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heads of tlie argument -which destroys it . In the first place , the rate of wages was not accepted by the large miscellaneous population ; but had caused great murmuring and discontent for months before the dispute culminated to a point . In the second place , the better-paid towns were amply stocked with labour ( the report itself says that " no actual scarcity of factory operatives had yet been felt " ) , and to inundate them with the discontented Prestonians would have brought down their wages to a level
with those of the latter . In the third place , locomotion from market to market is rendered well-nigh impossible to the factory operatives , partly on account of the expense , and p _ artly from the restrictive measures of the combined employers . One sentence , in which the framers of the report attempt to prove Mr . Bounderby ' s position , that the factory operatives are the best paid people in the world , would have been better suited to the pages of " Hard Times" than to a business-like report .
. " The average earnings of the men , women , and children employed have been 10 s . lOd . per week , or for a family of four working ( a low average ) , equal to an income of 112 / . 13 s . 4 tl ., being about twice tliat of many clerks and shopmen—quite equal to that of a small tradesman—more than that of ilie average of our citrates and Dissenting preachers—approaching to some of those who embark hi the lottery of' the learned professions—and quite equal to the pay oi ' a lieutenant of infiintry . " After hearing which well-attested string of facts , it is to be expected ¦¦ ¦ that crowds of clerks and shopmen , not to speak of curates and Dissenting preachers ,
with a sprinkling of learned gentlemen who pine in utter brieflcssness intlic Temple , and perhaps a stray lieutenant of infantry , will at oiice repair to Preston , arid seek the ' more profitable occupations of the loom and the spindle . Seriously speaking , however , this passage is as fallacious as those which we have before quoted . There has been no such average as 10 s . lOd . for men , women , and children , jn Preston . Weavers are among the best paid of the factory operatives , and the average for all the pair-loom weavers in the largest establishment in Preston , previous to the month of August , was Ss . 8 d .
But the question of whether the employers could or could not afford the advance which they resisted , lias been practically answered within the last fortnight ; for it appears that Air . Miller , the largest employer of labour .. in Preston , indeed in Lancashire , the Chairman of the Masters' Association , the gentleman without whose puissant aid the experiment of the Lock-out must have' been a miserable failure , has raised his rate of wages from five to seven-anda-half per cent ., and that in the face of a market Avhich is infinitely worse than ever last winter saw . L .
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There is no learned man but will confess he hnth much profited by rcachnr ; controversies , his senses awakened , nnd his jud ^ men . ' . sharpened . If , then , it bo profitable for him Lo loud , why should it . not , at least , bo tolerable : ' or his adversary to v / nte . — Ml i . Ton .
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THE DOMESTIC MOLOCH " . ( To the J-lUitor of the / , cw / ir . ) Sm , — After thanking you , in common with many ether women , for your exposure week by week of the mist crying sin of the day , we wish to rnulce a few r . marks in answer to tie letter by J . II ., published in ( Suturdny's Leader . Wo do not think that any permanent pood could bo effected by the menus J ' . 11 . suggests , legislation must nut be trusted to cure this evil ; Magdalen hospitals mid refuges must not be trusted . Wo must go deeper , and find out what causes place women under the sorts temptation , of adopting such a life , and what onuses prod ' ure men ho degraded as to take advantage of such misfortune .
Women uu : generally driven to degradation from ignorance and the tlifliculty of getting respectable employment , eompurud with the jrivut ' demand and temporary high wages of thin acorn-sod trade . Also by that public opinion which uomh'inns them ns lost , characters after the l > irlhof one child out of wedlock , and forces them down to a lower and lower depth . Men arc debased by bad training in youth , and by tho wretchedly low theory and hypocritical bearing ot soctoty on tho subject of prostitution . Most vi-oinen will lbryivo \ ieo in men before nnirrlugo , and tno beet d p not drcum of hrliiRiiiK public opinion ( o hour openly nnd ellidk'ntly on sinners
. lhonbsntd difflcaltlon placed in tho way of in . irrmge lmm the number of superfluities deeinvd hccchsary hi life , Hnd ti 1 Q hmecosKihility of ivsi . octabk ' young wonjfii who mo necdJe ^ ly shutout ir « m inturcour . se will . youn men , jolu « . l to the immobility evils that ho at the root of tho mutter
lieutenant Blackmore is doing indirect good by calling public attention to the subject ; and we do not like to dishearten such good men by saying that , while the demand remains the same , for every miserable girl rescued another victim is ensnared ; yet it is true . Some explicit teaching of right and wrong 110011 the subject , some distinct warding of the penalties of transgression On both sexes , ought to be given to all boys and youths . We must apply more energetically to the education of women of the lower classes , to open out the avenues to employments in every possible direction both to them and to that portion of the middle class , who , from want of subsistence , are constantly dragged into this most miserable and suicidal life .
It can never be inherently necessary that one class of women be sacrificed for the protection of another ; an assertion constantly repeated . If it be so , then happy are the victims compared to those for whom this curse is perpetuated ! We wish that all workers and well-wishers would tkin / t before they act ; it is not sufficient that we do something—we ought to do the best . B . B .
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INDIA . ( To the Editor of the Leader S ) Sib ,- —Although a sincere admirer of your opinions on most subjects ,. I cannot agree with the spirit of your remarks on Indian affairs . You speak of the shameful extortions under which . the natives still groan , and you apparently allude to the collection of the revenue . Here you are certainly mistaken , for nothing can be more equitable . than-the manner in which the assessment is made ; and in very bad
years the Government invariably makes a liberal allowance to the tax-payers . For instance , not only was temporary assistance bountifully tendered during the terrible famine of 1 S 3 S , but the revemiedemand was lowered in all the districts that suffered most severely . In Bengal Proper there is , unfortunately , a perpetual settlement with which we cannot interfere ' without a breach of faith . If any change , however , could be made , it would be to double the assessment .
Perhaps your objection lies against the nature of a land tax ? But it must be remembered that this and the salt tax are the only imposts that fall upon the natives . To our English ideas the latter duty does appear an oppressive one for the working classes—but it is not so in reality . If the salt tux were repealed to-morrow , the labourers who form ' the vast majority of the population would not benefit in the slightest degree . Their employers , also natives , would alone reap the fruits of the measure , by reducing the rate of wages . The European system of political economy will not yet apply to Asiatic peoples and countries . In those climates a man has such very few wants , and Nature is " so bountiful , that he is satisfied with the merest pittance in the shape of money . His dress consists of a linen cloth bound round his waist , and of another one wound
round his head . More than this you could not persuade him to wear . His only extravagance is ia the article of jewelry . Every pice he can accumulate' is laid by with the hope of purchasing a bracelet , uu anklet , or . a Ting . Beyond this and his daily food ho baa no thought . I once saw in an English publication a heartrending description of the poor ryots , who might be seen working in the fields under : i vertical sun , without so much as a shirt to their bucks . On mentioning this to an intelligent native , he smiled , and said , " Yes , sahib ; give ryot shirt , make much good tuvhnn . " Unless you can teach tho natives to have nrtUkinl wants you will never get them to strike for wnjres . Tho masters know exactly upon how little a man can subsist , and also tho amount ol disposable labour in the district , ami they consequently give thu labourers just so much us will keen them in fair working condition—and no more .
Whatever oppression does exist ia exercised by natives over natives . And I really believe that a Hindoo loves to bo oppressed . If you treat him with , uuix'kud kindness ho directly suspects some sinister motives on your part , or fancies that you uro afraid of him . This may possibly be owiny : to long ages of misrule ; but it certainly ia tho case . They acknowledge that the Foriiig-hi . es arc inoro just and pvutlo than their own countrymen over wuro or would be ; but they do not value us tho more on that accountrather tlio contrary . The only class who really lovo our rule arc tho traders and nionoy-ehuiigerabanker .- ) if you will . These men uro able to pursue their usurious speeulutioiiH in siilVty and without ; fear ; and ninny of them rocognisu tliis much of merit in tho hated LA . Thiuln . 'o .
\ N it , li respect to admitting natives more largely into tho executive and administrative dopurtincnts , tluj " priin'ii » l ( j is undoubtedly ri ^ ht . lint tho time has not yet . arrived lor reducing it , to practice . The ICnylish i > ul > llo form erroneous notions of tho derive of enligliU'iimont that prevails tunoiiff tho bettor educated nnliven . They found tlieir judgment on tho well worded petitions that arc , ever and anon ,
sent home . But these petitions aTe usually drawn up by some pettifogging English attorney , who failing of success among hie own countrymen , adopts the apparently liberal course of throwing himself into the arms of the natives , and of identifying tlieir interests with his own . I can assure you posi tively that most of those men who , in India , talk most loudly of the rights of man , are those who respect them the least . The natives themselves do not understand the nature of a constitutional or representative Government . English history is quite unintelligible to them . They will in time master a certain number of dates , and names of persons and
events . But you cannot get them , to connect cause with effect . They are the most inconsequential reasoners it is possible to imagine . They will talk glibly about "] Macaulay's Essays , " " Rasselas , " " Shakespeare , aad the " Spectator ; but in vain shall you attempt to fix upon any one idea . They delight in a flowing style—it is as music to them—a pleasant sound , " only this and . nothing more . " At times you imagine that they understand your explanations pf a high state of social civilisation , when in a moment your hopes are crushed by an unmeaning rhapsody of high sounding words , -which only proves to you tliat you have wasted your time and breath to no purpose .
The system of education is partly in fault . We have begun with colleges , where elementary schools were really required . We give the natives books to read , such as we should place in the hands of lads going up to our Universities . But we omit the common place foundation ; and , above all , neglect to inculcate the habit of application , which is the most valuable acquisition made at ordinary schools in our own country . The consequence is , that the native is " top-heavy . " BTe is like a man intoxicated with the firrnes of champagne . There is but one halfpenny worth of bread to an intolerable quantity of sack . There is no ballast on board , and yet all sails are set aloft .
This evil is undoubtedly susceptible of a remedy , but time is required for its' application . The Hindoo , and especially the Bengalee * is naturally astute—too much so , indeed . He is deficient however in common sense arid in practical knowledge . His moral and social ideas are also miserably weak . In short , he wants stability and " soundness . " Having much more to say , I must break off for the present ; but , with your permission , will return to the charge next week . J . H .
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DO SURGEONS MAKE EXPERIMENTS IN CORPORE VIL £ ? A corhespondent has called our attention to the following passage iu the Association jiledical Journal : —and ivc insert his comments .: — " During the lato painful investigation into the circumstances connected with the death of the child Alfred Eichardson , at the Royal Free Hospital , wo more than once heard it broadly stated by sensible laymen that , whatever might be said fur or against the iiumtvnity and operative sldll of the
f * . I T- » 1 T > ' IT til " . 11 I . t . surgeons of the Royal Free Hospital , it was well known that hospital surgeons were unfeeling as a class , ami learned all they knew by wantonly carving the bodies of the poor ! Reckless experiments upon living-men imd ~ wornen were in fact represented as the frequent and congenial occupation of hospital aspirants to surgical eminence . It was not only in casual conversations that we mot with this monstrous calumny ; for in the newspapers , especially in th , o $ e of weekly issue , we found articles breathing the same absurd ; and sl . iiulorous spirit . For example , the Leader , in its impression of the 22 nd of Julv , spoke as follows : —
" ' Vory likely tho veulict of tho jury is quite just : but do wo not know that surgeons are always experimenting in tho hospitals , very frequently to the ruin of the poor—most likely pauper—putiout ?'—Leader , July 22 nd , 1864 , p , G 79 . " ¦ ' i'ho question arises—How is it that such an extraordinary delusion oxista ii > tho public mind regarding tho skill and the morality of our hospital surgeons ?" "It is a fortunate thing for the members of tho medical profession that their morality is not to bo estimated by the tone of thoir own peculiar journals ; and wo doubt vory much , if any question of morale were put to the vote , whether as a body tho whole profession would not at onco cry out , ' Save us from our brethren ! ' Such is tho clnsh of knives and tho clamour of infallible cures , —what with this slashing operator and thut fashionable physician , —that tho ancient science is as full of its diplomatists nnd ulnirhitnns ns any other profession that lives by bleeding tho public .
"Tlmt there in fi science of medicine , Jilbi'it as yet somewhat of the obscure—that it has benefit tod immensely by tho Inter advances of physiolopy , wo firmly believe . There can he no reserve , too , in admitting at ; once the high position for integrity and honest application of their hen I skill on an emergency that lu-longs to the profession ffciwrnUy , but there ia no blinking tho fiu : t thut medicine nnd surgery nro ninongst . tho uiicirtnin sciences—they lmvo to deal with things thut mo always moro or less matters of uncc ' iiMiiity— contiiUKoneiostluit lire to bo guessed at ; nnd lhoso men are hhoooshI ' uI who have tho knnok to observe well nnd truly tho thousand different phases of the ills that llosli ia heir to . We should be , tho llrst to allow every sunount of latitude to tho dovo-
^ N . ., (O Llfll Cfr -Niinril ¦ ' ^ T Vw ^ U U U L *' *
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[ IN THIS PRPAKTMKNT , AS AI . l , OPINIOHS , II OWl ' . VF . r . EXTREME , ARV aj . i . uwum a . v i ; xnn :.-jsi (>> . tjik umioit . xmsi : si . \ . tm . \ ' ito < . j >» mii-3 K 1 . F IIUgrOSSIDLIt I'OU Ml > Nl :. l
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August 19 , 1854 . ] THE LEA DER . 783
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 19, 1854, page 783, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2052/page/15/
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