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startled by the ann ounce meat of treason at the seat of Government , rushing to the defence of the laws , protesting , in . concertwith the highest courts of justice , against the violation of the constitution , insisting that the chief magistrate shall observe his oath , does not gtand on a moral equality with men who bribe the army , perjure themselves for the sake of power , raise the sword abore the law , and celebrate their achievements by gratuitous
massacres and acts of cruelty . There is no equality i n the case ; indeed , that is a necessary inference from * the journalist's own admission , " they had the right on their side . " They were Conservatives resisting the violent overturning of eyerj ^ public institution ; and a lingering death in the case of many , and five years of misery in the case of all , have been the penalties of their " few hours of resistance . "
What we must particularly point attention to , is the fact that these men have been stutliously maligned by the apologists of the Bokapabte usurpation ever since the coup d ' etat of December . The appeal that has been made is an act , not of mercy , but of common justice . The public now knows that Lottcs Napoleon attains Ms political ends by means exactly identical with those by which the King of ! N " api . E 8 attains his , or the Emperor of Atjstbia his , and that these three confederates urge the same plea—the
necessity of protecting society . It is the necessity of protecting society that causes a sentence of death to be passed upon five French citizens , a long time after the commission of the offence imputed to" them . It is this necessity that justifies the Russian process—lately learned at Paris—of kidnapping suspected individuals b y night , and transporting them , on one hand to the cold but healthy settlements of Siberia , on the
other to a spot more fatal to the European constitution than Cape Coast Castle . However , if any glimpse of Europe ever reach the political exiles at Cayenne , they will now learn that public opinion in England has been taught by leading authorities to regard them as prisoners of war , who failed in a just cause ; who , suffering for no crime 3 must be counted among martyrs , and who have more right to be in Paris than the Emperor of the French himself . That has been the result
of their appeal through . M . Lotjis Bla . no to the humanity of Europe . More cannot be expected . Out intercessions being repulsed at Naples , we shall , probably , lay aside , for a time , our . official sympathies . But the exiles , if they carry their reflections farther , will not find much to console them . Suppose that the Hussian war had continued , and that we had been dragged into new adventures by our military ally , who would have heard of Cayenne ? " Wlio heard of it last year , except through our columns ? for it was t 7 i en untimely to reember the
m hideous scene of revenge exhibited permanently in the galley settlements of GHiiaua . Had the fever of flattery lasted seven years , tlio political detenus might hare worn their chains , and suffered the scourge , and our journalists would not have presumed to notice them . Thero iB no forgetfulness like -that of admiration , especially when the object to bo admired ia powerful , and appears to use his power in our belialf . But let us rejoice that there is justice of sentiment at last , and believe it , by all " means , TT ! ' ° ^> wonder of what use , to wi £ IH * *""* ^ times , will be tho leading article of leading J ournals !
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men . It is true that things are better in this respect than they used to be , and it is not an uncommon occurrence to find here and there merchants and manufacturers having a very , considerable acquaintance with the liberal arts , and who prove , by the manner in which they expend the princely fortunes which their industry and energy create , that they know something about matters of greater worth and nobility than watching the turn of
the market and carrying out an operation in yarns . Some of the most liberal and enlightened patrons of art of whom this country can boast are to be found among the business men of Lancashire and the Midland Counties . There is tlie present Lord Beeper , for instance , late Mr . Struct , a manufacturer from his youth , but whose family has long "been known for its connexion with the intellectual
nloyed in our manufacturing districts arises from this want of cultivation on the part of the former . There is a proverb in Lancashire that the biggest tyrant is invariably a master who has once been an operative . JRo taskmaster like a coarse , vulgar , ignoran t fellow who has had the industry and the shrewdness to rise out of . the ranks . Such a man can never control the passions of his operatives for he never could control his own . He can never reason with them , for he lacks tlio power ; and , -when a dispute arises , his onl
y expedient is to defy them , to swear at them , and to tell them that he -will grind them into the dust . How can such a man teach his workpeople to understand the laws of political economy , or demonstrate to them , the necessity tinder which he lies of reducing their wages , when he does not know how . He makes the deduction ; they come and remonstrate ; he is ashamed to confess' ignorance , and therefore blusters and refuses flatly to do that which is entirely out of his power —• explain ; discontent ferments into irritation .
harsh words beget harsher reprisals , arid a strike is the result , when all might have been calmed by a few plain and logical words delivered in a gentlemanly spirit . It is all very well to say , ^ Educate the operatives ; we say , Educate the manufacturers , teach them to be gentlemen if you can , and depend upon ifc that you will hear very little more about strikes and the like senseless abominations of stnpidity . During the last Preston strike and lock-out ( that gross piece of folly which cost the eoniiiiunity nearly a million sterling )
incidents were constantly occurring which proved the total absence of cultivation and of gentlemanly feeling among a large number of the richer disputants . One British slavedriver said that the operatives should be glad to lick the dust from , his shoes ; another swore roundly that he -would * pitch his iniU property into the Atlantic' he would give way one job ; many of them talked the direst and most tragic nonsense about' doing what they liked with their own . ' Surely the schoolmaster would have been of service here !
The immediate cause of these observations is the report of a speech lately delivered at the anniversary dinner of the Royal North Lancashire Agricultural Society by a PrestoD manufacturer , one Mr . ( xeobge Smith :. Let it be remembered that this speech was delivered in the presence of a large company of some of the leading men in the county ,
among whom we may name Lord Stanley , Sir James Kaye SmiraiiEWoiiTii , aud James Hey wood , Esq . ; let it also be remembered that the orator is the em ployer of a large amount of labour in Preston ( several hundreds of operatives ) , and that he was one of those very manufacturers who took part in that huge piece of folly and cruelty called ' The Lock-out . ' Let all this be
remembered , and our readers will find no difliculty in understanding what we mean when we say that the schoolmaster is sadly wanted in the North . The speech avas made in acknowledgment of a toast in honour of ' the town . and trade of Preston . ' Mr . Georgo Smith , on rising , said : — " My lord and gentlemen , I -was not aware that I should bo called to r « tum thanks for tho town and trade of Preston ; but as I am now to do that which X hope I shall bo ablo to give you sufficient satisfaction , and return thanks for tlio town which we belong to it , ( Hear , hear . ) Tho town ' a
one—( hear , hear )—and the . trade is another . Tho trade is one , which thero is two points to bo < liscusaed upon . ( Applatue . ) When a clergyman takes his text , ho always divides it . ( Cheers and hug 7 Uer . ) If we look back to tlio town of Preston , aa my noble friend has stated , which I have had to work in tho town along with lil » father , first at tho timo whon ho was the represented of Preston—( laughter )—one of his committee at that time > vlien wo sont him from tho town as our representative ( A pplause . ) Look at tho different improvements tliat liavo taken place over since then . Look nt those gront institutions which is now oafablished in Picaton , so lately
improvement of the people in their neighbourhood ; there are the Gxadstootss of Liverpool , the Yateses , the Saitdbachs ; in Manchester , we . find such names as Bazley , " Whitwoiith , Paibbaibn ; all these names are borne by persons who may be placed in the very first rank wherever culture , liberality , and honour entitle men to precedence . -Everywhere in the business community we may discover men whose superior intelligence , fructified l ) y good education and
ripened experience , gives them a considerable amount of influence among their fellows . " Unhappily , however , this is by no means universally the case ; on the contrary , we fear fchat it is exceedingly exceptional . For one man of cultivation and intelligence ( we speak , of course , of intelligence not exclusively eoninaercial ) you will find fifty who are the very reverse of this—men who recognize no higher pursuit than money getting , and who despise every accomplishment that does not directly lead to that end . This is so true , that among some of the business classes the
possession of great accomplishments , unless allied to the possession of great wealth , will bring a man into great contempt among his fellows . " He is a schollard , " they ; " thinks unself mighty wise , but give us a man who can make lots o' brass . " The Indian who returned to his native state of savagery after acquiring tlie refinements of civilization , was not looked upon with greater suspicion and contempt than an educated and accomplished gentleman , is by certain merchants and manufacturers unless he can also prove the possession of those qualities which they admire only—ability , shrewdness , power of money-making .
Seeing that this is caused by the fact that a very large body of the present business men are persons who have raised themselves from the uneducated or ill-educated classes , it is probable that the evil will bo "to some extent modified when they pass away and the next generation arises into their place . Young Lancashire is even now a very different sort of a fellow from his father . You would scarcely recognize any similarity
be-LANCA . SIHR . E ORATORY Cm tut ? amTnnr MASTER WANTED 1 N % ^ o S UTH " It would not bo fair to expect a verv hitrli state of intellectual culture amo ^ JbLiS
tween them . The latter smokes his pipe in a pot-house ,- and boasts of Iris ' brass' in the coarsest vernacular of hia country ; but the former has been to Eton , mayhap also to college , dresses like a gentleman , travels alittle , and knows a great deal about the fine arts . Altogether he ia a much more human creature than his venerable progenitor , who slaps hiB breeches-pockets with a knowing leer , and says , " Get brass , boy , get brass : honestly if thou « anst ; but—get hrass . "
But , in the meantime , and whilst we await that golden time when tlie insolence of ignorance and the tyranny of vulgarity shall be banished from tlio counting-house and the mill , it is interesting to reflect how much of the misunderstanding which ia constantly arising between the employers and tho em-
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852 THEI / EAPER / [ No . 337 , Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 6, 1856, page 852, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2157/page/12/
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