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Tr «, 10.1848. THE NORTHERN STAR. ~ 3
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. .-- --"""" jES TREE OF LIBERTr. sl sob...
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1EE LABOURER. A Monthly Magazine ofPolit...
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* We c«S tht choietst. ' HEROES AKD COXQ...
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* ' And my lord , the victory is with me...
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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.
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Tr «, 10.1848. The Northern Star. ~ 3
Tr 10 . 1848 . THE NORTHERN STAR . ~ 3
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. .-- --"""" Jes Tree Of Libertr. Sl Sob...
. .-- -- """" jES TREE OF LIBERTr . sl sobo-t mss . & e of the first French revolution , hut «* Sd i . toJ » .-jy ? * — « . uoiioci si attend the ehiel , ^ . pitied GaMVi sUv ., man , ?* fl ; , » ew'd » fcrsscb , spite o' the de \ L * y 0 Bt the western-waves , man F , ir lirM « tered It wl' care igd = »* sB F 6 ei ** ' ****'» * ° geS weel It bad * "d blossom * there , Its branches spreading wide , man . eEt vicioai folks ay hate to see yte works o' virtus thrira , man T courtly Terrain ' s batrh'd the tre ? , Aad gra t w ee « lt &«**« lasa i 0312 to
£ iag IobIs t ^? ' cat ** down , ¦ frita it was unca imi ' , man ; Yot this the watchman crack'd bis crown , fht off his head and »' , man ' . A wicked crew tyse , oa a time , Did tai' a sol « mn alth , man It ae ' er shoeld Sourish to its prime , j frst ihey ple ^ g'd their faith , man ; AWs' they gaed , wi' mock parade , like beagles hunting game , man Bat ( ooa grew weary o' the trade , And wlsh ' d they'd been at home , man , Heard je o' the tree o' France I « Atu what ' s the name oV , AjouBd it a' tht patriots dance , Wesl Europe kens the fameo ' t . Is stands where cnca the butile stood , A f risoa , btdli by kings , man . When inpmtltitm ' i helttib broad , Sept Franca in leading strings , man .
Upo' this tre « there grows sic fruit , Irs vir tues * ' can tell , man ; It raises man aboon tie brute , It makes him ken hhosel ' , man Gif ance the peasant taste a bit , He ' s greater than a lord , man , An' wi' the beggar shirts a mite 0 ' a' he can afford , man This fruit Is worth a' Aide ' s wealth , To comfort at ' twas sent , man ; To gire tbe sweetest blush o' health , An' mat * us a' content , man .
It clears the e ' en it cheers the hesrt , Kaks high and low gold friends , man ; And he whs , acts the traitor ' s part It to periition sends , man . For freedom standing by tke tree , Her sons did loudly ca ' , manj She sang : a sang o' liberty , Which plexs'd them ana and a ' , man By her inspir ed , the new-born race , Soon drew the avenging steel , man ; The hirelings ran , her foes gted ' chase , And bang'd tke despot weel , man
Let Britain b & ast her hardy oak , Her poplar and her plae , man Anld Britain ance could crack her joke , And o'er her neighbours shine , man Bat seefe the forest round and round , Asd soon ' twill be agreed , man , That sic a tree cannot be found , 'Twirt London and the Twsed , sen . Without this tree , altck , this life Is hut a vale e' woe mag ; A scene o * sorrsw mix'd wi * strife , Hae real joys we know , man ; "We labour soon , we labour late , To feed the titled knave , man ; And a' the comfort we ' re te get Is that ayent the grave , man
Wi plenty o' sic tree * I trow , The world would lire In peace , man ; The sword would help to mak' a plough , The din o' war would eease , man . Like brethren in a common cause , We'd on each other smile , man ; Aad equal rights and equal laws Wad gladden every isle , man TTae worth the lc-oa wha wadaa eat Sic halesome dainty cheer , man ; Fd gi ' e ray aboon frae off my feet , To taste sic fruit , I swear , man . Syne let ns pray , anld England may , Sure plant this far-fern'd tret , man ; And hlythe well emg , and hall tie day , That gave ns liberty , man .
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1ee Labourer. A Monthly Magazine Ofpolit...
1 EE LABOURER . A Monthly Magazine ofPolitftt , Literature , Poetry , & c . No . XVIII . Juse . London : Korthern Star Office , 16 , Great Wind-Bill-street , Hayraarket ; J . Watson , 3 , Queen ' s-Head-passage ; Manchester : Abel Heywood . This deservedly popular magazine has sow reached its tkird volume , the concluding number of which Is CTotei t * s most appropriate ana * timely treatise en hbosr . br F . O'Connor , Esq ., M . P . Notwithsfcaadeg thephrase , ' rightsof Labour , 'ii continually on lie lips and in the written productions of a great suny persons , it is undeniable that those rights hare hitherto bees but very obscurely and imperfectly deied . Mr O'Connor ' s essay dispels the obscarity -ia ' ca has hitherto surrounded this question . A . iw Eitraets will show the character and Talne of this isitise .
Mr O'Connor commences by reviewing the hostile sections of society arrayed against , because living by IU plunder of , tie labourers ; and implores the sterio lock only to themselves fer their own regearation . 'Ever , ' says Mr O'Connor , 'bear this ac * in mind , that it is madness to suppose that the t & jitalist , whose whole profit is made of the labourttf dependence , will acquiesce in securing hii in-KKid ' ence . * iii O'Connor then traces the direful consequences t ! tha non-representation of Labour in the legislates ; proving that the labourer is the most heavily kite when least able to stagger under the burden . Saving shown how aristoeratio idleness is quartered vcn iS-n ^ sired industry , Mr O'Connor proceeds to ^ minister the following honest reproof to the lat . uRrs themselves : —
tojolas roiLT . rThts trade is good , and the majority of the people are ejlsjed , they measure their condition by the compara-£ r e i : ile , and the parings from the board cf each will eo hr » : oTids fer unwilling paupers , as to hnsh their voice a-ie din of satisfaction . These temporary gleams of tt- 'hhe break and interrupt the coatinuons chain of bioa ' s eppsiition to despotic misrule ; they doubt each citr , rival each other , compete with each other , ti contesd ezainst each other during this
seav . z oi conpsratire prosperity ; and when adversity teies upon tkem like a thief in the dark , the labourers king now for the most part from hand to mouth esifUn , tarn in frenzy , and with impetuosity , to their ' aiers , sni jsy , 'Here wo are starring , why do yoa not Siriiul as and prepare ns for the struggle ; ' while 3 ia the fecur of comparative prosperity were deaf to t = T > crds of wisdom , and laughed at him who was G ; ecoogh to foretell the coming cloud and the storm . In the following paragraph Mr O'Connor power-• * 3 y sketches the "
KI'EET or THE wratTH-CSEATO * : it tome , yon cannot consume the produce of yourown ¦ ticar ; thsman who weaves shirts for others ia shirtless ^ zj . z \!; the man who makes shoes for others Is bare-*• ¦;' . ; tbe nun who spins for others Is buried without a * iiiEg sheet ; the man who makes cofins fsr others 1 » iiijifbnrie 4 inaEfeeIl in a pauper ' i graTe ; hewho 5 " . n sad he who reaps most put up with a scanty fare , *' ^ = thole who neither reap nor sow , Irve 5 n aSuencs ti IsTurj , How coraes it then , that the Englishman , *• - cianot secare a m « re EnfasUtenoe at home , Is io bo ts ts a foreigner and as outlaw to parchasa the pro'~ = of his own country in foreign lands , stamped with £ * trmd cf English taxation , and increased £ a price by ^ itrptnsa oi importation , riik , freight , end insurance l > tiw material , and exportation of the manufactured fc & le , Kith doable risk , freight , and Insurance f
( J Ir O'Connor argues the great troth that the in-5-tsts ot all who live by Iabonr , are identical and ^? ttab ! e , and impresses npon the working men c'duty to themselves , as well as to their fellows , of *& ag upun the principleeach jo * Ait , iKD Aii roa xach . its t tDatmsEons , plasterers , bricklayers , andcarpea-^ , and all others connected with the building trade , * ? . *'*' « ng » ged in the erection of the Houses of ^ 'iiiasa ! , or In building new strestsia the neighbour . *' ' ^ of London , ctanot while so employed tea the effect ^ fii pover ty of the Spitalfields weavers , the destitu-T ; 5 oi the framtwork knitters of Kottingham , or the
?¦**«« of the-froelcoabers ef Bradford , can possibly t . ' s ? Da their order . The shoemaker ean recogaiss n .. f- * * betwesn his own interest and that of the r "jjwia the workhouEe . Ihe tailor caunot see how he £ lb " 1 * ? '• ' ¦' POvsrtyofthewsaTer who i * shirtless ,, T ' -d « of hu own surplus produce , nor cam the USo . " * whlt betriD f * e condition of the costless tie hJ" h £ ra npoa hiB h » Ple «* f » te } hat I tefl all , that 5 i £ . *"<^« u of all who lire hy Iabonr aw identical and *» i ; tt &^ ' T uu the "weU-empIoyed buUding trades . U ^' . ' ^ 'feAVfr ^ the stockingers and w « olcombel » , n '* . iiiW- ^ ' of 'h * * * , would , If will remmec ^ . j- , V Ueir labour , be better employers of their in-^ J ' -KTM 1 baaail : < 5 m «» ter » , corporation * , or single
I tell .-*^ la £ * h 0 Ea » k « ' 8 . that tbe well-emplojedlabourer 'i s tijir " * ¦ CU 6 * -omer than the idle paupir . I tell ii rJ » !^ st ihe free labosxer and the well-rrquited ^ 5 if ih- ' We : r mtire C 0 & U than the hirsd slave ; 1 U J ** * tn J man who doubts tnslUnstration * thtt Hiiii » tt " Iw iU Enm U P tts P ° wer of the t ° iliioa 3 ^ i ' tt " ^ , in S ° * tha * : — *" r ; h "ei ** " * eb « pke ; per of High and low degree ^• resj !^ " «» ' ^ his silstosratle cnilomerl ! It 18 l ^*!^ tlle ^^^ oome acroes the counter from the ^' poijt . , of t * to ^ tr , aed ret so disconnected is C ** ' v ° ' l nsteinin fore ^ that , npon a general ^ m ' , ? - ° ^« per , who was enabled to accommo-S ; e 2 n = f « rat by the rtady peace of his ready
1ee Labourer. A Monthly Magazine Ofpolit...
n ^ tSttiways - pr ^ afeTto wwHTceWfi ttmrt ^ ttscku to tha patronage of th » aristocrats ^ Jut ?^? ™ ? *^ ^ fo , J «* "J & and he will at onee form a clear ides of the , "
ViLCS 0 F . 'L 4 B 3 tTB . Afarm « rwho « au 203 acres of land , wUl bo an estensive employer , rf throughout the . year he employs eightlaWrs ; andoattf th sprofitsof their labour he will pay his rent , the laterest of hio capital vested In Ms operatioas , he will support his family and educate thsm make provisions for them , keep his hunter and bis horse to taka him to miU and mark . t , and his famil y to •* : ^ ^ ^ ** ' ^^ tte fond anticipation , of either adding to fcis amouat of territory , or of Hcurine a sufficient amount to enable him and his partner to retire In ease aad idleness , leaving the farm to his eldest eon . and premoting his younger obildrsn .
^ Sow you can form tome estimate of the value of these eight men s labour ; andifIamtoldthatthe whole sys . tern rests upon this state of dependsnee , I answer , that if the eight are satisfied I am-satisfied , but they ranst express their satisfaction after theynnderstand that the two hundred acres , If beneficially appliad , would sup . portonehtmdredfaEiiliesin affluence , instead of sight in penury . Having reviewed the onuses whioh have led to the prostration of labour , and the reasons why labour never has had its reward for any victory it has achieved , Mr O'Connor proceeds to affirm , in the toIIowingstartUng propositions , the
cEaxanv sbsoxts or the EstairciPAPioK of tAsour . l « t . " -Tnat the association of free labour and hired labour , of free labour expended upon agriculture , - aad hire * Itbaur measured by the value of the amount that the free labourer could earn , and by his Increased ability to employ himselfan additional portion of hired labour—that Great Britain and Ireland could maintain in Iusury a population ef over ONE HUNDRED AND
FIFTY MILLIONS . 2 ad . —THAT THE REALISATION OP MY PLAN WOULD MAKE THE RICH RICHER , AND THE POOR RICH 3 rd , —THAT IT WOULD MAKE THE COMMUNITY MORE INDEPENDENT OF ALL MONETARY SCHEMES . 4 th . —That it would destroy the necessity of taxing one portion of the community for the support of idlers , for the punishment of crime , or for the education ef the people . We now ca'd attention to the following convincing and unanswerable illustrations of Mf O'Connor ' s argument , showing the
HODE OF EHAKC 1 PATI 0 S . Labourers , I can illustrate the -subject as well by the state of a district , as by the state of the nation . Suppose , then , that thsre Is a district wherein the employers require the labour « f 3 , 000 hands , and suppose that there are enly 3 , 000 available hands ; In such case , asof old , the 3 , 000 hands rsgnired to do the work will be courted and bid for , and the employers , notwithstanding the adiU tional amount ef wages paid , will make a profit upon their labour . But suppose anather 1 , 008 comes , mak . ing 4 , 000 , into the same district , where labour before bore a fancy , but yet a last , price ; In that caso the
* , 009 will not receive as much wages as the 3 , 000 recilved , while the masters will make more profit ; but suppose that the scantiness of employment In other districts augments the number to 5 , CM , the additonal number constituting a still larger competitive reserve for the masters to fall back upon as a means of reducing th » price of labour , will not receive as much wagss as tht 3 , 009 , which was a scanty supply ; while those employed , besides being compelled to submit to a reduction ef wages , will also be compelled to support the surplus in idleness , as labour pays every tax , and capital not a farthing , but , on tke- contrary , makes a profit of taxation .
In Great Britain and Ireland there are sixty million acres of land not cultivated to a tenth part of its capabOity ; ofyielding ; there arefive million paupers , besides a large majority who exist in a gtat * of comparative sa . tisfaction , being reconciled to their condition by the worse state of their pauper order , while that amount of pauperism presses hardly upon all classes , but aest hardly upon the labouring class . * * * Give me then three million acres , or one twentieth of the soil of the empire , and upon those three million acres I will locate tha one million heads of families , representing the fire million paupers ; and from their increased comfort and Increased pewer of consumption , I will make thsm better ca toners Is tks artificial market than all the world beside .
There are six hundred and forty acres in a square sails of land , and I will take two miles square , ( or four square miles ) as my landscape . Two miles square is four square miles , and in four square miles there are two thousand fire hundred and sixty acres of land , which would give three acres each ta eight hundred families , and leave a hundred and sixty acres for roads and a rural village standing in the centre of this little paradise . Yoa will obserre , by this arrangement , no cottage upon any one of the eight hundred allotments would ba mach above three quarters of a mile distant from the village , while the distance of the majority would be less than half s mile . . * * * We beg those trio sneer at the Land Plan , to take into account the following illustration of the effects such a plan , if put into operation on a national scale , would have upon all classes of artisans and meohanical labourers , not excepting female workers : —
THE LiSD AKD THE TRADES . I find that eight hundred families loeated upon the land , and recipients of the produce of their own labour , would give employment to tao following number of tradesmen : — Tailors 20 Shoemakers 20 Carters ... ... ... ... 15 Blacksmiths ... 10 Wheelwrights 8 Butchers ... ... ... ... i Bakers 4 Barbers 2
Schoolmasters 8 Provision dealers 4 Agricultural gardeners » .. ... 8 Bonnet makers ... . . ... 4 Dressmakers . 15 House carpenters ... ... ... 4 Sawyers 2 Bricklayers and stonemasons ... * Plasterers and slaters ... t 2 Plumbers , painters , and glaziers ... 4 Linen and woollen drapers 4 Hatters ,,, .,, , <„ 2 Hosiers and glovers „ 2 Basket makers 2 Grecers ... ... 4 Schoolmistresses 8 Timber dealer ... . „ ... 1 Coal merchants 2 Cabinetmakers ... ... ... 4
Toy makers 2 Curriers and katfier sellers ... 4 Saddlers and harness makers ... 1 Cutlers and grinders 2 Whitesmiths . 2 Sealers in earthenware 4 Bookiellers and stationers , „ t ., 2 Seedsmen ... 2 Umbrella maker „ 1 Wireworker ... * Ironmongers 2 Tin-plate worker 1 Dairymen ... ... ... ~ Coopers ... ... ... * Tobacconists 2 Clock and watchmakers ... ... 2
Chemists and surgeons h Cow leech ... ••• ^ Miller and corn factor ... *• Tradesmen of all descriptions 2 C 4 Thus , I show you the number of tradesmen actually required to supply the wants of an agricultural population of eight hundred families , or four thousand people at five to a family ; and as butchers wear coats and shoes , and as shopkeepers eat meat and bread , aad are customers to all those who deal with thtm , if eight hundred families require the number of trades to supply them that I have set down , those two hundred tradesmen resident in the village-allowing that they live no better and are no better customers to one another—would
require an addition ef fifty to those I have already stated , making a total , sustained by the agricultural population , of two hundred and fifty families ; and to which may be added trades of a different class , for instance , printers , confectioners , dancing masters , music masters , greengrocers , artist * , glGTersy fancy dressmakers , and the sappliers of the theosani sad one little luxuries which comfortable tradesmen are In the habit of indulging la . I have not made any allowance for bricklayers' labourers , or plaster *™ 'labourers ; for shopmen , porters , and agricultural isbeurers , employed by the shopkeepers - and trsdeipiople in the cultrvstioa of their gardens ; which if every five emp loyed oaly one between them , would give employment te fifty . I have allowed no margin for the increase in the employment of those engaged in mines and minerals , in tan-yards , and the factory . I mays * sume , as this would be an agricultural Tillage standing itj
npon nearly one hundred acres of land-as I ^ rrjl for roads and a pleasure park ia the centre of the vlUage -I may fairly estimate that twenty retired ttadesmen and widows with small allowances , would b bn : too happy to flock to this paradise ; eo that , upon the most ¦ Ante calculation , lam bold enoug h to assert , Hurt this rural population of eig ht hundred famUierwould bthe means of sustaining nearly an equal number of trades- endlfyoo , tbe labourers of England , understood S difference between well-cultivated and ill-cultivated wTyou wouldnot start ; were I to add a farther populatlon of six huadred families more , or three thousand persons , to the number . From the fcst of Penary to the first of Norember , every one of the eight hundreU hnlbandmen would employ a labourer at remmierattog WMei and eight hundred men emp loyed / or ^ moKb ' s " tho year , Is ec . ua ! to . 1 * hundred mfiU »
You will perceive that I have assigned no house for the banker , the lawyer , the parson the PnWMan . the pawabroker , or the brothel beeper , bwauee they are the
1ee Labourer. A Monthly Magazine Ofpolit...
iwtroyers of peace , the fominteM of discontent , and iho enemtM of true religions It may be presumed , that I have named trades whose work could be better perfermed by the housewife ; but I reply no—bocause the role of society U a just competition and la established upon the true basis -of cooperation as it is cheapsr fer a man to give eerenpenee a-paund for a pound of beef to a butcher , than to make a slovenly use of an or , ft sheep , or a calf , which he should sell wholesale for sixpence a-paund ; while I further bflliere , that the baker , under the influence of fair competition , and with a large trade , cam sell a loaf cheaper thaa & housewife could make It . However , in my estimate of the several number of tradesmen that a rural population would require , I have left a large margin for fancy . asl assign onl y four bakers to eight hundred families or
, one baker to two hundred families ; and if each famil y consumed four poands of bread a-dey , each baker shoald supply eight hundred pounds of bread a day , and if he made half a farthing a' pound profit , or a halfpenny profit upon tbe four-pound loaf , ho would realise a profit of a hundred and fifty pounds a year ; and quick sale and li g ht profit being the dealer ' s motto , if the mother bad hot the benefit of the light profit , she would take care that the dealer should not have the benefit of quick sale , as I assure those who estimate the genius of the working classes by the necesslty that misery imposes upon them , that there is a great difference between tho housekeeper taking her account book and her brass to the shopkeeper ea a Saturday night : in the one case she is obliged , in the other the obliggr .
we must refer the reader to the Treatise itself for the full explanation of the beneficial results which would be reaped by all sections of the industrious order , by the employment of comparatively a small number of the unwilling idlers and paupers upon the land . We append a description o rasa LAsoua ' a villaoe . In the two miles squire there are 2 , 560 acres of land : 2 , 400 I have assi gned to agricultural purposes ; fifty for fences and roads ; ten for a green in the centre of the village , surrounded with trees , for the villagers to walk in and the children to play in . Around this green should
stand the eight school houses for the education of the agricultural population , and whlofe , by a proper distribution of time , might be also made to serve for the education of the village population , or rather four hundred families—while I hare only estimated two hundred and fifty—this would allow a quarter of an acre for streets , each house to stand upon , and a garden ; and which , as I ha-re shows , would more than occupy fifty agricultural labourers , independent of the rural population . This village should be built on the true sanitary principle , and would give you ten squares , at forty houses to a square , aad in these several squares the different trades may be conveniently classed ,
After unmasking the sophism of the Malthusians , on the question of over-population and emigration , Mr O'Connor sums up—WHAT KIGHT BE SOKE IF EKOUKO'g ECTLEBS WESE
WISE AND HONEST . All that I require is one million and a half of acres , or the fortieth part of the land of this country , to locate fire hundred thousand heads of families , each upon three acres , at fire to a family , that would be two millioaa and a half of onr population ; they will give em . ployment to five hundred thousand tradesmen and shopkeepers , making at fire to a family another two mil-Son and a half , thus taking five millions of the surplus population out ef the Idle competitive market , raising the wages of those who remain behind them , andthere ' s the rah—relfsving the lead altogether of poor rates ; and allowing these five millions transferred from pauperism to Industry—from the idle to the laborious market—consume one pound ' s worth each per year of the manufactures of our country more than they do now in their present state , there Is an increase in our home consumption to nearly double the amount that America pays te England for the goods she imports .
We regret that want of space prevents us doing full justice to the merits of this able and admirable exposition of the eights of industry , aud the means by which those rights may ba practically assorted and established , for the benefit of all classes ef the community . We trust that this number ef the' Laboubes ' will have an extensive circulation ;
Ftm Mm Ffiania.
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* We C«S Tht Choietst. ' Heroes Akd Coxq...
* We c « S tht choietst . ' HEROES AKD COXQUEROHS . It is not known where he that invented the plough was born , nor where he died ; yet ha has effected mora for the happiness of the world thaa the whole race of heroes and conquerors , who havo drenched it with tears , manured it with blood , and whose birth , parentage , and education , have been handed down to us with a precision precisely proportionate to the mischief they have done .
THE PASIt , The following remarkable resolutions were passed by the English Parliament in 1649 : — 'That the people under God , are the original of all just power ; that the Cemmons' House of Parliament , being chosen by , and representing the people , have the supreme power ; and that whatever is by them enacted , has the force of law , though the consent of king and peers be not added to it . '—Godwin ' History of the Commonwealth .
TBI PBESEHT . "The legislature of Great Britain consists entirely of a certain class of people , viz ., —tha landholders and monied men ; of consequence tho laws are made entirely for their interests—the rest of the nation being nothing accounted of , excepting in as far as their labour can be productive to the extravagance , caprice , and ambition of the former ; hence the phrase which they perpetually adopt— -our industrious poor : as if any man ought to bo poor , or would be poor , who is industrious , if it were not through their oppression . '—Historical Register .
iHsreiURE . In his journal , under the date of January 13 th 1821 , the poet Byron writes : — 'Dined , news came , the powers mean to war with tho people . The intelligence seems positive—let it be so , they will be beaten in the end ; the kingtimes are fast finishing . There will be blood shed like water , and tears like mist , bat tbe people will conquer in the end ; I shall not live to see it , but I foreaee it . ' ' Ambition is a principle which , if it finds a man honest , will , perhaps , never leave him so . —Godwin .
THE FELON . 'Tio Ireland's rallying cry—We'll raise it to the sky , With flashing sword and eye—The Felon ! It Bounds in deathless pride—Taro' the nation far and wide , Wept , cherished , glorified , The Felon I 'lis strong as trumpet ' s call To rouse the sleepers ail-To strive—to strike—to fall—The Felon ! Like Same that watchword rolls—Within onr inmost sonls As a brazen bell it tolls—The Felon !
As summer's foliage riven By the arrows of the levin , From our hearts is softness driven By that word . Doubts , mists , aud fears are Hows—No path for ns bat one-He show'd the way alone—The Felon ! That great voice struck the chime Of a new and wondrous time ; Those deep tones rang sublime Thro'tha land . ' Ne'er combat wrong with wrong ; In truth alone be strong Strike boldly—and ere long You aro fteel ' Now , in this time of woe , That gospel truth we know-No parley with the foe
Shall we hols . 'Tis the silent , brooding hour 'Twist the strife of right with power ; Dark , lurid glances lower Everywhere ! Etch reg-hot passion now , In this Its liquid flow , We mould for that dread blow To avenge ! By the laws that maddening mock ; By the convict ship and dock ; By that parting ' s bitter shock , Stand prepar'd ! By the all nnconquer'd mien In that last moment seen , Triumphant and serene ,
Nerve your hearts By his words , like sabre swing , Calm , keen , unwavering , To the winds endurance fling From this day ! By the sacrifice that seal'd The doctrine he revealed , Think now but of the field And of Him . Par one—for two—for three *—Ay ! hundreds , thousands , see ! For vengeance and for thee To the last 1
Oh ! surely shall we show To that base , detested foe Tiat , e ' en in wrong and woo , ' ' The victory' «« U tlhie . % Eva .
* ' And My Lord , The Victory Is With Me...
* ' And my lord , the victory is with me . —JoHH Mil cssii's iasx woans .
* ' And My Lord , The Victory Is With Me...
, [ The foUowmglettef , with the exception of . the postscript , was written to appear , in last Saturday ' s $ tar , but press of matter compelled its postponement . ]
TO THE PEOPLE . The French Republic — Lamartine ' s ' policy , 'domestic and foreign — The 'National' clique—The People again deceived and betrayed—Con spiracy to prevmt the Organisation of Labour—Louis Blanc and his enemies—Ruffianly treatment of Barbes—Anti-Republican proceedings of the National Assembly— ' King Smith' and his brood —Jowille ' s intrigues—Bloody designs of the Bourgeoisie—What the Provisional government should have done to have secured the victory of Democracy .
FaiKKDS j COUKTRVUEN , AND BROTHERS , As on the issue of the experiment at present going on in France , depends in a great measure the hopes of the human race—at least for in all probability a lengthy period to oome—I may permit myself some observations on the French Republic , in addition to those I submitted to you in my last letter . For a month past , tho last mournful words of Ro BESPiERRB have sounded in my ears : — 'The Republic is lost ; tbe brigands triumph ! ' Heaven avert so sad an issue of this second great experiment in Gallic history .
If melted the Republic ia destined to perish ; if indeed the brigands aro destined to be once more the victors over honest men , the people ef Francemay blame themselves fer having' elected an Assembly , composed of the enemies instead of the friends of the Republic . In my last letter , I commented at sufficient length on this misfortune . But blame is attachable to others besides the ignorant or apathetic majority , I must new trouble yen with a few observations on the exceedingly censurable conduce of certain public characters , te whose treachery or folly we owe the factofthereactionnat ' res , lifting up their heads and plotting the destruction of the Republic . The public characters . ! allude to are—Lauartimb and the National clique : — Marram , Garhibr Pages , Abaoo , Marie , Crbmieux , & o ., dec .
I would fain believe Lahartine to be honest , bat I confess I have my doubts , when I see him constantly labouring to increase the military fores stationed in the capital . When in February last victory declared fojr the people , the troops withdrew from Paris , and for Eoma time the French metropolis was left to the sole guardianship of the National Guard , and the Garde Mobile . These were found more than sufficient for the preservation of * order . ' Indeed had there been neither National Guard nor Garde Mobile , Paris weuld havebeen justas tranquil . The 15 thof May was the first occasion on which there appeared any
symptoms of distrust and disaffection on the part of the people , occasioned by the infamous conduct of the National Assembly . Why , then , has Lamaminb laboured so unceasingly to bring back the army to Paris ? There can be but one answer to that question : — ' To overawe the people . ' At first under the specious pretext of bringing the soldiers to fraternise with the people , the Parisians were persuaded into admitting a regimenf or two . More and more regiments followed , until now the number of troops of the line in the capital is paid to equal the number stationed there by Louis Philip ?* : , previous to the revolution of February .
Lamartine's state papers and speeches on the foreign policy of the French Republic certainly have the appearance of great candour and unexampled diplomatic honesty . But I cannot forget that the Belgian aud German legions were permitted to enrol , arm , and drill in the streets of Paris , and were allowed , unchecked by the provisional government , to march to the frontiers , and then only were disavowed by that government—that is after the unfortunate enthusiasts had committed themselves to destruction . Again , on the question of Poland , I cannot congratulate Lamabtihe on having pursued a course worthy of himself or his country . His speech of Tuesday , the 23 rd of May , in the National Assembly , was ono long , laboured apology fordoing nothing for Poland . I say nothing for his polite messages to the cabinet of
Austria and Berlin , declaring that' the independence of Poland is a cauee which the French government will never abandon' will ba regarded by those cabinets precisely as the hypocritical votes of Louis Philippe ' s Chamber of Deputies on the same question and to the same effect . were regarded ; ss so much 'sound nnd fury signifying nothing . ' In effect , though not in words , ' Peace at Any Price' ia the motto of Lamartine . He can only express his aympathy' for Poland . Unhappy Poles ! what have you gained by the displacement of Guizoz for Lamartinb ? Newly awakened hopes doomed to produce only new and bitter disappointment ; and eloquent phrases which , as a member of the National Assembly insinuated , woald only be productive of a repetition of Sbbasham ' s sentence on Poland : — 'Order reigns in
Warsaw / I admit the difficulties of the Polish question for France , and I am not one who would risk an effusion of blood for a doubtful end . But without invading Germany to reach Poland , means might have been taken to arouse tbe Germans , Swiss , Hungarians , and Bohemians to march fraternally with the soldiers of France against the oppressors of Poland . Such a fraternisation will , however , not be brought about by Lamartine ' s diplomacy . His sugary notes and
eloquent speeches are not likely to move the breasts of savage kings and princes , and his miserable cry of peace , peace , ' will destroy instead of excite the generous enthusiasm of nations . In short , Lamartinb is , no doubt , a very charming poet and & very pretty speech-maker , but , nevertheless , a very indifferent statesman . As weeay in England , 'fine words won t butter parsnips , ' and it will be seen—nay , is already seen—that' the poet of Elvira' ii not a political AscBmsDSB , ablo . aud willing to raise the world .
But it is principally within the bosom of the French Republic that the evil effects ef Lamartine's timid , halting , do-nothing policy are most sadly evident . In that policy he appears to have been aided , if not governed , by the [ Nat > onal clique aforesaid . Only a few hours after the glorious victory of the 24 th of February , it was proclaimed by the provisional government , that ' the revolution bavins SEEK ACCOMPLISHED BY THE PEOPLE , OUGHT TO be accohpushkd for THE pboplb ; '" yet only three months after that declaration we see the working men suffering all the evils of poverty—their political associations put down by armed force—their petitions unheeded—their honest leaders proscribed and flung into dnnge 3 ns--iind their ; bourgeois oppressors openly avowing their desire to shed tbe blood of their victims . This comes of Lamartine's ' moderation * and the Bceundrelism of Mabrast & Co .
It may be well to repeat here the declaration of the principles avowed by ' . the provisional government , when carried to the seats of power on tbe shoulders of the triumphant people . I repeat what lias already appeared in the Stab , but which is well worthy of repetition : — "Whereas , the Revolution having been accomplished by the people , ought to be accomplished for the people ; whereas , the time has arrived for putting a stop to the long and iniquitous suffering of the workmen ; whereas , this subject is one of immense importance , and worthy of the greatest consideration of a republican government ; it therefore behoves Franco to deliberate carefull y , and to bestow its earnest attention upon this problem which Is now placed before tbe Industrial notions of Europe ,, and to consult , without a moment ' s delay , upon the
means of guaranteeing to tbe people the legitimate frulta of their labour . The provisional government decreesthat a permanent committee be appointed , to be entitled the committee for the government of workmen , vf iih tho express aud special mission to w & tch over their intereits . In order to demonstrate the importance which the provisional government attaches to the solation of this grand problem , it appoints as President of the committee , one of its members , M . Louis Blanc , and an . other of its members , if . Albert , ( mechanic , ) to be Vice . President . Workmen will themselves be called npon to form a portion of the committee , whioh will sit at the palace of the Luxembourg . ( Signed ) Loris Blasc , AsKAttn MariiAbt , Gaenub Paoes .
There was also published the following : — That the Republic guarantees on existence to every ono through labour ; that it guarantees work to every citizen . It recognises the right of workmen to associate among themselves ia order to enjoy the full benefit of their labour . It promises to give to the onvricre the million cut off from tbe civil list . Gabniee Paoes , Lofis Blanc .
These promises have not been fulfilled , and the expectations excited by the first proclamation havo been utterly disappointed . The ' guarantee' of existence to every ono through labour is come to this , that the Minister of Public Works calls upon all able-bodied men , between eighteen and twenty-five , to enlist at once in the regular army upon pain of immediate dismissal from the national workshops . I acquit Louis Blaso of blame , as I do likewise his colleagues , ( in the late provisional government , ) Ledru Roius , Ftocw , and Aisest . 1 believe , had this minority not been thwarted and outvoted by Lamabtihe , Mar-BASS 6 Co . ) they would have taken auoh energetic measures as would have ensured the success of the
Republic . But the four Democrats were from the outset constantly calumniated and denounced by the journals and creatures of the bourgeois-conspirators , and every posaiblo obstacle placed in tho way of theit endeavours to establish the Republic upona thoroughly democratic basis . Louis Blanc having specially devoted his talents te the great work of promoting the social regeneration of the masses , "was for that reason specially singled out for slander . The enemies of the people anxiously desired to bring his plans and principles into discredit , and have partly succeeded by taking means to ensure the failure of the national workshops , and employing maesea ol working men on useless or unnecessary labour . The levelling of the Champ de Mars was very like setting
* ' And My Lord , The Victory Is With Me...
the men to dig holes and fill them up again , at the eaae time that vast tracts of land were lying barren , or but -wretchedly cultivated , for want of labour ! The' petmanent committee' appointed by the provisional government , at the commencement of tbe Republic , charged with the special mission of watching over the interests of tho workmen , dissolved itself after an existence of two months , because it was unsupported by the majority of the provisional government , and calumniated by the National Assembly . Its vice-president , Albert , is a prisoner in the dungeons of Vincennes , and its president , Louis Blanc , ia menaced with a similar fate . Louis Blakc ' s enemies have successfully plotted to prevent him carrying out his intentions , and now they have the shameless assurance to turn upon him and charge him with having ^
organised the labourers , frightened the capitalists , and caused the present stagnation of trade ! Thus it has ever been . Iu all countries aad times , scoundrels have prevented the success of good measures , and then represented to tho unthinking multitude , that the failures they had caused were proofs of tho inoa . parity or dishonesty of the true friends of the people ! The systematic hostility to Loon Blano wasexhibited in a moat rancorous form on the opening of the National Assembly . His first address to that body in bis character of ( then ) President of the Comnu ' sston des Travaillettrs , was received with * excessive coldness , ' and calumniated by the reactionary journals , one of whonvthe Presse , descended to the pitiful meanness of ridiculing his personal appearance , on the ground of his littleness , and that ho had to stand on a footstool when in the tribune . You see that there is no act too contemptible for these wrelohes of the press-gang .
On his next appearance in the tribune , Louis Blanc called on the Assembly to establish a special minister oi labour and progress . His speech , we are told in the reports / excited' great agitation , " expressions of doubt . ' 'violent interruption , ' , ' ironical laughter . '' loud laughter , ' 'increased laughter , ' and ' renewed laughter . ' I csnnot see what there was in Louis Blakc to have excited so keenly the ridicule and wrath of the Assembly . Could our infamous parliament have done worse ? ' I demand , ' said Louis Blanc , ' that labour be immediately organised , toprevent the revolution of hunger . " This was received with shouts of derision and hatred ! Were not the' insurgents' of the 15 th uf May justified by the previous conduct of the respectable ruffians of the Assembly ?
' Ruffianly' ia the only term that can truly charaetense the treatment Barbks experienced . His very appearance , ' said the Times' correspondent , writing on the lOfcb . of May , ' seems sufficient to call forth an explosion . ' The moment he mounted the tribune , he was assailed by . a chorus , of furies , who never permitted him to speak but in defiance of their bowlings . The TiMES-serving correspondent had the impudence to blame Barbes as the creator of these tumults , when it is very evident that the disturbance on each occasion of his attempting to speak was the work of the villains who refused him a hearing . On the 15 th of May , according to the reporters , the members , when Barbes attempted to speak , acted upon & preconcerted plan of drowning his ? oioe ! Is there , any wonder that , witnessing the treatment of their honest representative , the working men , through the mouth of Hubsr ? , proclaimed the dissolution of that rascally Assembly ?
This fury against Barbes one little fact will account tor . A few days before tbe meeting of the Assembly , he had put his name to an address in favour of Robespierrb ' s declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ; an offence unpardonable in the eyes of the aristocratic and bourgeois intriguers in the Assembly . These worthy successors of the Thermidorean assassins would , evidently , be only too happy to immolate Barbes , aa their ( predecessors murdered Robespierre . From the 4 th to the 16 th of May , the Assembly wasted nearly two precious weeks in disgraceful personal debates , and the discussion of rules and regulations , which ( latter ) might have been disposed of at a single sitting . Wisely and honestly , therefore .
did BLArqrji demand—that ' the . Assembly should , without intermission—without stop , — . without manifestation of fatigue , continuously concert together , to give work , to give bread to the people . ' But this and every other demand for justice was unheeded , and then only were tbe people excited te proclaim the dissolution of the Assembly . I am convinced that this had not been intended . I am persuaded that the only object of the clubs was a manifestation in favour of Poland . Men who intended to create a revolution , and who contemplated as their first step the forcible dissolution oi the supreme authority , were not likely to set about their | work without arms . It was , I repeat , the refusal of the Assembly te vote any one of the people ' s demands that induced the motion of Hubert . It must be borne
in mind that Babbes and Hubert had but just been released from a nine yean' incarceration in Louis Philippe ' s dungeons—hence their patriotic impatience was natural . A man who for nine years has been subjected to the hell of dungeon-tortures , and during that . tima . baa brooded over .-his wrongs , and pictured to his excited imagination the rapidity with whioh he would right the wronged , had he liberty and power—it may be conceived will not patiently endure to see days , and weeks , and months frittered away by knaves , who do nothing but conspire to wrest from the people their newly-won political freedom , and keep them in their old state of social slavery . I regret the precipitancy of Barbes and Hubert , but their motives ^ were God-like and deserve our unbounded admiration .
In my kgt I fully explained the events of tha 15 th of May , and vindicated the principles and intentions of the patriots . I will here add a reply to an additional calumny of their enemies . The reporter of the Assembly has stated in tbe Monitbbr , that when Babbbs proposed a tax of 40 , 000 , 000 of franca on the rich , some ot his followers cried out' No , no , Barbks , give us two hours pillage of Paris . ' This is of course either a lie of tho reporter ' s , or if such a cry was uttered , it was a cry from the throat of a villain employed to bring discredit on Babbbs and his friends . Men whose vocation is plunder , are not in tbe habit of shouting their intentions before-hand ; on the contrary , suddenly or stealthily they set about plundering at once . Common sense shows this alleged cry to be the production oi the reporter ' s foul and fertile imagination , or , if really uttered , the voice of a Judas employed by the reactionnaires .
I am sorry to have to add , that Blanqui and several good patriots have been arrested . The prisons are filled with the very men who by their sufferings , blood , and valour founded the Republic . Is it not time that once more the towers of Notre Dime rang out the t jcsin . summoning Saint Antoine to the great work of justice and the Republic ' s salvation ? Since the 15 th of May , the Assembly has progressed (?) from bad to worse . Questions of etiquette and similar contemptible frivolities , havo engaged the attention of the members , at a time , too , when universal misery and impending national bankruptcy demanded the most wise and energetic measures . One feature the National Assembly possesses , in common with a most honest (!) and enlightened (!) Assembly nearer home—we allude to its propensity
to laugh down almost every just proposition and every honest , man . A bad sign ! When senators laugh , the people groan ! The only exception to the Assembly ' s bad acts that I have observed , was its vote , by a great majority , for the perpetual exile of Louis Philippe and his brood . Still this vote is a makebelieve , a sham , to gull the majority of the people into the belief tbat the members of the Assembly arc really Republicans ; but I have seen sufficient of their acts te come to the conclusion that nearly the samo majority would , under other circumstances , vote for tho restoration of 'King Smith' and his ore *" . Let them only continue their present proscription of the real Republicans for a abort time longer , and royalty , in some shape , will certainly be restored .
Tha ' protests' of their sublime highnesses , tbe ' Duke de Nemours , ' the 'Duke d ' ArjMALE , ' and the ' Prince de Joinviiae , ' against the law decreeing their banishment from Prance , are amusing specimens of royal impudence . These ' genta' ought to be very thankful that they were allowed to escape to England upon conditions bo easy . Although no saints , they would have shared the fate ef St Denis , had tbey met with their deserts . Let it be borne in mind that , to support Itheir father ' s usurpation and their own pretensions , these ' nice young men' aided
in the murdering of hundreds of their noblest fellowcountrymen , and doomed hundreds more to languish in dungeons ( where many perished ) , some for the term of fifteen years . On the 24 th of February , the DukedeNEUouasexclaimed , 'Thecannon must be fired upon this mob ! ' The Duke de Montpbhbibr had ordered the transport of seventy pieces ef cannon to Paris ; the order was found in his own handwriting . Amiable family I What cruelty to banish them ! Truly , did the Rejormb say , 'Tho proscription of prisces is the safeguard of the people . '
JoiNviLLu ^ kUorB , published in the Presse , were , of course , written for the purpose of showing that hie swaggering ' highness ' was open to . an engagement , if the worthy bourgeoisie considered things ripe for the restoration of royalty . Ho has certainly succeededin making himself ridiculous . ' I walk enormously , ' saysJoinville . Wonderful ! But stop a minutehear him again : ' We live an idle life—no interest animates us . I at present read a good deal . ' That is a good sian . A lew writing lessons superadded
would ba of service to him . He seems to bo a glutton for books , for ngah he says : 'Stretched on the grass I read an immensity [ mark what follows ] whilst our wives work I' Now , for a most affecting revelation : — ' They ( the wives ) make all their oiwi dresses , bonnets , dte ., and I can assure you that they could earn their oim living ! ' We uederstand that this heart thrilling picture of Joinyillo ' gone to grass / and the ptinoe »« es turned ' bonnet builders , ' has brought tears into the eyes of all tho ' snobs' of England .
To return to the Assembly and those it . represents •—tho veaeiionnaira and counter revolutionists . Of their treason to ^ he Republic there can be no doubt . The correspondents of the London journals
* ' And My Lord , The Victory Is With Me...
announce that the return of Thiubs to the Assembly for the department of tbe Oironde is now sure , and ' a constitutional systeoi like . ( Aatof Eapand , under a regency , with Thisrs tor Prime Minuter , is' the programme ' of the * respectables . ' 0 ' the bloody ^ intentions of the bourgsoisie , I ooulc give many proofs , but I will confine myself to one , « -trtto * which recently appeared in the Liverpool Times ; 'from , ' as that paper suid , « the pen of a Stenchman—a rasa of property and education—addressed to a gentleman in Liverpool : '— Paws . May 20 , 1818 .
Mr desb , Very far from improving , every ming is getting worse in our unfortunate aountry , and I ant now no farther advancod than I was on tha first day , » * I havo received your Punch , 1 noat heartily applaud your John Bah kicking the republican to the othsr side of tbe channsl . You ought mighMy to congratulate yourselves on hariB £ acted so rlgor-yaslf on the lOtb A ;> ril , —i : is a hideous thing to bo in the power of tho mot > . * » * » I do not know for what to pat up my vows—repn ' -lia raoBflrohy , conntitutionol , or absolute , —all is ai v . < o me , provided we can etcspo from this state of st :. jju . v . tion .
Whon tho horizon appears clearer , I become mc > - . oa—I fsel an interest—then seeing tbat no advance is -uade , I fall baok into ' a state of discouragement and dej v . tion of which you can have little idea . How happy I should be if like you , I lived la a country sheltered from reviuu . tions , where you do not every morning hear the Tappet beating , and the same air shouting all the day long . # * * * P . S . —I am in better spirits to-day . IVe havo 3 man in the ministry of war—fifty thousand men surround Paris , anxious to take their revenge ; thsy will not disarm them this time , I'll promise you . J ( rust there w beabalilt , andIilMllnotsp < ireinyselfinit ; but I man lobe decisive— kt keenly thousand of the ruffian ) be thnvm into the riser and I shall be satisfied , What I want is great commotion—conquerors and conquered—no gauieto play over again every day . list as kill or be Uuled afterwards wo may sing motirlr pour la palrle .
Although I have only given extracts from thic letter , I oan-asaure the reader that I have not om . ted anything that qualified the atrocioussentimei-s of this incarnate scoundrel , whose name I am so ^ y to say , thanks t » the Liverpool Timbs , I oannw ^ ive . See how the rascal deplores having to live in j , republican country . Monarchy , cor siitutionai or ihiolute , would be all the same to bin , if he could jnly escape from the rale of' the mob , ' Mark bis' injection' because he and his infernal class cannot iave things all their own way ; and mark , too , whj . i juts him into ' better spirits '—the scent of blood ! Jh 1 delicate monster . How he gloats over the fifty thousand soldiers surrounding Paris , ' anxious to ; . aka their revenge . ' 'I trust therewillbeabatfe' says
he ; 'What 1 want is ft great commotion—conquerors and conquered . ' ' Let twenty thousand of the ruffians ( he means the Republicans ) he thrown into theriver and J shall be satisfied ! ' Yoa see , w-: >;' ; isg men , what will satisfy a bourgeois—your blood not poured out in drops , but in s . 'rearas and tor ;\ -ote The assassination of Barbes and a few others ? r n ; ld not appease the bloodthiratiness of this genu ; :. ' representative of' the shop ; » nothing less than a aolo caust of 20 , 000 victims will' satisfy' this miser-cant This comes of' moderation . ' This is the oonFequonoe of Lakarwks ' s ' soothing system ; ' as if an ; ' . aing but terror could make robbers honest , and ast ^ aios humane ! Tho spirit breathed throughout the * reapeci , , ble ' Frenchman ' s letter , is the spirit whioh every - ?' iere animates the isiiddle-classes . A letter . from a fnaid in
Germany says : — ' The revolutionary govern vents are worse thaa tho old ones . The Poles in risen branded upon hand aad ear with nitrio acw . and flogged to make them give up their arras . TL- people disarmed in Manheim , Aix-la-Chapelle , T .-r-ves , & c , and Mayenoe bombarded within the hearlug of tho National Assembly at Frankfort . ' So muoii for bourgeois rule in Germany . At home you Vf . the middle class trying onoe more to hook you iat : another humbug agitation for their benefit , an :,, on your refusal , taking up , bludgeons to help the aristocracy t « crash you . The middle-class * spoils ' would only ba too happy to havo 20 , 000 Chutists thrown into the Thames . The profitmongerj arc the same plundering , tyrannical , bloed-thirsty grew all the world over . They would massacre hah the working classes to reduce tbe other half to a sisfce ol hopeless subjection to their damnable rule .
As I have imputed great faults to the ProvHiona Government of France , and charged Lamabtihe and tha majority of his colleagues with haying , by -Mis treachery or incapacity , prepared the ruin o : th ® Republic , I may be fairly asked to show what course they ought to have taken . In my humble opinion the provisional government should , ' within tho first twenty-four heurs of its existence , have decre & i : « 1 st —The entire soil of France National Property . All landholders not holding more than a limited portion of the soil—say twenty acres , to be maintained in possession of the same ; the surplus to revert to
the state . A commission to report on questions of compensation to parties deprived of lands , &¦ ¦ ' , 2 nd . —The immediate employment of the unemployed classes on the lands belonging to the nation . Each cultivator to ba guaranteed possession for twenty-eneyears , and to be provided with C '^ ago , implements , [ seed , Ac , by the state . A cc-i . "mission to fix the rent payable to the State . Lab , urers desirous of engaging in the cultivation of the soi } , home manufactures , & o ., on Communist or assooiativo principles , to be furnished with the requisite assistance . The funds to be supplied by a special tax on the rich .
3 rd . —The confiscation of the entire property of all persons leaving the country without permission of the government . 4 tb , —The taking possession of the Bank of France , and all other banking establishments ; all railroads , and other roads ; canals , mines , woods , fisheries , and every other description of monopoly , as National Property ; at the same time arranging for the compensating of tho classes dispossessed . S' . h . —The banishment of all Orieanist , Legitimist , and known' English system' intriguers , under pain of death if found again on French soil , unless permitted to return by the vote of the French paople .
Cth . —The marching of tho entire army to the frontier . The dissolution of the National Guard , and the entrusting the defence of Paris , and all other towns and cities , to a purely civil force , in whi < h all classes ( and all individuals by rotation ) should ba required to serve . Two-tbirds of the force on duty always te consist of tho working classes . I have said sufficient to show my views of what the provisional government ought to have done , and if such measures , and others conceived in the same spirit , had been decreed whilst the barricades were yet standing , the aristocrats and bourgeoisie would have submitted to them ; or , if fools enough to have offered resistance , thej would have been beaten , and taught justice by force—the only teacher that can enlighten them . Had the course I have described been taken , the would have been erected
Republic on indestructible foundations . The social emancipation of the millions would have been accomplished , and the promise held out by the ' provisional government , that the revolution having been accomplished by the people , should be accomplished / or the people , would have been realised ; instead of being regarded as it is at this moment , as a lie put forth by men merely intent on their own aggrandisement , or at the best s mockery proclaimed by men not courageous enough to make it a verity . ' Those , ' said St Just , ' who make half revolutions but dig graves fer themselves . ' Whether the majority of the late provisional government havo dug their own graves time will tell ; but most certainly in some things they did , but in more they did not do , they hare done their best to dig the grave of the Republic . Ho ! Saint Antoine ! thou alone canst save the Commonwealth !
LAmi du Peuplb . May 31 st , 1848 . P . S . —In a recent number of the Morhino Chbo » niclbi the writer of an article on the French Republic says : — ' We can well understand , if we eamot Bsmpathiee with , the alarm and . indication of the Republicans . It must be admitted di < K ( lie National Assembly has gone even faster backwards than the July Monarchy ; and that with a suppressed conspiracy , and the prisons full , we may imagine ourselves almost once more in 1832 , while even the laws of September might , without much surprising anybody , any morning be re enacted and renewed . '
This is aa admission which thoroughly justifie s the hostility of the Clubs to tho National Assembly . Since the above letter was written , a daring attempt has been made by tha reactionnaires to impeach and arrest Lows Bum . It is trwe the attempt failed . It . is true that the majority recoiled from the responsibility of throwing down the gauntlet , by proscribiaz the man whom the millions regard as their friend : but it is also true that the majority have given an unmistakable expression of their sentiments by elect * ing the accusers of Loots Blakc to the dignity (?) of vice-Presidents of the Assembly . Thus , have those dastards shown themselves ' willing to wound , but yet afraid to strike . '
The reaction , nnder Republican coleurs , ia advancing rapidly . The Coumhkb db Paris announces that the forts of Pma are being fitted up for tho operation of offensive measures . Against whom F Of course the people : flow dare Ledru-Rolun sanction a measure from whioh both Philippe and Guixot recoiled ? This is not all . The Morhing Chronicle ' s surmise , that the laws of September may be raenacted , is already ia course of realisation . On Monday evening last the Minister of the Interloc presented to the Assembly a law . against assemblages in the streets—a law of the mest atrociously tyrannical characters According to this project of law ' all assemblies which may be calculated to disturb public tranquillity , ' are to bo treated ae criminal . Of conrse this means all assemblages offensive to the reigning party . * An assemblage is te be considered as armed if several individuals amongst it carry arms either openly or concealed . ' Police spies , armed for the purpose will thus bo enabled to give any meeting tb ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), June 10, 1848, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_10061848/page/3/
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