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THE IRISH LANDLORDS WAR OF EXTERMINATION...
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MONIES RECEIVED Fob ihi Wmk Eroroe Thdrs...
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UNION OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEMOOBACr....
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THE NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION. The us...
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THE LATE ADDRESS FROM THE C1IARTERY1LLE ...
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NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REF...
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wwnt mmmnmm.
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ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Since tho loss of...
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Rotamy in a Police Counr. — We learn fro...
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES. T...
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Destruction or an Lvdiasian bv Fire.-Oh ...
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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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Antagonism Of Capital And Labour. Certai...
the Directors had recourse to the services of Mr . Gooch ? We do not pretend to answer these questions . We onl y say they natural ' y suggest themselves on the perusal of the documents connected with this affair ; and if our inferences be correct , what conclusion must we come to as to the character of the Directors , and their pet Superintendent ? What epithet will correctlv designate the astounding impudence of the D < r % New , in attempting to justify their endeavour to p lunder their hard-working and valuable servants of their time and their earnings f " What becomes of
the identical interest of Capital and Labour ? What of the public benefit being best promoted when everybody is working for his own benefit ? Is it a public benefit to have a large district of the country suddenly deprived of the greatest portion of the faculties for passengers' and goods' traffic they have hitherto enjoyed , and if they avail themselves of the diminished means which remain , to do so under the too well-groundeci apprehension of being smashed , scalded , or cut to pieces before they arrive at the end of their journey ? Apart , however , from ihe factsof this particular case , it—inconjanttion with thestrike of the
type-fi ) unders in the employ of the Messrs . Castas , andthatatWolverhamptonamongthetinp late workers—is calculated to engender grave reflections among the producing classes as to their real position and prospect under the present cannibal system of society . Space will not allow us , this week , to give this part of the subject tbe attention it demands . We will merely remark , that the Daily News affirms that , for the admitted "hard , hazardous , " and exposed work of the engine drivers , they are highly paid with 6 s . 6 * d . to 7 s . 6 d . a day in the best cases , and have no reason to complain when the wages descend even now to 5 s . 6 a \ It adds : — . ¦ ¦
Their high rate of wages is , of coarse , the consequence of that inevitable Ian- of supply and demand which regulates all prices , be thev of bread or of labonr . The demand for Srskclass engine drivers is still greater than the supply , therefore their remuneration is large ; when the supply exceeds the demand , their traces will fell . And hy way of further make wei ght , throws in "the reduced cost of living" in these times . Here the cloven foot peeps out , which the owners of the Daily JVews were so anxious to hide during their Anti-Corn Law agitation . They always denied then , that wages and the price of provisions had any relation to each other—they emphaticall y disclaimed the wish to lower bread as a means of putting down wages . That , like other of their , hollow and selfish humbug , must now be seen through .
But reverting for a moment to this great " law " of supply and demand , '' we find the DaU y News very plainly intimating to the refractory . Engine Drivers the way in which they are to be " served out" as soon as the capitalists can manage to overstock the market . " Bead , mark , learn , and inwardly digest , '' the mode in which the capitalists are to conspire , for the purpose of robbing what the same paper describes , in a previous article , as
An exemplary body of men : intelligent , skflfnl , laborious and sober ; taking a pleasure in . the duties for which thej are engaged ; a pride in the punctuality and regularity with which they perform their journeys ; and acting usually under a due sense of the heavy responsibilities of their position . A good engine driver is , in truth , an invaluable servant . "Exemplary' * as are their virtues , however " skilful , laborious , sober , and
intelligent" as they are admitted to be , all this sinks into insignificance , compared with the object of saving a few hundred pounds a year , to divide among capitalists ; and as a means of accomplishing this , of reducing the Engine Drivers to abject submission , by so multi p l ying their number as to force them in the desperation of want , to compete against each other for starvation wages ; that is the plain English of the following : —
Disputes and _ strikes meh as this ogght , horrever , to teach railway directors the importance and the necessity of increasing by every means in their power the amply of engine drivers : for it trill never do to have companies and the public dependent on Hie whims and caprices of a particular class of railway servants , however excellent their general character , or however skilful and laborious they maybe . TheXorri Western , the Tbr & shire and Lancashire , and the Eastern Counties , have all of late been subjected to strikes of engine-drivers ; and so railways will continue to be subjected until the supply be equal to or in excess of the AewnnH .
Working Classes of Great Britain ! this is the cunningl y contrived process by which the possessors of land , capital , and machinery , make and keep yon slaves ! This is the reason why , of all the wealth you create , so small a portion falls to your share , and why in future it must grow worse in proportion as your numbers increase , and you are driven to the mad competition of hunger and despair b y this hellish system . Shirt and slop making at a penny or twopence a day of sixteen or eighteen hours is the tie p lus ultra—the great and crowning achievement of that g lorious commercial and Free Trade system , which is held np by our political economists for the wonder and admiration of the world !
How are the industrious classes to escape this horrible fate deliberately prepared for them , and if the system lasts , certain to be endured ? " Thereb y hangs a tale'' which we must endeavour upon other occasions " to unfold . "
Antagonism Of Capital And Labour. Certai...
THE BARREN SESSION . We had intended to present an analysis of the acts of the session just closed , but , upon investigation , find that we can winnow so few grains of damaged wheat from the mountain of chaff in which they are contained , that our task is ended almost in the same breath as its announcement . The Session began with small
promises , and ended with smaller performances Of some twenty or thirty comparatively important measures introduced at an earl y period , and discussed till a late period of the session , the numerical majority have been entirely withdrawn , and the rest have been " Sent into this breathing world So tamely and unfashionable made up , That even the dogs * may' bark at them . "
Yet we are told b y the Ministerial Times , notwithstanding this utter break down of our legislative machinery that it " ventures to say the Session just ended may fairly take rank with the worthiest of its predecessors . " If so , Heaven pardon its predecessors , and grant that in future we " may never see the like again . " The man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba -without seeing anything worth y of note , is certainly not to be envied , but we question whether he is not in a better and safer frame of mind than the imaginative tourist , who , with " eyes in a fine frenzy rolling , "
and a fervid imagination can , in what should be Bobermatter ol fact , conjure up phantoms , and " give to airy nothings a local habitation and a name . " If " the Session just ended may fairl y take rank with the worthiest of its predecessors , ' we should say that the perfection of legislation is to do nothing , or , as near as possible , next to nothing . But then the question comes , might not nothing be done more cheaply , with , less fuss , noise and bother . We pay too high for nothing ; we talk too much about , and for nothing . If drivelling inanity , or hopeless vacuity , are henceforth , to be the characteristics of
Parliament , let us forthwith openly state ihe fact , and act upon it in the onl y sensible way , namely , by shutting it up entirely , and leave things to drift to ruin as they will . We mistake , however , if the complacent tone , and self-satisfied conclusions of the MinisterialJournalwill be acquiesced in by the mass of the down-trodden and heavily-taxed industrious classes of this country . They see in Parliament — as at present constituted — not onl y an obstruction to the attainment of their just and moderate desires , but an instrument which willingly and readily lends itself to crush and tax them still lower and heavier , whenever
asked to do so by the powers that be , for the benefit of the privileged classes . The Cambridge job , and the Marlborough House job , are but indications of the corruption which pervades its whole constitution . The people know this , feel it strong ly , and ere long we have no doubt will arise in their combined strength , for the purpose of cleansing the Augean stable , by turning through it the pure and refreshing streams of a genuine public opinion . With a real representation of the people , Parliament will regain its usefulness , its purity , and its vigour . Naval and military officers will not sit there to vote
themselves pay and pensions . Governments ¦ will not be tolerated who trade on the people ' s mone j as a means of buying themselves court favour . Athorough searching , unsparing Reform of Parliament , is the first and indispensable preliminary to all other reforms , and we trust that , upon this question , the people will , during the recess , speak out so unequivocally that the past will also bo the last of the race of do-nothing Sessions .
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The Irish Landlords War Of Extermination...
THE IRISH LANDLORDS WAR OF EXTERMINATION . "When ihe potatoe rot swept away the -whole crop upon which the people of Ireland depended for subsistence , and threw the nation nponthecharityof 6 reatBritain , oneconso ] ation ¦ was believed to accompany that vast and almost overwhelming calamity . The baleful and hateful ascendancy of the landlord class , which had been the crowning enrse of that coanfay , was , in the hope and estimation of many thinking men , destroyed with the root out of "Which it grew . Every one anticipated that , warned by the terrible consequences of
entrusting a whole people to a class so utterl y selfish , heartless , and unfitted for the grave responsibilities of their situation , the Government and ihe Legislature would have made , their deposition the main condition of rendering state assistance , while we were called upon to find ten millions sterling to repair the immediate results of their past mismanagement and culpable extravagance ; it was but reasonable to imagine , that every possible precaution would have been taken against their being again enabled to inflict such wide spread and deplorable misery and wretchedness upon the unhappy country whose destinies were committed to their keeping .
In the memorable speech of Sir E . Peel , when by an unprinci p led coalition of the ^ higs and Protectionists he was driven from power , some pregnant indications were given of the true spirit in which Ireland ought to be governed in foture . Lord J . RUSSELL then declared also , that the time for a totall y diflerent policy had arrived ; while , by refusing to the government of his political rival the extraordinary powers asked for , in order to put fi ! L f , ° ? tra e Political agitation , he expressl y pledged himself to the practical adopbonofthat pohcy , ^ ^ J *^ of jusf , equal , and Immune government into
himself and his colleagues , thev have fln grantly broken the fail on & I £ tmctly accepted power and patronage Never were such opportunities granted to anv 3 Jinisfry to make what terms they pleased with the beggared , broken down , powerless landlords of Ireland ; never were such opportunities so shamefully neglected , so wantonl y thrown away . Landlordism is again in the ascendant , and Ireland is delivered over to it , iKMind hand and foot . Instead of fulfilling their promises , and bring ing forward a remedial policy , Ministers have fceld fast by the ancient exploded , and futile system of coercion . The results are ^ en in our Irish news of this week The
peop le are flying , en masse from a land thus once more given np to the plunder of an insatiate and an insensate aristocracy . They will make a desert , and eall it peace . They canyon a war of extermination against the peasantry . Scarcel y a day has passed within the last two months in which we have not had the details of razzias , under the command of the landlords , which , in many points , equal those committed b y the French in Algeria . Not long since , in one of these wholesale evictions from a village in the Count j of Clare , twenty-eight houses were levelled in one day , and their inhabitants , one hundred and sixty in number , were cast out upon the road . In
another case , a razzia was perpetrated on a larger scale , npon a district comprising four townlands , in the North Siding of Tipperary , from which four hundred and seetnty human beings were eradicated , and their dwellings levelled . to the ground . What was the excuse for this cruel extermination ? Simpl y that the "Landlord wished to get rid of small holdings and to amalgamate farms . " To effect this object , he proceeds to clear off the human beings on the estate as cooll y as if they had been so many rabbits . They were not accused of the horrible crime of being in arrears with their rent , nor were they charged with having participated in agrarian combinations or disturbances . The
landlord simpl y claimed " a ri ght to do what he liked with his own . " He wanted the land fanned in another style ; and though starvation , disease , and death might be the lot of the swarm of hel p less creatures he ejected from their humble homes , it mattered not to hiin . In fact , the consummation of their wishes would be to see the population swept away by some great pestilence as completely as the potato crops in 1847-8 . The
idea of oqr . breflirettjrjn Ireland , being permitted to live and labour , to enjoy peace and happiness in their native land , is one which seems to the landlord-mind most preposterous . Their great desire is to expel the majority of them , from the land that gave them birth , or , at all events , to thin down , by any means short of what the law calls murder , a population which is yet inconveniently large for their
purposes . Is it any wonder that , tinder the insane and cruel domination of this exterminating class , every one who has the chance is fl ying from this doomed country—or that , in their hurry to escape , such infamous and shocking transactions should take place as those stated to have occurred on board some of the steamers at Cork ? We are informed that the poor people were crammed to such excess on board one of these vessels that it was found necessary to send some of them on shore when
it arrived at Passage . This thinning of the human cargo was characteristicall y effected . " The people were taken indiscriminatel y , and forced to leave the vessel , their property and friends being detained on board . One man is stated to hare been brought out of the ship whilst his wife and £ 2 o were detained V ' Truly , the people seem smitten with a landlord panic , and , in their haste to f lee the country , act with the blind precip itation and terror which induces a crowd in a theatre to trample down and suffocate each other when a cry of "Fire" is raised !
This is the result of all Lord John Russell ' s promises—this the reward for our having assisted the Irish landlords with the immense sum of ten millions sterling ! During the sessions that have passed since he took office , he has shown not the slightest desire to set about the task of socially regenerating Ireland—nor has he exhibited any comprehension of the means hy which that object could be achieved . All the monster abuses , all the
causes fruitful of a dire progeny of evil nnder which Ireland has groaned so long , still flourish in all their rank luxuriance and deadly virulence . Above the chorus of complaint and objurgation raised in this country , and in all our Colonial dependencies , against the fatal and mischievous misgovernment of the present Administration , the voice' of Ireland riseshighest Its lamentable condition is the deepest , blackest stain npon their official
Monies Received Fob Ihi Wmk Eroroe Thdrs...
MONIES RECEIVED Fob ihi Wmk Eroroe Thdrsdat , August , 22 s » 1850 . . . . ' . ' 20 B THB WINMM OF THE LAND COMPANY . Ueceived by W . Rioni . —Todmorden , per J . Robinson 18 s 6 d—n . Brown , Chelmsford fid-Mansfield , from twenty Land members , per J . Linney 10 s 5 d—RadcViffe Bridge , per B . Hnmer 8 s 6 d—Messrs . Tennant , Wilkinson , and Hurworth , GiHing 2 s—Nottingham , per J . Sweet 2 s 6 d—Sheffield , per 6 . Cavill 4 s 5 d—Land Members , Kirkcaldy , per W . Hepburn 8 s lid . —Land Mimbers , Boutogne , per W . Hepburn 8 d—Messrs . Dernie , Cordwell , Birch , Barrett , Hawk & ies , a « 4 wUsot , Bfttfoio 3 s—RoysUm , per W . Camps 3 s Cd—Eleven land Members , Stockport , per T . Woodhouse 5 s 6 d—Ipswich , per W . Gerrend 7 s fid—Nuneaton , per B . Beet 15 s—Atherstone District , peril . Beet 6 s—Winlaton , per E . SunffiKSiKte 7 s—Land Members , Boutougne 8 d . Received at Land Office—J . Nightingale 6 d—3 . D . Moffett Is—W . Francis ls-B . Kinder ls-J . M'Graire ls-StaJybridge , perlawton II—W . Sheppard 6 d—J . Reynolds 6 d—Manchester U 1 T « 9 a-Mr . Barclay 1 b . £ s . a . Received by W . Aider .. .. 5 2 11 Beeeived at Land Office .. .. 3 4 3 Total .. .. .. £ 8 7 2 TEE HONESTY FSH . Received by W . Hidkb . —Wakefield , per J . H . 2 s—Bagthorpe . per J . Sweet Is 8 d-J . Swindley , baker , 10 , Wippleplace , Kensington 5 s—Winlaton perB . S ummerside 4 s , £ s . d . Received by W . Rider .. .. 012 8 FOR MRS . LACEY . Received by W . Rum—Nottingham , per 3 . Sweet id-Prom Birmingham—Collecied at Ship Inn 7 s 2 d-Mr . Carter 2 s-Mv . 3 . A . Fussell Is 6 d ~ Mr . Buckley 6 d-Mv . Cadby 6 d—Mr . Keeling 6 d—Mr . Everall Cd . —Received at Land Office . —Mrs . Purnbull 6 d — Received by Jons Abnott . —A Socialist Is—Messrs . Ivory Is—Three Friends , East Marylebone Is .
Ad00514
THE IIOUTE OF MB . 1 EMEST JONES . Ernest Jones will attend the Camp meeting at Mountserrel , on Sunday , the 1 st of September , and will be at Leicester , on Monday , the 2 nd . Derby , Tuesday , the 3 rd . Northampton , Wednesday , 4 tb , and Thursi day , thefitb . Loughboro ' , Friday , the 6 th . Sutton-in-Ashfield , Saturday , the 7 th , Sheffield , Monday , the 9 th . Rotherham , Tuesday , the 10 th . Further dates m \\ joe g iven next week . All letters for Mr . Jones to be forwarded to 62 , Queea ' s-road , Bayswater , London . As I decline practice , I beg especially to request that no legal business mag be brought before me on my tour .
Union Of Political And Social Demoobacr....
UNION OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL DEMOOBACr . The Conference for the purpose of forming a federal onion between the National Charter Association , the National Reform League , the Fraternal Democrats , and the Social Reformers , was held at the Literary and Social Institution , John-street , Fitzroy-square , on Sunday afternoon , August 18 th . Present on behalf of the NAirosAi Chartjbr Association . —Messrs . G . W . M . Beynolds , T . Brown , J . Arnott , 6 . J . Harney , J . Milne , and E . Miles . National Reform League . —Messrs . Rogers , Olivine , Maunder , 0 . Jones , Blair , Swift , Leslie , and M'Neil .
Fraternal Democrats . —Messrs . W . Shute , B . W . Euffy , Peirce , Godwin , leno , Pettie , Bezer , and ¦ Woodcock . Social Rejfobm League . —Walter Cooper , Lloyd Jones , H . Ivory , Clements , 6 . J . Holyoake , and Austin Holyoake . The following friends were also present by invitation . —Messrs . Le Blond ( one of the Executive of the Rational Parliamentary and Financial Reform Association ) , S . M . Eydd , W . J . "Vernon , and John Shaw . The seats around the room were densely crowded with , spectators , "who appeared anxiously alive to the proceedings . Mr . D . W . Huffy was called to the chair , and Mr . John Arsoxx was elected Secretary to the Conference .
Mr . AEsorr then detailed the object the promoters had in convening that meeting , and in desiring a federal union of the four societies whose representatives vrere now present , namely , that of preventing a collision amongst those -who were zealously desirous of promoting political and social reform , and of effecting a cordial co-operation for , and a more speedy realisation of the excellent objects they all had in view . It would be for that Conference to take such steps as it might deem advisable to carry out the object , if it should fall in with the views of the promoters . Mr . W . J . Tbbnon then addressed the Conference , eulogising the Executive Committee of the National Charter Association for convening that
meeting , and heartily approved tbe forming of a federal union for the promotion of political and social democracy . " ' ? ' * Mr . 6 . W . M . Reynolds , in an eloquent speech , moved the following resolution : — " That this Conference approves of tbe idea effusing the scattered democratic elements in one grand concentration of objects , energies , and funds , for the purpose of carrying on a powerful struggle against the political abuses and social wrongs existing in the country ; and this Conference decides upon appointing a committee to draw up a profession of faith , and a plan of organisation , in order to carry out the above aims . " Mr . G . J . Harney seconded the motion .
A debate ensued in which Messrs . Pettie , Leno , Kydd , Brown , Kogers , Swift , Ivory , Barney , Le Blond , 6 . J . Holyoake , and the Chairman took part . The mover ( Mr . Reynolds ) having briefly replied , the motion was unanimously adopted . Mr . Auxorr moved : — " That a committee consisting of two persons from each body , with fire added , be formed to carry out the foregoing resolution . " Mr . Pettie seconded the motion . Mr . Leno suggested the following , which was
accepted by Messrs . Arnott and Pettie , and agreed to : — " That a committee be composed of two persons from each of the organised bodies present , and that the representatives of each particular body shall he chosen by the members now present , of the specific body to which they belong . " The election ultimately fell on Messrs . Reynolds and Arnott for the Charter Association ; Messrs . Swift and Rogers , Reform League ; Messrs . Leno and Pettie , T ? rateraal Democrats ; Messrs . Gr . J . Holyoake and Ivory , Social Reform League ; and the following friends : —Messrs . S . M . Kydd , Le Blond , Bronterre O'Brien , W . Cooper , 6 . J . Harney , J . Shaw , and D . W . Rufly .
It was then resolved : — " That the committee meet for despatch of business on Thursday evening , August tbe 22 nd , at the office ot the National Charter Association , and that when their report shall be prepared , the Conference shall be re-assembled to consider the same . " A vote of thanks was given to the Chairman , and the Conference broke up . .
The National Charter Association. The Us...
THE NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . The usual weekly meeting was held at John , street , Tottenham-ceurt-road , on Tuesday evening , August 20 th . Mr . Robert Ajieht was unan imously called to the chair , and briefly opened the proceedings . Mr . C . Uttiso , in a forcible speech , moved the following resolution : — " That , as every ono must be cognizant of the fact that the House of Commons , as at present constituted , is a most corrupt ascnmMtr , ««! t . hp svstom -whifth it , rflnrfiSPnt . B 5 h b . trvnat
sham ; this meeting , therefore , calls on the toiling masses to , organise themselves to obtain the enactment of the People ' s Cnarter , thereby to remove the monstrous system of which they have just cause to complain , and effect their political and social emancipation . " Mr . TV . A . Fletcher ably seconded the resolution , which was supported by Messrs . Weeks and Swift , and was earned unanimously . A vote of thanks whs passed to the chairman , and the meeting dissolved .
The Late Address From The C1iartery1lle ...
THE LATE ADDRESS FROM THE C 1 IARTERY 1 LLE ALLOTTEES . TO THE EMTOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —In consequence of my name not appearing in an address to Mr . O'Connor , of which address I was totally ignorant until it appeared in your valuable paper of the 12 th inst ., and to which address , in pan , I would have cheerfully subscribed , for I would be one of the first in showing my respect to Mr . O'Connor , for his good , great , and untiring excrtions for tho benefit of the working men , for whom he has braved so much prejudice and persecution ; nor could I be found entertaining Mr . O'Connor ' s slanderers , the Messrs . Clark , on their
late visit here , as the concoctor of the address did ; on tbe contrary , 3 have felt it my duty to defend Mr . O'Connor ' s reputation , assured that he is well deserving my best regard . I can only account for keeping me from the knowledge of the existence of the address from the circumstance of my having always opposed the under-current which has been in motion ever since we have been here , and which , I am certain , has been the source of much mischief . My desire to give expression of my gratitude to Mr . O Connor , and to convince many friends , the readers of the Star , that my sentiments remain unchanged , has prompted me to trouble you with these remarKs . I remain , yours truly , Geohgb Bvbb , Charterville . Aug . 21 , 1850 .
National Parliamentary And Financial Ref...
NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REFORM ASSOCIATION . . ® a Wednesday evening , a soirei , under tho auspices of this association , was held at the New Globe iavern Mile-end-road . The chair was taken by Mr . O . Thomps on , M . P . Sir J . ' Walmsley , M . P ., was also present , and many of the leading and most active of the Reformers of tho Tower Hamlets were conspicuous in the proceedings . The soiree" was most numerousl y attended . i » t > ttei v of a oIo were read from Mr . Cobden , M . l ., who stated that he had gone to Frankfort to attend the Peace Congress , as also from Sir William ¦ I : i . " and Mr J Williams , M . P ., who regretted that they were ' unable to attend from other causes .
Mr . G . Thompson , who was received with loud cheers , spoke as follows : —In opening the proceedings of this meeting , it may not be inappropriate or unprofitable to give an answer to a very natural question , " What object do you propose to accomplifh , and what advantages are you likely to gain , by obtaining what you call Parliamentary Reform ?" The answer to this interrogatory will also explain our views in reference to Financial Reform . In the first place , then , we say , we seek to meet and to satiety , as fully as we can , the claims of tho intelligent and industrious classes of this country , who have hitherto been shut out of all participation in the control of public affairs . ( Hear , hear . ) A part of our plan is the correction of the present
monstrous inequalities in regard to the numbers of eur constituencies throughout the kingdom , b y the apportionment ( as far as it is really practicable ) of members to population . . I have , within the last two or three days , taken the trouble of looking into the Journals of the House of Commons for the purpose of ascertaining the number of controverted elections subsequent to each of the three parliaments which have been convoked during the reign of her present Majesty . I find that the number of petitions complaining of bribery , intimidation , the interference of peers , and other illegal and unconstitutional practices resulting from the general election of 1837 , and during , that parliament was no less than eighty-six . It must be remembered that these
peuuuna na . u rercrence to contested elections , and were exclusive of returns from seventy to eighty boroughs in which there were no contests ; and this in consequence of . the overwhelming influence of certain nobjig or wealthy persons connected - )? ith the property of Jhose boroughs . After the general election of 1841 , petitions to the number of seventy were presented ; . and up to the present time , since the general election of 1847 , there have been forty-seven petitions . Early in the session of 1848 no less than seventeen seats were declared void in consequence of corrupt practices having been , proved before committees . Let me ask you , first , to look at some of the places in Ireland from which these petitions have come , and in
all ot which bribery , brutal intimidation , and the very worst features of electioneering vices , prevail . ( Hear , hear . ) I have here a list , of nineteen counties , cities , and boroughs in Ireland , sending twenty-four members to the imperial legislature , whose gross constituencies amount to 9 , 423 , being an average of 393 electors for every representative . I have also a list of twenty-seven English boroughs , sending forty-three members to the House of Commons , whose gross constituencies amount to 10 , 351 , being an average of 241 members to each representative . The result Is , forty-six constituencies with sixty-seven representatives and 19 , 776 electors , while the Tower Hamlets , with 21 , 000 electors , sends two members only to Parliament . ( Cries of
" Shame . " } The state of things in our English counties is notorious . Vassalage of tho most degrading kind is the badge of the tenant farmer . { Hear ; hear . ) " I demand three things of my tenants , " said a nobleman with £ 40 , 000 a year , derived by letting farms : " first , that the rent be paid punctually- ( laughter ); second , that the game on my estate shall be unmolested ; and thirdly , that every man shall vote as I wish him . " ( Hear , hear . ) This man was raised to an earldom for his zeal in the service of his party . ( Hear , hear . ) With a few praiseworthy exceptions , this noble lord is a fair type and representative of the landlords of England . The tenants of England are at once the dupes and the slaves of those upon whose lands they are
permitted to toil . ( Cheers . ) The obvious cure , and the only cure , for such & state of things is , the extension of tbe suffrage . ( Hear , hear . ) It is lamentable to seo the yeomanry of this country in a condition of abject political bondage . It is also lamentable to see thousands and tens of thousands of tradesmen and others deprived of the free exercise of the franchise , through the dictation and tyranny of these above them ; but it is still more lamentable to contemplate the immorality which is engendered by our small borough system , in which the floodgates of vice are thrown open whenever an election takes place . ( Hear , hear , ) If , then , the question be asked what national good would be attained by . the carrying of Mr . Hume ' s measure of parliamentary reform into law , I answer ' the utter
abolition of this fearful system . ( Cheers . ) Do you think that large and intelligent constituencies would send into the House of Commons , 100 halffledged Ibrdlings , wholly destitute of sympathy with tbe people , to do nothing but crowd the oar at midnight , and cry " divide ! vide ! vide ! " and then to vote down every measure of a liberal tendency ? ( Hear ,, hear . ) Do you think that another hundred would be sent there only because they are tbe largest consumers of the taxes paid by the honest and toiling millions , and to do nothing but vote for the maintenance of those establishments out of whose revenues they are supported in rank and idleness ? ( Cheers . ) Do you believe that another hundred would be sent there for the sole reason
that they have sat for years behind the treasury bench , steadily voting ior every ministerial job , and as steadily opposing the measures of the few friends of the people ? ( Hear , hear . ) In such a House of Commons as our reformed system would create , tbe wishes and will of the people would not be , as now , expressed by the few , but would be personified by the many , and be embodied in their legislative enactments . ( Hear , hear . ) Now the few , who are really the representatives of the people , are despised , and are despised because they are the representatives of the people . Then such could not be the case . A word or two regarding the practical results of parliamentary reform , and I will conclude . The cry of tho nation is for financial
reform—for a reduction in the national expenditure adequate to the actual wants oi the country , and a proportionate alleviation of the heavy burden of taxation—together with a revision of our mode of raising the revenues of the state with a view to the move equal distribution of the weight . ( Hear . ) We think that such a house as I have endeavoured to sketch would be the most likely body to undertake this most desirable and necessary work —a work which even the last session , with its lavish rotes and wanton grants , has shown that the present house is not likely to take up in earnest , ( Cheers . ) We think that such a house would not dread to look into the appropriation of the monies granted under the head of " Civil List ; " and while
it made due , loyal , and liberal provision for the sovereign , would save the nation the expense of supporting splendid menials , and titled tax-eaters , for filling offices without duties , or such duties only as are barbarous mummeries . ( Cheers . ) We think that such a house would require that all public monies should be brought to account at the Treasury—whether collected by the Customs and Excise , or the Post-office , and would then , when called to vote those monies , consider the propriety and justice to the industrious and suffering millions of this country , of continuing such pensions as are paid to the heirs of the Dukes of Marlborough , Grafton , and Schomberg , to say nothing of grants to absentees at Brussels and Hanover , and-to men nearer
home , ' who must needs live in Piccadilly , or expect to reside in , Pall Mall . ( Cheers . ) Wo think that such a house would not be startled at the proposals of Mr . Hume and Mr . Cobden—( cheers)—to reduce the number of men in the army and navy by a few thousands , and to save the productive classes the expense of keeping in mechanical and demoralising idleness , men who are not required for the defence of the country . We think that such a house would not shrink from the task of undertaking the purification of that Augene stable , the Woods and Forests , with its insane management , its extravagant sinecure salaries , its jobbing and fraudulent leases , its shameless lwal malversations , its favouritism to the nobles of the land , its ludicrous feudal
privileges , its numerous potty peculations , its misuse of the land and its resources , its unserviceable timber , its useless foresters and verderers , its costly metropolitan establishments , with all its yet unexplored abuses in the administration of property which is held in trust for the people of this country . ( Hear , hear . ) We think that such a house would look more closely than the present one into colonial matters in connexion with home finances , and would revise such salaries as are paid to the governors of dependencies like Jamaica , the Cape , Mauritius , Ceylon , Australia , New Zealand , and Labuan—governors rejoicing in the receipt of £ 2 , 000 , £ 3 , 000 , * 5 , 000 , and £ 8 , 000 a year ; and think ' too often that they earn it by proclaiming martial law—( hear , hearl—banishinir nolitical refugees , offering
rewards for men dead or alivo , hanging native priests in their robes , taxing dogs , verandas , and rifles , and playing such " fantastic tricks" as not only " make angels weep , " but compel idolaters to curse the British rule . ( Loud cheers . ) Such a house , we think , would find some other legislation for Ireland than that in tho form of curfew laws ; arms acts , crown and government security bills , and the suspension of tho habeas corpus . It would not be afraid to look the Irish church , with all its Beresfords , in tho face , and obliterate the sickening spectacle of pampered hirelings , paid out of the poverty of the people , preaching contentment and subordination to the caurch-r iddcn victims oi miii ger-the spectacle of lordly prelates in fine linen , with well-fed servants in purple , and pampered steeds , waiting to convey them in cushioned car-
National Parliamentary And Financial Ref...
riages to episcopal palaces , preaching the free gosplo of Christ to starved humanity in filthy rags , ( Cheers . ) Should we be correct in thinking that these are some of the matters that a reform of the House of . Commons would cause to be looked into and corrected , then wo think we aro right in saying that the true road to financial ; colonial , fiscal , and church reform , is tho extension of the suffrage and the breaking up of our present system of borough and county elections . ( Hear , hear . ) Should these , be your views , we ask you to aid us . Labour with ua to extend them throughout the kingdom ; and , above all , see that they are maintained and acted upon in your own locality , and aro the guides of your own conduct and votos . Unite with vour
reform brethren in every part of the country . Appear in your numbers and your strength . Together form one compact , indissoluble , and irresistible reform association ; and , in the sublimity of your aggregation , m the omni potence of your blended energies , and tho unconquerable resolution of your will , you shall soon obtain the victory , and win for yourselves and for your children those political rights which will give you and them the power to do something for the prosperity of this country and for the peace and welfare Of the world at large . The hon . gentleman sat down amidst loud cheers , Mr . Bishop proposed and Mr . Pklham seconded " The people the true source of legitimate power . " Due honour was done to this sentiment .
Sir J . WAUtsMir , M . P ., on coming forward to address the company , was received with a hearty burst of cheers . He said lam here on tho present occasion as President of the National Parliamentary and Financial Reform Association , and in such capacity deem it my duty to submit , as briefly as may be , the principles and objects of that association . There may , however , be those present who do not fully comprehend the extent o our labours , and to such I would say the extension of the suffrage , the vote by ballot , the abolition of tho property qualification , and the more equal apportionment of representatives to population and property , are tho means by which we propose to attain our objects —( hear , hear)—those objects
themselves being good , cheap , and responsible government , we desire that all who directly or indirectly contribute to the support of their indigent brethren , should have a voice in framing those laws to which they are compelled to yield obedience , and in the distribution of those funds to which the poorer classes so largely contribute . We ask no one to surrender his own political opinions . We bid God speed to the real Chartist , to tho advocate of temperance or ef peace . Neither do we quarrel with those who honestly seek the separation of the church from the state . Our object is to unite all who desire to remove misrule ,
of whatever nature or whatever kind , and to induce them to seek in the enfranchisement of their fellow-men to rule by the will and for the benefit of the whole people . Economy , retrenchment , and reform have been the watchwords on every hustings . We desire to reduce them to practice , to remove class legislation , to make government , instead of a scourge and a curse , a means of promoting the peace , happiness , and prosperity of the whole people . ( Loud cheers . ) A vote of thanks to tho Chairman was cordially agreed to , and the company dispersed at a late hour .
Wwnt Mmmnmm.
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Royal Olympic Theatre. Since Tho Loss Of...
ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE . Since tho loss of Mr . Power , the line of Irish characters , which he filled with such ability , has been vacant . Another aspirant to the honour of the succession , made his first appearance on Friday night , the 16 th inst ., in the person of a Mr . Grantham , who has , ' played one or two walking gentlemen ' s parts since the opening of the house . The part selected as a test of his powers was M'Shane in Bayle Bernard ' s farce of the Nervous Man . Mr .
Grantham is a young gentleman of very tolerable figure and appearance , with some vivacity , and played the part very fairly , considering that it is about the most difficult in tho line he could have selected ., He wants weight and age for that particular part ; there is also a peculiarity in his voice , which we did not like , and which he must endeavour to correct . He , however , threw a good deal of jiumour into the part , and was , upon the whole , successful . He was admirably supported by Mr . Rogersoh as Aspen , and , indeed , by every member oi the company engaged in the piece .
Rotamy In A Police Counr. — We Learn Fro...
Rotamy in a Police Counr . — We learn from Malta that Penelope , the consort of his Royal Highness Carlo Borbone , Prince of Capua ( brother of the King of Naples , ) figured on the policesheet , of the 10 th of August on a charge preferred against her by Mr . William John Stevens , a respectable solicitor at that island , for insult and dishonourable proposals detrimental to the character of this latter , but that she had successfully evaded , for some days , the service of the summons , by closing the , portals of her palazzo , andi turning loose in the court yard thereof a ferocious bloodhound , to scare away the officers of justice . Her Royal Highness was , however , eventually served with the process , and havinir , by not annearimr .
committed a contempt of court , stood summoned to appear on the 14 th August ( our dates only coming down to the 13 th , ) under pain of being bodily brought up as a prisoner . The matter is stated to have originated as follows : —Mr . Stevens , as the attorney of a highly respectable English banker at Paris , holds a dishonoured note of hand of his Royal Highness the Prince of Capua for 25 , 000 francs , due in October , 1846 , for wich , according to his instructions , he had been compelled , in default of required payment , to institute law proceedings against the prince , who for the avoiding of which , after varions subterfuges and legal quibbles , tending to delay judgment , was about taking a precipitate departure from Malta , which the
attorney of his creditor had adroitly and timely frustrated , by taking out against his royal person a writ of impediment of departure . In the meanwhile , the cholera manifests itself at Malta , and so unnerves the courage of tbe illustrious Bourbon and his consort as to induce this latter so far to forget herself as to despatch one John Wright , the editor of the Malta Times , to Mr . Stevens , with the offer of a bribe of 500 francs , if he will revoke the impediments to the Prince ' s departure on payment of 3 , 000 francs and costs . The offended party very properly turned Mr . Wright out of his office , remarking , that but for the age of tho offender he would nave kicked Mm out , and that unless he brought an apology from the princess , in whose
name and by whose express desire and command he ( Mr . Wright ) stated the bribe was offered , he ( Mr . Stephens ) would seek redress before the police . Within the given time Mr , Wright addresses a note to Mr . Stevens , declaring that having returned to the princess , from what she then stated he must have misunderstood her meaning , but still reiterating the offer of 500 francs over and above the costs ; whereupon Mr . Stevens , after having unsuccessfully sought to have an apology from the princess if she admired to have been the author of tho vile proposal , or such a written denial of it as would enable the offended party , with her Royal Hiahness ' s evidence , to sue
Wright , summoned her beiore the police , where , for the reasons above mentioned , the matter was still pending at the date of our last advices . Meanwhile , Mr . Wright issues a summons against Mr . Stevens for " scurrilous language and insult , " from which charge the magistrate very properly liberated the latter , with costs , remarking that under the provocation received he ( Mr . Stevens ) had shown much temperance ' and forbearance . It is stated that the prince and princess have claimed of the governor exemption from legal process as royal personages , and that his excellency has answered that he is not aware thatthe law of Malta acknowledges any such right .
Fbibndly Association of Losdos Costeumonobbs . —On Monday evening a large number of the costevniongcys assembled at a supper and ball , given at the City Working Man ' s Hall , Golden-lane , Barbican . Tho entertainment was designed to point out to the working classes the means by which they may rationally enjoy themselves without expense , or the use of intoxicating liquors . About 100 men and women sat down to supper . Mr . Henry Maybew in tbe chair . The meal consisted of a variety of substantial viands , without any stimulants stronger than ginger beer . The cloth having been removed , Mr . May hew observed that this was the first attempt which had been made to give the working classes an opportunity of combining rational enjoyment with the means of increasing the funds of the present association ; and a similar entertainment would take place at stated periods in
different parts of the metropolis . Mr . George Cruikshank and other gentlemen aiterwards addressed tho company , and a variety of sentiments were proposed , with a view to the permanent elevation of the working classes . The speakers were relieved by a succession of songs and dances , to accompaniments furnished by the Soutbwark brass band . The most perfect good humour prevailed throughout the evening , and the evident determination which was shown by the guests to follow the dictates of good taste proved that the formation of the association of eostcrmongers is a step in the right direction . In tho course of the evening a list of subscriptions was read by the Chairman , including donations from Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart M . P ., Earl Stanhopo , Mr . Bright , M . P ., Mr ! Evelyn , M . P Sir Benjamin Hall , M . P ., Mr . Wyld , M . P ., Mr . Charles Knight , dto .
Mt . Catun is to sail from Liverpool in a week or ton days to Texas , with the first body of settlers on SJiTSMW 011 and Colonisation Company a lands , m the Menam county . The shin se-5 w AS" " . ft ^ < ' of W tons ? An-Ssgovrv mO , most likely from
National Association Of United Trades. T...
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES . T . S . Duhcombb , Esq ,., M . P ., President . EtuMUhtd 1845 . " HAT JVS 1 IIIA . " The progress of events during the past w ek have been more than usuall y satisfactory . From all parts of the country the correspondence evinces the great satisfaction given to the members by the support awarded to the tin plate workers of Wolverhampton , and the strongest condemnation of the self-willed and selfish conduct of that despotic clique , wh » would fain swallow up tbe whole proceeds of the labour of their workpeople . The Central Committee
are strongly enjoined to use its whole powers to have justice done to the men , while hopes are fervently expressed that they , on their part , will carefully ovoid being led into any acts which may endanger their cause . The conduct of the men . up to this time , has been admirable . Several meetings have been held and most numerously attended , The " Book , " which has caused so much annoyance toa certain portion of the employers , has been discussed , and finally and formerly adopted as the future price book for the trade in Wolverhampton 5 and from this time Mr . E . Perry and his proteges , will be under the painful necessity of paying a very reasonable and equitable price for any work he or they may require to be done , by any member of tha Tin Plate Workers' Society .
The following very important resolution has also been unanimously adopted : — " That this meeting condemn the practice of men hiring themselves totheir employers , as being contrary to the freedom of labour ; and any member of the society so acting shall be immediately excluded , and his name , with the whole circumstances , forwarded to every society of Tin Plate Workers in Great Britain . And it was further resolved , that every member who has so hired himself , since the question of establishing ; a book of prices has been in agitata , he immediately excluded from the Tin Plate Workers' Society of Wolverhampton . "
There cannot be a-system more injurious to the interests of labour than this one of hiring , with all the one-sided provisions which the employers contrive to introduce into the agreements . They are generally made for periods , varying from one to four or five years , with a six months' notice from the man , after their expiration , before he can leave hia employer ; while tbe employer , on the other hand , takes to himself the liberty of discharging the man at a month ' s notice . Now , any man who could sign such an agreement must be either a fool or a knave . He must be an egregious fool to surrender to any employer his right of locomotion , to forego his right to take advantage of the contingencies which in a period of three or four years may happen in any trade , whereby the value of labour may be enhanced ; we think for a man to voluntarily place
himself m a position to be compelled to brook any insults or tyranny which the employer or his fore * man may use towards him , evinces an entire absence of common sense and the presence of a mean and spiritless soul , utterly unworthy the character ef man . But if , as has been the case in many recent instances , these agreements are entered into with a full knowledge of the unworthy objects tbey are in * tended io fulfil , viz . —to enable a selfish clique of money-grubbers to perpetuate the injustice they have so long practised upon their workpeople ; if for a bribe of a few paltry pounds ( not given , but lent , ) and a " gnzile" oi beer , a man is prepared to sell his own liberty and that of his fellow workmen , he must be one of the veriest knaves in existence ; and we think the Tin Plate Workers have done wisely ia denouncing such a system , and in taking steps to prevent its future adoption .
We rejoice to learn that Mr . Perry has not succeeded in getting any but the scum and refuse of the trade to sign his slavish bonds ; they are described to us as " Tinkers , " aud not Tin Plate Workers ; and we sincerely hope they will stick to their worthy masters , and compel them to perform their part of the bargain , by finding them constant employarcnt . Plenty of work and little wages is what they are entitled to , and we hope they will not be disappointed . The following disgraceful circumstance is an apt illustration of the mean , dirty , and shabby expedients to which these employers will stoop , in order to perpetuate their detestable tyrannies . An old man . named Hallet , is in the receipt of a small
weekly alms from the parish of Wolverhampton ; upon going to the Board to receive his usual allowance he found that a letter had been written to the guardians requesting them no longer to assist the poor old man , that he had a son , a tin plate worKer , who could have plenty of work , and who was perfectly able to maintain his father . To the honour of the guardians , they said that the object of the writer of the letter was perfectly obvious , but they declined acting upon tbe suggestions contained in it , and so poor Hallet came away with his usual alms . So much for the humanity and gentlemanly conduct of this paragon of capitalists . We think our readers will have little difficulty in
fixing upon the real "Simon Pure" of this very dirty transaction . And can the miserable man think to accomplish his ends by means like these ? Is this mixture of cruelty and vindictiveness , calculated to win either popularity or respect from either friends or dependants ? Must not that cause be intrinsically bad and desperate , that requires such dishonourable expedients to support it ? Wa seriously ndvise these gentlemen , if they must still persist in resisting the legal and reasonable requirements of their mon , to do so in a manly an . 4 English spirit . But to coax men to sign one-sided agreements , by giving them drink money , and inducing them to involve themselves in debt for the
purpose of making them more abjectly and completely slaves—warring against the poor and de ^ rjpit recipient of the national bounty—are surely not the weapons which honourable men should use in any warfare ! We hope that the contemplation of acts like these will only tend to more firmly unite the men of Wolverhampton in their endeavours to liberate themselves and their trade from such an odious tyranny . It is to be hoped that the tin plate workers ef other towns will watch the issue of this case . We believe there are few trades in Great Britain more favourably circumstanced at the present time than this , and none wherein a more liberal rate of wages would be move easily enforced and maintained .
Having little to fear from foreign competition , having at the same time an extensive and increasing export trade , there appear to exist all the elements of future prosperity , and both employers and employed should mutually agree to share these advantages . To give to the employed the power to demand that share to which they are entitled , a thorough national organisation of the trade is alone necessary . With such an organisation , a uniformity of prices could be easily accomplished ; and we flatter ourselves that one of the advantages to be obtained from this Wolverhampton ease , will be to show the great power and utility of union , and thus induce the various societies now isolated from each other to pursue their common interest by a united
action . We have great satisfaction in reporting , t at during the last week , tho Brass Wire Drawers of Birmingham , and a body of Shoemakers of Norwich , have joined the national movement . Tho Sadlors of Birmingham have also expressed their intention to give in their adhesion . We also omitted to notice , in previous reports , the important fact , that the flint Glass Makers of Great Britain , at their late conference in Birmingham , passed a resolution in favour of their different bodies joining the National Association , and the committee have been lately informed , that most of the local bodies forming that union may be immediately expected to send in their adhesion .
The Central Committee takes this occasion to publicly express their deep sense of tho confidence reposed in them so ungrudgingly by the members of the Association , ns evidenced by tho prompt and cheerful remittance of the small additional levy called for on behalf of the Wolverhampton men . And they beg to assure them , that every exertion will bo used to bring that affair to a speed y and honourable conclusion . But the honour of the Association demands that the claims of these men must be conceded , and no compromise can now be entertained . Tho book , the whole book , and nothing but the book , can now be accepted as a final settlement , and we trust the employers , seeing the hopelessness of further resistance , will see the wisdom and propriety of withdrawing their onposition . * * William Peel , Secretary .
Destruction Or An Lvdiasian Bv Fire.-Oh ...
Destruction or an Lvdiasian bv Fire .-Oh Sa- Sa- , - tuvday last intelli gence was received at Lloyds of s off the total loss of the Indiaman Zealand , Captain taina Smith , by fire . The vessel was bound from London tdonn to Bombay , and on tho 11 th of July , when in lat . IL . long . 26 , a fire was discovered raging in the hold , old ,,, So rapidly did the flames travel , that in less than ihana twenty minutes tho entire vessel was a complete iletea mass of fire , the crew and passengers , fifty m num . um-o ber , barely having time to get on board the boats , > atsy , without securing any provisions or water , and must nusM have perished nad not the French ship Panurge urgje hove in sight " . They wore landed on Friday at sr att Plymouth . The value of the vessel and cargo was waaw The execution of Professor Webster , the nvur-mure derer of Dr . Parkman , is fixed to toko place on Kri ; i Krid day , the 30 th inst .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 24, 1850, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_24081850/page/5/
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