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O'CONNOR ON THE FREE TRADE QUESTION.
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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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R ' ' ~ 5totaj Antr General Enklksme.
r ' ' ~ 5 totaJ antr general EnklKsme .
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WORCESTER . —Whig Puettt a . sd Libe-EiinT Exkmplified . —The following was received too late for oar last publication . Wilde , the Wnig Solicitor- General and prosecutor of Frost , Williams , and Jones , has started as a candidate for the represent ation of Worcester ; and one of his first acts of morality was , to open fire or nx public-houses for the purpose of brntalising the working people . The Chartists being determined that the people of Worcester should know the real character of the Whigs , Beat for Mr , George White , of Birmingham , who arrived on Wednesday evening , and addressed a large meeting in the open space of gro-usd , adjoining the Greyhound Inn , New-street . He denounced both Whigs and Tories as enemies of the people , and warned the poor voters not to be cajoled b ^ the unmeaning words and high-sounding promises of their friends
. He reminded them that neither of the factions would giro the people their rights , and that their promises were not to be relied en . During the delivery of his address , he was fre-Sently interrupted by the Whigs , who kept up . the I cry of ** He's paid by the Tories . " He was loudly cheered by the working men , and was ultimately ordered to desist bv the owner of the premise ? , who , of coarse , wanted to Eell hie ale . At sight , th © most disgusting geenes were exhibited . Hundreds of men , women , and even children , were to be sesnTeeliug through the streets belching forth—* Hurrah for Wilde ! Eb'b a Liberal ! " The peaceable inhabitants were kept awake the whole of the sight , by the yelling and hooting of the drunken gangs , as they emerged from the open houses of her Majesty ' s Tirtuous and- liberal late Solicitor - ( now Attorney ) General .
BUSSnUBT . —A Coes Law Repealing Saist . —A correspondent says that a few days -ago , a poor wid * w woman , with four unall children , west from Suunyside to Burnley , to a calico warehouse Dot forty yards from the Methodist Chapel , Keighley Gieen , to deliver is to her employer four super cuts , each thirty yards in length , and what did this Sunday Saint and Monday Deri ] offer the poor widow for the weaving ! Hear it , ye who bawl out for a Repeal of the Cora Laws in order that oar manufacturers can undersell foreigners !—JuBt fntrpenee ! One penny for thirty yards i Foarpence for one hundred and twenty yards . ' Is a Repeal of the Com Lawg requisite to enable us to undersell
foreigners , when a poor woman , after having travelled a distance of seven miles from her loom to the warehouse , with scarcely food enough in her body to sustain her oa ker journey , is offered foarpence for one hundred and twenty yards oi super cotton cloth * One penny each to carry back seven miles to her fatherless children , and this , too , offered by a Christian ! Christian , did w < j say ? A demon rather . The poor woman indignantly refused to receive the sum , aad told the Repealer that if she eonld liTe with weaving four cuts for fourpeace , and carry them backward and forward seven miles , she could do without , and came away without it . — Correspondent .
KE 2 GHLET . —Whig Liberty o ? Conscience . —The following ease of Whig liberality , which occurred the other day , cannot fail to go far towards proving the right of that party to the term " Liberal " sometimes bestowed upon them by Baine 3 asd others . A few wooleombers , working at the house of Mr . William Rhodes , in Greengate , having observed , on Tuesday last , several yell « w fl&gi sported around them from different buildings , came to an agreement amo&gst themselves to exhibit a green ene , in accordance with their Radical principles . They accordingly hoisted the emblem of their political faith , at the top of the house , on a long pole , where it continued to wave in opposition to its yellow neighbours . The house , as it happened belonged to the Messrs , Greenwood , whose Waig principles and weighty influence through cotton and
land , make them great favourites with my Lord Morpeta , and his thick and thin supporters at all elections . These gentlemen , it appears , had seen the lag , and taken offence at its colour , for on meeting with Mr . Rhodes in the market on the following day , they ordered him , in the most iasolent and domineering manner , lo take xhe flog down , otherwise they would send men to take it down for him . Mr . R ., thinking that he lived in a land where one man had as much right to his colour as another , asked them if he was not to be allowed his own opinions . " No , " said the Whigs , " not on our premises . " " What , do I not pay my rent !" said ' iir . Rhodes , "O , " said they , " that has noising to do with the business ; we insist upon you taking down the flag , otherwise yoa must find a fresh house . " So saying , the two Liberal WMgliberty-of-conscienoe men walked away .
WIGTO 1 T . —During the visit tf the Whig and Tory candidates to thi 3 town , two half barrels of ale were ordered to be distributed in the streets bj the latter , in order to make himself the most popular . But no sooner did this attempt at bribery and drunkennes become known , than a few working men , despising the base arts of the faction , seized the barrels , run the liquor out , and then dashed them to pieces , amidst the cheers of those assembled , who then gave three cheers for the People ' s Charter . At a democratic temperance meeting , the ume eveniBg , » resolution iras passed , condemnatory of those who woald thus induce the working classes to prostitute themselves , ond complimenting these brave men who had so Hobly conducted themselves .
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UNITED STATES . Peesikstt ' s Messa g e . —The 2 Tih Congress of the United Slates assembled at Washington on the 31 st nit . The Hou * e of Representatives having been organised , the election of Speaker was disposed of on the very first vote . Mr . John White , of Kentacky , the Ministerial caHdidate , received 22 ] vote ? , and Sir . J . W . Joaes , late Chairman of the Ways and Means , 84 . Xext day , the 1 st of Juie , the President transmitted to both Houses of Congress his message . It is brief , compared with Presidential messages generally , and appears to have given . general satisfaction . He alludes briefly to the lamented death of his predecessor , General Harri- " sod , and passes on to the financial and general position of American matters . In allusion to the case of M'Leod , he is reported to say : —
" A correspondence has taken place between the Secretary cf State and the Minister of her Britannic Majesty accredited to this government , on tb * subject of Alexander M'Leod ' s indictmect and imprisonment , copies of which are herewith coiEumnicated to Congress . In addition to "what appears in these papers , it may be proper to state that Alexander M'Leod has keen heard bj tbe Supreme Court of the State of New York on his motion to be discharged from imprisonment , and that the decision of that Conrt had cat as yet been pronounced .
" So far as it depsnds on the oar Be of thu government , our relations of good-will and friendship -will be sedulously cultivated with all nations . The true American policy will be found to consist in the exercise of a spirit of justice to be manifested in the discharge oi all oar international obligations , to the ¦ weakest of the family of nations as well as to the most powerful OccasioHal confiictsciay arise , bat -when the discussions iceii-ent to them are conducted in the language of troth , and with a strict regard to joatice , the scourge of war will tor the most part be avoided . The time onght to be regarded as having gone by wfeen a resort to anas is to be esteemed as the only proper arbiter of national differences . "
The President then goes on to say that in his opinion there exists nothing in the extension of the American empire over her a-ckno > rledged possessions to excite the alarm of the patriot for the safety of the institutions . The Federative system leaving to each state the care of its domestic concern ? , and devolving on the Federal Government those of general import , admits in safety of the greates : expansion ; bat at the same time he deemed it proper to add , there would be found to exist at all times an imperious necessity for restraining all the functionaries of the Government within the range of their respective powers , tberebj preserving a just balance betweea the powers granted to the Government and those reserved to the States and t ^ e » eople .
He then alludes , in an elaborate address , to the sttte of the currency , to the banking in the States , and generally to the liabilities of tbe country . Tae following is an extract : — . " I cannot aToid recurring , ia connection ' wuh Jfcw K > jy : * ., to the necessity which exists for adopting some snitaWe measure whereby the unlimited creation of tack * by the States may be correc t ed for the inture . Such results can be most readily achieved by the conseot ot the States , to be expressed in th © form of a comp&ct among themselves , which they can only enter int » with the consent and approbation of thi » Government . A consent which might , in the present emergency of public demands , justifiably be given by Congress in
adTince of any action by the States *« an inducement to Koch action , upon terms well defined by the act of tender . Sneh a measure , addressing itself to the calm reflection of tie State * , would find , in the experience of the past , and the condition of the present , much to sustain it ; and it is greatly to be doubted whether any scteme of finance can prove , for any length of time , Rsecessfal , wMk tbe States shall continue in the unrestrained power of ereating banking corporations Tills power can . only be limited by their consent "R'kt the adoption of a financial agency , of a satisfeeiory character , tb « bope may be indulged that tfce country may once more return to a state Of prosperity . "
The Kew York money market wore a fajoor-* ble aspect ; nearly every description of stock nau unproved .
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Divisions . —The number of divisions which have taken place upon various pnblic and private bills in the House of Commons during the past session ^ together amounts to 109 ; of which no less than nineteen were upon the Poor Law Amendment x » iu , nine on the County Coroners' Bill , fiye on the Punishment of Death Bill , aad six onLerd Morpeth s Ir ish Registration
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Lobd Susbet has been called up to the House of Peers under the title of Baron Maltravers . Sir John Campbell ' s title is Baroa Campbell . Mr William BrsH , a civil engineer , is engaged in building a lighthouse on Goodwin Sands , and has made some progress . He expects to secure the foundation before the equinoctial gales . New Cos . —What parliamentary candidate ' s name speaks his own sentiments , that of his co-candidates , and all the Whig and Tory candidates of the United Kingdom ! Do you give it up 1— " Lie-All , " the chief of the four Conservative City candidates . The STBJK . B of the journeymen hatters in Lancashire has terminated . They have at last acceded to the masters' terms . No fewer than 5900 persons have been out of employment for sixteen weeks , and upwards of £ 40 ^ 000 in wages have been kept oat of circulation .
More Playthings . —There hare lately arrived from the continent , for his Royal Highness Prince Albert , thirteen beautiful milk-white goats , of a peculiar and valuable breed , which are now in the deer-pen , near the statue , in the Great Psrk . A Tov . —A few days ago , at Exeter , a nurse gave an infant , nine months old , a bottle containing oil of vitriol , to amnse it ! The poor child contrired to get out tbe cork , and drank part of the liquid , which caused its death . The Lose Paslukent .- The late House of Commons has existed loDger than any which has been elected dnriag the last fifteen years ; that which was summoned in December , 1826 , havizig only existed about three years and a half . The one just expired may , therefore , not unaptly be termed the" Long Parliament . "
Akti-Bxep and Mutton Pautt . —At Merthyr , Dowlais , Tredegar , and Nantyglo , the Chartists , and many other workmen , have declared war against the present high price ef meat—8 d . per 1 b . ; they have signed a solemn declaration not to purchase any till the price be reduced to 4 ^ d . per lb . Nearly all . the butchers that attended the above markets last Saturday retHraed with their meat unsold . Gbeai Ship . —The great iron steam-ship now being built at Bristol , will probably combine a greater number and variety of untried principles than were ever before united in one enterpriis of the same magnitude and
importance—( about 3600 tons , it is said)—her material —( plate iron )—her engines , nearly twelve hundred horse nominal power—cylinders one kundred and twenty inches in diameter!—no piston rods I—no "beam 3!—the connecting rod laying hold immediately on the piston , and a moveable hollow casting playing through a stuffing-box in the top of the piston to give play to the said connecting rod !—an unlimited application of the expansive principle ! - —and to crown all , no paddle-wheels ! no paddleboxes projecting from her vast sides!—no apparent propelling power , bat an unseen agent revolving under her keel and enabling her to
" Walk the waters like a thing of life , " Verily , verily , we live in an age of wonders ; and if the mechanical genius of the era give safe birth to this creature of its conception , and foster her into vigorous maturity , it will be difficult henceforward to set any bounds to locomotion over the waters of the deep . Middlesex Sessions . —Satttbdat . —Proceedings uifDEB the Wejghis axd Measures Act . —Messrs . Wilson , Knight , Wilkes , and other magistrates of the county , assembled on Saturday , to hear and determine the following cases of fraud : —William Thompson , of Little Gray ' s-inn-laae , milkman , was fined five shillings and" costs , for having two of his measures slightly unjust . Tb . 9 defendant said tha :
he purchased the measures ' from his predecessor , and he had considered them of the legal standard . Mr . Knight said his conduct had been very loose , and by way of caution , the court felt bound to inflict the penalty . Sarah Crisp , also a dealer in milk , was fined five shillings for having in use one measure , the same being unjust . Mary Newham , of No . 55 , Gray ' s-inn-lane , coal dealer , was charged with having in use a seven pound weight , light of jhat qnantify siven ounces , and fined twenty shillings . T&os . Cooper , cheesemonger , of 54 , Brook-street , Holborn , was next fined . Mr . Turner , the assistant inspector , saidhefound thedefendant ' : 3 weighing machine with a draught against a purchaser of seven drachms , occasioned by a halfpenny being placed under the scale .
Fined twenty shillings . James Bromley , No . 7 , Fox-court , Gray ' s-inn-lane , coal dealer , was ordered to pay twen' . y shillings for havmi { in use a- machine three qHarters of a pound against a purchaser . Samuel Alexander , ironmonger , No . 124 , Goswellstreet , St . Luke ' B , was cumplainad of under these circumstances . Mr . Turner said that he had seized od the defendant ' s premises three weights , purporting to be of 56 ib 3 . each , deficient of that quantity from three ounces to three ounces and a half . Fined twenty shillings . John Lea , 8 , Church-street , Lower-road , Islington , coal and potato dealer
appeared-on a Eummons under these circumstances . M ? . Turner s * i < 3 that defendant ' * oral-machine had a false balance of ten ounces ; a seven pound weight was li ^ ht nine drachms ; a one pound , four drachms deficient ; and a half-pound , two drachma short . A penalty of thirty fctallrogs was inflicted , the bench tilling the defendant that they considered it a deliberate case of fraud . At the conclusion of the investigations , the magistrates complimented Mr . Child ? , the Inspector of Weights an J Measure ? , aud his witness , and requested them not to relax in their exertions to pnuiah and expose the plunderers of the poor .
Hsgbvtat Robbkbt asd Attempted Murder . —A correspondent has furnished us wiih the particulars of a deed of intended murder , for the sake of plunder , scarcely second in villainy to that which occurred in Ludloir Jass August . The scene of this new crime was at the foot of Lilleshall Hill , on the road from Newport to the Iron Works at Donnington Wood , in the couuJy of Salop , close adjoining tbe village oi Lilleshall , and the seat of his Grace the Duke of Sutherland , Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire . Mr . Britain , a respectable grocer at Newport , has been accu 3 tamed for many years to supply tbe chartermasters , at Douuington with the cash in silver and copper received by him weekly , varying from £ 50 to £ 100 , for tbe purpose of paying the men employed
in the iron-works . This money was usually sent on the Friday , in a light cart , in the custody of one of Mr . Britain ' s servants . Some time ago a married man , named Thomas Simms , was entrusted with this charge , bat having left Mr . Britain ' s service , he commenced the business of selling fruit in the town and neighbourhoodot Newport . Lately xbe charge was entrusted to a young man , named Benjamin Nicholls , a sirfaut in the employ of Mr . Britain ; and with thi 3 fact the former servant , Simms , was perfecfiy acquainted . On Friday week , owing to some delay , the money was not forwarded as usual ; but about eight o ' clock on Saturday morning Nichollswas despatched to the ironworks on horseback , having £ 10 in copper slang aero 3 S the saddle , and a further
sum of £ 5 m copper secured on the pommel of the saddle , on the top of which was placed £ 50 ia silver , tied up in a shot bag . Ha arrived at Lilleshall Hill about nine o ' clock , and on passing a stile which terminated a footpath leading from the top , he was accosted by Simms , who crossed over the stile , and asked Nicholls where he waa going ! He replied that he wa 3 going to Donnington works . Simms tken crossed the road from left to right , behind tbe hors ? , saying that ho was goiugtowards Wellington ; and placing his left hand on the animal , walked side by side for a short time . On a sudden Simms exclaimed , "Look ! what ' s on the hill ? " and immediately drew forth a hammer , a pound weight , and ii ; fl .: cted two tremendous blovr 3 on Isicboli's head .
ronncately for the young man , he did not turn hi 3 head iu tho direction of the hill , fearing that the money nvgbt fall from the saddle , otherwise the blows must have fallen ou hi 3 temple ; as it was < tbe blows were received on his forehead , and he became powerless aud stunned , but did not fall . The horse immediately sprang forward , and ihe bag of silver , and the 45 in copper placed on the saddle , fell to the ground , and the latter parcel burst , and its contents were scattered on tbe road . As soon as Niehollsreoovered his senses he galloped on to Newport , raising an alarm of " Murder I" In the mean tim « Simras picked up the bag of silver , and ran up the hill , but meeting a person who had heard the cries of distress , he turned back into the
road , and escaped . In a few minutes afterwards his wile , Harriet Simms , was seen by persons who had heard the alarm to descend from the monument at the summit of the hill , which had been erected by a gratefnl tenaatry to the memory of the Duke ot Sutherland , and approach the hedge along which her husband kad been seen to run . She was observed to kick the long gras 3 on the margin of the ditch , as if in searcu of something which had been dropped ; but not succeeding , she departed in the direction of Newport . The intended victim , however , succeeded in arriving first at Newport , and having raised a hue and cry , the woman was taken oa entering the town . Several- of the inhabitants aud police immediately
commenced a pursuit after Simms , and about noon he was taken by Mr . Preston , a publican , within a few miles of Newport . Information was then given to Mr . Baxter , superintendent of police , who made strict search in the vicinity of the placa where the outrage was committed ; and , after coaBidarable pains he discovered tbe bag of silver in the dram at the foot of tbe bill . The hammer was also fend near vtae spot . Simms and his wife were then taken before Charles Morris , Esq . a magistrate of the Newport district . In addition to the above facts , evidence was given to prove that the prisoners were seen waiting on Lilleshall Hill nearly the whole of Friday , the day on which the money was usually wmveved to Donnington . Much astonishment was
excited by tbe fact of \ he outrage being commttvea at such a time on the highway , particularly as it was Newport market day . The prisoners were fully eoxamitted for trial at the nest assizes , on the capital charge of highway robbery , accompanied with violencef We are happy to state that NichoUs is letovering from his wounds- — Shrewsbury Paper .
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Ships of the Link . —A first-rate man-of-war ( svoh as the Trafalgar , that was launched at Woolwich Oki Monday week ) , requires about « 0 , 000 cnbit feet ot ' timber , and uses 180 , 0001 b . of rough hemp in the cordage and sails for it . The ground on which the timber for a seventy-four gun ship ( little more than half the s ze of tbe Trafalgar ) would require to grow , would be fourteen acres . It requires 3 , 000 loads of timber , each load containing fifty cubioal feet . One thousand five hundred well-grown treesj of t * o loads each , will cover fourteen acres at twenty feet asnnder ; 3 , 000 loads of rough oak , » t 2 s . per foot , or £ 5 per load , will cost £ 15 . 000 .
How to Gain Five Hundred Pounds . —Any person who has received a bribe may get a third party to prosecute the briber , himself give evidence against his corrupter , and sot himself be exempt from all penalties , bnt share with his friend the penalty of £ 500 . The individual bribed will , of course , only proceed against such persons as can pay the penalty on conviction , the wbole of which the law awards to the prosecutor . The cases in which such prosecutions can be instituted are these-. —First , where money has been paid down for a vote ; secondly , where a promise is made that a certain sum shall be paid for a vote ; thirdly , where a situation , a
receipt in full for a debt , tbe settlement of an action , a long price for a cabbage , eat , canary bird , & « ., or any such inducement to vote on the Bide the veter would not have voted on without anon inducement is given or promised not to vote for a particular cau&idate , or not to vote at all . The briber is , therefore , completely at the mercy of the bribee . It is true that the proceeding would not be very creditable to the party , but it is not a whit worse than the selling of the vote , and he that has bartered his conscience for the paltry sum of £ 5 , or £ 10 will hardly scruple at such a peccadillo when the prize in view is £ 50 # . —Sun .
Despotic Conbuct op Parish Ofpicees . —The shop of Mr . Marshall , a news agent , residing at No . 20 , Brown' -lane , Spitalfieldg , it appears , has become marked as an object for official vengeance . Mawwormism is rampant in Spitalfields ; saints flourish in that locality , and have become as plentiful as blackberries . At elev : n o ' clock last Sunday moraing , Mr . Graham , an auctioneer and appraf ^ r , residing at the corner of Wood-street and Churchstreet , and who is , also , constable of the parish ; Mr . Home , undertaker , New Montague-street ; together with three or four other persons , accompanied by the two beadles , Messrs . Pilbrow and
Hart , approached the shop of the above-named individual , and desired him to take down several shove boards , oa which the bills of contents of the various Sunday journals were posted . Mr . Marehall , ia a very civil manner , replied , "Cartainly , pass on , Gentlemen , and I will at once do so . " The parties retired two or three yards , and jnst as Mr . M . was in the act of taking a board in doorp , they rushed back , and Mr . Graham himself having seized a placard , the beadles followed his Christian-like example , and poss « ssed themselves of all the posting bills , besides six penny unstamped papers ; and threatpned Mr . Marshall , if he resisted , to lock him up !— Weekly Dispatch .
Barbabocs Mubdbr in Shadwell . —On Friday evening , a brutal murder was committed in a Btreet called Blue-gate Fields , High-street , Shadwell , by two women of the town , named Mary Long , alias Owen , aud Hannah Covington . The victim was a Mr . Thomas Briggs , an elderly gentleman , who ha 3 been for many years residing at No . 18 , Norfolkstreet , Turner-street , Commercial Road , and who was the owner of maay houses in the neighbourhood of St . George's East and Shadwell . He was passing along Bluagate Fields on Friday evening , about seven o ' clock , when he was assailed by the two women , who beat him in a most savage manner ; and from the effects of these iujuries he died a few minutes afterwards . The women were taken into custody , and have been committed for trial for the srnrder .
Last Gltmpss of the President . —The packet ship Orpheus , Capt . Cole , which sailed hence on the Uih of hl&rch , ia company with the ill-fated President , arrived yesterday from Liverpool . Captain Cole had the last glimpse of the steamer on the 12 th of March , the day before the moet terrific gale that ever blew on our coast . Nothing has been heard oi seen of her since that morning , unless the wreck seen by Captain Bowman was her . Many and many a person will remember that dreadful gale , which raged for two days , the 13 th and Uih of March , strewing the broad Atlantio for miles with fparg , masts , huils , and wrecks of all kinds .
Capt . Cole Faid he never experienced such another . So strong did the wind blow , that it took the sails , furled tightly on the yards of the Orpheus , completely off , and tore them into rags . And Captain ComBtock , of the steamer Massachusetts , who was in Long Island Sound on the first night , reports that he uever passed through such a night . That he and all his passengers were saved waa a miraole . Several of the passengers Bay that they are indebted to the skill aud coolness of the captain for their lives . We give these facts to show the severity of the gale the President , with her heavy bulky machinery , had to encounter when only two days out . —New York Paper . Juno 1 .
CfiDiX AEPlTCAKOJf Ol > TttS LiTf . Wfl \ rBT 6 induced to inquire if any Measures had been taken for toe relief Of the poor creatures lately convicted of hawking a few trifling articles without licenses , &c , whose cause was advocated in the T « wn Council , and Police Boards , by Bailie Grieve and Mr . Dodd , and we ascertained that a petition iu their behaif would be forwarded to Lord Normanby , to be presented to the Queen . We know not when aoy instances of hardship eqaal to those of the poor people to whom this petition refers have been brought before the public . The first case is that of Mary Tominay who is upwards of fifty years of age . She wants the power of her right hand , aud was trying to pick up a living by disposing of a few articles of
delf-ware in the streets . The 2 nd . is a similar case . The 3 d , Helen Luua er Nott , sent out by a cobbler to sell a few patched-up shoes in a basket . 4 th , the child of the person last mentioned employed iu the same way . 5 th , a woman of fifty , who carried a basket with a small stock of combs , worsted , &c . 6 ; h , a discharged pauper trying to maintain herself in the same manner . All these have been severally convicted of hawking without a license , andfiued in twenty-five pounds each , which penalty , in regard to their ability to pay , might as well have been £ 25 , 000 . In default of payment they have been sentenced to be imprisoned for three month 3 . The 7 th case is that of au infirm man , aged sixty , sentenced to one mouths imprisonment for hawking delf-ware without a license , and the 8 th another mau aeed rifty-five sentenced to three
months imprisonment for the crime of selling a few tapes , laces , and lucifer matches without a license S Under what despotism could there be anything more cruel perpetrated on the poor and helpless than ibis ! The petition states that none of the individuals convicted were aware that they were infringing the law or were informed that tbey were doing so till they were taken up and subjected to all its rigour . The touching circumstance is also mentioned that none of them ever suffered a day ' s loss of personal liberty till they became the victims of a stretch of law , which every person of ordinary feeeliug must stigmatise as cruel in the extreme , if the prayer of this petition for a remission of a heavy punishment where no panisliment is deserved ia disregarded , it may well be supposed that there is neither mercy nor justice to be found iu the high places where power is lodged . —Scottish Patriot .
Teetotalers , Bewabe . —Spubiocs Tea . —William Terry , grocer , &c , of Greek-street , Soho , was charged , on Friday , before the Commissioners of Excise , with having in his possession a quantity of spurious tea . Mr . Francis Charles Wingrove , ou being sworn , said he had been in the Excise thirteen years , aud from information which he received he had made a seizure of lS 31 bs of leaves on defendant ' s premises . It was made in this manner : — In September last , he was looking after a man named Dellahoi , whom he saw deposit a chest in the shop of the defendant , and again on the 22 ad of December , he saw him deliver two more chests to the servants of Mx . Terry . He on the latter occasion went up to the cart to question Dellahoi , when that person took to his heels , and has since there
been at hide and seek . Witness immediately - upon broke open the chests , and perceiving that they contained stuff in imitation of tea , seized it , and conveyed it , with the horse and cart , to her Majesty's 6 tores . While he was examining the rubbish , Mr . Terry made hia appearance , and on being interrogated by witness , he said he had one previous dealing with Dellahoi , of whom he knew but very liitle , and that the article he then had from him was genuine and good at the price , which was 4 s . Ad . a pound . Mr , Goulding Bird said , he had examined the contents of the two chests , and discovered that it consisted of sloe and hawthorn leaves , and redried tea-leaves . ( He produced to the Court many samples of them , opened and pasted on white paper . ) He had extracted from the leaves , and there was oot the slightest taste of tea . By direction of the Board of Commissioners , witness had seen the defendant , and examined hiB stock , some of which was
very bad indeed . One of the shopmen was gnndiug some leaves , and when asked hia motive for so doing , the accused said that old women frequently asked for tea-dust , and he was making them some . ( La * gttter . > Terry said ite cherts were sent to him as samples . Mr . Waddington— " Did he tell you the price he was to give ! " Mr . Bird—No . He said they had not agreed upon the price . " Mr . Waldington— " Could such stuff be palmed on an experienced person as genuine tea f Mr . Bird" It would be utterly impossible . " Mr . Waddington— "Did the defendant say anything of Dellahoi . " Mr . Bird— He merely observed that he wished he had never seen him , and that he was ashamed of the transaction . " Mr . Stephensoa said , that as the defendant had oot examined the contents , it could not be said that he had a guilty knowledge of the affair , and he thought the information ought to be dismissed . The other Comsuaeioners concurring , tbe case was accordingly dissbsed * The Court ordered the rubbish to be tec&W
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Mb . Wiliiam Bainbs , the church-rate victim , after an imprisonment of more than seven months , Baring been incarcerated on the 13 th November last , was released on Wednesdaj morning ; and on * n i ? ih S V *** * without going , into the town at •> ' ! . started immediately ' tot ' Hafiatqn , a village at soLte distance , where his parents and some of his brothers reside . Mr . Baineshtt not paid the rate , nor iwve any of his frfends . te' ^ J « C ^ Wolation of Vienna amonnted in 1840 to 357 , 927 , of whom 204 , 298 were Austrians , 5 ? . ZS 6 ^ rest foreigners . Tho increase since 1837 is 23 , 427 , but these are chiefly foreigners . The national manufactures have within the last ten years made immense progress . The population of the whole kingdom of Saxony -amount * to 1 , 687 , 141 . The produce of the mines for J 839 was 7 , OQO , O 0 Of . The woollen manufactories employ between 3 , 000 and 4 , 000 looms , making annually 160 , 000 piecee of oloth . The national debt amounts to 56 , 9 l 8 , 327 f .
Thk Free 'Bbadb Humbug '—The following statement has been compilled from the report of the late Factory Commissioners appointed by the libertyloving and labour-rewarding Whigs . Our hardworking artizans may judge from it what would be the effect upon their-own wages were the free-trade and anti-corn law principles of the party carried out before the working men themselves had secured a ? owein the making of thelaws . Cheap bread would P *" *™^ beggars' wages .- —The factory operative in England works 69 hours per week , for which on an average he has lls . wages . In Ait erica he works 78 hoars , and has 10 s . wages per week . In France he works from 72 to 84 hours , and has fis . 8 J . per week , la Switzerland he works 78 to 84 hours , and haB 4 s . Sd . per week . In Tyrol he Works 72 to 80 hours , and has 4 s . per week . In Saxony he works 72 hours per week , and has 3 s . 6 d . wages . And in Bonn , in Prussia , he works § 4 hours , and has 2 s . 6 d . wagesSper week .
The Beastly Poob Law Bill . —The Nottingham Guardians have offered a bold front to the Somerset House Bashaws , whose days , happily for the comforts of the poor , we hope are numbered . We would wish that every other Board in the kingdom would » ot in a similar beooming spirit . It appears from a report in the Nottingham Mercury , that the Guardians had made application to the Commissioners for a dissolution of the Union ; but that the latter have not yet come to a decision on the subject . In the meantime Mr . Senior , an Assistant P « or Law Commissioner has attended a meeting of the Board , in order that any communication , touching the subject of the dissolution , might be made to him . Mr . Senior , however , said that he had seen
the reasons mooted in the support of that measure ; the first was , that the Union was " too extensive to be conducted with proper arrangement and attention * ' ^ --.. On this head Mr . Senior urged 11 that tfii > i : | # uardian 8 brought forward no facts tojBggMi ^ Bieir position . " Whether they have ofplwfnot , we are unable to atate . We have not see \ the reasons that were sent by them to the Strand despots ; but we could produce a hundred good and sufficient arguments to show why Unions should be restricted to sizs ; leaving out of the question the baneful effects of the centralization scheme , aa tending to create patronage , and ultimately to crush the people . The second reason for bringing about a dissolution was this , " that it ia impossible
to carry out and strictly abide by tha principles of the New Poor Law . " Mi . Senior said nothing was easier . In this he was perfeotly right , and the Guardians manifestly wrong ; for the flint-hearted Bashaws make no bones of carrying the strict letter of the law into effect at the expense of the bellies of the paor . What the Guardians meant to urge was this , and the feeling is good , aud does credit to their hearts—that it was impotBible" to carry out the principle of the Bill without bringing the poor to a by far worse condition than the very beasts of the field . It requires an iron-nerved man to enforce such a law as this ; and none but suoh persons as are entirely destitute of feeling are chosen to fill iffioes under it . Hear what Mr . Hicklm said , in
reply to Mr . Senior— " He happened to bo waiting at a Union workhouse , in a room leading to the passages , when a cleanly and respectably olad young woman made an application to see her parents aud younger brother . After some delay , she was permitted to see her mother , who was then taken back , and her father and brother were then brought . She was not allowed to see them together , and the schoolmaster stood within a few yarda all the time , with his hands in his pockeJs , totally preventing any interchange of those domestic sympathies which they know so well how to value , and from the situation in which thepartieB were placed , would in this case be rendered doubly dear . These unfeeling regulations ought to be broken down , as -they were
contrary to the spirit of morev in which the laws of England were framed . " Tho presumption is , that this regulation is enforced , lest the paupers communicate totheir friends the horrorsof the Bastilesystem . Bat is net this a dreadful state of things that our workhouses are in every respect , aa far as discipline is concerned , on a footing with common gaols , and bfftx worse , when prison fare is contrasted with prison diet . It was really shocking that this poor girl was not allowed to converse with her brother and her parents without th © presence of th $ schoolmaster . Nobody but a positive fieud , a wretch in human shape could have advised such a monstrous regulation . Wo are glad that the Nottingham Guardians have made a ttir in the matter .
Tbe old English plan of each parish managing its own affairs , is more satisfactory than the present sweeping system of centralisation , at which every real Briton ought to look with an eye of jealousy . These Guardians have been a sharp thorn in the side of the Magnates ; they rejected the diet tables , and an apology was Bent to them , that the sending the starvation tables to Nottingham was all " a mistake . " la the adjoining Union , where there appears to be a want ot' proper spirit , the master is compelled to adopt the Somerset House scale , and weigh out the food to the nicest fraction ! At Loughborough , there has actually been a controversy about dividing a potato / Mr . Senior recommended the finishing the new workhouse , which
might be done at a cost of £ 1 , 500 , but it was clearly shown by a practical man ( Mr . Soars ) , that £ 10 , 00 * would not be more than sufficient to eftlct the object . Let the Nottingham Guardians delay this project . At no distant period the law must bo cariied out by persons interested ia their own and the welfare of the poor ; and when , that is the case , the Guardians will find accommodation for the poor , without expending £ 10 , 010 over and above what has already bee a laid out . At the forthcoming election , we call upon the constituency to exact pledges from the candidates that they will vote in the House of Commons for the dismissal of the Strand gang , and for the law being carried out , as of old , by properly elected Guardians . There is a pleasing difference in the management of the poor in workhouses without the Bcops of the withering pauper starvation act . The poor old folk are happy ; they get tea , sugar , and other little comforts ; the young , while they are properly worked , are not
harshly treated ; and ohildrea are permitted every rational eDJoyment . There is none of that severity in the old system , that prevents a father speaking to hia child unless in the presence of the schoolmaster or some other appointed person . Under the old plan of management the poor are not locked up in dens , which have no light , except what is admitted through the roof ; and at seasonable hours , and at appointed times , they are permitted to visit their friends , in order to pick up a few pence , or obtain a supply of tobacco , snuff , aad other trifling things that add real value to life ; while in the bastile none of these things are permitted ; the belly-griping gruel , the pork-water , and the bread and cheese dietary , are all that the paupers have allowed them , and if these fail to support life , they must make up their minds to inhabit a premature grave . Down , we gay , with the Commissioners ; and modify the accursed provisions of the Poor Law . —Weekly Dispatch .
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COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH .-Wednksdat . Mr . Moxon , the publisher in Dover-street , was indicted for publishing a blasphemous libel in a reoent edition of the poetical works of Shelley . The case was tried by Lord Denman before a Special Jury . Three passages from Queen Mab were set out in the indictment . Sergeant Talfourd , for the defence , argued that the passages objected to made not more than the three hundredth part of a work of twenty thousand lines , and would give not only an imperfect but a wrong impression ef the whole . The book was a history of tho stages which a great mind had gone through , in its gradual developement ; and it would only be sought by persons likely to appreciate the combination of the several parts with each other , and the tendency of the entire
composition , la many passages ot Paradise Lost , Satan was made to utter sublime defiances of Almighty power . Indeed , the publishers of the works of Milton , Gibson , Byron , Rousseau , and Sbakspeare himself might as well be prosecuted as the publisher of the present poem . Lord Denman said , that he and the Jury were , however , bound to proceed on the law as handed down from all time—that tbe publisher of a blasphemous libel was clearly punishable , if ha was guilty of doing so with the knowledge of its character , which made a part of the offence . The motives of the publisher were beside the question ; for he was responsible for the direct tonsequenee of the publication itself . There could be no doubt that , in the passages quoted ,
an intention was shown to cast reproach and insult on the Christian God . Such an intention , however , in mere passages was insufficient , if the work contained a genuine condemnation of it in the context . They would , therefore , consider the tendency of the wbole , and judge if it wer'e correctly described by the terms used to bring it within the criminal law . It was certainly true , aa remarked for the defence , that this extraordinary poem was composed by a youth of eighteen , and . that in many pla « ea rt watradioted itself ; bufctthat could not prevent it from being mischievous and offensive , or from producing injurious effects « n society . It might also be true that the author ' s latter works would qualify the effects of his earlier works ; but still they wouk not thenoe be just ; fied ia acquitting the publisher of
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the ^ passagea now prpsecnted . Any writer of an author ' s life was allowed to state that he had once entertained opinions such as these ; or even to express them in the author's own words . Whether this wasBUch a case as that , they would now decide . He jumself thought that it was better to subvert snea eentuneats by reason and argument than to oppress them by the > prosecution of their authors . The Jury found the defendant guilty . _ There were two other cases , that of the Queen v . Fraser , and the Queen w . Ottey , in which the defendants were charged with the sale of the work in question ; bat they were not pressed , and a verdict of " Not Guilty" was given to each .
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TO MR . THOMAS CRONE , ( OF MANCH . ) FARMER AND INDEPENDENT ELECTOR OF THE COUNTY OF CORK . My Deab Tom , —I have published an address , or rather , a caution to my brave Frieze coated soldiers . I send 5 « 0 copies to you for circulation . I send them to you because yon are a honest man , a wise man , and a good man . Now Tom , here goes to make the whole subject as plain to you as the nose on your face ; and , Tom , you have a long one . Tom , you have the best landlord iu Ireland ; he is also the best magistrate , the best
grandjuror , tbe best master , the beat rich man's friend , and the best poor man's friend . Though he ia my first cousin , I bat do him justice in saying this . In the aggregate he has no equal . You have also , as a spiritual adviser , the Rev . Mr . Doheney , than whom a more faithful , pious , xealous , and affectionate pastor breathes not . I have always had great confidence in him ; and that confidence has been much increased by the fact of my Bister , who lately died a Catholic , having left every farthing sbe was worth in the world in trust to him , for the benefit of his flock , to be administered by him as a faithful shepherd .
But , Tom , your landlord is " a hell of a Whig , " and a great supporter of what he considers Whig principles : and should he nsk you to support the Government candidates because he is a Whig , which , however , he will not do , as he never interferes with bis tenants ' ¦ rotes ; but his party being hard pressed , eheuld he , now , attempt to do so , say to him : — " Sir , is not my vote to have some effect ? and is not that effect to be the cheapening of the produce of the land for which I pay you , under existing circumstances , a certain rent ? " Tom , don't forget " existing crciumstattces" upon any account t f I Then say : — " If you agree to take the average of the last seven years" price of wheat , and suppose it to be thirty shillings a bag , and suppose my rent to be one pound , will you , if the existing circumstances are altered , ( put ' existing circumstances' in again ); will you , if the existing circumstances are altered ,
agree to take rent on account , for the next seven years , till we can strike a balance , and agree upon terms and rent ? and if wheat is reduced to fifteen abilJings a bag by the then ' enisling circumstances , ' will you let me have my land ns before for two-thirds of the price , that is , ten shillings ? If you do , I will vote for th » moonshine . " Then go to tbe Rev . Mr . Doheney , and say unto him : — " Sir , for the last twenty years I have cheerfully given you so much a year for religious consolation , and other services which you have performed for rae and my family , but henceforth , although you have earned it hardly , I can only afford to give yoa one half that avnount , but yet you must not relax in your duty . " And then It you owe any debt upon bond or note , go and oak tbe parson to whom you « we it , "if he will take half : " but be sure if any one owes you anything , go at once , under exibting circumstances , and gel it all ! Mind that , Tom !
Now , Tom , thus make those parties who would use any Influence over your vote , parties With equal interest as yourself iu the result . Now , Tom , observe . Let me , as there is only a step between tbe ridiculous and the sublime , just take both extremes , and have a word . Which , then , do you think it would be best for you to pay twenty shillings per acre , and get thirty shillings a bag for wheat : or to pay ten shillings per acre and get fifteen shillings a bag ? Now I will show you that it -would be better to pay twenty shillings , and get thirty shillings a bag ; than to pay tea shillings and get even twenty shillings
a bag . First then at twenty shillings . From an acre you will have six bags of wheat : that would produce nine pounds at thirty shillings a bag ; that is eight pounds more than the rent . If you pay ten shillings per acre , and have six bags at one pound a bag , that will leave you only five pound ten shillings over the rent ; and if you paid twenty shillings an acre you would be mueh more likely to have six bags from it , than if you paid but ten shillings ; and for this reason : you would prepare your ground better , by expending more in labour and upon manure , for you would have mote to expend .
The same rule that thus applies to wheat , applies equally to all other articles of production , and consumption , and value ; to butter , beef , and pork ; to cloth , calico , aud leather ; to gold , silver , and toasa . Wheat is tbe standard -which regulates the Value of all Now , Tom , auppoae you got five pounds a bag for your wheat ; must it not ruin every single operative now out of work in England , and for whose advantage the masters wish to reduce wheat to ten shillings a bag ? No , Tom ; no suchthing . It would on the contrary , as if by magic , setevery unemployed operative in England to full work . ; and here is the other extreme . If Sou got five pounds a bag , and paid three pounds rent ,
what would be your first step ? Why , to kill a few more pigs ; to buy a few more coats , and breeches , and hat » , and shoes , and gowns , and BbAtts , and shifts , and stockings , and a bit of furniture , and delf , and knives and forks ; and also a new saddle and bridle , and pillion , for the Staggeen , to take yourself and Norah to mass ; and to make Tommeen , and Shauneen , and Norreen , and Jud « en , all the more neat , and clew , and decent ; and get a book or two also , Tom , into the bargain . And , Tom , all your land would be cultivated to the highest , and Jack Brickley would begin to look for more wages , and he and his wife get a " new snoot , " ( auit ) But , by Jove ! Tom , if Jack is put out of work he'll have another sort of SHOOT !
Well , now , bow would that affeot the Irish artisans , mechanic , operatives , tradesmen , and shopkeepers ? Wby , Tom , it Would make them as saucy as gintlemen ; and instead of having only a smell of the cheap loaf going to the rich man ' s table , they'd hav « the dear one in toast , buttered on bath sides , Tom . Well , and the Eaglfah operatives ? Way , Tom , inasmuch as it would be better for you to have high prices and high rents than low prices and low rente , so would it be better for the English operatives to see their produce sold for one shilling % yard , instead of twopence ; and for this reason : when it is over chwp it is a drug in the market ; bmt when it is dear , it becomes not less a necessary to the rich , and more easily obtained by tbe very men who produce it When
potatoes ore two-pence for twenty-three pounds , the Irish are always starving , while the potatoes are rotting ; and now , while every article of English manufacture is lower than ever , the very people who produce all , are lying without sheets or blankets , walking almost half-naked , while they are obliged to look upon warehouses full of their manufactures they are indeed actually starving ! Now , Tom , I contend for it , that dear wheat — ( always understand me as arguing under the " existing circumstances" )—ia tbe only thing to make dear cloth , dear calic * . dear shoes , dear hats , dear fenders , pots , and fire-iion »; while at the same time it allows those who caaaot now afford to bay the same articles at a drug priee , the means of buying them at a f «» ey price . Tom , such a state of things would bring every Irlshmam from America , France , and England , and raise tiiejr wages at home ! while it would take them from the English reserve , and raise English wages also , by sending hundreds of
thousands upon inereaaed wages to the land , to railways , and to a thousand oth <* wotbs ; and then we should be working for the full home market , and sending the vednndsiicy at fccreased prices abroad : snd tken the gentlemen would be obliged to come homo also ; things would rise on the Continent , aa our high price * would give Increased value to every article of luxury and even necessaries there also . Now , Tom , I undertake to prove that dear labour ia England , under existing circtimstaxcts , ia the only lock upon tbe uneven Canal by which the level can be preserved , betweea England with her heavy debt , expensive government and tribe of pensioners , and other countries owing bo money , aoad having less expensive Government * to upbcld I am for Free Trade all over tbe world , but I am for first breaking down all the expensive locks upon the canal , through which all produce has to pus $ and when it ceases to make labour to pay toll , then will I give my . consent t » produce going toll free . Tom , before yoa
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get cheap food , get cheap land to product it TOM , before you reduce tbe price of labour , reduce fixed incomes , debt , and salaries of public office *; and before you reduce the price of produce , rednce tie price of land . TOM , I am for Free Trade all over the world ; but , Tom . you may as well think of running * race against me with one of your legs tied np , as think ot having a Free Trade with nations more free by being less taxed than yourselves . Ireland , though nominally not taxed , is situated as regards taxation and com * merce consequent upon taxation , precisely the same a * England . Tom , I undertake to prove my position against all the humbugs in the world I Always bear in mind that " cheap" and " dear" are relative terms ; and that when doth is cheapest you find it hardest toget ; so when bread is cheapest the labourer may find it hardest to get . AndO ! it is a sore and a cotOa thing for a poor eraythwr to stand with tala teeth watering , grinning tarongh the windy at the big Russian loaf without a penny in his pocket to buy e ? en a slice or it I . . ¦ ..- ¦ ¦
Now , TOH , you must Bndentand all » b « mttne men who want cbesd bread to feed thai * pc «* . laye * ; and m order that yea may perfectly anderetand their motive and humanity , I submit to you the following evidence taken on oath fesfore a Committee of the House of Common * , as to the tender mercies of cfeeap-bread gentry . And , mark , the evidence ia from their own overseers or overlookera on oatk . Bear in mind that the master mast implicated by that evidenee , from being himself a common working boy , has made nearly two million * Of money out of the labour of these h « has used * o badly : and yet he ia not satisfied t Having drunk deep of English infant blood , he would now tap tha blushing . veins of Ireland , and tha * make her face a » pale as be and his murderous associate * nave anda the face of Britain . Here follows the evidence of the witnesses : —
Mark Best said — » I am about fifty-sii year * old . I na * e been engaged a * overlooker in the flax mill of Me . Maraiaii . The regular hour * of work are , from six to seven . When they are throng , ' from five to nine at night f They only allow forty minutes fo * dinner I No time i « allowed lor breakfast or 'drinking ! ' Th » children put the food oa one side , and eat it as they can . Sometimes , when their work ia ' bad , they are prevented getting it at all ;—they ha ? e then to take it home again . Sometime * it ia so dirtied , that it i » rendered unfit to eat . The dust flies about till tttej can scarcely see each other t In the card-zooms the refuse hangs about their months , while they are eating their food f Sometimes , in those dusty places , it takes away their appetites , and they cannot eat Thej beat the boys and girls with a strap , ts make them look
Bharp . When they are fatigued and tired , they are obliged to use them worse , to make them keep up t The masters know very well that the children am thus beaten and strapped ; they encourage the overlooker * , to do it i The straps are about one foot and a half long , and there is a stick at the end of some of them ; and the end of the strap , which they beat them with , ia cut or slit into five or six thongav They are regulaily made for the purpose ! Unless they are driven and flogged up , they cannot get the quantity of work they want from them . They are fined as well as beaten . They are fined for speaking to one another 1—for combing their hair 1—for . washing themselves!—or cleaning their shoes !—or doing any thing , so as to go home decent at night ! They are not allowed to do any such thing , if the work was goiDg on ever so well . Profound silence
ia enjoined ! The children were exceedingly fatigued . The usual hour * of labour arc too long for children to bear . When they go home , if they get set down before the fire , they are asleep in a few minutes . The fine aptuuing ioomsaTO ^ ery much heated , and full of steam . In winter the clothes of those who live at » distance , will be frozen to their backs , and quite stiff before they get home . I have known the period of long labour from five to nine continue for five or six months together I When the children are at home in consequence of illness from over-working and long hours , the master neither pays their wages nor for the doctor ! When any visitors are coming to look over the works , they used generally to come round , half an hour before , and tell us to cease , and get our machines clean and tidy against the time 1 There was no strap *
ping or cruelty going on when , the visitors were there . " Samuel Downe , of Hunslet Carr , near Leeds , said" I am twenty-nine years of age . I am a native of Shrewsbury . I was about ten years old when I begatt to work at Mr . Marshall ' s mill , at Shrewsbury . Whea we were brisk , we used generally to begin at five In the morning , and run till eight at night 2 The engine never stopped , except forty minutes at dinner time ! These long hours were vary fatiguing . The children were kept awake by a blow or a box ! Very considerable severity was used in that mill 1 I was strapped moat severely , till l . eonld not bear to Bit upon a chair without having pillows : and I was forced to lie upon my face in bed at one time ! and through that I left . I was strapped on my . legs , and tben I was put upon a man ' s back and strapped ! and then I was strapped and . buckled with two traps to an iron pillar and flogged (! After that , this overlooker took a piece of tow . and . twisted it in the shape of a cord , and put it la my
mouth , and tied it behind my head ! He thus gagged me , and tben he ordered me to run round , a part of th » machinery , and he st # od at one end , and every time I came round , he struck me with a stick , -which I believe was an ash-piant , aad which he generally carried in blf hand , till one of the men in thejwm came and begged nitt off ' . !! At o » 6 time I -was beaten so that I hod not the power to cry at all ! . ' I was then between ten and eleven years old f It was winter time , aad we worked by gas-light , and I could not catch the revolutions of the machinery to take the tow out of the hackles ; it requires some little experience , and I waa timid at it , and pricked my fingers very much with the hackles . I cannot assign any other reason for it ! He wo * not discharged from the milL We were never allowed t » sit I We were not allowed to talk !—not at all , by nomeans ! If this man heard us , he came to us with his stick ! Young women were beaten as well as young men ! J "
Jonathan Downe said— " I reside in Leeds . I am twenty-five years old . I first went to work at Mr . Marshall's mill when I was seven years old . Very severe method * were adopted , in order to compel us t » work their long hours . I have seen boys knocked down with a strap : they have been called from their work flogged , and then knocked down on the floor ; and when they have been on the floor , they have been beaten till tbey have risen , and whpn tbey have risen , they have been flogged to their work again . ' That was very common 3 I know many who have been bound to pillars , and then flogged— it is quite common to do so I Females were also chastised ! No means were taken to remove the overlooker who inflicted such extreme chastisement ! If wo bad complained to Mr . Marshall , we should have been discharged j and whatever band
was turned away from Mr . Marshall ' s , Mr , Benyon would not employ ; and whatever hand was turned away from Mr . Benyon'a , Mr . Marshall would not employ ; and these were the only two mills in Shrewsbury . I have known a mother ef two children in Mr . Marshall ' s employment at Shrewsbury knocked down by the overlooker 1 Horseman , the manager , will go to the overlookers , and if they have not done something severe , he will Bay , ' I have never beard of your doing anything—you have never quarrelled with any of the hands ; do something , that I may hear of it , and I will stand your friend ' . ' It is the usual practice to prepare mills previous to their being inspected by stranger * It is a frequent thing at Mr . Marshall ' s mill , where the least children are employed , ( there are plenty working at six years ofage I ) provided a child should be dxoway .
the overseer walks round the room , with a stick in his hand , and he touches that child on the shoulder , and says Come here . ' In the corner of the room , there is an iron cistern—it is filled with water ; he takes this boy up by the legs ; and dips him overhead in the cistern , and sends him to his work for tbe remainder of the day f and that boy is to stand , dripping as he Is , at his work ' . he has no chance of drying , himself ! That i « the punishment for drowsiness !—for other offences there ia a stool fixed up to th » end of the room ; the boy who oflfcnda is put to stand on this stool , somettoea on both legs , and sometimes on one of - bis legs , with the other up , and he has a lev « to bear ia his hands , raised and stretched over hia head ; and there he has to stand for ten , or fifteen , or thirty minute * , just a * the overlooker
chooses ; and , providtd he should lower hia arms ( and it ia a great weight to bear for a quarter of an hour ) , I ^ boye seen the overlooker go on and say , ' Hold up I * and sometimes thft boy will fry U hold Hup , and yet not have strength to raise it , an * the overlooker cnU him with bis stick until he doe * actually get it » p ; and the tear * will run down hi * face when he ia there standing i I have seen this d © n » there frequently— it i * th « regular practice . ' We haw a Taat nombec of eripplea . Some are crippled 4 rom loosing their limbs—many from standing too long . It firat begins with a pain in the ancle ; after that ;' they will a * k the owriooker to l » t them sit down—but they muat not . Th « a they begin to be weak in the knee—then knoek-knee'd—after that , their feet turn out—they become splayfooted , and their ancles swell a * big as my flrt . I know many deformed
in the way described . " . Now , TOM , hold your arm to be bl « d if you wish ! but if you are the weaker for the operation , or bled to death , I shall be no party to the murder ! Tom , you will be told that this i * paid for by Tory gold . Tom , hear me ! There i * no usein telling y < w to the contrarj , because you would ' nt believe your priest that mo ^ ey could bri be Feargua O'Connor ; but , Tom / other * may believe it , tfhtu me . I " » nowUi the presence of W Go * and jo « God , ; and I hoje , Tom . that this moment might b « my last , if I have SEWS ? i * 7 tt « , directly « indirectly , ao « Pted oa » fraction ot » tartbing from way man , or tody of men , for any political act during the wbole of lMe ,-- *> ot erea where l ^ wa . entitled to i * t and I new will , so help me God ; Tom , I hare printed this at my own expense ; and if it serve * you and your friends , my friend * , andtne frieuda of Ireland , I am more than repaid ! lam , Tom , Your faithful and uncompromising Friend and Countryman , Fijl&gvs O'Connor . In the fourteenth month of solitary confinement , is a condemned cell , in York Caatte , because money eonld not bay me , penaasion induce me , or threat intimidate me from th * advocacy of the tfause ot the Poor Oppressed against the Rich Oppressor' ! Hurrah for Liberty ! and mo hastfeog . T « a
O'Connor On The Free Trade Question.
O'CONNOR ON THE FREE TRADE QUESTION .
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Tbe followiflff letter from Mr . O'Connor to Mr Thomas Crone , one of the frieze coat electors of the " County of Cork , is appended to the address rf Mr O'Connor to tha frieze coat electors and non-eleotors upon the gf eat question mm at issue . It will be read with deep attention , as coming from one who appears to understand most minutely the several interests of the belligerent parties . Mr . O'Conner has addressed a series of letters to the landlords
of Ireland , for the first of which we regret we cannot this week find space . Those letters speak a warning to the Lords of the soil , and will , we doubt not , ronse the sleeping energies of those drowsy gentlemen . The first shall appear in qut next , and when all are before tbe public , they will be judged of according to their merit as a whole . The address of Mr . O'Connor , including the letter to Thos . Crone , has been , as appears by an advertisement inserted elsewhere , printed very beautifuHy upon a single sheet , by oar publisher , Mr . Hobson , and we commend it to the serious perusal of all , bat especially to the Irish Catholic 3 resident in England .
Untitled Article
THE NORTHERN STAR .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 3, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct556/page/3/
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