The Express.
London, England, 1862-12-17 00:00:00

TODMORDEN.

This town has been one of the latest to feel the
severity of the crisis arising out of the cotton famine, and
even now is in a much better position than many of the
neighbouring cotton districts. Within a circle of about •
mile and a half round Todmorden there is • population of
about 20,000 people. There are 72 cotton mills or 105
firms, employing before the cotton famine 9,380 people,
of whom 365 are working full time, 1,031 are working four
days per week, 4,020 three days, 882 two days, and the
remainder are wholly out of employment. The rateable
value of property is 59,3864 In this district are the mills
of Messrs. Fleidea, Brothers, and it is worthy of notice
that the distress arising oat of the stoppage of mills is
much mitigated by the fact that this firm generously pay
to their unemployed operatives three days' wages per week,
at a cost of nearly 5001. per week, or 2,000/. per month, at
the same time that owing to the large rateable value of their
property they have to contribute one-tenth of the lens of
and Walden sod one•fifth of the entire rates of
langfiskl. A local relief committee was established at
Todmorden some weeks ago, but it was distasteful to some
of the residents on the pounds that it bad been self-con-
stituted. The committee sought to meet this objection by
adding to its number some of the large millowners and
other employers of labour, including one of the Fieldens,
Mr. Lord, Mr. Firth, Mr. C. Chambers, and Mr.
W. Dewhint. Some of these gentlemen, however,
felt scruples at taking this responsibility upon them
until the committee had done something to purge
themselves of the stigma attaching to it. origin, and the
result was that on Saturday one of the largest and most in-
fluential public meetings ever held in Todmorden was
brought together (Mr. John Fielden in the chair),and pawed
resolutioos recognising the distress and the necessity of
relieving it, and re-appointing the committee already esta-
blished for the purpose. Mr. James Dewhiret, Mr. Edward
Lord, Mr. Joshua Fielden, and Mr. Gankroger were the
speakers, and the proceedings were adopted unanimously.
The meeting was a model in its way, and lasted only twenty
minutes. On Monday the gentlemen taking part in the
meeting attended the relief committee, and called Mr. John
Fielden to the chair, who inaugurated his accession to the
position he was entitled to as a member of one of the largest
firms in the district by stating that Mears. Fielden Bro-
thers, of whom he was one, had determined to give a sub-
scription of 5001. to the funds, and would also supplement
that subscription by a further contribution of 10 per cent.
on the amount of other subscriptions raised by the neigh-
bourhood. The announcement was received with much
cheering, and it is hoped that the committee will now act
with the unanimity and vigour which are necessary to the
: successful discharge of their arduous duties.

MANSION-HOUSE Cotedirrar..—The total sums
received during the last two days, Monday and Tuesday,
in aid of the food for the relief of the distressed opera-
tives of Lancashire, was nearly 6,0004, of which sum LB6Ol.
wee received on Monday, and about 4,1501. during yester-
day. Amongst the amounts received were—Colonel
Howard Vyte, 116/. 3s. Orl. ; Lee and Blackheath, 600/. ;
Collected at Tooting, 2504 ; additional from Exeter, 2001. ;
South Weald Church, 301 E 11s. 3d. ; Skinners' Company,
1061. ; Cowes, lola of Wight, 1641.45. 7d. ; Putney, 130/.
19a. ld. ; General Steam Navigation Company, 1054 • Royal
Military College, &militant, 60i. Fe. 9d. ; H. W;Seatoo,
Fan., 1004 • London, Brighton. sod South Coast Railway,
Lemon-bridge, 100; Harrow•on•the•Hill49ol. ; the various
coogregations of Christchurch, Streatham, 2004 ; W. H.
Stone, Esq., 1004 ; Bermondsey, 6th instalment, 1004 ;
St. Botolph, Bisbopegate, 107/. sa. ; Hudson's Bay Com.
pony, 100/.
THE NEW SYNAGOGUE, ST. HELEN9B.—In fur-
therance of the appeal made to the members of the Jewish
faith by the Rev. Chief Rabbi, a sermon was yesterday
preached by his son, Dr. Hermann Adler, in the new syna-
gogue. Great St. blelen'v. The text chosen was the 10th
verse and 58th chapter of Isaiah, "And if thou draw
out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted
soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy
darkness be ar the Doco-day." In dwelling on this
simple and emphatic exhortation to charity, the preacher
adverted to the strangely infelicitous charge lately
brought against the Jews by a clergyman of the church
of England, who went so far as to deny them
any original character of humanity, declaring that, prior
to the Christian era, they had no charitable sym-
pathies beyond their own nation. Dr. Adler said,
if this startling assertion hod not been made pub-
licly, and op an occasion like that on which his
hearers had gathered together, he should not have
noticed it. Charity, he maintained, was anentially a
Jewish virtue ' • and he cited the examples of Abraham,
of Joseph, and of Malachi, in support of this view.
From Leviticus he quoted the precepts culminating in
the words, "Love thy neighbour as thyself;" and he
proceeded to remind his hearers that when Moses, the
greatest and wisest of moo, prayed that if be had
found favour in the sight of the Lord, Hp would
show him His ways, God proclaimed himself not
in thunder, not in whirlwinds .- earthquakes, but