The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-27 00:00:00

THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY AND THE

SHORT TIME QUESTION.

On Tuesday evening the Earl of Shaftesbury met,
in the Town-hall of Ashton-under-Lyne, a number of dele-
gates front the factories of Asliton-under-Ls ne Staleyhridge,
and the neighbourhood. The room was crowded, and the
meeting was of the most enthusiastic character. On the
platform were—the Mayor of Ashton (Mr. Metlealf), Mr.
Charles Hiudley, M.P., Mr. W. Frurbains, Mr. Philip
Grant, several clergymen, &c.
An address to the Earl of Shaftesbury having been moved,
seconded, and agreed to,
The Earl of SIIAFTESBURY rose to return thanks,
awl was received with loud cheering. After a few pre.
lisiaary re:narks with reference to the address, the noble
lord proceeded to ray, that it was prefectly clear that all
Lancashire was unanimous upon the short-time question.
(Hear.) Manchester, Bolton, and Stockport, which places
he had visited, and at which he had addressed meetings,
had spoken out, and he rejoiced to find that in those towns
nothing could surpass the unanimity of the operatives.
(Hear.) And he deeply regretted to find that that unanimity
—he was going to use a species of Irish bull—he regretted
that that unanimity was disturbed by a difference of opinion
on the part of some parties who withheld from co-operating
in the carrying out of the great remedial measure so dear to
the factory operative. (Hear.) He deeply deplored this; but
at the same time, thank God, those who so acted were but
• minority. Let them remember, however, that that mino-
rity was capable of disturbing the general peace, and of
perilling the general interest, and it was their duty to do all
they could by moral, and if they liked, persuasive argu-
ments, to induce those who formed the minority to look
into their own interests and into the rights of the factory
operative ; it was their duty to exhaust all moral means
—the most earnest supplication if they would—to persuade
the minority to • sense of their duty and to a sense of the
rights of the factory operative. (Cheers.) But if, after
that, they would remain obdurate, then they must resort
to stronger measures—they must seek the internosition of
the law—(ehteees),—and all he could say was, that if that
were necessary, and if they wished him again to take the
lead of their ranks, moat joyfully would be take the lead,
and God grant that they might have a successful termina-
tion. (Loud cheers.) Ho would say little or nothing more
about the minority ; but let them, heart and soul, tender
their thanks to those masters, to those employers, who had
come forward to give effect to this great measure—who,
having at one time differed from them and their views, and
having thought it necessary for the preservation of their
interests and consistent with their duty to offer opposition
to the measure, now that it had become the law of
the land hail suppressed their differences, had treated their
hands fairly, faithfully; and who, he might say, efficiently
carried this measure into effect. (Hear, hear.) Then,
how would they turn to account the advantages which they
enjoyed? How would they spend their leisure hours?
How would they respond to the intentions of the '
tare and of those who had laboured iu their cause ? now
would they best improve their own social and moral condi-
tion? How would they best rise to the assertion of the
dignity of the working men of England? (Hear, hoar.)
They must look at the nature of their own houses—not only
to the moral arrangements, but to the sanitary arrange-
ments. Let them take care that their houses were decent
and cleanly, and supplied with everything requisite for
domestic decency and comfort. (Hear.) if they had not
command over all these things, they must apply to others
who had. (Hear, hear.) To Improve the drainage, to
reconstruct nos house, or to furnish it in every way to
make it tit for the habitation of a reasonable being, is
not in the power of every working man. But it was
within their power by. talking, thinking, and speaking of
these things, to beget in their districts u public opinion ;
and, sooner or later, those who were most indifferent and
most opposed to them must yield to that opinion, if
that opinion were founded on the laws of God and
based upon the first principles of common justice. (Hear.)
Ile intreated them likewise to consider the better manage-
ment of their finances. (Hear, hear.) They were now in
the receipt of good wages ; they were now enjoying a
mighty blessing in a great abatement of the price of pro.
visions. (Hear, hear.) This was a day of prosperity, and
the time when they must make provision for an evil day, for
it was the lot of humanity, that we must have evil along with
good, and God sent the good that we might be prepared
against the evil. (hear.) In the next place he begged them
to look at the path open to them for mental improvement.
Many of those whom he addressed, he dared say, owing to
long periods of toiLhad had no opportunity of culti sating their
tastes or improving their talents. (Hear.) Now they had, '
and Ire wanted to see the working man study; he wanted
him to leave the ribaldry of the ',unloose, and to give up the
noneense, and trash, and trumpery of penny pamphlets.
(Hear, hear.) lie wished them to begin all and to end all
on (11141.15 word, while they pursued with closeness and as-
siduity round literature, science, and the mathematics.
(Hear, hear.) He believed that there were many powerful
intellects among the working classes, and that they would
tend to the honour, the strcugth, and the greatness of the
realm. (Hear.) He fur one could entertain no jealousy of
the working classes—(" hear," and cheers)—it was the great
honour and glory of our constitution that everything was
open to meat—(hoar, hear)—that the highest situations
in the realm might be obtained by the working man
who had the requisite ability, talent, integrity, applica-
tion, and perseverance. (Cheers.) Therefore he thought
that their entering into this race of competition would do
immense good to every one—(hear)—to the class above
them • for, he thought, it would tell them that, if they
wished to keep their position, they must make the same ef-
forts as the working classes, and if they (the working class)
strove very hard they might distance them and take their
places, (Cheers.) And he would not be afraid of that, for
the more complete the working man's understanding the
more would lie be satisfied with the constitution with which
this country was blessed—the constitution of Queen, Lords,
and Commons—under which it had pleased God to place

this happy and thriving country. (and cheers.) Le[ him
impress upon them that the law had dune for them as much
es it could do—the remainder rested with themselves. It
was for them, with God's blessing, to keep themselves from
sinking into the depth of abasement from which they had
been rescued. (Cheers.) Let him impress upon them this
more and more, that while the law had done for them what
it could do, the law could remove obstacles and give facili-
ties ; but alter all the working man himself must be, under
Clad, what we were in the habit of calling the architect of
his own fortunes.

The meeting was afterwards addressed by Mr. CUARLILS
HIN uLzy, M.P.

THE OLDBURY BURGLARY.

OLDB URY, WEDNESDAY.
The men concerned in the late burglary and out-
rage near this town, and who since so desperately resisted
capture in Hertfordshire, were brought up for examination
here this morning, before John Green, James Hunt, and
Edward Moore, Esqrs., magistrates acting for this division
of the county, and on the bench were Messrs. Badger,
Williams. Piney, and other Worcestershire magistrates,
who did not take any part in the proceedings. The names
of the prisoners are George Hanks alias Rock, and Thomas
Jones also. Moss. The prisoner Hanks was formerly an
apprentice to Mr. Lowe, bookseller, of this town.
The prisoners were now charged with having committed
• burglary on the premises of Min Nicklin, in the Portway-
road, a short distance from this town, on the 23rd ult.
Miss Nicklin, the prosecutrix, who is a lady advanced in
years, deposed to the following principal facts ..—That
on the night in question she saw all the doors
of her house fastened between seven and eight
o'clock. She went to bed at ten o'clock, and
at two in the morning was awoke by a noise in the
house; anticipating that it was caused by the arrival of a
relative expected from Devonshire, she called to her cousin
David,who slept in another part of the house, to inform him
of the circumstance. Shortly afterwards, • man entered
her room, having in his hand • dark lantern, his face was
blackened, and he wore a chemise over his dress. He
turned the light towards witness, and said, " Where is
your money ? It will ho better for you to be still; if you
do not, I shall blow your brains out." The man showed
her a pistol, and raid it was a double-barrelled one. Wit-
ness told him that she had very little money, and that if he
must have it, it was in her pocket on the floor. He took
the money therefrom, but witness did not notice where he
put it. The man said that he did not want coppers, and
asked witness if there were any more in the house than
herself and her relative. Witness did not reply, and the
man immediately went round to the other side of the bed,
and examined the drawer of the dressing table. After re-
her niece, who slept with her, he left the
room. Her cousin David's room adjoined her own;
there was a drawer in a looking-glass which the prisoner
opened, but witness could not say whether be took anything
therefrom. Witness identified the prisoner Hanks so the
man who came into her room. After he had quitted her
and reached her cousin's apartment, she heard the prisoner
say, " Shoot the devil ;" and immediately afterwards heard
the report of a pistol three times. Immediately sat up in
bed and saw her cousin David lying on the floor; he
groaned • great deal ; and the two prisoners then proceeded
to search the house. The witness next described the pro-
ceedings of the prisoners (one only of whom she saw), as
they have already appeared in the .isprost. After they
had gone she sent her niece out for assistance, sad examin-
ing the premises down stairs, found that the burglars had
effected an entrance by taking a pane of glass out of the
parlour window. On examining the premises, she missed,
amongst other things, some silver spoons, several of which
were produced to-day, and which the witness identified—
they had been found on the nervous of both prisoners.
Superintendent bl'Crokon, of the Leominster police,
moduced two brace of revolving pistols, a life-preserver, a
flexible saw sufficiently small to be introduced into a hole
perforated by a nail-pamer, several bullet moulds, and a
quantity of ball cartridge, all of which had been found on
one or other of the prisoners at the time of their apprehen-
_ -

Mr. David Nicklin, who wu shot at by the burglars
soon after they entered his cousin's premises, and Sarah
Nieklin, proeecutrix's niece, were also examined ; and the
superintendent of the Leominster constabulary detailed the
particulars of the desperate resistance made by the pri-
soners on the occasion of their arrest.
Corroborative testimony against the prisoners having
been adduced, they were fully committed to take their
trial at the next assizes.
The inquiry lasted seven hours.

Loss OF A COLLIER AND ALL HANDS.—A terri-
ble accident happened off the Tees on Sunday night. A
large barque was com•ng down from the south with the
' fleet of light colliers. About seven o'clock in the evening
she was crossing the Tees, when she came in collision with
a loaded collier (supposed to have come out of Hartlepool),
which went down at her bows, and all hands perished. The
name of the collier is not known.