The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-03-22 00:00:00

MYXICO.

The latest accounts from Mexico state that a Tleprerentative
popula Federative Government has been adopted in that country.
Thus she integral par;. of the Mexican l'svion are free, sovereign,
and indepardant states; those which comrose it at present arc the
fallowing, Chiapas: Guanjusto: Sonora, sinalta, and the two Cali-
fornias : Chihuahua, Durango, ard New 31exico : Coahuila,'
New Leon. Texas, and New Santander: Mexico: filicheaciin
Deiaca : Puebla de los Angeles, with Tlaxcala: Queretaro: San
buts Potosi : Tobasco : Vera Cruz : Xalisco Yucatan : los
Zacatecas.
We have accounts from Alvarado, that the Spanish fleet from'
fiarannah. with supplies of provisions and troops fur the Castle of
titan Juan de Ulla., arrived at that form% on the 22,1 November.
While engaged in receiving there succour., the Cattle suspended
the bombardment of the city of Vera Cruz until the 2d of De-
cember.
On the eprearance of the boa& sguailina, General Victoria
'ordered the Mexican fleet to retire from Sacriticios to Alvarado for
safety. This fleet consists of two 1$ gun schooner., and six gun-
boats, each carrying one 32 and one 21-poulder.
The enormous sum of twenty seven trillions of dollars is said so
have been raised trt the Mexican lorernment, from property belong.
bag to European Spaniards, confiscated agreeably to the Lite act of
Cowries.

THE UNITED STATES AND COLOMBIA.

C'ulembia* Guzftlt,
.11ce..21.

The Ron. Rir.harti Anderson arrived in this capital on the 10th
instant. and having held an official communication with the Fo-
reign ()See, the lriih was named fur the purpose of presenting his
credentials as Minister Fler.ipoteutiary to the Executive. On that
day the Secretary of State for Foreign -Weirs sent Senor Lopez.
one of the under Secretaries, to compliment Mr. Anderson, and
neeon.pany him to the Palace. On entering therein he was received
with military honours by the various guards of the Palate. On
31r. Andemosis arrival at the Foreign Office, Senor Caul received
him very wamtly, expressing the great pleasure he experienced on
beholding so distinguished a person in our capital ; and forthwith
presented him to several gentleman of the High Court of Justice,
the Senate, the Chamber of Representatives, the Chief ()}ficers
State, &c. ifte. Mr. Anderson then introduced Mr. Bullit to them,
as acting Secretary of Legation. At the appointed hour, the Se-
cretary of State for Foreign Affairs conducted Mr. Anderson to the
principal Ilall of the Palace, where his Excellency, the Vice-Pre-
sident, with the other Secretaries of State. were expecting him. The
Commandant flenersi of the Department ens in the adjoining
room, with a splendid retinue of all the officers in the capital. Mr.
Anderson, on being presented to his Excellency the Vice-President,
addressed hint to the following terms:—
•• Senor Presieent,
" The Presid2nt of the I7nired States, animated by a lively
desire of cultivating the most friendly and generous relations
between our respective countries, has directed me to assure
you, most unequivocally, of the liberal suit! :tents he will ever en.
tertain, in common with the people of the United States, towards
fore institution's throughout the globe. I offer yon his ardent de-
sires for the re-establishoter.t of peace in this Republic, and for the
increasing prosperity of its c:tizens.
" dly personal admirn: ion of the free institutions of Colombia.
and of the Florions manner in which they have been established
and maintained, is :he had guar.mtee of the sincerity of my senti-
ments. Should my mission happily tend to establish and strengthen
these friendly dispositions on the part of our lellos-c tuntrymen,
it will be a source of unmixed joy to all who admire liberal go.
vernruents.
_ _ .

" It is on this Continent rind in this age, Mr. President, that
man has returned to the knowledge of a truth long concealed •
'that, under the protection of heaven, he can take erre of himself,
and that God ha. rot given him the comprehension of a human
being in vain.' I:.sv moeve that can animate a good man impels
him to Reek institutions tou...ilod on the discovery of these truths,
and to cherish those prinriples which alone can mair.tain them. It
is a most sublime spectacle to behold ma species illustrating by rea-
son and argument this truth, that voluntary consent is the only
true source of pnlitical power.' 11. hen a nation is once satisfied of
this feet, bee liberties are then placed beyond the resch of violence
or fraud.

" Under such (hivernmenni we Mar reasonably hope to behold
Me people of this COotinent devoted to such pursuits ns give vigour
sod enjoyment to private life, and lustre to intellectual endow-
ments; and that, rejecting all that is rile and gross, they will de-
vote their energies to the inipmvement of the:us:lves and their
country. It has hmg been the doctrine of despots, that the pursuits
of peace are insuflicient to absorb the occupation of mankind, and
their sincerity in asserting this doctrine has hero illuierated by the
wicughter of toilha-e. Thus it becomes the exalted duty of those
whit preside over die besot itul Iteptildirs of ,tottrica, to prove the
I,lsehood or a principle 10 ',VW:4).OT to virtuous inen,and soothing
only to tyrants.
Time has not yet been given for beholding the effect which the
principles of Govitnment disseniitiated throughout this Continent
may ultimately hwee mi tile habit. aril usagis of mankind ; but
though has already been established to rejoice the friends of )saes,
UM animate time.,, to a noes al of their etliwts in behalf of prinei-,
plas which, rejecting war and bloodshed, tend only to peace.
" In roncludieg. II r. President. allow me to observe, that as the
establishment of this Itepuldie presents to the world a most bril-
liant example of the triumph of virtue and courage, so may it con-
(Moe for ages an illustrious evidence of the omnipotence of truth
4MI of the gond cause."
(hi concluding this s.wecli, Mr. Arilerson delivered to his Excel-
lency the Vire-President his credentials as Minister Plenipotentiary
'rte the Chihli States, who, on learni..g their contents, conk-rant-
'lied Mr. Anderson on his sire arrival in the capital of the Repub-
he, remarking, wrong other observations. as follows:
''chat inasmuch us the ['oiled States bad always been the grand
luminary which the inhattitants of this part of .Inwrica had ever
k?pt in view ilunng their conflicts. so would they now (and more
"Petnally the Itt public of ( endeavour in peace to prove
to the clas,ie country of American liberty the high consideration in
"it'll they lull her ) hmetrinient and political institutions, soil their
desire to improve and dray closer the friendly relations which so
17"Pi!y rxirt between the two cimatries."
This ceremony being concluded, Mr. Anderson took his leave.
having immifested in all his actions the most philanthropic and
snare sentiments, with a hee-t truly republican, and a sincere
fnenth.hip fur rokiythiu the human rate.

S Icii!AMPTON, MAR(' il ;eneral Mina'm lady and
atTivAl ht.re by the Chesterfield, from .larre, on
"'mazy morning, and rtopped at the Star Ilotel. They
IL•t thiv town for 1./.lttlen on the following morning,.

FIRST REPORT
FROM THE SRLECT commiTTEE ON ARTISANS

AND MACHINERY.

The Select Committee appointed to inquire into the state of the
Jaw in the United Kirgdom, and its consequences, respecting,
Artisans leaving the kingdom, and residing abroad also. into
the state of the Law, and its consequences, respecting tie ex-
portation of Tools and Machinery and into the state of the
Law and its effects, so far as relates to the combination of
‘Vorkniet, and others, to raise wages, er to regulate their wages
and hours of working.

(Continued from our Paver of Saturday.)

We next come to the subject of the COUBINATTON
IaA•TX. These laws were first introduced into our statute
books nearly three hundred years ago, when King, Parlia-
ment, and manufacturer, wire alike ignorant of the prin-
ciples of commerce, and alike regardless of all printipler,
whether of commerce or any thing else, that stood in the
way of their own immediate interest. The same spirit has,
unhappily, survived to our own age. The science of Politi-
cal Economy, it is true, has of late made vast progress, Int
the practical illustration of its tnaxinis is but beginning to
manifest itself, and is even yet working its way slowly,
and with great struggle. In Gig a; aT BRITAIN, the most
opulent and commercial kingdom in the known world, and in
, the Parliament of Great Britain, which is—or at least with
its means of information onght to be—the most enlightened
legislative body in Europe, a Committee of inquiry is ap-
pii"nted in the reign of George Me Fourth, to report on the
policy of repealing the Cow hinatioli Laws, which were
framed in the despotic and dark age of Edward the Sixth!
And this, not until the mischievous consequences of their
impolicy is so glaringly manifest and so extensively felt,
as to force themselves upon the attention of the Legislature
with an appeal that is irresistible. How entirely, at the
time when these laws were first enacted, the rights and in-
terests of the artisans hung upon the arbitrary determina-
tion of their employers, and the merciless severity with
which the Legislature lent itself to the views of the latter
at !he expense of the former, is sufficiently conspicuous
from the statute itself, 2 and 3 Edward VI. c. IS, which
ushered in these protective regulations, and which enacUr—
" That if any artificer, workman, or l'hourer, do conspire, that
they shall not do their work tad at acr tai. price, or shall do brat a
certain work inn daq, or shall not take upon them to ~ffatea what
another hullo terns, or shall not work but at certain flaws, every
per,on so conspiring shall forfeit for the first offence 101. ; and if
he do not pay the same 'Lubin six days, shall be imerisoned twenty
days. and fed upon bread and water; for the second offence shall
pay 91 fI. within six days, or suffer the punishment of !hr pills? y ;
and for the third, shall pay 401. or be pillorcd, lose a.a car, and be
deemed is/I/moss."

A penalty of fort l nunds, in those days, was about equi-
valent to a fine of Aar hundred pounds in our times; the
punishment, therefore, which was to follow tort workman
on non-payment of this enormous penalty, with/or six days,
was certain enough to follow his offence. And this is the
great precedent from which we have copied, in the spirit,
though not precise'y in the letter, the combination lairs,
passed by the 12th Geo. 1., extended by the 22d Geo. 11.,
and still further extended by the 36th Geo. 111 !! These
dews it is that the nianiffileterersthernselres are now seeking
to repeal; they have long since found out that they do not
vet what their workmen lose ; they have found out, too,
that masters and men may each be safely trusted with the
preservation of their own interests; and that in any dis-
putes, whether about priers or any other matter, the Le-
qi.slatore can never interfere between them, without giving
both parties cause for complaining. Experience has at
length brought them—as it has brought all thinking men—
to this conclusion, that the management of the national
interests is the great concern of Parliament, and that the
reirate interests of arty leers and their employers are
wholly out of its province. Those who jiT/wherelhe shoe
pinches can best adjust it to the shape of the foot. All
persons, whether in power or out of it, that officiously in-
terrneffil'e in what they do not understand, are sure to make
matters worse. It is monstrous to sec persons undertaking
to regulate the complicated machinery of manufactures, that
ought not to be even trusted to oil the wheels.

The evidence given in these Reports cannot fail to carry
with it that conviction which it is intended to convey ; and
we trust it will lead to the sweeping from the statute book
a set of laws. as dishonourable to the wisaotn of Parliament
as they are destructive to those mutual interests which
they so iniquitously interpose to conciliate.
Mr. JOHN .IIARTINI:AI• E.anutimod.,

What is your opinion of the erect of the law against the combi-
nation of workmen, to far as it prohibits them from combining to
raise their wages, to regulate them, or to regulate their hours of
working ?—1 have fomied my opinion, not on experience of my
own, because our divot of workmen are not liable to enter into
those combinations; they are paid according to their quality ; a
;rood workman receives in proportion higher wages than an inferior
one, which rerders it impossible that combinations can take place
with us ; but I hare flit need a ern, derided opinion upon the ere:
of the ecialinatirm %.n:: s, which have been enabled to do, tram
bowleg studied the habits and dispositions of the working classes,
and I am certainly of opinion, that instead of prodneinc the cart
intended, they art in a diametrically apposite way, and that they,
pita, in fact, a hand of union among the workmen.
Have the combinations generally taken place in that class where
smifbentito of wages fir lime prevails; for instance, a shilling, fir
six hours latmor, he the work good or bad, as now etists is the
-remvdgand other branches ?—They have.
Does the combination exist principally there?—Decidedly so; it
can take place only under such circumstances.
Taking into consideration a period of pears, do you think the
laws against combination keep wages lower than they would he, if
no such laws existed ?--I think that it no such laws existed the
:eves would probably be /owe, ; there would be, at any rate, a
better feeling between the martens and the men than that which
row exists, and a comp:titian would arise amongst the men, which
would have a tendency to redner the pi ;cc of Wow..
Would not the cril•et of removing the laws be that, from time to
time, the wages would rise and fall according to the circumstances
of demand and sup itly ; and that by that means the evils which are
now Mond to arise from combinations would cease?—/ ant decidedly
of that opinion.
Do not the masters freyncally combine, and thereby compel the
nun to do so in their own defence ?—/t is a eireninslanec of almost
daily notoriety ; indeed it becomes a subject frequently of public
aikei firemen', in which media:pi of masters are called expressly to
regulate the walrs et md thr tinte.if wailing of their men.
Can you state any instances which have occurred lately ?—I
have lately visited seta! irdshire, and I there found that a combi-
nation ;sat this time taking place anior„^st the masters, certainly
of directly to lower the rate of wages of the men, but to effect •
thing which will haves kailearn I, it their interests—it is that
of combining together to raise the price of iturr, in the London
market, which would. of course, have the effect of diminishing the
consumption of the article, and, as far as that pea, oPetiesc the in-
terests of the workmen wham they employ. I have in my pocket a
copy doe/no/las which has been sent from Yorkshire into Stafford-
shire upon the subject.
Do you think thel'ombination Laws tend to disturb the harmony
which should subsist between the workmen and their employers ?
nal co,:fident that snrlo it the ease ; it is a constant soarce of die-':
agicealent het:all, the :on barn awl the masters.

I io not the Combiontion haws prevent wages being raised and
low erect according as the demand in each particular trade may be ?
—They certainly have that tendency ; the Combination haws hare
obliged the men to combine together, and the consequence of that
has been to prevent the rising and fulling of wages according to the,
demand that may happen to exist for labour.
Do you know of instanc.w of the masters combining and fixing
the rates of wages, beyond which they will nut give ?—Titat is a
twitter of daily notoriety.
In your opinion, should not the men and masters be allowed In
make ;drat IntrAvin thew please, as to OMONOti W• 14,,„ the liners of
weerVeig, and made (of pry:meal. provided a speedy method of en-
forcing contracts was established ?-1 Amid have no ques:ion but
that such an arrangement sreeniel tee _nod teeth massless and men;
with respect to the t .et Mil of enforeiog contracts, Into not prepared
in speak deeidtslly, lint I think that should be left open also.
!lave not the prosecutions which have taken place by the masters
of the men. arisen t their not fulfilling their engagements
in work ?—Sione of them hare, but most of them have been for
combining to raise wares.
Do you not know that by the law as it now exists, any man re-
fusing to complete his work linty b^ rum.aitt, el to prison tend
./101:tr it ?—Yes, I 11 01 aware of teat; but I am not prepared to suy
that such a h.w is politic% •
Do you not think there should be some summary way of enforc-
ing the fulfilment of a contract ?—No good workman, in a manta.
factory properly conducted, would be intlined to leave his work on-
fini.hed ; and, as a manufacturer, I should say, that if I had men of
a different description, the sooner they were gone the better.
In your opinion, is it requisite that any written agreement
should take place between men and toasters to prevent disputes ?
—I think that this would be a very rood plan, or to have it fiwin
tan is the case in most MA iefactoti w) one of the rules which are
burg tip in a conspicuous part of the manufactory.
Do you think that sort of engagement, written or otherwise,
should be left entirely to the toasters and the men ?—Crt hardy.
No legislative enariment appears to you requisite ?—I should
think it would he Ivry injurious he its ~1/ret.
Does anything material occur to you upon this subject ?-1 will
merely mention this circumstance:— I was a flu eh.gs a;nre at Li-
t repool, and there saw a report in one of the nswspapers, of a man
having been a few weeks since 101,CUCC11 10 belle months impri.
s 'amens tinder the Combination Lana. Les, Moodaq, while I was
at Liverpool, A 55110 :re, nenrele red in the struts, for having IC.
J. 1114 so a in a r thention ; 1 mention this, browse it shores
the ineffseeery tarinenishnecnts wider the Combination Arts ; and I
think it would rot be too much to say, that the warder qf the. lattrr
teas crew.' by , r;ty of the !enmeshment inflicted 111 tar former.
There is much matter for sail and serious refit ctiort iti
this satetreitt. Whott the ut a feel that the laws have

secured to their masters the nines of Wide, while thy '
unfairly withhold from them all mi ans of deftnee, it is na-
tural that the spirit of bitterness which this excites should
break out into acts of hostility. That the masters should
he permitted to combine and tix tlt.! rate of wages, while
the melt arc punished with the extreme of severity for
meeting together to adjust what they eligh: in Justice to
receive as the fair reward of their labour, is so flagrantly
partial and oppressive, that no man can contemplate the
fact, when it tomes before him, without astonishment,
that in a free country, and under a constitution like our
such laws should have remained six months in the
statute kook.

rumination of Mr. ALI:SANDER GALLOWAY.
What is your opinion of the effect of the laws against the com-
bination of workmen, so far as they prohibit their combining to
raise their wages, to reeul ite them, or to regithre their hours of
working ?-11 'lave always found that in those employments where 1
the wages 1, err and the same in amount, and where an
bipolar and idk man wt, paid the same compensation as the Nie-
peva°, and iadastrioNs, there have always been combination:tanning
those men. Now, in all those trades where the men have made
their own individual engagements, we never see anything like conn-
[ blowhole': and previous to the Act for the repeal of the Lth of
Elizabeth, which took place in the year 1814, combinations were
much more frequent than the) are now; and while that law was in
existence, every trade was Mlbil et to its most mischievous proviaions;
but after its repeal, when a man was allowed to work at any em-
ployment, whether he had served ote„ two, or three years, Of not
at all, that broke the neck of all combinations, because then the
excluding party were No overwhelmed by new men, that we could
do without them; but that which has struck most effectually at
the root of all combination tinting work rest is, to pay every man
according to hie merit, and to allow him to make his own agree-
ment with his employer.
11'hat, in your opinion, is the erect of the Combination Laws
now existing 't —My opinion is, that they have a pr:juiiicial
effect both against the !lien and their employers, and that it has
excited jealousy and ill-will ; but, from my own knowledge, I do
rot know a single ease where the masters -have conspired against
the men, further than that of associating together. If the men are
allowed to make their own engagement , they need not fear any
conopiracy ; but 1 knew the masters could conspire with impunity
agantxt the men if they chose, because their numbers are few, and
they can carry on their measures with more Fealty, and perhaps
with more dexterity than the workmen. On that account alone the
Act ought to be repealed, as both parties are not equally protected
by it.
_ .

Are the Committee to understand, that, in your experience in
those branches where each man works by piece-work, or receives
payment according to his talent and time, you hare not known
combinations to take place ?—Very rarely ; seldom or never ;
not thir.k there exists such a thing, since each man has heed allowed
to make his own bargain, and not to he all inguenced by what his
neighbour did ; all combinations ceased in those employments
where that regulation governed.
You refer to your own branch ?—I can speak only by hearsay of
misers ; I will Jute illustrate this by a case: our business is corn_'
poses of six or eight different branches; workers in wood, which
we call pattern-makers; they consist of good cabinet-makers,
joiners, mill-wrights, and others employed in wood : iron and brass
founders, smiths, firemen, and hanimennen, as they are called;
%icemen and tilers ; and brass, iron. atol wood turners, in all their
variety. It has been the practice, in every carpenter's or joiner's
shop, to pay every man :WI, a-week, whether good, bad, or in.
different, and they wanted to carry this seine system into our em-
ploy, but we could not act upon it ; whereas I have some carpenters
that I give two guineas a-week to ; others 364., others 315.. anti so
on ; and others even below what an ordinary carpenter gives. We
have found, therefore, that those men have never attempted, in our
manuf.ictories, to conspire, for every man is impressed with the
idea, that the moment he can work better and quicker, lie will have
his wages increased; and I have frequently six or seven applications
on a Saturday night for increased wages, as by their attention and
good conduct they become moo valuable, and expect to be coin-
pensated accordingly. But in all those maneactorics where the
wakens are the same, it is no uncommon thing f.r a man to
receive from his master double the wages he has earned.
But in engineer shops, new men's wages are generally
fixed after working a fortnight on trial : we give as much
as we can afford to the most expert men, and then bring down the
reward upon that standard; but in the business of a millwright, all
the men have two guit.eas a week, and a man of that class formerly
was employed to turn a grind-stone, while one st Ills. a week
would have done as well; but the men would not allow a man at Ills.
a week to perform such a duty ; bin a millwright, at two guineas •
week, must do it. The consequence has been, that engineers have
become millwrights, and we make our machines so much better,
and so much cheaper, that that trade that used to scoff and spurn
at the name of an engineer, are obliged to take up the name of an
mimeo., and conduct their business by the engineer's economy,
anal that change in the short progress of fifteen or twenty years.
Having employed a great many men, is it your opinion that the
num and masters should be allowed to make what bargain they
please, both as to amount of wages or of working, the method of
payment, and the number of apprentices, pmvided a summary
method of enforcing the contract is established ? It appears to me
that all that is necessary is to have a law °Nixing p•rties to do that
they agree to do; that they should be left at pope( liberty.
Ito yaw conceive any inconvenience from the. repeal of all the
laws which now exist?—/ MINI: Mc greitt..4 bell' world result
b.th to the reviewers aid employed.

There is enough in the experience of the past, to convince
us that in all that relates to commerce and manufacture,
those concerned want no other guide, if their intentions are
honest, but individual integrity and mutual good-will. If,
in their affiiirs, anything should perchance go wrong, it is
at once invidious .and unavailing to seek a remedy in the
wisdom of Parliament. The injudicious tampering with
such subjects on the part of the Government will be
sure to beget an embarrassment infinitely greater than the
wrong which led to it. Of late years there has been a
inanifest anxiety to regulate all the conduct and concerns
of life by Act of Parliament. This interference constitutes
not only the essence of political economy, but of moral re-
form. All this is as ill judged as it is misehievour ; it will
always happen, in such cases, that the reformation is more
grievous than the evil ; no testimony or confirmation of
this truth can be stronger than that which is before us.
The second Report of the Committee contains much
valuable evidence, in addition to what we have here ad-
duced, on this important subject of the Conthi.sulion Lou's,
which, if our space permit, we shall lay before our readers
to-morrow.