Star.
London, England, 1830-11-25 00:00:00

EIERKSHiItL

READISG, Nov. 24.—Affairs are daily assuming, in this part of the
country, a more serious aspect. The conduct of the men is more outra-
geous, and their proceedings discover a greater degree of organiza-
tion than heretofore ; whilst their system of levying contributions en
the gentry, the tradespeople, and passengers in the highway. by the
display of sledge hammers, and other formidable weapons. uy threats,
and even by violence, threaten the country, unless some decisive mem.
sure, be instantly adopted, with that most horrible of all civil dissen.
sions—a servile war.

The inhabitants of those districts of Berkshire and Hampshire which
have been the theatre of the late commoticess, are in as much alarm as if
a civil war were really raging there.

A very numerous meeting of the magistrates of this county, convened
by the High Sheriff, took place this day at the County Hall; the High
Sheriff in the Chair. They remained in consultation from twelve to
four ; the subject and the result of their deliberations are not known :
the meeting was strictly confined to the magistracy.
A small detachment of the Foot Guards are here, and a company of
the Lancers proceeded this morning to Speen and Newbury.

The last-mentioned places have been the scene of great disord,r.
Rintbury, Thatcham, Welford, Hungerfoed, and other districts, have
been visited by the mob, who it is supposed have collected considerable
sums of money, besides provisions. Lord Craven was induced to give
a party who paid him a visit 101. or IM. and the same bad exam; lz
was given by the Rev. Mr. Fowke, a magistrate.
The circumstance which immediately gave rise to the assemblage. in
this part was trifling. A man was put into the cage, or " blindbouse,-
as it is called ; a fellow named Norris, a disorderly character, attempted
to release him, and being prevented by the constable, he collected a few
others, like himself, and broke open the cage. They thus formed a
nucleus, around which all the dissolute, disorderly, and discontented
congregated; and this Norris is the ostensible leader sad treasurer of
the gang.

This circumstance dearly shows the state and temper of the labourers,
and their aptitude to revolt ; and it is unfortunately too true, that wl a--
ever may have been the exciting cause of the explosion, the remote and
primary causes are to be found in the depressed condition of the labour.
ing poor in this county, and the grinding system to which they have
been for a considerable time exposed, and which seems to have ban pro.
ductive of more severe suffering than elsewhere.
About thirty-five years ago (in the year 1795) the magistrates drew
up a scale of allowances to the labourers, graduated according to the
price of the gallon loaf of second flour, and which seems to have
been amply sufficient (and was recognized by the magistrates to be
not more than sufficient) for the sustenance of the labourer and his
family, where he had one. This schedule was some years ago broken
in upon, for the purpose of reducing the rates of allowance; and sub-
sequently the allowances doled out by the select vestries, which Mom
the act of 1822 have superseded the wholeaotr.e authority of the ma-
gistrates in this particular, have been, according to the lowest esto-
putation, utterly insufficient for the support of labouring, men. The
consequence is, that, to say nothing of clothing, medidine, lodging,
and other supetiluities, the men and their families have bash sere.
rally speaking, in a state bordering upon starvation.
This, it must be observed, is not a representation universally correct,
there being certain descriptions of labourers better paid, .end certain
employers who are more liberal than others. These exceptions an-
barrass those who endeavour to apply remedies to the existing disor-
ders, by suggesting that low wages are not the cause of these disorders.
But this fact, I believe, is incolitiovertible,—that no insurrection of
well. paid servants has occurred ; ar.d the discontented, idle, disorderly,
and dissolute, of whom the rioters are composed. have been in a great
measure rendered so by the severe rind demoralizing influence of the
poor.laws, unwisely and injuriously adimulstered.
The most alarating part of the case is, that the landowners, and I
fear :he magistracy, arc not disposed to concession, but calculate upon
putting down these tumults by force, and by military force. That pll.
laze and highway robbery must be supprtsted at all hasardsla cert.l.lly
true; but it is not only worth the experiment to try how far conciliiittcn
and a readiness to comp), with the reasonable demands of the men, will
succeed here as they have succeeded elsewhere ; but the local authoii.
ties ought to be sensible that, by placing the military in the front. and
attempting to trample down the elastic reristance to po.itive suffn
they are approaching a very dangerous precipice, front which were. Is
no receding ; when blood is once shed by the soldiery, the cliar.sctsr of
the contest will be entirely changed.

It may be said that the magistracy cannot r: ly upin the civil power
they pospess ;.—that individuals. interested in the preservation of the
peace. actually refuse to be 1. %urn in as special constables to preserve
it, which is the fact. But this circumstance should instil into the Peal
authetilies an aMlitionAl degree of c-ution, for it shows that thew is a
very extensive commiseration for cut siticer.ngs 44 those, who, in a
legal point of view, are criminal.
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It is to he feared that the local magivracy ere unavoidably 60 Ear inter.
to eti, is landowners,landlords,and t t beholders,in the ,ratter in di•pu e. as
to be, in some casts, initit need by the natural desire to secure thetuselves
from the effects of claims. which they foresee, if conceded, will eventually
fall upon themselves. The llovcinment, therefore, is imperatively re.
quit, d to step ft.rward, prominently, and to arbitrate btewten the pars
ties tendering, on its own side, a stare: der of 60 much of the publtc
&limn& upon the land jl4 shall en: :A. ail the patties—the cleicy, the
landoa tier, the tt moo, and the labourer—to be just to tach whir.

Witt n the re:tsonable demands of the men ate conceded, and te te.
vanity and the landlords are in a condition to fulfil their engagements
to them and to each other. t vet) vestige ut dismiss, if &II t.ht uld titisr,
must, and may tariiy, be put (town 6.rce.

MOST EXTEN St T ROBBER Y.—lnfortnntion renched
town, on Tut:sday evening, or a most extensive robbery committed on
the prentis.ene Mr. John Anaheim, a pawnbroker, Welsh Batik,
Bristol, mod property. cntsi,ting ..f gold and silver watches, jewellery,
plate, and other articles, amounting to near 2,0001. ea rigid of. lt
appears that between four and seven o'clock on Friday evening last, the
shop of Mr. Abralhuns Kid been entered by mesas of skeleton keys,
by some expert ar.d experienced thieve,. who packed up all the articles
of value they could lay thdr hands upon. Among them were—two
hundred and lour gold and silver watches; five hundred wedding and
fancy rings ; four hundred solid gold seals; four hundred gold keys;
thirty gold chains • two dam of silver gilt knives and forks, with mos
ri
ther.of.pearl hardier ; a greet quantity of nr.age, of diferent pat.
terns and desreptions ; a number of silver table, salts sad teaspoons;
several silver bells with coral handles a inallibor of WWI 10i spirit
late.; and several silver article&

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- • Si it— All persons who know the drudgery and anxiety,
• • which an'. of his MAJEsTT's Ministers undergo, in fulfilling
the respective duties of their situations, would be inclined not
to wonder that Ministers resign ; but wonder that Noblemen
and Gentlemen are found so readily, to take upon them-
selves such arduous duties. It appears that a certain degree
54 excitement and labour, is absolutely essential to human
comfort; and the fact is, notwithstanding appearances, that
it is the retirers from ollice that are absolutely to be pitied,
and not those who are coming into all the toils, and troubles,
which acceptance of such arduous occupations, renders in-
evitable.

Having taken these and similar circumstances into
consideration, I have had made, for sale, a new article,
which I cannot but think would be very essential to
the comfort, both mental and corporeal, of many in this
overgrown metropolis. The article I allude to, is a species
of small tread-mill, to be termed " The Domestic Tread-
Mill," to distinguish it from the larger kinds for penal
purposes ; and, if you will allow me, I will point out tho
great advantages of such an invention.
In the first place—not to leave the "privileged orders," of
whom I have been discoursing—how very useful a domes-
tic tread-mill would be to our retiring Ministers ? The late
LORD CHANCELLOR, for instance, who has had the inex
pressible felicity of not having had one hour to himself—
or to use the common expression, that he could call his own
—ever since his elevation to the woolsack, instead of feel-
ing all the horrors at nothing to do, by keeping a domestic
t. sad-mill and mounting it, at the usual Court hour, might
really quite forget that he was out of place ; and get him-
self, one would suppose, more comfortably fatigued, than if
he had been perplexing his poor head, with the concerns
of his unruly Wards, or driving himself half into lunacy
by agreeably inquiring into the lunacy of others. I
should think, too, that his labours in re tread-mill, would
prove quite as refreshing to his animal spirits, as his labours
in plodding through the eternal asseverations of your " ora-
tor " in a Bill in Chancery ; or in sifting through all the
heterogenous hotch-potch of Scottish and English laws, in
that interesting melange called a Scottish Appeal. I am
very confident, that many' suitors to the Court of Chancery
might likewise be much benefitted, both in health, spirits,
and purse, by treading their hour on a domestic tread-mill,
instead of wearing their shoes out, by pacing over the floor
of the earthly purgatory in Lincoln's Inn.
To think of his Grace the Duke of WELLINGTON, being
condemned to the tread-mill, I have no doubt will shock
many of his admirers, among whom I am proud to
reckon myself ; and yet, poor man ! they have seen
him, ever since he took upon him his late official duties,
subjected to labour, much more incessant, and more ex-
hausting, both to the inward and outward man, than if he
had taken his spell, for as many hours each day, on a domes-
tic tread-mill. Lest, therefore, he should feel the horrific
approach of the demon, Ennui, during his retirement, I pro-
pose that he be presented by the public, in gratitude for his
services, with one of my domestic tread-mills ; by which he
may be just as busily employed at Strathfieldsay, es he has
been for the last two or three years, at Downing-street.
There are several of our senators who " strut their little
hour" on the stage of St. Stephen's Chapel, who might, I am
sure, with equal advantage to their worthy constituents, be
allowed to tread their little hour away, upon one of my do-
mestic tread-mills. They might then make motions without
any opposition, and probably those made on the Domestic
Tread-mill, would be quite as important to society as any
they could make in the aforesaid dignified assembly.
Innumerable evils might be prevented by the general in-
troduction of my intended new invention. Thus, he that is
driven to the gaming table, just to fill up the weariness of a
nothing-doing existence, if he were to keep a Domestic
Tread-mill, might accomplish his object without impoverish-
ing his purse. Even it might be beneficially used to in-
crease the comforts, and obviate some of the inconveniences,
of matrimonial life.—Thus, a wife wbo is apt to be too fre-
quent, or too long, in her visits to Howell and James's,
might perhaps be induced by her husband to fill up her time,
much more innocently, and safely, on the domestic tread-
mill ; and even, sometimes, a fair daughter might not be the
worse for taking a spell on the same machine.
I do not know, Sir, whether you have ever seen
a public tread-mill—but if you have not, you probably
may have seen a squirrel in a cage, or a dog in an old
fashioned jack—the beauty of these inventions is, that the
person who is doomed to them, is in constant activity : he
has quite enough to do—he never has to complain of the
tedium vitae, or ennui. The tread-mill is so contrived, that
Le who has mounted it, and neglects to tread down his
spoke or step, gets a severe rap on the legs, which re-
minds him that he is off duty. My domestic one will be a
copy of the larger ones, in every respect.
After all, Sir, what are we all about in this life, but
treading on such a mill ?—What is human life ? An inces-
sac round of occupation ; till, worn out, wo drop from the
mill, to let another get up in our place.—Some Poet says—
Oh ! what a tiresome round we mortals keep ;
We walk and talk—we eat and drink, and sleep.

And such only, is life—if we cannot occupy it in adding
to the comforts of those around us—in soothing their afflic-
tion—and leaving behind some proof that we have not
existed solely, in our own selfish enjoyments. Vale.— Ga.
zette of Variety.