Star.
London, England, 1826-08-19 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR 4

NY GOOD FDIM/D,

Having, seven years since, addressed a ftw observe-
Lions to thee, upon the state of things at that tittle, I
am disposed to renew my acquaintance, from the kind-
ness with which those observations were received, and
the publicity given them, under a conviction that some
good resulted from them then, and the hope that now,
when, in my opinion, a much gt eaterinecessity exists,there
may be found a corresponding readiness on the pert of
those to whom it more immeiiately applies, to provide
such a remedy as they may have the means of furnish'
ing, before the evil becomes too gigantic to contend with.
The calamities which at present prevail are not con-
fined to the labouring classes amongst us; the employ-
ers, as well as the employed, are many of them involved
in one common ruin. Cheap labour has produced cheap
goods, and these are sent out in quantities so great as to
defeat the rational purposes of trade, by their excess.—
If the relative proportions between production and con-
sumption ate destroyed, the manufacturer will always
be exposed to a losing trade ; and the man who can,
w)ith the least compunction, rob the labourer of his hire,
and send him to the parish for the difference, will for a
time have preference in the sale of his goods, until his
neighbour, from necessity, becomes a plunderer to the
same extent, when they both must become, inevitably,
the victims of their own folly, by being compelled, in
the shape of reduced prices, to give away what they
intended to pocket; and the calamity which ignorance
and avarice thus beget, involves,.in one common ru in,
the master and the servant.

This state of things was never more strikingly exem-
plified than at the present moment. Where is the dis-
trict in which our manufactures had used to flourish,
that is not now the scene of idleness and aggravated
distress; millions of capital unemployed, or partially
so, and the labour and genius of the country sacrificed
to sustain a principle, which, in its operation, has ever
been found to defeat the very object it was intended to
establish?

Our home trade was always considered our sheet
anchor ; and this, in our best days, was sustained by the
liberal remuneration ss ith which industry and genius
were rewarded, and which rendered the great mass of
the people consumers to an extent that gave activity to
that labour, and comparative independence to those
whose avocation it was.

What is the situation of that class of people now ?
They are either starving for want of employment, or
labouring to excess, and thus producing an abundance
of that which only increases the evil, upon terms not
half supplying the calls of hunger ; and thus the suf-
ferers are driven to the parish, or to private bounty, to
make up the deficiency. Would not the common sense
of the thing now be, to turn round, and, ere it be too
late, to take another course ? Let the master manufac-
curers instantly retrace their steps,and one and all become
the poor man's protectors, so far as to arrange a scale of
wages in the different branches of our trade, by which,
with moderate exertion, the labourer and his family may
be sustained—and, as common sense and common ob-
servation would point out to them, see that his produc-
tion bears so much only of a proportion to the demand
as may prevent those excessive depreciations in the value
of our manufactures, which inordinate supplies must
ever occasion.

In the Mosaic Law it is enjoineJ, that the ox shall not
be muzzled while he is treading out the corn: upon the
same principle our fellow men should, by their indus-
trious exertions, be enabled to provide food and clothing
for themselves and their families, and not, as they too
generally are, be borne down by poverty and covered
with rags., This is not the state of things that we should
'expect to find in a Christian country, and in a society
boasting of its civilization.
'lt may be said that these are evils that will cure
themselves ; and in fact this is the language tot, generally
held out by those to whom we naturally look up for
'relief. But let it be remembered that tke great mass of
the people, who are in a state of want, though they may
eke out a miserable existence without clothing, they
cannot instain life without food—the cravings of- hunger
are imperious, and will be heard; and if labour is not
made to provide bread for those who are willing to
work, property must find lt, 'for the poor cannot, will
not, starve.

am decidedly of the judgment that a respectable
business, and to profit, might yet be done, by a consi-
derable number of persons, if they were sustained by a
moderate advance of money; and in this way many
thousand persons might be continued, in part, employed
through the winter, who must otherwise, for want of
the means, be discharged, and thus add greatly to the
sum of human misery.
Would it not then be wise to open the door to appli-
cations of this tort, as was done on a former occasion,
when Exchequer Bills were granted, to the incalculable
relief of many ? and I have no doubt, that if in a simi-
lar way, upon the security of real property, such ad-
vances were now to be made, that, without any risk to
Government, the prevailing distresses would be greatly
lessened, and the destruction of property to a great
extent prevented. These are surely objects sufficiently
important to claim instant attention ; and if suitable
men as Commissioners were employed, they would
soon see if the grounds upon which applications were
made were sufficient to sanction the loans sought for,
by requiring satisfactory answers to questions such
as these : Have you a property by which you can se-
cure the repayment of the money you seek to borrow in
twelve or eighteen months? Have you the means of
carrying on your manufactory if this aid be granted, so
as to meet a fair and legitimate demand at remune-
rating Tikes? Can you, with this assistance, afford to
pay the people whom you may employ such a consi-
deration for their labour as will sustain them without
seeking aid from the patisLif
Let these questions be answered to the sati,faction of
the Commissioners, and mere good will result from
Moans in this way, than if the 'thole amount was given
to sustain the Operatives in idleness until the anticipated
improvement arrives.

I remits, with much respect, thy assured blend,
DAVID 110 LT.

Cheritoo AILIN Manchester, 8 mo. 7, 1824,