Star.
London, England, 1816-09-30 00:00:00

DISTRESSES OF THE POOR.

TO THE EDIIOR OF THE STAR.
Sin— Having seen in the Sean of the 20th instant,
that a County Meeting was held on Monday last, at
Stafford, for the purpose of entering into a Subscrip.
tion to alleviate the distresses of the blinufacturers
and Labouring Poor of that County (the High She-
tiff in the Chair), and presuming that similar !meet-
ings will -be held in different parts of the kingdom, I
wish, through the channel of yout Paper, to call the
public attention to the dangerous tendency nt such
meetings: it being a well.established maxim, that " it
the manner in which reliet is given to the poor is not
a spur to indualy, it becomes, in effect, a premium
to sloth and profteacy." Th.r hest ieliet the poor
can receive is from themselves, and the most effectual
method of improving their condition is by the en•
couragement of industt). Want is the strongest in.
dneement„. to labour, and it demands the greatest'
caution in supplying the wants eif the poor, lest we
destriii the effects of those incitements which Pnovi-
. Dont has implanted in our frame to stimulate Ms to
that portion of industry which is essentially requisite
foe the sanity of both our bodies and our minds.--
The in 'teary of the Bee is proverbial; but take away
its in n • t t industry, or, in other words, gratui-
tously supply its wants, and tins mucleadmired vir-
tue of the Ste becomes extinct. We are told that a
hive of young Bees was carried from Poland to Ba.
tavia, and there stationed in a delightful garden, of
large extent, furnished with the richest profusion of
fragrant herbs and flowers, where plenty soon cor-
rupted their disposition to labour; and the stock of
honey which they collected, during the first months
of their settlement, was of little value; and as the
expected winter did not ensue, and they continued to
enjoy abundance in this happy climate, they became
improvident of iuturity, and were no longer at the
pains to store their cells with that food, which beun-
titul Nature at all seasons provided for them. No
less i::i.,!o oils to mankind is that misapplication of
:-hich may serve to nourish sloth, or to super-
sede th., necessity of human labour. The path of
industt yis the path of wisdom and of peace. In-
dusery tianviilizes the mind—ti gives light in dark-
ness—it brings comfort in despair—it humanizes
minkind—" nee sink esse ferns."
It is the policy of the English Poor Laws to make
begging unnecessary ; but it we stop here, the work
of Charity is not hall done—for industry ought to be
encouraged—
" iris not enough to help the feeble up;
" But to support bim after, till his strength
" Can serve itself I"

Eleemosynary fonds are at all times a greater proof
of the genuine benevolence of the donor, than of his
sagacity ; and they operate more like the thunderbolt
which JUPITER PLUVIUR sent down on the enemies of
Mancos Autumn:a, than the rain which fell upon
leis fainting army. They are a kind of temporary
°vet flow from the fountains of the rich—transient id
their duration, and wholly inadequate to afford that
substantial relief which the present necessities of the
poor so loudly call for. Those necessities should be
met with a manly fortitude, and with a supply more
like the overflowing of the Nile on the 66 thirsty
Earth," than with the superabundance of a Cornu-
copia.
Industry is the only cure for indigence. _Popery
may avail herself of the fetters which belong to arms,
and the Mahometan may build his hopes upon them;
but the Church of England is not content with such
inferior duties; her Members understand that a man
may bestow all his goods to feed the poor without
Charity, and that without Charity, all he has done
rittasesit•i.isio nothing.
• Charity gives a poor man employment, and pay
him 'wages (the wages of virtue) ; but what is given
in alms& is received as the fruit of idleness ; a gift to
the Parent of Sin, and to the Nurse of Evil.
industry is the remedy or cure •
44 To evils which OW own misdeeds have wrought. •
u On man the curse aslope
66 Glanc'd on the ground; with Weer he must earn
'4 His bread; what harm ? Idleness had been worse;
" Hu law will srstaig 44* I"
si If e%lry just man, that now pines with want,"
bad but employment given him, England would be
herself again : remove the cause, and the effect will
cease. When there was plenty of work for the poor,
there was no complaining in our-streets. Let then
the attention of the wcll-disposed be directed to the
serfrhymitie of the poor ; and do not let them rest
-satisfied in giving the bread of idleness. to those who,
if they can work, and will not work, have no title,
either by the laws of Gon or map, to eat bread.
Commercial pursuits, however, will Rot allow ale'
rude hand of impertinent interference ; they only
who take tbetide of Commerce as it flows can benefit
by it. It would be a! weak an attempt to make the
tides of the sea to ebb end to flow according toman's
wisdom, as to attempt to create a demand for British
Manufactures where theta is no real demand forums,.
But where the Lkbottr4 Of the poor are lagiadedi

pro Import, as for instance in the Iron trade of 2.
shire, and in the Cotton trade-of Lancishire, In
it not be preposterous to stipposk that thole 4ibg►
hands which have been long occupied in " the la
'hours of the anvil, and minei' or which have long
throivn a shuttle, cannot be easily turned to other
,useful purposes till-trade again revives, and they are
called hack to labours more peculiarly their own ?
Have we then no National improvements to be-
take ourselves to; no resources at home, where the
industrious poor may be advantageously employed,
both in a temporary way as it regards themselves,
and in a permanent way as it regards posterity ?
Is this Island arrived at such a state of perfection,
that no new channel can be opened in which human
labour can be wisely spent ? He who will-seriously
bend his mind to questions like these; and can point
out a way of applying human labour in works con-
ducive to national wealth and prosperity ; and is able
to excite the generous sentiments and co-opetations
of the Nobility `and Gentry of this still favoured
Island in a well-timed application of his measures,
will, in thepayment of forty thousand pounds as wages,
do a thousand times more real and substantial good,
than he who, by exciting them to acts of generosity,
can raise a fund of eighty thousand pounds to be
given to the poor gratis, and not as a recompence for
their labours. .
Good roads, for instance, - are a permanent source
of national wealth and comfort, by which all classes,
of mankind are benefited. The making of new
roads—straightening and improving old roads—.
lowering eminences—and makiug vallies more pas-
' sable, ate work. laudable in themselves, unexception-
ably good at all times, and doubly so in times like
these.
The Nobility and Gentry of Cheshire are in this
way setting an example w“rthy of being followed ;
in taking measures for the introduction of Chant
Bridge:, which by modern improvements are likely
to form a new era in bridge building, and promise to
aff,rd dining the ensuing winter employment for
several thousand poor people; for as they require
neither daub nor mortar, they may be carried on in
winter as well as in summer; and what is more ma.
terial in regard to the quantum of human Taborer, the
roads which will lead to these new bridges and their
emnankments may be proceeded in forthwith.
One of these Chain Bridges it is intended to erect
across the river Mersey, at Runcorn Gap, which will
be the meats of bringing the London Mail Coach to
Liverpool at six o'clock in the evening, instead of
three o'clock the next morning ; and reduce the pre.
sent distance of the road from London to Edinburgh
upwards of five and twenty miles. The advantages
of a Bridge at that place are so very obvious, that
1 one has long been a desideratum, and in contempla.
non tor generations back ; but perhaps there are in.
superable objections to a bridge of stone at Runcorn,
all of which are obviated by the modern improve-
Ments made in Chain Bridges.
Chain Bridges ought never to be lost sight of, in
making new roads; they are apilicable, not merely
over water, but over dingle: and *tallies, and tram
lone mountain to another; and also as inclined planes,
where bold and stupendous precipices may now deny
access ; and whereby marshes, bogs, fens, morasses,
and sandy deserts, now inaccessible, may be made
passable in a cheaper and better way than has ever
yet been attempted by any other method. And a
speedy application of Chain Bridges, wherever th-y
will be permanently useful, is perhaps more likely- to
afford substantial relief to the Poor than any other
expedient which has been offered to the attention of
the Public.
Chain Bridges are not a new invention, they are
mentioned by the ancient Norden ; there is also in
HUTCHINSON'S History of the Antiquities of the County
of Durham, an account of an old one over the river
Tees : and in Captain Twit:ill's Account of an Em-
bassy to the Court of the Teshoo LAMA, in Tibet,
(printed for NictioL, Pall.mall), there is an account
(and plates describing) the stupendous fabric of
a Chinese bridge of chains hung over a dreadful pre.
eipice at Chuka. Several bridges of chains have
recently been made in America; but the superior
,01
workmanship of British Artists, and the well known
skill exhibited by Captain BROWN, of the Royal
Navy, in his chain cables, are decidedly in favour of
what can be done in England, both in respect to the
utility and magnificence of chain bridges.
Chain Bridges require no centres, there conse-
quently is no interruption arising from building them
in navigable rivers, •and the enormous expense of
wooden centres is saved ; and let the extent of the
bridge be what it may, no piers are required ; instead
of piers, supporters are placed at proper intervals,
formed like a Portcullis, and spfficiently high, so as
to carry the chains from shore to shore, that the larg-
est sized vessels may freely' pass under without low-
ering their masts; and by a recent invention (for
which we are indebted neither to the Chinese, nor to
the Americans) these supporters can be so construct-
ed as to be fixed on barges, to float on the water,
and to rise and fall as the tide, or stream operates
upon them, without displacing the chains, or.in any
degree injuring the bridge, or having any effect on
its bearings or pressure.
These and other important improvements (which
this is not the place to enlarge upon) afford a ratio-
nal hope that the day is at hand when the narrow
Sea between Scotland and Ireland may be passed
over by a Chain Bridge ; and as there has long been
a bridge over the l)rave five miles long, and the Sim-
on the Antrim shore is in some places less than/ war
miles across into Scotland, this undertaking the more,
it is inspected into will appear the less foemidable...*
To the present race of mankind the immediate, and
to posterity the endless benefit which would molt
from it, renders it worthy of . the best consideration
which can be. bestowed upon it, and the more so as
it will be found upon investigation, that the whole 1
'of the chain work of the bridge from Scotland. ts'
Ireland will not cost more than twenty thousand
pounds, when made of the best materials. .
I am, Sir, your constant reader and obedient
humble servant, ' HUMANITAL

••11••••!••• ••1•••11•MEM•

Lord COLERAINE'S Book on Sporting and Rat.
Catching, is still without a rival, in the opinion of
the best practical Judges Indeed, our first Spoil:-
men would now almost as soon go into the field
without a gun as without this Work, which being so
small is no incumbranee. The New Edition contains
a tine Portrait,' taken at Mr. Cokes, M. P. of• the
Noble Author, on his mule, returning from Shooting.

.

lIRENCII PAPERS:
PARIS. SEPT,EMBAIL IS• .
•
• The VW:lister of General Police has addctssed a
circular to the Prefecti, of Which our Readers we
doubt not will besglid to see an extract. It proves
to die electors, that in repairing to the posts Where
their duty calls them, they may depend upon sifety
and protection, and that the order and tranquillity
which- ought to prevail in the Assemblies is every
where secured t
M. You will make no arbitrary exclusion from the
Assemblies you have Lad occasion to convoke, and to which you
will not have failed to summon every elector not legally divested
of his political and civil rights. You will nor have neglected the
means of convincing all the Elector; of the duty of repairing to
their post at a crisis on which the destiny of France may depend:
anti
rank, you have 'doubtless proved to the public ofaetrs of every
that this duty Is still more imperiously theirs.
" You will have carefully thrown light on the proceedings
and the Intrigues of party men, under whatever cloak they may
have been covered. You will still neglect nothing to detect their
projects. Above all, you will not permit them to utter seditious
censures against acts of the Royal authority; and. if necessary,
you will employ against them, with moderation but with firm-
ness, that authority which his Majesty has entrut'ed to you.
You will take particular care that the Electors enjoy complete
liberty, and that under no pretence any ohstacle be al,O to th',
exercise of their political :Vim Every measure, every menace,
every insult, every attempt, which may have for its object to
withhold them from the College, must he severely and lastantly
reressed. You will permit no mob to collect at :he doors or
avenues
ege leasdibelonng togs t theo
pthe Presidentslace of meeting. Tbe internal police&
the Coll you will furnish them
with the of toforcing it without'anJ trouble° without lain.
draftee, and with perfect security. The external police is unlit
your jurisdiction: your foresight and constant vigilance will U.
lure its restate'
Sarrassami 26.—Among the Candidates for the
Chamber of Deputies, the District Colleges of Paris.'
have already appointed the following :-.—Messrs.
Bellart, Attorney-General of the Royal Court; Try,.
President of the Tribunal of First Resort ; Silvestro
de Sacy, Member of the Institute ; De la Bonardiere,
Mayor; Brisson, and Villefosse.
The number of Members of the late Chamber who
cannot be re-elected on account of their age amounts,
it is said, to 45.
The nuptial presents for the Queen of Spain and
the Princess Royal her sister were purchased at Parisi
by the Countess Peralada, who carried them herself
to Madrid.
The Court of Correctional Police yesterday tried,'
with closed doors, a very singular affair of swindling,
in which sentence was pronounced in public. It was
the case of a man, who, usurping the character and
functions of a Priest, availed himself of this mask to
insinuate himself into the confidence of his penitents,
and render them the dupes of his artifices. This
swindler, who had acted as a Priest for 18 months
both in Paris and Versailles, was condemned to five
years' imprisonment, the maximum of punishment
pronounced by the law.
FRANKFORT, SEPTEABER 20.
The delays experienced in the opening of the Diet
of the Germanic Confederation lead to all kinds of
speculation among the Germans as to its future ope-1
rations, and open a vast field to discussions, which
will produce, it is to be hoped, the good effect of
giving public opinion time to ripen, and men's minds
to ad bin sentownts more calm, and to look at things
with more coolness. The unfortunate contest which
has so long prevailed between the King and the States
Wurtemberg may serve as an example, and in-
spire both in sovereigns and their people political
ideas more sound and useful to social order. It is
true that, in the interval which has elapsed since the
first epoch filed for the opening of the Diet, there
' have appeared various writings which discover very
bold opinions in politics, which might give rise to
fears lest a longer delay in the orgagnixation of the
Germanic body might give time to their propagation,
and thus throw obstacles in the way of the general
welfare. One of these pamphlets, among others which
lately appeared at Leipsic, proposes that the Diet, where
the Sovereigns alone are represented by their Minis-
ters, should have also a representation for the people.
—But we should be much mistaken if we supposed
that such writings afforded a faithful picture of pub.
lie opinion in Germany : their authors are writers
moreorless animated with a revolutionary spirit,
and who,
having nothing to lore amidst political changes,
take 2 pleasure in calling forth and announcing new
opinions, without examining whether experience gua-
rantees their political utility. But the nation, flaw-
rally calm and judicious, is not easily shaken by so-
phisms ; and has good sense enough to wait the sanc-
tion of experience, without being enticed by novelties
STUTTGART], SEPTEMBER 15.

Several German Journals publish a note which the
Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, one of the media-
tised Princes subject to Wurtemberg, has addressed
to the Ambassadors of Austria, Prussia, England,
and Denmark, at the Germanic Diet, as Powers
guarantees of the old Constitution of Wurtemberg.
This note gives an historical exposition of the dis-
sensions which have arisen between the King of Wur-
temberg and the States. It refers to the act by which
the King, in 1805, after the peace of Presburg, abo-
lished, by his own authority, all the compacts and
iconventions between the States and Crown, and thus
abrogated the whole of the old constitution. In 1815,
while the Congress of Vivien* was sitting, the King
proposed to the States a new constitution, in which
he offered, of his own accord, the re-establishment of
various constitutional rights. both for the old posses-
sions and the new provinces. The States declAred
themselves incompetent to accept any constitution
they maintained that the old constitutions were the
only ones by virtue of which they existed and delibe,
rated—they offered, nevertheless, to deliberate on the
propositions by which the King wished to modify the
'old constitution, in order to render it applicable to
the new provinces. The Court entered into negotia-
tions; they were fruitless. .
At the new meeting of the States the King yielded
on one principle : he admitted that the old constitu-
tion had legal force only in the old provinces; but
he maintained that he was entitled to give to the new
provinces such form of government as pleased him :
he then offered to the States to grant them the incor-
poration of these new provinces with the kingdom,
provided that, as a set-off, the States would accede to i
modifications of the old constitution. The States did
not choose to accept these terms, because they main-
tain, that in virtue of various pacts and conventions,
the King is obliged to incorporate every • new acqui-
sition with the old tomanions.
The note concludes with claiming the intervention
of the. Powers guarantees of these oonventiona.