The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-10-06 00:00:00

set•hire

What Mr. o,borne had stated in his letter to the
Times was substantially proved. The employers. how-
ever, appear to claim a scut of triumph, as if the result
was not at all against them. This is important. The
yeomen of Ryme are quite satisfied with the expo,e. Thry
con‘ider themselves not a bit worse than their neighbburs
—if anything, rather more !iberal. Ryme, therefore, may
he set down as a favourable, or at least fair. specimen of
airsetshire ; and unless the proprietors and occupiers of
the county come fjrward to protest against the inference,
we may assume that their labourers live under the very
same riginte that is here disclosed. As the agricultural
oligarchy of Ryme is so satisfied with the evidence,
we shall be acting fairly by all parties if we quote it.

On the subject of wages there appears to be a great
consent of testimony. Till this year. when a raili% ad
raised the market is. all the year round, with a little
more at harvest, was considered enough for a full-grown
man at Rvme. WILLIAM BARTLETT had no more than

7s. and cider at harvest. His eldest son, two-and-twenty,
was so fortunate for a time as to get Bs., the usual rate
for single men bring only 6s. This was last spring, and
he is now off to the railroad. Previaus to that at the
age of 16. he had 2s. 6(1. a-week, and neither of the sons
hid 3s. a-week Ziil they were 17. Another labourer,
WILLIAM. RUGLER, was born and bred in the place, and
had worked tor his employer a dozen years, in and out,
doing any kind of work. For 24 days in the summer
he b,d 9i. a-week, besides cider, but, be continues, " the
rest of the year I hare is. o-week. That has been the
usual amount of wages here ; we hare not had more that
I recollect." lie proceeds to explain the difficulty of
rising a shillina or two above this hungry average by
" tut-work." His two sons, 17 and 14, each has the
nominal income of 2s. 6d., with considerable deductions
for lost time when work cannot be found for them.
HENRY SIM'S says,—

" The regular Price of labour given in this parish for
years past has been seven shillings a week. I worked
fur Mr. Brake for that sum all through the summer and
harvest of last year, but liquor was allowed me. This
spring the wages were raised to Bs., and this harvest I
made 9s. by tut-work. I had seven children living when
I worked fur 7s. a week, and in the summer of last year I
had only one day's tut-work at mowing. M y eldest son
is 15 ; be works for Mr. Genge, the farmer and carpenter,
at 2s. 6d. a week. My next son is ten ;be works for Mr.
Brake, at Is. 3d. a week." . . _

- :
Agrippa Gill, nearly 23, says that before June in this
year his wages were never more than ss. a week, except
when he was at tut-wm k out of his regular employ. Two
young men at 17, threshed oats by the measure, and got 3s.
a week. The s.in:e evidence is given by all. It is remark-
able that 10s. is the very highest wages mentioned in the
whole proceedings, whatever the work, whoever the
master. It appears to he the acme' of a UlJrsetshire

labourer's ambition. If fur two or three months in the
year, by being up early and late, and taxing his sinews to
the utmost, he can get 10s. a week, he is a prosperous
man, and the envy of the parith.
But, as our readers are probably aware by this time,
these magnificent 75., and 6s , and 2s. 6d. are not to be

set down as net income. They are not given solely, or
even chiefly, in money, but also in goods ; and what those
goods shall be does not entirely depend on the labourer's
fancy. A labourer with five children says, that "he
sometimes takes as little as £2 in a whole year in money,
taking the rest of his earnings in goods." The employers
keep shop either with or without disguise, and the la-
bourers must deal with them. We say " must," but
that is questioned ;so let us see. In the first ulsce, the
labourers are generally in debt, that is, if they are
honest men. " I have not very often been out of
debt at the shop," says one of the witnesses; " I
don't think any working men about hen
" they can be trusted." Everybody will see w

labourer always in arrear. As for the degree of compul-
sion there is to take goods in lieu of money, tbat is rather
a question of terms than of fact. Whether it be called
compulsion, or constraint, or persuasion, or expectation,
the fact is the same, and appears to be very thoroughly
apprehended and felt by the labourers of Ryme. For our
own part, a e should be exceedingly sorry to find ourselves
under the same persuasion to do anything we do not like
to do as these labonrers are under to take their wages in
" goods." But they shall describe this peculiar degree
of persuasion. William Bugler says—

Mr. Loves' POLYPHONIC ENTERTAINMENTS.—On
Friday and Monday evenings next, this unique mimic and
ventriloquist will give historical lectures upon the occult
powers of the human voice, at the Royal Assembly
Rooms, St. George-Street. In addition to his ventrilo-
quism, Mr. Love is full of power as an illustrator of
human oddity ; and altogether his »W/, are well worth
a few hours of the time of people not employed in very
extraordinarily engrossing avocations.
REI lIEF IN KERRY.—The Ker-y Evening Post says:
—" The good work goes on bravely in this county.
The landlords of Kerry ale discharging nobly the duties
of their high position. To relieve the distress of their
destitute fellow-countrymen, they are taxing their pro-
perties with a liberal—we might almost say ruinous—
hand. A half-barony in this county, (North Dutiker-
ron,) valued at £6,000 per annum, taxes itself with
£l2.ooo—the fourth of the Government grant for all Ire-
land. Already have we announced the granting by the
magistrates and cesspayers of £20,000 at Cahirciveen, for
the barony of Iveragh ; and of £12.000 in the north half-
barony of Dunkerron. We have this day to add to that
li-t £22,000 granted on Wednesday last in Listowel, for
Irraghticonnor ;\ and £30,000 on Thursday, at O'Dorney,
for Clanmaurice.
THE NAVAL RETIREMENT.—In the scheme promul-
gated on the 31st of August by the present Board of
Admiralty, it was intimated .that officers not in Eu-
rope, who might be desirous of accepting the retire-
ment, would not be excluded in consequence of their
letters not reaching England before the Ist inst., as
a reasonable time would be allowed for such appli-
cations. Although the number fixed as the retired
list
(200) has we believe, within a very few, been com-
pleted, the Board, acting with becoming good faith, have
,
extended the period during which officers may intimate
their desire of accepting the retirement to the Ist of Nov. ;
.ure-arms, occurred last ~..._
the retired pay comun-ncing from the lst of October, as
. of Llanfechan, Montgomery shir
originally intended. The scheme includes officers of 50
man was out shooting, and
of age, who from wounds or ill health are able through a hedge, with a

4; We are not obliged to take our wages in goods, but
certab.lyweare e.zpected to do it.

" Mr:Brake.—Oh, no, no; you don't understand; are
you conipelled to take goods?

" Mr:Osborne.—NO, my last question was, are you
expected to take part in goods?

Witness.—Yes ; Mr. Brake expects us to take some

%page /glA4c Stigma. %If tUCe
when I did not take some out in goods, and if I did not,
there was nothing for me to do. I have been told by Mr.
Brake that if 1 did not take some of my wages in goods,
there would be no employment for me. I would sooner
have the ready money, it I could, and lay it out the
cheapest way."

Another witness mentions an agreement with a shop_
ke
eper farmer to do som aining, and take bait the pay
in meat. When pay. acne, there was not money
enough to be found, so t deficiency was made up by in-
creasing the proportion of meat._ Again—

" (Slides Bugler examiced.—Mr. Rasdon, the farmer,
sent to me a year ego to do come thatching for him, but
told me 'He should not pay me in money, for Brake did
not pay his men in money. and he should not; it nv•de a
d—d deal of difference. paying all in money, to what it
was when it vas taken out in goods; it made more than
la. week difference. I took the job ; it came to 7e. I
had one cheese of him that was not weight by a quarter
of a pound. I have three young children."

INCAUTION WITH FIRE-ARMS.-013e of those pc&
dents of frequent occurrence from the incautious use c
. .

to the Rev. Mr. Thompson, I
'-e. The reverend gentle-
s he was drawing his gnu

We cannot help thinking the tern„
extension of time most liberal on the part of the pre- c
sent Board of Admiralty, and we trust those for whom it
is designed will avail themselves of an arrangement so ho-
nourable to them and doubly beneficial, as it will enable
Moan..- 'ass deserting bet of men to be 6-

of servi
th

mural

mards him, it V
t arm, wnich it was found

_ A Cork paper re-
...uncholy occurrence of the same kind,
.1 fatal to Mr. W. Haßaran, eldest son of the
- young gen-

nary to amputate above the c

rector of Magouruey, in

"'"g" Oman, leaning on flee muzzle of -hie gun, the butt-end
observed whisking forward in our naval service.
resting on the ground, and at that moment his dog was
A Frenchman who recenttlyrepsusbetlii:,herde
robberies,
bbe
ioeke advocating
etueities, his tail and pawing, the consequence of
theth e
cwexclusivertldniuceaTsid:otipnitefiaao-mn
infamies,
,a vegetable diet. thinks that all which was the discharge of the fowling-piece, the contents
of which entered Lis left breast, perforating the lung of
murders. assaaainations, corruptions, crimes, and other „nap,. Ihn

sy, and FOOn
abominations that we have committed, and are daily com- ibci;,e7L'e-n'ena. toll he under jri
Titting, have been owing, and are owing, to notbiox else He was removed to his father
tPan our love of meat. afterwards expired."

w, at the base at the brain.
'l3 rekidence, where he bhortly