The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-14 00:00:00

rmt FACTORY SYsTni

(Fro

?antler's Fleet _Papers

The following anecdote will be interesting was or.re
visited by two factory cripples. Joseph had been " done up"
at the age of sixteen ; William was " finished" at thirty-one.
1 was weary when they called. I jokingly told them 1
wanted a little repose, but I could safely sleep under their
protection; they were my body-guard. I observed that
that expression, though meant quite friendly, pierced to
their hearts. They blushed, looked at their deformities, and
then one of them said, " We wish we were better able,
King.' "

They thought that I slept. I heard the following conver-

William.—Joseph, have you got over the shame of being
crippled when you meet any person ?
Joseph.—No, William, I think I newer shall.
William.—l wish I could. I know that it is very wrong,
but I cannot help it. I sometimes think the shame is worse
to bear than the pain. Many a time, when lam passing per-
sons in the street, if I see their eyes glance at my legs, the
blood flushes into my face, and I conk' wish myself under
the flags. I know that it is very wrong. I pray to be de-
livered from it. but I fear 1 never shall.

Joseph.—Why you know, William, it is not our fault : we
have done nothing wrong to cause our deformity, it is our
masters should shame ; but I am like yourself, I get out of
the way as much as I can when I see people look at me.
But if I see a gentleman with crooked legs 1 am so pleased !
I know that it is wrong, but I cannot help it. He makes me
think better of myself.

William.—When I see people with fine limbs, how I envy
them ! But I don't see why we should feel so, for, as you
say, we are not to blame.
I interrupted them by saying, " If England has any cause
to be proud of her manufacturing system, you ought to be as
proud of your wounds as the bravest warrior at Greenwich
or Chelsea is of his ; without disparagement to them, you are
as deserving of pensions as they." William then said, " I
shall never forget one day, when I was in company with
strangers, who were conversing about me. They could not
see my crooked legs (they were under the table) ; but they
saw I had lost my arm. They took me for a soldier. For
a while I felt such pleasure ! I seemed to be quite another
creature. But at length, unhappily, one of them asked me
What regiment I had served in ? In what battle I had been
wounded ?' I could not tell him a lie, all my brave noble
feelings vanished, how I blushed ! I could have hid myself
under the table! I wished myself anywhere else than there,
when I was forced to say, ' I was wounded in the factory ;'
they then knew that the supposed veteran was only a poor
factory-lad." William concluded by saying to Joseph, "Well,
what is past cannot be helped ; we must do all we can to as-
sist ' the old King' in getting a Ten Hours' Factory Bill, and
save others from our fate."

Mr. Thornhill, I was much affected with that scene. None
were present save the " King" and his two crippled " sub-
jects." Really, I was proud of them, and resolved to get
them an asylum if I could.

And now, sir, permit me to urge the friends of the poor
everywhere to be up and stirring to the help of Lord Ashley.
His lordship has taken his stand; he has set a noble exam-
ple; he will, no doubt, early in the next session, again at-
tempt to obtain a ten hours' factories' regulation act. He
will, of course, he met by the keenest opposition of the
leaguers. His lordship will require the aid of all true Chris-
tians. I, therefore, entreat all ministers of religion to make
it their business to forward petitions to parliament, praying
for a ten hours' factory law. Oh, that every bishop, priest,
and deacon, would see to it, that he obtains one ! I know
of nothing that would so much unite the poor to the priest-
hood. How shall Ibe rejoiced if thus, at last, my labours
should be crowned by the church.
On the cover of this Fleeter are inserted two forms of pe-
tition, for the use of those in the factory districts, who might
otherwise be at a loss for the proper words. I earnestly pray
that every clergyman who reads this letter may become a
helper in this great and good work.
The landlords and agriculturists will do well to lend their
aid. It is their interest as well as their duty.

I hope that Riddlesworth will set the example, and that
from every nook and corner of the land petitions will now be
forwarded to parliament for my poor, innocent, and cruelly-
oppressed clients.
Forgive my importunity—l feel most keenly on this sub-
lect. The spirits of Gould and Sadler, smiling, urge me on-
ward. I cannot cease to plead until their prayer and mine
is answered.

To the inhabitants of the factory villages and towns I need
say very little. They know and feel that their duty requires
that they should be stirring now. I would, however, suggest
that this time the West Riding of Yorkshire and South Lan-
cashire should have a master. Meetings in villages and towns
are well and good, as far as they go ; but to back Lord Ashley
triumphantly those large districts should have their pro-
vincial gatherings!
" Ten Hours' Bill men," everywhere look to it ; the
" King" wills " a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull alto-
gether." See, Victory waits to crown your efforts ! Cheer
me, in my cell, with the realization of my hopes !—Ashley
for ever—Ashley for ever—The Ten Hours' Bill, and no
surrender!

Poor William Dodd ! You have not forgotten the
touching account of his sufferings ? Poor fellow, how I re-
joice that Heaven directed his steps to this cell, rather than
to Kendal Union Workhouse, where, had he not come here,
in all probability he would now, as thei reward of his indus-
try and sufferings in the service of the Leaguers, have been
lingering his life away, instead of moving in that sphere of
useful labour which he has marked out for himself.

The kindness of many friends made William, as he thought,
very rich ; so, with the few pounds which would have main-
tained him in idleness during the winter, he has been on a
tour of inspection in the factory districts. He has obtained
most valuable information of the present condition of the
factory-workers. He is now returned, and is compiling the
journal of his tour. If he is aided by his friends, he intends
to publish it in a series of letters.
At the present juncture, William Dodd's forthcoming work
will be worth a Jew's eye ! What the price will be, I cannot
just now ascertain. . .

If these observations should prove the means of obtaining
my friend William a little aid, so as to insure the publication
of his letters, and reward him for his exertions, I shall re-
joice.
That " brand plucked from the fire," is a very grateful
creature. I requested him not to trouble himself with wri-
ting to me often on his journey. He no sooner returned to
town than he sent me a letter, which 1 had intended to insert
here, because I love the lad, and it is due to him that he
should once more speak for himself in my little Fleeters.
The want of room, however, forces me to delay the insertion
of William's epistle till next week. I am, your prisoner,
RICHARD OASTLER.

A GRIEVANCE !-PROTESTANT PERSECUTION
OF ROMAN CATHOLICS.

(From the Dublin Statesman.)
The Evening Post gives us an introduction to K. Digby's
letter from Southampton, attributing, in the most admirable
cock-and-bull style possible, the burning of that gentleman's
house to Protestant incendiaries. The facts were briefly
these :—Mr. Digby, a Roman Catholic, received on a visit
into his house the other evening the reverend apostate Sib-
thorpe. In the course of the night the house was discovered
to be in flames ; the family all escaped with ease, and no-
thing was consumed but some plate, curiosities, clothes, and
altar furniture!

Without any hesitation whatever the circumstance is as-
cribed to Protestant fanaticism by the Evening Post for the
following wise reasons :

Ist. Because a sermon had been preached against the apos-
tacy on the Sunday immediately preceding!
We would advise our Protestant controversialists in this
city to keep their tongues quiet, or they may be convicted of
arson if any Romanist edifice should catch fire within a
month after their last sermon _ .

2d. Because some people in Southampton were heard to
say, after the sermon, " Old Sibthorpe ought to be burned
out." . .

Indubitably these were the very incendiaries themselves.
We should feel much indebted to the Evening Post if he
would catch and hang them.
3d. Because, when Mr. Sibthorpe was getting out of his
carriage at the hotel at Southampton, some of the people
said " there he is ! " This reason is worth a bushel. It
is accordingly clear as day that the fire was the result of ma-
lice, and malice the result of the sermon, and the sermon
the result of Mr. Sibthorpe's own conduct ; argal—Mr.
Sibthorpe burned the house itself ! But this is carrying the
sorites a step too far for the needful.
Now, Kenelm H. Digby, Esq. who dates on " the Feast
of the Epiphany," and joins with the Puseyites and the rest
of his Romanist fraternity in knocking the days of the week
and the days of the month out of their lives, to our very
great annoyance ; this same burned-out gentleman has just
as much modesty as the Post in ascribing the affair to in-
cendiarism, and with about as much good reason, too ; for
instance—

First of all—by the letter it appears that the fire burned
chiefly towards the top of the house, and was very nearly
extinguished by the efforts of the servants and Mr. Dillon
himself, till it caught on a gutter, and so extended through
the principal part of the building. The fire was discovered
at three o'clock ; at one all was safe, when the servants in-
spected it ; accordingly, though the house was found burn-
ing towards the top, it must have been lit from the bottom
through a pantry window close to the ground, saith the afore-
said Mr. Dillon ! It is rather difficult to make out how a
house could burn upwards from the bottom to the top, and
yet be very nearly extinguished by a few servants. But so
it was, and a manifest proof in itself that it was the work of
an incendiary. Some things declare their own nature and
origin ; this is one of them, very luckily.
2d. The sermon was preached ; therefore, &c.
3d. Some person was beard to say, after the sermon,
that Sibthorpe ought to be burned ; therefore, &c.
4th. In a P.S. the writer adds, " the police had been
round about ten minutes before, and all was safe. I am
convinced the fire was not accidental ! " So, in ten minutes
the house from bottom to top was in flames, and therefore
the work was that of a protestant fanatic. Q. E. D.

What a poor, dull, plodding thing is this same popery,
how ill able to take care of itself, how incapable of fixing
odium on its opponents! We know it well, though, and
read here nothing more than another instance of its deceitful
and lying character, its ready resort to any and every species
of falsehood, deep or shallow, provided it can asperse pro-
testantism, and assume before a gullible multitude the pitiful
aspect of a persecuted innocent. For our own part we can
easily conceive that the fire was effected by a popish conspi-
racy, in order to move the compassion of England towards
the pretended sufferers. Such things have been done a hun-
dred times over, and are quite in keeping with a religion
founded and worked on deception.