Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1843-12-19

81, tuc CdEpeIitSf, the rope maker, the rig
ger. the mariner, being vassals whose la
bors produced all the results, ard whose
,cages were small portion Of them. Next
we find the manufacturer. Originally the
mechanic trades-the bus ne of creation
were conducted by the oiracrs Of their
labor; and though mechanics were not so
well aid as merchants, they still received
the whole produce Of their labor, and sold
what they produced 10 the consumer, with
out any enhancement Of price TO the latter
in the form Of profit to mere distributor
But eventually the mechanic trades assu-
med the condition Of agriculture and com
merce-the distance between production
and ownership, lord and vassal; and now,
strictly following the srinciples of The feu
dal sy stem, he business of mechanical pro-
duction is conductsd by lords and vassas
orners and operatives the first. the few
who fare sumptuously upon nearly all the
produce; and the second, the many who
subsist scantily upon small portion: Thus
we see how every department Of business
in modern times, has conformed to the feu-
dial system, founded in conquest and
wrong, which established a distinction be-
tween the owner and the producer, and
exalted the first upon the degradation Of
the second.
To those who would trace the present
condition of society to this feudal source,
we recommend an examination of the En-
lish statute of the middle ages for the reg
ulaton of labor on lands and in towns.
The piices of agricultural labn, and the
condition, even the dress Of the laborers,
were prescribed by justices OF the peace,
overseers of the poor and other authorities
and all for The benefit of the andholder
The merchants, the commercial haro1s oil
the towns, following the example set by the
anded barons of the country. assumed the
same authority and practised the same tyr
amy. Next followed the mechanics,
who established that system of tyranny,
the laws of premiership; a system I'M
der which human being must learn a
trade, which may occupy two years. and
then give the proceeds OF his labor to the
employer for five years more, in payment
for subsistence, costing, perhaps, one
fourth Of the. proceeds of his labor. To the
same source we may trace the English
| laws for the government of mariners-laws
which regard them merely as beasts oil
burden, to be beaten and starved, aud
| worked TO death as soon as possible. Ma
ny Of these statutes for the regulation oil
laborers, mechanics, apprentices, and ma.
riners S, are curiosities in modern times,
III rough the mlru:e details of dress, diet
| lodging, hours Of labor, and compensation
and punishment to which they descend.
Most Of the feudal tenures have been
abolished; but their fruits--the distinction
between laborcr and the owner OF his la
Dor, the degradation of the former, and the
exallaiion OF the latter-remain in all theil
original force. and produce, through Ger.
tain additional causes Of modern origin, re.
suits even more deplorable, outrages upon
humanity more cruel, than in the days of
their first institution. The principal OF
these modern cause is paper money-'' the
credit system "a system which, by an
accumulation of money in the hands OF the
few, who already own the many, enables
the few TO tyranjze more extensiv ely, more
thoroughly. Banks, Qhe contrvance of
commercial barons) have always been
used by the few 10 control the labor OF the
many; and they never can be used for any
other purpose. Bankers tend only 10 the
wealthy; for the poor man can furnish no
security for borrowing, and the wealthy
borrow merely 10 contro!-to own more
extensively the labor of the poor. Why
should the agricultural laborer borrow?-
He owns no land, and cannot buy strength
or intelligence to cultivate crop. But the
land owner can borrow; for he can buy
more land for the laborer TO cultivate, for
the subsistence Of himself and the profit of
the owner. For the same reason, a Jour
ncyman mechanic will not borrow; while
his employer. the maafacturcr, the capital
| ist. tcW. So the mariner will not borrow;
but the owner, whose cargo he transports
for almost nothing, sciW. And so, through
out every ramfication of society, bank ing,
paper money, are devices for the benef: Of
those who already own comparatively too
much, and devices enabling them to con-
troll still further those who own compare
lively too little.
Here, then, is the feuda system still,
in all its force, sustained by the united eff
forts OF the few, and fortified by the opin-
ions OF ancient, and the contrivances Of
modcrn times; and upon the condition of
society thus produced has been founded
the modern school of political economy
school devised to justify and perpeuate
this very condition. This school teaches
that capital cannot be too much accumula-
ted. that 1ragcs cannot be too much redu-
ced, if the laborer be not starved beyond
the power oil production. All its precepts,
all its recommendations, are for the bene-
fit Of capital, and it treats labur. not as
something endowed by God with the righ,
to comfort, to happiness equal 10 that of
the capitalist. but as an erpense incidental
to capital. which tho capitalist cannot avoid
entirely, but should reduce as much as pos
sib.e. The landholder, in calculating the
profits oil the crops which he has not pro-
duced, deducts the expenses of laborers.
cattle and implements, regarding all as chat
tells. The manufacturer, in calculating
The profit upon thousand bales of cloth.
deducts the expense of his operatives and
machinery, regarding both as mere instru-
ments.
And this condition Of society, we are
told by these political Economists, promotes