Newbern weekly progress., 1860-12-18

The distress among the working classes
in New York is truly alirming. 1t is now but
a month or little more since the election Of
Lincoln, and it is already seen that its evil eff
fects have begun to tell severely upon the
poor in all the large cities. We fear the same
viii be the case ere long in many Of the smaller
towns. The increase in the price ofproyisions
and in house rent, has been much greater
than the rise in the wages Of mechanics and
laborers, SO that in the best Of times they have
very hard work to make both ends meet
Thus, when hard times come, many as fifty
thousand men. women and children are thrown
upon public or private charity for support, IN
New York city alone. The Herald fears that
this winter will be even worse for the poor
than those Of 1854 and 1857. The prospect is
truly q most gloomy one. The business Of
the country has come to stand still; and a
train of disasters is in store, which are logical
lv accounted for and graphically described III q
New York exchange, as follows:
The Cotton States have assumed an attitude
from which they cannot at present withdraw.
Mr. Stewards irrepressible conflict between free
and slave labor has commenced, and free labor
is so far the sufferer. Our mechanics have
hitherto relied upon the Southern cities tor
! their winters work, and have thus bridged
over the dull times Now, however, they are
sent back, and End themselves without work,
or any immediate hope Of getting any. 1t Is
estimated that there are in this city as many
as ten or twelve thousand men walking about
the streets seeking employment. Now, those
men have an average Of four persons depend
ing upon their lobOrs So We reap, as the
first fruits Of Lncoln's election, an army OF
fifty thousand paupers. Before the first ol
March that number will be doubled. And we
NAV look for the same state Of things in all the
large cities-PhiladeIphia Boston, Newark
! Providence Hartford, New Haven, &c, &c. The
panic is more deeply seated and widely spread
/ than any the country has ever before suffered
and the winter Will be made monrnf,Ily memo
/ rablc by the most terrible suffering amongst
| the poor of the North. The merchants, manu-
! features and master mechanics are reducing
! their expenditures to the lowest possible point
and to make matters still worse the Fedora
Treasury is empty, and government creditors
even down to the wife Of poor Jack, who de
pends upon her pittance of five or six doilarZ
per month, are compelled to wait for thei
money until Congress sees fit to relieV
| them.
We wish that some one could show tha
this picture has been too highly colored. Tn
truth is. however, that is has been toned down
The free laborers of the North who voted fe
Lincoln are now being punished for the acts @
their blind leaders, who are exulting over tn
gullibility of their dupes, who have been mad
to play the part Of the monkey, and to dray
the chesnuts from the fire for the spoilsmen.-
And whatever may be the result Of the move
ments now going on at the South, there is n
doubt about one thing, and that is that tn
triumph of the republican party has give
Northern interests blow, from the effects
which they VIII not recover in many years.