The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-01-08
LONDON, Dec. 10, 1869


FROM ENGLAND.
LONDON, Dec. 10, 1869.
To the Editor Of the wORKBeNAE's ADvscATE.
Perhaps one Of the most remarkable
feats Of telegraphy yet performed in
connexion with the newspaper press of
Great Britain was that Of the London
Times this week in relation to Presi-
dent Grants message. The message
was delivered on Monday and on Tues
day morning the Times contained con-
sequently above two closely printed
columns Of carefully and well writ
ten abstract, the whole Of which had
passed by cable across the Atlantic. /
need rot tell you that the satisfactory
progress made in reconstructing the
union will give sincere pleasure to inn
mense numbers of people here, includ-
ing the whole Of the working classes.
That the power your country has dis
played in meeting the obligations in
rcurred by the war-and that the will
ingness Of the negro to work and learn
give the grandest promise of the mar
velous future that await the great Re-
public. Another point upon which |
may congratulate you is the way in
which the President treated the great
Coolie immigration swindle which the
friends Of slavery and the foes Of
honest independent free labor were
about to set on foot. Presenting that
horrible scheme to be at all possible as
paying speculation, which / by no
means believe, the President had moth
ing for it as a matter Of duty but to put
his loot on it at the very beginning. If
large capitalists found it profitable, and
were allowed to speculate in that d.
recton the mass Of the people in any
country that could be SO treated would
within a generation or two be starved
out, if III the meantime they did not by
some ready process extermnate the
\ spectators.
We are still going on in our ways
here The Irish landlords are every
day becoming more alarmed and en-
ragged against Mr. Gladstone, although
nobody seems as yet to have any idea
as to the character Of the Irish land
measure he means TO produce. They
know how iniquitous their conduct has
been. 1t is no exaggeration to say that
history hold record of no such iniquity
as that acted out by Irish landlords
towards their tenants under the sane
ton of law, and if full justice is to be
done any law now passed should be re-
Prospective, 50 that those who within
given time have taken advantage of
their legal power to rob, should be COM
PEELED to disgorge. The whole situation
in Ireland is a monstrous anomaly and
how the people of England have borne
with it so long is to me a puzzle ex-
plainable in no other way than by the
Indifference of Englishmen to every
thing that does not come visibly and
fully before them to challenge their at
tention. We must remember that to
maintain the relationship batween land
lord and tenant, and as it were to col
lect the rents Of number Of grinding
absentees, in addition to an army of
constables trained and equipped like
regular soldiers, a section Of the
BRUSH army amounting on an average
TO $4,000, has to be kept continually in
Ireland at a cost Of several millions a
year. This army, has to be supported
by the British tax payer, and this has
been done now for many generations by
the most patient, tax-encumbered ami
NAL in the world.
Your readers may depend that this
system Of things is coming to an end.
The public are looking into the matter
in earnest, and to look at it is to
abolish it.
| ought to mention that great efforts
are being made just now to draw the
wOrkingmen into movement in favor
Of what is called " Reciprocity" which
is only another name for protection.
There have been certain discussions in
Birmingham and large meeting IL
Manchester, but none of the recognize
leaders of the workingmen have taken
any part in them. The speaker for NV,
most part were tory members ~ parlii-
ment, and these not of tn h.>t, but
rather of the stupidest type They mike
out very poor case aud are not likely
to meet with much success unless our
distress, which j. bad enough al the
present moment, should spread and be-
come deeper than it il. The truth il
that the present distress here is not
caused by foreign competition. Almost
the only manufactured article coming
into the English market i silk from the .
looms of France, but as silk weaving is
a very badly pail trade both in
France and England, the cause of such
preference az is given to French goods
cannot be attributed to any cheapness
obtained BY low wages, so much a.
BY superiority of -i0n and finish in
Our exp trade of the
present year il greatly in vance Of
what it has been for many years back,
md the distress felt in certain branches
IF industry, is due to causes that have
very little to do indeed with conner
,ial treaties or the price If labor. At
he present moment this is not seen