, 1873-03-23
Joseph Arch, the Representative Of
the English Agricultural
Laborers.
Tho Character Of Hamlet --Poemsby Bayard
Taylor and Joaquin fil!er.
The Legend Of st. Martin---A Roman
Catholic View Of Public
Charities.
Hour Among the Grcenbacits'

In the April GALAXY, Jus1ln l1eeAl'1t! $4,000
from Ills pencilings Of Parliamentary celeof1I'es
10 sketch ono OF the new men whom asr1ou11ulA'
distress in England is bringing to the front as
champions Of the political rights OF the 1arn
laborers. Association has always been much
more marked feature OF English civic life than
nf ours. This tendency, which was at first ex-
cited into action as a means of securing recognl-
lion for rights which English class legislation
denied has not elackcned with the WIDEN
ing concessions Of suffrage and other
political functions. Castles, social, poitl-
cal. and industrial, exist Ill drea1
Britain to degree unknown to us; and upon
each of these subordinate circles there lies the
weight of enough oppression to rally 1t to or
cauizat;on as the only means OF sell-protectlon
and eelf-aggrandizement. Odger, bEadlaneh,
Arch, snd q dozen other popular leaders neao
zach q distinct sect,
for instance, is one of the noat powerful Of the
representatives Of tho agricultural laborcrs, VINO
ere dovntroddeu tho most OF all the EngAsh
helots.
Until LIST spring, no outside his own village mad
heard Of Joaepl Arch IN ie "ehy .d ue "nr,d
famous doubt whether any man ii Engtano i9 eo1a
have drawn together larger oudlcnee than Ho seua:
Een be presented himself his night on Tue .1 n
cheering sucn might have welcomed tAc B1e"nss
statesman the most popular orator OF our aay; M
Arch Ia stout robust, Aorsd-cleekcd DARK man.
With that curious stoop Of shoulders and AWKWARD 81
ttude which somehow one seems to iheh{lis IL ones
STeased as aborcT, bu. wore the conventional dark
5rock-coat Of city life, and did not seem hy any means
nnsaF fac oof Il Ike Ike lsbores a. n md thus far
ptrte1e he disappointed some Of uF. 1o me ne
seemed precisely ike certain type OF humble NELL
odi6t preacher md the moment he began to speak
The resemblance became perfect: did not then know
1ha, Arch although only rural laborcr had heen IN
G n ths raae n where Sc lives He spoke with brosd
provincial accent and with considerable nueucy anu
Their II onyna Tah ne4e
OF that rough and bold rhetoric W1tn Whtcn ea1nes:
sometime supplies the most unculau1ca hPs' IL
was good, simple, shrewd homespun prose: IT. %aa
eaNvened hero and there by rough anu hearty JoGe
It sprcaled altogether to the plain common sense o.
the average uncuTated mind Of tho English iabofer
TLers was single Abstraction in It, nor lny Il4.
eion to human brotherhood the rights of man It
hit those to whom 1t Was addressed es olFec''s 10
crcket-bsu goes for its nitn-
Mr. Arch is the leader of what Mccarthy styles
"a one Of the most remarkable movements orig
7inated in England during the present generation;
\ movement which most people would, two years
ago. hayo pronounced impossible It is, Ill iact
Che first attempt ever mcde in England to bring
the rural laborcrs into combination and united
action for the improvement OF their hoclal conol-
.ton-for their mutual defense us q labor1ng
claes and Tor the enforcement OF what may now
fairly be considered their political rights"
Mr. MCCARTHY draws a vivid sketch OF the
eauald wretchednesB OF the condition OF the
Tarua-laborer, who "drkgs through his whole
life with only wages enough to keep body and
soul together. Too often he looks forward to
nothing but the workhouso as the refuge OF hs
old age. He hardly ever eats meat, e1eept q
miserable fringe Of rusty bacon now and then :;
and ho hardly ever knows how to read Ihere
.ran scarcely be eaid to exist any world Tor hun
nnteide bis own parish. His life is fully occu-
pied in trying to I've and & he has 6 no tune 10. 10!
Hohaa rot a vote. When the Reform bill few
wears ago placed the suffrage within the reach o,
III the workingmeu in towns, it left theE rura]
brothers out in the cod.'
While the artisans OF the cities, With quiet, self
.xeunnt ability, had organized themselves into
m armv of trades-unions quite able to sustain
ther own interests, tho agricultural laborers ro.
:zoained "elaving, panpel1zed, ignorant, ana ,3a
Of cohesion aud combined action as herd OF
calves without political privilege, ana too dull
\ TO miss it or care to havo it," Suddenly this
NJ stupor began to lift itself, and Tory London was
y lrrichted with the news that these beasts o1
burden began to act as il they had somo Of the
4stripntes Of self-assorting mauhood- Ihe
vs. III which this auspicious change YVES wrought
1: jia:Ii!y described:
!: . ,lns that in one Of the South Wsrwieksh.r :
=: was wonderful msnw5 ~. laborsr ore WI, wa
- - :5si'sa; .aI Cities. IL nsHose lad led D' Wild lfe
III, .dyenturous man he had Travelled out OF his na
ng away tl away quite IN ;n'o tI9 neh
t!at again. nlan must be very stohd whose aAlnu
M. frightened up By experiences like this onT r9Se
l..l seen strange, unfamiliar ways OF life He ha
Ieen in tho iron-1nanu nufacturing regions-the Blar
Country, rs II Is calledand bo had heard sbou
tSorlina1neu, WHO lsed out and made their
rs boldly as the masters themselves could DO tn
nderer returned to his native villsgc, sad he talke
coed deal Of the wonders he had ecen, and 1erhisl
{ound incrcdu,ous lisauers- But there came so1n'
what harder time than usual in South warwtckshir
nf + Or
Keep up the funily T.. re was sad and sul!e
k Of starvation IAs faatrs t, RE 5esea rs1, 70 ,h a
Ea to pay to the great landlords would not allow then
The great landorts said they got no more rent tha
reanwhile Il WIS evident that th- f1crs had plen'
to cat drink End wear; that the landlords wcro i,n
IT, ysrae . Ct sta4-ation. rhe travelled man cf ho
haya Spoken whispered i'll his village tho one wor
rike" Tue thing cqE IRE 1 sianrna s S,ae e
vas man who, although vny day
1sr had a.r bssn loF u F,.sdsn saa po Il
Lis superior intelligence, His good character and h
effective way of talking bad occurred great lniuen
vas Consulted aud he approved Of the propotnl.
was asked If he would ge: together. meeting nt
na1e n sy ISof ISofeis sp hele v atou as bod step
S ans There ., ~rFi he no aesiasq9 stasq'Fs x
we all assoeiate with he gstt:ag-ur Of meeting r.
rews Ind to b. 1as1ed on " oru OF ~, aou 'hn1
meeting
Aaa to be convinced that there really to be nee
dn; the .i1d had to lie prevailed On to take eoura
r-n CO. 11e meeting WIS held under great chcatn
fr:c wli1n has thereby acquired rort Of fame al
there thousand lse"res came together and we're
dressed by Joseph Arch ne earned & 1he,n n ~ w,tn III
xua spfe IS it s1resis 70 us> was to form lahore
l,iou Lire the trades union of the cls:os The ID
x.n taken IT, With enthusiasm. Village after villa
ca,ue in. Now branches were fo,med every day, AZ
k;rt holding meetings aud srowa5
his tEnds. uyw completely !: vas rural lahore
movement how little hs2 or gud2nse; 5iseiyea ise,t
i:a origin fron other solreea how pZoiounaIy fso!
iii bo bcet understood wien say that it was noa
nix weeks in action before its very existence "
Eaow in London. ...
Then the trc::al correspondents went down to
spo: and turi.ed blaze Of light on It, soEao men, =
o: very different ciz-s iro,n pocr ArrE, vent n :
to lend sdyice and helping hand. Mr. Auogs :
fcrt, the eccentric, generous, md hMieh,snRcnta M
zrtsocrat-rerubicau, was soon on me >fnto the
q: meetings, 5n1k;ns speeches, ofs1s villages, |
md douhi!csa lcaling very E1akstsnt eompan- |