New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-01-15
OUR EUROPEAN LETTER.
.(From our regular eorrespopde9t.)
LONDON, December Goth, 1873.

.es usually attending this great festi..
val. The depression q trade and
commerce has thrown : gloom over
the British:industry in all its branch.
,es, whilst the declining revenue, in
conjunction With an increasing ex-
penditup, foreshaaow an additional
burden in the shape Of new taxes.
The course Of national prosperity is
stopped for while, and whether
the present adverse circumstances
are attributable to over.production,
high prices, inferior quality Of man.
nfactured goods, or any other cause,
there Is evidently a necessity on the
part of individuals to reduce their
domestic expenses, and a still more
imperative requirement. that Cover
ment slhoNld m4Rke an extensive re-
trenchment in its departments
where the cost upon rigid nvesti..
cation would be found in EXCESS Of
lie actual work required to be done.
Extravaganza, idleness, and thrift.
lessness have been assigned as causes;
of trouble to the artisan class, whilst.
the absence Of reciprocity in the for.
eign trade transactions has tended
i'll the opinion of some inqnirers to
leave a large portion of manufactur..
lag plant and mchinery idle. There is:
a lamentable amount of unemployed
industry in the country, and as the
winter deepens the pinch of poverty
will be felt by thousands Of persons.
who in former years have been able
TO ,arovide Christmas dinners for
their families and to rejoice. There
will be large demand npon rate
payers for the sustenance of the poor,
and additional means will be requir-
ed for the casual wards to which re-
course will be had by the destitute
in cold and snow.
A painful instance Of death from
starvatiop was lately disclosed at the
Westminster Sessions, and the par:
ticulars, as stated in the papers, con-
stitute a Christmas Tale more heart.
rendipg than anything occurring in
the fiction Of the holiday time, A
child two .nantIs old was found
dead in its mothers arms. The
father had long been out of work,
and every thing he possessed had been
parted with, bit by bit, for the sus-
tenance Of the family. Then, in
dread of the ,rk- house, the mother
took her child in her arms and went
out in the streets singing according
to the report, ''crippled, feeble, star
ring, hal1:clad, and sick with heart.
ache. She, for three days in success
sion, wandered about; but her poor
efforts did not attract pence enough
to keep body and soul toge ther The
baby was seantily clad, and the
mqtAser worse; and on tn third day
of this desperate attempt to win
compassion by the help Of street bal
lads, the child, wrapped up in al
shawl so thin that it's wan punched
face could be seen through the folds,
i led in her arms. 1t is shocking to
think that such terrible things are
p ossible in this great metropolis,
where rates for poverty are high
and sixpence in the pound is de-
man4ed even for School Board ex.
pepses. The inhumanity Of forcing
excessive knowledge into the heads
of poor children &9r attempting to do
SOY at this great cost, whilst other
children are allowed to starye and
die in the streets, is revolving to
common humanity.
The English are now bitterly COM
planning that their goods are driven
away from many markets, abroad
and at home, BY foreign eompeti-
tion. The Times in it's issue of to-
day calls attention to the fact that
some OF the causes Of this are easily
preventible. Quite recently a ''local
trm' had the offer Of a large order
for engipes-tWepty thousand lbs
worth-and the workmen were told
that the order could only be taken if
they would work at reduced price,
but that by SO doing they would Sc.
cure six days work her week for
months They would have consent
ed, I am told, but had first asked
the permission Of ''the Union.
.The Union refused its consent.
Then the order went to Germany.
! n another case a CUTLERY manufac-
inrer was unable to supply a large
order for "a similar cause. Yet again,
an order for thirteen thousand doz.
ems Of razors went to Germany the