The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-11-14

tut tltN vi hdtCItSlti, tDG Zltdb ttult
: of the cotton interest in England, find
herself at present is truly deporabe
After wandering through her smok
streets, conversing with the idle work
man on the corner, who is one of
thousand, taking note of the empt
houses, the silent or only half-busy mill
and machine-shops, interviewing th
manufacturer in his counting room AM
the chief of police in the town hall,
have been unable to make up my mint
which of the two are in worse condi
ton, the employer or the employed.
have 1t on the very best authority tha
not dozen cotton manufacturers il
Manchester are making even one pei
cent. on their capital invested, while
the rest are losing from $3.50 to $1,000
per week. They do not st ,p work al
together because they would lose more
by so doing, so they are struggling OIL
as best they can on half time and low
wages, trusting for some bright opening
in the dark future, and very dark il
that future too. One most intelligent
merchant told me that he saw no posi-
BILE revival in the cotton trade for the
present, at least. Famine has Shut out
English manufactures from China and
India, the triumph of protection in
Germany, Canada, etc., etc. has nearly
completed that wall by which England
finds herself surrounded in her com
mercial life, and the agricultural de-
preston in Great Britain has limited
| the demand at home, I" So where is
your market?" he asked.
But if the employer is in sad plight
the workingman is as badly of, although
he probably does not feel it as keenly.
The majority of the mills are working
four or five days in the week with re-
duced force and small wages. Thou
| sands of people of all trades are out of
work, and, as the winter hastens on,
great distress seems unavoidable. Dur
ing last winter the benevoence of the
city was taxed to its utmost, but things
| are in far worse condition this autumn
and the workhouse will be more than
overflowing as soon as the cold weather
sets in. The poorer classes are herding
together in the cheapest quarters OF the
city, sometimes two or three families in
one small house. Poverty and wretch
edness are doing their best to increase
crime, although it is cheering fact that
there is "A great decrease in drunkenness
and the casual les caused thereby. The
different workingmen's societies find
themselves with greatly reduced funds
and consequently they can do little to
relieve their members, and as little to
institute strikes. In this state of af-
fairs the greatest efforts are being put
forth to prepare for the coming winter.
Never has encouragement been painted
more vividly on the features of this
whole region. The main work will fall
into the hands of the church as usual {;
for when public beneficence fails, to her
are all eyes cast. No one need 90 hun-
CRY in Manchester through the coming
winter, but this dependence on charity
cannot fail to bring its evil results in
the end, and one shudders to think of
the misery to be undergone by those
who are too proud to accept it.
But amidst all this depression there
is life enough left in the city TO
manifest great enthusiasm in political
matters. On the 18th of October there
convened in the Pomona Gardens a
mass meeting of the Conservatives, ad-
dressed by the Marquis of Salisbury,
secretary of foreign affairs, Col. Stan
ley, secretary of war, ETC., etc. The
weather was fine, and Saturday p. NJ,
the workingman's holiday, saw stream
ing towards the gardens mixed multi
| tude of all classes and conditions, Con
servativcs and Liberals, footmen and
vehicles of all descriptions, etc., etc.
Here and there floated the uplifted ban
ncrs of the various Conservative asso-
Citations, the supporters of which march,
ed solemnly on with dignity and disci-
pline befitting the occasion. On the
! corners stood distributors of sundry
hostile pamphlets, venders of satirical
pictures representing Lord Salisbury
and his associates in various undignified
positions, which brought forth the
frowns of all good Conservatives and
the suppressed laughter from the liber-
ally disposed. Once in the enclosure
the crowd urged its way full 10000
strong into the Pomona Palace, large
building sometimes called the Agricul-
tural hall, and by $50 p. NJ. there was
packed densely together a seething,
surging mass of humanity, which was
perpetually being thrown into confusion
by the efforts of some robust and ener.
getic individual either 10 force his way
nearer the platform or to get into the
open air out of the heat and crowd. In
front the large platform for the speak.
ers and others of the Conservative
leaders, and opposite the platform fol
the ladies were being rapidly filled. On
the outskirts of the noisy throng could
be heard rising shrilly above the confu.
sion the loud voice of the enterprisinp
newsboy, accompanied by medley o.
Twelve Conservative Statesmen for {
penny" Nice lemon drops only {
penny PACKAGE" Here you are, Con
servative rosettes tw'pence EACH" etc
But all these minor chimes were soor
drowned in the mighty shout and tho
waving of hats that followed as tn,
leaders of the Conservative host made
their way to the front of the platform
and took their seats. Then came ,
grand rush for the front, and few stiff
hats retained their normal shapes ant
few toes remained untrodden as eacl
excited Englishman made his way for
ward. The Marquis arose to address
the multitude and waited five minute
for their cheering to cease, and ever
then SO noisy was 1t that only a few il
front caught his soothing words of con
graduation and his bitter invective
against the Russians. BY the tim,
these few began to cheer some popula
sentiment uttered, the multitude benin,
them had but just finished cheering tn
one before, aud Notwithstanding tn
t energetic pantomime of various per
v sons on the platform, very little wa
{ heard. But that seemed no damper ol
the crowd. Each man cheered becaus
his neighbor did, and all kept in feve
heat of enthusiasm. After an hour o
so of this dumb show, the meeting wa
adjourned to the open air. Here agai
was great deal of bowling and cheer
ing with about the same beneficial ei
e feet on all parties. The bands played
I, the banners were waved, the leaders dc
= parted in their carriages, and the crow
}. surged through the gates and foun
d their way back to the city greatly salts
fled with the Conservative party in gen
eral and itself in particular. The saril