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OUR 'GLORIOUS' CONSTITUTION.-'A State or Commonwealth,' says Milton, 'is a society sufficient in itself in all things conducible to well-being and commodious life.' Will this definition answer to Britain as parliaments now are?-when all depends on a set of men authorized by a very small minority both as to numbers and property? It is a common maxim in politics, that in every state there must be, somewhere, an absolute and irresistible power over the people. But this is to be rightly understood, or it will lead to mistakes. În a monarchy, as France, the whole power is in the king against all other voice: this is proper tyranny. At Venice, it is in the nobles exclusively; this is proper aristocracy or oligarchy. In Holland (excepting some errors and deviations) the whole power is in the States; that is, or should be, the people, but does not descend low enough, and leaves the bourgeoisie considerably enslaved. In England, the whole power is in the King, Lords, and Commons. Therefore in monarchies, the people, the chief object, have no share of power. In oligarchies, the people have as little. In republics, the people have a share of power. But in our mixed government the people are swallowed up in King, Lords, and Commons. To say therefore that there must be in every country an absolute power somewhere over the people, and in which they are to have no share, is making the people mere beasts of burden, instead of what they are, viz, the original of power, the object of government, and last resource. Our courtly people therefore, to quiet our minds on this subject, tell us, we have a very great share in governing ourselves, as we elect our law makers. We have seen what this amounts to. And if any Englishman is satisfied, I can only say he is thankful for small mercies.-James Burgh's Political Disquisitions, 1774. ORIGIN OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.-To take away all such mutual grievances, injuries, and wrongs, i.e. such as attend men in the state of nature, there was no way but only by growing into composition and agreement amongst themselves, by ordaining some kind of government public, and by yielding themselves subject thereunto, that unto whom they granted authority to rule and govern, by them the peace, tranquillity, and happy estate l of the rest might be procured. Men always knew that where force and injury was offered, they might be defenders of themselves; they knew that however men may seek their own commodity, yet if this were done with injury unto others, it was not to be suffered, but by all men and all good means to be withstood. Finally, they knew that no man might in reason take upon him to determine his own right, and according to his own determination proceed in maintenance thereof, in as much as every man is towards himself, and them whom he greatly affects, partial; and therefore that strifes and troubles would be endless, except they gave their common consent, all to be ordered by some, whom they should agree upon, without which consent there would be no reason that one man should take upon him to be lord or judge over another.-Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity.

WORKS OF THOMAS COOPER,

To be had of JAMES WATSON, 3, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row.

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THE PURGATORY OF SUICIDES. A Prison Rhyme. In 10 Books..... (To be had also in 18 uumbers, at 2d. each; or in 6 parts at 6d.)

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WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES. A series of Tales illustrative of Lincolnshire and
Leicestershire Life. In two vols., neat cloth boards,....

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THE BARON'S YULE FEAST. A Christmas Rhyme. In 1 volume sewed,..

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THE MINSTREL'S SONG AND THE WOODMAN'S SONG. The Poetry and the Melody by
Thomas Cooper. Piano-forte Arrangement by S. D. Collett,......
Two Crations against taking away Human Life under any circumstances,
EIGHT LETTERS TO THE YOUNG MEN OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
the 'Plain Speaker, ')..... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . .

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PARTS 4,5, & 6 of " COOPER'S JOURNAL," containing 4 Numbers each, in a Wrapper, Price 44d., each, are now ready.

Also, Parts 1 and 2, containing 4 Numbers each, Price 44d. each; and Part 3, containing 5 Numbers, Price 54d,

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Parts 1, 2, and 3, Price 6d. each, (each containing 6 Numbers,) are now

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CAPTAIN COBLER; THE LINCOLNSHIRE INSURRECTION :" An Historical Romance of the Keign of Henry VIII.

Also now Publishing in Weekly Numbers, at One Penny. Twenty-one numbers are now ready. London: Printed and Published by JAMES WATSON, 3, Queen's Head Passage,

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OR, UNFETTERED THINKER AND PLAIN SPEAKER FOR TRUTH, FREEDOM, AND PROGRESS.

"AND though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field we do injuriously to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple! Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?"-Milton's Areopagitica.

No. 30.-Vol. I.]

FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1850. [Price One Penny.

MERCANTILE PHILOSOPHY.

SOCIETY in England has outlived the theory of feudal institutions; but a reverence for rank and ancestry, is still an integral part of the mind of our country. Yet a poor Duke or a poor Lord is, in the estimation of the many, inferior to a rich merchant. Our " Merchant Princes" have been married and intermarried among the descendants of the old nobility, and the commercial element is essentially in the ascendant.

A purely commercial state of society manifests its influence in a variety of ways, the most striking of which is the increased activity of all its members. Men are quickened and enlivened in all their active energies. Whilst I sit and watch the very motions of these Manchester operatives, as they pass and repass along the streets, it is impossible not to observe that they are more active than the peasantry of the agricultural counties. They do not bustle; but they move sharply on. Like the machinery at which they work, they move with a kind of monotonous speed; yet they are sharp, ever on the alert, and, in conversation, like to be considered witty.

The increased activity of men constrained within natural bounds is itself a good. It is a more general development of faculties, and partakes more of energetic animal life than the slow growth of merely vegetative existence. The excess of activity, however, is a great evil, and one to which the operatives of large towns are constantly liable. Their mission, in the age of missions, is to work, but not to enjoy life. How the excess of activity is to be guarded against, and the better part of the commercial spirit retained, is a question easier asked than satisfactorily answered. The leaders of commerce refuse to give heed to such a question. With them every additional gain increases the means of further gain, and the thirst of gold knows no limits. The appetite grows by what it feeds upon. To suppose then that enterprising merchants would generally entertain such a question, would bespeak an ignorance of the ways of men. The restless force with which a prevailing and strengthened passion presses forward in hopes of success, begets a disregard of means, and forgets or overlooks evils. With men whose habits are purely commercial, moral and intellectual considerations, if not under-rated, are over-borne by "the pressure of circumstances," and hidden amidst the dust and noise of what is called "practical utility." Aristocracies are corrupted by the possessions which they inherit, and of the real value of which they are ignorant: they step into wealth and luxury, and become, in time, effete and effeminate. Commerce on the other hand, begets power, for sometime retains it, but in its love of conquest over matter, it is apt to destroy the source of its own strength, To my mind this seems to be one of the great evils, against which, England, as a commercial state, has chiefly to guard. We know the old saying, "money is

the doer of all things." Whenever it becomes literally true it will undo itself. A veneration for rank is not so deteriorating and inimoral as an unintelligent love of gain; and a nation of mere money-getters is a pitiable and melancholy spectacle.

The worship of gold does not increase among the labouring population. The antagonism between the employer and the employed is much too deadly to admit of money becoming the controlling ideal adoration of the labourers. There is no harmony between the capitalists and the workmen; and it is foolish for good men to persuade themselves, that there is any bond of unity between the rich employer and the poor workman,-except the bond of an iron necessity strong enough to bind both, I grant you; yet weak enough to break, in any sudden emergency.

M. Lamartine has just visited this country, and, according to his wont, has talked grandiloquently of our social state in the columns of La Presse. I can easily conceive a benevolent person, who has acquired a knowledge of our commercial system from our most esteemed economists, visiting London, and as he paraded the leading streets of the metropolis, being struck by the wealth and order with which he was surrounded,-particularly if he, like Lamartine, came from a country more remarkable for changes than stability. Such a visitor might be led to exclaim, "Here is the land of my heart; here we have peace, security of property and family!"

Pause, generous philosopher! descend from the high ground of generalities; turn out of your cab; come with me from the elegant rooms of your hotel, and I will introduce you to the workshop. There you hear curses -low but bitter-against the very supporters of those "charities" you so fancifully admire. You had supposed that the machine worked almost perfectly; that you were surrounded by a happy population, who enjoyed all the comforts, rational and industrious men could desire; that the imprudence and imperfections of a few mistaken or unfortunate men, were more than overbalanced by the heavenly generosity of a few rich individuals, who devoted their lives to studying and supplying the wants of their fellow men. Turn over we beseech you the black leaves of our book of pauperism; read the items carefully! There learn that eighteen years ago, the dependent idlers of your ideal paradise were so numerous, that property, in selfdefence procured a bill of divorce against poverty, and tried to shake it off: punished it, and cast it out. Know also that the bill of divorce has proved, in the Court of Experience, to be a dead letter; and that pauperism and vagrancy have increased.

Are you aware, my dear philosopher, that, only a few months since, we were busy in devising means to get rid of our "surplus" population, selling off below prime cost,-getting rid of the rubbish anyhow and anywhere, on the shores of Australia or the bottom of the sea? Ay! our most virtuous Queen's poor sisters were being banished, and all by "magnificent charities "the select objects of your poetical eulogiums. Let me introduce you to a friend whom you have not yet seen. He is a bowed starved Irish | labourer, knocking at the door of the workhouse of St. George's in the East. He cannot be admitted; but the authorities send him to Liverpool, which in due time returns him to London; and he and a hundred others are bundled over to Dublin; he visits parish after parish, driven from pillar to post, and just reaches the parish of his nativity in time to die. And all this kindness too by "charity." It would be an easy matter to extend the range of your acquaintance; but the needlewomen and starved

Irish labourers will serve you to ponder over at this time. We do not give strong milk to babes.

It is the commercial spirit that makes capital talk of owing no duty to labour; that deranges the thoughts of men on the nature and uses of property; and begets, as its counterpart, an inextinguishable antagonism and a war of classes; that scorns an acknowledgement of moral claims and abandons the very name of mutual interests and human duties. The "vulgar rich" sneer with an earnest contempt at the mention of self-sacrifice; laugh outright at the idea of injuring interest for the sake of principle; are possessed of a cold and an accommodating reason that is distrustful of a warm-hearted enthusiasm, and that smiles at generosity as something to be overcome by years, and a knowledge of the world.

The last is the unkindest cut of all. It means that the selfish spirit has taken possession of the soul, and is destined to command in undisputed authority. The leaders of a school who settle all human affairs by a comparison of averages, and a table of profit and loss; who have no other motto for the door of their temple than buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest" who point to Manchester as the model city of their choice; who make the great object of life the accumulation of riches; who see in traffic and gain all they desire. Such "philosophers" may help to make a people active, but not to make a nation great. It is just possible that these leaders may one day find out that, in their complex calculations, a few items have been omitted; and that, with all their parade of arithmetic, a true answer to the great account of human existence has not been found by them. SAMUEL M. KYDD.

NOTES OF TRAVEL AND TALK.

IN giving a hasty account of my summer's journey, I omitted to mention Chesterfield. A few spirited young men invited me thither; and although the audience was small, I hope some little good was done in arousing thought -of which there is much need in that town of great religious profession. My young friends, resolved on giving me a treat, had provided a conveyance, and I was off with them to see Chatsworth-the grand seat of the Duke of Devonshire-within an hour of my reaching them. Everybody has heard of Chatsworth-the most magnificent house and grounds, perhaps, in the kingdom. The vast extent of the grounds, the grand fountains and waterfalls, and, above all, the superb conservatory, are always talked of by visitors; but to me, the sculpture gallery was the great charm of the place: it contains some of the masterpieces of Canova, Thorwaldsen, and others, and is worth walking one hundred miles to see.

Since my return home, I have made two short, but agreeable journies; one to Cheltenham-where I talked once in the town-hall to a mixed audience, and twice to the members of the Workingmen's Institute in the County Court the use of which had just been granted. My other journey was into Norfolk-a county which I had never seen before-but often wished to visit. The fine old city of Norwich delighted me as much as I had expected it would. It is, indeed, one of the most interesting towns in England: its imposing castle and noble cathedral-both dating from the Norman period; its ancient gates and numerous churches; with the antique style of many of the houses -all combine to raise stirring associations of the Past. And these were blended with the Present most pleasurably, during the two nights I talked in

St. Andrew's Hall-the church of one of the old monasteries, which is now used for public meetings, lectures, and concerts. Jenny Lind's peerless notes have thrilled through its noble space; and my friends will credit me when I say that I did my best to stir its echoes while endeavouring to rehearse the lofty thoughts and sonorous music of Milton. That hall is the grandest arena with which I have ever yet been favoured in England: it is said that 5000 persons can stand on its floor-but it must not be supposed that I was able to attract an audience approaching that number; though I had no reason to complain, from what was told me of the number usually attending other visitant speakers. I also talked two nights at Diss-a pleasant rural town, but too strongly characterised by sectarianism to afford a pleasant prospect for any future talker of my kidney. Yet there are a few thinkers there who may raise the intellectual tone of the place, if they have the courage and perseverance to combat difficulties.

I have said little of the condition of working men, in these hasty notes. To my unspeakable gratification I found a great decrease of suffering in almost every district I visited the reports of abundant employment being nearly general. How long that will continue is a problem. I only wish that working men may profit by this respite from deeper suffering--be it of short or long continuance. THOMAS COOPER.

Come, let us wander, dearest maid,
To yonder deep sequestered shade,
Mild evening comes with dewy sheen
To robe the hills and vallies green;
The vesper-star shines bright and clear,
Then come, oh come, my Nanny dear!

Come at the blackbird's cheery call,
Down by the murmuring water-fall;
The rose your laughing eyes shall greet,
The violet woo your tiny feet;

A thousand echoes charm your ear-
Then come, oh come, my Nanny dear!
Sheffield.

SONG.

The blushing flowers look far more gay,
The songsters chaunt a sweeter lay,
The earth looks beauteous as a bride,
When you are smiling by my side:
Then leave your cot and sweet parterre,
And come, oh come, my Nanny dear!
Blest be the hour that gave you birth,
My dearest, only charm on earth!
I long to see your joyous smile;
And kiss those lips so free from guile;
Love makes e'en death a heavenly sphere,
Then come, oh come, my Nanny dear!
J. W. KING.

On Belief. For my own part, I think nothing can be more clearly deduced from Scripture, nothing more fully expressed in Scripture, nothing more suitable to natural reason, than that no man should be forced to believe-for no man can be forced to believe. You may force a man to say this or that, but not to believe it. If you hold a clearly printed book with a clear candle to a man of clear eyes and able to read, he will certainly read; but if the print be not clear, or the candle or his sight not clear, or he not learned to read—can your force make him to read? And just so it is with our understanding, which is the eye of our soul, and a de monstration being as a candle to give light, if then your demonstration or deduction, or his understanding be not clear, or he not learned, you may with a club dash out his brains but never clear them. He then believes the Scripture, cannot but believe what you clearly demonstrated from the Scripture, if he hath clear brains; if he hath not, your force may puzzle and puddle his brains more by the passion of anger and hatred, may make him abhor you and your arguments, but never lovingly embrace you or them; and thus you may hazard his soul by hatred, and your own soul also by provoking him to it, but never save his soul by a true belief. But, perchance, you will conclude that he doth not believe the Scripture, because he doth not believe your arguments from Scripture (a strange conclusion!)-but what then! Would you, can you, force him to believe the Scripture? Can you drive faith, like a nail, into his head or heart with a hammer? Nay, it is not in a man's own power to make himself believe any thing farther than his reason shows him, much less divine things.—Dr. Herbert Croft-Naked Truth.

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