vox P O 1» U L I DEI. AN ADDEESS WORKING AND MIDDLE CLASSES, PRESENT CRISIS, WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE BEST MODE OP PROCEDURE TO RELIEVE US FROM OUR PRESENT BURTHENS, LOCAL AND NATIONAL, BY AN OPERATIVE. LIVERPOOL: J. BAIIET,' WHMECHAPEI., AND AiL BOOESEIIERS; THE CRISIS. Feliow-TVorkmeji,— For the last twelve months nnpavalleleil suireriiig lias been endured, and that with the utmost patience, by all the openitivc- and middle classes of Society in this kingdom. Famine and disease have made awliil havoe amongst us, and this has been increased hy a want of employment in aU quarters; hut perhaps this lias h^n more acutely felt in the manufacturing districts. During this panic in the labour market many unprincipled speculators liave taken advantage of the power they possessed, and exerted their utmost to crush the honest and industrious artizan still lower in the grade of Society, than that which Providence had originally ordamed that he should occupy. Tradesmen have been ruined and cast upon the world pennyless; our whole Commercial fabric has been shook as by an earthquake, and it at once became visible that we had arrived at a climax when we must endeavour to ascertain and remove the cause. The country seemed to arouse from its dumber, and at the late general election an effort was made to return snch men as would endeavour to restore confidence in our Commercial affairs, and by a well regulated system of eco.xomy in every branch of our political institutions, so reduce or modify our present burthens, that we should he enabled to proceed on our course rejoicing, in the enjoyment of “ peace and plenty.” Onr Aristocracy finding this the case, immediately raised a IVae Cry, ofthe French are coming,”—raise our fortifications— strengthen our batteries—increase our army and iiaxx and prepare for war. Tliis now scheme succeeded, and was eagerly seized upon as 3 favourable pretext for eacreasing our hurthen.s, and at Iho opening of Parliament the Ministry proposed an addition to the Income Tax, hut whilst this was peudfing a Revolution broke out in France, and the people hurled the tyrant Louis Philippe from the throne, established a Republic, and placed aU classes on an equality. This sudden convulsion on the continent seemed to arouse the dormant spirit of Englishmen, and they no longer thought, but spoke aloud,—^tbe war cry was put down, and the ministry, fiiDy aware of the poation in which they were placed, and the danger winch surrounded them, a^eed to forego the intended in- A. o 3 cvcaso of the Income Tax. This, however, is not sufficient, we must Iiave an ininiediate retronchincnt, we must demand a strict revision of the I’EXsioN i.ist ; we can no longer allow a lazy set of. drones to live in pampered affluence upon the Mood and sinews of our lahouring population, the time is now come when we must agi'ate, petition, and assemble in every parish throughout tho' I.'iiited kingdom ; let our voices be beard from the East unto the ffl'est, and from the North unto the South; let us unceasingly perse¬ vere, until wo obtain a thorough reform, both in our national and our local expenditure. To this wo must come at last, for iti.s certain that our labouring population will no longer be content to starve in the midst of abundance—nor will they suflor an imjjost to bo sus¬ tained upon thgir daily bread, whilst their childi’cn are crying for Yet what can wc expect from a Parliament constituted as ours is, if we analyze its contents, we shall find that there are a sufficient number of its members dependent upon the government for their v(!ry exi.stence, to form a majority on almost every question brought before them; for out of a House of Commons consisting of 568 members wc have 143 dependants upon our national resources in the Army and Navy, which may be enumerated as follows, viz:— 3 Adniiral-s, 3 Lieutenant-Generals, 3 Major-Generals, 22 Colonels, • 28 Lieutcnant^Colonels, 16 Majors, 43 Captains iu the Army and Navy, 21 Lieutenants, and 4 Cornets, making a total of 143 ; be¬ sides these wc have upwards of 100 Military and Naval Officers in the House of Lords, without referring to the numerous hranches of their families, who are generally dependent upon the govern- nicut. iVill Englishmen allow these paupers on the public funds to sit in Parliament and vote the money of the people into their own pockets P IVe cannot expect any better things from such a consti¬ tuted mass of corruption. Well may our military expenditure go on increasing annually, and will do .so, until the unanimous voice of the people compel them to make a sacrifice for the public good. Our expenditure for 1847 was upwards of .J’7,000,000 more tbau that of 1835. It therefore becomes us at once to raise om' voice agsinst these enormous extravagancies. Already has the spirit of resistance spread throughout the land; public meetings have been held, and public opinion expressed in all tho large and populous towns in the kingdom ; a “National Con¬ federation for tile Eednetion of Taxation,” has been formed, and in Liverpool they have nobly done tlieir duty, in unliesitatmgly calling upon Mr. Cakdwell, their new representative, to resign, for having voted with the ministry, against the wish as well as the interest of his constituents. Let every constituency adopt the same line of conduct—let them call upon every member to resign who will not advocate the necessary reforms required by the voice of the people. Let them take warning by France, where they have seen monarchy thrice hurled from its pinnacle of greatness, and thrico have they had, in about half a century, to shelter and succour the 4 Boyal fugitives. Let the pension and civil lists be brought forth, and duly laid open to public gaze, and I dare be bound wo Hud snffiraent to rumenate upon; for instance if we take out of these lists the salt^ of her Majesty, Prince Albert, and all the little Prince and Princesses of the Koyal Family; the Dowagers of Royally, and the foreign Koyal Sineciirists, we shall find some pretty pickings; we will now look to the next degree below royalty, and we find the Duke of ITcllington, according to the following list has received the following amount of public money ;— Money received since he entered the army to lb-i8. Salary whilst Ambassador to France and ‘V icniui. Pension of ^,000 per annum, 37 years . Grant per 53rd Geoi^e III. Grant 33rd and 54th George III. Grant per 55!h George III... -Tote br Parliament after Battle ^Vaterloo. Piy of Reld-3klarshal, 1818 to 1847, at £2,000 per annum.... Pay as Colonel of the ^fle Brigaac, since 1820. Pay as Constable of the Tower, since 1820. and as AVarden of Cinque Ports. Pay as Colonel of the 1st Regiment of Guards, since 1827..., Pour years’ pay as Commander-in-Chief, from 1827 to 1830.. Sir years’ ditto, from 1842 to 1848. ;^30,000 0 0 50,000 0 0 148,000 0 0 100,000 0 0 400,000 0 0 200,000 0 0 GO.OOO 0 0 00,000 0 0 0,872 0 0 25,200 0 0 13,832 0 0 00,747 0 0 £1,137,013 0 0 In addition to the above the Duke of 'Wellington ha^ received— As prize-money in Sjjain.£?S0p,000 0 0 Aq in France.. 1,000,000 0 0 £1,800,000 0 0 Now, will Englishmen much longer hear these hurtliens—can . sofier our own families to drag on a miserable existence, out of hard earnings, and in Ibis shameless and reckless mauner, support a pampered aristocracy in indolence. The industrious Dees in a Efive would have long since exterminated them, and let us now commence, and by an application of the pruning hook to the top and tender branches, we shall be aware, that ere the trunk be injured, a great and beneficial saving will accrue to tiie public. Having perused, with interest, the following article in the Dispatch, I leave to insert it here, for the edification of those who may not have seen it. ' LIBERTT A^^) BIG LOAVES. These may seem strange terms for juxta-position ; but they contain within them a profound hidden truth. Bread was at the bottom of the barricatles. It was tiic big loaf that sounded the rappel in the ears of the National Guards ; and the baker’s peel was the battering-ram that levelled the royal towers. How long will Statesmen take to be convinced of this ? Is it not strange that Kings, with the lessons of such repeated and uniform, we may add, and recent experience, before them, still insist on making the lights of history guides in place of warnings, and on sailing on the very rocks and shoals on which buoys and beacons are moored that they may shun them ? Men read of Ninevah and ! mighty thrones, principal rd history is not philosophj r the snn. There are tr the present year, and in our jiresent critiGal position, another bad harvest, which, for any thing yet seen, is ([uite as likely this year as it was the last, must place us in a position at uliich the boldest of us may quake and shudder. At such a period, when our fate depends on the mere cast of a die; when we ought to be pawning our very shirts to offer a bounty on importation, so that our breadless mobs may be kept quiet, our insane rulers are actually bei/imiiiiy to tbe crazy prejudices of oui aristocracy What are our Eadicals and Free- Traders about ? Shall such tilings be. And overcome us like a summer's cloud. Without our special wonder ? It is not yet too late. The Income Tax, shameful though it may be, is nothing to the permission of an Act like tliis. “ It must not, nor it cannot come to good.” ■ Down with the Corn Law at once and for ever. It has treason and revolution in every line of it. Ireland is on our hands already. Do we want England to he up in discontent also ? Our poor-rates are rapidly doubling themselves. A million of Irish beggars are added to our native swarms. Who shalTpvophecy the end of it! Awake ! Arise! or he for ever fallen t i.et ns turn our aUcntioii to the latter part of this article and we find tlie ibllovving sentence:—“ Our poor-rates are rapidly donbliiig lliemselves.” Tills is a fact wliicli cannot he donieu, and that too (hiring a total dearth of employment. Our hihoiiriiig men ave parading the streets with haggard countenances, and those whom, they have entrusted with the power of contracting for their daily lahonv liave hetrayed their trust, and solfisldy nsgvandised amon.g.s!, a few, wliat onglit to liave lioen a heneiit to the multitude. Tho iimstci'.s in tlie various hraiiclies of tlic htiihiing trade are utteinpt- ing a reduction in the price ofTabonr, and we may I'Xpect a severe struggle against tiiis ciicroaciimcnl. Our local and oar luitioiia! burtlicns are rapidly increasing, wliilst euiployuiciit is getting daily more scarce. IVhat is to he done in this ovcntfiit crisis i' Are wu to look tamely on wliilst our families arc ruined!’ Is there no remedy left i' Let the rate-payers be up and doing. Let them hear ill mind that the annual accounts have to he laid before them, ui vestry, on Easter Tuesday, when the rates for the next year will he laid. This is the time and place when all should be present, and by one unanimous vote, sweep away every extravagant item from the Parish hooks. Let the rate-payers form themselves into branch Associations for the ostensahle purpose of watching o-ver tlio future interests of the parish, in every AVard, so that they may he prepared rrith every necessary information, and thus come pre¬ pared to lend their aid in refoi-ming all local ahnses. T^en we Laveaccnmplislied one good let us not sit down content, hut follow up our good intentions by pressing forward to assist our brethren in obtaining a national, as well as. a local reform, let u.s not rest content until we have obtained a thorough reform, and an extension of the franchise. Let us join hand and heart with the National Confederation for the Reduction of Taxation, and by every means in onr power endeavour to elevate our position iji society, and convince those who have so long tyrannised over ns that we are not mere automaton figures, to do the will of those who, for thiur own selfish ends may set us in motion, but that wc are endowed xrith a just share of reason and understanding to know and to feel that we are oppressed and borne down to the earth. Let us arise, shake off our fetters and he fi-ec 1 AN OPERATIVE AND A RATEPAYER. April Sth, 1S4S.