The demand for payments in coin is, in certain cases, a way of screwing money unfairly from tenants. Thus, in Ireland, when gold was very scarce, the agents and middlemen used to insist on having all rent paid in guineas; the same guineas being bought and sold over and over again in one day, and a considerable profit made by the agent, who, of course, kept this source of revenue in his own hands. When we recollect that the Swiss bailiffs were a class somewhat akin to the Irish middlemen and agents, it is not too much to suppose that some grievance of this kind pressed hard upon the people at this period. The government monopolised the sale of salt and gunpowder; a proceeding justified on the ground that private dealers were not to be depended on—a reason (if true) for inducing government to engage in the manufacture, but no reason for enforcing a monopoly, as they would naturally have the best sale for their goods if they produced the best article. As regards the salt, there seems to have been no excuse for the smallest government interference: with regard to the gunpowder, it was probably desirable that the governments should manufacture for themselves, but their monopoly must have been either mischievous or a dead letter. Duties, too, were put on the exportation of corn and cattle, and an excise was placed on wine-in short, the English system of taxation, which consists in taking money on every possible occasion without discrimination or regard to proportion, was set up everywhere: and the peasants, in their 'ignorant impatience of taxation,' did not see where it would end. Besides having to bear these new burdens, it must be remembered that the right to engage in manufactures was, for the most part, an exclusive privilege of the cities, so that the peasants had little chance of paying these imposts by increased industry. The authority of the bailiffs, too, was frequently abused; and there was no appeal except to the class from which bailiffs were made, and who all expected to be bailiffs themselves in due time, and were therefore unwilling to curtail the authority of that office or to punish those who exceeded it. J. DOBSON COLLET. CAMBRIDGE EXAMINATION PAPERS. We are glad (says Punch, No. 396) to see a very practical character apparent in the last batch of Cambridge Examination Papers. In one we find the question— 'II. On what principle is the guilt of a crime committed by a drunken person to be estimated? Suppose a man half-drunk, and show on this principle in what degree he is responsible.' The answers to the question have delighted the Examiners, from the thorough knowledge they display of the nice degrees which divide the stages of intoxication-'sprung,' 'slued,' 'left to yourself,' 'glorious, 'roaring-drunk,' ' blazing-drunk,' and so round again to 'sick,'' seedy,' and 'sodawaterish.' One of the youthful Examinees takes this very profound view of the subject, in his answer to the question: Much depends on the "lush." Gin, brandy, and rum produce a spirituous excitement, ́and are likely to lead to heresies in matters spiritual; many "goes" will lead a man great lengths in matters of opinion; and a man beside himself with "hot with " may become a New-man, though he can hardly be a Rationalist. Under these circumstances a man's private judgment is suspended, and he is not responsible for his belief. On the other hand, a man half-drunk with " bishop" is likely to be more than usually orthodox; and indulgence in this episcopal beverage, as it strengthens his attachment to the Established Church, is likely to diminish the chances of his getting into the station-house.' See Miss Edgeworth's Absentee. Ellustrative Notices. [Passages in their reproduction are commonly so varied that the original author often does not know his own production again. To avoid thus misleading, and to cultivate habits of accuracy on the part of our young readers, the source is stated whence every passage quoted is derived, so that when secondhand the reader knows how to trace it or how to trust it.] WHEN the Standard of Freedom made its profession of principles, it alluded to religious liberty in these dubious words :-'As the champion of religious liberty, the Standard of Freedom will occupy high and unmistakeable ground. It will contend for the inalienable right of every human being to form, to express, to advance every opinion which does not encroach upon the rights of others. It will claim for religion, in all her forms and complexions, more than the privilege to be heard. Her rights exist not by suffrance or toleration-they are superior to man's control.' The limitation I have marked in italics makes the vaunt of no avail, since any coercion of infidel propagandism may be assumed to 'encroach on the rights of others.' A recent number of the Christian Times remarks-'Our press teems with a kind of literature addressed to and designed for our youths, which they devour greedily. Of this kind are such works as Combe's Constitution of Man, which, from their apparent candour and plausibility, are apt to find their way—and do find their way into the hands of thousands of our studious working lads, to the destruction of every religious principle and precept. Our societies for the repression of prevalent errors have done much to furnish antidotes to the insidious poison which is distilled for these works. Such productions as Kennedy's Reply to Combe, and Bogue on the Inspiration of the New Testament, have gone a great way in counteracting the efforts of the infidel press.' Mr. Charles Lane has published a pamphlet on 'Dietetics, an endeavour to ascertain the Law of Human Nutriment,' illustrated by a few neat plates. Mr. Lane is the most intelligible writer of the mystic school to which he belongs, and his agreeable pages are the most readable of any extant upon the subject of vegetarianism. Mr. Fleming's Commonwealth promises to be a more varied and practical magazine than the Labourer, of which it is the successor. The Ethnological Journal occupies a position of considerable value. The most influential confirmations of Biblical story are derived from historical research. No other journal exists in which these pretensions are analysed with boldness and impartiality. From the February number it appears that unless the friends of that journal promptly interfere, its discontinuance will be inevitable. The Truth-Seeker, (No. 7 of the New Series) edited by Dr. Lee, still sustains its character as the illustrator of every species of progress-typographical, orthographical, and catholic. The lecture by James Hole, on 'Social Science,' manifests the usual strength and weakness of Socialism. The notice of Emerson pictures him as 'poor and incomplete in human sympathies,' which misapprehension is founded on a misconception of the relation of common sympathy to a genius like Emerson's. In other respects the notice is able. It will be seen, from our week's list of lectures, that the Rev. Newnham Travers lectures again next Sunday, at South Place-probably on the Church of England, in continuation; but this not being announced, we cannot re-announce it. He continues to interest greatly. In the Life of Michael Servetus,' p. 376, occurs the following passage:'In a note, page 30, we read an instructive fact, shewing how far Calvin was from being a gospel or evangelical preacher; and, consequently, how little his conduct can have been influenced by the sermon of Christ on the Mount. "Calvin, in his time, preached 1924 sermons, and not one of them from either of the four Gospels!" In a letter to Farrel, written by Calvin, seven years before Servetus was burnt by his influence, he writes-" Servetus has lately written to me, and sent me, at the same time, a large book stuffed with idle fancies and full of arrogance. He says I shall find in it admirable things, and such as have hitherto been unheard of. He offers to come hither, if I like it; but I will not engage my word; for if he come, and any regard be had to my authority, he shall never escape with his life!" Thus long premeditated was this horrid murder.' Mrs. Child, in her 'Letters from New York,' speaking of Julia Pell, of Philadelphia, a coloured woman, who went about preaching, says 'So powerful was her rude eloquence, that it continually impressed me with grandeur, and once only excited a smile; that was when she described a saint striving to rise at the judgment day, "buried perhaps twenty feet deep, with three or four sinners a top of him," reminding me of a verse in Dr. Nettleton's Hymn Book : 'Oh how the resurrection light And rub the dust from out their eyes.' Mrs. Child also relates the following in her 'Letters from New York:'_'The bronze image of St. Peter at Rome, whose toe has been kissed away by devotees, was once a statue of Jupiter. An English traveller took off his hat to it as Jupiter, and asked him, if he ever recovered his power, to reward the only individual that ever bowed to him in his adversity.' A correspondent at Osmotherley desires me, for the satisfaction of friends there, to notice a paper published by Mr. Joseph Barker on 'Human Governments,' &c., written by Mr. G. Sunter, jun. I have a particular disinclination to criticise every thing which Mr. Barker may choose to publish: the truth of any thing I might point out would come to be disregarded, if it shall be supposed that I criticise with any pertinacious or partizan feeling. Besides, I have given my opinion of this performance in another publication. The discussion on the Prize Lectures of Mr. Holyoake has closed in the OddFellows' Chronicle. On the friendly side the controversy was very flattering, on the opposing side courteous. The Eastern Counties Herald, No. 553, says :-' A celebrated divine, who was remarkable in the first period of his ministry for a loud and boisterous mode of preaching, suddenly changed his whole manner in the pulpit, and adopted a mild and dispassionate mode of delivery. One of his hearers observing it, inquired of him what had induced him to make the change? He answered, "When I was young, I thought it was the thunder that killed the people; but when I grew wiser I discovered that it was the lightning-so I determined to thunder less and lighten more in future." The Northern Star, No. 591, has the following :-'Mamma,' said a girl, 'Solomon must have been very poor.' 'Why?' said her mamma. 'Because it says in the Bible Solomon slept with his fathers, and if he had been rich he would have had a bed to himself.' The Reasoner. February 21, 1849. CARLILE'S MONUMENT. The friends in Ashton-under-Lyne met last Sunday evening, and formed a committee to promote the Carlile Monument Fund in this neighbourhood. They agreed to meet again at the Commercial Hotel, Staley bridge, on Sunday evening, Feb. 25, at 6 o'clock. [One or two gentlemen in London have promised subscriptions for this fund, but wait to see what the friends of Carlile in general will do. On this account we are glad to hear of this meeting of which Mr. Hindle informs us.] THE WHIGS AND THE CLERGY. 'No moderation of views, no caution in their measures, no suavity of manner, no eminence of virtue, can save Whig statesmen from having the Clergy for their foes.' So says Baptist Noel; so says experience; and why? They are for progress against privilege; and that alone is cause enough to make every privileged class eager for their downfall. But 16,000 clergymen, spread over the whole country, and animated with inextinguishable jealousy and dislike, are formidable opponents. Certes, they are, and so the Whigs have repeatedly found to their cost. They have been tripped up by the Bishops more than once in our own days, to say nothing of the canvassing power of the parsonry, which must be worth half a million in bribes at a general election. It is vain for the Whigs to attempt to liberalise the Church. You may vaccinate it with Maltbys and Hampdens, but the gentle infection will not take; there is a stronger virus in the blood, and the smallpox of intolerance and privilege will break out again in all its virulence. The cathedral spire may be surmounted by a weathercock, but not by a Whig. Nor is there compensation in the support of the antagonist churches-the Catholics and Dissenters. They are outraged and alienated by the inevitable concessions of a Whig Government to the Church-concessions which repel the one class without attracting the other. Baptist Noel reads the doom of Whiggery plain as the handwriting on the wall. No amount of talent, no administrative skill, no brilliancy in debate, no amount of services to the country, can perpetuate their popularity. Too liberal for the aristocracy, and too conservative for the unprivileged mass, they are unable to conciliate their enemies, or to retain their friends. Successive votes slip away from their majorities, their friends out of doors grow cold and sullen, and the reins of power drop from their hands.'—Publicola. APPEAL TO PRIEST, POET, AND O Priest who preachest rich and poor are one- O stedfast man! whom thoughts of rack and cage Scare, as thou sittest by thy hearth aloneRise each-rise all !-the armour to put on Of Courage, prompt with giant Wrong to engage, Of Love, that toils from dawn till set of sun. Of Truth, unbought by gold, unbent by rage, Proclaim aloud-that ne'er should base desire With those who boast their liberty have place, That patience even to valour giveth grace, That self-devotion feeds no demon fire: Nor gilt nor crimsoned paths of fraud or rapine They who to conquest's loftiest heights aspire trace. Athensum. MR. OWEN'S HEALTH. H. F. C. In each of two letters which I have received from Mr. Owen, since the last notice, he speaks of his speedy recoverywhich seems to be fortunately past all doubt. THE WEEK'S LECTURES. LITERARY INSTITUTE, John-st., Fitzroysquare.-Feb. 25, (12, a.m.) Mr. G. J. Holyoake, 'What do Modern Divines know of Infidelity?' (7) Mr. Thomas Cooper, The Philosophy of the Intellect.' HALL OF SCIENCE, City Road.-Feb. 25, (7) Mr. Walter Cooper, 'Modern Infidel Philosophy.' POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTE, 1, George Street, Sloane Square-Feb. 28, (83) Mr. Thomas Dexter, The Eye and its Appendages.' FINSBURY HALL, Bunhill Row.-Feb. 26, (8) Mr. C. R. Carter, 'Elocution.' 1 [This subscription from our generous friend, Mr. Trevelyan, was accompanied by these words:'I send you a Post Ofice order for £3, 40s. of which pray accept for the Reasoner Fund, and for the widow of a member of the Utilitarian Society [which has been forwarded], mentioned in that publication-to read which gives more satisfaction to my intellectual and moral organs than any other periodical which comes under my notice. I have a complete set of it, and now subscribe for two monthly parts-and often get several single numbers for distribution when any very useful article occurs-such as your defence (and really admirable one to) of the Odd-Fellows' Committee.'] Editorial Communications are to be addressed to 3, Queen's-head-passage, Paternoster-row; and Post Office Orders made payable at the Chief Ofice, London. The Society of Utilitarians, the same. Country Subscribers.-The Reasoner is posted to subscribers in the country, who send directions to the Publisher, and payment in advance.-Quarter's Subscription, 4s. 4d.-on thin paper 3s. 3d. Monthly Parts.-The Reasoner, in a stiff wrapper, is ready for delivery in Monthly Parts on Magazine day. The Wrapper contains Lists of all Agents of the Reasoner, and all News and Coffee Rooms where it is taken in. Advertisements not exceeding sixty words, Halfa-Crown each every ten words additional, Twopence. Payment in advance. Branch and other Communications for the Officers of the Rational Society are to be addressed to 23, John Street, Fitzroy Square-and their Post-office Orders made payable at 103, Tottenham Court Road. Christian Journals.-The Reasoner will exchange advertisements with Christian Journals. Reports of Facts are desired to be under rather than over-stated, and accompanied by name and address of the informant. Letters not marked private' are deemed eligible for publication. PROSPECTS OF THE REASONER.' SIR,-Being about to leave the country, I am anxious to send a small trifle to the Shilling List' [acknowledged No. 139.] It may be long ere I have the pleasure of again reading the Reasoner. It has been a greater pleasure to me than the glass to a liquor drinker, or the weed' to a smoker; and these gratifications, their votaries tell us, are inexpressible. I trust it may live to a good old age, and be gathered to its fathers with honour and praise. I am sure it is secure now-at least it must have an increasing circle of readers, for, to my knowledge, many of the old readers are now inhabitants of the new world. But if it is not sup. ported send it across the Atlantic, and there shall be life in it still. You may depend upon a more respectable Shilling List' at the end of another year. The generality of freethinkers are beginning to understand that the happiness of each is the happiness of all' is something more than mere words. The influence which erroneous principles practised by others exert over the weal or woe of those who may think and act justly themselves, is now more clearly seen. Self-love will therefore point to a vigorous propagandism. To give you some sketch of the prospects of the Reasoner, Mr. Cox, one of the most thriving of Southampton booksellers, is a good friend to it. Some time ago he exposed one in his window: and now he has, I believe, about nine weekly subscribers. He always keeps one fully exposed to window readers. He is a man of some influence in the town, being an Odd-Fellow of some importance, and a splendid lecturer. T. M. THE WEEKLY & MONTHLY ORTHODOX. This is a new Catholic Journal of Correspondence and Literature. The first part is just issued, and contains a goodly variety of matter of interest to the class for which it is more peculiarly intended. The work is cleverly conducted, and gives a striking example of the energy and spirit which, at the present time, particularly animate the movements and proceedings of the Roman Catholic body. It is illustrated by wood engravings; the subjects in the current part including a likeness of the Pope (with an interesting biographical notice), views of the recently built St. George's Church, Southwark, and of Gaeta and its harbour (the present abiding place of Pius IX.) &c.-Morning Advertiser, No. 17,930. HAND BILLS OF THE REASONER.' In accordance with a suggestion of Mr. Edwards of Burnley, a large quantity of small Bills have been prepared for circulation. The contents of them and other particulars will be made known next week with a view to obtain the co-operation of our friends. THE WHITE QUAKERS. Mr. H. Burston, of Chelsea, who lately left his home to join the White Quakers near Dublin, has somewhat prematurely returned, and has left with me a letter upon the matter. He seems not to have been able to understand them before going, and when he handed to Joshua Jacob a copy of the Reasoner with Theodore's letter in, which had misled him, (so he avers) Mr. Jacob threw the Reasoner away with an air of dramatic scorn, saying Oh! we want no Reasoners here.' If I find opportunity I will correspond with the principals of the establishment, and if I can learn both sides of the case I may make the result public. THE IRVINGITES. The body of religionists in London popularly known as Irvingites (a title, however, which they indignantly repudiate, although they revere the memory of Edward Irving), are at this moment very active. Within the bounds of the metropolis they have seven churches-a sort of imitation of the seven apocalyptic churches; and Newmanstreet, where Mr. Irying used to preach, is a sort of Jerusalem. Here, once a month, representatives from these seven churches assemble; and although the reputation of the party is associated with ideas of fanaticism and absurdity, the proceedings of the managers and leaders are characterised by much shrewdness and worldly wisdom. Mr. Drummond, formerly of the banking firm of Drummond and Co., but now a country gentleman, and one of the members for West Surrey, is understood to be still connected with the body, which is actively endeavouring to increase its influence by the accession of other names of repute.-Northern Star, No. 590. SPURR'S TEMPERANCE COFFEE HOUSE, 10, Williamson Square, Liverpool. Travellers, accommodated upon the most reasonable terms. J. S. informs his friends and others who are about to Emigrate, either to the Canadas or United States, that he has entered into arrangements with a respectable shipping house, and is prepared to furnish information as to cost of passage, time of sailing, &c., &c. All communications must be post paid, and contain a postage stamp, or they will not be answered. TO CORRESPONDENTS. BECEIVED.-R. M. (Mr. Watson has published, as far as it goes, the only Life of Robespierre' among us. A new one is just out, from the pen of Mr. Lewis.) Manchester Spectator, No. 5, from W. F.-Odd-Fellows' Chronicle, No. 67.-Robert Ross. Philosophy of Gold,' 'The Child at Play,' etc., by J. H.-' Analysis of Gillespie's Argument,' by W. Chilton.-W. Willson.Preston Guardian, No. 262, from G. Edwards. -E. L. Dyer, 1s. for Carlile Monument.-Panthea. (The several communications received.)W. Willson, Chester. (Who is your bookseller? Chester ought to have facilities for getting the Reasoner. The kind of books alluded to are in contemplation.)-W. H. W.-Staffordshire Ad. vertiser, No. 1795. London: Printed by A. Holyoake, 54, Exmouth Street, Clerkenwell, and Published by J. Watson, 3, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row. Wednesday, February 21, 1849. |