This is one painful bit of the kernel of life in Blackburn just now, which is concealed by the quiet shell of outward appearance.

Beyond this unusual quietness, a stranger will not see much of the pinch of the times, unless he goes deeper; for the people of Lancashire never were remarkable for hawking their troubles much about the world.

In the present untoward pass, their deportment, as a whole, has been worthy of themselves, and their wants have been worthily met by their own neighbours.

What it may become necessary to do hereafter, does not yet appear.

It is a calamity arising, partly from a wise national forbearance, which will repay itself richly in the long run.