On this page
- Departments (3)
-
Text (12)
-
Untitled Article
-
London, Wednesday Evening, A ugust 19, Quarter to Seven.
-
Untitled Article
-
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, AUGUST 22. 1840.
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
MR. O'CONNOR'S LETTER TO MR. LEECH.
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
CEASTZST i »^ M * -Ti T fflargH ( Continued from ow first page . ) SbttmTOT . -Dr . M'Bocall . —The Committee * £ 3 ? J « 2 F * T * to invite this < ii *^ 5 shed patriot to thw town , have received ananmfrfrom him stAtme that lie will visit Dewsbury on the 3 ™ of September , and they hare the pomise of the Urge loem oz the W ^ gton Tavern , ffffis torn for the above named gentleman to lecture in . n , ? f ? f ? " 4- TBSHIEK - > -I > ttrii 1 « the move-Z nt ^ W tbis > ° ™ was the firrt in Scotland for energy and determination , bnt after the Convention of ihe worW classes broke up , the great exertioaa vjwh tha people had made seemed tohave paralyzed them for a time , and during the time the sn— . ' . - -
country has been slumbering , we turned oar attention to the erection of an Economical Society ; the people has aasyered the call to this with the same . spirit as they had done during the rest of the movement . It bas now been in existence three months , and is doing vreli , with between two and three hundred members The liberation of the three patriotSj'Lovett , Colling , and M'Douall , seems to give a new impulse to the -cause , and I think a visit from them would be the means of raising us from that lethargy into which Tve have fallen , and make us rank , as we were before , viz ., the first . Great preparations are making here to receive them , and as to brave O'Connor , only one
feeling pervades us all , viz , sympathy for him in his present condition , and disgust towards the myrmidons of corruption who have dared to place him where he is . We hare seen in your paper , that his Wish hai in many instances been complied with in England , to have more Feargus O'Connors , by having children named after Mm . We are determined in this instance not to be behind . A working man in this town , Daniel M * Arthur , had a son born to him about two weeks ago ; he has named him after the patriot , Feargus O'Connor ; and we hope this example will be followed by others , that the patriot ' s name may be transmitted , unimpared , to posterity , when those of his and our oppressors , with all their Hiiv titles , toyB , and gewgaws , will be numbered with the things that were .
AiYTH .--That indefatigable champion and asserter of the people ' s rights and liberties , Mr . George Julian Harney , visited this place on Friday last , and addressed a large and respectable audience on various topics connected with the Chartist movement ; he has once more aroused the dormant energies of the Chartists in this place , who have been asleep for theselast twelve months , but we now hope ail will be life and vigour in the prosecution of that righteous cause , until we come off the field in compete triumph . It was proposed , at the end of the lecture , to hold weekly meetings in the Teetotal Hall for inn purpose of re-organisation , and to make w&v for the spread of political knowledge amongst u * and in order to effect this , that we should find subscribers for the Northern Star and * the G'aspow Cnarttst Circular , and that they may be read at our meetings .
CARHSIS . —A public meeting will be held in tne course of a few days , for the purpose of examining the plan recommended * y the delegate * lately assembled m Manchester , and either adopting it or forming some plan of organization better suited to tne absolute necessities of the district . NEWCASTLE . —The Provisional Council met on Tuesday evening last , when » great number of the class paid in their first week ' s subscription , aud the Secretary was empowered to send £ 10 to Manchester , to the Provisional Committee . It was moved by Mr . Bruce , seconded by Mr . Fainlough * "Thattwo Of the committee be empowered to take » room for ine Council to meet . " It was then moved and carried unanimously , "That the Council do invite Dr M-Bouall to visit Newcastle . " A discussion took p . a « upon the Foreign Policy Meeting that is to take place , and it was agreed to oppose it . Tuesday night was settled for the general meeting night . The Council adjourned at ten o ' clock .
LIVERPOOIi — On Thursday , the 13 th inst- Mr P . M'DouaH delivered a lecture in the Queen ' s Theatre to a numerous and select audience , on the principles of the Charter generally . It was listened to throughout with marked attention , save the frequent cheering which at short intervals enthusiastically burst from the assembly . Tha boxes of the Tneatre were more numerously and respectably fiJedthan we ever remember them upon any former occasion when & charge wa 3 made . Mr . M'Douall gave an account of the manner in which he was treated on his liberation , and the course pursued by the authorities to prevent his lecture in " Chester , which has smoe appeared in the Star . On the occasion of Mr . M'Douall mentioning the name of ± rost , Williams , and Jones , the simultaneous cheer Which burst from every corner of the building was
truly delightful to the ear of the patriot , bntgall and -wormwood to the auricular organs of the > vhigs . It was three times repeated , followed by three desperate groans for the Whig Government . Altogether the evening ' s proceedings ^ rere such as to lead to the belief that the principles of the Charter are beginning to have their due weight with the middle classss of Liverpool . . At the conclusion of the lecture a gentleman in the boxes moved the following resolution , which was carried amid the mest enthusiastic cheering : — That this assembly do most cordially congratulate - Sir M-Douail on hi 3 release from hig long and uBjun imprisonment , and express the hope that he may Tet be spared to see , as the result of his virtuous and patriotic exertions , the people in the possession of tneir just political rights , and in the triumph of the principles of the Charter . "
London, Wednesday Evening, A Ugust 19, Quarter To Seven.
London , Wednesday Evening , A ugust 19 , Quarter to Seven .
Since the departure of the " mischief makers , " the metropolis is " as quiet as midnight . " Much too quiet for nine out of ten of the traders and others , whose only subsistence arise 3 from London being kept in commotion , real or artificial . We have not the advantage of any pressing local grievance to disturb the " melancholy peace ; " and the belligerent antics of the party who are clamouring for war , no matter with whom , are responded to by silent smiles , ( perhaps tinctured with bitterness of heart ) , bnt no vociferations of "free , able , and - willing ,- " while the invitations at the admirah ' ty to " able-bodied seamen , and those at the Horse-Guards to "spirited young men , " are only accepted by such as are ground dovrn to positive starvation .
General Distress . —The accounts from all parts , of the distressed state of the working population , ar * truly frightful ; and even in the metropolis , the '" wen " of idleness , and , usually , wealth , the diminution in the employment of the workmen and the profits of the middle men , are most severely fell , is umbers of plans and schemes are propounded , and some are patially in operation , to alleviate thi 3 3 tate of things;—Temperance Chartist Societies ; Trading Chambers ; Joint-stock provision stores ; Co-operative Associations ; are , each in a greater or lesser degree , the means resorted to by the sufferers from the present excessive pinching of the " Bcrew . " With an approaching winter , and bo loud and general a complaint as is already made , the prospect is almost too dreanful to contemplate .
Worktng Man ' s Commercial Tbadisg Chamber . —An institution under this designation , to which I -have before alluded , has jast been opened in the Portland-road , and has issued an address ; in which the following highly interesting passages occur : — M In the artificial state of society , aB the -usefnl glasses are compelled to sell their time and labour lor money before they can participate in the enjoyment resulting from any useful production ; thus the value of their labour is made to depend on" the amount of money in the market ; consequently , every abstraction therefrom acts injuriously on Bocietv ; therefore the drunkard who spends his money on ardent spirits , abstracts so much from the labour market of nsefnl industry , and is only a
tad member of society as respects himself and - family , but the common enemy of mankind , the ready tool of tyranny , who can never be depended on for any good purpose , and ought to be excluded from the society of all good men . The governing and ruling powers having neglected to enact laws , and form proper arrangements for the protection of industry , and being thus left to the rapacity of money capital , which , like a whirlpool , draws everything in , its vortex , it becomes the duty of all who wish to enjoy the fruits of their « wn labour , without infringing open the rights of property of others , to devise soae means whereby they may retain for themselves such new wealth as their fature labonr may produce . There are in London , at the present time , thousands of individuals doing business largely on a system of credit , or a circle of running accounts ; but these parties must hold whe
themselves liable to take orders when wanted , - ther convenient or not ; not so in the system proposed by the Commercial Trading Chamber , where fte system of debts and credit is unknown , and where every one can stop or go on at his own convenience , as Ms wanta are supplied bj the productions of others . Experience has proved that differences about prices have mostly arisen from parties neglecting to concentrate their efforts to a centre ; and this Society therefore resolved to render its notea as difficult to circulate as possible ; its object being to give all the facilities possible tcithm , sod as few as possible without the circle of its establishment ; it being unreasonable to suppose that premises can be kept open , and an establishment supported , to furnish the public with a currency to Carry on their private Affairs unconnected with the Chamber ; like a banker who , in return for your easr which he " 0366 for his profit , gives you his prow ' to pay .
Untitled Article
The Dpkhajc aicd Newcastle YicmTj . — We -call the fttoftioa of 4 he men of Durham especially to the &Win 6 a » as < £ nervous appeal of Mr . L&wson , inserted elsewhere , on behalf of those ' . ruly noi / # Ken . We are per , 5 U * ded that it wi ) j not be invaaBctire . i ; .
Untitled Article
wNIVERSAXi SUFFRAGE , AND HO SXTBSENDER ! TO THE RADICALS AND WORKING MEN w « IVE 3 s » AXi SUFFRAGE , AND HO
OF LEEDS < FRIENDS , —The time has now arrived when the ¦* - poor and hamble Yictims to the brutal treatment of the cowardly and dastardly Whigs , must necessarily bo released from their damp and gloomy dungeons , bearing the marks of their liberal" and kind uFage , once more to mingle in the society of their fellow-men , from which they were so inhumanly dragged . Several of our best Men havo already regained their liberty , and have been received by -vhe Radicals of other Towns with such demonstrations of joy and gladness , as plainly shew that they have had the sympathy and well wishes of an immense majority of the strength of the Nation—the Working Classes of this country .
The Members of The Leeds Radical Universal suffrage Association have come to the determination to honour the following Patriots and Martyrs SS # S ^ GEORGE WHITE . The Dinner to be held in the Music Saloon , on Mo . vdat , the Seventh of September next , to which the following Gentlemen have been invited : — GENERA L JOHNSON , M . P . THOMAS DUNCOMBE , Esq ., M . P . JOHN FIELDEN , Esq ., M . P THOMAS WAKLEY , Eso ., M . P .
COLONEL THOMPSON . JOHN WATKINS , Esq . CAPTAIN WOOD . Mr . PITKETHLY . Ma . BAIRSTOW . We , the Committee appointed by the Leeds Radiw J socl ! ltl ° > do hereby , therefore , call upon the Working Men , and evert / true Radical in Leeds , to attend the Dinner given in honour of the liberation of these truly honourable , patriotic , and injured men , and thereby testify to them that , although they nave been for several months tortured and pining in the cold , damp and merciless Whig dungeons , that your hearts have been still with them ; and now that they are restored to you they recall to your recollection olden times , which shall stimulate you to make greater exertions in the wide field for universal
happiness than you have hitherto done . Arouse arouse ! then , ye men of Leeds ! be not behind other towns in this our great and glorious cause . Let it not be said that you are dead and care not for your independence , but ¦ unanimously come forward and welcome to Leeds the men who have for so long been severed from all which renders life worth havingthe ties of affection , of kindred , and their personal liberty . P . S . —The Dinner will be on the Table precisely at Eight o'Clock in the Evening . Tickets may be had at the undermentioned places - . —Star Office ; Mr Alfred Mann's , Central Market ; Times Office , Bnggate ; Mr . James Illingworth ' s , White Horse , Vicar-lane ; and at Mr . Andrew Gardiner ' s , No . 69 , High-street , until the 31 st insfc ., which day the sale will positively close .
Signed on behalf of the Committee , ANDREW GARDINER , Committee-Room , August , 1840 .
The Northern Star Saturday, August 22. 1840.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , AUGUST 22 . 1840 .
Untitled Article
THE TRUE POSITION OF THE GRAND
CONTEST BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THEIR OPPRESSORS . TtRAN . Nv , like vice of every other kind , is always short-sighted . If men were all wise , they would be all just and virtuous . The folly of the overbearing tyrant is never more fully demonstrated than when he persuades himself into the belief that because the hand of unrighteous power has for a time partially paralysed the visible efforts of his victim , his position is the more safe , and his tenure of power the more lasting . In evidence of this , if our
besotted aristocracy , and their still more besotted apes , the middle classes , have eyes at all to see with we point them to the words of wary wisdom , but of firm resolves , issuing constantly , even from the prison-houses of their infernal system . We bid them read the following paragraphs—the prison thoughts of a victim to their ill-judged and doomed selfishne&S , and aek themselves how they will stand or what place shall be found for them , when lessons like these Bhall have been learned by the whole people .
" In no European nation has Democracy advanced with more rapid strides than in England , during the past twenty years . And it is instructive to note how it has surmounted , and is surmounting , every obstacle . The Crown , the Aristocracy , the Church , and all their various grades of dependants , have been leagued against it , and untiring in their persecution of all its more prominent friends . How futile their efforts . ' Though apparently defeated for awhile , it has occasionally retired from the public gaze to gather strength—and , as often , broken out again in more threatening majesty . It has baffled , and still baffler , all its foes ! It has passed through a fiery ordeal of late , but it is again rearing its head , laughing its enemies to scorn , and threatening aristocracy with destruction .
" The secret of this power is easily discovered : it lies in the increasing knowledge and virtue of the people . Those are wrong who imagine that passion and tumult denote its strength . The aen in power have amused themselves with the notion that , because " great public meetings" have not been held of late . Democracy is on the wane . This'is » fearful mistake—a mistake which will overwhelm them with dimmhy and confusion . The democratic feeling was never more intense than at this moment . It is in the minds of the ui-ulHlnde . Passion is one of the results of long oppression ; and it most occasionally show itself in the progress of a nation towards freedom ; but when the violent paroxysm
is over , the niind regains the ascendancy , and usurping power trembles . Tyrants do not fear the passion of a people , they know it will soon spend itself ; and , lite the effect of passion upon the mental and physical organisation of man , weaken them for a time . A man is ashamed when his passion is over ; he perceives his folly , and immediately seeks to humble his adversarj by calmness and reason . So with a nation of men . Aristocracy , endeavours to put Democracy in a pasiion ; and , whenever it succeeds , it gains a temporary triumph Democracy has gained wisdom by txperience . It will henceforth keep its temper ! : It will fight Aristocracy with reason : and it will conquer 1
" Aristocracy forgets that every , workshop is a Democratic school ; that every railway is a dissemination of that school ' s instruction ; tnd thatth 6 rapid improvements in science and mechanics are teaching men a most dangeraus thing , Haw to think . To think is to be a Democrat—raiavxsQ is Democracy ; and the late comparatively settled state of the nation has increased the number of thinkers . Men have thought upon the best mode of carrying the Charter ; and the re&vlt of their thinking is the discovery of the m ode by which it can alone be carried by rxasosikg . Reason will teach
men the necessity of making -a tenporery sacrifice for a permanent gotd : it wiD warn the drunkard to become sober ; it will teach "the multitude their great moral potter , and will enc ourage and give them confidence to use that pVjper . To abstain , as far as practicable , from all exciseable articles would put Aristocracj to its sb' tfts . Is there no chance of this being done * Tha features of the present times by no means oppos ^ fte notion ! Look to Ireland ! Witness the ? ^ K sial revolution , there in progress I Behold Fathe' „• Mathew engaged in the hallowed
work of rec maiming thousands upon thousands , from the Aristo' jratio vice of drunkenness . I say Aristocratic W ee , because Aristocracy thrives only upon drvnke nne s * and ignorance . The ignorant and the dr u ^ tcard fill both army and navy ; and some are wio' ied enough to say the Church ! This change in & x 6 social character of the Irish is one effort of Democracy ; it is the first step in rescuing that beautiful , but long-oppressed , land out of the hands \ of its domestic tyrants . Who can look upon the Democratic spirit of Britain without weeping for
joy . " The great effort now about to be made to give political instruction to the people by missionaries , and tracts , and books , and newspapers , will soon proclaim the omnipotence of democracy . This is no alL The very gaols axe preaching to the people ;
Untitled Article
and the multitudes of men who walk by those gaols nod their heads , and think of those who are in them , and of what they are in for . This thinking iflinoet and ! the nmltitndna of men -arhn vnUr k > * W ,- —«»_
danferom 41 The greatest proof of the democratic spirit of Britain , is the attempt of Parliament to treat the people with contempt . Parliament cannot endure the wrongs of the nation to be mentioned ia its hearing : it hopes , by shutting its ears , to silence complaint . Fools ! its indifference accelerates the progress of the power it dreads . A voice will , ere long , arouse the Parliament from its dream of security , and to that voice it most immediately give way .
" Democracy will never more sleep in Britain , and it is now about to assume a new position ; it wil assail the ignorance and vices qf the people—those foundation-stones of aristocratic villany and misrule . It will teach men the value of freedom , and the nobly-exalted virtue of patriotism ; and it will not be long ere we shall be called upon to sing the requiem of aristocracy . " Such are the thoughts and such is the language of Henbt Vincent , a working man , who , without any other weapons than truth , honesty , and fearlessness has made himself to be not less feared than hated by the " shabby" Government of " a nation of shopkeepers . "
The above paragraphs are extracted from a letter from Mr . Vincent to his friend , Mr . Bolwbh , of Bath , on the 4 th of the present month . And the dolts think that , by imprisoning and torturing men like this , they can arrest the onward rolling of the mental flood 1 Fools ! fools 1 M Though yeBhouldbe brayed in a mortar with a pestle , yet would your folly cleave to you !"
Untitled Article
THE WHIG MINISTRY . The joy and exultation of the Ministerialists at having got through another Session without being kioked ont have no bounds . Their Journals crow like so many bantam cocks . Lord Johnnt euts capers ;? Lord Melbourne eats twice as much as ever ; Lord Monteagle jumps Jim Crow to an extraordinary height ; and Lord Palmersxon and the Marquis of Normanby sport an extra curl in their hair , and a new pair of white gloves for their hands . Happy ohildren ! their hard work ia over , and they are going to enjoy the holidays and kill trrouse for a while .
But let as us look into the matter-of-fact side of the question ; let ua descend to a statistical array of their forces and triumphs , so that we may judge what future awaits them when they return : — It is now seven years since the Whigs were settled in power by the first election under the Reform Bill . Their condition was then most flourishing . M We shall be too strong ? was the well known exclamation of Lord BaoDOHAu ;^ t > e hundred Members of the Lower House professedly supported the "Reform Ministry ; " the Kino was heartily with the Cabinet ; the people had just shown their confidence by the elections ; the Whigs , in a word , were completely in the ascendant . The chief divisions of 1833 were these : —*
For . Against On the Irish Church Bill ... 317 78 On the Vote of Confidence ( affairs of Portugal ) 861 93 On the Irish Church Bill ... 274 91 In each of these debates Sir Robert Peel both voted and spoke ; yet he had not one hundred followers in ' either of them . The working majority of the Ministry in that Session was 300 . In 1834 only two great divisions took place : — , , . . v _ For . Against Admission of Dissenters into
Universities ... 521 147 Irish Tithe Bill 235 171 The Ministerial majority at the commencement of this Session was 200 : before the close it hai fallen to 150 . The year 1835 opened with a new Parliament ; and it now began to be seen bow the Whigs had fallen in in popular estimation : their majority was almost gone . The chief divisioae of 1835 vtere ;—# Vr . Against . On the Iriah Church BiB (
Appropriation Clause ) ... ... 322 289 On the same again ... ... S 47 282 On the Irish Corporation BQl ... %% 176 On the same again ... ... 262 234 The Whig majority of this year may be stated at from forty to fifty . i n 1836 , continuance in office-had added mmewhat to their strength , and we find : — For . Jigainst
On the address 284 243 On the Irish Corporation Bill ... 307 243 On the sane ... ... ~ . 260 180 On the Irish Tithe BUI -. 300 261 Their arerage majority was now something , above fiftj . In 183-7 , the Session aommenced' in even a- more promising Manner , but before the- oloee it had declined . Th » great divisions were these : *—
For . Aptinst On the Irish Corporation Bill — 322 242 On Church , Rates Bill .... 27 . 3 250 On Irish Corporation Bill . _ . 302 247 On the Ordar in Council ... 278 242-On the Church Rate Bill 237 282 . On the Commission of Church Leases 319 236 Thus twice the majority had sisen as high as eighty , but © nee it had fallen as ! ow as five . Ia 1838 ^ , the Whigs had again * a * Parliament' of their own , but their strength was fading away .. Uhe main divisions were : —
For . Agfli . nst . On Foreign Policy Ciord . Santion ) 316 287 On Church Leases ... ... 277 241 On Church instruction ,... -. 255 254 On tiu > Irish Tithe Bill ... „ . 317 298 Oa tbe Irish Corporation Bili « . 286 26 fi Tha standing majoaifcy of Ministers , therefore , had fallea to about thirty votes . 1 b 1829 , the divisions were s— For . Against On the Irish Policy . ~ . ... 318 296 On the Jamaica , Bill ... ... 294 289 On the same ~ ... 267 2 < i 7 On the same ~ . ^ ... 267 257
,, On National Education . ... 280 275 On the same „ . ^ . ... 275 273 The Ministerial majority then seemed , for all practical pusposes * to , have faUen to about five , ten , or fifteen votes . The Session of 1840 ovened with an evident diminution in Whig strength . A vote of " want of confidence" was barely defeated by amajority oftwentyone . On , their Cornese policy Ministers had only the smaller majority of ten . In almost every other encounter ( including the vote on Prince Alhejit ' s income ) they -were defeated . The chief contests were these ;—
For the Against Ministry , them . On Sir J . Y . Buller ' s motion ... 308 287 On Mr . Herries' motion ... 172 182 On Mr . Liddell ' s motion ... 212 240 On Sir J . Graham ' s motion ... 271 261 On the Ludlow Writ ... ... 215 * 226 On Lord Stanley ' s Bill 234 250
Ditto Ditto 298 301 Ditto Ditto 195 206 Ditto Ditto ... ... 296 289 Ditto Ditto ... ... 271 275 Can anything be clearer than that the Whig majority is , " to a 1 intentB and purposes , " totally annihilated . Year by year their majorities have decreased , and in this view the account stands thus : —
Majority in 1833 300 Ditto ... 1834 150 Ditto ... 1835 50 Ditto ... 1836 50 Ditto ... 1837 ......... 30 Ditto ... 1838 ..- 30 Ditto ... 1839 10 Ditto ... 1840 0
Untitled Article
The next step will be an absolute minority . Therefore the prospect before the Bebool-boys bow enjoying their holidays is as bad as tne a Blaek Monday" that terrifies the young and well-whipped urchin of ten . ¦' ¦ . . ¦ ' ,- ¦ . , ' . ¦ ¦' , >• ¦ :- . / -. '¦ ¦¦ : - . -. ' . \ ¦ : ¦¦ : , What is the cause of this falling away ! The loss of popular confidence . How was that josU By the conduct of the : Ministry . They gained it by promises of reform and amendment , by declaring that they would guard the interests of the people with a paternal care ; they have lost it by breaking ... _ -.. _ .... ; _ .-. . .. ««
every promise , and violating every engagement The petitions of the people have been rejeoted or laughedto scorn ; theirmeetinga have been prohibited ; their friends have been unjustly and cruelly punished ; and all this under a liberal Government . They proposed a larger grant for Prince Albert than even the Conservatives felt inclined to give ; they disregarded every measure for the relief of the poor , that could promise real assistance ; they opposed every motion for the enlargement of popular freedom .
By such conduct they have lost the confidence of the country ; by such conduct they will never be able to regain it . ? We are indebted for these numbers to the Times journal . They will be found correct
Untitled Article
THE "CHRONICLE , " THE SESSION , LORD
LYNDHURST , AND THE " TIMES . " It has been the invariable praotice of the leading journals to give to the curious a digested summary of the proceedings in Parliament at the close of each session . " It is extraordinary ( says a great philosopher ) to witness the different effects which the same , circumstances produce upon different minds . " NevJer was observation more critically verified than is this , in the different results produced by the late session upon the columns of the Chronicle and the Times , the two leading dogs of their respective packs .
The epilogue of the Chronicle to the session , is one of the most plaintive and least recriminating of the effusions of that doleful journal . Having no positive merit to place to the acoount of Whiggery , the Chronicle throws a negative mantle over the galled shoulders of the wincing jades whose cause he professes to championise . The Chronicle enumerates wherein the Tories have failed in their several onslaughts upon the Treasury ; and even in this good work he is compelled to acknowledge the assistance of the Duke of Wellington : so that even the prevention of evil , much less the accomplishment of good , ( did inclination serve ) cannot be effected by the Whigs without Tory assistance .
Bat the principal grounds upon which the Chronicle olaims credit for the past Session , are , as Daniel would say , the most ludicrous we ever heard . They rest wholly and entirely upon the fact , that Lord Lyndhuhst omitted a summary of the Session ; that he did sum up the abuses of last Session , but that he did not sum up the absurdities of this . Did it not strike the Chronicle that the Session of 1839 was ( according to Whig promise ) to have been the most liberal of all liberal Sessions , and that we , as well as Lord Ltndhurst , summed up at its close to shew the difference between the words and the actions of the WhigB .
We do not mean to canvas the motive which induced Ltndhubst to forego the task at the end of the present session ; some foul one , no doubt ; for we believe the ex-Republican to be as corrupt a back as ever entered upon public life ; but we will tell the Chronicle , honestly and plainly , why we abstained therefrom till summoned by his boasting . We did review the session of 1839 , to prow the delinquency of the Whigs , and the violation of every pledge made , and promise given , by them daring
the recess . We did this , because many , very many of the more timid Radicals still professed a sort of a relianea upon Whig promises . We , therefore , reviewed the session for the sceptical and wavering ' But how silly would it have been to run over the self-condemning , acts of this last session for thi » purpose ! We might , with equal propriety , have stated in our obituary that Queen Awni was dead , ae have attempted a recapitulation of the acts of a session remaikable , above all others , for T-illany and ? ppression .
We suppose Lord Lyndhciwd thougbS that a kind of mask waa thrown over the face of Whiggery ia L 839 , which he thought it expedient to * raise at the close of the farce ; but during , the present session , strengthened by unopposed licentiousness , the Whigs haw assumed the more manly shape of unMushing ras « alityr and therefore " he who runs m&j road , " and ail may iudga without other commentary than the-increased aristocratic luxury , and increasing popular deprivation , presented io > the living- representations of seciety .
. The Chronicle appears to have lost sight af the fact r that the Tories must , upon more-than one ocoasion * have ousted the Whigs but for the timely aid of the pliant Dukflv And does- not the Ghronioh see that t > he old Duke ^ in . the latter end > of his days ,, prefero- " ruling in . hell to serving , in heaven V It is something to receive praise from the enemy ,, while it wouldibe little consolation to . bear the buffeting of a dissatisfied factieu of pro&ssed friends ,, and the thuoging of an inveterate foe- at one and the same time . Thu 3 even ,, by . the modest confession of the Chrmuole , the Whigs are compelled to owe th * ir continuance in office to the moderation of a pining foe , whose hostility , doubtless , weakens with his deciding strengthL And to even this "' Godsend" the friends of the Chronicle are satisfied to
owe their license to visit Downing-street quarterly ! Tha Chronicle has ,, we think rather unfortunately , divided the review into two articles ; in , the second of which he most unfortunately enters largely upon th * subject of petitions ; of which anon . The last session , of Parliament , we pronounce to have been one ali through , of mo&t consummate tyranny . Never ,, in the most disgusting days of parliamentary servility , was more damage done to tha people ' s cause . Never was a more sycophantic yielding to all the extravagant desires of the Crown . Never was a more venal Administration , or a moee
corrupt opposition . The court party , buoyed by tta hope of that eagerness with which a Tory nominal opposition would add to regal authority and despotic sway , had but to propose &e most tyrannical measures , to . insure the co-operation of Sir Robert Fekl and his . hungry crew . SutRobbrt has allowed the session to pass off upon a . calculation that thet Whigs have removed considexable obstacles from his passage to office , whila they have placed judicial precedent , increased physical force , and fiscal resources , at his disposal } as answers to any remonstrance which may hereafter come from an economical and liberty-loving Whig opposition .
We have , in the acts of the last Session , the expiring flicker of the old light of Whiggery ; and we bless the means by which the consummation has been brought about : for though the Whigs have prepared unconstitutional precedents for their successors , yet they have , at the same time , so strengthened , fortified , and united the popular party , as to render them equally indifferent to Whig and Tory rule , practice , or precedent .
The Chronicle as is its custom , appears to jump to a rattling conclusion at once , and talks of the satisfaction of the country . Let us , in the same sweeping manner , and for the benefit of the Chronicle ' * mistress , contrast the popular feeling as regards the Monarchy just now as compared with the same period of last year . If the Queen had died this time twelvemonth , the cry of Blue Beard ( Cumberland ) is coming , would have been the signal
for a general turn , out of the whole working population , to meet and slay the invader . If , upon the other hand , Cumberland were to land to-morrow in England , with the avowed and announced intention to contest the right to the crown , with its present possessor , the whole of the working population would fold their arms , regardless of how the struggle might terminate , from a firm conviction that the devil himself would not do more than starve them first and insult them afterwards .
Untitled Article
Let the Cbm » & ^ " ^ ° ' w * # ^ j *» l « J » . i » oir stated , and forth «> «**> . £ «» < & »« & * ** morrow , not ft single «*¦* & * . <**• woridng olasseB would take place to aid >>« W * in any , the most plausible , scheme . Sd ttu ^< # » m * ft « last remnant of the confidence * of w 2 fragment tffi party" bo a triumph , the WWgsh ^ Te unquestionably achieved one during the past Session . ' The Chronicle , in the first half of his essay , speaks of the great changes effected within the * jast ten years of Whig domination . The scribe < rf the Chronicle wrote on Friday ; and if ever poor creature got an unmerciful lashing for bis ignorance and , . .. ^ . . . ; . V < m » A / ill . r . ^ . » U « .. «
presumption , he must have felt that he did when he cast his eye over the Tory account for the same period in the Times of the following morning , where it ia indisputably shewn , nut by Chronicle logic , bat by plain figures , put in . the plainest possible form , that during the very period in which our friend , the Chronicle , is claiming unexampled triumphs , the Whig majorities have , during that time , dwindled from 300 gradually to 0 . The Chronicle must have the stomach of a Russian sailor , to digest this , together with the respective circulation of the two journals in the same period .
The Chronicle is too self-conceited , too much puffed with party pride and pre-eminence , to enter into details , but merely rests upon the broad base of ten years reform , and takes credit for the little done by the reformed Commons , by an occasional slap at the un-reformed Lords . Now , as the Chronicle has ventured upon the subject , let us see how far the reformed Commons have ever attempted to reform the Lords . This we shall best effect by first laying before our readers the following table of promotions and creations of Peers from the revolution of 1688 to 1833 .
We have divided the time into periods of 10 years ; with . ? the exception of from 1818 to 1830 , both inclusive , being a period of 13 years , which embraced the great questions of Catholic Emancipation and Reform ; and the period from 1831 to 1839 being nine years of almost uninterrupted Whig Government . CREATION OF PEERS FROM 1 C 88 TO 1839 , BOTH INCLUSIVE , DIVIDED 1 WTO PERIODS OF TEK YEARS .
Dukes . Marq . Earls . Viscv Barons . 1688 to 16 S »»—S 0 4 0 ...... e ... 7 1698 to 170 S—2 1 0 ...... 0 ... 3 1708 to 1718— 2 ...... 0 7 1 3 „ . IS 1718 to 1728—2 0 4 1 1 ... 8 1728 to 1738—9 ' . 0 2 0 O ... 2 1738 to 1748—0 ,. v ... 0 5 1 3 ... 9 1748 to 1758—1 ...... O 5 0 1 ... 7
1758 to 1768—1 0 3 1 8 ... 13 1768 to 1778—0 9 3 0 2 ... 5 1778 to 1788—0 2 3 0 16 ... 21 1788 to 1798—0 5 > 7 2 20 ... 34 1798 to 1808—0 i 14 4 21 ... 40 1808 to 1818—1 & .,..,, 11 2 13 .., 33 1819 to 1830—1 2 „ ,,., 8 ... „ . 5 39 ... && J 83 & to 1839—2 4 ,.,,... 15 2 59 ... &Z
Wow , by this table we fiad that the Whigs in nine yeara have added 82 Members to the House o f Lords , or nearly so—for rery few were promotions . White for a whole centuy from the revohtion during the five reigns of Wv . MI ., Aim , and the irst three Georges , with all the eontinental wars , the domestic broils in favour of tfc several Pretenders ,-the American war , and other inducements to the creation of aristocratic power , ¦ ottmore than eightyeight peeis-were created or promoted , From 1788 " to 1818 , a period of thirty years , during which there was the French Revolution , the Irish Insurrection
of 1798 , the Union , and the stro » g . agitatrsn upon the Catholic aud Reform Q , uestio * a—Gaotmreagh and Sidxouto in full bloom—a willing M » nsrch , and a oorrapt Honse of Commene—Whigs and Tories alternately battling for pewer— -in- those thirty years of unparalleled foreign and domestic eontention w& find . ' . IOC creations ? being only twenty-four more tha » have been accomplished by the democratic- Whigs in nine years- of Parliamentary Reform and profound ! peace . How great , theny must be the strength '! : and' bow enviable the position ! 'of Whiggeryp when ,, with
evea such accessions ,, the Whigs still find ' themselves compelled to bend > the kue » before the- iron Duke ia > acknowledgment of Jiis- having mercifully intepf « ied < to save them < from extinction by their friends- !' , la-it possible for any-position * to be more humiliating , and ' more indicative-of total dissolution t How long ,, under such circumstances ,. » Queen andi her faiths fully ,. balanced and . aubserviea&Commons can . uphold themselves against , an . insulted < people and . a- dissatisfied House of Lords , is a question which tha ^ Shronid ^ muofe answer . We- Bhall not attempt to- answer itothewise than by saying , " Sime will show . "'
In . the supplementary article of the Ghroniolti there is an effort sotoexhibit the progress and condition of various , public questions as to show Whig : gery in . thebest light * Of Church Extension aad . its opponents the Chronicle boasts that the petitioners- are nearly balauoed . Upon the Cora Laws he asserts thai more signatures have been affixed , to petitions ugan that question than , were ever .-known to be affixed la
petitions- upon any question .. Had . we the least notion , that any amount of petitions- or petitioners woukL work the least change in the ; movements-of Honourable Rsgresentativas ,, we might enter mow fu lly into this branch of thebsubject ; . but ,, inasmuch as y « 4 ea-appear to be in an exact inverse ratio , to petitions ,, we may spasa . ourselves the trouble . Witness Mrv Fielde . n ' s ^ motion for the regfial . of the N « w Foor . Law , and , the motion of Ma .. Amwoooi upon the National Petition .
In passing , we may just observe that fsurrfifths of the signatures in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws-were either forg , eries ,, OE wrung from . unwilling pei&rmers , who chose to sign rather tLaa * lose ; their wwk - Perhaps the ; Ghroniait could not hatfe hit upon a more unlucky subject than this ; which , after the unceremonious , treatment of Mfc . "Uiijaers's motion , goes fully to . prove that the Gammons have not the slightest sasgect for the petitions . ev « a of th& electoral body .
With regard to . tha total absence of Chartist petitions , of which , the Chronicle makes a great point , we smil * at bis folly , and beg . to . assure him that the sileaca of the Chartists , proceeds from a consciousness- of their increasing steength , much augmented by tiyeir total estrangement from the representatives of brioks and mortar . The Chxenicte i rather than thus , affect to build the hope of ignorant politicians upon such a quicksand , should candidly tell his readers that from popular silence may be learned the people ' s want of confidence in their rulers .
Perhaps , of all the extravaganzas of the Chr&nicle % the gleam of hopo which he derives from the fact of the number of . signatures for and against ohuroh extension being nearly equal , is the most laughable . True , says the scribe , the number of signatures for extension are more numerous , but then the number of petitions against it are nearly two to one . We would seriously recommend our friend to keep his money in both pockets , and , accq ^ ing to his own logic , he will have a double amflmt . The country hounds of the pack , the Manchester Guardian and our neighbour being
the leading - couple , follow old Chron . upon the scent . They , too , boast of the Whig victory . They may ; while we toll them " But one such victory more , and they , are undone . " In very truth , having thus taken the trouble to reply , to the epilogue of the Chroniclet we feel seme apology due to our readers , for having thought it necessary to retouch the work of the past Session , while ; the picture itself is so strong in recent deformity , as to scare the most hardened , and disgust those who would gladly see the canvas otherwise covered , than with the hideous features of ugly Whiggery .
Untitled Article
"CHARTISM IS DEAD . " In evidence of this grave truth , we beg leave to refer our readers to the intelligence sent to us from all parts of the country , and recorded under the head "Chartist intelligence" on our first page i and on a portion of the fourth . O ! rare Chartism ! thou diest bravely ! Do but keep dying on at this rate and the knell of . tyranny mUjswft sound over its grave ,
Untitled Article
: HE MANCHESTER AND ROCHDALE DEMONSTRATIONS . WTR MANP HESTKR AND ¦ ROfiHTlAT . P .
Elsewhebb will be found a "full , true , and p ttieular account" of the " decline and fall of C artism , " as evidenced in the reception given ia tl > towns of Manchester and Rochdale , to its a ostles , newly exhumed from their intended tombs 1 ie length of these reports , and of the concluding pjrtion of Williams and Binns' trial , precludes us f ^ nt th e space which we might have occupied hi comment . We do not regret this ; because comment jjanneeded . They speak for themselves .
Untitled Article
( Continuedfrom our last . ) I shall no > 7 proceed to consider the several interests f the upper w& middle classes , which , although itrongly opposed each to the other , are , nevertheless lystematically unitea in their opposition to an extension of popular controuL First in order come * ihe landlords ; and observe , leech , that I speak but of a majority of those classes ; for , like political parties , each distinct class is also ruled by a majority of its order . Tbxut you cannot auppose that Mr . Squeeze-tenant , ir ftff £ 1 , 000 a year , can nave equal influence in political arrangements with my
Lord Pick-fob , with £ 50 , 000 a year . No ! But let ub , as the jockeys say , set at a weight , My £ 5 , 000 a year , fer a good standard . If the man "Witft £ 50 , 000 a year makes bishops , admirals , general * , flrst-riass commissieners , poor-law commissioners , && , the m& . n with £ 5 , 000 a year makes parsons , captains , midshipmen , aye , and lieutenants , excise-officers , eecond-rrte commissioners , chiefs of police , and so forth . Th « landlord * , then , with the larger fortunes , sit above the salt at tha feast , the little fellows sit below the salt , after the ancient custom in 'Ireland , and Scotland observed to kinsmen , clansmen , and retainers , at the festive toard in the feudal hall .
Now suppose by the necessity for narrowing tb 9 franchise ,. and thereby cenferrlng patronage upon an oligarchy , the landlord , with £ 50 , 000 a year , so manages his estate as to effect the above object at a sacrifice of £ 10 , 000 a year or more , let Us see whether or not in the end he is an actual gainer or a loser , by the sacrifice of real income to political tpeculation . By the law of primogeniture , the custom of settlement and entail , ( that is , of settling , at marriage , the whole pro perty upon the eldest son , subject to a small provision chargeable thereon for younger children , ) the younger branches of the aristocracy foewme penrionera upon tne state . Leave oat the eldest so * , with £ 50 , 000 a year , subject to one hundred thouaasd pounds for
younger children , and a jointure of £ 6 , 0 W > a year to his mother , together with interest doe to Jews and money lenders , in the securities for which he joined upon com ing of age , for a sop , to keep him afloat ami to save insurance upon his father ' s life . Let as now see how the deficiency is made op . Suppose this manto have five children , besides the eldest son ; no matter whether sons or daughters . If 80 ns , they are t * be proTifled for directly ; if daughters , the patronage insures hwBaaGa , and then there are relatives , and the staff ; for preserv ing the machinery amongst whom , this willing martyr shares , In Government patronage , more than double or tnMethe amount sacrificed by the unprofitable letting-of his land in large farms .
I -wiU luring you to a bar condonon upon this heady by a coBDJdcration of the jwoSk , aad ¦ losa of a man * of of £ a , MQ a year . We have- sot sufficient population , wme could we hav for the Best three hundred years , er indeed scarcely / ever , to cniti > TOte the land to the top of its power . Let us ; therefore , make the partition' of the whole into * fifths- ; an * deal with 5 , 000 aarea in ftfitu . Suppose * le lease it &U > In- farms of lOOaciweac&y at one pound per acre , he * h » fifty votes , aad the ceaeequent local and parliamentary patronage and ' -influenea . The fifty tenants must all' go with the landlord . Suppose him
tohave six children—some , of caurse , haw none ; but those who have- '&milies are so maehthe-moie numerous that the barren are but as blade sh * ep-in > : nflock— -wewill givohim ishKj : flva having , £ l © , 000 < settled open * them as younger children , and' all' to be provided for : Take- one-fifth off this masto Ian . ( one thousand acres ) which , when- subdivided in farme-of five acres each , becomes , like die joint cut into steals or chops or the ' pac * rBducedtopounds , more valuable in the-retail market ; - and instead'of one pound , tois-worth , aad would fetch thirty shillings per acre . Tfcns be would , in point of not : be a-beae&tter
to the amount of £ 509 a year upon oae-fifth . But let us see how theaecount would stand .. By the present system he huts- for 5 ; 000 acres of hind £ 5 , 000 ¦ a'fear . Master Thomas ; a chojehliving , £ l , 0 Ofr » year ; Master Edward , a > situation in the customs-oj ^ rciae , £ 590 a year ; Miss Iiucy ' s husband ( recorder ^ -revising barrister and a few other ; little legal pickings ) ^ 890 a year ; Mta Deborah's husband , a small liying , j § &OO- a- year ; Miao Sarah's bus 8 ai * a , a captain ' s pay , -witli promise of promotion , ; £ 300 'a » year ; the squire ' s pickfngs and poor
relations , aogs-in the pan , for amallen- proprietors who fight under bis- standard , £ 3 , 000 ' a year ; thus , under the present system , the 5 ^ 000 acres in meal and malt ; rent and patronage ,- brings eleven thousand one-hundred per annum , while its just appropriation , according to the wants of tia&pdople , and the narrowest construction .- of the eight o £ < the poor , would bring but five thousand five hundred t ^ year . So that he has five thousands one hundred a year , . by the present system in patronage , instead of £ 5 § 9 > . increased rent upon a fifth of- hia land .
Again ; let ? us-see how the presentoyetem operates asa complete barrier to the well-being ; of' society , and tothe possibility ^ of a change . Fire tbooBand acres , in , the hands ef fifty tenants-at-will , makes the tenants mete slaves-,. but suppose one theas&nd acres in thehands of two-hundred small tenants , holding five acres each , they would very soon oversawer the remaining : forty and tha landlord ; and by inm ^ ing upon the protection of their political rights , would make all parties independent ; upon the land , and lass dependent upon , patronage .. Now , for the beneflStto- the landlord and to . society .
The £ , 0 OO > acres , subdivided ) to the rental price , would giro comfort , plenty , aad contentment to L , 4 «> persons- ; , while the remaining : 4 , 000 gives a kind of propertg-and responsibility tc . fbcky ; and allowing : thife farmeis- employ men with families of five children ,. the number which I allow to . the small tenants , tift 4 , 00 ft aores will but maintain 1 , 120 , allowiBfe three families of seven each to eaak tenant And I oontend for its , tkat more would ba-sold off the 1 , 000 asres , after feeding 1 , 400 persons , than , off 4 , 000 , aftw feeding 1 , 120 . More of this when . I come to add one word upott the question of Com laws , Which , > F the way , jou understand bettec than all the ViHieis ' s , and Gtreggs , and Plints x and ; Humes , and Roebucks , ia the kingdom .
We now come tethe fundholders ; and as I mean to embrace the system * | should have mow properly said stock-jobbers , first , then , fundhokters ; and then stock-jobbers * for they are a very figferent class of persons . The fundboMers are , for the moeb part , the most respectabW portion of the community ; perhaps les » concerned ia politics than , any other portion . Thert are man ; retired tradesmen with a competency relying upon what-is termed national faith for substotence j and many , very many , respectable widows and old maids ; and being a part of our monetary system , and , as they think , the best secured , and being taogflt
to consider it as legitimate , they derive their incomei from this source . They , however , are , of all other pM * ties , the most Interested hi low prices , and consequently in cheap labour , and for this simple reasa *» their income always remains tiie same . No mattt * howthe price of stock may vary , the mterest Is the same ; and they , never coupling the stability of the iy « te » with popular temperament or national fluctuations , look to the one only thing , to get as much as & *** for their settled income . The very thing , Ioedi , which , we must all confess , is the great consideration with Prince and beggar . Their interest , tuen . » thrown into the scale in favour of cheap produce
which implies cheap labour . But now I come to the lice upon the beetle ^ W"J bring locusta , and tax-eaters , and standing armie ?\ *~ gaola , aud gibbets , and opprearions of every jon but , of all the hell-born imps that ever B > ix j ? Z hto train , the funded lice , ( I nave christened w »» splendidly ) , are the most danuiable , Wdeous , <^» savage , ignorant , bloated , Insolent , eating . ^™ 7 * drinking , stinking , beastly set of human l ™~* ever eye looked , upon , or , God to his wrath y . the world , Leech , I would know » ^ ° * " 2 J as he U caHed-a funded loose , as I call Wm-W
Mr. O'Connor's Letter To Mr. Leech.
MR . O'CONNOR ' S LETTER TO MR . LEECH .
Untitled Article
4 . ; THE KqR ^ ap ^ y STAR . " . - ¦ . ( ' ; ¦ - _ " im ' ii in ¦"¦ /
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 22, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2698/page/4/
-