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THE JNOKTHERN STAR SATURDAY. AUGUST 29, 1840.
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aromsn an& i3*m*0tu £m*Hisenck\ ^^T ft^* l^t rt%* AHn kfriAMIMftt St 3Ca>*r4ATY*4WA** a a
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MR. O'CONNOR'S LETTER TO MR. LEECH.
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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.
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Iosbok . Axro . IS . —Am unsuccessful attempt has been made in this city to establish * Republican Conn of government . An insurrection has taken place , in which several of the municipal guard took part , but the insurgents -were dispersed by the troops of the line . All the leaders We escaped ; but many prisoners have been made , among-whom is the editor of the Lanea , liberal journal . The Ministers applied to the Chambers for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus and the press for a month ; which was agreed to under protest of several liberal members . A . mixed tribunal was also appointed to try the prisoners . Many think that another storm is ¦ wiring .
HOKBJBLB MJLSSAC&E OF CtXASACHB INDIANS BT Tsxias Tboops . —The latest Texian papers detail aa act of brutal treachery towards a party of Cumttanache Indians , by a detachment of Texian troops , under the Secretary of War , Wo . C . Cooke . A body of the Cumanaches , about sixty-fire in number , arrived at San Antonio , on the lb ' th of March , with a Miss Lockhart , a little girl captured from another tribe about eighteen months ago . The object of the visit , it appears , was to hold a council with the agents of the Texian Government for the T&BSom of their prisoner , and to ascertain if they
would be paid for others in thoir possession . The Indians were invited to a council , but while assembled in the room , two companies of troops were marched in , and they were detained as prisoners . The Indians , finding they were betrayed , made a rush to escape , and a fight commenced , which resulted is the death of eighty-five warriors , principally chiefe , two women , and three children . A small number , who escaped across the river , were pursued by mounted men , and every one killed but a renegade Mexican . The Texian loss was seven killed and three wounded . An expedition was to march against the Cumanaches forthwith .
Pkbsecutiok of the Jews . —Certain Jews of Bhodes have been bastinadoed without mercy and imprisoned , and the whole Jewish community of that city almost -starved to death by blockade for twelTe days-in their own quarter , in order to extort a confession that they had murdered a missing child for the purpose of mixing his blood in the bread of the Passover . —Times . Itaijar Patriots . —Letters from the frontiers of Italy represent the petty Sovereigns of that country 8 apprehensive of a rising of the " Patriots , " and cocseqaeatly engaged in plans for maintaining the present state of things .
ExxaAOBMHAiT Expeess pbcm Pasis . —The Levant mail has brought letters from Turkey , Egypt , Greece , . and Malta , They state that Mehemet Ali Bfcd ^ on an unofficial intimation of the conclusion of ~* hftrireaty of the loth of July , withdrawn from Alexandria , for , it was supposed , the purpose of voiding for the moment receiving the official oom-¦ nraieatUKL of it , but was actively continuing his preparations for war . Riffat Effendi sailed on the 7 th instant from Constantinople for Alexandria , to communicate to the Pacha the ultimatum of the four Powers . It was believed that on receiving it the P » dta would order Ibrahim to march on Constantinople . Several ships of war left Malta to reinforce our fleet , which wa 3 on the 8 : h instant at Sieri Mitylene , —TSwe * .
Chaktist Mketiug . —A meeting was held last sight in the Ball , 41 , Queen-street , from the proceedings of which it appears that the physical aud moral-farce Chartists of Aberdeen have coalesced , that between them thev have engaged , for twelve months , the Hall in which they met ; and that they are aboutto form a united society for the purpose of carrying on the agitation for the People ' s Charter . —Aberdeen Herald .
Ki . kctbjc Tblbgeaph . —This extraordinary machine is now being worked on the Great Western Railroad , between Drayton and Paddington . Intelligence is conveyed at the rate of 200 , 000 miles per second , or 8 , 009 times quicker than li « ht travels during the Eame period of . time . This telegraph will act both day and night , in all states of the weather , and with a rapidity so superior to &e common process , thai one minute only is required for the ccmimmication of thirty signals .
Steam Tkavellisg Extraoedihabt . —Leicester , MqTOat . —About half-past twelve o'clock this day a train , the longest , perhaps , ever known , came alosg &e Midland Counties Railway from Nottingham . ? he occasion of this extraordinary sight was a return visit made by the committee and friends of the Nottingham Mechanics' Exhibition to the Mechaxkg' F . xnihition of this town . The nnmber of carnages was sixty-seven , and the quantity of passengers nearly 3 . 000 . Dcblijc , Acgcst 24 . —National Repeal Association . —This day the usual weekly meeting was
held at the Corn Exchange . Amongst the letters which were read was one from Hexry Grattan , M . P ., requesting to be proposed a member . He was admitted with applause . The journey men tailors of Dublin sent in a subscription of £ 20 ; the dairymen sod people of Spring-gardens £ 9 . "The Rev . Edward GroTes , a Protestant clergyman , -was admitted a aember , with acclamation . Several sums were handed in , amongst which were £ 10 Is . from St . Michan ' sparish , being the collection of" one week ; £ 5 3 a . froa the inhabitants of Blackrock ; £ 5 from the Cavanfareet carmen , &c .
Fau , ubs or a Distillery . —Accounts reached town this morning of an extensive failure of another distillery establishment , occasioned by the spread of temperance amongst the people . —Irish paper . Mb . O'Cokitell —The departure of Mr . O'Connell for Manchester has been delayed until to-morrow . — Dublin paper . Repeal Dress . —It is stated in an Irish paper that the repealers throughout Ireland are to be known by their drees—a pepper-and-S 3 lt coat , velvet eollsx , »_ nd repeal boitons ^ which garb Mr . O'Connell has already adopted .
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London , Wednesday Evening , August 26 , Quarter to Seven . GRiin ) TRinrra op the Asti-Chubch Party is the Tort-ridden Parish of St . George , Middlesex . —On Monday last , according-to custom , a vestry meeting was holden for the purpose of making a rate of one penny in the pound , for the-repairs and other expenses of the church ; an opposition was expected , and , therefore , there was a great muster of both sides . When the proposition for TnaHng 5 penny rate was pat , an amendment was moved by aDis-• entiBg preacher named King , adjourning the confirmation of the rate till that day twelvemonth . This amendment was carried by a majority of ten . ; when the efanrcfrwardens , befieyiog that the decision would be . reversed oa a . poll of the parishioners , proceeded to take the sense of the rate-payers yesterday morning . At the close of this day ' s poll , both parties , pro and
< udi , were precisely equal . To-day , the poll finally clossd , and a glorious majority of ONE HUNDRED AKD TWO decided against the support of the Church "by compulsory payments . In the adjacent parish of Limehonse , the voluntary system has been tried for these two yean , by common consent , and is found to answer much better than the compulsory church-rate plan . At the meeting on Monday , it was peculiarly edifying t « bear the Cmw-exclam&tions ef " Dissenting sand Atheistical vagabond , "— " Put your hand in my pocket , will yoa r— " No more Thorogoods , "—Who stole the saucepans ? " and other characteristic queries of a similar kind . The seizures for church-rates , in the meantime , continue to be as frequent as ever ; and an expectation seems to be pretty general that the Whigs intend to propose a measure to take the control of the Church oat of the hands of the pari&hionen , as they did the control of the poor-rates . „
The Cholera . —Numerous cases of cholera have been reported ; many of them fatal Medical men In . general ascribe the prevalence of the disorder to the iasamekney of food , aided by the superinducement of a plentiful and cheap supply of fruit , cucumbers , dec . ef which the hungry poor partake too plentifully . A Kkotty Pqist . —Kailwats e . Coach Pb . ope . ietors . —A curioQi scene occurred at the terminus of tbe Eastern Ckmntaei Bamray , High-rtreet , Shoreditch , yesterday afternoon . * On the arrival of the' " Defiance , "
Colchester Coach , which goes % y the three o ' clock train , two punrmgcTi , one of whom stated himself to be the pilot of Lord Anglwea , refused to travel by the rail way , alleging that tkflyhad paid their fare to go by coach , aad they would not travel by aay other son-Teyance ; wmonstrance was in vain , and the train started without them . Having procured their luggage , they left , and stated it to be their determination to engage a poet-chaise , and charge the expense to the proprieton of the coach , as nothing was said to them about travelling by railway , when they paid their
IMPORTANT CaTJTIOR TO PERSQKS VISITIXG BODlogse . —On Thursday last , a gentleman ( one of the Mary-te-bone Vestry ) went to Boulogne -with his lady , and on applying for a passport in Poland-street , before he left London ; be was told he would net require flee . Judge his surprise , however , when about to leave , on Saaday evening , oa finding that he conld not leave without one , aad for which he was charged three francs by the TfagHrii Consul ; the reason assigned being the late atteapt to take the ton by Louis Napoleon ,
ST . LEONARD'S , SHO&ESITCH , —Last night , a most mmeroui meeting of Wn > innabiiA&ts of the above par ish was held in the Vestry-room adjoining the Church , " far the purpose of taking into . consideration the propriety of erecting and endowing by subscription , one alms house or more , to commemorate the opening of the Pariah Church , on the 21 th of August , 1740 . Mr . John Harris presided , and several gentlemen having addreaed tnemee ting at great length . It was moved , seconded , and r ^ rM unan i mo usly , thai a Committee be formed to carry out so laudable an object A vote of thanks -was subsequently passed to the Chairman , who , in a neat Epeech , acknowledged the compliment , and the meeting separated .
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Determined Attempt at Suicide . —This morniag . between four and five o ' clock , a young gentleman named Brown , made a most determined attempt on his life by catting his throat at a home of ill-fame in the Waterloo-road ; hopes , however , are entertained of of saving his life . The cause of the rash act is ascribed to the loss of a large sum of money , at a gambling-house , in Leicester-square , on the previous evening ^ BBSS iflfi ^ TVwvB-mrTwwn . a >»« ... . •* m . ¦
The Jnokthern Star Saturday. August 29, 1840.
THE JNOKTHERN STAR SATURDAY . AUGUST 29 , 1840 .
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EDUCATION : WHETHER LIKELY TO PRECEDE OR TO FOLLOW UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE . The most sweeping and by far the easiest mode of meeting those who demand the full amount of civil liberty for the people , is by the bold and ignorant assertion , that they , the people , are not in a fitBtate to exercise the rights of citizenship ; that they are uneducated , and consequently vicious and incompetent . Without stopping to debate this point , let us , in passing , observe , that with national and personal
debts to the amount of nearly four thousandmillions ; with three KingB , one of Hanover , one of Belgium » and one of England and Saxe Gotha ; with two Queens , and a Queen-mother ; together with several generations of royal bastards and dependants , and a most wealthy and idle aristocracy pensioned upon the u ignorant people , "—with such liabilities , generated by our educated" rulers , it is rather presumptions of those very rulers to change their own extravagancies , supported by physical force , as matter of
ignorance upon the people , whose education they have neglected . If the people are ignorant , who so much to blame as those who' have- been lavish upon every absurdity , while they have left the people without the means of education . None can more earnestly desire to Bee the whole people well educated than ourselves , and it is because we wish to see so desirable an object achieved , that we hold out the premium of Universal Suffrage as an inducement to emulation .
If knowledge be power , and if the people be the legitimate Bouroe of all power , it then becomes the bounden duty of rulers to make popular education a consideration paramount to all others ; but as the ignoraO of a people is the tyrant ' s best title to power , it therefore becomes the interest of tyrants that the people should be ignorant . Every Government has endeavoured , as we shall presently prove .
to withhold education and knowledge from those by the plunder of whom , in consequence of their ignorance , the wily live ; until at lengthaself-educated race , schooled in Nature ' s philosophy , have tested printed fallacy by Nature ' s book , and haveVdiscovered that so long as wealth remains the standard of representation , so long will wealth be considered the standard of knowledge , while poverty will be punished
as a crane . Moreover , we should he happy to learn the precise course which the empirics would prescribe as the standard for electoral fitness . Whether is it Algebra , Greek , Latin , Mathematics , Arithmetic , Painting , Drawing , Dancing , Music , or Theology , or a smattering of each ! May not a man , who can neither read nor write , be a competent judge as to the fitness of a Parliamentary representative 1 We should say decidedly , yes ; the more especially when we remember that some of our best laws were enacted by Members , many of whom conic
not write their name , while the most absurd and sanguinary have been the production of "Right Reverend Fathers in God '' , wily lawyers , called "Learned Gentlemen" , and book worms , called the " wellinformed " . If it is admitted that education would entitle the working classes to the franchise , we think it must tlso be admitted that the effect of the working people being enfranchised , would be a more equal dia . tribution of wealth ; consequently those w&o now possess , an undue share , by the disfranchisement of the people would be losers , and , consequently , they have a direct interest not only in proclaiming popular ignorance , but in preserving it as far as is in their
power . Bat if those who clamour for education , cannot point out the necessary coarse , it is clear that no fystematic plan of education can precede Universal Suffrage , and therefore the educationists , in the fashionable slang , are " impracticables . " The gospel , loving , truth-cherishing Times , wouldindeed recommend the erection of a church on every hill in Wales , as the scribe of that journal now discovers that good wages is not considered by the Welsh a sufficient set off against the loss of citizenship . We
have over and over again asserted , that if the people were really and naturally ignorant , the Suffrage would be willingly conceded to them , but it is the knowledge , and not the ignorance of the people , that tyrants dread . What most stimulates scholars at schools and colleges 1 Emulation . Distinction is not acquired by being uniformly well prepared in the class ; no , such a distinction would cease with the pupil ' s departure . That which
causes emulation is competition for premiums and honours , as the reward of industry and talent , success in which attaches through life to the successful candidate , and becomes his passport in Borne of the liberal professions to distinction and wealth ; but patronage being also a necessary ingredient to ensure promotion , and patronage being procured by wealth only , we generally find that the successful aristo . crat is preferred to the successful pauper , but from all chance is the poor slave excluded .
Lei those lucrative honours , each as participation in general and local Government , be thrown open for competition , and awarded to the meritorious , and then the qualification , whether it be a knowledge of the Arts , Sciences , Classics , Mathematics , or Theology , will speedily be acquired by the "ignorant " people . The possession of knowledge now but teaches the poor man how to bear philosophically the great disparity which the laws create between him and his less informed , but more fortunate , ; physical-force
neighbour . If any good is to follow popular improvement , it must be to place man in a position less dependant upon his jealous rulers and employers than' he is at present ; and those rulers and employers , being the parties most interested in the slave ' s Ignorance and debasement , we would gladly learn when , in their estimation , the working people will be scientifically qualified for the franchise ! We will answer ; when the people have re solutely determined to have it and " . no mistake , " Then , as if by magic , the mist of "ignorance "
will pass away , and the people will at once be baptised paragons of literature . The authorities will take care that the following impediments to the acquirement of education ( if that is what is meant by knowledge ) by the people shall be insurmountable . The valae of labour to the employed , and its poor remuneration , which as to time and means precludes the possibility of the poor man becoming educated . The working of infanta at that tender age , just when the mind should be receiving instruction . The vast number employed by one
master , where the business requiring education is done by one nun . No necessity of any mental exertion , even in keeping family accounts—no spur to emulation—no opening to competition , but , on the contrary , an interest upon the . [ part of the employer to keep every man in complete darkness , even as to the value ef bis labour . The jealousy with which a well-inforrned working man is looked upon by his ignorant employer , especially if bis superior information- is devoted to the
elevation of his order , in which case he has the pleasure of meditating in silencer at Wakefield , Beverley , Nortoallerton , or some ot'ier mad-house , or , mayhap , on board a transport ; u poa the blessings of a superior education . Let rev , wds be held out , and education will follow . We have before illustrated our position thus : —Suppose . A . to have a son wholly uneducated , and to have a p . itron who promises to him an appointment to an exciseman's place , vrhen he shall have aequh'ed the necessary education . How , let us ask , wolM the
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lgnoranttboy ' a time be spent from j he dayof pro mise to that of appointment ! Doubtless , LiiPtbe necessary preparation for the discharge of his new duties . He haa got the inducement ; and applioa-___
tion , as a naturaUfoonsequenoe is sure * to follow . Let , then , the sticklers for education point out the necessary course for the qualification of electors , and we pledge ourselves that parish schools will very speedily be opened , where the exciseman will not after six months discover half so big a fool in the art of legislation , as Russell , MONTEAGLE , NoRMAKBT , Or MaULK , Or MELBOURNE . They know that Universal Suffrage would proclaim ignorance a crime , because the whole people
would then have an interest in that national strength which ever proceeds from general knowledge . Let us now consider whether or no our laws , rules and regulations encourage or discourage the acquirement of knowledge . Knowledge is not to be acquired from books alone . Let us , therefore , canvas the facilities afforded to the people to acquire knowledge from the six following sources : —Books , newspapers , the senate , the pulpit , the bar , and though last , not least , the stage . ^ Firstly , as regards books , we find that while the
people are taunted with ignorance , their rulers ire , in the shape of copyright , granting exclusive privileges in the use of books to the wealthy . Nothing can be more unjust and destructive than this anomalous tenure in literature . For example , to prove that stimulus is necessary to the acquirement of knowledge , we have the facts admitted by the supporters of copyright , wherein they declare "that the uncertainty of tenure and short tenure prevents many from bestowing time upon literary pursuits . " This we deny ; but take it on the debased admission of men of letters , to what does it tend !
Why , that by copyright the writings of the day , naturally most applicable to the transactions of the day , are placed wholly out of the reach of the lower orders . Take three volumes of one of Scott ' s works , published at £ 115 s . These three volumes can be published and leave a profit at 2 s . lOd . No , here is a tare of over 800 per cent , upon the means of proving title to the franchise . When the period of tenure expires , those works are published cheaply , but then the information is not so applicable to existing circumstances as to those which existed simultaneously with publication .
Newspapers : —In this branch of literature , most applicable to passing events , the people have , firstly , to contend with a penny stamp and the profit upon it with the price laid on to suit aristocratic wealth rather than democratic poverty , together with the bias given to politics by the necessity of pandering to advertising communities , and the vast Bums lavished by government and wealthy parties upon the con uption of this department .
The Senate : —To be a member of the Senate , a man must possess £ ( 00 a-year to represent a county * but only requiring half brains in his breeches pocket , £ 300 a j ear will qualify him for a city or borough . [ How thoroughly absurd that the representative of the wealthy city of London should only require one-half of the brains of the representative of a poor mountain county . ] Again , we should much like to see 1 the countenance of the Speaker , or the gallery porters of the House of Commons , if they saw their
respective territories occupied by tattered hand-loom weavers , even to hear a debate upon a question connected with their own interests $ aad again , till very recently , the price of admission to the gallery was 2 s . 6 d ., and even now , although nominally by members' tickets , yet there is never room for the holden of those till the silver tickets are exhausted ; besides , how can the poor of distant parts visit the Senate House ! But it is only our duty to point out the actual restrictions .
The Pulpit : —from the pulpitoratory of State Church parsons , with its declamation , anathemas , thunder , damnation , hell fire and brimstone , good Lord deliver us . We have not forgotten , however , that even so lately as last year , the avenues to the churches at Sheffield and elsewhere , were guarded * by soldiers and police , to prevent the approach of the " ignorant , " but knowledge-seeking Chartists . The Bar : —For forensic oratory the people pay rather dearly , and when they do visit the Courts of
Justice as amateurs , they are generally stopped at some of the avenues by the * blue" gentlemen in authority , and sent to the right abont ; while the heavy stamp duty payable upon procuring a license to expound law Latin , dog Latin , law French , and all the other nonsense , precludes the possibility of an honest , poor man becoming a member of that liberal profession , if even the want of education and capacity to unravel mystery did not operate as a barrier .
We now come to consider the restrictions laid upon theatrical performance . Perhaps our simple readers are not aware that all playhouses must . be licensed , like beer-houses , before they can be opened for performance . Perhaps they are equally ignorant of the fact , that even then no piece can be produced without the consent of the Lord Chamberlain , one of the Royal Household . This restriction was laid on dramatic performances during the administration of Sir Robert Walpole .
in the reign of George II ., in consequence of a play being performed called the "Golden Rump , " in which the ruinous tendency of extracting large yearly sums from the English people to lavish on German paupera , and foreign mercenaries , for the preservation of Hanoverian ascendancy , and for the subjugation of France , was justly exposed . The historian , in writing the history of those time 3 , says of the above tyrannical restriction , and the present state of dramatic performance : —
" Thus , according to the present Btate of dramatic exhibitions , the playhouse is a vehicle for all the fulsome flattery whioh the servile and the indigent load on men in power ; and the people are denied the usual privilege of seeing the public vioes and misdemeanours of men in office exposed to ridicule and cenBure , and that in a manner which more effectually than any other , strikes conviction to vulgar conceptions . " Can anything be more true . Thus the stage , where , if open , the pourtrayal of virtue would be rewarded with cheers , while vice would be branded with public * reprobation , is , in its
present restricted state , a place for the representation of kingly vice and aristocratic folly , while the supporters of both compose the prostitute squad who spend the hard earnings of others in thus gratifying their own base vanity ; and hence we ever find the managers of theatres the most ignorant sycophantic , self-sufficient , servile , bowing , scraping , debased prostitutes upon the face of the earth . They smile upon the boxes , while they now and then condescend a telegraph of distress to the " goda , '»
to aid a limping piece through its weary progress , with their cheers . " Let me make your ballads , and I care not who makes the laws , " is a wise saying so Bay we . Let truth , virtue , vice , and falsehood be exhibited without license or oontroul , and we have no dread of just national censorship . Let the stage and dramatic performance be relieved from the oontroul of Chamberlains . Let us have " a clear stage , " and no &vonr , andwepledge > arselves thatour M shabby Government" would not outlive the first
week ' s representation , while the whole system would be thrown into a galloping consumption , by the just critioism of all classes . We should like to visit Downing-street after tho performance of the of the "Shabby Government , " from the pen of Knowles , giving to each Member his real name and character . It was left , however , for this our knowledgeloving Government to destrov even the ballad sinner-a
chance of substituting poetio Barcasm for more solid criticism . Such are the chances for and against general improvement . Whether , then , is it likely that knowledge or the Suffrage must take the precedence t We say S « ffrage , decidedly . Those who hold the keys of the inaccessible temple will say knowledge , of course . We have thought it our duty to canvas this subject at considerable length , as popular ignorance is the great , and indeed the only , impediment said by many to justify the withholding of Universal Suffrage .
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BTHE EQUALITY OF ALL MEN BEFORE THE LAW . " If laws wen made for every degree , For other rogues , as well as for me , I wonder we haven't better company At Tyburn tree I " Suoh was the sentiment of a noted highwayman , before his execution at Tyburn : and may we not
repeat it at the present day with equal justice and force ! "If flaws were made for every degree , " we might behold many an ermined senator , many a noble peer , nay , by some irreligious wretches it has been said—many a right reverend father , occupying the dungeon , and placed at the bar , and transported to the countries now devoted to the poor , the humble , and the untitled .
If laws were made for every degree , " how often would the prosecutor , whether a magistrate or an attorney-general , or any other , be placed in the situation of the prisoner ! The very judge passing sentence might appear a suppliant for mercy . ** If laws were made for every degree , " some secretary of state , to whom petitions for pardon are presented , might be himself petitioned for ; and the prime minister of some government might be
heavily fined , or imprisoned . But laws are not u made for every degree , " and this is what we complain of . The men , who make laws , being the wealthy and powerful members of society take care of themselves . The class , whom they represent , may be looked after a little , but the unfortunate humbler classes are made to feel the whole weight of the law with concentrated power ; whereas if extended throughout the country , its force would not press so heavily and bo unjustly upon them .
Laws may be compared to a body of water ; if confined to one particular spot they become stagnant , polluted , and worse than useless ; if diffused through the various channels which invite their influence , they dispense health and fruitfulness in every part visited by their presence . The inequality of punishments by the law is apparent in every act ; and to discuss each separate branch would require a paper to itself . We shall , therefore , select one or two points in which it is most apparent : —
First . Let us look at the fines imposed by some penal statutes . They are always laid down indiscriminately at a certain standard for a certain offence . Thus , for instance , the fine of five pounds shall be inflicted , or a month at the treadmill shall be substituted . A man worth three thousand a year commits the offence and pays the money , which to him is a mere trifle . A poor labouring man , say
earning , with diflicnlty , fifty pounds a year , commits the like offence , and either pays the moneywhich t most probably deprives himself and his family of many necessaries for a long time—or , what is much more frequent , unable to discharge the amount , is sent to prison for a month , losing situation and wages , leaving his wife and children in a state of starvation , and coming out a beggar with a tainted character .
Who does not see that the rich man may here commit an offence for a trifle ; while a poor man , for the . like act , is made to suffer a terrible punishment ! And the poor man ' s perfectly innocent family are made to Buffer a yet greater puniBhmoiit for the double crime of being poor and unfortunate . la it not equal to declaring that the rich man shall pay Jive pounds , and the poor man three hundred ! for that is the relative value of five pounds to two men one possessing £ 3 , 000 and the other £ 50 . What a
monstrous system this most necessarily be ! Not only does it inflict sixty times the penalty on the poor man , but by making the rich pay so small a sum , he is encouraged to follow the bent of his will , even though it be against law , peace and order . The Honourable Felix Tollemache lately appeared before a Magistrate for wrenching off bells and knockers . He said , U O ! I know the fine to be forty shillings ; but I choose to pay that Bum and indulge in these propensities , whioh give me pleasure ! 2 " And so it is with very many others .
Whenever a fine is inflicted it should be measured by the standard of a party ' s income , and thereby rendered equal . Thus , in the above case of £ 3 , 000 and £ 50 , if the poor man pay £ 5 , the other should be fined £ 300 ; then we should quickly find the penalty lowered to about Is . for the poor , which would amount to £ 3 for the rich in like instances . And this would be equitable andjust , as they would suffer equally for a like offence . If any difference
be made , surely the rich man should suffer most , as bis example , his station , education , and advantages of life most strictly demand good behaviour and worthy actions . This is the first manifest injustice of the law , and the second is that whioh , whatever the lawB themsehes may be , prevents those who have not riches from taking advantage of their benefit * The immense price of justice , in truth , shuts out millions from its attainment .
Probably most of our readers have heard of the man who was half ruined by the first lawsuit , which he lost , and completely ruined by the second , whioh he gained . And so it will ever be , onless the suitor possess greater resources than bis rival . In fact , the victory may be said to depend on pounds , shillings , and pence ; as one who does not possess these indispensablee , either will not dare to commence an action , or , being commenced and decided in the first Court , he will be unable to follow his adversary through all the succeeding Courts of appeal . It is true that paupers , who can swear that they are not worth five pounds , may sue tn forma
pauperis—that is , they may carry on an action without payment of costs or fees ; but every day experience teaches us that this is but-an inadequate remedy , and that nothing short of a complete change from extravagance to the strictest economy in legal proceedings , and also much diminished charges , for those who only receive a moderate income , can posssibly afford to the working p opulation a chance of obtaining justice . Many are not willing to proclaim to the world that they are worth five pounds only , while many may be worth ten pounds , and thus though entitled to the benefits from the spirit of the statute , yet do not come beneath its letter .
Let us look for a moment at divorces . It will not probably be disputed that wherever a wealthy man is allowed to put away his wife , a poor man ought to be allowed the same privilege . If the wife render the husband miserable by her conduct , or disgrace and dishonour him by her actions , the happiness of the man must be as preciouB , and his honour as nicely sensitive , though they belong to one who works hard and gains his daily bread by the sweat of his brow . And yet how difficult it is for one who has not the command of treasure to obtain the lowest kind of divorcea mensa et thoro—from bed and board—while it
IB absolutely impossible for such a one entirely to rescind the marriage contract by a divorce a vinculo matrimonii , from the chain of matrimony . This second species of divorce is Only allowed for adultery , which may be all very well ; but then , mark how it is to be gained—6 y an Act of Parliament . For this purpose the two Houses examine witnesses , and the expense consequent upon such a proceeding is enormous . Therefore the poor man is told that however his wife may dishonour his name , yet he cannot be divorced from her , except at a certain price which it is impossible for him to pay . Is this fair i Is this equal ? Is this just !
One of the articles of the Great Charter was to the effect that justice should neither be told , denied , or delayed , to any one . Why here it is Bold to every Englishman , and denied and delayed continually to all but the rich . So determined are our legislators to preserve this grievance , that they actually forbid any support being afforded by the rich to enable a poverty-stricken man to carry on a suit . This branch of the law is comprised under the term maintenance , which is defined to be assistance afforded to a party , by money 0 other means , to prosecute or defend a
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suit . The ponishmea * ii fine aad imprisoBment at common law , and by the Statute , S 3 . H . 8 . c . 9 . a forfeiture of ten pounds . What reason is there for this enactment ! We are told that it is offence against public justice , as it keeps alive strife and contention , and perverts the remedial process of tho law into an engine of oppression . —Blackatone ' s Commentaries , v . 4 , p . 134 . Now just let us see the fallacy of this reasoning : —To assist a poor man in a suit" keeps alive strife and contention . " Why , when a wealthy man . _ _ _ .
carries on an action on his own account , does it not do just the same ! Therefore , the argument would go to a denial of justice altogether } for if suits keep alive strife and contention , and if that be a sufficient ground for preventing a needy man from commencing or defending them , it is also sufficient for . preventing a rich person from doing so . We suppose the truth is , that an action at the suit of the working classes is strife and contention ; while the same , at the suit of a squire . or a lord , is nothing but law , justice , and equity .
But then to assist men in an action at law perverts its remedial process into an engine of oppression . It is difficult to see how this can be the case , unless the remedial process of law is always oppressive , for if a man , when backed by money , can use the law to oppress , the man who alwayshas money can always use the law to oppress . The writer who has given the above causes for prohibiting maintenance—which are those commonly adduced—will not admit this , therefore , it i 3 plain his reasoning foils to the ground . No ! laws are not" made for every degree , " nor can they , such as they are , be taken advantage of by every degree . Such has been the case , such it is , and suqh it will be , until the principles of pure and unsullied freedom reign triumphant .
We may , therefore , slightly change the words , and sing—When the law of the land the Charter shall be , Then laws will be made for every degree . And then we may hope for the company To be fairly sorted at Tyburn Tree .
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THE PROVISIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL . , The excellent address of this body , having somehow escaped the clutches of Lord Nobhanby ' s sub-devils , appears in another column . We received along with it , a friendly remonstrance for not having published it last week , which we would gladly have done had we received it . But it never came to our hands ; and we have no doubt that it is just now lying in Lord Normanby's desk , along with much other correspondence intended for us .
Our mends at Stroud are half angry because we did not publish a communication which we did not receive . We shall in future refer all such complainants at once to the Home Office ; where they " will be much more likely to find their communications than at ours . How despicable the Government that can have recourse to such contemptible , dirty , "shabby " tricks as those constantly resorted to by the , present low-lifed crew , for the avowed purpose of annoying a newspaper which they know they cannot put down though they would gladly do so by the sacrifice of even half a year's salary !
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BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF FEARGUS
O'CONNOR . Probably our readers do not all recollect that O'Connor is not allowed to publish even the state of his health ; and when some of our sham friends and hack journals were endeavouring to manufacture odious distinctions , between the treatment of O'Connor and other Chartist prisoners , they appeared to forget that he is in solitary confinement , and has been so now nearly four months ; while the following fact proves that the officials of York Castle have their orders to make that solitary confinement as
galling and bitter aa ever the coward Government dare . On Monday last , Mrs . Hobson , the mother of our publisher , a most respectable old lady , 60 years of age , and to whom Mr . O'Connor has been much attached , set off from Leeds to York , a distance of thirty-one miles , in the hope of seeing him . She was accompanied by our Clerk : but on arriving at the Castle was denied admittance . Thus the old lady had her journey of sixty-two miles , the longest , we believe , that she ever took , and her journey only , for her pains .
We understand that O'Connor stormed furiously on being informed of the refusal to admit Mrs . H . ; and no wonder ! The paltry wretches ! What benefit does the magnanimous Government propose > o itself from such petty refinements in the art of torture ?! Our Clerk is not allowed to show an aceonnt to Mr . O'Connor without its being first inspected- by the officer who attends the interview . And this for libel ! But we wait patiently the expiration of his term : and then we may have more to say than their philosophy haa dreamed of .
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( Continued from our last . ) The Bum and substance of my Chartism is independence and contentment , neither of which can you by any possibility enjoy under the present system . Again , again , and again , I will keep hammering into the brains of the working people , the fact , that while all other classes ate increasing in wealth and luxury , as if by magic , the labourers are moving backward in both-That in the midst of the relief power for man and almost inconceivable inventions and improvements , not
one single particle of those advantages are applied for the benefit of the working people . This is my position . I care not how Queen Victoria ' s luxury increases with Invention and improvement , provided a corresponding improvement take place in the condition of those for whose benefit we are taught to believe Princes reign . I care not if the steam aristocrat live in a palace in all the ease and splendour of Eastern luxury , and enjoy the pleasure of a coach and twenty if he please , provided a corresponding improvement take place in the condition of those by whose labour he lives .
Leech , as all the masters' work ever has been done by committee , I shall point out to the people ! through you , the different mode of transacting business now and formerly . I have often told yon that in the happy days of yore , when England was divided into rural districts , the interest of the master was the interest of the man . The fabric of each bore each man ' s value stamped upon its corner , and your industry mad e you the envy and admiration of surrounding nations . If a master
employed thirty pair of hands , he was a strong man , and the interest of the thirty was well watched by that number . The masters , even if inclined , could not deceive their hands , and therefore the masters might be considered in the light of a committee of trade and public safety . They consulted together , and they could not separate their own interests from those of their men , either in trade , ox Government , or politics .
They were also the committee of public safety , forming the posse comitaius of the neighbourhood , and equally interested with their men in the suppression of all lawless outbreaks , and in keeping down taxation , which equally affected alL In those days , if the master was worth £ 5 , 000 , the men were worth perhaps £ 100 each , and therefore the thirty had £ 3 , 000 to withstand any attack attempted by the master with his £ 5 , 000 , Then , Leech , every man had a bit of land and worked in his own house ; and if the intelligence arrived that a foreign foe meditated a descent upon that land , the people ordered their representatives to declare their readiness , with life and treasure , to meet the invader . Now let m see the change , and endeavour to trace from ii the justifiable discontent of the people , AS well as the increased expanse to the nation .
Take , then , a manufacturing district of the present day , where ten thousand operatives form a portion of the population , I will firstly take those in the aggregate . I have allowed the operative 3 s . 4 d . per day ; say then threepence per hour , or three shillings per day , the alteration in figures is all in the master ' s favour ; but I want to reduce your ' wages to the hourly value . The masters compose the committee of trade , and also the committee of public safety of this district Let nsnov consider in how few the employ-
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meat of 10 many hands by any indlvidaal la likely fc call into action all the baser propensities of man . avarice , rapidity , and lore of purse . ' To enter into the direct profit upon capital expended upon labour would , under the present « y « tan , b » iav possiUfc Even upon U » profit and losa of a purchase on Tuesday , in the Liverpool Market , of the raw materia , l to be sold and ihanufactured ia fourteen dayi , cannot be more than guessed at , and the guess ia best aided by the capability of the guesser to effect the prices and sales by the weight of his purse or credit . We then go to the indirect profit : now , you know better than I do what fines amount to In a steam
establishment ; five minutes late 6 d . or mow , and for all otha irregularitioi , equal penalties , always In cash . Suppose , then , that your labour is worth threepenoe per hour , and that the masters work their mills one hour above the time stipulated , for such a price , for so much work , in that hour the masters will have made , clear profit , £ 39 , 000 per annum . Now , suppose half an hour at l $ d ., and a fractionfor the i ± they would make £ 20 , 000 a-year , and will any man tell me that in many instances they do not run the profit of over work against the chance of discovery and the little chance of fine , and run their mills two and three hours over the time prescribed by law .
Now , Leech , this £ 20 , 000 a-year , and mark , I take it at the lowest , is but as nothing—a mere nest-egg , but suppose it waa funded for the contingent relief of the ten thousand operatives , then you would bear nothing of P « or Laws , Sick Societies , Odd Fellowg , Burial Societies , or any of those institutions which though admirable in themselves , are but so many sob . stitutes for self-government . But the £ 20 , 000 , I said , was only a nest-egg . Just so ; the masters cease to constitute the inexpensive posse oomiiaius—ihQ virtuous committee of review of public morals , or to have any interest in cheap law or good Government A Rural Police , paid by the people , supplies the place of the local civil power , and heavy taxes are divided in
local jobbing among the most influential of the steam aristocracy . New , bz this abstraction of means from their legitimate source , the shopkeepers are much injured by this syBtem of robbery , and , as electors , perhaps they are the most to blame ; but of them presently . From the labourer no longer having any controul over the value of that dearest and moat blessed of all inheritances because God ' s gift toman , his labour , let us for one moment consider how far unchecked licentiousness by degrees assumes the face of right and throws aside the blush of conscious guilt . Now , suppose one of
these masters to commence with a capital of twenty thousand pounds , how do I prove that he calculates upon more than a fair return for his expenditure and speculation ? Very easily , for before he strikes a blow in the way of trade , he undertakes rent , taxes , and insurance to the amount of more than five per cent upon his whole capital , running his ch ance with the greater gamblers for such profit , as traffic in the under , priced labour mart will render . The unnatural position of this man becomes a tax upon every other member of the community within his district . If poor rate * are encreased it is in consequence of the over
work at low wages , over-production , or , at an events , of the uncertainty of employment created by the regulation of the destinies of ten thousand persons , and their very existence being placed at the mercy of a score of licensed gamblen Now , baar in mind , the labourer pays the landlord ' s rent The policy of insurance , doubly and trebly hazardous , ga * , taxes of all sorts . The factor and merchant's profit , freightage , duty upon every article consumed in the way of trade , discount oa bills , and all bad engagements , wear and tear of machinery , aid so forth . I may be told that all are Incidental to the ' manufacture of fabric from raw material . I deny it
For instance , rent you still pay for a house to sleep in , although unoccupied all day : taxes you still pay ; insurance you need not pay ; discount on bills yon need not pay ; merchant ' s profits you need not pay . Upon all these the master bas even a profit If he pays £ 400 a year for gas , he makes one hundred per eent . upon his liability , and so all through ; and it ia to keep up this profit that you have a starving Poor Law , a bloody rural police , an ignorant ex-officlo magistracy failing shopkeepers , wretched operatives , insolent masters , large standing army , corrupt House of Commons , slavish Administration , negligent landlords , and infidel preachers , under the mask of State Cburcb parsons , and still worse , dissenting hypocrites .
Leech , if Christ came on earth , and said , my Father sent me to assist the Chartists , these fellows , one and all , would crucify him again , if he escaped the vengeance of the rurals . Now , my good friend Leech , without blarneying you , I ask you , as a mm of sound common sense , whether or not this section of the middle class is likely to join you ; and here again , and once for all , Leech , let me observe upon tho folly of this eternal clatter of " O , join the middle classes ! " Join the devil ! They would much rather join the devil than join us , and I would rather join the devil than join them . But just observe hew ridiculous : one
would really suppose that when one of the middle class does join in our deliberations , or appears to take an interest in our success , that we snap and snarl and bite at him ; the fact being that upon all occasions we are too apt to forget our strength , our dignity , 001 self-respect , and our cause , by cringing most syeophantically to the better sense and judgment of our new con vert and ally . " We do not prevent the . whole body from joining us " en masse ; " but I tell you the meaning is just let us rock the cradle of Radicalism , while your
agitators take a nap . Leech , If ever they catch us napping , «« W ell awake some fine morning , " as Sif Boyle Roche Baid , " and find all our throati cut" You joined them in 1832 , and I wish you joy , we will now join them , and welcome , but they must . fall into the proper place , for the heavy baggage . They never again should lead in any great national movement Once try the experiment , and then retrieve the error , in which you would speedily find yourselves plunged , if you can .
Leech , the interest which all other classes , tm shopkeepers , have in the degradation of the working classes , is precisely the desire to get for settled income ! as much produce as possible for the smallest possible amount . Before I come to the-shopkeeper , I most introduce a class of which I have not made mention , bankers and merchants . You have to pay largely for all profit made by every banker and merchant in the empire , and , like fashionable tailors , who lay bad debts on good customers , your order must make up for all deficiencies and bad debts . As it la now iauua
very heavily , and as we are within tho time whan a continuance of bad weather may seriously affect tbe harvest , there is one clAa&ef merchant , factor , trader , or broker , or whatever polite name yon please to gita the sect , which I must mention . I mean earn dealers , or , properly speaking , " forestallers . " Now , by law , " forestalling" is still » very serious offence ; but wealth , makes crime virtue , and virtue crime . I have often told you , that as we now lire , there is more danger to the peasant who thooti tbe squire ' s bare , than to the squire who shoote tbe
peasant ' s head . , However , while I am lamenting at the rai n which now pelts mercilessly on the roof of my dungeon , 1 think I see some " porpus" forestaller , withhia store well roofed and filled ' " with grain ; . and the key weB secured , standing at the windvw , in his shirt , and 1 hear him exclaim , as drop succeeds drop , Oh 1 gtoriom * this will finish it ; this will lay all the crops . Certpercent at least , the rise will coma before any P ** supply can be had , thank God . Yet , Leech , thonjB I swear to the truth of this picture , suppose you of I happened to meet this pious rascal , and were to nji well , Mr . Storehouse , you have made a good speech . Last night was dreadful ; and the weather app *" unsettled , I fear the poor will be great sufferan . WW
would be his reply ? Oh no , I hope not God f «« we may yet have good harvest time . I assure you , Mt Leech , I would always prefer a profit that I eouM jw * live upon and see the people happy ; aad , Leech . •«»• would believe , or * af&ct to believe , that awoOfie * W >" crite ; but we know full well , that in his iBBwtf «»»¦• laughs at the Buffering of his fellow , and alcnWe l I ^* own profit by Mb neighbour ' s loss , nay , rnin ' irf * T _ tribe of locusts are in the com market , what tt » stocrjobbers are in the money market Indeed , ""' , both rogues in grain . The stock-jobber , without « V pence in the pound , can considerably affect ti * ' ""* market / while the corn-jobber , who never saw ai mw . wheat , can considerably affect the grain m *« et ^ nest of these beasts make fictitious sales to eae * " £ and by that means produce alarm , or giY 6 . con fidence just aa best suits their books .
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Mr. O'Connor's Letter To Mr. Leech.
MR . O'CONNOR'S LETTER TO MR . LEECH .
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^ THE NORTHERN STAR . ^ \ ¦ _ ...- - ' ' ¦ ' - ™^*""™ ' ^^^ 5 " -
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 29, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2699/page/4/
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