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<£ri£mai Correfipottnence.
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ANALYSIS OF THE HAM ) -LOOM WEATEHS REPORT . lETTEB . TIL The competitive system , as practised amongst tlie manufacturers and merchants of this country has Brodnced the most dastrncttro effects upon every ' grade and d&B of society ; were IU operations conlned to I particular class there might be some hopeinmitip , tang at least rf not removing , the evil * itprodnees . The agncaltuahste are not exempt from iU extended openthnu , foi by lto direct influence in bribing down Inter ^ both by mihdrawing the labourers from the ! ° A * ° ™ **?*« <>' agricultural produce
^ J ^ . quantity of labourers into the market , and force cornpetition amongst the operative * , thereby reducing wises Thus ye have an outcry against the Corn Laws by the manufacturers and merchants who , having , by eoapetition amongst themselves , aided by chemical and mechanical inventions and discoveries , brought down the wages of the weavers so low , that nothing will satisfy them but bringing down the price of agrieultn » l pro duce to the ruinous level they have created . Seeing bankruptcies , loss of trade , and ruin staring them in the face , they are determined to bring down landlord , ffrmer , and labourer , to the same miserable condition in which the merchant , manufacturer , and operative now art .
The following extracts from the reports will shew the opinions of practical men upon the subject of competition : — John Harper , weaver , of Knaresborough , states—Competition among the masters—they embark in business , and those who wish to get customers , undersell others- B&d masters mate the good ones reduce their wages . ilr . John Scott , a weaTer of Salford , states : —The repeated reductions made by masters who are foremost to reduce , necessarily compels the net to follow iheir example , however unwilling they may be to do so . George Jackson , Esq ., of Prerton . —I admit the competition am-jng masters to be a great evil , and that its , tendency is , occasionally , that the low price paying masters do bring down the wages of those who are paying , and who are disposed to pay , a high rate . Mi Parier
. James , of Preston . —The wages of wea-Ters are constantly reduced for want of an uniformity of wafes- There are houses in Preston paying 6 d . Ies 3 than us for exactly the Bame sort of goods . If we rednee to their prices , they would directly reduce still lower . James Spencer , weaver , of Manchester . —The small capitalists are the firs : to reduce wages , because the lower they pay , the more goods they can produce with the same amount of capital . The most respectable manufacturers are often desirous of keeping up wages , but cannot compete -with these grinding ones . Mr . Robert Bradshaw , of Haagate . —One part of the manufacturers constantly pay lower prices than others snd are enabled to undersell the higher paying masters ! Many small masters , without capital , are forced to sell , and must take any price off ^ ed . They then come home , and pail down wages to fit in the price .
John Alexander Steward , weaver , of Ashton-under-Lyne . —The low paying masters will generally bring down the others to their rates . Mr . James Graham , of Carlisle . —The ompetition among masters may reduce wages . We haTe reduced bfeCitiae oibtis i&ve done so before . ilr . Jcnaihan Brett , membtr of the Weavers' Committee , Car dale . —The masters , from 1817 , have been fighting against each other , and all trying what advantage they could get for themselves at the expense of she wearers . Win . Korris , of Ecclea . —The competition among masters , and the desire to get rich , on their part , as ipeedily as possible , has had a great effect in reducing wates .
There is a system of lying , cheating , and plundering carried on by many of the manufacturers of piston , Blackburn , Burnley , Colne , and other remoter places , wh \ ch is alike disgraceful and txUkous . A Blackburn manufacturer will send a cart load of warps to Clitheroe , or Culne , and offer them at , say 5 s . per cent for what he is paying 6 s . far at Blackburn . When finished , be will turn round upon his Blackburn wta-Ter , asd tell him he can get thtm wove at 5 s . elsewhere , and , unless he will take another warp at that price , he must get them done at Colne . The wesvar is obliged to tate it or starve . The unprincipled muck-worm takes ano-ier e&rt load to Colne , and thus turns round upon them , telling the weavers he can get them done at home fer 5 s . a cut , and if he cannot cet them done at
less price in Colne , he must take his warps home again , and he -will offer them at is . ed ., and npon that Infernal maxim , invented , by the Whig political economist school of passive obedience men , •• That half a loaf is better than nobr « ad . " The weaver takes the piec- ? to weave , ekeing out an existence as well as he can The manufacturer returns to Blackburn , and plays the same game as before , and thus—and thus , these muck-worms rob the poor weaver , and bring down other better paying employers . 1 heard a manafactiirer once say , in an hotel at Clitheroe , some three years ago , ' First get no peawr looms aw con get urn done as cheap by thliondlacm . " " Jsaj-, nay , John , not quite , " said his companion . " Brt aw con bring th'hond-loom weigbvers deawn tot , connot aw ?"
2 s" o man can explain competition more easily than the above , and I might cite many similar extracts were they necessary . Let us now examine more minutely the facilities afforded to masters te reduce wages . First—The disproportionate number of weavers to the labour require be performed by them . Second—The < ae ot a knowledge of the weaving bade being easil acquired , and of the trade itself DeiEg open to all classes of unemployed ptr » one . It is a notorious fact that manufacturers have been guilty of supporting the Pajr Law Commissioners in their still more guilty career of oppression and seduction , solely far the purpose of encouraging migration from the agricultural districts to the manufacturing dens of the north . A Mr . Aahworth , of Bolton , and , 1 believe , a Corn Law philosopher , has immortalised himscJf by corresponding with the Poor Law Coinrnis .
noners upon this subject , In one of his letters he Lad the mendacity io state that the people had plenty of work , and were well paid for it , aud that he had no doubt that many of the turplut population would find employment if sent from the agricultural districts to these parts , meaning Ballon . Tou will find his letter at length in the second annual report of the Poor L 3 W ComTni «^ nT | prfl It has ever been the policy of the manufacturers to swamp those wh » had been brought up to the manufacturing operation by supporting the migration system , long before the Devil ' s law was passtk ; ind now they find the TJ ^ ion system , bastile-iesting , and gruelling-pampering of the labourers an excellent plan for forcing the labourers from the soil to the manufacturing districts , liuggeridge , the migration agent , keeps a register-office in Manckeiter , where labour-grinding manufacturers hire the " surplus population" of the agricultural cj unties .
¦ Axotner plan of increasing the number of handloom weavers is by putticg out work to agricultural labourers to work at their leisure , and so converting the rural and peaceful hamlets into manufacturing villages , and as Weaving is so e « i ; y learned , every hobble-de-hoy is put to It , migration takes place , and the towns are filled with a superfluity of hands ; numbers of weavers have been created in the hamlets and villages round the city of Norwich and Coventry ; besides , S the workmen in towra -were to rebel against this system of encouraging labourers to tarn weavers , the emplojfcrs w ^ uld only encourage the rural districts the more . John Harper , of Knaresborough , states —< p . 4 « 5 , part li ;—
" 1 was working at Barosley two years ago , when th « ; trade was britk . One morning tLirty harvest men came j into the town , each proposed to become a weaver , i they got friends and got work . They had never ¦ worked as weavers before . Oae took an ei » hty drill , ' he carried it home ; he saved twenty hanks . The piec « was spoilt ; they did their work badly . " : Mr . John Duce , of SpitaLdeils , London . Of the man- , ner in which the trade is overwhelmed , he gives the following evidence : — Q . Have many men taken to the weaving trade lately ? : If ot many lately ; there would not have been employ-, meet given to them ; but whenever the trade is brisk , ; men come to it from other employments , and begin at the simplest work , and such as have ability gradually . get to the other branches of weaving , and thus the , number of weavers is keut too great . I
Bo women , who are not daughters or wives at wearers , 1 learn the trade ' : —Sometirses they get other women to j teach them , ' acd during the period when they are learning , they nay m ^ xe half as much as will keep ; them . , "What are tea chief sources of the num- j bers wfeo come into the trade?—The weavers ; bring up their families to be weavers , frem ai dear t to get something from their Ubour as soon as i possible ami also froa inability to gei them put out into other trades , and to pa j a premium . j Ploor-cl ^ th weaving at Farnham , Surrey . — " As to i Hie narrow looms , the fabrit ii so easily made that men may be taken from any other employment , snd in a few days may be made tolerable workmen . The waccs of such men must necessarily be low , in fact , below the wages of an agricultural libuurer . "—j Mitchell ' s feport
Mr . Charles Stantoo , of Gloucestershire , woollen ' Kannfscturer . 1 Does weaving require mneh skill ?—Tea , a certain por- i turn , but it is easily acquired . j Has not that facility o : acquiring the trade increased i Hje number of hands hi the labjar market ? Yes , it has j « adoub : ed ! y . ' ' j It is ev ; dent , from the above statements , that the silk , linen , and woollen weaving is tasily acquired , and 1 cotton is notoriously so ; and from these facilities weav- j ing has everywhere been swamped by a superabundance i <* hands ; and add to tt « e evils the effects of the i Power-looms , in depriving thousands of weavers of I tiieir means of existecee . To suppose all these weavers " » ould find employment if the Com Laws were re- ' ?* &d , is a hope as frail as the rotten staff that sTsp-
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por . s the burden of the repealers' wild ' speculationa or even if thty were , do we not find , from the evidence above , that weavers are as easily created as calicoes are manufactured ; and in brisk times the trade would be over t ™ ' . f ° that a " El « k" coming , the whole would be precipitated lower than ever . Besides , machinerr is easier manufactured than hand-loom weavers , and " less trouble . to the capitalist than a lot of discontented , grumbling , hand-loom wesTers , " and much more passive . In these matters Parliament can do nothing , evea though they were willing . Some witnesses are of opinion that a law of apprenticeship would remove the evil ; othera would prohibit any tni ^ from having more than four looms ; some wish the stamp dnty on
apprentices" indenture to be reduced to five shillings to encourage apprentices , whilst a few talk ef edu ' cation , and a very few of the Spitalfields weavers wish the Corn Laws repealed ^ for they have had the benefit of " free trade" to their heart ' s sickness . All laws regarding apprenticeships and hiring are becoming obsolete , as they are considered incompatible with the principle * of free trade . All the arts , mysteries , and crafts of trade have become reduced to a principle of "buy cheap and sell cheap . " Political economists argue . that all laws limiting supply and demand , whether labourers or productions , areas so many fetters to trade and eommerce , and were it not that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer realises Borne £ 10 , 000 per annum by apprentices- indentures , the Whole wtuld -. 7 ^ , ^ SWept &way lon 8 ***> b J o ^ " March of intellect men . Were it not for the united . fforts of letter-press printers to limit the number of apprentices , and wait the innovation of rat ,, iknobstickai their very myateritns art would have been overwhelmed by a . superabundance of hands , and their wages reduced accordingly The same by the millwrights , engravers , batters , the bulding and other trades , who have resisted innovations by being united together . I remember reading an anecdote in the Manchester Tinux , when at was a Radical paper , illuEtrating the power of combination ;—
" Novil Strike . —At a print works near Bury , a strike ef the teer-boys took place , in consequence of the master introducing twelve parish apprentices to the printing business , the preparatory step being that of teenDfk or laying the colour upon the blocks . The lads , the eldest not sixteen years of age , held a meeting m the crcft , when one of them , standing on a tub made the following speech : — ' Aw t * U o wat . lads , if \ reh aUonn thease lads fra « f ' warkheause to ten eawr places , it'll ge ' o f printurs V chonce o' pooink eawr wago * deawn , till they maue um as low as fhand-loom weighvsrs . ' "
Be this true or false , at any rate it is not false in principle , ilany trades have been swamped for want of similar protection and combination amoi ^ st those who have servkl a legitimate apprenticeship . The combination laws are the bulwarks of the free traders and how often do we find your free trade Corn Liw repealers sitting as magistrates in judgment upon men who wish to preserve their legal profession from falling into the sam « ruinous condition that the hand-loom weavers are in ; jes , and inflicting all the penalties of those infamous statutes upon him whose supposed crime is that of protecting the craft he so dearly purchased , by a premium and seven years slavery , from the inexperitiiced innovator . The fact is , that the free trade professors would reduce every labouring man in
England to their money-grubbing purposes , in order that commerce may flourish and their capital accumulate . I am Willing to admit , to a certain extent , the principles of free trade ; but , before I admit the propriety of it in England , I must first clear the country of all its incuuibrances and dead weight ; reduce the amount of taxation to somttking like the continental standard ; give to every family a portion of land to fall back upon , same as they have in foreigu stat « s ; and , above all , a Commons fairly chuaen by the people , then repeal your Corn Laws , jour timber liws , and every other restriction upon trade . "A clear stage and no favourbut right and justice , aad the people of England against the world for couiage , wisdom , industry , and humanity . R . J . Richardson . 1 Erjuta . —In Letter IT ., for Tpper Lananark read i Upper Lausitz . ' In Letter VI ., for strap looms read shop loom * .
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TO TaB EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir , —This is a time when some test of principle is necessary , in order to show to the world that we are in earnest for the attainment of the good cause with which we have embarked . It is a fact much to be lamented , at this day , , that thousands upon thousands of § ur fellow-men are labouring under an awful weight of Blxvery , and a slavery of * e worst kind , too , via ., a slavtry to our own passions and vices , creatrd by our own free will , and retained by our own foolishnessthat is , the use of drinking intoxicating liquors , and the smoking of that noxious and trifling weed , tobacco , only fit for monkeys , and not for men . It is now ataut two years ard a h ^ lf since a number of us , upon
political princi ples , forsook the haun . s of Bacchus , determined , if our cxa-nple was necessary , it should not be wanting , and are still standing true to our principles . But as we advanced a few step 3 farther along the paths of this enquiring age , we began to see that ire had something about us still which was a barrier in the way of our improvement . Ten of us , who had been in the habit , iur a freat number of years , tLen became to see it oar duty to part with our snuff boxes and tobacco pipes ; so we made a trial , and the consequence is , that twelve weeks have now passed over , while -we are in possession of as many sixpences , besides relieved of that gnawing appetite , disturbing oar repose with fantastic nostrums .
> ow we can hold up our heads before our fellowmen , and t « ll th « m we have so far reformed ourseives ; md would tliat every Chanist would adopt our course , no man would disbelieve our sincerity for reform , Then may we be enabled to reform others— : hen , and not tul then , can . w « truly boast of being reformers . A Sew Light Chartist . Baigonie Bleachfield , Dec 1 , 1840 .
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SENDING PAPERS TO IRELAND . TO THE iDITOB OF THE NORTHERN STAR . SIR , —In answer to a paragraph in your last , I think it wuuld not be prudent to publish the names of parties to whom pipers might be sent in Ireland , for more reasons than one . I would suggest the adoption of the feli owing plan : — Let a Committee of six or more be appointed in Manchester or Liverpool , d would prefer the iaHer place , as they c « uld be posied later iu the week with more convenience to whoia ail newspapers intended for Ireland should be forwar J& . 1 .
I will g upply this Committee with a list of pers-ns in several countWa in Ireland , and also some other useful hints . Let also every Irishman in England , who is frienaiy to the cause , supply the Committee with the name of ioue friend in Ireland , to whom he shall write , to cause the circulation of the papers sent , requesting an answer , -which he shall forward to the Committee . This simple plan will do our work more effectually than the publication of any list , and prevent what must , of necessity , occur , by giving the names of individuals in Ireland publicly , viz ., the t # o great influx of papers in one quarter , and perhaps to persons who may not possess either the means , inclination , or zeal in their distribution , uf Tour obedient , humble servant , L . T . Cla . nct . P . S . Would Messrs . R-. S 3 , Todd , and Finijan , of the Working Men ' s Association , Liverpool , censmt to be named , and add to their number ? We must make the rascally press o : Ireland ashamed of themselves , if we cannot make them do their duty . November 30 th , 1 S 40 .
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TO THE PEOPLE OF BA > 'BURY . Oakham Gaol , Rutlandshire , 21 st Nov . 1 S 10 . Fellow-Countrtme * , In ad ' . ressing a few words to you I need make no apology . I am nat altogether unknown to you . I am a plain man , and one of yourselves ; and , being t » ncked by the wrengs inflicted upon my country by the craft and villany of our irresponsible rulers , I hold out my ri ^ ht hand from my dungeon , and plaos Hiy be * ot therein , to greet you as brqlhere , and to cheer you for tvard in the holy work » f attempting to shake off the chains which bind you .
Countrymen , —I writ * in a prison . I am unable to step beyond the gloomy wall which frowns upon my cheerless ceiL Day after day , my body drags on the same monotonous career ; but my mind scornfully defies the power of the tyrant , and pleasingiy speculates upon principles which will yet sb . k 9 our crazy and iniquitous system of government to pieces . My mind approves my past career , aad iny conscience bears ¦ witness to the fervour of my devotion to my eppressed fellow-creatures . Every hour of my imprisonment fortifies my mind for farther action ; and , whenever it
pleases the Almighty to restore me to liberty , no exertions shall be wanting on ruy part to open the eyes of the ignorant and deluded , to improve the vicious and the drunken , to rouse the apathetic , and confirm and give confidence to the enthusiast , and to join cordially with the wise and the good , who are resolved upon making a grand , persevering , and peaceful struggle for a real representative government , the paramount object of which shall be to diffuse amongst all classes of the people the greatest attainable amount of human happiness .
Countrymen , —I am a Chartist ; and one would think from the treatment the Chartists have received , that we ars wild beasts , or mtn Riming at the destruction of wisdom , virtue , religion , and freedom . Why have we b . ^ en so cruelly persecuted 7 Because we are striving to make the people wise , virtuous , religious , and free , and because our rulers and their dependants , in the event of our success , vrouid be deprived of taeir present unhallowed power of oppression , and would have henceforth to depend upon their own resources for their daily bread , and upon their own virtue and wisdom fur povrer and fame . We claim to govern ourselves , through the medium of representatives chosen by ourselves , and we contend that t : ie men who oppose tLis claim must either be fools or rogues ; fools , if they suppose we have not a more direct interest in
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oar own welfare , than others can possibly have for us ; aud rogues , if they pretend we were made to be tho serfs and slaves of the upstart few who govern us . We claim the People's Charter , because it provides for the representation vt the adult male population in Parliament ; and we know that this claim is not only just , but necessary , for our political safety . The present constituency is too narrow to represent the interests of the community ; it is comprised , in the main , of men over whom the aristocracy , church , and crown , exercise a powerful controuL The majority of the representatives chosen , necessarily partake of the same character ; and in nearly all their " debates "
and "diTisiona" the real interest of the people is wantonly sacrificed . We see in the House of Common * various sections , each pursuing its own selfish interests j we see in that House keep-ln-the-Whigs-men , the meaning of which party is , that it would rather plunder the people than see the Tories plundering them ; we see Corn-Law-men , Fund-Lord-men , Queen's-men , Churchmen , but very few People ' s-men , and the few that the people have there are looked upon as white crows in the rookery . Unfortunately , we are not only not represented , but those who sit in Parliament are continually plundering us , destroying our trade , and making wicked and mischievous laws .
Countrymen , all the middle and working classes would be benefited by the change we desire . Our claim is simple and just , cheap , good , and responsible Government Look at the mass of evil our present system inflict upon us . Take the load of taxes , including Corn Laws , Poor Laws , to say nothing of the Church , and you will find not less than one hundred millions of pounds taken from you every year ! ! Then there are all the local and other rates !! Let not the workpeople wonder they are poor , nor the tradespeople puale themselves about sm * ll profits . " Oh , but , " say the ignorant , "it makes good for trade—it is spent again ! " Ask yourselves the question , suppose it is
spent again , -whic * would be best , spending the money yourselves , or getting others to spend it for you 1 I suppose yon would either spend it upon necessities and comforts , or save it for your old age . I am sure you would not throw it into the sea , nor profligately waatt it like your rulers . You -wiil bear in mind that much depends upon the way in which money is spent I need not tell you how your rulers spend the money , and how it is worse than wasted ; I need not talk about pensious and sinecures , stables for Queen ' s horses , and dogkenne ' . s ; I need not refer to the money now being squandered to preserve the integrity of the Ottomau Empire , and to force opium down the throats of the inoffensive Chinese at the point of the bayonet .
To change thia state of things fer a better—to lighten the burdens of the people—to knock off the shackles upon labour and trade—to open to the poorest man the means of advancement , and to extend comfort and happiness to all—to establish a wise system of national education , that the blessings of intelligence may be felt by all ; these are a few of the advantages we are aiming at in our demand for the People ' s Charter advantages -which must result from a wise and virtuous Government Men of Banbury , I invoke your aid in this glorious work . Remember you are all wronged , robbed , and enslaved . Those who have no votes are aliens in their own land—the mark of the slave , the badge of inferiority is upon them . Why are you thus enslaved ? You are men ; you toil ; you obey the laws of the land ; you pay enormous taxes j you
are deemtd fit to fight the battles , and pre- ! tect the lives and property of the titled and w ^ lthy few . Why are you shut out from tho privileges , j honours , and advantages of freemen ? Why are you j slaves ? The answer is p ^ iu , because you have I hitherto been so ignorant and unmindful of your own ' interests , as almost to have preferred slavery to free- j dom , misery to happiness No government can long ! enslave a people determined to be free . Acts of Par-1 liament , thrones , and aristocrats ; armies , navies , and policemen , are but impotent things in enslaving a people . The mists of ignorance , intemperance , vice- \ producing , as they do , dependant habits , serfish feel- j ing 3 ; a crawling , slavish , * isposition ; a propensity to ' extol wealth , rather than religion and virtue ; a love of murderous war , and its vain and empty glory—these are the things which enslave a people ! ;
Men of Binbury , let us assail the vices and ignorance of the people ; let us infuse a manly love of independence into our ovrn class ; let us Toot out the rank we * ds of servility whirti our rulers have ever been planting ; let us convince our countrymen that God has made them with capacities and feelings for the enjoyment of the most exquisite iapniness ; for tbe realisation of intellectual pleasure ; for the exercise of the moral virtues , and has spread equally bef » re all who accept the conditions , a rich banquet of eternal
felicity when the storms and turmoils of tbis life are past Men of Banbury , the 8 j « tera totters ; help to accelerate its downfa !! Bo not despair , because we havo been persecuted , but rather redouble your exertions to inflict a deadly blow on the power of persecution . If I live to leave my prison , I shall visit you , and render you all the aid I can ; and if I do not live ; if I should die in prison , I shall expire with a clear conviction that y () u , and the rest of my fellow-countrymen will ntver rest contented until you have freed your country , and made her people happy . I am , fellow-countrymen , Your devoted friend , Henry Vincent . P . S . I am in good health , and never was in better spirits .
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TO DANIEL CTCONNELL , ESQ ., M . P . Lettuu i , " Ireland is iny country ; the world is my republic " O'Connor . Sis , —Though it may be a false position in logic , I am iisclined to think that one quotation from a living author is worth two from a dead one ; and I am also inclined to think that there is more true patriotism expressed in the above sentence than is dreamed of in the philosophy of some of our liberty-loving patriots of thirty or forty years' standing . Holding this doctrine sacred , it is no great wonder that I should " Hate ascendancy ' s impolitic view , That robs the muny f aggrandise the few : "
and that I look with great suspicion on the patriotism of the man whose philantbriijy , or Iovb of human kind , can only extend to lis own tea-girt coas«—vs-ho cannot take his stand on the platform of equal rights , and exclaim , without mystification , " Liberty to all , exclusion to none . " As yon take credit for being a patriot of the first water , and a consistent advocate of universal liberty , 1 will presume you will have no great objection to one of your own school testing your patriotism and consistaicy in the crucible of a British newspaper ; hut before ) 1 proceed to do to , allow me to profess my Protestant principles by informing you ( or rather others , for you are already aware of it ) , that with Toryism or Whiggery 1 have nothing to do . I loathe the one aa I hate the other .
. Nursed in your own normil school of agitation , I can have little to induce mo to recant the tenets of my early politic&l creed , save the abandonment of error to the consciousness of right . Taught from my boyhood to bow submissively te the great Liberator of Ireland , I have occasionally lent my exertions to give what I thought your patriotism Parliamentary authority , and fill the coffers of your rent , not of your tribute ( you surely forgot Holy Writ when you allowed it to be called by such a name ) , levied yearly by Mr . Fitzpatrick , for which he receives . £ ; 300 per annum out of the gatherings
of the poorest peasantry in thj world ; but of that fund , wliich his placed you in a similar position ( to use a aautical simile ) to the captain of an emigrant ship , who , haviug uken the passage-money from his dupes , Bent them to sea in the long boat , in quest of a fiir ¦ wind ! But as through yuur unspotted patriotism , Irishmen are too apt to appreciate mauy of your overt acts as virtues of the most celestial keeping , so with your long agitating career , Irishmen are too apt to follow you in your journey through life simply enough . 1 believe , for tha ridiculous gratification of beholding your long-promised
epitaph" He died a Repealer . Requiescat in p& . -e . " I am induced to address these letters to you for a twofold purpose : first , to shew to the Irish people that your patriotism , for which they pay so dearly , should be made of sterner stuff ; secondly , just te notice a very foolish , or rather , very wicked address , emanating from your last still-born offspring , the National Loyal Repeal Association of Ireland , brought forward , 1 believe , by your son John , who holds a very neat situation under Government , though yon have so ofttn sworn that none of your family should receive place , pension , or emolument from any Government who would not do justice to Ireland ! I Ehall now proceed to my first position . St . Paul says ignorance is a sin worthy of punishment : it is the duty , then , Sir , I trust you will admit , of every one of us , great and Bmall , to avert the wrath of divine malediction which I fear has been too oft « n invoked by the hypocritical doctrines of those who profess that Ireland has
been" Their waking theme , Her glories still their midnight dream . " Alas ! for Ireland ; her too faithless sons have entailed upon her a long era of poverty , wretchedness , and degradation . From the days of Burke , the gunner , to his namesake of our own time , the ranks of her enemies have been officered by her own puissant sons . Sham patriot after sham patriot has successfully succeeded or outstripped his predecessor in truculency , while the gullibility of their confiding dupes seem even now as susceptible of their wily machinations as their own luxuriant and fruitful
Bsil . This has become so proverbial , that the quantity of patriotism in her modern agitators may be fairly rated by the number of pounds , shillings , and pence they ire able to draw yearly from their hereditary bondsmen . And so well is this understood , Sir , by our neighbours , that " rattlebox" and " conjuror" have become synonymous for Ireland antl her leader . You are the founder of a new doctrine—you may bear it to the grave ; but it will perish with you . You have taught the youth of Ireland to bulieve their " fathers fool ? , eo wise they grow ; " but their wiser sons no doubt wiil think them so . Our forefothers fought for their freedum . Fools ! they were tor « h and dagger
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men . No epitaph shall ever be inscribed on their tombs . We must consign them to the mausoleums of the Chartists . Fitzgerald perished by the handa of his assailants , one of whom still holds a lucrative situation under the present Government Emmett smiled in the face of his executioner . No pedestal marks the spot where he lies . And you , Sir , by your recent denunciations of physical force , would make one almost believe that you blush at the recollection of his name . Oliver Bond and Theobald Wolf Tone wero murdered—aye murdered ! The latter , while the Lord Chief Justice of the King ' s Bench , Lord Kilwarden , nulliaed the urum-head law that sentenced him to death . Thus we have Been thia young man perish in despite , of the order of one of the first law officers of the Crown ; thus making drum-head law superior to the statute law of the land . I allude to this subject in order to show a coincidence
between the then Government and our own merciful Whigs with regard to tho case of Frost , Williams , and Jones . In the latter case , Sir Frederick Pollock raised an objection in favour of the prisoners ; and two out of the three judges who sat upon the bench decided in favour of the objection , but refused to stop the trial , Lord Chief Justice Tindal stating that he would feel it his duty , in case the prisoners were found guilty to apply to the Queen for pardon . Add to this , nine out of the fifteen judges who sat decided also in favour of the objection raised by Sir Frederick Pollock ; . yet these men are banished from their native land in direct defiance of the law by which they were tried and the judges who tried them ! While you , Sir , a lawyer , too , looked on , passing your cold-blooded jokes , while one of the jointu of your tail in Dublin prayed the Queen ' s nieruy in language stating that they ought to bo hanged !
Now , Sir , I am not , nor have I ever been , an advocate tot physical force ; but I must confess that I believe the man who risks hia all in the cause of the people must , needs be a more sincere patriot , in attempting to better tbeir condition , than the man who would tell ma he wanls three millions of shillings before he can hold out the slightest hopes of-redressing their grievences—than the man who , after thirty years ' of agitation , could l ' oid his arms and exclaim , " If I were to dio to-morrow , I wou'd leave Ireland in a better condition than when I found her . " I would give you credit , Sir , for this assertion if I could believe Ireland to be like the dying dolphin whose every struggle is said to add more beauty to its death ; but I will show you by and bye , Sir , tho beautiful , plentiful condition in
in which you would leave Ireland Were you to die to-morrow . Thrsugh life you have been haunted by a spectre in your imagination ; liko the Ghost in Hamlet it has crossed your path wherever you weut , ami your dread that this spectre , which no body could see but yourself would rob you of your popularity , has occasionally thrown you into the most ridiculous hysterics . You could uot bear to see a briefless barrister take the presidential chair at a meeting of the Trades' Political Union , but you dreaded that he might become a leader , and would give him thin wholesome advice , " Go home , young man , and mind your brief ; but finding this piece of advice ineffectual , you gave him some rolls to butter in the Kails Court of Dublin . I need scarcely name Marcus Costello . I could cite twenty more men that
you have disposed of in this sort of way , and if you want names I'll give them . You wore always adverse to the existence of any political body in Ireland , except you could pull the strings , and let none but your frienda in to see the show ! You did all that you could to suppress the Trades' Union by coercion . You told them they were only fit for the ranks . After you had got into Parliament upon their shoulders ; and when you found you could not cosree them , you brought them , at lea ^ t , aouie of its leading membera ; you then got these men to bring forward resolutions to admit honorary members , who passed what motions pleased you best , and kicked out what members you ehoosed to point at . I will give you a fact "Faots are stubborn things . " Wben Isaac Lawless was ousted for
Meath , you said , if there was not another member of the Meath Club to arraign him , you would do so . You did so , but the verdict was not accordiug to your ambition . What did you do then to hava revenge . Mark ! You said you would not remain President of the Trades' Political Union if Lawless was returned a member . Accordingly , your dear Ray and your dear Reynolds , and your other dear friends—( you had not your dear Atkins thea ; he was at the sign of the ram ) —on a Friday evening , without notice , passed a resolution , by which Mr . Lswiess was expelled ; but the surprise of the members was indignantly expressed on tiie following Sunday evening , when the writer of this letter , with sixty-seven other members , m « t at the Dublin Coffee House , and entered a protest against tbis atrocious act , which was published on tho following ¦ week in tho Register and Frttman . I was then a
zealous member of this body ; but I have never entered its doors since . Now , Sir , the grudge you owed Mr . Lawless was , he having shown you up in your true colours in 1825 , when you wanted to pension the Catholic cltrgy , and sell the forty-shilling freeholders , for which you wept , and said you would rather perish on the scaffold than do so again , yet you did so in two years after , and although you had said you would oppose auy Government by force who would daro to deprive them of the privileges which they enjoyed from the constitution . In my next letter I shall gladden the hearts of thousands of the starving poor of Ireland , by enileavonring to make them believe that if you were to die to-morrow , " Ir « land would be in a better condition th : in when you found her ; " and furthermore , that the Radicals of England ought to strew your path with flowfrs from Liverpool to Leeds . I have the honour to be , Sir , not Your very obedient Servant , L . T . CLANCT . Norwich , Nov . S 9 th , 1840 .
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TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY . " Earthly power doth then show likest God ' s When meroy seasons justice . " " May it plea . se your Majestt , "—Such is the style in which your " loyal , loving , and devoted subjects" address you ; such are the terms they are taught to believe applicable to you ; nor must they say anything to you but with a hope that it nny please you . Assuming that you are indeed ' most religbus and gracious , " I . shall best pleasu you by speaking tho truth and by pleading the cause of the poor .
\ ou wero the daughter of a Duke who , for being tire son of a King , hud an immensu income appointed him , which was still insufficient to keop him out of debt . But with true filial piety , you honourably wiped off the stigma from hia memory , by discharging hia debts from your » wn purse , which , as you " toil not , neither d » you spin , " was filled for you by those that do both and leave themselves empty . Your ui : cles and royal predecessors , GJorgo and William , having successivoly died without leyitimute issue , you heired tha crown and succeeded to it at an age when
boardingschool lnisse-s usually finish their education . A very laudablu custom prevails at cattle-shows in the country . A premium is given to tho peasant who has brought up the largest family without burthening the pariah . I believe you were an only child , and your mother was what is called a state-pauper—a character without degradation , though more disgraceful than that of a parish-pauper . When the state rtlifcved your motheT by putting you at its head , it , ' at the same time , increased her allowance , on the ground that sho had made us the costly present of a Quuen !
While yet Princess Victoria , you made a tour through * various parts of your prosptctive dominions , and your presence was everywhere bulled and followed by multitudes , -who , if you ha * really been aa •« lovely and divine" as thyir fancies had painted you , could not have worshipped you more . Their enthusiastic devolion . and the self-sacrifice which it implied , frequently affected you to tiara . Your mother kuovrs this as well aa I , for she was a witness of it Never princess ascended the throne with warmer wishes for her welfare—with more private sympathy , and kindlier public trust , and never were the fond expectations of a people more miserably disappointed . Joy had paid in advance for all the blessings which hope anticipated from your reign ; but the people so ju found that they had been the dupes of their own vaiu imaginations . They felt that it wouUl be unjust to blame you , and they could scarcely bear to blame them-
selves . Iu the bitterness of their self-accusation and self-condemnation , they almost welcomed their added miseries as a proper punishment for their self-deception . They now saw , and acknowledged their own folly , in supposing that you would have the power , even if you possessed the inclination , to better their condition . They had deceived you as well as themselves j for they had hiddun their miseries in your presence , and shown you nothing but that seeming happiness which they trusted you would ta able to make real . Truth sternly aroused them from this flattering dream , and , if their cruel disappointments shall have taught them to rely upon themselves , and not upon an idol , whether of wood or stone , or of flesh and blood—if bitter experience shall induce them no more to put their trust in princes , but to exert themselves , they will not hava been deceived in vain . They may work out for themselves far more substantial blusaings than they hoped te recaive from you .
I have said you had it not in your power , even if you possessed the inclination ( which I do not doubt ) to fulfil the expectations formed of you . I believe you would be willing , nay wishful , to be a blessing to the country , and , as far as words go , you have been so ; but it requires detds , aad you cannot , or are not permitted , to do them . The situation in which you are placed , not only precludes your knowledgo of your duty , but would prevent your practice of it—you are a puppet in the hands of others . You must serve those who style themselves your servants—yo » must minister to the will of your ministers—you must do H , too ,
and n « t know what you do—they rule fo ? themselves with you , and you are equally their slave with the " sovereign people . " But there is this essential difference between your condition and tha * of the people , that you have everything in private and public that you need or do not need—the people are deprived of all ; nor are you allowed to absovb so much from thuse beneath you for your own sako alone , but that you may have wherewithal to shower on those around you . Like the priestess of tho veiled prophet , you are gorgeousiy decked out to serve the purposes of tho 9 e who delude the nation in your name . They know well that edicts , which would not be regarded , or tolerated as theirs ,
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are loyally reverenced and submitted to , when proclaimed as yours . Your Ministers virtually abolish your office by making it a sinecure . England is now , not under a monarchy , but mider an oligarchy . We area nation of star-gazers . Our attention ^ drawn from ourselves , and , fixed upon , shows that , in the meanwhile , we may be robbed of all that ia substantial . Your reign has hitherto been a reign of delusion and mockery . The people are " sick with many griefs , " and , though one splendid procession after another of all that is gay | and grand , may be paraded before their eyes and ring in tneir ears , it does but beguile their attention for a moment—they sink down into deeper ' wretchedness . Comfort is refused them and they will not be mocked . What treat can it afford honest industry , whose labour feeds and clothes all this
magnificence , but who , for that very reason , must itself remain in hunger and nakedness—what delight or satisfaction can it have in seeing idleness and dissipation insolently waste what it wants ? Can there be anything pleasant in tho consciousness , that all this splendour derives its chief value from the contrast which your misery presents to it as a foU to set it off—that the more wrongfully derived and tbe more extreme the contrast the moro it is eDJoyed ? Is it not enough to make the labourer forswear work ? He turns from the Bight to brood over his destitution—to ask for justice and to think of vengeance . Government is awaro of thi £ , and , as it is determined to " play out the play , " and never to quit its prey , it breaks the atren ^ tn and spirits of the working classes , and corrupts the middle-classes , with examples of henrtlessness and frivolity .
Dealing thus with the working classes and the middle classes—being the open enemy of the former , the secret enemy of the latter—how do the Ministers act towards that factious portion of the aristocracy which seeks to turn them out that it may step in . Here again your Majesty is of essential use as a convenience . One party takes turns with the other in deceiving and oppressing the people , and both would unite to prevent the people from guarding the nucleus of their nefarious traffic . Tho Whigs had possessed the privilege of misgovernment and all its gainful patronage some time before and since yonr accession . At last the Tories out-generaled them , and eagerly received tbe batons of office . But the cunning Whigs had provided a resource in you by which to regain
their places . Tho Tory leader found you in the utmost distress and perplexity . You could not part with your old friends—he otuld not withstand your tears , and was obliged to yield to your prejudices . So have I seen a baby put into the arms of a stranger cry until restored to its nurse . Had you been a man this could not have happened . You would have constrainedly received the new Ministers , whom circumstances had forced upon you , and gotten rid of them the first opportunity . Bat you are a woman , whose weakness is your strength . The Ministers who had amused you , and , by degrading you , made themselves necessary to you . trumpeted forth your amiable partiality to themselves , as affection and adherence to their principles , and might well
say" The Queen ' s name is a tower of strength , Which they upon the adverse faction want " Tha same prejudices , increased by time and events , operate as a bar to Tory pretensions , and , though the Tories might succeed in removing your dislike , and even in turning it against the Whigs , they will not be allowed the opportunity . The creatures about you are courtiers who will constantly provide you with amusements , and reserve to themselves all the business of the State . They kill virtue with slander , for what business has it at Court ? and instigate you to turn your own mother out when they feel rebuked in her presence . >
You must marry , and a foreign prince—a foreign fiddlestick !—is brought over to be your bridegroom . It is a maxim in social life , tbat a lady descends , or ascends , to the rank of the gentleman she marriesand he is considered a very mean man who is indebted to his wife for the expences of his wedding . It is like buying a husband ; but , in your case , although you are paid the largi-at salary of any one in the state , the people were called on to pay the Prince ' s passagemoney , and to secure him an annuity of £ 50 , 000 , which , however , after much altercation , was lowered to £ 30 , 000 . To compensate him for this disappointment , this German young man is appointed a Field Marshal , although " mere prattle , without practice , Is all bis soldiership . "
The Prince " singa , plays , and dances Well , "—can set off a paudy uniform to advantage , and takes such praiseworthy care of his person , that , though a warrior and a huntsman , lie declines taking the field when the ground ib slippery . Probably he considers how much he would lose , if he should lose hia life—how mnch that is more valuable . The haste with which Parliament granted money to build royal stables , and to endow the portionless Prince , whose title waa all his wealth , liko the King of the Sicilies , not so rich as an English yeoman and the delays which defer the grant for public education , are matters worthy of tha people's deep consideration . Your Majesty is fond of horses , doga , and monkeys
and « f Prince Albert . I do not say that these animals should be neglected , but I protest against them being attended to in preference to your human subjects . A little stranger , however , has lately arrived , who will be & more successful rival of the whelps and puppies in the affections of our nursing mother , than tho people were . I trust that , although your rank and the luxuries and flatteries which surround you may have atifled nature in you , the cries of your little one will awaken it again , and bring back humanity to your bosom . " The mother and babe are doing well ; " yes , but how many mothers must bring forth in the streets —how many babes seek nourishment at dead breasts . You have all good things—they have all evil things ,
One has come , and many more may follow , who , in due time , will want royal incomes , though of no use , except to set fashions or bad examples , or to give currency to the frivolities which they adopt , or which are nanu d after them . The unthinking people are taught to rejoice , and to look on the leeches that suck their blood as blessed things . No wonder that , while lavish expenditure is allowed to institutions which tend to weaken , dazzle , or corrupt the people , the means of education , which would strengthen , awaken , and purify them , are denied , or suspiciously withheld . Every impediment is thrown ia the way of mental or moral improvement—every facility is afforded to ignorance and vice . Sentiments of putviotism and humanity are decriod as vulgar—nay , as ridiculous , and are left to the people . Honesty is not pursued in policy , and honour , icseif . of whiob . kinga were most proud , is now exchanged for expediency .
" All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ; The wine of life is drawn , aud the mere lees Ia loft our state to bmg of . " Our degenerate nobles are meaner than the serfa of their ancestora ; selfishness has dv . aried their souls . The people are really tbeir superiors in what constitutes true aristocratic worth , and cannot long be trampled on by them . The people now acknowledge no nobles but the " nobles of nature "—no Sovereign but themselves . The just attributes of monarchy alone can imposa respect or win regard ; without them , a Queen is but a doll—her crown a bauble—her sceptre a reed ; the globe in her hand a mere bail , a plaything . Yes , a republic is now rising ia England with tke steady revolution of the earth on its * xin , and all that opposes it must set Then may each Englishman exclaim , with the poet" I am as free as naUre first made man , Eve the base laws of servitude began , When wUd in woods the nobie savage ran . " Madam" Obey'd aa Sovereign by the subjects be ; But know that I alone am king of me . " Junius RusTicua . Village , Dec . 4 th , 1840 .
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' ' ¦ WORKING MEN'S ASSOCIATIONS . Why have working men to associate ?—why , after working hard all day , « ant they rest and refresh them-Belves at home ?—why must they assemble together TBecause they are impoverished . They trust their peace , their welfare , thoir happiness to the care of government ; and it is unworthy of the trust—it betrays the trust—it neglects their interests—sacrifices them—they are injured , instead ot benefited by it ; let them work ever so hard , ever sojong , they remain poorthey spend their livei in vain—their wives and children suffer poverty with them—poverty ! that brings with it diseaso of body , disease of mind—nothing but evil . They are met content with this—they cannot be content —it would be sinful to suffer this contentedly . They meet together to ascertain the cause of tbis , and to provide a remedy ; they find tha cause is in government—in the government which they work and fight
for—in an unjust gevernment , which makes the poor the slaves of the rich , who make victims of tkem . Why should the people , who support , who maintain government , receive nothing in return but scorn and oppression ? Why should they who are the strength of government be injured by it ? Is it not shameful that government should net bo partially—ii it not ungrateful that , instead of ft frif-nd , they should have an enemy in Government » —instead of a father , a foe ?—that they should be obliged to consult together—to resort to means of aelf-defeuce—to fight the GoTernment which they have worked for f They hava tha power to right their wrongs , and they themselves must do it—do it at once and for ever . They have suffered long enoughfar too long ; but tha spirit of a patient people is at length aroused , and they will never subnrit until justice be done .
Government must be remodelled ; we must have the Charter . Those reformers who oppose tie Charter are not reformers—thoso Christians who oppose it are not Christians : reformers and Christians wil shew themselves truly such by being Ciiartists . Live not slaves , men of England!—be not what your'fathers were . Let not the spark of liberty , now lighted iathe land , fall into damp ground and bo extinguished ; let it kindle into a bla » d that may burn up tyranny . Bow many are sacrificed by the baseness which they vibh to reform —how many fall victims to their owi integrityhow many lose their liberty because otaefl are willing slaves ! i " Wton Englhh mothers shr . ll giv . s birh to » em , Then may sue bo restored , buc not till tlen . " J . fT .
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BEELZEBUB'S BANQUET . TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORTHEUN STAB . Sir , —So it appears the foxes and geese are , maugre all their " noise , bustle and »> oth « stion , still in the back ground ; the working classes will not swallow their specifics , though recommended by the celebrated Doctor Plural-unit of scribbling notoriety , who , as s professional gentleman , assures the public that Mercury ia not a component part of the medicine now vended by Messrs . Marshall , Stansfeld , ajud Co ., aft their establishment , that is to be . The " slave class "
have not forgot the fraud practised upon them by these charlatans during the Reform Bill mania . They know how sedulous these empirics were in puffing the " Russell purge , " and they know , to their sorrow ; that its effects have been such as to hurry tbd body politic to the very threshold of death . Whether Afercury forms a portion ef the ingredients or not , it is fully ascertained that the most deadly poison is used in the preparation of every nostrum prescribed , or recommended , by the Whig clique , of whioti the Club is the excrescence , or refuse .
Well , what are the poor chap-fallen creatures to do ? Are they to sink into nothingness ? Noj no , that will not answer the purpose of certain parties ye * behind the curtain ; they must retain their worthies * entity , if it be by tho promulgation of the inosk glaring sophisms ' , or the practice of the most paipaVla trickery . Sophistry has betm tried , and , to theii chagrin , bas been completely exploded , through th » medium of tlie Star , and , to conclude the farce , Fox Stansft-ld and mendacious ls " ed ; ly are See-sawing to a disgusted auditory on their broken fiddles . However , aa a dernier resort , they have resolved to have a "feed , " at which the Big Beggarman is to cut a conspicuous figure . I certainly think that the foxes hava evinced a little judgment in this part of the matter .
as a moro "fit and proper person" could not bo found , lud they ransacked every comer of the habitable globe . The Club have no principia , neither has Dan . The Club is a small land of proat-mongwrs , and every ramification of Dan ' s political conduct Las centered in pereanal aggrandisement . The Club ia ostensibly intended to promote the -cause of Reform , but in \ reality to burk the Charter . Dan has Reform ever on his lips , while his every act is inimical to the public weal . Dan is , in fact , the " roaring lion who goeth about seeking whom he may devour . " Let him devour the meats and the drinks provided for him by the foxes and geese , but I trust the working men of Leeds will show the " 'monster that he shall not devour Chartism , Inwever capacious his maw may be .
We must not allow Leeds to be polluted with tbe presence of that lump of corruption without doing our duty , and , as a working man , I hope my own order will be up and doing . We must have a public gathering while the " roaring lion" is within reach . We ewe him much for hi 3 kind attention—all England owes him mnchi , and it ia meet that we should commence paying him the " rint" in Leeds . On the great day of goraind'zhg , we ou ^ ht to give tho Old Genilsvian a zest for his praties , by compelling him to meet ua working men face to face in open d . * y , and either show us that his zig-zag mode , of proceeding iu hia political career has been one straightforward course , op at once submit to tbe brand of traitor and impo ^ Ut Let ua send an invitation to the Liberator I !! i couched
in rtspecljvl terms , for , no doubt , he would desire things done respectfully , and we might show him that working men havo a little ioea of the rules of etiquette as weli as the foxes and geese wh . nse " eyes are open . " But in case he should treat us with contempt we might send a file of men down to hia den and drair forth the lion by- the mane ( but not to harm his old carcase ) and bring him to the scratch . I have no hesitation in saying that in Leeds there are fustian jackets and blistered hands who will be found prepared to grapple with the beast . Operatives , be active—do your duty . ' Yours , truly , William Rideb . Leeds , Dec 8 th , 1840 .
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TO THE EDITOR OV THE NORTHERN STAB . Sib , —In answer to numerous inquiries and invitations from various places in England and Scotland , allow me to state that I shall be liberated on Wednesday , the 23 d ef December , and enter Manchester on the 25 th ( Christmas day ) . I cannot give any answers when I shall visit other pfocea , until I arrive in Manchester . To the people of Scotland , allow me to state I cannot visit them before the latter end of January , a « the beginning of February , 1841 . Then I shall be at their service . —1 remain Ycur obedient Servant , R . J . Richardson . ji » ¦ ? —
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TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF DURHAM . WILLIAMS AND BINNS . Fellow-Countrymen , —I address thia letter to you , bucauao the subject oa which I write is more interesting to you than to the otoer parts of the country . You all know Williams and Bimis ! You have listened with admiration te their glowiDg appeals to your patriotism . You have seen and felt tbe many splendid sacrifices they havo made in the cause of your Charter . They have silenced the voice of faction ia their neighbourhood , whsnever it has dared to impose upoa you ; and commanded your support as well by their private virtues as their splendid talents . For nearly three yearn have they made head against tbe malignancy of their cold-blooded persecutors , and sacrificed their private inteie&ts for thft public good
At last , their trial for ipeaking the truth has cost them nearly one hundred and fifty pounds , through successive postponements , and a jury of the middle class have been the ' means of imprisoning them for six months in a Whig gaol , and breaking up for a tima as far as possible the business in which they were embarkod ! Oh ! this is cruel ! Oh I thia ia base ! Remember these young men are not incarcerated for theft or murder , but fer speaking with a good intention what they thought was right And Williams and Binna are inmatea of a gael for thia ! Well , the time drawa nigh when they will be restored to that poopl * from whom tUey have been torn , and it is our bounden .
duty to Jreward them for their sufferinga in a good cause . But how can we do this ? We can gather our thousands from our streeta to welcome them with blessings as they return , but this is not all we can da . Our cheers will not replenish their borne that has been ruined or their empty purses plundered by their itad your enemies . We must have something more than empty parade of enthusiasm to make their hones * hearts as joyful as our own , when they appear before us . . And I would suggest that a sum of money b « presented te these patriotic gentlemen fr « m the men and women of the county , to re-establish them in their business , and by bo doing increase their usefulness .
Let the Charter Associations appoint a committee for each place , and let their business be as follows : — 1 st Put a subscription-book or paper into the handa of some honest man in every trade and workshop , to collect weekly for Williams and Bians ' s Fund . 2 nd . Let the collector in each trade or shop pay his weekly subscriptions into the handa of the Secretary of tha Charter Association where he lives . 3 rd . Let the Society of each town , colliery , or villag * appoint a delegate to attend at the prison gates on th « 25 th of January next , to present the two victims wijfc whatever may bo collected .
Thus , by a little exertion , these two young patriot * will be in as good condition when they come out as whan they were first pounced upon by the Government . And why should they not ? They are honourable men . Where is the man that w » uld refuse his sixpence for such a purpose ? Men of the county ! you have ever been generous ; see that you never be unjust . Do your duty to these men , for they have done their duty to you . Is there to be no reward far integrity but chains T No home for patriotism but a dungeon i Lei not a moment be lost , then . You have just sjr weeks to prove your worth—your immortality I I appeal to you all , not only of Durham , but to the Chartista of England , to see that Melbourne Bhall not " ruin them with expences !"
I have not apprised these gentlemen of my plan or my letter , for I know their natures would not consent , under whatever hardships they might endure , to have their grievances advertised amongst you . Let not their uncomplaining spirits lull ua to aleup , but let it rather increase our etertiona to rescue them from destruction . Villany deserves contempt ; but , for God's sake , let not virltte bt rmined . To work then ; collect ! collect I ! collect 1 ! ! A Middle-class Caabtisx .
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Accident at Messes . Combe ajvd Delafield ' i . — On Saturday afternoon , about four o'clock , two men named Thomas , aud Roberts , who have for many years been in the employ of Messrs . Combe and Delafioid , the extensive brewers , of Castle-street , Long Acre , were tngaged in cleaning a large vat , when , on a sudden , the iron reeling on which they stood gave way , and they fell from a height of about thirty-seven feet , to the ground with great violence . The unfortunate men on being picked up presented a frightful appearance , and they were instantly conveyed to the Westminster hospital , where they lie with scarcely any hoped of recovery .
A very strange and alarming circumstance occurred in a gentleman's house in Warwick-street , Laurieston , on Tuesday evening last . It appear * that a little after dusk tho servant maid , who vra # employed at her-work between a light and the window , happened , mobt providentially , to make a slight movement , when a bullet broku the glass , passed through the apartment , and maue a large indention in the wall immediately opposite to the broken pan * . This , of course , occasioned tho greatest alarm to th * inmates , as not the slightest reason could be assigned for anyone committing such an atrocious act ky tiring ia this reckless manner . If the shot was firwl with the intention of killing the servant girl , it in well aimed , and would certainly have struck her had she not made tho slightest movement mentioned at the moment the bullet passed her . The police •»• making active search , but wiiuout effect . —Qkuaow FmL
≪£Ri£Mai Correfipottnence.
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'" '"••' -- * ' ¦ "^ ¦ ' ^ T _ HE __ N OJ ^ T _ H-E BN STAR . 7
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 12, 1840, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2714/page/7/
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