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ofthe mode in which tliu Boardand to add...
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. . ODD ' FELLOWSHIP. lAcihr- on ihe "oo...
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TO THE raiTOU OF TEE SOaTnEES STAB. Sir,...
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TO THE EDITOR OP THE XOBTnEKS STAB. Ralc...
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ItEMARKS ON THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE...
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' The Africax Roscius.-—T1ic statement w...
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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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Ofthe Mode In Which Tliu Boardand To Add...
. i THE NORTHERN STAR . ^ gHfl ^ -. l 845 - __ ^ ., .,. ^ - ¦ — . » --..-. . ii— . [¦ - ¦ j ^ ryscix ^ ir ^/ :: j--jyvry 3 ;«^>^ J- — blu'w ¦¦ iiw — wwimm ^ — ¦*—«—' ¦¦ . . ¦¦ ——m— . ^ . ¦ ! * " " r l | - ' -- ,, rna " ' """ " " ^ * ' , '' i i i
. . Odd ' Fellowship. Lacihr- On Ihe "Oo...
. . ODD ' FELLOWSHIP . lAcihr- on ihe "oofl ohl Enslish principle of "fair ¦ dm for « - / ««& . /* we gave , last week , « letter from a Belfast eiiresjioadent . dcHMliw the course winch tlie Executive of Use Odd Icllow ' s Institution have taken in reference to the matters of complaint mged a-ainst it by tl-oasanuYof the ir . cmbers . This wecl ; we civc another letter of the same character , to which the writer has had the manliness to put his -name in full . That letter will ba found to be followed by another , purporting to disclose the manner in wJiicU " public testimonials" of . " gratitude for services performed , " are manufacturod ; and then follows a pithy , searching , and well-written examination of the whole question of dispute . Our desire is , in all wc do in reference to that dispute , to hold thcbalance cvc-iily- To this end we shall next week allow the Directors of the Order to speak for themselves ; and shall also , if space permit , offer some rc--fliai-Ics o f onr own . Till then , we commend to all Odd Fellows the several communications inserted below . J ) . -tltem they will find mush worthy of deep consideration and determined action . —En . JV * . 5 . 1
To The Raitou Of Tee Soatnees Stab. Sir,...
TO THE raiTOU OF TEE SOaTnEES STAB . Sir , —Having read in your paper for some weeks past , strange things in reference fo the Executive power , & v ., of the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows , and feeling convinced from my own knowledge that the Biecutive , < tc ., are unjustly maligned , I beg to offer tlircugh the medium © f your paui-r something like a trutuiiil statement of the things referred to by the dissentients of the Institution , who seem to me to be quite reckless as to the amount of injury they are doing to thousands , who appear to he misled by their false and garbled representations . It is not my intention to enter tlie lists with ' a desire to irritate the feelings of those wUom t « n \ = M < : v arc both TOjvmnS themselves and others , hut simply to lay tlie cause of dispute before vour readers in a plain and truthful light .
One complaint is , that the society has been of late departing from Democratic to 'Aristocratic principles , and that the disfranchisement of the lodges to send representatives tit the Annual Committee , lias hcen a grand step to the investing with arbitrary power those whoj-rc designated the "Aytoun-strcet Tyrants . " Now , sir , I think I shall be able to show , thai instead of the society at present inclining towards an Aristocratic , it is actually progressing , as fast as prudence will admit , to a truly Democratic inoie of representation , legislation , and executive government . Democracy admits tlie right of every intelligently qualified member of a society to have a fair and equal share in the governing of that siciety , but till within these last fen- years the whole of the executive bodv of the order was chosen from Manchester
alone , vet the Manchester district never cried out against the possessing of the privilege , which , I think , as itexeJa < le < l all Uie other districts , iras truly an Aristocratic privilege ; in the same manner the irhclc of the trustees for tlie investment of the general funds of the order were solely selected from Manchester , yet the Manchester people were not then so deeply imbued with , Democratic principles as to come forward and disclaim all rights to such an unfair assumption of power and influence , and it was the indefatigable exertions of the provincial deputies at tlie Annual Committees , aided by the continual calls of their const i tuents , that deprived the Manchester district of the unfairl y assumed privilege , and conferred the right of serving in the Executive , and as investors of the general funds of the order , on every qualified member of Ihe socletr .
The Manchester district has nearly at all the Annual Commitzees possessed an unfair share of influence , by its excess of deputies , as tlie following table will show . It is compiled from the official reports of the order for the last four years of tlie old representative system—the system that is so much extolled by the dissentient party , and with some few accidental exceptions , the Manchester district has had a preponderating proportion of deputies according to its number of members ; I give eleven large , if not tlie largest districts in the unity—their number according to the last returns , and the number of deputies sent ; as per table : —
To The Raitou Of Tee Soatnees Stab. Sir,...
1 *^ *** ^ 5 s ^ r \ -r- > £ * : ¦ SS » 5 ^ aftas * S ^^ Name of the District . i-= 25 ^ S- ^ ' -gS s . g'SUoS < a p-2 = g o-o-S 3 - > -3 * =-2 a ? i = | P ^ ol 5 ^ l £ | -= ^ i « = £ » = ™ 3 ¦ = = 2 1 «* 5 M fc *& , fc » s aianehester ................ IS 534 g 2 I 27 24 19 Liverpool .... i SS ? S 5 42 7 4 i ' orth < fc South Loudon i l'C 75 3 5 3 4 Birmingham = C 102 3 3 3 3 Xewcastlcoa-Tjne . ! SH 3 1117 Kochdale . ...... 5 304 G ' 11 C 6 S Xeeds — S 3 C 7 3 1 19 3 Haslingden . 2524 7 2 2 1 Stockport ... mi 13 3 5 2 Glasgow 5399 1 4 0 1 Sheffield ........... 2372 2 27 7 0
To The Raitou Of Tee Soatnees Stab. Sir,...
"Sow , sir , let any unprejudiced person take a fair view of till above table , and ask himself how far tlie Manchester people are consistent in their professed love of Democracy . Compare the influence they have bad over the London districts ; compare the number of deputies with those of Birmingham , with Kewcastlc-on-Tyne , with Glasgow , and vr-Ui Liverpool ( except at \ Y 5 gan ) , Manchester in some instances sending as many as ten to one over a corresponding number of members . Again , let the lovers of the did system look at the « Hs * aa { j ? HcJi-a ( w * is that took place . Liverpool sending one year five , the next fortytwo , the next scrsa , and the next four ; Sheffield sending two , then twenty-seven , then sevcn , and then none ; Leeds sending nine , then one then nineteen , and then three , and so on through the whole , more or less . Bat it may
be said that the preceding table docs not affect the case ; that every lodge had tlie right to send one deputy , and might have done so if it thought proper . Why , such a proposition is preposterous in the extreme . There are 3770 lodges- and how ; in the name of common sense , could such a number of deputies do business , or be accommodated with premises to meet in . Again , suppose each deputy bad but £ 1 for his expenses , it would render the institution liable to the expenditure of £ I 5 , 0 S 0 per annum for simply making and revising its laws . Kow , the Manchester people should remember that economy is one of ihe grand essentials of a Democratic form of government , and , therefore , what they profess to contend for is quite inconsistent with what they pronounce it to bo ; and , instead of being Dexocbact , is pure unadulterated Aristocracy .
Sow , sir , for the law as altered , which has been so ] much denounced . It says that every district shall have the power to send one deputy to the Annual Committee , and that all districts having upwards of one thousand members shall send one deputy for every thousand members ; thus , a district having upwards of one thousand members , can send two deputies , and those that have upwards of two thousand three deputies , and so on in proportion . . Now , the above , I contend , is strictly Democratical , because it apportions , as far as at present practical , the number of deputies to the luorabers they represent ; aud although some of tlie districts are small , yet the step taken at tlie Xcwcastlc-ou-Tyne Annual Committee was a most necessary , salutary , and extensive one , and has done much towards bringing the Order under the Democratic influence of equalisation , though much still remains to be completed .
The nest ground of complaint is that of the Annual Committtcc taking it upon itself to interfere with the financial arrangements of the Lodges ; aud the strange opinion is pat forth , most triumphantly , by the dissentient parly , that theAauualConiuiitteeliad , nor has , no right to interfere with Lodges regarding their financial arrangements , yon ; I would here ask , what does the Annual Committee meet for ? It is not for tlie general wellbeing of the Society as a whole ; and when the Committee saw that there was a great increase of begging petitions . from distressed LoiLtes , and an increased number of Lodges breaking up lor want of funds , was it not their province , nay , their uouuden duty , to inquire into the cause of these things , and having inquired and found that they arose from an inadequate contribution to meet
the expenditure in some cases , and a reckless and extravagant squaudering away of money that had been contributed , in others , was it not then their duty , as the duly authorised legislators , aye , as the wellwishcrs of a society in which they hsd a common interest , as members , to do -what they could to rectify the evils and correct the abuses which were working such disastrous consequences ! Most assuredly It was ; and what did they do ? "Wh y they agreed that every Lodge should have a fund devoted solely for relieving the sick , and interring the deceased members and their wives ; that this fund should be touched for no other purposes , and should be contributed to at a ratio that would ensure the youngest members the benefit of it when they became old . This was the intention of the Annual Committee , and to guide them they took the tables which had been drawn up by men who had
devoted their time and talent to ascertain how far certain contributions would sustain certain liabilities , and feel convinced that the lowest scale of paymentshas been adopted for realising the benefits proposed . In proof of the assertion , I will here give the basis of the scale . A Lodge , in which the members contribute one shilling and cigbrpence per month , they shall receive when sick ten shillings a week for twelve months , and five shilling . ' * per week afterwards , so long as thry may continue sick , together with ten pounds at tlie death of a member , andfivc pounds at the death of a member ' s wife . This may be called the basis of the scale , and all Lodges contributing less must pay sick gifrs and funeral donations less iu proportion , according as they contribute , allowing the agricultural districts the benefit of twenty-five per cent , ou account of their being less liable to sickness than the manufacturing .
36 b * what , I would ask , is there so monstrously bad in the above arrangements as to cause all the disturbance , disseveiation , and vituperation lbat has taken place ! believe that no disinterested and reflective person can be found who irillsay that there is anything l > : sd in the arrangement , and particularly when he is informed that the law was not made by thcMedcs aud . Persians , but if found inoperative , or not conducive to the well-being of the order , it could be improved or repealed according to the circumstances arising out of its operation , and the collective wisdom of those brought to bear upon it at anv ensuing Annual Committee . That such would be the opnuonof a msintereste d and reflective person I fullv believe , and that many such have declared tie arrange ' - ment ^ cticd and highly necessary for the safety and weU-bemgofthe Institution , I feel certain
To The Raitou Of Tee Soatnees Stab. Sir,...
Tiie dissentient party also rail most loudly agamst the spending of money in tomfoolery ,-gewgaw , & c ., as they term it . Now if they are really sincere in their denunciation , i t is certainly most strange that they ea :: ** o : see ihe excellent adaptation of the new arrangement for putting a stop to ilu foolish t-xpi-udirurp ' of Lodgo funds , for out of the principal objects of the new law is to put a stop to the reckless cxptiidtture of lodge funds ; and thus it makes it imperative on every Lodge to keep ihe general fund solely for the relief of the sick , and the int . raient of the dead , and for each Lodge to have an " Incidental F and" to meet the other expenses , thereby giving the members an opportunity of knowing for what they pay their money ; for while members may he found who would vote money from the fund for svich puvposts , they would wot so readily pay it extra into tlie incidental fund for those purposes , therefore a more effectual way of curing the evil complained of could scarcely be adopted .
13 ut I am quite at a loss to know why such a vindictive feeling is displayed towards those who servo the order with goods . They certainly have a perfect right to sell their g « ods to those who order them , nor can it be supposed that they know two thirds of the parties who purchase , or in what way they raise the money to pay for them . They compel nobody to buy- —1 myself have been a member eight years . Mid never spent a penny with the board for anything of the kind . T here is no compulsion , and , therefore , it is most unfair to upbraid aud abuse gentlemen for conduciing their business in the usual way , and to tax them with receiving the money of the order , when they actually supplied goods for the same , to the voluntary orders of those over whom they had no cont .-oul .
The almost overwhelming share of misrepresentation and abuse which falls to the lot of Mr . William ltatcliffc , calls iu common honesty fur something to be said . It is stated that he receives £ 300 a year as u salary . This is false , and the parties who make the statement are highly culpabU ; for if they know anything about it , they knowit is not true—and if they do not know , they have no right to make such statements . The truth is , £ 300 perannum is paid for doing the work of that department of which Mr . Katcliue has the management , aud it is well known that Mr . It . is compelled to have an assistant regularly , besides other aids ; thus materially reducing the £ 300 . And to show the amount of labour performed , let this single item be taken . In one year the C . S . " received better than nine thousand letters , and had to answer upwards
of six thousand of them . It is also stated that he is a notorious gambler . This is not enly en aspersion on the character of Mr . ItatcIifFe , but also on those who sustain him in his office . At the Bradford Annual Committee , when he was called to an account , he made such a s traigh tforward and manly declaration , that nearly the entire ciuimiltcc , by acclamation , expressed their confidence in hi-. u , and that committee was composed of 293 deputies from different parts of the country . At Kewcastle-oii-Tyne he was again privately assailed by large placards on the walls , and tha committee , composed of 19 i deputies , agaiu expressed themselves as follows—a very respectable
and highly efficient person was brought rorward as an opposing candidate ; and out of the 191 deputies , only 19 voted against Mr . Ratclifie , Now , when it is taken into account that both , these committees were composed of members elected according to the old system , and called together from all parts of the country , is it to be supposed that they would have been so duped as to allow such a character as Mr . It . is represented to be by his inaligners , to hold the responsible office to which they re-elected him ? 0 , no J nothing could have sustainedsuch character in cither of those committees , and ho most certainly would have fallen if he had been what his enemies state him to be .
I believe it would be very easy to show that the vindictiveness displayed towards Mr . Batcliffe arises from other causes than those stated , and that the parties who are most malevolent have suffered some little disappointment from Mr . U ; . tcUftVs lynx-eyed mode of looking afur certain things ; but , sir , you ask for facts , and , therefore , I have endeavoured to confine myself to facts alone : besidts , I wish not to widen the breach that at present exists , and would therefore say , in conclusion , if the dissentients are really sincere , why do they not ask for their proportionate share of the funds , and retire in a friendly and peaceable way , and show to the world that what they contend for is right aud just . For my own part , I would never succumb to those in office , nor would I submit to
factious and desifining men . In a large institution , like the Manchester Unity , it is utterly impossible that all can have their wishes gratified ; but if things are wrong , there is a proper way of rectifying them , and that the dissentients know . There are many other statements to which I might refer , and could prove them either to be garbled , or false altogether ; but I find I have written to as great a length as I can expect to be inserted , Mid shall close with sincerely wishing that the Order may still continue to prosper , and render that support , consolation , and comfort to its members , which I feel confident it is the wish of those who hare recently amended its laws , that it should do . Sir , I remain , yours obediently , Roeeut Glass . Xilc-strcet , BurslcmPotterics , Aug . 1 G .
To The Editor Op The Xobtneks Stab. Ralc...
TO THE EDITOR OP THE XOBTnEKS STAB . Ralcuffe ' s Piece of Plate , witft a list of the subscribers : Heelings of Hie Hoard of Directors at Gray ' s , the Olympic Tavern ; Hcasons tcliy Otcymeet these , and not at the Hoard Hoom of Hie Order ; Description of a Tradesman ' s Dinner at Old Grag's , with ot / ier imts north eracldng . Those Odd Fellows who live at a distance from Manchester know little of the freaks that are frequently played b y the Exccutire of the Order , in the Olympic Arena , Stevenson ' s-square ; but it is nevertheless true , that from thence have proceeded m .-st of the schemes and plots that have erased tlie present rupture ; and a few remarks on the actors and their scene of action , may be edifying to the Independent portion of tlie Order .
About a month since there appeared m the "Managers '" newspaper organ a long account of " a dinner at Gray ' s , " whereat a piece of plate was said to have been presented to "AYilliaui Itatclifw , Esq . !!! " "for his seven years ' services to the Order . " Ou that occasion there were an unusual number of speeches made , and toasts drunk , and compliments bandied , between " meu and Christians , " as they dubbed themselves . In several provincial newspapers a paragraph was inserted , recording the said presentation ; and as , no doubt , the next number of the " . Magazine" Tv-ill be full of the whole affair , it becomes a matter of interest to all Odd Fellows . Now , in all the statements put forth , not a word have we heard of who Hie subscribersteerc to the " princely present ; " but from the iuuendos in the " official" report , the impression sought to be conveyed is , that the members of the Manchester district generally have been the donors . Now , it so happens Uiat those members know Mr . B . too well to present
bun with anything but their supreme contempt ; and a more barefaced imposition never was practised upon the public than tlie said "presentation . " It is well known that nine or ten individuals , who do business with the " managers , " were tht * kind souls who subscribed the whole of the amount—upwards of £ 109—to buy Mr . It . his piece of plate ! and as there is a list of their names going round the Manchester district , I here present it to the Odd Fellow public , that they may know how such matters of "husinees * ' are " managed : "llcsny YV- — -v , Framemakcr , . ESS " Jon . vD— -x . JBockbiuder , 15 MP . G . U . ' s Jonx 1 * B , Sasliing-seUcr , 15 ( except the GEOuGEll——n , Printer , 5 [ Silversmith ) , James M n Sashmg-scller 15 ' and traders TVitLUH C , Publican and Sinner , 5 with tlie . Or-Isaac S 3 s , Silversmith , 5 der . 1 ) . C -, Paper-seller , 10
There are one or two others of the cli que , whose names have not as yet transpired . So much , Odd Fellows , for the plate " business ; " so much for the gross imposition of lauding " tho man and the Christian" for his virtues ! so much for the " euiblazoued tickets of admission" toa * imitthe select thirty to the feast ; and so much for the G . M . ' s impious talk about" Tommy Armit ' s being translated into Abraham ' s bosom . " The whole exhibition was a lining lie , which will soon cover the actors with confusion and disgrace . And now to expose the shameful system of tlie Board of Meetings at Gray ' s public-house . The men , who are the "Executive of the Order , " meet once a quarter in full Committee ; aud although tlie Order pays £ 63 per annum for spacious premises in Aytoun-street , yet , forsooth , the Executive must meet at a public-house , and compel oil
appeal cases , wif / t plainti ffs , defendants , and witnesses , in scores , to come to the said pvblieJansi "for justice . '" To show the infamy of this , we have only to say that during these sittings ( which generally last a whole week ) the Olympic Tavern is like a court-house at a petty sessions , With this disadvantage , that drinking is continually going on among the parties waiting for the sapient decisions of tlie Soions above , who themselves are not proof against the strong temptations uf the " pipe and pot . '" During these sittings the "worthy host" reaps a golden harvest . Itis worth putting on record that at the Isle of Han A . M . C , the same '' host" was appointed one of the Appeal Committee ; and during tlie lour ensuing meetings he received 12 s . ( id . per day for sitting , and occasionally waiting in his own house , and finding his colleagues accommodation . Well done , Odd Fellowship !
Another branch of the tree of corruption that has grown out of the system of patronage is giving Gray the benefit of all the ftnsts that frequently occur among tlie " govermws" of the Older ; one of the most prominent of which is a tradesman ' s dinner , which meaus a great deal , and brings grist galore to the Olympic mill . The way a dinner of this kind is got np rcSects disgrace upon the G . S . and all concerned iu it . It is downright forced bribery , on the principle of— " there is no compulsion , only j ) 0 u must . " An affair of this kind is got np after this fashion . Those " suppliers of goods" who are in the thick of the honey-pot , arc reminded by the C . S . every time occasion serves , that "the Board of Directors are mm in Manchester f and sundry hints about " cultivating
their acquaintance . " Then it is stated that" Mr . So-and-So has g iven £ 5 towards a dinner at Gray ' s ; how much shall I put you down ? O , let me see ; say £ 5 . " Another honey bee comes ; and then another . Among them a decent sum is soon raised , say £ 30 . Then comes the feast . Of course all the Hoard is invited . The stufimy over , Champagne is introduced ; and the " gtwevoustvadesmun " begin to vie with each other as to who shall pay the most . The wine begins to operate ; and " you tickle me , and I'll tickle you , " is the order of the day , or rather night . The debauch concludes with mutual promises between the iscoKEcrxiELE Executive and-ffteir worthy tradesmen to support one another through thick and thin . This is a faithful description of these men and their doings ; and they know it well . However , the days of
corruption arc numbered . Among the independent members of the Order , Batcliffe aud his myrmidons are condemned beyond all redemption . Gone for ever is the age of sashing and rostttes ! Tomfoil .-ry is dead ! The lev . cringing tools of the faction arc t-r .: ssing for the funeral ! In the words of a great writer , th' " C . S . has outlived his reputation , and n walking about to hearken to his own reproach . lie has written an * Here Lyeth' upon his character ; and what ' s left of him may die at any time . " His only ' remaining crutch is a riclcetty Journal , ot' which , in conclusion . I will sive a specimen .
Last week but one , that print gave an account'of a dinner at Stepney , whereat a speech was made by a Mr . Ashdowne , one of the Board of Directors , and sub-editor of the Journal . lie is there made'to' say that "friend Ratcliffe has left off betting for ever ; he has buried all his turf transactions in oblivion ; and become quite moral . " Will i t be credited , ' that while Asbdoivne was spouting this balderdash at Stepney , PatcUffe teas itefiiffllty on Aewton race-cotirs -e , with a roll of notes in his hand , calling and betting Kith everybody around him , as can be proved b . v scores of witnesses . So much for Ashdowne ' s veracity and his reformed friend ' s "improved morality ! " Odd Fellows , the movement for freedom gains ground . Up , then , and declare your emancipation . ' Yours , in the bonds , & c , As Old Odd ' Feliow .
Itemarks On The Present Condition Of The...
ItEMARKS ON THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE INDEPENDENT ORDEH OF ODD FELLOW'S . BT PROBE . "I will ( althoughI ' vedonc't before ) Demonstrate to your sense once more , And draw a Fiouii .-: that shall tell you , What you perhaps forget , betel you . " —IlfDimus . The violent and illegal dismemberment of the uaity , which has recently been committed by the officers of the Order , in suspendingflieMaiiebesterand Salford districts , calls for an investigation into the causes which have led to such a very extraordinary and unconstitutional result As those causes , however , form but a part of an extensively organised system of corruption , which debases the administration , and wars against the best interests of the Order , we shall not confine our observations to them alone , but apply our remarks to the exposure of abuse , in whatever department of the executive it way be found to exist .
It is greatly to be lamented that a society so .. vast and extensive as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows now is —a society founded on the principle of " charity and good-will to all men , " possessing in its own resources , almost unlimited means of affording to its members succour and relief in the hour of sickness and distress , should , under any circumstances , be placed in a position which seriously cripples its usefulness and threatens its wry existence as a co-operative body . How much more , theu , is it to be regretted that this Order , which has so
often bounteously administered to the wants of the familj iii distress—softened the hard pillow of afflictionassuaged the agony of death—paid the last tribute of respect o er the grave of a deceased brother—yielded comfort tc- the disconsolate heart of tbft widow , awd supplied bread to the destitute orphan—should not only have its existence perilled by the wanton and illegal acts of unscrupulous men iu power , but that those God-like blessings which have hitherto been its pride and its honour to bestow so liberally on suffering humanity , arc henceforward to be sacrificed ou the base altar of Mammon .
Theofficers of theorder having despotically anduk'gauy suspended the Manchester and Salford districts , without trial , and without even a charge of offence , it will be necessary to inquire bow far they were justified by General Law iu taking that course , and whether the reasons assigned by them for so doing were satisfactory explanations or not . We apprehend that" the Laws of the Order are equal andjusttoallits members ; governing alike the highest officers and the youngest brethren , " as no difference or exception is to be found , whereby it is provided that any one shall have a right , privilege , or exemption which shall not be participated iu by all . Hence the General Law is binding on each—none can e :-cape its impartial effiet . The Order is ( or ought to be ) governed by the General Laws alone ; consequently it is by them solely that offence can be condemned , and punishment inflicted . There can be uo breach of a law which has no existence ; neither can there be a legal exercise of power which has not been created or defined by 6 cntral Las * .
That there is no General Law which deputes to , or authorises the G . M . and Board of Directors to exercise arbitrary power , or to suspend the operation of the General Laws , is most certain . To appeal to any practice which hitherto way have obtained , is to appeal to a corruption , which ought never to have been permitted . That such practice may be found to have existed is not to he denied , inasmuch as corruption lias , for a long time past , thoroughly tainted the administration of the Order in every department . The whole tenor and economy of the General Laws proclaim our indefeasible right to " Trial by Jury ; " for by the 54 th , 53 , 50 , 57 , 59 , C 0 . " G 1 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 70 , 77 , 78 , 79 , SO , 81 , 82 , 83 , 175 , 179 , 180 , 197 , 205 , 223 , 200 , 208 , 274 , 275 , and 276 th ' General Laws , not only is-Trial by Jury ( in
committee ) strictly enjoined , but the forms are specified precisely in which such trial shall he enforced , in order to render punishment available . By these laws it is most clearly defined that unless "the party or parties complained against shall be summoned to attend ( the coinmittee ) , aud he furnished with a copy of the charge at least fourteen days before the case is heard , " no trial can legally take place , nor condemnation be carried into effect . Yet , iu defiance of all these laws , the G . M . and Hoard of Directors , agreeably to their arrogant assumption that " they were superior to the law , " have dared , without a trial , without a charge , and without a cause , to suspend five members of the Manchester district , by the impudent and dishonest exercise of their own despotic will .
That the laws of the Order did not recognise the exercise of despotic or of tyrannical rule is most certain ; and that reason , justice , and equity repudiate this barefaced robbery of rights aud of privileges which have been paid for in hard cash , is quite as undeniable . Upon what ground , then , it may be asked , do these unprincipled rulers take their stand ? They have entrenched themselves in the position of private pecuniary interest alone ! They have foraged our resources , aud stored them up in their stronghold , for their own use . They have raised up the Black Flag of annihilation and imprinted on it the words " No Quarter . " They have declared war to to the knife against our rights , our privileges , our liberties , and our very existence as Odd Fellows , couched in the usual language of marauders , while endeavouring to clonic with a plausible excuse a grievous act of base robbery and wrong .
These are their words : — " The Board view with regret the attempts that have been made in the Haucuestcv and Salford Districts to excite the members into acts of insubordination , therefore , with a view of effectually putting a stop to such practices , the Directors herewith instruct the Officers of the Manchester District to suspend , until the next A . M . C ., K . C . HuIIcy , Joseph Taylor , Benjamin Stott , Hubert Wood , and It . J . Rtchardsou , or any other person who may be fouud guilty of pursuing a similiav course . " It may be understood by the ignorant from the wording of this decree that the five individuals named therein had
been " found gudty" of acts of insubordination , or breaches of the laws of the Order , and that th cpunislvm cut of suspension for eleven months had been awarded to them in accordance with the verdict and the evidence given on a charge preferred against them before some legally constituted committee of the Order . No such thing 1 It is a fact hardly to be believed , but never to be tolerated , that such verdict was never given , such evidence was never heard , such charge was never instituted . Itis , indeed , a disgraceful truth now on record , that Ihe Board of Directors have so far forgotten their position as administrators oi tbe law , as to contaminate and pollute the stream of justice at the fountain from whence it flowed , by bringing it into foul contact with corrupt and mercenary private dealings . They have dammed up the pure and placid stream of justice , and diverted its waters into a narrow , crooked , and filthy channel . And they have placed malice on mercy ' s scat ! It is obvious that the G . M . and Board of Directors , in
order to " put a stop" to therapidly spreadiiiginquiry into the abominable abuses iu the Executive , which had already become notorious to numerous members in the Manchester and Salford districts , resolved to put into practice an appropriate " custom amongst the Malays , " who , as the honourable and independent-minded-Editor of the truthful "London Journal and Pioneer" so graphically describes , ' * after indulging in a course of intemperance , rush into the streets , knife in hand , and kill and wound every unfortunate passenger who may chance to oppose himself , however innocently or unthinkingly , to the mischievous progress of . the . maddened drunkard ! " In like
manner did certain infuriated Directors , drunk with the successful pursuit of pelf , from a Ions-continued course of profligate administration , foreseeing that public opinion would soon stop the unhallowed tap , rushed forth in rage and desperation amongst the members , regardless of wrong and reckless of consequences , cutting down indiscriminately , to the right and to the left , the innocent and the unthinking ! The spirit of the coming storm must needs be exercised by human sacrifices ! Victims must be slaiu and held up in Urrorem to those frcc-muded men who dare think for themselves , or give utterance to their honest sentiments .
And by the following mode was this righteous resolve carried into effect . A certain man , wise in his generation , at the instigation of thatportion of the Board of Directors who have an enormous private pecuniary interest in the corrupt practices which have been introduced , through their means , into the working of the Order of late years , tendered a secret accusation against the five individuals hereinbefore named . The secret spy was listened to , and without the Board taking upon themselves the trouble to investigate the truth or otherwise of his statement , tlioy at oucc and " unanimously resolved" to rob those five members of their ri ghts and privileges as Odd Fellows ! Aud to heighten the iniquity of the deed if possible the more , the Board subsequently refused to permit one of the parties so unjustly and illegally suspended , to bring evidence before them to prove that he had had no participation in the " insubordination" of which he had been thus accused !
Did the secret and once dreaded Star Chamber in days of yore ever exceed in atrocity or foulness of intention this one act of the Board of Directors , levelled , as it has been , against law and justice on the one hand , and the rights and privileges of members on tlie other ? Who can respect men with principles so depraved 1 Who can hold them to be infallible in word , or immaculate in deed ?
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Having disposed of . the mode in which tliu Board thought fir . to victimise innocent men , we will proceed t j examine into the gravamen uf the accusation itself . A public meeting of members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows , M . V ., was held in Manchestir , on Saturday evening , June 21 , 1315 , 1 \ V . G . M . Bali in tin ) chair , to * . a !< e in ti ) consideration the merits of llatciiffu ' s " Sliding Scale" of cuntributiuns and donations , which hail been ordered to come into operation on the 1 st of January , 1810 , and at which meeting many hundreds of past , and .. ... ,. ... . ,. ., . ...... . ... .... ,, i
present officers and brethren attended . Ihe five past ofneers wlio were suspended by the dictum of the Hoard of Directors were amongst the company assembled , and it was for being present to hear opinions given ou that most important measure that their suspension oitevwiwus occurred , and not , as the Board have falsely alleged , for " exciting members into acts of insubordination , " inasmuch ' as- ' it can be proved incontestibly by scores of witnesses , that three out of " the five individuals ' neither took part in promoiing that meeting nor in the proceedings which occurred thtvaat . ' . .
Who , then , can suppor t the Board of Directors in their impudently mendacious assertions that they have been " strenuously and cotifcientiously endeavouring to carry into effect the huvs , in ' strict conformity with the constitutional usages of ihe Order , " by thus illegally suspending individuals for simply inquiring into the truth of their assertion that" the opponents of the proposed change did not attempt to disprove or impugn the accuracy , of Mr . Smith ' s statements and calculations ? " No independent man , with the powers of reason at command , would sup po rt such a proposition . Hone but a tool , or a truckling interested knave , will bend , for one moment , to the decree thus sent forth hy the Board , that the right of private judgment is abolished and withdrawn , and that intercommunication will no longer be allowed amongst the members of the Order .
Itis to be borne in mind , that the public meeting alluded to was held ou Saturday , June 21 , 1815 , aud that two days afterwards , viz ., June 23 , the first day of the meeting of the Board of Directors , the five past officers were suspended . After transacting business during the week , the Board broke up on the following Saturday , viz ., Juue 28 tb . On Monday , June 30 th , the Quarterly Committee of the Manchester district was held , when a very large number of dcputii s were present , amongst whom appeared 1 * . ( J . Benjamin Stott , and l \ G . 'Robert Wood , both duly appointed by their respective lodges . On
their names being read over , they were objected to by the G . M . of the district , as forming a * part of the individuals suspended by the Board on that day week . Upon which the officers of the District were called upon to explain by what authority those deputies had been suspended , and to produce proof of the fact of such suspension having occurred . They answered that the Board had thought fit , for the reasons we have already assigned , to suspend the parties named , and that the C . S . of the Order had communicated the fact in writing to the C . S . of the district .
The communication from 0 . S . Ratclifte was thereupon produced , and found to be , not a notice from the G . M . and Board of Directors , or from the officers of the Order to theofficers of the district , but , simply a note from C . S . ltatcliffc himself , unauthenticated by the official seal , and consequently informal . The committee , therefore , positively declined to acknowledge it as a legal document , and they also peremptorily refused to recognise the illegal and unconstitutional exercise of power assumed by the G . M . and Board of Directors in despotically suspending members without trial , as required by general law . A
resolution , embodying those reasons , and declaring the two objected deputic- to be eligible to sit , was duly moved and seconded , but which resolution the G . M , of the district refused to put to the committee , whereupon another resolution was proposed that the G . M . do leave the chair , am ] ou which ho immediately adjourned the committee to Monday , the 7 th day of July , 1815 . Before , however , the c \ iiuuiittee > could again meet according to tho time specified on the adjournment , the . officers of the Order , in the absence of the Board of Directors , took upon themselves the further responsibility of illegally suspeuditig the Manchester district itself .
On the following Monday , July 7 th , the adjourned Quarterly Committee of the district agaiu met , when deputies from seventy-five lodges were in attendance . Ihe district officers not appearing , 1 ' . G . M . John Richardson White was appointed to the chair . The resolutions passed at the general meeting on the preceding Saturday were unanimously adopted as the resolutions of tho Manchester district , and an address to the several lodges iu the unity was ordered to be drawn up , iu conformity therewith . That address lias been' ciicuktcd , and lias tended iu no small degree , in spite of the endeavour of the Board to suppress its being read in lodges to enlighten the minds of distant members as . to the present condition of the Independent Order . The new Manches ter district at this moment consists of eighty-throe lodges , containing considerably more than nine thousand members ; while the i . iflueuce of the officers of the order , combined with the old-stock officers of the district , can only muster in their ranks , and awkward-squad of four lodges , with loss than four hundred members !
The Manchester district having been suspended , a numerous meeting of members was held at the England's Glory Lodge House , on Thursday evening , July 3 , 1845 , P . 1 * . G . M . Joseph Hardy in the chair , when it was unanimously resolved— "That the Uoard of Management be requested to call a general meeting of the members of the district , on Saturday evening , tho 5 th instant . " In compliance with this request , the Board of Management called a geuural meeting for the said purpose , iu tho Corn Exchange , Hanging Ditch . At the time named in the requisition , this great aggregate meeting was held , P . G . M . John Richardson White occupying the chair , when several excellent and spirited resolutions wore passed uu-iiiimously , by an enthusiastic assembly of between 1 , 400 aud 1 , 500 Odd bellows . -. '
..-Knowing well the men with whom it had to deal , and their reckless disregard of the rights of others , the Manchester district was quite prepared to expect the consummation of this rash act , for the same men who were guilty of this atrocity , constituted the " Manchester Hoard , " which , ** to their eternal shame" —so says the London Journal— " ruthlessly , heartlessly , used this power for years to prosecute , to discountenance , and destroy every attempt at the enlightenment' of their serfs , through tho agency of literary productions . " And it further says that the " charges affecting the character and integrity of the ruling powers are so serious in their nature , and so revolting in their general features , that unless disproved at once , the blackening stigma will leave an ineffaceable stain upon all connected with the administrative department of the unity . " Bravo ! "Pioneer ! " This is speaking out ! Yes ! this blackening stigma does indeed leave an ineffaceable stain ou all those who assented
to the tixttveiso of illegal and oppressive power at the period alluded to . As , however , tho Pioneer neither disproves the facts , nor attempts to do so , wo must take them as admitted and established by all parties . Very well . But the Journal asserts that ¦¦ friend Hardy" sat as a member of the Board when suspensions of . Lodges " were rife , without trial or arraignment , " for independently taking a portion of their own funds to support them from starvation . " Unfortunately lor the Journal , any one who will turn to the quarterly report of the Order for January , 1845 , when those suspensions occurred , may ascertain that " friend Hardy" was not a member of the Board at that lime ! But , on the contrary , they will find that the names to whom this " eternal shame" attaches , are George llichmond ! James Mansfield ! William RatcliUu ! llouvyUatelitt ' e ! Jolm l ' eiser ! Thomas Jeffs ! E . K . Davis ! Robert 11 . Elliott ! and William I ' . Burdett ! This precious hireling Journal has thus tarred and feathered its / 'Onoaraiile employers with a vengeance !
We will now proceed to comment briefly on the tables of " suppositions" drawn up by the sapient W . li . Smith , of Birmingham , aud published by theofficers in the recent A . M . C . report . This rule-of-three gentleman is himself one of tho Board of Directors , and while acting as the self-elected actuary of the Order , has , as we presume , been " cutting his wise tooth" on the occasion . It appears that this individual , while acting as the chosen instrument for moving at the Glasgow A , M . C . the first of several resolutions , having for their object the laying of an embargo on our property , introduced the subject by " admitting there was no kind of information at prcseut iu existence by which the average ( age ) of the whole unity could with certainty be obtained ; " he had therefore taken the present average age of the Birmingham District for his guidance , " and assumed the present average age of the Order at thirty-two years . "
This is an important admission . The present average age of the members iu the Birmingham District may be thirty-two years , but that is no indication of their average age on initiation . Some of the Birmingham Lodges have now been in existence for sixteen or eighteen years , and numerous old members have imported cards and clearances from other districts . The "supposition" tables positively assume it as a fact , that the average age at initiation throughout the Order is thirty-two years , and at that age bring in with themembers the initiatory guineas . Now we totally deny the accuracy of this position , and , on the contrary , assert most distinctly , that the average age of initiation falls far short of thirty-two years . Althoug h there is no kind of information in existence by which the average age of the whole unity , cither on
initiation , or at the present moment , can be accurately determined , yet there arc ' sufficient means at hand to showthat thirty-two years is not the average age at initiation , as represented by those tables . "Every facility being afforded Mr . Smith by the Birmingham District , " in his endeavour to ascertain the correct average- age of members , we will contest him on his own ground , and dial , lengc him to show , from the proposition-book of anyone Lodge in that district , that the average age at initiation amounts to thirty-two years . Nay , we will venture a step further , and defy him to prove such to be the fact froin the books of any Lodge whatever in the entire unity . If he cannot do this , then the whole superstructure founded upon the correctness of his supposition falls at ouce to the ground . And if the fact should ultimatel y show that
the average ¦ Jiitiatory age is somewhere about twentyseven years , then the competency of Mr . Smith to enunciate " suppositions" on which the least dependence can be put , and on which legislation should be based , will be finally disposed of . The next obvious error in the tables is the assumption that every individual who enters the Order is n married man ! .. Ridiculous as such apropos ! - tion really is , it is nevertheless gravely advanced by Mr . Smith . Ho allows funeral donations for fifty wives in every one hundred members . Now as women live longer than men , we should be strongly prejudiced in the notion that for every fifty dead wives there -.- QUld be , at the least , fifty living widows , and , consequently , that every member in the one hundred must have been a married man ! -Then again it is assumed that every member receives sicl ; pay , and that he ultimatel y dies in the Order ;
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and to add , as a climax to all this mas' : ot absurdity and error , it is gravely supposed that the Order hi absolutely limited in number to those who arc now actually recorded members of its body . We say , ou the other baud , and confidently appeal to the frsc of truth , 1 st . —That the . average age at initiation is ( near twenty-seven years , and ) not thirty-two . ¦ 2 nd . —That the members of tho Order are not all married men , 3 rd . —That the married mem . bars do not all receive funeral donation on account of their deceased wives . 4 th . —That all the members of the Order do not receive sick pay . full That nil the members do not die in the Order . 0 th . —That funeral donation is not paid to tlie relatives of all who have entered the Order . And 7 th . —The number is not limited to the present uUAuheA's . .. „ ,... „ ,, i ., e ., .. iiiiniv nmll this nines nf nlisimliti ' mul
Besides these . inexcusable errors , we cannot overlook the circumstance that all deficiencies as to number of members , whether arising from deaths , arrears , ov expulsion , are supplicu by the importation of new members , younger i u age , and in good health , paying a guinea for the privilege of putting their feet in the other ' s shoes , having to give sU months' servitude , and pay six months ' contribution , before they become entitled to benefit ! Inconceivable as it may appear to he , it is a fact , nevertheless , that not one single allegation contained in those much vaunted " suppositions" of our Birmingham Solon , is correct . They are , without a solitary exception , gross and unpardonable misrepresentations ! There is another point yet , which we must allude to , and although the last , is not the least , in this catalogue of ignorant blunders . It is the principle of selection—a principle which appears to bo unknown to our sapient- ready-reckoner , or some notice would have been taken by him , of a consideration so very essential to aceuraev , as it certainly is—That
the members , at the time of their initiation , as well as the wires of such of them as are married , are select lives , is beyond any doubt , as none arc admitted into tlie Order unless they are at tho time in perfect health . That there is an important diftCTCncc in condition between-a given number of men in perfect health and a similar number labouring under tho common average of disease , we should have thought would have been perceptible even to tho obtuse faculties of Mr . Smith himself . What a " vast mass" of stupidity and ignorance , then , is there condensed in those celebrated rule-of-three results ! What a disgrace they are to tho learned nincompoops constituting that scli-suflieient cabal , the Board of Directors ! Oh ! 'how they rejoiced over and trumpeted forth the astounding facts enunciated by their "learned brother !" How proudly they ensconced themselves under the ample folds of his erudite mantle ! How boastfully they strutted iu the false plumage ot" this arithmetical turUeycock !
Wc have no hesitation iu admitting the fact , nay we avow it , that carefully collated statistical returns , touching the liability to sickness and death of the respective Lodges , are not only expedient , but really necessary to the well-being of tho order . But while wc approve of due inquiry being instituted into those liabilities , we record our condemnation of the manner in which the officers of the order have chosen to carry their crude notions into effect . Not only have the feelings ami honest scruples of members been invaded and offended , but random demands have been made on them , widely apart from the proper object , and with a boisterous precipitancy , which indiscretion and ignorance combined can only account fur . It is , hence , demonstrable that the officers of the Order and Board of Directors were incompetent to the task they so rashly took upon themselves to perform . Had it indeed been otherwise , they would have known how to have avoided irrelevant interrogatories , and to have rejected inapplicable reply . Their inquiry into the amount of
Lodge tuuds was not only vexatious and unnecessary , but exceeded the power deputed to them by the Newcastle A . M . C „ which resolution authorised thuin to call for all information necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the financial condition of tho Order , in such form as to them might seem most convenient for classification . " We allow that Lodge funds are to a certain extent connected with'the financial condition of the Order , but we cannot admit that they form necessarily a part of it , inasmuch as "finance" implies a given income and expenditure , combined with a profit or loss on the transaction . Now , Lodge funds are allowed on all hands to be no indication of the amount of profit hitherto accruing from the income of Lodges , exceeding their liability to sickness and death ; hence their amount could not be considered " necessary information , " neither were Lodges " compellable to furnish such information . " That the Order did not approve of the amount of Lodge funds being called for , was fully proved by the 135 th resolution of the Wigan A . M . C , which declared " that the G . M . aud Board of Directors
were not justified in sending for the returns of the amount of Lodge funds . " Instead of carefully entering upon a legitimate inquiry , and collecting and publishing to the Order at large the valuable financial facts to he obtained by such investigation , the G . M . and Board of Directors issued blank forms , calling on Lodges to answer queries , some of which were not only offensive and suspicious in appearance , but foreign to the subject , while others most essential to the eliciting of necessary information , were totally overlooked or discarded . Nevertheless , those returns , inefficient as we declare them to be , " contained , " according to the testimony of P . G . M . Whaite , at Glasgow , " a vast mass of important statistical information relative to the financial condition of . the Order . " We confess we have but
little faith in the opinon or judgement of Mr . Whaite on this matter , yet wo are ready to imagine that , amidst Ibis- " vast mass" of chaflj , sonic really good corn could have been ' separated , " had it been placed in the hands of men able to sift it . The corn and the chaff , however , yet lie blended , and entombed with other lumber in tho vaults in Aytoun-strcct . Vainly have we strained our vision , while looking out in anxious sxpectatioii for a sample of the promised seed . But if the article produced at Glasgow by the sagacious Smith , and substi'ueiitly distributed to the Order in the A . AI , C . report , bu really and truly the sample spoken of , then indeed , do wc pronounce it the most worthless and unwholesome food for the use of man ever produced even by the most barbarous and ignorant nation upon earth .
It * the G . M . and Board of Directors " had succeeded in obtaining a vast mass of statistical information relative to the financial condition of the Order , " and if G . M . Dickinson—whoso ivitelleets weve bvight « n « d up by the good things at a Scottish feast—spoke truth when he asserted that" the Order showed a body of men anxious to promote their own social condition—to manage their own affairs , and find out the best ' mode of doing so , " then , do we ask those consistent gentlemen , why those returns were not published to the several lodges in the Order ? Why were they withheld from the test of public scrutiny ? Was it because they contained matter unfit to meet the public eye ? We dare say they would have betrayed some unseemly facts—we dare say they would have proved the unpalatable truth that lodges have paid more money in the purchase of regalia , & c , to certain members of the Board , than the aggregate sum of their sick and death
donations amounted to ! They must not ! ell us that they were restrained in honour from publishing the amount of Lodge funds by their promise to abstain from that act . No ! that subterfuge shall not serve them , for wcarcin possession of the fact that " Archibald Alison , Esq ., Sheriff of Lanarkshire , and Lord Rector of Marischal College , Aberdeen , " while presiding at the "dinner in the Trades' Hall , " Glasgow , " supported on the right by Mr . II . Whaite , Grand Master , Mr . J . Dickinson , Deputy Grand Master , Mr . William Ratcliffe , Corresponding Secretary , Mr . J . . Mansfield , Past Grand Master , Mr . Gray , Past Grand Master , — -all of Manchester , —said , " The funds of the society , derived from small weekly contributions , amount to £ 275 , 000 a year . ( Cheers , ) The aggregate amount of money belonging to the different lod ges being upwards of £ 700 , 000 . ( Cheers . ) The sum distributed in the way of charity annually amounts , I believe , to nearly £ 250 , 000 . "
If , however , those returns do contain " a vast mass of important statistical information , " why is " a body of men who ave anxious to find out tiic best . mode of managing their own affairs" to be debarred the right of applying such information to the furtherance of their own best interests ? Why arc they thus to bo kept in utter ignorance of that which most concerns themselves 1 ' Is it because the geneial body , consisting of 255 , 000 mcnand upwards , contains within its ranks no man of education , talent , or habits befitted to grapple with those returns and their results 1 Or is it because the G . M . and Board of Directors constitute the centralization of talent , as well as of inllucnce and power - and are men of intellectual attainments so high , and so peculiarly adapted to tho prosecution of this tedious and intricate investigation , as to entitle them to the prostrate confidence of that body , whom they are pleased , magnanimously , to designate "the scum of the Order ?"
We treat r . s idle breath the notion which some have promulgated , that the officers intend to make use of the returns for " government purposes . " They intend no such thing . They know better . Their game is safer , surer , and far more profitable to themselves than that . They care little about government , yet take heed to themselves . They intend to make use of those returns for purposes of their own onl y ! What possible protection can we have against paid spies being maintained amongst us in such situations as would enable them to communi . cate any official information , at any time , or in any manner required ? But this is not the danger . One of far greater magnitude , of infinitely superior importance to us , asit regards the rights and privileges of individuals
and the best interests of our commonwealth , now threatens to overwhelm us . A dark , dense cloud has gathered on the horizon of Oddfellowshi p , and is alreadyobscuring its fairest prospects—its merciless thunders have been beard , ami its victims have been chosen . Tho demon of Centralization has ascended , and asserts his right to rule over us . He lias already seized on and centralized influence and power in his own person and while spuniitigjustice and equity , and law and charitv claims for himself the uncontrolled exercise of despotic will . Rut ho rests not here . Emboldened with success he has taken from us the control of our own property and now hastens , with giant strides and uplifted arm to wrest it from our possession .
Further still , he seeks to extend his power , and tear from us the last shred of our . independence . In honied words be bids us to " abolish sub-committees to hear appeals , and leave such appeals to the consideration of the Appeal Committee only . "—( See 1 \ G . M . Mansfield ' s speech at the Glasgow Dinner , reported in the Odd Fellows ' Chronicle , p . 135 . )—This , indeed , is the grand ultimatum . We have alread y lost our enfranchisement , —we have already lost the control over our own money and expenditure , and are now told , when systematicall y robbed of our all , to appeal to the robbers only for redress !
The Board of Directors have succeeded , at an A . M . C . where " the deputies were not so numerous as ou some previous occasions , on account of the great distance from
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many of the largest Bngli . Oi districts , m carrying , by a paltry in . 'jority , a resolution declaring thtit tlie "Contribution 1 ' und" shall not bo tinder the control of the members of the respective lodges . And , by the aid of other resolutions , itis so ai ranged that in that fund a vast ' ii'iiount of unrequired capital must necessarily be accumulated rapidly . It is obvious that , although the Contribulion I ' uiid is no longer to remain under our own control , yetit must , of necessity , be placed under some controlling power , if a ' doubt should arise as to the parties on whom that power should devolve , it would readily be disposed of at the next A . M . C . The ac cumulated " General Contribution Funds of Lodgts" have only to be recognised as forming part of one Grand General Contribution Fund of the Order , when that doubt will be settled for ever , and the control and tho cash will be centralized where our independence and our rights are already deposited . ni'im- . if the . lal ' -rcst ISihflbli districts , " ill CaiTvinir . bv
Another point of no small importance must now be referred to . "We allude to the mortifying fact so often recurring of late in the Bankruptcy , and closing of Lodges in Country Districts . Young and thoughtless members have wasted the funds and plunged ' their lodges in debt , for the useless and stupid purpose of bedizening themselves with what are absurdly enough callei Regalia , a circumstance which would uothavebecn allowed to occur were it not that too many of thoscoii the Daunt of Directors , haveaiiiinmeiisc private pecuniary benefit in that folly . To enable those Lodges , however , to continue iu their reckless indulgence of an expensive weakness , the G . M . and Hoard of Directors , while tethering them down to the preservation ofa sufiiciency of funds " to meet all their
liabilities from sickness and death , have taken care provide pretty liberally for . what are hereafter to come under the head of "incidental Expenses . " " This , indeed , is tho item of all others , which requires the fostering care of those tender Guardians . And as an encouragement to the rustics to bleed pretty freely for Incidentals , twentyfive per cent , discount is to be allowed them out of their payments to the "Contribution Fund , " which by tho Tables of " Suppositious , " by the erudite Smith , were declaredtobo absolutely necessary , to meet their obli gations , on account of sickness and death . The claims , therefore , of the sick and the dead must succumb to tho more important private demands ofa clique of rapacious tradesmen !
That the " closing of Lodges from want of funds" has not been occasioned by the excess of their payments on account of sickness and death over their income , may easily be shown , notwithstanding the assertions of tho G . M . and Hoard of Directors to the contrary ; and it may also he demonstrated as readily , that the insolvency of Lodges has been brought about by their extravagant expenditure in mummeries of various descriptions . The former part of this proposition is borne out by the fact that , although the Manchester district is the oldest in the Order , and its members consequently more aged on the average , and therefore move H-. vbla to sickness and death , than the members of districts arc elsewhere , yet never since the establishment of the Order in that town has any one of its numerous Lodges been closed from want of funds . Aud the second part , by the fact that a very great number of Lodges , especially those opened in new and re . mote districts , have been ruined and broken up by the
nefarious practices of men who , while acting as their officers and directors , to serve their own private interest , have plunged those Lodges at once into irretrievable difficulty and debt . Hundreds of Lodges , too , which have been opened expressly to gratify the craving rapacity of the host of the " Woolpack , " or he of tho " Lamb and Fleece , " have found , to their mortification , not only that the new Lodge was not required by the wants of the district , but that the entire amount of their initiation and contribution money for months afterwards , has been swallowed up by the modest demands of " mine host , " for fitting them up a room to drink in ! Thus , between the harpies of ihe silk scarf and leather apron ' on the one hand , and of the beer barrel and tobacco on the other , the members have been plundered of that money which would have met all their present liabilities to sickness and death , and left a surplus amply sufficient for their increasing necessities hereafter !
With charity and benevolence on their lips , and cupidity and profligacy in their hearts , the managers of the Order hare taken irom the " widow" and the " orphan" their little pittance in destitution , and have narrowed the meanj of " wives" and of "families" when suffering under tho calamities of sickness and distress . They have lowered charity from its nobler and elevated position of independenco down to the meaner and degraded rank of beg . garly pauperism ! They have boastfully spoken of " friendship , love , awd truth , " yet , with cnmiij ami malico and lies in their souls , they have returned amongst us ; and , with a flaming sword of annihilation , sought to destroy us in the sight of our brethren !!
All this they have done ; but tho day of retribution is at hand . The hour approaches when the elastic force of common sense , and au extended perception of right , shall hurl them from their usurpation ; when the combined energies of the insulted many will no longer bend to tha illegal exercise of despotic power , and when corruption and nepotism shall be expelled from the Council Board forever .
' The Africax Roscius.-—T1ic Statement W...
' The Africax Roscius .- —T 1 ic statement which has appeared in most of tht- London and provincial papers , that Mr . Aldriilge , the African Roscius , was hilled in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes , by his carriage falling over a precipice 120 feet high , is not true . The gentleman himself furnishes tho following contradiction ;—Having to travel across the country by an unfrequented road , where I could not obtain post horses for ray carriage , I was compelled to use a pair of my own , unaccustomed to the work . Ono ol them , in descending a slight declivity , became restive and ran into a hedge , but without causing any alarm or doing the Slightest injury to person or property . This trifling incident , it seems , originated a report ol my death , and that of a servant , in a most melancholy manner , which I iccl great pleasure ( 1 assure you ) in contradicting . Fatal Colliery Accident . —One of those explosions , which arc of almost cvery-day occurrence , took place on ¦ Thursday , August Kth , at St . Helen ' s Auckland Colliery , in the county of Durham , which
colliery is the property of Joseph Pease , Esq ., and Co ., by which two brothers named William Briddick and Joseph Briddick , the former nineteen and the latter eleven years of age , lost their lives . What makes the ease more distressing is that their mother is a widow , and was almost wholly dependent on them for support . On Friday an inquest . vas held on the bodies before Mr . Thornton , deputy-coroner for the Bishop Auckland district , when tlie following evidence was given . —Ricluu-d Brown deposvAl . —t am overman at St , Helen ' s Auckland Colliciy ; thcaccident occurred about seven o ' clock in the morning ' of the 14 th . inst . ; the pit was off work that day , I was not in the pit at the time tlie accident happened ; if I had been , I did not apprehend anv dans-er : that
part of the pit is not working at present ; I have seen " gas" in that part of the pit , but not lately ; I was in that part of the pit three days previous to the accident ; I did not take a Davy lamp with me , as I thought there was no need of ene ; William Briddick and his brother were at work instead of their grandfather ( who is keeper or inspector ); the deputy overman ordered them to go and fetch some plates from the place where the explosion took p lace ; I would have given the same orders myself if 1 bad been there ; I cannot account for the accident , as tlie stopping-doors and brattice were all right . James Scott deposed : —I am diipnty- overman at St . Helen's Auckland colliery ; 1 was working with KaVard M'Nay . ; we sent the boys for the plates ; I did not timiii ot
any danger ; wc were working about lo » yards from the place ; if the bovs had not been there , I would have gone myself ; if there had been a lamp I would not have taken it , as I did not think , tltcrc was any lire in the place ; the toys had left us scarcely five minutes , when wc heard the report of tlie explosion ; I said " what is that ? " and M'Nay said "itis lire ; " M'Nay then crept on his hands and knees , in search of the bodies in the dark , as the report put our lights out ; he was soon obliged to return , as ' the after-damp was so strong ; he was like to lose his breath ; Iliad not been in that part of the pit for a month previous to the explosion ; before the bodies weve foavnV I "was tuYvcn nwnc- m a cart , I was so ill from tho . after-damp . —Edward M'Nay , deputygave evidence to the same effect . —
, John Uindmarch deposed * . —When I heard of tho explosion , I went to the pit . I did not intend to go down the pit . 1 have worked at the above collier ? nearly eleven years . I thought the pit pleasant ami safe . I have not worked at the colliery since Marcb . 1844 . I would not have gone down ' thc pit , but 1 heard that the men that were down were all exhausted with the after-damp , and others were reluctant to go down . The dead body of William Briddick was brought to bank before I went down the pit ; when 1 went down , the men were busy putting the stoppings right . I never worked in tl ' f . part of the pit , as it has been worked since 1 left . ¦[ cannot tell how the accident occurred . 1 would not have taken a lamp if I had not been ord ered to «» so , as I think the overman has a nractical knowledge
of colliery working , and I would have depended on that for my safety . The jurv retired , and in a '' f minutes returned a verdict " of—Accidental l > at « To this account our correspondent adds : —It » •••*" possible to describe the state of the public mind lic' ' » us almost every one believes that the deputies ««« aware that the * place was dangerous ; vet none "' ' 1 men that have worked in the place had the i »»""' ness to go and speak the truth . The following l «! ' has been sent to Joseph Pease , Esq ., since the ] " " quest on the bodies : — " West Auckland , Ausust 1 P > 18-15 . Sir , —You will no doubt have heard ot tU « calamitous exnlosion which has taken place at - * - * ,
Helen ' s Auckland colliciy . You will also have hear " that the witnesses that were examined at the lmj" ^ were quite inadequate to throw any light on ' » affair . Since the inquest several of the worKmc' - say thev can prove that the deputies and overi" - " - knew that that part of the pit was m : •» n " ^ ' state . It is , therefore , your dulii to have the » 1 ; ^ thoroughly investigated , and if the reports bo t « m no doubt some party will be criminated . B , > " , j not appoint some person or persons to examine pit , and report thereon , it will be a Wot on tne »*** of the colliery for ever . " , ¦ i , The -Momiw Chevalieu d'Eo . v .-Oh UdMjg week was found dead , in Paris , a person who , lithe names of Howard and Douglas , was well M , in the humble ranks of literature , who alwnyj p = as a man , hut who turned out to bo a wjo » n-
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 23, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_23081845/page/6/
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