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January 27, 1849. THE NORTHERN STAR. __^...
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""' Wb£tt$r ™
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Monday next, the 29th of January, being ...
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THE RIGHTS OF MAN. Tcke, " God save the,...
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mtiitto
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THE LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE, Author of "Com...
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* Alluding to hit pamphlet, publishedfln...
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THE LAND. THE REMARKABLE TRIAL OF THOMAS...
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Et)r£r)eatmi
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MARYLEBONE. A new play by Mrs. Mowatt, e...
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STANDARD;' On Tuesday evening a new dram...
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ASTLEY'S. The ' Wars of the Jews,' and t...
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A Blavootc Traohot.—Four Montenegrins, a...
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V&VittM
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«iVES.^An American lecturer on wires say...
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Transcript
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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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January 27, 1849. The Northern Star. __^...
January 27 , 1849 . THE NORTHERN STAR . __^ 3
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Monday Next, The 29th Of January, Being ...
Monday next , the 29 th of January , being the anniversary of the birth , of Thohas Paise , we suspend our ^ extracts from" Biros , to mate room for the followingappropriate ^ oetical compositions—each some fifty years old , but , like good wine , none the worse for age .
THOMAS PAKE . In these disastrous , dismal days of " riot , " "law , " -and " libel , " "When men almost suspect the-right , —they have to ^ read the bible ; Til Venture still to tell the truth , —may you approve . the strain , And as the way to please you most , —m strive to give you jPatne / * - There was a man whose name was Paine , a man of - Common Sense , * . , mo came from Philadelphia , here , ha knowledge - to dispense;—He taught that men had equal rights , as equal sons of nature , . Deriv'd by universal grant , from Heaven ' s
legislature . — He taught that on the people ' s will all lawful power -depended , That governors were for the good of the governed intended;—And many other wholesome truths , —all form'd on Btasms plan , Sir , He wrote within a little book ,-r-and cali'd it Eights of Man , Sir ! The Nation soon approv'd the book , they read and understood it , But certain rogues { whom I name not ) , with jealous aspect view'd it ;—And many a courtly sycophant , its page with terror traces—For , if each man had but his right , —the rogues
would lose their places ! Then , Billy Pitt , he rais'd a cry , —a cry of consternation , "Which rous'd the roguish and the duped , throughout the Brjtish _ nation;—That Church and State were tumbling down I—and ruin hover'd o ' er us !—The lords and parsons stretch'd their throats , —and join'd the horrid chorus !—Like Quixote , that renowned knight , —so fam'd in : Sponwfttalc , . And full as mad , stepp'd Edmundf forth , —equipp d in courtly mail;— / He , from the treasury , took a spear , — 'twas Upp a with gold , aud pointed , .... And on Ms arm he bore * shield , —gir n by the - lord ' s anointed'
!—Thus arm'd with power , he thought divine , — he rnsh'd into the battle , And on the little staymoker J % most furiously did rattle , — He threw his darts sublime , ^ about , —and rav ' d of " plots" and "treason ; — But Freedom's champion stood unhurt I—for he was - clad in Reason . — "When courtiers found his arguments could not he overturned , They cunningly concluded , he by Proxy should be
burned!—In every town , through this good realm , poor Paine was executed ! And what their wisdom couldnot reach , —the faggot has confuted!—Tho' buried with the dead , ' i he is , —by loyal undertakers , E $ spirit stiU pervades the land , —and never ivill forsake vs ;—We'll drink a bumper o ' er his tomb , —a tribute of affection ! And wish the sleeping Bights of Man , —* SFSBDXKK-6 CBBECII 0 N !!
The Rights Of Man. Tcke, " God Save The,...
THE RIGHTS OF MAN . Tcke , " God save the , Eing . " God save the rights of man ! Give him a heart to scan Blessings so dear ! let them oe spread around , Wherever manis found , . And with the welcome sound Ravish his ear 2
Seeirom the universe , Darkness and clouds disperse ; Mankind , awake ! Reason " and truth appear , Freedom advances near , Monarchs with terror hear- * Bee how they quake ! ; Long have we felt the stroke ; long have we borne the yoke , Sluggish and tame : But a new era shines , Enlight ' ning all darken'd minds Spreading to distant climes . Liberty ' s flame 1
let us with France agree , And bid-the world belfree , Leading the way . Should tryants all conspire , Fearless of sword and fire , Freedom shall ne ' er retire , ' Freedom shall sway ! Godlike and great the strife , Life will indeed be life , When we prevail ; Death in so just a cause , Crowns us with loud applause , And from tyrannic laws , Bids us all hail !
O'er the tyrannic pow ' rs , Big indignation low ' rs Beady to fall ! let the ' rude savage host . In their vast numbers boast , freedom Our mighty trust . Spite of them all . Fame ! let thy trumpet sound , Tell to the world around , Frenchmen are free . TeD . ribands , crowns , and start , Kings , traitors " , 'troops , arid ^ wars , Plans , councils , ' plots , and jars , We will be free . .
God save the rights of man , Give him a heart to scan Blessings so dear . ; let them be spread around , Wherever man is found , And with the welcome sound Ravish his ear !
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The Life Of Thomas Paine, Author Of "Com...
THE LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE , Author of "Common Sense , " ¦ *' Eights of Man , "' & c ., & c . London : J . "Watson , 3 , Queen's _ Head Passage , Paternoster-row . "We are perfectly aware that to mention the Same of Thomas Paijje , unless for the purpose , of coupling it with- ahuse—ranCoTOtiB , " orthodox abuse ^ -of the man and his works , is neither fashionable nor prudent . But our mission is to . speak and -write the truth without fear of man , not excepting the self-appointed censor of this journal—theprophet-member for "WestrSurreyi 1 . Lovs of the ' tea & l > ufc . iis notice and recommend this . prMcatioTi ,: in . which , is narrated
the principal'events in-the life of the " worldtamed'f rebellious -needleman . - " ' L . ' Tjhere" nave been ^; several" biographies' of Pair's published , some by . friends , some by foe 3 r all at a . comparatively . high price . "" The Tvork before ub , - by the editor of the iVa-Honaf ?* [« of the French journal of thatname , ] isa ' sketchi rathgrihaii a biography ,. but , regarded as an abridgment , perfect of its kind , and exceedmgiy / .-well written . . The author though an' admrrer , is Hot a blind "worshipper of the author of the "Ei g hts of Man . " «« N <> thing extenuate nor set down etught in matice , " toight . have . been , very appropriately selected as the motto of this work .
Thomas Paine was born at Thetford , in tlrer comity of Norfolk , on the 29 th of -Januaryi i 787 . - :. ..,. --v ; - . . " . " " . ' ¦ ¦ . "•'¦ . Whenlittle : morethan sixteen years of jage , " . law-and adventurous , and heated with , false lerbism , " , h & entered the privateer , merries . SubsequOTtty he worked at his trade—that of fdaffnwkexboth in London and Kent . . '• J & i the year jl 70 i he obtained a place in the Excise . Curious enough , both . Thomas Fmxe find BdBERT Bt ? ay 3 were Excisemen ! ... ' ' « ! Searching auld wives' barrels , - " - . Och-hon ! . the day !"
But , like BUBJiS , Paisk was too independent for that odious service . Those conversant witii the life of Scotland ' s "Bard , will remember
* Alluding To Hit Pamphlet, Publishedfln...
* Alluding to hit pamphlet , publishedflnder-that Uflff , in the American war .,. . f Edmund Burke , the author of " ReJUthomtm ike French , Revolution , < tc . " t Paine was a stagmaler , by trade . § Alluding to the said Edmund Burke t publication , entitled , "The Sublime and Beautiful " B He was then living in Prance , being exiled Jwm to country .
* Alluding To Hit Pamphlet, Publishedfln...
that OB dri ^ oecarion ^ acfrTOig hty-wn , of song : was told by the Commissioners of Excise , that he was to act , not to think I Thereupon Burss took out his pencil and wrote : ¦ — " In politics if thou would'st mix , And mean thy fortunes be ; Bear this in mind—be deaf and blind ; Let great folks hear and see !" Paine turned pamphleteer , and of course bocame unpopular with his " superiors . " A pretext was " , found for dismissing him , and once again , . " The world was all before him where to choose . "
He selected America . He had acquired great proficiency in mechanics , mathematics , and astronomy , and these acquirements sufficed to obtain him . the friendship of Fkaxklin , at that time in England . Furnished with letters of introduction from that celebrated man , PaIXE proceeded to America . Hearrived' at Philadelphia in the winter of 1774 " a few months previous to the commencement of hostilities between Great Britain and her colonies . " The American Revolution called forth his powers ; ; The hour ' struck , and the man was not wanting . " 'Common Sense' was wrjtten at the close of the year 1775 , and published on the 1 st of January , 1776 . "
The popularity of « ' Common Sense , " " terrible in its consequences to the parent country , was unexampled in the history of the press . " Within a few months the sale ran to one hundred thousand copies ! "On the 1 st of January a word was spoken by a poor staymaker by the 4 th of July it had been repeated from Vermont even to ' , Georgia ; on that day the Lxdepexdexce of thirteen States was proclaimed ; a home and rallying place was established for Freedom ; and from that day to this , farrthroned monarch y has not ceased to quail , in sad presentiment of its assured doom . "
On the 19 th of December , 1776 , Paise published the first number of the "Crisis , " which , commenced with the thunder-toned and memorable sentences : —" These are the times that try Men ' s Souls ! The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will , in this crisis , shrink , from the service of their country , but he that stands it note , deserves the thanks of man and woman . Tyranny , like hell , is not easily conquered ; yet we have this consolation with , us ,, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the tiiumph 1 " : The "Crisis" was continued , as occasion demanded , until the consummation , of the devolution .
In 1777 , Facte , who had been serving with the patriot army , was appointed by Congress Secretary to the Committee for Foreign Affairs , which office he resigned in January , 1779-About this time the degree of Master of Arts was conferred on him by the University of Philadelphia . A small landed estate , and votes of money granted b y Jtfew York ^ Pennsylvania , and the General Congress , testified the public sense of the important services he had rendered to the cause of American Liberty .
After thirteen years' absence from his nativa country , Paine returned to England . Within two years after his return , the French Revolution commenced . In November , 1790 , the pensioned apostate Burke publishedhis " sublime and beautiful" (?) " Reflections , " and early in 1791 , Paine published his celebrated reply . It will interest our London readers to know that the First Part of the "Rights of Man , " was written " partly at the Angel , Islington , partly in Harding-street , Fetterlane , and finished-at Versailles . " The sale was immense ; indeed , to an extent unprecedented , unless we except " Common Sense . "
Both threats and preferred bribery , on the part of the Government , having failed to prevent the publication of the Second Part of the " Rights of Man ¦ / ' prosecutions were- comr menced against both publisher and author . Hazlitt testifies to the sensation excited by this masterly work : —" Pakje ' s 'Rights of Man' was the only really powerful reply ( to . Burke ' s 'Reflections' ) , and indeed so powerful and explicit that the Government undertook to crush it by an ex officio information , and by a declaration of war against France to still the ferment , and excite odium against its admirers ; as taking part with a foreign enemy against their prince and country . "
His "Rights of Man" gave to Fuse an European popularity , ar id in the autumn of 1792 , he was elected to the French -National Convention , by the department of Calais . A popularovation welcomed him to Calais ,- where he was received with shouts of -M Long live Thomas Paine 5 " For an account and exp lanation of his conduct in the Convention ,, we must refer the reader to the work under notice , ' We quote the following anecdote , given in this work , on the authority of CLIO RlCKMAK !— ' " ¦ ,- --. '
* * bonawbte asd pawe . " "When Bonaparte returned from Italy ; he called on Mr . Paine , and invited him to dinner : in the course . of his . rapturous ecstasies , he declared that a statue of gold ought to be ^ erected to " him in every city in the universe ; he also assured "him that he always slept with his "Rights of Man" under his pillow ; and conjured hinvto honour him , with his correspondence and advice . " In 1802 , after an absence of fifteen years ,
Paine returned to America , where he passed the remainder of his days . - He died at Greenwich , near New York , on the 8 th of June , 1809 , aged seventy-two years and five months . The widely-circulated fables concerning the manner / of Paine ' s death , are investigated and confuted in this work . 'Tis a pity that those who have mouthed so zealously against Paise's " infidelity , " had not bethought them of the lines of Po e : — -
" Let not this weak and erring hand Presume thy bolts to throw ; Uor deal damnation round the land On each I judge thy foe . " The judgments of men are , indeed , ridiculous . They canonise Charles I ., a . hypocrite and -blood-shedder ; they have no doubt of the salvation of "Fumthe Fourth ; " yet they have no scruple in' condemning to perdition a man who devoted his life to the glorious task of promoting the political freedom and sOciaVhappmess of Ms feuow-creatures I . Ah ! but Charies I .,- and ¦ ?' Fun . the Fourth " were orthodox , -, and Paine was- heterodox . Listen , ye self-rig hteous and uncharitable traducers , to the sublime words of the man ye tondemn : —
" 'Who artthott ; vaindust and ashes ! by whatever name thbu' art called , whether * King , a Bishop ,. a Church ,-or a State , a ^ Parliament ,, or anything : else , that obtrudest thine insignificance between the soul of man audits Maker ? Mixn ihhjk own coxcekKS . If he bblievm sor-as thou bklievhst , it is a proof THAT THOU -BELlSVESr SOT AS HE BELIEVJIH , AND THERB IS XO EaRTEXT POWER CAS DBIERMISE BETWEEN TOU " . - ¦ AsregardsPaine ' spolitical principles and writings , there can be but one opinion entertained by all who sincerely desire to do unto their fellow-men as ' they would be done unte . For the lbng-oppressea , long-cheated mUlions , PaINE" demanded JiTSTlCE ^ nothing more .
The objection soihetimes urged against Paii * e , that he set too high a value on mere political changes , to the neglect of social reforms ,, is hardly " put with" fairness ; Paine , thoughhe said little shout social reform , laboured to . arm the masses with the power to effect any change they might think fit , however sweeping . With Universal Suffrage , it is clearthat the working classes might accomplisn any teform they pleased . The misuse of the suffrage in France and America is no proof of its inutility . A man , instead of shaving his beard , may cut his nose off , but such a misuse of the razor— - whether caused by ignorance or madness—is no argument against the utility of-that very usefal-article .,:-. - . ¦ .. _
Those who , as Reformers , look upon them ? selves as . more advanced than Paine , would do well to remember tha $ the people are Tiot yet even up to Paixe ' s mark .
* Alluding To Hit Pamphlet, Publishedfln...
. . Jlquhjiess the people may be taught much valuable knowledge not "to be Tound ifi 'ffie " Rights of Man" but vast masses have yet to learn " " V > Tiy thoy bear bondage when they might bo free , " and for such Paine is an invaluable first teacher . May the day speedily arrive when Englishmen will have the " Common Sense" to establish the "Right of Man , " and thereby pay the most fitting homage to the genius and virtues of Thomas Paine .
The Land. The Remarkable Trial Of Thomas...
THE LAND . THE REMARKABLE TRIAL OF THOMAS SPENCE , THE AGRARIAN REFORMER . [ Concluded . ] After having read the whole of the " Letters ' * constituting the " Restorer of Society to its Natural State" Mr . Spence proceeded to address thejury as follows : — Gentlemen , though doubtless you are now sufficiently convinced of my upright intentions in writing :, and publishing this obnoxious book , yet , as it is a very serious thing to be convicted of a libel , and , of course , to go to prison , I hope you will indulge me a little further in defence of my philanthropic intentions . My father used to make my brothers and mc read the Bible to him while working at his business , and
at the end of every chapter encouraged us to give our opinions on what we had just read . By these means , I acquired an early habit of reflecting or every occurrence which passed before me , as well as on what I read . Advancing in years , and finding myself and father ' s family involved in continual difficulties and embarrassments , notwithstanding all our economy andindustry , I could not help imputing all our privations and hardships to the bad . system of the world . I had admired that certain degree of justice and equality to be seen in the institutions of Mo ' sesj which " , nevertheless , not coming up to ray notions of justice , I framed a system that I liked better . A generous system that should suit a'l the nations of the earth . A system unhampered with the childish narrow-minded divisions of tribes and famihes , and other nurses of hereditary pride .
I was confirmed in my proceedings by tho delectable description of earthly felicity , figuratively set forth by the Prophets and Apostles , as eoming on the earth in the latter days . And I found also as I proceeded , that the hopes of a future blessed state arising from pure justice , was congenial to the ideas of all lrien » For religious people look for such a state under the notion of a miflenium , philosophers in an age of reason , and poets in a future golden age . Wherefore , I was certain the ground work of such blessed society must be quite different from anything I bad hitherto heard of . For , as I had found of the Jewish , so also I find of every other celebrated establishment , ancient or modern , that they had been but transitory , and soon shrunk away before
encroaching monopoly . I also perceived this was all owing to one and the same cause , a mixture of injustice in their original composition , which , by empowering rich men to purchase , and hold ttieir fellow creatures as slaves , and also by depriving many others , even freemen , of all property in the soil , stich fabrics were only , deceitful , and with respect to liberty , were mere castles in the air . Thus was I more and more confirmed in the necessity of a plan that should through impartial justice , claim permanence , and , in every respect , be becoming such a state as the millenium . Thus , gentlemen , you see there is a concatenation of ideas which we cannot prevent , and which leads us on from one thing to another . Besides , weoften
find notions dart into our minds m a manner so unexpectedly , that , if not alio wed to be by inspiration , is very like it . Wherefore , though thoughts , wicked and maliciously ; aiming at the detriment of mankind , may , if you will , he said to be instigated by the Devil , yet surely apian , arising from the contemplation of-Scripture , and constructed on the purest principles of justice , so as in truth to be the constitution of the future golden age , ought to be imputed to a different source . Now , gentlemen , is it my fault that any class of men should be at variance with every picture of human happiness ! Would it not be better to suppress the Bible than to suffer poor wretched creatures to delude themselves at the hazard of imprisonment , with hopes of milleniums and new Jerusalem ? , wherein there is to be no more sorrow nor crying ; of a new Heaven and a new earth , wherein dwelleth righteousness-that is , justice . When men shall beat
their swords into ploughshares , and their spears into pruning hooks ; when nation shall not lift up sword against nation , neither shall they learn war any more ; when they shall sit every man under his vine , and under his fig tree , and none rivall make them afraid ; when governors and people shall live in peace and amity ; when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb , and the leopard shall lie down with the kid , and the calf and the young lion , and the fatling together , and a little child ( in politics ) shalllead them ; when the earth shall yield her increase , and God , even our God , shall bless us ; yea , when there shall be showers of blessings ; when the people : shall not labour in vain , nor bring forth children for trouble ; for they are the seed of the blessed Jeho-Tah , and their offspring with them ? I say again , would it not be better to suppress the Bible , than sufferus thus to be deluded by golden dreams only to our hurt ! ~
But , gentlemen , the suppression of the Bible will not beVsufficient to . reduce us again to a state of stupid contentment , under bad systems . For every history and novel present hardly anything else to onr imaginations , but deplorable pictures of crimes and woe , flowing from the bad systems of society .. Who , theni can wonder at people of good hearts endeavouringtofind outarcmedy ? . This bad system makes the good bad , and the bad rrorse . Perhaps , even Judas would have been nei ther thief nor traitor , if there had been no land to purchase , nor other means to fix his property . But , that being the case , he knew how to dispose of his acquisitions , let them be ever so much . His mere dailv bread was , therefore , by no means satisfactory .
He was a treasurer , and had it in his power to nlCh from the public stock , and did not neglect the opportunity . This made him zealous to increase the Supplies , for well he knew that the more that was put into the public purse , he could take the more out . Therefore he made a greatclamour about the waste of ointment . " It might have been sold , ( saidhe ) for three hundred pence and given to the poor . Not that he cared for the poor , but because he was a thief , and had the bafr and bare what was put therein . So we find that , what with bis Slchmgs while he was treasurer , and selling his master at last into the banrain , he- was enabled to purchase an
estate .-justly entitled the field of blood ! Now , gentlemen , can I be blamed for attempting to put an end to such work * It is purposely for . the sake-of putting an end to such Judasism , and the temptations that lead thereto , thatl wrotemy book , and all my hooks these six and twenty years . For well I know that we can have no millenium nor reign of justice while every villain can thus consolidate ' and fix his ill-gotten wealth .- Iff therefore , we do not wish such characters to become our legislators / our magistrates , ; our landlords , and , in short , our masters , we must shut the door against them , in the manner I have shown in this same book : /
- Gentlemen , it is said that the state of the damned is doubly miserable by being within right . of the blessedness of Heaven , as-instanced in Dives . Just so the wretchedness of our condition increases , m nroportion to . the progress at common sense , which ihows ao much happiness- to > e within our reach . What , then , shall be done with this dangerous incendiary common sense ? How shall webanab him -from the world ; that both the Oppressor * and the oppressed may live in peace ? But I need not a « K such questions , if we conrideyfot vdvot I am brought here . For this is nothing but the trial of common
However little some people may-flank of plans of government , every tradesman manner , and mUttMy commander ' knows that . i plan is " ^ WJ Wfe jnd soul of business , and that the more simple the plan is , if . it embraces the whole concerns intended , 8 om" ™ more pleasantly and effectually thingsigo on . But how ' nations arefobe conductedwithoutp lans , Heave to the advocates of confusion to explain . Gentlemen , this is a foolish trial , and ^ ry body sayaso . Principles never lost any thing by \ xm ~ - heyrathergainbyit . Thiabook isahook ofprmciples , and , therefore ; cannot be affected , whatever bicome of me . It is like ¦ ttiwtoj * swprd , dangerous to play with , for it will cut both ways . «» liketfvinz trigonometry or multiplication table , TtSSScmk beoverthrown , so neither ^ y politics , / or my intention , be ^^ ^ f ^ jj than the invention of those , or ofany other art or
When I began to study , I found everything erected on certain unalterable prrariples . I ^ "ZJS ! andldenceaperi ^ | 7 * 0 le . N ^ iii Wjn «^ butlariguage and politics . But both of these 1 : reduced -to order- the one by . a ne * r-dphabet ,. andithe other by a new constitution . Yet strange ! lhat for restoring order . and justice , I should herestand in ieonardv of a prison . If such designs be deserv-Sfof such reward , I am ready to go . If the world is not worthy of such characters , thenlet us bebuned * ^ Locke ' s Essay on Government , ' and many other eminent works , u wdl as the Bible , have ^ contributed to strengthen my confldence ^ in this m y millenial form of government , and ,- therefore , such books oughtinjusticetostandor fall with mint . Whether we consider natural reason ( says Locke ) , wmen tell » uB that mea bein *; once born , have a r > gb » to
The Land. The Remarkable Trial Of Thomas...
their preservation , and , consequently , to meat and nrlnkjarid such Other things as nature affords for their subsistence , or revelation , which gives an account of those grants God made of the world to Adam and to Noah and his sons , it is very clear that God , as King David « ays , Sam . { ., 15 . 16 , has given the earth to the children of men—given it to mankind in common " This , gentlemen , is therights of man , and upon tins rock of nature have I built my commonwealth , and the gates of Hell shall not prevail agnnst it . r I am serious , gentlemen , and always was upon this business . And . moreover , I solemnly avow , that what I have written and published has beeti done with as good a conscience and as much philanthropy as ever possessed the heart of any ProphetApostle
, . or Philosopher that ever existed . And , indeed , I sould ^ neither have lived or died in peace , having such important truths in my bosom unpublished My works will sufficiently justify themselves . Then what ought I to be considered in thia business , but the unfeed advocate of the disinherited seed of Adam ? For this trial is , in fact , not my trial , but the trial of the rights of the whele species that are alive now , or ever shall live on the face of the earth , to the end of time—the trial of the rights of the widow and fatherless , the infantand the hoary head , the blind and the lame , the dumb , and all those who have no helper . Therefore , gentlemen , there never was since the creation of the world a trial of such magnitude . I would have written to the sama effect in anv other age or nation . I have no such narrow view ' s
as an eye to one . country only . My politics arc for the world at large . And , had I been loarned , I would , perhaps , have wrote in Latin , which is an universal language . But ; knowing but one language , I atn obliged , like the prophets and great men of antiquity , to write in my mother tongue . w formed my plan , gentlemen , out of charity to the rich , as well as the poor . If we believe the best of writers , the rich are in the more pitiable case of the two ; and far deeper in crimes , and much more in danger of eternal damnation . I could cite thousands of passages tothat purpose from the Scriptures and other works . They are depicted in almost every book and drama as exceedingly unhappy in every respect , as if in all things a curse hung over them ;
nay , in their very courtships and marriages , by the arbitrary interference of their hard-hearted ambitious parents and guardians . And where can there begreatcr injustice than in their treating all the children but one in a family as illegitimate ? Neither will any say that such customs are at all favourable to virtue . Therefore , since the present system of things renders both extremes unhappy , and affects even the middling classes with ambition and avarice , as well as it afflicts them with the fears of falling into the ever yawning gulf of poverty , I bring my friendly constitution as a day ' s man to lay his benevolent hands upon them all , saying peace be unto you ; be happy . Be not , gentlemen , abettors of oppression . Remember the fate of Joseph ' s house . He neglected the opportunity which God gave him of being the friend of human nature , and of paying the debt of gratitude , which he owfd to the good-hearted
Egyptians , for all the benefits they had so liberally bestowed on himself and his kindred . Yes , if God sent him to save life , he certainly did not Send him to return evil for good , through partiality to the insatiable views of tyranny , and to reduce , a whole people to the most abject bondage . However , this he did . But Providence punished his and his father ' s house , though he vainly thought he had exalted them for ever . The very pit that he had dug for the poor Egyptians , his own posterity fell into : and when another King arose who knew not Joseph , the whole family of Jacob wag trodden down by means of that very power which thia heaven-born minister had given to the crown . Therefore , let ao man think of aggrandising his family at the expense of the public welfare . Let them think of the Israelitish brickmakers , and learn to promote the happiness of their fellow-creatures , if they really wish well to their own posterity .
Gentlemen , the consequence pfa verdict against me this day , will be that no man must any more propose aught for the public good . No , not even a new tax ! It is really a curious trial , gentlemen . What is this plan of mine but a law unpassed ? Every bill brought into Parliament is only a theory till assented to by the legislature . But , perhaps , it may be said , that snob . a % I , t , labourer , have no right to think of , or propose new laws . Then let it be so . Let us know the full extent of our debasement . We know that all persons are now accounted ofimly according to the property they are connected with : and so are servants and dogs . We know likewise that property is the nation , as Burke says—which is saying that property is the public ,
and that the public is property , and all things are ordered accordingly . For the laws are made by property , and for property . Men . then , are out of the question except aa appendages to this same property . For , if even a legislator loses his property , he immediately loses his power of legislating , and descends to the insignificant class that I am of , while all his former consequence is transferred to his successors along with the said property . £ Here Mr . Spence read several extracts from the writings of Dr . Priestly . ]] My opinions , gentlemen , on this subject have not been taken up lightly or latel y * I first of aU formed them into a lecture , which I read in the Philosophical Society of Newoastle-upon-Tyne , in the year 1775 , which I immediately printed , and have been continually publishing them in one shape or other ever since , and I do not perceive yet , notwithstanding the parliamentary report , any harm they have done to mankind to merit this usage . I have
likewise been in the constant habit of discussing them with all degrees of people , from Members of Parliament and Dignitaries of tbe Church down to the Labouring Classes , and however interest might make us appear of different opinions , yet no man ever imputed to me any evil intention . Indeed he must be wilfully blind that does not perceive my plan to be the most favourable to every virtue , and the best preventative against ' every species of vice , and , of course , would be productive of the greatest portion of happiness . All the objections ever made to it , after due investigation , are , that it is impracticable ; but that I have nothing to do with . It is enough for an individual that he proposes the public good , and if the public will not practise it afterwards he is guiltless . But I think , gentlemen , instead of prosecuting people for proposing plans of human happiness , those rather should be prosecuted that keep such things back , after being persuaded of their utility . But . that is a crime never was imputable to
me . . [ Here Mr . Spence . quoted certain passages from Harrington ' s works . ] ; I shall now conclude with the opinion Of Lord Loughborough on the Ljbprty . of the Press . " Every man , " says he , " may publish at his discretion his opinions concerning forms and systems of government . If they be wise and enbghtening the world will gain by them } if they be weak and absurd they will be laughed at and forgotten ; and if they be bon & fde , they cannot be criminal , however erroneous . " This , gentlemen , is my defence . When the defendant had concluded , Lord Kenyon observed , that if any honest man could entertain a doubt in this case all , the arguments be could use would not make it more clear . The jury immediately found the defendant guilty . The Attorney General then moved that he should be ordered into
custody till brought up for judgment , and he was committed to Newgate . On the 13 th of June he was brought ; to Westminster Hallfor judgment ,. when he made a second defence aa follows , the four judges being present : —_ . My Lords—If I did not conceive your lordships who preside in this court , to be by your situations the most independent men in tlio nation ; I should be uiscouraged from making any furtherattempt at a de ' ence . For what 1 have : already said- has been » o misconstrued , misrepresented , and disguised , both by the Attorney-General , and the news writers , that ' except from your lordships , I despair of any chance to candour or fair dealing ; ¦ ' ¦ I am held up to the public as a fool or a madman ,
representing private property , both real and personal , as intolerable grievances , and which , in every parish throufhout the kingdom , I would have belong to the inhabitants of the parish . Whereas I am giving only the land to the parishes . And again , that 1 likened myself to Moses , the Prophets , Apostles , & c , than which nothing can be more foolish and libellous , if such a person as I can be libelled . For your lordships know that I only said , that I wrote that I did with as good a conscience ' , and as much philanthropy as any prophet , apostle * or philosopher that ever existed , and which I make no doubt your lordships believe to be true . , 1 knew tbe public opinion differs greatly concerning how they would have me treated . Tn » greater part think it would be best to treat me and my opinions with contempt , as has been hitherto done with so much success , and this manner has been par *
tieularly practised by the most professed Champions of Liberty . And it is only the inconsiderate and hotbeaded that thirst after vengeance and violent modes of dealing . I think your lordships must find yoUKelYW in HO small dilemma in this affair . For by your decision you have the timorous people of property to satisfy , and at tbe same time the honour of yourselves and the nation , and even of the age , to take care of . For you know , my lords , there is such a thing as history , and , consequently , posterity , that take cognisance of such matters as these , which violent people pay no regard te . So , my lords , though I do not love imprisonment , nor indeed ought , especially in the poor friendless state I am in , ' yet I reckon myself entirely out of the question . My lords , if 1 am punished that no mote theories of government may be written , I believn it will be without cause , for there docs not seem room for another . The only vacuum that remained I have filled
The Land. The Remarkable Trial Of Thomas...
up . But as original and radical legislator * have arises so very seldom to disturb the world , and , as I observed before , there does not seem any more room let no pusillanimous fears be a spur to any decision that will , not be readily justified by impartial pos » terity . Perhaps , my lords , I have entertained too high an epinion of human nature , for I do not find mankind very grateful clients . I have very small encouragemeat indeed to rush into a prison , on various accounts . For , in the first place , the people without treat me with the contempt due to a lunatic , for it is only the government wishes to make me appear as of consequence , and the people within treat me as bad , or worse , than the most notorious felon among them .
And what with redeeming and ransoming my toes from being pulled off with a string while in bed , and paying heavy and . manifo ! d . fo ; s , there is no getting through the various inipi sitions . ' Indeed , before a poor man is sent to prison , he , or somebody for him , ouiht to have a few nights' licence on the highway , to furnish him with money for the multifarious occasions he will have . Honesty cannot be expected to do it , especially in these times . [ Here ht made an . ap-logy for Mr . Kirby , as these things were unknown to him because it was dangerous to complain , for nobody could conceive what ureadfal work went on among such ruffians but those who have had tbe . misfortune to be locked un with them . ]
Ihns , my lords , one robbery cal ' s loudly for another , and this being too much the case through the whole system of society , no wonder mankind are so much depraved . Now , my lords , it is the onlv hope ! entertain of a , good system working reformation in the manners of the human race that reconciles me to my thankless [ ask , even though it has brought me before this " tribunal . . . Wherefore , I hope your lordships will deign to look upon me rather as a fellow-labourer than a « % ?? K * ° f w Ml . y ° aretemp-loyed in only striking oil the heads of this monstrous hydra of corruption , » s fast as they sp rout , I strike at the body , with the vi iw of wholly destroying it . So to whatever your lordships shall doom me to in so laudablen cause , I shall cheerfully submit . - ¦ - -.. '
The Judges , after hearing this second defence , consulted together , and remanded him back , to prison till that day week , when he was ajrain brought up and sentenced to suffer ONE YEAR'S IMPRISONMENT in the jail of Shrewsbury , and to pay A FINJS OF TWENTY POUNDS TO THE KING ! Here conclude' our extracts from the re ? pert of this remarkable trial . We add a few words explanatory of the after life of this per : secuted Eeformer .
The fine was paid by Mr . Spence ' s disciples ^ . and on . his liberation , after twelve months' imprisonment , he recommenced business as a bookseller . He published the report of his trial , the book from which wie have gleaned the information contained in this and the two preceding number * of , the Northern Star . His last publication was entitled the "Giant Killer" a weekly periodical , of which only three numbers appeared , as he died suddenl y at his lodgings in Castle-street , Oxford-street . He died of what is now commonl y termed English
Cholera . His age was " somewhat more : than sixty years , " "forty of which he had .-de , voted to , the cause of justice and humanity . " Thomas Spence was buried in the burial ground , Tottenham Court-road ; A . funeral oration was pronounced over the bod y by a disciple , Mr . William Snow . As yet no stone or other memorial marks the spot where this persecuted friend of mankind at length found rest . When will the gratitude of the working classes raise a fitting monument to commemorate the virtues , and martyr-like sacrifice ' s of this model-man of their " order "—Thomas Spence ?
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Marylebone. A New Play By Mrs. Mowatt, E...
MARYLEBONE . A new play by Mrs . Mowatt , entitled ' Armand ; or , the Peer and the Feasant , ' was produced hera 'asfc week , and announced for repetition every evening until further notice with the apparently unanimous sanction of a crowded audience . . The action of 'Armand ;• or , the Peer and the Peasant . ' as it is called , is laid in the time of Louis XV . The profligate Due de Riche'ieu has a daughter by a secret marriage , whom he takes the greatest pains to conceal from his Sovereign , fearing that she may suffer from the corrupt influence of the Court . She is brought up in a humble cottage , and forms an attachment to a , young peasant named Armand . The King discovers her retreat and becomes enamoured of her , and Richelieu , learning this fact , gives her a sleeping » draught , intending to remove her when she is apparently dead . She swallows this unconsciously
and it takes effect while she is dancing as Queen of a May festival with her lover Armand . She is sup . posed to be dead , and is laid out in rural state in the cotfage . The King pays a visit to the corpse * » nd finding Armand is mourning over it , takes a liking to the young man , and invites him to join the army . Richelieu , who comes to remove his daughter when the effect of ths drug shall have passed , is annoyed at finding the King in the cottage , and with difficulty cdntrivtB to get rid of him by the time Blanche awakes , when he places her in a convent , and forbids her to think any more of Armand . The rest of the story which is less striking than the first part ,-consists of her resisting the dishonourable proposals Of the King at Court , and her final union witli'Armand , who has risen to a high post in tliearmy . Mrs . Mowatt , the authoress of the piece , wasaho its heroine , and played her part well . She was well supported by Mr . Davenport as Armand , '
Standard;' On Tuesday Evening A New Dram...
STANDARD ;' On Tuesday evening a new drama , entitled . ' . ' The Mirror of Death , " was performed at this theatre . The plot is Italian ^ and is full of striking incidents . That excellent piece , " The Waits , " and the Pantomime ( which we noticed in our last number ) followed ; and we are happy to see that they deservedly continue to draw overflowing houses .
Astley's. The ' Wars Of The Jews,' And T...
ASTLEY'S . The ' Wars of the Jews , ' and the FautomimOi 'Robin Hood , or the Pretty White Horse , ' continue to attract crowded audiences to thispopular place of amusement . The play is a version of JoVephusi ' and abounds with the divisions and sanguinary feuds of Eleazar , John of Ghischala , and their partisans , and the horrors of famine consequent upon the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans . We think a much better drama might havie been founded on nick materials . Ananias , the high priest , and Josrphus , the historian , were respectably represented by Messrs . Fredericks and Orowther , and we were amused by-some humorous passages by Mr . Attwood , as Barnabas ,, whose courage , like Acres ^ always vanishes on the approach of danger . The Pantomime is oh the usual scale of . magnitude and grandeur of previous one ' s atthis theatre , and elicited the hearty laughs aud applause of the juvenile portion of the audience .-
A Blavootc Traohot.—Four Montenegrins, A...
A Blavootc Traohot . —Four Montenegrins , and their sister , aged 21 , going on a pilgrimage-to the shrine of St . Basilio , were waylaid by seven Turks in a rocky defile , so narrow that they could only thread it one by one j and hardly had they entered , between the precipices that bordered it pft , either side , ' wh ? n an unexpected discharge of , firc- « r « i 8 ' killed . one . brother , anil desperately -wounded another : To retrace their steps was impossiblcy without meeting certain and shameful deatp ,. siabe to turn their backs would give , their enemy w opportunity of destroying them at : pleasure ,. The . two men who wcro unhurt , thereforc , advanced , and returned , the fire , killing' two TurkSj while tho wounded one supporting himself against thefock- ;
fired also , and mortally injured two others , but . iyaB killed himself in the . act . : His sister , taking ., iii gun , loaded and fired again simultaneously withhgr two brothers , but at the same instant one of them dropped down dead . The two surviving Turks then rushed furiously at the only remaining Montenegrin , who , however , laid open tho skull of one of them with his yatagaa before receiving his own deathblow . The hapless sister , who had all the time kept up a constant fire , stood for an instant irresolute , when suddenly assuming an air of terror : and supplication , she entreated for mercy ; i but the Turk , enraged at the death of his comrades , was , i j V ai- 4 « lr ^ i 9 v « Yt 4 Q / y < . fit XV . a H ^ n « n _ 8 jd uuh
orutai enougu w »«> . « " «"» v v * . W - ^ ij girl's seeming agony , and only promised , her life at the price of her honour . Hesitating atj first ( = hh pretended to listen to the villain ' s proposal * but : no sooner did she see him thrown off his guard thanshe buried in hie body the knife she' carried at her girdle . Although mortally wounded , tho' Turk endeavoured to make the most of his failing strength , and plucking the dagger from his side , staggered towards the courageous girl , who , driven to despair , threwhersolfOnherrelentlessfoe , and With super ? human energy hurled him down the neighbouring precipice , at the moment when some shepherds , at ^ tracted by the continued firing , arrived just too late for the rescue . — 'Sir / . 0 . Wilkinson ' s Dalwwttia and
Montenegro . NOIIIKGHAM . — OPBttAIlVE LIBRAM . —The C 0 D > mitte eofthe No . 1 , Operative Library have just pubUshed their fourteenth annual report , by which it appears that the number of volumes in circula-, tion are 1 , 734 of moral , entertaining , and scientific knowledge . The expenditure of the past year was £ 539 s . 2 d . ; the income £ 34 Is . 3 d ., leaving a balance due to the treasurer of £ 18 78 . lid .
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«Ives.^An American Lecturer On Wires Say...
« iVES . ^ An American lecturer on wires says—^ As wel l migh t the farmer have tho Venus de Medicis placed in his kitchen for a wife , as some of our fashionable women . Indeed , it would be much better W have Lot ' s wife standing there ; she might salt his bacou . " N 6 t Oiithodos . — The New York Evening P « tt states that the monument to the memory of a gentleman , formerly of the-Park Theatre , has been refused a . place . m the bury ing-ground up town , because it , bears a motto from Horace , not of an Orthodox character .
Political Economy . — " Will you never learn , my dear , the difference between real and exchangeable-value ? " The question was put to a husband who had-been lucky enough to be tied to a political economist in petticoats . " Oh , yes , my dear , I think I begin to see it . " " Indeed ! " responded the ^ ady ; "Yes , " replied the husband . "For instance , thy dear , I know your deep learning , and all your other virtues . That ' s your real value . But I know , also , that none of my married friends would swap wives with me . ' That ' s your cxchanqeable value 1 " v ..
THE LAND . '" With " equal . right might the atmosphere ba bott'ed , or the sunshine barrelled up , and sold out in ' lots to suit purchasers , ' as the earth to be hacked in pieces and withheld from its rightful owners . " — E . G . Suffm . " Go back to the first period of man ' s existence . What shall we . find there ? A' othing but one wide comuiori ; a ' wilderness , on which man , tor the first time , has imprinted his footsteps . Of course , it belongs-to all equally . " — Thomas SKidmorc . ; . 'Capital is man's product— he made it ; but land is the Creator ' s product — he made it , and gave it not to ajxirt , but to all the human race . " - / . K . Fisher .
The . Butcher and the Sailor . — A butcher at Hull . let a sailor have a shoulder of mutton on trust ; and hearing , a few days after , that lie had gone to America , he said , "My word , if I had known that he never intended to pay , I would havo charged him a halfpenny a pound more than I did . " .. Kosciusko . — Kosciusko , the noble Polish patriot , whofoiightfor American Liberty in 1773 , revisited the United States in 1798 , leaving a certain sum . of money in the hands of his friend Thomas Jefferson . In October 1817 , Kosciuski died at Soleure
in'Switzerland ; since then the property left in America has accumulated to a sum over 60 , 000 doJs . His heirs at-law ( tho children and grandchildren of his sisters ) , have applied to Congress to recover his property .. Declining Life . — Declining life begins from about forty and extends to about fifty-two , in women ; in men , it commences at about fifty and extend * to sixty . Advanced age , or incipient old age ,, ranges from about fifty-three to about sixtyfive , in women ; in men , from sixty to seventy . Ripe ^ old age ranges from sixty-five to about seventyfive in the femae , and from seventy to eighty in the male . ' . "
A Reason for Marrying . —The friends of a wit expressed some surprise that , with his age and his'folidness for tbe bottle , he should have thought it worth while to marry . " A wife was necessary , " hesaid ; '' they began to say of mo that I drank too much for a single man . " War . —Voltaire thus expresses himself on the subject of war : — "A hundred thousand mad animals , whose heads are covered with hats , advance to kill Or be killed by their fcllow-mortals covered with turbans . By this strange procedure , they want to know whether a tract of land , to which none of them has any claim , should belong to a certain man whom they call . Sultan , or another whom they call Czarneither of whom ever saw , or ever will see , the spot so furiously contended for : and very few of those creatures who thus mutually batcher each other ever beheld the animal for whom they cut each other ' s
throats i From time immemorial this has been the way ,, of mankind almost all over the earth . What an "' ex ' ceBS' of madness is this ! and how deservedly might a superior Being crush to atoms this earthly ball—the bloody nest of such ridiculous murderers !" WkLSH . —The following lines on a silk-worm are ah instance , of a complete stanza where the letters are all vowels , even the consonant w being equiva ^ lent to oo in the English tongue : — " O'i wiw wy i wau e a , —o'i au Ei wyau cweuaj E wy wa ei we aua' , A'i weaau , i ' w ieuau ia . " In-English thus : . " From his own eggs the busy worm ' .. '"' . Attempts his hasty webs to form , . Like'hngs on ice they seem to view , . Beauteous like those , and brittle too . "
- Scotch Pronunciation . —Going into a shop to buy gloves , Thomas Campbell made trial of many pairs , but none would fit him . "No , " he said , turning away from the counter , " those won't shoot ( suit ! me . " "They won't shoot you ? no , but I think they might suit you , " observed the glover , rather sharply .- "Why , sir , " said Campbell , you should live at the sign of The Pronouncing Die tiondry ! " "Andyou , he replied , "should be my first purchaser ! "' The poet was delighted with the man ' s" ready wit ,-and told it with much glee to Miss Mayow . —life and Letters of Mr . T . Campbell . A well-known penurious character , residing some years in Bath , invited a friend to dinner , and provided two mutton' chops . On removing the cover , he said , My friend , you see your dinner ; " which his friend immediately ( with his knife and fork ) took to . himself , remarking , "I do ; I wish I could see yours , "
A . Native Indian Editor . —Tbe Choctaw Telegraph has made its appearance at the West—a new paper , issued at Doaksville , in the Choctaw nation . It isedited by Daniel Folsom , a native Indian . ,: AaisTocRATic Robbery . —Athol forest measures 100 , 000 English acres , and is solely occupied by red deer-:, : -.- , .,. Why ia the letter T . best suited to Grenadier companies ?—Becanse it makes all men rail men . Mr . Dickens's Haunted Man ought to be persecuted by several , ghosts , instead of one , for he is many shades worse than his predecessors .
Mr . Ethan Spike ' s Speech for General Tatlor .- " Who's Gineral Taler , " says I . •» He ' s one . of the people , " says I . He . haint a loky foky , " says . I , " nor a Whig , nor a free syler , nor notliin else , " saVs I ,. " He can lick Mexicans faster ' n you can say Jack Robinson , " says I ; " an hates niggers more ' n he does pison . I go for him , " say * I , " neck or nothin , now , and if there ' s one individaol in the saound of my voice as isn ' t a Taler man , an darst to own it , " says I , " I'll lick him , darn him ! " says I . When I got this off , cheerin an stamping was dred-M / an father—who waa a leetle groggy—sung aout as . lapud as'he could ballj " Them ' s um ! Go it , EthanVgiveitto'em ! Hooray ! Hooray ! An then he throwed off his hat an stomped on-it , and kicked raound , an screech / t an squalled in sieh a . onairthly way , that' they had to tie him an carry him hum . — jSoston G / ironofi /»« .
' Bo 2 skbw Work !—On ; the 26 th instant , in Devonshire Terrace , Mrs . Charles Dickens was safely delivered of a son . -What a Housk should b * . — A house should bear witness in all its economy , that human culture . & the god to which it is built and garnished . It stands under the sun aud moon to ends . analag . 'us , butnot less noble than theirs . It is not for festivity . for sleep ; but to be a shelter always open to the good and to the-true ; Let a man say , * ' My house is here fa the- country ifor the culture of the country , an eating-house - andsleeping-house for travellers itshall be ; but it J » hall . be much more . I pray you , O excellent wifecumber riot yourself and me to get a
, , curiously'rich dinner for . this . ' man { or woman , who : hasalighted at our gates , nor a bed-chamber made * e atfy « t' - 'too great a cost ; these things , if they are curious in ^ tbem , ; they can get for a few shillings in anv . village }' rather let this stranger see , if he will , in ymt looks , aficent & auihehav \ our , ybur heart and ifearneatnesMour thoughts and will , which he cannot buy at any price in any city , and which he may well traveVtwSiity / miles and dine sparely and sleep hardly tb ' D ^ h oldV .. Let not the emphaiift of hospitality lie in hed-ahd board ; but let truth , and love , and honour , auAcourteBy . flawinall thy dteds . —Emerson's Lee ¦ tw $ on Domestic Life ,
' , . fjAGES fOR Larks . —A fevr days » go , a man was brought Before the magistrates of Newcastle ( Staffordshire ) , charged with having committed a breach bTthe peace while intoxicated- "Magistrate : '" Welly my ' godd man , what have you to say for yourself ? . ? ! Prisoner ; "Tour worship , I only did it for a lark / ' 'Magistrate : *¦ ' Well , my good fellow , we have got , ca ' ge 8 for larks at Stafford Gaol . "—He was committed . ¦
, X l $ OI > BRN DVHHIR PkUTT . "IWB you what , philosopher , if all the longtst heads ; That-eyer knocked their sinciputs in stretching ott ith *« rbeda , n-u ^ u . > Were round one great mahogany , I d beat tnos * ' -find old folks , . . With twenty dishes , twenty fools , and twenty clever jokes ! ' , Why , if Columbus should be there , the company -would beg-, - - ' , " , " ,. ,, He'd show that little trick of his of balancing the egg r Milton to Stilton would give in , and Solomon to salmon , And Roger Bacon be a bore , and Francis Bacon gammon 1 —J > . . Holme ' s Torn * ( American . )
" Grace before meat , " as the young lady remarked when she laced herself so tight that she could nt swallow . Bunk-v . Jsrnt LrND .-The long contested suit of' » Bunn t . Lind" has at last been settled , it is said , for the sum offered before litigation commence * namely , £ 2 , 00
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 27, 1849, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27011849/page/3/
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