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0-COXNOR AND THE PRESS . TO THE FUSTIAN JACKETS , BLISTERED HA > 'DS , A > 'D UNSHOB . X CHI-XS . JJT PEA FKIEM > S , I HifE explained to you , and I hope satisfactorily , the en oi to which prejudice gave rise , u to my conection with Sir . O'CoEiieU , which , in fact , was no Section at all . Bnfc it really appears , as if this ^ tical impo stor was , by common consent , to have * * to hold , to himself and his heirs for ever , the exclu-¦ ¦ re rizht to abnse , insult , and Tilify every gentleman B " saxes to differ from him , and , if attacked 7 ^ a fcisd of exemption from responsibility is
jj&imed . What is there in this man , or in any other man , » c ' tjn a license for attack , and sopercedeas j T , re -ort ? Let it be yonr pride that your friend ; v ^ T beeo the first maB wbo successfully combatted , i tn ^ -ptiii -ay overcame , and successfully exposed , the ; d -pii h ^ po » tb * eTer ^^ tbe P * ^ *** & ¦ 1 j 4 tern to ny defence upon another point Little : . « Md * « t of licensed plunderers , and even and Ward
X ,-, - i Edward Baines , George Henry , — ° 0 ^ tried t e bust of aint and tinner , Whig and Terr to eke out an honest penny , )—and , above all , the B ^ csiman himself—these have all attributed my iT ^ jai position , and -what they call the -violence of » he 5 ** r , to the desire of a trafficking politician to make money of popular credulity . Poor fools ! Poor Bjiffftimiie wretches : How easy , how Tery easy it is to . e t gjft name to "rice , and a hard one to virtue . Bet see how I meet them .
TThat is the principle upon ¦ which every newspaper > n the kingdom is started , or rather what are the l ^ -jas > Either by an individual , with the hope of pajacg money , or by a company of sliareholders , Tii 2 : e double inducement of adding political imporarce te their party , while they open a safe specul ^ on for interest , upon portion of their surplus capital-¦ fl-fc&t were the terms upon which . I started the Sorthern £ ar ? Why , singular enough , I have in my possession tc » escalation ot profit and loss , upon the highest
cirflclaucn we ever expected to attain , made before the vtvss was established , by Mr . Hobson and Mr . Hill ; and that leaves the cheering prospect of a loss of only £ 10 & week , which 1 calculated , hy saving double that gam in travelling , and other exptnees incidental to » gi : ati « n , would be to me a gain of £ 10 per week . IfrA 1 show you the prospect at starting ; and reduce my offence to the beinousnfss of having produced a rival article in the political market ; and which , be it remembered , was , from its extreme tone at starting , to hire lived the short and merry life of one half year
« isrthrs :-Rccollect that no Radical paper bnt the Star ever has succeeded in England , and that friend and foe prophesied evil to that paper . Well , I have given to national purposes , and spent upon the naiienal eause , every halfpenny that the Star his made siace the commencement to the present moment , together with other fends . This I solemnly aver ; while , since the Star ¦ was established—nay , from the day I took my seat in the Boise of Commons , in Feb ., 1 S 33 , 1 have not spent
the stum of one pound upon amusement , luxury , pleasere , or dissipation—not a pound , on my word- I am i pc > arer man to-day than when I established the Siar : and yet I am a trafficking politician , while little Russell has his thousands a-year for lending himself to natioEa' fraud : Daniel lias nothing but the pliancy of his conscience to live upon ; and Baines and that clsss would starve , Lad it not been for the successful tzafik in politics ; yet " they are all honourable men , " and I am a trafficking politician , who might , in the three years and a qnarter hid I been avaricious ) , have amassed , from tie profits of the Star alone , over £ 20 , 000 i
Again , observe that my course in Ireland was precisely the same as it has been in England , I invariably prosecuted stipendiary magistrate ! , county magistrates , chief cficers of police , shooting parsons , and every oppressor of the poor , and defended every poor man , and always at my own expense . I left my circuit at a moment ' s notice , and repaired V > Bandon , and remained there for five days , to prosecute Csptain Tiguoles , a stipendiary magistrate , for an insult offered to poer men .
I left my ted , and rode forty miles in wet , when y ^ rj ill , to attend an inquest of a boy , whose body I had had disinterrtti , his parents having assured me that his deal ! : was caused by a severe besting received from a Major Cc-cker , a magistrate . I appeared ss prosecutor ; and , I assure you , to a gentleman living in ths sam e county , and not quarrelsome : thf «; are not enviable duties to perform . There is semething rerj bold and awful , in having a major magistrate brought and held as a prisDner , while an inquett is being hfeld -upon the exhumated body of the deceased son of a poor Irish working man . I prosecuted some chief constable , at my own expeace .
I presented the Rev . Archdeacon Rider , Major Coliis , sad Captain B&gley , for the Rathcormac murder , k my own expence , for thirteen days , and got a verdict of wilful murder against them all . I attended at the assies to prrsscute them at my own expence , but the Gaad Jary threw out the kills . 1 lost ray scat in the House for declaring that a certain captain magistrate was a tyrant He got up all the opposition , petitioned against me , and he boasted of it . I assisted at Grattm ' a election for Meath . in 1531 .
I was counsel for Ihmnt , at Mallow , in 1 S 3 2 . I assisted Col Stawell , at Kinsale , at the same time . I registered the West Riding of the county of Cork in person , and at my own expence . I hired a barrister to attend in the East Riding . I was coEosil for a Mr . Sku ' . ly , at Mallow , in IS 35 . I was cotmscl for ilr . John OConnell , at Toughal , ia 1 * 35 . I iefr London for the purpose , and was counsel for Hi . Jic-jb , a : Dangarran , in lS 3 i ; and for those » = T £ ral services , I never received , never asked tor , and * oold not accept , one penny piece . I got knocked down E ^ Teril times , and well licked , and my clothes torn cf my back ; feut that was all I got Now , bear in mind , my man was always returned . I was up nearly fiigbi and day , becauss my heart was in the cause .
Remember that , in Ireland , a good and popular counr S nukes his bargain upon those occasions , and seldom Sets kss than from £ -500 to £ 1 , 009 . I was always » orth the highest penny . Recollect that O'Connell took £ l , ooo from a Tory candidate , and Dickey ShieJ «» k £ ooo from a Tory candidate . Recollect that I fiefendtd all the tithe prisoners without fee , while « Cornell fobbed two hundred guinea * apecial fees , and toea did not attend to all the cases : but Barristers of aadm
« S Eever return fees . Recollect that this was i not ia England , nor when I bad a paper , nor in i ^ mmtry vhcre a paper dare side against the rich and ' *^ the p ^ or . j So much for my voluntary service * before yon knew ; ae , Ma now for my unpaid exerti on * before I expe- ne the comfort of eighteen month ' s imprisonment , I " » portion of the profit consequent upon a good poli- ! ** I Paper . Prom February , i « 33 , to June , 1835 , I was an Irish \ Xember , set ^ ^ ^ 45 ^^ ^ my £ ^ 3 ^^ . ; » W daring that period even my enemiea mut allow j « a . my conduct in public , mj gpeechea and -rotes in j »* Bouse , were aot directed byanrdadre to court ! otocj with an English constituency , while my every j ^ » aa in favour , not only of Iriab , bnt of BuiTeraall JUie * ty- I did not , it must be allowed , support the : •»» of the Dorchester Labourers , the Trades' Unions , i * & * & thcae desolate and oppressed , and oppose j e 7 act of a powerful Government , lea-ring mvielf * thoat party , or back , in order to « ecure tha « npport | « o EnglUh constituency , or to mike a traffic of my Musics . J-roa June , 1835 , tiD Norember , 1837 , two yean ] ¦ J » half , 1 paid my 0 Ta Wliy > » ni bad not the mort i fttok idea of ertftbliahing a newspaper ; aw ahonld I ! ™» e ittempted it , bat for the profligacy , « aenoe , con- ! apt , and injustice of the whole preis , without a single ' * eepSon . Tbea , from February , 1833 , till NoTember , 1837 , 1 had I w p&pei . I had no political trade for tho * e fonr yean j rj ; J ihslt > " ^ Pt B » trade of « pending my life , my « Ma , and my money , in bgfcaif ^ lriaA j ^^ eyer I ^ ht right and just la what , then , oonaist * my I j ^ ac ? I es ^ liahed a paper with the proepeet of «** S , at least , £ 10 per week ; but , inrtead of that , so «« tti 8 mere article of tn * e is concerned , it has be-^ e the mos t profiiable provincial paper in the king- j Was I to gay , <• oh , stop— dont read the 5 < or ,-j •» aa Iwe the £ 10 a week ? - No ; bat every £ 1 %
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Tnsde , was spent in travelling , agitating , donations , suVicripricins , and so forth , in support of the eause . If , then , in my case , there is crime , I have been but the passive instrument in the hands of a criminal community ., who , by their support , have magnified offence into the blackest crime . Was any man ever charged before with the crime of- having succeeded even in a speculation ? while I am charged with having my dark forebodings turned into bright reality .
Well , I have now offered other parties to vest £ 1 , 000 in the establishment of another paper , if I can be secured against any greater 3 os « for the space of two years , still willing to risk £ 10 a week in the establishment of a press , by which alone we can ever hope to frustrate the wicked , support tie righteous , and triumph over the unjust . 1 shall now proceed to show the great danger to the individual , but the great strength to a cause , consequent upon the success—mark , not the establishment , but the success , —of a dissent paper .
The press is the first estate , the ruling power , the governing medium in England . No party can exist without it Time is too precious to allow some to think for themselves— some kave not the brains to think for themselves—some will not take the troublesome would rather not , and hecce we find a great variety of minds , interests , and opinions , sacrificing themselves , body and soul , to the guardianship of the press .
No party can have an acknowledged political existence in a state , no matter however numerous , without the support of some portion of the press . In fact , the importance , power , and corruption of the British press is a fact so thoroughly admitted , that it needs not farther comment , than , in passing , to observe , that if a newspaper was in the market to-morrow the sale would be regulated by the amount offered by tho purchaser without a question as to the future politics of the article . This praeeeds , principally , from the immense profit derived from advertisements , made numerous by fictitious trade , fictitious capital , and an unsound state of the trafficking community , occasioned by our artificial Etate of society .
I- said there wa 3 great danger to the man who attempts any innovation upon this legitimate branch of trade . In fact , lie is looked upon » s a smuggler . Had I . abstained from interfering with the established rules of the press , I might have been the most popular man in England , both with the press and an ignorant community . Had I pandered to the prevailing local prejudices in each district , I
might have ridden the district hobby-horse to death , while tho press would have kept up my local popularity Thug I might have vapoured about the unh-trsilily of the Suffrage , and regretted its impracticability , while I tickled the fancy of the all-powerful liberals with the necessity of the BaUot , the repeal of the Corn Laws , and denunciation of the Tories and the House of Lords ; I ' might have preserved enough of agreement with different section * of the movement to have rendered
me acceptable to all In Glai ^ ow I migh t a Glasjow Reformer , and in Leeds a Leei 3 s Reformer ; an 5 if any differences appeared between my speeches at the several places , I hid but to qualify , contradict , or , if the woist went to the worst , to retract , and thus preserve a sectional or patchwork popularity , without any benefit being conferred upon ths people . To thii system , however , I preferred establishing a great national mirror , in which , not only myself , but every other public man thould be rt fleeted , dress as be might , change as he wonld , or attempt to disguise himself as he may .
Now , my poor but honest friends , be assured that notLing has so far tended to your debasement , and your country ' s r ain , as the deceitful , dastardly , and dishonest practice of acquiring popularity upon the promise of applying it for one purpose , and then directing it to a diametrically opposite one . The man , then , who Biaks 3 such an inroad upon the sum supposed to belong legitimately to the "Establishment , " as the immense circulation of the Star must make , insures for himself no very favourable treatment from the sufferers ; while the exposition of public delinquents subjects him to the taunt and reproach of the detected cheat .
Arising from these circumstances , have you not constantly marvelled at the rule observed by the press , the lawyers , and the demagogues , towards me , as the proprietor of the first dissent paper ever established , and successfully upheld , in this country . If a violent doctrine i 3 propounded by the Timts , the Chronicle , or any other daily paper , you never hear the name of Mr . Walter , Mr . Eaathope , or the proprietor mentioned . > "o , not even as connected with the politics of the papt-r . So it is with all other journals , whether metropolitan or pTovinciaL But now observe the
contrast 1 am not only held responsible for every word written by the Editor , ( which I avew myself personally , legally , and morally responsible for , ) but I am held responsible for every letter , with the proper signature of the writer , which appears in the Star . I am held responsible for every word spoken by every person reported in the Star ; and I am held responsible for every act committed by the people , even where those acts are in direct opposition to the advice given in the 'Star . You never hear that " the Star said so and so "— " the Editor recommends so and so ; " no , but " O'Connor recommend * , and says so and so . "
Let me give yon one most striking , ludicrous , and convincing instance . Sometime in the spring of 1 S 39 , the Tyne Mercury , or Pilot , I know not which , gave a representation of a " cat" for the annoyance and destruction of horses , in the event of cavalry being brought against the people . This cut of a cat was accompanied by an anxious wish , upon the part of the Editor , that such o bed righi be prepared for Mr . O'Connor . The sub-editer of the Star thought it worth the insertion , and gave it accordingly , with other news . Well , what was the result ? Why , e-rery paper in England , even honest Mercury , had an article upon the base recommendation , not of the Star , but of the bloodthirsty O'Connor , who gave a
description in his paper of that destructive instrument called a " cat , " and recommended his bloodthirsty fello-wtrs to bs prepared with a sufficient quantity ; the fact' being , Uiat I never saw a drawing of a cat , 01 any other cat than a pussy cat , until I saw it in the Star , taken , as I have said , from this Tyrit paper . Now , need I give yeu a more convincing proof of th « lengtfi to which trafficking politicians , who have nothing but the characters of ethers to live upon , will go ? This falsehood was actually urged against me by the Attorney-General , who ib , beyond all comparison , the mest ingenious liar in England . Thns I shew yon that there is great danger to the man who shall venture as a pirate npon the ocean of political , strife .
Now , then , let me ask you what has been tha result to the cause ! Before yon had the Star , —( for it has been yonr organ—you have had the benefit , while -I have had that reward which evei will be awarded by the powerful tyrant to the struggling patriot , )—well , before you had the Star , what were you , who were you , and who were your leaders . * Ton were nothing : you were like the distanced horse in the race—nowhere ; and your leaden wert your drivers . What are yon now ? Everything , everywhere , and leading yourselves . ' Such is yonr position , while I am here for having placed you there ; aid right glad I am that my crime has been s « great , and my end so well accomplished . Now , jost observe , the man who makes personal aggrandisement his aim and end , must keep the people in ignorance ; while the man who wishes to see justice done to all , having only ft man ' s share himself , will look to the light of knowledge as his polar star . When the Irish press refuses to lie , to slave , or to work on Sundays , for Mr . O'Connell ' s breeches pockets , what does he say ! He siya , " I'll get a paper ; I have been offered £ 3 , 000 to establish one , " Well , I tell him , he dare not I Veil him , if he establish such a paper as the Star to-morrow , and , along with it , established reading societies for the purpose ot communicating its contents , that Universal Suffrage , total abolition of Tithes , and repeal of the Union , w » ald be carried in twelve months , —bnt without that profit now arising from the vapouring abont them , and the consequent subscriptions paid by the wealthy absolutely and actually to suppress them . When O"Conoell gets subscriptions , the English people foolishly Imagine that they come from those wbo desire the acjomplishment of the measure agitated for ; bat nothing is more erroneous . They come fnsa persons , who " know his temper , " ansd who " kaow how to boold bdm . " Those who give f _ ie cash k » ow full well that they pve it as the golden li-jk which Mods Dan to property , ad they also know * MiA , that Ksaaroe failing , he mast sither be shelved irj of&ce , •* tiuown headlong into the
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arms of the people ; in the one case they are quite sure that their order could never again expect to procure the services of so successful a juggler , while in the other be would fight with all the " fervency of a renegade . " If O'Connell established a paper to-morrow , the press which now praises him would maul him to death in a month , and make such an exhibition of tattered
delinquency as was never before served up to the public . This newspaper , then , has given me a most destrnctive popularity—destructive , becanse it has marked me as a prey for the vengeance of all who choose to oppress , with a certainty of being well backed by the " Establishment" But have I not , singlehanded , fought them all like a man t It has done this fur me , while it has made you the most powerful people of which history makes mention .
Good God , how I glory in the rich and consoling reflection ; not one drop of blood shed through five years and a half of unparalleled cruelty and persecution upon the one hand , and patient suffering upon the other , —while I am victimised for the result Yes , that's my crime ; not that I libelled or defamed , but that I would not allow you , though hard pressed by tyranny , to pollute your hands with blood , or soil your cause by crime , thereby making you an easy prey to the powerful .
When did you ever hear before , m tha worst days of dark oppression , even under the hellish sway of a Sidmonth 01 & Castlereagh , of a gentleman being thus treated for libel ? I am in solitary confinement The only prisoner in the empire in solitary confinement . The letters of my sisters , my friends , and relatives , are all perused by a gaoler , or his deputy ; and mine to them are as minutely Bcauned . My clerk dare not hand me an account of three figures , without first submitting it for inspection to my keeper and spy . I am obliged to find my own coals . I am locked up from morning till night in a stone cell , which was last
occupied by a soldier , who was removed here from the felong' prison , as a further punishment , a greater one than the prison allowed . I am between two and three hundred yards from the place where I am told I am to exercise . I have not seen it yet , for , since my yard was given up to convicts , I have not left my house . The prisoners have their day-room doors open , from seven in the morning till they go to bed—mine is nevei open . I am locked up in one cell all day and all night , and when my keeper asks me what time I would wish to walk , should it rain at the appointed hour , then I am a prisoner for the day . If a friend comes
to see me , our every word is heard by a spy , and reported . I pass by all the other wards in my way to my exercise ground ; and , then , I see from fifteen to twenty , having , at all events , the consolation of tbo society of their own order , a room to walk in anil out of , as they thing proper , their coals paid for , their washing paid for ; and , what is still more galling , I see men who have committed forgeries , rapes , larcenies , assaults Vy stabbing , and all sorts of crimes , committed , on an average , for not more than nine months , whilst I have double the time to wive : and this in a
free country , and under a Reformed Government , who looked upon the use made by the Tories of the law of libel , as the most oppressive engine against the freedom of a people . Is this the worst ? No . But mark the worst If any other newspaper proprietor in England had been similarly treated , no matter what his politics were , the fraternity of pirates would have insisted , aye , insisted , upon his being treated as libellers were wont to be in Tory times . Ye Gods ! what luxury in the tenth year of Reform , to yearn after the good old times of Sidmeuth and Castlereagh !
Well , how has the " Establishment" treated me ? Why , in order to level all distinction , they speak of all others as political libellers , while I am the only one of that class in this kingdom in prison . Was ever such a fence ? If I was at large , could they keep Edward Baines in close , degrading , solitary confinement , as they have kept me , and for the same offence ? " No , no ; a million times NO . " I defy them . I would lose my life , or have him , even him , or John Edward Taylor , out , or properly treated while they were in .
You have heard of some of the abominations practised at Wakefield , and other bells and mad-houses ; but George White has not yet told you that , even upon the usual punishment , there is a refinement What is it ? Why , sentence to three days" solitaey confinement . That is the state in which I am to be , have been in , for five hundred and foue days ! two whole summers , and one whole winter . ' What think you of that , my friends ? Will any man say that my sentence , carried out , as it has been , and as it may be , to the end , for aught I care , is not worse than six years' ordinary imprisonment ?
Just think of all my letters being handed open , after having been psrused , and that In direct violation of the only prison rule npon the subject , and in compliance with the order of an upstart jackanapes of a state piuper , fit for no earthly occupation but that passive one of being practised upon by a barber ' s apprentice , to teach him how to shave men ; and such is your Home Secretary . " A pox" on such secretaries , say I . I am here , and I am
thus treated , because I am the proprietor of the Star , and because the Star threatens the citadel of corruption with its downfall . The Star has made as many Generals as Napoleon ever made ; and many of these Generals , forgetting the cause of their promotion , hate me and the Star with a hatred even more implacable than the open and avowed foe . I assure you , I have more enemiis to contend against than you are aware of . Never man was so watched .
In recounting some of my poor services to Ireland , I forgot to mention that my very first act , as a barrister , was to volunteer my services for the defence of honest John Lawless , the honestest public man that Ireland has seen for the last forty years . Yes , I defended him against one of the most tyrannical charges ever preferred against man , brought against him by Mr . O'Connell , and submitted to a tribunal at the Corn Exchange , Mr . O'Connell appearing as prosecutor . After some days of gros 3 persecution , Lawless was acquitted , but no satisfaction was ever rendered to this much injured man . That was in 1831 , and was a circumstance not very likely to ingiatiate me with the crown prosecutor .
My friends , bear one thing in mind—that while I was spending thousands , I had to pay dearly for every word of mine which the sevenpenny " Establishment * ' c ondescended to publish ; whereas , now I have to pay de . wly for the sentiments of others , not only for news , but for the rery means of distinguishing talent . Let me give yon one striking instance . When I attended the great delegate meeting of Scotch representatives at Glasgow , in August , 1839 , and when the proceedings were over , I took advantage of the moment for procuring a good condensation , of Chartist news from the several districts represented by sixty-four of the most
efficient men I ever met I then stated that I would pay so much per column for news , mark news ; but that a half column must be the extent allowed to any one locality , in justice to all men . Immediately Mr . Abraham Duncan , said , what will you allow me for reports ? The same , I answered ; but mind , I bar speeches . Well , Messrs . Duncan and Lowrey made a a most efiicient tour of agitation , and sent their own speeches at fall length , without a line of news , and frequently complained if press of more important matter delayed their publication for a week , and sent
me in a bill of £ 10 , which I paid . Thus , you will Bee , that I was compelled to pay dearly for publication of garbled reports of my own speeches , while I was obliged to pay others tot reports of their own speeches ; and I am sore , if those speeches bad a beneficial effect , which I believe they had , they were welcome to the money , -while I merely relate the tact , to shew how different were the means open to me , from those waJch I hare opeaed for others . And also , ia justice to Lowrey , I must say , that he thought h » was writing aoeecdiag to contract .
These letters hitherto have been upon two subjects , which may be considered as personally relatiifrto myself . For three days to com © , I shall write absubmatter wholly appertaining to you and y # ur cause . I shall place the question of the Corn Laws , tbfe attempt to establish a hungry dissent church , instead of , a gorged state church , as the dominant religious atafc » establishm « nt , and many other questions clep * i $ before you ; while I do expect that my having occujfed two letters in self-defence , upon the vital point of . physical force and political traffic , will be pardoaed , "vhra you- consider that I stand alone of my order , a jd that my character is of some value to my party , is conclusion , let me direct your attention to the gre M value of publication of the national will . Y . 91 is . find the ¦«•» « ffici « r .
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pr 6 of in the fact , that the " Establishment" does not publish Chartist practical intelligence , as it publishes the humbug speeches of the tribe of practical Reformers , if it did , we Bhould never hear of physical force ; in , fact , we should be over strong in our moral strength . I am , my friends , Your true and faithful friend , Feargl's O'Connoh .
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TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN . Madam , —In my last , I noticed the arrangements of society generally , which directly tend to the increase of that mass of crime wbieh all must lament and deplore . Let us pursue the subject a little more fully , and notice a few of those arrangements in detail . Not to be tedious , I will only crave your attention to three , which are supposed to exist for , and to be most essentially connected with , the prosperity ol the community . First , pne arrangement of our present anti-social state is , that large farms are more profitable than small ones , and that what are called waste lands shall be enclosed and brought under consideration .
Now , Madam , let me ask what is the natural , the inevitable result » f all this ? is it net that the farmer with small capital must be driven out of the market , and that he who has expended his money in stocking his farm , { held only for a short lease , ) becomes fearful of sustaining loss , and under the influence ef this fear , surrenders his manly independence , and becomes the crawling slave of his imperious landlord . Then , as to the inclosure of waste lands ; were not the lands , which have been enclosed during the last eighty years , the common right of the poor , and have they not been wrung from them by an unprincipled aristocracy , without even
the pretence of giving an equivalent in return ? It is said that like begettethits like , and the truth of the aphorism is clearly shewn in this instance . The system of large farms necessarily threw many persons out of employment , and prevented the cultivation of much valuable land , lest the price ef agricultural produce should fall so low as not to enable the tenant to pay the rent agreed for ; and this is in itself a most grievous crime , since it puts a drag upon tho exertions » f industry , and prevents a healthy developement of the powers of society . Nor was that system of legal robbery , perpetrated under the name of " Enclosure Bills . " one whit the less criminal .
The lands were not waste ; they were the common right of the poor , in the places to which they were appendages , and nothing but the bold and daring effrontery of a class legislation , would have dared to place a finger on them . But they were taken , and many a family once rendered happy and comfortable by their means , is , by their enclosure , reduced to misery , want , and wretchedness . And what has been the result of all this modern march of improvement ?—Poverty . Am I asked for proof , I refer at once to the evidence of those who have been foremost in the mischief . One of the reasons assigned by
the aristocracy—that aristocracy who surround your throne , and prevent the accounts of distress from approaching your royal ear—for the enactment of the New Poor Law , was , that the poor would eat up the land ; was ever such a fear entertained since the enactment of the 43 rd of Elizabeth , till small farms had been superseded by large ones , and tho Peers and Commons had been swallowed up by greedy and insatiable avarice ? If , then , this fear ¦ was well founded , out of their own mouths I convict them of having , to an alarming extent , pauperized the nation . The same parties declared the Bastardy Act to
be necessary , because of the great immorality of the women of England . I know the accusation was a gross and scandalous libel , and they knew it too , but we can defy them to produce even a single decent pretence for such a charge , when the cottage was a peaceful and happy home , when our agricultural population remained located upon their native soil , and when low rents and happy couples were preferred to large receipts and abandoned misery . The pretext for the rural police , to which , Madam , you have been induced by the traitors who surround you , to give your assent , was the insecurity of life and property , in the agricultural districts . ( This was but a pretext ; the real motive for the embodiment of this infamous and
unconstitutional force was to put down Chartism , and to crush the rUing spirit of the people . ) Still our calendars and our county rates toll us that crime has increased to a fearful extent , and it has done so in the rural districts progressively , as the crimes of legal robbery have become more bold and frequent , and as the mean 3 of obtaining an honest and respectable subsistence , have become circumscribed and precarious-Thus we behold the want of principle in the governing few , producing a vast amount of delinquency in this portion of the misgoverned many ; and we shall find , as we advance in our review of the arrangements of society , that the same sad effects fljw in other directions , from the same prolific root of evil .
The second arrangement of society to which I wish to direct your Majesty ' s notice , is the undue influence which all out laws and institutions , especially those of recent and liueral fabrication , give to what is called property . I say , to what ia called property ; because so confused and obscure are all our notions on really important matters , that we fail to recognise the most valuable of all property—the skill and industry of the people , as any kind of property whatever . What we call property or wealth is money , houses , lan < ls ,
or anything which has acquired a nominal and fictitious value , and which constitutes a man " respectable , " in tho conventional , the perverted use of the word . We lose sight of the important fact that money is only the represanUtive of things which are conducive to the necessaries , the comforts , and the conveniences of life , and is used merely as a convenient medium of exchange . So alter circumstances as that it shall fetch nothing , and , beyond the mere intrinsic value of the metal , it would be only so much accumulated rubbish or useless lumber .
Place a man without food or clothing beneath a burning sun , in the midst of the arid deserts of Arabia , and surround him with gold and silver bearing your royal image and superscription , in sufficient plenty to discharge the National Debt , and he would give the whole fora cup of cold water , a morsel of bread , a rag to cover him , and the most inconvenient vehicle to transport him to the society of men , amongst whom be might obtain a subsistence , even by the veriest drudgery .
What a misnomer , then , is it to call money , in the abstract , property . Property in houses or laid is just the same : the house ia of no value to the ow&er , if he cannot find a tenant ; and the land is useless , unless made profitable by cultivation . It is , then , skill and industry , in all their multiplied sod active forms , that give the real value to all these things , and to a thousand others , which their fond passions glory in as property , and because of which they claim a right to lord it over their fellow-men . And this is by the interested roaintaioera of things as-they are , cried up as the perfection » f human society , and the
acquisition of this heterogeneous mass of lumber , which can neither ward off sickness , nor defy the approach of the king of tenors , is actually , according to our glorious Constitution ^ made the substitution for intelligence aad honesty , i * both the eleaken and the members of the Senate . It can exalt » nan , whose inteUeeUnl talents would mot recommend him to the sit « fttto * ot a common poster , to the magisterial bench > ¦ where , swelling with Us fancied importance , b > " plays his fantastic tri « k » , " and send * men , infinity superior to himself , to tne cell ot th * tread-wheel , tor the high crime of poxsrty . And « &at , I ask , ia the
consequaace of this vfeious daminaiSoa of that wkich is miscalled property ? It is nU that the bonds which should bind naa to man aw loosened , tbat the laws which , are mad * by such unworthy legislators , and founded ur , en such unjust and partial principles , are despised , and , in many cases , openly defied ; and that acts of feckless , oppression are perpetually perpetrated ? No w inder that , under such a system , crime should cont ' jyially increase j the seal wondw is , that things * w , not a thousand times worse than we at present find *" . Qem . These men of property are notoriously the moat grinding , oppressive , and unprincipled wretches , in existence . Their selfishness is unparalleled ; tbeirlore
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• ot domination , insatiable . If a man in . their employ ; ventures to think for himself in politics , he ia kindly . admonished , by his condescending mastes , that he has : nothing to do with state matters , and is - sent for sound . ' instruction , in his- various duties , to Father Vatican , or Parson Episcopal , or the Reverend John Methodist , or , perchance , ta > the Reverend Timothy Btssent , the iReverend John Mp-him-well , or Obadiah Broadbrim , , who , though ready to send each other to . flee and faggot on almost every other subject , will cordially nnite in directing their various applicants to . bow with obsequies devotion as the shrine of Mammons aad to " order tbemselves lowly and reverently to alL their betters . " And if all tbiss pains and trouble fail to work conviction , and the toil-worn slave is still iraalved that his
thoughts shall be free , the last effort to bring him to a better mind , is feelingly resorted to , and in the midst 0 / winter , he is deprived of his employment , or driven from his cottage , with those he le * es , his wife , per - haps , far advanced in pregnancy ,, en with an infant at her breast , to die in a ditch , o » be separated and poisoned in a Union Workhouse Can you wonder , Madam , that , under such circumstances— and they are not of rare occurrence—the distracted father will steal , rather than voluntarily starve , or be legally subjected to a lingering dissolution ? No ; if you give the matter a moment's consideration , you cannot wonder . The poor outcast , the victim of the virtuous man of property , has been driven to desperation by bis accumulated wrongs , and , in tie bitterness of his anguish , he poetically exclaims : —
" Now men of deatb work out your will , For I can suffer and be still ; And come he slow or come he fast , It is but death that comes at last " There remains yet one arrangement of society to be considered , or rather a combination of several arrangements , which is of immense moment , which is pro . ductive of incalculable mischief , and in which is involved some particulars , which ought especially to interest your Majesty , as a woman and a mother ; I refer to the factory system , in connection with which must be taken into consideration , the increased application of machinery , and the effects it has upon the mining population .
It is a fact , which I must suppose to be well known to yonr Majesty , that a vast amount of capital has been of late years invested in factories fur the fabrication of Bilk , wosllen , and cotton goods ; immense quantities ot which , especially cotton , have been exported to foreign markets , and immense quantities more would liave been exported , but for the operation of the English Corn Laws . By this system , large fortunes were realised by the fortunate speculators in a few years A tide of wealth rolled through the manufacturing , districts , and this , no doubt , you have been taught to consider as an evidence of national prosperity . But
this is a most fatal and mischievous conclusion . I admit that the Millowners and the Capitalists of Manchester , ot Leeds , Bradford , Ashtpn-under-Lyne , Staley-Bridge , and all the manufacturing towns of the empire prospered exceedingly . I admit , too , that the shipping interest of London , Liverpool , Hull , and other ports , shared to a vast amount in the commercial advantages which arose out of the extensive exportation of British manufactured goods , but I deny that these parties were the nation . All this prosperity was only that of a class , or at the most , of certain classes ; and I shall shew you immediately , that in thus sjcuring class prosperity , we
paid " too dear for our whistle ; " and that , in fact , the nation , the bulk of the people , were injured and not benefited by such partial prosperity . Nothing , I ap . prehend , can be fairly considered as conducive to national prosperity , which has a direct tendency to destroy the health , debase the mind , and shorten the lives of the working population . This being admitted , let us inquire how fur the factory system , as at present conducted , is directly conducive to those fearful ends-The factory labour was , at Ha commencement , carried on by means of water power , on the bonks of the various streams in Yorkshire and Lancashire , which
having for ages rolled on in undisturbed repose , became agitated by the whisk and noise of water-mills , and their vicinities became peopled with a manufacturing population . This system was » ne in which vast profits were realised , and in which human life was sacrificed to an immense , an unknown extent . Still avarice acted , and feelingless capital , was unsatisfied ; and upon the introduction of s' . earn power , that agent was eagerly seized upon , and the water wheel , which could not be kept perpetually in motion , was almost universally made to
give place to the steam engine , which could be kept in constant activity , and which was in numerous cases so used as to run tho mills from twelve o ' clock on Sunday night , to twelve o ' clock on Saturday night , without intermission . By this means , two things were at once secured . First , the steam engine and power loom displaced a vast amount of human labour , and compelled thousands to seek employment in some other branch of industry , and ,
Second , the labour market baing thus overstocked , the insatiable monster , avarice , which like tho horse leach is ever crying , " give , give , " had the opportunity , which it failed not to lay hold of , of trampling down the price of labour , and of thus reducing the working classes into the condition of slaves and bondsmen . Besides this , the new factory aristocracy found out that much of the labour which must still be performed by human hands , could be done better , at all events cheaper , by children than by adults , and the labour market , as I observed before , being overstocked , it was no hard matter to induce , ( to compel would be the more correct expression , ) the fathers and mothers of large families to send their children to the mill , that , by their earnings they might aid in providing a scanty subsistence for those who gave them birth .
This state of things went on for many years , and not a voice was heard against it . Parliament cared as little as it knew about tho matter ; the revenue was increased by the duties on exported goods , and of course the Chanceller of the Exchequer was enabled to toll the country that things were in a prosperous condition . By and bye , some glimpses of truth gained an admission into the public mind ; inquiry was- Instituted , facts of the moat appalling character cam * t » light , and some ahodtw of protection was , from , time to time , afforded the helpless factory child . And what is the actual state of things at present T Be it remembered that we
are now enjoying the advantages- » f a reformed system , and that system leaves fathers unemployed , and little children , —uttle girls , Madam , as much entitled to tender save , and judicious training , as the Princess Royal , — -confined for many hou » in the heated and unwholesome engagements of factory labour . Without time ormeans for any kind of mental culture worth the name-, and prevented from taking tiuue invigorating exercises-so oonduoive to health , and so accessary to fit them to bft-the parents of a strong undf healthful race . That refowned syste » also leaves , as . fat as adults are concerned , the operations of machines ? entirely nncheeked ,.
and machinery itself untaxed , so . that man who need * focdy clothing * and sleep , is left ft ? those who pretend to b # his lepwsentatives , to tb * feaiful odds of con * pttihg with that which require * neither food , sleeg > nan clothing .. I will only notioe one thing more ecu * meted with ftkis arrangement ef society , before I &-qpire into its general results * The introduction of steam and Ms application to th * purposes of mansflw-I ture by madunery , has had , aad must necessarily lave , 1 a marked afeet upon the miaing . population , especially in the departments « f iron and coaL It has been stated , and I fear with but too much truth , that th % « Uuues engaged in these works are extremely
ignorant , and demoralised to an alarming degree . The quantities * f coal that bave been required , since the application of steam t » practical purposes , has been immense , and mast kave required a proportionate Increase in the mining population . It has been stated that one-third of those engaged in coal mines are females , ( if the men of England had the spirit of their ancestors , they wonld not allow this outrage on common decency to continue another month , / young persons , in many instances , who are compelled to work hundreds of feet below the Burface of the earth ,, in postures which must be injurious to the constitutien , and sometimes almost in a state of nudity . These things , Madam , exist in a state of society ( aad mart « 9 dst till fee pram * wcrangemeote are thacwd
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which you are taught to bail as one of national pros perity and happiness . Now , I ask , is not this sUte of things one whieh has a direct tendency to destroy tb » health , debase the mind , and shorten the lives of tl » working classes , or a large proportion of them 7 Here we have children of a tender age , deprived of the-means of health , and confined for many hours in an atmosphere of contagion , disease , and death . This- ronst destroy health . We have largo masses of untatored human beings collected together in a state of a&nost savage wildness , treated as beasts of burden , and , by their very situations , precluded from any efficient moral and social improvement ; being wicked in order to relax the mind ; in ignorance of any more pure or refined source of recreation , and
compelled Almost to glory in their abame . Thus , then , the system debases and degrades the mind ; and that life ia shortened by it , no one at all acquainted with the subject will for ' a moment question . No wonder , then , that this , in common with the other arrangements of society , ¦ wMeh I have named , should be the prolific parent of crimes of almost every kind and description . That it is so , the documents laid before Parliament bear ample testimony . Then , until those arrangements are changed , it is in vain to took for a better state of things . Xet us proceed to inquire how this irapertaoi end may be accomplished . I am , Madam , Your Majesty's faithful and obedient subject and servant ; , London , January 18 th , 184 * . NUMA .
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THE PROPOSED JUNCTION OF THE WORKINd . AND MIDDLE CLASSES .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Dear Sir , —An eventful week has slipped away , and Chartism has received good or harm , as the friends and admirers of the measure may hereafter determine . I have- ; narrowly watched the movements of both parties—have heard and read much of their sayings and doings—and I am convinced , that unless many of your excellent readers mind what they are doing , and keep a sharp look out , the enemy wil entrap them in the raeshea of a deep laid plot , which is to juggle tha wholepeople out © f the Charter .
Collins is a most respectable , eloquent , and honourable man . Chartism owes him much ; but I am told , in a speech delivered in the presence of " Dan , " and the rest-of his compeers at the " Feed , " he assured them ,, that if the principles embodied in the Charter were brought forward by them , he could promise tbs co-operation of the Chartist body . And I find in the address , as published in your Third Edition , by the Delegates , and signed by W * James < Greaves and Mr . Samuel Healey , a leaning towards middle-class union ; a kind of currying for favour and support ; a sort of mawkish squeamishness and mincing of truth recommended—hints , I
guess , fora gentle compromise of position , when we ought rather to have glorified in the divine power of strong truth ,-boldly spoken , as manifested in the proud and exalted attitude we now hold , as a respectable , powerful , and intellectual political body of working men ; in their onward career , able and willing to work out , in defiance of every obstacle , their own political redemption . Is this a time to show a white feather 1 The time of victory unparalleled ! Be steady , my brothers ! stick to the real" workies"und you will regain the equilibrium : but , " evil communication ! corrupt good manners , " and this is but a moment of forgetfulhe ' ss .
"A beneficial union , " says the address , " may be , probably , ere long , accomplished between the working classes . and the hone 3 t advocates of right of every othex class . " . Now , Sir , I query the words " ¦ beneficial union " and the " honest advocates . " Such unions have happened before , and when did they work well for the people ? Never ; and my opinion is , they never will . Besides , the union contemplated by them , is , that we should either allow our principles to receive a now embodiment , or join them for something less . Can we do either , and do right ? The latter we cannot ; ths former wei ought not
Let it be remembered by whose unwearied and disinterested exertions we now exist , by whose virtues , honesty , courage , and sufferings we have a being —who it is has placed us in the most independent and dreaded position , the foes of England ever saw upon her bosom , and say , can we . ought we , to forsake this inimitable position to which he derated us , for the same principles in a new form , ( supposing them to be the same , ) when this is the malicious act of our own and best friend ' s greatest enemy , done for no other purpose than that of crushing one of
the sincerest and truest men that ever breathed , if nothing more ? The whole world would blush at our shama But when , on the other band , by such a compromise , we must give up the leadership out of our own bands , into those of our former betrayers iwho would glory to repeat the dose , no matter by what amount of cajolery , in the shape of " promise to pay , " the power is obtained . ) we commit suicide upon our cause , and doubly ruined ore all our further effort Can we make such overtures , without giving the direC ' tion of our affairs to " our superiors ? " I answer , no I
never , never . ' " Trust not for freedom to the Franks , They have a King who buys and sells ; In native minds and native ranks The' only hops for freedom dwells . " Hitherto , have we not done our own work—done il well ; and aro we not progressing gloriously ? What , then , may hinder us from proceeding ? We increase numerically , and more abundantly in real knowledge and mental capability . Look at our union , sobriety ) the anointed , but unsophisticated eloquence of oui speakers ! What body of politicians , or of anything e ! s 3 , can get up and conduct meetings , write and pass resolutions , in such business-like order and ability , aa the Chartists ? None ; no , not even Members of Parliament themselves , token as a whole .
And why , then , stay now to "soften our speech and smooth our tongue ? " Is it less necessary to speak the truth—to call things by their right names , than formerly ? Nay , I should think we have greater license to be plainer and bolder than ever—not to be intoxicated with success , but more assured of the rectitude and truth ot our position . I know our opponents have long writhed in agony at our sayings and doings ; but now their moral and physical opposition are both ol no avail—our heresy increasing the more—they eome to treat us with their wheedlidg twaddle—half censurehalf rub-down flattery . " Nay you are too bad , we own your principles in the main to be right , bat you are too harsh—too Berere in your
censure—unreasonable in your demands—take a little at once—yoo naake enemies where you ju % ht make friends—be mlder , and join the middle classes—denounce the Tories as much as you like , only , don't call us , " and so o » he . &c . Now > if the Chartists speak untruths , whether in smooth language or gross , it is wrong ; but if the strong language be nothing more than a real and just description—be truth—in tke name of God let us go-on : this mode of conduct never was known to be wrong in the long run ; and never will;—while mincing the description of crying evils , by which , for » tiaie , we gain a . few fair weather proselytes , has always been baneful in the end ; the evils- eomplained of remaining thfl same .
This union with the middle Masses is a subject which ought to be fairly canvassed , and , I trust , the Chartisto as a body will look to » it . Let me ask those middle-class men when the Chartists ever zetaaed a legitimate and healthy union with any class of men ? Did they ever refuse to receive into their association any who have oSered to become members , unless they have been criminal characters ? No * , never . Their arms have always been , and are now , thrown wide open to receive all who are willing to-aid in the righteous struggle ; aad , therefore , if the middle classes have not united , the eause is with themselves . It is evident
they are not willing to join on equal terms . Having wormed ^ themselves , at the expence of working men , into an aristocratic niche in society , they think to carry ttair obnoxioMs nonsense of " superiority" along with them , remain ' apart , or bring us over to the notion that wrought still to do their bidding , and remain slaves . But our position is a truly godlike and primitive one ; obtained , too , ¥ y dint of much painful labour and cost : intellect and ) virtue alone can rale among us ; and wa aw better aM # , nay , almighty , to conquer without thft aiiddle-clasa aea ; and ere long , if wo maintain the advantage w » now possess , necessity alone will compel tbese to coma—to beg to come on * our own terms .
1 To this w » cheerfully exhort them . We say , " come ¦ with us ,. and we will do yom good . " There is no obstacle on ear part , but our determination is as-im ; moveable as- our cause is just ; and I trust we shall go [ on in the same straight-forwasd coarse—courteou * to real friends * and a " terror to * wl doers , "— conquering and to coniuest , until the top . sUne of our superstructure be baooght on , with shooting , by the sovereign and united people . While 3 advocate an unflinching decision , lab me be understood . to discountenanca the least approach to vulgarity , much less , brutality , in the advocacy of our cause ; » ad that I am aware- soany of our friends hare have not at all times manifested as much discretion as became them ; yet what of tnis ? We are to . UnproYe , and no * run into the oth «* extreme , whieh has ever ' proved worse of the two . The time has eeme , when will hate ail or none— all we ask , or southing sum ,
rather th > " something less . Let the expediency-mon * gers dub me mad , if they choose , for refusing their " gradual '' reforms ; I j * dge of what I ought to do , and every one else ought to do in tills matter , by the put , the present , and the fwture ; by the signs of the times , the construction of society , the misecy of the millions , their wants and weight of oppression , the safety , honour , and wefare of my country ; and if 2 am mad , there shall be method in my madness—method that shall defy the political triekicts , and murderous jugglers of the age , whose itinerating rounds are taken to coil reund new victims , and leave a slime ss they crawl to poison the very air we breathe , spreadlngnew confusion ,, fresh doubts , confounding troth , simpto honest truth , with treacherous sophistry ; and , if poo Bible , doing their worst to widen the breach , feongan . ising , instead of healing and cementing in on * ' bond ot onion and affection , the lovers of justice and fclrplay . In truth and soberness , : I am , dear Sir ,: ; Tom respectfully , Wiuux Hicx ,
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THE NOBTHERN STAR . 7
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 30, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1094/page/7/
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