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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1841.
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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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MAHCHEST / EJL . SOUTH LANCASHIRE DEJ jbgajB MEETING . The above meeting took > laoeon Sunday last , in the Chartist room , Brown- street , East Manchester . Delegates present—Mr .. Juu s Cartledge , for Warrington ; Sr . Henry . N . ttall , Tib ^ ttjet , Manehester : Mr . John Crow d ^ Waterhead-Mil ls ; Mr . "Win . Growoott . Bro ra-street , Manchester ; Mr . bright Swift , Stalyaridge ; . Mr . * wepb Xobos . Strand-street , Mane jester ; Mr . Ricbard Haatem , Oldham ; Mr . Rieha al Littler , Salfcrd ; Mr . Jesiah Collier , lailsworth . and Hollingwood ; Mr . Henry Stansfield , tailors ¦ * A shoemakers , Manchester ; Mr . David Morrison , fieeles ; Mr . Charles Cennor , Miles plattiiyr ., Mancb e * sr ; Mr . Jonah Sehoneld , Droyls-4 ea ud Opensr aw ; Mr , Joan Daoteon , Boden-lane ; Mr . Joshua Br , && , Pilkinirton ; Mr . Robert Ward , Middleton ; M x . WiUwm Mitchell , Shaw ; Mr . Edward Bradley , Moesley ; Mr . J » hn Byre-a , Newton-Heath . ' ¦ Mr . JnttX faoawBi « m mlta ) In tHn eii&b * .
The bus' Aess was opened fcy a discussion upon the drcomstrjee-of there being two delegate meetings held in S oath . Lancashire = at the same time , one xt Oldham aad tbe other at Manchester . Several 4 ete « aw £ nss asd « aidthey had been-asked wbetiter there b * d been a « plit in the Charts ranks in tbat county . Mr ^ HjSLsa * ese and said , that so far as there being * ay split , fee thought it would be at once discorexA . that there conldbe no such intention on tbe part -of the Qk&am Chartists , because they had sent a delegate to represent them at that meeting * rbich ha conceived looked aothine like a split . Some ohserraiwas were made by osier Delegates , and the
subject dropped . ¦ fir . IattLbm . remarked that there was an-orient necessity for a lecturer , because the good which had bean aeee « plisbed iy Mr . Leach ought "be done eaaaily so by * lecturer possessing = tbe same abilities . He likewise complained of the neglect of ¦ any of the lectsrers in n « attending to their appointments ; he had been -compelled to officiate eight or nine tines . Meetings had been called which had beea nameroaely attended , and no person to address them , wfekk was calculated , when often re * peated , to injure the cause . Mr . Loius thought ( he best way to _* void such £ sappoiauaentfi was to allow so name to be put apon tbe plan hot who weald either pledge himself to attend , or preside a saitaile person to officiate for
Mr . Little * moved that each delegate come prepared to state tbe names ef those to be pat upon the plan , likewise the propriety of electing a county lecturer , and who he sbeoM be . The motion was then seconded , put , and earned unanimously . A long discussion then oonunenoed open the crawing np of the plan , in order to so arrange it as to suit the time and convenience of the various lecturers , and about the ill-effects of one man being teo
oftea Bent to the same place . Mr . Cabtlkdgb , secretary , perfectly agreed with that , inasmuch as he had been placed in the situation of the man and his ass , who tried to please everybody and lost his ass into the bargain . Mr . Lotus said they had at first Tery large meetings , but in consequence of lecturers , not coming according to appointments , tbe meetings had of late fallen off . Fire lecturers had been planned for Strandstreet , and out of that number only one ( Mr . Griffin ) bad attended .
Mr . Morrison and other delegates made the same complaints . At Eoeles they would neither place confidence in notices Terbally or by bills , baring several times been disappointed . It certainly was very disheartening , after placarding , to have nobody . His constituents would believe no one until he actually die wed his face Mr . Johk Leech , of Hyde , said thej could hare Terr large meetings at that town , bnt when they assembled to the number of two thousand , they had to go away again as they came . Mr . James Leach noticed through the Star , that he woald lecture at StaJy bridge and Hyde , He vent to the former , but at Hyde , though there was a meeting of three thousand people , no one eame . Such proceedings had done them great injury . Mr . Ncttaix brought forward the following resohtaon , which trascarried unanimously : —
*• That there be a committee appointed , consisting f persons from each ward in Manchester , to assist the secretary in drawing np the plan for the next three months , and that each district in South Lancashire requiring lecturers , do distinctly inform the secretary , how often they want lectures , the sights on which they must attend , also the names and residents of all persons in their various localities who are willing to be put upon the plan as lecturers , ihe nights upon which they can attend , and the distance to which they can conveniently go ; and that the above , and every other information be sent to the secretary , Mr . James Cartledge , 34 , Lomasstreet , twenty-one days previous to the expiration of the present plan . "
It was also agreed that in order to prevent any disappointment for the fnture , tbe secretary be furnished with tbe names and residence of all lecturers as early as possible , so that as soon as those on the plan find out that they cannot attend according to the time mentioned , he may be able to supply their places , in order to carry out which , he must nave a list of persons likely to fill np in case of emergency . A discussion ensued upon the forthcoming Convention , and it was stated that the ram required for Lancashire was £ 4 o 103 .
Mr . Siasefikij ) said before they proceeded to nominate a person as delegate , they must know where they were to get the wages and means from . Mr . Haslex wondered what so much money was for , if they only had to sit so short a time . Were they to receive ' £ 5 per week ! If so , according to the state of the people who had to pay them their wages would be too nigh . Mr . Littler argued that so far as raising tbe money was concerned , be for his part saw no very great difficulty , and believed that if erery delegate did his duty , it would be raised . Several delegates thought it was an impropriety in the Executive for calling such a Convention . Mr . Gabiluxje—The Executive was elected by the whole of the members , and , if they must have an Executive , so far as they acted consistently and for tbe general prosperity of the cause , both they and their measures must be supported .
Mr . Geiffi 3 said that each delegate would receive two pounds per week , their expencea there and back , and 10 sit four weeks only . Mr . NrxrAXj . —The wages were not at all what should be taken , into consideration . The members of tbe Convention , when assembled , intended to make as great a display as possible , to rouse the working men of the metropolis ; and , if they would allow him the phrase , to make the very stones of tbe street rise and support the petition—and likewise to infase a determined spirit through the United Kingdom . This , of course , would be attended with great expence ; the money must be raised ; and , for his part , he would do what he could—they ought not to Bcruple for a moment , but go immediately to work . Messrs . Litixer , Staxsfieid , Gbawcott , and Wood pledged themselves that their portion of the expences should be forthcoming at the appointed time .
Mr . Wood said thai bis district sent betwixt thirty and forty pounds to the first Convention . They had not been so well organised since the 12 th of August , but he would do all he could . Mr . Chailles Cokkor said the Chartists of North Lancashire considered themselves a district of themselves ; they were very poor ; they would select a member who would be satisfied to represent them in the Convention for just what they could afford to give him . Mr . Jsutiall rose to bring forward a motion that a levy of one halfpenny per week should be made upon the members for the next five weeks , which
was te be understood as ; he Convention halfpenny . Mr . Haslek said they had a Church parson who pretested them from collecting money at their rooms , If they had a lecture and charged for admission , he or some of his spies were present ; and if they goi up a tea party , iie did all he could to entrap them It was ultimately agreed that a delegate meeting should be held on the 18 : h of December , when everj delegate would be expected to bring twopence pel member , which would be half what each membei would have to pay , with an understanding that the other half would be forthcoming when wanted . Mr . James Leach was put in nomination for the South Lancashire District .
Mr . Kvtia . il moved a vote of thanks to Mr . Cartledge for his exertions as secretary . Messrs . Stanfifield , Cartledge , and Griffin were appointed to draw up an address to tbe Chartists and working men of South Lancashire . Mr . Cabxl&dqb moved u that every delegate do what he could towards assisting Mr . Dawsob , of Oldham . "
Carried . It was likewise resolved , " That every lecturer adopt the plan of Feargua O'Connor in waiting to eoroU names to the association , and receive signatures to the petition . " A vote of thanks was given to the Chairman , and the delegates dispersed after six boar ' s sitting .
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SHEFFIELD . ( From our own Correspondent . ) Chastlsts Prepare !—Tbe anti-Corn Law hnmbngs held , last Monday , a hols-and-soratr mzetiag n the Cutlers' Hall , to which , only the favoured few were admitted by circular . We nnderatand that his Lordship , the autocrat of "Went worth , was present , together with a number of the Plutocracy of Sheffield and its neighbourhood . A new humbug was started , namely , " A Society for the promotion of free trade . " Want of -space prevents n » taking farther notice of this empty bag of aoonshine upon the present occasion . In the meantime , we say , Chartists be watchful—prepare , and
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should the knaves dare to show themselves \ q public , drab them again , as you ' ve drubbed them . Won . Sunday Evening LscrCftB .-rHr . G \ ll lectured on Sunday evening ; subject—" Uaury , * jiditseffaets on society . " The room was crowded bj a respectable and attentive audience . The lectoxer entered at great length into the subject of his . discoane ; concluding his address by noticing and . TefutiBA certain mifstatements of the Sheffield irdependeiU . The thanks of the meeting were awarded U Mr . Gill for Hs instructive address- It was annomneed that Mr . O tiej would lecture on next Sunday evening .
Public Meeting . —A public meeting catted for the adoption of the National Petition was held on Monday evening last , in the Town Hall . Owing to swne mismanagement , the placards calling the meeting were not peeted until twelve o ' clock-en the daycf meeting , and fcence but a comparatively small wunber of the Chartists knew of the meeting ; notwithstanding this "untoward event , alxra £ eight hundred persons wens assembled , who i « stlW by fcbeir hearty enthusiasm the lively interest they took in the proceedings . Mr . March was called to the chair . Mi . Gill read the petition , and moved itt adoption . Mr . Harrison seconded the adoption of the petition , which wae unanimously adopted . Mr . S . Harney proposed the following resolution : — That this meeting < having adopted the National Petition ,
pledge themselves to exert their every energy to make that document a really national demand for the restoration of the peopls ' e right . And this meeting approving of the instructions of the Executive Council , pledge their support to the Convention of 1842 . " Mr . M'Kettrick seconded tbemotion , which was carried with but one dissentient . Mr . West . the West-Riding lecturer , then addressed the meeting at great length , and was loudly cheered . He challenged discussion ; bat no one opposed him . Mr . Harney , at the condusien , moved the following resolution : — That this meeting having heard with pleasure the noble , eloquent , and energetic address of
Mr . West , of Macolesfield , return him their hearty thanks ; and being of opinion that that gentleman would do honour to the Convention , do hereby re * quest him to become one of the candidates for the representation of the county of York . " Mr . M'Kettrick seconded Mr . Harney ' s resolution . The resolution was adopted unanimously . Ob the motion of Mr . Harrison , the thanks- of the meeting were voted to the Town Trustees for tbe use of the Hall . Thanks having been voted to the Chairman , and three cheers given for Feargus O'Connor , three for Mr . West , three for the the Welsh martyrs , and three for the Charter , the meeting dissolved .
The Northern Star. Saturday, November 20, 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 20 , 1841 .
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THE EFFECT OF H EARLY , " " IMPRUDENT , " AND "IMPROVIDENT MARRIAGES . " The past week has been one of rejoicing and congratulation . The M birth of a man child" has threatened , for a time , to allay even the heat of faction . Whigs and Tories have thrown up their caps together , and their organs have vied with each other in the work of fulsome adulation , and of forgetting th « addition which this auspicious" circumstance will , in all certainty , make to the already overpowering burdsns of the back-broken people .
We were admiring the versatility of human nature , and wondering at the praises bestowed upon her Majesty ' s onusoal fecundity by the Malthusian theorists;—we were considering what the effect upon 80 evidently ardent a constitution must have been , if subjected to Poor Law regulations—we were lamenting over the awful details given in another column of our paper from the Times , and in another part of our paper from Mr . Harket ; —we were comparing mentally the condition of useful , patient , toiling industry , and of its virtuous mate in nature ' s hour of agony , with that of the gilded
head of faction;—we were reflecting upon the neverto-be-forgotten speech of Lord B&ocgbau ;—and we were seeking within the mind for a principle of resignation to the inscrutable decrees of Providence by which such anomalies exist , when oar cogitations were interrupted by the following singular evidence that jaundice has not stained all the spectacles of Englishmen ; that there arc yet some prophets in the land who bm not the knee to Baal , and in whose estimation , as in that of an authority much higher , " the rich and the poor do meet together . " This was to as so refreshing a draught after the
nauseous repetitions we bad been imbibing the whole week , that we cannot choose but give it to our readers even as we got it . Besides which we hold ourselves bound to do so , by the old maxim , audi alteram partem . It is unfair that amidst the general hubbub ef real and affected " loyalty" consistency should have no voice . We love consistency so much , that we can admire it even in a " Maltbnsun Bachelor , " and we think the following one of the best proofs of it that we have seen for some time : or if not so , it is a hit muoh too good for as to miss . Here , then , it is : —
Ms . Editor , —I am sick at heart 1 grieved beyond the power of expression . The nation has gone mad—absolutely stark staring mad I Tbe Ministers are mad , the courtiers are mad , the conductors of the public press are mad , the whole people are mad I Another Royal Infant has been born into an already too-over-populated world , and every one , forsooth , throws up his cap , and cries hurrah ! Now , Sir , I say this ia madness—absolute insanity . If the people had not been demented , they would have seen , in the event which has called forth all this manifestation of joy , and in the marriage which
has led to that event , evils of the greatest magnitude ! They would hare seen in them plain , palpable , condem . na . ble violations of the first roles of population philosophy . They would have seen that the Queen has Bet an example to the nation which ought not to be followed ; and they would have taken care that 8 h « had been told that she had acted imprudently and impkovideatly . Yes , Sir , if the nation bad not been blinded by madness , they would have seen all this , and the conduct of the people would have been just the reverse of that which it has been .
Has not Malthus demonstrated that the tendency of population is to press hardly upon the means of subsistence ! Has he not demonstrated , that while food increases only ia an arithmetical ratio , population increases in a geometrical ratio \ Has he not demonstrated that we are how cursed with a surplus population ! Has he not shown that we press hardly upon the means of subsistence ? Has he not proved that there are already too many of us ! Has he not shown the absolute necessity for moral restraint \ Has he not depicted the manifold evils arising from early and improvident marriages
Has he not shown the wickedness and sinfulness of crowding beings into an already overstocked world I Has be not proved that we have no right to do this ! Has he not shown that if we thus sin against philosophy , we war against society , and that society is justified in warring against us ! Has he not demonstrated that for the beings thus thrust upon us , nature has provided no seat at her table ? Has he not shown that we are , in self-defence , justified in leaving them to starve ? Has he not shown that it
would be a waste of means to pat » crust of bread into the mouth of a starring man ? Has he not Bhown that no young woman has a right to think of being married till she arrive at the age of thirtyfive , and men at forty ! Have not other persons who have followed in Malthds ' s wake , Bhown the necessity of married people using moral checks to prevent their having offspring ! And have they not pointed out the means 1 In fine , have not Malthus and his co-workers shown the absolute
necessity of checking the breeding of children ; of restrictions , and of prudential considerations \ Have they not developed tbe whole science of population , and established a new school of philosophy 1 Yea , in sooth have they ! And their philosophy has taken deep root . No Booner was jt propounded , than it commended itself to the conviction of tbe brightest and best minds of the age . Their propositions commanded assent . There was no resisting the conclusions so naturally drawn from the premises laid down . The philosophy might ran counter to men ' s feelings , bnt it spoke to their judgments , and it obtained almost universal assent .
Have we not had a Ministry openly declared adherents of Malthus ! Have we not Been them introduce a measure into Parliament professedly founded on the principles enunciated by him ! Was
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not the avowed , object of that measure [ to force the people to live on a coarser * o tt ; of food t in other words , to eke ont th * stendcr Bnpply of food for a reda « dant population , so aq to ensure to each bis fair share of the little we had to dmde t Did not the measure also provide for the proper panishmeat of the young and thoughtless girl who was imprudent enough to bear a bastard child , by consigning her and her intruding yoong one to want and
starvation ! And did not the Parliament pass that measure , founded on these principles , and for . these avowed , objects ! Most assuredly it did . Could they have done otherwise with the fact staring them in the face , that we are so numerous on the soil that we are ready to « at one another up ! Would they have been Statesmen or Legislators if they had not taken some steps to alleviate . the evils arising from redundant population , and to put somo little check to the enormous over-breeding t . .:
Statesmen fand Legislators , then , have given in fteiradhesion to Malthus . His principles have been deemed sound and perfect . Legislation has been founded and proceeded upon them . Another Institution has been added to our other ones in Church and State , purposely to carry out those great principles of population philosophy . The Science has been regularly acknowledged , and acted on . Its truth has been established beyond the possibility of donbt .
This being the case then , is there any cause for rejoicing in the fact of a young woman marrying almost before she is twenty-one , and giving birth to two children in about twenty months ? Are we to turn up the whites of our eyes , and thank God for this ! Are we to throw up our caps for this ! Ought we not rather to mourn over the sin committed—the suffering occasioned ! Is philosophy to be thus set at nought 1 Are its monitions to be ( has thoughtlessly disregarded t No , Sir ! a thousand times no ! and when the faintest gleam of common sense comes over the now-demented people , they will not be slow in telling the Queen what they think of such glaring violations of the precepts of the population philosopher , Malthus . They will speak
plainly to her , and of her . They will suffer no old musty , antiquated notions of loyalty to step in between them and duty . Loyalty is all very well for operating on the minds of the vulgar . It may be all very well , too , to affect to be loyal , to speak of the Queen ' s sacred person , and treat her as if Bhewas more than mortal , and therefore privileged to do what others would not be allowed to do , in ordinary and oommon place matters . Bnt philosophy knows nothing of this . The roles of philosophy are general , infinite , and eternal , not particular and mutable . A violation of them is a violation , no matter by whom committed . Philosophy is no respecter of personsknows no caste—attends to no petty personal distinctions . The word loyalty is not once to be found in her whole vocabulary .
Whenever , therefore , the people come to their senses , they will tell the Queen what they think of an imprudent giddy young girl contracting an early and improvident marriage ; they will ask why she did not exercise her moral restraint ! Why she did not wait till she was thirty-five , before she thought of marrying ! Why she did not look to it , to have a house of her own , and means to rapport a family , before she placed herself in a position likely to lead to the bringing of young ones into an eaten-np
world ! Why she did look to it , that her husband was not penniles 8 , and shirtless , and breechesless , and unable to support either himself , or his wife , or the brats he might beget ! Why she did not see to it , that when this early , and improvident , and con . demnable marriage was made , they did not use the moral check to prevent their having children until they were able to keep them ! They will ask respecting these things , and many more , as eoon as they see the question in its true light .
Good God 1 Sir , what an example has the Queen set to her people 1 Suppose every young woman in the country was to aot as imprudently as she has done , —marry early , have two children in about twenty months after marriage , —why , where the Devil should we get to ! 1 ! Whatever would become of us ! Are we not already so overstocked , that , in Liverpool alone , we have to cram 38 , 000 persons , into cellars , and 86 , 400 others into close courts alleys , and ginnels , amidst filth and disease of every kind ! Is not the population so redundant , that we
are obliged to pack four families in one room ten feet square ! Are there not so many of as , that we are obliged to herd together on the floor on dirty straw , man and woman , girl and boy , young and old , indiscriminately , together ! Is not breeding , too , going on so fast , that as many as five births take place in one room at the same time , and three of them in one bed , all together ! Has not population pressed so hardly upon the means of subsistence , that there are in your own town 20 , 000 persons living on almost nothing , solely because there is not food enough for them !
Are not these things so ! And will early marriages with pauper bastards , and two squallers in twenty months , mend this state of things ! Common sense says , No ! Every humane heart says No ! Prudence says No J Ministers of State say No . Legislators say No ; and Philosophy , trumpetton gued , thunders No ! ! O , Sir i instead of being Bach fools as we have been , and rejoicing at the evils that have come
upon us , ought we not rather to have wished that Mabcus had been present with his gas ? Calling upon you in the name of insulted Malthus ; in the name of outraged Philosophy , to try to bring the people to their senses , I am , Sir , A heart-sickened Majlthusian Bachelor . Halton , near Leeds , Nov . 16 th , 1841 .
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RESULT OF CLASS-LEGISLATION . A heavy pressure on our space compelled us last week to reserve , as matter that would keep , the following awful disclosure of facts , taken from The Times , and bat too well sustained in our present paper by the corroborative testimony of Mr . Harnet ' s letter , and of the poor fellows in the Harborough Union : —
POOB LAW ATROCITIES . " It Is our disagreeable , bat necessary task , to call tbe marked attention of her Majesty ' s Ministers , and of tbe public , to tbe working of the New Poor Law in tbe Sevenoaks Union , Revolting as the statements are which were made at the Sundridge meeting on Friday last , Earl Stanhope and the other gentlemen who made them discharge a plain duty , and deserve the thanks of their conntrymen for so doing . That such things should be , is disgraceful to the nation which suffers , and to its rulers who maintain them ; but being as tbey are , and being neither accidents nor abuse , but direct and legitimate results of the system under which they arise , no true Englishman can wUh to throw a vail over their deformity .
•• Tha case of Loey Welch , which mi investigate * at the meeting in question , illustrates with peculiar force the cruelty of the arrangements under which medical relief ia dealt out , or rather denied , to t , J J w Lw ! y Weteb ' » P «» « W of ¦ ixteevUie child of honest parents , was taken seriously 1 U on Monday , the 18 th nit , when on the point of going out to service . Her mother applied to the assistant of Mr . Adams , a medical officer of the Union , living at Sevenoaks , who gave her some pills , bnt declined calling to ee ^ her , because she was not a parishoner , and it was out of bis way . ' The mother then sent another of her children to Mr . Waring , the relieving-officer of tbe Union , for a medical onto , bat this vu re / used M' - Wwwa-Ttog ti » t 'the girl mtut eome Mo the
teortAome . " A few days afterwards the mother applied again to another of tte madteal officers to attend her , bnt b *« aid he was so bujr ^ eould not' On Tuesday , the S 6 th alt , the girl herself expressed a wish to we Mr . Creasr , a third m * dlcal offienr , and her mother aeoordingly took her in a donky-cart to the residence of that gentleman at BnateuL ' When I got there , * Bald the mother , sh e was worse , and I took ba out with some difficulty , and pat her in a chair in tbe surgery . In about ten minutes Mr . Creasy came and asked if I had an order ? I told him no . He said thai he could not attend to her without an order . That made thethird application for medical assistance without efect . He said afterwards be would give me two powders , and I must try and get an order . '
" Pausing here , let us ask our readers whether it is possible to conceive a system more fahnn ^ than this ? Even if there were no sequel to the story , the facts which we have stated , ought to move any man ' s indig-
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nation . But in this ease there is a sequel , for the result of this treatment war death . In the agoay of neglected disease and disappointed hope , this poor child , immediately . on being turned away from the medical officer ' s door , fell down in a fit . Assistance and kindness , were then offered , but toe late . She was bled twice , bat died within an hour upon the spok Mr . Creasy himself was , present , and made a statemei ) t at . tb » meeting . He attributed the death of Lucy Welch to a . roptttre of a vessel upon the brain ; but admitted thai 'Jiad she obtained earlier attention , he thought the result would have been doubtful ; ' and that ' had she been bled some time before , it might have altered the ease . ' Comment on these circumstances is altogether needless .
* ' We cannot dismiss this case without animadverting in the strongest terms upon the conduct of the Coroner , Mr . Dudlow , who was applied , to by the Vestry Clerk of Sundridge ( at the request of the father of the deqpaed girl , and several other , parishioners , ' wh » were desirous that a fullinvertlfailon should take plane ) to hold an inquest upon the body . This he . refused to < do ; alleging that 'it appeared to hjUn evident that the girl's death arose from natural causes ; ' and that he , should not be justified in putting the county to the expea ** of an inquest , merely U allay any idle rumours that might be afloat' Verily toil is a Coroner after the Poor . Law Commissioners' own , heart . : If all Coroners were Dudlows , half the , pauper population might be excluded from relielf without fear of conse
quences , and those awkward verdict * of ' death from the want of the necessaries of life' could never meet the public eye . Idle tumours , indeed . 2 Is it an idle rumour when the child of a British subject is reported , and truly reported , to have died a premature and sudden death ? or want of that medical assistance which the law entitled her to demand , and which tbe proper officers refused ? Is it the only purpose of coroners * inquests to " alias " such rumours—to gloza over the offence and screen the offenders , instead of searching out the truth , and discovering the rightful objects of censure and punishment ? If there is a power in England capable of removing this Mr . Dndlow from the ofl&oe which he so unworthily fills , it ought to be exerted without a minute ' s delay .
" We now come to another portion of our subject . Let our readers observe the operation in the Sevenoaks Union of that great " moral" and political instrument of tbe Poor Law . Commissioners , the xeorkbovse test , during the winter and spring of 1841 . hot them observe for what It wm tbat the unemployed poor of Sevenoaks and its neighbourhood , deserving as well as undeserving , were told to come into the house' during the severity of that inclement season , under the penalty of starvation . Let them observe for what it was that wives were taken from their husbands , and children from their parents , upon entering into this den of abomination—the compulsory guage of their need . The statements which we are about to quote were made by Lord Stanhope , which is a sufficient pledge for their aecuney .
First , as to the men and women : — On the 22 nd of April last , there were 57 men in 31 beds , and 40 women in 20 beds , in the Sevenoaks workhouse . On the 25 th of December last Jive women were confined in ( too beds , in the same room , and three women were ACTUALLY DELIVERED IN A SINGLE BED AT TBE same time . Proper attention was not paid to them , and one woman having died in her accouchment ( we know not whether upon the same occasion ) , no inquest was held , and no notice was taken of her death . " Then , as to the children : —From the month of May to tbe month of November in last year , the children were not properly washed , and , in coniequence
itch prevailed in the workhouse to a great extent On the 22 nd of April last there were , in two small rooms { the one sixteen feet by twenty-on * , and the other sixteen by twenty-seven ) , seventy * five boys sleeping IN SIXTEEN BEDS , and EIGHTY SIX GIRLS IN NINETEEN BEDS ; each bed giving ten inches width on the average to each child . On tbe 29 th of April , then were in the same Pandemonium seventy-eight boys and ninety-four girls , of whom , ail the bops , and ninety-one girls , were suffering under enlarged glands at the back of the neck , and forty-two boys and sixty-three girls had also swellings in the front and around the neck . Other fast * were mentioned at the meeting , but we content ourselves with these .
" It is said that this loathsome state of things has ceased—that the Guardians are now constructing a spacious sleeping-room forthe children , ' dec . and that the same evils will not happen again upon the return of winter . Dr . D'Oyley , the Rector of Sundridge , saw no occasion for inquiry , and wonld fain have prevented any meeting from being held . We blush to think that any clergyman of the Church of England could have taken such a view of such a case . For ourselves , we are comparatively indifferent as to what may or may not occur again at Sevenoaks , or in any other given Union ; we even wave the point ( though m clear as daylight ) , that if the poor Were not unjustly debarred from relief , no attainable amount of workhouse accommodation could prevent the constant recurrence of these evils under the operation of the prohibitory order , especially
in those vast unions which tbe Commissioners are so fond of forming . It is enough for us and for tbe public , to know that such { things have been ; that tbe workhouse test has been deliberately persevered in under sneb circumstances , and in spite of such results . We charge upon the Poor Law Commissioners and their system the entire and unmitigated responsibility for this mass of abomination . Here is a case proved , in which they and their agents have treated large numbers of the English poor worse than swine or cattle , rather than suffer them to receive relief at their homes . Will Sir Robert Peel continue to place confidence in tht men who have done this thing ? Shall a pi indple , which those who understand it best carry out to such extremities of oppreasion , be persevered in , merely because a Whig Secretary of State thinks his consistency committed to it ?
The Editor of the Times thinks comment on these atrooious facts "altogether needless . " We dissent from this opinion . We think they furnish much room for comment , and that theyar * themselves a most emphatic comment on the villanous system of society under which alone they could exist . It is all well for papers like the Times to deplore these blotches on the surface of the body politic ; but we warn the people , as we have done a thousand times ,
that till the blood is cleansed , the leprosy will never heal . A Tory Government may , at the bidding of its friends , ameliorate , in some degree , this fretting ulcer , or it may net : we donbt its power or its will to do so . But if it do , the foul virus which produced it , still operating on the system , will destroy ita health , its energy , its life . The only cleansing medicine is that principle of legislation which regards the rights of all—a principle by which no faction can be actuated—which no faction
ever contemplates , and on which no general system ever will be founded till the people "take their own affairs into their own hands , " make their own laws , and so conserve their own interests , and protect their own rights .
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Now , thia ia the very bait ; the trap in . which they hope to catch the unwary . Let it bo made the test by which to . try them . Lot the nseotin ^ of the Association lie in every instance well attended by Chartists , and let the discussion be on the beat means of obtaining the aboiItion op all monopolies 1 ^ inurt be ia . poor Chartist i ^ that the monopoly of law-making include * all other Hfohopolies , and that to abolish it must therefore provide a broom with which to sweep "way . *? others . ' :.. ¦¦ ¦¦¦ : ¦ , . . - . ¦ , : ¦ . / , :. ¦ ¦ ¦• ¦ . ¦¦ The second rale of the" Young Men's Anti-Monopoly Society" pleases us not less than the first . Itisthats-r : .. . - . ' ¦ -, " -,., /¦* :.: ¦ . . , ¦¦ ¦ : . .,.--. _ . _
"No party political f dfclciorfbfW ihall on . any account be allowed at any meeting of the Association , . nor shall any resoluttonDe proposed , or subject . entertained which ¦ ball be at variance with the declared object of the 4 ^ uo ^» uon , " ' . ' - .. . ' ¦ . V ; . _;; . ¦ ; ;¦' . . ¦; . .. ¦ Thiaia right . Forty politics hare distracted and desfcroyed thVoonntry . It is how time to give them a holiday and attend to principles ; such as respect the whole people , and shall strike at the root of ill
monopolies . Welika this confining of the discussions ofthe'V ^ ti-Moiiopo . ly Societies' * to the declared objec * of the association . " And we must begtha t ^ all our Chartiflt friends who attend their meetings will take pare not to allow jt to be forgotten that the declared , object of the association" says not one word about the Corn Laws—that " party " questions are expressly forbidden by its rules , and that fine declared object of the association" is THE ENTIRE ABOLITION OF ALL MONOPOLIES .
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« WAYS AND MEANS . " Evert week furnishes new and more convincing evidence of the rapid spread of Chartist Principles throughout the whole land . The people are beginning to be everywhere awake to their true interests , and the almost universal outcry for Lecturers and Missionaries , proves at once , the awakening energies of the people , the invaluable character of the services rendered to the cause by those useful functionaries , and the efficiency of our national organisation which wisely concentrates the national energies in the Executive as a head .
The chief difficulty seems to be how the Executive are to meet the various demands upon them for Missionary labour ! The employment of Lecturers and Missionaries necessarily requires large funds ; while the condition of the people is such , as to preclude any reasonable hope of extraordinary peonniary advances being made by them . Direct contributions , however small , take so much from the scanty means which are in many instances , already too little to support life . We have always been desirous to avoid direct contribution where practicable ; and it is always in the power of the people to render it unnecessary . They need
but that to which we have so often pointed as indispensible to their success in anything—unity of purpose and operation—to make their own hands the means of ministering to their own wants in this particular , without at all infringing on the means of physical support which tyranny has left them . We have now before us several plans for accomplishing this desirable object—of providing the Executive with funds sufficient for the effective carrying on of the work without burdening the people . One correspondent proposes that joint stock stores be opened in every town , and that the Executive shall be the trustees of these Btores , and the profits applied under their direction to the spread of Chartism ; instead of going , as they now do , to the upholding of the factions . This system , if universally acted on , would
be effective , cot merely for the support of the Executive , but eventually for the utter prostration of the money monster which . the teats of industry have nourished till it has sucked the very life ' s blood from Us dam . But there are difficulties in the way of its general adoption which we fear are not likely to be immediately surmounted . The simplest and most feasible of all the schemes that we have seen for supporting the Executive efficiently and easily , is that of Mr . Roger Pinder , propounded in a letter recently published by him in the Star , in which he offers to provide the people with an article of necessary and universal consumption , at a price as low , and of a quality as good , as any they can have elsewhere , and to give to the Executive one-twelfth part of his receipts .
We have a second letter from this honest and good ChartiBt , which has been lying by us several weeks for insertion , and to which we have great pleasure in now calling the attention of the Chartist public generally . " Mb . Editor , —I must beg permission again to call the attention of my Chartist friends te the letter you published for me last week but one . I have since then made minute enquiries as to the price of the materials in large quantities ; and I find them much cheaper than I expected . I feel now certain that I can supply as good blacking ai can be manufactured , at a price as low as any in the market , and give the Executive one penny out of every shilling of the price , or one clear twelfth of my receipts .
" I can do this because I do it for the purpose of rendering thereby a help to the good cause ; and not for the mere purpose of making a living . Thank God ! I can make a living by my own labour . But my" labour , though better paid than that of many thousands , will not enable mo to give much money out of its proceeds for any purpose but that of the bare necessaries of life for my family . " If this , then , be my condition , what must needs be tbat of those who have larger families and less wages than even I have ? It is clear that theymust be still less able to contribute ; and hence the necessity of some mode being had recourse to of supporting our Executive in their
noble work of national regeneration without increasing the direct burdens of the people ; and this , I apprehend , my plan will do , if I be properly supported . There is no decent family that does not use more or less of blacking . And if we take the average at One halfpenny for a week , and suppose agents to be generally supplied through England and Scotland , this very small demand from 60 , 000 families wonld leave a handsome snm for the Executive . Thirty thousand pence returned to me by the agents , would entitle the Executive to a clear revenue of £ 10 83 . 4 d . weekly ; a sum nearly sufficient for the remuneration of seven Chartist lecturers at thirty shillings each : while 1 engage to allow all the vendors a profit equal to the average of the trade , and to pay the carriage in all cases to any part of England or Scotland . This being considered , I see no reason why
it should not meet with a demand much greater than that which I have here supposed . By tbe exertions of good Chartists it might be introduced among general shopkeepers , ( as I will warrant it a good article and cheap , ) and thus even our enemies , the factions ,, might be made in some degree accessory to tbe supply of our munitions ot moral warfare . Many good Chartists would no doubt be glad to take the trouble of selling it , and give the retail profit to the association In their respective localities , on the same principle as I am willing to give the wholesale profit to the Executive . Altogether , Mr . Editor , I do think it a mode of help to which no objection can be fairly offered ; because to whatever amount I may thus be enabled to help the Executive , it is s < s much clear profit , for which no one suffers anything .
" All then that is wanted , is a number of Chartists in different localities , willing to give the matter a trial by becoming agents , and sending me their orders , accompanied by cash , Bending at the same time a copy of each order to the general Secretary ; that he may keep a check upon me , and be able to know that the Executive do get their pennies . . " Trusting , Sir , tbat the Chartist public win give the matter its due weight and consideration , " I am , " Yours in the good cause , " ROGEB . PlNDEB . " 5 , WeatherillB Place , " Carr Lane . Hull . "
We have no hesitation in saying that if Mr . Pinokb be prepared to verify all the pledges of his letters , this matter of consumption is of itself able to support the Executive well and efficiently if properly taken up by the people . The writer is surely not extravagant in estimating the average consumption at a halfpenny Weekly . Many parties must oonenmo considerably more ; and w « see no reason , as there is to be no cost of carriage to the agent , why a million of purchasers should not be found every week ; and if a million of halfpennies were paid in to Mr . Pindeb every week , the Executive would be entitled oat of that toagross income of £ 173 12 s . 2 d . Enough to supply lecturers , missionaries , and tracts , for all England , Scotland , and Wales . How easy a thing is it for united numbers to accomplish great objects ! *
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The National Petition . —Our publisher , Mr . Hobson , hat printed the National Petition for 1842 , on a neat sheet , for the purpose of being exten . lively distributed amongst those from whom signa tures are asked , that they may know for what thq are signing . He is ready to supply them to thi Associations and to individuals at the following charges : —100 copies for 2 s ; 1 , 000 / or lSs . P + tition sheets , of good strong paper , ruled in four columns , and holding two hundred names when filled , may also . be had , price 2 d . each . & . cretaries and person * who need them have only to send an order addressed to Mr . H ., enclosing a post-office order , orstampS i to the amount , and
they may hate sent to their address any number they require , on pointing out thebett and cheap eat route . The Petition and sheets may also it had from Mr . Cleave * London : and Mr . ff « j « wood , Manchester . But in all cases the money must be sent in advance—the price being so he as to preclude ctedil . IV We would call the especial notice of the Lena and Yorkshire friends to the above notipe . From what ap pears in another place , they will tee that Mr . O Connor intends to visit them during &i next fortnight ; and it will be well for each torn to be well supplied with sheets for signatures . Wt must have the 4 , 000 , 000 !
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Chaatist Churches . —A correspondent writes u that the Christian Chartist Church at Greenotk is thriving well . We are glad to hear U , kt cannot insert his letter : disquisitions on tit nature , character , and duration of hell s tormentt are quite beyond the province of the Northern Star . We think , also , that all matters of merely speculative opinion , however interesting torn theological enquirer , should be entirely avoukd ' m Chartist churches . The great practical dutiei of mankind , personal , social , civil , and political , should form the Alpha and Omega of CTwrtirf preaching . About these there can be no mistake . The object of Chartist churches , if we understand
them at alt , is twofold : first , to provide temple wherein the Chartist may find those principlei «/ government and society which he believes to oe the principles of truth and of the Bible acknow ledged by his priest ; and where , there fore , hit understanding shall not be insulted , nor hunHegradationtnocked , in a manner which is but too cmmon amongst both " established" and "dissenti' ; f ministers ; and , secondly , to form a practical exhibition , as far as our means go , of that syften of " exclusive dealing" which is not less potent when applied to the pews of the parson than when applied to the till of the shopkeeper . All Chartists who are Christians agree that the principles of
Chartism are those of Christianity—that they form the practical exhibition and developement ojlhat grand law of love on which the Lord has declared the whole law and the prophets to hang . Htm , therefore , on the inculcation of those pririeipla they can all agree ; but the introduction of speculative matters of doctrine can serve only ti split us up into sections of Methodist CharHslfi Calvinist Chartists , and so on ad infinitum . Our Greenockfriend does not seem to bear sufficiently in mind the difference between aCharlistminuleri and a minister who is a Chartist . We should be most happy to hear of all the ministers of religion in the country becoming Chartists , nor would any
minister of Chartism be a wit the less orthodox because as a Calvinist in religion he preached M election" and "reprobation , " or because as en unirersal restotztioaist he denounced as unseriftural the doctrine of eternal punishments . On all such matters of speculation Chartists may differ in opinion . On all such matters of specw lalion a Chartist may agree in opinion with a raving Tory or a rampant Whig , from whm hs endures the most bitter indignities and persecu tions ; but on the practical doctrines of Christianity , in their political and social phases , Own tists can agree with nobody but themselves . They hold all other doctrines upon these matters but
those of Chartism to be unscripiural and eniy Christian . And hence the necessity for Chartist churches , in which they can worship God without having their feelings outraged . Hence , loo , the necessity of keeping those churches elear ofau matters of doctrinal discussion which may aitturb the "unity of the spirit and the boridy peace , " by which as brethren they should be holden together . It seems clear to us , thertfoirti that the only " articles of faith" which can vm the sl i ghtest degree of propriety or consistency ot acknowledged as generally binding onthe tMMbers of a Christian Chartist Church should be the divinity of the Lord and of the Holy Scr ipture ) ,
and the principles of Chartism as taught m tMU Scriptures . On evert / other matter , every menber should be at perfect liberty to hold hisom doctrines and opinions , whether Methodist , t *« - vinist , Quaker , Ranter , Jumper , or Roller . " are aware that even these tests ef faith shut out all , however good Chartists they may be , V" ° reject religion in toto . But these suffer no wrong thereby ; because the very fact of their rejecting Christianity frees them from the circumtaneetv annoyance and injustice which make the CharM "church" necessarv . The Christian Chatty
feels it to be his duty to worship God- * 7 which he neither can nor dare omit ; there ™ no church in which he can do sowithcomf ^ and without liability to insult , or injustice , * both : hence he requires and needs a Cm" ?" church : the infidel Chartist does not affett w worship at all—he therefore neither requires w feels the need of any church in which to worm-The objection often urged ag&inst Chart ™ churches of their sectarian character has » weight whatever ; unless that weight « ? " ? 7 « f by the leaning of the broad practical principwj Christianity , and the introduction of speculate
matters of opinion . . a , Stabs to Ireland .-W . Jackson , P . O . R" * ?' Tyrone , will be thankful for a ray or two ofW light . ., „ , Newrt . —Wm . Cor deux , of York , begs to state W the money order for the Demonstration Commm was received , and would have been acknowleag ' by letter at the time had the address been knof-Jakes Whitiel , Psbth , professes to be anxious w vnity amongst the people and their advocates i *^ sends us for insertion a letter written in the ve % worst spirit of discord and partisanship . . course he dUmt expect that we should tnsert * Stabs to Ibeiahd . —The Irish Universal S 11 JWF . Association return thanks to the friends in aw land and Scotland uho have , during the wf week , sent them fifty-one Stars ; and UJ »»
• W . H . Tipping , of Bingley , for suttyone a * -- > which he sent per post . ^^ Low of Poets must excuse us—we have no root * PoRKiwe , Sbbbby . —A Chartist lecturer « wanuxt •» this locality . ... t ^ \ Massfield . — We do not publish the resolution 1 ^ to us this week : we see no good that could % w from its publication ; white it might five off * " ** and perhaps justly so , to some . wr , art Boston upon-Trent— Genkbai . CouNCir .. —n * ^ requested to insert the following correction :- * . Sudlow , sub- Treasurer ; Mr . Wm . Hall , w *» . moor , sub-Secretary . , . ^ jj ^ H . D . Griffiths .- ^ letter has *«» * fgl » our London correspondent , whom tee ^ J 1 *! ^ be always ready to correct any accidental er in his reports .
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MORE ARTIFICES OF THE " PLAGUE . " The Plague men are most indefatigable in their vocation . Finding their plan of public meetings and pet lecturers to be quite untenable against the talent and good sense of the experienced working men , they now hope to accomplish their purposes of mischief by " palavering" the young and inexperienced . The present " dodge" is ** Young Men ' s Anti-Monopoly Associations , " which are being assiduously established in all large towns . A copy of the rules of one of these societies , and of the address of their ' General Council and Executive Committee , " now lie before uh .
See the homage which , under all circumstances , vice pays to virtue ! The very terms in which to disguise their fraudful project are borrowed from the Chartist organisation . Their address , too , is of the most wily and insinuating character . The object is , no doubt , to seduce young men into an attendance upon their packed and exclusive meetings , where their inexperience may be practiced on by the studied sophistries of the " plague" advocates . All vice , however , ] contains within itself the seeds of dissolution ; and so does this form of the "plague . " It addresses itself especially to the poor in the following terms : —
" By the term monopolies , we mean those laws which deny to us the liberty of frequenting the cheapest market for the supply of our wants , and of exercising our industry in the most profitable manner . The reform we struggle for ia purely economical—we trench neither on political or religious controversy— . but we offer the handoffeltowshiptoaU , rt 0 ardless of sect and party , who will assist vs in procuring the immediate abolition of all restrictions upon industry . "
Here , then , is a fair invitation to the Chartists to attend the meetings of the Young Men ' s Anti-Monopoly Society ; and we advise them by all means to do so . H The abolition of all monopolies" is the very thing we want . And as , the greatest evil should be first removed , the monopoly of legislation , whence all other monopolies spring , will , of course , receive the first attention of the " Young Men ' s Anti-Monopoly Societies . "
The first rule of the Society states its object to be :-" To awtst in obtaining the entire abolition of all Monopolies , by every legal and constitutional means , ' such as the promotion of similar societies in other towns , the delivery of Lectures , the holding of Discussions- and the distribution of Tracts . "
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BRONTERRE O'BRIEN AND THE WORKING MAN'&PJIESS . ,-. ; ¦ ¦ ¦ In other i » rtiona of oar paper , w ^ , give s ^ enl commuuicatienfi relatice >*• ith « extoaojrdwary ad . dress presented last wetk to Mr . O'BBtEN at ttft Crown and Anchor ineetfefr" ^* refer to these ; an * especiaUytothelet ^ ofi the i ^ ntta MattwhofttTnished the report of that meeting , aa evidence that we had no other . feeling va . . the'nwtter thin ^ at which Bir . O'Brien ought to respect . In fact , the course pu rsued by -Mr . O'Bbien and his triends , left us no alternative for .. . ' the publication of the Address , extraordinary as was itscharaoter . It Mr . O'Briek had chosen to drop a single line to us ^ expressing his disapprobation of the address , or , if we had received from any other quarter the information that the address- had been repudiated , we should not hays published it . ; ., -n nnAiTinnnnr' nmOTTJUT i \ Tn JUtTf TI 7 T \ ¥ iv *
We have now one word to say of the matter , and that is all . The Star has been always open toKtk O'BaiEN ' s peri , for the advocacy of all his political views and doctrines . We have omitted no opportunity of supporting his views whenever we could agree with them—of defending him when . * ever we knew of his being attacked , and espeoiallj while he was in prison ; we have considered it a point of duty to serve his interests in everyway that we possibly could serve them ; and have always done it ; we have since his liberation ' given everj single word that has been furnished to us in reference to his movements ; though we hare been often obliged by press of other matter seriously to curtail the reports of other meeting , we never suffered any circumstances to induce tht
shortening of any report of O'Bbirn . As aj instance , we gave the report complained of , th » address and all , just as we received it ; while tht report of Carrier ' s meeting held on the same night , furnished by our own reporter , was cat down to almost nothing . We have never knowingly given him ot his friends the least cause of offence : we have no purpose to do so . And now we apprehend that oai readers will think they have quite enough of this M address" matter . We think so too . and shall therefore have done with it ; merely adding that the Huddersfield address , to which Mr , O'Brien refers came to us from the reporter , as part of the report , and the first intimation to us of its haying been " repudiated , " is contained in Mr . O'Bbien ' s statement to that effect at Marylebone . ¦
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.. JIA ' C ^ Vi v : u i ¦*' -. '/ ^ ¦ ¦' . * - - ' * . ..- . - --.. .-.--.-,... ¦ _ , =- ¦ I . — ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ —^^»— I , ¦ 1 ., ¦¦ »— » + *^ T- ^* '" . ' . f .. t > - . T' . ' * 'T * " 1 -1 " ¦ ' ' . ' ' "' ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦¦ -- ' ¦¦¦— - ¦ . ¦ ' ¦ _ . ; - ' - " ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ' - ¦ - - - '
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 20, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1136/page/4/
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