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IHE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1843.
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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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CASE OF MRS . ELLIS . TO THE CHARTISTS OF YORKSHIRE . Jjtsd ^ psd &ai ihe appeal made bp Mr . S&eet in lasl vet # s Star , in behalf of Mrs . Elh $ , mould Jiave vtetwfh on immediate and universal response Jem Utterly disappointed . I have not ihe means to ipce b sum that teould be of any use to Mrs . E . ; bu ~ J moke you tins offer . —I triM allend meetings on the Stoidap , called Jor the ymrpose of raking subsbrip-% onsfor 3 Irs . EWisMany place within twenty mttes ¦ Of Leeds—I will charge nothing Jor expences , and go entirety at my own cost ; you undertaking to raise ten shilling { and as much xr . oreesryou can ) by collections al the meeting ,. or any other means you think fit . The entire proceeds to be given to Mr ? . Ellis . / limit the circle to hrsniy xniks , became n . y very lunved income u-ill not permit me to take a wider range at my men cost % and I ichh to take nothing
Jrom the collections . The present state of my Jiealth trill not a / fctr w « to speal more than once on the day of my v ' uat , and it vUl be al least a fortnight yet before 1 zhall be at liberty to commence my tour . In the mean Hme I shall be happy to receive communications from cny places within the prescribed limits . I trust that say motives may not be tnlsconslrucd in making tkis uffcr . Forbidden ^ as I em , by medical advice to attempt speaking at all under present circumstances , J had hoped to have -been permitted to have remained in privacy ; only to emerge from which as a pullic speaker upon rare and extraordinary occasions . But this is a ease ia which I feel bound to do my Rttle hesi to help in saving an unfortunate family frtm Starvation , and the democratic party from the irtdc Site disgrace which would be the consequent result . George Julias Habxey . Northern Star Office , Dec 22 , 1843 . w _ ,- ,- mn ^^^^^ M SVWM I .
THE TAIIOHSPROTECTION SOCIETY . Since tt * great meeting of the above body , held at ihe National Association Hall , High HoHwm , on Nov . 27 tb , vast xnnnbera of the trade have become members of the several sections . In addition to the stimuli given to the Houses of Call , the Central Committee bave feeen almost nightly called upon to attend as deputations upon the several societies- » ho have solicited their attendance , to explain the principles , &c On Tnesday * ortnight , Messrs . Parrott , Parker , audEames attended « t the Three Creiras , Richmond Street , Soho . 3 &e deputation having at great length entered into explanations , the society -which consists of 500 xaemtcrs , expressed themselves perfectly satisfied , being of opinion that unless the trade generally adopt . the principles of a General Union , there is no hope of making a successful stand against the encroachments ef the principal capitalists . The above named gentlemen also attended by icTitatien a respectable society , meeting at
the George , Ss . Mary Axe , -when -a nnmber of questiocs were pat , and the objects explained , all of which gave satisfaction . A vote of thanks were unanimously jessed to the deputation , and the meeting separated With the understanding that the question skonld receive * aH consideration , A delegate meeting of the Houses of Call having been «> nveced for Thursday last , Dec Slst , at the Blue Posts , Unpert-atreet , Baymarket , to Trhich the Central Committee were especially invited , Messrs . Murray and Esau , from the Three Crowns , Xogers and Sutherland , from the Two Chairmen , Black sad Irons , from the Fleece , Hopkins and Osborae , from Ihs King ' s Head , Moeney ^ nd Kelly , from the Bine 3 * osts , and a delegate from the Robin Hood , attended Jrom the Houses of CalL Messrs . Parrott , Parker , ^ mm , Cotter Donaldson , Erana , Simpson , £ Uand , and Brindle attended on behalf of the Protection So-* aety : the delegates represented nineteen societies and . sections .
After the preliminary business had betn disposed of , an animated discussion took place , in -which * ereral of de delegates took part . The ntmosS good feeling prevailed . All evinced an ardent desire to carry ont the formation of the General United Tailors' Protection Ssekty . The meeting having been continued to a" late boor , ao adjournment -was carried ta Monday evening , Jan . SQUISH , to be held at the same place , to which all Bociet ' iea not represented are respectfully invited to ¦ end delegates . Thus by the perseverance of a few indefatigable individuals , has the trada , both in to-wn and country , been aroused to a sense of its wrongs , and 'Which , it is W be hoped , wiil ultimately attain those aighfcj that are inherently the property of the wealthprodocng classts . —Correspondent .
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CriASCOW— The lone ialked-of disenssion betwoea Messrs M&ddon and Broirn , as to- whether a repeal of the corn laws , under existing- cirenmst * Dcc 3 , mmld benefit the working classes , came off on Tuesday evening last , in the village of Bridge ton , which in reality is part of Glasgow . Mr . Brown displayed considerable knowledge of the subject ; bat as to Mr . Madden , his arguments (!) were beneath eonfcenjpt , j
Tpg Chartists of the Gorbals are to hold their : yrmnVl festival on New Year ' s I > ay ( Monday ) even- ¦ ing , in the Chartist HaH , Qjde Terrace . "We hope j fi » t the torn-oat on that occasion Trill be worthy of : ^ ie good cause . The men at the head of the Gorbals ; democratic seminary , never hesiated between two ; opinions j no appeal connected with Chartism , either . of a general or individual nature has jet been made , to them in vain , and we trust therefore that on ibis , as on former occasions , success will crows their j labours .
SPKBEHIANT—Since Mr . Dickinson has taken ¦ up Iuj Teaodense beie oat Bssodstion hrjt inereaaed erery ¦ week , wad -ire sre vrerj ^ wsy progresting saeceSEfull ; . "We have been informed that some « f the leaden of ths Jjeagxie have been invited to visit this town , and that "we may expect them in the early part of sexi month , "We are glad to hear this , for if they will allow discussion we are prepared * to meet them . Mr . Dickinson las delivered two lectures at Monkwearmouth , and lrst Sunday but one announced , at the end of his lecture , -that ba should deliver a third lecture in ihe same place as last Sunday . Accordingly at- two o'clock be approached the ground , when he saw three of the
"force" parading about : one of them came up to him as j ha was crossing the road , and after saying it was a fine j day , asked rrnn jf he was abent to lectnre there that i day , to which question Mr . Dickinson replied " certainly . '' j Then said the policeman I am anthorised'by the In- J zpector to inform you that you must not lecture there , ] or further proceedings will be taken against you . After ; ¦ ffi * TrtiT > p the man for his information , Mr . Dickinson came to the waste ground where the people were ss-1 aembled aca proceeded with his lecture . He stated to fee meeting that the pelice had requested him not lo icctare there , but he did not feel inclined to remove -until a reason was rendered for bis removal . He then entered on the "subject ef his lecture and addressed tie people for about twenty minutes , three policemen standing by , when one of them went away and presently returned with Inspector Bale , who rushed thron ? li the crowd and demanded > If . Dickinson to come down from the chair . Mr . D- demanded by whose authority do you make that demand ? "I am the Inspector of Police , and in the Queen's name ( pulling a piece of painted wood from hia pocket ) I comin&Ed yon to depart from iiiis spot , as too ore only preaching about the body and 3 » ot the soul , and therefore you ate obstructing thefootjath . Mr . Dickinson said he would come down , but -would the Inspector baVB&sy objeciiensif be removed a little further up , if he could . find a spot where he would sot ohefcrnct the footpath 2 Te » , said the Inspector , I am determined you shall not lecture on this side the wzste at all . Mr . Dickinson came out of the crowd to go borne , and was putting his topcoat on in the middle of
lie highway , when Bale , the Inspector , who iad been taking wish some things calling themselves gentlemen , and was beard to say to them " its one ef the ChartiBt fellows" called ont to the three policemen lo take Mt Dickinson to the Station-house . He went with them "Without ! a murmur . The Inspector left the Statlon-2 x > tz £ e and went to consult the Superintendent , who came to the Station-house , and after a little consultation , said to the Inspector ** You'd better charge him . " The charge yin then laid , whith was " for obstructing "the footpath by resisting the police . " Everything was taken trom Mr . Dickinsonr ' a poefcets , and although we "brought bait and bailed him out until Tuesday , they insisted on retaining the contents of his pockets ; ii "was with difficulty we could get them to allow him 'to take his watch . Since this bit of a dust cur room ixs beeen crowded- "It ' s an ill wind that blows nobody good v
OS Tpzsdat , the 26 th , the Court House was thronged to hear the case of ilr . Dickinson , and hus-^ reds were waiting outside who were unable to obtain admission . Mr . Ayton , ol th « town , was employed to Helena 3 dr . Dickinson . The Inspector of Police swore that Mi . Dickinson caused an obstruction of the tborocghf * re ; and in the next breath , that be did eoj ! The policemen thej&Belves proved that Mr . Dickins&n did not resiBt ihs police . Seeing the police had so imncJed the matter , the magistrates diEmUsed the case , —Cer-¦ respondexL Mr . Dkhuxsos wm deliver a lecture next Sunday atMonkwearmeutb , at a » m ,, ^ hour ( two o'd&ck ) and lie hopes all trne ChartiBts will ally round their standard .
HSWCASTLE . Mr , Beesley delirered an address m Mr . Jude » long loom , Thres Tnas Inn , Manor Chare , on Sncday evening last , on the present state of ^ political parties in Spain j alter which a vote of thanks ni tendered to Mi . Beealey for bis aadrew . A Pimiic Meetiho of the Chartists of Newcastle and Gateshead "ma held ] in Mi . June ' s Boom , Three Tuns , Manor Chare , on Mondey evening , for the purpose of nominating fit and proper persons to become candidates for the membership of the General Council
of "the HaUon&l Charter Association oi Great Britain ; Hi . Cnrry in the chair- The following gentlemen Were declared dnly nominated .- —Messrs . James Prazer , * boematoir , MTord ' a Entry , Iforthumberland-Etreet ; John . ArmsfaoDg , jun ,, weaver , Pilgrto-xtreet ; John ATmetrong , sen ., glass-cutter , Pilgrim-street ; Thomas Hey , tanner , Prndhoe-street ; George Ut'her , tailor , Dean Court ; William Smith , basket manuLNstnrer , 5 , a 3 dward- *> treet , Arthur * HOI , Westgate , i" « lb-Treaaurer ; and Ealph Cnrrie , joiner , 5 , Chnrcbill- - « treet , «« b-S « cret&ry , Sereral sums were ^ paid into the . ^ a *
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Vional Tribute Fund , when it wu agreed that all the members then present form themselves into a committee to procure contributions to that laudable object . It was announced that a public lecture would be given in Mr . Jade ' s long room , on Sunday evening , at ; seven o ' clock ; and a deputation was appointed to wait upon certain gentlemen , requesting them to officiate on that occasion . A vote of thanks V / as tendered to the chairman , and the meeting adjourned . Cbamlisgtos High Colltbey—Oq Tuesday the
inhabitants of Cramlington , Seghill , and its vicinity received anotfeer visit from Mr . Q . Gammage , of Northampton , "who lectured to a numerous iandienee I on the science of Government and the People ' s Charter . The lecturer bandied his subject in an able and convincing ffianner , and made a wul-sttrring appeal to his hearers to aid their Chartist brethren in their efforts to obtain political freedom . The lecturer was listened to with profound attention ; and at ihe conclusion , was greeted with loud and long-repeated cheering . There is a < 3 harUst locality formed hare and likely to do well .
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ALEXANDER O'DRISCOLL , ESQ ., J . P . AND HIS PLUNDERED TENANT . Last week we directed the attention of our readers to the proceedings before the Macrooxn Jubtices upon their first attempt at administering the Irish Arms' Bill . The name of Alexasdsk O'Daiscoll , J . P . flourished as one of the disarming gentlemen , and , in truth , by reference to a case reported in this week ' s Star , in which he stands forward as the sold actor , furnishes good and cogent reasons why this impartial dispenser of English law should look with jealousy upon the possession of any
implement of defence by those who would be justified in nsing them is resistance to open and barefaced robbery . These frequent actB of plunder appear to strike the English reader with becoming horror , and are looked upon as exceptions againBt the usual practice pursued by Irish landlords towards their defenceless victims . That we , however , have considered such acts as forming the rulo rather than the exception , we refer our readers to our various articles upon Irish affairs , while we would direct more immediate attention t * the following passage , taken frem our comment under the head " Ireland and the
Irish" which appeared in the Star of the 25 th of November : — u The practice ef distraining cattle , of impounding , selling them by auction , and baying thtm in , by the middleman , for very frequently not a twentieth of their value , while no account of the sale is ever rendered , leads to more extensive disturbance , and subsequent evil results , than almost any other grievance . It * not at all unusual for a middleman , accompanied by a host of under-tenants , to , drive off the whole Btock of some unfortunate tenant to a distant pound in the dead hour of night ; while the
tenant , to protect himself against the aggression of the middleman , has paid his rent to , and holds the receipt of the head landlord . Thus situated , the poor tenant has so alternative but to replevy the stock at a great expense ; while he is compelled to give security for double the value , until the case shall be disposed of in the Sheriff ' s Court . If , upon the ovher hand , he cannot procure the required security , his cattle are allowed to stand in a cold ponnd until the day of auction , when the poundkeeper presents him with an enormous bill for fodder never used . Will » ny man say that * tenant so
treated , and thrown for protection upon expensive and dilatory law , which he cannot procure , is not justified in taking the summary law into his own nands ! In many cases , he does do so : and many is the man who has been hung in olden times , and many is the hoaest man now working in chains , for having STOLEN his own property from the thief who stole it from him in the dead hour of night . I * this , we would ask , a "practical grievance ? " and are the family of the expatriated victim likely to be admirers or voluntary obeyers of those Jaws by which ruin and desolation has been brought upon them 1 "
The reader will learn from the above sketch that , at all events in our opinion , the grievance complained of by 31 r . O'Dbisoll ' s victim is one of a general character , and that the case referred to is not to be looked upon as a mere isolated instance , either not tolerated or practised by other men of his class . The fact is , that those tenants who hold under Irish middlemen not oiily pay three times the amount of rent compounded for in free labour ,
doty fonl , and legal expences , hut as we have more than once stated , the whole of that capital which should be left to them as the means of stocking and tilling their farms is extracted before getting possession , in the following manner : —We will suppose a farm of twenty acres , beiDg a portion of a large denomination , rented by Captain O'Reiscoll under Lord Cabbebbt at £ 1 per acre . This amount he subdivides into such allotments as will suit the
existing competition and demand . A tenant , who has been broken down by a co-tyrantof O'Dbiscoll ' s in a farm of fifty acres , tries to square his means to the possession of twenty acres of O'Dkiscoll ' s * take , " at a rent of £ \ 10 s . per acre , or 10 s . per acre profit . To begin , be gives u fine of a year ' areni , £ 30 , intended as compensation to O'Dbiscoix , in lieu of a fine which he asserts he has given npon receiving possession himself . Mr . Bibd , the agent , the plenipotentiary of the gallant Captaih , receives £ 5 for his good word , and Tim Doiuvan , who has the ear of Mr . Bikd , and who may be denominated aB " Trusty" and Spy upon the
undertenants , must have bis £ 2 , as without his friendship all hope of possession is fruitless . The mistress must have £ 5 for " glove-money j" and then , to insure something like title , apropoEal is accepted upon unstamped paper , which conclndea with an undertaking that leases shall be executed at the request of cither party ; and £ 5 5 s . is a small amount to reqnire to be paid for this purpose—the tenant being invariably compelled to lodge bis money for that purpose , although & lease is not granted in one case in twenty . Add to the above sums , the incoming tenant is compelled to take the manure , of which the ontgoi&g tenant has been robbed , at the H Trusty ' s" yalnation .
Such are the prospects with which an Irishman enters upon his tenancy under a middleman ; with a further certainty , however , of being ousted in three years at furthest , in order that the middleman may raise fresh capital by way of fine . Lest , however , a religious prejndice should be attempted to be established npon the cruel , the heartless , and villancua case under consideration , we heg to state that this Mr . O'Dbiscoix is a Roman Catholic , Captain of a
Yeomanry corps , Justice of Peace , an extensive middle-man , as well as "lay impropriator" of tithes in several parishes . In truth we may assert without fear of contradiction , and with the full concurrence of the Catholic people of Ireland , that any tenant would rather plaoe himself under a Protestant than a Catholic middle-man \ and the reason why we do not hear more of the tyranny of the latter is , becausei complaint * enerally arises from whatisconsjderedJhe general source of grievance , and rea&fli Pxotestants , being for the most part
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the tools of absent landlords , come in for the whole of the odium while there are guilty Catholic confederates who escape soot free . The reader will be puzzled to know why the act of top-dressing his corn should furnish Mr . Bird with an excuse for his conduct . A simple statement of facts , however , will enable us to establish Mr O'Dhiscoll ' s conviction , upon the very reasons assigned for the cruelty and injustice of his agent . That the rent due in March was inoluded in the note lodged in the bank , and upon which
Mr . O'Deiscoll had received the money may be inferred from the very act of top-dressing ' ithe corn . That the tenant was preparing to " flit" in September we admit , and that he knew that whatever manure he left behind , him would be seized by O'Dkiecoll is obvious ; he therefore applied it to the corn whiclThe might have cut , thrashed and sold before any other rent than that included in the note would have accrued . This * was the cause of his applying his manure to topdressing the corn |; a practice seldom or never resorted to even by the best Irish farmers .
Of course the reader does not expect us to launch into abuse of Mr . O'Dkiscoll and his agents , as the foulest words within the vocabulary of Billingsgate would fall far fhort of the expression of our feelings . ; Let us now inquire as to the method of disposing of the destrained property . The witness says , They Btole some (!) I only took away 46 loads . I took them to Skibbereen , and put them in a gar - den near Mr . O'Dkiscoll ' s house . • • I was auctioneer and did bid also ; was not the buyer , but afterwards got the potatoes myself . Sold every six weightB for eigbtpence . " What a picture *
"THEY STOLE SOME . " You brute , they didn't steal them , they honestly produced them by the sweat of their brow and you and O'Djiifcoll stole them from them . Just think of the poor man ' s winter's hoard being deposited in the gallant Captain ' s garden , while the rent for the ground upon which they grew was lodged in his pocket . Think of an auctioneer himself bidding for the distrained goods , and although he had the becoming modesty not to knock them down to himself , yet he knocked them fob himself to his representive , who was appointed to bid for him . But what did be do ! He sold them at the auction at the rate of eightpence for every six weighs . Tke
English reader should understand that the weigh is 23 ! bs ., and that consequently every 138 pounds was sold for eightpence , or , at the rate of one penny for seventeen pounds . Let us analyse this aot of plunder , and see what it amounted to even upon this poor article . A load of potatoes is twelve weighs Forty-six loads were stolen from the poor man ! They were sold for Is 4 d a-Ioad , that is eightpence for six weighs , making for the forty-six loads £ 3 Is 4 dj while at threepence a stone they were worth £ 11 63 . Now who stole the potatoes ? The rogue that grew them , and paid the rent for the land that produced them or the honest man that knocked them down at £ 3 Is 4 d , while they were worth £ 11 6 a .
The Times of Saturday had a bold and withering article upon the subject , from the deductions with which it is closed , however , we differ wholly , The Times , after commenting upon the ease proceeds thus : — " But what do these scenes teach usl That there is something fearful in the relations between the Irish landlord and his tenant—oppression on the one side , wild , vindictiveness on the other . But what further lesson do they inculcate t What but this t —that instead of severing Ireland from the only nation that has the power and the will to assist her , —instead of dissolving the tie of sympathy which
has of late years drawn the two countries closer and closer together—instead of perpetuating a domestic tyranny and consolidating a domestic feudalism , rampant , domineering , and encroaching , subject to no control and checked by no principle , —those who love Ireland well and wisely should do all in their power to bring her actual state , her sufferings , and her capabilities , within the ken of English opinion and the scope of English justice—that they should admit the fall effulgence of English—of Britishopinion into the dark holes of injustice and intolerance , and frighten power from the indulgence of its capricious cruelty , by enlisting against it the irresistible force of publio feeling .
We come to very different conclusion . We say that if able , England has never evinced a willingness to correct those practical grievances , and if willing she has not the power . That the grievances consist in the abandonment of all duty by those who are bound by every law of nature , of reason , of justice , and expediency , to administer the laws and to set an example to those who are compelled to live under them . That the restoration of Ireland's legislature , whereby grievances on the spot may be complained of , where they occur , and when they occur , and that the censure and odium may fall upon those
sanctioning and tolerating them , while excitement is fresh and before the ft jc shall have passed away ; this is the remedy wanted to ensure justice , give satisfaction , and put an end to agrarian crime . The absentee proprietor uuder whom an Irish middleman holds , and practices his abominations is morally and legally as guilty as his representative . Let the Irish landlords be induced , if not compelled , to return te that country where they have duties of the highest nature to discharge . Let them aot as
magistrates : let them dispense justice , and in its dispensation , we shall see an honourable courtship of public opinion as a means of insuring power of a higher nature than even that which devolves upon the administrators of law—the power to make the law . What effect will the tyranny of O'Dhiscoll have upon the heterogeneous body ' at St . Stephens ! And what effect , if ventured upon , would it not have upon an Irish House of Commons to take prompt cognizance , and to prevent a recurrence of which would be one of its principal duties .
Upon the whole , then , it is not wonderful that the hands of Mr . O'Connkll should be strengthened in his endeavour to destroy the Saxon rule . Talk of your Devon Commission , of your flotillas , your war-ships , and your bomb-boats ; your garrisons , your epy-holes , your spike-holes , and your cannon ramparts . Talk of your horse , foot , and artillery , we tell yon that you have nurtured a deep and rancoroos | hatred throughout the whole term of your ferocious and iniquitous rule , which your patch-work corrections of Church and Landlord abuses can neither obliterate or destroy . You have sown
the seeds of disaffection , dissatisfaction , and discontent , which have produced an abundant harvest of national antipathy , distrust , and hate , which even your monster indictments and tyrannical prosecutions of those who have endeavoured to stay rebellion by promoting justice cannot eradicate . You have sown the wind , and you must reap the whirlwind . You mu 3 t cease to marvel that the victim of O'Dbibcoix will rather look to his priest than to his landlord for sympathy ; and to the wildness of revenge rather than to the law , with O'Dbiscoll upon the bench for justice .
England had it in her power to render a union unnecssary . England had it in her power to make a union effective . She has done neither the one nor the other ; her rule has been one incessant and undeviating coarse of blood , persecution , plunder and injustice , " setting father against son , brother against brother , and man against Mb fellow . And now , ascendancy looks to a Tory lord , with a gallant engineer for his earwig , as a means of allaying discontent . . We believe , and we hope , that during Mr . O'Coknell ' s lifetime the wildness of vengeance will be held in check ; but who that reads , that reasons ,
and that thinks , that must not come to the conclusion and sorrow that the peace of a nation—nay perhaps of Europe—depends upon the life of a man who though of a sound constitution is yet stricken in years . It appears that the malignant Attobnbt-Gskbbal , still resolved upon the ruin of his adopted country , is determined , if possible , to snap all those ties by which alone peace-can be preserved , and thus hurry on the savage cry for justice amid the clash of arms and wild shriek for vengeance . For when the day of retribution comes , we fear that the demand will be for vengeance ; the word Justice having long lost all its charms for the Irish ear .
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ENGLISH LAW versus DURHAM LA . W . In oar last we announced the fact that Mr Roberts had obtained a writ of Habeas Corpus from Mr . Justice Pateeson , ordering the attendance in person of the six Coal King Victims who had been consigned to Durham Gaol , by the Durham Justices —there to be kept to hard labour , and upon the silont system . In compliance with the legal order the six prisoners , ia custody of the Governor , together with Mr . Roberts and Mr . Marshall , the Solicitor for the Coal King 3 , arrived in London at
six o ' olook on Saturday morning , and at teu , the hour appointed for hearing the case , the parties appeared before his Lordship—Mr . Bodkin , M . P ., being retained on behalf of the men , and Mr . Clarkson on behalf of the masters ; and , after a patient consideration of the case , having heard counsel on both sides , the Constitutional Judge ordered the prisoners to be forthwith discharged from the custody of the gaoler , and theyAwere forthwith set at liberty . So far we " might have rested satisfied with the wholesome reproof thus
administered to a set of tyrannical masters and ignorant Ju 8 tices , and we should not have included them further in our general commentary upon the value of English law , but for the following reason : —The Constitutional Judge having no interest ia oppressing the working classes , but evincing rather a desire to afford them the cheapest exposition of the law , directed that one of each of the two batches who had been tried and convicted at different times should be brought up under the writ of Habeas Corpus , and that the judgment upon those appearing should also extend
to the others . This course was proposed for the purpose of saving the prisoners the expence and inconvenience of a journey of nearly 600 miles . The proposition was acqiiiesed in by the Constitutiona 1 Judge , provided the prosecutors should agree . Now let the reader perfectly anderstand this portion of the case . Six poor Colliers were con ricted by the Durham Justices , throe at one period included in the same warrant , and three at another period also included in another warrant . The case of one of eaoh batch was the case of all of that batch , and the decision of the Learned Judge upon the question
submitted to him upon the . personal ^ appearance of one would equally apply to the others . The Learned Judge could not compel the prosecutors to agree to this proposition , but he assented to it . When Mr . Roberts made an application to the prosecutors upon the subject , they instantly refused compliance , and tyrannically insisted upon the appearance of every man of the six—thus imposing a useless expense of between £ 40 and £ 50 on their victims , as well as subjecting four of them to a journey of nearly 600 miles . We would ask if such an act requires further comment than , the mere promulgation of it .
We have . before spoken out upon the course pursued by the Durham Justices with reference to this case , as well as several other oases connected with the complaints of Colliera . Our notions upon this subject have been gathered , not from the facts elicited upon the one isolated case , but from the generally entertained feelings of the wholo mining population towards this description of tribunal . The refusal to grant summonses againstjthe masters , - the deep-rooted conviction upon the minds of men not at all politically tinged , that to go to Castle Eden or
Durham for justice was useless . The courtesy , the patience , and even interest with whioh the propositions of the masters , made through their Solicitor , Mr . Marshall , were received ; the eruption of lava emitted upon each attack upon the masters by Mr . Robehts . The uncalled for and offensive insinuations against . the part he had acted , tending to evince rather a Borrow for the loss of labour , than fair a violation of tht law . From all these circumstances we gathered this undeniable fact , that the men are not , as indeed they could not be , satisfied
with the administration , of Durham justice . la al I these conjectures we might be mistaken altogetherthere not being sufficient to warrant us in charging them with any deliberate act of tyranny or eorru pti on ; but what we did charge them with , and what we do charge them with , is ignorance—ignorance so great , so dangerous , and so disgraceful , as to render them unfit for the administration . of the Eagltsh laws * Those who have read the case will remember that Mr . Roberts more than once warned them of the iDJnaticeand illegality of tryin / r the three prison era
jointly . They therefore proceeded with their eyes open in the commission of an act whioh Mr . Justice Pattison has declared to be illegal . Let us now be minute upon this , the Magistrates portion of the case . They tried three men oharged with separate offonces , altogether ; made the whole body of evidence whioh bore upon any one , to bear equally upon all ; so that if their notions of law are correct , they might with equal propriety have included every pitman of the 500 working at ' tho Thornley Colliery . But why not ! Why should the soienoe of justice stand still amid the gigantic improvements by whioh the mind is startledjaad the eye astonished . Why not " double
deck the bench as well as the mules 1 Why not trial by steam as well as steam production ? Why not a community of justice as well as cooperative stores or community of labour ! What boots it , though : ono man violated the Thornley bond by keeping a donkey , against whioh there is an express provision , or another by keeping a dog , against whioh , notwithstanding the tariff , there is aa actual prohibition , or although another had refused to pay £ 1 2 s . Q& . fine out of 4 ? . 6 d . wages ? Why not bray them , lash them , mash them , all up in one mortar and make a compound of new and improved victims oat of the several component parts !
Our readers are familiar with the old story of the son who was weary of the dull process of repeating grace daily over a barrel of herrings that was provided for the " Lent" store , and , for brevity ' s Bake , asked his father to say grace over the whole barrel at once . Now there was sense in that , for although the herrings might have been taken , and saved , and eaten , at divers times and places , and although consequently the grace should have been said with a" continuando " yet execution executed being the end of the law , the
herrings could not justly complain of having suffered damage from the general act of blessedness , and so it might have been with some of the victims , especially with one who ' . had suffered materiallyl from incareeratioD . Now it was against the steam law that the old constitutional mental manufacturer protested . It was principally upon this act of injustice that the Learned Judg « j » saw the propriety of annulliing the judgment of their mightinesses . It is impossible to overrate th « value of the triumph of the six Miners . The Colliers of the County of Durham will now have
learned that if there is no justice to be had at Castle Eden or Durham , or from the Durham Justices , there is justice to be had in Westminster Hall , at the hands of the administrators of the laws of England . How often have we preached this doctrine How often have wo told our readers that in the law there is a scabbard for every unjust thrust !—a provision against every actof tyranny—aye , and retribution fi > r every aot of injnstice ! The fault lies here . The disparity of wealth allows the rich man to procure the law ' s spirit and the law ' s delay , while
the poor man must submit to the law's letter , and the law ' s rapidity . This disparity , however , as we have frequently shown may be destroyed , by the poor thousands clubbing their pence against the rich one ' s pounds , and had the several trades' unions spent onetwentieth part of the money in proouring law , that they have in sustaining strikes , they would by this time have found themselves richer , more powerful , and better paid . We trust that it is not too late even yet to begin anew , and to implore the people to use the constitutional law as a corrective of magisterial ignorance .
Ignorance was bo grossly and so glaringly manifested in the recent case , that we trust the Lord Chancellor's mind will be directed to the necessity of appointing persons to the Commission of the Peace
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__ ~ ,, with some better qualification than that of political sympathy . Surely , if some qualification be neces > eary for apothecaries , surgeons , physicians , attornies , and parsons , who have the care of our health , our souls , and our properties , some qualification should be required of those who may hare entire oontroul over the lives and the liberties of the working classes , j Again , therefore , we would urge upon the Colliers the absolute necessity of contending for the appointment of stipendiary magistrates , whose
knowledge of the law will be a requisite qualification , and whose administration of justice will be above suspicion . Although from our ignorance of the individuals who constituted the Bench in the Durham case , we cannot charge them with any act of wilful corruption , yet We repeat it , that masters being magistrates , and administering the law , if not in their own case , in others , from which a precedent may be drawn , casts a suspicion around that tribunal , whose value should consist ia being free from even doubt . '
Suppose that those men who are now at large had been allowed to spend the allotted time in prison , how junjust , and yet how many thousands are now lingering out their time in the feloa ' s cell simply because they had not the means of appealing to the justice of the law against the ignorance of the law breakers . So much for the past , of this vitally important case , and now for the future . We learn from Mr . Roberts that Mr . Marshall , the Solicitor of the Coal Kings , said , upon leaving the Constiutional JudceJ " WELL , WE'LL HAVE MORE OF THEM pP . " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof , and should the masters carry the threat of Mr . Marshall into effect he and they shall find that sufficient unto the act shall be our comment
thereon . , £ But the men to whom the words of the Solicitor may be ai warning or a dagger will be pleased to learn that {} Mr . Roberts has taken it as the . herald ' s proclamation of war , as the black flag intimating [ no quarter . And although perfectly willingjtorest satisfied with ths triumph that bis clients had achieved he became at once bound , nay forced , compelled by this declaration of war , to attack the fortress of the enemy ; and to this end he has under the advice of table counsel filed a bill against the masters for violation of all the terms of the contract , and will } follow it up by an application for an injunction to stay all further proceedings against tke Colliers until the issue between them is tried . He has further served the magistrates with notioe 9 of action for the illegality of their decision .
We trust that the Whig and Tory tools of the masters—the Durham Advertiserx that never has time to Write a comment upon passing events—and the Durham Chronicle , that ^ doesn't know how to write upon the past , present , or future , will , if they dabble at all in this ease , tell their few readers that the course about to be pursued by Mr . Roberts has been forced upon him by Mr . Marshall , the Solicitor for the Coal Kings , and communicate to the shopkeepers of Durham the fact , that the £ 650 a fortnight taken out of their tills , has been taken , out or rather ' icpt out , not by Mr . Roberts , but by . the injustice , the cruelty , and intolerance of the tyrant
masters . Again , we say the law—the law—a blow from Mr . Justice Pattesok is stronger , more powerful , and more deadly to oppression than' 10 , 000 shots aimed by dissatisfied man at his fellow creature . Wherever we have been legal ! Chartists , we have either wholly triumphed , or at all events , procured the full value of our money in the laws expedition . We will look with intense anxiety to the course that shall be taken by the colliery delegates at Manchester , upon [ this all-important threat of the masters through their adviser Mr . Marshall . While wo would especially direct their attention and that of the whole ! trade to the following paragraph , now going the round of the papers : —
General Strike in the Collieries . We are sorry to learn that the pitmen of another considerable colliery , in addition to Thornley , have struck work since our last ; and it is currently reported that others will shortly follow their example —Durham Chronicle . Against the ' above piece of incendiarism , for we can call it by I no other name , we moat earnestly , urgently , and ] emphatically caution the Miners . We tell them that none save tricksters , traffickers , tools , rogues , or fools , will endeavour to forco them into a strike . ; They have now tried the operation of the law , and why sully their fresh and maiden
triumph by an act which would turn both law and sympathy against them . Let them take heed lest they entrammel themselves within the legal construction ; which means the most suitable one of the law of conspiracy . Let them not suppose that because being innocent , the law has protected them , that if they become guilty , the law will favour them , or even look mercifully upon their ignorance . Should the Colliers strike , let the responsibility fall upon the heads of those through whose dark counsels the aot has been forced upon them , while we interpose our counsel to save them from all the horrors of a strike and its horrible consequences .
From the confidence that the whole body reposes in US , and to ; which wo consider onrspl « a juctly entitled , we would request of some workman in each colliery to read ; this article to the whole of their brethren , concluding thus : —next week we shall give such full and cogent reasons against a strike aB to make the aot little short of suicide , while we further request that no step may be taken until the decision of the Manchester . Conference shall have been
ascertained . A STRIKE IS THE THING UPON WHICH THE MASTERS RELY AS THE ONLY MEANS OF BREAKING UP THE IN-1 ANT UNION .
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And the like feeling toward the heroic exiles cq * tinned to be exhibited by the press for some few years subsequently . But of late , men appear to bave forgotten thai there is , or , at any rate , was a Poland . -We . know that there are Poles ; for -we have an annual city ball for their benefit : and this year has wit . nessed grave discussions in the Times as to the propriety of devoting these balls to the aid of cm own poor , rather than to the relief of expatriated . " foreigners . " It no doubt is quite right to look to the case of our own poor first ; and we are certainly
not of that class of mock philanthropists to rouse whose sympathies it is necessary to bring before them some case of suffering from the uttermost ends of the earth , while they are blind to the misery existing around them . We are not philanthropists of that school . Still we do not believe in the doctrine that we should not sympathise with others , because ourselves need sympathy . 'Tie not charity , but justice that the people of this country require . Give them that , and at the same time withold not sympathy from the destitute and friendless stranger .
But we demand , on behalf of Poland , something higher , nobler , than mere charity balls . _ We demand the continued sympathies of the press in snpport of the cause for which Poland ' s children are suffering . We have seen with sorrow the anniversary of the Polish struggle pass by and not a pea employed in defence
of" The noblest cause that tongue or sword , Of mortal ever lost or gained . " Other matters pressing upon us at the moment , prevented our taking up this subject as we had intended to have done in the Star of the 2 nd instant ; but we could not allow the present year to pass by without renewing our protest against the fearful wrong—the deadliest of all blows fstruok at the cause of civilization and human progress , the blotting out of an entire nation , because that nation stood between progression and absolutism , the van-guard of the former , the terror of the latter .
We have never ceased to raise our voice on behalf of unhappy Poland , and in impeachment of her imperial murderer . And at what fitter time could we raise our voice in so holy a cause as the present , when men are celebrating the birth of him whose golden rule was , " Do unto thy brother as thou wouldst thy brother should do unto thee" ! We abhor oppression , and have pledged ourselves to do battle to the death with wrong and tyranny ia our own country ^ and shall we forget the sufferings of the exile , and the wrong done ia that exile ' s heritage , by blood-reeking barbarous despotism !—Never !
It were useless to dwell upon the act 3 of tyranny and cruelty which have been perpetrated in Poland during tho last twelve months ; such as the horrible ukase by which all the Catholics in the provinces of Yolhynia , Padolia , and Ukraine , are ordered to embrace the Russo-Greek religion in the course of two years , on pain of exile and the confiscation of their property ! or the more recent edict of the pnrple-clad monster , by which the Jews are banished from all parts of his dominions which border on Austria and Prussia . The reasons assigned for this decree , which expels nearly three hundred thousand individuals from house and home , without eo much
a 3 assigning them a refuge elsewhere , are , forsooth , that the Jews have seduced Russian soldiers to desert , and have been guilty of smuggling and general injustice ! This last charge comes well from a government whose officials throughout the empire , from the highest to the lowest , are addicted to bribery , peculation , corruption , and pecuniary frauds of all kinds , to a degree scarcely credible among the more civilised nations of Europe . All these hideous aots of tyranny are the necessary conesquences of the one monster crime permitted by Europe—the partition of the territory and the dissolution of the nationality of Poland .
We have witnessed with Borrow the fallmg-off of the annual demonstrations on the glorious though illfated 29 th November ; a falling-off strikingly visible this year in particular . There must be causes for this . If we mistake not , the greater number of the emigrants in this country consist of the aristocratic se ction of the exiles . The aristocrats caused the failure of the Revolution ; and the lack of energy they exhibited as the leaders of the straggle , they Are not likely to supply under present circumstances Again , the English democrats are not very likely to co-operate with men who are patronized by the aristocratic oppressors of the English
people ; with men who , though they were anti-Russian , were anti-democratic ; who , though they hated Russian tyranny , hated still worse social freedom , and refused to sink their class privileges in the common rights of all . With such men the English democracy , whose motto is , " For the people and by the people , " are not likely to sympathise . Henoe the melancbsly fact that at the recent meeting in the Sussex Rooms , the audience was composed entirely of Poles , when there f . j ght to have been thousands of the English people present to have expressed their respect for the Polish <—>» se and their detestatation of Russian b ««*»* isin .
We turn to a Dortion of Poland's exiled children to demand of them the adoption of a wiser policy than that which has produced the above results We tarn to the democratic Poles , and call upon them not to forget the work of their mission Nearly twelve years since , they formed themselves into a society > for the purpose of organizing an enlightened European opinion in favour of the restoration of Poland . Seven years since , that Society addressed its manifesto to the democracy of Europea document breathing the pure spirit of holiest patriotism—setting forth its cause , its objects , and
means of accomplishment . At that time a section of the Society existed in England , considerable for its numbers , and respectable for the intellect and patriotism of its members . Some of them have since been borne to the refuge of the injured , where the wicked cease from troubling , and the W 6 ary are at rest . " Others have been scattered abroad by the necessity of struggling for an honourable subsistence . Still there have been subsequently holden at Portsmouth and other places , gatherings of the brave and true . But now all appears a blank , the cause being entirely abandoned to the protege ' s of Lord Dudiet Stuabx . We remind the democrats of their pledges
and their great , and as yet unaccomplished , mission to remember that they are the representatives of sixty millions of Sclavonians , denationalizad and held in bondage by the crowned brigands of Europe ; to remember that their country is the frontier of civilised Europe , and the ancient protector of the West against Northern and Eastern barbarism : to remember that their countrymen , to the number of twenty millions , the greater part of whom are in a state of actual slavery to their degenerated Polish and oruel Russian lords , look to them as their deliverers from their worse than Egyytain bondage . And let not the democrats despair of a future and triumphant victory .
For" If we do but watch the hoar , There never yet was human power That could evade , if unforgiven , The patient search and vigil long Of them who treasure up a wteng . " The very scattering of the Poles amongst the nations of the earth may be destined to hasten the universal emancipation of the European family , amongst whom they at present exist , a monument of human endnranoe . and undying patriotism , stimulating less heroic nations to the like sacrifices ia defence of liberty . Moreover , who will assert that
the sixty millions of Slavons may not yet shake off the chains of the " Holy Alliance , * and under the banner of federal republicanism unite once more What ! when France , Germany , and Switzerland ate heaving with the silent yet steady workings of a Revolution destined to destroy the reign of privilege , and sweep away the crimes of caste ; when Greece once more rivals her ancient glories , and even priest-blighted Italy and Spain make efforts , though vain , yet promising brighter things in defence of freedom ; when even in this " nation of shopkeepers "— -this gold-corrupted , commerce-cawed England , an unequalled Revolution is advancing )
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^ M ^^^ N ^^ O' ^ V ^^^^^^^^ rs ^^ w ^ , ^ ' ^ - ^ S ^ S \* + SHALL POLAND PERISH ? ; u What though y our cause be be filed—freemen cist In dungeons— -dragged to death , or forced to flse , Hope is not withered in affliction ' s blast !—The patriot ' s blood ' s the seed of freedom ' s tree . " When in 1830 the people of Poland rose against their foreign oppressors , and attested by an uninterrupted aetiea of victories gained in bloody conteats their devotion to their country , and their heroism in its ^ defence ; when astonished' Europe
saw the immense hordes of the tyrant Czar scattered like chaff before the hurricane by a comparative handful of brave men ; when for the space of ten months the gore-dyed demon of the North had not one solitary j victory to boast of , but everywhere saw his legions mowed down by the soythearmed youth of Poland ; then did the newspaper press of this cWntry , forgetting its prostitution to the services of despotism at home , hail with shouts of joy the triumphs of the heroic Slavons , and dwell with delight on the hoped-for success of the glorious struggle .
When again , that struggle had ended in ruin . ; when betrayed by treaohery , lost by the inherent vices of the Polish aristocratical system , and refused the aid which the Polish people had a right to expect from the Governments of England and France ; when these and j other causes had combined to give the victory once more to the oppressor , and doom the oppressed to death , chains , and exile , and the blackness of despair again floated over unhappy Poland , where late the sun of hope had shone
refulgent ; when Warsaw ' s streets rang with the groans of the slaughtered and the shrieks of the wronged , and the savage jknout tore the living flesh from the backs of Poland ' s daughters , and they were subjected to hellish horrors to which our pen refuses to give a name ; when , ia short , brutalities and enormities , blaok as Stygian night , were committed by the triumphant Autocrat on his vanquished and prostrate victim , ; again did the press teem with denunciations of the tyrant , and excite a righteous indignation at his cruelties .
And when the heroes of Poland ' s broken pha ? lanxes sought refuge from their vindictive and merciless persecutor in the bosoms of the nations of the West , the ] pre 39 nobly did its duty in welcoming the exileB tojour shores , and consoling the fallen by pledging the sympathies of the existing generation to the cause of Poland ' s resuscitation and restored nationality .
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Ihe Northern Star Saturday, December 30, 1843.
IHE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , DECEMBER 30 , 1843 .
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The kexi delegate heetikg . of the Lancashire Miners will be holden in the anti-Room of the Carpenters' Hall , Girratt-road , lianchester , on Tuesday next , January 2 nd , 1844 ; chair to be taken at nine o ' clock In tbe morning . Business of tbe utmost importance will be brought before the meeting , and it i a hoped tbe delegates will be punctual In their attendance , and bring ihetr credential signed by the President and Secretary of the Lodges to which they respectively belong . £ _ The INaTIOnal Cospbbencb will commence its sittings on tbe same day ( Tuesday , January 2 nd , 1844 . ) , in the Grand Hall ; chair to be taken at nine o ' clock in the morning . A limited nnmber of tickets will be issued for tbe admission of parties to witness the proceedings .
Mb . Wixii-am inxox , of Manchester , will deliver a lecture on Tnesday evening next in th * Carpenter ' s HalL Subject— "The Miners'Grievances . " Chair to be taken at eight o ' clock precisely . On the following evening , Wednesday , Mr . James Leach will lecture In tbe above Halt Subject— " The Bights of Labour . " On Thursday and Friday evtnings lectures will be delivered by accredited agents of the Miners ' Association . The Lancashire Secretary begs to inform tbe parties who may be elected to the forthcoming Conference that be has procured accommodations for about fifty individuals , and upon their arrival in Manchester they are requested to spply for Mr . Win . Dixon , No . 3 , Cross-street East , sear Forty Bow , Great Ancoats-street , where the Secretary wiil be in attendance to receive them .
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a THE NORTHERN STAR- '
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 30, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1245/page/4/
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