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THOMAS COOPJSSi, THS CcU-iS-TaSTS WOUHS. THOMaS COO?E£. THS ca-iaTiSTs
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ma JSOKTMEKiN STAR. SATURDAY, AL'KIL 4, 1816.
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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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To be had of John Cleave , and all booksellers . ( Price One Shilling . ) TWO ORATIONS * AGAINST
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THE PURGATORY OF SUICIDES . A Prison Rhyme . In Ten Books . ( One Vul ., 7 s . 6 d . ) "The most tvonrierful tftbit of intellectual power proancen within the last century . "— ' The Britannia . " Here we have a geauine poem springing out of the spirit of the times , and indeed out of the heart , and exerieuce of on ? who lias wrestled with and suffered in it . I t is no other than a poem in ten books , by a Chartist , and wl : o boldly sets his name aud his profession oi Chartism on the title-page . It is plain that he glories in IcispoEric . il faith more than in his poetry ; nuy , his verse is bui the vehicle of that faith . Yet , nevertheless , it is a vigorous anfl mosi efficient vehicle . We must cordially toafess that we have read the whole with a feeling of « n-Kgned astonishment . —Edcctic Hcvicw .
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WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES . ( Two Vols , las . ) " A stries of Crabbc-like sketches , in prose . Thej are manifest portraits , and admonish us of the author ' : skill iu taking the literal likeness . " —Atltenxnm . " We have read some of these stories with deep interest , and few , we are persuaded , will rise from their perusal but with feelings all the warmer for what they hare read . They can scarcely fail to he popular with * tue u ; asses ; ' and , upon the whole , we think they deserve to be so . " —Atlas . "The author excuses the sternness of his pictnres by alleging their truth . The justification is all-sufficient . Chartist as these sketches are , they are healthier , in t » i » e and sentiment , than the tawdry fictions Tamped up for the reading public by some popular miters , that profess to exhibit the life of the labouring classes . "—The Britannia .
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" The most charming andfantastic feature : n this little Tolume . with its right dainty title-page , is the exuberance , and , Suolh to say . the rijipositeness of the different songs chaunted rounJ the ingle in Torksey Hall . Thomas Cooper's heart see : r . sbrimining over with this spontaneous poetry . Tiio book altogether is an original : it is jujt suited for the winter ' s fireside , over a posset and euros . " — Sun . "Let Cooper throw away his Chartist notions—and what has a poet to do with rude questions of politics , of Charters , and political faiths , creeds , aud the like ?—and he may take his plac * high up in the Temple of Fame , as one of Uiiglaiid'd greatest ai ; d truest-hearted poets . The m : ; u who can write such exquisitegcuts as thislittle volume abounds with , may , niid lie will , carre out for himself a name ss enduring as the language in which he pens the 'thought' iiiatbreathe , and words that burn . * Altogvthcr , this is the best Christmas book we have yet seen . "Leiaitir ( Tory ) Journal .
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Just published , by the Executive Committee of the National Charter Association , Parts I . and II . of rnHE POLITICAL WORKS OF THOMAS PAINE : J _ to be regularly continued until completed . This edition of the works of Paine has the merit of being the cheapest aud neatest ever offered to the public . It will cousist of five parts , stitched iu wrapper , at sixpence each ; and will be embellished with a beautiful vignette of the author , engraved exclusively for this work . London : Cleave , 1 , Shoe-lane ; Hey wood , Manchester ; and all booksellers and agents of the Northern Star . >\ B . Orders executed by T . M . Wheeler , General Sscretary ; and by the various £ ub-secretaries throughout the couuiry .
Thomas Coopjssi, Ths Ccu-Is-Tasts Wouhs. Thomas Coo?E£. Ths Ca-Iatists
THOMAS COOPJSSi , THS CcU-iS-TaSTS WOUHS . THOMaS COO ? E £ . THS ca-iaTiSTs
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STRIKES IN LANCASHIRE . Asoihkr of those periodical struggles which mark the unnatural and hostile relations which exist between Capital and Labjur under the present system is now going on in Lancashire . The battle originated in Manchester , in consequence of a demand by the carpenters and joiners of that town , giving notice to their employers that on and after the 1 st ol March they would require an advance of sixpence a day . The reasons for this demand were , that the trade was in a flourishing state ; that an advance owages bad been given in other districts ; and that ia other trades . wages had either been increased or the hours of labour curtailed .
To this notice , which was given on the 1 st of January , the masters returned no answer until the 27 th of February , when they intimated their willingness lo give an advance of two shillings per week upon condition that the hours of work per week , which were last autumn reduced to fifty-seven tho year round , should be increased to sixty—the old number . To this proposition a negative was unanimously returned by the men on the ground that the increase of the number of working hours would tend to produce a surplus iu the labour-market , and
thereby inevitably bring about a reduction of wages . A strike was the consequence . The masters iu the other building trades learning that their workmen were assisting the carpenters , gave them notice to leave , and at the end of the week 4 , 000 bricklayers , slaters , plumbers , glaziers , painters , plasterers , and their labourers , were thrown idle . The masters in these trades united for the purpose of aiding eacli other in resisting the demands of thoir workmen ; and , with an inconsistency not unusual with selfish and angry people , called upon them to break up the Trades' Union at the dictation of a Masters '
Union ! The contest -was not , however , confined to Manchester . Acting upon the aggressive policy of their brethren in that town , the employers in Liverpool and Lirkeuhead demanded that their workmen should sign the following declaration : — " We , the undersigned , do hereby declare that we are not , or will not remain members of any Trades' Unious , or of other societies , uudcr whatever designation they may be liuown , which have for their objects auy interference with the rights of labour , or with the arrangements that may be entered into between employers and workmen . And we further declare , that we trill not
appropriate , and , as far as we are able , trill not permit to hi : appropriated , for thu purpose of supporting a turnout here or elsewhere , amongst th ' e building branches .. r otherwise , any sum or sums of money belonging to an > sick , burial , or other society which has been established fur benevolent purposes alone . " And upon their refusal to do so , upwards of S 000 were turned out in Liverpool last Monday . While writing , we learn that this war against Trades ' Unions , on the part of the masters , has extended into the West Riding of Yorkshire , and that 330 joiners have been turned out in Bradford for declining to sign the declaration , being the whole of thai bod y iu the town with the exception of four
foremen . 1 l will be seen , therefore , that , ' in this instance , the biame of the distress , disorganisation , bad feeling , and other uaual concomitants of a general and extensive strike , cannot be thrown upon the men . The masters are the peace-breakers , the aggressors ; and the wanton , as well as unjustifiable nature of their attack , is all the mure conspicuous , because , in the manifesto in which the Liverpool employers announce their determination to compel their men t o sign the declaration , they have the following pas-
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sage , which > ve give exactly as it stands in the original ;•—They hold that juittlce J ° the public as well as to the operatives , requires that labodk ° s well as capital sham be free ; that every man ought to he at perfect liberty to dispose of his labour , which is his capital , when , where , and as he pleases ; that it cannot be for the advantage of the working classes themselves that a dictatorial inquisition should be established , and that an irrespon » ible agency should exist , to create a monopoly , and tax the industry of the many for the benefit of the feir . sage , which we give exactly as it stands in the
It is strange that it should not have occurred to some of these Solons , in the midst of their blind rage against Trades' Unions , that the above is as applicable to their own conduct as it could have been , had the Trades' Unions been the aggressors , which they are not in this quarrel . How , in the name of common senso , can labour be free if the masters establish " a dictatorial inquisition" which is to take cognisance of the manner in which the labourer
spends the money he has honestl y earned , and dictate the course he is to pursue with respect to the most private and most sacred of his rights ? The whole affair is so preposterously absurd , so glaringly tyrannical , that nothing , save the blissful unconsciousness of the monstrosity of the proceedings under which these gentlemen are labouring , could oiler any palliation—if that circumstance can be accepted as such .
The tone of the papers through which they express their feelings is also curiously illustrative of their total want of comprehension of the wrong position they have assumed . The Liverpool Times talks of the masters having " determined fairly to take the bull by the horns , and at once to put an end to the turn-out ; " of their "hope thus to strike at the root of the evil by cutting off the supplies which the men now are sending to tkose who have turned out . " This is strange language for a free trade paper—for an advocate of the right of everybody to do what he likes with his own—to buy iu tho cheapest and sell in the dearest market . Or do these staple doctrines of the political economists only belong to the favoured class of masters ?
It is occurrences such as these which make the working classes suspicieus of the flaming patriots who preach up " cheap bread and frco trade" as the panacea for all grievances . They know that these rery patriots are erer foremost in the warfare against the rights and comforts of the working men , and they believe that their principal object in urging forward the change , is to . have an opportunity of growing more speedily rich through the means of the unbridled and unregulated competition which will thereby be introduced .
If anything could stimulate the trades of this country to persevere in their old course of maintaining Trades' Unions for protection against aggression , it would be such conduct as that of the masters upon this occasion . They have thus forcibly brought home to their senses the unsleeping nature of the foe against whom they have to contend . The fine generalising in which certain pseudo-philosophers indulge as to the identity of interest between Capital and Labour are demonstrated to be practical falsehoods . There is a natural and indestructible antagonism between these two elements , which must continue so long as labour is a commodity to be bought by the former .
Our sympathies are wi < h the labourers in this struggle , and they have our heartfelt wishes for success . This is not the time for us to reproach them with inattention to the great principles , political and social , which for years this journal . has urged upon their notice ; but we cannot refrain from reminding them that political privileges are the best safeguards of social rights , and that until the course of action be adopted of uniting their own skill , capital , and intelligence , in manufactories , workshops , and farms of
their own , they will be unable effectually to copo with machinery and capital , monopolised as these now are by a few men who have the same interest in crushing labour everywhere . The measures organised by the Trades' Conference last autumn , and the Chartist Land Society , offer to the trades the means of doing this ; and if they understand their own permanent interests , they will , immediately on the termination of this struggle , make these associations NATIONAL in their scope , and in the numbers , wealth , and energy at their command .
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were invited ; and amongst the men who give themselves airs about their " education , " Charles Dickens and Douglas Jekrold , reported to be two of the conductors of the Daily News , were invited , but their " education" failed to teach them the common civility of even replying to the letters sent to them ; a piece of genteel vulgarity which not one of the " illiterate followers of Fkauous O'Cosnor" would have been guilty of . But we will not waste further words on this abortion—everybody in London ia aware that its days are numbered . i The Times' abuse was of a different aharacter . The Thunderer denounced the Chartists as the reprewere invited ; and amongst the men who give them-
sentatives of the " holy brotherhood of revolutionary France ; " tho raisers of the cry of " death and ruin to kings , and thrones , and ancient institutions ;" champions of " the sovereignty , of the people ; " and last , not least , men guilty of the crime of " speaking to the heart , not the judgment—appealing to the sympathies and sufferings of the humane and oppressed . " " From these , " says the Times , "the Chartist expects the responsive echo , and ( alas ! for the folly and weakness of human nature ) too often he receives it . " "Alas ! poor Yoiuck "—alas ! poor Thunderer . It was only a few days previous that
the Times was boasting that the "delusions of the Chartists" had been stifled er dispersed , " and that in this country there was nothing to apprehend either from Democrats or Communists ; they were politically dead , and their doctrines extinguished ! Hence the " resurrection" at the Crown and Anchor naturally set the Thunderer in a rage . The Times particularly assailed Messrs . M'Gkath , Habnet , and Doilk , for their denunciations of the system of privileges , denying that the Polish people were oppressed and miserable because ruled by the rich and noble , but because they wero not placed in a society
of <( various and nicely-shaded gradations . " Such as exists in England , we presume ! These " nieelyshaded gradations" certainly are very well for some folk . Our "interesting" Queen and Field-Marshal Albert doubtless have not much to complain of . The titled usurpers of the soil , such choice specimens of hereditary wisdom a 3 the Dukes of Richmond , KonroLK , and Buckingham , for instance , whom the Times , in its free trade zeal , has done its best to bring into contempt—a very unnecessary labour—they should be satisfied with the" nicely shaded gradations . " The cormorants of the Church ,
whom the Times describes as affording the most flagrant instances of criminals stained with the most infamous vices—incest , adultery , cruelty , avarice , chicanery , and slander—this class ( we except tho curates ) no doubt , consider tho " nicely-shaded gradations" a providential system for them . So with all the privileged classes , including the flunkies * lick-spittle editors , and other supporters of things as they are . Of course , the ' nicely-shaded gradations ' ' afford the writer in the Times a snug birth , and he is satisfied . But what about the masses ? The tillers of the soil subsisting on eight shillings weekly , women stone-breaking , children toiling in the
abominable rattle-boxes , the thousands of unhappy beings in the Union Bastiles , the gnawers of rotten bones , the numbers who die of starvation ; behold the state provided for these classes , the majority of the community , by the " nicely-shaded gradations , " which the Times writer recommends as the panacea for Polish grievances ! If this was all the hope we could offer Poland , we would rather that annihila tion was the doom of her children . The unholy system of English society , insteadof being imitated in other lands , must be uprooted from its native soil before justice will reign , or England set a fitting example to other nations .
The denunciation of the London meeting by the Times will do good , not evil . It will show the continental nations that the British people are not faithfully represented by the British press . That if the latter opposes the rights and happiness of the nations of Europe , the British masses are the friends of those nations , and determined to aid them in their struggle for the overthrow of tyranny of every description , and the establishment of the rights and liberties of all .
The appeal made by the Times to tho Poles to repudiate the English Democrats , has been sufficiently answered by the address of the Polish exiles published in our last number . The Polish and the British Democrats both recognise "the banner hoisted on the walls of Cracow , " the banner of equal rights and equal laws . This week we have experienced the additional satisfaction of receiving personally the thanks both of the deputy of the Polish committee established in Paris , and of one of the most trusted and popular men of the Emigration , who , though of the aristocratic rank , is a sterling Democrat , and an enthusiastic defender of the principles proclaimed at the London meeting .
It lias unfortunately happened that simultaneously with the breaking out of the Polish insurrection , large mnsse 3 of the operatives in the most Democratic districts of England have been cast out of employment , some of them ( the woolcombers of Bradford , for instance ) through the increasing substitution of machinery for manual labour ; and others ( the building trades of Lancashire ) through the atrocious tyranny of the capitalists , who are striving to reduce to worse than Polish bondage the men who are insulted with the title of " Free-born Britons . " These turn-outs no 6 only affect the men in a state of
forced idleness , but also all other trades who naturally and properly tax themselves to support their struggling brethren . Under these circumstances , largo or general subscri ptions for the Poles cannot be obtained . Moreover , the minds of the workmen being occupied with their own struggle for existence , renders it a matter next to impossible , at this moment , to got up demonstrations iu the shape of meetings for the Polish cause . Besides which , the withering influence of the daily press must betaken into account , reiterating as it does , day by day , that
the insurrection is at an end , thereby damping the ardour of the British people . Still , we know so well the generous sentiments of the working men of Britain , that we feel fully justified in asserting that the London meeting faithfull y represented their ideas , and that , did it depend upon them—had they the choosing of the legislature—could they command the government , Brltiah intervention would immediately hurl the miscreant of the North from his bloodcemented throne , and re-establish Poland in her ancient independence , and more than her ancient freedom .
Having to contend with these unfavourable circumstances , it may be supposed that the Committee for Poland ' s Regeneration , appointed at the London meeting , cannot effect much at present ; nevertheless , tho members of that committee having been elected to do a great and uoblo work , must not let present untoward events discourage them from the perform , ancc of their duties . They may do much of themselves , and very trifling aid will enable them to do much more . It must be their province to watch every act of the oppressors and the oppressed , and to let no act ( coming to their knowledge ) of cruelty
on the part of tho former , or devotion on the part of the latter , occur , without holding such acts up to tho execration or adm iration of tho British people . Should any new victims of despotism be driven to these shores , the committee must strive to arouse public sympathy in their behalf . By addresses to the people , and memorials to the legislature and government , tho committee should constantly keep the sufferings of the Poles before the British public . Lastly , we suggest that a brief and clear statement of the wrongs of Poland , and the
means of redressing those wrongs , similar in spirit to the petition adopted at the London meeting , should be sent to every member of Parliament , and his answer required as to whether he would support the views of the committee ; these answers to be published , as ane means toward creating a manifestation of public opinion strong enough to ultimatel y compel the British government to inteifere for the restoration of Poland . But to carry out this suggestion , the committee will require some pecuniary aid to defray tho expenses of printing and postage ; even
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the postage of a single letter to each member of Parliament will be an item of soni e account , but still of inconsiderable amount when provided for by the subscriptions of thousands . We observe that the South Lancashire Chartist delegates have recommended that the subject of Poland ' s wrongs should be brought before the next Chartist Convention . We trust this recommondV tion will be taken up in every locality , and the delegates , when elected , instructed accordingl y . * Since the above was written we have received n copy of the Refonne ( Paris paper ) of Tuesday last , containing a most admirable article on the Crown and Anchor meeting . We shall endeavour to give a translation of our cotemporary ' s generous comments in our next numbor . the postage of a single lette . " to each member of Par-
" The insurrection is putdewn "—so say the journalists in tho pay of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie ; of that we are not sure , but even if " put down" i { can but be for a moment . Read the following , men of Britain , and ask yourselves—can Poland bo con quered : — EXECUTION Of THt ! PHI 8 ONBSI . We extract the following from a letter from Warsaw : — " The executions which took place on the 10 th form a bloody wreath round the crown of Russia . Not only wore the executions announced by proclamation , published in the newspapers , stuck up all over tho city , distributed in the streets , and sent into the
different houses , but the public was invitod to attend the exacution , as if it were some sceno of festivity in which they were enjeined to share . This festival of the Russian government took place at a late hour in the day ; generally the condemned were executed at eight in the merning , at times even at four . Two Polish noblei , two citizem , Staniilas Crociszewski and Zarski , were executed at ten in the morning of the 16 th . They died on the gallows , The sentence for civil criminals in Poland is decapitation ; military criminals are shot . The ignominious death on the gallowg strikes horror into the public mind . It was to cast this i gnominy on the martyrs of the ICth that they wero ordered to b »
hung . They were miistaUen . The gallows has been honoured by the death of Zarski and Koselszcwski . All the towns in Poland are to witness similar execution ! . Tho people of Warsaw showed themselves worthy of tho trial on the 10 th ; 20 , 000 men were under arms . Before nine o ' elock scarcely a soul was in the streets . Suddenlj the streets of the noble city were crowded bj denie masses , proceeding solemnly towards the pl » ce of the execution . The space which separates the Citadel of Warsaw from Murimont and Bielanv ia an immune barren field . This place was filled by an immense multitude
, who came to b \ d a last farewell to the martyrs of their country , and whisper hope to them iu their dying hour . At the execution of Konarski at Wilna , the Rusiian soldiers wept . This was a scandal in the eyes of the government . To prevent the damnable crime of shedding tears , instead of having them shot like Konarski , the conspirators were ordered to be hung . The regiments on duty in the streets , and on the place of execution , were terror-struck at the a » pect of the p * pulation of Warsaw . The traces of receat tears were on the faces of thouiands , but at the solemn momant not a tear was shed—they denied such a gratification to their
enemies . " As the hour of t « n struck , an extraordinary movement was visible in the assembled multitude , and when the fatal noose was passed round the ntcks of the noble victims , the men uncovered their heads , and the whole populace knelt as one man . The iky had been overcast all the morning , but at the fatal moment the sun burst forth in its glory , and then vanished behind the darkening clouds . After the execution of Zarski and Koscisssewski , the sentence of Litynski followed immediately . The noble Litynski , a man of property at Warsaw , after suffering degradaUon under the gallows with his fellowprisoners , likewise condemned to Siberia , received his
• tripes by passing through two files of soldiers . His fellow sufferers are noblemen , and in Kussia noblemen may not receive stripes . The generous-minded and pa . triotio Litynski is of humble extraction ; he was therefore flagellated . When a soldier is sentenced to receive any number of stripes , a non-commissioned officer precedes him holding a bayonet against his breast , so that he may not advance too quickly , and thus avoid a few stripes . The Russian government , fearing lest Litynski should rush u | on the bayonet , and thus put an end to his suffering , had ordered two non-commissioned officers to precede him with the butt-ends of their muskets turned against big noble breast .
A nation suffering such wrongs—a nation constantly producing such heroes , may be worsted in one , two , | or three struggles , but must ultimately be victorious . Britons , read the above again—read it to your wives , and tell them , what is , alas ! too true , that numbers of Polish women have been driven mad through the loss of their husbands ; read it to your children , and teaeh them to lisp hatred towards Poland ' s executioners , and sympathy for her suffering sons and daughters . Imprint every word of the above blood-freezing tale upon the tablets of your memories . Let the names of CnociszKwsiu , Zarski , Litynski , and their brother martyrs , become household words" Names of fear That tyranny shall quake to hear . " Names of love , that patriots shall burn to imitate . Oh , men of Poland , heroic brothers , despair not—What , though your cause be baffled—freemen cast In dungeons—dragged to death—or forced to flee , Uopo is not wither'd in affliction ' s blast , The Patriot ' s blood ' s the seed of freedom ' s tree . The Crusade shall be organised—it is organising , not in secret , but openly all over Europe . Thev call
you , our unfortunate brethren , " conspirators ' . " Well , then , we too are " conspirators "—your every thought and hope is also ours ; and with you we have sworn eternal hatred of your tyrants . Tho " Polish Propaganda" has commenced in earnest ; and it shall never cense until Poland , from the Oder and the Carpathian mountains , to the Borysthenes and the Dwiua—from the Baltic to the Black Sea , shall tako her place amengst the free and independent nations of Europe , owning no foreign tyrant , and no sovereignty but that of the entire Polish people .
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them to establish a claim upon their future support , without immediately damaging the Minister . The Protectionists , on the other hand , though quite as eager for revenge on their leader , who has , an they think , betrayed them , liare no notion of obtaining that revenge by voting in opposition to the policy consist , ently pursued by their party towards Ireland . Hence , they sppported a Minister they dislike , and whose policy they abhor . Apart from its bearing upon tho state of parties , the interest of the debate was heightened by the persomil attack of Mr . Shaw upon Sir J . Giiahah , which imparted to it a peculiarly " spicy" flavour . them to establish a claim upon their future BUDnort
Sir James , last week , insinuated that the bitterness of Mr . Shaw ' s opposition arose from the fact of hia having been disappointed—first , in securing a retiring pension , as Recorder of Dublin , and second , in an application for the Chief Secretaryship of Ireland . These allegations Mr . Siuw effectually disposed of . The second , especially , he declared to be without a single atom of truth ; and having passed an elaborate eulogium on Fkkl , as a man incapable of an untruth , he expressed his regret that he had fallen iutosBch bands as Graham ' s , who was the evil genius of his cabinet , and with whom no ministry could long exist ; in this country . He felt neither fear nor
resentmenfc for him , but a much loss dignified feeling , which the forms of the house would not permit him to name . Tho excitement created by Mr . Stair ' s spirited attack was immense . The Home Secrctarv in his reply , reminded us very much of the inimitable Pecksniff of Dickens . His air and tone were elaborately meek , the very impersonation of injured innocence , but , witii a truly angelic superiority to mere human frailties , he had no anger whatever towards his assailant . The attempt , however , to make it appear that his charge as to the Irish Secretary * ship was prospective , and not retrospective , was so transparent that a universal groan of disbelief followed its utterance .
ihe slow progress of the New Houses has been the theme of complaint for several sesBionB past , and has been the occasion of some talk in the Lords this week . It seems that Mr . Barry , the architect , and Dr . Rbid , who has charge of the heating and von . tilating , are at loggerheads , and , between the two , the " New Palace at Westminster" stands stock-still . It is proposed to put the matter under the direct control of the Woods and Forests , as there is no probability of any termination of the dispute between the belligerent parties .
A case of great importance to the presB and to the public was disposed of on Wednesday . An investigation into the state of the Lichfield Free School having been ordered by government , the results were published under its authority in the usual shape of a report . The editor of the Wolverhampton Chronicle inserted this report in his paper with comments , and a prosecution was thereupon instituted against him , which , resulted in a verdict of £ 50 , which , with costs , made his loss altogether £ 300 . Air . Parker , the original publisher of the report , was also proceeded against , but was defended by the government—a verdict for 40 s . was taken by consent , and the govern *
tnent paid all the coats . It was now asked that Mr . Wood , the second-hand retailer of the goyernmont information , should not be treated worse than the original publisher . The justice of the claim was disputed , and the motion . was ultimately withdrawn . This appears to us to be a very hard case . It involves Hot only tha utility of the " blue books" and other documents issued by government at a vast cost to the country , and which , unless presented to the public by mean 3 of ths newspapers , might as well never be presented at all , but also the right of newspaper proprietors to make use of information which , havin « been
collected by the authority of government , and published under its sanction , ought to be available to the whole community . We can scarcely conceive of a greater , piece of injustice to the individual than the payment of the costs of the action against the original publisher and leaving the mere copyist to bear the brunt of a second ; nor , on the other hand , of a greater attack upon the freedom and usefulness of the press , the conductors of which will be deterred from the exposure of abuses , even when such exposure comes with the sanction of a government inquiry , if they have reason to dread that great pecuniary loss , if not ruin , will follow such exposure .
The question of a Poor Law for Ireland was debated on Wednesday . Mr . Povlet Scrope , who introduced it , has devoted many years to this special question , and somewhat eleborately explained tha grounds upon which he urged the adoption of hia views . One of these we must extract : — The third object of a Poor Law in any country was , he believed , to giro that protection to the life of the poor man which ought to be the foundation of all law , and which was necessary to take from him the pita of abso . lute necessity as an excuse for crime . The law of the land , he believed , sanctioned the commission of crime iu theextremest necessity ; he believed that the judges of the land had said that stealing a loaf from a shop by a man who was starving from hunger was not punishable , by law . The Attorney-General denied that it was so
Mr . P . Scrope continued . —But at all event * they could not punish a man who was starving , and who helped him . self for the purpose of maintaining life to the nearest food at hand : and therefoto , unless they could give relief they could not justify the law which protected any property whatever , especially property in land , which teas the common gift of the Creator to mankind upon which to maintain them , selves ; and he asserted indisputabl y that when they es . tabliahed a monopol y of the land of a country in the hands of a large or a small number of proprietors , the mass of the inhabitants of that country had a ri ght to call upon Parliament to give them some other resources to secure them from absolute want , and from poriihin » upon the face of the land which God had given them to support lemtelvaa .
Of course , these extreme doctrines roused the virtuous indignation of the Home . Secretary , wb . o told Mr . Scropk that—_ Considering tho present state of Ireland , and the ex . ratement which prevails , the topics which he has adverted to , and the manner which he has dwelt on them , in my humble judgmunt greatly tend to aggravate , without his intending it , the circumstances of the present crisis , and to add fearfully to the difficulties of administering the affairs of that country . U was possible to be a consistent and honest enthusiast , and at the same time a very indiscreet person ; and it was also possible that enthusiasts might rush in , where exnatural and indistructible antagonism bet \ ve < m these perienced statesmen connected with the locality would fear to tread .
Meaning , we presume , to include himself among these " experienced statesmen . " " great majority of landlords of Ireland , " continued the right hon . bart . with a naive simplicity which one hardly knows whether to bo amused or angry at , " had eome to a conclusion exactly opposite to that" of Mr . Scroi'e . Of course , they have . Human nature everywhoro , and Irish landlord nature especially , is prone to get rid of all the pecuniary burdens it can . The establishment of a legal right to relief or employment on tho part of the peasantry of Ireland would leave less money to be spent by their masters in Rome , Paris , Naples , or London ; and no wonder ,
that with an acuto affection for their own breeches , pockets , they have come to the conclusion that such a right to tho peasant would bo a groat wrong to them . Bat are we for ever to legislate for a whola people on tho narrow ground of class iuterests or personal advantages ? Why should the Irish landlord alone be exempt from the duties naturally appertaining to his position I Why should he receive all , and give nothing back in the shape of emplojment , or relief to those whose labours are the source of all his wealth ? When Sir J . Graium says that debates on this question , and tho declaration of the right of the people to a
subsistence mthe laud of their . birth " may be written in letters of blood in Ireland , " ho mer « ly exhibits his own innate consciousness of the oppression and injustice to which the people re subjected , and his incapacity to comprehend the yery alphabet of a truly statesmanship-like policy for that country . But a righteous retribution falls on this country foe iU injustice , or neglect or ignorance iu tho casp ; of Ireland . Tho guns , whioh this week startled un « don with their rejoicings for two more victorj . es , and another addition to our already enonnov Indian , ¦ empire , cannot drown the wail of misery w ' afch come 3 ! across tho Irish Channel . From the contemplation ;
Ma Jsoktmekin Star. Saturday, Al'kil 4, 1816.
ma JSOKTMEKiN STAR . SATURDAY , AL'KIL 4 , 1816 .
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POLISH PROPAGANDA . " The insurrection is over , " say the German papers ; the " ill-timed struggle is at an end , " say the London journals . If it be so , it is some consolation to re-member that that stiuggle has been not altogether uunoticed in this country ; nor has it passed without the voice of the English Democracy having been raised in behalf of our persecuted and unfortunate , but gallant brethren .
We say the English Democracy , because we dare assert , confident that we assart truly , that the London meeting represented the sympathies , sentiments , and wishes of the great majority of the people of this country . Why similar meetings have not taken place elsewhere , we shall explain presently . The convenors of the meeting postponed it till tho eleventh hour , in the vain hope that the " aristucratic , '"' parliamentary , " and '' respectable" patrons of the Polish cause would have taken the initiative in this indispensable demonstration . But it was
" not the time . " Lord Dudley Stuart " couldnot see that an expression of public sympathy would be advantageous to the Poles at the present moment . " Dr . Bowring " doubted whether a demonstration at this juncture would aid the Polish cause . " In fact , none but the working men . felt sufficient intciest in Poland to consider it " the right time" to express their sympathy . They came , and such a meeting was hulden as , for numbers , unanimity , enthusiasm , and eloquent appeals in behalf of the principles ol eternal justice , kas but rarely been seen in the metropolis .
The good results of the meeting were immediately apparent . Of the nine daily papers in London , six reported the proceedings ; aud although some of the reports were meagre enough , they all contained the resolutions adopted . The editor of the Morning Advertiser ably defended the meeting , remarking that , "if sentiments were uttered disagreeable to the upper classes , and especially to those distinguished persons who have been accustomed to speak ( or dance ) in behalf of Poland , they have themselves to thank . It is easy for tlicin to hold meetings , and manage the work in their own wav . " Again —• " Tho
Polish question is a people ' s question . The people moved , it will be practicable lo move the Legislature and the Government . Let us thenjdetermine , as a people with Spartan resolution , that we will entertain this question ; and that we will decide it . Let there be meetings , large , honest , enthusiastic , and unanimous , in favour ' of our oppressed brethren , and let our government understand that the people of England are determined that their sentiments shall lind admission into the Cabinet of St . PetcrsbuHi . We must be the advocates of the feeble against the
strong , ot the oppressed against the oppressor , of the brave and the patriotic against the cowardly and cruel forces of the North—or eke the day will arrive in which all virtue and right will bo borne down by the same ruthless forces which have crushed and ground the unhappy Poles . " These are generous sentiments , and do honour to our contemporary . Another paper , the Sim , in the course of an article on the meeting , declared that " tho assembly was precisely what it should have been , especially as being the rqn-esentutive of the sentiments entertained in this vast metropolis . "
On the other hand , the meeting did not escape the malignant assaults of the Times and the Daily News As regards the latter , we may observe , that being in its death-throes , the genteel twaddler of Fleet-street may be excused for its raving insolence , or rather its burlesque attempt at aristocratic exclusiveness , in denouncing the "heated , ignorant , and illiterate followers oi Fkauous O'Conkok . " The meeting was all wrong , " Because , " says the Dail y News , " men of education aud note were absent . ' Now , as our readers know , all the men of" note" who had patronised the Polish cause , or at least the " Polish Balls , "
Untitled Article
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . Thj debate and division of Monday night upon the new Coercion Bill for Ireland afforded a curious illustration of the radical disorganisation of parties wjlthin the house , and of the precarious tenure by which the Ministry hold possession of power . Sir Robert long since proclaimed Ireland to be " his chiaf difficulty . " It is so , and will continue to be the touchstone by which the ability to govern of many an administration besides his will be tested . As it was , on Monday it produced a kind of Ministerial crisis . The small majority by which the Home
Secretary was permitted to make his statement—the large number of Liberal members who were absent , not caring , we presume , to precipitate the fall of the Ministry until the Corn Bill is carricd-the support of the Protectionists , upon the evident ground of their thereby obtaining the object of their wishes , namely , the postponement of that bill till after Ea « ' ter—and the fact of " no house" having been made on the following evening , are all facts which throw light upon the singular position in which Sir Robert ' s recent policy has placed the different parties of the country .
The Protectionists and the Liberals may , perhaps entertain the belief that if they can oust Pjbbi , from office they will be able to govern on the old traditional ideas of their respective parties , according as tho next general election may hel p either of them into power . We hold no such opinion . The old party standards will never again rall y a sufficiently strong party to wield the destinies of this empire . Peel has laid the foundation of a new policy—a policy in accordance with the genius and tendencies of the age—at once Conservative and progressive ; and whoever hopes to rule in future must neither hold obstinately by the exploded prejudices of the past , nor the narrow exclusivism of an antiquated and one-sided Liberal creed .
Neither Stanley and a Protectionist cabinet , nor Ruisell and a Whig one would be long able to maintain themselves in power . The progressive and Conservative party , of which Peel may be taken as the head and type , will , in the long run , triumph over both . Meanwhile , both are eager for his downfall , and only restrained from a combination of their forces for that purpose by the skilful manner in which he plays oil ' each against the other . But for the sak « of obtaining the Com Bill , tho Libera
would have aided the Irish members in putting the Ministry in a minority on Monday night . But they know that they would , if in power , have no chance of carrying such a measure ; and , though fully impressed with tho belief that at no distant date they will be in power , they believe , also , that their stay in othce will he all the longer if that great question w settled for them . At the same time , the Whies dare not alienate tho Irish members , and therefore vhey made a sufficient show of co-operation with
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4 . . ' THE NORTH E ftN STAR . __ April 4 , 1846 . OOLOSSEUM . —NOTICE . —FlUCfi OF ADMIS- OOLOSSEUM .-NOTlCE . -FIUCfi OF ADMIS-!!
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 4, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1361/page/4/
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