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Colonial anir ibttip #ri)t>hn
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THE NORTHERN STAR. SAT URDAT, OCTOBER 3, 1846.
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MR. O'CONNOR AND HIS FRIENDS.
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*. JSowraauy. Price OneSlmiiug. TH8 SECOND EDITION OF 'MT LTFE; OR OUR SOCIAL STATE, Past I. a Poem, ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ by ERNEST JONES , BawisteratLaW .
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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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C ^ &tSlS ^ aT ^^ ^ **»*> ^ XZMlZXX ^ ifaihhb > rs -Oa ^ _ Laoy CaerleoB and her lord are portraits true as any £ *\ Jt ^ « yT te ( L Beautifol in dScnK wTlrtl * l 0 WiDS in the a ®* tionS of the aw *•«*""*!?» " not niffomta turn for satire .-. WHxrtaiKj JtfiUtanj Gazette . ?* 1 » a wciWy and pmmently on the existing state of society , its vices , its follies , and its crimes . —Court Journal , Txl « very page before us may be discovered some fresh n f orons and poetical conception . The fearfiil breaking Sown of the dykes is beautifully brought into the mind ' s vjtr-MbTnmg Post . * .- *» This work gives its author an immediate and very high rank in literature . —Court Journal . Full of wQd dreams , strange fancies and graceful images , interspersed -iriih many bright aad beautiful thoughts , its chief defect is its brevity- The author's in . spirations seem to gush fresh and sparfcling from Hippo-• rene . He -will -want neither readers nor admirers . —Morning Port . , It contains snore pregnant thoughts , more irarsts or lyric power , more , in fine , of the truly grand amd beautifaV than any poetical work , which has made its appearance for years . We know of few things more dramati cally intense than the scenes betweer Fhilipp , 'Warren aad Clare . —Hew Quarterly Bcview . Published by Mr . Sewby , 72 , Ifo ; timer-street , Caveniith-sqnare . Orders received by all booksellers . In the Press and shortly Trill be published , MY LIFE . Past H .
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lSfOETAKT IO IODNQ AND HIALTHT KEN . UNITED PATRIARCHS BENEFIT SOCIETY . Patron : T . S . Duncombe , Esq ., M . P . London Society House ;—Round Table Tavern , St . Martin ' s Court , Leicester Square . John Calf , Treasurer . London Office : —13 , Tottenham Court , New Road , St . Pancras . Dasiel Wiluas Rotft , General Secretary . . An opportunity is offered for a short -time to Health ; Men , under Fortj-Five years of age , to become members of this institution . It is Enrolled , and empowered by Act ef Parliament to have Agents , Medical Attendant ! , Branches , and Branch Committees , with otherimportant privileges , and to extend orer the United Kingdom .
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This Testimony to the Rules was given by T . S . Ddncombe , Esq ., " M P ., who honoured the Society by taking the chair at its first anniversary , on Monday , July 6 th , 1816 : — The Chaibhan-. —The next sentiment I have to submit to you is the toast of the evening— " The United Patriots ' and Patriarchs'Benefit Societies : and prosperity to the branches . " I assure you it is a snbject in which I feel a . deep interest , having introduced a Bill into the House to remedy certain defects in the existing laws ; and I fed a peculiar interest in your so < iety , for on turning
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TO TAILORS . LONDON and PARIS FASHIONS FOR AUTUMN AND WINTER , 184 G- * 7 . By BEAD and Co ., 12 , Hart-rtreet , Bloomsbury square , London ; Aud G . Bergcr , Holywell-street , Strand ; May be had of all booksellers , wheresoever residing . NOW BEADT , By approbation of her Majesty Queen Victoria , and m Sal Highne « Priace Albert , aspfcndripnnt executeiew of
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^ = Z ^ 2 S 2 S > £ SS £ 'Z 2 SSS ^^^ »• 9 i ^^^ B 9 iBS&B 3 S ^^^ mM WEST " RibYN < f OF YORKSHIRE . MICHAELMAS SESSIONS . NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN , That the MICHAELMAS GENERAL QUARTER SESSIONS of the Pcacefor the WestRidingof the County of York , will be opened at KNARESBOROUGH , on TUESDAY , the 20 th day of October , instant , at Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon ; and by Adjournment from thence will be holdcn at LEEDS , on WEDNESDAY , the 21 st day of the same month of October , at Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon ; and also , by further Adjournment from thence , will be holden at DONCASTER , on MONDAY , the 26 th day of the same month of October , at half-past Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon , when all Jurors , Suitors , Persons bound by Recognizance , and others having business at the gaid several Sessions , are ? required to attent the Court on the several days , and at the several Hours above mentioned . . ...-.- . ;
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"THE NATION" AND "THE CHARTER . " " We have received a printed address from the Chartists of England to the Irish people , with a request that we should insert it in the " Nation . " We desire no fraternisation between the Irish people and the Chartists—not on account of the bugbear of ' - 'physical force , " but simply because some of their jive points are to us an abomination , and the whole spirit and tone of their proceedings , though well enough for England , are so essentially English that their adoption in Ireland would neither be probable nor at all desirable . Between us and them there is a gulf fixed ; we desire not to bridge it over , but to make it wider and deeper . " From the "Nation" of Aug . 15 , 1846 .
ABOMINATION No 5 .-NO PROPERTY QUALIFICATION . The object of the People ' s Charter being to destroy the influence of class legislation , it is manifest that , however the possession of the vote may arm the masses with the power of taking vengeance upon the treacherous who deceive them , that , still , their selection would be , after all , but a choice of evils , so long as they were limited in the choice of representatives to that very class to whose influence they trace their every grievance and the law ' s every inequality .
From the year 1793 to the fatal act of Union , the Irish people possessed a very extensive ri ght of franchise—a franchise which , in many instances , placed at the disposal of large landed proprietors the votes of from 3 , 000 to 6 , 000 of their slaves ; and yet , if the majority of those slaves had willed their freedom by a free exercise of the franchise , they would not have accomplished it , inasmuch as the crying in « justice of that age was tyranny of the Protestant ascendancy , the power of the State Church , and the limitation of Ministerial patronage to Parliamentary partisans ; while - the- Catholic voters , though numerous , were confined to the selection of representatives from the tyrant class—none but
PROTESTANTS BEING QUALIFIED to sit in Parliament . Here , then , was an extensive franchise wholly neutralised by a limited selection . In the same way , if the English working classes were now in possession of the Chartist franchise , with the limitation of choice to the roomed classes , it would place them precisely in the same position as a flock of sheep with a wolf as their shepherd , or as a flock of hens with a fox as the guardian of the roost . Some persons may argiie—and with a strong colour of truth—that , the suffrage once gained , all else would follow ; while we contend , that a Parliament of PROPERTY qualified representatives , elected for SEVEN YEARS by Universal Suffrage , would
be a den of the most unmitigated thieves that ever met to divide the spoil of conquest ; " no delusion , mockery , or snare" would be left untried at the hustin 3 , while no treachery would be left unpractised in the senate . Popular dissatisfaction would very naturally follow popular disappointment ; while repeated class deception and cheat would constitute the only satisfac tion ; and thus the value of the franchis ' e would lose its charm in the facility of deception , and the people , from repeated failure and disgust , would become more than ever apathetic , from the belief that even untrammelled representation must be fraught with unexplained , but yet . discoverable , difficulties .
During the American war a distemper broke out in the Eng lish fleet , for which brimstone was recommended . In one ship the supply ran short , and one cane fell to the lot of the first lieutenant and the surgeon , which the lieutenant broke into two very unequal parts , and , holding both on his hand , he said to the surgeon : " As I ¦ divided it , you shall have your choice ; but I'll take this half , snatching the LION'S SHARE . " Now / such would be precisely the choice of a constituency , however large , so long as the selection of representatives was trammelled
by any limitation whatever . Our notion of universal suffrage is not merely confined to the simple possession of the vote , it extends to its free and unshackled exercise as well . The present war , which has been so long raging , is the war of labour against the dominion of capital ; a dominion acquired solely by the possession of privileges from which labour is excluded , and we hold it to be an impossible thing for the owners of that capital , although elected by labour , to do justice to labour ; it implies a voluntary surrender of a por tion of that property to another party , which system , use and custom , has marked as its own . We think we see Cohden , Bright and Mark Phillips standing on the hustings as the champions of enfranchised labour , with the limitation of choice to the monied class , and
surrounded by the masters of the district , a portion of whose property , nay all , depended upon the perpetuation of the dominion of capital , and all surrounded by their enfranchised slaves in cohorts , under the command of their respective overseers , and we have not , under such circumstances , sufficient faith in public virtue to leave the selection , even of a choice of evils , to the slave class . The great value of all
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the points of , theCb ' arterj 8 ,.. thaithey ' constUute . one great whole , and we contend for the free exercise of the grand point—UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE , upon the legal maxim that when a lessor confers a right upon a lessee , the law presumes that he is endowed ' with the untrammelled use of that ri ght , though unnoticed or unprovided for in the title which creates it . Thus , if A leases to B a portion of land in the ! middle of his deer park , without any mention or
provision for access to the house of B , the law presumes the right of passage , however long or inconvenient , to B , and supports him in his claim ! upon the fair and equitable grounds that right of unimpeded use follows possession , or otherwise possession would be a farce . Now , here is strictly a case in point , and how then can a voter be said to be equitably in possession of his vote , while the passage to its free use is obstructed by the toll bar of
PROPERTY QUALIFICATION . "INTER PARES NOT EST PQTESTAS , " says the law ; " There is no superiority among equals . " ' But the House of Commons cannot say this , inasmuch as the vote of a Scotch member , who may not be worth a baubee , may neutralise the vote of an English member worth £ 200 , 000 per annum , as in Scotland no other qualification is required beyond the mere choice of the electors . Again , when any requisite which prudence demands can be dispensed with , or got over by a fiction , the requisite itself becomes a ridiculous
nonentity . For instance / there are scores of members who have but a borrowed qualification , conferred by" some wealthy patron for the occasion , and no doubt with an understanding that a suitable return of becoming gratitude shall be rendered in the honourable shape of subserviency . The professed reason of the necessity of property qualification is , to enable the member to live independently , and free from the suspicion of being influenced by government patronage : and , truth to say , the violation of this law , in favour of Scotland , may , ' in some
measure , account for the slavish'prostitution of needy Scotchmen ; while their subserviency does not at ' all strengthen the necessity ' , and for this simple reason , because the Charter provides for the decent and independent support of all members , by making pro- : vision for their honourable payment for public services . Here , then , we find , that in one country , where representation constitutes one-twelfth of the whole , the rule does not exist , while in the other two it may be , and is , extensively violated j thus destroying the orig inal intention of protecting the
constituency against the effect of ministerial corfup- ; tion of their representative . Hence we show , that the original , and indeed the only assigned purpose of property qualification , is not in operation in one country , and is violated extensively in the other . But , further , we shall show that this presumed safeguard against the temptations to which poverty would subject representatives , is not equal in its application , but , on the contrary , that , under the present system ,
a majority of the whole House may consist of members , from whom no other qualification than that of birth , or heirship , is required . Firstly , then , the eldest son of a pauper Peer is qualified . Secondly , the eldest son of a qualified Gentleman , not in Parliament , is qualified . And those , respectively , have but to plead as their qualification , the one as eldest son of a Peer , the other as heir-apparent to a property over head and ears in debt , and from which the father may not allow him sixpence a-year .
Under this latter head , we may naturally presume that many prodigal sons are qualified , whose only inducement to obtain a Seat is , to secure a livelihood by political prostitution . We , therefore , find , that the majority of government patronage is conferred upon those who measure the recompense by the necessity of keeping up a luxurious idle life , in which they , have been reared , rather than by any rule of honest frugality . This tribe , for the most part , constitutes the LICE UPON THE BEETLE'S BACK ; the leeches of labour , who most hate the thing they live upon , to show their station and their independence . This tribe also constitutes a needy reserve for a profligate minister to fall back upon . To the eldest son of a needy Peer , or of a needy
qualified Squire , with some county influence , £ 600 , or £ 300 a-year , is but a mere fly-blow . 'And hence the necessity of lucrative government situations , to meet the luxurious habits of a corruptible needy aristocracy . Furthermore , the practice of qualifying members is too notorious to require comment , and , presuming ^ 50 a-year , for life , to be the average qualification of all members , that is , makin g a sum of the £ 600 a year for a county member , and £ 300 a year which is the qualification fora city or borough
member , and supposing the classes , for argument sake , to be balanced , and deducting 53 Scotch members who require no qualification , we find that the remaining 605 require , amongst them , as a Parliamentary qualification , the annual amount of £ 272 , 250 , an amount nearly possessed by several of the most wealthy , and out of which the whole house , sons of peers , poor gentleman and all , might be qualified by ' any one corrupt member . Indeed , if £ 600 a year is the honest amount upon which a country gentleman can live in independence , it is rather derogatory to our ministers , that , bring for the moat past borough representatives , they are only obliged to
swear to £ 300 per annum : such is the case with Lord John Russell , the Prime Minister and member for the city of nations , and such is the case with the late Prime Minister , Sir Robert Peel , member for Tamworth . We think we have now fully explained the absolute necessity of the removal of all qualifications , save the choice of the , electors to insure the untrammelled exercise of the franchise , as well as the absurdity of a property qualification being a protection against ministerial influence , and we shall proceed to give the sum and substance of a valid Parliamentary qualification from one who calls himself a hig h legal authority :-
—"My dear , You need have no conscientious scruple upon the subject . I enclose you an equitable title from my son-in-law —— to enter upon his estate , in the county of —— , and to distrain for and levy £ 320 a year for your life . " "My son is qualified by a letter of credit to the same purport upon the property of Dr . — what you will have to swear to is , that you are in law or equity , in possession of £ 300 a year , mind—IN EQUITY , and the enclosed confers an equitable title of which you can compel the legal fulfilment . Believe me , that it is AN UNUSUALLY GOOD QUALIFICATION , and one to which you need have no scruple in swearing . ' " Yours truly , : — . "
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THE CHURCH RESTORATION FUND .
When a country , pre-eminently distinguished for the fertility of its soil , the salubrity of its climate , and the industry of its people , is stricken with periodical destitution , and not unfrequent visitations of famine , the cause becomes matter of grave and serious consideration . We cannot , without doing violence to our feelings , treat the present state of Ireland according to the cold and measured language of philosophy , political economy , or strained
philanthropy . We cannot reconcile the forced marching of troops , the transmission . of ammunition , and the activity of otherwise indolent magistrates , with the government ' s affected desire to lessen the calamity , while it is engaged in devising permanent measure * of relief . It is true that the Times newspaper , and other equally credible authorities , hay . e endeavoured to impress the English mind with the notion that the religion , characteristic idleness , and hatred of English laws of the Irish people , constitute the great barriers to improvement .
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' We h ^ ve . frequently shewn , Jimvever , ; tl # . i » giiim , and other purely Catholic countries , . that the Catholic religion so far from , operating ' as a cause of discomfort , is the medium of the greatest tenderness , care , and solitude of the wants of the . poor , while the secured possession of the land g ives a free current to industry , unequalled in any-other country in
the world ; while ' the laws / b ' eing enacted for their protection instead . of their persecution , are obeyed with reverence and respect . Indeed , in answer to the taunt of religious inferiority , we need but froint to the condition of - the English poor , as contrasted ! with the English aristocracy , in the days of Catholicism , and her monasteries , as compared with her palmy days of Protestantism , bone-picking , and Poor Law Bastiles ; It is no answer to us , that the
working people of the 19 th century are a superior race to those of the 15 th century { because , as we justly judge by comparison , we answer , that the line of demarcation b y which the hi g her and lower classes are now divided , is stronger and more strikingly unjust than in the days of Catholicism and monasteries . We have too often shown that there is a premium in Ireland for idleness , and a heavy tax upon industry ; amounting , iri fact ; to ejectment , and all the persecution consequent upon the necessity of justifying tyranny , to require extensive comment at the present moment . We have traced idleness ' and
improvidence to its natural source ; while everyday gives proof of characteristic industry in its frightful hordes seeking employment in the world ' s artificial market and England ' s fields ; unscared by the dangers of the sea , or the terrors of the ' most unhealthy dime . However , as we write to lead to a correct notion of the causes of Irish suffering , we may here draw a plain p icture of the real cause of Irish idleness , the truth of which will be admitted from a glance . .. . ..
Let us . presume , then , that a poor tenant takes twenty acres of land , at a rent of £ 1 per acre , or £ 20 a year , upon the usual tenure of ACCEPTED PROPOSAL . In less than three , years , that-man will have improved the value of his holding to £ 25 a-year ! and thus will have established a legal and editable title to one fifth of the value of the farm . Thia title , however , he cannot sustain , except alan expense which he cannot meet ; and AS A LANDLORD . OF STRAW CAN BREAK A TENANT
OF STEEL , the luxurious tyrant , whose wants are increased by his tenant ' s industry , lusts after his tenant ' s share of the land ; he ejects him , ousts him , blasts his character to justify his own tyranny , and sends him up « n theWrldas a NATURAL HATER of the laws that have oppressed and robbed him . The tyrant then lets the joint property of himself and his ejected slave to another slave , whose improvements are , in turn , subjected to further competition . : '
Is it wonderful , then , that such being the rule of Irish landlords , that the poor should rather gauge industry by the measure of possession than by the scale of interest . As Ireland is purely an agricultural country , the question of her soil , as applicable lo the -wants of her people , is the one question of pressing and paramount importance . In order , then to prove that the charge of idleness is a libel , we vouch for the following fact . Suppose the tenant who has been ousted from his twenty acres of landi
held at a rent of £ 20 a year , was to receive ten acres , or one half the amount , at £ 20 a year , or the full rent of the whole on lease for ever we pledge our existence that , thus protected , he would not only pay the double tent to the flay , but , if allowed , he would purchase the fee-simple , at any exorbitant rate of purchase , by instalments , in Ies 9 than ten years . . What then becomes of the unchristian charge of Catholicism , idleness ; and hatred of the laws ? Have not Protestantism , dangerous industry , and . the Saxon laws , been the greatest enemies and oppressors of the Irish people ? And who loves his
enemies , who cheerfully obeys his oppressors ? Take away Protestantism the blig ht of industry , the unjust laws of the landlords the bane bf improvement , and give Ireland to the Irish , and in less than ten years , when' the Upas tree has been removed , iu « dustry will flourish , improvement will progress , and Ireland , as of yore , will be the fairest spot in the world ; sending , as she lias aforetime , her phlloscphers , teachers | and scientific men to all quarters of the habitable globe . Ireland can now boast of her butchers , and her flippant-tongued patriots , and a just and prudent system would turn characteristic virtue , talent , and bravery , into their proper and legitimate channels of industry and improvement .
With these views of the capability of the Irish soil and characteristic industry of the people , we highly approve of Mr . O'Connor's proposition for the application of a portion of the Church property to national purposes ; and , in truth , we know of no service which should be more cheerfully undertaken by the overfed shepherds than that of feeding and protecting their flocks in the hour of famine , and the surrender of a portion of their unnecessary wealth to secure their flocks from a recurrence of those evils which threaten danger to the whole establishment . Let us then see whether the amount of
restitution to its original purpose , proposed m Mr . O'Connor ' s admirable resolution , exceeds the necessity for the call , or whether the relinquishment of so small a portion of trust property would tend to weaken religion , to reduce clergymen below their present sphere , or to endanger the remnant of their then better secured property . We will estimate the whole property of the Church of the three kingdoms at eight millions sterling per annum , ; which , at forty years' purchase , or two and a haU . per cent ., would realise the enormous amount of £ 320 , 000 , 000 , or nearly half the amount of our national debt . The interest of ten millions sterling , at two and a half
per cent , an amount at which jobbers would gladly lend , amounts to £ 250 , 000 a year , or one thirtysecond part of the present Church property—that is , the bishop who now receives £ 3200 per annum * would then receive £ 3100 per [ annum , or £ 100 a year less , and the parson who now receives £ 320 per annum would receive £ 310 per annum , or the trifling sum of £ 10 a year less than his present income , and thus from this mere paring from an overgrown accumulation of usurped property , much odium would be taken off the possessors of the remaining bulk , while the application of the extracted pittance , would make a garden of a country now threatened with famine .
Where is the pious pastor who would refuse this trifling aid to his perishing flock , or do we live in such an age of darkness that the terror of our State Church rulers will attempt to stop a universal necessity by temporary expedients , and reject the simple remedy for its correction . Such a fund as this , and applied to the purposes defined in the resolution would recall Irish emigrants from their strange
homes and would relieve the English labour market of a disastrous competition which depresses wages to the amount of one hundred millions annually . However , we but talk to the winds , we are throwing pearls before swine , for the obstinacy of the gorged leech will still induce it to cling to the sore that it has created until the restless patient with one provoked and dashing bound will rid himself , and for ever , of the monster .
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ration with ' tnS atiperior poffera ; A large number of presentment meetings have been held , and considerable sums toted for works of Various kinds . The majority of these will , we fear , be found of little , or q « estionable utility ; but when a nation is starvin / r , there ia no time for that deliberation which is requisite for the planning of comprehensive , useful , and permanent enterprizes . It is somewhat curious to mark the littleness of the men at the head of the Repeal agitation ; in this trying season . The meetings at Conciliation Hall have dwindled into a mere farce , of which thefdullest portion is the long epistles from Mr . O'Connell , senior , which are dutifully
brought forward by hiB son and successor . Long as O'Connell has lived apon the Irish people , and traded upon their miseries , he has never conferred upon them one pmticalbeneat ; and at the present moment his ingenuity can devise nothing better than a sort of left-hand , informal , and powerless meeting in Dublin , of delegates from the . 7 andlords-sc « z bono ? What good would Ireland reap from such a meeting ? It is not from such ; erode / assemblies that its salvation can be looked for . Perhaps , the real reason which induces him to make the suggestion is , that it might tend V- ^ . ^ - ^ l .- *^ ° ? --5- ™ " ^ T ^ . Times , in one of its leaders * , aid speaking on this subject , says , with area force and justice :
"In one respect the great liberator is faeile prineeps of his species . In the power , and it may be added in the readiness , to improve "on all occasions to : his purpose , he never had , henever will have ; his match . Yet he has great and many competitors in that line . Let I an earthquake , or a conflagration , devastate a city , and immediately , as from the bowels of the earth , rushes forth a band of plunderers ready to reap a bloody harvest from the field of destruction . A , nob ? a .. Indiaman ' drives tot the shore , and human vulturos ' frora afar Bcent the fair spoil ,
and fight with tlie . eleraents for ; their jrey . ' Not a calamity comes but the afflicted sufferers , or the terrified expectants ; are appealed to by ingenious men dexterous to profit by their ipisery or their fears / But we should think there" never was a [ maW who conld turn everything to his" purpose' with ' such relentless steadiness , such admirable tact , and ' calm ingenuity asMr . O'Conkkll . * He Oflri'turn every ^ thing to his account . ' The " great chiffonnier 0 ^ Irish miseries , as heranges from ' heap to heap , cartuiscern a profit in the most out-of-the-way and refuse commodity . Nothing comes amiss to his sack . "
In a subsequent part of the same article we find the following passage , > hich might stand mutatis mutandis for Mr . O'Connor and the > 8 tar : ~ "As for our treatment at the hands of this impartial and generous Moderator , that is a very minor affair . We must fairly own to have deserved Mr . O'Connell ' s invectives . We have surpassed all other writers and speakers in the industry and fidelity with which wei have [ published to all Europe , the
miseries of Ireland ; w have described in the most moving , and , to us , the most , painful terms , the features of a deteriorated race ; we have lashed on the landowners to their duty ; we have weakened the bonds of Irish coercion * , we have demanded from the soil the regular employment and relief of the poor ;—what more could we have done to secure the hatred of one white ascendancy is bound up in the continuance of every Irish misery and wrong ?"
It is to be hoped that the termination of the too long protracted reign o f imposture and humbug is approaching . Public attention is , however , not entirely concentrated on Irish distress . The condition of the Highlands and islands of Scotland has attracted the attention of the press . The Chronicle was the first to send - a correspondent specially to examine and report as to ' the state of the peoplein the north . The celebrated Tines' commissioner speedily followed , and the result is the publication in both journals of amass of interesting and at the same time painful information . Landlordism produces in the Highlands of Scotland the same evil fruit as it does in the wilds of Kerry . The Times '
" cotuimssumCT" ¦ when speaking ot the proprietors of 'the soil , says : — "Instead of opening up the resources of the country , they have shut them up by reverting to the barbarism of the primeval ages and to the style of agriculture followed by Lot and Abraham . Instead of fostering a spirit of independence they have . broken their spirits , and ' cleared them out , ' and driven them hopeless to the coast to earn their livelihoods by an unknown and dreaded occupation . " The result is , that similar rauery is ' found in the districts thus treated to those which exists in Ireland , and no donbt ere long the cry for assistance from England will ' be heard from them . Is it not time . to compel the landlords to do their duty or give place to those who ¦ will 1
The treatment of the poor in St . Pancras continues to form the [ subject of discussion in the columns of the daily press , ° and in jthe parish were the malpractices complained of have ta !< en plate . Various meetings have been held , at which the opinion was expressed that , notwithstanding the Directors nave white-washed themselves , by their roportof last week , and the vestry have aided this self-exculpatory process , the matter- is not ended , nor can it be until it is more fully investigated , and a
complete stop put to the abuses which bare been brought to light . Mr . Fakley , whose indefatigable zeal in such cases of oppression deserves the highest commendation , has been the medium of two commucationsto The Times , setting forth . the facts connected with the case of the two inmates of this workhouse , both of which very forcibly illustrate the animus of the authorities and the nature of the system carried on by them . The first of these statements is from a pauper named Buckenham ; He states
that—; " He saved some money by a course of industry , and had then been persuaded to go to an uncle , whese severity proved unbearable . In a moment of excitement the youth attempted suicide , and thus furnished an excuse for an order being got , against bis will , for his admission into the Whitechapel Workhouse . Hence he was removed by a ' friendly pks to St . Pancras , and his money was paid over to that parish . He made ' several attempts to release himself from a life of indigence by obtaining employment , but he was never able to get more than a few shillings of his money at a time from the parochial authorities . Those sums . being insufficient
to sustain him till tie could find occupation , he was compelled to return to the house to prevent absolute starvation , and then it was that he was made to submit to the most abominable tyranny . The money belonging to him in the hands of the parish was refused , and , finding it impossible to obtain a restitution of his own savings , he applied to the Clerkenwell magistrates , ior which on the following day he was' thrust into the oakum-room . ' Had his claim b $ en a mistaken one , the authorities had no right to punish him for attempting to enforce it ; but it was subsequently found to be so unanswerable that a balance of £ 1 lYs . 6 d . was restored to him on his
discharge , after various deductions had been made for board and other items . During a part of the long period that his money was detained b y the parish , he was ' closely confined under lock and key , though continually seeking his discharge , which he could not even get an opportunity of applying for , until one day , observing the doer open , he forced his way before the committee . His discharge was then given him , but his money was still refused ; when , having made another vain attempt to gain a living , and after removal to the Fever Hospital in a dangerous
state from typhus , he became once more an inmate of the workhouse . Threatened with the oakum-room if he left the house again , and afterwards should be compelled to return , he was for some time ' deterred by the master ' s threat from seeking better fortune . ' A natural and laudable inclination to try to earn an independent living once more prevailed , and he discharged himself , in the hope of finding work ; but in four days necessity compelled him to return , and he was consigned to ' the oakum-rootn , where he hst * continued for nearly two years a prisoner .
Thia jnfumous and illegal treatment ha » mined his health / broken his spirits , and enfeebled hfe mind , and he now fears that he is doomed to baa burden to others for the remainder of his life . The second ease is that of the witness , John Witt , whose manly and straightforward exposure of the trick that was attempted to be played off with respeci te the rations allowed to the paupers , we gave in the Star oflast week ; for the evidence he gave ( on that occasion , " The master and the agent of stores took hold of some frivolous pretext to deprive the poor old man
of the privilege of earning 4 d . a-day , which he had been previously doing by his trade as a carpenter . There has been no disguise of the feeling excited in their minds towards him , since he proved that the provisions laid before tiiej board " were undoubtedly made up to deceive the board , both as to quantity and quality . " He , however , felt , as he says , that" if the paupers did not tell the truth for themselves , no one else would , " and for this he bas been since subjected to all kinds of petty annoyances by tho workhouse tyrants .. When paid the shilling for his earnings oh the last three days he had worked
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previous to hli HtS ^ fW ^ i ^ jP ^ Men * fron ^ im , the mister poeh « d thfm 0 neyJo him , saying "IXou are a martyr tothe 1 cause' —namely , the cause of truth and justice . JB ^ thft pauper tol d a falsehood respecting the provisions submitted to the board , he would no doHbt have been allowed to earn hi » 4 d . aday as usual . " - - ¦ -, ;¦ - ;* - /¦ , ? ' = ; . "His statement iinot confined to his own grier-» nc » , but points out many gross abusei that have lone existed in the management or St , Pancras
Workhouse ; - He speaks of 80 men being employed to pick leathers in two small room « , -low . damp , ill-ventilated , and prodnctive of cramp andrntuma . ti » m , as well as other diseases engendered by an unwholesome atmosphere . He states that he never did anything for which he had to be fined , imprisoned , orotherwise : punished , in tb « workhouse ; but those who are have to sleep in a room to which they walk np a ladder , throigh a trapdoor , seenred by a padlook underneath , so that in case of fire or any other calamity there would be no means of escape or ot procuring assistance .
All these , abominable facts have occurred sn a parish which is not subject to the control of the Poor Law Gdmmiisioners , and the authorities of which cannot therefore shelter themselves under the axouse that they were : compelled to carry eut the orders of Somerset House . St . Pancras is also famous for being a Radical or Liberal parish ; and in the vestry , room the copj of an address presented to the Queen on her accession to the throne , tastefully written arid framed ,. bangs oh the walls in
which the poor law is strongly condemned , ' and the right of the poor to . humane and kindly treatment is strongly enforced . ' .. Ye £ in spite of all this theoretical liberality , and humanity , such is the actual treatment 1 ot the poor under their care ! How is this ? Does it hot appear as if there , was a natural antagonism between the rate-payer ' and the pauper ? Does it not indicate that" the love of money" is so strong that it overmasters in the minds of the trading claages all -other considerations ? Private Mathewson , whose evidence in the case of the . late military murder at HounsJow gave so much offence to his superiors , has been ^ speedily made to feel their
vengeance , and affords another illustration' of the manner in which ' power is prostituted to serve the purposes of private revenge . ' . He has been tried for insolence to a sergeant ; the same offence for which , it will be remembered , he formerly received 100 lashes ; on that occassiou , he answered "Halloa " to a sergeant , on the present he was a little more offensive . ' But the court-martial who tried him / wai not composed of the same officers . This regiment has been moved to Ireland , and perhaps the temper of his new judges is not of that Draeonean severity which seems to- characterise the tribunals over which the colonel of the 7 th Hussars presides . The sentence is riot yet known .
The manner in which the Press treats the Protec tienist and Chartist Demonstrations , deserves a passing notice . If two or . three hundred farmers meet together in any part of the kingdom , to listen to stupid speeches , until even their patience pan no longer bear the infliction , forthwith " our own special reporters" are dispatched by express trains ; and the columns are filled the following morning with an awful ilot of dreary , frowzy , unmeaning trash y heavier than the lead in which it is set .. This same verbage is then duly commented upon in the V'leader " columns ; until the publieareheartily silk , nauseative » aivd bored with the whole affair .
A Chartist meeting is held in the Strand , in the heart of London , in one of its best halls for public assemblies . Thousands attend , and their enthusiasm ia kindled by eloquent and glowing addresses , in which the great principles of civil and religious liberty are boldly and powerfully expounded and defended . Next morning the press says sot a syllable on the subject ! or , in the solitary exception , notices it in so fearful and gingerly a style , that the terror and shaking of the editor shines through it , in the most unmistakeable manner . Well ; " Wait a little longer . "
The "Monster Statue" of "the Duke" has at length been elevated to its experimental position on the top of the triumphal arch , and the cempetent persons who are to decide its fitness , will now have an opportunity of exhibiting their critical powers . Its removal from the studio of the artist was made a sort of Cockney holiday , in which Royalty itseli'took part . So long as such thiHgs occur among us , the prospect of any real elevation or improvement is a distant one . The era of ttue " Hero Worship , " has not yet arrived . The Benefactors , n » t the Butchers of mankind , will then receive statues .
The registrations proceed quietly , offering no noticeable point for . comment , and the multiplication of electioneering rumours begin to foreshow we are near a General Election . It is , however , we believe , now settled that there will be no meeting of Parlia * ment io November .
Colonial Anir Ibttip #Ri)T≫Hn
Colonial anir ibttip # ri ) t > hn
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Accounts to July 21 st have come to hand from the Cape of Good Hope , which represent the Kaffirs as still plundering and harrassing the colonists , but at the same time gradually retreating before the European and Colonial force directed against them . This force , though far inferior iu numbers to the invaders , has , of course the advantage of superior discipline , and " material , " and under the command of Sir Peregrine Maitland , will no doubt Bpeedily relieve the ' colonists from the - further inroads of their barbarous assailants . The " London Gazette , " of Tuesday , contained a series of very lengthy
deipatches from Sir Thomas Cochrane , commanding the British naval forces on the coast of Borneo , These dispatches contain an account of an expedition directed against the Sultan of Borneo , Omar Ali Safpudbi . The expedition seems to have been barren of any effective results ; true ; the English to ok and demolished some forts , burned several houses belong , iag to the Sultan , or Ha adherenta , in the interior , and carried away a number of brass cannon and other spoil ; but the grand object of the expedition , the catching of the Sultan , was not accomplished . That worthy gentleman , believing that
" He who fights aud runs away May live to fight another day , " managed to beat a retreat , and te keep out of the way of the English during . their unwelcome visit . Why the expedition wai undertaken is not at all clear . The Sultan is charged by his English assailants with a number ot crimes , principally of a throat-cutting character ; it does not appear , however , that any of the English had been victims . It strikes us that the real object of this expedition is not avowed ; we cannot but regard it as the precursor to designs opon Borneo
similar to those so successfully carried out as regards India . How far such acts are in accordance with the plain principles of honour and justice may be easily determined . We often hear in these times of the peaceful and humanising influences of commerce , indeed this bas been a favourite clap-trap with the Free Trade gentry , but there is no fact in history more incontrovertible than this , that priestcraft , national vanity , and commercial rapacity have been the principal causes of human
slaughter . The bloody conquest of India was effected step by step under the pretext of protecting our merchants , and now the same game is commenced in Borneo . Of course , Sir Thomas Cochbans boasts of the humanity and disinterestedness of his motives , but these are the usual masks worn at the outset of sueh undertakings . Again , he wishes to promote civilization ; so say the French in Algeria and the Americans in Mexico , — " tanta-ra-rara rogues all t "
We stated in last Saturday ' s Northern Star , that the French Democrats designed to dine together on the 20 th of September , in celebration of the glorious event celebrated by the Fraternal Democrats in London , but that they had been prevented carrying their design into execution by the arbitrary conduct of the police and government agents . We have since received the following communication from a correspondent , by which it will be seen that the banquet really did take plage in Paris / in spite , of the brutal
The Northern Star. Sat Urdat, October 3, 1846.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SAT URDAT , OCTOBER 3 , 1846 .
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Mr . O'Connor begs to return his cheerful thanks to the many individuals and societies who have forwarded various sums for his acceptance as a testimonial , ^ while , with the greatest respect , he begs lo decline all gratuities . of whatever nature , He ib m fond of his independence as a beggar is of his idleness , and when he hears of his countrymen being striken with famine , he would blush at being the recipient of a farthing that might be better applied in arresting the monster ' s march .
Mr . O'Connor also begs to inform those who subscribed to th « Anti-Militia Fund , that he has this day paid over the sum of £ 1 3 s . 3 d ., the amount received by him to the Secretary , Mr . Stallwoorf , for the purpose of restoring it to the several subscribers . The working classes may rest assured , that when tkeir confidence is . made complete in poor as well as rich leaders , the ascomplish ' ment of their object will ba near at hand .
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WEEKLY REVIEW . The food riots which have occurred in several ] districts of Ireland , arc a melancholy indication of the extent and severity of the calamity which afflicts that unhappy country . It is creditable to the Government , that , according to the means placed at their disposal by Parliament , they are exerting themselves vigorously for its alleviation . The landlords , too , appear to be routed into aotivity , and
Mr. O'Connor And His Friends.
MR . O'CONNOR AND HIS FRIENDS .
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4 , nP . « n » M » B «« ii .. . October 3 , 1846 .
*. Jsowraauy. Price Oneslmiiug. Th8 Second Edition Of 'Mt Ltfe; Or Our Social State, Past I. A Poem, ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ By Ernest Jones , Bawisteratlaw .
* . JSowraauy . Price OneSlmiiug . TH 8 SECOND EDITION OF 'MT LTFE ; OR OUR SOCIAL STATE , Past I . a Poem , ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦ by ERNEST JONES , BawisteratLaW .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 3, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1386/page/4/
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