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Mr. O'Connor -will address the people op Bclwell, near nottinguam, on tuesday next.
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MR. O'BRIEN AND HIS "VINDICATION."
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THE KORTHEfilT STAR. SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1842.
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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SPLENDID ASD MOSTLY PRESENT TO THE READERS -OF THB " iNORTHERN STAR . " eteemised to commemorate every great national evrnt connected with the present " movement , " Mr . O'Connor has entered into arratiremeDtg for presenting the Snbscribars to the Star vrith » "large and splendid Engraving of the Presentation of
THE GREAT NATIONAL PETITION to the House of Commons . This PJate vrili be as much superior to the Engravings already given with the Star , as they were to any ever given with any other newspaper . It will be divided , as it were , into three main compartments . The first vrill represent ihe Dexe-GATssinCoxvENTios AssraBLED previocsto start-*« £ vrith the Petition to the House of Commons , Tne centre and largest compartment will represent the Procession * ceompanying the Petition to the House , the Petition itself , the Beabbbs of it . and the People , whin passing Whitehall , and approaching Palace Yard . The third oomrarrmen : will represent the Petition IN THE HOUSE , when " laid on the table , " being a ten era ! visw of the Interior of the House of Commons , the Bar and the Speaker ' s Chair being
prominent features . In addition to these na n comoartinents the upper and lower edges of the plate will be divided iai-o sixteen other smaller compartments , each cue of which vrill eontain an accurate representation of soroo great Public Building passed in the route from tie Convention Room ? to the Parliament House . Views wHl thus be iuven of Tern pie" Bar , S :-. -Clement Dane ' s Church , Somerset Hortsa , Exeter Hall , St . Mary-te-Straud , Trafalgar Square , Northumberland House , Whitehall . Richmond Terrace , The Admiralty , The Horss Gaarcs , Westminster Brioge , i ' ne Treasury , Westminster Abbey and St . Margaret's Church , Westminster Hall , and the Exterior of the House . of Common . There will thns be given , upon cce very large sheet , Nisetibs iPLSsDiS Pjcfck . es , all liarrauiiiouslj combined to make the whole an effective and
vrort-hv represenianon of the most important movement ever made by the English people in favour of liberty . The terms upon winch the Plata will bs issaed are as follow : — Every Subscriber to the Star for Four Months , from lae date of entering b . 13 same with his newsagent , will be entitled to a Plate . We do n « promise to have it ready st any particular time , for the work will ' be one of- such a character , and will need such , careful
attention on the part of the Engraver , as to . defv any one to fix an cxac : tirue . This , however , we do promise . Erery subscriber is as liberty to cease his subscription at the end of four months , holding his ticket , and receiving his plate and paper from the Agent he has subscribed with , the day it is presented , jast as if he had continued to subscribe . The Price of the Paper the week " the Plate is presented will bo One Shi'iing . We will trj to laake rich arrangrEtB-s as will m ^ ke this the onlv charge the Subscribers wilt-have 10
pay . Agents , therefore , will © lease to open rebisription lifts , and in a ] l esses furnish the sabscribrr with a ticket , which ticket will entitle hira to the Plate whenever it is given for subscribing for the Siar for four months . As soon ss possible , specimens shall . be pl&ced in ihe hands of ihe Agents .
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TO TH 2 EDIX 32 07 THE XOETHSBX STAR . Dsab , Sih . —Haying lately had the distinguished ho- -our of proposes ihat noble r . dvocate of the people's rights , Ptar ^ us O'Connor , E ? q ., a 3 a- fi : and proper person to represent this borough in Parliamthi ; feeling erea . i attachment to that gentleman for his services as wall astoyturs ; lf , lbs Northern Star , and our organization , 1 do no * , know when I fei ; morehur * or angry than on reading one of the most uncalled-for , insulting , and vi'Iasous attacks iipvn yoafce- 'f and iir . O'Connor that erer 1 read ; la a psmphict , enridr-d * ' Jir . -O'Brien's Vindication of his C-tjcucs at the late Birmingham Conference " :
I musi = i . y thai 1 think th . s is one of the most scandalous attacks ; especially after the resolution passtd , aui the understanding b ? tween all parties in the Jate Convention ! If Mr . O'Brien ' s object be either to canse divisions , or to damn timselfiii tae estiaiaii-. no ? the people , hd-eo ~ i ; i not xnor .- tnW . uaJiy a ^ c 'mulish it by any otiier means than ' . hose he < -iapk > n . Thero-is eo man iVels m-ra sincere Tts gsrd : or Mr , 0 * Bri = n than mysilf ; hat scch con-< iuci I ci . sjE ? snd- "Wili proies ? a ^ alns * * end condemn . 1 hi-vc read every article in the Sia ? in reference- to tic disp"ie , ard while I have seen nothing bst "what wao ' absoluttl ? aese&survfor the iafi-ricition of the
peoplej I aaic- ? e £ ii plenty oi c"c ~ e to aisparc , itzioi tac s ^ oeritv tt a :: y rs : e the vrhdom , of tLe policy pursued by O'Brien . Wiien I fin-i O'Cuaiif ' . L , Lovett , aGdO'Erifc . aJ ( acting legsiher ; not oaiy in Tv = - pcet to ihi S ' -iir ^ e ' s move , b ^ : iu oppoiit-vn to O'Connor , yourself , and our paper ; whea I hear O'Connor itiling O'Brien to his faces before the waole Condition , that he has beca rlfiudt-ring him belitnd his back , and writing { . rivata kt' . ers to try
to raise a fc- ? l ! ng scaiast Lim uui ycur .-elf ; aud Tfhen I find Mr . O'Brien , after the resolution proposed by hiasuf , cow pr ' aiing this pampMet of p iuse ; I suy that when we Sad men thus siriviisg to raiss prejudice ajgaia » t our best friends and sewing discord in our xaiiks , there , is cause to su-pect that all is tot quite ri ^ bt . If Mr . O'Brien desires to retsta either the r-: ^ pect or c-cnSdcnce cf the people , h ? must art c-casirten'Jy ; he must keep hirnsc-lf above su .-picio : i . I csn a ? sare hici that some of h ' s very b ? st irk-nJs in t * is town have been exceed It ; :: ; ¦ = ¦ bun at . his
cosdsc : ; and his aouseof O'Cenacr will not serve hi- cau = e . I believe the Fiiuuiionycu fill as editor is zileridcd vri : h x " 611 tificahy io please all parries ; and ihs-t it is the duty of every lov ^ r of freedom : o iz . lv aTcuad , and give every possible iuppcr ' , not only to our glorious Slar , bu : ; o every man vrho is striving to frc ? his country from that awlul opprcs-Eon uader wLich the people suffer . SiEc ^ reiy hoping you will still persevere in the course V-.. U have taken , and thas O'Brien wiil . ~ -e the fvlly of bis proceedings , aiii regain the eonSueucc of the people . I renraiu yours , cne of . the trae supporters of the Star , un ; ii I sec cau-.-e to
eoncei £ . n , John * Aili ^ c , o 4 , Upper Garde :-- » Uc ' -: P-r : ^' . ti : i , } 'li : m ' !> BT of ihe General C ' .-mizlX of the ; I > i : -i .-aa : uharcer A ? svciii ~ . La . Eri : ; : on , May , * 29 , 1541 . tV 7 e have fc-cn the paiaphlttts Trhic :. this UtUr TcfeT ? and iu .: ii « u us i . sl-iifs . tion , fc-rcauEe tto f-v . r * ha : to fi . me Ex : tat thfi Beonle ' s caass will s-. E ^ r hj iz . We £ T 2 v . s , - i rrr fv r Mr . 0 Brkii , T ? h- > has by llils lr . oit in prc-i-. it ite ? ma-ia oimsrlf justly l ; a ' o ! e to > :... - ¦) - zmi u-cd 5-j js 3 Trtucn z l ^ \
. -p : c . , . ~ ^ x . pruE-av :, ^ , ii Tvrn ' ii moze c 2 ? j t-o exdt-- thss to s ' . ' e ^ . Or .- thirg is r , zT ' tz : ) j c ' -cr ; that the piicphit : i ? i-ntire ' -y h-jr : n ; . -i 5 as fi zs we are ejiiCfcriird . - The onij jvjr . ' es ~ bo cm suffer from it are its author D . i . d tbii- Cn . rilsi body . There tr = only fra c ' a ? sts ( f p-TBor . s vb > can read the pamphlet : hone £ t men cn « i Sn : iT ^ 3 . Thi-ss will again consist cf . £ u ; h a 3 iiave t ^ 3-J : "~ s Scrt ' if .-n Siar and such 25 have not rc ^ d it Ta-U of the bor . est men ttdo , like Mr . Alien , havs rea-- ! ih =- i 7 ar , know psrfectiv , that- cf aji man I = tu ]^ Mr O'Erita : cglt te regard the Edivor o £ that . par « T ¦ with rraUtn'Ie instead of milic-a . TLey ks' ;^ v vLat d'jrln ^ the -R Lo ] e ttrra of it 3 fsJstence ths Xor ' Jicni Si-. ij- h ^ s permitted no oppcrtonLtj cf enhancing 1 \ 1 t O Brien ' a 5 : ; ttr « . 3 Knd of asserting h ' i 3 insrlis to p- ^ s ¦
cnin-provsd ; they know that fcr thfc ra- —us cf i . uhlUiin ? this very parcphlet—cJj 5 hajr-= ' . 6 ss ^ s it .. s—> lr . O'Brler . is indebte . 1 to the exeriiozs of tfcc- XoiiLcm S . ' m-, in gratu : tonE ! y aQTertiffinz . for-K-eeks snd rnni . t- ' :--. t ^ sethei , ana contisua ' . ly calling alt = ntion to , an i > -r .-fuTc n ? upo ! i the notice of its readers , * b % subscript'io ;; lists through which bsbas btcomsprt-vided -aritL thrSs ipfcms : th--v know T > fcTfec"ly thst " « h 6 r . fcTer on parlie mst ' . ers , the Editor liss -lb-igree-1 v . izh Mr . O'Brien , ihui disagreemtnt cf cp ' ason has be = n by hLm exrres ? cd ia tae most resptcifui acdgent-f-. Tur . r . lv terms ; " thrj fcnsw that the Editor of the Xorthc ' n Sizr haa occapied mzzj columns in defending Mr . O B . ien niairiit the attsc ^ s cf ether" pr . rtic-s ; tJ : ey fccow all Uiis ; though faer do iv-t ti : o ^ r half so ruach asMT . O"B .- ; . _ 2 fc , Bi £ «; f feTjOTrs of the trcnble that his
beea likes and the ir . & ^ nTenk-nce that has t-een rcsta : ned by the Editor of tte 2 \ criher ; i Siar , to uphold Sir . O'Brien ' s ictsirsis ; those honest- reto , there f ore , ¦ vrto have read the 2 io . ~ ihe .-x Sin .-, ca-. I who know tne ¦ wbcls hiEtory of the whol = rr .- ; itr , ¦ K-Ul tee IIr O'Briiri ' s pamphlet iu its trae ii ^ hV , ia ths light ia * rhidi Mr . A ' -Irn sees it They Xnot ? thni its abuse and ribaldry is ceither due norcrilicsble to us ; thej know tbat its rtcblessness of assertion is made np ol outrageons misrepresentations and wilful , deliberate falscbc-ode , and we shall , theref-jre-, not anffir in theu estisiition because of the estracrdisary" pratikB ol Mr . JamtB O'B . ien . Honest mea -who have not resd the Slar vrill se $ at ence that the ribald tm < -h of this
parcpniet must cf necessity excli : Ia it from everj « J- «< nt ne-R-fpaper . They "will r ^ rreire ' . hsi Sir O'B . itn e ^ ald m-t either hftv .-e espteU-d or irittndec thsi its blackguard Mter -srhtch is its chief fsatnr < * hoaid appear in ike paper to trhich he h . id t £ a ifisc ler . c < -1- ; address it ; a . 1 . 3 thercfo :, without , e . tcrini stl ^ ail into : the qnesUoi ? of whether Mr . OBriei Biigbt o ? night not hs . Te s- -rue C 3 " . » e of . effe-nes they tFiil ' see enough from the paaphle to satisfy them that tte ci ' . y difjrsce At rtiirct : is i-poB its authoi ; In aid of "Fho — rv-tiraony the ¦ wiil require : " Jwtter BvidtECi ths- ? this elc-Aan Wi ^ -nceoi . Io $ h 9 jadgm-zst . cri t--- . ^ c < i a ol al hanest mai , . therefore , whtttsr ilej - ^ 17 ever bav » eo tbe Siir cr nut , the or !? ^ uFcht frcm tLis 1 am
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phlet will be Mr . O'Brien himself ; while knaves of all grades will lay gladly hold of it sa a means of injuring the people's cause . Pretended Chartist * , and traitors in our own camp , if there be any , will uas it aa a means of exciting and fomenting ill feeling and division ; open enemies will point exultingly to it as a specimen of the style and spirit of the ¦ elite of Chartism . They will ask , with some degree of plausibility , whether the fact that popularity is accorded by the working men to such parties as Mr . O'Brien describes the Editor tf the Northern Star to be , and by his own pamphlet proves himself to be , is not sufficient to justify , them in their opposition to the -Charter , on the ground that to grant it would be to place the interests and destinies of the whole people in the hands of a few reckless and unprincipled men— -alike 'destitute of the virtues and the decencies of ordinary society ?
This is the only effect which Mr . O'Brien ' s pamphlet ia calculated to produce ; this is the only effect it will produce . Mr . O'Brien knew that before he published it ; he conld not help knowing it ; and hence the honest and truth-loving Chartists begin , like Mr . Allen , " to suspect thai all is net right . " We regret that these suspicions should get abroad ; because we think the matter may be accounted for on different principles from that to which some parties seem disposed to refer it . We do not think that Mr . O'Brien has been bought or bribed by the enemy to do his little best for the destruction of the Chartist movement ; thongh if he had been so , he conld scarcely have served his employers better . We believe his present vagaries to be merely the result of morbid excitement , arising chiefly from that contemptible littleness of mind , the compound of vanity and disappointment , which has been happily termed " thinskinnedness . " It is lamentable that a ma . n
who has formerly : done service t « the good cause should be capable of making such an exhibition of himself ; but we can t > nly lament the fact ; we cannot help it We grieve to see Mr . O'Brien in the position he ba 3 chosen to take ; but , inasmuch as he haa chosen it , we have no alternative but to leave him in itl—Ed . X . S . -
Mr. O'Connor -Will Address The People Op Bclwell, Near Nottinguam, On Tuesday Next.
Mr . O'Connor -will address the people op Bclwell , near nottinguam , on tuesday next .
tee Seventh i > stant , at Six o ' clock in thb evening . The Chaib must be taken precisely AT THAT HOUJR , AS Mr . O'CoJiNOR IS ENGAGED TO ADDRESS THE PEOPLE OF NOTTING HAM , AT BCSKERS-HILL , AT ElGHT O ' CLOCKj ON THE SAME EVENING .
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AIR . ROEBUCK AND THE NATIONAL PETITION . Wht was Sir . Roebuck , of all other men in the world , selected by the factions to damn the National Petition when it was presented to "the Honse" by
Mr . Duncoiibb ! is a q-isry that presents itself to the Eaiud of every labouring man who calls to mind the flaming professions of ultra democracy which Mr . RoEurcK has unceasingly mado ; and the question is not very easy of solution , unless one looks some little below the surface , and examines in detail " the wheels within wheels" of Parliamentary machinery .
Ever since the existence of the two factions whose baneful power has j ^ vluced such woe and want in this once happy land , there has . also existed a SHAM OPPOSITION to them and their doings . The object of these " Oppositionists" has always been , by loud and extensive professions , to gain the confidence of the oppressed people ; and then to treacherously sell and barter the confidence eo obtained to the Minister of the day ! In later times .
from x ox downwards , the House of Commons has been the continued scene of operations like these Not a single Parliament has there been holden , that has net had , as one of its component parts , a SHAM OPPOSITION . As one man has been sopped off , another has taken his place ! The game has been kept up . The displacement of one SHOYHOY , as CoBBETT appropriately named them , has been followed by the substitution of another .
ThessSHOY-HOYS area portion , and a main portion too , of the system . To have attempted to carry the measures that have been carried ; and to have imposed the burthens that have been imposed , without "AN OPPOSITION , " would have been certain rnin to any minister that should have so attempted . Tne "OPPOSITIONIST" amuses the people , while the Minister picks the pocket and fastens the padlock ! The "OPPOSITIONIST "
also serves another useful parpose : he serves as a safety-valve for the murmurs and complaints of the choused and cheated ; and he lets down , gently , but effectually , any and every attempt that the people may make to recover lost ground , or to better their former position . The Parliamentary SHOY-IIOY is as much interested in the continuance of the system as the placeman or sinecurist himself ; and he labours as hard , in his way , as either , to preserve it inviolate and complete .
Fox ; " the great immortal English patriot , " Fox , 13 the first SHOY HOY , in order of time , that we shall here notice . "We single him out , because it was during his " opposition" that that war , which added so much to the Debt , and which entailed upon this cheated people the enormous "dead weight" they now have to bear ; it was daring the " opposition" of Fox that that "just and necessary war" wa 3 undertaken and carried on . Fox was a party in reality , though not in appearance , to the commencement and continuance of that war . The
object of the aristocracy in commencing it wag to prevent the carrying of Parliamentary Reform . Thi 3 object was equally dear to both portions of the aristocracy ; the Whig and the Tory . Put was the mouthpiece of the I 3 tier party ; and Fox was the champion of the Whig * . Pitt was the son of a Whig pensioner , and began his career , not only as a Whig , but as a Parliamentary Reformer ; and Fox was not only bred a Tory , and began his career as a Tory , bu ; he had , and held to the day of his death , itco iinecure offices !!! These men were the two
m-.-n of the whole collection who could talk the loudest , longest , and most fluently ; and who were therefore picked out by their respective parties to l-.-ac ? in carrying on those "Debates , " as they are calied , which have been one of the great meazs of amusing , and deluding , and enslaving the nation Every effort was made by the respective parties to exalt their champions in public estimation . They were represented as the two most wonderful men that the w ; rld bad ever seen ! The people , carried away ly such jn ^ glery , ranked themselves under one or
t " . e otii-sr oi r . d- ; se paragons , and took their respectivc names as marks of honourable distinction : and tli - . i ? , for thirty long years , were the industrious jii-. d sincere and public-spirited people of this country div : ueri into Pittites and Foxites ; thus wc-ro they for those thirty years the sport of the aristocracy who employed these political impostere ; while every year of the thirty $ a > c an addition to their burdens arid a dimhiUlion of their liberties . ' . ' . '
In this state stood the factions in 17 l » 3 , when came the nation of uar a . -ainst the Republic of Francs . i itt was , personally , decidedly opposed to ic-ur . He hud become Tory Slum tor . As such , he had c .-rab . ished a Sinking Fund , and had adopted other measures for the reduction of \ he Debt , then amounting io two hundred millions . War was incompatible with Pitt ' s schemes of reduction . He was wholly opposed to iL Bvit that portion of the aristocracy that suppji- ' ed lr . m here ftr war : for in
the continuance and sue ; ea 3 of the French Republic they saw Parliamentary Reform ! and as end of their blessed system of rule ! ! The Foxite portion of the aristocracy , too , saw the common danger , and were as eager for war as the Tories . Understanding the grounds of Pitts opposition to war , they went over , mid joined ihe Pittite party ; fohcisg , absolutely yonciya Pitt info war ; while they left Fox with a small party about him to carry on that " coristiiulijiiu ] opposition" necessary to amuse and deceive the people "
And thus the people of that day were amused and cheated ! The SHOY-HOY was there , to engage their atttuMon , while ' loans" were being made ; taxes Liid on ; subsidies employed in purchasing victories ; si . d the " dead weight" placed upon the nation .- ; back , f ux performed his part ; and performed it well too . H § v . as accounted a
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patriot ; a great statesman ; " the greatest , the most enlightened , and the most disinterested friend of the people that ever existed in this country * ' ! and it is common now to speak of him as " Vie most illustrious statesman" ; while the most Illustrious statesman" never did any thing for the country but take its . money .-from it ! He was , as was said before , o sinecure placeman all his life and he left a wife and two children pensioned on the country for their lives ! He himself brought in a bill to enable Lord Grenvilie , when First Lord of the Treasury , to hold his sinecure office of £ 4 , 000 a-year , as Auditor of the Exchequer ; thus making him auditor of his own accounts !! He was one of those who gave foreigners pensions under the crown , in violation of the Act of
Settlement ; one of those who brought German troops , and stationed them all over the country ; one of those who greatly augmented all the salaries and allowances of the royal family ; one of those who made an attempt to get a law passed , which law would have brought the exciseman into private houses ; one of those , who , when they were driven from place and power , left behind them , as a legacy to the nation , ready drawn tip , the first of those ActB by which the people of England were shut up in their houses from sun-set to sun-rise ! and in virtue of which Acts , so many Irishmen were , for being out of their houses more than fifteen minutes at a time , transported for seven tears ! and that , too , by MARTIAL AUTHORITY , —without Trial by Jury !
Such was the " patriotism" and " illustrious statesmanship" of SHOY-HOY Fox ! Turn we next to contemplate some parts of the conduct of a not less humbug in his day , Hbnk y ( now Lord ) Brougham . Wo seize upon Brougham as an illustration of the mode in which the SHAM OPPOSITIONIST works , because the part Brougham played , in 1817 , when Lord Cochrane presented petitions from one-aud-ahalf millions of people , praying for Ukiversal Suffrage , Annual Pahliaments , and the Ballot , as a means of effecting Ssoal , economical , and social reforms , was analagous to that played by Roebuck , ¦ when three-and-a-half millions asked for the
establishment of the self-same principles for the selfsame objects , in 1842 ! Roebuck was selected to be the sneerer at , and damnifisr , of the NATIONAL PETITION in May , 1842 , to Berve the purposes of faction , and to disappoint the hopes of a patient and suffering people ! Bbougham performed the like kind of service for the factions in 1817 ! Like Roebuck , Beoughaji had pretended to identify himself with the cause of the people . He had avowed himself " a democrat . " He had tickled "the ears of the groundlings ; " he had acquired for himself the character of the people ' s friend ; and he used the power thus obtained to frustrate their efforts for justice and right !
It is not generally known lhat Bbougham , at one time , publicly appeared as the advocate of Universal SuriuGEand Annual Elections . Yet the fact is so . In the month of June , 1814 , Lord Cochrane was expected to be expelled from the House of Commons . He was member for Westminster . His expulsion , of course , would cause a vacancy for tbat then celebrated city . To obtain Cochbane ' s seat , was a point of ambition with Brougham : but he was distinctly given to understand that unless he declared explicitly for Universal SuFFRAGE . and
Annual Parliaments he would not have a shadow of a chance . To gain his seat Brougham made the declaration !! He had , some short time previously , in a paper whioh was printed , declared himself hostile to Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage ; but now ; now that the seat for Westminster was to be be gained ; now , that power as an "OPPOSITIONIST" was to be acquired ; now , Brougham swallowed his former " hostility" and declared in favour of Annual Elections ; and contended that the Elective Franchise s > iiould be
EXTENDED TO ALL WHO PAID TAXES ! 1 When this vacancy for Westminster was expected , a meeting was called of the Livery of London , to which Brougham was invited . This meeting was for the purpose of getting Brougham afloat . At that meeting he made a speech ; in which he identified himsalf with the Radical Reformers and their principles . His dodge was seen through by some of the Radicals who remembered his former sayings . To fix him , if possible , they waited upon him with
a report of hi 9 speech , desiring him to correct it , if it needed correction ; as they were anxious his real opinions should ba known . Brqugham said that it would be as easy to write the speech jully out . They asked him " would he do so ? " He engaged to do it ; and he WROTE IT OUT WITH HIS OWN HAND ! This speech , bo written out in his own hand , was kept by some persona of the Westminster Committee , as the pledge of Broughah's principles . This speech , so writtten , was in the following
woras : — " Mr . "Broughim returned tba * ks , and said that the last time he bad met the livery , two years ago , he had declined making professions or promises , because he saw them so eften broken ; but had desired the livery , if it were worth their attention , to mark his conduct , and if he betrayed his declaration , to punish him next time they met , by drinking to the memory of his departed principles : —that time was now come , and he met them without any consciousness of having forfeited their favour . These two years had been pregnant with important events , and infinitely various as these were they all agreed in this , thatthey had mightily redounded U the honour of the cause , and the confirmation of our principles . The fundamental maxims of liberty had been solemnly recognized in the face of the world ,
THAT ALL POWER 13 FROM THE PEOPLE ; and that they have a RIGHT TO CHOOSE THEIR GOVERNMENT . AND DISMISS THEIR RULERS FOR MISCONDUCT . They had done 80 in France , and it was a lesson that could not be forgotten in the rest of Europe . The saying that laws are silent in the midst of arms , ' had failed for once ; and this fundamental principle had triumphed over the triumphs of the allied armies . So ranch for the honour of the cause . Bat the principles of reform had been assisted also in their progress . Where is now thepa ? , with which our months had , for five and twenty years , been stopped , as often as WE have required that PARLIAMENTS SHOULD BE CHOSEX YEARLY , and that the
ELECTIVE FRANCHISE SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO ALL WHO PAY TAXES ? We have been desired to wait , for the enemy was at the gate , and ready to avail himself of the discords attending onr political contests , in order to undermine our national independence . This argument is gone and our adversaries mast now look for another . He had mentioned thB two RADICAL doctrines of YEARLY ELECTIONS , and the franchise enjoyed BY ALL PAYING TAXKS ; but it wonld be superfluous to reason in favour of them here , "where ALL were agreed upon the suhjttL However , as elsewhere they may speedily be discussed , he should take leave to suggest a fact , for
the use of such as might have occasion to defend their principles . It was one for the truth of which he might appeal to hia honourable friend , the Member for Middlesex ( Mr . Byng ) who knew as -well as he did , tbat there was a great improvement always observable ia the conduct of ths House of Commons , towards the last pear of a Pailiarncrd : insomuch that he had observed that more good iras done in that year , than in all the other five or six . The reason for all this he should not presume to state ; but some persons were of so suspicious a nature , aa to insinuate , that it might be thu knowledge of manbers , tb 3 t at the end of tbat session they must meet their constituents , such of them as had any , and give an
amount of uifcir trust . He avowed that this fact hart been one of the chief gronn < is of bis conviction of the expediency of YEARLY ELECTIONS ; and if any oiie thought this unsafe , he should answer , that such frequent recurrence , and such extension of the franchise as should accompany it , is the best check upon public expence . If any other cbec ^ was wanting , it might be provided also . He had talked of such members as bad constituents , being reminded of it by the manner in wbick the twt had been given out by mistake—he hoped not an ominous
one . It had been said , a / uW , fair , and free representation in Parliament , ' leaving out' the people . ' Now , thia is jost -what iB done elsewhere . There is a full , fair , and free representation in Parliament , ' we need not drink to that There is a full representation of the Aristocracy/—a faiv representation of the lauded interest —a free representation—a free ingress of tte Court—but not much of the people—they are left out , as they *» ere to-day . It must , however , be otherwise soon . Wliiie they BEAR THE BURDENS of the State , they must , as of tijht , share in its government ; ami to effect thiH Reform , all good men must unite . "
There ! That is pretty good for a SHOY-HOY See how glibly the " patriot" talks of the ¦ " WE have squired that Parliaments shoald be chosen freely , and' sttHe elective franchise should be extended to ail who pay taxes" ! And yet the very
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man ( if he be worthy the name of man ) who put thia down in hia own handwriting , after having spoken it at the London Tavern—who put it into the hands of the people of Weatininater as his political creed ; thia SHOY-HOY ; when . he found that he could not get the seat for Westminster , turned short round upon the people ; and , in the year 1817 , about two years and a half after speaking and writing the above speech , he abused ( ill the leaden of the Reformers ; he represented them as wretches that deserved chastisement of the severest kind ,
because they were for what he called the mad scheme of Annual Parliaments and Univeksal Suffrage 1 When Lord Cochrane offered to present id the House of Commons petitions * signed by a million and a half of Englishmen , praying for a Radical Reform of the people ' s House , Brougham , the SHO Y-HQY , almost led the way in having the petitions ' . kicked out of the House ! He sneered at the petitioners ; represented Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments ( the very principles with which he had identified himself ) as " BIG
NOSTRUMS for LITTLE BLUNDERS" ! He acted a part the . most foul towards the Reformers . He affected to censure the Power-of-Imprisonment Bill , and the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ; he spoke against the measures ; he voted against the measures ; but he took care that his " opposition ' should pass for nothing ! for ninetenths of hifl speeches were either ridicule or abuse of the Reformers and their Leaders ! His trick consisted in representing the scheme of Reform prayed
for as chimerical ; and to point out the Leaders as being most desperately wicked , and as deserving of any degree of punishment ! The slanderer " opposed " the cruel and tyrannical measures of Castleueagh and Sidmouth in Words ; but he had another parcel of words which tended to encourage the Government to pass and persevere in the measures ; and to induce all the rich , timid , and selfish part of the nation ; all the base , friyplous , and worthless men and women to applaud the very measures he affected to oppose !'
Precisely such a SHOY-HOY is John Arthur Roebuck , as far as ho has the ability ! Precisely such part did ho play on the presentation of the National Petition , signed' by three-and-a-half millions of people ! " That extremely unwise ; " that extremely foolish petition" ! " The it-ashy doctrine contained in the petition . " " Let it not be supposed that HE agreed with ONE HUNDREDTH PART of the doctrines of the petition" ! Such was the mode adopted by this SHOY-HOY ; this SHAM FRIEND , to let down the people and their cause . Surely there was reason why Sir
Robert Peel and the Tories , and Lord J . Russell , and thei Whigs , should rej ? cfc the petition , when the flaming Radical , the out-and-out Chartist , the ultra Democrat , Mr . Roebuck , could thus speak of it ! If its claims were such that he could not agree with a one hundredth part of them , surely they must be foolish and extravagant indeed ! Thus the SHOY-HOY opened the door for Lord J . Russell and Sir Ropert Peel to thrust the claims of the people out of the House , and throw them slap bang again into the faces of the petitiohers , as absurd and unreasonable in the extreme ! and thus Rolbuck acted as all SHOY-HOYS have ever done !
Roebuck is a " national faith" man . Roebuck , maugre all his " ultra" notions , is for wringing from the labour of the people £ 00 , 000 , 000 a-year , to pay the Interest of the Pedt and the expences consequent on that Interest and Debt . Roebuck knowa that the moment Universal Suffrage is established , that . £ 60 , 000 , 000 will cease to be paid . Her . ce he is as fearful of Universal Suffrage as any Whig or Tory in the House ! and this is the case with every mother ' s son of the Malthusian Opposition . ' They amuse the people by pretending to advocate their cause ; but they , one and all , take caro to assist in the enactment of all measures
intended to rivet the chains of Capital round the neck of Labour ; and in prostrating the energies of the people at the feet of "National Faith" ! Universal Suffrage would loose those chains , and set Labour free : hence Universal Suffrage is dreaded by the Malthusians as the greatest calamity that could befal them ! This explains many portions of their conduct , otherwise inexplicable ! The labourer will now see why they traduce , and vilify , and abuse , and DENOUNCE those leaders of the people who will not do SHOY-HOY work -. ! They cannot do with those who work in earnest ! None but SHAMS find favour in their sight : and these they cherish as the apple of their eye !¦ ¦! . '
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THE QUEEN SHOOTING . Another opportunity has been afforded for the exuberant loyalty of the supremely "loyal" to boil over . Gad ! and they have laid it on / Jtc / ir 7 A young man , from some motive or other , draws a pistol from his pocket , and points it at the Queen ; but whether he fires it or no , is rather problematical ; and whether , if he did fire , the weapon was loaded with more than powder and wadding , none can as yet tell ; yet , forthwith , a complete , sensation "isproduced ! and the minds of the members of " the two Houses" are so affected at the atrocity , that they cannot even pass that Tariff which is "to lower the price of provisions for the people ; " but they forthwith adjourn to allow themselves time to cool !! Admirable and delioate
sensibility 1 "The two Houses" did not adjourn when the middle-olass-miscreants rode down , and ; with their newly ground sabres , slaughtered scores of women and children on the field of : Pjbterloo 1 . Nor did they adjourn when Widow Ryan ' s son was sent "to meethis account" by Archdeacon Rideb and his bloody man-butchers ! In these cases , the weapons were more than pointed at the victims that suffered : yet "the house" in one case thanked the MURDERERS !! ! and in the other refused all redress !! But their feelings were so acted upon , because a foolish boy pointed a pistol at the Queen , ( and , as some say , fired it ) that they must needs adjourn to recover from the fright I ! O t what sensibility "loyalily" can make us affect !!
The pistol , however , has been pointed at the Queen ; and the perpetrator of the act is committed to Newgate on a charge of High-Treason . ¦ We wonder Whether the factions will make him but to be a " rascally Chartist , " or hot ! We have watched the " Establishment" pretty anxiously to see what tone it took as to this point . So far , it has not attempted to connect the foolish youth with any political party . His lodgings and his boxes have been searched ; bat no papers or documents of a political character have , as yet , been found no , not even the Northern ) Star : / ., This is
consolatory ! Now-a-days it is the fashion to refer all the political mischief that is done throughout the country to the "inflammatory and incendiary Northern Star ' / and we were not quite sure , when we first heard of the foolish act of this very foolish boy , that some portion of the blame would not have been attempted to be laid at our door ; and , through us , at the door of the Chartists generally ! A charge of treason isno joke ! -. . - For pointing a pistol at the Queen , this young haram-scarum has got himself in for it pretty considerably . He is
committed for high treason ; and if found guilty , will be adjudged to be hanged by the neck till he be dead ; then to be beheaded ; and his body cut in four quarters , and disposed of , as the Queen shall direct . ' It would have been a serious matter for us to have had to join him in his tribulation , had he turned out to have been a reader of the Northern Star ! By all that is sacred , we implore of all who read the Star never to think of pointing a pistol at the Queen ; or indeed at any one else , except in case of self-defence !
Seriously , however ; what is the meaning of these attempted shootings ! Are we to have one a-year 1 Is the 'ball ' to--be kept going , both in France and England 1 If there be many more of them , they will lose their effect . People will begin to think that shooters at Kings and Queens are bad marksmen ; or that Royal personages live a charmed life One or two failures might do ; but for so many-r people will begin to think—it ' s all a hum !! Should that feeling possess folks , their "loyalty" will . -b . e damped ! We would strongly advise all concerned both in France in England , to have no more of these royal-personage shootings .
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his indignation on the Star , the Editor of which he affirms to evince "in the Star of each week' * a disposition to calumniate him . Here then is ample proof of two of the very Btrong charges we make against Mr . Philp ; of having . in this letter , charged upon one party that which he knew to have been said and done by another party ; and of directing bis censure against acts which he knew to have never been done and faots which he knew to hare no exist .
ence . . ¦ . . - .. - . . : ¦ ¦¦ . - . ¦ , , - . . ¦;¦¦ _ •/ ;; . - . .. . ¦• . . ; -. ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . - ; . Because the Bath Charti 3 ta have said that which he affirms to be false , he accuses the Northern Star of calumniating him " each , week" I Mr . PmLP . is a great stickler for ¦ " the rightB of the people ? * pd for the necessity of their having an oigaa for the expression of their opinions ; and yet he is angry with the Northern Star tor giving expression to the xesolution of a ; whole body of ChartistSj because that resolution happens to be ; offensive to him ! Because he chooses to assert the contrary of that which the Bath Chartists assert , we must not publish the resolution of the
Bath Chartists on pain of his displeasure ! Just let any man look at the facts of this case . The Bath Chartists of No , 3 , Galloway ^ Buildings , send certain monies to the Convention Fund ; the sum was not so large as had been expected from them ; they state , by resolution ; a reason why they had not contributed the whole sum expected from them ; they send thia to the Northern Star for publication ; and because we publish it , Mr . Philp sends this long , grave , objurgation , protesting against pur practice of calumniating : him " each week m the Star " . ' Was ever a more monstrous piece of dishonesty perpetrated 1 ¦ ¦ '¦¦ . '''¦ ' ¦ .. '¦ ¦ ' . ; . .. •• ¦ '; - ¦ " . ¦ .- ; : : : - '
But after all what does this letter of Mr . Philp ' s prove in reference to the facts in diapnte between him and the Bath Chartists ; and which he has bo dishonestly laboured to represent as a dispute between him ^ and the Northern Star ? The Bath Chartists of No . 3 , Galloway ' s Buildings , say thafc they would have paid more money to the Convention , had they not been thinned as to numbers by ^ Messrs Vincent and Philp starting another society . Mr . Philp denies this . He says : —*
"I deny that any societyhas been formed in Bath by either Vincent or Philp , or any persons with whom we have connexion . Nor has any political society ^ that I know of , been recently formed , the origin of which may either directly or indirectly be attributed to us . " Now this is evidently intended to convey , the idea that the assertion contained in the Bath Chartists ' resolution is a falsehood . And yet Mr . Philp knows it ia no such thing . He knows that the Bath Chartists of No . 3 , Galloway ' s Buildings have stated nothing in this matter but the truth ; and his own letter—this
present letter—in the very next words after this denial confirms that truth . The factB of the case are simply thus . The Chartists or Bath are all members of theNational Charter Association of Great Britain . They have been accustomed to meet together in ihe large room , No . 3 , Galloway ' s Buildings . Some time ago , a quarrel occurred among them about the part which Mr . Philp and Mr . Vincent and some other parties took in the Conferences and other meetings relative to the Stubge move . Mr . Phil * and
some others then refused to meet any longer with some parties who were in the habit of frequenting No . 3 , Galloway ' s Buildings . They , therefore , went , and took a room of their own , and thus opened a new meeting place for Chartists . So that , in point of fact , there are now two distinot bodies of Chartists meeting indifferent parts of the city of Bath , whereas there was only one . Of this fact Mr Philp assures us in this letter ; for , in the very next words to those we last quoted , she says , —
"We have opened a large add comfortable room , capable of accommodating 1 , 500 persons—it is lit with gas , &c . "; : ¦¦ " .. ' . This , those of the Chartists of Bath , who still meet at No . 3 , Galloway ' s Buildings , call the opefling of another * : society ' . . by Mr . Philp and Ms friends ; and we think they are right in thus calling it ; and we feel quite sure that rnosc other people will think so too : indeed we have no doubt that Mr . Philp would have perfectly concurred with them in thia view of the matter , if it had noisuifcedbis purpose to raise a quibble on the meaning of the word
" society , " that he might be able to " deny" the statement of the resolution . He does not '' deny" that he has opened another pljice of meeting ^ in Batb , but insists that he has not formed another society ; because the new room as well as the old one is ^ applied for the purposes of the National Charter Association , has a General Council for its management , and is under the guidance of the English Executive . " We never remember to have seen a more paltry quibble lhan this ; had the Bath Chartists said " another meeting"instead of "another society , " Mr . Philp could have no repljf ; and
yet their meaning would have been precisely the same as it now is . They assign aa their ieason for not giving so much to the Convention fund as was expected , that there are not now so many of them as there were ; that a division has taken place ; that Messrs . Philp and others have started another society ( using the word society to mean « body meeting in a room ); Mr . Philp confirms this by his own statement , and yet quibbles about the word society , for the purpose of " emphatically deny ing it" ! Mr . Philp may' think this casuistry very clever ; we think it very disgraceful .
But which of the two parties is in the right in this dispute about the meaning of the word society ! The Bath Chartists say that Mr . Philp and his friends have begun " another society . " We say that they are righfc ; ahd that Mh Philp in denying it exhibits .. hot merely a dishonest , because a quibbling , disposition , but the grossest ignorance of the constitution and ' organization of the National Charter Association , for the highest and most honourable of whose offices , he is now a candidate ; as well as the grossest ignorance of the law upon the subject of political societies .. If Mr . Philp
does not know , there is not a Chartist in the United Kingdom who cannot tell him ) that two distinct bodies of Charfcists meeting in different rooms in different parts of the ciiy of Bath are , to all intents and purposes , so far aa the city of Bath is concerned , two societies ' . - ;¦ ; .. Mr . . ¦ Ph ' speaks of his room , in the heart of the city , being " applied to the purposes of the National Charter Association ; " of its having " a general council for its government , " and of its being " under the management of the English Executive , " as thoa «; h the National Charter Association was a body like the Methodist connection , or any other great body recognised by the law , and having a legal right to exist in divisions , sections , branches , and
compartments . He seems to have quite forgotten the " legality" mania which has but so recently passed over . He seems quite innocent of all knowledge of the fact that the country was pat to the expence of a national delegate meeting in Manchester for the very purpose of amending and legalizing the organization . Mr . Philp haubeea nearly twelve months on the E xecutive Committcei and it woald really seem , from this letter , thathe h » 8 never read the /' . plan ' - of organization at all' . If ; h * had read it , he must have known that to talk of A meeting room being applied to the purposes ofjtto National Charter Association , is to talk nonsense , " and much worse than nonsense ; he must have known that the National Charter Association has no
meetings , and therefore needs no meeting . xoofflr ^ that it exists only in its officers and in iftf : enrolled list of membs-rs , and that all ihesfiiaM the several Chartists * meeting in their respecj&f localities , are their bum acts as individual CbartfetB * and not as members , of the National Qa&li £ Association . This was most careful ^^ aS elaborately explained in the Northern .. SteFi immediately after the amending of the i p ^ tt of organization ; and we ¦ venture to hope th * there are few Chartists in the country ignorant of
It- 'besides Mr . Philp . : ; Then again what does Mr . Philp mean by " a General CouHoil"i Ho Bays his room in the h «^ of the city is applied to the purposes of the National Charter Association , and "has a General Council for its government . " How many General Councils are there in the National Charter Association * Mr . Philp speaks of " a General Council" hawag the govetnmeat of his meetinf ? room * as » , *" National Charter ABSociauott miitht have many
Mr. O'Brien And His "Vindication."
MR . O'BRIEN AND HIS "VINDICATION . "
The Korthefilt Star. Saturday, June 4, 1842.
THE KORTHEfilT STAR . SATURDAY , JUNE 4 , 1842 .
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THE STARVING POOR AND THEIR COMPLAINTS . Elsewhere we give a report of a meeting holden at Clithero , to which we beg to direct the earnest attention of every one who sees this Paper . That report we give just as we received it . We do so , because we think it is important that the authorities and all concerned should have an opportunity of learning the feelings which actuate the minds of the starving labourers at
the manifold oppressions and privations they are compelled to endure . We implore attention to the document agreed upon by these twenty thousand starving operatives ! It is all-important . They speak warmly and bitterly : but a wise statesman will look below that , and seek out for , and remove the cause ! O ! that the earnest pleadings of suffering poverty with dominant wealth might have their desired effect ! O ! that the ear of natural feeling was not closed by heaps of gold !
Let us not be mistaken . We do not agree with the whole of the proceedings of this important meeting . Judging front the report as sent to us , some speeches havo been made and some expressions used that are calculated to damage the oause of those who made and used them . This is to be regretted . We can make all due allowance . We know , to 8 omo extent , the sufferings the poor have to endure . We do not expeot a Btarving man to measure hia every word , as if he were spinning silk . But therd is a point which common ordinary prudence
says cannot be passed without inflioting defeat on one's own object ! That point we would implore the poor not to pass ! Do not put yourselves into the hands of your enemies . You are justified in speaking out loudly and boldly ; but empty threats do no good ! Make those who maintain the present system to hear your complaints ; but do not run your necks into the halters they hold ready opened for you !
Prudence is ! necessary , if patience be scouted . Look at the mischief done to Our cause some eighteen mouths ago , by the empty vapouring arid -bombastic threats of noisy brawlers , who were found wanting when the time fixed by themselves { or action came round ! Threatening is no sign of 8 trena ; th or courage . It is rather an evidence of weakness and cowardice . Pym , Hampden , and Sid . net did not threaten ; but they acted . Tell did not threaten ; but he acted . Throateuing does
no good ; and the man who use 3 it is xenorally found in the baokgrouBd when his threats should be enforced ! Let us implore of the working people to reflect upon these things . We do not prescribe that sort of patience to them which would bid them lie down and diet But while we do not prescribe ( hat eori of patience ; we dp recommend prudence ; and
more especially prudence in talk ! "Selfpreservation is the first law of nature : " bui that Hw of nature does hot exhbiit itself in unmeaning words . Scout from you the BIG talkers Drag your suffering and enduriDgebefore the wpild ; compel the attention of the oppressor to your complaints ; use all and every prudent means to get relief and redress ; but do . not countenance BIG talk or empty threats !
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MR . R . K . PHILP ; HIS LETT&R OF COMPLAINT ; AND HIS FITNESS FOR ELECTION ON THE PEOPLE'S EX ECUTIVE . We have received a letter from this gentleman ; the publication of which he claims as as " an act of fairness . " It is our unvarying rule never to furnish any man with just cause , or even a plausible pretext , for complaint . Our readers will therefore find the
letter of Mr . Philp in another column . But we cannot consent to forget entirely , however convenient to Mr . Philp it'might , be for us so to do , that some small modicum of " fairness" is alBO due to us . \ Mr . Philp seems marvellously wishful to drag us into a quarrel . We shall hot permit him to do so . We shall make juet such and so many observations on his present letter as may suffice for the mere purposes of '' fairness , " and then leave the whole matter to the judgment of the people .
The gist of Mr . Philp ' s letter is contained in the following extracts : ^—"I nave yet to complain of the disposition you evince iu the Star of each week , to create an unfavourable impression in the minds of the Chartist body respecting my acts . In your paper of the 28 th of May , a note purporting to be from " the Bath Chartists , " asserts that Messrs . Vincent and Philp have created division , and formed another Society I have denied this emphatically before , and regret again to be called upon to reiterate the denial . The division in Bath ( little though it be ) was not created by Vincent and Philp . * - * . . *
I deny that any society has been formed in Bath by either " Vincent or Philp , or any persons : with whom we have connexion . Nor has any political society ^ that I know of , been recently formed , the origin of which may either directly orindireotly be attributed to us . We have opened a large and comfortable room ; capable of accommodating 1 , 500 persons—it is lit with gas , and situate in the hearfc of the city , and this is applied to the purposes of the National Charter' Association ^ has a general council for its management , and is under the guidance of the English Executive—and I have the greatest reason to expect that ere loug , it will render most essential service to our good cause . "
We beg to tell Mr . Philp that when persons are so very sensitive about criticism , so very impatient of censure , and so very anxious about "fairness , " as he seems to be , the least that can be expected of them is that they should evince some little " fairness '' in their dealings with others—that they should not manufacture cause of complaint , by attributing to one party that which they know to have been done or said by other parties—that they should not wilfully pervert the plain meaning of language for the purpose of raising a quibble upon whioh
a quarrelsome note may be sounded—that they should not , above all things , make ' an occasion for quarrel by censuring acts which they know to have never been done , and facts which they know to have no existence . We scarcely opine that Mr . Philp will venture to designate any of these as "fair " practices ; and yet he has been guilty of all these practices , and to a great extent too , in the writing of this very plausible , but Very dishonest and disingenuous letter . Indeed , we need only the few lines we have quoted , to prove all that we here charge upon him . :
Let it be observed , Mr . Philp's letter is not addressed to the Chartists of Bath . It is addressed to the Editor of the Northern Star whom > he charges with evincing " in the Star of each week" a disposition to create an unfavourable impression in the minds of the Chartist body respecting his aots . Now What evidence does Mr / Philp ; adduce in sup ^ port of this very serious charge against the Editor of the Northern Star I Does he point to a succession of laboured vituperative editorial articles : full of misrepresentations , misconstructions , and falsehoods respecting his acts ? Thia is what of course he should have done after , if apt before ,
making such a statement . But he does not do any such thing ; and for the best reason in the worldhe cannot . He knows that the Editor of the Northern Star has never spoken of him but in respectful and gentlemanly terms ; hot even in reply to the coarse invective of the Vindicator . But by way of proving that the Editor of the Northerni Stari evinces " each week" a disposition to damage him , he pites a resolution of his own neighbours , the Bath Chartists , and comments upon that as coming from Ihe Editor of the Northern Star ! He sinks the authors of the resolution entirely , and , assuming the stateaieut of the resolution to be false , vents all
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4 " THE NORTHERN STAR . - _ ^—
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), June 4, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct601/page/4/
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