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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JTJXE 17, 1843.
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Co 23*a$evg autt a^mspon&cKt^
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• TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNINQ ADVERTISER.
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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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CORONER'S H ? QUEST . { From the Morning Chrenicle . ) ' Death of a CfiiteaasT B 3 OT £ b m tax Pekitks-Sabt . —On Sarnrday , a lengthened nivesnganon took place In ihe General Penitentiary , liihbank , ^ estoiBSter , before Mr- Bisp . depsry <* ronef *« WestEtinswx , ana a respectable jury , en the body * f Joha Ashley , ascc 34 , late a trackman at Stafford , « d leader of aCsajiM association , who was convicted in October last , as the Ssffe-rd special *» . sions 5 nl > e " uis concerne < i TOtii otaers m the btaf-Ibrdshire Casrdst riots , and sentenced to twelve snontbs * insprisosiEcai in tire Penitenriarv . The easo « £ cued much isterest . After the * ury were sworn ^ J viewed the fcody of ihe deceased , which was Jaid in the £ ead house « f ihe prison ; it presented so esiaeated an appearance as to excite the sympathy of ail present . On the return cf ibe jury " to the ineaesJ loom , ike following evidenca was adduced .
The Rev . Daniel XiMl , govsaor and chaplain of th&prisoa , deposed that the deceased was received on ihe 7 th cf tXeeember , h » vi 3 g been tried and convicted the prsvisus 1 st of < Jct © ber 5 at the Stafford special sesaoas , for riot and being concerned in * rnlamnl meetings , for winch he was sentenced to tirerre montfes * imprisoiEaent . in the penitentiary . By the Foreman of the Jury—The deceased was an goodlie ^ th when be wasrecehtd into the prison , iui his mind appesred-deeply affected at his situation . "Be was a master ± a £ or at Stafford , and has left a ¦\ ridow aid famliY . By the Coroner—The deceased first became ill in Pebraarv last , when he was received into , the in-3 nnaiy , " and aiteeded bj Dr . Bailey , physician to 3 be prison . B 3 s sentence did not include labeur .
By » Juror—Since his imprisonment he has occasionally been vMted by his friends , after which-he -was generally isore depressed in mind . While in -healthhe was not allowed more than the prison diet , lot , during the period he was in the infirmary he had every ^ eseriptioD of nonrishisg articles ; in fact , ^ whatever theinedic&l attendant considered esseniial ^ to his recovery . By the Osroner—The deceased was allowed to walk in the jard occasionally . No undue severity was -ctet exercised towards him . I afforded him all the
indulgence in my power , having an eye to the CoTernmest orders respecting snch description of prisoners . He never made any complaint to me . By the Foreman—The deceased was allowed "books , and pens , ink , and paper , and wa 3 accus--tomed to lead Tery mnch . He was not allowed to mix with * he other prisoners , but often conversed with the officers of the prison , when he advocated his principle and complained of the unjust sentence he had received 5 at the same fene allnded to the Government persecution of Feaxgus O'Connor and other martyrs jo their eause .
By a juror—The sflent system is done away with m tee prison . The health of die prisoners 13 better than formerly , owing to the short sentences . Tiere have been only seven deaths during 4 he last twelve months . Dr . Bailey , physician to the prison , said—The ^ deceased was admitted to the infirmary in February last , Euffering from scrofulous ifeciioB , rhen--jnaiism , jaundice , and general debility . He had every care and nourishment afforded him . bat he . gradually sank , and died on Wednesday . His Body was opened , when the viscera , heart , lungs , and mesenteric fluids were found affected with scrofula . By the Foreman—Scrofula is 0 prison complaint , but the deceased was constitutionally scrofulous . Imprisonment trill aggravate the disorder . There being no further evidence , the jury returned -a verdict of ** Died by the visitation of € od . "
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TWR TRIAL OP WILLIAM KEN 2 TEDT , BEFORE MB . SOLICITOB GENERAL , AT ATBY , ON PRTDAY , TFTR 2-&H DAT OF AUGUST , 1797 ^ "William Kennedy stood indicted for aiding and assisting a numerous armed mob , on Saturday sight the Cth of May last , in an attack on the Charier-Behooliouse of Cirberry , inhabited by Stephen Spaits , master Shsreor , ~ wtih an intention to take amy tho life of the said master , and to rob the said house of arms , the property of the said Stephen Sparks , and of arms the property of -several yeomen of the Gtand Canal Legion , there deposited for safety ; and also for firing several shots into the said house , with sa intention "to kill the said Stephen Spsrks , contrary to the £ atcte , &c On tTiia infliprmont hs was attaigofcd , end pleaded IKotSuHiy .
Stephen Sparks , sworn . —Said he was master ei the Cbarter-BcbDol-hbiise of Garberxy , that he had a good light torsiassnber the _ 6 thof May ; M 3 reasonfoi re- \ sesibenB ^ H so well was , that on thai Eight , or ihe SESt morniEg , hishoBsewas attacked hy & great camber ' -of men , he believed near three hundred , most of them ¦ were aimed - * ith guns ; they attacked the house in ^ feint ; they threw a great number of atones ssd fired ' . againstthe "Bindows ; fnp gans trere lcodea ¦ srilh hall ; the shot entered -into several 'sindovs of the room , lodged in the windew-frames and shutters , and man ; : aanged along the tFalls in different directions . Witness j sever siaid long in anyone sitnation , he ran tram one ' -window to another ; he was exposed to the shot of the i persona who fired very frequently , several balls passed ; ¦ dose to him , he thanked Gad neither he or his I
family 01 . party received any wound . Hb had six persons in &s house beside his sen ; they fired repeatedly on the persons -srho made the attack ; -whenever the party -without fired a Tolley they cave & shout , or rather , a jell ; " they desired ¦ witness to throw out his ansa . j Witness and Ms party kept firing en them ; he did not j ^ ye them Ms arms . They went 06 *; he heard a great ' jshen t ; they said tcey would be fcacfe again and send ' vrOoesa andhis lamSy to heD ; he saw a party on the MH coming towards the house , "witness thought they iad rallied ; he and his party fired on them ; when he heard the words " Wicklow—friends , " Ihey stopped j their fixe ; one of the Wicklow vras unfoitunately ' MBed hy a shot from the house before thsy were known ; ; he sa-d tfee prisoner at the baz was socs after brought '
to Ms house in company with another man ; they were ' "brought in hy a party of the Wicklo-w ; witness knew the prisoners ; he sited the prisoatr KennBoj . for God ' s sHidj * 7 hat fould induce Mm to attack ¦ witness ; he j would not make any answer ; -would sot speak one word ; witness sdlemnij declared Kennedy ttss as sober is 3 ^ sthe-witaBss > -5 ? as &t thet 5 mE oI gr » inglus e - videDC £ . < Tbete tp&ss eonsideiable deal of injury done the fconse ; It cost upwards of -fifteen pounds to repair the windows ;' , several baUB wtre filed into the room where tntueBs ' s family -were ; he made no donbt but he nas freguently j 5 n great danger ; he heard several feaBs pass quite close ; ± 0 him ; he stood mostly in front , to have an t-ppor- , ttmily of firing trith efiect . He is eocTi&ced there conld i not beless than three handled men at the attack .
Xjentessst Heppenstafl said he was a Lieutenant in 328 enderry in May lasr ; Temembered the night of the tub of Slay . The soldiers at tbe camp were alarmed by the iregufint TEports of mnignetry ; al-ont t-srrlve at iqght , tte drum baat to arms ; the party -sr = e foraied intoAreediTisions ; witness commanded one party ; ih ^ y took different roads ; witness marched his party towards \ Villi 3 msto" 5 rn ; lie had got a hint ibat Mr . " WSliams" and Captain Gralian ' -s houses -etMd fce attacked that night ; witness had cot marct-ed fax , -when he heard Tollies towards Carberry hill ; be -crossed orei towards it ; he stSl heard tbe firing and shoutxoK ; -when he came to the top of the hill he saw a house under Mm ; hajuked whose it was some ef the men mid it -was Sp&fces ' s ; they bad not
returned far , when several shots "were discharged from the house at Mb party , one of his men trss shvt : and Mmprtf sear bring kiBed , the ball passed through his side lock , he threw hunself on thegrcned , and cried ¦ out murder—" WickloW' —friends—ECTeral balls passed ¦ fcbrwigii Ms cloths , he saw a tthiti xuzsung from the house , "witness ran up to him and knockfcd iron down . Be sKked him sho he was , but he would not make any finswsr ^ witness swore he would put him to death if ie did not tell vrho he was ; but he would not speak ; itTtasfce prisoner s& the bar ; he gave Trnn \ in charge to Ms Serjeant , and went forward with seme of the
men ; he soon after ssw another man running siocg tbe Mil ; -witness came "Dp -with Mm asi knocked him do-sra ynth the bntt end of Ms firelock . The maa asked for mercy , and that if Ms life "wss spfer « l , he ¦ would discover the persons -sf ho were there ; -EitDses sezed Mm by tbe collar , brought him np to where he had left the other prisons ; asked him if be kne"w that man , pointing to the prisoner at the bar . Eylaa < i , the ether prisoner , said yes , that is Bill K'sncedy , tbe "brogue-maker , « f Kishairanna , he - was "with na . Hj land said that Kennedy bad sworn him , before they Trent to Spark ' s in the old church yard of Garbtrry ; -Kitncas brought them < lo ? rn to 3 Ir . Sparks .
On bis-eross-examinsUoa , he said he did n&t see a fan -with the prisoner at the bar . He said be pat as sope icrana t £ e prisoner ^ neci , and swore be vroald hang Km if he did not ^ lEcaver his party , and acfcno-wledged he d * e-w She cord prefy tight ; but be- could not Jjet a -word from Mm . Hyland diEcoraed of several Others , -who -were taken Usat mnmiii ; . Ataauder Ca 2 ry said he "sras apurate in tba "R ? ick-3 o » 2 ^ itm ; Treat oa £ unaer the command ef Liente * ^^ BEppK ^ all , the night the" Cbsrter ^ iouBe -was attacked ; they earns np jasl as it -sras vrer . The ¦ atfrTKter a made off -when the Wicklow came up ; they - £ red some xhois—oaa <> f Ms comrades -sraa kDled . = Tyj& « a « 5 W ^ eprisonaruuumgfroiu the honse from 4 heT | ftlInpthfiMiL He -sem taken fcy the party . He bad B gun In iia hand . Tie laentenunt knocked Mm -dbimslw wettidiJOt tdl Trhft he-was . On bis cross-examruaticn , « xid he is cure Kennedy
isad a gun as he ;« ame up . Witafas itcs Trithm a yard of the -Lieutenant ; he kept near Mm , and could tee the prisoner as weH sa ha He is p--si-= g-ye JSsHnedy bad a gun , and -Riicess t % w Mm jctrgpJL - % 4 rSe £$ igSBb Pounden said lie saw thepzisoiktT rn'cning ; fas 3 j ^^ iensa . Ee did ndt see a gns Trjth him ; but iayinsibontthirty jErdsfreca ishe / e& was 3 usil ^ s . 5 PSto 3 B ^ s dosfrto 3 Ir . HeppeEstalI ; Lku-ciumt ga \ "V fhe " Brisqner Into TPitnes ' s cara Tfe pnsoBer lay ficwnlmtTTOnld not tpeak a vcrd . The party soon ssisi LrcugUup another pnEecer ( Eylandj . He sSl the ¦ B 7 ^ g- ^ cnf ^ T < s' » -Tf » T' -nftf ! y tbe Lxurae-inafe' r . Tc » pn ^ wrsjBEr ^ bspnght down to M 2 Sx ^ arks , £ t «! af t = r-¦ BErffir ^ ffie ^ eamp-at Edendary
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Stephen Hyl ^ , a , e approrer . Q . Do you knoTf Kennedy , the prisoner at Hm » bar ? A . Yes , ana fey firtno of my oath I aerei ix »' any harm of tie boy in my life 1 .: U . B , Hjland-was ordered off the table— - bill of indictrjisal sent up to the Grand Jury agar nst him—pnt on his trial—convicted , and had sentence of death pare <; d on Mm instantet . ¦ The evidence for the Crown closed here , ,
Patrick Kei 5 ly , for prisoner , said he overtook the prisoner at the town on Ukj evening of the 6 th of May hut , near his omi heuse ; hut was bo drunk , that "witness -would not pay him fifteen ahilllngB he owed Mm for shoes . The pn&ener would not let witness quit Mm I till he drank with him . Witness would not have re turned with Mm , but was afraid he would , fall in the I ditch . They went ts one Doffs , in Kisbawauna ; prisoner called for a pot of ale , and soon ! after quit him ; j it was after nightfall . Witness did not see him after , till he B&w him in Court . In answer to questions by tba Court ,- Baid he Hvcb within a mile of the prisoner ' s , and within about two i miles of Mr . Sparks . He heard Kennedy was taken i prisocei next day . He never told Sparks -or any ; oilier person that Kennedy had been bo drunk I that evening ; Kennedy was a lad of very good cha iracter .
In Ms cress-examinations Mr . R ? illy ~ said hehadbeen attacked by the defenders himself , some time before ; but had beaten them cfF . Catherine Doff , sworn—Lives at Kishawanna , the piteoneraxiaPadSyBsaiycame into her hense abonfc nightfall , tbe night Mr . Sparks ' s house was attacked , Kennedy wss the drunkest man tbe { ever saw , they drank a pot of ale together , Mr . Reilly went away , and Kennedy quarrelled with witness for not giving Mm more liquor , she -would not let him slay any longer in the bouse for fearef the soldiers ; he went ss&he thought to his own house , lives within five 01 six perches of witness .
Hose Kennedy , sworn—lives at the new chapel , saw the prisoner , tbe night of the attack at Mr . Sparks , he came to her father's between tea and eleven at night , they were all in bed but witness . He was so drunk , he was hardly able to walk ; be sat by the fire , as much as he could do was to keep from filling . He wss courting witness , she heard the shots , and was afraid they would waken her father ; and she made tbe prisoner go out , she pat Mm out by force , because her father would be angry if he found him there , she said she loved the prisoner , and let him visit her against ber father ' s consent several nights . Counsel for tha Crown did not crose-examine her from motives of delicacy ; she appeared a modest and very beautiful girl . Htre tbe evidence for the prisoner closed , the Jury retired and in eighteen hours and a half brought in their verdict" Goilty . *'
Ou account of the evidence in favour of this prisoner , his remarkable good character and the informer ' s evidence that fear alone made him lodge examinations , but above all as one of the Jury refused to find him guilty , till bis brothers were going to throw him out of the window , several gentlemen , grand jurors , and others presented a petition in his behalf to the Solicitor-General , who promised to send it to the Lord Lieutenant ; bnt Kennedy was executed .
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REPEAL OF THE USIOK . Afxkb the ineffectual attempt of HzjfBT Grattan and a few other Irish members to lesist that unhappy connexion with England , which has Bince proved such an endless source of expence to both countries , Gbattas exclaimed : " Well ; thanks bo to God , Ireland will now be avenged for all the wrongs , the insults , and injustice that England has heaped upon her ; for she will send one hundred of the most reprobate rascals that rabid Faction can produce to mix with her legislators and poison her counsels !"
Whatever Grattan ' s feelings were , when rejoicing in anticipation of this negative triumph , we imagine he had but little notion that , in reality , the very fact of inoculating the British Legislature with the spirit of Irish faction would lead to the restoration of an Irish Parliament . In the present article then , ws shall establish the faoi , that the question of Repeal is , in reality , more an English than an Irish qnesiion . We do net , like the Times , handle this question according to the varied shapes in which Irish agitation presents itself . We do not rely so
much npon the " if this be so , thaV ought to be so ; and , if Ills not so we can ' t tell why it is not so . " The deductions , the collateral issues , the similies , the tropes , the figures , the metaphors , the prophecies ^ and the nne-spoa reasonings of the Iraes , are above our humble comprehension and far below our contempt . Accustomed as we axe to see an amusing variety in the political Kaleidoscope , we were scarcely prepared for so many new patterns of public opinion , even in these days of invention , a 3 that Journal has presented . Floundering about between Administration and Opposition , the S . ock
Exchange and Commercial Interest , Doctor Posey and the Pope , the Orange Faction and the Catholic Hierarchy , the English Chancellor and Irish Magistrates , it has done mnch mischief without one single good " guess" in its recent articles upon the Repeal of the Union and the State of Ireland . Let ns now see whether or not thequejjtion of the Union is one of interest to the English people . We do not use the term people here with any limitation . In our present consideration , the term people applies to the whole of English society , and not merely to the working classes .
On the 1 st of January , 1801 , 1 D 0 Irish Members became part and parcel of the Legislature of the United Kingdom : and if we take up the Parliamentary history of the country from that period , especially to 1815 , when peace was proclaimed , we shall find that Mr . Pitt in his day , and Lord Liveepooi in his day , relied upon the corrupt support of tbe Irish Members as their majorities to increase the Debt , to violate the Constitution , and to overawe public opinion .
1 * 0 twenty years of the history of Eogl&nd present fnch a catalogue of Ministerial profligacy , corruption , and tyranny as these twenty years , from 1801 to 1820 , both ifidnsive . And the reader will find , with very few honourable exceptions , that the 100 Irish Members invariably constituted the mischievous majorities of the English Minister . An open contract existed between the Irish Orange Faction and the English Minister ; the conditions of "which were : —
u Take ye bank notes ; Give me your votes : " and any benefit which might have been likely to result from a cordial union was destroyed by the means to which the Irish party were compelled to resort for the purpose of strengthening their Parliamentary interest at home . Places were created without number j pensions were bestowed wiihunt service ; tides tyere conferred without merit ; every channel for jobbing that human ingenuity could devise was opened ; road jobbing , land
jdbbrag , church jobbing , Jaw jobbing , army jobbing , navy jobbing , enstems jobbing , revenue iobbing , excise jobbing , and police jobbing were so many profitable speculations handed over to the privileged few . During that psriod the claim of the Catholics to Emancipation was the-absorbing Irish question . The Catholics most interested in itsaccomplishment were me ) igibl& to sit in Parliament ; and the Protestant candidates , Trilh never a half dozen exceptions , could best recommend themselves to tee favonr of the drivers of Catholic forty shilling
freeholders by a pledge to support a Tory Minister and onr glorious Constitution in Church and State . Some three or four large landed proprietors in each connty were consulted as to the most profitable disposition to be made of the monntsiners upon their estates . The Catholic voters were driven in flocks by the Squire ' s bailiff to vote for a Protestant candidate , pledged to perpetuate their degradation . In return for this service , the whole traffic of the country -was handed over to those landlords by whose coalition the ; Protestant
interest-was upheld . The representative thus poked into Parliament -was the tool of the coalition . He fumed , and bristled , and threatened the Minister with the opposition of self and brothers if any attempt was made to interfere -with the acknowledged prerogatives of the Orange party . Irish indnstry , thns paralised , was , very phortly after the Union , unequal to tbe task of Hnpporting those domestic cormorants ; and the EDgfish Minister was cv i mpelled in 3816 10 violate the most important satire of the Act of Uni-. n by consolidating the £ xchcqner of the Vno couEirjV *; domestic plunder
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taing found inadequate to pay the Irish party for their corrupt support . It will bo seen by the articles of Union , ( to be fonnd in our eighth page , ) that by the seventh article , the respective debt of the two countries was apportioned as follows —England ^ for her Bharej to pay 15-17 ths , tod Ireland , for h ; er share , to pay 2 I 7 ths . It will also be seen that this contract wa * to hold good for twenty years ; ^ nd that any subsequent contract for the following twenty years was to be regul&tod by a just ? re-appointmeut , reference being had
to the rule established by the Act of Union By the 56 of George III ,, this mos 4 important of the several articles of Union was violated by the consolidation of the English , and Irish Exchequers . This flagrant act of injustice was forced npok the English Minister immediately after the peace , ' when the disruption of the army and its severs ! lucrative concomitants so increased the hoard of idle paupers , that the single field of Irish peculation { became too narrow for their use . The docu&ent to which we refer is of great importance ,
and will be read with deep interest by all who would confine their advocacy of Repeal within legal limits . We would a k , wherein differs a contract supposed to be made between a king and a people and ' a contract made between two individuals ;? add if not only Bonperformanco of the stipulated conditions , but total violation of the whole contract , would be grounds sufficiently strong for declaring it null and void in the latter case by what rale of right can the very discussion of the violation of every one of its provisions in the former case he held to be
seditions , illegal and unconstitutional ? Let as see what really aro the leading conditions of this contract which in the " hebendum , " as we may call it , is stated to last for ever . The first article by which the nnmber of Irish members is apportioned , was violated , we acknowledge , with the consent of the United Parliament , by giving to Ireland five additional members . In the six subsequent articles we have the terms upon which the Irish contractors sold their country , every one of which has been violated ; except , indeed , we are to consider that the
condition to expend the stipulated amount in Irish improvements was fulfilled by its application to factious purposes . We hate before analyzed the condition of the seventh article which was to hold good for twenty-years , and which the united Parliament had no power to alter . If it had not been for tbe support of the Irish Members , the English Minister would hare found it impossible to increase the National Debt to its present amount . Had it not been for the subserviency of that party , the English Minister would not have been able to make the
successful inroads upon thet liberties and privileges of Englishmen , which , with their co-operation , he has made without difficulty ; while had the amount of monies contracted for , by jthe act of the Union been faithfully expended upon Irish improvemonts , England would not now be overrun with an Irish corps de reserve of labourers for tbe masters to fall back upon , as a means of reducing the wages of Englishmen .
If we take a still more comprehensive view of the whole subject , we find the time of th « United Parliament , night after night , occupied in angry Irish discussion ' . ; "and whether Whigs or Tories are in office , they but become the administrators of patronage to their respective parties . The great value then to be attached to the present agitation is the fact that it takes the question out of the old Bee-saw . It is no longer a question as to which party can best govern Ireland , but as to how the two countries living in a state of union and amity can best govern themselves .
The purification of the Euglish Parliament is surely matter of deep importance to the English people of all classes :. and this can only be accom j plisbed by extracting from it the Irish poison upon which Gbattad relied for its contamination . And Ireland can have no chance of dealing with her domestic grievances—the principal of which is an expensive and unprofitable law-church , —so long as her representatives are chosen by persons npon whom the Protestant landlord must confer the franchise .
In the words of Mr . O Connor we say : " If you have grievances to complain of , and if the most prominent are the burdens imposed upon you by an adverse Church and the restrictions imposed upon you by landlords lest your Emancipation should damage that Church to whose patronage they look for support , —how can you suppose that those landlords , as patrons of Church property , will carve their Protestant lands into electoral qualifications to be used against their interest 1 "
So long as the Protestant land must constitute the electivefranchise , so long will Catholic Emancipation be a mere empty Bound ; so long will all the burdens of the Law Church be allowed to continue ; so long will the restrictions of landlords remain in force ; and so long will those angry feelings which disgrace both countries be kept alive between Catholic and Proteetaut . The remedy therefore , the only one which can be effectual for the correction of these grievances , is a transfer , from the soil to man , of that right which is inherent in him , and of which
he haa been unjustly deprived by brute force . Enfranchise the Catholic man instead of the Protestant or Catholic land ; and then , when in full possession of his constitutional rights , should he invade , interfere with , or attempt to abridge , those of his ProtestaKt neighbour , we shall be amongst the first to demand from a freely chosen Parliament such , measures as the weak shall require for their protection against the strong . So long as the Protestant land is the shield of the Protestant
Chnrcb , so long will the proprietor prefer leasing it to a Presbyterian or Protestant or Dissenting tenant , ( upon whose vote he can rely ) for twenty shillings an acre , to leasing it to a Catholic , ( whose vote he dreads ) for twenty-five shillings an acre . Whereas if the Catholio had the vote in virtue of hb person , the Protestant landlord would accept him as a tenant , at twenty shillings and sixpence an acre , rather than give it to a Protestant or Dissenter for twenty shillings and threepence aa
acre . We think it , therefore , the duty of the English Chartists to struggle zealously , peaceably , constitutionally , and incessantly for a Repeal of that Union by which their Legislature has been poisoned ; while it is equally the duty of Irishmen to struggle by the same means for the acquisition of those rights by which alone they can hope to have such a Legislature a 3 English gold cannot again corrupt ; and by which alone the Repeal becomes valuable or important to them . We have mnch yet to say , and especially to the Irish people , npon this great subject .
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THE RIGHT OF MR . O'CONNOR TO WALK THE STREETS . THE DUTY OF GUVERNMEST TO SEND HIM TO THE
HULKS . We give the following article , whole and entire , without the abridgement or alteration of a single Word , from the limes of yesterday week : — " There are some things which may be either a blessing or a curse , and among them we may reckon the refinements of law . Where it is accessary that the liberty of the subject—the free enjoyment by . j every _ one of the social immunities to which he ; is fairly entitled , whether they be of purse or person , of fame or fortune—is to be secured from the tyranny which could otherwise be exerted by might against right j where poverty in rags is to be saved from the merciless oppression of wealth
invested with power ; where a virtuous minority is to be sheltered from the rage of aremorseless majority ; or where the majority itself , exposed to hazard from being in a more or lesa defenceless condition , requires a Bhield asainst the attacks of a well-armed and cruel jmintrity—in any of these cases we rejoice at the suotilty of the administrators of the law being ab 2 e successfully to defend the oppressed against tbe oppressor . Bat even in such cases our applause is not unqualified by the consciousness that there is something which ought to be censured ; we cannot bring ourselve 3 to acquiesce with the vrhoJe heau id an acquittal being obtained by a mere quibble , however cordially we may hail the iact
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of there haying bc « vn an acquittal . When , however , a convicted , eriuurial , who , either for the mwt ^ elfish ends , or acting from mere recklessness , has instigated hundreds of his deluded fellow-subjects to set ; the laws of their country at defiance , has successfully urged them , by plausible sophistries , to peril the property and liven of themselves and of a > l within reach of their violence , has succeeded in placing extensive districts under a system of
icrroriBin , and in subjecting them , without compunction , to [ the calamities of civil war , and after his poor tools have been imprisoned and traasportedby scores forimerely having obeyed his bidding , escapes himself with absolute impunity , on the soie ground that the , astuteness of somo lawyer discovered a clerical error in the indictment , it is impossible to repress our indignation at the scandalous prostration of ] justice before the Belial of verbal nicety . WHAT RIGHT has Feargus O'Connor to of
be ; now walking the ^ streets Manchester as ! an innocent man ? Is there a single individual in Great Britain who has the remotest doubt ,:, that , so far aa justice was concerned , O'Connor was guilty of the crimes for which ho' was tried ? Is thero one , either on the bench or off it , who entertains the shadow of a suspicion that O'CONNOR OUGHT , as between himself and the community , TO BE NOW EXPIATING HIS OFFE NCES against his victims of every grade—whether his duped colleagues in crime or the innocent sufferers from his criminality -IN A DUNGEON OR THE HULKS ! He has been * let off' because in one count of the
indictment—in one of what ere denommanted in Westminster Hall ' the Gregorian counts , * for what reason we cannot / pretend to say—it happened that the venue' was omitted ! No matter what was the notoriety of his crime—no matter that every Judge on the bench was as fully aware as the convict himself of what the indictment meant , and , bad no more doubt of its meaning and of the accuracy with which it conveyed to the prisoner the fullest possible information that was necessary , to enable him to make his defence—there was a clerical error ; and the judicial conscience corild only be set at rest by giving tho prisoner the benefit of ie . Law this may be ; justice it is not .
How much longer is this to be permitted ? Are acts of Parliament made to biad the good only : are they framed for the express purpose of entangling the poor in their meshes , and ol allowing the rich , as Mr . O'Connell boasts , * to drive a coach and six " thru ugh them ! ' W « plainly tell our Legislators that the time is coino when the conviction of a criminal must not depend on the chances of an indictment against him being so framed that the keenest legal acuaien shall uot Mad a single phrase in it capable of being distorted into conveying a meaning which no ordinary maa coald detect . We must have the practice of the criminal law reduced to some accordance with common sense , and the people
ro-assured by finding that the laws which they are required to obey are not incompetent to defend them against the grossest outrages . What example can beiuf worse tffect at the present time , when " ihe ' ordinary power of the Constitution ' are referred to as being relied on by tho Government to suppress rebellion in Ireland , than an acquittal like Feargas O'Connor ' s proclaiming the utter inefficiency of those ' ordinary powers ? ' Sir R . Peel is bound individually , it' his law reforms were not intended as mere clap-traps , or were not introduced by him merely that he might reap , the laurels which had been planted by Sir S . Romily and others , to obviate by ; sufficient enactments the glaring injustice , of
which wo have of late had such repeated reason to complain , of the spirit of the law being entirely set at nought in deference to its mere letter . He is bound , as the head of the Government , to justify the extravagant cost of the late special commission by seouring the punishment of the leading offender , and thereby to clear the Government and its officials from the suspicion under which they cannot but rest , of conniving at tho errors of their subordinates . If it was a proper exercise of the discretion of the Government that O'Connor should be
prosecuted to conviction last autumn—and of its propriety no suspicion has ever yot beea hinted—it is equally as proper now that a fresh indictment should be preferred against him "withoxi a single week ' s delay , and that , while the facts are in the recollection of the witnessed who were produced on his trial , their evidence should be again made use of . It is of more urgent importance that the supremacy of the law should be vindicated , and that those who are disposed to disobey it should bo taught that the chances of a criminal prosecution are not ou . a par with those of a lottery or a dice-box .
' ¦ Tnere are plenty of gentlemen ia Parliament who would cot suffer a poacher to escape scot-free under similar circumstances , and we rely on some one proving in his place there that his whole sympathy is not confined to his preserves . Thero are plenty who would give : up even the Derby-day to vote for or against free trade . Let us-see that there are some among them who wilt require the Government to prosecute O'Connor to a successful conviction , " We are at a loss which to admire most , the malignity , the impudence , or the ignorance , of this tirade . Fortunately all these qualities are so conspicuous that it must excite in every man ' s mind who reads it and who knows the facts , a thorough contempt and loathing for the scribbler who could write it .
" What right has Feargus O'Connor to be walking tho streets of Manchester i" forsooth ! The right of his obedience to the law , you fool ! a right which you violate in the penning of this flagitious article , and for which , if O'Connor does not trounce your proprietors , he deserves to be bugbitten to death . The Times asks : — " Is ^ j here a single individual in Great Britain who has the remotest doubt , that so far as justice was concerned , O'Connor was guilty of the crimes for which he waa tried !"
Yes ; there are at least fourteen individuals m Great Britain . who hate no doubt at all upon the subject ; who know that O'Connor was not " guilty of the crimes for which he was tried "; and these are tho twelve Jurymen who tried him , the Judge before whom he was tried , aud the Attorney-General who prosecuted him . All these parties know , and have recorded their conviction that O'Connor is not " guilty of the crimes for which he was tried . " Ho was tried for conspiracy , for riot » for illegal meetings , and tumultuous assemblies ; for the forcible prevention of labour ; and for a host of other " crimes" committed by the patroas of tho Times . All these were
industriously set forth in the indictment ; but the Judge said that these allegations of " crime" had no business there—that they could not be sustained—the Attorney-General acknowledged that the Judge was right , and he abandoned many of tho " crimes" sought to be charged , at once . But though , even then , the indictment still charged many things upon the defendants which the law does consider " crimes , " the Jury refused to credit the indictment , there being no evidence to support its allegations , and they , by their verdict , affirmed that they held O'Connor and others to bo guilty only of that which they had just been told by the Judge was " A MOOT POINT IN THE VERY HIGHEST
QUARTERS , AS TO WHET 1 IKR IT WAS ANY OFFENCE IN LAW ott not . " Tneso were the very words of the Judge , whoa charging the jury , in refereuoe to the allegation contained in the fifth count of tbe indictment , the only count upon whioh O'Connor waa convicted . And yet this malignant libeller , knowing this , impudently writes about .: — V AconvicUd criminal , who , either for the most selfish ends , or acting from more reoklessness , has instigated hundreds of his deluded fellow-subjects to set , the laws of their country it defiance , has
successfully urged them , by plausible sophistries , to peril the property and lives of themselves , and of all within reach of their violence , and succeeded in placing extensive districts under a system of terrorism , and in subjecting them , without compunction , to the calamities ; of civil war , and after his poor tools have been imprisoned and transported by scores for merely kaviug obeyed hia bidding , escapes himself with absolute impunity on the sole ground that the astuteness of some lawyer discovered a clerical error in the indictment . "
And affirms that " O'Connor ought to be now expiating hia offences in a dungeon or the hulks" !! The animus of all this is so apparent ; the impotence of disappoiuted malice is so obvious , that if we had no other proof of that which we told the people at its very beginning—that the strike was an infernal faction plot—we should point triumphantly to ! this article as our best confirmation . Of course the Leviathan liar and slanderer is followed at a respectaful distance by all the small fish of the same fry . The Nonconformist , the-Bradford Observer , the Leeds Mercury Goody Goose and each other patty hireling of faction has its own "wee" note in the wake of " the thundcrer's" roar .
They will not succeed in inducing theArroRNEYGERBRii . to prefer a new indictment against Mr . O'Co . nnoe ; for this simple reason : the Attorney-Genekal knows as . well as the Times knows that ho hi * 110 jjrr-rciid f f le ^ nl accusation against Mr . O'Con-Kin—i :,. i . hs has nothing whereon to make an in-
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dictment Btand . He has done his best already , and the Judges have shown him that his " best" is H no go . " L _
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Sir , —Will you aUow me space in your paper for a ward of comment upen the brutal and signified attacks to which I have been subjected ia the Tintt aewspaper , since my successful opposition to the Messrs . Walter , in their attempts to usurp the representation of Nottingham . I shall pass over % libels whioh appeared in that journal in connection with the two elections , and which appeared prior io the recent decision of the Court of Queen ' s Bench upon the Rule to arrest judgment upon the only cmnt , in a long indictment , upon which I was tried
and found guilty at Lancaster . I pas 3 these by ; as a writ in a civil action for those libels was served upon the Solicitor for the Times on the evening preceding the publication of the very ignorant let ! er of a " Special Pleader , " which appeared in yesterday ' s number of that journal . Before I offer a few remarks upon that letter , permit me to observe that I laid the two recent outrageous articles which appeared in the Times newspaper in connexion with my case , before counsel , with the inteatioa of proceeding against the responsible parties , and upon which I received the following opinion , from an authority which will be considered , better than that of the law-recruit of the Times . It runs . *—
" I am of opinion that that part of tbe article in the Timis of the 9 th June , 1843 , which . I fcaTe marked with ink in tho margin is a libel upon Mr . O'Connor ; and tbat be might sustain either aa indict ment , or an action against the proprietors - of that paper . I also think it possible that tbe Court of Queen's Bench might grant a criminal information against the proprietor upon the application of Mr . O'Conner , but their so doing would , I think , mainly depend upon the ability of Mr . O'Connor to negative , by affidavit , the truth of tbe charge contained in tbe fifth count of tbe laH indictment against him , on
which alone I understand he was originally found guilty . The Court expects an applicant for theutraordinary powers of the Court to come before them with clean bands ; aud if Mr . O'Connor negatives , on oath , the guilt of tbe charge imputed to him , I gee no reason , ia justice , why toe Conrfr should not afford him the same protection and advantages which they would afford to any other innocent individual against so violent and mischievous a libel as this appears to ma to be . If a criminal information is moved for , it must be move ?! this term , which ends next Thursday and it cannot be moved for the last day of term . "
Now , Sir , as an Irishman answers one question by asking another , I think I may answer " Who 13 the traitor" ? by asking * " Who is ihe libeller" * With respect to the commentary of the " Special Pleader" upon my speech at Manchester , it applies to the Times' Manchester correspondent rather than to me . In the short notice with which the Times honoured my speech at Manchester , there is not one word of truth . I never mentioned the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , the Irish Secretary , or George IV . ; all of which the rimes puts iuto my mouth . There was not a single resolution passed , although the Times correspondent communicates the fact that several resolutions were passed .
And now Sir , as to what I did say relative to the charge of treason . 1 said ;— " They talk of making the agitation for Repeal , treason : why , they would have made the agi ' ation for Reform , treason , had they dared to do so . Treason , indeed ! What ! a whole nation to bs guilty of treason ! If it waa made treason to-morrow , aud if my conseknoe , my mind , and my judgment , approved the treason , then should I be compelled to commit it , in conjunction with my countrymen peacefully struggling against oppression . " Sir , thedifference between Mr . Walter and me , as Journalists , is this : my name stands boldly in the imprint , as the registered
proprietor , while ho tries to gratify bis petty vengeance with impunity under that sympathy which a defenceless female would be sure to receive at the hands of a British jury . I much doubt that there is another instance on record of a journalist so far prostituting the gentleman to the wounded feelings of the angry politician , as is famished by the Times in its eudeavours to mark ma but for unrelenting persecution ; and to meet and beat which I rely not more upon my own vigilance and discretion than on the overstrained exertion of Mr . Walter and his tools , and which must create loathing and disgust in the mind of every honest Eng lishman .
If such are tho means by which the Walters hope to dispose of political opponents , they will find themselves mistaken ; for wherever they present themselves before an English constituency there shall I be also , determined to resist so gross a violation of all those rules by which the gentleman , the politician , and the j ournalist shoald be bound . Ia conclusion , Sir , I must say that it is ratn « r an unfair mode of procedure to have a speech reported for me by the Manchester correspondent of the 2 mw ( W , which I never made , and then be arraigned upon the falsehood when published in the Times .
1 have the honour to remain , S : r , ^ Your obedient Servant , Feargcs O'Coksob . 6 , Chapel-place , Hammersmith , 14 ch June , 1843 .
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W . W . writes as follows . — " You have of course seen the letter of Mr . B ^ y , datea May 31 st , to the LonAon Repea ' eis . . < The move is not a bad one . Under pretence » periling the cause of Repeal by a connection « w those whom Mr . OConnell , the ' august' lew » chooses to say are abettors of tkg abhorrent aw * trine of physical force , ' and ander the P rete 0 . ^ that a junction with the Chartist * would pour spiw among tbe Repealers , —as if there were not pienij of spies among them already , —all pledge of 8 "T * tho slightest power to tbe people of IreIam \ ! f , without suffrage there can be power—is dexterous j eluded . . ^ ¦>« The R&peal movement ta intended , if > 't succeed , *» benefit the Irish aristocracy—and them i lone J ? whom the Irish people have always been saerifl ««
by Mr . OConneil , their ' august' . «^ g ust" ! ? Is Dan about to play at King * ° * Queen ? ' rf We are not blind to the matter any mor . e ^ hft . ° ^ Correspondent , » r our " numerous Irish frten , who write us in like style ; but we renemof ? always Mt . " O'ConneM ' s own maxim— 'The nez best thing to being right yourself , is ( oputyou enemy completely in the wrong . " If Dun iW * out oj it this time , he shall at least have no piw sible pretext . A Constant Reader—The question is- o ^ e of ^ f law ; upon tchich being no lawyer tee can p no opinion that could be safely trusted to ,
E . P . Mead— We are not at all surprised at thenewst though ice do not think it best to say anytMW just now . Our friend will excuse the non'l . Yy tion of his letter , 'tis simply bedau * e we win * » belter for the present to ' let that flm slxcK W the wa ' . " We are awake and looking out . n shall most likely" drop our shoe-toe on hwrunv by and by ; but we wait for a fair kick ana a clean one that shait d ) its work . . ¦ Tivekton Cuaruszs—We have not room for iw address . . James JVIacphfrson , Abeeds £ W—His letter is **« i ut by lack < sf space .
The Northern Star. Saturday, Jtjxe 17, 1843.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JTJXE 17 , 1843 .
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THE PRESS GANG-THE BLOOD CRY . The Tory press , from the Times downward , is demanding the blood of the Irish Repealers , with a yell of savage recklessness which we scarcely supposed that at this day coald have been assumed . We give , as a sample of the sackv" the following from the mouthpiece of the Sheffield Tories , the Sheffield Mercury : — . After some stupid abuse of Popery , the Editorial bloodhound thus proceeds : —
" We have already stated that measures are being taken to meet the difficulty at the point of the bayonet . Would it not be better to meet the agitation with a halthr in hand ? We have had a great deal of political special pleading of late about abstract rights—there is no evil in social life , do infringement of the common law , that is not capable of being arguedfby the same modus operandi . We want a well-defined cure , not for those tvho are taught rebellion ] so much as for those who teach it . " * j * ¦ " We trust Parliament will apply a sf / ong remedy to portending evils . " * * * "But , say the Irish
demagogues , the Union was an act of the Legislature , and it is competent in any British subject to petition for the j Repeal of any Act of Parliament . This is true in the abstract , but the Union—the right of succession—tho Monarchy aro all fixed and settled by the [ Legislature , and , in our opinion , they are all treason or there is no such thing as treason . " Did ever such a born-fool handle pen before ? "The Union—the right of succession—the Monarchy , all treason" ! ; these are his exacfc words .
Gods , what a " best possible instructor" ! " It ia one thing for Parliament to Repeal an Act ha , ving reference to questions of privilege or taxation , aud another for the Legislature to stultify itself by an | Act which deserves no other name th * a feto de se , ' \ * * " Sir Robert Peel'has no alternative but ] prompt , immediate , and vigorous measures—measures that shall reach miscreants who carry on a sort ] of wholesale trade in murder and
incendiarism , and who evade the law with impunity . " There , gentle reader , there is the spirit of Toryism with a vengeance . Meet agitation with a halter iu hand ! Should Sir Robert Peel want a mi I " walking gallows" to assist in " tradquillizing " Ireland , we hope he will not forget the special claims of the j " gallows" Editor of the Slwffieid Mercury . Declare the Repeal agitation treason ,
and punish the agitators as traitors ! Softly , Mr . Addlebrains ; if to petition for the Repeal * of the Union , or even the alteration of the line of succession , be treason , what were those who altered the succession bv expelling James II ., and calling in Dutch William ; Eh ? We have always heard that they were " glorious revolutionists . " Your doctrine of'tnason" " won't do now-a-days , no how , " as the Yankees would say . Every generation ha 3 clearly the right oi willing by what form of Government it will be protected , —ail your masty parchments and Castlerea « h Acts notwithstanding . I . From this and other specimens of English Toryism , O'Connell may see wbat he has to
expect at the , hands of that party . And yet , even at such a moment ; when the hand-writing is ou the wall ; when the ships are in the offing , and the demon cry of " Pul ; your trust in God , And keep your powder dry , " Is almost ringing through the land ; when the " Tory hunters' ? are panting for tbe blood of the Irish people , and waiting but for one false step , to " let slip the dogs of war" ; " Like the swift lightning , which doth cease Ere one can say it lightens ";—at such an hour J 0 'Connei . l spurns the aid of the only party in England , who" either can or will efficiently assist him in the carrying of Repeal ! Weli , well ' .
Dan knows his own game , or thinks he does so . Hb speech at the Corn Exchange , last week , wherein he denounced the English Chartists , has created a spirit of indignation against him that may not be rery easily allayed . We speak not of the Chartists , but of the Repealers , whose grief and vexation at this conduct of O'Connell it is impossible adequately to describe . The best possible feeling was existing between them and the Chartists , who were mutually aiding andjassisting each other , when lo ! Mr . O'Connell throws in the apple of discord * and strives to undo all the good that has been effected by the real patriots of both parties . Many parties . Uven of his best friends , speak and
write most strongly on the matter . Wo are inundated with letters to which we , acting from a different spirit to that which the writers ascribe to him , do not give currency . We desire to give every man credit for the best motives by which he can be actuated ; and jwe make Mr . O'Connell no exception . Possibly he may have in view some stroke of policy which we do not yet see , and which may sufficiently excuse the apparent suicidal course he is pursuing : " j Charity hopeth all things . " But let O'Connell be wary . We have laboured- har d to obtain for him with the English Chartists credit for
sincerity in this movement—credit for a honest purpose to carry through Repeal , aud not to bully back the Whigs to power ; if this be his purposeif he be as hone st now as we jhave tried to think , let him not prevent the hands and hearts of Irishmen from uniting for the salvation of their fatherland ; nor imagine that Ireland can obtain her freedom by the disunion of her bobb . Many Irishmen who have not yet joined the Repeal Association , but were about to do so , declare thai , if the
English Chartists are to be expelled , they . will not join it . Others , ' who are members , declare that they will now join th ' e Chartist Association . Let O'Connell pause erej ho finally reject the generously tendered co-operation of the English Chartists ; let him reflect thatlthe battle is not yet over , nor the victory won . And , at all events , let not his con duct , absurd anil foolish though it may be , induce Englishmen to be unjust to others and themselves ; to withhold their aid from Ireland struggling for
her rights . Let us remember always that honour and interest combine to induce us to sympathise with our Irish brethren . Houour bids us to assist them , that the remembrance of crimes committed by English tyrants may be effaced by the fraternal deeds of English patriots ; aud interest , that our labour market may be freed from Irish competition , and all the deadly consequences which have followed in its train ; while the manly feeling of our nature should command us to assist them that the right may triumph .
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TflE FACTURY BILL . The Educational Clauses of this great measure have been withdrawn ; the Government of this country have actually cowed before the bristling , bust'ing , bullying of MrJEDW . Baines , and a few scores . of hypocritical , ignorant , and malignant Dissenting parsons , acting as ca ( spa ws for the mammonocraoy by whom thuir several conventicles are upholden . This is the mostj disgraceful act of which the Government have been guilty during their whole career , and proves , more clearly than any other thing could have done thoir aense of their own wanS of power for anything but evil , this is , at all events , the most
charitable light in whioh to view the matter ; for , if wo do not thus think , we must conclude that their original purpose , in the introduction of the measure , was one of meto clap-trap , and that they are glad to be relieved by the virulence of pharisaism from the performance of a task in which they felt no real interest . Will the protective clauses of the Bill follow tho Educational ones i We think it most likely that they will : they will not bo
I less virulently assaulted , and we see little chance-of the left hand of the Government's humanity offering any effective resistance to the power which has paralysed its right . Sir James Graham knows perfectly where the shoe pjnehes ; he understands , as well as any cur of all of them , what all tho barking and bristling has been about ; and we guess that we shall hear no miore of the Factory Bill at all , if the people don't call into exercise a power of coercion greater than that of the Dissenting Parsons'and livir Leeds bally of the Mercury .
Co 23*A$Evg Autt A^Mspon&Ckt^
Co 23 * a $ evg autt a ^ mspon&cKt ^
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. __ === THE FOURTH COUNT . We have watched tbe proceeding of Queen's Bench every day since the argument of this Count on behalf of the ^ defendants , when the Court were to " take time to consider their judgment , " but though looking" nights and mornings" until Thursday ' s ¦ Sura brought us the proceedings of the last day of term , we have perceived no account of it . Ja . } g meut cannot now be pronounced upon that Gomjt until November , We did suppose that the Fourth Coont would follow the Fifth , but this delay hag somewhat altered our opinion . We now apprehend that the Government have a " deep fetch" in thus , ^^
delaying judgment . Somo of the parties for whose punishment they are most anxious are at present out' of' the country ; those was not time , supposing judgment had been giveu Ugt Friday , for them to have legal notice , and be brought up for sentenca this term ; and wQ apprehend tho notion was to be if the jud gment should be given ggaisst the Count , and the convictions under it affirmed , these parties being out of harm ' s r ^ ach would keep so ; whereas it jg supposed that this procrastination may induce the supposition that all intention of punishment ia given up , and that so the parties may re turn and put themselves into " the hands of the Philistines . "
• To The Editor Of The Morninq Advertiser.
• TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNINQ ADVERTISER .
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__ , ^ 55 1 I 4 THE NORTHERN STAR , t ' • ' ~ -I - " " " " . . = " ¦ - — - — ¦ ¦ ; . i __ . ! ! ¦ ! in-. 11- ¦ » - " ¦ - ' - ¦ ' ¦¦ " *"" — ¦—¦ ¦ " .- ¦
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), June 17, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct655/page/4/
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