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TO DANIEL O'COKNELL, 1LP.
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THE EXECUTIVE TO THE CHARTIST BODY.
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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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Sib , —I have so doubt that you will feel some astonishaent at the tone Id which I am about to address yon . It is not one of -vexation or anger , but of joy and exaltation . If yon hare been placed in a better position by the indomitable courage of trai countrymen , than you would hare occupied , had their Bubsemency allowed you to select your own tourse , it may annoy and wound those who attach more importance to your ruin , than they do to the
salvation , of their country . Upon ihe contrary , there is no one circumstance that has inspired me with stronger hope of my country's regeneration , than that proud asd exalted position in which the unswerviBg mind of Ireland has now placed you . 1 do notstop to ask what your situation -would have been if you had not had sagacity enough to hare gone round to the light point in compliance with the public breath ; bnt finding you there , from your present . poation , I for the first time in ^ my life see a prospect of Ireland ' s redemption .
In the outset of the pending struggle , I warned you that one of three sacrifices would take place ; either that the Act of "Onion must be sacrificed ; the Irish priesthood nnsst be sacrificed ; or you would be sacrificed . You , Sir , "were near being the offering : and boundless indeed should be your gratitude to that Irish firmness which saved you . I further told yon that the present administration would not be satisfied with merely extinguishing the match , but
that it would . exhaust its every resource to scatter thepile . As far as one man could , I _ gaveyou a strength : and support which you had no right to expect at my hands . I gave it to yon , as I then stated , for the purpose of making yon so strong that retreat would be treason . I watched the movement from ita infancy , aud assisted , in the ontset , in giving you too much strength to waste upon your triginal intention—the restoration of the Whigs to office .
xb . e position that you now occupy is one-of responsibility-And 'danger ; one that you never courted ; one that you never anticipated ; one that of all other things you "would if possible have avoided . Circumstances , however , hare placed you there ; and in proportion to the danger and responsibility , you are entitled to protection and support . I am now dealing with you as public opinion has aright to deal "with public men—as machines to be worked for the public good . " What I write to yon yoa are already aware of ; and , therefore , the object of this correspondence is , not to enlighten you , but to instruct the public mind as to your present positioa , and the probabilities which make for aud against you .
Jost now great importance is attached to the pending prosecutions . While , however they may serve to fill your exchequer , you must naturally look upon them as forming but a Tery small portion of Tory tactics . Jfay , further , I must presume that yoa are aware that an acquittal would but serve as a pretext to strain all the arts of oppression beyond all the subtleties of the law . 3 dy own impression is , that your greatest danger , and Ireland' s greatest danger , lies in an acquittal ; while your conTictioo will not be without its dangers also . Of course you are aware of the parties in . the Cabinet , upon Trhose recommendation active
measures hare been taken to give a finishing blow to the Sepeal agitation . It is necessary that the public Ehould also know those parties . Lyndhnrst ( urged on by Brougham ) Wellington , Graham , and Stanley rre the supporters of annihilafion at this side of the water ; while De Grey and the Attorney-General , Mr . T . B . Smith , at the ^> ther side , will persecute you with a personal vindicBvenesSj rather than with a view to avenge the offended law . You may take my word for it , that there is as much personal vengeance as public duty mixed up with the present prosecutions ; and therefore you must be prepared on all hands to meet your legal and personal
persecutors . You hare learned from recent events Sir , that the schoolmaster who teaches cannot nnteaeh . You have had a practical example of what the effect of your teaching would be likely to be , were yon to ran counter to those maxims , rules , and principles , of which you have been an extensive expounder and teacher . Had not public opinion driven you , as if by magic , from the adoption of what is called Tmnuwcit I shoal *? , at all risks and h&z&rd , have
raised the standard of unconditional Repeal myself in Ireland ; and you know sir , and I know full well , that your every thought , for the last eight years , has been directed to a consideratioa of those means by Trhich you could ensure my absence from my native country . After so many years of deliberation you have at length been enabled to solve the riddle . It is by being honest , conastent , -and brave j and bj do longer attempting to use that mighty power which you have , crested for the mere attainment of paltry personal purposes .
With eomuch of an exordium , I shall new , for the £ rst time , enter into communication with you upon the several charges that , from time to time , you lave brought against the English Chartists ; first premising thai your great hostility to that body was exclnavely founded upon their opposition to the Whi £ party ; and that your Beveral charges against ihem were the mere fabrications of your own mind ; falsehoods concocted and used for the mere purpose of justifying your refusal to accept an" amount of strength which no other party could have given to those who trere honestly engaged in the pursuit of public liberty .
Yon must understand , Sir , that your greatest enemies are those who would spoil you by following you Tvith blind submission . You are now in a position which enables you to serve the cause , of universal liberty ; you can no longer retard it ; and the only question for your consideration is , ¦ whether your honest co-operation or desertion can bring shout the desired change with the most security and speed . You have spoken Tery contemptuously , from time to time , of support that has been tendered
to yon from different quarters ; while you have spoken with great reverence of aid that has been tendered from sources from whence yon could derive no possible strength . In rejecting the co-operationi > f the Chartist body , ( which by the way was never tendered to you , bat i © the service of the Irish people ) yon have stated yonr reaEons to be , firstly , " the physical ferce doctrines preached by the Chartist leaders ; " and secondly , " their interference frith ihe meetings of other bodies . "
J \ ow , Sir , jwith regard to the first charge , yon are perfectly « rare that it was made by individuals of jeer own party , for the mere purpose-of covering their own more violent expressions ; just in the same manner as yonr exuberant loyalty has been bestowed personally npon the Queen , while the lawyers say that you have been endeavouring lo curtail her prerogative . Mark , I do not object to this curtailment , if the exercise of the prerogative tends to curtail public liberty . I merely use it as an illustration . After the many violent struggles that the Chartist body has sustained
against this prerogative , and the law's Tengeaneej I defy you , with the single exception of Newport , to point out a angle instance in which the Chartists have had recourse to physical force , and there it was forced upon them . Of course , in an admoni fc » y letter , it is not my intention to Tepeat the invitations to the battle field ; the exhortations to be in readiness ; and the declarations of physical capability that have been addressed to the Irish people from time to time by your followers . I pass over year mild critieknn npon the Rsbecca
outbreaks , when sanctioned by a portion o ! the middle classes , as compared with jour rabid denunciation of the Newport riotE , in which the Chartists were implicated ; and , above all , I abstain from more than hinting at the insidnons manner in which you have songht to mix my name up with every libel that has been published against the Chartist-body . You are now surrounded by so many of the blessings of physical force / 3 that I shall dismiss that branch © fay subject , by merely reminding yon that altered circumstances msy have produced some alteration in your opinions .
I shall sow apply myself to the consideration of your second charge—that of Chartist interference with the meetings of other bodies . Yon , Eir , were perfectly aware that when the " Whig party hsd lost all public confidence , and were about to be hnrled from power , that yon , together wfth the ** Iangstop 8 on the Whig side , were
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obliged to have recourse to a system of new agitation , to prop up their declining influence . In the outset , the question of a Repeal of the Corn Laws was intended as a large demand ; and the confirmation of Whig power for seven more years was to have been the first instalment ; and it was only npon the failure of that sliding scale that the present society of Total Abolitionists , without apparent reference to Whig restoration , was established . The working classes of England , who have tasted of the tender mercies of the Fbeb Tradeks , were naturally astonished that their demands for cheap bread
should have increased in an exaot ratio with the inability of their party to carry a Repeal of the Corn Laws . The question was hotly agitated in 1841 ; and however Melbourne , Palmerston , and Russell , might have coquetted about the subject , yet the object of the Free Traders , in the first instanoe , was to insure a Whig majority upon a dissolution of Parliament . You are perfectly aware that favour is not . " courted under the name , but under , the measures of a party ; and hence the contest at the last general election was between " Monopolists" and " Anti-monopolists "; both parties linking their
political names , but each con tending for the ascendancy of its own party . Yon will then observe that the whole question of political excitement being carried on under the specious form of Free Trade , the object of that party was to prove to the world that Whiggery , of which Free Trade was but the shadow , was in the ascendant . The Chartists , upon the other hand , agitated for the substance . They agitated for their old principles They agitated for the means of carrying out the
professed objects of the Free Traders ; and had they not done so , the result woald have been , as indeed xhe object was , to destroy Chartism , and place Whiggery in the ascendant , under the Free Trade banner . Yon are aware , Sir , that there is a grand principle in English agitation , in which Ireland is as yet deficient . In England the working men do their own business , make their own speeches , and manage their own affairs . In Ireland those things are , as vet , done for them .
The Chartists had no alternative , in this bye-battle of Free-Trade-Whiggery , but to hoist their own standard . And now , Sir , you must learn the amount of their great fault , as you would call it , and the reasons which led to its commission . In the first place , the Chartists attended public meetings of the Free Traders , and moved no amendments to their resolutions . The result was , that the Whig press claimed the whole Chartist body asacquiesoing in the new principle of Whiggery . When the Chartists discovered this iriek * played off by tb « whole of the metropolitan and provincial press , they attended
the Free Trade meetings , and merely demanded the right of discussion , still abstaining from proposing an amendment . This privilege was not only refused , but those who asked for it were knocked down upon the platform ; and , after being brutally treated , were handed over to the custody of the police , as common felons . And you must bear in mind that wherever » moral triumph of this sort was achieved by ihe friends of liberty , their conduct was lauded to the skies ; the Morning Chronicle , upon one occasion , highly approving of their conduct towards a poor working man , who was dragged from the platform , brutally beaten , and rolled in the gutter .
After a series of brutal outrages of a similar kind , the Chartists , as a body , came to the resolution of placing their principles in juxta-position with those of the Free Traders . Their first step was to move amendments , not in opposition to Free Trade , but shewing the only means by which Free Trade could be accomplished , as well as the only means by "which it could be made materially instead of sectionally beneficial . The Chartists invariably had both the reason and large majorities on their side ; but the chairman being appointed from the Free Trade ranks , and not with the consent of the meeting , upon
many occasions declared the Free Trade resolutions u carried , " against a Chartist amendment , even when the hands in favour of the latter were more than ten to one . This injustice forced upon the Chartists the necessity of appointing a chairman by a vote of the meeting . The result was , that the Chartist chairman invariably invited discussion , and preserved order ; and the meetings terminated with an ovewhelmmg majority for the Chartist principles . Instead of being longer looted npon as the mere
Free-Trade-iail of Whiggery , and only noticed as such even by their own organs , the Chartists at once assumed a triumphant position , and ensured column after column in every paper in England , intended as chastisement , but proving our superiority . As a matter of coarse they called us tyrants ; but better that , than slaves . The Tery term tyrant shewed that we were able to dictate ; while all must confess that our superior strtngth was mildly used , and west no further than claiming the victory , after the battle had been fairly fought and fairly won .
It was this timely manifestation of our strength that enabled us to kill Whiggery at the last general election . The free-trade agitation was intended to perpetuate the rule of our tyrant task-maskers , and your objection to Chartism may be explained in & single sentence : thus ; it destroyed Whiggery . Before I give yon more general And extensive reasons for Chartist opposition to Free Tradera , allow me to make an observation or two upon subjects which appear to have escaped your attention . Do you recollect your visit to Manchester , at Easter , in 18411 Do you remember your declaration made there upon the eve of a great meeting in Stevenson ' s Square , to the effect that the Chartists were all
Orangemen ! Do you recollect the description of discussion that took place in Stevenson ' s-sqaare , when the bludgeon was the best argument that could be used in support of Free Trade , under the auspices of Mr . Cobden , and the Free Trade authorities ? Did you denounce that system of interference with the right of public meeting ? And , again , when I and thirty-six other Chartists were brutally assaulted by a band of rnffians hired by the League , and when hatchets , stones , pokers , and daggers were UEed 23 Free Trade arguments : did you then object to that mode of discussion ! 2 s o , Sir : that was physical force" upon ihe right side ; and therefore justifiable .
I shall now compare the Chartists mode of transacting business with your mode . You never cau hope to establish your principles without discussion . Yon say that jou court discussion : and it is only after discussion that the public mind cau arrive at proper conclusions ; aad yet your Repeal wardens , acting under the instructions of your Privy Council in Dublin , have issued orders to the Irish Repealers in England koi to attshd Chabtjst Meetings .
Now , Sir , I would ask you whether such folly does not at once establish the fact , that the principles of Chartism being based upon truth are dangerous to all those clap-trap propositions , which , however , they may glitter by themselves , are nevertheless sure to lose their lustre when placed beside ihe brighter thing ! HaviDg so far justified our course with reference to the Free Trade war , I Bhall now proceed to submit general objections which the working classes have to the Free Trade party .
The Chartists do not object to the principles of Free Trade . On the contrary , they have invariably declared , that one of the first acts of a Chartist Parliament , would be to declare for perfect Free Trade ; while its accomplishment , without the power to be made nationally beneficial , would but place the labourer more than ever at the mercy of tha capitalist . However , Sir , as the position which I am now abont to explain has never been canvassed by any portion of the press , I beg your undivided attent ion to the reasoss why the working classes object to the triumph of the Free Trade party . I have shown you that they do not so much object to the carrying out of their one single measure , as ,
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they do to the entrusting indiscriminate power in their hands . The term Free Trade , of itself , may appear very innocent and harmless ; but , Sir , when we recollect that although a single motto upon theit banner , that there are many passions , prejudices , and feelings to be marshalled under it , we naturally become alarmed at the power which the incorporation of those passions , prejudices , and feelings would
place in the hands of one political party , to whom Free Trade , having ensured ascendancy , would become a very minor , if not a wholly insignificant , consideration . You must be perfectly aware , that the success of that party in the accomplishment of their professed end , must lead to their political ascendancy ; aud it is in that character as a fall baud of politicians , and not as Paginini fiddling npon one string , that the people dread them .
It may appear harmless to muster a party upon so apparently philauthrophic grounds ; but see the subsequent battles , which as conquerors , they must fight , to make the first victory available . Their battle is transfer , not correction . As Free Traders they profess but a unity of opinion upon one question ; but let the triumph of that once establish their ascendaaeyf Britf then , the several sections of whAch the Free Trade parly is now composed will demand their several rewards for their services in the good fight .
We view them , Sir , m their corporate capacity ; and in that light , we see the Dissent wing claiming , not toleration or equality , but ascendancy ; we see the Capitalist claiming the superiority of machinery over man ; we see the active operation of money , which is their type of power , gaining such an ascendancy over the laws and their administration as to make justice a mookery : in their ascendancy we reeognize the depopulation of the land at home , to the exact amount required for the working of inanimate machinery : in their ascendancy we recognize the pollution of the source of justice by the
appointment of cruel oppressors , instead of impartial juBtices : in a word , Sir , in their ascendancy we recognize all the perfect machinery for the purohase of cheap slave-labour , with the political power to } chastise the spirits that dare to rebel against their unholy system . We have never opposed Free Trade as a mere isolated boon . We have opposed it for the reasons that I have assigned ; because the Dissenters struggle for ascendancy , not to destroy the State Church , but to transfer its emoluments to their own body ;
because Capitalists seek for ascendancy , not to destroy what is vicious in the agricultural system , but to take advantage of it for their owa profit ; because , as a political party , they do not speak of , neither do they intend to redress , a single grievance , but merely to transfer them from Tory to Whig hands , fastening the burden more tightly than ever upon the backs of the people , their principal object being to melt the people down by oppression to that state of subserviency which would ensure them as willing slaves .
Thus sir , yon find that this is the second struggle , — the Reform BUI ' was the first , —for the ascendancy of active capital over sluggish land . But sinking all political titles and distinctions , and hating Toryism as much as any man living , yet a thousand times over let me bear the oppression against which I can struggle rather than tamely submit to a tyranny against whioh I could make no stand . You have now learned our position , and our objections to giving a multifarious power to an illassorted , but yet partially united faction . I have straggled against each in turn ; and with God ' s blessing I will still continue to do so . I have been mainly instrumental in creating a power , the
foundation of which I laid in Marylebone , on the 18 th of September , 1835 : and which I then stated wsuld henceforth be a tower of strength to the good man , and a terror to the evil doer . That power , Sir , you must now court . It is the mountain : you are but Mahomet . It is too great for any man to wield . It can be only moved by the magic wand of justice . Do justice , Sir ; and , as a necessary consequence , its aim being justice , it will be ready to support you ; bat lay not the flattering unction to your 80 Ul , that any man living can tender that co-operation for the accomplishment of any thing Bhort of your reassumed position ; and believe not that any man living cau withhold it from you as long as your battle is for right .
You will bear in mind , Sir , that , previously to the establishment of the great Radical Association , in 1835 , I told you in the Westminster-Club , after your acquiesenoe in the Lords ' s Amendments to the Irish Municipal Bill , that I would raise a popular party that you could neither buy nor sell . I have done it . Sir ; and upon that party you must fall back , or fall down . Aud if , hitherto , your unchecked career has induced you to run on , without thought ] from one position to another , I would sow implore you , Sir , to take a few hours' serious deliberation , — not with those : whose danger is comparatively trifling , and who live upon the wages of agitation ; but call men of honour , and especially the Roman Catholic Clergy , to your councils , and repair the
fault that you have committed , —that of allowing yourself to be taken by surprise . Mark } Sir ; the Arms Bill comes into operation on Monday next ; and recollect that in the outset , I told you in the Northern Star that that Bill would be the means of rallying all the old Orange prejudices against the Irish Catholics ; and be assured that their nerves will be strengthened by the military array now plaoed at their disposal . You are not to argue any diminution of their apparent hatred from their inactivity during your triumphant Hummer ' s campaign ; but you are on the contrary to suppose that their retribution will be deadly , and that their pent-up passions will demand a full flow of Irish Catholio blood , as a setoff againHt their temporary submission .
Sir , entertain no hope of lenity from the English Cabinet , or from the Irish Executive . Believe me that you are now at issue . The Government would not now allow you to abandon your position , without making an example of you to serve as an extinguisher during their time . You have one course open yet , and only one ; take all advantages that the law will admit of ; rather demur to the whole
matter contained in the Indictment than go to trial with a packed Jury ; and instead of again being taken by surprize , prepare the brave millions who have such unbounded confidence in you for the worst ; wot for a PHYSICAL ENCOUNTER nol to present their unarmed persons to an armed soldiery > but to take such steps as , in the event of the triumph of the Government , will Jverify your
declaration—Vce vie As . Woe to the Conqueror ! If you fail , Sir , to achieve a triumph for Irelandstrip that of her oppressors of its value ; and , instead of longer deluding the Irish people with a false statement , that the English working classes have no sympathy for them , for the first time in your life avow yourself the champion of the rights of labour , snd cease to be the stalking-horse of capital , and the supporter of legitimacy . Turn , Sir , from prejudice to truth , and from speculation to an honest warfare for the rights of man .
I had originally intended to have addressed you in a different manner and in a different tone ; but , as I have stated , the new position in which Irish courage has plaoed you has induced me to alter my original intention , and has made me determine that even yet you shall not fall back upon English working class indifference as a justifiable reason for abandoning that which , with a thorough knowledge of the pros and cons , you have so religiously promised to accomplish . I for one , Sir , Bhall not hold you to the exact day upon which Ireland ' s triumph is to be achieved . On the contrary I am Teady to allow you the right of meeting stratagem by counter stratagem ; and so far from counselling you to rush
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prematurely forward against irresistible odds , as an Irishman , I merely require that if you are stopped you do not retreat ; and if you are obliged to retreat that it will be no further than absolute necessity compels . Beware , Sir , how you waste or apply the strength that it has cost the nation much to create . Be assured that rebellion is determined upon ; and that you are looked upon as the obstacle in the way of Booial improvement , and will be therefore the mark for faction ; and then , Sir , when the day of trouble , now stealing upon you , comes , you will ] discover whether JFeargus O'Connor , who would not blindly follow you , or those who have subserviently acquiesced in your meandering policy , was most to
be relied upon . Yes , Sir , should you become a captive in the felon ' s . " cell , the table of the House of Commons shall groan under petitions for your release , if I can procure them ; aud the untrammelled mind of England shall teach you , Sir , tbat from one end of the land to the other , wken injustice is perpetrated all cause of difference is forgotten . If they put you ia prison , Sir , I'll tryvto have you out again , and , that , too , by peaceable and constitutional nfcatfs ; and then , Sir , I shall look back to the gloom of the dark dungeon where I spent sixteen months unnoticed and unoared for , with the ounbolation that your neglect has not obliterated my sense of duty to all those who are persecuted and oppressed .
I shall continue to address you until the struggle is at an end . In concluding for the present , I would say , be cautious ; be guarded . Upon no account allow yourself to be hustled into crowds , either in the Four Courts , or in the streets ; for be assured that the days of Sidmouth and Castloreagh are near at hand ; and that the law failing in its vengeance , the assassin who would deprive you of life would be considered as a good substitute , and would be rewarded as such . Again , I caution you
against the supposition that an acquittal would be allowed to be a triumph . You know what the preparations for your destruction have cost the country , and that nothing short of your ruin would be considered as an equivalent . Be not afraid of English opinion while you are right . Expeot nothing from it where ; you are wrong , and therefore to insure its support , convince the world that you are right . I am , Sir , : Feabgus O'CoNNon .
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TO THE WORKING CLASSES . My dear Fbienps , —I shall firstly conclude the narrative of my tour , and then offer some observations upon our present position . In my last , I brought you down to the meeting at Dumfries , which was held in Baillie Beck ' s Show Rooms , in consequence of M'Kenzie , the Liberal Non-Intrusion Parson , having broken faith with his own Committee and the ; Chartists . The reason assigned by this Liberal Parson for refusing his chureh is bo curious , and" at the same time so complimentary to myself , that I must mention it . He said , " thatif I addressed his flock upon Chartist principles , those who
heard me would , upon the following Sunday , when he was preaching , have my words uppermost in their thoughts . " However ,, he did refuse us the church ; but as I have before observed , we had a capital meeting in Baillie Beck's Show Rooms , and subsequently about eighty-four of the leading Chartists of Dumfries and surrounding districts sat down to a good and substantial supper at the Temperance Hotel , where speaking and siuging was kept up till nearly one o ' clock in the morning . Messrs . Andrew Wardrop , Peter Gray , and William M Douall , with a few other good fellows have kept Chartism alive in Dumfries ; but it remained for the Rsv . Mr . M'Kenzie and myself to set it blazing .
On Wednesday m consequence of a mistake made by Peter Gray in . communicating with Arthur at Carlisle , I tvas obliged to post off from Dumfries to Carlisle . Gray understood me to say that I would not be at Carlisle till Thursday night , and wrote to Arthur to that effeot . I was not aware of the fact until two o ' clock , when I instantly started and did the thirty-three miles in three hours and a-half . When I arrived all was consternation , and I discovered that the meeting had been postponed till the following night . The drums and bellman were instantly set to work to convene the meeting for that evening , and at eight o ' clock the Athei >« eum was literally wedged . It is the largest public building in Carlisle ; and although many poor
handloom weavers , out of employment , were admitted free , yet between five and six pounds , at a penny a-bead , was received at the door . James Arthur was called to the chair , and briefly introduced me to the meeting . The pressure ia every point was so great that we could not secure order for fully half' an hour . The passages were full and the street outside was lined . I made two speeches —the one upon general topics , which appeared to give general satisfaction , and the other , in reply to a very complimentary address that was presented to mo by the working people . After the business was over and three hearty cheers were given for Duncombe , I proceeded with the work of enlistment and added 330 to the noble army of Chartists . That
work being completed , the hearty fellows of Carlisle formed a procession , and with their band playing and flags waving in the night breeze they escorted me to my hotel ; and thus terminated a tour whioh I would not undertake again for any earn of money . From the 3 rd of Octobor to the 1 st of November I have addressed the people in the following places : London and Manchester five times ; Huddersneld , Bradford , and Halifax onoe ; Newcastle seven times ; Seghill once ; South Shields three times ; Sanderland once ; Sheddons Hill twice ; Edinburgh twice j Leith once ; Dundee twice ; Montrose once ; Arbroath once ; Aberdeen throe times ; Glasgow once ; Dumfries twice ; and Carlisle once . I have travelled within that period very near fifteen hundred miles . I have enrolled nearly seven thousand members , thus putting nearly sixty pounds into the Chartist exchequer . Let the reader ponder for a
moment upon the importance ; of those several places , the principal towns in England and Scotland ; let him reflect upon the means that have been resorted to to destroy my character and my influence ; and let him then learu , not from myself , but from the several localities , what my reception was , and the amount of service that I have rendered to the cause ; and he may take all as an answor to the blundering Parry , the cantankerous aud jealous Lovett , aud the whole tribe of disappointed " pedlars , " whose packs Lhave emptied of Chartist wares . I had not visited some of those places for four years , and during that period , every engine has been at work to destroy my influenoe with the working classes ; and yet , with the single exception of the honest Mr . Mathers ( not Mavors , as printed in the Northern Star \ of South Shields , not one oi my revilers had the manliness to meet me personally .
From all that I have seen within this period , I have come to the oonolu&ion that all parties desirous of change , whether organic or administrative , must join in the demand for Chartist prinoiplep . I argue thus : from August 1842 , to the present time , all adverse parties have had unchecked sway , while the disasters of the Strike paralysed the Chartist body , even as , a defensive force . The Anti-Corn-Law League , with immense funds at ita baok—the Complete Suffragists , with impunity for their protection—the Whigs , with legitimacy for their safeguard—have all , one and all , separately and collectedly , endeavoured to recruit their ranks from our scattered forces ; while , notwithstanding the several disheartening circumstances by which wo
were surrounded , I venture to assert that not one dozen Chartists have gone over to any section of the enemy . This is something , and not a little either , It is something that the Chartists should have held their ground for so long a period of inactivity ; and it is something more , that the whole body should have been prepared , as if by magio , to throw off their lethargy , and once more rally round the sacred standard as soon as it was reared . The impression upon my mind is , that much of the fifty thousand pounds League money has been spent in an endeavour to crush Chartism by one means or other . That it has failed to do bo , however , will be discovered in the faot , that while the vultures hover over their
prey in email villages , they are afraid to venture into any one of the large towns . Hence we find them at Haddington , within a few miles of Edinburgh , rejoicing in a meeting of five or six hundred , while they dare not enter Edinburgh . So in Lancashire ; we find them valiant in Lancaster , while they dare not enter Manchester , or one of the large towns in that important county . The observer naturally asks , why the operations of the League are aot exclusively confinod to those districts where the promised advantage of " high wages , cheap bread , and plenty to do" would be most anxiously contended for , and most efficiently supported ? The anBwer is , that it' sanvhinvij has centralized poverty , it has
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also centralized public opinion ; and the poor , forlorn operatives , to whom so much is promised by the accomplishment of ( Free Trade , have had many a bitter taste of the comparatively little power which their Free Trade patrons already possess , and they know full well what { the result to them of the increased power of their { patrons would be . Henceforth they will be compel 1 ed to confine their exertions to bribery at elections ; a prooess which , while land oonfers the franchise , they will find wearisome and unproductive . When beaten there , however , they never will join the working men for their rights , as they would much prefer the shackles remaining upon trade to the political fetters being
taken off the working classes . By a shrewd course , however , we can render this bubble party wholly innoxious , by convincing the shopkeepers , who are now their principal supporters , that machinery , the god of the League , is the devil of the shopkeeper . Wherever I have gone jl have successfully inculcated that feeling upon the : minds of the shop-keeping class ; aad I believe it ! but requires a good following up to draw the shopkeeping class from the Free Traders . As for the Complete Suffrage party , I need not mention them . The position which a few individuals assumed as a party was not likely to be long maintained . Mr . Duncombe scattered them : and ! O'Connell has blown them
into air . Surely , if a few Orangemen of the North of Ireland were worth a big drum , the proferred service of Joseph should have been received with some little noise ; however , O'Connell assures them that they h » vo no power , that they never will have power , and that therefore their professed co-operation is not worthy Irish acceptance . As for the Whigs , that new fangled party consists of free " traders , Complete Suffragists , and Whig placehunters , from whom nothing , not even opposition to Toryism , can be expected ; and therefore we propose to leave them upon the bleak side of the Treasury , until they are prepared to practically carry out the maxim " that the people are the only source of politioal power , " by guaranteeing to the whole
people twenty representatives ot their opinions in the House of Commons . To this point we must next direct our attention ; and when we have ascertained through the agency of Mr . Duncombe , that we can rely upon an honest fulfilment of those conditions , the whole people , who cannot now appoint one policeman , would find littleidiffioulty in effecting a dissolution of Parliament . ] I have made this next step one of the leading features in my recent addresses ; aud I find that it ; has been most favourably received . In faot this is the proper mode of directing that public opinion whioh has been created and organized ; and to this ] object we should incessantly direct our attention , so tbat the thief shall not again steal upon us in the dark . If we turn our attention to the triumphs gained by the working classes in the recent Municipal struggles , all will immediately discover the fact which I have so long endeavoured to
impress upon their minds , that the people richly deserve every grievance of which they complain , because the removal of one and all is in their own power , and may be easily accomplished by a union of their own order . It must be borne in mind that for years I have laboured to teach the working classes that Municipal power were the small wheels which , if properly arranged , would causa aa alteration in the large wheels of Government . It is of all things necessary that ; corporate power should be opposed to the existing ministry ; and it is my opinion , that if the Municipal machinery was well worked , it would open an easy road | to the accomplishment of the People ' s Charter . To this end then I trust that public opinion will be well directed—that is , to the enforcement of twenty Chartist members into the next House of Commons , and the proper mauagement of Manicpal machinery as a principal means of effecting that end . I
The whole of the press-gang , both Whig and Tory , are making a dreadful noise about Mr . Duncombe ' s declaration of Charter Roform . It is not wonderful that the Tories should do so ; but why the Free Trade portion of the press should feel any annoyance , astonishes me , and I'll tell you why . Because the Free Traders have made a mighty boast of their triumph in the City ofj London in the return of Mr . Pattiaon . But as I am sure that that gentleman would much rather owe his seat to the unsought interference of a friend than to the tricks of the trade , it may not be amiss to tell him to whom he really does owe his triumph . These , then , are tho / acts ' of the case . Th ^ e Chartists had resolved upon making a powerful anti-Whig and anti-Tory
demonstration at the recent nomination , and had determined upou going ! to the poll with a candidate pledged to the whole principles of the Charter . With those intentions , a very influential Committee waited upon Mr . Dunoombe , for the purpose of consutling him upon the matter . Mr . Duncombe told them that they themselves could not select a candidate who would go { farther than Mr . Patfison in support of every liberal measure , and that he was sure he would vote } for the Six Points of the People ' s Charter . The perfect reliance which the working men have in Mr . Dunoombe made that explanation perfectly satisfactory , and the Chartists set to work in their several localities to canvas for Mr . Pattison . The result was that they did not propose a candidate ; that he got the show of hands , as well as a . majority of votes ; while , had it ] not been for Mr . Duncombe , I
have no hesitation in saying that Baring would have beaten him by a large majority . Pattison ' s majority was 165 ; consequently it' 83 out of the whole number that polled for him had voted for Baring , Baring would have been returned ; and I believe , neither Whig or Tory will dispute the fact , that the Chartists could have ensured a show of hands and have polled between threo and four hundred votes for their man ; therefore ! Mr . Pattison may consider himself in a much more honourable position than that of " creature of the League ; " he is the " People ' s" member . I was in the Houso with Mr . Pattison ; and there was not half a dozen members so thoroughly democratic ; and I pledge myself , as Mr . Dunoombs pledged himself , that he will vote for every point of the People ' s Charter ; for separation of Church aud State ; and for all other moral aud religious measures . - - ,
I have , acquired much knowledge from my present tour . 1 have witnessed a firm and decided resolution on the part of the working classes to have their Charter ; and although I admit , and freeiy , that the Cnarter may bo considered a poverty question , yet , notwithstanding the fact that trade has experienced a general improvement ] thoughout the two countries , yet contrary to the received opinion of our opponents , that improvement has not damped the ardour , or lessened the enthusiasm , of the Chartist body . If I may judge from ! the exhibitions that I have seen , we have a rightito anticipate a glorious representation of public opinion in our next Convention ; and if ever there was a time when it behoved the friends of freedom in this country to look Bbarp
after their few remaining privileges , for rights they have none , now ia the time . I tell them that neither Sidmouth nor Castlereagh , were greater enemies to popular liberty than | Wellington and Graham . I tell them that never did the English bench furnish more Jeffries at the disposal of the Crown than at present . I tell them that never was a more dangerous officer entrusted with the administration of the law than the present Solicitor-General . He is a powerful man ; and if he has one ambition stronger than another , it is to convince his masters that he is more powerful than the law . It is his glory to make right wrong , and wrong right . The Attorney-General has a heart to feel , and a mind that would controul him even in ! the exercise of his political
professional duties . The Solicitor-General has no feeling . There never ; was a more thorough political machine . Tbej magistrates , whenever the struggle comes betweeh the people and their oppressors will , without exception , be upon the side of tyranny . Now all these are fearful odda against a party , whose power consists of numbers and union ; however , with a perfect union of numbers we can beat them all . We are not to attach much importance to the present apparent calm , as it would not suit the tactics of our present rulers to carry on war against the Irish , the ] Welsh , tho Scoteh , aud the English at one and the same time ; but only wait until Ireland and Wales are thoroughly crushed , and then England and Scotland will have their due share of Tory consideration .
While I thus point out the materials of which the machinery of oppression is composed , let me not be understood as recommending any , the slightest , relaxation of Chartist agitation , or any abatement in our just demands ; ou the contrary , upon our perseverance , boldness , and ] prudence , in a great measure depends not only the fate of our own principles , but also of our own country ; aud I have vanity enough to believe that my exertions on behalf of British liberty give me a claim upon British support . Upon this subject , however , it is my intention to
address a series of letters to Mr . O'Connell , in the Northern Stau the first of which will be found ia the present number ; : and therefore I shall abstain from further mention of it in this place . The success of my tour has very naturally set all the vermin to work . Other unions , and more unions , are taking place between old squabblers , who not long since would have bitten each ! others noses off ; but if I fail in my endeavours to create a union of the working classes , I have at all events the satisfaction to kuow that the most deadly I and inveterate enemies * ill thake hands over all i their own differences , and
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^ A A * t & > unite to destroy Feargua O'Connor sad lhe \ Nortber Slar . But to those reptiles , one and all , I woul merely say , that if they have not had a surfeit from the past , they shall have it from the future . It i for you now to say whether or not you consider it worth your while to maintain the position that I have once more gained for you in , the largest towns in England and Scotland ; and whether you tha working classes are , oir are not , prepared to assert your rights . I have given you a practical proof of what one man can do : and each who exerEs himaelf
can make himself comparatively useful in his owa locality . Let us only have a good managing committee in each district ; and I will venture to say that if seven men in each town can . be found to work honestly , ninety-nine in every hundred of the working classes will be found to work energetically under them : for I have invariably found that Chartism was most prosperous , and bickering most rare , in those towns whore the business was transacted by a Council of honest men . Surely , then , the greafc prize at stake is worth the only sacrifice that ' s needed—honesty in a few , to ensure zeal and co-operation from the many .
I think the people will have learned , from the address of the Executive in this week's Star , that that body have resolved upon limiting their expenditure to the smallest possible amount , and of rendering service for their wages ; and now I call upon all who are determined to give Chartism a fair triaL to rally once more round the sacred standard . And as a consolation to those who have expressed a hop © that inactivity may indues me to abandon the cause , I tell them , for their satisfaction , that its accomplishment alone shali drive me from the ranks ; and therefore I cut the last leg from undor the stool of faction .
I now trust tbat every locality will send its mitetome as Treasurer , to carry out tho objects that wt > have in view ; aud bear m mind that it is every man ' s cause , and therofore should enlist every man ' s consideration . Had it not . been for the necessity imposed upon me to watoh over the proceedings in . the Queen ' s Bench , instead of Mr . Roberts , who ia more profitably engaged otherwise , I should have continued my tour through Lancashire , according to my original intention ; but the truth is—first ly * that Mr . Roberts declared that one of us should be present , and I thought his titaa aould be xaoro p » o fitably spout in Newcastle ; and , Becondly , I could not have gone on without some reat , as 1 believe in the annals of agitation noman ever went through moro fatigue than I havo done during the last mouth . ' In conclusion , I have only to offer this brief summary of a short tour to the perusal of those muckworms who growl in back parlours , and lose their rest in devising means how to destroy my influence . I will give them a recipe , and tho only one : LET THEM GO AND DO MORE . I remain , Your faithful friend and servant , FbaBGUS O'CONIfOB .
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Friends , —At foot you will find the opinion of Mr . Bodkin relative to the enrolment of the plan of Organization , and from it you will learn tbat while Counsel abstains from giving any opinion upon the question of legality , he thinks , that the Plan ia deficient in some of those points whioh constitute a society as contemplated by certain Acts of Parlia ment . Under these circamatanoes , it becomes oar duty , as your appointed officers , to state the course which it is our intention to pursue . The two main points to which we shall direct our attention are , firstly , the creation of such an enrolled force ag will insure a full and fair representation of Chartists *
principles in the Convention about to be held in April next ; and , secondly , to observe the most rigid economy in the expenditure of the national funds . In order to effect the first purpose , we shall proceed , for the present , under as much of the plan of Organization , as requires no legal protection , to enrol members of the General Association , whose legal affairs will be transacted by councilman , nominated by the several districts , and which nomination will require the confirmation of the Exeoutive . Wo shall abstain , for the present , from the establishment of branches and from the issuing of Charters , and must direct our undivided attention to the political portion ; of the plan ; and by those means we hope to create a matured public opinion to whioh the
forthcoming Convention may give a proper direction . By that time the several questions upon which parties may be bow at issue will have been fairly discussed , and that body will be in a situation to give full effeot to what shall appear to be the then public opinion . In order to { carry out our second project and as our labours in . council will be considerably diminished by the non-enrolment of our Organization , we propose to appoint two from our number as lecturers to districts requiring their servicestheir salaries to be paid out of the Executive Fund ( and the proceeds arising from their exertions , to be wholly applied to the local purposes of the several places where they shall lecture . With this view we have appointed MjvM'Grath aa lecturer for Cheshire
and Mr , dark for Somersetshire ; after which they will proceed to Cornwall and Northamptonshire * thus saving those counties the expence of district lecturers , while we trust their services will place funds at the disposal of the localities to enable then to transact their local business . Mr . M'Grath will be at Northampton on Monday the 20 th ; at Birmingham on Tuesday the 21 st ; at Wolverhampton on Wednesday the 22 nd ; and at Stocfcport on Thursday the 23 rd , where it is to be expected the council will have { pointed out his route for Cheshire . The inhabitants requiring the attendance of the Executive missionaries will merely have to pay their travelling expenses from town to town , and therefore it is of all things important that the route should be judiciously arranged . Mr . Clarke will be in Bristol on
Monday the 20 th ; when we trust the Council will [ have [ made proper arrangements to render his services available . The missionaries will be supplied ; with cards of membership , and wilt thus save the several localities the expense of postage . Having thus submitted to -you what our intentions are , our position being considerably altered by the non-enrolment of oar Organization , we trust , as some latitude must be allowed , that the course we have chalked out , under existing oircumstaHce ? ^ will meet with the approbation aud support of the Chartist public ; while we have a right to complain of the active and underhand agency being used by parties who have already done sufficient to create confusion in our ranks , being now directed to tha frustration of our best endeavours .
However , as our duties are twofold , it being not less inoumbent npon us to meat our enemies than to support oar friends , we trust , by a perseverance in that line which will insure for us the approval of the Chartist body , to be able to beat down all party and sectional opposition . By the above plan , it will be Been , that your Executive only coste the country ' £ 3 10 a . per week , while the sum Of £ 3 , originally voted to two other officers , will now be expended in the most profitable manner to which the public funds can be applied . By this exposition , it will be seen that the only portion of the political plan , which we do not propose to bring into operation for the present , is the appointment of branches } and the issuing of Charters . And inasmuch as
the election of a Convention , to be holdeu in April , was unanimously decided upon , we , as . your officers , do not consider that we can be more ^ profitably employed than in endeavouring to make that Convention as efficient a representation of the public mind as possible . The subjoined opinion was given upon the Plan of Organization , without a single sentence , word , or letter being altered in that document ; and we are the mere anxious to lay this fact before yoa , in consequence of artful trickbtera endeavouring to stamp a heavy sin upon very slight grounds—to the effect that the Executive proposed having the Plan enrolled with the omission of the principles , whereas the faots are simply and briefly as follow . A Committee consisting of the three following
persons , Messrs . Hobson , Wheeler , and Morrison , were appointed to see to the enrolment of the Plan ; a power with whioh the Executive had nothing to do The first act of the Executive , upon Mr . Tidd Pratt ' s refusal , was to consult Mr . O'Connor , who , after having made two fruitless attempts to procure an interview with Mr . Tidd Pratt , transmitted the whole document , without the slightest alteration , for . the opinion of counsel . We are well pleased to learn , from nearly all parts of the country , that the course pursued by the Executive , with reference to Mr . Tidd Pratt , and which was plainly and simply stated in our address of last week , meets with the approbation of those who give us credit for endeavouring to trap Tidd Pratt , as he would willingly entrap as . Here follows the opinion of Mr . Bodkin : —
( COPY . ) OPINION OF MR . BODKIN Without entering upon any enquiry as to the lawfulness of this Association , I am of opinion , after perusing and considering the accompanyingpapers , that it is not such a society as is contemplated by the Statutes referred to . Upon diis ground , therefore , I think tha Certifying Barrister would be justified in bis refusal . Wm . H . Bodkin . As lawyers are not always rightwe have BtUl
, resolved upon appealing against the deoision of Mr . Tidd Pratt , and the more especially with a view of llliciting all the legal knowledge that can be procured , judicially and otherwise , for the direction of the forthcoming Convention , should their labours be directed to the question of future Organization . H . P . Ross , T . Clarke , P . M'Gkath , F . O'Connor , Treasurer , T . M . Wheeler , Secretary .
To Daniel O'Coknell, 1lp.
TO DANIEL O'COKNELL , 1 LP .
The Executive To The Chartist Body.
THE EXECUTIVE TO THE CHARTIST BODY .
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Newcastle . —Messrs . Darnells and Tflomason have held very successful meetings in Newcastle , Soatb Shields , Seghill , and at the Mickley Colliery .
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YOL- YI- 3 S O . 313 . SATURDAY , TOYEMSER 11 , 1843 . *""^ TS ^ S p ^™ " "
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AND LEEDS GENERAL ADVEHTISEB . \ _ . - IM _ | t . . . - i
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 11, 1843, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct676/page/1/
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