On this page
- Departments (2)
-
Text (8)
-
Untitled Article
-
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE
-
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1840.
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
ADVICE TO CHARTISTS . TO THE EDITOE . OF IBS . hOIililERX STAR . r Sib , —The Chartists of Sunderland biting comineneed , under very favourable prospects , a Chartist Benefit Society , I strongly reeommend my Cbartict brethren in other peats to eatablieb . immediately similar sodettes . To promote this object , I irill feel obliged fey your inserting the following
SEASONS FOE CHARTIST BEKEFIT SOCIETIES . 1 . As sickness and want are at one period 01 knottier tbe pertaoB or all , it is necessary that all should be prepared far , and provided against , neb . calamities . S . That of tiie two meaua , providing for ounelTea , « depe » ding upon tfee clarity of others , the former « aly is that which every honest and honourable man 'wovkl wish to emptoy , sa 4 which every prudent man taty would depeo * upon . « . That as tbe workiag people are neither barn to wealth , nor caa acquire it , they possess in general w > indiridnal waource * adequate for the purpose , « nt , therefore , are ixxnd to nnite -with others to TTtmirn those «« t » jT > itHp « fail as lightly as possible epon « fc . 4 . That as a large pcrtion of disease and death is the direct or indirect revolt of too much work , aad too little food , a knowledge of the causes of these , in-order % o their removal , isaa important part of ttie proper objects of-a benefit-society .
5 . That this essential part is aot ai all provided for Try any of the ersting benefit societies , which indeed , -so far from doing this , in many instances , powerfully tend to withdrew all attention from them , and con-~ £ ne the applis&Uon of their resources to means which leave the ^ siost general cause of sickness and -death entirely -untouched . 6 . That ae the over-working and partial starring ¦ tt the mass-is caused by the extreme idleness and luxury of a few , the principles which would tend to a correction of this evil , ought to form a component part * t erery beneSt society for a toiling and impoveriabei . people . 7 . That "this mischieTous distinction arises from a few having the power to take , by what they call law , 'that which is produced by the labour , sweat , and skill < f the many , for whose benefit the law is said to be made .
8 . That a * thu , which is called law by those wh « feed by it , is felt to be robbery by those who starve by it , the latter only have the disposition and will to alter it , and can only do so by becoming lawmakers , 6 . That , as this is the object of Chartism ; it is , -therefore , worthy to be incorporated with a benefit ociety .-established for those who hare been , and are , so plundered and oppressed . 10 . That while such societies would be alleviating ihe evils of sickness and death as they occurred , aad * rere -keeping attention alive to the frequent unnatural < su » e « of theae , they would also powerfully tend to free their members from bribing , goal-enslaving charity , j © d create that paternal feeling amongst working people , ¦ which , by making their hearts one , would make their power invincible for good .
11 . That such societies would also supply their member with a powerful remedial agent in sickness , and often avert death by the excellent medicine administered to the minds of the afflicted through the medium of their physicians , the stewards , who would cheer the hearts of the bed-ridden sufferers with the administration of pecuniary relief , and revive their drooping energies by acquainting them wiih the spread of those jstnciples which their souls longed to see established . 12 . Thit as it would then be said , sre those Chartists , bow they " love one another , " others would " and do likewise , " those who were " weary and heavy laden" would have their " yoke " lightened , and evsntaally the poor ( or workers ) and meek would " inherit the earth . " J . W . Gaol .
P . S . As the rules of the Sunderland society are now jsrinting , they will be published , and transmitted to cor Chartist brethren in any place who may apply for them . Further intelligence will be given next week .
Foreign Intelligence
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE
EXTRAORDINARY EXPRESS FROM MARSEILLES , CHINA , INDIA , AND EGYPT . . ( From the Morning Herald . ) "We have received , by extraordinary express from Marseilles , by the Oriental steamer , accounts from Bombay to the 1 st of November , with dates from China to the 4 : h of August , Singapore 1 lth September , Calcutta 18 th October , and Alexandria to the 36 th November . The intelligence brought by this arrival ia , in every respect , of ihe greatest importance , From the mass < jf oar correspondence , and the details with which we have been supplied , we hare selected the most iiterestinz features .
The expedition to Chusan , under the command of Commodore Sir J . Gordon Bremer , and Brigadier General Barrel ] , arrived off ihat island on the 2 nd < rf July , and the necessary soundings having been ftak . es ., anchored in the harbour of Chusan on the 4 th , and after summoning the Governor to surrender , Compliance with which was evaded , the operations gainst the place were commenced on the following day , July Jth , After a Bhort resistance on the beach , which was soon cleared , the troops landed and begin the breach of the ciiy of Tinx-hae-heen , the apital of Chusan , which was defended till a late Boar , but on the following morning was found to bare been evacuated daring the night , and the British troops immediately took possession . A gn » number of guns were captured , together with numerous stores and a large quantity of
ammuni-Knen . The loss of the Chinese is estimated at about thirty killed ; there were no casualties on the side of the British . Admiral Elliott , in the Melville , reached Chusan < ra the 7 th Jaly , and unfonnnately sot a-ground , with so much damage done as to make it necessary to have his Bhip hove down and dismantled , thu 3 rendering her perfectly useless . In sailing along the coast , the Blonde , sent into Amoy with a flag of truce , was fiu-d into ; but , on returning the fire , the Chinese troops were quickly dispersed with considerable loss .
Shortly aher th « admiral ' s arrival , he proceeded to Ning-po-foo , ' to forward a sealed letter to the Emperor , which , after having been received by the mandarins of that city , was returned unopened . In consequence ef this occurrence , Hing-po-foo was blockaded , and preparations were making to extend the blockade to the mouth of the river Yonghe-iuon , leading to Nankin . The capture of Chusaa , and the action at Amoy , appear to have caused a great sensation in that part of China . Brigadier-General Burreil has been appointed go-Ternor of Chusan . It was expected that the admiral would shift his flag on board the Wellesley .
The ships of war at Gansan were the Wellesley , Conway , AHigaior , Algerine , Cruiser , Melville , Blenheim , Pyiades , and Madagascar and Enterprise steamers . The accounts from Canton state tkai Commissioner Lin was vainly endeavouring to raise roiunieers to destroy our ship 3 of war , by the promise of high rewards . Several junks , iaden with salt and grain , had been captured under the / funs of the bogue fort by the British blockading squadron , wnich consisted of the Druid , Yolage , Hyacinth , and Larae , subsequently reinforced by the Nimrod and Colombine . The blockade did not commence till the 1 st of July .
The intelligence from India redeems the last maatistie wry accounts . From Afghanistan we learn that a most brilliant snecess had been gained by Brigadier-General Benuie over Dost Mohammed and the Walse of Khoolum , whose combined army of 8 , 000 men had been totally routed by a body of iOO men of thei 5 ; h oative infantry and the Goorka eorps , with two guns and some cavalry . Dost Mohammed , who was wounded , lost alL his tents , kettledrums , standard * , baggage , &c , with 50 C killed , aad woonded in froDortwn . The intelligence
• f this affair is contained in a despatch from Major-General Sir Wilioughbj Cotton , dated Caubul , September iM . This victory , it was thought , would . be highly beneficiaL The ibrt of Kahnn , which Capt . Brown held out to the last , was finally evacuated by him after receiving orders to that effect , and he SQccceeded in reaching Shikarpoor in satety with All his baggage * nd artillery . It is stated , in our private letters , that there is every probability of a war with Nepau , and the Ameers of Scinde are nrach dissatisfied at having to pay tribute .
The utmost activity pr « vaib in all the military departments throughout India ; an augmentation has been , made to the army , and all the officers on leave required to join immediately . The troops under Major-General NoU were advancing oa Khelat . Ten thousand men were ordered to assemble at Lukhur froa the Bombay army ; this large force ie assembling in Upper Scinde for some other purpose it is Supposed than that of chastising the Belloo chss . As a set off to the success of General Dennie , it Appears that Sir R . Gale experienced a repulse at a jaaH Tort in Kohutas , sear CauboJ , with the loss of
¦ ererai killed and wounded . His awle-de-camp , Capt . Conolly , was killed by his side . Tke fort waa MMeqasntly takeo . The failure , in the fint iutosee , is ateribed to thethortneuoftbeacalin ladder * . . FroB . Aden the account * were that the European fvriiOB wa « in good health , but that the sepoys bad nfered seferely . The Arabs had remained perfectly quiet once the last repulse . We have dates from Ceylon to the 12 th October , bj which it appears that the cholera had re-appeared a * C * edy .
The intelligence from Alexandria , which reaches t * the 26 th ult ., represents the Egyptian question as settled . Commodore Napier arrived there in the Powerful , on the 21 st November , and immediately pdned negotiations with Boghos Bey , which were Mtttfoaed tin the 26 th , when they were cut Bhort by ¦ aTperemptory demands of the Commodore . The jnneipaj concessions made are , the'delivery of the
Untitled Article
Turkish fleet , and the immediate evacuation of Syria by Ibrahim Pacha . The fleet to remain till the necessary guarantees are furnished for the hereditary succession of Egypt . Commodore Napier h » d made every preparation for the bombardment of Alexandria in case his terms had been refused . The following ships were lying there " when the Oriental sailed : —Powerful , Rodney , Revenge , Cambridge , Ganges , Vanguard , Carysfoot , and Medea , and Vesuvius steamers .
DISASTER AT ACRE . On the 6 th of November , three days after the fall of this redoubtable fortress , and when the British were still rejoicing at having achieved in three hours , and with a loss on their side of only twentytwo killed and forty-four wounded , that which even in its then inferior strength withstood twelve assaults of Napoleon Buonaparte , with a sad loss of human life , they were doomed to suffer a disaster , the origin of which is likely never to be cleared up , though in all probability it ba 3 arisen from the loose manner in which powder appears to have been conveyed from place to plate by the enemy during the defence of it against the allies ; for it seems the approaches to the works from the several magaaines are literally one continued train of powder , requiring the greatest vigilance to remove , so as to avoid such consequences as the one we are about to relate .
A column , at least five hundred yards in height , of thickly yellow smoke and dust , with a loud and sknultaueous report , succeeded by a white Bmoke , and the burgling of as many as a thousand deadly shells , spreading in all directions far beyond and all around the ships of the fleet , some of which , and among them the Wasp , being only about one hundred yard a from the shore , announced the explosion of another powder magaiine within the fortress of Acre 1 In five minutes after the officers who landed from the shipping to the succour of the sufferers , among whom there might be shipmates and messmates encountered on the road , those who had fortunately escaped carrying to the boats for conveyance on board , for medical aid , the maimed and wounded , which together with the killed are said to amount to 280 , of whom at least 150 are native women and children . We have been unable to
ascertain how maDy are the sufferers in the British fleet , but we understand that as many as fifteen marines are killed , and had it not been the hour of dinner the number would have been considerably increased . Among the eeamen there are several wounded , and of the officers Brigadier-General Sir Charles Felix Smith , R . E ., very slightly ; Captain Collier , RN ., of the Castor , leg broken and other injuries and bruises ; and Lieutenant Johnson and the Rev . Mr . Kitson , both of the Princess Charlotte , from which Bhip Mr . Warre , mate , with a working party , were ordered to clear oat a magazine , full of powder and shells , which was on fire from the
explosion ; this perilous service waa happily performed without any casually ( notwithstanding the doora bad been shattered ) , by the applying of wet bales and blankets , and by dusk the chances of further danger were considerably reduced , though the fire waa not entirely extinguished until a late hour of the night . Nothing could exceed the intrepid conduct of the parties employed , who mounted the burning roof , braving all danger , in order to introduce the hose of the engine , playing upon the fire . The Princess Charlotte had two of her marines killed and nine wounded , besides several seamen , and the ofiioera belonging to her above-named .
UNITED STATES . By the packet ship North America , which arrived at Liverpool on Monday last , we have received New York papers to the 20 th ult . They contain but little news of importance . The official declaration of the election of General Harrison aa President seems to have excited but little sensation , as the result of the contest had been for some time cartain .
The Northern Star Saturday, December 12, 1840.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , DECEMBER 12 , 1840 .
PRISON DISCIPLINE . On our third page will be found the first of a aeri « s of letters on this subject , by Nfjix . ADVICE TO CHARTISTS . Wk request attention to a valuable article nnder this bead , whieh will be found elsewhere ; we shall kave more to say upon the subject in due time . RICHARD OASTLER . Wb understand this veteran champion of the rights of infancy and labour is , or is likely , shortly to become an inmate of the Fl # et , bj the eipecial favour of Mr . Thoiwhill .
Untitled Article
JUNIUS RUSTICUS . Ocb readers will be glad to see their old friend again in the Northern Star . By an oversight , his letter to the Queen does not occupy the place we intended for it . It will be found in our sixth page .
Untitled Article
THE AUCTION AND SALE . Wb extract the following passages from two speeches made by Mr . O'Cok . nob , so loDg ago as the year 1835 , when engaged in his mission as delegate of the Great Radical Association , established by him in the parish of Maryleb « ne . At Stockport , where he opened his commission , and for which town he has frequently , and , in consequence , expressed a peculiar interest , he made use of the following prophetic words : — " Lord Chesterfield has said that any man can be purchased if you but come up to his price . I admit it , and the amount is the only question at issue between the vendor and the
purchaser : 1 am for sale , and I intend you all for sale ; but if I may be allowed the most extensive construction of his Lordship ' s assertion , we will go in one lot instead of being set np singly . And now , in the commencement of my tour , 1 proclaim myself for sale ; and that my object is to prepare my stock , that is , the whole community , for the highest price , by putting them , as feeders say , in the most profitable condition . I will not let you go lame , or halt , or blind , or lean , or in bad lots , to the auction mart ; no , you shall go in a body , and all in the best condition . My price is large , but from it I will not abate a fraction ; it is Universal Suffrage , as my principle , with Annual
Parliaments , Vote by Ballot , no Property Qualification for Representatives , and Equal Representation , as the details to give full effect to that principle . And my course is to prepare you for sale , and then to sell you ; and now let me point out the manner in which this important auction will be conducted and concluded . The Whigs and the Tories will appoint their respective bidders . Lord John Russell will prokably bid for the Whigs , and Sir Robert Pzel for the Tories , for , rely upon my word , that , though you were at ignorant as asses , the moment you are united , your strength , arising
from combination , and not your mental qualification , trill constitute your value to men wishing to . perpetuate pover at any price . 1 will be the auctioneer , and will set this lot up ; it matters not at what . Then the auction will proceed thus ; we will proceed downward , like a Dutch auction , starting from the present £ 10 franchise . Lord John will commence £ 9 , Peel £ 8 . Lord John £ 7 , Peel £ S , Lord John £ 5 , Peel , Household . Lord John £ 4 , Peel £ 3 . Lord Joan £ 2 , Peel £ 1 . Lord John , Universal , —a pause . Auctioneer , to Lord John , the lot is jours , my Lord . Sir Robert Peel— " No , no ; I nodded first . "
Auctioneer— " I assure yon , Sir Robert , I never saw you ; I took Lord John ' s trink . Sir Robert— * 1 appeal to all around me . " Auctioneer— " It ' s very unfortunate of course my dutv is to make the most of the lot . " Sir Robert— " Well , you are bound to pnt it np again in case of a double bid . " Auctioneer— ' * Very well , then , up it goes again . " Lord John— " And the Ballot . " Sir Robert— " And Annual Parliaments . " Lord John— " And Equal Representation . " Both together— " And No-Property Qualification /' A pause—Auctioneer— Who bids nore ! I have two bidders . " No answer .
Lord John— " We'll take the lot between us . Now I'll get that for you , but / ean ' i get lest , and if you consent to take less when you are coming to be worth that , you will be offered nothing ; neither party will give a penny for you , became , if they can purchase you in small lots they can fuive you for ths price thai any local talesmatter veithet to put up » n you , itilhout consulting you ?* We must now lear « t » our readers , after five yean * experience to say whether or not that procea hat not been going on from that period to the pretent , aad whether the attempt « f the many Associations , since formed by the factions , ha 3 not beea with % view to make merchandise of the work *
ing classes for the aggrandisement and emolument of human jobbers , who , tired out by the process of keeping the stock till most fit for the market , would gladly make such profit as their present condition would fetch . In ordei to tffect a transfer just now , the Leeds profit-jobbers have invited the great wholesale butcher to view the Household Suffrage Btock . He who sold nearly 300 , 000 poor and unprotected crea-
Untitled Article
tures of his own neglected , proscribed , and enslaved creed for personal aggrandisement , is now to hang the slaughtered carcases of the Leeds " geese" upon the front of his political stall ! He who took wholesale commission upon the infants over whom he constituted himself Chancellor and Guardian , for want of that protection which the law refused , is now to take the pining , care-worn wives and little crippled children of the Leeds " geese " to the Whig charnel-house , aad then the nacker is to smile in lustful patriotism while disposing of his fresh cargo ofhaman flesh ! The man who
encouraged the Canadians to withstand the step-mother tyranny of Britain , and then rifled them of the remnant of their constitution , now comes to help the Leeds "foxes" to kill and carry of th » " geese . " The man who says that the New Poor Laws ore a guarantee to the respectable operative against the encroachments of the less meritorious , is he whose aid is invoked by the Foxes of the Leeds Club . The man who has scandalized the women of England , —the -wives and daughters of the English operatives , —as " hoores , " f—who has filled Ireland with paupers and a rural polioe : the
man who has kept up a perpetual war of religious strife between the two countries for his own profit , is to be the pilot of the well-manned vessel of the Leeds Fox and Goose Club . The man who lent all the available troops , and promised 500 , 000 volunteers to shoot British working men seeking the redress of grievances ; the man who rejoiced that it waa Irishmen who shed Welshmen ' s blood at Newport ; the man who called Fkosta traitor , and the people ' s best friends , ruffians ; the man who hired ruffians to insult the peaceful missionary of English Radicals ; the man who deserted the Dorchester
labourers , who sold the Trades' Unionists , who yillified the Glasgow Cotton Spinners , who would give £ 20 , 000 a year more than even the Tories to a German beggar for begetting state paupers and feeding sporting dogs ; the man who sold Carlow to the Jew , and then sold the Jew to the Devil ; the man who banished Cbawfobd from Ireland ; the man who has crushed every bold spirit who would not surrender principle to his fell dominion ; the man whose name is to be found in every corrupt majority which has supported the shooting , entombing , transporting , police-enacting , life-destroying , liberty-crushing , poor-man-hating Whigs ; the
man , whose name , after possessing more political power than any other individual ever did possess tor now five years , is not to be found originating any one act or any portion of an act fot the benefit of the human race in any part of the world : —is this , we ask , the monster whom we are again , not only to trust , bnt to court , and to apply to him the gentle motto of the Bsax / XOJTis—Fide ted qui , vide—Trust , but see in whom ? Have we not trusted him , and have we not been as often deceived ! And yet a pack of silly profit-mongers say , "Accept hit assistance , but watch him . " What , we would ask , must be the depravity and spirit of a guest , of whom the very host is thus compelled to speak !
The Fox and Goose Club have invited Dar to co-operation and a banquet ; and Colonel Thompson , very properly objecting to the scheme . Bays , how are you to receive him ! Now , observe the answer of the noodles : —* We mould say thankfully , BUT WITH OUR EYES OPEN . " Was ever such bare-faced audacity \ Suppose a host invited a clever pickpocket , and in apologising to his guests , said , " Gentlemen , you will dine with me , but be on
your guard—bring no money—as I have been compelled to invite a pickpocket to help out the entertainment ; " and suppose the host communicated to the pickpocket the necessary precaution given to his guests , what would a honest pickpocket say 1 Would he not gay , " Sir , if I practice my calling , I have a character to support , and therefore I cannot accept your invitation at the expence of my manly pride . "
Let us first take this question in itB plain and simple bearings . Is O'Consell iuvited here to assist in the Household Suffrage movement ! By no means ; he is invited here to strangle Chartism . If O'Coniraxi . waa intended as an auxiliary to the Fox and Goose Club , and if his services were to be honestly given and effectively used , where would they be most usefully employed ! Why , in Ireland , to be sure , where he still holds the ignorant in religious chains of bondage . What would be the result to the present movement of O'Connell getting even a footing in any part of England ) The assurance , through the prostitute press of Ireland , that the defeated asd deluded Chartists , having got rid of their false
leaders , HAVE AT LENGTH BEEN COMPELLED TO THkOW THEMSELVES CP 05 THE LIBERATOR FOR SUCCOUK , comfort , and RELi E * . This would be echoed by the English Whig " Establishment , " and thus would the ignorant people of Ireland be gulled for another season , and thrown back for years into that state of mental delusion from which , thank God , they are just beginning to emerge . What then becomes our duty ! Why , as honest watchmen , ever at onr post , to prepare the people to meet the outrage at the threshold . That is our duty ; that we haveperformed ; and what is the people ' s duty ? Simple , and easy of performance : it is to be ready to march to Leeds to a public meeting to be holden upon the day of
the " base , bloody , ani brutal" Union ; to be ready at all hazards and sacrifices ; and to bring their wives , bearing small white flags , with the simple inscription , "We are Englishwomen and mothers ; and if our children are slaves the traitor O'Connell made them so ; but our husbands tcill throw their chains in t / te face of their oppressor . " Yes , upon that day , we will show in Leeds a body of virtuous women and free-born Englishmen , even larger than that promised for the suppression of Chartism . That day will be a day ever famous and glorious in the annals of chivalry . St . John , St . Peter , St . Patrick , St . Bridget , and all the saints , have their day , and that day shall henceforth stand in the almanacs of all time to come as St . Englishwoman ' s day .
Let us reason calmly upon the probable result of such a step , if unopposed . Is there a Chartist in the kingdom who believes that the question of Household Suffrage ever would have been started by Foxes Marshall , Stansfeld , and Co ., if the question of Universal Suffrage had not been raised ! No ; no man in his senses has any such notion ; the movement is intended only as an antitode to Universal Suffrage . Who support it ! Some of the greatest jobbers ever known in any country ; who , under the old system , have made more moaey than they know what to do with , and who never lose an opportunity ,
as masters or magistrates , of oppressing the poor and the unprotected ; men who now see the necessity of a further reduction in the wages of those out of whose hard earnings they have , from being paupers , scraped millions together , and now require cheap food and cheaper labour , in addition to their other chances of peculation and subtraction , to give them another ull at the very vitals of a large competitive labour community ; creatures who complain of the people ' s ignorance and want of principle , and send waggon loads of provisions , and large sums of money for distribution among . those very corrupt people , but only upon occasion of a Municipal Election .
This miserable crew have beea at work with their more miserable stick of an organ for now nearly three months , and throughout England their disciples do not number one hundred f but like a hen with one chicken , they are as busy as if they bad a full brood . Only one Association , and only one fox in that to bark—and even his bark worse than his bite;—not a goose for very shame to cackle for them ; and thus forlorn and broken-hearted , they are compelled to throw themselves upon the old juggler for a trick or two . Now w # tell them that Signor Danibllo would jockey them too ; and in less than Bix months would put all the peas under his own thimble .
Untitled Article
The Irish Catholics are jv \ at begyiiniii ^ W'Tfe ^ that many of the English m&rtyrB are Irish Catholics also , and that nob one of them has shown the white feather ; but , on the contrary , although getting some of the severest sentences , are still bearing , like Irishmen , in the universal cause of frif tdo , m , their respective terms of from nine months to four years , in madhouses . O'Connor Is ^ n Irish man , and although not a Catholic , ia as energetic in their cause as any Catholic in the land ; and these things are now making a deep impression upon the Irish mind , and will , ultimately , bring about a real , instead of a clap-trap , union between the two countries , if not frustrated by trick and chicane .
Must it not be palpable to erery man of common sense , that the motive of O'Connell , in seeking footing once more in England , ia for the purpese of propping the tottering machine of decaying Whiggery , while Ireland is reserved as a draw-farm , whence the Honourable Gentleman (!) may still continue to extraot the forfeit of national ignorance , milch increased , by the colour given to his renewed popularity in England . Let us quote the monster ' s own opinion , delivered in full conclave to his Corn
Exchange slaves . A fool who said that he had threatened to kick O'Connor at a meeting at Preston , was told by O'Connell that he never would have been more right iu his life if he had juBtput his threat into execution . The beast upon the same occasion said , that " if Feargus came to Dublin , the boys would treat him to a swim in the Liffey . " Upon this we shall only observe that we too have a river running through Leeds ; not that any Englshman would be false or treacherous enougli to poison its waters with bo much corrupted matter !
Again , then , we say that this outrage must and shall be met at the threshold ; we will not , as of old , admit the infection , and then seek for remedies . Let our readers just read the list of guests furnished by the Club , to do honour to the national banquet ! —Daniel O'Connell , Colonel Thompson , John Arthur Roebuck , Sharman Crawford , Joseph Hume , Sir William Moleswobth , Francis Place , Charles Villiers , Richard L . Shejl ,
Richard Cobdek , and Lord Brougham ! We might have stopped with Dan , and said , " Ex uno disee omnes ; " but we give the sack , in preference to the sample , and shall only say that not a man of them , but Roebuck , Villiers , Cobden , and , perhaps , Molesworth , is likely to come . No , no ; catch Dam meeting Brougham , Thompson , and Crawford ! How many of the whole lot are not Malthusians , just made to the knuckle of the cheap labour-mongers ?
The other extract , from a speech of O'Connor ' s , delivered in the same month of the same year at Manchester , runs thus : — " The Poor Law Bill was but a means to an end ; it was no sooner fixed in the statute book than the white slave owners began to turn it to the proposed account Ellifl and others of the Emigration or Transportation Society , at once attached the emigration system as a rider to the starvation bill . They first passed tho one to break down , disgust , and starve out the bvnest working man , whose place has been supplied by machinery , and then , in their tender mer » y for the poor , they apply to Parliament for the means of moisting
emigration . Now , observe the trick ; those felloWs have large foreign possessions , wild , unprofitable , and valueless , for want of population ; and every ship load of white slaves that land upon their territories increases the value of their property fifty per cent So they first save poor rates at home , and then apply the public revenue to supplying them with the only means of giving value to their barren Wilds : and further mark ; those gentlemen make bargains with the emigrants before they leave England , or , in other words , actually purchase the slaves without even giving them the chance of the market Well ; was 1 idle upon this , any more than upon the Poor Law ? No , I voted against
every stage of the one , and , single handed , J stopped the other at half-past two o ' clock in the morning , during last session . I stood alone ; no one would second the rejection of the Bill ; Sheil spoke in favour of it ; they laughed at me ; but I east my eye orer the House , and found that I was equal to thirtynine Honourable Members . I moved that the House be counted ; they then appealed to my good nature and prayed of me not to stop the Bill , I said that my good nature was all due to those whose rights were invaded , while they slumbered in perfect ignorance of the blow aimed at them . I persevered and was all but hissed , but I did persevere and stopped the Sill ; but who will stop it now ?
" I'll now tell you my opinion of emigration . I am a citizen of the world and ready to steer where God and necessity shall direct , but if I can help it . no man shall leave the land of his birth against his free will and consent But stop ; EIHs ' s Bill only provided for men of a certain age , and forbade the accompaniment of the wife and family except at the emigrant ' s expence , thus taking the bone and sinew and leaving the young gristle to be nursed by the Poor Laws at home , till fit for profit When every lordly oak 1 b levelled to the ground : when the throat of every fatted war-horse is cat ; when every pampered sporting dog is destroyed ; when every pleasure ground is turned into a garden for the production of human food , and made subservient to
the sustenance of man ; when our waste lands are made to yield forth their fruit ; when our own country , after being turned to the most profit , shall refuse to its own sons the reward of their own industry and sufficiency for their wanta , then will I join in search of other climes , and by lot take my chance as a volunteer in quest of a field whereon to expend my labour . Your country is a wild for want ef proper laws to apply man's labour to the most profitable pursuits , and instead of altering the laws , they would transport the people . I tell you that this is but the commencement , they now only invite you to transport yourselves , but when machinery arrives at its height , they will then compel you to involuntary exile . "
Such were Mr . O'Connor ' s opinions in 1835 , and sucb , we find , from many of his reported speeches , delivered in many parts of England and Scotland ' in 1837 , 1838 , and 1839 , in almost the same language , continued to be his opinions ; we must leave it to our readers to say whether he has been borne out by subsequent circumstances . We have been induced to give the latter extract in consequence of a foolish assertion made by Mr . Moral-philosopher Morrisson , of Dunfermline , to the effect that Mr . O'Connor used the words with respeot to a repeal of the Corn Laws .
In conclusion , then , we say , " to your tents , 0 Israel ! " we are at our post . If you fail , you cannot be surprised ; your trumpet has been sounded ; your defeat , should it occur , will be your own , not our , disgrace ; but we trust you ; and , if we doubted you , OUR LIVES UPON YOUR WIVES .
Untitled Article
THE OLD FOX AGAIN . The old cow and the hay stack have had another bowing match ; Stansfeld has written in reply to the first epistle of the Mercurial family , and last week the Mercurials rejoined at considerable length , materially altering their tactics in the engagement , however . In the Mercurials first letter , the question considered was the most eligible standard of franchise , and which was established upon the fanciful principle of all who may be " reasonably deemed" fit for its exercise ; tho present letter is confined to a reviow of what rightfully constitutes the government of a country .
The question at issue between the parties is simply this : —Is the Government of this country , as at present constituted , a fair representation of the public opinions , morals , habits , and wants , according to the present constitution of society 1 Stansfeld , upon his part , asserts tbat it is not ; inasmuch as a section of society , on behalf of whose eligibility he pleads , is altogether excluded from any participation in the appointment ; while upon their part the Mercurial Editors contend , that , no matter how selected , their very toleration , by existing society , constitutes them a fair representation of the virtues , vices , habits , manners , strength , or weakness of the country .
In order to arrive at a just conclusion , we must first ascertain whether or not any principle can be , or has been , established for the formation of governments ; and in this course we anticipate no contradiction of that noble maxim of the English Constitution , which declares that no subject can be taxed otherwise than by his own consent , directly or indirectly , through his representative in Parliament . This simple , defined , and liberty-breathing principle brings ns from the Mercury ' s corrupt reservoir to a consideration of the springs and fountains from which governments should flow , in order to give them a constitutional title . This simple
Untitled Article
maxim does , we apprehend , breath in the very lungs of the State , and inspires the whole body with life , leaving no withered limb disregarded , no member uncared for , no section considered as unnecessary to the perfect and healthy existence of the whole . It , in fact , implies an equality before the law , a power vested in a government-making body , to say who shall be the parties under that maxim , to whom power , narrowed to its most convenient use and application , shall be delegated for the benefit of the community at large . Government is , in fact , nothing more nor less than the
committee of a national society ; a body entrusted with the application of public funds according to national requirements ; a body selected to mature plans for the common weal and when matured and flatted by the people ' s representatives , to see to their proper administration ; but it by no means vests in the hands of a party any , the most , remote or contingent right , because in power , so to alter the constitution as to insure their own continuance in office . They have no right to strengthen their own hands , while they weaken those whose will they are bound to obey , and by whose consent alone they can legitimately hold office . When a government strengthens itself by laws , rules , precedents , or regulations , adopted for that purpose , or by the levying of forces
for its own protection , against public opinion , er by laws made or stretched for the suppression of the publio voice , that government becomes a despotism and staads , ia relation to the community , in precisely the same situation as a garrison , which should oil the fortress to theenemy , and turnitsguns against its own countrymen . This we presume to be the very position occupied by our Whig rulers ; they are not only besieged by the whole of the unrepresented community , but they are also besieged by the representation of a majority of the electoral body ; while , instead of yielding , they fortify Do wing-street with bruto force , and entrenoh themselves within the fortress , turning the guns against those who placed them there as guardians of the fort , during pleasure or good behaviour .
We fully agree with the Editors of the Mercury upon the only principle contained in the letter now under review ; but here , also , as upon a former occasion , we are compelled to differ from their conclusion . And Why ! Because it amounts to an admission , that , whatever Government is in existence , provided it be a Whig Government , it is , of right , the accredited representation of society . If this be true , how unjust and unfair was it to threaten violence to effect a change , in 1832 , of that Government which , according to the opinions of the then constituent body , was a fair representation of
the public mind and condition . But , be it observed , that the Editors , always having an eye to the main chance , contend that Stansfkld ' s principle is erroneous , because it may let in a Tory Government , thus shifting the whole ballast to tho question of convenience , interest , and expediency . We fully admit that Government , when tolerated , and only faotiously opposed , should be recognised as the faithful mirror of publio opinion , while we think we shall show , and that tory clearly , that it is because our Government is not in this position that the whole people demand such a change as will ensure their just , fair , and faithful
representation in the Commons' House of Parliament . The Mercury dips deep into philosophy , history , and science , and even skims polemics ; but in every dive he finds himself out of his depth ; using his arguments to his own destruction , and , like a pig , as he swims , cutting his own throat . When the Editors speak of the frightful strife of by gone ages , they appear to forget that that was all occasioned by a struggle to form administrations to the taste of the age ; while they would contend that , once established , no matter how surrounded with change , instead of yielding , they should resist it ; thus never in fact , representing existing society .
The Editors speak ot the wild ferocity of barbarous ages , of the crimes , contentions , strifes , and butcheries of those times , wholly forgetting that each aud every one ot those calamities was a direct consequence of the then existing Government not being in unison with public opinion ; and that contention arose from a desire to effect a change in that , and only in that , very department for whose all but permanency , the Editors contend . We pass by the bloody scenes enacted during the reigns of the Tudors , referred to by the Editors ; while it is not a
difficult task to prove that , from the year 1796 , till 1815 , a period of only twenty-one years , there was more blood spilt than during the whole period of the Tudor dynasty , and all to change administrations , or to support administrations , at home or abroad ; thus not only spending blood and treasure to suit domestic policy to domestic habits , but endeavouring to suit foreign policy to domestic factious expediency . We now come to a consideration of the rightful means of testing whether an administration is , or is not , a fair representation of the public mind and taste simply because in power .
In arguing this matter , we are bound to consider the long , the continuous , the hanassing , and open wars waged against Administrations when much stronger in electoral support than that under which we now live . We start from the year of peace , 1815 . At that period , we find a powerful party commanding large majorities in possession of the Government ; we find the Executive entirely with them ; but not being a fair representation of the public mind , we find a reforming war , waged
and carried on with various success for sixteen years , during the whole of which time , we find the Mercury supporting every artifice by recommendation of open violence , by cowardly threats , and even by ungentleman-like assaults upon women , and all for the avowed purpose of making the administration a national mirror . This conflict eventually terminated in full proof that the administration was not constitutionally formed , and did not represent national taste and opinions , inasmuch as it waa disbanded by the nation in 1832 .
From 1832 till 1835 was a short breathing time allowed for experiment ; and a general armistice was proclaimed , as far as the unrepresented were concerned , with a view to test the question whether or not theadministration , as newly constituted , was a fair representative Government . During this brief period the very acts of Administration , without being at all bearded by unreasonable demands from withoutno organic change sought for , but merely a request for such administrative improvements as were promised by the Reform Bill—during this period ' the positive acts of Administration proved that the Reform Bill meant transfer , not change .
From 1835 to the present time , in consequence of frequent attacks upon popular rights , the fact has been made manifest that Government , as at present constituted , not only does not represent publio habits , taste , or feeling , but does not even represent any opinion , principle , or party , save and except in a 3 far as feeling , taste , and principle consists in forcible possession and enjoyment of self-satisfaction . We have , upon many former occasions , observed tbat the House of Commons , as at present constituted , is much more liberal than the constituent body of which it is the organ ; and we have proved it by the fact that , in 1832 , when the Reform Bill was in its infancy , and before it was defiled by administration , it was then almost impossible to find
candidates sufficiently liberal for the new-fledged electors ; while , now that the bill has been set to Whig time , it is almost impossible to find candidates sufficiently corrupt ; thus establishing the fact , that there t * no permanency in publio opinion—that there ought to be no permanency in public opinion—and now less than ever , when the invention of the night may -wisely call for a change upon the morrow . Hence we demand Annual Parliaments , to harmonise publio opinion—to set the representative ' s mind by the national time-piece , in order to meet those changes occasioned by circumstances over which it becomes necessary to give to the representative body a new controul , nnder guidance of the then existing state of the national mind . The Editors of the Mercury ,
Untitled Article
in speaking of inventions which have led to great improvements , which , by the way , should be called monopolies , furnish thereby the very strongest grounds for frequent changes in , or re-acknowled gments of , the governing body ; and when they instance the press as one great change of latter ages , let it be borne in mind that the very opinion created b y that press , since its reduced price in 1836 , is now the vast power and combination struggling for a fair representative Government of its strength , its taste , its feelings , and principles . If the Editors of the Mercury had said plumply , we are satisfied with
this Government , we cenld then have understood them , while thmr absurd theories about the constitution of Governments , withont bo much plain honesty , resolves itself into that , and only that . The Mercury a mode of constituting government would amount to nothing more or less than perfect despotism ; by exonerating the Government from aU responsibility upon the one hand , and depriving tha people of all controul upon the other ; and , in truth they are in complete keeping with the opinions of the advertising constituency of the Mercury , and that , after all , rather than the Parliamentary
constituency , isthegodof itsidolatry . It may appearthattho Mercury is right to a certain extent , so long as Government represents the constituant body , and ouj arguments may go for so much mere Radicalism which apply to , the question of suffrage ; but even here we meet the Mercury and them . We have shewn the great reaction in the publio mind , or rather , in the electoral mind , since 1832 , by the fact of less Liberal candidates being now chosen . Let it be borne in mind that we date the reaction front 1833 , and that since that period we have had / ic # annual registrations , and only one election ; but even taking the eight years from 1833 to 1840 , both inelusive , we find that , notwithstanding the chang *
even ia the opinions ot the electoral body , and notwithstanding the vastly increased spirit occasioned by the word of command , " Register , register , register ! " given by the fugle-meu to the respective parties—notwithstanding all this , we nevertheless find that the electors of the latter four years , 1837 1833 , 183 d , and 1840 , have not yet had an opportunity of voting . Add these facts , then , together the declension of Whig majorities of three hundred * to minorities—the fact of one-half of a newly-constituted party never having voted—the fact of the whole body of the unrepresented classes being in open hostility to the present Government ; and will even the Mercury tell us that such a Government holds rightful possession of power !
Having said eo much as regards the administration , now one word of the electoral body , and if shall be but a word , and that from the letter of the Editors . We give the following pithy passage as confirmation of our assertion , that Universal Suffrage would disfranchise the vicious , and enfranchise the virtuous of all classes The Editors say" We appeal to the workmen themselves . Let any workman in Leeds—a sober , thinking man—cast his eye along the houses of the street he lives in ; let him consider the characters of those who occupy them ; and then let him say whether all the occupants , or whether a majority ot them , are so intelligent and trustworthy tbat he would commit to them the manage
ment of the afiairs of his Benefit Society or Sick Club . If not , are they fit to choose our legislators ?" Now , we ask , can words more plainly show ths absurdity of all opposition to Universal Suffrage , or more plainly prove that a vicious majority would select representatives from a virtuous minority ; for here the Editors appeal t * what they call the " worthl « ss , " and asks them whether they would commit their affairs to the hands of their companions in vice ! We answer , no ; and we find those very parties most scrupulous in their selection of persons to manage their Benefit Sooietiet and Sick Clubs , thereby proving that they seek for those qualities in their representatives , in which they are most deficient .
Let the reader observe the sophistry and fallacy of the last sentence . The Mercury men come to the conclusion that all are not fit for the management ot their societies' affairs , and then moat arrogantly ask , If not , are they Jitio choose our legit ' lators "t Why , the question , in order to servo th « Mercury's argument , should be , " if not , are they fit to be our legislators ? " We are now mistified between the brain * guage of the Mercury and the heart-gnage of Mr . Stansfeld . Th « Mercury would enfranchise all who may be " reasonably deemed" fit ; Stanbfeld , all who would do nnto others as they would be done by , and those who love their neighbour as themselves . We have ferretted
out those whom the Editors would deem reasonably fit ; they are the J 10 occupiers of houses in counties , if , upon enquiry , they should be f ound to support the Whigs . We must take Stansfeld upon practice , and ask , if he had beea in poor Geobgb White ' s place , and George in his , whether he would have considered that his pious maxim had been practically carried out , by being incarcerated for want of a thousand pounds' bail , and whether , in this instance , he loved his neighbour as himself . We have thought it right to say thus much , not that our opponents are likely to make converts , but because we choose to fight every enemy to the Suffrage with his own weapons , and not to leave one shred of false argument untorn in the whole weft of deceit and treachery .
We have now shown that the reservoir cannot be pure while all the channels are corrupt , and shift the question as they may , not all the force , intimidation , threats , sophistry , and tyranny of which the unconstitutional Government , their local bullies , and hired establishment ean command , shall frighten us , or make us turn a single hair ' s-breadth from the straight path leading to the goal of freb dom , happiness , and independence . Universal Suffrage , blow breezes as they may , shall be our day * thaught asd our night-dream .
Untitled Article
THE CARLOW ELECTION . Never has it fallen to our lot to notice so anomalous , bo unexpected and decisive a triumph , as the temporary victory just achieved by Col . Bruen over everything Christian , moral , and even human . We have not room for the speeches made by the candidates , their proposers , seconders , or backers ; therefore our readers must rest satisfied with an outline of the whole affair . Bbubn , an exterminating high Tory Protestant landlord , was the Tory candidate ; and is now , by an immense majority , called the county ' s representative . Ponsonbt , a relative of the Greys , th »
Besboroughs , and many other noble Whig families , backed by the Fitzwiixiams , Tighes , and other Whig families , was the Whig candidate . Stanlsy ' * BUI was the test ; the question of Irish policy waa not at all introduced ; in fact , the contest was actually * Whig and Tory struggle ; the Tories putting forward the most obnoxious man , perhaps , to be found in Ireland ; the Whigs , upon their part , selecting * candidate , neither pledged to , nor nursed up in , any ultra principle ; hia only requisite being to uphold the present men , without reference to system . Tht Rev . Sir . Maher , a person residing in the county , and evidently well acquainted with all its affairs * charged Mr . B& * bn with having , in two years , ejected , and driven upon the wide world , more that *
mien huTidrsd of the native * from his estate . In tail enumeration the Rev . Gentleman appears to hart mistaken the influence of Mr . Bbukh over the middle men of one denomination , Ballytarsna , for the immediate act of the exterminator himself . From Ballytarsna , Mr . Maher charged Bsue * -with having ejected 101 of those poor creatures No , " says Ba « EW , " I was not the landlord of Ballytarsna ; I qhlt eeceited thk bests ; and with the ejecting I had nothing to do ; so what becomes of the Rev . Gentleman's charge V The Colonel , however , himself substantiates it by this very denial ; for ha neter attempts to contradict the fact of having banished the remaining six hundred and odd ! He reminds us of the Irishman who waa charged with the mu der of his neighbour .
Untitled Article
4 THE NORTHERN ST A B .. T " ; l ' , ,, / /"' ' , ,, .. " . ;"""" ' __ J ' _
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 12, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct691/page/4/
-