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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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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . r Continued from our sixth page . ) Bid that the . principles of his Govemmeat were for dgicg away with all restrictions upon trade—that the TOJce bad gone forth—that the hand-writing waa oa } he trail , and that he who ran could read it The electors did read it , and gave the Noble Lord bis reply— ( laughter . ) What said Mr . Barnes , of the Leeds Mercury ? he declared that it was not the landed interest , but the manufacturers "who returned the present two Honourable Members to the House as representatrves of the West Riding of Yorkshire . The ma nfactarers then had , therefore , declared in favour ol a sliding scale —( cheem ) They had declared in favour of a continuance of the Com Laws , and not for a total repeal of them—icheers . ) During the recess of Parlia-_
ment he thought it his duty to mark the progress of the anti-Coin Law League , who were agitating the country with the most Tiolent and infamous placards , headed with the word " the base , bloody , and brutal landlords that were keeping the bread of life from the poor , " ¦ while they were sending forth agitators who were uttering falsehoods still more infamous than what were on those placards ; and to pay the expence of which the Xeaguers were , during the past week , " reposing * their irivesand daughters at Manchester—( cries of " oh , oh , " and laughter . ) Whilst they were agitating the country , ke ( Mr . Ferrand ) made an inquiry into the truth # onnected with their movements . He found that since tae establishment of the Corn Laws , within the last thirty years , thb Messrs . Marshall , the great
manufacturers , of Leeds , had accumulated a fortune of £ 2 , 000 000 , and had purchased immense landed States 11—( hear , hear . ) This firm appeared not to be satisfied with the carrying out of the principle of free trade in tail country , but they were erecting large mills ia Belgium . On the 29 th January , 1842 , there appeared an advertisement in the Leeds Intelligmuxr , -which stated that there was a person of great commercial experience in Brussels who was desirous of meeting a partner . The advertiser had a splendid estate of 100 acres of land , ¦ which was situated upon the banks of the Dedal , and in one of the most picturesque parts of the country , situated within about three mDes from the railway at Louvaine , that he would like a partner to join him in the working of a flax and tew milL There
was also a corn mill upon the estate . Aye ( said Mi . Ferrand ) there was a secret about this corn milL The advertisement went on to say , that there were numerous populous Tillages in the neighbourhood—that ¦ rages were considerably lower than in any other part of the country—that an exact estimate had been made of the number of operatiTes necessary to be employed iaaflix-inill of 16 , 000 or 15 , 000 spindles , at a earing of £ 2 , 000 annually—thear , bear . ) There was the great secret ; the saving in the amount of wages . He would now mention & few instances , to show the injurious effect of the Corn Laws on the manufacturers . The Hon . Member for Manchester ( Mr . M > Philips ) stood as high as ever ia credit on the Exchange at Manchester . He was a man possessed of immense
wealth—{ "hear , " andalangh . ) Then there was the Hon . Member for Salford ( Mr . Brotherton ) who had long since retired from trade , haying amassed an enormous fortune ; but so horror-struck waa he with the cruelty and oppression of the factory system , that he had determined to spend the remainder of his life in trying to remedy it—ilaughter . ) The Hon Memb « r for Stockport ( Mr . Cobden ) had spent bis life in accumuiittog money ; and when , night after night , he was asserting that the Corn Laws had mined the manufacturera in Lancashire , it was naming his mill night and dayll !—( bear , hear . ) The Hon . Member for Bolton ( Dr . Bo wring ! was remarkably urgent for a repeal of the Corn Laws—ihear . ) He carried out free trade principles to such an extent against the
public purse , that he had a ngut to be considered a freebooter —( loud laughter , and cries of " order . " ) He begged pardon if he had said a word too much ; but he was quite cerhun that the working classes were much surprised that he should have accepted 410 , 000 of the public money —( laughter . ) In his ( Sir . Ferr&nd ' s ) own neighbourhood he had made some inquiries into the state of trade , and of the injurious effects of the Corn Laws npon the Corn-Law-Repealing manr > fceturers ; and he would call the attention of the House to a placard dated the 8 * h of May , 2841 . In the commencement of that month , ( when her Majesty ' s late Government were tottering to the fall ) a circular was issued throughout the country calling en their friends te agitate for a fixed duty on corn . One of
these circulars found its way to Bingley , and a meeting of the land and mill-owners , and other persons interested in trade , was held in that town , ffm . Ellis , Esq , in the chair . It was then stated that toe stocking and woollen trade carried on in the parish , had been ia a most depressed state for the last three or four years ; that such depression had reduced to poveitf and distress great numbers of the working classes , who were wandtriag through tbe day in search of work ia a state of miserable despondency ; and that this was to be attributed to the Corn Laws . The petition , which Wes of considerable length , contained s vast quantity of the phrases of fee Anti-Corn Law Leagne—{ laughter . ) There were thirteen signatures attached to this petition , one copy of which was transmitted to the House of
Commons , another to the House of Lords , and a third to the Secretary of State for the Home Department , to be used by him in a certain quarter in order to obtain a dissolution of Parliament —( laughter . ) The Chairman of that meeting had realised a large sum of money , purchased a mill , as well as considerable landed property ; and during the last three or four years , when the cotton and worsted trade were said to be in such a depressed state , he had erected one of the higest mills in the country , and taken another . The lecond signature waa that of a gentleman , a member of i firm which , duringthe last twenty-five or thirty years , had been i mining four very large cottoiwnllls ; they hod bought estates wrath £ 18 , 000 a year . They were possessed of an income of £ 25 , 000 a year ; and were still
proceeding in the purchase ef property and the accumulation of wealth ! The next signature was that of a person who was a linen-draper thirty years ago , bol Tko , durinz the last three or four years , had purchased one mill and teken two more , which were fitted np with power-looms . This person was now carrying on what in Yorkshire was called " a rattling trade "—( loud Iaoghter . ) The fourth on the list was an operative paper-maker twelve years ago ; but he had , during the last three or four years , purchased one of the largest mills in the county , some landed estates , kept his carnage and pair , and lived in a " rattling" style—icentarned laughter . ) The fifth signature was that of a jasnnfscturer . who during the lasS twenty years had Bade £ 40 . 000 or £ 50 000 in the worsted trade ; and
daring the time that trade was so deeply depressed he ertcted one of the largest cotton mills , and fitted it up "fith power-looms . The sixth was a grocer in the town , who had accumulated a very nice income , and educated hi * family in the first-rate styla This gentleman happened u > be a dissenter ; and , to prove his haired of the church , he had brought up one of his sons to enter it , and receive a little of its wool!—daughter . ) The ntxt indmdua ] on the list , three or four years ago purchased a very large mill in the pariah , and a considerable S ^ antiiy of land surronndiDg it The mill was fitted £ p with power-iooms , and be also waa carrying on a 11 rattling" trade—( laughter . ) Then came thesignature of a maaufactart-r who had fitted up his mill with powerkonu , and that of a person who tad made a large forfcmeio trade and then retired from it The remaining
* 2 * Jtfjttrfcs Wfcre those of persons in some degree connected with those whom he had already mentioned—( bar , hear , and langhtez . ) He wished this waa the onlj matter connected with the parties to whom he tad referred . But he would now mention a fact which * ould prevent Hon . Members from crying " hear , tear . " ' so jvs > My . The chairman of that meeting , the tzzn who placarded the parish of Bingley with theae reso ! ntksna pointing out the landed propr ietors as the persons uio had brought misery and distress on the Workpeople ; this man , at the time he occupied that chair , -was on the point of taking a mill . Soon afterwards that mill was fitted up with pomr-looms . But &d th ; t gcrtltman go into Bingley market-place and B to the people ; " Why stand ye idle all the day ^ g ? Why eat ye the bread of idleness ? Why do
Jw > not ct . me into my ail ] and "work ? " Did he do & * + ? No 2 - He went into the county of Lancaster , * Btre ibat infamous conspiracy existed between the Poor law CommiBsi oners and the cotton spinners foT * i >* Purpose of equalising wages , and reducing the 10 P- * cent , that had been advanced upon the-wages of the P 001 ' ¦ eavtrs . He went there , and picked up a large Ec&ber of poor families , "who had been reduced to such * * tat ; of misery and diitrcsa by their former tm-Pl ° j « s that t ^ ey were glad to eat their fovd from off | htir duckbills ! He brongbt these poor people te the to » n uf Bingley , there to amass another fortune fro 1 " thtir kine » s in his new mill— ( hear , hear . ) He forgot the claims of the working classes of Bmticwkg forgt , t those men whom he had excited to 2 fitch of dtspeiatiou—he forgot that be along with Otiiti- Diatnfi ^ tnnprs hnri Tt . ired and bred them in the
p&n * li—fo corf y ^ t Bua t £ eT were cow in a state of the Tnifcoit wretchedness—lie had left them to " wander through the day in search cf work in a state of tt : sera >> ir cespendtney . " The fact waa he " dare not ask tfce Bm ^ lfcj people to labour for him for the paltry turn £ e tot tctfce starving itavings of the Lancashire millowners willing to take ! Hon . Members did sot now ° 7 " htar , hear , " and " laugh- " No , they blushed at Rich a disclosure ; and they ought to twznble at such an exposure ? This man bad sprung the mine too soon for tt * auti . Com Law League as Manchester . He had let « uj the atciet of the great anti-Corn Law excitement throughout tit country ; be cad ltt the working classes in tht nurth of England know their motives , and -what » onld be the consequence of the repeal of the Corn * a »* ? That consequence would be the reduction of jfceii wages —{ cheers ) - to the same level as wages on we . Continent ; the filling of the mills with power Knis , and the " casting cf' of the workpeople to
wandi-r throngh the day in search of work in a state * miserable despondency . "—ibear , hear . ) The antic hw advocates assert that the great number of the ^ uiactarers m the country were insolvent ,. and tL ^ t J * Corn Laws are the cause of that insolvency . He ' - ^ P . ) had jcquirfcrt into that Eittrtion , aid he tstiS Ji ^ rj to tsy it -was true as fir as the insolvency -went . Jfce Corn Lu" 3- « , however , v . ere tot Vbt ciuse of itat f ^ i vti . ry . The reason was tlis—tLty tever were 7 * 7 * = " in their lives— ( loud laughter . ! He w . uid r ^^ T ^ ui to describe to tLe houte the nmmfaclurtrs ? * be tGnh of Engknd tt the present day . There * e in : a rtniEuit Itft of the hith-miacediand ^ Lon-
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ourable class of men who formerly had raiaed the trade and commerce of thecountry te the highest pitch of respectability . There were but the remnant of those men whowalked about the streets with honesty depicted in their countenances . There were but few of these men left now . There were a few , he admitted , -who tried to tread in theii steps ; but the remainder -were men who knew no bounds to ' their insatiable thirst after wealth ; they were gamblers in trade . They were a set of men who hsi been set np in trade by the joint-stock banks—( hear , hear , and cheers}—and many of these banka were little better than stores for the protection of swindling . They got their names entered on the jointstock bank books ; they then went to a woolatapler , and offered to buy a quantity of -wool of him . They
referred him to the joint-stock bank . The answer was , "Ob , they are highly respectable j they have their names oa our books . " They purchaaed the wool at three months credit , then turned it fey their power mills into goods , and by the fellowing week they had it in the market , and sold it in the market for ready money . But they were forced to sell The consequence was , they had to sacrifice a large amount to the merchant who bought to sell . They did not pay for it at th « r end ' of three months—they had two months further credit , and they had to pay five months * interest to the woolstapler . The consequence was , that these men seemed to go on very prosperously as long as there waa a call for the goods in the market ; but when there came the slightest stagnation i * trade , they
immediately broke , and what a scene there was in the Court of Bankruptcy—( hear , and loud cheers . ) They had had exposures in the Court of Bankruptcy , which shewed the effects that snch a state of things produced , when the honest merchant and manufacturer were broken-hearted in consequence of the losses they have to sustain from such men . It often happened , also , that such men spent the money that had been confided to them by their unsuspecting neighbours oi workpeople , and placed in their hands in trust for their families . This was not unusual ; and the result was that the unfortunate families were reduced to beggary . These men were scarcely beyond the verge of the Bankruptcy Court before they were enabled to start in business again . They got some friend , il they could pay
some Is . or Is . 6 d- in the pound , to come forward and prove for a large debt , and probably to become the petitioning creditor , and they soon managed to get their certificate and start again , and run the same race over that they did before . He now casie to what were the designs of the Corn Law League . The commencement of this Corn Law League toak place three years ago ; they attempted at first only to try for an alteration in the Corn Laws . They soon fonnd they had yery few supporters in the country . They then held out terms to the enemies of the Church , and said that if they would join them , as Boon as they had carried the repeal of the Corn Laws , then the Established Church should be attacked . After this offer had been made to the country , the Hon . and Learned Member fur Cork was invited
over to take his seat at their dinner . He then declared in the presence of these manufacturers , that they were possessed of sufficient wealth in Manchester to buy up all the landed estates of the nobility of England . He also aaserted tbat " the landlords * venison w ^ s mixed with the widow ' s tear , and that their claret was died with the orphan ' s blood "—aralher cool assertion of the Hon . Member fer Cork , when it was remembered that he had existed for many years out of the pence extracted from the . poor . But he would ask what had the farmers of England to expect from the cotton lords who were able to purchase up the landed interest 1 It was their principle , when they purchased an estate , immediately to have it re-valued . They carried the
principle of the ledger into their rent-roll , the rents were deubled . He had known many families in his part of the country ruined by the oppression of these men , when from . the proceeds of the workpeople in their mills they had amassed sufficient to enable them to purchase an estate in land , and become landlords . He remembered an instance which took place many years ago , where ' a poor farmer had his rent doubled . He struggled on for a few years to try to me ^ t it , for he could not bear to leave the spot He had to pay a few hundreds which he had saved , as increased rental to his landlord ; and when the time came that his cattle were seized for rent , he died of a bruken heart His wife waa not long before ahe followed him . Their eldest aon , " just bursting into manhood , endeavoured
stilt to keep the family together ; but the last which he ( Mr . F . ) had heard of him was , that reason had lost her empire over his brain , and that he had become the inhabitant of an asylum . He would ask what the members of this Corn Law League wanted ? They -waBted to increase their profits by reducing the price of labour . That was the secret of their grand boon . " They wished to become the corn merchants of England . They wished ' to convert one part of their mills into a granary , and the other part into machinery to grind the corn —( a laugh . ) Hon . Members might laugh ; they could not deceive the working classes ; they had tried to make them believe differently ; but with all their agitators they con ] d net do it Thus the poor of England were to so down to these men , into the
manufacturing districts , with money in their sacks , to buy corn . That was part of the system ; but what came next ? Had Honourable Members never heard of the truck system ? ( Hear , hear . ) Had they never heard ef labourers having th « ir wages paid in goods ? That was part of the system . But he would now refer more particularly to the treatment of the poor by the manufacturers in the North of England ; and he would produce before the House such a system of tyranny , oppression , and plunder as was disgraceful to a civilised country . When the poor went to receive their work of the manufacturers , they found it now consisted of a very inferior article . The wool , and the warps , which were dealt out to them , was so poor that they scarcely could comb the wool , or convert the warps into pieces .
On the Saturday came the period which ought to be the sweetest of the week for the working man , —when he ought to receive the price of his labour , the reward of his toiL He went with his work , and who received it ? Not the master of the mill ; no , but an overlooker . The overlooker examined it . and found fault with it He said " You have done this work ill ; I must deduct so much from your combing , or your -weaving ;' and the poor weavers , who were only receiving 3 s . 6 d . or 4 i . a week , were constantly mulcted by these overlookers , who had their wages paid from what they deducted from these pool people and a per ctntage on the amount . ' Then what came next ? The poor people had not the small remnant paid ia moneyit was paid in goods , in rotten flour , and " cheap corn . "
When the poor man carried it home to his wife and family , » f « r in vain endeavouring to induce his master to pay him his wages in money , he found feat the flour which he had taken home the week before and given to his family they had not been able to consume . It had made the children sick . Me asserted thai this teas truth I He had it torn the mouths of hundreds of the working classes . And the men who treated their labourers in this horrible manner were the men for whem the Janded- interest of England were to be destroyed . ' These were the men for whom the yeomanry were to be trampled under foot ! These were the men who were to Become the possesors cf the English soil ! These -were the men who were mining the character of British merchants and manufacturers on the Contitent !
These were the men who moved and had their being for money alone I ! They cared not how they got itwhat cruelty and oppression they inih ' cted , so long as they amassed wealth from the sweat of the p&or man ' s brow . They refused him the price of his labour ! They kcked for nothing but enormous profits . ' Tney dtclaredthere was no religion in trade ! They were , to use the language of Mr . Burke , a set of men " who mace their ledger into their Bible , their counting-house into their church , and their money into their god . " He bad heard a great deal said about the principles of free trade , aid that they were to save the country . It bad happened that during the recess two Noble Lordi —the Member for the city sf London and the Member far Tiverton—had been something like the poor of the
parish of Bingley . They had been " wanderiDg in search of employment , and could not £ r . d it . " ( Lond laughter-and cheers . ) There were kind and humane persons afBridgenorth who had drawn them up an address of condolence . He had not a copy of the Neble Lord ' s reply , but he ( Mr . Ferrand ) remembered that he asserted tbat the principles of free trade were sound , and that the Right Hon . Baronet ( Sir R . Peel ) had an easy task before him . " He ( Mr . Ferrand ) supposed the Noble L » -rd had been trying to prove his assertion in the last few days in that House . ( Laughter . ; The Noble Lord the late Secretary for Foreign Affairs stated , in answer to an address presented to him from his supporters , that he had endeavoured to apply to the commercial legislation ef the country the principles as
w ^ icb had loug been acknowledged forming the oniy sure foundation for the permanent prosperity of the country . He { Mr . Ferrand ) confessed he was a yery dull personr but had tried to find out what were the sound principles of free trade . If gentlemen opposite were to be believed , Smith , M'CulIoch , Bicardo , and Huskisson had only seen the subject through a glass darkly ; it was reserved for the Hon . Member for Wolverbampton to dispel the cleuda . The Hon . Members for Boltoa and Stroud were to become bright constellations in the science—( great laughter . ) The Hon Member forDnajfries ( Mr . Ewait ; would be the evening star—( renewed laughter . ) The two Noble Lords opposite would be the welldefined social
sun and moon in this expansive , - system . The Hon . Member then proceeded to read several extracts from the works of Adam Smith , M'Culloch , and Maltbus , with the view of proving that their views were at variance vrith those entertained by the Hon , Members to whom he had referred , and that they were favourable to the protection of domestic industry . He concluded by saying that he wonld appeal to the landed proprietors of England , and ask them whether they wonld assist the anti-Corn Law League of Manchester in carrying out their tyranny , oppression , and wicked designs for the reduction of the wages of the working classes . . MrClat moved the adjournment of the debate .
. Mr P £ MB £ BIO-n obtained leave to bring in a Bill to ' enable bis Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to grant leases of the Duchy of Cornwall . The Bill " was read a first time , and ordered to be read a second time on Friday . . The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the House adjourned at a quarter to one o clock .
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SOWERBT- —On Shiove Tuesday a ball was holden at this place , the proceeds of which were to go to the forthcoming Convention . ^
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NATIONAL PETITION . TO THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND . We , the undersigned Delegates of the West Midland District of Scotland take this opportunity of addressing you at the present time upon a subject of-some importance to the success ef the common cause in which we are all engaged—the Peple ' s Charter . The ChavtiBta in Scotland looked forward to the meeting to be held in Glasgow upon the 3 rd of January , 1842 , as one of great importance in its results to the cause of Chartism . A united course of action in pursuit of a common object , the people expected as the labours of the Convention . Jn this , we think , the conntry have not been disappointed—their proceedings , with one exception , being characterised by prudence , firmness , and conciliation—the exceDtion to which we
have alluded being the discussion and the vote in the Convention upon the National Petition . This discussion showed more of local feeling and national prejudice than might have been expected in a body of patriotic and intelligent men struggling agaiDst class legislation . Union of action with both England and Ireland all who took part in the discussion admitted to be necessary to our future Buccess . Why , then , it may be asked , oppose the naming of two great grievances complained against by the working population in these conatries , and determinedly upheld by those who profit by class legislation . Such conduct was neither wise nor dignified on their part If the discussion upon the subject matter of the Petition showed a proud and narrow spirit , the vote upon the Petition in the
Convention ought to have consigned the idea of a new petition to oblivion . The casting vote of the Chairman makes a legal decision in a meeting ; but when the Chairman claims a vote as a member in the meeting , the casting Tote in a popularly convened meeting in snch circumstances makes its legality donbtful . In this case it makes the Petition his petition , and those who Bign it along with him . It can claim no higher authority . It cannot be looked upon as the petition of the representativea of the Chartists of Scotland . Bat there are other objections of another kind to be stated . The delegate from Arbroath , Jlontrose , Brechin , and Forfar voted for the new Petition , while the towns he represented in this Convention had , six weeks previous , adopted the National Petition entire , and had largely signed it , and are doing so still . It is reported that other delegates in this
Convention have acted a similar part upon the National Petition . For these reasons , and others which might be brought forward , we think the new pttitiou cannot be regarded as the act of the people of Scotland , dene through taeir representatives in the Convention held at Glasgow , 3 rd January la * t Those who might be inclined to sign this new petition upon the ground that it was one adoptod by the representatives of the Chartists of Scotland , will now know upon whnt authority it reits its claim to be considered a National Petition , and they will act accordingly . The people of England and Ireland will learn from these facts the real feelings and sentiments of the Chartists of Scot'and , and the amount of signatures to the old and new petitions will prove the extent of sympathy felt for the wrongs of Ireland and England by the people of Scotland .
As one of the six Central Committees of Scotland , we have ever taken an active part in Chartist agitation , Chartism being the public voice throughout the whole of our district . In all our past struggles we have looked to England and Ireland as our fellow-labourers in the same glorious cause—the emancipation of the people from class legislation in the three kingdoms . Under the old nationality , local evils peculiar to the country must exist ; these will be best known to the people themselves , and we think they ought to be stated in every petition praying for the Charter , as the remedy to remove these evils . These considerations induced the people in our district to adopt the National Petition , and we call upon all other Committees to be active in signing the National Petition , and to make known their sentiments to the people of Ireland and England upon this interesting subject , and shew there is no division among the people of the three kingdoms , this being the enly way to teach our leaders to represent the people , not themselves .
George Kattray , John Drummond , Andrew M'Keszie , Thos . Be ' xxib , DAViD HiKitowER , James Pat ^ hson , John Manshall , John Harboweb , Wm . Cameron . Coalsnaughton , 5 th February , 18 i 2 .
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. ^ . _ ADRRESS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL LIVING IN BRIGHTON TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION . Brethren , —The time having arrived in which it is our duty to yield up the authority with which we have been invested , as a portion of the great Council of the Xatioual Charter Association , v ? e cannot give up our office without addressing to you some few observations as a retrospect of the past year . In this retrospect we shall , of course , confine ourselves to events more particularly associated with our immediate locality . Whatever opinions may be entertained of us by our fellow members in Brighton , we feel assured tbat we have done nothing to forfeit the confidence that was reposed in us at the first ; if we have not done as much as might have been wished for , we know that the members generally being fully aware of the restricting circumstances under which we have been situated , will make every reasonable allowance for what we have not done , in furtherance of the great object in view .
We have been , and are very much restricted and cramped in our exertions in this town . The greatest of out restrictions is , of course , the general poverty of tbat class to which we are nevertheless proud to belong , namely , the really industrious class of the people . The next restriction we have had to experience is , the want of a larger and more commodious place of meeting . This ia a restriction which we have loag and severely felt , and we sincerely deplore the fact that a spacious room for meetings and social entertainment ,
to which the members could at all times have access , is yet , and must for a considerable time , we fear , be a desideratum . It has been our wish , and the wish too of our friends , to see an establishment made where we should not only be able to hold large and frequent meetiues , and get up social entertainments ; but also , to provide reading and coffee rooms , and a home for the best tried veterans whom we have the honour to possess . Most sincerely do we hope that the time will come when arrangements of tuch a nature can be entered into .
Other restrictions upon our energies have arisen from the prejudice and party spirit that have been exhibited towards us . But in proportion as our real objects become understood by the other ' ..-classes of society , a gr « at deal of tnat mistrust and jealousy will die away . We have but to adhere stedfastly to the pato we have hitherto pursued , and we shall find that our own strength will increase , while the forces opposed to us will diminish . Having thus alluded to the mistrust and prejudice that have started up to thwart our purposes , we cannot but recal to your mind a meeting tbat was convened by the High Constable , in the beginning of 1841 , to adopt measures in opposition to the introduction of the Poor Law Amendment Act into Brighton . We , as your Council , considered it expedient to attend that great and important meeting , and the 2 » al manifested
on that occasion by all the Brighton Chartists , produced results that must never be forgotten . Mote sincerely opposed to tbe tyrannous operation of toe New Poor Law Bill than the other political parties , despite their great professions of sympathy , we f . It a strong conviction that a petition praying for tbe withholding of the operation of the New Poor Law Bill from Brighton could in no way be invalidated by a forcible statement of the canst of all oppressive enactments , and the real means of arresting toe evil complained of . Ibe opposition which we experienced you all remember ; but you will rememcer , too , that the triumph was on our side . To that event we attach great importance , for it was on our part an exhibition of moral strength that non . had given us credit for possessing . From that time we have , as a party , gained ground ; if we cannot achieve what we desire , we have shewn that weare not so miserably weak as we have been said to be .
With this we are led to associate , though happening more recently , namely , the election for this borough . There are , unquestionably , a great many who affect to ridicule the position we assumed on that occasion ; but while we are sensible of the goad effects of our exertions at that time , in the business of the election , we can afford to bear the ridicule that may be levelled at us . We had long borne the credit of being able to " make mischief , " as it is called , at oar town meetings ; but it was reserved for the election of- 1841 to shew tbe aristocratic parties thut working men were capable of taking a prominent place on the hustings , and tbat they could secure a dtgree of courtesy and attention not always paid to rank and wealth . By this event , and our own exertions on the occasion , we established ourselves S 3 a political party , and it wDl be dur own fault if we do not retain and improveour position .
While on this topic , we feel it our duty to express the esteem and gratitude which we entertain towards Ur . Brooker , who stood forth in so disinterested and kind a manner as the representative of eur principles on the hustings , and throughout the recent election . To that gentleman we owe much ; and nething can afford us greater pleasure than to record his disinterested adherence to the principles of civil and religious liberty . To him , as well as to us , it will afford a lasting gratification to have witnessed from the hustings to triumphant a show of hands in favour of the principles he advocated .
As one of the results of the recent election , we shall be pardoned in recalling to your mind the coutteous manner in which the use of the Town Hall was , hot long since , extended us ; on which occasion the second National Petition was enthasiastically adopted , and "wheD , too , our proceedings were sanctioned by the presence of tbe Borough Members , and of many others who had hitherto deemed us too dangerous and illiterate to be associated with . Contrasted ¦ with this we must also recal . to your remernberance the fact , that when , in the previous Dec . we wanted the use of the large room of the Hall , for a meeting to memoralize the Queen on behalf of the ex-
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patriated patriots . Frost Williams , » nd Jones , out request was most partictttoly opposed . May we then not hope that the paltry prejudices which bad existed to our detriment are fast passing away , and that ere long we shall enjoy what we have aright to enjoy , the nnrestricted expression of political sentiments . Connected with the proceedings of the past year , wa « our petition on behalf of poor Holberry . We had flattered ourselves that in effecting his removal to his present prison-house , his condition and treatment would have been greatly improved ; it-is a source of sincere pleasure to hear tbat our hopes have not been disappointed We trust that fresh exertions will be made more effectively on his behalf , v
The visit of Mr . M'Douall , and more recently of Mr . O'Brien to Brighton , are circumstances that we shail all remember with extreme gratiacation . That these gentlemen have been the unflinching advocates of the principles of Chartism , is ia itself enough to claim onr respect and attachment : that they have endured impiisonment on our behalf , must rendor them more worthy of our gratitude and attachment V In the commencement of these observations we remarked that tbe poverty of the industrious classes is
a great restriction on their political exertions . We have deeply experienced this . Ibat this is the fact , does nevertheless enhance beyond all praise their enthusiastic readiness to subscribe to the many laudable funds that have been established , for the purposes of the association , and to meet the necessities of the injured . We feel great pleasure in bearing testimony to the promptitude of the Brighton Chartists in this respect , and their self-denial in responding by pecuniary aid , to the -wants ef their Chartist friends in various parts of the kingdom .
Thus in our immediate locality , during the past year , subscriptions have been raised for several praiseworthy purposes to an amount not less than from sixty to seventy pounds , a sum that cannot bis regarded as trifling , when the number and the circumstances of the subscribers are considered . Our correspondence has been very great and exterisiver—as you are already aware very cheering correspondence has been received from Chichester , Southampton , tie ., tc . We trust that ere long we shall hear of the flag of Chartism being firmly planted in several places around us . We have now briefly referred to theprinci ple circumstances of the past year , and with these observations we give up the the office we have fulfilled , most earnestiy trusting that as Brighton has been , it will continue to be , an important locality in the wide spread tract of the National Charter Association .
Signed , William Woodward , George Giles , John Allen , Rob * . Lonsdell , Robert Cooling , Reuben Allcorx , Frederick page , John . Page , William Flower , sub-Treasurer ^ Nathaniel Morling , sub-Secretary . Brighton , Feb . 2 nd , 1842 .
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^^* " ~ - , , . LORD ASHLEY AND THE TEN HOURS' FACTORY QUESTION . A general meeting of delegates from the Short Time Committees of the West Riding of the county of York , established to promote the legislative adoption ef a Ten Hours' Factory Bill , was convened at tae New Inp , Bradford , on Wednesday , the 9 th of February , inst , when the following address was unanimously agreed to : — ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ' . - ¦ : ¦ . - . ¦ - .. - ¦ . ' ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ '¦ . . - .
To the Right Hon . Lord Ashley , if . P . We , the delegates of the Short Time Committees of the . West Riding , having assembled for the purpose of considering the course which ought to be pursued on the factory question , feel ourselves called upon publicly to acknowledge your Lordship ' s letter of tho 2 nd in&t . intimating that " Sir Robert Peel had signified his opposition to the Ten Hours' Bill ; " we cannot conceal the fact that we feel deeply disappointed ; and grieved sit this announcement Our hopes and expectations bad been raised , not merely from the justness of the cause we have prevailed on your Lordahip to advocate for us in the House of Commons , hut from the representations of our deputation , that her Majesty ' s Ministers appeared to understand the true interests of the country , and were impressed with the necessity of further amelioration in the condition of children and young persons employed infactories .
We are indeed grateful to your Lordship for the renewed expression cf your determination to persevere in your endeavours to obtain , an enactment which shall better the condition of the working classes and be of permanet-t advantage to our country . .. We- 'proml ' sei our continued co-operation with your Lordship , and will employ every constitutional means in demanding an improvement cf a system which is rendered indefensible because demoralizing and destructive in its influences , by labour too protracted for social and moral , as well as physical health . . . Surety * ruy Lonl , also , we have a right to fetl convinced of the propriety of our claim when we perceive an almost uniform disposition iu the public mind favourable to the Ten Hours' Bill , None but the avaricious , tbe prejudiced , or the ignorant ,
attempt to justify the existing system , and their justification of it never appears before an open and public company for discussion . Nor can any question of importance be instanced where so few petitions have ever been presented to the legislature as against the Ten Houra'Bill . When we reflect on the reasonableness and necessity of the measure which has been entruttad to your Lordship ' s care , when we advert te the fact that even after we have obtained what we ask for , young persons will still ha ire to be confined and toiled in a factory atmosphere from six o ' clock in the morning to six in the evening with only intervals for meals , ( for this would be the operation pf the Ten Hours' Bill , ) we are persuaded tbat the day must speedily arrive when the common sense and justice of humanity will establish the measure as one essential to the character of a civi .
lized country . We sincerely sympathise with your Lordship ; and regret that your patriotic exertions in behalf of the operative classes , are not appreciated "in certain quarters" according to their merits , but we have hut lost our hopes that when the question shall again be brought before Pailiament , the claims of . injured factory children will be paramount . Trusting that your Lordship may be blessed by Divine Providence in all yonr effurts to advance the welfare of our common country , We remain , my Lord , Your Lordship ' s most obedient and most grateful Servants , ( Signed on behalf of the Meeting of Delegates from the Short Time Committees of the West Riding , ); Matthew Balme , Secretary . Bradford , February 9 th , 1842 .
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TO JOHN ASS . My dear John , —You must pardon me if for once in addressing you I feel it necessary 46 sacrifice polite ; ness to truth , and in ilieu of adopting your favouriu name of Bull , use that to which your conduct indisputably entitles ycii . "' . ..-. . The bull has some noble qualities in him , such nt courace , impatience of ipjury , and no lack of strength to avenge it . The ass ia not without his good qualities either , but they are of the passive ' . ao . ii .. He is a capital ft How for receiving kicks and thumps without wincing —soareyou , John ! He patiently suffers hunger and
cold and wet , and a comfortless stab e after a hard day ' s work , or forced idleness—and so do yon , John ; he iiinely enough bears any load his four logs will enable him to stand under , and his master may please te lay upon him , and never thinks of throwing off until his back is neatly bioken—neither do you , John ! but it is useless to carry the parallel of your relative conditions aud temperament further , for were it continued till Doomsday , ; th 6 result must be , most unquestionably , that yon are wore entitled to the appellation of Ass than Bull .
And now , John , prick up your long , ears and listen while a few ¦ words are addressed to you by one of those who , like yourself , is reduced to the condition of a beast of burthen , but has not enough of the ass in hia composition to forgtt that he is a man , and , as such , has inherent rights vested -in him by nature and society which he is not disposed passively to have trampled by any one , and certainly not , by those to whom he owes no affection , and from whom he receives no benefit Ours is a theatrical sort of worldi John ; and in no circumstances of it is it more so than as regards politics . As far as we are concerned in such matters the curtain has once more been lifted up , and the drama commenced ; whether the entertainment provided for us will be traffic or farcical , time , I suppose , will show ;
but as respects the cast-off : parfe 3 there can be little doubt , if we may judge from the past , that broad farce will occupy the talents of our principal performers and the every-day business connected with the suffering or tragedy department will be left as usual to the millions , who are by this time so well accastomed to its various incidents tbat they require no aid from the prompt or to delineate their respective characters / with all the fr ightfulness of truth ; foi instance we have daily in one place or other of her Majesty ' s dominions , some thousands of them perishing with cold and hunger , with abundance stareing them in the face to mock and flout
them by the contrast . 1 call this tragedy .: We have . at home broken-hearted families aeparateil from each other , not by the grave under the dispensation of providence , for that would be natural / but by tlnion BaatUes ,, under tb « intetventioa of human laws that , are not natural . This is traged y , too I Then we ' . have industry walking barefooted and hungry about the streets ^ to' iVoid the noise of bis half-famishing and half-clothed children at home!—the mother forced by dire necessity to steal , that her children may not perish before her eyeB--and those children made outcasts from society , because a mother ' s feelings overcome her reverence for those laws by which her family wasi beggared . : ; :
Here I ihink is enough of tragedy for the millions , and excellently well do t&ei parts become them , for , like you , John , they delight In exhibiting ^ their powers of endurance . But I wanfc to learn , if I can , whether the same distributiorj of paits is likely to continue through another season ? Because , if so , ; I must at once enter my protest against the amangement " : ' . - - - ¦ - . ' . - ' . - "¦ ' : > - . ' . . ¦ ¦ ¦ : ;¦ ' . ; ¦ : ¦¦ . ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦!''' ¦¦ ¦ . "¦ ¦ ¦ ' ^ - ¦ ' . The " Stars" of our Home Company have for some time past had a pretty good spell in the winning , or lauehing line , and have long reserved to thetris ' elvea all the provocatives to broad grins and unrestrained mer ^ riment that could be invented for their gratification Thus they have had a royal christening , with royal
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sponsor * , and Jordan waters , and junkettings , and feasttngs and dancings , and all sorts of royal glorifications at Windsor , as if the only business ot such performerSjUpon earth was to" eat , drink , and be tnerry . " That i » amusing enough , as times go , is it not , John ? Then they have a royal visitor to see M , and right royallyi Joha . h » ve the israven-hearted , ' . lickspittle , miserablefellowera of your family in London ran about after his carriage wheels , to get the honour of a splash of the mud whirled up by the rapidity of his progress . This , too , is ' arcical enough , forsureJ but the best of the jake is to come . We have since been delighted by a grand gingerbread show to open » session of the collective wisdom of the nation , enacted with as much pomp , parade , and botheration , as though a world was to ^ be called into being by the mere flattering of a parcel of butterflies wings . : : v
John , the good sense of your family isby-no means proportioned to the length ef its ' , ears , or every window would have been closed , every back turned as the insulting calvacade passed through the : streets of thiB doomed metropolis . : It strikes me , that the gorgeous banquets and more than oriental magnificence displayed aVt&e Ccnitt during the past week or two , would have excited a fesling of pain in the heart of a truly benevolent rule- ' of ¦ ¦ ' the miserable poor arid starving people of this or any other country , ' Their condition does not , however , seem to have crosied the thoughts of bur semi divinities , who have gone on revelling , and rioting , and wasting , as though enjoyment was co-extehBive with eternity . Dives , feasting in his purple and fine linen , little heeded the LaziW who lay in rags and sickness perishing at his gate . Bat he had hie reward . And why should we doubt the justice of providence or the hidden purposes of Hr wisdom ?
But , friend John , the Parliament has met . What will it do for us ? Shall I tell you what it , vrill do ? In one word— -nothing 1 Nothing that can possibly tend to diminish tbe means of enjoyment by the prea < will be done \ for the sina ^^ -nothing that can possibly trench upon the prerogatives , the , splendour , the aggrandizement , the pleasures of royalty , will be touched for the benefit of the people . Nothing that will operate to lower rents—to diminish the value of the funds—to reduce the allowances of the palace , will be thought of for the advantage of the poor . They will talk of such things , and the present ' week will be wasted in adjourned debates upon the Corn question , which will leave off where it began , and after tremendous labour we shall see the mountain will bring forth a mouse .
The greunds upon which I build this presumption are as follows : in the first place , the royal speech is full of self gratulation and bombastic nonsense , insincere expressions of satisfaction and hollow protestations of future good , which those may believe that like them ; I do not Her Majesty la made to say , " my measure of domestic happiness is now compete . " . Goofl God / how can the ruler of this country , in its present condition , boast of the fulness of her domestic happiness , when she must know that the domestic hsppine ^ s of thousands upon thousands of her people is utterly destroyed ^ that she may enj oy abundance ! Bnfc why , if so , mock iis with it . - ?¦ -. Why recall to our miserable recollections the outrageous contrast between the condition of the rulers and the ruled .
She tells her Commons she relies with entire confix dence upon their disposition , that while they enforce the principles of a wise economy , they will make that provision for the service of the country ( that 5 s , for the gewgaws arid trappings of royalty , and tbe maintenance of its parasites ) , which the public exigences ( that is , class indulgences ) require ; " . She says , " I have observed with , deep regrtt the continued distress of the manufacturing districts of the country—the sufferings and privations which have resulted fromit have . been , borne « vith most exemplary patience and fortitude . " Exemplary patience J Yes , the patienca of despair ! the : patience of exhausted energy [ the patience reduced by apathy 1 by the utter abandonment of hope ! the fortitude of soulless indifference—of hearts ' crushed by suffering and whose only prospect upon earth is terminated by a pauper ' s grave I ¦ ' '¦ ¦ . •' ¦ ¦• . ' . . . ¦ . ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ ¦ .. ¦¦
And is there anything in these passages that can warrant an augury of future good—is there ought that can warrant the boast , " that my ineasure of happiness is complete ? " Is not the latter a vain conceit which the first boast of popular indignation will scatter to the elements * " Fine words butter no parsnips , " as Sancho says , nor will half a dozen sugared words in a royal speech , fill tbe bellies or satisfy the just demands of a 'long suffering , and most patient people .
And , now my dear John , in conclusion , let me mtreat you to be op and doing—rally round the men of the Charter—assist them with your strength , your patience , your determination . If you cannot fight for it as a bull would , you can bray for it—throw yourself in the way of its opponents— -trample down every obstacle—and finally , Unless you are the most incorrigible ass in existence , you will die ere you give up your right to it , . ' and your determination to possess it . Yours , ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ' : y- . ;¦ ¦ ¦¦' .. ' - : ' .: •' ¦ - . Faci . London , 8 th February , 1842 .
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TO THE FEMALE CHARTISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN . S 1 STEB 3 Jji Political Bondage , — -We , the female Chartists of Manchester-road , Bradford , address you on the necessity of uniting in the struggle that our husbands , our brothers , and our sons are engaged in ; 'tis a holy struggle of right against might We see gaunt misery and famine stalking forth in ail its horrprs and see the useless extravagaece bestowed 011 pampered royalty , when we see a Dowager Queen , who does nothing for tbe state , yet receiving ths enormous amount of £ 100 , 000 per anuum , when we calculate that she receives £ 11 Ss . 3 ? jd . per hour , whilst thousands of our fellow creatures are in a state of acttiaT Starvation ; and again , sisters , we have been insulted by another system of extravagance , wrung from the toiling millions in the shape of a royal christening , over -which £ 100 , 000 has been lavishly expended , which would
have maintained twenty thousand faiuiltes , each family Consisting of seven individuals , for one month , at £ iper week each . Behold also the State Chuch , the whole body of parsons , aid and assist in carrying out all bad laws passed by the middle class Parliament , and indeed in all their evil doings they rob and plunder the working millions of the fruits of their industry ; they are receiving yearly ten millions , and for what' why for preaching passive obedience and non-resistance , to persecute ua if we offer to resist then tyranny . The heart sickens when we think of the wrong inflicted under the cloak cf religion ; therefore females ; unite in one great phalanx ; then by one mighty movement sweep the citadel of corruption froni the face of the earth , and on its ruins build the temple of Chartism ; then sisters , and not till then , will the working classes obtain justice . It is said wrint can woman do ? she can do a deal in
her domestic capacity , she can instil the holy principles of the Charter into the minds of her bhildren ; in her daily occupation she can commune "with her husband , and while all others toil she can persuade ; her courage ' rises with the difficulties she has to endure . Then , sisters , you can do alZ these , if you will' but arouse yourselves from your lethargy , and shake off the chains of slavery , and imitate the bpartan mothers of old ; then arouse yourselves , and sign the National Petition , and every one of you join the National Charter Association of Great Britain , remembering that union ib Bttetgth ; : and never' ljtt us for one instant forget
those expatriated and much injure ;! , yet magnanimous patriots , Frost , Williams , and Jones ; lemember those that have , and are at present suffering now for their and our cause ; remember those Whig-made widows , Mesdames Frost , Williams , Jones , arid Clayton ; the murdered Clayton calls aloud to you to redress bis and bur country ' s wrongs . How are we to do this ? By a general and united exertion of the people at large , both male and female .. Let us emulate our husbands , oar brothers , and our sons in the holy , causo of liberty . We now conclude by quoting the language of an immortai poet and patriot : —
" There is an uuseeu power lies in the ma 83 Of human slaves , whioh if aroused , would sweep Not mortal tyrants only from their thrones , By one brief crash , with all their blind supporteib . But e ' ven this mighty opaque globe herself , they w , uld . ;• ¦;¦ ¦ unhinge ,. '¦ . - ¦ .. ' ; ¦ . ''¦'¦ -V . ' " " ' - ; : - ' : And send her blazing through the solar system . And 1 for one would lend a hand to this . Rather than kings and priests , and common thiev ea Should make the > life of roan an endless curse : — . But there ' s a way to raise this potent power , Not to extinguish man , but recreata And lead hirn back to nature and himself ; To turn his ceaseless labour into play , His life into a cloudless holiday . " Signed on behalf ot the Female Char' tists , Sarah Lei ' thehbabrow .
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ADDRESS OF THE CHARTISr s OF GEORGESTREET , TO THE WOO LCOAIBERS OF BRADFORD , ' ^ -: . ' . •¦/ . -- ; ¦ ¦ . - - . - . V . ¦ : .: ¦; , : : - ,- : FirioTr WdnkiNG-xiEN Am . , gLAVES , —Oar fatimate knowledge * f , and sympa * , ny for , your sufferings prompt . UB , at this eirentful crisr 3 f to address you on the necesaity there i ^ tpi ' : fbab unllr ) flan ^ acti « n esseniial to secure that full amount of . fw , edom independence , and supply of the necessariefl ab 4 comforts of life , without which . life ia but- a ' burdr _^; You form by far the greatest numbe , r ; of' workir \ g raen fn th ^ district , your cordial f ^ operatioa and MsiBtan <» therefore , must bt ot paramount litopoiiaiic ; 3 > We call upon you t j corae forward in your strengtl ., and show your oppressors you
are determined to be rreei let not the want of time , nor the shortness of in 1 ean 8 , nor ^ the threat of the domeslie inaster tyrant , nor ^ B ( JOjn of the ignorant arid the proud , deter you f fOm ^ e performance ¦'¦ of a known duty . Surely you T > iu not longer standby and see your neighboura struggr 4 aione for rights , in the securing of which you -with : faem are equally interested- . For the love of country ¦ ' ind home—for your ^ wives and for your children ' s sakf ;< arouse yba from your iethargjr , and come up to ou j . ^ f p against the mighty oppressqra and TObbers .. of ; tl- : . e : r ; ; : ' ; : ;¦ . :, ; - ;;;{ . ;¦ : " , ¦' . ¦ ,:.. ;¦ ¦ : ;; . ' '¦ ¦;/> : \ " .
pop . ; .. . , 'Thepriin' j cause of--the p ' revatfing ^ distress , the master grievance , ' ta { g being the cause of every other grievance , is claaa . » . egislation ; nor will there be any efiectual remedy' for jour social diseases , until the whofc people
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be represented in the Conmoos Housj of Parliament . You can never secure good government until yon get good governors , and these yon neTer will have s » long aa the right of franchise remains with the most vidona and interested portion of society . Ton wish to haT » better wages , get then that electoral pawer whlbb . -will enable you to choose men who will legislate for the protection of labour , —this is the great question after all- " ;¦ .. ¦ ¦ : ¦ ¦ "¦' . >; ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦' - ' ¦ ' - . ¦'" . : : " .: ' : ¦ ' ¦''¦ . < ' : -.. -: . ¦ : ' ¦¦ . < : .. - •¦ " :: We call upon you to enrol yourselves menibenj of the National Charter Association , and we will hail yoa with pleasure , if the hour of freedom be not fast approaching , remember ik is not bur fanlfr but yours . Some of you «' care for none of these things' * othem actively support your enemies , especially the enemyiB press . It must be obvious fa every man of ordinary discernment that the " Radical" Leeds Times is a mere manufacturer ' s' paper , and yet you , the victims of
capital , are its principal supporters . There is every likelihood that the Corn Law question will be settled in some shape or other ; and then , we are to d , we are to have a breatbing time : but the working classes of this country are not committed to tnat question , and consequently -will :. be under no obligation to take any " breathing time ;" . If the intended change in the Com Laws should turn out to be extensive , there will then be a season of speculation and " prosperity , " at the end of which your * employers will be stronger , because richer ; you wili probably be weaker- ^ -certainly not stronger . You will hence perceive the necessity of keeping up and ' of increasing the " pressure without' * until you have stormed and taken the " citadel of corruption . " The Corn Law repealers tell you that a cheap loaf is better than a dear oae ; but they forget to remind you that the dearnesa of bread is only relative , and depends upon the amount of a man ' s income .
Finally , fellow-working-men , be not content with mere relief—let nothing short of justice satisfy yon ; relief will be ; but a temporary advantage—justice would secure you permanent prosperity , comfortable fire-aides , cheerful wives and children , and to yourselves peaceful and contented minds . " Tour redemption is jn your own hands , and the work of national regeneration depends chiefly upon you , and your "brethren in bonds !'' Wait not foolishly for the aid of any other class of society ; besides your own . Can your freedom come from your enemies ; as soon might the Egyptians have been expected to liberate the Israelites , or the West Indian planters tbe black slaves , as the middle classes of Eng ^ anS voluntarily to give up their hold upon you and the frnits of your toil . Look then to others to > . do your wo > k , if you mean it to : be badly done , or ' -. not done at all ; if you with it to be done , and done well , do it yourselves . V .. . ¦' ;• . : Gbiffith Higgins , Chairman . Thomas Hanson , Secretary .
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TO THE FACTORY WORKERS OF YORKSHIRE . Bkethjren , Friends , CouNTByME > , —It has often befen our lot to meet you in private converse , and mingle with -you in your homes , and by your hearths , when the sun of England's prosperity was yet above the horizon , and the soul of the ; English artizin was not yet oppressed with the accumulating load Of misery which laws , restrictive , partial laws , arid the aggrandising cupidity of capitalists have taught him now to : bear . ¦ ' ¦ ¦ . ; . - .. '' ¦ ¦ ' .. - . - ' ¦ ¦ , ' ¦ ¦ . ¦ : / - ' ¦ ¦ . ¦
From past experience we feel ourselves - qualified to form a correct estimate of your character as a body , and unless oppression has changed the current of your feeling ; unless the kindly sympathies of your nature have been blunted , and YorkshiremeB have ceased to boast of English hearts ; we feel •' confident in saying , that tho wrongs and sufferings of your is ' ass will find 3 sympathetic response in your bosoms , and that the ready baud which often sent the .. wayfaring stranger rejoicing on his' way , will not withhold its tribute to brethren in dJ-stress , —
*• A brother to relieve , how exquisite theHiss . " But a truce with preliniinaries , and let us proceed to the painful task of enumerating the miseries of our brethren , and calling upon you to extend tbe hand of support to them . We are far away from you in another country , we may say , where distress , in i » s most painful forms , is stalking th ' . ough the manufacturing districts ; but it is not for . the ; famishing people of Paisley , neither for the starving producers in Dundee , that wa claim your support , it is for your own countrymen , your own neighbours , the : turn-outs of Huddcrsfleld , that we ask your synYpftth-es and expect your pecuniary aid . ' .- ¦ "" . ¦ " ' :- ' . ¦ ;¦ ¦ ¦ . .. - ' : - ; . - :. ¦/• ; . v ¦ ¦ •' .,.. . - ¦ ¦
These men left their employment because , the employers , takipg advantage of : the depressed state of trade , soujht to materially reduce their already too scanty earnings , and thus crush thern below the point of human resistance to tyranny , making them , as it were , the pioneers of our downfall , for the " unholy alliance of capUylist 8 , * ' working for mutual benefit at the expense of ub all , would soon have made ' us follow / , in the wake o £ our conquered brethren . There are forty-three men turned out , and all thu support which they aud their families have received for the last fortnight is £ 12 17 sV © £ d . ' - }' . : Now there are , " it present , about two thousand workies employed in . Huddersfield , Brighouse , Bradford , Halifax , Elland , Hebden Bridge , &c ., who , if they were pay ing 3 d . each per week , would realize a sum of £ 50 per fortnight , aod thus would we be enabled to support the noble men who battle for the rights of labour .
Good God ; EnplisBmen , my face burns to think that one mill iri Scotland , In Edinburgh , where there ia not that personal interchange of sympathies that exists between you , should contribute' almost as much as five mills inV ' niy , own land , to the support of the gallant defenders of the poor man's property from the encroachments of vanipire capitalists . ; ' Will it be said that Englishmen are so besotted that they will allow their own interests to bo sacrificed along with their brother toilers ? Shall it be said tnit the adage which says , " The poor man alone when he
hears the poor moan , of his little a little will give , " ha » never become reversed , and that an Eaglishman ' a bowels of compassion are dried up . Shall tbe aristocrat tauntingly hold out his finger and say these men « osk me for justice , and yet refuse their own class compassiba ¦ ' ? ' "Never . Let the high-souled principles of justice , all the love < f native land and domestic felicity , couibined with the tympathiea that reciprocally beat in poor men's bosoms unite in arousing you to fl determination not to see your fellow laboureia immolated on the altar of Mammon . . ' ¦ :
Prove by your actions that you are deserving of political liberty ; show the united " millionaires' * that the " ignorant" labourers are determined tj stand fast in defence of the rights of labour . The time speeds fastly on , and the hour corueth when pu se-proud insolence must be contei . t nl with its ; own rights / and labour shall no more be spoiled to enrich a corporation of grasping avarice ot to support an oligareby . of callous oppressors . \ :. ¦ ¦ ¦ : - ; . . ' : ¦ ¦ ¦ ' " . _ ¦ ' . ¦' ¦ ., ¦ ' ¦ ¦¦ . ' . ' '" v ' . ¦ .. - . ; Factory -woikerB of Yorkshire , $ 0 not aUow the gallan ' o fellows in Huddersflald to be pafc-down through the machinations of employers , they are trying all their arts t& break off the little support they now ; obtain , but be ye true to your order for only a short time , and a day shall soon dawn of prosperity to- our class , a day that shall relieve , us of the necesaity of wandering in the lanes and alleys of our towns , eooipetitive drags upon the energies of owe employed friends .
Working men , do your duty , and the days : of oppression are numbeied ; fight the- good fight of human redemption , and strive to make the world better thau you found it Yours , in behalf of the Workies of Castle Mill , EdinKburgh . EDWABli SUTCLIFVE . 9 th February , 1842 . V
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JEPBTJRGH . —A publid meeting of the inhabits , nts of the town of Jed burgh , was held in the v ounty hall , on Friday the 11 th instant , to ^ take into consideration , the propriety of again adopting the National .-. Petition : without aheratiou or amendment . At the timeI ' ot ^ meetiog , the hall ' wascrowded to excess . Mr . Adam Mathison was called to the chair . Mr . John Wark prdpo'ed the fiifei ^ esolutwny im « - puting all the grievances under which pur country ia at present groaning to class legislation , and that tha only remedy would be to pass the People's Cfaaiter as the law of the land , and moved that wedo again .
petition for Universal Suffrage . The resolution was carried . Mr , James Noble proposed ^ he . National Petition , which being seconded by MrvJohn Wark , the Ghairman introduced Mr . Charles Haigb , from Hawick , who was received with great cheers . Mr . Haigh then rose amidst temewed ciieefing , and spoke for three quarters of an hojur in a strain of eloquence arid argument . The per-Hion was put and Carried amidst great cheering . Three oheers were then given for Mr . Haigb , three for the Gharter , three for Frost , Williams , and Jcnes , for FearguB O'Connor , Eaq ., for the Chairman , and the meeting broke up . ' . '' . ¦ . - . ' ; :: ;; ¦ '•' ¦' . : - ; ' ' . ' ::- ; ; - :: ^ ¦';¦ '
DALRY , ( Aybshibe . )—The Corn Law Committee of repealers challenged the Chartists to a discussion with their great gun , Mr . Acland , who haB been figuring this ' some time past in the Corn Law movement . The discussion was to come off . on ^ the evening of Wednesday , the 9 th of February . The Chartists eDgaged Mr . Wm . Smitb , from Ayr ; to meet this celebrated champion of expediency . "Wednesday arrived , and the village and neighbonrhood was all bustlei in anticipation of the discDBsioa to take place in the evening . In the forenoon , the Corn Law Committee was engaged circulating bills stating that Mr . Acland bad been , engaged at tw 6 places on . the eveniDg of Wednesday * " the" 9 ik ot February , ( Stirling and Dairy , ) and postponine his
lecture in the' laiter place niltil Saturday . ; M Acland lectured on the evening of Tuesday , the 8 tbi in SaHcoats ^ and . passed Dairy oh the' forenobn of Wednesday , the 9 ; h . Whether : he got' noticp : 6 f Smith to meet him , or considered tie Corn Law repealers of Dairy beneath his notice ho knows besi himself . Smith , : however , like a . true Chartist , was at his post , and a public meeting was held in Mr . Cdogain ' s "; Hall , when Mr . F , Sterrat wa-3 tiectcd . chairman , and Mr . 1 . Miller vice-chairman . Thei hau , \ vas crammed in every part " .: Smith delivered a lecture , and in' good style * laid our principles and position before the meeting . At the close of the lecture the National Petition was read , moved and seconded , and carried unanimously .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 19, 1842, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct742/page/7/
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