On this page
-
Text (7)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
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
, ** == / rcoyyoK rpo > - the question of expe-BIEXCT—TRANSFER —COMPROMISE—POLITICAL TRAFFIC A > 'D COMPENSATION . * 0 B ALI- CLASSES AND ALL SECTS OF ALL > ATIONS , AND TO MY OWN DEAR FUSTIAN JACKET , BLISTERED HANDS , AND UN-- BBOBX CR 1 SS . THE PROP OP ALL . Ut pe * F » IB ? fI ) S » —I anxiously crave your best Mention to a letter whiah promises to be Tery long , u # * aib ; ect » on which it designs to treat are numerous sad «« nplez » T et * ° minutely dependant one opon the * ± a js to sate ^ em fcooessorieB to the facts "which I _ - n to charge against misrule ; and if my good friend , ., Hiil , should see a necessity of breaking my story in # * middle . 70 = ~* i& ieeP k ° th eDis * ° hot ^ Toar tuanorr , ft * to make them strong in the weld , and # oop leti »» sTbol&
v » first a 1 " **** term * , expediencf and compensa . * lon . we ise S ** questions to which I shall direct your attention ; tie others , transfer , compromise , and politi-^ j frifiz , are bat filling stuff , and shall be used mtrely jt such . Expediency , as yon have been often told , and of inch dear-bought experience baa convinced you , is * i hraxfs P & 1 - Walker , in his dictionary , gives us -gym different meaning * for the -word : fitness , prorristr , suitableness to an end , expedition , adventure , htfte ' dispatch . Now , suppose we divide those meanings
^ sih the tyrants , and as their share is generally the biggest half , we m * y & ! & 7 concede to them the four latter solujj ^ u : " expedition , " " adventure , " -haste , " "dispatch , - yfcHe to the vocabulary of just rulers , we shonld say , y ^ three former properly bel » ng . In fact , one would jappose thai , according t » the English language , fitness , pjopjitty , and suitableness to an end , wew the true joBstrQeticais of the word , while the four latter , Tarying , „ faQ cgio , " in roaming from the former , were added in jjs » j . p = ndix , since the Reform Bill , as growing tut of « je use mide of the term by Reformers .
like these four words , expedition , adventure , haste , ( jjjrauii , and I ask yon , could the mind of all-ingenious am hire tit upon a motto more typical of Whig-refonMdpdk y ? Hare they not prored themselTes mere &l jTE 2 » igrj , relying upon transfer , compromise , poligai tags aad compensation , for the success of their edo tikiags ? Have not upedition , haste , and dispjt ^ in all thing * condndng to the adTenture , marked tSair every set ? while , in all matters connected with fcs -rfOire of the state , a creeping , cringing , mopiag , feeling , groping policy , has marked their every step , as i j MprebensiTe and fearful of meeting an apparition of jssacs in some part of their piratical course . Have faesi , propriety , or suitableness to an end , once entsred into theii councils , or governed , their actions ? So , not once .
If it is expedient to relieve the estate * of the rich fros s mortgage held in trust for the whole people , expeainoa , iss ' -e , and dispatch , the three Djvil-kings rfsd rentnre and unjust power , step in ; necessity i 3 Js , and expediency uneerensonioEsly fays , " be it § 0 . " If \ elsjaoreus mob of an exclusive class complain of principle upon the face of custom , necessity says , if not promptly removed , it may torn to a cancer , and expedfeney forthwith removes the pimple . Itei . if the whole people , fitly , properly , and with a tht to a suitable end , complain of chronic disease and iarressing disorder , expediency requires twenty-five yeHssileasi to perfectly understand the nature of the psaesfB complaint , and as many more to decide upon the remedy—witness the hand-looia weaver ' s complaint
If the landlords require a fictitious value to be put upon their estates , suitable to the end , that they may be expediaoBilj made good security for the fund-lords , pru-¦ dssce s » T 3 i ; is jajt , asd expediency cries , expedition , hute , dispsich , and , at if by magic , the thing is dent So with the p&rsons . If an article is to be added to ihe state creed , or if one is to be lopped off ; if faith should require a reform , equivalent to all secular ref ones , B 3 that tfie sate sword and the church sword Jionli ia nothing ehtk ; or if new security should be required for ths purpose of transferriEg the payment of tidies from an enlightened to an ignoaai portion of the community , expedidon , haste , and dapasei are always at the service of the adventurers ; asd no Whig iron ever cools for want of saScient heat h the oolitical furnace .
As fsr ts expediency goes , then , I claim , for the ¦ Bhoie people , a chance of fitly , properly , and suitably { instead of expeditious ] j , hastily , aad with dispatch sppljiag ihs Reform Bill in the spirit in which the pscpif risked their live * for its accomplishment—that ii , that it shall make taxation and representation coeteL ^ re . If this is treason , I am a traitor and glory h ths same . Hence , we cut even expediency , the prep of tyrants , from under them , and claim its just tzd rizhifal application to the suitableness of the ends of justice .
Lr . usnow consider Transfer . The Reform Bill pro cis&d to be the annihilation of Toryism ; not for Whig b = 3 ££ ; , but for national improvement . The Whigs Bi-, tii Iriiics rule contrary to the maxims of the Conritcuoi , ia violation of compact , and in opposition to P ^ -lie will They wage destructive , perpetual , and « rostsTe -vriTS , for the purpose of keeping np their c ^ apaTer , a ^ d thereby are compelled to ] gvy grinding fexa apoa the subject . We w&nt ref » rm to preserve ^ faee ' zzl ' thereby , as war ib the mc > £ t expensive item = ait-oasi txpenditcre , to lighten the pnblic burden , Ed rake retrenchment in such departments as have hahsna been kept up as mere auxiliaries of political P oTcr , -rithout being at all beneficial to the country . 2 he reft-rm de ^ agoguas over and orei again said , " we ** £ t ut tracer , we require equal justice for aiL "
Lit r : s p-jint 0-at a few delusions practised by two of lie Eos : prominent reform demagogues . Rassellsaid "t the 0 ; ject of the Reform Bill was , to mike repre-- —it a &i ; i station co-extensive—can words be more J- ^ s , sid do -we , eTtn now , in our strength , ask for ^ ?> ^ speeci coximentiag upon ths little ? i : eh iz . z Rifonn Bill was said te hold out for Ireland , *** tee fuliowiug words : — " Wehare abolished tithes ^ ' D - ' ^ J ' ¦ - * = Ter ; call you that nothing ? " He furfiar £ iid that , smother principle of the Reform Bill ,
- *• -5 pises 2 j tae institutions of the country under P ^ pslar vigUaut control " ? x o * . la oar mest heated imagination , we hare asked ^ so E Ore . . Ed ) let mg ^^ it it ^ right that the ^ se Trhi sh carried the measure should be satisBed with ^ " Eii no : xhe Reform Bill , thtn , notwithstandisg ^» ferial of transfer , been the mere transfer of power ~ o-e rcrged faction , who governed by measure -s - ~ Lizh thou
. , gh galling , the nation began to il *?**" ' ^ lreri : > to another faction , eo destitute *' ' ~ - cosfdenee—so wanting in faith , without rule ^ sirere , as ts be t » mp « lled to manufacture new ^^ 1 st aihereEta , in order to furnish & substi-• * ~ ' waut of moral courage and common 1 ¦ ' Hi-re you fewer placemen , fewer pensioners , ^ s ^ ersris-. s , or fewer Commissioners ? If the ^_ 5 l -guTs toe aches , is not the chaDce of a royal ^ - tuUsic . 3 af c DnAolence a God-send to eur retrenching
^ have had more commitBions within five years , ^ _ ffi if : y yeirs before the Reform Bill ; and all to ^ re z ^ yr money nay be most profitably applied for th y ^ 7 * f "V \ hig power , and f « the presexv » tion of a ^ t AdEinirtration . j ^ j . f ^ zsj of Tory Grovemment was a general com-^ . ^ Has your secret serrice fund been diminished iri "T 6 < aadid rule of the open and uadisg uised Whigs , t * w ished to submit aU and eTerything to rigilant * ° Pv&z coatroul ? t iwf yFaTS teweT ' or more distant from the b «« th , ^ r ed upon better pretensions »
tp ^ 7 onr ^ e * lea onerous , or mor « equally laid k * a « n ^ TeraI PMtie " ' accordin « *« their ability to : Jon hive had the two most unjust wan erer ^ jmem the memory of man pro claimed since last « 6 d w afEhlSt ^ CMnese > the mort peaee-lofing ^^ civilised nation in * J 1 the art . of modem j ^ * ' the world- You hare to pay for Angloj ^^ J ^ o gglea' licejjj se ^ gne ^ t * , intoxicate , and ^ ttora ^ SU ^ Scls ^ ^^ larch , careful of the health , " aonusa'JT ** WBditio : i of ti « rejects ; and this * ° a ! aa ^ v **** trade ' md J"onr capitalists look on 8 sey ^\ , lle yo * P 4 ? for the experiment , which **« S £ w !?^ ^^ iatrc ^» 5 e your produce imto ths
Untitled Article
The war against Mehemet AH wan unjust , dishononrable , unchristian , and disgraceful . He won bis crown by the sweat of his brow and the exercise of his talent , and wore it for the good of his people . He was more , much more tolerant to infidels , that is , to those Christians , whom other Christians call heretics , than our state church is to a communitr professing thirty-eight ind nineteen-twentieth * of their thirty-nine article * of faith . He would not incarcerate a cobbler twenty-two months for non-payment of 5 s . Cd .
Thus we Sad that , coward-like , the first and the last act of Whiggery are in perfect keeping . Their first experiment was to wage domestic wax against the p » or out-of-the-way Dorchester Labourers ; their last has been to insure the co-operation of three other powerful states tthe one England ' s deadly foe and jealous rival ) to make war upon almost the only constitutional monarch upon earth , in order that a tottering Governmeat may limp , and hop , and hobble for another bit , upon the prop which thei r deadly petronge confers upon them , while you will find that—no matter what the result , whether , as you will be told , glorious , aad as adding brilliancy to our arms—or whether your fathers , husbands , brothers , and friends return with wooden legs , or their lifeless bodies shall lie mutilated under the
walls of Acre , —you will pay the whole reckoning , not only for the immediate brush , but for the distinction and emolument which must be permanently conferred upon the victors , that is , upon the officers , not upon the soldiers . Thus has the Reform BUI transferred tho treasury ( and if I spske for ever , that is what all contend for , ) from hands who were well watched , and stoutly opposed , to hands who are lured on to their own undoing , petted into extravagance , and aided into expence , in order that their recklessness may first disgust the nation , and hereafter furnish a good precedent for the old oppressors , when their turn comes , and which is now , thank God , fast approaching—I say thank God—for the restoration of the . Tories to a short-lived ascendancy , will be the watch-word for the establishment of Democratic right
The valne of the transfer to you has been an amalgamation . of the whole squad into a fraternity ot unopposed plunderers . Where , now , is her Majestys opposition ? When , now , do you . heat of an objection , in order to reduce public expenditure ! Never ; and as we learn from tlfe ruined state of the exchequer , a fresh appeal must be made , for give , give , give , and not a soul will say xjlt . They will give , but who will pay J that's the question . Have not the Corporations been a ^ complete transfer , with an increase of local taxation , of local tyrants , of electiorr profligacy , and party animosity ? Yes ; but when I come to treat of compensation , ! shall hare another word upon these said corporations .
But , after all , what was the greatest of all transfers , that in which all parties most unceremoniously joineda transfer whose permsaency depends , not like sorae upon which I have britfly treated , on the contingency of Whig , tennre of office ? No ,- it is a good custom transformed into a bad , oppressive law . I mean the transfer of the parish , unwilling idler , from the tender care aad guardianship of the old English gentleman , to whom he was known , with whom he had laboured , and upon whose estate he drew his first breath , partaker of / hG ^ childish prank s , of his boyish freaks , his manly tpSrts , "his hospitable fare , and his judicial protection—the transfer ef his natural client to the iron sway , the economising grasp , the licentious controul of the well ' paid economist of the rich man s trust This was " the unkindest cut of alL "
But , besides'its physical effects , mark its moral tendency . Few people have as yet weighed this hellish me&srm in all its bearings . They have not , poor souls , had time to turn from the phvsical enormity to a consideration of the moral consequence . The Star , three years ago , told you that henceforth that measure would be the basis of every law of magnitude formed under the pres * nt system , while , even worse , it has had the effect of breaking np local
society , of setting master against man , party against party , family against family , and interest against interest It has polluted the streams of that neverceasing current—local justice . And herein consists its greatest hideousness , its potency for evil , and power of mis « hief ; and from this one of its feature * we may trace every imprisoned Chartist to his weary abode , every local Id justice to its source , and every act of tyranny to its rise , and , I trust , to its fall .
ObserTe , then , my friends , that the greatest transfer of which history makes mention , is that transfer of magisterial appointments , consequent upon the New Poor Law , and the necessity of swamping the little of vigilant popular controul which the Bill left , by an innndation of ignorant , purse-proud , upstart , self-sufficient Justice Shallows . A set of nincompoops , who know as much about law as the horse that carries them .
Behold , then , the jurisdiction given to these worthies , with reference , in the first instance , to the enforcement of the measure , which , in direct violation of the original intent , has left them master of all the avenues of justice , in their capacity of e * oficio gendarmes , tbn 3 ^ wampicg tie beDch with starvation Guardians . And what followed T Why , such beastly decisions as would disgrace a bench of fools ; and in nearly all cases where appeals have been made against those decisions ,
reprimand has followed ; but the txpencs of appeal against unjust magi strates , is an effectual bar to justice , be the poor man ' s claim never so good . Hence we find a thousand pounds biil for working men , and eighty and sixty for high offences committed by a higher order of beings . And , observe , this very holding to bail is strong presumptive evidence against a working man , thus stamped with the wrath and censure of one set of masters , for the guidance of another set , who are to -sit in judgment , as jurors , upon their oaths .
I would not give you a turnip , nay , not a rotten one , for the oatha of a middle class jury , when empannelled to try a working class slave . These men , observe , as magistrates , have the power of introducing the Rural Police , of ordering out and paying the special constablts and soldiers , with your money , to shoot you , and of compelling the Government to open the purse-EtriDgs of the secret service fund , to furnish their spies with the wages 6 ~ f seduction , treachery , and perjury .
This , thea , whether considered morally or physically , is ths greatest , as it is the most destructive , transfer of alL A dish may annihilate the power of a faction , but the law remains written ; and now , before I take leave of this question , and as some sagacious booby has given birth to tha apothegm , that " the great magic in politics 5 s to be right , " than which , a more ignorant sentence could not be written ; let me council you to do right . Indeed , you have always been right , and you hare as yet found but little magic in your rectitude . The great magic in politics is to hare the might , and " the only true title to power is that which right and might conspire to uphold . "
You know that I hare no faith in petitions , for any practical benefit which they are likely te produce You have , however , wisely petitioned for the restoration of Frost , Williams , and Jones , and upon other subjects , therefore you still , in some instances , approve of the farce . Let me , then , advise you to get up petitions in every locality , against the re-enactment of the measure ; it will have died a natural death this Session . Do not go to any expence . The plan which I propose is
this : —A sheet of long foolscap paper will contain 250 names , leaving room for a short petition at the head ; each page will admit of two columns of signatures , and let millions of those be sent to Mr . Fielden . Every 250 will cost only ene penny , the price of the cover . Let the class leaders take them in their pockets ; let them be placed in barbers' shops , news-agents' shops , and in the shops and houses of all who are opposed to th « re-enactment of the law .
Let your petition run thus : — To th * Common * of the United Kisgdon , in Parlionunt assembled . The humble Petition of the industrious classes of Bamsley and its vicinity , Shbwbth ,-That your petitioner ! look upon the New Poor Law Amendment Act as a robbery of the poor , by the allocation of their trust property , to purpose * different from those for which it Traa originally granted and held . That they consider it as a violation of the law » of God , and destructive of the Tery best principles upon -which the British Constitution has been based .
That they will give to it , in all its stages , every constitutional opposition which , remains in their power ; and that they never will vote for , or support , any candidate who lends himself to the re-enactment of the
Untitled Article
measure , but , on the contrary , will oppose him to the utmost of their power . That it is a robbery of the poor for the benefit of the rich , which nover can be upheld except by an expensive brnte force , and la , above all other measures , calculated to widen that breach which FOBHEE PARLIAMENTS , aided by a griping trading class , UaTe widened , between the npper and lower classes of society . That in order to render null and void some of the clauses in the BUI , tm-oficit Guardians have been appointed , who , in their magisterial capacity , have been oppressive , ignorant , and tyrannical , and have thereby brought the laws of England , as administered by then , into contsmpt and disgust
For these , and numerous other reasons , your petitioners pray that your Honourable House will abslaia from any farther legislation upon the measure , leaving tke old law of tht 43 rd of Elizabeth in full force , until the people , in their united wisdom , shall make such alterations and improvements In all laws for the support , comfort , and proper maintainance of the poor , as shall seem fit , when they are thoroughly represented in their House , which they never yet have been . And your petitioners , as in duty b « und , will ever pray .
> ow , let this be done without any man devoting more time to the question than the mere signature of the petition . There need be no meetings ; there have already been an abundance , and public opinion has been fully expressed . This will not take an hour from the Charter agitation ; but let u » test the House in its death throes , because , believe me , that many knaves , who will soon be thrown back upon the people , if not thus tested , will Bay , " Oh ! I never knew your mind . Youdld ' nt petition , "
Let us see if the minority of seventeen has increased anything in three years , and this , above all other means , will put to flight the Incomparable Mly of those who ask the unrepresented , why they don't use their power for practical purposes . 11 will give tu the wagic of being right , while it will show the little value of the magic without the might A petition should be sent to ererj Town Council in England , and the names , with the political cognomen of those who sign it , shall be published , and , lest the petition for you should be too
strong f * r them , mix the medicine to the palate of the patient , make it all honey , and simply pray that the Bill shall not be re-enacted . Dont put one hard word in their petitions . You will get one b « nest Councillor in every corporate town » o undertake the charge of it , and , when signed , get it back and transmit it yourselves By these means , in three days , Saturday , Sunday , and Monday , you should be able to have from two to three millions of signatures . Here , then , is right with a vengeance , but iu magic consists in the substance of which it Is merely the shadow , —the might
Let not the sophistry of those who proclaim themselves Chartists , and something more , which means fool , and something less , deter you from this act of expediency , suitable to a just and proper end . By the treatment which your petitions will certainly receive , I want to test a principle . I want to prove to you , and to put you in a position to prove to practical spouters , that devoting your energies to what is called practical questions , is all moonshine ; and by this means we shall do more to rivet attention to the question of questions , the mental enfranchisement , than by all other appliances within our reach .
I find that having already exhausted 10 much of my space upon the questions of minor importance , that I shall be myself compelled to cut my story short in the middle . Now , ponder over what I have said , and always bear in mind that , under the present system , you have not the power , although you pay all the taxes , to effect , by your petitions , any , the slightest change in state affairs ; nay , not even to the discharge ot a palace menial , to the shortening of a royal horse ' s tail , or to the disbanding of a troop or company ot soldiers . I am , my friends , Your true and faithful friend , Feargcs O'Connor .
Untitled Article
TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN . Madah , —We will now , if you please , resume out illustrations as to the classes into which criminals are divided , and the equal justice dealt # ut to each . And here I must beg your attention to the third precept of the moral law . If a poor ignorant fellow swear a profane oath , ( and I admit the practice is both wicked and disgraceful , ) he may be fined by any justice of the peace , before whom the offence is proved ; and if be swear falsely , he is 'and very properly , too ) liable to an indictment for perjury . The law denounces these
acts as crimes , which call for condign punishment ; but I pray your Majesty to note well , that there are no crimes in the great , noble , and sven clerical portion of the community . Those gentry may insult the heavens with their profanity , and in 999 cases out of 1 , 000 they are never sailed to an account at all ; or , if perchance , as in the case of a magistrate the other day , somebody is honest enongh to call for the infliction of the penalty upon the respectable , as well aa upon the poor , de-HnQuent , the punishment , in the latter case , is at the best but nominal , for the fire shillings may be a serious fine to a p » or mechanic , or agricultural labourer , whilst it is absolct ' . ly nothing to a rich " respectable . "
Again , while perjury is considered to be most horrible in a case of petty theft , the wholesale perjury , -which is daiiy committed by the elite ef the land , is considered as utterly beneath the notice or the controul of the law . I am withheld by the terrors of the law of libel from being mere explicit ; but this I will say—Look at the oaths constantly taken by Members of Parliament , by Magistrates , by public officers , by tradesmen and parties engaged in commerce , and by all orders of th « clergy , and then say , if those solemn appeals to the
Deity are not constantly violated m the most shameless and unblnthing manner . Has not " O ! it is only a Custom House oath ' . " passed into a proverb ? And what are we to think of the conscientiousness of the clergy in regard to oaths , when we see church livings constantly advertised for sale in the public prints , in the teeth of the solemn oa ' th against simony , inscribed in the canons , and which , every person having cure of souls must take before induction to his benefice . ' Yet all this frightful immorality is no crime , for the authors of it are respectable .
We find the same broad distinction drawn in reference to the fourth commandment If a poor fellow be caught tryiDg to gain something for his half-starved family ( or supplying the destitute in his neighbourhood wb « did not receive their Bcanty earnings till too late for the market on the Saturday night ) by Sunday trading , he is liable to be pounced upon by Bome pious advocate of Sabbath sanctity , and placed within the fangs of the law as a most flagrant transgressor ; but no wonder , for his crime must be enormous , being superinduced in some way or other by the still more atrocious crime of poverty . To Bell a loaf to honest
poverty , unless the salesman be a baker , duly authorised to break the Sabbath by act of Parliament , is gross immorality , calling for pains and penalties in . this world , and hell fire in the next ; but the parties of pleasure , the drives in the park and the Sunday evening parties , for gaming and abominations of every kind , of the nobility and gentry , are in perfect accordance with the nature of the day of rest ; and the saints of the Agnew school , who are horrified at the bare idea of a pleasant tea meeting , or a country ride , by the working classes on a Sunday , never think that a Sabbath bill is called for to regulate the saloons of mj Lord Duke , or to place under efficient controul the hells in St James ' a-itreet .
We find that , in accordance with the rapposed requirements of God ' s precepts , the man who imbuo his hands in the blood of his fellow , is worthy of the punishment of death , for he is a murderer whom a righteous vengeance suffers not to live ; but when a Queen and Government resolve to eommit murders by the thousand , —when , because a people refuse to let merchants poison them , it is resolved that hired miscreants shall be sent to kill them , in the most
approved fashion ot improved military butchery , —then it is no crime at all , bat on the contrary , is most glorious and honourable ' ; and those who have most distinguished themselves in the work of blood , are set up as idols , and the wreath of what is called honour , with other things more substantial , must be bestowed upon them . A decline from the paths of virtue is , in the female in humble life , deemed worthy of the sevtrest privations , and must be branded with infamy * a * tie
Untitled Article
New Poor Law affords ample evidence ; but let the same declension be found in the privileged ranks , and behold the change ! Every palliative that cunning can devise is brought to cover , or to excuse the deed ; the fair frail one is U be soothed with the tenderesfc care , while the foundling hospital opens Its door * to receive the proofs ot her « hame , or some connection , useful to the minister of the day , secures for it a comfortable provision oat of the labour of those who cannot find bread for their virtuem wit «« and legitimate ofl&pring . Once more , the thief who steals to satisfy hia hunger , or to provide a morsel for those who ara to him far
more precious than his own life , Is doomed to stand at his country ' i bar ;—( I beg pardon , Madam , at what should be Ws country ' s bar , ) and is , a » an execrable rascal , Bent to expiate ids crime on the tread-wheel , or in the dreary exile of a penal settlement But the respeotable robber—he who by his trading and commercial speculations goes beyond hia own means , and by his failure involves numerous families in ruin , escape * without punishment , and can come forth to the world u an honourable man . A . still higher class of thieves , or rather swindlers , are they who receive large amounts of money out of the public purse , for work which they have never done nor intended to do . Such
are public officers , who are of no use ; auch are those , who , because they happen to be the husbands , wives , children , or other relatives of kinga , claim a tight of taking extravagant salaries on the score of their royal blood ; and such are all those who bold church preferment without cure , or who holding livings with cure , devolve tho sacred duties they have aworn to perform upon others , taking almost the whole fleece to themselves . All these parties are guilty of crimes of the deepest dye ; but then such men must not be styled " criminals , " they must not fce held amenable to the law , because they are rotal , NOBLE , CLERICAL , Or , at least , RESPECTABLB .
Thus , Madam , have I laid before you some portion of the evidence which goes to prove that we have , as the result of out imperfect system of eduoation , two classes of crimes ; the one being those of the poer which are deemed to deserve punishment ; the other and most flagrant , are not called crimes , but , at tke utmost , venal errors , and very frequently , by the names of glory , honour , valour , public virtue ; and a hundred other pretty epithets used to conceal the deformity of their real character , aud to which , of course , no
punishment or disgrace is legally attached at all . Can it , then , be any cause of wonder that , with education so imperfect , those who claim to be the best informed , seem , iu many cases , to be incapable of distinguishing right from wrong , and under which the bulk of the people should be s » ignorant ot their own rights , duties , aud capabilities , as to tamely tolerate a system which is grinding them to the earth , crime should be found to exist to s portentous and alarming extent ?
It is , in fact , utterly impossible that crime should cease to exist , or even be , to any considerable extent , diminished , until it is plainly demonstrated that offences are such iu themselves , and not merely because they are perpetrated by a certain class of individuals ; but must be recognised as such even though not clothed in rags , and vice must not ho allowed to hide its deformity under the garb of respectability . We are learning a lesson which it would have been happy for the world" if mankind had learnt long ago ,
that is , to call things by their right names , and to test their merit or demerit , not by the appearance they assume , but by the truth or falsehood of the principle they involve . So far as the public are concerned , the more " respectable" the criminal , the more heinous is the offence , and in public equity the more severe Bhould be the punishment I am , Madam , Your Majesty ' s faithful and obedient subject and servant , London , January 27 th , 1841 . NUMA .
Untitled Article
ANALYSIS OF THE HAND-LOOM WEAVERS' REPORT . LETTER XI . To such a state have we been brought by our system of political economy , that it is difficult to see a clear way out of our embarrassments . If we were to prohibit entirely the exportation of machinery , and the emigration of artisans , I fear we are so far sold to foreigners , and our commercial relations so miserably dependent upon their breath , that they would still suck eur vitals and laugh at us . Whilst we have a court filled with foreigners , an aristocracy patronising them , a government depending upon foreign loan mongers , a race of imbecile merchants and manufacturers courting them , and a whole nation apeing their follies and vices , how can we expect to be otherwise than pusillanimous dupes ?
We have a villanous system of Patent Laws , encouraging improvements aud innovations , and an office where drawings and specifications aro deposited , describing such inventions and improvements most minutely . Foreigners , by this means , can steal the brains of Englishmen as quittly as possible , copy drawings and specifications , carry them orer to the Continent , and manufacture machinery as perfect as our own . We have also numbers of scientific works , full of plates , describing every invention , and a host of foolish scribes and talktrs boasting of our genius , and holding up to the admiration of foreigners our most profitable inventions . Poor fools ! The Ursa Ifajor of the Manchester Guardian foolishly imagines
that if Parliament does not allow free trade in machinery " a most extensive and lucrative branch of trade ( machine making ) will be monopolised by foreigners . " We cannot prevent foreigners becoming active rivals , we ought never to have been exporting machinery or tools , until we had radically reformed the representation of the people , which , had it been done fifty years ago , would have prevented England from falling into her present degraded and humbled position , and her people from seeking a fair market for their labour in other countries , in consequence « f being denied one in thoir own . Foreigners laugh at us . Dr . Bowring , in his Report on the Prussian Commercial Union , paM 55 , says : —
" I have often heard the observation in Germany , You , may try ts stop the exportation of your machines , but how can you stop the exportation of the heads and hands that make them ?" The Doctor ' s / avourite emigration scheme is a capital plan to get the "heads and hands ; " the political economists have been weighed in the balance , and the tffect of their surplus IpopulatJon doctrinegis recorded in the above quotation . Yes , yes , we rid ourselves of the " surplus population , " and the Germans get "headsand hand # " to make their machinery , and very shortly we shall have more "heads and haDds , " tospare . A surplus population of weavers , dyers , spinners , printers , to . We are already in a declining Btate . Compare our condition with the Doctor ' s description of Germany . ,
" In some respects Germany may boast of superiority to Great Britain in her means for manufactures . The aits of design , and their application to various fabrics , are better understood . Metals are more successfully wrought aud worked ; cheu . ical knowledge , in its various branches is farther advanced than with us . Steam engines are formed on all sides , and mechanical iniprorenienta hare made radid strides , and have served to open a wide field for the characteristic developement of German intelligence . Our impolicy has contributed much to make Germany our most formidable rival . Our extravagant system of
Government , together with our debt , requires a heavy amount of taxation , to be levied upon almost all foreign produce ; the Germans , by the law . of rstalliation , impose heavy duties upon our manufactures ; at the same time they foster and encourage their own manufactureis ; and from the influence they possess in the English Court , they experience no difficulty in procuring an order in Council for the exportation of any particular piece of machinery , so we have been swindled out of our political rights , eut of the profit of our labour , and now , we are being swindlad out of eur trade altogether , without any apparent resources to fall back upon , save the Poor Law Bastilea .
In Saxony , one of the German Union , with an area of 5 , 748 square miles , and a population of 1 , 595 , 608 ; there were , in the year 1836 , 221 ) factories , ( 116 woollen 113 cotton , ) 38 bleaching establishments , 30 dying establishments , 1 , 559 manufacturing establishments , 278 hosiery establishments , 125 ribbon establishments , 45 printiog establishments , 332 lace , blonde , fee . establishments , 25 chemical works , 48 iron works , 18 machine-raakiBg establishments , with many others , making 2 , 899 in all . Much attention ha * been paid of late to the manufactures of machinery in Saxony , "theSachuscben Mascbinenbau Compagnie , ( Saxon Machine-making Company ) with a capital of one million of dollars , is said to be in a flourishing state . Other similar establishments hare been formed ; machines aad models have bbfia imported , both from England and other countries , and English artisans have been engaged to give instructions to the Germans , and to undertake the superintendence of their werks . "—( See page 57 , Bowring ' a report" )
There seeds no logical tact to convince the most ignorant dullard that the trade of England is declining in Germany . Now , the Germans have got the heads , the hands , the machines , the models , and the instructors , they make their own machines , and manufacture their own goods . The report upon Leipzig fair states , "British priated calicoes have been exceedingly reduced by native competition , " and " the low German cotton manufacturers have driven those of England out of the HKaket . " More improved machinery will very shortly drive ou finer cotton manufactures out of Germany . Ail Uu& comes of the accursed system tf Eng-
Untitled Article
lish Government coupled with free trade humbug . Free trade , forsooth , with fifty million of taxation on our shoulders ! Our trade to Germany is doomed to perdition . Our export trade to that country in 1800 , amounted to £ 9 , 485 , 366 and now , after forty years of inventions and trading speculations , we do not export one half ot that amount . So much for Germany . In Belgium , we are n * less opposed by native enterprise ; there U a joint stock machine maker ' s company , called , " The Societe du Phoenix , " at Ghent , ewploying about 7 * 0 men ( sixty of whom are English ) in the manufacture of cotton and flax machinery ; they not only make for themselves , but for exportation , aa the following extract from a London paper will shew : —
"A large ship , freighted with machinery , recently ailed from Ghent for Vera Cruz , on account of a Mexican merchant . This is ttAi . to be the second similar cargo aeat to the same party within ths lnst three mouths . The whole of the machinery was manufactured in Belgium . " In Hamburgh , says the report , " there ia a very large establishment belonging to Messrs . Ghrisman and Bussee ; they have expended above £ 30 , 000 ia the erection of the buildings , and the purchase of English tools , also patterns of the most approved English machinery . " Here it another blow at the ' * great workshop of the world . " N 0 w , let us examine our own position I Our weavers complain that the exportation of machinery ia injurious to their trade . I fear that complaining is usele * e , for I find the following passage in the Nottingham Journal : —
" HosigUY and Lie * Trades . —A practice has commenced , within these few weeks , which , if nut prevented in time , will tend to depopulate the midland counties ; namely , an extensive exportation of Englishbuilt stocking-frames to Belgium and Holland , and some few to France . • * A . considerable number have been shipped from Liverpool to ths United States , which has been a Sort of free port for such traffic , as the custom-house officers take little notice of such shipments . No less than twenty-seven plain frames
were exported at one shipment about a mouth since [ June last ) to Antwerp , whether by Treasury license or otherwise , remains to be seen . Foreign agents are extensively engaged in purchasing more frame * , aud engaging hands to work them . A sert of half fever prevails among the unemployed to get situations abroad ; and so numerous are the applications , that only the best workmen are selected . In addition to which , considerable numbers of frame smiths have been seduced to leave this vicinity for Antwerp , Ostcnd , Atb , and Calais . "
After reading such a paragraph , it appears almtst useless to cry out ; our mechanics sell their ingenuity and their labour to foreigners , who openly seduce them from their father-land to minister to their designs against their country ; the Government officers , too , wink at this exportation of machines , in consequence , no doubt , of the Treasury license . Ia a fit of desperation , our political economists cry out , Ut us have a free trade in machinery , otherwise our machine makers will lose the monopoly of machine-making for all the world > Free traders talking of monopoly . This is really funny I Now , the great questien resolves itself into these details : —Can we prevent the exportation of machinery ? I say , emphatically , bo 1 Reason ; because we have gone too far in encouraging our political
and commercial enemies . Ought we to prohibit the exportation as far as possible ? I say , yes ! Reason ; because , by radically reforming the representative system , we might improve our country so as to turn the use of machinery into a more profitable channel , to go to the good of the commonwealth ; besides , those operatives , who depend up » n machine-making in England , are numerically small compared with those who depend on manufacturing by machinery ; consequently , therefore , the interests of the many ought nut to be sacrificed to those of the few ; and if weds not oppose the exportation of machinery , we should tacitly allow a band of speculators and dissatisfied manufacturers to
enrich themselves at the ^ expense of the downfall of the staple manufactures of England , aud the consequent ruin of the people . No doubt , a bill will be brought into Parliament bj Mark Phillips , to allow free exportation of machinery ; it will be supported by all the political philosophers of the free-trade school ; of course , the people have no say in the matter , but it will not pass ; nevertheless , the people must keep a look out for the debates , and they will ste the clas # of fellows who would sell the trade of England to foreigners ; it will also furnish more proofs of the necessity of a Radical Reform of that House which wielda the destinies of the people iu so
reckless a manner . I now conclude these series of ten letters upon the hand-loom weavers' case ; nine of them were written in Lancaster and Kirkdale gaols ; and I must say , in justice to the Governors of those gaols , that they are in no wise blameable , though it was contrary to the prison rules to write for tha press ; for I found means to get them out without inculpating the Governors , whose dutiea would have prompted them to prohibit their transmission , had they passed into their hands . I do not know what were the facilities f # r prisoners in other gaols ; but Lancaster and Kirkdule are very liberal towards political prisoners .
Men of Colne , so far have I discharged my duty to your unfortunate class . I shall now publish the -whole of the letters in a cheap form , and take care that copies are forwarded to every Member of Parliament , that they do not plead ignorance of your condition . I canot do otherwias than express my thanks to the Editor of the Northern Star , for opening his columns to my Analysis , whereby , at least , thirty thousand copies of each letler have been ci culated weekly in the remotest parts of these kingdoms ; yes , even to the desk of Fox Maule , the whipper-in of the Government libellers and seditionists . R . J . Richardson . February 8 th , 1841 .
Untitled Article
THE EFFECTS OF CLASS-LEGISLATION , AS SEEX IN THE STREETS AND HOUSES OF THE -W ORKING CLASSES . [ Concluded from our last } Let us now take a still closer view of the subject , and ponder upon the state of things ; let us also awake up to a sense of cur real position , and , with our eyes open , commence an immediate struggle to escape . I have already shewn how unfairly the upper classes apply the funds contributed , by all , for the equal use of all . And now let us see how the working classes , with all their " ignorance" and "imbecility , " act towards their richer brethren ; and if I do not prove that , in this at least , they fulfil nor * than tho golden rule requires , namely , "to do as they would bo done unU , " I shall be greatly mistaken . What a beautiful steeple-house they are just finishing , at the bottom of Kirkgate , for the upper aud middle classes :
what capital houses they rear on every handthey are complete in every particular—not an outhouse is wanting—a plentiful supply of water-not one without a privy , ash-holes , extra water closets , grates , and sumpholes—good spouting—top and common sewerage , with other means to take oft' all bad smells and prevent nuisance—well-flagged causeways , and beautifully-paved streets—sweet plots ot garden ground , and here and there ia exhibited a miniature country forming the centre of a square—trees in rich blossoms , grass waving—yes , in the miiist of a populous and manufacturing town the luxurious odour and beauty of flowers may be perceived in all their infinitude of variety . And the working classes glory to do all this for them ; although , should they desire to go occasionally to enuft' the air in such a neighbourhood —to catch a glance , they have to do it at the risk of being Bent to prisou for peeping over the walla or through the paling .
Let u « see , then , what return is made—what the upper and middle classes do for the labourer in a similar , way ? They causa cottages to be built for his accommodation , which , in tome respects , are little better than pigsties ; in general , two small rooms , with cellarhole for coals , when he can get any , for which he pays from five to six pounds per annum , with , or sometimes without , the local rates attached . There ia , remember , in the first place , no common sewer , and , in consequence , no sumpstone or hole , inside , to take off the dirty water—all is obliged to be throwa upon the surface of the street—the door must be thrown open at all seasons if the hands only want washiug—no
waterno set-pot—and no many things . Rows of houses are crowded together—an inch to spare for nothing—they stand back to back , by which streets are formed ; and when a want of base is the great difficulty with the money-making speculator , dowu deeper he burrowsputs a family in the cellar , one in the middle , and another in the pile above : but the rarest thing in the world , with such inhabitants , is a useable privy or ashplace . The consequence of tkia is aa I have before stated ; all is thrown out upon the street , covered by ashes , or carried off by the rain as it is exhaled in vapours ; aud the stench wafted back again into the iiouses , inducing fevers and death .
When surveying the East Ward , we found , at least , five hundred inhabitant * , in one locality , entirely destitute of one useable privy . There were three in an entry , but the soil hud not been removed of so long that they literally ran over—down the passage and out at each end : the ash-holes were also filled to overflowing . And here , in summer time , the inhabitants , who are chiefly Irish , empty their bed » , coMiating of dbaff , shavings , Ac , to get rid of the filth which , certainly , makes the aih-plaoe a mning concern . The surface of
these atreeta , aa a matter of course , ia covered and impassable ; for , how cam it be oVherwiae . I remember finding , in another part of the town , a small batch of property where , at least , on » hundred people had but the use of om amaU privy . But there are scores of similar instanoea ; and when the people are all at home , which only happen * on the Sabbath-day , half their time U employed in watching each other ia and out , or they slip down behind walls or corners , or else annoy aome other person's property where a better supply of conveniences exists . .....
_ The working classes have fewer artificial and more real and natural wants tkan the upper classes . Their kind of employment requires more labour and more expence in washiug , whether in linen , person , or abode ; and , as if hell bad been raked to find means for their degradation and misery , every thing with which they have to do , only contributes to their oppression . Wages are reduced to the starving point , food dear , and taxes accumulating ; and , with every local disadvantage that avarice can inflict , ia it to be wondered at if they di * -
Untitled Article
coveran apathy and indifference , even for them st Ires and tbeir families' welfare , by quietly submitting to things as they are , rathtfr than maks , as they say , a bother about it . Just lock at the mother of one of these faniilie » : if ahe be thrifty and as good a housewife as OH » niay expect now-a-daya , should it be rainy weather , her young brood are kept within doors ; if moderately fine , it ia impossible to confine tbem , and out they got in a few minutes little Dick ia brought in by some of the elder branchea , all covered over with mud . Tb « fact ia , he pitched head foremoai into the gutter aboul a yard from the door , and waa almost suffocated . Tom , who ia bigger , comes in a few minutes later , holding up his sludgy bands , his , brat besmeared with the same composition , bellowing like » b « ar ; he , too , has tumbled , or keen pushed flows by Billy Sauce ' em ; and thus , the poor mother baa her hands full ; perhaps , no
money , no water , no soap ; what ia ahstedo ? Oh , these dirty streets ! sae criea ; God help poor people I we shall all be lost J The father , too , who has hard to toil all day , and then to tramp a mile , or » o , to Ms homo , is ill clad and ill shod , through such streets , such broken and bad causeways , in worse than th » dark , past projecting steps , perhaps , is tripped up , tumbles down some nnprotected cellar steps , with which the town abounds , breaks an arm or » leg , if not hia neck , is picked up by a saucy polite or watchman , who swear * lie was drunk , or be would not haw been there ; he is taken to the lockup , thence to the infirmary or the channel house , and his family , poor things , to the bastile , there to be separated from tueir mother ! and then , and then , and then—God knows what naxt Some may say that this is overdrawsmere fiction ; but , had I space , I could give facts , and " facts are more strange than fiction . "
Fearing to trespass too much at once upon your valuable space , I must close . But , Sir , where is the remedy for these crying evilsf Is there no way out ? Thank God , yea . The power to make our own lawa « to spend our own money ; to manage our own affairswhether general or local , will soon put all to right . Let the working men arouse from their slumbers , to " upset the world as it is . " Byron says ia one placet"The river looks on Marathon , And Marathon looks on the sea ; And mming there an hour alone , I dreamt that Greece might atill be free . "
We do n « t dream , however , we know it ; and I wish that working men would " muse an hour alone" ever what I have written for their benefit ; for I flitter myself facts like these , which come home to their abodes may atir them up to look further still ; and , by a ceaseless agitation , and determination never to lend a helping hand to any farther eckeme of class legislation , they will nail their colours to the mast head , and let the cry be , " Universal Suffrage , and No Surrender . " Let them consider who are the owners of cottage property , and they will find the vast
majority to consist of those who are new seeking a brick and mortar franchise , for more effectually aerving their wn ends . Is not the ' sincerity' of their professions seen in the present condition of cottage property ? Let them wipe away this stain from their escutcheon befoM they are entrusted with , farther power . I am , dear Sir , Yours respectfully , WfLLIAM HICK , Superintendent of the statistical survey lately ' made in Leeds . Leeds , Feb . 5 , 18-41 .
Untitled Article
UNION IS STRENGTH . IO « IIE EDITOR OF THB NORTHERN STAB . Sib , —We read , that when the First Great Cause , by His all-powerful flat , called all nature from the womb of nonentity , ; and had given each component port of the system its place , office , or function , bs > pronounced all things «• good , " yea , VERY GOOD ; but , somehow or other , things have become YERY BAD . This latter fact ; is too well known to require tb » trouble of much close * investigation . The Theologians of every shade—the philosophers of every school—the politicians of every class—and all the its * of every creed and kind—feel that something is out of order .
Well , what ia it ? Why the canting barrel-bellied hypocrite who says , ha is "the Legate of the Skies , " while enacting the tragedy of Bathcormac—and who declares his office " sacred , " while fleecing the flock , devouring the fat , and " robbing the widows' house * , " would fain have ua give credence to hia tub-droppings and become mute , seeing that our woes are only tbe chastisement * of the Lord , for our individual sins of ; oiniuion and commission . Query . How is it that the black wolves in sheep ' s clothing , and their whelps , don't get a slice of tke
chastisement T Is honest industry more deserving of the rod than those who have converted the temple into % " den of thieves , " and who have carried desolation and misery to every cotter ' s hearth ? No , no , the blasphemy of these sanctimonious crutches of corruption is too glaring to arrttt popular attention , further than to be condemned . Were the poor , the needy , the insulted and Buffering millions to be taciturn at the command of this God-diabonouring gang of sable-coated and blackhearted dissemblers ,, the stones beneath our feet would upbraid us for our infatuation , and curse us for our guilty silence .
Don't think , Sir , tbat . Ihave stepped out to fire upoa the whole crowd of parsons , en masse , for I am certain there are some among them yet untouched by " tha haven of unrighteousness , " though s « ch is the paucity of their numbers that , like comets , they are rarely seen , aud the blessings attendant on their visits " Few , and far between . " The philosophers of the Malthusian school , unable to disprove the existence of widespread misery , would have us subscribe to the doctrine of " redundant population , " and would , ' of course , have the poor , the working man , to disobey , the command of his Creator , and counteract the dictates of nature . But this beastly
parson , and his brutal gang , have yet to demonstrate that Clod has made more mouths than he has created food to fill , and they als « forf et to propound their dootrine to the wealthy idlers . Would it not be far better to carry their dogmas to the palace rather than t © the cot , and thunder them in tbe ears of tho prince rather than in those of the . plebeian ? Certainly it would . But then , the prinGe would whisper to them the bounty of geod John Bull—he would tell them how well the old fellow provides for the breeding and rearing of doga , horses , monkeys , and brats , and , therefore , their mission to the palace would be as fruitless as it is , and ever will be , to the dwelling of the sons of toil .
There is another race of philosophers in this country , which ought not to be passed by without notice—I mean the Owenites , who are the antipodes of the Maithu 8 ian sect . Although I differ , in Mo , from these men on points of theology , yet their views of the present position of society , and the remedial measures they propound for iU reorganization , are such as demand the attention of every friend to his kind . The order of society is completely inverted : the circumstances surrounding us , and with " which we are brought into frequent contact , are such as , in ninety-nine caseB out of every hundred , militate against our individual interest , or are inimical . to the general weal . Society indubitably requires a-remodelling : a different system of training muht be adopted ; in short , " old things must pass away , and all things become new . "
It would be well- if tha Chartists and Socialists , generally , would think upon the admirable saying of Bronterre— " Every rational Socialist must be a Cbartist , and every rational Chartist must be a Socialist . " Allow me , Sir , to express my surprise that both parties do not act more in concert ; both have one object in view , namely , the happiness of the human race—both war against existing evils , and both ought to work together , leaving religious matters at home for more private use , as they ore not weapons meet for political warfare .
The Socialists and the Chartists have both to combat the same enemy ; the objects of both are alike hostile to the views , objects , and designs of those , who , for well-known reasons , love things ss they are . The annihilation of Chartism , and the destruction of Socialism , ia the deaire of "the powers that be "—both are maiked out aa victims ; therefore , let ua aid each other , which may be done without the least compromise on either hand . Separate from points of theological disputation , the two systems must be amalgamated to effectuate and give permanency to that state of human happiness sought by both to be attained .
I had intended to allude to some of the plans , schemes , tricks , and subterfuges « f the itinerating crotchet-mongers and pioneers of faction ; but I fear that my thread will be too long , and shall , therefore , conclude by exhorting the Socialists to aid their Chartist brethren in their effort to overthrow the present cannibal system , and establish freedom , and , conseauently , happiness , on a firm and durable foundation . " Let the Chartists beware of crotchet-mongers and unprincipled agitators ; and , should a few unstable individuals in our own ranks , from motives yet unknown , assail our organ , the Star , and its conductor , heed them not—tares are yet among the wheat , and we must not be discomfited at the apostacy of a few , even though they have made a trado of Chartism , and live by it still . ' '
. . , ... „ . „_ . Something mysterious hangs over us , but a little time will give a solution to the paradoxical conduct of certain parties . But let the Charter , the whole Charter , and nothing less than the Charter , be our motto . Tours , truly , W « . R . JDBB . Leeds , Feb . 10 th , 1841 .
Untitled Article
O * Wednesday iast , Robert Hume , James Far rar , and James Clifford , all attached to » theatrics company , lately performing at Whitehaven , wore , after a long examination before the magistrates » f Workington , committed to our goal for trial si the ensuing assizes , on a charge of committing a violent assault , with latent , to murder , on Robert Archibald , master mariner , and George Thomlioson , farmer , both of Flimby . —Carlisle Journal . Infamous Charge . —William Fletcher , aged 21 , and James Chittern , 24 , both described as grooms , were sentenced to fifteen years' transportation , at the Central Criminal Court , for threatening to accuse a druggist of Westminster , named Cundall of aa attempt to « ommi ( an , abominable orime .
Untitled Article
THE NORTHERN STAR . 7
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 13, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct843/page/7/
-