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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1842.
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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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A GREAT PUBLIC MEETING ' AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION HALL , HOLBORN . A great public meeting was held at the National Afc-oriationHall . TIOiborn , on Monday exerting-, charge for aJmission , 1 J . At eight o ' clock , about 1 , 500 persons were present ; and in accordance with the announcement on tbe placards , Joseph Sturge -was -ananlmcusly elected to preside , and took the cQAir auud great applause . Mr . Sirrue commenced by statin ? that be was sen . 8 ible of the kind feeling they had expressed towards him . seeio ? that he had bo recently become a fellowworktr with them in the gnat ciase of politics ! redemption . It might be asked why be wa there at of
all ^ a ins president a mushroom association , while there were others who had deToted many years of their life to the advocacy of the principles of the Charter ? Tii > . re were many who were more able , and many who hi ; ' 1 s . better claim ; but , by the adviee of the friends with whom he had communicated be bad taken his present responsibility , and would endeavour to contend with the difficulties which presented themselves , and create a firm union between the middle and -worktop classes , by which means alone they would be enaVied rightly to settle the question . He might be &Ek = d why be did not join the Chartists at occe ? Hs was one of th ? se who cared little for the names of political associations any more than for those of religions denominations . He had found CTnoncst mnny of his own class a prejudice
against the Charter ; they were a ! ann 6 d at the rctnuon of it , and would not listen to reaso . But if he could get them to admit one point , he thoagbt be couJd gradually bring them to the consideration of the other five . The retrospect of the past showed that be had net laboured in vain . Mr . Sturge then went into details of the elections it Nottingham , Southampton , and Ipswich , and stated that if the R jading election had been proceeded witii he had no doubt they would have palled a majority of the votes . Mr . S . then alluded to the recent str . ke in the North . He waa satisfied that it had not Ukt-n its rise in political motives , I ut had been brought
on t y the destitution of the people . The people had , in his ! -i > i :: ion , conducted themselves well amidst the fXcitnieEt existing , and from what he knew of his own district , he was convinced they would meet quit-tly and peaceably , if not interfered with ; but il the police and military were sent amongst them to exasperate them , the consequences might be dreadful . Mr . Sturge then de : ilt cut some hard hits at tee state church , aiid concluded hy etating that he wished to bee the military po « -ir a shield and protection to the ¦ xtd ., and not an instrument cf tyranny in the bands of the powerful . —( great cheeringj . Mr . Elt mwed the following resolution : —
" Tas : the proceedings of the House of Commons during the past Session inconUstibly prove that that Bou = e has no sympathy with , ar .. 1 does cot in any maanrr represent , the f .-eiings of the people of this eonctrv ; for , in * pite of the decay cf trade , and the wide-spread destitution of the operative classes , which were made mmifeit to the House by the most authentic and fe . irful evidence , its Members have nevertheless retired to thsir amusements and country sports without takicc one decided step to alleviate the misery , the
txistense of which they have bee . i compelled to ackno sludge . " i :: d < 5 ^ e ; t -with much energy npon the incapacity of the prevent G jvernment to do aught for the btntSt . of t thc peop -. and also of their resort to the miserable expe-Gien : via Queen ' s begging letter . Mr . Pjiilp seconded the resolution . - James Peirce Ealing , ef tht : Icuct Temple , in an eloq'arnt v . tanner supported the resolution which waa Cirritj uaap'tnously , > ir . Jouy Duncan moved the next resolution :
" That the facts smrmei in the foregoing resolution , added to a long experience of similar injustice , are stmV . ent to convince the people that the great vice of oar institutions is class legislation , or the legislat . on of the few for the few ; and , in the opinion of thi 3 meeting , the only tffective remedy for class legislation is to give to eTery man a direct control ever the making cf those laws which affect his social happiness and mcrul well-being . " Mr . D entered into a long and ab ! e expose of the fandir . ;; fcys-t-em . and of the various encroachments which the rulers of this country had Hiade upon the natural and unaiienable rights of the peopie .
Mr . Ch . vB . les Westekton , in his usual eloquent mannrr tipostd the hideous deformity of the monster , dais Irjrislation , and stated his fervent hope and belitf , that it they would but throw aside their sectional d : ff-r ^ ncis , the diy was no ! far distant R-hen ; amidst the triumphant r . cclamniations of the c . untry , the Charter wcn ' : d be proclaimed the law of the land— and freed ; : n , prosperity , and hsppintss , su-ile upon the ccuctry . ; Great cbfcering . ) The resolution was carried cnsnimotisly . Mr . J . K . PAF . r . y moved the third
resolution—•• TLat while tais mttting , therefore , virwa with high Eitiii :. ction the rtsulrs of the contests entered into bj Jlr . S ' . ar ^ e a : NottisEhim , and Mr . Vincent at IpsMiah , oil tb = yr ; iicii .-it : 4 ° * CjUijjlfctfe Suifrsg- ; , they tarnest !; Cill upju all trae Reformers to promote the cordial onion c ; ' tbe rrdedie and working classes , without wh . eh iz is isTit-.-issi'rile efrectsaKy to ccntend against our pDWer-j " ' . telisb , and sordid arbtocricy , but with which tie F .: a :.: tvii of class legislation woald be speedijy annihilated . " Tne sr' 6 ' . itr , in a Terv effective and telling address ,
declsjid his de ' -erainition to stand by the document ca : is < 3 the Carter , acd to be content with nothing less t ! ian the Yrho ' . e Charter ; but , at tbe eame time , he iros willix-g to co-operate with any - body of his fcllowmen , -s to wtrc engaged in any struggle having for its or j ct : h-2 amelioration of the condit cn of the human rare . He wss a member cf the National Charter Association—of ihs body to whom the Hall in which they rr . e : beloncen , r . nd likewise of the Csmplete Saffrage Union . Tile o" jrd of the Complvt ^ S ^ - ff .-ige pirty was t cunciliats s . ^ 1 jraia the co-operation of the middle cla = s : th-:-v did n ' . t wish to destroy or kjare the
Charter As 3 > : iatijn . The working men had never j deserted ' . Utir ptincirles , even in the most danserons timos ; anl he w- ^ 3 convinced they wcu ' . d not aesert ; theRi v . o-v , -when the h > ur of their succtis was at h :-. nd , j tut vr -uli pnrsu- thtir object with increased perse- ' verance and eccriiy . Tie man who was continually j ttcD'unc ' . cg the middle class was a traitor to the cause j of iKa ; w : racy . God forbid that h- _ - ihould . attempt to divide the t ^ o Ci ^ escs ; it was only by a union cf them ; th-t a bloodless revolution cculd be effec ' ad . Mr . Parry thea rrferred to the social war ( for so it might
be ttrtn-d' txJ&tir . g . m * he rvcrth and Micland counties . 3 i&nv t :: n : d friends cf peace , l 3 w » and order—many venerabls uid ladies and venerable men were afraid that thi * , to their visws , awful insurrection , wonld injure the cause of j-eaceful reform . He was well assured that such a movement would never injure their holy cause Never in the Ennals of British history iind there been a moTiiii-. r ; ' : more ca ' . ' . iilited to do honour to the ¦ working « T : £ S 5 cs : there iiati been eo ( 'rnnkenr . ess , no vioUnce , save on the pait of the GaTernment . They had conrncteA the . usc'ves as ui-n who felt they were deeply icji-eo , and who were ditermined to elevate themselves ii . to their proper po&r _ ion in societv ; they
Ergfct :: ot Lave taken tee ceit mtans to £ ch : t . ve this oVjvCt , tut gc-ied en as they were by nisery and distress they had taken a noble position and Lave dared to Eiaictsin i :. Etsd those papers which pandered to every crr-upt . on in Caurch and State , with every desire i ) hoai-d on the middle ag-. insi tbe working ciasies , tad failed in giving any cokuriiig to the conduct cf those trgsgrd in the tarn-out which did not Tiil .-ct ciedit upon thtru . Mr . P . then went on to chow that it waj only fey appealing to tbe fears of the ¦ upper classes tkst any intasure cf justice could be obtairsei . In cr-Ddnsiou he called upoa them to unite and b ' . ot from tie pa ? e cf history the name of . both tyrant an-i slave—icreat cheering >
Mr . Lovett seconded the resolution ; ^ na stated that iis ci-fii : tio ; i of C / mplete Suffrace was to be found in tin Pcop ; t " s Charrer . Much prejudice Lad been exkibittd agvi ^ tt ihs ! as t Confer-nca Because they hr . d not adopted the use :. ' cf the Charttr . Mar , y cf the deleg £ ' . t 8 uni to that assembly were eleutti or . ] j to coasiiltr thv poir . t ^ : the Saff .-aae ; others were prejudiced a ^ -i ; n = t t ^ . e E ^ uie c f the C ^ iirter on account of the - ** Uer . t conduct of e ; - «! o cf its advocates ; and othersttrp . r . ce n 3 i : niicht :. f pear—ha : net t-vta Kad that dweam-i ^ t . The g £ cu " nies in which sorfie ' . f the delegat- , s Tide p ' . ictd irec ' . u ' . ei ih- ^ ir having sUSilent time ? ^ jTT- * - » iT" t » * .. * O 1 »^ . o iU »« i ' c f , 9 + * i * e » i > -. ?¦ . — . nn ^ 4-V «»» to enter uz-j all the Oetii : s or tie sarj ^ c : and they
. ; separated with a deteraiination to call another con-Jtrencu : asd he had no doubt that any conference fairly chosen which Tiii ' iht dot be called would adopt the whole cf the dtta-Js of the Charter . T . DS 7 had met much cf opposition ; but rotwithstindin ^ th : . s they had tuccefdcT . ix-cyond their tsptct- ' aons . The Whigs a _ id tfra Iur ; e 3 might for a time , by the aid of the military ac-i p ' iice , buceeed in embarrassing the prestnt movemeet , but u ' t'mately they must succeed ; and « the bullying of the Trjits . or the braying of the Hera ' d , would eo mor-3 retard them than the attempt of Mother Paxtingt .-n to stop the propew of the ocean with her mop . ( LiUgLttT . *
Mr . Yi >; ce > t supported the resolution in a long and elequen : a-idresa , which was greeted throughout with the ra ^ st enthusiastic applause . Daring his address he stated that tie gr , sst object of the Complete Soffrsge Union was to prepare for electoral battles in favour of the people ' s claim . If the machinery ¦ was properly organised , they at the very next election would hare each a band cf sturdy obstructives in the House of Commons as would defy a&v business to be transacted until the people ' s just rkhts were granted . He trusted they would not allow the occurrences in the North to intimidate them- He hoped tiey would not stand by in apathy , because a few persons ., misconstruing their motives , had
denonscsd them . In his heart ' s deepest core he venerated the name of the People ' s Charter ; he had not a drop of ftco i in his veins which did not boil with ar . it . ur in the cause of democracy— ( tremendous cheering . ) He trusted that meeting would be an earnest of a better feeling that they should have touched the string to arouse Lopdon from its slumbers , and that it would stand forth in its power and intellect , and never cease to battlfl ¦ with corruption until the physical , moral , and intellectual rights of tbe people were grafted them by a wise and a good government . Tbe resolution waa then passed ; and after a vote of thacks ba 4 been moved by Mr . Parry , and seconded . by Mr . C-impbell , to the Chairman , the meeting dis-* ol 7 ed—i % being ceir twelve o ' clwk
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TO THB BDITOR 07 THS NORTHERN STAR . Deak Srs , —I feare received the purport of this communication from a cottier , from Clay Cross , and they wish it to appear in the Northern Siar . Belper , August 50 , 18 * 2 . Sir , —Several false statements having appeared in the Derbyshire Courier regarding onr wages and the conduct of Mr . Arthnr O'Neil , when with us a fortnight age , we feel it our chrty to nnderceive tiie public by giving the following true statement : — It was statc-d in the Courier that we , the colliers of Clay Cross , were getting 4 s . per day ; whereas , numbering , as we nearly do , 300 men , we do not average more than 2 s . 6 d- per day , working fourteen hours to the day , and are subject to stoppages out of the 2 s 6 d . for candles , tools , ta
The Courier says Mr . O'Nell visited Clay Cross last week , and appeared as a flare-up teetotaller ; but finding total abstinence did not take well amoDg the people , he quietly put it on the shelf , and advised the colliers to demand of their employers two quarts of ale per ¦ day . Let the narrators thereof blush , for it ia a He ! It is customary in Staffordshire for the men to have allowed them one or two quarts of ale per day ; and their prices are better for their work : therefore , Mr . O'Neil advised the men , that if they struck for an advance of wages , that , instead of having the ale , to have the value thereof in money , as , according to his opinion as a consistent teetotaller , it would do them more geod .
The Courier also states that O'Neil , the demagogue , was too good a judge to mention it to Mr . Binns , the agent ; but O'Neil did mention itln his pre 3 :-nce , and confuted every argument that Mr . Binns brought forward . This , like the others , is false . Yours , &c J . VlCKEKS , Clay Ctosb Colliery , Auguit 29 , 1812 .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERS STAR . Sir , —Will you allow me a corner in your columns to acknowledge the receipt of 5 s . from Mr . Jones , of Newport , SaJop , for Mason ' s and his fellow-prisoners ' Defence Fund , and to inform the Committee for the management of the above fund that I divided it amongst the three that emerged from the dungeon ' s gloom on Saturday last , whose term of imprisonment bad expired , and who left the gael without food or any money , and had to travel twenty-two miles to reach home ? By doing which , you will oblige , Yeurs , respectfully , Willkmi PErursv . Friar-strett , Stafford , Aug . 29 th , 1842 .
P . S . I bxpe the country will not forget Mr . Mason . From the want of a regular supply of funds to purchase food for him , he was about to be thrown on the gaol diet last week ; it was served out to him , but his stomach teas S 3 weak thai he could not touch it . One of the Mr . Caswell ' s , who left prison last week , stated it as his opinion that if Mason was put on gaol diet , he could not live his time out . Shall such a man as Mason be lost ? Chartists , answer ! W . P . Mason ' s and others' Defence Fund . —The
following subscriptions have been received by Mr . Samuel Cook , of Dudley : — £ s . d . Aug . 10 Bacsington-on-Thames 0 7 0 16 Redditch 0 6 0 17 Cheltenham , after sermon ... 10 0 IS Clithtroe 0 2 1 19 Abergavenny 0 8 6 20 Northampton 0 4 0 22 Greenock 0 IS 0 24 Stockingfield , Nuneatoa 0 1 0 29 Kingswood , Bristol 0 2 6
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THE LEAGUE PLOT . WHO IS THE COWARD ! It is now well understood by the whole country , who it is that have the rare merit of having planned and originated the late " risings" and " riots . " Ask the question where you may , and the same answer 13 returned . Indeed it could not be otherwise . Ths evidence we have brought to bear on the point has " seitled the question . " There is no possibility of shaking it . Wriggle as the League may under the exposure , they cannot wriggle ont of ic ) There it is , fued upon them , beyond the possibility of mistake ! Never forget that their
ewn organ , the Sunday Times , openly avowed that " the plan of shutting up all the miils in one day originated with him ; and that the Lragce considered THE QUESTION AGAIN AND AGAIN ' ! and never forget that their crack man , their hired creature , declared that " the object of the League ' s Conference meeting in London was to consider the propriety of stopping all iMe mills in one day ; and they would do it" ! Never forget these things ; and never cease to call for justice upon the inciter to rebellion ; the concoctors of " risings" and ' riots ; " the getters-up of the plot , the carrying out of which has cost lif e ; has caused the people
to be shot down like mad-dogs ; to be ridden over , and sabered ; to be bludgeoned and brutally maltreated by ferociotas and blood-heated police and " specials ; " to be " committed to take their trials' ' by thousands ; and to be sentenced to long periods of imprisonment and transportation ! Never cease to call for justice upon the authors of all this mischief and evil . Never cease to 'demand that the poor " rioters" shall not be the only persons prosecuted , and made to bear the whole burden of punishment . Demand that the League-men have their fair share . Demand justice for them ; and never ceaso that demand till justice be folly satisfied !
Were there any link deficient in the chain of evidence to connect the League with the concoction s . nd origin of the " risings" and the " riots , " it is haply supplied by one of themselves . It happens that there is no such deficiency . The chain of evidence is whole and perfect . Therefore whatever is now let out of the bag can only come as corroboration of that which is already established . In this light do we Tiew the pnblio testimony borne to the fact of the Leagne-origin of the riots" by one of their own hired advocates . We give it here only as testimony bearing out the conclusive evidence we have before adduced . In . the Times of Monday wo find the following account of a meeting held in the Carpenter ' s Hall on Saturday last . It is headed : —
" CAUSE OF THE RECENT DISTURBANCES . " Thia evening , at six clock , the doors of the Carpenters' Eall ware opened for a public meeting to be held within its walls , at which it was announced a lecture would be delivered , by a late member of the anti-Corn Law League , on the origin , cause , and progress of the late insurrection ; and it would be proved that the League were the cause of i * . " When the door was opened only about twenty people entered the room , and it was some time before that number was increased at all . About half an hour after the time announced the lecturer ascended the platform , and then probably about 100 persons were present . Towards the close cf the lecture , however , that number had increased considerably , by the arrival of sevaral members of the anti-Corn Law League , and amongst them , as we understood , the Secretary of that
body . " The lecturer proposed that Mr . Smith , a working man , should take the chair . " The Chairman said , as he knew nothing of the meeting , he should merely call on Mr . Daffey to deliver his lecture . " Duffsy then presented himself to the meeting , and spoke fer upwards of an hour , during which time he was heard with great attention . Kis speech was principally confined to abuse of the manufacturers and mill-0 wners and the AntlCorn Lav League . Tbe former be accused of having reduced the wages of the workmen fall 40 per cent , and the latter with being the cause of
the present outbreak , in consequence of compelling their men to leave their work , having previously counselled them to adopt that course . The working classes bad been tossed about between the two parties , and each in their torn bad bid for their support j but now tbe League bad thrown them overboard and declared they would carry the repeal of tbe com laws by agitation among the middle classes only . The Morning Chronicle and other Liberal papers bad been lately reporting the daily meetings of the Anti-Com Law Conferenoe , and what was the result of these meetings ?
Why , what they predicted bad come to pass , because they bad tbe power to bring it about They said they would reduce tbe wages of their bands until they bad not enough to live on , and tben tbey would cry out for a repeal of tbe corn laws ; and Mr . Sharp , of the firm of Sharp , Roberta , & Co ,, had said that they would reduce tbe wtges of their men twenty per cent . Mr . Cbappell hod also said if tbe Corn Laws were not repealed , they the ( League ) would stop all their mills and leave tbe men to their own resources . He said be know an instance where one large manufacturer , bad , during the last six months , reduced bis bands to tbe
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extent ef 10 s . per week ; and when asked tbe reason why he did « o , Baid , it was because the Cera Lawn were not repealed , and because Parliament wouW not llrten to the demands of the Corn Law Conference . He asked whether there were any present who bad been compelled to become members of the Anti-Corn Law League , and who bad bad Id . per week deducted from their wages to pay for their card of admission ? ( A number of voices called out " Yes , yes . " ) He next condemned the conduct of those magistrates who were members of the Anti-Corn Law League who bad taken part in suppressing the meeting of delegates held in that Hall—a meeting which he contended was as legally constituted as the Corn Law Conference in London . No longer ago
than the 16 th of July , Mr . J . Brookes , one of the magistrates wbo bad signed the proclamation against the Trades Delegates Meeting , had at a meeting of the Corn Law League proposed the following resolution : — ' That , believing this country to be . on the eve of a revolution , and being utterly without hope that the Legislature will accord justice to the starring millions , a requisition be forthwith prepared , signed , and forwarded to the Members for this Borough , calling npon them , in conjunction with other Liberal Members , to offer every possible opposition to the taxing of a prostrate people , for the purpose of a bread-taxing aristocracy , by argument and other constitutional impediments , that THE WHEELS OF GOVERNMENT JUY BE ARRESTED , through tbe rejection or prevention of all votes of supply . ' This he contended waj advising a Revolution ; and whilst the supporters of that Revolution were
allowed to escape , it was unjust to punish the poor men who were now in custody . Further , Mr . Cobden had said , as there was no chance of stopping tbe supplies by a vote of tbe House of Commons , there was a way of doing it , and that was by suspending labour . The working classes were only carrying out that recommendation , and now tbe members of the League turned round on them and prosecuted them . The speaker then entered at length into a declamition against the Anti-Com Law League for having forced the people to turn out from their work , and then deserting them in tbe hour of danger , and concluded by calling on the working classes to subscribe , if even one farthing each , for tbe prosecution of those magistrates who had broken in upon and dispersed a meeting which was as legally constituted as the meeting of the Anti-Corn Law Association held ob Thursday laat
" A person named Michael Donahoe then stood forward and accused Duffey of being in the service of tbe Tories . He had sold or offered himself to all parties . He cautioned the Chartists against him , lest they should be deceived and misled by him . He had himself presided at a teetotal meeting , where Duffey had publicly Bigned the pledge , and a guinea was collected for him to deliver a lecture on drunkenness ; but next day he had gone and spent the guinea in getting intoxicated and violating his pledge . He bsd also offered himself to tbe League as a lecturer , and had been paid 10 s . 6 d . to give a lecture against the Corn Laws in Stockport The speaker entered into a long list of charges against the lecturer , and concluded by calling on the latter to disprove them .
" Duffey said so many charges bad been made against him , that be hardly knew where to begin , and he must be brief , as the room must be at liberty for another purpose by eight o ' clock ; but , on Monday evening , he would be prepared to prove the charges he had made against the League , and disprove those against himself . As to the one about his signing the teetotal pledge , that was a lie . ( Cheers and uproar . ) It had also been said that be had been paid to go to Stockport to lecture—that was a lie . " Here tbe meeting became so uproarious , by tbe clamour of the friends of the two speakers , that the Chairman deemed it right to dissolve the meeting , and it was with some difficulty the contending patties were prevented from settling their dispute by a recourse to personal violence . "
The same journal , the Times , of Wednesday , has the following report of the adjourned meeting : — " Last night ( Monday ) a meeting was held at Carpenters' -hall , by adjournment from Saturday , to hear the defence of Duffey , the lecturer against the anti-Corn Law League , to certain charges made against him by a person named Donahoe , wbo Bpoke to the meeting at tbe conclusion of the leeture . Some misapprehension occurred respecting the hour of meeting ; in consequence of which a number of people who assembled about the
doors of the Hall at six o ' clock , were compelled to wait until eight At that hour the doors were opened , and a large crowd rushed into the room , many of them passing the door-keepers , without payiDg the usual admission fee . During the meeting probably 400 or 500 persons were in tbe room , mostly working men ; and as soae apprehensions were entertained that tbe public peace might be interrupted , it was deemed necessary to have a body of the police force in the neighbourhood , to act , should their services be required .
" When Duffey appeared on the platform , it appeared evident that a niajoiity of the meeting were unfriendly to him , and his reception was by no means flattering . He said that was an adjourned meeting from Saturday evening ; and as tbe person who occupied the chair on that occasion could not conveniently attend , be begged to propose that Mr . John M'CIellan should fill his place . " The Chairman said , he hoped the lecture of Mr . Duffey would be listened to without interruption , and be pledged himself , at the conclusion , any questions which might be asked the lecturer should be answered , or any one who wished should be allowed to address the meeting on subjects relevant to tbe lecture . ( Cheers and hooting . )
" Duffey then proceeded to address the meeting , and after some preliminary observations , be said , he had been cautioned not to appear that night , for if he did his life would be endangered . ( Hooting . ) This threat was held ont in order to prevent his appearing to prove bis charges against tbe Anti-Corn Law League . ( Uproar . ) But like a true Irishman , who never turned his back on either friend or foe , he was there at bis post . " [ The meeting here became so disorderly that the speaker could not be heard for some time , and it was only by the entreaty of Donahoe that order was in some measure restored ]
•• Duffey then , with difficulty , was heard for about half an hour , duriDg which time he reiterated his charges against the Anti-Corn Law League of being the authors of the pwsent movement , in consequence of having forced their workpeople to turn out , in pursuance of a threat made by the millowners at the Corn Law Conference in London ; and for doing that be was threatened with personal violence . But , although they might assassinate , they should never intimidate him . So long ago as the 5 th cf May be said the Bame thing . He then stated that the miliowners would compel the working men to a general turn-out , and on that occasion
Mr . John Broeks , one of tbe magistrates , stood behind him , applauded what he said , and called it a very clever speech . But the moment the suggestions ef the League were carried out , the members of the League placed themselves at tbe head of the military force , put down the legally eenstituted meetings of the people , and attempted , by a parade of their power to intimidate tha working people , and to prevent their meetings . He was not there to quarrel with Mr . Donahoe ; his charge was against the League . He was prepared to meet them , and prove the charge be bad made : but they were reduced to the necessity of sending their paid agent , Big Mick' to defend them—( confusion . )
" Michael Donahoe said , he was not a paid agent of the League , be was not even a member of it He was connected with the Anti-Corn Law Association as their collector , a station bis opponent was not thought fit to fill . ( Cheers . ) " Some further confnslon and disorder here took place , it having been arranged that each party should address the meeting for half an hour , in consequence of tbe Chairman deciding that Duffey bad a right then to speak for half an hour . Tbe meeting refused to bear Duffey , and overruled the decision of the chair . After some discussion ,
"Dobaboe proceeded to address tha meeting , and continued his speech for half an hour , making several charges against Daff ; y , refl-scting on his character , stating that he was now the paid agent of the Toriesthat the placards calling the meeting were printed at the Chronicle-of&ce , and that he was no longer in the Repeal Association , nor fit to be trusted by tbe Chartists ; the latter body the speaker cautioned against being delude ! by Duffey , wbo bad already betrayed them . " The rest of tbe evening was spent in crimination and recrimination between the two parties and their supporters on each side , and tbe meeting ended in a scene of most admired uproar , and at near midnight " A large body of police were in attendance to prevent outrage , but their services were not required . "
Now this Duffey we believe to be as great a rascal as ever drew breath . Indeed , had he not been such , he never would have sold himself , as he did , to the Bernce of the League-men . None but a scamp would take their blood-stained coin , to do bis uttermost to persuade the working men id quietly allow the steam giants to fetter labour ' s hands , and take away labour's last crust . But Duffey is no greater a scamp than the rest of his late comrogues . He is as good as the rest . He and they may have quarrelled , —possibly about the division of the spoil . He and they may have fallen out : but what of that 1 It will not do for those who are as bad as Duffsy to
denounce him as a bad man . He is as good as Waeren , or Acland . His services have been deemed worth the purchase . He has had the League's money for doing the League ' s work . He knows what was the work they Bet him to do ! He and John Brooks—( the busy magistrate in putting down the rising 3 " and if riots" )—seem , to have well understood each other ! He is in for the secret . He blabs it . He openly discloses it . He proclaims in open day what was the object of himself and his confederated compeers . He tells us that that object was to cause the " Turn-out . " He tells us the modus operandi was the lowering of wages ! He charges npon his late associates , whose secrets he knows ; whose meetings he has attended ; whose plans he is in possession of ; whose objects he has
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endeavoured to accomplish : he tells these , his associates , that they alone are guilty of causing'all the " risings" and the " riots ; " and alone aught to be answerable for the consequences resulting 1 ! We believe him . It is , we know , the evidence of e scoundrel ; but the proof does not rest with him . The facts ho deposes to are established by other and less impcachable testimony . He is only a witness in corroboration . As sach he is valuable . Let us wait and see what answer the League can give to him !
We have been waiting , anxiously , to see what anfewer they could give to US . We have fixed tho originating of the " riots" upon them . We have adduced unmistakeable and conclusive evidence to prove that they " considered the proposition again and again . " We have shewn that they acted on the plan laid down . We have shewn that all the efforts of their writers in the Press , ever since the rejection of the Whigs from office , has been to cause Confu-Bion and Revolution . We have shown that the Globe announced that the battle-cry wa 3 to be
" bread or blood" ! We have shown that the Morning Chronicle talked of BARRICADES being erected to defeat Sir Robert Peel and hia Budget , and to carry the Whig one . We have shown that the Sun talked of " the carrving of LADIES' HEADS on poles , or trailing them in the dirt . "II We have shown that the Leagued Daily Bread Men tried to get the people to join in what they themselves openly announced as " an organised plan to break the law" ! We have shown that the Leaguer ' s
Conference openly declared they would " p ay no taxes" ! We have shown that one of their members suggested" the appointment of a Committee of Publio Safety " , after he had talked of probable " risings " and " riota . " We have shown that the plan of " striking work for one month" was openly proposed in that same Conference . We have shown that an Alderman of Manchester , a leading member of the League , openly declared that "tho only plan
left the manufacturers" whereby they could force their measure , " was to stop their factories . " We have shown all those things , weeks ago : and we have also shown how the Weekly Chronicle tried to incite to incendiarism in the depth of last winter . We have shown these things : and how have we been answered 1 By indignant denials of the facts we adduced ? No III By silence The Globe has not dented the
" Bread or Blood " change . Tho Chronicle has not denied tho BARRICADES charge . The Sun has not ventured to deny his atrocious and miscreant-like suggestions respect" LADIES HEADS on poles" ! The League have not denied the suggested appointment of " a Committee of Public Safety" ! The Weekly Chronicle has not denied his dastardly incitements to incendiarism , through his
' SWING
'placard-dodge ! On the contrary , he acknowledges it !!! and only says he has not done as much in that way as we have ; a gratuitous and unsupported assertion , which we make him a present of back again ! The Alderman has not denied his suggested stopping of tho mills . The League have not denied the assertion of their own organ , " that they considered the proposition again and again" ! The
employment of six delegates by the factory-masters and shopkeepers of Ashton-under-Line , to go to other towns to get the work-people to join the u strike , " just then and there commenced , has not been denied ! Indeed those things cannot be denied . They are damning facts , which fix the concoction and planning of the plot ( which has sent thousands to prison ) upon tho Leaguo-mou and their adherents , beyond the possibility of being gainsayed !
Again we reiterate our demand for j ustice upon the authors of the " riots" ! Again we demand that the poor shall not be the only ones " committed to take their trial" !! Tho Leaguo plotted tho " riots . " The League plotted the " Strike . " The League determined on tho closing of the Mills . The Leaguo determined to reduce wages , and force the men out . The League hired men , Duffey for instance , to prepare the way . He could speak of the " mill-closing
business' before John Buooks , the Magistrate ; and be applauded for his clever speech ! The League " did it all ! " and when it was done ; when the people were our ; when they were " rising" ; when they were " rioting" ; when they were doing the work the League wanted doing ; when the people were doing these things , where were the members of the League ? Where was John Brooks , who had applauded Duffey , and who had proposed that " THE WHEELS OF GOVERNMENT
SHOULD BE ARRESTED" ? Where was Dickey Cobden who had proposed " a suspension of labour" to stop the supplies * . Where waa Alderman Chappel , who had declared that " the only plan left was to stop the factories" ? Where was Master Weekly Chronicle with his incitements to " SWING" ? Where was the cowardly dastard of the Sun , with his "LADIES' HEADS on poles" ? Where was the Chronicle with his BARRICADES ? Where were one and all of these 1 At "the head of the movement" ? Taking part with " the mob" ? Leading them on ! Acting
as Generals ? No ! They were engaged in lotting loose the military to shoot and sabre those that had " risen" ! They were engaged in hounding on the butchers and the brutal bludgeon men ! They were engaged in " committing to take their trials" those brought before them , as magistrates , charged with having " rioted . " They were engaged in getting up and in circulating charges of cowardice ! against whom in God ' s name 1 Against Feargus O'Connor !! - ! . ! Because Mr . O ' Connor did not prove himself a silly ass , and fall into tho trap they had eo nicely laid for him , they
charged him with cowardice ! The men who had concocted tho plot , and who ought to have conducted their own work in its execution , charged O'Connor with cowardice because he would not do it for them while they waited with the law in their hands to lay him by the heels if he should have done so !! The wholo Whig press has rung with the charge . They have harped upon it again and again . Old Bloody , too , has joined in it . The ball has been kept going amongst them for the whole of the last
fortnight . Every one who ought to have been" at the head of the movement" seems to have thought it sufficient to screen himself from a charge of cowardice , if he preferred one against O'Connor . True , none of them shewed why O'Connor " ought to have taken the lead . " True , none of them even attempted to do this . But they , one and all , seem to have taken it for granted that wherever there is a mess , no matter by whomsoever cooked , O'Connor ought to jump Blap up to the neck into it ; and that if he " lookB before he leaps" he is a " coward !"
This from the Whig and Tory press , was to be expected . It was no more than we had a right to look for . It is ever the practice of faction to take advantage of popular excitement to throw suspicion upon the people ' s leaders , if the people ' s leaders evince oommonlprudence , and will not throw themselves , neck and crop , into the arms of their enemies . It has ever been so . When Hunt attended the Petebxoo MASSACRE-meeting , and when his life was compassed , and the plot only defeated by his own
presence of mind and great physical energy , he was accused of cowardice because he had not advised tbe people to come armed , and meet force by force He was accused of cowardice , because he would not counsel and commit an overt act of treason , so that his accusers might have had the high gratification of seeing his head roll from the scaffold , and the pure purple life-stream spurt from his headless trunk ! He was accused of cowardice because he defeated the hellish machinations of the
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compassers of his own life , and saved himself to rally his party , and direct their energies in the cause of right and justice for a long period , and to a successful issue , in tbe legislative acknowledgement of the necessity of Reform in the passing of the reform bill ! So with O'Connor . When Frost was betrayed by spies into the Newport business , and when he was committed as a traitor , O'Connor was denounced as a " coward * because he did not turn-out , and "head the people" in a mad crusade against life and property , to ensure tbe hanging and beheading of Frost , as well as the
ensuring of himself being " cut up in four quarters ' to be disposed of as the Queen should , most graciously , please to direct ! Nay , even when the trial of Frost was proceding ; when the City of Monmouth was in possession of a strong military force ; when almost every second man in it was a soldier ; even when this was the case , O'Connor wa 3 denounced as a" coward , " because he was not fool enough to go upon the Weloh Hills , organise the hardy mountaineers , and " h « ad them" in an attack
upon the Judges and the city ! and becauso he applied all his powers in aid of Frost ' s defence , to the charge against him , and succeeded in enabling him to escape from the fangs of the bloody cut-throat Executioner !! And thus it has ever boon . Faction has always seized tbe opportunity to spread distrust and sow tho seeds of disunion between the people and their friends . It is its vocation to do so . It would be a traitor to itself did it miss the opportunity .
While , however , such a course must be expected and calculated on from the conductors of the factious Pres 9 , we have no right to expect ; that that course shall bo joined in by those who wish to be considered as ¦ ' devoted to the service of the people . " We have no right to be called upon to defend ourselves from attacks from within ; while we have a right to expect , and to be prepared for , attacks from without .
In the foolish and senseless cry that has . been raised by the Manchester Guardian , and joined in by the Morning Chronicle , the Globe , the Sun , Old Bloody , the Weekly Chronicle , and by every Whig and Whigling paper in the kingdom , against O'Connor because ho did not take Cobden's place in the " suspension of labour" business ; or John Brooks' place in the " arresting of the wheelsof Government" business ; or Ald . Chappel ' s place in'ihe" closing of the mills" business ; or Dr . Black's place , in erecting " barricades' '; or Murdo Young ' s
placo in putting " LADIES' HEADS on poles ;" or Geohgb Hsnry Ward ' s place in instigating the people to "SWING : " in the senseless and foolish , but desperately wicked , cry of " cowardice , " raised and kept up by the enemy against O'Connor , because he did not do these things , has a professed Chartist Journal , and a professed Chartist Editor , taken part ! In this matter he has ranged himself with the enemy ! In this matter , he ranks with the deadliest foes of the people 1 In this matter , he but echoes the slander and calumnies that faction has long since uttered !
Wha . strange fantasies personal malevolence will make us play before high heaven ! Wnat strange bed fellows personal malignity and ungovernable vindictivene 9 s will mako us acquainted with ! Who could have expected " THE Statesman , " would put up horses with John Edward Taylor , with Old Bloody , with Dr . Black , with Murdo Young , and with tha man at the Greenacre shop : who could have expected that "THE Statesman" would have been found in such precious company , flinging their dirt at second hand ! joining in the war-whoop and savage yells against one who has made the Chartist party what it is , —the only party whose power ie courted or dreaded ? Who could have expected this ? Yet so it is ! !!
The letter that appeared in the Statesman of last Saturday , signed " An Old Chartist , " will be found in another portion of this sheet . That letter the Editor has made his own , by his approving commentary . Were we disposed to find out the author of it , we aro convinced little difficulty would present itself . He may be ferreted out of the "Old Chartist" Warren in Manchester , in which he has taken refuge . But this is not of moment to us . With the Editor we have to deal ; not with his nameless , brainless , " cowardly" scribe .
O'Connor is " a coward . " So says " THE Statesman . " The fact of his " cowardice" we have given above . He neglected to take the place which ought to have been occupied by some member of the League ; and , therefore , he is a " coward "! He minded his own business , and left others to mind theirs : and , therefore , he is a " coward" ! He is invited to visit Manchester , to take part in certain public proceedings . He consents to go . He is elected a member of the Chartist Conference . He consents to go . Before he does go , he is apprized , through Sir Charles Shaw and the Rev . Mr . Scholefield , that if he ventures to shew
his face in Manchester , he will be instantly apprehended on a warrant grantsd for the purpose . " The coward" does not avail himself of the opportunity thus given him to decline his visit . He goes at his own cost ! He publicly enters the town . He goes to the house of tho man who had been informed by Sir C . Shaw of the intention of the " authorities" to place him under arrest . He attends the meetings of the Conference . He stays till the last ; and , when his business in Manchester is fully ended ; when he has done all that had been arranged for him to do ; he openly departs for London , where he had other business to do . In this consists his " cowardice" ! !
O'Connor is a' coward ' . ' So asseverates "THE Statesman . " O'Connor once stood before the Judges to receive sentence . He heard himself adjudged to be imprisoned for eighteen months . When he heard that , he did not snivel , and cry , and blubber , and roar , like a great boy ! He did not " BEG OF THE JUDGE TO BANISH HIM FOR LIFE" !! He did not wimper , and weep , and " IMPLORE TO BE ALLOWED TO BANISH HIMSELF" !! He did not do this : nor did any one else , amongst the hundreds of Chartists who were prosecuted in 1839 , excepting one . Who that one is "THE Statesman" knows ! !! O'Connor is a " coward . " So says " THE Statesman . " But O'Connor NEVER DREW A
KNIFE ! ! O Connor has knocked many a man down ; and been knocked down . But it has been with honest fisting ! HE NEVER DREW A KNIFE , upon any man , much less UPON A FELLOW-PRISONER !!! We have heard of a Chartist prisoner who did . To the honour of the working men , he was not one of them . There was but one who so far disgraced Chartism , as to present himself in the attitude of a " coward" assassin , with a ksife in his hand . Perhaps "THE Statesman , " in his next number , will tell us who it was .
THE Statesman" seems fond of dealing' in the history of " cowards . " We may perhaps hereafter gratify him with a few anecdotes . We know some very interesting ones ; suoh as could not fail to please him , they are so much in his own way . It is characteristic of the starved viper to sting every hand that warms it ; and hence Mr . James O'Brien and his double , the " Old Chartist , " are not more angry with O ' Connor than with " the miserable subterfuges of his editor , Mr . Hill , in attempting to run away from the Movement , and throw all the onus or blame upon the Corn Law League . Suoh articles at saoh a crisis were treason to the people ' s cause , "
If we had ever reason to congratulate ourselves upon any part by us taken in a pnblio movement , it is upon that we have taken in this movement . We did from the beginning throw the onus npon the League ; we do throw it upon them ; let them get out of it if they can . We from the beginning warned the Chartists to have nothing to do with the Strike . We told them at the first that if they suffered themselves to be mixed up with it they would find much reason for repentance . In our
Untitled Article
first article npon it published three weeks ago , speaking of the tools employed by the concoctors of this Strike , these were oar words : — " Their Instructions are two-fold . They are first fo get tba work-people ont ; and then they are to give the strike a CHARTIHT TINGE ! They are to mix the Chartists up with It ; and thus afford a pretext to the Leagtien and the Government to put Chartism down , when the former have their own end served ! " Chartists , beware I Be not mixed up with these proceedings . Keep Chartism distinct from th » risings" and the " rioting * " ! Give your enemU * no hold of you ; and suffer them not to uss you / auj then coerce you 1 "
Had we been more heeded , and th % " up-to-themark" men more prudent , wo should not now hare had to lament so many of our beat men in tho wolf ' s den ! Many a Chartist family that now wants bread would have had it ! and many an amiable wife would have missed the occasion she now has of soddening her lone pillow with her tears ! O ! yes , the " up-to-the-mark-men , " the " brave fellows , " who talk about " going to tha
House of Commons , with a petition in one hand , and a pistol in the other , " and who " dare not belong to tho National Charter Association for fear some of its members should do an illegal act ; " these " brave gontlemen" are terribly incensed that tho Siar did not goad on the people to a position which should have more fully gorged their middle-class freotrading friends with blood , O ! they are "brave men , " those " up-to-tho-mark" gentlemen ! and honest as thoy are " brave" !! Hence they thiuk that , " above all , the non-insertion of the Executive address was treachery of the basest description ; and this from tho principal oraclo of Chartism is too bad . "
Well ! this may be a terrible piece of treason ; but if he is , we plead " guilty" to it . We did not publish the address . We never , intended to publish it . We regret much that it ever was published ; and we fancy thai we are not the only parties who now regret it . Mr . O'Connor has thought proper to tako upon hia own shoulders the onus of this omission . We cannot allow him to do so . It waa our business to publish or reject it . We chose to reject it ; and we are quite ready to " take tha responsibility . " It is quite true that Mr .
O Connor did , after hearing of the seizure of poor Turner's traps , write a note to the Editor requesting that it might not be published . We had heard of the seizure before receiving Mr . O'Connor ' s note ; and had , before receiving that note , determined not to publish it . Perhaps oar readers will think tho reason which actuated Mr , O'Connor a sufficient one . We should have thought so , if we had had no other retson . But we had other reasons . If Turner ' s types , &c , had never been seized at all ; if Turner had never been prosecuted at all ; and if we had no note from Mr . O'Connol
or if Mr . O Connor had even written desiring us to print that address , we should not have published if , We had reasons of our own for our determination , * reasons arising out of the document itself , and out of the circumstances under whioh it was put forth . At a proper time we may give those reasons . Wt will not give them now . It is net the abuse of Mr , James O'Brien , or any of his nameless cowarit that Bhould force us into statements which migit be construed to the prejudice of those who have at present enough to battle with I We regret exceedingly that that address was ever published
at all . We never did publish it . We never approved it . But if we had chosen to publish it , we would at least have shown less of the coward ia our daring than " THE Statesman" did 1 !! We would not have characterised it as "THIS MOST EXTRAORDINARY DOCUMENT . " We would not have flown to the " miserable subterfuge" of quoting it from the London papers . ' We would not have asserted the cowardly lie , that we " didnot know whether it came from the Executive or no <" to fence ourselves against the consequences of out daring ! No , no ; we never yet printed anything
in that way ! Had we approved the address , we would have printed it . We would have sailed boldly in the same boat with its authors , and not have skulked behind a dastard screen , which , after all , is no screen at all 1 0 ! he is a " brave" man , this James O'Bhies ! and the words " coward " and " traitor" do sound so pretty coming from him , and applied to O'Consos and the Star ! He is a grateful man ! and makes good use of the people ' s pence , for which , week after week , tho Star drummed up so lustily , that \ lt " schoolmaster" and THE Statesman" might haw another paper to destroy ! fc — — rf
» - . - The most curious part of the charge against O'Connor by " THE Statesman" is , that he did not stay in Manchester , father the acts of M'Domix and Campbell , and allow them to keep out of the way of the police , while he kept in it !! C « n tht Chartists understand this \ Do they see through it ! O ! yes ! O'Connor is to father all ; to stand to all ' , to bear all the odium , and all the weight of Gorernment persecution . ** THE Statetman" knows thit
O'Connor has had to stand to other people ' s doings before now ! "THE Statesman" knows that O'Conxob has had to endure sixteen months of solitary confinement , in a condemned cell , for what 1 For his own act 1 for his own words ! for his own writings ? for any comment of the Star ' s * , forty ' thing of this eort 1 No ! But for a speech nuda by Mr . James Br 6 Ntkrrk O'Brien 111 O ! ' y «! " THES / afesfBan"knows about Mr . O'Connor having
had to father other people's acts ; having hw to answer for them with loss of personal liberty for 15 months together , under restraints snehas no other individual in England ever before had to endaw ! Yes ! "THE Statesman" knows of this . He kaowa of" other people keeping out of the way of the police , and of O'Connor keeping in it , to answer for thosa " other people ' s " , acts ! " THEStatesman" know * of this ; and it cuts him to the heart that he cannot again play the same card ! But " no more Blue " stone , good doctor" ! one dose of Hint sort i » enough !
The Northern Star. Saturday, September 3, 1842.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 3 , 1842 .
Untitled Article
THE VICTIMS TO CLASS PREJUDICE . The prosecutions and persecutions have agu"j commenced ! The doings of 1839 are to be repeated ; Men are committed to gaol , ** to stand their trials for being Chartists . Heavy and excessive bail fi fixed ( where bail is admitted of ) , to prevent ^ obtainment . The prisons are being crammed . TW vindictive and revengeful passions of the men dress ^ in a "little brief authority" again have fullwiaj !' and class prejudice is excited and appealed to W the corrupt and time-servii g press , to secure » " fair" and " impartial" trial for the victims < & malevolence , when placed before middle-cW Jurors !
Look at * he reports of the " Examinations '' P f in our present and last week ' s paper 1 particulaflJ the examinations of Leach , Hutchinson , * White . Read over the " evidence . " Weigh ' »^ see its bearings ; and then judge of some of w ° f magisterial decisions which send men " to ta& » trials at the next Assizes" ! Take White's case . Take the report a 3 we fa « it , and as we give it . We do not know tha » »^ correct ; but just as it appeared in the ^* * L minaham Journal do we transfer it to our P * Sf '
Take it , then , as a report given by the enemy 0 ' ^ proceedings in " Court . " Take it , and well * W j the " evidence" adduced ; and then iv&& $ * rl ought to have been " committed" on any ^ . fT herent , bald , disjointed , stark-staring , self-ew ^ J nonsense as the witnesses depose to ! And forg 6 the character of those witnesses ! Let not ^ f ^ j » brance of that be absent from the mind when * of the "depositions . " Look well , too , to the revealments made by ^ ^ in his able and jadicions cross-examination- . him drag the veil from off the infamous an * ^ able system uf exrAanaoe resorted to by tbe P ° 4
that be" to learn * man ' B private opiw 0 DSl ^ possibly , to incite him to utter expressions , or ^ 1 mit acts , which will enable the ineiter to p » ^ I blood-monbt . Look again and again at ^ -: posurel Remember that ft ia in ^~\ , la these dastardly and infamous things are a ° _ - ^ 1 England ! that country which bta «*» ^ i famed for its love of uprightness and ft ^ JJJ ^ ei . its hatred of deceit and treachery ! ^ ct ' that it is the now English " authorities" wh o •»
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 3, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct904/page/4/
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