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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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THE EXECUTIVE'S DEFENCE . i 180 , Holborn , Saturday , i Bsotheh Dekoceais , —We regret indeed that ! ¦ we are under the necessity of defending ourselves ] aid our absent coHeagne from the grave charges of i fi-and , swindling , and embezzlement , for which , were ' vre ia other employ , we might be transported . Such . I sre a few of the charges preferred against us by the ; BiT . We . Hill , as we are told in his article of Sa- j t&rday last , that there is more in store for us ; " for ' wia _ £ he ias already siren is only a sample of the f
sack . > ess wetk we shall , perhaps , have the re- \ inaisder . and , if we mistake not , we giiall be quits prepared to meet them . - ' This manner of Mr . Hill ' s treating tha friends of ! the people in the cause « . f justice ; this mild and gen- j tkrcaTily criticism , as he is pleased to call such pro- I daciions , such , as defrauders , -swindlers , and-em- \ b-: zzfers , moral and political dishonesty , Jbas been } called forth , or he pretends it has , throngh the i unsatisfactory explanation that Mr . Campbell has g : ri 2 a = to ihe expenditure of the funds of the : Ai-c-ei&tion , '
The explanation then given of the expenditure of s portion oi the funds such as came nnder the head of postage and stationery , is all the explanation we are enabled to give , excepting Mr . Hill will allow b = a space in tne Sic r for . every separate nern of przs , ink , papers , ssaiin ? vrxx ^ wafers , posiage , cards , and ietiers , and . in fact , many other -n ^ n matters that ire continually wanted . Mr . Hill called on the cc-antry to esuninQ the accounts of the Executive , having first thrown the atmosphere of suspicion aronad us himself by his own ceusure . Did the country respond to it ? - We believe not ; at all even- ? , we know of none making s ^ yi ' r . ing of the sort public , excepting the delegate Eating at the Old Bailey ; and we have been inforaeu the number of delegates were verv few .
But tnis is nothing new , for ilr . Hill is only at his old plaa of denunciation ; the motives which prompt such a reckless and unmanly an interference flr . n the characters of men arc best faown to himself ; bn : whatever be the morive , we cannot « iut c ^ r eye ; to the mischief it produces in our ranks . As to our secretary we will leaTe the coniitry to jidge of his services , and ask them zi the same time whether it would be possible that any workingman could find time , as our secretary has often done , to write 5 : tv or sixty letters in one day , and someumes as maiiV 10 read , besides numbering 2 , 000 or 3 , UtO card ; in a "week , runniug b 2 ckwards and forwards to the post tfiie wiih orders and letters , and to the coa . a and railway cfaces with cards and paTCels , with issch otb ^ r ice-denial labcur , which none but
: io ~ e who ptrform could understand the harden of ; indeed ~ o heavy has ihe business bctn on his hands that he Las often been obliged to engage an assistant at his otfe expense . How , then , r . e ask , is is posslble that sueii services could ba performed without the parties performing them beiug remunerated fur their labour I We presume that Mr . Hill himself , jhheegh he might be attending a shop in London or 2 * Iir :: iic = ier , yruulii n ? j do it wuhou : being remui-ers : ea . Br : think not , brother Chartists , that Mr . Hili , in irumTUng up hi 3 paltrv , yet very respectable of
ciiar ^ es swindling , defrauding and embezzling the socirry , the poor weaver ' s pence , has no other object in view than that of guarding the society ssa-., ? : ^ ach practices . Xo , no ; there is . other anil i ; -2 fi ' = r . ? inse in -rie-pr—there axe other men to 03 bii ^ tei cuwn . Mr . Hill screens himself brhind this Terr pbn .-ible appearance , that he may rake a more deidiy aim at tbe victims he has stlecied . It would have been more honourable on the part of 31 r . Hili had he openly and manfully avowed his object , and at once openly attacked the parties for whi , a his thrust is intended , than , coward-like ,. zske the deadlv aim through the person of our
Secretary . The conduct now pursued by Mr . Hill towards the KxtcutiTe , briLgs ns back , in sorrowful reflection , to similar eonducE pursued towards Mr . Ph ; lp ; thai geutlf man having recommeaded the Chartists to elect mea to the Birmingham Conference ' fthe very ii : D ^ . Mr . Hili is now doing himself , brought himself uai . r the displeasure of Mr . Hill . - Vsw , mark , brother Chartists , previous to th&t time , evsry ac : of the Executive had been praised . Our biiance sheet * were before the country at dffl-rrii . limes , Jfo dissausfacnou was m&niiesied u ? ua ine part of the Rev . Gemleman ; but because 3 Ir . Phiip s poiicy did not chime in with Mr . Hill ' s vizirs , it became necessary to get rid of him : and ,
consequently , as a distbedient child , he was selected 03 : as : he fir .-=: victim to be offered-up at the shrine of the Kev . Gentleman's mischief-making and uniondeftxoying propensity . The other members of the Extcutive stood by JSdr . Philp on that occasion , because tbey beiieved and knew him to be an honest scd soncd-hearted Chartiss ; and , in stepping in bei-nixt him and the denunciator , endeavoured , as far as possible to prevent his political destruction ; and hi ? relentless pursuer only succeeded by the most bsrefaced and deliberate act of cool headed tyranny tha : ever was perpe-irated betwixt man andl man . On the Saturday previous to the election of the new Executive taking place Mr . Hill accused Pinlp of being a dishonest politician , and not fit to be a member of the Executive . Mr . Philp on the Sunday srieaded a meeting at Newton Heath , ( this was after the appearance of Mr . Hill ' s denunciation ) at wMch "meeting & resolution was passed givingtheir con £ dence to Mr . Philp and the Executive , Similar
resolutions were passed in Manchester , one of them perhaps the most important ever held in that district , name ' y , the South Lancashire Delegate Meeting , and the ether at the Carpenter ' s Hall . In tho ^ e resolutions Mr . Philp ' s name was distinctly Eennosrd in each rejoJnrion , aud sent to the K-v . Gentleman for insertion . Did he publish thec ? 2 so . Mr . Pui : p's name was carefully era ~ : d from borh ; and tvhen Mr . Junes l ^ ach api- ' . icd to Mr . Hill in his office to know why Sir . Philp's name as a member of the Executive , wa > erased torn the resolutions ; thai gentieJhan deeiared thai if a thou-jind resolutions were sent every week , with Mr . Philp's name in them , there should not ote of them be inserted . Mr . Philp , the same week he attended 2 sewton Heath , attended a meeting at Caoriey . at which he enrolled furry-two members , and at which a resolution of coniidenee asd tli a Ties tvas tendered 10 him and sent to the Star , bat shared the fate of the others .
AEoicer resolmion-was sent from Merthyr Tydvil disapproving of part of an address that the Executive issued to the country , the wording of which was altered by Mr . Hill , who headed the resolution K ibe Executive sop . " This juke was truly a ricn one ; Leach , who has done one man ' s share in the advocacy of Chartism ; Leach , who more than » 2 y other man in this country has opposed by his powerful reason and argument the anti-Corn Law Lessue ; Leach , "nho ha-s travelled far and Dear , at ali times and hoHrs , to combat'he l-. c . nrers of that parry , and generally has proved successful ; yet this fcen- - '?! and . upright man has been taunted by > 1 t . iL . i ¦ Riih offr-riug whar he has be ? n pleased to call a .- -7 , s .-i-i nor pi / v rhar , bat with being morally an- rr ; i : ca : lv diiht'Ee *! .
A- uicer cn 2 rn ^ : s , rt S- ' ct well upon ihose-grave c ' ^ r - ' -r ; and . ^ bDve alL weich wcli ' ihe service Mr . L-: ach has rendered , in order that jon may honestSy jscij > whether ihcse services , and his political c-.-:..-: s : crcy an . d integrity , w'll not ovcrbalince Mr . H :. i ~ fi ' te and nnfouDded asserlioiis . V ^ culd M'Doual ! lender a sc-p 10 the Rcpeakis ? Le ; Lincashire and Yorkshire , who have beeu ac- . cii-tL . a : ed 10 hear fall from his lips ihriiling andeluiSrut denusciations 3 ga . inst that band ot freebt-x-rs upon the poor man ' s labour , say whether he is ire ji-rson to offer a sop : o the freetrader . ' M'L ' cnail , whose powerful ariumeuit , and cutusg Birca . -i ^ , ias tern to shreds ih-. flinty and " falla-cicus omp-. ur ngs of those avaricious CesToyers of the rjii : < ot industry , whose clear , snd , at the same titiC c ; iT : '; v s ' n . i firm pxTinsiiTf-i * . f t"h . » } ip 11 . si > - * wti t : njeEir : ; y and firm of the
bell-, exposures spawn crctJtit * rriC-. iced on the white slaves of England . csiLt ¦ : b ^ - the mai ; to offer a sop to ths&e free traders in r .- .= sn 5--h snd bioed . A " . ' . e& ; we haTe tnovra JI'Douali in his better d ^ >; - w ^ hare known him when he had hi * horse tSTic ^ . -co v .. j have seen him v . 'htn he had scaicejy s coai : e > L : s t : k , or a meal to ea :, still sharkig his l ~ -i t / e : i : y w : th his hua ^ erea and -oppressed cc _ s : ir ; m-a ; we have seen hiva through &il the P ^ cs of pcliti .-il appearances ever the honest s .-S ji-arltss udvocate of the poor oppressed , aii tht ; Triar . iv ar-d tinfliiicliia *; c-ppouenr of the nch eppre ^ -scr . W- have Seen him alas an exii ^ frc-in his cour . try—from his cear wife and chud , and ali ibose th-t aie most near and dear to him ; we itvtie his memory , and , in bis absence , neither open foe or pieiernied frircd .-hall Jssren upon h ; m the od ; -. u- brand cf 5 wird ] er , emb . zz ' . cr , ard d » -fraudcr . C n I bu : then M'Dosa : ? hs . s received £ ' 2 per week en : 0 : tie ; t : ^ ds r 5 sfd irem the roerweaTtr ^ pence . HtTr ; Eti likus ' . y th : ? trade has been borrowed , us - > . ; s " i : ; ; - regard > J * Dv < ua ] 2 and tLe Executive had for ' the !«; - ¦ " . ? Tv-art-r 5 ? ¦ was to d : p liitLT htnes in ihr wt . »¦ vr ^' p ^^ -ke ^ 5 aid fctcome Arl *; ociais oni of their JOrr piECe . Ti-t is ^ t t 7 me we hsd the pleasure in being in this txsvr si . d hcutsi rran '« ceffifsi-y . we airtic puil the Ii > ' shiiLng he had out of his pocket , and-divide it b-:: wix : two peor weavers . borrowiDg a sixpence from a friend to give to a ihird that was with them . Mr . Hiil calls giving this extra 10 s . to M * Douail frasd . a . ii < i vmbeix'iBg of the Society ' s lunds , a ! breaking of ihe rules , and , under o ;" faer _ circumfTS ' -e-s . wou'd rnbj ' . ct the Executive to transpor :-£ i' < n . We be .: h : s pardon , ana hope he will have E-. icT on us lill after the next asrizes ; in - the E-.:- ;' ! iEe , we assure him we feel kjtv indeed . that * c cm' : ailorr r . \ m somethiEi : in his exile , as well a ? ^ -meihiiig to support his wi : " e anc child .. liut . thin , we have broken ibe rulfs cf the Society , by auowing iir . Caapbell £ ~ 2 a vr ^« : ; wbile ^ e Tvcre not siriing . We denv fhat this is either a fair c-r hoses : construction of the meanirg of the -l ? t Ii- . which fix- ;? the salary of the Secr-isry at £ 2 ; i . r- ive -sTfCii c sd : djj a ^ k any rrasensbie icaD , bow"¦'¦ 1 ; l .-.-T 5 ie ttfil tlir ! affairs uf tiie S-ci ^ rr c ^ nid be 1 £ ~ --- 2 :: £ d ir . 'loour a Secretary eensiiunuUy * c 2 ia ^ , i -i i : 3 " couid ihi labours attTi < Jt 5 cri ' oed be per-
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formed without the person bo performing thembeiEg remunerated ? The 19 ; b . Tule s » y 3 " That the ExecutWe shall be empowered to &dopt any measnres for the advancement of the objects of this Associaiion as may be consistent with , its fundamental laws . " We therefore contend that the fair and legitimate construction put upon tiis clause should be , that w « are empowered to elect a permanent secretary , whose salary is fixed by the " 21 st rule . If aT ; y thing was wanting to confirm this opinion , w would call upon ihe members of the ssciery to carefuiiy examine the rules , and then say whether it is poi ^ ible for the or-ranizauon to extend in the country if we were not to have a permanent Secretary ! Then if a permanent Secretary be necessary , it , is quite evident that it is necessary tbas we should pay him for his services . And now let us tell you a few facts as to the treatment we have received as au Executive .
The 22 nd rule say 3 , "When members of the Executive shall -be employed as missionaries , their . 'slaries shall be the same as wlien employed in the C .-uncil : coach-hire and one fcalf of any other incidental expences shall be paid to them in addition by the parties who Eijy require their services . " Now we can prove that the above clause has not been adhered to in the localities where we have acted as lecturers . We give the following samples of its violation : —We went to Birmingham , af : er many strong invitations , and with the unders-anciing that our travelling expence ? wonld be paid . On this point , however , we were completely deceived : instead of our expeDces bting paid , the Local Council came to avote that they would not allowus one half-penny , but that we should be paid from the general fund , and after being at considerable expense of coach Lire and living at Birmingham , we were indebted to the kindness of a friend for the means to get " home
We assembled again in London , and met exactly with the same treatment as in Birmingham , wiih the exception of the vote ; in fact , we were obliged to borrow money from Mr . Cleave to briiig us home . We could lay before you scores of such cases if ; t were necessary , but we thi&k the above quite sufficient . 2 Cow , Brother Chartists , it has ever been our sincere desire to keep down differences and discontent ; it has also been our wish to refrain from making statements of the wsy in which we have been treated , but unfortunately Mr . Hill has compelled us much against our will to do eo ; we do it w ; tu sorrow , but , there is no other course left for us to defend ouri-elvcs fxoaj his unjust and foul asper-53025 . We little ihooxtu that struggling as we have done for years in the cause of Liberty , that we should be called morailr and politically dishonest for endeavouring to do that which in cur judj ; m nt we thought best c&lculated to promote ihe welfare of the society and the cause of the people .
Brothers , for the present we take our leave of yen , and call upon you , m ycur several localities , to examine into tne charges preferred against us , and if , after a fair investigation , you should come to the conclusion that we are no longer worthy of your confidence , express your opiuion through the medium of the Star ^ and we will most willingly retire ; but if , on the contrary , you come to the conclusion that we are honest democrats , yon will , through the ssme medium , record your votes . Wo impatiently await your vereict . We remain , Yours , in the bonds of union , James Leach , President , Joh . \ GijUBkLL , Secretary .
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O ! X THE PROPRIETY OF THE WORKING CLASSES AIDING THE CORK-LAW REPEALERS , —IN ANSWER TO J . POPPLEWELL , OF ELLAND-EDGE . Sib , —I cannot help feeling great pleasure that the first letter which T wrote upon the atove subject should have created such a general se-. sation as I find it has , for the subject is one of vast importance at the present moment ; still I cannot help regretting that both S . K .. and yourself should have been so determined to misuudex&tand my intention in the writing of that letter . Through the whole of > our letter you write upon the a =-suaj '—on that I advise the Chartists to join the
Coin-Law Krpeaiers for the purpose of putt' . Dg the Whigs into power again ; wfien , if yon had not been determined to go wrong , the commonest attention to my letter would have shown you th&t I there said— " It being tVidect that the middle clashes will not assist the ¦ s * orfcing classes to obtain tbat voice in the making of the laws which alcne cai' pcrtuaneEily better their condition until they , the middle classes , become banned for their ovm siiwiiio 7 i , - \ contend tfcat 5 t is tie dnty of the Boxking classes to endeavour , by all means irithin their poitsr , to bricg about' a consummation so devoutly to be wished . '" And I also in that letter TeGommended the Cliarusts to assist in the agitation cf the Repeal , as a means of itsiixg one set of enemies , or HARASSING
BOTH OF THEM . Now , Sir , if yon had paid attention to these things you might have spared youistlf the expence of much virtnous indignation which you have vtnted at the idea of again supporting the "base , bloody , andbrntals . " and that -sroiud iave enabled jon to bave paid more attention to the real questions -which ought to have beea discussed ia that letter . And , as those subjects appear to me of paramount importance , I Bhall take the liberty of ; . guin laying them before you in the same form which I did in my letter to S . K . which are as folio's * : — " It -will be evident to all who have read my first letter , that from the motto prefixed to it , and from the compc-sition of the first paragraph , I appeared to donbt the jasrice or propriety of resorting to any but Btrictly hononmble means for the attaining any great object . Bat . I concluded that if the parties with whom we have to do keep do measnre of faith , if they resort to
anythiaj ; or everything , no matter how tricky or oase , to prevent as obtaining our just ends , I think the end . tonld s-nctify tbs xncaus , e ^ en if we niii return the contf nts of the poisoned chalice to their own lips , and heist them frcm their ur just position by means of their own petard . " Now , sir , this was one of the positiens ¦ which yen outrht either to have endeavoured to controvert , or to iave acknowledged . If yen had controverted it _ . the "whole of the subsequent reasoning wonld rjc-ors-anly have fallen to the gronnd ; and if you had sckno-wltsiged it the -whole matter in dispute ¦ wcnlfi hsve resolved itge '; f into the question , " whether ihe rrj / t-a' . of the Corn Laws trcuJd hare a tendency io cause ihe midd'e ilusses io become alarmed for their oicn siluuiirsii avd cor . fequenll y cause them to join the people for them lo obtain Jhaf potcer in fte Legis'alure which , JA'D OSLY WHICH , can prevent the viiddle classes Jrom being stra ! (/ iced up bv the gulf of fixed payments . ''
*• Hers the whole thing would have been m a nutshell , and if jou had taien them either jointly or singly , we should not have been in danger of losing the whvis question in a labyrinth of , at the best , but sccoEdary consequences . " The whole of tbe above two paragraphs apply strictly to yon , sir . Bat as you have written much extraneous matter 1 will follow you through it , and I shall shew you how easy it is for a man who writes without any £ xtd principle , to mistake tbe side of 3 cause txe ie deftDpini , : ind how he consequently falls into the greatest of absnr Jities .
Ycu begin by telling me tfcat I am a young man , and tiat when I am your age I shall ksow better . Rv&ily tills ossnrcpt ^ en cf fnperior wisdom d oes not tell well , without yon had shown it by more clearly refuting the positions I had taken . But , however , I beg to tell ycu that I am ro chicken ; I have grown grey in the cause , having been twecty-fiye years upon the stage , and & 1-tht . Dch tbe part I have played may not have been as conspiciuus as yours , still you most know that the bustle of the nags-sweeper is as necessary to the success of the piece as the strut of the tragedy hero ; and that all otr honour consists in " p ' . aying well" the part allotted to us . It is true that , as the fool said to Lear , " I ou «; ht toK- fijijfrd for being old before I was wise , " still if I hive not had the happiness of living at yonr muchvansttd Liversed ; e or Heckmcndwiie ; and if I have
ii-. t hau the prixilege of having some mentor to take me liv tie hssid sjiiX lead me to ^ e feec of soiue political ^ vitd " far reEowned f > r uje and s ^ i-sa ; " still in the Cilkiil H'gti of the political hemisphere , I bvre always shone , though vrith a faint , yet a steady light , to show - my whtrtabouti . '" 1 acknowledge that when t : a poiiticil hemisphere has been clear ; when constellations of far grtatrr brightness have made tbtir appearance ; when uittet rs of eliz £ irjg splendcur hr . ve oaibed athwart the u :: ivtr : £ " , axing all eyes upon their path , I have been cr-riipicitly lost in tbe eaiaxy of tilent ; still when I Laic struggled hard , - vrctn I have done my little best ! .. th-ue , it is hard to reproach me because I cannot give greater lLjht than it has ji . eased heaven to grant me . You say that you " would as soon join the infernal spb :: s as a iLtansto obtaiu hvav ^ n , as join the Whigs : o cit-ii : the Charter . " An old author , whose works I recol ]< rc ; readiag somewhere , observed th 3 t f gures of ? rctch were -. dge-tecls , aid two-edged tools too . . Suprose then that these inf . mal ipirits were ycur greatest obitacics to yenr obtaining htaven ; and snppose that in tie ; r i :-ferr ; al wi ^ em , they - were contemplating some ni _ fti .- - £ trvke of policy , -which , ss they thought , was to j-rcttst yenr eTer attaining felicity ; and suppose thut yon were certain that if they coffipused the point ti : y bid in view they would efi ' cctoaliy remove Uiemse Tes , as an ot&tacle to yesr obtaining happicess ; suppose those thiDgs , wccld you nst wish " them to ^ sneci « d ? Wculd ycu not hallo them on ? "Wcnld yon cei "join" and assist them to tumble them from that pesition in 'which they were jour greatest obstacle to the outlining of heaven ? "What 1 sir , had yen rather remain in hcil . under tfee " Eiila pattrrsal sway" of tbe " infernal spirits , " tkaa be cnllty of » o base an action as assisting them to tuc . ble thtmsilves from thai poiitian which is one of yuur greatest kindrances to glory ? Would ycu do thU ? If I-u would you are a kici man ! And , if yon are a s _ tr . ple of the HeckmoEd-R-ke snd live * edge people , they are kind bc-uIs . ' F'ill t-f the "milk of human kicicess . " Oh , how I ecvy item ' Yoa go on to say , •« If 1 was a landocrat I would reSrr rny ttad to be cut from ray bc-i 5 y before" I wcnld submit to a repeal of tte Cera Lnws witcont a K-peal of the d ^ bt iaw-L The '^ r : d < o-ds l ire sfr . ^ ed in contracting a d-. l :, yel 1 vc-uld it ?? ra -= iir to iis rain tfcrcugh a lejtat ; f ^ ic € . rn La ws . " " You are still so kind ! But
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let ua just enquire a litt ' e what this debt ia , and how it was contracted . Well , , then , it appears that during the late war , undertaken for the purpose of patting down the rising liberty of Ftfcnce , it was neceteary to expe .-d a certain amount of money yearly ; and yoa have told us , and justly too . that the " expeacesof the state ought to be paid yearly jutt as poor rains are ; but instead of the expences of the state b 6 ing paid yearly , a certain amount was borrowed of somebody , which amonnt forms what is called the national debt Now , Sir , it is a -well known fact , that during the war the taxes which were paid by the labourer , in one thaps and another , amounted to , at the least , one third of his income . IJcould easily prove it to be much more , but I choose to be under rather than ever iii my
statements . It is equally well known that the whole expeiidifure of the country was about seventy millions a year during the war ; and it is an admitted fact , thai the income of the nation from all kinds of property , during tbe same period , was four hundred and thirty millions a year ; and therefore if that amount bad been taxed in the same rati « as the working nun ' s income , that : 3 one-third , we ebould ha ^ e had a yearly revenue of one hundred and forty-three millions . ADd as the expenditure was ssvtnty millions a year , we should have had a yearly surplus of sixty-three millions ; which sum multiplied by twenty-five , the number of-years the war continued , would have left as a surplus of one thousand five hundred and seventy-five millions in the exchequer , instead of cur brirjg « igfct hundred millions in debt !
Thus , then , Sir , it appears that the wsy in which tbe " landocrats haTe sinned in contracting a National X > = bf is by bsTin ; lent the nation tbe amount they ought lo have paid in lajcts , and then claiming interest for it as for a debt ! This is a most curious way of Binning , and a most curious retribution you would give them for their sins ; that is , you would secure them the whole amonnt of the exorbitant profits of their estates by means of Corn Laws rather than the reDt should go to the paying off the interest of a debt which they ought to have 3 > aid in taxes ! And what makes it still mere curious , that interest must be paid by your much-loved workieB in the shape of dear corn , -when he had paid his full quota of taxes during the war- Amiable man ! But again , you observe , and trnly too , " that the expence of the state ought to ba paid yearly , tbe same as the poor rates , "
Now , Sir , what would you think of a "landocrat , " even though it shonld be "John Bessie , " who , instead of paying his share of the poor rate should propose to lend the amouut to the parish , and sail it a debt , and wunt to rective iuttrtst for it of the parishioners ? "What won ! d you think , Sir , of a " landocrat sinning " in that way ? But what would yon think of a" landocrat ' ' enacting laws that the inhabitants of a neighbouring village , who had not permitted their "landocrat to sin in contracting a debt " , shonld not bring food into his village for fear that his tenants could not p 3 y him both his rent and the interest of his debt which he ought to have paid in poor rateB ? But more especially , what would yon think of a " Chartist , " a " philanthropist , " one tt'ho had the interest of the wotkine man so very
mDch at heart , who sLonld refuse to aid his parishioners to obtain the repeal of such unjust laws , for fear that snch repeal should " ruin" the " landocrat , " who had " sinned in contracting a parish debt ? " Tans you see . Sir , that for fear of acknowledging that I was right when I said it was the duty of the working man ta endtavonr , by all the means in his power , to alarm them for their situat ' ons , you have run into the grossest of absurdities . Ton have improved upon tbe divine precept which teaches us to " love our neighbour * s ourselves ; " and have inculcated that we oaght to " love our enemies" better than ourselves , or you would not have implied that starving wives and ragged children ought to continue to suffer for fuar of ruining the " landocrat who had sinned in contracting a debt " he ought to have paid in ias . ee .
After being very indignant at the misdoings of both Whig and Tory , you say , " but I would be joined to Lord Howick and company almost , befure I would be prevailed upon to join them . " As you , Sir , have not endeavoured to explain what you mean by this allusion , I , of course , can enly guess at your meaning . Some two er three years ago , ( luring a debate upon the distresses of tbe country , it was stated in the newspapers that Lord Howkk had used words to the following effect : —" That as tbere were no incendiary fires , he could not think the distress was so great as it had been . eprtaented . " I do not know tbat bis Lordship iiaad the * e -words ; nor do I know that these words are what you allude to ; but I shall take them as if they were , and make a few remarks upon them as bearing upon the subject in hand .
As there is a law which subjects any one to transportation who shall write or speak anything having a tendency to bring the House of Commons into contempt , I durst not , even though I were certain that hii Lordship had uttered them , say anything in contradiction of his wisdom or policy in making use of such expressions . As his Lordship may be an heriditary legislator , 13 be is not only a " seuator , " but a " ge ; . tleman born , " I dare not dispute the wisdom of his telling the labourers in so many words that if they were in the tituation they are described to bt . ; if they were bound to have " eaten their beds" far want ; if there were ten thousand in one small district in Manchester , withont a bed to lie on ; if they had to eat
rotten potatoes gathered from the -wharf to subsist on ( in Leeds ) ; if thf-y had to steal eca weed , laid on tha the laud for mannre , in order to prolong existence ; if they were in the state that , as Mr . Aldam , M . P ., is reported to have said , they most be starved dotcn to the required quantity ; I dare not dispute his Lordship ' s wisdom lu saying tbat if the labourers were in this state , they would make the country one continued bl » ae , and that , of course , if they want their grievances redressing that ia the way to obtain it Nur dare I ask what would be the character of a House of Commons , if they would sit , and hear such sentiments put forth . Bat I do know what would have been the fate of any Chartist speaker , or writer , who . should have uttered or ¦ written tveh expressions .
Bat , Sir , why should yon propose to join Lord Howick "? You , who would not submit to tbe " ruin of the landoctat who sinued in contracting a National Debt , he ought to have paid in taxes ; " you , who almost faint at tbe idea otonr injuring the isfernai spirits who keep us from heaven ; you , who weep such doleful diatribes over the wives and families of the farmer , and landlords being tumbled into the streets even by John Bessie ; you , who have so much charity and love , " that you intimate that I ought to be answered by the BBoe toe for proposing to join the lepealera in order to alarm the micliiie classes for their situation ; why should you propose to join Lord Howiek ? What end have you in view by such joining ? Come , out with it Why , because it ¦ would alarm them for their situation ! Just the position I have taken ; and I matt leave it to the country and yourself to divine which is the more honourable aud preferable course .
But , fintuug that my remarks have already run to a great length , I will crowd all I have to say at present into a few sentences . You will please to keep in mind that the great question is " Whether it would be wise to join ihe repealers if repeal would cause ihe middle closes io became alarmed for their siluulion , and consojiifiit / i / cnuie them to join the people io obtain . 1 fait power ie ihe legislature , ichich , AND ONLY WHICH can purnd the middle classes from being swallowed up by Hie ju'f of jixed puiiinej . ts . ' ' No *? tbtn , let ns see -what is your opinion upon this question , as far as it can be gathered from your letter . You say , " I know we have a deal to contend with , but
Peel ' s bill is nicking Chartists as fust as Pitt ' s notes made Tories ; aye , and it is tumblirg the houses down in ntaTly tbe same ratio . * ' True . But how is Peel ' s bill making Chartists ? Wby , by the bums turning wi- » es and children into the street In short , by ALARMING them for their situation ! Just my position . You again say , " J know that it is hard work to make politicians , but now that Peel has begun , let us redouble our zsal , and try if we cannot make them as fast by reasoning as he csn by giving two pounds of beef for one to th <; pensioct-r . " And how is it that Peel makes Chartists by sit-in ? two pounds of beef instead ef one ? Simply bt cause-tbty become alarmed for their situation .
Further on you say " If you can prevail upon W . P . to hold his hand & bit . and just give Peel a fair opportunity of paying the interest cf the debt in flour at Is . 6 d . pe-r stone , anu beef at 3 d . per pound , and to p \ v all fixed obligations , at the ssice 1 ate he will Lave no occask > n to jjin ihe Whigs to repeal the Corn Laws ! We shall h-ve the vrhole country flocking to our standard like doves to the windows !* And wiry , sir . should they flock to oi'r standard because flour vr .-s Is . Od . per st . and beef threepence per pound ? B ^ cnusi they ars a armed for their situation to be suie i Then sre you ' a good and -wrll-iiifornied Chartist'" if you esptct coiiTerts from such a source ?
Thus you will see ^ Sir , how easy it is for a man to forget the side of the queiiion he is defending when he writes without any well-defined principles , and the absurdities he necessarily fa ! l 3 into in consequence . Your own good sense will suggest the castigation I could give you over these extracts ; but 1 will spare it for the present , and conclude in the words in which I ccncJocied the letter to S . K . Xotliir . ' j but being ula . mcd for their own safety iciU ever coucince the midd ! - c ' uzxsof the tiece , -si ! y of taking part with Die labcii . er ; and they must be wrixced too , thai NOTHING BUT taking part tcith ihe labourer can sa 9 e them from the guf of fired payments . Repeal of the Corn Laws wov , 'd lay capital pi csiiaie at the Jeet of fixed payment , nor could it csiupe without theaid of the labourer , THEN HURRAH FOR REPEAL OF THE COBN LAWS !! W . P .
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J ™ , , e 7 f was a Period in British history when Belf-denlal became more absolutely neoessary , or more "fv ^ T * * , * da * y than the present : Vast numbers of Bntishsubjects , men , women , and innocent children , are bter . Uy dying by iriches of sheer wantin the midst ? 1 * £ ? T ° n £ * rerytoteg needful . Many of our talented , honesthfiartetf , courageous , but sympathising patriots , aw im mnred , iii the tyrant ' s dangeon , or prisoners at Urge , awaiting what i , called their trial * for tne mine ot pomting totbetrue cause , ind to theoaly remedy _ of Bu our ^ tionai evils . Appeals have been made through the democratic press : to our . generosity in favour of a defence fund for our persecuted brethren , but our response hitherto has been of the feebler cha-» cter ; otu- sympathies fcave not , as jet , been suffictently _ awakened . The case is one of urgent necessity , and should _ not be tampered with . It would be the basest de
ingratitn . ta leave our friends unaided in the hands of a merciless , cruel , and despotic government Many of the poor fellows are looking forward with horror to tee time when they . / must be arraigned before a class of remorseless fienJs , who will bring all the prostituted , talentan d diabolical influence ^ they can muster upon thedevoted heads of their intended victims . It remains fpr ^ us working : men , to shew the sincerity or hypocrisy of our professed principles by saying whether or no-we shall allow our patriotic brethren to besaorificed by the polluted hands of malignant persecutors , perjured vampires , traitors and prejudiced juries , with the ghost of bloody old Jeffries at their head . Money must be raised , and ; the •"• best counsel iu the kingdom must be procuredi and hollow-hearted villany and corruption , if possibly openly exposed , that the intended victims may escape a Holberry ' s fate , ' -and their wives and children the horrors of a bastile .
We will not , we cannot plead poverty in extenuation of our guilty indifference- in these matters , while we are spending millions of onr hard earnings in intoxicating drinks and tobacco , which gives ua rotting in return but individual misery / domestic ruin , destitotion , and premature death ; whileit pats into tbe bands of our oppressors , the ; means of carrying on their unfeoly warfare against the rights and liberties of the people . It may ber plain John , or Sir James that may carry on the war ; bat it is feols that supply them with pence . Let rae tell jou , Jlr . Euitor , how I think we r , ught to do , and what we must do . if ever we succeed in effecting those organic changes in the institutions of our country that are necessary to ita future prosperity . -, " ¦ . : ; ¦" .-. ¦ : ¦ . ' : ¦ ¦
From the yast numbers who signed the late National Petition , the extent of our public meetings and demonstrations , I may fairly infer that we have two millions of maie adults professing Chartist principles ; more than one half of these speud from sixpence to a shilling weekly in tobacco alone ; but take the sfxpenca and it will amount to twenty-five thousand pounds per week , which multiplied by fifty-two ' weeks in ; the year , gives us £ 1 . 300 , 000 . This is a part from what isspent in -intoxicatingdrinks by the same parties . Three-fourths of this sum goes directly into the hands of your worst enemies ; : so while we are contributing now and then a halfpenny to extend democratic principles , we give nine hundred and seventy-five thousand
pounds to Government to put us down ^ and puff the other three hundred and twehty-five thousand into the air almost as . ridiculous as the other . Let us , . ray friends , cease to purchase and use this nasty , trashy poisonous weed , and appropriate our time and money to better purposes . Let us take a little more than onethird or the above sum , say £ 500 , 000 , arid let it be laid out in the following manner ; and . such would be tbe altered state of society in one . year ; thafc all the powers on earth combined could riot stay the progress or hinder the speedy triumph of democracy . £ 500 , 000 might be carefully disposed of in the following way : — For carrying on the cause , say ... .... 60 , 000 A defence fund ... ... ... ... 60 , 000 To expand in political works for gratuitoua
distribution ... ' ... ... ' / ... ' .. 59 , 000 To support twenty-one democratic papers , with a weekly circulation of 14 , 000 , at 5 d . each ... ... ... ... ... 330 , 600 £ 500 , 000 Again , I would advise every working man to abandon the use of intoxicating drinks . . We should recollect that Government receives some twenty millions annually from this source . From parliamentary returns it appears that fifty-two millions sterling iB the cost of intoxicating drinks ; . Much valuable time ia thus tnrown away in the public-house , ; which ought to be spent in reading and storing our minds with useful knowledge . ¦ . '
A drunken , puffisg , spouting , reforming politician is a disgrace to the cause he professes to servo , and is a stumbling-block in the way of reform . That nauseous insect , with all its filth and stench , the bug , might justly indict such a fellow as a nuisance , for presuming to practice his worsa than beastly habits in its presence . The Chartists above all others ahouldnot practise not tolerate such inconsistencies . ¦ If the hints I have thrown out were adopted and fairly carried out . Sir Robert and bia orpnies in vice would soon have to gf . zion tho proud eminence of Chartism till their blighted vision sank in obscurity before the brightness of imperishable truth and righteousness . ¦ ' .. - ¦ " . ... ~; .. '" . . ¦ ' .. ¦ . .. "'¦ ¦ ; ¦ ¦ . . By inserting the above , you will oblige : : A Constant Reader Of your extensively circulated paper . - rf » , ¦ " - ' ¦ : .
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ESSAY ON ' THE PRESENT SYSTEM . ; ¦ . . ¦ -PART V . . . ' ¦ ' . ¦ ' . ¦ ; ¦ ' - We have seen the origin of the system—we have examined its nature and character—let us look more narrowly into its effects . Ami first , there is not a creature in England , from the Queen bu the throne to " The ruaid that milks and does the' meanest chares , ' • from the duke to the coal-boy , that is not cursed by this accursed system . The rich are cursed by the crimes which it induces—the poor by the want . Itis asystem that pervades all ranks , all classes , all employments . The three professions * law , physio , and divinity are infected by it . Law , for the benefit of lawyers , is made to distort justice—physic for the benefit of doctors to destroy health—and religion for the benefit of parsons to corrupt Christianity . It rules the army an < i navy where money buys command over merit . \ The flue arts are not exempt from its blasting influence . If a man of genius , whether a poet or painter , a musician , a
sculptor , or an architect , be an honest man , he will and his honesty a bar to his success . If a man of science be poor his inventions will be purloined by the rich , who wil > get patents for them , and rob him of tha reward of his ingenuity . It is a system that has changed tha character of the great to little . The ancestors of our dukes , marquisses , and . earls used to feed the poor at their gates—but their degenerate posterity , the present bastard breed , are noble only in name , and they drive the poor gleaners froiu their tit Ids and follow thorn into the workhouses , where they examine the weights and nieasureB to see that the poor wretches get no more than the allotted portion of skilly—leat they should live and not die . It is a system that has made honesty ( said to be the beBt policy ) the worst policy , for shopkeepers declare tuat they cannot live honestly , and they find it ntcessary to discharge every honest "journeyman , every conscientious servant . None are-profitable'to them , . but those who can He and flatter and cheat in their service .
It is a system that has studded the land with palaces , castles , and country seats foe the rich , but with bastiles , madhouses , and prisons , for the poor— bastiles that are filled with humble unfortunates rained , nut by their own vices and immoralities , but by the vices and imnioralities of the great , who corrupt , who crash , who absolutely compel iheir victims to sin , then punish their hiisery by worse misery , by cruelties more abhorent than hell itself—madhouses -where are confined those whose hearts were broken , whose brains were turned by the disappointments which are the sure and certain hope of henest . worth—and who are thuy in the prisons ? We are told that the great majority can neither read nor ¦ write-, u . cd this ia true , for government would keep us ignorant as asEes that we might be treated as badly ; but it is not true , as some have inferred , that the ignorant
alone are criminal , or the wovst cr ' minals . No , it is your learned clerks who escape by benefit of clergy , Who iire too cunning to be caught , or have influence or connections to buy them off , or let them loose . Ifc is a system that has profaned British soil With the steps of policemen—not only in lust-trodden cities but in thOBe rural districts were innocence vainly seeks a retreat It is a system tbafc brings rnany a good man to a bad end ^—many a strong man to ' an untimely grave . Oh , what miilior . 3 will arise in judgment against this system—a system that , banished Frost . Williams , and Jones for no other crime but patriotif in for seeking to save that which is lest , lust ptace , lott pro £ perity ,: fpr striving to restore onr ancient constitution . It is a sjhttmthut doomed five hundred Chartists to ciu'geons . I am not ashamed at owciEg mvfitlf one of them . I should rather be
ashamed at not having bee" one ; it is for the perst « uted to glory ^ -for the persecutors to be ashamed . Clayton and Holbtrry have perished , and Peddie is perishing ; but their spirits will notperi&b , and cannot , be confined—even now they walk tbe earth . " It is a system t ! at forces men but of their proper sphere an * drags them into the most unnatural , the most unmanly ¦ ways of gainiDg a livelihood , into occupations unseemly , revolting ; and women , who under a better system would bs what they were created to be , ' : the- angels of men , women are de ' moraliz-d by this system ,. made moral plagues ; children , too , are doomed to exist like reptiles , vermin . It is a system that makes parents shut their own children out of their homes , out of their
hearts—that freezes the blood of nearest relationship and curdles the milk in a mother ' s breast It is a system that has kredunheard-of crimes and produced monsters in saciety , such as the Burkes , the Greenacres , the Goods , in whose characters , in whose countenancts' the man is lost U the brute , the beast , tne fiend . In short it is a system that calls virtue vice , rniikea truth a lie , honesty dishonourable , justice a mockery , crime a custom , folly fashionable , and religion a trade—that has made Mammon the idol of England , to which God himself is sacrificed by his ungodly creatures ; yea , this system has sunk England furbelow Hell itself ; for in Hell we read that only the wiefced are tormented , but in England , the good are tormented . : ¦ .- ¦¦ Let any . one conceive . futia a'fictitious being , such a Utouian as a man honest . .. and true iii every word and at * , and ull ice , would riot thit man have to unce-rgo core sc ra , more pereecuUoa than any other man ? v > - nld not his life be a mastyrdom ? his death alone
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could be happy . Such are the effects of this cursad system—a system that has not only cursed England , but every country vfhere English irfluerice prevails . Captain Cook named the South Sev Islands the " Friendly Islands , " because the people were the kindest he had ever met ; bm they can no looger be named the " Friendly ''— -our system has reached them , has . perverted them , cursed them ; and -where is the country in Which freedom or happiness reign , or are about to reign to wUichonr Government , ever oa . the Watch ; does not send a navy with swelling ait ' . a and bristled cannon , to batter down the rising lights » f man ? - Witness wronged Ireland , Cinada , Egypt . India , bntabove all , China ! where British bravery is now disgraced by the most cowardly War ever waged in the history of the world—a wax that is rousini ? the
retributive hatred of all nations against us . Who is there that can now boast of being an Englishman ? who can love to have his name identified with this country ? who but musp blush to be born in it ? And aro th-ro those . that can support such a system ? Alas , raro-. y think it the perfection of wisdom ! these are to be pitied ; but there are others who support it from love of it—these are surely to ba execrated ; othere ac . iiii support it for prc-fifs sake—these are to be despisti ' . ; others oppose itthough like Juggernaut it crush themhonoured be these : for no nian who seeks to thrive by such a system is Worthy the'ham ' s of man . for it i * impossible to do so honestly ; and dirty is he , Blthy beyond measure , who would rather live by dishonest means than by honest OLes , if left free to choosa ; but the system does not leave nieu free to choose--it leaves them no alternative but vice or starvation . S / any causes of social dishonesty and domestic infelicity naturally arise in this unparadiseel world , but the system leaves them not to chance : like Kirkpatrick , it
makes snre . It is directly or indirectly the cause of almost every sin , every sorrbwi every suffering that we commit or endure . Poverty is painful enough of itself ; but the system sets a man ' s poverty ever in his view— : makes him fee ] it constantly , racks him with it night and day . It knows no pity , no remorse . He who can wilhngiyj . wilfully support such a system ( knowing what it is ) is a devil , an 4 not a man ^ he is a-party to all the evils which it ii fliota , an accessory before the fact to every murder which it comuiits . When , our Saxon ancestors ; 'wished to express their sense oi utter worthiessness they called it-kidjertng—to support this Bysteni is ' . -NipERi . no . Quakers refuse to pay church rates : but they pay taxes in support of this system—they ara averse to war ; yet they pny to carry it on—even -the present disgusting and abouiniabie war in China—iet them'be consistent—let them come out as Ccartists , and it will shew that they do not williDgly support-. such a aysteiK—that ; they are wishful far a better system to support . . ' . '¦ . ( To be continued . )
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. . { ' . ... " ... ' " . . ' . ' . — -= 3 THE FOUNDLIMG OF AYR . ¦ . CCondudecL ) , / . James was now pretty comfortable , earning twenty ' shillings per week , and more contented than those -who spend twenty poarids a-week withont earning it . ^ Hg took a small cottige , and his wife took in such w >> rfcaa she > . could ' . execute after her own wss done . Bat J fines ' wss not one who' lived for himself alone , o * eveu ¦¦ & . * hia ' ' famUy . —he was n citlasn of the world , and though he ba-a not much time and but few opportuniv . ta ot learning what was going on in the world , except from ' 'hearsay , 'he read the wettJy jievspapsrs .: The comiucfc of Government , with iU efftCts on society , especially on hia own class , 'did not pass unnoticed , uucriticised , nor unopposed by him . The Duke had ' returned from his critical vietory at . Waterloo , won by the pa « siva obedience and resistance of a wall of British troo : > s whp ttood and received the charges of Fr « nih cavalvy with all the obdurate endurance with which they Wali Lave taken a fl "Sging 02 their backs , by the oriU r of tbeir coiuuiaui ! er-in-c . bief . That Coramander . was ' . now ruling in the cabinet . !' arid was strenuously : \ rivo >>
catiag the corn ' bill ,, for he had receive , large esU ' . t-j is a reward for " saving his couniry , " and it was bis inUrcit ( with which bis ;' r : c ! i « nation was on goOii terms ) to enhance the vaIus v > f bis property , - by protecting duties , i ' es , England ' wai uow wajiwg the fiu \ t oi her victories ^ baviDg purt ' ii . ised glory abroail by the sacrifice < t happiness at-ho : i » M , Cmd likd the garnished drum , all ; oisd and show ; 01 : ? ule , was "full of emptiriess '' witbin . Theworkhis ' . nen uniyersaily exeerated this famine-bill , ami their attention was turned to Parliamentary reform as a ibcj : 3 . of repealing that , and all other class-laws—lawa tint so psrtja ] ly , incl : ne the balance of justicf . The indiin tion ¦ vrhichtheso measures of the Tories had exc ' . tecl was ta ^ en advantage of by the . Waigs to serve their own v-irty purposes ; and , under -pretence of serving the cau * i . » -of the people , they were carried into power by the Kiform Bill , but were no sooner seated on high , than rhey kicked down the jacWer , and become as mean as their nreilecessora had bean base . -. '
Thu pressure of the taxes on the one hand , with tha love of estravaganca vrhich a nation proud of its ^ Matness began to indulge on the other , caused the inMille elabses ( those lipes of the aristocracy ) to sit niore tightly on the shoulders ef the' workint ; men , to screw down their wages and to set up ruachir . ' .-ry , to compete with men who not being composed of such tough . metal were compelled to give up the race In despair . The middle classes were enccur .-. gevl in . this growing seiflsbntss by GJovermnenc . who passed the New Poor Law Bill a 3 an alembic t << crush the . last hopes of labour , nnd dme it ftora tbe lnn > l— - opening sluices of emigration for that purpose . Tha masters were determined ^ keep up their high style of Jiving by lowering wages ; anct it is in this ni . inaea they / pay the inconie . tax , or any additional burrhen
imposed on them by GovemuienV—pressing it out of the class below them . Tne mtri saw the necessity of t-om-Mning to resist the combination among the masters . For this purpose they entered in Trades Unions ; anct James Ayr immediately joined , acd was so r ^ aioaa and'uaefuV . a member , tbat he was appointed secretary to the district where he lived . ( Jovornment dr . iwiug its resources from oppression , of course backed the oppressoya . anrt prjjsecuUons'wete issued against sevsial Bienibero of the Unions under the pitiful pretence that they swore illegal oaths to bind each other in conspiracy . The fact is , that the working man . needs not an oath to bind him in brotherhoodi : —his wo / il of honour , like that of the peers , is sufficient , and honesty is bis bond . Bnt , however , the Dorchester Lab-urera and Glasgow Cotton Spinners were . transported foi
example ' s sake—transported by the Whigs—by the very men who had taught them the principles they were now putting in practice . What was Janies ' tr 8 uri > rise to . find those whose advocacy of rfeform went to the -cuttiog off of Queens' heads , now actinc the part of the Fox to the Goat in tbe fable ? James saw the necessity of uniting not against masters merely , but against the Satanic power hehind the masters ; in short , he .-became , a' Chartist—one of those who are seeking to regain from tyranny the sceptre of the people's patriotic sovereignty . He saw that Tradea " Unions weire of benefit to the same extent that ' odd-, feliowa' Unions are , but riot further ; as ho found that the contest with the' masters wns unequal , and ended in greater oppression . ^ ut Chartism , like Trades UnipEiin ) , wjis to be pnt down ; . and the Wmisbnient ot Frost , Williams , and Jonies ' followed that of the . ' Dorchester and Glasgow : men . James vras so indignant at this , that he vented his sjmpatky in language which
the authorithies -bail once tiiught , but now would no * tolerate , and he was arrested , but held to bail . He travevsed to the next assizes , but * in the iiitantinie , a sum ; was raised for him by his brother nnionists . sufficient to pay his passage to America , whither , with his family , he flew , like Joseph , from persecution . All hia hopes of freedom , or of a livelihood , being bpfflridseeing no prospect before him but a priison—having a large " family dependent on him ^ -he did wisely to « purn the slave troiVilcnsoAl of Britain ; he did well to shake the dust off his shoes as a testimony against ifc . VVa see in his example , ' that tbe working wan cannot be true to himself and to hia otder without encountering great trials . James , though driven out of his own trade into a chemical factory , and put pi that into another country , was ever hear ty , ns he was honest , and though he never discovered bis paients , Providence has been a father to the Fouadling of Ajr and blessed his endeavours in America .
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ELLIS THE VICTIM . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHEEN STAB . Dear sir , —It is the last visit of the patriot's wif » and offspring to the victim ' s cell , to takj a long and i » thapa a last farewell , which now occup ies iriy mind in sad and thougbtfui mood enwrapt . AVhat a scene ! He- had hopert— fondly hoped , by his-. frank-, profession y f liis honest opinions , by his public advocacy of the evmt tloctrines of truth ; and theheaven-born . principlesof justice ; by his virtuous , if not v 5 « orMi 8 exertions in the cause . of righteousuoss between man and man , not only to havo bencatted his country generally , but especially to hava elevated in the social Scale the chosen of bis youthful heart , and the dear p ledges of their mutual love , and now lie beholds tbeai—killing sight . '—his darling wife
bewidowrd and disconsolate , and his unconscious be ! pleas chidren fatherless and destitnte . But then he if ? allowed , as a lust favoar , to touch , to handle , to embrace , to clasp to hia bosom the mother anA her babes—to give them such a sgueize . " as erst he ¦ . ''' gave them not . " MuTc-ly even tyranny base as now ' tis grown , cannot deny this last poor consolation , Ala * I why do I thus dream f Thick walls and -strong iron , effectually divide Rounder those who had lovingly sat s ' We by side , comnfuned over-, the ' cheerful meal , and calmly slept in each other ' s arms . See how the manly . cheek , furrowed by un , merited cms , is- plouthad by the b \« tear , ¦ while , with infxpresfiible anguish , he looks , knowing he must look there no more—upon nil that ' a dear to him in the world , then turns away sickened at
the sight . Ah ! riiftthinfcs I hear the piercing wail of the poor dear wife of ' Ellis , " Ob ! I thought they would have allowccl me to kiss him . " Never Bhall-. I forget the thrill which went through n » y heart ; when I read this heart-breaking sentence . And then tho lovely innocents—mother , why weep you ?—father why grieve you ? But enough , I must no ruore . . Englishmen arouse ye . It is for you to say wbether EHis shall be banished , and you be brauded for ever or whether rampant , tyranny shall be ' made ta bow down before the irresistible will of a mighty ji *; ople , and a moving nation . If the efforts now making should fail ; , aud the judges ' should decide unfavourably , ( and who expects any thing else , for tho judgment seat is corrupted , and turned to political purposes ) eitlier a petition to the Commons , or a memerial to the Qieen , or both , to be tletermined npoii . by the conimitiee
already organized on his behalf , must be prepared , adopted , and presented . I do not recommend ' .-this , course from any faith which I . have in petitions or memuriais ,. bnt if proper-steps be taken , I ftel opprtuasion auras- how ct other tbat such a demonstration may tje got up in tlio rnetropolis , ae will not ority effectuate the HtieiaTion of Ellis , but also do mHch for tbo people too . The p ' . an which L have to rtcGmmeuil ia this : let a small tr ^ ct be printtd detailing a- short account of Eliis—of his fpotless character—of his trialtho na'Jure . icf-the evidence , upon which be weh convicttd , with a shcTt but clear statement of his political pviixiples . Let London be deluged with theae tracts one month at least : before the presentation ; and , to rhtefc the expense cf printing and the demonstration , Jet buamrs ; or tea , pnrties he got up both-in Loud ^ Ji and the potteries : and let our richer friends for once show tbeii lifentroBity Vy liberal support . ¦ .
It may be atked why tbe rest ef the provinces should not engage to raise their quota towards this benevolent ol-ject ? B « can 8 « I tbiuk if proper txfertions be made in London and Staffordshire , sufficient . funds maybe raiied ior toe purpose ,-and in the mean time the EngjJ lish p-ovihees and Scotland orisht . to get up similar }« Ziarfc au < l tea parties for the benefit of the " General Victim and Defence Fund . " I would respectfully suggest to th& English Estcutive , and the Cintral Board of Scotland to sa . ko up this subject immediately , to deliberate cJruly upoa it , and decide and advise according to the test ot their own judgment . If this matter be not taken up by these official bodies , it "will never be generally attended to . to
The . assistance of the ladies is absol * tely necessary ita success-, and as nothing can : be done in order and with effect , without organization and system , female Associations should be formed everywhere insfcinter . Come then , iny good Chartist sisters and brethren , give pniof - " thiit you deserve the houourable appeliation of Chai lUt . for it is thei moat honoorable appellative term spplied -in British ei ; c } ety ; Juat for a rnonient consider the agonised feelings : of the neglected Chartist victim , and determine'thit be shall not longer want the consolation of your ' warmest sympathies and prompt and best assistance . ¦ .. I remain , Dear Sir , Ac , . ' . ' . ¦' ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ., ' . ' : '¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' . . ; ¦ ¦ : : ' ' . JEAN A . ' .
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ExTRAOBpiNAai-BiKTa . —A servant girl cf . Mr . JJodJ . vf O ; C * o ft t Cheshire , who left ner place n few tay . i > iuce , un the plea of being " unwell , '' was deli-^ ' eriii , 011 Weunesday last , of three fine boys , all oi ¦ v .-iifni , together with the moiher , ate doing well .
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? ' TO THE ZDITOK OF THE AOETHERX STAB . SJR , —It affords rue tte highest decree of pleasnre and satisfaction to see the industrious classes enjoying tte pleasures and fruits cf tneir labours , ' and the bounties of Divine Providence ; nor can the man be guiltless -who would deprire his fvllow creatures of tbat which nature requires , cr of the blessings which a benenficient Creator has , in his infinite wisdom , pro-Tided for his sustenance , comfort , and gratification . There sre , hewever , a Variety of thirds in which we indulge that are neither esential to cur ex istence , not raleuhted to administer lo car real ecjormtnt ; but arc in numberless cists ^ ike injurious to tbe lif ^ , fctalih , morals , ^ nd hsppints * if these , vho , utfoitira : ? Jy , are a JdiKcd to their use .
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TO JOSEPH STURGE . "My soul aches ; To know , when two authorities are up , Neither supreme , how soon confusion . 1 May enter 'twixt the gap of both and take . The bne : by the other . " : ¦¦ ' . / .. ' ¦ ¦' . SUAKSPEARE . Sib ., —I stop not to enquire whether G-oiV and nalTiro wade you a Chartist , whether it was the histories of the ancient republics , Greece , Rome , Sparta , or of England itself in its democratic days ; whether yoa became a convert during your recent visit to America by comparing that country with your own ; or lastly whether you as
as an Ahti-Cornlawite were xonvinced of the hopelessness of jour oppbsitlcu without an extension of the Suffrage . Suffice it ta say , that yau . fduttd an association on foot in Great Britain entitled the National Charter Association , and composed of men who felt their wrengs ; who knew their rights , and who wished to restore their country to itself by making its institutions harmonize with truth and justice . You approved of their objects , of their plans , yet you did not join them . On the contrary you endeavoured to set up , not even nn auxiliary associaiion , but an antagonist one— - you are not only not with us , but you are against us , and thus'I prove
it-VVTou acted on the opinion that the conduct ofthe Chartists had rendered their name odious , had excited much prejudice against their principles . To avoid that odium , to evade the prejudice , you profess the Bams principles but under a different name—you thsught proper . to aiask your . battery . I believo you are a . ; pliilan thropist , but . you are not much of a philosopher or you would know that as it was the honesty of those principles that rendered them odious in the eyes of the privileged , classes , s » a profession of the same principles even under a ^ different rw rii e , was sure to subjeet j on to like odium , to excite similar prejudice ; for it is the humanity of the Chartists , not their \ name , that is dreaded or disliked by the inhuman factions . Whether . think you , is a nieaa subiniissjon to prejudice or a manly defiance of it , most likely to remove or repel it ? You know that the very errors Of the Chartists , liko the ftiilings of Goldsmith's brother , " lean'd to virtue's . aide . " ' : -. - . '¦ ,- " ' . ' . ' . ' - "¦ . " : ¦ ' '¦ . ¦'
Having refused tb incorporate with the old bodyhaving resolved to set up a new one , with yourself at the head of it ; having , in a manner said to Featgua O'Connor , «¦ Stand back , I am'holier , than thou ; " you begin by altering the dUtlnctWe appellation of CbnTtiam , the name by which it had become , known ; a name hallowed by heroism , sanctified by martyrdom . What faith can we put in your sincerity when your first act was tbe removal of our landmark ? I will not descend to record the numerous other instances you have given us fer suspicion . I will abide by your first general ones . The phrase- " nniversui" would not do—yon must alter
it to " complete . " Having adopted the principle , you boggled at the name—haying swallowed a camel , you strained at a gnat . What do you mean by comp ' cle 1 If you mean what we mean by -universal , why make a changeling of Chartism ? You hare not mended the phtaBe . " -,: I contend that : your complete is a solecism in grammar . The word is more applicable to st piece of workmanship than to a point of jurisprudence . Perfect would have been more gcrmain to the matter . Bat you have acted like the gypsies , who , when they steal a child , disguise or diBngure it : " that it may pas 3 as their own /'
. We test the propriety of words by their collocation . How does it read ? Let us see . I am afraid that you will not live to finish , much less to complete the suffrage . Would not this be rank nonsense ? Yes , and as your complete suf ? . ago has been designated " complete humbug , " so miijht it wittr equal propriety be Btyled * ' complete nonsense . '' The . wise . aTe not to be fooled by it . Yoii have never defined your meaning , and I suppose it will only admit of . Bardoiph ' s dennition . " Complete ; that is , when , the suffifiige is , as they say , complete ; or , whe ' ri the suffrage is , —beiiig- ^ wher ^ by—it
may be thought to be complete ; which is an exei-lleut thing . " Now ; the olti terrii universal has not onJy its own universality to . recommend it ; but , moreover , it can quote precedent in its favour . It is author a : d by antiquity—it is the term that , was iu uae among the ancient Romans . When you refused tobe baptiz-jd in the name of the Charter ; whenyou cairyour principles by another name—how can you avow that your opinioBs are the same , as ours ? In the words of tbe poet , they are—alike ; but oh , how . different J " ' . "If you are ashamed of bur name , we will be ashamed of you . You are a noncoinforiniiig Chartist , and the orgaa of your party is rightly termed the Nonconformist .
A Friend should be a peacemaker . If any breach existed in our Israel ,-you ought- ' to have healed it by the sacrifice of yourself , like Curtius , rather thaii to have wirtetied it ; but 3011 have caused discussion , dissension , and division , where allshould'have beth . peace , concord , and unity . You have occasioned a retardation , of the progrosa of liberty against oppression ; Your next step will be to divert it . Why set up your tent of disunion so close to our tent of uniou ? If a rnan dig a well so near unc-ther well as to divert the spring , our laws , dtfacHvc as they are id justice . Will give a reriieay by an action on the Case . You have opened a ren ( i £ zvous for "fickle changelings ana poor discontents , " and sent round your recmitingscMJ-. ai . t 3
to entice and enlist deserters . The love of uoyulty , tho knowledge that the miildle claBses can pay more than the workiBg classes ; the idsa that you are a -Wfealtljy map ; all this has tempted a few needy adventurers into your service , has also tempted one of our Executive , one wfeo was with us , in " double trust , " who should against disunion have closed the door , not opened it himsolf , but : yon have not been able , and you will not be able , to inveigle one sound Chartist . Mahomet couKl not get the mountain to come to him—be was forced to go to the tuouutain . Sa will it be w ith you . The new movers could not draw the masses after them ; and tbis new attempt , in yMir nttme , will be equally unsuccessful . ; It is is indeceut for the Omega to expect the Alpha to bow to it .
¦ Brit besides the mediocre advocates of middle-class union in your pay , you have some working-men in your ranks . We would say . to them as Wallace f > aid to Bruce when tie met hini on the river side , v What do ycu in the ranks of your enemies—of the enemies of your country . Come back to . yonr own order . Cross the Rubicon again , " The working-classes . do not need , do cot want , the middle-class to join them ; at least they will not join the middle class , for they know from fatal experience , that to do so is but to lend themselvea as tools in the hands &f tbeir meanest and worst
oppressors . The Refortn Bill has taught them a leeson which they can never forget . That they were duped then was the fault of the middle-ciass—It will be their own fault if they are duped a second time . What good can come of these Conferences with false friends?—we wantrie intellectual spaning . Is it to gain time , or to delude as by some sligbt-of-hand trfck , some jugglery liko that of changing onr nainai ? Mr . Sturge , let me advise you to incorporate at once V ? ith those whose principles ycu avow ; or if you wish" to keep np a PharasaicaJ separa : tion—Bet UP , not as a SuffragMt , but on other ground .
" Having wafite gronnd enough , Shall you 1 esire to raise the eanctuary Anri pitch your evils there ? " ; Wishirg you to cease ail farther attempts at dra-w-lng ft diatiiictiori . wi ' . hout a diffen . H 4 e , . : ' ¦ "' . ••' -.. i am , yoi tf , : As far as is ccflsiiteut witli the cause , . ' ' . ¦ '• . " ' ¦ ' . ' . ' " .. ¦ J tax " Watk i . vs .
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THE NOR T H E R N S T-A B ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 3, 1842, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct967/page/7/
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