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ffflE tORTHlRN " STCAB, SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1840. "Tn**~rX*l ATrtT) T'TTTT'lD "W dTP A ~D
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TO TBS WORKING P&OPIB OT TBS ' THREE KIKGDO1S9:
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Fffle Torthlrn " Stcab, Saturday, January 18, 1840. "Tn**~Rx*L Atrtt) T'Tttt'ld "W Dtp A ~D
ffflE tORTHlRN " STCAB , SATURDAY , JANUARY 18 , 1840 . "Tn **~ rX * l ATrtT ) T'TTTT'lD "W dTP A ~ D
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THE "SHOPKEEPERS ; " THEIR "PROFIT " AND OUR " LOSS . " Is our last , we slightly glaneed at the important information received by ih $ London' papers , on Thursday week , in reference t « oar relations with •" "the Celestial Empire , " We hare now time and ¦ pace to plaee it a little fully and definitely before * ur leaders . It is a matter in which , the national hoaoar , the national faith ,-and the national character , as veil . a » - the national interests of Great Britain are deeply concerned , and hare been reddest and shamefully sacrificed by ths heartless , nbeiale , and oowardly representative of a Government more heartless , more imbecile , and more bewtrdly , than probably any other that hag ever soiled timpagaof history .
It has exhibited this country in a more humiliating tad degrading light of contemplation than that in * rhich any other nation , churning to be " civilised , " = «? er was contemplated . It ha » verified , in its -feltest aad most odious form of meaning , the character ,, ¦ bestowed npon ni by Napolxox , of being a . >* Nation of Shopkeepers ! " We hare indeed shown ¦^ ars el fes , in our public dealings with the Chinese Empire , to be Shopkeepers , " mere " Shopkeepers , " * ad nothing 'but "Shopkeepers . " In the ordinary relationships of men , ihe Shopkeeper is not necessarily saeas spirited , heartless , and contemptible . It is only when ** the'Bhop " -rthe acquisition and accumuntulation of " profits , " and the cursed lust of money
thereby generated—become so powerful as to set aside all other considerations—to confuse his sense f right and wrong , and utterly extinguish the principle of benevolence , that he becomes an object « f virtuous indignation and ineffable scorn to all ?• £ ood ' men . It is ' only to such men as hare thus , in the ardency of thair porsuit after gain , thrown overfceard the better feelings of our common nature that -tbe term " Shopkeeper , " or " Shopocrat / ' can be , or vex has been , applied as an epithet of infamy . Such is the character in which Mr . Opium Elliott , his masters , the "Reform Government , " aad their masters , the " shopkeepers " of India , hare « hoaen to exhibit this whole people to the Chinese
-empire . Nor i 6 this all : they have chosen also to exhibit ibefcr-femed and long-boasted British lion'' in an attitude of conceited bullying and cowardly impotence which we cannot conceive so well represented 4 * by the Stile , noisy , barking curs which not unfre-- ^ oea tly meet a stranger at the door , or in the hall -ef « genteel" houses , and who will make as great a bow of vaW in barking and biting at his legs as -- -May be , _ BO long a * they axe ' unnoticed , but who , im-« ediateif » stick or foot is lifted , run , yelping all the way , as fast as their four "legs * an carry them ,
into the p&rToufj ' wliexerarey find a refuge in ihe :- capacious lap of the " gentlewoman " of the house . Such is the climax of prosperity to which the ' " ships ,, colonies , and commerce" policy of the *• shopkeepers" has at length conducted us , that " Johs Bull" instead of being , as in . days of yore , regarded by distant " powers" as a straightforward honourable gentleman , who would neither do nor -anffer an ill thing , or , as in more modern times , looked upoa by them as a beld highwayman , whom it were better to conciliate than anger , 'is now tr tated like a iseaking pickpocket who , when - caught , is cuffed , and kicked , and soundly
¦ 4 neked , and soused , and bid not to come again , lest he find rougher usage next time . There is no wonder that the " shopkeepers" should " die hard" in taeir oontest with the people ; that they ahtmld cling tenaciously to the position in which £ bey bare been permitted to establish themselves . " 'She people have a terrible account to settle with them for this continuous and continued sacrifice of national honour , and character , and glory , on the - * ttar of their own loathsome and utterly contemptible deity , the lost of gain ; an aceount which - peoner or later aartaad will be settled , and which tumntpow be long delayed . "
: The circumstances which have brought about our bsw position , in regard to China , are but parts and consequences of that general system which , for years -&od years , has been prostrating the glory of our same and fame yet lower and lower into the dust before surrounding nations ; while it has , at the same time , being gradually beating down , to a depth <> f suffering and slavery unparalleled , the eons of our own soil on their native hearths . "We now bring those oreamstanees before the people as an useful illustration of the system which they must destroy .
The people know that for a long period a most useful commerce has subsisted between this countr y " and China . One of the most pleasant and most ¦ awful of oar ordinary means of aliment has been almost exclusively obtained from China . This article has come into such almost universal use as to be thought nearly indispensible ; it is , therefore , of high consequence to the national comfort that a friendly relationship should be maintained with China , whenc * alone it can be had ; besides which China was , in return , a profitable customer 4 o os for many of oar calicoes aad other light fabrics . TboB mutually profitable and convenient commerce might have continued without interruption had the ** March of intellect" and the " Spirit of
Christianity" in Great Britain kept pace in moral excellence , genuine honesty and benevolence , -with the sense of right and « wrong derived , to the Chinese Government through the light of nature , obscured by - _ all . their heathen superstitions . The cupidity , however , iif"Christian" merchants—that same genius of * 'Shopkeep ing" which looks to profit without reference to ihe media through which it is derived , and which , therefore , scruples not to ooin , by all devices of legal and social tyranny , the blood and marrow of theii fellow subjects , without reference to age or sex , hai thrown a barrier across the channel of this friend !; intercourse which threatens seriously to impede it a&d to surround it with great , if not insuperable tfffieultie * .
The spirit of that Bon of Paganism , which is j established as the religion of China , is of too j feiadly and benevolent a character to permit the [ .. . jriiolfisale Jtnt « herv _ and sacrifice of the people living under its controuliDg influence by j by a reckless pandering to their viees for the pur- ; pose of obtaining " profit f hence the practice of opium smoking , which is among them what the j drinking of intoxicating liquors is among U 3 , the ) bane and plague-spot of society , ha * been by their ¦ laws vigorously put down . And that this might be i
done effectually , and not nominally only , their legislators began at the right end of thebusiness , striking at the root of the evil by prohibiting not merely the smoking of opium , but the growth , manufacture , and sale of it , under tbe heavy penalty of death : justly reaaonicg , that he who manufactured or sold poison for the"sike of gain , was as worthy of most © ondign punishment as he who administered it , and that to poison the life-springs of society was an offence more heinous and more deeply aggravated than to cut a single throat .
Assuming tbe propriety of capital punishments , * I ibis was a wise , just , and fair policy , by which , if ; » et thwarted , the destruction of the lives of many j « f the people , and the contamination of the health ad morals of the whole , would have been prevented . Bat the "Christian" " shopkeepers" of Britain beheld in this proceeding the erestion of an altar to Mammon and Moloch , their most favourite deities , on which they proceeded instantly to offer sacrifice . Great numbers of the besotted wretches among the Chinese were as much enamoured of the intoi ^ cating drug as , in our own soantry , many are of the intoxicating draught ; the drng was not permitted to be grown and manufactured in the " Celestial Empire "
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i |* f ^ 2 i ^ 5 . "W «* ssuj&e tkis merely as a point t » re-son from . Sa- ^^ Sa §* ' * i ' agij " that ** abstract principle capital T ^ S ^ BJI ffg 1 *^ ' uider all circanLStaaces , EuscbieYcns and
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bo that if it could be grows elaewhew and sold by stealth , to those who were wHiing to buy destruction in defiance of the law , a large return of " profit " seemed eertain to the " shopkeepers . " Large tracts of land in India were accordingly planted " with the poppy , and the " honourable" * * Christian" ** shopkeeping" merchant * and legislators of Great Britain , for many years , by a system of nefarious smuggling , defeated , to some extent , the benevolent designs of BO that if it AOnld ba mnm AlanwVAr * uulanMlw
the Chinese Government . They grew , manufactured and introduced the opium , whioh they knew to be productive of devastation , disease , aad death among the people ; they bribed aad corrupted the Chinese officers to wink at the prosecution of their infamous trsffie , and eontisaed , year after year , by the most despicable arts and villanous practices , to derive a "profit" of some millions yearly , from the murder of Chinese subjeete in defiance of their Government .
This went on for a long time , until the Government of China , after many efforts , found an officer whose mind was incorruptible- ^ whese sterling principal and sense of moral right , placed him above the reach of British Gold . This man , whose name is Lin , and whose came should be honourably handed down to all posterity , soon discovered thai though the Imperial Edict against opium smoking had been again and again published , opium was still smoked . Resolved to put down this violation of a wise and salutary law , he caused an opium smoker
to be apprehended , and the law , severe as it is , to be fully enforced upon him . The man was executed in front of the British faotory—under the very noses of the heartless " shopkeepers , " who Had trafficked in his blood . The Chinese law is jostj in so far as it places the peculating profit-monger who sells in a condition of equal criminality with the viciouB sensualist who buys and -smokes the opium , but their sense of hospitality , and their kindly feeling for the " men from afar , " would not permit them to proceed at once to rigorous measures with the
strangers . This execution of a native was intended , therefore , to warn them , gently and kindly , to leave , off the infamous trade in which they were engaged , and betake themselves to some more honest means of commerce . Instead of this , however , they affected to regard it as an insult and raised a hubbub about the affront offered to their smuggling dignity . Thus bearded , the Chinese authorities found it necessary to be firm . . They demanded the surrender of all the opium which had been clandestinely introduced into their dominions by the British merchants , but which had not yet been sold ; the " Christian " " shopkeepers" held them at defiance , and refused to
give it up , and they imprisoned the barbarian . " Bhopkeepers" until it was given up . They might have hung them , and the law would have held them justified in doing to , bat their forbearance would not yet proceed to that extremity . They were , however , given plainly to perceive that the Chinese wew in eam& ^ > and tha ^^ e opiwa must be given up . Mr . Superintendant Elliot ? promised " hie brother " shopkeepers" that , if they would give it up , and so get him and themselves out of the " mess , " the working people of England should be made to pay for it ; and , on the faith of this pledge , opium , to the amount of more than two millions of
money , was given up to the Chisese authorities , and by them destroyed . A writer on this subject has well said : — "These barbarian * , at they are impertinently termed , did manifest in that act an intense sense of duty , and a magnificent determination to act up to their perception . They have set therein an example to the world ; their conduct is applauded by the good , approved of Heaven , and Ehall be the burden of history . We chronicle it as conferring greater lustre upon the Chinese nation , than the most successful victory , or the greatest
commercial enterprise . The opium was theirs , it would have been wealth in their treasury ; but they nobly scorned the wages of iniquity—they refused the price of blood . War and commerce are but the resnlts of passion , and the self-denial and apparent heroism thereby elicited have selfish motives and selfish ends ; but this sacrifice of self open the altar of morality—a sacrifice as disinterested as it ~ was complete—took origin neither in passion of greedi ness , nor of pride—it was the great fulfilment of Ihe moral laws at the Bhrine of a natural religion . "
The following account of tke destruction of the Opium is from an eye witness , a gentleman who , if at all an interested witness , would be interested in obtaining compensation for the destroyed drug : — " Arriving at tbe spot , we found an enclosure of some , 400 feet square , well palisadoed , the " side opposite ; i away from ) tbe river being occupied bvoeat buildings , ! for storing the Opium , ic . The larger part of the fore-; KKrand Tiras covered by three vato , of perhspg 75 feet i by 150 feet each , opening by sraieei mto . the river . ! The chests of Opium , after being re-weigbeftdbd broken 1 up in the presence of high officers , were b : jSH § k | down 1 to the vats ; the coatenta , ball after ball , bfajjfeE down j and crushed upon platforms , raised on blpi benches s above the wit-rand Ihen pnshed by the feet of the r — 7 ¦ ¦ 4
, ^^ C ^*^~ ^ m ••• w * ww v * ptv Coolies into the receptacles underneath . A large nuni ; I ber of men were employed in thus macerating the balls ¦ for gome days with long rakes , until the whole had : become a fetid mud , vrhen the sluices were raised , and ; the vats emptied into the river . Every precaution j seemed to be issued by the officers to insure the cobi-• plete destruction of the drug , the spot being well > guarded , the workmen ticketed , &c " In fact , we turned from the scene , fully satisfied that the wort was being performed with rigid faithi fulness , and much disposed to wonder , that while j Christian Governments arc growing and fanning this j deleterious drug , this Pagan monarch should nobly dis-\ dain to enrich his treasury with a sale that could upt ! fall short of 20 , 000 , 000 Spanish dollars .
" Have we any where on record a finer rebuke administered by Pagan integrity to Christian aegeueracy . " Now let the reader remember that the Chinese can only estimate the British people by the sample which is afforded to them in these rascally smuggling " shopkeeper ? , ' and then let him think what sort of character the villains have made the British nation assume ! It i 3 impossible for auy right feeling mind to read the following passages from the letter of Li * , the Imperial Commissioner to her Majesty the Queen of England , withont admiring the noble sentiments which they contain , and blushing for the character which the villanous " shopkeepers" have entailed upon this Christian land : —
" It appears that in the great reason of Heartn there is nothing selfish ; it is not permitted to injure other * in order to benefit ourselves ; nay , more , the human mind ii-noi difikreagy constrn # tw £ Who is there that does not view death * ith horror , and exert himself to preserve hi ? Iffe r 1 our country , fllhdugTf'SDmrafca by a mighty ocean , and distant up-v * jmL » of 20 , ' OOU . Chinese * miles , is jti su ' gect to the aanie hmiu ^ rfeelings ; there is indeed no man who cannot distinguish ; between life and death , between that which is baneful an \ t ttiafe which is bene&ckd . * * *
" Bufwe feel sorry to say that there is a class of dcpravklToreigners , who cultivate and prepare the opium drug ; this ' . heyeonvey hither and sell by stcaith , and by means of it delude our foolish common people , iu order to deprive them of their lires , and obtain possession of their substance . Pormerly those who smoked the drug were but few in number ; of late , LoweYer . by the influence of bad example , the contagion has spread , and day by day does tne pououuus stream fl ., w
with increasing depth and violence . In our Chinese empire the people are many and constantly multiplying ; * * * how then ctca we consult to stand tamely by , and see tbe yery life ' e blood of the centr ; U land , corrupted with a deadly poison ? Therefora it is that in our own country we now take aliko the Boiler and the fcraoker of opium , and punish hi * criuie with the utaost penalty of the law , in order to cut » n for ever the transmission yf this curso to ijucceedini ; t . \ aerations . ? t * -
" "We haye further heard that in your wuutry yyu do not permit your own subjects to smoke it ; h& who tiol&tes the law ia severely punished : tb s is showing that yoa ara aware how uoxious it is to humau life , aud therefore it ia that you ttiw . ngidlj . prohibit It . But if you prohibit it being smoked , why not prohibit it also being sold ? and at the * une time prohibit it ; being grown aad manufactured ! This would indeed be the true way ; to ett rid of tbe fountain ofc tTU-t
And if yon yourselres do not smoke it , aud jet Uare to prepare it and se'J it , in order to indue * tiit- ignorant , foolish people of our central bad to smoke it —then this is wishing to secure life to rourselres . y ^ u involve others in Vlie ph of death ! This is si ekinj ; your own profit , while yon are trying to ruin your * neighbour ! Such conduct rouses the indignation of mankind , while the nausea a high Huawa will assuredly utver permit it ?"
. tvery po £ 3 ible effort was made by the enraged ' shopkeepers'' to overawe the Chinese Government , rhsy threatened to withdraw ( heir { . atrona ^ e from
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its commerw , under the pretax ot requeuing to return home . They were rery properlr * nd Tery spiritedly told that they wereorJy ptrmittii&hejre for their own profit and convenience \ that to j ^ &om being any benefit to China , & ' e > iu 4 doneinc ^ toi ^ le mischief in it by the sale of opinnY ; thai t&j ^ wtike , therefore , quite at liberty to go home as soon at wg pleased , and that they wotld not be allowed to use any pretext for returning . Thus baffled , ihe " shopkeepers" were rerj earnest with their brother " shopkeepera" at home , to send ta armament Tind oomita 1-JimlMfM . Timlin tk > nM » M nf mnn ^ a . «
pel the Chinese to make restfWition tojthttwgmiggling thieve * for the plunder ofv&kk «« # &d D ** disappointed by the mild and'ftfr enforcement jbf the law , and we have every reasoftlo belifcve thai bar " ¦ hopkeepfo g" government ha $ deliberately purposed to sustain their brother btccaneers ; that they bad sent on * orders to blockad * the Comeae yerts ; that their intention of doing sofnad beeji . o ^ tawinil eated to other states ^ and tfiat by a fift-saaittg vessel despatched to India , infractions hare been forwarded to the Admiral Commanding in Chief in
those seas , to concentrate all the disposable navai force under his orders and proceed to Canten at onoe » to present and support the demands of Government . Orders have also been Bent to the Cape of Good Hope , for such ships of war as may be lying there , or on tbe station , to sail with all speed for the same destination , whilst communications in the same tenourhave also been addressed to Admiral Ross , commanding in the Pacific , for the instant despatch of all the force under his orders which could possibly be spared from duty there . So that our " shopkeeping" masters are prepared to exhibit this whole
Christian people in ths united chai&cter of thief and bully ; we are to ga to wir-w $ h China , and the savages ' exuU aad gloat © rer $ he \ pxosjpct * f the bloodshed ^ the famine , th& insurreofion i jsmdng t % people , and the muldform distress to ^ isisery whi filt must follow a blockading of tbiir ^ Eor ^ s . ; aad all this in return , not for any sptfliatioh on fhete parts—not for any offence . , given or offeted to us bat purely as " recompenoe for their charitable treatment , their unrevenging forgiveness . Ifre say charitable treatment , and we speak advisedly . We can state , on the authority of a resident gentleman at Canton , that more than six weeks before the
seizure took place , the opium merchants had received the most energetic commands to send away the drug from the Chinese eoast . " This order was disregarded , the introdwtion of it was continued as flagrantly as ever , but fo * ris voeikt more' the Chinese Government forbore from harsher measures . At last the High Commisaione Li * arrived at Canton , armed with unlimited authority . Still the opium was not removed , and messages were sent to him by the body of merchants the most trifling and equivocating * !
" He commenced proceedings , that is " to say be placed guard * around the city , but ; Sunday intervening ,. in _ dfiference to ^ M ^| g ^*^ l ^«^ day , " measures were STiapended ^ ffhettpa ^ Tine most peaceable , and at the eatne t ^ neth . emostcertain method of securing the deliviry'bf the opinm , our merehanta were retained , uninjured , though slightly inconvenienced , as hostages for the same their native servant * being taken from them , in order
to prevent the possibility of strife . Are we not justified in calling this charitable treatment ? And are we not right also in affirming , that if , in return far auch kind behaviour , to British merchants , we compel them , by meapa of the sword , to surrender their wealth , we shall'be guilty of the most low and unprincipled robbery ; and that every Chinese who may fall a victim in the contest will have been murdered , foully murdered , in the judgment both of heaven and humanity I '' :
Government , however , determined that we should bear this amiable aspect 1 * the "barbarians" of tbe distant land whom we send oar missionaries to civilize and convert to Christianity ; but Mr . Opium Elliott and j ^ is brother u ^ hopkeepera" ^ Trere in too great a hurry to cimpKfce the picture . ThBj ^ e « oW _ no * wait ^ lbe v anjiral 4 « f tiffix h » tru » tions , bat mist hafft at ^ Wi ^ l « Cjje ^ 'jf&a war < m their own account . ' , r " ' \
They had procured their dismissal from Canton , the English ; settlement , by asking leave to go hor ^ e ; bat instead of f ^ oing homo , thay went to the Portuguese aefctlenienl . of Macao , where they were permitted to remain aa long as they behaved themselves . That , it seems , was not long ; They have taken care not to send home the particulars ; but they have toldt s * , rtha * they quarrelled with some of the Chinese at ^ Aitacao , and that a Chinese man was murdered . Tb ^ Chinese authorities demanded that the murderer should be given up to justice ; the " Shopkeepers" refused to give him up » and the wholo bunch of them were ordered to turn out , bag and baggage , and , in twelve hours time , to be on the sea .
They stormed and bullied , and crouched and wheedled , but to no use ; out thoy must go ; and out tnej did go . Mr . Opium Elliott , in the excess of his valour , fired upou two Chinese war Bhijo , who returned the compliment , finding him s ' utn « ient occupation for the rest of the day . "His djacretio ^ returned with the evening , and -in tufder Wver ; j < # the night Kb sneaked off like a scalded dog , ^ jiij ktis tail between his legs . / ' . ' ¦ . " Y "
Such is the " proud position" In which tho * Shopkeepers" have placed the " eavy and admiration of the world . " The British nation is actually regarded by her commercial allies as a child to be indulged and borne with—a thief to be watched and guarded against , and a poltroon to be kicked and spit upon ! Such are the benefits of " Shopkeeping" legislation , nor will it ever bo otherwise , until the people shall have learned their own weight and value , and have taken thoir own place in the constitutional Kovornment of the » ountry .
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SECOND PRGSECtJlKp » 6 f ^ llt £ HENR VifNCBNT . REMOVa ^ Xff ? PMB * RIA TOLONDONi . / It will be remembered Uiat at K ^ J * " * Snmmi Assizes , held in Monmouth , Mt . VnJk w »^*»« foot guilty of sedition , by a practical ^ ' / i \ * h 1 wntenei to twelve months imprisonment in ATm ^^* Ga < and that a true bill was preferred agaiflsiSv . * 0 M second indictment . Since he haa been ta e * nfin '
men ! in 4 / o » r ooo / A he baa been subject !• • a ^ hardship *; be was compelled to live upon grOttl , tin bread , and potatoes , until his bealth was *» eefWti , injured that the doctor found it necessary ' to ai ^ Um » ' 1 l ^ 1 |^ i ;^ . ; . ^^ - - ^^| 0 ^; :. tt y usetf pens , ftfc , a ^ a |^ saa « Jy inch theoW « wal works aa the Chaptato : ; tai ^; ehooie to land ^^^ Wrt ° ** ™ t ^ hiUxMiTicnfa friends to obtain an alteration of hla triafinent * bn jrithont moce »« j tb , e visitinjc Magistrates xsfosfoi to make any ^ Iteration ; andit oaght to 6 e remem beted that tbey were Btrengtbened * j in their
toad act by the sanction of the base Whi # Ministry . One would have thonght tip * Mr . Tinojit had already suffered enongh—thai even tha Whigs wonld be satisfied with twelv » morths iHPRisoNMKKr ot a man whoip Jmlj mat is his lore of liberty . Bit not so ; in % Wg estinuu tion , thai crime ig the greatest whiebvean be eom mitted . Mr . Viscaarr » known as a determbwd and unconquerable friend of the people ; the Wtia dread bis reappearance on the political stage ; aa * the base wretches have just jerwerf Ww unfa a noti ihat his trial is removed ta the Court of QttcmV
Bench . He will shortly be behoved to Londo » for twal . We bear that the Wtega are moving heaven and earth to rake up all sorts of falst charges against him . Mrl Vihcbnt ' s activity and perseverance , and sacrifices , ia the Chartist « aosi are weU kn ^ rn . Su service ^ jn , jiEne $ / &Ci > t inp land in particular , have rendered him deservedly popular . We hear tnat hiB friWd » in the West are stirring to raise * snbJBcripUon w » his behalf , to enable him'to ^ atB » fcf * trial before an intelligent and enlightened Londoa
Jury . We trust tbe friends throughout the country will Btirtbemselves and aid him with fbnds , Wt know the people . -ate making and ; Save nfade greafr sacrifices ; but we hope no honest friend ^ f the pes « pie will be crashed without tbe people ; 'toeing ont a hand to save him . We have , no doat * that if Tincent would bend a littlfi , ttie ^ Vj iiga would readily give up the prosecution ;—Bti bb ^ ' is rot ?* bb BouaHf . OH 3 iLB «(« D , fbfa fl determined to main tain his ground as a true * patriot ' ought ; and to set the horrors of a dungeon at defiance , preferring rather to rot in a prison than accept his liberty upo ^ inglorious terms . . ¦ - . * . . *¦
-A good defence before a London Jury saay bring hiia off victorious ; at any rate th » effort ¦«¦» be made . We have not heard wbeB'the trial « omM oa , but we know it will b ^ floo ^ pherefor t f the earlier a subscription is < M > mnua ^ e 4 ihebeUe t * Any monies collected ace requeste ^ iol ttior ^ arded addresserio H ^ v ' Ti ^ i ^^ rFf MoKMoirrBSHiaK , as he i » now m daily * otosulta tion with hissoBcftor ,, yaw ii ^ &e $ k irial . Wt heartily wish that a London Jury « ay ' 6 e found wttlr sufficient patriotism to deliver Vingbwt Out of tW fangs of his base Whig tyrants . ; : r - c
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CHRISTIAN MERCY TO THE AFfXICTEK When in these days we hear of the relaxation of th » Criminal Code—when arbitration in congresa supercedes the din of arms—when the voice of knowled gt has tUehced the cannon ' s roar ; in . these days of philosophical philanthropy—in this age of inoreaaed piety , emanating from the benign influence of Scrip , ture education , the most savage mind eofltemplatet with horror any act of unnecessary b ^ barity , pra » Useduponthe ntost deadlj £ | l (« Ten though the herald should have proclaimed tne fend , and stunmoaed the human butchers to the slaughter . Q ! jiear then , - ' ye poor men , how the promoters of "Jeejigious" eddca tion treated your wounded and" yox ^ dyiflif . upon the 4 th of Jfevemb ^ r last . They were n «* , ; poor soula honoured w ^ ^ : ^ j ^^ the
at the moojjent < toa <^^ eavago hea | t witld foreign paVts , bnt ' mi \ rm * ~ Q . ifr *\ i ^ jgpihfc ^ jytijl lay wounded and gasping in JH& i ^ Ji *^ h * HoH long after the affray was oveifythei * al ^ sr p » j # him , when raising himself upon , hu elbow » ' ' hifeebly exclaimed , " Give me aomevwaterj for Godi ^ sake . " You will say he eagerly . ran f&jrjt , butM like a savage monster , he roa ^ at hik ' and said ,
" Go to hell and be d— -d fojf water / ' ¦ l ^ as thii all 1 No . Read the ^ dence o > Jfr . Phfliipg , th magistrates' eleirk ¦ iinfirom that , you will leari : that he returned to Newport atTialf-paat ten o ' clock ^ an hour and a , half after the tragic seigehad closedj and that then , then , even Aen , he ; . saw the woundei and the dead lying indiscriminately in one humaai pile , raised iu desecration of the damnable sy stea ^ which led to this melancholy result . i
Let these ; things rouse you , not to mad and fooUsk ; violence , which may afford your enemies the oppori tunity of treating you in like manner , but to vigoroui and determined peireeverance in the cause of virtu and liberty , until of the whole system out'of which these . cursed atrocities spring not ! a " vestige phMl remain . " ¦ ¦ ' ¦ . ' . ¦ : ¦ ' ¦'¦ ' K ^^ - " '' '" '¦
THE-RIOTS : : With moat inexpressible pain , w ^ chrtfukle ii another part of our paper , the staxk-stariug ^ mad proceedings of a small knot of fools < tf Sheffield ! - What are the people about i Lire they utterly demented !! Do they not know that they are be * trayed ! that blood hounds are laid on the scent ! Have they forgotten Castles , Olivku , and Popay ! Have we sot been cautioning them , weekafter week , about the movements of stealthy , but violent and extreme parties ? Will they nevO Tleatn to look before they leapt If the charackrof / the " witn * SB « against Frost does not satisfy them , will that of Thompson of Sheffield suffice ? Let them read it well , and read it with their eyea open i There they
have a man , who is admitted to aU their secretswho is a <( class leader , " and who promi-ea to brinf his quota of armed men to the field , as sooa as he Bi * received his one , deliberately turning round on Ids associates , detailing the whole platfrf to the authorities , and , very probably , in rentingAnd fabricating with profewmal assistance the greater part of the atoty CoM )* ^ Mfti ^ Oii 9 li 8 b ^ a ^ tyrants \ Here , aa iu every oilier case , thi outbreak was "expected . " There was Mj secret about it ; and we again tell" all such misguided persons that they have ntt secrets ; that : Government knows all their plans and arrangement * , better than any of themselves ; and that they will find every such effort to be an additional proof that they are sold . " '¦¦ ' - ¦'
We do implore of all honest Chartists to discotu > tenance these outbreaks ; they are destructive to our cause and to our prospect ? , - and will ruin all . There is neither strength , nor power , nor unani * mity in the people jo do anythiug by force . SiatJGGLING PEACEFULLY ASi > t ' NITRDf . Y WE CAXNOT FAIL—VIOLENTLY , AND It * SMALL SgCTIONS , WH CAKNOT SUCCEED . , ' i
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Monmouth , Tuesday , Jan . 14 . I have so mueh to write about , that I scarcely know where to begin , and must coaclude before I haU , hav « ii * do » d < nttnc than ;* fr *<*» a of th » facts conn ^^ vri& the > Ionmouthti ^ s , ' whieh aw nowl > egmlaing ' to chang ¥ ' ^ thtj were first presented to the public ? /
The trial and conviction of Frost was hailed with most extravagant- delight by bis . former political associates , Protheroe and Sir Thomas Phillips ; but the conviction of Zephaniah William » has considerably- weakened their triumph , inasmuch as every man of common intellect laughs to scoru the idea of Williams being convicted upon the evidence Adduced against him . Our friend Baines , of the bloody axe and petticoats , stands in imminent danger , when the new construction of the law of treason sh all be
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THE COMING SESSION . The mischief-makers of St . Stephens reassemble this day , ( TharBday , ) for the ostensible purpose of consulting together , touching Bundry and divers weighfyteausee , to be brought under i . their cousideratiorif- . The real and only purpose , J pr which ihoftfi « ugm . t . asaQmb )» gf « - bav « < Iocb ^ fetyfo ^ d 4 o # - many years , has been the ' votihg < ltf the ^ upplics ^ aud the enactmeut of statutes , by which the liberty of . the people might be curt&ileef and the wealth divided by the * skill and Industry of the Wftk > nr be conveyed by ever ^ possible oxpedient into tKe pockets -: ef ^ those who a . r «
resolved to get rich , and wax' fat upon the sweat , and bones , and blood of those for whose bench" t they pretend to legislate . The history af tbe pasi is beWe ftie j ^ blic ' ; the eril otfects of party misrule and cla « a legation are perceptible everywhere . A large portion of the most industrious aud patient people ftpon earth are condemned to toil incessantly far a n ^ st inadequate
fupplj of even tlie commonesft neceWaries of life of hi comfort * they are entirely destitute ; and yet the UoTeriiment , which professesto befr m the people aud for the people , refuses Iptake one single step which ean , even by the mobVd « te rminQd supporter of the men , who still , by the ^ iibuse of power , di .-igrai .-e the name of England , be d ^ istrited into an act of patriotism , or regard for pnb ^ c EccmV '
It is onfeaeed on all hands , ' thai at jthe ' . prc ^ Sut ruonieiit the state of tho couutry i < t | od deplejablel In Leed » alwe , not le « . thab ' i / dfa ^^ j&ud operatiTe * , are at this moment dest * tart « i * f btn ^ ai--oysit ^ aad the msc is similar iii allOur- Mrget ^ aRufartiiring towrs . In the commcrcis ^^ rtit'of the country , thousands cannot faid tlm ' ni ^ ns ' of subi sisteuee . The labourers in the agricttfkural districts
are in the like deplorable condition , ^ omas Tcanek , a man who gives the . most respectable reference a * to character , has addressed a letter to the Poor Law Commissioners , iu which "he states that he has eight in family to provide for , that they are all sickly , and that the Guardians eay they would be glad to relieve them , but the Commissioners will not allow them . He says he cannot earn more than
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12 » . aJweeM whenfwhen in fall work ; and he of ten loses a day or two . He requires forhisfiuniJy eight gallons of flour at Is . Sd . per gallonVtha ^ is 11 b . 4 d . leaving 8 d . per week for >] J other neoeBsauos . If such is the state of destitution of a man ' earning 12 a . per week , what must be the situation of those who with equally large families can get only five , six , or seven . -Indeed if proof were wanting of the distress in the country ; it is amply afforded by tbe fact , that the fhree despots at Somerset House have found themselves compelled to suspettd . ^> eir orders , as to relieving : paupers from jhm * - T « nnlr —t . i ^ . f—1 .., ^ I .. ¦ P , 11 ___» - __ J » . _ -rf ^^ i
distant pariskes . They state , inreply toanapplication fromthe Guardians of Leicester , "that they had partially suspended their orders in the Unions of Basford , Harley , and Bosworth , and that they wooid anthorbe all Unions having poor resident in Iieieeater , to relieve then without removal , on condition of their making a report of such cases . " Such is thfr statei . of the country—* uch is the condition of Great Britain at the oommenoement of the Parliamentary Session of 180 . Yet deplorable as this state of things is , it is not even pretended , that
it is from any wish to provide remedial measures , that the Nobles and Right Honourables . are to be assembled so much earlier than usual . No ; the country may go to the dogs for them , so long as they can , by any means , secure their rents , salaries , and pensions—so long as , by force or fraud , the taxes can be wrung from a despairing people—so long as , like the unprincipled scribes and pharisees of old , they ean lay heavy burdeus upon men ' s shoulders whioh do not in any manner affect themselves—so long , will they laugh at general distress , « nd mook at every eomplaint of Borrow or calamity .
The session is to be opened , however ; the royal speech will be delivered ; and , like all the royal speeches we hate known , it will be far fetched , and iulj of nonsense . It will , no doubt , tell the usual story about foreign relations ; domestic disturbances must be alluded to , and we shall most likely be told about the majesty of the law , and the restoration of order ; while the law is being openly defied even by the parties appointed to enforce it , and the country was never more disordered sinoe the wars of
Cbomwhlu But whatever else mayor may not be found ia this annual dooument , one thing it will contain to a dead certainty . Her Majesty will , beyond all doubt , express her confidence in the readiness of her faithful Commons to provide for the regular Bervice of the year with as much attention to economy as is consistent with the honour and dignity of the Crown , the safety of the country , and , above all ; for the amplesupply of the , at present empty , coffers of Prince Albert ; and to this advioe we doubt not her faithful Commons will pay the most strict and profound attention . But' what will the people ' s self-styled " Representatives" do for the poople in the eoming session . Judging- from their past acts ; knowing as
we do the materials of which our Legislature is composed ; we have no , hesitation in replying M juBt nothing at all . >( To anticipate any good thing from a Parliament of landlords , chosen by an almost ex-^^^¦ Mdmm T ^ ' ^ i ^ ncy , mma be ^ reasonable as to expect the wolf to evince pity , or feel coaipasaion , at the bleating of tho lamb . The truth is , the people must bestir themselves , and in right sound earnest set about teaching their rulers their duty . Not one single pretence must be given to those who have power to use it against the millions Lei it be the constant aim of every friend of the industrious classes to make them well acquainted with their rights , and of every legal and constitutional method of defending them .
Itvis the constant habit of the factions to prate about the ignoranceand vicious conduct of the"lower orders ; " let the establishment of places of BOcial resor t , and , as far as their very limited ; Uaeans will admit , of rational and moral amusement , give the lie to this unfeeling and groundless asseveration . If , as is not \ at all unlikely , in the approaching session measuresj | Ee brought forward , tending still mor »^> Jnfrin |^ Jta < the rights of Englishmen , let a peaealuT ^ DUlr ^ oetermined agitation convince the wtetchek ' wno would reduce their brethren to actual
bondage , that the day of their accursed misrulo Is drawingto a close . That the people will nolongor submit TO the iron rule of the foes of all that is manly , praiseworthy , and excellent ; but that they are re * solved ^ to do thei i ; duty to their country and their race ; and that iu order to their doing so , they will never rest till they have obtained the Suffrage , and thus acquired that share of influence in the House of Commons t 0 Which their skill , their industry , their practical knowledge , and , we will add , their virtues , and their patient endurance of unmerited wrongs so eminently entitle them .
Above all , in their prosecution of their holy contest with the enemies of their dearest and most cherished rights ; let them carefully and religiously abstain from every approach to acts of violence or outrage . We know there are those in the rauks who will , if the pretence is afforded them , be ready to betray the cause . The hope of our besotted rulers—the only hope , indeed , they have—is in the desperation to which the Btarving thousands may be driven by a continued system of cruelty and oppression . To prevent this , the people must be resolute and firm : but unless attacked bv
the miscreants who would sell their own and their countries liberties for a mess of pottage—the redcoated musketmen , and the blue-coated ruffians—let all be peaceable , and thus let us teach the rulers of our land that we know better than , at the bidding of their spies and minions , to deluge our fair plains with blood , and give tip our cities and towns to slaughter and desolatiou . Let every man look upou hie partner to whom he has sworu protection ; upon his children , the pledges of their youthful love ; upon his
aged parents , just ready to sink into the grave—from whose honoured lips he first imbibed useful instruction ; upon the home of his childhood , and the cherished recollections of his youth ; and , with all the tender and heroic sentiments which the scene is calculated to produce , let him swear before tho altar of his God , that he will not be a slave—that bis children shall not be boudsmen in the land of thoir fathers—that he will struggle for his own independence—that he will secure theirs , or perish in the attempt .
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THE EQUAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAW , AND THE NECESSITY FOR " RELIGIOUS" EDUCATION . tfiE ~ tiondori press have been loud and eanioet iu their appeals to the proceedirga against the Welsh prisoners as evincing the justice with which the laws . arc administered without reference to persons . " Now this ia really as pretty a specimen of effrontery as one conld wish for . We have no hesitation in affirming that , if previous injustice can be exceedn J , the present proceedings , above all others , prove the injustice of the law , the inequality of its effect , and the correctness of our oft repeated charges against the whole system . What
has been our invariable complaint ; have we uot always said that the law is a scabbard for the rich man and a dapgor for the poor man ; have we not ever affirmed that there was the black letter for the one and the mild spirit for the other—that the poor man must be satisfied with two guineas worth of exposition , whilst the rich man would be judged by by the purchase of its workings , its twistings , aud its foldings . If ever there was a practical proof of the truth of those assertions we have it now before us—a thousand guineas worth of law , which a su bject should not be called upon to pay , has pro' ^ t&iffrMp' Frost tn « spirit of -the la ^ wWIe the . Syant of that stun would- bove left him at Cue mercy of the black letter . ' ^
But this is nor the only lesson to be learned from the present proceedings ; they teach , ns to demonstration , tbat the judges of the land are ouly expected to bo umpires between tho fcgal tricksters . Three Judges of the land , of course selected for their superior knowledge , are sent down upon a special commission , the preliminaries guiding their course pointed eut by © he short and simple Act of Parliament . They are presumed to be judges of the Iaw , and not of tho
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Crown : and , what potritita do we find those nen placed in ! not onl y ignorant of the law aa it stood , but nnable to define the law whan cognixant of its existence ! If , then , "VIr . Frost had not been defended by able counsel , he would hate been hung contrary to the statute , and in consequence of judicial ignorance . Mr . Frost is now found guilty , and detained in prison , as he must be until the opinion jrf the Judges is taken , npon whicjh he must be liberated , in consequence of the ignorance of the Jadgea . The unmanly objection f % A ^™ . --J —V-i . ..--Iil . _ . J . _! ^ » , » .. '
of the Attorney-General to the point raised by Sir Frederick Poltoek , thaV the prisoner should have made the objection before plea , pleaded is further evidence of the raneoar « f bjmself a&d ' jnastera The . Attorney-General ' 8 argument amounted to this : " whether the Aot of Parliament has been % complied with or not , i » : not now the question . JTaba Frost should have made . hia Objeetion a quarter of a mibuU ffopner , that is , before he said " not guilty /'
but failing in that he must now be bung , wherea the quarter of a minute would have saved him ! " So stands that portion of the matter to which We shall recur week after week , until we prove that the Judges are the creatures of the Crown and ^ not the administrators of the Jaw ; until we show that when once appointed they become the principle link in the rotten chain of society , upholding that system upon which they live and from which the people derive no benefit .
The Standard says that the circumstance will teach the people tbat their best reliance is upon the law . We tell the Standard to substitute the words two thousand guineas for the word law , and then we tell you , the people , that unless you have the two thousand gunieas you may go and whistle for the law . This matter must never be forgotten ; it must be kept always green in our memories , until we have procured the appointment of the Judges by the people . . . Another great lesson which ' the moralists say is to be deduced from the proceedings , is the necessity whioh they enforce of diffusing amongst the people a " religious" education . How is this to be
done ! by example or precept ? Can it be done , until a money-mongerV Bible is printed with a new code of religious laws , upsetting God ' s Holy Word and destroying his commandments ! How squares the religion of the Bible with the practices of those who vociferate so loudly for " religious " education 1 Let us view it only in relation to the Fourth Commandment ; which we here insert at full length : — : . . ' . .
"Remember the sabbath day . to keep it holy . Six days shalt thou labour , and do all thy work : But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord th y God ! in ; it thou shalt not do any work , thou , nor thy son , Dor thy daughter , thy manservant , nor thy maidservant , nor thy cattle , nor thy stranger that is within thy gates . " . " Thou shalt do no manner of work . " Is it not dear th » A &is , cj >^^ furnace-blowers , the miners and the iron masters , the chemical manufacturers , the soap-boilers , and glass-blowers of this country ! It was not made for
them : it is not obeyed by any of them ; and , therefore , as by "religious education" obedience to tyrants and wealth is 'meant—as they have torn down the land-marks established by the elder branches of Nature ' s family , let them now trample ' upon the injunctions , the orders , and the commandments of that family ' s Creator . Let us in wealth's name have our new God ' s commandments Let us have the master ' s bible , the trader ' s
prayerbook . Wealth is the God of the present day , and we tell the moral philosophers , that the existence of that wealth is incompatible with obedience to the four th commandment . We have it in evidence on Frost ' s . trial , from one witness in particular , that many trades are obliged to work ail day on Sanday . Every Sunday , then , we have man ' s necessity marshalled against God ' s Commandment ! Which will prevail ! Probably man for a season , but God at last , will trample upon him .
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FROST AND HIS TRIAL ,: All reflection on the late and present Magisterial and Judicial proceedings in Wales , tend to convince us more and more fully that Fbost has been the victim of a black conspiracy ; and that if he be executed he will be foully and deliberately murderod . We are warranted in the conclusion from every word of the evidence . No doubt can now remain upon the mind of any one who reads it , that the Magistrates of Newport , with their
myrmidons concocted the charge to which the Government authorities lent their ready aid We find everyone of the material witnesses to be accomplices and traitors , and we find them , with those two brands , taken into the employ and favour of the partisans of Government ; men who would have seen them starving for want of bread rather than have engaged them at any price , had it not been for their willingness to swear against Mr . Frost . The boys Rees and Coles , who swore to the principal overt act , were perjured beyond aU doubt , as ably
proved by Sir Frederick Pollock from their own mouths . Hodge perjured himself , and he was an accomplice . Then mark the odds against poor Frost . There was the Court ignorant of the law , or afraid to define the law . The Attorney and Solicitor-General , SergeantEKlaidlow and Talfourd , Messrs . Wightman aud Talbot , Maul © , the Tr ^ uT y . Solicitor , Prothcro and Phillips , PJielps , J ^ Jpil ^ the Magistrates'Clerk , and tha whole police force , as rurrnersand collectors of evidence , every man of the middle and upper classes of society , composing a
nest of pismires , aud aided unlimitedly by the Treasury : while to oppose that , the prisoner was allowed but two counsel and one solicitor . Of them , however we may say tbat never did three men perform a duty more ably , more zealously , or more powerfully . If justicehadhad its pure course , the Attorney-General wonld hare abandoned the case at the close of Sir Frederick Pollock ' s unequalled and electrical defence , which has stamped him as the very ablest expounder of criminal law in this or auy other country .
The spleen of the Law Officers of the Crown became conspicuous from the moment that Sir fre ^ teificti * ollo 6 i ^ fd"flie axe ' tt every fibre" of tEe root of the charge . They argued not ably , but malevolently and waspishly , every point which they thought could militate against the prisoner ; while Frost stood before them the representative of the millions , ealmly smiling at their power .
To what end will this trial lead beyond the mere investigation of the case ? It will serve , in these days of suppressed public opinion , ' to carrying Chartist principles and Whig injustice upon the wings of oppression to all corners of the earth , and to the Courts of every despot in Europe , whose power has been mado to totter by the influence , of English gold , devoted to the support of their will , in defiance of their people . The effect of this trial will be precisely tho same as that which the prosecution of reformershad upon the question of reform . No question can be carried without its martyrs—no principle can be extensively discussed without the aid of the
oppressed . They will lose their martyr , while we have gained the most ample discussion . In fact , every day * 6 proceedings has been a Chartist meeting , under the sanction of the Judges of tho land , while Sir Frederick Pollock ' s aetoundinif declatittttf that , wealth would have but ! comparatively Jfittle influence when the majority of the people , should demand the Charter , " shook the Court to itsicentre , and thunderstruck those who are now dignified by wealth , and wealth alone . The bnrst of applause with whieh the concluding remarks of Sir Frederick Pollock were met , though instantly checked , yet displayed the bud which , ere long , must blow into tbe sun-flower of liberty .
Irost has been tried without law ; convicted without evidence ; and if executed , will be murdexed .
To Tbs Working P&Opib Ot Tbs ' Three Kikgdo1s9:
TO TBS WORKING P&OPIB OT TBS ' THREE KIKGDO 1 S 9 :
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 18, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2667/page/4/
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