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Northern Star (1837-1852), 28th March 1840, Edition 1 of 1, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1840.
    • TOtTHE WIVES AND FAMILIES OF THOSE. CHARTISTS WHO WERE GONVICTEI)' AT THE LATE ASSIZES AT YORK- '
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      PWUNITED STATES . The paokeV ^ M hip Gmriek * Ctptoin Pikon , has JgRWd off IiverpooL She brags papers * io the afthntt . lodosiTe ; tkar contents aregaatiefiy nn-¦ uwrMltttg . TheeommereUladwces state , Oat the eoafcinued » eoeettf European advices , the latest dates from XdSHfafn being only U the 4 « i of Janwrry , bad eontotaled to prolong -the inactivity in « iercantile mam generally . Tie mosey market wae-in a Tery « asy posUion , good business paper being aooght after both by banks and tadividnals at ax jp « r cent , per annum . " tr ^ The cotton market was steady , but ihe flour marto * waa m » dediniag state . : » e wcket ^ te 52 ir ^; n . i .

      GREAT FIRE AT NEW ORIiEANS . True Ameriean-aSc ^ , Tuesday , Feb . 11 th , $ , « an . St . Louis Exchange dkstrotbd . —Bias Raging . — -Tb » St . LouiB Exchange , with ite magnificent oa * e , which eost 1 , 760 , 000 dollars , ie , at the hour w » write , one mass of ruins . The fire broke out this ¦ onaag at half-past four , in the fifih story , from tteaparks escaping through a eraoked chimney . Tee keeper of the hotel had been shewn this flair in ibo chimney , it is said , some days -ago . At fire « dock it wag seen that the fire wae * aging between the Elating and the plastering , and &at it could not ke arrested . The alarm was now general , and the lodgers many ff them barely escaped with their clothes , so rapid was the progress of the flames . About six the neat ban-room fell in with a tremendous crash .

      At eight o ' clock the lofty dome of the rotnnda was . OR &e > the flames rising to an immense height . While we write , ihe Buildings on ihe-oppoaite side m St . Louis-etreet , fronting the Exchange , are hey « aoing to burn , where the flames will be arrested r Eb hard to say . __ The whole &M of the Exchange < waa 1 , 700 , 000 OfiJlars , and it is under mortgage for 1 , 400 , 000 -ooBars . Ike ImprovesMsnt Bank , to which the building belonged , has in eirculatiou some 9 » JBOO dollars in ¦ 1 I 1 & , and scarcely any specie on hand . The Orleans Insurance Company of this city , and the Phoenix , of London , haw small riskB . There may be others , but we cannot stop to ascertain . The loss of this building will prove disastrous in « e extreme to the first municipality . The rotunda waa the most magnificent structure of &e kind in me Union .

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      ~ 3 BE-EXAMQf ATION OP ONE OF THE BETHXA . L GREEK CHARTISTS . ^^* vj < " » Street , George Edward Boggis , the vm&atiSMb , who was apprehended last week and brought » ere by Mr . Eierce > superintendent of the H division riffalioe , os a charge of using inflammatory and sedi-&m * language , at a meeting held at the TraSes * Hall , Ic&aal-greea , o * Tuesday , the 14 th of January list " , ^ rti pl « oedat * he far before Mr . Hall , for re-examinat- * e-. ¦ . - " is . HoMer , wSiciter , conducted the prosecution . 53 lefprtoonerh&d no legal adviser present j & Hoblsntated that when the prisoner was brought ep « B the lartwxasion , a constable identified him and grr , )* s » evidence , and he now wiahed that evidence nd ** 3 * - :

      XL » dt sxk . read the eTidence of police constable Geerge ^ IQng -. fti ^ HTwko stated that on the night in que 3 tioa lie he ** Ab » prisoner address the meeting , and ask if th ^ T wajed to hare their freedom ? If they did , they sattb Wait ; they must pay the highest price for it ? ttwy ib wt P » y aw price that other nations had paid jg r u . * t * rat not thirty pieces of silver that would potthve V ^; the price was blood , blood , and blood ale&ewo . *< buy it The prisoner conduced his ad-£ rcasby * tetpg that be would be content if be could g » j « his fr ^ w » f « wr weeks , although thousand * of ttem wool . l * 08 e Q ** 1 life * at the point of the sword ¦ ad bayonet '• . Me . Hoble Ts&ared if the language was addressed to tbe persons ! * theHall _? ........ aad received

      fj f ftnfflffl 1 fcvras , was with load cheers . Mr . Keesora \ ^ Chainn&a , spoke after the prisoner . AjeKrfnKoa ' to- —^* effect ' "That the distress of the ¦ working class * * 'was eau 3 ed by class legislation and , aaeqeal lava , " Was moved by & person named Wilti « in « and secou ^ **? mother persoa , and the priaooer when he us ' V the languagt before mentioned , was ¦ peaking in faToc *¦* ** ^^ reso l ution . The Chairman , Keesem , when h . *« - 'ia tbe resolution , asked the meeting If they had he " ^ the manly and noble speech of the person who ha ii * * addressed them ? He- has told joo , Ne ? som pro ©< *^ - to state , what the price of freedom is ; he has tol * l&f * the way in which you must poreh&se it I agn « rtstb him in all , except one th' ^ g —^ he tells you he wi ^ ttt contented to hare his freedom in foot weeks ; I tel ' -JS ^ ' « "wiU " ^ ield the sword 6 f feeedcm in fonr days . iiip tben proposed , as a third xesohrtion , that the t *»^»' ? should adjourn until the tcBowiM-Thursday .

      Mr , Hall—Was the W * &' 1 receiTed with cheers '"Witness : Yes , there ^ « BV « ery great cheering . Ife Hebler—After 1 lw * day . the 16 th of January , dW you inake any inqui ¦*** respecting the prisoner ?—TOtse * t Yes , I watd w * about his house night and ^ y foj -week , and I - *<*^ ffeqaeniiy afteriim , but aatiti -hot find Mm . I ha * ^ el 1 occasionally inqtdring arfXer h ?» vp to the time * iilJs apprehension . Mr . Hobler—Is his app wstnee altered since yon saw 1 dm in the Trades * Hall ?— 'Witness : Yes ; when I went ap to him to take him into « ustody , I asked him if his mme was Boggis ? He sa * d it was not I said I was ¦ nreitwas , and remarked * at he had ehaTed his -wbi ^ ers oK He strngeled to get to a house on the opposite side of the way " , an . 1 ^ d * bat he wanted to -sefe a person named Gardiner . When he bf came < joiet , I toLl h-m that I apprehenaed him *<* ™ sing seditious Isnguage nt a meeting in the T sdes' Hall , and he made ao answer . When I saw hii . i in the Trades' Hall he

      bid large black whiskers . Mr . Hobler * aiil that the pri * 3 ner might now cross-. ¦ etamine the witness if hs wisbt ^ . Prisoner—Wbere did you stuj " * in ^ e Trades' Ha ' . l ? - —Witness : Under the gallery - Tben I went into the . ipom . i PiMOEer—Ani at that distanc . ' from the platform «* ald you bear all that was sa . d ?— -Wjines : Yes . Prisoner—Did you eo out at al ' ?—Witness .- Yes , * ¦«« not in the Hall when you be ^ "W i « speak , but I Ittard you finish your speech . Prisoner—Bid you hear me rep «** an 7 poetry ? —Witoes : Irannotiecolleet - Prisoner—Did yon hear me say apything about J ¦!¦¦¦* T ' ltnrrTi I beaxd tome o ** speak about fiwi , bat I do not remember who i t was . : RiKoer—Had I a cloak on ?—Wit ness .- I don * t fldak yo « bad , Vit 1 cannot be sure ; a person standfag beside you had one , his name I think is

      Wi& » gbfcy . . Priaoner Do you t *' " ' ^ if you heard m "e repeat any yffftvrtf l « y » you wosld remember them ? ^ -Witness : S eaoaot a ^ . e Prnanrf Tffrm yourepeated the words & » I pttered Vfcfm *—Witness : As sear as 2 recollect ; - nia— i TTTrl you take a note of wh&tl said in the jmim 1- —WtoffiS ,: No , I did not I know all the irardj we »* pokenby yaa . < Mr Vatitac—Have yo * any doubt of the priso&er "iefag the mtnJ—Witness—Xone whateTer . Priseoer—How did you know where I lived?—WitoB-FriB informatioe I TCceired . I watched j 3 * m from yoer owe door , until I apprehended yon .

      Prisoner—Did / ounot say . when some other persons -vac " ^ miaMi h « e , tktt y < s thought the words at-- ^ ribeted to Be wets used by a foreigner ?—Witness—3 fe ; J said they were used ty a $ erson who hadapecu > Haraeetnt - Mr . Hobler jafcl that it was * aac ^ er constable who ¦ Uied that be th »« ght the ^ yoti » were used by a . mmgnrr . ,. Police-constable Cotton ( CO H } « efirmed the testimony of &e last witness . . .. MiuBobla « iid that thii was all the evidence he had - $ » •*« mi present againrt the prisoner , but that he arfght b « perfectly aware of all the eTtlencs that might ] 6 b produced in the case , be ( Mr , HobUv ) w « ad wish ^ kl » naud f « r 4 week , in order to get forward several ttjus witaieaei , agaiask whom he should ! ^ pf *)/ for

      ? - o " Th » prisoner aid that he had teen already four days J * custody , and he thought all the ¦ witnesses Tnig ^ t \ 1 H 99 baeo brought forward- He was now in a situation , ' and Ms bread entirely depended upon Tiis keeping it , Me had also a wife and three phildjea to support , who

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      1 , ! . 1 | I I eouldnot get bread if he were eoa&aed In prison . He coped his own recognizance would be taken for hk appearance at the next examination . Mr . Watson , a bookseller , residiag m the City-road , come forward and said that he sad Ms . Hetheriugton would become bail f « r the prisoner ' s appearance . Mr . Hall obserred that he could net-at present say what might be the nature of the offence , and be could not take baiL The extent of bail wonli . depend npon the particular charge , and at present be was ignorant how far the eTidence might carry tfee -charge . Mr . Watson said that the pruoaer was in a situation now where he had been employed < er six years , and be might lose it if not admitted to baiL Mr . Hall said that the nature of the charge must be ascertained before bail could be takes . The prisoner was then remanded for a week . SS £ ^

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      NORTHERN CIRCUIT—LakcaSTER , March 21 . The press of business at York prevented either of the Learned Judges from opening the commission of assize here upon the day originally appointedior that purpose ; and although Mr . Justice Coleridge arrired here last eYening , Mr . Justice Erskine still remains at York , to finish the delirery of the gaoL - This morning Mr . Justice Coleridge attended prayers at the parish church ; and proceeded to the Crown Court about eleren o ' clock , and charged the Grand Jury , aad while they were finding bills , disposed of one or two undefended causes . He then proceeded to the trials of prisoners . The calendar contains a list of eighteen prisoners , but the crimes are not , generally speaking , of a rery heavy character . *~ - ~ - » i Beit !/ ArmisUad was charged with stealing & boy ' s cloth cap , the property of Mr . Robert Towaley , of Lancaster , on the l st of February last

      The pAoner was a person considerably adTanced in Irfe . and respectably dressed in mourning . It appeared that on the day of the offence she went to the shop of the prosecutor , and purchased a bonnet for a girL She had a little dog with her , which was left in the street , and while in the shop she sent a girl who accompanied her to look after the dog and bay aa orange . In the meantime the bonnet was packed up , and she left the shop . The cap was then missed , and en her being oTertaken it was found inclosed in the same parcel with the bonnet She said she did not know of ita being there , and that it must have been put in by the Bhopman in a mistake . The shopman most positiTely denied that be packed it up , —Guilty . Six months imprisonment and hard labour . H « ry Whittatstr was- indicted for the manslaughter of William Dean , on the 1 st of March last , at Claytonle-Moors .

      Mr . Brardt conducted the prosecution , and Mr . Wilkins the defence . The deceased was an old mam , of ninety-two years , father-in-law to the prisoner , with whom he liyed . On the day of the unfortunate eTent , the prisoner had some difference with his wife , and naYing a clog in his hand , which he had just taken from his foot , he threw it at her . The clog missed her , but hit the old man on the head , and produced so serious an injury as in a few days to cause his death . It did not appear that any ill-feeling existed on the part of the prisoner towards the deceased ; on the contrary , the latter had only is . 8 d . per week from the pariah to subsist upon , and the prisoner furnished the rest of his support . Aa soon as the fatal set was done he expressed great grief for it , and fetched a surgeon .

      Mr . Wilkins addressed the jury for the prisoner , and the jury returned & Yerdlct of guilty , but recommended the prisoner to mercy . He was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for six calendar months . CnOibert Cotton and Thomas Ingram were indicted for haTing , on the night of the 8 th of March last , burglariously broken and eatered the house of Richard Knowles , of Penwortham , near Preston , and stolen thereout a cheese and other articles , his property . Mr , Hclton conducted the prosecution , and Mr . Wilkins the defence .

      It appeared from the eTidence , that on the night in question the window of the prosecutor ' s shop was broken , the shop entered , and Yarious articles rtolen . Early on the morning of the 8 th , a young man , who was returning from a visit to his fair one , saw in the prosecutor ' s fold-yard a man lyttg on the ground . He went up to the gate and called to Mm , when the man got up , put bis hand on the gate , and jumped otbt and -srent away . The witness had not seen him before , but swore to his being the prisoner Ingram . In the morning of the next day , one of the Preston police ,

      walking in the neighbourhood of the town , discovered , in the bottom of a slongh , a poke , containing & cheese and other articles . Suspecting them to be stolen , he procured another polieeman , and proceeded to watch the place . Not long after , the two prisoners came and got out the poke . The policemen then went to them , and asked them what they were going to do with the bag . They said they had found it , and were going to take it to the police- office . The policeman rejoined , ' That ' s -where I'll take you . " They were accordingly taken into custody . :

      Mr . WiLKi ? f 8 addvMMd the Jury In behalf of the prisoners , and 6 onfeB *» 8 _ that there was no proof of the identity of Ingniia ttat" could be depended upon , and that it wa » XM »» j **« rt 4 e the prisoners had told the truth . ' ~* # . The Judge summed up the case ; and the Jury , after a short retirement , retnmed with a verdict of acquittal to both prisoners .

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      The Letters of Mr . Oastlbr and Mr . Richardsok will be found in our sixth and seventh pages , Ut which place they will be regularly hereafter transferred .

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      THE CORN LAW AGITATION . On Tuesday next , Mr . Tilliers' motion for a committee of the whole House , to conrider the laws regulating the importation of foreign grain , ifl to be voted . The House is to be called over . The " shopkeeper ' s" representatives will then be all behind the counter . The rival " trades" will muBter their whole strength , and a strong effort will be made by the combination of money-mongers and

      labourmongera to seize upon that portion of the public plunder which has been hitherto appropriated by the landlords . The effort will be unsuccessful ; for the people have been too well instructed to lend their aid to the transparent juggl * by which they are intended to be cheated . In all our acquaintance with the annals of unscrupulousneFs , we hare seldom met with anything more barefaced than the appeal of the money-lords and cott « n-lords to the labourers on this same matter of the Corn Laws .

      If the principle , of leaving an isolated , commercial and manufacturing country , like this , without such legislative provision as shall ensure its inhabitants , under all circumstances , bo far as human foresight can ensure them , against the possibility of famine , were as good as we maintain that it is bad ; if real benefit could , in the loug run , accrue to the country from the repeal of our only protection against a reliance upon foreigners for the bread we eat , it would still be the height of folly in the p eople to waste their strength upon a secondary object , while the bending of their whole energies towards the one grand and primary object , would at once put them into a position for making not only this , but every other secondary object , easy of attainment . Let the Corn Laws be considered to be

      as great an evil as the most noisy of their denunciators would have us to believe them ; and what then ! Why , then , viewing them in the worst light , they are but one out of a multitude of effects springing from the same cause ; that cause being class-legislation . To grapple with the Corn Laws as an evil , instead of grappling with the cause of that evil , is , at best , like the conduct of a quack , who , when his patient exhibits to him & wound , the symptom and effect of a deranged

      system , begins to dress and heal the wound , without paying any attention to the constitutional disease ; forgetting that bo long as that continues it is likely that two new wounds may break out while his plasters and embrocations are curing the one . But this view of the case has been so often taken in the Northern Star ; the absurdity of the people ' s joining in tho clamour against any isolated effect of the . whole rotten system has been shewn so often ; and the people themselves are so well aware of it , that it is needless to insist

      npon it now . The people are sufficiently avrake to it . They know that if the Corn Laws were repealed tomorrow , the same power that enacted them , being still retained by the same parties , is competent for their re-enactioa the next day ; and would certainly be used , if not in re-enac ^ ng these , at all events in framing some other laws , of tendency not less mischievous . The " reforming , " " retrenching , " and " economical" Government , hare hard work now to make all ends meet ; indeed they cannot do so without adding to our already oyerwh p lming debt . New places are being created and Qsw pensions granted continually , with a falling

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      revenue . How then are we to imagine . that ihey will afford to take off the Corn Laws ! Will they give « p any of their class luxuries , immjuuki <^ and eugegtnents ; procured for them , and costuaed to then by the monopoly of legislative rataVJU * him wheithinks so , write ? fool" upon his forbid , that he say be known .- No ; no ! all the moaeor which is eow raised and paid , by the labouring population , for the support of all the idlers in « g&ety and more , as the Bomber and extawraganoe of these idlers keep continually inoreag ia& must be raised and paid by these same labourers , so long as ever the non-labourers make ail the laws . Until class-legislation cam be done away with , therefore , however great an erll these laws may be , they could but be removed to make

      way for some other , most probably a grteter . It is hat shifting the sore from one leg to the ¦ otheiYatotf most probably fixing it where it will give \ js rao ^ B pain and uneasiness than it now does . The quacks know this pretty weU . They have no intention that the constitution should be cured , and therefore , when the patient has grown impatient of the wound in one limb , they seek to heal it by transferring it , with aggravated symptoms , to the other . But the people know it too , and they are not to be thus joggled ; they see little difference , if the burden ie to be carried , whether it be placed on the right shoulder or the left ; if the lameness is to be endured , they mind little in which leg ; and henoe the " repealers " have little aid in their deceptive elamour from the people . , .

      We maintain , however , that under no cir « umstances could any benefit arise to the whole people from a repeal of those laws . The first and most undoubted duty of e ? ery state is to proYide food fei its inhabitants ; and to provide it in such sort . that , so far as human foresight can secure it , it shall be safe and eertain for their use . ' This , can--only bf done by growing it on their own soil . « Nothing can compensate a people for a dependance upon others for the bread they eat . >? \ ' Suoh was the wise and statesman-like assertion of Mr . Vam BtfRBif ,-in Mb Message to the Congress of America , the nearest

      approximation to a perfect legislative assembly in the world . All history , and all observation Bustain , the justice and the wisdom of the maxim ; while the slightest reflection cannot fail to shew ererymind , that if we permit the manufacturers of this country , who through the power of untaxed and inanimate machinery , produce goods in any quantity , and at almoBtany price , to exchange those goods , thus produced by . inanimate agency , upon equal and unprotected terms , for the food whioh cannot be produced otherwise than by the employment of machines which eat and drink and sleep ,

      and pay taxes , and which cannot , by our own fanners , be forced in quantity , or at least bnt yery slightly , beyond the ordinary ratro of supply ; but which can be produced from the extensive lands of other countries almost as unlimitedly as their manufacturesj - thp inevitable consequence must be a depreciation in its value to such an extent as will drive all >« r most of , our « wn land out of cultivation , and thus subject usin the most helplesB manner to that " dependaaoe ujtan others for the food we eat , " for which M »* Exm £ dent Van Boren says , very properly , " nothingcam compensate a nation . "

      We have not yet aero any satisfactory answer to the late Mr . Htjskissos on this subject . He says : — " The history of the country for the last 170 yeara , clearly proves , on the one hand that cheapness produced by foreign import U the sun forenmntr of scarcity , and on the other , that a steady home supply is the only safe foundation of steady and moderate price * During upwards of 100 years—up to the year 1765 , ' the import of corn wavtreatamlned by very high dutie * . What was the state ¦ of the country during thoseoafr years ? In ordinary seasons , our own growth supplied a stock of corn fully ample for ottr own ' consumption in

      abundant seasons , we hactawme to epatfe which we exported ; in bad seasons , - * t felt no want , and were under no apprehension ; ' the price seldom varied more than a few . shilling * per quarter ; we had no years of inordinate gain to 13 m farmer and . of starvation V * the consumer ; prices , Instead of rlrfifc ' wfii yjfcr to year , were gradually diminishing ; so that , at-jjlf end of this long period , of a century , durta £ whfc&- % e . never imported foreign corn , they were actually on& fifth lower than at the beginning of it WouWto C ^ oH that we had continued in this salutary systai % f- <> 4 rat in 1765 it was unfortunately nbantionW . ' WHafc ba&

      been the result ? Precisely 4 he reverse 6 f Ihf fornki system . Instead of a steady supply , affordegjrt'ate&af and moderate prices , we tajp ^ JritasarttPftequentamt alarming searcitt ** .. ^ WeryT ^ jw V « ir dependane / on foreign supplies was incnHMng tin the war came ; ana by interrupting that' supply-, , greatly e 3 tagger »* ed j £ oat evils ; fora country whtth depends upon UsenetHty , or Us rivals , for the food of Us people , it never * y& » ¦• "I admit that if unlimited foJeiga import , which the war had suspended , were nW again allowed , bread might be a little , but a very little , ' cheaper than it now is , for a year or two ; bnt what would foHew t The small farmer would be mined jrimprovementa would everywhere stand still ; inferior lands now producing corn , would be given up and return to a state of waBte ; the home consumption and brisk demand for various articles of the retail trader , which has so much

      contributed , even during the pressure of the war , to the prosperity of our towns , ( and especially of those which are not connected with manufactures or foreign commerce ) would rapidly decline ; farming servants , and all the trades which depend on agriculture for employment , would be thrown out of work , and the necessary result of want of work would be that wages would fall even more rapidly than the price of corn—then conies some interruption to the foreign import , coinciding with the decay of agriculture at home , and corn is suddenly forced up again to a famine price . Such , I conceive , would 6 c the inevitable consequence ofaoain placing ourselves in a state of habitual and increasing dependance on foreign supply . "

      Such is precisely our own opinion . We have no doubt that the effect of a repeal would be a great rednction in the value of agricultural produce . The loss attendant upon this reduction would have to be borae by the tenants as long as they were capable of bearing up at all under the oppression . They , in turn , would , of-couqi , as far as practicable , shift the load from off their own Bhoulders , to those ot the labourers . Corn being unmarketable , would not be grown ; land would be lett out of cultivation , and laid down to grass ; labourers would be thus unprovided with employment and an already

      overstocked labour-market would be still further overstocked . Such labourers , therefore , as were still needed to tend the flocks , &c , would be hired on perfectly starvation terms , while the rest would flock into the manufacturing districts to bid for labour against the artizans , to the manifest deterioration of their wages . Meanwhile improvements in machinery are constantly going on ; producing more and more goods , with fewer and fewer hands , and thus continually adding to the redundant population , by the numbers which each Bucce § siy . e "imnravemeBt "

      throws upon society as an unneeded surplus , " Thus would wages be brought down to the lowest pitch at which the " cheap bread" could possibly be had . The labourers would then be actually worse off than they now are ; with the chance of an entire famine in the land whenever a general continental war . might caase our porta to be blockaded , or whenever a failure of crops abroad might cause exporting nations to keep their corn at home , or whenever the glutting of foreign markets with our maufactured good 3 should cause a temporary cessation in the demand for i hem .

      Besides , w ^ o so blind as not to see that the abolition of the protective duty upon corn would be instantly follow ^ - and justly too , by a demand , from the agriculture ts , for the abolition of all other protective duties : a demand which could not with a show of justice be demurred to . There are many articles of manufacturing . mdustry which might be bought from foreign countries much cheaper than they can be manufactured hero , and which would be imported largely but for the ta * * eswhich protect the home manufacturer . Boots , eboys , and hats ; glass . ) whether crown , sheet , or manufactured ; tallow candles , silks , and many other thivgs are produced abroad at prices of which the major portion of the people have no conception , and w . hich , if the war against protective duties is to he carried

      out , must be reduced in price here , by reducing the workmen employed in their production to such a rate of wages aa will enable the manufacturers of them to outsell the foreigner ; or , failing

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      tnii , they must , like our corn , be all imported ; and tkjrt a new " surplus" of the labouring population g Bbp again thrown into the market to compete Hi theii half-famiBhed fellows for a small portion of the che > p bread . " All this time , let it never be forgotten , that all money-men and profit-mongers would be getting rich oat of the general spoil of labour and of the landlords . Every fundlord , every officer in the army and nary , every functionary employed under Government , every parson or lay impropriator of

      tithes , every man who lives upon a fixed income from whatever source derived , would be enriched by the repeal of the Corn Laws ; because the , inevitable tendency of that repeal must he to make money dear and every thing else cheap . Eventually , if the syBtem were permitted to go on , which it never would be , the whole country , land , and wealth , and Government and all , would

      be grasped by a small knot of overgrown capitalists . The people , as they became less and less needful to this heartless erew of money Molochs , would be starved , hung , transported , or driven away by thousands , until the population , having become too weak and scanty either to support or to defend the country , it would fall beneath the weight of its own damning avarice , an easy prey to the first foreign power who had heart to seize it .

      Such would , in our opinion , be the consequences of going on , trusting to others for the food we eat , instead of growing it on our own soil , and providing by our legislative power , that u the labourer who tills the land shall be the first partaker of the fruits . " Let the people then reserve their energies , as we know indeed they are reserving them , for a more worthy struggle ; a struggle which , when made successfully , shall give them the power of providing food and raiment and employment and comfort for all , without injustice to any and without dependance upon any but ourselves . ' - i ¦ . -

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      THE M PRIVILEGE" VICTIM . Ik states wherein despotism of the most perfect character ha 9 been most fully stretched to its abuse , we have sometimes heard of prisoners , at the pleasure of the tyrant , being barbarously treated ; but we much question if any despotism which the world has yet Been , be able to surpass that of the "Reformed" House of Commons , in reference to its selected victims on the ** Privilege" question . It is ever the distinction of the cowardly and base to exult over the moBt helpless , and to parade power when it cannot be resisted . This enviable trait of

      character , the " House" exhibited in full developement' last Tuesday evening . A petition having been presented to the " House" by Mr . Pbabce , the Clerk to Mr . Howard , Stockdale ' b Attorney , who is now incarcerated by the " House , " for obeying the commands of his master , who might , and would have punished him for disobedience , Sir F . Bcbdktt brought it under notice . This poor fellow , whose only crime ia doing that which * he was compelled in the course of his lawful business to do , has no means of 8 U 8 tenauce for himself or his family , save the pittance he obtains for his professional exertions as

      an attorney ' s clerk . Being ia prison at the suit of the ftonowrahle " House , " he is of OOUne unable to follow his profession , and is at once , therefore , reduced to beggary . Had the man committed forgery , or houBebreaking , or rape , or robbery , or even murder , he would have had food allowed him during his confinement , but having obeyed the commands of his lawful master , in th « ordinary prosecution of his business , contrary to the behest of the "Honourable House , " his crime is treated with more rigour than any felony , and the " rations" which would have been accorded to a felon are denied to him . Sir Fbancis stated that the petitioner was without the means of procuring

      dally necessaries , jwd ' v » b&t all he asked was , that the House ^ dur ^^ hiswprisonment , would provide Jbi » with the meatt 8 of sustaining existence ; for when the House broke up , and his liberation ensued , the only prospect before him was another prison in satisfaction of the debt incurred for necessaries While in -the custody of the Sergeint-at-Arms . " The " Honourable Houie , " however , at the instiga-, ty » fc .. « f tord John Russell , refused to grant the i jjfljjj ' e * ofNjhe petitioner , He is left to feel the mag * niiude of ' his offence , « nd live on nothing in the ; T » est way he can . ¦ ., .:. ; Mdminj / jpffaiii , speaTdng of this matter , says : — - ; ;* ' v- ;* v - - .. - ¦ ¦ -

      "It does , asautstffir ^ " appear impossible for the present House of Cotui $ na to reach a lower level in the estimation of the public than it bat , for some time , olpftipied ;~ yet , somehow , each discussion on the privilege question , or on any points even incidentally connected with it , suffices to add to the mountain load of obloquy under which the House groans . The public is , in fact , utterly disgusted with the present race of " representatives of the people . " If the next House of Commons shall not be composed of very different materials , the principle of representative Government is likely to be found at a discount . "

      No doubt the Tories wish to see " the principle of representative government at a discount ,--but let them not halloo before they are out of the wood . There ja no , such joyful consummation likely to 1 WbUrVih : owever devoutly they may wish it . Maugre all 'the pains that have been taken to hoodwink them , the people are not so blind as to be in any danger of confounding " the principle of

      representative government" with that desecration of it , exhibited by our "Honourable , " "Reformed " "House of Commons . " The " principle of representative Government' is what the people want to see carrfed into practice ; and , when they once see it thus recognised , they will take care that the just " privileges" of their representatives shall be properly secured and protected , without the pitiful necessity of making them stink in the nostrils of all honest men .

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      THE PENNY POSTAGE . This , single and solitary popularity-pin of the Ministers seems , on trial , to have proved sadly short of strength to bear up the weight imposed upon it . It was the forlorn hope , looked to in extremity ; the mantle" of " charity , " trusted to for the covering of " a multitude of sins . " Unluckily , however , for the desperate wights whose hopes rested on it , the ^ mattlle" turns out to be a misfit ; it is too short , arid , all ways , so scanty in its dimensions , that it faijs e $ n to . cover the nakedness of the ragged wretches Who relied on it for their whole clothing .

      Retjirnsiof the Post-office have been just published ! , ; th . 4 following condensation of whioh we copy from a London paper : —¦ . . " The firartable shows the amount of postage collected in the London district during the fourpenny rate—viz ., from the 5 th of December , 1839 , to the 9 thof January , 1840 , com ^ aredWith the corresponding period of 1838-9 , as far asTregardY the General Poet Office , and gives £ 57 , 300 / 18 . sciae the total amount of the period in question in 1838-9 , and £ 38 , 692 6 s . lid . as that of the similar period tn 1839-40 . Of the former of these sums £ 3 , 63 ? 86 . was received from Government department * ; of the Utter sum £ 38 , 692 5 s . lid ., the sum of £ 1 , 316 2 s . was received from Government departments .

      " The second table gives the total amount of the postage collected in the London district daring the penny rate from the 10 th of January to the 13 th of . February , 1840 , so far as » eganU the General Post Office , with the amount in the corresponding period 011838 . Tuia gives £ 60 , 000 14 a . 8 d . for the period of 1839 , of which £ 4 , 624 12 s . id . was received Cram Government departments , and £ 40 , 627 8 a . 7 d . for 1840 , oft Which £ 858 Us . has been received from Govqnmpot departments , and . £ 11 , 044 12 * . fid . remains due . * . t ¦ .:

      « ThrretuTB of the amount of postage for the London district post during the fourpenny rate gives £ 10 , 38214 a . 3 d . as the sum ; collected from the § th of December , 18 * 9 , to the 9 th of January , 1840 , while the amount collected- in a similar period in 1888-9 was £ 12 , 63319 s . Td . The return of postage from January lOthtoFebraary istb , 1840 ( during the penny rate , ) for the London dijtrict post , gives £ 10 , 36815 s ., while the amount for a similar period in 1889 was £ 13 , 714 108 .

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      " . fourth account , in which * both general and district post letters are Included , give * the following result : — : : ¦' : ¦ "¦ ¦'¦' . ' . ¦ ¦ '¦ ¦ - ' .- ¦" " ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ * ¦ ' •¦ ; ¦ ; ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ £ « . d . 1838-9 Bee . 5 th to Jan . 9 th ......... 70 , 234 0 10 1839-40 Ditto ... ..... 49 , 075 0 3 Decrease under the 4 d . rate 21 ^ 162 0 8 1839 Jan . 10 th to Feb . 13 th ~ .... ... 73 . 7 T 4 15 6 1840 Ditto ... „ . 50 , 896 3 7 Decrease under Id . rate ... ... 22 , 878 11 n So that here is , in fine , a deficit of nearly twentythree thousand pounds , or more than £ 2 , 500 a-week , in this one district only , so far as the receipts are concerned ; while not a word is said about the in * creased expenditure of the Post-office department which , when counted up , will be found to be no joke . The increase in the number of letters in this district ia 1 , 356 , 170 ; which ia almost 44 , 500 daily—nearly

      five letters for every two under the old system—and when the extra , trouble of weighing * and receiving money for them singly is taken into account , it will be seen that more than three times the number of clerks and other attendants in the Post-office are required . So that with a falling off of one-third in the recei pts , and an increase , of probably considerably more than twice its original amount , in the expenditure , the Post-office department seems to be in a hopeful

      way . The Sun , which is anxious to put the best possible face on the matter , parades the increase of letters as evidence of the success of the scheme ; but admits that "As might have been expected , the in- , crease in the London district is much above the average increase in the whole empire . " Now it is known that the increased number of letters is the only possible means of making up the deficiency in the revenue ; and if " as might be expected , " the average of the whole empire is much below that of London , it follows that the above is nothing like a fair statement of the amount to which the revenue has suffered , and is likely to suffer , by this pet scheme .

      As a proof of this let ub take the Dublin and Edinburgh districts . The amount of postage collected in the Dublin district in five weeks under the old rate , under the fourpenny and under the penny rates , were respectively £ 6 , 850 , £ 4 , 418 , and £ 2 , 843 . The postage collected in the Edinburgh district in five weeks under ihe three rates were respectively £ 4 , 416 , £ 3 , 132 , and £ 2 , 478 , so that the falling off in Dublin is nearly two-thirds of the whole revenue , and in Edinburgh nearly one-half . The loss in these three districts amounts , during the five weeks , in round numbers , to £ 28 , 800 , something more than one-half of the whole sum which has been received under the new system during the same period .

      It is fair to argue that as London is admitted , even by the Sun , to be an unfair representative of England , so Dublin and Edinburgh will be equally unfair representatives of Ireland and Scotland ; and that the loss on the average of the three kingdoms will be much greater than that shown by the average of the threeoities . Take it , however , on the best shewing ; consider the metropolis of each to represent fairly

      the whole country ; and we then have the pretty prospect of the revenue , in this department , decreased more than one-third , while its expenditure is more than trebled : and this , too , by a Government whose recklessness of public money has rendered them utterly unable to make the revenue , as a whole enormous as it is , cover anything like their lavishment . So much for " Economy I" " Retrenchment 1 " " Reform 1 " and " Cheap Government !"

      Why do we speak thus ! Is it because we object to the Penny Postage , per te ? Do we think it an evil that an impetus should be given to correspondence , and that every possible restriction should be removed from , and every possible facility afforded to , the communication of parties with each other ! Certainly not . We think this was a very proper thing for Government to'do ; and if we had seen them preparing to make up the deficiency in the revenue , which they had thus created , by the abolition of retiring pensions for great officers of state^—of useless places , and of unmerited pensions—if we had seen the hard earned . mxuxa ^ otiH * -people taken from some of the loousts who have been so long devouring it , in order that this advantage

      might be given to commercial men in active business , we would have lauded the Government for the evidence thus given of their anxiety to promote the welfare of the country . by a really cheap postage ; but , knowing as we do , that the advantage is enjoyed almost solely by the money classes , and knowing , too , that so long as these classes and their tools , the present Government , return the exclusive power of law-making , the deficiency thus created must and will be made up by new taxes ; which hew taxes will be so laid as ( hat the industry of the labourer shall pay them all , we cannot help thinking that the poor , whom we recognize as emphatically , the people are likely to find this new and cficap postage a very dear pennyworth .

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      A GOOD THING OUT OF GALILEE . « We here present our readers with the first good thing which , to our knowledge , has ever come out of the office of the Three-headed Devil King . We beg that it may be carefully read ; and not only so , but that the Devil King may have all due and necessary aid from every honest man , in seeing it fairly and fully carried into effect . "Poor Law Commission Office , " Somerset House , March 6 . " RATING OF STOCK IN TRADE .

      " Gentlemen , —Since tho recent decision in the Conrt of Queen ' s Bench , in the case of Regina v . Lumsdaine , in last Easter Term , it can no longer be doubted that inhabitants of parishes , return liable to the poor rate in respect of stock in trade in the like manner as they were before the passing of the Act to Regulate Parochial Assessments , and that every rate may be successfully appealed against , if any inhabitant having productive stock in trade be omitted therefrom . " Since the decision of the above case , the Commis .

      Bioners have been frequently applied to for instructions as to the form in which the rate in respect of stock in trade is to be made , and the value estimated . This subject has always been one of the greatest practical difficulty , and the Commissioners regret that it is not in their power to obtain any advice on the subject which can be of much practical utility to the persons charged with the duty of making poor rates . The Commissioners , however , conceive that the following remarks may be of some service : —

      " 1 . The rate in respect of stock in trade can only be made upon persons who are actually inhabitants of the parish . Persons not residing in the parish are in law frequently occupiers of lands , houses , &c , but no person can be rated for stock in trade unless he is resident within the parish . ' " Those owners of stock in trade within the parish who do not reside in the parish must consequently be omitted from the rate in the respect of stock fax teade . " Residence , by reference to Which the character of inhabitancy ifl to be determined , has been denned to denote' the place where an individual eats , drinks , and sleeps , or where his family or his , servants , eat , drink , and sleep . '

      " 2 . The stock to be rated must be locally situate and visible within the parish in which its owner resides . It must not only be productive , but must be capable of being proved to be productive . " 3 . It appears that it is not all the productive stock in trade which an inhabitant may be possessed of that is liable to the rate : it is only the clear liquidated surplus , after payment of all the owner's debts , which is considered to constitute his ability . If personal property be rateable , it is not to be done at random , and to leave the party rated to get off as be can ; but the officer making the rate mast be able to support what he has done by evidence , and no surplus property can berated but the dear liquidated surplus after paying all his

      debts . It is laid down that a trader may deduct the interest of borrowed capital , that being in the nature of an incumbrance upon his goods . " 4 . The determination of the rateable value of stock in trade is the chief subject of difficulty . The Parochial Assessments * Act , which prescribes the rule for estimating the annual value of the various hereditaments the subjects of occupation , and liable in that character to the poor-rate , has evidently no application to stock in trade , the nature of which does hot admit of its being let at a rent . It is , however , clear that the valuation of such stock in trade as may be rateable must be made in respetet of the profit which , may be realised by its means , and not of its total present value as so much capital

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      ¦ ¦ .-. ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ - ¦ : •• ¦ ¦ ' ¦ : ' = - .-. ;¦ ; ' ' : v-V ; r . ¦" / ¦ ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ) "QisaaMjt onacooun * pf , the | 3 ^ dMeolty rf tl ^ subject , extreme cauttotiiBwt ^ ft used in determiniiig ..- ¦¦ the rateable value of Btoci-m-ttwle ; and thisis tt » > more necessary , inasmuch as it it incumbent on «» officer * making the rate to show the grounds of tbefr estimate . ^ : ¦¦ ^ ¦¦¦ ¦¦ ¦ ' ¦ ¦'¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ ' ; ¦'¦ ¦ ' ' -t . . , ¦; " 5 . It is a rale applicable to the rating In rapeet of every kind of property , that ( he rate nuut ? show on its face the property in respect of which the rate i ^ imposed . ; . -

      "The schednleto « he Parochial Asseament Act ( 6 ¦ ani 7 William IV ., e , 96 ) is generally inapplicable to tht particulars which will be required to describe the ape * ment in respect to stock-in-trade ., In such a rate , the Commissioners would suggest that the persons rated should b * placed together , either at the beginning of the boot < £ at the end before the declaration ; that the entries ahould b « numbered , as In the case- of the rates on occupies ; that the persons rated should

      be described as inhabitants , and not as occupieraj ; that the property should : fee described at the property ift respect of which the inhabitant is rated , and that agajoal the name of the inhabitant , ttw . situation , or . locality , and the kind , and perhaps the quantity , of stock should be specifically described ; that the annual value or productiveness , or profit should he next estimated s and next , that the rate in the pound should be stated in the head of a column , and the sum assessed placed in that column opposite the inhabitant's name . "

      " By order of the Board , "Edwin Chadwick , Secretary . " To the Churchwardens and Overseers of the parisnV * Thia accursed , "improved" and " amended " meflioi of grinding the faces of the poor , was passed a ^ -th * ' instance and for the benefit of the profit ^ mongen ; let them have the "benefit" of i |» Let the third and fourth articles of this order from tha Devi King be specially attended to . Let all means b «

      taken to ascertain that the exact amount of every profitmonger ' s debts and difficulties , that the qrian * turn of his rateable " stock in trade" may be known . By all means let us know the ratio of his profitt that the rate may be honestly adjusted in aocotdaue * with the intent of the Commissioners . ' The Guff dians are now to be appointed , and we do hope thai none will be nominated , but such aa pledge thwnselves to carry out the "rating of stock ia trote " order . .:

      Above all things , we call the attention of th * people to the important words of the Devil Kin v " Evert Rate mat be successfully Appealed against , IF ANY INHABITANT HAVING PRODUCTIVE STOCK IN TRADE BB OMITTED THEREFROM . " Let this be noted most carefally . Let every rate * book be searched through and through , and where * ever it can be shewn that u . any inhabitant having productive stock-in-trade" is omitted , let not * farthing of the rate be paid . The orders of th * Poor Law Commissioners have the effect of law : "lei their order be cited as ground for an appeal .

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      GOVERNMENT ECONOMY . Although , at the eleventh hour , and beginning at the wrong end , yet we hail the slightest symptom of economy by our present rulers with becoming respect * . An order has been issued altering the dress of th * Manchester Police , and that body is henceforth to appear in kilts instead of breeches . This , we say ,. is beginning at the wrong end ; and already some of the wags have re-christened the force . Bluebottl * they have transformed into Bluebottom , while other * call them the Bombardiers f but jthe best name tnat we have heard has been one coined by a young policeman . He says they will be the cuiram

      ( Queer Ass !) staff . Much anxiety is evinced bj the ladies of Manchester to see Col . Stair Kennedy in petticoats ; and , in truth , we feel son * little curiosity to see the awkward squad upon . a windy day . We have no doubt they will very much remind us of the raw Irish dragoon , who , uponv being aaked why he did not answer the general upon a review , replied , D—n him , had ' nt I enoughs do to mind my riding , without talking to him ! " «> 4 we do think that our police friends will have quit * enough to do for the first few months to keep down their petticoats .

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      Mt Friesds , —I cannot trust myself thi * week with any comment upon the sentences passed upon the York prisoners , and the evidence which led to theauFArihe present , I shajl content kiyj » el £ wtth administering the only consolation ii my power ,, by requesting of you , their wives , to send me . forthwith an account of the number of their families in order that I may be enabled to provide for them during the incarceration of their fathers . I shall thank you to do this at once , and direct it for me —^ " Post-office , Liverpool . " I am , Your faithful frieniJ i f- ¦ 'V FEARG 0 S O'CONNOR . Leeds , March 27 th , 1840 . . ' ^ . _ , ' .. .

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      DELEGATE MEETING AT NOTTINGHAM , I find there is to be a Delegate Meeting at Nottingham , on Monday , April 6 . Those meeting * do much good ; and the more , when , Delegates truly speak the feelings of their constituents . The fact of a Delegate being chosen , at once proves that he has the confidence of his fellow-men ; and he ceases to be valuable when he merges their opinions in his own conceits . Let them , therefore , speak out boldly , but prudently . For my own part , I have alwayg found that over-zeal was better than overrcantionj

      while I have discovered that the good sense of the people themselves blends caution and zeal into what forms and constitutes the jud gment of their order I request my friend , Mr . Fletcher , to engage a reporter for the Star , to furnish me with a roll report of the proceedings ; and to receive th « amount for reporting from Mrs . Smith , one of niy agents at Nottingham , who shall * receive credit f « Mr . Fletcher ' s receipt . I do hope ; that several Delegates will be present upon the occasion . FEARGUS O'CONNOR .

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      TO THE WORKING CLASSES . Mt Fhiends , —You will doubtless feel anxiotkftt «» know something of me . I cannot this week ' dev <^ much space to an address , nor indeed Bhall I have all the materials upon which I mean to address you , until the Liverpool assizes shall have been cloaca I do feel somewhat flattered , and more than repaid for any poor service I have rendered you by the numerous lettera of congratulation-which I havyrtceived M the result of my trial . It is rather

      curious , however , that in scarcely one has any notice been taken of the conviction , while all th « applause is bestowed upon my defence . Let me assure you , that this is the most'liattering view which I- wish you to take of the proceedings . Mt aim and end through life has been to make you independent of me and all other leaders ; and never , until you are thrown upon your own resources , ahaU I consider the great cause of freedom likely to jit achieved . ' ' '"' .

      It is now likely that I shall be separated from you for some time . Next week I shall give my parting admonition ; while for the present I shall content myself with but few observations . Firstly , then , hold fast to the great question of Universal Suffrage . Let no compromise for yw * incarcerated friends—let no promise of your political enemies—let no juggle of pretended partisans—let no threatened danger by flood or field—let no coaxing ho threat , no promise ever , ever , evek induce yo « to stir from that , the only principleby which happiness can be made permanent . Join with ho class or party for any change by which they would benefit themselves alone , and for which they wouldnot contend if it was a benefit to you .

      It is' now some years since I told you that machinery was man ' s curse instead of man ' s holi * day . I have , over and over again , repeated the assertion , that the great speculator ! resembled gamblers round a gambling tablethat , in the end , those with- largest capital ! would destroy the less opulent ; until at length th * extensive improvement in machinery , worked by

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      FROM FLORIDA . St . Augustine , Feb . 14 . Libut . M'LAC-eHus , in the United States schooner fUrt , Jiasgone to Havannah for bloodhound * . . He irtands operating by light canoes built in South Carolina , in thePia-haiokee , and the doga will be * vaUable in scenting among the islands whieh are said to be in the grass water . Iwhajis . —Aa eight volunteers twelve miles west « f Fort Harlee , last week , were cookisg their supper , seven Indians rushed in upon them , killed oae man , captured their arms , ammunitian , and . TKtaals , and walked leisurely off . Four years we , iave b&sa learning wisdom ; it will be obtained by-and-by .

      ; TAi-ABisszB , Feb . 15 . —We learn , by a letter from Apalachjcola , that Mrs . HoUis ( daughter of Mr . ttowlatt , whose dwelling was recently attacked by lamaas on toe Apakcbicola river ) , has arrived safe **»** city . She states , we learn , that she made Mr escape from the dwelling , and was for two days Jestm the woods ; during which time she fell in with * jP * r ty of Indians , who , however , offered no vio-• leeee . They informed her that their object was to - mSi Mr . fiowlett . and obtain powder . She afterwards

      asade her way to the river , where she found a boat , 3 M . which she reached Apalachicola . Th « troops who went in search of the Indian * - *»* e retained after an unsuccessful scout . It is tup-- yasedby some that the Indian * are on James Island , and in eensderable numbers—probably from 150 to f t * warriors are between the Oeloekonee and ApajKbicola rivers . Major Bailey is now scouring ^ ta fc section with four or five of the bloodhounds and Jas troops .

      The Northern Star. Saturday, March 28, 1840.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , MARCH 28 , 1840 .

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      N ] * THE ^ p ipy STIR , -1 | IM

      Totthe Wives And Families Of Those. Chartists Who Were Gonvictei)' At The Late Assizes At York- '

      TOtTHE WIVES AND FAMILIES OF THOSE . CHARTISTS WHO WERE GONVICTEI )' AT THE LATE ASSIZES AT YORK- '

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 28, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2677/page/4/