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gRATffiKa «jit>» Tfpl?»
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THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1840.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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^ JSLS - £ 2 $ ^ IS ^^ L Wednesday we have £ ^^ iRLft ^ " J ! P * ^ **»<* £ ^ £ ^^^ e ^^ 1 tt SJTS ? ^ *» eBMBqwiMe , bnt towards the Sw TwJSS ^ ^^ '»* KtoS SHiSSJS ? Fwoeh ^? Brtment'tronia not have 5 JS * ^ 9 *^? wt > T to sake *> BtfHysacrifices , ^^ % *!^ mu ^* 3 l *^ * & <*« were not growda for « mn 4 renai «» ** £ - ^ lt ^~ & * TZuL ~ L , , , . 2 kS \ £ e ^^^
"WOwriif drLyru states that Rear-Admiral AAi « id « kas passed through Oat city , on his way ok * to Toulon , where he was * going to take the ommand of the squadron of reeem . Tbe Courritr rfti BotRhb ^ Strasburg paper , states that General Bochet , commanding the fifth military cmsojl , laueennd orders to plaee all the forteegws ssdep his eonu&and on the war establishment . The General is at present at Befort oh a tour ot inspeetk * . The £ *> um « r < fe fa Jftwrffc states that SO * additwaal labourers had been engaged to work at the fortifications of MeU .
The Impartia l de la Afeurthe mentions that Verdnn , Montmedr , Longiry . and Thionville were being Itrongly fortified , and that the opinion prevailed along the frontier that war was imminent . The Journal de la Sonme states Jhat the National Guard ( Atobilt ) was about being organised at Amiens . .: . The Capitok publishes a letter , dated Teolon , the 9 th inst ., which states that the squadron of reserve
which returned from Tunis Tinder Admiral Rosamel is not intended for the Levant , as one of the line of battle ships is about to convey troops to Algiers , and soother k about to take an ambassador to Lisbon The same letter adds that the Castor steam-boat had ¦ ailed with despatches for the French Ambassador « rt Constantinople , M . de Pontoia , aad instructions to him , that in ctse the Allied Powers landing an anay in Syria , he should demand hit passports and return to France .
According to the Patriots det Alpes , Grenoble was to be immediately placed in a respectable state of defence . All the Spanish refugees in the depot were fo be employed in the works . The Comnerce of Monday states that a letter from Bologna , dated the 7 eh of September , has been received , containing the following : — The intellige « ce from the east tends to keep the mind of the public in a state of comtinual agitation , and inXL&magna the game fermentation exists as was manifested ia 1830 .
War is considered imminent , inscmacb &a a report a current that commercial letters from Ancoaa communicate the news of a collision in the waters of the Levant between the French and English squadrons . Our Legate , Cardinal Maechi , is aixr at to leave for Iwme , in order to eonfer with the Secretary of State on the necessary measures to be adopted in case of disorders , or in the event of the . Austrians , by whom the fortress of Ferrara is occupied , ad-Tancing to Bologna . "
The Frankfort Journal announces , under date Copenhagen , the 5 th inst ., that a Russian fleet of twenty Bail had been met cruising between Bornholm andGfothland . Orders bare been received at Grenoble , Verdun , Jfontmedy , Meta , Longivy . Thionville , Dunkirk , and Calais , to put those fortresses into an immediate State of defence . —GalitpienVt Messenger . Orders hare been sent to the Royal Caanon Foundry at Nevers to cast immediately six hundred guns for the Navy . The works have already began , aad
proceed whhout intermission . Numerous orders for projectiles of all kinds have been sent to the establishments in the Cher , and Vandenesse in the JCevre . —Galiffnani ' t Messenger . The Commerce savs that contracts ha-re just been taken at the " War-office for l , 6 O 0 , # 0 Olb . of copper , and 10 , 900 , 0001 b . of lead , amounting jointly to 3 , 000 , 000 / . ; as well as for 10 , 000 francs' worth of paper for cartridges . This journal complains that the contracts were made by private tender , without having heen put up to public competition .
The Alsace of Strasburg- states that orders have been received there for the putting into a complete state of defeneeall the fortified places . of the military division « f which wt city forms the eeotre . Lieuieaaat-General Pelletier , inspector-general of artillery , had arrived there . * The Government steamer which arrived in Toulon < tothe 12 th inst , brought the following intelligence from the Levant : — u The blockade of Alexandria commenced on the lit inst ., and a few Egyptian vessels had already been sequestered by the British squadron . The fleet of the Viceroy was drawn up in order of battle in fthe roads of Alexandria . * Advices from Malta of the 4 th inst . state that j » body believed in that island that . war was
rmmi" It was reported in Constantinople that Khosrew Pasha had been strangled . " On the 28 th Admiral Hugon arrived -at Tourla Sid took the command of the French squadron . " Two BrhiBh ships-of-the-line were then-stationed si the entrance of the Dardanelles , waiting to escort * small Turkish squadron , carrying 4 , 009 soldiers , aad proceeding to Cyprus . That squadron left Constantinople on the 28 th . " The litb Sieik . 8 is Pabis . —Th « whole of the men returned U their work last week ; and many of them have been brought before the tribunals , and sentenced to various terms ^ f imprisonment . The preparations for war appear-to have rendered all other objeete of secondary importance in the ttinds of the Parisians .
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720 X OUB LOJTDOK C » RB £ SP 05 DKKT . London , Wednesday Evening , Sept 16 , Quarter-past Seven . Dcbihg thb past week , nothing of consequence fcas occorred among the political societies ia the Metropolis , the Chartist and Democratic Associations , In ' general , having been on the look-out for- the " N « w Plan of Organization , " proposed by Messrs . Lovett and Coffins , and whichhas this week been published . It is expected to form the topic of discussion at the Clerten-^ rell Lecture Booms , « n Monday next The Eaat-Iiondon Chartist Temperance Association is getting on Jttbly , and bids fair , in a short time , to refieve the ¦ working classes from fce stigma and opprobrium that sow attaches to them , of " meeting in public-houses to settle the affurs of the nation over their pots and pipes . ' It is an undoubted fact , that since this line of
« iovement has begun , the great brewers have resorted ( o all kinds of shifts to oppose it ; and individuals of some talent are actually retained ~ for the purpose of lecturing against temperance . One of these lectures took place , a few evenings &go , at the Hall of Science , Finsbury , wherein the lecturer maintained , that a continued coone of drinking spring water would have the CtTeet of petrifying the coats of the stomach , in the game manner that weeds , shells , 4 c , are petrified by ontwuons contact with streams of hard water , impregnated irith chalk . The editors of various papers have been applied to , also , to advocate the brewing aad fffffiTHng interests ; while the temperance folks are no less active on the other side , and , in addition to tbe romercms periodicals already in existence , devoted to ieetot&lism , another has this week made its appearance . The East-London Chartist Society has added to its wufcto , the words , " Be faithful unto ttie end . "
COBa Laws cernu Chabttsh . —At the conclusion of | be discussion ¦ which followed Mr . Wigbam' » lecture last week , Mr . Dyson proposed the following resolution , whieli , being seconded by Mr . TVilkins , -was carried , with only two dissentienta : —Resolved , " That it it the opinion of this meeting that the producing glasses of this country should stand aloof from all political agitation not having the attainment of the principles of the People ' s Charter for its object . " Mr . Xefevre , the secretary of the East London Democratic Association , in the course of his speech , observed , that ke eoold not see how men calling themselves "Chartists at heart , " as the lecturer had , could stand up for the repeal of the Coin Laws , in preference to an agitation br the carrying of the People ' s Charter , the principles ? f which strike at the very root of the tree of corrnpfcVm ; and he maintained that when the Com Laws ^ rere repealed , the people would be very soon worse off fl ** " they even now are : the working classes , having
keen deceived by the middle-men , as to the Reform Kn , would not co-operate with them to get a repeal of Mte Corn Laws , "without having first obtained Universal Suffrage . Mueb amusement was caused by . a verbal akkmiah between Mr . WilMns asd Mr . Thorns , the latter of whom , in deprecating the lice of policy the Chartists were pursuing , made use of the expression "triek-and-mortai Suffrage , " as the limit to which he thought tbe franchise should be confined ; asd asked whether they would require a qualification fer a bul . isck , as that animal might be termed one of the working lasses ; " also whether the eating of a sapper , or the writing of a letter was to be the test of ntnees ? Mr . ffilkini gave pointed and caustic replies , fitted to the eaHbre of his opponent , which made the latter "wish ke badii spoke . " After a vote of thanks , to the chair-Kan , the meeting quietly separated ; the lecturer and bit companions saricg , when out of the room , that * ' -t 2 » y most manage better another time , for they tmsnd they had got Into the very hotbed of
Cb&r-JD * TBB . * IHED ATIMPT AT SCICIDB AT LOWDO 5 S * U > GS . —Last night , a fine young wo&an , named Jeses , was la tbe act of crossing London Bridge , in —I hi i iij wiih another female , when she made a most dMpttate effort to throw herself off the Bridge , bat % t& 4 Med by her companion . On reaching' the Surrey ¦ tftavbswever , aha T&n down the steps , and plu&ged JTTt **** lfaraci an alarm was instantly given , and after fteal exattkft tha . poor creature was saved from a Vatatf JavrsVbiBd at once taken by tbe police to St SKjaaitifc Hospital ; but such was her violence that HffjqnfTafl ¦ a ' TTPtn to accomplish the task- Distress 1 | 1 M In fc » flir iBinri of attempting the raeh act -0 &k 5 £ 2 * & . - ' . ¦ ¦
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OMiaus AcciD » nr—Yesterday afternoon , » bou » half-past five , as one of the Paddington omnibo * es was PUrint the end of Shoe-luu , Holbotn , hoa-rlly l » dan , tile hones were ttmmd to be totally unable to draw the vehicle np Holborn-hlU ; and the little strength of tbe two poor animals being finally exhausted , the omnibus receded for teveral yards , eoming in contact with a poor fellow who wm drawing a track , knocked him down , and severely lacerated his shoulder , hip , and other parts of his body , smashing the truck and the goods in it to pieces ; and only saving the passengers in the omnibus from Injury by its course being arrested with the fragment * of the broken track locking one of the wheels . While nort of the omnibuses that ply through Holbora are drawn by three horses , It is the fault of the public themselves to encourage fellows who attempt a heavy load and a long distance with two only , and thoae so inferior as to be unequal to half the burden . > J ? £ i S AcciDBWT ^ -TertCTday aftera oon , about
AT THB SUREST ADJOUBJiBD SESSIONS , ttbls day ) John Edwards , aged 30 , -was indicted for stealing , at Godalmin , four bushels of wheat , the property of James Howtok . Hr . WaWnghun appeared for the prosecution . It appeared from the evidence of several witnesses , that on t& « 26 th nit the property was missing from the barm of the . prosecutor , and on the following day it was found In the bed room of the prisoner . The Jwy , after some consultation , returned a verdict of guilty , and a former conviction having been put In , the Cb * Jrman sentenced the prisoner to be transported for seven years .
thb latb dreadful Accident on tub Eisskak Coumies Bailwat . —On inquiry this morning , at the Loadon Hospital , we ascertained tbat the sufferers were somewhat better .
The Northern Star Saturday, September 18, 1840.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 18 , 1840 .
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oura . " " Bavo , bravo , Edief The country's in little ultimate danger , when the beggar ' s as ready to fighi for his dish , at tbe Laird for his land . " Walteb Scot * . We have at all times shown our wiUlagness to meet opponents -with argument , rather than vituperation . It is tree , we have applied the proper terms to murdei whether committed by the sword , the rope , or the more slow process of starvation . We have opposed and exposed tyranny in all its shapes and forms , aud Instead of being met with argument , we ,
representing nineteen-twentietbs of the sound , tbe Talu&ble , and constitutional opinion of the State , have been designated not only as revolutionists , impracticable and -srild theorista , substituting captivating fallacies for argument ; but as interested and trafficking politicians , inculcating unsound dogmas , as a means of mpholding the profitable fury of the ignorant , that we might be able to live upon the confusion . It may be well for those scribes who represent society as at present constituted , to be satisfied with administering sedatives , rertoratvves , stimulants , or opiates , according to the immediate disease , rage , or prevailing
epidemic of the several declining classes for whom they scribble . "With them , all is a struggle for the ascendancy of one class upon the ruins of some rival . As 8 ections , tiiey Etrugfle for sectional ascendancy , while In order to preserve class distinction , the sections willingly unite in the general assault npon the unprotected for the subjugation of democracy . Thus we ever find that the period of general tranquillity is seized upon as the fittest for fighting sectional battles , while any great national move by the people is the Immediate signal for sectional reconciliation , that popular demand may be more effectually mat by the enfranchised phalanx . If the
people were to relapse to-morrow into complete apathy , the Btate vrould not erijoy the more quiet , but , on the contrary , eash county , district , town , and village would upon the instant ¥ ecome the soene . of some chequered -vrarfar * . lome petty feud or class contention for preeminence . Hitherto pufelie excitement , kept alire since the Reform Bill by the disappointment created by that meosmre , has alone prevented the many local , aeetiocaL party , and district trials of strength , which otherwise wvuld have taken place , for the appropriation of all power to be derived from " Reform . " Have not eight waole years been wasted by the unopposed
Commons in this very struggle , the appropriation of the new system to the purposes of the rival factions ? The question of " Household Suffrage" being , however , licked into Association shape and form , by the masters of Leeds , we at once grapple not only with this substitute offered for Universal Suffrage , but , coxvinced of the paramount importance of this question above all others , wo boldly embrace the whole question of the Suffrage , and shall consider the several standards proposed by persons calling themselves " PracticablM , " and calling us " Impracticables . " Here , then , we throw down the gauntlet- We confine not the battle to the
Leeds Association , but , single-handed , we challenge all Europe to the controversy , and undertake to defend " Universal , " against all other standards of Suffrage , aot only as being the most just , but as being the most practicable , the moet satisfactory , the least complicated , least expensive , and most likely to conduce to national prosperity of any other standard which has been , or is likely to be proposed . We now pass over the intermediate space from the reign of Henry the Sixth , -when the mind of man was disframebised , and the impress of intellectual power was stamped ¦ upon property , instead of upon reason — we pass
trora that period to 1 & 32 , treating the interval of more than four centuries as part and parcel of the records of the old * 1 tw ^ . p ^ ¦ gag npon the faith of the " Reform Bill , " which was to * ffir limits to the franchise , we demand that the Suffrage shall be Universal . We demand it in the name of the Parliament that carried " The Bill , the whole Bill , and a * thii > g but the B ill , " which meant nothing LESS than the B ill . The Parliament which carried Reform w not convened by the King ' s wr ite ; it was convened by consent of the whole nation . It was , in fact , the representation of the whole nation
The Reform BUI -was carried at Bristol , Nottingham , Newcastle , Glasgow , Birmingham , Leeds , London , Manchester , and Wakefield , and was only assented to in St Stephen ' s . Less would not have been taken . The Bill which was carried at those several places waa , that representation and taxation should be co-extensive ; that they should go hand in hand . This principle Lord John Russell and the Reformers made the basis of the proposed change , and for this , and this only , was the standard of revolution raised by the people . This , and this only , the people carried—this , and this on / jr , will the people have—and this can be carried into effect only by Universal Suffrage . Therefore , in
demanding that measure , "we do but ask for the proper details , the only details by-which the avowed principles and promises of the Reformers can be carried out Thus we set out with fairly exhibiting our title , even our parliameTiiary title , to the Suffrage . We have a much higher title it ia true ; one with -which parliamente may interfere or which they may invalidate for a season ; but one which no parliament or other power upon earth can destroy . However , to meet the foe upon fashionable grounds , we take the weakest of our pretensions , —that title most recently established by Parliament , —and from thence we deduce our right n-nri chum . Our title , then , is the Reform Bill
—oar claim is Universal Suffrage—our argument In support of onr pretension Is thatQrey , Althorp , Russell , Burdett , Hobbouse , Graham , Stanley , aad Brougham , and other revolutionists , who directed public opinion , persuaded the people that the Bill meant that no man should be taxed otherwise than , by bis consent , expressed by his representative in Parliament , which was Universal Suffrage to all intents and purposes ; and in consequence thereof the people risked life and limb and property , to carry the measure—that they did cany fha measure , aud -were then imprisoned , insulted butchered , stoned , more highly taxed without their
consent , worse fed , worse housed , worse clad , and in every sense more oppressed by the operation of a measure , which was U have been meat , drink , and clothes , and whose distinguishing characteristics were to have been" Peace aud Retrenchment * Having thus exhibited our title to Universal Suffrage , we bow proceed to canvas the several substitutes proposed ia lieu thereof . Firstly , then , we shall treat of that recommeHded by Mr . CVConnell as being according to taaacpresaed opinion , the most just and " fbactjc able , " and coming nearest to Universal Suffrage . In short , being , as he says , the
most perfect description of Universal Suffrage . His plan in the enfranchisement of " heads of families . " Our reason for dealing with tbe many substitutes which have been proposed , is to prove to our readers , firstly , that we in no wise blink any portion of the subject ; and , secondly , to show to them , that although all the art , wile , craning , and sophistry of an organised ^ hired , interested , and practised party , backed by legal jugglers , hasbeeu enlisted and employed in devising means to arrest the progress of Universal Suffrage , yet nevertheless has the beautiful simplicity of that mode
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'baffled all the machinations of its assailant * . " We also treat of those mtatftUTW . pratelta . § M substitutes , the better * to expose , tbe fallibility of portion of the public , by showing the absurd and ridiculous dogmai , ia which they so freely indulge , eoming from Interested politicians . We shalf now consider "heads of families . ' I f the Devil , inhlamost extravagant hatred of mankind , had been placed upon the rack to devise a means of producing family feud # , local disagreements , and universal tumoil , strife , and confusion , he could not have hit upea a more happy expedient fox bis purpose , than by « nfmw «> iMn g ^ „ heads' of families . ' * We baffltd all fee machinations of Its awailsnts . Wealsc vm ^ 1 ^^^^ . **
shall not deal with the extravagant case of Ban ' s grandmother , so often referred to by Dan as having two-and-twenty children , but we shall take a more limited designation , and suppose the case of a father with' fiv * unmarried children . We shall not use the term "head of a family in its extensive conventional sense , which applies to the senior male representative of a whole generation . We shall use the term ia a more limited sense , although we have a right , in consequence of the Bcruptdoaanes * with which the details of the present franchise are managed , to dread the same nice observance of forms and technicalities with , respect
to the working of any other measure . We sink , then , the extensive conventional term , and adopt the more limited definition of the Romans , as conveyed under tbe tiUe" Pater familias "—father of a family . Suppcee , then , tbe fattier pf a family of three sons an * two daughters . New let Dan and the " practlcablet , " who contend for the more early maturity « f the mind than that fixed by the Charter , and who also contend fof th « enfranchisement of boys and girls let Dan , then , and his idiotic " practicable * " suppose the ease of a fataer of five children , all of mature age and unmarried , and living with the father—suppose the
father a big » t , nursed in the old school of church intolerance aud political corruption , would he not , we ask , U a very unsatisfactory representative for the enlightened genius of five children with minds expanded by thoae improvements in which the father supposes he should have a monopoly , but which his offspring imagine should be devoted to general , instead of individual , pur . poses ? The father may be a Tory , his children Whigs and Radicals , or » fcc versa . Have wa not here all th elements of family Btrife , confusion , and domestic war ? But , says Dan , "Oh , tb « Ballot ! " Just worse and worse , because no single act could be used as a disguise to
conceal well-known opinions and hourly expressed sentl . ments , without adding deceit to dissatisfaction . We are acquainted with a family of thirteen ; eight sons and five danghters , all unmarried , all residing in the same house , and nearly , if not all , opposed to the father ' s political opinions , who is a Whig . What , we would ask , would be the social state of such a . family after a contested election ? Suppose we extend the term to all married men ; then , Indeed , we should have many hasty marriages npon the eveof an election ; and many young men , rather than remain out of the pale and the scuffle , would procure the franchise even
at the expense of prudence , and all those considerations which change the married life from a blessing to a curse . We would therefore strongly recommend Daniel , bb a necessary preliminary , to appoint a sufficient number of revising barristers ; that is , of parsons , couple-beggars , and blacksmiths to tie the-franchise knot Let us suppose a father to be a fundholder , with five unmarried sons—* curate , a farmer , a shopkoeper , an attorney , and an officer . Here we find five opposing interests all merged in one representative . In fact , we only require this addition to the law of primogeniture , to render home a hell upon earth—the marriage
bond a curse to the domestic circle , the neverceasing scene of strife , confusion , and dis-content Bnfc Dan , who i » for the enfranehifeement of boys and girls , seems to forget that a -woman never ia considered as tbe head of a family , while few , rery few , b » ys under the age of twenty , would enjoy the distinction even in its most extensive sense , and never except by party marriage to become a voter . But perhaps Dan ' i details would be more liberal than bis principles . Let him , then , with equal candour to that observed by th » Radicals , exhibit both principles and details at once , as they bare in their Charter .
Tbe next substitute of which we shall very briefly treat , is Lord Stanhope ' s equal representation of capital and labour . Tire Noble Earl proposes that wealth shall return one half of the Commons , and labour the other half . This is , if possible ,. more absurd than Dan ' s proposition , and for this simple reason , that a House , suppose of five hundred , or any other number , so const ! toted , -would be as completely divided into two parties , as if they were told off to the right and , left ; , and the mete appointment of Speaker would be a work of eenfeurks , as upon that gentleman ' s casting-vote would depend the fate of all questions .
The House would be a perfect cock-pit or race-course , a " drawn battle" or k ' dead heat" upon every " main" « r " racej" wealth , looking with jealousy upon labour , and bib our looking upon wealth with equal suspicion . We shall presently show that tbe labourer , representing all other classes , would give to wealth more protection and greater privileges than any mixed form of representation could persuade the labourers cheerfully to acquiesce in , when proposed by other than the representatives of bis own order . We now coma to consider-the question of Household Suffrage , " the last , the most plausible , and most
extensively supported substitute for " Universal Suffrage . " We imagine we hear the laugh at oar presumption in endeavouring to add anything new to th » several arguments already advanced upon the question of the Suffrage . But it never has been our practice to support opinions or to oppose them , for tbo mere purpose of inspiring our readers with a hollow enthusiasm upon the one baud , or of subduing our opponents by the over-weight of enraged popular disgust upon the other . No ; we have always said that we stood by tbe principles of Universal Suffrage , because we could defend it
upon argument ; and now that it is for the first time at ^ tempted to be opposed by Household Suffrage , in Association shape aud form , and andei our very nose , we fearlessly grapple with this painted monster , and , stripped of its disguise , we promise to expose its naked frame in all tbe ugliness of deformity . Household Suffrage , then , of all those schemes , as yet seriously propounded , we assert to be tbe most vicious in principle—the most undefined in its limits—the most capricious in its working—the moBt capable of deceitand the least likely to produce a fair representation of the sevenl clauses , which is professed by its supporters
to be their chief object . Let us first , for a moment , consider the mere value of a general denomination given to any standard of Suffrage , and from post experience we shall prove that Household would be liable to the most uncertainty as to its definition , and that the uncertainty and capriclousneaa of the reformed franchise has gone further than any other of the reform anomalies to create dissatisfaction . We have the authority of Mr . Attwood , that notwithstanding the name of a ton pound franchise , yet no elector in Birmingham votes out of a house of less value than between twenty and thirty pounds a year . We have also the evidence
before us that the construction put upon the ten pounds leasehold franchise in Ireland , is a ten pound beneficial interest in the tenement That is , an elector must not only prove that he could make ten pounds yearly over and above his rent , after feeding , clothing , and edncating his family , but he must further swear and prove that a solvent tenant would give aim too pounds a-year over aud above the reserved rent for his interest Such has been the doctrine held by the judges , and acted upon by the revising barristers ; so that the moment a poor tenant becomes enfranchised , he proves on oath to bis griping landlord that he has a bargain in his lease of ten pounds a-year , and this beneficial interest the landlord considers himself entitled to the disposal of . . Thus is- established a mere
ideal value , while the very thing supposed to form the qualification is lost Bight of altogether . The mere possession of a hundred thousand acres , with the expenditure of capital and labour , gives no title to the franchise even if held for a thousand years . The franchise consists in a thing which seldom exists , and never ia a country let at a " rack rent" We state this to prove that the Reform Bill , as far as the franchise , which is the win in , indeed the only point concerned , has been a complete juggle ; and that to avoid an extension of the franchise , the Irish landlords , once becoming acquainted with the thing enfranchised , have the power either of vesting it in trust for their own benefit , or of taking it out of the bands of those who would & 8 e it as a means of acquiring political equality .
Observe , we say the " thing" enfranchised ; and herein consists the whole mystery , danger and inequality . If land cannot be enfranchised without the application of
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the priviTege to thepurposea of Tthei proprietor , neithfr can bouses : huuca J It kHow » , aa a natural result , Ibat tbe pmrttkr * « Wr of property eaa posNH tbe ftrtwhiM , or ; so dispose of it « a shall salt tbeii ihtet&tt . Salonjfa * onft man ' s property remains the i ^ darfl . of another man ' s fitness , so long will it be in the ; powfir of the owner of that property either to make the . impant a mere agent orbit will , or so to regulate the terms and conditions of tenure as to render him at lead not a * enfraitchUea holder , and thereby incapable of turning the privilege to account of repreaenta Uoa—tha » leaving the occupant , ' as nanr leaseholders tfi »^ rlHIego purposes Ttlwi propriBtor , neitbfr - bouses : *^^^
aod householders are at present situated , with poMessloa , but nok of that description ¦ which constitutes qualification . What , then , do tho supporters of Household Suffrage meant Do th « y mean that any one of a certain « ge , who sleeps under a roof , snalli have a voter If so , let them say Roof Suffrage , Shelter Snffrage , or Occupation Suffitage . Dothey mean that each , and all of those of a certain age , who live as lodgers , aome twenty or tklrty in a house , in large manufacturing towns , shall each , or any , and wbleh , have a vote * Whether the ¦ hortert or tallest , the fattest « c leanest , the oldest or youngest ,
the . head , or the tail , of the family cfapfe ? Do they even mean that a father baring fire sons , the sons being » f mature age , and all living in the same house , shall each have a vote ? Ho ; but they mean , that baring bamhooated the . people with the principle of an padefined Qualification in 1332 ) their representatives in 18 it shall point out the exact difference between the two thinga H-o-u-s-B to live In , and H-O-D-8-E t « vote out ot This , after vigorously grappling with present abuses for the next ifty years , would complete
the "persevering straggle" of Mr . Stamfeld and the Fox aad Q * O 8 « Club . Now , inasmuch as the Jealousy « f Irish landlords baa induced them to lower the tenure pf land below fee qualification standard , so do w » object to Household Suffrage for the very game reason , namely , that few poor men hare houses or lands of their «« a , and rich men would take precious good care that a majority of slaves should not carve their freedom out of the owners' property , We do aver , then , that tbe term " Household" would be construed
and enacted into a legal tenure , entailing complicated conditions , without which the occupant could not vote , and with which the proprietor would not en . trast him ? Household Suffrage would convert every one of the present clasa of small tenanta Into lodgers . Household Suffrage would unhouse every agricultural labourer , the landlord always making it a condition with the tenant , that he should either board or lodge his labourer * in his own house , or enlarge his sUtbleefor their accommodation . Household Suffrage would induce masters to have recourse to a like system of stabling their hones . So far from Household Suffrage
destroying class-legislation , ik would have a direct tendency to increase tbe evil , and confine it to the beads of classes . All landlords and large tenants would be householders , while labourers would not Barristers , attorneys , bankers , brokers , merchants , ship-owners , traders , and factors , would be householders ; their clerks and subordinates would not . Shopkeepers would be householders , shopmen would not Manufacturers would be householders , operatives would not . Parsons and curates would be householders , tbe poor of thek flocks would not . Schoolmasters would be householders , ushers would not . Private gen «« men
would be householders , their aervants would sot Officers in the army and navy would be householders , soldiers and sailors would not Thus , then , the "pocketpiece" of each class would be represented , while the " head-piece . " would not The most idle of the classes would be represented , while thoae composing the labour portion of each class would be altogether out of the pale of representation . In Household Suffrage , then , we recognise the most perfect system ot wealthy 41 class-legislation . " The number of soldiers , sailors , and domestic servants is greater than the whole electoral body of the country , and they would be all excluded by
Household Suffrage . " So much the better ! " whUpera some one in our ear . true , very true , good friend debased and demoralised as those classes are , under the present degrading system ; but our object is not to perpetuate immorality , by perpetuating its cause *; but , by the extension ot privilege , expansion of ideas , and development of the good , instead of the evil , propensitits of human nature , to enhance all in the bond of citizenship ; and then if men are branded with inferiority it will appear as the decree of nature » r self neglect , and not as the vice of misrule . How , again , is Household
Suffrage to cure the inconsistencies of Universal Suffrage , so fondly and pathetically complained of by the " touch-and-go" reformers of Leeds ? How is it to qualify persons of twenty years , eleven months , thirty days , twenty T tbree hours , fifty nine minutes , and fifty nine seconds old t How ia it to accomplish this , mare thaa Universal Suffrage ? In the one case , the person is within an instant of inheritance , while to the other no certainty is attached . Then the jargon of women and persons convicted of crime . Now , once for all , to silence this
childish folly . If Universal Suffrage do not go far enough , why do not the "household " gods take the lead , and make more plain in detail , and extensive in prinoiple , all that which appears cramped in the one , or uncertain or unsatisfactory , in the other , of the question of Universal Suffrage ? We assert that Household Suffrage would not only not enfranchise the working portion of the several classes ; but , that on the contrary , many of those who are now enfranchised would be disqualified , and thereby the power of oppression would be confined to the heads of classes , while every poor man , who now here and there possesses
the franchise , would be Mire to lose it It is not now worth the consideration of the masters , who are too strong in general representation to disturb the few operatives who are qualified ; but if the system was made so general that all should be enfranchised , or all disfranchised , in such case the few poor votara now passed ovir , would be swept away in tbe general flood . We have before asserted , that if class-legislation is to continue , the limitation would be more equitable if vested exclusively on the labouring classes , tban in all others unitedly , the labouring class being excluded . We assert this upon the principle , that
labour being the source of wealth , ths more it is encouraged the more it would yield ; , and none are so likely to protect and encourage it as those who are engaged in it , who understand it , and who would profit by it We contend further , that clasa-legislation being confined to a few , as at present , would , by the operation of Household Suffrage , be limited exclusively to the wealthy of each « lass , to the complete ousting of the working portion . We contend that the government of the many by the few must lead to monopoly , unjust restrictions , galling distinctions , and the manifest inferiority of those called the legitimate Bource of all power . We
contend , upon the other hand , that enfranchisement of the many must , as a natural inference , mean tie disfraqchiseinent of none who possess tbe same qualification upon which the honest right is based by the new standard , and therefore injustice can be done to no man : But , above all , we cantend that the enfranchisement of the many , in its very nature , backed by tbe prejudices , propensities , dispositions , and necessities of man , would defy monopoly , w « uld silence complaint , would smother jealousy , would render the laws of the majority restrictions upon the licentiousness of the few , instead of , as at present , fetters forged by the few for
the disgrace and bondage of tbe many . We further contend , that the distribution of wealth from its legitimate eource would be more justly administered to all classes necessary for the preservation of society , than it con , by possibility , be distributed by class-legislation , the producers alone belBg excluded . Tonity , ambition , prejudice , aud all the lusts of the flesh , added to national disposition , old customs , and necessity , would cause a wholesome distribution among all classes , if that distribution was left to the producers . We assert that the working people of all nations are the most
aristocratic portion of society . In some countries they worship talent ; in others , old blood ; in others , wealth ; in others , external pomp and show ; in others , heroism ; and in others , self-denial , frugality , oddity ; eccentricity ; and to none of these do we object , whether they be possessions , distinctions , or prejudices , if justly acquired , ox conscientiously entertained ; but we object to one and all when conferred for the purpose of upholding despotism , or assumed as a mask to cover unjust authority . The working people of England , if enriched by their own labour , would have their monarch , their rulers , their judges , their officers of militia and navy ,
their barristers , attorneys , bankers , merchants , landlords , capitalists , shopkeepers , physicians , parfior . s , schoolmasters , and trades of various description ? , as now . i Let it not therefore be supposed that Universal
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Suffrage means the reduction of the bigber or middle ManHfc ; no rocn thing , it means the taxation of all , oon ^ ensurate with the necessities of aU , instead of taxation of those alone who work , for the preatrraUon of tbjs idjte and luxurious few . We would hare a Monarchy but not an irresponsible tyrant or giddy fooL We would have noblemen , but not distinguished- by acts of folly , immorality , or tyranny . We wonidhave soldiers , bat not to fight against ourlrigQtfc We would Biifl ^ meaw the rM ^
have parsons , but not to starve our bodies for love of out souls . We would have judges , butnot tools of an Administration . We would have rulers , but not despots . We would have better law tban tbe common- — better occupation for youth than harrying on Old agebetter provision for manhood than either a gaol , a tread-mill , or expatriation in quest of what is denied at borne , and more consolation far . old age than toe tender mercies of a Poo ? Lsw Bastfle ;
Auster ity , and religious quackery and prieateraft , of all denominations , would throw off their » everal garbs of hypocrisy , which are now necessary to gull a livelihood out of people too long worked to think , and too muoh overpowered by tbe heavy blow of general misrule , to be alive to the more gentle , but not less expensive infliction , of sectional exaction . We want to see man as man was wont to be }—a living image of bis Creator instead of a moving skeleton , tottering between the charily of an employer and th « grave . We want to » ee out national institutions remodelled
and improved . We want to see the smile of joy replace the scowl of despair . Will Household Suffrage accomplish thete ends r Never ! Let it be borne in mind , that Household Suffrage , If carried out to the extant to which ita supporters would lead their dupesi ; to believe , weuld giva the poor man a great advantage over the wealthy . Thus , if hoi s a to live in , and hobsb to vote but of , meant one and the same thing , the poor man could enfranchise himself for £ 5 expended upon a hut , while the wealthy would expend from one thousand to one hundred thousand upon Itis qualification . Will the moat confiding of the " gesse" be-!
lieve that such a superiority is intended by the * foxes T * If he say " no , " then where begins the qualification ? Let none be led away by the captivating belief that every roof he sees would be as emblem of representation . Would not the unsophisticated believe that " leasehold" meant the possession of land under lease : snob , indeed , is the legal acceptation ; but qualification has gone beyond even that , and makes " leasehold " mean a tenure for not less than fourteen years 1 Would not all men suppose that ten pound household suffrage meant a license to vote out of a house worth tea pounds a year rent ? yet , have we not seen this simple question
dogged with residence , payment of rates , taxes , description of almost the very height of the walls , and the closest description of the lane , street , or alley , by which it is approached , its locality , and to forth , and then its enfranchisement , perhaps , subject to the whim of a convicted briber , or partisan revising barrister , mystified by Mr . this for the Liberals , and Mr . that for the Tories—removal of the former occupant , making it necessary for the new comer to pro ve that the edifice is not damaged in description by bis occupancy ! ? Let us have Household Suffrage;—and what proprietor will sell or let a foot of building ground whereon to rear
the peasantry qualification ? Let us have Household Suffrage ; and the uncertainty of tenure , productive of so muoh disturbance , heart-burnings , and murder in Ireland , will shortly produce similar results in this country . On the other hand , let us have Universal Suffrage , and the wealth , which is now confined to the pockets of a few , will be diffused and distributed among the many , and the taxes and burdens , kept up for the very purpose of protecting that unjustly acquired wealth , will be abolished . Let us have every man In a thousand , instead of one man ia a thousand , represented ; and then , instead of having nine hundred
and ninety-nine paupers , and one over-gorged plunderer , we shall have the thousand happy , oomfortatle , and contented , because represented , and , consequently , the moulders of their » wa fortune . Independently of the many reasons which we have assigned in detail against the description of Household Suffrage to which the higher classes would treat the people , wefcave to add the fatal and pernicious practice of retreating just as we are prepared to triumph . Of aU the disasters that can befall a people , that of surrendering a bold position , when once acquired , to a pompous , boasting , ex threatening enemy , is the greatest Never have the people of this country fought a single battle for themselves by themselves . Never before were they in
a position to do so , if we except 1832 . Let the disaster of that year be a warning now . Let them retreat , if they please , and become a laughing-stock to future generations ; WE WILL NOT . We have the approval of the proprietor of the Northern Star for every stop that we have taken ; he has told us that he would nt in gaol rather than retreat a hand ' s-breadth ; and heartily we thank him for the patriotic bunt of feeling ; we leave the people to deal with itwthey think it merits . The Northern Star has hitherto withstood , alike , open and avowed enemies , and pretended friends ; and in accordance with its former course , which we have steered from the commencement , we will perish ¦ yrlth the crew rather than abandon th « vessel . Gnw&nl w «
are prepared to go ; but backward we will not move an inch . If this article have run to a great length , let it be borne in mind that we supply but one joint , for frugal guests with hearty appetites , while it is the duty of the class-cooks to serve dainties for tbe pallid palates of the gorged . Let them confine themselves to the captivating stimulants of " What next ? " " When shall we dintV ' " Where shall toasup ? " "O dear , what shall become w V ?• O dear , what shall we dot' " The Church in danger . " " Reform the Lords . " "Education . " "Duty oftlie middle classes . " " Ignorance of the people , " and so forth . Ours it a joint that all may dine from ; ¦ The Prince , tbe Peasant , and the Peer ; and if they have appetite for justice and good digestion , they may make a hearty and profitable meal . We challenge the world to answer its . UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE AND NO SURRENDER ! ^ fc
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THE SUFFERING VICTIMS . We beg to direct the attention of onr readers most especially to advertisements elsewhere , having reference to Vincent and his Mother , and to Williams and Binns , also to a paragraph referring to O'Brien and his family . We have received a letter from a friend in London , who s % ys- - "Such is the state of affairs with the Vincent family that it has been found absolutely imperative on a few parties to rouse the public for a sub *
scription to keep him ia food , &c , now that he has permission to provide himself with it ; and also to aid his mother and family , who are literally destitute . " ThiB ought not to be ; and we are persuaded that now that the people know they jvill instantly remedy it . There are few men to whom the people owe more than to Henry Vincent ; and surely it is not needful to insist upon the claims of O'Brien .
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RATHER ODD . r Below we give tho Leeds Times and York Courant ' s account of the numbers who attended the Huddersfield demonstration , by which it will be been that there is only a trifling difference of 18 , 500 between these Whig worthies ; the 'Times , seeing but fifteen hundred , while the man of York saw twenty thousand ! Will this open the eyes of the blind , or take the stuffing out of the ears of the " deaf I Nothing has so much tended to give false hope to our enemies , as the falBe accounts given by Whig papers of popular demonstrations : — " The procession and crowd could not be less than fifteen hundred , and when they arrived in the spacious market-place , three rounds of cheering were given for the two heroes , and after them as many rounds of clapping of hands . " —Leeds Times .
" The out-townships poured in their thousands , and the Btreeta were literally crammed . The procession formed on the Leeds Boad , and proceeded into the town with six bands of music , twenty-seven . flags , banners , and emblems of the Charter . There must have been 20 , 000 persona on tbe place , for Kingstreet was quite full from top to bottom . —Tori Courant . . ' . '" .
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CHARTISM AND ITS POWERS . John Db Witt , tbe ablest Minister of the Dutch Republic , during its palmiest days , was ever governed by the maxim , " That no independent Government should yield to another any evident point of reason or equity ; and that all auoh concessions , so far from preventing war , served to no other purpose than to provoke fresh cla ' ms and insults . " It has ever been
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(tar «* fo ffildeIniliV ft ^ aojC ^ fl ^ : ^ ™* i ? j »? a «!! r ^^ S maintained and cftpncyjgaly yieJded ^ aolonly jb the cowardice , but the want of foresight , or mon honesty of the claimants . They mist either yield to the force of the assailants , or to the o « a victiori of their want of judgment , when tang that their pretensions were not founded in justy . but were the mere fruits of what they had retfe * to expect from a timid foe , Without any , calculation of the value of the demand , beyond the simple satfc ^^ ^^ r ^ of ^ SSSS ^
ftction of harfaiR extracted sbmeihfa ^ fwm » pga * . lanimous enemy . When Chartism Wm fa " ife infenty , and before it bad recelf < sd thai Tigour aod strength conferred npon it f > jr fair ^ * rgnnieat upon th « one , and endless persecution upon the , other hand , * the gurrender of its principles Mvaid han but subjected its few supporters to the ridicule aad contempt of fools , withont subjecting ' them , to th « charge of cowardice . They might have cov ? red their retreat under the not less dithonourabVsW picion of having knowingly propounded an un
tenable doctrine . Such , however , would not be tba mild result of our retreat from onr present position We should not only be charged with cowardice , bat with imbecility , folly , ignorance , duplicity , &q& dishonesty : charges which , when Bfl . cceesfuljy sue tained by a watchful and profligate press , would ia the language of D » Wrrr , provoke fresh daiing andJraultB . " No nation upon earth tunu 8 & ( & % parallel in it * history to the progress of Chirtiaia in Great Britain . Opposed by all the mflnenea and pewe * of the Court , tbe Senate , the prera , Hh » wealthy , the saint , the fanatic , and though last , not
least , the deserter , it nevertheless forces itself through chinka to the reluctant ear of themonarohit drives O'CoNirau , to the fastness of repeal , and obliges the vanquished army of Whiggery 16 bike Bheltenr ia the Tory eamp . Never was saying mow true than O'Cornok ' s observation , that the progress of Chartism will be seen more in the enemy ' s alarm , than in any duHngvishable superiority we can claim . Till we get power , we cannot show one single feature of oar model , while all are , neve ) , thelees , in preparation for moulding into the moat perfect figure of justice , ever presented to the human eye . " Chartism alone preserves peace oc
proclaims war . Chartism alone can sanction or destroy the existence of any Administration , be it Whig , Tory , or sham-Radical ; or , as is proposed by the remnant of each ensuing faction , as a M dernihe rtssort , " a mixture of all the elements of former str ife . Peel and Kblsoubioe , O'CoxNot and Wellington , Leopold and Victoria , Albem and the Baboness are all but so many feathers before the gale of discontent which now sweeps through the land . In vain does one silly portion of the mass attempt to direct public attea tion to the juggle of Repeal , another to alarm us with the certain chastisement which
perseverance is sure to bring upon as ; while thi " Fat Buck of Sheffield" ransacks the malt-house , the store-house , the custom-house , the gin shop and all the purlieus of taxation so far back at 1836 , to prove the present improved condition of the working classes . In vain does this worst of aQ scribblers waste ink , time , and paper to a vast amount in an attempt to disprove five lines of a letter of 0 'CoKnoa ' a to James Lbech , which , instead of shaking , he confirms . We give the text whioh Ward has taken from O'Connor ' s letter , and Ward ' s reply . O'Connob says : —
"I will keep hammering into the brains of tbe working people , th « fact , that while all other classes are increasing in wealth and luxury , as . if by magic , the labourers are moving backward ia both . That in the midst of the relief power for man , ; and- almost inconceivable inventions and improvmente , not one single particle of those advantages are applied for the benefit of the working people . This is my position . " In answer to this , Wabd sava : —
" Rich virtues and many charities adorn our manu facturers , and signalise many agricultural employers But it is not to be denied that hardness of heart and purblind selfishness are , at least , as rife ameng both—vices aa obnoxious to the interests of indmitryaa they an revolting to tba common Christianities of life ! Do o » t millowners abound who believe they have to do with humanity merely for its muscle * ? Good God s aw there not scores , employing thousands of human beings , who monopolise their lives , and regard them as brute
agents , whom it is their chief interest and duty to make mechanically bandy , and keep geing ; asiafarioz machines , requiring to wait on jennies and tend mules , and respecting whose minds , morals , social elevation , or debasement , the master manafaotun considers himself about as much concerned as if they were the mule themselves ? Such men exist ; and so long as undttot the exact reverse be not general , there can be neither peace between men and masters , nor foil fruition to capital and labour . "
So much for Mr , Ward ; and now having shown the position which Chartism haa acquired , let us turn to a consideration of the means by which onr advantages are to be still farther improved . For some time we have had an anxious and watchful eye cast towards our Northern brethren , and well pleased are we to say that , although their enthusiasm has not led them either to the prison or to the madhouse , yet has their national character for manly perseverance and boldness been well sustained all through the glorious struggle . They have strengthened the ground aa they advanced , and have never
lost an inch ; and while they may regret the rashness which subjected some of onr best men to incarceration , we fearlessly tell them that it has had the beneficial result of adding sympathy to their many other virtues ; for no oiroum 3 tance has gone further to arouse the Scotch spirit than those insults to which their English fellow-labourers have been unjustly subjected . Aye ! and however much we may regret the condition of pur friends , we assert that without some such martyrdom the cause most have temporarily slumbered . Some of those who have suffered long , and suffered eheerfully , ha ™ witnessed from their reception in England the cossoling truth that they have not suffered in vain-Oa Monday M'Dovall and Collins will
be in the working capital of Scotland ; and m learn from all quarters that the preparations to meet them far surpass any thing of a public demonstration ever witnessed ia Scotland We hare written this article to assure our Northern friends , that upon this display will much depend the settlement of the questions of war or peace , Whig or Tory , or Whig and Tory Administrations , and all other matters which , although the pride of office forbids confession , must , nevertheless , bend before the united voice of a nation . The working men of France , of Portugal , of Spain , yea , of the world , are beginning to think themselves tools in the hands of rogues . Prosperity or adversity mast be henceforth universal , not merely national ; and if they come with e ^ nal force on all , we can learn to receive the one with
becoming thankfulness , while , if general , we cat bear the other with philosophy . Heretofore , onr rulers have been too capricious in the adjudication of blanks and prizes , and although Dame Fortune is termed fickle , " we are now for » change willing to try one trick in her lottery . Let every man within fifty miles of Glasgow , then , rall y round the Btandard of the Charter , which is the staff of life . Let the enemies of cheap government learn from the lips of calculating . Northerns upon Mondayf thai at length a people have learned that g < M « government consists m good work and good p » y ~" obedience and protection—and equal rights for » U ; and that any other national calamity , should it oom »» will b
will be borne without a murmur , while they » longer bear that calamity which starve * nulUoBS jtn ** hoadredB may grow fat and live in idleness . Let *» principles ^ f Chartiam be that day proclaimed aloud , and let us hear no mention of either moral or pnyf » - cai force . The disputes upon these points are merely raised with the view of placing the enem' ^ ^ democracy »> positionto enable them * l : ** ° ™ to warp ihe course of public opinion , by ° * ing divisions where there exists no dfflerenea sentiment . We hate made arrangements to gr ^ full report © fthe whole proceedings , together the deliberations of the Delegates on the f ' £ rfi . next Maker , let th » Scotch return tno <»* £ ment shown to Ghartisia , by the good men oi *»
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 19, 1840, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2702/page/4/
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