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September 6, 1851. THE NORT HERN STAR.
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ABSOLUTISM IN GERMANY. Despotism is ramp...
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PRINCELY PRETESDEUS. Tho French peop le ...
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MONIES RECEIVED Fob xhb "Week Endixq Thd...
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His Emisbsck.—The Morning Advertiser say...
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THE " FAMILY. HERALD," AND"STRANGERS IN ...
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MR. HOLYOAKE AND " ONE OF THE PEOPLE." ....
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION UNITED TIUDES. T. S...
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WOLVERHAMPTON CONSPIRACY CASETHE DEFENCE...
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A Meeting of delegates from Trades Shops...
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EsTBAOHDisanr Escape—Chichesieb, Sept. 2...
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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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Winding Up Of The Land Company. On The 7...
P ~ f 5 at , in many instances , the names of rt , e shareholders who had signed in favour of { he appointment of Mr . Aisgeb , were written - n the same hand ; and he therefore postponed Se appointment until Tuesday fortnight , in order to g ive the solicitor an opportunity of riving a satisfactory explanation of this occurrence . This delay ia to he regretted , as nothing can be done until the manager is appointed . We are informed that it has been caused by secretaries of branches improperly signing for members ; and the affidavits of the parties will he requited to prove that they gave
? heir assent to such signature . "We delayed the publication of this article until this week , in the hope that we should have been able to announce the appointment of a manager , and the actual commencement of the operations We have described ; and we deeply regret that gnch an occurrence should have caused , not only loss of time , but considerable additional expense , which will , no doubt , ultimately coine out of the pockets of the shareholders , jt is most important , in future , that strict attenti on should he paid by tho shareholders to all the legal forms requisite to give validity to
their acts . "We shall watch carefully the progress of the Winding-up , aud from time to time report progress , fur the information and benefit of the large body of shareholders who are interested iu the Company .
September 6, 1851. The Nort Hern Star.
September 6 , 1851 . THE NORT HERN STAR .
Absolutism In Germany. Despotism Is Ramp...
ABSOLUTISM IN GERMANY . Despotism is rampant on the Continent . Every vestige of Constitutional Government is destroyed by the tyrants who in 1848 sirore fealty to the institutions proffered for their acceptance by too generous and confiding peoples . In Austria au autocracy has been openly and audaciously proclaimed . The Young Emperor is resolved to xival his friend and backer , the Czar . Henceforward , tbe Government of tbe territories under his control depends solely on his own will . His decree is to be final , his will unquestioned , and supreme . The idea of the people having any rig ht or voice in the matter beyond obedience , is not to be countenanced in tbe slightest
decree . This authorised and p eremptory re-establishment of unblushing and insolent Absolutism is not confined to Austria . Tbe King of Prussia has also shown an uumistakeable determination to reign by ' right divine , ' to allow of no participation of power with Parliaments—even though they be sham ones—and to be free from even the shadowy control of institutions , which possessing no real controlling power , yet embody the idea of popular and constitutional participation in legislation and administration . This thrice perjured
and blood-stained traitor to bis people has openly proclaimed his determination to substitute his own will for the institutions he swore BO lately to uphold . As a corollary to this determination he has suppressed the Press . A ! Free Press and tyranny are incompatible ; and Frederick William , however he may be accused of vacillation In other matters , "has tho true tyrant ' s fear and hatred of the power which , in the long run , must destroy all tyrannies , whether large or small . Even the ' moderate respectable' guarded and rigorously respectful journals , are put down with
the strong band , and at tbe mere command of a man who , notlong ago was held up by the liberal middle classpapersin this country as the leader of tbe Constitutional Movement in Germany , in opposition to the Absolutism of Austria . Tbe rulers of the smaller German States are following the example of their 'betters . ' In Saxony , Bavaria , and even "Wirtemberg , in spite of the numerous declarations cf the Monarch of that Kingdom in favour of Constitutional Government and liberal principles , the Constitutions are virtually abolished . The same may be said of the two Mecklenburghs and other minor states ; and this crusade against every relic of popular Government , which may still exist in
Germany , is about to be consummated by a meeting of the Germanic Diet at Ischl , at which the treaty of Vienna will be declared restored in all its amplitude ; and in conformity with the .-57 th article ef that treaty it will be announced that the entire governing power ofthe whole German States is united in the person of the Sovereign ; and that all the clauses of the local constitutions in opposition to this fundamental principle of Absolutism must be abolished . It is curious , that iu this haug hty and sweeping onslaught of despotism , people ' s cyeeshouldbc turned toour old bigoted Tory , the Duke of Cumberland , as the only man who has shown any inclination to carrv on his Government with some
admixture of the popular element . The King of Haxoyek absolutel y becomes white , in comparison with the raven blackness of his loyal confreres ; and a man whose name in this country was synonymous with that all was hateful and intolerant , is positively looked up to as the representative of the opposing principle of local Constitutional Government . Thiuk of that , and imagine what the others must be , if you can !
It is impossible to learn from the German papers the feeling produced by this infamous conduct ofthe Sovereigns , whom the clemency of their subjects preserved from merited extermination in the great revolutionary movements of 1848 and ' 49 . At present there is not a single , journal in Geiv many that dares to speak the truth . They are afraid even to quote any liberal strictures on the policy and proceedings of their tyrants from English newspapers , and these
latter are almost practically prohibited by an enormouslv high postage being charged upon them . But private letters state—as might be expected — that not ouly at Vienna , but throughout Austria , tho formal abolition of the Constitution by the Emteuou has created great and gpneral discontent . The tyrants and their tools will bind the cord so tight , that it will snap . The very extremity of the re-action will produce a revolution , more sweeping in its operation than the last ..
It might have been imagined that the experience of the last thirty years would have been enough to have taught tho Absolutists and Reactionaries , the foll y of attempting to maintain a land of rale which no longer possesses the confidence or respect of the people , but instead of that its distrust and hatred , and which must , therefore , inevitably break down before the national will . The Tory attempt to prop it up by bayonets and cannon can only—in the long run—tend more certainly to its destruction . Instead of looking around them with the view of adapting institutions to the actual state of the facts , the i ntelligence , and the wishes of the people , Old
Absolutism , with all its wealth , rank , influence , and power , commanding as it does the assistance of most of the practised and rained intellects of Europe , is engaged in the fa 0 e , ignorant , and short-sig hted endeavour to maintain in Europe the Government of the Middle Ages , in the nineteenth century . But the vital power has long since departed from it . It may be galvanised into an appearance of life , but it is only a sham after all . Its armies and edicts , . titles , rank , and wealth , are bat the trapp ings of a fnueral . Young and strong , and growing Democracy is the great fact of our age , and will triumph as certainly as the sun dispels the darknesg of night . The day is coming !
Princely Pretesdeus. Tho French Peop Le ...
PRINCELY PRETESDEUS . Tho French peop le will evidently be in no want of candidates for their ' sweet voices ' at the next Presidential election . Whatever doubts may previously have existed as to tbe possibility of a son of Louis Philippe's aspiring to be the head of a republic which
Princely Pretesdeus. Tho French Peop Le ...
drove his father from a throne into exile and obscurity , there can be now none The ' Times' contains an eloborate account of an interview atClaremont , inspired , if not drawn up , by the hand of Gdizot , which places the fact beyond dispute , and which at the same time daguerreotypes the Orleans family iu a very accurate , but by no means flattering manner . Never was so much selfishness and meanness mixed with much Jesuitry and irresolution . By the mouth of the Due de Nehoobs the Orlean ' s family say they will neither sanction nor disavow any pretensions or promises put forth in their name . They will take all chances and run none . - They will , if they can , foist one of the children of a dethroned monarch into the President ' s
chair , for the avowed purpose of perjuring himself and . converting it into a throne again as speedily as possible . Their means of success are hypocrisy , dissimulation , and underhand manoevures ; their object , the violation of the oaths which they deliberately and solemnly swear to keep , for the purpose of rehabilitating an effete monarchy in theTuilleries . Now , we do not know exactly what are presumed to be the proper qualifications of preaidents or kings , nor tbe ideas which ' royal princes themselves entertain as to what
becomes their character and station . Certainly , however , honourable straightforward truthfulness and sincerity are not among the number of their virtues . To be a prince and aspire to wear a crown , it ia by no means necessary to he either an honest man or a gentleman ia the best sense of that term . They resort to the meatiest of intrigues—habitually indulge in systematic falsehoods—and , in short , have recourse to all the dirty and unscrupulous actions of swindlers and reckless adventurers . If the Prince de JoiKYlLLE
could by any possibility hoodwink the Preach people into electing him as President of the Republic , we should have no respect whatever for a nation that could evince so lamentable a deficiency of common sense and common honesty , But ^ Ye do not for one moment believe that he will succeed iu doing so , and instead of aiming at a throne , by means of lying trickery and perjury , he and all other p rinces had better betake themselves , in the first place , to the task of learning how to act as upright and honest citizens . They may depend upon it the world was made for other purposes than to he the victim of royal thimble-riggers , or the dupes of monarchical humbug .
The other Prince , now in possession of the Presidential Chairywho seeks to be re-elected in defiance of the Constitution at the expiration of his present term of office , is equally dynastic in his aspirations—equally selfuh in his motives , and equally dishonest in the methods to which he haa recourse for the purpose of'obtaining his object . During his Presidency he has participated in every one of the tyrannical , unconstitutional , and disgraceful acts of a domineering and unprinci p led majority in the Assembly . Above all , for the sake of a few thousands of paltry francs , to meet the necessities entailed upon tim by apeing regal state as the President of a Republic , he sold the suffrages of millions of Frenchmen who had voted for his own
election . Has he strengthened his position with the contending sections of the reactionary parties thereby ? Not a whit of it . He feels this now when it is too late . He has com mitted the treason , but missed the reward for which he became a traitor . ' Too late' were the words which annihilated the dynasty of Louis Philippe . In now proposing that the law of May shall , be repea , ed , Louis Napoleon will also find it is 'too late . ' As far as he is individually concerned , all the mischief he can do has been done , and nothing can ever re-instate him in the confidence of any enlightened or honest section of the people of France .
It is , however , not a badly conceived move ment . If anything could possibly give him a chance of securing the prolongation of p ower he so ardently labours for , it would be the proposal by his Ministry of the restoration to every citizen , twenty-one years of age , of his right to vote at all elections , whether Parliamentary or Presidential . Through the medium of the ' Constitutional / the Pbesident declares that it will be his oounden duty to cause the repeal of the law of the 31 st of May ae soon as they reassemble—that time presses , and that this , more than any other ,
is an urgent expedient ; He says , farther , that this law , | instead of being a rampart , has been found to b 3 a breach through which the frantic mob will rush to invade society . Now , the use of such te ^ ms proves conclusively that it is as an electioneering trick , and not from any sincere or decided conviction that it is right or just , that we must look at this proposal . It is , to use his own term , simply an 1 expedient , ' by which he hopes to create a temporary popularity . But , wore he reelected , and all other barriers to bis resumption of power removed , what guarantee have
the people of France that he would not again betrayand desert them as he has done already ? The best proof that can be given of his rooted hostility to anything really republican , is the treatment of republicans , and his infamous and unscrupulous crusade against the press . The slightest indication of republicanism in the actions or words of any official is certain to be followed by dismissal and disgrace . The cry of Vive la Republique' under a Republican President and institutions , is a
political crime punishable by instant arrest and imprisonment . The dungeons are crowded with political prisoners , and with editors of newspapers . The ordinary tribunals are superseded by courts-martial , and sincere republicans are arrangied before such drum head judges , charged with conspiracies evidently concocted by police spies , found guilty , and condemned to expiate the crime of political honesty in the penal settlements and dungeons of the Republic , whose maintenance and defence is the sole object of their lives .
While such is the daily policy of Lows Napoleon—while he thus bunts down the press , and persecutes and oppresses every honest republican let him not'lay the flattering unction to his soul , that this clumsy elee » tioneering trick will receive a single man in France . We should imagine that the people of hat country have had enough of him and of other dynastic pretenders , to be vtuy heartily disposed to act on the scriptural injunction : 'Put not your trust in princes . '
If , to suit his own selfish ends , Louis Napoleon does procure the repeal of the law of May , we trust the power restored to the people will be used to establish a veritable Republique Democraliqae et sociale .
Monies Received Fob Xhb "Week Endixq Thd...
MONIES RECEIVED Fob xhb "Week Endixq Thdbsdav , September 4 xu , 1851 . NATIONAL CHARTER FUND . Received by Jobs Absott . —Hoiton locality , per C . F . Nichols 7 s 2 d—A Republican Is—Torquay , per W . Tope 5 s 4 d—Worcester , per W . Harding Cs 8 d—North Shields , per T . Thompson 2 s 6 d—Bolton , per J . Leadbeater , lOsSd—Collected at the Hall , Pinsuury is 816 . —Total £ 118 s O ^ d . TRACT FUND . Received by John Abkott . —Torquay , per W . Tope 2 s . FOR THE HUNGARIAN AND POLISH REFUGEES . Received by W . Ribeb . —Bristol , per W . Sheeban 5 s , FOR THE WOLVERHAMPTON VICTIMS . Receired by W . Rides . —C . Seagrave , Farnham Is .
His Emisbsck.—The Morning Advertiser Say...
His Emisbsck . —The Morning Advertiser says , that when Dr . Wiseman dines out he appears in liis cliureu dress—a thing never done even in Rome ; and on passing to the dining-room is preceded by II Searle , bearing two tapers on a velvet cushion , on which is the Cardinal ' s hat . Dos ilioVEL . —A legitimist correspondent from Germany states that Don Miguel ( whom he calls Kine Don Miguel ) is about to marry the Princess de Lowenstem-Rosenberg , a relative of Prince Scbwarzeaberg , who , although not appertaining to a royal house , is still of the very highest nobility .
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The " Family. Herald," And"Strangers In ...
THE " FAMILY . HERALD , " AND"STRANGERS IN LONDON . "
Esau , despised his birthright . TO THS EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Mr . Editor , —In that widely-spread and useful periodical called the Family Herald , wo find , on the 23 rd August , a leading article , entitled , " Strangers in London , " the concluding paragraph of which runs thus : — Afterall , our visitors are children , and we ourselves are nothing more . It is to be hoped that we may mutually receive some useful lessons from one another ;_ but we rather suspect that the best features of all nations combined into one composite nation , would not produce a model for posterity to folW . There is some radical defect in all nations which affects the manners and customs , the laws and the faith , the philosophy and the literature which is cultivated amongst them ; and that radical defect must be first cuw « l before either imitation or emulation produce tbe eff-ct that is expected from them .
Indeed , very few people seem at all disposed to imitate tbeir neighbours , but are rather willing to re-produce their ovf n vicious peculiarities than imitate others which their taste or their judgment condemns . ' The Editor of the Family Herald is doubtless a man of more genius and talont than is often to be met with in these degenerate days . He has said and written a vast number of good and wise things in hia time ; but like the great majority of our ' public instructors , he is more au fait in pulling down and unsetling the old errors and practices of society than in putting us into the way of getting into a better condition , of life . For example , nothing can interest us more than how to arrive at a right conclusion as to what the " radical defect , " of which he speaks , really is , and how it is to be eradicated ; but not one word of enlightenment on these points does he give us . Yet the solutiin of the great problem he enunciates—embracing as it does the whole field of human effort—is the most
important desideratum of society . It may not therefore , I trust , be altogether useless to ' your readers to offer a few speculations and remarks on the subject . The paragraph quoted commences by asserting that " all our visitors are children , " and that ' . ' WD Ourselves are nothing more ;"—in other words , that the universal man is yet in his infancy ; a proposition with which I full y agree , albeit , the truth of it will be disputed by many , especially by those who are perpetually deluding themselves and others by that specious word , " progress , " " A child is known by his doings , " says Solomon , " whether his work be pure , and whether it be right ; " and , judged" by this text , who will pronounce that the man-child of Humanity has yet put away childish things , or that any real change tU \ 8 taken place in his principles of action since the days of Adam down to the present time ? Humanity has yet given no proof of maturity or manhood reason has never yet governed the world .
That a" radical defect does exut in tbe religious , moral , social , and political arrangements of our own country , is evident from the fact that no possible improvement in the mere name and form of ally of these departments of society , while their existing spirit and principle remain too same , could satisfy a firm believer iu the inherent dignity of human nature , and of its almost infinite improvement under the instrumentality of that divino reason with which man has been endowed by his Creator . And what , sir , is this radical defect which still keeps mankind in a state of childhood , and prevents any one nation on the face of the earth from rising up into the dignified stature and condition of manhood ' To find , a single isovd embodying a generalization capable of giving a comprehensive reply to a question so vast , may appear impossible , yet wo think it can be done—it is SLAVERY !
Slavery } In that single word what a multitude of the elements of evil are condensed ! Where would be an end to the analysis?—tyranny , cruelty , fear , hopelessness , despair , vice , crime , misery , seif-dishouour , blasphemy , lying , war , rapine , murder , poverty , riches , luxury , disease ; physical , moral , and intellectual deterioration ; and a thousand other secondary causes destructive of human happiness and improvement , are comprehended in that one fatal term ! Yet—since mankind commenced their career on earth , slavery has been rampant . It is prefigured in the sacred allegory of the fall of man . Our first parents ate of the forbidden fruit in slavish subjection to physical instincts ; and the reflecting Esaus of post-diluvian society—not looking to future
consequences , but clutching at present and : ; fleeting good , have basely sold their birthrights as free-born sons of God for mere messes of pottage ; while the calculating Jacobs have as basely taken advantage of the necessities , the ignorance , or the weakness of their fellows to bind them in the chains of slavery . As in the physical so in the moral world—men reap what they sow . Effects follow causes with as much certainty in moral as in physical life ; and it is equally true in both spheres , that every effect is in proportion to its cause . Our progenitors sowed slavery broadcast in society , and tyranny sprung up . The human race increase and multi p ly , and yet the harmonic law of liberty isstill undiscovered or ignored ; and slavery , more or less modified and disguised , exists in every department of society , in every country on the face of tho earth .
This radical defect bas engendered a demoralising system of caste in social life destructive of all that is great or dignified in the human character ; making one class cringing and servile ; another , haughty and supercilious ; and separating every class by opposing interests and contrarious sympathies . These distinctions are perpetrated from mercenary motives . A vicious Grundyism , in which no man dare stand upon his own individuality prevails , and in which non-conformity to a stupid and galling routine , or a frivolous fashion , may subject the non-conforming party to social martyrdom , or pecuniary sacrifices . Might usurps right ; and then makes laws to perpetrate the wrong under the false decision of justice , whom he has cunningly blindfolded for the occasion . Fear governs everywhere instead of love . One religious faith ia based on a slavish fear of a presumed implacable Deity ;
a [ never-ending hell ; and an almost omnipotent Devil . Even that boasted " order , " to which we point as a proof of our advancement in civilisation , has its origin in fear and slavery . Ignorance of social rights , and the pressure or the fear of want , make wages-slaves of tbe vulgar herd of our people ; and furnishes our government with hired soldiers and police , who foolishly protect their own oppressors in usurped and unjust privileges , forgetting that they themselves have human rights equally valid with their masters . The same diabolical agency supplies our capitalists , our merchants , OUT manufacturers , and our shopkeepers , with willing and docile labourers , who stupidly congratulate themselves in being allowed to wear out their lives in unremitting toil , alike destructive of health , virtue , and happiness , and often for pittances barely sufficient to maintain a wretched existence .
A nation is made up of individuals ; if the individuals are children , the nation cannot havo arrived at maturity ; if the individuals are slaves , the nation cannot be free . And before we can have any correct opinion ws to -start , a iree nation ought to be , we must define an ideal of a free man ; for although the realisable actuality may ever fall short of the ideal , it is better to set up a high standard of excellence whenever we desire to approximate to perfection . Our own beau-ideal of a free man , is a man whose sense of the dignity of his nature , as a sou of the living God , is so keen that , as far as his own existence is concerned , he would suffer death rather
than give up his body or his mind to the direction and control of another ; and who would feel equally disgraced aud dishonest in his own conscience , were he to attempt to control any of his fellows against their will , and in opposition to tuoac universal and natural rights an equal share in which he claimed for himself . Estimating liberty as the highest blessing of life , he would scorn to rob a fellow creature of it . Liberty and honour ( that honour which springs from a pure sense of duty , and not from a fear of the world ' s loud laugh ) are the idols of his heart ; and to preserve them untarnished and intact he would sacrifice every other good .
But there have been few such temperaments existing in the world . The massof mankind are mere shams—children assuming tho characteristics of men , who have no knowledge of real liberty , or any appreciation of those inalienable social and political rights which belong to them as human beings . Yet , umil every institution of society shall be reorganised , with the sole view not only of cultivating the appreciation of the love of liberty , but to ensure to every individual the power to be free , humanity cannot be said to have entered upon the first year of its majority . And where , in this fifty-ninth century of the history of man , are to be found the propounded and teachers of these glorious principles of liberty Are tbey to be found among our literati , our newswiiters , our reviewers , our novelists , our p hilosophers , our-historians , our poets ? Shall we meet
with them among our political economists , out statesmen , our legislators ? Do they rank among our reformers , our demagogues , our systemmongers ? Do we see them among our moralists , our philanthropists , our clergy ? Alas I all is barren rf > r if a few indications of such teachers do appear , their existence is not recognised by the majority of their class , aud their power is feeble against tho swelling tide of venality , prejudice , error , and folly which opposes them . Our newspaper press is almost exclusively under the domination of upper or middle class interests , and , with rare exception ? , instead of teaching true social and political rights and liberties to the people , is daily engaged in the dastardly work of rendering those rights and liberties not only more difficult of realization , but even of recognition by the masses . I ' . irty squabbles , personal invectives , inano diatribes , and vague ge-
The " Family. Herald," And"Strangers In ...
SSSffti oanatonaland international politics , are its staple productions . Our reviewers are no KLa ^ ? - l e'jlnd anti ( l ue learning , dilettanhe riX o t h ? 08 sip , ' fil 1 their ™ ° «> whero but & , l } he - T versal man arc never mooted but to be denied , abused , or defamed Our dfe s ' mSf m ™}? *<* ond-h * nd fluSfand la ' X ? 3 ? footing sentimental tales of scandal r Sens nV a T , , " ? ^ ' or if P ercl , ance house or % t f a ., Je , rrold descends into the workn ««« fJrt St , * K ' their P'ct « "s serve only to vi . eSmiL truly human ° with the details of the IZJ £ » mBV conse 9 . » ent « pon poverty and opment for the idle and the careless , but not to point l ^^ L ^ 80 f the evils the y pourtray , or devise remedies . The poor are da . ruari-Ar . tvnA , »„ J „ i „ . _
? £ . wft n * - Ma 3 ? B » 8 ; and the ' horrors of S hi nn . n ? 1 , 0 U 8 e 3 are P arad « d before us by our Osbornes ; but the real origin of nrliil / 1 " 8 OTCS of our social system are S , « T * - d ° r passed over- So f » niiliar with Jw ? £ ? mwery i d 0 , thc pe ° P le at leD S th become that they cease to be affected bv the recital , and arc connrmed in that blasphemous fallacy , so current among the rich and well-to-do in the world ; and which was recently sanctioned by thatdeluder and deluded , Sir Eobert Peel , that such evils are the unavoidable attendants upon a "high state of civilisation ]* Our philosophers and our men of science are immersed in a soul-killing materialism . Our historians garble the truth ; give us dry and barren facts ; or vapid lucubrations on this or that piece Ot diplomatic triekerv . norformed for the
benefit of the upper and middle glasses , ignoring tlie people altogether . Our poets distil little else but namby-pambyism . Our statesmen are far more anxious to preserve their own personal influences than to improve humanity . Our legislators are confessedl y bought and sold . Our political economists are occupied in theoriesfor cheapening labour in our own country , or to undermine the interests of the labourer in other countries , to the enrichment of that unholy race of blood-suckers—merchants , traders , and speculators . Our pseudo-reformers are merely agitating for class privileges ; our demagogues are mere declaimers ; and our system-mongersaremereenthusiastsand Don Quixotes . Ourmoraiists deluge us with common-place twaddle upon temperance and self-denial among the poor , by which , of course , more of the good tilings of this life would remain for the rich to consume in
ungodly luxury . Our philanthropists are busy with schemes for expatriating the poor from the laud of their birth to make them tho slaves of capitalists in the Colonies ; in promoting savings banks ( as if usury could permanently benefit society ); and in other equally temporary and futile expedients ; treating the pool 1 always as poor , and never as beings of the same common nature as themselves . Our clergy are "dumb dogs , " which " cannot bark "" greedy dogs which can never have enough "" shepherds that cannot understand "—perpetually " vexing themselves with vain and unprofitable questions ; " and turning the beautiful religion of the Gospel into a heartless thing of literature , rites , and ceremonies ; giving tbo people a stone when they ask for tho bread of life ; and evincing , by their cowardly conformity to worldly anomalies that they are far more the slaves and tools of landlords and moneylords than the servants of him whom they profess to call their master .
But , happily for ua , so wisely are the laws of nature constituted b y their omnipotent author , that all things work together ultimately for g « od , and social , and political evil , by the pains and penalties it inflicts upon society , will at length force mankind into a system , of life which shall ho in unison with the natural harmonic law of truth and justice . In continental Europe many signs of emergence from adolescence are evident . What glorious defenders and missionaries of liberty has Trance and Italy produced within these few years ! All honour and praise to those noble spirits who have fought , suffered , and died in endeavouring to emancipate mankind from the powers of tyranny and despotism ! And shame to us , who have done
so little in aid of their sublime efforts ! And yet in England , besotted and begrimed as she is by mammon-worship , animalism , and hereditary privileges , the mass of tho people begin to see that all the brilliant discoveries and applications of science principally benefit the upper and middle classts , and render manual labour less needed , without giving them any compensation for the loss they thereby sustain . They see that society is separated , almost literally , into producers and consumers , they themselves being allowed to fare worse , the more wealth they create , because the more wealth there is produced under the present system , the more abundant do the idle locusts and drones of society become . They begjn to perceive , too , that no
reform which will not give ttem propertyexa . beany reform to them ; and , not content with the bare enunciation of the rights of man , they have the hardihood to demand a legislation by which those rights shall be secured and preserved to them and their children for ever . Another cheering symptom of real progress in England is the increasing distaste' which is shown for the atheistical principles , and the enhanced importance attached to the Holy Scriptures , whose authority has been so wonderfully , we might say miraculously , preserved amid all tho changes which human affairs have undergone , —The Bible
Oh , when the people know how fully to value and ufe the authority which that extraordinary book ? iyes them , how will they priz ? it ? and how quickly will the devil of old society be transformed into an angel of light ?— "What firmer basis for all the virtues that can elevate , improve , and mature humanity can be found than is furnished by tho Bible ? a basis ever widening with increasing knowledge , and at all times serving to sustain such opinions and ideas of truth , justice , and liberty , as man at any period of his history can a ppreciate and act up to . Where can we find more expressive warnings against the insiduous inroads of tyranny than our Bible gives us ? It is the best text book for all
reformersreligious , moral , social , political , governmentaland all its texts are illustrated by the most forcible examples . A celebrated French democrat has said , " Governments are the scourges of God to discipline the world . " Read the eighth chapter of the first book of Samuel for an illustration . A more celebrated English reformer tells us that the land of a country belongs in right and justice to the whole people of that country existing and to come , and is not an article for individuals to monopolise , any more than is light , air , or water . " The earth is the Lord's , " says the Bible ; and cannot be sold in perpetuity . Our political economists and statesmen are engaged in what they call the difficult subject , of adjusting the
relative claims of capital and labour : our Bible makes no difficulty about it , but tells us that the labourer ought to be the first to partake of the fruits of labour . By usury and profitism , the ill-favoured offspring of a scarce , gold money , the labourer is robbed of four-fifths of his earnings ; and a large portion of the community are thereby enabled to live in comparative idleness , and fare sumptuously every day , in direct opposition to that wholesome doctrine of Scripture , which says , if a man will not work , neither should he eat . All the ordinances of the Gospel are framed upon the natural equality of mankind , and in reference to their inherent dignity as the " sons of God . " "Be ye not called masters , " said Christ : "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant . " And further : — «• If ye continue in my word , then are ye my disciples indeed ; and ye shall know the truth , and the truth shall make you free . " Here-then we take our stand : the truth shall male
us free ! And how rapturously will the people embrace Truth , whenever she shall be presented to them in all radiant beauty and loveliness ! The knowledge of truth alone can cure theradical defect of slavery which now poisons and deforms the whole of society . At our creation God willed that we should be freemen —( any other theory dishonours Deity and degrades humanity ) . He endowed us with the faculty of reason by which the truth is discoverable ; and wo have no cause to complain of being left to work out our own salvation—even though it may be in fear and trembling—when we know and feel that in His wisdom and beneficence God has so organised us , that we derive our most exalted pleasures from the destruction of evil by our own efforts . Thus evil has been mude to provide its own cure ; and in the eternal course of being to which Humanity is destined , we shall doubtless be compensated for all the sufferings we endure in our unavoidable conflict with it .
Let us hope on , then—hope ever for Humanity . The reign of true liberty , equality , and fraternity , is not far distant—a liberty circumscribed only by the law of justice to " all ; an equality in every natural and inalienable right and privilege—and a fraternity based on the everlasting reciprocity of duties and interests . L'Ami de ia Liberie . London . 1 st Sen .. 1851 .
Mr. Holyoake And " One Of The People." ....
MR . HOLYOAKE AND " ONE OF THE PEOPLE . " . TO THE KBIIOB OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Mr . Editor , —Allow mo to state my opinion of G . J . Holyoake ' s lecture entitled " Catholicism , tlio type ot all tie churches around as , " in answer to "One Of the People , " in tho Northern Star , of tho 30 th ult . Having heard the lecture on three several occasions , and seen it in M . S ., I asecrt with confidence that it contained not one passage which could be tortured into a support of the reflections made by your correspondent . " One of the People" attempts to impress tho working classes with the notion that Mr . Holyoake goes about the country in his capacity of lecturer , as the " apologist of Papal tyranny , " as tlie " tool of Austria or the Jesuits , " onlv " that " he is not worth their purchase . " " One of the People" cites the title
Mr. Holyoake And " One Of The People." ....
ofthe lectureinquestion to sustainhisattempt , leaving the lecture itself untouched . Tho lecture has been delivered to audiences in London , and several large towns and cities ; discussed on platforms , reported and commented on by provincial newspapers , and it had been well if your correspondent ' s depreciating commentary had been accompanied with a few extracts . In the lecture referred to Mr . Holyoake described " Catholicism as the unresting opponent of free thought and progress ; and urged that as Catholicism is based on the authority of names in opposition to reason , it was quite impossible for progressionists to hold terms with it—they being diametrically opposed to its principles . "
These are sentiments " not worth the purchase of Austria , " certainly . The lecturer described the professors of Catholicism as striving to maintain , at all hazirds . au infallible authority over affairs both temporal and spiritual , and as em ploy ing three agents to ensure their primary object—viz ., Terror , Inquisition , and Persecution . An exposition of this kind is not likely to bo paid for very liberally by ihe Jesuits , " One of the People" may rest assured . Mr .-Holyoake said he would exempt from all persecution thoso entertaining the doctrines of the Church of Rome , but recommended that every fair and argumentative means should be taken to counteract the tendency of those doctrines , which he said were " pernicious and dangerous , and
calculated to create distrust and alarm . " Can it be , that ' One of the People" confined his attentions to the mere title of the lecture , as ho terms these wise cautions to the friend of progress " a cluinsv apology for Papal tyranny . " Some few months' since Mr . Holyoake nuMslied UlS examination of Pather Pinamonto ' s horrible worh , entitled «• Hell opened to Christians , " which had the eflect of suppressing the publicity-if not the sale—of that work in London . Surely " One of the People " must have led a life of solitude , or he might ( and it is not expecting too much of one who advises the people ) , havo learned something of Mr . Holyoake ' s views , before he entered on their total condemnation .
Ml ' . Uolyoako invites discussion after each lecture he delivers . He has done so after delivering tlie lecture , " Catholicism tlie Type of the Churches around us , " and has usually found his chief opponents in members of the Roman Catholic Church , who certainly did not mistake the lecturer for an ally , but as one opposed to them , and exerted themselves to destroy the influence be had created against their religion . - My conclusion sir , is , that any claims Mr . Holyoake has to be considered a Democrat are assuredly not invalidated by the lecture questioned by " One of the People . " Yours respectfully , CniilSTOPlIEB .
National Association United Tiudes. T. S...
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION UNITED TIUDES . T . S . Duncokbe , Esq ., M . P . President , Established 1845 . " FIAT JUSTITU . " " If it were possible for the working classes , by combining among themselves , to vaise , w keep up the gcaeral rate of wages , it need hardl y be said that this would be a thing not to be punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . " Siuart Mm , Wo have great pleasure in being abb to publish the manl y sentiments ofthe President in this week ' s Star , also an able article from the Wolverhampton Herald , founded upon the letter of Mr . Buncombe , "where it will besoGii , that notwithstanding the foul and indecent attack of the Daily News , and their golden
friend Mr . Perry , they have not been able to change the atmosphere of public opinion in Wolverhampton itself . The inhabitants of that town still obstinatel y believe , that when Mr . Perry swore he was deceiving his townsmen hia workmen , the delegates , the manufacturers , and his own father , that he was telling the truth . Thoy seem to believe that he is not only capable of acting Iago , but he is Iago himself . That he did deceive , no one will attempt to gainsay—that he did swear falsely we will leave a jury to decide—that he has done all he can to imprison , to impoverish , and to abridge tlie rights and privileges of the labouring population , no one will attempt to deny .
With these few observations we will take the liberty of appending an able article , from the pen of the Editor of the Wolverhampton Herald , of Sept . 3 rd . - . — THE CASE OFPERR 7 i / eK « sTIIE TIN-PLATE
WORKERS . The Daily News has published an article on this subject , in which it places Mr . Perry in a very exalted position , as " having given a check to a huge unlawful combination , ruling tyrannically over the interests of manufacturers , an organisation which substantially amounted to a trade in strikes . " We shall give no opinion as to the correctness of this description of tho Trades'Association , but we will observe that we believe the labouring classes have a perfect right to associate for the protection of labour , and to lawfully combine , in connexion with others , for an improvement of their social condition . What ever the Daily News may think of the association , it is quite evident that the president , Mr . Buncombe , M . P ., has full confidence in its principles , and desires to extend its operations , believing that they will prove of immense advantage to the labouring population of this country . It is possible that , in the
above case , the association may have made a faux pas , but if its principles are grounded on right and justice , this may be considered rather an error of those connected with it , than of the association itself . A man with the soundest heart may have but an indifferent judgment , and des pite his moral principles , may run into excesses ; and so an " association , based on sound principles , may from the erroneous judgment , unsound policy , or misconduct of its officers or members , be brought into discredit without any fault of it ' s own . But . we are not about to defend the Trades' Association ; our object is simply to deal with the case before us . Of the merits of the question at issue between Mr . Perry » nd the Tin-plate Workers , we have already given an opinion ; we think that Mr . Perry grossly deceived and tampered with his men , and that there is in that circumstance some extenuation for the
illegal proceedings which were proved against the Tin-plate Workers . In lauding tho courage and determination of Mr . Perry , and in giving a brief history of the conspiracy , the Daily Neivs and some other worthy contemporaries pass over tho extraordinary and long continued deception practised by the prosecutor upon his workmen and the delegates ef the association , and condemn the unfortunate workmen in toto . Now , we do think that there are some extenuating circumstances in the case , and
while so plentifully bepraising the employer and prosecutor , our- contemporaries might have extended a little sympathy to the workmen and prisoners , and " nothing" have " extenuated , nor set down aught in malice . " Men do not generally Combine or conspire without some grounds for their combination , and this alone and tho unprotected cor ; 4 . tion of the labouring class generally , who lives from hand to mouth , and has no resources to fail back upon , should entitle that class to some little consideration and merev . We are not about
to defend the " conspirators '—far from if , but we do say let not all the sympathy be wasted on the capitalist-employer , who has ample resources and immense influence , b ' ut Jet a portion be given to the tax-ridden , tempted , tried , poverty-stricken children of labour and toil . The deception practised by tho employer in this case is gently termed , by tbe journal from which we have already quoted , " temporising . " "That , in the captain" being ' « but a choleric word , which , in the soldier , it flat blasphemy . " We like to call things by their right names , and if the men are to be denounced as conspirators ; let the chief occasion of the conspiracy bs equally held up as a deceiver and an entrappir of the unwary and ignorant
workman . It may be fashionable just now to kick those that are down , " for victory and success are with some writers invariably tho touchstones of right and meritoriousness , but as wn do not cave to be in the fashion , and as we further desire to be moderately honest , and to be always found on the side of the oppressed , the weak , and the humble , we cannot consent to trample on the fallen , nor extol and glorify a man became he is a great manufacturer , has four or five thousand a-ycar , and has just been a victor in a process of litigation which ' may possibly tend to " whittle down" the already too restricted privileges , and more tightly rivet the chains which already too vexatiously enthral the hands and arms of the labouring population . It is notorious enough that public sympathy and- legal enactments are ever with the emp loyers rather
than the employed . M . Necker , the well-known fiancicr , writing on this subject , has justly observed , that "It is frightful in opening the code of laws , everywhere to discover the evidence of this fact . It appears as if a small number of persons , after having divided the earth among them , had passed laws to secure themselves against the multitude , as it were a defence against wild animals of the forest . " And true enough itis that in the civil code the interests of the masses—the labouring population—have been , if not entirely , to a very considerable extent , forgotten , or purposely left unprotected . Laws of coercion and restriction are everywhere to be encountered with respect to the emploved , but tbero are lio penalties , punitive laws , restrictive regulations , or prohibitory clauses , having reference to the employers , who were deemed bv our
National Association United Tiudes. T. S...
sapient lawmakers perfectly incorruptible ami right , divinely infallible , for all wc can gather ta the contrary , from tho results of their unjust legislation . The evil , however , -. sill , like the bird ' that living tore its vitals from its breast , " des troy useif , and win ultimately work its own ruin . A 3 intelligence increases , the workmen will begin to work their own strength , and by co-operation and association will not only remove all those lestrictions which now prevent their elevation and chain them down like galley slaves to the oar Of serfdom and poverty , but will change the very constitution of the labour kingdom , and raise themselves from the condition of servants to that
on which human sympathies and human laws have placed the stamp of patented resptctability . In every phase and condition of society , and in every situation and place , except in his own circle and his own class , the unwashed artificer is held to ha an inferior , and it carefully excluded as one uf a lower caste than his be-jewelled and be-dizcneU brother of patrician blood , or a purse-prouml station . Surely such things should not be : every man is a brother , and let his circumstances or Ins occupation , his status or his intelligence , be what it may , he has a fair claim on our sympathy , and we are bound to extend to him the courtesies and amenities of life . It is only in imagination that gold , and rank , and glitter , ennobles and d
ignifies" Tho rank is but the guinea stamp , The man ' s the goud for all that ;" and under the rags and tatters , the poverty and Will Of tllO lllbOuVWig population , beat as manly hearts , and are found as noble natures , and as high intelligences , as beneath the diadem and purple of empire , the coronet and ermine of nobility , or the gaudy trappings of trade-proud opulence and tyranny . Lut us , then , remember this is our intercourse with society , and never fear to grasp a begrimed and horny hand , nor shrink from contact with a " seedy" garment , for beneath there may be a soul as priceless as the world , and a benevolence
as broad and comprehensive as the illimitable universe . To return , however , from this long , but , wo trust , not irrelevant digression , to the Daily News , which , in eulogising Mr . Perry , endeavours to demolish the Trades' Association , and tries to bo astonished at Mr . Buncombe for being the president of such a dangerous organisation . There is no necessity for us- to defend that gentleman , and therefore we shall leave him to spunk for himself * Tho following letter is from his pen , and will satisfactorily demonstrate that his views of the Association and its operations are strongly at variance with our metropolitan contemporary : — 88 , St . Jiimes ' s-strect , August 80 th , 1851 .
Dear Sin , —1 duly received your able account of tlie proceedings at Stafford , together with various newspapers containing comments thereon . 1 shall be further obliged to you to send me the full report of both trials , as soon as printed ; for if the views of the committee are correct , I think it is impossible that the matter can or ought to res » where it is . As innocent men , jou acted quite right in rejecting with scorn tlie contemptible compromise proposed , at the eleventh hour , by your quailing prosecutors ; but I si e no reason , because an appeal is pending , why the con . temiJated indictment for perjury should not proceed , unless certain employers are to be permitted , not only tocon spire with impunity to defraud their workmen of that 'fair day's wage' proved to be given by their more honest and libi'ral-inindfd townsmen , but also to purjure themselves to any extent that may best suit tlu-ir sinister objects . _ I am sanguine as to the success of an appeal , from perusing the vile attempts and foul misrepresentations of a portion
of the press , written evidently with a view of deterring trades' societies and the working clashes generally from providing those ' sinews of war , ' whereby the Stafford verdicts will most probably be set aside , such parties well knowing that if those verdicts are permitted to pass Undisturbed am ) unquestioned , no violence , no threats , no intimidation having been used , tlie praiseworthy intention of the legislature , in repealing the combination act , will bo defeated beyond their most sanguine hopes and expectations . I canuot conclude without expressing my admiration of the very eloquent and unflinching manner in which Mr . Tarry and the other gentlemen , counsel for the defence , maintained the rights of the industrious classes , upon an occasion so important to the cause of labour . I remain , dear sir , yours faithfully , Thomas S . Ddncombe . To Mr . William reel , Secretary to the National Association of United Trades , tic .
Wolverhampton Conspiracy Casethe Defence...
WOLVERHAMPTON CONSPIRACY CASETHE DEFENCE COMMITTEE AND THE PRESS .
At the usual weekly meeiing of the Central Defence Commiitee , held on the 28 lh ult ., al the Bell Inn , ' Oid Bailey , the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — " That the thanks of this committee is hereby given to the proprietors and editors of the Northern Star , Reynolds's Newspaper , Leader , Glasgow Sentinel , and the Wolverhampton Herald , for the valuable assistance rendered by them to the Defence Committee and tbe interests of labour , by their copious reports of the recent trials at Stafford , and for so ably vindicating the right of working men to combine lor the protection of their industiy . "
" That this Committee having read the unjust statements of the Times , Bally News , & c ., written with the view of misrepresenting the case of the defendants in particular , aud to annihilate working men ' s associations in general , cannot but express their disgust and indignation , on witnessing their vile and perfidious efforts to enslave and degrade the working classes . " G . Greenslade , Gen . Sec . Committee Rooms , Bell Inn , Old Bailey .
A Meeting Of Delegates From Trades Shops...
A Meeting of delegates from Trades Shops and ? actories in and around the city of Glasgow , waj ( onvened in the A ' ew Chapel , 63 , Nelson-street , for ? riday night , to take into conideration the proiriety of supporting ' the Committee of the National I ' rades . Tho meeting was called by the cottou ipinncra of Glasgow , in a very spirited address tnd wo shall give a report of the pvoceeddinga a our next .
Estbaohdisanr Escape—Chichesieb, Sept. 2...
EsTBAOHDisanr Escape—Chichesieb , Sept . 2 . — A waggoner named Abraham Mayhead , iu the service of a lady residing near here , has been com mitted for trial at the next quaiter sessions by tho county magistrates presiding at tho hall of this town for perilling the lives of many passengers in a train on the South Coast Railway by driving a waggon and team of horses on the line . The train which met with the obstruction was the quarter to seven p . m . one to Portsmouth . Nothing occurred to impede its progress until it had passed the Dray , ton station . The time was about five minutes past eight , the sun had gone down , and it was dusk ; but the driver could not see some quarter of a mile along the line . The engine had on the head light . On going by Drayton a team of horses and waggon were observed crossing the rails on the north side about a quarter of a mile in advance of the train , which at the time was proceeding at the rate of between thirty and forty miles an hour . At first
there did not appear to be any one with the team , the waggon stood on the line some moments , and the most frightful consequences were anticipated by the engine driver . He tounded the whistle , tho breaks were applied , and everything done to stop the train , but the distance ofthe waggon was not sufficient to enable its being brought to a standstill . Two men then ran across the lino , and having opeuei tho opposite gate , they gave tlie shale horse a " tip , " which just cleared the waggon fro . 'ii off the metals as the engine passed . As it was , however , had not the rate oi tho train been slackened , it -would havo como upon tho waggon heforc the men could have got up and havo opened the gate . The officers in charge of the train de »
scribed its escape as most extraordinary . On arriving at Chichester , one or two of the servants of tlie company went in search'of the man who had charge of the team , and on the defendant being met with , he admitted being the person . It would seem that he had permitted it to proceed across the line in an ' unprotected manner . It was au occupation crossing through some fields , and led to a farm . Mr . Faithful urged tbe bench to make an example of the defendant by committing him for trial . ' All cautions had been disregarded . The luneh consulted , and decided on sending the defendant for trial at the next sessions beforo mentioned . the 3 rd and 4 th Vict . chap . 65 , providing that the case could not be dealt , with summarily .
Govkh . vme . nt out of Tows . —Most of her Majestv ' s Ministers are at pi esent absent from London . Lord John Knssell is with the Queen ; at Balmoral . Sir George Grey is cruising in an Admiralty yacht . The Chancellor of the Exchequer is at his country ¦ eat , as is Lord Grey . The Lord President and Sir Francis Baring" are only in town occasionall y for a day . Mr . Lab ' ouchere is gore to Spain , and almost all " the secondary members of tlie All ministration are away . But for the presence of Lord Palmevston , London might almost be said to be without a eavenaent . —Observer . ¦ ¦¦
A Pkmale Soldier . —The following is a literal copy of an inscription upon - a tombstone in tho parish cnuvch Brighton :- ' < In ' . memory of Phoebe Hesse ] , who was bom at Stepnev , Tu the year 1713 . She served for many years as a private sold . iermtheoih Keglmcut of Foot , hi different parts ol Europe , and in the j ear 1746 fought under the command of the Duke of Cumberland , at the b » ttlu of Fontcnoy , whore she rcceWcd a bayonet wourrl in her arm . Her long life , which comnieseed in the reign o Queen Anue , extended to the rei « n of Gecrgo 1 V „ by whose munificence she received comfort and support in her latter years . She died a t Brighten , where she had iopg resided , December 121821 aged 1 OB . _
, , years . n „ Kelson ' s Dksoksdant- ' is the Saw . — lhe Hon . II . M ; Nelson , son of Viscount SeUon andI great Si-mid nephew of ' the illustrious foumiei ot the name and title , has cmeiod the ' sei vice as a cadu in kelson ' s own fog-ship , the Vieioiy . s
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 6, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_06091851/page/5/
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