On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (8)
-
TO THE CHARTISTS.
-
My Friends, The SessioH of Parliament ha...
-
/#4i /^/7/V^^j (^ ^ j^^^Sr t/ s oZ-try^t...
-
AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL.. ¦ , ..;.¦...
-
TO THE LAND MEMBERS. My Friends, As I to...
-
CUFFAY AND OTHERS. TO THE WORkTnG CLASSE...
-
THE CLOSE OF THE SES S10N. We beg to cal...
-
Oldham.—On Sunday, September 10.h, a gen...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
To The Chartists.
TO THE CHARTISTS .
My Friends, The Sessioh Of Parliament Ha...
My Friends , The SessioH of Parliament has closed , and its acts will remain as a stigma upon those who sanctioned them . And , although the hopes of the people were raised by the introduction of so much uew blood , yet I venture to assert that , from the time Parliaments were first established , down to the present moment , there
never sat one so rabidly opposed to the interests of the working classes as the present ; while the bloody enactments , to which all but an unanimous assent , was given , will prove the lengths to which the middle classes are prepared to go to suppress any movement which is calculated to diminish their profits , wholly depending upon speculation in your destitution .
From the moment that it was found that the French Republic had railed to realise the hopes of those who gained it , the English Government , alarmed lest the example of Continental States should infect the English people , resolved upon setting both law and constitution at defiance , and governing by the sword ; and hence we find the staff of idlers increased , while the ability of the people to support them is diminished ; we find that , from the Prime Minister of England , down to the lowest detective , all other classes are organised in a grand conspiracy against the poor , while they
designate the attempt of the people to gain a livelihood from their labour as sedition and conspiracy , and thus drive them to felony and treason Nothing could be more natural then , that the change in France , which promised so many benefits to the working classes , should have inspired those of their order in England with similar hopes from similar changes . ^ A "• * - . > long as the realisation of the hopes of the French people was a question of doubt , so long did the English Government tolerate the fiercest
political agitation ever known in this country ; but as soon as the dominion of the middle classes was established in France by the power of the sword , ; md when all hope of popular amelioration had vanished , then did our rulers , emboldened by the failure of France , seek vengeance upon those whose enthusiasm and exuberance , had been long tolerated ; and to this toleration must Be mainly attributed the excesses into which the more enthusiastic of the Chartists have been led .
Nothing could be more exciting than the language used by many delegates who sat in the National Convention , prior to the presentation of the National Petition , and every word of which was taken down by Government reporters ; nothing could be more threatening than the character given to the Kennington Common meeting by the Prime Minister of England and the members ot his Cabinet ; nothing could be more alarming to a Government than the language used by many delegates in the National Assembly ; and nothing could be more fiery than the language used by
different speakers at different meetings held in London ; and yet with the knowledge of these facts , promptly communicated to the Government , and evidently inspiring them with fear and alarm , not a single attempt is made to take legal proceedings against the parties until the French Republic in its original phase had failed , and the middle classes of France had gained the ascendant . And then , emboldened by the vengeance that had been taken upon the French people , the English Government had recourse to the most tyrannical measures to accomplish the same ends ; and in these measures they were unanimously supported by the
representatives of the middle class in tbe House of Commons . And now that the Session is over , and when they expect that they have so cowed popular opinion as no longer to dread opposition from the people , they will be prepared to submit some new move , the success of which may confer another 76 , 0001 . upon Mr Cobden , and increased powers upon their order . But in my soul 1 believe that the savage vengeance of that class will recoil upon their own heads ; and that the working classes , so far from accepting their modified Parliamentary Reform , will feel more than ever embittered against them , and more resolute in their opposition .
Let me calltoyi-.. r recollection the numerous attempts made by the humbug reformers to divert the Chartists from the pursuit of their own principles . In January , 1 S 41 , the whole strength of the middle class was collected in Marshall ' s Flax Mill at Leeds , in the hope of seducing the people from their allegiance to their Charter . All the great guns of Reform were announced as actors in the piece—Messrs O'Connell , R « ebuck , and Hume were announced as the great performers , and the exuberant local feeling of Yorkshire was to be
rallied around them . The time was opportune ; the leading Chartists were in their dungeons , but their spirit was abroad , and the result was the ignominious defeat of the conspirators . In 184 * 2 , when the Corn Law League had hoped to consign Feargus O'Connor , and fifty--nine others tried with him at Lancaster , again to their dungeons , a Conference was assembled at Birmingham in the depth of winter , for the purpose of diverting the Chartist movement into other hands , and for other purposes ; but , undismayed by the threatened prosecution , between 400 and 500 Chartist delegates
magnanimously rallied round their principles , and again defeated the enemy . In 1845 a powerful Convention , representing the views of the Middle Classes , assembled in London , and after a fortnight's deliberation their success was to be commemorated by a Tea Party at the Crown and Anchor , and there also the Chartists , with but poor arrange ments , assembled , and again defeated the enemy . These several instances of Chartist magnanimity inspire me with strong hope that , when the QUADRUPED makes his appearance apon the stage , the people will rally around the WHOLE ANIMAL , bristles and all .
The Press—and especially that portion representing the middle classes—are exasperated to madness that thev have not been enabled to destroy the RED * CAT OF CHARTISM . Those who are now suffering are called " my 4 upes , " and I am the man upon the clutching of ¦ whom they had set their hearts and minds ; and if they are more indignant with me for any portion of my conduct in connexion with the Chartist movement , it is , that I have not made a fool of myself , and left them a clear stage
for the dissemination of their doctrines . But I believe that there is not a Chartist in England , nor a uorking man in England , who will not more respect and honour me for having evaded the pursuit , than they would if I had fallen into the trap . As there is nothing more necessary than that the People should be warned by the past , let me now call their attention to facts fresh in the recollection of every man , and which none can deny .
In 1839 , the Chartist movement was destroyed by the sacred holiday , originated by Attwood and the middle classes . I hazarded xnv popularity by resisting that wild and visionary project ; and the people , when judgment had resumed her seat , all acknowledged that I was right . To resist the new move at Marshall ' s Mill , in 1841 , cost me over 100 ? . I drew the sketch of the Fox and Goose Plate upon the table in my cell ; and our success upon that occasion saved Chartism , although Collins , and many in whom the people had confided , joined in the move .
In 1842 , when Mr Buncombe ' s tour in Scotland , and his accession to the Chartist ranks as a member of the Association , gave new vitality to Chartism , the middle classes turned out their bauds—the North of England was all but in rebellion—I risked my life in resisting all invitations to physical force ; and while the guilty League were allowed to escape , I and fifty-nine others were tried at Lancaster for their conspiracy . As soon as the leaders were apprehended , and not knowing that we could traverse from the Special Commission to the Assizes in March , the Sturge Conference
My Friends, The Sessioh Of Parliament Ha...
was summoned to meet at Birmingham , in December , in the hope of seducing the people from the Charter . In 1845 all was apathy because trade was good , and again a New Move Conference assembled in London , the party always taking advantage of Chartist excitement and strength , or Chartist weakness and apathy ; and again by good arrangements we defeated that move . " In 1848 , Chartism , after five years of an uninterrupted lull » as again roused to action by the French Revolution . The monster petition gave signs of revival and the dodgers proposed their QUADRUPED .
The resolution of the Government to sup . press and annihilate Chartism was exhibited in the attempt , nay , in the announced determination in the House of Commons , not to allow the Kennington Common meeting f > take place , and evere . middle-class man in London , with scarcely an exception , volunteered as a special constabl g , I felt convinced that the abandonment ortnat meeting would have jeopardised the Chartist cause , and in defiance of threats and exhortations t attended it = ; and never did Chartism stand so high as after that meeting . Then came the National Assembly , consisting of delegates not elected by the people because the people were not allowed time
for reflection . And that Assembly , awed by the galleries—a large portion of the audience consisting of detectives and spies sent by the government—spent three mortal weeks in abusing me because I would not be a party to destroy the triumph we had gained , and which might have been turned to good account if sufficient , time was given to organise the mind of the country for a fair representation of the Chartist body ; and I must do Bronterre O'Brien the justice to say , that he enforced the doctrine over and over again in the Convention , of the necessity of having a full and acknowledged representation of the whole people .
The fabrications and falsehoods of many delegates to that Assembly have since come to light , and , with an assumption of power which was not deputied to it , it discharged the old Executive , against which there was not a shadow of complaint , and it nominated a new body to fill that office . Thus I show you that it is in our own ranks v that those dissensions take place upon which our enemies rely for their strength . For three weeks the Press teemed with the strongest denunciation of me , and yet , seeing the necessity of union , I never once complained until the country began to see through the mist . And now I unhesitatingly declare that the base and shameful falsehoods
told by numerous members of that Assembly , as to the state of preparedness and resolution of their several districts , was treason and treachery of the rankest kind . They werethe Peter Buzzys of Chartism , and it was he who led Frost and his associates into the snare , for no other purpose in the world than to traffic in the credulity of his constituents . Now , my friends , I have shown you the means resorted to upon various occasions to destroy Chartism ; and I have proved to you ,
unequivocally , that those means are dissension and disunion , created in our ranks . I am sure there is not a man in England , who reflects for a moment , that must not be aware of the situation in which the National Assembly placed me in the House of Commons . It was knomt that they abused me ; but still , to serve the purposes of faction , my name was associated with every one of their speeches ; and you may judge that it- required < n « little nerve to hold my ground without ( as I was invited to do ) repudiating their acts .
No one suffered more than I did from the folly of some , the ignorance of others , and the treachery of many ; but yet I was perfectly aware that in times of excitement , in times of bad trade , and in times of hope , that much allowance should be made for men who were advocating an outlawed principle . During the present session five most unconstitutional acts have been passed , and I not only voted aga nst , but spoke against every one of them until , so triumphant had tyranny become , that , upon the last occasion , I was left " alone in my glory , " not having a seconder !
Well , as I have often told you , the acts of tyranny invariably recoil against the tyrant , and , however disheartening the present crisis may be to Chartism , and little as is the hope I entertain from the middle-class Government , yet in my soul and in my conscience I believe that such a reaction will come ai will make might yield to right , despotism to jus ? tice , and unnatural speculation to remunerative labour . It is no easy task , believe me , for an ? alien in a strange land , standing alone in" the House of Commons , tinged with the violence of Chartism ( as Mr John O'Connell
has stated ) , not opposed , but abused and belied , by the whole Press of the empire ; hated by the aristocracy—dreaded by the middle class —feared by the trafficking class—the lookedfor prey by the jury class—and compelled to contend against the folly of his own associates —it is not easy , I say , tor a man under such circumstances to hold his ground , Mitchel was suspected until he was victimised ; he was obliged to purchase martyrdom to establi ' . his sincerity ; and who does not rem iber 1839 , when the complaint against n . a was that I was not in prison ? although I was the first man convicted in 1839 .
There have been great and just complaints of the mode of packing juries in Ireland ; but the administrators of the law in this country are spared from such a charge , as the whole of the jury class is constituted of persons possessing those ) exclusive powers , for a participa tion in which the working classes are contending , and which constitutes their ' crime . Voters only can be on a jury ; and we have it upon record admitted by the Government , admitted by Mr Tuffnell , the whipper-in , who possesses the patronage , and not denied by any , that patronage , even to the appointment of postmasters , is placed at the disposal of members of Parliament who support the Whig
Government . How true the adage , " that one may steal a horse , while another durst not look over the wall . " It is a high offence against the purity and immaculate virtue of a candidate to give a voter a glass of ale ; but it is honour , consistency , and justice , to give a profligate supporter of the Government patronage in return for his vote . I have now run over our history for the last ten years and will any man point me out a single fallacy in what 1 have stated ? And the moraljthat l would draw from my narrative is , that the disunion of the many constitutes the sole strength of the few , and that the working classes are the sole originators of every
grievance of which they complain . Ihey talk of their devotion to their cause , while they allow the families of their victimised associates to starve . They talk of concentration and union , while their elected servants are allowed to go without their weekly salaries . They talk of suffering and privation , while the amount spent upon beastliness , drunkenness , and dissipation , upon two nights in the week—Saturday and Monday—if applied to the prosecution of their cause , would very soon make them the masters instead of the slaves of their oppressors ; nay , one per cent ., a hundredth part of the money spent in this beastliness , if app lied to Chartist purposes—that is to social and
My Friends, The Sessioh Of Parliament Ha...
political purposes , to the purchase of land , and the attainment of the Charter—would very speedily make the English peop le the most independent people , upe n-the , * face . of the earth , while the adoption of the principle of physical force butarms their enemies with a justification for oppression , and is a mere substitute for their own indifference . The Press bases its assertion that the Chartists are but a rabble , upon the fact , that of all associations in the world , it professes to be the largest , while , in my conscience , I believe it is so ; but at the same time , a money club ,
a benefit society , or burial society , in an out of the way village , in a remote part of the kingdom , will subscribe more money for the attainment of its object than the whole Chartist body put together . Now , my friends , 1 have reviewed the past ; and as nothing is more indispensable than a perfect understanding as to the future , it is my duty to tell you that while no power on earth shall ever induce me to abandon the Cbartistt cause , or to advocate any less principle astl substitutj ^ hAt I . wiU not aUow my judgaiejjgj to be led captive by the opinion of others ; and that while I never will too censoriously
scan the acts or words of starving men , I never will tolerate the conduct of any who , -not actuated by the same feelings of remorse , would deceive the people by invitations to rely upon a strength they do not possess . I will ask you one simple question—what do you think the Whigs and the middle classes would have given to have me in safe custody during the recess , while the QUADRUPEDS were marshalling the working classes as a means of enforcing a reduction of taxation , from which the labourers would not derive a farthing per cent . ? And whether will the Chartists consider me of
more value to their cause at liberty or in custody ? What chance should I have before a constitutional judge , a middle class jury , and detective witnesses , if the charge against me was that I was a Chartist ? I think upon reflection that all will say they would have missed me ; while , after calm deliberation and thought , I tell you that you may elect a substitute , but never again will 1 be driven from my course . " Coming events cast their shadow before , "
and as that rampant tyranny , now flushed with its unconstitutional " triumph , cannot much longer govern by the sword , I shall watch the opportunity , and take advantage of passing events , to . strengthen the power of the working classes as to the means of securing their rights through the enactment of the People ' s Charter . I remain , your faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connor .
/#4i /^/7/V^^J (^ ^ J^^^Sr T/ S Oz-Try^T...
/ # 4 i /^/ 7 / V ^^ j (^ ^ j ^^^ Sr t / s oZ-try ^ tTZ r
And National Trades' Journal.. ¦ , ..;.¦...
AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL . . ¦ , .. ; . ¦; . ¦ ¦ __ l _ i __ L ; ... JipiV vol- xi . no ~ " londo ^ sa ^ my ; sSp ^ S ^ sm ^" Js ^ tke ^ w
To The Land Members. My Friends, As I To...
TO THE LAND MEMBERS . My Friends , As I told you in the outset , I have not yet done with the Land Committee , nor with the Land Plan ; but before I make a few comments upon your position as members , allow me to call your attention to a most striking and startling fact , and I beg of you not to read it carelessly , and dismiss it promptly . It is this—We Jive in times of the most fantastic
speculation , when no project is too monstrous or whimsical for the gullibility of John Bull . Those speculations are not confined to Britain and her possessions—not to Europe , Asia , or America , but embrace the world—all that is from earth to heaven of discovered regions ; they are not confined to land and water , but they penetrate , or promise" to penetrate , into the bowels of the earth , and the speculators are not repulsed by the cold of the fri gid , or the heat of the torrid zone .
Railways , steam navigation , mines , minerals , quarries , fisheries , emigration schemes , poor protecting societies , benefit societies , burial societies , building societies , loan societies , coal clubs , bathing and washing societies , and God knows what else—have been established , recommended , and puffed ; and I ask you to point out to me one single society , in this age of society speculation , that has been abused , not by the whole , but by any portion of the Press ; and I ask you to point me out three newspapers in England , whether metropolitan or provincial , that have not expended columns of vituperation , slander , and falsehood , upon the National Land Company .
Now , as it is an admitted fact that those several societies and companies have been established for the purpose of making profit for the promoters , and as they have not been abused , is it not self-evident that the Land Company , being established for the benefit of the poor , is the cause of the opposition of the wealthy ? _ If I had established this Company in connexion with a set of profitmongers , receiving six and seven per cent , for their money , and bestowing large salaries upon directors ' committeemen , engineers , land tasters , surveyors , master builders , and solicitors—then the trap would have been baited b y thePress
I should have been eulogised as a benefactor and the scheme as a national godsend . Or suppose that Prince Albert , or some philanthropic nobleman , had devoted his time exclusively to the erection of cottages , the making of * roads , the culture of the land and the happy location of the po or—would not the Press teem with laudations of the humane and Christian Prince ? and would not Royal tickets be issued b y special favour to visit the locations of the bountiful patron ? But as I have done it , the unchristian dogs shut their eyes in passing when they hear that they are the Chartist houses , built by that destructive infidel firebrand , Feargus O'Connor .
The Government acknowledges , the Press reiterates , and all confirm the fact , that want of employment is the principal , nay , the only cause of discontent , dissatisfaction , and disloyalty ; and when I seek to employ them at remunerative and productive labour , and at good wages , I am a heathen , a deceiver , and a juggler . AH admit that in the present state of cultivation of the land of England , Englishmen must be dependent upon the foreigner for their food , while none can deny that the want of employment and low wages is a
consequence of the cupidity of employers , who traffic in the pride and the destitution of the poor . Well , but Jet me not be misunderstood as applying these failings to a class while I asscribe them to a system ; for although I struggle for millions , yet if those who are now destitute were to-morrow placed in a situation to become masters and speculators in labour , they would be just as heartless—just as avariciousand would equally speculate in the destitution of the poor ; and as it is not my practice to praise you for qualities which you do not possess , allow me now to show you yourselves in the
or . The National Land Company was established for your benefit and not for mine ; it promises you contentment , happiness , and a home ; it promises me annoyance , vexation , and expense ; and yet , from the moment the committee was appointed to investigate the affairs of the Company , as if by magic , your contributions fell off altogether , although the Company was established mainly upon confidence , and although the committee reported that that confidence had not been betrayed . But you have not yet heard one half of the delinquencies of the Chairman of that committee ; for although the Accountant was appointed to examine the books of the Bank as well as the books of ( the
To The Land Members. My Friends, As I To...
Directors of the Land Company ; and although he complimented both the manager and the head clerk upon , the critical accuracy and perfect mannejih which the hooks . were kept ; and although- he made the most flattering report of the Bank to the Chairman of the committee ; and although the Chairman , who gets 2 , O 00 Z a-year from the Government , and who spent seven mortal . days in drawing up his report ; and although ¦' the investigation into the Bank stituted
con the main object of the inquiry , yet did that Chairman abstain from a single comment upon the Bank , while he wholly withheld the report of the Accountant upon its management . But as upon no question—and especially upon . - ^ question of money—am I a man to be played with , either by a lickspittle Chairman , the Government , or the Press , ! I will now ' call your attention to that portion of the Report which characterises the accounts of theCompany as imperfect . x
I have before stated the impossibility of keeping a mere debtor and creditor account ; b ^ Lassert , wj ^ joj ^ fear of contradiction—and a ^^ ' ^ n ^ hwJcimln ^ tel ^ b ^ hii ^ exami ned the accounts of the Company , will bear me out in the assertion—that it would be impossible to keep more satisfactory accounts than have been kept from the commencement . Every farthing received has been acknowledged in
the " Northern Star , " and every farthing expended is entered and vouched for in the weekly labour books , or by receipts for all other expenditure which is not of the nature of labour—while , if I had kept the accounts as bankers or merchants keep theirs , the original documents from which those accounts were furnished must have been overhauled , in order to prove the accuracy of the general ledger .
> ow I am not prepared to admit any , the slightest , imperfection in the accounts of the National Land Company , while I am prepared to assert and prove that the hasty manner in which I was compelled to furnish a balance sheet for the committee , was hundreds of pounds out of my pocket . But always keep your attention fastened on one GREATFACT , that the Chairman , from the commencement , sought to make the Bank the mainspring of
the Company , and withheld the Accountant ' s report upon the perfect manner in which the Bank accounts are kept . Always bear in mind that when I admit any imperfection in the mode of keeping accounts , that imperfection arises from the impossibility of keeping them in the same manner in which a merchant ' s or banker ' s accounts are kept , and which may be presentable in a perfect state at any moment , while the accounts of the National Land
Company are taken from volumes of labour books , and spread over a period of two years and four months . While the directions of the committee to the Accountant were to make out a critical balance sheet , not of the amount expended upon each estate , but a critical analysis under the head of different items ; such aswhat the cottages cost ; what the roads cost ; and what agricultural operations cost , in answer to which I showed distinctly—firstly : the absurdity of such a distinction ; and , secondly ; the impossibility of making it , and for this reason—that horse power being a main
item of the expenditure , might be applied to the three different operations in portions of each day ; for instance , drawing stone , lime , and sand one portion of the day ; drawing road stone another portion of the day ; and ploughing , harrowing , or drawing out manure another portion of the day . Now , these are some of the imperfections that struck a regular Accountant accustomed to investigate merchants ' and bankers' accounts ; and , indeed , ' so critical , or rather so absurd and partial , and , as he hoped , so damning a report did the Chairman require , that he had the folly and the ignorance to insist that because 6 , 000 / . in Exchequer Bills were in the hands of the broker , instead of in the hands of the manager , that therefore
that amount was a loan from the Bank to the Land Company , just the " same as if a merchant , with two breeches pockets , was to make one his debtor and the other his creditor ; while , the fact is , that all the money should have been in the hands of the broker , and none in the hands of the manager ; but the object of this Whig tool was to prove that the Land Company was bankrupt , and drawing upon the funds of the Bank , while the accounts showed—and as I have repeated a thousand times—that not one single fraction had been withdrawn from the Bank . And then the Accountant reports that I should have taken receipts for the aid money . Now what a folly that would be—the aid money is paid upon taking possession .
Weil , now I come to another , and a not less important , branch of the subject—namely , the unanimous determination of the several branches that the Company ^ shall not be wound up . Here , as in all other matters in which J have had connexion with the working classes , I find their resolution most magnanimous , but their practice most pusillanimous . For several months , the receipts have not averaged above 30 / . a-week , from which deduct 8 / . for Directors' salaries , the salaries of clerks , stationery , postage , parcels , rent , rates , and taxes , and 1 should be much obliged to those who exclaim
"Never wind up , " if they would inform me how I am to pay 500 / . a week oat of the residue of 30 / . a week , after deducting 26 * . for weekly expenditure . Now , there is an old saying , that Solomon was a wise man , and Samson was a strong man , but that neither of them could pay money if they hadn ' t it ; and when I tell you that I am resolved that the security in the Bank shall not be diminished to an extent which will not enable me to meet the demandsjof every depositor , the members of the
L ? nd Companyl must see the necessity of increased vigour to save the most glorious institution that any country could ever boast of . Let the people supply the means , and I will carry on the project , and battle , and defeat all opposition ; but while they talk firmly and resolutely of not winding up the Company , they must have some consideration about WINDING UP THE MAN , as their apathy would very speedily wind me up ; and then , notwithstanding the juggler , the Company would very speedily be wound up too .
As I have shown you before that twopence , threepence , and fourpence paid weekly by the two , three and four acre members , would supply a fund of nearly 1 , 0001 , a week ; and if you are not prepared to pay that amount , you are not prepared to redeem yourselves from slavery . There is another feature in which 1 must exhibit this Company , —it is this : —that the Ciipital of the Company , if paid up , would amount to 290 , 000 / ., while the amount actually paid is little more than 90 , 000 / ., or less than one-third . Now , how do you think it possible that I can go on
under these circumstances ? No man in his senses can conceive such a thing , while much of the apathy arises from the belief of every member of the Company that I would rather starve than be conquered by its enemies . Henceforth I will take care that not a single rule is violated , and those who are located , will understand the terms upon which they enter on their locations , and it must be distinctly understood that not a single favour beyond what the rules guarantee will be henceforth extended , and under those rules all may be happy ; and if they are not , it will be their own fault . And when 1 hear of men getting 30 / ., 40 L and 50 / , for then- # , 12 s . ; 40 / ,, 50 / .,
To The Land Members. My Friends, As I To...
and 60 / . for their 3 / . 18 s . ; and 60 / . 70 / ., and 80 / . for their 51 . 4 * ., I will consent to bear the charge of having juggled those persons . I feel that it would break my heart if I saw the most distant prospect of winding up the National Land Company , and of destroying a project which has never yet been maturely considered by the working classes , while , at the same time , I feel the impossibility of individual energy becoming a substitute for the apathy and indifference of 80 , 000 people . Let me now draw your attention to a most
important fact ; the L ; ind Company was established upon the broadest principle of cooperation—in fact a huge Benefit Society , and if those who joined had paid up their shares within a reasonable time , the process of location would have gone on with tenfold rapidity . It was a Company established upon good faith , and what I now contend is , that if the locations were disposed of by raffle , the chances of two , three , or four acres , a house , and aid money , would have been respectivel y worth , and would have sold for , more than the amount of
share money . As 1 was prepared to devote every hour of my time , and every farthing of my money to the carrying out of the project , I had a reasonable right to presume that the members would act upon the same good faith . But I will now prove to you , beyond dispute , that neither ' combination , confederacy , nor cb « operation exists amongst your order ; and , that , instead of the ruling maxim being , " Each for all and all for each , " the governing maxim is , " Every one for himself , and the devil take the hindmost . ' '
You ask , how I prove this . I do it thus : if there was combination , confederacy , and cooperation , every man located would draw as lightly as possible upon the funds , while the fact is , that of the 250 located , although many could dispense with the aid money , not a single man has declined taking it , although he pays five per cent , for it . Observe—that I am not now finding fault with any individual , but I am showing you that selfishness is the mainspring of human action ; and , in point of fact , there should have been a Committee of Observation , to inquire into the situation of every man to be located , and no member who could do without it should in justice have accepted it .
I mention those striking facts , in order to impress upon the minds of all the absolute necessity of bestirring themselves , and when the hired profit-mongering Press has the insolence and vulgar audacity to talk of Mr O'Connor " making profit" of the Land Company , let me tell you that the most fortunate thing that ever happened to that Company , and to every society of which 1 have been a member , is , that I am not a paid servant ; not that I
object to servants being paid , and well paid for their labour , but because I hold it to be an irrefutable truth that the paid chief of any undertaking is a slave , and a serf in the hands of those who pay him ; he is obliged to prostitute his own judgment to their caprice , and to choose between the adoption of error and fallacy , and the loss of pay , and hence becomes their slave .
Now it must be indelibly impressed upon your memory , that the committee appointed to investigate the affairs of the Land Company was presided over by a Government Official , receiving 2 , 000 / . a year of your money , and that two questions were submitted to the consideration of that committee , namely , the question of finance , and the question of the practicability of the Scheme ; and that for a month the whole bearing of the examination of witnesses by the Chairman , went to establish the fact that the Bank was the foundation , the be-all and the end-aJJ , of the Company ;
that , in fact , it was the very mainspring of the financial department , the question of accounts being a mere question of figures , and that of the Bank a question of principle—in fact , the basis of the whole superstructure . The Accountant was directed to see the Exchequer Bills and the money with his own eyes ; he saw both , he made an elaborate report of the whole account of the Bank , from its establishment down to the morning upon which he reported , and what will the clients of this
impartial Whig Chairman say—those poor people whose interests he was so anxious to protectwhat , I ask you , will they say when they learn tha t he suppressed the Accountant ' s report of the Bank altogether , never once mentioning it , never telling the committee that he had received it , and never reporting it to the House of Commons ? Now was not he an honourable , upright , and impartial judge ? anxious to administer justice and to protect the rights of the poor ?
As to the question of practicability , Mr Finlayson , the great actuary of the Government , stated distinctly that he could not see and would not say THAT THE PLAN WAS IMPRACTICABLE , if it was protected bylaw ; and I now tell you that it is my determination so to frame the plan , upon the basis of the propositions that I have submitted to you , as to have it enrolled under the Benefit Societies Act .
And it is my intention , if it is your wish , to carry out the plan with the most perfect good faith , but you must ever bear in mind that upon you and you alone rests the possibility . I will not slave for those who are not prepared to work for themselves . I will not become a pauper for men who are wholly indifferent as to their own well-being . And when some of my enthusiastic friends would have wished to make the " Northern Star" the vehicle for the
promulgation of their doctrines , and for which I alone would be held responsible , I beg to remind them that the 80 , 000 heads of families who have placed their confidence , their all , and their hope in my keeping , would have felt that I had betrayed them and dishonoured my trust , if some fine morning they learned that the Government padlocks were upon the doors of the National Land Company ' s Office , and the
Bank , and the " Northern Star , " and that Government agents were in possession of all the estates of the National Land Company , as the confiscated property of the convicted felon . And what would have been my feelings if I had allowed the folly of others to place me , and you through me , in such a situation ? and yet the attempt was made by a person in my own employment , and by one who has since become an informer .
I have told you that social change , and the hope of its realisation , is the best and surest foundation for a political change ; and 1 will venture to assert that the best and most sincere Chartists in England will be found amongst the members of the National Land Company . And y ou must be aware of the delight with which my conviction and the confiscation of your property would inspire the Whig Government and their middle class supporters , as the intent was , and the result would be , to break you up , and disorganise you , by destroying all confidence in those who undertook tie management of your affairs .
I am happy to find that , with scarcely an exception , the propositions for the future management of the CompHny have been accepted by its members . Put them into practical operation give me the means of going on , and I will be the last to lack energy in the prosecution of my labours . The Press told you that 1 would go to America with your money , but if 1 do go , 1 will leave you « ver 6 , 000 / . of my own , with debt and expenses behind me , and 1 will not take the land and houses , horses Mid inw
To The Land Members. My Friends, As I To...
piertients upon my back , as the frieght would 1 more than balance their value . I remain , Your faithful friend and unpaid bailiff , Feargus O'Connor . ' P . S . As I still continue to receive letters adverse to the proposition for raising the price
of shares , those who write them could not have read the announcement in the following week ' s " Star , " as in that I stated that we had abandoned the intention of raising the price of shares , and they remain precisely as they were before . But what I require is the payment of the weekly contributions , and the payment in convenient amounts of the shares not yet paid up ; F . O'C .
Cuffay And Others. To The Worktng Classe...
CUFFAY AND OTHERS . TO THE WORkTnG CLASSES . My Friends , What right have you to jcomplain of the ty > ranny of the law , when you are not prepared to supply those accused of violating it with the means of defence ? Caffay—as honest a roan as ever breathed the breath of life , and as sincere a man as ever advocated the cause—together wsth thirty others , are to be tried on Tuesday week , at the Old Bailey , a » felons , under the new Act enacted for the the purpose of strengthening the hands of a weak Government by the suppression of public opinion . Have the recent trials in Ireland , and the tria the conviction , and transportation ofFrost , William and Jones , so familiarised you ? minds with the scenes of horror as to make you indifferent to the fa
of those thirty-one men . The English law presume every man to be innocent until he is found guilty and these are intended to be made the first victim at this side of the water , to the Whig Gagging Bill , I am not so imbued with conventional absurdity as to be ashamed , to visit these men in their jprison . I did visit Cuffay yesterday ( Wednesday ) , and I pledged my word that , whether you neglected your duty or not , I would not forsake him in his hour of trouble . I never should cease reproaching myself if those thirty . one men , or any of them , were convicted upon the evidence of the villain Powell , upon whose oath twelve honest men would not hang a dog ; and , therefore , I sent for Mr Roberts to come and see the prisoners , to conduct their defence , and to retain the most eminent counsel in England to fight this first battle with this new and unconstitutional measure .
It is a remarkable fact , and one which should be known , that although Cuffay is one of the oldest Chartists in London , he never heard the name of more than one of those who are arrested with him and who are to take their trials for the same offence . Now , when I tell you that I have had one bill of £ 316 sent by one solicitor for the defence o five prisoners , and another bill for upwards of £ 170 for the defence of Vernon alone , you will say whether or no the whole expense for the defence of those thirty-one men to be tried for a transportable offence , is to fall upon ray shoulders . Perhaps Douglas Jerrold , as Aladdin , and a professor of moral force Chartism , will give you his mite , upon application to bin . And here let me state , in passing , that the editor of the " Northern Star' had prepared an article under the head
ALADDIN ' S LAMP , —a slasher—in reply to Aladdin ' s dim light , which glimmered in Douglas Jerrold ' s Newspaper last week , but for which article I was sorry to learn that space could not be spared till next week . I trust that as the time is short , the most will be made of it ; and that Cuffay , and those who are to be tried with him , will not he sacrificed to the apathy of those who profess to love justice , and I would ask all who make beasts of themselves upnn Saturday night , whether the . money spend in bruta . lity and dissipation , would not he better applied in defence of those men . It is all nonsense and humbug to talk about the frequent appeals made for such purposes , for I tell you that if a thousand pounds a day was required , it could be furnished in
pence without detriment to a single donor ; and to show you the difference between English and Irish spirit , I have no hesitation in saying that if a single appeal was made for such a purpose to tbe Irish people , who are the poorest pei . p ! e in the werld , £ 10 , 000 , if required , would be subscribed in a single day . Now , do let me hope that we are not to become a mockery and a laughing stock , by allowing the Chartists to be sacrificed to Whig tyranny , or our own puling modesty , evinced in the fear of being associated with the blood-thirsty Chartists , if we seek to secure them a fair trial . I was not ashamed to visit Cuffay in his prison , and shake him by the hand , and I am not ashamed to publish it to the world , for I adopt Lord Grey ' s motto , and ' STAND BY MY ORDER , ' and especially . when they are the victims of oppression .
I know nothing of the thirty other men . I never heard of one of their names be ' orc . But I do know enough of Cuffay to pledge my faith that he would rather commit self-destruction than be a party to recommend or tolerate cruelty , plunder ,, or assassination . It is always the custom of affrighted leaders to abandon those of their party when they are charged by the Press and society with grave and serious offences . Such never has been my practice , aud such I trust never will . 1 tell you , in conclusion , that Cuffay will be sacrif i ced if you are apathetic , and that you , and not the law , will he his oppressor , as with your assistance he may triumph over an unconstitutional Act of Parliament . I remain , your faithful friend , Feargus O'Connor .
The Close Of The Ses S10n. We Beg To Cal...
THE CLOSE OF THE SES S 10 N . We beg to call the particular attention of our readers to the following notices of motion given by Mr Fkahbus O'Connoh , upon the last day of the assembling of Parliament , and we olfer them as a contradiction to the assertion that the only Chartist Member in the House is incapable of propounding solid measures of Reform , as , in our opinion , without the slightest tinge of politics , the motions of the Hon . Member for Nottingham embrace the most comprehensive social Reforms , and confer credit upon those who elected him : —
' To move for leave to bring in a bill to appropriate a sufficient amount of land to each union work-house in Great Britain and Inland , to eiup ' oy thy able bodied unwilling idlers , and thereby euab ' e taeni to sustain themselves and their families Ik their i . wa labour , instead of making them degraded paupers j and , further , that all profit from the labour of persons so employed after the support of selves and families , shall be i qua'ly distributed amongst tbe inmates of such unions . ' To move a resolution that no speaker proposing any motion to tbe House of Commons simll 1 e allowed to occupy more than forty minutes in proposing siid motion , asd twenty minutes in reply ; and that no speaker in discussion of said motion shall be allowed to occupy more tnan halt a-5 hour . This rule to ba enforced upon allqueationsexcepting thoseof Finance , originated by the Chancellor of the Exchi q ier . ' ' fo move for the appointment of a Se cot Com *
mittee to inquire into the several b-uDche . i fiom which the revenue of the country is raised , to : tha purpose of aectrtaiain ! t the expense of each < e : > artment , and to consider whether or no a , la'gu reduction , may not be made in tbe several dh .-es in euucexiou with those several departments without auy danger of injuring their efficiency . ' ' To more for leave to bring in a bill fcn take away tho power of distress from the Irish landlords in all oases where the tenants have not leases . of nintty nice years ; and in ta » es where tenants now hoid under lease at exorbitant high rmts , the rents herceforth shall be regulated by a commission appointed by the Court of Chancery , and mat an t q vu & blr jurisdiction shall be given to the Courts of Qturirr Session , to enable tbe Assistant Barrister to adjudicate in all mits between landlord and tenant , and fr . im whose judgment the landlord shall have no aopeal ; to « m * soli date the several Stamp Acta nun in tors * in Ire * land , and to establish cheap and convenian t Courts of Registration . '
• To call the atten'ion of the honso to the psefent mode of appointing Select Uommitttes . awl t > nv k-a such alterations as will insure the impartiality of those tribunals . ' ' To move that no person bo'ding any < i ! i » 5 under the Crown or eoverrment , oc receiving psjt , ptnum . or salary , shall be eligible to be elec b-i as a mmb ; . r of parJiameas except cifhta s attached to . the several government department . ' To move for the appointment of a . S-. kct Conv mit ce to icquire into the whale qwautm of Kree Trade , with a tiew ot aatertftinins , ai lav ai practi ' cable , the uitiraatneff vt that thatnitwiire . isliko . ' y to have upon tho inttre ^ sof the several clas-pi . '
Oldham.—On Sunday, September 10.H, A Gen...
Oldham . —On Sunday , September 10 . h , a general meeting of this branch of the National Land Company , will be held in the hchoolraaiu of the Working-man ' s Hall , a ' , two o'clock in the afternoon , when all enroled members avorequested to attend , and those in arrears of levies to pay them up . Other subjects will-be , biSuagSt furwaid for discussion .--A meeting tfilHak . 3 place in . ths , above room , a * six o ' clocHnjMg ^ ning .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 9, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_09091848/page/1/
-