On this page
- Departments (2)
- Adverts (16)
-
Text (6)
-
. . THE NORTHERN STAR. April 11,- 1846.
-
THOiviAS COOP-SS. ^HE CHiiSTIS'i'-S WORKS.
-
ME NORTHERN STAR SATDUDAY, APRIL 11, 1846.
-
IRELAND. "IRELAND WILL BE OUR GREAT DIFF...
-
CHARTISM. When the democratic spirit was...
-
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW. The Easter recess ...
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.
. . The Northern Star. April 11,- 1846.
. . THE NORTHERN STAR . April 11 ,- 1846 .
Thoivias Coop-Ss. ^He Chiistis'i'-S Works.
THOiviAS COOP-SS . ^ HE CHiiSTIS'i' -S WORKS .
Ad00406
To he had of John Cleave , and all booksellers . ( Price One Shilling . ) TWO ORATIONS AGAIKST
Ad00407
OOLOSSEOM .-NOTICE . -1 'B . ICE OF ADMISSION DURING THE 110 LIDA 1 S .. '' s Day Exhibition ' . ^ Evening Do . ' Children under Twelve ^^ Stalactite Caverns rrnE DAY EXHIBITION consists of the Museum of 1 « -ulnfire Grand Picture of London , Alhambra Conservatories , Go rgeous Gothic Aviary , Classic Ituins Swiss Cottage aud Mont Blaiic . wiih Mountain Torrent , ic ie . Open from Ten till Four o'Clock . EVENING . The new and extraordinary Fanoraina of Losdon by Night , Museum of Sculpture , Conservatories , and Gorgeous Gothic Aviary , & c , brilliantly illuminated ; Swiss Cottage , Mont Blanc , and Mountain Torrent represen ted by Moonlight . Open from Seven till a Quarterpast Ten o'Clock . most ad
Ad00408
A GOOD FIT WARRANTED . UBSDELL AND CO ., Tailors , are now making up a complete Suit- of Superfine Black , any size , for £ 3 ; Superfine "West of England Black , £ 3 10 s . ; and the very best Superfine Saxony , £ 5 , warranted not to spot or change colour . Juvenile Superfine Cloth Suits , 24 s . ; Liveries equally cheap—at the Great Western Emporium , Nos . l audi , Oxford-street , London ; the noted house for good black cloths , and patent made trousers . Gentlemen can choose the colour and quality of cloth from the largest stock in London . The ar t of cutting taught .
Ad00409
TO TAILORS . Now ready , T HE IXVXDOX and VAK . IS SPUING and SUMMER FASHIONS , for 1 S 4 C . By approbation of her Majesty Queen Victoria , and bis Hoyal Highness Friace Albert * a splendidly coloured print , beautifully executed , published by BENJAMIN READ aud Co ., 12 , Hartstreet , Bloomsbury-squarc , Loudon ; and G . Burger , Hoiywell-street , Strand , London . Sold by the publishers and all booksellers , wheresoever residing . This superb Print will be accompanied with full size Riding Dress and Frock Coat patterns , a complete pattern of the new
Ad00410
BOND'S PERMANENT MARKING INK . THE ORIGINAL ^ WITHOUT PREPARATION . For writing Initials , Names , or Ciphers , upon Linen , £ «¦ for the purpose of Identity . THIS Composition unites every requisite , and is admitted to be the only article similarly used , the mark of which does not run in the wash , and which has given satisfaction to every j-urchascr , it being universally preferred forits fixity and neatness of impression . Prepar < d by the Inventor , John Bond , chemist , 28 , Long-lane , West Sniitbfield , and sold by most stationars , < tc . Price li . per bottle .
Ad00411
DAGURREOTYPE AND CALOTYPE . THE APPARATUS , LEXS , CHEMICALS , PLATE 3 CASES , and every other articl- used iu making and mounting the above can be had o * 1 . Egerton , No 1 , Temple-street , Whitefriars , London , descriptive Catalosues yratis . LEREBOURS' celebrated ACHROMATIC TRIPLET LENSES f «« r the MICROSCOPE , sent to any part of the country at the following prices : —Deep Power , COs . ; Low Power . 25 s . Every article warranted .
Ad00412
Just published , by the Executive Committee of the National Charter Association , Parts I ., II ., and III . of rp IIE POLITICAL WORKS OF THOM \ S PAINE : i to be regularly continued until completed . This edition of the works of Paine has the tnerif of being the cheapest and ne-atest ever offered to the public . It will consist of five parts , stitched in wrapper , at sixpence each ; and will be embellished with a beautiful vignette of the author , engraved exclusively for this Work . Loniion : Cleave , 1 , Shoe-lane ; Heywood , Manchester ; anil all booksellers and agents of the Xordicrn Star . A " . l > . Orders executed by T . M . Wheeler , General Secretary ; and by the various Sub-secreUries throughout the country .
Ad00413
REDUCTION OF PRICES . THS Trials of the Fifty-nine CHARTISTS , published in Eight Parts , at Sevenpcucc each , now offered in complete sets , at One Shilling per set . The same done up in cloth , with portrait , title , & c , Two Shillings per copy . Portrait- * , which irom tin : s to time have been presented with the KorOtern Star , and latterly sold at One Sbilling each , now ottered at Threepence each : —Richard Gustier , Robert Einmelt , John Frost , John Collins , P . M . Mc'Douall , the Rev J . It . Stspheus . View of Monmouth Court House during the Trial of Frost , Williams , and Jones . The First Convention . Letter . ' of F . O'Connor , Esq ., to Daniel O'Connell , Esq . Published at One Shilling e . ; ch , offered at Fourpence . Price Fourpence , The Emplover and Employed . By F . O'Connor , Esq .
Ad00414
FARMING . Just published , a new Edition , neatly done up in cloth , price 2 s . ( id ., ou THE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL FARMS . By F . O'Coxsob , Esq . Manchester : Abel Heywood , 58 . Oldbam-street . London : J- Watson , St . l'aul ' s-allc-y , Fateruostrr-row ; anil J . Cleave , Shoe-lane . And may be had of all booksellers and agents throughout the country .
Ad00415
EDUCATION . This day is published , demy 12 mo ., cloth , price Eighteenpence , THE NEW ETYMOLOGICAL EXPOSITOR , or Pronouncing Spelling Book ; eoutaiu ' n , g a selection of Words commonly used by the best writers , with their pronunciation , derivation , & e . By William Hill . Much care and labour has been bestowed upon the above work , so as to make it the very best of its kind . Also , by the same Author , price Is ., the Rational School Grammar . Also , price Is ., the Companion to the Ration :. ! Scbool Grammar . Abel Heywood , 58 , Oldbam-street , Manchester ; London , J- Watson , Paternoster-row ; J . Cleave , Slme-lane , Fle-tt-strcct ; and all booksellers .
Ad00416
WAR WITH AMERICA . 1 \ TO W PUBLISHING , in Penny numbers , or Sixpenny iM Parte , a complete HISTORY OF AMERICA , beautifu . ly Mustrated with Plates and Vignette En . = ra » "ings from the period of its discovery down ; o the present Urn ? , detailing the number of distinct coiumuni . ties therein , the different views which actuated its fouiidt-rs , and the extent of territory over which it spreads , by J . Frost , A . M . Thf style in which tbis history is written is pleasant , "rapliir , and perspicuous : the author has evidently quoted the b-. tt authorities ; and his narrative pos . se .-ses ail tbe-. haimsofaromaiicc , while itrecords truths beyond all suvpicii'ii . We cordially approve of the work , and vrisb it She j-uccess which it so eminently deserves . — I ' . ' ecV i Dispttcii . Tin fi : ib * . llis ! iinents consist of engravings , illustrating the n . os : iaipo -. taut and vtrilting events in American annals . Tiu-v are at once , numerous and striking . —
Ad00417
NEW PENNY PERIODICAL . On Tbcbs ^ av , April 23 rd , will be published , No . 1 of the LONDON . PIONEER ; Containing forty-eight columns of closeIj--P ""«< l letter-press , Tha largest and cheapest sheet ever published for a Penny . Edited by Baros Crow , and contributed to by Scrutator ; Emilinc B . ; Mrs . Fulwood SmerObn ; Amelia E . ; Juliet ; Christopher Sniallwood ; and others . A Book worth twopence , containing the Life of a Soldiek , will he presented gratuitously with No . 1 of the LONDON PIONEER . Published by B . D . Coosiss , Duke-strect , Lincoln ' sinn , and sold by all booksellers . Give your orders early .
Ad00418
Just published , Fcp . 8 vo . cloth , price 7 s . Cd . THE ARISTOCRACY OF ENGLAND ; A Histort for the People . By John Hampden , Jun . " Cromwell . What then is the great root of all our grievances 1 "Pvm . The Aristocracy ! Give us their truo history , and you unriddle tho secret of every national embarrassment !" London : CHAPMAN BROTHERS . 121 . NEWGATE STREET .
Ad00419
THE FIRST NUMBER FOR NOTHING ' . Every Purchaser of No , 1 ., now ready , Price One Penny , of a Re-issue of "Dyson ' s School and Family English Dictionary , " will receive , GRATIS , No . 1 . ( to be continued in Penny Numbers ) of "THE PEOPLE : " BY M . MICHELET , Thc Celebrated Author of Priests , Women , and Families . Order Dyson ' s Edition , the Best and Cheapest . Translated by Dr . P . M . M'DOUALL . Ready every Thursday morning . Also , at the same time , in Numbers , Price One Penny ,
Ad00420
UNITED PATRIARCHS BENEFIT SOCIETY . Pour Hundred Persons have becomt Jfembers in Six i } fonths . Openforashorl time to Healthy Men up to FORTY-FIVE years of Age . Answer this question!—Have you provided against the casualties of Life , Sickness , and Death ?—If not , haste and cuter this nourishing Institution . Society House , Round Table Tavern , St . Martin ' s-oourt , Leicester-square . Society ' s Office , 13 , Tottenham-court , New-road , St . Fauci as , London , Enrolled and Empovrnred by Act of Parliament , to extend over the United Kingdom . To have Agents and Medical Attendants . The Society is in Four Divisions , for its Members to receive , according to their payments , tho following Denefits : —
Ad00421
THE LAND . Thc names of all who draw prizes in the ballot on Monday next , will appear at full length with their places of residence in the Star of Saturday next .
Me Northern Star Satduday, April 11, 1846.
ME NORTHERN STAR SATDUDAY , APRIL 11 , 1846 .
Ireland. "Ireland Will Be Our Great Diff...
IRELAND . " IRELAND WILL BE OUR GREAT DIFFICULTY" has grown into a ministerial proverb ; a proverb the truth and aptness of which we by no means deny in its qualified acceptation . Wc admit that Ireland has been the great difficulty of past governments , but thc caprice of each has constituted the difficulty of its successor . The only perceptible difference that a change of government should present is , the substitution of one policy for another . With Ireland , however , change of government means
not change ot policy , it means change of masters , and hence wc find thc problem of difficulty solved . A Tory government creates difficulties which a Whig government finds it impossible to remove , because masters have to be changed , and vice versa . Under the old principle of Tory rule , the accession of the Tory party was hailed by their partisans as their license to rule without law , to govern without constitution , and to plunder without responsibility . Upon ttic other hand , thc policy of the Whi « s
especially since the passing of ihe Reform Bill , has been to introduce an opposition patronage , a partisan conflict , a transfer o" * uncontrolled rights and privileges to THEIR OWN parti : ans and supporters . This is the policy against which Sir Robert Peel has to contend , and which constitutes his great difficulty , lie lias attempted to govern Ireland not by the destruction of this pernicious policy , but by the substitution of a rival intrigue ; a policy which has deprived him of Protestant confidence and of Catholic respect .
There is a striking contrast just now between his r tsh POLITICAL difficulty and his English commercial embarrassment , with this single difference , that the same truckling polfcy that has been so successful for years in Ireland , will not be tolerated for a single season in England . Into whosoever hands thc DIFFICULTY of governing Ireland shall next pass , that government may have learned that Ireland cannot longer be governed upon the
principle of Tory ascendancy or Catholic patronage . The alternations from Church and State plunder to coercion will no longer satisfy any party . The Irish people have now grown boyowl the power of whim " sical and capricious government . In the good old times , as they arc called , of unbridled Toryism , the accession to power of that faction constituted every Protestant a law-maker . Every village had its putty tyrant , who set himself above the law » od thc
Ireland. "Ireland Will Be Our Great Diff...
constitution . Every landlord , every parson , cvei ? Protestant functionary , every constable , every little yeoman , every spy , every perjurer had eacli their respective claims upon the government;—claims which could not be resisted , and which could bo only satisfied by a patent of superiority over their Catholic countrymen . Lord Normanby , when Viceroy of Ireland , attempted to turn this policy to Whig account , and preserved his popularity by a more transfer of patronage and a capricious exercise of executive powers . Now wc would ask Sir Robert Peel in sober sadness whether he has the folly to suppose that his proposed
Coercion Bill will destroy those several difficulties ot ministerial creation and reconcile the conflicting parties in Ireland to this his new policy of government ' We may admit as a maxim that truth ripens by re " petition , while it is equally true that false rumour and misrepresentation gain strength in their progress . Now it is to the misrepresentation of Ireland through the newspaper press and through Irish absentee landlords resident in England , who , to justify their own oppression , would represent their countrymen as barbarians , that Sir Robert Peel and every minister who lias preceded him must ascribe their greatest difficulty . When perfect calm and absence of proedial agitation prevails , * then is the season of
ministerial quiet , ministerial indifference , and ministerial security . Then Ireland requires nothing because she is peaceable . Whether this quiet is a consequence of Mr . O'Connell ' s promised fruit from tranquillity , - or from a partially bettered state of things , whether transitory or permanent , government does not stop to inquire . One would naturally suppose that the period of calm was the season most fitting for wholesome change , and yet we defy any man to point out a single instance in which that calm has not been the tomb of ministerial promise ; a fact which teaches Irishmen that they must look to the minister ' s fears and not to his justice for tho redress of their grievances .
It is only upon occasions like the present , when Ireland is threatened with thc suppression of the constitution , that her real condition begins to peep through thc cloud of misrepresentation ; and English members are called upon to perform the almost impossibility of divesting their minds of thc fallacy of the fabrications and misrepresentations of the Times newspaper , and interested landlords ; just at the mo * ment when their minds should be unprejudiced , and when they should be prepared to give an impartial judgment between Ireland and her oppressors . But how is this possible , when the fabrications of that journal , and the libels of Irish landlords , have gained strength in their unopposed course , if not " ripened into truths ?" .
In his letter of this week , Mr . O'Connor refers to the representation of the Times when there was a DANGER of Ministerial interference , and a prospect of some remedies being applied to the long-standing grievances-of Ireland ; and in these days when the power of the press is admitted to be all but irresistible , we are bound to canvas the manner in which that power has been used . It is well to remind landlords that they have duties to perform as well
as rights to exercise , while the press of England not only fails to perform the duties that it owes to the public , but would invade every legitimate right , which should be the governing rule of newspaper action . No man can have forgotten the period to which wc refer ; and , as we commented upon the slander of the Times when it was first published , it must be fresh in thc recollection of our readers , that that journal asserted—THAT WHEREVER
THE STRANGER TRAVELLED IN IRELAND , WHETHER NORTH , SOUTH , EAST , Oil WI . ST , OR IN WHATEVER DIRECTION HE DIVERGED , THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO MEET WITH A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL
WHO HAD A SINGLE REAL GRIEVANCE TO COMPLAIN OF . It is upon such unblushing information that English members of Parliament , being themselves Protestants and landlords , have been led to believe that violence , aggression , lawlessness , and murder , are characteristics of the Irish people , rather than consequences of oppression and misrule . If people have no real cause of complaint , no real grievances , and if they commit murder , it must be proof of the depravity of their nature ; and may well justify a suppression of the constitution and Ministerial harshness . The old system of clearing estates , of ousting Catholic tenants to make way for subservient
Protestant voters , of hunting PAPISTS from thc homes of their fathers , in the vain hope of exterminating the national religion , and converting Ireland into a Protestant colony , was matter of history , and must have been known to tho editor of the Times . In passing , we may observe , that Ireland , as a Catholic country , has furnished more plunder to the Church and to the State , than if the people had been Protestants . Had they been Protestants , the moral power of thc majority would have presented successful resistance to the misrule and misrepresentation of the minority ; but , when a country is governed for pelf , it must be ruled upon sectarian differences , which ever produce national weakness , and enable the k \ v to lord it over the many .
We now return to the consideration of matters of history—matters with which every child who has heard of Ireland , or read of Ireland , has been made familiar , and of which no newspaper could by possibility have been ignorant . The atrocities of the Irisli landlords are beyond the belief of English gentlemen . Wc have published the true state of Ireland times out of number within the last eight years . In Mr . O'Cosson ' s letters to the Irish landlords , he left nothing unsaid upon the subject . On the 23 th of last month we summed up the state of the Irish peasant in a brief , but mournful
compendium . The atrocities committed by the hoary old sinner , Gekrakd , had not then been published . They have subsequently appeared , however , and have gone far to confirm our general statement . The facts of that cold-blooded butchery have been published in a clear , plain , impartial , unexceptionable , truthcarrying manner , in the Freeman ' s Journal , from the report of its own Commissioner , who heard , saw , and judged for himself , rejecting every particle of evidence which appeared to be coloured or partial . This statement old Gerhard , living at a distance from the scene of his murders , has attempted to refute ;
and here we publish a rejoinder to Mr . Gerba kd ' s reply , from the columns o the Evening Post , and we ask any man to read the rejoinder , and then to read our article of the 2 Sth of March , and say that we have over-coloured the picture of Irish grievance . ' ) jllere follows the rejoinder published in the most moderate paper in Ireland—the Dublin Evening Post : — ' . " I have read with attention a letter of Mr . Gerrard ' s , and 1 take it for granted that Mrs . Gerrard , whose property it is , was fully persuaded that the sheep and the bullocks would be-better paying tenants than those dispossessed ; still , knowing all the facts us I do , there is one part of his letter I cannot suffer to p « ss unnoticed , which is as follows : —
" ' I assert , confidently , that thc people who were dispossessed were treated with the greatest kindness and consideration , by my agent and those acting under his orders , during the taking of the possession , and several of them at the time , and since , thanked him for so treating them . ' " Now , for the kindness and consideration ; and I defy one single syllable to be contradicted by either Mr . Gerrard , his agent , or his body-guard ;—
" 1 st . Were not twelve carts , each having fonr men , as levellers , and in each carta supply of spades , pick-axes , and crow bars , brought out with thc military and police , and were not from thirty to forty of the men set regularly at each house , with their implements , until it was levelled with the ground ? " 2 nd . Was not thc rcntforced upon the agent , and when he refused , the unfortunate people implored ol the officers to take it ?
" 3 rd . Was not a party of police brought down to a hut in the bog , to dispossess one miserable creature in sickness ? " ' 1 th . Were not the fires that were taken out of the fallen houses , and settled in the ditches on the high road , and off the property , for the purpose of boiling a few potatoes , were they not here scattered about ami thc people driven from them ? " 5 . Were not some of the tenantry who had left the houses the night previous , knowing what was to follow , and who hail erected a few sticks , with a blanket over them , for shelter on thc other side of the
Ireland. "Ireland Will Be Our Great Diff...
road , was not such torn down over thera , and they driven off ? " 6 th . Did not the agent apply for the military and police to be allowed to charge the unfortunate people clean off the lands , after all the houses were thrown down , as he did not consider the possession complete so long as they were allowed to remain in the fields , and whose only offence was weeping over the mouldering ruins of their once happy homes , where more than one-half of thc twenty-ei g ht families were born .
"So much for kindness and consideration ; so much for ' dry thatch and old rafters , ' worth about 20 s ., the entire roofing of the twenty-eight houses . I speak from what I witnessed with my own eyes ; and I think I have placed too high a value on both ' and which still remain on the roadside . " It might be worth the consideration of that goor * landlord , Lord Londonderry , if , in the Coercion Bill , he would introduce a clause , that in the event of the Gerrard property ever being placed under the provisions of it , Mr . Gerrard should be taxed for all thc expenses .
" I fully acknowledge Mr . Gerrard ' s right to do what he likes with his own , but he must recollect that it is very easy to kindle a flame by which others may suffer . The act was enforced , harshly to a degree , and in thc most tranquil part of Ireland , and on the most quiet and inoffensive creatures breathing . " Let us now ask whether the Irish Coercion Bill is intended or calculated to bring the real offenders in this case to justice ? Here is a case where all the power of the law , the local authorities , the police force , and paid miscreants of thc murderer , are enlisted and hired to commit a savage and barbarous act ; and there is little doubt that the same staff
would cheerfully take further vengeance upon their victims . Let us then suppose a case under thc Coercion Bill like the following : — Dabby Houseless was yesterday brought before Capt . Squeezetenaot , J . P ., by constable James Flint , upon the charge that he was found out of his house after sunset . The charge was fully established against thc prisoner , and upon being asked what account ho had to give of himself , he replied , " Yer honour ' s worship , I have no house , their honours levelled it on mo yesterday , and turned me out , and the woman , and the little family , out on the roadside , and though I offered thc rent to Mr . Grub there .
Caw . Sqeezetenant : Oh ! I have nothing to do with that . I suppose you were ousted by process oi law—you should have given up possession when it was required of you , without putting your landlord , who is a most excellent , amiable , and indulgent gentleman , to the trouble and expense of forcing you out . Darbv Houseless : Oh ! yer honour , it wasn't axed of me , and where would I go to . I was looking for a sheltered place agin the wind and rain for the childer , when this gentleman comes up with his BAG ' iVETfand makes me a prisoner , and but I ' m frantic , for I don't know for the soul of me what ' s become of the woman and the childer .
Capt . Squkezetexaxt : Well , you should have thought of that before . Serjeant Flint has discharged his duty very mildly . You must be transported for seven years . Darby Houseless : Wisha ! transported—for what ? Is it for being turned out of my house to starve ? What law is that ? Cam . Squeezetenant : A very proper law . A \ aw made for the PRESERVATION OF YOUR LIFE .
Dauby ; By gorra but it ' s a queer way to protect a man ' s life , to tumble his house down about his ears , and then to transport him because he ' s out of his house . I'll engage if I knew that that would be the way that I wouldn't give up possession so easily , but I'd venture my life first . Squeezktbnant : Prisoner , I don't wish to be harsh , but you are now adding to your guilt , for threatening to offer a resistance to the law , which might terminate in murder , for which your life would be forfeited .
Darby ; What the divil do I care for my life if you take my house , and my childer , and my wife , and transport me from my country . Shure and wouldn't it be better for a man to be dead than to be treated like a rogue ! SquKKzerENAXT : Serjeant , remove the prisoner , Stick , make out his committal , and let him be instantly removed to the county gaol . This system of lawless outrage and resistance'to the laws of the country must be put down with a strong hand . Serjeant Flint ( dragging the prisoner by the collar ) : Come along , don ' t give his worship any more trouble .
Darby : Wisha , yer honour ' s worship , I axes yer pardon for giving you so much trouble , but will you let mc see the woman and the childer before I goes to gaol . Squeezetknant ; No , certainly not ; its an indul gence that might have been permited if you had conducted yourself in a proper manner , Serjeant Flint , remove the prisoner instantly . Darby : Oyca ! blessed be God ! take my life at once if you won ' t let me see the crathurs before I go . 0 yea ! blessed be God ! BUT ITS A HARD
WORLD FOR THE POOR . Now , here we stop , leaving the English reader to reflect upon the horrors likely to bo inflicted upon tne poor houseless wanderer by this atrocious LANDLORDS' TYRANNY PRESERVATION BILL , simply asking , if he will be a voluatary participator in those acts by withholding his signature from the petition praying for their prevention .
Chartism. When The Democratic Spirit Was...
CHARTISM . When the democratic spirit was infused into the working classes , and when their adhesion to those principles which were calculated to place them upon un equality with their oppressors , and to make all men equal in the eyes of the law , promised one day to be in the ascendant , many professed admiration of the principles while they affected to regret the total absence of PRACTICAL AGITATION . It
never struck these nice discriminators that Whigs and Tories , when out of office , were as incapable of showing symptoms of power , except through the me - diura of agitation , as the Chartists . This objection to Chartism was offered , however , merely as an excuse for not joining its ranks . In those . days tho advocates of Chartist principles were invariably met by the philosophers with , "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ? Where are we to find symptoms of your strength and progress ? Your forces have been scattered , and your leaders consigned to thc dungeon . " Those sceptics had not tho wisdom to see , that those charges , in themselves , were proof of the growth of a new principle , and of the terror with which it inspired those who . are called the supporters of legitimacy .
\ if the Reformers had failed in their last struggle for the Reform Bill , the leaders of that party would have shared the same fate as the leaders of Chartism . When the battle tvas ever the victois would have taken vengeance upon the most prominent leaders , in the hope of intimidating the body from another assault . Nothing so forcibly proves the strength of a political party , as thc severity with which those iu power stretch the laws against the propounders of the new doctrine . Nevertheless , oppression ever has its effect , and does , we confess , paralyse agitation lor a season . It has the same
effect upon the national mind that medicine has upon a patient . If , however , there had not been something durable , fascinating , and convincing in the principles of Chartism , it would have been impossible , after the several heavy blows and great discouragements successfully aimed at the body , to have resuscitated thc principle in any practical form , and it is because we can now give a practical answer to those who ask for a practical manifestation of our power , that wo think the present a fitting season to use what is now passing in the Chartist world as anillustration of the growth of Chartist principles .
It we are now asked for a distinct and unmistakeable proof of practical Chartism , if the philosophers should now say , where is there an appearance of your strength , your power , your union , or organization , we point with pride to our Land column and say , ' Behold the ledger ot our strength ,. Wil lany man say that the Chartists are not an . organised body ?
Chartism. When The Democratic Spirit Was...
Will any man say that Chartism was mere st ? . und , tho howl of tho dissatisfied , and the clamour of a rabble , when he sees nearly TWELVE HUNDRED POUNDS subscribed by the working classes within eight days , for the PRACTICAL development of Chartism . The manner in which the Land scheme has progressed , furnishes the strongest justification forthoae who have been taunted with violence and declamation . Those were necessary ingredients in arousing an oppressed people ; firstly , to a sense of their own degradation ; and secondly , to a knowledge that of
themselves , and without any alteration in the law , or in thc system of representation , that they had the power to do much in the way of social change which i-nust ultimately tend to political advancement . While we direct attention to this new and greatest social move ever attempted in any country , wc confogs that our feelings are not without a mixture , if not of pain , of great anxiety , as to the manner in which the power and trust vested in thc several officers shall be discharged . We hint not , we canvas not , their integrity ; wc speak solely of their caution , their prudence , and their watchfulness . Under
discreet and wise management , the Land Society of itself is capable of effecting a great social and political change in this country ; while a single false step , or departure from the path of strict prudence , would give a blow to thc popular movement which mi ght peril it for years . Jlitherto every thing has been conducted upon the . most prudent and straightforward principle—the strictest economy has been observed , while every opportunity has been embraced to give effect to the general wishes of the society ;
and that such will continue to be the course of the ruling' body , we entertain not a shadow of doubt . Meanwhile we use the Land plan as an auxiliary in aid of the great principle of national redemption , we must not lose sight of the great political game now being played by the several parties in the State . Every day's knowledge of what is now passing both in and out of the House of Commons must convince our readers that we form no hasty judgment as to the probable treatment and final result of Sir Robert Peel ' s commercial policy .
Very early in the debate , while all was anticipated speed , "lurly burly , " and non-resistance , we ventured to predict that the Easter recess would not see the measure introduced into the Lords , and that it would he late in summer before its fate would be known . We went further , we ventured to assert that its fate would seal the doom of Sir Robert Peel ' s ministry , if not of Sir Robebt Peel ' s fame . What we then asserted and now re-assert is
established whether thc measure shall succeed or / ail . If the measure succeeds the landed aristocracy will ba routed , disorganised and disbanded to such an extent as to compel them to court popular influence as the only mearo of preserving their position in society . Upon the » ther hand , should the measure fail , the Whigs , the Corn Law League and thc Liberal Irish members will make a desperate effort , a death struggle , totonvert national disappointment to party
purposes . It is for tlis contingency that we have laboured incessantly to prepare and marshal the national mind . It is to take advantage of this emergency that we have besought ; the working classes to elect discreet and trustworthy delegates so to represent labour , that out of the contention of faction their class may derive a better share of the spoil than reckless
pledges and extensive promises . And it was from a consciousness that , in any event , Peel's measure would load to the necessity for such a representation , that the Executive of the Chartist body wisely , prudently , and constitutionally deferred the holding of the National Convention until such time as the country should be roused to the necessity of having a full , complete , and satisfactory representation of the Chartist body .
We are aware that some , who are not meiniers of the Chartist Association , but who , upon the contrary , have used their poor endeavours to arrest the progress of the principle by denunciation of the Executive , have expressed magnanimous horror at this violation of the Chartist constitution . Now , we hold that the Executive have power , or that thay have not . If they have power they have exercised it in our opinion wisely , if they have not power there ia no necessity for their existence as a body , If the National Convention had been convened with the
conviction that an extraordinary meeting was indispensable , the Executive would justly stand charged with the folly of having subjected the country to unnecessary expence , and with the imprudence of having exhibited what must have appeared our weakness to our opponents . The two Conventions would have spoiled each other , while in the event of an extraordinary assembly being rendered unnecessary , the Chartist cause will not have sustained one particle of damage by the short postponement of the Annual Convention .
We deem it the more prudent to be explicit upon these several points , in consequence of the wise policy acted upon by the Executive of not meeting accusation by recrimination or even by defence , and we feel assured that those by whom they have been elected , and for whose interest and whoso cause they have manifested the greatest zeal and energy , will hold with us . We rejoice to think that the dissatisfaction upon this point is confined within the narrowest possible limits , and that now , upon the eve of the first development of practical Chartism , the Executive can meet their brethren upon the public stage with a consciousness that they have performed their dnty , and where representatives will ever receive public approval as the reward of public honesty .
Parliamentary Review. The Easter Recess ...
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . The Easter recess has closed the first part of the parliamentary campaign . A glance at the position in which it leaves affaire does not tell so favourably for the Ministry as was expected a fortnight since . The anticipation then was that Piikl would have secured at least the passage of the Corn Bill through the Commons , and afterwards , perhaps , tho first reading of the Coercion Bill , upon which , singularly enough , he seems to hare set his heart , to the risk , and as it has proved to the delay , of the other
measure . The battle was in his own bands . lie was witVtn sight of victory . The motley troop gathered together under his standard—Whigs , Leaguers , Repealers , and Peelites—were unbroken , and the sturdy but smaller force of the Protectionist body had no chance of resisting them , when all at once that overstrained sense of courtesy , that reverence for parliamentary usages , precedents , and etiquette , which forms Sir Robert ' s weak point , induced him to pres 3 foiward the Irish bill . The determination acted like a strong chemical solvent on the strangely combined parties by whom he was supported—resolving them
into their primary and simple elements . Each resumed its accustomed position . Peel was left with his own small band on the Treasury benches . The Protectionists and Repealers have virtually beaten him . Each will return to the defence of their re spective positions with redoubled energy after the recess . If the statements as to the imminence of tha impending famine in Ireland be at all founded intact the ministry will be obli ged to pass some temporary measure to meet the calamity . On this point both the Irish members and tho Protectionists are agreed , both promise their resistance , and both sternly declare their determination to fight their respective battles to the last .
When , after these protracted struggles in the lower House , the Corn Bill at last , some time in the month ot May , is sent to the Lords , it is said that its reception there from the Protectionist party , under the leadership of Lord Stanley , is to be of a most , hostile nature . The Lords will consume the remaining portion of the Session by wrangling ' . ebout the Free Trade measures of the Premier , with all the forms of delay which parliamentary usage permits to be resorted to On such occasions . A long session with dubious fesmlts is the prospect
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), April 11, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_11041846/page/4/
-