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4 THE NORTHERN STAR. ^^__ _____ May 16, ...
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1 ABOU11-S EMANCIPATION FROM CAPI-j TALIST TYRANNY.
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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, MAY 1G, 1816.
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THE STRUGGLE. THE CONFERENCE. —THE STRIK...
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We cannot forego the pleasure of adding ...
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THE HEART OF ERIN. Bounding beyond the n...
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PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW. The old stereotype...
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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.
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4 The Northern Star. ^^__ _____ May 16, ...
4 THE NORTHERN STAR . ^^__ _____ May 16 , 1846
1 Abou11-S Emancipation From Capi-J Talist Tyranny.
1 ABOU 11-S EMANCIPATION FROM CAPI-j TALIST TYRANNY .
Ad00408
" The workm ;* : classes must resolve no longer to le the slaves uf their own gains , hut ; tu become their own -Masters . '' llT & V . w . Jfowiit THE "STRONG EOOT XSD SHOE MAKER . *? , " in the emjiloyineut of Mr . Kendall , of Drury-1-uie , & c , ¦ were , by -i must gross exercise of the master jiower deprived of their iisk . i 1 means of existence , merely because they declined assenting to such terms , dictated * to tlieill , Trader peculiar aggravating circumstances , by Mr . Kendall , as none other than slaves or fools could accede to .
Ad00409
£ MIGItATIO ;\ TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA . PKEE PASSAGE . THE UNDERSIGNED ARE AUTHORISED BY HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL LAND AND EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS TO GRANT A FREE FASSAGE to the above eminently healthy and prosperous Colony , to married Agricultural Labourers , Shepherds , 3 Iale and Female Domestic and Farm Servants , Bricklayers , Carpenters , Masons , Smiths , and Miners . The demand for Labour in South Australia is urgent , and is well remunerated in wages , provisions , lodging , < tc . All particulars wiU be furnished on application , personally , Or by letter , to JOHN MARSHALL ik CO ., 2 G , Birehin-lane , London : 79 , High-street , Southampton ; or at the Emigration Depot , Flymoutii .
Ad00410
TO TAILORS . Jsow ready , TEE LONDON and PARIS SPRING and SUMMER FASHIONS , for 1 S 4 C . By approbation of her Majesty Queen Victoria , and his Royal Highness Prince Albert , a splendidly coloured print , beautifully executed , published by BENJAMIN READ and Co ., 12 , Hart-Ptrect , Bloomsbury . sq . uare , London ; aud G . Berger , Holywell-streot , Strand , London . Sold by the publishers and all booksellers , wheresoever residing . This superb Print will be accompanied with full size Riding Dress
Ad00411
A GOOD FIT WARRANTED . UBSDELL AND CO ., Tailors , are now making up a complete Suit of Superfine Black , any size , for £ 3 ; Superfine Vest 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 , Ifos . 1 and 2 , Oxford-street , London ; the noted bouse for good black cloths , and pateatniade trousers . Gentlemen can choose the colour and quality of cloth from the largest stock in London , he » r tof cutting taught .
Ad00412
Ad00416
THOMAS COOPER . THE CHARTiST'S WORKS . To be had of John Cleave , and all booksellers . / Price One Shilling . )
Ad00415
DAGURREOTYPE A 2 \ D CALOTYPB . THE APPARATUS , LEXS , CHEMICALS , PLATES CASES , and every other artiel . used in making and mounting the above can be had of I . Egerton , No 1 , Temple-street , Whitefriars , London , descriptive Catalogues gratis . LERE HOURS' celebrated ACHROMATIC TRIPLET LEXSES for the MICROSCOPE , sent to auy part of the country at the following prices : —Deep Power , 60 s . ; Low Power " 25 s . Every article warranted .
Ad00414
MOIU-TAGE AT THREE AND A-11 ALF PER . CENT £ 3 IMI 0 I > , -. nd possibly more if required , is ready t <> be advanced on Freehold Landed Security , in England at the above rate of Interest . Apply to Mr . Hewitt , Surveyor , 11 , Hart Street , Blooms ourv s ' quiire , London . It is requested no one will make application whose pro posed security is not of tlie first-rate description .
The Northern Star. Saturday, May 1g, 1816.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , MAY 1 G , 1816 .
The Struggle. The Conference. —The Strik...
THE STRUGGLE . THE CONFERENCE . —THE STRIKE . The just require no hotter defence of their cause , than the suicidal opposition of those who would maintain and uphold injustice by the weight of their position and the power of the appliances , unjustly and anomalously placed at their disposal . In support of this impregnable position , " in confirmation of this indisputable fact , we cannot offer more conclusive proof than the manner in which the rampant and intolerant masters have admitted the justice of the claims of the building trades now on strike , while
they pertinaciously resist compliance with those just demands by the enforcement of a harsh , an arbitrary , and , indeed , an ILLEGAL CONDITION . Illegal , because it is the exercise of terror to compel the men to relinquish a LEGAL RIGHT . We learn from the proceedings of the 188 tyrants assembled at Newton , tbat the proposed National Combination of wealth , power , law , and injustice , has been rendered necessary , not to resist the time or wages terms proposed by the men , which they are ready to accede to , but that the combination is rendered necessary to detroy the legal title of the men to combine .
The men , aware of thc effect of such a triumph as the voluntary confession of their own debasement and degradation would subsequently have npon the time and wages question , and feeling convinced that the first apparently insignificant yielding would be subsequently followed by more imperious demand ? , properly , and with becoming dignity , rejected the debasing terms . The men saw and understood that the invitation to relinquish their National Protection Society was a bait to disband the national force , in order that the several sharp-shooters may pick up or pick off the disorganised and retreating enemy at will . The masters profess an anxious desire to arrange
and settle the question amicably , NOT FOR THEIR OWN CONVENIENCE , but for the benefit of thc hands , to SPARE SOCIETY the inconvenience arising from the contest . And yet , in their accumulative dignity they reject the deputation of workingmen without a knowledge of the proposition they were about to make . They insolently tell them to commit their proposal to writing , and lest their proposal should put them more in the wrong , they dissolve ; meet to gormandize ; and return to their respective localities , with the insolent and supercilious reply , that , as the meeting had separated , no answer could be given . If we require stronger proof f tue ' masters' ulterior objects than that-which we have already offered , it
The Struggle. The Conference. —The Strik...
is furnished by this inexplicable conduct . A hundred and eighty-eight master ; builders attend a public meeting for the performance of a duty from which they declare they would rather be relieved . Their consultation is rendered necessary b y what they call the oppressive tyranny of the men . They , kind souls ! seek no advantage for themselves , they are actuated solely by consideration for the misguided men , and with a self-devotion and singleness of purpose , rare , if not unprecedented , in the order of capitalists , they merely interpose as mediators between the refractory idle and the
INCONVENIENCED PUBLIC . Let us criticise them in tins benign character , which they have assumed , and let us ask , if their object was RECONCILIATION , was it not their chief , their most urgent , indeed , their only duty , to hear the proposition that the working-mon were prepared to make , and was not the invitation to send that proposition in writing , a pledge to receive it and to consider it , whatever the response may be ; but , so far from being actuated by a sense of justice , or even of propriety , they hurry the proeeodings to a hasty conclusion , without condescending to discuss the proposition which the men were invited to submit to the meeting .
This proposition stated , that the building trades were ready to return to work upon the conditions agreed upon by the deputation of masters and men , held under the presidency of the Mayor of Manchester . What then becomes of thc complaints of the masters as to the necessity imposed upon them to resist the unjust demands of their workmen , and does not the acquiescence of the men to return to work upon the terms agreed upon , clearly and undeniably
fasten upon the masters the crime of resisting what is just , upon the condition that the men shall parforni an act not only of gross injustice to their body , but humiliating , degrading , and debasing to all who are slavish enough to comply . The advertising press may , and will , belch forth its venom against unprotected labour ; but we ask them how they can justly , reasonably , or even logically , denounce the combination of men , while they JUSTIFY , UPHOLD , and APPLAUD the combination of masters ?
The working classes are sometimes slow to see the causes which lead to results , and they may not yet have discovered , that the dread of a consolidated National Union was the sole cause that Jed to the acceptance of the time and wage terms . As we announced in last week ' s Star , it will be seen that the masters have no objection to LOCAL COMBINATIONS , against which they can successfully contend ; but that they have an inveterate hatred of a NATIONAL UNION , whose strength threatens insuperable resistance to their reducing powers .
From tbe same sources wc learn , that the guesses of the Times , upon which wc commented last week , were rather premature . That immaculate journal , whose columns are sanctified to truth , and whose pages are ever open to the conipla ' nt of the indigent and weak , assured us , that so many hundred out of those who struck had signed the degrading pledge and returned to work ; that so many hundred more had petitioned to be allowed to write themselves down as slaves ; that the firmness and resolution of the masters had cast terror , despondency , and dismay in the ranks of those whose day ' s idleness WAS
A DAY LOST TO THEMSELVES AND SOCIETY FOR EVER ; when lo , a contemporary , certainly not more remarkable for veracity or less inclined to plant a blow oil labour ' s head , informs us , that of the 170 0 joiners on strike at Manchester , ONLY SIX HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO WRITE THEMSELVES DOWN AS WILLING SLAVES . We shall now proceed to analyse the suicidal document of the National Tyrant Association . Employers are no longer permitted to conduct their business as before—are ito longer able to make arrangements with their own workmen—but have to submit to the most arbitrary innovations , and the most dictatorial mandates of the central committee of Uie union of trades .
The only answer to this is , masters , thank God , can no longer transport their hands , imprison them , beggar them , starve and murder them , under the guise of law or mask of justice . Were not the combination laws repealed for the express purpose oi allowing , nay of INVITING , unprotected labour to resist the protected tyranny of employers ? Is not the law , even in its present state , sufficiently stringent ? Have ' not wealth , assumed justice , and representative power , sufficient odds aud advantage over unprotected labour ? And , although the law is now better assimilated to the wants and necessities of the society tbat stands between masters and men , and which ever suffers from the tyranny of the one and
from the weakness of tho other yet , do wc not find it strained on the justice seat , perverted in thc jurybox , and violated upon the judgment throne ? And although the law says combine , is it not upon record that a Judge of the land assigned combination as a reason for TRANSPORTING colliers , whose punishment would otherwise have been but a short imprisonment , for a common assault ? Much of this address to which we are now referring was written with an ulterior object . It has before now undergone the consideration ofthc PUTATIVE FATHER of the MASTERS and SERVANTS BILL , and as we were the first to announce the advent of that monster , we now PROCLAIM UPON AS GOOD
AUTHORITY , THAT IT IS THE INTENTION OF THE HOME-SECRETARY ONCE MORE TO THROW THE SHIELD OF PROTECTION OVER CAPITAL , AND THAT HIS RESISTANCE , AND THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S RESISTANCE , TO MR . DUNCOMBE'S PROPOSED NEW FRIENDLY SOCIETIES BILL , was based upon this resolution , and offered with this intention .
^ Employers can no longer deal with their workmen in their individual capacity . The purchaser of labour cannot agree upon terms with those who have lahour to dispose of , because another party arrogantly steps in , and possessing an organised power without any recognised responsibility , interferes between both parties and die tatesconditions which are as inimical to reason and justice , as they are in themselves cruel to the workmen and instil ting to the master .
True , the masters can no longer deal tyrannically with their individual slaves . True , that their slaves have now relied upon the maturer judgment of a governing body ; but it is not true that thc men who are the governing body are IRRESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTS—they are not only responsible to the law , but they arc responsible to a tribunal whose power and whose justice the masters
have never yet recognised , but before whose IMPERIAL NOD wealth , capital , usurped authority , and the law itself , . MUST OFE DAY BEND . Labour has combined , and its combination has evinced its growing intelligence ; in its combination is manifested that dignity for which it contends , and without the recognition of it those who luxuriate in its debasement would still revel on but for its resolution to resist .
The result has been , that in many places , rather than enter into a conflict with the unions , contractors have had to submit to demands the most arbitrary and humiliating . In some instances , the entire control and management of their business have been taken out of their hands , inflicting upon them heavy pecuniary losses , and in other cases involving contractors in absolute ruin , and such has been the extent to whicli dictation has been curried , that firm and unyielding resistance has become a necessary duty , unless the order of things is to be inverted , and the employer become tbe slave and the tool of the workman , directed as tbe latter is by a secret tribunal , which exists by forced contributions , which reigns by terms , and whose principles are repugnant to every notion of British liberty .
FALSE , The decrees of the association are not tyrannical ; its decrees [ are not sustained by forced contributions ; while , if it has inverted that unnatural order of things which compelled the PARENTLABOUR to submit to the harsh decrees of its offspring— CAPITAL , it has but practically brought into operation the benign and holy injunction of thc fifth
commandment—» ' HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHEJl . " Have wc not here the insolent admission that the old order of things was the cringing , of . the parent to the child , the prostitution of all , manl v feeling to necessity ,, injustice , and caprice . ' ?
The Struggle. The Conference. —The Strik...
They desire to place on record the fact that no attempt has been made by them to reduce wages , to increase , the bouts of labour , or to abridge the privileges of the operative classes . On the contrary wages have been advanced , the hours of labour have been lessened , aud the workmen have their privileges increased , by the concession of minor points which have only caused a pecuniary sacrifice on the part of the masters . Oh most sanctified , most unblushing falsehood I Ila-v ** you not hovered over your prey like the pitching hawk ?( fHave you not soared above your natural position , and out of your legitimate clement ? Have
you not jumped from your clogs into Spanish leather boots , from fustian into broad cloth ? from the taxed cart into yourcarriage , from the hod into your gorgeous saloon ? and landed from the cold flag and rustic chair upon the Turkey carpet and easy couch by your filchings from labour , your restrictions of comfort , your abridgment of amusements , and your paring down of wages ? In proof whereof can Hot your class sustain , ' a struggle in IDLENESS , which is starvation and all but death jto those upon whose industry you have lived , and by the abridgment of whose rights you have unjustly accumulated hoards of wealth .
The association is founded for self-defence , and if it has lo take up an aggressive position , it will be forced to do so by tbe acts of the operative unions ; and , under such circumstances , its members will be prepared to act in unison and with vigour . The association is founded upon aggressive not upon protective principles , and it will evince no vigour , no resolution , no strength that shall not be met by equal vigour , resolution and strength upon the part of associated labour . Nay , BRAVE AND CONFIDENT TYRANTS , we tell you to your beards that the hour has come when labour has
commenced its battle in earnest , * we have long laboured to unite it in this holy struggle ; its potency is , as you are obliged to confess upon every passing breeze , the very air is redolent ot its sighs of wrong , it 8 songs of liberty , and its resolution to be free ; the warm breath of indignation wafts this noble resolution to every hamlet , town , and village . It erects its standard in every resting-place throughout the known world . It has justice upon its side , because its battle is for simple right . It is the struggle of newly acquired knowledge against exploded ignorance , of justice against injustice , of right against might , of freedom against oppression and misrule .
That a committee be now formed , for the purpose of drawing up rules and making arrangements for the extension and consolidation of thc association ; and that such committee shall have power to appoint a secretary who shall be a solicitor of standing in his profession ; and to call in Jiis aid in tbe formation of the laws by which the association shall be governed . And that the association " SHALL HAVE POWER TO APPOINT A SECRETARY WHO SHALL BEAN ATTORNEY . " Aye , when "
Greekmeets Greek then comes the tug of war . " Yes , brave gentlemen , strong in your long purses , and confident in the mazes and labyrinths of your own mysterious laws , 'if you drive . 'labour from the open battle-field into the law ' s "cock-pit , " we'll ' meet you there , and beat you too upon your own chosen ground . The law is a game that the people have recently learned that two can play at , and [ your co-tyrants underground have been taught a lesson wliich those upon earth may be compelled to understand .
We conclude our comments on this unnatural warfare by the repetition of our hopes that the forthcoming Conference will consist of men of nerve , men of judgment , men of thought , and men of courage ; men who in every way will have sight to see what promises to be the result of the struggle ; men who will not abandon the ' vantage ground that the scattered forces jof struggling labour have so nobly achieved for their class . Every delegate entering that Conference should be QUALIFIED by a handsome contribution from the trade he represents to go in aid of those who have so nobly maintained the struggle . Again wc ask for the programme ; again we tell the directing body that the government of the capitalist is waiting tlic result of tliis Conference to decide as to whether or not there is safety in tho introduction of another and more stringent
MASTERS AND SERVANTS' BILL . We cannot close our observations witliout holding up the spirited ' conduct of the trades of Dunrobin Castle as an example worthy of imitation , and in compliance with whose manly appeal we cheerfully publish their letter . It will be seen that they court no secrecy , but that , ' , on , thc contrary , they request publication of their names , as hearty volunteers in the cause of Labour —a request for which we thank them , and with wliich we cheerfull y comply ; rejoicing that our humble endeavours in last week ' s Star to place the struggle in its proper light has been productive of such a generous response—a response which we trust w Jl be imitated throughout ; thc length and breadth of thc land .
Dunrobin Castle , May 3 th , ISlC . Sir , —In troubling you at present with this our enclosed mite for remission in support of the turn outs in ihe building trades ot Liverpool and Birkenhead , ire are well aware that ive are taxing your already over-tired exertions in our ( the oppressed working classes ) behalf , yet , relying on your good will towards us , as we hope you will excuse us when we inform you that we have no other alternative left us , we not having the address of the parties with whom we thus sympathise , and having seen by the Liverpool Mercury that our
present employers have been sympathising with the wouldbe tyrants , as also invoking the interference of government , find it our bounden duty to do the same in behalf of our tyrannised fellow-workmen . Although we are not members of any union , still we hope the day is drawing nigh when each working man will feel himself aggrieied at tho maltreating of his meanest brother ; and should you deem this note worth its room in our own paper , and that it would be an inducement to other localities to go and do likewise , it would much oblige the undersigned masous , -fee ., at Dunrobin Castle , by its insertion .
s . d . s . d . Geo . Allan , mason - 3 0 James Forsyth -. 10 Geo . Largne , blacksmith 2 0 Hubert Wilcox --10 Itobert Boss , mason - 2 0 William M'leod - -10 John Green ' iilt --20 Adam Morrison --10 William Goodfellow - 1 0 Charles Campbell - 1 0 Alexander Storm- - 1 0 John Fraser - - - 1 0 John Henderson - - 1 0 William Gunn- - - 1 C Alexander M'Intosh - 10 Adam Ross ... 10 Joseph Falconer - - 1 0 Robert Ferguson - -10 Alexander Campbell- 1 0 William Wilson - -10 John Davidson - - 1 0 Alexander H'Gilvary 1 0 John Logan - - - 1 0 Hugh Murray- - ' . 10
John llui-net - - - 2 0 Alexander Sutherland 1 0 James Martin-. ¦ - 1 0 JosephM'Leod -. 10 William Wilkie - - 1 0 Alexander Murray -10 Donald Munro - - 1 0 James Bowie ... 10 James Storm - - - 1 0 Alexander Reach- -10 William Smith - - 1 0 George AVheir- -. 10 Daniel M'Kenzie - - 1 0 Alexander Murray -10 James Jack - - - 1 0 William Grant --10 David Itoss - - - 1 0 Donald Sutherland -10 Robot tlPBcath .-10 Robert Sutherland . I 0
Hugh Falkoiicr - - 1 0 Peter Dumbrock --10 Thomas Campbell - 1 0 William Smart .-10 Alexander Alexander , j l 0 William dimming -10 John Falconer- - - 1 0 . Robert Mollis ---00 David Sinclair- - ' . 10 Robert Jenkins --10 Donald M'Lcim - - 1 0 William Anderson -10 Laugblin Gordon- - 1 0 James Gumming -10 John Sutherland- . 10 John Rhind ... 1 0 Henry Grant .--10 Gilbert Ross ... 10 John Mourns - - - 1 0 Robert Mathesou- -10
£ ' i 10 0 Deduct for Order ---... _ --. OO G Amount remitted £ 3 90 To F . O'Connor , Esq . Geo , Allan . There—wc say to all who arc ranged upon the side of struggling labour—' do likewise , " and the triumph is yours .
We Cannot Forego The Pleasure Of Adding ...
We cannot forego the pleasure of adding the following letter since received . Please to insert this in the Star , Leicester . —The joiners from seven shops in this town met on Saturday night , at the Pelican , when I inn-educed last week ' s Star , and after reading the Trades ' Movement , and especially the strike of the building trades of Manchester , the meeting cheerfully subscribed £ 2 ISs . for tho men on strike , and further agreed to make a weekly subscription and to solicit the building trades generally to co-operate with us , to assist our Manchester brethren in their present struggle for the rights of labour , and we elected a committee of nine to adopt such means us will render the men the utmost assistance as long as ¦ the strike continues , Z . A stem ,, Jo : neh , ;
The Heart Of Erin. Bounding Beyond The N...
THE HEART OF ERIN . Bounding beyond the narrow limits within which ordinary phraseology circumscribes the policy , the objects and tactics of party , the consideration of THE O'BRIEN'S case invites us into the more extensive field of argument ; induces us to fling policy and tactics to the wind , and to measure it in all its bearings by the standard of principle . When one of the community is oppressed , the whole of society is insulted , and if the injury is not
avenged , society suffers from its own tame submission to wrong . In the practical carrying out of this just principle ? , it behoves society well to inquire , strictly to investigate , and jealously to examine what has been the offence of the accused , what the consequence of the act to society is likely to be ; if injurious to punish him , and if not to spare society that damage , which ever results from injustice , although but practised upon an individual .
In this vieiv , and without at all strengthening our case by the peculiar position in which society , under most peculiar circumstances , placed O'Brien , let us consider whether he has committed an act for which society could suffer damage , or , upon the contrary , whether from his act society is not likely to be the gainer . Wc confess that we owe an apology to society , and especially to Ireland , for this logical , this hair-splitting method of dealing with our subject . While our own feelings , our own just indignation , would lead us into a very different line of argument , wc nevertheless calculate upon the damage that
overzc . * U may inflict upon a cause , to the advocacy of which O'Bmen ' s present position may add incalculable strength . The speech of Mr . Alexander Mc Carthi ' , member for the City ot Cork , was a poem ; it traced Irish wrongs and her submission , but not her surrender , from the earliest period of Saxon usurpation down to the moment when lie , one of her spared race , stood upon the Saxon floor denouncing English injustice ; but in his person proclaiming Irish vitality and Irish resolution , to struggle not
only against the perpetuation of wrong , but for the restoration of usurped rights . Who could read the page of Ireland ' s poetic history as unfolded by the honourable member , without coming to the conclusion that for centuries the cause of war h * id existed between " the two countries , and that Ireland but sought the fitting opportunity of throwing off the chains that galled her , the rivets that bound her , the laws that coerced her . And who had led and trained the poet and young Ireland to these national
conceptions ? Who had been most vigilant in watching and proclaiming Saxon embarrassment , and Ireland ' s opportunity ? Who had invited the Irish to sole reliance upon their own strength , their own energy , and their own appliances ? Who had described the Saxon Senate House as a place unfitted for the discussion of Irish grievances , and the Saxon parlia - ment as an assembly incapable , because unwilling , to do justice to Ireland ?
Who had marshalled the mind of Ireland for the very warfare that The O'Brien has waged against her Saxon oppressors ? Who considered himself more powerful in the dungeon than in the field of action ? And upon whose energy , whose courage , and devotion , did he rely for thc support of Ireland ' s cause , while he was held within the meshes of the Saxon law 1 lb was the Liberator , and now how changed the scene . Now we behold thc willing volunteer , the self-devoted , the sacrificed martyr , dragged like a common felon by a Saxon tipstaff from amid his Irish associates , and lodged without a struggle in a Saxon dungeon .
We throw away our caution . We fling prudence , philosophy , and logic to the winds , and instead of calling the Saxon part of the House tyrants we can designate the Irish section as nothing less than traitors . Now , after a fortnight ' s suffering , we ask what has O'Brien done that is calculated to inflict an injury upon Ireland or upon society ? lie lias acted in compliance with his leader ' s admonition . He has acted in accordance with the proud feelings cf an insulted foreigner struggling for his country ' s regeneration . He has acted in strict accordance with his country ' s command—In strict compliance with his country ' s necessity . And for this , the man who justly reigns in thc hearts of his countrymen , is a dungeoned victim in the stranger ' s land .
Nevertheless , let Ireland be of good heart ; trifling cimimstances , circumstances more insignificant than tho incarceration of one of her chiefs , have led to important results aforetime , and may again . And as wc write with more independent feelings because lesstraniellcd than our Irish contemporaries , it becomes our duty to improve this , . Ireland ' s opportunity , and to make the insult recoil upon her oppressors' head . To this end we have anxiously scanned the tone of thc Irish press , and we rejoice to find that it , like the Irish , but sought thc opportunity of transforming a trafficking agitation into profitable organization . Still we see a delicacy , and not an unnatural one , which stands in the way of those who have been crimped into an unwilling service and used for unprofitable warfare .
We tell these guardians of Ireland s rights , these sentinels in Ireland's battle , that approval of O'Brien does not mean censure of O'Coiinoll—that delicacy to one is not only injustice to the other , but treason to their country . The question is between Ireland and her oppressors , between right and wrong . If Ireland is right , O'Brien is right ; and if O'Brien is right the valiant 'S 2 club , that is the House of
Commons section ot it , is wrong for having tamely submitted to the indignity offered Ireland through O'Brien . Oh , quoth prudence , would you have them revolt ? or what would you have them to do ? We answer , something , leaving to the chapter of accidents what that something may result in ; but certainly not to have allowed the leader of the opposisition to Ireland ' s Imprisonment Bill to tie made the victim to their leader's subservient policy .
Tho time has now come when the improved mind of man is prepared to hear truths without fear of giving offence , and to that cud it becomes our duty , ami a painful one it is , to analyse the history of Ireland for the last sixteen years , commencing with thc period of 1831 , when the Tithe agitation was fostered as an auxiliary in thc battle for Whig reform . In that year Ireland had virtually , if not actually , abolished Tithes . Her legitimate frenzy , roused to madness by Protestant ascendancy and clerical injustice , [ had proclaimed that Ireland ' s HATRED OF TITHES SHOULD BE AS LASTING AS
HER LOVE OF JUSTICE , Thc means of abolition was complete , because the Catholic mind was united . A sufficient number of martyrs had been made , who cheerfully suffered in Ireland ' s struggle . Lord Plunkett lisped a word of hope iu fixe Lords , and the Liberator disbanded thc anti-tithe army . Ills desertion was the signal for Saxon vengeance , and we , amongst others , stood at the bar of justice for rendering obedience to liis will . In 1832 , Ireland made such a manifestation of her strength , through
her newly-acquired electoral power , as astonished the world , and would have secured her complete independence had it not been for the desertion of her leader . Thc Catholic tenantry resisted all intimidation , and offered their every interest and every comfort , a willing sacrifice at the shrine of Irish libertv Thousands were ejected from their little holdings , but still held fast by the promised protection of domestic government and release from Protestant tyran ny .
WE WERE FORTY-TWO . Ill 1 S 33 wo met the Saxon parliament , and made mighty battle against the tyrant majority . Ireland aware of our numerical weakness , felt confident in our union , our courage , and our resolution . We had ohc and all pledged our lives , if necessary , to those who were ready to sacrifice theirs for the acquirement of our power . This was the first parliamentary power placed at the Liberator ' s disposal . Darin ! , the session he coquetted with every question , and would have damped the rising hope of Ireland bv abandoning the repeal . He juggled with minister .-upon the Tithe question , and offered to sacrifice the people for the benefit of the landlords . His polici ¦ w . as not to interfere in auy English or Scotch quei
The Heart Of Erin. Bounding Beyond The N...
tion , or < any Irish question but the Repeal , and NOT TO MENTION THAT . In 1831 , again , he coquetted with the government upon the Tithe question , and overruled the reaola « tions of repeated majorities of the Irish members Iu 1834 we had the debate upon the repeal , and although defeated , as was anticipated ; Ireland ' s case was proclaimed to the world , and the facts and eloquence of her advocates administered comfortable hope to Ireland . After our defeat we carried Dun . garvan by storm . In 1835 , after our defeat at the general election , Ireland affirmed her previous resolve by the return of her little band by larger majorities , and , undismayed , she yet hoped on . In 183-5
COERCION WAS A BOON TO IRELAND . Ireland wanted a Corporation Bill that menials miglifc fatten on the plunder . The English bill was to havebeen thc text for Ireland ; the Lords damaged the Bill in their House , and Dominick Ronayne , member for Clonmel , gave notice of a motion which would have tested the Whigs , but , in his own language , O'Connell forced him to withdraw it . In 183 C , the Liberator in his letters to Lord Duncannon , advertised to barter Ireland for patronage . In 1837 the little band of Repealers was reduced to comparative insignificance by the truckling policy of
sinking Repeal at the general election in « rder to give strength to the Whigs . From that period to 1839 , the question of Repeal was placed in abeyance , lest its agitation might embarrass the Whig government . Seats held in trust for Ireland were bartered for patent places . Christopher Fitzsimon , the sonin-law of Mr . O'Connell , Sir Nicholas Fitzsimon , Morgan O'Connell , the Liberator ' s son , Charles O'Connell , the Liberator ' s cousin , William Finn , the Liberator's brother-in law , O'Dwyer , the member for Drogheda , with many others , were transformed from Irish-Repealers into Saxon place-holders ; and thus , while Ireland was told that the House of Commons
was the place to fight her battles , her means of struggle were annually diminished , until at length there ig but the shadow of the party left to struggle against her oppressors . In 1839 , when the English people hoped to unitetheir Irish brethren in a struggle for the liberty of both countries , THE FRIEND OF FREEDOM offered to place FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND FIGHTING IRISHMEN at the disposal of the
"BASE , BLOODY , AND BRUTAL WHIGS " for the overthrow of English Chartism . But , thank God , it has lived and beaten both—the Wnigs out of office , aud the Liberator out of favour . It was a handful of raw Irish boys under Sergeant Daly , an Irishman , that shot down the valiant Shell and others at Newport in their struggle for liberty . In 1840 , the Whigs got weak , and again the standard of Repeal was raised , and again became powerful
In 1841 , Ireland had another opportunity of registering her determination to be free , but the voice oi Repeal was stifled at the general election by the truckling policy of " Keep the Tories out . " From 1841 to the present hour , the same description of effeminate vacillating policy has been pursued in the Irish councils , oscillating between Repeal and Federalism , between Catholic strength and Orange co-operation , between Whigs and Tories , Ireland and her oppressors .
We have had the year vihen the repeal was to come , as sure as yonder sun would set , ' we have had the clinching year , we have had the preliminary year of tranquillity , we have had the now it is coming year , we have had twelve years since repeal was mentioned in the house , and in the twelfth year , as a reward for Irish devotion , Irish confidence , and Irish prodigal generosity , in return for all the suffering , for all the broken hearts , and nearly a million of money
paid to the Liberator and his stall within that period we have ejected tenants mourning the want of protection , wc have unwilling emigrants leaving the land an unpeopled wilderness , flocking in thousands and tens of thousands from their native shores to bill adieu to fatherland in despair after life ' s struggle of seeing the hope that they have paid for realized . We have seen the affirmed opinion of a nation submitted for reversal to a paid committee . We have
seen opportunity after opportunity allowed to slip away . We have heard of the proffered co-operation of Irish bone and Irish sinew to fight against the American Republic if tbe promise of justice shall only be made . We have heard of the "glorious , pious , and immortal memory '* oi the great and good King William being drunk by thc Liberator , in the Boyne water once red with the bloed of his slaughtered countrymen . And after the possession of SO much power for so long a time , we turn to thc Statute Book and look in vain for an act or a clause emanating ftom the Liberatorcalculated to confer one single benefit upon the Irish people .
Here then is a catalogue of omission and commission . Here is a million of money paid . Here is a nation , the bravest and most devoted upon earth , and after sixteen years of struggle and suffering her reward , is a desolated land , mado a wilderness by the expatriation of thousands and tensof thousands , and the incarceration of the lineal descendant of that race of Irish Kings , iu whose blood , as M'Carthy toldthe house , ran and in whose breast still beat , the strongest aspirations for the restoration of his conn , try's rights .
"Set , notwithstanding this mournful catalogue , Ireland must not despair . The elements of regeneration are in her , she requires but their proper direction —not the direction in whicli a prostitute pilot , or a time-serving pacificator , or a knot of hirelings would . " lead her , but to that point to which her aspirations lend—to that goal to whicli her longing mind has been so long and so anxiously directed . Honour to the city of thc violated treaty , her sons have spoken out like Irishmen ! Honour to the Repeal press ! Honour to Young Ireland ; and honour to the Irish people : they have administered comfort to
the captive ; they have hurled their indignation against his oppressors ; and their language , though cloaked and guarded , says , " O'BRIEN . THE HOUR HAS COME : Ireland , though long juggled , is now with you . Your mind is Irish , your heart is Irish , your thoughts are Irish , and your hands are clean and unpolluted by the price of your country ' s degradation . If you hesitate you arc lost . Through you Ireland expects her redemption . You are upon the verge of a great abyss—your hesitation alone can
plunge you into its depth . Through you such an alliance may be formed as will ensure your country ' s greatness and an immortali ty to yourself not Jess enviable than that which belongs to him whose honoured name you bear . O'Biuex , you must call round you men of character , devotion and courage , * men who prefer Ireland to all tbe world besides ; men who will neither sell her ri ghts , nor tarnish their own fame . Do this , and you swim upon the easy current of flowing popular opinion ; hesitate , and you sink to rise no more !"
While wc honour O'Brie . v for his sturdy stand against his country ' s enemies , we do not desire to see their triumph magnified by his prolonged incarcer . ition ; and the mode of lessening the value of the Saxon victory is by accepting the Chiltern Hundreds , throwing himself once more upon his generous constituents , and abandoning , and for ever a contest for Irish liberty in a Saxon Pavlitvnient . Ireland will receive him , and know how to appreciate him .
Parliamentary Review. The Old Stereotype...
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . The old stereotyped arguments for and agains Free Trade have occupied the collective wisdom ia tbe early part of the week . On Wednesday the adjourned debate ou the Ten Hours' Bill was resumed , anil we confess that the arguments used by the Vvicwla ot that measure , and the sophistry with which they were met by their opponents , lead us to strongly hope for a favourable result . The great length t which we have repoi ted proceedings connected with , the Trades Movement , and tbe copious report we * Imvo given of" the debate , forbids and renders nunc - eessary any further comment for the present than a strong recommendation to the toiling class to ymuA am ! judge for themselves .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 16, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_16051846/page/4/
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