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4 THE NQ-RTHERN STAR, Fkbruaby 19, 1818....
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MR KYDD'S TOUR.
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«oV« a iu ° 7 —A meeting ot mo Land memb...
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JUST PUBLISHES, (tfaifcrm with tho " LABOwaisa" Maganine,)
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THE NORTHERN STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY Id, 1848
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THE WAR OF CLASSES. •' Within that land ...
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THE SHOP-BOY VOLUNTEERS. MIDDLE-CLASS AR...
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THE SLEAFORD CASE. We understand that th...
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PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW. A creditable anxie...
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A conversation of some length and intere...
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The New Zealand Government Bill, which w...
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While Chartism is growing in strength an...
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To the important Bill,introduced b y the...
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The Roman Catholic Relief Bill, which wa...
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to ftea&ers tfCoiTOtJonoente.
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THE LA.ND.-It would be wholly and entire...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
4 The Nq-Rthern Star, Fkbruaby 19, 1818....
4 THE NQ-RTHERN STAR , Fkbruaby 19 , 1818 . ^ g
Ad00412
COMPLETE SUCCESS OF THE LONDON TELEGRAPH , -1- DAILY KEWSPAPER—PRICE THREEPENCE . The Proprietors ef this new London Daily Paper beg to return thanks tor the support already given by the Ertlicto this new organ of intelligence and they boff to state ihs-t every means are taken to perfect this News ^ Tne ' roVDOS TELEGRAPH is published every day at tweke ^ clock at noon-a Second Edition is also pub-SuTd & rtheCoun ^^^ Monev and Share Markets , to the close ot UieJJay . P ^ oSstetara . of harin a Specimen £ ™ nberare rw 2 to send three postage . limps , stating the cdi" on Kquired , to Mr Samuel Collins , publisher of the 10 SDOW TELEGRAPH , 185 , Fleet-street , London .-Agents wanted fn the Country .
Ad00413
THE LA \ D NO . so ALLOTMENT , on the MINSTER LOTEL ESTATE , to be disposed of . the Allottee having engagements that prevent him taking possess ion . _ Application to be made to Mr Henry Lister , 37 , West-Street , Heading , Berks . —None need apply who have not a paid-up Four-acre Share .
Ad00414
fiow publishing , in Weekly Numbers , price One Penny , or Complete , stitched in a neat wrapper , price sixpence , THE 'COMING ' MAN and the NEW MAN . By W . W . Baooil , Author of'Letters to the Toilinir , ' & e . London : Published bv W . Jenkinson , 91 . Leather-lane , Holborn- , C . CUments , " Little Pulteney-street , Goldensquare ; Paragon Hall , Charlotte-street , Blackfriarsroad , and C . Cook , 2 , Sims ' s-ailey , Bristol .
Ad00415
A PUBLIC MEE TING will be held at THE LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE , John-street , Tottenham-court Road , Ok Tuesday . Etenisg Next , Fhbbdabt 22 nd , For the purpose ef taking such steps as may appear expedifuc to sustain that able and distinguished political and social R ^ enerator , FEARGL'S O'CONNOR , M . P ., against ilie vise attempt which the cn-atures of corruption are n ; m * making to effsct his ejection from Parliament , K-. ' Mrtners of every shade of opinion are specially invited to attend . John Sewell , Esq . will Pbeside . C ^ r . ir to bo taken at Eight o ' clock precisely . Many c ; the most prominent advocates of the Demogratic cause will be present ani address the meeting .
Ad00416
THE LAND . THE advertiser wishing to PURCHASE an Allotment or . the Snig ' s End or Moat Estates , any person hav log a Tonr Acre Allotment to dispose of , ma ; hear of u purchaser by applying to J . Griinmiit , Alderton , near Tewkoj ^ -ry .
Ad00417
TO BE SOLD . THE RIGHT OF LOCATION on a Four Acre Allotnjtnt on the Snig ' s E * d Estate . For particulars apply , i : by letter , { post paid , to . * Mr J , Elms , Perfumer and Genera ; S ' ews Agent , Newton Abbot , Devon .
Mr Kydd's Tour.
MR KYDD ' S TOUR .
Ship "ikld . —On Tuesday evening week a numerous oodcghisp . of the working elsssea asserabl-d in the Town Mail , Sheffield , to hear a lecture on tilt ; subjtet of the National Defences and the People ' s Right ? , by Satnntl tvvdd , of London . Tha ti . air was occupied by Mr Seward , who , in his openirj observations , pronounced as humbug the story that government was afraid of an invasion by the French . His epinion was tbat government was more vraid of the increased intelligence of the people than r : ' ; n invasion by the French . ( Hear . )
Mr vydd , alter having been londly cheered , began his b ' ¦ ¦ f ' . n-e by observing that in this country there exist- s ^ ar of classes . It was not a war of individuals : tor so kindly is nature in her sympathies—so true i" tiivtcord of sympathy tuas forms the moral tie th . it . binds society together , that ; men , by the essence < -i their common nature , live together and agree : « j live together in their individual capacity . But , par ; ! y owing to classlegislation , and partly owing to b * he . r " circumstances that must ever attend th « gener . ii progress of civilisation , we live in ihis nineteenth « -ntury—and in this , the greatest country in the world when viewed as a nation—yet we are living in a lr . nd of classes , where the doctrine is not understood -. id practised that the interest of the working
classes is the true interest of all—( hear , hear)—and that a house having for its basis a groundwork that is nniifs and unsound , never can have for its fabric a bnilair . £ with a sure foundation . But various ideas had pet-Tided the minds of men relative to what constituted true national greatness ; and the rulers of this estiva were at this hour , ho d- ubt , to sorte extent indebted to those statesmen who had preceded them for their ideas of sound national government and true nation " . ! wealth . In accordance with the subject of his lecture , then , he would inquire briefly into the causes that had given rise in the minds of our modern statesmen to ideas of war- Many of them had inherited those ideas from that qreat writer of the latter part of ins sixteenth and the early part of the
seventeenth century , Lord Bacon , who , speaking ef a country ' s greatness , argued tbat no body , either natur :- ! vr political , coald be happy without exercise , and that to a kingdom or a . stile » just and honourable ^« r was true aud legitimate tx « -ici . < e . A civil war , his lo : i hip further argued , was indeed like the heat of a fever , but a foreign war was like the heat of exerchv - . and kept the bodyjnhealth . This authority , in al ; s - . hability . had inherited the idea of the ancient RoroiVs , the ancient Spartan ? , and the aucient Car ; > . ..- ! -mians . —namely , that conquest was the greai ¦¦ ¦ j ? ct of their existence . Many of our stattr ;; -n at the present day inherited the noti' -r . that it was necessary for thewtbaieofa COUlivt that it should maintain an enurreous
standing ; ¦ iiv . This was the doctrine of' I am stronger , ther-.-i ... « shall 1 rule . ' If it were the nature ol man that Hf , could only be governed by the rod , then was that doctrine true ; bat if such w « re not the nature of lu-. n—if , he were a being . of ' mentai capability feud moral relationship , then the right cue ts tbe government of man w &? of a higher order than bruti power , and the men who attempted to govern in these times by the thoughts and actions of earlier ages might as well attempt to wrap up a giant in swaddling clothes . ( Hear , hear . ) It was thought by his Graca the Duke of Wellington that we were in dagger of an invasion , aad Lard John Russell had so far evinced his sympathy with hia Graca ss t * ; utima : e his conviction of the necessity for an
addition to the standing array ; but if Lord John ~ asiit ; ht in this particular , was he not wrong in snfu-ring it to be declared in tke Queen ' s Speech at the opening ef Parliament—for wnieh speech , no doefct , he a ? the head of the government was ansv-erabie—that a continuance © ' friendly relations with foreign powers might be confiiieritjy looked forward to ? ( Cheers . ) But what were the people the ( working classes ) to fight for ? Tbe object of this branch of the lecturer ' s argument waa to show that the onus of providing and maintaining defences for property lay upon the owners of such property , and not upon the masses of the people , who derived to small a share of benefit from it . It was up & n this principle , he obsetred , that grants of land were
made to the nobility by William tho Conqueror . To stand up ia the defence of property was natural and right , icd the people were read ) to do this where property deserved to be protected . Tiie people were naturally conservative ; but yet there was a vast difference between protecting property within a country , and forming themselves into an armed miiitia to protect the general property of tbe fundholder , tire landowner , and the chnroh dignitaries of the country . ( Hear , hear . ) Thos > e mtn had no claim upon the people ; they had forfeited every tie that beund them and the people together . The people had been robbed of their interest in the land ; tbey had been deprived of the eorauxvn lands , to the extent if three millions and
a quarter a year ; and now , then , could the peop ' e be expected to consf-nt to undertake the cerence of this property ? We had bad one war with France—a bloody aad brutal war ; and what was ibe result ? Why , a national debt of £ 850 . 000 , 000 ; and more war would entail more debt . ( Hear , hear . ) Who was to pay it ? The peaplc would pay no . more . ( Loud cheers . ) If the people jis ? ain went to war it would be not lor kings or aristocracies ; it would be to do a little business tin their own account ( Cheers . ) They had fought the battles of kings and aristocracies enough already . He believed that the outcry ahoutthe probablelanaicg of the French was all moonshine , lie had re-Cent' v been at Windsor , and had seen the presents
made to her Majesty by the King of the . French , the Emperor of Russia , and Ibraham Pacha , whicn showtd him that there was a fraternity ot king ? , and be telt that there ought to be a fraiernity . of the people too . There was not a warlike disposition in this country towards France , neither did the French peop e cherish a hostile di . « pesitiou towards us . If a body of armed Frenchmen were to land upon our shores , instead of fighting with them , we ought to allow some of tha many Frenchmen in ttii- country to reasonvith them , andtosbowih ^ m ihauheybadno interest in fighting with us ; and . vhat a man had no interest in doing that he would not do . Happily , there was now an intelligent people on both » idts of
the channel . There were many who loosed at the People ' s Charter as an ignorant du-umtnt , and an impossibility ; but it was the people ' s right , and they would uot rest satisfied till it bail been granted to them , 'the same law of progressi on which _ had forced the aristocracy to consent to tho enfranchisement of the boroughs would compel mem to consent to the enfranchisement of the people . ( Cheers ) After fome further observations in favour of the Peoph- ' fl Charter , the lecturer concluded by expressing bIS conviction that upon the pacing oithii measure depended mainly fthe future well-being of the great mass of tbe peop le—It was then announced that petitions in favour of the Charter would be laid for signature at various places in the town .
On the motion of Mr Oilet , seconded by Councillor Briggs , the thanks of the meeting were voted to Mr Kydd for his able and interesting lecture .
«Ov« A Iu ° 7 —A Meeting Ot Mo Land Memb...
« oV « iu ° —A meeting ot mo Land members will taie place on Monday evening next .
Just Publishes, (Tfaifcrm With Tho " Labowaisa" Maganine,)
JUST PUBLISHES , ( tfaifcrm with tho " LABOwaisa" Maganine , )
Ad00418
Price 6 d . A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON SPADE HUSBANDRY , being the results of few years' experience . Br J . SllLETT . JI'Gowan and Co ., 16 , Great Windmill-street , London ani may be had » f all booksellers . '
Ad00419
Just Published , price One Peony , A LETTER by Feaeobs O'Conhob , Esq ., M . P ., ' TO THE RICH AND THE POOR ; To those who Live in Idleness Without Labour , and to those who are Willing to Labour bat Compelled to Starve . ' Price 2 s . per 108 . or 18 ? . per 1000 . i 1 I 7 "HAT MAY BE DONE WITH THREE ACRES VY OF LAND , ' Explained in a Letter , by FEAitac * O'Cosnos , Esq ., M . P . To be bad at the Office of tho National Land Qempany 141 , High Holborn .
Ad00420
Now Ready , a New Edition of Mil . O'CONNOR'S WORK ON SMALL FARMS To be had at the Northern Star Office , 16 , Great Wind mill Strett ; and of Abel FJeyweod Manchester .
Ad00421
JUST PUBLISHED PBICE SIXPENCB , 'HO . XIV . OF " THE LABOURER , " CONTA 1 NINO A TREATISE ON THE SMALL FARM SYSTEM AND THE BANKING SYSTEM BY WHICH IT IS INTENDED TO BE DE . TEL 0 MD , BV . FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ , M . P . Lstters ( pre-paid ) to be addressed t « the Editors , 18 Oreat Windmill Street , Hnjmarket , London . Orders received by allageits for the "Northern Star " and all booksellers in town and country .
Ad00422
MINSTER LOVEL ESTATE . Having visited the Minster Lovel Estate , with the express intention of informing- myself as to the earliest period when the occupants could be located there , and after a long consultation with Mr Doyle and the tradesmen yet employed , we arrived at the conclusion that Monday , " the 27 th of March , would be the very earliest day on which the members could be located . And when it is borne in mind tbat the work was not ^ commenced there till about the beginning of October , it will not be bad service to have completed eighty cottages and a school-house within that time in the depth of winter ; and , in order to ensure this early location I have been oblig ed to send six additional horses to perform the work there . This notice will be rigidly enforced , as the houses will not be numbered till Saturday , the 25 th , and the period of the year is sufficientl y early to admit of the performance of all agricultural operations for the season , especially as the land has been all ploughed , and those portions requiring it twice over ; while , during the last three weeks ' the state of the weather rendered it next to impossible to carry on the necessary operations . By the 27 th of March , therefore , Minster Lovel will be ready for the reception of tbe occupants . Feargus O'Connor .
The Northern Star, Saturday, February Id, 1848
THE NORTHERN STAR , SATURDAY , FEBRUARY Id , 1848
The War Of Classes. •' Within That Land ...
THE WAR OF CLASSES . ' Within that land was many a malcontent , Who curs'd the tyranny to which he bent ; That soil full many a wringing despot faw , Who work'd his wantonness iu form of law . " The Morning Chronicle of Saturday last contains an article on the present state of the Mining Districts , showing that our " glorious institutions " are menaced by a more formidable enemy than either Bugeaud or Joinville ; an enemy already within our gates—the cruelly-oppressed working class of this country . According to the Chronicle , the prevailing depression has at length reached
the Iron districts ; furnaces are being blown out , and workmen deprived of employment ; " and the . iron-masters are not only stopping operations , but endeavouring to obtain the labour which they still require upon lower terms . ' ' Hence a strike is antici p ated—one of those advancing waves which precede that rising of the waters which will certainly come , and which will as certainly sweep to annihilation that monstrous system , by which the Aristocracy and Bourgeoisie have grown fat , at the expense of the outcast millions of their fellow-countrymen .
According to the Chronicle , the Mining Population are as " foreign to civilisation as were the fierce tribes who broke in upon the luxurious refinement of the Roman Empire . " Certain authorities are then quoted—Parsons and Government Commissioners —to prove the ignorance and demoralisation , the " strong passions and vigorous vices" of the miners and iron-workers . We take little account of the evidence of such persons , having had long experience of their proneness to calumniate their hardworking fellow-countrymen . A Mr Lingen reports the following of the Mining Population of Glamorgan
;—The workmen and their families eat and drink to excess , their cookery being at the same time of the most wasteful and greasy deseriptioa . The principal meal is that taken in the evening after work noire , and called tea . large quaatitieh of mtat , and rolls swimming in melted butter , are eaten . Kow we should like to know who has so good a right to eat meat , and rolls swimming in melted butter , as those who do the hard work of society ? Supposing the above to be true—and if true it is so only of a very small section of the working class—is it not just that at the close of their terrible toil , the workers should eat their fill of such food as best
p leases them ? What these Miners are said to do , it should be in the power of every working man to do—eat , drink , and be satisfied . But how many millions have neither butter nor meat ! Tie curse of toil is upon them ; but the promised bread is withheld by the plunderers who toil not , neither do they spin . " Why does not the Chronicle enlighten us on the interior economy of the drones of society who " fare sumptuously every day ? '' How dare those who riot in excess , who excite their palled appetites by every dainty , and gorge themselves with every luxury—how dare they assail the working man for enjoying his meat and his butter ? " Oh , shame ! where is thy blush !"
The Miners are accused of degrading habits—it is alleged that single and married persons sleep in the ^ same room . For this horrible state of things the working men are not altogether blameless . They are culpable in quietly submitting to live huddied together in wretched rooms , garrets , and cellars , notwithstanding that they build the palaces and mansions of the idlers of society . In the Morning Chronicle ' s favourite system of , f civilisation . '" one man has not even the sole
occupancy of a single room for himself and family , whilst another man monopolises ten , twenty , or fifty rooms . Unmarried men and women are compelled to sleep , wash , and change their clothing in one and the same room , whilst Queen Victoria finds Pimlico palace—which would comfortabl y lodge all the inhabitants of a large village—too small ( 0—and , although she has some half-dozen other
domiciles , some of which she never stays a single night in , she has the modesty to require an enlargement of the said palace ! Of course , the corrupt rascalocracy in Parliament are but too happy to vote thousands of pounds to gratify " her Majesty ' s" whims . For months past this enlargement has been going onpaid for out of the taxes , which taxes are wrung from the poor creatures who , because they have not decent * house-room , the editor
The War Of Classes. •' Within That Land ...
of the Chronicle calls "barbarians ! " There are hundreds of mansions in this " capital closed during a great part of the year , whilst their possessors are in the country , or enjoying themselves at Paris , Rome , or the Rhine ; at the same time hundreds of hapless creatures in this same metropolis have not a shelter of any description . May perdition seize institutions which defend such an accursed state of social life . Why should the working man respect" civilisation ' ' of this kind ? why should they build mansions for others and live in kennels themselves ?
Whatever demoralisation or ignorance may exist amongst any section of the working classes is chargeable to the account of the ruling classes . Is there ignorance—wh y lias the Church , with its ten millions of revenue , not educated the people ? Is there demoralisation—wh y has the Government , with its enormous and unprecedented resources , allowed the masses to be made the prey of heartless capitalists , who , even according to the admission of the Chronicle , " use the animal force" of the working men " for industrial ends , and take no thought of the feelings and capacities which are proper to them as
human beings ? " Even the-Government commissioner states , that the employers have deliberately conspired for their own profit to corrupt their workmen , Some persons wishing to establish a " provident society , " app lied to a large mine proprietor for his patronage , which he refused . "For , " said he , "if I did I should be arming the men against myself , and enabling them to strike for wages . I want them to spend their earnings ; and not to hoard them . " There are not many who would have the audacity to confess this ; but the policy of nearly the whole of the employers is the same . Public houses swarm , and
unlicensed houses , where ardent spirits are privately sold , are still more numerous . In many instances , the employers have a direct interest in these houses . The truck system is another engine of extortion and degradation , enriching the " masters" and impoverishing the slaves . We are gratified to learn that the victims of this system are begining to excite the fears of the privileged orders . That they are not quite so ignorant as is sometimes represented , is proved by the admission that Chartist
principles are disseminated to a considerable extent amongst them . Of course there is the usual fudge about the circulation ef " infidel and seditious publications , " and " newspapers of the same pernicious tendency ! " We are very g lad to learn that " many persons who read such works , also attend Snnday schools , from their anxiety to obtain a knowledge of the art of reading , which they cannot otherwise acquire , " Yet with this fact before him , so honourable to the working men , the editor © f the Chronicle has the assurance to call these noble fellows " modern barbarians !''
This insolence is very refreshing . It cannot be too widely made known , that our good lords —the bourgeoisie—regard the creators of their wealth as " barbarians ; " consider they eat too well , and read too freely , and ought to be restricted in their choice of food , both for the body and the mind . The sooner this is generally understood , tbe sooner will come tlie tug of war , and it cannot come too soon . We earnestly entreat the Chartists to consider whether it is a wise policy to have their lecturers traversing
the oft-trodden path—the beaten round of the towns in the manufacturing districts . The present organisation of large masses in those districts is not'indispensable . In the hour of revolution , men previously enli ghtened will spontaneously organise . In our humble opinion , the Chartist lecturers should be employed amongst the miners , the " navvies , ' ' and the agricultural labourers . We cannot transfer the physical strength of the iron miners and " navvies" to our emaciated
mechanics and diseased factory workers , but we may make the possessors of physical force sharers of mental power . Were that accomplished , to will our freedom and become free would be an easy matter . Liberty was never yet gained without a struggle , and certainly such liberty as we seek —the political emancipation and social regeneration of the working classes—is least likely to form an exception to the experience of all time . Moral force is moral humbug , unless there is p hysical force-behind it , and we have done next to nothing towards carrying the Charter , until we have secured the aid of those masses of physical force , which , even at present , though deplorabl y wanting in mental power , strike alarm into the minds of the supporters of the existing system .
The existing " civilisation is , for the Proletarians , a thousand-fold worse than barbarism . So far as regards food , clothing , shelter , protection of life , and enjoyment of liberty , savages possess immeasurable advantages over the working men of Great Britain and Ireland ; therefore , we say , perish this false , murderous civilisation ; and in its stead let there commence the reign of Justice . When Rome , fallen from her once proud state , had forgotten her Republican virtues , and become a den of criminals , and a sink of sin , an invasion of " barbarians ''—Goths and
Hunsavenged the wrongs of the world , and purified the imperial cit y from Its pollutions . Frightful was the remedy , but it was necessary for a still more frightful disease . When centuries of misgovernment , oppression , and corruption , had rendered French society—political and social—one hideous'lie , one rankling mass of rottenness , the rising of the " canaille'' and the " brigands" redeemed France from death , though at the price of a baptism of blood . And now , in this England , where the Moloch of money reigns supreme , and human rights , happiness , life itself , is sacrificed at the altar of
Mammon ; where the name of liberty is prostituted to cover the most atrocious system of social slavery that ever existed ; where the wealth creators perish , and idlers and schemers revel in unexampled abundance ; where the poor can find neither justice nor mercy , but , on the contrary , are treated with hatred , cruelty , and scorn ; in such a country , and under such circumstances , we may anticipate the speedy invasion of the " barbarians , " and the rising of the " canaille' '—that is the wronged , insulted PEOPLE , who must and will be their own liberators , and the saviours and vindicators of their country .
The Shop-Boy Volunteers. Middle-Class Ar...
THE SHOP-BOY VOLUNTEERS . MIDDLE-CLASS ARMAMENT . At a time when gaunt misery seems sundered more and more by a still-widening gulf from wealthy indolence , —at a time when , in a part of our empire , at least , the hunger-cry appears swelling into a war-whoop , every movement made , or step undertaken by either party , is deserving of most serious attention . We have long had evidence of the desire on the part of Government to promote
emigration at almost any cost , —while recent legislative enactments have shown an intention ol arming on the one side , and disarming on the other . Thus , the Coercion Bill performs the double office of arming the landlords and fundholders , and disarming the people . The French war-cry , again , subserves the same object , since it affords Government an excuse for strengthening its military and naval forces , and for embodying a militia , which w ould pave the way for the military despotism of a middleclass army . ¦ ¦•
It becomes daily more apparent that avast crisis is at hand- ;—Ireland is on the brink of insurrection—England is hurrying rapidly to a great change . Foreseeing this crisis , determined to resist the march of Democracy to the utmost , and prepared to use physical force in the endeavour , the middle-class have commenced arming , —and the following note of preparation has escaped through the columns of the daily press : — a number of gentlemen in London have resolved to form themselves into a regiment , to be termed
' The Queen ' s Own Volunteer Rifle Corps . " The number at present proposed is six hundred ; but probably it will be materially increased after it is fully known to the public . The parties who have taken the lead in this movement have received erery encouragement from the government , and will have their arras and ammunition supplied them . The uniform will be dark green , with blaek braiding , bronze ornaments , and a light cap . A commanding officer has been appointed and approved of , and the captains of companies and subalterns will be chosen by the gentlemen forming the corps . The Naval and Militabt Gazstte announces a report that & sscondI volunteer corps is in course of formation .
Let us ask these " gentlemen' what they are arming for ? Do they fear the French ? Not they—they know better . No ' other foreign foe is even talked of . If then , their armament is against no foreign foe , it must be against a domestic one . Who is it , then ? The landlords — the fundholders — the church ? If against none of these , it must be against the working classes—the people—the great march of Democracy , that shall yet trample on the graves of all monopolies . And Government » ives them " every encouragement , " supplies them with " arms and ammunition . '' What
for ? Who are they to shoot and stab ? Do the blood-thirsty Whigs fear that Ireland will call for all their bayonets ?—that they will have none to spare for England , when the voice of the English people shall call , in thunder : " Freedom for England and Ireland" — No more murder of our Irish brethren ! " Is it , therefore , they organise their Shopboy Volunteers ?—is it , therefore , they are sharpening their middle class bayonets—as it , therefore they are forming tbe " Queen ' s Own ? ' Well may they cull it a rifle corps , embodied from the class that has , for ages , been rifling Labour of its rights . " The Queen ' s own Rifle corps !"
We like not this arming of a class—if such armaments were wanted , they ought to be national—they ought to embrace the PEOPLE , too . But they are not necessary—on the contrary , they are pernicious ; and , therefore , we oppose them . Yet would we not have that class arm alone—if they are arming —then we say the people should exercise their constitutional right of bearing arms as well—
and we call on the Government , if it can PROVE the danger of invasion , to supply the people with arms as well—but , if it cannot prove that a danger of invasion exists—and we assert that it cannot—then , we say , it ought not to allow one class to assume so undue a preponderance of p hysical power , as must , of necessity , become dangerous to the unarmed working class , and imperil the liberty and the peace of the country . We doubt much whether Government would
be so ready to supply arms , uniforms , and ammunition , and to grant " every encouragement , " were the Fustian Jackets to propose forming volunteer corps of NATIONAL GUARDS , appointing their own officers , and enrolling themselves for the defence of their country against EVERY foe . We call on the working classes to look to this matter—it is a vitall y important one . We bid them ask themselves what would he
the condition of the country , should Government succeed in its game of Coercion and Emigration . Emigration is now one of the mainsprings of Whig policy , which may be summed up thus : — " Let us get all the independent , enterprising spirits out of the country , to our remote colonies . " ( Mark ! they talk no more of Canada—that is getting too strong for them already . ) " Once there , they will be thinly scattered over a savage country , and a few regiments will be able to keep the dispirited exiles in slavery and subjection , while only the weakest and feeblest will remain at home . Meantime we will increase our army , we will arm our " shop-boys ; " and then we shall have easy work with a decimated , emaciated , and broken-hearted population . "
In pursuance of this plan , Government is organising a monster system of emigration to Australia and the Cape , and SOUTHAMPTON is to become an * EMIGRATION PORT —while , as we have seen , army , navy , artillery , fortifications , are to be increased , and even " Queen ' s Own Riflemen'' to start up from behind the ledger and the desk , to " fright the isle from its propriety . ' ' Look to it , then , working men ! We say : No arming at all , where there is no necessity -and , above all , NO ONE-SIDED ARMAMENTS .
The Sleaford Case. We Understand That Th...
THE SLEAFORD CASE . We understand that the preliminary steps are now being taken for the purpose of bringing Sharpe , the policeman , to justice . It is well thus . The people should never tamely submit to any infringement of their rights , and , had they always acted in a similar spirit , they would not have so many invasions of their liberties to lament as they new have , Our readers will recollect the flagrant circumstances attending ' the death of the late William Dodson , secretary of the Sleaford branch of the National Land Company ; they will also remember the highly improper and illegal conduct of the bench of magistrates , with the exceptionjof Mr Charles Allix , who protested
against the decision of his brethren on the bench . The Bill of Indictment is now , we are informed , being sent to the grand jury , and we , therefore , expect to hear this case decided ere long . It remains to be seen whether the same illegal decision will be renewed at the assizes —the same scandalous mockery of justice perpetrated—as by those contemptible expounders and enactors of the law , who glorif y themselves in the easy cloaks of magisterial dignity . At tbe assizes there is , at least , a better guarantee for justice in the persons of judges than there is in those of " country gentlemen , " who actually confess themselves "ignorant of the laws . '
We repeat , that the energy of the Land Company and its Directors is much to be applauded in prosecuting this ease ; we r , egret , however , to learn that the funds in hand are still inadequate . We doubt not , however , that this deficiency will be remedied between this and the assises .
Parliamentary Review. A Creditable Anxie...
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . A creditable anxiety to do business has been manifested by the earl y introduction of several important measures by the Government , and this , conjoined with the activity of individual members , has made the business in the Commons , both varied and interesting . Lord Morpeth's Sanitary Bill is , in many respects , an improvement upon the one withdrawn last year . It preserves to a greater extent the principle of local self-government , and merely introduces the principle of central control in cases where it is obviously impera .
tive to do so , if we are to have efficient legislation upon the subject . In this respect , the principle enunciated in the " Northern Star ' last j ear , when commenting upon the bill then before the bouse , has been adopted by Lord Morpeth , and pretty fairly carried out . To one part of the machinery , we , however , see great objections . The loc al boards are to be elected on the same principle as the Poorlaw guardians . It would have been more in accordance with the spirit of the constitution as respects local self-government , if the elec ' tion had been in open vestry , and the right vested in all the parishioners or inhabitants
of the district under the management of the new bodies , to be created b y this BilL It is also questionable whether entrusting the duties defined by the Bill as pertaining to these bodies to existing municipal authorities will secure that undivided , constant , and practical attention which it is desirable , and , in fact , absolutely necessary to have , in order to carry the Act properly W . True , Lord Morpeth suggests that the public health may be remitted to a special committee of a Town Council , and there may be an advantage in having no division of authority in such cases ; but , upon the whole , it ; appears to us . that a separate and
Parliamentary Review. A Creditable Anxie...
distinct body would have more effectually administered the law . When the important questions involved in sanitary legislation are mixed up with other matters , there will be a tendency to underrate their value , and place them in a secondary , instead of a primary , position ; which would have been avoided by the appointment of a body whose sole and specific duties it was to superintend the carrying out of the law under which they were appointed . / The exclusion of the Metropolis from the operalion of the new Act has been complained of , and certainly , at first si ght , it appears a sacri fice of principle ; the excuses made for that exclusion , however , have some weight , and taken in connexion with what has been done , and
what is now doing . bythe Commission oi' Sewers recently appointed , may Jgo far to neutralise any opposition to the bill on that ground . One fatal defect it has , the omission of provisions by which the practice of Burial in Towns would be totally prohibited . No prejudices , of any descrip tion whatever , and no vested interests , however great , should be permitted to stand in the way of the abolition of one of the greatest nuisances , and most pestiferous sources of disease , which can exist in large towns . We are promised a separate measure , some time or other , on the subject , but it would have been better policy to have included Town Churchyards atonce among the other abominations to be rooted out by a new Sanitary Law .
A Conversation Of Some Length And Intere...
A conversation of some length and interest occurred on Monday night , with reference to the cost of the New Houses of Parliament , and various circumstances connected with their erection . We have had occasion to remark on similar subjects , that the English are by no means happy in their public Architectural and Artistical efforts . We do not say the people are to blame for the numerous abortions , or caricatures , which stare one in the face in almost every quarter of London . Practically , the people have been excluded from all interference in the matter . It has been a privilege
of the Aristocracy , an appanage of a Court Commission , and mainly directed 'by the caprices of a few amateurs , who have made a sad mess of it . It is a historical fact , that the Arts have always flourished most in a Republic , or where Republican Institutions predominated . Athens , whose name is synonymous with all that is beautiful in Art , was ruled by tho popular will , and the taste for the symmetrical ' and the graceful was cultivated in all . its citizens , almost unconsciously , by the daily presence of the grand and harmoniouslyconstructed specimens of Art which adorned
that world-famed city . We are only beginning to give this kind of education to our people , and , unfortunately , the horn-books are of a very inferior description out of which they have to be taught . Mr Barry ' s " New Palace at Westminster'' is akin to almost all our public structures , in conception and in execution . What it may be when the monster Victoria Tower is raised , we cannot tell , but its long low monotonous facade at the present time is
anything but striking . It is covered all over with florid ornaments , which give it a tawdry appearance , and from being planted in a low situation it loses any little dignity and grandeur of appearance whicli a better and more lofty situation might have imparted to it . To the foolish prejudice in favour of the old site , not only has the appearance of the building itself been sacrificed , but an outlay caused of hundreds of thousands for the formation of an embank .
ment on the Thames , all of which would have been saved , if a more appropriate situation had been fixed upon . The original estimate of the cost of the building was 707 , 000 / ., and it was to have been finished in six years . There has now been expended upon it 1 , 401 , 036 / . —they have been working at it nine years , and nobody pretends to know either how much it will cost , or when it will be finished . In fact , as Mr Osborne humorously observed in his excellent dissection of this huge j ob , the new Houses of Parliament are considered among architects to be a sort of Mrs Harris , whose real existence was as problematic as that
celebrated friend of Mrs Gamp , whom every body heard so much of , but never saw . When the Commons will get into their new House is a mystery , of which no one dares attempt the solution . The Government , however , have been obliged to pull up 3 they cannot go on supplying Mr Barry with money at the same rate as they have been doing . In future , as they are very poor , they are going to grant him less in the course of a year , and go on slowly ; so that the rising generation may possibly have a chance of seeing the works completed , of which middle aged men of the present day saw the foundations laid when they were just entering manhood . For all this , we are assured that
nobody is to blame—the good-natured baronet excused everybody connected all round , except , indeed , the House of Commons that fixed the site and sanctioned the plans , and as that venerable body is long since defunct in its corporate capacity , and the members yet living do not hold themselves responsible in their individual capacity , the comfortable conclusion is , that for this excessive expenditure , past and to come , nobody whatever is to blame .
The New Zealand Government Bill, Which W...
The New Zealand Government Bill , which was discussed oh Monday evening , is a curious exemplification of the bungling style in which laws are made in this country . The colonists who have settled in these islands very naturally demanded the constitutional ri g hts of Englishmen } namely , to . have a voice in making the laws by which they -are to be governed , and in fixing the taxes which they are to pay . There right to these privileges had been conceded by the Peel Ministry previous to its resignation in 1846 , and a pledge given that it should have free representative
institutions , which Lord Grey , on coming into office set about fulfilling , as it now appears , with more haste than practical wisdom . According to Governor Grey , the Constitution will not do at all . Metaphysically and abstractly it may be a very admirable one , but it is not at all applicable to the English Colonists and aboriginal New Zealanders , who con stitute the ,, population of that colony . One would imagine that this being the case , the Government would try to make a Constitution "to order , " instead of the " slop made" one they had already sent out . They might have
ascertained from the colonists themselves , as well as from Governor Grey , the actual state of things for which th ey were required to legislate , and upon that information tried their luck again ; such a course , however , is by far too practical and straightforward , for a Whig Ministry . Instead of really redeeming the pledge given to the colonists , they bring forward a Bill to suspend their own Constitution for five years , and entrusting Governor Grev , in the meantime , with all but absolute power over the colony ! The bungling of the Colonial Office has long been notorious , but this last specimen is certainly a very racy one .
While Chartism Is Growing In Strength An...
While Chartism is growing in strength and numbers , Protectionism becomes daily more divided and weak . Lord G . Bentinck ' s support of the Jewish Disabilities Bill has caused hia abdication as leader of the " country party , " as they style themselves , and so reduced were they that they are actually going a-begging with the vacant place . Nobody will have it . The Marquis of Granb y was applied to but
refused . Even that shows to what desperate extremities they were reduced . His lordshi p is a young nun of reputed abilities , but he is quite new to the House . ; He has no eminent services or reputation to fall back upon , and , but little of that political experience , which is indispensable for the occupancy of such a post . What the country . party will do without a head remains to be seen .
The other section of the old Conservative party , who remained attached to Peel , are said to have made a decided move they do not feel disposed to play second fiddles any longer to the Whigs , and mean | to nut them-
While Chartism Is Growing In Strength An...
selves in training once more for seats on th Treasury benches . This resolve has led to very distinct intimation from Sir Robert that he , at least , ia determined at present to l „ nothing to do with office . He enjoys his otkm cum dignitate too keenly , it appears , to f eel any desire to be- again encumbered with the cares and anxieties of Premier . He has therefore , also abandoned his position of leader of his party , which thereupon promoted th e Earl of Lincoln to the vacant throne . These changes in the constitution and management of the p arties in the House cannot fail materially to influence its proceedings in future .
To The Important Bill,Introduced B Y The...
To the important Bill , introduced b y the 5 e . cretary for Ireland , on the subject of Tenant Rig ht in Ireland , we willgive more attention at a subsequent stage of its existence . We content ourselves , at present , with stating that the bringing it forward at this earl y " period of the Session , is creditable to the Ministry , and will give the House time to maturely consider a question which is certainly surrounded with many difficulties . Two other hills—the one for the amendment of the law of Landlord and Tenant in England , and another to give facilitiesTorthe Improvement of Encumbered Estates in Ireland—were also read a first time on the same evening .
The Roman Catholic Relief Bill, Which Wa...
The Roman Catholic Relief Bill , which was defeated last year on the second reading by Sir II . Inglisjand his trusty band of out-andout Churchmen , has this year , under the pilot * age of Mr Anstey , reached the farther stage of being committed . Whether that implies that the degrading pains and penalties , which still blot the Statute Book , are really this time to be swept away , or whether the Bill may yet be defeated , and another struggle have to be made , before the bigotry of the age is finally overcome , we cannot predict . The majority ( thirty-two ) , is , we fear , too small to ensure success . Even should it pass the Commons , it will have to undergo the ordeal of the Lords , who may feel disposed to show their power of veto on a bill sent up to them by so small a majority .
To Ftea&Ers Tfcoitotjonoente.
to ftea & ers tfCoiTOtJonoente .
The La.Nd.-It Would Be Wholly And Entire...
THE LA . ND .-It would be wholly and entirely out of the power ol Mr O'Connor to answer one in every twenty of the letters be receives relative to the sals of allot . meats , the conditions of membership , and a thousand other questions of detail , soma of which nre answered in the rules , and others should be addressed to the directors . This notice must be taken as general . HiiiFAX . —Sir , —Permit me to state , in reference to Mr Tomlinson , that it was true he was placed on the plan t « lecture at the time specified , but I have reason to believe , after investigating the matter , that Mr ToTilin . ean gave due notice to the Halifax council ; that other . engagements prevented him attending to his appointmentj ; and , injustice toJMrJTomlinson , I have to state , I am extremely sorry that I should unknowingly have announced Mr Tomlinson to lecture , when he was
engaged elsewhere . Mr Tomlinson , though no longer on our ' plan , ' is still engaged by various associations as a lecturer , and is still engaged by the Halifax Chartist ! to lecture for them whenever an opportunity presents 'itself . I have to state that I have no desire to throw any obstacle in his way , or say anything iu disparagement of him as a lecturer , but as he is apprehensive , from the tenor of , my language in last week ' s letter , that a false impression may have been made on the minds of individuals through the country . I have further to state , that as far as my knowledge of him extends , I believe him to bo a consistent , honest democrat . G . Webber , district secretary . The ' IfAVviES . '—We have received the following from a friend near Sheffield : — 'Respected Sir , —I write these ff W lines to let you see what we are doing in this part of the country . I have been working on the Sheffield
and Lincolnshire Railway , for the last twelve months , and I have done all in my power to inform my fellow working men what the principles of the Charter and the Land I'lan are , and I am happy to inform you that I have added about twenty members to the Company . Oa Sunday , I went amongst them to collect what I could towards defending tha seat of our noble champion , Mr O'Connor , and with what success you may , judge ; every member that I saw paid one ' shilling each and some of their wivei p-. iid sixpence ; I got altogether 13 s . Gd ., which I have placed in the hands of Mr Cavill , to bo forwarded to the proper quarter , The subscribers wish it to he announced in the next Stab , as from tha navvies , at the two cuttings b twist Handsworth and Woodhouse , near Sheffield . I hare no doubt it wiU gladden the heart of Mr O'Connor , when h » sees that 1
instead of the navvies beingready to murder him fora ballyful of beer , they are beginning to elub their penca to protect him . When the New Land Company opens there will he many more who will join . I took the Na . tional Petition sheets with me , and got a good number of signatures attached . I have got the navvies to take two Stabs and the Weekly Expbebs regularly . Joiian Hab . ney thanks William Turnbull , Wlngate Grange Colliery , for the copy of The Doom of Toil , ' by the deceased George Binns . T . Castes , Cheltenham . —Tbe money must bo deposited in the names of three or four trustees , who must be furnished with authority from , the members to withdraw part as required , No notice is required for with drawals of funds belonging to Benefit Societies . Refer to the rules for further information . —T . Pbice ,
Manager . MtGosliho , Congleton . —They are sent to Mr Heywood . Titebton . —A letter from Julian Harney to tho electors and non-electors of Tiverton must share the fate of some others , stand over till next week . Pniss of Mattes compels the postponement of communications from Rotherham , Stourbridge , Bridgewater , Barnsley ( weavers ) . Address of the London shoemakers , and Mr Barley ' s letter . Mr Kydd . —Mr Morgan , 39 , Butcher-row , Deptford , wishes to know Mr Kydd ' s address . Falkibk . —We have sentyour letter to theChartistExecu . tive . Julian Harvey has received Is . from H . Bernard , and Is . from Kobert Wild , for the Fraternal Democrats . M ^ Patbick Duff , Dublin . —Thanks for your letter ; it shall have our attention .
Mr Seil , Leicester . —Your Louden publisher must sup . ply you with the portraits . MiwsTsit Loves . —In the account of the Minster Lorel ballot for houses , you have describsd me as of Stockport , instead of Stockton . —John Hoenbt , Stockton . on-Tees , Durham . Wm . Bunion , Cambridge . —We cannot iind room for your letter . Grand National Reform Banquet , —W . Webb suggests a grand National Reform banquet , to whiuh should ba invited—Feargus O'Connor , M . P .. T . S . Duncombe , M . P ., Thomas Wakley , M . P ., W . J . Fox , M . P ., Georgo Thompson , M . P ., Colonel Thompson , M . P ., John O'Conaell , M . P ., W . S . O'Brien , M . P ., William WiU Hams , Eiq ., John Fielden , Esq ,, H , Marnier May , Esq ., Messrs West , Julian Harney , Ernegt Jones , M'Grath , Clark , & c ., & o . Our correspondent forgets that such invitations were sent on the occasion of tha late Chartist dinner at the Crown and Anchor , and responded to by the appearance of one real , lone member
—Mr o Connor . ' We may add , that he can answer for Julian Harney , that he would be very sorry to breathe the same air with John O'Connell and some other hum . bugs named in the above list . Roqeb Pindeb calls upon the Chartists to abandon the use of taxed drinks and tobacco . R . P . says : — ' Tha three and a half millions a year raised on income has alone kept the government goinj ? . Seeing this , and knowing that taxes raised on strong drink and tobacj > amount to about fourteen millions , and the worki iclasses consuming the greatest part , it is your duty to co-operate with me and become abstainers , aad keep at least ten out oi the fourteen millions in your own pockets , instead of jiving it to those who -will rob , plunder , and persecute you . W . Griffin , Birmingham . —You had better lay your plan before the local meetings of the Land members . T . GiBnotf . ^ You may get the books of Mr Watson , pushsher , Queens Head - passage , Paternoster - ro ? r . London .
' Wiltbida , 'and « Robert Cork . '—No room . Caution . —Wm Parker , a native of Leatherhead , in tha county of Surrey , and who describes himself as having formerly been a seafaring man , has decamped with a sum of money subscribed for the assistance of James Pitman , his fellow workman , he bavin * one dead child and two nearly so . The said Wm Parker having , at the same time , left his wife and child—about eight weeks old—in great distress . This is to warn the public against placing any confidence in so base and unfeel . mg a villa i n . I remain , sir , your obedient , humble servant , W . Bennis , secretary to the Cordwainers ' Operative Society , Dartford .
J . OTIOB . —I should feel under great obligation to an * reader of the Nobthkk . v Star ' who will furnish mo with the full aud correct address of the * ife of a peer man , named Michael Driscoll , supposed to reside on or near West Calf Island , when tho unfortunate ship Stephen Whitney was wrecked . This poor woman gavo her only sheet to wrap the body of a lady who perished at the time . My object in desiring this information is , that I may be enabled to uommumeat * mih ' thts kindhearted woman , and to remit her a substantial evidence ( received from a distant part of the world ) that such a manifestation of Christian feeling has not been unnoticed in a foreign land—William Uidss , Nobthsss Star office .
Mr i . stsfhkns , of Hull , wishes to refer his Tocklington friend , and others in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire , to the Address from Hull in the Stab of January 1 st , 1848 . Parties writiug to him must send their names and address . D . Ri -Probably the government will introduce a new measure for the embodiment of the militia . Until that measure is brought forward , we cannot say what would be the consequences ef refusing to serve . * »* At tho last moment we find ourselves compelled to exclude notices of meetings held ; atStockport , Warrington . York , Dalston , Mottram , Sa ' lford , Bolton , Hey . wood , and Bristol . This exclusion is owing to the gentlemen of the Chartist Executive and Land Company bringing matter for insertion , which we might just as well havi had on Monday last , as on Thursday night , at twelve o ' clock . Had we had that matter earlier , w » couldj and would have arranged for its insertion without excluding the reports and notices frora the abovenamed places . Bbuxkllej . —A . P . Received .
^ LEQAt . NOTICE . —Owing to the ap . ee occupied by Parliamentary proceedings , no legal correspondence can fini place iu the Stab during the Session . All those therefore , whose cases have been aa-BTreredonlyintheSTaB , are requested to . send their addresses and a postage Stamp should they requira private answers , EBHE 3 T JOHJS ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 19, 1848, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_19021848/page/4/
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