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¦I I THE NORTHERN STAR. January 23, 1847...
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PRICB THREEPENCE.
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THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JANUARY 23, 1817.
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TIIE IRISH BANDITTI. In days of yore, in...
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THE FAMINE. As famine is not likely to b...
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THE LAND. As we have commented elaborate...
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PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW. At an unusually ea...
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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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¦I I The Northern Star. January 23, 1847...
¦ I I THE NORTHERN STAR . January 23 , 1847 .
Pricb Threepence.
PRICB THREEPENCE .
Ad00408
THE DAILY NEWS , London Morning Newspaper , in Time for tke Morning Mails .
Ad00409
Now ready , Pries One Shilling . THK S £ C » . KD EDITION Or M MY LIFE , OR OUR SOCIAL STATE , FtBi I . a Poem , by ER N EST JONES , j . Barrister at Law . I Fill : of wild dreams , strange fancies and graceful iimimngt-. imers ^ rs-d with m anv bright and beautifu-Ittuthougiits , its chief defect i * its brevity . The author ' s in ; llpfcpiratioiis seem to tfush fresh and sparkling from Hippo-( Crah-ene . iU will want udther readers nor admirers . — Morn iwAw P ' jit .
Ad00413
TO THE INDUSTRIOUS MILLIONS . On Saturday Next , Janmary 30 th , will be Published , No . I , Price O n e Pen m , to be continued weeklv , of
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TO TAILORS . LONDON ind PARIS FASHIONS FOR TIIE WINTER , IS 4 C-17 . y READ and Co . , 12 , Hart-Ptreet , Bloomsbury s q uare , L n udon ; And G . Bergtr , Holy well-street , Strand ; M-jy W hal of all booksellers , wheresoever residing . NOW SEaDT , By ap > iobafion of her Majesty Queui Victoria , and his Royal Highness Prises Albert , a spl -ndid print richly coloured and exquisitely executed View of Hy d Park Gardens , as seen from Hyde Park , London . With this beinuiful Print will be sent Dress , Frock , and Jiding Coat FatUrts , the n west style Chesterfield , acd Ae New Fashionable Double-breasted Waistcoat , with Skirts . The method of reducing aud increasing them f « r all sues , explained in the most simple manner , with I } ur extia Piates , and can b » easily perform' -d by any person . Manner of making up , and a full description of the Uniform * , as now t « be worn in the Royal Navy , and Other information . —Price 10 s . or p st-free Us .
Ad00415
Now Ilpady , a New Edition of Jilt . O'CONNOR'S WORK ON SMALL FARMS To hi had at the X . rthem Slir Office , 16 , Great Wind mi ! i--street ; and of AbelHeywood , Manchester .
Ad00419
IMPORTANT TO PHOTOGRAPHISTS . AX application was made ou the 21 ' nd Si pi -iiiber , to the Yii-e-Chaiid-llor of England , by Jlr . Beard vvii " , jcting under a mostcxtraordiiiy delusi t . t , considers himseif the . < " ! - ; /« it .. ' , if < e uf the Photographic ;>< v * je .- > s Mo restrain MR . EGEKTO . V , of 1 , Teuipk--strio £ . and Ms , Flect-atreet , rota tiking Photographic I ' orti . iits , which be ( i . e .-s by a process entirely dilieiett fi'oi ? . md wry Sup' -iii-r to Mr . Ben il ' s . and at one-half the cl . ' rgc . Ili- Honour refused the application in tola . V ; " license required t . practice this prect-ss , which is O'l ^ ht by Mr . Egertou iu a few lessons at a moderate Cll . irge . Aii the Ajip : i-atus , Chemicals , . Ve , to be had as usual : ' : ; -. 1 ) - ot . ! , Temple-street , 'Abitefriars .
Ad00418
LITHOGRAPHIC ENGRAVINGS OF Till 1 ) U X C 0 M B E T E S T 1 M 0 NIA I .. MAY still be had at the Office of Messrs . M'Gowan and Co ., 16 , Great Windmill Street , llaymarket , J , vMdon ; through any respectable bookseller in town or roanti-y ; or at any of the agents of the Northern Star . Thc ' eiijfraviiigison a large scale , is executed in the most finished style , is finely printed « n tinted paper , and * i \ e ? a minute " description of the Testimonial , and has Inscription , & c , Ac , engraved upon it . PRICE FOURPENCE .
Ad00416
DOMESTIC MONITOR . Ou Saturday , January the ltitli , was published , price One Penny . No . T . of THE DOMESTIC MONITOR , Or Literary , Scientific , Legal , and Medical Advise . - . E lited by Hermes . To be continued W : eHy . Con tents—Austria as it is in the year 1847 . Don Rodri-o , the Forbidden Wedding . The Nosegay . The P . -Jspects of Labour : Death by Starvntion . Correspondence on Scientific , Literaiy , Le g al , and Medical Subja-ts . Domestic Herbal . Published by E . Mackenzie , 111 , Flee t S t ree t , and to be had of ail Booksellers and Newsvenderg . Letters to be addressed , pos t paid , " Hermes , 31 , Tonbridge Place , New Koad .
Ad00417
A GOOD FIT WARRANTED . AT the great western emporium , l . andJ , Oxford-street , Ubsdell and Co ., practical tailors , are now making A beautiful suit of superfine black for £ 3 Ms any size ; splendid waterproof overcoats made to order for : ' 3 n each ; and y « uths superfine suits for J 4 s . The above house is the cheapest and best in London , for black cloths of everydescription , asinay biissea by several Loudon daily papess of last July , September , cud November . 3 d Omnibusvs to and from the City , stop at the ettablishjnent every minute of the day .
Ad00410
l < iEVV ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PERIODICAL . Price 1 R ; Stamped i \ d , H OWITT' 3 JOURNAL OF LITERATURE AND PR 3 GESS , Edited by William and Mart Howitt , supported by the first talent of the age . Early numbers have , and will contain articles bv Leigh Hunt , Hurry Cornwall , Dr . Southwood Smith , W " . J . Fox , Miss Mitford , Miss Bremer , Douglas Jcrrold , Dr . Bowring , George Thompson , R . II . Nome , etc . etc . The unprecedented success of this Journal , having within tha first month reached a circulatioa of twenty thousand , renders i t an admirabl y circulating medium . Advertisements intended for tha Monthl y Part should not be sent later than the 25 th inst . Published ( for thj Proprietor ) at 171 , Strand , corner of Surrey Street , and sold by all booksellers
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THOMAS PAINE . LITERARY INSTITUTION . John-street , Fitzroy-square , ON Friday evening , January 2 » tb , inst , a Friendly Tea Party will be Iiel I in Commemoration of the Uirthday of Thomas Paine , author of" Common Sense , " & c . Tea on the Table at Seven precisely . THOMAS COOPER ( author ol "The Purgatory of Suicides ") in the Chair . Tickets One Shilling each , To be had of Mr . Truelove , Bookseller , next door to the Institution ; Mr . Watson , 3 . Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternoster-row ; and Mr . Hetherington , 57 , Judd-street , Brunswick-square .
Ad00412
WILL BE PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 1 No . 2 , ( price 6 ii . ) of
The Northern Star Saturday , January 23, 1817.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JANUARY 23 , 1817 .
Tiie Irish Banditti. In Days Of Yore, In...
TIIE IRISH BANDITTI . In days of yore , in the good old days when things were called by their proper names , and when the conqueror ' s rule was" touch and go" " catch and keep ; " when piracy aud adventure had their dangers as well their brighter prospects ; when even the ocean itself was but an uncertain boundary to the native possessor or foreign usurper , then pirates aud dventurers met in conclave , in the dark cavern or some dingy hall , to talk over the chances of death , or prospects of success —even in those savage days secrecy was observed , whether from fear of apprizing the victim or of the consequences
of detection . Well , but those barbarous days of bashfulness and secrecy are gone , and why should ' nt plunder as well as commerce have its civilised code of laws ? The old barbarian was but a man amongst men , the new barbarian is a host in himself , and in his own proper person swallows up , some a county , some a uity , some a town , and the most moderate a borough . Of old , arrow ranked with arrow , and the bowman ' s skill alone gave preference . Strength—God ' s gift—was , then , man's reliance , but now , the pigmy voice of some stall-fed abortion , or crippled half-begotten thing , stays the arm of unarmed legions , and checks expression on the threshold of conspiracy .
What the Maker meant as man ' s distinction , the weak , through jealousy , has thwarted to his disgrace , as the able-bodied man must sorrow at the controul of his pigmy superior . Who will say that the bold , the daring , and unblushing resolution of the IRISH BANDITTI , discussed in open day ami resolved in open council , does not deserve so much prefatory observation . Perhaps OUR READERS are not yet aware that the fright of famine has at length roused the apprehensions of its creators , and that Saxon and Celt , Protestant and Catholic , Whig
aud Tory , Repealer and anti-Repealer , Jew and professing Christian , have had their senatus consultum in the Rotunda , and that the Irish landlords , armed with the weapon of millions—THK VOTE—and , headed by their Parliamentary gang , have invaded Britain in thehope of sacking her Exchequer , and carrying off that portion of the spoil , to the abstraction of which they cheerfully consented as long as no part of the amount came from their own coffers . No , so long as they could phmler industry for idleness , and that the British Minister ' s support
was given in return for their subservience , then there was no charge of plunder , but now that labour's lemon has been squeezed dry , the bandit cries out RESTORE ! RESTORE !! RESTORE !!! These tender-hearted philanthropists have paraded nearly forty crying grievances of their own creation , and of over forty years' unheeded existence , as their casus belli , unexpected famine , has reminded them of the dangers of property as well as its duties , and in order to protect themselves against the one , they seek to chuck responsibility of the other on other shoulders . Did it require famine to tell them
that the land required draining ; that the poor required productive employment and a suitable provision , if unwilling idlers or unable to work , to convince them that the Law of Settlement required improvement , and that facility should be given to assist retail registration ; that the Grand Jury Laws were bad ; that compensation should be given to tenants fortheir "labour and improvements ; " that the Law of tenure should be altered , and that the waste lands should he brought into productive cultivation . No , those were all old standing grievances and so was the OLD HOVEL AND OLD MISERY of the pauper class , but for the means of correcting or
Tiie Irish Banditti. In Days Of Yore, In...
mitigating all of those long standing abuses , they come to Parliament , with their fingers in their mouths , with an astounding , suspicions , and disgusting unanimity upon the great question , GIVE . In all else they are at deadly war , but upon the principle of " catch and keep , " they are marvellously unanimous . Even the hovel , ruined by their own indifference and neglect , is to be rebuilt , and the condition of their serfs , degrading to the very name of man , is to be improved , but all at the expence of the English Exchequer .
The plain and simple fact is this , but does not appear to have struck our contemporaries—that the Irish landlords strive to make a GOD-SEND OF THE DISPENSATION . They , and they only , are answerable for the consequences of the calamity ; they , aud they only , are responsible for every death , or rather murder , committed by their own dispensation ; and yet do they now seek to turn the calamity to the improvement of their own properties . We admire Mr . Smith O'Brien ' s boldness in a political sense ; it is right to hold the drawn sword over the
oppressor ' s head , but he must not forget there are such things as social duties . He must not forget that the government does not forbid or prevent the Irish landlords giving compensation to their tenants for skill and industry ; that the Government does not compel , or even encourage , the middleman system ; that government does not tie up properties , or sew them up in parchment , to an extent that will stop improvement , and create unnatural indifference ; that the government is not the purveyor of local jobbing , and county and parochial abuse ; that the
government does not throw a blight over the waste lands , and forbid thcio cultivation ; that the government does not prevent , or stop the process of , draining ; hat the government has not been the architect , nor yet the constructor of the mud hovel ; nor has government denied to each landlord the right or power to erect school-houses for the education of the families of his own tenants and labourers ; that all that has been done by Government , has been done upon the recommendation , enforcement , and worry of those very Irish landlords themselves ; and ,
therefore , do we emphatically pronouace against the proposed plunder—not because it is intended to come from English pockets to relieve Irish distress , but because it would be an injustice to the Irish peopleiiecause , if the sore isjskimmed over , instead of being probed , cleaned , and healed , the abuses which have led to it will be allowed to continue . We say by all means lend , advance , and accommodate—but CONFISCATE for security . Open the path for the Jew to the Irish domains ; and let the Jew be secured even in the pound of flesh , provided it comes Irom the real debtor .
But herein will be the minister s greatest difficulty—it will be impossible to mortgage the property of the real offender for the discharge of his just debt , without multiplying the grievances of the innocent sufferers' —the poor—and , therefore , the pointupon which the government will require most watchfulness and jealousy is , so to frame its measures , that the spiteful landlords shall not be able to take vengeance , for government justice , upon those who have no government protection—and whose social grievances are one and all consequences of landlords ' oppression ; and
to the consideration of which , landlords of all shades of politics have agreed to confine the question ; and thus they have not only justified , but have invited discussion upon the subject , on its own proper merits—ITS SOCIAL BEARING . Perhaps no question of equal magnitude , as regards Ireland , has ever been discussed in the British senate ; and , therefore , we shall not apologize for dealing largely and comprehensively with the subject . The English people then must be firm to the great principle of
justice , and must not allow their judgment to be blinded by the dust of the guilty humanity-mongers . They must be prepared to stand up against the torrent of filth and unjust reproach that will be heaped upon them , in the following terms : — "Oh ! our struggle for Ireland would have been successful , but for the cold blooded indifference of the English Chartists . Did not I always tell you that they were your enemies ? What Irishman will henceforth tolerate a set of ruffians who withheld food from his
starving family . " The answer is , that the English people proclaim the right of the Irish to food and to immediate relief , whether they get work or not , but that the relief MUST COME FROM THE POCKETS OF THE RESPONSIBLE GUILTY . That , if relief comes from England , Irish abuses will be perpetuated , nay multiplied ; that Government should hold the GODSEND as a lash to whip the guilty to the performance of their natural duties . The justification is , that the Irish landlords pay no direct
and but trifling indirect taxes ; that they have received a bonus of twenty-five per cent , upon church property tt > coax them into the performance of their duties ; that they are all but exempt from the support of their poor ; that they are exempt from property and income tax ; that they have the advantage of cheap labour aud dear markets ; that their estates are let on rack rents ; that living is cheaper in Ireland than in any other country in the world . Nay , we go further , and viewing the calamity as it really presents itself , we pronounce against
the right of interfering with any » ingle vested interest as far as the landlords are responsible ; against the justice and prudence of reducing the interest upon mortgage debts , personal contracts , or provisions for younger children ; against the justice , because the mortgagees are not parliceps criminis , and have bad no share in producing the calamity , and no portion of the immunities conferred upon the landlord class , to induce them to perform their duties ; against the prudence , because the step would lead to the confiscation of three-fourths of the landed property of the country , just when such
an event , should be borne exclusively by the poor Let the church property aud the landed property be opened for jts proper burden , and which it should justly bear , and let Government be the mediator , between the lender and the borrower . We must he prepared for the landlords' threat of— " If you rule us thus , you will force us into the Repeal ranks ;" but that would not give us much annoyance , nor will one single one of them carry the threats into execution . We must call the attention of the reader to an article upon Ireland , that appeared in the " Labourer , " of the present month , and in
which the writer pointed out the fact , that the attempt of the landlords to uphold abuses , which are the harvest of famine , would be the minister ' s greatest difficulty;—the impossibility of severing the landlord from the labour question , and the consequent necessity of enabling the former to perform his duties to the latter , by generous loans , to be recovered by EXTENT ; the probability of the landlords making a stand upon the famine side of the precipice , to draw attention from the abuse side , and the indispensable necessity of an alteration in the law of tenure , whereby the producer may be secured in the uninterrupted possession and enjoyment of his own industry . That article was
published in December , and we now ask the impartial reader , whether the resolutions of the Banditti , and the few short speeches made by Irish members in the House , do not critically realize the predictions of the writer . Iu conclusion , we shall narrowly watch and fearlessly criticise every measure of the Government in connection with Ireland and the famine question , treating it , as the Irish landlords desire , upon its mere social merits , and wholly irrespeclive of theirs or our political feeling or bias We shall give the minister credit , if his measures deserve it ; shall g ive him the benefit of our experience and reflection , and our best aid , in compelling those who have produced the calamity to mitigate Us severity , reminding him that whatever pre-
Tiie Irish Banditti. In Days Of Yore, In...
cedent is now established in the case of Ireland , will very speedily be brought into operation ON THIS SIDE OF THE WATER , as his best endeavours cannot possibly avert the monster ' s march . TO BE FOREWARNED IS TO BE FOREARMED — tnerefore Russell , THINK .
The Famine. As Famine Is Not Likely To B...
THE FAMINE . As famine is not likely to be confined to Ireland , and as the laws of the landlords cannot establish any cordon to arrest the monster ' s march , we are bound to consider the question in all its bearings and relations . Firstly , then , we mnst reasonably presume that the Exchequer will suffer , and materially too , in the naval and military department , as we are not aware that tiie Noble Lord at the head of her Majesty ' s
Government will be able to insert a clause in the Free Trade tariff in favour of the provisions and rations of soldiers and sailors , nor will he find it convenient to limit the amount of those important items , when the services of the recipients may be so urgently required to reconcile the less subservient to short commons . In truth , both the minister and Mr . Labouchere have told us , that all that is to he expected is a MITIGATION OF THE CALAMITY , a nation of Cavagnahs , in this the hour of our tribulation , when the gift of fasting would be indeed a heavenly dispensation !
The precedent having been established in Ireland , that property not only has its duties , but must perform those duties , will shortly be called into practice in THIS COUNTRY , and therefore it becomes the duty of all to furnish the minister with all the material for that ready reckoner , to which , he will be obliged to refer at breakfast , dinner and supper , if the economy of three meals a day is to be preserved . With this view we cheerfully furnish hiro with our fair portion of figures . We find that the Income and Property tax then , from a tax of
something less than three per cent , produces over five millions annually . That amount is a peace tax , but now we are at war with the most deadly enemy , who spares neither age nor sex in his ravages , and whose march and tactics cannot he arrested or circumvented by ordinary military tactics . The capitalists and landowners of England submitted to a property tax of ten per cent TO KEEP BONEY OUT ; hnnger is a more watchful , more subtle , less manageable and more powerful enemy , and therefore wonld demand as large an amount to resist its aggression .
Allowing the five millions to be requiied for the idle and indolent as hush-money for the discontented , and pelf-money for the easily-satisfied , an additional seven per cent ., making the whole amount ten per cent ., would place a fund of nearly twelve millions at the disposal of the Government , while an additional five per cent , upon funded property , allowing that it is partly embraced in the twelve millions , would add a million to the fund ; while an
additional tax of twenty per cent , upon Church property , surely not too much to expect the shepherds to give the starving flock to meet the ALMIGHTY'S DISPENSATION ; would give an additional two millions—no great OFFERTORY from Ten Millions a-year . Thus , the Minister would , at once , be in possession of a war tax of over Fifteen Millions , over and above the amount required for the usual appliances and to meet the common enemy .
The proposition will , no doubt , appear farcical to many , while , to our mind , it is much more farcical , nay , tragical , to read of Royal entertainments and Ministerial banquets , while our eyes are shocked with prancing horses , bloated menials , and gorged peers and senators hurrying to the stage to consult how they can best secure their persons and their properties against the ravages of their own distemper . It is mortifying to see sleek and fatted , aye , and well clothed horses in the brewer ' s and distiller ' s carts carrying poison through the ranks of naked , houseless , starving paupers . Some may smile at our proposition , but we tell the Minister and the aristocracy that we have set a ^ low figure
to meet what will inevitably he a national requirement . The Prime Minister has pompously told u > that it wonld have been imprudent and injudicious to have summoned the Irish Landlords three months ago from the performance of their local duties ; but he appears to forget that March , April , and May , are the very months of the year when the presence of the landlord would be required to encourage agricultural pursuits , and that their attendance during spring and seed-time , would have been cheaply purchased by their absence in November , December ,
and January . The duty of the Minister was to have called Parliament together in the season when nature intended the land to sleep ; to have performed the required work during seven days of the week if necessary , ( armies fight on Sundays and famine never goes to church ) , to have spoken less and done more , and if seven days in the week for three months was insufficient for the performance of the farce and the epilogue , then to have allowed the performers in the tragedy to return to their vocations , w ^ ien nature roused the Land from its slumbers , and to have consigned the squabbles of jobbers and speculators to a tribunal competent to arrange their differences .
Now the noble Lord will be compelled to prorogue Parliament after a short sitting , in order to allow the local guardians an opportunity of experimenting upon his novel measures . We give the Minister one hint , and that is , above and before all other considerations , to establish airy , dry , well ventilated , and convenient depots for the reception of the largest amount and best description of all kinds
of seeds that can be purchased for love or money ; and to furnish those seeds to tenants and labourers , holding TIIE LANDLORDS AND THEIR ESTATES responsible for their repayment . This is the way to clip the monster's wings ; if this be omitted , the famine of this year will be succeeded by the plague of the next . Ireland , we arc told , is ONLY DECIMATED-, omit this necessary precaution , and next year will see it DEPOPULATED .
Has the noble Lord ever considered that 4 jlhs . of corn per day , estimating all the horses in Her Majesty ' s military and police service at 20 , 000 , would amount to over forty tons per day . Now if we estimate the abstraction from each man ger at four pounds and a half per horse , we find that the deduction from each would support a mai ^ his wife and three children , daily ; or that the whole
amount would secure food for a hundred thousand daily . We may over estimate the number of war horses , hut if they amount to ten thousand , that abstraction from their daily rations would furnish food for fifty thousand human beings daily , while the loss may be made up in hay ami chaff ; but we contend that our service would not be injured by the reduction . BUT WE RAVE ; HOW FOOLISH . TO THINK
OF STINTING THE QUEEN'S HORSES WHILE THE QUEEN'S SUBJECTS AttE STARVING .
The Land. As We Have Commented Elaborate...
THE LAND . As we have commented elaboratel y upon the stock piece of the St . Stephen ' s management ( Ireland ) shall we now call attention to what is likely to be the great movement of the Session . As to thu
The Land. As We Have Commented Elaborate...
Montpensier marriage , those members who have jpoken upon the subject appear to think with usthat is , that any interference on our part would be but a busy meddling in an affair in which the English people have not , and take not , the slightest interest . In fact , Guizot took advantage of a change of jockeys for & cross , and the Orleans pet jostled the Cobourg out of the race . As regards Cracow , we have yet to learn what a Royal protest means ; whether from it we are to infer the Queen demandi the restoration of the Republic , or contents herself with expressing her dissent , with the
hope that it ; W 0 N'T OCCUR AGAIN . In truth , the perusal of Jim Crow Polk ' s postscript to his long yarn , delivered to Congress , convinces us that authority exercised by the landed over the landles s * whether of the monarchical or republican stamp , will sooner or later merge into tyranny . Polk ' s last audacious message to the senate appears to have roused none of the angry passion , jealous suspicion , or indignation of John Bull , while a characteristic and expected act of tyranny by the despots of Austria , Russia , and Prussia , appears to astonish , alarm , and offend him .
What have the three Powers done as regards Cracow that Polk has not more barbarously at . tempted as respects Mexico ; and meagre , cold , and unsatisfactory as our Queen ' s Speech is , and as Royal speeches generally are , yet it is balm compared to that of the President of the Republic of America . He parades the POMP of international law , the RIGHT OF CONQUEST , the HUMANITY of forcing civilized institutions on an uncivilised enemy , and justifies the worst system of tyranny- — the law of might—by the cold-blooded assurance , that THE CONQUERED will be benefitted by the change of masters .
We observed , last we « k , that Polk was fast administering the Pitt policy of uniting the rich oppressor to the poor oppressed by the golden link of servile dependence . The Exchequer is exhausted , new taxes are to be levied , and a new bond of union , in the shape of a National Debt , is to be established ; and hence , the American Pitt will have achieved financial greatness upon his country ' s ruin . So long as fools and tyrants can secure the hired assassin ' s service , so long will might triumph over right ; but ( he moment that social comfort beams through
the cottage window , and when the rich oppressor is obliged to wage battle for himself , the voice of knowledge and din of busy industry will silence the cannon ' s roar and stay the murderer ' s arm . Is any peasant , possessed of four , three , two , or even one acre of land and a cottage , to be found in the ranks of Polk ' s mercenaries ? No , not one . Armies are not recruited from the nest , they are enlisted and mustered from the cellar and the garret , from the hospital , the brothel , the workhouse , and the beershop—haunts unfrequented by him who has his labour-field to work in , and his nest for repose .
The importance , then , that we attach to the present Session is , that the grand principle that the Land alone , audits proper cultivation , can secure man again .-1 famine must be conceded ; and that , as far as speeches and motions can foreshadow the future , we find cheering earnest that the locked-up Land of the country is to be stripped of those anomalous and pernicious barriers whieh withheld it from the retait
market . That the law of primogeniture , of settlement , entail , enfranchisement , with all their blighting concomitants , are to be DISCUSSED ; and , in such cases , discussion means condemnation , as it is impossible that the absurdities of barbarous ages can withstand the torrent of civilization . Perhaps there is no question in which the working classes are more interested than that of enfranchisement and cheap registration .
Enfranchisement means converting copyhold into freehold . As the custom of copyhold now stands , no man can build , no man can plant , improve , or safely possess himself of stock ; furniture , or property which he can consider his own . No matter who the proprietor of the Land may be . the power to withhold improvement rests with the Lord of the Manor ; and who , in many instances , demands more than the value of the Land , as his terms of enfranchisement . The heriot , or gift to him , upon the
death of the occupant or proprietor , is in many cases enormous , while his unnatural interest makes him indifferent as to the improvement of the property . He is the high priest of the soil , and his power is more blighting than that of the parson . His obstinacy checks improvement , his will limits representation . For these reasons we had no ordinary pleasure in reading the following notice of motion , by Mr . Aglionby , the excellent and spirited Member for Cockermouth .
COP * HOLDS' ENFRANCHISEMENT . Mr . AcLiONnr gave notice that it was his intention on an early day to put a question as to the report of the committee on the enfranchisement of copy hholds , and to bring in a bill on the enclosure ot common lands , which should include the compulsory enfranchisement of copyholds , and enable such holders to hold in freehold . The reader may rest assured , that every false po sition by which the landlords have so long retained their estates in an unproductive condition , and which above all other circumstances has pressed hardly upon the means of subsistence , will be
assailed and overthrown . This session , then , promises to be one fruitful in social improvements , with those who will see the necessity of relaxing some of their harsh conditions , lest they should be called wpow for ttie performance oi others less congenial and satisfactory ; while the working classes , who have achieved a knowledge of the value of Land , as if by magic , must , on their own behalf be prepared for the coming political struggle , as the means of turning those social changes to national instead of class advantage . We never tire of giving , and they should never tire of receiving knowledge , upon a subject upon the thorough understanding of which depends national greatness and man ' s redemption ,
Let the reader then gain courage and consolation from the following fact , namely , that the absurdities of landlords may yet be turned to the account of universal prosperity . Here is the illustration we give of our asseriion . A landlord leases , say one hundred acres of land , cramping the tenant with anomalous conditions , which restrict industry , bar improvement , and considerably . lessen the real value of the holding . Thus A leases one hundred acres of land to B , upon condition that such and such things
shall not be done , the performance of which would ; be beneficial ; and that such and such things shall ; be done , the doing of which may be injurious , j Three-fourlhs , ' and sometimes a larger proportion , is j to be retained in unproductive grass ; and hence we i know of thousands of instances where farmers pay a < stipulated rent under those conditions , whereas if I free to freely apply their industry , skill , and capital , they would willingly give more than double the , rent , and would return more than double produce to ' society . thenis
Here , a great , a monstrous , an unnatural and blighting tax ; a tax which restricts production , and limits the expenditure of labour and capital . ) Talk of the National Debt , tithes , the army , navy , ordnance , civil list , pensions , placemen , tax-eaters » and salaried oftkials , they arc but as molehills compared to this mountain ; mere bubbles on the water ' s surface—destroy if , and away go seven millions of poor rates , their concomitant legal expenses , their heart-burnings , and a bloated rural police . Thisi system has , thank God , retained the grassland of the ' country ui a savings' bank—ami its destruction will equitably distribute the deposits between landlord , tenant , and labourer ; and would , we pledge ourselves , dispel the cuckoo cry of Britain ' s incapacity to maintain her own sunn . Ireland nUiie , if cultivated to its capability of bearing , would produce twice as much Ins every Englishman , woman , ami child—every
The Land. As We Have Commented Elaborate...
"'Scotchman , woman , and child , and every his * woman , and child , could consume while h l 5 transform millions of beggars into who ! ^ customers in the manufacturing market , thus J [^ machinery man's holiday , instead of man ' s " ' and securing , within arms length at home , il ^ . " ' j * Idf QAf better , richer , and more constant class of cuttom than the serfs of foreign nations' or barbaron ., •?*' can furnish . Let the Land then , and its restoration to aa |; purposes , be the morning thought and dream of \ who , for want of it , are compelled to offer their j a ( , ' to those who will condescend to purchase it in ( . ' competitive slave mart . e
Parliamentary Review. At An Unusually Ea...
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . At an unusually early period tho legist ; body of the country has been called togeiu ' to discuss grave , pressing , and momentous question ' and the crowded appearance of both houses on tv , first night oi the sessioa , showed that the uieube of each are alive to the critical nature of the positio » in which we are now placed .
The Ministerial programme for the session , tained in the Queen ' s Speech , was remarkable , not only for what it indicated , but for what it omitted and | in each case curiously characteristic of the genjm of the party now in office . Bold and frank in matters where general concurrence was expe « t « d , it eitU passed over entirely , or alluded in the most vagn . manner , to topics on which opposition may arise . Jt is elaborately distinct about temporary small measures , such as opening the ports , and letting the brewers have liberty to make beer from Sugar ; whil ( on the permanent question of Education it is totally silent . The state of the revenue , and of our colonial and foreign dependencies , are also wholly unnoticed in the speech .
The immediate and temporary measures recom mended by the Ministry , arc in fact an impeachment of their own past policy . If the opening of the ports and the suspension of the navigation lawt could have been of any service at all , it was three or four months ago , before winter had blocked up the shores of the Baltic , or France , Belgium , and Hoj . land exhausted the store granaries of the Continent , The wisdom of shutting tke stable door after ti ( sfeed was stolen , has received a practical exemplification in the policy of the Whig Cabinet . WhiU other nations , either actually suffering from scarcity
or { wisely anticipating : its probable pressure abolished all imposts on the importation of fool , and took active measures for supplying themselves with grain whereever it could be found Lord John Russell , on some unintelligible ground o other , resolutely refused to open the ports wlea urged to do so , not only by repeated deputations , but by the " Chronicle , * ' the old and staunch organ oi the Whig party . It was said in excuse for this obstinacy , that his Lordship was unwilling to break
a compact made last session that the arrangement as to the Corn Lawa should not be in any way dis . turbed , but Lord 0 , Bentinck , on the part of the Protectionists , on Tuesday night , utterly repudiated any s « ch compact , denied all knowledge of it , and said that , so far as his party was concerned , the Pre , mier might have opened the ports when he liked , For not doing so , therefore , he is clearly respond . bis , and for the consequent evils which such errors may entail upon the country . His own late adop . tion ft . emeasure , pronounces his most emphatic
cond ation . Its adoption now will produce no sensible benefit , Even if there be corn to be had abroad , which is at best a doubtful matter , the elements are against us , The season of the year will prevent importations for some time to come , and the very rigour * of wiHter , which aggravate the misery of the poor , will interpose a barrier to the transit of the supplies which are so urgently needed .
The permission to use sujrar in breweries and dii tilleries has been explained by the Premier to be virtually a permanent measure , though in the first instance he will only ask for a temporary act . Oa the face of it , the change is a beneficial one , but it must lead , if adopted , to other and greater changes which we suspect the Whigs , who are but very indifferent financiers , are by no means prepared for , It will , we forehead , be iwpossvWe to maintain tho Malt Tax in thetw . of such a measure , and whether Lord John is prepare * t 0 g { ve up tne millions M , nually derived from this tax , may be safeh left to his own consideration .
As to the " permanent measures"ot Ai > niini « trv they are as yet merely indicated . They art , , ^ to be intended " to raise the great mass of vfc e popple in cemfort , to promote agriculture , and to lessea tho pressure of that competition tor the occupation of land which has been the fruitful soiree of crime and misery" in Ireland . The specific niea « by which these objects are to be attained , are to k developed on Monday , and till then we shall reserve all comment or anticipatory conjecture .
Ireland has the "lion's share" of the speech , as it had of the debate . The Montpensier marriage and the annexation of Cracow , were the next points considered of importance by the members of both houses . England was apparently altogether forgotten , tho only allusion to it , tho only indication that its condition had in the slightest degree occupied the attention of the Micistry , is to be found in > vague mention of a measure for improving the
health of towns . The great measures of Social , natory and Educational Reform , which Lord John Russell somewhat pompously emblazoned on his election banners in the City of London en his acceptance of office last year , have dwindled ilown into one . This , for John Bull , who has to " pV the piper , " is disheartening enough , and if 'he opening debates may be accepted as an indication of the staple materials of the session , he will lurdlj get a word in edgeways for any of Aw grievances .
Ireland , its state and prospects , its evils and the ' remedies , constituted , and will constitute , the theni of every orator and of all parties . There was s wonderful unanimity among them as to the news sity of " something being done , " but what tha " something" was to be , did not appear to be vet ' clear to any of the members whose eloquence has hi therto been displayed on the subject . One verj su i " cious point in our opinion , and observable in ah ^ o ; every speech in either house , was the evident leanin t , o the Irish landlords . Lord Stanley , in the Ion emphatically called upon the Ministry to walk i the path of the constitution , and especially to t ^ into their counsel , the landlords of Ireland , upo whom he passed a high encomium . If the
: I did this , they were assured of his co-operatiouio and that of his party . The same song was su % un , in the Commons , and the ministerial r ejoindetidei are sufficient to shew that , be the coming measurfeurt what they may , they will not alarm the most tiUiiui conservator of " the rights of property . " Feel hsi h : for thirty-eight years in his Parliamentary aud Ml M nisterisl capacity , been attempting to keep Irish Sib S ciety together on its present foundation ; and ha hi failed—lamentably failed . The patchwork will nill n hold . All measures which do not grapple wit !) ^ causes , are " a delusion , a mockery , and a snare W and if Peel , with his superior administrative » l > » l > tie * , has wretchedly broken down , in the cndcavotavoi i ing to maintain the incongruous superstructure ure Irish Society on its present foundation , what hop « iop «
there that Russell will succeed . Anything short of radical and sweeping mcs ! % s « will be futile . A different relation must be est *** ed between the property and the poverty of lreHlreW The laud must in fact , as it does in equity , be iu ; e to belong to the people , and by kindly and fostcr » tcr measures , the labour and tho productive energifcrgtf 1 the sister island be so develope aid distributed a ; ed v produce abundance for al ) .
This is one of tho great tasks which lie before fore nisters and Parliament-, whether the present C » C » and the present Legislature are capable of achit ' chU it , or we must wait for a new Administration % * now Parliament will be , to a eo R ) idetftW « ibl «
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 23, 1847, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_23011847/page/4/
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