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Northern Star (1837-1852), 25th March 1848, Edition 2 of 3, Page 1, TO THE WORKING CLASSES.

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      To The Working Classes.

      TO THE WORKING CLASSES .

      My Dear Children — It Is Now Ten O'Clock...

      My Dear Children — It is now ten o ' clock ' on Thursday night , and I have been in a perfect jelly for a whole week ; so much so , that I feel it impossible to submit to you my notions upon a free constitution this week . I shall he up till two o ' clock in the morning at your business , and in a few hours after that shall start to Minster Lovel , to prepare for the reception of eighty of my children on Monday morning , and must be hack again in the House , on particular business , at four o ' clock on Monday evening . It gladdens

      my heart , however , to hear that THE MONSTER is daily increasing ; and now attend to your father , and he obedient . Some , in their high-mindedness and magnanimity , say that they will not sign the Petition . " But mark , 2 nd mark well , that the object of the Petition is not to show confidence in the House of Commons , hut to inspire confidence in our own ranks , b y showing the extent of our confederation ; and , 1 say , every man who refuses to sign , is not only a willing slave , but is the

      forger of fetters for others . The carriages are being made—one to be drawn by six horses , conveying the People ' s Representatives ; the other by three horses , bearing Labour ' s "Will ; and I will show you how Labour feeds its steeds . Now , my children , be prudent , be cautious , and be brave ; and , always bearing in mind that the poor gentlemen who were too idle to work , and too poor to live without labour , deceived us before , elect no man for the Convention in whom you have not thorough confidence , and who shall leave his work to re present you , and return to his work when he has discharged his duties .

      We had three glorious days in Lancashire . The Free Trade Hall as full as an egg on Friday night , the Town Hall ditto on Saturday nl ^ ht , and a quarter of a million of people on Oldham-edge on Sunday ; and oh , my children , it was a glorious sight when , uncovered , and in presence of their God , they swore with me never to abandon the Charter until all lived under its influence , and partook of its blessings . The rascally Press gives us 15 , 000 for this meeting , but I tell you how I estimate the numbers , and I think that I am a better judge than the smootb-faced , unfledged chickens , that report for the Press-gang , I carry the Free Trade Hall in my eye ; it used to hold 3 . 000 fat economists and stall-fed

      parsons , sitting . I estimate it to hold 10 , 000 of Pharoah ' s lean tribe , standing ; and I estimate that the ground covered by the gathering would give space , if covered in , for more than thirty Free Trade Halk I then multiplied

      10 , 000 by thirty and I have 300 , 000 , and I then deduct one sixth of , the space , or 50 , 000 , for the galleries , and I arrive at a quarter of a million as the result . I will tell you how to arrive at something like a . guess at the numbers attending a Chartist meeting : take all the numbers stated by all the papers to have been present , add them together , multiply them by four , and then you may make a guess . But , my children , the most glorious part of our ' three glorious days in Lancashire was the Union proclaimed between the English and the rish people . A Union which will bid defiance to the hypocrisy of the sneaking sycophants of Conciliation Hall , who , under their

      new showman , would present a new version of Punch and Judy to their gaping hacks . They have got hold of a poor little lord , and this poor little lord is spouting his poor little nonsense , while the beggars are filling their pockets . But they have arrested Smith O'Brien , Mitchel , and Meagher , and now , that they have got them , I should like to know what they will do with them . Good night , my children .

      SIGNS SIGN !! SIGN !!! And do not allow us to be laughed at when we convey your will and pleasure to the door of the Senate House , Tour affectionate father , Fearg is O'Coxxor .

      Great Meeting At Manchester. Iraterxisit...

      GREAT MEETING AT MANCHESTER . IRATERXISiTIOX OP CHARTISTS AND REPEALERS . This great rseetin ? took place on St Patrick's-day , in t ' ae Free Trade Hall , Great precautions had been taken by the magistracy ; but this magnificent meeting , th-it would bare paralysed opposition , was coneueted frith the most majestic order . Long before six o ' clock , the appointed boar , large crowds had ££ » embled . A charse was made for admission of Is . to the nlatform : of -id . to the gallery , and 2 d . to the

      body of the hall . Numbers of persons had assembled In front thereof , crowds of whom remained in the EvKet , apparently to catch . aTiewof the speakers , who were expected to bs present . A band was placed in the gallery , that played appropriate and inspiriting aire . Mr Feargus O'Connor , Mr Meagher , Mr Doheny , Mr W . P . Roberts , and others , entered the ball at a quarter ps * t seTen o ' clock , and were received with lon < r-continned and alraast deafening applause . At this time the hall and the surrounding space presented a magnificent spectacle , an imposing multitude being congregated in all r-arts .

      Mr James Dcss , of Manchester , was called to the chair , and after a few introductory observations , he read the following placard : — Ssr at Repeal Dzkoxstsition . — The public of

      Manchester and its vicinity are vefptctfnlly informed , that n public meeting will be held in the Free Trade Hall , on St Patrick's Day , the I 7 th of March , to take into eonsi . deration the best means of accomplishing a repeal of the legislstire union between Great Britain and Ireland , spoa which occasion a deputation from the Irish Confederation Trill attend , and speak to the resolutions , and tfcefollowing and other distinguished advocates af liberty ¦ will attend and address the meeting : —W . S . O'Brien , Eiq . MP . ; F . O'Coanor . Esq . M . P .: T . C . Anitfy , Esq . 1 T .. P . ; C . G-Du £ V , E « q . ; John Mitchel , Efq . ; J . Martin , Esq . . of Lonzhorne ; F . T . Meagher , E ? q . ; P .

      0 'Higr ? ini , Efq ; W . P . Roberts , Esq . ; T . D'Arcy Magee , E ? q . The committee for getting np the public Eeetinjj on the 17 tb of March , and the tea party in ih ? Town Hall on the 18 tb , call upon the friends of freedom & ad tbe lovers of nniver » al justice , * rbo wish to see a locg-suffcrinfr and doprn-troe'den country restored to its Tight * , to rally rsBnd thera , fill tfee hall to oversowing . End , by their muted voices , show that they ire not un . tnindfd of tee important events nhich hi . it taken place in glorious Trance within the last few days , and are determined that Ireland shall be restored to her rai : k a » a nation , and that they will pursue their onward march to indepEEdence until tbey fee every people , now strng .

      glingagainst tyranny and oppression , in fail possession of ali the rights of citizens o' a free state . Irishmen , Englishmen , Sco ' cnmen , evince , by your es-operatioa in the good cause , to faulter now would be treason against liberty and suffering millions . Mr George Aechdeacox proposed the fi rstresolutioB , which was as follows : — That the right of Ireland to be governed by a distinct s = c indepeBder . tlegislature is undeniable , and what every i-oaniry shocld enjoy , and that she was deprived of the same , by fraud , corraption , and treachery . The English people had now corse to the same conclusion as the Irish on this object , in proot of which be cal ' edcn Mr Rantfr . -in Enilishmar , to fraternise with hirean Irishman .

      , . ., Mr Thomas Raxkik . in seconding the motion , Paid t ! e English people had always been in favour of repeal . 1 he Chartists were there that night to sbr . w tostttey were friends of universal freedom . The great enemy of Ireland was the great enemy of England also . { Cheers . } Mr W . P . Roberts snpprrted the motion . lie ihonafct Ireland was entitled to be governed by a distinct legislature , and if it was necessary that Ireland bs * annexed to some other country , it would ratter be annexed to France than to England—to a

      c-. tTon cf freemen rather than to a nation of slaves , devolutions were bow Decerning fashionable ; and , as fjenc ' i boots , hats , and lace ? , had been in vopue . ie thought he mKht live to sea a French revolution become fashionable here . Ireland ought to be entirely separated from England . ( Cries of 'Never . ') J ' tople might differ as to the sort of force which tausi be used to accomplish this revolution : buthe teegfd to declare hia faith to be , that so the thing was d ' . nr , he was not particular . ( Cheers . ) The revlijtion was carried unanimously . 5 Ir James Leach moved the second resolution : —

      That the act of 1 S 00 , called theAet of Uhion . hss be-Mae a signal failure , and a curse to both countries , an in-^• rationcriminal—a partnership unfortSbate , having in-« ee «< 5 England ' s t & xts , and multiplied a tnoojacd-Mo Ireland ' s poverty .

      iie Etiid that c . ne of the preatest causes of the misery and degradation of this country and Ireland was the Ac . ei Union . If our rulers cou'd read the signs of fte times , thc-v wc-gld become wise in time , and give rh { r ^ oi-ktbat which , if net given , they must see the x - -pie were prepared to take . ( Cheers . ) Thereso-- ' - "¦ ioQ * ££ . t ?; , miik arid water one , ( Hear , bear ,

      Great Meeting At Manchester. Iraterxisit...

      cheers , and laughter . ) He hoped every one present wonld , after the meeting was over , retire home peaceably and thus strike a deeper terror to the hearts of the oppressors , and show that they who understood liberty , know how to achieve it , _ Mr Johk Joseph Finhigan seconded the resolution . He . like Mr Leach , considered every man who held up his hand in favour of the resolution as bindin ? himself to do all he could to carry ifc into effect . He had been opposed , on another question , to Mr Leach ; but that night he would fraternise with him ( taking his hand ) , and help him to the utmost to procure liberty for Ireland , and justice and freedom for universal man . ( Cheers ) Mr Feargus O'Connor then rose , and was received with immense applause . He said ;—Mr Chairman , Englishmen , and Irishmen—If I were to ask yon what brought you here to-night , and if I were to receive a true and consistent answer , that answer should be—to receive absolution from me . ( Cheers . ) For now thirteen years I have been

      advocating the very union which you have thus tardily confirmed—and when I proposed that union against adverse circumstances , which would have intimidated one man in every other thousand living , I was told the day would never arrive when Englishmen and Irishmen would stand together upon the same platform , advocating the same principles . ( Cheers . ) I thank God I have lived to see the day . I have spoken before in detail upon this resolution , for I have always declared that , whenever the people of both countries united , the oppressors of . both countries would fall . ( Hear , hear . ) You must have understood , if you have a particle of common sense , that the government of every country is the exact reflection of the mental power , the strength ,

      and resolution of that country . ( Hear , hear . ) And the fact you know—the fact that you are now governed by a base , brutal , and bloody faction , who not satisfied that the air of Ireland smokes with the incense of the famished , thirsts for the blood of the slain . ( Cheers . ) Not satisfied with the lesson that has been read to them , they are still endeavouring to perpetuate this miscalled thing ' the Union . ' "Would you consider yourself in reality united religiously and morally to your wives , if you were for ever tearing each others hair ? Such is the case with England and Ireland . Yet we are sailed sisters , said to be united . The resolution tells you , my friends , what that Union is , and what it has been up to this time . The English and Irish people have

      had sorry days of it . I am astonished , in fact , that it should require such a demonstration as this , after forty-eight years ot suffering which we have had , to dissolve this Union . I speak here precisely as I speak in my place in Parliament , for I should hold myself unworthy of your confidence and affection , if I were capable of using one language to you and another to the legislature . ( Cheers , ) But , if you want an earnest ef the value of these first fruits of fraternisation , ! have it here , on my left and on my right . I have it in the presence of the press ; and if ever the institutions of this country should tumble about the ears of the aristocracy of this country , that corrupt , that venal , that prostitate , and lying press , which has kept your oppressors ia ignorance

      of your will , and your resolutions , and power , will be chargeable with the crime . I have met you in meetings , ten times , twenty times , forty times , and fifty times larger than this , at times when we were not able to speak out so boldly as we do now , although we were not intimidated . We did speak out , and we suffered for it—we were imprisoned for it . Many of us went in part Chartists , and came out confirmed ones . But what was that suffering ? Who would not suffer to take the trammels oft man ' s intellect ? Who would not suffer , and who would not contend , to speak those burning truths which must for ever destroy oppression and tyranny ?

      ( Cheers . ) We were speaking these truths ten years ago , nine , eight , seven , years ago—but it fell like a dead weight at the feet of the reporters ( hisses and cheers ) of the newspapers . Now , my friends , we live in other days . I am not of very luxurious nor aristocratic habits . I don't generally travel with liveried lackeys behind me or before me . However , on leaving London to-day , I discovered I was attended by two governmen t officials . I found at every station I stopped at , these suspicious-looking men , whom I knew , from the extraordinary shape of their bats , the extra cut of their whiskers , and the smoothness of their faces . I soon discovered what they were , but

      I told their master last night there was no necessity for sending after me , for I would save them the expense , and give them a verbatim report of what I said . I have shown you how Irishmen are governed , and tbey desir ? to govern you Englishmen in the same way . Well , my friends , if I am to measure the government by the Irish representatives—speaking of the whole of the Irish members of the House of Commons—I should say that the government is far more liberal . Now . is it not necessary , my friends , that you should repeal this union , to plr . ee our own representatives under a vigilant popular control ? Do you suppose that if I were asked my name or my country , that I should not be ashamed to deny either or both , if I opposed the separation of Ireland from England . England ,

      it is said , conquered Ireland , but I know no statute at present on the statute book to prevent a conquered people from regaining their liberty . ( Cheers . ) These ar e the precise terms I use in the House of Commons , and I believe the time is not far distant , when the Irish people will determine upon subjecting the Irish representatives to that vigilant popular control , which can alone keep them within the bounds of moral obligations . Talk to me about the Union , which was only a Union of the aristocracy , and not of the people , a Union effected by bribery and corruption , when nothing but destruction and bloodshed reigned throughout the land . Call that a Union ! Tell me that you were parties to that Union !

      " As well m « iy the lamb with the tiger unite , The mouse with the cat , or the lark with the kite , * ( Tremendous cheering . ) I have told you , precisely as the resolution tells you , that the Union was a benefit to the aristocracies , but an injustice to the democracy of both countries . The dissolution of the Union to-morrow would be an advantage to both countries . The Union causes a competition of Irish labour in tha English market—it takes over thirtj . millions a year out of the pockets of the English labourer , without giving anything to the pockets of the Irish . I would to God I were the pilot of a vessel , if to-morrow ( because there are not 100 Irishmen willing residents in England )—you have been exiled by persecution , and prosecutions and famine , —( cheers )—if to-morrow I could see a fleet wafting its way across the channel , to take us back to Father-land , the home that we love—( cheers ) —English people would find by that that they would

      receive nirly millions more wages , which you . the Irish , take from them . ( Hear , hear . ) The middle classes of this country like to see poverty amongst the people . The English manufacturers know it is only by that poverty that the competition can be kept up which enables them to reduce wages down to their own point df profit , and your point of degradation , famine , pestilence , and want . ( Hear , hear . ) I blush to think Ireland should be obliged to appeal to England for a Repeal of the Union between the two countries . When the withering blast called the Union was wafted from the sister country to the shores of Ireland , she was yet in mourning for her slaughtered sons ; her green fields were dyed with the crimson blood of her children , sacrificed at the

      shrine of English cupidity and Irish perfidy . I ask you , was it at such a time such a change should have been forced upon an enlig htened people , when the guardians Of their glory were prematurely consigned to a cold grave , or banished to some foreign land , to sigh over the departed liheities of their country ? ( Cheers . ) My friends , I mig ht be more temperate with my language . I mean to be temperate to-uight ; though , God knows , I have never been very choice in mv words . If I have sought the lion s share of

      popularity I have been satisfied with the lion ' s share of oppression . I am now older than I was . ( Hear , bear . ) I have attended more public meetings than any man that ever lived before me , or , I believe , than any man will have to do that may come after me ; because I have been the pioneer , and cleared the way for them . ( Cheers . ) Well , my friends , 1 see my wav before me now . I see an amount of power at my back which defies the power of shorthand writers and detectives . ( Loud laughter and

      Great Meeting At Manchester. Iraterxisit...

      applause . ) Now , my friends , those who have come here to-night from Ireland , and those who have " , for the first time , fraternised with the English , should know and understand—although you have been kept in ignorance of the fact—that , in 1842 , the English people , to the amount of 3 , 378 , 000 , signed a petition for the Repeal of the Union . ( Cheers ) Where , now , is your boasted love of fatherland . '—you of Ireland , when you cannot boast of one-tenth part of the moral force to rescue yourselves from slavery , and yet you are told to look upon the Saxon as your enemy ! ( Cheers . ) It is not the people , but the unjust laws of which you , as Englishmen , have to complain—but look at another side of the picture . We hear it with sorrow ,

      with grief , and remorse , if ten , fifteen or twentythousand people , are cut off by war , or in battlemowed down by artillery , or cut to pieces with the sword ; we listen with horror to tales of men cut down in the front of an enemy ; but so debased is the mind of Ireland—so untutored is the mind of England , that more than a million of brave , virtuous Irishmen , women ,- and children , have died of pestilence and famine in ene year alone , and we have made no attempt to save them , or prevent the recurrence of such things . ( Hear , hear . ) Talk to me of Union with England—talk to me of living under English dominion , when more fall by misrule than have fallen by the sword in the most bloody times . ( Cheers . ) Are we , then , to be so modest , as to petition parliament , in the hope of this grievance being redressed ? ( Cries of ' No ! ' ) What do I ask

      you to petition parliament for ? Is it in the hope of having any effect on the legislature ? No ! ( Cheers . ) Is it in the confidence that five millions of men will be strong in the knowledge that they have fraternised and united together to show you their strength , and not to show the government your strength , that I ask for a monster petition , which I shall have the honour to present before the house on the 10 th of next month . When we see a tyrant-robber , a plundering king , burled from bis throne , and his despotic ministers sent the same road after him , we find an English prime minister telling us that it is not his intention to repeal the rate-payin g clauses in the Reform Bill . ( Laughter . ) I am now going to give you an instance of Irish depravity—of the manner in which the Union was effected . You saw the revolution in France marked

      and diHinguished by excessive clemency , and mind me , my friends , never mistake me in ' the heat of argument and great bustle of politics—I am always , and shall always declare myself , against the shedding of one drop of blood ; but mark the lesson read to us in the fate of tyranny in France 1 ( Hear , hear . ) Observe that man who , a few days ago , was one of the greatest monarchs in Europe ; we see him one of the greatest kings of his time on Monday , and running away , sans culotte , on Thursday , without a second suit of clothes and with little money in his pockets . ( Laughter and cheers . ) We see his fortifications falling or inoperative hefore a united people ; we have seen the people Insulted for- eighteen years—destroyed by

      victory , despoiled by the revolution of 1830 ; we see , after eighteen years daiing oppression on the part of this money-grubbing king , that not a single drop of blood has been shed in revenge by them . Mark , then , the great difference between this revolution and that of 1793 , and mark what produced that difference . In 1793 , England was a maiden country . In 1793 , the English people were not united with Ireland . That impolitic minister—the most corrupt minister that ever this country saw—who with your money , and English money , in 1793 sent his mercenaries to France to satisfy his blood-thirstiness and savageness , —it was Pitt ; Pitt it was who created all the horrors of the French Revolution ; it was the people who raised the standard of revolt ; it was the

      people declared the rights of the people , and the minister of England that destroyed the prospect of those rights . What is the reason they do not attempt it now ? It is because our staff is too powerful . ( Cheers . ) The people will no longer be duped , gulled , or deluded . If government were to send their mercenaries abroad to fight the battles of the foreign tyrant , they well know that ' while the cat is away the mice wi ll play . ' ( Cheers . ) Well , my friends , I have seen in my time a great many political revolutions that promised great social reforms during the last quarter of a century , from 1822 to the present time . I opened my mouth to declaie the rights of the people when no other man dared . I was obliged to fly my country for

      thirteen months . I have assisted to overturn the princi p le of the middle-class system in Ireland , Emancipation was gained by influence out of doors , the representatives , of themselves , having no power to produce any social benefit from thera . The next was the Reform Bill , which was carried by political influence , that produced no social improvement Then came the cheap bread cry —( cheers)—high wages was to have been the result of this change , but I think you have seen the reverse . Well , now , I am not one of those who seek to aggrandise myself by any change that takes place , socially or politically , never having travelled a mile at your expense—never having expected from you one penny by way of gratuity or reward . I am not in the

      situation of other demagogues . I am determined out of the next change social benefit shall spring ( Cheers . ) Political economists tell us that when one channel is closed against labour , nature intends opening' another ; but 1 have great veneration ; having a greater faith in my God thau in the free traders ; and God tells you and me that man is to live by the sweat of his own brow—( hear , hear . )—but he does not tell you that idleness shall live upon the sweat ef the industrious . ( Cheers , and cries of ' No , no ! ' ) God tells us he created man , and he created tke earth to sustain man with the fruits by man ' s labour . ( Hear , hear . ) But an artificial system having sprung up to benefit capital , by which the working man has no longer an exclusive property in his labour , I consider the only change that will benefit him is to locate him upon his own land for his own benefit . ( Cheers . ) When men talk to you about politics , ask them what they mean ?

      If they say ' a change , ' ask them what that change is to be ? if the millowner will give higher wages ? If they say 'Yes ! ' I say Pooh 1 ' ( Cheers . ) Ask them , " if you are all to hecome shopkeepers and sell your own goods ? And if they say ' Yes , ' I say ' Nonsense ! ' ( Cheers . ) Ask them , if you are to become that class which does not work ? And if they say ' Yes , ' I say , ' Ignorance ! ' My plan is to make every man work upon his own land for his own living , and thereby make idleness a crime . Now , friends , this is the problem that is to save the Irish people now starving in Ireland ; the land will not yield its fruits for four or five months to come ; they are a great people and an industrious people ! It is your duty to belie the charge of their being idle . Let us understand each other before we go for another political change , let us know what that change is to be ; for , bear in mind the old adage ,

      that' The bird in hand is better far Than two that in the bushes are . ' ( Laughter . ) Do not exchange misery for greater misery . Do not struggle again for any political change , except a social result is propounded to you . Now , what is my social retultfor Ireland ? The Church property in Ireland , at a moderate rate , is worth fifty millions to-marrrow . And the land , if the landlord was released from the payment of tithes , is worth thirty' years purchase . Well then , nw friends , I deny that the Church property in Ireland belongs to the parsons in Ireland . 1 deny that it is theirs by their mission , unless they can show where their right commenced . I denv that all the sheep of the fold should starve , wl « le the shepherd is living

      sumptuously upon what does not belong to him . ( Cheers . ) Did ever a parson die of want in Ireland ? Did ever the parsons fraternise with vou ? Not a single one , and why ? Because they live " sumptuously upon that which belongs to you . ( Cheers . ) Then what I say is , sell the Church property . I say let God ' s religion be free and open ; let every man worship his God as he thinks fit . Sell the Church property , and give me the fifty millions of money produced by the sale—not of the parson ' s property , but of yours—and I will locate half a million of men on the land , each man having his own free castle , and own labour field . ( Tremendous cheering . ) 1 will allow five to a family , and that will be two millions and a half . We ' should then require no

      Great Meeting At Manchester. Iraterxisit...

      poor laws , no eleemosynary aid , because of all men living , the Irishman is the most thoughtful of his own family and wife . ( Cheers . ) . . Mr O'Connor then proceeded at considerable length to expatiate upon the principles and value of the People ' s Charter . He addressed the Irish in their own language , which he translated into English , and resumed bis seat amidst the most deafening applause .

      Mr Petsr Feenbt moved the next resolution , which ran thus : — ' That we recommend to the repealers of Ireland and England , our brethren in the cauie of Justice , the oblivion of their religious feuds and other party differences , as a necessary preliminary to union , the forerunaer and fosterer of national independence . To show that there was a fraternisation between Englishmen and Irishmen , he shook hands with Mr H . Nuttall , the seconder of the motien Hesaid that that was the day he had long wished for , when the English and Irish people united te overthrow the flppresor . ^ and make ( he was going to . say ) thrones Hl ? # yio withdrew that . At any rate ,, they aheuld not regret much when they saw ^ tbroties fall . If Ireland would not repeal the Union , Englishmen would do it for them , for they were heartily tired of it . ( Cheers . )

      Mr F . T . Meagher , who was called on to support the resolution , was received with most enthusiastic applause . He is a young man of about twenty-six years of age . Ho commenced by stating that he had been tracked from Dublin by a detective officer . He delivered a most fervent speech in favour of repeal . Referring to the great meeting which had been announced for that day In Dublin , he said that it had beeen postponed until Monday next , when it would assuredly take place , whether there was a proclamation against it or not . The only chaRce of putting it down was by a massacre , and he should

      not be surprised if that was resolved on . ( A voiee : « Let them not dare it . ' ) He should go back to Ireland to-morrow , prepared for whatever mi ght happen —knowing that , ns tho English government had planted a garrison in Ireland , it bad , by its oppression here , planted a garrison in England . ( Lond cheers . ) He would go back in this confidence , that if a foul act was done on that day—if a hand was stretched out to strike them , there would be hands stretched out to revenge them . ( Vehement cheering . ) The appeal would not now be to the House of Lorda . The time had now gone by for appealing to inferior tribunals ; for everything upon this earth the sovereign people had assumed their sovereignty . ( Cheers ) Mr Whittakeb proposed tho following

      resolution : — That the treachery snd base conduct of many of the Irish members during the past and present session cannot in any degree weaken the right ( A Ireland to legis . latire independenee ; the crime or error of the representatives cannot destroy the sanctity of the cause , Mr Bacon seconded the motion .

      Mr JDohent ( one of the deputation ) supported the motion , lie said that they should go back to-morrow to danger in Ireland , and , with the support of « bs English people , they should go back to meet it exultingly . ( Loud cheers . ) The terras of union which they offered were these—Ireland for the Irish , and England for the English . Should they have a Union en those terms ? ( Yes . ) It was said that Mitchel would be arrested , and perhaps executed on a gibbet in Dublin . If Mitchel was injured , the gibbet must remain for one after another of them . ( Tremendous cheering . ) Nay , more , before they hung him ( Mitchel ) they must execute the whole of them in the streets . ( Greatapplause . ) Whatever blood he had was at the xervice of liberty , and he should glory to shed it in the constitutional fight . ( Cheers . ) Mr Johk Murray , one of the heroes of ' 08 , followed and said , that though 71 years of age , he had abated none of his vigour and energy .

      Mr Matthew Trbanor moved the adoption of the following address to the people of France : — Address oj lb * Irish and EnglUh Repealers of Manchester to

      HerofetJltliens , —We , | the Repealers of Manchester and the surrounding neighbourhood , natives of Ireland and England , assembled together on St Patrick's day , — ( ot the jsitpose ot d « % Uwg means to accowip \ ish tko liberty of enslaved Ireland , by annulling the nefarious act entitled the Legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland , through which the latter has been lowered from her position as a nation to that of a despised and degraded province , with feelings of exultation and pleasure seize this opportunity of congratulating you , our brethren in the holy cause of freedom , upon the happy issue ef your lato noble struggle—a struggle of oppressed humanity against tyranny of the blackest dye —a struggle of tha betrayed agalnst the betrayer , armed with wealth , potrtr , an immense mercenary force , yet fallen to dust before the mighty breatls of an

      incemed and injured people . The truculent tyrant , who , by fclaek treachery an < 3 perjury of the foulest hue , succeeded in depriving you for a time of your just rights , has been flung , like a thing of insignificance , with disgust , from amongst you . The all powerful will of the millions was not to be withstood in tho land of their fathers , an £ Franee now stands erect in her giant might , to prove to despots that they are [ unable to extinguish liberty—that the illustrious example of destroying class legislation , and giving to her toiling sons the just reward of their labour and patriotism , will bo followed up by country after country , until the whole world shall acknowledge the unmiasurable benefit conferred

      on mankind by your glorious Republic . The foul wrongB of Ireland are too well knoirn to you , noble cltiuens . to require recapitulation . We know you sympathise , have ever sympathised , with the people of that country . The men of England , too , have wrongs , — deepleeated wrongs . All must be redreased . At Franc / , has secured for herself her beloved Republic , so Ireland shall have her parliament restored , and England her idolised Charter . This , we , and the millions of this country and of Ireland , have willed . We who have been too long divided by a base and grinding aristocracy now declare and premise , before God , to accomplish ' those darling objects , —a pledge , we believe ,

      citizsns you will receive from ua an the best pros ! that ire are with you heart and soul In your onward march . Your elections approach , and we know that every effort which the bate agents of kings and their creatures can effect will be put in prictice to mar your spltndid designs fo ' r the welfare of mankind . But we have complete confidence in your wisdom to detect and hurl to the earth each wolf in sheep ' s clothing ; and we look to the result as the consummation of that triumph you have obtained . May God inspire you so to act . Such , citizens , is the wish that proceeds from the soul of the people here , who desire you to believe that no kingly craft , no ty »* nt force , shall ever induce aa it , figki against the banner of Freedom , wherever reared by the p : ople against the oppressor * . Vive la Republique . ' Mr John O'Uea seconded the motion , which amid thunders of applause was carried unanimously by acclamation . A vote of thanks to the chairman was passsd , and after rapturous cheers for Mr O'Connor , the Charter , and Repeal the meeting terminated a few ruinates after eleven o ' clock , in the utmost order .

      That ^2^ ^^K O^^^ /£ ^ A ;%^W^ C^ C^ Y^^...

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      And National Trades* Journal.

      AND NATIONAL TRADES * JOURNAL .

      Vol- Xi. Ko 541. " L08d01i . Saturday, "...

      VOL- XI . Ko 541 . " L 08 D 01 I . SATURDAY , " jJARCE 35 , 1818 . „„ iii ^ BSSS . rU ,. _ . ' ¦ ¦ — - -- >^^^ M ^ ^^ M ^ W ^ i ^»^ " ™ l' ^™ M ^» M ^« W ^^ . ^ MnMO , , M , an , ^ a , WM , wt , w ^ WBaM ^* MaM | t _<> MWMW ^^ |' | m , p | " —————— - —— «

      Tii£ Ukjsa-Rsuikke In The Townfull, Manc...

      Tii £ UKJSA-rsuiKKE IN THE TOWNfULL , MANCHESTER , THE CHARTER AND REPEAL . On Saturday evening last , this great demonstration took place as announced . When the party had assembled for tea , an inspiriting si ^ ht , one suchjas is seldom seen , was witnessed . The most appropriate decorations enlivened the scene , and numbers of the fair sex graced it with their presence . About seven o ' clock , Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., M . P ., Mr Doheny , one of the ambassadors from Dublin , ( Mr Meagher having returned thither ) , Mr W . P . Robert ? , the people ' s attorney-general , Mr Dunn , the chairman of the meeting of the Free-trade Hall on the previous evening , with Mr Peter Feency , MrTrainorof Stalybridge , Mr Murray , and others , appeared upon the piatform , and were received with deafening applause . A short-hand writer on the part of the government attended the meeting . The Manchester Foresters' band played several wellknown airs in the course of tho evening .

      Mr Dunn , on the motion of Mr Archdeacon , seconded by Mr Rankin , was again called to the chair . He said , they were assembled for the purpose of showing to the deputation who'had been sent forth by the Irish Confederation that the Detnocratt in this part of England , at letv 4 , were in favour of a Rspealof the legislative union . ( Hear , hear . ) Ikwas no public speaker , neither was he one who had taken much of a prominent part in public life . But the time had como when it behoved every man to exert himself in favour of the liberty and freedom ol his country . He thought it was the duty of the Repeal association to lay the question of Repeal in its true light before tho people of Englaisd , as he had no doubt or fear that the Democracy , tho people ot England , would at once go with them in their efforts to obtain it , and strike for the independence of Ireland , his ( the chairman ' s ) native land . ( Applause . ) This was the first time , he believed , that the Repeal question had been biought before the English Democracy by a deputation ftom a body of men asse'iibled in Ireland who were fairly determined to carry

      Tii£ Ukjsa-Rsuikke In The Townfull, Manc...

      oat the independence of their country . The day had arrived when the democracy of both'England and Ireland knew their own rights , and knew that thoy had only one enemy to contend with—the united arirtocracy of both countries . ( Cheers . ) His whole heart and fionl were set on obtaining for Ireland her legis * lative independence . ( Continued cheering . ) He was , perhaps , as loyal a subject to her Majesty ' s crown and dignity as any man in the city of Manchester , but he stated distinctly and publicly , In the presence of the gentleman who had been aent down by the Home Office te report the expressions Which fell from the speakers at that Meeting that ho had another allegiance 8 nperior ,-: ;; it f ^ l | ji 8 ' ' -temtt j (^ ifo his allegiance to the crown—thatwasithei allegiance to the independence of hia country . ( Loud cheers . ) He found men assembled in St Stephen ' s from the Queen ' s county , the county of Mayo , of Limerick , and

      other counties , who were ignorant of the wants and the interests of the country ;^| tl was time , then , to get r id of such legislators—of tiffin who were utterly ignorant of the feelings and the rights of their constituents , and of the manner in which to redress the grievances under which the democracy labour . ( Hearvhear . y Without the Repeal of th © 1 £ nioBftm ~ less this country were allowed to govern it ' sett irrespective of Ireland , and Ireland allowed to govern itself irrespective of England , he knew perfectly well that the democracy ot both countries would be crushed by the aristocracy , ia order that the latter might live upon the fat of the land , produced from the sweat of the brow of the people . ( A voice ; ' They will not do so much longer . ' ) ( Loud cheering . ) He had a number of toasts to propose to them in the course of the evening , the first of which was— ' The people , the only true and legitimate source of all power , ' ( Loud cheers )

      Mr Roberts , who was received with great cheering , said , the sentiment he was to speak te was one of the most noble—one of the most ennobling—one of the most religious , democratic , and true sentiments that ever emanated from the Deity , from reason or from humanity—and one to which * 11 good men had responded from almost all ages . But , notwithstanding that , like many other great and mighty truths , it had been his fate to see that sentiment trampled upon and treated with every possible scorn . ( Hear , hear ' , ) It was now their business—and God grant that they might feel the responsibility which had fallen upon them—to raise that sentiment to its legitimate vitality . The opportunity was then given to them—earth , heaven , and circumstances seemed to combine for the purpose—let them Bee that it

      passed not idly away—of raising that sentiment to the dignity which it ought to bear—which really and truly belonged toil . But how was this ? In war , in legislation , in government , in peace , in the arts , and in sciences ; in wealth and all that wealth could bring ; all that he ever had seen , had been for the advantage of the tieh , and the degradation of this same people . ( Ilear . ^ Ought this to be ? ( ' No , ' ) We witnessed this in our legislation , in the administration of the laws , and in every country in Europe save o » e . That country , that one , waa France . ( Great cheerine . ) The French revolution said , ( and he , for one , whatever the results might be to

      himself , did trust that that doctrine would erelong be recognised through the length and breadth of this earth)—that the poor who were willing to labour had a right to be fed . ( Hear , hear , and great ap . plause . ) It was not charity , not a benefit to feed them , they had a right to be fed . To deprive them of food was a mighty wrong . ' He trusted it would go forth to the world , and eventually be recognised as a great truth , that men who were submitting to a wrong , and were tranquil under that . wrong and did not complain of it , were doing a great sin . ( Great applause . ) The Chaikm & n then proposed ' Civil and religious liberty all over the world , and may the enemies of either be crushed and overwhelmed ; ' to which

      Mr Joseph Finkioan responded . He entered into a definition of the terms ' Civil and religious liberty and after acknowledging the sympathy he had met with amongst the people of this country while he was a lecturer for the league , said the only way in which he could return that sympathy with gratitude was to assist tha English in . the achievement of Jtiuti they considered 161 © theft Tights . ( Applause : ) From the blood spilled in the last century had sprung many thousand patriots ; and though he had been opposed to Mr Feargus O'Conner , he still could not but admire the disinterested actions which that gentleman had performed . When he saw him fighting the battles of freedom , he saw the sire fighting them over again in the son , and he trusted that the time was not far distant when ' Civil and Religious liberty' would be fully carried out under their distinguished leader and patriot , Mr Feargus O'Connor . ( Great cheering . ) The Chairman said there was another O'Connor ,

      who had been fifty years exiled from his country , which he fought and bled for . lie ( the chairman ) trusted that he would yet be received in his native land , that he would yet be buried there , and that from his ashes other Irh-hmen and O'Connors would arise , to stand up and defend the rights and liberties of their country— 'O'Connor , the veteran , survivor of the perils of ninety-eight . ' Mr Feargus O'Connor , M . P . then rose , and was received with tumultuous applause . He said , if last nig ht was the wedding , they might look upon that as the honeymoon ; and he thought the harmony which seemed to prevail gave a happy omen of their future union . In the midst of the chaos then going on around them , the mention of his aged and revered , and venerable uncle was a source of great consolation . In times when they had no fruitful topics for

      discussion , it might have been reasonable to suppose that one who suffered so grievously and so unjustly for the rights of the people , that his name might sometimes receive honourable mention instead of scorn . It was some consolation to think that , in the midst of these troublesome times , men had not forgotten him . He ( Mr F . O'Connor ) had often told them of the struggle his country had made ; taking an example from France , drawing an example from America . He had often wondeied that those who had struggled for the freedom of Ireland , should have looked with scorn on the names of Fitzgerald and Emmett . ( Hear , hear . ) He well remembered his uncle telling him , when all appeared to be hopeless and forlorn ( speaking of those two ) , not to deplore their fate , for , from every drop of blood spilled of theirs , ten thousand patriots would arise . Those were names which were scoffed at , and trodden under foot , and no tear was shed to hallow their sacred

      memories . Whether or no it should be his uncle ' s fate to lay his bones , in his fatherland , he ( Mr F . O'Connor ) knew not , but he trusted that he saw in what was going on now , that instead of having their stoneless graves pointed to as objects of scorn , that we should see a monument of eternal honour erected to them . ( Great cheering . ) No man in Europe looked with more anxiety of feeling to the present movement than he did ; and no man felt so great a responsibility as he did , seeing the changes which had taken place and what terror and persecution had done aforetime . He was preparing the mind of the people onwards , not only to ask for but to demand their rights . ( Hear , hear . ) It was a difficult thing to mould a sound opinion out of tattered fragments , The mind of the people of this country was destroyed by the crotchet mongers , so that no man knew scarcely what was the opinion of his neighbour , thereby making despotism strong upon the weakness of public opinion . Now , however , he hoped they

      were like a rock of adamant , and it was impossible for despotism to resist their demands ; He agreed with Mr Roberts , that in the revolutions which had occurred no change bad taken place for the benefit of the industrious class of the country ; but be had shown them that Nature ' s pap was full of milk , and ripe to sustain all those who came to her ; he had told them that the despotism and tyranny of man had made the land barren and sterile ; but he had shown them how every man could apply it to his own sustenance , and the support of his family . No laws of God , of Nature , or of justice , could maintain the right of other men to live upon the proceeds of the industry of the poor , while' the latter were consigned —pitiless objects—to the poor law guardians . ( Loud cheers . ) But the improved mind of the country

      would never again let the people of this country hurrah for political changes in order that one set of despots might take the place of another set of tyrants . What was the position of the people of this country compared with that of any other people on the face of this earth ? Why was it that the proviuoual government of France had not been able , as soon as the people expected , to advance in their intention and future policy ? It was because tyranny iu France had not allowed people to commune together : —they were afraid that they might go from bad to worse . The French people had been deprived of the powei of speaking and exchanging their opinions , but he thought that the provisional g overnment , as far as it had gone , had g iven a lesson from nature ' s book which would not soon be for ^

      Tii£ Ukjsa-Rsuikke In The Townfull, Manc...

      gotten . The great danger of changes was , that those vfho excite , you to deeds of hardihood , of madness , and revi j ' rige , assured them , as the Free Traders did , as the Rehmm did , and as many other partiaa benefits would

      had done , that from that change great arise . They had seen what benefits those were ; but the moment that labour was represented in the House of Commons , its representatives would say , now that mechanical power , machinery , and ^ inventions , had closed up every other channel against in . dustry , that the land was the only one left for

      them-For himself , he would never rest satisfied ' till the Charter became the law of the land . ( TJheers ;) He told them then , es he had done a thousand times before—he told them in the presence of the Irish ambassador , that if he could prevent it , the English should not have their liberties one day . Before Ireland had hers ; when that was accomplished they could mutually assist each other . We had been fold to look with surpassing reverence on our institutions . Could he honour an institution which had consigned a million of his countrymen to their graves ? Was it for that that the people were to be taught unconditional loyalty , while men were sent to their giaves , and to the pesthouse , by famine , starvation , bullets , swords , and bayonets ? They heard of a massacre to take place on Monday . Dispel such a notion from their minds . They dare not do

      it . ( Great applause . ) The government might perhaps desire , if they dared , to read another lesson to England throught the sides of Ireland—for Ireland had been made their battle-field before now—but they dare not . The country paid three hundred thousand a year for publishing the rubbish spoken in the House of Commons , a hundred thousand to a lady , the widow ofa deceased king , fifty thousand to King Leopold , fifty thousand to the King of Hanover , and fifteen thousand a year to the Archbishop of C ^ etbury . v ; Three hnndrad . thousand a year , was paid for printing the rubbish spoken in the House of Commons , and £ 150 , 000 for educating the whole nation . ( Hear , hear , and ' Shame . ' ) Let this sink deeply into their minds — France had had her peaceable , bloodlass , and calm revolution , simply because the Exchequer was not as strong as it was

      in Pitt's time . Sicily had g ot a constitution j the King of Sardinia had been obliged to give a constitution ; Prussia , Switzerland , thePapal Slates , the same and Spain was trembling . Now , he would ask thera whether those people would allow ofa massacre taking place in Ireland ? ( ' No , no . ' ) Mr O'Connor then , after elucidating the most important subjects or" the day , concluded a splendid speech , amidst the most enthusiastic cheering . The Chaibhan then gave—The memory of thoae glorious spirits who have struck for freedom , whether they died on the scaffold , lingered

      out their existence in exile or prison , or gloriously accomplished the independenceof their country—Washing , ton , Tell , Hofer , Ko'ciosko , Lord Edward Fitxgeral < J , Robert and Thomat Eamutt , Wolfe , Jones , Hamilton , Rewen , the Shiera ( the victims of the base spy Arm . strong ) , and James Joseph M'Bonnsll . MrDoHBHT , barrister , one of the deputation fr ^ ni Dublin , rose to speak to the toast , and on doing | o , three cheers were given for Repeal . Who feared , ne said , to speak of 1798 ? Who hid his head for shame ? Not those at least who were there that night . They had been told by Mr O'Connor that one cause of Ireland's slavery was her own

      abasement . He agreed with him most fully . He came to tell them moat plainly that they were a despised as well as an enslaved people . Never was an unfor « tunate nation so grossly misrepresented as they were in the present House of Commons . There was no mistaking the fact that the reason why they were enslaved by the British parliament was because they had not members in that parliament properly to represent Irish feelings . One reason for this had not been stated . Formerly , the government plundered in Ireland in the name of the Pope ; then the aorcrnment plundered in the namo ef the reformation , and latterly they had been told by their pretended friends , thafit was batter to trust the Whigs , than the English people . The Irish believed that too long . He was one of those who clung to that belief with passionate ardonr , but he was one of those who believed it no

      longer . He now trampled upon national prejudices . He believed with Mr O'Connor that thera would be , no massacre in Ireland on Monday . He believed the Irish representatives would not prevent it . He believed further , that to-morrow morning the government might exile those representatives to places in the colonies ; for , unfortunately , it had been not only in Ireland that places and situations beyond the seas were just the things . So the people might be buried without coffins in order that Dillon Browne and Morgan John O'Connell should have places in the colonies at the government salary . ( ' No , no . ' ) He had been called the Irish-ambassador . He gk-Tied in the title arid ebotrtd-go bath to hi » government and testify to the adhesion of the British na-I tion . He trusted that after ages would look back on [ this union as the true date of British freedom . Let

      them unite and struggle for their common cause . They had struggled without the English : with them he was not afraid ef the consequences . ( Cheers . ) He did not think they needed to fighc . No government would frighten him . When the people were disunited the tyrant was strong : when they were united the tyrant was a feeble child . ( Hear , hcar . J The sceptre , and the bauble , the army and the navy , sank into nothing before the united rock . lie should go trom town to town in England , advocating the rights of his country , which the Irish would not receive as a boon . They would hayo ' Liberty , Fraternisation , and arms to defend them . ' ( Great applause . ) Mr Doheny then spoke of the troubles of ' 98 , © f erecting a monument to Emmett , of and the

      present miserable condition of his country , and expressed his agreement with the whole of the points of the Charter except one : he would have open voting . He concluded amid much cheering and hurrahs for repeal . The Cuairmak then proposed ' The Repeal of the Legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland . ' Mr Abcudecon responded to the toast ' .

      The next was , ' f he men of Sicily , Naples , and the other Italian States who have burst the bonds of the Austrian despot . Mr Matiuew Traisqb , in an energetic address , responded . The Chairman said there vrould not be time for more speaking , he should therefore read the remainder of the toasts intended to have been submitted . They were as follows : —

      The United States of America , the cheapest governed country in the world ; the iaBtituticna of which , based on tho sovereign will of the people , we highly admire . The French Republic ; and may the people of Franco preserve their glorious position , the scourge of fraudulent , crafty , and callous tyrants ; an example to men of all lands desiring to be free . Poland ; a speedy restoration of her plundered riphts , and the health of her exiles , who could not crouch or h up the degrading chain of the tyrant of Russia . The men of Waterford , who voted for Meagher , and against placemen and state paupery . The ladies who have honoured us with their presence . Mr O'Coknoe replied to the last toast . A vote of thanks was then awarded to the Mayor for the use of the room , and another to tho chairman , who returned thanks , and the meeting terminated about half-pasteleven o ' clock , with rapturous checra lor the Charter and Repeal .

      St Helen's.—A General Meeting Of The Lan...

      St Helen's . —A general meeting of the Land members will be held at the house of Mr James Woods , publican , Parr-atreot , St Helens , on Sunday the 26 th instant , at sis > . ' ct ' ock in the evening . Motiram . —The- public supper , in commemoration ot our Land member going to Minster Lovel , will take place at the White Hart Inn , Mottram , on Saturday , March 25 th . Supper on table at six o ' clock . NoTTiKoiiAM . —Tho ntxt meeting oi the Land members will bo held at the Poultry Hotel , on Sunday evening , at seven o ' clock . A Free and Easy will be held on Saturday evening , at seven o ' clock , at the Leopard , Toll house Hill . LirxKpeozi . —All members of this branch who have gone out of town and have not sent their address , are requested to do so as speedy as possible to William Thomas , sub-sccrtftary , 43 , Christian-street . Cheltenham . —This branch will in future meet in Wellington-passage , on Monday evenings , where likewise the Chartiat Association will mest on Wed ?

      nesday evenings . Bermoj * d .-ey . —The shareholders of this branch o £ the Land Company will meet at their usual place on Tuesday evening , March 2 Sth to elect officers for the ensuing quarter . A ! l shareholders having local expenses in arrears arc requested to attend and pay tho same . Plymouth , —The members of the Plymouth branch are requested to attend next Mon day nig ht , March 27 th , for the election of officers for the next quarter . Nottingham—A meeting of the members of the National Land Company will be held at the Poultry Hotel , on Sunday evening nest , for . the purpose of electing officers for the New Land Company . Messrs Sweet and Wall . the Secretaries to the O-d Company having declined to act for thc ^ ew Company , I he chair to be taken at seven o ' clock .

      Ihw -T hT ^ mtan of thb branch will meet afi the bouse of Mr T . Wood Albion , Market-place , on SB ilS ^ g JlA ^ eff mS * of this branch ( vill be hchl on Sunday mcrning , March 2 CtU . ChaiE to be taken at nine o ' clock . IIx'll —The members of this branch will hold their quarterly meeting en Wednesday evening , March 29 th , for the election of officers and other important business . The tea patty which was to have taken place on March 27 th , has been unavoidably postponed till the 1 st of May . The Chartists will meet on Suuday evening next , at the Ship Inn , Churchlane , at six o ' clock . All persons holding petition sheets are requested to bring them in not later than Wednesday evenine , March 29 th .

      I

      I

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 25, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_25031848/page/1/