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Northern Star (1837-1852), 25th September 1847, Edition 2 of 3, Page 1

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    • jrg O'CONNOR'S AND MR JONES' TOUR: j
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      Jrg O'Connor's And Mr Jones' Tour: J

      jrg O'CONNOR'S AND MR JONES' TOUR : j

      Jlr O'Connor Ana Mr Jones Winbe In Aberd...

      jlr O'Connor ana Mr Jones winbe in Aberdeen , 48 Monday > d Tuesday , ' the 15 th and 16 th of j & ffember ; in Dundee , on "Wednesday the ljth ; gdmburg h . Thursday the 18 th ; Paisley , Friday the jgfli ; Hamilton , Saturday the 20 th ; Glasgow , jlonday the 21 st ; and their further progress will to announced hereafter . They will also visit the north of England—the Midland Counties , tbe Westo n Counties , and Wales .

      <T0 The Oij) Guards Of Chartism, The Fus...

      < T 0 THE OIJ ) GUARDS OF CHARTISM , THE FUSTIAN JACKETS , THE BLISTERED HANDS , AND UNSHORN CHINS . My Fkiends , — At this most important juncture of affairs I am about to analyse that policy whichj has p laced the working classes of this kingdom in a position of strength never before attained by the working classes of any nation upon earth . And I must also call your attention to the

      policy now relied npon by the British Government , to force the British people from this exited position . You must look upon this letter as my manifesto of 1847—a period at which England finds herself unable to resist the progress of the labouring classes otherwise than ty foreign intervention . Let me now direct your minds to the consideration of a few striking facts , all illustrattve of the truism stated by Arthur O'Connor an his work entitled ,

      'PRESENT STATE OF GREAT BRITAIN . ' He lays it down as an irrefutable fact , that the jnrogress of liberty has ever been followed by increased government corruption and national ¦ expenditure , and founds this truism npon the feet , that the liberty of a united people being irresistible , save and except through the process of corrupting the people ' s leaders ; that hence , where force has failed , the Government has invariably had recourse to increased patronage , as the increased means of corrupting the advocates of liberty . Whether we take the Reform Bill , which promised so much universally ; Free Trade ,

      ' r .:- ' :-, J _„ .. j . __ x : T .. 1 ! en hich promised so much nationally r or Chartism as it was in 1 S 39 , which promised so snch universally , nationally } and locally , we ibd ii : at this assertion of Arthur O'Connors hss been carried out to the letter ; and that , in every instance , the cause advocated , and tb & rights contended for . retrogaded or led to disappointment , while the leaders of the cease , and the advocates of the rights , were distinguished by government patronage and favour , guaranteed by government corruption

      and increased taxation . Having a dread of this debasing policy hefore my eyes , 1 have laboured incessantly to destroy that system in our own ranks which has led to so much , corruption in the ranks of our enemies ; and I unhesitatingly state that my rejection of all payment for my services , and my consequent power of exposing the treachery of the leaders who were ticketed for sale , is the rock upon which the popular movement of England is built .

      If I had been muzzled by . 'the threats of place-hunters and paid patriots , with the resolution to he critical in the examination of my own accounts of profits , if I dared to look too minutely into their accounts , the cause of Chartism now would be where the cause of Ireland and the Irish is—at a miserable discount * ' The patronage attached to profligacy and prostitution in Ireland has induced a number of representatives to adopt a hated principle , as their qualification for patronage , from the simple hope , that in proportion as the national laind swells to grandeur and nationality , in the same proportion will their turpitude become valuable to the British Minister , and

      constitute their rate of purchase . But for the indomitable courage of the Old Guards of Chartism in 1839 , the Attwoods and their Brummagems , the Cobbetts and their followers , the London gentlemen and their adherents , and a few isolated tricksters ^ would have made merchandise of our cause . The Brummagems were gorged off with their corporate places ; and we now find these very men , wen so

      united against the corrupt system , now at dag- 1 gers drawn amongst themselves . "We find the immaculate lawyer , Edmunds , spat upon by his townsmen , and the physical force Kelly Douglas threatened with the opposition of ins co-rifleman Muntz ; we find poor Dr Fletcher melted down t 9 the galipot ; the Cobbetts reduced to their natural element—insignificance ; and the Londoners compelled to open a show shop to save themselves from the horrors of labour .

      Now , can anything be more true than that the Convention of 1839 was a furious representation of the madness of the day , so long -as the representatives received ax guineas a week , and their travelling expenses , when they desired to take a little country air ? and can anything be more true than that nine-tenths -of those furious representatives have since sold themselves for government patronage , or -as the advocates of Free Trade and class abominations , or have denounced me as the obstacle in their road to preferment ? "Well , my friends , had I been tainted as they were tainted , my abuse of their corruption would have been answered bv their abuse of my

      corruption , and all my writings and all my speeches would have gone for nothing . Tie patriot Jehn Knight s , of Oldham , last words to me were , ' Feargus , those Londoners will destroy you for stopping the supplies ;' tut , nevertheless , I persevered , from the conviction that the purchase of ( leaders by the peop le is as dangerous to liberty as the pur-• chase of leaders by the Government ; and hence I offer the balance-sheet of England ' s expenditure in the support of democratic principles since 1839 , as the world a anomaly , and as the nation's pride . And I ask , was ever equal service performed for an equal amount of pay ? and i the answer must

      benever . Our great and p rimary fouy in our madness of 1839 was allowing such a middle class representation of working class wrongs , and the principal object of this letter is to confirm the confidence of the OLD GUARDS in their ability to cany out their own movement , and to work out their own salvation . From Tom Attwood , of Birmingham , to Wagstaffe , of IVIarylebone , I have waged perpetual war against the destructive principle practised in the atmy of placing raw officers over the heads of disciplined soldiers : and I am now about to

      reveal the circumstances , the pressing necessities , which will induce the middle classes of this country once more ^ to offer themselves as leaders of the people . It is more than three years since I prognosticated the inevitable result of Sir Robert Peel ' s system of centralisation , and it is nearly ten years since I addressed a series of letters to the middle classes and shopkeepers of Yorkshire , warning them of the eventual coming of that ^ policy , and proving to them , as clearly as words could prove a proposition , that their interest was to unite with the industrious and

      the labouring classes ; while the fact of their union with the millocracy and cotton lords would lead to their beggary , starvation , and ruin , through the poverty of their customers , consequent upon the centralised power , which their stupidity was p lacing at the command of the owners of mechanical power and the emplovers of artificial labour . Well , I now apprise you that the most artful of the ruined of this ruined class , maddened by their own folly , but confiding in reparation from working efass ignorance , will volunteer with reckless madness to demand the Charter or gain it by force .

      Have we not recently seen numerous attempts of this kind , and am 1 then premature ia summoning the Old Guards to their post

      <T0 The Oij) Guards Of Chartism, The Fus...

      m stationing the sentinels in their sentry boxes ? and through them proclaiming to the world that henceforth the recruits of the Chartist army , no matter to what rank or class they may belong , must fall into the rear and obey the command of their superior officers , until service and merit have entitled them to promotion . In 1840 you saw the attempt of O'Connell , Hume , and Co ., to take advantage of my incarceration , and to turn our movement to "Whi g and patronage purposes ; but in the depth of snow and in the dead of winter the Old Guards rallied in thousands and tens of

      thousands ; they mustered in Leeds , and assembled in Marshall ' s flax mill , with a courage and resolution amounting to desperation , but still guided by prudence . There were representatives there from all parts of England and Scotland , while I , in my dungeon , was chalking upon my prison table the drawing from which the Fox and Goose Club plate was taken . I was directing that movement , and furnished the whole sinews of war , refusing the aid and co-operation of the Tories . of Leeds ; and what was the result ? ' The Old Guards came , and saw , and conquered ; while the leader of the coalition dreaded to face the

      storm which he hoped was to have hurled Chartism from its throne . But I should have commenced chronologically , by reminding you of the meeting at the Crown and Anchor in 1837 , to erect monuments to the memory of the Scotch martyrs , and where , single handed and in mid-day , when the enemy hoped that the working men could not attend , and in spite of the presence and co-operation of forty-seven Whig members , and after an eight hours ' struggle , we carried the martyrs ' princip les against the place hunters' monuments .

      In 1838 , the Brummagems , the Cobbettites , anutheLondoners . sueceededbytrickandfraud , by private correspondence and treachery , in securing the return of a majority of their adherents to the Convention ; and seeing the situation that I was placed in , as the leader of the countryjparty , 1 ask you now , after a lapse of eight years , whether more discretion ana pr »> dence could have been evinced than was shown by that country party during the seven months of , to me , nervous and anxious suspense ? Good God ! what nights I spent , and what days 1 spent , when , towards the emptying of . our

      Exchequer , I saw the plots , the tricks , and the treachery about to be practised by the disbanded representatives . In twos and threes they tried to create a local power , as a refuge to fall back upon when the national exchequer failed , and the whole stock in trade was denunciation of Feargus O'Connor . But the history of those times cannot be safely or prudently written yet , while your astonishment must ; be that I overcame the united treachery of those united traitors ; and when you hear all , your surprise will be that I did not fall a sacrifice to their treachery and the government

      hostility . There is a circumstance connected with the torchlight meeting at Bury , which you have not yet learned , but which you shall one day learn . Upon the same night there was to have been a torchlight meeting at Wakefield , but hearing of the conspiracy at Bury , upon the presumption that I would not be present , I repaired thither and spared the cause an amount of damage which cannot be calculated upon . Then came Attwodd ' s sacred holiday , and the denunciation of me for resisting it . Then came the establishment of secret

      societies by Mason and Co ., and the necessity imposed upon me of making a tour through Scotland and the north of England , to resist such an infliction . Then came our trials , while sectional importance was attached by the Convention to every one but my . own ; and then came hot persecution , and then the liberation of the patriots , a great majority of whom hoped to make merchandise of their incarceration , and to strengthen their party by abuse of Feargus O'Connor . However / 1 survived that first shock .

      In 1842 you saw the attempt of the Free Traders to take the command of our movement , and , at the close of the same year , you saw a spectacle never before exhibited in England or the world;—that national rally to the crv of , —

      THE CH \ RTER IS IN DANGER , whenever 500 delegates mustered in Birmingham in the dreary winter season , and in the midst of poverty , and under the recent intimidation of Abinger ' s brutal persecution , and the anticipated dread of the Lancaster trials . The Old boards , iajspite of all , overthrew the COMPLETE HUMBUGS j and again rescued their principles from the enemy .

      Then came Free Trade and Daniel O'Connell ' s adherence to the principle , and his donation on behalf of Ireland , and the whole fury of the Irish peop le enlisted against the phy sical force , infidel , destructive Chartists ; and yet again , the Old Guards rallied the forces , resisted this profligate union , and are now daily winning the enthusiastic Irish to their princip les and their cause .

      Let me now draw your attention to the mode by which , and the machinery with which , the government , upon its part , vainly hopes to arrest the progress of that union between the English and the Irish working classes , for which , through life , I have struggled , and which , ere another year , I will see accomp lished . As I believe you treasure up my writings , I may call your attention to a letter recently published , in which I explained the policy upon which the English Mi ister would form an alliance with the Pope of Rome . I have not that letter before me , but I will quote its substance , and you may refer to it .

      1 told you that the M nistor ' s object was not the liberation of the Italian states of Austria , the love of democratic principles advocated by the Pope , nor yet the desire to see the subjects of the Pope ' s dominions set free ; but I told you that the object was to secure such an al liance as would enlist the Pope in the Minister ' s anti-Irish policy . I teld you that the object was to silence the Irish priesthood—to corrupt the Irish p riesthood in order to trample upon the Irish peop le and overcome the Irish difficulty . I was perfectly aware that our liberty-slaying rulers would never aid the progress of freedom abroad with other intent than to crush the bud of liberty at

      home . Well , how have I been justified in this suggestion by subsequent facts ? Firstly . The Times has informed us that Lord Minto , the relative of Lord Jobn . Busaell , had been sent to the court of Rome , not ss an ambassador , which our State Church prudery would not tolerate , but as an amicus curia , to ratify the conditions upon which the State Church party may consent to an exchange of ambassadors ; and we were assured bv the limes , that the honour of England was

      perfectly secure in the keeping of Lord Minto , and that nothing could be more desirable or mutuall y advantageous than a friendly understanding between the Vatican and the Court of St James ' s . Of course the Times couldn ' t hint at the policy by which Lord Minto was to be bound j but , as even ministerial intrigue cannot be long kept secret , in the same article the whole cat is let out of the bag , in the following short but unmistakeable . paragraph , which I take from the leading article of the Times of that day and which is as follows : — The truth is , that there is hardly % Jungle Court of Europe with watch , it is of greater importance

      <T0 The Oij) Guards Of Chartism, The Fus...

      that we should be in regular and legitimate earamuv nieation than this . The Pontifical dominions promise to be the birthpl ace of that enlightened : and liberal policy which is to retrieve thelong degradetion o f the Italian Peninsula , and which it is the interest of all philanthropists to promote . Nor is the influence ofiheir Sovereign confined to his own territories . As the spiritual head of a vast number of British subjects he exercues a , certain controlling power within these realms which it might indeed be theoghtvery desirable to transfer to more amenable hands , but which it is the height of childishness to ignore . The influence , snob as it is , actually exists , not in for oe sufficient , as experience has often

      proved , to be weighed for s moment against the suggestions of loyalty or patriotism , but with quite enough reality to deserve attention . And yet , for . the sake of a statute already condemned by the conelusions of sense and reason , we have been contented to forego all the benefit which ¦ might he derived from amicable relations with a Sovereign whose voice on certain points , would be respectfully listened to by some millions of British subjects , # j . Now , my friends , read the following sen-, tence again : — * "As the spiritual head of a vast number of British subjects he exercises a certain controlling power within these realms which it might , indeed , be . tinmfrt r *^ K SIR \ BbEVtiWKJ ^ FEM &&

      MORE AMENABLE HANDS , bat whTchltis the height ofchildishhess to'ignore . '' . ' : Now , how will ybutranslatethewords ^ vrhich it may be desirable' to transfer to more amenable hands , " into any other plain English than this ? that English aid being required by Pope Pius IX . to enable him to resist the encroachment of the Austrian Autocrat , it would be worth the expense of the English government to confer that aid , upon condition of receiving the patronage of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland . and the appointment of its bishops as a substitute . 1 defy , you , by any

      ingenuity , to construe this language of British policy into other terms . And then , my friends , mark how in unison is the discipline of the Church with the discipline of the army . The serjeant recommends himself for promotion by subserviency to his superior officer ; the corporal is the slave of the serjeant , arid the subordinates , to qualify for promotion to these humble ranks , become spies over one another , until at length it has become an every day occurrence to « ee a comrade hav > icuffed , a prisoner in the custody of . perhaps , his bosom friends , leading him to . thei ( li . ' ^; . epn , the lash ,

      or the slaughter . jNow , such yreeiseij o ? "Jd be the debasing discipline of the Church under the control of the Government The bishops , like the officers ,. would hold fast by things as they are , resisting to the death ' all encroachments upon their privileges and immunities . The higher order of clergy would prepare themselves for promotion by the strictest compliance with the orders of their superiors . The inferior clergy would qualify themselves for a step , and the now young and enthusiastic would be so trammelled by the discipline of patronage and preferment , and ail would he so

      banded together in the preservation of Government influence , depending upon popular debasement , that the Catholic mind of Ireland would be degraded to the very lowest level of slavery , while the Government would rest secure in that antagonism , by which it hopes to make the mess of one establishment , satisfy the cravings of two . But let the English people and the Irish people rest assured that this power cannot he transferred to ' more amenable hands , ' otherwise than by increased taxation , increased subserviency , increased tyranny and slavery . "' . _ .. ....

      But , if you doubt the construction that I have put upon the foregoing passage in the paragraph , read the following passage , and then say whether or no my opinion is reasonably confirmed . It is as follows : —• " And yet , for the sake of a statute already condemned by the conclusions of sense and reason , we have been contented to forego all the benefit which might be . derived from amicable relations with a sovereign , whose voice on certain points would be respectfnuy listened toby some millions of British subjects . " Now read the concluding words of the last passage , < A SOVEREIGN , WHOSE VOICE ON

      CERTAIN POINTS WOULD BE RESPECTFULLY LISTENED TO BY SOME MILLIONS OF BRITISH SUBJECTS , * in conjunction with the previous passage I have quoted , and then ask yourselves if you can en ; tertain the slightest or most reasonable doubt as to the intent and object of an alliance with the Pope ? And , hence , while all Europe is filled with gratitude to the reforming Pope , the corruption of the British system steps in , and compels the reforming Whigs to grant their aid to the reforming Pope , upon the co - dition and stipulation that he ( the Pope ) shall

      be enabled to rescue his subjects from Austrian tyranny , provided he will enable Her Britannic Majesty ' s Government to protect a corrupt system against the legitimate demands and requirements of an enlightened people .. To further these objects , and in order that no time should be lost , Lord Normanby , OUR AMBASSADOR at the French Court , and our Home Secretary when Frost was banished and five hundred Chartists were illegally incarcerated , has informed the King of the French through his minister , that pur libertyloving Ministers will not permit French

      intervention in Italy to aid the Austrian despot in his resistance to liberal principles * Now , my friends , apart from the domestic signs of the times , apart from the fact that the Church , the landlords , the farmers , and the agricultural labourers , will , ere long , beiu open revolt against the Ministry , the fundholders , and the Free Traders ; apart from the blow that the nation has received from Free Trade , unaccompanied by prudent and timely concessions ; apart from that growing , intelligence , which prompts man to enquire why he and his family should starve , while idle

      capitalists , speculators , placemen , and pensioners , live upon the fruits of his industry , * apart from that startling anomaly which compels Britons to begtheir daily bread from foreigners , while their own land is barren from want of cultivation ; apart from the enigma of the Irish people labouring ' and starving , whilst idlers are living upon their produce ; apart from the disappointment from Free Trade , which has led to low wages , dear bread , and nothing to do ; and apart from the fact that the working classes of England , Scotland , and Wales , set their minds by the same dial , and

      think simultaneously every Saturday upon the same subjects ; and apart from the numerous failures which have taken place , arid are expected to take place , the more disastrous in consequence of the false confidence placed by the working classes in the depositaries of their funds ; and , lastly , apart from the fact that the present Parliament consists of 221 untried members , whose views , or , at all events , whose votes , will be directed by this category of anomalies ; apart , I say , from all these domestic considerations , as 1 predicted for you three years ago , the first blow for Eng lish liberty , hostile

      will be struck abroad , and the first cannon fired , upon the continent , will be the signal for , and the announcement of , the establishment of British liberty , guaranteedby the People ' s Charter . It is for this reason , Old Guards , that I summon you to your posts , that I ask each sen : tinel to take his place upon the watch tower , and that I again implore you , as I have , implored you for the last ten years , not to allow the necessities of faction to drive you to intemperance ? or revolution , which would be the grave of your liberties ; but to fold your arms while factions fight their battles , and , as I have frequently told you , to wait and watch , and be

      <T0 The Oij) Guards Of Chartism, The Fus...

      prepareoUo take up the bone when the two Jgyf ^^? gladdens my heart * as it thust gladden your hearts , to see tlie rally thatisbeing , ™* made , andby a party which the -Scotch pedlar assured his masters had'been . KUieoMn 1839 , a party of whose progress-the corrupt , the prostitute , and venal press has beenalent . party whose bold resistance of oppression , and whose manly bearing of persection , now sets tyranny at defiance-tSar , Ul & buardsis the

      , party , the onl y party . tofuT th . ^ gap which exhausted corruption is how malting m the institutions of the country ¦• and ^ present position of that party , I ascribe , mwy , }? not wholly , to the fact of . the impost abilityof the enemy and the slanderer to ejftrgeme with one single act of turpitude , " raeari ^ ss , or dishonesty . . , Ju | t suppose for a moment that ! . was a m # icapable of being bought ; what ; I ask you , wjjpld not the minister , give forniy desertion ? AMwhat compensation could be offered to ; the ppfjilar ' cause thus : shaken ip confidence ; or jwiSferecprnperisevwouldi ^ . / wealth , of the

      thatlbvedj that cherish ^ amheld by those to whose service I devote every hour of my existence . And see , again , what advantagel myself derive from the knowledge of the past ; it has taught me men s characters , men ' s value , and men ' s honesty . You remember how William Rider was denounced for his proper estimate of the character of the Conven . tion / of 1839 ; _ you remember how the young and enthusiastic Harney was denounced for his enthusiasm ; and how , rather than be sus » pected among the suspicious , Rider abandoned

      his large weekly salary as delegate , and betook himself to poverty ; and now that man has the sole , the entire management of my moneyaffairs—thousands , and tens of thousands , a year pass through his hands , while I am devoting my time to the management of your affairs ; while the principal management of the Northern Star has devolved upon the denounced enthusiast , George Juuax Ha & bEy . Old Guards , in conclusion , the day of reparation , ^ and the hour of satisfaction , Is ap . preaching . 1 have thought it my duty to

      apprise you of its coming , that you may be prepared for the advent , and I need scarcely assure you that , having ' commenced the battle with > the fustian jackets , the blistered hands , and urisham chins , with them and for them I will fight it ' W . its closer , and , erelong , factions , who now live upon the plunder of thoir order , will discover the truth of my assertion , that the stability of all elasses , the security of all classes , arid the prosperity of all classes , can only result from thei free arid unshackled representation of labour , and , -- therefore , ""' fuj ' motto as it ever has been , and ever shall be , is

      now— ONWARD AND WE CONQUER ! BACKWARD AND WE FALL ! TOE PEOPLE'S CHARTER ! AND NO SURRENDER I Ever your faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connob .

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      The L And. ' Come One, Eom» All, This Ro...

      THE L AND . ' Come one , eom » all , this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I . '

      TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LAND COMPANY . My Children , I am in my glory . I have been aroused from comparative inertness to activity by the growlings , or I should rather say the lispings , of the base , bloody , and brutal Press . They have nearly all opened their pigmy batteries upon your house , hut I have armour upon me , and your house is bomb proof . What I have told you politically , I tell you socially —that every new project propounded for the elevation of the working classes , is first 4 ** n . i £ n # l * *>»^ h Ail / inli >»> t *«» ytv «« rtA > tlii-tn ... 22 . 1 . * . ! J ! treated with silent then with ridi

      contempt , - cule and laughter , then with persecution , then with reflection , and then with consummation . I have dragged your political principles through these trying ordeals , and I am now the representative of their growth and strength ; and now that I have propounded , matured , and am carrying out , the only possible plan by which your class can be redeemed from servile dependence , starvation , and death , the foul-mouthed Press of England , no longer able , no longer permitted , to observe its silence , has ventured to assault the Land Plan .

      : The Globe , 'th & Chronicle , the Economist , Ike Daily News , John Bright ' s Manefasfer JE ? araminer , the Nottingham Mercury , and the Dispatch , have all ventured to comment upon the plan now ; the Economist alone treating it respectfully . As a matter of course , the Globe and Chronicle only aim their side blows , by showing how preferable the large farm system is as compared with the small

      farm system , and even the Economist opens with a fallacy , that , under the large farm system , land can be better cultivated , and made more productive , while at the same time the political economists of the day are contending for what they call the free importation of corn , into-this country—that is , corn freely taxed with the incumbrance of freight , risk , insurance , wharfage , labour of shipment , labour of discharging , and expense of warehousing and taking , to market . ¦' ., ' .

      However , the Land Plan has , thank God , arrived at the dignity : of being attacked ; and mark who its assailants are I Some of them have never seen a green held , would not know a cucumber' from a handsaw , and ' are as igno * rant of the capabilities of the land as an Irish pigis of geometry . But they are all , one aud all , leagued iii the depression of wages' question , and in securing for the capitalist and advertiser the largest amount of profit out of the workman s labour . Nevertheless , the Economist justifies my first anticipations , as to the distribution and allotment of land . The Economist

      informs you , that the writer found the twoacre allotments at O'Connorville better cultivated than the four-acre allotments , and you will always bear in mind , that I " have impressed upon you a preference for the two-acre system over the four-acre system , because the two-acre system realised my notions of justice as well as of political economy ; which are , that no man should have a profit in another man ' s labour , and that no man could cultivate four acres without employing slave labour . Some of the advocates of the principle ,

      however , who are as ignorant of the question as the newspaper scribes are , insisted upon four acres , while I still contend that no man in Europe can cultivate even one acre to the highest perfection . Some newspapers , —if newspapers they can be called , live « by pan-: dering to the very worst passions of man ' s njature ; they are read by blackguards of every description , and the success of the whole establishment depends upon the support of blacklegs , jockies , pugilists , and drunkards . Now , will the Press unitedly answer me two questions ?

      First--Wherefore their spleen against the Land Plan ? ' Secondly—If so considerate for the welfare of their , clients , the poor , will they point out any other plan as well calculated to protect them against the griping capitalist , and to secure them against the horrors of a Bastile ? They wont , they canrio ^ answer either question ; and then" spleen--arises from , the fact that I have propounded a new science , and a

      The L And. ' Come One, Eom» All, This Ro...

      | , new p lan , which now constitutes a portion of | tn ^ hJeratore of the age , of which the instruc-: tqre of the age are wholl y and entirehr igno-¦ _ : irarifc . These visionaries fian write flippantly ! upon all : questions upon which every theorist i isalfowed the use of his " ow tf dogmas , but the Land Plan is se » plain and sirivple , so reducible , to praetise , and so ' resolvable''into unerring "calculations , or raUher figures , that for th ^ life lof then » tKey car / fccomprehend it . A dunghiB jwould be a tasteless desert to the hired slave " who had" Been writing : about the splendour of ithe dresses worn at her Majesty ' s ball ; about

      ! the excitement produced by the sadding of , the horses for the St ILeger ; about the bungling or closing of Bendigo ' s-peeper , or the- tap . ipmgof Caunt ' s smellier .. J have left them ' i behind in 8 he simple literature that e * ery . working maw understands-, which they can ? t [> wr ] teabout without writing nonsense . I have put them oufr of school , an * their only conselbtion is in abusing the plaimsiff ' s attorney . lean answer thefirstquestion , thoughthsy ^ SaSffiteSfiW ^ - ^^ the \ fact ¦ that TWTewerof thewpapers , witfta note from ^ tw

      agent , that they must attack the Land plan ^ and to > the secoBd proposition , Fanswer , if they kmw of any othenplan by wliibh the . working classes- would be- put in possession' of the fruits * of their own industry , they would be afraid to > propound it . Theonly condemnation : of the plan > now ventured ,, is , that th * poor occupantis cannot find a market for their surplus ; but not a word about the poor occupants , when they were operatives , not being able to find a market for their

      labour , at a price that would enable them to purchase the predate of other eeuntriea from speculators of that produce , increased by theburthens I have mentioned . In th & forthcoming number of the 'La & ourer , ' I have shown the value of the Land Han and the working of the Land Plan , and now , I will take this estate , or any other estate tenanted by two-acre occupants , as illustrative of the value . of that pjari . The awiage rent of two acres of land and a cottage , here , cannot exceed £ 7 a year , and now , for the pressure of the rent , for the

      INCONVENIENCE OF SURPLUS and the deplorable situation of THE POOR

      DUPE . The occupants , here , have an unlimited right of pasture in a forest within a mile , and which is never overstocked . The poor dupe receives £ \ o as capital ; he gives £ 10 of that money for two yearling heifers in May ; in November he brings them home from the forest worth over J 216 , or £ 8 a piece ; or put them down , if you will , at £ 1 . 4 ,. two pounds a-head profit ; and the MTRFRABLE DUPE hi ^ the enormous back-breaicing srimoi & i jJc ^ SinSam ¦ to .. pay for a house and two acres of land . Well , * butvJi

      may be told that there is not a forest everywhere , and that my . reply to this surplus grievance should be more general . Then , here it is . A man in any district , a single man , without giving him the benefit of a wife and children—and here ' s the beauty of my plan , - you hired slaves , that it makes wife and children a comfort and a blessing , instead of a hardship and a grievance . Yes ; without your Health of Town ' s Bill , I'll depopulate your brothels , your stew-holes , and your stinking lanes and alleys , and I'll put the blush of health in the little pale arid innocent faces , that you have aided the griping capitalist to squeeze

      the young blood out of—I deny , then , the comfort of a wife and children to this two-acre dupe , and I make hi & i pay £ l 0 a year rent for two acres of land , that cost £ 50 an acre , and a castle with out-buildings , that cost £ 100 . —This man s case stands thus : —for seven weeks , during spring , haytime , and harvest , he will earn £ 7 , or a pound a-week ; and if he were blessed with a healthy wife and four or five healthy children , he would earn twice as much ; but , even in his forlorn state of bachelor , he will earn £ 7 during the seven weeks , saddling him with the crushing hardshipof producing three pounds worth of surplus out of forty-five weeks'labour . How much would the blood-sucker make of

      him in that time ? But he shall have no labour at all , all pastime , with scarce enough of work to preserve health , and I'll divide his farm for you . During the whole forty-five weeks , he shall only cultivate half an acre ef potatoes , a quarter of an acre of wheat , and a quarter of an acre of barley , and it shall take a whole acre to support one small cow . He shall buy two store pigs in May , when his COW calves , and when there is a bit of green stuff for them to eat , and he shall give them the whole produce of a quarter of an acre of potatoes , the whole produce of a quarter of an

      acre of barley made into meal , that is , at the very lowest computation , two tons and a half of potatoes , and forty stone of barley-meal , six stone of bran from his wheat , and all the skim milk from his cow , and by that ; time , I think they'd burst , and then , we'll see the surplus , out of which the poorjdupe has to pay £ 3 rent , after living . First , he has the task of eating two tons and a half of potatoes , or about sixteen pounds a day—the offal of which also goes to the pigs . He has to eat cabbages , parsnips , carrots , peas , beans , onions , and vegetables of all sorts . He has to eat thirty-five stone of Hour made into

      bread ; he has to eat fifty stone of bacon , lard , pigs , puddings , and chaps ; and he has to eat all the butter and drink all the milk , that his cow gives over two pounds worth , as the calf will be worth a pound . ' Now , then , what does the feeling philanthropist think o f the'forlorn condition of my dupe . Oh ! but he won ' t get work , because he is a Chartist ? Ay , but the grinders in the factories employ Chartists when hands are short , and all men are Christians in harvest . Oh ! but he couldn ' t get a market for his surplus . I never saw a fat pig come back from market , if the owner would take 2 s . 6 d . under the market price .

      Now , 1 have stated this , merely in such a simple manner , that not all the editors , not all the agriculturists in Europe , can refute it . Oh ! but , says some jockey or pugilist , they can't get { a pound a week in harvest . My answer is ,. that I could never get hands , enough , old or young , at that price during harvest , and my operations , both at Herringsgate and Lowbands , have been all but suspended from that cause during harvest-time .

      Now for the four-acre man . In less than three years from the present time , every four-acre man located , will be able to sell off two acres of his land , to parties who will cheerfully buy it and build upon it , for as much money as will redeem his four acres , house and all . Now for a finisher for the economists . Want of employ , ment for the poor compels the wealthier classes to pay over £ 7 , 000 , 0 o 0 a year inthe shapeof poor rates . Now , that seven millions a year would pay the interest of over one hundred and fifty millions o f money ; and £ 150 , 000 , 000 of money ,

      at £ 300 a head , would locate five hundred thousand peopleupon four acres of land each , or two million acres of land at £ w an acre , leaving £ 100 for a house , and £ 40 for capital ; and at five to a famil y , thus providing for two millions and a half of human beings ; relieving the country from a pauper rate , and leaving the government an annual income , in the shape of rent , after paying the interest of the capital of , £ 1 , 500 , 000 ; and now , I have a right to ask , if the Government is not the Crovernment of a faction , what right it has to tax even the faction , though voluntarily , for no other earthly purpose than to intimidate the

      The L And. ' Come One, Eom» All, This Ro...

      l ^ rSlfe ^ f ? Vi ,- " 5 ^? . ^ ? C ^ to seirtHeir labour IJB " /^ that th * capitalise peases ^ o ^ , offer , for jt . Nay , more while wp year , after the first two years , those 500 , 000 independent husbandmen would : r ,. i , „ i „ « ...

      nngusn maricer witn 2 , 500 , 000 quarters of wheat annually . Now , then , when I show those things to ail industrious people , must not a make-shift Go * vernment , and its prostitute Press , tremble before the conviction ? Oh ! but ; the econom 'istshaveonesimpleanswer— " ALL-WOULD Pi VIL—potatoes would fail , cabbages ; caryou ' , turnips , pnrsnips , : peas ,: beans , waio . ns , all would fail . The fowls . rould get the p . ip—the cows would get the murrain—the pras - . would get the measles—the grass , tha 1

      clover , the wheat , the oats , the barley and rye , tfay woSuld a ! fa $ if the State Church parson farM to- ' ; pray-fro- © od to preserve the fruits of thewrtiitoTmiKKWDLY VSE , so as in due t ! ime ; h 1 , iey (« h . e lia « bandmen ) might enjoy

      themv Alas , wc should have no libelling of nature , and no Blasphemy of God , if God ' s children wenfl allowed ) to euitivate God ' s earth for theiir own sole use ) . beii » of and benefit Kuw , you ge . ntlemen'oflth « Presff Jam ready fury ouall ^ one a . nd all /; and my sfrengfcif consists in the fkrt that the lies- you' fell en Friday nigM or . -Satnrda : / , now pass-as idle chaff before the windi-beauseany cBilurentwill restf satisfied you will * nave an answer ow the- fettmring Saturday ; : > nt , hwt a six * day ^ ' repetMon of yourfthy and nonsense should : E » in « strength for want ofV » reply , I havethemnowto in » form- you i tftat , within a very . short ? period , I ; wjl |> Have myVmorning pop-gini to silence' your ¦ ¦ ¦ Hii bow

      'ftjrT-v'es ' , , m £ : "" * v « ' w sm 8 ;< j ^ djttto ^ Jt * i *^^ sftall enlist hiiri . too , ' arid I'll give you his- whole corps . ' ; Aindi w & at they measnto prove-is ; the incompetency and dishonesty of ¦ the present director * .. Hfcwever , as their incotnpetfeney or dishonesty-would ' be a reflection-upon my discretion ^ , andj . indeed , upon my integrity , I undertake to prove that the present ' directors are unimpeachable and unassailable j'ihat they are the'four most competent men of . their . class miEngl & nri \ to < carry out the proj . eetcin wilicn , rfiey are embarkad ; and that , as to-theb incompetency * that ? they have producedraleout of chaos , and ortfon out of confusion .. '

      The Land Plian > shall not be stabbed . throngh the directors ,, by affected toleration of me ; I am > ifl the boat with them , and I'll sail with them ;• and in spite * of the poor > pitiful machinations of a despicable , disappointed ^ mbitious , drunken little clique of Londoners ,. I' will pilot ( rhem safely throughi the storm ; au . d-. ifl necessary , I will go security to . my hist fantbing for their integrity and honour . So much for your expected food , gentlemen of the Press * And now my children * a word to youjjy way of conclusion . '

      What think yott of a set of Londoners going to establish a rival Land Company ? And what think you of a knot of those gentlemen summoning the directors—not me , but my brother directors—to appear before thehi to answer certain charges , to be preferred by certain parties , who saw prudence in silence until they found that the Company was to be kept open till the close of the year ? And now , baulked of their prey , they are going to blow the

      directors out of the water with their thunder ; but I hope , as I have always been an advocate io'A ^ ' ^ reatest pospible popular vigilant control , thai-the country party , and the respectable men of Lw . - don , the sober men of London , will not aljow their honourable directors to be Biibjected to the intolerance , php . vengeance of a fewdisappoihteddrunkards . Iahi ' ^ fj ing toieave ^ you for a period short of . three weeh ^ yirid if aiiy ' ooel dhmUd ssk y < m wiiftre . the 'money is , f . eU . them it is in lUu huwlo ' n . 7 .- «' nf- » StockJi ; ink . hi

      the Gloucester B * ckr ; -ift ¦ Clinch ' , ' !* "VYitnoy Bank , and the amount , for Vhich ; th > v i » ank « «¦ liable , in Exchequer Bills ; and if Ikeyask you where Iam , ; tell them that I am gone in-pursuit of Richard Cebden , who ran away in the Peop le ' s debt , with an enormous amount of igh wages , cheap bread , and plenty to do ; and that I'll bring him back to stand his trial for sedition and conspiracy aguinst the English people ; and all I have to ask of you is , to rest assured that the enemy who presumes upon my absence , will receive his reward upon

      my return , especially the poor Whistler , whose last note I have just heard—and only for one moment picture to yourself the depravity which induces one Blackguard to hire another Blackguard to write such absurd stuff , as that those who sell me estates may reclaim them . ' Now is ' nt Blackguard much too mild a name for a ruffian that could write such rubbish for hire , but Mr . TownIy , of Regent-street , requests me to ask the Whistler if the same rule of reclaiming property , applies to BOOKS and other MOVEABLES .

      Read the next number of the Labourer ' arid keep it as a book of reference , and rejoice in your souls that our Plan has-been attacked by . the Press and the ambitious , but that it shall succeed and triumph over both . ' . I remain , ; Your faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connor .

      Forthcoming Meetings: ' Bakbbry.—A. Gene...

      FORTHCOMING MEETINGS : ' Bakbbry . —A . general meeting of shareholders and friends will be held on Tuesday , September , 28 thf at the Star Inn , High-street , te transact business of importance , and especially to ta [ : e into consideration the establishing of a savins ; society ia connexion with the National Land and Labour Back . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock precisely . Cablisik . — 'J ho quarterly meeting of this branch will be held at No . 6 , John-street , CaMewgate , next Sunday , September 26 ih , at two v / cleek in the afternoon , when the auditors will give in their report , & e . Burt . — -The members of this branch are requested to meet , ia ' future , at the Coarfc-roora behind the Albion Hotel , Market-street , on Sunday nights at six o ' clock , and on Thursday nights at seven Volrck .

      Chorwbm ,. —Mr John West will deliver a lecture at this place , at half-past seven o ' clock , this ( Saturday ) evening . Concision . —A special meeting of theshareholdcrs will be held on Tuesday evening next , in their room , Lion-street . Drotlsden . —a general meeting will tnke place on Friday , the ' , is 6 of October , in the Temperance Hall , Lane-end . DontBT . —Dr M'Donall will deliver a lecture in the Lancastrian school-room , Stafford-street , on Tuesday evening , September 23 th . Chair to bo taken at seven o ' clock . Alt r the lecture , a public meeting will take place to consider the case of the Holy town miners .

      Ex & tisr . —The members o f the Land Company in Exeter are requested to meet at Mr O'lirien ' s 49 , Holloway-streer , on Saturday , 25 th inst ., at half , past seven o ' clock , p m . A meeting will be held every Saturday evening , at eight o ' clock . Kiddsbmissibh . —The members of this branch will , in future , meet every Monday and SaUrdav ni » ht , at the Nag ' s Head , Bewdtey-street , at hulf . past seven o ' clock , for the convenience of members . The * Northern Star , ' will ba read every Sundav evening , at the same place . To coasaaaence at ' six o ' clock in the evening ..

      AfANcnESTBa .-Mr R . Wild , of Mottrara , will deliver a lecture in the People ' s Institute , Uevrodstreet , Ancoats , on Sunday , September 26 th . Chair to be taken at half-past six o ' closk in the evening . A Chauknob io ib & WmsTLBR . —Dr M'DouaU wilt meet the Whistler , - to diseuss ^ the prineiple ' s of the National Land and Labour Bank , or the Land Plan , propounded by Feargus O'Connor , E ? q ., M . P ., in Manchester , at any time he thinks proper to giro iwi \ ce % Address , by letter , post paid , to Mr Thomas Ormesher , 52 , Bridgewater street ^ Manchester . Sudburt . —The quarterly meeting of the shareholders will be held at Mr Goody's house , on - 'Isaday next , at eight o ' clock in the evening . . "Lbbds . —Mr John w ' est mil deliver a Jeoiurem the backroom of the Bazaar , to-morrow evening , at half-paat six o ' clock "

      . ..... ,, .., Saifor » .-A lecture will be delivered 5 n the large roem , Baak-street , on Sunday ( to-morrow ) , the 2 v . lx instant , to commence at six o ' clock in the evening . Subject : The necessity of the people joining the Land Company . ' A » persons hoMing - elect l-m-aub . wription books are requested to bna ' g themin on or before the 3 rd ot October . Iho oiricers of this branch meet every Sunday afternoon , and on Tuesday evening , from eight till ten o'cl ^ k , to receive sxbscripsobs and enrol new me * fibers .

      Cbabtmt Wimhtf^Ou Monday Lam, » »E 1 Ari...

      Cbabtmt WimHtf ^ Ou Monday lam , » » e 1 arith church ot Pres ' oury , Mr Thomas leech , of ILcoles . field , to Hiss Itjl « , youngest daughter of Mr John Bjle , « ft & a « anv ) place ,

      S I I I \ I

      s i \ I

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 25, 1847, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_25091847/page/1/