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TO THE WORKING CLASSES
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Slates, Willing Slaves, I can call you b...
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AND NATIONAL TRA&SNfQURNAI,
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©ijartfet JhttrtJiSMtt.
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Bradford. — A West-Riding delegate meeti...
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TO THE IRISH .PEOPLE. . Though yees call...
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_ <m THE MISERS OF YORKSHIRE. TO. THE ED...
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A unoE and very beautiful gas-chandelier...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
To The Working Classes
TO THE WORKING CLASSES
Slates, Willing Slaves, I Can Call You B...
Slates , Willing Slaves , I can call you by no other name , because every other class in the community lives luxuriously and sumptuousl y upon your slavery , not- more based upon their onion and power than upon your slavish and subservient antagonism . I do not appl y the word antagonism to your opposition to your opponents—I apply it solely to the working classes themselves . In your very souls you will secretly despise the griping employer that lives upon your slavery ; but you will crouchingly yield to his wish , whileyouwill laud the bold resolution of the few of your own order who openly oppose tyranny but , nevertheless , you will allow your masters to make tools of you , and use you as competitors to reduce the wages of the few independent men of your order .
We are now within a month of the reopening of the " show-box , ' * and you will find that the several changes propounded b y the several parties will be measured by popular satisfaction , and all will cry out , that never were thepeople more tranquil , because they were never more satisfied . I have often told you that "the folly of to-day may be the wisdom of the morrow ; " and it is not . many-weeks since I informed you that , upon a general election , the boll-fr ogs would have a majority in the House of Commons , with Stanley at
their head , and Protection as their * . ' CRY . " I told y ou that such an event wonld be met by the slave-owners turning put their hands , and proclaiming revolution . I told you that Ireland , in case of an election , would return at least eighty Protectionists ; and now , in confirmation of my assertion being realised , I implore your strict attention to the following portion of Mr . Cobdes ' s speech , recently delivered at Leeds , and when you have read it * ask yourselves whether I was . right or wrong in my calculation : —
1 warn them in these days , in this age , and in the temper and spirit ofthe time—I warn them from entering upon a new conflict with this population , to try and put on the shoulders of this already overburdened people those taxes which of right belong to them as a class : ( Applause . ) Let them bear in mind what Sir Charles Wood , the Chancellor oftfce Exchequer , told us in the last session of parliament , that eren including those local rates , and including what they pay ofthe general taxation ofthe country , the landed proprietors ofthis country paj a less amount of taxation in proportion to the local rates of this country than any other people of Europe . ( A voice— 'They ought to pay it all . ' ) WeU , I tell them that if they renew the struggle with the whole population of this country , whether for the resumption ofthe bread tax , or to transfer the burdens which in
justice belong to them to the shoulders of the rest of the community , they will have this question rc-asitated in a very different spirit from what it was before . ( Applause . ) Let them take my wordfor it , they will never have another league agitation carried on with that subserviency to strict logical argument which was observed in the last agitation . ItcoBtmesomeargnmeut , as my friends know , to keep the league from going into some other topic ; but , let but another agitation arise , a serious one , such as these indi . viduals would try to persuade their followers—let it be seen that they bring the parliament into such a state of confusion that government is compelled to dissolve—let it be seen that some man like Lord Stanley is prepared to get into the saddle , and to spur over the country with his heavy paces—and they will hear this question argued in a
very different manner from what it was before . ( Applause . ) They will have the whole aristocratic system under wliich the country has been governed for the last 150 years at once torn to pieces ; they will have the law of primogeniture —{ applause)—and the old feudal system which remains in this country , and remains on sufferance only after it has been abolished everywhere else—they will have this question brought up in a way which they , weak and foolish men , little expect ;—( cheers )— -and let them once enter the Est again , either fur another corn law or for the transference of this taxation upon your shoulders , and I give them toy word of promise that they will come out of the conflict right happy to give up not only the corn law and any taxation which they are going to try to avoid , but they will be glad to escape by a composition of much heavier terms than that ( Applause . )
Again , to shew you the result of competition between those who live upon your labour , read the following pithy passage : — But do joa think your lionourble meraber here would conduct his business in such a way as that ? Do you not think that if he saw another person of the same branch of business , conducting his business foolishly , and with a large amount of waste which was ruining both , and threatening him with destruction ; and if he knew that the work was profitless to the individual who began the system , do yon not think that if he found a rival in his business entering upon such a career as that he wnnld go and say to him , ' You are going upon a system winch compels me to do the same , and it will lead us both into the Gazette , if we don't stop it Do you not think that we had better stop it V
Jfow , have I not often told you that your slavery wholly depends upon the competition of your employers ? And do you suppose that these competitors referred to by Mr . Cobdeu , with the law and power of capital at their back , would lose a single fraction by the deadliest competition until they had first destroyed those upon -whose labour they had competed ? But to g ive you a still stronger illustration ofthe fact of my oft-repeated assertion , that the application of the land to its legitimate purpose is the only means by which peace , plenty , and prosperity , can he restored , read the following passage in Mr . Cobden ' s speech : —
Don't you think that in these times of industry , when wealth and commerce are the real tests of a nation ' s power , coupled with wealth andintelligence—do yon not sec that ifvou beat vour iron into ploughshares and pruninghooks , instead of putting it into swords and spears , thatit will be equally productive of power , and of far more force if brought into collision with another country , than if you put all your iron into spears and swords . ( Applause . ) It is not always necessary to hold up a scarecrow to frighten your neighbours . Now , so much for the land , and , as 1 am taking the whole matter consecutively , let me add the following pithy passage to the first quotation relative to anticipated revolution , should the restoration to protection be proposed .
These are the reasons , I have said , and I say again , that you may return with safety to the expenditure of 1833 . Jfay , more , you won't stop when jouget there . But mark me , with all their sarcasms , they are on the highroad to it , and we will compel them to do it They will be obliged to return to the expenditure of 1 S 35 , and to the budget which I brought forward last year , and in a short tune . But how ! By such a movement out of doors as I have mentioned , and I wish to see it avoided . Jfow what think you of that ? " BY SUCH A MOYEMENT OUT OF DOORS AS I HAVE MENTIONED , AND I WISH TO SEE IT ATOIDED . "
In faith , I wish to see it avoided too ; but what I see is the impossibility of avoiding it ; and what I further see is , that the men who create it , and nse the people for the accom p lishment of their own objects , will be the very first to prosecute , persecute and destroy the people , when throug h their instrumentality they have achieved power . Again , still further to prove to you that the folly of the day may be the wisdom of the morrow , read the fallowing passage .
2 Tow , do you suppose , if you were to sit down to make a constitution , without having the precedent of the present constitution to guide yon , anybody would make such an absurd propoation as Uiata parliament should sit for seven Tears without giving an account to their constituents ! Sohodv would dream of it Ask jour railroad companies , jour bank directors , any body in the world that has to delegate Bower to another body-is there on the feceof the world an example ( exceptin our Septennial Act ) of people giving mi their power for seven years * duration ? ( Hear , and loud cheers . ) It isno answer to me to say that parliaments do not last on an average more than three years . Bwe Snew that parliaments only lasted three years , that would be an answer to the quesion ; but men go there expecting thatit will last five , six , or seven years , and they act accordin gly : and when they comenear to the end they begin to eo through , a process something likea death-bed repentance , and to pnt their house in order . ( Applause and laughter . ) _ _ . . , statednot
You remember that I hare , only out of the House of Commons , but in the House of Commons , the folly , nay , the villanv , of basing present legislation upon barbarous precedents , supplied by ignorant people . I told them in the House , that if we we to be so governed , we should meet in churchyards , and sit upon the tombstones , and I think Mr . Cobden has now accepted my view ofthe case . But to go further into the ques-£ T In analysing the question of Septenmal Parliaments , have I not repeated it to surfed , Sat men will violate their pledges dunng _ the £ ? five or six years of their tenure of office , and then return to the * " *« " » " 2 J with a death bed repentance , so tlatit would annear that I hare got a very precocious S ? Cornin- from Mr . Cobdek , this is Slid SST * applause" and <¦ laughter " S coming from me it was recaved with
- * J » " ySTare to understand , that in analysing Mr Cobdex ' s speech , Ido not repudiate one JE * passage that I have quotod-not even tTatin which he states the nse Oat would be Saae of popular fur ? * P ° » ae attempt to re-Srn to protection . I do not repudiate it , be-
Slates, Willing Slaves, I Can Call You B...
cause I think you deserve to be slaves , if you submit to be tools . In another part of his speech , Mr . Cobden states , that there is a probability of ninety protectionists being returned for Ireland in case of a general election taking place . I set it down some weeks ago at eighty , so that you see , I am generally before my time . But , like every ingenious man , Mr . Cobdes , after graphically describing the present system and its injustice , points out the remedy . He says : —I SAY QUALIFY YOUlt-SELVES . ( Loud applause . ) Now the proper exclamation to . have followed such an instruction would have been , " Bah ! first catch yotjr )/ Hake . " Mr .
Cobdex in his speech informed his audience , that the manufacturing operatives were never in a better position than now . Of course he was loudly cheered by their employers ; but he should also have told them , that the reason why they were rather better employed now , was inconsequence of the two years' revolu tions upon the Continent , when they were required to supply large orders . Let me now show you , critically , what I see foreshadowad-hi" Afr ^ Boming' struggle . " Th 6
landlords' engagements , liabilities , responsibilities , and mode of living , are all measured and regulated by Protection . This I consider not only an injustice , but a crime of their own creation , based upon their own legislation . They will not—and in many instances cannot —reduce their rents ; and it is not at all unlikely , nor unreasonable to expect ,, that the farmers—when they come to their senseswill join with the middle classes in the demand for a reduction of rent . But then observe the
difficulties with which you have to contend during the struggle . The landlords pessess political power ; that political power is based upon the evil use they have made of their lauded property , measuring its value as I have often told you , and as Mr . COBDEN tells you now , by the standard of patronage ; and the consequence of this will be , that as self-interest is the basis of human action , they would rather rely upon the result of a bloody revolution , with , the army and the Exchequer at their back , than surrender their unjust monopol y to national requirement and State necessity .
Meantime , you should understand that during this conflict , and however it may end , not only will the wages of the agricultural labourer be reduced , but your wages also ; and the profits of all—that is , of the shopkeepers who live upon your labour , will be equally reduced ; and depend upon it , that neither landlord nor money-lord will consent to any reduction , until y ou are fully , freely , and fairly represented in the Commons House of Parliament .
Every newspaper now is crowded to suffocation with comments upon the Land question , The poor creatures , who know no more about it than an Irish pi g does of geometry , all enlightening us with their own views , and each differingfrom the other . There ' s poor Wilson , ofthe Economist , that would not know a carrot from a parsnip , or a cabbage from a cauliflower unless they were dressed , giving us his views ; and then there ' s the Globe publishes an article which took me half an hour to
read ; and this agriculturist , like hiscotemporaries , attempts to prove that the farmers ought to be satisfied with present prices , because they are higher than those of 1835 , ' 36 , and ' 37—while those public instructors appear to forget the " GREAT FACT , " that in those years they cheerfully expended thencapital upon the improvement of their landnot only in the hope , but with the certainty , that times would change , and that they would reap the profit ; whereas now they are without hope , but building upon the certainty of things becoming worse they will expend no capital , and , as is always the [ case , the poor labourer will be the greatest sufferer .
Let me now show you the only possible remedy for all these evils—it is , to bring the Land into the Retail Market , not at sale value , but at rent value ; and by this system I undertake to prove , irrefutably , that the landlords , with protection , would receive larger—much larger—incomes than they do at present : that is , I undertake to prove that a farm of a thousand acres , let now for 1 , 000 / . a year , or 1 / . an acre , and which the tenant cannot pay , including poor rates and taxes , would , if divided into farms often acres each , that is , a hundred farms , let for 30 s . an acre ,
that there never would be one tenant behind hand upon rent day ; that it would support eighty families more than under the present system ; that the hundred tenants thus located would not care a farthing about protection ; and that every shopkeeper , mechanic , artificer , artisan , tradesman , operative , and agricultural labourer , would be prodigiously benefited by the system . And if you doubt itinconsequence of its repetition , to surfeit , by one whose every hour has been devoted to your interest—I pray you to read , and most
critically , the extracts published in this week's Star , from Sharman Crawford ' s pamphlet , taken from the Irishman of last week ; and also the admirable letter of Mr . Rogers , of Devonport ; and bear in mind , that Sharman CbA"wfobdis one of the largest and the very best landlords in Ireland . Neither he nor his bailifts will be fired at , nor will a single tenant ran away with his crops , because Sharman Crawford will not extract from him a farthing more than he is able to pay , after supporting and educating his family .
Now what do you think of the laud of Jersey and Guernsey being able to support nearly twelve hundred to a square mile , and of the cultivator being able to send its produce to England ; while England is considered over populated , and overrun with unwilling idlers , called paupers , with three hundred , or one fourth of the population to the square mile . Working men , you never will be legislated for justly , until y ou appoint your own representatives , and you never will be independent until you are located upon your own land . The poor rates are your ' s , both by Statute law and Divine law ; and the value of those
poor rates , at the lowest estimate , putting them down at six millions a year , whereas they are over eight millions , would produce Two Hcu-DREn a > tj Fortt Millions of money ; that is , would represent two hundred and forty millions . I put them down at forty years' purchase , because they are the first lien upon the property ; it would not require one fraction of money to purchase them , because the landlord , if compelled to return the people ' s property in kind , may surrender the amount in land that would represent the purchase money . Now that would leave the nation a rental of six millions at a low rent , and
would wholly and entirel y destroy pauperism . Ay ! but here ' s the rub ; the tyrants know it as well as I do , but they live upon your pauperism , and would rather have a revolution than such an adjustment . Jfow averaging the land—for I wish to have good land—at 301 . to the acre , it would locate one million families , at five acres to each family , and would g ive to each family ninety pounds capital to commence his house and to perform agricultural operations , and perhaps they
Slates, Willing Slaves, I Can Call You B...
would employ the Witney Builder to build good cottages and out-offices for 75 / . each . However bad the present system is , and however those who live upon your toil may seek to tinker and patch it , and however the present condition of the Irish people , consequent upon the iniquity of Irish landlords , may be mocked and sneered at , I tell you that neither the Irish nor the English people will ever be satisfied until their own property , the Land , is applied to its legitimate purposes , namely , their own comfort , based upon their own toil .
The- next session of Parliament shall not , if I can avoid it , be a mockery , a delusion , or a snare . I shall oppose any attempt , of a restoration , of Protection ; while , at the , , same tmr s a ' 0 PPose any attempt to use the Chartist party as an auxiliary force to achieve the ascendancy of their task-masters ; and we will shew the middle classes , that while , we are prepared to march with them in the onward course of progress , we are not prepared to aid h i any struggle from the result of which
industry will not derive its fair and legitimate $ V &&^ ..: ^ ¦ ' " ^^ :: : " :, ' ' ¦ Again requesting yon to read the extracts , and assuring you in these critical and trying times , that if every working man in the king dom deserts the principles of the Charter , and if it is made treason , to advocate them , I will GLORY IN BEING A TRAITOR , as I am resolved that no amount of taunt , opposition , , persecution , or slander , shall ever induce me to abandon the CHARTER AS THE MEANS , and the LAND AS THE
END . Your Uncompromising Advocate , and Faithful Representative , Feargus O'Connor . P . S . —I have just received the following letter from one of the most philanthropic , kind-hearted , intellectual , and agreeable members , not only of the Reform Association , but of society , and one who , I believe , would not continue his connexion with any association which departed from its public recorded professions ; and at foot of the letter I place the Reformers' prayer , which he has been kind enough to send me .
17 , Trinity-square , Tower-hill Dee . 24 . Dear Sib , —I have not been in the habit of reading the NorOiemStar until I was informed that you had been pleased toinsert my name , coupled with other gentlemen , in your leader of the 22 nd ins t . Individually , I have to request , with all political matters , that I only consider myself responsible for my own declarations and opinions , and I should not continue my connexion with any association if they departed from their public recorded professions . I would take the liberty of drawing your attention , and those with whom you are leagued , to the table of the' Dok and the Shadow . ' ° I place the Reformers' prayer in your hands , if it is worthy of the Northern Star . I am , dear sir , yours ftithfully , W . 3 . Ham .
THE REFORMERS' PRAYER . Almighty ! Immutable ! Eternal ! Invisible , save in Thy Wondrous Works ! Unheard , save by the slumbering elements of Creatio n in Thy Word , which said , " Be Light . '" and light was ! Who art without beginning of days or end of years , —we would begin and end every good word and work with Thee ! Righteousness exalteth a nation , — teach us to be righteous . Thou hast made Man a little lower than the angels , and hast crowned him with glory and honour , —inspire him with respect for his own nature , and us with reverence for the infinite significancy of a human spui . —The meanest of us are immortal—the greatest are but as
yesterday when it is past . Teach the mi ghty how mean is time—and the mean how mighty is eternity . King of kings and lord of lords , before whom the mightiest monarchs are but abject vassals , and at whose bar judges wiil be judged , —in whosc ' awful presence sovereigns will hide their crowns , and veil their faces , and nothing but Truth and Justice can stand , —teach rulers that are found wanting , that Thou hast weighed them in the balance , —require of unjust stewards the talents the Lord of the vineyard has committed to their care , —and enable all to perceive that Thou art no respecter of persons , but acceptest those alone who diligently serve Thee .
Man lives not by bread alone . By Thy Word , which by its power could feed multitudes , and yet by its frugal providence commanded mortals to gather up the fragments , Thou hast taught the nations that nothing should be lost . Teach governors the wisdom ef economy , and Thine earthly vicegerents the wickedness of waste , and the wholesome uses of a sparing management of Thy material bounty . Give to statesmen a saving grace-to use thy temporal gifts as not abusing them , and to remember that they are set over us for our good , and under Thee for their guidance . We are all equal in Thy sight , —may we be equal also in our own . The great ones among the Gentiles exercise dominion over them , but Thou hast said it shall not be so among Thy followers , for the chiefest among us shall be our servant , and our
minister shall be the greatest of all . Thou hast made of one blood all nations and taught us to call Thee Father . Forasmuch then as we are Thine offspring , and that Thy first and great commandment is , " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself , " hasten the reign of Peace on earth , and good will among men . Turn our swords into ploughshares , our spears into pruning hooks , —prosper our agriculture , make the solitary places glad , so that the desert may rejoice and blossom as the rose , neither may there be War any more . —When the small still voice whispers , " Which is my neighbour V let conscience answer , " He whom I can serve . "—When Jerusalem would hold no dealings with Samaria , remind us that Thou art a spirit , and to be worshipped neither in temples made with hands , nor in consecrated cathedrals , but in spirit and in truth .
Counsel the Queen s Counsellors , and teach our senators wisdom . Bless us with wise and upright magistrates , fearing Thee and hating covetousness . Majesty itself is nourished by the field , —awaken the prince to the sense of what he owes to the peasant , animate him with that pure religion and undcfiled which visits the widow and the fatherless in their affliction , and guide him by Thy Spirit to the conviction that earthly power doth then show likest God's , when mercy seasons justice . Suffer not Pharisees to lay burdens on men's shoulders that are grievous to be borne , while they will not touch them with one of their fingers . Let not the poor be bought for silver , or the needy for a pair of shoes , that the rich may sell the refuse of
the wheat . Renew within this people the right spirit which shall lead them to prove all things , and hold fast that which is good . —Inspire in us the love of that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free , —and to that end do thou make us children in malice , but men in understanding . Knowledge is power , —enable us to thirst after it—prosper the means of education—spread abroad the reign of intelligence—of that wisdom from above which is first gentle , then peaceable , full of good fruits , without partiality and without hypocrisy . Save the people from those , who while they promise them liberty , are themselves the servants of corruption—enable us to separate power from licentiousness—to have a giant ' s strength , but not to
wield it as a giant—not using our liberty for a cloak of maliciousness , but as the servants of God . Prosper the cause of temperance ; that emancipated from the slavery of their appetites , men may learn by sobriety the virtue of independence , and be strengthened to defy that fear of man which bringeth a snare . Let all the ends we aim at be our Country's and Truth ' s , and God's . Bless our native land—in its basket and in its store . Give rulers hearts of flesh , and no more hearts of stone . Teach property that it has duties as the equivalent of its rights—and protect poverty in its rights while it is strengthened to discharge its duties . Let us not give up to party what was meant for
mankind , or lend ourselves to faction for the gain of the few , at the expense ofthe many . Shed Thy blessing over that vast Empire which Thou hast committed to our stewardship , for Thy service and the happiness ofthe world . Inspire in us a sense of the awful importance of our trust , and enable us to tench the nations how to live by the lesson of a good example . Tench the Queen that from us , under Thee , she derives her power ; that to seek Thy kingdom is to preserve her own , and that to be Thy subject is best to find loyal subjects in us . Adorn our chief magistrate with the christian graces , and give her wisdom to choose wise counsellors , having a single eye to the pub . 'ic good , and
Slates, Willing Slaves, I Can Call You B...
to the glory , but . above all , to the happiness of their country , j ,. \ We . would implore upon our fellow-citizens of tho sister island the blessing of the spirit of love and of a sound mind ;—^ Hear them—answer them—hel p them—feed them by Thy bountiful hand—lead them by Thy quiet ' waters—save them from oppressionthat in the unity ) of the spirit and in the bond ot peace , they may , by patient continuance in well doing , in due season , redeem their countrv . and
raise themselves ; by , industry , mutual conciliation , and self-help , to greatness and prosperity , by leading peaceable , sober , and pious Jives , in aU godliness and honestfc . Bring justice : !© every man ' s door , and enable judges to inspire respect for the laws ; -by the wisdom , purityi % ' and impartiality of their judgments . Have pity on the victims of society , enable us to avert the effects of poverty by anticipating its causes , and leadens to be more sedulous to prevent crune than to punish it . , '
Promote hum'SH intercourse and brotherhood , making the supply of mutual wants the bond of mutual kindnewj ; '' To this end advance " ' useful arts , strengthen the Heart of industry , and erowr i labour with Thy promise of daily bread . Teach us all that we . live byMutual dependence , and that neither heads nor ||| hds ; qan say I have no need of Thee .: JlembeH ^ jofione bpd y ^ mi & . we . feel that ne ^ er noh ^^ both : and that tnewSt * or the many is the truest interest of tho few ' . In honour , ' preferring one another , may Truth , Right , and Liberty , bring comfort to the cottage , security to the court , and stability to the throne .
Godliness is great gain—may Thy ministers no longer make a gain of Godliness . . Teach them that the pastures are for tho sheep , and not for the shepherd—that they must watch as , well as pray ; not as dumb dogs , but as faithful pastors . What to Thee is the sound of viols , or whole rivers of oil ? What the solemn meetings or vain oblations ? Thou wilt not hear for much praying nor answer vain repetitions . Thou madest the sabbath for man , not man for the sabbath—and religion for the people , not alone for the priests . Uncloak the Pharisee , and uncover the Lcvites - purge the church of covetousness—that the cure of immortal souls may no
longer be profaned by the traffic of mammon—or the purity of the sacved calling be de &\ cd by the policy of faction , or the sordid purposes of party . We are not only members of a family , and subjects of a state , but citizens of the world , and the kindred of a common humanity . We are men—let nothing that is human be foreign to us—but hasten the time when there shall be but one Lord on earth as in heaven—when Thy will shall be done here below as it is there above , and when the children of a day shall claim as a Father , the Great Parent of the Universe , and strive to be niore worthy of His love by loving one another , and keeping His commandments . Amea .
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Bradford. — A West-Riding Delegate Meeti...
Bradford . — A West-Riding delegate meeting was held in the Democratic School-room , Croftstrect , on Sunday , December 23 rd , for the purpose of discussing the best means of carrying out the new plan of organisation . Delegates present : — Halifax , George Webber , Thomas Holcfan ; Huddersfield , James Emsal ; Ilolmfirth , James Hurst ; Wilsdan , Jonas Sugden ; Bradford , John Smyth ; Thomas Wilcock , secretary . Thomas Holdan in the chair . The resolutions were adopted . Moved by John Smyth , and seconded by James Emsal , " That in the opinion of the delegates present the plan of organisation , as put forth in the Northern
Star , of December 22 nd , is defective , inasmuch as there is not provision for carrying it out ; neither is there any plan by which localities are to elect officers in the country ; we , therefore , are ' obliged to reject the plan laid down by the Metropolitan Conference . " Moved by John Smyth , seconded by George Webber : — " That this meeting recommend to the Chartists generally to continue the agitation for the People's Charter , whole and entire , through the medium of lectures , tracts , and all . legal and peaceful means to obtain its enactment ; and wc call upon the nation to propose a plan of organisation , whereby , power ' . will be given to enable the localities to elect officers , so that the energies of tho people may he concentrated for one and the same purpose . " Moved by George Webber ,
seconded by James Hurst : — " That we , the delegates , recommend the Chartists ot the West-Riding of Yorkshire to take into consideration the propriety of establishing a West-Riding Co-operative Manufactory , to consist of £ 1 shares , to bo conducted solely by , and for the benefit of the working classes . " Moved by George Webber , seconded by Jamos Emsal ' . — " That the delegates present take copies of the above resolution , and lay the same before tho locality he represents ; and that the secretary write to all localities in the Riding , and send a copy of the above resolution . " Moved by George Webber , seconded by James Hurst : — "That one penny per member levy be paid in at the next West-Riding delegate meeting , for the purpose of
deiraymg the expenses of the Riding ; and that all localities on the West-Riding lecturing plan be requested to send delegates to the next West-Ridin " delegate meeting , for the purpose of making a fresh plan , and for the payment of the expenses of the last plan . " Moved by Thomas Wilcock , West-Riding secretary : — " That this meeting adjourn to the first Sunday in February , 1850 , in the Democratic School-room , Croft-street , Bradford , at ten o'clock in the morning . " Great Chartist Demonstration at Northampton . —On Wenesday evening , a grand Chartist demonstration took place in the Music Hall , commencing with a tea-party and followed by a public meeting , when the spacious hall was crowded to suffocation .
The chair was occupied by Mr . Bates ; and several excellent songs and recitations were given . At about seven o ' clock Mr . G . W . M . Reynolds , who had received a special invitation to attend , entered the hall , accompanied by Mrs . Reynolds , and was received with the most enthusiastic applause . — Being called npon to address the meeting , Mr . Reynolds ' - made a long and argumentative speech in favour ofthe People ' s Charter , and tho necessity of resuscitating the Chartist agitation throughout the land . He dwelt with his usual vigour upon the wrongs of the working classes , and the tyranny of the rich , exposing all the infamous abuses wliich characterise our political and social institutions and showing how the oligarchy regard and treat the millions as their slaves . Having ur « ed upon the audience the necessity of agitating for the rights
and privileges so audaciously withheld from the serfs of this kingdom , and having shown the working men how they were nothing but "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for the indolent , pampered , arrogant aristocracy , Mr . Reynolds proceecled to observe that he invited his hearers to nothing save a peaceful and moral , though firm and unflinching agitation . ( Cheers . ) Hedrewapicture ofthe state of the continent , showing what it now is , and what it might have been , had not the " crowned miscreants" got the upper hand of tho people . But he declared his conviction that the nations would rise again , and that on the next occasion it would be no child ' s play for the foes of freedom . ( Loud cheers : ) Germany was sure to rise within a year ; Hungary and northern Italy would
follow : and France wnnld r \ nt . lvimain JiAIml tollow ; and Prance would not remain behind . ( Hoar . ) Wewerc standing on the era ofmomentous events ; the affairs of Europe , though apparently clouded to the gaze of the superficial observer , were really touching upon that crisis which was built of hope for the lovers of true freedom , When once the ball of revolution should commence rolling over the continent of Europe again , emperors and kings would not fly temporarily , but would be exiled for ever ; thrones would not be merely shaken , but would be upset altogether . ( Tremendous cheering . ) Then the social and democratic principle would receive a fair trial ; and from the banks of the Seine to the waters of the Danube , the true spirit of Republicanism would prevail . ( Cheers . ) Kossuth , Mazzini , and Ledru Rollin , would become
the leaders of European freedom ; and the glorious work would inevitably be accomplished without fear of further impediment , much leas of reaction . ( Prolonged cheers . ) Mr . Reynolds then proceeded to state that the people of England must he prepared to avail themselves of the coming events upon the continent , and take that imposing moral altitude , which would win them their rights . Their ' s would bo a bloodless triumph consummated by peaceful means ; hut the issue would not be the less glorious . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Reynolds then expatriated at great length upon the principles of the People ' s Charter , and concluded a long speech amidst prolonged and enthusiastic applause . —A vote of thanks , proposed by Mr . J , Rymill , and seconded by another gentleman on the platform , was then awarded to Mr . and Mrs . Reynolds , for their presence on the
occasion . NormonAM . —The council met on Sunday afternoon ; Mr . Treeco in tho chair , when the secretary informed the meeting that tho Mayor had granted the use of the Town-Hall , for Mr . White ' s lecture on New Year ' s day . The council then took into
Bradford. — A West-Riding Delegate Meeti...
consideration the new constitution agreed to by the Conference , when it was unanimously agreed to with tho exception ofthe sixth clause . An amendment was proposed in favour of the members electing the secretary , but the clause , as it stood , was ' agreed to . A resolution was then passed for each councilman to bring the subject before the members of his locality . On Sunday evening the members of the Colonel Hutchinson locality ,
discussed the constitution , and every- clause was unanimousl y agreed to . On Monday evening the same subject was brought before the members of tho Seven Stars locality , when it was unanimously adopted . Salfobd .- —A meeting was held at J . Simpson ' s , St . Hope-street , when it was unanimously agreed , "To join the Kational Chavtist Association , as established by' the late Conference at London . " The meeting wag then adjourned to Sunday next , at the same place .
To The Irish .People. . Though Yees Call...
TO THE IRISH PEOPLE . . Though yees call us paltroons , we meruit your dragoons , And we powers out our blood on the battle ' s red plains ; Sure we manyour warships and feed all their Iionhliips , While yees call us barbarians , and horrible names ; There ' s the : ' bloody ould Tims , ' widits threeha ' penuy , . lines , - ; . . ; , , ,,.. . ... : - , v . . ... ,, Md your Paru ^ tat-h ^ mBft ' wldfts ^ on opp ressors ; . mffyo & Boo ^ o ^ aU'WMS ^ Ti ' a y ^ 'Vifceioll quirks , You've stripped us of pothooks , ' eveepens , and ould dressers . - '' p , O'C . Fjxiends and Countrymen , While I am analysing the several points of the much-reviled Charter , it is my . dut y to do so in language that all can understand , and in a spirit that uone can repudiate .
The greatest difficulty against which Chartism has had to contend is the foolish and excitable language in -which its princi ples have been propounded , and the fear with which it has struck the privileged classes ; the expounders of the law explaining it to juries as a wholesale system of plunder , while the affrighted proprietors of every description of property hare based their support of what is foolishly termed , liberal government upon dread of Chartism .
Whenever the Whigs have been out of power , if they have not voted for , they hive defended , Chartist principles ; nay , ever since the commencement of Lord Gre y ' s Reform agitation down to the present moment , the Whigshave held office upon no hotter tenure than popular fury , created by themselves , and when they have achieved power , they have enacted the most sanguinary laws to suppress the expression of opinion .
But , my countrymen , mark it now , and mark it well too , when I tell you , that never was there such an antagonism of classes in Parliament , as you will see next Session . And observe , that this prediction comes from one who has had twenty-seven years close and continuous experience in political matters . In 1822 , I was obliged to fly my country for thirteen months , during the time of the Whiteboy disturbances . . In 1831 , 1 was tried in the county of Cork for anti-tithe agitation . I have been tried in England for Chartism hi 1839 , 1840 ( twice ) , and in 1843 , together with fiftyeight others , for eight days , and in every instance the Crown has appointed a special jury to try me .
I have been immured in a condemned cell in solitary confinement for nearly eighteen months . I regret that the ignorance in which you have been kept with respect to English politics should render it necessary to inform you—perhaps for the . first time—of the suffering and persecution to which I have been subjected for the advocacy of the principles which I am now propounding . My countrymen , during the whole period of Chartist agitation Irishmen have hold the most prominent position . They have been amongst the ablest lecturers , and have always constituted a fair proportion of Government victims . I think this introduction is necessary to convince you of three
things—1 st . —The difficulties against which we have to contend ; 2 nd . —My sincerity ; and 3 rd . —That Irishmen in England , who understand the subject , do not repudiate the principles sought to be characterised as damnable and destructive ; and above and before all , bear in mind that John O'Connell voted for every point of tho Charter last Session of Parliament .
Irishmen , you are not mere slaves in your sea-bound dungeon—you are worse than criminal convicts in a penal colony ; your sufferings are consequences of oppression and misrule , and oppression and misrule are consequences of your disunion ; and my principal aud only object in devoting very valuable time to your service is the hope of establishing a union which will destroy oppression and misrule .
As soon as I have analysed the six points of the much-reviled Charter , I will then write you a series of letters showing the right of every man to be maintained in comfort ^ happiness , and plenty in the land of his birth , and the capability of your land to effect it . I now come to
VOTE BY . BALLOT . Under the present system of franchise , I am opposed to Vote by Ballot ; but in order to show the difficulties against which public men have to contend , I have felt myself bound by duty to my party to vote for it , lest my opposition should warrant the antagonism of any party professing liberal principles . Lord John Russell , Lord Stanley , when a Whig , and many other prominent Reform agitators , declared that one of the chief oh- , jects and the main result of the Reform Bill would be , to place the electors under popular vigilant control . Such an avowal can lead
to no other conclusion than that the voters are trustees , and that the people are the owners of the property , and that , therefore , upon the misuse of that trust , the owners of the property have a perfect right to demand its surrender . To show you that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor , letme remind you that all the members of clubs vote by ballot , hut that ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE . Now , this shows'the difference of the ballot as
applied to Universal Suffrage . Now , let us suppose the number of voters in Ireland to be one hundred thousand—but it is not fifty thousand ; but taking them at one hundred thousand , and the population at eight millions , one in every eighty has the vote . Suppose , then , a club having four hundred members , and suppose five of those , or one in eighty , to have the vote ; do you imagine that tho 395 would long tolerate such a system ? or do you suppose they would allow the five to vote with masks upon their faces ?
The Ballot , with the present franchise , would destroy wholesale bribery , but it would also deceive the people , as all would declare that they voted for tho popular candidate , and no one could refute it ; and thus that popular vigilant control , so necessary to be exercised , would be destroyed . I think I can give you the most perfect illustration of the result of the ballot , with a limited constituency , and which I stated in the House of Commons .
Mr . Stocks , a man in extensive business , and holding a hig h office in Huddersfield , was once requested by ardent and professing friends to allow himself to be put in nomination for a varari office . The contest had been between
To The Irish .People. . Though Yees Call...
a Whig and a Tory ; and one party wishing to divide the interest of the other pvrty , waited upon Mr . Stocks , and assured him that if he stood he would be elected by a large majority . Mr . Stocks acquiesced , the day of ballot arrived , the voters sat round a largo tabic , Mr Stocks' proposer on his right , and his seconder on his left . " There you go , Stocks , " said the pro poser , putting his paper into the ballot-box ; " there you go again , Stocks , " said the seconder ; while perhaps ^ you will be astonished to hear that when the ballot-box was opened Mr . Stocks had uot one si . vclk vote . Now , could any fact more clearly illustrate the deception that the Ballot would give rise to with the present limited suffrage , when you reflect that the LMioim question is the great ques tion which must now he solved , and the majority of tho electors live upon the knavery , the dependence and the disunion of tho electors ?
In large towns , where freemen , as they are called sell their votes for five shillings or half-a-crown , the ballot may be essential , and until a system of repre * sentation based upon the mind and freewill was framed , it might also bo necessary ; and for this reason : because many English masters employ from five to seven thousand hands , and a few of those , lashing their slaves to the hustings as tho Irish slave-owners were in tho habit of using their slaves may neutralise and overpower the free votes of a majority in any electoral district . To conclude under this head , let me assure yon that tho ballot without the vote is the grate mthout the fire , the spit without the hg of nuUton , the pot ivitlwut the potatoes . So much for the ballot , of which-the frieze coat electors and the independent voters of Ireland have never stood in need , as with them principle and character has ever been dearer than money . Now to EQUAL ELBCJOBAL DISTRICTS .
Irishmen , in these days of progress , when there is knowledge upon every passing breeze ; when we are governed by railways , steam navigation , the electric telegraph ' , penny postage , the printing press , and that gigantic monster machinery which has come upon us with a hop , step , and a jump , and which is not yet legislated for , and which maks & ' ihe ^ Ovkvng utt & n ^ theds . F ^ ndoni sJave ^ prai u ^^ i ^ MiP ^^ ' ^ P ^ may he ^ HufdstrmerVto' anyby-g 6 n . e "system ; but when you are still governed by musty statutes , enacted by feudal lords in barbarous ages , I may be justified in doing so . Know , then , Irishmen , that up to tho reign of James the First you had equal electoral districts in Ireland , and that monarch created forty rotten boroughs , whose representatives constituted
more than a third of the Irish parliament so polluted and corrupted by an influx of monarchical tools and toadies , alt well remunerated for then . ' prostitution , was to pass an not to attaint O'A'fal , 0 ' Donel , 0 'Dogherty , O'Calhan , and other princes and nobles , whose estates in Ulster had been previously seized by James ; and that the samo parliament assigned to the same monarch over 500 , 000 acres in Leinster to be divided amongst 'his English followers ; and to show you the effect of such an iniquitous system of plunder , tho Injustice led to the Revolution , and Jt / sixr too , of 1641 . Irishmen , always boar one conclusive aiyl irrefutable fact in mind , thatlRELtsn netkr had a Parliament ; and for this reason : though Catholics could vote , Catholics could not sit in Parliament , where they were obliged to support the tyrant ' s Church .
Let me give you an instance , one which will prove the sincerity and religious devotion of your Protestant representatives . Up to the year 1735 the grass land of the feudal lord was liable to tithe for the support of the Protestant parson ; and what do you think of the Protestant representatives of a Catholic people passing a Tithe Agistment in 1735 , to exempt their own land from the payment of tithe to support the divine trustees of their own conscience . Irishmen , only picture to yourscives a poor forlorn widow , with six desolate orphans , scratching by the road-side for a sufficiency of manure to produce half-an acre of potatoes ; think of r . ) m loyal yeoman , with his red coat , his badge of loyalty , digging every tenth rood of that widow ' s potatoes , while the feudal lord , with his three , four , or five thousand acres laid out in pasture , sheep-walk , and deer-park paid not a fraction .
I may be told that these times are past and gone ; but I deny it . They are differently represented in the magic lanthorn , but the oppression , still continues ; and to show you how men that won ' t feel for others will feel for themselves , when the legal goad pricks them , let me remind you that when Goulbourn's Act for the commutation of tithe threw a share ef the onus upon the landlords , many of those landlords , who had formerly imprisoned , transported , shot , and hung the registers ofthe payment of tithe , were the first to cry cut , when a portion of tho burthen was transferred to their own shoulders , they wero the most violent spouters at public meetings , many as magistrates were deprived ofthe commission ofthe peace ; and in the course of a few years Parliament did them the justice to relieve them of twenty-five per cent , of the burthen , although you are not benefited to the amount of a fraction by the reduction .
My countrymen there is no more important point in tho Phoplk ' s Chartkr than
EQUAL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS . To give you a full-length portrait ofthe absurdity —nay , the iniquity , would occupy more space than I am entitled t ©; however , as the inequality of the English system is equally oppressive as the Irish system , I shall lay the English system before yeuin another letter ; while , for the present , I shall confine myself to an analysis ofthe Irish system . Here it is as regards representatives and population : — Population . Representatives . Antrim 276 , 188 2 Armagh 232 , 293 2 Carlow 86 , 228 2 Cavan 243 , 158 2 Clare 286 , 394 2
Cork 773 , 398 2 Donegal 296 , 448 2 Down 361 , 446 2 Dublin 140 , 047 2 Fermanagh ... 156 , 481 2 Galway 422 , 923 2 Kerry 293 , 880 2 Kildare 114 , 488 1 Kilkenny 183 , 349 5 King ' s County . 146 , 859 3 Leitrim 155 , 297 5 Limerick 281 , 638 5 Londonderry ... 222 , 174 5
Longford 115 , 491 2 Louth 111 , 979 2 Mayo 388 , 887 2 Meath 183 , 828 2 Monaghan 200 , 442 2 Queen ' sCounty 153 , 930 2 Roscommon ... 258 , 521 2 Sligo 180 , 880 2 Tipperary 435 , 553 2 Tyrone 312 , 956 2 Waterford 172 , 971 2 "Westmeath ... 141 , 300 2 Wexford 202 , 033 2 "Wicklow 126 , 143 2 7 , 657 , 070 64 Now , here you have a population of seven millions , six hundred and fifty-seven thousand , six hundred and seventy-nine , sending sixty-four members to parliament ; while a population of three hundred and forty-two thousand , three hundred and twenty-one , send forty-one members to Parliament . Again , the county of Cork , with a population of seven hundred and seventy-three thousand , three hundred and ninety-eight , sends two members to parliament—while the University of Dublin , with a population of leeches , of seventeen hundred and twenty-seven , who live upon your sweat , your blood , and your marrow , sends two members to parliament . But , my countrymen , with your assistance , and God ' s blessing , we will pull down all these temples of corruption , of dissipation , and barbarism—and , in their stead , erect the temple of happiness , contentment , ana peace . Ireland has been our mother , our cradle , our nurse , and our protector . 'Her anxious , heaving bosom , ' has been the pillow of our infancy—she will , I trust , be our grave ; and shall -we not , then , prepare her for our reception—that our memories may spring through her pure and hallowed mould , and long live green in the land of our nativity . Your faithful friend and countryman , London . Feahoxis O'Cosson .
_ <M The Misers Of Yorkshire. To. The Ed...
_ < m THE MISERS OF YORKSHIRE . TO . THE EDITOR OP TUB NORTHERN STAR . Sin , —The minors of the abovo place have , for several months past been trying to unite themselves for their mutual protection throughout the entire district , viz .: Adwalton , Westgate-lane , Neathcrtown , Gildersome , ifcc . & c ., and they now number from 250 to 300 . No sooner did it become known amongst the coal masters that the miners of the whole district were about to send in statements to their respective collieries , asking for an advance of about uvepence per day for dressing their coals ,
< tc ., than they generally agreed to advance their coils to the consumer tiveptsnee per ton . Isow , the miners , generally speaking , are getting not less than four tons per day ; thus while the masters are unwilling to give one fourth part of the advance from the consumer , they will pocket from each man ' s days work not loss than Is . 3 d . The coal masters have lately held a meeting , at which they resolved not te give employment to any miner who may have been discharged by his former employer . G . Brown .
A Unoe And Very Beautiful Gas-Chandelier...
A unoE and very beautiful gas-chandelier has been made by Messrs . Abbott and Co ., of-Gatcshcad , for a mosque in ConstimtinojU .
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. - » - , , , il » > x ^« l \ I ^\ 1 fi ' ^^ I \ i T
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 29, 1849, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_29121849/page/1/
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