On this page
- Departments (2)
- Adverts (7)
-
Text (6)
-
- '%MW { ^o*B*¥B-Wl^i..S"^'l^?..... ,,, ...
-
X-ABOUR'S EMANCIPATION FROM CAPITALIST TYRANNY.
-
THE NORTHERN ' STAR. SATURDAY, MAY 1G, 1816.
-
THE STRUGGLE. THE CONFERENCE.-TIIE STRIK...
-
We cannot forego the pleasure of adding ...
-
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW. The old stereotype...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
- '%Mw { ^O*B*¥B-Wl^I..S"^'L^?..... ,,, ...
- ' _% MW _^ o _* B _* ¥ _B-Wl _^ i _.. _S" _^ 'l _^? ..... _,,, - - - - - - : _¦ _¦ - ¦ ¦ _~ _w _^ - _^^^^ . _i-fl * _1 _«^
X-Abour's Emancipation From Capitalist Tyranny.
_X-ABOUR'S EMANCIPATION FROM CAPITALIST TYRANNY .
Ad00408
" The working classes must resolve no longer to ba the slaves of tbrir own gains , bnt to become tU » ir own Masters . "— lP 2 Kai ) _i Hbmtt THE " STRONG BOOT .. A 2 JD SHOE MAKERS , " in the employment of Mr . Kendall , of Drury-lane , & c , ¦ we re , bj a most gross exercise of the master power _deprived of their _ustoaluieans of existence , merely because they doclined assenting to such terms , dictated " to them , under peculiar aggravating _ch-cumstances , by Mr . Kendall , as none other than slaves or fools could accede to .
Ad00409
_Eia'il-ATIOX TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA . TREE PASSAGE . THE r : _\ _IiERSIGSED ARE AUTHORISED BY IIER _MAJHSTT-S _COLONIAL _T . A _20 _) AXD EMIGHATION COMMISSIONERS TO GRANT A FREE PASSAGE to the above eminently healthy and prosperous Colony , to nianied Agricultural Labourers , Sliepberds , Male and Female Domestic and Farm Servants , Bricklayers . Carpenters . 3 Ia = ous , Smiths , and Miners . The demand for _Lab-jur iu South Australia is urgent , and is _Treli remunerated in wages , provisions , lodging , ic . All particulars will be furnished on application , personally , or by letter , to JOHN MARSHALL & CO ., 26 , Birchin-lane , London : 79 , High-street , Southampton ; or at the Emigration _Tlspot , Plymouth .
Ad00410
TO TAILORS . Xow ready , TEE _LOSTJOX and PARIS SPRING and SUMMER FA . _~~ UI 0 "S 5 , for 1516 . By approbation of her Hajesty i * . ue « n Victoria , and his Royal Highness Prince _Alba-t a splendidly coloured print , beautifully executed , published by BEXJAMVS READ and Co ., 12 , _Hart-Ftreet , BlGomshury-square _, London ; and G . _Berger , * HoiyweH-str . _eet , Strand , London . Sold by the publishers and all booksellers , wheresoever residing . This superb Print will be accompanied with full size Riding Dress and Frock Coat patterns , a complete pattern of the new
Ad00411
A GOOD FIT WARRANTED . "TTBSr-ELL AXD CO ., Tailors , are now making up a _l _* L _x _{ - - ? ' * _-plete Suit- of _Superfine Black , any size , for JE 3 ; SuperS _:- _* " ' . Vest of England Black , £ 3 10 s . ; and the very best _Superfine Saxony , £ 5 , warranted not to spot or change _tcloar . Juvenile Superfine Cloth Suits , 24 s . ; Ltveriei c . nidly cheap—at the Gr .-at Western Emporium , Xos . l anil ' -, O-tford-stre-t _, Loudon ; the noted bouse for good bli-I cloths , and pateit made trousers , Gentlemen can cb . 0 " : £ the colour aud _^ _uulity of clo th from the largest _ru-ck in London , he ir t of cutting taught .
Ad00412
V . _'EST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE . WjcuniB' _-nt of the Spring Sessions for the Trial of Felons . VfOTICr LS HEREBY GIVES , that the _Sraisc IS C _1-S .-3 . H . _Qt-ju-Tj-n Sessioss of thc Peace , for the yr ~ e _± t _Jlhliii _^ of _rlic County of York , will be holden by _adjourniiit' _-t _, nt Bradford , uu _Jtonday , tlie FrightecnOi day Of Say : ~ _t _-. T _' , at Ten o'clock iu the Fotenooil , and by further _adj-iurinncut from thence will le holden in SiiEFFiEin , in Wednesday . Hie Twe , _itietli Day of tlie sanw month of _iU _' . v next , at Ten o'Clock iu tlie Forenoon , FOR TnE TRIAL OF FELOXS AND _I'ERSOSSINDICTED TOH . -M 1 _SDSMS AXOllS , when all Jurors , Suitors , Persons who stand upon _KecognU-Mu-e , and others lniviug _business at the said Siasions _, aro required to _attend tne Court . _ ' ' . _,,. Mis
Ad00413
_THOMJHkS COOPEBi _-TflB _CHAUTISTE works , y To _behad of _Johncleav _^ and all _^ _okseUers . ( Price One Shilling . ) TW ° ORATIONS AGAINST TAKING AWAY HUMAN LIFE , UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES . "Mr . Cooper ' s style is intensely clear and forcible ; it disp lays great earnestness , and fine human sympathy ; and is in- the highest degree manly , plain , and vigorous . Mr . Cooper has evidently expended much time in self-cultivation , and is of a high and noble order oi " jntellect . _—Afbrntno _.-tduei-tiser ..
Ad00414
DAGURREOTYPE AND CALOTYPE . THE APPARATUS , _LBX 3 , CHEMICALS , PLATES CASES , and every otker articl _.-used in making and mounting the above can be had of I . Egerton , Jfo 1 , Temple-street , Whitefriars , London , _descriptive Catalogues gratis . LEREUOUB . S * celebrated ACHROMATIC TRIPLET LENSES for the MICROSCOPE , sent to auy part of thc country at the following prices : —Deep Power , COs . ; Low Tower , 25 s . Every article warranted .
Ad00415
M OKGTAGE AT TJI 1 IEK AXD A-IIALF PER CEXT _JKiyMiO , . 'md possibly moro if required , is ready to be advanced ou Freehold Landed Security , ill England ut the above rate of Interest . Apply to Mr . Hewitt , Surveyor , 11 , Hart Street , Blooms bury Square , Loudon . It is requested no one will make application whose pro posed security is not of tins first-rate description .
The Northern ' Star. Saturday, May 1g, 1816.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , MAY 1 G , 1816 .
The Struggle. The Conference.-Tiie Strik...
THE STRUGGLE . THE _CONFERENCE .-TIIE STRIKE , The just require no better defence of their eause , than thc suicidal opposition of those who would maintain and uphold injustice by the weight of their position and the power of the app liances , unjustly and anomalously placed at their disposal . In support oi this _impregnable position , in confirmation of this indisputable fact , we cannot ofter more conclusive proof than the manner in which the rampant and intolerant masters have admitted the justice of the claims of the building trades now on strike , while they pertinaciously resist compliance with those just demands by the en ' orccmciit ofa harsh , an arbitrary , and , indeed , an ILLEGAL CONDITION . Illegal , because it is the exercise of terror to compel the men
to relinquish a LEGAL RIGHT . Wc learn from the proceedings of thc 186 tyrants assembled at Newton , that thc proposed National Combination of wealth , power , law , and Injustice , has been rendered necessary , not to resist the time or wages terms proposed by the men , which they are ready to accede to , but that the combination is rendered necessary to detroy the legal title of tbe men to combine . The men , aware of thc effect of such a triumph as the voluntary confession of their own debasement and degradation wonld _subsequently have upon the time and wages question , aud feeling convinced that
the first apparently insignificant yielding would he subsequently followed by m ore imperious demands , properly , aud with _liccoiirin _;* " dignity , rejected the debasing terms . The men saw and understood that the invitation to relinquish their National Protection Society was a bait to disband thc national force , in order that the several sharp-shooters may pick up or p ick off the disorganised and retreating enemy at will . The masters profess an anxious desire to arrange and settle the question amicably , NOT FOR THEIR OWN CONVENIENCE , but for the benefit of tho
hands , to SPARE SOCIETY the iuconvenience arising from the contest . And yet , in their accumulative dignity they reject the deputation of workiugmen , without a _knowledge of the proposition they were about to make . They insolently tell them to commit their proposal to writing , and lest their proposal should put them more in the wrong , they dissolve ; meet to gormandize ; and return to their respective localities , with the insolent and supercilious reply , that , as the meeting had separated , no answer could be given . If we require stronger proof f thojroastcrs' ult e r i or Objects than that "Which _, weluvre already offered ,.
The Struggle. The Conference.-Tiie Strik...
is furnished by this inexplicable conduct . A hundred and eighty-eight master builders attend a public meeting for the performance of a duty from which they declare they would rather be relieved . Their consultation is rendered necessary by what they call the oppressive tyranny of the men . They , kind souls . ' seek no advantage for themselves , they are actuated solely by consideration for the misguided men , and with a self-devotion and singleness of purpose , rare , if not unprecedented , in the order of capitalists , they merely interpose as mediators between the refractory idle and the
INCONVENIENCED PUBLIC . Let us criticise them in this benign character , which they have assumed , and . let us ask , if their object was RECONCILIATION , was it not their chief , their most urgent , indeed , their only duty , to hear the proposition that the working-men were prepared . to make , and was not the invitation to send that proposition in writing , a pledge to receive it and to consider it , whatever the response may be . ; but , so far from being actuated by a sense of justice , or even of propriety , they hurry the proceedings to a hasty conclusion , without condescending to discuss the proposition -which the men were invited to submit to the meeting .
This proposition stated , that the building trades were ready to return to work upon the conditions agreed upon by the deputation of masters and men , held under the presidency ofthe Mayor of Manchester . What then becomes of tho complaints of the masters as to the necessity imposed upon them to resist the unjust demands of their workmen , and does not the acquiescence of tlie men to return to work npon the terms agreed upon , clearly aud undeniably
fasten upon the masters the crime of resisting what is just , upon the condition that the men shall perform an act hot only of gross injustice to their body , but humiliating , degrading , and debasing to all who are slavish enough to comply . The advertising press may , and will , belch forth its venom against unprotected labour but we ask them how they can justl y , reasonably , or even logically , denounce the combination of men , while they JUSTIFY , UPHOLD , and APPLAUD the combination of masters ?
The working classes are sometimes slow to see the causes which lead to results , and they may not yet have discovered , that the dread of a consolidated National Union was the sole cause that led to the acceptance of the time and wage terms . As we announced in last week ' s Star , it will be wen that the masters have no objection to LOCAL COMBINATIONS , against which they can successfully contend ; but that they have an inveterate hatred of a NATIONAL UNION , whose strength threatens insuperable resistance to their reducing powers .
From the same _sourcsa we learn , that thc guesses of the Times , upon whicli we commented last week , were-rather premature . That immaculate journal , whose columns are sauctiffsd to truth ' , ani ** whose pages are ever open to the _cempla nt of the indigent and weak , assured us , that s *> many handred out oi those who struck bad signed' the degrading pledge and returned to _wsrk ; that so- many hundred more
had petitioned to _fcc allowed ta write themselves down as _sTavcs ; _thafr the firmness and resolution of the masters had cast terror , despondency , and ' dismay in the ranks of those whose day ' s idleness WAS A DAY LOST TO TEEMSELVES AND SOCIETY FOR EVER ; when lo , a contemporary , , certainly not mere _remarkable for veracity or less inclined to p lant a blow on > Ih ; hour ' s head , informs ustbat of the 1 * 30- joiners- on strike at Maucheater ,
ONLY SIX HAVE MEN INDUCED TO WRITE THEMSELVES- SOWN AS WILLING SLAVES . We shall now proceed to- analyse the _suicidm ' document of the National Tyrant Ao 3 ociation . Employers are so longer permitted to conduct their business as before—are no _longer able to _makjarrangements loith their own workmen—buthavc to submit to the most arbitrary innovations , and tho most dictatorial mandates of the central committee of thc union of trades ,
Thc only answer to this is , masters , thank Gnd , ca » no longer transport their hands , imprison them , beggar them , starve and murder- them , under the guiso of law or mask of justice . Were not the combination laws repealed for the _express purpose of allowing , nay of INVITING , unprotected labour to resist the protected tyranny of employers ? Is not the law , even in its present state , sufficiently stringent ? Have . not wealth ,. assumed justice , and representative power , sufficient odds and advantage over unprotected labour ? And , although the law is now better assimilated to the wants and necessities
of tlio society that stands between masters and men , and which ever suffers from the tyranny of the one and from the weakness of the other ; yet , do wc not find it strained on the justice seat , perverted in tho jury box , and violated upon the judgment throne ? And although the law says combine , is it not upon record that a Judge of the land assigned combination as a reason for TRANSPORTING colliers , whose
punishment would otherwise have been but a short imprisonment , for a common assault ? Much of this address to whicli wc are now referring was written with an ulterior object . It has before now undernone the consideration ofthe PU PAT 1 VB FATHER of the MASTERS and SERVANTS BILL , and as wc were the first to announce the advent of that monster , wc now PROCLAIM UPON AS GOOD AUTHORITY , THAT IT IS THE INTENTION
OF THE HOME-SECRETARY ONCE MORE TO THROW TIIE SHIELD OF PROTECTION OVER CAPITAL , AND THAT HIS RESISTANCE , AND TIIE ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S
RESISTANCE . TO MR . DUNCOMBE'S PROPOSED NEW FRIENDLY SOCIETIES BILL , was based upon this resolution , and offered with this intention . "Employers can no longer deal with their workmen In their individual capacity . The purchaser of labour cannot agree upon terms with tliose who have labour to dispose of , because auother party arrogantly steps in , and possessing an organised power without any recognised responsibility , interferes between both parties and dictates conditions which are as inimical to reason and justice , as they are in themselves cruel to the workmen and insulting to the master .
True , the masters can no longer deal tyrannically with their individual slaves . True , that _tht-ir slaves have now relied upon the mattirer judgment of a governing body ; but it is not true that thc men who arc the governing body are IRRESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTS—they are not only responsible to the law , but they are responsible to a tribunal whose power and whose justice the masters
have never yet recognised , but before whose IMPERIAL NOD wealth , capital , usurped authority , and the law itself , MUST Ol- 'E DAY BEND . Labour has combined , and its combination has evinced its growing intelligence ; in its combination is manifested that dignity for which it contends and without the recognition of it those who luxuriate in its debasement would still revel on but for its resolution to resist .
The result has been , that in many places , rather than enter into a conflict wilh ihe union * , contractors have had to submit to demands the most arbitrary and humiliating . In some instances , the entire control and management of their business have been taken out of their hands , inflicting upon them heavy pecuniary losses , and in other cases Involving contractors in absolute ruin , and such has been the extent to which dictation has been carried , that firm and unyielding resistance has become a necessary duty , unless the order of things is to be inverted , and the employer become the slave and thc tool of the workman , directed as the latter is by a secret tribunal , Which exists by forced contributions , wliich reigns by terms , and whose principles are repugnant to every notion of British liberty .
FALSE , The decrees of the association are not tyrannical ; its decrees [ are not sustained by forced contributions ; while , if it has inverted that unnatural order of things wliich compelled the PARENTLABOUR to submit to tho harsh decrees of its on ' spring— CAPITAL , it has but practically brought into operation the benign and holy injunction ot * the fifth
commandment" HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER . " Have we not here the insolent admission that the old order of things was the cringing of the parent to tlie child , the prostitution of all manly feeling to necessity , injustice , and caprice . ?
The Struggle. The Conference.-Tiie Strik...
hows of labour , or to abridge . " _** : es have been advanced , five classes . On the contrary _wajj . , _/ _j the workmen the hours of Iaboar have been _leiaeuen , ,, gjon 0 f minor have their privileges increased , by tbe _cuBC _.- ncrjfice on points which have onl y caused a pecuniary Ptbe part of the masters . Oh most sanctified , most unblushfeg _falsehood ! Have you not hovered over your prey like the pitching hawk ?| fHave you not spared above yonr natural position , and outof your legitimate element ? Have
you not jumped from your clogs into Spanish leather boots , from fustian into broad cloth ? from the taxed cart into your carriage , from the hod into your _gorgeotitJ saloon ? and landed from the cold flag and rustic chair upon the Turkey carpet and easy couch by your filchings from labour , your restrictions of comfort , your abridgment of amusements , and your paring " down of wages ? In proof whereof cannot your class sustain [ a struggle in IDLENESS , which is starvation and all but death i to those upon whose industry you have lived , and by the abridgment of whose rights you have unjustly accumulated hoards of wealth . '
The association is founded for self-defence , and if it has to take up au aggressive position / it will be forced to do so by the acts of the operative unions ; and , under such circumstances , its members will be prepared to act in unison and with vigour . The association is founded upon afgressive not upon protective principles , and it will evince no vigour , no resolution , no strength that shall not be met by equal vigour , resolution and strength upon the part of associated labour , Nay , BItAVE AND CONFIDENT TYRANTS , we tell you to your beards that the hour has come when _Jaeoui * has
commenced its battle m earnest ; we have long laboured to unite it in this holy struggle ; its potency is , aa you are obliged to confess upon every passing breeze , the very air is redolent ot its sighs of wrong , its songs of liberty , and its resolution to be free ; the warm breath of indignation wafts this noble resolution to every hamlet , town , and village . It erectsits . standardin every resting-place throughout the known world . It has justice upon its side , because its battle is for simple right . It is the struggle of newly acquired knowledge against exploded ignorance , of justice against injustice , of right against might , of freedom against oppression and misrule .
That a committee be now formed , for the purpose of drawing up rules and making arrangements for the extension aud consolidation of the association j and that such committee shall have power to appoint a secretary who shall be a solicitor of standing in hia profession ; and to call in his aid in theforination of the laws by which the association shall be governed .. And that the association "SHALL HAVE
POWER TO APPOINT A SECRETARY WHO SHALL BE AN ATTORNEY . " Aye , when * ' Greek meets Greek then comca the tug of war . " Yes , brave gentlemen , strong in jour loag purses , and confident in the mazes and labyrinths of your own mysterious laws , _, if you _driveVlabour from the open battle-field into the law ' s ¦¦ cock-pit , " _weTl _' meet you there , and beat you too- upon your own chosen ground . The law is a game that the people hate recently learned that two can play at , and jyour co-tyrants underground have been _taoght a lesson which those upon i earth may be compelled to understand .
We conclude our comments on tMs- unnatural warfare by the repetition- « f our hopes that the forthcoming Conference will consist of * men-of nerve , men of judgment , mea of thought , and men- of courage ; men who in every way will have sigit to see what _pronmcs to be the result of the struggle ;; _mea who will not abandon t'he ' vantage ground filiafc _the-scatteved f orces . o f struggling labour haw so nobly _achieved for their class-. Every delegate enteringthat Cbnforence should be QUALIFIED b y » handsome contribution frem the - trade he represents togo _iia-aid of those who bave so nobly maiatained the struggle Again wc ask for the programme ; again we- tell the directing body that the-government of the capitalist is waiting the result : of this Conference _to-deoide as to whether or not there is- safety in the introduction of another and more-stringent
MASTERS AND SERVANTS' BILL . We cannot close our observations-without holding up the spirited " conduct of the trad _* * s of Dunrobin Castle as an- example worthy of imitation , and in compliance with whose manly appeal we cheerfully publish their letter . It will be seenthat they court no secrecy , but that , ** on " the- contrary , they request publication of their names , as- hearty volunteers in the cause of Labour—a request for whieh we thank them , and with whicli we cheerfully comply : rejoicing tbat our humble endeavours in- last week's Star to place the struggle in its-proper lig ht has been productive of such a generous response—a response whicli we trust will be imitated throughout the length and breadth of the land . Dunrobin Castle , May Sth ,. XSiO .
Sin , —In troubling you at present with this our enclosed mite for remission iu support of thc turn outs in the building trades of Liverpool and Birkenhead , we are well aware that we are taxing your already over-tired exertions in our ( the oppressed working , classes ) behalf , y « t , relying on your good will towards us , as wo hope you will excuse us when we inform you that we have no other alternative left us , we not having- the address of the parties with whom we thus sympathise , and having seen by the Liverpool Mercury that our present employers have been sympathising with , the
wouldbe tyrants , as also invoking the interference ol" government , find it our bounden duty to do the same in behalf of our tyrannised fellow-workmen . Although we are nut members of any union , still we hope the day is drawing nigh when each working man will feel himself _ag _|* rie \ ed at tho maltreating of his meanest brother ; and should you deem this note worth its room in our own paper , and that it would be an inducement to other localities to go and do likewise , it would much oblige the undersigned masons , tie ,, at Dunrobin Castle , by its insertion ,
s . d . s . d . Geo . Allan , mason - 8 0 James Forsyth -. 10 Geo . L : _irgne , blacksmith 2 0 Hubert Wilcox -. 10 Hubert Ross , mason - 2 0 William _M'Lcod - -10 . lolm Greenhill - - 2 0 Adam Morrison --10 William Goodfellow . 1 0 Charles Campbell . 1 0 Alexander Storm- - 1 0 John Fraser ---10 John Henderson - - 1 0 William Gunn- -. 16 Alexander M'lutosli- 1 0 Adam Ross --. 10 Joseph Falconer - - 1 0 Robert Ferguson - -10 Alexander Campbell- 1 0 William Wilson - -10 John Davidsou --10 Alexander M'Gilvary 1 0 John Logan - - - 1 0 Hugh Murray . . _» 1 0 Johtiliurnet ... 2 0 Alexander Sutherland 1 0 James Martin- -. 10 Joseph M'Leod -. 10 William Wilkie .-10 Alexander Murray -10
Donald Munro - - 1 0 James Bowie - . . 1 o James Storm - -. 10 Alexander Reach . -10 William Smith - - 1 0 George Wheir- -. 10 Daniel M'Kenzie - - 1 0 Alexander Murray -10 James Jack - - - 1 0 William Grant --10 David Itoss - - - 1 0 Donald Sutherland -10 RobeitM'lSeath - - 1 0 Robert Sutherland . 10 Hugh Falkouer - - 1 0 reter Dumbrock --10 Thumus Campbell - 1 0 William Smart --10 Alexander Alexander , ( I _, _ 0 William Cumming -10 John Falconer- - - 1 O Hubert _Jlellis - -. 06 David Sinclair- - - 1 0 Robert _Jtnkins --10 Donald M'Lean - - 1 0 William Anderson . 1 0 _L-. iuglilin Gordon- - 1 0 James Cumming -10 John Sutherland- -10 John Rhiiid ---10 Henry Grant - - - 1 0 Gilbert Itoss ---10 John Mearns ¦ ' ¦ 10 Robert _Mathcspn- - l 0
, £ 3 10 o Deduct for Order 006 Amount remitted £ 3 9 6 To F . O'Connor , Esq . . Geo . Allan . There—wc say to all who are ranged upon tho side of struggling labour— " do likewise , " and the triump h is yours .
We Cannot Forego The Pleasure Of Adding ...
We cannot forego the pleasure of adding the _. _following letter since received . Please to insert tuis in the Stab , IiEicESTEii . —The joiners from seven shops in this town met on Saturday night , at the Pelican , when I in . 'reduced last week's < Star , and after reading the Trades ' Movement , and especially the strike of the building trades uf Manchester , the meeting cheerfully subscribr j . £ 2 18 s . for the men on strike , and further agreed to mr , _- j _, a weekly subscription and to solicit the building tr aue < . generally to co-operate with us , to assist our M & no' negte _^ brethren in their present struggle for tho rights of iauoui , and we elected a committee of nine to adopt bv c i as will render the men the utmost assistant * * as lo _™™ thc strike continues , B Z . _ASJVjiL _, JOINEK .
We Cannot Forego The Pleasure Of Adding ...
_tV Vff _? ti £ , Aai Oh ERIjN , Bounding beyond the narrow limits within whieh ordinary phraseology circumscribes the _palicy the _SrSnSi ™ ° f P _» rt y > ' _^ e-consideration of ME O'BRIEN'S easei _^ _&* _&;*& _¦& _^ ive held of argument ; induces us to fling policy and tactics to the wind , and to measure it in all its bearings by tbe standard of princi ple . When one of the community is oppressedthei
, whole of society is insulted , and if the injuiy Is ! not aven g e d , society suffers from its own tame submission to wrong . Inthepracticalcarryingoutof this just principle , it behoves society well to inquire , strictly to investigate , and jealously to examine what has been the offence of the accused , what the consequence of the act to society is likely to be ; if injurious to punish him , and if not to spare society that damage , whichever results' from injustice , although but practised upon an individual .
In this new , and without at all strengthening our case , by the peculiar position in which society , under most peculiar circumstances , placed O'BiSien , let us consider whether he has committed an act for which society could suffer damage , or , upon the , contrary , whether from his act society is not likely to be the gainer . We confess that we owe an apology to _scciety , and especially to Ireland / for this logical , this hair-splitting method of dealing with our subject . While our own feelings , our own just , indignation , would lead us into a very different line of argument , we nevertheless calculate upon the damage that
overzeal may inflict upon a cause , to the advocacy of which O'Brien s present position may add incalculable strength . The speech of Mr . _Ambcander Mo _CiRTnr , member for the City of Cork , was a poem \ it traced Irish wrongs and her submission / but not her surrender , from the earliest period of Saxon usurpation down to the moment when he , one of ber spared race , stood upon the Saxon floor denouncing English injustice ; ' but in hia person proclaiming Irish vitality , and Irish resolution , to struggle not only against the perpetuation of wrong , but for the restoration of usurped rights . Who could read the page of Ireland ' s poetic history as unfolded by the honourable member , without coming to the conclu-1
sion that for centuries the cause of war had existed between thc two countries , and that Ireland but sought the fitting , opportunity of throwing off the chains that galled her , the rivets that bound her , the laws that coerced her . And who had led and trained the poet and young Ireland to these national conceptions ? Who had been most vigilant in watching and proclaiming Saxon embarrassment , and Ireland ' s opportunity ? Who had invited the Irish to sole reliance upon their own strength , their own energy , and their own appliances ? Who had described the Saxon Senate House as a place unfitted for the discussion of Irish grievances , and the Saxon parlia - ment as an assembly incapable , because unwilling , to do justice to Ireland ?
Who had marshalled the mind of Ireland for the very warfare that Tub O'Bkieit has waged against her Saxon oppressors ? Who considered himself more powerful in the dungeon than in the field of action ? And upon whose energy , whose courage , and devotion , did he rely for the support of Ireland ' s cause , while he was held within the meshes of the Saxon _htw ? It was the Liberator , and now how changed the scene . Now we behold the willing volunteer , She self-devoted , the sacrificed martyr , dragged like a common felon by a Saxon tipstaff from amid his Irish associates , and lodged without a struggle in a Saxon dungeon .
We throw" away our _cautions We ffkg prudence , philosophy , and logic to the winds , and instead of calling the Saxon- part of the House tyrants we can designatethe Irish- section as nothing less than traitors . Now , after * fortnight ' s suffering , _we-ask what ¦ has O' Brien- done that is calculatedto inflict an in j ury ' upon Ireland or upon society ? _Helias acted in compliance with his leader's admonition .- _He-Jlas acted in accordance with the proud _feelings-cf , an- insulted foreigner struggling for his country ' s- regeneration . He has acted in-strict accordance with-his- oountry _' s command—in strict compliance with-his- country ' s necessity . And for this , the man who justly reigns in the hearts of liis countrymen , is a dungeonedvictim in the stranger ' s land .
: Nevertheless , let Ireland be of good ' heart ; trifling ; circumstances ,, circumstances more insignificantthan the incarceration-of one of her chiefs-, have led to important results aforetime , and may again . And as-we write with more-independent _feelings-because lesstramelled than our Irish contemporaries ,. it becomes our duty to improve this , rireland ' s opportunity , and to make the insult * recoil upon her oppressors ' - head . To this end we have-anxiously _scanned'the tone of the Irish press , and we rejoice to find that * it ; like tlie Irish , but sought the opportunity- of transforming a trafficking agitation into profitable organization . Still we see-a-delicacy , and not an unnatural one , which stands in- the way of thos * who have been crimped into an unwilling service and used _fon * unprofitable warfare .
Wo tell these guardians of Ireland ' s ' rights , theso sentinels in Ireland ' s battle , that approval of O'Brien does not mean censuye of O'Connell—that delieacy to one is not only injustice to the other , but treason to their country . The question is-between Ireland and her- oppressors , between right and wrong . If Ireland is right , O'Brien is right * _; and if O'Brien is right the valiant ' 82 club , that is the House of
Commons section of it , is wrong for having tamely submitted to the indignity offered Ireland through O'Brien . Oh , quoth prudence , would you have them revolt ? or what would you have them to . do- ? We answer , something , leaving to tho chapter of accidents what that something may rosult in ;; but certainly not to have allowed the leader of the opposis ' ttion to Ireland ' s Imprisonment Bill _to-bomade the victim to their leader ' s subseiment policy-.
Ihe time has now come when-the improved mind of man is prepared to hear truths without feav ofi giving offence , and to that end it becomes our duty , and a painful one it is , to analyse the history of Ireland for tho last sixteen _yeat-s _,, commencing with t 5 _* period of 1831 , when the Tithe _agitaiLon was fostered as an auxiliary in the battle _fou- Whig reform . In that year Ireland had virtually , W not actually , abolished Tithes . Her- legitimate-ftenzy , roused * to
madness by Protestant ascendancy and clerical Injustice , | had proclaimed that Ireland's HA ' . EK" 33 D OF TITHES SHOULD-BE AS LASTJJBG- AS HER LOVE OF JUSTICE . The means of abolition was complete , because the- Catholic aaind . was united . A sufficient number of martyrs had beta made , who cheerfully _suffered in Ireland ' _s- struggle . Lord Plunkett lisped a word of hope in the Lords , and the Liberator disbanded the anti-tithe army .
Ilis desertion was the signal for Saxon vengeance , and we , amongst others , stood at tho- bar of justice for rendering obedience tc his will . In 1832 ; Ireland made such a manifestation-of her strength , through her newly-acquired electoral power , as astonished the world , and would have secured her complete independence-had it not . beeu for the desertion of her leader . The CathoKe tenantry resisted all intimidation , aad offered their . - every interest and every comfort , a willing sacrif _, cc at the shrine of Irish liberty . Thousands wore _ejected from their little holdings , but still held fast ., uy t _* promised protection of domestic _goruni _' dient and release from Protestant tyranny .
WE WERE FORTY-TWO . In 1 S _?* . 3 we met the Saxon parliament , and made mighty battle against the tyrant majority . Ireland ¦ war j of our numerical weakness , felt confident in _ww union , our courage , and our resolution . "We had o \ _ie and all pledged our lives , if necessary , to those " who were ready to sacrifice theirs for the acquirement of our power . This was the first parliamentary power placed at the Liberator ' s disposal . During the session he coquetted with every question , and would have damped the rising hope of Ireland by abandoning the repeal . He juggled with ministers u p on t h e Tithe q ue s tion , and offered to sacrifice the people for the benefit of the landlords . His policy was not to interfere _j-j English 0 r Scotch _ques-
We Cannot Forego The Pleasure Of Adding ...
ition , or any Irish _qUeStioKib B « _pealTnd _^ [ TO MENTION THAT , ' NOj _- In _I _^ again , fa coquetted with the government upon the _lifle question , and overruled the _resohj tions of repeated m _^ iorities of the Irish Weinberg " Inl 83 i we had the debate Upon the ' repeal , and ' although defeated , as was anticipated , Ire l an d ' case was proclaimed to the world , and the facte and eio . quence of her _advocates' administered " Jcomfprtable hope to Ireland _.., After our defeat _.- we c a rrie d ' Dun . garvanbystormi" In 1835 , after our defeat at the
general election , Ireland affirmed her previous re . solve by the return of her little band by larger _majMities , and , undismayed , she yet hoped on ; Inl 835 COERCION WAS A BOON TO IRELAND ' Ireland wanted a Corporation Bill that menials might fatten oh the plunder . The English bill was io h are been the text for Ireland ; the Lords damaged the Bill in their House , and Dominick Konayne , member for Clonmel , gaye . notice of a motion wliich would have tested _, the Whigs , but , in his own language O'Connell forced him to withdraw it '
In 1836 , the Liberator in his ietters to Lord Dancannon , advertised to barter Ireland for patronaee In 1837 the little band of Repealers was reduced to comparative insignificance by the truckling policy of sinking Kepeal at the general election in erder to give strength to the Whigs . From / that period to 1839 , the question ef Kepeal was placed in abeyance , lest its agitation might embarrass the Whig govern ' ment , Seats held in trust for Ireland were bartered for patent places . Christopher _Fitzsimon , the
_sonfo-la-ff of Mr . O'Connell , Sir Nicholas Fitzs i mon Morgan O'Connell , the Liberator ' s wm , Charlea O'Connell , the Liberator's cousin , William Finn , the Liberator ' s brsther-in law , _O'Dwyer , the member for Drogheda , with many others , wero transformed from Irish Repealers into Saxon place-holders ; -and thus , while Ireland was toid that the House of Commons was the place to figb . 6 her battles , her means of straggle were annually diminished , until at length there is but the shadow of the party left to struggle- against her oppressors .
I « 1839 , when the English people hoped to unite their Irish brethren in a struggle for the liberty of both countries , THE _FRIEftD OF FREEDOM ' offered to place FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND FIGHTING IRISHMEN at the disposal of the "BASE , BLOODY , AND BRUTAL WHIGS " for the overthrow of English Chartism . But , thank God , it has lived and beaten both- —the Whigs out of office , and the Liberator out of favour . It was a handful of raw Irish boys under Sergeant Daly , an Irishman , that shot down the valiant Shell and others at Newport in their struggle for" liberty .
In 1840 , the Whigs got weak , and again the standard of Repeal was raised , and again became powerful In 1841 , Ireland had another opportunity of registering her determination to be free , but _theyoice of Repeal was stifled ' . at the general election- by the truckling policy of "Keep the Tories out . " From 1841 to the present hour , the same _description of effeminate vacillating policy has been pursued in- the Irish councils , oscillating between Repeal and Federalism , between Catholic strength and Orange co-operation , between _"Whigs-and Tories , Ireland and her oppressors .
We have had the year when the repeal was to come , * aa sure as yonder sun would set , ' we have had the clinching year , we have had the preliminary year of _tranquillity , we have had the now it is coming year , we have had twelve years- since repeal was mentioned in the house , and in the twelfth year , as : a reward for Irish devotion , Irish confidence , and Irish _^ _rodi-ralge-jerosii _/ , in return for all the suffering , for all the broken hearts , and nearly a million of money paid to the Liberator and his staff wMrin that period we have ejected ' tenants mourning the * waat of protection , we have unwilling emigrant ** - _leaying the land an unpeopled wilderness , flocking in thousands and tens of thousands from their natSvc shores- to bid adieu to fatherland in despair after life _s-straggle of
seeing the hope-that they have paid for realized . We-have seen the affirmed opinion of a : nations submitted for reversal' to a paid committee . - We- have seen-opportunity- - after opportunity allowed' to-slip away . We have heard of the proffered * co-operation of Irish bone and ! Irish sinew to fight- against the American Republic if the promise of justice- shall only be made . We have heard of the "" glorious , pious r and immortal memory" of the great and good King William beingdrunk by the Liberator _^ _hvthe Boyne- water once red witK'the _bloed of his slaughtered countrymen- And after the possession of _' so much power for _solong . a . time ; we turn to the Statute-Book and ilookin vain for an act or a clause emanating fremthe Liberator calculated to confer one-singlebenefit upon the Irish people .
Here-then is a catalogue-of _amission and commissioa - Here is a _milliott-ofmonejpaid . Here is a nation , the-- bra-vest and- most devoted upon earth , and after sixteen years- of struggle and suffering her reward is a desolated land , made a wilderness by the expatriatioa of _thouaandsand tecsof thousands , and the incarceration of the lineal descendant of that race of Irish * Kings , in whose b loo d , as M'Carthy toldthe house , ran , and in- whose breast still beat , . the strongest aspirations for the restoration _ofhia-country's rights .
xet _,. notwithstanding : this mournful catalogue , Ireland must _not-despaii' . The elements of _regene--ration are in her , - she requires but their proper direction—not the direction in which a _pi-ostitutepilot , or a time-serving pacificator _,, or a knot of hirelings would" lead . her , but to that point to whieh _hei aspirations _tand—to that goal to , which her .- longing ; mind . has been so long and so anxiously directed . Honour to the city of-the violated treaty ,, her sonshave spoken out like-Irishmen ! . Honour to the _Repeal press _t Honour to Young Ireland ; and honour to the-Irish . people : they have _administcred ' _. comfort _. to
fcho captive ; they have huried their- indignation against his oppressors - . and their language , though cloaked and guarded , says , " ( _XBRIEN _.. T HE HOUR HAS-GOME ! Ireland , though long juggled , is now Avith you . Your mind is Irish , your heart is .. Irish , your thoughts are Irish , aad your bands are clean and unpolluted by . the price of your country _' _s-degradation . If you hesitate you . are lost . Through you Ireland expects her redemption . _i " ou . are apon the _veige of a great abyss—your hesitation alone cau
plunge you into its dspth . Through van , such an alliance may be formed- as will easure yom * country ' s greatness and an immortality ta yourseii * not less enviable than that which belongs to him whose honoured name you , bear . O'Bkikx , yoa . must call _riaind you men of character , devotion , and coiwuge ; men who prefer _Iseland to aVL the world beside *; . mea who will _neither sell her rights , nor tarnish , their own fame . Do this , and you , swim upon the _eiw current of flowing popular opinion ; hesitate , ami you sink to rise no > mose ! "
While we honour O'Bkikn for bis sturdy stand against his country ' s enemies , we do not desire to see their triumph magnified by his _pi'olonged incarceration ; and the mode of lessening the _yalue of the Saxon victory is by accepting the Chiltcm Hundreds , throwing himself once more upon his > generous constituents , and abandoning , and / or- «¦«• _g , contest for Irish liberty in a Saxon Parliament . Ireland will receive him , and know how to _appre- > ciate him .
Parliamentary Review. The Old Stereotype...
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . The old stereotyped arguments for and agains Free Trade have occupied the _coUective wisdom in the early part of the week . On Wednesday the adjourncd debate on the Ten Hours' Bill was resumed , and we confess that the arguments used by the _friendes ot that measuve , _ftiidthe sophistry with wliich they _vrere met by their opponents , lead us to strongly liope for a favourable result . Tho great length t which we have reported proceedings connected with . thc Trades Movement , and tho copious report ; we bave given ofthe debate , forbids and _rendew _unne _* cessary any further comment for the preseut _thau a strong recommendation to the toiling class to i _^ d and judge for _vUejuselY 8 . s ,
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), May 16, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_16051846/page/4/
-