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TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS. I
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"Onward and" we conquer, Backward and we...
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y :/K 4^^^^m : J^^^
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AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL. y :/K 4^^^...
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j J | VQL. XI. No 569- LONDON, SATURDAY,...
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NATIONAL LAND COMPANY. We give the follo...
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ADDRESS OF THE EXECUTIVE TO THE PEOPLE. ...
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Dm-FORD.—The Chartists of this locality ...
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VvT I
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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To The Imperial Chartists. I
TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS . I
"Onward And" We Conquer, Backward And We...
" Onward and" we conquer Backward and we fell ! jag _JEOHiE'S CHASTER . ASD HO STOTtEHDERl " M t Fbiekds , These are the times to try men ' s souls . I have evaded the pursuit of the cunning and m alicious enemy , aided by their staff of spies , detectives , informers , and seducers : and , when
the reign of terror commenced , I told you _^ at one man at liberty was wortk a thousand in the dungeon ; and now , to prove to you that I have not preserved my liberty in v ain , or j merely from a regard to personal safety , but ' that it may be devoted to your service , it is my pride to infom you that , at great personal inconvenience to myself , it is my _intention-once more to rally tbe scattered forces of Chartism , as I swore , when vou accepted me as a present from Mr O'Connell , that I would prove myself worth your acceptance .
In 1839 , when the middle class had shaken the Chartist movement , and when Scotland furnishedits share of traitors , I told the Scotch people in Dundee , that if they were routed on the hill top , I would muster them on the hill side * that if they were scattered on the hill side , I would rally them in the valley ; and if they were dispersed in the valley , I would rally them in the river . I told them that if ihey lent themselves to deluders , who were then amongst them establishing secret societies , a reliance upon physical force , and instructing the people in the mode of
communicating sedition and conspiracy with invisible ink , that the confiding would become victims to these treacherous rascals—that they would be the first to desert them , and the first to betray them ; and that I did not form wrong estimates of their intentions , was proved by the fact that the man who disgusted the Glasgow Convention , and whe was the founder-of this secret conspiracy and correspondence , and who had drawn largely on my private parse , was one of the first to desert , betray , and sell the Chartist cause to middle-class demagogues And , my friends , always bear the fact in mind ,
that tbe more desperate and damned is tbe character of an influential person belonging to the low party , as it is called—the more valuable is he to their opponents , and the more certain is he of employment in their service . ; The Scotch people must recollect the tour made by Attwood , Muntz , Douglas , Salt , and Collins , in the same year , and they must recollect their words , their acts , and their object ; they must recollect that the Glasgow committee proposed to invite me , but that the middle-class bagmen objected ; they must recollect Collins ' s words , spoken at a
large meeting ia Birmingham , before he started on his tour—namely , "That the course for the people was forcibly to arrest the magistrates , the officials , and the aristocracy in every neighbourhood , and retain them in eustody until the Charter was carried j" they must recollect that Muntz and Douglas travelled with a sample of cheap rifles , and openly boasted of having established rifle clubs throughout Scotland . They must recollect that Attwood ' s object was to secure support
for his one-pound note princi ple ; that Muntz ' s object was to recommend himself to his townsmen npon the strength of popularity ; that Douglas ' s object was to make profit of the " Birmingham Journal , " and that Collins ' s object was just what he achieved , the establishment of himself in a bacon and butter shop , upon a loan from his new associates , and with a prospect of their custom , and that the general object was to destroy Feargus O'Connor and the " Northern Star . "
Now , that was the first time that the Chartists ffere ever be ' rayed into any expression in favour of physical force . It was discussed in the first National Convention , and the proceedings ef that body are still upon record ; and , at hazard of my popularity , when it was mooted in the most bombastic manner , in the most exciting times , and by the most enthusiastic speakers , I invariably set my face against it , and oi all the delegates who advocated physical force in 1839 , William Eider , Richard Marsden , and Harney , are the only three who hare remained firm to the cause of Chartism ; and who , I believe , have long since discovered the folly of measiuing questions bv other men ' s
enthusiasm . Then came the torch light meetings , and
"ARE YOU READY TO GO AT IT _, LADS ? if yoa are , tuck up your sleeves like me . " This I heard a gentleman say at a torch-light meeting at Oldham , who now denies it . Then came the recommendation of drilling and training at the Halifax Theatre , showing the people how to walk in rank and file , without jostling Lord John Russell if they met him in the streets , and which I violently denounced .
Then came the proposition of the London Delegates , to refuse the payment of rent , rates , and taxes . Then came Dr Taylor s chemical process for blowing England up with water . Then came Parson Stephens's sermons ; and , mind you , 1 am only repeating what has been printed and published , and discussed at public meetings . Then came Peter Buzzy and his two-pence a head charge for hearing his letter read to the Convention in his beer house ; and then came the tiansportation of Frost , Williams , and Jones—Peter Buzzy having assured Frost that he had a hundred thousand armed men ready to take the field at a moment s notice .
Then came tbe sacred holiday ; then came the secret delegate meetings in Yorkshire ; then came the reasonable [ enthusiasm of the men of _Dewsbury ; _thentcame persecution , prosecution , imprisonment , destitution , and death . I am now taking our movement chronologically , and we will see what has been the result ; who have been the sufferers , and who have been the gainers ; what tbe effect hasbeen , and what mv course was in each transaction .
' Every man of the Birmingham party who represented their townsmen in the Convention , has become the bitterest enemy of Chartism , as renegades always do . Every man of the Cobbett party who was elected to the Convert tion has deserted us , except George Rogers . Every man of the London party who represented London in the Convention has deserted us , except Henry Hetherington . Every man who advocated phy sical force in that Convention has deserted us , except Rider , Harney , and Marsden . And , witbont an exception , the deserters ha ve one and all feathered their nests , and have become our greatest enemies . Now , who can deny this ? And now for the charges brought against me , and for the manner in which I met them .
While I was upon my trial in July , 1839 , the Convention wentmad . The exchequer wasnearly empty , and all wishing to take advantage of the enthusiasm , in order to make a stock in trade of it , propounded the most ridiculous , the most atrocious , and the most deceitful resolutions ; and a long string of them were adopted nearly unanimously . Upon my return , I saw the object of those resolutions . I was met by all but the country party with a scowl and a frown ; and am ongst the deceivers there was but one feeling , and that was one of disappointment —and that was , that being foundguilty at York , iudemen t was not instantly passed . I found WCarpenter , the editor of " Lloyd ' s , " with
gword and blunderbuss , as the arms ot Chartism , titting in the chair , and I sat mute till I heard what all had to say . I heard the resolutions read , and I thought it the most prudent course to take another night to consider , x did so , and upon the Bert morning I proposed the appomtment of a committee to reconsider those resolutions ; I proposed eounter-reselutions ; and finding that an emptv exchequer had produced a full has of wind , I also proposed the prorogation o _. the Convention , and , after astormy discussion , the resolutions were rescinded—mine were dopted-and the Convention was dissolved ; acommittee being ; appointed to eat up the fragments , call the Convention together
"Onward And" We Conquer, Backward And We...
again after the sacred holiday , and the resolutions which I submitted to that provisional committee , and my opposition to the sacred holiday , and the cause of my opposition , are still upon record . Those gentlemen upon the committee received six guineas a week , and as soon as the whole corps was disbanded , every man who had been unused to work , and had become disgusted with labour by receiving six guineas a week for seven months , became my bitterest enemy ,
In Scotland I was denounced , and I went to Scotland . In Carlisle I was not only denounced bnt threatened / If I dared to go there , I was there in twenty-four hours after , was gloriously hissed and hooted when I made my appearance on the stage—the streets , the entrance to the Theatre , were all crammed to receive the traitor ; one man upon the stage attempted to stop me , but a little physical force brought him to his senses . 1 positively stood alone in that vast assembly . I made proclamation for my accuser , and summoned him into court , but he had absconded . I spoke over two hours , and concluded amid enthusiastic applause . I received a general apology , and the generous people exultingly accompanied me to ray hotel .
I then came to London , and Major _Benowiski , as the representative of a very large meeting—held , I think , at Lambeth—sent a delegate to me demanding 500 / . to carry on his movement , and my answer was " to go to the devil . " When the Convention was broken up through Us exhausted exchequer , every delegate who was arrested demanded the moneythe remnant of the sack—to defend himself , and pay for his witnesses ; many got large sums but employed no counsel . I should state that in the midst of the enthusiasm in Birmingham , when the Convention adjourned there , and when we heard that in the north all was terror
and conflagration , 1 postponed my visit to Blackburn , and left Rochdale in the dead of the night , after a pubUc meeting , to be in Birmingham , well knowing tbat my absence , although pledged to he at Blackburn , would be made a charge of cowardice . I attended the Convention the following day—I went bail for Dr Taylor—I drove to Warwick for him , through the Warwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry —the Parson-Magistrate refused to take bail for bim at that hour , because he was in bed ; I sent for Mr Collins , tbe member , secured his release , left Warwick at eleven o ' clock at
night , amid the jeers and hootings of a set of shop boys and middle-class ruffians ; 1 arrived at Birmingham at one o ' clock in the morning , not a soul would give me a bed , and I was obliged to start by the mail-train for London . Well , when the torch-light meetings came I attended every one of them . The meetings at Bury and at Wakefield were to take place on tbe same night . I learned that the Cobbetts , Stephenses , Ricbardsons , and the whole clique were to meet at D . Fletcher ' s house , and , building upon my absence , were to denounce me . I got out of a sick bed , went to Bury , to tbeir
great mortification , was the first to mount their platform and was the first to address the people , and was the most loudly applauded by the people . Shortly after I went to Manchester and was about to return to London , when two deserters called upon me at my hotel , and told me that the men of the north were ready to come out , but would have no other leader but me . I told them that whenever I intended to take the field I would take care to be in the Cabinet to be a party to the arrangements—that I would be one of the " Senates Consultwn "—that I was aware of
the delegate meetings , got up by Peter Buzzy , and that his injunction to all was that I : should know nothing of the transactions , and that , therefore , they should go to General Buzzy , as Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief . They replied , that "if that was my resolution it would be dangerous for me to return to _Yorkshire , as the Dewshury men were determined . " -- Then , " said I , " I'll return to [ Yorkshire to day and meet the Dewsbury men . " i did return to Yorkshire . A large deputation of the Dewsbury men called upon me ; thev denounced the traitors that had
deceived them ; they informed me of the whole plot—that Buzzy shammed Abraham , went to bed and pretended to have the rheumatism ; that a stout fellow went up to him with a case of pistols , when ] Buzzy replied , _"Gs for Feargus O'Connor now . " "No , '' said the man , " You villain , it was you that brought us out , and you told us that he was to know nothing aboutJt . " He jumped out of bed , forgetting the rheumatism , and ran behind a sack
of flour , and when the affair was communicated to his dupes , the Dewsbury men met , and then resolved that they never again would embark in any scheme of which Feargus O'Connor was not cognisant , and , thanks be to God , the men of Dewsbury , as good Chartists as there are in England , have never since been entrapped , and I went to Dewsbury after and was joyously and heartily received by those who were taught to believe that I had betrayed or deceived them .
Well , the epidemic was general , it ran throughout the country , and I was actually dared to come to Preston , all upon the question of physical force ; I went to Preston , however , and triumphed there as I had elsewhere . And now we come to the result . I was the first that was tried in York in July , 1839 , upon the following charge—for having published tbe following extract , from a Wiltshire paper , in the Northern Star : — _«« WaaxutsTEB , Bastilb . —A . little boy , last week , for gome small oSence , was confined in one of the cells belonging to the above workhouse , and was literally starved to death . The _poer little fellow during bis confinement , actually eat , In consequence of hunger , two of his fingers and the flesh frem bis arm . "
Now , that was the whole charge against me , and for that offence I was treated to a special jury , and I was convicted as a matter of course . I was to be called up for judgment in November ; and in such cases , with judgment hanging over a man ' s head _^ it is the practice to abstain from agitation in the interim ; however I took my seat in the Convention immediately after , and the Birmingham affair subsequently occurred . I was to be sent to prison in November ; in October I went to Ireland , to sell some property to pay my paper-maker a large bill , and to pay other
debtors , who were pressing me in consequence of my conviction , and in order to arrange my affairs . While I was in Ireland , I attended gome large public meetings , and expounded the . Chartist principles , and upon my return the Buzzy revolution had burst out in Wales . I went to Huddersfield , —I went to Manchester , —I went to Oldham , —and I cautioned the people that a government spy was abroad with placards to be posted in Lancashire and Yorkshire . That spy did come to Mr Heywood in the dead hour of the night with his posting
bills , and was very properly sent off with a flea in his ear . He did go to Huddersfield , and attempted to entrap Mr Pitkeithly , and this was the very man with a glazed hat , who was the spy of the Newport magistrates ; who had created all the excitement in the bills ; whose name waB so often mentioned upon the trial , but who was never forthcoming . For the defence of those men I paid 1 _, 0 G 0 _J . outof my pocket before a penny was received . I se * cured the two ablest counsel in England— -both members of Parliament , Sir Frederick Pollock and Sir Fitzroy Kelly ; I sat under the dock
"Onward And" We Conquer, Backward And We...
during the whole period of the Commission , until every man associated with them was tried , and each defended by counsel . Well , that ' s not a course that an accomp lice would be likely to pursue ; and yet these rascals , who betrayed Frost and his associates , have the audacity to attempt to palm their treachery upon my shoulders . Well , in 1840 , 1 was tried again , and I should observe that ,
hotwithstanding this judgment hanging over me , I went to an out-door meeting at Sheffield , which was proclaimed by the magistrates , the military being in readiness , and enthusiasm at its height . I went to that meeting , and 1 walked through the town with a vast assemblage after I had addressed them ; and I was obliged to start in tbe middle of the night , as not a host would give me lodgings .
Well , in 1840 , I was tried again , and was treated to another special jury , the Attorney-General of the Whigs , Lord Campbell , attending in person to prosecute me , and mark what I was tried for—for the publication of two speeches—the one of O'Brien , and the other of Dean Taylor : of course I was convicted . But did I then separate myself from the Chartist cause ? On the contrary , after my trial at Liverpool was postponed , f < tr I was to be tried there again in April , and without a farthing in the Exchequer , I remained with Mr Clarkson , aiding htm , taking care that all should have counsel , and paying 851 . in one sum for traverse fees .
Well , you remember tbe informers that appeared then . Harrison against the Bradford prisoners , the very man who had led them on , and a reporter at Liverpool—and , had I not paid 23 / . 8 s ., and the travelling expenses of some witnesses to _MrjfjClarkson—a debt incurred by one of the Yorkshire prisoners—he threatened to turn informer , and hang all the Bradford men—and this threat he repeated three times—and , let it be borne in mind , that , at that period , those men were to be tried for High Treason . Now , my friends , I wish you to bear these facts strongly in your recollection , as from them I am going to deduce two . GREAT
FACTS . The one is , that the " poor gentlemen , '' who are too proud to work , and too poor to live without wages , have ever been the greatest enemies of the working men ' s cause ; and the other is , that your confidence in a leader must ever be based upon his prudence and his courage . With regard to the first fact , I need only state , that every man who did not belong to the order of labour , and who was incarcerated in 1839 and 1840 , sought to make merchandise of their martyrdom upon their release from prison , and their stock-in-trade was
abuse of Feargus O'Connor . With regard to the _second fact , I do not think that your confidence in my prudence would have been strengthened , if I had made a fool of myself—nor do I think your confidence in my courage would have been increased , if 1 had placed my life or my liberty in the keeping of misguided enthusiasts or base informers . The best refutation that I can offer to those who would charge me for having excited the people to physical force for my own gain , is ,
Firstly . —That , although well watched in the most exciting times , and although the subject of taunt by traitors , the Government , though well disposed to . ' trap me , has never ventured to try me for a word spoken or a word written by myself—and , as to the charge of gain , if I had sought to make merchandise of principle , I might have been one of the most courted of the aristocracy , one of the best remunerated of the middle classes , but not respected by the working classes ; and they have been from the beginning , and shall be till tbe close , of my career—be it short or be it long—the especial objects of my solicitude . I have now mapped out for you the history of
Chartism , during its advocacy by the middle classes in 1838 and 1839 , and I think the dispassionate reader will admit that , although the middle classes constitute the jury class , and although there is no law in England for me , that I have not gone out of the way to the extent of injuring my principles from the power of the one , or the sycophancy of the other . And , I dare say , my Oldham friends will remember that Mr Peddie _, one of those convicted at York in 1840 , openly avowed upon the platform , that he was offered 300 / , a year and a good situation by a Government official , if he would put the rope round Feargus O'Connor s neck .
I have now shown you what traitors , spies , deserters , and informers , effected for the Chartist cause in 1839 and 1840 , aud I will now come to the next move—the outbreak in the North of England in 1843 , That outbreak was created by the Corn-Law League turning out their hands . The times were not only threatening , but dangerous . I need not have gone to Manchester , because if I chose to avail myself of the excuse , I was editing a daily newsdaper , enlisted . in your cause , gratuitously .
But I did go ; and I was the last of the Convention to leave , and my acts there are before you ; and what again was the result ? Wh y , that I was tried , with fifty-nine others , for eight days at Lancaster , and the three informers—the one a reporter of my own , the other a Secretary to a Branch and a Delegate to the Conference , and the other a working man , who was taken out of the workhouse to lead the people on—were the witnesses against us .
Then I come to the last emeute . But , in passing—as these things cannot be too often repeated—let me also remind you , that just before the trials at Monmouth , and when spies were abroad in London , two men , professing Chartism , called upon me at Hammersmith , at nine o ' clock at night , and told me that it was determined that I should be at such a place at twelve o ' clock that night , to aid a fire brigade tbat was to set fire to that locality . I thought it odd that if the message was genuine it should be borne by strangers . So I replied , " 1 shall certainly be at my post , " and rung the bell , and when the servant came in , I said , "Robert , go and fetch me two policemen "and my two FRIENDS scampered off as if the old gentleman was at their heels .
The next subject to which I would draw your attention , is my complete answer to those pettifogging hireling scribes who would starve if there was not pen , ink , paper , and prostitution to live upon , and who have the insolence and audacity to talk of Feargus O'Connor creating excitement to make profit of bis newspaper . Now , pray mark my answer to these minions . Firstly . —When the "True Sun" advocated your principles , and when its exchequer was empty , I edited that paper gratuitously ; and before railways were generally established , and when travelling was expensive , I made a tour
with Mr Luddy—at my own expense mind—to get up the circulation of that paper . In 1842 I made an arrangement with the proprietors of the " Evening Star" te edit that paper gratuitously , if they would advocate the Chartist principles- I edited it for nine months until it turned Tory , Upon one occasion I paid 1002 . out of my own pocket to procure stamps for it . It furnished what no other evening paper ever yet furnished , three and four columns of reply to the articles in the morning papers of that day . I never made a tour , nor did I ever in my life at a public meeting puff or advertise the "Northern Star . ' ' nor would 1 allow others
"Onward And" We Conquer, Backward And We...
to do it in my presence , but I did make a tour to puff the " Evening Star . '' I then devoted my whole time to the *• Evening Star , '' and neglected the _"Northern Star , " thinking that the fresher the news the better for my party . I sent reports of my mission to the "Evening Star , " but not to the "Northern Stat , '' and I received letters to this effect from Mr Hill , the editor— "The ' Evening Startsplavingthe very devil with our circulation . ' ' I received similar letters from several agents . When I commenced to edit the , f Evening Star , the circulation of the " Northern Star " was 13 , 810 . Now you shall have it in the first month of my gratuitous service , and in the last month—you shall have it weekly : —
1 st Week of 1 st Month .. 13 , 810 2 nd ditto ditto i 8 , S 0 O 8 rd ditto ditto .. „ ., 18 , 050 ith ditto ditto .. „ ., 12 , 959 1 st Week of Last Month 9 , 410 Snd ditto ditto .. „ ' .. 9 . 300 8 rd ditto ditto .. „ „ 9 , 090 4 th ditto ditto „ .. ., 8 , 860 Then the " Evening Star , " on the 4 th of February , 1843 , came out as a Tory paperwith the Bible , Crown , jand Sword on a cushion , as the arms of the State—and the fop of an editor , in a _leading article , writing these . words , "Who dares open his mouth , when Royalty condescends to speak . " Well , then , you _shattJiave the following month ' s circulation of the " Northern Star" after I abandoned the
editorship of the "Evening Star . " 1 st Week „ .. „ ., .. 9 , 085 2 nd ditto » „ - 10 , 600 3 rd ditto .. „ .. „ .. 11 , 300 1 th ditto ,. _.. h n _« 10 , 345 Now , then , can there possibly be a more complete , a more conclusive answer to the scurvy vermin who live upon prostitution , and who , nevertheless , dare to charge me with editing a newspaper for profit ? And again , let it be borne in mind , that I stated at the commencement of the French Revolution that a
friend of mine had offered to place 1 , 000 / . in my hands fer the establishment of a Daily Paper , and that if a sufficient amount was subscribed in shares that I would discharge the duties of editor gratuitously , * and I promise you that such a paper as I would have made that , would have speedily sent the " Northern Star '' out of _existeace . It would have been the property of the shareholders , and not my property . You would have had the earliest
parliamentary news , and other intelligence , and _notonesingle prosecution , if I could have communicated with you and the Government daily , would have taken place . And I now tell you what I offer ; if the working classes and the trades are prepared to establish a Daily Paper , they may manage their own finances , I will be the unpaid editor and manager , and would speedily render the " Northern S tar" _unnecessary .
- My friends , again I tell you that your principal security lies in my being YOUR UNPAID SERVANT . A word as to the repetition of the old system of spying and informing , and I have done . I have traced it from 1839 , ' 40 , and ' 42 , and now I trace it to its recent exhibition . You have Powell in London , and others whose names will shortl y be mentioned . You have the following from the "Manchester Times , " of Saturday last : —
Ambbhbnsiok ov TmiiTr Ohabtists at Ashton—On Wednesday last considerable excitement prevailed in Ashton , in consequence ofits becoming known that thirty persons connected with tha ChartlBt body had been apprehended in Ashton and its nei ghbourhood dating tbe previous night . Early in the morning the market place in front of the Town HaU was crowded by persons anxions to hear the evidence which would be adduced against them oa their being brought up . After the usual petty sessions business had been gone through , the whole of the prisoners were _, irraigned , when they gave their names , Thomas Tasaker , John befton _, John Wild , Charles Kelsall , Thomas Winterbottom , Jobn _ttech , Thomas Leech , Moses Leigh , William Moss , John Smith , Richard
Shorrocks , Thomas Latimore , James Wrigley , William Parker , Richard Sill , Samuel Sugden _, John lee , William Hewitt , William Shepley , Bobert Farnworth , - James Thomas , Thomas Poltitt _, Robert Plant , Thomas _Williamson , John Taylor , Thomas Greenwood , Thomas Hunt , Thomas Hurst , William _Broadeent , and William Plant . The evidence adduced against sixteen of the nnmber was given by two of the prisoners , Wm . Broad _, bent and Thomas Williamson . It appeared from the statement ol Broadbent that he was lieutenant in No . S division of the 4 th section of " National Guards" for Dukinfield . The _prisoaers met at his house , and on the night of the murder at Ashton several of his men came ' according to appointment ; those who did not come he went to fetch
ont of bed . Several of the misguided men so brought into the scrape were prisoners against whom the witness was swearing . In answer to the questions put , witness stated that it was agreed that they should all rise through _, _butfthe country to get the Charter . After they had met , they proceeded towards Dukinfield Hall , armed with pikes and other weapon * . Witness then left them and went home . Witness ' s wife and Williamson spoke to the fact of the prisoners meeting on the night of . the 14 th of August , identifying tbe whole of them excepting Pollitt and Taylor who wero discharged . The whole of the others were committed to Chester for trial on the charge of riot and unlawfully assembling , & c , Jobn Patimore , William Parker , James Wrigley , Thomas Tasaker , John
Sefton , Thomas Winterbottom , and Thomas latimore , were then charged with being . accessories to the murder of police-constable Bright . Mr Newton , chief constable , stated that he was not fully prepared with evidence against the prisoners , and he asked that they might be remanded for a week . The application was acceded to . R . SiU was charged with conspiracy . He was remanded till this day ( _Saturday . ) Thomas Hunt and William Winterbottom were committed for conspiracy , bench warrants having been issued against them . The parties committed were ordered to give twenty-four hours' notice of bail . Such waa the crowd which surrounded the Town Hall , that it was judged expedient tehave the military and special constables in attendance .
And you have the following _^ fact from a most respectable man , and an inhabitant cf Oldham , who communicated it to tne at Bromsgrove , on Monday last : —¦ "Before the meeting of the Manchester , Oldham , and Ashton men , which was to take place at Manchester , a man of the name of ¦ ¦ , from Reyton , attended a large preliminary out-door meeting with the butt of a large horse-pistol peeping above his coat , and to which he exultingly pointed . He denounced the coward serf who would not be prepared to establish his liberty with his life , if necessary . He commanded all who were dissatisfied to procure pikes and other arms , and tbat he would lead them on , and denounced all as cowards who held back . "
To use the language of my informant , " His speech was most horrid . '' " Was there no one , " said I , "to muzzle him . " " God bless you / 'he replied , "his language was so fiery that it drove the people mad , and it would be dangerous for any man to oppose him . ' ' Now , you have not yet heard the finish of this system of spying and turning approver , either in England or Ireland , but the facts will be soon developed , and then , as in 1839 , 1840 , 1841 , and 1842 , you , my friends , will ex
claim , " HOW THE DEVIL DID THE RED CAT ESCAPE THE TRAP ! " and then I shall be overpowered with votes of thanks and confidence , for I am resolved , however disheartening the times , that while 1 live Chartism shall never die . I am resolved to fight persecution b y open and avowed speaking and publishing . I am resolved not to allow the folly of others to lead my judgment captive , or the treachery of others to jeopardise my principles by threatening me with danger , —nay , with assassination , if I do not
subscribe to their madness and folly . If my injunctions had been followed , not a Chartist would now be in prison , not a farthing wouldbe required to spend upon lawyers , nor in the support of victims—the cause would have been stronger than ever ; but seeing the events that took place in Europe , and making allowance for excitement and enthusiasm , and being sincerely wedded to my principles which may be summed up in the " Emancipation of Labuur ''— -I will not desert my order in its hour of weakness , nor shall I urge the folly of others as a justification for abandoning _ajcause in the hour of danger .
"Onward And" We Conquer, Backward And We...
Next week I shall publish my tour , com . mencing at Aberdeen , as I wish to kiss the hallowed spot where majesty left its footmark , and I shall aleo state the conditions upon which I shall attend any and every meeting : —A committee of good men and true , consisting of seven _Teterans interested in the cause , shall draw up the programme and no man shall be permitted to turn any of our meetings into an illegal meeting * and , strength ened by legality , and standing within the narrow limits of the narrowed constitution , I will neither comn . it you , your cause , nor myself . Your faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connor .
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And National Trades' Journal. Y :/K 4^^^...
AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .
J J | Vql. Xi. No 569- London, Saturday,...
| _VQL _. XI . No 569- LONDON , SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 16 , 1848 . m . J _&^ _y _^
National Land Company. We Give The Follo...
NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . We give the following very able , critical , and searching article from the "Manchester Times" of Saturday last , as illustrative of the manner in which the accounts of other Companies as well as the National Land Company , have been systematically kept ; and we merel y ask what the judgment upon Mr Feargus O'Connor would have been if the Select Committee had made such a report of the management of the Company ' s : finances ? We would also call the attention of the members to the letter of James Orange , taken from the " Nottingham Review" of Saturday last , as an illustration of other Land Companies—the high anticipations held out in their prospectuses , and the slight condemnation—or rather no condemnation at all—that they receive at the protecting hands of the " Birmingham Journal" and the confederated Press of the empire , while the National Land Company , that held out no such prospect ** , has become the stock in-trade of prostitute hirelings : —
GROSS UISHANAGEUENr OF THS PUBLIO TAXES . The report of the Select Committee on the miscellaneous expenditure is very voluminous , but It contains a vast body of information relative to the mismanagement sf our financial affairs , and shews the necessity for a thorough and searching investigation into the fiscal de . partments of the state and how imperative is the demand for financial reform . The utter negligence with which every department is superintended—the absence of all adequate check or control over tbe disbursements—the loose manner in wbich the public funds are dealt with in all directions , would be positively incredible if it were not authenticated by the » ost palpable evidence and the direct admissions of the public officers themselves . Of course nobody is ree . _ponei . ble ( or this wholesale system of mismanagement . We
find the audit office so far in arrears with the public ac counts that when the Commissioners of Woods and Forests are oalled upon to give an account of their books and their doings the * are necessarily obliged to admit that tbey cannot , bicadsb thus accounts have hot bbbh aoditid fox tbe la « t tek tiabs I What bave been the coniequences of such gross mismanagement ! Why , that an organised system of plunder has been carrying on for years in the royal Forests — that timber has been regu » Iar ' y sold offthe Forests for private benefit—that fat deer have been abstracted from the royal property and sold in the markets by those to whom tbey were entrusted , for tbeir own particular benefit , whilst it has been shown that her Majesty has been regularly charged for the deer used at the royal table I For these frauds several persons are now in gaol-but they . aro subordinates 1 The great malefactors have been allowed to resign their
places and quietly to retire irom the searching inquisition , The whole system of bookkeeping , bookkeepers , treasurers , auditors and comptrollers , is really disgraceful , and demands a radical reform throughout . To begin with the very heads of these departments — the Lords _Commissioners of the Treasury . We have a first Lord of the Treasury with a salary of _^ 8 , 000 per year , four Junior Lords ( one of whom has _resigned , ; at £ i , 2 oo each , the Chancellor of the Exchequer £ 5 , 090 , and two Secretaries ut _^ 2 , 500 each , which , with the clerks of the establishment , cost us , out of the taxes , . 433 , 100 , exclusive of other items . Yet we are told by C . JB . Trevelyan , in the report of the Select Committee on miscellaneous expenditure , 'tbat tbere are many things , such as the periodical revision of the Revenue Establishments ; the revi . sionofthe system of inc me and expenditure in _different
ofBces , 8 uch as _thejBoard of Works andthe Commissioners of Education in Ireland ; the Board of Woods and Forests in Eagland ; the expenditure of prisons and hulks , and many other matters of that sort , which ought from time to time to be looked into and revised by the treasury . ' His argument is that they have not officers sufficient in the treasury department to do the work . In point of fact the affairs of the departments of the revenue are so grossly mismanaged , that the Select Committee have been obliged to commence the great work of Financial Beform by placing on their minutes the following resolution , moved by Or Bowring : — < That in order to give effect to a proper system of Financial Reform and _Retrenchment , it is necessary tbe various sums not paid into the Exchequer , and wbich , for the year ending 5 th of January , 1847 , amount to £ 7 , " 04 , 438 lis 71 d should be paid into the Exchequer and
be placed under tbe direct control of Parliament , according to the recommendation of tbe _Commistionera of Public Acconnts , in their report of 1831 . ' Here we have a sum ef seven _millions of money raised in the shape of taxes never accounted for to parliament ; never . revised by the Lords of the Treasury ; nor recognised by the Chancellor , or controlled by Lord Monteagle . Can it be supposed for a moment that Lords of the Treasury do their duty to the public wheH they allow the government officials in the Customs , Excise , Stamps , and Taxes , PoBt-ofnce , and Crown Lands to disburse seven millions of money , with no one to revise their establishments or control their accounts ! And yet such is the fact . In the Customs the sum of £ 1 , 650 , 290 6 s . 6 d . was thus abstracted from the gross receipts in 1816 . 7 ; in the Excise , that fruitful source of vexatious annoyance , the sum of £ 1 , 020 , 083 3 s . _ljd . was paid out of the gross receipts in their passage to the exchequer ; in the Stamp
department , £ 16 , 1 , 830 18 s . 2 d . ; in the Taxed , including property and income taxes £ 364 , 00116 s , lid . ; in the Post office , under the reformed rule , £ 1 , 105 , 520 Is . 6 f d . ; in deductions from pensions and salaries , £ 93 16 s . lud . ; and in that splendid jobbery the Crown Lands , £ 332 , 615 2 s . 8 jd . ! nil which several sums are supposed to be expended in collecting tbe said several taxes , but in IB : b a manner tbat the Select Committee are suspiciously inclined to believe Parliament ought to be acquainted with it , which C . E . Trevelyan , the indefatigable ( according to his own account ) Secretary to the Treasury , states the Lords of the Treasury don't Inquire Into for want of time . Yet these taxes , seven millions in amount , are squandered amongst officials in the various _dtpartments without any ) control . Not so with the seven millions raised for tbe relief of the poor , and controlled by locil boards . These millions must be con . trolled by a board of Poor Law officials , with tbeir erratic auditors of Poor Law Unions , coating £ 182 , 000 per
annum . Again , look at Ireland . We are told also that the Lords of the Treasury cannot attend to the revision of the system oi income and expenditure in different offices , such as the Board of Works and Commissioners of _Education . Is it possible that tbe £ 1 , 625 , 000 voted for the relief of the Irish , to be expended In public works in that country , or the £ 4 , 989 , 000 voted for local works In Ireland , under the act of 9 and 10 Viot , e . 107 , _« r the £ 20 , 467 voted for publio works in Ireland 1847 , £ 3 , 700 for Kingstown Harbour , or the £ '* 7 , C 28 voted fer salaries and expenses of Board of Works in Ireland , or the £ 100 , 600 voted to the Lord'Lieutenant for education in Ireland , and many other similar sums can really be expended in Ireland without ths control of the Lords of the Treasury * Such is the fact , and the consequences are that the taxes so voted pass uncontrolled through the fingers of
the various officials who have the disbursement of them , and that parll » ment has no knowledge whatever of them beyond voting for them in the lump , at a mere formal committee of supply . The Board of Works in Ireland , —including that eld standing job the Shannon Navigation ftche-ae , the Drain _, age Commission , and the Fisheries Commission , —is governed by five _Commissioners with salaries of JEl , 0 ? 0 per annum : Col . Jonib , ( chairman , ) Mr Mulvamt , Mr Badcurve , Capt . Ltbcoh , and & Hr _Qmvjitbb _, —the latter doing the valuation business for which he receives three guineas a day . Now the labour of these Commissioners is to superintend the spending of one million in the employment of 751 , 009 people , representing a population ( see quest . 4 , 9391 of 3 . 00 M . 000 , and let the followiw * evidence
show how they stand : — Q . 4 , 894— ' fs not one of the duties Imposed upon tbe Board a regular return of their accounts aud expenditure for audit !'— 'Yes . ' Q . 4 , 895— ' Are you aware that no accounts have been rendered to this ( audit ) offioe !'— 'Yes ; the accounts are very much in arrear !' Q . 4 , 897— 'Does not the 4 « th 8 eo . HI ., 0 . 142 , make it imperative upon all public acoountants _, within three months after the close of the year , that the accounts shall ba rendered !'— ' It does ; but the Commissioners were not aware that such was tbo fact / Q , 4 , 898— ' Can you state up to what period the accounts of the Board of Works at this moment are in arrear P' They are very considerable in arrear 1 *
Q . 4 , 902—* Inasmuch as the Shannon Navigation _accounts are TEN YEARS IK ARREARS , when was tbe attention of tha Treasury first called to the fact !'— « In the year 18121 ' , „ q " _ifiit— ' What steps were then taken by the TreagKry V— 'Injunctions wero sent to the Shannon Commissioners te bring up th , ) arrears of their aooounts , ' n , 4 0 _U- ' Hare there been considerable frauds en the Shannon Commissioners V — _« YES ; there was one very large iraud committed by Mr Mason , the accoun-Q . 4 , 915 . — ' To what extent did the public suffer by that fraud _!' - « BIGHT THOUSANu POUN » S !' _Q . 4 , 919 - ' Can you state during whet period this fraud was transacted without observation V — ' For several years . I believe SIX YEARS . ' Q . 4 , 920— ' if the accounts had , been regularly rendered , according to the requirements of Parliament , and regularly audited , such a fraud conld not have been carried on for so long a period !'— ' Certainly not . ' Certainly not . Hero we have it recorded , before a Select Committee of the House of Commons , that this
National Land Company. We Give The Follo...
vast expenditure of public taxes Is wholly uncontrolled ,.. the accounts unaudited for ten years past , —frauds cola _, mltted by those who wore appointed to watch over thn acconnts , and other gross neglect of public duties and mismanagement , —and yet Parliament in its blindness could go on yoar after year voting supplies to carry on this Shannon job , out of English taxes , without any refer ence being made to tho subject of this gross mismanage _, ment .
FRJEHOLD I . AND FOR WORKING MEN . To the Editors of the Nottingham Review . Gentlemen , —In a recent number you refer to theopa rations ef the Birmingham Land Society , in that town , Worcester , and Coventry ; will you permit mo to make a few brief observations on this deeply Interesting subjeet , that your numerous readers ma } be the hotter en * abled toforma correct judgment , than otherwise they might be able . Communications were exchanged between this emc and Mr Scholefleld , M . P ., and other gentlemen ef B i ffliBgham , at the time of its formation , and it is probab that a land savings' bank would have been _iiBtituted a Birmingham , if the legal privileges and oxemption under which the Nottingham institution was fortunate established , had not by a reoent act ( 9 and 10 Vic . e . 2 been withdrawn . This unhappily being the casa , no ao presented itself under which the Birmingham gentlemen
could establish themselves but tbe old building club act of 6 and 7 William IV ., cap 32 . They no doubt thought that they ceuld have been enrolled under the noma acta as the Land Savings' Bank , and I believe actually commenced , but whew the case was submitted to the govern . ¦ aent official , they found out the mistake , and were therefore compelled ' to have recourse te an aet , the provisions of which may be made exceedingly advantageous tomon ofcapitul , who , as members , are enabled to obtain enormous profits from members in less fortunate _eirejmstances . I have paid some attention to the acts passed pr « _- _fessedly for the encouragement of industry and providence the objects are most excellent , but some of tat provisions are execrable , being framed by capitalists who originate both building clubs and money clubs , both of which in principle are identical .
The expenses of most of these building clubs _are eno _mous , and this at Birmingham forms no exception . Th charge for secretaryship alone appears to be one-lwelft of the entire amount of their weekly subscriptions . The finable offenceB are so multiplied that no one can calculate theloBsand ruin that might be Inflicted upon poor members by them . I have a copy of these rules now lying before m « and the thumb-sorew system of fines is ample enough under ordinary ciroumstances to yield golden profits to those members who enter far interest oi money only . The proportion of fines may be estimated at net less than £ 16 per cent , on the deposits of the poorer members , yet everything is said t » be sold at prime cest , In these clubs it is legal to charge an usurious interest for lent money , which under any other circumstances would be _a-ranal offence . 6 and 7 William IV . c . 82 . _s . 2 . .... .
The expenses , including fines , to the poor man may , in net a few instances , _reach thirty per cent ; and the average profits that thereby are put into tbe pockets of toe monied speculators , I should put down at fourteen per cent , per annum . As the public-house money clubs are now extensively detested , it is not unlikely that building clubs and land clubs will be adopted by the same class of usurers , on a scale quite as extensive as the former , as the modus operandi are the same , they may be , and ara worked to the same amount of profit , and the loss and ruin entailed by them on poor families , equally extensive and deplorable . The secretary of the Birmingham society boasts of their society purchasing land by the acre , and balloting allotments to members at a charge of about £ 19 each , wbich they are enabled , he informs ut to let on lease at annual rents varying from 55 s . to 65 s This is delng wonderfully well for the allotment landlords , if true , and but ; in 4 ifferently for the tenants of these lots , which scarcely average half a quarter of an acre eaoh j perhaps when the rent-day comes , soino of these allotment tenants will be non est _iiiMti t _** . The
Birmingham society is said to number 1 , 700 shares taken ; out of these 195 members have been accommodated with their Allotments . As the weekly contribution is only is . 6 d . per share , these 195 fortunate members have only paid £ i 14 s . each for a real property which the secretary affirms they can let on rent for—say £ 3 per year . The poor raan cannot pay any sum weekly for objects so remote from the requirements of himself and family as the purchase of laud or a house . He can scarcely calculate the losses to which he unconsciously exposes himself by entering one of these land or building clubs . There it , however , a chance that he may have an early draw , in wbich event ho thinks he can sell for several pounds that for which he himself has only paid a few shillings . That is the snare ; and it is sufficient to enlist gamblers . These clubs always open with a full compliment of members , many of whom join for the mer purpose of being eligible for a few of the first bat lotings . I am , Gentlemen , yours obediently , Jambs Orange . Land Savings' Bank , Nottingham , Sept . 6 .
Address Of The Executive To The People. ...
ADDRESS OF THE EXECUTIVE TO THE PEOPLE . Fsllow Couhirtueh , —The sittings of Parliament have just oloied , and tbe total inadequacy of oar present representative system , is once more made manifeat to the semes of the moat obtuse of our fellow _citixarjB . Comment on the' aota of the pa _? t sea * _bioq would be a useless wa ° te of time ; the fact that the ministers of the day can only felicitate themselves ; on their success in oarrying eoercive measures for Ireland , after a protracted session often months , ii
clearly characteristic of our political government . We would remind them , however , that it is an easier matter to conquer than to rule ; tho prompt and ready exercise of concentrated military power , may for the time overawe a starring people , but can never conduce to wise and practical legislation ; the true end of all political government should be the preservation and prosperity of the members of the Btate , and not the coercion of one portion of the community by a section of the residents of the same realms , which , if wisely controlled , must have an unity of interest , and so near as the gradations in _knowledge and circumstances will allow , an unity of feeling and
actios . The people are starving—the middle classes bordering on bankruptcy—the rich trembling from fear--winter , whioh to the poor means horror and death , is at our doors , and what is to be done ? is the query asked by every thinking man . The Whigs have proved their inability to remedy the accumulated wrongs ot the people of theBe Isles ; a falling revenue —an inoreasing debt—a starving people—growing pauperism—an imbecile ministry—a short-sighted and unmanageable house of representatives—are fit subjects for reileotion _, and will become a fertile source of declamation for party politicians of all grades and shades , for the next six months .
We look forward to no social amelioration of the condition of tbe people for some time to como . We have long seen the coming storm , and have asked the privileged and powerful to take warning , and ohange their thoughts on the politioal and sooial relations of this land . We have done so in vain , and now , when the storm has come , we are prepared to take our part in the midst ofits tumult and strife ; and as we have pleaded the _saoredness of yonr rights , — urged your olaima for the franchise , through good report and through evil report—inefficiently it may have been—but on all occasions Binoerely—we call upon yen , the veritable Chartists of Great Britain and Ireland , to buckle on your armour ia the cause of humanity and justice ; to stand by the Charter
and no Surrender . Your demands are not extravagant or unjust , —they are as moderate in their relations to theapirit of the age as they are humanising in their tendency and true in themselves ; and any measure of parliamentary reform short of the People ' s Charter will be no settlement of the question ef tbe suffrage , nor at all likely te prove beneficial for the interests of the majority of the people . Private benevolence , however _liberator grants of money irom the legislature , can do but little to roller * your pressing wants and necessities even for tht present , and nothing for the future ; for until suoh time as your institutions politically , and yourcir . oumstanoes socially , are changed and improved , the great majority must continue to remain the starved paupers of to-day , to become in due time the over *
worked slaves of the propertied few . The storm that ia already gathered and must soon burst , may be of much value for you and th ? interests of the cause for whioh you have so long and se nobly struggled . You must , however , to be successful , pursue your course with _oaution , disoretion , and reason , basing your claims with society on the justness of yonr cause , —we _sbj to yon , then , be discreet , but be firm—be cautious , but be true to your _Binglenets of purpose . Never vote for any measure , or support any party , who do not at onoe , and frankly too , support the principles of the People ' s Charter . Interested and ignorant men have _misrepraaeiite ! your objeots , and wilfully maligned your motives , but if you be wise as you are _honeBt , you will _gsiij even from their insults and contumely—and the
injury dons will reooil back , aggravated a hundredfold from a knowledge of its injustice , npon the heads of the aggressors . We call then upon tbe local leaders of England , Scotland , and Walts , to set their houses in order , and prepare for the winter campaign ; let committees be formed in all the towns and villages where they do not already exist , and those already in existence _mu ; t endeavour to extend their sphere of action , and be efficient and practical in all they do . The growing opinions in favour of the People ' s Charter are destined to gain ground among all classes ; and we must teaoh a knowledge of the Charter , as fitted for all , and the beBt guarantee againBt anarchy and confusion , want and desolation , and tbeir sure successor , ' a reign of terror . ' We feel it to be our duty to remind yoa that two of our most talented and energetic
colleagues are confined in gaols , and that their wives aad families are dependant on you for support—that it is popularly rumoured , that the real oause of their imprisonment was a fear on the part of the present minister that their talents and energies might have had an injurious effect en the continuation of the Whigs ia offioe . The imprisonment of year ehoeaa friends and acknowledged leaders should alone stimulate you to renewed _exertiene , and make you active , eareful , and thoughtful for the _deatiavea of the movement . Hoping , therefore , that you will patriotically and manfully do your duty , we assure you that we will , on all occasions , do ours , and remain , as ever , servants of the people . Signed , on behalf of tho Executive _Couooil , _Sammi , _Kroo . _Undon , Sept . 10 th , 1848 .
Dm-Ford.—The Chartists Of This Locality ...
_Dm-FORD . —The Chartists of this locality _areecquested to meet every Sunday evening , at 39 , But _ouer-row .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 16, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_16091848/page/1/
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