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THE NORTHERN STAR MAY A7 > 1841.
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TO THE IRISn REPEALERS RESIDING IN GREAT...
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TO WILLIAM HILL.
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If I stood in need of a character, and w...
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Cfcarttsit tntwtaw
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LONDON. Mn. Doyle delivered a very instr...
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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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The Northern Star May A7 > 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR MAY A 7 1841 .
To The Irisn Repealers Residing In Great...
TO THE IRISn REPEALERS RESIDING IN GREAT BRITAIN . Yellow Coostbthek _, —It is after many , man ; an entreaty and solicitation I hare at length been induced thuspuUicly to address joa . The object ofthe present address is two-fold—1 . Bv a plain , simple statement of facts and circttmstances to remove from vour minds any prejudices which nay have been heretofore entertained against myself . 2 . To so -taut to your consideration the absolute neces sity of yonr foiming a cordial union with the worlring resideto the end
people of England amongst whom you , that tout interests , which are mutual and identical , Eho'ddbe promoted ; that differences heretofore existing between Repealers and Chartists should cease ; thatyou may bear with one another like Christians , or rather as Christians should do . I shall make no apology for thus , apparently , _obtruding my advice and opinions upon you , my object being to do all the good in my power by endea-• vonringto effect a reconciliation between parties whose interest it is to be , not only reconciled , but firmly united . Tou know that if a man . thinks he can do good he is morally bound to make the effort .
1 am aware that I shall stand iu need of no ordinary share of that indulgence , for which you , my countrymen , are so justly celebrated . I know aud feel that 1 have to encounter a great deal of prejudice , _fo-rtered by long and continuous misrepresentations and calumnies . It . therefore , is a dnty I owe to you as well as to myself , to state distinctly , unequivocally , and without any quibble or STibterihge , " the head and front of that offending" which has excited prejudice against me in the minds of many whom I never saw , and perhaps never shall see . I have been solicited repeatedly , "both by letter and personally , to make the statement , which I shall now lay " before you as briefly as possible . All I require at your hands is simple , unadulterated justice . In September , 1832 , a society ivas founded by Mr . O'Coimell , _rthk-h was called '" The Political Union of Ireland , " of which I ivas a member . The . ostensible objects of this societv
were—1 . The dismissal of the Marquis of Anglesey , Secretary I Stanley , and Attorney-General Blackburne 2 . The total abolition of Tithe . 3 . The immediate Repeal of the Union . 5 . To petition the llouse of Commons to exhibit articles of impeachment against the Marquis of Anglesey , Attorney-General Blackburne , and Mr . " -keretary Stanley . 5 . To appoint in e .-ich parish in Ireland a committee of nine to procure signatures to _petitio-js flu * these purposes . 6 . To collect subscriptions and receive donations for the purpose of carrying these objects into enter , 7 . Such collections to be called the "XaiionalBent . " 8 . That Daniel 0 Conn < 41 , Esq ., M . P ., John Power , Esq ., and Daniel _Lyiirh , Esq ., be appointed treasurers to " Thc _NationalItcmv " 9 . That each person paying one _pouud shall b < - enrolled a member ofthe "National Political Uniuii . "
One of thc first acts of this association was to pass a resolution , to which all Ireland , I may say , _lespuuded . It *« vas as follows : — " That no candidates shall be _supjiorted at the ensuing general election but those who will pledge themselves to oppose any administration that will not make the Repeal of the Union a Cabinet measure . " In the mouth of December following , the general election under the Reform Bill came ou . A great many candidates took the pledge , and werc returned . Several of whom took place afterwards from the pledged enemies of Repeal .
Sometime prior to that general election a dispute arose between O'Gonnan Mahon and Mr . O'Connell , of the merits of which the public knew nothing . "However , an open rupture took place at the Clare election , O'Gonnan Malum having upon that occasion accused Mr . O'Connell of breach of faith in having given tbat support to Major Macnamara which he had promised to O'Gonnan Mahon : tiie result was that O'Gonnan Mahon lost the elec tion and Major Macnamara was returned . Some short time after tliis the " National Political _"C-oion" was changed in one hour , and without any previous notice , into the " Society of Irish "Volunteers . * - * The chairman who presided at the meeting of the _"XatioTial Political "Onion" dissolved that hofly on the motion of Mr . 0 'Connell . The chaiiman vacated , and
iu five minutes afterwards the same gentleman was , on the motion of Mr . O'Connell , called upon to preside as chairman of the " Society of the Volunteers of Ireland . " Several members were admitted , myself amongst the rest . Tbernleswerercad , and adopted . One of which was totheeffect , — " That if any member knew of anything derogatory to the character of another member , or of any one to be proposed , he was bound , ou pain of expu ' .-ion _, to make his objections known to Gie committee .- " Now bear this rule in mind ; and also bear in mind that the sole ol _' ject of Ihis rule , and of changing the society so suddenly and unprecedentedly , was with the new to Sestrvy O'Gornxau Mahon , whose popularity was becoming _troublcsojse . None butthe initiated were aware of the object . 1 did not understand it During' the admission of members , O'Gonnan Mahon entered the meeting and was loudly cheered . Bnt when he essayed to speak , Mr . O'Connell rose to order , and said that none but members had a right to speak ; whereupon O'Gonnan Mahon
produced his card as a member of the " National Political Union . " The chainnan told liim that there was no such society ; that the present was a meeting of the " Irish -Volunteers . * " _O'Gorman Mahon then threw a purse of gold on thc table , and called upon the secretary to take his subscription out of it , wliich request was refused . He then asked to see the rules , which was also refused , lie said he was a member of the society that met there at three o'clock that day , —the 3 rd of January , 1833 , —and it was not then _fiveo'clock ; and , _standfag up KUea giant , he dared auy man or set of men to put hini down . To get rid of him the chairman was moved from the chair , and Mr . O'Connell jumped npon the table and commenced extinguishing the lights , declaring , at the top ofhis voice , that the lights were his ; _therooms were his ; tliat he paid for both . The scene of confusion baffles description . The best account ot this scene is in the Freeman's Journal of the 4 th of January , 1 $$ 3 , and is well worth publishing even now . Such a scene never was witnessed , nor perhaps nevu- will again .
My opinion was that O'Gonnan Mahon was badly treated—ill used—and I said so . This gave deep offence . Hind that In tiie county of Dublin , a short time before this _ocearred , lord Brabazon was branded as " aliar" by Mr . O'Connell . I did not know that Mr . O'ConneU ' s object was to tarn Lord Brabazon out of the county , and turn his son-in-law , Filzsimon , into it . I thought that Mr . O'Connell was imposed upon by a man whom I knew to be a most unscrupulous liar , and that he assailed Lord . Brabazon in ignorance of the real state of the case : and as I had been one ofa deputation from the Trades' Union Election Committee to Lord Brabazon , upon the subject ofthe Repeal pledge , I felt it my duty to defend the character of Lord Brabazon front the charge ofbeing branded as a liar . Tbe charge was false . I stated the real facts of the case at a meeting of the Trades' Union , and at the Committee of the Irish Volunteers . This gave further cause of offence—mind that
At that time there were several tithe martyrs in gaol in Ireland , amongst whom were two " patriots" —Costcllo and Reynolds—one of whom got a place in Gibraltar from the Whigs , and the other a place under the new corporation in Dublin . There was at this time a very general feeling to get np a _tbibuxe for Costello and Reynolds specially . There was a tithe martyr fund ; but this one for Costello and Reynolds was intended by the subscribers to be quite distinct Mr . O'Connell expressed a strong desire to amalgamate both funds with those of the Irish Volunteers , and seemed anxious to become the patron of aB tithe sufferers . I opposed this , and for a time succeeded in causing the several funds to be kept separately and accurately . This could scarcely be borne . Bear that in mind .
It so happened that 1 was the seventh person on the Committee of Irish Volunteers , a part of whose duty it was to pronounce judgment on . any unfortunate wight -who should be objected to by any member ofthe society . J looked upon this as a very arbitrary assumption of power , and said one day , that " we had no right to sit in ' udgment upon the character of others , until we should first purify ourselves . " " Have you any objection to any member of the committee V said two or three together . "Tes , I have , " said I . "Do you object to me V said one . "Tome !*' said another . "Name ! name ' name !"
roared ont several . This I declined . However , a resolution was subsequently adopted , and a copy of it sent to me , -stating , _"that-anless I named the person to whom I objected , and proceeded against him , I should be _espelled . - ** I had no alternative but to proceed , which I dia not like to do if I conld have avoided it The Hon . Pierce S . Butler and Mr . William Francis Finn , both _aLP- ' s for the county Kilkenny , kindly interposed , and on my "behalf offered to proceed no further , and , for the sake of unanimity , to let the matter drop . This proposition -was peremptorily refused , and a copy of a resolution to -that effect served upon me .
It was agreed npon that the whole committee , fiftyone in number , should form a tribunal to investigate the matter . I did not fear the result , as my objections were chiefly founded npon documentary evidence , bearing thc signatures of some of the most eminent merchants in Dublin and Manchester . Several members of the committee , seeing that some of the charges were ofa serious nature , and must be either true , or that I had forged the names to the documents which I produced , withdrew , ne-Ter imagining for a moment that , in the teeth of such evidence , sentence wonld be pronounced against myself by that portion of the committee which remained . The pretence for the sentence against me was , that I had not the _partie-j present to admit their signatures to the documents . And under this miserable subterfuge
twentythree members of the committee signed a paper pronouncing the charges to be false and malicious . Had I been a cunning slave , I should not have had sneh an atrocious sentence pronounced upon me . It is clear thata certain party werc anxious to get rid of me . I was too honest and straightforward for their purpose . To hunt me down was a glorious achievement Not content with this sentence , which they got lithographed , and had copies sent to all _thsir relations and friends , they proceeded to expulsion , which was effected by the foulest means . However , itwas some consolation to me that they could not get a layman in Ireland to move or second my expulsion i they -were obliged to have -recourse to a degraded cleroman of the Church of England , of the name of " Groves , and a Catholic friar , who was under the censure ofhis provincial . with
- _mttLM- _*™ Craffit » _^ tt ren » aJAered , every Catholic priest _£ _^^ tin _^ me , and never foramoment _^^ fr _^ _prodarimngthatl was grievously wronged , _1 \
To The Irisn Repealers Residing In Great...
This explanation has been often called for , and I think now wasalike due to my friends the Chartists ( with whom I am proud to say I cannot be more popular than I am ) , and to you who had prejudices against me without really knowing why or wherefore . Upon this subject , which is already too long , I have now merely to add that there never was a charge of any nature or kind brought against me in any society of which I ivas a member , or in any other society , that 1 ever heard of ; that I never sought to screen , cover , palliate , cloak , or conceal any act or deed of mine ; tbat I never called npon any human being to do so for me ; and that I am ready and willing to make atonement to any man who will show that I ever wronged him in any respect . Having disposed ( I hope for ever ) of that portion ofthe subject which appertains to myself personally , I shall now proceed with the second part .
It has ever been the policy of tyrants , in all countries and in all ages , to keep the people divided either upon political or religious subjects , to the end that they might the more easily keep them in a state of slavery , plunder them of their just rights , andmaintain , by force and fraud , an ascendancy over them : On the other hand , whenever any roan had the courage , the honesty , and the patriotism toleave his own rank in society for the purpose of promoting the happiness and securing the rights of the working classes , those who may be called , according to the fashion of the times , the nobility and gentry , were sure to merge all their own disputes and combine together for the purpose of preventing
the people from even seeing their own interests . In order to effect theirobject they have ever been and ever will be unscrupulous as to the means . One mode of attaining theirobject was to excite suspicion in the minds of the people against those who , from a pure love of redressing their wrongs and restoring their rights , throw themselves , body and soul , into the movement . Another mode was to send spies amongst the people to lead them into acts of sedition and treason , in order to entrap those who , from fortuitous circumstances , had time , education , and knowledge sufficient to lead the people . Failing in those modes of dividing the people , they had recourse to other , more insidious and more effectual , means of
sowing dissension in tlieir ranks . The mode usually employed for the purpose of effecting the object in this way was . and in fact still i =, by seuding out amongst the people some red-hot sprigs of the aristocracy , by way of decoy ducks , whose zeal for the interests and well-being of the people far exceed all their predecessors . They discover some short , easy method of redressing the wrongs of the people ; they talk eloquently ; deal largely in loose generalities ; confound the unweary with specious sophistry , which they are sure will not be _understood by those to whom their harangues are addressed . They always take care to avoid detail , lest you should discover their hollowness and heartlcssness . Their schemes for redressing your wrongs are endless . 1 shall jast remind you of a few of them , and implore you to bear tliem in mind , and test them by reason and common sense . There was the Anti-Slavery Society , whom you helped to tax yourselves and your children to the amomtt of £ S 50 , fiOO per annum ; the Anti-War Society ; the Emigration Society ; the Colonisation Society ; the
Anti-Corn Law League , who wanted cheap bread , high wages , aud plenty of work for you , in order to enable them to sell their -manufactures in the countries from whence the corn should come ; thc Banking Companies—plenty of notes to keep np the prices of all sorts of provisions , rent of land , and better yonr condition by lower wages ; the Reform Clubs , who would only legislate by "instalments , " as tin- people were not " sufficiently educated" to be admitted within the precincts of the constitution through the medium of the franchise ; the religious fanatics , whose total want of religion led them to oppose the granting of civil rights to all who differed from themselves on points of doctrine . All these , and many" others , have drawn vast numbers of the people after them , without knowing why or wherefore . Whigs and Tories , high and low Churchmen , have one and all combined to scatter and destroy every association of the people , whenever it was discovered that such association was founded on the principle of getting auything which the people could call tlieir own .
There is a simple vale by which you can always test the sincerity of all those schemers collectively or individually , and that is by asking them , " What ivill this scheme of yours give me which I can call my own , and whieh I-can take with me wheresoever I go ? Will not the elective franchise give me the means of acquiring all those things which you say are so much for my good ? And will not the acquisition of tbe franchise bring me directly within the pale of the constitution , elevate nie in the scale of society by placing me on a political equality with my more wealthy brethren V Tell those schemers , one and all , tliat he who will not join you and aid you to obtain the elective franchise is your enemy , and the enemy of your order . Thc franchise is your inheritance . It has been iilched from you . Trust no man who will not help you to get possession of it .
The English working classes formed an association for the purpose of obtaining , by legal and constitutional means , a restoration of their just rights , which rights werc embodied iu a document called the PEori _^' s Chaetee . The working people of England , and you , my countrymen , resident in England , were all uniting like onc man for the achievement of those great and just rights , wluch are the common inheritance of all , without reference to creed or class . There is no doubt now upon the mind of any rational man but the Chartists would have succeeded in forming a cordial union between the Irish and English working classes , aud thus have become too powerful for either the Whig or Tory faction , or both combined , had not the Whigs , who were then in power , succeeded in sowing religious and national hatred and animosity between the people of Ireland and the Chartists : and to some extent even amongst the Chartiststhemselves »" The term "Chartist" was applied in derision to the advocates of the People ' s Charter , in the same manner as Papist was and is applied to the Roman Catholics .
The Corn Naw League tried their hand at dividing the Chartists . The old Orange parry put forth their strength for a siuuhu * purpose . The Whigs sent their spies to burn Birmingham , and to raise a rebellion amongst thc isolated miners in Wales . Religious fanatics were not idle either . They charged all Chartists with infidelity , "Infidels , " "Socialists , " " miscreants , " and "Chartists , " were used as synonymes . In Ireland , the Chartists were denounced as Orangemen . Every means that human ingenuity could invent were employed to deter the Irish , but particularly the Catholics , from joining the Chartist a asks , just as if there was infidelity in Uxiveesal Soffkage , Vote bt Ballot , Annual Pabxiajiests _, Equal _REt-RESEXTATWS , HO PROIEOTV QUALIFICATION , ATSn Patmest of Members . Let me ask you , my countrymen , is there anytliing demoralising in these principles ? Are
they sectarian ? Have the advocates of them ever , directly orindirectly , raised , sanctioncd , or ia auy way eucouragedreligiousbigotry ? Onthecontrary _. bavcnoUlie _advocates of those ennobling principles always , and upon all occasions , solemnly declared that every British subject , without reference to sect or party , should participate in all the advantages which were sure to result from their adoption ? Why , then , have you stood aloof ? Why not exercise that shrewd common sense -which God has given you f Why not try , by the sure test of reason and judgment , the several propositions contained in the People's Charter ? Because you were led into error , and your judgment warped by those in whom you confided , and who had an interest iu leading you after them npon questions which you did not understand , and which they took
right good care you should not understand . " Keep the Tories out ! " was the rallying cry ofthe deceitful Whigs . * ' Conserve the Constitution!—out with the Destruc tives V was the counter cry of tiie Rampant Tobies . The poor besotted Orangemen arethedupes of one faction —and yoa were the dupes of the other . Have you or I ever gained any political advantage from the ascendancy of either party ? No .- norshaU we ever . They only want to use us up for their own aggrandisement . Then why belong to , or support either faction ? Rest assured that you will always be , as you ever have been , treated with contempt and scorn by Whigs and Tories so soon as your co-operation has served their turn . ' Are not the great majority of you political outcasts ? All those who have not the elective franchise are the slaves of those who have it .
You are all Repealers : so am I . Few of sou bave tbe elective franchise : I am an elector , a freeholder in the city of Dublin . My wish ,- and the wish of every other Chartist who has the franchise , is to place you on a political footing with himself . 1 maintain , in common with all my brother Chartists , that every male inhabitant of this empire ( infants , insane persons , and criminals only excepted ) is of common right , and by the laws of God , entitled to political freedom ; that without the elective franchise there can be no political freedom ; that those who are not electors are outcasts ; and that those who do not seek for the franchise , in season and out of season until they get it , are wilful skives . Let the people once get the franchise , they can can _* y it with them anywhere , and be respected everywhere . Without the franchise you are nothing ; with it your influence will be omnipotent
The "Repeal of the _tnion , though of vital importance to tbe prosperity of Ireland , but of Dublin in particular , wiU be of no use to you unless based upon universal suffrage , vote by ballot , and annual Parliaments ; because the Repeal of the Union does not embrace or include the extension of the elective franchise . In my opinion we have commenced the Repeal movement at the wrong end . We must retrace onr steps . The Union cannot be constitutionally repealed without a majority in favour of it in the House of Commons . It will never be repealed by agitation , unless that agitation proluces something bordering' on revolution . Bear in mind that all Chartists are Repealers ; thatthe Charter includes domestic legislation but that the Repeal of the Union does not include universal suffrage , or any other proposition in which the nonelectors are directly interested .
If the Act of Union were repealed to-morrow we should have a general election in Ireland . There would be no change in the constituency . In the first instance , we should return 105 members to CoUege-green , and no more . There wonld be 100 Lords , and no more . The Irish Parliament would be opened by the Lord Lieutenant—a Tory . This Parliament would proceed at once to pass an Irish Act for the enfranchisement of several large towns ; for the division of counties into equal electoral districts , on the plan published some time ago by Mr . O'Connell . How many members of those caUed Liberal would be returned to College-green ? It would be hard work to . return sixty . How , that would give but a majority of fifteen in the Commons . Well , in the Lords , there would inevitably be ninety Tories and ten Whigs , which -would give a majority of eighty against any measure passed by the Liberal majority in the Commons ,
To The Irisn Repealers Residing In Great...
How , then , could the franchise be extended ? How could electoral districts be established '' Would there be no corrupt influence exercised by the Irish Executive ? Would not titles and _bbibeb bring up the fifteen votes in the Commons ? Myfriends , we have no power to do any good . We have no power to control the lleuse of Commons . In fact , it is no House of Commons until its members are elected by the common people . Our first duty was to have joined the Chartists for universal suffrage . Had we joined them honestly , cheerfully , and heartily , we should have had universal suffrage long ago , and with that political engine , which is onr inhcrentright , I want to "know how Repeal could be withheld from us ? Itis not Gregory and Grogan that would be returned for the City , nor Hamilton aud Taylor for the county of Dublin ; but _fode staunch _Rew-jlebs . Why not , then , lock at once for the possession of the means by which the Union can be repealed ?
The Union could be repealed in another way , by a species of commercial revolution , without the loss of one drop of blood ; a revolution which would do you , and all men who earn their bread honestly , a great deal of good . The President of the United States made the best repeal speech I have read for a long time . He is sure to do all he said . He will annex both Texas and the Oregon . Should England go to war about these territories , thc President willmost assuredly stop the export of American cotton to Great Britain . Tfce _Yantees will hold iheir cotton fast ; not a pound will be sent to England . This would break up most of your cotton-factories iu three months . What would funded property he worth then ? Now , then , suppose that in such an event Mr . O'Connell , instead of threatening to tear down the American flag , should advise his countrymen ( and you arc aware that his advice is a command here ) not to allow one single drop ofthe blood of Irish cattle , sheep , or pigs , to be shed in England , hut
tbat we should eat the pork , beef , and mutton at home , wliich we could do if every one who seldom tastes meat now conld get but half a pound a day for two hundred and forty days in the year . Would not tbis advice produce a revolution in the North of England ? 1 have proved upon a former occasion that we could not export a pound of beef , pork , or mutton , if every adult in Ireland , who rarely tastes animal food , got but half a pound each day for two hundred and forty days in the year . In addition to these means , Mr . O'ConneE could recommend " a run for gold . " He has all these peaceable , legal , legitimate means of repeal in his power ; and should behave the courage to put them in force , I am decidedly of opinion that Peel and Wellington would soon cry out , " Daniel , my darling , let us have beef and gold ! Tell Mr . Polk to send us the bales of cotton , and we will let you have your Parliamentin College-green : take away the Church Establishment : give Ireland to the Irish , and Polk the Oregon and Texas !"
Having now laid my opinions plainly and candidly before yon , 1 trust that , whether you consider them wise or foolish , you will do me the justice of believing thattliej are entertained honestly and sincerely . Dublin , May 5 , 1815 . _Patkick O'Higgiss .
To William Hill.
TO WILLIAM HILL .
If I Stood In Need Of A Character, And W...
If I stood in need of a character , and would condescend to make you in any way instrumental in procuring it , I would use you thus : —I was for six years of very troublesome time associated with one William Hill in the management of a popular paper —this William Hill was a knobstick parson , was a wily , artful , cunning , watchful , ungrateful ruffian I was open , unsuspicious , and confiding . At the end of b _' ix years I dismissed him from my service for treachery and hypocrisy . It is nearly two years since I
discharged lum , arid during that period he has published several printed letters , and has been thc proprietor of a weekly thing that he called " The Life Boat . " Hc appears to have treasured up every word I spoke , and even * line I wrote to him , for such future use as he might think proper to apply my words and my correspondence to . And , strange to say , notwithstanding his malevolence , disappointment , and vindictiveness , he has not been able in any single one of his printed publications to charge me with any act , even of inconsistency , at which even a child might not fairly laugh .
Now , if I would condescend to establish a character , negatively or positively , upon anything coining from you , I tliink 1 might justly lay claim to a good one from your silence . Upon that score , then , I claim a good general character—a character which you would now foolishly assail by falsehood . I have so effectually ripped you open and exposed you upon former occasions , in treating of general matters , that I shall confine this , my very last notice of you , in any way , to a comment upon your version of the proceedings ol thc Manchester Conference in 1842 , published in the " Starved Yirim ' s" paper , and occupying more than five columns . I shall merely deal with the three greatest falsehoods in that letter , and shall answei
one and all from the pen of William Hill himself . Firstly , —You would now contend that it was not the League that originated the strike . Secondly , — That it * was you , and not I , who caused thc Executive address to be rejected by Conference ; aud , after a good deal of bounce , you say , in speaking of me upon that occasion , " To me , I repeat , he showed in the light of an arrant coward , shrinking from 'the pinch' —a mastiff cowed and scared by the barking of his own pups . " What a yery silly man you must be to attempt to deceive thirty living _witnesses , and to put your name to a lie in thc very teeth of your printed opinion with reference to this very same transaction !
You print a speech that you say you made in Mr . Scholefield ' s chapel , on the Wednesday night , when the Executive document was submitted to the consideration of the Conference . You say that you pitied me for my cowardice , for my pliancy , and for the castigation that I received at the hands of Dr . M'Douall and his supporters ; and then you conclude with an expression of your opinion that I was an "arrant coward . " Now , sir , just listen to the true version ofthe case . You never opened yom * lips on Wednesday night in Mr . Scholefield ' s chapel . As I am a living man , and as you are a dead parson , you never once opened your lips , while I , the coward , writhing , as you say , under the castigation of Dr . M'Douall , rejected the address myself . And not one single angry word passed between me and Dr , M'Douall , or any other man . You say that a committee was nominated , and that you were named as onc of the committee : but , parson like , you tell us
tliat you were " afraid" to act upon the committee . Now , there was no committee at all appointed . I wai not afraid to act , and I retired with M'Douall and Campbell to strike out what I objected to in the document : and you went about your business . You say that I shook hands with you after your speech , and told you that you had risen cent , per cent , in my estimation . How could you , when you hadn't spoken a word ? You appear to forget that I slept in Mr . Scholefield ' s house , and that I went direct from the chapel into his sitting room to make the alterations as speedily as possible , so that the document might be corrected before it was struck off , and I never once opened my lips to you . But I have better proof than this , I have sworn evidence . Every man who was at that Conference will bear testimony to the fact that it was I who rejected that document . Every man who was present will recollect my conchiding words , which were these : — " I cure _xoi
WHAT AM 0 TJXT OP ODIUM THE REJECTION OF THIS AMMESS MAY _EXTAIL UPON ME , BUI I AM RESOLVED
THAT YOU SHALL XOT BE T 1 USSP 0 RTED LIKE THE Dorchester Labourers . " It was I , then , and not you , who rejected the address ! But you have so often claimed credit for my acts , that I am not astonished at your attempt to change places with me on that occasion . Now for the sworn evidence : Cartlcdge swore that Bairstow told liim , that , but for me , the address would have been carried , but that I was the cause of its being rejected . Griffin swore , and the Attorney-General made a strong point of his evidence , that when the news of Turner ' s arrest was mentioned in the Conference on Thursday , I said , "Now then , who WAS THE WISEST MAN ? WAS I NOT
RIGHT IN SETTING "MY FACE AGAINST THAT ADDRESS ?"—Who do you pity now ? You skulking , miserable wretch , you arc even below contempt . But , not satisfied with the evidence that Ihavc so far adduced , I now begleavemost respectfully to present you with a verbatim copy of your opinion , published in the . _iVortftmi- $ Woftke 3 rd September , just one fortnight after thc Conference sat ; and read it , I pray you , with your last letter in the National Reformer in your hand , and then ask yourself if ever there was a bigger fool ! Read it especially with reference to your present assertion , that it was the deceitful leaders , and not the League , that concocted the outbreak ; but , above all , mark the heading ofthe article ! It is headed
"WHO IS THE COWARD ?" What a significant heading , and what an unfortunate article for mc to stumble upon in answer to your charge of " arraxt cowardice ! " Here is the
article" who is the cow ahd ?" Were there any link deficient in the chain of evidence to connect the League witli the concoction and origin of the "risings" and the " riots , " it is happily supplied by one of themselves , li happens that there is no such deficiency . The chain of evidence is whole and perfect . Therefore , ( whatever is now let out ofthe bag can only come as corroboration of that which is already established . In this light do we view the public testimony borne to the fact of the League-origin of the "riots" by one of their own hired advocates . We give it here only as testimony bearing out the conclusive evidence we have before adduced .
The League plotted the "riots . " The League plotted the * ' Stsike . " The League determined on the closing of the Mills . The League determined to reduce wages , and to force the men out . The League hired men , _Burrev for instance , to prepare the way . He conld speak of the " mill-closing business" before John Brooks , the magistrate ; and be applauded for hisclever speech ! The League "did it all 1 " and when it was done ; when the people were out ; when they were " rising ; " when they were " rioting * , " when they were doing the wotk the League wanted doing ; when the people were doing these things , WHERE WEBE THE MEMBEE 6 Or THE LEAGUE \ _WheiewaS John Brooks , who had applauded Duffey , and who had proposed that " THE WHEELS OF GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE ARRESTED ! " Where was Dickey Cobden , who had proposed "a _sbbvehsioh o * _labodu" to stop the supplies ! Where was Alderman Chappel , who
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had declared that "the only plan left was to stop the faatories ' . " Where was Master Weekly Chronicle with his incitements to " SWING S" Where was the cowardly dastard of the Sun , with his ¦¦ LADIES' HEADS on poles !" Where was the Chronicle with his BARRICADES ? Wliere were one and all of these ? At " thc head of the movement ? " Taking part with "the mob ? " Leading them on ? Acting as Generals ? No ! They were engaged in letting loose thc military to shoot and sabre those that had " risen J" They were engaged in hounding on the butchers and the brutal bludgeon men ! They were engaged in " committing to take their trials" those brought before them , as magistrates , charged with having " rioted . " They were engaged in getting up and iu circulating charges of cowardice . '—against-whom , in God ' s name ? Against Feargus O'Connor !!!! Because Mr . O'Connor did not prove himself a silly ass , and fall into the trap they | had so nicely laid for him , they charged him with
cowardice ! The men who had concocted the plot , and who ought to have conducted tlieir own work in its execution , charged O'Connor with _coteavdice because he would not do it for them ! while tlicy waited with the law in tlieir hands to lay him hy the heels if he should have done so !! The whole Whig press has rung witli the charge . They have harped upon it again and again . Old Bloody , too , has joined in it . The ball has been kept going amongst them for the whole of the last fortnight . Every one who ought to have been " at the head ofthe movement" seems to have thought it sufficient to screen himself from a charge of cowardice , if he preferred one against O'Connor . True , none f f them shewed why O'Connor " ought to have taken the lead . " True , none of them even attempted to do this . But they , one and all , seem to have taken it for granted that wherever there is a mess , no matter by whomsoever cooked , O'Connor ought to jump slap up to the neck into it ; and that if he " looks before he leaps" he is a " coward !"
This , from the Whig and Tory press , was tobe expected . It was no more than wc had a right to look for . It is ever the practice of faction to take advantage of popular excitement to throw suspicion upon the people ' s leaders , if the people ' s leaders evince common prudence , and will not throw themselves , neck and crop , into the arms of their enemies . It has ever been so . When Hunt attended the _Petebloo MAssACBE-mceting , and whenhis life was compassed , and the plot only defeated by his own presence of mind and great physical energy , he was accused of cowardiee because he had not advised the people to come armed , and meet force by force ! He was accused of coieardics , because he would not counsel and commit an overt act of treason , so that liis accusers might have had the high gratification of seeing his head roll from the
scaffold , and the pure purple life-stream spurt from liis headless trunk ! He was accused of cowardice because he defeated the hellish machinations of the compasscrs ofhis own life , and saved himself to rally his party , and direct their energies in the cause of right and justice for a long period , and to a successful issue , in the legislative acknowledgment of the necessity ofReform in the passing ofthe reform bill ! So with O'Connor . When Frost was betrayed by spies into thc Newport business , and when he was committed as a traitor , O'Connor was denounced as a " coivard" because he did not turn-out , and "head the people" in a mad crusade _agaiiistlifc and property , to ensure the hanging and beheading of Frost , as well as the ensuring ot himself being " cut up in . four quarters" to be disposed of as the Queen should , most
graciously , please to direct ! Nay , even when the trial of Frost was proceeding ; when the city of Monmouth was in possession of a strong military force ; when almost every second man in it was a soldier ; even when this was the case , O'Connor was denounced as a " coward , " because he was not fool enough to go upon the Welsh Hills , organise the hardy mountaineers , and " bead them" in an attack upon the Judges and the city ! and because he applied all his powers in aid of Frost ' s defence to the charge against him , and succeeded in enabling him to escape from the fangs ofthe bloody cut-throat Executimier !! And thus it has ever been . Faction has always seized thc opportunity to spvead distrust and sow the seeds of disunion between tho people and their friends . It is its vocation to do so . It would be a traitor to itself tSiu it miss tho opportunity .
Wliile , however , such a course must be expected and calculated on from the conductors of the factious Press , we have no right to expect that that course shall be joined in by those who wish to be considered as " devoted to the service of the people . " We have no right to be called npon to defend ourselves from attacks from within ; while we have a right to expect , and to be prepared for , attacks from without . In the foolish and senseless cry that has been raised by the 3 fa « c * fcesfe »* _Gfiianlian , and joined in by the Morning Chroxiiele , the Globe , the Sun , OUl Bloody , the Weekly C & ronicte , and by evevy Whig and Whigling paper in the kingdom , against O'Connor , because he did not take Cobden ' s place in thc " suspension _o / laooit )' " business ; or
Jolm Brooks' place in the " _aruestiso or _'inx wheels of Government" business ; or Aid , _Chappel's place in the " _closing ofthexxdUs" business ; or Dr . Black ' s place , in erecting " barricades" ; or Muvdo Young ' s place in putting " LADIES' HEADS on Poles ; " or George Henry Ward ' s place in the instigating tlic people to " SWING : " in the senseless and foolish , but desperately wicked , cry of " cowardice , " raised and kept up by the enemy against O'Connor , because ho did not do these things , has a professed Chartist Journal , and a professed Chartist Editor , taken part ! Iu this matter he has ranged himself with the enemy ! In this matter , he ranks with the deadliest foes of the people ! In this matter , Ue but echoes _tiw slander and calumnies that faction has long since uttered !
What strange phantasies personal malevolence will make us play beforo high heaven ! What strauge bedfellows personal malignity and ungovernable vindictiveness will make us acquainted with ! Who could have expected " TIIE Statesmaxi" would put np horses with John Edward Taylor , with Old Bloody , with Dr . Black , ivith Murdo Young , and with the man at the Greenacve shop : who could have expected that " THE Statesman " would have been found in such precious company , flinging their dirt at second hand ! joining in their wur-whoop and savage . yells against one who has made the Chartist party what it is , —the only party whose power is courted or dreaded . ' Who could have expected this ? Yet so it is !!!
The letter that appeared in the Statesman of last Saturday , signed " An Old Chartist , " will be found in . _anothei portion of this sheet . That letter the Editor has made his own , by his approving commentary . Were we disposed to find out the author of it , we are convinced little difficulty would present itself . He may be ferreted out of the " Old Chartist" Warren in Manchester , in which he has taken refuge . But this is not of moment to us . With the Editor we have to deal ; not with his nameless , brainless , " cowardly" scribe . O'Connor is " a coward . " So says " TIIE Statesman . " the fact of his " cowardiee" we have given above . Ho neglected to take the place whicli ought to have been occupied by some member of thc League ; and , therefore , he is a " coward ! " He minded his own business , and left others to mind their ' s ; and , therefore , he is a " coward ! '' He is invited to visit Manchester , to take
part m certain public proceedings . He consents to go . He is elected a member of the Chartist Conference . He consents to go . Before he does go , he is apprised , through Sir Charles Shaw and the Rev . Mr . Scholefield , that if he ventures to show his face in Manchester , he will be instantly apprehended on a warrant granted for the purpose . " The coivard" does not avail himself of the opportunity thus given him to decline his visit , He goes at his oioiicosi . * He publicly enters the town . He goes to the house of the man who had been informed by Sir C . Shaw of tho intention of the " authorities " to place hini under arrest . He attends the meetings of the Conference . He stays till the last ; and when his business iu Manchester is fully ended ; when he has done all that had been arranged for him to do ; he openly departs for London , where he had other business to do . In this consists his "cowardice . ' . ' "
O'Connor is a " coward . " So asseverates "THE _Statesman . " O'Connor once stood before the Judges to receive sentence . He heard himself adjudged to be imprisoned for eighteen _iiiontfts . When lie heard ( fiat , he did not snivel , and cry , and blubber , and roar , like a great boy ! He did not "BEG OF TIIE JUDGE TO BANISH HIM F OU LIFE ! ' . " He did not whimper , and weep , and " IMPLORE TO BE ALLOWED TO BANISH HIMSELF I !" He did not do this : nor did any one else , amongst the hundreds of Chartists who were prosecuted in 1839 , ex . ceptixxg one . Who that one is " TIIE -Statesman" knows !!! O'Connor is a " coward . " So says "THE Statesman . " But O'Connor NEVER DREW A KNIFE !! O'Connor has knocked many a man down ; and been knocked down . But it has been with honest fisting ! HE NEVER DREW A KNIFE , upon any man , much less UPON A FELLOW-PRISONER !!!
Wehave heard of a _CluwUst prisoner -who did . To the honour of the working men , he was not one of them There was lint one who so far disgraced Chartism , as to present himself in the attitude of a " coward " assassin , with a knife in his hand . Perhaps " THE Statesman , " in his next number , will tell us who it was , " THE / Statesman" seems fond of dealing in the history of " cowards . " We may perhaps hereafter gratify him with afew anecdotes . We know some very interesting ones ; sneh as could not fail to please him , tliey are so much in his own way . It is characteristic of the starved viper to sting every hand that warms it ; and hence Mr . James O'Brien and his double , the " Old Chartist , " are not more angry with O'Connor than with " the miserable subterfuges of his editor , Mr . Hill , in attempting to run away from tbe Movement , and throw all the onus or blame upon the Corn Law League . Such articles at such a crisis were treason to the people ' s cause !"
If we had ever reason to congratulate ourselves upon any part by us taken in a public movement , it is upon that we have taken in tbis movement . We did from the beginning throw the onus upon the League ; we do throw it upon them ; let them get out of it if they can . We , fr # m the beginning , warned the Chartists to have nothing to do with the Strike . We told them at the first that if they suffered themselves to be mixed up with it they would find much reason for repentance . In our first article upon it , published three weeks ago , speaking of the tools ei *» ployed by the concoctors of this Strike , "these were our words : — _** "Their instructions are _two-fold . They are first to get the workpeople out ; and then they are to give the strike a CHARTIST TINGE ! They are * mix the ChaSs up with it ; and thus afford a pretest to fhe leaguers and the Government to kit Chartism down , when the former have their own end served . ' " Chartiste , beware ! Be not mixed np with these proceedmgs . Keep Chartism distinct from the " risings "
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and the . " riotiiigs" ! Give- your enemies no hold ot jou ; and suffer them not to cse you , and then coerce you !" Had we been more heeded , and the " vp-to-thc-mark " men more prudent , we should not now have had to lament so many of our best men in the wolf's den ! Many a Chartist family that now wants bread would have had it ! and many an amiable wife would have missed the occasion she now has of soddening her lone pillow with her tears ! 0 ! yes , the " _up-to-the-mark-men _, " the " brave fellows , ' - who talk about" going to the House of Commons , with a petition in one hand , and a pistol iu the other , " and who for
" dare not belong to the National Charter Association fear some of its members should do an illegal act ; " these " brave gentlemen" are terribly incensed thatthe Star did not goad on the people to a position which should have more fully gorged their middle-class free-trading friends with blood , 0 ! they are " brave men , " these " _up-to-themark" gentlemen ' , and honest as tliey _aie " brave" ' . ' . Hence they think that , " above all , the non-insertion of the Executive address was treachery of tbe basest description ; and this from theprindple oracle of Chartism is too bad !"
Well ! this may be a terrible piece of treason ; if it be , we plead " guilty" to it . We did not publish the address . We never intended to publish it . We regret much that it ever was published . And wc fancy that we are not the only parties who now regret it . Mr . O'Connor hasthought proper to take upon his own shoulders the onus of this omission . We cannot allow him to do so . It was our business to publish or reject it . We chose to reject it ; and we are quite ready to " take the responsibility , " It is quite true _' that Mr . O'Connor did , after hearing of the seizure of poor Turner ' s traps , write a note to the editor requesting that it might not be published . Wc had heard of the seizure before receiving Mr . O'Connor ' s note ; and had , before receiving that note , determined not to publish it . Perhaps our readers will think the reason which actuated Mr . O'Connor a sufficient onc , We should have thought so , if wc had no other reason . But we had other reasons . If Turner ' s types , Sic , had never been seized at all ; if Turner had never been prosecuted at all ; and if we had no note from Mv . O'Connor , or if Mr , O'Connor
had even written desiring ns to _jirint that address , we should not have published it . We had reasons of our own for onr determination ; reasons arising out of the document itself , and out of the circumstances under which it was put forth . At a proper time we may give those reasons . We will not give them now . It is not the abuse of Mr . James O'Brien , or any of his nameless cowards that shah force us into statements which might be construed to the prejudice of those who have at present enough to battle with ! We regret exceedingly that that address was ever published at all . We never did publish it . We never approved it . But if we had chosen to publish it , we would at least have shown less bf the eoumnl in our daring than " THE Statesman" did !!! AVe would not have characterised it as " THIS MOST EXTRAORDINARY _llOCUME _^ T . " We . _wo-oW not have
Soxnx to the " misemblc subterfuge" of quoting it from the London papers : We would not have asserted the cowardly lie , that ive "did not know whether it came from the -Krecittivc or not" to fence ourselves against the consequences of our daring ! No , no ; ire never yet printed anything in that way ! Had we approved the address , we would have printed it . We would have sailed boldly in the same boat with its authors , and not have skulked behind a dastard screen , which , after all , is no screen at all ! 0 ! he is a " brave" man , this James O'Brien ! and the words " coward * " and "traitor" do sound so pretty coming from him , and applied to O'Connor and thc Star ! He is a grateful man ! and makes good use ofthe people's pence , for which , week after week , the Star drummed up so lustily , that the " schoolmaster" and " THE Statesman " might have another paper to destroy !
The most curious part of the charge against O'Connor by " THE Statesmaxi" is , that he did not stay in Manchester , father the acts of M'Douall and Campbell , and allow them to keep out of the way of the police , while he kept in it !! Can the Chartists understand this ? Do they see through it ? 0 ! yes ! O'Connor is to father all ; to stanci to all ; to bear all the odium , and all the weight of _Qoveviuvient persecution . ¦• THE _siaimum" knows that O'Connor has had to stand to other people ' s doings before now ! "THE Statesman" knows that O'Connor has had to endure sixteen months of solitary confinement , in a condemned cell , for what \ For his own act ? for his own words ? for his own writings ? for any
comment of the Stafs ? for any thing of this sort ? No ! But for a speech made by James Bronterre O'Brien !!! 0 ! yes ! " THE Statesman"knows about Mr . O'Connor having had to father other people ' s acts : having had to answer for them with loss of personal liberty for sixteen months together , under restraints such as no other individual in England ever before had to endure ! Yes ! " TIIE Statesman" knows of this . He knows of " otftei _* ¦ people keeping out of the way of the police , " and of O'Connor keeping in it , to answer for those " other people's" acts ; " THE . Statesman" knows of this ; and it cuts him to the heart that he cannot again play the same card ! But " no more Blue-stone , good doctor ! " one dose of ( to sort is enough !
Comment upon the above would be useless . It is all , every word of it , your own writing , and with it I finish my comment upon tliat subject , by congratulating you that you have at length found a fitting time to put the world in possession of your Conference revelations . But although I have done with that subject I have not yet done with Frost , I copy tlio foi lowing' from the second P . S . to your letter in last week ' s National _Reformer ;—2 nd P . S . —May Cth , Since writing the above , I have seen the . Yort / ieni Stai- of Saturday , containing Feargus O'Couuor ' s long letter , entitled " The Destroyers of Frost Discovered . " I shall not waste time and paper in bandying foul words witli Feargus , Hc admits that my letter contains nothing but the truth ; that I did communicate
to him Ashton ' s statements thc very first time I saw hini after they had been mads to nie . That was all 1 could do : and be knows it . I could not write to him in Ireland , because I had no clue to liis address ; I could not write to Frost , for tlic same reason ; and , if I had had Frost ' s address , I was not so great a fool as to send such a communication through the post . As to my leaving the Star at such a time as that ( and he absent , too , in Ireland ) , to go on a Quixotic expedition after Frost , not knowing where to find him , and if I did find him , not knowing the man when I saw him , nnd with nothing definite to say to him when I did sec him , I can very well imagine what Feargus would have said to it , if I had gone upon any such errand . Besides all which , he is pleased to overlook thc fact tbat I iiad not the same command of money to roam about with as ho had .
Now , you horrid villain ! is it not clear that your confirmation of Ashton's letter -was a wilful lie—the worst description of lie ? A prevarication—but , merciful Providence ! what could have induced you , just at the moment that you were laying claim to popular support , to have penned such a conviction ; ov how came yom * brother editor to allow you thus to brand yourself , and for ever , as the destroyer of Frost . What!—then , with a knowledge of the fact "that Frost ' s life stood in danger ; " with a knowledge ofthe fact " that he was sure to be sold by his associates , " you would deem it a " QUIXOTIC EXPEDITION " TO GO AFTER HIM , "NOT KNOWING WHERE TO FIND HIM , " AND IF YOU DID FIND IIIM , "NOT KNOWING HIM WHEN YOU SAW HIM !"
Miserable childish priest ! Not be able to find Frost in Wales , when his life was in danger , and not to know him if you saw him ! Did you look for him ? Didn't Ashton know whore to find him ? Gould you get no one to find him ? 0 , yes , " but you had not the command of money to roam about as I had , " Ah ! yon know full well , and every child in England knows full well s that if the " Quixotic expedition " cost £ 1000 , that it would have been furnished to you out of my means , without asking my consent
and that when 1 saw it charged against me , I should not have objected to it . However , you did not go , although your going would have saved Frost—and , therefore , you are his destroyer ; while , at the same time , you are now obliged to confess that you never wrote to me upon the subject in Ireland , and you say I had no clue to his address . " Why , you parsoii dog ! there is a paper addressed from the offiee to my house in Ireland every Saturday throughout the year , and my letters werc forwarded to my address from Leeds all the time that I was in Ireland .
__ I shall now say but little more to you , and that little shall be upon the subject of your new alliance with the " Starved Viper . " If ever there was a bitter hatred cherished towards one man by another it was your hatred for O'Brien , and if ever mortal laboured to remove hatred from thc breast of man I laboured to remove it from yours ,, but all failed , and now 1 have lived to see you associated together—I have lived to hear him declare that there exists no shadow of a shade of difference of opinion between you and him ; and yet , knowing you both , and the purpose for which you have sunk all minor differences , I am not in the least astonished , while , at the same time , I am resolved to refresh your memory as to tlic _ojiinion you once held of your associate . In thc Star of thc 10 th of September , 1842 , there is an article headed "llow to Convict Leach , " and in that article you labour hard to throw all the onus of the Chartists' sufferings upon the shoulders of Mr . O'Brien .
In the Star of the 17 th of September there appears the following comment upon my letter . _*—" THE LAST OF THE STARVED VIPER . " Mr . O'Connor ' s letter will be found in our sixth page _. We have just one word to add to it . Mr . O'Connor might have stated an important fact whicli he has omitted , for what reason wc know not : we shall supply it , as it affords a key to the whole conduct of the " viper" for some months back . While in Lancaster Castle he told Martin that he saw no other way of getting through the world but by opposing O'Connor and the Star . Martin made this
statement immediately after his liberation ; and all succeeding events have served to verify it . The people have now the key to the whole mystery—It has been _dragged from us very reluctantly , we had much rather have shrouded than exposed him ; but since nothing less would serve him , there it is . The people now know "Jemmy O'Brien ; " and we have great pleasure in shaking hands with so disagreeable a subject . He may now befoul his own cess-pool at his leisure . He may rave as he pleases Ue as he likes ; we have nothing more to say than "fare ' well Jemmy O'Brien" ! His name shall never a- ? ain " it
if we can help , be mentioned , even incidentally *„ „ . „ it we can neip n , oe mentioned , even incidentally in our columns . ' I shall now conclude in _yoji-- * _slanguage "You may both now befoul your own cess-p ? 0 l at your leisure . Rave as you please ; lie as you like : I have
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nothins * more to say than farewell Jcmnir 0 ' ]"* i > n and "William Hill . Your names shn !! i- _' . _'vera- _^ ain it-I can help it , be mentioned , even incidental ! v , ° in A " columns ofthe Northern Star . " ' " Feargus _O'Coss , P . S . —In taking my leave , I cannot hel p _observing thatonepaper-slayerwasasmuchas any propertv conld stand , while no amount of fortune could long sustain the assaults of two wholesale destroyers . I _v-i _^{ ' " joy of the alliance , and O ! may you defend / nm country ' s cause with half that spirit that vou tried t * mar its progress . Farewell to the two' " _Stai-vm ! Vipers . " Go , club your spleen , and spit vour venom upon the man who fed you when you we ' re _hunurv and when you are both starving , if the world shin frown upon you , turn again to me , and in _yoursuffw ings , I will forget your treachery , and forgive vi « i > malice . * w F . O'C .
Cfcarttsit Tntwtaw
_Cfcarttsit tntwtaw
London. Mn. Doyle Delivered A Very Instr...
LONDON . Mn . Doyle delivered a very instructive lecturo Sunday evening last , in the South Londou _Chivtw HaU . At the conclusion of the lecture a vote of thanks was awarded to Mr . Doyle , ' Mahylebone . —A numerous meeting was hoUWi „ Sunday evening , May llth , at the Rock Tavern Lisson-Grove _, it liaving been announced that Mr Benbow would deliver a lecture on the " _presem state of parties . " Thc meeting having wailed \ nm tlieir patience was exhausted , Mr . Tr ebilcock wag unanimously called to the chair , and , on the raottto of Messrs , Snellus and Munday , after considerable discussion , the following resolution was unaninioush adopted : — " That some individual or individual _, having attracted public attention by writing anonv . mous letters in Lloyd ' s newspaper , terming liimself or themselves ' Independent Chartist , ' ami aiv tt . tisements having appeared in Lloyd ' s newspaper tl _»
National Reformer , calling a meeting at this House for this evening ( May llth ) , and no iu < li \ i , lu _^ liaving appeared to explain tlieir principles , ov tie . liver the promised lecture , it is the opinion of this meeting that the writer of the letters in LioyJ _' paper is actuated by malice , vainly attempting to retard the progress of democracy , by causing disunion in the ranks ofthe working classes , and that no such society , calling themselves Independent Chartists really exists . " The secretary of the _Enimett _Bris ade having announced that hchad cards and hand-books of the National Charter Association to disjio _.-e of a number were sold , and many applications were made for cards ofthe Land Society ( which wore not then ready , but which can now be ' obtaiucd by am / i eatloii to Mr . T . M . "Wheeler , provisional . * i _* cfotarv ) A vote of thanks was given to the chainusu , and the meeting dissolved .
Victim Committee . —No . l , _Tiiniagain-lauo Sun day , May the Htk _.-Mr . Milne was imniuiuouslv called to the chair , lite secretary _rcoortcd * wress since the last mcetin . fr , and read " a letter fiWMr . O'Connor , apologising for non-attendance on account of his absence from London , inspecting some land and promising to be present at tlic next meeting of the committee . __ Thc secretary _having bcra _auSiorised to renew his application to the secretary of the late Victim Committee , and to Mr . O'Connor , the committee adjourned until Sunday next , at live o ' clock .
MANCHESTER . The Masciiester Chartists . —Mr . O'Connor axd his _Enemies . -- We know of no circumstance wliich has produced so great an amount of indignant feeling amongst the _woraing men of Manchester as the vile attack of tliat precious " trinity in unity , " O'Brien , Ashton , and the parson , on tlic reputation of Mr . O'Connor . Whatever company is met together , no matter what theiv political opinions may bo , they with one accord denounce the base conduct of the above three assassins . There is but one opinion as to what is the cause of this base and _vjllonous conduct ; and that is , that Mr . O'Connor ' s straightforward and virtuous example is a continual reproof to his enemies for tlieir infamous perfidy to the cause of the toilim _*
millions . No sooner did the vituperations of the precious trio appear in the " _Defox-mer , " than a committee was appointed to examine into thc whole of tlio correspondence . At the last meeting of the members of thc National Charter Association resident in Manchester , the following report of the committee was read and adopted by a full meeting . Mr , John Sutton in the chair— "Wc , the committee appointed at the monthly meeting of members lo examine into thc charges made by Messrs . Mosley , Ashton , Hill , and O'Brien , and also the reply of Mr . O'Connor to the charges ; and having carefully , diligently , and dispassionately perused the statements on both sides , have unanimously conic to the following conclusion , and resolved , firstly
"That in the whole course of our experience wc have never read , nor heard of , a more horrible concocted system of treachery , lies , anil perfidy ihan the charges hatched for the express purposed" destroying a man whose only fault has been , that hc would not allow himself to be made the dupe of the infernal machinations of the above-named base and perfidious wretches and their coadjutors , or suffer the working classes of this country to be brought to ruin and destruction through their means . ' Secondly , ' That we , tlic members of thc Manchester locality of thc _National Charter Association , do hereby , in the most solemn manner , express our abhorrence and indignation of the wilful , malignant , and corrupt perfidy of the villains concerned in this
J udas-likc affair . We , therefore , call upon the Chartists , and every well-meaning man in the British empire , to join us in giving expression to our just condemnation of such demoniac practices . ' Thirdly , ' That having carefully and minutely scrutinised and compared the public conduct of Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., with men of the past and present day—having seen him surrounded by hosts of enemies , ' spending his fortune , and undermining his health , imprisoned , persecuted , and unjustly punished , and maligned and _peiwuued by protended friends . After seeing aud knowing all this , wc do unhesitatingly and unanimously give and express to that gentleman our unqualified confidence -. and , furthermore , wc ave determined upon all , and every occasion , when lie may hc unjustly attacked , to give hiin our cordial and undivided support , so long as he continues as hc hitherto has done , the unpurchaseable advocate and steadfast friend ofthe toiling millions . "
Luctuhe , —On Sunday evening last a lecture "'as delivered in the Carpenters' Hall to a numerous and respectable audience , by Mr . John Leach , of Hyde , Mr . Jolm Smith in thc chair , when tiie above resolutions were put to the meeting , and carried by acclamation , not so much as onc solitary voice or hand L being raised against them Thc Chartists of Manchester are convinced that the time has come when i the good men and true in every town must set their * faces against this system of abuse to which Mr . O'Connor has so long been unjustly exposed ; and trustt that they will give expression to their opinions oni this subject , and by so doing for ever silence the 8 growlers ' with the thunders of tlieir indignation . The i following resolution was likewise agreed to * . — "Thafet the foregoing resolutions bo forwarded to the editor * of the Northern Star with a request to give themn insertion . " John Sutton , chairman ofthe membersV meeting * . John Smith , chairman of thc public mcet- ; -
_mg . OLDHAM . _L-emra- _* . —On Sunday last Mr . J . West , of _Mac-cclesficld , delivered a lecture on " thc remedy fonr national poverty , " in the Working Man ' s Hau , U , Horscdgc-stveet . Mr . J . Lawless was called to thcic chair , and opened the meeting by reading the Icadingig article from the Northern Star of Saturday last ; _attetei which lie introduced Mr . West . The lecturer _conwimenced by congratulating the working men of _Old-dham on ( heir exertions in raisins ; such a noble _strac-ctuvc as this hall to meet in , and wished that such a _s building was erected in every town ; it would tend tctc
raise them more in public estimation than _anything else . The lecturer said , before shewing a remedy , i , i would be necessary to point out some of the _grievancece which led to sueh an amount of poverty as at presen ? n existed . One evil was the monopoly of the landid Everything we enjoyed both of food and clothing wava the produce of the soil , and , this being the case , h h contended the great mass of the people wonld _nevere : be better off until they enjoyed the privilege of haviwiw so much laud as would by cultivation vibld him thtlii necessaries of life . This he contended was the onkl remedy . Great attention was manifested throu 44 i out the address , which gave general satisfaction = =
STAFFORDSHIRE POTTERIES . Sheltox . — At a meeting of the newly _electffitci council , held on the 12 th inst ., it was resolved-id" That an adjourned meeting of the above councne be held on _Monday evening , May 20 th , at MiMn Jeremiah Yates ' s , Miles Bank , Shelton , for the pumui pose of arranging measures to infuse new vigour inlinll the Chartist cause in this locality . " A number tr « tried friends having witnessed the apathy that hi hi : existed for some time past , arising out of the tempmp rary improvement in thc trade of that district , haha " resolved on using their efforts to resuscitate the noinobi cause of democracy , hy calling in the aid of all wl wll beforetimc have struggled for the Charter . _The'hei therefore , request a full attendance of friends at tit til above place , for the purpose of assisting thc counmn « to devise measures best calculated to revive the ci > coi test for political freedom .
NORTH LANCASHIRE . Delegate Meeting . —The North Lancashire d * d tnct meeting , was held at Bradshaw ' s Tcmperanram Hotel , Curzon-street , Burnley , on Sunday , May lit lift The following places were represented : —JBurnlev , IV , Bi cup , _Celiu _* _- , Haggate , Cntheroe _, _Wheatlcy-lanP _, Ih lis * lingden , and Marsden . The subject of carrying og oi anlan of local lecturers to agitate the district occ occ pied the attention of the delegates , and it was ulj uli mately agreed that the subject should be laid beftbeft _) the members in the several localities , and that ea eat delegate should come prepared to the next meetieeti with the names of suitable persons to carry out tit t : plan . The next district meeting for North _Lanuna shire will be held at Bradshaw ' s Temperance Cof jCo f J House , Burnley , on Sunday , June 8 th , when a fa ft attendance of delegates is particularly requested id
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 17, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_17051845/page/6/
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