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FESTIVAL BM5fB EB 20 ' j!l!l THE NORTHBR...
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^S^S^CON^OR FESTIVAL AT TH IHO NOTTINGHA...
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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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Festival Bm5fb Eb 20 ' J!L!L The Northbr...
_BM 5 fB 20 ' j ! l ! _l THE _NORTHBRN STAR " ' " ¦— : - ¦ " ' ii ii in s i iiUft
^S^S^Con^Or Festival At Th Iho Nottingha...
_^ _S _^ _S _^ CON _^ OR FESTIVAL AT TH IHO NOTTINGHAM . ,. _, _, - _gnSs oS Peargns O'Connor , Esq ., laving _P- _rP-rdto celehrate his return as member for l _* i _^ j * " ** 1 j . beld a festival on Monday evening _^ _"ff _Bri-ange Hall and Assembly Room . A - vi jo m _^ opwards of fonr hundred of both ¦ _¦^ _ttr-ttefair sex being strongly predominant ) sat fi v _? fi ' _*~ tea and their number was largely _infiJfSfijl- fresh arrivals after the meal had been H" *** _^ ¦ - -jhe _irrangeisents would have betn _$ _** y _^ a' as there was jlenty of everything pro-6 _? 0 $ _^' _e service of the provisions hadbeen less _^ J _^ ' « s it was , every time a basket of food _en-$ w _* X room . _* -was immediately seized bythe _ac-^ t ay toe or _tj , e respective trays , whose motto _^ rf ? mm CW 2 _** ' _sh- ** ? friendly small civil cont- 8 * 'Ir "' £ re ther _^ n _^ f eveiy time a fresh bone of _^ _S - 5 ] L'kw was brought into the rooms by seme _tfS 0 * _Ft _^»* - : "
' _tfS'O'en ; iA , f # d -raiter _. All _hanm-tunn _« f It _^ t _^ _T a _ad liewildered waiter . All having been at _^ JF _^ _ed ( which process however extended over _fffizL between tbe hours of fixe and seven ) , the - * \ r ifo _satisfied company amused themselves ia _^^ _lal ' ways their fancy dictated . _* itKSa- _^¦< _, _ct _, MthelaStofthete * - _"PP- * _" *" _tLTbBne moved away , F . _O'Coi-nor , Esq _, _at-& , _jf _Jiix tbe Rev . W . Linwood , of Manchester , W . " ¦ _affSrsrt-- * _*' tbe ' _Miaers' Attoniey-GeBeral . _* F' tf too-- _*» - ¦ seat in tie *** " _* _" " the _fpHe-v , « nrid _t-r _t-aneanBW _^** _^ _« _f _* e company _' _assem . £ l I £ i U > _- _* - Mr Ch _** ries _Ko , ) ert s . of _Nottinehata , _^ . _^ beeicaMed to the chair , briefly opened the \ _Zt _^ _cfd'" _^ ¦ _# re 2 d £ BS the fol _-owing sentiment _•* - _^ e _^ epe _* r Je lIie P rodacers of * _-H wealth , and the v _vlkitimate source of power . '
5 ] j ) r Roberts _tisvmg seen called to « peal _" . to tbe Aa . _Aare scatiraent , « ddressed tbe « £ emhrv as follows : _] : _jsa _teTe to-night for one simple purpose , —for _U fet one ; and for that I bare travelled from Manas fester , and shall have to travel lack sgain _to-mor-«* «* . * m hcre as a very hnmhle member of the _gs _-jiiiist ranis , to thank yoa , the electors of _Notgs _^ _Jst * _. fo * " -he great service yon have done to the _( -s ( -ss ef Chartktn _, and for ibe _adwmwnient -which f ? a _c _ala _* 'e given to the cause of human progress , hy _ji . - 3 election of Mr Feargas O'Connor to serve yon in fa _fagsment . ( Cheers . ) This is really the purpose ¦ j - j -rhich I am here to-ni ght ; for I ennsiderit my a fcit . having received a very flatterins : invitation tte who
_^ _a authorities have convened you _togeg _, _ and knowing that oar struggle is to lie fought i . lie House of _Commons—knoWing-how important _jj-for our cause that we should have a powerful _^ _a there—I did consider that it was ray dutv to _A-nt the Chartists of Nottingham for the service rt rendered to tbat cause . ( Cheers ) Now with _jj-rd to the truth of the sentiment to which I am - speak _, no man who can get two ideas tegether j . hfe head at tbo same time , can have any doubt _^• ever that the people are the producers of all _js-Im ; thk is indeed a truism in this and in every _, _iber time —( Applause ) -and it is also tree that
_[ _-v-jare the legitimate source of all sovereign poser . _Eqnali ; true itis that they have always { _-aiatthe bottom ofthe tree , and have been a _ujii for the shafts of political power . ( Hear . ) jet there is one _thing to be observed now ; and gat is , the people are in a different position from dot they ever were before , so far at least as this gantry is concerned . ( Applause . ) It will not do for _jgto take up your time at very great length , gen ? that ether speakers are to follow me , E _that we have elsewhere to go ; bat still I 33 V he _permitted to mention one or two things _pjrliJchl think tbe people of this day are
betokI those who have gone before them . The _patfeamreof this day with regard to the people Jams to me to ba this ; thst the people are pe and all determined not to be bamboozled . ( Hear , hear , asd laughter . ) I think tbat that £ _" ! _nre rises pre-eminent * and I xrill g * _re one or fro reasons for tbat opinion . I was at a meeting & tbe Crown and Anchor a week or ten days ago , I tos there invited , as here , for the _purposeTof Betdag the Chartists : I had other engagements to , £ s 1 have now ; and I thought it my duty to te tbere , as here . I mention that , because a numterof gentlemen who had no engagements , had all
sal letters saying they had ; the fact being that "lev told a _falsehood-for the purpose of making an ease for not being where they ought to he . ( Cries rrf'Hear , bear , hear . ' ) However , on tbat occasion ( red it is well to treasure up these things ) in one tithe leading speeches , —intended to be , —of the _jr-ht , and it wa ? one of the leading speeebes in my o _^ i aioa _. ihougli it was a failure . —the leading speaker oftae night was a Ur Epps ; and he was called for . md to ( wbat be calls ) heal tbe breach , and promote saleable feelings , and all the trash which they talk nnder the idea that the people don ' t understand . frem . He talked a great deal of very good stuff at
Ik beginning , in favour of the People ' s Charter ; kt after tbat he began to say that it did not matter to Mm whether the Charter was called hy this name tribe otber name ; no , he did not exactly say that , tkt would have been too glaring ; but he bronght it fist soft and nice , and got it in corkscrew fashion . _( Ixughter . ) He began by telling the people that if bind a good dinner to sit down to , he did not _nkd whether the first dish was called a hare or a ol , so thatbe got a good dinner . ( Laughter . ) . He had
sat proceeded ten words—certainly not twenty , — kfore the people , to whom as yet the whole idea * ras not fully developed , still it was brightening in _tkm , —it was developing itself ; no sooner did they tee ibe artful dodge , tban tbere came snch a burst a execration as stopped the man from _praceediug ay _furJier , —( laughter , )—and they told bim , there lad then , what they thought , and sent him home , wiih bis cloak under one arm , and his umbrella "ads- the other . ( Loud laughter . ) They told him flat not onlv would thev have the Charier , hut they
would bave the Charter by tbe name they had fought for it , and no other . ( Great applause . ) He told them a great deal of what he meant for reason od logic , hut it was stark nonsense . He said , ¦ wk t does it matter by what you name get it . so fiat jon do get it ?* Why , if it does not matter to es what I ask , can it matter to the middle classes , if thev are honest , that these p rinciples are to be tailed " - The Charter , 'if they really are honest in _feeir devotion to ttbese p rinciples ? "What we _"sean , we say ; in our devotion to the name , we a ; , first of all , that it is sustained hy old , former contests , in days gone by ; aud I say we will gam
He victory under the same leaders , under the same tanners , and with the same weapons , as those we fed in former davs . ( Applause . ) The practice is a _"rfiolesome and honourable one , and I see no reason to differ from it . Bnt we say again , there is _teolher reason : We say that with regard to the people who profess tbat devotion to the principles of sniTersal liberty , but refuse to acknowledge them * ader a particular name ; we say that we do not _Relieve in the honestv of those people . ( Hear , hear , tear . ) We believe * that in endeavouring so to _fenge the name , they will endeavour , at some _feuretime . to fritter away first one p rinciple and _iea another-fhear . hear ) -and how easy it _, wonld
1 * 2 Mv friends , do yon know this ; that there is not _cna principle of the People ' s Charter but what has tan acknowledged by the veriest mig _insistence _/ Thaeis a Whi g dinner held every year somewhere - Covrnt Garden , at one of which the brother of _tordJohn Russell presided , some few years ago ; and tte first toast given was . * Taxation witbout _renresentaiion is tyrannv , and ought fo be resisted / I S 3 k whether , as a principle , tfcere was ever a physical force Chartist that went farther than that ? But then lt is a mere princip le-a thing to be talked about ; _fot _-shen they get into'the House of Commons , ' We must consider the circumstances . Half a loaf ¦ s tetter than no bread' —and all the other trash
Sines forth , with which freedom is taken from the souths of the people . \ _Tith regard to every pnn-- Pfe of the Charter , it is the same ; no Whig in - _^ stence but will sav , -1 agree with you in the Janet . ' The fact is , " with these people . Universal Suffrage in Ibe abstract , means downrig ht tyranny 10 the fact . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) So with every _tiher princi ple ; they are prepared to let it be -iea from their mouths , hy some p lan of taking * ** - _« ils power while apparently adding to its «* ength . But the People ' s Charter—we will roa _& e _^ _og aze at it— ( cheere)—they must tak e the _bix _PoH-ts how tbey like , but they shall not take tftem * hill of rights , as an advance on the Reform BiH ; r % shall take them as compelled bythe peop le of "ragland . under th-, name ofthe Peop le s Charter .
_H-tars . ) New , this affair of Dr Epps , » a strong goof to me that the people won't be bamboozled _, _ft-re are other thinr / s which have taken place j *** , calculated to convev the same whole _s ome _{« - « . One is , this contest about the Land PJan i _^ _J that plan does offer a sound and substantial He to the people . ( App lause . ) The people have - _^ P-ed it with their eyes open ; -the most _far-^ g acknowledge that unless the j do fightthe _S' -nons battle in that shape , they will never fight « ? - at dl ( Cheers- ) Suppose Oliver Cromwell . f Ms righteous war against authority , had orderea _^ _weiy maa should first be made drunk , before
^S^S^Con^Or Festival At Th Iho Nottingha...
he enlisted nnder his banner—have a parcel of _rihbtms stuck inhis _-hat-, ai » d-ihe * i be made drunk again , and taken before a magistrate ; how long , would Hs army have kept tegether ? It was confidence in one man that made it what it wag and the Laud Phut is based on that same confidence . ( Cheers . ) Our enemies feel that this is a mightv game ; a game that ia its independence of all contingencies , is sure to win the ( tattle of the Charter ; for with a very little addition to the subscriptions 2 , 000 labourers a year will be added tt the _connlv constituency . ( Loud cheers . ) In this hattle ofthe Charter , the people are prepared to wait . Thev
know they are sure of success . I telieve that though the counties havebeen upheld as the strongholds of oppression , they will hereafter he found , under the plan , to be strong weapons against oppression . ( Loud applause . ) There is another thing which I think shows that the people are determined not to be cajoled , and that is this : —Durin g the last two or three months , there have been a great nuraheroffeelers put out . There is a elass existing pretetding democratic princi ples , that affect to look upon the name of * Whi g as a term of disgrace , but yet they cannot join the Chartists because Feargus
O'Connor is at the head of the Chartists . These men have propounded _avarietytrf things . One says , * Do let us have more balhs and washhouses forthe poor . Let ns wash them all , and make soap cheap * Another cries out about the law of primogeniture * , and says that afl the wealth shonld he divided amongst all the sons . Why we , who believe thatthe sons are robbers as well as the fathers , do not much care how the money goes . Wefeel that we can strike that off with a mere puff of the breath , when we have got the power -into onr own hands . ( Lond cheers . ) So with the Game Laws ; - —which we know to be a nuisance , bnt we will
not suffer onr minds tohe diverted from theone great thing—the People ' s Charter . I will tell you a « tory : 4 There was once a Lord ¦ Mayor ' s dinner . Now , a great feature of a mayor ' s dinner is , that there is always three times as much to eat as all the people can eat pot together . And at one of these _dinners "here wasa * 5 entleman , who , the moment a leg of mutton came in , seized upon it , and was firing away as if he had had no breakfast or supper either . ( Laughter- ) A gentleman who was near hiralooked at him with marks of p ity—almost with contempt . The other noticed this , and asked the other what he was looking at him for . * Oh , ' says the
other . ' I was thinking what a pity it was that that Sne appetite of yours should be wasted upon tbat leg of mutton . ( Laughter . ) Why not wait for the venison—for thecallipee and callipash ? ' ( Laughter . ) So I saTwith regard to our political appetite—we will not waste it upon legs of mutton , but will wait for our dinner , in order that when it comes , we may eat eneugh . ' ( Loud applause . ) Mr Roberts then advised the audience not to Telax their ' efforts ; an election might come or soon , and they would have to make their ground good ; and . in concluding his address , he was again greeted with loud testimonials of applause .
The following sentiment was given by the chairman : — The health of pur highly respected member of Parliament , Feargu * _O'Coenor , £ cq ., the founder of our glo . _rionc Chartist Co-operative liana Company , anil may tie long live to enjoy the confidence and blessing ef a grateful people . _Feargcs O'Connor , _{ Esq ., rose to acknowledge the sentiment , amidst the most enthusiastic plaudits . He spoke as follows : —Mr Chairman , and my friends of Nottingham , —If on previous occasions I had failed to render you any humble assistance in ray ' power , when vour own force was exerted to aid ice in the
great struggle for liberty , yon might consider ray presence here to-night as something egotistic ; bnt I think tbat you will pardon me when _Iremind you that I did not wait for my own triumph to see that commemorated in Nottingham , but that upon all occasions , wheu there was the _slightest opportunity ol giving strength tb your cause , even when I was not a candidate for your suffrages , I exerted myself in . your cause , feeling tbat I was bound alike to act for the aggrandisement of another , as I was for my own promotion . ( Lond applause . ) But , however , it is to me a great and glorious triumph—not only tbat I have beaten your bitterest
enemies , hy your unpurchased and unpurchaseable voices—( applause)—but also in the . fact , that what I see this night , both here and at the Exchange , convinces me that my teaching has not been vain ; for at last the very force , the very power to which , for fifteen years , I have been appealing , and for whom for fifteen years I havebeen struggling , I now see constituting the great force of the Chartist ranks here—namely , the women of Nottingham . ( Approving cries of'Ah ! ah ! ah . " from several women . ) f always told yoa that I would rather see
the housewife teaching her husband , tban teaching him myself ; I always directed yonr attention to the fact , that woman was the greatest sufferer from bad laws- ( applause )—that the man may find _someconsolation ; while the poor careworn , neglected woman , who above all others ought to be protected , was obliged to bear the horrors of the law , through the _inabUity of her husband to sdpport her in freedom . ( Applause . ) And , my friends , there is another very great triumph in what this night presents tame . There was a time when we were assailed
as violent peop le—destructive Chartists—hut now , thank God , while the ladies of Nottingham are forced to shun religious meetings in the Exchange , because theological opinions cannot be discussed without bloody noses ( alluding to the late disgraceftil proceedings in tbe Exchange Hall , under the Rev . Mr Blakeney ' s auspices ); the women belonging to the working classes are not afraid to commit their persons to the tender mercies of Chartism . ( Applaase . ) We have been told by many , that it was hopeless to prosecute this cause ; that the oppression and opposition was too gigantic , and that the instruments in the hands of our enemies were the
toa manifold _^ bnt when I remember _day when the Queen upon the throne was opposed to us ; when the lords were opposed to us ; when the Commons were opposed to ns ; when the press was opposed to us : when the bishops were opposed to us ; when the parsons were opposed to us ; when the magistrates were opposed to us ; when the judges were opposed to ns ; when the juries were opposed to ns ; when the army was opposed to us ; when the police was opposed to us ; when all the middle
class influence was opposed to us , and when capital , and calumny , and misrepresentation , were all opposed to u ' _. —we have dragged it through that , and now see it stand independent of them . ( Applause . ) Then , my friends , when what was considered a very violent and impracticable principle has been thus dragged through that ordeal ; what reason have we to fear for the practical illustration that wehave given of Chartism now ? For many years the far-seeking working men of this country have heen asking the several disciples of the different political creeds to
propound for thero the really practical manner of their creed . The Tories said , ' Protection for homegrown grain : uphold the cburch , and the stability of tbe law / The Whigs said , Progress , progress , progress , progress ; peace , retrenchment , and reformation ; but we cannot exactly define how it is to come . ' We were asked for a definition of our principles ! and because we confined ourselves to agitation for political principles alone , we were unable to rive a really practical definition of what our principles meant . Bnt at last , when we did propound our principles , they seized our men by the Jars ard onr women by the hr arts- When by our the vast field
_Princi ples it was underetood that was K £ ed into a hospital , an infirmary a cot a chool % nege ; and when it was understood that every man shonld not only proclaim the right ofa _firm ' s wage for a fair day ' s work ; hut that m to own Iabour-field _( loud app l _^ T _* _?*? _* _J Chartist princip le negatived the Tory W _* « far as regards the stability of Church and State as eSS bylaw ; when it nega tived the _pnncip of poverty becoming ¦ ¦ _^ _"" _^ S then , my friends , when Chartism negatived all these mine p , and snowed what was its own _prince , Sen it became the adopted of all nations and of all
countries . Very great applause . ) Tins ¦» somepro cress ; it is something to be proud of ; but I maybe Sd _« I am told bv some of the rabble of the SSs that I shall have no weight in the House of Commons , in propounding these principles and enfordnrr them upon the legislature . But mark , my friends and mark me well . No law was ever made n the House of Commons , originating in that honse , _liZ it was an oppressive law for the protection of Se _memSSthefhonse . Tbelaws which wereat first _unwnlar , -for which many men have been _ff-Sand hung-have been _afterwardsiWgr
Mad _uuon ; but in the first instance tne propuuUU _„ S _i were prosecuted aud pe fiecuted _, and mur-? a I Hear { So it has been with Chartism ; bnt I Smt _SKSt thegreat strength of the Land K-the _greatstrength of Democratic pnnciplesa £ Z * wn this , and this only ; -that there is now _rSmatured mhid out of the house , pressing upon f _^ o _^ _STn d preiudice of the _house- ( loud _ap-S _^ _wVl _tpeakin the Honse of Com-
^S^S^Con^Or Festival At Th Iho Nottingha...
mons , I do not _spesk as _Fearp-jg : O'Connor onlv ; 4- ! I do not - speak -as , tht _Representative of Nottingham solely , but I sptak as the _mouth-pieee of every industrious » an in England , Ireland , Scotland , and Wales . ( Prolonged _cheerag . ) And , my friends , _uilike other agitators , demagogues ( names that I glory in ) , they cannot intimidate rae , nor can they purchase me—( applause : )—they cannot divert ine from my purpose , and for this reason , that it is now not a part of my existence , but it constitutes my whole existence , to see these women restored to
their proper sphere in society—to see them taken from that labour which belongs to laan , and placed once more in their own households , as the mistresses of their own families , sitting by their own firesides—( loud applause)—and when they areiU and unable to work , not compelled to go into a poor law bastile . _^ ( Applause . ) I am resolved that when a woman is sick , if I can secure it , she shall lie in her own bed , in her own house , with her own family around her ; and I have also resolved to do all 1 cas to denounce Idleness as a reel crime lu every man who is able to work , and has opportunity of so doing . ( Hear , hear . ) I look upon the idle man as a great criminal ; . hut I took upon the man who « strong , and wfflihg to work , but obliged to beg , and
disinherited from labour , with great pity : and have there not beea thousands of men in this country who have been disinherited from their legitimate labour , in consequence of the opposition of their masters to their avowed principles ? Was it the will of the Creator that such disparity should exist between man and man ? My feeling is , not to feed you in idleness , but to give you an opportunity for the sweat-ef your own brow to maintain your own families . ( Enthusiastic approbation . ) What principle can be more glorious than tbat ? ( Applause . ) Mr Roberts told you that the law of primogeniture , and the other things _eomplaiued of by many , were only so wany small feathers growing out of the foul bird : so with Free-trade ; you were always for it :
but our opinion was , that there should be a free trade m legislation , if there woe a free trade in corn ; so that the labourer , if bread became cheaper , should have ihe benefit of it , and not the capitalist who reduced his wages to have the benefit of i _+ - hhnseht ( Applause . ) New all these principles when dissected and perfectly apprehended , will constitute the literature of this age ; and hence the abuse of the press . ;—which I court , — -which Hove , —whicii i ask to continue;—it is my strength ;—for the more fools show their folly , the more wise man _flrill _^ become cautious of them . ( Excessive app _lsuso . ) The reason that the press is opposed -to this Land Plan is , because upon all other subjects they may he speculative . About the Bepeal of the Corn
Laws , Tern , Jack , Will and Harry may all write their own opinions ; all will differ , hut all will have disciples . The readers of Jack may think Tom a fool , but they will think Jack a wise man ; the readers of Tom may think Will and Jack fools , but they will think Tom a wise man—( applause . and laughter)—but it is all theoretical and speculative . But the land is not speculative- a large potato is a thing to be seen—( laughter)—a house from which no tyrant ean eompel you to go , is a thing to be comprehended . And , therefore , we have distanced the « in national literature ; they cannot write about it ; it has come upon him like a thief in the dark—like a bugaboo—like a ( -host—like a baboon . ( Laughter . ) They tell you , my friends , tbat it is a bad
thingan '! in nothing more bad thsn because Feargus O'Connor propounded it .. Wby , if any otber man had propounded it , he would have been the _soapec , oat of the press ; bat because 1 have shown you the _fraek—shewn ybu that every man by his own industry , spent upon his own labour-field , can support his own wife and family , that is the reason why tbey hate Feargus O'Connor . ( Loud cbeers . ) It was only this day I was reading an article in last week ' s Economist—and tbat is considered to be an authority lor Free-trade—and it was a review ofa work written by a Frenchman , , writing in favour of small against large farms . Tiie Economist—one of the most perfumed papers of the Free-traders—has endeavoured to show tbat there is more production from large farms than from small ones ; that is , that one man will produce in a day more than twenty men ! ( _Luiehter . ) Thus you may see tbat
these men understand _nothing about the matter . If a son cf mine , nine years old , had written such rubbish as that , I wonld have whipped him and put him to bed . ( Loud laughter . ) But still you find that that will go down with the readers of the Economist . What , is tbe deduction I draw from that ? Why , it wen't go down with you . ( Laughter . ) I was reading that , in company with a dear friend of mine—a gentleman whom I see amongst yoa—one who , net for the purpose of making money , bnt to give loose to his philanthropic feelings , has purchased 373 acres ofthe primest land in Lincolnshire , and is buildiR ? cottages on my plan . ( Cheers . ) Now this proves that I was right in one thing . I told yon that the Land Flan never conld be
completely national until the Charter made it so . ( Applause . ) But I told you that to all sensible men , all whe , all sane men , I wonld so develope the value ofthe Land Plan , tbat capitalists would be tbe very first to avail themselves of its security . ( Loud applause . ) * Oh , but , ' says the press , ' thereis . no security in land . * The foolish attorney gives us tea per cent , on mortgage on the land , and won't take seven per cent , from others ; but-still ' land is no security , * while the promissory ante of a banker , issued on his own security—this is good security ! But the hnd does not fly away ; and if the land does not go away , and if it does fail this year , it won't fail next year . 'But crops may fail . ' Well , tlie shuttle , the hammer , the steam engine msy fail ; but
ifthe wheat fails , tho potatoes won't ; and if the potatoes and wheat fail , cabbages _won't , and turnips won't ; and in the same proportion in which these things don't fail , will tliey be a valuable exchangeable commodity for the things ( hat do fail . So that yoa will always have the real value of the thing tbat does not fail in exchange for the thing that does fail . ( Applause . ) There is a poor simpleton in this town who writes against this plan . Poor fellow ! ( Laughtor . ) I am told the children follow him , and begin to ask Timkins , how Tomkins ia . ( Loud and prolonged laughter . ) There is an unfortunate gentleman who , I hope , will one day be restored to . his senses . ( Laughter . ) He takes upon himself to write npon the Land Plan ; and he ' s a . practical
agriculturist , because he has four or five _Howera in geranium pots in his window . ( Much amusement . ) This gentleman likes to be in perfumed compaay—in high company;—not ia the company of such a low-lived reprobate as O'Connor . ( _Langhter . ) This is the very man that entertained Oliver the spy , who hung the two men in Leicester . ( Cries of ' Shame . ') I proraise you , beforo I have done with tbis man , to make such an exhibition of the immorality , the depravity , the villany of this press-gang : as no man ever was trounced in this world . ( Loud and long app _lause . ) And this is the great value , of the Land Plan ; and my value to you , as your representative in
the House of Commons , consists in the fact , that the press , though unwillingly , will be obliged to blazon it to the world . ( Loud plaudits . ) You will find that the American papers , and the French papers , are all full of Feargus O'Cannor and the Land Plan . ( Tremendous applause . ) When I go into the House of Commons , the press of _Encland will be obliged to notice it ; and I believe that Chartism wilt not be confined in the narrow limits of this seabound isle ; bat that when the people of the universal world see the folly of one country importing from another country what it can grow itself , they will demand the land , and insist npon having it . Well , my friends , I believe that there never was such an exhibition in any country , as that which is now making in this
country upon behalf of that principle . As Mr Roberts told yon , they are awake . The subscriptions aro increasing . They are twenty-four fold what they were this time two years . This * is what they are afraid of . ( Cheers . ) . But now ' we are to meet en the 18 th . ' How we apples swim ! ( Laughter . ) We are to meet , —we . —( Langhter . ) This is what Tom Bailey said on Friday . We are to meet on the 18 th November , and her Majesty ' s Ministers are going to ask for a Bill of Indemnity , viz ., to be forgiven for what they think they have done wron * . ( Cheers . ) We ask for no biU , because we do not think we have done wrong . ( Loud cheers . ) If her Majesty ' s Government can show me that they willdo anything to improve the condition of the working classes , I
wonld forgive them , with all ray heart . ( Applause . ) I cannot judge of their fallibility or infallibility ; but if th ey can show me that their intentions are honest _—althoogh hell is paved with good intentions , — then I will not be a party to any seeking to keep them out because they are Whigs . I have come to Nottingham , because I have observed there is much ignorance in the House of Commons of the objects , motives , and interests of the people . I have come here now to remain with you irom this till Thursday , Friday , or Saturday , if necessary , to take counsel fromthe several professions and interests ; and I will represent faithfully all those interests in the House of Commons as they instruct me ; but I will know no interest , whim , or caprice , wbich is advene
to thc interests of those upon whose labour all other classes live . ( Loudapplaute . ) I go to the House of Commons , not only to illustrate a great principle , bnt to prove a great fact ; —to prove that every idle man in the state is a burden upon the state ; to prove that there is sufficient raw material in the land to employ every man in England at remunerative wages ; and therefore the erime of idleness is a _srime to be charged to the Government , and not to the man who is willing to work and cannot . ( Immense applause . ) Since I saw yon last , I have traversed these estates , — -I have Been those unhappy paupers , —those miserable allottees , placed upon their o wn land , in the centre of their own labourfield . There's your townsman Tawes , —taken from
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_the . workhpuse ; 'Isaw him with his five -jhildren , as healthy and comfortable as over I saw five ohildren in my life . ( Cheers . ) 'And the :, _Rihibler''katiSg stated to yos that Tawes was in such a _forlern condition , I told him that a gentleman who -was with me waa _cwneto offer him £ 50 . down fer his tw _» acres . _^ ' N « , bat he shan ' t take it for ready money , ' said his wife ; ' I was in the workhouse lonf enough . Just come out and sea ray three pigs . ' ( Cheers ami laughter . ) I found hm happy and _somfortable . Well ,-have they come back to you ? No .. On the contrary , while all are reviling this Land Pian , yeu are desirous to _beewne dupes to this plan . ' ( Laughter . ) There is not a single woman in Nottingham that is not counting the hours when she Bhall be _licated . Mr Roberts made one slight mistakewhen
, he said , I added thousands yearly to the _constituencic ; for I promise before next year to locate 5 , 000 on the land , and add them to the constituencies . ( Immen 88 ohcerinfi . ) I have already commenced a ciry . It hss now seventy houses , reared since the llth of September ; and I will hare 3 , 000 acres , and build 1 , 009 _houssa in the same time tbat I build one home . When I _haye one houso to build , I lot it to a man to build ; if I have 1 , 000 houses , I let them te 1 . 000 men . I have , for instance , sixty sets of masons : I give four houses to feur , six to six , eight to _oif _* ht , andsoop ; so that in the same time as 1 build one , I bold a thousand houses . ( Loud ap . _plaute . ) But if Lord John Manners , or Lord George Bentinck , or _D'Israeli , —if they had built nine or ten cottages , thoy would he objects of
adoration * , 'Come and see the ; Bentmek cottages , * or tho « Mann ers villap , _' or , tho ' D'Israeli palaces ? But because I am building tbem for so many as will relieve tho labour market , they are damning it . ( Cries of ' ShBihe , 8 hame . "> ) The moment my plan becomes national , they will no longer dare to use oppression nnd foic * _- . Why f Because the Chartists will not take anything but the Charter , and will demand » nd insist * upon having the lani to _suppert thera , ( Loud and prolonged * p plause . ) Tou may rely upon it that cur Government will dread to goad tlie people ; forthe people are well prepared , not for physical , but _mnral resistance ; and when the government is hampered , as it will be presently , ifitjtlares to go te war , —* when the cat ' s away the mice may play . '—• ( laughter )—snd when they came to ask ihe people 1
what they want , the people won't say , ' we want the spit for the log ot mutton , '—1 rhn Charter without the Land ; but they wiil say , ' we want the-spit with the % of mutton upon it , '—the Charter with the Land . I will propound . these important principles in the House of Commons as fearlessly as I propound them here . When Imet the ex-member for "Nottingham en several occasions , here , I did not thon quail in the presence of a minister ofthe crown . And when I was in tbe House ef ; Commons before , I did not quail _tofore the authority of the crown —( loud _applanse)—or the . power of faction or party . And when I ge there again 5 will do _thftfiame . I -go with redoubled fnreo , and for that reason . The _^ _tee-traders say tbat I do notTepresent yonr feelings . Well , jeu know my power of _loconwtion . Let them tell me
tbat beforo the _Esster recess , and in a fortnight I will take them back three . ' foiir , or fivemillion _sicrnatare ? , _showiug-that I only d «* epresNittae work , _inR classes . ( Tremendous plaudits . ) I do not mean only I ; but _Isay , thank God ! we have our Thomas Slingsby Duncomfbe , our _leadw , your leader , my leafier—a man whe has withstood more -calumny , more pelting in tte House of Commons , than any other man . It ' s something to do , is that—it 16 different from addressing a friendly audience ofthis kind . It is very different whon a man is placed in sueh circumstances as Mr Duneombe has been , Thomas Slingsby Duticombe shall be alwan * onr leader , arid I will be always at his back . ( Loud applause . ) Tou are told tf > hare confidence in the press—in joint stock bank * , in railway speculations , in your corporation . Tbat reminds me of an affair I saw in your '
last Friday ' s Review . £ 41 . Ss . for mops ! O Tomkins' ! ' 'Well _Timkins-sinkin" : the candles and soap in the mops , as we sink the cattle and straw in the straw ! ' And then , Tomkins , JE 421 . for feediap the paupers , and £ 2 . 521 . for keeping the police . ' Now what do you think of that my friends ? ( Cheers . ) Do yon suppose I would court the support of the corporation ef Nottingham , to keep in the back ground and hide tbat ? It the _corposation of Nottingham possessed s _. majority of votes , and produced such " a _oalanca sheet as tbat , and said , ' Be still , and we will give you our votes / I would not do it ; I would expose it . Why has not Bailey exposed this " Because he is a poor raision of the corporation , he is their dog , and he is afraid to say , 'Bow , wow , wow , ' against them . ( Loud laughter . ) Yoa " send me to the House of Co-amons to tell the minister that the
cultivation ofthe natural resources of the country is the great means of destroying pauperism in the country—thegreat means to lead to glory , self-respect , national honour and aggrandisement . You send me to represent your feelings , your wives' feelin » s , and your family interests . ( Lond cheers ) And now as I have to address another portion of my constituents—for I look at tbe non-electors ss well as the electors of Nottingham as ray constituents—( tremendous applause)—in another place ; I am sure you will say that I have performed my duty here to night . ( Cheers . ) But now mind ; all the blame , thc fault , the crime of my ignorance—if I am Ignorant abont local matters—will fall npon those who neglect to give me information . ' I have come here as no member of Parliament every did before—net
like a countryman ef mine , Mr Bennett , who bought his constituents , and when they ' said , 'What , sir , would you sell your country ? ' ' Ay , ' he answered , ' and glad I am that I have a country to sell . I bought you and I will sell you . ' This is what Sir John Cain Hobhouse comes here for . ( Out . cries . ) But I did not buy yeu . I came here with . a £ 5 , note , and I took back £ 1 . 17 a . Gd . ( Loud cheers . ) As I did not buy you . I will not sell you . ( Repeated cheering . _Whenever the interests of any class in Nottingham requite my presence here , I will come down , not at their expense , but at ray own . I wonder Mr Bailey did not canvass Lord Ashley ' s balance-sheet . -687- expenses for travelling ! That is in the Times newspaper , —not noticed in the Mercury . I have not asked you for that , and
although the men of Manchester insist upon a large and beautiful mansion bein _? bought for me , I refuse it ; I will not accept a _fraction--- ( tremendous cheering)—and for this reason , my friend ? , that I have told you that the characteristic of a patriot was to live useful and die a pauper . ( Shouts of applause . ) I do not know now whether Tom Bailey will let me die a pauper . He is making me so rich that I have _resolved that my ohildren who have been located , instead of paying rent in May , shall pay none till November , because I will pay it out of my own pocket for them , trusting them to pay me after . Out of evil comes good . Tom Baileyhas done that . Don't mind what the press says . Stick to your own opinions . There is one thing which ought to be printed upon the tablet of every man ' s memory , and placed under ber
pillow by every woman of this land , and read when she goes to bed , and rises every morning . She should take this apothegm to bed with her , sleep upon it , dream upon it , — ' It is impossible for tbe capitalist who lives upon capital to represent labour . ' Thc roan who makes a __ profit upon it is not a proper person to represent it . ( C / _icsra . ) I have shown you a thousand times the startling fact , that if labour is only one to ninety-nine other elasses inthe state , that the ninety-nine cannot represent labour ; but if labour be represented , I defy it to represent itself fairly , without at tbe same time conferring advantage upon every other class . I wont to-day and yesterday to see ray friend ' s cottages . They are precisely the same as mine ; my lot cost £ 100 . each , but his cost £ 159 . each . So that by every hundred cottages
I baild , you have £ 5 , 000 . saved by my _overlooki _*} _- * it . If I build five thousand cottages inthe year , multiply five thousand by fifty , and you kave £ 250 , 000 . out of my labour in one year . ( Tremendous approbation . ) Now as Tomkins says to Timkins ' these figures is real things . These figures is awkward things ! ' I owe everything to you . I do not think I am likely to forget the lesson you taught rae , and I am sure Ishall not forget tho duty I owe to your wives and families , I have now done my friends , and wish you a good night , Mr O'Connor left the room amidst ahurrie " . ne of applause , at half-past eight o clock , and went immediately to the Exchange . The ll « v . \ V . Lis wood then rose , and was received most warmly . In allusion to Mr O'Connor ' s
strictures upon the press , Mr L . said that tbe press ought to be the teacher of the people , free from all corruption , and above the reach ef bribery ; ought to know no class nnd fear no party , but should stand between the people and justice , and aid the people in their career of interminable progress . It must be acknowledged that the press of England was far too servile . He spoke this with all sincerity . He had the honour to be connected with the most democratic journal in this town , and he could frankly say , that during the whole time that he had been connected with the press , he had never penned a lino in opposition to his own sincere convictions ; and when ever the time should arrive when it should appear necessary to write in opposition to those principles , or compromise tho interests of the working classes , he would then throw tlownhis pen , vacate the editorial stool , and wait for the arrival of the period when an honest man might find literary employment . ( Loud
applause . ) lie had always since he entered this neighbourhood , been an advocate for tbc People's Charier . ( Cheers . ) From that point he had never swerved , and iho more he thought upon this subject , the more he was convinced that nntil the peeple obtained political power , the working classes could not be permanently happy , nor enjoy thoso blessings which a bounteous Creator had provided for the enjoyment of all . ( Cbeers ) Let any impartial man look over the surfaco of England at the present lime . Let him look nt the workhouse , on tho ene hand , and the prison on the other . Let him go into those ghastly squares that' adorned' thegreat metropolis —those loathsome courts and alleys where ventilation and draii age were unknown ; and then , when lie had surveyi d tha two extremes of our selfish civilisation— the ' _printaly splendour and the most consummate _sqialor , —lot him say , was it not time that a great f nd glorious reform was accomplished $ Were they to believe tbat nature was thus partial ?
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that the God of Nature intmded fie few to enjoythe many to endure ?—" _« Did 6 od ' _satliis curtains of light in th « _tkUs , That man should look up with tha tsars in his eyes f Did God nuke ( bis artb so _alfandant and fair , Tbat man should look down with a groan of d « palrl Did God fill the world with _harmonisus life , That _msn Bhomld go forth with d » struttion and strife S Did God scatter "freedom o ' er mountain and wave , That man should _oxi & t at a tyrant and 6 lave 1 A say with so _hopsUag _, -o joyless a _cresd , For the soul that _fc- _'igvo * it is darkened indeed . '
There were certain _elafses in this eountrv who invariably declared themselves tha friands -f what thoy ¦ allerl _abstract truth . One of the speakers who had preceded ; him had referred to men wbo oalled themselves ' Chartists in the abstract . ' Yes , there were many such men;—gentleman in Uraencolouved gloves , with patent-leather boots on ;—oentleraen who hadnoobjection to tread the high-road of reform , provided it was so clean and soft that tliey could walk in silk stockings " . fid _punis- —( laughter )—these were the kind of reformers who talked about the Charter being true in the abstract . Why , what an absurdity was this ! If it was true ia tho abstract , why not endeavour to gain it ? That whioh was true in the abstract , was eternally right , eternally good .
( Cheers , ) Did such gentlemen ever dine in tha _ab-Btract ? ( Laughter . ) Did thoy ever make money in the _abstract ? No , mo 3 t _assuredly no . Then wby admit that a principle was true in the abstract , and yet reftwe to aid'the triumph of that principle ? But a certain plan in which they ( the audience ) were aU interested , had been assailed . lie referred to the LandPlan . Now there appeared to him to be w » _methinfj very practical about tho Land Plan , if the people would only persevere , The people must hold tliis as the maxim -of evory true reformer , —tke peopIe"mu 8 tlnok to _theraselvesforelevation _. 'for freedom _, for'everything whioh they believe to be in harmony with justice , and calculated io promote their pood , ( Loud plaudits . ) There was one other subject to
which he must allude before he sat down , and that waa , the growing-power ofthe spirit of _Damocrncy . If-they _wodd look overthe _st ; rf * ceof modern Europe they would find a movement in favour oflab * ur , goin (* on in welmigh every eountry . ( Applause . ) Ancient _pilns were' shaking •—ay , ' nenth the shadow of the _Vatican , the spirit of freedom now moved , and the representative of the most servile of _^ potentates bed started forward as one of the most earnest kivers . of -reform . ( Applause . ) It was a glorieus _thint * to -see the Pope , wielding at onee the power of the priest and that of the friend othuman progress;—a pier-ions thing to believe that ere long the hymn of liberty would mingle with the music of old _Tibj-r _^ s waters _^—that whera the . martyr
was once sacrificed , thera the patriot should be crowned . ( Applause . ' ) But why did he instance Italy alone ?—if _tbeywenttoPrussia , tha movement was there;—to France , the movement was there : —ay , and though some one did say that Poland was dead , —that she was blotted out from among the nations , yet still the old spirit ef Polish nationality stirred in its bloody grave , and heaved with that vitality that , would ultimately accomplish for it a glorious resurrection . ( Very great applause . ) Men raight revile freedom ng they chose ; they might sneer and sceff at tho «> who bailed freedom , as hunters after popularity and applause , if they chose- ; but freedom was man ' s birthright , and it had ever been at work , if not as an upper
, at all events as " an under em-rent . What was the history of the human race but the history of the triumph , —the sure and oertain advance of freedom . And what constituted the glorious idea which tbey eBtertaine-l in connexion with the visionary future 1 It was the idea that in that future to which they were _looking , there would be no tyranny , no slavery , bnt ' man with man will brother be . ' To aid in hastening on that glorious consummation , was his work , and the work of every ona who stood forward , not only as a teacher of the people , through the medium of tbe press , but likewise as a teacher of practical , not sec-1
tanan , religion , through the medium of the pulpit . For never let it be forgotten that while nature told U 8 that aU men are brothers—when she poured forth the open sunshine , and sent forth the refreshing dews for the sustenance of all—Christianity told U 3 to love one another , and declared that the divinest worship that men could render to the common Creator , was that holy , that warm _sentiraont of brotherhood , which gave hira to sympathise with , —to aid and respond to all tho wants and feelings ofthe great human heart . ( Loud applause . ) The following sentiment was read by the Chairman : —
The People's Charter and no Surrender ; arid may it soon To-come the law ofthis country , and he a beacon for all nations , as ths only means of tbe people ' s possessing their moral , social , and political liberty . This having boen heartily responded to , the Chairman vacated his post , and the room w , i 3 cleared for the dancing , which was kept up to a late hour .
THE EXCHANGE ROOMS . At five o ' cleck , these extensive rooms were filled to an overflow , thera being upwards ot 600 welldressed males and females assembled and taking tea together . At eight o ' clock , Mr Mott took the chair , and addressing the audience said , the honour of presiding over them had been conferred upon him , and if they would be very silent , so that all might hear , he weuld read over some letters whioh he had received . The first wns from Thomas Slingsby Duneombe , Esq ., M . P ., and was as follows : — Brighton , Nov . 1 , 1847 .
Dear Sir , —I regret to say , that any health _continu . s so precarious , that it will be impossible for me to ba present at your Jubilee on tbe 8 th inst ,, but be aisured tbat there will be no one there present , who' more sincerely rejoices at tbe return to Parliament , of Mr O'Connor than I do , and to whom I b ° g you will convey my best regards . I have the honour t » be , dear Sir , Tows faithfully . Ur _** _" * . Mott , Nottingham . Thos . Dchcohbb . The next was from George Thompson , Esq ., the member fer the Tower Hamlets : — London , Oct . 14 , 1847 .
Sir , — -I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt oi yonr favour of th * Wth . A public engagement in another part of England St the time mentioned in your note forthe soiree to commemorate the return of Mr O'Con-• nor will prevent ms from accepting tbe invitation wbich the committee of management , through jou , have been kind enough to forward me . I am , Sir , respectful ' -your * , Mr Wm . Mott . _Qio . Thompson . Tke third was from Lord Rancliffe : — Bunnj Park , _Kov . « , 1817 . Sir , —I regret much that the state of my health Is tuch as to prevent my attending any large meeting . Will you be good enough to present my compliments to Mr Feargus O'Connor , and tell him , bad it not heen for that , I should have had much pleasure in attending to celebrate his return for Nottingham , Believe me , yours radically , _RiNCLlFfl .
68 , _Rusecll-iquare , Oct , 2 » , 1847 . Sir , —I beg te thank you for tho _flattwing Invitation which you havo been kind enough to send me , for the tea party on the-8 th November , but , whilst I feel detply grateful to those gentlemen who intend to make it an occasion of celebrating my return , I cannot but be aware that my name will be liable to be associated with opinions from which I entirely dissent , ond _irhiclJ I am content to see monopolised by roy worthy colleague . I therefore beg leave respectfully to decline the honour of being present on this occasion , And remain , Sir , yours faithfully , Mr Mott , Nottingham . John Waltee . _llastings , Sussex . 18 th October , 1847 .
My Dear Sir , —I should have real pleasure in attend ing the tea party on the 8 th proximo—but as Mr O'Connor and myself start for Scotland by the lltb , I am obliged to moke tho most of my time between this an 2 then , in writing of _lvgsl matters . I am , dear sir , your ' s truly , Ernest Jokes . Mr Wm . H . Mott , Nottingham . He would now proceed to the business ofthe evening , as they were anxious to begin to dance . The first toast he had to propose was : —
Tbc people , the producers of wealth , and the only _sosree of legitimate poww _, The gentleman who wonld respond to the toast was W . P . Roberts , Esq ., the Miners' Attorney'General . ( Applause . ) He thought it was the first time this gentleman had appeared before a Nottingham audience , at a publio meeting , but ho trusted it would not be tho last . He had great plensure in stating that there were 393 females in that room , and he was sure he would rather have one woman than ten men , as at the last election tho women worked like slaveB , for wherever there was a voter they feund him , whether he was in the garret , the
cellar , or the chamber . ( Applause . ) lie then introduced the first speaker . W . P . Roberts , Esq ., having been received _^ with warm applause , said he had just beun addressing an over numerous meeting at the Assembly Rooms , is responding to the same toast , and with the permission of the audience , he would , as nearly ss he could , say the same words over again that he bad said there . He then mado a long address , and just before tho conclusion , Mr F . O'Connor , the Rev . Wt Linwood / and other gentlemen , entered the room amidst enthusiastic applause , and took their seats on the platform . ¦ The Chairman said the next toast was : —
The 1 , 849 _indepsndsnt doctors who voted , on the 20 th of Jnly last , for Feargus O'ftmnor , Esq ,, M . P ., for NottlnRhatn . ' Mr Dobmak most cordially responded to this toast , and _culoRisert in warm terms the conduct of their leader , Mr _Feargus O'Connor . He congratulated tbe meeting on the progress of democratic principles _, _andalluding to the _oharges which had been mado jagainst their leader , said there were two objects m [ view , one of which was to cause him to expend his property , till it should be all gone iu his own delence _.
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and the other to _harrass him till he is worn oat . If he were ruined with expenses , and his physical _powerswerodcstroyed _. _'thenvhis _^ _nemies would ba- gratified ; but it was the duty of the people to fight ' with him in his battles , and if thoy cjuld not win , todie with him . ( Applause . ) After the sentiment given at the . Assembly Room * w « s again passed , _F-uhoo _t O'Cc _^ _qr , _e-q , , M . P ., thon rose , and was reooived with unbounded applause , which having subsided , he delivered an address of considerable length _y He never in his life was mere desirous thun on t * eccasion to be like Sir Boyle Roche ' s bird , to b _q able te be in two places at one and the same timo . . It wag said of a cele . brated Irish race horse th « _t he always run best on
one course , because he a' . -fays won there . If , said ho , I do not run better , . j always feel more inclined fer my race at this sp' a than in any other . I _waj going to tell you what i _^ _jgh to do , now lam become ' vour member . It if _^ ue that the common course of members of _Parlii _j-aent as soon as they have received the sweet . _voices of the electors , is to make their bow aad com ano more near till the ntat election ; but believ _' ir ( £ t _^ j d 0 , that it . is the duty of a representative—I , will say of an honest representative of the pe- jp _* _e ~ to do much good to his constituents , I h - . ve token the unusual course , not te ask ; for your votes only , but to ask you to instruct me in my duties as your membor .. If there oyer was a time when
members of Parliament required instruction from thoir conststueneios , _isieafc tbe present moment . Tho _ermstitution . of England may be supposed to be the same as it was in the last Parliament , but the _system haa been so shaken through the instrumentality 'Ofike late , elections , as to render it impossible to say what the complexion of the next Parliament will be ; the governmentis bewildered ; their currency is eut of joint ; legislation is entirely gone ; and aa _tfiiey cannot make both ends most , _trane is entirely at a . stand still . At all other periods of our history , Ihe meeting of Parliament has bpen a humdrum thing on thefirst Tuesday in February , when tbe Queen ' s opening spoech was delivered ; but now thero isa change , and as tho Timet says , it cannot be
conceived what ministers can do . ( Hear , hear . ) One-third of the Parliament are untried men , upon whom the ministers cannot calculate . Now it becomes yourbonnden duty to try by all possible means to augment the difficulties ofthe ministers ; it becomes your duty to show to the 220 new representatives , that the popular mind of the country is mere advanced than it was , and to teach them useful lessons for the next election , when you will be better _preparsd to fight the battle of demooracy . The aristocracy bos been trying to put me down ever since 1823 , but the assembly in thia room is tho answer , and if they try for another half century they will not put me down , ( Hear , hear , ) I am glad to bear ihe Land Plan _associated with my name , as it
gives me an opportunity of speaking on what Sir Robert Peel has called the science of agriculture . This science is in its infancy , but from what has already been _developed , it is quite clear that if any able-bodied man in the conntry is a pauper the fault lies with the government . Tbe labour of the poor is taxed seven millions a year to feed the idlers in the country . I take it thut no man would be an idler if he could earn an honest livelihood . The reason why seven millions a year are paid iB becauBO the poor are compelled to work for low wages . I have been thinking , while n * e " were getting corn from all the world , to be paid for out of the hard labour of our artisans ; and while our merchants and bankers have been ruined by their own felly , how
easily tho people might have beon placed upon the land , and produced all they wanted ; but no ; tbe masters don't want to go to Ihe doors of the workmen and rap at the brass knocker , and say to John Jone _* v 'Will you come and work for me for a month V The answer would be . 'If you would give me as much as I can earn on my farm I will com 8 . * ' How much is that V ' Three pounds a week . ' ( Laughter and applause . ) * Then I will give it you ; ' and away goes John Jones for a month . Would not this be better than going tothe poor law bastile ? ( Applause . ) The cost of the poor in this country is seven millions a year ; now if tbo government would allow a poor man two acres of land , at £ SO . an acre , build him a house fur £ 100 ., and let him have a
capital of £ 40 ., tand thus apportion £ 200 . to each pauper , till six millions of the poor rate B had been applied , leaving one million for the sick and helpless , the government would save thirty . five per cent , on the poor rates , and free the country from pauperism . ( Applause . ) I can prove this by figures which neither Timkins nor Tomkins can disprove , and if this be not done , the government ia chargeabla with all the poverty , with all the vice , with all Ihe erime , that exists in this country . ( Applause . ) The great benefits which you have aohieved by the late election will he felt when the squabbles take place in tho House of Commons , which is like a cock-fight ; for as soon as I shall havo opportunity , when I have watched events , and the parties fighting liko two
dogs for a bone have dropped it , I sball pick up tho bene and sa y ' Here is the people ' s share of the squabble . ' ( Laughter and applause . ) You find that the government are obliged to assemble Parliament three months earlier than usual , because the government system is paralysed , and it is impossible to receive threugh the Excise and Customs—that is through ; _diBBip _* . ticn and drunkenness—sufficient money to carry on the government . ( Applause . ) I have always found the government an obstacle to tho progress of the people . Last Saturday , Iwa 3 going by train from London , and at the same timo Lord John Russell and the Cabinet Ministers were getting out for Windsor , when the train I had to go by was delayed half an hour on account oftheir trip .
Now , I remarked at the time that the government always stopped the people from making progress , and here was an instance in point . ( Applause . ) He then treated upon the cost of the Church;—the guessing of the Times , which is the Ministerial baremeter as to the future;—the versions given as to the _cauBesofthe late famine;—and cautioned tho people around him . not to be bamboozled by the press . He charged the government with raising taxes out ofthe drunkenness and vices ot the people;—insisted that the Established Church did not live in the affections ef the people , and declared that he was of tbe highest order ofthe aristocracy , but ho had been promoted to a commission in the democracy . He would stand by his order ; he meant not
as Lord Grey did , the _aristecracy , but the order of labour . He defied the aristocrcy to thrive , unless the labourer was requited for his labonr . ( Hear , hear . ) He mentioned the circumstance , of Mr Allsop buying land at Lincoln , and tho Baving effected by his Mr O'Connor ' s superintendence of the building of the cottages , and the reason of the press taking against the Land Plan . There were 808 women in that hall , besidemen , aud he wished every man was a woman into the : bargain ; and thero were nearly eight hundred _meotbers ofthe Land Company in Nottingham and its neighbourhood . ( Applause . ) He expressed similar sentiments to those he had uttered at the Assembly Rooms , relative to women constituting the great force of the Chartist ranks in
_Nottingham , and the proceedings at the Exchange Hall when the Rev . Mr Blakeney delivered his last lecture , contrasting the scene of the present meeting with the resulls on tbat occasion . I will give you ( _Baidhe ) an instance of tho effect of women taking up the Land Plan , and then yon will see that I had rather have one Mrs Caudle to give lectures , than ten Mr Caudles to lecture to . A very short time ago , a man came to Lowbands , and said he was anxious to enter the Land Company . I told him it was Sunday , and the secretary was not there . ' D—n it ( said the man ) I-must and will join ; for ever since last Sunday night , I have not bad a wink of sleep , through my wife continually saying , 'Wilt thou Join tbe Land Plan ?—wilt thou join the Land Plan V
( Laughter , loud applause . ) This man took £ 5 . 6 s . 4 d . out ef his pocket , and iusisted on leaving it with some one before be went . away . ( Applause . ) Take this as an illustration of how the plan is working . I have always told you that the man wbo would not contend for his political rights , is a coward , and does not deserve to have them but if the men will contend as the women do , wo shall very soon have all we want , I would rather have one thousand women engaged in this matter than three thousand men , because the woman is the person who is compelled to bear the hardships ; to carry the baby ; to bear all the rcvilin gg , aiid too often the blows of the disheartened husband . Ho then spoke of the effects of bad laws upon the poor , both to men and women .
and recommended the readers of the _Mbkcokt to save their money , expended for a paper every week , and to _invest it in the Land Plan . He had been told that a friend ofhis had been that day to a friend of Mr _Bailej ' s , where he was gone to dine , to ask if Mr Feargus O'Connor could come to meet Mr Bailey amongst his friends 1 * No ( said his friend ) , if Feargus O'Connor comes , Bailey will not come . ' So that Bailey actually runs away at the name of Feargus O'Connor . ( Appl ause . ) He had not vet Bhown a millionth part ofthe Land Plan which ho intended to carry eut , and whatever difficulties might oi-mo , he would either conquer them or die . Where were the shopkeepers , with their empty tills and their gaily dressed wives ? Where were the advocates ot Free-trade ? Why were they not in that room 1 Why did they not give their support to the Land Pian , which was in accordance with the
declaration of ihe Bible , ' that man should Jive by tha sweat of his brow V Why is it , fsaid he , ) that I am branded hy the press and what do I care for tho press ? lnm able to maintain myself above tha whole press . And why ? because I am dad in a coat of mail ; I have pot truth on my side , and ara in tho right . Formerly wh en we went into the agricultural districts , and asked a labourer ¦ what he professed , he used _tosay . 'Church and Queen . ' But ask him now what he is , and he will tell _y-ou . A _CbartiM , your honour . ' 'And what does that mean ?» _Hewillisay * A house and land . ' ( A pplause . ) I will undertake to raise for the _govert . _nieKt a property tax of ton per cent , upon every hundred acres of land in the country , witbout laying a single penny upoa the land-owner or labourer , if landlords will only adopt my plan . Allow every man who is a tenantat-will , and holds 100 cores ef land , for which he now pavB £ 100 . a year , to have a leaso for ever of
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 20, 1847, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_20111847/page/7/
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