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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st March 1846, Edition 3 of 4, Page 4

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    • THOMAS COOPER. TKE CHARTISTS WORKS.
    • PORTRAIT OF MR. O'illGGlNS.
    • IHi!, JSOKTHEKiN S'J'Att. SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1846.
  • Adverts (8)
  • Text (9)
  • Transcript

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      4 The Northern Star. March 21 > 1816.

      4 THE NORTHERN STAR . March 21 _> 1816 .

      Thomas Cooper. Tke Chartists Works.

      THOMAS COOPER . TKE CHARTISTS WORKS .

      Ad00410

      ( To be had of John Cleave , and all booksellers . ) Just published , price ls . TWO ORATIONS A 6 AIKST TAKING AWAY HUMAN LIFE , TT 5 DER any Circumstances ; and in explanation and \ J defence of the misrepresented doctrine of" Kon . Resistance . " ( _Delivered iu the National Hall , Holborn , on the evenings of February 29 th and March 4 th . ) Chapman , Brothers , 1 * 21 , "Newgate-street .

      Ad00411

      A GOOD FIT Vf AllllA"STED . U _BSDELI _* _ASi > CO ., Tai _' ors , are now _making up « eompl-te _Sui' « f Supirliue Black , any _sizr , for £ i : Superfine West of _Easland Black , £ 3 10 s . ; and the Tery best _Snp-.-rtine SaX » ny , £ > . _warranti-o not to spot or change ¦ . ••¦ lour . Juvenile Superfine Cloth Suits , 24 s . ; _Lh-erir _-se . _' « r _< _li . v _che-ip—at the Great Western Emporium . Jfos . 1 »*'' ¦ -. Oxford-street . London ; the noted house lor good _blaci-: cloths , and _p-itvnt made _trouseri * . _Gi-nilemni can choos- the colour ami . juality of cloth _fioni the largeststo . k In Lyndon . Til- _at-tof _cutriu ? taus 5 _" -

      Ad00412

      COLOSSEUM .-NOT 1 _CR-PRICK OF ADiUS . SIGN DURING TIIE _HOLIDAYS * Daj Ex ' iiuit ' on " ' ,. Evening Do _,.. ' f ' _' Children under Twelve — " Stalactite Caverns •; \\ . J ' . I _^ HE D AY _EXHIBITION consists of the Museum of Sculpture , Grand Picture of London , Alhambra Conservatories , Gorgeous Gothic Aviary , Classic Ruins , Swiss Cottage and Mont Blanc , with Mountain Torrent , & c . Jfcc Open lrom T * n till Four o'Clock . EVENING . — The new and extraordinary _Fanoratna of Lohdos bi _Nioht , Museum of Sculpture , Conservatories , and Gor geous Gothic Aviary , & c „ brilliantly illuminated ; Swiss Cottage , Mont Blanc , aud Mountain Torrent represented by Moonlight . Open from Seven till a Quarterpast Ten o'Clock . A _sband Obchestb * Ohoan , an which the most ad-

      Ad00413

      T DAGURREOTYPE AND CALOTYPE . HE APPARATUS , _LEXS , CHEMICALS , PLATES , CASES , and every other articl . used in making and mounting the above can be had of J . Egerton , No 1 , Teu > pl « -street , _Whitcfriurs , London . Descriptive Catalogues gratis . LEUEBOURS' celebrated ACHROMATIC TRIPLET LENSES for the MICROSCOPE , seut to any part of the couutry at the folio-ting prices : —Deep Power , COs . ; Low Power , 25 s . Every article warranted .

      Ad00414

      PATENT ENVELOPE . MORGAN'S SEW PATENT ENVELOPE will be ready in a few days . The Trade supplied with samples and prices , by _applying to Mr . _Younglmsband , Royal Polytechnic Institution , Regent-street , London .

      Ad00415

      ROYAL _MARYLEBONE THEATRE . LESSEE , MK SOUS DOOSLASS . LEGITIMATE Week . Second week of Messrs . Abel and Taylor with their wonderful Dogs . To commence on Monday aud Thursday with Macbeth . " Macbeth , on Monday , Mr . Howard ; Macbeth , on Thursday , Mr . Ueville ; Lady Macbeth , Mrs . Campbell . On Tuesday and Saturday with " Ritha » d the Third . " Richard , on Tuesday , Mr . Rayner ; on Saturday , Mr .-Howard . On Wednesday aud Friday , "Othello . " Othello , on Wednesday , Mr . _llright ; Iago , Mr . Farrington . On Friday an entire eliange . To be followed , ou Monday aud Thursday , by the " Lueky Dog ; " Mumps , Mr . T . Lee . On Tuesday and Saturday , " Drawn lor the Militia . " Billy , Mr . T . Lee ; Natty , Mr . W . Patttta . Oa U ' cdnesday and Friday , the "Omuibus . " Pat Roouey , Mr . T . Lee ; Tommy Dobbs , Mr . W . Phillips To conelude every evening wi h _"Paddington One Hundred Y . ars Ago , " iu which Messrs . Abel and _Jajlor , with their woudurlul dogs , will appear . Stage Manager , Mr . _flevillc _. Boxes , 2 s . ; Pit , ls . ; Gallery , Cd .

      Ad00416

      Just published , by the Executive Committee of the National Charter Association , Part I . of THE POLITICAL WORKS OF THOMAS PAINE : to he regularly cou . Uuua . v 1 until _cumplttVttd . This edition of tbe works of Paine Las the merit of being the cheapest and neatest ever _ofiW-ed to tlte public . It will consist uf live parts , stitched in wrapper , at sixpence each ; and Will be embellished with a beautiful vignette of the author , engraved exclusively for this work . ' ' ; " London : Cleave , 1 , Shoe-lane . _U . B . Orders executed by T . M . Wheeler , General Secretary ; and by the various Sub-secretaries throughout tbecouutry .

      Ad00417

      MOST , WILLIAMS , AND JOKES . A GRAND FESTIVAL , consisting of Tea , Concert , aud Bali , iu aid of the Funds of tlie Exiles' Restora-, tion Committee , will be held in the elegant suite of rouiu _^ at the _PiiiTHEainM , 72 , St , Martiu ' s-laue , Leicester-square on Tuj-sday , Maren 24 th , 1816 . Tea on the table at Six o'Clock precisely . T . S . Duncombe , Esq ., M . P ., will preside . Tiie Ball will commence at Eight o'Clock , Tickets to the Festival—Double tickets , 25 . ; single , Is . 3 d . To Ball aud Coucertonly—Double , Is . ; single , 3 d . Tickets can be obtained at the following places : — Mr . Parks , Little Windmill-street ; Milne , Unionstreet , Berkeley-square ; _Cuflny , 13 , _Maiden-laue , Coveiitgarden ; Harris , 21 , Henry-street , H _' _atnptstead-road ; Over ' tou , 13 , Tabernacle-row , Finsbury ; Thorn , 2 . Prospect-place , Upper _Barnsbury-street ; Parker , _uews-agtnt , Harrow-road ; _Fuzzen , milkman , Margaret-street , Wiluiingfon-sq ' uare ; Drake , Standard of Liberty , Brick-lane ; Watts , _Islington-green ; J . Shaw , 21 , Gloucester-street ,

      Portrait Of Mr. O'Illgglns.

      PORTRAIT OF MR . O'illGGlNS .

      We Have Only This Day Receiveu The Portr...

      We have only this day receiveu the portrait ot Mr . O'Higgins , which will be put into the ' engraver ' s hands without delay . Mr . O'iliggins' trial is , we believe , to take place in the Queen ' s Bench about the llkb . of April ; aud we hope to have the portrait ready by that time . Ail who have seen it admit it to he a most striking likeness .

      POLAND . A meeting of all parties sympathising with the Poles , in their present glorious attempt to rid themselves ot the triple despotism of Kussia , Austria , and Prussia , will be held at the Crown and Author , on Wednesday next , the 25 th inst . All tlie democratic members of Parliament aim other friends of the Polish cause have been invited , aud are expected to attend . Admission free . Chair to be taken at half-past seven o'clock precisely .

      Ihi!, Jsokthekin S'J'Att. Saturday, March 21, 1846.

      IHi ! , _JSOKTHEKiN _S'J _' Att . SATURDAY , MARCH 21 , 1846 .

      Ireland. Murder Of Bryan Seery. At A Tim...

      IRELAND . MURDER OF BRYAN SEERY . At a time when the virtuous press of England is lavishing its condemnation on the cold-blooded murders , not only sanctioned , but iuvited and provoked , by the Austrian Government in Gallicia , it is but right to turn attention to the more civilised murders committed in Ireland , under the sanction of law , and justified by the English press . What boos it to the Widow Seery whether she lost her husband through the influence ot * bloud-nioney , held out as a temptation to the assassin , or to the _necessity of offering up a Catholic victim to appease the fears ofa murdering Protestant aristocracy ? Those who live by pandering to the most morbid passions and worst of feelings

      are always most ready to moralise upon the actions of others . They profess to shudder at wickednes committed a-far off , while tliey gloat over scenes of devastation which they themselves have provoked at home . There is a strong parallel between the case of Poland aud Ireland , as far as the government o _* the countries is coneerned , while , beyond all comparison , the physical condition of the Irish people , not judging from their present , but from their invariable state of poverty—is much worse than that of the Polish serfs . But as the murder of an innocent man is tlte subject under our present consideration , we shall not launch into any general review of govern _, ments or policy , but shall at once proceed with our subject .

      It is admitted by all that religious feuds have been the main cause of Irish mis-government , and consequently of Irish distress . A kind of tacit compact appeared te exist between all classes of society , not excepting even the most rabid Orangemau , that sectarian differences should no lon » er distract the counsels of the State , and that theological disputations should give way to sound legislation . The rankling differences and irritating controversies between Protestants and Catholics were being ehar . _tcteriscil hy a less intensity ot angry feeling , and none seemed more to court this moderation , and to

      desire a cessation of hostilities , than the limes _newspsper ; hut , fearful lest it had wounded and migh t kill the f ;« ose with the golden egg , it seizes upon a most infelicitous opportunity , uot only to raise the cry of " Xo Popery" once more , but to widen that unfortunate breach between Catholics and _Proteftants whieh all seemed to deplore and every one desired to arrest . Since Ph . vax Seery was murdered , the Times has laboured _h--rd at its vocation to defcud his murderers , and , iu its anxiety to justify the foul deed , has

      Ireland. Murder Of Bryan Seery. At A Tim...

      not shrunk from the publication of the most atrocious and scandalous libels against the Roman Catholic elergy and the Roman Catholic people of Ireland It is not many weeks since it became our duty to analyse the legal defence set up by the _limes , on behalf of its Protestant clients , when we showed that a desire to convict Seery had betrayed the writer iuto an exposure of his own legal ignorance ; and having since discovered that the question was now interesting to every Englishman with a particle of justice or humanity in his breast , that journal , on Saturday last , published the following _atrooious libel a-ainst the llev . Mr . Savage , the confessor of the murdered man , his twenty-nine coadjutors , aud

      their diocesan , Dr . Cantwell . The following is the letter to whieh we refer , and to which , and our comment thereon , we call the attention of our readers : — " Sir , —As a lover of truth and justice , I enjoyed your mauly and able defence of the proceedings in the case ofthe late Bryan Seery . I tliercfore think it due to thu vindication of the administration of our law , the character ot * the jury , aud , indeed , ot the unfortunate victim himself , for victim he was to the anti-Christian genius of Popery , to make you - * c quainted with what 1 have Heard and believe to have beeu the real facts of the case . Tke statement respecting Seery ' s tenancy and subsequent settlement

      with Sir _trancis Hopkins is true , aud the treatment of the latter produced in Seery ' s mind respect and gratitude , but Seery was a Ribandman . Tne members of that society take an oath of implicit obedience io the committeo or suporior 3 ; and by reason of its betug voluntary , and invested , as they suppose , with a religious hue , they esteem it more sacred than any other obligation . Sir Francis Hopkins was tried , found guilty , and sentenced to death for some subsequent evictions of cottiers ; and lots were drawn amongst the parties supposed to be aggrieved at a

      meeting of the society - the lot fell ou Seery , liis _companion , the second man a * , the offence , was appointed to see that he did not flinch from his duty ; his owu death and violation of his oath , which he more abhorred , would be the consequence of refusal ; Seery , _tlwwforc , resolved to undertake the supposed duty , but , true to tho lax morality aud Jesuitical tenoning "f his pastors , resolved likewise to Bre wide of the mark , which he accordingly did . This fact will accuunt for the declaration , oft repeated , of his muoceuce of the crime of which he was accused , namely , filing with intent to kill .

      " Tnere eau be little if auy doubt that these facts are well known to Mr . Savage aud his diocesan , Dr . Cantwell , and the 30 priests who joined in the requiem to this ' innocent' victim . But what can be thought of the system that has so blinded the moral sense of these 30 _porsons—what of the spiritual tyranny thut holds up as a martyr the victim whom they doomed to an ignominious death to preserve their power over men ' s minds , and have an opportunity of libelling the laws and British institutions aud connexion ? " I am , Sir , yours obediently , "R . M . "

      The above is characteristically signed " R . M ., ' and wliich , we presume , means " Ileal Murderer . " We are justified in this supposition , because " R . M . " admits himsolf to be an _accestyry after the fact , and all accessories in murder are held in law to be principals . . Now for a word of comment upon this letter ; this ruffian thinks it due to the vindication of the law , to the character ofthe jury , and _lNDEEP TO TUE UNFORTUNATE VICTIM HIMSELF , to make the rimes acquainted with the facts . Sweet ,

      amiable sympathy for the character of the unfortu nate victim ! He says , " that Seery was a victim to the ANTI-CHRISTIAN GENIUS OF POPERY . " We would ask the Real Murderer , how many thousands of poor Seery ' s faith have been victims to the anti-christian genius of Protestantism ? In this advocate ' s attempt to defend Sir Francis Hopkins as a landlord , he is obliged to admit the fact , that several poor cottiers , as well as Seery , had been victims to this best of landlords . He then

      goes on to state , with minuteness , the manner in which Sir Francis Hoi-kins was doomed to deatb , and the mode in which the sentence was to be carried into execution . He says , " his companion , the second man at the oif ' ence , was appointed to see that he did not flinch from his duty , his own death and violation of his oath , WHICH HE MORE ABHORRED , would be the consequence of his refusal . " Now , then , let us criticise tliose words , and let us take them in connection with a _passage in a previous article in the Times , to the effect that , after all , the law was of man ' s creation , and to the same agency the culprit looked for release . But what will now

      be said or thought ot the disregard sought to be attached to the dying words of a man to whom death itself was preferable to the VIOLATION OF HIS OATH ? Can we suppese the most hardened wretch capable of preferring death to the violation of hi * oath , and so tender of life , as to fire wide of his v , ctim rather than at him ; so blunted in feeling , so depraved in heart , so regardless of a future state , and the consequences of dying with a lie upon his lips—can we , we say , _afcx the sin of perjury to his God , to whom his last confession was mude through his pastor , to one whom the Real Murderer has proved to have been so tenacious of an oath and so tender of life ?

      What a thread the sophist would hang his condemnation of Seery upon I that his _innoei-nce was pleaded by his having fired wide of the mark , whereas he was charged with tiring with intent to kill . The laxity in S ke hy ' s morals is ascribed to the fact of his being a Ribandman , and the consequent necessity of complying with the laws of tbat association . Ol" this there is no proof ; we hare the mere assertion , but we shall use it as an argument to refute the scandalous libel against tiie thirty Catholicclergymen and the Rev . Dr . Casiwell . Now , it is a well-known fact , thai the priesthood of Ireland have , almost to a man , sot their

      faces against , and openly denounced , Ribiindism , and , then-lore , the fact of Seery being a Ribandman would not only have diminished the sympathy , but would have aroused the suspicion of Mr . Savage , and would have made him more scrupulous in his examination and preparation of the victim . We have asserted before , and we repeat it , that no Roman Catholic who has led the most depraved life has , in the last awful moment , when standing upon the brink _o _* eternity , withheld one , even the blackest transaction of that life , from his confessor . We have further added , that there is not an instance upon record of a

      Roman Catholic clergyman expressing sympathy tor one who has been adjudged to death upon clear aud unmistakeable evidence . And upon these two facts alone , apart from the illegal trial of Seery , the doubtful , contradictor . ., unsatisfactory , aud conflicting evidence against him—the unconstitutional mode of trial , and the lucid , clear , and unequivocal evidunce given in his defence , would of themselves purge our miud of all and every doubt ot his innocence . It will be seen that an English Chartist barrister , who read the trial attentively and cautiously ,

      has subscribed a pound for tho relief of the widow und orphans . Will the Real Murderer say that hu , too , is ll victim to the lax morality of Popery , or that he wishes to see licensed barbarism supersede the constitutional laws of the country ? Ah ! it is well , it is philanturopic and Christian-like , to exprwi a high sounding horror lor the victims of aristocratic barbarity , while the national religion of an Irishman , wliich neither the terror of the moss sanguinary laws , the fear of the bayonet , nor the dread of the scalfold can change or destroy , is advanced ns presumptive evidence against an Irishman .

      As the Real Murderer has taken upon himself the office of Catholic censor , has he ever takon the trouble to compare the cleanness of the Irish Catholic elergy , with the filth , the sodomy , thu lust , the incest , the adultery , the drunkenness and depravity practically inculcated by the State Church priesthood of England ? If those things narrated by him with such plausible precision and conciseness are so well known to him as to justify him in using them as the condemnation of Skkry and the Roman Catholic clergy , and in justification of Sir Francis

      Hopkins—if he knew that Surry was to have been tiie marksman , he also must know wlio the _skiJonu in command was ; he must know ( or he must be a liar for stating what he docs not know ) all about the mode iu which Sir Francis IIofkixs was doomed to die , and he is a murderer by withholding those facts from the public , lie expresses anxiety to do justice to the character of the victim himself . Let him then , in justice to the character oi * Sir Fkanvis Hoi-kins , of tho jury , and of the oll _' emled law , come forward

      Ireland. Murder Of Bryan Seery. At A Tim...

      and establish upon evidence what he has dared to publish under the protection of seeresy as to his

      name . The writer then proceeds with tho following atrocious libel against Dr . Cantwbll and the thirty priests who joined in the requiem to the murdered man ; and we assert , without fear of contradiction , that a more gross and scandalous libol never appeared in print , and that a jury of English Protestants , under the direction of Lord Chief Justice _Drnman , would fiat our opinion by a verdict of Guilty against the libeller . He proceeds thus— " But what can be thought of the system that has so blinded the moral sense of these thirty persons—what of the spiritual tyranny that holds up as a martyr the victim whom tliey doomed to an IGNOMINIOUS DEATH , TO

      PRESERVE THEIR POWER OVER MEN'S MINDS , and have an opportunity of libelling the laws and British institutions and connexion ? " We will add bnt a word to tbis climax—and ivhatcan be thought of the ruffian who professes a thorough knowledge of the circumstances interesting to all mankind , and who yet has the dastardly cowardice to withhold proof of them from the world ? Or wha can be thought of a base and brutal press ,,-which _, under the protection of an anonymous slanderer , would seek to fabricate facts to aid in the defence of the murderers of an innocent man . While the press ol

      the iactious teems with libels upon the dead , and those who would rescuotheir . naraes from the world ' s censure , it shall be our task to take the mask ol hyprocrisy off the murderers , and to expose their hypocritical advocates to the criticism of sound opinion and the punishment of self-reflection . This last murder of an Irish Catholic shall not be hastilyforgotten , nor shall English sympathy cease until English Chartism has established its first monument iu Ireland , . by locating the widow and orphans in a habitation of their own , from whieh tyrants cannot drive them , or tyrants' laws eject them .

      The people are too much in the habit of resting satisfied with the mere temporary expression of their horror of such deeds ; but if they will prevent their recurrence , they must seek justice in season and out of season , for every victim who falls by tlte hand of the _assassin , whether it be the Austrian bloodhound or the anti-Catholic Saxon law . No ! Seery ' s murder shall neither be forgotten nor forgiven .

      The Ten Hours' Bill. On "Wednesday Next ...

      THE TEN HOURS' BILL . On "Wednesday next Mr . Fibloes briBgs on his motion for a Ten Hours' Bill . A motion which , if properly understood by the working classes , and unimpeded by free trade millowners , would be looked upon by the nation at large as of paramount importance , even of greater importance than all tho measures that have been discussed since the meeting ef Parliament . It is strange that that portion ot the press whieh , when in ' _opposition to government , made

      advecacy ofthe Ten Hours' Bill a sine _giianon iu the qualification of representatives , has now , since lis adhesion to the Pebl administration and the Peel policy , become mute upon the subject . It is not less strange , however , that those of the working classes who profess a desire for its accomplishment , should anticipate more beneficial results from the canvassing of individual members , than from public ex . pusure of the atrocities uuder the present system * and from appeal to the interests , if not the feelings , of tho middle classes generally .

      The Ten Hours' Bill delegates now in London would vainly hope to achieve their object without Chartist intervention ; and , believing thut victory is within their reach , they would deny , participation in the glory to their Chartist brethren . We tell them , however , that every movement made in advance by Sir Kouert Perl , every " bid" offered by Lord John Russell , and every forward step taken by parties and public men , are all so many confessions of Char tist strength -r so many tributes to the undying perseverance _. of Chartism ; find that from the Chartist body alone can emanate such an agitation , and such a direction of tho national mind , aa can insure the success of any national project . It is true ,

      that while they advocate peace and moral appliances alone , that they have been denounced as destructives by a profligate press and by interested slanderers . It is true , that while they advocate temperance , they have been branded as drunkards . It is true , that whilo they deny the right of one man to interfere with tho religion of another , that they have been branded as infidels and Socialists ; and it is true , that whiie they are the creators of all wealth , and have , therefore , the greatest interest in its _preservation , that they have been stigmatised as the de . stroyers of property . But , it is _als true , that no party in the State , save the Chartist party , _represents the national mind ofthe country .

      "Why , then , upon this critical and all-important subject , seek to strip tho question of its fairest plumage , to denude it of its greatest strength ? We invited tho country to elect a Convention to sit in London previous to the introduction of Mr . Fieldkn ' s motion , which would imve bespoke the national will , but the Short Time Committee , in obedience to a paltry policy , and from a dread of running counter to the interests and prejudices of some free trade em ployers , have hoped to conline this national flame within the precincts of free trade toleration . We tell them , as we have often told them before , that this is

      a boon that must be forced from their fears , and that will never be conceded by their love of justice . They boast of wealth , and can command ample funds to deluge tne country with tracts , establishing the right , the justice , and tho propriety of the measure . We have furnished them ourselves with topics for volumes . We have brought tho subject under its two most important heads , RESTRICTION and DISTRIBUTION , within tho compass of the meanest understanding' "We have shewn , which they may more familiarly illustrate , that this measure

      would place LABOUR the PARENT , and CAPITAL the CHILD , in their just , their proper , and legitimate relation one to the other . That it would go far to relieve the real middle classes , the shopkeeping community , and small traders from the imposition of poor rates , police rates , and local legal expenses , now multiplied to an enormous amount by the cupidity , the caprice , and injustice of leviathan capitalists , who direct and controul machinery for their own individual benefit , regardless of the hardship that their monopoly imposes upon their inferiors in wealth and station .

      Wc havo shown how the measure would strip the labour-market of its present idle reserve , and throw the unwilling idlers into honourable and emulative , instead of'disgraceful and injurious , competition in the labour-market . We have shown how the hours diverted from toil to mental improvement would advance tho moral , and consequently the social and physical conditi jii of the people . We have shown how the change would conduce to the moral elevation of the

      women of England aud the children of England , and wo have refuted the libellous assertion that tho hours spared from toil would bo devoted to drunkenness and dissipation . But if wo want an argument that eomes home to the mind of every man who is compelled to sell his labour to another , do we require more than the fact that Bright and the freo traders Fox and the pious preachers , with their tribe of hired lecturers and their prostitute press , are tho sternest opponents of the measure .

      Must not the continuance of tho present system be considered of paramount importance to the ownors ot machinery , when a pious Quaker will disgrace himsolf by the expression of wilful falsehood in the Senate-house to maintain it ? "We have made a calculation which , if put forth to the world by the Short Time Committee , must have insured tho co-operation ol" the middle classes in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill . We have laboured hard to prove , AND WE HAVE PROVED , that the unjust accumulation of an over _, grown fortune by one man , wliich legitimately belongs to , and should be distributed among , those who have produced it , is an act of the greatest injustice to the shopkeeping community . And we have proved , that of all the interests most at variance , are those of

      The Ten Hours' Bill. On "Wednesday Next ...

      the millowners and the shopkeepers . We have shown that £ 50 , 000 a-year , divided amongst 2 , 000 individuals , would be more profitably expended among the shopkeepers in a district , than tho same sum usurped as the lion ' s share by one employer . If ever there was a time when Parliament' was ready to legislate favourably upon this subject , it is now ; and if ever the mind of the middle classes of London was ripe to hear argument upon the subject , it is the present ; when remission of labour in comparatively insignificant employment is demauded by shopmen and others , and acquiesced in by their employers .

      Never was there go great a question preceded by such culpable apathy . The working classes , who now toil their very lives out , and bring on a premature old 3 ge , to be spent unheeded and uncared for in the loathsome _bastile , should not lose the opportunity which Gven yet presents itself of backing the measure by their petitions . There is not a man who fuels an _intovest in the restoration , of _Fhost . "Williams , and Jones , who should not feel an equal interest in the reduction of the hours of labour ; and on their behalf 3 , 000 , 000 of signatures were presented , with less than ten days' notice , to the House of Commons . The name number of _signatures would secure a Ten

      Hours' Bill , and tho working classes have yet from Saturday to Tuesday inclusive , four days , to aid Mr . Fiklden in his struggle . If the time is lost , the fault will bo theirs , not ours . For weeks past we have endeavoured to arouso the working classes to a sense of their duty upon the subject ; and if they fail in its performance the fault is theirs , not ours . Apart from ail other considerations , we wish for two hours spare time each day , in order that the factory slaves may have the recreation of visiting the freeman ' s habitations ; which we hope to establish in their respective neighbourhoods , for contrast between the life of the slave and the free labourer .

      Of this , however , we arc certain , that neither tke dread of a government , the cupidity of employers , nor the timidity of tho labouring classes , can much longer withhold a measure which justice , morals , Christianity , humanity , and even common decency so loudly calls for .

      Parliamentary Review. The Dispute Respec...

      PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . The dispute respecting the Oregon territory was formally brought before the House of Lords ou Tuesday by the Earl of Clarbhdon , who moved for the production of such portions of the correspondence between tho Foreign Office and our Minister at Washington , as the Earl of Aberdeen might think it consistent with the public weal to Jay before Parliament . The tone of the speech by which this motion was introduced waB worthy of a statesman of a powerful country , which deprecates , but dues not fear , a war ; and which , though prepared to take any

      reasonable step by which the enormous evils which must ensue from hostilities between two such countries as England and America may be averted , is , at the same time , fully determined to maintain its own rights and dignity against all unjustifiable claims , or unwarrantable aggressions . The whole conduct of this country , with reference to this dispute , contrasts most favourably with that of America , and we make the confession with no small mortification . It ispainful to us to see the greatest Republic of ancient or modern times imitating the worst features of monarchical brigandage . The history of the Old "World is

      full of the misery , crime , and bloodshed which have arisen from the all-grasping _covetousuess of its rulers , and their attempts to seize upon the territories o _* others . One would have thought that at this time of day the people and the statesmen of tho New World would not have had to learn the lesson , that the wellbeing of a nation does not so much depend upon its territorial extent as upon the just administration of wiseand equitable laws , and the maintenance of institutions calculated to secure internal pi osperity and comfort . The " earth hunger" by which our transatlantic neighbours are devoured , is all the more

      lamentable when it is recollected that of the immense territory already in their possession , how large a portion yet lies unreclaimed from the primeval wildness of nature , or is but scantily inhabited by the haidy backwoodsmen , the first pioneers of civilisation . In their yet unsettled boundless prairies , and dark forests , they possess the means of locating a population equal in amount to that of the great empire of the East ; and a quarrel for a few thousand mure acres of soil , which can only be reached by traversing a dreary , and in some places an almost impassable desert of upwards of two thousand miles , seems not only utterly unreasonable , but of the most deplorable description . Lord Clarendon powerfully put the position assumed by England in

      this unhappy dispute , when he said , that in proposing to submit the whole question of our claims to arbitration , we had given the best proof to the world that we had advanced none , in the justice of which we were not able to confide ; and that , however confident we were in the belief that these claims were well founded , wo were at the same time so little desirous of obstinately adhering to them , that we were quite willing to have the whole case submitted to an impartial tribunal . That the government of the United States will persevere in rejecting this offer of arbitration , appears to ns , as was well expressed by Lord _Clarknuon , "Amoral impossibility , for there could not be found in the records of any nation an act more wicked than that two countries bound together by the strongest reciprocal ties , should , owiso

      TO TIIK REFUSAL OP EVERY PRACK' _-l'L OFFUR BY _ONB OF thkm , go to war about an almost unoccupied territory , ihe whole value of whieh could not compensate for one single montli of war and its evils , " This is the tone which we could have wished to hear the Democracy of the Now World speak on such a quostion , thereby showing to the old monarchies that Democracy is identical with "peace on earth and goodwill towards men ; " and leading on by moral example the other nations of the earth to the adoption of those political principles and institutions which practically vest the government in the hands of the whole people , substituting the rule of the Many for the _despot ' _Bin of the Few .

      The firm but conciliatory speech of Lord Clauexdon drew forth a eautious but equally temperate reply from Lord _Am-rdkkn , who said that , believing war was the greatest calamity that could befall a nation , and the greatest crime generally that a nation can commit , every effort consistent with national honour would be made to avert it . He entertained a strong hope oi bringing the matter to a satisfactory conclusion ; and if , unfortunately , this was not the case , he was determined that not only should the entire people of this country acquiesce in the propriety of the war , but that our proceedings should be of that conciliatory , just , aud moderate character , which would secure the sympathy and approbation of every state in Europe , and of the whole civilised world .

      On Wednesday the lever Bill , introduced by Sir James Graham , wa 3 discussed , and a strong representation as to the necessity of a Poor Law for Ireland , upon the principle of the statute of Euubbtk , was mailo by Mr . Waklky . Such a law would make the support of the destitute fall where it ought to doupon the land and property of Ireland . It is the first duty of property to find employment ; and when it fails to fulfil this duty , it devolves upon the State to compel its discharge . Lot the landowner know , that as often as he gives a tenant notice to quit , he is adding ono more to the roll of out-door employment , or relief by the parish , the rates to pay for which

      must come out of his pocket , and he will become more chary in his evictions , more solicitous of finding the means of profitably employing those whom he must keep either inactive industry or forced idleness . Still , though we agree with Mr . Wakxby that the employment and feeding of the people by means of their own industry , thus called into exercise by a perception on the part of the owners of property _, that it is for their interest that the people should be industrious , not idlo _, and consequently destitute , we cannot refuse to tho bill of the government our upprobation , so far ns it goes . In _itsell , it is not sutti cient for the exigencies of Ireland , but , taken iii

      Parliamentary Review. The Dispute Respec...

      connection with other measures , introduced for the relief of Irish suffering , and the tone of government on Irish questions generally , we accept it as an omen of better days , and better legislation for that unfortunate and oppressed country in future . If there is anything which we could wish to see added to the Fever Bill , it would ; be a . clause extending to operatives in England and Scotland . Typhus is a perennial plague in all our .

      great cities , and annually kills more persons than all tbat fell by the slaughter of Waterloo . Of the misery , destitution , orphanhood , and widowhood which it causes , few can have any conception , who have not practically examined the districts in which it commits its ravages . The attempts to arrest these ravages ought not to be left to individual eharity , but be undertaken by the State , which should institute not only curative but preventive

      measures . Since last week the Protectionists have recovered their courage , and instead of making speeches , which , like the passages in old houses , lead to nothing , have followed up their opposition by divisions upon the silk , brandy , cattle , and other items in the new tariff . Another great battle is promised by Lord G . Behtinck upon timber . In every case the Protectionist party have been heatcn by varying

      majorities -, although , we certainly think , that in the case of silk the decision was one of numbers , and not of argument . The facts adduced by Mr . Bakkks , aft Mr . Brockleuukst , one of the largest manufacturers in the country , as to the effects of free trade upon the wages and comforts ofthe operatives employed in the silk trade , were , in our opinion , but slenderly met by the vague generalities of Sir Geo . Clerk and Sir R . Peel . Indeed , some of the free traders themselves admitted that there were circumstances

      connected with this trade which almost called for its exemption from their favourite system . But , for the time being , the star of Free Trade is in the ascendant . Its doctrines are the mania of the hour ; . and the Premier , backed by the League , the "Whigs , and the 112 Conservative gentlemen , who , as Mr . _D'Israeu sarcastically says , " have become the regenerators of their country by changing their opinions , " bears down all tbe opposition of his quondam friends . Their courage under these circumstances is really wonderful ; the dogged obstinacy with which , night after night , they keep up their un « availing struggle , though wearisome , is thoroughly English in its character . " Even though vanquished , they can argue still . "

      The Polish Struggle. " Freedom's Battle ...

      THE POLISH STRUGGLE . " Freedom's battle once begun , Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son _. Though baffled oft , is ever won . "—Btbon . Poland breathes , even struggles—there is life and hope yet . Though Cracow is lost , and some hundreds of additional martyrs sleep in their bloody _shrouda , we cannot despair oi Poland ; no , nor yet even of the ultimate success ofthe present struggle .

      In our latest edition of last Saturday ' s Star we gave publicity to a document purporting to be an " Address of the Polish Committee to the British People . " We published that address , not because we approved of it , but because we desired to publish all that related to the Polish struggle , and especially all that the Poles might have to say for themselves , It would have been well , however , had that address never seen the light . It has been " a heavy blow and sore discouragement" to the friends of Poland .

      In their address , this " Polish Committee" say , " Poland is in arms . She is in arms , not for the sake of any wild theories of government , but for the sake of that which is admitted to be a right by every reasoner , and felt as an instinct by every mannational existence . She is in arms , notfor the pur . pose of replacing one form of government by another , but for the sake of freeing herself from thedominion of foreigners . " Now , once for all , let us tell this " Polish Committee , " that if Poland is in arms merely for the sake of nationality , such a cause will not meet with the sympathy of the great mass of the

      British people . We desire the restoration of Poland ' s nationality , because we believe that restoration to lie one of the necessary means to the great end of Poland ' s regeneration . But the mere nationality of Poland—that is , the substitution of the tyranny of Polish aristocrats for the tyranny of Nicholas , Furmxaxd , and _Fbjedebick "Wiiujm , has none of our sympathy . We war against systems rather than men ; we only war against men , when , as the supporters of bad systems , they render their own destruction necessary in order that the systems they support may be destroyed . Tyranny is tyranny all

      the world over , and it the mass of the Polish people are to _betramjded on , it matters little whether their tyrants are Poles or Russians . The "Polish Committee" repudiate " wild theories of government . " This is the cant always employed by aristocrats to conceal their hatred of justice . We know what this language means . The Cracow manifesto proclaimed the abolition of all privileges , universal citizenship , the destruction of class property in land , the right of every man to the products of hi 3 own industry , and fraternity with all men . These , according to the Polish Committee" in London , are all " wild

      theories . Under the guise of invoking Bri 5 ish sympathy , they have issued a counter-revolutionary address , whicli can hardly fail to injure the cause of which they are the professed champions . But who are the men that compose this " Polish Committee ? " Do they really represent . the Polish emigrants residing in England ? Net at all . They are hut a taction and a fraction of the Polish emigration . Thoy are the King-Adamites , or partisans of Prince CzARioRYSKi _, who wish to impose a king on Poland They are but a fraction of the emigration , both ia France and England , and their sentiments are

      abhorred by the great mass of the emigrant Poles who are democrats . But if so , it may be asked , Why have not the democratic Poles replied to the counterrevolutionary address of the "Polish Committee ?" Because , under present circumstances , such a reply would have a bad effect ; it would exhibit disunion amongst the Poles themselves , which would be fatal to their cause . Wc , therefore , think that the Polish democrats have acted wisely and discreetl y in abstaining at present from protesting against the sentiments of the live aristocrats calling themselves the " Polish Committee . "

      A few words moro to the King-Adamites , and we have done with them . That they , a small minority of the emigration abieut from Poland , should go _tuvoujiu the farce of electing a king for their country _, men , is tlie " wildest theory" of government we ever heard tell of . Wo saw recently that Prince Czar-TomrsK . had abdicated his pretensions to the throne of Poland . Im so doing he acted discreetly , and we advise his partisans not to attempt to induce their chief to resume the pretensions he has laid aside . Let them , with becoming modesty , leave it to the Polish people to choose their own government , whicli , we doubt not , will be a government based on the groat principle of the Cracow manifesto —justice to nil , privilege to none I

      We said at the commencement of this article , that we did not despair ofthe success , even ofthe present struggle . That the Russian , Austrian , and Prussian Despotisms are conspiring to prevent Western Europe being informed of the facts ofthe struggle is very evident . The German papers publish only the news supplied to them by the government officials , under the jealous _siiptTvision of the censorship . The Prussians and Austrians have established a double line of troops along the whole of the frontiers , so that the news-gatherers for the French and English journals

      can learn little or nothing of what is passing . One thing is certain , that a large body of the patriots have entrenched themselves in tlie _cMriea of the Carpathian mountains ; they aro said to number three thousand , but it is probable that they are at least double that number . In the Carpathian mountains they are in communication with Gallicia on the one side , and Hungary on the other , in . both of which the materials of revolution abound . The Carpathian mountains arc full of difficult passes and defiles , and the Poles mar hold out for almost an indefinite period . It must be evident that but a slight success

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 21, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_21031846/page/4/