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Febbuabv 24,1849. THENORTffl-RM STAR. m-...
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LETTERS XO THE WOKK1NG CLASSES. XXXVI. „...
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THE FRATERNAL DEMOCRATS OF LONDON TO THE...
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DR. M'DOUALL. TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE XORT...
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York Farmers * Club.—Atthe List monthly ...
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PLBLIC MEETINGS. REDUCTIOX ~ OP TAXATION...
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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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Febbuabv 24,1849. Thenortffl-Rm Star. M-...
Febbuabv 24 , 1849 . THENORTffl-RM STAR . m-nr— - _—^ ~ ——————— -mm—___________ _^^^^^^^^^^^^^• _** _* llll - ' _* _' _* _* -- '' _- ' _' _l- ' _- _''' llll _' l _>''' _- _*' I I
Letters Xo The Wokk1ng Classes. Xxxvi. „...
LETTERS XO THE WOKK 1 NG CLASSES . XXXVI . „ words are tilings , and a small drop of ink _yaj-jng—likt- dew—upon a . thought , produces That which makes thousands , perhaps milhons , think . " UTKOS .
THE THREE GLORIOUS DAYS OF in FEBRUARY . Ebo tuee _Proletarians , This Day ( February 24 th ) twelve months a , a perfidious King , with the CAix-niark of his peop le ' s blood upon his hrow , fled in terror from his palace , and Liberty lighted jier torch at the flames of Royalty ' s funeral pile : February 22 nd , 23 rd , and 24 th—glorious and immortal days ! Though the paid _paragites of Tyranny scoff and lie , they cannot _ Sa . ccfacts ' from the page of History ; and History , even though written by the enemies
of the People , will be compelled to _acknow-Jed _^ c tlie heroism , the chivalry , the sublime ( thoug h ill-requited ) generosity of the heroic population of Paris during those ever memorable days . Happily , tlie historical department of Literature is no longer monopolised by sueh venal creatures as those who , not long ago , prostituted their pens to glorify a Tallies * and calumniate a Robespierre . The people have at least one historian , who is as incorruptible as he is mentally powerful . Even the enemies of Loris Blaxc acknowledge his purity , and pay unwilling homage to his genius . I
anticipate from his pen a worthy monument to the glorious horoes of February . Twelve months ago tlie friends of Democracy in this and every other nation in Europe stood , as it were , on tip-toe , with beating hearts , watching thc _jwogress of events at Paris . Restless anxiety , alternate hope and fear , agitated the breasts of myriads , from London to Vienna , —from Berlin to Rome . " The Banquet is forbidden!—The Opposition have succumbed !—The People are assembling !—"The barricades are raising I—The struggle has commenced ' — Guizot is dismissed ! — The
conflict thickens . '—The troops are fraternising I—Louis Philiwe has abdicated and fled : —The people have rejected the _Couxx de Paris !—The Red Flag flies ova * the Tuileries 3 —The throne is burning on the site of the Bastille!—The Republic is Proclaimed : !" O joy o f joys 1 Rise _froni your slumbers , 0 yc nations ! Turn pale , " ye kings and statesmen—brigands and hypocrites , oppressors , cheats , and liars—the handwriting is on the wall * You are -weighed in the balance and found wanting , and Justice , long weary of vour iniquitous reign , demands your fell .
Roused by the trumpet-voice of Liberty , sounding from the banks of the Seine , the nations confronted their oppressors . Bloody contests in some countries—tceble and inefiectual efforts against the people in other statesresulted in magnificent triumphs , which were ouly incomplete because the people foolishly put trust iu the fear-extorted pledges of their rulers . On the other hand , in England and Ireland popular debasement and bourgeoistreason enabled the aristocracy to tighten the •• villain-bonds , " by wliich thc few hold the many in thrall .
Turn wc again to France . In thc very hour of their victory , the people unhappily sowed the seeds of their own ruin , by allowing a set of knaves and intriguers to take possession of tlie Government With the exception of four , the members of the Provisional Government -were either disguised Royalists , or political babblers , who , whilst mouthing Republicanism , "were intent only on their personal aggrandisement and the continuance of bourgeois rule—a
_JRepublic of slaves and profit-mongers . It is notorious that some of the " Provisionals" had supported the scheme of a Regency within a few minutes of being appointed members of the Republican Government . When the list Avas read in the Chamber of Deputies , a student of the Polytechnic School exclaimed : " You see that some of the members of your Provisional Government are against a Republic . We shall be deceived aswe were in 1830 . "
Prophetic words I It is true the Republic still exists in name , bat it Is the mere lifeless form ofthe Commonwealth . The intriguers , foiled on thc 24 th of February , 1848 , are the masters of France on this 2-ith of February ,
1849 . When that babbler Lamartine persuaded thc people to abandon their victorious red flag for the bourgeois tri-colour , the first blow was struck at the Revolution . The acceptance of the pretended " adhesion" ( to the Republic ) of 3 Iessrs . Thieks , Bugeaud , and Co ., was a fatal error . The people should have learned from history , that popular generosity is always abused by the enemies of Justice . Above all , ihe permitting an increase of taxation b y the Provisional Government , was most ruinous . Thc peasantry , on heing informed that they
were required , in the name of "Liberty , Equality , aud Fraternity , " to pay additional taxes for the support of the Government , _na--turally answered , — " To the devil with your Republic . " This feeling , taken advantage of by the rich , and tiie intriguers generally , caused the election to the Assembly of so many enemies of the Republic . Ledru-Rollix _' s commissioners , even if they had possessed the eloquence of Demosthenes and
the strength of Hercules , would have iailed , when forcxl to compete against the " forty-five centimes . " But it may be said that Louis Philippe and Guizot had left the public treasury empty , and money was indispensable . Granted . But a polite request to the rich to supply an adequate contribution would have been attended to in the first days of March , and Avould have altogether set aside the necessity for demandinp * additional taxes fronri * o the people .
Any Revolutionary _Government that , instead of dimimghing , increases thc public burdens , necessarily and deservedly becomes unpopular . "Liberty , " as Lamrnxais has well said , "is notamereword to be written on a placard and posted at the comer of a street ;" it is , on the contrary , a power whose beneficent influence is felt socially and politically . "Woe to those Revolutionists who talk of Reform , but are content to make words supply the place of deeds . * 1 / th of March
It is to be lamented that the passed over -ivithout a new Revolution . The Proletarians were then masters of Paris , and might aud should have purged the Provisional Government . That day might and onght to have seen the inauguration of the Red Republic . A month later it was— " too late I " The manifestation ofthe loth of May -was a most unwise and unfortunate afikir . The much more serious movement of June , though it must be deplored , may be justified . 44 What * " it may be said" justify an
insur-, rection against an Assembly elected by Universal Suffrage ? " I answer , that there is a right anterior and superior to tlie right of Suffrage—the ri ght to life . * ' "When the social compact fails to protect a citizen , he resumes hisnaturalrig httodefend , _^ er * _'o-Mr 7 / £ / , all his rights . " It is further declared , in thelnost perfect embodiment of the principles of the French Revolution , that " when the government violates the rights ofthe people , insurrection _bfortheneoDle . and for every portion of
the people , & c ., & c . " The Assembly had condemned the Paris Proletarians to perish by famine ; and , further , had passed an infamous measure for the purpose of stifling the expression of their just discontent The Paris workmen had ample provocation for taking to the barricades . I can say nothing in favour ofthe Policy of that course . The chances of success _Av'erefe * v ; audit is questionable whether even success would not have produced most deplorable consequences . The 17 th of March was
Letters Xo The Wokk1ng Classes. Xxxvi. „...
the day on -which the Revolution should have been completed . The fierce revenge taken by the conquerors after the struggle of June had terminated , contrasts most vividly with the magnanimity of tlie victorious people in the days of February . The French workmen did perfectly right in excluding Cavaignac from the Presidency , whatever may be the coiisequences of the election of Louis Napoleon .
Thus far the consequences of that election have been most injurious to the Republican cause . Louis Napoleon I take to be a combination of knave and fool : knave , so far as he intends the destruction of the Republic ; and fool , inasmuch as he gives dail y evidence of his blindness to the real designs ofthe Royalists , who use him as a tool , hut have no inclination to abandon their own views in favour of a new Buoxaparte dynastv .
Republicans crowd the prisons , public meetings are _suppresS-ed by brute force , the democratic journals are persecuted , the bonnet rouge is proscribed , and—climax of infamy—the organs ofthe Government announce an agreement on the partof the President—with England and Austria—to engage in an armed intervention in Italy , for tho purpose of re-establishing the Pope , and suppressing the Roman Republic . Even in the worst days ofthe reign of Louis PmLirPE , France had not sunk to the degradation wliich at this moment renders her the wonder—though not the admiration—of the world . The most gorgeous luxury characterises the President's balls and assemblies . The
rich arc feasting , and revelling in the very wantonness of profligacy . The pulpits are announcing the speed y restoration of Royalty , and the stage resounds with scoffings at every public and private virtue . Can such a state of things continue ? I will not believe it . A change may not be at hand , hut a Radical change must and will
come . Brother Proletarians , believe not that the glorious victory of February was won in vain . Rather believe with me , that Public Virtue , though for a moment cast down , -will yet be found strong enough to crush the vampires who at present pollute France by their rule . The Red Republicans are not yet extinct ; their mission they have sworn to accomplish , and they will fulfil their vow . Let us encourage them by our sympathy and applause , for they are the-pioneers of Progress—thc champions of Universal Justice . Proletarians
of London , duty to your brethren and to yourselves commands your attendance at the Festival which will be held on Monday next , to celebrate the three glorious days of February . Governments hostile to tho freedom and happiness of the people , are again leaguing together to prevent the march of Liberty . At such a moment it becomes an imperative duty for the true Democrats of all nations to unite , and , as far as possible , aid each other in their common pursuit of the one thing needful—JUSTICE . May the time speedily arrive , when the reign of JUSTICE will be undisputed and universal ! L'Ami du Peuple .
The Fraternal Democrats Of London To The...
THE FRATERNAL DEMOCRATS OF LONDON TO THE TRUE REPUBLICANS OF PARIS , ASSEMBLED TO COMMEMORATE THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION OF FEBRUARY , 1848 . Citizexs axd Brothers , Anticipating that the glorious 24 th of February will be celebrated by you in a manner becoming the great events of that ever memorable day , we send you this friendly greeting , to assure you of our fraternal sentiments , and our heartfelt aspirations for the triumph ofthe _frae Republic—the Repuhlique Democratique et Sociale !
We address these words to the " true Republic-ins , " because we must distinguish between hypocrites , and honest men — between disguised royalists , and veritable democratsbetween political babblers , and social reformers —between those who persecute thc Republicans , and those who are p ersecuted—between those who are plotting for the restoration of Monarchy , and those who have sworn to live and die for the Republic . We take our stand by the second of these parties . In addressing ourselves to the " true Republicans , " we
speak to tbe legions of tbe Repuhlique Rouge —the brotherhood of the Republique Demo cratique et Sociale I Brothers , to you—to the heroic people of Paris—the world is indebted for the irrepressible stimulus given to the cause of Universal Liberty , by your victory of the three days of February . Accept the heart-homage of those who would scorn to flatter Kings , but who are proud to testify their admiration of men of whom posterity will say— "They more than deserved well of their country ; ' they deserved well of mankind . "
But whilst we rejoice with yon in commemorating the victory of February , we mourn with you over the terrible evils which too soon followed that day of triumph . The exiles who have sought refuge in this country—the prisoners of Vincennes—the victims of the military tribunals—the heroic martyrs of the barricades of June , claim our sympathy and our tears . Above all , we mourn the sacrifice of the principles inaugurated by the victorious
people on the 24 th of February . The solemn p ledges given by the Provisional Government to the Proletarians , have been basely violated . Instead of the looked-for reign of Equality , Liberty , and Fraternity , there has been established the rule of Injustice , Brute-force , and Persecution ; and—0 ! matchless blasphemy —it is in the name of the Republic that the founders and defenders of the Republic are condemned to exile , chains , and death !
This ruin has fallen upon France because the victors of February adopted the fatal policy of " moderation "—because sham Republicans , intriguers , and babblers were fatall y allowed to grasp the reins of power . Brothers , henceforth let the first political lesson you give to your children be the words of the immortal St . Just : — " They that make but half-revolutions only dig a tomb for themselves I " But we will not despair of the Republic . _Although your Moderates have established a veritable Reign of Terror , their power will crumble and perish if you are but united . Yon have Faith—you have Energy ; add Union , and you will be again and finally victorious .
On the occasion of the late Presidential Election , we were grieved to witness division and distraction in your ranks . We hope to gee in the approaching electoral struggle—one party—one flag—one aim : the election of the tried and proved champ ions ofthe Democratic and Social Republic . Such , we trust , will be your policy , and that of your brethren , the true Republicans throughout France . By the blood ofthe martyrs—by the sufferings of your proscribed brothers—by thehopes of the oppressed and struggling nations of every name and dime—ire adjure you to unite and form one phalanx , invincible and irresistible . .
Accept our asp irations for the happiness of France . Glory to the Mountain ! Gloiy to the prisoners of Vincennes ! Glory to all our suffering brothers ! Victory to the Republique Rouge ! Vive la Repuhlique Democratique et Sociale ! Salutation and Fraternity . ( Signed b y the Committee ) William Shute , Chairman , Henby Ross , Edmund Stallwood , James Grassby , Edwin Gill , { Thomas Grey , John Arnott , John Simpson , John Milne , Samuel Kydd , Charles Keen , Cr . Julian Harney , Secretary .
The Fraternal Democrats Of London To The...
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO THE CHARTISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN . Fellow Countrymen , —We have resolved to bring again before Parliament the great question of a thorough reform of the House of Commons—the great question as to whether a small usurping fraction shall arrogantly sway the destinies of this country , or whether that duty is not the sacred province of the whole people . That the solving of this important problem rests with thc people themselves , is au
opinion which has been maintained by the sages of the world in every era of its history . Never since the commencement ofthe movement for liberty in this country , were circumstances so favourable to its progress as at the present juncture . There is , however , one great and lamentable deficiency , which must be supplied , ere these circumstances can have any favourable influence , The people must be aroused from that worse than criminal torpor
into which they have permitted themselves to fall . Their inaction is the delight of the oppressor ; it is at the same time the dolour of the patriot . We regard their quietude under their many wrongs with sorrow , but not with despair . We cherish a lively faith in the truth and ultimate success of the principles of democracy , while we entertain strong hope that that love for liberty wliich is inherent to mankind , will yet fructify in the hearts and minds ofthe now indolent masses of Britain .
It is , fellow-countrymen , to us rather extraordinary that the people here stand still , as it were , opium-drugged , while tho thunders of revolution arc awaking up from the sleep of ages the nations of the world , and striking salutary fear into the hearts of their base oppressors . Few are the nations in Europe that have not , within the eventful 1848 , won some boon , either in the shape of a diminution of grievance , or an extension of liberty ; while others have sent their despots upon an
unwilling pilgrimage through the world , and have taken the management of affairs into their own hands . Let us here ask , " What advance has England made in thc road to freedom ? What concession has the " Glory of the world and the envy of surrounding nations " made to the politically-enslaved and socially-degraded millions ? " What improvement has been wrought in thc miserable condition ofthe great mass of our operative population ? " Alas ! the answers are too notorious to need repetition .
If , fellow-countrymen , it were necessary to furnish you with an incentive to action , in order to a speedy obtainment of tlie power to create an honest House of Commons , you havo it in the fact that during a fcAV months of the past year , four monstrous Coercion Laws were enacted by Parliament , at tho instigation of that precious clique ;—the Russell Cabinet . You have it again , in the fact that the first act of the present Session hasbeen , to offer to Ireland
—the national bastile , thc terrible golgotha , the land of emasculatedinvalids—an additional insult ; to heap on her another cruel wrong ! Whigs , Tories , and Liberal Reformers seem to vie with each other , in their endeavours to p lace the scorpion whip of coercion in the hands of her rulers . We remind you of this tyrannical procedure with the view of stimulating you to an effort to rescue degraded humanit y from the withering dominion of usurped and irresponsible power .
We have conferred with our colleague and champion , Mr . O'Connor , as to the time of testing the feeling of Parliament upon the subject of the Charter . Mr . O'Connor has agreed to introduce the subject formally to the notice of the Houso , about the middle of thc forthcoming May . His efforts will be of little avail , unless strenuously supported by the People . You will have ample time to arouse public attention to the subject , and to get your petitions properly and numerously
signed . A form of petition will appear m the " Northern Star" of Saturday next , which may be adopted or modified in phraseology , according to the wish of the localities . The petitions of each town or district when carefully inspected , in order to guard against all improprieties to lie seiitto the Representative of the locality for presentation to Parliament . A . record of the number of signatures attached to each petition to be made by the agents ofthe Association , and forwarded tothe Executive Committee .
. Fellow- Countrymen , in marking out this work , we do so with full confidence that you will not neglect it . We implore you to cast off all sluggishness , and" thus deprive your enemies of the argument that you are indifferent to your rights . "Up , Guards , and at them , " was the laconic address that preceded one of the most successful charges at Waterloo . * ' Up , Chartists , and to work , " say we ; " and strive to realise that hitherto empty and vainglorious boast , that Britons never shall be Slaves . " T . Clark , W . Dixon , P . M'Grath , E . Stallwood . Gr . Julian Harney .
Dr. M'Douall. To The Editor Of Tiie Xort...
DR . M'DOUALL . TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE _XORTHEKN STAR . 25 , Mount-street , Hulme , Manchester , February 20 tli , 1849 . Sik _, —I went to Liverpool on the llth , to see my brother Chartists in prison . I found them all well but Leach and Grocott . At the same time I made an application to the governor for leave to see Dr . M'Douall . He told me that no one could see him only his wife , and it must be on matter of importance . I asked him , in the name of thousands of friends , to letmc see him . "Well , " he said , " you shall see him . Walk this way . " At that time he was taking his exercise in the yard . I shook hands
with him . He had the prison dress on ; the same as felons and thieves . When I first saw him , my blood ran cold ki my veins . I said to myself , " Is this the man whom I have seen in comfort and happiness ?" He was low in spirits . I told him that the people were doing all that could be done in his behalf with regard to the Writ of Error . The Doctor told me he had abandoned the case . I told him that a good sum of money had been subscribed , lie said , " Give it my wife—it will do her good . " Tlie men of Liverpool have taken a house and shop for her to commence business in tlie grocery line . I am , sir , yours , -fcc , Thomas Roberts .
York Farmers * Club.—Atthe List Monthly ...
York Farmers * Club . —Atthe List monthly meeting of this club Mr . Smallwood of Middlethorp , m the chair , a paper was read by Mr . Raines , " On the best plan of preparing land for spring crops . " The plan recommended was—first , to make the land dry by thorough draining ; secondl y , to grow as many root or fallow crops as grain ; thirdly , to clear the land by _scarifying or broad-shearing the stubble immediately after harvest ; fourthly , to plough the land in sufficient time to get tempered by the atmosphere ; fifthly , to plough deep for tlie bean and root crops * and , sixthly , to manure sufficiently for them , so as not to have to apply any to the grain crops . The _Bikmixgham March ox London . — -It is stated that the subject of Mr . Young ' s letter Jo General Napier , relating to the alleged revolutionary movement in support of the Reform Bill , will be brought under the notice of Parliament , in tlie Lords by Lord Lyndhurst , aud in thc Commons by Mr .
Gladstone . Telegraphic Communication between America axd Europe . —Amongst the miscellaneous proceedings of tho United States Congress are projects to establish a telegraphic communication across thc Atlantic to Europe , to form a similar line across the American continent , and also a project to form a line of railway from the Lakes of Michigan to the Pacific . The Stowe LiBBARr . —The sale of the Stowc library has concluded after twenty-three days sum total realised , - £ 10 , 355 . Thc manuscripts will be sold next month .
A Hist . — The mind has more room in it than most peop le think , if you would but furnish the apartments . —Gray ' s Letters . Coxxectixo Railway . —A railway round Paris , uniting the temini- of the different railways , has just been comp leted . American Partr idg es . —Among the recent importations from the United States , have been American partridges , in considerable number . A Tender-hearted Man . — Who . is thc most
tender-hearted man in any town ? D ' ye give it up ? tender-hearted man in any town ? D ' y e give it up ? The bell-man—because he will " cry ' if you give him a shilling .
Plblic Meetings. Reductiox ~ Op Taxation...
PLBLIC _MEETINGS . REDUCTIOX ~ OP _TAXATION ! A public meeting , convened hv the Executive Committee , was held at the Litcrarv and Scientific Institution , John-street , Fitzroy-square , on Tuesda y evening . _1-ebru-u-y 2 Hth . Mr . W Dixo . v was unanimously called to thc chair Mr . T . Clark said : The resolution which it is my dutytosubimt tothemeeting _. isanirmativeoftwo distinct principles : —tlio ono has reference to tho mode ot levying taxes , and thc other is emmciativo of what I regard as tlie onl y sound tfieorv of parliamentary representation . It will be my ' province to deal more specificall y with the first part ofthe resolution in which it is asserted , " Don ' t be alarmed ! —that direct taxation is the only honest mode of realising a revenue for thc support of national institutions . ( Cheers . ) This proposition m : * v hr >
considered as an innovation , b y those , who profit by the present swindl _i ng system , " but I can show that direct taxation is at this time extensivel y practisod in this country . ( Hear . ) How arc the taxes for the support of the poor imposed ? Directl y , and in a great measure upon property . The same " is true of highway and police taxes ; infact , ofall assessed taxes . But the difference between local and general taxation is , that the purpose for which each local tax is imposed , is distinctly and clearly sot forth , and its necessity must , in some measure , be established before any local government will attempt its imposition ; but iii the case of general taxation , ninetenths of thoso who pay the taxes are not onl y ignorant of thc purposes to wliich such taxes are applied , but they are equally in the dark as to thc amount which thev nav—fhnnrl—nnd thus is nun nf
the first rules of business violated , by withholding from thc debtor a knowled ge of the amount which he pays to his creditor . The state in imposing taxes , p laces itself m the relation of a creditor to those who have to pay , and to withhold from such persons a knowledge of the amount whicli thev each contribute to the state is , I repeat , a swindle ! ( Cheers . ) There never was a happier mode of p lundering the million than thc present method of raising the taxes in this country . ( Hear , hear . ) And onc of my reasons for wishing to substitute it by direct taxation is , that if each man were called upon to contribute in proportion to his means , that a more searching inquiry would bo made into the application of such taxes , when , if I mistake not , a considerable reduction would be
effected in an our national expenditure . ( Cheers . ) I suppose you hare all heard of the "Pension List . " ( Hear . ) With direct taxation , -would we not have a revision ?—( hear , and laughter )—with a view to a reversion . ( Cheers . ) Doubtless , manv royal illegitimates ' , duchesses , and other " noble " ladies—you know what I mean —( cheers and laughter )—would object to what I am proposing , because to impose the taxes directly , would be to depose the aforesaid " nobles" immediately . ( Cheers . ) Besides , I am strongly of opinion that tho moans to pay is the only fair standard by which to judge of the amount which ought to be paid . ( Hear . ) " ido not think it at all right that the poor needlewoman , ¦ who receives tlie horrible amount of six or seven farthings a shirt —( shame)—should be compelled to pay proportionately as much for her quartcr-of-an-ouncc
of tea as the rich man , who has the advantages of wholesale purchases , pays for his pound . ( Hear . ) Tlie avowed object of levying taxes is to maintain the institutions of the country—tke institution- ! are designed for the protection of property , and , tkereforc _% those who had the most property to protect , ought , in common fairness , to be compelled to pay a proportionate amount of taxation . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Clark , after a further elucidation of his views upon the justness of his proposition , concluded by proposing the following- resolution : — "That , in thc opinion of this meeting , the fiscal arrangements of this country are unjust and grievously oppressive ; inasmuch as the Revenue is chiefly made up of imposts upon the necessaries and comforts ot life . Aud this meeting holds it to bo the imperative duty of the Legislature
to revise our entire fiscal system , to abolish all indirect taxation , and to levy the expenses of tho government upon the property of the country . This meeting is also of opinion that thc present representative system is most defective in its organisation and will so continue till such a reform is effected as shall admit every sane and honest adult Briton to the exercise of those franchises which are now unjustly monopolised b y an insignificant minority of her Majesty ' s subjects . " Mr . G . J . Harney seconded the resolution . Mr . Stukges rose in the body of the meeting and said lie wished tlie word " insane" in tlie latter portion of the resolution to be expunged , as should a man be insane for a time he did not think that
that should deprive him of his electoral right , but , during the time of his insanity , he thought some one should exercise thc privilege for him . Again , ho should like the word "honest" to be omitted , neither did he think the inferior points should be mixed up with thc Suffrage ; he conceived that the " Charter and No Surrender" prevented those joining or going with them who fully concurred ' with Universal Suffrage , yet differed with some of the inferior points of the Charter ; thc Chartists were called the interrupters of public meetings , but , for his part , he always found them giving tho greatest amount of freedom and latitude for discussion . ( Loud cheers . )
Ml ' . Clark , could not consent to yield any , even of the "inferior points ; " he had no objection to leave out the word "honest . " Messrs . Stallwood and _M'GRA-m objected to the omission of the word "honest ; " and after a few words from Messrs . Clark and Harne y , thc resolution was amended , as follows , and adopted ;—" Until such a reform is effected as shall admit every sane adult Briton , ( except such as shall be immured within the walls of a prison during the time of an election ) , to the exercise of those franchises wliich are now unjustly monopolised by an insignificant minority of her Majesty ' s subjects . " Mr . P . M'Grath , in a neat speech , moved the adoption of tho following petition : — THE PETITION OF TIIE INHABITANTS OF THE PARISH OF SAINT _PANCKAg IN _-TIMBOIIOL-OH OI ? . VARVLEBOXl " , IN PUBLIC MEETINQ ASSEMBLED , To tlie Honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Ireland , in 1 ' arliainent assembled . S * H 1 * W _** T 1 I ,
That your petitioners consider that the exigencies of the British empire render pressing and paramount at the present time _tivo descriptions of reform—the one fiscal , and the other parliamentary . That your petitioners would remind your honourable House tliat those retrenchments so eloquently described aud promised _dui-inff the struggle for Reform in 1832 , by many members of your honourable House , and especially ( by the principals of the existing government , have never yet besn accomplished . That the demands upon the resources of industry are now more extensive aud burdensome than when 6 atton and Old Sarum were represented in Parliament .
That your petitioners humbly conceiving that one important duty of the Legislature is to make the pressure of taxation as light as possible to those who bear it ; and firmly believing that much of the present expensive machinery of government serves no other purpose than to place patronage at the disposal of the dominant faction , and lucrative situations in the possession of their friends and relatives , youv petitioners pray youv honourable House to strike out of that infamous catalogue , the Pension List , the names of all those whose claims to national gratitude rest not upon honourable grounds . That your petitioners also consider that economy and retrenchment might be applied to our monster war establishments with perfect safety to the nation , and great benefit to the community . That the maintenance of the army and navy , in their present enormous magnitudes , cannot , iu the opinion of your petitioners , be justified , either by the foreign relations of England , the position of the people at home , or then- ability to bear go enormous a burden .
That your petitioners pray your honourable House to abolish forthwith all sinecure places , aud to effect reductions in the salaries of government officials in aU cases where the service rendered is not commensurate with the pay received . That your petitioners consider the Excise and Custom duties now the principal sources of revenue . _^ to bo grievously oppressive to the people , and your petitioners are ol opinion that it is in tlie power of your honourable House to create superior fiscal arrninreinents for supplying the exigencies of thc State . That indirect taxation has a furtive and insidious complexion which renders the system detestable to the people . Vour petitioners therefore pray your honourable House to create such arrangements as shall make all taxation direct , nnd shall cause its weight to foil where it can be best borne , namely , upon the land , incomes , and other properties ofthe people _.
Your petitioners are impressed with the conviction , that the constitution of the House of Commons requires a thorough reformation ; and your petitioners are also of opinion that any reform short of universal or manhood sunrage , with sound details fur rendering efficient that princi p le will fall short of justice to the people , and will fail in creating a representative body , which shall be the faithful index ofthe heart and mind of the British people . That your petitioners consider thatthe unenfranchised masses are both wronged and insulted by their exclusion from political immunity ; they therefore pray your honourable House to remove the stigma of thraldom from her Majesty ' s subjects by enacting that Parliament shall ' in future be constituted upon the principles of Universal Suffrage , Vote by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , No Property Qualification , Electoral Districts , and Payment of Members . _. And youv petitioners will ever pray .
( Signed ) William Dixo : , Cluiirman . Mr . Stallwood in seconding the ' adoption of thc petition said , as regarded liimself , lie had long ago abolished the taxes on hops , malt , beer , spirits , tobacco , and snuff . ( Cheers ) While he would not oppose the Liverpool Finance Reformers , or Mr . Cobden , he went much further than either " of them , as he was desirous of sweeping entirety away all the present taxes in existence , and substituting a graduated property tax , commencing , say , at property amounting to £ 500 per annum : and in this he thought the middle and working classes would cordially unite . ( Loud cheers . ) As to what the political reform should he , it was almost unnecessary for him to say : ho was for thc People ' s Charter , whole and entire . In conclusion he had thc pleasure of informing them , that Mr . Osborne , one of the members for the county , had last night presented the petition agreed to at their last meeting , and fully stated its contents to the Ilouse , and he must add he was hi ghly gratified by finding Mr . Osborne ' s name iu
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tlie minority against tne third reading of the Irish Coercion Bill . ( Loud cheers . ) Thc petition was unanimously adopted , and ordered to be signed by tho chairman , and presented to the Ho ' . i-= e by Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., the member for Nottingham . A vote of thanks was given to thc chairman , and tfco meeting separated .
TIIE VIOLATION OF THE TEN HOURS _FACTOIir ACT . _Staltiikidge . — On Monday evening , February 12 th , a public meeting of factory operatives was hold in the Town Ilall , Stalybridge , for the purposo of protesting against ihe violations of the Ten Hours Act by the employers , and in favour of the adoption of a uniform system of working ten hours a day . The largo hall was crowded to excess . Mr . Oastler and the Rev . J . R . Stephens were present .
Mr . J . _Hasdfouth having been unanimously called to the chair , the Kcr . J . Holdisu , assistant to the Rev . J . It . Stephens , in a speech of considerable length , moved the first resolution , which was as follows : — " That this meeting being full y sensible of the beneficial effects that would result tithe health , morals , and social comfort of thc people by a steady adherence to tho principles of tho Factories Regulation Aet , and deeply deploring tho violation of that act in these districts , unanimously resolve to support by every means iu their power , the government and officers of the crown in their efforts to enforce its truly humane andsalutarv provisions . " Mr . John Crossley seconded the resolution . Mr . Oastler , on rising to support the resolution , was received with loud and enthusiastic checriiii _* .
lie said—It was a great many years since he first had thc honour to p lead before them the cause of the poor factory children . Since then his temples had been wreathed with a crown of laurels , by the victory and triumph obtained in 1-arliament , in that cause , to which they and their hundreds of thousands of comrades in England and Scotland , had been so true and faithful . ( Hear . ) The Ten Hours Bill , since thoy had met , had been voted by the legislature ofthe country to be thelaw of the land . He ought to have been in the metropolis ; he had other work to do than plead for the law of England that night ; he had other work to do than to represent their cause once move to the Legislature . There had been in the neighbourhood ot London
sueh scenes ot murder , or as they called it , manslaughter , of the youths in tho youthful slaughterhouses , us ho culled them , farming establishments , that they were holding meetings in all parts of London and Westminster to denounce that horid crime . ( Hear . ) And they had done him tho honour to ask him to attend those meetings . Xhcy knew how his heart would yearn to plead tho cause of those poor creatures , and to denounce that accursed enactment —but while'it was the law of the land they must keep it—that accursed enactment the New Poor Law —( hear , hear )—liis denunciation -would be to induce every Christian man and every man of ri ght feeling to petition the Legislature to repeal the law , and not to ask the people to defy it . ( Hear . ) Rut
when ho heard that his old " subjects" —( hear , hear ) —the factory workers—wanted his aid , he was obliged to turn a ( leat' ear to ull his London friends , and once more to draw the sword of factory ri ght in support of the poor individuals who had been so long oppressed under factory wrong . ( Cheers . ) And now let him ask them , wore thoy for or against the Ten Hours' Rill ? If they were for the bill let them hold up their hands deliberately , ' ( A forest of hands was immediately displayed amidst loud cheering . ) Let him see tho hands of thoso who were against it . ( No hand was held up . _)/ _N ot one . ( Cheers . ) Tne Queen did not intend that , when the Ten Hours Bill was passed , the fathers should be kept from their families at night , and the poor mothers and
children should have to wait sobbing and si ghing wearisomely for their return . But it so happened that the will of the magistrates of Manchester and other places opposed thc will of the Queen and themselves , and opposed the law of the land . ( Hear . ) Some men would say to thc operatives under such circumstances , " The best way was to strike , seeing wo have got tho law on our side , we shall be sure to succeed if we strike against the masters . " Don ' t listen to that kind of advice ; if they were to have a strike under present circumstances Ihey would endanger the stability of society , and they themselves would gain nothing in the strife . No , no , they had got their enemies on thc wronr" side —( hear , hear , )—the operatives were on
the sunny side of the law , and they would keep in its g lorious li ht . ( Cheers . ) One ofthe masters in that town said to a friend of his the other day , " You Ten Hours Bill men have been shouting before you got out of the wood ; you see we have made a hoile in the Ten Hours Act already "—alluding to the decision of the magistrates ; as if these puisne men could make a hole in the law of the land . ( Hear , hear . ) They had made a hole in their own characters , and he fancied they had made a rent in the bench on which thoy sat , so that it would not hold them much longer . Ho happened to be in company with a Manchester merchant a few days ago , and he heard him say that trade was improving famously , —that wages were rising , and that tho _oj-eratives were doing - as well as they could wish . That was what this merchant said . Now , he ( Mi . Oastler ) wanted to ask of them , his friends ,
were wages improving to their hearts content ? ( Cries of " No , " and " They arc lowering . " ) Lowering , bating , at present ! ( Cries of " Yes . " ) That would astonish his London friends ; wages lowering , bating , and trado improving ! ( Yes , yes . ) Why , a merchant told him that trade was improving , that wages were advancing , and that thc operatives wero doing as well as thoy could wish . ( A Voice" I ' ve seen a master to-day , and he will never alter it . " ) Then he ( Mr . Oastler ) was to understand that it was true that wages were lowering ? ( Cries of " Yes . " ) Now , if there were a master there , and he dared say there were masters present , ifthe workmen were tolling him an untruth , let any master say so at once . Don't let them have a false talc told . [ After a brief pause , and no answer being made , Mr . Oastler proceeded . ] Well , he never was so surprised : he could scarcely have believed it unless he hoard thc evidence himself .
Then it would seem that they had not yot had their arms made long enough to get hold " of that great big loaf that used to be paraded about their streets , on the top of a long pole . ( A laugh . ) They had not got it yet—it was coming , he dared say . ( A Voice : " Wait a little longer . " ) Yes , wait a little longer , as the Leaguer says . Well , then , they would , perhaps , bear with * him if he asked a few questions of them . Was it the custom in that nei g hbourhood for the factory masters to charge rents for houses while the houses were not occupied by the people , and deduct such rents from tlieir wages—was that true ? ( Cries of " Yes . " ) Houses which were not occupied , let them recollect—was it thc custom that a
fortnight or a month s rent was deducted from tlieir wages a fortnight , or a month , or six weeks before they got the key ? ( A Voice : "It is true , I have paid ifc myself . ") Without having the house ? ( "Yes . " ) * Kow if that was not true , let the masters , for masters were there , speak out . He wished to ask another question : —Were there a great many persons in that neighbourhood formerl y factory workers with them , who had left their country for this reason because they could not bear to see their wives and children starve ? Did tiiey know whether that was common for people in this country —for fathers to leave their families , loving them dearly , but not having the courage to stop at home and seo them starve—was that true ? ( A voice ,
" Yes , it is too true , amongst others I have a brother that is gone to America for that reason . " ) ' Now , masters , if that is not true , say so . Now , would fliey be so good as to tell him who kept the families which were left behind ' —( Several voices : " Tho parish . " The parish ?—( " Yes . " ) Could they tell bim whether any cripples were thrown out of work by having their hands or their fingers broken , or any thing of that sort in tliat neighbourhood—was it so ?—( Cries of " Yes . " ) Then when that was the ease , who paid them ? Did the parish or the millowners pay their wages when they were crippled ? —( Several voices : " Thc parish ; " and a voice . " Unless his parents can support him . ") The parish ; but the factory masters did not pay the wages if a
man was erippied , and i f his parents could not support him ?—( " So . " ) Sow , there were many persons in that factory district thrown out of work , entirely by becoming too weak in consequence ofthe excessive labour they had to undergo , but they lived a good many years after being in thc prime of lifewho kept them , was it the factory masters kept them ?—( Cries of " jXo , no . " ) Who kept them ? —( A voice : " The ratepayers . " ) The ratepayers . Now there wero many who could not find work , in consequence of previous over-work having overstocked thc market , and who were driven to thieve . —( Cries of "Yes . " ) Who paid for the prosecution and maintenance of these ?—( Several voices : " The ratepayers . " ) The ratepayers again . Then there were a good many whose hearts were broken by and then
alternate over working no working , no wages , and who became drunkards , and there were those who became whisky distillers for tho same reason . Who had to bear the brunt of keeping the drunkards in order , and of punishing tho whisky distillers ?—( A voice : " The ratepayers . " )—The ratepayers again . Now , he asked these questions for a good reason , not invidiously , but in order that all England might know what they ( the factory workers ) were , and what they ( the rest of the people ) were likely to bo if the mill-owners were to nave uncontrolled rule in this country . ( Hear , hear . ) They ( the mill-owners ) were to a man almost against what they called protection to British industry , and yet he found that they were protecting their own interests on all sido 3 out of the pockets ofthe ratepayers . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , he did not think that was fair . ( Hear . ) He
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__ — - —_ _~ -.--mm—mamZm _**— - _~ -m-- _**—— ., « .- _;* W _** _. _IWI | _| _- _M-U _^ _J'I thought they ought to be bound to pay the wages of these persons whom they overworked when their health was gone , and he thought they ought to be bound to pay tim wages of tho cripples whom thoy made , am be bound to pav the wages ofthe families , the he _.-uls of which were forced bv them to America or some other foreign climes ' , for the ! _Tirt _?* ~ i ( h 0 ar , ' ll , ! ar > - SH , a llc thought they ought to be bound to say fur tlio prosecution and maintenance of thoso thiovus -ind of those contraband _whisk y-m akers-evils ' which the cruelty of their system had C 1 „ v ndcred in society . And lie said it , _unhesitatingly that ii a trade winch they ( tho masters ) so much boasted of , could not do without that protection
ifthe factory masters could not make their trade profitable without levying such tremendous taxes on tho products of the farmers , of professional irentlomen , and other inhabitants ofthe neighbourhood , he said , unhesitatingl y , that their trade was not worth having . ( Cheers . ) They had told him enoug h about their own poverty and thc lowering of their own wages . How were their masters—were they rich or poor ? ( Several voices : " rich . Ay , I know one of them , or else he is belied , oalls himself , " Stink-o-brass . " ( Hear , hear , and cries of ' He is not belied , he is very rich , " andlaughter . ) Now that was a very curious " kind of trade—a very one-sided sort of trade—that made the thousands and the tens of thousands poor , and only the few , thc very few , exceedingly enormously rich ; it was a trade that
no country ought to bo proud of —( hear , and cheers ) —and , at all events , that no country ought to allow its laws to be broken in order to svpport it . ( Rear , hear , and applause . ) How ofteu do we hear in London that thc factory masters are thc _irieat philanthropists ofthe day—that they _takcalf tho care , all thc anxiety , all the head-work ; it is they that find profitable and health y employment for tlie hundreds of thousands of factory workers . My friends when I set out on this expedition I was not awa c that the law had been broken in any county , save that of Lancas _t er . But I now learn from last Saturday ' s papers that the law has been broken by the magistrates _<« F Stockport , which is in Cheshire ; and at Upper Mill , near _Sadd'ewovth ,
which is in Yorkshire , so that thc three counties of Yorkshire , Cheshire , and Lancashire , may be said , as far as the magisterial power p , oe _!* , to be in a _ttite of rtvolt against the law of the land , in open rebellion aga _' nst the sceptre of the Queen . ( Hea * , hear . ) Where there have been othrr outbreaks , speedy punishment has followed on the offcndeis . I hope ami _tni'f , nay , I hive that confidence in thc authorities of this country—that I believe spei dy justice will overtake those rebel magistrates , and as great a punishment will be their portion . ( Applause . ) Before I proceed to tho further portion of my address , there is one important fact I wish to impress upon the minds of Englishmen . I happened to be informed at Ashton that it was customarv there for
the payment ot factory workers to be partly made up out of the poor rates . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , I scarcely believed it when I heard it ; but when a public meeting at Ashton avowed that it was so , of course I did believe it—that the factory masters protected their own trade by putting their hands into the pockets of their nei ghbours , the farmers and shopkeepers , taking thereout money to pay a part of their factory wages . ( Hear , hear . ) Since then this document has heen put into my hands ; it is the authorised document of the list of paupers of the pariah of Ashlon-under-Lyne , and there I find the thing is recorded ; there is no " if or " but ' lboutit . ( Hear , hear . ) There is a column that gives the nameofth <* pauper—a column which gives the resid nee—another fo the ( ause of requiring relief ; and I find throughout the whole of thc pages , one of the causes is " insufficient earning . " ( Hear ,
hear , hear . ) I would just take the first half _^ page , in order that you may have some idea—I will not give the names of the nominal paupers ; no , I would rather give the names of the real paupers , the mill-owners—( cheers)—they are the paupers on the farmers aud shopkeepers . ( Hear . ) Mr . Oastler then proceeded _t- > rend trom the first page of the book to which he had alluded the following items : — " Insufficient earnings , £ 3 18 s . ; insufficient earnings , £ 3 15 < . ; insufficient earnings , £ 3 18 s . "Good lumps those to come out of the _packets of the _shopkeepers and farmers , to save the pockets of the factory masters . ( Laugli ' er . ) No wonder the latter ar j so enormously rich . ( Hear , heur ) "Insufficient earnings , 7 s . 6 d . ; insufficient earnings , Hs . This is only half a page , but it runs throughout the book . I hope Lord Brougham will _luar it , and take notice of it in the House of Lords . If we are
not to have protection for British industry , we will not have protection for factory knavery . ( Applause . ) I perceive by the newspapers , the factory masters have now bc _^ un in rglit good earnest to strive to get a repeal of the Ten Hours Aet . They have met at Stockport , and they very kindly state that they intend to obtain a bill which shall _tn-ict the stopping of the moving power . I wish they would—they would not find mc opposing that . ( Hear , hear . ) Let that be thciirit clause of their bill , nnd I will use all my influence to _gt-t so much ofit passed . ( Hear , hear . ) And then , they say , they intend to alter the present law from ten to eleven hours a day labour , and what " do you think they _di that for ? Not to put money in their pockets , but in order that the question may be " finally settled . ' ' ( Cries of ' Oh' ' , oh . " ) Finally settled I Now , I tell the factory masters from tliis p _' ace that the question will
not be '' nnally settled in that way . ( Hear , hear . ) We will not have it" finally settled ' * with _a- > Eleven Hours Bill . We are content as we are—but if it is their will to bring a short bill into Parliament stopping the moving power , I will give thera my word all my lads will _petition their friends to say—Ay , ay . ('' Hear , hear , " and cheers . ) But if they go further , and if they profess to settle , " nnally settle , " the questiun by an Elevon Hours Act , they will have auch a nest of hornets about their ears as they are little aware of . ( Hear , hear . ) At present I am satisfied , and so are all the operatives ; but if they dare to trench a moment above ten hours a day , I'll raise the standard to eight hours , and you'll carry it . ( Tremendous applause . ) This morning 1 received a copy of acircu _' ar , which the mill-owners have caused their secretary to send to the members of their body . I will read it to you : —
Association of Mill Owners , Manchester . Sir , —Your attendance is particularly requested at a meeting of the association , which will be held at my office on Tuesday next , the 13 th day of February iust ., at three o ' clock in the afternoon precisely , to consider the state of the Factory Law , aixl appoint a deputation to London to see the government on the subject . —W . _IIeho . v , Seeretary . This is the declaration of war . ( Hear , hear . ) It was not long before it came into my hands , and have not been long before 1 came to meet it fairly , in a fair stand-up fight . ( Hear , hear . ) We know what they are going to government for- eleven hours a day : but we can go to government as well as they . ( Hear , hear . ) One more matter I have to ask you , and then I shall draw to a conclusion . I have been in several districts , and I have been always very
happy to find that those orhcers who have been appointed as the resident officers of the district to see the Factory Bill properly attended to have the confidence of the working classes . It is tho case in Manchester ; it is the ease in Nottingham and Halifax , and other places I could name . I have heard you have a resident sub-inspector—I don't know his name—( cries of " Davi * , " )—1 don't want to know his name ; but I want to ask you whether he enjoys the confidence of the factory workers of this district ? ( Cries of "No , not a bit of it , " and " He is more like an old woman than ou't else . " ) Can you tell why he does not enjoy your _confidence ? ( Cries of" Because he don't enforce tho law , " " He don't do his duty , as he gets too much wine out on ' em . " ) Out of whom ? (• ' Out of the
masters . " ) What ! does an officer of the government , who is appointed to watch over the factory masters , and to see they do not break the law , does he get wine at the expense of the factory mastcs ? Does he ? ( Yes , yes . ) Bo you know that to be true ? ( Toe true . ) 1 will ask no more—I will leave the government to make inquiries . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 thought tliat his failing was that he was negligent—but if it he as you say , that is another case into which it is not my business nor my will to inquire . ( Hear . ) This finishes my discourse , excepting that I beg , before I leave this place , that it may be perfectly understood by every person who has heard rae to-night _, that my great desne and wish and object is that there shall be no strike—m agitation—no ill-will between the workmen and the masters—no insult offered by the people to the rebel magistrates . I do not wish
the slightest public disturbance , _l ou may depend on it these are awful times ; and if ihe rebellion of the magistrates should be followed by the revenge of the people , the state of this district would be too horrible to describe . ( Hear , hear . ) Let all then be peaeeable and quiet and lovely ; leave the dignity and the sacredness of the law to be upheld by those whose duty it is to punish rebels . But should the tocsin again sound , and bring me once more into the factory districts to petition for an Eight Hours Bill _, which will be the case if the factory masters make a stand in Parliament against the present law—when then I come , if God should spare me , be ready , boys _, be steady , boys , for sucha broadside against the powers of tyranny astvrants never heard nor felt before . ( Great applause . ) [ Mr . Oastler then resumed his seat amidst the most _enihusiastic and _deafeninj The resolution was then put and carried
unanimously . Moved by Mr . John Avisom , schoolmaster , and seconded by Mr George Garsidj * , shopkeeper : —* " That this meeting feels itself reluctantly bound to declare and publicly record its want of confidence in the official integrity ofthe magisterial bench of these districts in all matters in which the interests of the factory labourers are concerned ; and would most respectfully direct the attention of the Lord Chance lor to the subject , that he may take such measures as he may deem expedient to insure a just and impartial administration of the laws . " Mr . Stbpheks supported the resolution , -which was carried unanimously . Shortly afterwards the meeting separated
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 24, 1849, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_24021849/page/5/
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