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F yB O'COlWOKS J^^^ONBSy»BB.-i
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i^ q'OmoT ua UrJtitm^rm it ia-JUjerdeeB,...
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ji> THE OLD GUARDS OF CHARTHE ^BMSEERED ...
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f^ilf^
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THE L AND. ' Come one, corns all , this ...
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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS. Bj. -'bi-'vi-.—-A....
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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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F Yb O'Colwoks J^^^Onbsy»Bb.-I
F yB _O'COlWOKS J _^^^ _ONBSy » BB _.-i
I^ Q'Omot Ua Urjtitm^Rm It Ia-Jujerdeeb,...
i _^ q'OmoT _ua _UrJtitm _^ rm _it ia-JUjerdeeB , _^ 0 * 1 ' M ' _?***! ' _** - ¦* _IStttf _tnd _^ l 6 flr ' of _^ _jjiwuaced hereafter .. They _% n _^ _--i-at _' _the _^ rf _* r _^? ini _^ e _MMl _in _^^ _^ C 0 ll _*^ - _^ _Waltt .:, w . _- 7 _y- _ -.: :.
Ji> The Old Guards Of Charthe ^Bmseered ...
ji _> THE OLD GUARDS OF CHARTHE _^ BMSEERED / HANDS * AND _iJNSHcStarnNs . _^!;; . _^ 7 - -7 j ¦ "» ¦ _-: ¦" , I ; -- ? . _t _' _fwli _.- - > _i-.-. _y-i 1 _^' ' , l !; ' ' -Ms _5 _K _§|^^^^ _- _^ a 77 r . 7 _> - _£ l r AV" _^ _** n _^ ra _^ [ ama & dut : toa _^ _iym _^ _at _3 pafif _*^ i j ' _liWJi _& _lai _^ -t _^; - « tsrld _^ _-cfi « e _^ of' ; tluV _JdngfiikSui ' i _^ witlB _^ _tei _!^ J [ e * i" 5 _wi" * -njg _dassesfofany , _natibn upon earth J « oBCT _^ £ r- _? I _&^
_^ Vto- ! - ' - _*^ | t * sf <» f _^^ Nraing _^^ _j ptht * msB _^ ttaii [ jyfort _^^ in _ten _^^ Uon . _- _^ iv _^ _-K _^^ a _^ r _-. " : ' _^ I _& Jnfc _;***^^^ _Heratiimofa'fi _^ it _^ [ five ' «* the _temanTst _^ eaij jr _ArtiinfO'Gtwrlor _wbmtMov : ! ' _'
_^ Us _^; : V : * V-v ; _- ,. " : : ; . ; PRESENT STATE * OF GREAT _^; _^ _BRITAEft _" - 0 e lays it * Mwai asfan . ir _^ feWe _^ _t , _thatihe _srogressi of _fifeertyhas' _evCTleeri " followed by Increased _govemmeait corruption ; and national _Ex penditure , and founds tbis truism upon the { act , that the liberty of a united people being irrt _^ _stftle _, _** _ave and except through the _pro-< e « s of « _W _TOf _6 ii _^ _ffitf _^ bp 1 e * s _^ ir _^ j ; tnat _ienc « , where force bas failed , tbe Government Jas invariably Lad recourse to increased pa ironage , as the increased means of corrupting
the advocates of liberty . Whether we take tbe Reform Bill , wbich promised so much universally ; Free Trade , _frbich promised so much nationally- or _Charftsm as it was in 1839 , which promised so much luriversally , nationally , and lot-ally , we Snd that this assertion of Arthur O'Connor ' s jhas been carried out to the letter and that , in every instance , tiie cause advocated , and the rights contended for , retrogaded or led to disappointment , while tiie leaders of the
_jause , and the advocates of the rights , were _fistinguished by government patronage and favour , guaranteed by government corruption snd increased taxation . Having a dread of this debasing policy before my eyes , I have laboured incessantly to destroy tbat system in our own ranks which has led to so much corruption in the ranks of our enemies ; and I unhesitatingly state tbat my rejection of all payment for my services , and my consequent power of exposing the ireacherv of the leaders who were ticketed for
• ale , is the rock npon which the popular movement of England is built . If I had been muzzled by Ithe " threats of "lace-hunters ' and paid patriots , with the resolution to be critical in the examination of my own accounts of profits , if I dared to look too minutely into their accounts , the cause of Chartism now would he where the cause of Ireland and the Irish is—at a miserable discount *
Ihe patronage attached to profligacy and prostitution in Ireland has induced a number cf representatives . to adopt a hated principle , s tbeir qualification for patronage , from tbe simple hope , that in proportion as the national mind swells to grandeur and nationality , in the -ame proportion -will their turpitude become -- _-J-iaUuV _^ _fte Bn _^ { b _^^ ra _^^ _pirrchafie .. _^ . . _.: _h _^ .. _s _.-..: ; _Butforine _^ doiB _^ Old Gnards " of Chartism ih 1839 , " tfie _gifaaitis md their Brummagems , the Cobbetts and their _ibllowers , the London gentlemen and their adlerent _^ anda few isobtedtricksters _^ wouldhave made merchandise of our cause . Ihe
Brummagems were gorged off with their corporate I places ; and we now find these very men , then so Baited against the corrupt system , now at dag-* _rers drawn amongst themselves . We find the immaculate lawyer , Edmundss , spat upon by his townsmen , and tbe physical force Kelly Douglas threatened with the opposition of his co-nfieman Muntz ; we find poor Dr Fletcher melted down t _9 the galipot * the Cobbetts reduced to their natural element—insignificance ; tad tbe Londoners compelled to open a show shop to save themselves from the horrors of labour .
Now , can anything be more true than tbat the Convention of 1839 was a furious representation of the madness of the day , so long as tbe representatives received sdx . guineas a week , and their travelling expenses , when they desired to take a little conntry air ? and can anything be more true than that nine-tenths of those furious representatives have since sold themselves for government patronage , or as the advocates of Free Trade and class abominations , or have denounced me as the obstacle in their road to preferment ? Well , my Mends , had _t been tainted as they -were tainted , my abuse of their corruption would lave been answered bv their abuse of my
corruption , and all my writings and all my speeches would have gone for nothing . The patriot John Knight ' s , of Oldham , last * ords to me were , Feargus , those Londoners will destroy you for stopping the supplies ;' but , nevertheless , I persevered , from the conriction that the purchase of " leaders by the people is as dangerous to liberty as the purchase of leaders by the Government ; and hence I offer the balance-sheet of England s expenditure in the support of democratic principles since 1839 , as the world s anomaly , and as the nation ' s pride . And I ask , was ever equal service performed for an equal amount of pay r and . the answer must
believer . - ' Our great and primary folly in our madness of 1839 was allowing such a middle class representation of working class wrongs , and the principal object of this letter is to confirm the confidence ofthe OLD GUARDS in their ability to carry out their own movement , and to work out their own salvation . From Tom Attwood , of Birmingham , to Wagstaffe , of Marylebone , 1 have waged perpetual war a gainst the destructive principle practised in t _£ e army of placing raw officers over the heads of disciplined soldiers ; and I am now about to reveal the circumstances ' , the pressing necessities , which will induce the middle classes of this country once morejto offer themselves as leaders of tiie people .
It is more than three years since I prognosticated the inevitable result of Sir Robert Peel ' s system of centralisation , and it is nearly ten years since I addressed a series of letters to the middle classes and shopkeepers of York-Aire , warning them ofthe eventual coming of _ftat _' policy , and proving to tbem , as clearly as WL / could prove a proposition , that their interest wasto unite with the industrious and -belabouring classes ; _-d- _* - ** * --e factof , tntJ f on ion with tbe milloeracy and cotton lords
would lead to their beggary , starvation , and fuin , through the poverty of their customers , co nsequent upon tbe _' centralised power , which their stupidity was placing at the _cdnunand of tte owners of mechanical power and the employers of artificial labour . Well , I now apprise you that the most artful ofthe ruined of this ruined class , maddened by their own -oily , but confiding in reparation from _working _•^ -ass ignorance , ' wiIl volunteer with reckless riaduess to demand the Charter or gain it by orce . - - ' !¦
Have we not recently seen numerous attempts ofthis kind , and . am 1 then premature -o summoning the Old Guards to their post
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and in stationing _theisentinels in their sentry hoxes ? iand ; tHroug _h' 3 Him ' proc _^ iimng to the ¦ world _v _thatfhte _^ ! _vW' 5-3-f _3 _fematter to _wnatff _& k or _^§ - _? 5 _^^ e _^ _nHfl _^ _Cot _& e « 8 upe « or \ _ofli- * _iCere _^ -antil service and merit have entitled tbem to _. ' p _^ _rt _^ otion . B _. sc _^ f _' v _^ _'s _'' . _'^ iv _~> i- -i- ' _-jc * - « -:-.- st- { _^ Wi 840 you sawrae i _atteSpt-MO'GohiieHi _'Hunie _^ a _^ om _^^ . _^ _fe- _^^ _Ig _^ ti _^^ p _^ rptwe * ;> _ butmi _$ he Septic of _^ _orrJ-mil _^ ihe _^ de _^ _iOld _^ _iotlB _^ e _^ t _! ± f if
- _*_____^ j _S ? i _^ 'iyi _&< _ir- _* KiAJxi .- _^ _-Pt , _-- m _, v . ii . ' ji .-c _^~»* _jsrii- i as * 5 _ernn lea " in _miff-aall 8 flax mifl . with * _acotff- _^ ge a- _Wfeswut-onjmiwnting to _, desperation , _iut _^^ _vguidedi by _^ _p- _^ erj _^ . i _. _i The _^ repre 8 _entetivei _^ ie _^ : iro _^ aU parte b _^^ and ; S _^ t _^^ - _^ rh _^/ _I _^ _ln _' jny _^ duhgeOT _^ waS _chdr-h _^ _fnp « rri _^^| rffi _^^ pi _^ ' _^ _Wj _% nH _^ I fipm _whichilife " F _^ _;^ i ; _< Gr 5 i _«^ . C _3 ub _^ l _4 _^ Jf _^ taken . _J . _^ _as _^ _dtfMt _^ . tha _^ furnished the . whole sinews . of ? war , refusing tbe _^ aid and : co-operation of the Tories of Leeds ; and what was the result ?'' The ' Old , Guards came } arid saw , and conquered ; while j
tbe leader ofthe coalition dreaded to face . ' the storm which he hoped was to have hurled Chartism from its throne- But I should have commenced cbfonologically , by reminding you of _dt 8 ' Bee * tiiig _^ ti _^ Cro--m _o -md Anchor in 1837 , to eirect monmnents to the ' memory of the Scotch martyrs , and where , single handed and in mid-day , when the enemy hoped that the working men could not attend , and in spite of the presence and co-operation of forty-seven Whig members , and after an eight hours ' struggle , we carried the martyrs ' principles against the place hunters' monuments .
In 1838 , tiie Brummagems , the Cobbettites , and tbe Londoners , succeededby trick andfraud _, by private correspondence and treachery , in securing the return of a majority of their adherents to the Convention ; and seeing tbe situation that I was placed in , as the leader of the country-party , I ask you now , after a lapse of eight years , whether more discretion and prudence could have been evinced than was shown
by that country party during the seven months of , to me , nervous and anxious suspense ? Good God ! what nights I spent , and what days I spent , when , towards the emptying of our Exchequer , I saw the plots , the tricks , and the treachery about to be practised by the disbanded representatives . In twos and threes they tried to create a local power , as a refuge to fall back upon when the national exchequer failed , and tbe whole stock in trade was denunciation of Feargus O'Connor . But the . history of those times cannot be safely or prudently
written yet , while your astonishment must be that I overcame the united treachery of those united traitors ; and wben you hear all , your surprise will be tbat I did not fall a sacrifice to their treachery and the government hostility . There is a circumstance connected with the torchlight meeting at Bury , which you have not yet learned , but wbich you shall one day learn . Upon tiie same night there was to have been a torchlight meeting at Wakefield , but hearing of the conspiracy at Bury , upon the presumption that I would not be present , I repaired thither and spared the cause an amount of damage which cannot be
calculated upon . Then came Attwood _' s sacred holiday , and the denunciation of me for resisting it . ., Then came the _estobh _^ ment pf secret s _^ eties . _byxMason and _- Co ., ; a _^ imposed upon me of making a-tour through Scotland and the north of England , to resist such an infliction . Then came our trials , while sectional importance was attached by the . Convention . to every one but my own ; and then came hot persecution , and then the liberation ofthe patriots , a great majority of whom hoped to make merchandise of their incarceration , and to strengthen their party by abuse of Feargus O'Connor . However , * I survived that first shock .
In 1842 you saw the attempt of the Free Traders to take tbe command of our movement , and , at the close of the same year , you saw a spectacle never before exhibited in England or tbe world - —that national rally to the cry of , —
THE CH 4 RTER IS IN DANGER , when over 500 delegates mustered in Birmingham in tbe dreary winter season , and in the midst of poverty , and under the recent intimidation of Abinger ' s brutal persecution , and the anticipated dread of the Lancaster trials . Tbe Old Guards , _inTspite of all , overthrew the COMPLETE HUMBUGS ; and again rescued their principles from the enemy .
Then came Free Trade and Daniel O'Connell ' s adherence to the principle , and his donation on behalf of Ireland , and the whole fury ofthe Irish people enlisted against the pby sical force , infidel , destructive Chartists ; and yet again , the Old Guards rallied the forces , resisted this profligate union , and are now daily winning the enthusiastic Irish to tbeir principles and tbeir cause .
Let me now draw your attention to the mode by which , and the machinery with which , the government , upon its part , vainly hopes to arrest the progress of that union between the English and . the Irish working classes , for which , through life , I have struggled , and which , ere another -year , I will see accomplished . As I believe you treasure , up my writings , I may call your attention to a letter recently published , in which I explained the policy , upon which the English Minister would form an alliance with the Pope of . Rome . I have not that letter before me , but I will quote its substance , and you may refer to it .
1 told you that the Minister's object was not the liberation ofthe Italian states of Austria , the love of democratic principles advocated by tbe Pope , nor yet the desire to see the subjects of the Pope ' s dominions set free ; but I told you tbat the object was to secure such an al liance as would enlist the Pope in the Minister's anti-Irish policy . I teld you that the object was to silence the Irish priesthood— -to corrupt the Irish priesthood in order to trample upon the Irish people and overcome the Irish difficulty . I was perfectly aware that our liberty-slaying rulers would never aid the progress of freedom abroad with other intent than to crush the bud of liberty at
home . Well , how have I been justified in this suggestion by subsequent facts ? - . -.. ' •'• Firstly . The Times has informed us that Lord Minto , the relative of Lord John Rusaell , had been sent to the court of Rome , not ss an ambassador , which our State , Church prudery would not . tolerate , but _as-an _aflufup atricej to' ratify the _condrtionsnipon _^ _whk-htjthe State Church party may consent to an exchange _ofjambassadors ; and we were assured bythe Tunis , that th ' ehonourof England was
perfectly . secure in the keeping of Lord Minto , and that nothing couldcbe more desirable or . mutually advantageous than a friendly understanding between the Vatican and the Court of St James ' s . Of course the Times couldn't hint at the policy by which Lord Minto was to be bound ; but , as even ministerial intrigue cannot be long kept secret , in the same article the whole cat is let out of the bag , in the following short but unmistakeable paragraph , which I take " from the leading article of the Tiiius of that day and which is as follows : —¦ The-truth i » , that there is hardly a Jungle Court of : Europe with which it is of greater importance
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\ thfttwe 8 hrald . be in _wgnbju- and _legiHmste commu nication than this ' : The Pontifical' r _Jomihions' promise : to be the birthpl _«» ' _4 _> f that : _ehlifhteoed' _-md liberal policy-. which is t » retrieve the _loofc degradation of the _ItaUw Peninsula , and which it _iB . _thejinr terest of ah _phihmttwp _' i _^ to pr « mote , _V inflneoe 8 af ; theic Sovereim confinedito _Wr ' own _tfr * r _itorietrfi Al titi- _^ _iritntThead of i _vitet « nambercbf Br _iBsh _^ _TObjate _^ he e _^^ _tSmtitifiSamVMtmiMtfiwbleb i _$ 0 _# tinde _1 a _ttf _tiw-Jsbi-ie-ydjwr _^ hand * _bBMffejp & _iir-ft _theieight _MiiiblldWimjh ignore .- 'The n- £ _ract _& t & bh _^ -wfria ; : _fcr _^ _i--fic _^ _gniT ' _ea ' _itQjM ' _^ - _^ oo «; ai ' lojalt _?^ _ea _^ _hi-f « dtt- _^ to _[ a _>»^ _-i itte «& t _&* _ji £ _^ etaih _^ ofsei-se _'i r _^ t ?; ferago . » Jl ; t " ie _.-bera ! tb % soj _^^ v _^' < Now ; : _w > fr _^ l _^ _# ea _^ iithe foUov ? ing" ; t 5 en . _^ c _^ a £ ffi _|| i _^^ _withia ' -this < i ~ - _*^ thought tery DESIRABLE TO TRANSFER TO MORE AMENABIiB * HANPS ; bntivhich : H : is the _luit-ttoftf-fliliriiifo _^ : _' ¦ j Now ; _howwillyoutrandatethe _^ O _^ it may be desirable to transfer to more amena _*' ble hands , " into any other plain English than tbis : that English aid being required bv _Podb
Pins IX . to enable him to resist the encroachment of the * Austrian Autocrat , it would' be worth the expense . of the English ' . _government to confer that aid , upon condition of ' receiving the patronage of the Roman Catholic Chdrch' of Ireland and the appointment of its bishops as a substitute . I defy >'• you , by any ingenuity , to construe this language of British _poHcy into other terms . And then , my friends , mark how : in unison is the ., discipline ofthe Church with the discipline of tiie army . The serjeant recommends himself for promotion bv
subserviency to his superior officer ; the corporal is the slave of the serjeant , and thesubordinates , to qualify for promotion to these humble ranks , become spies over one another , until at length it has become an everyday occurrence to see a comrade handcuffed , a prisoner in the custody of , perhaps , his bosom friends , leading him to the dungeon , the lash , or the slaughter . Now , such precisely would be the debasing discipline of the Church under tbe control ofthe Government . The bishops , like the officers , would hold fast by things as
they are , resisting to the death aU encroachments upon their privileges and immunities . The higher order of clergy would prepare themselves for promotion by the strictest compliance with the orders of their superiors . The inferior clergy would qualify themselves fora step , and the now young and enthusiastic would be so trammelled by the discipline of patronage and preferment , and all would be so banded together in the preservation of Government influence , depending upon popular debasement , that the Catholic mind of Ireland
would be degraded to tbe very lowest level of slavery , while the Government would rest secure in that antagonism , by which it hopes to make the mess of one establishment , satisfy the cravings of two . But let the English people and the Irish people rest assured that this power cannot be transferred to' / more amenable hands , ' otherwise than b y increased taxa _^ tion , increased subserviency , increased tyranny and slavery . ' ¦ But , ifyou doubt the construction that I have / jjut upon thei foregoing passage iri the
p _^ ragraph _f-vread _^^^ then _& y " whel 3 ier " or no my opinion is reasonably confirmed . It is as follows : *—¦ " . And yet . ibr the sake of a statute already condemned by the conclusions of sense and reason ; we have been contented to forego all the benefit ' which might be derived from amicable relations with a sovereign , whose voice on certain points wonld be respectfully listened toby some millions of British subjects . " Now read the concluding words ofthe last passage , ' A SOVEREIGN , WHOSE VOICE ON
CERTAIN POINTS . WOULD BE RESPECTFULLY LISTENED TO BY SOME MILLIONS OF BRITISH SUBJECTS / in conjunction with the previous passage I have quoted , and then ask yourselves if you can entertain the . slightest or most reasonable doubt as to the intent arid object of an alliance with the Pope ; And , hence , while all Europe is filled with gratitude to the-reforming Pope , the corruption of the British system steps in , and compels the reforming Whigs to grant their aid to the reforming Pope , upon the co
dition and stipulation that he ( the Pope ) shall be enabled to rescue his subjects from Austrian tyranny , provided he will enable Her Britannic Majesty ' s Government to protect a corrupt system against the legitimate . demands and requirements of an enlightened people . . - To further these objects , and in order that no time should be lost , Lord Normanby , OUR AMBASSADOR at the - French Court ; and our Home Secretary when Frost was " banished arid five hundred Chartists were illegally incarcerated , has informed the King of tie
trench through his minister , that our libertyloving Ministers will not permit French-intervention in Italy to aid the Austrian - 'despot in his resistance to liberal principles . " ' '' _'_ ¦ " Now , my friends , apart fromthe domestic signs bf the times , apart from tbe fact that the Church , the . landlords , the farmers , and the agricultural-labourers , will , * ere long , be in open _revolt . agairist the Ministry , the _^ fundV holders , anji ' the _, Free _: _Triuler e ; apart fromthe ' blow ; that . _ifl ? 9 $° -- has received ; fro _** o , J ' re e Trade , unaccompanied bv nruderit anda timely
concessions ; apart from that gro _^ iflg -iritelUf gehce , _| which- _pifOTrflpts man"to ehquire _; -wh y He arid his'family stiould ' _sta-ry _^ ists , speculators , placemen , " a _' n _1 r _^ pension ef 8 , live upon the fruits of his _ind- _^ iy _;^ apart from that startling anomaly _^ ch _comoeis Britons to beg tbeir daily b ' fe _# _}( rom fore _§ hers , while their own land is barren' from want of cultivation ; apart-from , " the enigma ofthe Iris _^ . peo ' _ple ' _j labauririg . and staryirig , _wSUt idlers are livinc iiriori their nroduce : ' _aioart _luicia . < uc _uv-ug upon _uieir _prjuuuceqpuxt .
. _, from the d _^ _sappointmeut ' front Free Trade , which has led to low wages , _dearbread , arid _^ _noi thing to" d d » " and apart froi aa _^ he _' fact thatthe working classes of _^ England , _Bfefitiarid , " ' and Wales , set their _mindSjbj the same ' . _diaLj arid think simultaneously every Saturday upon , the same subjects ; arid apart from- the numerous failures which have taken place , and are expected to take place , ; the more disastrous in consequence of the'false confidence placed by tbe working classes in the depositaries of their
funds ; and , lastly , apart from the fact that the present Parliament consists of 221 untried members , whose views , or , at all events , whose votes , will be directed by this category of anomilies apart , I say , from all these domestic considerations , as 1 predicted foryouthree years ago , the first blow for English liberty will be struck abroad , and the first hostile cannon fired upon the continent , will be the signal for , and the announcement of , the
establishment of British liberty , guaraiiteedby the People's Charter . It _ig for this reason , Old Guards , that I summon you to your posts , that I ask each sent inel to take his place upon the watch tower , arid that . 1 again implore you , as J . have implored you for the last ten years , not to allow tbe necessities of faction to drive you to intemperance _or-revolutiori , which would be tbe grave of your liberties ; but to fold your arms while'factions fight their battles , and , as I have frequently told you , ' to wait and watch , and be
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_^ _^^ _Mto & _otty _^ Itgliiddei 5 » : _i _^ _^^ _P _# _^ Bil _^§ iae _^ _uKaf _j _^ w ¦ b _*^* JB _^ _FC ; Ia"i * _, _"" - _^^* < _' _^* _w" _^*^ _C _^* r _!^ _C'iTPVC > rvi * _-i- _^ * _* _-f _»¦¦ ¦ ** - _* * w _< -J j 1 * -. - - " r _^ _vT . _t 3
_uriti . io me ior
w _^ we'ios _5 ; pr , tnat _aearibought , thati _^ ed _^ that cherished _^ amhi _^ by those . to _^ hr iu _^^ my existence ? i Arid seej again _^ wnat adva _jpge l myself derive from _the'kh ' oi _* Jedg : of ti _^^ _gt ; it _hastaughVm ' e _^ en ' _B characters , _fbei * how . William Rider was denounced for his proper , estimate of the character ofthe Convention of 1 * 339 ; you remember how the young and enthusiastic Harney was denounced for his enthusiasm ; and how , rather than be
suspected among the suspicious , Rider abandoned his large weekly salary as delegate , and betook himself to poverty ; and now that man has the sole , the entire management of my _mqneyaffairs—tbousands _^ nd tensofthousands , a year pass through his hands , while I am devoting my time to the management ' of your affairs ; while the principal management ofthe Northern Star has - devolved upOh the denounced enthusiast , George Julian Hahnby Old Guards , in conclusion , the day of reparation , and the hour of satisfaction , is approaching . I havethought it my duty to apprise you of its coming , that you may be
orepared for the advent , and I need scarcely assure you that , having commenced the battle with the fustian jackets , the blistered hands , and unshorn chins / with them and for them I will fight it to its close ; and , ere long , factions , who now live upon the plunder of their order , will discover the truth of my assertion , that the-stability of all classes , the security of all classes , and the prosperity of all classes , can only result from the free and unshackled representation of labour , and , therefore , my motto as it ever has been , and ever shall be , is now—* . V ONWARD AND WE CONQUER I BACKWARD AND WE FALL !
THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER ! AND NO SURRENDER ! Ever your faithful friend and representative , Feargus O'Connor .
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THE L AND . ' Come one , corns all , this rock shall fly From its firm base aa soon aa I . ' . - _ : TO THE MEMBERS OFTHE LAND COMPANY . My Childrek , . . 7 , ; I am in my glory . I haye " heen _groused from comparative inertness to activity by the growlings , or i * should father . 8 ay tho _. lispingsjof the base , ' _bl-fibd y , and brutal 'Press . They have nearly all opened their pigmy batteries upon your house , but I have armour upon me , and your house is bomb proof . What I have told you politically , I tell you socially —that every new project propounded for the elevation of the working classes , is first treated with silent contempt , then with ridicule and laughter , then with persecution , then with reflection , and then with consummation . I have . dragged your political principles through these trying ordeals , and I am now the representative of their growth and strength ¦; and now that I have propounded , matured , and am carrying out , the only possible plan by which your class can be redeemed from servile dependence , starvation , and death , the foul-mouthed Press of England , no longer able , no longer permitted , to observe its silence , has ventured to assault the Land Plan . .. The Globe , the Chronicle , the Economist , the Daily News , John Bright ' silfa » _cAesfer Examiner , the Nottingham Mercury , and the Dispatch , have all ventured to comment upon the plan now ; the Economist alone treating it respectfully . As a matter of course , the Globe and Chronicle only aim their side blows , by showing how preferable the large farm system is as compared with the ' small farm system , and even the Economist opens with a fallacy , that , under the large farm system , land can be better cultivated , and made more productive , while at the same time the political economists of the day are contending for what they call the free importation of corn into this country-r-that is , ' corn freely taxed with the incumbrance of freight , risk , insurance , wharfage , labour of shipment , labour of discharging , and expense of warehousing and taking to market . _f-l However , the Land Plan has ; thank God , arrived at the dignity of being attacked ; and mark who its assailants are •' : Some ; bf them have never seen a green field ,- would not know a cucumber from a handsaw , and are as ignorant of the capabilities of the . land as an Irish pig is of geometry . But they are all , one and all , washed in the depression of wages' question , | _# _fin securing for the capitalist and advertiser tlie largest amount of profit out of the workman s labour . Nevertheless , the Economist { ' ustifies my first anticipations , as to the _distrib ution and allotment of land . The Economist informs yon , that the writer found the twoacre allotments at O'Connorville better cultivated than the four-acre allotments , and you wiU always bear in mind , that I have - _impressedJtip 6 n you a preference for thetwo-acre system over the four-acre system ,, because the two-acre system realised my notions of justice as well as of political economy ; which are , that no man should have a profit in another man ' s labour , and that no man could cultivate four acres without employing slave labour _. Some of the advocates of the principle , however , who are as ignorant of the question as the newspaper scribes are , insisted upon four acres , while I still contend that no man in Europe can- cultivate even one acre to the highest perfection . ' Some newspapers , —if newspapers , they can be called , live . by pandering to the very worst passions of man ' s nature ; they are read by blackguards of every description , and the success of the whole establishment depends upon the support of-blacklegs , jockies , pugilists , and drunkards . . Now , will the Press unitedly answer me ' two questions ? First—Wherefore their spleen against the Land Plan ? ' Secondlj _* --If so considerate for the welfare of their clients ** : tiie poor , will they point out any other plan as well calculated to protect them against the griping capitalist , and to secure them against the horrors of a Bastile ? They wont , they cannot , _answer either question ; and their spleen arises from the fact that 1 have propounded a new science , and a
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; _? y _?« u , _"TOSl _^ b-irigs _^ _% f _§ _wei * oftheir _; p _^ rs , w ag « rit- that they must attack the ; L-md _^ lari ' ; Mid _^ tb the second proposition , I answe r _^ 'if they _Jititof-any other plan by which the working _clasp-Slouldbe put in possession of . the fruits < i $ imms _& _mffl propound _^ . ' ' _'' _" "' : •"" The only condemnation ofthe plan now ventured , is , that the poor occupants cannot find a market for their surplus ; but . riot a word about the poor occupants , when they were operatives , not being able to find a market for their
labour , at a price that would _enable them to purchase the produce of other countries from speculators of _thitt produce , increased by the burthens I have mentioned . Inthe forthcoming number of the' Labourer ? I have shown the value . of the Land Plan and the working ofthe Land Plan , - and now , I will take this estate , or any other estate tenanted by two-acre occupants , as illustrative , of the value of that plan . The average rent of two acres of land and a cottage , here , cannot exceed £ 7 a year , and now , for the pressure of the rent , for the
INCONVENIENCE OF SURPLUS and the deplorable situation of THE POOR
DUPE . The occupants , here , have an unlimited right Of pasture in a forest within a mile , and which is never overstocked . The poor dupe receives - £ 15 as capital ; he gives £ 10 of that money for two yearling heifers in May ; in November he brings them home from the forest worth over -C 16 , or £ 8 a piece ; or put them down , if you will , at £ 14 , two pounds a-head profit , and the MISERABLE DUPE has the enormous
back-breaking sum of - & S per annum to pay for a house and two acres of land . Well , but I may be told that there is not a forest everywhere , and that my reply to this surplus grievance should be : more general . Then , here it is . A man in any district , a single man , without giving him the benefit of a wife and children—and here ' s the beauty of my plan , you hired slaves , that it makes wife and children a comfort and a blessing , instead ' of a hardship arid a grievance . Yes ; without your Health of Town ' s Bill , I'll depopulate vour
brothels , yoiir stew-holes , and " your stinking lanes and alleys , and I'll put the blush of health iri the little pale ar id innocent faces , that you --ave-Aided . Jhe _„ _griplng „ capitalist . ; to squeeze the . young blood out of—rl deny _^ then , the comfort of a wife ; and . children .: to this two-acre dupe , and I make hibi pay . - £ 10 a year rent for two acres of land , that cost £ 50 an acre , and a castle with out-buildings , that cost £ 100—This man ' s case stands thus : — -for seven weeks , during spring , haytime , and harvest , he will earn £ 7 , or a pound a-week ; and if he were blessed with a healthy wife and four or five healthy
children , he would earn twice as much ; but , even in his forlorn state of bachelor , he will earn £ 7 . during the seven weeks , saddling him with the crushing hardshipof producing three pounds worth of surplus out of forty-five weeks ' labour . How much would the blood-sucker make of him in that time ? But he shall have no labour at all , all pastime , with scarce enough of work to preserve health , and I'll divide his farm foryou . During the whole forty-five weeks , he shall only cultivate half an acre ef potatoes , a quarter of an acre of wheat , and a quarter of an acre of barley , and it shall take a
whole acre to support one Bmall cow . He shall buy two store pigs in May , when his cow calves , and when there is a bit of green stuff for them to eat , and he shall give them the whole produce ofa quarter of an acre of potatoes , the whole produce of a quarter of an acre of barley made into meal , that is , at the very lowest computation , two tons and a half of potatoes , and forty stone of barley-meal , six stone of bran from his wheat , and all the skim milk from his cow , and by that _^ time , I think they'd 'burst , and then , we'll see the surplus , out of which the . _pooridupe has to pay £ 3 rent , after living . ' .
First , he has the task of eating two tons and a half of potatoes , or about sixteen pounds a day— -the offal of which also goes to the pigs . He has to eat cabbages , parsnips , carrots , peas , beans ,. onions , and vegetables of all sorts . He has to eat . thirty-five stone of flour made into bread ; he has to eat fifty stone of bacon , lard , pigs , puddings , arid chaps ; and he has to eat all the butter and drink all the milk , that his
cow gives over two pounds wqrthjasthe calf _willbe worth ; a pound . _& ow , ' then , what does the / feeling philanthropist think of the forlorn conditionof liny _' dupe . Oh ! but he . won ' t get work , because he is a Chartist ? Ay , but the grinders in ithe factories employ Chartists when hands are short , and all men are Christians in harvest . Oh ! but he couldn ' t get a market for his surplus . I never saw a fat pig come back from market , if the owner would
take * 2 s . 6 d . under the market price . Now , I have stated this , merely in such a simple manner , that not all the editors , not all the agriculturists in Europe , can refute it . Oh l hut , says some jockey or pugilist , they can't getj a pound a week in harvest . My . answer is , that I could never get hands enough , old or young , at that price during harvest , and my operations , both at Herringsgate and Lowbands , have been all but suspended from that cause during harvest-time .
Now for the four-acre man . In less than three years from the present time , every four-acre man located , will be able to sell off two acres of his land , to parties who will cheerfully buy it and build upon it , for as much money as will redeem his four acres , house and all . Now for a finisher for the economists / Want of employment for the poor compels the wealthier classes to pay over _£ 7 , 000 , 000 a year in the shape of poor rates . Now , that seven millions a year would pay the interest of over one hundred and fifty
millions of money ; and £ 150 , 000 , 000 or money , at £ 300 a head , would locate five hundred thousand peopleupon four acres of land each , or two million acres of land at £ 40 an acre , leaving £ 100 for a house , and £ 40 for capital ; and at five to a family , thus providing for two millions and a half of human beings ; relieving the country from a pauper rate , and leaving the government an annual income , in the shape of rent , after paying the interest of the capital of £ 1 , 500 , 000 ; and now , I have a right to ask , ifthe Government is not the Oovernment of a faction , what right it has to tax even the faction , though voluntarily , for no other earthly purpose than to intimidate the
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for sedition and conspiracy against the English people ; and all I have to ask of you is , to rest assured that the enemy who presumes upon my absence , will receive his reward upon my return , especially the poor Whistler whose last note I have just heard—and only for one moment picture to yourself the depravity which induces one Blackguard to hire another Blackguard to write such absurd stuff , as that those who sell me estates may reclaim them ! Now is ' nt Blackguard much too mild a name fora ruffian that could write such rubbish for hire , but Mr . Townly , of Regent-street , requests me to ask the Whistler if the same rule of reclaiming property , applies to BOOKS and other MOVEABLES .
Read the next number of the ¦ Labourer / and keep it as a book of reference , and rejoice in your souls that our Plan has been attacked by the Press and the ambitious , but that it shall succeed and triumph over both . I remain , Your faithful friend and representative , _FeaHgus O'Connor .
ble men of London , the sober men of London ,-will not allow their honourable directors to besubjected to the intolerance , the vengeance of a . few disappointed drunkards . I am going to leave you for a period short of three weeks , and if any one should ask you where the money is , tell ; them it is in the London Joint-Stock Bank , in the Gloucester' Bank , in Clinch ' s Witney ; Bank , and the amount , for . which the Bank is \; liable , in Exchequer Bills ; and if they ask you where I am , tell them that I am gone in pur- ' suit of Richard Cebden , who ran away in the people ' s debt , with an enormous amount of high wages , cheap bread , and plenty to do ; and that I'll bring him back to stand his trial
What think you of a set of Londoners going to establish a rival Land Company ? And what think you of a knot of tho se gentlemen summoning the directors—not me , but my brother directors—to appear before them to answer certain charges , to be preferred by certain parties , who saw prudence in silence until they found that the Company was to be kept open till the close of the year ? And now , baulked of their \) rey , they are going to blow the directors out of the water with their thunder ; but I hope , as I have always been an advocate for the greatest possible popular vigilant control , that the country party , and the
respectathey are embarked ; and that , as to their in-. competency , that they have produced rule out of chaos , and order out of confusion .. _The'Land Plan shall not be stabbed through the directors , by affected toleration of me ; I am in the boat with them , and I'll sail with them ; and in spite ofthe poor , pitiful machinations of a despicable , disappointed , ambitious , drunken little clique of Londoners , I will pilot them safely through the storm ; andif necessary , I will go security to my last farthing for their integrity and honour . . So much for your expected food , gentlemen of the Press , And now my children , a word to youjby way of conclusion .
_evening ib ! underbuss .: ; , _i _^^ _^ _badjutor'in _a-Mr _^ Dam : _^ _t-frhim _*; t _^ -. „ ' ; ; ' cofjpsjr . . ; And what they _^ jmean ' . _tOiprovejs , the j 'incompetency . and dishonesty ; of the present I directors . . _^ However , as their incompetency _^ _fcdislioifeaty w _^ _dislrafJtoh i _^^ _v-fe undertake to prove that the " pr _esehi'difectpiS . are unimpeachable and unassailable ; that they are the four most competent men of their class in England , to carry out the project in which
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Forthcoming Meetings. Bj. -'Bi-'Vi-.—-A....
FORTHCOMING MEETINGS . _Bj . - _'bi- 'vi-. — -A . general meeting of shareholders and friends will be held oa Tuesday , September 28 th , at the Star Inn , High-street , to transact business of importance , and especially to take into consideration the establishing of a saving society ia connexion with the National Lan'l and Labour Bank . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock precisely . Bethnal Grekn . —An adjourned meeting will be held on Sunday , September 26 th , at the Crown and Anchor , Cheshire-street , Waterloo Town , of the National Land members and Chartists of the Tower
Hamlets , to hear the reports of the delegates . _Bsiiuonsset—A quarterly __ general meeting off the shareholders ofthis branch will be held at the Tanners' Arms , Grange-road , Bermondsey , on Tuesday evening , September 28 th , to elect officers fer tha above branch . Every shareholder in this locality is expected to attend and pay his local expense ? . The secretary of the National Co-operative Benefit So * ciety is in attendance every Tuesday evening , to enrol members , when rules and every information cau be obtained .
CRim . EGATB .--Mr Dickson , of Manchester , will lecture for this branch on Tuesday evening , September 28 th , at eight o ' clock , at Cartwright's Coffeehouse , _Redrcoss-street , on the 'National Land Company . ' Tho members are informed that a _eub _* _scription has been entered into for the benefit _gC the widow at Sleaford . Carlisle . —Tho quarterly meeting of this branch will be held at No . 6 , John-street , CaWewgate , next-Sunday , September 26 th , at two o ' clock in tho afternoon , when the auditors will give in their report , & o .
Churwkll . —Mr John West will deliver a lecture at this place , at half-past seven o ' clock , this ( Saturday ) evening . ; Conglmo- * . — -A special meeting of theshareholdcrs will be held on Tuesday evening next , in their room _jbion-street . ' _Dbotlbden . — -A general meeting will take place on Friday , the '; lstof October ; in the Temperance Hall , _Lane-end . v _DuMBi .-Dr M'Douall will deliver a lecture in the Lancastrian school-room , Stafford-street , on Tuesday evening , September 28 th . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock . Aft * r the lecture , a publio meeting will take place to consider the case ofthe Holytown miners .
IfixETER . —The members of tho Land Company in Exeter are requested to meet at Mr O'Brien ' s 40 , Holloway-street , on' Saturday , 25 th inst ., at hall * past seven o'clock , p . m . A meetinc will be held every Saturday evening , at eight o ' clock . Finbburt . —A . general meeting of the members of the Finsbury branch of the Laid Company will be held oa Tuesday next , previous to the holding af the Anniversary brancb , and to take into _considerahold the l ? th
tion whether a tea festival shall be on _- . of next Month ; also to elect officers for the ensuiug year . It is requested tbat all members will atteno and pay up tbeir Icoal and expense levies . KiDDERMiNSiER . _-Themembei-s of ( hia branch why in future , meet every Monday and Saturday night , at the Nag ' s Head , _Bcwdloy-street , at half-past seven o ' clock , for the convenience of mcmbers . 'The ' Northern Star , ' will be read every Sunday . evening , at the same place . To commence at . _six o ' clock in the
LiMBHOusB . -Mr Dixon , of Manchester , will lecture at the Brunswick Hall , ¦ - _Repemakers-fiolds , LimehouBe . on Monday , September 27 th , on « The Progress of _ChartiBm , aHd'the Land Company ; it ) commence at eight o ' clock ' . .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 25, 1847, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_25091847/page/1/
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