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W mbatantsT -Mr.. 0' Connor had to fight...
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EVENTS OF THE WEEK. The space occupied b...
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MONIES RECEIVED Fob ini* Wikk Ending Thu...
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Beet-soot Sugar.—According to the last r...
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•• •¦ -wvnwr* 8 " llS STRIKE ON THE ^ EN...
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CITY OF DUBLIN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. We d...
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Soicide .—On Monday morning Mr. John Cro...
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OBUNITED TRADES. S ...
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Abergavenny, November 26th. Rkspfxtkd Fr...
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Robbery * .—A little after midnight, on ...
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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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Infamous Conspiracy And Denial Of Justic...
W mbatantsT -Mr .. 0 ' Connor had to fight sing le handed against the resources and the _influence of the National Treasury . _£ ut while _tbie straggle was going on the prop rietor of a Nottingham newspaper made & felse , calumnious , and malicious attack upon the personal honesty and honour of Mr . O'Connor , by accusing him of having deceived the people into giving him a large sum of money , which he hadput into his own pocket , And _usflu for his own purposes . Mr . O'Connor represented the town of Nottingham in Parliament , and the paper in question ib the organ ofthe party opposed to him in politics . _combatanter-Mr-. - O'Connor had to fight
An action was immediatel y commenced against the libeller by Mr . O'Connor , and if ever a triumphant defence of character was made in a Court of Justice , it was b y that gentleman . But the Jud ge , Sir F . Pollock . Chief Baron of the Exchequer , who acted as a violent partisan throughout the trial finished the proceedings by summing up the case in a manner which exceeded even the violence and virulence of Mr . Eoebacfr , the defendant ' s connsel , and which produced astomshment and disgust in the minds of every onepresentin the Court , where sucha specimen of bad law and of rancorous personal prejudice and partisanship waa exhibited on the judicial bench .
The jury , influenced by that summing up , returned a verdict grossl y inconsistent with itself , and oppressively unjust to Mr . O'Connor . They declared , in the same breath , that the libeller was justified in bis statements , and that Mr . O'Connor ' s personal honesty was free from the slightest imputation ! Again Mr . O'Connor had vindicated his iionour and integrity ; bnt , alas . ' the fatal game was played over again— "Kuin him TOH _ESPEKSES I " The effect of the verdict was to throw npon Km the whole costs of the trial .
Resolved to struggle against thi 3 monstrous and unparalleled conspiracy to the utmost , and believing that he would yet find common justice on the Bench of England , Mr . O'Connor next moved for a new" trial in the Court of Queen's Bench . A rnle was granted , and again the case has been re-argued at an enormous expense . We give the result of that re-hearing with some comments thereon , inthe following leading article from the Times—a journal the very reverse of friendly to Mr . O'Connor—b y no Means disposed to criticise too severely the judges of tiie land , or any other of its institutions , yet whose thorough English detestations of mean , cowardl y , Jesuitical persecution and injustice , has dictated this severe critique : — .
A curious _^ illustration of the peculiar principles of English jurisprudence was afforded some days since in the somewhat remarkable case of" O'Con cor v . Bradshaw . " The plaintiff had established an illegal Company , and persuaded the poor artisans ofthe Uorth to pay into its coffers something more tban £ 100 , 000 . A fortunate scheme of tbis description naturally excites comment and opposition , and some persons having charged Mr . O'Connor with having " wheedled the people of England out of a large sum of money , " he attempted , by legal process , to compel the proper officers to register his Company . The officersthe registrars , in fact , under the act of Parliament
_^ -refused to register his association or Company , stating as a reason that the Company "was illegal . Thereupon Mr . O'Connor applies to the Court of "Queen ' s Bench , and a ruleto show cause why a mandamus should aot issue to compel the registrar to register this Company was obtained . Now , the real point at issne was whether this Company was a legal Company or not , and a large array of counsel was retained to argue that point ; but at this moment another incident occurred . A journalist of the North thought proper to attack the promoters of the scheme , and thereupon an action for libel _was brought against him . Tbe action went to trial . Three days the trial lasted , and at the end of the third day the judge
proceeded to sum up the evidence and deliver his charge to the jury . It had pleased the defendant to ju * tify his supposed libel—that is , he set forth certain circumstances as a justification of his assertions respecting the plaintiff . In describing the -effect ofthis justification to tbe jury , the Lord -Chief Baron , who tried the cause , stated that he conceived the Company , of which Mr . O'Connor was the head , to he an illegal association ; giving _ss two gronnds for his opinion—first , that the _Company purported to be a bank ; and , secondly _, that it wa 3 in reality a lottery scheme . Tbe jury gave a verdict for the defendant , tacking to their verdict an opinion that , notwithstanding all that was proved the plaintiff was free from imputation of personal dishonesty .
A new trial was moved for , and the Conrt was told that the question ofthe illegality ofthis company was at thin moment before tbe Queen ' s Bench ( the " libel case being before tbe Court of Exchequer ) , and the Court was intreated not to refuse a rule to show cause why a new trial sbould not be had , when possibly the Court of Queen ' s Bench might decide that tbis company was really a perfectly legal association . The rule to show cause was thereupon granted , and the argument eventually came on hefore tbe Queen's Bench—the only important point being whether this company was a legal association or not . If legal tbe registrar was hound to register the _sompany ; if illegal , he was
justified in his refusal . Along argument wa 3 heard-great pains were takea to proTe , on the one side , that the association wa 3 illegal ; on tbe other , every circumstance which forensic ingenuity could adduce was brought _forward to show that the whole scheme was perfectly in accordance with the law . In fact , _everyhodv * supposed that the only question being whether the association were legal or not , the Court desired to he enlightened on that point , and on that they would erentually give their judgment . Let it also he remembered " that the Court of Exchequer had granted the rule to show cause on the ground ihat the ouestion of legality or illegality as
respected this company was before tho Court of Queen ' s Bench It so happened , however , tbat a preliminary _question lay before the Court . The act of parliament declared that the provisions of the Registration Act ( 7 th and Sth "Victoria , chap . 110 ) related to joint stock companies established " for any commercial purpose , or for any purpose of profit "—and therefore the registrar could not be compelled to register this company , if it could not properly be considered a company established for any commercial purpose or for any purpose of profit . The Court of Queen ' s Bench thereupon set itself to ascertain whether the Company were of this description , and having in their judgment
determined that it was not such a Company , it gave judgment on this narrow point , and shirked ( there is no other fitting term ) the question of legality or illegality as regarded this Company . "What was the consequence ? The Court of Exchequer was now compelled to entertain this question . Xet us , however , remember tbat all the elements requisite for decision had been already before the Court of Qaeen ' s Beach . That Court knew all that could be known—had heard the arguments of the most learned men of the bar on the question—and therefore might safely have decided this point , and thereby saved all further _discUS 8 ion . They , howeveravoided the decision really submitted to them ,
, and gave judgment on an accidental point . The question of legality , therefore , came again , before the Court of Exchequer on two grounds . First , the Company was in contravention of the Bank Act , 7 th and 8 th Victoria , cbap . 113 , and also , it was in direct opposition , as was said , to the Tarious lottery acta . Long arguments were heard on these points ; again , all that industry and knowledge could collect was submitted to the Court , and its op inion thereupon asked . And again the Court avoided a decision upon the points of illegality except upon one ground . Tbe Company they say is illegal as it contravenes tbe Bank Act , " but as respects tbe Lottery Acts we give no opinion . "
Now on tbis point we have no hesitation in asserting tbat the Court acted in a cowardl y ( tie ) fashion . The Lord Chief Baron had risked his professional reputation upon the assertion that this Company was illegal under the Lottery Act ? . Three of the four judges sitting on the bench were evidentl y of the same opinion ; but , because one of their _number had a doubt , they avoided giving an opinion on this point , and rode off upon tbe one single matter whicb justified their decision . Surely this is not a just or politic proceeding . "We desire to have a law certain and defined , and
we wish to be able to obtaia a knowledge of what t he law is at a small cost . But here are two sets _« f judges , both of whom were completely instructed , but both of whom escaped , for purposes of personal ease and comfort , from giving judgment upoo a q uestion raised designedly for their decision . If the judgment of tbe Court of Queen ' s Bench had "been given upon the whole subject , the second argu ment wonld not have been needed . Bad the whole question ofthe legality of this Company , as regarded both grounds , been determined by the Exchequer , further litigation would so far have been prevented . Will _s ? . y one suppose that a desire to
Infamous Conspiracy And Denial Of Justic...
sfoS : _b _?^ _ar _? _St _^ F narrow udgmentj Whatever may be the _ew » the result is mischievous as affecting the opinionsof _aCisar *" oup wars * Fellow Conntrymen ! will you stand by and see the m achinery of Government , and tne power ofthe Judicial Bench , thus exerted to crush an individual whose onl y crime is , that of having endeavoured , according to his own sincere convictions , to promote the welfare of the poorer classes , and who , but for your assistance , seems as though ha must , ultimately , be overcome hy the overwhelming force against which he has to contend ? promote _KtigafiorieW
We have shown , that from the commencement the movement was one ofa purely public nature—that its objects were , in themselves , legitimate and praiseworthy—that all was done openly in the face of day—that the plan and tbe constitution of the Company were agreed to by public Conferences , after due deliberation—that there was no intention to act illegally , but , that on the contrary , every possible effort , accompanied by a very large outlay _. bas been made to procure legalization that Mr . O'Connor has , throughout , acted with the highest honour ; and , so far from having benefitted b y the Company has , at the present moment , a considerable sum of his own money locked up in its funds .
Bnt the amount due to him for advances to carry on its operations , is not the whole expenditure it has cost him . For years he gave his undivided services to the Company , in travelling to examine and purchase estates , and in afterwards allotting them , and superintending the making of roads , and the erection of dwelling and school houses , npon them . In the performance of these duties he expended
hundreds of pounds of his own money , for which he never charged the Company a single farthing . He neglected his own affairs to attend to these duties gratuitously . From first to last the plan has brought nothing to him but hard labour , anxiety , suffering , and pecuniary loss . Had it succeeded to the utmost , he , as an individual , could have gained nothing by it . His only motives could have been of the purest , most unselfish , and patriotic kind .
"Will it not reflect everlasting disgrace and infamy upon the age , if such a man is allowed to be crushed by the perversion of the law , the denial of justice , and a systematic conspiracy to work his ruin by those who hold Legislative and Administrative power in this country ? Every honest man of every party and creed in the state , is bonnd in justice to himself and to his country , to come
forward and aid in preventing the consummation of that conspiracy . If it succeeds , it will inflict a heavy blow upon the character of the nation ; it will furnish a precedent which may in after years be felt by others to their grievous cost , and it must strike at the very root of the confidence which the people at large now feel in the impartiality and justice of our legal tribunals .
Chartists and Members of the National Land Company ! if Mr . O'Connor has claims upon the sympathy and aid of the public at large for the reasons we have given , he has still stronger and more direct claims npon yon . It is y our battle he is fi ghting—your interests and rig hts he seeks to promote and secure To your cause he has devoted his life and fortune . For the last sixteen years he has " laboured in season and out of season , " to improve your political and social condition . During that long period he has travelled thousands of miles , but he never eat a single meal , or paid a single mile ' s fare at the expense of the public . In the
successive prosecutions which have taken p lace he has ever been found by the side of the poor man , whether in the prisoner ' s dock , or the cell of the gaol . In the one case his purse was liberally opened to procure the best legaladvice and counsel , on the other , to soften the rigours of imprisonment , and to give comfort to the fireaides deprived of their natural heads and protectors . Can it be possible that either time or change should have rendered you forgetful or ungrateful ? Can it be within the bounds of probability that you willrefrain from an universal , simultaneous , and liberal subscription , to meet the liabilities he bas incurred in this protracted and expensive litigation 1
Eecollect , that during all this time he has had to sustain the trouble , anxiety , and expense , alone . He has been struggling to maintain the interests ofthe members of the Land Company alike against its enemies outside , and the traitors and defaulters within . They who should have rallied round him in this arduous contest have shamefully stood aloof , or at best , contented themselves with mere words of approbation . But the time has now come when deeds must be substituted .
Chartists ! we call upon you to do your duty . There is no need for us to point out in detail what that duty is . Tour own hearts , if you consult them , will tell what you owe in this moment of trial , to the man who has lavishly , generously , and unshrinkingly given his all to your cause . Be but to a small extent , each of you , what he has been on a large scale , and the object will be achieved . You will show to the Government and the world , that yon will not allow your leader to be crushed , and you will thereby impress them with a sense of respect for yourselves . The absence of such a demonstration will be ruinous to the cause of Chartism . Will not all parties treat those with contempt who have lost faith in
their own energies : who fail to act justly to their own friends I Members of the Land Company 1 you have an especial and a direct interest in this matter ! We do not now speak of the hig her obligations already glanced at , which you aro under to Mr . O ' Connor . We speak of it simpl y as a matter of pounds , shillings , and pence , in wliich y ou are involved . If you stand idly hy and see him borne down in the contest with your enemies and his , depend upon it you will lose as well as he . If anything is to bo saved for you from the wreck , wliich Government opposition , defective laws , unjust judges , and dishonest members have made of the Land Company , it is by Mr . O'Connor alone that that can be
effected . Should the estates pass into the hands of lawyers , they will take care that not a man of you will ever get one penny back . Perhaps , if they can fasten upon any of you who are " worth powder and shot , " they may make you the subject of actions , which will add largely to what you have already paid . Self-interest , in its lowest and most apparent shape , therefore , makes it incumbent on vou to come forward immediately and liberally --even if it were not equally evident that it _iTvour duty , as members of the Company , to bear an equal share in its burdens , losses , and reverses . _ . „ _n , _„ _ , do
It is impossible that Mr . O'Connor can a nation ' s work . It is grossly unjust and _SriStf you to expect _»*»*» . _*™ so small a sum as one shilling from 50 , 000 _meiX of the Company , would be sufficien to meet the crisis , and en _^ _mO _gnno to carry the Winding UP Bill through 1 ailia _, ment next Session . That _«™ . . _^ _* ? a trifle to each of yon ; to exact it _tanttr O'Connor , after all his past sacnficeB , _^ 0 uld be the height of injustice and ingratitude , even were he able to pay snch a demand on your account . It is said that trade is brisk , provisions cheap , and wages good . You are , therefore ,
in an unusuall y favourable condition at tne present moment in these respects . Come forward then , manfully and generously , and take an honest share of the burdens which
Infamous Conspiracy And Denial Of Justic...
equitabl y devolve upon , all the memberW the Company . Come forward , and show the country at large that English working men artfhonest and true hearted . That they are not repudiators of just claims—not ungrateful to those who labour and suffer , for themnot deserters in the hour of danger and trial , either of the principles . they profess , or of the leaders they have followed in time of sunshine .
" Good men and true , " set to work in good earnest forthwith . Wherever a Committee exists , let it put in motion all its powers for the collection of subscriptions in its own locality . Where there is no Committee , let a meeting be called , proper persons appointed , and a vigorons canvas commenced . There is no time to lose . The lawyers press for the payment of costs , amounting , we understand , to nearly £ 2 , 000 . Words , or resolutions will not satisfy them . They demand money , —we ask action . Let every friend of the cause give his mite , and the difficulty will be easily overcome .
W Mbatantst -Mr.. 0' Connor Had To Fight...
6 ' ' _J _A _^ _foyfi ¥ _BER _^ _lB 50 . THE _^ _- _^^^ _^ _- ¦ > _- _^^ r . vr 1 _""[" ' ' i 777 7 _Trrr- _^ - ? _- _^ - _""* -
Events Of The Week. The Space Occupied B...
EVENTS OF THE WEEK . The space occupied by the urgent matters alluded to in the '" appeal , " necessarily excludes for this week other articles which had been prepared on general topics . We can onl y briefl y glance at the leading events of the week . The Anti-Papal agitation continues to spread throughout the country . Several of the counties , including the great West Biding of York , have pronounced against the aggression . In one instance , what we feared ,
has occurred—tbe passions of the opposing parties over-mastered , not only their Christianity , but their humanity . Blood has been shed , and property destroyed in Birkenhead . The police force stationed in the town , was too weak to cope with the Roman Catholic rioters , and police and military have been sent from Liverpool to maintain the peace . The daily journals continue to occupy a large portion oftheir space with leaders , reports of meetings , and polemical controversy , and the public excitement seems to grow more earnest and intense . From the tone of a _leading
article in the Times of Thursday , it , ' may be inferred that the Government are determined to take active measures against the new hierarchy . It concludes a vigorous commentary on a " pastoral" of the New Bishop of Birmingham in the following terms : — Equal civil rights to all of his faith , the freedom to teach what doctrines and perform what ceremonies he will , will be secured to him by the
generosity of the nation which he has foully libelled , but from that species of what he calls persecution , which consists in vindicating our Crown , from the insult of a foreign prince , in freeing the _dloceseB of our church from the intrusion of unauthorised strangers , and in wiping off from our land the reproach of yielding to foreign influence , which the very signature of his manifesto conveys—from such so-called persecution as this we warn him be is not
secure . » » * We tell him that the days of his episcopate are numbered , that it is not because his chair is built upon a rock , but merely because his appointment has been adroitly niade during the recess of Parliament , that he is in tho enjoyment of that seat the foundations ot wbich he dreams are eternal , and that , though it be not in the power of our legislature to prevent him from having been the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham , it will mo .-t assuredly be their will , and be completely in their power , to provide that he shall be the last .
An interesting and important conference of delegates from the Freehold Land Societies has been held at Birmingham , the proceedings at which will furnish matter for consideration next week . In the mean time , we may note , there are eighty of these societies with a great number of branches , and that they have 30 , 000 members , who have paid up about £ 170 , 000 . Some of them , it appears , ballot
for allotments , precisely in the way that the National Land Company did . But they are not interfered with as illegal . No outcry is raised against them as gambling lotteries . In short , Mr . O'Connor and the Chartists , as a body , are not connected with them , and , therefore , they may act with impunity . How true it is , tbat one man may steal a horse scatheless , wbile another will get hanged for looking over the hedge !
The National Public School Association has opened its campaign of agitation . Several meetings have been held under promising auspices , and excellent speeches delivered in support of the movement . National unsectarian education is the only effectual barrier against the restoration of priestly supremacy , and the consequent political and social degradation of the masses . All lovers of civil and political , as woll as religious freedom , are called upon to promote that object , therefore , to the fullest extent of their means .
A strike of Glaziers , employed at the great Glass Show Box iu Hyde Park , has come before the public through the medium of a police report . This new temple of competition is already beginning to show what tendency the system of which it will be an exhibition has upon the wage 3 and the comfort of the working classes . The glaziers were required to do nearly a double day ' s work , as we understand , for ordinary , if not less than the ordinary wages . They refused to comply , and are on strike as a body . We shall endeavour to place the whole of the facts before our readers in our next .
It will be seen , by a report in another column , that the Eastern Counties Enginedrivers' strike still continues , to the great inj ur y of the public , and the destruction of the property belonging to the Company . From the appearance of a late shareholder at the last meeting , it may be hoped that the publicity given to the numerous cases in which the incapacity and ignorance of the new drivers leads to the destruction of engines , carriages , trucks , and merchandise—and * the imminent
danger caused to lifo and limb—will at length rouse that class to a sense of their true interests , in reference to this unfortunate dispute . With respect to Foreign Affairs , no material alteration is perceptible . Large armies are still on foot , and the dip lomatists are still as "busy as the devil'in ' a gale of wind ¦ " but what will be the upshot of it all , it is yet impossible to say . Upon one point there seems to be general agreement—we shall haye no fighting at present . How long " at present will last , is uncertain .
Monies Received Fob Ini* Wikk Ending Thu...
MONIES RECEIVED Fob _ini * Wikk Ending Thursday , _November 28 _tii , 1850 . FOR THE WIKDINGUPOF THEWS C OMPANY . Received by "W . _Krom-W . Davidson , _^ ewtoD . Ayr Is -It . Wallace , loehee Is-C . Potts and J . Hassan , Longton 2 s—Prom Leicester-John Neal Gd—Joseph _Real ba—F . Keal 6 d— -W . Rowe , _Northwich ls . Received at Land Office . —J . Wilmot , Croydon ls—Crayford ,. per Wilson 3 s-l * righton _, per Ellis 2 s Cd .
THE HOHESTY FUND . a "Received by Vf . Bides . —Nottingham and New Radford , per J . Sweet lis . FOR THE HUNGARIAN AND POLISH REFUGEES . Received by W . Rider . — W . Ovineton , Sunderland Is Cd —Workmen at Messrs . Hawthorn ' s ani Co . _' s , Engine Works , Leith ( 2 nd sub . ) , per A Watson 7 s 6 d-The Old Radical Reformers , Halifax , per J . Br ier £ 1 . _™ _s-N otting ham , per J . Sweet 5 s-Walsall , per It . Granger 7 s Gd-W . Rowe , Nortlwich Cd— "Mr . Elliott 2 » . EXPENSE FUND . Received at Land Office . —Brighton , Ellis 4 s Id . VICTIM FUND . Received at Lasd Office . —Mr . Wilson ls .
The monies _received _byrfohn Arnott will be acknow _ledsed next week .
Beet-Soot Sugar.—According To The Last R...
Beet-soot Sugar . —According to the last return of tho beet-root sugar trade in France , there were at the end of October 2 C 3 manufactories at work , Which was rather more than at thc same period last year Tbe quantity delivered for consumption was 2 700 , 000 kilogrammes , or nearly 700 , 000 kilo" ' rammos less than last _? ear
•• •¦ -Wvnwr* 8 " Lls Strike On The ^ En...
•• •¦ _-wvnwr * " llS STRIKE ON THE _^ ENGINE Dim ,. ; 7 TIES * RAILWAY . ' EASTERNCOT J _^ - .. ,,.,. , ' ¦ * mm _^? ' y _/\ f 4 _>* hi » On Wednesday _evening a pnblic n _.- _?" ' * _' _**? _„„ ,. „ <¦ engine- drivers and firemfn late -iii the _empA _^ "i ? S 5 i _£ Eastern Counties Railway Company ; _VjL heldat the George Inn , Stratford . The . _ineelibe - _JJ _^ _wousl y attended . Mr . Jolly was called to vn a l iiBslja > _addreaaed'the-meeting , which he said baa been called for the- purpose of laying betore the public , and this shareholders of tho Eastern Counties Railway , the damaee daily done to the property of the latter . Only one fortnight had elapsed since their last meeting , and , from the number of accidents that had occurred on the line lif' _^ _ns , 7 _^ i _j _^ _™ _T _^^
in question , the publio ' would see that it was not so satisfactory to travel on as before , while the damage done to the propeity of the company was very injurious to the shareholders . It would also be recollected that , under the old superintendent ( Mr . Hunter } , there was always a sufficient quantity of looomotive power , while , under the present management , should an accident occur to an engine , where there are two of one pattern , they were obliged to take the machinery from one to repair tho other . ( Hear , hear . ) If this state of things was allowed to continue , ifc was quite clear the . working expenses could not be met , nor would there be anything left for a dividend for the shareholders . ( Hear . ) The Chairman then entered into a _statement in
_refe-, rence to a variety of accidents that had occurred on the Eastern Counties line from tho 12 th of November up to the 26 th inst . On the 12 th , the eight o clock train from London , on arriving at Cambridge , ran past the ticket platform at a rate of twenty miles an hour , instead of stopping there , in order that the tickets might be collected . The consequence was , that it nearly came into collision with the Wisbeach passenger train , just leaving the Cambridge Station , and the greatest confusion was produced b y the circumstance . On the 13 th , a serious collision took place on the Fakenham branch of the Eastern Counties / Railway ; at Elham Station . A passenger train was standing at the station , and before tho train was clear on the main line , a
goods train came up . The driver ran past the signal , pitched into tho passenger train , broke the buffer plank of his engine , and smashed two of the carriages . Fortunately , the carriages that we ' re broken ha . d no passengers in tbem , or else their lives must have been sacrificed . On the same day , the engine with 11 . 30 a . m . train ,-from London , broke down at Elsenham , and tho train was taken on by another train , and was half an hour late . On the same day . No : 103 engine was injured , at March station , which caused great delay . On the 14 th the up mail train from Norwich struck on Cambridgebank with three carriages . This arose from a deficiency of steam . On the 15 th the axle-box of ISO engine was broken , and was . otherwise so injured ,
that it is a complete wreck . This engine was built by Mr . Stephenson , and ouc of the best engines the company had . This injury arose from the inefficiency of the driver . On the same day engine No . 00 was severely burnt . On the same day they wero so short of engines , that the engine from London , with the parliamentary train , had to proceed throughout to Yarmouth , instead of stopping at Cambridge , and returning back to London . On tho 10 th inst ., as the goods train from Colchester was passing the Victoria station , a passenger train from Woolwich came in collision with it , to the great alarm of the passengers . On the 17 th , engine 190 , with a special train of goods , was severely bunt at Bishop Stortford . The
driver has since been sent by Mr . Gooch to grease truck wheels . The same day engine 159 , with a goods-train attached , broke down at Romford . Several portions of the engine were severely injured and broken , and a delay of three hours was the _consequence . This accident arose from the neglect of the driver . On the 10 th the train that should leave Cambridge at a quarter-past seven o'clock a . m ., did not leave until eight , in consequence of an en gine being off the rails and blocking up tho line . On the same day the Peterborough goods-train , due at 7 , 80 p . m ., did not arrive until 3 o ' clock a . m . Engine _8 o was severely burnt , and had to be taken into Cambridge by engine 87 , the driver of whieh in doing so broke her buffer-plank . There were various occasions where goods and other trains were delayed considerably bevond their time . On the 23 rd
tho engine with the Cambridge goods train broke down at Bishop Stortford , and was unable to proceed , and seven or eight hours elapsed before assistance could be given from Cambridge . On the 25 th , engine 87 came into collision at Chesterford station with a truck laden with grain , which was smashed to pieces , knocked the engine off the rails , broke thc buffer-plank , and blocked both lines of rails , and detained the first train a considerable time . On the same day the train from Yarmouth , due at Cambridge at 11 . 35 p . m ., did not arrive until 2 . 30 , in consequence of the engine breaking down at Brandon . No . 23 engine was broken to pieces on the same day at Norwich . Engine 84 ( a new one ) was severely burnt between Stratford and London , owing to tbe inefficiency of the driver . No . _14 D engine was so injured on the same day , that both it and the machinery were rendered useless . On November 20 th
the 5 . 30 p _. m passengers tram , from Wisbeach , ran into a goods-train at Swansea , and a lady wns seriously injured , and had to be carried from the train to her own carriage ; knocked the goods-break off the rails , and did considerable damage to thc engine ; the engine was one of Mr . Samuel's patent , tbe Cambridge , and was built by Mr . Adams , of Fairfield-works , Bow . There were also several other cases mentioned by the chairman , all of which tended to show that the new drivers were inefficient and careless persons .
Mr . Brown , formerly a shareholder of the Eastern Counties Railway , said he attended that meeting to express his sympathy with the dismissed drivers from that railway . ( Hear . ) He looked upon them to be an injured class of men , and he must say that , since they ' had been driven from the line , ho did not think it safe to travel by that railway . ( Heal' . ) He believed that the accidents stated by the chairman were only a portion of those that really occurred , and many of which he believed took place at night . Do was quite sure that , if tho public only knew the real merits ol this ease , they would seo that justice were done to the men . He would recommend them to make an appeal to the publio . ( Hear . )
The Chairman begged to express his acknowledgments to Mr . Brown for his attendance there that evening , and for bis kind suggestion . They were by these meetings making an appeal to the public , by pointing out to them the accidents which were daily occurring on the Eastern Counties line , and showing them the risk they ran in travelling by it while the locomotive department was in its present hands . ( Uear . ) Mr . Gooch said he would save the Company £ 30 , 000 a year by his new system . His belief was _. thatinstead of saving anything , he would cause a large additional outlay , arising from the injuries done to tho engines and the machinery generally . ( Hear . ) After a short discussion , thanks were given to the ohairman , and the meeting separated .
City Of Dublin Municipal Elections. We D...
CITY OF DUBLIN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS . We direct tho marked attention of the Chartists to the subjoined spirited specimen ofan independent and fearless Irishman ' s address to the Burgesses Of one of the City wards . The whole city is in commotion about the threatened abolition ofthat sink of iniquity and political prostitution—thb Vice-Royal establishment . The old Confederates , tho admirers of the noble and brave Mitchel—the supporters of the gifted Meagher , and the self-sacrificing O'Brien , have joined the packed jurors and jury packers , in loud laudation of Lerd Clarendon and vice-royalty . Was ever such baseness , such cowardice , such treachery heard of till now ? Far be it from us to blame the
old Castle loafers and tuft-hunters ; but we do blame the brawling , opened-mouthed Clubbists and Confederates , who have sold themselves to this great iniquity . It _appears , by Tuesday ' s Freeman , that one man alone , whom we knew was not a _Coi _« federate , but a staunch unflinching Chartist , has the moral courage to bravo the storm , and denounce such baseness in his sarcastic and withering address to the burgesses . But what is most surprising of all is , that forty burgesses—one-tenth of- the whole constituency of tho ward—had the manliness to vote for hira . We should have thought that he would not get fivo to vote for him , under such adverse circumstances . '
It appears , _olSOj by the Freeman ' s Journal , tha ; there exists a Liberal club in the Inn's Quay Ward , most of whom were Confederates ; and what have these consistent patriots done ? They havo returned tho nian who assisted Lord John Russell to pass tho Felony Act , so as to enable him to arrest . and transport the hero Mitchel before the end of the Easter holidays of the memorable 1848 . John Reynolds , Eiq ., M . P ., Lord Mayor ofthe city of Dublin , represents the Liberal burgesses of the Inn ' s Quay Ward . They are worthy of each . We are rejoiced to see that such men as those rejected _O'Higgins , whose principles , thefFreeman says , are ia advance of the age .
" INN'S QUAY WARD . "Patrick O'Higgins respectfully solicits the votes , and the early attendance of the honest and independent burgesses of this Ward , oa Monday , November 25 th . He neither expects nor desires the votes of slaves , sycophants , nor place-beggars , nor even of those who assemble in chains in this ' ¦ proclaimed city " for the amusement of viceroy alty " 15 , North Anne-street , November 23 rd . "
Soicide .—On Monday Morning Mr. John Cro...
Soicide . —On Monday morning Mr . John Crofts , of Crown-yard , Long-row , formerly a hair-dresser residing on tlio Long-row , Nottingham , committed suicide , by hanging himself . Ho has been m a very desponding state for some time past .
National Association Obunited Trades. S ...
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OBUNITED TRADES . _S T . S . _DmqowtSi . JSaq _., M . P ., _Presided . Established 1345 ,, ¦"¦ tut jusmii , " " lfiVt * k > rflT , n' _^* for the working classes , by . com . _bininiiaAontf him . _^ _» t 0 raise * or _^ p up the general thing not to b 8 _fUnuWd ,, _bu-7 * WelC ° _" _£ _^ d _j _£ When we selected the _' aboye Q _notation from the writings of Mr . Mill , the _celebrated wwter upon Political Economy , we did so from at . _^ ° . rou h C 01 _?' viction , that by combination alone will l \ ever be . possible to _«• raise or keep up the general l ? ' . ? _J wages , which , while he , by his hypothetical "> . seems to doubt , he freely admits to bo a desideratu _"*?; if it can be accomplished , to be welcomed and re-~ _^ r . rN _. r _,, -rT
oiced at . We do not say , or ever have said , that the work ing classes ever can , by any combination , advance the wages of labour to so extravagant a heigth as to encroach upon the fair and legitimate rights of Capital . Any such attempt would surely fail , and recoil with just severity upon the unwise aggressors . We believe there aro three parties whose interests must be consulted and mutually conserved , whenever this question of wages approaches to a solution—tho Capitalist , the Labourer , and the Public ; but the two latter are so intimately connected in interest upon this question that we may treat them
as one . If , by a combination of capital , or by the uncontrolled licentiousness of individual capitalists , the labourer , as at present , is robbed of hiB just share of the value of hi 3 production ; the public share with him tbe wrong " , and have , to tome extent , to compensate him , from its own purse , for the injuries inflicted on him . _Three-fourths , at least , of our existing Poor-rates represent the penalty in constant payment by the public for their criminal apathy in permitting this constant fleecing of labour by avaricious and unscrupulous men like the l _' errys of Wolverhampton .
It is not , therefore , against the institution of capital , when kept within its just limits , that we , by the combination we are endeavouring to organise , seek to array ourselves . It is not against that useful and honourable class who , while claiming and maintaining their own just rights , are desirous of conceding the equally just rights of others , against whom we seek to protect ourselves ; but it is against that parasitical , fungoid excrescence , which has grown to suoh frightful dimensions , that it threatens like a foul corroding canker , to sap and destroy the vitality of the industrial economy , and to convert honest labourers either into miserable paupers , or into equally miserable anarchists . It is to save British industry from either horn ofthis dire dilemma that we invoke the
working classes to combine . For , surely it i 3 by combination alone , a mobilisation of labour , that this calamity , which is already present , but looms in still moro fearful , gigantic proportions , in the distitnt future , can be averted . The capitalist of this diseased class have no sentiments iu connexion with honourable minds . Truth , justice , honour , humanity are with them words without meaning . Their solemn assurances are like dicers' oaths—unmitigated _purjuries . The God of their idolatry is money ; and , with truo Jesuitical logic , they account all means sanctified which may be necessary , to enable them to arrive more speedily at the goal of their ambition .
We have been led into these reflections by a retrospective meditation upon the Wolverhampton struggle . We have here striking examples of the two classes of _capitalists we have been describing . Mr . Walton and Mr . Shoolbred havo each said , tbat whenever an article thEt they are in . the habit of making becomes so depreciated in marketable value by the competition of less scrupulous rivals , as to prevent them paying a fair value to the workmen , they will cease to manufacture it . We know this is no mere assertion . It is with them a practical truth . Thero is no man , to our knowledge , that has ever charged , or ever whispered , a single act of oppression against either of those gentlemen . There they are , the respected and honoured of their workmen .
Lot us now contemplate the position of tho Perrys . Driven by the very desperatencss of their case to every mean and ungentlemanly subterfuge ? To-day , E . Perry engaged in a bad use of his influence to get the poor pauper Hallet mulcted of his parish allowance , as a means of forcing his son to submit to his exactions . Then , falling upon Haines with tiger vindictiveness _, for a violation of an agreement for three years , entered into eight years before , and sending him to prison and the
treadmill , for twenty-ono days , for being absent from his work two hours . Upon . another occasion , dragging a poor man from his home , from his sick wife , and dead , unbuiied child , and with the full knowledge of these dreadful facts , and because the poor man seemed himself too ill to be of the slightest use in the factory , pressing for his committal to gaol . Sending out his emissaries , and even himself penning the most palpable untruths , to seduce men to leave other employments to enter into engagements with bim .
Here is a verbatim copy of one of bis missives , sent to a John Manton , formerly tho secretary of the Tin Plate Workers' Society of Wolverhampton , but at this time ( October ) , working for Mr . Griffiths , of Birmingham : — " Sir , —Now that matters are settled , and all things ( is ) quiet , whenever you are disposed to come over here I will find you a situation , and it you can bring , or send me two or three others , I can find room for them in my manufactory , if they are decent workmen . " I am , sir , " Yours respectfully , "E . Perry . "
Now , what honourable man , with a full daily experience , that the matters he alludes to , that is , the dispute between him and tho Tinmen , were not settled , that things were very far from being quiet ? What truthful man would stoop so low to send such a letter to a working man ? And , oven now , what an honourable and charitable mission this man and his brother , accompanied with an attorney ' s clerk , is engaged in . Several of the men whom he bas succeeded in inveigling into these agreements by such means as we havo exposed , finding themselves so grossly deceived , havo left the town , leaving , in many cases , their wives and families to follow them , when they get other work . The Perrys have been visiting their wives to know if they are not in distress , and whether he shall ( good , kind creature ) use his influence to get them assistance from the parish ; and thus , by making them
recipients to the pauper fund , bring their husbands chargeable for deserting their families , and so induce the parish to prosecute . This is a dodge , which for its excessive ingenuity and meanness , is well worthy ot its author , but wo hope the wily Jesuit will be disappointed in his wolfish designs . We , last week , informed our members and readers , of the latest and most brilliant conception of these perfectly original brothers , in importing a batch of foreigners , for the very honourable purpose of beating down the valuo of British labour . We don't know which most to admire , the supreme folly , or the extreme wickedness of this last , and , we think , the very last move . We are , this week , in a condition to give an authentic narrative of the mode and terms of their seduction , which , as we hinted , is marked throughout with a total disregard of truth or honesty .
It appears Mr . ex-Town Councillor George Ilenry Perry was despatched upon a family mission to Paris , to beat up for recruits , having so signally failed in England and Scotland , where he went iipoh tho same mission . He was introduced , through an interpreter , to some Parisian tin men , to whom he described , in glowing colours , the something more than Californian treasures which awaited such fortunate individuals as would return with him to Wolverhampton . He spoke a most unwilling truth in one instance—that he could not get hands enough upon his terms . ( Aside . ) Tbat the trade was never so busy , ( true again , by lucky accident , ) and that he had an intention of introducing the French style ( of tin pots we
suppose ) to the English public , who , under the Free Trade regine , were growing tired of the strong and useful , and had , under the teachings of economist Wilson , Bright and Co ., become violently enamoured _tff the cheap and nasty . A great deal of this palaver , either expressed or implied , passed . The Frenchmen listened to the em passioned bursts of eloquence of the pugnacious George . Ono of them , move CUVioua than the rest , hinteda query . " Was there any strike in the affair ? " Without the slightest hesitation , thc truth-loving George Ilenry assured them to the contrary . "No , it was simply the extreme pressure of business—the shortness of hands , ( thank God for it , ) and the passion of the English people for novelty . " __ This , and wo suppose much more of tho same admixturo , of one part truth and nine lies , the approved formula of the " Perrian specific " was said , and
the game was fairly bagged—seven Frenchmen and one Polish Refugee , eight in all , and not ten , as we bad been erroneously informed , —agreed upon a small pecuniary advance being lent them , to leave «• la belle . France , " and trust their fortunes to " perfide Albion : " we had ' almost written " perfi . de " G : H . ex-Town Councillor Perry . They arrived in due course , but np agreements we aro told , were actually signed until after their arrival , whon six sighed engagements for two years , upon the following terms : — " The money advanced to be paid by instalments from their weekly earnings ; George Ilenry to hold their passports and books , ( their books being to them of great importance , containing their characters , wbich have to be shown to the . prefect and employers beforo they can get another shop ) as collateral security for the repayment of the money . They are to receive twentyfivo shillings per week for the first throe weeks , and as much as they can earn ( at Perry ' s prices wo suppose ) afterwards , Poor dupes .
National Association Obunited Trades. S ...
_tui _' j \ \ agreements were fairly signed , 'it I _S _^^^ i _^ the _henchmen had , In their _igno-Mt- _^^ _^ _Wi- _^« ' intoa . sad mistako ¦ 5 i *? ri ! _S'W _- of an English shilling , and had S I _?? dltto mean a ' floriD » about one shilling ana eightpence , to them rather- a serious error _onri _« Sat _?^ _ay last they had worked four days , ana ; one with the other had earned the enormous _» . ™ ' in » _.- n n 8 ixPence each ' , per day . Their Sff ™ , _r- sald t 0 -tow h _^ n from thirty _HrXZT' _?? s from t _^ nty-five to _thirty-& _nlfe % _^ f 0 urpence P ™> k _, _* nd living per day . We think , from this _statemfint . „ f „„ .
doubted facts , that the Perry ' s have not much improved their position , oven if the agreements are not cancelled by the magistrates , for gross fraud and deception , practiced upon men totally Worant of the language in which they are written or of their legal or presumed legal effect , because * we still retain oui' opinion of their utter illegality . Bu ' . * - what shall we say to the cause , and to the meii who "an stoop to such practices , to accomplish their - _^ testable designs upon the rights and freedom ot' Englishmen ? Wo can have no fear for the result—it is not possible that such
knaverycan succeed . We turn from this disgusting subject to one of a more pleasing character . Tho reduction , which we announced last week as having been offered to th © thick wire drawers of Birmingham , has , by the energy and promptitude of the Central Committee , been withdrawn , and the men have returned to their work at their old prices . We rejoice at this , because the reduction offered , if successfully accomplished , would not only havo seriously affected the whole of a numerous and very hard working body of men in Birmingham , but would have thrown out of work entirely every alternate ' man , which would again have had a tendency to have still further depreciated the value of the labour of those left in employment .
Whatever benefit could have ' accrued to the employer could have l _* een but short-lived , because other employers would have been driven to the same course of conduct , and the only ultimate effect would have been a deep direct injury to a numerous body of industrious men , and a probable increase ia the poor rates of the district , without the slightest compensating benefit to any other individual . We therefore feel proud of Mr . Green ' s success , who acted in this case with his usual discrimination and promptitude . His interview with the manager having been unsuccessful , he instantly issued a hand bill , detailing the particulars of tho dispute , got them well circulated in the district , despatched them , by the first post to all parts of England and Wales where this business is carried on , and called a public meeting at the Public Office , where the whole affair
was submitted to the ordeal of public opinion . A copy of the bill was also forwarded to Mr . Brown , the proprietor of thc works , at Halifax . In a fewdays that gentleman arrived in Birmingham , and the manager in Monmoutholme ( from whence he originally came ) to seek for hands . But judge of his surprise and mortification when be found the men fully prepared to meet him , with a salutation to this effect , '" Well , Smith , you have been at your old tricks again in Birmingham , but it will not do . If you expect to get men here you are mightily deceiving yourself , " & , c . The affair was known through the length and breatb of the land , and Mr . Brown being granted an interview with Mr . Green , elected to forego the contemplated reduction , and that the men should return to their employment , which they did _immediately .
Here is another proof of the power of combination . For upwards of three years have this body been connected with the National _Association , and every attempt by their employers to encroach upon their privileges during that period has met with a successful resistance . The system of block rent has been abolished , and mutual preliminaries , between somo ofthe principle employers and the men , to regulate the number of apprentices upon some fixed and equitable basis . With these facts beforo them is it not surprising that they do not rally round tbis movement in their thousands , and make it & truly National defensive confederation of British labour ? A mighty league , whose behests are conceived injustice , and exercised in moderation , should be
irresistible . The equitable adjustment of wages would then in every trade be found to be shorn of all its difficulties . Labour Boards , composed of masters and workmen in equal proportion , and presided over by some competent and impartial president , would goon be ahle to discover the just means whieh wages should bear to profits , and the haphazard scrambling of the present system superseded by some fixed principle , subject to such variations as tho laws whicli affect and regulate the value of productions would suggest , and not as now , to be left to tho mercy or the caprice , or rapacity of a mere section of the profitmongers , who force the more honourable to follow their bad example and practices . Wm . Peel , Secretary . 259 . Tottenham-court-road .
Abergavenny, November 26th. Rkspfxtkd Fr...
Abergavenny , November 26 th . Rkspfxtkd Frienos , —Having read in the last Northern Star an account of a person of the name of Perry , of Wolverhampton , wishing to catechise tho magistrates ofthat place , because they decided in favour of the sons of toil , against himself , he having no argument to support his observation , must resort to moan subterfuge , whicb none , but those who are deficient in the sterling truths of _moralfcy and religion , would condescend to , by making such personal remarks as itinerant Chartists . Every honest man will admit , that the magistrates , or any other body of men , sitting as arbitrators on any point , have a right to avail themselves ofthe evidence of any man , or body of men , who could throw a light on the subject ; and he must be a knave , indeed , who would wish to confine it to class , creed , or colour .
I should be sorry to interfere between men and their employers , but when such observations are made by persons who we ought to expect better from , I can do nothing less than stamp my mark of disapprobation on such conduct . I have not had any correspondence with you on any subject before . Nevertheless , I havo attentively watched our proceedings , and , as a body , I admire your care to abandon strikes , and substituting arbitration , it being wise , friendly , easy , and cheap ; while strikes are difficult , useless , and injurious , alike to employers , men , and the trading community at large . "But , if either party will not submit to reason , the evil must rest at their own door .
Men , generally , are not fit judges in then * own matters ; therefore a third party is more sure to determine rightly . Your object seems to be justice to all . ' I have , therefore , enclosed you five shillings as a donation to your general fund . Wishing you success in your undertaking , and when tyranny should be attempted by either the employers or the employed , you , as rational beings , will step in , and by reason and friendship , decide for or against , as the case may be . Hoping
that—Virtue may be your safeguard , And your guiding star , That stirs up reason , When our senses err . With best respects to friend Duncombe , and all of you , I remain , thine , very truly , Thomas Cook Ingram , Wholesale and retail Ironmonger , and dealer in Tin goods . - To W . Peel , secretary , 259 , Tottenham-court-road , London .
Robbery * .—A Little After Midnight, On ...
Robbery * . —A little after midnight , on the morning of Saturday last , the gate-keeper of the Brock-Joch _tollbar , on the Carpshairn and Dalmellington road , was roused from his bed by a halloo , asif some person wished to pass the gate . On opening the door he was seized by four men in the garb of labourers , and having their faces blackened , who instantly bound him and his wife and daughter , who were the only inmates , and proceeded to ransack the premises , threatening to burn the houso unless money was given them . They at last obtained £ 8 in a pocket-book , one pound odd in silver , in addition to a great quantity © f wearing apparel , deliberately throwing aside their own unwashed rags , and arraying themselves in clean comfortable
garments from the toll wife ' s press . They packed up blankets , stockings , and a varity of bulky articles ; but the bales being too heavy for . transport , they did not carry them away . After getting all tho plunder they could they departed , showing no violence to their prisoners , whom they left bound hand and foot , locking the door on tho outside to prevent pursuit . The toll-house is a considerable distance from neighbours , so that the thieves got fairly off . Four men , supposed to bo tho parties who committed the robbery , were seen in Maybolo in the course of Saturday , in which place they disposed of part of the stolen property . They were traced to Ayr the same ni ght , and one of the party was apprehended in a lodging-house in Wallacetown on Sabbath evening . —Ayr Advertiser .
City of London Improvements . —It is intended by a new act to be applied for in the ensuing session of parliament , amongst other purposes , to tako power with consent of the cathedral authorities , " to lay part of the ground area or sp _»" _- ia the _wf s , front of St . Paul ' s Cathedraiinto the public street , and also to compel the consumption of smoke in au furnaces and fireplaces _uaed for » anufac _* "r ! f _, f _, _^ trade purposes ; and to remove more dfec uaUy other nuisances , encroachments , obstructions projections and annoyances . Various additional powers slaughter-houses , & c , are also to be applied ior .-h lS £ * _BEAUMo _^ r .-It is very generally rumoured that this noblo lord is to be speedily appointed Govnrnnr of Malta . Perhaps this may account in some _Surffor the tone and spirit of his letter to Lord Zetland , in which a Papist figures as adopting tho extraordinary course of approving and encouraging a No Popery cry *
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 30, 1850, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_30111850/page/5/
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