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""'"' ' the Boardand to mid»» » «.•¦»••*...
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ODD FELLOWSHIP
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rActini-on the scod old tnghsh principle...
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE XOETHEttS STAR. Rat...
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ItEMAttKS OS T11"E TCtESEST CONDITION OF...
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Tiie Africa* , * Roscius.-—The statement...
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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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""'"' ' The Boardand To Mid»» » «.•¦»••*...
_"¦" , ¦" ¦ ¦ -, ' . ; * _AUGDST - 23 , ' - 1845 . n TH _. E _/ N . ORT . HJSRN STAR , _„„^ " " _'" ' ' _^ —— . — j _™ .... ri _.., i _^ _nu _...-. _^ _. _^ - _^ - _^ " ¦ . _*¦¦*¦¦ . ' " ¦ " ¦ '¦ _„¦' _..- _.- " _—•—* - — — ' ¦ ¦ - "" ¦ 1
Odd Fellowship
ODD FELLOWSHIP
Ractini-On The Scod Old Tnghsh Principle...
rActini-on the scod old tnghsh principle of fair plan for all sides , " we gave , last week , a letter from a Belfast correspondent , defending the course which ilo Executive of thc Odd Fellow ' s Institution have taken in reference to the matters of complaint urged asainst it by thousands of lhe members . This _weelt we _giveasotlier letter of thc same character , to which the writer has had thc manliness to put his name in full . That letter will he found to be followed bv another , _purporting to disclose thc manner in which " _nuWic testimonials" of " gratitude for
services performed , arc _manufaciun-d ; and then follows a pithy , searching , and well-written examination of thc whole question of dispute . Our desire is , in all wc do in reference to that dispute , to hold tlse _balajice evenly . To this end we shall next week allow tlic Directors of the Order to speak for themselves ; aud shall also , if space permit , offer some remarks of owe own . Till then , wc commend to ail Odd fclJowsirhe several communications inserted below _, in them they will find much worthy of deep _consideration and determined action . —E » . S . Si ] „
TO TBE _-EDlTOa OP IHE _NOHTani . V STAR . Sir . —Having road in your paper for some weeks past , strange things in reference io tlie Executive power , ke , of the . Manchester Unity of Odd Fellow .-, and feeling convinced from hit own _knowledge that the Executive , he , are unjustly maligned , I beg to offer through the medium of yonr paper something like a truthful _... tatement of the things referred to hy the dessentteuts of thc Institution , who seem to mc to be nuite reckless as to tlic .- ( mount of injury tliey are doing to thousands , win . appear to h _^ _aiislfcd by their false and garbled repr _; _-spnlatior . s . It is sot my intention to enter the lists wilh a desire to irritate the feeliugs of those whom I consider arc both injuring themselves aud others , hut simply to lay the cause of dispute before your readers in a plain and truthful light .
_© ne comjifcSnt isj that the society has been oflate departing from Democratic to _Aristocratic principles , and that the disfranchisement of _tUeTLod _^ cs to stud representatives to the Annual Committee , has been a grand step to thc investing -with arbitrary power those who pre designated tlie "Aytoun-street Tyrants . " Now , sir , I think I shall be able to show , that instead of the society- at present inclining to wards an Aristocratic , itis actually progressing , as fast as prudence will admit , to a truly Democratic mode of representation , legislation , and executive government , _democracy admits the right of every intelligently qualified member of a society to have a fairand _equal share in thc governing of fhat _sscicty , ont tiU wiiliin tliese last few years the nliole ofthe CXCCutixe body of tlie order was chosen from Manchester
alone , yet the Manchester district never cried out against tlie possessing of the privilege , which , I think , as itexclmied all the other districts , was truly an Aristocratic privilege ; ia tlie same manner the whole of the trustees ibr the investment of the general funds of the order vera solely _selectcil from U » T » _hC 5 tCT , _JCt tlie 35 andl £ Ster people were not then so deeply imbued with Democratic principles as to come forward and disclaim all ri ghts to such an unfair assumption of power and influence , and it was the indefatigable exertions of the provincial deputies at tlie Annual Committees , aided by the continual calls oftheir constituents , that deprived tbe Manchester district of the unfairly assumed privilege , and conferred the right of serving in the Exeeufive , and as investers of the jeneral funds of tbe order , on every qualified member ' ol the society .
The Manchester district lias nearly at all the Annual Committees possessed an unfair share of influence , by its excess of deputies , as the following table will show , lt is compiled from the official reports of the order for the last four years of the old representative system—tbe system _tlmt is so much extolled by thc dissentient party , and with some few accidental _laLcqi & ms , tho _JMaucliester district lias had a preponderating proportion of deputies according to its number of members ; I give eleven large , if not the largest districts in the unity—their number -according to tlic last returns , and tbe number of deputies sent ; as per table : — t 1 * i * 1 * _. _* . * i 5 _* _2 -Ssa 3 _G' £ a * . h- _^ n - _^ - _*^ cj _*> . \ ° - _« j | ' "Ss A ¦ ¦ _Sa'g _* _£ _*? Same of the District . If Jf I = J | . S | _fjj ! lag ' fSi s-Z 2 a . " 2 c . *** a ~ - f * _2 5 E « _a s ¦ " ' . . _•*•** ; 2 ' 2 i " - ' _*< 7 H . A —o Manchester 3 S _5 U 22 ~ 1 _T ' li 19 Iiver * i * . ol ' _SSlS 5 -12 7 4 I Xorlb h South _Loudoni 2013 S 5 3 ' . * j Birmingham .............. 1 <* s < J- ! 8 3 3 o I Sewcastb-on-Trne . ; 3 _H 3 1117 Rochdale . . ' .. ! St 4 G 11 6 C S Leeds . .. i 5367 9 1 19 3 Haslingden 12524 7 2 2 ; 1 Stockport ............. * _£ 94 13 3 5 2 Sla « r < iw 5533 1 4 0 f 1 Sheffield 2372 12 27 7 « 0
Sow , sir , Jet any unprejudiced person take a fair view of C 13 above tabic , aud ask liimself bow far tbe Manchester people are consistent ia their professed love of Democracy . Compare the influence they have had over thc Loudon districts ; compare the number of deputies-. vith those of Birmingham , with _Ncwcastle-on-Tync , with Glasgow , and with Liverpool ( except at iVigan ] , Manchester in some instances sending as many as ten to one over a corre _^ ioading number of Hiianbers . Again , let the lovers of tlic old system look at tlte emstantfiuclnations _fbat took place . Liverpool sending one year five , the next fortytwo , the next seven , and the next four ; Sheffield sending two , then twenty-seven , then seven , and then none ; Leeds sending nine , then one , then nineteen , and then three , and so on through tbe whole , wore or less . Bat it may
be said tbat the preceding table does not affect tbe case ; that erery lodge had the right to send one deputy , and might bave done so if it tbongbt proper . "Why , such a proposition is preposterous in the extreme . There are 3770 lodges ; and bow , in the name of common sense , -could such a number of deputies do business , or be accommodated with premises to meet in . Again , suppose « acb deputy bad but £ 4 for his expenses , it would render tlic institution liable to the expenditure of £ 10 , 030 per annum for simply making and revising its laws . Now , the Manchester people should remember tliat economy is one of the grand essentials of a Democratic form of government , and , therefore , what they profess to contend for is quite inconsistent with what they pronounce it to be ; and , instead of being _Df-xoca & cr , is pure unadulterated Aristocracy .
_JNow , sir , for tbe law as altered , which has been so much denounced . It says that every district shall have the power to send oue deputy to the Annual Committee ,-and that aU districts having upwards of one thousand members shall send one deputy for every thousand members ; thus , a district having upwards of one thousand members , cau send two deputies , add those that bave upwards of two thousand tliree deputies , aad so on in proportion . _Sow , the above , I contend , is strictly Doniocralical , because it apportions , as far as at present practical , the number of deputies to the members they represent ; and although some of the districts are small , yet the step taken at the Koweastlc-on-Tyne Annual Committee was a most necessary , salutary , and extensive one , and lias < _5 oue much towards bringing thc Order under the Democratic influence of equalisation , though much still remains to be completed _.
The next ground of complaint is fhat of the Annual _Comniitttec taking it upon itself to interfere with the financial _arrangements of the Lodges ; and tlie strange opi . nion is put forth , most triumphantly by tbe dissentient party , tbat the Animal Committee had , nor has , no right to interfere with Lodges regarding their financial arrangements . Sow , I would here ask , what does thc Annual Committee meet for ! It is not for the general _well-Zieinjf ofthe Society as a whole ; and when the Committee saw that there was a great increase of begging petitions front distressed Lodges , and an increased number of Lodges breaking up for want of funds , was it not their province , nay , their boanden duty , to inquire into the cause of these things , and having inquired and found that they arose from au inadequate contribution to meet
fhe expenditure in some case * , aud a reckless and extra- j _vagant squandering away of money tbat had been contributed , in others , was it not then their duty , as the duly ' authorised legislators , aye , as thc wcllwishers of a society in which they bad a common interest , as manners , to do -tvbat they could to rectify tbe evils and correct the abuses ivhiek -were working such disastrous consequences ? Host assuredly it was ; and what did they do ? Why they agreed tbat every Lodge should bave a fund devoted £ _ole _! y for relieving the sick , and interring the deceased members and their wives ; that this fund should be touched for no other purposes , and should be contributed to at a ratio that would ensure the youngest members tlie benefit of it when Uicy became old . This was the intention ofthe Annual Committee , and to guide thein they tcok the tables wLich bad beeu drawn up by men who bad
devoted their time and talent to ascertain how far certain contributions wonld sustain certain liabilities , and I ieel convinced that the lowest scale of payments has been adopted for realising the benefits proposed . In proof of tbe assertion , I will here give the basis of the scale . A Lodge , in which the members contribute one shilling and _cighlpeuce per month , they shall receive when sick ten _slilliu-js a week for twelve mouths , and . five Shillings , per week afterwards , so long as they may continue sick , together with ten pounds at tbe death of a member , and five pounds at the death of a member ' s wife . This may be called tbe basis of tbe scale , and all Lodges contributing less must pay sick gifts and funeral donations less in proportion , according- as tliey contribute , allowing the agricultural districts tbe benefit of twenty-five per cent _, on account of their being less liable to sickness than tbe manufacturing .
_JNow what , I -would ask , is there so monstrously bad in the above arrangements as to cause all the disturbance , _disseveration , and vituperation that has taken place ? I believe tbat no disinterested and reflective person can be found who will say that there is anything bad in the arrangement , and particularly when he is informed that tbe law was not made by theMedes and Persians , but if found inoperative , or not conducive to the well-being of the order , it could be improved or repealed according to the _dxi-nmstances arising out of its operation , and the _colleetlve wisdom of those brought to bear upon it at any -ensuing Annual Committee . That such would be tbe opinion of a disinterested and reflective person I fully believe , and that many such have declared tbe arrangement practical aad highly necessary for the safety and _^ _eO-beimj of the Institution , I feel certain .
Ractini-On The Scod Old Tnghsh Principle...
The dissentient party also rail most loudly against the spending of money in tomfoolery , gewgaw , 4 c , as they term it . Now if they are really sincere in their denunciation , itis certainly most strange that they cannot see the excellent adaptation of the new arrangement for puttiu _; a stop to thi foolish expenditure of Lodge lunds , for one of the principal objects ofthe new law-is to put a stop to the reckk _' .-s exp . nurture of Lodge fundi- ; and thus it mates it im ] ierativc on every Lodge to _kci-p ths general fuud solely for the relief < if the sick , and the interment of the dead , and for each Lodge to have an " incidental F und" to meet tlie other expenses , thereby giving ths members an opportunity of knowing for what they pay their money ; for while members may be found who would vote money from the fund for such purposes , they would not so readily pay it extra into the incidental fuad for those purposes , therefore a more effeciual way of curing the evil complained of could scarcely be udupted .
But 1 am quite at a loss to know why such a vindictive feeling is displayed towards tliose who serve the order with goads , liny certainly have a perfect right to sell their _g » ods to those who order them , uor can it be supposed that they know two thirds of the parties who purchase , or in what way tliey raise the money to j _. ay for them . They compel nobody to "buy—1 myself have heen a member eight years , ' and never spent a pcuny with the board for anything of thc kind . There is no compulsion , and , therefore , it is most unfair to upbraid and abuse gentlemen fov conducting _tlndr business in the usual way , Mid to tux thim with receiviug the money of the order , when they actually supplied goods for the same , to the voluntary orders of those over whom they had no cont-ont . '
The almost overwhelming share of misrepresentation and abuse which falls to the lot of Mr . ' William llatcliftV , calls in common lionesiy for something to be said . Il is stated that he receives £ ' ; 'i > 0 a year as a salary . This is falsi , and the parties who make the statement are _hijrlily culpable ; for if they know anything about it , they knowit is not true—and if they do not know , they have no rig / it to wake suck statements . The truth is , £ 300 per annum is paid for doing the work of that department of which Mv . Ralriiffe has the management , and it is well known tliat 3 Ir . 11 . is compelled to have an assistant regularly , besides other aids ; thus materially reducing the £ 000 . And to show the amount of labour performed , let this _sin-jlsitcin he taken . In one year the C . S . received better than nine thousand leli _* rs , and had to answer upwards
of six thousand of them . It is also stated that he is a notorious gambler . This is not enly an aspersion on the character of Mr . Itatclid ' e , but also on those who sustain him in his oiiice . At the Bradford Annual Committee , nlicnlic was called to au account , he made such a straightforward and manly declaration , that nearly ths entire cjmniHtcc , by acclamation , expressed tlieir confidence in hiin , and that committee ivas composed of 205 deputies from different parts of the country . At Newcastlc-on-Tyne he was again privately assailed by large placards on the walls , and the committee , composed of 194 deputies , again expressed themselves as follows—a ' very respectable
and highly efficient person was brought forward as an opposing candidate - , anil out of Ike I 9 i deputies , only 19 voted against Mr . _Batelift' e . Ifoiv , when it is taken into account that both tliese committees were composed of members elected according to the old system , aud called together from al ! parts ofthe country , is it to be supposed that they would have been so duped as to allow such a . character as Mr . It . is represented to be by his maligners , to hold the responsible office to which they , re-elected him ? 0 , no ! nothing could have sustained such character ia cither of _thoss committees , aud he most certainly would have fallen if he had been what liis enemies statu liiai to be .
I believe it would be very easy to show that the vindictiveness displayed towards Mr . Itatcliifc arises from other causes than " those stated , aud that thc parties who are _niostmalevolent have suffered some little disappointment from Mr . HatclifiVs lynx-eyed mods of looking aftir certain tilings ; but , sir , you ask for facts , and , therefore , I have endeavoured to confine myself to facts alone : besides , I wish not to widen the breach that at present exists , and would _tberefurs say , in conclusion , if thc dissentients are really sincere , why do tliey not ask for _lhi-ir proportionate share of thc funds , and retire iu a friendly and peaceable way . and show to the world that what they contend for is right and just , for my own part , I xvoW . tl never succumb to those in ofiicc , nor would I submit to factious aud designing wen . Iu a large institution , like
the _Manchester Unity , it is utterly impossible that all can have their wishes gratified ; but if things arc wrong , there is a proper , way of rectifying them , and tliat the dissentients know . Tliere are many other statements to which I might refer , and could prove them _ei-. hcr to be garbled , or false altogether ; but I lind I have written to as great a length as I can expect to be inserted , » nd shall close with sincerely wisliing that the Order may still continue to prosper , and render tliat support , consolation , and comfort to its members , wliich I feel confident it is the wish of those who have recently amended its Jaws , that it should do . Sir , I remain , yours obediently , IIobeiit Glass . Xile-street _, Bursleiu Potteries , Aug . 16 .
To The Editor Of The Xoethetts Star. Rat...
TO THE EDITOR OF THE _XOETHEttS STAR . Ratcliffe ' s Piece of Plate , with a listof the subscribers : Meetings of the Board of Directors at Graffs , tlw Olympic Tavern ; _Jtcasons why they meet _tuebe , and not at the Board Room of Cie Order ; Description of a Tradesman ' s Dinner at Old Gray ' s , with oilier nuts worth cracking _. Those Odd Fellows who live at a distance from Manchester know little of the freaks that arc frequently played by the Executive of thc Order , in the Olympic Arena , Sterciison ' s-squarc ; bat it is nevertheless true , that from thence have proceeded m-st of the schemes and plots that have caused thc present rupture : and a few remarks on the actors and their scene of action , may be edifying to the Independent portioii of the Order .
About a month since there appeared iu the ' - 'Managers '" newspaper organ a long account of " a dinner at Gray ' s , " whereat a piece of plate was said to have been presented to "William Batdiffe , Esq . ' . I ! " "for bis seven years ' services to the Order . " Ou tbat occasion there were an unusual number of speeches made , and toasts drunk , and compliments bandied , between " men and Christians , " as tliey dubbed themselves . In several provincial newspapers a paragraph was inserted , recording the said presentation ; and as , no doubt , the next number of the " Magazine" will be full of the whole affair , it becomes a matter of interest to all Odd Fellows . Now , in all the statements put forth , not a -word bave we beard of _«) 7 io the subscribers were to thc " princely present ; " but from the inuendos in tho " official" report , the impression sought lo be conveyed is , that the members of the Manchester district generally have been the donors . _Ko-. v , it so happens that those members know Mr . R . too well to present
him with anything but tlieir supreme contempt ; and a more barefaced imposition never was practised upon the public than the said " presentation . " It is well known that nine or ten individuals , who do business with the " managers , " were the kind _soub who subscribed the whole of the amount—upwards of £ 100—to buy Mr . R . his piece of plate ! and as there is a list of their names going round the Manchester district , I here present it to the Odd Fellow public , that they may know how such matters of "business ' are " managed : "Hr . _varW e , Pr .-imemal . er , £ 25 " Jonx D—x , Bookbinder , ir , AUP . G . M . _' s Jons P _n _Sashing-scllcr , 15 ( except the Geoege II _p , Printer , 5 Silversmith ) , James M » , Sashiug-sellcr 15 l and traders Villus C , Publican and Sinner , 5 with the Or-Isaac S 3 s , Silversmith , 5 der . » . C , _rapcr-seller . " 10
There are one or two _oflieis of the clique , whose names bave not as yet transpired . So much , Odd Fellows , for die plate "business ; " so much for the gross imposition of lauding "the man and the Christian" for his virtues ! so much for tbe " emblazoned tickets of admission" to admit thc select thirty tothe feast ; and so much for the G . M ' simpiens talk about " Tommy _Arnut ' sbeing translated into Abraham ' s bosom . " The whole exhibition was a _ticiii-7 lie , which will soon cover the actors with confusion and disgrace . And now to expose the shameful system oftlie Board of Meeting ";< at Gray ' s public-house . The men , who are the "Executive of thc Order , " meet once a quarter in full Committee : and although tbe Order pays £ 63 per annum for spacious premises in Aytoun-street , yet , forsooth , tlie Executive must meet at a public-house ,
_andcotiiBelaltnppeal cases , with plaintiffs , defendants , and witnesses , in scores , to come to the said _pnMic- ? Hniss "for justice . ' " To show the infamy of this , we have only to say that during these sittings ( which generally last a whole week ) the Olympic Tavern is like a court-house at a petty sessions , with this disadvantage , tliat drinking is emt . nuaUjrg 0 . ng Oil among tlie parties waiting for the * sapient decisions ol the Solons above , who themselves are not proof against the strong temptations of the " pipe and pot . " During these sittings the " worthy host" reaps a golden harvest . It is worth putting on record that at the Isle of Man A . M . C , the same •* host" was appointed one of tbe Appeal Committee ; and during the four ensuing meetiugs he received 12 s . Cd . per day for sitting , and occasionally waiting in his own house , and finding his colleagues accommodation . Well done , Odd Fellowship !
Another branch of the tree of corruption that lias grown out of the system of patronage is giving ( fray the benefit of all the feasts that frequently occur among the " governors" of thc Oider ; one of the most prominent of which is a tradesman ' s dinuer , which means a great deal , aad brings grist galore to the Olympic mill . The way a dinner of this kind is got up reflects disgrace npon the C . S . and all concerned in it . It is downright forced bribery , oa the principle of— " there is no compulsion , only you must . " An affair of this kind is got up after this fashion . Those " suppliers of goods" who are in the thick of the honey-pot , are reminded by the C . S . every time occasion serves , that "the Board of Directors are mom * in Manchester ' ; " and sundry bints about" cultivating
their acquaintance . " Then at is stated tbat "Mr . So-and-Sd has given £ 5 towards a dinner at Gray ' s ; bow much shall I put you down ? 0 , let me see ; say £ 5 . " Another honey bee comes ; and then another . Among them a decent sum is soon raised , say £ 30 , Then comes the feast . Of course all the Board is invited . Thc stuffing over , Champagne is introduced ; and the " generous tradesmen " begin to vie with each other as to who shall pay the most . The wine begins to operate ; and " you tickle me , and I'll tickle you , " is the order of the day , or rather night . Tbe debauch concludes with mutual promises between the K . COBBDPTIBLE Execotiw and their worthy tradesmen to support one another through thick and thin . This is a faithful description of these men and their doings ; and they know it well . However , the days of
To The Editor Of The Xoethetts Star. Rat...
corruption are numbered . Among the independent members of tho Order , Katcliu ' e aud his myrmidons arc condemned beyond all redemption . Gnie for ever is the age of sashing and _rostttes ! Tomfoil _.-ry is dead ! The few cringing tools of the faction are dressing for tke funeral ' . In the words of a great writer , thj "C . S . has outlived his reputation , aud is walking about to hearken to his own reproach , lie has written an ' Here J _. yeth' upon his character ; and what's left of him may die at any time . " His only remaining crutch is a ricketty Jiniriiaf , of which , in conclusion , I will give a specimen .
Last week but one , that print gave au account of ii dinner at Stepney , ' whereat a _spi-ecli uas made by a Mr . Ashdowne , one of thc Board of Directors , aud _suli-cditor of the Jbr . riml . lie is there made to say that " friend _llatiTuTe has left olf betting for ever ; he has buried all his turf transactions in oblivion ; and become quite moral . " Will it be credited , that while Ashdowne was spouting this balderdash at Stepney , RMcUffc was act ually on Sewton race-course , with a ro ll of notes in his hun' ) , culling a : xd betting xviih everybody around him , as can he proved by scores of witnesses . So much for Ashdoivue ' s veracit > and his reformed friend ' s "improved morality ! " Odd fellows , tlie movement fov freedom gains ground . Up , then , and declare your emancipation ! Yours , in the bonds , he , As 0 _u > Odd Fellow .
Itemattks Os T11"E Tctesest Condition Of...
ItEMAttKS OS T 11 _"E _TCtESEST CONDITION OF THE _ISUSl'ESDEST OUVEll OF OJ > D FELLOWS . BY PBOIIE . " I will ( although I ' ve _dmse't before ) Demonstrate to your sense once more , And draw a Fiouu _.-: that shall tell you , . What you perhaps forget , beful you . "—Uumr . rtAS . The violent and illegal dismemberment of the unity , wliich has recently been committed by the ofheers of the Order , in suspending the Miwiclicstw and Salfovd districts , calls for an investigation into the causes which have led to such a very extraordinary and unconstitutional result As those causes , however , form but a part of an extensively organised system of corruption , which debases the administration , and wars against the best interests of the Order , we shall not confine our observations to them alone , but apply our remarks to the exposure of abuse , iu whatever department of the executive it may be found
to exist . It is greatly to be lamented that a society so vast and extensive as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows now is —a society founded on the principle of " charity aud good-will to all men , " possessing in its own resources , almost unlimited means of affording to its members sue com- and relief in thu hour of sickness and distress , should , under any c \ TuttmsV . uim , bttp ... eeiHi . a position which seriously cripples its usefulness and threatens its _vi-i-y existence as a co-operative body . IIow much more , then , is it to be . regretted that this Order , whicli has so
often bounteously administered to thc wants ofthe family in distress—softened the hard pillow of afflictionassuaged the agony of death—paid the last tribute of respect o er the grave of a deceased brother—yielded comfort to the disconsolate heart of the widow , and supplied bread to tbe destitute orphan—should not only have its existence perilled by the wanton and illegal acts of unscrupulous men in power , but that those God-liko blessings which have hitherto been its pride and its honour to bestow so liberally 011 suffering humanity , are henceforward to be sacrificed on the base altar of Mammon .
Theoflicers ofthe order having despotically aud illegally suspended thc Manchester and Salford districts , without trial , and without even a charge of oil ' ence , it will be necessary to inquire how far tliey were justified by Genera ! Law in taking tbat course , and whether the reasons assigned by them for so doing were satisfactory
explanations or not . We apprehend tbat" the Laws of the Order are equal and just to all its members ; governing alike the highest officers and the youngest brethren , " as no difference or exception is to be found whereby it is provided that anyone shall have a right , privilege , or exemption which shall not be participated in by all . Hence the General Law is binding on each—none can _escape its impartial _effect . The Order is ( or ought to be ) governed by the General Laws alone ; consequently it is by tliem solely that offence can be condemned , and punishment inflicted _. There can be no breach of , 1 law which has no existence ; neither can there be a legal exercise of power which has not been created or defined by General La _n-.
That there is no General Law wliich deputes to , or authorises the G . M . and Board of Directors to exercise arbitrary power , or to suspend the operation of the General Laws , ' is must certain . To appeal to any practice which hitherto may have obtained , is to appeal to a corruption , which ought never to have been permitted . That such practice may be found to have existed is not to be denied , inasmuch as corruption has , for 11 long time past , thoroughly tainted the administration of the Order in every department . The whole tenor and economy of the . General Laws proclaim our indefeasible right to " Trial by Jury ; " for by the 5 ith , 55 , 5 G , 57 , 00 , GO , fil _, 72 , 73 , 75 , 7 C , 77 , 78 , 70 , 80 , 81 , S 2 , 83 , 175 , 179 , 180 , 197 , 205 , 223 , 2 fiC , 268 , 274 , 275 , and 276 th General Laws , not only is Trial by Jury ( in
eoumvAtaei strictly enjoined , but the forms arc specified precisely in which such trial sliall be enforced , in order to render punishment available . By tliese laws it is most clearly defined that unless " tho party or parties complained against shall be summoned to attend ( the committee ) , and be furnished with a copy of thc charge nt least fourteen days before the case is heard , " no trial cau legally take place , nor condemnation be carried into effect . Yet , in defiance of all tliese laws , the G . M . and Board of Directors , agreeably to their arrogant assumption that " they were superior to the law , " have dared _, without a trial , without a charge , and without a cause , to suspend live members of the Manchester district , by the impudent and dishonest exercise of tlieir own despotic will .
Tbat the laws of the Order did not recognise the exercise of _desj-. otic or of tyrannical rule is most certain ; and that reason , justice , and equity repudiate this barefaced robbery of rights and of privileges which have been paid for in hard cash , is quite as undeniable . Upon what ground , then , it may be asked , do these unprincipled rulers take their stand ? They have entrenched themselves in the position of private pecuniary interest alone ! They have foraged our resources , and stored them up in their stronghold , for tlieir own use . They have raised up thc Black Flag of annihilation and imprinted on it tbe words " So Quarter . " They bave declared war to to the knife against our ri ghts , our privileges , our liberties , and our very existence as Odd Fellows , couched in the usual language of marauders , while endeavouring _^ cloak with a plausible excuse a grievous act of baserobbery and wrong-.
These arc their words : — " The Board view with regret the attempts that have been made in the Manchester and Salford Districts to excite the members into acts of insubordination , therefore , with a view of effectually putting a stop to sucli practices , the Directors herewith instruct the Officers of the Manchester District to suspend , until the next A . M . ft , 11 . C . Ilulley , Joseph Taylor , Benjamin Stott , Robert Wood , and It . J . Richardson , or any other person who may be found guilty of pursuing a similiar course . " It maybe understood by the ignorant from the wording of this decree that the five individuals named therein had been "found guilty" of actsof insubordination , or breaches ofthe laws of the Order , and thatthepunishmentof suspension for eleven months had been awarded to them in
accordance with tbe verdict and the evidence given on a charge preferred against them before some legally constituted committee of the Order . No such thing ! It is a fact hardly to be believed , but never tobe tolerated , that such verdict was never given , such evidence was never heard , such charge , was never instituted . Itis , indeed , a disgraceful truth now on record , tbat the Board of Directors have so far forgotten tlieir position as administrators of the law , as to contaminate and pollute tbe stream of justice at tbe fountain from whence it llowed , by bringing it into foul contact with corrupt and mercenary private dealings . They have dammed up the pure and placid stream of justice , and diverted its waters into a narrow , crooked , and filthy channel . And they have placed malice on mercy's seat 1
It is obvious that the G . M . and Board of Directors , in order to " put a stop" to thcrapidly spreading inquiry into the abominable abuses in the Executive , which had already becomo notorious to numerous members in the Manchester and Salford . districts , resolved to put into practice an appropriate " custom amongst the Malays , " who , as the honourable and independent-minded Editor of the truthful " London Journal and Pioneer" so graphically describes , " after indulging in a course of intemperance , rush into the streets , knife in hand , and kill and wound every unfortunate passenger who may chance to oppose himself , however innocently or unthinkinglyto the
mis-, chievous progress of the maddened drunkard' . " In like manner did certain _infuriatedDii-ectors , drunk with thc successful pursuit of pelf , from a long-continued course of profligate administration , foreseeing that public opinion would soon stop the unhallowed tap , v \* . sl * , e _* i _Sonn _j n rage and desperation amongst the members , regardless of wrong and reckler _. s of consequences , eutting ° down indiscriminately , to the right and to the left , the innocent and the unthinking ! The spirit of the coming storm must needs be exercised by human sacrifices ! Victims must be slain and held up in terrorem to tliose free-minded men who daro think for themselves , or give utterance to their
honest sentiments . And by tlie following mode was this ri ghteous resolve carried into effect . A certain man , wise in his genera lion , at tbe instigation of thatportion ofthe Board ofDireetors who have an enormous private pecuniary interest in the corrupt practices which have been introduced , tlirough their means , into the working of thc Order oflate years , tendered a secret accusation against the five individuals hereinbefore named . The secret spy was listened to , and without the Board taking upon themselves the trouble to investigate the truth or otherwise ofhis statement , they at once and " unanimously resolved" to rob those five members of their rights and privileges as Odd Fellows ! Andtoheiglitentlieiniquity oftlie deed if possible tbe morcj the Board subsequently refused to permit one of the parties so unjustly and illegally suspended , to bring evidence before them to prove tliat he had had no participation in the « insubordination" of -which bo had been tllllS accused !
Did the secret and once dreaded Star Chamber in days of yore ever exceed in atrocity or foulness of intention this one act of the Board of Directors , levelled , as it has been , against law and justice on the one hand , andthe rights and privileges of members on the other 1 'ffho can respect men with principles so depraved ! Who can hold tliem to be infallible in word , or immaculate in deed ?
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Having disposed of the mode in which the Board thought fit . to victimise innocent men , we will _pi-seccd to examine into _tbc-gfiivameii of the accusation itself . A public meeting of members of tbe Independent Order of Odd Fellows , M . U ., was held in Manchester , ou Saturday evening , June 21 , 1 SI 5 , P . 1 \ G . 31 . Hall in the chair , to take into consideration tke merits of l _. si ' . clii . V . i " Sliding Scale" ot contributions and donations , whicli had beeu ordered to ' come into operation on tiie 1 st of January , 18 t ( ., and lit which meeting many hundreds of past and present officers and brethren attended . The five past officers _wlto were suspended by the dictum of the Board of Diivctors were ' amongst the company assembled , and it was lor being present to hear opinions g iven on that most important measure tliat their _suspension afterwards occurred , nnd not , as the Hoard have'falsely , alleged , for " excitiiie members into acts of insubordination , " inasmuch as it can be proved iuconttstiWy by scores ot witnesses , that three outof the live iu . liv . du-. ils neither took part in promoting ' that mooting nor in the _proceed-.. ; — - _===
ings which ' occurred thereat . Who , then , can support the Board of Directors in their impudently mendacious assertions that ihey have been " sf . -einioi-. slv and conscientiously _cmleavemring to carry into effect the laws , in ' strict conformity with ibc constitutional usages ' of the Order , " by thus illegally suspending _iiuUviiiuabfov . simply iinpiiring into lhe truth of their assertion that "the opponents ofthe proposed change did not attempt to disprove or impugn the accuracy of . Mr . Smith's statements and calculations . " Ko independent man , with the powers of reason at command , would support such a proposition . None but a fool , or a truckling interested knave , will bend , for c : ie moment , to the decree thus sent forth by the Board , that the right of _privtiti judgment is abolished and withdrawn , and that intercommunication will no longer be allowed amongst the members of the Order .
Itis to he borne in mind , that the pnblic meeting alluded to was held on Saturday , June 21 , 18 _l !> , aud that two days afterwards , viz ., June 28 , the first day of the meeting oftlie Board of Directors , tlie live past _ofiicci-s were suspended . After transacting business during the week , the Board broke up on the following Saturday , viz ., June 28 th . On Monday , June SOlh , the Q , u . _vvU : rly Committee of the Manchester district was held / when a very large number of deputies were present , amongst whom appeared P . G . 'Benjamin Stott , anil l \ G . Bobert Wuod ,
both duly ' appointed by . their respective lodges . On their names being read over , they were , objected to hy the _G-. M . of the district , as forming a part of tiie individuals suspended by the Board on that day week . Upon which the officers of the District were called upon to explain by what authority those deputies had been suspended , aud to produce proof of the fact of such suspension bavin- ; occurred . They answered that tho Board had thought fit , for the reasons we have already assigned , to suspend the parties named , and that the 0 . S . of the Order had communicated the fact in writing to the C . S . of the
district . The-communication from C . S . Ratcliffe was thereupon produced , and found to be , not a notice from the G . M . and Board of Directors / or from the officers of the Order to theoflicers of the district , but , simply a note from C . S . IUtclitle himself , unauthciuicatcd by the official seal , and consequently mlornr . il The committee , therefore , positively declined io acknowledge it as a legal document , and they also peremptorily refused to recognise the illegal and unconstitutional exercise o . _' _pov'cr assumed by the 0 , M . unci Board of Directors in despotically suspending members without trial , as required by general law . A
resolution , embodying those reasons , and declaring the two _objecteddeputis * to be eligible to sit , ivas duly moved and seconded , but wliich resolution the G . M . of the district refused to put to the committee , whereupon another resolution was proposed that the G . M . do leave the chair , and on which he immediately adjourned the committee to Monday , the 7 th day of July , 1815 . Before , however , the _Ciinimittcp . could again meet according to tbe time specified on the adjournment , -the officers of thc Order , ill the absence ofthe Board of Directors , took upon themselves tlie further responsibility of illegally suspending the Manchester district itself .
Ou the following Monday , July Ttk _, the adjourned Quarterly Committee of- ' the district ngaiu met , when deputies from seventy-live lodges were in attendance . The district oflicers not appearing , P . 0 . M . John lliehardson White was appointed to the chair . The resolutions passed at the general meeting on the preceding Saturday were unanimously adopted as the resolutions of the Manchester district , and an address to the several lodges in the unity was ordered to be drawn up , in conformity therewith , That address has heen circulated , and has tended in no small degree , . in spite of the endeavour of the Board to suppress its being read in lodges to enlighten the minds of distant members as tothe present condition of the Independent Order . The new Manchester district at this moment consists of eighty-three lodges , containing considerably more than niue thousand members ; while tke _influence of the officers of the order , combined with the _old-stock officers oftlie district , can only muster in their ranks , nnd awkward-squad of four lodges , with less than four hundred members !
The Manchester district having beeu suspended , a numerous meeting of members wa 3 held at the England ' s Glory Lodge House , on Thursday evening , July 5 , 18 i » _, P . P . G . M . Joseph Hardy in the chair , when it was unanimously resolved— - " That the Board of Management be requested to call a general meeting of the members of the district , on Saturday evening , the 5 th instant . " In compliance with this request , the Board of Management called a general meeting lor the said purpose , in the Corn Exchange , Hanging Ditch . At thc time named in the requisition , this great aggregate meeting was held , P . G . M . John Richardson White occupying thc chair , when several excellent and spirited resolutions were passed unanimously , by an enthusiastic assembly of between 1 , 400 and 1 , 500 Odd Fellows .
Knowing well the men with whom it bad to deal , and their reckless disregard of thc rights of others , the Manchester district was quite prepared to expect the . consummation of this rash act , for the same men who were guilty of this atrocity , constituted the " Manchester Board , " which , "to tlieir eternal shame "—so says the London Journal— " ruthlessly , heartlessly , used this power for years to prosecute , to discountenance , and destroy every attempt at the enlightenment of their serfs , through the agency of literary productions . " And it further says that the " charges adectimj . the character and integrity of the ruling powers are so serious in their nature , and so revolting in their general features , that unless disproved at once , the blackening stigma will leave au ineffaceable stain upon all connected with thc administrative department of the unity . " Bravo I " Pioneer . '" This is speaking out ! Yes ! this blackening stigma does indeed leave au ineffaceable stain on all those who assented
to the exercise of illegal and oppressive power at the period alluded to . As , however , the 'Pioneer neither disproves tlio facts , nor attempts to do so , tvo must take them as admitted and established by all parties . Very well . But the Journal asserts that ' friend Hardy" sat as a member of the Board when suspensions of Lodges " were rife , without trial or arraignment , " for independently taking _u portioii of their own funds to support them from starvation . " Unfortunately for the Journal , any one who will turn to the quarterly report ofthe Order for January , 1845 , when those suspensions occurred , may ascertain that " friend Hardy" was not a member of the Board at that time ! But , on the contrary , they will find that tke names to whom this " eternal shame" attaches , are George Richmond ! James Mansfield ! William Ratcliffe ! HenryKatcliffe ! John Peiser ! Thomas Jefl ' s ! E . K . Davis ! Robert R . Elliott 1 and William P . Burdett ! This precious hireling Journal has thus tarred and feathered its honourable employers with a vengeance !
We will now proceed to comment briefly on the tables of " suppositions" drawn up by the sapient W . B . Smith , of Birmingham , and published by theoflicers in the recent A . M . C . report . This rule-of-three gentleman is himself one of tho Board of Directors , and while acting as the self-elected actuary of the Order , has , as we presume , been " cutting his wise tooth" on the occasion _. It appears that this individual , while acting as the chosen instrument for moving at the Glasgow A . M . C . thc first of several resolutions , having for their object the laying of an embargo on our property , introduced the Subject by " admitting there was no kind of information at present in existence by which the average ( age ) of the whole unity could with certainty be obtained ; " he had therefore taken the present average age of the Birmingham District for his guidance , " and assumed the present average aire of the Order at thirty-two years . "
This is an important admission . The present average age of the members in the Birmingham District may be thirty-two years , but that is no indication of their average age on initiation . Some of the Birmingham Lodges have now been in existence for sixteen or eighteen years , and numerous old members have imported cards and clearances from other districts . The " supposition" tables positively assume it as a fact , that the average age at initiation throughout the Order is thirty-two years , and at that age bring in with the members the initiatory guineas . Now we totally deny the accuracy of this position , and , on the contrary , assert most distinctly , that the average age of initiation falls far short of thirty-two years . Although tliere is no kind of information in existence by which the average age of the whole unity , either on
initiation , or at the prescut moment , can be accurately determined , yet there are sufficient means at hand to showthat ' thirty-two years is not the average age at initiation , as represented by thoso tables . "Every facility being afforded Mr . Smith by ihe Birmingham District , " in his endeavour to ascertain tke correct _twerage age of . members , we will contest him on his own ground , and challenge him to show , from the proposition-book of auy one Lodge in that district , that the average ago at initiation amounts to thirty-two years . IS ay , we will venture a step further , and defy . him to prove such to be thc fact from the books of any Lodge whatever in the entire unity . If he cannot do this , then tke whole superstructure founded upon the correctness of his supposition falls at once to the ground . And if the fact should ultimately show that
the average initiatory age is somewhere about twentyseven years , then the competency of Mr . Smith to enunciate " suppositions" on whieh the least dependence can be put , and on which legislation should be based , will be finally disposed of . The next obvious error in the tables is the assumption that every individual who enters the Order is a married man ! Ridiculous as such a propOSition really is , it is nevertheless gravely advanced by Mr . Smith . He allows funeral donations for fifty wives iii every one hundred members . Now as women live longer than men , we should be strongl y prejndiced in the notion that for every fifty dead wives there would be , at the least , fifty living widows , and , consequently , that every member in the one hundred must have been a married man ! Then again it is assumed that every member ro . ceives sick pay , and that he ultimately dies In tke Order
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and to mid , »» » « . _•¦»••* _¦*•* tUis maS ? ° / _*? ™ 7 _"f error , it is gravely supposed that the Onto is absolutely limited in number to those who are now ac'tf . vlly recorded In tor . o / i ts-body . We « . _>* _, on the other _tevnd and _-nnfidently appeal to thc test of truth , lst .-Thattho _nwrn-e age at initiation is ( near twenty-seven year , _. md , o _Vrtv-two . 2 ml .-TI . ut the members ot the Order are _mU all married men . 3 rd . -Ti . at the married memhers do not all receive funeral donation on account of ti ir deceased wives . -ith . -That ail the ... embers oftlie _Ordur do .., t receive sick pay . 5 ti ,.-That all the members do not < . ie in the Order . Otli .-That luneral donation is not paid to the relatives of all who have _t-ntcicd the Order . " . And 7 th . —The number is nut limited to the present members . " 7 ,, i fn ... i . i -is a cliiiia *; to all this mas ? of absurdity and
, . . Besides these inexcusable errors , we cannot overlook the circumstance that all deficiencies as to number pi members , ' whether arising from deaths , arrears , or expulsion , are supplied by the importation of new members , younger in age , and in good health , paying a guinea for ' the _privilege of putting their feet in the other ' s shoes , having to give si-, months' servitude , and pay bix months ' contribution , before they become entitled to benefit ! Inconceivable as it may appear to be , it is a lact , _nevcrila-les . - _- , that not one single allegation contained in those much vaunted " suppositions" of our Birmingham Solon , is correct . TLey are , without a solitary exception , gross and unpardonable misrepresentations ! There is another point yet , wliich we must allude to , and although the hist , is not the least , in this _catalugnc of ignorant blunders .
Itis the principle of selection—n principle winch appears to be unkiiowu to our sapient ready-reckoner , or some notice would have keen taken by kirn , of a consideration so very essential to accuracy , as it certainly is—That the members , at the time of their initiation , as well iw the wives of ; such of tliem as are married , are scU-ct lives , is beyond _anj doubt , as none are admitted into the Order unless thoy arc ut the time in perfce . health . That there is an important diftercuce in condition between a given number of men ia perfect hcnltlr and a similar number labouring under the common' average of disease , wo should have thought would have been perceptible even to the obtuse faculties of Mr . Smith himself . What a " vast
mass" of stupidity and ignorance , then , is there condensed in those celebrated _l-iile-of-thrce results ! What a disgrace they are to tho learned nincompoops constituting that _self-suaiciont cabal , the Board of Directors ! Oh J huiv ihey rejoiced over and trumpeted forth the astounding fads enunciated by their "learned brother !" How proudly they ensconced themselves under the ample folds of his erudite mantle ! How boastfully they strutted in thc false plumage of this arithmetical turkeycock ! Wehave no hesitation in admitting the fact , nay we avow it , that carefully collated statistical returns , touching the liability to sickness aud death of the respective LoJges , are not only expedient , but really necessary to the well-being of the order . But while wo approve of due
inquiry being instituted into those liabilities , we record our condemnation of tho manner in whicli the officers of the order havo chosen to carry their crude notions into effect . Not only have the feelings and honest scruples of membors been invaded and offended , but random demands have been mudo on- them , Widely " apart from tbe proper object , and with a boisterous precipitancy , which indiscretion and ignorance coinbinad can only account ior . It is , hence , demonstrable that the officers of the Order and Board of Directors wero incompetent to the task _tl . ey so rashly took upon themselves to perforin , liad it indeed been otherwise , they would have known how to have avoided irrelevant interrogatories , and to have rejected inapplicable reply . Their inquiry into the amount of Lodge _lunds . ' was not only vexatious and unnecessary , but exceeded the power deputed to them by the _Kewctistle A . il . C , which resolution authorised them to call for all
information necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the financial condition of the Order , in such form as to them might seem most convenient for classification . " We allow that Lodge funds arc to a certain extent connected with the financial condition of the Order , but we cannot admit that they form necessarily a partof it , inasmuch as " finance" implies a given income and expenditure , combined with a . profit or loss on the transaction . "Now , Lodge funds are allowed on all hands to be no indication of the amount of profit hitherto accruing . from the income of Lodges , exceeding their liability to sickness and death ; hence their amount could not be considered " necessary information , " neither were Lodges " compellable to furnish such information . " That the Order did not approve of tke amount of Lodge funds being called for , was fully proved by the 135 th resolution of the Wigan A . M . C ., which declared "thatthe 0 . M . and Board of Directors
were not justified in sending lor the returns of the amount of Lodge funds . " Instead of carefully entering upon a legitimate inquiry , and collecting and publishing to the Order at large the valuable financial facts to be obtained by such investigation , the _G-. il . and Board of Directors issued blank forms , calling on Lodges to answer queries , some of which were not only offensive and suspicious in appearance , but foreign to thc subject , while others most essential to the eliciting of necessary information , were totally overlooked or discarded . Nevertheless , those returns , inefficient as we declare them to be , " contained , " according to the testimony of r . G . M , Whaite , at Glasgow , " a vast mass of important statistical information relative to the financial condition of the Order , " We confess wc have but
little faith iii the opinon or judgement _of-Mr . Whaite on this matter , yet we are ready to imagine that , amidst this " vast mass" of _chan * , some really good corn could havo been separated , had it keen placed in tho hands of men able to sift it . The corn and tho chaff , however , yet lie blended , and entombed with other lumber in the vaults in Aytoun-street . Vainly have we strained our vision , while looking out in anxious expectation for a sample of the promised seed . But if the article produced at Glasgow by the sagacious Smith , and subsequently distributed to the Order in the A . M . 0 . report , be really and truly thc sample spoken of , then indeed , do we pronounce it the most worthless and unwholesome food for the use of man ever produced even by the most barbarous and ignorant nation upon earth .
If the li . SI . and Board of Directors "had succeeded in obtaining a vast mass of statistical information relative to the financial condition of the Order , " and if G , M . Dickinson—whose'intellects were brightened up by the good things at a Scottish feast—spoke truth when lie asserted that" the Ordt-rshoired a body of men anxious to promote tlieir own social condition— -to manage their own affairs , and find out the best mode of doing so , " then , do we ask those consistent gentlemen , why tliose returns were not published to the several lodges in the Order ? Why were they witklicld from tke test of public scrutiny 1 Was it because they contained matter unfit to meet tlie public eye ? We dare say they would have betrayed some unseemly facts—we dare say they would knve proved the unpalatable truth that lodges have paid more money in the purchase of regalia , Ac , to certain members ofthe Board , than the aggregate sum of their : sick and death
donations amounted to ! Tliey must not -. ell us that they were restrained in liouour from publishing the amount of Lodge funds by their promise to abstain from that act _. No ! that subterfuge sliall not serve them , for we are in possession of the fact that " Archibald Alison , E » q ., Sheriff' of Lanarkshire , and Lord Hector of Marisckal College , Aberdeen , " while presiding at the " dinner in the Trades'" Hall , " Glasgow , " supported onthe right by Mr . II . Whaite , Grand Master , Mr . J . Dickinson , Deputy Grand Master , Mr . William Katcliffe , Corresponding Secretary , Mr . J . Mansfield , Past Grand Master , Air . Gray , Past Grand Master , —all of Manchester , —said , "The funds of the society , derived from small weekly contributions , amount to £ 275 , 000 a year . ( Cheers . ) Thc aggregate amount of money belonging to the different lodges being upwards of _iSiODiODO , ( "Cheers . } The sum distributed in the way of charity annually amounts , I believe , to nearly £ 250 , 000 . "
If , however , those returns do contain " a vast mass of important statistical informatioil , "' wky is " a body of men who are anxious to find out the best mode of managing their own affairs" to be _debarred the right of applying such information to the furtherance of their own best interests 1 Why are they thus to be kept in utter _, ignorance of that which most concerns themselves ? Is it because the general body , consisting ofS 55 , 000 menand upwards , contains within its ranks no man of education , talent , or habits befitted to grapple with those returns and their results ? Or is it because the G . M . aud Board of Directors constitute the centralization of talent , as weU is of influence and power ; and are men of _intellectual-. attaimncnts so high , and so peculiarly adapted to the prosecution ofthis tedious and intricate investigation , as to entitle them to the prostrate confidence of that body , whom they are pleased , magnanimously , to designate " the scum of the Order ?"
Wc treat as idle breath the notion which _somsiwe promulgated , that the officers intend to make use of the returns for " government purposes . " They intend no such thing . They know better . Their game is safer , surer , and far more profitable to themselves than that . They care little about government , yet take heed to themselves . They inteud to make use of those returns for purposes of iheir own only ! W hat possible protection can we have against paid spies being maintained amonf st us iu suck situations as would enable them to _commtttiicate any official information , at any time , or in any manner required « - But this is not the danger . One of far greater magnitude , of infinitely superior importance to us , as it regards the rights and privileges of individuals , and the hest interests
of our commonwealth , aowi threatens to , overwhelm us . A dark ,, dense cloud has ' gathered oa tke korizon of Oddfellowship , and is already obscuring its fairest prospects—its . merciless thunders have been , lieard , and its victims _lia-ne been chosen . The demon of Centralization lias ascended , and asserts liis right to . rule over us . ne has alread y seized on and centralized influence and power jn his own person- and while spurning justice and equity , and law _assd charity claini 3 for himself the uncontrolled exercise of despotic will . But ke vests not here . . Emboldened with success he has taken from us the control of our own property and now hastens , with giant strides and uplifted anil to wrest it from our possession . '
Further still , he seeks to extend his power , and tear from us the last shred of our independence . In honied words he bids us to " abolish sub-committees to hear appeals , aud leave such appeals to tke consideration of the Appeal Committee only . » —( See P . G . M . Mansfield ' s speech at the Glasgow Dinner , reported in the Odd Fellows ' Chronicle , p . 1 . 35 . )—This , indeed , is the grand ultimatum . We havo already lost our enfranchisement , —wc have already lost the control over our own money and expenditure , and are now told , when systematically * obbed of our all , to appeal to the robbers onl y for redress !
The Board of Directors have _aucceedea , atan A . M . C . where . * the deputies were not so numerous as on some previous occasions , on account of the great distance from
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many of the largest English districts , " in carrying , by a paltry majority , a resolution declaring that the "Con . tribution i ' und" shall not bn under the control ofthe members of the respective lodges . And , by the aid of other resolutions , itis so _ni ranged that in tbat funds vast amount of unrequired capital must necessaril y be accumulated rapidly . It is obvious that , although the Contribution Fund is no longer to remain under our own control , yet it must , of necessity , be placed under some controlling power . If a doubt should iii . se « s to the parlies on whom . that power should devolve , it would readily be disposed of at the next A . M . C . The _necumulati'd " _Gtm-ral Contribution Funds of Lodges" hare only to be recognised as forming part of oile Grand General Contribution Fund ofthe Older , when that doubt will be settled for over , and the control and the cash will be centralized where our independence and our rights are already deposited . ' many of the largest English districts , " in carrying , by
Another point of no small importance must now bs referred to . We allude to thy mortifyiu ;? fact so often _r-. curring oflate hi the Bankruptcy , and closing of Lodges in Country Districts . Young and thoughtless members have wasted the funds and plunged their _lodgts in debt , for thc useless and stupid purpose of bedizening thim . pelves with what arc absurdly enough _callci Iiegalia , a circumstance which would not have been allowed to occur wcreit not tliat toomany of _thosi-on theBoarii ofDireetors , have an imm ense private pecuniary benefit in that folly . To cnablo " those Lodges , however , to continue in their reckless indulgence of nn expensive weakiic _* _-s , the 0 . Jf . nnd Board of _DircctorF , while tethering them down to the preservation ofa _sullicieiu-y of funds to meet nil their
liabilities from bickness and death , have Uken caro provide pretty liberally lor what are hereafter to _eorni * under the head of "incidental _Expenses . " ' This , indued , is thc item of all others , which _reunin-s lhe fostering eare of those tender Guardians . Aud as an _cncottragemi-ii t to the rustics to bleed pretty freely for Incidentals , _twt-My . live per cent , discount is to be a lowed them out oftheir payments to the " Contribution Fund , " which by the Tables of " _Sujmositions , " by tho eiudite Smith , wi-rode . claredtoke absolutely necessary , to meet their obli gations , on account of _sicl-ness and death . The claims , therefore , of the sick and the dead mu-rt succumb to tlio niore important private demands of u cliuiw of rapacioustradesmen !
Tliat thc " closing of Lodges from want of funds" h 3 s not been occasioned by the excess of their payments on account of sickness and death over _thi-ir income , ihsj easily be shown , notwithstanding the assertions of tins G . M . and Board of Directors to the contrary ; and it may also be demonstrated as readily , thatthe insolvency of Lodges has been brought about by their extravagant expenditure in mummeries of various descriptions . The former part of this proposition is borne out by the fact that , although the Manchester district is the oldest in the Order , and its _memb-. rs consequently more aged on the average , and therefore more liable to sickness and death than _tlse members of districts arc elsewhere , yet never since the establishment of the Order in that town has any one-of its numerous _Lodges keen closed from want of funds . And the second part , by the fact that a very great number of Lodges , especially those opened in new and re . mote districts , have been ruined and broken up by the
nefarious practices of men who , while acting as their ' officers and director . * -, to serve their own private interest , have plunged those Lodges tit once into irretrievable liifli . culty and debt . Hundreds of Lodges , too , which have been opened expressly to gratify the craving rapacity of the host of the " Woolpack _, " or he of the "Lamb and Fleece , " have found , to their mortification , not only that the new Lodge was not required by the wants of the district , but that the entire amount of their initiation and contribution money for momhs afterwards , has beea swallowtd up by the modest demands of " mine host , " tor fitting them up a room to drink in ! Thus , between the harpies of the silk scarf and l .-atlier apron on the onehand , and oftlie beer barrel and tobacco on tho other , tho members have been plundered of that money which wwjld , have met all their present liabilities to _sicl-nets and death , and left a surplus amply sufficient for their increasing necessities hereafter !
With charity and benevolence on their lips , and cupidity and profligacy in their hearts , the managers of Hie Order havo taken irom the " widow " and the " orphan" their little pittance in destitution , and have narrowed the meaus of " wives" and of "families" when suftering under the calamities of sickness and distress . They have lowered charity from its nobler and- elevated position of _indcpeudencs down to the meaner ami degraded rank of beggarly pauperism !¦ Tliey have boastfully spoken of "friendship , love , and truth , " yet , with enmity and malice and lies iu tlieir souls , ihey liave returned amongst us ; and , with a flaming sword of annihilation , sought to destroy ns in lhe sight of our brethren !!
All this they have done ; out the day or retribution is at hand . The hour approaches when tho elastic force of common sense , and an extended perception of right , sliall burl them from their usurpation ; when the combined euergies _i-f the insulted many will no longer bend to the illegal exercise of despotic power , and when corruption and nepotism shall-be expelled from the Council Board for ever .
Tiie Africa* , * Roscius.-—The Statement...
Tiie Africa * , * Roscius _.- —The statement which has appeared in most oi * tlie London and provincial papers , Unit Mr . _Aldridge , the African Rosciu 3 , was hilled in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes , by his carriage falling over a precipice 120 feet high , is nofc true . Thc gentleman himself . furnishes the following contradiction : —Having to travel across thc country by an unfrequented , road , where 1 could not obtain post horses for my carriage , I was compelled to use a pair ofmy own , unaccustomed to the work . One ol tliem , in descending a ' slight declivity , became restive and ran into a hedge , but without causing any alarm or doing the slightest injury , to person or property . This trilling incident , it secnis , originated a report ol my death , and thatof a servant , in a niostmelan * choly manner , which I led great pleasure ( I assure you ) in contradicting . __ Fatal Colliery Accidest . —Ono of those explosions , which are of almost cvery-day occurrence , took place on Thursday , August 14 th , ' at St . Helen's Auckland Colliery , in the county of J ) urh . in ) _, which
colliery is the property of Joseph Pease , Esq ., and Co ., by whicli two brothers named William Briddick and Joseph Briddick , the ibrnier nineteen and the latter eleven years of age , lost tlieir lives . What makes the case more distressing is that their mother ia a widow , and was almost wholly dependent ' on them for support . On Friday an inquest . vas held on the bodies before Mr . Thornton , deputy-coroner for the Bishop Auckland district , when the _following evidence was given . —Richard Crown deposed : —1 am overman at St . lielon ' _s Auckland Colliery ; tho accident occurred about seven o ' clock in the morning ofthe 14 th inst . ; the pit : was oft" work that day ; I was not in the pit at the time the accident happened ; if 1 liad been , 1 did not apprehend any danger ; that
part of the pit is not working at present ; I have seen " gas" in that part- of the pit , but not JateJy ; I was in that part of the pit three days previous to the accident ; I did not take a Davy lamp with me , as I thought there was no need of one ; William Briddick and his brother were at work , instead of tlieir grandfather ( who is keeper or inspector ); the deputy overman ordered them to go and fetch sonic plates from thc place where ' the explosion took place ; I would have given thc same ' orders myself if 1 had been there ; I cannot account for the accident , as tlie stopping-doors and brattice were all right . James Scott deposed : —I am duputy-overman at St . Helen ' s Auckland colliery ; I was " working with Edward iWNay ; we sent the hoys for the plates ; . 1 did not think of'any danger ; we were working about 150
vavd 3 from the place * ,: if the boys had notheen there , I ; wonld have gone myself ; if there had been a lamp I would not have taken it , as I did not think there was any lire in the place ; the toys had left us scarcely five minutes , when wc heard the _report of the explosion ; 1 _fr-aid "what is that ? " and-. _M'Nay said " it is fire ; " M . _'Nay then crept on bis hands and knees , in search of the bodies in thc dark , as the report put our lights out ; hewas soon obliged to return , as thc after-damp was so strong ; he was like to lose his breath ; I had not been in that part of the pit for , a month previous to the explosion ; before the bodies , were loand , 1 was taken home in a cart , I was so ill from the after-damp . —Edward _to'Nay , deputy , gave evidence to the same eifect . * -
John Hindmarch deposed : —When I heard of the explosion , I . went to thc pit . I did not intend to go down thc pit . 1 have worked at the above collierv nearly , eleven years . I thought the pit pleasant ami sale Lhave not worked at tlie colliery since March , 1844 . I would not have gone down the pit , but I heard that the men that were down were all exhausted with th * after-damp ., and others were rc-1 J ? . f ™ . I t 0 _§ ° down * The dead body of William _lii'lddick waa brought to bank before I went down the pit * , when 1 went down ,, the men were busy puttog _thtr stoppings right . I never worked in tliat part ot tlie pit , as it has been worked _sinee I left . I cannot tell tow the accident occurred . I would not have taken a lamp if I liad not heen ordered to do so , as 1 think the overman has a practical knowledge
ot colliery working , audi would have depended on that lor my safety . Tile jurv retired , and in a few minutes returned a . verdict of—Accidental Death , lo this account onr correspondent adds : —It is impossible to describe thc state of thopublic mind here , as almost every one believes that thc deputies were aware that the place was dangerous ; yet none of tho men that have- _worked in the place had the manli-» _ess to go and . speak thc truth ... The following _lettcs has been sent to Joseph Peaso , Esq ., since tho in- * quest on thebodies : — " West Auckland , August 18 , 1845 . _Siv _. _-r-You will no doubt have heard ofthe .
calamitous explosion which , has taken place at Saint Helen ' s Auckland colliery .. . You will also have heard that the witnesses that were examined at the inquesi ; were quite inadequate to throw any light on tho affair . Since the inquest several of thc workmen say they can prove that the deputies and overman knew that that part ofthe pit was in' an . ' unsafe state . It is , therefore , your duty to have tlie matter thoroughly investigated , and if the reports be true , no doubt some party will be criminated . If you J * not appoint some person or persons to examine tn * pit , and report thereon , it will be a blot on the name ? of the colliery for ever . " ...
_-_ . , j The _Mow-rh _Chbvauer D'EoN .-On _Wednesday I week was found dead , in Paris , a person who , under the names of Howard and Douglas , was well known ia thc humble ranks ef literature , who always passed as a man , but who turned out to ba & _woiaao *
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 23, 1845, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_23081845/page/6/
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