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unanimitthat wus truledi ! think iefore ...
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LATEST FROM IRELAND. NeBTflEBu Stab Offi...
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Parliamentary Review. The Whig Policy To...
. . _,. J 3 unanimit y that wus trul y edin _, «¦" ¦ ' _z , aCx _ spectacles are historical . We fVin . ' ( _lj } ielp feeling that we were present at c ' _^ " " ' _mencement of proceedings , the end of t _^ . ' ,, ' ; t was difficult to foretel or forsee . w _^ ' ' _^ .., however , too much reason to fear _Tk \ 0 „ ere sowing the wind and must expect ll the whirlwin _^ , i K . e _onh _' s motion on the subject of the ; _rt trials in Ireland , and the manner in _*'}¦ ¦ _)) the Jury was packed in order to procure _* f j '' _. ' mviction of Mr Mitchel , led to a characr _~\ ic scene . Parliamentary " rows'' are „ : > common affairs with a Whig Cabinet . jt " _irotild aimost seem that , conscious of their _" * _*" ¦ - i ... il .. l ... _. _« ..... _! .. . 1 '
¦ _ni hility to say or do anything in a proper and < . j .: ' _,- _> nianlike manner , their only _reaourse is to ir into a passion with any one who touches _tiem on the sore place , or who even so much _js points his finger thereto . In this instance _\\ r Keogh raised a leg itimate question , and _ -e _: ited it in a manner thoroughly in accordr . rife with the forms of Parliament . He kept Jo hi- subject strictly ( a great merit now-a-__ yi ) and in the course of his really able , _element , and spirit-stirring speech , did not _^ _tter an ir relevant sentence . He contrasted _^ _s he had a right to do—the conduct of
every man of the present Government on _former occasions , when they were in opposition , -nd their professions , as well as the avowed _priiH-rples of their party , with reference to the administration of justice , and the composition nf _iuries in political ca « es , with their own fon diu _* t , now that they have the power of _ordering all these matters . He le vie wed most irnthfuiiv , and , therefore , most disagreeabl y to Whig ears , the nnlicv of the Ministry _lowa-ds _' lreland ; and , in return for _discharging this necessary duty , Sir G . Grey jumped up and made a personal attack on the hon .
Member , which was mest discreditable to any inan pretending to be a gentleman , and _certain iv rnost disgraceful as coming from a _} _, ii : h Minister of the Crown , who more than * any other Member of Parliament jj bound to observe the conventional courtesies of society . He began by charging Mr Keogh with having had a good opinion of Repeal , of O'Connell , and Lord Melbourne ' s G overnmeat , which he called a " paternal" one , some eight years ago . Poor fellow ! he was only in his teens when he committed these mistakes , and may be pardoned the sins of
vout ! and inexperience . With respect to the two latter—namely , O'Connell and Melbourne and Whigs generally—he may fairly say thathis eyes have been opened to their characters in the rears that have since elapsed ; one must live to _leiirn . But this was not the most discreditable p art of Sir G . Grey ' s attack . He insinuated that Mr Keogh had given the Government reason to suppose that he would be a supporter ef it , while he had an election petition hanging over his head , but that since that was withdrawn _, he had gone over to the Conservative side , because no ulace was given him . Mr
_Keith ' s instant and indignant repudiation of this charge may settle the matter so far as he is concerned , but what does Sir G . Grey mean bv tlie insinuation as to the Election Committee ? Are we to understand distinctly what is so often whispered out of doors by other parties , that Government have it in their power so to form these Committees , as to render the throwing out of an inconvenient _' opponeDt , and the- -e ating of an obsequious supporter , a matter of certainty ? If so , we can congratulate Sir G . Grev as little upon his discretion as his temper .
Such things , he may depend upon it . are better left in the shade , as far as tbe " Government' ' are concerned . The people ' s interest in the matter is another thing . With respect to the subject of the debate , the Rome Secretary ' s own statement fully _betrs out the allegations of Mr Mitchel at the trial . It was carefully snd basely packed , for the express purpose of ¦ pn . _inirin . 1 a verdict against him , and there is an end of the matter . All the official conventkiiuilisms and phrases coined in the Mint of thp Treasury and law offices , cannot disguise
that fact . Several other _important topics have been _dkrusi-ed during the week , to which we can , at pre .-ent , merely advert , _reserving comment until a future opportunity . The Encumbered Estates 'Ireland ) Bill has passed the third reading in the Commons , but so emasculated that , like the Irish Poor-law , it is valuable merely forthe principle it affirms . Practically , " it is to be feared that it will be almost _Euiratory us a remedy for the _et'ils it is intended to meet . An important change in the law of marriage in Scotland has passed the
Lords . In future no marriages will be _considered leg *! , should this bill pass into a law , except where parties have resided in the parish fourteen days and given that notice . At _present , no notice or preliminary formalities are required , thus offering facilities for dander-tine marriages , which the far-famed Gretna Green , and other less celebrated places prove are extensively taken advantage of . Mr C . Culler , the new President ofthe Poor-law Board , has brought in a batch of bills to amend the administrative operation of the Poor-law . The first of these has reference to the mode of
asse _^ -ino- certain charges , which he is of opinion _oui-hfc to be borne equally by the whole union—by an equitable rate on the property of each rate-paver . At present , they fall most unequally on certain parishes and classes The charges which he thus proposes to - make general , are the cost of the Union Officer ? , tbe Clerk , the Medical men , the Master of the Workhouse , and generally ' what are termed establishment charges Secondly , the support of vagrants ; and , thirdly , " the maintenance of what are called the irremovable poor . In the course of his speech , the Eight Hon . Gentleman dealt out _somn 1 _, ' lows at the former administration ofthe Poor Law , which must , we imagine , have been
rather unpalatable to Mr Cornewall Lewis , who sat near him on the . Treasury Bench . On Wedne , dav , the O'ConneU farce of a motion on Repeal " was played out by the discharge of the motion . Justice was done to the moral courage and determination evinced by Mr O'Connor in bringing the question forward at an early period of the Session , and the way in which lie fairly tested the feeling of the House upnn it , was praised bv Sir B . Hall , as affordin < r an honourable contrast to the sneaking policy of the Young "Liberator ! " The management of our Colonial empire formed the subject of an admirable speech by Sir W . _Molvsworth , which , together with the lame reply of Mr Hawes , will furnish ample matter for a _future article .
Among the bills which have been introduced and read a first time , we may notice one for preventing ni ght work by journeymen bakers in tiie metropolis . The bill prohibits any _mister baker to employ bis men in the manufacture of any kind " of bread between the hours of six in the evening and four in the fcioniing , under a penalty for the first offence ° f not more than forty shillings , or _impiisonfor not more than a month , and for every subsequent offence a penalty of not less than five
pounds , or imprisonment for not more than three months . The second reading of the _kd - 1 _> v . \ uu » fur next Wednesday , when we trust th . it the manifest evils ofthe practice which it , ! i intended to prevent , will secure sufficient _Supj . urt to ensure its passing into law . It is wholly unnecessary for the accommodation of _* he j _. ulilic , is not required by the respectable _fillers , and is only perpetuated by a minority of poor and selfish employers , who care not ¦ •'• h ; _it evil they inflict on society at large , so _lii ' it lhirv c ; m grow speedily rich .
Unanimitthat Wus Truledi ! Think Iefore ...
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_% r _iVes' -of matter has roa _* : el ! ed us to withheld *••"• • ' i ' _l _^ _ence Fund list iLis week . We are sorry Ut _* Mfe . ha * tlnt :- __ z __< _leetived _1-y Mr P _^ _idtr . sine * , '"' ¦ _** t . _j-rnennts _tnly to £ 14 a _* . d a few _f-hillintrs . " _* ¦ - _> K ' - « ¦ , Aberdeen . —Press of matter compels tte posti- . _wiiifcii t of > gur letter . It shall appear in our next ,
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TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LAND COMPANY . My Friends , I dare say that it will not require much eloquence to convince you of the state of excitement that I was in for some time previous to the 10 th of April , till Chartism , upon that day , proclaimed its triumph over despotism ; and yet , great as that excitement naturally was , when a single incautious step upon my part might have led to the sacrifice of thousands of lives , and jeopardised the cause of Chartism ; nevertheless , I assure you , that that excitement was as nothing compared with the state of madness I have been in since the Committee was appointed to inquire into the affairs of the National Land Company . _rrrv _rpr-r _^ _lirimnTin rn mnn T i - _\ _tt-v
To have jeopardised a political movement by rashness or folly might be set down to enthusiasm , or want of judgment ; but to rob the poor—or the bare suspicion of it—would be a crime , nay , a sin , which repentance could never obliterate . You are aware of the ferocious manner that I have been attacked by every newspaper in England , with the exception of the " Times , " the " Post , " the " Herald , '" and the " Wakefield Journal ; " and you are aware how those uncontradicted slanders must have militated against my character as a gentleman , and one elected to represent your order in Parliament .
I was aware that these representatiens had no great weight with those who have long known me , and faithfully confided in me ; but you are aware that thousands who read the accusation never saw the defence ; and this is the Press mode of destroying a gentleman ' s character . When that Committee was appointed , the Judge Advocate of England , with a salary of 2 , 000 / . a year , was elected as the Chairman ; and I now unhesitatingly declare , that Judge _Jpffsries never evinced a more reckless or
disgraceful partiality than that gentleman has evinced as Chairman of the Land Committee . He appeared to hold a brief , in which the evidence of every witness was detailed , and he would only allow such witnesses to be examined as he presumed would damage the Company . And , as I told you before , although I brought an Occupant from O'Connorville , and three Occupants from Gloucestershire , at mv owd expense , considering them the best witnesses , as being longest located , yet they went as they came ; the Chairman would not allow them to be examined , although one would naturally presume that they were the very witnesses who ought to be examined .
The first question gone into was the application of the funds ; the hope and the object being at once to damn the Plan by damning the man ; and with this view the whole accounts of the Bank and of the Land Company were submitted to an accountant , appointed by the Chairman , who , I presume , following his instructions , conducted the investigation , not as if I was an insolvent , but as if I was a fraudulent insolvent . This gentleman , as a matter of course , entered upon his duty with suspicion , as he , like the Committee , from report , entertained serious doubts as to the integrity of the management . For more than three weeks this investigation lasted , and you can well imagine the difficult position in which I was placed .
I think I hear some banker s clerk , who has nothing to do but to attend to his books , saying — " From whence could arise your difficulty if you had kept proper accounts r" My answer is— '' That , multifarious as the work is , it would be impossible to keep more honest accounts , although they may he somewhat puzzling to a regular accountant , who is only accustomed to a certain description of accounts ; and still more difficult , when I inform you that there is not one word of mine written in any book connected with the Company—and this fact will prove as creditable to those employed under me as to myself . ' '
The accountant has now made his report , and you may judge of its magnitude when I tell you that ne went over the accounts from the first day the operations were commenced at O'Connorville , down to Saturday , the 15 th of J uly . And , as a set of hired scribblers have attempted to arraign my balance sheets as fraudulent , it may be some satisfaction to the Members to know , that the accountant compared the balance sheets with the original documents and receipts from which they were taken , and that there was not a difference of two shillings . And while I am prepared to admit that the accounts have not been what a
merchant would term strictly kept , yet my only wonder is , that , having furnished those balance sheets after the strictest investigation by seven auditors for each , that I had retained receipts for sums as low as 2 s . 6 d . I was satisfied , and you were satisfied , with a faithful expenditure of your monies ; but if I had not been able equally to satisfy Parliament and the country , I feel thoroughly convinced that the Land Company would have been my death . But I think I may now boastfully assert , that I can lay such a balance sheet before the world , as neither individual or corporation has ever before submitted : for , vou must bear the
fact in mindi that , with scarcely an exception , directors , managers , committeemen , and lawyers , eke a livelihood out of their confiding hut gullahle dupes ; but because they are not tinged with the odium of Chartism , but belong to some recognised faction , they pass un scathed , and are considered devilish clever fellows . With so much of a preface , I shall now proceed to lay before you the evidence of the accountant , as submitted to the Committee , and then it will be for you to judge whether or not I have established this Land Plan for your benefit or my own . Here follows the evidence of the accountant : — Mr Willum Henry Geet called up and examined : —
You say it was _lmpossiole for you to examine all the vouchers and receipts ?—Yes . Was I prepared with a sofa full ?—Yes . I believe yoa went into the accounts very critically , more bo than I then thought necessary , or than I now think waa neces 3 _iry , however , you went back to O'Connorville from the very beginning ?—I
did . I believe I showed yen _vonchera , as far as we went , for sums like 2 s 61 ., 6 j ., and 7 s ., and so forth?—There were very many small vouchers ; some I did not think it necessary to notice . I think I explained the impossibility in all cases of _geparating the particular items as to tbe _iBdividncl costs ; as . for instance , tkete might be fifty or sixty horses sometimes workiEg half a day at the houses , and sometimes half a day ploughing ?—So I understood from jou ; I did not attempt to go into that . Did I not tell yoa that you Bhould have every facility in my ptwer to enable you to make an abstract account of the several estates ?—Yes . And you havedoce that particularly and critically ? —As far as it was possible in the time , and with the _materials .
You have been over all the balance-sheets ; you bare been over my balance sheet , and yeu compared the sums charged in my balance sheet with the sums stated to haTa been paid in the labour-book kept by the overseer , who has that labour-bunk ?— "SeB . Did you find any _difference between the amount tbat was taken frem that statement and my balancesheet ?—None . Did you go over the Lowbands balance sheet , that U the large balance ?—Its . Did _\ ou take the labour-book aid compare it ?—Yes . ' C <
Was there auy difiererce between the turns stated to be paid in the overseer ' s bulk by him , and that which appeared in ray balance sheet ?—None . From the examination of the vouchers , as f . ir as we _« ent through tbem . you have subjtcted them to the most critical examination , 3 _cu having been lif-? een and sixteen _baura a day at work upon then ? , and you having come to a _rougk estimate , _leavirg to a _stiboequfcct period a more _innate _distinction to be made of the different estate ! ; have you any doubt upou vour m ' nd that the company is in debt tome ? —None whatever ; that balance sheet is a prout of
D'd 1 give you my batk books!—Ye ? . Did 1 show the _fealanco I took credit fur in the ' . rjudoa Joiot Stock Bank , as stated in my last balance sheet ?—Yee . What was the difference between the balance 1 _to"k credit forand the real sum ?—None .
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I think there wag a slight difference between a balance of £ 21 , 320 , and a _balance of , £ 21 , 310 ? -That W _!^ - j air , ed b y two £ 5 tank DOtes _- Did you see the balance I took credit for as in t > . e _Gloucester Bank iu my balance sheet of £ 6000 odd ? —ies _. Had I a surplus balance in the Gloucester Bank wh-n I gave that ? -Ye ? . Were the accounts produced to you down to last Saturday !—Yes . All that had teen _reooived on tehalf of the company J— Ye ? , all that was announced in tha North _, ern Stab . I believe I gave you all my cheque bosks , sho wing what the money waa for ?—Yea . . < . . ..
And you and I wont over the cheque _boota , and all that was down for fly hire and soon , aud nothing was _charged except " -hat there was a receipt for ; there was nothing charged as wages ?—Nothing was charged except what was charged in the bank book . There may have been some entries for which there is no receipt ; I did not go so _closely into it _as ; that . You found receipts for cows bought at fairs ?—Yen . Have you had the receipt of their sale afterwards by auction ?—Yes , soma cows were sold _afterwards . I believe yon had the auctioneer that sold them , Mr Weaver ?—Yes . And the amount he says I receired is that which I gave credit for in the Gloucester account to a farthing . '—Yes . And an amount that I had no receipt for , for a crop _purchased . £ 437 8 s . Id , that you fonnd to be correct to a farthing ?—Yes .
As to everything that I took _wedit for in my balance sheet at _Liwban _Js and at O'Connorville . I beheve I _satisfipd you as far aa it was in tbe power of man to do so ?—Yes . Did my balance sheets _ajree with the accounts of what had been expended ?—I analysed both those balance sheets , and I have no doubt of the correctnesiof both of them . Did I submit every man to you , carpenter , overseers , and all f ? r the most rigid examination ?—Yes , Did you go over their books five times , if you found that you could not balance them to a fartbinc . Was there an account of £ 2 12 s . to Mr Lord ?—Yes . Did yeu fiud that oat ?—YeB . £ 212 < . paid hira ia addition to the cheque . Wherever I found there was a difference of that sort I searched it out .
Supposing you bad been going to make up an ao count _fcr myself , do you think that any person eeuhl haTe been more anxious , or tould have given you more information that you required than I did ?—No ; you seemed very anxious to give me every _information , and every facility was given Me . Now the difficulty you have , is in taking out the sums applicable to each estate?—Yes ; _youassiifed me there . I could not have dona it without
assistance . Even to dividing one sum into two ? -Yes : you went through the bankers' _beokB , which 1 have in my pocket ; the book which belonged to each estate . ( The Witness produced the leveral bankers ' books . ) 1 produced the timber merchant , who received £ 9 , 048 _tsddl—Yes he brought me his accounts , which were very nicely drawn up ; I never saw accounts kept better . Tbis is a question that I am tender upon . Putting on one side the question of legality , I ask you , after that very close and critical examination of the accounts , both upon my part and upon your part , what is the real result that you have arrived at ? Have yeu any doubt tbat a large sum of money is due to me ?—None whatever , or I should not have put a balance sheet forward showing that to be so .
I _brieve I was more anxious in the matter , if possible , than yoH were ?—You were very anxious ; it was a very laborious taek . Sir B . Hall ] You stated that you went over gome balance sheets . Will you tell me what those balance sheets were , whether they were the original balance sheets , which had been audited by persons itated to have been auditors of the Company or not ?—They were ntt -, I have not seen any of thoBS balance sheets . When I make use of the word balance sheets , I mean the balance sheets of Mr O'Connor ' s accounts , as well aa the balance sheets of the National Land Company . Do you mean to say that you have not seen any of the original balance sheets of Mr O'Connor , or of the National Land Company , which are stated to have been audited and signed by Mr Cuffay and Mr Knight ?—I have not seen any of them .
At your last examination you said that the _obaer . vation yon had made with reference to the destruction of those accounts , applied ta the accounts of Mr O'Connor ?—It applied to one single account of Mr O'Connor ' s . I asked for the originals of the two preceding accounts to the one that was placed in my hands as the final account . Those two preceding accounts were published in the' Norther , !? Star ; ' cf one , I believe , the date is the 19 th December , and of the other in August , 1847- I wished to see the orieinals of them , in order to form a connecting link from the commencement ofthe affairs of the Company up to the point at which I was to complete them . I was told by Mr Hewitt , the clerk to Mr O'Connor , tho 3 e _otbera had been destroyed . Mr M'Grath stood bv and doubted the trath of that assertion , and lhey both _aereed that they did not know where they were , and I have never had them .
Will you look to the evidence which was given by yourself at questions 424 S and 4249 , which contain the observation made by Mr Feargus O'Connor , and will you read that observation ?— ' And which accounts I tell you you can have . ' Have you had those accounts ?—I have not . Mr P . O'Connor . ] Did you take yonr account from the originals from which those balance sheets were made , and from the labour-book , and tbe receipts I showed you ?—Yes . Did tbey agree to a penny f—Yes . That was tbe original from which the manuscript was taken ?—Yes . You took it from the original ?—From the original books .
The original books kept by the overseer ?—Yes . Sir B . Hall 3 Have you ever had the account promised to you by Mr _Feargos O'Connor in annwer to that question , which account waB stated to be destroyed by the auditor of the company ?—No . I asked again fer it , and have not obtained it . Have you read tha evidenco which was given by Mr M'Grath ?—I have not . It was stated in evidence given by him in answer to question 707 . and subsequently , that Mr O'Connor has regularly produced bfe balance sheets , and hey were audited by persons _appointed by the _Confereace , and that those accounts had been produced and were kept in the possession of Mr O'Connor himself . Am I to understand that those aecounts have not been produced ?—They bave not been produced tome .
Mr F . O'Connor . ] Be critical in this . Were the books fr / un which the only written balaae _* ah—A was taken produced . Did you go over the original documents from which those two printed balance sheets were taken !—I can hardly answer that . Did they correspond ?—The books corresponded with the printed _copies placed in my hands . Sir B . Hall . ] Had you any balance sheets which had been audited by the auditors ol the company and signed by them ?—None whatever . Mr M'Grath further Bays in answer to question 746 , that he can produce the original account from which the balance sheet is made up , and that they
were signed by the auditors , Messrs Cuffay and Knight . Have you seen those original accounts se signed ?—No , I have not . Ue further state * in answer to question 1761 , tbat Mr Outlay was a most precise and particular man that the last balance sheet took him three days to audit ; that there wcre about 29 , 000 items ; and that he compared every one of them , and that vouchers were produced in the office for every farthing of expeoditnre except what he booked for postage , and that until the vouchers were produced Mr Cuffay would not have put his same to the balance sheet . Have yoa seen anything like vouchers to that extent for the one balance sheet to which he alludes ?—Not
to the extent of 29 , 000 ; I have seen a large bundle of vouchers _applying to the balance sheet which I imagine is meant there . In answer to question 1670 , it is stated that at the Lowbands Conference , held in December , the balance _abeeto were produced by Mr O'Connor , aB treasurer ofthe Land Company , and that John Shaw and otbera were appointed auditors ; have you seen the balance sheet which was bo signed by John Shaw and others 1 -No . Mr F . O'Connor . ] You held both the printed balance sheets in your hand ?—Yes . And you went over the book 9 from whieh they were taken ?—Yes . And the vouchers _?—Yts .
Then it waa from them that tbe written one was printed ; the written one goes to tho printer , and is cut up into fragments ?—Sir B . Hall . J How do you know that they were so taken !—I just now bsgged to say that I conld not tell that it was so , but the items in tbe books correspond with those printed in those copies . Have you , or hare you not , ever seen any of tbe balance sheets which have been signed by Messrs Cuffay and Knight , the auditors of the Company , or that balance sheet which was handed in by Mr O'Connor st the Lowbands Conference , stated to have been signed by John Shaw and othere ?—No , I have not . You Btated , at jour last examination , that a better arrangement of accounts bas been adopted at the Land Office ; will you sta _* e when that new arrangement was first adopted ?—In July , 1847 . Mr 0 ' CoNKOE . l Is it perfect n _^ w ?—No .
13 ic in good form , and are those books _containing the _caines of the several shareholders ?—I have not counted them ; but there are four large volumes , in which I should tbiuk there were about that number of names . St B . Hall . ] Ib answer to question 2400 , put on the 2 nd of June last , Mr _O'Connor stated , ' That from £ 40 , 000 to £ 50 . 000 had been invested in _Exchequer bills . Mr _Allsop tent in an account of £ 29500 , aud I think the manager has £ 10 , 000 , making as near £ 40 , 000 as possible , and I have _sone
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iefore that , that have been exchanged ; from the leginning to the end perhaps £ 60 , 000 . ' Uow much _? as there _invested in _Exeheq-itr bills on the 27 : h of i un <* . 1848 ?—The sum invested was £ 6 , 000 . I took his _fwra the account of Mr Alieop , which shows tbat , etweon February 1847 , and June 1848 , £ 37 , 000 had > _een bought and £ 31 000 Eold _, leaving £ 6 . 000 ic land I have ageertained to-day at Mr _Alkiop _' s that hose £ 6 , 000 remain in his hands . I did not see bem , hecauBO Mr Allsop was out of town . The ilerk _showe 1 me the accounts , in which it appeared , _hst £ 6 , 000 remained in Mr _Allsop ' s hands belongne to Mr O'ConEOr . . ...... .
Mr F . O ' Connor ] Did you see Mr Price's Exchejner bills _belonging to the Bank ?—Yes . Mr MoPSBiii . _] Supposing money to bo wanted for jarrying on the affairs of the company , I could quite understand that Mr O'Connor , from the great inte . rest ho takes in the matter , might advance money with the intention of repaying himBelf . But as is appears from your statement of accounts that there is a balance in favour of the company creator than the amount due by the company to Mr O'Connor , what object could he have had ir , making advances to tho company ?—( Mr F . O'Connor . ) The object I had
in making the advances was this : my own money comes in quarterly ; tbere were nervy demands opt > n the company , and I was determined not to sell any of the Bank money until I saw how the Ilouse of Commons dealt with it . I was determined to keep all the bank money in Exchequer bills , and _advanee my own mop . ey aa it carae in quarterly . —( To the Witness ) Il those . accounts had been accurately kept , in whose favour do you think , _tpeaking after your examination of them , the great strictness , the balance would have been ?—I _thiok you have been a _suff rer from inaccuracy with which the accounts had been kept .
And from not having made chargcB which I might have made ?—If yon had so charged , it would havo increased the sum in your favour . _I-i _thrre one single fraotion of _aoharge for any ex * pense I have beea at from the beginning ?—No , nothing whatever . Nor for premiums to allottees ? -No ; that account shows ever ) thing . Now , my friends , I have submitted to you the evidence , not of tbe interested Feargus O'Connor , but of the disinterested accountant , with whom I have never had ten words of
conversation , except in connexion with those accounts ; and it is but justice to him to state , notwithstanding the annoyance to which he has put me , tbat I think be was born with a ready reckoner in his hand , and a pen behind his ear . I thought I was pretty quick at accounts , but he beats me hollow . I shall now make an observation or two , not upon the evidence , but upon tbe facts . Firstly— Mr M'Grath did produce the ori ginal balance sheets , signed b y Cuffay and Knight , to the Chairman , Secondly , —No auditors ever signed my balance sheets , tbey signed the resolutions which the auditors submitted to the Conferences : and
Thirdly , —The accountant has charged me with very nearly 1 , 500 / . as interest and profit upon Exchequer Bills . Now , this was the item about which the drunken prostitute of the " Dispatch , " who p anders to the worst passions of man ' s nature was inquiring about . You will observe from the questions , that Sir Benjamin has been very critical , although he sickens one , and reminds me of along pump with the sucker out of order , his eloquence , like the water , comes out in such dribbles . The result of the accountant ' s inquiry is given in these words and in these figures , "Balance , overpaid b y Mr O Connor , £ 3 . 296 5 s . 3 M .
Now , you who honour me by calling yourselves my children , what do you say to that ? I know what your answer will be , but what will you say to this ? Until yon are all located I never will ask for a farthing of that back , but I will go on adding to it ; and if I had ten millions to morrow , and if I never expected one single farthing of it to be returned , I declare to you , " upon the true faith ofa Christian , " that I would expend every farthing of it in locating the poor in theiro wn sentry boxes , upon their own Lubour field . And I tell you now , despise it as you may , that I am not for blood , nor for diminishing the human family by a unit , but that I proposed my plan and IT SHALL SUCCEED , to make the rich richer
and the poor rich , to destroy that revolting misery which an evil system has created , and that my motto is " to live honestl y and usefully and die a pauper . " I live upon one meal a day ; I am a frugal man , and a sober man ; and I now tell you that I would not have bestowed my time upon any plan , that was not congenial to my feelings as I bave bestowed mv time upon this Land Plan , for twenty , thousand pounds . Nay , my time is never to be measured by money ; and much as I have suffered from slander and villany , I am more than repaid by the fact that it has not disturbed your confidence . In my own expenses alone this plan has cost me over £ 3 , 000 , and there is no such charge in my balance sheet .
My friends , let me not be thought vain when I meet unfounded charges by facts . In mv own country I have conducted more contested elections than , I believe , any man in that country ; as a barrister , and from my influence , I was entitled to large fees for each , but I never accepted even my travelling _expenses . During tbe time of your apathy , I have supported the whole cause and the victims out of my own purse . I never allowed a man to go to trial for a political offence , without the best advocate that the English bar
could furnish , and yet there are idiots who call me an interested demagogue . If I am an interested demagogue , my every aspiration , and my every thought , is directed towards the amelioration ofthe condition ef the working classes ; and the reason I am hated is because I will not allow the traffickers in human blood , and in infant gristle , to preserve an idle competitive reserve , in order that they may fall back upon them , and make their profits out of a reduction of wages , and the destitution of tbe poor .
Now , my friends , I give you tbe evidence of Mr Sullivan , Member for Kilkenny , and also a member of the Committee , in answer to the snivelling curs who have been writing from Sni g ' s End to Manchester , as to the performance of the work . And let me tell you , that there is not a more critical or better judge of agriculture and buildings in England , than the hon . member , for Kilkenny . Here is bis evidence . *—Michael Sullivan , Esq , a Member of the Com _. mittee , examined . Mr F . O'Connor . ] You have visited the estates of Snig ' s End and Lowbands ?—I was there on _Saturday _l-A 9 t .
Did you visit many oftbe allotments at Lowbands , and had you eonvetBaticn with any allotteeB there 1 —A great number of them ; I should say that we viBited very nearly halt of them . And passed through all ?—Yes , and passed through all . And you saw the crops ?— -We examined all the crops , and we went into the housee _, into the bedrooms and kitchecB and piggeries , and we saw every appointment that was in connexion with the house _* for effectually carrying out the management tf the farms . When you say , 'half of thera , ' you mean bah of the occupiers you spoke to ?—YeB . Did you examine the orops minutely ? -We examined the crops minutely .
_wca _* * was your opinion as to the contrast between tha crops of wheat that you saw there , and the crops that you had seen in travelling from London to Gloucester , or the crop *** in the immediate neighbourhood ? - ~ I was particularly observant of all the orops ss I went along from London to _Glouceater , as far as a railroad view would give an opportunity of judging , and I observed the crops of wheat to be particularly light ; then from Gloucester we went about seven or eight mileB in an open carriago through ihe country , till we arrived at the estate of Snig ' a End , and from that we went to Lowbands .
Upon an inspection of the crops of wheat at Lowbands , what comparison would you say they bore to the crops in the neighbourhood , or to the other orops that you had seen ?—The average crops of wheat , particularly in Lowbands , are decidedly the beBfc I had seen in journeying from London to that pUce . Or in the neigbourhood round about ?—Or ia the _neighbourhood round about . I had seen some fewfields of eome few farmers that came nearly up to them . That is , I should say there _wtjre a few that eame up to the average crops of Lowbands ; but that it was not the oase , generally speaking .
Taking the average of the cropi of wheat at Lowbands , _taking every allotment , would you say it was a middling ! ora g ° _odior an indifferent crop _?—lebould gay it was a prime crop as an average . How did the potatoes look ?—The potatoes looked
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--tm- _^ S . " ° * , he -SS 3 W 11 You went into his houBe ? -Yes , we did And remained ( hero some time _2-Yes and remained there some timo . ' " re From the condition in which you saw the who ' e estate there , would vou say it was richly cropped and that the produce would be large , or wou'd you say that it Bas indifferently and poorly cropped ? -I should say . taki _* _- !/ the wholo estate _a'together that there is an enormous amount of produce of every description upon it ; that is , speaking of the Lowhand' * _es '»* Y »
With regard to the houses , of what _oWlpllon did you find them ?—Thc houses were of a very superior character , in niy opinion ; probably a little too much so : tbey are in fact too _aood for a four acre farm . Did you fee the _gatca _tbat had beon put up in tbo eeversl places ?— -I did . Did you go into thc _sehoolhouses ?—I did . In what style was the work that jou examined performed ?—In the most permanent and complete manner . What was the feeling of the allottees , as far as you could a « _eertein it , of their present condition , and of _th-Mr future prospects ?—I waa very carious to ascertain how _panifs brought from ail directions of the country , entirely unacquainted witb
agricultural pursuits , located in a place like that , could be content , and how far they would be able to carry on those agricultural pursuits , acd I must state that in particulnr I was struck with one old man who had been a cotton overseer . lie appeared to me to be as fully acquainted with agricultural pursuits , and to have all hia farm in as complete a system of crop ping as if he had been there many yoars . I do not know the names of the parties ; I merely inquired their trades and _occupations , and 1 found a framework knitttr , I found a tallow chandler , I found a stocking m & kcr , and 1 found every description ot trade almost located there ; I found a cabinet _msker , I found a shoemaker , and I found a cotton spinner ; but I did not find one agricultural labourer there : every one had been a tradesman .
Mr Lanoston . ] How many cows did you see upon the estate ?—I saw but one . Mr F . O'Conhor ] How many _piga did you see ?—I observed that the majority were turning their attention to the feeding ef pigs , as being more profitable than that of cows . I now give you a letter that I have received from the Minster Lovel Estate , and my answer : —
SO THE ED I T O B OF THE _WOBIHEBM _BTAB . Charthrtille , July , 18 th , Sm , —In reply to Mr O'Connor ' s letter , contained in the _NurtTHKRN Stab of the 15 tii inst ., you will oblige the allottees on this eBtate by inserting the following in your next * . —
TO THE MEMBERS OP THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . Fkllow Countrymen , We , the allottees of Oharterville , beg respectfully to submit to yeu the following brief observations on a paragraph of Mr O'Connor ' s letter , contained in the last Northern Star , viz :- —* That if there is any _obitaclo in the way of carrying this plan , it originates with the located members , becauBe , if there was a million of money subscribed , and a thousand located , the fortunate thousand weuld imagine that they had the best title to the remainder of the funds , acd this haa alwayB been my greatest difficulty . ' Thia paragraph appears to be absolute in its _exprsrsion . If ,
therefcre , Mr O'Connor intends to include us therein , we beg emphatically to dissent with bim en that as-Renin . Because we have not yet received an equivalent , to what the _allottess en previous _estates havereoeivtd—neither have we asked it of the directors . The only request which we have made of them is , that they would grant us the loan within three rv . onths instead of driving it off for six months . This was in their power , inasmuch as that the last Conference left it in their hands to determine Ihe time at which the loan should be granted . This we think they ought fo have done—this we think they ought to do yet , as early as possible , otherwise the result will be inevitably an entire failure on this estate . For out of our aid money we have bad to buy seed , pay for labourers , to prepare the ground for ,
and sow and plant it—while the allottees on previous kcated estates have had the whole of tbeir aid money paid to them , clear of the expenses of putting in a great portion of their feed , wbich the directors have done lor them . Hence it is evident that we havo not had the Bame privileges allowed us which they have had . Nor can we be justly charged with making any demand , claim , or request , of or fer any assistance which is not in accordance with the rules of the Company , or with the regulations ofthe Conference . If we have done bo let Mr O'Connor , as the principal director of the Company , publish all our correspondence with them in the _Northeihj Star . In the work of human redemption , fellow labourers , On _bslialf of the Allottees , I am , very truly yours , Henry _Grimseaw , Sec .
My Friends , —Your comparison is not just , nor are your facts correct . At Lowbands , the occupants were not located till tbe 23 rd of August , a very great disadvantage . You were located in March , a very great advantage . Tbe expense of the agricultural operations at Lowbands will be added to the purchase money as capital , and rent will be charged for it . Your rent will be comparatively less . At Snig ' s End tbey were located in June , and received aid money at tbe rate of 5 Z . per acre . You were located in March , and received aid money at the rate of 71- 10 s - per acre . Your land was ploughed , most of it twice , and no deduction was made from the aid money , whereas the rule of the Conference is that tbe expense of ALL agricultural operations are to be deducted
from the aid money ; and if it was not so , the effect would be that I would perform no agricultural operations . And again , I repeat—and you must remember that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump "—that those located do think tbat enough never can be done for them while a funny fellow , who si gns himself , " Thomas Shartin , of No . 12 , Bagot-street , Birmingham , " writes a long rigmarole for insertion in the " Northern Star " deprecating the purchase of horses , and of cows ;;; the making of roads and gates ; and proposes that the houses should be built by contract at 651 . a bouse , and of a mean description , - while my object is to make every man proud of his sentry box . So that you see , like the man in the fable , in endeavouring to please everybody I may please nobody , and lose my ass into the bargain .
Next week I will give you the * report as delivered to the Committee . by the accountant , and the next number of the " Labourer" will contain the evidence ofthe witnesses called by the Chairman , and from it you will learn the animus of that gentleman ; and I especially beg to call your attention to the evidence of the RAVEN , the Poor Law Commissioner , and then I think you will understand that tbe necessary qualification for such an official is ignorance , infatuation , and folly . This poor fellow was obliged to drink water all the time he was under examination , but I assure you he looked like anything but a poor-law pauper , he more reminded me of the Fat Boy in Pickwick . However , where there ' s a demand there ' s a supply , and tbe government invariably evinces great tact in the selection of such officials .
I now give you the resolution , unanimously passed by the Committee upon the Land Company : — " Resolved—That it be an instruction to the Chairman , in drawing up his Report , to state , that , in consequence of Mr Feargus O'Connor having expressed an opinion that an impression had gone abroad that the monies subscribed by tbe National Land Company had been applied to his own benefit , this Committee are clearly of opinion tbat , although the accounts have not been kept with strict regularity , yet that irregularity has been against Mr Feargus O'Connor , instead of in his favour . " Now , such is the resolution passed unanimously , after tbe Report and balance sheet of
the Accountant—the gentleman who was appointed by Government to investigate the accounts of the Drainage and Sewerage CompUn y _ _and 1 think you will say it is pretty satisfactory ; while I must also remind you that not a shilling of the money deposited in the Bank , has been touched , and that still I am going on , and will go on , with the operations , as 1 _cun either sell or mortgage tbe estates that I have purchased , without detriment to the occupants , as every occupant shall have bis lease or conveyance before I raise a farthing of money upon them , and then it will be immaterial to them whether they pay the rent to A . or to B . ; their title will be tbe same , and their rent will be the same .
Now , my friends , Sir Benjamin Hall stated that much of tbe funds of tbe Land Company had been applied to political purposes , and I tell you that not one _fractisn of a farthing has been applied to such purposes , nor to any
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ler purposes than that fot wbich it was subibed . You will also bear in mind tbat at ? iy Conference it was not only proposed , t carried unanimously , and insisted upon , it I should be paid all my expenses—and I 1 you the reason why I mention this fact e—it is to prove to you the ungenerous atment tbat honest men may sometimes reve from artful and designing people . I _unrstand tbat , emanating from a Committee
ting in London , an appeal has gone to the _untry to ask for an account of the Election md raised for the defence of my seat , and ose gentlemen in London applied for that ind to be banded over to them , and for its _apxipriation to other purposes , and now they are king * for an account of it , and they shall have roughly here _. and if they wish for it , or wheer they do or not , they shall have it in _adeiled shape hereafter .
The sum subscribed was between 400 / . and ) 0 / . It has been mixed up with the fund fer ie prosecution of the "Manchester Examiner , " hich they also demand an account of , and of inch I will treat separately . I believe about ilf of what was subscribed for the defence of y Seat has been expended , as the Petition i ts not given up till the last moment ; over ] 0 _Z , went to the Convention and the National ssembly , not speaking of the demonstration Kennington Common ; and those gentleen seem to forget that a large balance is still ie to me upon the several expense funds .
ut there is a great nicety in their arithmetic . r hen I pay money out of my own pocket it iould only he returned by funds strictly sub-; ribed for that purpose , but when a fund is ihscrihed for another purpose , and is not all _sed for that purpose , then it is fair to apply ie residue to any purpose that a few indiviualsmay suggest . However , my security is in ie good sense of the public ; and I ask them , -hetber an individual , who has spent and is pending his all in their cause , is to be
continally thwarted with these wranglings and nderhand complaints ? Show me one fund _iat ever has been raised that is not in debt to ie \ , and point me out one _single farthing- of ay fund—whether Victim Fund , Defence und , Travelling Fund , Liberty Fund , Conention Fund , er Conference Fund , —that has _** er been applied to my use . The fact is , my iends—and you know it—that one of the anes of our cause lias been the attempt to lutch every fund the moment it was raised , nd then to leave the payment to me .
Now for the "Manchester Examiner . " That prosecution is not over yet , _cind next week I will publish for you the dilatory pleas that have been put in by the Defendant , in order to postpone the hearing of the ease ; while upon my part not a single obstruction has been offered . Now , it is very painful for me to be obliged to mix up those private matters with public business . It was only yesterday , I paid 149 / . 10 s . for a libel , aad last week I had to pay money into court in
another libel case ofa political nature connected with poor Fussell ; and last week I received a bill of costs , in poor Vernon ' s case alone , of 1691 . 15 s . 6 d „ consisting of twentyfive sheets of foolscap paper , with an application to nie for a balance of 80 Z . ; and yesterday , after having made several fruitless attempts to see the victims in Tothill-fields , I gave orders to pay weekly , out of my own pocket , the sum necessary for releasing them from picking oakum , and which sum has been paid in advance for the ensuing month .
_ISow , I tell you candidly , and I tell you truly , that , were it not for my fixed determination to brave danger in every shape rather than abandon the Charter and the Land Plan , I would pitch the whole concern to the devil , and with what money I could scrape together of my own , without the interference of the law , or the insolence of complainants , I would , as my own master , and with my own money , go on buying land , building houses , and locating the poor ; but when breakers are a-head , danger threatens , and the hurricane is blowing , I will brave insolence rather than
abandon the ship . As soon as the Land Com . mittee has reported , notice of the meeting of Conference will be given , and then , not my accounts , but the accountant ' s accounts , shall be submitted to the delegates . And I tell you again—and in conclusion—that so certain was I that my life would have fallen a sacrifice to the fury of the Government on the 10 th of April , that I made my will on the 9 th , and lefteveryfarthingbelongingto me to two ofthe most honourable men in England , _as trustees for faithfully carrying out the objects ofthe Land Company . And I tell you more , tliat on Friday last , when a proposition was made in the
Committee to wind up the affairs of the National Land Company , it was rejected by a majority of nearly _twofto one , the majority declaring that , as the affairs were managed with perfect good faith , it would be unjust to those not located that those located should have the plum . _However , my friends , it invariabl y happens that when a squall conies all expect me to be the trumpet , the artillery , the cavalry , the infantry , and tbe Exchequer . There is always great danger in being the paid servant of the public , and I will maintain the security of being Your faithful friend and unpaid bailiff , Feargos O'Connor .
Latest From Ireland. Nebtflebu Stab Offi...
LATEST FROM IRELAND . _NeBTflEBu Stab Office , Saturday Evening . Dublin , Fbiday Evening , Half-past Five . The Nation Newspaper Office has been taken possession of by the police . Government have issued orders for the formation of a camp at Sleivenamon .
BT BLKCTHIC TELEGRAPH Dublin , _Fkidit Night . Proclamations have been issued by the Lord Lieutenant _rfferinff a reward of £ 500 for the apprehen-Bion of Mr Smith O'Brien for _liaviag taken np arms against tier Majesty , and £ 300 for the apprehension of Messrs Meagher , John Dillon , and Doheay _, respectively . AH the printers of the Nation have bees arrested . LATEST FROM LIVERPOOL , A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Dr Reynolds .
THE LONDON CHARTISTS . ( From the Evening Sun . ) We have been informed that warrants have been issued thk morning to arrest several of the London Chartist leaders . We forbear to mention names , as the parties are not yet in custody .
West Bhomwich —A Meeting Will Be Held On...
West Bhomwich —A meeting will be held on Sunday evening next , at Bix o'clook , at the Rose Inn , Paradise-street . Carrington and _Ison-Gbebn . —The membera of the Charter Association will meet at the New Inn , on Monday evening , July 31 , at eight o'clock . Hebdbk Bbidos . —A special _Lanea-shire and Yorkshire delegate meeting will be hold in tha Chartist Room , Hebden Bridge , on Sunday , July 30 , at ten o ' clock in the forenoon . Delegates are _expeeted te attend from the localities in both counties !
Olbham . — On Saturday next , Mr _Jamea Leach will lecture in the Working Man ' s Hall , at six o ' clock . Subject : ' Chartism and Repeal . 'NonCEi—A special meeting of the members of thfl National Land Company , will be held in the Schoolroom , at two o ' clock . _.,,,,-Makchestkb —Mr Daniel Donovan will deliver a lecture in the People ' s Institute , on Sunday , July 30 tb . Chair to be taken at eight o'clock in the evening . A members meeting of the National Land Company will be held at two o ' cltck in the
afternoon . _Mbrthtb TvrjviL . —Tbe members of branch Nos 1 , of the Land Company , are requested to meet at thoBarolay and Perkins , _Pontmorlaia _, at seven o ' clock , on Monday evening next , the 31 st inst . Conglktos . —The quarterly meeting of the members of thiB branch will be held in the Chartist Room , _Mill-atreet , on Tuesday , the 1 st of August , at half-past seven o'clock in the _even'ng . Bradford . —The members of tho Land _Coapany are requested to meet on Sun day , July 30 th , at two o'clock . The room has been broken mto , and Borne of the books stolen . The Chartists will meet at sis o'clockat the same place . .
, . „ , , _m Bradshaw LANE .-Mr _Clissett will lecture in thia place to-morrow afternoon and evening , to _commeac g at half-past two and six o ' clock .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 29, 1848, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_29071848/page/5/
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