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Northern Star (1837-1852), 19th November 1842, Edition 5 of 5, Page 7

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      To The Editor Op The Northern Star. Sir....

      TO THE EDITOR OP THE NORTHERN STAR . Sir . —In your paper of Oct 1 st , appeared a letter , _EgDed W . P . calling upon tbe ChartiBts of England . and of course , all her dependencies , to join the Com Law repeslera . " ss a means to gain the Gharter . " Whether W . P . be in earnest , or whether he has pnt out _t . at letter as a feeler , I cannot say , but I shad take it in good earnest , and , without abuse , treat it accordingly . And , first all all , Sir , if W . P . was my _sj-e , and had had as much to de with that lying , cantinz . hypocritical , and treacherous lot . as 1 have , he _wou'd as soon

      join the infernal spirits as a means to obtain heaven , as join tbe Whigs to gain the Charter . It is out of all character with us ; and if I was a landocrat , I ahould suffer my head to bo cut from my body before I Would submit to a repeal of the Cora _Ia-wb , without a repeal ct tbe Debt Laws . The landlords _ba-re sinned in contracting a National debt ; for every one knows that the expenses of the state onght to be paid yearly _, just in the same way as the poor rates are paid , yet I would not sub-sit to his ruin , through a repeal of the Com Laws , any more than I submitted to the ruin of tbe manufacturers _throu g h tbe passing of Peel's Bill .

      Did not we foresee the effects of Peel ' s _Bi'l ? Did not _tre exclaim against tte injustice of tbat _measure ? Did not we foresee the manufacturers mined by hundreds , by tbat Bili ? and should not we have seen the farmers , after selling their cattle to put to the com and hay money to pay their rent with , trar . dled into ths streets , bad not the Parliament passed them the Corn Law ? Ta be sure we should . Did not we see cloth and blankets fall one-half , and more ? and the manufacturers of tbose goods 511 the jai _' s ? and what aid we say tben ? Way , we said that the _msn that could do EUch a _Uun-r , that is , contract the circu _attcv mdUium , "

      Without an Equitable Adjustment of all con tracts . , was worse than a madman , and ought net to be in tbe king ' s council . i Well , tben , will not a repeal of the C _^ _rn Laws have just tbe same effect on the fanners , aye . _an-1 on the landlord too , as Pesl ' _s Bill bad on the manufacturers ? To be sure it wilL \ Now . in tbe former case , the labourer did not get the profit of cheap cloth and blankets . No ; his wages were ' lowered . Bnt the boys of _fired income did well . I ba-re no occasion to mention their names ; W . P . knows ' them all ss well 38 I da !

      And , Sir , surely your correspondent _cannot wish to * ee the same game played over again on the farmer , because he his seen it p " : ayed on the manufacturer ? 2 \ o -, that would be rank "free tradi . g —tbat would be real Wbiggery . But , Sir , without any " abuse , " I could notliie to see the American , or any other , come into tbe Hull market ¦ with good corn to sell at four shillings a _buEh- ? l until tbe English farmer he put in a pos tion to _compete with him . _Hs'iTrr him frwm the one-tenth to if _* n _-fy . p . a church ; from tbe expence of a standir . _;? army , and all the rest of the thinrs ; let him have _foreign rents and

      taxes and no more , and adjust his debts , and t » ben you may throw the port 3 open when you please . But , for God's -Tike , do not want to buy your corn of the American while the E -glish farmers are providing and maintaining you a force , not only to protect your mills and _csnimerce , bat to keep tbe workies in subjection , and give yon an opportunity of _taking their -work out of their hands by ycur machinery , and reducing them in their wages , _thirty degrees below the fretting point ! ! What , Sir , can W . P . see in tbe Repealers that he wishes us to join tbem ? For my part 1 never will ; and 1 am mars no good and well-informed Chartist ever

      wilL If W . P . wishes to join the Whigs , I advise him to go throngh LiTersedge and _Heciiaondwike to join tbem ; and be sure to evil on tbe Chartist's of these places , and ask them to go and join also ; but , at tbe same _tirse , I wonld advise bim to bold the door in his hand , while be pets tbe _question , lest the answer shonld not suit the nether end _c-f his body ! Young men . Sir , like W . P . whose leve of liberty oat-runs * . beir judgment , snd because they are honest , think the Weiss mi _ght be , if we were to try them again . But , Sir , tbey never shall , by my consent , be tried again ! Look at the promises they made before the passing of the Reform Biil : "lay aside all minor

      _differences cf opinion , " s _^ id they : "help ns this time ; do help us just to lay tbe stepping stone ; do help us to just put in the wedge , and then when we have got in we will open such a breach in the partition wall of corrnprJon . as will let yoa all in . " I told tbe Reformers of that day io keep tff tbem ; bnt Eomebow tbey were Whig mad . Well , and bow did it end ? Why , Sir , no sooner had they got the " whole B 111 , " ( and I wish to God it bid been tbe worst thing Jfcey got . ) than they turned round and _issid , " Weil , _Gentleman , _Radicals , good _nicbt , it is all over . " Now , just lock at that I wish , Sir , tbat W- P- br . d been old enough at tbat time , to understand that affair ; but the Liversedge and Heckmor _. _dwike peop ' e wiil tell him if be call .

      Well , tbey got in , and tbey stopped in nearly ten years , and wbat did tbey do ? Why nothing bnt mischief . And W . P . Sir , may read at his leisure , their whole _history if he please , beginning witb tbe Irish Coercion Bill , _incre-je of the army ad detet , Frost , "Williams , and Jones , and right down to the attempted repeal of the timber duty , which they offered in iheir _dying breath ; and tben be may ask us to join tbem . Now , by-tbe-bye , I have no better opinon of tbe Tories ; only this : the Tories want your money , and they tell you they wiil have it , or else tbey will blow

      your brains out ; but the canting Whigs are always -. telling you some fine tale ; bnt when you feel in your " pockets your money is gone ! If ever the Whigs be i joined to me , it will be on tbe grounds of undoing their : b _. y deeds . It will be by their , coming forth hand : and heart to get Frost , Williams , and Jones restored j to tbeir families . And , wben tbey do come , tbey shall ; come in at tbe front door , and take their stand as we ! order . And I do assure W . P . that tbey shall neither ' be behind nor before ; for , if behind , tbey will run ; 8-way , and if before , they will kad ns astray .

      W . P ., Sir , says tbat " where men bave a great object to attain , they ought to have means commen-j •¦ urate to the end . " Well , if thee le tbe means , I . give him the good of tbem ; tut I would be j _sined to Lord Howick and Company almost , before I would be j prevailed on to join them . j Bat , Sir , W . P . thinks the Repealers are not s-ncere ; and if tbe Chartists were to join tbem , tbey would j give their agitation up . I bave no doubt but they ' would , if tbey saw tbat the Tories were likely to grant : the Charter ; and _wgfeb the Tories would do rather ! than repeal the Com Laws , for the following reasons : _\

      —First , they would see tbat if they repealed the Com j Laws , and let all other laws stand as tbey are , tbey : would get no rents ; and the Repealers for no other , Repeal Secondly , the landlords see the _fu-elord and \ tie mortgagee ready to foreclose ; thvy see the blacksmith ,: the wheelwright , the joiner , tbe tailor , tbe grocer , tbe j shoetEaker , and a many more ccme witb bills in their , _haid _*? , ail wanting paying in Corn at the American _, pr _; _e &; saj 121 . a load . j Now , Sir , can any one rappese tbat tbe landlords i trill be such fools , or cm W . P . irith them , when he j must know that tbe Chartists offer tbem far more \ honourable and better terms ? ! j i ' i

      To repeal tbe Com Laws with cut comirg to a com- ' pUte Settlement , would kick the farmers" _sitn into the j street ; thrn the farmers , and tbtn the _landlord ; and , then , a 3 W . P . says , the manufacturers wili be trun- j filed ' ato the street f _^ r want of customers . J Now , Sir , surdy W . P . could not wish to see ail i this , o jes , " as a measure to gain tbe Charter , " say , I W . P . ! BatSL-if WPknew as much of tbe landlords as _: j i I j I J | ! i

      , , . . I do he weuld see tbat tbey would not have their land taken from tbem by a repeal of tbe Ccrn _X-iws , and the _rnanufsctwers will submit to stiff duty before they will run -J- . e risk of losing their property , the workies . The lar . diord , tbe fundlord , tbe _mortgagee , the pen- ricLer , tte _Bisnnfactnrer , and all who live _wltfc-. _ut

      working know the value of tbe woikies ; and before ! tbey would lo _** e Ihem , before they would suffer tbem j to be enfranchised , they would move both heaven and ! hclL Wh : _it , suffer the labonriKg cla _= s to B 22 ie trie ' _ia-K-s _: " Why , Sir , they know , and so dees W . P ., ttat ' if the labouring class had the _power of makirgthej _la-ws in their oTm h & nd , they -would not _erjoy that ¦ poweT s ' x months before tbey began to want to eat one ; half cf the fiu : ts of their own industry . And what , Sir , would this do for tbe idlers ? why , it would just ' _, drive them mad . Before te would Eubmit to such a '

      state of _tbiDgs " I will not say that he would bum up ., England , bnt _Washirgtcn , Moscow , St . Dennis , China , _Affghaniftan , and many other places might tremble . I The _minufacturers know that tbe Charter wonld give j tbe working man more food and clothes for his wa- ' _-es ' thin he has ; _asd tbey know if he got more , some f-Iks j must have less ; and they know tbat fixed incomes must 1 * paid ; and , beside , tbey wish one day to sse j tbeir _svns and _daughters fill those same places of profit j and boaonr as tbey call it ; and how can tbat be done ' if you let the labourer bave bis share ? It cannot . Why . !

      then , shc-ula W . P . wish ns to join them , when tbeir j _irtrrest acd ours are diametrically opposite to each , other _asd as wide apart as Dan is from _Beesbeba ? i Look no :, Sir , for help to any _or-e but your own'j order ; tut , above all , never iock to the Whigs . They , are mosey banters . ' They bave ling bellies J Tbey will j _"cever bt _filled ; and as tbey now crucify the poor man ] hz his -wEge £ , so would thty do to Jesus Christ if be j fere here again . I know we bave a deal to contend > with ; tat Peel ' s Bill is _makicg Chartists as fast as Pitt ' s notes _mide Tories ; aye , and it is tumbling the } " Bouses" down in nearly tbe same ratio . !

      Seme people despair because the land has got into a j _&* bands , aiid because they see tbat they are forbid to j *« k on it almost at any price . They see the law made j by list few , and therefore there is no protection . But j never mind r tbey are on tbeir last legs ; we must not j trundle them into tbe street before we are _eare that 1 we can teep the canting Wbigs ont . Wkn I say ; trundle , I allude to party : but I wish no man as a ! dt ; z . n to be driven into tbe streets . ] " "That , Sir , does W . P . see in tbe _repealsrs that be j _f _&* vt- - ! us to _jsin them ? Does he see riches ? If be j coes , he has no need to look to thtm . Bo tbe repealers ';

      _attaiU _* _. want cheap corn ? If tbey do , wbat am I to p _^ _es-asd by their organ the Mercury , which advises Its "Wealthy readers to go and bny up the corn lest it _stould get tco low and ruin tbe corn dealers ? I _thould J j ' _» or . _der after all their fuss about cheep com , if tbey | r * : Jbe £ 59 , 000 , wbich tbey intended to ley out in j _^ sua agitation , and buy np corn to prevent ruin , j _t _& i talk aloud about repeal at the same time . ' A nice i

      To The Editor Op The Northern Star. Sir....

      set to join ! I would like W . P- to look at tbe best section of the repealers , the Sturgites ; and jest see whether their plan of electing delegates be agreeable to bis mind . Then , again , look at the plug plot Wbo can tell wbat tbe fellows would bave done , if they had not been put down by some one calling out tbe " -Charter" ? But no sooner was tbat word pronounced , than the Whigs , in every part , as if by inasic , flaw to the Tories ta assist , nay , to take the lead in putting tbe _plnscing down . Just _loek at the conduct of those rat-catchers at Huddersfield . I was there , and I feel tbem Stink in my nose to this day ; and had it not l > ee . for the sneer of _contempt they were bound to endure from the Tory magistrates , that gave me a _little relief , I shonld have fallen on tbe Bpot . From Huddersfield go to _Clecfeheaton _, Mill Bridge , nay follow tbem every where , and yon will find tbem all of a piece .

      W . P , Sir , may join them if he thinks proper ; but my _r-nngue shall cleave to tbe roof of my mouth , and my hand forget its cunning , before I wilL But W . P . talks of more " honourable means . ' * So he thinks , it seems , that it would be a disgrace to him to join them . It really would , and a defeat too . ' How could we join tbe Whigs and keep up our _agitation too ? We cannot Berve two masters . Ju 3 t in the same degree that we agitate for the repeal , _jost la that same degree we neglect our own affairs . What we have to do is as clear as tbe sun at noon day .

      We must agitate for the Charter . We must read the papers , and we must read them to others . We must explain to tbem . I know it is hard work to make politicians ; but now that Peel has begun , let ua redouble ourz _.-al _, and try if we cannot make them as fast by reasoning , as he can by giving two poands of beef to the pensioners instead of one ! We are very much to blame in reading the papers to _ourselveSi instead of reading _thtm to others . We should teach the ignorant to know tbeir rights ; tbe nnture and effects of money , _* and we ought to teach them to read and write ; and th-. ugh we are net allowed to teach them the use of arms and the theory of gunnery , yet , I believe the law dots allow us to tench geography and arithmetic

      Bat , Sir , if you can but prevail upon W . P . to bold bis hand a bit , and jost give Peel a fair opportunity cf paying the interest of tbe national debt in fiour at Is . 6 d- per stone , and beef at 3 d . per pound ; and to pay all fixed obligations at the same rate , he will have no need te join tbe Wbigs , to repeal the Coru-Liws ! ! We shall have the whole country fi jcklng to our standard like doves to the window . To _conclude , if we were to joiH tbe _Rppealers band and heart , and if they were to stand firm , ( but with W . P . I think tbey would not , ) and the Tories from the bad opinion they bave been trained to form of tha Chartists , were to grant a repeal of the Corn-Laws rather than grant the Charter , would W . P . like to stop in tbe _country either with " wreck , " or without ? except bis heart was _steeied np to the brim to pay c £ f old scores . If be Woald . be is no Chartist .

      Could , sir , W . P ., wish to see Tom Lambert , because _Ti _.-m has been ignorant , or because he had been led or driven by hiB landlord , whose mind has been prejudiced arainst . the Charter and all that is good , go to Wakefirld with oie hundred loads oi corn to sell , for which he _thonld bring home £ 140 to pay bis half-year ' s rent , and return with only £ 60 , only because Jonathan was there ? Could be like to see bim sell his horse-corn and furniture to make up the rent ? Could W . P ., in the " depth of winter , like to see his wife and children trundled , into the streets by tbe bums , by order of tbe

      steward , though bis name be "John Bessie" ? He knows that tbat would be tbe case all over England . Then , look at the sales almost all in one day to meet the rent _tfay . Where are the buyers , sir ? Why there are none ; no , nor rents either . Then the mortgagee , tben the . fundholder . tben all tbe private bills ; but stop , there is the soldier , and he needs no process ; he baa that in hie _cartridge box . Ay , air , if W . P . has half an eye , by _looking bere , he will see as much in half a minute as I , in writing , could tell him in a week . '

      T- ow , I think , I have said enough to set W . P . a thinking . As Chartists we onght not to wish to see others robbed and ruined , because they bave helped to rob and ruin us : > that is the doctrine of the Repealers . No , w * e ought to have charity and _lova . It is our duty to do tbe best we can to put s stop to that system which first robs one and then the other . It is the robber ' s delight to bear those whom he has robbed say , " Well , damn ' em they did not care for us , what reason have we to care for them " ? " Our goads were lowered one-half , and they took no _aotice ; then why should _wejeare for them ? " This is the tyrant ' s _reaeoaing . Now , sir , let us mind our own business . Let us _« idd to our numbers . Let ns enlighten each other ' s minds . Let ns shew clearly to _ej _^ cb other tbat it is cur interest to get rid of the robbers , and not to r _< joice at seeing each other robbed .

      Havh ; g said enough at this time to convince W . P . that it will be better to increase our number by _instructing the ignorant than joining the Repealers , I remain , sir , yours , T . Popplewell . EHand Edge , November 5 , 1 & 42 .

      To The Chartist Council. Nov. 3rd., 1842...

      TO THE CHARTIST COUNCIL . Nov . 3 rd ., 1842 , English-street , HulL _Gentlemen—I beg ta acknowledge the receipt of alt : t-rrfrom your Secretary , dated _October 31 < -t _, and _al--o to ny , that not being aware of baving -jiven any offrncp , er shewn any inciviiity , I am sorry to fiad bis 1-tter so ungentlemanly and scurrilcus . I beg also to _observe tbat it might probably have been as well had you postponed your flourish of triumph till a more fitting occasion . Tbe following are extracts from bis letter : — " When 3 Ir . _Beesiy ' s challenge was _acepted , tbeir hepe was tbat i » had been done iu good faith . " " They did not anticipate from your tone and bearing that covert shrinking from the contest which they regret to find manifested in your letter . " "Attempts to get away frem the question . " "Youro ject in seeking the _debate , " -kc . To quote all yonr eeurrilous _innendcea 1 should have to copy a great part of your letter .

      You -first admit "Mr . _Btesley gave tbe challenge , and tben you represent me as " seeking tht debate . " Because I submitted tbe " conditions ' to yonr attention , were they therefore binding on you ? If not why be scurrilous ? You first desired me to appoint a committe- ; I respectfully _replied in a letter . Did I not treat yon with tbe respect which is due to a public body ? Why then fling around me so many unworthy mvtives ? Has my moral courage been untried ? Or bave you a mind to imitate yonr lecturer in his concluding address on my motives ? I have yet to learn that yc u are tbe depositories cf public virtue and pnblic principle .

      Yeu represent me as if I originated tbe question of delate—your lecturer gave the _suVjrct himself , namely , "The Repeal of the Corn Laws would not bent fit the ¦ workiDjj c ' cseV' _= cd _chillenged _eithtr Mr . Acland or . myself to _di-Mjussion . The only libirty | if it can be called a liberty i I took , was in putting the subject into an interrogat-ive furm , thus : " Wonld the repeal cf the com Laws benefit tbe operative _clashes ? " You bave , however , changed the _question , but _w-tb all proper deference . I beg to inform you and the composer , of your letter . tbat you , acting merely as a committee of management , have no power to make ? uch a chance . Tbat moment you step ont of your legitimate province , you r'move the rround on which the acceptance of the challenge re _^ _ts . Yoa may as justly i'itroduce the Poor Law Billthe

      j n Hours' Bill , or any other bili , as the Franchise , It ; h > not for me to know the extent of power you may } rxcrcrise over your lecturer , but I must respectfully j decline its recognition when extended to myself . If , j therefore , your lecturer bad undertaken to defend a ; P _^ - _'inon _nU upon Chartist principles , it would have ,

      been m jre candid and honourable on yonr part to have at once said that for tbe result your lecturer alone is responsible . Instead of this yon attempt to exhibit me as choosing my own ground , in order to elicit a refusal from yea , and _hereby give me an _appearanee of triumph . Upon tbis rest all your _scurrilcus attacks upon my motives and principles . When your lecturer had vauntirgly given tbe _chal-IcDpe I _-Eccepted it on condition that he weald _cenSi _. e his attention to tbe _sul jv-ct . If yon doubt this ask j » nr

      c ' - virman . He said " his committee would be ready to nuke the arrangements . " which reply I understood as on _tfrb-m . _-itivethat be would do so ; and _therefore in my _arratgt-ments with you I bope you wi ' . l net deem it disresp . c _' -fal if I co . _ifice _yoH also to _tb-s _pubj- _^ ct . In doinr so you tsve imagined yourst-lvcs treated as children . If yon think so , I _eanrot help it , and 1 am sorry my _nuar-in _;; ehc-uld buve been bo much misapprehended . Your lecturer placed you in ttat position if you deem it _derogat-ary , and I must leave you to settle thi 3 _grievasce with bim .

      _Yc-u do s ? e , however , the horn of tbe dilemma on which he would have Veen impaled ; and m anticipation you make a sudden plunge to avert his fate . On tbis adject I have only to observe that public challenges should be more carefully given , and then they would be attended with more consistency and less regret Mr . Beesley challenged me on one subject , you propose another . Am I to understand this as a specimen of good faith ? Yon might have inferred , bad yr > _u nfircted a _nwjaent , tbat I would not allow myself to be thus - " " _trailf-d . " _Whether a repeal of the corn laws should be mixed up witb party politics , is a question which msy admit Jati tude of opinion . On this _snbject , however , my own view . ** are _Bettled . Hence you will perceive , that I am dish * , clined to allow you to dictate what course I am to pursi . 'fi apart from the subject given by >» r . Be _^ sly in the Lodg e .

      Tbe spirit of your letter _T'onld , if it could , frown me into your will ; aud so long t _s you exemplify this spirit towards those who may not i _ective all the nostrums of your iecturers , though yon _process universal liberty , you practice the worst of mental de vpotism . Yon -wish to bo treated with " gentlemanly courtesy . " This request is nt _tdless ; though the animus of your letter _displDys lit . _'le of this essential ingredient to all _friend- ' y _interchange of thought and opinion , I am , gentlemen , A well wisher to yen , and all the" operatives cf this realm , ( Signed ) Robeh J Fibth .

      The Answer Of The Council. Hull, Novembe...

      THE ANSWER OF THE COUNCIL . Hull , November 7 th , 1842 . _SiR , —I am instructed by those with whom I have tbe honour to act , officially to acknowledge the receipt of your last , and officially thus to reply : — The letter to which yours Is In answer was net the letter of our Secretary , but that of the body from whom it professed to emanate , namely , the Hull Council of the Charter Association , drawn up and agreed to at a regular meeting of this body , and signed on our behalf and at our command by the person appointed by us for this purpose . Therefore , if that letter had contained anything either ungentlemanly' or « scurrilous , " it woald , in our opinion , have been more gentlemanly on your part , to have attributed the want of courtesy te the proper quarter , and not to the individual whose

      signature was appended to the _document . Yet , notwithstanding the isolated quotations which you make from that letter , and which you are pleased to _call' scurrilous _inuendoes , ' you have signally failed In producing a single ' ungentlemanly , ' a single ' scurrilous' expression . If the term 'Inuendo' be by us correctly understood , it signifies a distant notice , a kint , or an insinuation , and these are commodities in which the Chartists generally do not deal , leaving this kind of traffic to their political opponents who claim to be the sole depositories of public virtue and public principle' as they are of political power . We consider , moreover , tbat the charge of scurrility comes with a peculiarly bad grace from a gentleman who can so

      unceremoniously charge those who may differ in opinion from him and his * nostrums , * with ' professing universal liberty , but practising the worst of mental despotism ; ' and were recrimination our purpose , -we might justly challenge yon to produce any expression from our Whole correspondence , as ' ungentlemanly' In its tcne , or so scurrilous' in its tenor as the passage to which Wb have taken tbe liberty of thus calling your attention . But _recriminstion is not our object . Our wish is to get you ' up to the scratch' upon terms so plain and tangible , tbat tbe merits of tbe question , In all its bearings , may be fairly and honestly brought before tbe people , in order that they may come to a just decision .

      You appear extremely wroth tbat we should have characterised you as ' seeking the debate ; ' but if yo » had not _sought it you would not have found it ; for even Mr . _Robert Firth , * _CorrespLindiug Secretary of the Hull anti-Monopoly Association , ' is not of sufficient importance in the eyes of the _Chariot public to be honoured by them with a personal challenge , unless , as in this instance , it is ' of his own seeking . ' But if he thinks proper to ' pick np the gauntlet' whenever It may be thrown down to the anti-Corn Law Leagueif he thinks proper to become tbe champion of the ' nostrums' which are palmed upon the public under the sounding title of ' free trade '—he may rest assured , whether be opines it is ' of hia seeking' or no , or that his moral courage' will be pretty often put to the test .

      We are completely at a loss to know what your ' flourish of triumph' can allude to , unless it be by the * vaunting' boast of * impaling' your opponent upon 'the horns of a dilemma !! ' which never existed save in your own _ima-sination . To your term "composer , ' which you bave dignified with all the importance of half-text , -we have no objection , save that it ought In all _fairness to bave been expressed in tbe plural . We shall , for this once , reply to yonr queries ; gently reminding you , however , that although we offered to consider objections , we made no promise to answer questions . No . " ' We deny if * Yes 1 ' « We neither did nor intended . ' ' 'Of that you are the best judge , ' or ' when did your trumpeter die ? ' take either answer you may like tbe best But your next question , containing something like an ' inuendo' de & atves & more lengthened reply . _Youaek _, 'Orhave yoa a mind to imitate your lecturer in his concluding address on my motives ?"

      Sir , we are always _incused to pass lightly over observations which way drop from a speaker in tbe _hsat of debate ; we do not feel justified in too nicely weighing or in too severely criticising every expression which may fall from his lips ; but wheu we find a raw sitting down deliberately to pen a sentence like this , there is no necessity for questioning his ' motives . These become too apparent for questioning , too palpable for doubt Our lecturer aever ohm alluded to your motives . ' but when he found you changing the

      question ; when he found you stepping out ef your ' legitimate province ; ' when he found you ' not confining your attention to the subject ; ' when you travelled out of your way foi no other apparent purpose than that of accusing the absent and slandering tbe imprisoned , be did then administer a little de . « erved castigatiou , never indeed questioning your motives by giving a shrewd guess at your trade . If , therefore , you felt sore under the lash , yon may console yourself with tbe reflection _tbit this also was ' of your own seeking , " and that neither we nor our lecturer were In the least to blame .

      Having thus dismissed the charge of scurrility , and having thus replied to your questions , we now proceed to consider your _rcasoplng , if tbat term can with justice be applied to any portion of the assertions contained in your letter . You quote a part , and be it remembered only a part , of Mr . _Beesley ' s chillenge , and lest you should ' infer' this also to be an ' inuendo * we beg to assure you th 9 t we bring it as a serious and positive charge . The words of tbe _challenge so ' vauntingly' accepted , as copied by the short-band writer who took notes on the

      occannn , _wmp ' -whilst the institution * of our country retain their present basis , I deny that the mere repeal of tbs Corn Laws would benefit the working classes ; and I defy and htteby challenge either Mr Acland , or this gentleman , or any other _member of the anti-Corn-Law League to prove that it would . ' Here then is the challenge which Mr . Beesley gave and wbich you accepted . Have you the ' moral courage' to maintain your ground ? or dare you again display * that covert shrinking from the contes ' , ' that' attempt to get away from tbe question , ' which your first letter evinced and which your last confirms .

      Sir , you shall not shuffle out of this _difcui-sion _without proclaiming to tho world that you are destitute of tbat ' moral _cunrage' of which you so loudly boast ; for even _takiiig the question upon your own shewing , v ' . z : « would the repeal of the Corn Laws benefit the working classes ? ' you have no right to clog tbat with _conditions or limitations about what shall or wbat shall not be excluded ; for if our lecturer , in maintaining tbe negative of even that proposition , could satisfactorily shew that' the _limitation of the franchise , " or * ven tbe New Poor Law Bill , or any other measure now in cp ration , would debar tho working casses from a participation of that benefit which , under other _circumstances , tbey might hope to share , we have yet to learn by what law of discussion he can possibly be shut out from making use of this fair and legitimate argument

      As yon have not thought proper to object to any of our ether propositions , with the single exception of ' the _suVj-ct for _discussion * we conclude that you have DO objection to offer ; and we _aga . in aik you ' will you come forward aud maintain your ground on tbe terms in which the challenge was given and accepted ?' We have no desire that tbe word 'franchise' fee introduced iuto the _quts ' . _ion , but we will never bo consenting parties to :. ny proposition by whxh a legitimate _argument--hcnul be _ixciuded ; and we bave a very poor opinion indeed of that " jfuod faith" wbich would only ailow one side of a sul j ct tube heard .

      In _conclusion , w .- wibh most distinctly to express tbat we have r _. o intention of giving per «* Hu / offe ' eo ; but in this matter we can only rtg . ird you in tbe light of a polil cul opponent ; and while we treat you with all the courtesy due to this character , we cannot allow private feelings of personal _r-gard to interfere with the discharge of a political duty . I bave the honour to be , Sir , On behalf , and by command of tbe Hull Chartist Council , Yours respectfully , W . J . _Hollidav , Sec . ToMr . Bobt Firth , & c

      To The Chartists Of Sheffield. '* He Who...

      TO THE CHARTISTS OF SHEFFIELD . ' * He who allows oppression shares the crime . " Brother and Sisteb Democrats , —Wo consider it our imp & . ative duty to make this appeal to you in behalf of the champions of our rights aad liberties . The time is now arrived to prove how deserving we are of tbe privileges , for the attainment ef wbich we are struggling , by the snppcrt snd _protection we afford to the advocates of our common , causa Despotism , assisted by its worthy colleague , base and black-hearted treachery , hits made a bold and powerful

      effort to crush the Movement , by depriving the people of tbeir best and tried friends ; among _others , your two unflinching advocates , ( ieorgu Julian Hurney and Saml . Parkes , wbo , torn from tbeir homes and families by tbe myrmidons of power , were corumitred by _magisterial defp : > tsonthe _evUU-cce of tbo tra . tor andrenepade er _. ffia , to take their trial at the late Special Commission on tbe miberably false _charge < f conspiracy . These , your friends , ( in common with their brother patriots _ehcrged as being " conspirators ") exercised the right allowed them by the law of traversing their trials to tke next March assizes

      For exercising tbis , their constitutional right , tbey will be plundered by the harpies of the law , to the amount of from six to eight pounds each , in tbe shape of traverse fees alone ! and tbis infamous extortion must be submitted to , otherwise our friends will be liable to imprisonment for noa-payment , before they are tried on the charge brought against them by the _Downing-street " Conspirators . " Of course , there will be other unavoidable expences to be provided for independent of that , which , we tbink , ( whatever our persecuted brothers may decide upon for themselves ) viz the employment of counsel for the defence .

      We would not bave troubled you with tbis appeal , relying upon your patriotism to find the necessary funds in _sufficient time , but that our brethren are menaced with another Special Commission I Well the factions iijow tbat tbe perjured evidence upon which tbey rest tbeir case would not avail them , if unprejudiced juries were the arbiters between the accusers and the defenders of democracy . Well they know that as soon as Parliament shall meet , corrupt as that House is , it will be compelled to listen to the demands of our persecuted brothers for justi * e , and to witness the unmasking of those libertitidi ' al Jadges who have polluted the judgment-seat , and rendered " the _niBJtsVy of the law" a mcckery and a

      To The Chartists Of Sheffield. '* He Who...

      byword . To prevebt as far as in their power lies the _snveiling of the true conspiracy , and the real conspirators , the factions have given the signal , and their vile organs froru the daily Times aud Morning Chronicle down to those drivelling things the Independent and Iris , have joined iu the yelping chorus , of "the likelihood , the probability , and almost certainty , " & c of a wmter _assize-another ' _' _speoiil commission" to be held before Christmas . The Dublin Monitor avows that this additional Special Commission is to be for _theparposa of procuring the conviction or " Feargus O'Connor and the other Chartists who have traversed , " before Parliament shall assemble .

      Of all the curses that afflict our country the existing newspaper press is the most horrible : it is , with two or three noble exceptions , the vile pander to despotism , the bitter and relentless foe of truth and justice . The efforts of its degraded conduotora to afford a colourable pretext for the bold act of tyranny which they tell us is contemplated by the ruling faction , to procure the conviction of our leaders , must _disguBt all honest men . But shall they do this non-opposed by you ? Your voices rassed In condemnation of so despotic and unconstitutional an act , may yet scare them from their intended infamy ; but more than this must be done ! The necessary funds must be instantly raised ; go that if our friends are to fee brought to trial in December , they may be prepared witb the pecuniary means of defence .

      Tbe men for whom we plead are worthy of your support ; the name of Julian Harney is known wherever tbe banner of Chartism waves , and 1 b associated with every struggle of the people for tbeir rights during the last four years . Samuel Parkes is known ta you , the men of Sheffield , for _bh unflinching patriotism and steady _adherence to your cause . When the day ol trial _arrives—whun honest patriotism shall _eonfrtn-. triumphant tyranny , we have no fear _thut they will do their duty . Do you do yours . If a winter assize is to be held It is expected to take place early in December . There ia no time to be lost Up , then , men and women of Sheffield—exert all your energies , and prove you are worthy of your rights , by supporting these who dare defend themselves .

      Signed in behalf of the Defence Fund _p Committee , Samuel Clayton , Secretary Council Room , Fig Tree Lane , November 14 th , 1842 .

      To The Trades, And Working Classes Gener...

      TO THE TRADES , AND WORKING CLASSES GENERALLY , OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND . Fellow Workmen , —Most , or all of you areaware , tbat in tbe beginning of September last a committee was appointed by the Smiths of Manchester , to endeavour to raise a fund to conduct and defray the expenses attending the defence of Mr . Alexander Hutchinson . Tbe circumstances originating bis arrest bave been previously laid before you , so that any lengthy comment from us will he unnecessary . Suffice it to say , that at tbe Trades' Delegate Meeting , held in tha Hall of Science , Manchester , he was appointed by the unanimous voice of the meetine to preside over tbeir

      deliberations , which ultimately led to his arrest and his committal for trial at the late Liverpool _ass ' z _. 'ff . To the talent and Influence of the couusel we employed , _though at an enormous expense , we are _ctiitfiy indebted for the favourable termination of his trial , which , under other counsel and circumstances , would , we believe , have been attended with serious _results . Aud as our treasurer has been obliged , by the necessity of the case , to advance a considerable sum on our credit , we take the present opportunity of issuing out report , for your inspection , under the impreision that yoa will not staid still and see us sacrifice our weans without one effort to assist us .

      REPORT OF THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE * Income . £ . s . d . William Epton ... 0 10 John Banks ... 1 0 0 _Willium Garrard 0 10 Walter Pnaup ... 1 0 0 AFriend ... 0 1 0 Thomas Child ... 1 6 0 Robert Froggatt . 0 1 6 AFriend ... 1 0 0 A Friend ... 0 ' 1 0 John Child ... 0 10 0 Robert Stones ... 0 1 0 Charles Jones ... 0 13 0 Joseph Ciarke ... 0 1 0 Henry Coffey ... 0 8 0 James 11 'Donald 0 10 Wm . Mc George 0 8 0 Wife of do . ... o 1 0 EdwardRogers ... 0 8 0 John Roberta ... 0 1 0 D . ivid _R-ibertB ... 0 8 0 John Franoia . ' .. . .-0 0 6 James _Kt-Jshaw 0 8 0 William Wood ... 0 0 6 Thomas Grayson 0 8 0 William Cook ... 0 0 6 Edwin Banks ... 0 5 0 PeterHghtfoot .. 0 0 6

      Divid Lewis ... 0 5 0 Peter Johnton _; .. 0 0 6 T . _Stanynought ... 0 5 0 Robert Price ... 0 0 6 Joshua Wormall 0 ' 5 0 John Goffjry ... 0 0 6 Wm . Corns ... 0 6 6 Peter Hart ... 0 0 6 A Friend ... 0 5 0 William Parry ... 0 0 6 James Crawley ... 0 6 0 _George Davis ... 0 0 6 Wm . Robinson ... 0 5 0 Thomas Acton ... 0 0 3 RichardByrom ... 0 5 0 Samuel Hughes .. 0 0 3 Isaac Gillow ... 0 7 0 A Boy ... ... 0 0 2 Wolverton Smiths 0 10 0 The foregoing London do . 0 7 3 comprise : Edinburgh do . 0 5 0 Smiths of Man-E . _Quarltronj-h ... 0 7 0 cheater , & c , ... 18 16 2 John Hardman ... 0 5 0 _Belihouse ' s Spin-Leeds Railway ... 0 6 9 _ners ... ... 0 15 0

      Jnhn Donlevy ... 0 5 0 Glass _Makeit : David Dick ... 0 5 0 Aaron _Ctiadwick 0 0 6 Richard Wood ... 0 6 6 Joseph _Lytogoe .. 0 0 6 MatthewDunn ... 0 4 0 William Sparks .. 0 0 6 Daniel Mc Avoy 0 4 0 _GsorgeRowlanson 0 0 6 John Nelson ... 0 3 6 Richard Rosten ... 0 0 C Thomas _Jsnes ... 0 3 6 Sharp ' s Brass George Stott ... 0 3 0 Room ... ... 0 9 6 James Yates ... 0 3 0 A few Spinners , Henry Parr ... 0 3 0 Ancoat ' _s-Iane ... 1 7 0 Wra . Edgley .... 0 3 0 Society of Metal John Ashworth 0 2 6 Planers ... 1 5 1 R . Wilkinson ... -0 2 6 Two Country James _Haslem ... 0 2 6 Friends ... 0 0 9 Wm . Faldon ... 0 2 6 Geo . Ashworth ... 0 0 9

      Joseph Spa ... 0 2 6 Bulier & Willi ' s _Rlrhnrd Nixon ... 0 2 6 Shop .. ... 0 12 3 A Friend ... 0 3 0 Bolton Rillway ... 0 14 0 Henry Bedgood 0 3 6 A few Friends , John Edgar .,. 0 20 by J . R . ... 0 13 0 Wm Birtles ... 0 3 6 Sharp ' s Mule Thomas Gittens 0 2 6 Room ... ... 1 4 0 _Diniel Birtles ... 0 3 0 D _> . Engineers ... 0 9 0 J . Qnarltrougb ... 0 3 6 Wheelwrights & John Yates ... 02 0 Blacksmiths ' George _Wrigley 0 2 0 Society ... 1 0 0 Joseph Benton ... 0 2 0 Mechanics' _So-Joaeph M'Cabe ... 0 2 6 _ciety ... ... 9 3 5 Wm . Seddon ... 0 2 6 Tailors' Society 4 0 0 Thomas Tickle ... 0 2 6 Painters' Society 3 0 0 Charles Nelson ... 0 2 0 — = James Ryan ... 0 2 6 Total Income 43 13 8

      John _Sletsom ... 0 2 0 Richard Rostern 0 10 expenditure . Thomas Nay lor ... 0 10 Friend Mitchell 0 1 0 Book and Pen ... 0 1 0 William Riven ... 0 1 0 Printing ... ... 2 5 0 Joseph Taylor ... 0 1 0 Rrtuined a few P . Hieginbotham 0 1 0 Spiuners , An-Job Britkhall ... p 1 0 coat ' s-lane ... 1 7 0 Charles Greaves .. 0 10 Attorney and James Barber ... 0 10 _CuUnsel ... 46 0 0 A Friend . W . P . 0 1 0 Witneses ... 11 10 0 _George D _^ akin ... 0 1 0 _Dalefation ... 0 19 0 Henry Pattison ... 0 10 Mr . Hutchinson .. 4 11 9 James Russell ,... 0 1 0 Printing 2 , 000 Thomas Smith ... 0 10 Reports ... 1 16 1 John Brown ... 0 10 Joseph Robinson 0 10 Total ., 62 9 10 John Cooper ... 0 1 0

      You will perceive , by the foregoing report , that there is an actual deficiency of £ 19 , which our treasurer has been obliged to advance , owing to the attorney , Mr . Bent , absolutely refusing to proceed with the case until he was paid the whole amount , which circumstance caused the extra expense of a _jaurney t _* Liverpool . The amount paid to the attorney for conducting the case through , yon will , no doubt , think far too much , bnt it is very far from the sum he at first demanded ; his first charge was near £ 100 , add to which , the time and expenses of _fourteen witnesses to Lancaster , ( the _aWz'is being first announced for tbat _placu ) for about six or eight days at the sum generally paid on such occasions , and you will find that £ 200 would scarcely cover it , to say nothing of the _veryHerious loss sustained by our friend , Mr . Hutchinson . We succeeded ,

      however , in reducing the attorney ' s expense , by _sending a deputation to explain to him our embarrassed position , and the trouble we were _subject to in raising even tbe amount wo had then on band ; he felt , or appeared to feel , for our situation , and _reuuetd his charge to £ 60 , and at a subsequent interview to £ 10 , which sum wo wero compelled to agree to , or - wholly to ahandon tbe case , and wbich he ultima ! e ! y demanded at Liverpool before he would proceed with the _caae . Tho subsequent announcement ofthe assizis being held at Liverpool was another great advantage to our cause , which together with the honorable and praiseworthy conduct of our witnesses , ( to whom we beg to return our _sincdre thanks ) greatly contributed to diminish the expenditure , so that witb othes economical arrangements the whole defence will be cleared eff for about £ 62 .

      We have therefore to appeal to your benevolence In behalf oi our deficiency—not upon any political grounds , because our case is entirely a trade question—our delegate was not sent to the meeting to represent the Chartist smiths of Manchester , nor any other particular party ; he was sent aa the representative of the general body , who , like ail other publio bodies , profess all shade * of opinion . And as the trades' _delegates elected him as their chairman , we feel tbat we have a strong moral claim upon the sympathies of the working classes , and particularly the trades , to which claim we hope you will give a hearty and cheerful response , so that by honourably clearingoff every liability , ' - ' and _reiuatatiogouT victim in hi * former position amongst us we may still secure his valuable services , and stimulate others to follow the same praiseworthy course , nntil every abuse of which we justly complain be swept from tbe face of tbe earth .

      You will also perceive , uprm examining the report , that but few of the trades who had delegates at the meeting have yet Come forward to assist ua ; so tbat the expense baa fallen heavily upon tbe members of our own bot / . y _, to whom we beg to express our grateful acknowled gements , and hope that by their _praiieworthy example the tnvles who have not yet subeor . bed wili

      To The Trades, And Working Classes Gener...

      be stimulated liberally to co-operate towards liquidating our debt In conclusion , we beg most respectfully to return our heartfelt thanks to the trades who have so liberally : supported our case , and also to the various workshops whose names appear among the contributors , and be * to assure them , in the name of our _constituents , tbat should aay public calamity _^ or similar mifafortune bi = fdl tbem , the support which they have rendered will be returned with cheerfulness and gratitude . Your ' s very respectfully , Thb Committee . Committee Room , October , 30 , 1842 .

      N . B . —The committee will in future meet every Siturday evening only , at the Olympic _TsVM-n , Stephenson ' s Square , from half-past seven to half-past nine o clock , when the delegates appointed by the other trades are requested to attend . Each trade subscribing to the fund is requested to send a delegate to alt on the committee , at the conclusion of whose labours a final report will be issued .

      Essay On The Present System, By John Wat...

      ESSAY ON THE PRESENT SYSTEM , BY JOHN WATKINS . PART IV . " The time la out of joint ! O cursed spite Thatever I was born to set it right "— Hamlet . The present age may be characterised the selfish age —it is the most mercenary—the meanest . Every man seems to think but of himself alone . We are ephemera —beings of a day . To lose money is to _losa friends , health , reputation , everything—what wonder that parents themselves Bhould love their gold more dear than their children—that they should see them starve and without relief !

      Poverty Is rendered criminal by law—It is also bylaw rendered the inevitable lot of the industrious manynet a chance is left for their escape , and when they are driven into tbe toil , tbeir condition is made more unendurable than that of an Algerine slave—they are treated with an inhumanity of which the Turks would bo ashamed . The Turks ! why they treat their dogs much better than we treat our aged and infirm fithers and mothers . Pleasure or profit is all eur pursuit , and can we expect those who are bent on pleasure , to atop ut the cries of pain ? no , tbey will increase another ' s pain if thereby tbey can increase tbeir own pleasure—and those who pursue profit are still more callous , mure brutal ; the groans of the victims may annoy them , may vex tb 6 ni , but will never soften them . Tbey have

      no consideration for their own souls and bodies , not even for their own business characters . Our manufacturers bave done much by their dishonest practices to dishonour the credit of the country , to forfeit the custom of other countries ; but what care they?—so long as they gobble up a hasty fortune for themselves they would ruin trade itself , and forestall the fortunes of all whe have to follow . They are devoid of _patriots ism and of philanthrophy . All principle , all feeing , they sacrifice to the love of pelf . The bloom and innocence of cbildboed , tbe Btrength and spirit of manhood , the very peace and resignation of old age—all are made _merchaniiiza of . Great was the outcry against the African slave trade , while all the while a slave trade waa rising up , waa being carried on by those wbo were .

      loudest in that cry . A slavery of the whites , enough to niako black turn white in comparison . Surely the first duty of every _siacere slave-emancipator was to emancipate the slaves at home . But these were the slaves that they themselves had made , and instead of doing that , they next made heathens of them , while at the same time they were sending cut missionaries to convert the heathen in foreign lands , who indeed are the better Christians . Was it not of such as these that Christ spoke when he said , " Ye hypocrites ! first cast out the beam from your own eye before you can see clearly to'pluck out the mote fromyour brother , * - . " _Sendyeur missionariea hot to the plains of Hindostan , not to the wilds of _Southern Africa , but into your own factory mills ; let tbem prevent the sacrifice of children to your

      idols ; send tbem into yonr mines ; but they durst not venture there ; the very police dare not descend into those hell-holes , where boys and girls , and pregnant women crawl on tbeir bellies like serpents , amid darkness and damp , where rabbits could not burrow , nor blind moles creep , where no living creature but the toad in its cold stone is ever found . Money is sot raised to emancipate them , to convert them ; no , but _monny is made of their slavery , tbeir heathenism ; and hundreds of thousands of pounds are sent across the sea to be spent in waste time for what better can we call It wben we read that no convert is made hut at the cost of a thousand pounds per man ; and bow are converts made ? Why , tbey are made drunk , and then they acknowledge themselves Christians , but relapse into

      _Hindooism again as soon as tbey b 8 cor _** e sober . Onr privileged classes ( fine folks !) lavish all their love , all their religion , all their charity on other countries—not on their own . English charity is never found at home ; it roams all the world over ; it is a vagrant charity . Oh , call it home ; let It visit the unfurnished hovels where industry sits naked and famishing—its very tools pawned for food—where piety broods over its wants and woes , its very bible sold—where innocence ia suffering worse famishment than ever guilt endured . See the once happy family leaving a once contented borne , and wandering desolate despised into the streets . exposed to the cold wind , and to the colder sneers of tho world-going wealthy . In vain do tbey crave the refuse of the rich man ' s table . There are _bnardu hung np

      in every direction , not like the crosses winch in former times pointed the pilgrim to the monasteries where he was refreshed without money and without price ; but these boards are more like gibbets , and , in direct opposition to the Word of Qjd , they request , earnestly request the public in no case / mark tbat _!> to give alms —where then -must the destitute go ?—what refuge is for them?—the _bastile!—tbey enter , and the husband is sundered frem his wife , the children are torn from their parents , the ties of nature are rudely rent , and tbe whip of authority is put into the hands of brutal men , who think that they best do their duty , that they most fulfil tbeir office , when they act with the greatest inhumanity nnd cruelty . What wonder that many actually prefer death to such a life , for it is a life of

      hard toil and hard-fare—that many prefer a prison to a bastile , and break the law to qualify themselves—and that consequently there is a supposed necessity for more new prisons , or for the enlargement of tbe old—that madhouses are on tbe increase , and that the corners of churchyards are filled with suicides ? Some enlist , some emigrate , some are transported for forced crimes ; but the great mnjority die heartbroken in-the . land that gave them life , but denied them a living— -In a land that abounds with the means of supporting life , but it is a laad which the accursed system is fast turning into a Golgotha—a land of Skulls . How many die of diseases induced . by'famine ! Tbey p . _i 38 under the name of ( mv fevers — but they are deaths by-starvation ; and England is the only land whew such deaths knowingly occur . How many , even now while I tali it , are dying in despair—murdered by the system that should succour and _bustain ? Let us select one case , — . not _tlw case of one , but of thousands—I might eay of millions

      —the case of a honest , hard-working man with a _larjjo family , wbo having spent ail his strength , bestowed all hia skill In the support of Church and State , is left at last in his hour of need neglected by both , and laid on bare boards , without clothing or covering ( all bavini gone for food , and gone in vainl , fevered witb care and anxiety , Wanting medicines—but not able to obtain the common necessaries of life—wanting rest , tut evermore awakened by the cries of his suffering children , be sinks , with no prospect before him but damp walis _,.. ' dirt , and vermin . Instead of Gospel consolations , he bears the sobs of hfs little ones , and the wailing of a _helpless , hopeless wife : be cannot sieep ; he cannot die in peace , for his last moments are troubled—are tortured with the agonizing thought of wb & t must become of his widow and orphans , aud as hi * eyes grow dimmer , as his breath gasps shorter , as his pulse beats faiuter , shapes arise to hiB delirious view , —his own children appear like spectres dancing and howling around bis corpse .

      Ah . England , witb all Its wealth , Is bnt a desert island to the unemployed poor . They suffer like men _besitaied in a Citadel with all supplies cut off—like men at sea in a ship out of provisions ,- but in thosp cases all are sufferers alike , the last biscuit is shared equally —with us , on the contrary , one class , the idle , is rioting amid every supeifluity , while another , the industrious , is famishing before their very eyes . The conduct of the upper classes iu this country resembles that of wild Indians dancing ' and singing around their victims

      at the _stiko . Our class legislators have grasped all and tbey gripo ail—tho more thtir means increase , the lesa _consideration have they for those whose means , by a natural _consequence , . decrease—and yet they can ride iu their carriages to ckurch and putting on a demure aspect repeat the responses and say— " He who bath an _abundance of this world ' s gool , and knoweth his brother to be in need and yet _shuteth up his bowels of _cempassion from bis brother , how dwelletb the love of God in him ? " Y > . _- ' s , our pious aristocracy can "kneel and pray "—I ' ve seen ' em _do't ( To be continued in our'next . )

      Figures Of Speech.—At A Festival Recentl...

      Figures of Speech . —At a festival recently given to a few friends by Mr . Bouse , the enterprising and worthy proprietor of the Eagle Tavern , City-read , Mr . Campbell , of the Grecian Saloon , made the following witty allusions to tbe newspaper press : — " May ' the very Age and body of the Times , ' be the Advertiser aiid the Herald of the best News to ' the great Globe itself , and all that it inherits , ' and particularly to the Subjects of the British Queen 1 May the Post brin _^ f a Courier with the Dispatch o f _liyhtuing to each rising 'Sun , with _intelliijence to _i-ladden the heart of Old England ! May the

      Evening Stai * . ( recently risen a . ' Star of Hope , ' to an oppressed people and be-dimmed country ) ever be the pride of honest , straightforward , worthy hearted John . Bull ! May the Br itis h Standard of benevolence , with ' Argus eyes , ' see and Record this as an Era ot truth , virtue , and universal philanthropy . May charity be au Examiner into , and an Observer of poverty and distress 1 May the Polar Or Northern Star continue to shed its illumining influence on this long-benighted land !—shining with its evening contemporary , the ' Gemini' of the political heaven of freedom ! And may the Charter be as it were , the Tablet on which the Spectator may gaze with delight , while our Patriot shall for ever Chronicle the glory and liberty of the British Press I "

      Nottingham County Gaol Notwithstanding T...

      _NOTTINGHAM COUNTY GAOL Notwithstanding the charges publicly made by the debtors in Nottingham County Giol _agabatthe gaoler and _migistrates , the ca 8 _tiga '< . ions that have ieen bestowed upon-tbem by the press , the voluntary offers . of-the " editors of the . _Nottingham Review , that their columns were open to receive any counter-atat . iucnt these authorities thought proper to make to the grave charges against them ; they still maintain a determined —we had almost said a criminal—silence , t . > the charges of extortions and othei * illegal practices of tha gao ! er , and the sanction and protection afforded . to thai funtionaryi dealings with one portion of the pri-BOPMB and _oppression of the others , by the visiting magistrates .

      If the charges bronght against them are false , why not rebut them ? If they are true , how long is _juH _^ _ica to be delayed , or denied to the suffering dei- ' <> " 8 ? Their first , _msrnorial bears'date-the 23 rd of Septemoer ; their second , on the 30 th ; their _remonstrance oi : the 16 th of October . Still the intolerable grievances are allowed to ' con tinne . Debtors are crowded _together In felons' cells—their health impaived , their lives _placed in imminent peril . ' -the surgeon debarred , its he s _^ _atea , by the existing rules , from supplying necessary food and restoratives ; and the poor debtors are deprived of air and exercise , which the more weal hy ate allow--d to take without restriction , as all undoubtedly _oushfc to be permitted to do . The viBiting magitrates shrink from the specific charges bronght against there , but what have they done In lieu of meeting them ? Let their annual report , made at the Nottir : gham * hhv adjourned quarter sessions , holden at Sonthweil on the 27 th Oct- answer the question . We copy th © follovring from the Nottingham Review , of tbe 4 tb instant : —

      «' The visiting justices reported the _managemeui ; of the prison to be excellent , and the discipline trood . Tracts are distributed amongst the prisoners , di ? ine service regularly performed , and the rules prescribed by law strictly adhered to . " Amazement stands aghast , to find such a statement made in the face of the unredressed complaints of the poor debtors ! The management of the priaon is excellent , with felons' cells crowded with poor and starving debtors 1 The discipline go ;> d , with extortion and illegality depriving men pf their health and placing

      their lives in jeopardy !! Tracts distributed in p ' . _' _ioe of food !! J and divine service regularly performed to men whose minds ore' writhing under a knowledge and conviction of the wrongs they are enduring . ' . ' ! A pretty state of _things certainly . Wbat must have been tbs feelings of these injured men on reading such palpable falsehoods ? From the very men who silently decline to redress or rebut the manifold grievances they have so repeatedly . and respectfully set forth ? Tbey may better be conceived tban described , and gave rise immediately to tho following requisition : —

      " to tiie visiting magistrates of the gaol Of THE COUNTY OF NOTTINGHAM . . "We , the undersigned debtors , confined in the above prison , respectfully request an interview tbis day with tbe visiting magistrates en matters concerning tbe rules and regulations enforced herein , and on other business . "William _Kslk . Eiward Leach , John SJaillcack . William Richards . John Slack . Thomas Colkm . James D . nham . John Harper . William Boot . Thomas _Maxfleld . Henry _Stephens . John _Wass . Richard Hanker . Robert Patterson . _•« County Gaol , Nottingham , Nov . 6 , 1842 . "

      Tha required interview did not taka place , The magistrates were not to be seen . No , they knew well that tbeir annual or quarterly report , whichever it might be , was a uross aud scandalous imposition ; and instead of " the rules presented by law ; being strictly adhered to , " they are unblushingly evaded , and the violation of them by the gaoler openly _sanctionud by the visiting magistrates , inflicting thereby great part of the grievances of whioh the debtors so justly , but , at present , uselessly complain . The _debtors bu . ve taken another step towardB

      obtaining a redress Of their grievances . They have trausinitted a memorial to Sir Janes Graham , the Secretary of State for tbe Home _Department , in which , as la commonly the case when justice is denied , and such denial pertinaciously persisted in , redress of further grievances is required , tban those which bave _hitherte met the public eye , and shows the tremendous stretch of irresponsible power that is exercised by country justices , unrestrained by any fixed law , and culls loudly for the humane interference of _Parliamant , to close the door by a general legislative enactment against the temptation that exists for the exercise of the

      _viudiotiveness and caprice of magistrates , gaolers , and turnkeys . . In tbis memorial , not only is it prayed that the 2 nd aud 3 rd of''Victoria , cap . 66 , be _enforced , in order to abolish tbe gaoler ' s dealings with the prisoners , and tbe ' 4 th- ' Geo :. IV . chap . 64 ., that the _debtors shall occupy one ward , disti _. ct from criminal offenders , but it presents also in detail many of the grievances which result frem the non-observance of the laws now in force , from which we make th 6 following _obeervationa : —

      It appears that . the surgeon is prevented , or states that he is , from administering such food and restoratives to _invalida aa ho Uaowo and _aduiito II 107 _scquivo and ought to have ; without subjecting tbem to twenty-one , out of the twenty-four hours , solitary confinement in an inhospitable garret , dignified with the title of a hospital though , in fact , more resembling a sepulchre to receive their dying breath rather than a place calculated foi their restoration ; aud ibis , too , in cases where air and exercise- are allowed to be imperatively necessary , as well as more and better food . One of the memorialists , who haa experienced this treatment , truly observes , it is a course of proceeding calculated to increase rather than ameliorate their _sufferinsrs .

      They require also a revision of the dietary table , stating , as their te & aon , taut the only food row allow © , viz : —one pound of bread per day to each _debtor , is insufficient to sustain life for a lengthened period , or to preserve htalth under any circumstances . They pray , if it is ultimately found expedient to annex tbe misdemeanour ward in future to the debtor ' s , prison-, aud to really constitute a part thereof , that the . transport and other criminal offenders be removed therefrom , the lofty walls that now divide it from the debtor ' s yard be removed , tbat the inmates have access to each other in tho night to tbo common room , to assist ia case of illness _, and to be locked up at the same hour , as is now tbe practice in the debtor ' s prison , and not at an earlier hour , as _is-new the case , and that it may form , in fact , essentially a part of tbe debtors' prison , and subject only to the _sa-n- restrictions .

      It _iipp-.-ar- ' that the day room where the poo . deb ' tori \\ x \ i c ' _ouniied in the _misdenieanuiir _-sard , is a _n-oiu only _fuurUeii ' _feit by twelve feet , and at thw time -of tbe mum'rial being signed , no less tban _eighteen of these unfortunate nun were crowded together in tbat small space . Necessity has since causud the removal of nine of tbem to a similar and correspondini' rp ; in above . This day-room Las two atone benches fixed ,. one on either side , for seats . Its only furniture consists of a table and four old stools . It . is covered with semi-elliptical grained brick arcbet - . _Btsidts tfcd door , the entrance is further protected by a liiiissive iron gate . Each of the sleeping celis ia secured at the entrance with both doors and iron gates in the same manner , - and the passages or galleries , as

      they aro bore farmed , are secured by doors and iron gates across them at intervals , in the same way . In the sleeping cells , tbe only article , ( for it would be a libel upon _language to call it a bedstead , ) is a cast _niet-J plate fastened on the top of four iron supports , which are again tecured to the stone floor . This metal piate is only two . feet six inches wide , on whieh two of the poor debtors are frequently compelled to pass the night at the same time . Not so in the debtors ' prison . It may be rs well to remark , that the part of the prison we are describing was built immediately _subsequent to the destruction of _Nottinchnni Castle by fire on the memorable _rejection of the _R-.-iVrni Hill ; tho period of its rejection , in coajunction with that circumstance , seems to point out

      pretty clearly-the reason of its being maue so doubly secure in every part , the wani of necessary accomm dation within it , and the class of offenders it waa originally intended to receive . It is the gaoler ' s dealings with the . more wealthy debtors that is th cause of tho poorer _clasn being crowded _together , and deprived of ' _fiii and exerciso therein . The misconduct of tbe senior - turnkey , William _Lonnds , 13 also reported . One debtor , sixty years of age , is , in continual excruciating pain , from blows and other injuries received from this menial ; an invalid has also been brutally treated by him , and bis _disgusti & g conduct to the visitors and friends of the debtors , and tbeir admission depending upOH his capriciousness , even in the hours _allowed by the rules , la acutely dwelt upon . Tbey

      also require the privilege ( if dissenters' of being attended by the minister of their choice , and that such dissent from the _Eitablished Church shall te considered a reasonable ground for their non-attendance _tf Divine Service , within tbo weaning of the ninth rule . We have not space for further remarks , but to state that the prayer of their memorial to the Home Office concludes by praying the enforcement of tbe 2 d and 3 d Victoria , cap . 60 , and that such alterations and a code of new rules may be framed in accordance with the _suggestions of their memorial;—so far » a in tbe wisdom of the Home Secretary , by and with

      tbe advice of the law officers of the Crown , may seem meet , but more especially that the dealings of the gaoler with the prisoners may be totally abolished , and the whole of tbe debtors now and in future may fee placed in every respect upon one and the same footing . It is to be hoped their lawful and reasonable demands may be complied with by the Home Secretary , without _cccupyicg the time of the legislature on the meeting of Parliament on this long neglected subject j and tbat Sir James Graham will feel it to be his duty to issue a general order to gaolers to prevent tbe recurrence of such palpable grievances in debtors' prisons ia future . —Evening Star .

      Akti-Maltiiosians.—Last Week, Eight Pers...

      Akti-Maltiiosians . —Last week , eight persons accidentally met at the New Inn , _Helston , whose children , when added together , amounted to the extraordinary number of ninety-six . None of them had fewer than eight children , and the highest number was _Bixteen . _—TPiwf Briton .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 19, 1842, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns5_19111842/page/7/