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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th August 1838, Edition 1 of 1, Page 4, TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS.

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      Untitled Article

      DEWSBURY RIOT CREATED BY THE GOVERNMENT , THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF THEIR TOOLS , " JUSTICE " IKGHAM AND POLICE MAGISTRATE GREENWOOD . The rashness , insolence , and -disreputable proceedings of these two persons , "have ^ . ven rise ,-during 'fiie past week , to a large snare ot conjecture as to "their probable motives and instigators to a line of "¦ c onduct -which seeHied to " be inexplicablj- suicidal . "We think it "b y no mesas difficult to show how the ¦ matter really stands . - __ A- *« *^ t \** t tt » t ? t \ T 5 TT TITt

      Oa "Wednesday , tbe ^ th day August , a report Tfbinld have been made from the Poor Law -Committee to . the House of Commons . That re-* fort recommends thai the Bill be fully carried out * in the Nor&ern manufacturing districts . That report recommends that in future all out-door relief shall be stopped . That report is "brought up at the dote of the Session , and is to fee the chart for the jmdanee-of-. Er * Q 0 ictw and servihrGaardians during thereoea . -That report has yet to he legislated ipon , and in order to do so , to the full bent of the

      starvation crew , it is necessary that riots and disorder ¦¦ " ^ di ssatisfaction should form the groundirerkof the said piece of legislation . "With such intention the satellites receive , their secret instructions , yreparatory to the parsing of an English Coercion Bill early in the next Session , the necessity for which ¦ will- 'he-grounded , as was tie necessity for the Irish 'Coercion BDl , open the false-Bwearing of Magisir&tes , Constables , and Poh ' eemen . On Monday , -the Coercion plag is unfurled at Dewsbury . Two of the authorities outrage eTery Jeelirg of decency ,

      ¦ violate law , and commit insult upon a people demanding nothing more than a hearing through their representatives . One wiseacre spouts bad law—another sets the whole meeting at defiance . Enough is dons amply to merit rebuke and chastisement upon the spot . The only means now left to the people are Tesorted to , and then the rascally jress turns found and says , ihat the excitement produced by Mr . Richabd

      Oastler and Mr . O'Coknob . occasioned the affray . "What nonsense ! It was the insolence of the men who went to do the dirty work of Lord John Rtjssei / l , ( the Isle of "Wi ght infant gailor , ) that-gare rise to the disturbance . Mr . O'Connor dares any man to say that he excited the people . Bow dare Mr . Ixgham refose to entertain the propositions made by the legitimate Guardians of the poor ? How dare Mr . Greenwood attempt to "browbeat Mr . Pennt and Mr . Brooke with his

      Dad law ? How dare both setjthe people at defian ce ? A ¦ well-merited rebuke for such insolence will not indnce either Mr . O'Connor or Mr . Oastler to cease their opposition to an act of treason . -The whole was a "Whig plot—a dastardly attempt to prepare tbe country for the New Coercion Bill , which is to be grounded upon the recommendations of the virtnous committee supported no doubt by the depositions of

      Tramping Commissioners , Skilly Magistrates and Sycophant "Guardians . " When the report to which we have referred is published , it will be seen that the two recommendations of which we speak are some of the mildest features in the tender mercies of your honourable committee ' s report . YTe have done our flnty , and shall never cease to implore of the people to do theirs .

      We are told that the Star would have a better circulation if it were not so violent against the Poor Law Amendment Act . Our reply is sh-. rt . "When the Star ceases to denounce the Poor Law Act in the strongest terms which language will supply , the Star shall cease to exist—at least under our management . Messrs . Brooke and Pexny merit the warmest thanks for the firmness , calmness , and judgment , -which they evinced under circumstances of very

      . great provocation . We are glad that the people cheered the soldiers ; and-we beg of all to recollect , that emancipation was farced from the Dnke of "Wellington , not by O'Connet-l , but by the 32 nd Tegiment of foot , who snbscribt'd , nearly to a man , to the Catholic Bent . And we do honestly believe , ihat no soldier , will fire upon the "people for the pnrpose of enforcing this law . The people must never , run away from the soldiers .

      Untitled Article

      — " ^^^^ POOB LAW TACTICS . The People of Dewsbury are rightly girding up their loins for the struggle , by adopting the plas ¦ which we have been dinging in their ears for the last two years -buttoning up their breeches pockets . "We suppose few of them can have forgotten our assertion at the great meeting in Dawgreen -Chapel , when the election , of Guardians was first

      mooted in Dewsbtrry ¦ " that there was more power In the breeches pocket of the rate-payers , than in all the Parliamentary omnipotence of the Poor Law Commissioners . " "We are highly gratified to learn lhattheybave atlast determined toactopon our suggestion , and try the power of the button , which every good tailor puts at the top of a poor man ' s pocket . A correspondent thus writes us : —

      "ilanjr of the ratepayers nave put papers in their Tvindows , Upon which is wiitten-or printe 8 , ;> K > MORE POOR BATES 3 > AID HERE UNTIL THE NEW POOB LsW BE REPEALED . This plan , lbelieTe , Trill he almost ¦ unanimousl y acted npon , if l £ gha . m and the Commissioners are determined to carry this lsw into operation . " Bravo ! This is the tack to sail upon- Only let the people keep their hands upon their halfpennies ,

      and they may laugh at Ingham , and his hundred "bludgeon men , and the soldiers , and the Three-Headed-Devil-EIng to boot . Bnt "in order to be effective in their resistance they must be unanimous . Divide and conquer has ever been the tyrant ' s TpgTini- The men -of Todmorden have set them a . glorious example . They will see from an article in our local news , that the brave fellows of Todmorden

      lave 'DHANlMOXiSiy resolved , that no money shall ie filched from their pockets to glnt the myrmidons of the Three-Headed-Devil-Ejng . In public meeting assembled , they "instructed their patriotic Guardians to resist the payment of the sum claimed from their township towards the expenses of the Union . The Guardians have , accordingly resisted ; iare been summoned . j have been ined , and still lerist . The full force of Magisterial power is now hronght , " at the beck of the -CommissioBers , " into < arect collision with the determination of the

      ratepayers , represented b y honest Guardians . Now , then , for the tug of war . Will the "^ people succumb ? "Will they tamely lay down their neeks ,. and allow the murderous wheel to ie driven over them ; or wiu they g ^ a « rect upon their feet , and laugh to scorn tfce impotent wrifiangs of their powerless enemy ? 2 * ow or never must the people of Todmoiden and Dewsbury , evince their determination to bib

      freemen rather thaa live slaves . If the men of DewBbury suffer the Wg loots and swelling insolence of one man to browbeat them into quiescence and submisrion ; if the men of Todmorden suffer the Guardians who have nobly placed thenutlvea in tie gap , to become the victims of their patriotic honesty , then are they both unworthy of the name of men ;—" Dull plodding beasts , fit only for The "h » TT » pc ^ --,, 3 * Vg i 4 bV » -

      3 * or can we think that they would , after that , hase any just reason to complain ^ if iiey should find themselves treated as would well become their mature , —cooped up inhuman stables ; led forth to work in winkers ; whipped , goaded , spnrred , and tpit upon , till sature sinks beneath her load of misery ; and , when no longer able to increase the wealth of their oppressors , coolly led out and shot to

      Untitled Article

      w ^ tmmm end their sufferings . "W « do not pretend to gay how soon things may come to this pass ; but we do tell the peoplej that , with the means of victory in their own hands , and those means so simple—merely the buttoning up of their breeches' pockets —if they suffer themselves to be worsted in this contest , they deserve no better fate . mmm * mm ^~ mm—m . _ i ii .. !_ . «• . * . '_ ' ttt i j _ * " * ^ _ ^ " i _ i . ' ^ -

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      THE « MOTE " AND THE « BEAM . " The Birmingham Demonstration has set all the "Whig papers throughout the country in a blaze . They sxe alike msd -with vexation and with fear . The vrhole clique assuHies the ridiculous attitude-of a keeper of a menagerie , who , having long ' maltreated a noble lion , begins to fear forhis own safety , upon seeing him half out of his cage . The contortions , caperings , and writhingi of the astonished and horror-stricken factions , ( both "Whig and Tory , ) at the coolness , prudence , and-determination of the

      hundreds of thousands assembled at Birmingham on Monday week , is really laaghable . They are all dreadfully alarmed , and u&xnimously maraifeat their perturbed feelings , in savage denunciation of Mr . O ' Connor and others of the principal speakers . Their nervous sensibilities are agitated into fits , forsooth , at the " violence " of the " reckless" votaries of Universal Suffrage . " "What on earth , " says our neighbour of the Leeds Mercury , who may be" regarded as a faithful mouth-piece of the whole faction , —or , indeed for that matter , of both the

      factions , — " "What on earth can he the meaning ol Mr-Feargtjs O'Connor , who last week advised the people of Dewsbury to provide themselves with arms , and who , at Birmingham , according to the Morning Chronicle , spoke as follows : — * He-was rejoiced to see such a glorious meeting as that ; ' it would be a signal to the rest of the country , and instead 1 of looking to twenty such meetings before the next Parlia-1 ment , he looked for fifty . 1 On with your green standard rearing , Gojlesk every sneord to thehUt ; ' On oar side is virtue and Erin , * On yours ia the parson and guilt .

      'If they wgre refused redress , he -would refer them to the ' fonrlh ehaplar of Lamentations , where it is itale 4 ilial it it ' better to be slain by Outward than lo perish by famine . ' ' " If thiii is not instigating his ignorant hearers to insurrection , there is no meaning in language . This , however , is bnt a sample of the language ' used at these meetings . The lump answers to the sample . How any man -who is not utterly

      reckless can use such language , is past our comprehension . This portion of Mr . O ' Connor ' s speech has formed a text for more "Whig sermons , since the time it was uttered , than we can enumerate : every puling priest being specially careful to dissever the text from the context ; go as to give to the words the appearance of a meaning , which does not in reality belong to them . And , after all ,

      " Why shrinks the butcher from the sight of blood ?" Even if these words would bear the construction which the factions labour so vainly to put upon them , is there anything extraordinary to the acquaintance of these sensitivegentlemen in " violence ? " Have they so soon forgotten the field ofPeterloo , on which the men of Manchester werft but yesterday celebrating tbe mournful anniversary of their slaughtered townsmen , whose blood yet cries for vengeance , and whose butchers have received the thanks of Lord Melbourne , moved in his place in the House of Commons ? " "What on earth" could Lord

      Melbourne mean to move the thanks of the House of Commons to the drunken , dastard cut-throats , whose thirst for blood had been satiated upon an unarmed people ? Has the Mercury so Boon forgotten the violence of the Reform Bill agitation —the Cloth Hall Yard meeting—the inverted crown—the falling Monarch—the bloody axe—the Queen in breeches—and the King in petticoats ? Has he forgotten his gallant speech— Gentlemen , THREE GHOANS FOR THE QUEEN ! ! I" Have Brouohah and Fitzwilliam forgotten their determination to pay no more taxes ? Come , come ; the violence of O'Connor

      " "Well sheltered by right noble precedents , " sinks far into the shade when brought into competition with the " violence" of "Whig patriots (! !) " "What on earth" could Mr . Baines , and Mr . Brougham , and Earl Fitzwilliam , and all the other "Whigs mean , by threatening to pay no more taxes ; and by those fearful emblems , the inverted Crown , and Bloody Axe ? The old proverb tell us " that actions speak more loudly than words ; " now supposing Mr . O'Connor ' s words at Birmingham to have borne

      the meaning , which , in their isolated state , when thus dishonestly quoted , they are made to seem to bear ; ( and which meaning in their true connexion they do not bear ;) it is possible for a man in the excitement of the moment , at a public meeting , to speak an unguarded word , but the painting of the King and Queen , with an exchange of garments ; the painting of the inverted crown and the carrying of the bloody axe , by a crape-clad executioner , were not the effervescence of a moment . They were the deliberate concoction of a " violence" utterly and systematically - " reckless . " And if these

      emblems were not capable of , and used for the purpose of "instigating" the "ignorant" hearers and followers of the Qaeen-groaners , " to insurrection , there is no meaning in language . " These , however , were but a " " sample" oi "Whi g violence , and the "lump" answered fully to the " sample . " "How any men , "who \* ere not utterly reckless , could use such means to enfuriate the populace , is past our comprehension . " And yet these , forsooth , are the schoolmasters , who take Mr . O ' Connor to task for his " violence . " "We commend to them the words of one , wiser than they ; " Thou hypocrite why beholdest thou the mote in thy brother ' s eye , when lo ! a beam is in thine own eye ? "

      Untitled Article

      THE WEEKLY CHRONICLE AND THE BIRMINGHAM MEETING . Nearly the whole of the Press of Great Britain , has " per fas ' aut nefas ' added to the importance of the Birmingham Meeting ; and whether we judge of the demonstration , by the partial and self-destroying account of the "Times , " or by the fair and impartial representation of the " Sun , " find in each great cause for congratulationandhope . The " Times" estimates the number at 10 , 000 , a

      most valuable falsehood , inasmuch as it bespeaks a foregone conclusion , while it also teaches us how to estimate the Conservative molehills of the " Times" which by some strange inverse process of arithmetic , have been magnified into mountains . However , it ig not wonderful , that the Times should mourn over the departing glory of corruption . So much for the manner in which the leading Whig and the leading Tory journals have dealt with the

      Birmingham meeting ; and now for a word with the " Weekly Chronicle . " In a professed foe we can make allowance for a sudden outbreak under the influence of so violent a shock , so great a surprise , asthatoccaaonedbytheBinninghamdeelaration , but why the Weekly Chronicle that lives upon universal support , shonldhave turned againstits supporter * ,

      is a matter worthy of consideration . It has not fallen to our lot , within the space of Editorship , to see a column and a bit of more rabid trash than that exhibited by a paper rejoicing in the name of the Weekly Chronicle , of Saturday last , under the head of History and Politics , neither of -which ingredients form any portion of the stuff . " As to tb . e w&gesfor Members of Parliament , "

      -says the Chronicle , — " we do not think the point of much importance , except , perhaps , to Mr Feabgus O'Connor . " Now , we thank the Chronicle for the honourable exception ; for as * Mr . ' O'Connor would not condescend to pimp in Down-

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      *********************************************************************************** **^ i * ' r , j _ ' | ' ' ^^^ " ^^^^^^^^ BB ^^^ Bmm ^^^^^^ u ing-Btreet , and carry newt ? irom the kitchen second hand ) as Editor of the Chronic ^ , honourable wages would be most acceptable ff him . But , always satisfied to share the wages uf ^ irtue with the virtuous , Mr . O ' Connor would wisfi . to see others equally remunerated . And what does our friend think of a similar provision for Mr . "Ward ? Now , dees the Chronicle scribe think that there exists a more worthy man than Mr . "Ward ? , and we know that a provision of this kind would be most * ' - _ _ j . _* . «* . SI « nvwr notnu * l . v , M Itl _ _ \ £ * ^ _ v __ ' __ i " ^ j

      useful to that Gentleman , and most honourable to his constituents \ so much for personal acknowledgements , and now for Chronicle logic . Mr . Attwood ' S speech naturally form 3 the principal Sisiofy arid Politics ot the comment , and we can have no objection to th » Lycurqus giving his opinion upon anything Mr , Attwood did say , but what we object to is , that he puts words into Mt . Attw oop ' s mouth , and then comments upon his own nonsense . We shall gire two specimens of this sort of logit . Tte

      commentator in professing to quote Mr . Attwood says , ¦ " Will any man tell us what is the meaning of tiie words , 'By abolishing the Corn Laws , we will bring down food to a level with labour and by abolishing the money laws we will bring ' down labour to a level with food . '" Now , that ' s the very thing we want to know , who indeed will tell us what U the meaning of the words- , who can b » t the

      writer ? Who so fit ? But they are the Chronicle ' s own words . Our sapient friend then goes on . " To our ears this is nonsense , ' vox etprelerea nihil . " Aye , aye , so it is , but the " vox et prelerea nihil , " nonsense and all , is the Chronicle ' s own , as we shall prove by taking the words of Mr . Attwood from the second page ; the very next to the "History and Politics . " Now hear Mr .

      Attwood s words . " His wish was lo bring down food to a level with wages , and , to raise wages to a level with food . " Now , any man except the sage who writes the Chronicle will understand those words , because they are the very reverse to those put into Mr . Attwood ' s mouth , for the purpose of reasonvig upon them . The reasoning is Attwood ' s ; the fallacy i 6 nonsense ventilated through the Becetian skull of the other honourable Member . So much for the charge of dotard folly . Now for the wholesale bad principle of which Mr .

      A . is accused ; and for one more blow while we have Lycurgus upon his back . The Chronicle goes on : " Then again , what man in his senses ever thought of alluding to Robespierre as a fit type for an English Reformer ? Mr . Attwood desires to resemble him . " Who , indeed , ever thought of such a thing but the writer in the Chronicle ? Not Attwood , as we shall prove by giving his own words from the very back of the " History and Politics . " Here they are , — " He never would be a Robespierre in his country . There should be HO blood shed with his concurrence . "

      . Now , need we say one other word , further than to tell the Chronicle scribe to read the speech of Mr . Attwood , which he has not done .

      After a great many black forbodings , the high man begins to look upon his stilts , and moufn over their loss . "Who , " says he , " will care for the ballot ? " " "Who will contend for any small extension of the suffrage ? " Who , indeed ? The singular rapidity with which the dark lorebodings of our gloomy friend follow in quick succession , strongly

      remind us of an afflicted famil y stepping out of < l mourning coach , after the uurial of some departed friend . In Universal Suffrage , no doubt , the weeping mourner sees the approaching dissolution of his crotchets—the wreck of his " rat-irap "—the explosion i of his small extension fabric , and the no necessity for his further probationary services in the small news of Downing Street .

      X , et the honourable writer bundle up his crotchets and put them in his ' * Rat Trap , " we shall not require them . " Oh , alack a day ! " that the full sun of Radicalism should have thus eclipsed the rushlight of Reform . O that this mince-meat of improvement should have been taken from the delicate appetites of the weak stomached historians and politicians . O that the professors of . liberalism should thus be driven to test their theory by their practice ! O that the pledges of the candidates

      should be brought to square with the votes of the representative ! O that we are not still kept peeping through the key-hole of the Durham Constitution , while the Noble Lord and his coadjutors are arranging it , with a pliancy of principle and disposition capable of being moulded into any shape best suiting the views of the political mechanic . Ah ! Mr . Would-be-Lord of the Treasury , although in your "bear garden" you may cough Attwood down , when his mild sentiments of humanity do not square

      with your Malthusian creed , yet be assured that there is a freshness in public opinion which will take the St . Stephen ' s taint off the universal champion of freedom . The Birmingham meeting was " a dish fit for the Gods , "—one which shall serve for more than one week ' s repast for mortals . We will serve it up in courses , dressed in all its shapes and forms , even until we reduce it to Universal Suffrage " point . " We cannot afford so expensive a diwh for one week ' s fare . " We have not yet felt one-half the value of the

      meeting . The time , the objects , the manner of their accomplishment , —the peace , the means were all important . We before said that Birmingham was the fitting stage , and its inhabitants the proper actors in this national performance ; and again we ask , was not the time judicious ? The three estates , heretofore disjointed , now harmonized , and all , or nearly so arranged for a permanent Government . Even to the last , the people of Birmingham evinced a disposition to hear and forbear , till the season for judgment had arrived . Even in the last

      Sessionthe Session of 1837 , the Parliament was Peel's Parliament ; and how unfair would it have been to try the Whigs for measures forced upon them by the Tories , with the Court against them , and the Lords against them ! " The old cant . In such a position they could but remain quiescent ; but no they did not—they were active in evil j yet it might have been forced upon them . But , now how do they stand ? A Queen of their own—a

      House marshalled under the name of the " Queen and Reform . " The last nine ' months has been a purely Whig campaign , the only Whig campaign that has been fought . Once , because the Queenwas with them , and her virgin inno cence shed a lustre even over the wholesale delinquencies of her Ministers . Purely Whig , because the nation was aroused and surprised from a deep and heavy slumber , to the chivalric invitation of the Queen and Reform . The elections were rather a test of gallantry than of principle , and many were lured by the appeal in favour of blushing innocence and the

      maiden Monarch . Many had lived to see three old men upon the throne , and the chknge from age to yonth—from vice to virtue- ^ from King to Queen , all gave a zest to the struggle , and the women were enlisted as the most energetic combatants in ' the battle of their royal and maiden-mistress . Thus , in the virgin strength of the ¦ Whj gs , the meri of Birmingham gave them a nine months trial during which portentous time they have produced but abortions ; and , therefore as Attwood has said , " the tree must be cut down , and cast into the fire . "

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      in their every victory . The Union destroys base ambition , annihilates jealousy , defies malice , courts censorshi p , and removes suspicion : The Union is now the government of the country , dejure and de facto . " This is naying a great deal , Gentlemen , but it is well and nobly said . Yoar surrender , or rather , the surrender by the men of the North , of the direction of Radical Reform into the hands of the Birmingham Union speaks volumes for your and : _ _ . . .

      their disinterestedness , zeal , and purity-of purpose * Unless we can exclude jealousy , malice , and base ambition , from our proceedings , we shall , have no Reform—we shall only make things worse than they already are . Every man who joins in the Radical cause ought to throw away all envious and selfish considerations to the winds , and consider himself only as ah unit in the mi ghty mass , for whose regeneration he struggles . He ought to be actuated onl y by that spirit which made a Roman chief once

      exclaim , in a less holy cause than ours : Utimini me vel imperatore vel militi . "Command my services , either as a general or as a common soldier : in either capacity , my head and my hands shall never fail you . " This is the sentiment which ought to pervade the Radical body at the present moment . It is , therefore , 1 need not say , with inexpressible satisfaction I behold-you setting the example of it in the above spirit-stirring language . That the Radicals will feel as I do in the matter I both hopeand sincerely believe .

      Still , Gentlemen I am not quite sure that the Radicals will not expect some guarantee—some declaration from the Birmingham Council , before they place that implicit reliance , or rather , before they surrender that unqualified power into their hands , which you so zealously recommend , and-which it is of paramount importance to lodge and concentrate somewhere . I cannot speak for others , but I hesitate not to say for myself , that I have no fears or suspicions , whatever , of the Birmingham Council , except upon a single point , —that is the Currency

      question . Provided the Council , or Union , will engage not to renounce Universal Suffrage for any measure however extensive , affecting our monetary system ,, all will go right and smooth . That is all the security I should ever think of asking from them , and no other Radical , I think , will ask more . So far as personal character is concerned , I would choose Mr . Attwood for a leader before any public man in England . Not that I think him the wisest or the cleverest , but because I know him to have an excellent heart , and a genuine sympathy With the working classes . Mr . Salt , is another gentleman in whom I would place unbounded

      confidence . Of the other members of the Council I know little more than through what has appeared in the public papers ; but the confidence reposed in them by their fellow-townsmen ( who have the best means of judging , ) is security enough that our cause could not be lodged in better hands , provided they are determined to accept no currency or other measure in lieu of Universal Suffrage . A simple declaration or resolution of the Union to that effect would remove all suspicion ( if there be any ) upon that head . No man would say , without wilful malice , after seeing such declaration , that the Birmingham Unionists become Universal Suffrage men only because the Parliament had refused to

      sanction their views on the currency , or that in advocating Universal Suffrage now , they only use that question as a rod , to hold in terrorem over our rulers by way of frightening them into a concession of the measurje . If ever unions and concentration were necessary , they are necessary now . You , Gentlemen , have done an immensity to produce both . May your example take root and fructify all over the land , and may the Birmingham Union prove itself worth y of the exalted destiny of which you seek to make them the arbitrators . . ? Yours , &c . * BRONTERRE .

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      Our File is Ml of letters and communications on a great variety of subjects , for which , we can only render a general acknowledgment , not havifig room even to enumerate them separately in this place . We shall use our discretion ; and fake from them as we need . Editor of the Times . —Our Bamsley friends will perceive that their letter to this gentleman is rendered unnecessary by our own .

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      LEEDS . A Hopeful Youth . —OnTuesdayjast , a boy , apparently about twelve years of age , named Thos . Elliot , was brought before the magistrates , on the ground of having on the previous night been found sleeping in a soap box which was lying about some out-house at Hunslet . The little fellow , oh being questioned by the magistrates told nearly a score of falsehoods , which he afterwards admitted to be such . He was an orphan , and had made his escape from the Barnsley workhouse . He bad been committed five times to the House of Correction for various offences ; and he was again sentenced to an imprisonment of three months . He states to those who question hini j that he would rather be in jail than in the workhouse :

      Stealing Treacle . ——On Tuesday , James Murray and William Walsh , two boys of notorious habits , were brought up , at the Court House , charged with having , on the day previous , stolen about four pounds weight of treacle , of the value of 3 £ d . per lb ., the property of Mr . Rose , grocer , near the Leeds Infirmary . They were ordered by the magistrates to be privately whipped , by consent of their parents . Mercurialism . —TheMereury of Saturday last

      had the following paragraph : — " An Apostle of ' Socialism ' absconded . —We understand that an apostle and high-priest of Oweriism , and itinerant poor-law agitater who has lately domiciledin Huddersfield , but had previously migrated from the north , has taken flight with some plumage which he had very ' sociably' plucked from the backs of a community in which * all connection was to be the result of affection . "'—The whole of this is a pure unmitigated " lie ! " . ;

      Stealing Wearin g Apparel . —On Monday , Eliza Linch was brought upj at the Court House , charged with having , on Saturday , stolen a gown and a shirt , the property of . Mrs . Hinehliff , who resides in York-street ; It appeared that the prisoner had been employed as a charwoman , when she stole the property , and it was afterwards found in pledge for a small amount She being a bad character the magistrates committed her for trial to Wakefield House of Correction . :

      Stealing Lead . — . On Saturday , John Marshall shoemaker , who resided at the New Road End , was brought tip before the magistrates , at the Court House charged with having , on the night previous stolen four stone of lead , from St . George ' s church now in course of erection ^ in Park-lane , Leeds , the property of Mr . Holmes , plumber and glazier . The prisoner was observed to steal the article , and was apprehended with it in his possession . He was committed for trial to Wakefield House of Correction . Robberies . —On Friday" night , some villains effected an entrance into the cdunting-nbuse of Mr ; Davis , machine-maker , Sayile-street , ' New- Road End , Leedsy and stole six £ 5 and one £ 10 notes ,

      with which they absconded , unobserved ; but fortunatel y ^ by great ; exertions -the policemen have found a clue likely to lead to . their apprehension . On Saturday night , some villain ^ entered the woolwarehouse bf Mr . John Atkinson , of Wortley , and stole a quantity of wool , and absconded with the same . On Sunday night , the warehouse . of Mr . James Clegg , of Batley , near Dewsbury , was entered b y soine thieves , who stole two pieces of blue drugget cloth , with which they absconded , but the property has since been found in Leeds , by the policemen , where it has been disposed of hy the villains soon after the robbery .

      Church Missionary Society . —On Sunday last , a Sermon Was preached in the parish church of Skiptoh , by the Rev . C . Overton , after w hich , £ 11 14 s . 0 d . was collected in aid * of the funds of that society .

      Untitled Article

      TO THE EDITORS OF THB tiokTHERN STAR . Londony August 15 % 1838 . My dear Sirs , —I have read with much pleasure yoar account of the first Birmingham meeting ; as also your judicious article upon it , headed "Trial andGmwktionyfihe W / ugs . " Were t inclined to cavil , F might , perhaps , object to your heading , and object also to some of the terms in which you recommend implicit confidence in the Birmingham Union . I might observe that the countiy needed no seven years' trial of the Whigs to ensure their condemna-TA TPTt iSrVTTrVttQ fw ' t > us » XTAnitfinKki : - ^ mii . . _ .

      tion ; and I might , with still better reason , ask why the Birmingham Council should be selected as the depositary of the nation's power and confidence , after having so egregioualy misapplied its own power and confidence , by helping to and maintaining in , office , the worst enemies of the country . I might observe that , when the " Reform Bill" was under discussion , its author * , Lords Grey , Melbourne , Russell , AtTHpap , an ! Co ., repeatedl y declared that it was to be a "final measure ; " final , at least , so far as their opinions were concerned : that it wai

      a measure which would preMrre the Corn Laws for the landlord , guarantee ' public credit for the fundlord , and give increased security for the stability of alfrourthen institutions in Church andState . Now , after declarations of this kind , presented in every variety of view and form ( as the debates of that epoch will attest ) , it was scarcel y necessary to give the Whigs a trial . We had onl y to take them upon their own showing , to be convinced of their

      antinational purposes . They either believed what they professed , or they did not . If they did , they were our seji-declared enemies ; if they did not , they were hypocrites : in either case they were unworthy of the confidence of the country . And if , disregarding their professions , we take their acts instead , as the criterion whereby to judge , what further evidence was needed to convict them , than their very first act in their first " reformed" Parliament—the Coercion Bill ? And if that does not suffice , look to their £ 20 , , 000 grant to the slave-owners—their worse

      than Castlereagh law against the press— their hangings in Bristol , Nottingham , and elsewhere their ruthless special commissions in the Southern counties—their execution of poor Cook of Micheldover , for striking Bingham Baring a blow , from which the said Bingham received no hurt whatever—their transportion of the Dorchester victims —and worse than all , their horrible New Poor Law Act . Now , as all these , and many other enormities were perpretated in the first three or four years of their administration , the Birmingham Councillors did surely not need a seven years' trial of their protogees to establish their criminality . In every

      one of those enormities , the " Reformed" Parliament backed Ministers . Nay , the worse the measures submitted to it , the greater were the majorities . Even Mr . Attwood ' s Currency-scheme—that scheme which Mr . A . honestl y believes would be a panacea for all our ills—was contumaciousl y rejected by the " Reformed " Parliament . Had the Whi g Ministers sanctioned that scheme , Mr . A . might have had some hopes of them : like charity , it would have covered a multitude of sins . But , neither for that , nor for any other measure , likely to benefit even a portion of the distressed classes , have either the Whig Ministers or their " Reformed "

      Parliament ever showed the slightest regard or favor . Under all these circumstances , I might , as one of the oppressed classes , reasonably censure the Birmingham Council for having so misdirected its energies before the " Reform Act , " and for its dilatoriness since . I might , in justice , question the wisdom of making it the centre of eur operations—the wisdom of clothing it with a sort of plenipotentiary authority—the Wisdom of constituting it , as it were , the right arm of the nation . But far from me be

      such intention now . This is no time for cavilling - no time for opening up old sores—no time for making past error the seed of present or future disunion . The Birmingham Unionists have declared for Universal Suffrage , that is enough for me . Birmingham politics are now no longer party politics—no lopger the politics of a faction ; they are national politics—the politics of twenty millions of oppressed people . Lord Melbourne ' s taunt to the Birmingham deputation , on the Currency question , is now no longer applicable—Lord

      Melbourne cannot now say , Birnii 7 igham is not England . " B y the National Petition , and by the great Demonstration at Holloway-head , the individuality of Birmingham is merged in the universality of the nation . The men of Birmingham , in consenting to make common cause with the unrepresented millions , have not only expatiated their past errors but ampl y entitled themselves to our best and heartiest support . In declaring for Universal Suffrage , they declare for the just rights of all classes—for the rights even of those who would allow no ri ghts to

      others . This is Christian , as well as magnanimous , and national . Again , the men of Birmingham have not coupled their demand of Universal Suffrage with any party question—with any sectarian projects which would benefit one class of people at the expense of another . They do not say , " Give us Universal Suffrage and a cheap Currency , " or u Give us Universal Suffrage , that we may repeal the Corn Laws , &c . " No , they simply demand Universal Suffrage , leaving all other questions to be dealt with by the aggregate wisdom of the country ,

      legislating for the just interests of all . This gives them an additional claim to our confidence . Nor have they , like certain Reform Associations , attempted to impose conditions on us , as the price of their support : they have not said , "Help us to the Ballot and Triennial Parliaments , and we shall help you afterwards to Universal Suffrage . " No , the national petition steers clear of all such dishonest compromises , whilst the Union itself disavows and repudiates them . The Birmingham Unionists demand Universal Suffrage , that all may have an

      equal voice in making the laws by which all are equally bound to obey : they demand annual Parliaments , in order that if one set of Representatives should disappoint the country ' s hopes , they may be speedily and peaceably removed to give place to a better set : they demand the Ballot , in order to protect the conscientious voter from bribery , intimidation , and violence : they demand the abolition of all Property Qualifications for Members , as well as for electors , in order that the people may be free and untrammelled in their choice of virtue and talents

      they demand Hhe payment of Members , inborder that poor as well as rich may be able to serve their country in Parliament , without detriment to their private affairs , and without temptation to abuse their power over the public revenue . In short , they demand nothing that is not just in itself , as well as vitally essential to the best interests of the conntry . So far , Gentlemen , the Birmingham Unionists are entitled to our confidence and co-operation ,. as Radical Reformers—as feUow 4 abourers in the same vineyard with ourselveB . We owe to them , as such

      every support and assistance in our power . But when you speak of conferring executive power on them , is there to be no limit to our confidence ? Are we to impose no conditions as a guarantee against the possible abuse of such a power ? You . say " What are the terms of thai Union f That we hate conferred executive power upon the Birmingham Union . That we of the North shall support them with all bur heart , with all our mind , and with all our strength . Pardoning every indiscrer tion , giving them the honour and the glory of every triumph , while we are sure of being participators

      To Readers & Correspondents.

      TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS .

      Leeds And West-Riding News.

      LEEDS AND WEST-RIDING NEWS .

      Untitled Article

      Leeds Independent Oitpkft of the Arv -O ^ Mondajrlast , upward « of ninety members of the Ham Lodge , connected with this flourishin . order , dined at the house of : brother S ellers , ft ! Brown Cow lnn y Meadow-lane ^ in this town . ; o R 0 BBERY .--0 n Tuesday , Amos Kershaw anJ Robert Jennings , were brought up at the Cotm House , charged with having , on Sunday nW picked the pocket of Robert Winterhnrn , of li t copper , and also with having stolen his hat fh former prisoner was observed to remove , his hat froa the prosecutor's head , who was drunk and asleep Z the time upon a doorrstep in Top-close . Leedi Kershaw afterwards gave the hat to Jennings ^ w £ took it to his lodgings , where it was found ' } £ watchman . Jennings was admitted evidence fa th » crown , and corroborated the'testimony of thi other witnesses , thus establishing the guilt of to accomplice . The magistrates committed Kerah a * for trial to Wakefield House of Correction .

      Cricket MATck . —Boston and Tadcasxh Against High and Lbw Harrogati Knarbsbbo ' , and Pannall . —The return maw between these clubs came off on Monday last * Harrogate , which terminated agaiii in favour of thi Boston party , by six wickets to fall . ' Tfie ^ aperkr b owling and battin g of the Boston party was noU be trifled with ; it called repeatedly load shouts rf applause . At the termination of the game , tj , players and friends retired home , where they arrivd about ten o ' clock , and were warmly received by & 6 friends , at the Admiral Hawke Inn . Mr ; W . Scot of Harewood , and Mr . William Chowler , bf LW bpnngs , were the principal umpires , the former fo Harrogate , and the latter for Boston ^ who « m great satisfaction to the Boston party . The foUo * ing is a statement of the game : — ¦ ¦ •" ¦¦' HARKOGATK . First Innings .... ; .... , 66 Second Ditto ........... ; .... 56 Total ...... 122 BOSTON . : . *¦; First Innings 100 Second Ditto ...,. ¦ .... 23 Total ...... 123 W ith six wickets to fall . Paying the Piper . —On Wednesday last & landlord of the ; Punch Bowl , at Hunslet , charged t man with having assaulted him on Monday as ! committed sundry damages to a table in his tai room . It appeared that the defendant , being " ha | seas over " had been at the above house , when , piper made his entrance , and commenced giving tls company a specimen of his charming music . Tfe effect upon the defendant was such that he toolj " clean" leap upon the table amid pots and glass * ¦

      where he figured away in a . " hornpipe . " Jn a short time , however , one of the leaves of the table gsie way , und themerry daHcer came to the floor . Tlj landlord finding fault witfrhis guest , and demanfc so jnuch for damages , a' slight scuffle ensueT ^ which it was difficult to determine who committed the first assault . This part of the charge , howers the complainant was willing to forego , on the 4 fen ^ ant ' s paying the damages and costs . The prj . posal was agreed to .

      AsSATjt . TS . —On Monday , Michael Cawley , a Irish haymaker , was brought up at the Court Hoiise charged with having , on the previous Thursdw nignt , in the Wellington yard , KiTkgate , n « t grossly aggaul ^ ed a niahtly watchman , while acto in tbe execution of his duty , b y striking him over fa head with a large stone , with such force asto frac . ture his skull ; and in consequence of the seriou injuries received ^ he was removed to the Infirmm , The prisoner was fmlly identified , and he wasiied 20 s . and expenses ; in ' default of payment , he iris committed for one month to Wakefield House of Correction . —Michael Lee , a carpet weaver , to brought up , charged with havina , in Lee's ' mi

      York-street , on Saturday night , assaulted a watch , man , by striking him four times . It appeared that ihe defendant was drunk and asleep , and ; beat tie officer for disturbing nis peaceful slumbers . Heira fined 20 s . and expenses .

      Untitled Article

      ——— ^ — — - QUARTERLY MEETING OF THE LEEDS TOWN COUNCIL . On Monday last the Quarterly Meeting of the Town Council was convened at the Court House , the Mayor in the chair . After the usual preliminaries had been gone through , . The Mator called attention to the first noticem the paper , viz : — " The state of the arrears unpaid of the ^ eral ratps which have been ordered by the Town Conncil , will be submitted to their , consideration , and rach order proposed for levying the same as shall appear to be expedient and heedful . " "T . W . TOTTIL "

      He adverted to the order which was : made on 4 ii 22 d of , March last , for the issuing of distress wrants against the overseers of the d&erent towiuM who were in arrears of rates . The whole of W rate » due from the several townships amojinted to £ 2390 14 s . The Mayor said that being anxiputo avoid entering into any hostile" proceediiigs he W iniited Mr . Bond to a conversation on the subject , ii f order , if posable , to effect an amicable . adjastment of those amounts which were disputed . Mr , Bond , however , still adhered to his fornjer opiiia of the non-liability of the hamlets of Osmandttoi ^ Skelton , Coldcoatea , and Thornes to pay the n » at all which were levied previously to the

      ameaJment of the Municipal Act ; and also of ' Farulejto the payment of crtain rates due m November , lw . Itwouldbe for the Council to determine whether it would be more expedient for the Council to hxp those claims . With respect to Farnley , in a » iversation with Mr . Bondj that gentleman had & he would first ascertain whether any agreenai ' in the wayof compromise could be made ornot . SibsecLuently at ; a . meeiingof the ratepayersof Famlej ^ ( Mr . Bond ) was authorised to adjust the questioni * dispute in the following Way , viz . . —That the m fe of May , 1837 , should be paid if the Conncil ¦ * forego its claim to the rate of November . 1836 . It l . t *»¦ -j « .. » - j - ^^ ¦ >• ' . ¦ _ ¦ ¦ f . - ¦ - . i -

      was , therefore , for the Council to determin e ; v \ m they would accept Mr . Bond ' s offer , or enforce the payment of these rates . It was stated by the Mayor that the opinion d Mr . Archibald was favourable to the claim of tb Council ; but that Mr . Bondhad stated thathelui had the opinion of Sir William EoUitt , whidiw * unfavourable . ' ¦ ¦'¦ ., Mr . Bond was therefore sent for , to be i ^ again oh the question , w ^ Mr . Bond shprtiyT ' appeared , but , on W requested to suhinit the opinion of Sir W . FoOT objected to do so , on account of its refernif ^ other matters connected with the case in dup ^ i but he had no objection to read them such partJ " ? T \ pi Vk-niiTli-iTi' cia rai of a J -fr * tTta vaanlf r \ f . iVia tirTlolfiCSsB * -

      This the Council thonght unnecessary , as it * ° »* not afford them any further informatiohj andttff could rel y upon the veracity of Mr . - Bond-, w * . " ? deciciveness of Sir Ww Follitt ' s opinion . ^ j Mr . SfAN 8 FiELD then moved that the P ^ Pfr compromise oia the -part of Farnley be agiew ^ wherenpon Mr . Alaermap ; Weight movro « ^ amendment , " That in consequence of jthe it ! f men-ts made by Mr * Bond , the Committee on . t Borough Rates be requested to re-conader v& report with respect to the liability of F ^ and to communicate the result to the next ¦ m ^ of the Council , the Committee having P ° ** L . take the opinion of Counsel if they think ltnf ^ sary . "—Carried . ' ' - " ±

      Mr . Wright then moved and Mr . Ho **** ' J conded a motion to the effect , —that vnt ^ - ¦ _ distress be forthwith , issued against all overseen other persons actiag as such , from whom ^^ . ^ be due , except as to a certain rate with resp « » a Farnley which is disputed by that townsMP T without prejudice to the collection of these i » p-Carried . . ' : - ¦ : . ' : '¦¦¦ - ' - . ' ' : ¦¦ . . '* . "¦ . :- " */ & » The report of the Finance Comn-utt 66 - ^* ^ read , the several sums due amounting to ^ £ 18 As . ' , : ; ¦ ,. ' ? « f £ 18 * Mr . Hayward objected to the payment 01 * . 178 . 4 d . to Mr . Shaw as payment for the F ^ ings he had taken in . " The ChancerySw , ^ ¦ moved that ^ iatsum be withdra wn **? && ^ borough expenses . The motion was secon ^ , Dr . Hunter , but was lost , the origin ? " ^

      earned . : n t 0 l Mr . BARTON then moved "That the ^ Lie be grjmted for the purchase of a Car or Van » E ^ . purpose of conveying prisoners to and ft 0 BJ . i fol « i at the Leeds Borough Sessions . " -Ca " ^ $ A report -from : the Committee appointed ° ^ 4 th of Julyj for employing proper persons f ^ a map , survey , ana valuation of the horon ^ r ^ then read in Which the Committee recoi ^^ Mesars . Richard and Samuel Sharpe and W % Copper , land-surveyors , of Yprk ^ as the n ^ ble persons for nialdng the valuation . , fz . it for the valuation , : « fec , was then submittea ^ j ^ Council for its approbation . After some ° ^ J amendments it was Dassed and the borong ^ .,

      ordered to be attached to it . The contract pr ° ^ that valuation ^ &c , shall be completed br . m . November , 1840 . Mr . Gaunt then moved "That the if ^ S mitteehave placed at their disposal unWtnej ^ November next , out of the Reward Fund , U >* ^ of £ 20 , to be applied in rewards to police ^ ijy watchmen . " Some dispute arose as to . wh o fl ^ contrpul of the Reward Fund j the motion , w ^ remained undecided , as a number or M ""* p left the room , and there not being a qnorDu »' ^ Council broke up after a sitting of three nooi » a half .

      Untitled Article

      ^^^^*^^ _ ^^^^ ^^^^^ _ ¦ - ^^^^^^ mmm~—S ^~ m * m ~ mma ^^ m—mmmm ^ mMm ~~~ ii ^^ : '¦ ¦ • " ¦ ' ¦''¦ ¦ : . ¦ ' ¦ ¦ .- ¦ .. : \ ; - ¦ «¦ . . i : ' ::. ' . n : . > :: '; - --- ' :-v : ; -AygUST - .: 18 ^ - l 838 . / W-~ 1 - ' ¦¦ " ¦'* ' •• * " * . " -- ¦¦ ¦¦ •¦? . ¦¦¦ - •¦ ' ¦ - ¦¦¦— v ¦ - ' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^¦¦¦¦¦^^ ^^^ m * ..

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 18, 1838, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1019/page/4/