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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th January 1839, Edition 1 of 1, Page 4, TO THE PUBLIC.

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    • THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1839.
    • TO THE PUBLIC.
    • WHIG LOYALTY AND MORAL FORCE.
    • THE NEW YEAR.
    • TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS.
    • LEEDS AND W EST-RIDING NEWS. LEEDS.
  • Text (15)
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      Every BIRMINGHAM , B ^ fH , BRISTOL , NOTTINGHAM , aid LONDON Purchaser of the Northern && ** this day will receive-a - Portrait of J . BRONTEHKE O'BKIEN . ESQ .

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      Every YOBKSHXBE Purchaser of the JTORTHEBK STAB of THIS DAT Will be presented xrith a finely executed ENGEAYI . NG ILLUSTRATIVE OF " WHIG LOYALTY " AKP " MORAL FORCE . " f The Engraving it separate , and dittinet from the Paper . )

      Brcry XiAlTCASHlBE Purchaser will receive & like Present on SATURDAY , January 12 th , 1839 , And our SCOTCH , 1 TEWCAST I B , BIBWINGHAttl & X * ON » OH Friends on SATT 7 BDAT , January 19 th , X 839 .

      AD "the Engravings for LANCASHIRE will be forwarded to Mr . Heywood , Manchester—to whom all orders for next week must be addressed . The Agents in Lancashire will see the necessity i > f ordering karli , to present disappointment .

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      "VTb feel , even whilst we write the word * which form the title to this our present inditing , that o \ : r readers may well respect we are about to treat ' them -with some mo-t excellent Christmas Mnmmenr , and that we have selected the name of gome delectable fare * for the purpose of exhibiting & touch of our ^ ualitv in the way of dramatic criticism . Well ; tvea . wurse guessei than this might be made : we

      might not , peradventure , be able to saj anything ¦ fery o ieinal trpon a theme so hacrnied ; but oar predecessors in the histrionic line have left MS so many examples of conceit , ambition , deception , hypocrisy , and lying , in their MalTolios , their Justice Greedys , their Tartuffes , their Mawwonns , their Joseph Surfaces , and other charaeb-r * of kindred class , that , so long aj these exist , materials will never be wanting for the illustration ot

      > Vhiggery ender any of its Protean « hap ** , whether of " Lova ' ty" or of " Moral Force . " And then , an to performer * , we have a goodly company before" u ? , ill well trained and studied in their parts , ami ¦ froublt-d with just about as many -qualms and loruples of conscience as Mbire < s Ove-done exhibit * in the Comedy of " Measure for Measure . " Our principal perforrTier , how # ver , in the entertainment -we have to present to oar patron * this day stand * " alone iu his glory "—a Stab of peculiar mapnirade ^ ihough cot quite Nob . th £ KN * nough for our

      political latitude—as admirable specimen of pure "Whi g virrne , not protected from aoaly « i < in the ¦ Busearthable recesses of the closely shrouded bosom , tut W out openly , like rteam through the safetyralre , a ? often a » his peculiar temper aud discretion mount tn the point of ebullition . Indeed , in the « two Inter qualifications , we ha ^ e heard of bat one other performer in this part of the country a : all liiely to « u * ta 5 n competition with him , ani that is the grinning hyana , which , in a fit of savage spleen , "bit ia own leg off the other day in VTombweH ' * menagerie , at ILnarcsborQUch .

      That chief performer we have now the honor to present before the curtain in the per . * on of Mr . Edtabb Bajnes , who authorises u * u say—and "we may publish the announcement in our bills of the day , if we like—that , on the 27 th of May , 183 " , ie had " been a principal F-ditor of the Leeds Merfury for . « evente « n year * . "' It would be quite impoMible for us to nndertaie a detailed review of all ihe various characters sustained br this " lice

      ytnmg gentleman" during all this period : any leader , * o far critically disposed , we most refer to arsenal -swroeatif information , "Would men reader Jearti $ o # : tbVT « rM . tne youth made ' the Grand Tow *; iow "he "jabbered * French , —Buch French , and in tuili . a . gtj ' ^ . too , —at the table < Thote at Napl ?« , that die-lively Neapolitan . * were ready to hail their cmvivial ^ rarst as some strange juggler , or as the crjroSreTc > « CHiX £ LLo in person ; how he presented ihaeetf in tie character of Adoitis at the frontier « nrtonjiitfo # e of the Anstro-Italian State * , and

      charmed awsy tie cnslomary vigilance of the swarthy detector at contraband ware by the magic influence of bi « " Saxon lock /'; how he gazed at pictures xnrtil his very ' sens / ached , then fell into a state- of *' picture phobia , " and has never been able to l » oi Bpon a 'ipieture" since , without some such feeling u we may suppose -would have possessed the aforesaid hvsna , if the delicate monster had happened to lee his own sweet liieness in a looking-glass ; lw > w he a . te a portien of Sauer-Krant at Strasbourg , or somewhere else , which imparted that

      agreeable acidity of expression to his countenaace which it has worn i ? ver sine * ¦ , how then be journeved through Paris homeward , and , whilst jolting a distance of twelve mile * in a French diligence , ovt French roads or riding on a broomstick throjgh the lir—it matters not which , for the fact is equally credible either way —he wrote a letter , aye , "literally " ""rote a letter t » the woriisg classes of Leedi , which filled two or three columns of the Leeds Mercury and prepared the way for his return in all the glory

      of travedea importance;—are not his " Letters / run ike Continent' at band to refer to ? Yes , nurry art they ; and they are all collected into a book for the beittr convenience of the carious and the cheesemonger * . Or would such reader learn how the gentle youth , wbose authority of the .= ame 27 th of May , 1 S 37 , we have for saving , that " there is not in the kingdom a man who more habitually and uniformly renders ' the subordination of the heart ' to rank and sex than himself ; " bow he botanijed , and eupheuised , geologised , and

      magniloquised" Sul margine d '» n no ;" Or on the sweet borders of Windermere , now " sighing like furnace , " now playful suhippopotamui , all to court the gracious smile * of the adorable Matilda ; -his "Tour to the Lakes ' supplies detail in abundance . Or , again , would some' hardbeaded Economist male himself acquainted with the

      literary staple commodity b * s : a-iapred to the cheap German Translation-marker , for the amusement and instruction of the Polish Jews who frequent Leipzig ? air , tne « History of the Cotton Trade" ig the took to enlighten him ;—and these all be the works of Mr . Edwakd Baink-, not the M . P ., but the on ; who , for almost , or all-ent twen ty years "ha » keen a principal Editor of the Leeds Mercury :

      ^ But we must confine omvehes within narrower limits of observation , both a . « to time and to" fact . Mr . Edward Baises , we know , taj a great lorrcr of " Pic-tumj" in the exercise of his temper and discretion he totf us we lied fast year , when we annoinc-ed the early progress of the Northern Star in the matter of circulation , and when the tamp return afterwards confirmed « ur 8 > aten > eot , he then revised his old Italian phobia f , or our special ease , and fell foul of our " Picrares . " Our xrnit »

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      gTatefulfor the distinction , and has exceised tiissiiil to « 3 mbine the repTesentation of V ^ hig Loiaxtt and MoBAiF « RCH with the encouragt-meut ofttwfine arts ^ so that we have the sati > faction to prese t Mr . Edward Baizes and every o-her Yoittibire purchaser of tbix day ' s Star with a bran-new Picture , by way of a new year ' * gin , exhibiting the celebrated scene which wa » enacted in the Cloth Hall Yard at Leed . « , no loiter ago thiin the 14 th of May , 1832 . Mr . Edward Baines himself occupies the front place of the stage , and the point of time selected is the moment when Mr . Edward B a IN BS proposed to the assembled audience his

      . " THREE GROANS FOR THE QUEEN !" Such was YThig Lotaltt in 1832 . The "Whi g object at that time was the furtherance of mtrely Whig interests , under the guise of popular adiantage . By the aid of popular " Demonstration * , " the "Whigs contrived to raise a clamour for th * passing of that " Bill , the whole Bill , and nothing but the Bill , " which they vainly imagined wa » to elevate them to power and patronage at once and for ever ; the particular temper and tone of these "Demonstrations" were not then to be nieely scrutinised , but rather' to be screwed up to the

      sliding place by the application of a little " Moral Force : " for " the end doth sanctify the mean * , " preaches the Jesuit ; and the "Whigs laid t » e flattering unction to their souls . True it is that the gboakikc portion of the day ' s proceeding seems to have been considered evao then as a somewhaequivocal "Demonstration , " and by the Chief-Groakbr himself ; for on the ensuing Saturday , the Leeds Mercury contained not a word about " Groan * for tie Quebn : " the " groans" were served out to " Petticoat Government " instead .

      True , however , it also is , that thi » report of the Mercury was a lying report , fabricated to scrten » he unmanly coxcomb Queen-Groaner from public execration ; and that it was no we cball prove by calling forth the evidence of Mr . Edward Bainbs in perion . Five years after the tvent , the present Queen , then heiress presumptive , attained her majority , with ev « ry prospect of speedy accession fco ths British Throne : the Whigs hailed the prorpect as auspicious , and their alreadj drooping energies were again called forth in the way of " Demonstration : " but the Tnrit « could not be

      persuaded tq join xbn men who bad gruaced at one Qnetn , in their outward ihew of )» yakj toward * * uother Queen ; . and so the V * "higs hari all < he forte to themselraa . Thu galled Mr . Edward Baixes sorely , and on the 27 th of May , 1337 , hr iasmed an article in the Mercury , whereunto be serins to have been prompted , not *> o u ^ uch by a desire to abuse the Tories , a * by a tardy perception of the awkwardness of his position nnd < rr the new rtate of tairrgs , and the hope of purrh «» : Dg absolution foT hi * old disloyal hereny by rtu- plenary confwrion' thereof . In that article M ' . Edvtard BAJKES H 8

      TI"It isrrte , then , that in tbt year 1832 , Mr . Ed-¦ w aud- ' Baikes wan foolish . euouirlt to groin pubKcl y at the name of the Qn . en . \ Vben thn crowd was in xhe act 67 d ¦« {*•»*" iv , it r > & * prupr >» ed" tn give thire groanti for the 'D ^ i Ve of Wfi . lisqtqk / three for the * Qcev . f , ' a » d ihrf-e tnr the Bishops . ' Some of ib <* e h ere PB _ OP < . « Stx > by Mr . Edward Baines . Hud , among the rtst , the GROANS TOft THS QCBBN . "

      Thus does Mr . , Edward Bain eb * et hi . * loyal eanva * to th * adrerte or the faroBriDg g » le : in the original report tie gtioass wm for the " petticoat , '' » nd not for ths Queen ; for the Q ! 'e * -n wao likely to remain Qneen , and the unite ot Mr . Edward Baines nowlk-re apye « r * in connexion therewith ; in the tardy eotifes-ion , when rhe Queen warned on the ere of yeilaing ov ttirune and influence to the rising " ^ Ur of Brunswn-k , " urid- r "Whijj tutelage , then were the groans nr " the Queen , ' " and not for the " petticoat , " and the nu . e of Mr .

      Edward Baines appear * as the pmpo-er of them . This is all very ingenious ; and we are not at all astonished at the disappearance of the " Petticoat , " at all events ; for if " Petticoat GorerDment" in the abstract were admitted to be a legitimate object to " oroas" at , it would almost !* eera to b « a matter of indifference whether the " Petticoat" were worn by the Queer-Consort of a King und « r Tory influence , or bj the Que « nrejjnante under tie inflo « nce « f- « debauched Whig

      Premier ; that is to say , in neither case must * he be permitted to pxercise a will of her owe , unle .- « it happen to be in the direction impoeediipoDber ; and in either ca . « e , contumacy mast be met by " three groans for Petticoat Government ; " but Mr . £ dw * rd Baises haa bo objection to '' Petticoat GorernmeDt , " * o long as the " Petticoat'' is under tbe "Government" of a "Whig-Patronage dispelling Premier ; and hence may we account for the return from the * Petticoat" in general U the QutE . V in particuiar , as the obj * ct of insult .

      So much for the " Thr » e groans for the Qu ^ en ;" but tbe memorable metting at which tbej vtere propewed by Mr . Edward Bainbs , was iruitful in other matter * of comparison , and in i-ther rtr ^ nge coincidences , between the circumstance * of that time and th » present . We hay * beard much of late in deprecation of violent appeals to the public mind , and in denouncement of appearance * ut recent public meeting ? , supposed to indicate an appeal to Pnyrical Force . " Moral Force , " we are told , is thw only

      proper argument to employ : let us then * ee wbat deicriptioB of "Moral Force" tbena same "Whi gs mploved at thii ^ ame meeting , when they had au object of their own to attain . The meeting in question , we are informeJ , was attended by a vaHt concourse of people , with flagu and banners , exhibiting various inscriptions and device * ; thtse of the Leeds Politictl Vnitn were conspicuou ? , aiid the whole assemblage was marshalled in procession

      through the streets of the town to the soene of action . One "Crimson" flag bore the "Crown revered . " Why " CaiiiSOK ? " we wonder : it strikes us to be very like the col mr of Blood . Another bat ihe words , " " Wb "WILL have Reform , " and " an Irun-Pixb was innensd in tho end of th « pole . " Much "Moral Force , " no doubt , most loyal Wkigsof 1832 , resided in that Iron-Pike . Again— "Next was a long Tricolor Flag , with an Iron-Pike in x&e end . " and another bore the words

      « ' 2 nna 0 iLL ,, just as we have printed them . The contemporaneous report of the day ' s proceeding * further informs us , that " one of the most conspicuous figures in the crowd was a naa with a piece of Crape over his face , and a large Axb in hi » hand , intended to represent an executioner . " "Whom this crape-faced functionary waa intended to execute the very significant "Moral Force" of h ' ujLxB npon , perhaps the Loyal Whigs of 1832 nrigbt , at that time , have indicated by reference to another imposing scene , which was exhibited in front of "Wh . tehall , just at the close of Charles the First ' i reign . What they might lay now , is neithw hen * nor

      toei * . We might , if our space permitted , multiply examples of this character in further " demonstration " of "Whig Lotaltt and Moral Fobcb , hut we will at present content ourselves with an instance of Whig delicacy . Mr . Edward Baines will , no doubt , recognise the two small doll-figures in our " Picture" just unaer his owa u * e : these ax » the figures of the Ktno ih Petticoats and tbe Qukbn in—unmentionab ' e * . For anything we know or care to the contrary , these figures might

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      frad favour even yet m high places , where some great , Jazy , coarse German Baroness may happen to rule tbe asrendaBt ; but we recommend our readers not to point them out to the particular attention of their children , although a regard for strict fidelity has compelled our Artist to introduce them , in the ' Picture . " ! "We have much more to say about the other characters represented in the grand scene , but we must re « erve our further remarks for thi * day week , when the " Picture" will be presented to each Durcbascr of the Northern Star in Lancashire .

      The Northern Star Saturday, January 5, 1839.

      THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JANUARY 5 , 1839 .

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      TO OUR READERS . At the commencement of another year , we have great pleasure in complying with the usual custom of offering the congratulation * of the » ea « on to our numerous friends . Twelvemonths ago , we considered ourselves as standing in a proud position when , at les * than three months old , we had climbed to the top step bat one of the ladder of provincial politics ; what then muat be our sensation * now , when we have not only reached the fop , but have left every

      other provincial journal more than three times as far behind us , as w * were then behind the first ? Since tbe beginning oi the last year , our straightforward adherence to democratic principle has received tho broad seal of public approbation , in the form of a large circulation , comidwrably nore than doubled . This we regard as matter of gratification ; simply , and merely , because it affords proof that our honest efforts to do service to the people have been appreciated . It afford * proef that the

      Northern Star is , wbatj from the beginning , we hoped , protuiced , and intended it should be—a mirror of public sentiment , gathering into one fot-u . s the rays of popular intelligence from ( he whole surface of tbe land ; and thu » becoming , therefore , a political Pole-Star . guiding the vessel of Democracy over the tr ' uhted water * of agitation , storm , and persecution . Thi « i » a proud position : ' tis one in which the people "have thought fit to place us ; and we shall not shrink from tbe responsibility attendant on it . "We shall continue to offer to the masses such

      advice and counsel , as , if duly followed , will , we have no doubt , conduct them safely through the stormy eonteut upon which we are now entering , and ultimately land them , on tbe firm ground of political contentment , in the peaceful aud undisturbed enjoyment of their rights . , The political horizon at present present'' a troubled a » pect . Tbe lovers , of in ^ ruW , and feeden on corruption , teeing taat Uie " end dmweth nigfe , " are growing frantic j yet are they wily

      even in their witdnrsii , atid able , ax they ga « p fur yrolougfd cxiateuce , to hit upon the inoet likely method of obtaining it ., Tbeir prrseut bope is in the iroya ' tie ' uee wkb which the people are likely ta b « ar further insult . Lei but this hope-be disappointed by the good seo « v and temper of tbe people , and we have no fear for tbe result ; the decperate game now playing by tbe factions will end in their ultimate and eternal downfall , by the establishment of the principles of universal justice . Relying on the good sense aud prudence of the people , we see in the present struggle mui-h room for serious congrarulation ; and can f * el no sort of doubt that though the year has begun roughly , it will proceed improviDgly , aud end aunpictoudy . - ^ to-

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      THE CANADIAN PRISONERS . "Wb learn from tlie Liverpool Papers that writs of Hubeus Cur / jus have been obtained od the application of M . r . Roebuck and Mr . Theobald to to bring up tbe Canadian Prisoners before Mr . Justice Littledale . Njne or tea of them have had px > trial at ail , and tbe greater part of tbe others

      bare been trmd before incompetent authorities . They have been teptduring their continuance herein the mogt rigid durance . No per-ou » have bt-en permitted to see them but the officer * of tbe Borough Gaol . It was § aid that a « soon as the proceedings forobtaining writs were heard of , a plan wan laid for getting them directly on board a Queen ' s "hip , and so off for Portsmouth and thence to Au « tralia but formal

      uoucea have been served on the gaoler aud other authorities to give up their bodies to no one till the writs of Maicun Ci-rpu * come . The hearing of these eases will involve tbe important question whether a person can be transported as a felon from this country , aud by the British Government , without having ever bad a trial .

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      ———^^ &EV . # . R . STEPHENS . FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF WHIG V 1 LLANY . The hundred tricks are fast running out , and the Whig Fox will yet find them unable much longer to lengthen out his infamous carter . No matter , since the famous Peterloo Majwacre , ban had so much interest for the publio miud as tbe arrest of the eloquent and indefatigable ebaropien of the poor and the oppressed whose name stands at the head of this article . From tbe moment of his being taken into custody to that of

      hia infamous commit al , and thence to tbe present moment , an anxiety indescribably intense has agitated the whole . couniry from one end to the other . Stephens , and his > probable impending fate , and its bearing , on tbe prospects of society and the progress of liberty , have been the theme on wbioh alone every tongue seemed capable of enlarging in conversation . The papers , London and provincial , have teemed with the same theme , as may be seen from a selection , which under the head " Spirit of the Press" we

      have given elsewhere , and draw attention to . Some idea , though but a faint one , of the importance attached to this case by the people , may be gathered from the information we communicate under tbe head "State of the Country . " That , however , is but a slight pourtrajal of tbe real state of feeling ; but it suffices tc show that our calls upon the people to exercise prudence and discretion in the manifestation of their zeal have been wisely considered and responded to . ,

      Hitherto the hopes of the mincreanta have been blasted—the people have seen through the flimsy trick , and have refused to gratify their hellish appetite by ill-timed v i olence . We ; do hope that this wise resolve will be persisted in , and that they will still laugh the wretches peacefully to scorn . Of all the bungling , blundering specimens of utter impotence , even for evil—of all the barefaced open violations and contempt of every semblance of common decency or respect—not for justice , but for law—which we have yet seen , recorded in the annals of factious weakness and rascality , thistramperyprosecutioB i « the most amusing instance . Deeply as , for the credit of human nature , one must

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      deplore the fact , that beings so completely lost to every quality which distinguishes between men and devils , should not only exist but sit in the seats of the scornful , to pervert judgment and turn aside the course of justice , one can scarcely repress a smile at the excessive awkwardness with which their cbaraeter is ostentatiously displayed . We have neither room nor time bere to recapitulate all the items which make up tho sum of their folly and their wickedness : we must refer our readers to the reports—particularly thoge on the eighth page , which will furnish them with ample matter for reflection .

      Two things at least will be established by this prosecution beyond the possibility of further cavil . It will be proved that the ? illanoua aspersion of the people by the factions—that they are too ignorant or too violent to be entrusted with the franchise—is utttrl y unfounded . The people who are wise enough to see the necessity of defeating the vile cunning ot their enemies , by coolness and good temper , and who are sufficiently master of tbe strong passions which would prompt to vengeance to bear peaceably the insult heaped 6 a them iu the wrongs done

      to the most eloquent and best beloved of their advocates , have amply proved their title to the exercise of the rights and privileges of freemen . Let not the paltering cowards , catching at straw * like drowning men , suppose , with the Fool-Lord who would not believe the New Poor Law wag unpopular because tbe people did not kill and burn , that Stephens has not the affection of the people , because they do not destroy the lives and property of his persecutors . In glancing very curserily over the several c < mmunicatious that hare reached us

      within this and the two preceding weeks we have observed that not fewer than about forty lar ^ e assemblages of people , including the people of London , of Leeds , of Newcastle , of Manchester , of the whole West Riding , bj their delegates assembled at Liversed ge—of all Lancashire — of Northampton , of NottiHghamshire , and indeed alraopt all England , besides a large portion of Scotland , have registered their implicit confidence in , and unswerving attachment to him by formal re «« lurion !< and addresses . We repeat , then , the i > e <> ple who

      can see the man whom they mont ardemly love loaded with invult and treated with inju ttce , anu yet refrain from acts of violence , are not the people to be robbed of their rights * bicauat ) ol their turbulence of character ; nor are they whose wisdom dictates so prudential a procftding under such circumstance * , to b * any longer tau . ited with their ignorauce . At the same time , toi »

      proceeding gives , if possible , still greater strength to the conviction on all honest rniud * , that until the prostration of faction he utterly accomuli * hed by the attainment of Universal Suffrage , la * will continue to be a fiction , and justice an ideal mocker \ -mongst us : there is and will be no safety fir the life , liberty , or property , of the poor niau or hi * fiieuoV Let us then emphatically call upon the uias .-tot tht ) whf ) lp Iciniriinm tn r » -rliuthlt 4 rhuir . _ vn . ot the whole kingdom to redouble their exei

      - tioutt for the attainment ot UniTer .-al Suffrage , as t a only means by which they can be politically oavtd . Let them go on to astouisa the bast minions of wealth and power , uk they ban hitherto done , by the coolness , the ti = uiness , imd the peacelulneas of thteir agitation , ana th « -y shall surely be irresistible but above all things , let there be no outbreaks : nmie of the dLsgr ^ cefui exhibitions by which the Whig agitatum * for th « Retorm Bill , and for Whig Reforms at previous periods were characterized . Let there be ni ,

      pratence afforded on which the villains can come down to a corrupt House of Commons and ask for an extension of their powers of domination . Let " Peace , Law , aud Order " be their motto under all existing circumstances let them take care that the Nauonal Rent be well collected—that their DeWjja ' es to the National Convention be strictly ceurided in—and they may re ;« t assured , that all will yet be well .

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      THE MERCURY IN A MESS . HOW TO FACE IT OUT . In our paper of the 15 th ult ., we exposed a most villanous attempt of the Leeds Mercury fc > identify Mr . O'Connor with the burning of Mr . JowkTT ' s mill , by actually putting imo hi » . mouth a speech at the Buiy meeting , uot oue word of which hp » poke . We denounced tins proceeding of the Mercury ' s then , and we denounce it now , aa . a villanou * , malicious , lie—coolly aud deliberately " invented" for the purpose of pointing out Mr . O'Connor as a proper victim to be sacrificed to the departing ghost of Whig tyrauny and minrele . The Mercury seems angry that the possibility should exis-t of his rascality being dragged to light ; for in his last number he savs : —

      " Mr . * ea » giw O'C . mnor ' g blackguar 1 print , the Northern Star , hail the audacity lo churge us with having iuveututl Ihd \> iut *^ % « j > f Mr . irCmiiiur ' ti xpeech ut B . urjr , quoted by os a lortnigut ago trotu the MunclusU'r Guardian , relmit « to the 'torchTbeing ' a tiUnt monitor , ' ' ttort / i a thuuturui tptec / int . ' Tub impudent uA * . tliuu u iu character with ttit > incendiary public&Utin that uU .-r » it . The puMitge from Mr . O'CounorN jieeeliWM reported in a leading article of the Manchester Guardian , and we have n » t the teaat doubt of iu trutti . At ) the Guartliu * u quoted in ttm very article ol' the Star which a * - cribw lo lU the invi'lilion of < h

      This is an admirable specimen of the true Whig method of getting out of a difficulty ; a deliberate , bare-faced lie , which everybody who was at the Bury Meeting knows to be a lib , is , in the first pluoe , "invented" for the purpose of procuring the murder of Mr . O'Connor by legal process , and when the infamy ia thrown back and made to cover his own head , he attempts to brazen it out by the assertion of another lie , concerning which Shakspeare ' s drunken soldier would probably exclaim , " Foregad , ttaw is a better one than tbe otbeT t" He labours , with most Old Bailey-like ingenuity , to shift the burden from his own shoulders to those of his accomplice , thea Manchester Guardian , in eclipsing whom he fio'ls he has overshot his mark . He

      now says , " The passage from Mr . O'Connor ' s epeech was quoted from a leading article in the Manchester Guardian , and we have no doubt of its truth . " This is the exact style of a thief who , detected in picking pockets , tries to pull a grave face and assured the plundered person that it was not he , hut the other man who did it . We shall soon see , however , that this Iving . defence of tbe Mercury ' s is as unavailing as , generally speaking , are those of he honourable fraternity from whom he seems to have borrowed it . He forgets to tell us what number of the Manchester Guardian con .

      tamed this report of Mr . O'Connor ' s speech at Bury , which he « ayB he took from that paper . We have read every number of the Manchester Guardian which has appeared since the Bury meeting—we have never seen any such speech stated by tha l paper to hare been delivered by Mr . O'CortKdR it Bury—and in the very last number of that paper , the lie direct is chucked tang into the teeth of tot Mercury , by the assurance that nb such words were uttered by Mr . O'Connor at Bury .

      It is an old adage that there "la honour among thieves ; and what the world calls honour is seldom entirely difi-sociated from jealousy , or a feeling very nearly allied to it . The Manchester Guardian , though happy to find , in his brother , Merciiry , a btlp meet for him , in the "Whig work of mendacity and plunder , has yet a great objection to the Leedt Mercury ' s surpassing the Guardian in the art and mystery of lying ) and hence he fiuds it necessary

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      to repress a little the forwardness of his pert coadjutor , who , in his " eagernws for the fray , " would go a-heid of his comrades , and be " Alone in hi * glory . " The Guardian ' s admonition is very gentle , though sufficientl y pointed to be taken for reproof by the urchin whomhe schools -wbile at the same time be spreads over him the mantle of his protection against other ca . « igator »; like a testy mother who does not hesitate to flay the breech of a " saucy bairn" with her own hand * , but will turn like a tigresg upon any body else who might cast an angry look at him . He' says : —

      " The Mercury hits fallon into an error to thU extent —It » tate » that the word * in question were uttered at the Burv mnetinf ; whereat , in fact , they were uttered ( aa we statad ilu the Guardian of the 12 tb ult ., mid m wo art prepared to prove 1 at the Rochdale torchlight meeting hald on Wednesday the 7 th November ? We huve no doubt that all lain wastery well known to thu editor of the Ktrthtrn Star , who , in hu paper of the 15 th nit . had commented npon « ur article ol the 12 th , but Ltd not ventured to deny the worda which we had there a « cribnd to Air . O'Counor . The contradiction Kiven to thn Leedt iltrcury is only s miserable quibble , turning entirely on the unimportant error which we have explained . "

      Now , we do not believe Mr . O'Connor ever uttered these words , either at Rochdale or anywhere elce : having , however , no report of his speech at the Rochdale Meeting , to which we can reftr , we must leave the question undecided ; simply reiterating our helief , thaj he never uttered the words at all . But supposing the Manchester Guardian ' t report of his cueech at Rochdale to be correct ; what then ? Does that resolve the malicious lie of the

      Mercury into an " unimportant error" ? No ; no : in thin " error , " which the Guardian chooses to call " unimportant" in the Jfercwry , but which , never 'h < les « , be does not choose to have saddled on himself , lies all the zest and spirit of the lie . This little " error" lets out the foul devil of a malicious spirit , in the plainest and most unf < iui vocal manner in which it could be manifested . If the Editor of the Mercury read the article in the Guardian from which he sajg he quoted , he knew that that article attributed these womTs to Mr . O'Connor , not at Bury , but at

      . lie Rochdale meeting , a month previously . But the purpose of the Mercury was to identify O'Connor , as well a » Stephens , with the burning of Jo wett ' s mill : this woula uot have been so well answered by quoting from a speech delivered in tbe beginning of Noveti . ber ; and , therefore , with the Guardian ' s article before him , stating in plain Urms , that 0 ! CoNNOK * aid so-hnd-, M > at "Rochdale , on the 7 th of November , he deliberately asserts , knowing it to be false , tbatheFaid tne same word * at fcury on the 8 th of December . It will , pwrhapn , be said , that it was just possible for it to ha \ e b « en a mistake . This was certainl \ possible in the first

      instance ; though we can' conceive few things more unlikely—bui at . all events , a ft-cond reference to bis authority would correct the mistake . He makes t .. hi reference on recciv . njr our contradiction ; but does he correct the " misuVer " No : but with characteristic sh melesstn ' .-s he turns Bull y , and belchts out , "Bluckguard Print' "— " Audacity to . har . e US !"— " lnoetidiary Publication , " &c . ; mid even intimates ,. f . hat we must ' have , known the -rarement we impugn to , hav « beta correct : thus proving , most conclusively , that the whole pro-< -.-fiure had beea one of deliberate and intentional in .-ilice , , , . ¦ , i

      " Which iniiirectly , and directly too , Did ae « lc the wy life of the defendant . " The forgery and conspiracy are so bunglipgly apparent , that , like almost every other effort « f Whig malice , it betrays " the will but not the power ro wound . " Ala ? , poor Mtrcury ! AlaB , poor Guardian ! How cruel must be the disappointment ! to see their in fended victims " laugh to scorn the imputation , " ( 'he Mercury will recognise these words , ) and point tht-leaden finger of contempt at tbe impotence of their fieud-like rage .

      One word more ; and , for tbe present , w e leave the Mercury to his own reflections . His anger gives evidence that truth-telling shamen the Devil ; and , in the effervescence of hia spleen , he favours us with the epithet "Blackguard . " To th « very earth we bow in acknowledgement of the courtesy . 'VTe egard it as a compliment of the very highest character .

      " Pruwefrom such lips ; so foul and so begrimed With most obscene uislovally ; would ill Bucume u iitgc man t » accept . " "We point the " Blackguard" to the proof of his breeding—tbt evidence of his good manners , which we this day offer to our readers ; and bid him ask himself ina whisper " who is the * Blackguard ' now ?"

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      NOTICE—Could any of oar f . iends oblige n » with the loan of the files of the Leedt Mercury , for the years 1812 , lfciH , &nu \ 8 U ? It ban been suggested that wh should reprint tome of Mr . Balnea ' s addre-ses to tho Luddites , ax specimens ofhw conceptions of 'Moral Force . ' We are told thty are excellent . We are b * rry to have been compelled both U this and th « two last weeks , to leave out large muaBfa of interesting local intelligence such aa accidents , incidents , 4 c . S * nie of our friends complain of this ; but really the times have been , nnd are of ao exciting a character , that these matters have been obli

      . ged to give-place la thw almost innumerable expressions of public opinion in th « resolutions , & ; ., of the meettnpg which ha » e been holden all through the country . This mut be accepted aa the reason why we could not gire more local Matter . We c > m only have the paper full . A LOVER OF Fair PLAY . —We have no room for his letter , though we thank him for his friendship . We wuh no worse s pirit would rage than that of tee-totallum . Air . O'Connor ib always ready to defend his speeches , and will not fail to do so at KirkaMy , if the parties to whom our correspondent alludes should dare to attack him there .

      " Twenty reasons for disbanding the army and PAYING OFF THE N ' AVJf" have appeared inthK Kort / iern Star . The " Sketch of Picarro" shall appear a * soon us possible . We have received the Magazines for this month , but cumiot uoiice them this week . J . S . LoNGWHATTOJJ . —We cannot insert hia verse * . They are not til for publication . Address of the Middleton Radical Association . — 'l ' u « UrgK nuace occupied by the report of Mr . St < -j ) heu »'» examination , prevents the possibility of our inserting this address . T . next week . His legal question shall be submitted to Mr . O'Connor . M . Willey . —His rentes do not suit us . ASHT « n Radicals . —Their latter to Fox Mania next wtek . JOHN S . METCALFE — He . will perceive that our cslnmns are loo full for the admission of his letter .

      Rayton Radicals Their nddrwi to the Precursors is nece « aai L ! y excluded by p ; ea » of matter . Almondbury Radicals mu « t take a « im 3 ar answer . Halifax Political Union . —Their address ia excluded for the game reason . AN Enquirer . —We do not know , and have not the mnna just at hand of referring for information . Mr . ASHTON ' s Dinner , BARNJ . LEY , —We are sorry to be coinueUd to leave out this report : it shall appear next week . ¦" ::

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      LEEDS TOWN COUNCIL . This honourable body assembled on Tuesday last , the first day of the year , for the transaction of special business . There were wxteep notices ol notion on the notice paper , the first of which was to appoint four members of the Council to be Trustees of the Advowxon of St . John ' s Church in Leeds . The members elected were Mesar ., Bywater , Benyon , Gauut , and Baker . Dr > Alderman Williamsom then said that aeon *

      tract having been made with the West Ridiriffc magistrates for the maintenance and confinement ^ prisoners cent from this borough which , wa « to end in 1840 , and not to be renewed after July , 1841 ,, he thought it necessary to bringa ^ oMoubefore th « Council , which , was " That a proposition be tmbumud to the magistrates of the Went Riding , re'juiring . an extension of the contract for the , support and maintenance of prisoner * from the borough ot Leeds , for such further period as may appear expedient : and that a deputation of the Council be appointed to arrange with the West Riding Magis-

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      trate * the terms and period of such extension . " He reminded them that a bill had been introduced into tbe House of Lords during the last session , for the purpose of empowering boroughs without jails to erect them where they might be requisite . That bill had been lost , and it was now accessary to ende ® . vour to obtain a renewal of that contract . Though he believed it was the intention of her Ma e 8 ty '» Ministers to introduce a similar bill into the next Parliament , it was clear that even were such a hill to b » . carried , two or three years must elapse before a suitable gaol could be erected within the

      limits of this borough . He was aware that the mooting ot this question would probably lead to the discussion of the very important question of the erection of a new gaol . He must remind the Council that on two or three former occasions , after much discussion , they came to the determination that a new gaol wai exceedingly desirable , if not absolutely necessary , not only for the prevention and puni « bment of crime , but for the better administration of justice in the Court below . Though they must be prepared for a renewal of that discussion , he still would express ahope that the important reason * tnat were suggested on former occasions , and th *

      iorce or which were formerly allowed by the Coun-? vLwS ? - ? - } ?*' 8 lltof J andth o"gb it would evidently entail serious burdens upon the borouvh—( hear , bear hear ) -though it would be a measure to a considerable extent unpopular-though it would afford ^ powerful ground of appeal to the feelings , andperhaps he might say to the prejudices , of h lafge body of those whom they represented , yet he believed that the good sense and right feeling of the borough : would entirel y coincide in the former

      deewftn of the Council , that a new gaol ought to be erected- ( hear , hear );—and he , for one , would be willing to incur a temporary unpopularity were it even to the forfeiting of bis place in that Council if he thought it was in consequence of carrying out a principle which he had conscientiously adopted , and the adoption of which he j > hould consider necessary to the good government of this borough . ( Cheer * > He therefore moved the proposition he had originally stated . °

      _ Mr . Ald . Bywatbb seconded the motion , because he thought it would ultimatel y be the least exensive

      p . ^ Along and useless discussion then ensued betwe . ea Mr . Cbarleswortb , Aid . Goodman , Mr . Heywa'd Mr . Beckett , and Aid . Tottie , about the advantage * ot a new . gaol . One -grumbled about the expense , another thought it would be more advisable to renew the contract for a short time , to prevent the borough from being taxed for the enlargement ofWakefield House of Correction ; and a third thought that if money was to laid out for such purposes , it would b « better to have a gaol in the borough . Dr . Williamson ' s motion and some amendments to it were then put , and the original motion was carried . A deputation was then appointed for the purpose of » rraii | ring this matter with the YYest-llidina magistrates . °

      The next motion that was pa «* ed , was , that six copies of the Amended Municipal Act should be procured at the expense of the borough , and laid on the table for' the use of the Council . This motion ongirated out of a notice placed on the paper by Dr . Buter , to the effect , that a copy should be furni » hec to each member of the Council . But on bring informed by the Town Clerk , that this would font from £ 40 to £ 60 , it was ultimately agreed to that not more than six copiea should be furnished /

      The next motion was proposed by Mr . Hall , wh , ch was— "That the Watch Committee be . requested" to inquire what sum is now raised within the limit * of the Improvement Act , as a watch rate , afid what sum is expended in the wages , clothing , lamps , oil , and other incidental expenses , with a view to show what amount toe outtownshipa contribute to the watching of the townshi p of Leeds , and thosej > arts of Hunslet and Holbeck , which are within jthe limits of the local Act . " He made a . long speech ., . in which he said , that without making sny , invidious , distinction , he must say that the Nevr Corporation teas as bad the Old , though he did not in . « in ,, thm to apply to the Council , but to the law . The tendency of his apeecfl was to show that while , the outrtowntihi pe paid an equal share for watching , they had not anything like an equality of benefit .

      The Mayor said , that as the Warch Committee were making enquiries into this subject , it might be advisable tor Mr . Hall to postpone his motion for the present . They would bring out a report , and when that report was brought out it would lay the foundation ' of some data from which Mr . Hall might dru . * other conclusions . Mr . Jo ? -hca Bower rose to second Mr . Hall ' t motion , but he wished khn to withdraw it , as the Watch Committee had the matter in hand . As an ott-towner , he wou ' a second the motion ; but he did tnink it waa necessary ^ to wait . After much paltry squabbling , the motion was carried .

      Mr . Baker then moved- " That the Town Clerk make- a return of the amount of Poor Rates County Rates , Court Hou « e Rates , and Watch Rates , made and levied in the several Townships of the Borough of Leeds , in each of the years of 1832 1833 , Ig 34 , 1835 ; also , of Poor Rates , Watch Kates , and Borough - < Hates , in each of the years 1836 , 1837 , and 1838 , stating for each Rate the annual value of property assessed , also the further real annual value of the same , as near as it can be ascertained , with the Rates per pound levied in each year , or half-year , for each as $ e . ssment . " The motion was seconded antt carried .

      Mr . Bakeb also moved— "That at the next Meeting of the Council , there be an election of tradesmen , for the different purposes of the Borough , for one year . " This motion wan also earned , after some honourable members of the Council had indulged in some of the most factious vituperation we ever heard . Alderman Goodman was so shocked , that he felt hi mswlf obliged to reprove some of the gentlemen present for their misconduct , and regretted that they should be so incautious as to place themselves and the Council in such a ridiculous position before the public .

      Mr . Hayward proposed the next motion , which was carried nem . con . It was— That the Overseers of the several Townships in the Borough of Ued « , he ordered to make a return to this Council , of the amount of Poor Rates levied in their respective Townships , in the years 1836 , 1837 , and 1833 , respectively ; and , also , the amount paid in each of those years , by each respective Township out of such Poor Rates to the Borough Fund . Mr . Israel Burrows then rose to propose - That the Trustees or Committee of Harrison ' s Charity Harrison ' s Almshouses , or Harrison ' s

      Hospital , Jenkinson ' s Almshouses , Dalley ' s Charity Leighton ' s Charity , Potter ' s Almshouses or Hospital , Milner ' s Charity , and Bayness Charity , and of other property , if any , commonly called the Leeas Pjous Use Property , be respectfully requested to publish , for the information and benefit of the inhahitant 8 . . of this borough , an account of their receipts and expenditure from the end of the year 1826 to theend of the year 1838 , in such a manner a * to show all the sources whence the income is derived , and the Injects to whichit is applied ; and that the accounts of the receipt and expenditure of the said property in future be published annuallv . "—

      lhis was public property , and the owners of public property ought to know how it was expended . He did uot wish to throw any imputation upon these Trustees , but v they were all men of the same politics .. ( Laughter . ) Considering , therefore , that these men were all of the same politics , and connected by family ties , and that they were self-elected it must be clear that the pablic must feel anxious that these accounts should be published . With these observations , he moved the resolution . Mr . GA . UNT seconded th « resolution with great pleasure .

      MnATKiNSOtf then rose and eaid , that he should be wanting in his duty if he allowed this resolution to be proposed to the Council without making a few observations as to its objects and tendency . He knifw of nothing that was more calculated to make the Council look exceedingly ridiculous than this motion ; such a thing waa never heard ef . The Council was elected for municipal purposes , and if they chose to travel out of their sphere , the Council would cert « nl F , nvolve itself in that precise position of ridicule wtoh Alderman Goodman had just deprecated . - That the Leeds Town Council should set ito « If up ^ for a oommiasion of charities , was a piece of mention to which they had not yet had a parallel .. The learned Councillor made some very tevere remarks on this motion , which was negatived , and the order of the day proceeded with *¦

      . f *^ f " J A ^ ^»******** * »**• U'ru '*?* "" towing motions were then passed : — Inat the West-Riding Justices be allowed the use of the room now occupied by them , from the first flay of January , 183 fi& for one year , and thence from year to year 4 | m a contrary resolution be passed by the Council . " u That-the Mayor , as Chairman of the Council , io uijtn hi * approbation to the Accounts of the Treasurer of the Borough , for the expences of prosecutions at the Sessions and Assizes , and . of conveying transport convicts , in order to obtain the proper return < beinp one-half of the expencesi from the Lords of the Treasury . " Thus ended the first farce for the new year .

      To The Public.

      TO THE PUBLIC .

      Whig Loyalty And Moral Force.

      WHIG LOYALTY AND MORAL FORCE .

      The New Year.

      THE NEW YEAR .

      To Readers & Correspondents.

      TO READERS & CORRESPONDENTS .

      Leeds And W Est-Riding News. Leeds.

      LEEDS AND W EST-RIDING NEWS . LEEDS .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 5, 1839, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1039/page/4/