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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1841.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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There is nothing in the paper ? worth presenting tc < rar Tejdc-rs nader this hesd . We prefer , therefore , to ah tne gpa . ee with good Chartist iuuliigence .
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BIBrilN © HAM . —Tbe National Charier Association held their weekly meeting ia tlie H . \ ll oi Science , Lawrence-street ; the chair was tsksn by Mr . Siuillwocd . The minntes of the last meeting fceinp read an « confirm ^ , the address to the inhabitants "f Birmingham and surrounding districts was rezd 10 the meeting . The correspondence was also Ttad , including a letter from the itev . Mr . Hill , editor of the Slar , to the great satisfaction of all prese-f . Mr . T . P . Green then . addressed the meeting for seme ; ime , in an - abJe manner , when it vrzs carried unanimously that the address be sent to the V < zr , preying for its insertion . Many applied for cares of membership , but could not be supplied , the cards not havirg arrived from Manchester . Weh-pe to be able to supply them next week .
Restoiution Committee . —By the weekly report of th < _ - proceeding of this buuy omitted from our last , k appears that a number of new honorary membi-rs were added to the cotcmHtee at its sitting on the 19 ; h instant ; that memorials from Oldham , Nottingham , Manchester , BarnEley ,- Forfw , and Aberdeen , bid beea received by the committee since its previous meeting . The committee hare determined , as soon as sufficient funds are in their hands , to can ^ the memorials to be presented . All memorials , fu id ? , and commuuications to be _ addressed for eomia ; r . oe , to Mr . Gaest , bookseller , S : eelhouse l » ne . The coinaiittee meets every Tuesday evening , at half-pan bix o'clock , at the Hall of Science , Lawrence-- ; reet . Admittance free .
Important Pcblic Meeting . —( From our own Corrcx ^ . ii < tent . j—At the co . iciusion of the service at the C ;* rotiaa Chartist chuTch , on Snnday evening last , it was announced that a meeting would be held on the f-jllowiug Tuesday , to hear- Messrs . Collins * ndO \ N-il deliver a report of their mission to Leeds . A : the appointed time , hundreds flocked to the p lace of meeting , anx : o'J 3 to hear the result of the long-ticked of demonstration . The place was crowded long b'jiure the time for commencing business bad arrived , and a vast number had to go away , unable to gain <» dmitrance ; and such was the eagerness of those present to hear an account of the late transactions a : Leeds , that a working man , in the gallery , Commtcc-.- 'i reading an account of the proceedings from a Ltjeis newspaper , and was listened to attentire ^' . When the time for opening ihe meeting had arnvod , Mr . Styles wa ? called to the chair . He opened the business by staf-hg that they had
met there that eveuicg , -or the purpose of hearing Messrs . Collins aEd U ' Neil deliver an account o : the re .-u : t of their mission . Mr . O Neil , then arose , And proc--oded at considerable length , and with great minatentr ; * , to detail the whole of -ibe circumstance ? that hai taken place , from tne time of his arrival a * Leeds io his departure . He described his meeting with the other delegates—the conference between the Chirtisi delega' . ion and Messrs . Hume , Roebuck , &c . —the excited state of Leeds—the Chartist proeession and meeting—the meeting at Marshall ' mill —the fclftet produced on the audience by the Chartist speakers , & . e . and concluded amid great app ' ause . Mr . Cciuas thea came iorward , amid the hearty planiiis of the assembly , and proceeded in his usuai siyle to explain ihe more important features connects with the important proceedings thit had taken p " .:--. e at Leeds . He said he had no deubt but that go > i wo-aid result from it to the Chartist cau = e ; he also rc-ad extracts from the Leeds newspapers , in
eorrooor 3 uon of his statements ; he likewise described what took place at the public dinner , held at the Ma » . c-iiall , on Friday evening , and commented on the expressions used at that meeting by Daniel O'Conneti ind Mr . Roebuck . After fully recounting to his coLstuuems the part he had taken in the Tarious transact ' oas , he sa : down amidst locg and lo'iJ cheering , the meeting being highly delighu-J with the account they had received . Mr . Hill then suoved " That the thanks of-the aeeting be given ro Messrs . Colljrj 3 and O'Neil . for rhepiaiseworthy manner in which they had performed the duty enrru .-red to them . " This was seconded by severs ! ie ihe body of vhe meet . ng and passed
utaui-Xnously . The Chairman then read an account of the money received for the purpose oi' defraying the expences \> f Messrs . Collins and O'Neii to Leads , ano also the ixpendiiuxe , iioia which it appeared that a torplns rrma : ncd , which was ordere 4 to be handed to the Ob-t-rTatiosal Commif . ee . A Tote oi thanks was then proposed for the chairman and carried onaninior . ?! y . PrEviuaa to the separation of the meeting , a large number of females deteimined that % Cbarr . > i tea drinking should be got up , . ana retired into ihe vestry , for the psirpo 33 of formi »; j themselves invo a committee to carry ont that object . An excelled -piri ; prevails here at present , acd it i * hoped ti . a : the Chartist cause will ere losg be strenrer iha : ; ever it yet was in Birmingham .
Ffiosi , Williams , and Jones . —The General Com- j Jnittee for these "victims held their . weekly meeting on Tuesday evening , at the Hall of Science , Law- j rence-strict , Mr . Barratt in the chair . The carres- j pandenc-i f--r the week was read , and the following resolution was moved by Mr . Smallwood , secondoi by Mr . P . H . Green , and carried unanimously : — ** That Misers . Moir , Lovett , and Morgan Williams , be eomm ' . nioated with by this Committee , to know i whether they are willing " to act for the presentation i of the memorials to the Q ^ een , as laid down in the j Northern S : ar . " The Committee ir . tend completing ¦ their arra'gemeats for the presentation of the me- morials s . ; = oon as they have sufficient funds iH hand , j
Memoria ! = have been received this la = t week'fiom i Manchest-. ' , Carlisle , Brighton , Sumrbridire , aud j Sinros ? . The arrangements of the Committee , j respecting Secretaries , is as follows : —Financial Secretary . Mr . Wiiliam Barlow ; Corresponding j Secretary , Mr . J . P . Green ; and Committee Secreterj , Mr . Thompson . ' BRISHTOS . —A mating of tba msmbsrs of the IC&tional Limner A « socia'ion took place here on Mon- 1 4 ayla « t , in the Large Room , 110 , Gluster Lat-. e , to ! bie measures to secure the rtturn of Frost , tVilHams , sad Jones ; Mr . Couucnior Fredriiek Page m the chiir , Mr . Councillor Woodward moTtd thefirstresoliit ' . ou : — . That this meeting ia of » pinion that John Frost , lephaniah Willisais , and William Jones , wtre illegally
tried at > d bsx . isb&d from their natiTe iand ; aad it hereby pledges it » eif to use eTery csnstituUiEal means in its power , U > effect their restoration to their country , and thfcir d ^ rrei'sed anii sorrowing familits . "— -JHe proceeded to ahow tint tie local authorities bad endesYoured to do all they could to prevent the holding Of the mereiiBg . They mart know ihe said ; that every endeaTocr had btea mad = bv thfcir Council to g » t the Town Hail ; and that the auihoritita were , and we detenuiDtd . &o ttsv i&ji cot in any way to countenance or silew ^ Q 7 C ^ srUiV \ n-. eung to taie place in ~ Snghtcn- He waa ene t > f a deputation who waited on the C actable "with a requisition , Bigned by eighty electors , uc : a >« ut twenty buosthoiders of the borougn , to reqnes : >• - tini to call a public town meeting , for
the purpo-sfr icr which they that evening nifet . The ConJtSible tiic-jgbt fit : in the t-xe ' reise of his " prerogative to refuse the use of tbe Hall for such a purpose , ¦ neging th . it they intended to hold a Chartist met ting ; that be , in exjunction with tae magiEtrstes , iad pseeired a rircclir from the Home Office , some time lack , net t _ . alluw any Ciartist meefiegs to take place in Briett- 'r . , if they could prevent them . " Well , " BidMr . vV ., u'lr next attempt t-t get the Hall wa 3 by a Kquis .- . -. ^ n to the Otrk to the Commissioners ; he ( Mr . W > jiTing beea informed , that if twenty electors a :.,-. r 11 , * the use of the Hall , and the Hall tras not xY-vi us : y engaged , there was a resolution on 4 he Co : T » iii-V . oEers' b \> ok 8 , that Uie Hall should be fianted . V >\ ' . 1 , tte Council got up & requisition , and , to it fire
to make Mir-, tbt-y s ^ apptnded twentyelectors r . ; mi- > s iastead of twenty . They again" met ^ rith a xxfes :. ' . not , as the Cltrk said , that HE refused Ihe Hail , bu- _ that he had no power to grant it for such % purpose , n .- re particularly after their being refused by the C"ns :- -.: e- Mr . William Flowers seconded the resolution , -r . a , in a thoit but effective address , findicst = u Trc ^ t and his companions . The resolution ins then v-n ' . to the meeting , and unanimously carried . Mr . Councillor Coiling proprasd the nsxt resolution : — •« That , arretable to the first resolution , a memorial be MUt to he : ilyeoty the Qaem , praying her to exercise bsr prerr-srft ' -Wc , by causiiig Frost , Wi ' . lia m * , and J # tes to be Ubcrarcd . and restored to faeir hom ^ , their Jkmilies , asd couttry . " Mr . Coilirig thtn read to the neeting tie ni-inori » I to he ? Majesty , as recommended by the BinEingham Committee , and concluded " by moTing its adoption in cor . j unction with , the reeolutjon . Mr . Councillor Allen second rrt U ; e resolLtion , and the
• doptioB of the memorial , andafter &a eloquent aadress , looehided , amidst cheers , by saving , -when the names cf » Rni * cii , a NormsJiby , uid a Maule would be forgotten , and Tutting in the grares with Uieir bodie » , loaded witli the execration and dtbeetatUa of aftei « 08 t » tJon « , tLe namw of Fio * t , Williams , and Jone » , O'Connor , ViLcent , » nd O'Urien , would be reyered and te « pe « tecL Af ut generations would sing , in songs -ol Joy , to ths jTienJorr of the persecuted patriots of bybob d » ya . The resolutiou and address were then put so the n : e « unj . and earned » mid loud acclamation Mr . Councifl-. r John Page rose to propose the next reso-Ution : — - That thrte of the tdd ConTention be * j > - pointed by the Birmingham Committee , to present our address to ib Qiees , as representiiiTes of our feeling * , OKI want * , hnd grieTancee , and our cause ; and that + v Lendun brethren be requested to attend our deputation ta the s * te « of the Pai * ce ; and we recommend bathe BirmbJrb&m Committee , James Moir , William
Lorett , and Morgan Williams , as the deputation , to present the id dress to her Majesty . " Mr . George Pap'Vcrth teconde-i the resolution , which tu uosnimously Adopted . Mr . Alien proposed the following rtsolaiion « xhat this metting , deeply s » Bidble of the almost 4 Bmrbmis > a extrtioai of that determined and ac flinchiag pstziot , Fetrgua O'Connor , Esq ., before and ^ urini fbe trial at tse exiled pataioU , and of the lier . "Wm B& , EolUw of the Norther * Sfar , in his fearless sipd ; _ mat of the illegality of the trial , and injustice of the «?««« , tender them oar most Msoere thanks for theii
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services , in the c ? . use of freedom and humanity , on that occasion . " Mr . Alien paid a high-merited compliment to the character of the nob ' : o Feargus , the friend of the poor , acd ha vindicator of their righ t " . M * . Flowers , . seconded the xesolutiun , and said the greatest honour that he ever felt had been conferred on him , was when the noble O'Connor took him by the hand at their first Chartist meeting in their Town HalL Mr . Vene * s could not let the rrsolution psss without laying claim to a little honour , that he should eTer hold in remembrance . He had the pleasure ef riding with the noble champion in his carriage , from Brighton to Worthing ; he should neTer forget it as long as he lived . A . more feeling , a more fatberly-like man , he neTer had the pleasure of conversing with , than Feargus O'Connor ;
he was kind , generous and noble—he was a real noble —a noble of nature . In nobility O'Connor stood above Normanby , Ra&sell , & Co ., as St Paul ' s aboTe a mushroom . The resolution was then put and carried , with a loud hurrah , that made the rery building shake again Thanks were roted to the Chairman , and three cheers were proposed for Frost , Williams , and Jonea ; for the Charter ; for Feargus O'Connor , and the other imprisoned Chartists , which were loudly and enthusiastically responded to . YEOVXL—A public meeting was held on Monday evening , in the Chartiit Meeting Room , in this town , to memorialise the Qieen to grant a free pardon to John Frost , Zapbaniah Williams , and William Jones . Mr . Abednego Stephens was called
to the chair . Mr . Eimunds moved the following resolution : — " That this meeting strongly condemns tbe Whig Government , in their tyrannical and unconstitutional proceedings against all political prisoners , moro especially in their illegally transporting John Frost , Zeph&niah Williams , and William Jones . " Mr . Manchester , ia a few sensible remarks , seconded the resolution , which was carried unanimously . Mr . John Bainbridge mored the second resolution , " That this meeting deeply sympathises » with the sufferings of the unfortunate patriots , Joha Frost , Zephaniah Williams , and William Jones ; and be ng firmly convinced that
preriou 8 to their trials the due forms of law were not complied with , and that in their trials sufficient evidence was not adduced to warrent a conviction of high treason , do hereby adopt the address to the Qneen . " Mr . Hooper seconded the motion , which was supported by Mr . Hewlett , and carried unanimously . It was also resolved , " That three of the old Convention be appointed by the Birmingham Commirtee , to present an address to the Queen , as representatives of our feelings , our wants , and our cause . The chairman mad * a few closing remarks , and the meeting separated . [ Reports of the several speeches were sent to us , but are omitted for lack of room . — Ed ]
WOTTON-UNSEB-EDGE—Oa Monday , January the 25 ih , a very spirited meeting was held iu the Working Men ' s room , Church-street , for the purpose of " memorializing" her Majesty for the return of Frobt , Williams , and Junes . Messrs . Morgan and Simeon , of Bristol , attended as delegate ? Mr . Rowland Lacey was called to the chair ; resolutions of an appropriate character , and the addre .-s lately published in the Star , were unanimously adopted and ably supported by various speakers . PSSTH .-On Wednesday week , a soiree and buii was held here , in aid of the wives and families of the impris med Chartists , when the meeting was addressed by various friends ; and at th conclusion ihree cheers were given for Frost , Williams , and Joses ; for Feargus O'Connor ; for Richardson and i olhns ; and for the Charter . After clearing all the eipecces , thirty-two shillings remain , and will be forwarded to the proper quarter .
HEBDEK BXUDGE . —Mr . Doyle lectured here a tew evenings a ^ o . At the conclusion of his lecture three cheers were given for O'Counor , the Char- ^ er , and for Frt > st , Widiams , aud Jones . DBOYLSOEN . —On Tuesday evening last , Mr . Doyle lectured here to the great gratification of a numerous auditory , by whom he was rapturously applauded . SHEFFIELD . —Chartism wears here a more than usually favourable aspect . Ac the last weekly meeting , thg members determined to hare nothing to do wjiii the Household Suffrage party in any way whatever , and to suppert neither men nor measures , short of the enure r / eV of Univ * r-=-vl Suffrage .
W 1 GAN .-Yr . Bairatow « 4 dres 3 d a meeting here , ou iiondaj siv .., ^ la -si ., » . fcieat length , in which he detailed the proceedings at the Leeds meetings . At the conclusion , three cheers each were given for Feargus O'Connor ; for the speaker ; for the Charter ; for Frost , Williams , and Jones ; and a vote of thanks to the Chairman ( Mr . Hyslop ) . Mr . B . 'a visits have given a great impulse to the cause .
SOUTH IUANCASHIRE .-Mr . Leech , the South Lancashire missionary , will deliver lectures at the following places , during the next fortnight : On Sunday , the 31 » t , Ratcliife-Bridge ; Monday , Feb . 1 st , at the Carpeuter ' s-hall , Manchester ; Tuesday , the 2 d , at at a room , near Droylsden ; Wednesday , the 3 i , at Pilkington ; Thursday , tne 4 th , at Mottram ; Friday , the 5 ib , at Rawdcn-lane ; Saturday , the 6 th , at Newton Htata ; Sunday , the 7 th , at Brown-svrt-et ; Monday , the 8 ih , at Bolton ; Tuos-Jay , the 9 th , at Wigan ; Wednesday , the 10 th , at Liverpool ; and on Thursday , the 11 th , at Warrington . The various associations are requested to make the necessary preparations lor his reception .
BATH . —On Monday evening last , an interesting meeting was held at the Charter Association Room , Mr . Clarke in the chair , when several addresses , alluding to" The Labourer ' s Employment Society " of Bath , and the conduct of the police , were delivered . Mr . Aleuander of Is ' ewpurt , also addressed the mesting . LEIGH . —Ma . Bellamy ' s Liberation from Lancasteb Castle- —At a meeting held during the week , ( our correspondent does not name the evening , ) Mr . Bairstow , having been invited to lee tare here , the friend . ? obtained the use of the Aiikinschapelwhich is capable oi
Rev . Mr . ' , holding fire hundred persons . About two hours before the commencement of the lecture , Mr . Bellamy agreeably surprised the Chartist ? , by his sudden , and quite unexpected , arrival from Lancaster Castle , ( where ho has been confined fifteen months . ) having obtained a respite of three months . Mr . BeUamy appears to eujoy excellent health ; and has undergone no char . go of principles . The chapel was completely fliled , orvinj : to the excitement created . At the conclusion of Mr . Doyle's kcture , three cheers was given for O'Conaor ; the Lecturer , and The Charrer .
PHESTO 2 T . —On Monday night , this town was visited by Harrison , the spy , who was discovered there ; and , by the activity of one of the Chartists , taken before the Guardians on Tuesday , for leaving his family ehargable . The lenient ex officio Chairuman , however , let him loose again pon society , on his promising to pay when he got work ; and would not allow the 10 d . reward for his apprehension .
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WHAT EYERY ONE SAYS MUST BE TRUE . We take it as an admitted fact , that what every one says must be true ; nor do we apprehend that even the concurrence of " the Great Liar of the >" orih , " will shake the maxim , when applied to ihe tiiumph of Chartism , on Thursday tke 21 st of Jannary , 1841 . Every person , and all authorities , concur in admitting that sever was there so complete , so entire , and so noble a victory . But if upon the mere face of facts pmented to the public eye , all agree in the completeness of our triumph , what must be the public surprise when all the facts of the case are laid bare !
Be it remembered , then , that edncation was one of the gTeit principles of the " Leeds Parliamentary Reform Association , " and from the operation of which upon the sound judgment of the industrious classes every hope of an alliance between them and their masters was fully anticipated . " The people weie deluded , and only required teaching ; the people were ignorant , and only required instruction . " To bring about so desirable an end , nothing wa 3 so B 6 ces--ary as a parley between tbe rival partiesthe philanthropic masters and their misled slaves .
The magical effect of elcquence is almost unbounded , and it but required the oratorical powers of the rich oppressor to persuade the poor oppressed that grievances were equally felt by the capitalist , who from others' labour had amassed millions , and by those whose very sweat had been coined into gold to fill their coffers . " Equal justice for each and for all , " was , we believe , a point in the principles of the Association . How far this point has been observed , and how far , and by what means , the light of knowledge ms to have dispersed the dark cloud of ignorance , let us , in the first pl * ce , consider , before we proceed vrith our general review .
A parley was to have taken place , whereat all grades of intellect , from 6 d . to 5 a ., were to have been represented . The first issue of tickets took place and out of 1 , 500 of the unintellectual aixpennies , the knowledge-thirsting Chartists , of themselves , purchased no fewer than 1 , 300 of the number . This fact was communicated to die Secr « 4 ary of the Clnb , when , to our surprise and disgust , the further issue of tickets was stopped , left the igaonut people should purchase a chaaoe of heartax the
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truth , and being thereby converted ! The reason of this stoppage was mosJ unblushingly made pullic . However , after a ehort lapse of time , and when the tnow and intense cold promised to operate as a bar to the attendance of the Chartists from a distance , —( it being well understood that none at home would venture , under the employer and overseer , to go to the parley in any other capacity than that of hearers and applauders , )—after this lapse , about 700 more tickets were issued , and of which tho Chartists bought up the number of 500 . Upon this second brisk sale , orders were sent by tbe Secretary to the several vendors of tickets , to sell them to members only , acd not to sell one to a Chartist . In pursuance of thus order , the Chartists were at a
stand ; and upon one of the body applying at the shop of a liberal newsvendor , at Bradford , he was told that there were none in the shop . In a short time afterwards , however , the same Chartist saw the same liberal news-vendor packing up two parcels of twenty-five tickets each ; and when reminded that those were 6 d . tickets , the liberal news-vendor replied , " Aye , I know they are , but they are going back to the Secretary , as you want them to oppose the Association . " Now , to the truth of this we pledge ourselves . We canDot for one moment suppose that either Mr . Marshall or Mr . Stansfeld would have countenanced so pitiful a trick ; and therefore we lay it at the door of the overdiligent unscrupulous Secretary .
So much for the positive hindrance offered to the attendance of the ignorant , while the great array of Nobility , Gentry , and Members of Parliament , which the programme promised , was of itself sufficient to awe the unwashed into obedience , if not into absence . Iu fact , had all the expected guests arrived , Mr . Marshall might fairly have been said to have stolen a march upon her Majesty , by opening the Parliament in his Flax Mill , on the 21 st , instead of allowing her Majesty the usual privilege of doing so in person , from the throne of the House of Lords on the 26 : n .
Tickets , as was unblnshingly stated , were to have been furnished , in the first instance , to the members , and 4 , 000 places were let at the various prices , of from Is . 6 d . to 5 a . —a sum much beyond that which either Mr . Marshall or Mr . Stansfeld , even with Household Suffrage , will allow their men to spare for au intellectual entertainment . The feast was originally to have been on Wednesday the 20 : h ; but , inasmuch as Thursday is the market-day in some paru of the West Riding , aud , as those Chartists who are most independent of mill lords have occasion to attend their market towns , it was , therefore , " reasonably deemed" prudcut to alter tho day to the 21 st .
With such obstacles , and many others , suoh as the intimidation of masters and overseers , the Chartists went to work ; and , upon the eve of battle , the enemy struck ! The object ; the one , the sole , the only object , for which the meeting was called , and upon which nearly £ 2 , 000 was expended , was abandoned . Every thing was conceded to the despised delegates of the despised Chartists ; and mercy , even mercy , was asked for , and generously conceded . The preliminaries were agreed upon , and a resolution was unanimously adopted as the only test of principle to be proposed . That resolution we here once more insert . It runs thus : —
11 That the great experiment mode by means of the Reform BUI , to improve the condition of the country , hath tailed to attain the end desired by the people ; a act , a further Reform having , therefore , become necessary , it is the opinion of this meeting that the united efforts of all Reformers ought to be directed to obtain i > uch a further enlargement of the franchise , as should make the interests ef tbe representatives identical with thosa of the whole country , and by this means secure a just government for all classes of the people . "
Now , we & < k . if a Republican of the ultra school could , by possibility , desire a wider field for the exercise of his imagination , than the boundless space which this positive negative , or negative positive , ( which you please , my dears , ) presents ! Where , in this resolution , are to be found the strong , the defined , the practicable , the intelligible , the enfranchising , the improving , the educating , tho equalising principles of the Association , according to the several letters of Messers . Marshall and Stansfeld ; and whore are the rules for the government of the body , which were to be submitted for the adoption , not for the consideration , but for the adoption of the apostolical meeting , which was to have consecrated the flax mill by the recognition of our new " Magna Charta" !
The day arrived , and behold ! instead of a nvo shilling platform , groaning under Peers , M . P . ' s , and aristocrats , come to feel the pulse of England ' s young pride , the pageant , aB far as regards the aristocratic representation , is turned into a puppetshow , where Punch and Judy Hume , Strickland , and Williams , in their own proper persons , represent the English aristocracy ! The first speaker who presents himself , Mr . Hvme , is mistaken for Mr . Daniel O'Cosnell , who was to have been the " great gun" of tho night ; and poor Mr . Humb is assailed with that warmth of bursting indignation
which for weeks had been bottled for the destroyer of the poor man ' s liberty , and the reviler of English women ' s fame . The " destructive Chartists" interfere , explain the mistake , and Mr . Huhe is heard ; and thus the business goes on , a Sham-Radical and a Chartist iu turn addressing the meeting ; the shams fencing and talking nonsense , the Chartists laying on the whip , and actually electrifying the ignorant platformites , the two-and-sixpenny , and tbe one-and-sixpenny audience ; while the sixpenny visitors evinced their delight and approbation at the triumph of theit champions , in cheers both hearty , load , and long .
The Chartists ( aud the club know it ) were strong enough to have chosen tLeir chairman , and to have carried any resolutions declaratory of their principles ; but they could have hit upon none more sweeping , in recognition of their right , and their cause , and their Charter , than that iu which all so happily , and bo unanimously agreed . No attempt , from the commencement , was made , by one of the eight thousand persons , to introduce ) the question ot Household Suffrage , to advance which the meeting was called ; white friend and foe declared that Universal Suffrage was tbe only just principle of franchise .
Let U 3 now ask if such a result could have been contemplated , would the experiment have been tried 1 No , neverl We look , then , upon the victory of the 21 st of January , 1841 , as being , in the expressive language of the Mercury , the completcst of all triumphs . We consider it as the first step in the last stage of our moral warfare—as the firet " direction " of public opinion . Public opinion must have been well created and thoroughly and soundly organised , before the first attempt at its direction could have been so triumphantly successful . One false step on the 2 lst , and Chartism would have received a " heavy blow , " whereas , prudent management has dealt death and dismay in tbe ranks of the enemy .
The mill meeting was to have been followed , by transplanting the healthy shoots of young opinion from the nursery to all parts of the Empire . That project has , however , been abandoned , snd the Association , which , but ten days since , was brim-full of hope , now liea prostrate , — " UNHOUSED , " " uruinnointed , " u uuanneoled , " — perished in its infancy , strangled in its cradle , aud sent , " with account unsettled , " before the tribunal of public opinion .
The Chartists have been told , msoUntly told , that they were only potent for evil ; but h « who said bo dared not witness their potency for good . From all parts of tke country , and from Scotland , they selected their delegates , far out-numbering those of the Clnb . They came , —they » aw —they conquered' * There was no bull j ing , no bluster , no declaration of war ; no torch , no dagger , but with the scythe of common sense they mowed down every blade of opposition . And singular , most singular , thai with the
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single exception of something which Mr . Marshall read from a piece of paper , and which , as Chairman , he wi » s bound to do , not one of the members of the " Leeds Parliamentary Reform Association " appeared ia the contest . It was the oompletest represensatioa of Hamlet , without a Hamlet , we ever heard tell of ! Where was Mr . Stanspeld , with his Bible , and Traveller ' s Tales , and Joe Miller ? Where was Joshua Bower , Esq ., and where was Charles Cummins , Esq ., and , — « Where , and O where , is my Highland laddia gone ?•• Where was the thrilling eloquence , the soul-stirring patriotism , the undying flame , the untiring energy of the Doctor !
We could not have had a more happy illustration of the several parties of which society is composed , than that whioh the Mill was intended to represent on Jhe 2 Ut . The platform for the peers ; the 2 s . 6 d . for the upper class ; the Is . 6 d . for the middle class ; and the 6 d . for the class that pays for all . And let us , as a finisher to the dispute between tne H'O-u-s-e and the intellect , clearly show the advantage which the enfranchisement of the latter must , of necessity , have over the enfranchisement of the former .
Universal Suffrage would be the advocate of the meritorious soldier , who had seen service , and who understood his duty , against tho hairy-lipped monkey who slips from his mammy ' s apron-string to command his betters . Universal Suffrage would place merit , genius , and talent , instead of patronised prejudice , folly , and ignorance upon the bench ; and thus make reason and justice , instead of caprioe and fancy , preside over meu ' a lives , men ' s liberties , and men's properties .
• Universal Suffrage would protect the capital of him with one hundred thousand pounds , against tho capital of him with one million thousand pounds , by so ordering demand and supply , that a man shall neither swamp tho market , or overhold his goods upon the strength of his large capital , to the destruction of his poorer neighbour . Universal Suffrage would protect the shopkeeper against the truck system of the feeding mongers , and against the monopoly of government purveyors ,
at the lowest wholesale price , for the worst description of food , for unwilling idlers who , under a good system , would become the best customers of the shop-keeping class . They would wear more hose , more shoes , and more clothes ; they would use more furniture , more coals , and more of the manufacture of their own hands . Universal Suffrage would protect the banker and the merchant , from all losses consequent upon unnatural trade .
Universal Suffrage would protect the landed proprietor from the Jew-jobber , the tax-eater , and the money lender . Universal Suffrage would protect the peerage as a distinction for merit . Universal Suffrage would protect the large capitalists from that crash , that awful crash , which the present system must inevitably subject them to . Universal Suffrage would protect the Ministry from too great a responsibility .
Universal Suffrage would protect ths Monarch from a Republic , and Universal Suffrage would protect the cottage from ruin , while Household Suffrage would place it in the power of the wealthy to erect monuments to his own temporary greatness and grandeur , to the immediate ruin of his poorer neighbour , to his own ultimate and certain destruction , and to the country ' s ruin . In short , we cannot improve upon our former position : that Universal Suffrage would disfranchise the vicious
and enfranchise the virtuous of all classes , from the aristocraoy to Mr . Baptist Noel's " without-God-and-without-hopo" staff ; aud that if the principle of exclusion is to be admitted , the industrious would represent all other classes more honestly and efficiently than all other classes unitedly could represent themselves ; and tba . ninety-nine in every hundred labourers , who never can hope to live independently of industry , would have , if possible , a greater interest in upholdiug the employers' capital than the master himself .
Now , can any sound judging man deny those facts , without first proving that the working classes are all mad i Why , we shall be asked , in years of as great distress , bave not these things been urged by , or on behalf of , tho toiling millions 1 Why has the mere question of abstract riqht , to be forcibly carried , constituted tho sum and substance of political agitation I The question is easy of solution . Till the reduction upon newspaper stamp . ? ,- ( the greatest revolution ever known in this or any other country ) , —tho people could only think ; they could not express their thoughts ; and York and
Lancaster , tho centre of the hive , the marrow of England ' s back-bone , were represented , exclusively , by the Leeds Mercury and the Manchester Guirdian . These two political rips collated , what they were pleased to call , the public opinion of the millions ; and there being no organ to dissent from their falsehoods , they became the salesmasters of provincial feelings in the metropolis ; hence , London , which is a citadel , always either taken or defended , according to the weakness or strength of the garrison , fell into the prevailing notion , would not stir against Lancashire aud Yorkshire , aud , in short , took the epidemic .
Now how is it ! The Mercury and Guardian now only represent " the wreck of old opinions . " They have not , unitedly , the power to call a single meeting , or carry a single resolution , for any one purpose ; they cannot assist where they before administered ; they cannot procure a vote , where they before conferred scats . Thus has tho freshness of popular provincial opinion given a freshness to metropolitan opinion , and taken off the rust of ages .
A keen sportsman once remarked , that he never was so well carried as when he had only one horse , one saddle , and one bridle . The horse was always in wind , without sore mouth from strange bridle , or sore back from badly fitting saddles ; whereas , when he bad ten , all were out of order aud out of wind . Now , such is precisoly the case with the people Formerly they were delighted with a pleasant ride
upon the local hobby-horse ; and we had as many crotchets as journals , and as many journals as crotchet ? , and as many officers as soldiers . Now we have one organ shitting with equal brilliancy upon the hovel and the palace—equally illuming the peasant aB the peer—a national finger-post , pointing out the one straight road to freedom ; and hence we find all the passengers going the one way upon the great thoroughfare of life .
Again , then , do we congratulate ourselves , our friends , their delegates , and their cause , upon the victory of victories gained upon the 21 st ! By that , the Chartists have proved to the world that they require but a clear stage and no favour ; and that physical force baa only been mentioned in consequence of the unjust aud cowardly suppression of moral strength . How could a victory be more decisive ! Without striking a blow the lenemy capitulated , surrendered at discretion , and marched out without their arms , leaving their principles , as Sir Peter Teazle left his character—behind them . In fact , the Household troops were surrounded and made prisoners of war , by tbe very first charge of the Universal brigade .
Bat let not our troops suppose that this victory is to be the signal for repose ! No , no , we must go on , adding triumph to triumph , until the Charter becomes the law of the land . Again do we most cordially thank the people and their delegates ; and it now only remains for us to lament the " mill of troubles , " which a covetous old gentleman has allowed an indiscreet young boy to bring upon him . The people came—they saw—they conquered . This all admit—be cause none can deny it : and " what every one says most be true . "
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O'CONNOR , O'CONNELL , THE MERCURY , AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE 21 st . We give the following bit ( rom the journal of the man of veracity ; he says : — " Tho assemblage of Chartists at Holbeck Moor on Thursday was to the last degree meagre and miserable Mr . F « aTgus O'Connor , who burns with hatred to Mr . O'Counell , and wha considered the latter as coming to Leeds to triumph over him , did every thing tbat ' fierce personal rancour , as well as political animosity , could suggest , to procure an overwhelming attendance of Chartists , with a view to of pose , if not to insult and sileuce him . "
Only one word upon that portion of the bit which ro . ' ers to the triumphant ( and , therefore , to the fallengod , " meagre and miserable" ) gathering which took place on the 21 st . The " thieving god , " as the honey-lipped O'Conwell called his friend , gave us 10 , 000 for the " Great Peep Green Meeting , " at which all admitted there were from 300 , 000 to 400 , 000 persons ; and he gives us 3 , 000 for " The Welcome to Dan" Meeting , while the space occupied , before tbe thousands had fully assembled , was three thousand square yards . Now , all persons are aware that an out-door
meeting , and especially in cold weather , packs much more closely than an in-door meeting . In a room there are angles and corners , and other obstacles , to the complete occupation of the whole space . However , a part of the meeting covered 3 , 000 square yards ^ the procession filled Bnggate , perhaps the largest street in any provincial town in England , as full as an egg , ' and having dispatched thousands to their homes , we contrived to find room for nearly 5 , 000 of the 3 , 000 in Mr . Marshall ' s Mill ! Why , even old weekly Gbbenacbe Chron . gives us 4 , 000 . How is this , Cocker ? . .
Oh ! Neddy , if it had been a Whig meeting , how many pairs of epectaolea would you have had on ? The whole staff of the establishment would have counted « aoh man twice over , and then would have multiplied all the numbers severally counted , ' and the product would have been the amount , announced thus : — " We are always delicate in venturing a guess at large masseB of persons , and therefore prefer taking the opinion of an old offices , who was on the ground , and who paid particular attention to the space occupied , and the position ot the audience , and he assures us that there could not have been fewer than from two to three hundred thousand persons present at the period when the greatest number were together . "
So much for Mercurial accuracy , delicacy , and arithmetic ; and now a word for the ** gentleman" iu his capacity of champion for the sucking dove , the injured iunocent . poor Dan . The Mercury forgets , who called for , and obtained , three groans for the Queen of the Reforming King ; he forgets that within the month he and the sucking dove have been pelting each other wTtb . " swindler , " " thieving God , " and so forth ; ( but , politically speaking , these are Jumps of love ;) and then he turns upon O'Connor for having implored the working men of Yorkshire to give O'Connell such a reception as he deserved !
When did age , sex , rank , friendship , or fellowship Ecreen man or beast from the filth of the venomvomiting wretch , who , for twenty years has lived upon the wreck of character , regardloss whether of friend or foe ! and this is the " sucking dove , " whose behalf the Mercury pleads ! Had the first victim to the tyrant ' s rancour met him with the same bold and manly front that O'Connor has presented to his every charge , many a fair fame would have been spared the soil of
his dirty tongue . O'Connor met him on the threshold ; and the Mercury appears to forget that he challenged him at his own exponce , and without any reference to personal feelings , to meet him in public discussion ; but no , darkness and cowardice shrunk from light and courage . O'Connor is the first man who has triumphantly made tbe tyrant's friend cry " hold ! " enough ! " spare ! O spare your victim !"—Yes , the victim in bondage has beaten the beast at large .
But let us take the question upon its merits . O'Connor was expected in Dublin , and the " sucking dove " said , " If he come , the boys will give him a swim in the Lifiby . " At ouo of the palavers of his creatures , some blustering coward said that "he met O'Connor at a meeting at Preston , and that he had a groat mind to kick him . " What was the pacificator ' s reply \ I am glad you did hot , my friend ; that would have been physical force , which we discountenance . Did he say so ! No ; but the valiant gentleman said , " you never would have been more right in your life than you would have been had you kicked him well . "
The beast marked O'Connor out for the notice of the Attorney General ; called him a destructive , torch-and-daggcr man , and so forth . Now what did O'Connor say 1 Did he say kick him 1 No ; he said , " let there be no drunkenness , no riot ; if any should attempt it , let him be instantly restrained . " Well , but popular feclhsg and disgust ran so high that the strongest manifestation of dislike could not have been possibly restrained , had Dan shown his
nose in Leeds , as promised ; and it was O Connor did it all \\! although , it was all done before he knew anything of the arrangements . Why the Chronicle even saddles a placard upon O'Connor , which O'Connor never saw , or probably never heard of 1 Let it , however , bo a consolation to O'Connor to know , that the coward who would not have dared to face him , was prevented by a fair-play-loving English community of blistered hands , from striking him while ho was down .
The poor Mercury makes a leader of a most foolish and enigmatical epistle of Lord Fitzw illiam , forgetting that the said Lord Fitzwilliam , while Baines wag groaning tho Queen , was declaiming , publicly , the very expressions which the bloodthirsty O'Connor procured to be expunged from the Convention Manifesto , as being illegal . The faot is , that O'Connor , tbe Star , and the
poople , have beaten O'Connell , the whole Whig Establishment , the Whigs , tho sham Radicals , the Fox and Gooso Club , and the whole community of rich oppressors . Again , we say , there never was such a triumph , when the Mercury is compelled to head his report thus : — " Great Household Suffrage Demonstration , converted into a Universal Suffrage Meeting ; ' and in his leading article he maintains that " the Chartists obtained the
completeBt of all victories—they took captive the entire at my of the enemy . " The Intelligencer , a far honeater and more efficient organ , speaks thus of the demonstration : — " The ' Great Demonstration' of the Whig Reformers of the Reform Act , in Leeds , has turned out , as we predicted it would turn out—a decided failure . Of the announced stars , only a few of the second magnitude were present—such as Mr . Hume , Mr . Koebuck , CoL Thompson , Mr . Williams , ( from c ventry , ) Mr . Shannon Crawferd , and Sir George Strickland . Mr . O'Connell
was not present ; but arrived yesterday in time to get a bit of dinner . Sir W . Moles worth excuaed himself ; he ia jealous of Mr . Roebuck . Mr . Balnea refused , and left Leeds to show his contempt for Mr . Stansfeld ' a agitation . Letters were read from various parties ; but we did not hear any thing of one from F . H . Fawkes , Esq ., of Farnley Hall , who wrote to decline on the ground that the only point on which he agreed with the managers , was that ' Reform' was > t a very low ebb . Surely it was not quite , fair to 6 urfc the opinlens of so active and respectable a local Reformer .
" The Chartist' Demonstration * was afar mon effective exhibition , and chows much greater power both as to numbers and the feelings of the working men . They evinced a determined and well-founded hatred of the trickster O'Connell , and were successful at all points The Whigs , in fact , nude an abject submission to them ; they literally sued to them , in bondsman's key , for forbearance ; assigned to them equal rights on Messrs . Marshall ' s costly hustings ! accorded them man for man in the settled list of orators ; and the
workingmen Chutists waged the battle of argument with tbe Whig nobs , aye , and beat them too , inasmuch as if there be any arguments good for Household Suffrage , the same argument * must fa atlU better for Universal Suffrage . Tbe solitary resolution moved , was also squared to Chartist toleration . It simply affirms that further reform is required . In this the ChartlsU of course agree . So the Whigs have actually taken nothing by their movement ; in all respects playing second fiddle only . We repeat that the affair was an utter failure , though an immense sum of money baa
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been lavished upon it ; the ercsv , er part of - ^ jjjj no doubt , will fall t » the share of the Mews . Jlai ^ It is an old maxim that foolish pot . * ons alwayj ~ r for their hobby . v > " Eut although the Whigs hava broies . down in tfcA attempt to enlist under their banner the $ i eat boifZ the working men of Leeds and its vicinity , they ^ shewn plainly enough that they are ready to join" { £ Chartists , or any body of complainants , as soo . « iH Conservative and constitutional Government slu S J formed . Were Sir Robeit Peel and the Duke of \ tJ ? lington inoffice , these sticklers far Household Su ? t \»
would swallow any other nostrum for the sake * influence over the minds of the masses . They are ^ . altogether devoid of honest principle . We quettW however , whether the Chartists will ever again icom them as leaders . If they enlist , they must be contZ to take the lowest rank . They have persecuted tSj old pupils ; and to trust them again would be lft , making a bosom companion of the viper . ThesuW quent arrival of O'Connell , and his attendance at Iu night ' s dinner , will cot contribute to smooth the ^ towards a reconciliation . '
" Our report of tbe proceedings embraces all the leu . ing points of the slightest importanae or interest , jv speaking was below mediocrity . Mr . Hume rambU from subject to subject , and scarcely ever finbhei sentence ; Mr . Roebuck is tiresome ; Colonel Thomps ,,. prosy ; Mr . Williams a mere chatterer . Mr . SbannS Crawford appears to be a clever man , but the tneetiu evinced a strong indisposition to listen to him , sm many persons left the mill as soon as he bet ; an to speji The greater portion went to see O'Connell , and wen disappointed . Sir George Strickland put himself « j ^ defence as to his conduct as Chairman of tbe Hall E !^ tion Committee : it would have been better for him hy he kept silence , for bis explanation only makes the blad still blacker . ^
" We shall have to return to this and other parts $ the day ' s exhibition , when time and place are more n disposal . We have said enough , however , to sbetr thtt this * Demonstration * was merely an affair of amok * The mountain laboured , and brought forth a very tin mouse indeed . " Let the thieving god" and his " injured innocent " take their change out of all these proofs of Chartist triumph , and add to them the fact , that all who wi ( . nessed the procession admitted that it was th « largest , the most orderly , and the most imposis ; ever seen in Leeds .
But , says the Mercury , they had no pluckwe always fought it out , even with Feargcs himfelf . Indeed ; let us see . Feargus himfelf mu at Leeds for three years , during the hottest period of excitement , and when a good meeting would tars been nuts to the poor Whigs in Leeds , eo cele brated in olden times for giving the tone to Englandhow many out-door meetings did the redoubtables call ? Why , just one , in three years , and tk which , though the Mayor was in tie chair , and the M . P . Baines and all his family , and all the masters , overseers , place-hnniers , and
toadies , that could be mustered , congregated , Mr . O'Connor , after a journey of a hundred miles , and with a ruptured blood-vessel , met tha whole army singly and alone ; not a mau appointed to second his amendment ; no arrangements made for opposition . Yet , didO'CoNNoa carry his amendment , and that too upon the vital question of th « repeal of the Corn Laws , in the centre of the great manufacturing county of York , and ia defiance of the whole muster , though the Whig Mayor con * tended , in the very teeth of the meeting , that the majority was for the original motion ; knowing well the contrary to be the fact .
So much , then , for the courtesy , civilization , pluck , and politeness of the gallant Qucen-groanet —the veracious politician—the consistent journalist —the polished gentleman—defender of the sucking dove , and so forth . We pity those leetle abortion * who sneak after snd crouch before the moving mass of filth , that has mocked their very size , and reviled their every act , while we commend the manly bearing of the Gallant Nap / ee and the brave O'Connor , who have made the bottle-holders of the great vow * valiant slanderer cry , " Hold ! ' " Enough !"
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LEICESTER . EVEN A GREATER CHARTIST TRIUMPH THAN THAT OF THE TWENTY-FIRST . From Leeds to Leicester did Danny and Jopr in company start . The object of the Leicester do was , to give to Lord Acre and Bombshell ( Easthopjs ) all the advantage which sympathj for cobblers and church-rate " martyrs" couli bestow , previously to another election . Admission only by ticket ; and Chartists , and even their friends , positively refused entrance Police , to phisiognomise every unwashed applicant , and all the avenues well guarded . . Well , says the reader , and where was the triumph ! Why , hear , and you shall confess .
Daniel aud Joseph vouchsafed an autograph letter to Messrs . Seal and Markuam , two leading Chartists , in which the writers requested the honour of an interview at their hotel , after the meeting , to have a little chat ; aud when the said Dannt and Joky would answer any questions which the said Seal and Markhah might choose to propose . Well ; what of that J—where is the'triumph 1 Why , here , in the 3 e few words . Messrs . Seal
and Makkhah presented their compliments , and begged to decline the honour which they could not accept without DEMEANING THEMSELVES Nowt then , was ever so groat a triumph t When before did two M . P . 's receive such a slap on the face from two of the unwashed 1 Two liberals ; political pedlars ; hawking their wares and volunteering to be catechised by Chartists , —and the Chartists declining the honour , lest they should DEMEAN
THEMSELVES ! This , we Bay , is a greater triumph than even the 2 lat ; because , until the working men are taught tho value of Belf-esteem , their rulers will never hold them in better estimation than a 3 so many nose-led brutes . " We decline the honour , because , by the acceptance we should DEMEAN OURSELVES !" Well done , Leicester . We confess in these tiro words you have outdone us . In proof , we give the letter of John Markhah to Feargus O'Connoh , and which O ' Connor transmitted to us : — " Leicester , January 23 rd , 1841 .
" Mr DeahSib , —The great church rate meeting i « held here this evening ; Dan . and Hume , Easthopef and Ellis , are all here . Admission only by ticket , and so scrupulous have the fellows been that they have had a person at each of their offices who they thought bad a knawledge of the Chartlsta and their friends , and they positively refused to sell a single ticket to any one who was known to be friendly to us . Dan and Hume sent for ma and Seal tonight , to go to their inn , " to have a little chat , or to answer any question we might
think proper to put to them . " We sent a letter instanter , to say we should be wanting in self-respect and a due consideration to tlie honour of our friend * after such a gratuitous insult offered to our body , if we accepted their invitation . ^ * aAJ " Poor , but yet faithful , ; "I remain , dearSfr , " Yours truly , " J . Maukham . " To Feargus O'Connor . Esq . "
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THE ELECTIONS . There are now five of these things upon the tapis , to wit , Canterbury , where the contest is between a Mr . Wilsox ( Whig ) and a Mr . SMrrng ( Tory ) Here the betting is twenty shillings to a pound either way ; and it needs little comment , as it is a very pretty quarrel as it stands : the Whig having blackguarded the Tory most awfully ; the Tory having challenged him ; the Whig haa made * copious discharge of gentlemanly compensation for political language . The letter of apology runs thus : —
' ^ Mr . Frederick TUUen , on the part of Mr . Hennifcer Wilson , disclaims having had the intention in tbe above-mentioned sentences of saying anything personally offensive to Mr . Smytbe , or what would be painful to his feelings u a gentleman . Air . Tilliers makes tke same disclaimer as to any other part of his speech . Mr . ViUiers further expresses Mr . H . Wilson ' s regret that his speech should have been understood by any one u personally offensive to Mr . Smythe . " fbkdebick vili . ibr 3 . "Frederick . Button"January 22 . 1841 . "
Now , from the words , "' feelings as a gentleman * * it ia quite clear that tbe most upright gentleman may be the most consummate political vagabond , and viee vena . Well , so much for tbe gentlemanly heroes !
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The Northern Star. Saturday, January 30, 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JANUARY 30 , 1841 .
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^ THE NORTHERN STAR . . . - •¦ • . . ¦ ___
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 30, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1094/page/4/
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