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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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where else within so small a compass , and at so moderate a cost . The work should be fonnd in every noble drawing-room ; and if not found so flattering to the pride of the aristocratic " caste" as some otaer histories of the peerage , it would be of infinitely more use , as it would dare silently , but sternly , to tell the troth—a thing not always considered of much importance by their Berviie writers , who seek to gain the favour of the great by flattering tbeir foibles , and gilding or concealing their vices . The introduction presents ns with an abstract of the doings of the Peers in actuality and the Peers in expectancy , from which mo 3 t important conclusions cannot fail to be deduced by all who will give themselves the trouble to think . The public will ,
also , by consulting Mr . Carpenter ' s pages , learn something of the costliness of . the noble idol which so many among them are bat too prone to worship , and of the iv&eence , direci and indirect , which they continue to exercise in wh 3 t certsia facetious gentlemen , in their merry moods , please to designate * the Reformed House of Commons . " We are pleased with that spirit of impartiaility and candour which pervades the volumes ; while the incense of flattery is not offered at the Ehrine of nobility , neither has the author dipped his pen in gall , or sought by detraction to iDjure that estimation in which those of whom he writes may be fairly held by those amongst whom they live aad movs . Where virtne exists he has not been slow to acknowledge it , and he has ,
while fearlessly exposing acts of public delinquency , carefnlly abst » inea from mixing Bp with , when it could be avoided , the matters and things connected with private character . Some of the noble supporters of the inhuman Poor Law mig ht consult these pages with advantage ; we fancy this , while the Duke of Bedford holds estates plundered from the Church ( one fourth of which , at least , ought to belong to the poor ) of the valne , in our present money , of £ 48 , 889 13 s . 2 d ., no great surprise can be felt at the anxiety evinced by that noble house to increase the workhouse comforts of the " independent labourers . " As a fair specimen of Mr . Carpenter ' s manner , and of the kind of information , to be found in the work , we extract the followisg : —
DL *> "D 1 S . BAfiOS . Xaxoe . —liTES ^ M DCTWAS . ilOtiS . —Essaj ez : — Try . Reunions . —Ron . T . Dundas , M . P . ( son )—Hon . J . C Pandas , M . P . , son)—Earl Fitzwilliam ( cousin )—Lady C . Dundas ( sister , and aunt of the Duke of St Albaus )—A . Spiers , Esq . ( brother-in-law )—J . C- Ramsden , M . P . ibrother-in-law . )—[ See further
below . ] Places atid Emoluments . —Lord-Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland—Amongst his relations are , —H . L ^ ne ! son-in-lswj Lieutenant-Colonel . —* V - tt'harton ( brother in-law , ) in the Church—Hon . Q . H . L . Dundas ( brother , ) Rear-Admiral of the Blue , and lately a Loid of the Admiralty—Sir B . L . Domlas i brother , ) Major-G ^ nerai in the Aimy—Hon . T . L . Dun das ( brother , i in the Church—Luiy E . Dundas ( jnotber ? , | pension £ 276 . Church Patronage . —One hiring .
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mother inhabits . The landlord , in fact , is ' Compelled jby the vestry to be guilty of this persecution . Ano * | ner means of settlement in a parish is by living there ifor one year ; and the consequence is , that engagements * re made with labourers for only eleven months , and they are obliged to be one month idle before they can expect ^ tenfewal of work in the same pariah . Another bad consequence of that law is , that It prevents the circulation » f free labouT , and obliges « v « y » an to stick to ida parish . The Poor Laws , too , take from a man a direct interest in being industrious . The motives to labour are present subsistence and future support Take these two nwajr ^ and yen deprive a man of two fcre&t stimulants to labour . ( Hear , hear . ) Besides , the Voot Laws compel those dependent upon them for
support to work—but in what manner ? The labourers are let out by ttse parish at half wages , anil then these half-workmen come in competition with the regular labourers . The farmer will tell the regular labourer , who' demands three shillings a day , that he will give him but two shillings ; for if he does not choose to take that , he will get those who he is ready to admit are inferior workmen for one shilling , and thus the good labourer is necessarily made poor . ( Hear , hear . ) Have I not seen in Shrewsbury , for instance , placards on which were inscribed , ' Vagrants and Irish labourers whipped out of the town ? ' Mr . Sturges Bourne made an improvement in the law in this resjeect , for he provided that after th « Irish labourer was whipped , he should be sent home . ( Hear . ) These laws are
necessarily called cruel laws , for they make charity itself the subject © f taxation . They create in a man ' s miud something of the sensation that is felt upon paying the wide-street or grand-jury cess . ( Laughter . ) They make , too , one man abundantly charitable , by putting his hands into the pockets of another—and to do what ? to keep the poor at the lowest rate ef maintenance . It is well known that in many parishes in England the poor are farmed out to be provided for at the lowest possible expence . The man who takes the care of them underfeeds them , in order that he may make a profit on them . Not only is the providing of food for them hired out , but apothecaries to supply them with medicine are hired also—men whose interest it is that the eick poor should die as soon as . possible , in order that
they may be at tiie less expence for medicines for them , i Hear . ) For an obvious reason I do not enter inte the horrors of this demoralising system respecting females ; it is- sufficient for me . to say , that the more vicious a female is , the more objects has she to make her selection from , either to pay forty pounds , or to marry her . ( Hear , hear . ) It is sufficient to say of the system , that clergymen of the Established Church of England have sworn , that , amongst the poorer classes , out of every twenty women they married , nineteen were in a state of pregnancy . ( Hear , hear . ) What do we see as the consequence of the Poor Laws in Eng-Und ? The country is in a blaze from north to south ; the agricultural labourers there are destroying the property of their employers . ( Hear . ) I have now sat in
three Parliaments , and I have heard in each of these Members state that these laws have created a great deal ol misery and distress . But then it may he said that these laws can lm ameliorated . How -will you aniolioralie them ? What part of the English Poor Laws will you shut out ? How will Mr . Reynolds improve these laws ? All the ingenuity of Committee after Committee that has sat respecting these laws has been exercised in vain , and has been unable to discover any effective amelioration . ( Hear , hear . ) One feature of the Poor Laws is , that it makes slaves of the poorer classes ; it makes them the slaves of the overseers , and destroys completely their character for independence . I prefer the wild merriment of the Irishman to the half-sulky , half-miserable tones of the English slave to Poor Laws .
The Irishman certainly has his distresses , but then he has Mb hopes ; he endures much misery , but then he entertains expectations of redress . ( Hear , bear , an »' cheers . ) Let the question of Poor Laws stand ever , till we see if justice will ba done to us by England upon the question of Reform . 1 have often said that if a just Keforni Bill were given to Ireland , I would try the experiment with it ; but if they do not givtJ a just Reform Bill , then I shall want to introduce a Poor Law for Ireland by repealing the Union . ( Hear , and loud cheers . ) Mr . O'Ccnnell concluded by requesting that their exertions should not be interfered with by the Poor Law question , in looking for a substantial plan of Reform , and if that were refused , in seeking for a resource , and a remedy for a bad Reform Bill . The Hon . Gentleman sat down amid loud cheers . "
Sir , I do not overlook the great cheering which this spatch appears to have called forth from your Dublin audience ; but when I receilltct tbo still nioro noisy cheering drawn forth in another place by the Dawsons end others , when they so unjustly , and in a manner so senseless , assayed you , I am by no means disheartened by this vast quantity of cheering ; which I am disposed to ascribe , not to any folly , and still less to any per > veroec < -ss , but rather to that " wild merriment" which , towards the close of your speech , you are pleased to describe as characteristic of your countrymen , and on which you appear to set so high a value .
Upon a careful pstusal of this speech , 1 have no hesl » tation in saying , that the far greater part of yoar facts , as they stand here , are founded in error -, and that the whole of your arguments are fallacious ; and these assertions I tbiuk myself bsund to prove ; not by any general statement or reasoning ; but , in the first place , point by point , as your facts and arguments lie before me . 1 might , if I chose to pursue that course , insist , that with regard to your opinions , they ought to be viewed in conjunction with , and estimated according to , tha tried value of many of your former opinions . I might , if I chose that couise , meet the imposing assurance , that you hava thought of thfs subject by day , have mused upon it by night , and bavis given it the benefit of your merning tneditat ' oiis ; " I might , if I choie , and with perfect fairness , meet this formidable preamble by asking you , whether you had not thoiisl > t by day , mused by night , and raedldated in the
morning , on the measure for disfrancnislng the fortyshilling freeholders , before you became the very firs man to suggest that measure to tho two Houses of Par-ILmniit , as being a measure necessary to the fair representation of Ireland ; and whetbt-r , in less than twentyfour months from tne date of the suggestion , you did not , before the face of these forty-shilling freeholders , beg their pardon , and the pardon of Almighty God , for having entertained a thought of their disfranchise uieut ? Passing over the " golden chain , " by which you proposed to bind the Catholic priests to the Protestant Government and hierarchy ; passing over this and many other such errors , and confining myself within the forty-sbilling freeholders' error , might I not , if I euoae , express a confident hope ; nay , presume and almost conclude , that you are not less in eriot now , when you so boldly call Englishmen , in direct terms , and , by inference , the Americana , the slaves of the Poor I » im-s ?
I might , with perfect fairness , do this , and perhaps to the entire satisfaction of the greater part of my readers ; but I will evade nothing ; will consider nothing coming from you as unworthy of serious notice ; and will , therefore , agreeably to my promise , answer your speech point by point . Deferring , till by-and-by , my notice of your charge against the Protestant hierarchy , of having "filched " from the poor of Ireland the amount of the third of their titbea , I begin with your charge against the "English people" of having " made the Irish people poor . " We will cast aside your gratitude towards the former , aB a fit companion for the mutual good-will between the two countries , which this charge of yours is so manifestly intended to inspire and keep alive ; we will
cast these aside ; but , since you so positively assert that we , the many-headed Jack-the-Giant-Killer , Lavy made jour countrymen poor , we may sure ) y be allowed th ? liberty to a * k you to name the time when tbej were rich When Aisaccused of having stolen the property o . B , it is incumbent an B to prove that he ever had the property . Yours being , as to this matter , bare allegation without proof of previous possession , we need not remind you , how you , beiug in such , a case counsel for the accused , would scoff the accuser out of court . We will not scoff you out of court ; we will give you further time for " thoaght , musing , and meditation ; " and will even aid these cool and candid operations of your mind by suggestions of our own . You say that the " English people" have been three or four centuries engaged iu the
work of making tbo Irish people beggars . You doubtless use the words English people instead of English Government , not only from a love of justice , but from anumiable desire to promote the good-will and harmony between the English and the Irish * . But , granted that It Is the English people , what have they done to make the Iriib people poor ? Three or four centuries "An inch is a trifle in a man's nose ; " and with you orators a century , more or less , is not worth stopping about-, it is a mere splitting of straws . These " centuries" could , however , hardly have fairly begun above thirty-two years ago ; for then you had a " domestic Legislature , " and a right good one it was wihout doubt , for you want it back again ? What , however , even going back to the Conquest , have the English people
done to make the Irish poor ? Conquered the country , and parcelled out its lands amongst Englishmen . There ! Take it in its fullest extent ; and what have they done to the Irish , to a tenth part of the amount of what the Normans did to them ? Yet they have survived it ; they have overcome conquest by their indnstry and love of country : they soon Blade the conquerors proud to be considered part of themselves ; and they never sat brooding in sloth * and filth over the fabulous dignities , and splendour , and possessions , of their forefathers . It is , therefore , notperverseness , but sheer nonsense , to talk of wrongs -which the Irish experienced from that cause . The English imposed the Protestant hierarchy upon the Irish . Very unjust , but having no tendency to moke them poor , any more than the same imposition upon themselves * and it has
been heavier upon themselves ; for they have always hr . d to yield greater tithes than the Irish . They forbade the open profession of their religioa * on pain of exclusion from civil and political powei . Unjust sis well as foolish ; b » t thft same is done to-the Quakers everywhere , and that does not maka them poor and ragged ; * and bow , when tha Irish have civil and polities ! power , they ar « power than ever ! Have the English people ever taxed thu Irbb ? We will see about that by-and-by , -when-joa come to talk of the reform that you are se eking . How then have the " English people" made the Irish people poor ? They haVC iindeed , SttffeTed them to be made poor , * by ' not coBiyelling the owners o £ the land in Ireland to jay poor rates . " This is tl ; eir an at sin tow / mis the Irish pespla ; and now , why i they secmi resolved to >\> right iu . this respect , and ' to maka leparation for the
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wrong , as fat as they can , you step in with erroneous facts and fallacious arguments to induce the Irish to believe that that long-withheld good is nn evil ! The fact is , however , that the English paople have never had any hand in causing the wrongs and misery endured by the Irish people . The wrongs and this misery , as far as they have been caused by misrule , have been inflicted by that " band of oligarchs , " to -whom you have bo often , bo recently , and so justly ascribed them , and amongst whom your native oliBancha have been the very , very Worst . The English people have always
commisserated the sufferings of the Irish ; and this feeling has always been most conspicuous , too , amongst the Church of England people . The people of England have been wronged by the injustice of the oligarchs as much as , or more than , the Irish have ; for they have had to pay for keeping the Irish people in submission to those who refused to give them Poor Laws , and who thereby reduced them to starvation . If this be not the true state of the matter , you have the means of proving the contrary ; and if this be the true state of the matter , let the reader characterise your charge against the English people of having made the Irish people poor . ( To be continued in our next . )
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MEETING OF THE SOUTH LANCASHIRE LECTURERS . In accordance with the resolution noticed in our last , tho above meeting took place on Sunday last , in the Brown-street Chartist Room , East Manchester . Thongh many had come a distance of twelve or fourteen miles-, they wer « present to commence business by half-past nine o ' clock . Lecturers assembled : —Doyle , Smithhurst , Lsvvis , Baiiey , Hougliton , Bankin , Littler , Leech , Campbell , Bell , Linuey , Clarke , Booth , Storer , Sheerer , Roberts , and Bmterwoitb-Mr . Whitakcr , a member of Brown-street , was ohosea Chairman . . . , Air . Doy'e inquired the object for which they ha < i been cailea together . _ _
Mr . Cartledfie stated that they had been called together for tho cxpre&s purpose of coming to an understanding with each other on various important questions ; tor those who possessed the greatest amount of information to impart h to their fellowlecturers who rtquired it , and to prevent ono wan giving 0 B 8 answer toa question at ono town one day , aud another lecturer , at the same place , giving a different answer another day to the fame question . It was thou ^ hi ; that , by bvingiDj ; the lecturers coge-. ther , and through the means of . discusuiun , their opinions nvght be brought to havmomse witii each other . : Suoh a step would , tend to improve the lecturers , prevent , contradictory statements , being mndo , and promote ' the causa they had at hears , : il ! fi ^ hiini ; together in thu sair . e cause , h ? . vjj > i ; rne t-. - -. rn' :. < 1-jtsft ill view , u ; uil tbt . I" OXiTUoud Vt - 'JtU'i lit ) erowneu with success .
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Several lecturers expressed * their opinions , and all aKreed'in the propriety of the step which Mtf beeji taken not only in the meeting being held , but also in 'having a regular , series of meetings ; one or two , however , were anxious , before proceeding further , that a code of rules for their government should be drawn up . This , after somo discussion , was not pressed to a division , and Air . Leech , at the request of the meeting , delivered a shoTt address on the last of the following questions , with a copy of which each lecturer had been furnished . ' , . ¦' 1 st . Are you awa e of the amount of wealth produced annually in Great Britain and Ireland ? of the number of producers , and how the present system of legislation affects its distribution ?
2 nd . If the distribution of wealth is u > justly interfered with , what remedy would you apply to insure a just distribution of the produce of Jabour ? 3 rd . Do you consider permanent liberty , and its accompaniment , prosperity , can be secured to the who !« people under a system of competition ? 4 th . What definition do you give concerning real liberty I 5 th . What arc the effects produced in society by the law of primogeniture 1 6 th . What effect has the monetary system of this country on its social and political arrangements ? 7 th . When the Charter becomes the law ' of the laud , do you think that the present arrangements regarding private property can be maintained consistently with the liberty and happiness of the whol © people ?
A discussion ensued , and afterwards the remaining questions were alluded to seriatim ; and on the first question the resolution come to was—"' That when any of the lecturers rtb questioned upon that point , they shall quote the statements of Porter , M'Queen , M'Cnlloch , and Bray , leaving the public to judge for themselves . " The following are the calculations given by Porter , M'Queen , and Bray ; those of AI'CuHoch are not furnished to us : — Porter says—There is every year £ 7 , 000 . 000 of wealth produced by 6 , COO , 600 of working people ; that every man who works , earns . £ 116 133 . iii . a year , which is £ 2 Ss . 6 £ d . per week . According to Potter , it took twelve millions a year to support the clergy of the Established Church . u > Local taxation £ 100 . , 000 . " According to M' Queen : — Total capital of agri- Produce , culture , £ 3 , 258 , 910 , 810 539 , 036 , 201 Do . do . Manufactures , 217 , 773 , 872 271 , 412 , 709 £ 3 , 476 , € 84 , 082 810 , 448 , 910 Families . Total number of persons employed in agriculture , ... ... 1 , 845 , 463 Do . do . trade and manufactures , l . « S 4 , 232 Do . all other families , ... — l , 2 tiS , 536 4 , 799 , 231 Bray states , in his work , that the annual produce is . £ 500 , 000 , 000 And that it was calculated , in 1815 , to be 430 , 000 , 000 Of which tho woildDg class received 99 , 712 , 547 And the rent , pension , and pro til class ... ... 330 , 778 , 825 The total capital , at that time , was calculated at ... 3 , 000 , 000 , 000 The meeting , after a very long and interesting sitting , was adjourned till that day month .
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAB . Sir , —Since ministers took up the Corn Bill , I have frequently observed in the Whig Radical journals , an anxiety for a repeal of the Corn laws , and cheap bread for the poor . But although they pretend to be bo folieitous for thu poor man , I never hear them " break breath" about giving him . the only power which can enable him to stand boldly in his oira defence—tho franchise . 1 say since the Corn , Bill became a ministerial ni 9 asuro , I have ofteu seen a paragraph headed "( ieiir bread means low wages . " There ia one in the Leeds Times of last week , headed " another convincing proof thai dear bread means low ages . " It goes on to state that nm ? ter manufacturers about Hu ' . Jdersfiel ( J have reduced the price of labour between 20 and 30 per cent ., and nska if it ia not a convincer ?
Sir , I should never hive noticed these , with any intention of commenting on them , had I not known tor what purpose they were got up , and being well acquainted with most of the wtiteta of them , I can assure you , that what I am going to say is fact . The articles above alluded to are the original correspondence of the millocrata themselves f They first meet and reduce wages , then go to their office and write tke articles about " dear bread and low wages . " Thus tln ? y blow the trumpet that wages lower when bread ia dear , and say that they could de no more if bread were cheap ! They tell their workmen it is in consequence of want of markets , and preacfe up Whig humbug until their men are . lost in mistification , and thus push forward their own ruin .
They have practised Uiis " lowering system " so long and so often , that they dare not in a direct way any longei . for feat of exposure ; but they have recourse to an imiirect way of lowering wages . They call th « " foreman" of every branch ( who by-the-bye are all Of conrso high Whiga ) into the counting house , having previously made them electors . Tfiey say to them , we are desirous of keeping up the respectability of our men , therefore we will let you your work , and then you wili havo a good opportunity of making more wages ; we wish you to do bo , only push on the work ; the
more you do the more you receive . The foremen a £ ree to this , and set to , well knowiDg tbat the masters are siring less for the work than they did before the iettin ^ . I say they set-to , and pinch the poor men who are under them to excess ; they turn away a portion of them , and make the remainder do twice as r . uich , or nrarly so , as they did before . Work got * vapidly on . They do in four d ; iys what ought to be a wevk ' d work ; ami the consequence is , they are short of employment tvro days per ¦ week , aud have to go and skulk in tho streets for that time , whilst they have done mure work and received leas wages for it . '
And thus we are permitting these mercenary speculative individuals , -who wish for more msrkbts to bav « mote scope of cosnpetition to ruin this country . They are like the frog in the fable , they want to swell themselves to the station of eld experienced an& honest tradesmen who Uave been an honour to this country for centimes . Tho bell is ringing , therefore , I must bo off , or I would siy something more , < m , the subject . But perhaps I way resort to it again . Ju the mean time , I susbcribe myself one who would wish to be represented , . Yours truly , A Wojiking Man . Huddersfleld , July 14 , 1841 .
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" Tbis is said to be a branch of the Melville family , but we do not know its exact affinity . The founder of the Peerage was a Laurence Dundas , cf Merse , who was a Commissary-General and contractor to the Army , from 1743 to 1759 , and was created a Baronet in 1762 . His only sun , Sir Thomas , who succeeded him iu 17 S 1 , was elevated t » the Peerage in 17 & 4 , as Baron Dandas , of Atke , in the county of York . In i 764 , he mrjried the Btcord daughter 01 tie tbml EarlFitzwilliara . by whom he had ttn children . He died in June , 1520 , and was succeeded by his eldest son , the present Baron .
" Lord Dunsas was born in April , 17 Gfi , and m 1794 , married Harriet , daughter of G-eneral John Hall , by whom he has five children living , three daughters and two sons , both the latter of -srliom are in Parliament Be finished his education atTricity Culltge , Cambridge , and entered the House of Commons at an early age . He is a Whig in " poliucs , scd has generally maintained a consistent character . In 179 G , he voted with Mr . Fox for a censure on Ministers , who had advanced money to the Emperor , -Ritiout tie consent of Parliament . In 279 7 , he -was one of a miuority of nbety-three , who voted with Mr . Grey , for a Reform of Parliament ; and subsequently , he supported Mr . Whitbread ' s motion for the imptrurhment of ais relative , Lord MelTiile . In the Upper Huuse , be has foLlowed in the same coarse , although he iB not so constant in his attendance upon Parliamentary duties as the acUvity of the adverse fiction raiders it desirable that he should be . "
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THE ENGLISH CHARTIST CIRCULAR AND TEMPERANCE RECORD FOR'E . N'GLASD AND WALES . Part I . and II . London Cleave , 1 , Shoe-lane , ] 84 l . "We have looked Through these trro parts of the English Chartist Circular with much pleasure , and are g ; ad to find that the commendations we hare once or twice bestowed upon single numbers may be with the Etrictest jusiice extended to the whole . The vrork is real and genuine Chartism , and every Chartist ought to posses ? it ; we are sure he cannot m 2 dj other publication find 50 much sound political knowledge ai so cheap a rate . And htre 55 food lt » r every fcnd of tas : e . We have original essays for the studious , tales for the pathetic , biography for the
patriot , measure * of Government for the statesman , statistics for the calculator , aud important facis coiled from the hisiory of the past to serve as examples , or as waraicj-s for the conduct of the future . To the friends oi Terur er-ince also this interesting f ublicstioa especially commends itself . Here tfiey mav Irarn ' . he important bearing of the cau = e they advocate upon the vrc ' li-being and the political rei . eaera ; : o Tj cf tills couir . ry ; and we trust that soun this important view of the matter ¦ will become so prevalent that it will force it ? elf cpon what is now , through the bigcited acd factious arrangements of Tercperasce Society Committees , forbidden ground ,
the teetotal platibraj cf every town and village in the empire . We are glzd to perceive tha : ? ome ot : he firmest friends of democracy are CODtribulin ^ to the ps ^ ca of the Circular , & \ A we hope that others wili a' -d ; u ib . e samo vrcrk . ^ or must the circulation be forgotten . 2 sotbji : £ buz a large sale can keep this publication on its legs ; and we vroulc , therefore , urg 6 it upon the serious attention of all vrho eow tiki ; it , to use their ntmosc endeavours each to gel a new subscriber . It : s high time tha ; all be ^ an to work ; we cannot long rE inair : as ire are ; the snake of corruption is scotched , but iti 3 Dot dead . Forward , then , and let U 3 complete the VTi . rk we lixve so gloriously begun .
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Deplorable Case of Destititi : «>• . — On Saturday afu-r » oon an inquest was h = Jd before Mr . Baker , at the Throwsttr » ' Amis , E-sc-s-street , WhucchapeJ , on the bouj of Sar ^ n Ssltcr , a ^ ed 1 G , wlose death was alleged to have been caused by the want of the c . mniou -leesssiries of life . Sarah Salter , the deccasfcd ' s daughter , said that she lived with her nsoifcer , in Greek-court , Essex-street . She had been m a very bad state of health lately , and m want of : Be c-rainca necessaries of life . On Wednesday , the oa . ' y iosd ibey had all that day was a halfpennywonii ut' bread and half a pirn of beer be : ween them . They obtan : td " iLeir liring by shirt-nuki- . ^ , for Mr . Silver , of Coruhili and the Commerc ; a ! -road , and the
price ttey receivea ior making a shirt was 4 d . To iiriiih two of these shirts , her mother and herself sat up till ose o ' clock ou Tnurscay mornius . Soon z . i ' t-: r ; hai hoar they retired to bed , her mothtr complainixg of a pa ; n in ihe Lead . She awoke about seven o ' clock , aDd found her mother lying by her 5 i-j . e lifi-Iei' ? . By the Curoaer— " We have been in trie habit for ihe last two years of receiving reiief in oread irem " SYintechapel parish , until about four iaor .: ks _ back , when tho paruchiai authorities stopped that reiief , and refused to pass us to our parish { li . bnat ' y . i ) . " The Coroner here requested Hughe-, the R ^ licving-officer of the parish , wfeo was present . 10 filfn him an explanation , as the inquiry had
assumed a dmerect aspect to what he expected . Mr . Hughes .-aid he recollected the Case very weli . For the lasi two winters they had received between three arid four loaves a week , until four months back , when an ii ^ uiry wis ordered to be instituted by the a'jthoririer , the res-uir of which tvos , thai they came to the ddci .-ioa that the deceased was not in want cf relief , and do application had been made since . The forenjan of the Jury said , that ihis was a case of inanition prodnced by the want of the common Eourisame ^ ts of life , and he , for one , would not be satisfied to yive his verdict until the whole circumstances of tke C 3 ~ e had been fully entered into . After some remarks from the Coroner and the Jury , tie mci'dir- ' was adjourned for xnrther evidence .
FlUGHTFUL ACCIDE . VT AT A . f ICE-HOrsr . —A 31 AN BcHii . D Alive . — On Saturday morning , between eigh : aud nine o ' clock , an accident of a frightful nature , and -b y which a man , named Gile 3 , lost his life , occurred in tbe ice-well of Messrs . Rhodes , the extensive ice-merchants , of Hackney-road . At the time above stated , the deceased , with other men in the same employ , were down the well at work dig-Eing out ihe ice for the purpose of loading some carts which vrkr& waitiBg . The well is entered by a doer at the bottom ^ the ice being above it , and the men , when any ice is wanted , are obliged to cut it from theboUom , working their vraj f&rther ia as the stock decreases ; by this a great excavation is made into the middle of the ice , and in several parts they are able to proceed a great distance . The deceased and
ihree men wera at work under one of these places when tke whole of it fell in . The deceased's companions escaped in the most miraculous manaer , but he , being further in tbe place than they were , was buried Dnder tbe fallen mass , which weighed several ton ? . The fall was so sudden tbat another of the men nearly shared the Eame fate . As booji a 3 their fright -was over they &et to work in digging the deceased out , but twenty minutes elapsed , before they came to him . On taking him out he was alive , but in a most dreadful state of suffering , his arms and legs appearing to be crushed . He was removed on a stretcher to the Lcmdon Hospital ( where he was attended to by Xlessrs . Page ar . d Butler , the snr-JjeOLiOj atd . died kl sn hour afrcr his acrrirsioi ? . The tiCiX-iiied V . " iis 5 . r-iiir ' . ed mui :, ani micea at >~ o . 5 , Coaa ^ e-piact , u « au'aii-sLrcjjt-roid .
Untitled Article
DANIEL O'CONNELL , THE FRIEND OF THE POOR . DANIEL O'CONNELL , THE REVILER OF THE WIVES AND DAUGHTERS OF THE
ENGLISH PEOPLE . £ Many have been the calls upon us to reprint that speech Of Mr . Daniel O'Connell ' s , in which ho uttered his monstrous calumny agaiast tbe wives and daughters of the English people , which has so justly called down upon him that virtnoas indignation his revilings merited . In responding to that call , we are glad to be able to present it in a form which will make it doubly valuable to the reader . We find that the speech iu question excited the surprise and indignation of that firm and unwavering frieDd of the labouring poor , Cohbett ; and that he , at the instant , gave Mr . Calumniating O'Connell such a whacking as would have annihilated any one but this man , whose hide is of brass , whose feelings are of stone , and whose purpose was to ? reserve intact the poverty and prostration of the rish people , so that ho might bring their miseries
to the best market , and make merchandise of their wrongs and sufferings . We give the entire letter from the inimitable and glorious Cobbett to Mr . O'Connell , embodying , as it does , the atrocious speech of the arch-traitor , knowing that it will be read with deep interest by every working man . In it he "will see bnt too evidently how anxious O'Connell was that Jiis " trade Bhould not be spoiled , " by the enactment ef an honest and truthful system of Poor Laws for Ireland ; in it he will find that the lying cheatery was instantly exposed , and the utterer of the calumnies against the English literally impaled ; and in it also find many reasons to be anxious for the reaXoraUou of " Old Batsy ' s law , " which was shortly afterwards abrogated by the enactment of the Malthusian "Amendment ; " for the paving of the way for the introduction of which the infamous hpeoch here referred to was made and uttered ]
TO MB . O CONNELL , ON HIS SPEECH AGAINST THE PHOPOSJTION FOB ESTABLISintvG POOK LAWS IS IH £ UKD , At Mr . Jehnsan ' s , Lime Place , Manchester , 14 th January , 1832 . Sib , —With very great surprise ( to give the mildest term to my feeling on tbe occasion ) I have read , in tbe Mornino Chronicle ot the 7 th instant , a publication purporting to be the report of a speech made by you at a meeting of tbe National Political Union , held in Dublin , on the 4 * h of this same month . The speech is stated to have been made in consequence of & motion by Mr . John Reynolds , for the appointment of a Corainittee to ck-libtrate on tha subject of Po- ? r Laws for Irelani ' . Having long been convinced that the
withhulding from Ireland of theso laws , at the . time when they were given to England , was tbe original sin in the misrule of Ireland , aad that it has been the greatest of all the causes of the immeasurable distance between the manners , th «? habits , acii the condition cf the working classes of the two countries ; having seen that Catholic Emancipation , which was , according to your expectations , so frequently , so eloquently , and so confidently expressed , to restore harcnouy and h&y > pui « s to Ireland , fcas been far indeed from producing any such effects ; being more fully than ever convinced that there never can be peace in Ireland , and that there never can be any security , or chance of security , against those periodical returns of starvation in Ireland , the bare thought of which ought to make an English , and more especially an Irish legislator ashamed tu shew his
fece amongst mortals of common humanity ; remem . bering tkat Mr . Grattan , that Dr . Doyle , and that you YOURSELF , have been the advocate * of this remedy for tbe sufferings of your unhappy country , you , I am sure , will not wonder that , in reading the report of the speech to ¦ wUich I have alluded , my feeling was such as to be very inadequately described by the word surprise ; but you would wonder , I trust , and I am sure that my readers ¦ would -wonder , if I werw not to give an answer to Uurt speech . This I shall bow do , with all tbat respect towards } ou which is due to you on account of yeur laudable and able exertions during the two last sessions of Parliament ; and , in order that the public uwy hsfe the arguments and facts of both sides of the question fairly before them , I will first insert the above-mentioned report of your speech : —
" Mr . O'Conkell rose amid loud cheers . I rise , he said , to second the motion for a Committee . With maay of the principles laid desrn by Mr . Reynolds 1 entirely concur . I belieVd h . 8 has fciaggera ' k-d the ¦ wealth of tha Established . Ciiurch ; but then it is enoraiously great , and almost dtik-s exaggeration . Tho c ' aini which tbe poor have upon that wealth is obvions . On 3-third of it originally belonged to the poor , and they have been filching from tha poor by having kept from them that one-tbiTd . \ Heat . ) I concur also with Mr Reynolds in vthat he has said of tho generosity of the English people . ( Hear . ) Their generosity towards this country in money gifts has been most laudable , and I only wish that they had equally distinguished themselves for their political charity . ( Hear . )
We have got from them thr ^ or four hundred thousand pounds for our beggars , and they have been three or four centuries making beggars of us . Jack-the-Glant-Killer was distinguished for making giants first asd then slaying them ; it is thus the English have acted tovrards the Irish—they have made besgars of them first , and then relieved them . ( Hear , bear . ) Though I concur in the expression of my gratituue to those ¦ who have subscribed to the relief of tho Iriuh poor , so most I also give expression to ray abhorrence of these who Lave made a rich country poor , and have placed a starving population ia the midst of abundance . ( Hear , and cheers ) Though I am must ready to second the motion for a Committee up * n tiiis subject , I cannot but surt back with horror at the proposal of Poor Laws being introduced in : o Ireland . 1 know that a great case is made for them in the niis&ry of the peopie , and I \ rus mrself even ready to plunge itto the Curtian
gulf , where eventually we might be swallowed up , iu the hope that we conld for the time bo able to relieve the distresses of tbe poor . I have thought upoa this subject by day—I have mused upon it by night—it has been the lant thought that visited niy pillow before I closed my eyes W > sleep—and it haa hid the benefit of ray morning meditations ; and the result to which I have come is this , that it would beimpossibie to introduce the Poor Laws here withsut ensUving anil degrading the poor . The poor themselves , I think , would suffer most from a Pooi Law . When people talk of an anittioration o £ the English system , i ask of them to point it out , for I never yet mtt t . mau wlio w . as able to discover it . ( Hear , bear , and cheers . ) I abhor any lDter / erenca vrith the rate of wa ^ es , especially in an agricultural » i > untry # and this is one of those things which frighten me about the introduction of the Poor Liws litre . What kind of Po-jr Law is it that is
wanting ? If it be one for the support of the sick and the inairtfed , I go to the full extent with those who support such a Poor Law . I say thut the state is bound to make provision for tho 3 e wLo are afflicted with sickness or disease ; but there it is our duty to stop . There is no danger of encouraging sickness to enable a man to get into an infirmary , nor ^ ill any man break his leg la order thut he may have a claim upon the charity uf his neighbour . Let me be understood—all claims arising from disease , sickness , or casualty , should be provided for by the state , and to that extent I go ¦ with those who are advocates for Poor Laws . One-third of that ¦ which is now in the hands of tbe clergy , b&ing given to its legal destination , would be fully sufficient to defray all such demands toon charity .
1 Hear . 1 Eveu at present there is scarcely a village in Ireland that , lias nut a dispensary , nor any county town ¦ without its hospital , and if these be not sufficient , tbe Legislature is bound to make provision for them . ( Hear . ) Go beyond tbat , and what do you do ? Are you to take care of the a ^ - . d ? D » you not , by doing so , remove from the individual the necessity of providing for old age '—do you not encourage him to go to the dmiu-hhop , and lay out his sixpence upon his animal gratification , raihtr than of hoarding for the day of wan ' . ? Do you uot take from industry its incentive , and from provider . ee its best guard ? ( Hear . ) If I were , as my enemies represent me to be , one who was locking solely to popularity , and not to serve my country , what more fitting theme could I select than
that of the Poor Laws ? What more popular topic conld 1 possibly adopt ? { Hear . ) I feel , however , that it is the duty of a humane and a conscientious man to express candiuly his opinion upon a topic bo deeply interesting and important to his fellow-countrymen . ( Hear . ) I say , that if you mako a provision for old a ^ re , you take away the great stimulant to industry and economy in yoath . Yen do another thing : what is to become of the aged father and mother ? they lose the solace aDd the aflvctionata care of the son , and the tender attentions of the daughter , the moment you siy to them that a iegal provision for their support is procured . You turn the father and the mother out to the parish , or you thrust them into the solitary , tho cold , and the ¦ wretched poor-housi—there , ia the naked cell ,
sufficient to chill the human breast , you leave the expiring victims of your mistaken humanity . ( Hear , hear . ) But thini not that yon have a compulsory pro"vision for the aged aione ; if you go thus far , you are bound also to pro-ride for the hardy workman , who cannot procure labour , and -who raust not be Itft to starve . Tbe man with a good appetite and willing hands , but who has no work , yon must ineluda htm also . ( Hear , bear . ) It was not at first intended , I believe , to include this class amongst those to be provided tor by the Poor Laws ; but it "was found that they could not be included , and the moment that principle ia adopted , the rich parish weald be obliged to provide for all the poor who mieht claim relief from it , and in a short time that
pariah would be swamped with the number of claimants upon it You cannot say to the City of Dublin that it should h&T 8 a mendicity ose-fearth , the siiw of the metropolis—that every man wh » sought relief there should obtain it , and the citizens be obliged to pay tbe expence 0 ? supporting them . And yet , how are you to discrimlnata , Tmleas you m-ike & taw of settlement , one great instrument of oppression against the English poor . On » of the means of settlement in England is by birth ; there is none less likely to be subject to impasition , and yet none is tnatie a greater instrument of oppression . Tfc 9 moment that it appears a poor woman is in a Eiste of pregnancy , she is iir . mediate'iy made an object f ' . T ptrEccuu . n , acd a notice to quit i .- served by tfce bidiuni an tae wxetchsd hovel th / . t tbe proliEc
Untitled Article
THE DISCIPLINE OF BEVERLEY . " My head ia grey , but not with years , Nor grew it white In a single night , As men ' s have grown from sudden fears ; My limbs are baw'd , with barbarous toil . And rusted with a vile repose , For they have been a dungeon ' s spoil , And mine has been tbe fate of those To whom the'goodly earth and air Are bann'd , and barr'd , forbidden fare . "
Prisoner of Chillon . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Edinburgh , 3 rd July , 1841 . Sir , —From the ready and espe-iitious manner in which your admirable paper convoys public nevrs from the Thames to the foot of the Grampians , and as the only vehicle which now appears open to me for tho subject , I will feel obliged by your laying the following extracts , from a letter just received by Mrs . Peddie from her husband before your readers , amongst whom I am happy to think he has many sympathising friends , who will take an interest in the intelligence . And as the pages of Holy Writ nre most to be prized , when they come to us without note or comment , I shall avoid occupying your time with any indignant reflections . leaving the writer ' s own utterance , " in thoughts that breathe , and words that burn , '' to speak for themselves . W . B . A .
Untitled Article
" My health ( observes Mr . Paddie ) is certainly improved since I last wrote to you , notwithstanding my food , and all the otiier circumstances with which I am surrounded , are bo very different from my former habits ; a plain proof , were any required , of the murderous effect of that English Juggernaut , at whose sbriue there are more ( and I will shortly furnish the world with reasons strong and good for thinking so ) victims sacrificed every year , than beneath the wheels of its brother in Hindostan , bloody as he is siid to be . But I cannot help stating , that the effects that the mill has left upon my constitution , are both painful and
alarming . It has to a certainty cut off ten years at least from my period of existence . I am constantly tormented with a pain in my head—especially the front—ray eyes are much ¦ weakened j so much bo , that I really entertain fears of losing them . My hair is now grey , not like Ephraim ' s , a grey hair here and there ; bu * of truth of 0 most respectable pepper and salt colour . My beard , which I see onco a week , when shaved on Saturday , has become actually white . In addition to which I have lost two more front teeth , so tliat get ma when you may , you will have a respccfcaWa ul'l niitn of 65 at least , in plnuo of 40 ; but in spirit and heart as young and fond as ever . Indeed my spirit seems to be of that kind and cast which no circumstances can control
or curb ; which seems to have been formed by its Maker for resisting uninjured tvery species of persecution , even the most cruel , hellish , and inhuman one to which it has ( been suty' ^ cted ; and yet retains all its former elasticity—all its former love of freedom—and neverdying hatred of oppression . " It ia astonishing what an enormous weight of suffering the humau spirit can support , when it liumbles itself before the mighty hand of its Maker , atid ia strengthened by a firm reliance upon the protection of its God . Indeed could tyrants but perceive the fact ; could they but see the mind of the patriot stron ? in the
integrity of his purpose , and still made stronger m his well-grounded hopes of a glorious immortality—despising them even when his boily is sinking un ; 5 er their hellish , their barbarous torture ; pitying them in the gloom of the dungeon ; pitying them as men , madly laying up for themselves eternal destruction , fierce wrath , and flery indignation , to devour against tbat day wtpu even ( hey will cease from troubling , and their victims will find a rest to which they will be eternally strangers . For the present stata of my mind in its religious feelings , you will find a description in the last chapter of the first epistle of Peter , from tho sixth
yerse . " I wa 3 trcly pleased with the news of your last , both with tlio evidence it contained , that liberty waa not dead , in the 1 , 500 , 000 persons who bad pttitioned Parliament tor our release ; but v / ith the reception of tbat Petition in the House of Commons , evincing the fact that we are not entirely forgot by tbe people . It has also roused my expectation , that if the people continue to bestir themsulves , they will ultimately be the means of restoring ine and my fellow-suffbrera to our ufflicted families . But not without bestirring themselves . For the Whigs ( heavtu in due time reward them ) are like curds in a chtesc-press , they will not
give oat the whey without severe pressure . Meantime I trust that my Irientla jn Eogiand and Scotland -will not cease to exert themselves to obtain nay freedom from this galling and tinly worse than Egyptian bondage ; should they drop their exertions , you may rest assured , that I Will , if spared , remain here every hour of the threo years . As for either mercy or humanity to bo expected from these men , who have refused me justice , ia a thing not to be looked for . Tho public will obtain nothing either for me , or for themse ) ve 3 , but through thu medium of constant agitation aud petition , and the adoption of every other cutvgstiu lutans justified by the laws of the country .
Yon will see by Mr . Hume ' s note , that Lord Normanby has removed me from the English Juggernautthe British Moloch—the life destv « ying favourite machine of English squirearchy—the English priesthood ' s instrument of punishment * * Now , as the VVhigs will most likely take much credit to themselves , and , if possible , pKrauade the people that they ore entitled to it , let me put you in possession of the fact—that this remission will make little or no alteration otherwise for the better in my situation . The fact ia , that nine weeks ago , it was found , that a very few days more continuance of the torture , must have ended in my murder , bad not the surgeon done his duty in throwing the shield of his official protection between me and death . This remission still leaves tne in the condition of a degraded and miserable slave , subject to very severe labour , for the truth of which statement take one instance :- * -
" For six weekB , in January and February . I was employed in working with my hands all day wet with quick lime , till almost every n " ng « r was burnt to a cinder—till the very flesh came out of them as large as sixpences—leaving holts , in many of which a sixpence could have been buried—the marks of the wounds of which I will carry to the grave with me ; aod it is well that it is so ; for should I ever be disposed to forget my sufferings , ami to forgive their authors , I havo only to look at my bands to be awakened to a painful recollection of what I have endured , and raised to those duties
that these sufferings cave inflicted upon me . There is another circumstance to vfbjen I wish you particularly to call the attention of the public , that is , that it bus been the never-failing practice of the British Government towards persons convicted of crime , should any thing occur after conviction to throw discredit upon the evidence by which a conviction was obtained , to give the prisoner the full advantage of such a circuit stavuee . Has this been ao in my case ? It has not . For to have done me this justice would be to admit roy noble persecutor and his friends , ( the blood-thirsty scoundrels of Bradford ) guilty of a conspiracy—a most wicked conspiracy against my life and freedom . " KOBERT PedpiE . " Beverley House of Correction , 18 th June , 1841 . "
Untitled Article
Tyranny of the Factory Lord 3 . —The millocraey and prontocracy , when courting popularity to subservo their own purposes , not ( infrequently tell the workies that the interests of the employer and thOBO of the employed , are identified , and that both must rise or fall together ! yet we invariably find that the profitmou ^ er ' s conduct runs counter to such doctrine , an instance of which is furnished by a correspondent , who writes as follows-: — " The masters of a certain mill , not twenty miles from Heywood , have of lato acted in the following manner towards their workpeople . A few days after the 12 th of August , 1839 , they called on every one who had been in th& habit of attending Ciiartist meeting ? , to sign their names to a paper , pledging themselves not to attend
any more , and if they refused , they would be discharged from their employment . They also made arule that no more collections should be made amongst the weavers towards supporting the siok , or burying the dead . They were requested to grant the weavers leave to make a subscription towards the Stockport turn-out , on every alternate Friday afternoon , that day being the weavers pay day ; this was not granted . A lew weeks ago , men were appointed 10 go round to « very spinner , weaver , &c , in oracr to see what each would give towards an organ for St . James ' s Church , Hey wood ; and thoagh tiie poor while slaves had nothing to spare , yet , through fear , seme gave as high as 10 a ., 7 s ., 53 ., 2 s . 6 < L and some as low as Is ., and others 6 d .
When tna anti-Corn Law petition was laying for signatures at various shops in Heywood , petition sheets were brought to the factory , and the men called upon to sign . At the recent election at Rochdale , the mill stopped on the day of nomination , and the men were told to go in procession , with banners , bands of music , &c , to Rochdale , in order fo hold up their hands in favour of James Fenton , Esq ., the Tory candidate . On Wednesday , the 14 th instant , tho spinners were sent for , and informed that their wages would be reduced to an amount which they , the spinners , calculate at 6 s . per week . Some objected to the robbery , while others oringingiy submitted to the avarice of their employers . " — So much for identity of interests .
The Census . —Amongst the many curious entries made on the enumeration schedules which have been returned in the town district of the Kensington division , are the following . t-r' ^ W . Wiutehota , 5 J tailor , no ; Martha White'hdrn , 37 , 'wife , no ; ' John Fred . Whicohorn , 8 , yes j William Henry 'Wbitehorn , 4 , yes ; Arthur O'Connor Frost Wbiteborn , nine months , yes . All earnestly pray for the speedy return of Frost , Williams , and Jones , the release qf all political prisoners , and that tiie Charter may be ' come the law of the land . " . A Rival to the " New Ikpebnal MaCHiWB . "The " f . 'a : 3 " in our printing-office ( Ohio Squabbler J offer to back Miss Jemima Bloom , their overseer , to do moro " blowin' up" in one day than all tha gunvowdcr iu the "States . " . They will be happy to let Colonel Pa ? li-y have her for a moderate consideration ; aud ) f &he ik-c ' t give Koyal G . oi-c a startler , the Colorcl may depend ouVaeVproof a ^ 'in detouatiu * power .
Untitled Article
THE NORTHERN STAR , 3
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), July 24, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1119/page/3/
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