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THE SOUTHERN STAR SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1842.
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®& aa^atr^ itito €m*ty(Htoent$*
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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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KEWCASTtE . GREAT CHARTIST MEETING IN THE GTJILT >
HALL , THE MAYOR IN THE CHAIR , On Tuesday latt , a public meeting , convened by the Mayor of Newcastle , in compliance -with a requisition bearing the signatures of 605 of the inhabitants "was heid in the Gaild Hall , to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning Parliament for Universal Suffrage , Tote by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , Equal Yottng Districts ' , No Property Qualification , and the Payment of Members of Parliament—on which occasion the spacious Hall "was crowded in every comer . At twelve o ' clock , James Hodgson , Esq ., the Mayor , took the chair , and opened tbe meeting by the requisition being read \> j the Town Clerk , and the ilayor hoped and trusted that every gentltman -who rose to ad dress them on the subjects set forth for discussion would receive a fair and impartial hearing , and he -would now be happy to listen to any ene who was desirous of expressing his ¦ entunents .
Air . Wit . Btrse rose to move the first resolnbon , and at great length explained the principles of TTni-¦ vtTsal Suffrage , which was briefly seconded by 1 &X . Thomas Gray , and carried unanimously . The resolution ran as follows : — " That this meeting believes it to be the inalienable and constitutional xizbt of eTery man unconvicted of crime and of sound aiad , to exercise the franchise in the election of . members of Parliament ; that to give tbe elector the free Ttse of his franchise , the -rote should be taken by ballot ; that to render the representative duly responsible to his eonstituents , Parliaments should be chosen annually ; that as wealth conferred neither intelligence nor ability , the propeaty qualification in members of Parliament akould be abolished ; that as want of wealth excluded
many men » f talent from the services of the people , members should be paid a limited amount of salary ; and , that th 9 country shcald be divided into equal electoral districts . " Me . Byrne then moved the adoption of a petition founded on the resolution , and that it be transmuted , after signature , toThomas Dancombe , Esq ., M . P ., for presentation to tbe House of Commons ; "which was seconded by Mr . Wilkie ; whereupon Mr . Sinclair moved as an amendment , that a pet tlon , the eepy of which he held in his hand , ( and which with tbe permission of the Chairman , he would read , ) be adopted by this meeting ; Mi . "Wm . Atkins seconded Mr . S . " b amendment Then Mr . S . read aloud the National Petition , and was loudly cheered by the meeting .
Mr . Bvrne , seeiDg this , laid he was not a ^ are of the intention of moving the petition ju « t read by Mr S-, or ± ie would gladly have given place , and he sow begged leave to withdraw the resolution which he bad placed in the hands of the Mayor . Here Messrs . O'Brien and Binns entered the Hall , » Qd were hailed with most deafening cheers . The Mayor put Mr . S . * s amendment as a substantive motion , and it was carried unanimously . Mr . SiKCUiis then moved" That the Petition now adopted , after procuring as many signatures as possible , be transmitted to the Contention—the Parliament of the working classss—for presentation to the House of Commons . " Tbe motion was seconded by Mi . 6 . Binns , and carzssd unanimously .
Mr . B . OBaiE > ' then rose amidst enthusiastic cheering- He said he had been told that his assistance might be necessary to get the National Petition passed CD the present occasion . He was glad to see that the people of Newcastle could pass it themselves . They night depend upon it , that if ever they were to get the Chatter , it must be by their own exertions ? and this seemed to be their own opinion , for of themselves they passed it , and passed it unanimously . He could assure them that if ever he were a member of the National Convention , he wonld not only give his best attention to tbe due presentation of the petition , but be would also tell the people generally , that if they desired to possess their political rights , they must imitate the conduct of the men of Newcastle . He
'would now propose a vote of thanks to a gentleman ¦ who had done himself great honour in calling this meeting , and presiding over its deliberations . The Mayor of Newcastle , disregarding all party consideratJons , bad felt it to be his duty to comply wiiiithe wishes of a large number of bis fellow-townsmen , and to give them the opportunity of exercising a great constitutional privilege , under the sanction of their Chief Magistrate . Such conduct waa highly honourable to the worthy Chairman , and he- { Mr . O'B . ) rejoiced to thick that a better feeling was springing up in a large c . &ss of the community , that had previously looked with suspicion and distrust on the advocates of the Charter . The meeting would observe that a new feature had been added to the National Petitien . It
sow prayed for a repeal of the Legislative Union of Great Britain and Ireland—not far the dismemberment ¦ of the empire—not for the severance of Ireland fiom the British crown . The Repeal of the Union simply meant that the privilege of internal government be restored to Ireland . They were all aware that the American Republic was composed of several States , « aeh of which possessed the privilege of local government , -whilstthfirawas also a genera ! govemmtnt f-r the whole of tbe United States , And it was this for "which the Ir ; sh had been so long agitating . Well , then , let the Chartists of Great Britain assist them in tbe struggle , and the Irish Repealers would join in the € ems > od for the Charter . Mr . OB- felt great pleasure in sajisg , that the two towns he admired most
$ 2 the kingdom were the first that had : adopted the National Petition , in public met ting duly convened by the constituted authorities- Newcastle adopted it—it had also been adopted in Brighton . Mr . OB . showed bow the interests of the several classes of the community were " not identical under the present order of things , and the necessity of the Charter to place them all on the same level , &c ., and after , in strong terms , denouncing the accursed New Poer Law Bill , he said "that a certain local organ , which Mr . O'Connor would call the Coifs Head Observer , had compared Mm ( Mr . O'B- ) with Shakspear ' s Jack Cade , who promised his followers that there should be , in England , seven halfpenny loaves for a penny , that the three hoopsd pot should have ten hoops , and that he would make it felony
to drink small beer . Now in his ( Mr . O'B . " a ) intercourse with tbe ptople he had never promised anything mere than the fruits of their own labour . He left suth delusions to the "Whizs and emigration agents ; he had never spoken , as ihe Newcastle Courani asserted , of taking the land from the present possessors and giving It to the people ; but if he had done so he would only have been following the doctrine of Moses , who was friendly to the cancelling of all debts once in every seven years , at > d a redivision of the land every half century- - Were soch a plan to be adopted now , why they , the people of England , would all be whitewashed to-night , and as > m * y as bets dividing the land to-morrow morning . Mr . O'B . went on giving the factions , with which we have to contend , their own with interest for abent aa hour , and "was loudly cheered at the end cf everv itnience .
Mr . Gkat seconded the vote of thacks to the Mayor , and being one of the deputation who waited upon hia worship with the requisition ; he could speak to the urbanity with which they had been received , and the readiness with which their wishes had been granted-{ Loud cheers . ) Mr . OBriex pat the moUen to the meeting , and it was carried with acclamation , after which three times three enthusiastic cheers -were given for the Mayor . The MaTob thanked the meeting for tbe honour which ha « i been conferred upon him so warmly , and also for the good order and good feeling "which tad characterised the proceedings . The business being now ended the Mayor left the ehsir .
Several voices called on Mr . BIX 5 S to address the meeting , wkich he did , and regretted that so few gents of tbe middle classes had attended tbe meeting . The present meeting , he waa sure , would do much to advsBce th * cause of the people . It would teud to do a-way with the distrust of the middle classes , and when once the antipathies of the two classes were abolished , the success of the popular cause would be the natural eonstquence . Mr . B . concluded by an exhortation to -union , and the people dispersed . PtBLIC SCPPEB TO MB . B&ONTEHRE OBBIES IN THE CHARTISTS' HaXL , GOAT 1 X 5 , CLOTU Ma ~ Ex . et , Newcastle . —Abjut seventy sit down to a very substantial supper . After the cloth "sras drawn , Mr . Sinclair was unanimously called to tie chair , who
epened the proceedings of the evening in an appropriate address , which he concluded by proposing and responding to the first sentiment— "The veople , the only source of legitimate power . " The next was— " The health tf Mr . O'Brien , and may all his tfruits for the good of the people be soon crowned with snecess . " Mr . Wiikie handled this toast in a very humourous and masterly style . Mr . O"Brien responded at great length in ^ his usual prepossessing strain , and was coeered throughout " The People ' s Charter ; and may it soon become the law of tbe land , " was proposed from the chair , and was very ably responded to by Mr . Cockbnrn , in which he gave some very broad bintB to tbe "new move" gentry , and proved their imbecility to frustrate the growth of gennine liberty ,
notwithstanding their many treacherous attempts . "The Democratic Press , and may 5 t 3 itfluence speedily overthrow tyranny all over the world . " This sentiment was ab ] y lesponded to by Mr . Crothers . " The healths of Messrs . Pxost , Williams , and Jones , and their speedy return to their families and homes . " Mr . Kempster R * bson Rsponded in a very eloquent and appropriate style . " Tbo speedy liberation of all political prisoners , and nay they soon find a reward for their sufferings in the trinmph of their principles . " Mr . Cockbum responded in an able manner but britfly , in consequence of the lateness of the hour . Prior to tie health of Frost , Williams , * nd Jones , 2 dr . O'Brien expressed a desire of to rest
retiring , having been greatly mistimed of late , and btfore he went , he would propose his constituents , the noa ^ electors and honest electors of Newcastle , and may their conduct in the last General election be imitated in every borough in the United Kingdom . " Mr . O'B . showed what he would advise tfeem to do at tbe next election , and concluded amidst' great applause by wishing them all good nigLt . " The illustrious dead , whose efforts in the cause of liberty have rendered their mmes immortal . " Mr . Faiscleugh Tespsndeti very briefly in consequence of the late hour . " The health of Mr . Hall , the landlord of the Goat Inn , and the thanks of the association , for his liberality in giving them the
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use of the Hall , and hia unceasing efforts te farther the cause of universal liberty , " "which was responded to by three unanimous cheers . " Mr . K . Robson proposed tbe health of the Chairman , and the meeting separated , highly gratified with the evening ' s entertainment
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SOUTHAMPTON . TRIUMPH OF THE DEMOCRACY OVER THE CORN-LAW REPEALERS . A very interesting and spirited meeting took place here according to announcement on Tuesday evening , Jan . 18 th , to adopt the National Petition , to pass a memorial to the Qeeen for the return of Frost , Williams , and Jones , and also to nominate a delegate to the General Convention of the industrious classes . As the " shades of evening" closed there were manifest an unusual spirit of activity and
excitement amongst the working men . Ab they repaired to the place of meeting , they could be heard in earnest conversation as to its snecess , which fortunately for their good judgment and their love of the jast principles of the Charter , proved to be one of the best lessons ! taught to the Corn Law repealers , we ever had the pleasure to record . The Chartists were unaware that any opposition would be offered to their proceedings ; but , however , they were prepared for any emergency , and concluded the meeting in a glorious manner .
Toe chair was taken by Mr . Gale , who read a letter from the Lady of General Napier , assigning illness as the cause of the General ' s absence from the meeting ; he read letters also from Salisbury , Portsmouth and from Bath , apologising for their not sending delegates to tbe same . Mr . Palmes proposed the first resolution . He addressed the meeting as fellow slaves ; he considered it necessary to apply this term to them , because no man who had only his labour to depend on , and was not represented , was otherwise than a slave . The Chartists had been accused of being levellers , and of wishing to destroy the property of the rich . What a ridiculous idea it was to suppose that they wanted to destroy that which it had cost them so many years of labour to create . They were not so ignorant as not to know that if they destroyed property they would bring ruin on themselves ; what
they wanted was equal political power , and then would follow a more equal distribution of the wealth which their own labour should henceforth create . Ic was said that the Government was not to blame for the distress that now existed—that it arose from the improvidence of the working classes themselves ; he threw back with contempt the foul assertion . Those who assumed to themselves to become their rulers set the example of improvidence , vice , and profligacy- Some say the people are too ignorant to exercise the suffrage , and they , on the o ; her hand , have not proposed any efficient means to ascertain the precise qualification of the electors , without including the most ignorant portion of society , to the exclusion of the most intelligent . The Charter appeared to him the only means to establish an honest and upright Government—a Government that will secure to all the most permanent happiness peace and prosperity . ( Cheers . )
Mr . Hill britfly seconded the following resolution : — " That this meeting is of opinion that the withholding of all political rights from the working class has caused a spirit of disconteBt to spread amongst them , which can only be allayed by allowing tho noble and worthy principles contained in the People ' s Charter to become the law of the land . " It was put from the chair , and passed unanimously amidst the acclamation of the meeting . Mr . Philip Branson , from the Isle of Wight , then proposed the adoption of the National Petition . He went miuutely into the whole of the sections of the petition , and explained and enforced the principles of the Charter m a powerful and eloquent manner , much to the satisfaction of the meeting . Hespoke at considerablelength , and was much cheered throughout his speech .
Mr . Goodman , in a bold and energetio manner , briefly seconded the resolution . Mr . Hood then came forward , and mounted the platform for the purpose of moving the following amendment : — "That this meeting regards the five fundamental points of the Charter as successive step 3 in the great march of perfection of the English nation , and the progression of popular influence ; but that it likewise regards the great question of the repeal of the Corn Laws , as the prime legislative means of the happiness of the people , and pledges itself to further all other means of securing moral and national improvement . "
A good deal of uproar and confusion took place when Mr . Hood commenced , but by the exertions of the Chairman a hearing was at length obtained and he was suffered to proceed . And after delivering one of the most declamatory and contradictory speeches , in which he alternately Abused and approved of the Charter and the Chartists , he Eat down amidst groans and hisses . The amendment was seconded by Mr . Naylor , Mr . Baetlett rose and was received with great cheering . He coj tended that if they got the repeal of the Corn Laws by the united exertions of the working classes and the middle classes , some equally injurious law would be likely to be passed in the following session of Parliament , and then they would
have all the work to do over again . He did not believe all the advantages contemplated from the repeal of the Corn Laws would ber realized . In 1835 bread was one-third cheaper than now , with the same Corn Laws in existence . The increased demand for our manufactures would tend more to give employment for machinery than for manual labour . For how could the working classes work Tor the same wages , when , on the other hand , they have . to pay three times more taxes than any other nation in the world . Why vrere the working classes called on to assist in obtaining a repeal of the Corn Laws I They were out of the pale of the constitution . If , however , the people bad political power , they would soon alter the Corn Laws . Let the middle classes , then , join with them to get thet Charter , aud they would easily beat the landed aristocracy . Such a union had taken place at Bath and oiher places , and would soon follow throughoue
the land . There was now , in the tenth year of thn Reform Bill , nearly a hundred majority of Tories it the House of Commons . Tne Whigs could not swallow that dose , —( cheers)—and within twelve months they would see the timid Whig quietly moving over to the Conservatives , and the Whig Radical joiniag the Chartists . The meeting had already passed a resolution affirming that . the Charter w& 3 the only remedy for the evils at present existing , and if they carried the amendment it would give the lie to what they had previously done . An arrangement was then made , by which Mr . Hood , the mover of the amendment , and Mr . Brannon , the mover of the original resolution , each agreed to speak a quarter of an hour on their respective sides of the question . This was done , aud the opinion of the meeting was then taken , wken the original motion was carried by a large majority . The meeting then gave three tremendous cheers .
Mr . Babtlett then read the memorial , and moved its adoption . Mr . Tafget seconded it , and it was put to the meeting , and was adopted . Mr . Palmer moved that Mr . Babtlett be the delegate to represent the Chartists of the Southwestern district in the General Convention . This was seconded by Mr . Lnglefield , and carried unanimously . Thanks were voted ( o the Chairman . Cheers were given for Frost , Williams , and Jones ; for the Charter , and for the people ; and the meeting broke up much delighted with its proceeding .
The Southern Star Saturday, January 29, 1842.
THE SOUTHERN STAR SATURDAY , JANUARY 29 , 1842 .
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- PROGRESS OF OUR PRINCIPLES . Scabce a week passes ttat does net afford some marked and decisive evidence that the policy recommended by us , and acted on by the people , of shewing the Whigs the outside of Downing-street , has been attended with most admirable results We . last week noted , in commenting on Mr . Biggs ' " Midland Counties' Charter , " the insolent assumption by that person , that the people are utterly powerless without the Whig middle classes , while he yet raves and fumes like a maniac
because these same people have driven the pets of- these same Whig middle classes from their roosting place , and replaced them by the Tories Such-are the stupid writhings of jolterheads , who , like Mr . Biggs , hold on by their folly till the last moment , and come over to the Chartists , token they are forced , grumbling and making wry faces all the time ; like an unwilling monkey , who doe 3 what he is bid , but grins in your face . Thank God , however , the middle classes are not all Bisgse 3 . There
are many among them well principled , high minded , and sincere lovers of true liberty , who , in . their simplicity , have been deluded by the fair speeches of the Whigs iu former times , and have accorded them their confidence from a belief that they were honest in their professions of a desire for good and cheap government . These have time now to thini . Their attention i 3 not kept always on the rack to devise means hy which to save fiom going down a government which though far from being what they wished was yet w a Reforming Govern-
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ment . " These , Tery naturallj , now want to make the dblodginR of tbe Tories the means of installing parties who will do justice and not again disappoint the people ' s hopes . These , while they sought by every means to uphold a Whig Government in power in preference to a Tory one , yet now look out for the safe ground on which to replace the Tory Government , which they perceive to have been forced on them by the treachery of their former protogees . They look round , carefully because honestly , and thev find their only hope of success to be in the
People's Charter ; and hence they become Chartists from conviction and principle , who would have remained Whigs had the Whigs remained in power . Grumbling supporters it is trae they might have been ; hut supporters of Whiggery they , would still have been from the very dread of its exchange for Toryism . The accession to the people's cause of mind like these , honest , sincere , and influential is a benefit worth having , and marks , we repeat it most emphatically , the wisdom of the proceeding by which it has been obtained . We are led to these
remarks by the fact that some kind friend has send us a copy of the Kent Herald , the only liberal paper published in the Arohiepsoopal oity of Canterbury . In that piper we find the National Petition given at full length in the leading columns of the paper ; introduced and followed with the following remarks : — " In the midland and northern districts the principles of politics to which It ( the National Petition ) refers , are generally understood , but in Kent a 7 ery great part of the population are unacquainted with the precise nature of a petition which has been thus widely and eagerly adopted . YTq will place it
then on record in eur pages , for whatever differences of opinion may exist aa to some portions of it , and nothing can secure universal approval , we feel convinced that it will , in coDJuction with the People ' s Charter , drawn up be it remembered by a committee of well-known members of Parliament , be tbe basis of all future political movements . The Whig Reform of 1831-2 has been tried , and as a final measure proved an entire and undisputed failure . The People ' s Reform BUI will hereafter be the only antagonaatic power to Toryism . * * * * * Those who want tbe sanction of great names may take courage by reflecting that the principles above
advocated were formally and publicly promulgated by Charles James Fox , as Chairman of the Westmlntter Committee , in 1780 , of which committee were members the Dake of Portland , Earl of Egreniont , Earl Temple , Lord John Cavendish , Lord George Cavendish * the Hon . Thomas Townaend , Mr . R . B . Sheridan , Mr . Sawbridge , Mr . Wilkea , and about ninety other noblemen and gentlemen . The report published by these eminent persons recommended the adoption of Animal Parliaments , Universal Suffrage , Equal Voting Districts , No Property Qualification , Voting by Ballot , Payment of Members , and Poll to be taken on the same day . "
It is really refreshing to see the cause of honesty and justice thus progressing towards the extinction of Whig liberalism . Being taken up by some from conviction and principle , by others , as in the case of Mr . Biggs , unwillingly and with an ill-grace—but still taken up as " the only antagonistic power to Toryism . " ;
THE " BABY SPRINKLING . " Axl the London papers have been full for the last few days , and all the provincials will , of course , be full to-day , with the " Christening . " Not an inch of the full measure of the insult must , of course , be lost . Rejoicings of all kinds have been rife , and loyal laudations have flowed out ad libitum . We have no doubt that our " gallant " neighbour , THE QUEEN-GROANER , will croak loyalty with the best feathered of the
Raven tribe . We had , of course , no mind to be out of fashion , mnch less disloyal ; and were therefore just sitting down to pen a loyal ditty on the matter , when the post brought us the following excellent commemoration of the " Royal" and u auspicious " event , from a valued Correspondent at Bath , who writes us , that on the day the baby Prince was sprinkled with ** holy water , " the following excellent verses were plentifully distributed , and with excellent effect : —
A STAKVATION AMHEM POB THE KOYAL CHRISTENING Bring forth the babe in pomp and lace , While thousands starve and curse the light 1 But what of that ! on royal face Shame knows no blush , however slight 1 Bring forth the babe ; a nation's moans Will ring sweet music in his ear , For well we know a people ' s groans To royal ears were always dear . Bring forth the babe ; down , courtiers , down ! And bow your lacquey knees in dust Before a child ' s beslobbered gown . { Our children caanot find a crust )! When Christ was born , no servile throng Around the Saviour ' s manger met ; No flatterers raised their , fulsome song ; But what was Christ to Albert ' s pet ?
God , who hast heard tbe widow's moan ; God , who hast heard the orphan's cry ; Thou , too , dost sit upon a throne , Bin none round thine of famine die ! Things like this babe of royal birth , Who boast their princely " right divine , " Are but thy parodies on earth—Their ' s is oppression , mercy thine ! Bring forth the babe ! From foreign lands Fresh kingly vampires flock to greet Thi 3 new one in its nurse ' s hands ( For royal mothers give no teat ); Bring forth the toy of princely whim , Aud lot your prayers mount night and day , For ought we not to pray far him Who'll prey on us enough some diy ?
Oh ! who would grudge to squander gold On such a glorious babe as this \ What though our babts be starved aiid coldi They have no claim on earthly bliss ; Ours are no mongrel German breed , But English born and English bred ; Then let them live and die iu deed , While the plump Cobourg thing is fed ? Christen the babe , Archbishop proud , Strange servant of the lowly Christ , Thousands are to your purse allowed—For him the smallest loaf suifleed . Though holy-water's scanty now , My Lord you may dismiss your fears ; Take to bapiise the intant'u brow A starving people ' s bitter tears !
We recommend Prince Albert to try and fit the above words to a suitable tune , that they may be introduced into the royal nursery for a lullaby to the Young Prince .
THE MURDER OUT . —THE SECRET OF THE OPPOSITION TO THE NATIONAL PETITION BY THE PSEUDO CHARTISTS OF THE SCOTTISH CONVENTION . So , then ! the shadows in the distance flit before us , and their real forms appear . We have just received the following extract from the Dumfries Courier of Monday . Wo have not seen the paper ; but take the statement on our informant's credibility After stating that there wa 9 a delegate meeting of the Corn Law repealers on Saturday , the Courier says : —
u In the evening a splendid soiree was held in the City Hill , attended by 1 , 500 persons , Mr . Oswald , M . P ., in tbe chair . The ( speakers were Mr . Alex . Graham , ofLanceneld , the Rev . Alexander Harvey , Mr . Graham , Capilly , the Rev . Mr . Bkewsteb , Mr . Lumsden , Mr . Walter Buchanan , Mr . Pattesojj and Mr . Acland . The only feature of intere .-t iu the meeting waa ihe appearance there of Mr . Patteson , who is one of the most intelligent and influential of the Chanitt body , and by his appearance and speech gave in his adhesion to the anti-Corn Law movement both for himself and many thousands of followers . " .
Here , then , we have a perfect clue to the opposition of those parties to the National Petition , and their hostility to O'Connor . Thus have these pretended Chartists—these spies from the " League " Camp—been seeking to establish themselves among tbe unsuspectiog Chartists , to sow dissension and division in their ranks—to beget distrust of their old tried and trusted leaders—that the first opportunity might be taken of handing them over , " neck and crop , " to the enemy .
How very wonderfully Chartism does thrive and multiply under " League" fosterage . When in-right earnest for the Charter , we are an insignificant fraction of the pop ulation—a party without power ; but no sooner is the transfer and the mock confession made , than the " followers" become "thousands" ! And the accession is boasted as
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a tare aoonmulation of strength and power . Good , simple leaguers ! Reckon ^ not y our chickens too early . You may succeed in getting over Mr . Pattesow at the tail of Parson Brewster , but ye'il get no honest Chartist with him . They know you too well—they would not trust you for a single yard—and you wiil by and bye rub your foolish eyes in wonder that the Chartist cause goes on full be . ter for the loss of Mr . Patieson ; and that the rejection of your nostrum by the Chartist body , is just as perfect and decided now that you have him to help you to cram it down their throats as it was before .
We congratulate the Scottish Chartists on the secession of Messrs ; Brewster and Patteson ; just as we would a coach wheel on the absence of the slipper . We shall not be sorry to record a few more unmaskings .
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WAGES OF LABOUR / AND "EXTENSIONS " OF COMMERCE . The great bugbear that the advocates of " Extension" of our present commerce hold up to our noses to frighten us out of our common sense when all argument has failed , is ^ Foreign Trade " and the danger to be apprehended from " Foreign Competition . " It is really amusing for a by-stander to observe the dexterity with whioh this bug-a-boo is handled and exhibited , as a never-failing silencer to all oomplainera , by the "free-traders" in human misery and poverty .
Does the workman cry out , and complain that his cottage has been stripped ; that the " ineal kiBt" has been dragged ou £ ; that his shelves have been emptied ; that his back has been unclothed ; and does he murmur at the system which has used him thus ill , — the fantasticaily-dressed " boggart" is shewn to hinij and ho is warned that if he does riot be quiet " Foreign Competition " will take him !
Does the wife complain that she has - been dragged from her home , and forced to take her husbaud ' s place in the factory—to labour there in artificially heated atmospheres , to earn an existence for her family , and chained so to the wheel , by their poor circumstances , that she dare not leave her work until the labour-pangs physically incapacitate her for performing the hard task ; and does she lament that the home comforts she once enjoyed are all departed—bug-a- boo is shewn again , and she is asked , "How is it possible to be otherwise , when we hare the foreigner to meet in the foreign market" ?
uom the child complain . that it has been forced from the mother ' s hearth into the din , and noise , and stench ; and heat of a manufactory , and compelled to take the place of an adult in attending upon the dangerous revolving machinery—compelled , in many instances , by that attendance , to travel daily over a space equal to forty miles in length ; that it is debarred from all chance of schooling , except such as unfits it for the'duties of life ; that it
is maimed , and diseased , and deformed , and decrepit , and in . too many instances exposed to a violent and horrible mode of death ; and does it ask for a modicum of protection ; does it beg of men and fathers not to work it to death ; does it implore for M leave to toil" but ten hourt a day , —the boggart is again exhibited , and the cry of the ' . infant , is drowned in the strange jabber respecting "foreign trade" which is immediately set up .
Does the philanthropist direct his attention to the condition of the workers engaged in our manufar . toriee \ Does he mildly set forth that misery and destitution and disease is their lot ? Does he show that cellar-dwellings , absence of drainage , want of proper food , indiscriminate huddling together , and the absence of all moral tutelage , produces a race of beings unfit to be the progenitors of another generation ! Does he prove that the speoies are becoming physically deteriorated , and that morality has neither name nor being amongst us ? Does he ask why these things are so , when we have in our possession the means of producing wealth
illimitable I And does he earnestly plead for a slight alteration in the regulation of our national and economical affairs , so as to ensure plenty , comfort , and well-being to all concerned , either in the production or distribution of wealth ? And does he point out the simple means by which this may be easily effected , —the boggle is again stuck up , and he is met by pertinacious repetitions of the question , " What is to : become of our foreign trade J '' " You ; would . not injure our foreign trade ?' "How are wo to maintain our foreign trade V ' " What shall we do , if we lose our foreign trade ?"
And thus the "free trade" party expect us to be put off ! By such means as these they think to frighten us from an examination of the evils attendant upon and engendered by our commercial system . By these means they expect to be able to re 3 i 3 t all attempts to regulate machinery and protect the workman , and induce us to aid them > n procuring another " extension" of their power , and another aud further prostration of the workman ' s condition . By means like these , they hope to compel us to lay aside reason , inquiry , comparison , and judgment , and to deliver ourselves up into their hands , bound hind and foot together .
To this mode of procedure we demur . We require something more satisfactory . We have no notion of being frightened at this time of day , with " boggles" and "pad-fooits . " The monster shown , us may be hideous aud frightful enough , dressed : up and painted as he is by the ineri who exhibit him : but we feel inclined to ask , are the clothes his own 1 Are the features shown us , his real ones ? Is he as formidable as you make him appear to be ?
And we shall not be content merely with asking these questions . We shall endeavour to answer them . We shall endeavour to examine into this matter , in a plain common sense manner , denuding the subject of the mysterious jargon with which the " oracles" have invested it . We shall endeavour to make our examination homely and telling ; not " scientific" and hard-Wordish . What , then , ia the amount of our Foreign Trade ? i . e . what is it worth to us in Pounds , Shillings and Pence ?
What is the amount of produce we have to give , now , for the amount of money or goods we receive in return , compared with the amounts we gave and received forty or fifty years a ^ o ? « . e . how much does the labour of the present period bring us in , compared with the amounts brought ia by labour , say in 1798 ? The " real value of the produce and manufactures of the United KiRgdom exported during the year ending Jan . 5 llu 1841 , " was £ 5 M 06 J 430 . That is to say , the value in money or goods , which we received for the whole of our foreign trade , as far as our own produce and manufactures is concerned for the last year of which we : have any return ( the returns for the year ending Jan . 5 ; h , 1842 , not being" yet published ) was £ 51 , 406 , 430 .
The amount raised from the people in general taxes , over and above their local taxes and charges , was . £ 53 , 122 , ( 151 . > The real value of British produce and manufactures exported during the year 1798 was £ 33 , 000 , 000 .
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Th ? official value of produce and manufactures exported in the year ending January 5 th , 1841 , was ¦
. ¦ £ 102 , 702 , 372 .: ; ,.. .. - , ; ;;; ¦; : . ; . ' ,- . ¦ . . . y .:. ; v ; , i The officialvalue of the produce and manufactures exported in 1798 , was £ 19 , 000 , 000 . The difference between the two rates of value , official wi real , is that the former sets forth the quantity exported , and the latter the value of that q uantity , according to the invoice prices of the exporters . ; . ' . ; - : ¦ . • . ¦/¦¦; : ' ' .. ¦ ¦ ¦/; , ; . . . - ;/¦ ::: > . By keeping this explanation constantly in view we Bhall ba enabled to estimate , pretty accurately , the value of oiir so-muph-vaunted foreign trade ; and we shall also see what has ' been one of the many astounding effects of bur former"extensions of commerce . "
Official value , then , the reader * will bear in mind , relates solely to the quantities exported . By comparing thei ; official value at any one period , with the real or declared value at the same period , we shall learn how much the exported produce of labour of that period brought in ; and we can compare this with the result of a similar comparison at a later period ; and thus arrive at a correct conclusion as to the relative value of labour at any two periods we please to take . This mode of taking the valuations of exported produco has existed for more than 150 years : consequently w « cannot get' wrong .
In 17 98 , then , we exported , in quantity , £ 19 , 000 000 worth of British produce and manufactures ; and we received for it , in money or goods , £ 33 , 000 , 000 . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . . ' In 1840 we exported , in quantity , £ 102 . 705 , 372 worth . of produce and manufactures ; and we received ^^ £ 51 ^ 06 , 430 . * " ; That is to say , in 1840 we exported much more than FIVE TIM . ES the quantity of raw material and labour , than we exported in 1798 ; and that we only received for this immense increase oi foreign trade about £ 18 , 500 , 000 !!! v
In other worda ^ we have increased our foreign trade to more than fire times the quantity we had in 1798 ; while for that five times the quantity we only receive a little more than one aud a half times the price !!! In other words still , had we been paid in 1840 for the raw material and labour at the same rate we were paid in 17 ° 8 , we ought . to have received for the quantity ^ exported more than £ 177 , 000 , 000 ! while we did only receive £ 51 , 408 , 430 ! !!
Here is a picture of " Extension of Commerce" 11 We have extended" our foreign trade more than four times over from 1798 ; and this is the result ! I ! We receive about half as much for the whole of the increase aa we received , iu 1798 , for one-fifth of the quantity !!! We . have to give to the foreigner , for Is . 6 d ., more than five times the amount of raw material and labour that we gav © in 1798 for one shilling 1 And Extensions of Commerce" are desirable 1 Without them , we shall go to rack and ruin ! For want of them , we are all . out of employment ! For want of more foreign trade , wages are low ! Another " Extension" will set all right ! Operatives , what think you 1
We have not by us , at present , means of reference as to the amouht of taxes raised from the people in the year 1798 . We have , however , a return for the year 1789 , nine years previous . By it we learn that the amount raisedin 1 / 89 was £ 16 , 000 , 000 . So that thk tABouRER , besides having to give five times the amount of labour in 1840 for one-and-ahalf-times the amount of money he received in 17 S 8 , HAB TO PATMN 1840 , MORE 1 HAN THREE TIMES THE AMorai of taxes that be paid in 1788 !! !!
Hurrah ' . for the blcssiugs of " Extended Commerce" and " Cheap Government" ! Hurrah 1 for the wisdom with which our rulers have managed national and commercial affairs ! They have only diminished the workman ' s means three and a half fold , aud increased his state burdens xfeftEE-FOLD 1 ! Another diminution of means must be of immense service ! I
But this statement of the relative value of our foreign tradev in the years 1798 and 1840 , plain and volumes-speaking as it is , does not full y shew the real nature of our two trades at the : several periods named . In 1798 , £ 16 , 000 , 000 out of the £ 19 , 000 , 000 quantity exported , was from raw material produced by ourselves from our own soil ! only £ 3 , 000 , 000 quantity was from raw material imported frpm abroad ! We then grew our own wool and nearly the whole of our own flax . How is ii
uowl Why , that in 1840 , more than two-thirds of the manufactures exported was from raw material which had been imported ! Therefore , ajl the profit that this portion of our foreign trade left us , was the difference between the cost of raw material when landed on our shores , and the amount received for it when re-landed on the shores of America , China , or Timbuctoo ? And what a difference this will make to the nation at large , between growing its own raw material , and buying it abroad !
Here , then , is our foreign trade ! What is it worth ? Is it worth having ? Is it worth following ? Dees it give us enough in return , estimating it in the way the Corn Law League always look at these questions , the pounds-shillings-ahd-pence way , for the efforts and bacrifices we make to secure it t We have run ourselves off our feet ; we have reduced the merchant anil manufacturer to bankruptcy and the operative to beggary ; we have abstracted millions upon millions from the tills of the shopkeeping
olass , and for what ? to secure a trade which brings us in £ 51 , 000 , 000 yearly for five times the amount of labour and raw material we gave forty years ago for i ) 33 ; 000 , 0001 ! What is it worth ? What does it leave I It is a boast that cotton wool comes into the country , at Liverpool , on a Monday morning .,. and departs again , in the shape of cotton twist , on Saturday evening . This is very quick . There has not been very much labour expended upon it in the meantime . Yet this article , cotton twist , is a very large item in the list of exports . It serves to swell it amazingly .
But what does it leave' ! What does it scatter by the way ? How much is there out of this , for either master or man ? It is certainly very quick work to import the raw material on a Monday , and export the " manufactured article ' on a Saturday : but what does it leave ? It runs very quickly through the country ; but does it scatter plenty of crumbs by the way ? These are questions which must be answered : for it may turn out that our foreign trade may be to the nation what physio ia to the body : a scourer out . It may turn out that we lose more than we gain by it !
But , we could not do without our foreign trade We should be ruined without our foreign trade ! What would become of us , if we lost our foreign trade ? Softly , good folks ! Remember that the taxes in . 1840 amounted to £ S 3 ; 00 O , 0 bO ; that is to say , to £ 2 , 000 , 000 more than tho whole we received for our famous foreign trade !!!
Five millions are more than sufficient for the carrying on of an honest Government . So that if we lost ^ the entire of our foreign trade , and . placed taxation on a just and proper tooting , we should only be worse than , we now are by £ 3 , 000 , 000 a-year ; and we should have ail the vast heaps oi clothing and cutlery , and other manufactured produce we now export , at home to divide arnong w , and wear and enjoy !! ' : '¦ ¦[¦ ¦ ' , . " \ " ; ; . ; : '¦ ' ] ¦' ::.: '¦' ¦ ' : '
No , no . Bugbear foreign trade is not so formidable after all I He has been monstrously dressed-up ; but he is not so very frightful of himself , when we come to lift the veil i No , no ; we shall not sink beneath the ocean should we not be able to beat the foreigner in the foreign market ! Suppose that put of our foreign trade of £ 51 ^ 00 , 600 , we received a profit at £ iQfiOQ , OQO . Suppose ( which is not the case ) that this £ 40 , 000 , 000 was all profit ; suppose this , which is a monstrous supposition ; yet suppose it ; it would only amount to about thirty shillings per head , per annum , or 7 d <
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per week , if equally divided amongst our 27 , 000 ^ 00 of population ! 1 A terrible thing to make such a splutter ' about , certainly ! Why , if we could by any means , enable every one of thai same population to spend Id . per day more than they nowdo , thatvwonld be worth , to the nation ai large , infimtblt moke than the vrhole of pair foreign trade ! ! J " : ¦ : ¦> . ¦"¦ - " ¦ ; ¦/ -. ¦ ' - : '¦)¦ ' : ¦ : . - " . Reader , yre have not yet done with the Hforeijpi trade question . " We shall returhvtO it . ; : V
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Communications nor icoticed in wtr LAST .--West Brorawich . —The friends here should copy the memorial from tlie Star ; . write it in a plain hand ' , get dsmany&gnaluresioitasiheycan , arid ' senditprepaidto Mr , «/ . Wilkinson , Secretary to the Frost , Williams , and Jmess Restoration Committee , 5 t Grescoe-street , Birmingham . For the National Pelitivtl , their way is to send posh for as many Petition heads and sheets as they ; mayfteed , and go to work—fill the sheets as fast ¦ as possible with bona fide signatures , and ' sendit off to the general sseyetary , prepaid . —• Pancraa wishes ( lie working men of Loiidon to establish a paper over which they would have Ihe complete controuL to effect which he would have the
subscribers form themselves into an associaliohyeach member paying the price of the paper weeklj / % and a small sum , quarterly , to defray the '' ex ~ pences of the association , the profits to be appro * priqied to the following uses : —To the publishing of political and other works at a cheap : rate ; to the purchasing of a library for the use of the members ; and to the engaging . of lecturers .- — London : Tailors , Three Doves , T&rwick-Btreet , Soho , report'thai , at' theii previous weeklymeet ' ing , after business had been disposed Of , ( inharmonic meeting took place , for the benefit of the masons note on strike ; and that the rooms will be oven for this purpose every evening during the
strike — Firisbury . The report of Mr . Watts was only received on Salurday , —Birmingham * A letter received on Saturday fromi . E . Spink , ' sub-Secretary , desires iis to announce thai : the meetings at Freeman-street are holdeh on Sunday evcriingsiat halfpastsix ; Monday evenings , at eight : the chair taken precisely at the stated time . —Chorley . W . PUfieldySubSecrelary . sends us on Saturday the list of nominations for Council of his locality , with a request that we " willbt pleased to publish it , and to pay more attention to the correspondence from Chotl&f , " of which he says there ; are heavy complaints among the members . It is no wonder that the member *
complain . Tie seldom get anything from Chorley at all , and when we do , it is quite likely to he neglected if it come after the papers are printed . How often must we tell people that we go to press on Thursday ?—Sirathaven . We received front this place , on Saturday , a report of a meeting held on the \\ th instant , at which , among other things , it ibas agreed : —That _' & subscription be entered into immediately for the rearing jof a monument in memory of our murdered townsman , James Wilison , who fell a victim to the hellish spy system of 1819 and 1820 , and that Messrs . R . Griffin , provision store , and James Moir be appointed to receive subscriptions for
the same . Upon this the writer remarks : — . " This lias been long and shamefully neglected ; the grave of Willson , in Strathaveh church-yard is now level with the common earth , and to all , ¦ except a few , unknown , undistinguishable , amid the myriad graves which lye artund . While ^ thousands of meaner name and lesser note have , had monuments reared to their memory , no simple stone so much as mwks the place where sleeps the ashes of the mdrtyr'd WUlson . " —Leeds Ua » employed : Operative Enumeration Committee * The disclaimer of this body of all blame on account of the delay iri completing the investigation oj the overseers is attended to in our present number . ¦¦ . ¦ : ; ! -. ¦ ¦
Brief JRules for the Government of all wh § WRiTBfiottiHis Paper . —Write legibly . Make aa few erasures and interlineations as possible . . In writing names of persons and places be more particular than usual to make every Idler distinct and clear—also in using words not English . Write ' . only on one side of the paper * : Employ no abbreviations whatever , but ¦ write put every wprd in full . Address , communications not to any particular person , but to " The Editor . " When you ait down to write , don't be in a burry . : Consider that hurried writing makes slow printing . Remember that we go to presa on Tnur « day ; that one aide of tiie paper goes to press on Wednesday ; that we are obliged to go on filling up the paper , the whole
week , and that , therefore , when a load of matter comes by the last one or two posts , it unavoidably happens that much of it ia omitted ; and that it is therefore'necessary . to be prompt in your communications . All matters of news , reports of meetings , &c , referring to occurrences on Friday , Saturday , or Sunday , should reach us by Monday ' s ; post ; such as refer to Monday ' s occunencea by lucaday evening ' s post ; Wednesday ' s occurrences by Thuri .-day's post ; and Thursday ' ^ news by Friday morUiog ' s post , for second edition . Any deviation from this order of supply will necessarily subject the matters 86 received to the almost certainty of rejection or serieus curtailment , and we take no blame far it . All personai correspondence , poetry , literary
cDmmunicutions , and articles of comment to be here by Tuesday , or their chance of insertion for tha % week will be very small indeed j if not here by Wednesday we don't hold ourselves bound even to notice , them . Finally , remember that we have only forty-eight columns weekly for all England , Scotland , Wales , and Ireland ; that we have no interest in preferring one town or placa to another , because ours is not a local bat a national paper ; that we are bound , therefore , in dealing with tha masses of matter whick come to us , to hold the scales of Justice evenly— -our first object being the promotion and enhancement , according ' toour oum best '¦ judgment , ti the success of the great and good cause : und our second , the distribution of our time
and space so as to give least cause of . complaint ; that we are aitlte boi | nd to this course of action by inclination , interest , and duty ; and that , therefore , it is useless and senseless for individuals to fume and fret , and think themselves ill used because their communications may not always be inserted , or for societies to trouble their heads and waste their time in passing votes of censure upon us for devoting too much space to this , or too little to that , or for inserting this thing which they think should have been omitted , or for omitting the other thing which they think should have appeared . All these are matters for our consideration , and for the exercise of pur discretion and judgment , which , we assure all parties , shall be always used , so fax
as we are able to perceive , honestly for the public , without fear or favour to any one , and without being , allowed to be turned for one instant from its course by ill-natured snarls or bickerings . DeAby . ^—The friends of this neighbourhood having communications for the Star , or otherwise affecting the . Chartist movement , are ^/ requested to send them to Mr . Thomas liriggs , care . of Mr . John Moss , shoemaker , Plumptfe-iiquure t Ddrley-lane , Derby . Money Ordeks to this Office . —Our cashier is frequently made to endure an , amount of inconvenience utterly inconceivable by those who have not multifarious transactions like his to attend to , by the negligence of parlies to attend to the plain . instructions so often given , to make all money orders sent here payable to Mr . John
Ardill . Some orders are made payable to Mr . O'Connor-some to Mr . Hobson— - ? ome to Mr . Hill—some to Star Office : all these : require the signatures of the person in whose favour they are drawn before the money can be got * This causes an attendance at the post office of , some times t several hours , when a few minutes might suffice if all were rightly given—not to mention the most vexatious delays of payment sometimes caused by i ( - Several old agents , who certainly ought to know better , have often thus needlessly inconvenienced us ; we , therefore , beg that all parties having money to send to the Star Office for papers , by order s will make their orders payable to Mr . John Ardili . ; if they neglect
this , we shall not hold ourselves bound to attend to them ; if , therefore , they find their neglect to produce inconvenience to themselves , let them not blame tis . ; Robert Walker , a factory youth , suggests , as a means of relieving the Executive : — "That a medalist be engaged by the Executive to make medals , with the Six Points of the Charter on the one side , and the Chartist coat of arms on the Other side , same as on the cards . The Executive to fix the price ; and that each person wanting a medal give in his name , together with the money , to the sub-Secretary of bis locality j & * " * then , when the sub-Secretary has got about 160 names , or more , send his order to the general Secretary , the same as sending for cards , only with this exefption ; that the money be paid in advance . He thini
that when this plan is carried into effect , there will be some signs of the plan of the Woolwich ^ tjadet coming into operation . " The Chartists of Canterbury will be happy to receive communications from their broths Chartists in other towns of the county of Kent on the subject of a county lecturer . The address of their sub-Secretary wtil be found elsewhere . Desideratum is referred to the notice already ^ given about porjraits . , : ¦' Wij . Peters . —It is impossible for us to insert reports without shortening them . We should else need six Stars . We must be allowed to exercise our own judgment oh the best mode of doing this . . The CbiJVENTloJj . — We have aletter from Mr . John Maynard withdrawing his name from the Hit of candidates .
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TRIUMPHS OF PRINCIPLE . Wb have only just room to notice the triumphant displays elsewhere recorded of Newcastle , where the six points of the Charter were all swallowed without aay "bockeniEg , " aad the National Petition passed by acclamatioh at a Guildhali-full , with the Mayor in the chair ; and at Hull , where the brave "lads , " of themselves , unaided by a single "gun /' made the whole army of Leaguers glad to beat a parley , and ultimately sound a retreat , leaying the ChartiEts in possession of , at least , the best portion of the field ; although the meeting was their own , and they had all the elite of the anti-Corn Law camp there . Hurrah ! for Hull . Stick , lads , by the Charter ! Beware of the bait ! no compromise ! bo coalition 1 no surrender !
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4 THE N O R T HERN STAR . ^_^
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 29, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1146/page/4/
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