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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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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . CContintied from our sixth page . ) gjid that the principles of his CrovemmeBt were for flsiBg away "with all restrictions upon trade—that the Toice had gone forth—that the hand-writing was on ibe wall , and that he who run could read it The electors did read it , and gave the Noble Lord his reply— ( laughter . ) What said Mr . Barnes , of the Leeds tleratrf ? he declared that it was not the landed interest , bat the manufacturers who returned the present two Honourable Members to the House as representatives of the West Biding of Yorkshire . The ma ufactorers then had , therefore , declared in favour of a sliding scale—( cheers . ) They had declared in favour of a continuance of the Corn Laws , and not for » total
repeal of them —\ cheers . ) Boring ttra recess of Parliament he thought it his duty to mark the progress of the anti-Cam Law League , who were agitating the country with the most Tiolent and infamous placards , headed wife the word " the base , bloody , and brutal landlords that were keeping the bread of life from the poor , " while they were sending forth agitators who were uttering falsehoods still more infamous than what were on those placards ; and to pay the expence of which the Learners were , daring the past week , " exposing" their ¦ wives and daughters at Manchester—( cries of " oh , oh , " and laughter . ) Whilst they were agitating the country , \ s ( Mr . Ferrand ) made an inquiry into the truth # onnected with their movements . He found that since the establishment of the Corn Laws , within the last
thirty years , thb Messrs . Marshall , the great manufacturers , of Leeds , had accumulated a fortune of £ 2 , 000 000 , and had purchased immense landed States . ' . ' —{ hear , hear . ; This firm appeared not to be satisfied with the carrying ont of the principle of free trade in this country , but they were erecting large mills in Belgium- On tie 29 th January , 1842 , there appeared an advertisement in the Leeds Intetligmicar , which stated that there was a person of great commercial experience in Brussels who was desirous of meeting a partner . The advertiser had a splendid estate of 200 acres of land , which was situated noon the banks of the Pedal , and in one of tie most picturesque parts of the country , situated within about three miles from the railway at Louvaine , that he would like a partner to
join him in the working of a flax and tew milL There -was also a corn mill upon the estate . Aye ( said Mr . Ferrand ) there was a secret about this corn mill . The advertisement went on to say , that there were numerous populous villages in the neighbourhood—that wages were considerably lower than in any other part of the country—that an exact estimate had been made of the number of operatives necessary to be employed in a flax-mill of 10 , 000 or 15 , 000 spindles , at a saving of £ 2 , 000 annually—{ hear , hear . ) There was the great secret ; the saving in the amount of wages . He would now mention a few instances , to show the injurious effect of the Corn Laws on the manufacturers . The Hon . Member for Manchester ( Mr . 1 L Philips ) stood as high as ever ia credit on the Exchange at
Manchester . He was a man possessed of immense wealth—( "hear , " and a laugh . ) Then there was the Hon . Member for S&lford ( Mr . Brotherton ) who had long since retired from trade , having amassed an enormous fortune ; but so horror-struck waa he with the cruelty and oppression of the factory system , that he had determined to spend the remainder of his life in trying to remedy it—ilaughter . ) The Hon Member for Stocfcport ( Mr . Cobden ) had spent his life in accumulating money ; and when , night after night , he was asserting that the Corn Lawi had ruined the manufacturers in Lancashire , iff was naming his mill night end day!!!— ( bear , hear . ) The Hon . Member for Bolton ( Dr . Bowringi was remarkably urgent for a repeal of the Corn Laws —( hear . ) He carried out
free trade principles to such an extent against the public poise , that he had a right to be considered a freebooter —( loud laughter , and cries of " order . ") He begged pardon if he had said a word too much ; but he was quite certain that the working classes were much surprised that he should have accepted £ 10 , 000 of the public money —( laughter . ) In his ( 2 ir . Ferr&nd ' sj own neighbourhood he had made some inquiries into the state of trade , and of the injurious effects of the Corn Laws upon the CornLaw-Repealing mane fietnrtrs ; and be would call the attention of the House to a placard dated the 8 th of May , 1841 . In the commencement of that month , ( when her Majesty ^ late Government were tottering to the fall ) a circular was issued throughout the country calling en their
friends te agitate for a fixed duty on corn . One of these circulars found its way to Bingley , and a meeting of the land and mill-owners , and other persons Interested in trade , was held in that town , Wm . Ellis , Esq , in the chair . It was then stated that toe stocking and woollen trade carried on in the parish , bad been in a most depressed state for the last three or four years ; that such depression had reduced to poverty and distress great numbers of ike working classes , who were wanderiag through tb « day ia search of work ia a state of miserable despondency ; and that this was to be attributed to the Corn Laws . The petition , which was of considerable length , contained a vast quantity or the phrases of tae Anti-Corn Law League—{ laughter . ) There were thirteen signatures attached to this petition ,
one copy of which waa transmitted to the House of Commons , another to the House of Lords , and a third to the Secretary of State for the Home Department , to be used by him in a certain quarter in order to obtain a dissolution of Parliament—( laughter . ) The Chairman of that meeting had realised a large sum of money , purchased a mill , as well as considerable landed property ; and during the last three or four years , when the cotton and worsted trade were said to be in such a depressed state , he had erected one of the largest mills in the country , and taken another . The second signature was that of a gentleman , a member of a firm which , duriDgthe last twenty-five or thirty years , had been i turning four very large cotton-mills ; they had bought estates worth £ 18 ; OOO a year . They were possessed of an income of £ 25 , 000 a year ; and were still proceeding in the purchase ef property and the accumulation of wealth ! The next signature was that of a person who was a linen-draper thirty years ago , bat
vfeo , durin ? the last three or four years , cad purchased one miil and taken two more , which were Sited up with power-Jooms . This person was now carrying on what ia Yorkshire was called " a rattling trade "—( loud laughter . ) The fourth on the list was an operative psptr-maker twelve years ago ; but he had , during the hat three or four years , purchased one of the largest mUt in the county , some landed estates , kept his carriage and pair , and lived in a " rattling" style—tcen tanied laughter . ) The fifth signature waa tkat of a manufacturer , who during the last twenty years had Bade £ 40 . 000 or £ 50 . 000 in the worsted trade ; and flaring the time that trade was so deeply depressed he estcted one of the largest cotton mills , and fitted it up " * ith power-looms . The sixth was a grocer in the town , * bo had accumulated a very nice income , and educated tii family in the first-rate styla This gentleman happened to be a dissenter ; and , to prove his haired of the church , he had brought up one at bis sons to enter it , and receives little of its wool . —nancbter . } The
Dtxt individual on the list , three or four years ago purchased a very large mill in the parish , and a considerable quantity of land surrounding it The mill was fitted tp -with pot ? tr-looms , and he also was carrying on a " rattling- trade—( laughter . ) Then came thesignature of a ffiaaufaetan-r who had fitted up his mill with powerkonw , as / 1 that of a person who had made a large fortes ia trade and then retired from it The remaining * 5 * Ei ! ttrfcs were those of persons in some degree connected with those whom he had already mentioned—( bar , hear , and laughter . ) He wished this was the onl y matter connected with the parties to whom be tad referred . But he would now mention a fact which * tnld prt : Tent # orL Members from crying "hear , kfcar . ' " so Trs / hlj . The chairman of that meeting , the
ttan * bo placarded the parish of Bingley with these resolutions pointing ont the landed proprietors as the Persons * ho hid brought misery and distress on the * orip «) pie ; this man , at the time he occupied that chair , -was on the point of taking a miil . Soon afterwards that mill was fitted np with pomr-looms . But &d th : i gertJtman go into Biogltj market-place and « aj to the people ; " TFhy . stand ye idle all the day lang ? Why eat ye the "bread of idleness ? Why do Jon not ci > me into my aill and work ? " Did he do ^** ? No ! He went into the county of Lancas te r , ^ Htre that infamous conspiracy existed between the Poor L »» Commissioners and the cotton spinners for
" * purpose of equalising wages , and reducing the 10 &i etni that haa been advanced upon the- wages of the P ° w * eavtra . He -went there , and picked np a large Ecnj W of poor families , who had been rednctd to such a « at- of misery and distress by thtir former emploj « a that ttsey were glad to eat their focd from off th « i duughiibs ! He brought these poor people te " > e town uf Bingley , there to ""««« another fortune 5 ° m thtir iine » s in bis new mill—( hear , hear . ) fie turgot the claims of the working classes cf - "t >—he forgot those men whom he had excited to a Ptcb o ! desperation—he forgot that he along with o&u- maLuf ^ ciurers had tt ared and bred them in the
p&n * b--te ca ^ t } wm off i nna fljeT Wtre now jn a Etate of the EtiiiOit wretchedness— he had left them to " wander through the day in search cf work in a stale of auserabi- ctspendtney . " The fact was he * dare not ask tfce Bm ^ iej ptojJe to labour for him for the paltry sum te Jfot ihtfce starving leavings of the Lancashire millcrsmers willing to tafce ! Hon . Members did uot now oy " bear , hear , " and " laugh- " No , they blushed at Rich a disclosure ; and they ought to tonible at such an Ktposuife ? This man bad Eprung the mine too soon for the anti . Corn Law League at Manchester . He had let * W the atciet of the great anti-Coin Law excitement throughoEt tie country ; he had ltt the working classes hi the north of England know their motives , and -what * oald be the consequence of the repeal of the Corn *«»» ? That eonsequeEee would be the reduction , of
« eir wagts —( cheers ) - to the aame level as wages on we . Continent ; the filiicg of the milis with iwwer wcins , aud the " casting of' of the workpeople to * *» Bdtr through the day in search of work in a state « miserable despondency . *— ( hear , hear . ) The anti-^ t& Law advocates assert that the great number of the * "&Biactnrers m the ccuttry were insolvent-, and ti- ^ t * t Corn Laws are the cause of that insolTency . Ht ' -it P . ) had itqairtA into ihat aistrtioD , aid be ¦ wns ^ ry tu tsy it -was true as fur as tba insolvency went . fte Corn Luttj , however , v . cre tot the cause of ih ^ t f ^ iv-i ry . The reason "was tiis—tL * y tever -were TV * " ia their lives—iloud laughter . ! He wf . uid ^ fitaruur to describe to tte house the manufacturers ? thfc E ' Mth' of £ ngknd tt the present day . There Wfte im ; xtmn ^ t left of the hkh-mincedi . and ^ hon-
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ourableclass of men who formerly had . raised the trade and commerce of the country te the highest pitch of respectability . There were buttheremnant of those men whowalked about the streets with honesty depicted ia their countenance * . There were but few of these men left now . There were a few , he admitted , who tried to tread in their steps ; but the remainder were men who knew no bounds to ' their insatiable thirst after wealth ; they were gamblers in trade . They were a set of men who had been Bet up in trade by the joint-stock banks { hear , bear , and cheers )—and many of these banks ¦ were little better than stores for the protection of swindling . They got their names entered on the jointstock bank books ; they then went to a woolstapler and offered to buy a quantity of wool of him . They
referred him to the joint-stock bank . The answer was , "Oh , they are highly respectable j they have their names on our books . " They purchased the wool at three months credit , then turned it by their power mills into goods , and by the following week they had it in the market , and sold it in the market for ready money . But they were forced to sell . The consequence was , they had to aacrifice a large amount to the merchant who bought to sell . They did not pay for it at the- end ' of three months—they had two months further credit , and they had to pay five months * interest to the woolstapler . The consequence was , that these men seemed to go on very prosperously as long as there was . a call for the goods in . the market ; but when there came the slightest stagnation im trade , they
immediately broke , and what a scene there was in the Court of Bankruptcy —( hear , and loud cheers . ) They had had exposures in the Court of Bankruptcy , which shewed the effects that such a state of things produced , when the honest merchant and manufacturer ¦ were broken-hearted in consequence of the losses they have to sustain from such men . It often happened , also , that such men spent the money that had been confided to them by their unsuspecting neighbours or workpeople , and placed in their haRds in trust for theii families . Thia was not unusual ; and the result was that the Unfortunate families were reduced to beggary . These men were scarcely beyond the verge of the Bankruptcy Court before they were enabled to start in business again . They got some friend , if they conld pay
some Is . or Is . 6 d . in the pound , to come forward and prove for ft large debt , and probably to become the petitioning creditor , and they soon managed to get their certificate and start again , and run the same race over that they did before . He now caste to what were the designs of the Corn Law League . The commencement of this Corn Law League took place three years ago ; they attempted at first only to try for an alteration in the Corn Laws . They soon found they had very few supporters in the country . They then held out terms to the enemies of the Ckurch , and said that if they would join them , as soon as they had carried the repeal of the Corn Laws , then the Established Church should be attacked . After this offer had been made to the country , the Hon . and Learned Member fur Cork was invited
over to take his seat at their dinner . He then declared in the presence of these manufacturers , that they were possessed of sufficient wealth in Manchester to buy up all the landed estates of the nobility of England . He also asserted that " the -landlords' venison was mixed with the widow ' s tear , and that their claret was died with the orphan ' s blood "—a rather cool assertion of the Hon . Member fcr Cork , when it was remembered that he had existed for many years out of the pence extracted from the poor . But he would ask what had the farmers of England to expect from the cotton lords who were able to purchase up the landed interest 1 It was their principle , when they purchased an estate , immediately to have it re-valued . They carried the
principle of the ledger into their rent-roll , the rents were deubled . He had known many families in his part of the country ruined by the oppression of these men , when from . the proceeds of the workpeople in their mills they had amassed sufficient to enable them to purchase an estate in land , and become landlords . He remembered an instance which took place many years ago , where a poor farmer had his rent doubled . He struggled on for a few years to try to me ^ t it , tor he could not bear to leave the spot . He had to pay a few hundreds which he had saved , as increased rental to hiilandlord ; and when the time came that his cattle were seized for rent , he died of a bruken heart . His wife waa not long before she followed him . Their eldest son , " just bursting into manhood , endeavomed
stilrto keep the family together ; but the last which he ( Mr . F . ) had heard of him was , that reason had lost her empire over his brain , and that he had become the inhabifent of an asylum . He would ask what the members of this Corn Law League wanted ? They wanted to increase their profits by reducing the price of labour . That was the secret of their " grand boon . " They wished to become the corn merchants of England . They wished * to convert one part of their mills into a granary , and the other part into machinery to grind the corn —( a laugh . ) Hon . Members might laugh ; they could , not deceive the working classes ; they had tried to make them believe differently ; but with all their agitators they could nc t do it Thus the poor of England were to go down to these men , into the
manufacturing districts , with money in their sacks , to buy corn . That was part of the system ; but what came next ? Had Honourable Members never heard of the truck system ? ( Hear , hear . ) Had they never heard ef labourers having thsir Mages paid in goods ? That was part of the system . But he would now refer more particularly to the treatment of the poor by the manufacturers in the North of England ; and he would produce before the House such a sy&tem of tyranny , oppression , and plunder as was disgraceful to a civilised country . When the poor went to receive their work of the manufacturers , they found it now consisted of a very inferior article . The wool , and the warps , which were dealt out to them , was so poor that they scarcely could comb the wool , or convert the warps into pieces .
On the Saturday came the period which ought to be the sweetest of the week for the working man , —when he ought to receive the price of his labour , the reward of his toiL He went with his work , and who received it ? Not the master of the mill ; no , but an overlooker . The overlooker examined it . and found fault with it He said " You have done this work ill ; I must deduct so much from your combiDg . or your weaving ; " and the poor wea-vers , who were only receiving 3 s . 6 d . or 41 . a week , were constantly multtsd by these overlookers , who had their wages paid from what they deducted from these poor people and a per c * ntage on the amount . ' Then what came next ? The poor people had not the small remnant paid in moneyit was paid in goods , in rotten flour , and " cheap com . "
When the poor man carried it home to his wife and family , biier in vain endeavouring to induce his master to pay him bis wages in money , he found fcat the flour which he had taken home the week before and given to his family they had not been able to consume- It had made the children sick . He asserted that this teas truth ! He had it Jrom the mouths of hundreds of the working classes . And the men who treated their labourers in this horrible manner wer « the men for whom the landed , interest of England were to be destroyed . ' These were the men for whom the yeomanry were to "be trampled under foot ! These were the men who were to Become the possesors tf the English soil . ' These were the men who were mining the character of British merchants sad manufacturers on the Contitent . '
These were thie men who moved and had their being for monty alone !! They cared not how they got itwhat cruelty and oppression they inm ' cted , bo long as they amassed wealth from the sweat of the peer man ' s brow . Thty -refused him the price of his labour ! They kcked for nothing but enormous profits ! They dtclared'there was no religion in trade . ' They were , to use the language of Mr . Burke , a set of men " who mace their ledger into their Bible , their counting-house into their church , and their money into their god . " He had heard a great deal said about the principles of free trade , aad that they were to save the country . It bad happened that during the recess two Noble Lordi —the Member for the city sf London and the Member f ^ r Tiverton—had been something like the poor of the
parish of Bingley . They had been " wandermg in search of employment , and could not find it . " ( Lond laughter-and cheers . ) There were kind and humane persons atBridgenorth who had drawn them up an address of condolence . He had Dot a copy of the Nable Lord ' s reply , but he ( Mr . Ferrand ) remembered that he asserted that the principles of free trade were sound , and that the Bight Hon . Baronet ( Sir B . Peel ) had an easy task before him . " He ( Mr . Ferrand ) supposed the Noble L » -rd had been trying to prove his assertion in the last few days in that House . ( Laughter . ) The Noble Lord the late Secretary for Foreign Affairs Btated , in answer to an address presented to him from his snpporters , that he had endeavoured to apply to the commercial legislation ef the country the principles
w ^ ich had loi * g been acknowledged as forming the only sure foundation for the permanent prosperity of the conntry . He lilr . Ferrand ) confessed he was a very dull personr but had tried to find out what were the sound principles of free trade . If gentlemen opposite ¦ were to be believed , Smith , M 'Culloch , Ricardo , and Huskisson had only seen the subject through a glass darkly ; it was reserved for the Hon . . Member for Wolverhampton to dispel the cleuda . The Hon . Members for Bolton and Stroud were to become bright constellations in the science—( great laughter . ) The Hon Member for Dumfries ( Mr . Ewait ) would be the evening star—( renewed laughter . ) The two Noble Lords opposite would be the
sun and moon in this expansive , well-defined social system . The Hon . Member then proceeded to read several extracts from the works of Adam Smith , 31 * Culloch , and Maltbus , with the view of proving that their views were at variance with those entertained by the Hon , Members to whom he had referred , and that they were favourable to the protection of domes tic industry . He concluded by saying that he would appeal to the landed proprietors of England , and ask them whether they would assist the anti-Corn Law League of Manchester in carrying ont their tyranny , oppression , and wicked designs for the reduction of the wages of the working classes . ¦ ,.. - .-. Mr Clay moved the adjournment of the debate .
Mr Pemberios obtained leave to bring in a Bill to ' enahlehis Roy bV Highness the Prince of Wales to grant leases of the Duchy of CurnwalL The Bill " was read a first time , and ordered to be read a second time on Friday . . „ The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the House adjourned at a quarter to one o ' cock .
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SOWEEB 7 .-On Shjove Tuesday a ball was holden at this place , the proceeds of which were to go to the forthcoming Convention . ^
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NATIONAL PETITION . TO THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND . We , the undersigned Delegates of the West Midland District of Scotland take this opportunity of addressing you at the present time upon a subject of some importance to the success ef the common cause in which we are all engaged—the Peple ' s Charter . The Chartista in Scotland looked forward to the meeting to be held in Glasgow upon the 3 rd of January , 1842 , as one of great importance in its results to the cause of Chartism . A united course of action in pursuit of a common object , the people expected as the labours of tie Convention . In this , ve think , the conntry have not been disappointed—their proceedings , with one exception , being characterised by prudence , firmness , and conciliation—the exception to which we
have alluded being the discussion and the vote in the Convention upon the National Petition . This discussion showed more of local feeling and national prejudice than might have been expected in a body of patriotic and intelligent men struggling against class legislation . Union of action with both England and Ireland all who took part in the discussion admitted to be necessary to our future success . Why , then , it may be asked , oppose the naming of two great grievances complained against by the working population in these conatries , and determinedly upheld by those who profit Dy class legislation . Such conduct was neither wise nor dignified on their part If the discussion upon the subject matter of the Petition showed a proud arid narrow spirit , the vot « upon the Petition in the
Convention ought to have consigned the idea of a new petition to oblivion . The casting vote of the Chairman makes a legal decision in a meeting ; but when the Chairman claims a vote as a member in the meeting , the casting vote in a popularly convened meeting in such circumstances makes its legality doubtful . In this case it makes the Petition his petition , and those who sign it along with him . It can claim no higher authority . It cannot be looked upon as the petition of the representativea of the Chartists of Scotland . But there are other objections of another kind to be stated . The delegate from Arbroath , Montrose , Brechin , and Forfar voted for the new Petition , while the towns he represented in this Convention had , six weeks previous , adopted the National Petition entire , and had largely signed it , and are doing so still . It is reported that other delegates in this
Convention have acted a similar part upon the National Petition . For these reasons , and others which might be brought forward , we think the new pttition cannot be regarded as the act cf the people of Scotland , dene through t ' aeir representatives in the Convention held at Glasgow , 3 rd January last Those who might be inclined to sign this new petition upon the ground that it was one adopted by the representatives of the Chartists of Scotland , will now know upon whnt authority it rats its claim to be considered a National Petition , and they will act accordingly . The people of England and Ireland will learn from these facts the real feelings and sentiments of the Chartists of Scot'and , and the amount of signatures to the old and new petitions will prove the extent cf sympathy felt for the wrongs of Ireland and England by the people of Scotland .
As one of the six Central Committees of Scotland , we have ever taken an active part in Chartist agitation , Chartism being ike public voice throughout the whole of ourdLtrict . In all our past struggles we have looked to England and Ireland as our fellow-labourers iu the same glorious cause—the emancipation of the people from class legislation in the three kingdoms . Under the old nationality , local evils peculiar to the country must exist ; these will be best known to the people themselves , and we think they ought to be stated in every petition praying for the Charter , as the remedy to remove these evils . These considerations induced the people in our district to adopt the National Petition , and we call upon all other Committees to be active in signing the National Petition , and to make known their sentiments to the people of Ireland and England upon this interesting subject ; , aud shew there is no division among the people of the three kingdoms , this being the enly way to teach our leaders to represent the people , not themselves .
George Rattbay , John Drummosd , Andrew M'Kenzie , Thos . Bennie , David Harkower , James Pat ^ rson , John Marshall , John Habrower , Wm . Cameron . Coalsnaughton , 5 th February , 1842 .
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^ - ADKRESS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL LIVING IN BRIGHTON TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION . Brethren , —The time having arrived in which it is our duty to yield up the authority with which we have been invested , as a portion of the great Council of the National Charter . Association , we cannot givenp our office without addressing to you some few observations as a retrospect of the past year . In this retrospect we shall , of course , confine oarselves to events more particularly associated with our immediate locality . Whatever opinions may be entertained of us by oar fellow members in Brighton , we feel assured that we have done nothing to forfeit the confidence that was reposed in us at the first ; if we have not done as much as might have been wished for , we know that the members generally being fully aware of the . restricting circumstances under which we have been situated , will make every reasonable allowance for what we have not done , in furtherance of the great object in view .
We have been , and are very much restricted and cramped in onr exertions in this town . The greatest of our restrictions is , of course , the general poverty of that clasa to which we are nevertheless proud to belong , namely , the really industrious class of the people . The next restriction we have bad to experience is , the wont of a larger and more commodious place of meeting . This ia a restriction which we have loRg and severely felt , and we sincerely deplore the fact that a spacious room for meetings and social entertainment , to which the members could at all times have access , is yet , and must for a considerable time , we fear , be a desideratum . It has been our wish , and the wish too of our friends , to see an establishment made where we should not only be able to hold large and frequent meetings , and get np social entertainments ; but also , to provide reading asd coffee rooms , and a home for the best tried veterans whom we have the honour to
possess . Most sincerely do we hope that the time will come when arrangements of tuch a nature can be entered into . Other restrictions upon our energies have arisen from the prejudice and party spirit that have been exhibited towards us . But in proportion as our real objects become understood by the other , classes of society , a gr = at deal of tnat mistrust and jealousy will die away . We have but to adhere stedfastly to the patei we have hitherto pursued , and we shall find that our own strength will increase , while the forceB opposed to us ¦ will diminish .
Having thus alluded to the mistrust and prejudice that have started up to thwart our purposes , we cannot but recal to your mind a meeting that was convened by the High Constable , in the beginning of 1841 , to adopt measures in opposition to the introduction of the Poor Law Amendment Act into Brighton . We , as your Council , considered it expedient to attend that great and important me&tiug , and the 2 Hal manifested on that occasion by all the Brighton Chartista , produced results that must never be forgotten . Mote sincerely opposed to the tyrannous operation of the New Poor Law Bill than the other political parties , despite their great professions of sympathy , we f It a strong
conviction that a petition praying for the withholding of the operation of the New Poor Law Bill from Brighton could in no way be invalidated by a forcible statement of the cause of all oppressive enactments , and the real means of arresting the evil complained of . Tfce oppesition which we experienced you all remember ; but you will rememcer , too , that the triumph was on our side . To that event we attach great importance , for it was on our part an exhibition of moral strength that non , had given us credit for possessing . From that time we have , as a party , gained ground ; if we canuot achieve what we desire , we have shewn that we are not so miserably weak as we have been said to be .
With this we are led to associate , tbpuga happening more recently , namely , the election for this borough-There are , unquestionably , a great many who affect to ridicule the position we assumed on that occasion ; but while we are sensible of the go * d effects of our exertions at that time , in the business of the election , we can afford to bear the ridicule that may be levelled at us . .. '' ' ¦ . . . ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦¦ We had long borne the credit of beingable to " make mischief , " as it is called , at our town meetings ; but it was reserved for the election of- 1 S < 1 to shew the aristocratic parties thut working men were capable of taking a prominent place on the hustings , and that they could secure a degree of courtesy and attention not always paid lo rank and wealth . By this event , and our own exertions on the occasion , we established ourselves S 3 a political party , and it will be 6 ur own fault if we do not retain and improve our position .
While on this topic , we feel it our duty to express the esteem and gratitude which we entertain towards Mr . Brooker , who stood forth in bo disinterested and kind a manner as the representative of eur principles on the hustings , and throughout the recent election . To that gentleman we owe much ; and netting can afford us greater pleasure than to record his disinterested adherence to the principles of civil and religious liberty . To him , as well as to us , it will afford a lasting gratification to have witnessed from the hustings to triumphant a show of bands in favour of the principles he advocated .
As one of the results of the recent election , we shall be pardoned in recalling to your mind the courteous manner in which the use of the Town Hall was , not long since , extended us ; on which occasion the second National Petition was enthusiastically adopted , and when , too , our proceedings were sanctioned by the presence of the Borough Members , and of many others who had hitherto deemed us too dangerous and illiterate to be associated with . Contrasted vrith this we must also recal to your rememberance the fact , that when , in the previous Dec we wanted the use of the large room of the Hall , for a meeting to memoralize the Queen on behalf of the ex-
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patriated patriots . Frost Williams , and Jones , our request waa most particularly opposed . May we then not hope that the paltry prejudices which had existed to our detriment are fast passingaway , and that ere long we shall enjoy what we have a right to enjoy , the nnrestricted expression of political sentiments . Connected with the proceedings of the past year , wa « our petition on behalf of poor Holberry . We had flattered ourselves that in . ' effecting bis removal to his present prison-house , hia condition and treatment would have been greatly improved ; it is a source of sincere pleasure to hear that our hopes have not been disappointed We trust that fresh exertions will bo made more effectively on his behalf ! • ¦ .,- v
The visit of Mr . M'Douall , and more recently of Mr . O'Brien to Brighton , are circumstances that we shall all remember with extreme gratification . That these gentlemen have been the unflinching advocates of the principles of Chartism , is in itself enough to claim our respect and attachment : that they have endured ; imptiaonment on our behalf , must rendor them more worthy of our gratitude and attachment In the coHimencement of these observations we remarked that the poverty of the industrious classes la
a .. . great- restriction on their political exertions . We have dcepty experienced this . Xhat this is the * ' fact , does nevertheless enhance beyond all praise their enthusiastic readiness to subscribe to the many laudable funds that have been established for the purposes of the association , and to meet the necessities of the injured . We feel great pleasure in bearing testimony to the promptitude of the Brighton Chartista in this respect , and their self-denial in responding by pecuniary aid , to the . wants ef their Chartist friends in various parts of thekingdom .
Thus in our immediata locality , during the past year , subscriptions have been raised for several praiseworthy purposes to an amount not lesB than from sixty to seventy pounds , a sum that cannot be regarded as trifling , when the number and the circumstances of the subscribers are considered . Our correspondence has been very great and extensive ^—as you are already aware very cheering correspondence has been received from Chichester , Southampton , & " o . ' , &c We trust that ere long we shall hear of the flag of Chartism being "firmly planted in several places around us . We have new britfly referred to the principle circumstances of the past year , and with these observations we give np the the office we have fulfilled , most earnestly trusting that as Brighton has been , it will continue to be , an important locality in the wide spread tract of the National Charter Association .
Signed , w 1 llia 3 i woodwakd , george qlles , John Allen , Robi . Lonsdeli ., Robert Cooling , Reuben ALtcoaN , Frederick Page , John Page , William Floweb ., sub-Treasurer Nathaniel Morling , suD-Secretary . Brighton , Feb , 2 nd , 1842 .
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LORD ASHLEY AND THE TEN HOURS' FACTORY QUESTION . A general meeting of delegates from the Short Time Committees of the West Riding of the county of York , established to promote the legislative adoption ef a Ten Hours" Factory Bill , was convened at the New Inn , Bradford , on Wednesday , the 9 th of February , inst , when the following address was unanimously agreed to : — ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ - ¦ : ¦ - . ' -.. , * . ¦ ¦ - ¦ ' ' '¦
To the Right Hon . Lord Ashley , t £ . P . We , the delegates of the Short Time Committees of the West Riding , having assembled for the purpose of considering the course which ought to be pursued on the factory question , feel ourselves called upon publicly to acknowledge your Lordship ' s letter of tho 2 nd infct . intimating that " Sir Robert Peel had signified his opposition to the Ten Hours' Bill ; " we cannot conceal the fact that we feel deeply disappointed , and grieved at this announcement . Our hopes and expectations had been raised , not merely from the justness of the canse we have prevailed on your Lordahip to advocate for us in tho House of Commons , but from the representations of our deputation , that her Majesty ' s Ministers appeared to understand the -true interests of the country , and were impressed with the necessity of further amelioration in the condition of children and young persons employed in factories .
We ate indeed grateful to your Lordship for the renewed expression cf your determination to persevere in your endeavours to obtain , an enactment which shall better the condition of the working classes and be of permanent advantage to our country . We promise our continued co-operation with your Lordship , and will employ every constitutional means in demanding an improvement of a system which is rendered indefensible because demoralizing and destructive in its influences , by labour too protracted for social and moral , as well as physical health . Surely , my Lord , also , wei have a right to fed convinced of . the propriety of our claim when we perceive an almost uniform disposition in the public mind favourable to the Tun Hours'Bill , None but the avaricious , the prejudiced , or the ignorant , attempt to justify the existing system , and their
justification of it never appears before an open and public company for discussion . Nor can any question of importance be instanced where ' so few ptt ' . tions have ever been presented to the legislature as against the Ten Hours' Bill . When we reflect ou the reasonableness and necessity of the measure which has been entruttad to your Lordship ' s care , when we advert to the fact that even after we have obtained what we ask for , young persons will still have to be confined and toiled in a factory atmosphere from six o ' clock in the morning to six in the evening with only intervals for meals , ( for this would be the operation pf tht Ten Hours' Bill , ) we are persuaded that the day must speedily arrive when the common sense and justice of humanity will establish the measure as one essential to the character of a civi . lized country .
We sincerely sympathise with your Lordship ; and regret that your patriotic exertions in behalf of the operative classes , are not appreciated "in certain quarters" according to their merits , but we have nut lost our hopes that when the question shall again be brought before Parliament , the claims of . injured factory children will be paramount Trusting that your Lordship may be blessed by Divine Providence in all yonr efforts to advanae the welfare of our common country , We remain , my Lord , Your Lordship ' s most obedient and most grateful servants , ( Signed on behalf of the Meeting of Delegates from the Shert Time Committees of the West Riiiihg , ) Matthew Balme , Secretary . Bradford , February 9 th , 1842 .
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. ¦ — i : ¦ TO JOHN ASS . My dear John , —You must pardon me if for once in addressing you I feel it necessary to sacrifice politeness to truth , and in , lieu of adopting your favourite name of Bull ; use that to which your conduct indisputably entitles ycu . " .- .-. Y The bull has some noble qualities in him , such as courace , impatience of irjury , and no lack of strength ' to avenge it . The ass is not without his good qualities either , but they are of the passive ' . sort . He is a capital ftllow for receiving kicks and thumps without wincing —so are you , John ! He patiently suffers hunger and
cold and wet , and a comfortless Btnbe after a bard day ' s work , or forced idleness—and so do you , John ; he iimely enough bears any load bia four legs will enable him to stand under , and his master may please te lay upon him , and i . ever thinks of throwing off until his back is nearly broken—neither do you , John ! but it is useless to carry the parallel of your relative conditions aud tt'inpfcramfcht further , for were it continued till Doomsday , \ the result must be , most unquestionably , that you are more entitled to the appellation of Ass than Bull . '¦• ¦ — . .
And now , John , prick up your long , ears and listen while a few words are addressed to you by one of those who , like yourself , is reduced to the condition of a beast of burthen , but has not enough of the ass in his composition to fortjtt that he isa man , and , as : such , has inherent rights ve 8 ted-in him by nature and society which he is not disposed passively to have trampled by any one , and certainly not by those to whom he owes no affection , and from whom he receives no benefit Ours is a theatrical sort of world-John ; and in no circumstances of it is it more so than as regards : politics . As f&T as we are concerned is such : matters the curtain has once more been lifted up , and the drama commenced ; whether the entertainment , provided for us will be tragic or farcical , time , I suppose ; will show ;
but as respects the cast-off ; parl 3 there can be little doubt , if we may judge from the past , that broad farce will occupy the talents of our principal performers and the every-day bnsiness connected with the suffering or tragedy department will be left as usual to the millions , who are by this time so well accustomed to its various incidents that they require no aid from the prompter to delineate their respective characters with all the frightfulness of truth ; for instance we have daily in one place or other of her Majesty ' s dominions , some thousands of them perishing with cold and hanger , with abundance stareing them in the face to mock and flout
them by the contrast 1 call this tragedy .: We have . at home broken-hearted families separated from each other , not by the grave under thedispensation of providence , for that would be naturalt but by tJnion Bastiles , . nnder the intervention of human lawB ttiat axe not natural . This is tragedy , too t Then we : have indastry walking barefooted and hungry about the streets , td avoid the noise of bis half-famishing and half-clothed : children at home . '—the mother forced by dire necessity to steal , that her children may not perish before ber eyes— -and those children made outcasts fromSociety , because a mother ' s feelings overcome her reverence for those laws by which ber family wasi beggared . ; ., / : , ¦¦ of for the millions
Here lihink is enough . ' tragedy , and excellently well do tae parts become them , for , like you , John , they delight in exhibiting their powers of endurance . But I want to learn , if I can , wbether tbe same distribution of parts is likely to continue through another season ? Because , if so , I must at once enter my protest against the arrrangement " ' . ¦¦' . ¦ - ¦ ' . ¦' - ' ' ¦ : - ;¦¦ -- . ' :. '¦ ¦ : ' . ¦ ' •; . ¦ :- . - ¦ ¦ " ' ¦ . ¦ . " " ¦ ¦ ' •¦ - ¦ . ' The " Stars" of our Home Company have for soine time past had a pretty good spell is the winning , or lauchiDg line , and have long reserved to themselves ; isill the provocatives to broad grins and unrestrained mer * riment that could be invented for their gratification . Thus they have had a . royal christening , with , royal
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sponsors , and Jordan waters , and junkettings , and ( eastings and dancings , and all sorts of royal glorifications at Windsor , as if the only bnsiness of such performerSiUpon earth was to" eat , drink , and be nierry . " That U amusing enough , as times go , is it not , John ? Then they have a royal visitor to see us , and right royally , John , have the craven-hearted , lickspittle , miserable followers of your family in London ran about after his carriage wheels , to get the honour of a splash pf the mud whirled up by the rapidity of his progress . This , too , ia larcical enough , forsure ! but the best of the joke is to come . We have since been delighted by a grand gingerbread show to open a session of the collective wisdom of the nation , enacted with as raacb pomp , parade , and botheration , as though a world was to be called into being by the mere flattering of a parcel of butterflies' wings . : ;
John , the good sense of your family is by no means proportioned to the length ef its ears , or every window would haye been closed , every back turned as the -insulting . , caivacade passed through the : streets of thia doomed metropolis . : . It strikes me , that the gorgeous banquets and more than oriental magnificence displayed at the Court during the past week or two , would have excited a fesling of pain in the heart of a truly benevolent ruler of toe miserable poor and starving people of this or any other country . Their cpndition 4 oes not , however , seem to have crossed the thoughts of our semi divinities , who have gone on revelling , and rioting , and wasting , as though enjoyment was co-extensive with eternity . Dives , feasting in his purple and fine linen , little heeded the Lazaras who lay in rags and sickness perishing at his , gate , ' ; But he bad hiBreward . And why should we doubt the justice of providence or the hidden purposes of ' Hra wisdom ?
But , friend John , the Parliament has met . What will it do for us ? Shall Itell you what it will do ? vln one word—nothing 1 Nothing that can possibly tend to diminish the means of enjoyment by : the great will be done ; for the SM * a # - ^ notbing that can possibly ; trehch upon the prerogatives , . the ; splendour , the aggrandiaament , the pleasures of royalty , will be touched for the benefit of the people . Nothing that will operate to lower rents—to diminish the value of the funds—to reduce the allowances of the palace , will be theught of for the ad vantage of the poor . They will tails of such things , and the present ' week will be wasted in adjourned debates upon the Corn question , which will leave off where it began , and ufter tremendous labour we shall see the mountain will bring forth a mouse .
Thegreunds upon . which I build this presumption are as follows : In the first place , the royal speech is full of self gratulation and bombastic nonsense , insincere expressions of satisfaction - and hollow pro . testatioas of future good , which those may believe that like them ; I do not Her Majesty is niade to say , " my measure of domestic happiness is now corap tts . " Good God ! how can the ruler of this country , in its present condition , boast of the fulness of her domestic happiness , when she must know that the domestic h&ppine's of thousands upon thousands of her people is utterly der stroyed , that she may enjoy abundance ! Bnfc why , if so , mock iis with it . ?¦ -. Why recall to our miserable recollections the outrageous contrast between the condition of the rulers and the ruled .
Shei tells her Commons she relies with entire confix dence upon their disposition , that while they enforce the principles of a wise economy , they will make that provision for the service of the country ( that is , for the gew-gaws and trappiucs of royalty , and the maintenance of its parasites ) , which the public exigences { that is , class indulgences ) require . " She says , " I have observed with , deep regrtt the continued distress of the manufacturing districts of the country—the sufferings and privations which have resulted from it have , been . borne * vith most exemplary patience and fortitude . " Exemplary patience ' . Yes , the patience of despair ! the ; patience of exhausted energy ! the patience reduced by apathy 1 by the utter abandonment of hope ! the fortitude of soulless indifference— of b . eatt 8 crushed by Buffering rmd whose on \ y prospect Hpon earth is terminated by a pauper ' s graved . . ¦' ; '¦ . . ' : ' .. . ' ¦ . . . "¦ . . \
And is there anything in these passages that can warrant an augury of future good—is there ought that can warrant the boast , " that my measure of happiness is complete ? " Is not the latter a vain conceit which the first boast of popular indignation will scatter to the elements * " Fine words butter no parsnips , " as Sanchp says , nor will half a dozen sugared words in a royal speech , fill the bellies or satisfy the just demands of a * 'ioDg suffering , and most patient people . And , now my dear John , in conclusion , let me intreat
you to be up and doing—rally round . the men of the Charter—assist them with your strength , your patience , your determination . If you cannot fight for it as a bull would , you can bray for it—throw yourself in the way of its opponents—trample down every obstacle—and finally , unless you are the most incorrigible ass in existence , you will cite ere yott give up your tight to it , and your determination to possess it . Youra , ¦ ¦ ' ¦ ' :. ¦ •¦'• . r ¦ ' ¦ ¦; . '" ¦¦ : ' ¦¦ ¦ - . ' ' Fact . London , 8 th February , 1842 .
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TO THE FEMALE CHARTISTS OF GREAT BRITAINSisters jn Political Bondage , — -We , the female Chartists of Manchester-road , Bradford , address you on the necessity of uniting in the struggle that our husbands , our brothers , and our sons are engaged in ; 'tis a holy struggle of right against might We see gaunt misery and famine stalking forth in all its horrors aud see the useless extravagaece bestowed on pampered royalty , when we see a Dowager Queen , -who does nothing for the state , yet receiving the enormous amount of £ 100 , 000 per annum , when we calculate that she receives £ 11 8 s . 3 ^ d . per hour , whilst thousands of our fellow creatures are ¦ in a state of actual starvation ; and again , sisters , we have been insulted by another System of extravagance , wrung from the toiling millions in the shape of a royal christening , over which
£ 100 , 000 has been lavishly expended , which would have maintained twenty thousand families , each family Consisting of seven individuals , for one month , at £ \ per week each . Behold also the State Chuch , the whole body of parsons , aid and assist in carrying out all bad laws passed by the middle class Parliament , and indeed in all their evil doiugs they rob and plunder the working millions of the fruits of their industry ; they . are receiving yearly ten millions , and for what J why for preaching passive obedience and lion-resistance , to persecute U 3 if we offer to resist their tyranny . The heart sickens when we think of the wrong inflicted under the cloak cf religion ; therefore females ; unite in one great phalanx ; then by one mighty movement sweep the citadel of corruption from the face of the earth , and on
it * ruins build the temple of Chartism ; then sisters , and not till then , will the working classes obtain justice . It is said what can woman do ? she can do a deal in her domestic capacity , she can instil the holy principles of the Charter into the minds of her children ; in her daily occupation she can commune with her husband , and while all others toil she can persuade ; her courage' rises with the difficulties she has to endure . Then ; :-sisters , ; you can do all these , if you will- but arous 8 yourselves from your lethargy , and shake off the chains of slavery , and imitate the Spartan mothers of old ; then arouse yourselves , and sl « h the National Petition , and every one of you join the National Charter
Association of Great Britain , remembering that union is strength ; and never' let us for one instant forget those expatriated and much injured , yet magnanimous patriots , Frost , Williams , and Jones remember ttiose that have , and are at present suffering now for their and our cause ; remember those Whig-made widows , Mesdames Frost , Williams , Jones , add Clayton ; the murdered Clayton calls aloud to you to redress his and our country ' s wrongs . How are we to do this ? . By a general and united exertion of the people at large , both male and female . . Let us emulate our husbands , our brothers , and our sons in the holy , causo of liberty . We now conclude by quoting toe language of an immortal poet and patriot : —
" There ia an uttseeu power lies in the mass Of human slaves , whioh if aroused , would sweep Not mortal tyrants only from their thrones , By ; one brief crash , with all their blind supporterb , But e ' ven this mighty opaque globe herself , they cr , uld . ;• ¦; . ¦ unhinge , / ¦ . ¦ -.. "¦ , ' : . . ¦¦'¦ ¦ . '' . ' ¦ V . ' '''¦¦¦ ' ' . •";¦ - '¦ ' And send her blazing through the solar system . And I for one would lend a hand to this . Rather than kings and priests , and common thiev ea Should make the life of man an endless curse : — . But there ' s a way to raise this potent powor , Not to extinguish man ; but recreatd And lead him back to nature and himself ; To turn his ceaseless labour into play , His life Into' a cloudless holiday . " Signed on behalf of the Female Char" tists , SABAH LEA" THEBBARKOW .
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ADDRESS OF THE ( JHABTIST 3 OF GEORGE ^ 8 TREET , TO THE WOO lCOMBERS OF ¦ ¦
BRADFORD , :: ' - ¦ : - . .. . ;¦ . ¦¦ - ; . . - ¦ , -. ¦ : . ; ¦; . ;;¦ . . ¦ FELixnr : working-men AN * > Slaves , —Our intimate knowledge i » f , and sympa' , hy for , your sufferings prompt ! us , at this eVent ^ jl crisJ 3 ) to address you on the necessity there is , fpr that unlf ; p and action esseiitial to secure that full amount of . frr © dom , independence , and supplybf the necessaries air 4 comforts of life , without wbich . Hfe to but a bnrdf ^ ,. You form by far the greatest ntunber ; ot ; woifcir , g mei » in this district , your cordial : co-operation and assistance therfeiore , mnsfc bo of paramount linpdrtano ' , 3 ; -vye call upon you ' : t 5 come forward in your strengti 1 . and show your oppreBsors you
, are determined Jtf > be . ' free ; let not the want of time , npr the shortness of m eans nor the threat of the domesticmaster tyrant , n& '[ ¦ : tjxi . & ^ -tf : ^ igpo ^ tim&---ite proud , deter you f , om g ^ 1 / performance > ofa known duty . " Surely your ^ no t longer stand by and see your neigbboura BtruggT e alone for rights , in the Becuring of which you with . them are eq ^ ly iaterested- . For the love of country r _^ home—for your ^ wives and for your children ' s sakf ^ atouse you from your lethargy , and come up to or j . help against the mighty oppressors and robbers of U- i 6 pporT ; ° ; ; : . : ; V ; ¦'¦¦ '¦ % : V
' The prim' j cause of the prevaulng distress , ' the master grievance , ' ^{ 3 being the cause of every other grievance , to o : as 8 . * , egifliaUdn ; nor will there be any efiectual fen ^ w ^ ' for your social diseases , until th § whole people
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be represented in the Commeoa How of Parliament . Yon no never secure good goremment until yon get good governors , and these yoa never will have s » long as the right of franchise remains witk the most vicious an * interested portion of society . Tpu wish to bav » Ibette * wages , get then that electoral power which will enable you to choose men who will legislate for the protection of labour , —this ia the . great question after » U > ¦ " ¦ ¦ . .. - ¦ . ¦ . '¦' "'¦ ' . ¦ ' ; "' ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦' ¦ - . ' .. ' ¦ ¦ - . ¦ : - \ :- ; :. . ' ¦ ' : ' : ' -: \ ; .: ¦ ' ¦" .: We call upon yon to enrol yourselves members of Uie National Charber Association , and we will bail yba with pleasure , it the hour of freedom be not fast approaching , remember ia is not our fault but yours . Borne of you " cate for none of these things" othew actively support your enemies , especially the enemyfc press . Ifc must be obvious to every man of ordinary discemrnent that the " Radical" Leeds Times is a mere manufacturer ' s' paper , and yet you , the victims of iU
capita ^ are principal supporters . There is every likelihood that the Corn Law question will be settled in some shape or Other ; and then , we are to d , we are to have a breathing time : but the working classes of this country are not committed to that question , and consequently will : be under no obligation to take any " breathing time . " If the intended change in the Com Laws should turn out to be extensive , there will then be a season of speculation and " prosperity , " at the end of which your * employers will tie stronger , because richer ; you will probably be weaker- ^ -certainly not stronger . You will hence perceive the necessity of keeping up and " of increasing the" pressure without " until you have stormed and taken the " citadel of corruption . " The Corn Law repealers tell you that a cheap loaf ia better than a dear oi ' . e ; but they forget to remind you that the dearnesa of bread is only relative , and depends upon the amount of a man ' s income .
Finally , fellow-wotking-tuen , be not content wi < & mere relief—let nothing short of justice satisfy you ; relief will be but a temporary advantage— -justice would secure you permanent prosperity , comfortable fire-sides , cheerful wives and children , and to yourselves peaceful and contented minds .: Tour redemption is in your own hands , and the work of national regeneration depends chiefly upon you , and your "brethren in bonds ! " Wait not foblisbily for the aid of any other class of ^ society ; besides your own . Can your freedom come from your enemies ; as soon might the Egyptians have been expected to liberate the Israelites , or the West Indian planters the black slaves , as the middleclasses of England voluntarily to give up their hold upon you and the fruits of your toil . Look then to others to ( io your wo ) -k , if you mean it to : be badly done , or not done at all ; if you with it to be done , and dona well , do it yourgeives . . GiJiFFiiH : Higgi > s , Chainnaa . Thojias Haxson , Secretary .
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TO THE FACTORY WORKERS OF YORKSHIRE . Brethren , Friends , Countryjien , —It has often been our lot to meet you in private converse , and mingle with -you in your homes , and by your hearths , when the sun of England ' s prosperity was yet above th © horizon , and : the soul of the ; English artisnn waa not . yet oppressed -with the accumulating load of misery which laws , restrictive , partial laws , and the aggrandising cupidity of capitaliste have taught him now to bear . ¦ '¦ • ¦ . " , . - . : ¦" ' .- - . - ¦' ¦ ¦ , ' - . - ¦ : ; .- ¦' ¦ :. - .
From past experience we feel ourselves qualified to form a correct estiniate of your character as a body , and unless oppression has changed the current of your feeling ; unless the kindly sympathies of your nature have been blunted , and YorkshirenieH have ceased to b ' oaat . ' ot English JieaTts , we feel connilent in saying , that th « wrongs and sufferings of your c ass will find a sympathetic response in your bosoms , ' and that the ready baud which of ten sent the wayfaring stranger rejoicing on his' way , will not witb-hold its tribute tobrethren in distress ,-
—' * A brother to relieve , how exquisite the bliss . But a truce with preliminaries , and let us proceed to the painful task of enumerating the miseries of our brethren , and calling upon you to extend the hand of support to them . We are far away from you in another country , we may say , where distress , in if s most paihfol forms , is stalking thiough the manufacturing districts ; but it is not for the famishing people of Paisley , ; neither for the starving producers in Dundee , that we clalrh your support , it ia for your own countrymen , your own neighbours , the ; turn-outs of Huddcrsfield , that we ask your sympathies and expect your pecuniary aid . ;¦ ¦ ; : ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ " ¦¦ . - :-- >¦ ' ,. \ : :. ' ¦; . ' :. - " ¦ ; ,, ¦'¦
These men left their employment because the employers , taking advantage of the depressed state of trado , sought to niaterlally reduce their already too scanty earnings , and thus crush them below the point of human resistance to tyranny , making them , as it were , the pioneers of our downfall , for the " unholy alliance of capitalists ,: '' working for mutual benefit at the : expense of us all , would soon have made us follow in the wake of pur conquered brethren . There are forty-three men turned out , and all the support which they and their families have received for the last fortnight is £ 12 17 s : 0 ^ d . ¦ : ; - : Now there are , " at present , about two thousand workies employed in . Huddersfield , Brighouse , Bradford , Halifax , Eiland , Hebden Bridge , &c ., who , if they were paying 3 d . each per week , would realfz 9 a sum of £ 50 per fortnight , a-jd thus would we ba enabled to support tke noble men who battle for the rights of labour .
Good God ; Enplishmen , my face , burns to think that one mill in Scotland , in Edinburgh , where l ? bere is not that personal interchange of sympathies that exists between you , should contribute almost as much as five mills in my own land , to the support of the gallant defenders of the poor man ' s property from the encroachments of vampire capitalists . * Will it be said that Englishmen are so besotted that they will allow their-own interests to bo sacrificed along with their brother toilers ? Shall it be said that the adage which , says , ' The poor man alone when he
hears the poor moan , of his little a little will give , " has never become reversed , and that an Englishman's bowels of compassion are dried up . Shall the aristocrat tauntingly hold out his finger and say these men ask me for justice , and yetrefuse their own class cotapassiOQ ? Never . Let the hJgh-souied principles of juttice , all the love cf native land and domestic felicity , couibined with the f-ympothies that reciprocally beat in poor men ' s bosoms unite in arousing you to a determination not to see your fellow labourers immolated on the altar of Mammon . :
Prove by your actions that you are deserving of political liberty ; show the united" millionaires' * that the "ignorant" labourers are determined to stand fast in defence of the rights of labour . The time speeds fastly on , and the hour coruetb when pu se-proud insolence must be content ^ l with its own rights ^ and labour shall no more be spoiled to enrich a corporation of grasping avarice or to support an oligareby . of callous oppressors . ' - ' ' . ; ¦ - ¦ : ; - . ; . . -- ' : ¦ ¦ ¦'"' -. ¦' . ¦' .. - : - . '' .. ' : ' - : -.. ¦ . '• - ¦ . ; Factory Workers of Yorkshire , do riot allow the gallan ' o fellows in Huddeisflsld to be" pat down through the machinations of employers , they we trying all their arts to break off the little support they now obtain , but be ye true to your order for only a short time , and a day shall soon dawn of prosperity tt > our class , a day that shall relieve us of the necessity of wandering in the lanes and alleys of our towns , competitive drags upon the energies of owe employed friends .
Working men , do your duty , and : the days ; ol oppression are numbeied . fight the- good fight of human redemption , and strive to make the v ? otld better thau you . found it ;/ ¦ ¦;•" .-..: ' Yours , in behalf of the Workies of Castle Mill , EdinKburgh . EjjWABEi SUTCtirPB . Stb . February , 3842 . ^
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JEDBTJiRGH . —A public meeting of the inhabits , nts of the town of Jcdburgh , was held in the c ounty hall , on yriday th _ e 11 th iiistant , to take into consideration , the propriety of again adopting the National Petition , without alteration or amendment . At the tinw of meetiDJ » , the hail was crowded to excess . Mr . Adam Math ison was called to the chair ^ Mr . John Wark pr 6 po « ed the fitfeiTteBplution , im + puting all the grievanoes vmder which our oCantTy ia at present groaning to class legislation , and that ta& only remedy would be to pass the People's Cfaaitar as the law of the land , and moved that wedo again .
petition for Universal Suffrage . The resolution waa carried . Mr , James Noble proposed the National Petition , which being seconded by Mr . John Warlc , the Chairman introduced Mr . Charles Haigb , from Hawick , who was received with grea . t cheers . Mr . Haigh then rose amidst ranewed cheering , and spoke for three quarters of an hour in a strain of eloquence and argument . The pe-ition was put and carried amidst great cheering . Three cheers were then given for Mr . Haigh , three ibr the Charter , thr ^ e for Frost , vYilliama , and Jcnea , for FearRua O'Connor , Eaq ., for the Chairman , and the meeting brokeUp . ^ ' ; : '¦ ;; ¦ '• . . -:. ''" . ' :.. ¦ ' ; ''; : : . : :- \ ' - ^\
DALinrV ( AtRSUlRE . )—The Corn law Committee of repealers challenged the Chartists to a cHscassicin with theit great gan , Mr . > Acland , who has been figuring thissome time past in the CornLaw movement . The tiisenssion was to come off on the evening of Wednesday , the 9 th of February . The Chartists engaged Mr . Wm . Smith , from Ayri ' . to . meet this celebrated champion . of expediency . Wednesday arrived , and the " village and neighbonrhood was all bustle in anticipatioA of the discassioa to take place in the evening . In the forenoon , tho Corn Law Committee was engaged circulatiag bills stating that MV . Acland bad been .. engaged at two places on the evening pf Wfidnesdayy the' 9 tk ; of Februarv . ( Sthrline and Dalrx . 1 and DostDoriina his
lecture in thft ' la ' . ter place Itm Acland lectured on the evening <> f Tuesday , the 8 th , in Saltcoatg ^ and . passed Dairy oh the forenoon of Wednesday , the 9 : h . Whether he got' ndtice : df Smith to meet him , or considered tie Corn Law repealers of Dairy beneath hia notice ho knows best himself . Smnh , however , like a . triip Chartist , was at his post , and a public meeting was held in Mr Cologain ' s ^ Hall , when Mr . F , Sterrat waa tlectcd . chairman , ; and Mr . I . Miller vicechairman . The hallwa ? crammed in every part ' .- Smith delivered a lecture ., anS in' good style laid our prihoiples and position before the meeting . At the close of the Jeoture the National Petition was read , moved and seconded , and carried unanimously .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 19, 1842, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1149/page/7/
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