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S PLENDID AND C O STLY PRESENT TO
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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1842.
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©0 2Seafcfrg wtit fiQtve&vit>vfotnt
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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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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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THE READERS OF THE « NORTHERN STAR . " : ; .. ' . ' -v : ' ; :. ' >¦; - . ' ; V . ' -: . , . . . Determined to co m memor a te eve ry g re a t n a t i onal event connected with tho present " movement , ' Mr . O'Connor has entered into arrangements for presenting the Subscribers to theS / or with a large arid splendid Engraving of the Presen-¦ - tationof ¦'¦;¦ . ¦ - . '¦ :- - ' : ' " ' - - . - ¦ ;/ : " / . ¦ ' - ¦ ¦ . "¦ ; : - " : ' ' . ¦'¦ - . THE G RE A T NA TI O NAL PETITION to the House of Commons . This Plate will be as much superior to the Engra » vings already given vrith the Star , as they were tp any ever given with any other newspaper . It will be divided , as it were , into three main compartments . The first will representthe Delegates in Con VEKTioNA ^ EHBLED , previous to starting with the Petition tp the House of Commons . The centre and largest compartment will represent the Procession » ccompauying the Petition to the House , the Petition itself , the Bearers of it , and the People , when passing Whitehall , and approaching Palace Yard . The third compartment will represent the Petition IN THE HOUSE , when ¦ # laid on the tableY' being a general view of the Interior of the House of : Commons , the Bar and the Speaker's Chair being prominent features .-In addition to these mam cotopartsaents the upper and lower edges of the plate will be divided into sixteen other smaller compartments , each one of which will contain an acourata representation of Some great Publia Building passed ia the route from the Convention Rooms to the Parliament House . VieWs will thus be given of Temple Bar , St . Clement Dane ' s , Church , Somerset House , Exeter Halli St . Mary-le-StTand , Trafalgar Square , Northumberland House , Whitehall . Richmond Terrace , The Admiralty , Toe Horse Guards , Westminster Bridge , Trie Treasury , Westminster Abbey , and St . Margaret ' s Church , Westminster Hall , and the Exterior of the House of Common . There will thus begivenj upon one very large sheet , Ninetbe ^ Splendid Pictures , all harmoniously combined to make the whole an effective and worthy representation of the most important movement ever made by the English people in flavour of liberty . The terms upon which the Plate will baissned ate . as follow : — ; - ' .: ' . '¦ ¦ ; ¦; ;¦ ; ' ¦'¦ : ¦; . '; - ; . . ' ' . Ever y S u b s c r i ber to th e Star tot Four M o nth s fr om the 9 th of April Will be eatitledto ; a Plate . We do not promise to have it ready at that time , though in all probability it will be ; yet we do not promise ; for the Work will be one of such a character , ' and will need such careful attention pn the part of the Engraver , as to defy any one to fix an exact time . This , however , We do promise . If the plate is not then ready , every subscriber is at liberty to cease his subscription , holding his ticket , and receiving his plate arid paper from the Agent he has subscribed with , the day it is presente ( Jf just as if he had continued to subsoribe . The Price of the Paper the week the Plate is present-id will be One Shilling . We will try to make such arrangements as will make this the only charge the Subscribers will nave to v pay- ' " :. . /¦ ' : ' : ; .. . ' . ¦• - . v / . - ; . ¦ ¦ ¦ . '¦ . ¦ ¦ " '¦ ¦'¦' v-Agents , therefore , will please to open Bubseription lists , and in all cases furnish the subscriber with a ticket , which ticket will entitle him to the Plate wheneverit is given for BubsoribiDg for the Star for four months . As soon as possible , specimens shall be placed in the hands of the Agents .
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MR . P . O'HIGGINS AND HIS TRADUCERS . TO THE KDITOB O * THE FRSEHAS ' S JOURNAL . SlS , —The Irish Universal Suffrage Association , seeing Ih&t is wa 3 grossly slandered , and its objects and proceedings wilfully misrepresented , in a report of the proceedings of the Loyal National Repeal Association of Ireland , which were pnblisbed in ihe Freer-tan ' s Journal of the 1 st instant , passed a resolution , repudiating and disavowing the charges which w ere made against it , and pronouncing the paity v / - ho made those charges to be calumniators . This resolution we s sent to your paper for publication , g jid the cost of inserting it , as an advertisement in theDii ^ f Freeman oi tae 9 th , and Weekly Fre man . of the 12 th inst paid for . You , Sir , thongr ^ the terms of the resolution too "strong for public uion , and returned the money sooner than publish a , document which , you said , contained a general JjIbel npon the whole of the members of the
Loyal rational Repeal Association of Ireland . Now , Sir , I ¦ am far frQm claming you for refusing to pnblis ' fl ai ; y speech , or paper of any kind whatever , ¦ wbicl i migtet have a tendency to subject your journal to& prosecution for libel ; but , permit me to ask you , is it just—i 3 it doing unto others as you would be dorA by , to allow a public body to litel ad libitum , through the columns of yosr paper , and to deny that individual or frs triends ihe common right of a reply through the same medium , but more especially When that reply was paid for as an advertisement ? In the Frccnan of the 1 st instant , amongst other matters grossly libellous , I find the following , reported as part of a speech of Mr . Thomas Steele , in allusion to some vague , wild , and incoherent observations whkh were made upon the occasion by the Rev . Mr . M'Hugb , whom 1 shall leave " in ihe ' hands of his Grace the Caiholic Archbishop of Dublin . Mr . Steele
said" Oh i whit a terrific proof does my Reverend Friend's communication exilic :- , of th-e atrocious ana baleful spirit of the Chartists in this country , under the iui-tJgation of 0 'Hii . giiis ar . d his gang—( hear , hear , and groans ) . By lar the greatest number of yon who honour me with your attention are Catholics ; and from the hoar of the penal code in its deepest horror , did you hear of anything more aceuTsed than the * threat of the xtSan _ Feargus O'Csnnor and Paddy O'Hiegins' Cnartisis , to tear
down from his altar a Catholic clergyman , because he Wis warning the il ^ ek confided to his care by his bishop , and his pontiff , and his God , against inch diabolical villains as those who secretly instigated to the incendiary fires at Birmingham , to the scenes at Newport , aboard the convict-ship , and in the land of exiles . Who h this O'Higgics ! Was he not expelled from the Volunteers , and his money returned to Me , after a patient investigation by the whole committee , for a deliberate calumny on the character cf a brother member V
Now , sir , I appeal to you and to my countrymen , if this is not iho most dexterous use of words to impress upon the public mind ;—1 . That I am the head of a gang whom I instigated to drag a Catholic clergyman from the altar ? 2 . That I seeretly insiigate-d to the incendiary fires at BirmiDghanu the scenes at Newport , aboard the convict-ship , and in the land of cxilet ? 3 . That I was expelled from the socieiy of Iri ? h Volunteers by the unanimous voice of the commitite , and my money returned to me ? It is painful to me , and would be painful to any man of feeling , to be continually dragged before the public to refute calumnies which have been refuted over and over again .
To the first—my reply is , that I know nothing about the matter ; that I never heard of such a circumstance until I read the Freeman of the 1 st inst . ; that I believe the whole tale to be a fabrication , got np by short-sighted sinking men to suit the occasion ; that the charge is false in every part ; that instead of dragging , or instigating to drag , priests from the altar , I have done more to put prieht 3 on- the altar than all the Steeles or Tom Steeles in Ireland ; and ih&t I yield to no man living in respect , and veneration for the Roman Catholic clergy .
To the second charge—of secrtily instigating to the fires at Birmingham , the scenes at Newport , & . c , —I was here in the City of Dublin quietly atteudiog to my business , and laying out more money among my feliow- citizens than I ever knew any man of the name of Steele to be worth ; and the effort to mis np my name with these scenes , by certain forms of expression , is net quite so . reasonable as it would be to ask , as the altitude of the Hill of Howta is 740 feet above the level of the sea , what is the exact difference between Tom SteeTe's organ of veneration and ihe apex of the head of Djcer ' s great Spanis-h jackass ! - With Tespei t to the third charge , which is that of having been expelled from the Volunteers by the unanimous vote of the committee , for a calumny on a brother member , and my money returned to me : this one senience contains two wilful falsehoods .
Tlie first is , that the committee -was unanimous : thai is tossy , that the whole of the members of that committee concurred in the sentence which was pronounced npon me ; this is the meaning which the charge , as stated , labours to impress upon the pnblic . The second falsehood is that my money was returned to me . This is not true . I never got back the money . But as Tom Siesleseenis to know something about it , I shall receive it thankfully if hi discharges his fcrusL and gives it to me even now .
As to the unanimity of the committee npon the vote of censure passed npon me , no one knows better than Tom Steele that ^ thit statement is utterly false . The majority of the committee were in my favour , and the three-fourths of them for suppressing ihe matter altogether , lesi the charges which 1 b ? OHghi agsinst Mr . Steele ' s friend j and wHth cannot be refuted , should injure him in the way of his business , I knew that the charges would injure if made pabiic , and therefore I did not bring t lem iMore the public body , hut before the committ&e— a ejmmittee which assumed the rkh ; and the power
to deeide upon tie character of any man against whom there was an objection by any other member . I was on the cemmitt ^ e myself , but refused . to continue a member of it when I = aw a person put on it to whom I , at any rate , had a valid objec : ion . My first proposition to the committee war , that if they would appoint twelve men against whom there could be no reasonable objection , 1 should then Etate my reasons for withdrawing myself from the committee . This fair and reasonable proposi t ion was objected to ; and I was called upon by the resolution of the committee—on th 3 motion of Mr James
Nugent , of Kingstown , to state the- charges in wr : t ing . to name the party objected to , anil ibi-t the whole coramiuee sLonld take the matter" into consideration . To this proposal I nitima'ely assented . There were fifty-one members on the committee , twenty-three of whom—and twcniy-three od ! j—tad the basentss to declare , to sign a paper pronouncing the charges fake and calumnious , while twentyeight held just a contrary opinion , and left the room niider the impression that the subject would end there . Who are those that signed that lying document ?—what is their occupation ?—how many of them have made their escape from the country ? The majority of the twenty-three mean-spirited sycophants ar . d toad-eaters who . signed the censure
npon me were , fur the most part , subsisting upon thefnnd 3 which they exacted from myself and otner dupes like me , under the pretence of repealing the Union . It was expedient to get rid of me—first , because I knew and ttl-i Mr . O'Connell , in the presence of osher members of the committee , the real state of the case between Mr . T . Steele and 0 Gorman Mahon . I knew too many of the facts of the plunder of tfee monasteries h . nd convents in the neishboarhocd of Cadiz . I sta-ed the facts connected with the discreditable transactions by Wigly , Dixon , and Co . ; and I mentioned that O'Gorznan Mahon , Id whom 1 had never spoken till years afterwards wa ? the oem and victim cf this nest . In addition
to these mines , I had the hardihood to object to the ina-i-apprcpimion of the large fund whicn was subscribed for tithe ssiftiers . Tht-sc were crimes which conld not ba overlooked , and the occasion was anxiously , though secretly , snupht for destroying jne , fearing the facts of which I was cognizant , and which my mercantile habit * tnd couneclionsafLrced the aean 3 of ascertaining should be made public . Can-any man for a moment imagine that the charges ¦ which depended for their truth or falsehood upon the written and oral testimony of others , conid be pronounced to be false and calumnious , without any examination of that oral testimony , cr examination of the written testimony 1
The written testimony bears the signatures—Robert Cully , accountant-general of the -Bank of Ireland ^ of Miehael Roach , secretary to the Hibernian Bank ; of Obadiah Willan 3 and Sons ,- Lower Bridge-street ; of Robert Bjrne and Co ., Lower Bridge-street ; of Armstrong and Byrne . MeJchants ' - qaay ; of Blood , Nott , and Co ., Trinity-street ; of Win . Locke , of the Linen Hall ; of Greenongh and Robinson , Manchester ; of Longworth and Co ., Manchester ; of William Bolton . and Co ., Manchester ; and until such time a 3 it is shewn that the documents bearing the foregoing signatures are all forgeries , the seatence pronounced npon me , and
signed by twenty-three out of a Committee of fiftyone , gives to their ovra act the stigma which they sought to fix upon mine . Now , Sir , it must be admitted that I have been boss wantonly proreked into this statement . I had no wish for it ; but if my accusers desire it , and that youwill be ' so'Jtind aB to afford me space for the whole case , I Bh&U Btata the -whole , as I ha-ve the original documents ic my possession , and I premise you that you shall he&J ? no more about my expulsion . Tiereis BOt ari unprincipled adventurer , a coward , or a profligate , who enters on a political speculation , but avails himself of this expulsion as a screen for his cowardly attacks upon so 9 .
It has been asked , through your paper , who is ilr . O'Higgins ? 'Jhis is a modest quesiion t ;> be ssked about a man who has paid reni and taxes in the chj m Dublin for nearly twenty years . It is fair to ask . who . sie those who put this wis& questi o n and who are taose who concurred-in it ? The
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citizens of Dublin should know that they are a set 0 ; political adventurers , some of -whom have neither house nor home , and who have no other visible means of-living ' than that of subsisting upon the weekly sums obtained from their oonfiding and credulous dnpes , under the pretence of Repealing the Union , while they know right well that their great leader has honestly declared that he will not bring that question forward in the House of Commons until he has a petition , signed by 4 , 000 , 000 of Irishmen , while at the same time it is well known that there are not 3 , 500 , 000 male iKhabitants in Ireland , including new-born babes . In conclusion , Sir , permit me to say , on the part of the members of the Irish Universal Suffrage Association , and on my own part , that we deem it incumbent on us , collectively and individually , thus
publicly to proclaim that our respect for , and veneration and admiration cf , the exemplary and exalted character of the Irish Catholic Clergy , is as un bounded a 3 that of auy other soeiety of men in the universe ; that we have neither secrets nor oaths of any nature or kind in oar association ; that we consider none as friends but those who will tell to every body everything they hear and see at the meetings of theassociation ; that the Irish Universal Suffrage Association has been founded for the purposeof obtaining by legal and constitutional means , and by Buch means only , Universal Suffrage , Vote by Ballot , Annual Parliaments , Equal Electoral Districts , No Property Qualification , and Payment of Members ; and , when these blessings are obtained , a Repeal of the Union . Pateick O'Higgins .
President of the Irish Universal Suffrage Association ; the man who got up the first meeting for the O'Connell Tribute , and the second who subscribed £ 10 to it . This is for the information of those who have asked the question , " Who is Mr . O'Higgins V
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seded all other questions . In fact , amongst these parties nothing is talked of at present but the Peel Budget . Go where you may ; mix with what company you may , and the first question you invariably hear is , " What think you of the New Budget !" This question naturally receives different and conflicting answers , according to the notions of each one replying to it . There is one thing , however , npon which all are agreed . All , whether opposed to the Minister or not , agree in representing the Budget as the boldest step taken by any Minister for a long period of time .
Peel boldly proclaims that there can be no reduction of expenditure J He tells the interested of both parties , that if " National Faith " is to be kept ; if payment of the interest upon our accumulating Debt is to be continued ; if our than deling and . unconstitutional Army is to be kept up , to squeeze the taxes out of the bones of the labourer ; if our big and boastful Navy is to be maintained , with her hosts of admirals , rearadmira l s , and shoals of inferior oflicers and "dead weight ,- " if the " Queen ' s Civil List "
is to be kept at its present enormous amount ; if Prince Albebt ' s pin-money is to be continned ; if the Pensions , and Sinecures , and Granls % are to continue to he ; if the doubly-augmented Salaries of the Judges and other officers of the State are to be paid : Peel , boldly and honestly proclaims to the Members of " that House , " that if they wish these things to exist , they must find him ihe means of payment ; and he
also explicitly tells them that they can squeeze no more out of the poor man ; that the taxing-string around the labourer ' s neck is as tight as it can safely be drawn ; that another twitch would strangle the pinioned wretch ; and that io provide the necessary means , the owners of property and the possessors of income must submit to a direct tax which shall make up the deficiencies arising from the working people being unable to pay !
Veriiy , Fb&l is a bold man . ' Ho is bold in proclaiming at this juncture , and amid the horrible destitution everywhere prevailing , that there can be no reduction of expenditure ! that the State leeches cannot be induced to slacken their hold and that he , for one , is unwilling to attempt to make them . He is bold in daring to propose to re-establish npon the monied classes one of the most unpopular , and ( with them ) one of the most odious tixes that can exist ; and he is bolder still in attempting to establish the means to collect from the middle classes the tax so imposed !
¦ If he succeed in get ling it from them , he will be a bold xnanindeed ¦ ] An Income Tax is widely and essentially different from a Property Tax . The latter would merely call upon those who possess property , tangible property , to pay according to the rate laid down ; the former imposes a tax upon incomes , no matter from what source they may be derived ! The physician , who has no property , but whose income is the result of his skill : the author , whose income is derived from
the exercise of his talents ; the builder or the blacksmith , whose incomes result from the exorcise of their respective crafts ; all these , and others similarly situate , are , by an Income Tax , taxed just as much as the man who derives an immense income from property , without any , the slightest , exercise of talent , or skill , or even industry ! This is an injustice of so monstrous a kind a 3 only to be paralleled by the acts of the monied classes themselves towards the labouring people .
Ta this consideration must be added the necessarily Inquisitorialmature of the machinery to ascertain the amount of each man ' s income . The prying , the questioning , and the examining into a shopkeeper's bnsiness , or into a merchant ' s accountp , to as ; ertain whether he ought to pay the tax or not ; and , if he is taxable , io fix the amooni ; all these must be particularly agreeable to those subject to such visitations and inquiries ! I'faith , Peel is a bold maD , to venture to propose to deal in this manner with the shopkeeping an ^ trading classes 1 !
What a squeak ! what a squeal ! there will be set up , when the plan comes into full operation What a noise , and din , and clamour the "loyal " tax-payers will kick up , when the tax-gatherer waits upon them , with Peel ' s compliments , for £ 2 I 83 . 41 for every one of their "hundred pounds ;" and an unequivocal intimation that he must have these £ 2 18 s , -ii . ' s directly to pay the dividends with , or " National Faiih" will be broken . ' O what denunciation we shall hear ! What abuse It will be well for the tax-gatherer if hard words are all he gets besides the money !
Of the horrible bellowing that will be set up by the " loyal" " national faith" men , when the tax comes to be fetched from them , some faint conception may be had from a perusal of the shopkeepers' and traders' press , and from the proceedings in " that House" en the part of the opposition . " For some days , the Whig remnant seemed stunned by Peel ' s announcements . The nature and magnitude of his projects , and the clearness and candour of his address in developing them , completely " knocked the wind" oat of the Whigs .
When they contrasted his sweeping measure of " Commercial Reform , " embracing as it does 1 , 200 articles of import , and repealing ike duties npon by far the greater half of the number , and greatly reducing the duties upon the other half ; when they contrasted this measure with their own machlauded and highly-vaunted " great" scheme , which merely included three articles o £ import , and openly professed to deal with them in a manner that would raise from them , in taxes , more money than is now paid upon them ;
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when they contrasted Peel ' s measure wit h t hei r own , aad remembered that one portion of their own was the institution of a fixed purr on corn , for the purpose of raising ADDITIONAL REVENUE to supply the existing deficiency j when th >< y thus contra s te d the two schemes , they instinctively saw that Peel had out-bid them I and that nia object was to purchase the support of the trading classes ! They also , saw that he had calculated well ; that his tariff scheme was cunningly devised ; that it was very c&lching , and very likely to answer the intended purpose : and bo they determined j if-. possible , to spoil the spott by denouncing the other portion of Peel ' s plan , th e n e w tax e s , and , by appeals to the cupidity of the monied classes , array their power
against Peel on the ground of opposition to the Income Tax . The cue having been given , little Lord John became suddenly valiant . He announced in at H ouse , " that he would move counter r es olut i ons to tho s e proposed b y Peel ; that he would oppese the Income Tax Bill in all its stages , dividing "the House" upon the first , second , and third readings , and also on the bringing up of the Report . Other Members in his train also shewed " big fight ; " and while this game was played off inside " the walls of Parliament , '' the free traders 1 press was performing its patt outsido by inserting heaps of letters from pretended correspondents , denouncing the Income Tax in all sorts of ways , and for all sorts of reasons .
All this is but preparatory to the calling of public meetings , at whioh the Whigs and Whiglings of every water and degree will strenuously endeavour to get the public voice expressed against Peel and his DIRECT system of taxation . It is for the purpose of preparing and counselling the people how to meet this next" new move" that we address them on the subject at present . In the first place , then , we aver , that the principle of DIRECT TAXATION involved in Peel ' s Income-tax , demands for his plan the strenuous support of everyman who livesby the labour of his hands .
He is greatly and immediately interested in getting the principle of direct taxation acknowledged and universally acted upon . If it were so ; if it was in full operation ; if m-direct taxation was superseded , nothing like the amount of taxes now wrung from his labour by a silent and unseen process could possibly be raised 1 If the taxgatherer had to call at every man ' honse , and demand the sum now yearly paid in another way , he would get by far " more kicks than ha ' pence ! " Every . one would then know the amount he had to pay . He now knows nothing of it ; nor can he possibly be made to know it
as lie would do were the money fetched from him directly . He now goes to market ; buys his sugar , bis tea , or his tobacco : he pays for each article what he conceives is the price of it . He does not know that , when he pays 3 d . for an ounce of tobacco , 2 d . of the amount is for tax . He finds the tobacconist charges him 3 d . ; and he knows all others in the same line of business do the same ; and he , therefore , pays the 3 d . uubegrudingly . But suppose he only paid the tobacconist the real price of the article ; suppose the price of it to be only Id . ; and that as he leaves the shop he is accosted by tha
taxgatherer , who demands from him another 2 d . to pay the fundholder with ; suppose this , and we may very easily further suppose that the tasgatherer would much oftener measure bis length in the kennel than get the 2 d . ! ! And so on of all other articles . It would be impossible for any Government to collect from a people so large a sum in taxes by DiREcr means as they can by indirect means . It is clearly and manifestly , therefore , the interest of all tax-payers , that a system of direct taxation should exist . And as the labouring people are the tax-payers ; as it is by the things produced that taxes can alone be paid ; as
it is clearly impossible for those who produce not ti have any thing of their own wherewith to satisfy the demands of the government ; as the burden of taxation , whether large or small , must eventually fall upon the shoulders of the labouring portion of the community ; it is still more apparent , it is still more clearly manifest that it is their duty and interest t" > insist upon the universal application of the principle of DIRECT taxation . On this ground , then , the proposal of Peel to tax Incomes in a plain straight-forward and direct manner , is entitled to their hearty and undivided support .
There is another principle , too , involved m this Income-tax project , which also entitles the measure to the support of the labouring many . Property is Taxed . The man who has been able , by the operation of ihe blessed system under which we live , to accumulate to himself a large heap of the good things of life , is tared acoording to the scale lai d down . What can be more equitable ? What can be more just ! What objections are there that can be urged against this principle 1 True , that what he has , has come from labour ; true , that the labour yearly expended upon his
estate , or upon the raw material in his mill , alone gives value to them , and is the source whence his income is derived ; true , that if he pays a portion of that income iu direct taxes to the Government , he has less to spend in the market upon the productions of other labour ; true all this ; yet he now gets the income ; the labouring people have thai to provide for him , as well as their immediate share of the indirect taxes inow paid ; and it will not , in all cases , happen that if a tax is laid upon incomes , the " property men" will be ablo to make these who labour produce more for them to pay the tax with ; thongh , in-too many cases , we
grieve to say , they will havo this power . They cannot , however , have it , in all casesj . and whenever this happens to be , the tax is a subtraction from the rich man's income to the clear and manifest benefit of the labouring people , who now have both income and taxes to raise . They , therefore , are deeply and immediately interested in having all the taxes necessary imposed upon PROPERTY , and collected in a DIRECT and immediate manner . Both these principles are involved in Peel's Income tax : and these are reasons why the plan of taxation he has proposed , as far as tha institution of that particular ta x is concerne d , should be supported by the labourers of England .
Aye , but it may be said , have you not already admitted that the proposed Income tax is a " monstrous injustice" ] We have ! But in what does the injustice consist ? la submitting incomes to the action of taxation ? Not a bit of it ! Incomes of every description ought to be taxed . Every man ought to bear his share of the burdens of the state according to his visible means . The injustice we have pointed out oonsists , not in the taxing of incomes derived from professions or trades , but in taxing these incomes to the same amount , and in the same degree , as incomes derived from certain
and fixed properties . The first class are the result of labour and skill ; and though they certainly ought not to be free from taxation , yet it is clear they ought not to pay in the same proportion as incomes derived without exertion or skill . The uncertain nature of the incomes derived from trade and professions , is another reason why they should not bo taxed so highly as the incomes derived from a more certain source ; but it is no reason why they should be exempted from taxation . The case of these parties / then , in relation to the working man , is just this : if they think Peel has not taxed the possessors
of incomes arising from landed and funded property , or from buildings , high enough in proportion to the amount he has proposed to Jay upon incomes arising from the exercise of trade , or . tha following of professions , let them bother Pjuh . TO MAKE IT HIGHER , and remit some other tax which presses immediately upon the labouring people ; but don't let them try to persuade the labouring people to get tradesmen and professional men exempted from the tax . No , no . If they like , we will try to increase the measure of taxation upon those who certainly onght , in all justice , to pay more ; but we as certainly will not adrise that the labouring people
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should aid or countenance , or oven permit , any attempt on the park of the traders , either to relieve themselves from the operation of Peel ' s measure , or to reduce the amount he proposes to raise from them . Three per cent , is a very low figure . The traders think so in their transactions one with another , and in their dealings with the people . They may try , if they like , - to induce Peel to lay six per cent , npon the owners of tangible and certain property , while he retains the present amount upon incomes from other Bources ; but they must not be permitted to hitch-off the burden from themselves , or t !> lessen the proposed amount .
It ; is but £ 4 , 006 , 000 ; at the very outside , that Peel proposes to raise by means of this Income tax ! Only £ 4 , 000 , 000 !! By other and indirect means he raises £ 53 , 000 , 000 ! l \ The main portion of ^ this £ 53 , 000 , 000 is wrung from the labourers of England The time haa come when the Government cannot possibl y raise mow from this blasa . Pbel distinctly says so . He says , moreover , that if he is to satisfy the demands made upon him , he must have the
raoney . He further says , that those who are able must make up the deficiency . Those to whom Peel thus appeals say that they will not respond to his call T They denounce the measure as one of robbery and plunder . -They have no objection to the labouring poor paying the £ 53 , 000 , 000 ; but they have a great objection to pay only £ 4 , 000 , 000 amongst themselves !!! O ! the tender conscience of a free-traderj—when his pocket is touched !!
" Yes ; but ; " rejoins the objector , '' what need is there for Peel to raise the £ 4 , 000 , 0001 Why does he not reduce the expenditure ? " Aye , why ! you besotted biuto I Why 1 Because you will not let him Dp you not insist upon " National Faith" being kept 1 Do you not insist upon the interest of the Debt being paid in full ? Do yoa not stand up for the Pension List , the Civil List , the Salaries , and the Grants Have you not spurned and spit upon the labouring people , when they asked you , years ago , to aid them
to get the expenditure reduced 1 Did you not join in " loyal" and patriotic associations to put down the Radicals , who only wanted to do then what you now require 1 Did you riot mount a horse , string a sword by your side , put a pistol in your pocket , and dub yoursslf a " Yeomanry Cavalry man , " and turn out to butcher in cold blood those who wanted to obtain from the Government justice for you as wall as for themselves ?\ Did you not join - in the passing of addresses to the Government , thanking
THEin for suspending thb Habeas Corpusi Act , and for imprisoning for years together , hundreds of as good men as England ever saw , and then turning them out of jail without even telling the captives tohy they had been placed in confinement !! Did you not applaud the unfeeling monsters who jested in "that House" upon the sufferings and excruciating torments endured by the victims pt your hellish schemes to put down the rising spirit
of liberty \ And have you not latteily countenanced the Government in their wholesale imprisonmont of the Chartists ? Were you not one of those who eat in the jury-box , and convicted them of seeking to do that which you now , yourself , ask to be done ? You are a pretty beast to aajz for a reduction ef expenditure ! You are a pretty beast to object to pay taxes It Base reptile ! Immeasurably base ! Tax him , Peel !! Lay it on ! Let him pay ?——and be hanged 1
No , no ; it will not dp for those who support , and have supported , the present infernal system of Debt and Robbery , to object to the proposed Income tax . Such an objection , or rather a demand for a reduction of expenditure may come , as it has ever pome , from the labouring people , and come with a good grace ; but if those who have hounded on the myrmidons of power upon the poor , for denouncing the robberies committed upon their labour ; if those who acted in "Volunteer armed Associations : '' if
those who enlisted in the " Yeomanry Corps : ¦ £ * if those who aided and abetted in the prosecutions of the Radicals and Chartists , because they complained of the weight of taxation ; if those who did all or any of these things should now venture to complain—now , that the workings of their praisebespattered system has made it necessary that their incomes should be taxed ; if any one of these should dare to urge one word of publia complaint , let infamy and ineffable scorn be his portion !!!
There can be no reduction of expenditure while the present system obtains ! To reduce the expenditure means to reduce the Debt ; to disband the Army ; to repeal the Pension List ; to reduce the Salaries ; to remove the Dead Weight ; to lessen the Civil List ; and to dock Prince Albert's allowance . Will the Free Traders go for this ?! Daro they tickle the fundholder I Are they prepared to grapple with the real question ! If they are , let them blame Peel for Beeking to keep up the expenditure , and for devising schemes to get the
money to pay with : but if they are net , blistered be the tongue of every mother's son of them who dares to utter even half a word in the way of complaint at having to pay the quota imposed upon him ! Peel is right . If the monied classes will have " the system , " they must find him the means of payment . The old saying that " you cannot b o th eat your loaf and have your loaf " is strictly applicable here . The devourer of taxes cannot swallow the money , and have the money ! More grist must come to the mill , or tho mill must stand : and those who are in l ove
w ith our p resent grinding s y st e m , must find the means to keep it up U O ! what a glorious eight it is to see the " loyal " in such a stew about paying taxes ! During the heyday of their " loyalty , " when " loans" and "banknotes" were as plentiful as blackberries ; when " we " were " at war" with both France arid America ; when ! " Bank Restriction" exist id ; when our " resources" were in process of "development ;" in those good old times , if a man dared to say a Word against the wars then being carried on , or against the taxes
imposed upon the labouring people to pay for the wars and the interest upon the "loans ; " if a man in those days dared to utter a word against the Heaven-born Minister and his syfct 9 m of Debt and Taxation , his teeth were down hia thi-oat in an instant I Then it was that the f'lpyal" " pledged their lives and their fortunes" ! Then it was that they urged the Minister to spend hand-over-head , never thinking of "to-morrow . '' Now they have to taste some little of their own system . Now it has partly reached them-. ! The taste they have got is as nothing , compared with what is
to oomel but the little they have had makes them wince most confoundedly ! Look at the sight just now L Peel merely proposes to raise from them £ 4 , 000 , 000 ; and they stand aghast ! Hark to the yell of execration with which his proposal is met 1 and then reflect that the winoers are those who have resisted all attempts to adjust the Taxation and the Debt equitably between the payers arid the receivers ; the borrowers and the lenders ! Ah ! let them wiuce ! Let them Wriggle arid writhe !! but don't let them cast-off ' -the burden from themselves until they are willing and anxious to relieve the poor
man as well ! Whenever they , are prepared to do this ; whenever they are prepared to act mth justice to all parties ; whenever they are prepared to go / for Equitable Adjustment , and a reduction of taxation ; whenever they are prepared to do these things , and to get the Chaeter for their accomplishment , labouring people then you hearfcsii to > what they aay , and entertain their proposals ; but , until then ; until they be so prepared ; until they are prepared to act in good
faith towards YOU ; let them whistle ; to the winds , and dance jigs to the mile-stories ! Above all things , mind that they do not hitoh-off ^ the Inoome Tax , 111 You have had the harness and the collar to wear long enough ; it C has rubbed into the rau deep enough , and no commisseration could you find . . They have had a spanking bran new set , of "improved" and "light" make , made for them by Peel : let them wear it !! Insolent and overbearing as they have been towards you when you complained of the wrong done yo « V '< A « y will
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not shew a muoh better , sample of patience !; Let us look ' ait . them ,- however . Let us fairly " see h o w they Ike it ; " and let us take care that they don't kick off the yoke until they are prepared to take off ours also ! . \ "¦ ¦ ¦' ' ' ¦¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦¦' _ '¦ ¦ ¦' '¦¦ ¦/¦ :: ' ¦ - . ¦ ;¦ ¦'¦ ¦ '¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦'
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"Now , surely , Mr . Pkilp must have forgotten , id the goodness of his heart , the experience of all the last five years .: Who have been the most forward ia . the jury boxes , and on the bench , t » convict and sentence Charti&ts ! Have they not been the very parties who have , over and over , again , in the Reform' Bill agitation , testified to , and contended for , the very Bame principle—the principie that representation should be co-extensive with taxation 1 " This is the whole amount of our " dictation "—of our " malicious abuse and misrepresentation . "
If the most fastidious of Mr . Philp ' s friends can find therein a single word disrespectful to Mr . Philp , we will quite willingly sit down to be trodden ^ upon ^ s the mushroom in Mr . Philp ' s path ; if they cannot , they will perhaps bo ablo to | rad put Who has most reason ( if it Were woith while ) to complain of " misrepresentatipn and falsehood . " Iq any case we shall not allow either " mushrooms , "' or angry men , like Mr . Philp , to turn U 3 from our path . We shall neither suffer the people ' s cause to be damaged by treachery nor imprudence without giving warning , nor will we be driven into an abusive ' personal conflict because Mr . Phrp desires it . We have given our opinion on the policy
of Mr . P hilp and his friends . We have < lone so respectfully but honestly . We ; have given the people the reasons u , pon which that opinion is founded . Wehaye discharged our duty ; and it is now for the people to determine on the merits of the matter . It is for theriv to say whether they approve , as wise and safe , the policy ; of Mr . Philp and his friends and abettors ; and we have too great an opinion of their good sense , to believe that the insolent and bullying tone assumed by Mr . Philp , will be allowed to influence their judgment . They will judge of the policy on its own merits , and not on those of Mr . Philp , as one of the very few individuals calling themselves Chartists who
advocate . it . ; ¦ '" . '¦'¦ ; - ¦;¦ ' ' ' . : , ¦' ; ¦ -: ; : - ¦ .: . ; ¦ - ;; : ' -: Mr . Philp " claims independence of thought and of action , " while he is outrageously angry with other people for asserting a like claim by censuring him , or even dissenting from his opinion ! Pretty consistent in an advocate of democratic principles Mr . Philp says not a word about his intention to comply , « r oth e rwise , with the call made upon him by almost the whole Chartist body to resign his
seat in the Executive , Perhaps it may comport with his notions of democratic principle to rank his constituents : among the ' -mushrooms / ' However , it is near the time that a new Executive must be elected , and Mr . P . will then have an opportunity of learning how far his coquetting with the Sturgites aa a matter of policy , and his mode of defending an alleged error of judgment , as a matter of principle and character , is approved of by the people .
S Plendid And C O Stly Present To
S PLENDID AND C O STLY PRESENT TO
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Mr . Philp and the Chartist body . —Ws are inundated with letters of complaint about the non-i 7 isertion of the numerous resolutions last week sent to us censuring . Mr . Philp , and calling upon him forthwith to resign his office oj'Executive-Councillor ' loathe National'Charter Association . Now it i /* -useless folly thus to annoy vs . ; Theinsertion of all those resolutions in full must of necessity have driven out of the paper a very large amount of valuable mattery merely J ora repetition of the same thing over and over again-The proper way of proceeding is this : ativery place where such resolutions were passed , the sui Secretary should send a copy to Mr , Philp ) li Chandos buildings , Bath , and another to the
Gemral Secretary of the Executive . This ought to be done in justice to us , to Mr . Philp , to the Exeimiiveiand to the Chartist body < generally . Stars to Ireland . —There is much anxiety amongst the working men of Ireland to read the Star : its proprietor knows how unable they are to procure it from their individual resources—small as is its price * it is that of a loaf , or a stone of potatoes . Those of our English brethren , then * who would wish to sow the good seed in a profitable soil cannot belter serve the cause than by directing their Stars , after reading : th ^ m , to W . H . Dyolt , secretary to the Irish Universe * Suffrage Association , at 114 , N . Anne-street , tcho will take care to employ them well .
James Sweet begs to acknowledge the receipt of tht following sums for the Convention , viz ., 7 s . 60-from Alfretoii , Derbyshire ; 10 s . from Gainsbrot Lincolnshire ; and £ 1 from Boston , Lincelti ¦ : ¦ ' - . shire . . ¦••¦" . ; r . r : - " ?; - ¦ , ' —r . . \ ' .. - ¦ ¦ , ¦ :: - - -. ' . ¦ -.:. . ¦ _ ¦ All Communications to Mr : G . M . Barlleti mutt be addressed to him at 19 , Gloucester •• road-buildtogh Lower Swanswick , Bath . Wh . Foster , Bingley . —jHw report of the deltgw meeting was noticed last week . i Halifax < JhAhtists . —We have hot room for the > f long letter of remonslratuse to Afr . Vincent : M had better post it to him . ' , ' " . A Retiredi Blacking ^ Manefactureb . calls the " *'
iehtimpf the Chartist publia , strongly teRog ¦ ::- Pintle ^ sljUtckingi says that he is guile eert&jh firpm Ifu \ jtHdwledge ^ i » Am ^ tha business , ^ profits of Mr . Pindercannot ejeeeedSd . ' <*'•¦** ' % grbssfot ' MW-ta ^ r ^^ k ^ th dt' ^^^ . ^' j ; months ought from this Murce to bring ( thvnare * pounds to the Executive , and a thousand paw < f iritq local fufidn , : fr < Hn the profits of ptlruitK ¦' " retailors . ¦ v > . :., v : / - - ; ' :- - ; ' : "; .. ¦;¦ .:. - ' :- ' ' ' ¦ . ¦; . ¦ -. The Stockport Friends request that H asli ^' ¦ Marple , and this surrounding districts , that ;«* »» . ' had petitions from Stockportwill send tftem * ? -f the 30 th March instant , as all wib ' have togo' « r getherloMacclesfieldbnthe 3 rd ApriL Anyst ™ after the dht of March uM be too Me *
The Northern Star. Saturday, March 26, 1842.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , MARCH 26 , 1842 .
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MR . ROBERT KEMP PHILP , This gentleman seems in a sad taking ! We have received , per favour of a friend , an early copy of this day's Vin di cator , the first article in which is from his pen , upon the subject of the Bath Confer ? encesjthe reports sent us by our correspondent , and the observations we thought it our duty to make thereon . Of course Mr . Philp is the best judge of the course best calculated to effect any purpose he may ) iave in view . We shall give so muoh ofthis article as refers to us and to the Star , and leave the people to receive it for as much as they think it worth . After eulo-Iogising the Charter , and Btating that there are " amongst the Chartist body very many sincerely and honestly devoted to their country ' s cause , men who have sacrificed much , " &o . Mr , Philp . goes
on : — . . - - : .. . • " But there are some mixed up with Chartism , to its prejudice and injury , big in self esteem ; who , having imperfectly learned the alphabet of politics , presume to speak its language . Such mtn are but drags upon the wheel . of human progression ; their adpratipri is of men , not of principles ; their diseourscs ABUSE AND DECLAMATION , riot ARGUMENT . They seek to earn a reputation ;• and not having the ability to gain a People ' s esteem for themselves , they assail the characters of others , that $ hcy may be elevated by their downfall , * :. ; . * "The course I have taken I am still prepared to
defend , arid will still pursue , notwithstanding the falsehoods of Bartlett , to which several additions are made iir the Star of the 19 th ; notwitstanding the dictatorship of Us Editory arid the suppression of most important parts ef the explanatory correspondence , together with the unfair application of brief extracts from my speech . I declare for INDEPENDENCE ! ; of thought and of achon . If I can fail to adduce argument arid reason for my position , if I compromise a single principle ^ THEN LET ME BE CONDEMNED . I COUrt not popularity , nor praise ; I labour zealously to advance ' the cause of Chartism , but I am : not to be turned from my path by every mushroom that starts tip in my way . ; ¦ / . ; ¦; ¦ ' ' ; ' - ' - ' : - ; ' . ' - •¦ : ; -,- > - ' : ' . "¦ - '; V " ;;
' Chartism , indeed , has brought us to a very unenviable position , jf those who are its zealous promoters dare not think for themselves , and cannot secure a true representation of their acts in the leading Chartist organ . Let those Crotch who will—I ' ll not be a slave . If any of my Chartist brethren desire from me my own explanation of what I did in respect of Sturge ' s declaration ^ I will most readily and willingly comply ; but I protest against being judged by the lying , prejudiced , and ignorant reports , of a man with whom I shall ever hereafter deem it dishonourable to hold connexion . Let me be judged by my own actions , and not by the wilful falsehoods of a man ignorantlt
ambitious .:: ' - . . ¦¦• ¦; ¦ ¦' - ¦ . ¦ ¦ " . - ¦ - ¦ :- ¦¦ . ' . ¦ - . - •• * This is the first time since my connection with Chartism that I have been called upon to defend myself from malicious abuse and misrepresentation ; and I will resist to the last the tyrannical conduct of men , even though they cloak themselves by the name of Chartists ^ " i repeat—does any honest Chartist desire me to state , correctly what I have done , arid what course I recommend to be pursued * I will do so with extreme readiness and pleasure ; but let pie not be viewed through the d arkened medium of other men ' s thick heads and black hearts ? We have quoted the above verbatim ; Italics , capitals , and all , are Mr . Philp's own ; and our
onl y reply to its blustering abuse is to refer the readers of Mr . Philp's paper to all that we have Written upon the matter in the last two Stars . We here repeat every word we have said upon the matter . On the 12 th we said : — " We refer with great pain to the proceedings of the conference of Bath , between the Sturge Declaration men and some leading Chartists of that city . We respect Vincerit for his zeal , his talent , and his suffering in th « cause , aai highly as we respect any man ; wo believe him to be thoroughly
honest and well-intentioned , but we cannot biit regret the position he has taken in this business . Still more do we regret to see joined with him Mr . Philp , a member of the People's Executive . Doubtless these gentlemen give the new converts to Complete Suffrage credit for a large amount of honesty arid sincerity . We cannot do so j and we fear , it the people should be led into any general countenance of the steps taken by these gentlemen , that the error will not be found to be less fatal for having been an amiable one . "
Last week , on the same subject , we ha d the followingobservations : — 11 We repeat ^ as We said last weekj that we respect these men for the talent and the zeal they have hitherto manifested in the people's cause ; we respect some of them for the Bufferings they have endured ia the cause ; but we ca . nnot in this case compliment their judgment . We doubt not that they err from the excess 01 their anxiety to seize every opportunity of making converts tothe Charter , and from their readiness to estimate the motives of others by their own , and eo to give the middle-class Sturgemen full credit for sinoerity in ; their profession of Universal Suffrage principles •" : they suppose them to be sincere in wishing for Universal Suffrage , and that , therefore , they can easily persuade them into
the adoption of the other points of the Charter . We think them much mistaken ; and we still opine that their error will not be found less fatal for being amiable . We feel some little difficulty in finding out the plane upon which the amiable principles of our friends operate . We are at a loss to know how they discoyer , in their VDeclaratio . n , " any distinct and unequiyocal recognition of the principle of UNiVERSAt Sijpbbaqe ; arid if that recognition were even palpable , we are astonished that they , some of whom have suffered so muchY from middle claea treachery to : prmciple horotoforei cari have so simple a dependency on their adherence to ptineiple now * We find in Mr . Philp ' s speechj . at the C on fe rence , a 3 reported by himself , the following sentiment :- — ¦ '¦ : ¦ : ¦'¦ ¦ .- ¦ *• .-f - ' , - .: ¦¦^¦ . ¦ ¦¦ : ¦ ¦ . - ¦ - . .: ¦ : ¦ . :
** ' But suppose the worat--that the middle classes were not honest;—that they signed'this declaration asa false pretence ; --could theyever again ait in jury Ooxesand convict us as traitors arid conspirators for contending for that principle which they themselves hid declared in Wao 6 and fvliite to be theright of the people . ' ;• : ¦¦;'¦ : '" : - ' -- ' ; ¦¦¦ ' :. y- ' - . ' - . ¦ ¦ . "?•; . >;¦ ¦ -..: ¦'¦ :.= . ¦ ¦ :: ' ..
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THE STAR AND THE EXECUTIVE . Elsewhere we give an article from the Executive , which seems to require from us a word of explanation . The Executive say ^— . "We must , in the most friendly , bat determined manner , protest against the Editor ; associating the Executive Council with the htimbUg trap and the Bath conference . We have tho greatest possible respect for Air . Hill , Mr . O'Connor , and ; Mr . O'Brieri ' , but we must say that the former is not justified in making the Ejceoutive answerable for aught save their own acts as a body , or iri mixing them up . as a Council , with the private proceedings of Mr . Vincent , Mr . Philp , or an y ot he r man " ;
Had our good friends of the Executive read the article to which the above sentences allude , with their accustomed carefulness , they would have saved theriiselves the troubledf writirig , and us of replying to them ; for they would have seen that we have done no such thing as mix U p their acts as a public body with those of Mr . Vincent or any other private individual ; nor have we made them as a body at all responsible for the individual acts of Mr . Philp , wha is one of theirbody . We have confined oursalves simply and solely to that which they with the greatest fairness admit to have been our duty , the expressing of pur own opinion of their public acts and recommendations .
The whole misapprehension arises from the fact , that in pur paper pf the 12 th ; inEt ,, for the mere saving of room and time , we classed three distinct subjects of comment together in one artiole , heading it thus : — " The Huiribug Trap ^ -The BathCorifererice —The policy of the Executive . " And a reference to the article will show that in our observations upon these subjects wo kept theiri perfectly distinct the one from the other . We think if our friends of the Executive Will read the article again , they will see this ; and will see , therefore , that the injustice » f which they complain exists Only iri their own misapprehension .
To their observations in dissent from our opinion of the resolution in question , we have no reply to make ; our opinion was honestly oxptessed ; we have no doubt theirs isiso too . Ths people will decide ; and we think the Exeoutive perfectly right to take their instructions from bo other quarter . We again give our deliberata opinion , that the only safe course for the people is to "chuck overboard" everything but the Charter ,
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THE PEEL BUDGET . Ate I and a Budget it is too ! Whatever it may have cost Sir Robert Peel in its concoction , it has had a marked and powerful effect upon the country at large since its development . The Minister seems to have taken all parties by surprise at the nature and extent of his measures , whether in the imposition of new- taxes or the remission of the old ones he gives up . No one seems to have been prepared for so decided a course on the part of Sir Robert Peel . The consideration of bis new p 1 fvn . has , with toe trading and monied classes , super-
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 26, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1154/page/4/
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