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Northern Star (1837-1852), 8th October 1842, Edition 1 of 5, Page 4, , Co 28eairet# antr Cornggottfreutg

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    • THE ]S T 0ETHEEN STAR. SATURDAY. OCTOBER 8, 1842.
    • , Co 28eairet# antr Cornggottfreutg
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      THE ARRESTS AND THE COMMITMENTS . Factios i 3 once more at heT vocation . Her usurpations have been exposed ; her exclnsive riftht to power and place has been disputed ; and she has determined te prosecnte and victimise those who hare the temerity to dispute her sway . 1 The work of silencing hae been begun . Charges of treason , of riot , of unlawful assembling-, of conspiracy , and of Chartism , are as " rife as bees in a hoppet . " Arrests and incarcerations follow up the charges . The people ' s , leaders are snatched from them , and cooped up in prison . And all thiss n the hope to put down the crie 3 and efforts of starring Englishmen to regain the position they once occupied , ¦ when " they were well to do , " having " WAGES FOE WORKING . "

      And are our rulers so besottedly blind as to imagine they can sncceed in their object ! Hare t \ ey not before learaed the futility of snch meaB 3 to put down the spirit of freedom I If , after the experience they have already had , a 3 to the effects of prosecution and imprisonment in staying the demand for political power to establish political and social bight , they hcpe to get rid of the people ' s importunities by such means , they are as- , tnie indeed !

      It is a curious fact , bat it is no less a fact , that the askings of ihe people for their doe share in the Government of the country have always been answered by persecution and dnngeon 3 ! And it is a no less curious fact , that ' snch ' persecuting and such dungeoning hare always added 10 the firmness acd force of the people ' s dem 3 nd ; always added to their strength , and put them ia a better and better position to obtain the accomplishment of their desires .

      In the year 1817 , a million-and-a-half of Englishmen petitioned for universal suffrage . Their prayer was answered by a gaggi . ng Bill , and the foweb-of-iiifrisoxmext Bjix . Their prayer was answered by the ' suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act . Their prayer was answered by the apprehension of hundreds of their active leaders , and the confinement of them in distant dungeons for months together , without the briDging of a tingle man of them before a Magistrate , or the laying to their charge the infraction , of a single law . Their prayer wa 3 answered by the torturixg of their friends

      ¦ while in prison , to extort confessions from them ; and by the making of prison discipline bo oppressive , that some of the Ticiims , poor Rilley , of Hud- dersfield , for instance , were glad to resort to suicide to ' escapefrom their unbearable sufferings . Their prayer j was answered by the shaking of the bowels out of the bodies of the imprisoned ; and by brutal jests i in the House" of wisdom respecting " the revered j and ruptured Ogden , " which set the humane assem-j bly in a load roar of laughter" . ' ! Their prajer ¦ was answered by the sending amongst them spie 3 ; atd incixebs to ODtrage and rebellion ; and by the i

      hangmg and beheading of tnose who were victims . to the tpr-raan ' s plot 2 And y * i this answer did : not satisfy ! It did not put down the demand \ for Umvekal Suffrage . . It did not even j cause the people to relax in their exertions to obtain j it . I \ o . A constant and unceasing application , was kept up ; until in the year 1832 , ihe Parliament , ! who had an to that time denied th . it any Reform in its constitution was needed ; who had passed the : terrible laW 3 of 1817—18 , and the doably infamous i SIX ACTS of 1819—20 , to put down the cry , and i extingaish the demand for such Reform : in the year ;

      18 c 2 , the Parliament who had done a'l this ; who had aciedin tb-. s terrible manner towards the Reformers ; who had laughed with the brutal jester at the sufferirgs of ihe " revered and rnptured Ogdex ; ' vrbo had voted again and again that it would agree to Reform in no shape tchatevtr ; in the year" 1832 , from the continually increased and increasing demands of the people , the Parliament who had done all thi 3 , and a Tast deal more , to prevent the accomplishment of any Reform , voted , PASSED AN ACT declaring that RiFoiii was necessary ! and that a comparatively great portion of the people should be invested witk the Suffrage ! . ' !

      In the year 1839 , when the people had found out , that tie reform , though an acknowledgement of ihe principle , was one more in name than fact ; and that the measures of relief from high-taxation and low wage 3 which they had expected to result from ii were not likely to be obtained , because of the class- nt 5 rest 3 aloae represented in the Legislature , they reiterated their demand for Universal Suffrage , in the shape of a'National Petition praying fcr its adoption , and signed by a million-and-a-half of persons . Their prayer , in this instance too , was answered by persecution and imprisonment . They - were aceused of

      an inte-tion to bnrn , kill , and destroy ! They were accused of a desire to prodnce anarchy , confusion , and confiscation . Spies and inciters were again sent amongst them to get up emutes , and " risings " and " riots j" and when these had sufficiently done their work ; when the falsfications and wilful misrepresentations of the Pres 3 had sufficiently poisoned the mind 3 of the holders of " a bit of property , " who were taught to dread the Chartists as they would the devouring flame ; when the minds of the jury-class were sufficiently prepared , charges of conspiracy , of sedition , of riot , of unlawfully assembling ,

      of attending illegal meetinp , and of compassing the dethronement and death of the Sovereign ! were hatched in every quarter ! and ths Juries tended the chick 3 with fond and motherly regard ! Transporting and imprisonments by hundreds followed , No difficulty was experienced in procuring convictions . A man was arraigned . " What is he \ " says a Juror . M A Chartist , " answers the crown lawyer , squinting out of each eye at once , as much as to say " beware of him ! " " 0 f a Chartist i 3 he '" responds the Juror ; '' the man who wants MY bit of property : shct him vf I he is not fit to be at large . " And , in faith , they were shut up too , and no mistake

      But all the " shuttirg-up , " and all the persecution did not pnt down the demand for Universal Suffrage ! They did not even produce confusion in ihe ranks of the people . As fast as one leader wa 3 snatched away , did another rise up to supply his place . These who were left worked with redoubled energy . Recruits joined the standard on every side : and in 1840 , even while most of the prisons were filled with Chartist victims , was there presented to the House of Commons another demand , more urgent than any preceding one , for Universal Suffrage , in the shape of a National Petition , signed by two millions of the people ' . 1

      The terms of imprisonment expired ; the prisoi doors opened , and admitted to the light of day th ( brave fellows who bad been " shut up" to preven them taking the "bit of property . " They cami forth not only undaunted , bnt invigorated . ' Res bad been , to some of them , ihe renewing o another lease of lite . The oppressions they ha < been subjected to in their confinement bu ma-do them more determined to release them

      selves and their countrymen from the gallm ; yoke of the oppressor . The patriot ' s enthusiasn spread through the ranks . Lcadere and peopli eerned to be animated with a new spirit ; a fresl faA holy zeal to dethrone usurpation , and establisl jighteoosnese in its stead ! A firm and sober deter Kioation KS 6 every where manifested to turn nei ther to the right hand nor to the left ; bnt to wori opt the country ' s salvation .

      Ths effects of t % e prosecutions and imprisonments of 1839-40 , are to be seen in the preparation , Eisning , and presentation . of the National Petttios in 1842 f The awakened spirit of inquiry , and the rea . " . iiou consequent on th 9 livingdown of the lies and falsifications of the factious and interested , swelled the ranks to » n astonishing ce .-.-ec THREE MILLIONS AND A HALF of Esgosii subjects placed Iheix names npon the

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      muster-roll ; and the demand for Universal Suffrage was ma with a force of language and an attitude of earnestness never before seen ! The demand was still refused !—NOT INSULTINGLY , THIS TIME !!! but with expressions of SYMPATHY ! From that day to this the people and their leaders have gone on acquiring power , and enlisting and organising public opinion . Sections of the middle classes have adopted their principles , and bate talked of joining their ranks . Offices in local places have been filled with Chartist occupants . The people had indeed set upoa the accomplishment of their object in real earnest ; and their intention not to be driven from their course or foiled in their endeavours was bnt too plainly apparent .

      What therefore could not be accomplished by stratagem and trick must be attempted by open force . Notwithstanding the experience of former times as to the futility of imprisonments and incarcerations to disperse the army of right , yet Us dispersion , was an object of snob moment to the usurpers of power , that the chance of accomplishing their purpose was worth trying for J The Press was therefore set to work . Conspiracies to turn the destitution of the people to their own destruction were formed . After sundry hints about closing the factories ; turning out the hands ; general strikes ; and " arresting the wheels of Government , " by those who are

      interested i n keeping labour under their feet , the confederated plan was put in operation . A strike was caused . When caused , some of the Chartists were dragged into it , and the whole of the blame laid upon that body . " Riot 3 ' and " risings" followed . " It -was the Chartists thai did it all" was the instant cry J "All would have been , right again , bad it not been for the CnartiBts . " ** 'Tbe Chartists hare inflamed the passions , and excited the feelings of the ignoiant mob . " " Property ia insecure" ! " The Etrong arm of the law must be exerted to pnt

      down those who create tumult and cause disorder /' And when the press had sufficiently played upon these strings so as to fix the tone in the minds of the " bit of property " men , out comes a cock-and-bull Btory about a Chartist plot to assassinate the Queen !! and of the shooting at a man because he would not be a party to it ! and oat comes , at the same time , the announcement that the magistrates of Staffordshire have discovered a traitor in the person of a Chartist leader , and that they have committed him to take his trial for HIGH TREASON !!

      And thus was the " conspiracy" pot made to boil When the broth was sufficiently ready , arrests by scores were made . Look at the records in our present pages ! The arrested are committed , as a matter of course . They will have to " take their trial : " i . e . the " bit-ofpropertj " -men will be called np to look at them , care being taken to keep them in a box to themselves ont of harm ' s way ; and when they have seen thenn and uttered the words " guilty men , " with a serious and heavy shake of their heavy heads , the Chartists will be " shut up" again ; and the " bit-of-property " - men will breathe a little more freely once more , until they are again alarmed when they are wanted to be used by the usurpers of power !

      At the present , we shall not fay anything respecting the charge , vamped- up against the arrested ; nor respecting thj inconceiveable scoundrel upon whose evidence they are committed ! A proper time for examining both will come : till then we forbear . Ample reports of the examinations already had appear in other parts of this sheet : to them we invite special attention . One fact , before we conclude , we must mention An Ami-Corn Law Factory Master has been arrested , as well as the Chartists . We only mention the feet , and call attention to it . We say nothing respecting the charge adduced against him

      nor tke evidence by which it is supported . We do not point attention to the fact that he is the only one of that party the authorities have laid a finger upon though one of their ov ? n body , Duffey , publicly offered to prove that the whole of the strike , " risings , " " riots , " and all , waa concocted and planned by the anti-Corn Law League . We do not even call attention to the fact that witnesses brought against him swear that he rffered to lead the men of Ashlon on to Manchester ; AND THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST MANIFESTATION of the rioting plot . We do not point out the fact that after evidence of this nature had been given , he was admitted to bail , though a

      milJowner , in the sum of £ 200 , while £ 2 , 000 bail was exacted from Mr . O ' Connos for striving to defeat the plotters , and to keep th 9 people out of the fangs of the law ; and £ 1600 demanded from John Campbell , a working man ; and £ 600 each demanded from Parkes , the cobbler , and Thornton , the hand-loom weaver ! We do not point attention to these things , though each of them loudly calls for commentary ; but we do point attention to the fact that he has been arrested , and beg of the public to WATCH HIS CASE I !! See what the end of it turns out to be . ' ! Watch well ; and see whether that apprehension be only a colour for the rest , or not !

      We had got to this point , intending to conclude with a word or two of advice to the Chartists generally , as to the conduct due from them under present circumstances , when Thursday ' s afteraoon post arrived , and brought us the annexed letter from the Editor , which does much more effectually than we could have done that which we intended . We conclude , therefore , by echoing the

      SECOND VOICE FROM THE DUNGEON . New Bailey Prison , Manchester , Thursday . Morning , Oct . 6 th , 1842 . My dear Friends , —The " hearing before magistrates" is over . As you will learn the particulars of it from the report which you will doubtless find elsewhere , I shall not here recapitulate them . Suffice it , we are , of course committed . You will see also from the report upon whose evidence we are committed . I shall not at present say one word upon the whole thing . At a future and a proper time I shall have much to say ; much , it

      may be that may surprise many of you . For the present I say only Jet the coals of persecution feed the flame of patriotism ! Let it burn fiercely ; but yet see that it be even tempered with coolness and prudence . ' Keep tour eves open spies are abroad-DEEP DAMNING TREACHERY HAS BEEN AT WORK . When the revelations come , some of you may be surprised ; but the time is not yet . The proceedings of this case—so far as they have gone—give you an exhibition of human nature under one of its aspects . God grant that that may be the worst exhibition conneoted with it . I expect that it will not : but we shall see .

      Meantime , be firm ; be steady ; be prudent ; be vigilant ; watch well your leaders ; use your own judgments ; do not let passion blind those judgments ; and above all thiegs evidence that : — " The more the cruel tyrants bind us ; The more united they shall find us . " Let your meetings be all held as usual . Never mind the leaders being locked up ; you can do without them . ^ ou have all hearts to feel , and brains to think . Yon know what you need , and you know that only by prudence , coolness , caution ,

      perseverance , and peacefulness can you obtain it-Beware that your boiling blood rise not too high . No excesses—no violence—no destruction of property—no burnings—no " risings and riots . " Leave all these things to the parties themselves to execute trho . have so long and so industriously Bought to entrap and involve you in them ; while you go . on quietly and certainly to spread your principles ; to enlighten and encourage each other ; and to undermine the fortress f tyranny by the power of an increased and enlightened public opinion .

      Above all things , I cannot take my present leave of you without repeating the advice I have bo often before given yon . Spurn fromyou the big talkers , the ranting mouthers , who are for carrying every thing in a trice , without Veiling you how ; who are fond of talking about " readiness , " and "beingup to the mark , " —c who are ever pouring out their frothy declama 'Jcs for the purpose of stirring np

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      ill-feeling , instead of enlightening your judgments and forming your opinions . These tire the plaguespots of our movement . Ont with Ihem ! Use your own sense ; seek for information and not for excitement ; and when you find a insm labouring only to produce excitement , depend upon it he is either a knave who will betray yon , or a coward who will desert you whenever the pinch comes to which bis folly may haTe driven you . . This is no new advice from me . Yob have had it from me again and again ; and if I ever saw circumstances which required its emphatic reiteration , I see them now .

      Further explanation I cannot now give . Bnt the time may come when I can again speak freely . Till when , farewell ! , \ God Bare you ! and speed the Charter . ' ! ; Wh , Hill .

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      THE "RIGHT OF SEARCH , " AT HOME . EXCEEDING THE LAW . A most reprehensible and unlawful practice has been brought nnder our notice through the recent arrests ; and to it we direot public attention , with a view to steps being instantly taken to assert the " majesty of the law . " Judge Tindal has told the country , through the Staffordshire Grand Jury , that he hopes the " administration of criminal justice will be such as to have the wholesome effect of teaching all who need such warning , that in this country the punishment of crime will follow the commission of it with a pace so sore , so steady , and so speedy , that the guilty can have no chance of escaping . "

      We hope so , too : and it is for the purpose of procuring the due " punishment of crime" that we here detail its constant commission by those who pretend , at the very time they are transgressing , to be executing the law . The practice to which we allude is that which has latterly sprung up along with that perfectly " independent" and truly " constitutional" " force , " a" standing" ARMED Polioe . We , mean the practice of exercising the " right of search" without warrant or authority . The law used to be that before a constable or any other official , could search

      a man s house , a warrant must be granted him by a justice of the peace , direoting him to institute and make such search . And what was more than that the warrant was required to set forth the particular things for which the search was directed to be made . The law used to be that a constable entering a man ' s house to make search for anything , no matter what , without a warrant from a magistrate , oommitted trespass ; and was liable to be visited , and many have been visited , with the heavy penalties of the law for so transgressing . Such used to be the law ; and the practice used to be in accordance with it .

      The Law still continues the same . It is still expressly against all law and all rule for a constable to enter any man ' s dwelling to institute a search therein , unless he is armed with the authority of a warrant to do so . And a justice of the peace cannot give such warrant of his own accord . He has not the right , even though he should think proper to act of himself and for himself , to enter a man ' s dwelling when he pleases , and search for what he pleases . He must have the complaint , and the oath , of a third party , before he can aot at all . Even in the case of stolen goods , which is as strong a case

      as can be put , " a justice cannot upon bare surmise make a warrant to break any man ' s house to searoh for them ; or EVEN / or a felon ; for the justices being created by Aot of Parliament have no suoh authority granted them by Act of Parliament . " { Chilly ' s Burn ' s Justice , vol . 5 . p . 482 . ] " But in the case of a complaint and oath made of goods stolen , and that the party suspects that goods are in suoh house , and shews the cause of his suspicion , the justice of the peace may grant a warrant to search in those suspected places mentioned in his warrant , and to attach the goods and the party in whose possession

      they are found , and bring them before him to give an account how he came by them , and farther to abide such order as to law shall appertain . " [ Ibid , ibid , p . 482 . ] But it is only when such complaint and such oath is made , and such cause for suspicion shown , that the Justice is authorized to issue his warrant . And further : when such warrant is issued , it must particularize the articles for which search is instituted ; and it must also particularize the place or places where the search is to be made . " A general warrant is illegal and void for its uncertainty . " [ Blachstone . } Mr . Hawkins says : " I do not find any good authority , that a justice can justify sending a general warrant to search all suspected houses for stolen

      goods ; for such warrant seems to be illegal on the face of it . " [ 2 Hawkins , c . 13 , s . 10 , 17 . ] Lord Hale in his History of the Pleas of ths Crown , expresseth himself thus : " I do take it that a general warrant to search in all suspected places is not good ; but only to search in suoh particular places where the party assigns before the justice his suspicion , and the probable causes thereof . " [ 2 Hale , 150 . ] Nay it has even been ruled by the Courts above , that "the officer must strictly observe the directions of the warrant ; and if he be directed to seize only stolen sugar , and seize tea , he will be a trespasser ! " [ Chilly's Burn ' s Justice , vol . 5 . p . 483 . ] " and a warrant direoting a search in a particular honse only , would not justify a Eearch in another . " [ Ibid , ibid , p . 483 . ]

      Such is still the law in relation to the " right of search , " even in the case of stolen goods . But what is the practice ? Are the requirements of the law at all attended to I Are they at all heeded or cared for ? Are no searches made without warrant \ Is no man ' s house entered without authority ? Are his goods or property safe from being seized upon , and removed , without the preliminaries of complaint , oath , ground of suspicion , and specification of articles to be sought for and seized 1 Are all these

      things so ? By no means . Searches are almost daily made without authority . The law is almost daily trampled on by constables ; and its supercession is connived at by the Magistrates . Cases are constantly coming before them where the law has been utterly disregarded by their own offioials . They know of searches being almost constantly made ; and they know that applications to them , according to rule and law , for their warrants authorising such searchings , are as uncommon as blackberries in February !

      Our attention has been directed to this matter principally by the searches which have invariably been made by the officers entrusted with the execution of th& warrants authorising the reoent arrests of the leading Chartists . In every case where such warrant has been executed do we find that a search both of the person and of the dwelling of the party apprehended has been made . In most cases , too , do we find that property has been seized and taken away . Now all this ia wholly and utterly illegal . The officers , in each of these instances , were entrusted

      with warrants directing them to apprehend the persons named in them . Bat this is all that the warrants directed them to do . They were not directed to apprehend the goods , or property , belonging to the person , as well as the person himself . It was him they were directed to take ; and not his . Whenever they do more than they are directed to do , they exceed their authority : whenever they do less , they neglect their duty : and for both of those offences they are liable to be visited with . tfc » Law's penalty .

      Let us examine this matter a little in detail . Mr . Superintendent Beswick , of the Manchester Police , on the 17 th of August last , was entrusted with a warrant directing him to apprehend one William Tdrner , a printer , and to convey him before the Justioes of the Peace to answer to a certain misdemeanour with which he was charged . He wenfc to Tdbheh ' s place of business , and found the man he was ia quest of . He made him his

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      prisoner . Not content with this , he proceeded to searoh the house and the printing office belonging to the man he had in custody . He found some papers , which he thought would serve his purpose ; and he took possession of them . He found a certain " form" of type , which he also took possession of . He removed these from the premises , and beeps them to this day . "All right" this , if he had a Justice ' ' warrant authorising him to make such

      search , and specifying the articles he was to seize and remove ; for in that case the Justice himself would be answerable for any excess of authority or breach of law , in directing a search and seizure to be made where he had no authority to act : but " all wrong" if Mr . Beswick chose to act thus on his own authority and without warrant : for in that case he alone is answerable for the act of trespass he committed ..

      An act of tresspass , in this case , has been committed , whether Mr . Beswick was armed with a warrant , directing the search and seizure to be made , or not . No Justice had any authority to issue a warrant for any such purpose . No Justice had a right or power to seize Turner ' s type , unless some one made oath before him that be suspected it was stolen ; nor had he any power to possess himself of the printed documents Beswick removed . The law directs that every printer shall keep a copy of every paper he prints for the space of six months next after the printing thereof ; and that he shall write on euoh copy the name and place of abode of the person or persons who employ him to print suoh

      paper , and the date when it was printed . It also directs that such printer shall produce such copy so written upon , to any Justice of the Peace who shall require it within the space of six calendar months from the printing of the same ; or that he shall , for every omission , negleot , or refusal to preserve , write upon , or produce such copy , forfeit and lose the sum of £ 20 . Here then was a lawful way in which the Magistrates could have satisfied themselves as to who employed Turner to print the paper in question . Here was a legal method by which they could have arrived at the information they sought for , without resorting to the illegal and unlawful act of searching the man ' s house and removing his goods . ¦

      Remember it waa not felony that Turneb was charged with . Romember that he was not charged with having stolen the type ; and remember that the things seized and removed were not stolen goods found in his possession upon a lawful search . Remember these things ; and remember too , that the only grounds upon which the seizure of these things can be justified , or an attempt at justification made , is , that they furnished that evidence against Turner which the Magistrates ought to have been possessed of beforehand , or they should not have issued the warrant for his apprehension .

      Next we go to Leach ' s case . He was included in the same warrant . He was apprehended the same night , August 17 th . The warrant only authorizsd the capture of his person . Not content with executing the warrant , the officers proceeded to search his premises . They seized and removed every thing they thought likely to serve them in getting up a case against the man they had already apprehended on a specific oharge of misdemeanour . They seized books , papers , and cards . They removed the man , whose person they were direoted to seize and plaoe in custody , and the property which they were not directed to seize : and after they have left his premises some time , Superintendent Beswick sent Inspector Irwin back again to bring away a board that he remembered to have seen in the shop !

      Now , these were acts of trespass on the part of both these officers . They did not apprehend Leach for felony . It was only misdemeanour he was charged with . The property they removed was not stolen property . No one had sworn that they suspected it to be such ; and unless some one had done so , even the Magistrates could not have authorized the search and seizure . [ By-the-way , one of the books the " authorities "

      have thus obtained ille al possession of they think a great prize . We wish them muoh joy of it ! It is a record of the names and residences of some of the officers and members of the old defunct National Charter Association ! Amongst the rest are given the names of the Provisional Executive ; and Mr . Tillman is set forth as secretary . That Association was dissolved , by public meeting , somewhere about fifteen months ago !!! It has now no existence The old book will do them much good ! l

      Then to come to the doings of last week . Inspector Taylor arrested Mr . Hill , the Editor of this Journal , in the public street . He took him to the police-office , and placed him in confinement there , after having read over to him the warrant authorizing the capture on a charge of misdemeanour In the course of the day he took Mr . Hill out of his cell , put him into a hackney coach , drove him down to his father ' s house , where Mr . Hill lives , and . which he had left and was on his way to this office when he was arrested . Arrived at the lodgings of Mr . Hill , the Inspector proceeded to search , and to remove whatever he thought proper to take . Amongst the rest , he possessed himself of some skeleton sermons . Having finished his searoh and seizure there , he

      brought Mr . Hill to this office , prepared to begin a search here . He was only prevented from executing his intention by the firmness and decision of Mr . Hobbon , who demanded his warrant , and then bid him go to work . Finding himself thus pinned , he departed without making the search , acknowledging he had no authority to enforce it ! Now , we aver that a search and seizure in this place , even after Mr . Hobson's threat to resist it unless a warrant was produced , would have been just as lawful as the search made either at Mr . Turner ' s , at Mr . Leach's , or at Mr . Hill's Father ' s . If the officers had power to enter the latter plaoes and seize , they had power to enter this place and seine also . The one would just have been as lawful as the other : and all as illegal as illegality could make them .

      Inspector Taylor seemed a little astonished when he was asked for his authority to search ! He seemed as if ho were not aware that it was needful for him to possess it . He seemed imbued with the idea , ; springing from the present lax and illegal practice , that the police have authority to enter where and when they like . The firmness of Mr . Hobson took him all aback ; and a new light seemed to open in upon him when he was told that a search would not be permitted unless he produced a warrant from a magistrate directing it .

      In the case of Harney the trespass was still worse . The police entered his house with a warrant for his apprehension . They found him at home . They found also with him a number of others , met in his house on business . These parties had with them a number of books . These books , though they did not belong to Harney , and were not in his possession any more than the police were ; for both were in his house ; but these books , though belonging to others , and those others present at the time , did the officers seize and convey away 1 !

      But what shall we say to the case of Mr . Arthur ! He was arrested , like the others , on a charge of misdemeanour . When his body bad been captured and conveyed away , in obedience to the whole and sole instructions of the warrant , a search was made in his house and some property seized and removed . When he was placed at the Bar , he could not be identified ! The charge brought against him fell to the ground and he was discharged !!

      Now this searching and seizing , in all these cases , are grossly and wholly ILLEGAL J There is not a shadow of a shade of law for them ! The parties who have so acted have exceeded law ; have acted without authority . They have committed u crime . " They have done that which they had no right to do . They have done this knowingly and wilfully : for to suppose that they were ignorant of the requirements of the law respecting the right of search" would be to frappose them unfitted for the

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      posts they have been respectively selected to occupy ; and far be it from us to impugn the jud gment of those who have selected them ! Is this" crime" to go unpunished ! Shall not the " majesty of the law" be asserted ! Shall not its penalties visit the heads of all offenders 1 Are they to be reserved for the poor " rioters" and " Chartist conspirators" alone 1 Is it these alone who are to be taught " that ia this country the punishment of crime follows the commission of it with a pace eo sure , so steady , and so speedy , that the guilty can have no chance of escaping" ! Are not all " criminals" to be thus taught ! Should not those who trespass be " punished" as well as those who "riot" !

      Should not the official who transgresses against law ; who invades the home of an Englishman ; who takes away his property by force ; who keeps that property away from him : should not such an offender as this be taught , as well as the poor Chartist who conspires , " that "the law of the land is too strong for him ; and that the honest part of the communitythe lovers of peace and order , will at all times unite themselves with the established authorities of the government to render his attempts futile and abortive , and to put down such an evil-doer with a strong hand" ? Should he not indeed be "taught that obedience to the laws of tho land and the government of the country is due not as a matter of compulsion , but on principle and conscience" !

      We think this teaching ought to be had . We think that if these parties do not know their duty , they ought to be taught it . We implore of those concerned that they be so taught . Infractions of the law like these , on the part of the authorities , when quietly submitted to , sooa become custom . And thus the rights appertaining to us and guaranteed by law , are frittered away and lost ! If steps are not taken to . " assert the majesty of the law" in this particular , and that immediately too , the " right of search" when and WHERE a policeman pleases , will become the customary practice throughout the land . Now , though this may be desired by

      traitors to the land of their birth , we have no desire to see so much of the infamous Frenoh system of Policeism introduced amongst us . We have already a " standing" ARMED " force ! " For God ' s sake let us not have the Domiciliary visits ! ! It is not alone in the case of Chartist " conspirators" that this unlawful " right of search" has been exercised . It is daily exercised in all our large towns where the Polioe system exists . Houses are daily entered , and searches are daily made , without warrantor authority . We know that this is the case . We know that it is one of the " regulations " of the " force" that men shall be set apart to

      perform this task . No longer than last Saturday we heard one of the Manchester officers declare that his " regular" duty was to walk the streets in plain clothes , and to visit all the lodging-houses and places of resort for the poor unfortunates of the weaker sex , to search and ascertain who the owner had in his dwelling . This entry and search is also made ia Leeds ; and a police-officer , in either plaoe , would as soon think of giving the go-by to all the " regulations" of the " force , " as he would of asking a Magistrate for a warrant to authorize suoh entry and search . And yet such entry and

      search are directly in the teeth of the requirements of Statute law ! The Statute requires that before any constable shall enter even a house of the above description , information upon oath must be made before a Justice , that there is reasonable ground of suspicion that the party wanted is harboured or concealed in the house in question ; and , that then , but not before , shall the Justice issue his warrant authorizing a search to be made . Unless this be done , and the warrant read when the searoh is attempted to be made , the entry may be disputed , and even resisted .

      Let not the bawler out for the punishment of the poor when they break the law , attempt to justify or palliate these infractions of Statute-law by the administrators and executors of the law , on the plea that lodging-houses and reputed houses of ill-fame are not worthy of protection ; and that though these be entered and searched , the houses of peaceable and well-disposed subjects are safe aad secure from such visits . The law gives lodging-house keepers protection • and the only guarantee that the peaceable and well-disposed can have that they will not be subjected

      to the infraction . of home rights is the knowledge arid assurance that the lawful rights of all portions of th « community are respected and maintained . Once establish the practice , that a constable or policeman is justified in entering the house of a lodging-house keeper without warrant , and make a search there , contrary to the positive requirements of an Act of Parliament , and depend upon it the mansion and the dwelling of the aristocrat and the shopkeeper and tradesman will not be long sacred from unlawful entry too ! It is in their beginnings that practices of this nature shonld be nipped and crushed .

      Is it likely that the law oan be respeoted by the great body of the people , or its requirements cheerfully obeyed , when they see it thua shamelessly trodden underfoot , by those who are entrusted with its due execution , and whose example of obedience and strict conformity ought to be constantly before the eyes of the ] whole community ! The practice , then , of entry and search without due authority , we denounce as unlawful , whether put in force against " conspiring" Chartists or poor lodging-house keepers . We have dwelt mostly upon the trespasses committed in the houses of our political friends , because they affect us the most : and it is the nature of man to be selfish . We have

      dwelt upon them , too , at good length , because we see in them the beginning of another system totally opposed to the principle of English law . No man amongst us is required to answer a question in any court of justice that he deems likely to criminate himself should he answer it . English law repudiates the principle that a man shall be required to furnish evidence against himself . Such is the law amongst us ; and the practice has hitherto been in accordance with it . It is a principle and praotice of which we have just reason to be proud : and it has been another of great boast in the best days of English greatness , that , in this particular , our free institutions contrasted so favourably with those of despotic Governments .

      But what have the searchings been made for , without authority , on the persons , and in the dwellings , of the apprehended Chartists ? TO MAKE THE PRISONERS FURNISH EVIDENCE AGAINST THEMSELVES 111 Permit this , and we shall soon have the interrogation of culprits in full vogue amongst us , as well as the domiciliary visits ! ! ! We do tend , most alarmingly , towards that hateful French system which all constitutional writers and great law authorities have taught us to despise ! 1 .

      What we advise is this : that the lawyers entrusted with the defence of the ' conspiring" Chartists be-consulted upon this matter , and counsel taken as to the propriety of instituting an action for trespass against some one or other of the officers who have so offended , for the purpose of asserting the law . We would especially call the attention of Mr . O'Connor to the subject , as soon as he is well enough to attend to business . We think the law ought to be vindicated ; because a most valuable and valued bight is at stake ; and we farther think it as great an aot of patriotism to preserve the rights we have , as it is to seek to restore back those we have lost .

      This is not a-matter affecting " politics" alone . The operation of this new version of the " Right of Search" will not be confined to Chartists solely . It will be general ; and all will , sooner or later , feel its effects . All are , therefore , interested with us in staying its further progress . On the Press especially have we a claim . Dare its conductors meddle with the question , now that we have meddled , by pointing attention to it ! Will they , for once , enter the common field of right with us , and maintain the privileges ot the people against the undue and alarming encroachments of authority ? Let us hope it will be even so !!

      Untitled Article

      TO THE READERS OF THE STAB . . My dear Friends , —You wUl be anxious to bear what has been done towards Bailing out * Mr- Hill and the other Chartists who are committed with him You will have learned that he is permitted to put in Ball , amounting to £ 800 ; and that Bail for the others ia fixed at £ 700 and £ 600 . I could not be present at the examination on Tuesday last ., The absence of Mr . HIM . has devolved hi& duties upon me , till he can appear again at his old post The sub-Editor and Reporter had to go to procure a report of the proceedings ; and it was impossible tha t we could be both away at that time .

      I gave Mr . Barker a note to my good friend Mr Heywood , desiring him to look out and procure bail Mr . Hey wood , as soon as he received the note instantly offered to become one of the sureties for Mr Hill , if the magistrates would admit of bail at all . Bui , he said , I must be the other surety ; for there were so many to find for ; that the friends in Mancbeatei would have more to do th * n they could accompliah . Accordingly , when the amount of bail was fixed , my

      mame and Mr . Hey wood ' s were given in . Mr Barker informed me on his return that I most be in Manchester on Thursday morning to perfect the Bail . Bnt this was impossible . Thursday is the must busy day at the office . I had the charge of the paper upon my hands besides my own business . To get the paper to preaa ¦ was my first duty : and now that I have just accomplished that , I am off to Manchester to aid in the release of my friend , and your friend , the Editor . I am one who bates , And one who will battle oppression , . Star Office , Jos . Housox . ThursdayQuarter past Four .

      Untitled Article

      John Barratt , Birmingham , authotises us to contradicl the statement in our last , that the Washington Chartists had been dispossessed of their room by the interference of Mr . Corbett . He declares that Mr . Corbett had nothing to do with . it ; or that fie is a member of the Suffrage Association . Mr . Corbett , he says , has given a subscription to White ' s Defence Fund . Wm . Butler . —His address has been received . He had better state his wishes personally at a Char ' . list meeting . George Didsbury , Skegby . —His address to the Chartists is emitted for the same reason . Mr . S . Beswick , Manchester . —A new edition of . Mr . Hill ' s Progressive Exercises is in the press It will be ready for sale in another week or so ,

      when he can procure it from Mr . Heywood . Mid Lothian . —All communications in this locality intended for the Northern Star should be directed to Wm . Daniels , St . Ann's , Lasswade . "A Few Chartists , FrNSBURY , " sent Is . towards . Hunt ' s monument . This is in answer to Mr . Oleave ' s inquiry a fortnight since . Chartius — We are obliged to reserve Part 2 of the " Tale of the Emigrants /' J ; , Bristol . —His communication has been received , " A Subscriber from the Commencement . "—Received . * The Manchester Packer . —We are obliged to

      withhold his communication . The arrests and their attendant examinations , and the reports of Trials at the Special Commissions ^ claim our first attention . A Poor Freeholder . —An attorney will tell you . The Friend 3 at White Lee are thanked for the ¦ good opinionwhich accompanies their substantial act , in the shape of l \ s ., for the Defence Fund We hepe to continue to deserve it . T . M . Wheeler . — . 4 letter from him was received at the office on Friday morning containing nothing later than Tuesday ' s news . It has all been left out for want of room . It might have been here twenty-four hours sooner .

      Untitled Article

      Mr . John Hicks , Glasgow . —He is most assuredly entitled to the Petition Plates if he . has ( as he assures us is the case ) subscribed four months . We desire that Mr . Barnes , the news , agent , by whom h a has been supplied for these four months , will deliver np to Mr . Hicks the two Plates in question . If he have not sufficient , he can have more by sending to the office . This notice will meet many other cases respecting which we have been ¦ written . Every Subscriber , who has taken the Northern Star lot the period of four months is entitled to the Plate when it is delivered , —he paying for Paper and Piate the advertised charge . It is nat needful that he should continue to be a Subscriber to entitle him to it .

      H . Earnshaw , Colne . —If the Paper is not regularly received , it must be kept at some of the postoffices after it leaves Leeds . It is always forwarded If he will point out dates when it has not arrived , ' we will apply to the Postmaster-General , who will institute an enquiry into the matter . W . P . Williams , Chepstow . —The Plates are en closed in the Monmouth parcel . E . Alger , London , should have given his address . Rqbert Chamberlain , Independent Minister , Swanage , Dorset—We never send the Northern Star . gratis to any person . We cannot afford them without pay , even to "Independent" Ministers . The Papers be haa received must have been forwarded by some one of his friends anxwus for his conversion to the truth . At all events , they have not been sent from this office ; nor should we have known that we had such an unprofitable reader had he not communicated the information .

      J . Saunders , Newark . —They shall be enclosed in next parcel to Nottingham , with any others that he may order before the parcel is sent T . M . Wheeler . —We have not a copy of the Star left containing the engraving of Hunt ' s monument . James Heaton , Clitheroe . —Write to the Postmaster-GeneraJ . The Portrait of T . Duncsmbe will be giv « n to all , our Subscribers on November 19 th . They will ba in the hands of ail tho Agents by November 16 th ; The charge for the Star \ on the day the Portrait of Buncombe is distributed will be the same as the charge for it on the day the Petition Plate is delivered .

      FOR THE NATIONAL DEFENCE FUND . £ b . d . From Lye Waste ... l 0 3 „ Stonrbridge ,. 0 15 9 ,. the Chartists of Lewisham locality ... 0 10 0 * . the Chartists of Reading ... ... 0 5 0 ^ the Chartists of Little Horton ... 0 4 io £ „ A . Thomas , Bradford ... 0 10 „ W . R . 6 < J ., Female Id ., Leeds ... 0 0 7 « Staffordshire Potteries 0 10 ' ¦ „ W . P . A . ... 0 0 6 Subscriptions at Airdale Foundry ... ... 0 12 11

      Leeds—A Friend to Freedom ... ... 0 2 0 From the Bisters ... ... 0 0 6 „ the Leeds Chartists , collected by Jas . Haigh ... ... 0 11 0 „ Wm . Smith , Crown-lane , Manchester 0 10 „ a tew enemies to oppression at Bowling , near Bradford , Yorkshire ... 0 C 10 „ the Chartists of Pendleton , per C . Marony ... ... ... ... 0 12 6 . „ ' J . B ., Woodhouse ... „ a few friends at Berry Brow 0 5 0 „ afriendatHudderaBeld 0 0 8 ^ a few friends , per A . North ,

      Hudaerafleld ... 0 6 0 ] „ a flax-dresser ... 0 0 3 .. friends at Burton-upon-Trent 0 3 3 „ ditto at Swadllncote ... 0 3 0 „ ditto at Newhall ... ... ... 0 l 0 ¦ „ A . Noble , Trivet ... ,,. ... 0 0 6 „ a few friends at Richmond ... ... 0 2 i „ ' the Chartists of Chesterfield , per W . Martin ... ... 0 7 6 „ IireWasfe ... Stourbridge ... ... 0 9 11 ^ tho Chartiflts of Yarmouth , per TV . Storey ... ... 0 16 6 „ the Chartists of Halifax and neighbourhood ... ... ... ... 2 8 * „ DewsVury , T . S . B 1 0 0 ¦ „ the Chartists of Holme-lane , Tong ... 0 8 2 j ' „ the Chartists of Wortley ... ... 0 3 7 £ ¦ . „ White Lee and Heckmondwike , per

      Mr . Penny ... ... oil 0 „ W . Mortimer , Mill Bridge . 05 0 „ the Chartists of Meriey ... 0 5 0 „ a working man , Leeds 0 1 " „ John Nnter , Leeds ... 0 0 6 , „ a few friends , B . Q . ... ... ... 0 10 0 „ the Chartists of Finsbury , per J . Watts ... ... ... ... 0 12 0 ., two engineers ... ... 0 10 „ the Chartists of Ouseburn and Byker Hill 0 8 0 „ the Chartists of Castlo Blagney , per N . G . ... 0 4 ' „ Loughborongh and surrounding places , per M . Skevington ... ... ... 2 13 2 _ the Chartists of Aberdeen ... ... 1 0 0 ^ the Chartists ot Nailswortfl ... ... 0 6 0

      FOR THE EXECUTIVE . From J . Morgan , being part profits on goods purchased at his shop by the Chartists , Deptfordand Greenwich ... 0 7 8 . „ the Chartists of Halifax ... ... 0 2 C „ the Chartists of Bippondea 9 2 8 / _ the Chartists of Ovenden ... ... o 2 H Leeds . —A Friend to Freedom ... ... 0 10 FOR MASON AND OTHERS' DEFENCE FUND . From Tavistock , per B . Webb ... , „ o 3 8 FOR COOPER ' S DEFENCE . From Adam Boston , Ha wick ... ... ,,. o 1 FOR MRS . HOLBEERT . From the Chartiits of Beading ... ... 0 3 3

      The ]S T 0etheen Star. Saturday. October 8, 1842.

      THE ] S 0 ETHEEN STAR . SATURDAY . OCTOBER 8 , 1842 .

      , Co 28eairet# Antr Cornggottfreutg

      , Co 28 eairet # antr Cornggottfreutg

      Untitled Article

      A THE NORTHERN STAR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 8, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1182/page/4/