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Northern Star (1837-1852), 17th June 1843, Edition 1 of 5, Page 4, Untitled Article

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    • THE If OBTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1843.
    • 8To aaeaticrjs ana ©omgpan&entf.
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      Untitled Article

      C 0 R 0 K 3 SB ? S lK < iUEST . TFrom ihe Morning Chrmicle . ) ' IXEJklH 0 * X < 3 & * BUST RjGTER Kt TH 8 PESITKHfenar . —On Saturday , a lengthened invesrajation toot place in Ike General Penitentiary , Mittfcank , 'V ^ taiBLStex , * erore Mi . Higgs , deputy isowner for Westminster , ana a respectable jury , on «» fog *™ John ashky , « ged 34 , late * tradesman at Stafford , saileadet of a Chartist association , -who wa 8 coo * -rieieaifi October last , at the Stafford , special seasons , » being concerned -with others u » tbeSteTibrdsi 8 re Chartist riots , and « ntenced to tff ^ e monks' imprisonment in the Penitentiary . The case * exdted mnch interest . After the jorj "were Efimi Uiey viewed the bodj of the deceased , -wjgch -was laid in Ihe dead htrase of the-pnson ; 5 t presented so emaciated an appearance as to « sdte the sympathy of all present . Oa the return of lie jury to the inquest room , the following evi-Tdenee Was addnced .

      The Rev . Daniel Nihfl , governor and chaplain of ihe prison , deposed that the deceased -was received en the 7 th t > f December , having been tried and eon-Tieted the previous 1 st of October ., at the Stafford special sessions , for riot and being concerned in unlawful meetings , for which he was sentenced to iwelve months' imprisonment in tie penitentiary . By the Foreman *> f the ^ nry—The deceased was 5 n good health when bewasreceived into the prison , bus his mind appeared deeplj affected at his situation . He was-a master tailor at Stafford , and has left a "sddbw and family .

      By the Coroner—The deceased first became SI in Pebrnary last , vrhea he "was received inte theinfemarj , and attended by Dt . Bafley , physician to the "prison . His senteneedid not include labeur , Bj a Juror—Since sisimprisonmenthehas occasionally been visited by- his friends , after "which he irasfjenerslly more -depressed in mind . While in lealthhe-was not allowed more than the prison diet , iat-dnringilieperiod hevrasxn theinSnnary lie had fvery description of nourishing siticles ; in fact , -whatever the medical attendant considered essential to Ms recovery . By the Coronerr-Tbe deceased was allowed to walk in tie yard occasionally . No nndne severity -was ever exercised towards Mm . 1 afforded him all the indulgence in my power , having an eye to the Government orders respecting such description of prisoners . He never made any complaint to me .

      By the Foreman—The deceased -was allowed books , and pens , ink , and paper , and was accustomed to lead very much . He was not allowed to anix wiih the other prisoners , bnt often conversed Trith the officers of the prison , -when b . e advocated Us ^ principles snd complained of ihe unjust -sentence he had received ; at the same time alluded to the Government persecution of Feargus O'Connor and other martyrs to their cause . By a juror— ' £ he silent system is done away with in the prison . The health of the prisoners is better than formerly , © wing to the short sentences . Tnerehave been only seven deaths during the last twelve months .

      Dz . Bafley , physician to Ihe prison , said—The deceased was admitted to the Infirmary in February last , Enfffirinij from scrofulous affection , rhentn ^ sTOj jaundice , and general debility . He had every care and nourishment afforded him , bnt he gradually sunk , and died on Wednesday . His 5 ody "was opened , when the viscera , heart , lungs , and mesemeric fluids were found affected with scrofula . By the Foreman—Scrofula is a prison complaint , but the . deceased -was constitutionally scrofulous . Imprisonment tciU aggravate the disorder . There being no further evidence , the jury istarned a verdict of ** Bled by the visitation of God . " ~ m — -

      Untitled Article

      TTTR TKIA 1 OP WILLIAM KEXSTEDY , BEFORE ME . S 0 LK 3 T 0 B € EKERA 1 , AT ATBY , ON 5 BEDAY , 3 SS 24 TH DAT OF AUGUST , 1797 Wffllam Kennedy stood icdicted for aiding and assisting i numerous armed mob , on Saturday night the 6 th of May last , in an attack on the Charter-schooltioufle of Gatbeny , Inhabited by Stephen Spalls , master thereof , -with an intention to take arsray the life of the said mrster , and to rob the said house of arms , the property of ibeswdStephen Sparks , anS of arms the property of several yeomen of the Grand Canal Legion , there deposited for safety ; and also far-firing several riiots into the said house , with an intention to Ell the said Stephen Sparks , contrary to the Sratute , -fee . On tw « infK cfnfpns jj © Tess arraigned , and pleaded 2 fotfioaty .

      Stephen Sparks , xwara . —Said is -was mastar « the Cbarter-school-hBUse of Carfcerry , that he had tl good right to remember the 6 th of May ; his reason for rextembenBg it so ¦ well was , that on that night , or the aital morning , his house was attacked by a great number of men , he believed near three hundred , most of them ¦ werearmed "with guns ; they attacked the house is front ; they threw _ & . great number of stones and fired against the windows ; the guns were loaded with hall ; the shot entered into several windows of the room , lodged in the windaw-framea and shutters , and many ranged along the walls in different directions . Witness never staid long in any one situation , h ' e ran from one 'window to another ; he was exposed to the shot of the persons who fired very frequently , several balls passed

      dose to him , he tft » TitWl Gud neither he or Mb family or party received any ¦ wound . He had six persons in tb * house beside his son ; they fired repeatedly en the persons -who made the attiek ; whenever the pazty withoatired a volley they save a shout , or rather a yell ; they desired witntss to throw out his arms . 'Witness and his party kept firing on them ; he did not give them his arms . They went off ; be heard a great shout ; they said they would ba back again and send witness andhii family to hell ; he saw a party on the hiQ coming towards She house , witness thought they had rallied ; he and bis party fired on them ; when he heard Ihe words " Wicklow ^—friendB , " they stopped their fire ; one of the Wicklow was unfortunately iilled Irrashot from thehonse before they were known ;

      i » aaSd the prisoner mX ihe bar was soon after brought to his house in company wuh another man ; they were brought in by a party of the Wicklow ; witness tnew the prisoners ; he asked the prisoner Kennedy , for jQod ' s sake , "what conld induce Mm to attack witness ; he "would not make any answer ; would not speak one word ; tpitueas solemnly declared Kennedy was as sober as he ( the witness ; was at the time of giving his evidence . There was a considerable deal of injury done the house ; it coet -upwards ef fifteen pounds to repair the windows ; several halls were fired into the room where witness ' s family were ; he made no doubt but he trssJrequenUy in great danger ; he heard several balls pass quite dose to h'Tn ; he stood mostly in front , to have an opportunity of firing with effect . He iB convinced there could sot be less than three hundred men at the attack .

      Xaenteoant Heppenstall said he "was a Lientenant in Edenderry in May last ; remembered the night of the Cthofilay . The-soldiers at the camp were slarmed by the ireqnent reports of mnfqnttry ; about twelve at sight , the drum beat to arms ; the party was funned into three divisions ; witness commanded one party ; they took different roads ; witness marched his party towards WHliamstown ; he had got a hint that Hx . Williams * and Captain Graltan ' s houses Trould be attacked that night ; witness had not marched far , -when he beard vollies towards Carberry hill ; he crossed over towards it ; he still heard the firing sod shonfing ; when he came to the top of the bill he saw a house under him ; be asked whose it was ; some ef the men said it was Sparkes ' s ; they had not

      returned far , when several shots were discharged from the house at his party , one of his men was shot ; and himself near being killed , the ball passed through his sodelock , fcethrew Wm « af on thegrcund , and cried « ut murder—Wieklow—friends—several balls passed thr # ngh bis clothes , he saw a Tn » n running from the house , witness ran up to him and knocked him down . He asked him who he was , but he would not make any answer * ; witness zwore he would put friw ? to death if he < lid sot tell who he was ; but he would sot speak ; it tpas the prisoner at the bar ; he gave Mm in charge to hii sffjaant , and went forward \ pith Bome at the

      EtEU ; bB-soon alter saw another man msning along the niTl ; witness came Tip' "with him an * knocked him down with the hntt end of his firelock . The man asked for mercy , and that if bis life was spared , he ¦ wosld discover the persons "who were there ; witness seized him by the collar , brought him up to -where lie bad left the other prisoner ; asked him if he knew that -mm , painting to the prisoner at the bar . Hyland , the other prisoner , said yes , that is £ 01 Kennedy , the brogue-maker , ef Hishawanna , he was with us . Hyland said that Kennedy had sworn b ? nv , before they went to Spark ' s in the old church yard of Carberry ; witness brought them down to Mr , Sparks .

      Onhis croEs-eiiminalion , he «? 5 « 1 he did net see a gun with the prisoner at 12 io bar . He said be put a Tope round the prisoner ' s neck , and swore he would "bang him if he did not discover Mb party , aad acknowledged is drew the cord pretty tight ; but he could not Set a-ward from him . Hyland discovered of several tbers , " » ho were taken that morning . Alexander CaSry said he was apnvate in the Wicklow Militia ; -went out under the command « f Iaeute-Mur t ^ Heppenstell , the night the Charter-house was attacked ; they eune irp just as it was over . The defenders made off -when the Wicklow came up ; they ired some shots—one of bis comrades was killed TfitHess saw the prisoner running from the house from SewallTrptheJinL He was taken by the party . He maa a gun in hi » band , Jhe UeBtensnt knocked him doim ; 1 . 6-would not tell who he was .

      On hia etocKzaminatioxL , aaid be is sure Xennedy lad * gan as be « ame up . Witness was within a j « ra of flffl- laentenant ; he kept near him , and osld Me * the prisoner as -wtll as ha Ee is p « ntive Kennedy "bad a gan , and witness saw him drop it . - . Serjeant Pounden said he £ aw the prisoner running from the house . TT « did not S 8 e a gun with Mm ; but « aw one about thirty yards from where he was running . Witness-was dose to Mr . Heppen £ t&H ; lieutenant gave the prisoner inlo witnaai ' fl care . "The prisoner lay Aorn but vould sot speak a word . The part ; soon after brought up another prisoner { Hyland ) . He said the Sat man "was Kennedy , the brogue-maker . Td » prisoners irer » brought down \ o Mr . Spark * , and siter vardB to the txmp at £ dendtrry

      Untitled Article

      Stepiieo Hyland , Sis approver . Qr Do yea know Kennedy , the prisoner at the bar ? A , Yea , % bd by virtue of my oath I never knew any harm of the boy in my life ! , K . Bt Hyland was ordered off the table—a bill of in . dicteent Bent up to the Grand Jury against him—put mm bis trial—convicted , and bad sentence of death passed on him fontsnter . ( The evidence for the Grown closed hers .

      Patrick RelUy , for prisoner , nid he overtook the prisoner at the town on the evening of the 6 th of May last , near his own honae ; bat was ao drunk , that witness would not pay him fifteen shillings he owed him for shoes . The prisoner would not let witness quit him till be drank with bin . Witness would sot hare returned with him , bat was afraid be would fall in the ditch . They went t » one Duff ' s , in Kishawanna ; prisoner called for a pot of ale , and soon 1 after quit him ; it was after nightfall . Witness did not see him after , till he saw him in Court .

      In answer to questions by the Court , mid he lives within a mile of the prisoner ' s , and within about two miles of Mr . Sparks . He heard Kennedy was taken prisoner next day . He never told Sparks or any other person that Kennedy had been so drunk that evening ; Kennedy was a lad of very good character . ' In his cress-examinations Mr . Reilly said hehadbeen attacked by the defenders ^ ra ^ f , some time before ; but had beaten them off Catherine Duff , sworn—Lives at Kishawanna , the prisoner and Paddy Keilly came into her hftuse about nightfall , the night Mr . SparkB ' s house was attacked , Kennedy was the drunkest man she ever saw , they drank a pot of ale together . Mr . BeQly west away , and Kennedy quarrelled with witness for not giving him more liquor , she would not let him stay any longer in the house for-fearof the soldiers ; be went aashe thought to his own bouse , lives within five or six perches of

      witness . Hose Kennedy , sworn—Lives at the new chapel , saw the prisoner , the night of the attack at Mr . Sparks , he came to her father ' s between ten and eleven at night , they were all in bed but witness . Ha Iwas mo drunk , he was hardly able to walk ; he sat by the fire , as much as be could do was to keep from falling . He was courting witness , she heard the shots , and . was afraid they would waken her father ; and she made the prisoner go out , she put him out by force , because her father would be angry if he found him there , she said she loved the prisoner , and let him visit her against her father ' s consent Beveral nights . Counsel for the Crown did not cross-examine her from motives of delicacy ; she appeared s modest and -raj beautiful girl Here the evidence for the prisoner closed , the Jury retired and in eighteenhoura and a half brought in their verdict "Guilty . " {

      On account of the evidence in favour of this prisoner , his remarkable good character and the informer ' s evidence that fear alone made him lodge examinations , but above all as one of the Jury refused te find him guilty , till his brothers were going to throw him out of the window , several gentlemen , grand jurors , and others presented a petition in his behalf to the Solicitor-General , who promised to send it to the Lord Lieutenant ; but Kennedy was executed .

      Untitled Article

      REPEAL OF THE UNION . Aftek the ineffectual attempt of Hbhbt Gbattaw and a few other Irish members to resist that unhappy connexion with England , which has Bince proved snch an endless source of expenoe to both countries , Gkatxas exclaimed : " "Well ; thanks be to God , Ireland will now be avenged for all the wrongs , the insults , and injustice that England has heaped upon her ; for she will Bend one hundred of the most reprobate rascals that rabid Faction o&n produce to mix with her legislators and poison her counsels J " Whatever Ghattan ' s feelings were , when rejoicing in anticipation of this negative triumph , we imagine

      he had but little notion that , in reality , the very fact of inoculating the British Legislature with the spirit of Irish faction would lead to the restoration of an Irish Parliament . In the present : article then , we shall establish the fact , that the question of Repeal is , in reality , more an English than an Irish question . We do net , like the Ttmes , handle this question according to the varied shapes in which Irish agitation presents itself . We do not rely so much upon the " if this be so , that ought to be so ; and , if it is not so we can't tell why it is net so . " The dedustions , the collateral issues , the similies , the tropes , the figures , the metaphors , the prophecies

      and the fine-spua reasonings of the Times , are above our humble comprehension sad far below our contempt . Accustomed as we are to see an amusing variety in the political Kaleidoscope , we were scarcely prepared for u > many new patterns of public opinion , even in these days of invention , a 3 that Journal has presented . Floundering about between Administration and Opposition , the Stock Exchange and Commercial Interest , * Doctor Pdset

      and the Pope , the Orange Faction and the Catholic Hierarchy , the English Chancellor * -and Irish Magistrates , it has done mnch mischief without one single good " guess" in its recent articles upon the Repeal of the Union and the State of Ireland . Let ub now see whether or not the question of the Union is one of interest to the English people . We do not use the term people here vrith any limitation . In our present consideration , the term people applies to the whole of English society , and not merely to the working classes .

      On the 1 st of January , 1801 , 109 Irish Members became part and parcel of the Legislature of the United Kingdom : and if we take up the Parliamentary history of the country from that period , especially to 1815 , when peace was proclaimed , we shall find that Mr . Pitt in his day , and Lord Liverpool in his day , relied upon the corrnpt support of the Irish Members as their majorities to increase the Debt , to violate the Constitution , and to overawe public opinion .

      Ho twenty yeara of the history of England present snch a catalogue of Ministerial profligacy , corruption , and tyranny as these twenty years , from IS 01 to 1820 , both iadosive . And the reader will find , with very few honourable exceptions , that the 100 Irish Members invariably constituted the mischievous majorities of the English Minister . An open contract existed between the Irish Orange Faction and the English Minister ; the conditions of which were - . — "Take ye bank notes ; Give me your votejj : "

      and any benefit which might have been likely to result from a cordial union was destroyed by the means to which the Irish party were compelled to resort for the parpoBe of- strengthening their Parliamentary interest at home . Places were created withont number ; pensions > ere bestowed wifchent sarvieaj titles -were conferred withont merit ; every channel for jobbing that human ingenuity conld devise was opened ; road jobbing , land jobbing , ehnreb jobbing , Jaw jobbing , army jobbing , navy jobbing , easterns jobbing , revenue fobbing , excise jobbing , and police jobbing were so many

      profitable speculations handed over to the privileged few . During that period the claim of the Catholics to Emancipation was the absorbing Irish question . The Catholics most interested in its accomplishment were ineligible to sit in Parliament ; and the Protestant candidates , with never a half-dosen exceptions , could best recommend themselves to the favonr of the drivers of Catholic forty shilling freeholders by a pledge to support a jTory Minister and our glorious Constitution in Church and State . Some three or four large landed proprietors in each county were consulted as to the most profitable disposition to be made of the mirantainers upon their eetateB . The Catholio voters were driven in flocks by the Squire ' s bailiff to vote for a

      Protestant candidate , pledged to perpetuate their degradation . In return for this service , the whole traffic of the country was handed over to those landlords by whose coalition tha j Protestant interest was upheld . The representative thus poked into Parliament was the tool of the coalition . He fumed , and bristled , and threatened the Minister with , the opposition of self and brothers if any attempt was made to interfere with the acknowledged prerogatives of the Orange party . Irish industry , thus paralised , was , very shortly after the Union , unequal to the task of supporting those domestic cormorants ; and the English Minister was compelled in 1816 to violate the most important article of the Act of Union by consolidating tbe Exchequer of the two countries ; dpaestio plunder

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      being found inadequate to pay the Irish party for their corrupt support . It will be Been by the articles of Union , ( to be found in our eighth page , ) that by the seventh article , the respective debt of the two ! countries was apportioned as follows i —Englandi for her share , to pay 15-17 ths , and Ireland , for her share , to pay 2 17 th 8 . It will also be seen that this contract wa ° to hold good for twenty years ; and that any subsequent contract for the following ; twenty years was to be regulated by a just re-appointment , reference being had

      to the role established by the Act of Union . By the 56 of George III ., this most important of the several articles of Union was violated by the consolidation of the English and Irish Exchequers . This flagrant act of injustice was forced upon tbe English Minister immediately after the peace , -when the disruption of the * army and its several lucrative concomitants bo increased the hoard of idle paupers , that the single field of Irish peculation became too narrow for their use . The document to which we refer is of great importance ,

      and will be read with deep interest by all who would confine their advocacy of Repeal within legal limits . We would ask , wherein differs a contract supposed to be made between a king and a people and a contract made between two individuals !! and if not only Bonperformance of the stipulated conditions , but total violation of the whole contract , wonld be gronnds sufficiently strong for declaring it null and void in the latter case by what rule of right can the very discussion of the violation of every one of its provisions in the former case he held to be

      seditious , illegal and unconstitutional ! Let us see whjti really are the leading conditions of this contract which in the M habendum" as we may call it , is stated to last for ever . The first article by which the number of Irish members i 3 apportioned , was violated , we acknowledge , with the consent of the United Parliament ^ by giving to Ireland five additional members . In the six subsequent articles we haye the terms upon which the Irish contractors sold their country ,, every one of which has been violated : except , indeed , we are to consider that the

      condition to expend the stipulated amount in Irish improvements was fulfilled by Us application to factious purposes . We have before analyzed the condition of the Beventh article which was to hold good for twenty-years , and which the united Parliament had no power to alter . If it had not been for the support of the Irish Members , the English Minister would have found it impossible to increase the National Debt to its present amount . Had it not been for the subserviency of that party , the

      English Minister would not have been able to make the successful inroads upon theuliberties and privileges of Englishmen , which , with their co-operation , he has made without difficulty ; while had the amount of monies contracted for , by ] the act of the Union been faithfully expended upon Irish improvements , England would not now be overrun with an Irish corps de reserve of labourers for the masters to fall back upon , as a means of reducing the wages of Englishmen .

      If we take a still more comprehensive view of the whole subject , we find the time of tha United Parliament ; night after night , occupied in angry Irish discussion !; and whether Whigs or Tories are in office , they but become the administrators of patronage to their respective parties . The great value then to be attached to the present agitation is the fact that it takes the question out of the old see-saw . It is no longer a question as to which party can best govern Ireland , but as to how the two countries living in a state of union and amity can best govern themselves .

      The purification of the English Parliament is surely matter of deep importance to the English people of all classes : and this can only be accomplished by extracting from it the Irish poison upon which Gbattan relied for its contamination . And Ireland can have no chance of dealing with her domestic grievances—the principal of which is an expensive and unprofitable law-church , —so long as her representatives are chosen by persons upon whom the Protestant landlord must confer the franchise .

      In the words of Mr . O'Connor we say : " If you have grievances to complain of , and if the most prominent are the burdens imposed upon you by an adverse Church and the restrictions imposed upon you by landlords lest your Emancipation shonld damage that Church to whose patronage they look for support , —how can you suppose that those landlords , as patrons of Church property , will carve their Protestant lands into electoral qualifications to be used against their interest !"

      So long as the Protestant land must constitute the electivefranchise , so long will Catholic Emancipation be a mere empty sound ; so long will all the burdens of the Law Church be allowed to continue ; so long will the restrictions of landlords remain in force ; and so long will those angry feelings which disgrace both countries be kept alive between Catholio and Protestant . The remedy therefore , the only one which can be effectual for the correction of these grievances , is a transfer , from the soil to man , of that right which is inherent in him . and of which

      he has been unjustly deprived by brute force . Enfranchise the Catholio man instead of the Protestant or Catholic land ; and then , when in full possession of his constitutional rights , should he invade , interfere with , or attempt to abridge , those of his Protestant neighbour , we shall be amongst the first to demand from a freely chosen Parliament such measures as the weak shall require for their protection against the strong . So long as the Protestant land is the shield of the Protestant

      Church , so long will the proprietor prefer leasing it to a Presbyterian or Protestant or Dissenting tenant , < uppn whose vote he can rely ) for twenty shillings an acre , to leasing it to a Catholic , ( whose vote he dreads ) for twenty-five shillings an acre . Whereas if the Catholio bad the vote in virtue of his person , the : Protestant landlord wonld accept him as a tenant at twenty shillings and sixpence an acre , rather than give it to a Protestant or Dissenter for twenty shillings and threepence aa

      acre . We think it , therefore , the duty of the English Chartists to struggle zealously , peaceably , constitutionally , and incessantly for a Repeal of that Union by which their Legislature has been poi-Boned ; while it is equally the duty of Irishmen to struggle ; by the same means for the acquisition of those rights by which alone they can hope to have snch a Legislature as English gold cannot again corrnpt ; and by which alone the Repeal becomes valuable or important to them . We have much yet to Eay , and especially to the Irish people , upon this great subject .

      Untitled Article

      THE RIGHT OF MR . O'CONNOR TO WALK THE STREETS . THE DUTY OF GOVERNMENT TO SEND HIM TO THE HULKS . Wi give the following article , whole and entire , without the abridgement or alteration of a single word , from the Timus of yesterday week : — " There are Bone things , which may be either a blessing or a curse , and among them we may reckon the ; refinements of law . Where it is necessary that the liberty of the subject—the free enjoyment by ' every one of the social immunities to which he { is fairly entitled , whetker they be of purse or person , of fame or fortune—is to be secured from the- tyranny whioa could otherwise be exerted

      by might against right ; Where poverty in rags is to be saved from , the merciless oppression of wealthinvested with power ; where a virtuous minority is to be sheltered from the rage of a remorseless majority ; or where the ; majority itself , exposed to hazard from being in a more or less defenceless condition , requires a shield against the attacks of a well-armed and cruel mintrity—in any of these cases we rejoice at the sabtilty of the administrators of the law being able successfully t * defend the oppressed against the oppressor . ; But even in such caeeB oar applause is not unqualified by the consciousness that there is something which ought to be censured ; we cannot bring ourselves to acquiesce with the whole heart in an acquittal being obtained by a mere quibble , . however cordially we may hail the fact

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      of there having haen &ft acquittal . When , however , a convicted criminal , who , either for the most selfish ends , or acting from mere recklessness , bag instigated hundreds of his deluded fellow-subjects to set jtne laws of their country at defiance , has successfully urged them , by plausible sophistries , to peril the property and lives of themselves and of all within reach of their [ violence , has succeeded in placing extensive districts under a syatem of terrorism , and in subjecting them , without compunction , to the calamities of civil war , and after his poor tools have been imprisoned and transported by scores for ' merely haying obeyed his bidding , escapes himself with absolute impunity , on the sole ground that the ! astuteness of some lawyer discovered a clerical

      errdr in the indictment , it is impossible to repress our indignation at the scandalous prostration of 'justice before the Belial of verbal nicety . WHAT RIGHT has Feakgus O'Connor to BE : NOW WALKING THE STREETS OF MANCHESTER A 8 : an innocent man ! Is there a single individual in Great Britain who has the remotest doubt , that , so far as justice was concerned , O'Connor was guilty of the crimes for which he j was tried ! Is there one , either on the bench or off it , who entertains the shadow of a suspicion that O'CONNOR OUGHT , as between himself and the community , TO BE NOW EXPIATING HIS OFFENCES against his victims of every grade—whether his duped colleagues in crime or the innocent sufferers from his criminality

      —IN A DUNGEON OR THE HULKS ! He has been ' let off' because in one count of the indictment—in one of what are denominated in Westminster Hall ' the Gregorian counts , ' for what reason we cannot pretend to Bay—it happened that k the venue' was omitted ! No matte&what was the notoriety of his crime—no matter that every Judge on the bench was as fully aware as the convict himself of what the indictment meant , and had no more doubt of its meaning and of the accuracy with which it conveyed to the prisoner thei fullest possible information that was necessary to enable him to make his defence—there

      was a derioal error ; and the judicial conscience could only beset at rest by giving the prisoner the benefit of it . Law this may be ; justice it is not . How much longer is this to be permitted ! Are acts of Parliament made to bind the good only : are they frained for the express ! purpose of entangling the poor in their meshes , and of allowing the rich , as Mr ; O'Connell boasts , ¦¦* to drive a coach and six " through them ! ' We plainly tell our Legislators that the time is come wlieu the conviction of a criminal must not depend on the chances of an indictment against him being so framed that the keenest legal acumen shall not find a single phrase in it

      capable of being distorted into conveying a meaning which no ordinary man could detect . We mast hare the practice of the criminal law reduced to some accordance with common sense , and the people re-assured by finding that the laws which they are required to obey are not incompetent to defend them against the grossest outrages . What example can be of worse effect at the present time , when " the ' ordinary power of the Constitution' are referred to as being relied on by the Government to suppress rebellion in Ireland , than an acquittal like Feargus O'Connor ' s proclaiming the utter inefficiency of those ' ordinary powers ! ' Sir R . Peel is bound

      individually , if his law reforms were not intended as mere clap-traps , or were not introduced by mm merely that he might reap tbe laurels which had been planted by Sir S . Romily and others , to obviate by sufficient enactments the glaring injustice , of which we have of late had such repeated reason to complain , of the spirit of the law being entirely set at nought in deference to its mere letter . He is bound , as the head of the Government , to justify the extravagant cost of the late special commission by securing the punishment of the leading offender , and thereby to clear the Government and its officials from the suspicion under which they cannot but rest , of conniving at the errors of their

      subordinates . If it was a proper exeioise of the discretion of the Government that O'Connor should be prosecuted to con fiction last autumn—and of its propriety no suspicion has ever yet been hinted—it is equally as proper now that a fresh indictment should be { preferred against him without a single week's delay , and that , while the facts are in the recollection of the witnesses who were produced on bis trial , their evidence should be again made use of . It is of more urgent importance that the supremacy of the law should be vindicated , and that those who are disposed to disobey it should be taught that the chances of a criminal prosecution are not on a par with thode of a lottery or a dioe-box .

      "There are plenty of gentlemen in Parliament who would not suffer a poacher to escape scot-free under similar circumstances , and we rely on some one : proving in his place there that his whole sympathy is not confined to his preserves . There are plenty who would give up even the Derby-day to vote for or against free trade . Let us see that there are ¦ some among them who will require the Government to prosecute O'Connor to a successful conviction . " We are at a loss which to admire most , the malignity ,, the impudence , or the ignorance , of this tirade . Fortunately all these qualities are so conspicuous that it must excite in every man ' s mind who reads it and ; who knows the facts , a thorough contempt and loathing for the scribbler , who could write it .

      " What right has Feargus O'Connor to be walking the streets of Manchester I" forsooth ! The riftht of his obedience to the law , you fool ! a right which you violate in the penning of this flagitious article , and for which , if O'Connor does not trounce your proprietors , he deserves to be bugbitten . to death . The Times asks : — "Is there a single individual in Great Britain who has ( the remotest doubt , that so far as justice was concerned , O'Connor was guilty of the crimes for which he was tried ?"

      Yes ; there are at least fourteen individuals in Great Britain who have no doubt at all upon the subject ; who know that O'Connor was not " guilty of the crimes for which he was tried "; and these are the twelve Jurymen who tried him , the Judge before whom he was tried , and the Attorney-General who prosecuted him . All these parties know , and hare recorded their conviction that O'Connor is not " guilty of the crimes for which he was-tried . " He was tried for conspiracy , for riot « for illegal meetings , and tumultuous assemblies ; for the forcible prevention of labour ; and for a host of other " crimes" committed by the patrons of the Times . All these were

      industriously set forth in the indictment ; but the Judge said that these allegations of " crime" had no business there—that they could not be sustained—the Attorney-General acknowledged that the Judge was right , and he abandoned many of the " crimes" sought to be charged , at once . But though , even then , the indictment still charged many things upon the defendants which the law does consider " crimes , " the { Jury refused to credit the indictment , there being no evidence to support its allegations , and they , by their verdict , affirmed that they held O'Connor and others to be guilty only of that which they bad just been told by the Judge Was U A HOOT POINT IN TBE VERY HIGHEST

      QUARTERS , AS TO WHETHER IT WAS AMY OFFENCE IN XAW or wot . " These were the very words of the Judge , when charging the jury , in reference to the allegation contained in the fifth count of the indictment , theionly count upon which O'Connor was convicted . And yet this malignant libeller , knowing this , impudently writes about : — H A convicted criminal , who , either for the most selfish ends , or acting from more recklessness , has instigated hundreds of his deluded fellow-subjects to set the laws of their country at defiance , has

      successfully urged them , by plausible sophistries , to peril the property and dives of themselves , and of all ; within reach of their violence , and succeeded in placing extensive districts under a system of terrorism , and in subjecting them , without compunction , to the calamities of civil war , and after his poor tools have been imprisoned and transported by scores for merely having obeyed his bidding , escapes himself with absolute impunity on the sole ground that the astuteness of some lawyer discovered a clerical error in the indictment . "

      And affirms that " O Connor ought to be now expiating his offences in a dungeon or the hulks" t ! The animus of all this ib so apparent ; the impotence of disappoiuted malice is so obvious , that if wejhadno other proof of thatwhioh we told tbe people at its very beginning—that the Btrike was an infernal faction plot—we should point triumphantly to this article as our best confirmation . Of course the : Leviathan liar and slanderer is followed at a respectaful distance by all tint small fish of the same fry ; The N * ncoTiformi 3 tt the Bradford Observer * the Leeds Mercury Goody Goose and each other petty hireling of factjon has its own " wee" note in ithe wake of " the thunderer ' s" roar .

      ! They will not succeed \ n inducing theATTOBNEYGerbral to prefer a new . indictment against Mr . O'Connor ; for this simple reason : the Attorney-General knows as well as the Times knows that be has no ground of legal accusation against Mr . O'Connor—that he has nothing wherevn to make an in-

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      dictment stand . He has done his best already , and the Judges have shown him that his " best" is " no

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      TO THE EDITOR OF THE M 0 RNIN& ADVERTISER . Sir , —Will you allow me space in your paper for a word of comment upon the brutal and signifioatt attacks to which I have been subjected in the Tintet newspaper , since my successful opposition to tha Messrs . Walter , in their attempts' to usurp the representation of Nottingham . I shall pass over the libels which appeared in that journal in connection with the two elections , and which appeared prior to the recent decision of the Court of Queen ' s Bench upon the Rule to arrest judgment upon the only c junt , in a long indictment , upon which I was tried

      and found guilty at Lancaster . I pass these by ; as * writ in a civil action for those libels was served upon the Solicitor for the Times on the evening preceding the publication of the very ignorant letter of a " Special Plsader , " which appeared in yesterdaj ' a number of that journal . Before I offer a few remarks upon that letter , permit me to observe that I laid the two recent outrageous articles which appeared in the Times newspaper in connexion with my case , before counsel , with the intention of proceeding against the responsible parties , and upon which I received the following opinion , from aa authority which will be considered better than that of the law-recruit of the Times . It runs : —

      " I am of opinion that that part of the article fa tbe Tim : s of tbe 9 th June , 1843 , which I Juts marked With ink in tho margin is a libs ! upon Mr . O'Connor ; and that be might sustain either an indictment , or an action against the proprietors of that paper . I also think it possible that tbe Court of Queen ' s Bench might grant a criminal information against the proprietor upon the application of Mr . O'Conner , bat their bo doing would , I think , mainly depend upon the ability of Mr . O'Connor to negatrre , by affidavit , the truth of the charge contained in thefifth count of the lata indictment against him , on

      which alone I understand he was origina ' . Iy found guilty . Tbe Court expects an applicant for the atraordinary powers of the Court to come before then with clean hands ; and if Mr . O'Connor negative * , oa oath , tbe guilt of the charge imputed to him , I we no reason , in justice , why the Court should not afford him the same protection and advantages which they would afford to any other innocent individual againat so violent and mischievous a lit ) 1 as this appears to me to be . If a criminal information is moved for , it must ba moved this term , which ends next Thursday , and it cannot be moved for the last day of term : "

      Now , Sir , as an Irishman answers one question by asking another , I think £ may answer " Who is the traitor" ? by asking , " Who is the libeller" * With respect to the commentary of the "Special Pleader" upon my speech at Manchester , it applies to the Times' Manchester correspondent rather than to me . In the short notice with wbioh the Times honoured my speech at Manchester , there is not one word of truth . I never mentioned the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , the Irish Secretary , or George IV . ; all of which the Times puts into my mouth . Thero wa 9 not a single resolution passed , although the Times correspondent communicates the fact that several resolutions were passed .

      And now . Sir , as to what I did say relative to the charge of treason . I said : —* ' They talk of making the agitation for Repeal , treason : why , they would have made the agitation for Reform , treason , had they dared to do so . Treason , indeed ! What ! a whole nation to be guilty of treason ! If it was made treason to-morrow , and if my conscience , my mind , and my judgment , approved the treason , then should I be compelled to commit it , in conjunction with my countrymen peacefully struggling against oppression . " Sir , the difference between Mr . Walter and me , as Journalists , is this : my name stands boldly in the imprint , aa the registered

      proprietor , while he tries to gratify his petty vengeance with impunity under that sympathy which a defenceless female would be sure to rewire at the hands of a British jury . I much doubt that there is another instance on record of a journalist so fax prostituting the gentleman to the wounded feelings of the angry politician , as is furnished by the Times in its endeavours to mark me out for unrelenting persecution j and to meet and beat which I rely not more upon my own vigilance and discretion than on the overstrained exertion of Mr . Walter and his tools , and which must create loathing and disgust in the mind of every hoaest Englishman .

      If such are the means by which the Walters hope to dispose of political opponents , they will find themselves mistaken ; for wherever they present themselves before an English constituency there shall I be also , determined to resist so gross a violation of all those rules by which the gentleman , the ' politician , and the journalist should be bound . In conclusion , Sir , I must say that it is ratoet an unfair mode of procedure to have a speech reported for me by the Manchester correspondent of the Times , which I never made , and thea ba arraigaed upon the falsehood when published m the Times .

      I have the honour to remain , Sir , Your obedient Servant , Feargos O'Cohhob . 6 , Chapel-place , Hammersmith , 14 th June , 1843 .

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      W . W . writes asfollows : — . " You have of course seen the letter of Mr . B » 7 f d&te < r May 31 st , to the London Repea ' ers . . « , The move is not a bad one . Under V *>}* nce Jz perilling the canse of Repeal by a connection w those whom Mr . O'Connell . the « august' l e *^ chooses to say are abettors of tbe ' abhorrent awtrine of physical force , ' and under the pretenw that a junction with the Chartists would po «« P among the Repealers , —as if there were not piew of spies among them already , —all pledge of f ™ the slightest power to the people of Ireland- * " * without suffrage there can be poweF-todextewW

      eluded . . " The Repeal movement Is intended , if Jt suceeear •» benefit the Irish aristocracy—and them rfo" * T "; whom the Irish people have always been M *™** by Mr . O'Connell , their ' august' leader . A »' gustm ? Is Dan about to play at King «" Queen t'f We are not blind to the matter any more than oar Correspondent , or our numerous Irish frte T * who write us in like style ; but we renenDer always Mr . O'ConnetCs own ma » im— TMM ' best thing to being riyhl yourself , is to ftd $ <>» enemy completely in the wrong . " If Dan snirs out of it this time , he shall at ieatt have no put

      sible pretest * A Constant Reader— The question U one of & ? law ; upon which being ho lawyer we can gM no opinion that could be safely trusted Ut . E . P . Mead— We are not at aU surprised at the neve * I though we do not think it best to say anylhm just now . Ourfr ' xeiid will excuse the nm ?! f ^ ( ion of his letter , ' tis simply because we think a better for the present to * "let that flea stick ty the wa \ " We are awake and looking out . if * shall most likely " drop our shoe-toe on hu rum f by and by ; but we wait for a . fair kick and a clean one that shall d' > its work . j . Tivebton Chartists— We have not room for w * r

      address . • w James Macpherson , Aberdbew—His letter it mm out by lack uf space .

      The If Obthern Star. Saturday, June 17, 1843.

      THE If OBTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JUNE 17 , 1843 .

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      THE PRESS GANG—THE BLOOD CRY . The Tory press , from the Times downward , is demanding the Blood of the Irish Repealers , with a yell of savage recklessness which we scarcely supposed that at this day could have been assumed . We give , as "a sample of the sack , " the following

      from the mouthpiece of the Sheffield Tories , the Sheffield Mercury . — After some stupid abuse of Popery , the Editorial bloodhound thus proceeds : — " We have already stated that measures are being taken to meet the difficulty at the point of the bayonet . Would it not be better to meet the agitation with a hatter in hand ? We have had a great deal of politicaljspecial pleading of late about abstract rights—there is no evil in social life , no infringement of the common law , that is not capable of being argued by the same mpdus operandi . We want a well-defined cure , not for those who are

      taught rebellion , \ so much as for those who teach it . " * ^ "We trust Parliament will apply a strong remedy to portending evils . " • j * "But , say the Irish demagogues , the Union was an act of the Legislature , svad it is competent iu any British subject to petition for the { Repeal of any Act of Parliament . This is true in the abstract , but the Union—the right of succession—tho Monarchy are all fixed and settled by the Legislature , and , in our opinion , they are all treason or there is no such thing as treason . " j Did ever such a born-fool handle pen before ? ! "The Union—the right of succession—the

      Monarchy , all treason'' ! ; these are his exact words . Gods , what a ""j ^ est possible instructor" ! "It is one thing for Parliament to Repeal an Act having reference to questions of privilege or taxation , and another for the Legislature to stultify itself by an [ Act which deserves no other name than / t / o de se . " I ' * " Sir Robert Peel has no alternative but prompt , immediate , and vigorous measures—measures that shall reach miscreants who carry on a sort of wholesale trade in murder and incendiarism , and who evade the law with impunity . " There , gentle reader , there is the spirit of Toryism with a vengeance . Meet agitation with a halter in hand 1 Should Sir Robert Peel want a * walking gallows" to assist in " tranquillizing " Ireland , we hope he will not forget the special

      claims of tbe " gallows" Editor of the Sheffield Mercury . Declare the Repeal agitation treason , and punish the agitators as traitors ! Softly , Mr . Addlebrains ; if to petition for the Repeal of the Union , or even the alteration of the line of succession , be treason , what were those who altered the succession by expelling James If ., and calling in Dutch William ; Eh 1 We have always heard that they were " glorious revolutionists . " Your doctrine of "treason" " won't do now-a-days , no how , " as the ) Yankees would say . Every generation has clearly the right oi willing by what form of Government it will be protected , —all your musty parchments and Castlereash Acts notwithstanding .. J . From this and other specimens of English

      Toryism , O'Connell may see what he has to expect at the hands of that party . And yet , even at such a moment ; when the hand-writing is on the wall ; when ihe ships are in the offing , and the demon cry of M Put your trust in God , And keep your powder dry , " Is almost ringing through the land ; when the " Tory hunters" 1 are panting for the blood of the Irish people , and waiting but for one false step , to " let Blip the dogB of war" ;

      " Like the swift lightning , which doth cease Ere one ca n-say it lightens ";—at such an hour , O'Connell spurns the aid of the only party in England , who either can or will efficiently assist him in the ! carrying of Repeal ! Well , well ; Dan knows bis ojwn game , or thinks he does so . - His speech at the Corn Exchange , last week , wherein he denounced the English Chartists , has created a spirit of indignation against him that may not be very easily allayed . We speak not of the Chartists , but of the Repealers , whose grief and vexation at this conduct | of O'Connell it is impossible adequately to describe . The best possible feeling was existing between them and the Chartists , who were mutually aiding andlassisting each other , when

      lo I Mr . O'Connell throws in the apple of discord ' and strives to undo all the good that has been effected by the real patriots of both parties . Many parties , even of his best friends , speak and write most strongly on the matter . Wo are inundated with letters to which we , acting from a different pirit to that which the writers ascribe to him , do not give currency ] . We desire to give every man credit for the best motives by which he can be actuated ; and we make Mr . O'Connell no exception . Possibly he may have in view some stroke of

      policy which we do not yet see , and which may sufficiently excuse the apparent suicidal course he is pursuing : " Charity hopeth all things . " But let O'Connell be wary . We have laboured hard to obtain for him with the English Chartists credit for sincerity in this movement—credit for a honest purpose to carry through Repeal , and not to bully back the Whigs to power ; if this be his purposeif he be as honest now as we ( have tried to think , let him not prevent the hands and hearts of Irishmen from uniting for the salvation of their

      fatherland ; nor imagine that Ireland can obtain her freedom by the disunion of her sons . Many Irishmen who have uot yet joined the Repeal Association , but were about to do so , declare that , if the English Chartists are to be expelled , they will not join it . Others , who are members , declare that they will now join the Chartist Association . Let O'Cgnnell pause ere he finally reject the generously tendered co-operation of the English Chartists ; let him reflect that the battle is not yet over , nor the victory won . And , at all events , let not his con duct , absurd and ] foolish though it may be , induce Englishmen to Ire unjust to others and themselves ; to withhold their aid from Ireland struggling for

      her rights . Let us remember always that honour and interest combine to induce us to sympathise with our Irish brethren . Honour bids us to assist them , that the remembrance of crimes committed by English tyrants may be effaced by the fraternal deeds of English ' patriots ; and interest , that our labour market may be freed from Irish competition , and all the deadly consequences which have followed in its train ; while the manly feeling » f our nature should command us to assist them that the right may triumph . * ^ _ _

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      THE FACTORY BILL . The Educational Clauses of this great measure have been withdrawn ; the Government of this country have actually , cowed before the bristling , bust'ing , bullying of Mr . Edw . Baines , and a few scores of hypocritical , ignorant , and malignant Dissenting parsons , acting as catspaws for the mammonocraoy by whom their several conventicles are upholden . This is the most disgraceful act of which the Government have been guilty during their whole career , and proveB , more clearly than any other thing could have done their sense of their own want of power for anything but evil . This is , at all events , the most charitable light in which to view the matter ; for , if we do not thus think , we must

      conclude that their original purpose , in the introduction of the measure , was one of mere clap-trap , and that they are glad to be relieved by tbe virulence of pharisaism from the performance of a task ia which they felt no real interest . Will the protective clauses of the Bill follow the Educational ones ? We think it most likely that they will : they will not be less virulently assaulted , and we see little chance of

      the left hand of the Government ' s humanity offering any effective resistance to the power which has paralysed its right . Sir James Graham knows perfectly where the ] ahoe pinches ; he understands , as well as any our of all of them , what all the barking and bristling has been about ; and we guess that we shall hear no more of the Factory Bill at all , if the people don't callj into exercise a power of coercion greater than that of the Dissenting Parsons and their Leeds bully of the Mercury .

      8to Aaeaticrjs Ana ©Omgpan&Entf.

      8 To aaeaticrjs ana © omgpan&entf .

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      THE FOURTH COUNT . We bard watched the proceeding of Qaeen ' g Bench every day since the argument of this Count on behalf of the defendants , when the Court were to " take time to consider their judgment , " but though looking ' * nights and mornings" until Thursday ' s Sun brought us the proceedings of the last day of term , we have perceived no account of it . Judg . ment cannot now be pronounced upon that Count until November . We did suppese that the Fourth Coont would follow the Fifth , but this delay has somewhat altered our opinion . We now apprehend that the Government have a deep fetch" in thus

      delaying judgment . Some of the parties for whose punishment they are most anxious are at present out of the country ; there was not time , supposing judgment had been given last Friday , for them to have legal notice , and be brought up for sentence this term ; and we apprehend the notion was to be if the jud gment should be given against the Count , and the con * victfons under it affirmed , these parties being oat of harm ' s reach would keep so ; whereas it is supposed that this procrastination may induce the supposition that all intention of punishment is given up , and that so the parties may return and put themselves into " the hands of the Philistines . '

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      4 ' THE NORTHERN STAR , j '

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), June 17, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1217/page/4/