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THE EXECUTIVE TO THE CHARTIST BODY.
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1 - TO DANIEL O'CONNELLj M.P,
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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orR , —1 HAT © bo aonbt mat you will teel some astonishment at the tone in which I au \ about to address you . It is not one of-vexation or . anger , but of joy-and exaltation . If yon hare been placed inabeiler poation by the indomitable courage-of our countrymen , than , you would have occupied , had their subserviency allowed you to select your own course , it " may annoy and wound those who attach juore importance to yotcr rain , than they do to the salvation of their country . Upon the contrary ,
there is no one circumstance that has inspired me with EtroDgex , hope of my eoaniry ' s regeneration , thantbatproudaad exalted position in which &e unswerving mind of Ireland has now placed yon . I do not stop to ask "what your situation would have been if youiad not had Bagaeity enough to hare gone round to the right point in compliance with the public breath j but finding you there , from your present position , I for the first time in . my life see a prospect of Ireland ' sTedemption .
In the outset of the pending struggle , I warned you that one of three sacrifices wonld take place ; either that the Act of Union must be sacrificed ; the Irish priesthood must be sacrificed ; or you would be sacrificed . - Yon , Sir s were near being the offering : and boundless indeed should be your gratitnde to that Irish firmness which sayed you . I further told you that the present administration would not be satisfied with merely extinguishing the match , but
that it would exhaust its erery resource to scatter the pile . As far as one tt »» t » could , I gave you a strength and support "which you had ne ' righfc to expect at my handB . I gave it to yon , as I then stated , for the purpose of making you so strong that retreat would be treason . I watched the movement from its infancy , and assisted , in the outset , in giving you to © much strength to waste . upon your eriginal intention—the restoration of the "Whiffs to
"The position that you now occupy iB one of responsibility and danger ; one that you never courted ; one ^ that you never anticipated- ; one that of all other things you would if possible have avoided . Circumstances , howerer , hare placed you there ; and in proportion to the danger and responsibility you are entitled to protection and support . I am now dealing with you as public opinion has a right to deal with public men—as machines to be worked for the public good . "What I write to yon yoa are already aware of ; and , therefore , the object of this correspsndenee is , not io enlighten you , bnt to instruct the public mind as to your present positioB , and the probabilities which m&ko for and against you .
Josi now great importance is attached to the pendirg prosecutions . While , however they may jerTe to fill your exchequer , you must naturally look upon them as forming but a yery small portion of Tory tactics . Nay , further , I must presume that you are aware that an acquittal would but serye as a pretext to strain all the arts of oppression beyond all the subtleties of the law .-My own impression is , that your greatest danger , and Ireland ' s greatest danger , lies in an arquhtal ; while your conTictioD will not be without its dangers also . Of course yon are aware of the parties in the Cabinet , upon whose recommendation active
measures hare been taken to give a finishing blow to the Repeal agitation . It is necessary that the public should also know those parties . Lyadhurst ( urged on by Brougham ) "Wellington , Graham , and Stanley j-e iha sopportera of sunlhilaiion at this side of the water ; while De Grey and the Attorney-General , Mr . T . B . Smith , at the other side , will persecute you with a personal yindktiyeness , rather than with a view io ayenge the offended law . Yon may take my word for it , that there is as much personal vengeance as public duty mixed up with the present prosecutions ; and therefore you must be prepared on all hands to meet your legal and personal
persecutors . Yon hare learned from recent events Sir , that the Echoohn&ster who teaches cannot unteaeh . You hare had a practical example of what the effect of your teaching would be likely to "be ^ were you to ran counter to those maxims , rules , and principles , of which you hare been an exiensiye expounder and teacher- Had not pnblie opinion driven " you , as if by magic , from the adoption ol what is called TzDEBixiat I should , at-all risks and hazard , have
raised the standard of unconditional Repeal myself in Ireland ; and you know sir , and I know foil well , that your every thought , for the last eight years , has teen directed , io a consideration of those means by which yon co . uld ^ ensure my absence from my native country . After so many years of deliberation you have at length been enabled to solve the riddle ; Jt is bj being honest , consistent , and brave ; and by no longer attempting to use that mighty power which you have created for the mere attainment of paltry personal purposes .
"With eomuch of an exordium , I shall now , for the first time , enter into communication with you upon the several charges that , from time to time , you have brought against the English Chartists ; first ¦ premising that jour great hostility to that body was exclusively founded upon their opposition to the "Whig party i and that your several charges against them were the mere fabrications of your own mind ; falsehoods concocted and used for the mere purpose of justifying your refusal to accept an amount of Efrengih which do other party could have given to those who were honestly engaged in the pursuit of public liberty .
You must understand , Sir , that your greatest Enemies are those who would spoil you by following yon with blind submission . You are now in a posiiioa which enables you to serve the cause of snrrersal liberty ; you can no longer retard it ; and ihe only qnestion for your consideration is , whether your honest co-operation or desertion can bring about the desired change with ihe most security and speed . You have spoken yery contemptuously , from timeio time , of support that has been tendered
Io you from different quarters ; while you have spoken with great reverence of aid that ias been tendered from Eources from whence you could derive no pos-Eible strength . In rejecting the co-operation of the Chartist body , ( which by the way was never tenoeredto jon , bat to the service of the Irish people ) yon have stated your reasons to be , firstly , " ihe physical farce doctrines preached by the Chartist leadere ^ " and secondly , their interference with tiemtetinga of other bodies . "
Kow , Sir , ^ with iegard the first charge , you are perfectly aware that it was made by individuals of yeur own party , for the mere purpose of covering their own more "violent expressions ; just in the same manner as yonr exuberant loyalty has been bestowed personally npon the Queen , while tie lawyers say that you have been endeavouring io curtail ier prerogative . Mark , I do not object to thi 3 curtailment , if the exercise of the prerogative iends to curtail public liberty . I merely use it as an illustration . After the many -violent struggles that the Chartist body has sustained
against this prerogatiTe , and tie law ' s- yengeance , I defy you , with the single exception of Newport , to point out a angle instance in which ihe Chartists have had recourse to physical force , and there it was forced upon them . Of course , in an admonitory letter , it i 3 not my intention to repeat the invitations to the battle field j the exhortations to be in readiness ; and the declarations of physical capability that have been addressed to the Irish people from time to time by your followers . I pass orer your mild criiieKnn upon the Ibbeoca
ontireais , when sanctioned by a portion of the middle classes , as compared with your rabid denunciation of ihe Newport riots , in which tie Chartists were implicated ; and , above all , I abstain from more ihaa hinting at the insidnous manner in which you i » ve sought to mix my name np with every libel ihat has l « en published against the Chartist body . You are now surrounded by bo many of ihe blessings of * physical force , * that I shall dismiss that branch of my subject , by merely reminding you frat altered circumstances may have produced Borne alteration
myour opinions . I ^ hall now apply myself to the consideration of jour second charge—that of Chartist interference with the meetings of other bodies . You , sir , were perfectly aware that when ihe "Whig psrcy had lost all pnblic confidence , and were abcnt to be hurled from power , that you , together wiih its *? losgstops" on the Whig side , were
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obliged to have recourse to a system of new agitation , to prop up their declining influence . In the outset , the question of a Repeal of the Corn Laws was intended as a large demand ; and the confirmation of Whig power for seven more years was to have been the first instalment ; and it was only upon the failure of that sliding scale that the present society of Total Abolitionists ^ without apparent reference to Whig restoration , was established . The working classes of England , who have tasted of the tender mercies of the Fhee Tbadebs , were naturally astonished that their demands for cheap bread
should have increased in an exact ratio with the inability of their party to carry a Repeal of the Corn Laws . The question was hotly agitated in 1841 ; and however Melbourne , Palmerston , and Russell , might have coquetted about the subject , yet the object of the Free Traders , in the first instance , was to insure a Whig majority upon a dissolution of Parliament . Yon are perfectly aware that favour is notlconrted under the name , but under , the measures of a party ; and hence the contest at the last general election was between " Monopolists" and ** Anti-monopolists "; both parties sinking their
political names , but each contending for the ascendancy of its own party . You will then observe that the whole qnestion of political excitement being carried on under the specious form of Free Trade , the object of that party was to prove to the world that Whiggery , of which Free Trade was but the shadow , was in the ascendant . The Chartists , upon the other hand , agitated for the substance . They agitated for their old principles They agitated for the means of carrying out the
professed objects of the Free Traders ; and had they not done se , the result would have been , as indeed the object was , to destroy Chartism , and place Whiggery in the ascendant , under the Free Trade banner . Yob are aware , Sir , that there is a grand principle in English agitation , in which Ireland is as yet deficient . In England the working men do their own business , make their own speeches , and manage their own affairs . In Ireland those things are , as vet , done for them .
The Chartists had no alternative , in this bye-battle of Free-Trade-Whiggery , but to hoist their own standard . And now , Sir , you must learn the amount of their great fault , as you would call it , and the reasons which led to its commission . In the first place , the Chartists attended public meetings of the Free Traders , and moved no amendments to their resolutions . The result was , that the Whig press claimed the whole Chartist body as acquiescing in the new principle of Whiggery . When the Chartists discovered this trick , played off by the whole of the metropolitan and provincial press , they attended
the Free Trade meetings , and merely demanded the right of discussion , still abstaining from proposing an amendment . This privilege was not only refused , but those who asked for it were knocked down upon the platform ; and , after being brutally treated , were handed over to the custody of the police , as common felons . And you must bear in mind that wherever a moral triumph of this sort was achieved by the friends ofRberty , their conduct was lauded to the skies ; the Morning Chronicle , upon one occasion , highly approving of their oonduct towards a poor working man , who was dragged from the platform , brutally beaten , and rolled in the gutter .
After a series of brutal outrages of a similar kind , the Chartists , as a body , came to the resolution of placing their principles in juxta-position with those of the Free Traders . Their first step was to move amendments , not in opposition to Free Trade , but shewing the only means by which Free Trade could be accomplished , as well as the only means by which it could be made materially instead of sectionally beneficial . The Chartists invariably had both the reason and large majorities on their side ; but the chairman being appointed from the Free Trade ranks , and not with the consent of the meeting , upon
many occasions declared the Free Trade resolutions " carried , " against a Chartist amendment , even when the hands in favour of the latter were more than ten to one . This injustice forced upon the Chartists the necessity of appointing a chairman by a vote of the meeting . The result was , that the Chartist chairman invariably invited discussion , and preserved orderj and the meetings terminated with an ovewhelming majority for the Chartist principles . Instead of being longer looked upon as the mere
Free-Trade-tail of Whiggeiy , and only noticed as such even by their own organs , the Chartists at once assumed a triumphant position , and ensured column after column in every paper in England , intended as chastisement , but proving our superiority . Ab a matter of course they called us tyrants ; but better that , than slaves . The yery term tyrant shewed that we were able to dictate ; while all must confess that our superior strength was mildly used , and west no further than claiming the victory , after the battle had been fairly fought and fairly won .
It was this timely manifestation of our strength that enabled us to kill Whiggery at the last genera election . The free-trade agitation was intended to perpetuate the rule of our tyrant task-maskers , and your objection to Chartifm may be explained in a single sentence : thus ; it dbsxeoted Whiggeky . Before I give you more general and extensive reasons for Chartist opposition to Free Traders , allow me io make an observation or two upon subjects which appear to have eecaped your attention . Do yon recollect your visit to Manchester , at Easter , in 1841 ? Do you remember yonr declaration made there npon ihe eve of a great meeting in Stevenson ' s Square , to the effect that the Chartists were all
Orangemen ! Do you recollect the description of discussion that took place in Stevenson ' s-square , when the bludgeon was the best argument that could be used in support of Free Trade , under the auspices of Mr . Cobden , and the Free Trade authoritie 3 ? Did you denounce that system of interference with the right of public meeting ! And , again , when I aDd thirty-six other Chartists were brutally assaulted by a band of ruffians hired by the League , and when hatchets , stones , pokers , and daggers were used » 3 Free Trade arguments : did you then object to that mode ef discussion ? Ho , Sir : that was " physical force" upon the right side ; and therefore justifiable .
I shall now compare the Chartists' mode of transacting business with your mode . You never can hope to establish your principles without discussion . You say that you court discussion : and it is only after discussion that the pnblic mind can arrive at proper conclusions ; aBd yet your Repeal wardens , acting under the instructions of your Privy Council in Dublin , nave issued orders to the Irish Repealers in England not to attend Chabtjst Meetings
Now , Sir , I wonld ask yon whether such folly does not at once establish the fact , that the principles of Chartism "being based upon truth are dangerous to all those clap-trap propositions , which , however , they may glitter by themselves , are nevertheless sure to lose their lustre when placed beside the brighter thing ? Having so far justified our course with reference to the Free Trade war , I shall now proceed to submit general objections which the working classes have to the Tree Trade party .
The Chartists do not object to the principles of Free Trade . On the contrary , they have invariably declared , that one of the first acts of a Chartist Parliament , wonld be to declare for perfect Free Trade ; while its accomplishment , without the power to be made nationally beneficial , would but place the labourer more than ever at the mercy of the capitalist . However , Sir , as the position which I am now about to explain has never been canvassed by any portion of the press , I beg your undivided attention to the reasons why the working classes object to the triumph of the Free Trade party . I have shown you that they do not so much object to the carrying out of their one single measure , as
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they do to the entrusting indiscriminate power in their hands . The term Free Trade , of itBelf , may appear very innocent and harmless ; but , Sir , when we recollect that although a single motto upon their banner , that there are many passions , prejudices , and feelings to be marshalled under it , we naturally become alarmed at the power whioh the incorporation of those passions , prejudices , and feelings would
place in the bands of one political party , to whom Free Trade , having ensured ascendancy , would become a very minor , if not a wholly insignificant , consideration . You . must be perfectly aware , that the success of that party in the accomplishment of their professed end , mast lead to their political ascendancy ; and it is in that character as a full band of politicians , and not as Paginini fiddling upon on * string , that the people dread them .
It may appear harmless to muster a party upon so apparently philauthrophio grounds ; but see the subsequent battles , which as conquerors , they must fight , to make tha first victory available . Their battle is transfer , not correction . Aa Free Traders they profess but a unity of opinion upon one question ; -but let the triumph of that once establish their ascendancy , and then , the several sections of which the Free Trade party is now composed will demand their several rewards for their services in the good fight .
We view them , Sir , m their corporate capacity ; and in that light , we see the Dissent wing claiming , not toleration or equality , but ascendancy ; we see the Capitalist claiming the superiority of machinery over man ; we see the active operation of money , which is their type of power , gaining such an ascendancy over the laws and their administration as to make justice a mockery : in their ascendancy we recognize the depopulation of the land at home , to the exact amount required for the working of inanimate machinery : in their ascendancy we recognize the pollution of the source of justice by the
appointment of cruel oppressors , instead of impartial justices : in a word , Sir , in their ascendancy we recognize all the perfect machinery for the purchase of cheap slave-labour , with the political power to ] chastise the spirits that dare to rebel against their unholy system . We have never opposed Free Trade as a mere isolated boon . We have opposed it for the reasons that I have assigned ; because the Dissenters struggle for ascendancy , not to destroy the State Church , but to transfer its emoluments to their own body ;
because Capitalists seek for ascendancy , not to destroy what is vicious in the agricultural system , but to take advantage of it for their own profit ; because , as a political party , they do not speak of , neither do they intend to redress , a single grievance , bnt merely to transfer them from Tory to Whig hands , fastening the burden more tightly than ever npon the backs of the people , their principal object being to melt the people down by oppression to that state of subserviency which would ensure them as willing slaves .
Thus sir , you find that this is the second struggle , — the Reform Bill was the first , —for the ascendancy of active capital over Bluggish land . But sinking all political titles and distinctions , and hating Toryism as much as any man living , yet a thousand times over let me bear the oppression against whioh I can straggle rather than tamely submit to a tyranny against which I could make no stand . You have now learned our position , and our objections to giving a multifarious power to an illassorted , but yet partially united faction . I have struggled against each in turn ; and with God ' s bleBSing I will still continue to do so . I have been mainly instrumental in creating a power , the
foundation of which I laid in Marylebone , on the 18 th of September , 1835 : and which I then stated would henceforth be a tower of strength to the good man , and a terror to the evil doer . That power , Sir , you must now court . It is the mountain : you are but Mahomet . It is too great for any man to wield . It can be only moved by the magic wand of justice . Do justice , Sir ; and , as a necessary consequence , its aim being justice , it will be ready to support you ; but lay not the flattering unction to your soul , that any man living can tender that oo-operation for the accomplishment of any thing short of your reassumed position ; and believe not that any man living can withhold it from you as long as your battle is for right .
You will bear in mind , Sir , that , previously to the establishment of the great Radical Association , in 1855 , I told you in the Westminster-Club , after your acquiesence in the Lords ' s Amendments to the Irish Municipal Bill , that I would raise a popular party that 50 a could neither buy nor sell . I have done it , Sir ; and : upon that party you must fall back , or fall down . And if , hitherto , your unchecked career has induced you to run on , without thought , from one position to another , I would now implore you , Sir , to take a few hours' serious deliberation , — not . with those whose danger is comparatively trifling , and who live upon the wages of agitation ; bnt call men of honour , and especially the Roman Catholio Clergy , to your counoils , and repair the
fault that you have committed , —that of allowing yourself to be taken by surprise . Mark , Sir ; the Arms Bill comes into operation on Monday next ; and recollect that in the outset , I told you in the Northern Star that that Bill would be the means of rallying all the old Orange prejudices against the Irish Catholics ; and be assured that their nerves will be strengthened by the military array now placed at their disposal . You are not to argue any diminution of their apparent hatred from their inactivity during your triumphant summer ' s campaign ; but you are on the contrary to suppose that their retribution will be deadly , and that their pent-up passions will demand a full flow of Irish Catholio blood , as a setoff against their temporary submission .
Sir , entertain no hope of lenity from the English Cabinet , or from the Irish Executive . Believe me that you are now at issue . The Government would not now allow you to abandon your positioa , without making an example of you to serve as an extinguisher during their time . You have one course open yet , and only one ; take all advantages that the law will admit of ; rather demur to the whole
matter contained in the Indictment than go to trial with a packed Jury ; and instead of again being taken by surprize , prepare the brave millions who have such unbounded confidence in you for the worst ; hot for a PHYSICAL ENCOUNTER . ' not to present their unarmed persons to an armed soldiery ! but to take such steps as , in the event of the triumph of the Government , will { verify your
declaration—Ya viclis . Woe to the ConquebobJ If yon fail , Sir , to achieve a triumph for Irelandstrip that of her oppressors of its value ; and , instead of longer deluding the Irish people with a false statement , that the English working classes have no sympathy for them , for the first time in your life avow yourself the champion of the rights of labour , and cease to be the stalking-horse of capital , and the supporter of legitimacy . Turn , Sir , from prejudice to truth , and from speculation to an honest warfare for the rights of man .
I had originally intended to have addressed you in a different manner and in a different tone ; bnt , as I have stated , the new position in which Irish courage has placed you has induced me to alter my original intention , and has made me determine that even yet you shall not fall back upon English working class indifference as a justifiable reason for abandoning that whioh , with a thorough knowledge of the pros and cons , you have so religiously promised to accomplish . I for one , Sir , shall not hold you to the exact day upon which Ireland ' s triumph is to be achieved . On the contrary 1 am ready tp allow you the right of meeting stratagem by counter stratagem ; aud so far from counselling jou to rush
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prematurely-forward against irresistible odds , as an Irishman , I merely require that if you are stopped you do not retreat ; and if you are obliged to retreat that it will be no further than absolute necessity compels . Beware , Sir , how you waste or apply the strength that it has cost the nation much to create . Be assured that rebellion is determined upon ; and thac you are looked upon as the obstacle in the way of social improvement , and will be therefore the mark for faction ; and then , Sir , when the day of trouble , now stealing upon you , comes , you willVdiscover whether Feargus O'Connor , who would not blindly follow you , or those , who have subserviently acquiesced in your meandering policy , was most to
be relied upon . Yes , Sir , should you become a captive in the felon ' s cell , the table of the House of Commons shall groan under petitions for your release , if I caii procure them ; and the untrammelled mind of England shall teaoh youj Sir , that from one end of the land to the other , when injustice is perpetrated all cause of difference is forgotten . If they put you ia prison , Sir , I'll try to have you out again , and that , to ' o , by peaceable and constitutional means ; and then , Sir , I shall look baok to the gloom of the dark dungeon where I spent sixteen months unnoticed and uncared for , with the consolation that your neglect has not obliterated my sense of duty to all those who are persecuted and oppressed .
I shall continue to address you until the struggle is at an end . In concluding for the present , I would say , be cautious ; be guarded . Upon no account allow yourself to be hustled into crowds , either in the Four Courts , or in the streets ; for be assured that the days of Sidmouth and Castlereagh are near at hand ; and that : the law failing in its vengeance , the assassin who would deprive you of life would be considered as a good substitute , and would be rewarded as such . Again , I caution you
against the supposition that an acquittal would be allowed to be a triumph . You know what the preparations for your destruction have cost ihe country , and that nothing short of your ruin would be considered as an equivalent . Be not afraid of English opinion while you arc right . Expeot nothing from it where you are wrong , and therefore to insure its support , convince the world that you are right . I am , Sir , ¦ Feabgus O'Connor .
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- " - " ^^ —~~ - ~~ . TO THE WORKING CLASSES . My dear Friends , —I shall firstly conclude the narrative of my tour , and then offer some observations upon our present position . In my last , I brought you down to the meeting at Dumfries , which was held in Baillie Book ' s Show Rooms , in consequence of M ' Kenzie , the Liberal Non- Intrusion Parson , having broken faith with his own Committee and the Chartists . The reason assigned by this Liberal Parson tot refusing his chureh is so curious , and at the same time so complimentary to myself , that I must mention it . He said , " that if I addressed his flock upon Chartist principles , those who
heard mo would , upon the following Sunday , when he was preaching , have my words uppermost in their thoughts . " Howover , he did refuse us the church ; bsit as I have before observed , we had a capital meeting in Baillie Beck ' s Show Rooms , and subsequently about eighty-four of the leading Chartists of Dumfries and surrounding distriots sat down to a good and substantial supper at the Temperance Hotel , where speaking and singing was kept up till nearly one o ' clock in the morning . . Messrs . Andrew Wardrop , Peter Gray , and William M'Douall , with a few other good fellow's have kept Chartism alive in Dumfries ; but it remained for ttoeRsv . Mr . M'Kenzie and myself to set it blazing .
On Wednesday in . consequence of a mistake made by Peter Gray in communicating with Arthur at Carlisle , I was obliged to post off from Dumfries to Carlisle . Gray understood me to say that I would not beat Carlisle till Thursday night , and wrote to Arthur to that effect . I was not aware of the fact until two o ' clock , when I instantly started and did the thirty-three miles in three hours and a-half . When I arrived all was consternation , and I discovered that the meeting ihad been postponed till the following night . The drums and bellman were instantly set to work to convene the meeting for that evening , and at eight o ' clock the Atherieum was literally wedged . It is the largest public building in Carlisle ; and although many poor
handloom weavers , out of employment , Were admitted free , yet between five and six pounds , at a penny a-head , was received at the door . James Arthur was called to the chair , and briefly introduced me to the meeting . The pressure in every point was so great that we could not secure order for fully half an hour . The passages were full aud the street outside was it ' ned . I made two speeches —the one upon general topics , which appeared to give general satisfaction , and the other , in reply to a very complimentary addresa that was presented to me by the working people . After the business was over and three hearty cheers were given for Duncombe , I proceeded with the work of enlistment and added 330 to the noble army of Chartists , That
work being completed , the hearty fellows of Carlisle formed a prooession , and with their band playing and flags waving in the night breeze they escorted me to my hotel ; and thus terminated a tour whioh I would not undertake again for any sum of money . From the 3 rd of October to the 1 st of November I have addressed tho people in the following places : London and Manchester five times ; Huddersfield , Bradford , arid Halifax once ; Newcastle seven times ; Seghill once ; South Shields three times ; Sunderland once ; Sheddons Hill twice ; Edinburgh twice ; Leith once ; Dundee twice ; Montrose once ; Arbroath once ; Aberdeen three times ; Glasgow once ; Dumfries twice ; and Carlisle once . I have travelled within that period very near fifteen hundxed miles . I have enrolled nearly seven thoBBand members , tbua putting nearly sixty pounds into the
Chartist exchequer . Let the reader ponder for a moment upon the importance of those several places , the principal towns in England and Scotland ; let him reflect upon the means that have been resorted to to destroy my character and my influence ; and let him then learn , not from myself , but from the several localities , what my reception was , and the amount of service that I have rendered to the cause ; and he may take all as an answer to tho blundering Parry , the cantankerous and jealous Lovett , and the whole tribe of disappointed " pedlars , " whose packs I have emptied of Chartist wares . I had not visited some of those places for four years , and during that period , every engine has been at work to destroy my influence with the working classes ; and yet , with tho single exception of the honest Mr . Mathers ( not Mavors , as printed in the Northern Star ) , of South Shields , not one of my revilers had the manliness to meet me personally .
From all that I have seen within this period , I have come to the conclusion that all parties desirous of change , whether organic or administrative , must join in the demand for Chartist principles . I argue thus : from August 1842 , to tho present time , all adverse parties have had unchecked sway , while the disasters of the Strike paralysed the Chartist body , even as a defensive force . The Anti-Corn-Law League , with immense funds at its back—the Complete Suffragists , with impunity for their protection—the Whigs , with legitimacy for their safe guard—have all , one and all , separately and collectedly , endeavoured to recruit their ranks from our scattered forces ; while , notwithstanding the several disheartening circumstances by whioh we
were surrounded , I venture to assert that not one dozen Chartists have gone over to any section of the enemy . This is something , and not a little either . It is something that the Chartists should have held their ground for so long a period of inactivity ; and it is something more , that the whole body should have been prepared , as if by magic , to throw off their lethargy , and once more rally round the sacred standard as soon as it was reared . The impression upon my mind is , that much of the fifty thousand pounds' League money has been spent in an endeavour to crash Chartism by one means or other . That it has failed to do so , however , will be discovered in the fact , that while the vultures hover over their
prey m small villages , they are afraid to venture into any one of the large towns . Hence we find them at Haddington , Within a few miles of Edinburgh , rejoicing in a meeting of five or six hundred , while they dare not enter Edinburgh . So in Lancashire ; wtifiud them valiant iu Lancaster , while they dare not enter Manchester , or one of the large towns in that important county . The observer naturally asks , why the operations of the League are not exclusively confined to those districts where the promised advantage of " high wages , cheap bread , and plenty to do , " would be moat anxiously contended for , and most efficiently supported ? The answer ia , that if machinery has ceutralized poverty , it has
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also centralized publio opinion ; and the poor , forlorn operatives , to whom so much is promised by the accomplishment of Free Trade , have had many a bitter taste of the comparatively little power which their Free Trade patrons already possess , aud they know full well what the result to them of the increased power of their patrons would be . Henceforth they will be competed to confine their exertions to bribery at elections ; a process which , while land confers the franchise , they will find wearisome and unproductive . When beaten there , however , they never ! will join the working men for their rights , as they would much prefer the shackles remaining upon trade to the political fetters being taken off the working classes . By a shrewd course
howeyer , wo can redder this bubble party wholly innoxious , by convincing the shopkeepers , who aro now their principal supporters , that machinery , the god of the League , is the devil of the shopkeeper . Where rer I have gone I have successfully inculcated that feeling upon the minds of the shop-keeping class ; and I believe it bnt requires a good following up to draw the shopkeeping class from the Free Traders . As for the Complete Suffrage party ,. I need not mention them . The position v « Moh a few individuals assumed as a party was not likely to be long maintained . Mr . Duncombe scattered them ; and O'Connell baa blown them into air . Surely , if a few Orangemen of the North of Ireland were worth a big drum , the proferred
service of Joseph should have been received with some little noise ; however , O'Connell assures them that they hava no power , that they sever will have power , and that therefore their professed co-operation iB not worthy ] Irish acceptance . As for the Whigs , that new fangled party consists of freetraders , Complete Suffragists , and Whig placehunters , from whom j nothing , not even opposition to Toryism , can be expected ; and therefore we propose to leave them upon the bleak side of the Treasury , until they are { prepared to practically carry out the maxim "that the people are the only source of political power , " by guaranteeing to the whole prople twenty representatives of their opinions in the House of Commons . To this point we must next
direct our attention ; and when we have ascertained through tho agency of Mr . Duncombe , that wecan rely upon an honest fulfilment of those conditions , the whole people , who cannot now appoint one policeman , would find little difficulty in effecting a dissolution of Parliament . ] I have made this next step one of the leading features ia my recent addresses ; and I find that it has been most favourably received . In fact this is the proper mode of directing that public opinion whioh has been created and organized ; and to this object we should incessantly direct our attention , so that the thief shall not again steal upon us in the dark . If we turn our attention to the triumphs gained by the working classes in the recent Municipal struggles , all will immediately discover the fact which 1 have so long endeavoured to impress upon their minda , that the people richly
deserve every grievance of which they complain , because the removal of one and all is in their own power , and may be easily accomplished by a union of their own order . It must be borne in mind that for years I have laboured to teaoh the working classes that Municipal power were the small wheels which , if properly arranged , would causa an alteration in the large wheels of Government . It is of all things necessary thai corporate power should be opposed to the existing ministry ; and it is my opinion , that if the Municipal machinery was well worked , it would open an easy road ( to the accomplishment of the People's Charter . To this end then I trust that publio opinion will be well directed—that is , to the enforcement of twenty Chartist members into the next House of Commons , aud the proper management of Municpal machinery as a principal means of effecting that end . :
The whole of the press-gang , both Whig and Tory , are making a dreadful noiso about Mr . Duncombe ' s declaration of Charter Reform . It is not wonderful that the Tories should do so ; but why the Free Trade portion of the press should feel any annoyance , astonishes me , and I'll tell you why . Because the Free Traders have made a mighty boast of their triumph in the City of London in the return of Mr . Pattison . But as I : am sure tkat that gentleman would much rather owe his seat to the unsought interference of a friend than to the tricks of the trade , it may not be amiss to tell him to whom he really does owe his triumph . These , then , axe the facts of the case . The Chartists had resolved upon making a powerful ( anti-Whig and anti-Tory
demonstration at the recent nomination , and had determined upon going ! to the poll with a candidate pledged to the whole principles of the Charter . With those intentions , a very influential Committee waited upon Mr . Duncombe , for the purpose of oon-Butiing him upon the matter . Mr . Duncombe told them that they themselves could not select a candidate who would go ifarther than Mr . PatHaon in support of every liberal measure , and that he was sure he would vote for the Six Points of the People ' s Charter . The perfect reliance which the working men have in Mr . Dunoombe made that explanation perfectly satisfactory , and the Chartists set to work in their several localities to canvas for Mr . Pattison . The remit was that
they did not propose a candidate ; that he got the show of hands , as well as a majority of votes ; while , had itj not been for Mr . Duncombe , I hare no hesitation in saying that Baring would hare beaten him by a large majority . Pattison ' s majority was 165 ; consequently if 83 out of the whole number that polled for him had voted for Baring , Baring would have been returned ; and I believe , neither Whig or Tory will dispute the fact , that the Chartists could have ensured a show of hands and have polled between three ; and four hundred votes for their man ; therefore ! Mr . Pattison may consider himself in a much more honourable position than that of " creature of the League : " he is the "People ' s" member . I was in the House with Mr .
Pattison ; and there was not half a dozen members so thoroughly democratic ; and I pledge myself , as Mr . Dunoombe pledged himself , that he will vote for every point of tne People ' s Charter ; for separation of Church and State ; j and for all other moral and religious measures . : 1 have acquired mnch knowledge from my present tour . I have witnessed a firm and decided resolution on the part of the working classes to have their Charter ; and although I admit , and freely , that the Cnarter may be considered a poverty question , yet , notwithstanding the fabt that trade has experienced a general improvement thoughout the two countries , yet contrary to the received opinion of our opponents , that improvement ha <} not damped the ardour ,
or lessened the enthusiasm , of the Chartist body . If I may judge from the exhibitions that I have seen , we have a right to anticipate a glorious representation of public opinion in our next Convention ; and if ever there was a time when it behoved the friends of freedom in ; this country to look sharp after their few remaining privileges , for rights they have none , now ia ih& time . I tell them that neither Sidmouth nor Castlereagh , were greater enemies to popular liberty than Wellington and Graham . I tell them that never did the English bench furnish more Jeffries at the disposal of the Crown than at present . I tell them that never was a more dangerous officer entrusted with the administration of the law than the present Solicitor-General . He is a powerful man ; and if he has one ambition stronger than another , it is to convince his masters that he is more powerful than the law . It iB his glory to
make tight wrong , and jwrong tight . The Attorney-General has a heart to feel , and a mind that would controul him even in ttbe exercise of his political professional duties . The Solicitor-General has no feeling . There never ] was a more thorough political machine . The j magistrates , whenever the struggle comes between the people and their oppressors will , without exception , be upon the side of tyranny . Now all these are fearful odds against a party , whose power consists of numbers and union ; however , with a perfect union of numbers we can beat them all . We are not to attach muoh importance to the present apparent calm , asi it would not suit the tactics of our present rulers to carry on war against the Irish , the ( Welsh , the Scotch , and the English at one and the same time ; but only wait until Ireland and Wales are thoroughly crushed , and then England and Scotland will have their due share of Tory consideration .
While I thus point out the materials of which the machinery of oppression is composed , let me not be understood as recommending any , the slightest , relaxation of Chartist agitation , or any abatement in our just demands ; on the contrary , upon our perseverance , boldness , and prudence , in a great measure depends not only the fate of our own principles , but also of our own country ; and I have vanity enough to believe that my exertions on behalf of British liberty give me a claim upon British support . Upon this subject , however , it is my intention to
address a series of letters to Mr . O'Connell , in the Northern Star , the first of whioh will be found ia the present number ;{ and therefore I shall abstain from further mention of it in this place . The success of my tour has very naturally set all tho vermin to work . Other unions , aud more unions , are taking place between old squabblers , who not long since would have bitten eaohjothers noses off ; but if I fail in my endeavours to create a union of the working classes , I have at all events the satisfaction to know that the most deadly fand inveterate enemies will thake hands over all jtheir own differences , and
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t ¦ '?/* /*/ J ¥ tTlrj ^^ VW 'iK ^ r * ^ 0 . / k * siAs ! " / e JL
unite to destroy FeargTis O'Connor and tbelNoriher Star . But to those reptiles , one aud all , I wool merely say , that if they have not had a surfeit from ; , tho past , they shall have it from the futuiw . lt i for you now to say whether or not you consider it worth your while to maintain the position that I have once more gained for you in the largest towns in England and Scotland ; and whether you the working classes are , or are not , prepared to assert your rights . I have given you a practical proof of what one man can do ; and each who exerts himsoif can make himself comparatively useful in his own
locality . Let us only have a good managing com * mittee in each district ; and I will venture to say that if seven men iu each town can be found to work honestly , ninety-nine in every hundred of the working classes will be found to work energetically under them : for I have invariably found that Chartism was most prosperous , and bickering most rare * iu those towns where the business was transacted by a Council of honest men . Surely , then ^ the great prize at stake is worth the only sacrifice that ' s needed—honesty in a few , to ensure zeal and co-operation from the many .
I think the people will have learned , from the address of the Executive iu this week ' s Star , thai that body have resolved upon limiting their expenditure to the smallest possible amount , and of rendering service for their wages ; and now I call upon all who are determined to give Chartism a fair trial , to rally once more round the sacred standard . Ana as a consolation to those who have expressed a hope that inactivity may induce me to abandon the cause , I tell them , for their satisfaction , that its accomplishment alone shall drive me from the ranks ; and therefore I cut the last leg from under the atooi of faction .
I now trust that every locality will send its mita to me as Treasurer , to carry out the objeots that we have in view ; and bear in mind that it is every man ' s cause , and therefore should enlist every man ' s " consideration . Had it not been for the necessity imposed upon me to watch over the proceedings ia the Queen's Bench , instead of Mr . Roberts , who is more profitably engaged otherwise , I should hava continued my tour through Lancashire , according to my original ir ; tentiou ; T ) u 6 the truth , is—firstly , that Mr . Roberts declared that one of us should be present , and I thought hi 3 time could be more profitably spent in Newcastle ; and , secondly , I could not have gone on without some rest , as I believe in the aunalsof agitation no man ever went through more fatigue than I have done during the last month . In conclusion , I have only to offer this brief summary of a short tour to the perusal of those muckworms who growl in back parlours , and lose their rest in devising means how to destroy my influence . I will give them a recipe , and the only one : LET THEM GO AND DO MORE . I remain , Your faithful friend and servant , Feabgus O'Connor .
The Executive To The Chartist Body.
THE EXECUTIVE TO THE CHARTIST BODY .
Fbtends , —At foot you will find the opinion of Mr . Bodkin relative to the enrolment of the plan of -Organization , and from it ; you will learn that while Counsel abstains from giving any opinion upon the question of legality , he thinka , that the Plan is de-, fioient in some of those points which constitute a society as contemplated by certain Acts of Parliament . Under these circumstances , it becomes our duty , as your appointed officers , to state the courser which it is our intention to pursue . The two maia points to wbieh we shall direct our attention are , firstly , the creation of such an enrolled force as will insure a full and fair representation of Chartists *
principles iu the Convention about to be held in April next ; and , secondly , to observe the most ; rigid economy in the expenditure of the national funds . In order to effect the first purpose , we shall proceed , for the present , under as much of the plan of Organization , as requires no legal protection , to enrol members of the General Association , whose legal affairs will be transacted by councilmen , nominated by the several distriots , and which nomination will require the confirmation of the Executive . We shall abstain , for the present , from the establishment of branches and from the issuing of Charters , and must direct our undivided attention to the politic- portion : of the plan ; and by those means we hope to create a matured public opinion to whioh the forthcoming Convention may give a proper direction By that time the several questions upon which parties may be now at issue will have been fairly
discussed , and that body will be in a situation to giro full effect to what shall appear to be the then public opinion . In order to ( carry out our second project and as our labours in council will bo considerably diminished by the non-enrolment of our Organization , we propose to appoint two from om number as leoturers to districts requiring their servicestheir salaries to be paid out of the Executive Fund , and the proceeds arising from their exertions , to be wholly applied to the local purposes of the several places where they shallleotnre . With this view we have appointed Mr . M'Grafli tss lecturer for Cheshire and Mr . Clark for Somersetshire ; after which thej will proceed to Cornwall and Northamptonshire ihus saving those counties the expenoe of district lecturers , while we trust their Berricea will phtoo funds at the disposal of the localities to enable them to transact their local business .
Mr . M'Grath will be at Northampton on Monday the 20 th ; at Birmingham on Tuesday the 21 st ; at Wolverhampton on Wednesday the 22 nd ; and at Stockport on Thursday the 23 rd , where it is to be expected the council will have ( pointed out his route for Cheshire . The inhabitants . requiring the attendance of the Executive missionaries will merely have to pay their travelling expenses from town to town , and therefore it is of all things important that the route should be Judiciously arranged . Mr . Clarke will be ia Bristol on Monday the 20 th ; when we trust ihe Cousoil will [ have { made proper arrangements to render his services available . The missionaries wDT
be supplied iwith cards of membership , and will thussave the several localities the expense of postage . Having thus submitted to 'yon what our intentions are , our position being considerably altered by the non-enrolment of our Organization , we trust , as some latitude must be allowed , that the course wo have chalked out , under existing circumstances , will meet with the approbation and support of the Chartist publio ; while we have a right to complain of the active and underhand agency being used by parties who have already done sufficient to create confusion in our ranks , being now directed to the frustration of our best endeavours .
However , as our duties are twofold , it beingnpfc less incumbent upon us to meet our enemies than to support our friends , we trust , by a perseverance in that line which will insure for us the approval of the Chartist bodyy to be able to beat down all party and sectional opposition . By the above plait , it will be seen , that your Executive only costs the country £ 3 10 s . per week , while the sum of £ 3 , originally voted to two other officers , will now be expended in the most profitable manner to which the public funds can be applied . By this exposition , it will be seen that the only portion of the politioal plan , whioh we do not propose to bring into operation for the present , is the appointment of branches , and the issuing of Charters . And inasmuch M
the election of a Convention , to be holden ia April , was unanimously decided upon , we , as your officers , do not consider that wo can be more'profitably employed than in endeavouring to make that Convention as efficient a representation of the publio mind as possible . Tho suboined opinion was given upon the Plan of Organization , without a single sentence , Word , or letter being altered in that document ; and we are the more anxious to lay this fact before you , in consequence of artful tricktjtera endeavouring to stamp a heavy sin upon very slight grounds—to the effect that the Executive proposed having the Plan enrolled with the . omission of the principles , whereas the facts are simply and briefly as follow . A Committee consisting of the three following
persons , MeHsra . Hobson , Wheeler , and Morrison , were appointed to see to the enrolment of the Plan ; a power with whioh the Executive had nothing to do The first act of the Executive , upon Mr . Tidd Pratt ' s refusal , was to consult Mr . O'Connor , who , after having made two fruitless attempts to procure an interview with Mr . Tidd Pratt , transmitted tho whole document , without the slightest alteration , for the opinion of counsel . We are well pleased to learn , from nearly all parts of the country , that the course pursued by the Executive , with reference to Mr . Tidd Pratt , and which was plainly and simply stated in our address of last week , meets with the approbation of those who give us credit for endeavouring to trap Tidd Pratt , as he would willingly entrap us .
Here follows the opinion of Mr . Bodkin : — ( COPY . ) OPINION OF MR . BODKIN Without entering upon any enquiry as to the lawfulness of this Association , I am of opinion , after perusing and considering the accompanying papers , that it is not such a society as is contemplated by the Statutes referred to . Upon this ground therefore , I think the Certifying Banister would be justified in hla refusal . Wm . H . BobKW .
As lawyers are not always right , we have ettlt resolved upon appealing against the deoUion of Mr . Tidd Pratt , and the more especially with a yle # <> f iiliciting all the legal knowledge that can be $ rd * cured , judicially and otherwise , for the direction of the forthcoming Convention , should their taWftrs t& directed to the question of future Orga « featten « , H . P . Ross , T . Clarke , P . M'GftATB , F . O'Cojwor , treasnfer , 1 . M . WirefeMiR , Secretary
1 - To Daniel O'Connellj M.P,
1 - TO DANIEL O'CONNELLj M . P ,
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Nf . wcasti . r . —Mea ? vB . DanteHs » nfl Ufcornsson h ! # 8 heM vory meewful meeting * in Fewcsstte , Strath , « litcl < ls , Seghill , ami at the Mfektoy Coilisry .
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TOL . TI . NO . 313 . SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 11 , 1843 . PWC % ™ "S £ ^ fSS ? "
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f ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ F 1 i ^ b t ^^^ f / \^^^^^ . ^ M 09 * ^ f ^^^ J ^ B ^^^^^ ^ ^ C AND LEEDS GENERAL ADVERTISER , j
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 11, 1843, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1238/page/1/
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