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THE NORTHERN STAK. SATURDAY, At'IUL 25, 1816.
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THOMAS COOPSS, tfiS GHttPJl<xsv c \ WORKS. I
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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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Tu l « e hal of John Cleave ^ ana all booksellers . ! ( Price Qi ' ., . Shi . ling . ) : TWO ORATIONS AGAINST t-AKlKa AWAY 11 UMA 3 LIFE , tTTXDEIl any Cuvunistm-jes ; and in emanation an-1 \ J defence of the misrepresentM doctrine of" Son Resistance . " ( Utfiiv . rcd iu die SatioiHU Hail , llcibom . « nthe ercaia ^ s of Ftbruavjr 25 Ui « rd Kardi -Mi . ) "These orations are tiie uutpiturhigs of a «'' th : lt will make itsdf heard , in spite o : ' the abase of liiwlwfe demagogues , ** rnemisrejucsentaSons of pious tricksters , just because ' ti « gifted wi « i ciiia « , and inspired by lliai entUu « asui twr yrocucci by a < jau-k j « rcty » - « f Iru ^" . andaprofouuti love and -vcm-rar . un for ju-= fc « e , and us subject , man . A free . gcno-uus loving n : m" * * l * al « out in ever * pase . Wedo not d « Bl . t that many a sneer will tecalled frr . li bvu perusal of this wurk ; but tve :. sk those who s . NEEB , * to nEFinx it if thev can . "—MUutgbim
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THE PURGATORY OF SUICIDES . A Prison Rhyme . In Ten Books . ( One Vol ., 7 s . 6 d . ) " The most wonderful effort of intellectual power produced within the last century . "—Tin Vrihinnia . " Here we have a genuine poem springing out of the spirit of the times , aed indeed out of the heart , and exjeriencc of on ? who has wrestled with and suffered in it . It is no other than a poem in ten books , by a Chartist , end who W . dly sets his name and bis profession of Chartism on the title-page . It is plain that lie glories in ids political faith more than in bis poetry ; nay , bis verse is but the vehicle of that faith . Yet , nevertheless , it is a vigoreus ani most efficient vehicle . We must cordially confese that ire have read the whole with a feeling of uu-/ ejtmed astonishment . —Edcclic Revieiv .
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WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES . ( Two Vols , i 5 s . } " A stries of Crabbc-like sketches , la prose . They are manifest portraits , and admonish . Vis of the author ' s ddll in taking the literal likeness . " —AOiemBum . "We have read some of these stories with deep interest , and few , we are persuaded , will rise from their perusal but with feelings all the warmer for what they have read . They can scarcely fail to be popular with ¦ the masses ; ' and , upon the whole , we think they deserve to be so . " —Atlas . "The author excuses the sternness of his pictures by alleging their truth . The justification is all-sufficient . Chartist as these sketches are , they are healthier , in fc-nc and sentiment , than the tawdry fictions Tamped up for the reading public by some popular / writers , that profess to exhibit the life of the labouring classes . "—The SrUanuia . "Of a truth , this Chartist agitation has thrown to the surface ne more remarkable a man than Thomas Cooper , and we much question if there be any one se fitted to re . present the manufacturing masses , to describe their wants , and expound their wishes , as he . —Kentish Indejpot dent . "Many of the 6 torieE exhibit considerable vigour of pencil , shrewd sense , and clear-sighted observation , accompanied with a kindly , genial feeling and toleration , we were not prepared for from so determined a politician . '—Glasaoin Citizen .
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Also , just published , THE BARON'S YULE FEAST . A Christmas Rhyme . In Four Canto ' s . ( One Vol ., 5 s . ) "There is a rough earnestness , both in its thoughts and verse , which is strictly in accordance with the genius of our ballad minstrelsy . If it does not show , in point of ability , an advance on the author ' s previous productions , it yet shows that he cat change his hand without loss of power . "— TlieBritannia . "Mr . Cooper appears to much greater advantage in this seasonable poem than he did in his more ambitions attempt of " The Purgatory of Suicides . " " The Baron ' s Yule Feast" has a genial spirit , yarious subjects , and a popular animated style . The poem is the best of Mr . Cooper ' s productions . "—Spectator .
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TO TAILORS . Now ready , THE LONDON and PARIS SPUING aud SUMMER FASHIONS , for 1816 . By approbation of her Majestj vjueuu Victoria , aud his llojal Highness l'riHCc Albert , a s ^ leudiiHy coloured print , beautifully executed , published by BEX J AMIS READ and Co ., 12 , Ilartftrect , l-Hoomsbury-squarc , London ; and G . Berger , UoIywcU-street , Strand , London . Suld by the publishers and all booksellers , wheresoever residing . This superb ' tint will be accompanied with full size Riding Dress and Frock Coat patterns , a complete pattern of the new
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POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY FOR THE PEOPLE . Just published , THE POPULAR INFORMANT , Parts 1 and 2 , Price 8 d . This workis printediu double columns , one containing Geographical and Statistical Facts , the other being devoted to Political Inferences in the shape of a running Commentary . " This new periodical is another sign of the times , illustrating the desire of the poor to store their minds with real knowledge . The geographical and sound statistical facts , and the political inferences , are well adapted to excite a further desire for information . " Horning Adcertiser .
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HARE ON SPINAL DISEASE . This day is published , royal 8 vo . 7 s . PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS en the Causes , Pre-L vention and Cure of CURVATURES of the SPINE . With Twelve Engraving ' , illustrative of the Cases . By SAMUEL HARE , M . R . C . S . Lately published , by the same Author , 8 vo ., 2 s . Gd . CASES AND OBSERVATIONS , illustrative of the Beneficial Results which may be obtained by close attei tiou and perseverance , in some of the most Chronic and unpromising instances of Spinal Deformity . With 18 Engraving * ou Wood . London : John Ciiurchill , Princes-street ; and may be had of all Booksellers .
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Portrait of Patrick O'IIiggiss , Esq . —The portrait of Patrick O'Higgins is now engraved on steel , and specimens will be in the hands of our several agents in the course of next week ; and as soon as a sufficient number are printed , no time will be lost in forwarding them to our several agents .
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TRADES CONFERENCE . [ [ Scarcely has a year elapsed since the first representation of the Trades took place in the Metropolis , and now we learn , with inexpressible delight , that invitation * have been issued to the several bodies , to elect delegates to sit in % National Conference , to to held at Manchester , during the Whitsuntide holi days . From us , who have ever found it our painful duty to speak of the Trades as they deserved , that bodv must only expect the exact amount of encomium
that their own works entitles them to . We have long struggled , and not unsuccessfully , against all other aristocracies , individually and unitedl y , and whilst their power was only capable of subjecting ui to temporary punishment or casual incarceration , the ill-used power of the Trades , their jealousies , their trucklingB their bidding for masters' favour and overseers toleration , has imposed upon the working classes permanency of sutfering . and a whole life of gorrow . Yes , we say with regret , that the aristocracy of labour in this , ta in every other country , is the vilest , most corrupt , servile , stinking , and oppressive
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aristocracy that right and jUBtice have to contend againBt . However , as the old adage tells us , " that a fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind , " we have now reason to anticipate some change in the tactics , some correction of the abuses , sonic relaxation ot the hostilities , by which the conduct of the Trades has been heretofore marked . We look forward at the present moment with more than ordinary anxiety , to the tone that shall be adopted at the ensuing Conference . If it is merely one of union , as a mode of administering comfort to the suffering oppressed out of the
poor pittance of the half-paid slave ; if it is but one of organization , whereby the thricc-told tale of won may be again hashed up and spiced as consolation to the suffering , or sauce for the philanthropic and considerate ; if the value of restriction , without a just application of the principle , is to bo discussed , leaving it to each section to apply what to them may appear the most fitting details ; if the exclusion of politics , from a dread of scaring the timid , or strengthening the masters , who oppress by politics alone , if such shall constitute the programme of the projected Conference we shall anticipate but little good and much ot evil from the gathering .
If upon the other hand they are taught that appeals , petitions , and remonstrances have been met by insult , oppression , and resistance , and that masters ' strength can only be met by men ' s power ; if they are taught that to be united in mind , there must be unity of action—and if unity of action , that there must be unity of mind ; if they are taught to believe and understand that a Ten Hours' Bill means impartial restriction—just , wise , and national restriction , while that of mere sectional convenience does not partake of nationality or general advantage ; if they are taught that all previous attempts to do
ustice to their order have been dear but fatal experiments ; if they arc taught that the law , above all other tyrannies , oppresses them when they use its just provisions , because the masters make and administer the laws , and that therefore they must seek a participation in legislation and the administration of justice ; if they are taught that the hours of labour spared from toil will seek for profitable cmployment elsewhere , and that each emigrant from the house of bondage to the open field of free labour is an incubus removed from industry , ar . item pruned from the unhealthy idle reserve ; if they are taught that their money , heretofore fruitlessly expended , may be henceforth profitabl y devoted to the
apolication of surplus labour to their own property in the soil ; if they are taught that they have struggled hopelessly as au aristocracy of their order , and that they must now link themselves inseparably with the democracy of that order ; if the truth is instilled into them that the present chaotic confusion is not so much a consequence of rival factious warring against each other as the contest of the democratic ninny against the aristocratic few in every section of society ; if they are taught those things , and profit by them and act upon them , they will have distinguished , honoured , immortalised the nian who has had the proud daring to step from the quiet rank * of the aristocracy amid the bustle of democracy .
Duscombe is greater as a member of the Chartist Association than as President of the Trades bedy or speaker of the Trades parliament , if that body and that parliament does not adopt some more distinguishing characteristic ; Borne more understandable and reconcileablc policy than the Trades of this country have as yet adopted or ventured upon . Can the greatest stickler for po . litical non-intervention assign any justorreasonablo cause why every delegate should not be prepared with a petition to Parliament in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill , as the ( only possible mode of carrying
out the principle of impartial restriction ? The time from the present to the hour of meeting is but short , and yet we fear that the utmost advantage will not be made of it ; we fear that delegates may attend and feel the necessity of abstaining from voting upon questions upon which every man ' s mind should be made up , until the sense of his constituents can be ascertained . Such course would but lead to disastrous delay , and it is therefore that we fondly anticipate the publication of a programme , so comprehensive aiul full of meaning as not even the most ignorant can mieunderstaud : a programme that
will nerve the zealous and arouse the apathetic , a programme that will teach the confiding aristocracy of labour that exclusive rule and government is henceforth to be but a rotten reed ; a programme that will teach the struggling democracy of each trade that it has at length an interest in the election of a delegate , a hope in the resolves of the deliberative assembly ; a programme that will developc tn the world , as well as to the trades , the collateral interest that every section of society will have in
supporting the measures therein propounded ; a programme which shall boldly open the whole question of labour and capital , even to the weak-sighted and stunted in . intellect , instead of presenting a mere kaleidiscope in which sectional interests may be shaken into party ( patchwork , to please the eye of the fastidious , to suit the taste of the hypercritical ; a programme that will dare all that does not invite the law ' s persecution ; a programme that will blink nothing within the comprehension of the meanest capacity .
Can any man of common sense and sound mind peruse the daring , insolent , outrageous and tjran nical manifesto of the master builders of Lancashireand the bold , the manly and comprehensive reply , from the governing national body in London , without coming to the conclusion that the tyrants have drawn the sword of their weak and pigmy power and that their slaves must throw away the scabbard . The Trades have selected a governing body whose vigilance does them honour , whose courage docs them credit , and whose intellect reflects upon them imperishable renown . The Trades have invited the first patriot , the boldest man and the most intelligent of his order , to assume the hazardous post of chief ; his character depends upon their courage , his utility depends upon their energy .
These monsters , the master tyrants , seek but the public weal , and the men ' s advantage , forsooth These mild philanthropists declare their preference for high wages , in preference to their practical grinding and reduction , ever measured by the necessities of their oppressed slaves ; governed , not by the justice of their employers , but by the hard wants and Btern necessities of a class-made surplus , an idle reserve upon which the tyrant * ever fnll back as a means ol administering their own peculiar justice to the
pubhe . Can nny man with brains , with heart , with hands , with one particle of self-respect , of human nature remaining in him , read the following insolent conditions prescribed by the rude capitalists without blushing that his own sycophancy has subjected him to bo humiliating , so galling a condition —the condition ujjon which alone he is to be allowed to live—the condition upon . which ho is to receive justice—the condition upon which stands the public weal .
We print the defamation here again , although we published it last week . Read it , mark it , learn it , and inwardly digest it , ye slaves to the fovil dominion of capital , to the capricious rule ot self-constituted law-makers ;—" In entering into the service of I hereby declare that I am not in any way connected with the General Trades' Union , and I undertake that I will not join or subscribe to , or in any manner support or belong to , any General Trades' Union whatever , whilst I am in your service . " ( Signed )
Does not the proud crest of labour rise , does not the toiled blood of the excited slave run hot through his veins , as he peruses the above stricture upon his former indifference and subserviency . and does he not swear in his wrath that he will avenge the insult by throwing off his former apathy , and now , in the strength of his union and the grandeur of his nature meet the daring Xa % within , the circle to which lie h . -i
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limited the battle . Resistance andvictp ; . y 0 r 8 urren .. i der and defeat . We feel convinced fliafc the proposed Conference will give hew life , and strength , and vigour to the struggling building Trades of Lancashire , while the perusal of the above insult to universal labour will indaco ' all , who can spare the merest fraction from their poor hoard , to assist in provisioning the soldiers of labour for one short month , until its representatives shall have had an opportunity of bringing the unjust struggle to a glorious conclusion .
Let tho tyrants' speculations grow cold , and remain unroofed , but let not labour ' s hand be paralysed by confirming its own degradation . We arc justified in stating , that the London Directory feels an inexpressible interest in the success of the great struggle , and that its every machinery is at constant work to alleviate the sufferings of the strugg le's , and to bring the contest to a successful issue ; and let the weak of heart take strength and courage , when ho remembers , that 1 " Labour's battle once begun Bequeathod from bleeding sire to son Tho' baffled oft is ever won . "
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slave , bred . a slave , lives a slave , and dies a slave . Not a slave to tho minister , not ft fih < e to the law , not ft slave to system , nor yet to his master , but a slave to the accursed disunion , to the blighting jealousies of his own order . The article concluded thus , " We now invite them to a wholesome commencement . The struggle between the landlords and cotton-lords is at . hand ; each will gladly take advantage of the necessitk'S of the other ; and as no question is more threatening to the haughty capitalist than that of diminishing ( he hours of stave labour , aud as no measure would be better calculated to relieve landlords , shopkeepers , and housekeepers from tlio hwivy burthen of poor-rates , let the TEN HOURS' " SHKLL"burst like \ n < i ic amongst them ,
and let the people hail the explosion with an incessant echo from without . Now is the time—the very time the exact tim«—to force this measure in all its bearings upon the considerations ofl ' arliameut ; lor let the people rest assured that out uf the strife of contending factious alone can they expect del ' ei ence to their will . When the buttle is over , the nsstional struggle will commence , und let us be prepared with two hour . ' breathing time after the dsijs ' toil to take counsel for future operations . Nothing win be more unnatural tliauprescribingequul length of labour to the sickly and robust— -to the weak and the strong ; and we pant for the time when fathers , mothers , ami their children shall cat , drink , sleep , work , and play according to their respective age , strength , ability , and in . clination . "
Such were our opinions of Peel s measures on the 31 st of January , and such were , our notions of the use to be made of them onthcTlh ofPebruary . andwcmay ask if reasons for approval could be stronger or more cogent , orif invitation to take advantage of tiiccrisis could be more impressive or persuasive . Are we not , then , in return entitled to demand from those who had the management of the question as strong and cogent reasons for having neglected our timely warning , for having refused our cordial invitation ? We
would further ask if , after three months dilly dally sheer humbug and trifling with the rights , nay witli the very lives of millions , we act with precipitancy or inconsiderately when we again invite the country to substitute a nervous for an apathetic , a zealous for an inencrgetic body . Nay , we went iurther , we promised our aid for a montli . it" the committee would only assist us , but the quiescent spirits representing the tranquillity of their yielding general , " WITH
Tlli , BLESSING OF GOD" refused our gratuitous labour ; whilst some professing Chartists , some who have tendered pledges and vows of allegiance to the great principle , acquiesced in the nuwkish . slavish policy of separating the question of a Ten Hours' Bill from all political considerations ; and pieftneu VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY to Lord Ashley to an appeal to metropolitan feeling , which we shewed them was never imh-u ripe or pa-pared to entertain the question .
We hate this begging policy , this pandering to individual weakness or subtlety : this quartering ot ' principle upon the easiness of those who are satisfied with a tolerated greatness . Having now lully explained our anticipations from Peel ' s measure , und the course proposed by us and that pursued ; . y the Short Timo Committee , we ask in fairness to ourselves , and thosu whom we represent , who is to blame for the present state of THE TEN HOURS' BILL ?
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verance , and forbearance towards the Irish in EnKljni id induce chem to withhold active co-Operation f the free , trade party , - and they must understand Ju we iest prepare them to enliBt in the general sen " regeneration , by not again outraging their fr : t \\ „ by tkc foolish belief that we have aided the P ^ toctionists in starving their countrymen at hoine We never write upon a question of such maguitu ! upon our own single responsibility , and we mult * thei-cfore , call to memory the fact that w bef statedthat MrDHncomba ' Or ^ .. „„ jjiiu
, . in everv w . iv . « ,..:.. ? u »» v , „ „ ,,. Vunine in every wayacquie-.. l in the policy of the Executive and the Conventio and we may further add , that in an interview Jj that gentleman to-day , when we slated the new tWl ' ing sought to be engendered , l , is milv answer 2 " TUEf MUST BE MAD : DO THEY FO S THAT WE ARE ALL COMMITTED TO Till POLICY , AND THAT IT IS THE BEST ANI , ONLY POLICY THAT COULD BE PURSUED ? Under all the circumstances then we have snffici ent reliance on the firmness , wisdom , and resolution ot th
e Exe cutive lead us to a fervent hope thai they w . ll not allow their policy to be disturbed , 0 their intentions perverted , by the over anxious dai « of opponents to injure , or friends to mislead . If t ] lev are determined to earn that character for resp 4 which the country seems willing to award , tw »; ,, persevere in a straightforward course , which will at all times bear a searching scrutiny , rather thau ^ k a flimsy fleeting popularity , by deferring to the caprice of every crotchet-monger that chooses to bid foi- popu lar favour , as a means of carrying on the war for yet a . little longer .
The Northern Stak. Saturday, At'iul 25, 1816.
THE NORTHERN STAK . SATURDAY , At'IUL 25 , 1816 .
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THE TEN HOURS' BILL . When Sir Robert Peel introduced his bombshell into the camp of the organised conspirators , wo hailed it for the collateral results likely to flow from it , rather than for any distinct benefit that the proposed . measure was calculated to confer on the working classes . In . the outset ,, we not only invited attention to the Teh Hours' Bill , but we repeatedly pointed out tho necessity of such a measure , and the means
of achieving it . We were not amongst those who proposed tranquillity as a means of insuring Minis , terial success ; but , on the contrary , our policy vas , to take advantage of the troubled state of factions to aid in the accomplishment of the Teu Hours' Bill , second only : in importance to the People ' s Charter itself . We saw and exposed the coquetry of Lurd Ashley , and felt assured that the measure ' would suffer great damage from his want of courage .
. We traced it from his guardianship to that of Mr . Fielden ; we narrowly watched the movements of the Short Time Committee , and we discovered that subserviency , ill-health , and weakness , were obstacles which should be removed by the substitution of butter materials . It would be impossible to deny that the Protectionists in their present homeless and discomfited state , would cheerfully aid in the accomplishment of a measure so threatening to monopoly , and so dangerous to the power of their tnillocrat rivals . It was not , however , for us to force the consideration of the question upon Parliament or its supporters . It was our duty to point out where the machinery was rotten or defective , and it was the duty of those who undertook its management to setto the repairs .
We asked for petitions on behalf of the measure , but the Managing Committee did not aid us . We asked for a delegation to London , and the Committee gratified us with a very faint representation of work " ing class zeal . We asked the Managing Committee to aid us in getting up a timely and irrepressible ayi . tation ; we asked them to withdraw all hope from the exertions of Lord 'Ashley , and to transfer their expectations to the exertion * of an interested and united people ; but they have been deaf to our every remonstrance , until , through their indifference , their apathy , or obedience to their noble patron , they hare
placed the question under a bushel , just at sv time when its paramount value should be contended for iu thu House of Commons . It is always . disagreeable ; and sometimes dangerous , to deal harshly with an organised body , accustomed to the use of power , and possessed of some amount of confidence . Their name becomes mixed up with the value of the measure ; their timidity is set down to proper caution , and their individual predilection is placed to the account of good policy . Despite the danger , however , we again appeal from the apathetic committee to the active people .
There is no feature of this great question that we have not presented to the criticism of those for whose good it is intended . We have exhibited its value in a political , social , moral , and intellectual point o ! view : while we have shewn that it , and it alone , is the realization of the principle of restriction upon which alone the success of any Trades movement must depend . When we asserted that the present Committee did not consist of working men , we did
not mean to assert that there were no working men upon the committee ; but we did moan to assert , and now repeat it , that Lord Ashley ' s feelings , and not the merits of the measure , was the especial consideration with the moving power of that committee . It wns upon these grounds , and upon these grounds ! only , that we asked for the appointment of such a directing body as would ensure devotion for the principle , instead of worship for him who has thrice deserted it .
What possible reason is there for allowing the nieamre to sleep while the hope of securing it Bhall have paused away ? What have the working classes , to do with the free trade policy of Sir Robkkt Pekl beyond converting it to the advantage of their own order ? Wiiy Bhould they pause or hesitate lest the agitation of a question dear to them should jeopardise ministerm ! hope ? We tell them now , as we told them fiomthe beginning , that free trade WITHOUT A TEN HOURS' BILL , that free trade without A PROPER CONSOLIDATION OF THE TRADES
that free trade without possession of the menus to convert any benefit that may flow from it to working class advantage would be the severest , the heaviest , the greatest , und most fatal blow , that could be aimed at labour . We beg the attention of out readers ^ to th e reasons assigned for our approval of Phkl ' b policy , and from them it will be seen th it those who have an interest in the success of the Ten Hours' Bill , a :. d not we , are chargeable with apathy , indifference and impolicy , if the favourable time for its discussion is lost .
In our commentary on the mea-urcB of Sir Robkkt Peel in the Star of the 31 at of January , we assigned tho following as our reasons for approving them : — " It is nok so much to the bearing upon those peculiar interests that we look as to the peculiar mid astounding iuKuencc which they are calculated to exercise upon our political and social relations . " " Now is the timo to force popular concessions in the hit moments of a djing aristocracy . Now is th « time ,
when thiir own privileges are threatened w . itli sudden death , to awaken them to a contemplation ot those thev have so long withheld from others . Believe us when nu lay , that tho future interest of landlords and cotton-lords will bo more antagonistic than those of landlords and labourers ; and now , for the first time iu the history of this country , the car of labour must he prepared to hear long suppressed truisms from the lips of a proud but humbled oligarchy . "
Such were some of our reasons for approving Pekl ' s policy , and now we shall extract a few passages from tke Star of tho following week , the 7 th of February , from an article headed
LABOUR AisD CAPITAL . THE TEN HOURS' BILL . And after a week ' s consideration as to what should be the use made by the working classes of the crisis which Sir Robert Pkbl ' s measure was likely to create , wo said ;—• ' When we heartily applaud them as a means to an end wo assert , without the fear of contradiction , that , unless followed by an immediate and statesmanlike calculation , in which tho wants of labour and power of niiicliinery shall be fairly measured and equall y balanced , that they will produce ! ovil instead of good . The labouring classes of this or of any other country have never received from thoir rulers more justice than they had of themselves thu power to extort .
Again , " As , therefore , it would bo Impossible for the wisest or most far-seeing Pruno Minister to embody all the usttional grievances into oue category , anil abolish them by one enacsment , we invite the yilk . weavcrs , tho paper-stainers , atid all other trades whose interests are threatened by Sir Robert Peul ' o jcasiiruj , to join , oue and all , in the laud shout of restriction , « nd a Ten Hours' Bill . Again ,
The agricultural labourer is younger , happier , more cheerful and healthy at the age *> i suventy thim the constantly employed operative in afthe age of twenty-lhe ; hisjoung bloodjis sapped out of k > veins—he Kae ' borua
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CONSISTENCY . AVe little thought when we entered upon a , consideration of the value of " ltepdUion" last week that we should ibe called upon so speedily to repeat their own lesBon to some of our grown-up school-fellows who actually taught it to us . so recently as last December . We have frequently
observed that tiieie is a philosophy in idleness , and sometimes irreparable mischief in action . Nor do we think that we have ever . evinced any disinclination to do a man ' s part when prudence proclaimed iliac the time , for active service had airived . But to the Repetition . In December last a Convention assemble . ! in Manchester for the special purpose of considering t : io policy 10 ue pursued b y the Chartist party under the new circumstances that a repeal ot the Corn Laws would be likely to create .
I here never was a more attentive or deliberative assembly than that elected to ilUcuss the subject , and the principle grounds which urged them to a , relaxation of their active hostility to a repeal of the Corn Laws was , Firstly , that in the event of the Chartist party persevering in their opposition to the League , and in Hie event of the Protectionists being enabled 10
preserve the present laws , that all the odium consequent upon tamine sulferin » , pestilence suffering , and coercion suffering of tlio Irish people , would not only be saddled upon the English Chartists , but ihat , further , Air . ( Jobiku and Air . O'Connell would have good and tenable grounds for attaching undu ^ importance to a measure TilAT HAD NOT PASSED , but w ; . s obstructed by tho Chartists , and also for convincing the Irish people that the
RASCALLY CHARTISTS WERE THEIR MubT BITTER ENEMIES . Secondly , that in the event of the protectionists succeeding in their opposition , a , Tory government pledged to Church and King principles , and the bloody old Tory test , would be the result . The Executive , ihe Convention , three overflowing meetings at Manchester , one at Rochdale , one at YVigau , one at Ashion , and though last not leaH one at Todiuordcn , approved and adopted this policy without a dissentient voice . It nas not hastily adopted—it was calmly discussed , it was niatmei ) deliberated upon for moic than a . we « . k , and uot a
breath of opposition « as offered ; but on the contrary , a Lancashire meeting was calltd for Nen-Year ' s Day , for the purpose of submitting tho polio ; to the working classes . of that great county . And , now , we beg to remind every man who acted aa a delegate upon that convention , that he was pledged to assist and aid iu carrying it out . Well , we learn that some who Ciiuuot see the philosophy of idleness when action would be injurious , some who will work whea to work is an evil , and who will not work when there is danger in the service , are now busily engnged iu taking exceptions to this policy ; and would fain disturb the calm by an agitation against the free trade policy ot Sir Robert l'eel .
We admit that they are not parties who have laboured with us and struggled with us , but that they are individuals who have thrown every obstacle in our way , and who would now supply a crutch to that lameness which they themselves have created , for the mere purpose ot stultifying the exertions of the Executive , the Convention , ami the people of Lancashire . Some men cannot exist in a quiet atmosphere , who would readily suw the wind but refuse to reap the whirlwind . To them , dissension in our ranks k « s ever been a godsend , nay , out disunion hasever constituted their hoxoukaiilk means of existence . We are now asked to get up aii agitation for the Repeal of thu Poor Law Amendment Act and for the Ten Hours ' Bill , and to press those measures upon the notice of Parliament as part payment for toleration to the
measures ot Sir Ruueut Pekii . We have already , i ¦ a previous article , emphatically shown that we preBsed this policy when , the party now advocating it were mute as the grave ; nay more , weaic pressed to hasten tiie holding of the National Convention , fur the purpose of discussing those two questions ; when , as we have before shown , uot only the state of parties in England , but the state of atfaiis in America—the state of feeling throughout the world and not tiie possibility or probability , but the certainty of a dissolution of Parliament ere long , would render the holditg of another Convention ' indispensable .
It is scarcely fair to elect a governing body , te acquiesce in the policy of a governing body , to cheer that body on with professions of approval and coutide nee , and then to stultify them by compellta" them o acquiesce , not in the imbecile , not in the insane , but fu the stark , staring ravings of persons who hare uuver lost an opportunity of tiring the sharpest arrow m their qiuvcr at the Executive and the Chartist body . We trust , however , to the good sense and reflection of honest men . We trust that they will sce notouly the policy but the j usticc and indisponsablo necessity of courting an alliance with the Irish people , tkit they wil . sec that it has cost much paiss , perse-
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the manner in which parties are mutually check mated , was given by the fact of their bein » « no house . " This is the second t rae this has occumd since the Irish Coercion Bill has been introduced into the Commons , and from the firm and unyielding jpint exhibited by the Irish members there is rewn to behove that it will not be the last , should the Ministry persevere in their determination to pre * s the first reading of that bill-before proceeding with the remaining stages of the Corn Bill . One si gnificant symptom of the fake position in which all parties now find themselves is to be found in the fact
PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . ¦ The session which opened so full of promise threatens to be " a do-nothing" one . " Nothing i 4 stirring save stagnation , " The curtailment of the usual Easter recess has not expedited the business before the Legislature . The sitting of Friday , last weeK , left matters in precisely the same position ' iu which they were before Parliament adjourned . p is "in a fix , " and all parties seem paral ysed On Monday another of those outward and visible ' shis which betoken the perplexity of the Ministry " -md
that no explanation was either asked or given on the following evening , as to the causes which led to the " no house" of Monday night . It is a subject which will not bear handling , and acting upon the maxim of the poet that " what would offend the eye in a siood picture the painter casts discreetly into shade , " it seemed to be tacitly agreed that the less said about the matter the better for all parties . Not a syllable was uttered by any one which could tend to elucidate the causes why in the midway of what seemed to be
a triumphant career , a Minister , with a majority of 100 at his command , has been reduced to a state of inaction , while all the reasons which originally induced him to propound his new measures , so far from being diminished , are mere pressing and imperative at the present moment than when they were fiist proposed . The famine and disease which in January were predicted have actually commenced their ravages in Ireland . The starving and desperate people of that part of the empire have risen in various
parts ,, and seized upon the food for lack of which they perish , and the transit from one place to another of flour ar . ti other provisions has to be effected unto the protection of the military . On the other hand , the delay in passing the Corn and Customs Act has , in combination with other causes , produced a most injurious effect upon the trade , manufactures , and commerce of this country . Unless the suspense and
uncertainty at present existing be speedily dispelled , we may expect a recurrence of the scenes of 1842 in the manufacturing districts . A serious responsibility rests upon the Government and the Legislature under these circumstances , and it is equally disgraceful to both , that at the very moment when instant and determined action is requiml tll 8 machinery of both should be absolutely standing still .
Rumour points to a dissolution as n . not improbable occurrence , but really at the present critical moment we cannot see what is to be gained by such a step . This is no time for fighting the battles of faction . Why is the comfort of the industrious masses of this country to be jeopardised by the paltry quarrels of the Sir Roberts , Lord Johns and Lord Geor ^ f ., as to the possession of place and
power ? That a continuance of the present state of things will have such an effect there can be no doubt . Excluded as the great body of the people are frr-m all direct participation in political power , it matters little to them what section of the ruling class arc in office , but it is a matter of the utmost importance to them that the struggles of these rivals for power should not interrupt the flow of capital and the diffusion of employment .
Into the vemta quettio of where the blame for tho present state o f affairs should be laid , we do not mean to enter . At the same time it may be permitted us to say . that we think the Irish members have already sufficientl y shown their power to obstruct the course of any system of legislation , whatever , to justify them in now agreeing to the formal introd notion of the Coercion Bill into the lower house . The lesson they have taught the Premier will not
be forgotten , anil in any future opposition they may deem it their duty to offer to that measure , they might reckon on all the more heart / Mi || ort from the liberal members who sit on the saw side of the hottse , if the Corn Bill was sent to the Lords . At present they are fighting a > eetional battle , and as it is upon merely obstructive tactics , they are at the same time playing iuto the hands of the Protectionists . If the Corn Bill was disposed of the united forces of the friends of Ireland could be directed not
only to prevent the introduction of bad laws but to enforce the consideration of measures calculated to confer positive benefits upon that country . Moan * while every week ' s delay augments the power of the Peers to damage , if not entirely defeat , the commercial policy of I ' m , and we can only repeat what we read some time since , that he has at the best a protracted session with very dubious results before him . Mr . Buncombe , the intrepid and active champion of the working classes in Parliament and the terror of all evil doers out of it , has made the dreary period of stagnation , since the close of the Easter recess ,
somewhat useful bv n mntinnnn fti <> , Kc ..,.. ™ .. r .. i ..,:,. - somewhat useful b y a motion on the disgraceful mismanagement of the Post-office . He showed conclusively , that a system of jobbing exists in that establishment , which is most injurious to the public interests , inasmuch as besides enabling the parlies who benefit by that jobbing to enrich themselves a ! the public expencc , it interferes seriously with thi efficiency of the office , and converts those who shoiiU be only the servants of the public into the slaves o : salaried officers , who use them under threats of dis missal to advance their own personal iuterests . Tin speech in which Mr . Cakdwell . the secretary of tin
treasury , replied to the demand of the lion menibci for Fiusbury fora committee of inquiry into these alle lotions , was of the most flippant and unsatisfaetorj description , and though the vote went against the appointment of the committee it was the mere decision of " physical force , " argument there v ., \ i none , rebutting facts there were none , and we venturi to say that Mr . Duncoin ' jc will have , as in all hi previous assaults upon this department , the puWi mind comp letely with him . Even the ex-official who fill thu Whig front bench , ready though the , always are to supj ort the occui a-. ils of the jTrca
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i j ... r ; THE Northern star ; ^ m m , iTi «
Thomas Coopss, Tfis Ghttpjl≪Xsv C \ Works. I
THOMAS COOPSS , tfiS GHttPJl < xsv \ WORKS . I
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 25, 1846, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1364/page/4/
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