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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th September 1846, Edition 1 of 3, Page unpag, Untitled Article

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    • tfmpertai f arh' ammt
    • 4ftofp &eiH>iu*
    • TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS.
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      Untitled Article

      Mt Beak Fmetos ,- —It was my intention to have published a very long letter-or rather , a manifesto , nMch I have written—this week , entitled , REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST AS AGUIDE TO THE FUTURE ; and in which I have given a faithful narrative of the last thirteen years and a halt My principal object in publishing such a document just now , is with the Tieir of leading yon tea solution of the future by tte "text book" of the past ; to help you through the labyrinth that FREE TRADE has opened by leading yon through the several mazes by which its much in the strugglelw&s directed , and , as that is I »

      my first object , I have thought it more prudent and discreet to keep the naked question before yon in the first instance , lest a complication of events should sbscnre it from your vision . It would ha a very tedious process to remind you of my principal reasons for opposing a Repeal of the Corn Laws from 1834 , as a member ot Parliament , to the accomplishment cf the measure , without such other alterations as would make it a national instead of a sectional benefit . I have had four weighty and essential rea sons for opposing a Repeal of the Com

      Laws—UNDER EXISTING CIRCUMSTANCES . Fir efly , —I dreaded the inevitable result of the measure being carried by a party who claimed it as a means of increasing profits , and who must—if car tied by them—constitute the fature administration of the country with the new-fangled principles of political economy as their guide in legislation . Secondly , —How I have warned you to surfeit of

      the fact , that . whatever the ultimate effect may be ( that three years at the very least " rrihst be assigned fjr the adjustment ; and that , during the balancing period of faction , the poor , who were defenceless and dependent , would be the first sufferers;—in faet , that labour will be squeezed t » the very verge of danger to life and properly , before capital will consent to the forfeiture of a farthing , as the price of what it was left to esteem as its own triumph .

      Thirdly , —I have told you , that by whatever laws the House of Commons sought t establish or regulate the wholesale price of the raw material , that the poor consumer would fail to recognise the benefit of one single clause of such enactment in the retail article placed ' upon his board , so long as otberswere in possession of the commodity that produces the raw material , and have the control and management of those commercial laws and regulations by which the price of all articles are regulated , and command of those means by which scarcity may be magically transformed into surplus , and surplus into scarcity to suit the merchant's account .

      I hare reminded yon of the landlord ' s profit , th « farmer ' s profit , the speculator ' s profit , the importer ' s profit , the shipper ' s profit , the miller ' s profit , the factor's profit , the baker's profit , and the huckster's profit—all to be realised before it eaters labour's Bouth , and all of which , save the miller ' s profitand much of that—might be saved , if all had the power of producing the raw material for themselves And , Fourthly , —The destructive and commanding influence tkat capital has of moulding indigence to

      its own purposes in seasons of distress , by whieh it can most unnaturally turn the finest feelings of man's nature into base submission to his oppressor ' s will . Self-preservation , tta are told , is the first law of nature ; while the law of political economy inverts this natural injunction , and proclaims its supremacy over nature's laws . I shall now treat my subject briefly , under each of the foregoing heads , and shall then make a summary for your future consideration and guidance .

      Ton have , then , already seen , that the League demands as ihefe share of the triumph , such an aeces-§' on of " Free Trade" ministers in the Whig cabinet , as would insure ths full working of the measure to the interest of the manufacturing classes : that is , whatever turn the experiment took , they desired each a government as would sacrifice labour , the source of all wealth , to such legal loads as speculators deemed requisiie . Ton are not to mind the ravings of the limes , or the bonncing and lying of quaker Bright , any more than you would the barking of a " MAD DOG . ' The one publishes nonsense for

      hire , without a particle of knowledge upon the subject , and the other has a cause to maintain , which cannot be served by truth . Do not for a single moment suppose that you have seen or felt the effects of *• FREE TRADE" yet . You have not , and the aim of faction will be frustrated by any attempt to make its effects gradual . It will come upon you like a thief in the dark , and it is for this event that I shall preeently endeavour to prepare yon . The present cabinet can only exist on Free Trade principles . It is the mere tool of the speculators—and their gains will be the last vestige that authority will dare to

      touch . The measurers their ' s , the government u their ' s , and who but them can reap the benefit—and whose property but their ' s can hope for protection ; atleast , that their turn will bepostponedtillthe las :. You are aware that selfishness is the ruling passion of man ; and it is quite natural , as well as characteristic , that each should protect himself . Tou would act precisely like all other manufacturers if you had but the opportunity ; and , therefore , you must not suppose that I am eulogizing you , while I am merely pourtraying the evils of a system which actually

      compels , or at all events invites and seduces man to Belfishness . I will now give you an example or two in illustratien of my second head—John Wallwaik , now a freeman on Herringsgate Farm—and who refused £ 30 , and a share in section 2 , for his interest in his estate of two acres in my presence , from Mr . Cullingham , carpenter—WAS a silk plush weaver , Before Free Trade was made law he got £ 112 a . for weaving 25 yards ot silk plush for making hats ; he worked for John Ashton of Manchester—of course , a FREE TRADER—and as soon as the measure

      passed , he reduced his wages from £ 1 12 s . to £ 1 for tie same amount of work . Here is one slave that I have emancipated . Now , from this one instance , judge of labour ' s general hope from Free Trade , Under my third head , you will have already discovered that the price of Wheat doea not always regulate the price of bread , while we have everyday instances of the fact that the device of the traffickers can give a fictitious price to the raw

      material ; whereas , if you were in a situation to produce the raw material from your own land , you would attach but insignificant importance to the price of surplus after consumption . So long as you had enough for yourselves and your families it would concern you but little whether Wheat was £ 10 or 103 . per quarter , while its price becomes a paramount consideration so long as you have to earn money before you can purchase it .

      I may illustrate my fourth head by many facts with which the working classes are , unfortunately , bnt too familiar . For instance , the mill-owners , the speculators and jobbers , can , at all times , turn indigence to a profitable account . Firstly , they can make it the means of competition in an uuderbidding labour market . Secondly , they can secure its co-operation in their own straggles against

      restrictions that press hardly upon their own speculations . And thirdly , with whatever view laws ar 3 made , they can compel the most indigent to aid ibem in twisting , thwarting and turning them to the advantage of capital—labour being unprotected , and labour being compelled to live from hand to mouth , and thereby a ready instrument for its own destruction at the command of protected capital .

      } Cow these four heads , under which I have illustrated the question of Free Trade , should be explained familiarlv to those -wlio cannot read ; and the summary « f all would bs found to be , that so long as the wealthy make laws they can grind the poor ; and as Ion * aspoverty is unrepresented , that , consequent , pauperism forces it to fight the battles of the rich against its own order . My more extended manifesto , Tfbfch I shall publish at i ' uil length in nest week's Sar , will more fully explain to you the reasons why 1 now treat this subject with precision and at length .

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      In that manifesto I have given you a faithful narrative of the tricks of party , and the means by which our movement has been obstructed for the last thirteen years and a half ; all written for the purpose of making the past a guide for the future . The no distant fature is now very dearly mapped out to my understanding . In it I see the necessity of afterclaps , which should have preceded the measure of Free Trade . In it Isee the Whigswaiting , till thoseprudent concession ? , mentioned in Lord John Russell ' s memorable letter , are wrung from them , instead of being seasonably conceded ; and in the several struggles for the proper adjustment , I see the working classes , if not vigilant , prudent , and cautious , once more enlisted as an auxiliary force to fight the battles of faction .

      In my manifesto , which I have the vanity to think you will read and preserve , and from which I pray that you may learn a wholesome lesson , I have pointed ont clearly and undeniably to you , how my advice , if followed , would have saved you and me much of the persecution we have endured , and our cause muVh of the damage it has suffered . I have shown you , ~ that in the Convention of 1842 I laid bare the League project of the autumn of that year —and that I cautioned the Chartists from being made parties to their device ; and I have shown you , that I made a tour of Lancashire , Yorkshire , and the Midland Counties , in the summer of that year , explaining the League plot , and asking you to fold your arms while factions were fighting their own battle . -

      Yon remember how forcible my language was upon this subject , and you remember that your rejection of my advice was the cause of the Lancaster trials , the Stafford trials , the Liverpool trial * , the special commissions , and all their consequent transportations , incarcerations and heart-burnings . Now , though I was likely to be the principal sufferer from your neglect , yet do not mistake me . I am not blaming you : no man can blame you , but I am using the facts as an unmistakeable illustration of an impregnable position . It is this : —THAT CAPITAL FROM OUR DAMNABLE SYSTEM nAS THE POWER AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT OF LEAVING TO THE INDUSTRIOUS THE SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE OF STARVING

      QUIETLY OR RESISTING FORCIBLY , OF DYING BY THE SWORD OR PERISHING FROM HUNGER . Now , if you never read another line read that and get it by heart , and then add this to it , that I would commit any excess upon the property of ethers rather than die of starvation or allow my family to die , and the only atonement that I would offer to Society would be to curse its laws which reduced me to the alternative of being a thief or a dead man . Now , with the example of the past before you , while I am not heartless enough , unnatural enough , or brute enough , to ask you to starve

      patiently when the next struggle comes , I do ask vou , and have a right to ask you , as I am sure to be the greatest sufferer , and the greatest victim in all your struggles , one favour which is easily erantedit is this : LET YOUR NEXT BATTLE BE FOR YOURSELVES , and let the fruits of victory be something more substantial than the aggrandisement of your oppressors . Let it be the land—cultivated by yourselves and for yourselves , redeemed with your pence , and sot your swords—and the Charter to defend your possession and to make national what I have succeeded in making sectional .

      I now conclude for the present : in a few hours , and after a very laborious week's work , I start for Gloucestershire to bid for another estate , and , on Monday , I shall make my first appearance in Devonshire before our friends of Newton Abbott . Next week I shall publish my manifesto , which will occupy six or seven columns , and which , I trust , will have its weight -with those for whom it is written . I cannot , however , take my leave without assuring you that our first experiment on the land is tha admired of all admirers—that Lord John Russell ' s brother , who is a clergyman and resides close to the

      estate ,, and many other noblemen and clergymen , have visited it more than once and have expressed their astonishment and approval of the plan . Justice corapells me to mention , that , if all clergymen were like Lord JohnRussell ' s brother , the working classes would never make an assault upon church property . He lives in the centre of his flock and is truly the husband of the widow , the father of the orphan , and the guardian of the poor . It is truly refreshing to pas 3 through the little territory of this truly noble pastor . Now that I have got upon the land I am upon my hobby , and in order to give you a notion of the enthusiasm with which it has inspired yonth , I must mention the following fact . On Sunday last , a youth of the name of Silvester , from Stockport ,

      and about sixteen years of age , and who had been put out of work by Free Trade , arrived at the People ' s Estate , having made the whole journey from Stockport , over 200 miles , on foot . The delight of the poor boy surpasses anything I ever witnessed . I invited him to spend , a week with me , and , on Sunday , I will send him home to his parents by train . Would to God that all the young blood of England was inflamed with the same Land ardour . I think the brawlers must wince when they hear that John Wallwark refused £ 30 , in my presence , and a share in the second section , for his interest in two acres of Land . Assuring you that my land madness is increasing every hour , I remain , your faithful friend and bailiff , Feargcb O'Connor .

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      to make an impression upon the nobleman to whom it was especially addressed . The reason your Grace assigns for writing this letter is , as appears in the first paragraph of that letter , that the relief given to the people by employment of public works was , from the 13 th of August , to be withdrawn , from which you apprehended the most direful consequences . A person would be led to imagine , by the first paragraph , that the end and object of your Grace ' s letter was to obtain relief for the starving people through the means of public works , but on a careful perusal of that document roast come to the conclusion that Ruch was not your object at all , but something else which requires explanation .

      There are several persons , as well as myself , who feel sadly puzzled by your Grace ' s letter , not one o whom can comprehend the purport of the following sentences . There appears to be no harmony in them . They cannot be reconciled to common sense . For instance , the second and seventh paragraphs contradict each other most , outrageously . As for the eighth , I challenge any man on earth to discover what it is about . 1 . " You might as well at once issue an edict of general starvation , as stop the supplies which the feeble creatures are striving to earn with the sweat of their brow .

      2 . " The scenes of jealousy and discontent that are of daily occurrence on account of the real or fancied preference which some claimants for employment receive , are evidence of the pressure of hunger : and never did a mutinous crew pant more eagerly for the partition of a rich booty than the starving inhabitants of Ireland do at present , for the miserable pittance earned on the public roads . " 3 . "The trying ordeal out of which the people are pass i ng with such patience , notwithstanding the severe privations which they still endure , has had the effect of imprinting more deeply on their souls the necessity of a domestic legislature . Fear not , however , that they meditate , for that purpose , either violence or rebellion .

      4 "With the advocates of physical force we disown all sympathy . " 6 . "It may be well worth the while of a profound statesman to pause , and consider whether , for the sake of vitiating the Catholic religion , and weakening the influence of it ? priesthoed , it is not hazardous to erect infidel colleges for the propagation of an infidel and revolutionary mania , which , should it succeed in overturning the Altar , will not spare the Throne , in its career of demolition . "

      6 . " The turbid stream is easily known , from it « kindred and congenial source . The peaceful advocates of repeal are not for making experiments of violence or war . They argue on the justice and necessity , which even this year illustrates , of a people being protected from hunger by the care of a native and paternal legislature . " 7 . " All connexion with the mischievous men who are for forcing into ihe ceuntry the educational despotism of France and Prussia , and with the dangerous dogmas which they strive to spread , they entirely repudiate . Their confidence is in the patriarchal patriot of half a century , who , with the peaceful principles of the Catholic church to guide him , has already advanced Ireland to a pitch to which no military success could have raised her during the same time . "

      8 . ' Jt well became those who were clamorous for infidel colleges to be next the consistent advocates of force .-. nd insurrection . The most profuse and dexterous application of Whig patronage cannot divest the people of Ireland from repeal—the necessary goal of all previous reforms . Nor could the most inflammatory effusions of the parodists of "Young Italy " ever drive them into rebellion . " Now , my Lord , in the name of all that is wonder ful , what do you mean by the two consecutive sentences contained in this last paragrap No . 8 . If it is intended as a fling at the advocates and supporters of the colleges , which your Grace , and some others , are pleased to call infidel , it is rather a novel mode of getting relief for the starving inhabitants of the Archdiocese of Tuara . On the other hand , if its

      object be to praise the patriarchal Patriot of half a century , the sneer at Whig patronage , now openly and undisguisedly avowed and in full vigour , comes with a very bad grace . As to the inflammatory effusions of the parodists of " Young Italy" doing an J mischief amongst your Grace ' s subjects , no man , his senses , could dream of such a thing ; because , oh your own showing , the feeble creatures are on the very verge of starvation . It is men that rebel , my Lord , not " feeble half starved " slaves and dupes .

      In the second paragraph , marked No . 2 , you say , and truly Ihave no'doubt , "that never did a mutinous crew pant more eagerly for the partition of a rich booty than the starving inhabitants of Ireland do at present for the miserable pittance earned on the public roads . " This is the lowest pitch of human misery to which the inhabitants of any ration can be reduced . And you certify under your hand and seal that the inhabitants of Ireland are reduced to this miserable condition . And yet you , my Lord , say , in the very same letter , and at paragraph marked No . 7 , " that the patriarchal patriot of half a century , who , with the peaceful principles of the Catholic Church to guide him , has already advanced Ireland to a pitch to which no military success could have raised her during the same time . "

      These two statements cannot be true . They are diametrically opposed to each other . The first says that the people of Ireland are reduced to the lowest state of human misery . And the second states that they are advanced to a high pitch of national glory-Truth is commendable even in an archbishop . In this case either of the statements must be false . If the first be true , then the second must be false ; and if the second be true , then the first must be false . Is this the enviable position of the people of Ireland under the joint guidance of this patriarchal patriot of half a century , and the great " Lion of the fold of Judah ? " May the Lord in his mercy relieve my poor duped , cheated and plundered countrymen from such guidance .

      Your Grace ' s letter , taken as a whole , is , to say the least of it , one of the most unparalleled specimens of rhodomontade on record . Had it emanated from a person in ordinary life , and not from one in the exalted station which you occupy , it might be overlooked : but coming from you it is not only inexcusable , but unpardonable . What have " infidel colleges" to do with tho distress of the inhabitants of the archdiocese of Tuam ? How does the present distress illustrate the protection of the people from hunger by a paternal legislature ? What has the confidence of certain classes of the community in the patriarchal patriot of half a century to do with the present distress ?

      Is it because the advocates of Repeal are not for violence or war , that the people want employment on public works ? Or is it because the " turbid stream " is easily known from its kindred and congenial source , that your Grace ' s feeble and starving subjects are striving to earn their daily supplies with the sweat of their brows ? Is it because the people of Ireland are reduced to the lowest men of human misery , that Ireland has already advanced to a pitch to which no military success could have raised her ? I must give it up , my Lord , for I am fairly bewildered . This letter to the prime minister of the greatest empire in the world , is a poser .

      In conclusion , may I take the liberty of asking your Grace , which I do with great respect , how many thousand pounds have been wrung from tho starving population of the archdiocese of Tuam since 1840 , under tho pretence of Rep ealing the Union ; but , as is now evident , for the purpose of resuscitating Wliiggery ? I do believe , my ; Lord , that it is your earnest desire to see the condition of the working classes bettered '

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      to see them comparative ); happy and comfortable , to lee them elevated in the scale of society ; but , my Lord , the Repeal of the Union would not achieve these desirable ends ; employment on railroads , levelling hills on public roads , making new ones , nor even will building harbours do it . No , not all these together will ever attain the end in view . The people will always be kept in abject Blavery until such time as they are in the full enjoyment of political ubrrtt ; anything short of which is mere delusion . The bishops and clergy of Ireland could achieve that great end , if they applied themselves sedulously to the promulgation of the three following simple propositions .

      First . " That every man in this empire ( infants , insane persons and criminals only excepted ) is , of commtn right , and the laws of God , a Free man , and entitled to the foil enjoyment of political liberty . Second . " It is essential to a man ' s political liberty that he have ah actual share either ia legislation itself , or in the election of those who are to frame the laws ; wltioh-,- although they ought to protect him in the full enjoyment of those absolute rights which an ; vested in him by the immutable laws of Nature , may yet be fabricated to the destruction of his person , his property , his religious freedom , his family and fame .

      Third . " It is a natural right of the Commons , and required by the principles of the British Constitution , that they elect a mew House of Parliament every year ; because whenever a parliament ) continues in being for a longer period than one session , then thousands , who Bince it was chosen have attained to man ' s estate , and are therefore entitled to enter into immediate possession of that elective power which is their best and most sacred inheritance , are in that case excluded from the enjoyment of political LIBERTY . "

      Now , my lord , when you have studied these three propositions well , you will have learned more sound and useful political knowledge than you ever did , or ever will do , from the speeches and writings of the " Patriarchal Patriot of half a century , " and all the writings of Gibbon and Robinson into the bargain . I have the honour to be , my Lord , Your obedient , humble servant , Patrick O'Higginb . Dublin , August 12 , 1646 .

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      TO PATBICK o'niGGINS , ZBQ . North Roaa , Drogheda , Aug . 26 , 1846 . Sir , —I write to express my admiration of your masterly exposure of tho " knave in politics and hypocrite in religion , " which you are now making in the Northern Star . If what Cobbett Bays be true , that whenever a hypocrite is exposed , there is a service rendered to the public ; if this be true , you are rendering a most invaluable service to mankind by your complete unmasking of the greatest hypocrite and impostor that has appeared in the world since the days of Mahomet . I only regret that his poor dupes at home have not an oppoi tunity of seriag your capital letters , which bold the old rascal up to the light of day . The thought has occurred to me frequently during the last two or three years , that it would bs moat desirable to see the life of O'Connell written by your masterly hand . This vrould be a work fer the

      u « e of posterity , as there is not another man in Ireland who could do such justice to the subject ; for you are well acquainted with all his treasons against the working classes , whose cause he pretends to have at heart , and you could shew that instead of his agitation having served his country , that the Landlord Commission has proved the people worse off than any other people who now or . at any other period inhabited the face of the earth . You could besides place on record , in a permanent form , a true description of the pack of scamps and scoundrels who surround him in Conciliation Hall , and who are kept from the hulks or poor house by tho money they assist him to fleece from the poor gulls and dupes throughout the land . If luch a work were published , about the size and the price of a volume of " Duffy ' s Library , " I think it would find a ready and a profitable market iu every town and city in Great Britain .

      One would think on reading Dr . Doyle's " Letter on parties in Ireland , " written in 1825 , that he was describing the Repeal Association of the present day . I will give one extract : — "Falsehood and slander are it « heralds ; it has no reason or justice with it , but it is so clamorous and menacing , and so unblushing , as to overwhelm or confound whomsoever would approach it with argument , or seek to treat it on a basis just , honourable , or useful . This party , like Catiline and Cctljigui , has collected into its ranks every spendthrift , every idler , every punished or unpunished malefactor , every public robber , and private delinquent ; all the gamblers , all those whom gluttony or extravagance has reduced to want ; in fine , all who love commotion , and who hope to live by corruption , or to rebuild their broken fortunes on the ruina of their country . "

      Hoping tbityou will excuse this liberty , I conclude bj wishing you every blessing which this world can afford , and I remain your faithful servant , A DUOGHEDA CUABTIST .

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      PATRICK O ' BIGGINS TO HIS CORRESPONDHNTB . ' Friends , —It would fill every column of the Star were I to do justice to my grateful feelings for the very flattering letters which I have received during the present month from England , Wales , Isle of Wight , Scotland , and Ireland . Friends , you do me but common justice when you say that my addresses to my own countrymen , residing in yours , have been written with the view and in the ardent hope of effecting a sincere and happy union and mutual cooperation for one great object—your own emancipation—between you and them . Patrick O'IIigoins . Dublin , August 30 , 1846 .

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      ^ PATRICK O'HIGGINS AND DANIEL O'CONNELL . TO THI EDITOB OF THE N 0 RTHE 1 N STAB . 4 , Bridge Street , Westminster , September 1 , 181 C . Sir , —I have read with great attention aud delight the letters of Mr . O'Higgins to " the Irishmen resident in London , " and though there is some little exaggeration in them , they contain a great dc ; il of truth , which will be the means of keeping open the eyes of those that have been already partially enlightened by the liito arbitary proceedings of the Repeal Association towards llr . W . S . O'Brien and tke Young Ireland party . " It is not many months since that the Association endeavoured to stifle

      the freedom of opinion litre , which led ta ttra-thirds of the London members leaving the Dublin Association rather than submit to such gross injustice . The effect has been that the weekly collection in London has dropped from between twenty and thirty pounds to about as many shillings ! The amount continually becorain g" small by degress , and beautifully less . " The opinion entertained by Irishmen in this metropolis as to the intentions of O'Connell in gutting rid of Mr . W . S . O'Brien cannot be mistaken . Their confidence is at last shaken 'in him , aud many of them begin to say , " there is some truth in what Feargus O'Connor has said about Dan giving him t ie cold shoulder . " There is one thing which I should wish to direct your attention to , and that is " The Dumrarvan Job . " Mr , O'Connell has

      seated at the Conciliation Hall that he left London as soon as the writ wai issued , but he does not account for the time that he spent in London from the day that P « el went out of offic * 'till the writ for Dungarvan was issued . Mr . O'Co ' nm'll -must have known from his connexion with the Whi gs that there was niuot ' . en chances out of twenty but that Sliiel , the placehunter , would squeeze into a birth somewhere , Mr . O'Connull ought then to have gone down t « Dungarvau and put the electors of that boro « gh in readiness , and had thoy not been wanted then they would have been better prepared for next time . But instead of doing this , ho stajs in London coquetting with' the Whigs until the last moment , then pests off to Dublin , knowing well that he could gnll poor Pat , and at the same time refers tho ca « e | to a committee of the Association , composed of those who live upon the funds

      of the Association and do his dirty work . At a meeting at which this great Whig Repealer attended sonic for yenra ago in Theobald ' s Road , he stated he was the best abused man [ in the world , and I recollect him saying , " That while the Louden Press abused him the people might depend he was in the right , but as soon as thby commenced to praise him they might dopend that he was not serving Ireland , " Is not this the precise case at present ; the jpross gig [ fondling over him , / or instance ; The Times is covering him with the slime of the Whig serpent , and other journals are following in its wake , I could mention innumerable instances of his deception . But it is now evident that he will not be able to foist his son John upon the Irish people . Thank Ilcaren there is at last a party in Ireland determined to steer ck-nr of faction , and win * are indepondent of O'Connell and his

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      satellites . It wag he that taught them not to put tb « e trust in the " bass and brutal Whigs , " and when they act iiponhis advice they are driven out the association , because like men they have learnt to value principle . In conclusion I have to state that the letters of Mr . O'Hlggins are read by many of the most intelligent of his countrymen in London , aRd although the effect will not be seen immediately , it is not far distant . It is with pain I have to state it , that there ib a great prejudice existing between the Chartists and Irishmen in London . Now is the time for Mr . O'Connor to come forward , and be the bearer of the Olive Branch of peace , and unite the two parties in the bond of political brotherhood . Trusting that this will be some day accomplished , and that but one interest will actuate the working classes of England and Ireland , and that Mr . O'Connor will allow himself to be the medium by which this happy state of things may be brought about . He will find on mixing amongst his countrymen strong feelings of love and attachment , which O'Connellism has not yet obliterated . I am , , yours most obedient , A London Repeal Waeben .

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      HOUSE OF LORDS , Thursday , Aug . 27 . The Lord Chancellor took his seat on the wool sack to-day at half-past three o'clock . The District Lunatic Asylums Bill , the Railway Commissioners Bill , and the Pawnbrokers' Bill , were severally read a third time and passed .

      DISTRESS IN IRELAND . The Earl of Rodbn briefly addressed the House on the distress at present existing in Ireland . He had himself within the last few days , travelled through the greater part of the pro 7 ince of Ulster , and he was grieved to say that there was not one field ef potatoes ( which , their Lordships were aware , was the staple food of the people of Ireland ) which was not tainted and blighted , and that blight was accompanied with a blight in the oat crop . —( Hear . ) He suggested the formation of railroads , which would employ numbers of the people , and ultimately afford cheaper means of conveyance for bringing food from ffie interior . lie recommended Government to lend money for that purpose .

      After a few observations from Lord Monteagle and the Earl of Clakendon , the subject dropped , and tneir Lordships adjourned . I 1 OUSE OF COMMONS , Thursday , Auo . 21 . Tho Speaker took the Chair at half-past three o ' clock .

      SMALL DEBTS BILL . On the motion of the ATTOitNEr-GENBHAL , the Lord ' s amendments to this Bill were read and agreed to .

      PAWNBROKERS' BILL . The Lords' amendments to this Bill were agreed to . The House adjourned at half-past four o ' clock . HOUSE OF LORDS , Friday , Aug . 28 . Several Bills received the Royal Assent by commission , and the Lord Chancellor read her Majesty ' s speech from the Woolsack . " My Lords and Gentlemen , ' We are commanded by her Majesty to expresa to you the warm acknowledgments of her Majesty for the public spirit you have evinced in the discharge of your . laborious duties during an anxious and protracted session . " Her Majesty trusts that you will be rewarded by

      witnessing the beneficial results of the measures which have been sanctioned by her Majesty for the present relaxation and ultimate repeal of protective duties on corn and sugar . " Her Majesty entertains a confident hope that the more free admission of the produce of foreign countries into the home market will increase the comforts and better the condition of the great body of the people . " Her Majesty feels the greatest satisfaction in reflecting that her Majesty ' s efforts to settle , m a manner consistent with national honour , the conflicting claims of Great Britain and the United States , with respect to the territory on the North West coast of America , have been completely successful .

      "Her Majesty continues to receive from all Foreign Powers the strongest assurance of their desire to cultivate friendly relations with this country . " Her Majesty command a us to congratulate you on the victorious course and happy conclusion of the war in India , and her Majesty lias much gratification in announcing to you that perfect tranquillity prevails throughout the whole of the British possessions in tbat quarter of the world . " Gentlemen « fthe House of Commont , " Her Majesty has observed with satisfaction the care you have taken to prevent permanent loss to the revenue , and to maintain the public faith .

      " Her Majesty has commanded us to acknowledge the zeal and unanimity with which you have assented to the increase in the naval and military estimates which a regard to the exigences of the public service induced Her Majesty to propose for your consideration . " My L > rds and Gentlemen , " Her Majesty has to lament that the recurrence of a failure in the potatoecrop , in an aggravated degree , will cause a serious deficiency in the quantity of a material article of food .

      " Her Majesty has given her cordial asaent to measures by which this calamity may be mitigated in that part of the United Kingdom where the cultivation of the potatoe "_ has hitherto ' afforded the chief supply for the subsistence of the people . " Her Majesty has seen with pleasure that a considerable diminution of crime and outrage lias taken place in those counties of Ireland which had been most disturbed . " Her Majesty is confident , on your return te your several counties , you will find a spirit of loyalty generally prevalent . The extension of works of improvement has Increased the demand for labnnr , and the tranquillity of the country lias favoured the pursuits of industry in all its branches .

      " Her Majesty trusts that by a combination of prudence with enterprise , and of a willing obedience to law with a desire for social progress , her people will , through the divine blessing , enjoy the full advantages of peace . " At the conclusion of the Speech , the Commission for the Prorogation was read , and the Lord Chancellor , in the terms of the commission , then declared Parliament to be prorogued until Wednesday , the 4 th day of November next . In the House of Commons a new wi it was ordered for Derby , in the room of Mr . Strutt , appointed a Commissioner ef the Railway Board . In answer to a question from Mr . Protheroe , Sir George Grey stated , on authority , that promotion in the police force was not consequent upon the number of convictions obtained , but on entirely different grounds ; and in answer to Mr , Wakley , as to the maltreatment of a witness examined before the Andovcr

      Union Committee on his return to that place by the Poor-law authorities , the right lion , baronet stated that the subject should receive his serious convictions .

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      FRANCE the general Intelligence of the week is meagre and of little interest . In our seventh page will be found an account of the conviction and sentence of Jo » eph Henry , who ha ^ been condemned to perpetual hard labour at the Bagne . The sentence has excited considerable astonishment in Paris , where the opinion prevails that IIenhi is a mere maniac . It is only fair to state that there is another opinion entertained by Bomo , that the whole affair was a hoax got up by the police to serve miBisterial ends in the recunt elections , and that the sentence just passed is all a sham , which will never be put into actual operation . Indeed , some days ago we heard a rumour that Hknki had been sent over to England , and was at that time at Dover . We must say that we do not credit this report , although there can be no doubt that Guizot and Co . arcjjuite capable of such a piece of villainous humbug . In tlie Chamber of

      Deputies , on Saturday , M . Sauzet ( Ministerialist ) was elected President . M . Sauzet had 223 votes , and his principal opponent , Odillon Barrot , 08 . One of the deputies , M . Dessaigne ( Ministerialist ) , has commenced an action at law for defamation against certain electors who issued a protest against lis return . The deputy for Poitiers , M . Drault . has been deprived of his seat , becauso lie had given a pledge to his constituents to support electoral reform , founded on the formal recognition of the principle that taxes ought to be voted by all those who pay thorn ; 2 . Parliamentary reform , which shall exclude public functionaries from the Chamber ; 3 . Liberty of education , without any preventative measure ; i . The suppression of all sinecures and useless expenses ; 5 . T ! ie refusal of all dotation ; 6 . The re-establishment of the honour and dignity of [ France . " In the course of the discussion , M . Guizot vehemently supported the expulsion of the

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      6 uty , and in a long , harangue gave expression to •* some most bare-faced hypocritical sophisms , such as :-- ' The merit , the wisdom , and the beauty of the government was , that nowhere was absolute power to be found in it . " "Among them every where free examination . and public discussion at- A tached te all the problems , to all the acts of the go- : S ? , ' ^ , othin «¦ w ? 3 Possible , nothing became definitively the law of the country , which had not P ' rLl ± dcud disCu 8 sed everywhere

      , ^ ., " . ^ r- ,. and . g everybody . " W ^ faT is made manifest in the recent elections . The country has given its adhesion , its serious and free adhesion , to the policy which was presented befere it . Do not learchfor . an explanation , of the - 'fatetiin any pretended manoeuvres and electoral niserh ,. Take ; ifc < as the veritable sentiment of the country on its intellipence , in the idea whieh it has formed of the situation and of the conduct of the government . " Our readers will admit that these are matchless specimens of "lying made easy . " If any doubt , let them read the following important communication and their doubts will be at once satisfied : —

      [ From our own CormpondcvtJ The Chambers are now assembled , The Chamber of Peers have , as usual , nothing to do , bow that they have disposed of the case of Joseph Henry , the newfashioned regicide . The Chamber of Deputies are bu » Hy < engai ? ed in verifying the returns of members , and they profit by this opportunity to show the spirit which animates th « m . Ntver , since the revolution of 1830 , has there been displayed such bare-faced impudence and con . tempt of public opinion . Three-fifths , at least , of the Deputies are thorough friends of the ministry ; or , ia other words , either graat capitalists , stock-jobbers « tid railway speculators of tho Paris Exchange , bankers , large manufacturers , etc ., or their obedient servants .

      The present legislature ie , more than any preceding one , the fulfilment of the words of Laffitte , the day after the revolution of July : Henceforth we , the bankers , shall govern France . It is the most striking proof that th « government of Prance is in the hands of the great monied aristocracy , ths hauU&ourgeoltie . The fate of France is decided , not in the Cabinet of the Tuileries , nor in the Palace of Peers , not even in the Palace of Deputie ^ but on the Exchange of Paris . The actual ministers ara not Meisri . Guizot aud Duchatel , but Messrs . Bothschild , Fould , and the rest of the lasca Paris . ' jbanktrs , whose tremendous fortunes make theWfeio most eminent representatives of the rest of . their class . They govern the ministry , and the ministry take care that in the

      Sectionsnone but men devoted to tho present sjitem , and to thoi » who profit by this system , are carried . This time they have had a most signal success ; government patronage and bribery of every description , united to the influence of the chief capitalists , upon a limited number of voters ( less than 200 , 600 ) , who all belong , more or less , to their own clasi , the terror spread among monied men by the timely attempt to shoot the king , and ultimately the cer . tainty that Louis-Philippe will not . survive tho present Chambers , ( whose powers expire in 1851 ) , all these things united were sufficient to quench all serious opposition in most of the elective assemblies . And now , this precious Chamber having met , they take proper care of them-• elvei . The independent electors have sent in hundreds

      of petitioni and protest ! against the returns of minis * tcrial members , stating and proving , or offering to prove , that almost in every case the eltotions have been carried by the grossest illegalities committed bj government officers ; proving bribery , corruption , intimidation , patronage of every description to have been employed . Bui the majority never take the slightest notice of these facts . Every opposition deputy who raises his voice to protest against such abomination is hooted down by bines , noi 6 e , or cries of " Division , division . " Every illegality i * covered by a sanctioning vote . The a ley lords rejoice in their strength , and guessing it will iiot last very long , they make the best of the present moment . Tou may easily imagine that out of this narrow circle of

      capitalists there exists a general opposition againBt the present government , and those whose interests it serves . The centre of this opposition is Paris , Where the moneylords have so little Influence upon constituencies , that of the fourteen deputies of the department of the Seine only two arc ministerialist ; , and twelve belong to the opposition . The majority of the middle clasB , voters of Paris , belong to the party of Thiers and O . Barrot ; they want to do away with tha exclusive rule of Rothiohild and Co ., to recover an honourable and independent position for France in her external relations , and perhaps a little bit of electoral reform . The majority of non-voting tradesmen , shopkeepers , &o ., are of a more radical cast , and demand an electoral reform , which would give them the

      vote ; a number of them are also partisans of the National or Eeforne , and join themselves to the demucratio party , which embraces the great bulk of ths working classes , and is itself divided into different section ? , the most numerous of which , at least in Paris , is formed by the Communists . The present system ii attacked by all these different sections , and , of course , by each in a different manner . But there has been started , a short time ago , a new mode of attack which deserves to be mentioned . A working man has written a pamphlet against the head of the system , not against Louis-Philippe , but against "Rothschild 1 . King of the Jews . " The success

      of this pamphlet , ( it hae new gone through come twenty editions , ) ehowg how much tbis was an attack in the right direction , King Ilothachild has been obliged to publish two defences against those attacks of a man whom nobody knows , and the whoU of whosepropert ; consists in the suit of clothes he wears . The public have taken up the controversy with the greatest interest . Some thirty pamphlets have been published pro and con . The hatred against Rothschild and the money lords is enormous , and a German paper lays , Rothschild might take this as a warning that he bad better take up his head-quarters somewhere else than upon the ever-burning volcano of Paris . From SPAIN we have the satisfactory intelligence , that the " Marriage Question" is at last settled—satisfactory on this ground , that we shall now be relieved from the eternal rubbish which all papers , English , French , and Spanish , have been occupied with , relative to this subject . It is now decided that Queen Isabella shall marry her cousin , the Duke de Cadiz ( eldest son ef Don Francisco de Paula ) , and that the Duke de Montpensier , youngest son of King Louis Philippe , shall marry her sister , the Infanta Maria Louisa Fernanda . The wily old fox , Louis Philippe , has therefore attained the end he has long desired . True , his son does not marry the " Queen , " but he will marry her who in all probability will be the Queen , her puny sister not bein » very likely to have heirs , or

      even to live long . A General Flores , expelled some time since from the Presidentship of the South American Republic of Ecuader , is organizing a brigand force of Spanish and other adventurers to invade the country out of which he was ignoninwusly driven . The Spanish government is conniving at this villainous scheme . Why does not Lord Palmer-Bton put a stop to it ? A certain Major Wright is in Ireland beating up for recruits to aid in this cutthroat expedition . We warn the Irish people to have nothing to do with such an enterprise . Let them remember the fate of the British Legion under Evans , which was chiefly composed of Irishmen , 700 of whom left their bones in Spain , to say nothing of the sufferings of the miserable survivors . From

      SWITZERLAND . we learn that the Swiss Diet is reduced to such a state of division , that it has been unable to forni a majority on any important question . The affairs of the convents of Argau and Thargau has been argued , but has been found impossible to decide on , and the reult of four sittings on the question of the Jesuits has been equally indecisive . The majority rt quired for a legal vote isl 2 Jstates , but in nonebas tile number exceeded 10 } . From

      ITALY we have news that the Pope and Cardinal Grim were busily engaged in preparing the programme of their contemplated civil and political reforms . A copy of that document was even said to have been communicated to the Austrian Ambassador , who vainly remonstrated with his Holiness against its publication . In our seventh page will be feund some rather interesting intelligence from POLAND .

      from which it appears that the Russian Government contemplates doing away with the fudal services of various kinds to which the inhabitants of the "Kingdom of Poland" are subject . We are compelled by want of space to postpone comment upon this hypocritical and designing piece of pretended liberality . Enough for tlie present that we place on reccord another proof of the real character of the miscreant Tsar . The following is an extract of a letter from Warsaw of the 27 th of August : — " Yesterday the Wartaw Courier published a new ukase from the

      Emperor , which states that all persons condemned to hard labour for life in the Kingdom of Poland , and even all those condemned to hard labour and to imprisonment for stated periods , if their imprisonnient ^ has yet five years to run , shall be sent to Siberia . The first-naraed shall be employed for 20 years in tlie mines , and shall be colonists for the rest of their days . Tho others shall be employed in mines or at fortifications for the half of their time which their punishment would have lasted in Poland , but they are also to remain for the rest of their lives in Siberia . " Fromthe UNITED STATES we have intelligence of the adjournment of Congress , and the expvosscd desire of the President to conclude peace with Mexico . Previous to tho adjournment , the President sent a message to Congress , asking an appropriation of two millions of dollars to be placed under his contrnui , to enable him to negotiate a ^ peace . A bill to this effect was adopted in the HouS&r ^ of Representatives , but was lost in the SenW .-: ^ . ^ President has now , therefore , the resnorisiiiilit ^ ot' -- ' the war entirely upon his own hands . Jn ftWSHfej ? lions of dollars were intended for the pwN ^ agfi ^! ; California , what the President will do now ltiirnot'L easy to foretell ; one thing is certain , the ^ mencan ;;; army is making no progress in Mexico , and the war ,. / owhi" to theeost , is becoming very unpopular through- * "out the States ; the sooner , therefore , peaee , ;< 3 an be- brought about , the better for President Polki / V : , ' :-, "; Mx

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      TO TilE IRISH RESIDING IN GREAT BRITAIN . Fellow CoHntrymen , —My chief object in directing your attention to the following strictures on the Jetter of the erudite Archbishop of Tuam , is to show to you that , no matter how learned a man may be in all the ancient and modern languages ; no matter how hi"hhis attainments in all the arts and sciences ; he

      will make but a poor figure in the science of politics unless he takes the trouble to learn them and to understand them . Tou cannot avoid seeing this and feeling it t « o , whea you read the subjoined letter . There are but few men of the present age such accomplished scholars as the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam , yet you see how ridiculous he appears when he writes on a subject which he does not understand .

      Sir Robert Peel , great : statesman M hc ' ' could not compound medicine as well as an appothecary ' s apprentice . Nor could lie preach a sermon on theology half as well as Dr . M'Hale ; neither could Lord John Russell , small and cunning as he is . sweep my chimnies near so well as the successor to poor Horisli , the sweep , who was flogged almost to death in 1708 . This being the case , and it ever will be the case , I am sure that his Grace , of Tuam need not be the least offended at my declaring that I havo more faitli in the political principles taught by my great and unequalled preceptor , the immortal Cobbet , than I have in the archbishops , bishops * clergy , agitators , leaders , and lawyers in Ireland . Patmck O'lliooise .

      To the Most Rev . Dn . M'IIale , Catholic Archbisuop op Tuam . My Lord , —Your letter addressed to Lord John Russell , and dated " Saint Jarlath ' s , Tuam , Feast ol St . Peter ad Vincula , 1 S 1 G , " was intended fo the perusal and edification of the public as well as

      Tfmpertai F Arh' Ammt

      tfmpertai f arh ' ammt

      4ftofp &Eih&Gt;Iu*

      4 ftofp &eiH > iu *

      To The Imperial Chartists.

      TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS .

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      ¦ t : i - - ----- - " . ' ; - t ., fi , M . , / // ¦ ¦ / ¦ . , ; ¦ ' .:: - ¦¦ ^ ¦ ; ¦¦ — - ^ ^ 7 ^ : ; ^ ^ ^—a *^ V- — ¦ « - .. ¦ . . ¦ AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .

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      VOL . X . NO . 460- LONDON , SATURDAY , " SEPTEMBER ^ , 1846 . , 'J ^ JgJKggr ^ i ,,

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 5, 1846, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1382/page/1/