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THE NORTHERN STAR, 8ATURBAY, AUGUST 12, 1818.
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THE CHARTIST. rrilE APPEAKAXCE of ti»i-» Journal is unarojd»b!y X Postrioned fnr.innfliM wp-k. The r'ri urnf.a::t^
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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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TTttch have le-i to this delay do iot admit of P ' " a " l ' n J THE tHARTIST shall positively apprar onW-l " ' . nest , aEd fearlessly assert the rights of the people . Chartist OSces , * , Iit >! T « cii-stre = t , Stn . nC , Auiust 2 nd , " ISIS .
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Now Ready , 15 pp . Svo . Frice 7 lv 0 ? eacI PMPI 1 = ^ MIGRATION AND EMIGRATION SCHEMED i w ™ Jtol TMo % lT > Wate , read the ab , ve , and be not deceived . cwfditcb and 5 , Paul's-London : Arthur ^ on 2 , 1 , Shore due » . «» and eUey , Paternoster-row , and sold t-y a " newsmen .
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___ _^ 10 TAILOHS . By aPP—n of H ^ t . V Queen Victoria , NOW HEADY . TfTF LOSVOS AND PARIS SPRING ASD SUMMEB FASHIONS for 1849 . bv Messrs BENJAMIN READ find Co 12 HartJitreet , Bloomsbury-square , nearOxiord . street , "London ; and by G . Besgee , HoJywelUtreet Strand and all Booksellers , an exquisitely execsted aud gnperbiy coloured PRINT . The elegance efthis Pnnl excels any beforepnblished , accompanied with the N ewest StYle , and extra-fitting Frock , Hiding Dress , and Huntine-Coat Patterns ; the most fashionable dress Waistcoat Pattern and an extra-fitting Habit pattern of- he newest and mon elegant style of fashion . Every particular part eiDlainsd ; methoi of increasing . ind diminishing tne vrhole for anv size fnlly illustrated , manner of Cutting andXakrng ' np , and all other information respecting StTle and Fashion . Price lus . postfree Us . tor
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Afproach of the Cholera . —The number of deaths in London during the week ending August 5 ^ as 1 , 038 ; the average being 972 . Of This excess 21 deaths arc ascribed to cholera , and 97 to scarlatir . 3 , —the average deaths from the latter bting only 37 . The most noticeable fact , however , in this ] o : t return of the registrar-general is the great increase of mortality from diarrhoea and dysentery During the last three weeks in May the deaths from these diseases Tfere only 12 , 15 , and 16 . respr-csive : y ; dunv . " June thev bad iu creased to 37 ; an . i ! : ¦>« -,
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" ww re ^ dj , p :. tx lucfence , TH" RIGHT OF PUBLIC MEETING A LETTER Addressed ( befere Sentence , ) TO L 0 KD CHIEF JUSTICE SIR THOMAS WILDE . Br Ebh £ st Jon £ s . This letter enntainB the substance of the addrew which Ernest Jones intended to deliver m the court , but which the judge would not allow to be spoken . Also , price Threepence , A VERBATIM BEP 0 KT OF THS TRIAL * OP ERNEST JONES AND THE OTHER CHARTIST LEADERS .
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ALLOTMENTS ON SALE . TW O TWO-ACRES' both cropped , at Snig ' s End . TWO _ FOUR-ACRES , at Bromegrove . For particulars , af ply to the Directors , at their Office , Hi , High Holborn , Lendop ..
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TO BE SOLD , at Snig ' s End . a Valuable THREE " ACRE ALLOTMENT , cropped , together with Four Paid up Ponr-Acra Shares la the Land Company . The Allotment ii most delightfully situated , and in most excellent soil . Price , altogether , £ 1 ( 10 . For further particulars , apply ( if by letter ) , post-paid , to J . B ., No . 7 , Snig ' s End , near Glouc «> ter ,
The Northern Star, 8aturbay, August 12, 1818.
THE NORTHERN STAR , 8 ATURBAY , AUGUST 12 , 1818 .
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IRELAND .
"Alas , poor country ! Almost afraid to know i : sdlf !" Ireland is now occupied not by foreign troops , but by her sister ' s sons , and her own police ; and , to the joy and exultation of the Saxon Press , the Catholic Priesthood of Ireland—whose ancest rs have grinned through rocks and caverns , and who , under greater privations than the magnanimous O'Brien , wliose tender heart would not allow him to perpetrate cruelty , and who ^ e honour would not allow him to steal , have aforetime traversed their native hills barefoot and in sackclothare the reliable body-guard of the Saxon rovernment .
Let us not bs misunderstood , as denouncing men who righteously and religiously set their faces against bloodshed and slaughter , but let ii » . ask who have been the promoters of this rebellion '{ Who have sown the seed of dissension ? Who under their great teacher have frr years designated the Saxon , and everything English , as the enemy and destroyer of everything Irish ? Who has ripened the mind for the present sedition and revolt ? AVho cathered the means of supplying the heat to
the hotbed where the seed was sown , and the plant was nourished ? Who led the monster meetings in 1 S 43 ? Who recommended the fusion of the " moral force humbug '' into the physical force declaration ? Who brought down upon their heads the denunciation fof that Parliament and that Press , which now extols their loyalty to the Heavens i Who characterised them as the promoters of assassination , as the fomenters of sedition , and the organisers of rebellion ? Who called them the " SURPLICED RUFFIANS ? " And who
recommended them as patterns of religion , as promoters of Christianity , and as ministers of a Church , though designated as alien and heterodox , as worthy OF STATE SUPPORT ? Where , too , is their little leader ? Where is the " young ruffian'' who had the'insolence to speak of the violence of Chartism , and who now luxuriates in the prospect of eking profit out of the failure of those enthusiastic spirits who have been led to hazard and danger , in the attempt to reclaim their country ' s mind from that state of profitable baseness into which years of teaching had plunged it ?
What living man that does not more honour O'Brien in his cell than John O'Connell rocked in his thoughts of exultation at his dkaster ? The state of Ireland is frightful to contemplate ; but let not the English minister suppose that poverty , though paralysed for a moment , can be long kept in subjection , even by clerical sway . The Catholic priesthood , once the acknowledged serfs of the State , will lose their power and dominion , and then , in the words of Sir John Cam Hobhouse , in 1822 , " Though every Irish peasant had a rope round his neck , or a bayonet at his back , rebellion cannot be subdued until justice is done to a starving people- ' *
The question , as regards England , will presently resolve itself into one of pounds , shillings , and pence , and we much doubt that the English trader , or even the English landlord , will consider the colony worth preserving at an annual expenditure of some millions . The Press not only exults in the capture of O'Brien , but would now designate him as a silly fool and a maniac . We stop not to inquire the cause which led to his surrender —/ or surrender it undoubtedly was—and we do not belong to thr . t class who would heap reproach upon the head of one whose valour or cowardice must be measured by the valour or cowardice , of nther 3 .
Of one thing , however , we feel assured , and that is—that if the potato crop has failed this year , which we trust may not be true , and assurances of the falsehood of which we receive from many parts of Ireland—but should such a calamity again fall upon IrelaHd , all the army at England ' s disposal , and all the money that her Exchequer can spare , and all the influence of the priesthood , will not be able to repress the national discontent . Landlords fl ying , trade standing still , money scarce , food destroyed , and disaffection raging , will place that country in such a position that nothing but the timely interference of some great and resolute
statesman can avert . But is it not ever the case with the strong , and especially with the strong Whigs , to use vengeance and force , instead of timely and prudent concession ? la it not a fact that the weakest ministry that ever held office now holds it upon the base tenure of the fears of their opponents , rather than upon confidence in themselves ? Is this a state of things that can last i "Will the English trader , with the markets of the Continent , nay , of the world closed against him , consent to the sacrifice of his neighbour customer , who , by justice and conciliation , might be made a substitute for those colonies which are to be pampered or populated as consumers of British produce ?
Will the English landlord consent to increased taxation , to increased poor rates , to increased insecurity , to increased degradation , in order that a degenerate Whig government should substitute the bloody sward for the British constitution in Ireland ? and will they submit to the further tax upon their land and
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industry , to pay the Catholic priesthood , in the j , Ope—fhe false , vain hope—of making them the pacificators of their country ? and so poor , but so just is our opinion of the Irish landlords , that although the voluntary contribution paid by their Catholic tenantry to the priesthood is not like the tithes paid to the Protestant parsons , a lien upon the lands , yet let the State supply a substitute for that voluntary contribution , and nine out of every ten landlords in Ireland will raise the rent in proportion to the saving effected by the change .
It is cowardly to avow the fact , but yet it must be stated , that we fear to give expression to our feelings upon the Irish question in the present rabid state of society—but let those who hope to govern by the sword , rather than by opinion , bear this fact in mind , that wen become more desperate when the angry passions are pent up , and when vent cannot be given to their expression . All the physical force at the command of Eritain can neither stab a sentiment , shoot an © pinion , nor cut down thought ; and these are the fruitful seeds of dissension , dissatisfaction , and strife ,
which , in the long run , will out-general , outvie , and out-run the best physical-force arrangements . They rankle in men's minds ; they are set upon one object ; they are directed to the same result—and , however a few of the bubbles may be blown from the surface , they at last create a flood , which sweeps away every barrier that sophistry can oppose , every barricade that the assailing power can erect ; and then , the successful decline the acceptance of terms from the assailant , with the poor modicum of which they would have to
been more than satisfied , if granted jus > tice instead | of surrendered to fear . And , though thousands may fall in the struggle not yet commenced in Ireland , we would warn the Government again to take heed , to look around , to reflect upon what is passing in other nations , and to bear in mind that the American missionary , who was denied access to one of their former kings , subsequently became the Ambassador to his Court ; and , perchance , there may be as much magic in an American prisoner , now in an Irish gaol , as there formerly was in a rejected American missionary .
'To be forewarned , is to be forearmed ;" and we think we best discharge our obligation of jilltyiance to the Queen of England , by telling her tliat she is surrounded by ; irtful and designing men , who lose all thought of her prerogative in ambition , self-interest , and selfaggrandisenient . Let her reflect upon the words of Gratt . in , an authority much relied upon , as the dead always are—however much they may be disregarded while living . He said— "Three million Irish slaves will rivet Britain ' s chains . " Oh , Queen ! beware ! Oh , Ministers ! take heed !! Oh , peop le ! be cautious , for assuredly the tyranny of your oppressors will secure your freedom , your own tolly alone can retard its accomplishment .
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circulation of the ' Star , " let iti be \ nadewtood _ 1 » 8 we are willing to meet and shk to refute everv charge of interested motives o ? cupidity let it be understood , that this Company being established for the benefit of those who COHld only pay threepence per week to the funds , that Mr O'Connor , upon its formation , recommended the people , who could not otherwise afford it , to g ive up the " Northern Star ' and apply their money to the payment of their weekly subscriptions . And let it be further understood , that so far from the establishment of the National Land Company increasing the
circulation of the " star , ' the fact has been precisely the reverse . Men that bought now borrow ; it is political and not social agitation which raises the circulation of a popular newspaper , and we put it to the readers of the " Northern Star , " whether Mr O'Connor has ever used any passing excitement as the means of increas ing the circulation of his paper . But we may go further and carry the war into the enemy ' s camp ; we may ask whether any of those newspapers who use passing excitement as a means of profit , and who placard the walls of
England with brutal and obscene posting-bills—we may ask if they devote any portion of their profits to other than their own benefit ? Nay , we go further still , and ask whether , after eleven years of oppression and persecution , the " Northern Star , " for years making a splendid fortune , has made its proprietor a richer man ? The very charges of those sycophants should make every man in England a subscriber to the " Northern Star , " when he finds , by their own showing , that its whole profit goes to sustain their cause .
But there is another curious feature connected with this Land Company , and it is this—that not a fraction of the money has either been misapplied or unprofitably employed , and if theproperty was sold to-morrow , Mr O'Connor ' s attention , industry , and prudent management has increased its value by more than 10 , 000 / . ; whereas , as we have frequently stated , the invariable course of other companies is , to surfeit the mind with flaming
prospectuses , for which the hireling Press receives a large reward ; the chairman , managers , directors , committeemen , and their staff , luxuriate and grow wealthy upon the gullibility of their dupes ; hope is raised , expectations are held out which the profligate Press encourages , until at length call after call is made , and when no further aid can be received , the rogues " book up , " the managers dissolve , and the lawyers , like the harpies , come in and devour the fragments .
These critics talk as if the earth was to swallow up the land of the Land Company and all the houses , as if the property had vanished , because no rent is yet paid . There is one reason , and we trust a satisfactory one , why rent has not been yet paid—and it is simply because rent is not yet due . Bnt when the rent is due , not an occupant will he a defaulter ; and this is a strong argument in support of the benefits arising from . the Land Company , namely—that being for the benefit of the poor , it is not contemplated that the tenants of the Company shall be harrassed in their infant undertaking , like the tenants of Irish landlords , or many English landlords .
Next week , however , we shall publish some curious revelations connected with the Select Committee of the JS ationai Land Company . We shall publish some letters , written by a Member of Parliament to a clergyman upon one of the estates , appointing him spy and in * quisitor into the conduct of Mr O'Connor and the allottees ; and which letters the receiver incautiously dropped in one of the cottages . We shall publish a letter from a most respectable individual , inculpating Mr Richard Cobden as 'ferreter of evidence for the Committee , that letter— which we will give literally from the original—charges him with being dail y closeted with " One who lias whistled
at the Plough , " alias " the flogged Soldier , alias " Sommerville . " And as to Sir Benjamin , we shall withhold the correspondence respecting his dealings , until we establish our facts sufficiently to enable the honourable Member for Nottingham to apply for a Select Committee to inquire into the truth or falsehood , the legality or illegality , of those transactions . Meantime , in reply to " T . I , " we would invite him to use all open and honourable mean ^ to acquire information upon those points on which he has instructed us , but not upon any account to follow the example of Sir Benjamin , by courting or giving ear to anything which cannot be indisputably proved .
We think that Mr O'Connor ' s letter , which we publish this week , places the Land Company , as to its future prospects , in so clear and iinmistakeable a view , that it will give unmixed satisfaction to all , save those whorn ^ he very properly designates as " THE VERMlfsV And , in conclusion , we would draw the attention of the reader to . the indisputable fact , that the largest amount of weekly payment required from shareholders in the Land Company , does not amount to one-half of the subscription paid to other societies , in which few
receive any , and many receive no benefit at all ; and to the still greater fact , that Land and Houses are the best security for money , and that the Free Labour field is the best Savings Bank for the investment of man's industry , and renders him the largest profit . One other fact must never be lost sig ht of , which is , that Mr O'Connor never anticipated such a giant association ; that its growth , as well as the " vermin , '' have continually hampered him in big movement !} , and that , according to the evidence submitted to the Committee , every possible attempt has been made to secure ,
First , enrolment—then protection by Act of Parliament— then provisional registrationthen complete registration—then , again , legal protection . And that the Press , bursting with hope in the Select Committee , has now the audacity to tur n upon that Committee , to revile and abuse it for not lending the weight of its name to the destruction of the Company and the gratification of its enemies . We think Mr O'Connor evinced no small tact In excluding Free Trade mercenaries from the Committee , and as there were four popular
representatives—not counting thePUMP—upon the Committee ; namely , Mr Sharman Crawford , Captain Pechell , Mr George Thompson , and Mr Scholefield , Member for Birmingham—we would recommend the constituents of those honourable gentlemen to make a respectful appeal to them , asking them to express a sincere opinion as to the manner and spirit in which that Committee was conducted , and also the impression made upon their minds , as regards the management of the affairs of the Company by the promoters . As we stated last week , we have not only not yet done , but have
not yet commenced our war attack ; and , pephaps , the reader will be curious to learn that we shall be enabled to convict a Cabinet Minister of a hellish conspiracy against Mr O'Connor , in obedience to the recommendation of his former chief , to " RUlN HIM WITH EXPENSES , " and by whose treachery and connivance Mr O'Connor was compelled ta pay 65 / . last week to the celebrated Mr F , T . Fowler , who gave evidence against the Chartist prisoners , and whose letter , with reference to the Government and Press arrangements of the 10 th of April , we annex : —
i , Great Charlotte-Btru't , Blackfriara . road , April 17 th , 18-48 . Dear Sib , —A fact has just come to my knowlvil ^ o , which may perhaps bo Interesting to you , utul wliirli will in some measure explain how all tint tlullj pipiTa on Tuesday last , stated thut there wi-ru only Ift . ouo jifi ' sima present at the iiU'etiii -on Muinlaj' luut , winch nmuinlut surprised me , us 1 am errtstin Uieic « cio ui . wmilti of -JoO . OOO . The Comii . isitionei-a ai i ' ldice , ua Mi . miuy t-vmiiiii , ' lutit
sent round to li . unaptiii a iliumuuui maiUil ^ iu . t . v , rciiUiiHliii o' I hem tn Bt . au tli it tliuru were only i , s , t > m ' > jyeiuons | iibSciH at tlie meclinif . Nuw , 1 ttuiik yuu might to u » U tHelhimu Soji ' tsUrj , ivllUliui' tin : ini lie mo paid tor the i BijuiKi ! ( if siljiiiljiiii } tho iiuYv > iiuiiera tvith lion . Oi onii-ie , I do ma wisii you to r . untinii my mime in conn won with tliu mutter , hut you may plane tliu « ntu . ic : i lu . uiiix ( limn my iuluruijUuu , 1 rwmtiii , ituiir Sir , willfully your * , F £ Fqwle . ii To Fearga . O'Connor . ISen . M . I * . " '
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the extent of the field on which it has to ope rate , and the impossibility of ascertainwhether its bribes arid its intimidations are successful or not . Meanwhile / as the world generally adopts innovations , however good they may be , piecemeal , we have no objection to see the Ballot received into good society and made " respectable . " It is a sign of pol litical progress . " Work a little longer , " and the other points will , by and by , secure an " eligible" position in public and in Parlja , menUrv estimation * _ ^ ,
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Mr Thomas Powbk , secretary of the late Venezuela Emigration Company , * , requested to Bend his addrois 10 Allon bUtCliSfl , Lowei' -muur , Itippou . acre , near Mr R . Waco . Newcastle-under-Line . —The 5 s 6 d aentto 144 , High Holboru , has not been handed over to ua for tliti defence of the victims . Had we received it it would h ; ivo been aeknewkdgotl in our last , ' 8 lK , —Please to answer me this question . Suppose the American prisoners captured in Ireland are huDg or transported , what will the Yankees | say or do ? [ Wo loiive tho solution to the Yankees . Ed . N . S . J Mr O'Connor anutue Sohkss Town CuumsTs . —Per . hups my onthusiastio frii-nds of Somers Town will novr be satisfied , when they leara that the insertion of Mr FuiBell ' a letter rolatire to Mr FowJer , cost me £ 65 , lmld to that man , a sum which I trust will be refunded by the country , as if I was to pay for every body ' s entuusiasin , I should Boon become a pauper , F , O ' CO » . TOB « S JUvju , Motherwell . — Write , and enclose a postage Iwiga Ml > SfflBsh " VUs 9 n » Ro 7 al £ so
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THE NATIONAL LA N D C O MPANY . As we promised the snarlers last week , we have not yet done with them . Perhaps this National Land Company , in its several phases , presents to the sane and thinking portion of the community one of the most extraordinary features of the growth of mind , and progress of self-reliance j while , to the insane and thoughtless—who still hope to live on the disunion , the jealousiesj and want of confidence of the millions—it presents the first stumblingblock laid in the path of avarice , cupidity and plunder .
Thepropounder and promoter of this scheme is ft member of a persecuted family—a native of a degraded province—an alien in a strange land—exiled by the greatest juggler of ancient or modern times , because he would not be a coadjutor in the work of national degradation achieved through the prostitution of the Irish mind . And from the moment Ye set foot upon these shores , as the advocate of popular rights anJ the defender of his country ' s liberties , his whole endeavour appears to have been that of inculcating the principle of self-reliance in the minds of the labour class .
To accomplish this he has braved and withstood an amount of persecution and oppression which few men could have borne up against , until , at length , he has constituted himself not only the adviser , but the accepted director , of the ' Labour movement . With some peopleand for a short time this may be an easy task —but with the English people—and for fifteen years—it must have been an herculean labour , especially when the annihilation of one charge is succeeded by another , until , at . length , the general complaint of the p ress—which has hurled its thunderbolts asrsrinst him—has melted from the charge of
p lunder , deception , and fraud , to one of blunder , mistake , and weakness . But what we most esteem in Mr O'Connor ' s character , in connexion with the Land Company , is his repudiation , not only abroad but in the House of Commons , of any compliment to his honesty , at the expense of the character of his working men 'associates . " Bat , " said that gentleman , " however flattering the resolutions of the Committee may be to myself , I "ill not accept a compliment at the expense of the honest working men with whom I have been associated , and who have acted under my direction . " And now that the farce of a nine
weeks' inspection of Mr O'Connor ' s accounts by a Select Committee of the House of Commons has been performed , let ua not be misunderstood when we state that the evidence , on the face ef it , bears out the fact , that the object—the only object—of Ministerial acquiescence in the appointment of that Committee , was to prove Mr O'Connor really guilty of fraud upon the working classes . But that farce being now concluded , we ask , if there is upon record such another instance of pure devotedness and integrity as has been proved to the world , as that established by Mr O'Connor and his working men coadjutors ? And hence the continuous , though altered ravings of the maniacs who dread the loss of those traders in
blood , whose abject slaves they are ; hence , we find poor Fonblanque , of the " Examiner "a creature who has made as many tortuous windings as the serpent—emitting his spleen in two columns of wrath , containing no less than three and twenty falsehoods , and notonesingle fact ! Curious to say , that while Mr O'Connor is charged with paying the printer of the
" Northern Star' 1 , 000 / . for printing done on behalf of the Land Company , the scribe lacked the honesty to state that the very PRINTERS OF THE " EXAMINER'' received a portion of this money for doing the work of the National Land Company , while the work performed by Mr O'Connor ' s own printer was performed at a considerable reduction under any other estimate furnished and under what was previously paid for the same description of work .
Is it not marvellous how the Lord delivers our enemies into our hands , and what will poor Fonblanque—the great caterer for slavish patronage from the Government—say to this charge of patronage recoiling upon himself ? Then comes the - ' Daily News" the huxter paper of Bradbury and Evans , the "ragmen , " who having become the proprietors of " Punch ' have turned that originally splendid paper into a mere puppet-show exhibition .
But what , in reality , will be the impression left upon the minds of the working classes by this long and protracted inquiry ? Will it not be to invest their poor savings in any undertaking recommended b y Mr O ' Connor without too minutely scanning details upon which the whole Press of the kingdom has been unable to come to anything like a conclusion ? The plan submitted by . Mr O'Connor in thia week ' s paper , is one which , if carried out with spirit , will be the best answer to the assailant * of the Land Company ; and while poor bradbury and Evans writhe and wriggle at the notion of the Land Company having raised the
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PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW . One of the " Six Points" of the Charter has been agreed to by the House of Commons . Whether it was owing , as the Times asserts , to " a sudden concentration of the extreme Radical party , which took the Minister by surprise , " or to the desertion of his Tory supporters , who on this occasion left him in the lurch , to contend , as Colonel Sibthorp expressed it , with " his own mutinous troops , " is not clear . The fact , however , is there . In what , for the month of August , must be considered a full house of
167 members , Lord John was beaten by a majority of FIVE . For our own part we do not concur in the excuse invented to cover this defeat by the Ministerial journal ; Mr Berkeley had given ample notice of his intention to bring on the motion in favour of the Ballot ; if Lord John , under these circumstances , allowed his obsequious supporters to scamper off and place the Humber or the Tweed between them and St Stephen ' s , it must have been under the belief that , by some of those Parliamentary "dodges' ' which so frequently cushion inconvenient questions , lie could without their aid
defeat the motion . Perhaps a " count out " might be reckoned on—that simplest of all modes of putting a stopper upon topics tabooed by the two great factions who play into each others hands at the expense of the nation . But fron the very first the Hume party mustered in such strength , as made that | C dodge" impracticable . In fact , the House presented a very singular appearance during the debate . With the exception of Lord John Russell and one or two underlings , the Treasury Bench was empty during the greater part of the evening . The Protectionist benches were
nearly deserted , while behind the Minister sat the evidently determined and compact forces of the favourers of the Ballot . The course of the debate was not less curious than the appearance of the House . Mr Berkeley ' s clever and telling speech in support of his motion , was followed by a number of small speeches , each of them followed by a short pause , and cries of " Divide ; " while Lord John sat with his hat drawn down over his eyes , and his arms folded , seemingly determined to keep silence
on the question , and leave it to its fate . At last he rose , and if not in an able , at least in a frank and decided manner , gave his reasons for opposing the motion . From that time the debate increased in interest , and the House became more animated . The " Whippers-in " ferreted out reinforcements to the Whig troops , and hurried them to the scene of action , but in vain , the division equally surprised the victorious party ] and the beatenjMinisterialists ; and the " great fact" remains on the journals of the House of Commons , that it is the
opinion of that House " It is expedient in the election of members to serve in Parliament , that the votes of electors be taken by way of Ballot . " One other circumstance connected with the division may be noted . It was left an " open question , " and in order to maintain that appearance of consistency , without which no public man can long possess public confidence in thU country , eight of the inferior officials voted agaiist their Chief upon the question . The triumphant party appear to be satisfied with the victory they have gained for this Session , and have given notice of a bill founded on the resolution , for next year .
With respect to the Ballot itself , we candidl y confess that , apart from the other points of the Charter , and especially disconnected with an extension of the Suffrage , we are very doubtful of its utility . There was great force and truth in the argument of Lord John Russell that the one seventh of the male adult population to whom the vote is at present given , hold it in trust for the six-sevenths who are excluded from the franchise , and that if the privileged one-seventh were allowed to vote in secret , there would | be an end of all public control and responsibility . No doubt the argument comes badly from a man who has so recently
voted against an ; extension of the Suffrage , and who has so resolutel y taken his stand upon the principle of finality . But truth is truth , come from what quarter it may , and we are not prepared to concur in adding new privileges to those already conferred " upon a privileged class . If tha electoral class find that the exercise of that privilege exposes them to intimidation and to consequent loss , if they do not submit to tho corrupt and unconstitutional influences brought to bear upon them—Uuu-iMMody ia iu their own bands . Let them d » justice to the parties \\ bom they are said virtuiilly to represent , instead of holding any longer the trust vented in them , and which entails
upon them such numerous annoyances ; let them exorcise it at once , uu ! effectively , by bunding to Parliament men pledgeu u ir ' ve the frunehisu to the people at large ; when that is done let the Ballot accompany the Suffrage iu order that corruption may be baffled by
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IU III ¦¦ MlllllBIIlM III ilWfc' * ^ M— . MW ''—» M*—M ^ MMhM ^ THE ENEMF CONFUTED AND . CONFOUNDED . The strict and searching" inquiry into the affairs of this Company , which was instituted by Parliament , having closed , and the Report of the Committee having p laced its promoters under the necessity of devising new means of effecting the great object in view , it is of the utmost importance that all connected with it should understand the exact nature of the difficulties with which they have to contend . It is also necessary , in order te maintain that feeling of confidence , which has enabled the members hitherto to make head against an
amount of calumny and opposition almost unparalleled , that they should have the fullest information , as brought out by the investigation by the Committee of the House of Commons , with regard to the manner in which their affairs have been heretofore managed With the view of supplying this desideratum , alcarefully compiled and impartial abstract of the voluminous evidence given before the Committee , has been prepared for the number of " The Labourer , " now ready for publication , and which ought to be 'in the hands of every shareholder of the Company
In addition to a detailed account of the various efforts made to legalise the Company during a period of three years , and the nature of the obstacles ' which prevented the attainment of that object , the evidence incidentally throws a flood of light on the position of associated bodies of the working classes , with reference to the law , which has never before been brought together , and which we recommend to Trades' Unions , Friendly Benefit and Building Societies , Odd-Fellows , and others , as a valuable compendium of the law with reference to these matters , as stated bv the official
authorities themselves . The members of the Company will find a detailed account of the manner in which the finances were managed , the business transacted , and the extent , cast , and capabilities of each estate purchased b y Mr O'Connor for the Company , as vouched for by two of the most eminent accountants of the present day , appointed , by the Select Committee to examine and report upon the exact position of affairs . The practicability of the plan itself , and the means bv which it may
ultimately be made successful , farm an interesting portion of the digest , and will be of the utmost service , injeonjunc ion with the other parts of the evidence , in enabling the various branches to give instructions to their delegates at the Conference assembled to definitely determine thepfuture course of the Company , The publication of " The Labourer " has been delayed , in order that it might include the whole of the evidence , and it has also been more than doubled in size for that
purpose , that the public might have all the facts before them at one glance . These facts we may , in conclusion , remark , are equally honourable to the people who placed unbounded confidence in their leader , and to the leader who so nobly and generously exercised that confidence for the benefit of the people , at an immense sacrifice to himself .
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The Public Health Bill has we suppose , at IaHt been moulded into the shap # which fits it for public inspection , as a piece of legislative workmanship . Its transmutations haye btea many and perplexing—a sort of Parliamentary Proteus , which assumed new shapes even as you looked at it . Since the 10 th of February , when it made its first appearance , under the title of a " Bill for Promoting- the Public Heaftb /' down to the 27 th of July , when it came c ^ g " a Bill as amended by the Lords , intituled am Act for promoting the Public Health , " it has passed through six transformations , each
of them involving the alteration of all the old clauses and provisions , and the consideration of shoals of new ones . There can be no doubt that this is mainly owing to the facile and yielding temper of Lord Morpeth , who had the Bill in charge . A more obstinate and determined man would have shut his ears to the countless suggestions which poured in upon him from all quarters , and having first satisfied himself as to the principle and machinery of thBillhave
e , s ; one resolutel y forward to his object . But Lord Morpeth is sot cast in that mould of statesmen . He may be said to "Stoop to Conquer , " and , perhaps , in this instance , looking at the multitude of interests that had to be wrestled with and overcome , in the long run it was the best policy . The tortoise has reached the goal at last—that is something to be thankful for . A foundation , at least , ha « been laid for more effective legislation hereafter .
In the progress of the measure through both Houses , it is generally admitted that the Lords have shown themselves the most enlightened and determined Sanitary Reformers fand that but for them the Bill would ultimately have passed a mere enput mortitum , like many other Whig measures , which , like Dead Sea fruit , fair and tempting to the sight , crumbles into ashes at the touch . In facMhe Lords are
removed from the trade influences which operate on the minds of Members of the other House , and can legislate on the subject of public health impartially . They are not like Mr Bright , personally interested in the provisions for the prevention of smoke , and , therefore , they have not the obtusity of intellect which prevents the honourable member for Manchester—that capital of smoky chimnies—from
understanding the meaning of the term , " opaque smoke . " According to the amiable and innocent Mr Bright , smoke is never" opaque " in itself , but merely seems so according- as there is a black or a white sky in the back-ground . You need not laugh , good people of Leeds , Bradford , Manchester , or Stockpart , who are so familiar with " opaque smoke . " This is the kind of stuff which may be safely talked to the squires , lordlings , and merchants , in the House of Commons , without much danger of detection . The secret of the opposition is , that any
attempt to compel the ownera of mills to prevent the contamination of the air by the smoke belched forth from their tall shafts , involves expense . It is something , however small , that diminishes the per centage—that sacred idol , so devoutly worshipped , and , in comparison with which , public health and public well-being fades into insignificance . In addition to the owners of manufactories and steam furnaces , the owners of slaughter-houses , and persons connected with offensive trades , the shareholders of water-works—who coin one of the first necessaries of lifa into gold , and dule out
water by the driblet—have all an interest in keeping things pretty much as tkey are , and preventing- any interference with arVangemeats which yield them profit , however prea judicial to the community at large . The House of Commons is wonderfull y sensitive to these influences , and had it not been that the approach of the cholera inspired a wholesome fear of consequences , it is probable that some of the Lords' amendments would have been negatived at last . Lord Morpeth , in proposing one of these amendments , with an alteration of his own intended to make it more efficacious and simple , took the opportunity of stating that the cholera was advancing to this country in
precisely the same direction as ths . t which it pursued in 1832 ; that it had been heralded by the same precursor as on the former occasion —namely , a great amount of increase of diarrhoea , ending fatall y in many cases , HOW prevalent ; and that , by recent accounts , it had spread as far west as Riga , Narva , and Revel . He added , that it would be gratifying to him to be able to state , that this frightful visitation was approaching us in a more mild form than that under which we had already had dreadful experience of its mortal effects ; but , unfortunately , that was not the case , as shown by the communications of our Consuls abroad . This important announcement , no doubt , helped the progress of the Public Health Bill .
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The other questions before Parliament have been both numerous and varied—among them Mr Ewart made a show motion on the subject of taxation , which was " nipped in the bud ' by the chilling pest of the lateness of the Session , and put carefully by to be brought forth at some more convenient season . Mr C « Buller has pushed forward his amended Poor Law Union Charges Bill , and succeeded in getting as far as the Committee with another , which lias for its object the creation of new facilities for pauper education . The bill was
objected to by several Members , on the score of expense—and we observe that it was also petitioned against from Ashton , on the ground that the children in workhouses ' ¦ were better educated than the children of the labouring classes , and those of mechanics , who were brought up out of the workhouses . " This is a non sequitur . The petitioners should have prayed , not that the children in workhouses should have less education , but that the children of the mechanics andjlabouring- classes , brought up out of the workhouses , should have more . On the mere ground of economy , apart
entirely from the moral and social bearings of the questions , it would be infinitel y superior to replace our costly " criminal and repressive machinery , by a comprehensive and effective scheme of intellectual and industrial training . Ministers and Parliament are doing their best to hurry the Session to a close . The sitting may be said to be almost literall y en permanence—for they continue ni ght and day , with the intermission of a very few hoursscarcely sufficient for sleep and meals , Whether the legislation which results f » om this species of overwork will be of the best and most useful description , may be fairl y doubted .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 12, 1848, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1483/page/4/
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