On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
^^^^^•^t^iixiffl^r w
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
STATEMBNT OF ADAMS , COCHRANE , AND HASLET , AS PROMISED , WITHOUT CURTA 1 LMENT OR ALTERATION , " We awer seek the tattle , If or Biaa it whea it cotne * . "
TO THE CHARTISTS OF GREAT • -- - ... BRITAIN , . Respected Friends akd Brothers , - At the conclusion of a public lecture delivered by Mr O'Connor , in the Chapel , 100 , East Regent Street , Glasgow , on the evening ¦ of the 26 th of October last , it was settled by mutual agreement between that gentleman and us , that the differences between him . and us , respecting the proceedings of the National Convention and Assembly , and his conduct in
reference thereto , should be fully and fairly discussed throughfthe medium of the Worf / tern Star , ' he ( Mr O'Connor ) pledging himself to give full insertion , without curtailment or alteration ^ whatever we might have to communicate on the subject ; in accordance , therefore , with that agreement , we now proceed to lay Before you , £ 3 we best can , a . faithful statement of the facts regarding this ( hitherto ) somewhat mysterious matter , resolved to be as brief as a doe regard to a full disclosure of the requisite facts will allow us to be .
: In this discussion we have two duties to perform—one to ourselves and another to the public , more particularly that portion of it which we now address . First , we must defend ourselves against the charges of Mr O'Connor ; and second , state , and prove by evidence—at 0 u : e clear , direct , and complete—the charges we have to prefer against him . First , then ; we will vindicate ourselves . Mr O'Connor , in bis letter of the 7 th October , speaking of the conviction of Cuffey , Dowling ; Lacey , Fay , and Ritchie , says : — ' They are the victims of the National Assembly—an
Assembly whosa very constitution—from - its numbers—was illegal , as I told you at the time ; an Assembly which , from its mode of election , did not represent the feelings of the Chartist body . ' This short extract contains no less than three distinct charges , all of them ' important , and the first of a rather serious character , affecting as it does the moral integrity and personal honour of the members of the National Assembly ; charges which—could they be dearly and fully substantiated—are sufficient , we confess , for ever to disentitle those against whom they are preferred , to any
degree of public esteem or confidence . We 'have transported poor honest Cuffey , and his unfortunate fellow-sufferers ; ' so says Mr O'Connor . Assuredly such charges are no child ' s talk , and the public must see therefrom that our demand npon Mr O'Connor to throw open the cilumns of the 'Star , ' to afford the accused an opportunity of meeting them , is by no means an unreasonable demand indeed . Well—we shallmeet them , and meet them fairly ; and be content to leave the decision in the hands of a discerning and impartial put lie . Well , let us now look at the proof which Mr
O * O-nnrr nas adduced in support of this first and wnst serious charge * Here is the burthen ef it . and if you examine the letter in question , yen . will find it to be the only thing in the shape of evidence insistedion— 'that the plan of organisation propounded by the National Assembly was illegal . ' Now , waiving discussion fora moment on that point , let us ask : Does Mr O'Connor really mean to affirm that Cuffey and his brethren in bonds were transported for being members of that Association 1 Were they not rather tried and convicted of allowing themselves to be mixed up with an organisation of a character altogether distinct
, and entirel y different from the National Charter Association , and of having had recourse to measures neither sanctioned nor contemplated by the National Assembly ? Were they not , as upon the evidence adduced in court they have been clearly proven to be , instigated to these criminals acts by the miscreants Powell and bis co-conspirators , acting under instructions and paid by the Government itself ? And yet Mr O'ConnorunblusVmgly affirms , ' they are tte victims of the National Assembly . ' What are the acts of the Assembly ? Are they not its reselutions ? And where is the resolution of that bod y * ' which either sanctions or
enjoins a resort to secret combinations , or open armed aggression , or even resistance ? But we wgo further . Where is the rule in the Plan ef Organisation requiring any of these things ? or even , what member of the Assembly made the speech in which such proceeding are recommended ? Although we hold it would be unfair to condemn the body for the words of Individuals , as it would be unfairto bold the Souse of Commons responsible for one half . of the blarney contained in the speeches of Mr O'Connor . Does he adduce any facts of that description ? or does he simply make the
assertion , in the consciousness ofhis own power of gulling , and the proportionate gullibility of his readers , many of whom take for factand argument , without examination , whatever he chooses to affirm , to serve his own purposes ? Bntwehave something to say reeardinff ttftfagtWfe Action . WSR 8 dispute the fact of Mr O'Connor exertW a Meat influence upon the British Chartist mind A Urge portion of the Chartist body are , undoubtedly , influenced by his example . Now , it is a published fact , that Mr ' : O ' Connor a * tually became a member of this illegal
very Assj ^ boiv Why , thea , ks he not been victimised ? T Oyis He not transported ? If , as he : irouLfcWe you believe , the simple , fact of bemg a member of the Association ( for we defy M ^ O'Connor to show another , connecting takbetweeii these victims , and the National Amenably , ) constitute ground sufficient upon which a person may be tried ; convicted , and tensportedfor life-may we not ask : Was Mr O Connor anxiousthat he , and those whom fas examplejn . ght induce to join , should share
E ^ fSft % « "ft Lacey ; Fay , and Ritchie ? Did Mr O'Connor , previous to his being elected a membtt of theEsecutive Committee ,: feww the rules of the Association ? 2 ? £ /^ Ht aWish hi 8 acceptance of f omefe , and , thereby appear to sanctipn the le-% of an Association , which , ! for its ffleear ^ S ? q * oondeinns ? -Did' Mr O'Connor ^^ - Wjoin ins «^* W ( wtherules f ^ e ? n * SSSSS * PoKticd lea& * is fie ToS mdUons ^ to ^ before fie ilunk ^ therebl '• ' - . ' . < « 2 <* t "' ifi Mi ui-. ' . f * ' . . ¦ ¦ ¦ \ j ?
Untitled Article
enfeiling the possibility « 1 consequences the mostdisasbrcusto the freedom and safely of those who confide inhim ? But was it aot «»• til the trial of Cuffeyy he came to be awarel of the illegality of the Association ; ? TJien , what iind of a lawyermusthe be , who , did not know tefore ? Did he know the rules to be illegal before the trial of Cuffey ? Then , whyi did be not publish it in time , and thereby , at . least , absolve himself from whatever consequences might result to thwe who , otherwise , might be entrapped through ignorance , and , perhaps , poor Cuffey amongst thereat ; < -,:-,,
But , Mr 0 Connor says , in the same letter : 'Chartism has been declared by the Attorney-General to be an illegal combination . ' Daniel O'Cpnnell , long ago , declared Chartism to be a transportable offence : and , it is certainly somewhat surprising , that Mr O'Connor , after so many years' opposition to the great . Irish leader , on this very point , should come , lat last , to the same conclusion , upon the . overwhelming authority of a Whig Attorney-General . But we take it , —though he says it ; he does not mean Chartism , but the Charter
Association . Well , and are all things to be held as illegal , which a Whig Attorney-General chooses to call so ? Splendid authority , certainly . Upon the same authority ^¦ ' - Mr O'Connor is a sedition-monger , a libeller , arid a conspirator . But , will Mr O'Conhor ^ p lead guilty to these charges—simply because the Whig and Tory lAttorneys-beheral ,. who preferred these charges against'him , said so ? An Irish Whig Attorney-GeneraV backed by the verdict of an Irish Jury , has declared Smith 'O'Brien and his co-patriots guilty , of High Treason : but will'Mr O'Connor dare to
say these men were traitors , or , will he insult the Irish bar , of which he is . a member , by saying that English Whig legal authority is ' more to be relied on than Irish ? Let him answer these questions , before he asks his readers implicitly to bend their judgments to ,. such authority , as , in thU instance , to serve his own ends , he deems it proper , to introduce . - The truth is—and Mr O'Connor knows it;—all powerful organisations of the people ^ that is , such as are well supported by numbers and means , are illegal . AH weak
orffanisatioas-T-that is , such organisations as are sanctioned and supported by Mr O'Connor—are legal , because possessing no power , either in point of numbers or funds ; they are perfectly harmless , and , therefore , not worth the trouble or expense of prosecution . And , liowever Mr O'Connor may boast of the legality of previous Associations , the true test of legality for them all is their proportionate degree of efficiency in obstructing the tyranny of the ruling power ; and assuredly the safety of the members of his pet Association was more attributable to its own
inherent poverty and weakness than to the superior wisdom and discretion of its acknowledged leader—let him andhis Whig lawyer authorities say what they will . According to them , all that does not and cannot effectively oppose tyranny , is kgal ; all-that to any extent doe * and can , is illegal , and pHniehable if not sufficiently overwhelming to command obedience or respect . So much for the charge of transporting poor honest Cuffey and hi 9 unfortunate comrades ; a charge no less malicious and vindictive , than it is false , cowardly , and absurd .
The second charge in the . above extract which we shall notice , is—that the National Assembly ' did not represent the feelings of the Chartist body . ' This may be either true or false . If true , it is the fault of those who appointed it . But Mr O'Connor , at least ; ought not to have said so , seeing we can so easily arrai gn him as a witness to prove the contrary . In bis letter to the National Assembly ,, in the 'Star' of the 6 th May , he says , 'Iconsider you a fair representation of the Chartist mind . ' Should Mr O'Connor dispute the credibility of this witness , the public will at least have , the benefit of knowing how much credulity they should attach to the same testimony in other matters .
There is still another , and by no means-unimportant charge , preferred against the National Assembly , that of being an illegal body . Mr O'Connor says , « An Assembly whose very constitution frem its numbers was illegal , as I told you at the time . ' Now , as so much has been said pro . and con . respecting the legality of such bodies , is it not high time the public had something definite upoia this much disputed point ? It ia a very easy matter for Mr O'Connor , or any one else , to say this , that , or the other thing about it , but will he point out the particular Act of Parliament , or quote the
words of the act , to convince the public that what he says is true regarding it ? We demand this , in order to be fully satisfied on the subject , seeing , as yet , we have never got so much as the authority even of a Whig Attorney-Gfeheral to convince us in the matter . But we have authority for the opposite of what Mr O'Connor asserts , and though not lawyer authority , yet of such a description as Mr O'Connor must admit as-being entitled to some respect . Mr O'Connor , speaking of the Lancashire Chartist trials , says , 'So ample were the rights of the peopleas defined by
, Baron Rolfe at Lancaster , that the fifty-nine persons who were then tried and acquitted , solemnly accepted tht constructian of the law by the Just Judge , and all declared tha ) they would henceforth act upon his construction of the law ; and the consequence is , not one of those fifty-nine have been entrapped by the National Assembly . ' Now , it so happens that Dr M'Douall is one of those fifty-nine , and according to his expressed opinion upon the subject , the National Assembly , as regarded it constitution , was clearly within the law . His opinion was , that were the individual member *
duly elected at public meetings , and the objects of the body legal and well defined , whatever might be Us numbers , it was merel y an aggregate public meeting , and therefore in no way illegally constituted . ( C . we was taken to see that this was the case . ) Now , there is one of Mr O'Connor ' s fifty-nine Lancashire men ( out of a considerable number who were members ) who acknowledged the legality of the , Assembly ' s constitution , and if Me O'Connor be correct in what lie says , would not sanction any proceedings but such as were in strict accordance with 'the construction of the law by the Just Judge , ' which they had '< solemnly accepted , ' and which they had ' ' declared that they would henceforth act upon . ' It , as Mr
0 Connor insinuates , the Assembly either toat a trap in which to be caughty or made a trap in rJ " ^^ ? "S ^ caught ; what comes of Mr O Connor's boasting about the , superior caution of these persons—the result of their superior legal advantages ? If the Assembly neither mi a trap nor made a trap , and thereforecould ^ ntrap nobody , what comes of the charge of illegality , so unscrupHlously Pr eferred against it ? ; . , But , we have authority ; forthe legality of the Assembly , notwithstanding of its numbers , which Mr O'Connor certainly will not attempt to contradict . At the morning sitting of Thursday , daring the first week of the Convention , when the question of calling the Assembly was being discussed , Mr O'Connor being present , James Adams , of Glasgow , rose
and spoke to the following effect : ^ - < I think the time . has now gone past for us to be discussing about what is legal ! or illegal . The truth is , if tie increased numbers of the proposed National Assembly , are to constitute it an illegal body , this Convention must be illegal for the same reason , seeing we have sat here , from the commencement composed of a number over forty-nine ; and , if we hare braved the law in the one case , why should we fear to do so in the other r' Here Mr O'Connor interrupted him with criesof' No , no , no j that does not make us illegal . ' James Adams resumed 'Very well ; we are to have debates from
Ireland in the Assembly , and that will make it illegal at all events > ' Here Mr O'Connor again mterfereawith cries of < No , no , no ; that will aotmakaitillegal erther . ' James Adams again Msumed , ' Very well ; I am exceedingly glad ; -to , tear such statements come , from lawyers , S >??^ at those ^ hoareJaw , yeKa . mongst
Untitled Article
us wUl always so tender th . eir advice , in order to keep us right who cannot be expected to know much about these ^ matters , ' - $ ow , that it the truth , upon the testimony © fas : honest a man as Feargua O'Connor , Esq ^ M , P ., and has this advantage over many of that gentleman's statements , it can be corroborated by the testimony of many others equall / honest and respectable . . ¦'' •" . : - In fact , during the whole discussion of this question in the Convention it was clearly , distinctly , and universally understood , . that
the Assembly was to consist of a much larger number than one " hundred , as ultimately agreed upon . Mr ThohiMClark ,, of the Executive , in bis speech on proposing . the programme for the Convention , [ see report of the Conventien proceedings of Wednesday , 5 th of April , afternoon sitting , in 'Star' of the 8 th , ] says , ; ' They proposed that delegates should present those memorials to . the , Qu ^ n , and then he hoped to see a , delegation of at least five hundred persons . ' Now the . presentation of the National Memorials was the ostensible
purpose of the National Assembly ; and yet Mr O'Connor , ' though one of the' Executive : as well as Mr Clark , professes to be . ignorant of the intentions of that body * . ! , But if the Assembly was p , n illegal' body , why did not the Government attempt to put it down , more especially after—if they did not know , before— -Mr O'ConnoV had published the intelligence so conspicuously through the 'Star' Mr O'Connormay ^ y ^ / they were too powerless to be feared / but by so doing our argument upon the legality of the Association is confirmed .
¦ Besides , if Mr O'Connor . was so terrified at the 'illegal' numbers of the National Assembly , and can so very cleverly traee the trans- ' portation of Cuffey , as well as all the evip . g which now afflict Chartism , to that ] circumstance , wty did he sit in the Conventien of ? , which had more than forty-nine delegates ? Or must we attribute to that fact the subsequent proceeding at Newport ; and the con . demnation and ultimate transportation of the Welsh patriots ? Why did he sit in the Manchester Convention of ' 42 ? Were there onlv
forty-nine delegates in that body ? And if more , was to that circumstance attributable the disturbances in . Lancashire , and the consequent arraignment of the fifty-nine persons on achargeof conspiracy ? prwere they arraigned on account of the objects for which they met , and certain resolutions which they passed , which Mr O'Connor , instead of courageously carrying oni , denounced in the 'Star' as' the work of the Anti- Corn Law League ? In the same year did he not sit in the Conference at Birmingham , and declare , in the'face of about four hundred delegates there assembled' , 'that although he should go alone , he would go out with the Charter on his back , whole and entire ? ' - ; .
And , after all , what says the leader in the < Star' of the QOth of May?—' That even before the French Revolution it was agreed upon , in the event of the National Petition being rejected by the Legislature , that a larger and more comprehensive Convention , representing all classes '' -friendly to the movement , should be immediately / . called , to present a memorial to her Majesty , praying for the dissolution of Parliament—the dismissal of the Ministers—and the appointment of men who would make the Charter the
law of the land . ' It was also determined , 'that this body should consist of one hundred members—be called the National Assembly—and after the presentation of the memorial decide what steps should next be taken by the people to secure those franchises which are the inalienable right of Britons . ' Now for Mr O'Connor , after all this , to denounce the Assembly as an illegal body , or plead ignorance of its intended numbers , is so extremely like trying to make a loop-hole for himself to escape from the consequences of his own cowardice , and his proper share of responsibility , that no person unprejudiced enough to look truth in the face , will consider it anything else . ,
Another charge . brought against the National Assembly by Mr O'Connor—that of censuring and abusing him ( see his letter : of the 6 th of May ) we directly and distinctly deny . Throughout that long letter hot one single word of abusedoes he quote , except one expression—which is not- abuse—namely , that some delegate said , ' Let him stick to the Land , he is not a fit leader for us . ' Some delegate is not the National Assembly ; and to bring such a charge against the general hody , on
such paltry grounds , bespeaks a desire of quarrelling , as unworthy as if is weak and contemptible . But the truth is , no delegate ever made use of such language at any ' of the Assembly ' s meetings , and let Mr O'Connor prove the opposite if he can and , at the same time , ' put the saddle on the right horse . * Mr O'Connor also , in a late number of the ' Star , ' says , 'The Assembly spent ihree whole weeks in abusing him . ' If so , then they must have wrought time and half , seeing they only sat two weeks altogether . r
In this letter , of the 7 th of October , the As-8 embl y is also charged , with . having deposed and denounced the Executive body .. That we deny . Has Mr , O'Connor quoted the , particular resolution of the Assembly , by which they were either deposed or denounced ? No , nor he cannot , seeing no such resolution ever was passed , or even proposed . And whatever . may have been expressed by individual members , capable of being construed . into denunciation , assuredly found no sympathy ' amongst the general bodyl 1 'The influence of the O'Connor party inf the Assembly , notwithstanding of its 'illegality , ' was too streng to allow it , had Such . been . attempted . Even the expression' Let him Btick to the land / &c , had such been
actually used , is not denunciation , but merelv actually used , is not denunciation , but merely an opinion as to Mr O ' Connor ' s qualifications as a political leader , and the sphere in which his peculiar capabilities might be more profitably exercised . And as he has often declared public character to be public property , be surely cannot object to the ' members of the National Assembly acling oh tliis principle as
weir as others . The Assembly ' never de . nounced any party , neither in the Executive nor out of it , and , we feel confident , no member of that body , with the exception of Mr O Connor himself , would have the effrontery to say so . > : It is true the Assembly appointed a new Executive , but in doing so they were , so far , only carrying into effect a resolution of the Convention requiring them to do so . Butthev
certainly did not , intend thereby tp wound the feelings eitherof Mr O'Connor or any other member of the previous Executive . None of them were re-elected , to be sure , but it was themselves principally who prevented it . They refused to stand the election 6 n account of their , duties , as Land Company Directors , disenabling thenr to give the , requisite time and attention , to . the dutieB of the . office . How then , under these circumstances , could the Assembly ^ have done otherwise than thav did ? .
But it is somewhat " strange , after all for Mr O'Connor to complain of this , afSL th ' at he previously stated , in his let 4 , V . the ' OM Guards' m the W of the 13 th ofiMay .: , He there expresses ^ entire acquiescehce- n the nSSSS' 1 new ¦**** i * " m £ S ^ ttmaaA ^ Ku ^ aSbSS ^ t ? mmmm that the proper performance of thi '' xSll
the one office was incompatible with the effi cient discharge of the ^ oiher , and , had U ' nbt been for mcumn ^ a charge of shrinking , they would have very speedil y ; resigned . But it appears Mr 0 Connor just' speals' ' it may serve the . purposes of the moment , regardless of what he h ^ d , previously affirmedf ; ^ * ™* I t i , " h i ? 1 Jreade ^ Particular ^ hia ' . Old * GnMd 8 / , tt , U ever thU ^ of critiJising
Untitled Article
whathesayg , « otkerwise , we cannot account for thpse flat contradictions of himself , which so frequently characterise hU rery prosy and ego-UabJual cHuolOIlS * ., .,... . ¦ : , v-. So far , " then , to { lie best ¦' ofour abi \ ityi : we have met . and , rebutted the charges of Mr O'Connor , whether successfully or not , remains with you , not with uSrto say . Of this , how ever , we are certainr-a dispassionate public will giye us credit both' 'for pMhhess and moderation . JW& . have : confined ourselves strictly to plain facts , and , reason , and . if we have failed to convince we have not condescended to
abuse . We have had to say things we could wish we did not require to say , but in doing so we have but acted on the principle of calling things by their ^ ^ right names . We confess our o , wn feelings have been injured by the treatment we have received at the . hands of men whose Bible is the Star / and whose Great ; Pro . pbet is O'Connor . But these we have restrained , from a conviction of the correctness of what eur own poet has so happily expressed . ' .. . ' , . ' Facts weoWel * tn » t wliraading , . . Anddsronabedliputed . '
We shall now proceed to state , and prove , the charges we have to prefer against Mr O'Connor , which are as follows : —First , that Mr . O'Connor falsified hig , promises , and betrayed the confidence of the people , during the late agitation for their political emancipation ; and , second , that he deceived the Convention , and attempted to impose upon the House of Commons , by grossly exaggerated statements regarding the number of signatures attached to the National Petition . . . ¦ .
iNow ^ these are serious charges , and , how , ever unscrupulous Mr O'Connor has shown hlmgelfto'be , ; in jpireferririg some of an Equally serious character against us , who have neither equal ability nor means of defending ourselves , yet we confess , that nothing short of the strongest sense of public duty could have induced us tb . take'such a course against one in whom ! a large ; portion of the Chartist bodyhave been long accustomed ' to confide . But conscience must be obeyed , at whatever , cost , and ( as far as a statement of facts , which the public have a perfect right to know , can serve the object , ) 'the sacred cause of liberty redeemed from ruin and disgrace .
First , then ; that Mr O'Connor falsified his promises , and betrayed the confidence of the people during the late agitation . Mr O'Connor , in his Letter to the 'English People , ' in the . ' ^ or' « f the 15 th April , says' If I have been guilty of falsehood or decep . tion , I am unworthy of your confidence . ' We shall see . In his letter of the 8 th April , he writes as . follows— ' The mighty mind of England is looking to us all , and especially to me , for the promised fruits of our long and incessant . labour ; and , as far as I am concerned , I am . resolved , that whether ;; my days in this world be long or short , natto abate my ardour —not to diminish iny demands—or to peril the
cause which is nearest' my heart—by throwing away a single opportunity which may lead to its ; accomplishment . If I had trafficked in your confidence , and made merchandise of your credulity , I might be induced to cry ' Wait '! wait I wait ! ' But your poverty—your destitution and misery—and my own feeling and sense of humanity—the love of truth and ' justice , would not allow mylips to utteri . the delusive words ; and , therefore , it is that I tell you , that * in my soul Ibelieve the propitious hour has arrived when our ; long suffering arid martyrdom may . be crowned with the laurels of victory . '
, Now , one would ; suppose , from reading such soul-atirring sentiments as these , wrote just immediately before the Kennington Common Demonstration ,, on the 10 th , and in the belief thatMr O'Connor was a man of his word , that he , of all others , would be foremost in the field of danger , mpst courageous in the battle , and the very last who would give the slightest countenance to anything in the shape of temporising or retreat . But what a grievous mistake , He was . the man , and the only man , who deliberately resolved , and carried hisre « solve into , execution , to make the people evince
that spirit of cowardice and irresolution by which the grand results , anticipated from that display of their moral power and determination , were jcompletely frustrated .,: He—after being a party to an agreement come to by the Convention , that the Executive were to take the command of the procession , when brought breast to breast witb . the armed forces of the Goyernmeat—but not till then—and then to act as their own prudence might suggest ; he —after telling the country ,, previous to the meeting of the Convention , that , if interfered
with , the people would strike in their own defence—tha $ man went to that . Demonstration for the express purpose of prohibiting the procession , and , as a set-off to the affair—no doubt intended in the plan—was sent for by the police authorities , and came back with the information that , if the procession was attempted , the people would be fired on . This he actually confessed in the House of Commons . ( See . his speech in the . House of Commons , on Wednesday , April 12 th , on the . question of going into Committee on the ' Crown and Government Securit y Bill . ' )
And , what then ? No sooner did he get the majority of the Convention away—some home to their constituents , and others as missionaries to prepare for the meeting of the Assembly ; than out he comes with his temporising letter of the 22 nd , April , asking the country to postpone , the meeting of the Assembly ; with bis cringing , crawling , crouching adulation of Sir G . Grey ; and his dastardly fling at the Irish Confederate Repealers , in the person of G . G . ; Duffji of the 'Nation ; ' insulting the Conye ' ntiop , toft , b y attempting to ; thwart its resolutions—to which he had been a consenting
party—and shabbily passing by > without consulting , the nucleus left behind , to whom , in the interim ]; properly belonged the right and duty of directing the mind of the country , and transacting all public business connected with the movement . Was not that policy something , like the ' delusive ' one of'Wait ! wait ! wait ? ' Yes ; 'Wait , ' he says , ' nine-tenths of the shopkeepers in England have become converts ; of . Chartism ,. Wait till we . see what the new Reform party , are going to propose . ' The true version of au which is— 'Wait ; do not go so fast a-head . I ain . afraid of your enthu-Biasmr Wait—I told you the propitious hour
hadI arrived ; -, but I find its all a mistake . Wait , I expected to carry , the Charter by the power of public excitementmso I see I could , but it might be somewhat dangerous , and 1 am not prepared to risk my corpse . The Convention were : for going a head ; I have got rid of it . The Assembly may be siich ^ another set of goa-head fellows ; I must , therefore , get the people divided . This 1 can do , because I have some influence . ¦ That accomplished / the excitement will go dowa ; then I am safe . A , nd , if there is any dust about the . matter , I will throw all the blame upon their folly . -I-will throwdust in the people ' s eyes , and , after all
, retain my . position as the unpaid , unpurcbaseable , andunfiincMng ^ Leader ' of the Imperial Chartists . ' The Enthusiasm of the people abated-rtheir brightest hopes of success were all . blasted by Mr ., O'Connor ' s lette > 8-f-they hesitated about sending their delegates to the Assembly—the 1 st of May came—the Assembly met—and ^ behoid the result : out of one hundred delegates elected , only twenty-seven appeared . ' at . the ' commencement . Gradually they came dropping , in , till the beginning of the second week , but never did the number
reach anything like that originally intended . The Assembly saw from the beginning it had n ^ tWe ' unanimous support of the people . The sincere . pbftioh of the , members ; finding themselves so awkwardly situated , and Mowing the cause , boldly and [ openly expressed their minds upon the subject . This called forth the con . demnationof the O'Connor party , who , in con . sistency , ought hot to have been there at all , and , hence the spQ edy dissolution of the Assembly , , and ; the complete prostration of the people ' s cause . Tei O'Connor isthe'tiomdar Leader . ' ¦ . : , la the Star' of the 15 th April , Mr O'Con-
Untitled Article
nor promised to prepound a plan in the' Star of the Saturday following , 'to upsei the present system , and hurl the , present Ministers from power in one -week after Easter . ' His ietterwas that flfani and though it did not succeed in accomplishing' what he said it would , do , yet , doubtless , it has accomplished all-it was intended for ,. ; Lord John' still' stands at the helm ^ -the'good old ship has weathered the political . storm- ^ and the whole Whig crew are as bold and brisk as ever . -: Again , Mr O'Connor . pledged himself—in the . event of , Sir Georg ^ Gre ' y ' a (* the tenderhearted ; tma ( n' ) " G } aggin « , Bill Becoming lav \ M to , stand up . in the House of Commons , and declare himself a Republican-r-but he never did it ; ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ , ;•• :
Again he promised to impeach the Ministry ( the'tender-heartedman ' . included ) 'for their treason to the Crown and the people , regard-, less of , the odium . to ; v ^ hich it might subject ' him—but Jhe did not do it . , Again , he promised , to a deputation from the Kational Assembly ( not disputing its le » gality ) , to bringsOn a motion for the Charter , as ' soon as the , motion of Mr' Hume , for the lesser measure , was disposed ofp-but no such motion has , as yet , made its appearance in the House ' of Commons . '
Agaiii , he told the Convention , he would be prepared to do the bidding of the Assembly , whea it met ; but , instead thereof , he tried to prevent its ; meeting , and , to some extent , succeeded . Those of its members who did meet ne exposed to public scandal , by false accusa ^ tion 8 and misrepresentations of their proceedings ; -and , by the instrumentality of his own partisans within it , he rendered the best efforts of its honest members , to turn its little remaihing power to the best account , unavailing and fruitless .
But why need we enumerate ? We could fill the * S ( or' with his brokenpledge 3 . Yet that is th e man whose patriotic soul , horrified at the misery and destitution of Englishmen—whose Unbounded love of truth and justice—whose strong feeling and sense of humanity , would ; npt allow his lips to utter the delusive words , 'Wait , wait , wait . ' That is the man to whom the / mighty mind of . England—ay , and of Ireland , too—was especially looking for the promised fruits of their long and incessant labour . That is the man who tells his ' Old ' Guards , that f change of circumstances never Alter hig
resolution . ' That is the man who 'does not trafiick in , your confidence , nor make merchandise of your credulity . ' That is the man who tells you'that the time ha 3 arrived when those who hold your confidence must appeal to your wisdom—when those who have struggled from the infant ' s birth to the giant ' s maturity , will have to rest their claims and confidence , not uponone solitary act , but upon their every act . ' We say—measure him by his own stan . dard . Exercise your own judgments ; Be men . Read , read , read ; think , think , think . Try him—not by one solitary act , but bv his
every act , and then decide as to whether he be entitled to a continuation of your confidence ^ We know something of his history . In 1843 * he boasted , while on a provincial tour with Mr Duncombe . that he had enrolled 1 , 500 members in Glasgow , in a new National Charter Association he was thea establishing , while the fact wasy he enrolled none at all , but only sold some 300 cards , without asking the names of those who bought them .. His then ' toady' in Glasgow repeated the lie in his report of the meeting , and ; when asked , refused to give any explanation of the matter . He boasted , also-, of
having enrolled immense multitudes In the other provinces he visited ; but , if we may judge from the report of his efforts in Glasgow , the statements were just so many bare * faced , impudent falsehoods . He told the country in 1846 , that public opinion was then sufficiently extensive in favour of Chartism—that its organisation was sufficientl y powerful—and all that was wanted to insure success was th ' e right directien of the power at their disposal ; while , atthe time , the weekly receipts of the Association would not pay the expense of a decent place of meeting , much less pay the
wages of the Executive . His constant aim has evidently been to make the country believe bysuch fabrications as these , that he is the leader of ajpreat and powerful party , while he knows—and he is aware , the Government knows—that , when-the struggle comes , he cannot marshal the forces he bpa 9 ts he can command , and then he must have recourse to the delusive policy of ' Wait , wait , wait !¦ ' in order to screen himself from the consequences of his own foolish pretensions . His political career is but one continuous system of falsehood and imposture , only to subserve the
vain-glorious purpose of . retaining : a position , the duiies of which hV never had the nerve nor the discretion efficiently to perform . : He is unbounded in his egotism , pretending to the possession of power outrivalling Omnipotence itself . In 1846 , he said , I > eel was Almighty—Peel declared himself beat by Cobden —and O'Connor assumed to be the conqueror of the great Free Trade agitator . He is as changeable as the weathercock , having for many years zealously opposed the measures of the Anti-Corn Law League , and afterwards turning so much infavour of them , when adopted
by Peel , as to declare them to be such as would make us great at home , and , therefore , great abroad , and doubted if even a Chartist Parliament would have been prepared to sanction a measure so sweeping . So' generous' wa 3 be in his advocacy of Free Trade , that even at his own expense he assembled a Convention to declare in favour of the measure , and as , a grand wind up to the proceedings , gave three times three cheers in honour of the ' Almighty Minister ; ' and now , Jim Crow like , he attributes > he distress of the country to these very measures . We ask , again , is SHch a man worthy of your confidence and support ?
We shall now proeeedto the proof of the second charge , namely—that Mr O'Connor deceived the Convention , and attempted to impose upon the House of- Commons , by grossly exaggerated statements regarding the number of signatures attached to the National Petition . In the'North British Express' of the ' 28 th of October , Mr O'Connor is reported to have said / in reply to Mr Shirron , at Aberdeen , ' That although upon his oath , or even upon his death-bed , he would unhesitatingly declare thatthat Petition contained 5 , 000 , 000 signatures / * ; . .
Mr 0 'Gonnor ' will also remember having statedin the Convention that , after having made . the necessarjr . inquiries , he could now state , that the Petition had already received not less than 5 , 400 , 000 signatures , and that it would not be proper for him to make statements there which he was not prepared to substantiate in the House of Commons , as it might be examined . W « ask you to keep these facts before your minds , and compare them with the evidence we shall presently ¦ adduce . ' : ' of of
Inthe '^ ar Octoberj Mr O'Connor , in his letter to the' Chartists , says , M believe in iny conscience that a more honest or , sincere man never " breathed than Cuffey . ' And again , in the same paragraph he adds . ' I tell you that an honester man does not breathe the breath of life than Cuffey , and that he was appointediauditor of the accounts of the Land Company ^ from'the implicit confi . dence thjat those of his own order placed in his integrity . ' . So much ; for the ackriowledeed credibility of this witness . ' i" ¦ - ¦ ; " . ¦
Another principal witness we have to brineforward is Mr James Grassby , ef London , a man well known and much respected by the trades of the metropolis . Let us . hear , then , what they have got to say , in this matter . . On Thursday , the 4 th of May , on the road between John Street Institution and the Land Omce , ; in presence of Mr John M'Crae , a member of the Executive , and delegate to the A ssembly for Dundee | John Peacock , delegate for Greenockj and Andrew Harley , delegate for Glasgow ; William Cuffey stated , in answer to questions put to him on . the subject , that on
Untitled Article
the occasion o / bim and Mr Gre 83 bv , wai » i « Mr O'Connor , at OsboraeV Hotel fi ? 5 purposeof asking him to make : arrano m . 7 for giving a full report of the Conven £ « ceedings ; in the 'Star' Mr O'ConnorSfc 'How they were getting on with theH tion ? ' . Their reply was , Pretty well , butt ! , thought the number , of signatures would y come up to anything like what he ( Mr O'O nor ) anticipated . ' Mr O'Connor replied « u he had already stated to tbe countrl ^ th 6 re would be 5 , 000 , 000 , and he would state it to the House of Commons' Hp S ° then reminded , 'that it might be danJrn a 3 it might be inquired into . ' Mr O ' Cn ' rejoned , ' Pooh , pooh , pooh ; it will nevert challenged . ' ' ° Mr James Grassby , in presence of the Unpersons whose names are adhibited to this dop ment , on the 10 th May , when we called on hil
for the purpose , fully and freely corrob uratp 3 the' evidence as freely given by Mr CuflW James Adams , of Glasgow , also , at a meetin of the Convention held in the Land Office o the Friday previous to the meeting of theAs " sembly—the subject , of conversation bein K \ L best means for obtaining a good report of th Assembly ' s proceedings—heard Mr Cuff « y Sav 'It ' s all nonsense talking about asking ML O'Connor to give' a full report , for though hn promise , he won ' t do it . He promised to ml a full report of the Convention ' s proceeding but never did it ; he is a liar . ' Such i 9 the opinion entertained regarding Mr O'Connor by a person than whom , Mr O'Connor declared at Edinburgh , 'there is not a more amiable man in England . '
In corroboration of the above , we subjoin the following important extracts from eorrespondence upon the subject . We refrain from giving the letters entire , simply for the sake of brevity ; at the same time pledging ourselves , shouldsuch be demanded , to give them in full , as they contain not a single sentence we have the slightest reason to conceals—Mr Grassby to Andrew Harley— 'Dear Sir * If the statement of a fact be of any service to our friends in Scotland , as far as I am conearned , it is at their service . The first word 8 Mr O'Connor spoke to me and Cuffey were
' What sort of a petition are we going to havel Are you manufacturing ? ' We said , we thought the petition would be a good one ' but not so numerous as he had stated . To which he replied , 'That he had made up his mind to state it to contain five millions and some hundreds of thousands , ' the exact amount of which I do not recollect . We asked him , if it would not be dangerous to do so ? To which he replied , « Not a bit , as these things were never looked into . ' That is the substance of what passed respecting the petition , and nearly verbatim . * . * . * { .
'He told the Executive what numbers he should put to it , and they were as bad as him not to protest against it . The ' Star of this week tries to throw the blame upon the people . '—May , 22 nd , 1848 . Mr Shirron , Aberdeen , to Andrew Harleyspeaking of the discussion in the Convention on Mr O'Connor ' s letter of the 22 nd of April , writes as follows ;— ' When the delegates had each spoken in their turn the chairman for that day , ( Mr Cuffey ) requested the privilege of expressing his opinion also ; this was granted . In the course of his short address he saidthat
, Mr O'Connor had , in his speech in the House of Commons , called him ( Mr Cuffey ) a ' Tomfool . ' But in one thing he had the " advantage of Mr O'Connor , and that was , in being an honest man . Mr Cuffey had always looked upon petitioning as a farce ; but if the Chartist body had been brought into ridicule on ac count of the disclosures made in the House of Commons , respecting the National Petition , it was Mr O ' Connor alone who was to blame . Mr Cuffey stated , that he was present in the Land Office at the time Mr O'Connor inquired as to the number of signatures attached to
that document , and he was informed that the number was less than two million . On hearing which Mr O'Connor stamped his feet and said , ' By G—d , I have stated to the country that there would be upwards of five millions , but it matters , not , I shall so represent it to the House , they will never attempt to count the numbers ; it was not done with the last petition presented by Mr Duncombe . It did not con . tain one million five hundred thousand signatures , although it was represented to Mr D ., and consequently to the country , to have contained three millions , and upwards / Now , Sir , Mr Cuffey made the foregoing statement
in the Convention , in the presence of most of the members then in London ; Messrs M'Grath and Dixon were present when the statement was made in the Convention , and Mr Cuffey said that Mr O'Connor made the foregoing declaration ia their presence and hearing . Neither of these gentlemen contradicted or called in question the truth of Mr Cuffey's disclosure , and it was firmly established in the conviction of all parties there present . * * In conclusion , Sir , I cannot but express the disgust which I felt , —when having expressed the astonishment I experienced at the . many lies and inconsistencies with which Mr O'Con .
nor was chargeable / since the commencement of the Convention ' s proceedings—on being coolly and freely told , that I must be very green indeed , not to have known , long ere now , that such , was nothing new in the character of O'Connor . This statement was received , by the servants of O'Connor , with great glee and good humour . '—Oct . 23 rd , 1848 . ; Our work is done—our proof is completeone word of comment upon such , evidence is unnecessary— and it now remains for Mr O'Connor—if he can—to disprove the facts here alleged against him , and our earnest wish is , that he may succeed in doing so . But , let
him bear . this in mind , that * Facts are stubborn things , ' and that it is not by such attempts as his vulgar , contemptible epistle of Saturday , the 4 th instant , he can rationally expect to clear himself . Throwing mud upon his , . opponents will , not wash his own skin . Calling people by such epithets as Nest of hornets , ' is not , and will not be taken , by thinking people , for fact or argument ; and , at the same time , they will miserably fail to prejudice the public mind—for which' purpose they are evidently intended . Let him meet fact-with fact , reason with reason . It he can
do this , the public may , perhaps—if such be sufficiently overpowering—be induced to decide in his favour ; otherwise , he will be left in that position which . he , and all such unprincipled pretenders , ought to occupy in pub * lie estimation . \ ( Sigaed ) ROBERT COCHEANE . Paisley . JAMBS ADAMS , Glawow . ; ANDREW HARLEY , Glasgow . Glasgow , 13 th Nov ., 1848 . I shall nowreply seriatim to every charge , establishing the truth of what the writer * seek to disprove , and the falsehood of what they attempt to prove ; , : . . .
Is ly . I did state , and repeat it now , that Cuffey , Dowling , Lacey , Fay , and Eitchie . are thi victim * of tip . bad raen , > nd especially the Scotch delegates , in the . iwional Assembly . I . do not confine it to tbe charge of . illegality of the Assembly , nor does that . enter at all . inte the consideration ef the question . 18 &y that they were victims to the false representations of the state of preparedness of the men-of Aberdeen , and other parts of Scotland . I
further state , that ' had hot'that National Assembly met—or had a National Assembly met that represented the Chartist mind of the country—the rash , the foolish , and road freaks , which followed the preaching of a portion of that Assembly would have been checked i and I further state , that that As 8 emU y did not , represent the working classes ot the" Chartists , and that the few bad men nullified and destroyed the acts of the good men ; "
I am asked , if I mean that Cuffey ' and others were transported for being members of an illegal association ' ; I say « . No , ' but I gay , that they *« ra hurried into their , rashness b y the representations of that Assembly ,. and that , consequently that Assembly was the causa of their transportation . Ana as'to . the miscreants Powell and his co-consp irators being the cause of their transportation , they would have had no power but for the Assembly ; ^
^^^^^•^T^Iixiffl^R W
^^^^^•^ t ^ iixiffl ^ r
Untitled Article
* 6 - , - " tjaAfpftHS % ^ lgERfefTARt ¦ . . . yj PEGEM ^ B . a ^^
Untitled Article
Mr Fmends , : Atfoot you will find the indictment of Adams , € od » ian $ , * n 4 fflMpnA the ( Glasgow and Pliiley deWles to tie National-Attembly ; . and , if you fed insoited fay w mueh space being so occupied , in the only newspaper in thi Empire that is devoted to die canse of Labour , you most blame your frieids and vaAne , rather thin . Adams ,. Cochrane , and Hildyard ; because had it not been forthe application
of those friends , each rubbish never should have ( Ccupied the columns of the' Northern Star ; ' nor do I attribute the anxiety for its publication to any other than the best of motives , as my friends ia Glasgow and Paisley , who come in contact with those three delegates , may naturally presume that toe non-pnblicatioa of their oft-repeated nonsense , may give some colour of truth , not only to what was witnheld , bnt ta what nay be extenuated .
I consider this short apology necessary for the publication of the matter , assuring you at the same time , that , henceforth and for ever , I shall leave all such charges ta be discussed by the friends and the enemies of Chartism , while I think I may , without vanity , ask the reader whether any other proprietor of a newspaper in the world would open its columns to such absurd and insulting trash ; and jet I understand ' , from one of my correspondents , that the writers have declared that the composition did not contain a single word o ! abuse . However , here it is , and you shall judge for yourselves , and following it yon will find , not a mere evasive answer , but the most unsbakeable refutation of every charge , and the most unmistakeable conviction of the plaintiffs .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 2, 1848, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1499/page/6/
-