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THE NORTHERN STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9,1818 .
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THE WIST RIDING ELECTION.
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TO ' JIAIMIW9.* /
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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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- Byapprobation ofHer Majes tyQaeenVictorta , r ¦ ad H . B . H . Prince Albert .-SOW SSADTt - ' ___ mm TONDON AND PARIS WINTER T 5 ?« nossfor 1848 . 19 . by Messrs Benjamia BEAD * ^? arUtteet , Bloomsbury-squaie , Iondon ; and fgtsssffii Sorato ^ WaU tcoate . bothsingleanddouble . breasted . ito , ttefteoty of Gattos Cloak * of every description ftS * explafoed % th diagrams , aad every thmg respe * fe / gtyleand fashion iilastratea . The method of inoc&s&g and diminishing all the patterns , or any often particularly explained . Price lCs . HlSAD and Co . beg to inform t&ose who eonn ieiit ¦ nt tIpM to say the fuU price for the new system of Cut-
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METROPOLITAN COUNTIES and GENERAL IIFB ASSURANCE , Annuity , loaa , and Iavestment SOCIETY . ( Incorporated pursuant to the 7 th and 8 th Vic , cap . lie . ) Temporary Offices , 39 , Kegentstreet , Waterloo-place , London . " " TRUSTEES . Eichard Spooner , Esq ., I Spencer Horatio Walpole , M . P . 1 Esq ., M . P . Edward Tansittart Keale , i Henry Peter Fuller , Esq . Esi . I DIRECTORS . Robert dialmers , Es ^ ., Edward Lomax , Esg ; , St Thurlaw-square , Bromp . John ' s Wood , toa : Samuel Killer , Esq ., Lin-SamuelDriver , Esq ., White- coin ' s Inn . haU . Sir Thomas Newley Reeve , Heniy Peter Fuller , Esg ., Richmond . Piccadilly . Edward Vansittart Neale : Pali Griffith , Esq ., Esc [ ., SouthAud ! ey-street Iromaonger-lan& Cheap- William A . S .- Wertoby lite . Esq ., Hyde Park-place .
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ENLARGEMENT OF THE 'SPIRIT OF THE AGE' NEWSPAPER . THE success which has already attended the establishment of the SPIRIT OF THE AGE has led to the resolution of increasing its contents to Twenty . Pour Pages of three columns each , being tha Laegest Sizx Aixovto bt Law . . The SPIRIT OF THE AGE is the only newspaper in tail gountry especially devoted to the cause of Social Reform aad the Organisation of Labour . It contains weekly , fuU and exclusive report * and correspondence of all that is going forward throughout Europe and America relating to the Emancipation ef the Industrious Classes from Political Thraldom and Social Slavery * in addition to tbe usual intelligence of a First Class Newspaper , as it respects Reviews of Eooks , Law and Police , Parliamentary and other proceedings of importance — Home and foreign , and Domestic News of an interestingor amutisR character . Price 6 d per copy , or 6 i 6 d per querter , paid in advance . A . Cahfbeh , 10 , Bslt Comrt , Fleet Street , London , and . « U Booksellers . KbwalsoBeaoy , Price 4 d , at the above Office , Louis 'Blinc's Eepk to M . Thiess , entiUci'Sociamsm-XHB BltHT TO LaBODS , '
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DO YOU 5 UTFBR TOOTH ACHE ?—If so , use BlAHDE ' s EsAna for filling the decayed spots , rendering defective teeth sound and painless . Price One Shilling only , sioiiar to that sold at Two Shillings and Sixpence . Sold by chemists everywhere . Testimonials . — 'It has given me tbe use of one side of joy mouth , wMen luxury I had not enjoyed for about two jeaw . '—E . J . Macdosaw , Belford , Northumberland . 'It is the most effective and painless cure for toothache I hava ever found . I have no hesitation in recommending it to an sufferers , ' —Captain Thqjcas Wmqht , 22 , Kefrington-crescentrbmaon . ¦ I have filled two teeth , and find I can use them as veil as ever I did in my life . I have not had the toothache since . ' — Auahav Comas , NorSh-brook-plece , Sr&dferd , Yorkshire . ' 8 ee numerous other testimonials in various newspapers , every one of which is strictly authentic . If any difficulty in obtaining it occurs send One Shilling and a Stamp to J . WiUis , i , BeiTe-buildings , Salisbury-square , xVondon , and you wiU ensure it by return of pest . —Agents wanted .
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LAND MEETING . KTEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE . —The Land mem-Ai ber * of this branch are informed that the future ¦ w eekly meetings of the branch , trill be heia In M . Jade ' s long room , every Sunday evening , from fivetoseren o ' clock . The members are also requested to pay up their arrears for local and general expenses , as the treasurer lias a long acceuht still remaining unpaid ; A committee ffieettng will bs held on Christmas day , at six o clock , to hear appeals of the members who were turned out for son-attendance at the late quarterly meeting .
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FOR SALE , A PAID-UP FOUR-ACRE SHARE in the National Land Company . Price , £ 1 . App ly to S . Belcher , No . 11 , Wiple Place , Kensington .
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TO BE SOLD , A PAID-UP FOUR-ACRE SHARE , a THRKE-ACEE SHARK , and a TWO-ACRE SHARE , value £ i is , £ 3 6 s , and £ 2 it . Apply to J . S . Anderson , Blackledge , Halifax , York . Shire . .
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FOR SALE , A FOUR . ACRE and a TWO-ACRE PAID-UP XX SHABEin the National Land Company ; want of employment is the reason of parting with them . Apply to MrWillshire , News Agent , 15 , Lawer George Streets Chelsea ,
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f ? GYPTIAN DROPS , a Certain and Speedy Cnre El for STONE acdCRAYEL , sent Free to all Persons , ty enclosing seven stamps , to Thomas Wxaassoit Land Agent , GainsDoronghjLincoliiiuire .
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Shipment of Eggs . —We believe that this year exceeds all its predecessors , ' by a long chalk , ' in the quantities of eggs that have been exported to the southern markets . Some weeks as many as from 3 , 000 to 4 , 000 dozen have been sent off . The resalt of this is , tnat the retail price here has risen nearly 100 per cent , above that of fire years ago . The competition among the egg potentates of the county is the cause of many a ludicrous scene . — John 0 "Groaft Journal Determined Sotcidb at Southwark Bridge . —On Monday morning , shortly after two o ' clock , a female , respectably attired , paid Her penny to the toll collector on the south side of the Sonthwark
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. ———^————^ J . . " . Kowfieady . aKewEditlbhoi . ^' . . . ; ; ink O'Connor's work : on small farms THE CHEAPEST EDITION EVKRIOBLISHH ) . Tricels . ' ea ., ' . ,. A new and elegant edition , tilth Steel Plata £ ta ' Author , of . , PAIHE'S POLITICAL WORKS . JUST PUBLISHED , ' No . 24 , THE LABOURER' MAGAZINE .
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THE LAND COMPANY . SUB-LETTING ALLOTMENTS . It having come to the knowledge of the Directorsjtbat some ' oecupants havesu b-let their allotments without refunding the amount due to the Company , we consider it our duty to inform all parties who hare thus acted , that the parties in possession , asd not the parties located , will receive a lease of the premises upon payment of the amount due to the Company ;
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THE CHAKTIST TRiALS . Next week come on the Chariot Trials at York and Liverpool , and it makes-us blush and * sorrow for Chartism that the means subscribed tor their defence * Is so scant . Bowever , we trust that Monday nightr at Dewsbury , and Tuesday night , at Liverpool , will bring something into the-Exchequer .
The Northern Star, Saturday, December 9,1818 .
THE NORTHERN STAR , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 9 , 1818 .
The Wist Riding Election.
THE WIST RIDING ELECTION .
The perambulatory tour of the rival Candidates contending for the honour of misrepresenting the- opinions aad > principles of a majority of the-sane and industrious people of the "West-Riding , will not be without its effect . Nothing was-more calculated to advance the cause of Chartism , than tie tack evinced by that body in 1841 , in the selection of candidates to ngfit the fight upon the hustings , although u « fe having a QUALIFIED army of reserve to fall back upoa in the tents . The
free expression of their opinions , enforced with eloquence , maintained by argument , and almost unanimously accepted by the wealthproducers , must have opened the eyes of the pampered idlers to the fact , that while the higher and middle classes took variousYiews of various questions , aad merely squinted at them in the direction best calculated to ensure support , the working classes look steadily—but in one direction—bnt in vain—for the solution of the Labour QuestioB .
Up to that period , a choice of erils was the only alternative left to the Non-Electors , and teat choice invariably falling upon what they called the least obnoxious Candidate , was , beyond all other circumstances , calculated to increase the power of tyranny , inasmuch as this choice of evils was paraded through the country , and used in the House of CommonSj as proof of popular confidence . We regret to " find the same standard now partially adopted by a portion of the Keighley Chartists , who prefer the Whig to the Tory Candidate as a
choice of evils ; while the real question for their consideration should be , how to take satisfaction of that party whose aggressions upon popular rights , and public liberty , during the last session of Parliament—and , indeed , during their whole reign—had all but paralysed the Chartist cause . And , seeing that this Sir Cunning Eardley is intended as a patch upon the old Whig coat , it was their bounden duty to have manifested their disapprobation of Whig tyranny , by opposing the Whig Candidate . . . ' -...
Here we are , in the dreary winter season , with , scores of innocent men to be tried in the very week in which their friends are manifesting a tacit consent in favour of an ally of the very faction who " have thus doomed them to martyrdom . So long as the Chartists pursue this course , so long will the Whigs , as a body , be justified in their every act of tyranny and oppression ; whereas , had the people made use of that licence allowed upon such occasions , to manifest their disgust for the tyranny of the party , by the rejection of one of its members , it might mi
have been a warning for the future . y' ^ - Rut what is the qualification ef the Whig candidate ? And let it be borne in mind that upon such occasions electors always allow an excessive licence to the candidate of their choice , who invariabl y measures his political opinions and pledges by the standard of present necessity . Here then is the qualification relied uponby the Whig candidate , as extracted from him in the examination of Mr Firth—as good , as sincere , as independent a Chartist , and as industrious a working man , as lives : —
Mr Firlh , a Chartist in ibe town , said ttfwas plain the question that lay nearest bis heart , was opposition to endowment ! . Bat the most ifflportant question , in bis mind , was , an extension of the suffrage . Sir Calling was in favour of the ballot , but he was opposed to the b&JUt till they got the franchise . He . comcluded by asking if he would enfranchise all male adults of twenty-one years of age , of saae mind and unconvicted of crime f ¦ Sir Calling Eardley satt that alteratiois in the constitution , in order to be successful , must be gradual . In France they had gone by a hop , step , and jump from an arbitrary gorenunsat to a republic His conrlction was , that these rapid and hasty changes would Keep > the country in a perpttual state of confusion and bloodshad . In this country all changes had been made gradually , and therefore they had bees safe . He would therefore i vote for the municipal franchise , but aot . for unWersal isuffiraie . ¦ ;
. __ , _ _ ... „ _ .. __ ,. . . Mr Firth said , in this case Mr Cobdea would rot * for Mr Hume ' s motion , and ? Sir Culling against it ; and the West Biding would say upon the suffrages " y « a'' arid " nay . " ( Laughter ., ) Sir Calling said he was for progress , but no t for a Republic , he was not for that progress which , in nine casts out of ten , ended in going back again . Mr Firth than exclaimed — " Those who are for no extemiion hold tip your hands . ** None were held up . "those who are for municipal suffrage , holdup your hands . "Few or none held up their hands . "Now , then , those I who are for unirersal justice , holdup lour hands . " —AU
the meeting held op their hands . Mr firth was going to pat a question , but complained of Sir Cullinr Eardley faughtas at him aid the meeting . Sit £° ! . U JL g F ^ * denied ttat he w " Iaa « W" « S h 6 suspected tkatthis man was hired by the Tories to dis . ^ P ^ S ^ Ii ( H « o&iKfroa » the crowd . ) * F ^^ i ^ "" P " 5890 ' fcnew he was aner . hired i ^^^ ftsaa ?^"" - * * Sir Culling said , as the manhadhandsomely apologised to his , be would not be show apologising tt Wm , ; and [ b t withdraw his expressions . ( H » ar , hear . )
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; Mr Firthth ' enasked whether Sir Culling believea this country was able to maintain its inhabitants } ,. , .. -, ; ,... ¦ . , Sir C . Eardley objected to this mpdo of questioning him ; - These jtert , questions . of political economy not questtonsen the duties of Members of Parliament , Mr Firth asked if he thought people ought to be allowedtbe ' tarre ? - - --- ; ,- .- •> . . .: z < ? " -. Sir 0 . Sardley , uld , certaiily : sot , - - Mr firth then asked what were the causes which made the people starve ! . - - Sir 0 . Eardley said one would think his friend was a schoolmaster , and he was a schoolboy ;
Mr Firth'said this was a most important question , which h « had studied a long time . He had asked the ma . glstrates ef the district too question , and , they lind evaded it . He had ' asked their representative , Richard Cobden , by letter , but that gentleman had treated : him with ; silent contempt . If Sir Culling Eardley was sent to . Parliament this time he would net be sent another time . However , en the present occasion he thought of tiro evili they must- choose the least ; and therefere be supposed they muat rota for Sir Collins Bardie ; this time .
We ; ask whether or no , according to the present necessities of the nation , and the universal demand for progress ,. it would have been possible for the JfCullochs or the M'Gregors , or the first class men of the Manchester School of Economists , to put moire rational , more trite , more seasonable questions to a candidate for parliamentary honours * - ' -. In his opening speech the cunning baronet makes a sad blunder . He
says , "Now about the Franchise—he was for the Ballot . " As we have often told our readers , the Ballot without the Siiffage , is the ladle without the soup ; the mask to borer the hypocrite ' s face , and save him from that responsibility which it is acknowledged he owes to HIS CONSTITUENTS / who are the non-electors , and of whose interests he should be the trustee ; and which trust , like the Salford barber , he should use according to their instructions .
Mask the face of . the electoral body tomorrow , and you ' give to idle speculators an unqualified licence to plunder the labouring classes without any . the slightest responsibility . Mask the electors to-morrow , and every shopkeeper will shout for the most liberal candidate upon the hustings , but will covertly drop the eolour of the man of their order into the Ballot-box . . For these reasons we , with Mr Firth , are opposed to the Ballot until the Suffrage is possessed by every man of twenty-one
years of age , thus constituting ! a constituent body far too large to be tampered with . , And we should not Tear the establishment of such a constitution emanating from the first Parliament so chosen , as would induce the proud Englishman to go boldly upon the second occasion , without the guise of the mask , to vote independently for the man of his choice , because the influence of the privileged few would then be destroyed , and pride would take the place of subserviency ; : ... ,
The Whig Baronet selected the present position of France as a justification for ' the old policy—WAIT A BIT . "You are not prepared . I am for cautious progress , and not for hop , step , and jump from Despotism to a Republic . " , . .. .. . ¦ ,. . Now has not this been the twaddling eant of Whiggery from the days of Charles James Fox , down to * its repetition ly this Whigling ? And has he not the brains to understand that if the despotism ef France Jiad been modified B y degrees ,. })* accordance with the progression
demanded By an improving age , that the expatriated despot might have still filled the throne of that great nation as its accepted monarch ? And that the very denial of those changes due to altered opinions and sin altered ! state of thing ? , drove an exciteable people from the hope of any change to the accomplishment of a Republic , and this- but a few-short years after the-King of the Barricades had encircled his palace and his city with fovtificattoQs r in the hope that they would serve as barriers to the mind ' s progress , bat ' Which , however , fell before the mind ' s unity *
We are told by this candidate for popular support that , " in this country all changes had been made gradually and , therefore , they had been safe . " In faith , some have been gradual , aad some , like the French Republic * bave come with a hop , step , and a jump , but all have been hostile to the interests of Mr Firth ' s class , and to the advantage of the class to which Mr Firth ' s school-boy belongs . In what consists the safety oftbe Pooor Law
Amendment Act save in the custody of the immured pauper , the breaking up . of his little home , the separation from his family , to weep through a life of bitterness in his tomb . _ Have safe laws , been made for the regulation ' of machinery , which have come upon us with a fearful hop , step , and jump ? Have safe laws been made for the trial of those Chartists whose sweet voices this Whigling now courts ?
Have safe laws been made for the protection of those who are willing to live by the hardest toil , but are threatened with the convict shi p if they dare describe the Injustice to which the tyranny of class legislation has doomed them ? Will no one venture to face this Whigling upon the hustings , and ask him to point out those safe and gradual changes which he advocates as his qualification to represent the industrious classes ? In the event of this Whigling being returned , of which there is but little chance , asMr Firth truly said , the West Riding of Yorkshire will be divided into a "Yea" and a "Nay' '
in the House of Commons . But , like all other Whigs , when the enlightened baronet found himself in an inextricable puzzle , he exclaims ,, " Oh , he ' s a Tory tool , hired b y the Tories to disturb the meeting 1 " Ah , Sir Cunning ! that war-cry served its purpose but its day is gone . It was the last resource of Cobden and Sidney Smith , but the Chartists have learned how to distinguish between their friends and their enemies , and are no longer to be caught in that trap . Yours is a Whig cry . Firth ' s was a National cry—one that you were not able to answer , and , therefore , not qualified to represent the enlightened class to which your
SCHOOLMASTER belongs . The great questions which now agitate the public mind are , population , colonisation , emigration , and starvation ; and for a solution of these great problems weare told that Political Economy is the text book , and from these great facts let us endeavour to deduce the qualification of the hustings schoolboy to dis-, charge his Parliamentary duties . When asked by Mr Firth , "Whether he believed this country was able'to maintain its inhabitants , and -xrhot ws ^ tbAiaiigg-s . that made the people starve ? ' * the would-be legislator " replies , " " These were 'questions of Political Economy , not questions on the duties of Members of Parliament . ' '
Now , can any schoolboy , can any reporter , or even editor , restrain his laughter , when he reads the Baronet ' s answer ? He boastingly presents himself to be questioned as to his fitness to discharge the duties of Member of Parliament , and when questioned upon the one subject which ; of all others distracts the cabinet , the country , and the legislature , and upon the science which is relied upon as the text book for the solution ef all , he says , " These were questions of Political Economy not questions upon the duties of Members of Parliament . " ;
Fore bad ! here is a pretty candidate , who declares , that population and starvation are subjects with : which a Legislature has nothing to do , but were mere questions of political economy —the very science ^ and the most abstruse one , which Parliament has long been endeavouring to . solve / unravel , and unmystify ; while , unfortunately , all its heretofore endeavotirs have but tended to entangle , complicate , and mystify . But perhaps the honourable baronet will explain what the duties of a Member of ' Parliament are upon the hustings , when surrounded by those . with whom mystery and entanglement will constitute his best qunlifi . cation .
Let us suggest a course for him . We believe he was first in the field , and therefore will be the first nominated , and the first to address the e lectors , and—miserable mockery I —the , *' non-electors" as well ; whose hands will select , until the voices of the privileged reverse their judgment . This position is rather an unfortunate one for the Whig cock , as he must enter the pit , trimmed and * spurred , to make battle with his antagonist ; whereas , hat
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ne . beec last ; ih ? thtrfie ( ldjlie might Have wafted for ihe , declaration of His ^ iopponjeni ^ prin ^ pks andihave met them . with a , jdirept , negative , placing his pretensions , ' upon anti-Tory ,.-, and not Whi ff ' principles ; which , according to his own showing , cannot be explained . ' f ; But . as he is p laced in his present awkward position , we will furnish him with a speech : for theoccasion : — .-,,-.. . . ^ j ¦¦ ¦ - . . <' Mr High Sheriff , electors , and NGNELECTORS of the West Riding of the great county of York . ( Loud cheers . ) A . h , lam happy to find ,, that you are proud ef
your local habitation and your name . ( Shouts of 'We have no habitations ! ' ) . 'My friends who interrupt me must-be aware of the onerousduties which have devolved upon me in my . recent canvass through this extensive dis * trict , throughout , which I have considered it my duty to submit myself to the most rigid and searching examination , in the several large towns in the district—no easy task / I assure you ; and in ? the ' discharge ^ of which solemn duty > my friends will discover that I have contracted a severe ¦ hoarseness , and I must , therefore , claim their indulgence . " ( Hear , hear , and cheerst ;) ( Aside Ho the Mayor of Leeds : "WhatshallTsay ? " )
The Mayor : " Oh ,, abuse Deni 3 on . " "; Gentlemen , the great ' . andoneroiis duty row devolves upon you of choosing a member to represent you in the House of Commons . There are two candidates before you . M y principles are welf known to you , and so are my opponent ' s . I sift a Liberal'in the full ^ t sense of the word —( shouts of f Brayp / , from the platform)—and if I am honoured with your confidence , I shall ) endeavour , to- the fullest extent of my powfep ^ to realise these great principles upon whteh alone , I believe in my conscience , the stabiGjSy of this empirff must henceforth depend , " ( Shouts of applause . ) - . ' . U . ; -
A Voice : "' Ar't for doing away with the damnable Poor Law ?" "I think that , Bke many other of our institutions , requires very great ' alterations , and I shall withhold any . expression of my opinion upon the subject until—if honoured by your confidence—I shall feear the views ot the successor of the late able and much lamented head of- that department—Mr Buller . ( Laughter , and 'Live horse , and you'll get graw , ' . and G » bapk to Edinburgh . ") ; AVoice ; "Ar ' t forGaggingBill and transport ingfolk if they speak their mind ? '' ¦ > - ¦
f 'The measure to > which my friend refers tois rendered necessary by the revolutionary state of foreign countries , the licentiousness of a portion of the foreign Press , and the discouraging effect which those events were calculated to have upon our domestic trade and industry , ( Shouts of" Get tiiee home , lad "— " Go . and takeanother ^ le 8 sen from . Firth—we can ' t be worse off tbaii we are . " ) " Well , that is a measure of a mere temporary nature , and if Government should apply for its renewal when the A . ct is about to expire ; I shall be entirely governed by the then cir-1
cumstancesof the country . But , let my friends bear in mind , that while they catechise me so , severely , the party to which my opponent ' . boasts of belonging , expressed disappointment that the measure did not go farther , and , therefore , the duty , the only duty , which now devolves upon you , is to choose between a professed Liberal , ready to march onward in the safe course of progression , and a professed and rabid Tory—( Hear , hear , cheers , and waving of hats on the platform)—who makes no secret of his determination to resist all pro gress /'
A Voice . — " E ' mun , but we'll squeerT ... i ; and we'll put thee , and the like of thee , tother side of the House , and THEN thouls ' t squeeze him too . ' * "JWell , my friends , I have now made a clear and unmistakeable avowal of my jprinciples . You have tochoose between one who is a Free Trader in Keart > and one who cloaks his views upon the subject in mystery , calculated to in * spire confidence through delusion . " A Voice . — "Thou ' rt a Leaguer , then ? We had enough of them chaps . One lot speculating iu our labour , and the other in our food . We won't have thee . Get thee home . Thsu ' rt a humbug . Wilt give Suffrage , lad ?" ( Gheers . ) ¦ . ¦ . ¦
"lhave alread y answered the several questions paf to me upon that head , 1 trust you will question my opponent upon those several points , and if he goes farther than I do , let your choice be decided by the . soundness of your judgment ., I thank you ¦ for the indulgence you have manifested towards me in my present critical position , and I trust that , although my examination has been severe , that I have treated all with that courtesy and res -
pect which should always mark the conduct of men upon such occasions . Again thanking you for your kindness , and assuring you , if I should become the man of your choice , I shall exercise my poor abilities , ( Shouts of" Devilish poor , lad . " ) "Well , such as they are , they shall be ever devoted to your service , and the dearest object of my heart shall be the amelioration of the condition of the labouring classes . ' ( Cheers and groans . )
Now , there is a capital speech' for the ba > ronet , a much better one than he will make ; and , in conclusion ) we have to express an ' ardent and an anxioua hope , that the good men of the West Riding will march to Wakefield on the day of nomination , and shout "Ireland , " " GaggingBill , ""Starvation , " " Transportation , " "Imprisonment , " "Whig Tyranny , " and 11 Treachery , '' in the ears of theWhigcandidate and his friends .
^ Our policy has ever been , and ever sball be , to weaken the hands of that faction—to rip them up into , shreds and patches , without the slightest reference asto the colour or principles of their opponent , until we place ' them in that situation for which Nature designed them—in opposition—where they are spouters of liberty and resisters of tyranny , thus affording some check to a rabid Tory administration . We conclude in , the graphic words oF the old Geaeral , when leading his soldiers to battle . "THERE ' S THE ENEMY : BY G-, IF YOU DON ' T BEAT THEM , -THEY'LL BEAT YOU . " . - ¦ * ' . ¦ '¦ i ,:. ' . ¦ : . ¦'¦;¦ . '•¦¦ ¦ ¦ : '¦ . . ¦
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ofothersMi-ara nofc- manly-lqoking ,.. we . should like to knbwwhere ^ hewillrfihdhisoien ?^ Biifc , gilhting ' that ' ni ^ ny ^ of the'de'fehdafi ' tS' may be mea fljf" feebje bodies ixA . weatconstitutibns /' it does -. jaot Appear very , surprising to us that such ' m' ^ n should dream , , of righting their wrongs by ^ --physical , force " f , ° Feeble bodies and weak constitutions" are the results of an
oppressive sysfeni . " ' The starving man may find ., hi 8 strength wasting daily away , butit does hot follow that Jus spirit must' heeds decline as rapidly as his " Sodi-ly powers .. " Oppression will drive a wise man mad , " and starvation willgoad thewretchedjto talk of . " physical force / ' Sometimes—in other nations , if not ia . tbfa—deeds follow words . for words and deeds , not the oppressed , but the oppressors , must be held responsible .
The scribe of the "Liverpool Journal" jests over the sufferings of the poor fellows who haye been . lying in prison through want or bail . Dr M'pouairs punishment is made the subject of special , . merriment . 7 The "Liver pool Journal" ruffian looks upon the Bufferings of Dr M ^ Douall as something particularl y funny . When we remind our readers of what has been already stated in this paper , that the Doctor is confined to a cell thirtetn feet by seven , for twenty-three hours oat of every by seven , for twenty-three hours oat of every
twenty-fonr—that he is compelled to pick wool—that he i& forced to wear the gaol dress—that he is half-poisoned on the gaol diet—and , consequently , that his health is rapidly sinking—when we add , that he is permitted to see . hfe , family and write to his friends only once in three months—we have said efficient to give our readers an idea of Dr M'Douall ' s aufferings , and of the pitiless malignity of the wreteheg of tfie Press-gang " whochucftl * at , and e 3 ult over , this catalogue of human miseries .
We are Jold in the paragraph from the " Liverpool Journal , '' that "time , rtflection , md treatment , have wroaight a wonderful change" oh the Chartist defendants ; aud it is added that « ' the Crown Solicitor is perplexed at Ibe number wb » pray to be permitted to Jura Queen ' s evidence .. We will hope that the approaching trials will prove , the latter part of the
statement we have just quoted to' be a calumniou * invention on the part © f the "Mmpool Journal . " But if proved to be the tjuth , then , while lamenting the treason ( or shall we say the weakness-1 ) of those who have passed over to the camp © f . the enemy , oar indighatioa will be excited principally againsS the Inquisitors who have had recourse to torture for the purpose of creating traitors .
" Tbe ball ef horrors , and the aiienort pan , " was formerly employed by tyrannical priests to prop , 4 ip their power , nevertheless , that power crumbled away . - So with poltical oppressors . The torture ' of solitary confinement , degrading labour , hunger , cold , and insult , may serve their ends for a time , but not forever . At the worst , the cowards and traitors will be few , compared with the noble army of' dauntless and enthusiastic martyrs , whose great example will give birth to " Thoughts , Influence * , to lire la hearts unborn ; Opinion ! that will wrenoh tbe prljonJiey From Persecution ; show her mask off-torn ; And tramp her bloated head beneath tbe foot of . scorn / ' ' ''¦ ' : ' ¦'•¦ •
We commend to T , the attention of our readers a letter from Mr George White , in vindication of his character against certain calumnies lately promulgated to his injury . Believing Mr White to . be a thoroughly honest r : n and sincere Democrat , we can sympaiiise with his expressions of indignation against the dishonourable imputations cast upon his character . We wish Mr White every success in defending himself against both slanderers and persecutors—private enemies and open foes .
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NOTES ON POPULAR MOVEMENTS . The aspect of affairs in England at a moment of universal commotion upon th « Continent , is very remarkable . ^ With us " nothing is stirring but stagnation , " n * West Riding Election is the only event of a political character which excites general intp rest . No doubt the late leaders of the League wlll | work withjmight and main to prevent tha election of the late Member , because Mr JDenison is an avowed Protectionist , and his return would be a virtual recantation of the creed of the ^ free Traders , besides affording small hon * of the re-election of Mr Cobden , in the case of a dissolution . It is of the utmost importance to the League that they should maintain the
prestige of their party , by Keeping hold of the wealthy and powerful Constituency of the West Riding ; and that they feel it to be so is proved by the fact that John Bright hag taken the field in person , as a supporter of Sir Culling Eardley ; the probability is , however that this undisguised interference on the part of the Manchester clique , will do more harm than good to Sir Culling , Not a few Tork . shiremen are anything" but pleased at the idea of having one stranger foisted on them b y the League , and are not at all reconciled to tha idea of taking another from the same bands . It will be seen that advantage will be takes ofi the occasion to test public opinion , bv
nominating a representative of Chartist opinions . With the exception of this affair , the quisS which rearks the political world is really sin « gular , and would almost induce the belief that it is merely the temporary but deep calm which immediatel y precedes a storm . In the most ordinary state of political affairs' there is always some agitation or other going on ; but all parties , for the present , seem struck dumb The people are only recovering froa tha assaults made on them by oar , liberty-loving Government . The middle classes having Seen doctored by the Times * and the alarmist Presi
m general , into a state of feverish panic , are afraidUo move for the support of even tha " little goes , ' . ' which used to be s& rife at thig time of the year . The Financial Association , at Liverpool , with its'parings and i s seductive cry of economy , which at any other time would have elicited a ready response from all the tribe of shopkeepers , and the race of " penny wise and pound foolish " people who- abound among us , is a failure , in spite of the attempt
of the Press to " write it dp . " The people have no objection to- chap government , and have long been ' aware of the extravagance , and the disgraceful anomalies of our national expenditure . But they are more anxious about good than low priced government , and they are convinced that an effective and a just government never can exist , ) until the Legislature really represents all classes of the community , arid is a faithful exponent of the people ' s will . ;
With respect to the present incidence of taxation upon particular classes , there is no doubt that great injustice is done by our present system to the poorer classes , and that it is possible to construct a much fairer scheme in appearance ; but it would be in appearance only . After all that can be said , there is but one source from which all taxation can be paid , and that is the produce of Labour . It matters little , therefore , to the labourer , if 6 , 000 , 000 / . a year is to be in future ( as it is now ) the
amount annually paid to carry on the Government , whether he pays it directly , or has it taken from him by others , and paid in their name—or , at least , the difference is—speaking in a pecuniary sense—so small , that it is not worth talking about . The only thing really desirable with reference to this financial question is , that the taxation' should be cut down at once to some two-thirds , er so , of the present amount , in which case there would be a sensible diminution of burdens . But . in order
that the workers should have a fair share , and their due proportion of the advantage , it is essential that they should have representatives of their own , to look after their interests , and see that the new scale of taxation was equitably framed , Another movement may be mentioned , ai in some degree breaking in upon the monottny of these " piping times of peace "—the Ragged
School movement . No doubt many of the amiable people who take part in this have de . luded themselves into a sincere belief that it is a most philanthropic affair , and that they are , individually , the very perfection of Christian virtue and benevolence . Others , of course , know better , and laugh at it in their sleeves , though it suits their purpose to row with the stream .
The whole Movement isj just onejof those popular fallacies which present a sufficiently attractive and specious appearance , and effect just such an amount of benefit in individual and isolated cases as to direct into that channel the resources which might otherwise have been available for more useful plans . The very magnitude of the evil for which the 9 e Ragged Schools are intended as a remedy , is sufficient te show their hollownessand inadequacy .
It is stated , that in this metropolis alone , there are not less than thirty thousand children who live by vagrancy and theft . In every large town in the country , the proportion is at least the same to the en * tire population . This accounts for the fact , that in spite of schools and improvements of all sorts , the sum total of criminality is yearly increasing . These improvements do not penetrate into the depths of our social system , from which the recruits of our great standing army of criminals- are constantly enlisted . In the tortuous lanes , blind alleys , and
unventilated courts of immense districts , in every populous town and city , are to be be found an immense population , whose doom—previous to birth—was to be beggars , prostitutes , and thieves . The cost of maintaining this perennial and growing criminal army , is estimated at not less than £ 9 , 000 , 000 sterling per an . num , exclusive of the value of their depredations upon society . It is increasing : it will soon be £ 10 , 000 , 000 . What is the inference ? Why , that nothing less than a vigorous and enlightened national effort is capable of coping ' with so gigantic and costly an evil .
Instead of that , we'haye the aforesaid amiable , well-intentioned persons , leagued with » score or two of Church clergymen and Dissenting preachers , taking dilapidated old cowhouses , stables , and piggeries , in the heart of the destitute and demoralised districts , assembling such of the children as they can lay hold of , and teaching " them sundry scripture lessons and spiritual hymns . When they have learned these b y rote , they are paraded on platforms before public meetings to repeat and sing them , in order that a few stray half-j crowns may be wheedled from the pockets oij "the Christian public" in support of ( ' fi ^
good a cause ! " Why this is very " moonshm tffl madness ! " The old story of Dame Parting ^! who tried with her broom to sweep back tn « advancing tide of the Atlantic Ocean , was ai sober reality compared with it . . I We have seen not a few of those exhibitionj lately , and it was rather trying to the risw | muscles , to watch the ill-concealed k chucK l | " at the fun of the thing , " which lurked in tn | eyes and in every feature of the faces of thesf j young "Ishmaelites . " They evidently *< " € ¦ , the whole affair a capital joke , more espec ' ! l . as being picked ones they were indulged * . | J theluxuryofawash , some clean and wh ° jL though coarse clothing , and . a warm meal mm 4 . B
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THE FORTHCOMING CHARTIST TRIALS . "The trials of the Lancashire Chartists will commence , we believe , some time next week . We are sorry to say , that the funds collected for the defence of the victims fall far short ' of the requirements of the case . We earnestly trust that- a last , simultaneous , and general effort will be made , within the next three days , to procure the necessary means of securing for our persecuted brethren all the aid that legal skill and talent can supply ., , ; Let all monies be addressed to William Prowting Roberts , Esq ., 3 / Essex Chambers , Essex Street , Manchester .
The following . paragraph has been going the round of ihe " respectable" Press : — "Tbi CiurthtPihiovkm in Kihkbilk son Taut . There will be about . Bixty Chartist prisoners for trial at th « coming assizes . Though tke charge Qgalnit them has reference to physical force , men of more feeble bodiea ' irail weak constltuttofLB it would be difficult to find in all Imncashire ; There are not three manly . looking felhnvs among them . Time , reflection , and treatment havo wrought a wonderful change in their . opinions and expectations ., Iu the event of caption lor treason , they took * for granted that they would he treated as state prisoners , and fed at the Queen's table . Dr M'Douall was ot this opinion , anS great was his disappointment at being set down to gaol
allowance . He sought to be sent to Lancashire , as his ¦ wife could then live there , and seo Mm daily . Defeated In this object , lie became dejected , and continues in rather low spirits , j The Chartist prisoners at first de . manded to be treated as offenders ofdiitinction , and hare felt what It le to live on gaol bread . Tbe mist that Burrounded them has dispersed , the friends they loved have deserted them , and the Crown solicitor is perplexed at the number who pray to be permitted to turn Quean ' s evldeace . "—LiverpoolJournal . The ! scribei of tbe Liverpool Journal . knows very little of tbe defendants when he " asserts that there are not three manly-looking fellows among them . If John West , James Leach ) and George White—to say nothing of a host
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THE POOR LAW IN IRELAND . ThePoofr . Law purge isevidently working a revolution in this unhappy country . Landlords , farmers , and peasantry—all who can contrive to possess themselves of the means , in fact , are flying from Ireland as fast as they can . If things go on at the present rate a great portion of the island will be left desert . 'Estates cannotjfind purchasers , because the burdens upon them , or likely to fall on them in future , exceed the rental . The farmers gather together the remnants of their property , and cross the Atlantic by hundreds , and the steamers , bring over to this country hordes of poor famishing wretches , who add to the enormous , mass , of pauperism and vagrancy already existing in it . We observe by the police reports , that one duty , of the city magistrates daily is to dispose of an immense number of charges against vagrants of . this description ,
The selfishness of landlordism has brought its own curse . They would govern Ireland in the way they have done—namely , by the strong hand . They laid the foundations of society in tyranny and injustice , and the inevitable retribution , which , in the long run , ever waits on such conduct , has visited them at last . When they complain that rents cannot becollected—that their late tenants have carried off all they could scrape together , and have fled across the sea—let them remember their pwnpast conduct to Ireland , and see in the present state of the country , the natural
consequences of their own misdeens . They willed that their country should be politically and industrially enslaved and degraded , and they are now reaping the fruits of their own policy . ' . i The facts to which we refer , are not only a lesson to the landlords , but to the Government also . They may now sit down and count the cost , and the results of their late victories in the so-called Rebellion , whether these were achieved by the force of arms , or by lawyers and the jury-box . They have made , and are making , a solitude , in order that they may call it peace . In the middle of the nineteenth
century , the highest wisdom of an English Govern * ment and Legislature , " can only find one cure for the social evils of aland ' possessing a superabundance of all the natural elements of national prosperity ,- —and that is depopulation . Verily , "Our fathers have eaten sour grapes , and their children ' s teeth are set on edge r The way out of all these difliculties is plain enough and simple enough , but for that very reason it willnot be adopted . Our rulershate truthful , practicalbu 8 iness-likemeasuresv'Every thing must be tortuous , involved , and complicated . They have bewildered themselves with a host
of moonshine crotchets , elaborated into a very awful looking thing called Political Economy ; and for fear of violating the canons of this iread " Science , " they are content to let a nation go to wreck and ruin . We observe that some of the Boards of Guardians in Ireland , not having the iear of this hew Deity which rules our rulers , have taken a very easy way of putting matters right . Finding themselves called upon to pay a great deal of money to feed idle people , * they bethought them of the expedient of setting these idle people to work by means of that very money on idle or unem-
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ployed lands , and ^ e / consegueace iS ) that tha « Uers produce more thaii'tK ' ey eat , and thn Unions are relieved , from , the burden of sun porting idle paupers . .. ' ' " •; . But this is , as we have said , far too simpfe and plain a plan to be adopted by Landlords and Whigs ; and so they must , we supp ose Z on blundering until , in the course of eveniv honester and wiser men take the affairs of rtm nation in hand . ,. aB
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A CHARTIST CANDIDATE IN THE FIELD . The Chartist Executive Committee have determined to bring forward Mr Samuel Kydd as the Chartist candidate for the West Riding . We understand that Mr Kydd left London some days ago , to . commence his canvass of the electors and non-electors .
Mr Kydd ' s abilities are so well-known , that any recommendation of ours would be altogether superfluous . His fitness to represent the people is well understood by the masses themselves in every town of importance in the West Riding ; and the working-men—if true to themselves , will rally round him jn their thousands on Monday next . Hurrah for Kydd and Labour ' s ri ghts ! The Charter and no Surrender !
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- HEALTH AXD ECONOMY . : O'COJJNORYILLE , NEAR RICKHAKSWORTH , HERTS . rPHOJfAS MARTIN WHEELER will receiw -L as BOARDERS , TWO BOYS , between the ages Often and fourteen years . Every attention will lie paid to thtir mental developemeat and phyjical comfort . Terms { including washing , &c ) , £ t per quart . r-payaUle iu aa . Tince . - All communications to be prepaid , and contain a stamp for reply . H . B . A paid-up FOUR . ACRE SHARE in the National Xand Company , to be disposed of—price , £ t .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 9, 1848, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1500/page/4/
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