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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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TASSO . ( From the New York Tribune . ) " A Prince of royal oirth confined the Poet in a madhouse for more than seven years ; the great and wealthy left Mm to a precarious life ; hut a Mountain Robber , by the road-side , controlled in his favour the instinct of his gang and craved forgiveness at the hands of the author of the ' Geru-Batemme . '" Lira of Tasso . The swarthy Captain of the hand Before the weary wanderer stood , And the keen poniard in his hand Had often tasted blood . Awaiting but a sign from him , In view were lawless men and hold , Deep scare upon their features grim Of strife and carnage told . " Thy purse , or life I" exclaimed the chief ;
But savage look and threat mng tone Fear woke not in a heart where grief Held mastery alone . " Our trade admits of no delay—The quest-hounds of the law are near ; 2 ? o longer hesitate—obey , Or end your journey here ' " " These hollow cheeks—this mean attire , And hair untimely streaked with enow , But little aid from speech require To tell of want and wo . " Out spoke the robber in reply , More darkly frowning than before" Perchance some wealthy friend would buy Thy life with yellow ore . "
Then mournfully the Pilgrim said : " At night upon the dewy sod , I often rest this aching head—My only friend is God ! Not always was my fate so hard , Raised high my fellow-men above-While a proud Princess bade the Bard His lute-strings tune to love . " " Those racs do not become , I ween , The regalglnnc ? of those dark eyes ; I clearly trace in thy proud mien Bomelordlingin disguise !" " Ah ! I am not unknown to fame , Though a poor outcast now I roam ; Grim robber ! Tasso is my name—The world's wide street my home . "
" Flame and the Sword I would defy To shield thy person , Child of Song ! A hundred deaths would rather die Than see tbee suffer wrong . Thy verse , beneath his sable wave , Oblivion can never hide ; Forgiveness is a boon I crave , " The kneeling robber cried . Although the rich had heard him pour A prayer for aid with cold disdain-Though long within a cell he wore The flesh-consuming chain—A man whose soul was dark with crime , "Whose heart compassion seldom felt , Before the Bard of strain sublime In admiration knelt . W . H . C . HOSMEB
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A CHARTIST PRISON RHYME . TO SPBDiO . Spring ! Joyous , hopeful , heavenly spring , Bright thoughts of other days you bring , And childhood ' s prattling glee . Again , through daisied fields we roxe , Or scamper by the shady grove The freest of the free . Through tyrants' rule , those days are past , And we are in a prison cast , Apart from friends to dwell But stern resolve , and dauntless mind , And boundless lore for human kind , Still consecrate our cell . Therefore , bear up ! avaunt , regret ! The mind of man s a kingdom yet Oppression can't subdue . Kb power on earth , though all conspire , Can quench that spark of nature's fire , When man himself is true .
Then bail , sweet spring ! though dungeoned here , "We ' ve left behind friends we hold dear , On them thy gifts bestow : And when thy next birthday arrives , "We trust amidst our friends and wives To share thy genial glow . G . White . Kirkdale Gaol , April 16 th , 1849 .
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THE PROSE WORKS OF JOHN MILTON . With a Preface , Preliminary Uemaiks , and Holes , \> y 3 . A . St . Johss . Vol H . London : H . G . Bohn , Yorkstreet , Covcnt-garden . Two of the most popular -wc-iks af Milton will be found in this volume—viz ., the Treatise entitled "The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates , " and the celebrated " Areopagitica , " or speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing .
The Treatise above-named ( "The Tenure of Kings , &c" ) was written for the purpose of proving— "That it is lawful , and has been held so through all ages , for any , who have the power , to call to account a Tyrant , or wicked King , and after due conviction , to depose , and put him to death , " &c , &c . We regret that Mr . St . John has considered it necessary to express in his notes a sort of half apology for the tyrannicide doctrines proclaimed and enforced in this Treatise . It is true that , as regards this nation , circumstances have greatly changed since the time Milton wrote his
treatise . There is no danger now of the arbitrarypowerofaKing ; butthereisdanger—more than danger , of the arbitrary power of those who , "deputed to redress grievances , ' * "themselves become thegreatest grievance . '' Tyranny is tyranny , whether the guilty parties be a would-be absolute King and his star-chamber , or a set of aristocratic Ministers and their pliant Houses of Parliament . Mr . St . John might , therefore , have withheld his raptures concerning " our free institutions" { fudge ) , and " the state of constitutional freedom we enjoy' ' { bosh !) . Moreover , although in this country there is now only the phantom of Monarchy
remaining , other lands are yet cursed with the sway of purple-clad tyrants , to whom the arguments of Milton's Treatise are as applicable as they were to our " martyr" Chakles—arguments which we should rejoice to see practically applied by the long-suffering nations . As a bold , honest , eloquent , and unanswerable defence of the rights of men against the right divine—or , rather , right-infernal—of tyrants , this treatise on "The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates" will ever command the admiration of those who prefer freedom to slavery . We have room for onl y the following brief extract : —
-Surel y they that shall boast , as we do , to be a free nation , and not have in themselves the power to remove or abolish any governor , supreme or subordinate , with the government itself , upon urgent causes , may please their fancy with a ridiculous and painted freedom , fit to cozen babes , but are indeed under tyranny and servitude—as wanting that power which is the root and source of all liberty —to dispose and economise in the land which God hath given them—as masters of family in their own house and free inheritance . "Without which natural and essential power of a free nation , though bearing
high then- beads , they can , in due esteem , be thought no better than slaves and vassals—born in the tenure and occupation of another inheriting lord , whose government , though notillegai or intolerable , hangs over them as a lordly scourge , not as a free government ; and , therefore , to be abrogated . ' "Areopagitica "—or Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing—is , perhaps , the best known of Miltoh ' s prose works ; and is certainly worth y of the immortal reputation it . has enjoyed from the time of its first publication . How slow is the march of freedom
The censorship has been only just abolished an Germany , and is still maintained in Russia , although ; two hundred ( and four ) years have elapsed since Milton so eloquentl y defended the right of free thought—and free expression . It is the fashion to vaunt that the English have long enjoyed a perfectly free press ; but tlie vaunt contains as much that is false as true . What though no censorship exists , there are laws to tax , plunder , and fetter the press sufficient to render it the bound slave of Wealth and Privilege . In this metropolis there is not a single daily journal representing the mass of the people , or devoted to the advocacy Of equal rights and equal lav * for all . The
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Times is , indeed ; at this moment the most formidable and deadly enemy of Justice , Freedom , and Truth , existing on the face of this earth . We have yet much to do before we shall enjoy that liberty for which Milton so bravely straggled— " the liberty to know , to utter , and to argue freely according to conscience . " The author of the " Areopagitica" commences his " speech" with the oft-reprinted motto : — " This is true liberty , when free-born men Having to advise'the public , may speak free , Which he who can , and will , deserves high praise ; "Who neither can nor will , may hold his peace ; What can bo juster in a state than this V
The Presbyterians , then in power , had issued a decree " to regulate printing ; that no book , pamphlet , or paper , shall be henceforth printed , unless the same be first approved and licensed by such , or at least one of such , as shall be thereto appointed . " To show the injustice and absurdity of this decree , was Milton ' s object , and perfectly he succeeded . He argues : "As good almost kill a man , as kill a good book : who kills a man-kills a reasonable creature , God ' s image ; but he who destroys a good book , kills reason itself . ' ' Again : " It is true , no age can restore a life , whereof , perhaps , there is no great loss ; and revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of rejected truth , for the want of which whole nations fare the worse . " As regards the folly
of attempting to protect public morals by so clumsy an invention as a censorship , Milton remarks : " If the amendment of manners be aimed at , look into Italy and Spain , whether those places be one scruple the better , the honester , the wiser , the chaster , since all the inquisitorial rigour that has been executed upon books . " In a subsequent page he adds : " I could recount what I have seen and heard in other countries , where this kind of inquisition tyrannises ; when I have sat among their learned men , but who did nothing but bemoan the servile condition into which learning amongst them was brought ; that this was it which had damped the glory of Italian wits ; that nothing had been there written now these many years but flattery and fustian . " We extract the following passage on
THE TTRAN'Sr AND INFAMT OF A CENSORSHIP . What advantage is it to be a man , over it is to . be a boy at school , if we have only escaped the ferula to come under the fescue of an imprimateur ? if serious and elaborate writings , as if they were no more than the theme of a grammar-lad under his pedagogue , must not be uttered without the cursory eyes of a temporising and extemporising licenser ? He who is not trusted with his own actions , his drift not being known to be evil , and standing to the hazard of law and penalty , has no great argument to think himself reputed in the commonwealth wherein he was born for other than a fool or a foreigner . When a man writes to the world , he summons up all his reason and deliberation to assist him ; he searches , meditates , is industrious and likely consults and confers with his judicious friends ;
after all which done , he takes himself to be informed in what he writes , as well as any that wrote before him ; if in this , the most consummate act of his fidelity and ripeness , noyears . no industry , no former proof of his abilities can bring him to that state of maturity as not to be mistrusted and suspected , unless he carry all his considerate diligence , all his midnightwatchings , and expense of Palladian oil , to the hasty view of an xinleisured licenser , perhaps much his younger , perhaps far his inferior in judgment , perhaps one who never knew the labour of book writing ; and if he be not repulsed , or slighted ^ must appear in print like a puny with his guardian , and his censor ' s hand on the back of his title to be his bail and surety that he is no idiot or seducer ; it cannot be but a dishonour and derogation to the author , to the book , to the privilege and dignity of learning .
Continuing his argument , Milton happily observes : — " Truth and understanding are not such wares as to be monopolised and traded in by tickets , and statutes , and standards . * * * What is it but a servitude like that imposed by the Philistines , not to be allowed the sharpening of our own axes and coulters , but we must repair from all quarters to twenty licensing forges ? " He adds : — Had any one written and divulged erroneous things and scandalous to honest life , misusing and forfeiting the esteem had of his reason among men , if after conviction this only censure were adjudged him , that he should never henceforth write but what were first examined by an appointed , officer , whose hand should be annexed to pa 3 S his credit for him , that now he might be safely read , it could not be
apprehended less than a disgraceful punishment . Whence to include the whole nation , and those that never yet thus offended , under such a diffident and suspectful prohibition , may plainly be understood what a disparagement it is . So much the more when as debtors and delinquents may walk abroad without a keeper , but unoffensive books must not stir forth without a visible jailor in their title . Nor is it to the common people less than a reproach ; for if we be so jealous over them , as that we dare not trust them with an English pamphlet , what do we but censure them for a giddy , vicious , and ungrounded people ; in such a sick and w < . ak state of faith and discretion as to be able to take nothing down but through the pipe of a licencer ?
We might quote many examples of Milton s felicitous power of illustration , —suffice the following : — " Well knows he who uses to consider , that our faith and knowledge thrive ^ by exercise , as well as our limbs and complexion . Truth is compared in scripture to a streaming fountain ; if ha waters flow not in a perpetual progression , they sicken into a muddy pool of conformity and tradition . " Not a word need be said in eulogy of the g lowing eloquence of the following passage : —
Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself , like a strong man after sleep , and shaking her invincible locks ; methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her might y youth , and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam ; purging and unsealing her long abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance ; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds , with those also that love the twilight , Butter about , amazed at what she means , and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and schisms . After this extract we will only add the following quotations : — Give me the libertt to kxow , to utter , axd to argce freely , according to conscience , above ALL LIBERTT .
Though all the winds of doctrine were let loeso to play upon the earth , so truth be in the field , we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength . Let her and falsehood grapple ; WHO EVER KSEW TRUTH PUT 10 THE WORSE JN A FREE AND OPEN ENCOUNTER ? Besides the above-named works , the present volume contains " Tracts on the Commonwealth , " " Observations on Ormond ' a Peace , "
" Letters of State to most of the Sovereign Princes and Eepublics of Europe , " "Notes on Dr . Griffith ' s Sermon , " "Of Reformation in England , " " Of Prelatical Episcopacy , " " The Keason of Church Government urged against Prelacy , " " Of True Religion , Heresy , Schism , and Toleration ; " and "Of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes , showing that it is not lawful for any power on earth to compel in matters of Religion . "
We hope to notice Vol . III . in next Saturday's " Star . " We repeat our earnest good wishes for the wide-spread circulation of this cheap , valuable , and most interesting edition of the prose works of glorious John Milton .
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man suspected of entertaining " Jacobin opinions . " Every publication which advocated Reform—political , social , or religious—was voted " unconstitutional , " and the cry of " Jacobin , " like that of " mad dog , " sufficed to cover any amount of persecution , legal or illegal , directed against the obnoxious party so entitled by popular ignorance or aristocratic villany . Speaking of his own work the author wrote ( in January , 1793 ) : — " All the prejudices of the human mind are in arms ag ainst it . " " But , " he added , * * it is the property of truth to be fearless and to prove victorious over every adversary . It requires no great degree of fortitude to look with indifference upon the false fire of the moment , and to foresee the calm period of reason which will succeed . "
Despite the rancour of the enemies of Justice , the first edition having been disposed of , a second was published in October , 1795 . A third edition appeared in 1797 . From that time but little was' heard of this work , until recently Mr . Watson published a fourth edition at a mere fraction of the original price . What that gentleman ' s success may hitherto have been we cannot say ; but this we will say :- He has deserved succeBB , and we earnestly hope that the speedy sale of the present , and the demand for a fifth edition of this sound , eloquent , and admirable work , will be his reward .
Thefirst volume is divided intofour " books , subdivided into chapters , treating of a vast number of questions—metaphysical , moral , political , and social . The reader will derive considerable assistance from a summary of the principles established and reasoned upon by the author , prefixedto the first volume . We select a few paragraphs for extract : —•
POVERTY A CRIME . The manners prevailing in many countries are accurately calculated to impress a conviction , that integrity , virtue , understanding , and industry , are nothing , and that opulence is every thing . Does a man , whose exterior denotes indigence , expect to be well received in society , especially by those who would be understood to dictate to the rest ? Does he find or imagine himself in want of their assistance and favour ? Ho is presently taught that no merit can atone for a mean appearance . The lesson that is read to him is , ' " Go home , enrich yourself by whatever means ; obtain those superfluities which are alone regarded as estimable , and you may then be secure of an amicable reception . " Accordingly
poverty in such countries is viewed as the greatest of demerits . It is escaped from with an eagerness that has no leisure for the scruples of honesty . It is concealed as the most indelible disgrace . While one man chooses the path of undistinguishing accumulation , another plunges into expenses which are to impose him upon the world as a more opulent man than he is . He hastens to the reality of that penury , the appearance of which he dreads ; and , together with his property , sacrifices the integrity , veracity , and ' character which might have consoled him in his adversity . * * * ¦ If admiration were not generally deemed the exclusive property of the rich , and contempt the constant lacquey of poverty , the love of gain would cease to be an universal passion .
A LESSON MUCH NEEDED BY SELFISH ARISTOCRATS . Few things have contributed more to undermine the energy and virtue of the human species , than the supposition that we have a ri g ht—as it has been phrased—to do what we will with our own . It is thus that the miser , who accumulates to no end that which diffused would have conduced to the welfare of thousands ; that the luxurious man , who wallows in indulgence , and sees numerous families around him pining in beggary , never fail to tell us of their rights , and to silence animadversion and quiet the
censure of their own minds , by observing , "that they came fairly into possession of their wealth , that they owe no debts , and that of consequence no man has authority to inquire into their private manner of disposing of that which appertains to them . " We have in reality nothing that is , strictly speaking , our own . We have nothing that has not a destination prescribed to it by the inscrutable voice of reason and justice , and respecting which , if we supersede that destination , we do not entail upon ourselves a certain portion of guilt .
FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH . It has been taught that men would tear each other to pieces if they had not priests to direct their consciences , lords to consult for their tranquillity , kings to pilot them in safety through the dangers of the political ocean . But whether they be misled by these or other prejudices , whatever be the fancied terror that induces them quietly to submit to have their hands bound behind them , and the scourge vibrated over their heads , all these are questions of reason . Truth may be presented to them in such irresistible evidence , perhaps by such degrees familiarised to their apprehension , as ultimately to conquer the most obstinate prepossessions . TRB VAST MPnnTAXfiE OP HONESTY AND COURAGE .
What is it that , at this day , enables a thousand errors to keep their station in the world ; priestcraft , tests , bribery , war , cabal , and whatever else excites the disapprobation of the honest and enlightened mind ? Cowardice ; the timid reserve which makes men shrink from telling that they know ; and the insidious policy that annexes persecution and punishment , to an unrestrained and spirited discussion of the true interests of society . Men either refrain from the publication of unpalatable opinions , because they are unwilling to make a sacrifice of their wordly prospects ; or they publish them in a frigid and enigmatical spirit , stripped of their true character , and incapable of their genuine operation . If every man to-day would tell all the truth he knew , it is impossible to predict how short would be the reign of usurpation and folly . PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM .
The wise man will avoid persecution , because a protracted life , and an unfettered liberty , are likely to enable him to produce a greater sum of good . He will avoid persecution , because he will be unwilling to add fuel to the flames of contention . He will regret it when it arrives , because he believes it to be both wicked and mischievous . But he will not avoid it by the sacrifice of a virtuous but tempered activity . He will not regret it with a mean and pusillanimous spirit , but will meet it when it can no longer be prevented , with that dignity of soul and tranquillity of temper that are characteristic of true wisdom . He will not imagine that the cause of truth will perish , though he should he destroyed . He will make the best of the situation to which he is reduced , and endeavour that his death , like his life , may be of use to mankind .
"We shaft take an early occasion to return to this work , which ,-in the meantime , we have much pleasure in recommending to our readers .
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RoTlAL Polytechnic Institution . — On the entrance of the visitor to this establishment , the eye is attracted by the variety of apparatus exhibited connected with practical science and domestic industry . For instance , there is a power-loom for weaving checks ; cotton-spinning machinery of all descriptions for making hose , &c . ; a warping-web ; ivory , hard-wood , and brass turning ; and Napier ' s patent printing-machine , all in full work . In the centre of the Great Hall sure two canals , m which are numerous models of vessels , steamers , &c .: here , also , the Diving-bell is exhibited , with the divers , who exhibit the latest deposits of nautical apparatus , and [ amongthem is a mattress stuffed with small cork shavings , for the purpose of preserving life from shipwreck , and for use at sea as a bed . During the day and every exhibition , Doctor Bachoffner
gives interesting lectures on Chemistry and Natural Philosophy . Among all these highly interesting and useful objects , the Fine Arts are not forgotten as Sculpture , Gem and Seal Engraving by Mr . Gifford ; Painting , by Mr . Rivers ; Glass-blowing and Lithographic-printing are also exhibited to the visitors . The Dissolving Views are got up with great care and attention , and exhibit interesting objects . Among them is a view of California , the new El Dorado , and all are highly-finished pictures . Mr . Beard carries on his process for- taking portraits by the action of light ; termed Photography . Great improvements have lately taken place in this wonderful art , as may be seen in the rooms of the Institution . A . most efficient orchestra , conducted by Dr . Wallis , D . M ., justly . adds to the pleasure which surrounds the visitor , and gives a most excellent finish to the whole .
Sir John Fkahklis ' s Expedition . —Notice to Mariners . —The following has been received at Lloyd ' s from the Admiralty : — " Twenty thousand pounds sterling reward , to be given by her Majesty s Government to such private ship , or distributed among such private ships , or to any exploring party or parties , of any country , as may , in the judgment of the Board of Admiralty , have rendered efficient assistance to Sir John Franklin , his ships , or their crews , and niav have contributed directly to extricate them from the ice . H . G . Ward ,
Secretary to the Admiralty . London , March 23 , 1849 . " " The attention of whalers , or of any other ships or parties disposed to aid in this service , is particularly directed' to Smith ' s Sound and Jones ' s Sound , in Baffin ' s Bay , to Regent ' s Inlet and the Gulf of Bootlriaias wellastoanyof the inlets or channels leadin g out of Barrow ' s Strait , particularly Wellington Strait , or the sea beyond , cither northward or southward . — " Vessels entering through Behring s Straits would necessarily direct their search north and south of Melville Island .
; The Armagh Gazette states that Dr . Kieran will be appointed to the Catholic primacy . He has been appointed vicar capitular , though the Rev . Mr . Lennox had a majority of the votes of the clergy ,
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APROPOS OF SPEECH-MAKING . When a nation is troubled with wind in the stomach , it has no remedy left but to belch it forth . The empty stomach of Ireland has long been subject to this complaint , and for seventy years she has done little else than make the world aware of it . First , Grattan and Cm-ran , the philippic-makers of our better-fed age , uttered it , and then O'Connell and Sheil—voluminous valves—let off the unwholesome flatulency , and in these last days a dozen mouths have done nothing but belch for the poor old widow-weeded ialand . And of this what has come ? What ofit ? "What of it ? That future our fancy , hung with garlands is crushing our souls to death between its caudine forks .
Did ever speech-making make or save a country ? In'that monster agitation , got up by Demosthenes , when he hurled his high and haughty defiance at Macedonia , what did the Athenians gain ? They were , as far as we can see , left worse than they were found . Cicero , another great orator , talked Cjesar into empire , while Caesar himself made the shortest possible Speeches—witness , " Veni , vidi , vici . " The orator , indeed , is seldom the deliverer of his people . Every now and then a race or nation need a voice to proclaim its conclusions or celebrate its advance ; but in danger or decay it is rigid selfreliances , and intense application to practical work , that can alone save it . Hear yc not this truth' echoing out of the high places of history , oh people of Ireland . —New York " Nation . "
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An Obvious Inference . —An Iowa stump orator , wishing to describe his opponent as a soulless man said , " I have heard some persons hold the opinion , that just at the precise moment after one human being dies another is born , and the soul enters and animates the new-born babe . Now I have mado particular and extensive inquiries concerning my opponent thar , and I find that for some hours Before he drew breath nobody died , ieuowcitizens , I leave you to'draw the inference !
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—^^ M ^ M ^ WHAT IS LIBERTY ? ( From No . V . of Chartist Tracts for t he Times Edited by the Kirkdale Chartist prisoners . ) Liberty appears to us as a manly form , who plants his foot firmly or the earth , and erecting his head to the heavens , as the source of life and intellect , resolutely maintains a rigid determination that neither his mind nor his manhood shall be made into merchandise by any earthly muck-worm . * * » W e take the word liberty , in its widest and most comprehensive state , neither pinning our faith to Republicanism , Chartism , Socialism , or Communism ; except inasmuch as each or all are capable of
developing man ' s physical and mental qualities for a superior state of existence . In this respect we are friendly to each of these sets of principles or theories , without looking at either as an ultimatum . But monarchy , which includes the vile aristocratic principle , we look upon a 3 the deadly upas that poisons every vestige of justice and humanity with which it comes in contact ; and as such , in all its grades and phases , to be shunned , abhorred , and driven from society . It is founded on fraud and pretence , bloodshed and ignorance , and at variance with the laws of nature . U is a lie and a libel on humanity , and the sooner the world is rid of its presence ,
the oelter will it be for the peace and harmony of the human race . You who require proof of these assertions , read any history—we care not wideband you will find it full of scarcel y anything else than the wars and devastations which kings have inflicted oa mankind ; therefore with thttn no real lover of his species can sympathise . Personally , Kings and Queens may be as good as other people , and , for ought we know to the contrary , Queen Victoria may be as good and as virtuous as any of her subjects ' ; but it is not with persons but principles , which we have to deal , and the influence which they exercise on the destinies of nations .
Were we asked whether we are Republicans ? We should reply that if by a Republic was meant , one who desired a government by the people , for the peo . pie , for the benefit of all , where each citizen should have equal power and protection , and where the tawdrr trappings of royalty should be utterly cast out , —where man would be taught to view in his fellow-man , a brother , and not an article of trade or profit , —emphatically , Yes ! But if the word ' Republic' was to be a mere name , or cloak under which all the vices and even forms of royalty were to be maintained , such as that under the presidency of Louis Napoleon in France , we should scout the idea of such Republic , as a gross cheat . The Republic
of America i 8 little-better iu our estimation , for it is the upholder of slavery in its most odious and revolting features , and the evils of our commercial system are as predominant there , as they are under the moat despotic monarchies . If the honest friends of RepubUamiBm in France are fairly represented in the accounts which we have read , we warmly sympathise with them , and should not blush to declare ourselves , with them , Red Republicans , and we shall rejoice at the ultimate triumph of the Social and Democratic Republic- As we have previously remarked , we attach no importance to names , or phrases ; we desire the reality .
We desire our readers to bear in mind our solemn conviction , that even under a Republic they may suffer all the disadvantages which tesnlt from Monarchies , if they permit similar institutions to exist . For this reason , we should oppose the office of president , as under that title , and with the power thereunto attached , the office is liable to be abused , and the worst consequences ensue , especially in young republics . But the existence ef abuses in a free and veritable republic is the fault of the people who permit them , and by no means an argument in favour of a monarchy . The Causes of Revolutionary Failures . — Political mengers' scoffs shall not deter us . Hear us , brothers ! Political theory is one thing , and social application another . The mass of worldlings will applaud your political theory , whilst they will use hell ' s devices to mar its social application . Herein is the secret , and we shall show you how it works :. In all political struggles , the people are uniformly honest and sincere , and the same feelings which they possess themselves , they as willingly attribute to others ; but bankrupt demagogues and political charlatans step in the front rank when no danger is to be apprehended , and snatch away that for which the people are contending , or have secured , and by plausible speech and cajolery defraud
them of their newly-won rights , because they were not sufficiently versed in the method of maintaining them , that they might be enabled to barter them for their own advantage . Suppose them to be elected as a Provisional Government , they pretend to act cautiously for the better security of the people . Elect them as members of a National Assembly , and they are for mediating between the vanquished oppressors and their victims , until , by vacillation and diplomatic fencing , they espy a chance of overturning the very system which they were chosen to protect . This mainly arises from the undue importance which the people attach to what is termed
respectability ; for , instead of appointing an honest workman to be their guide and safeguard , they thrust their favours on the bourgeoisie , or middle men , who uniformly betray them on the first opportunity . The application of political theory to social practice is the question which concerns the real seekers for liberty . We want substance , not form , and until the people have sufficient intelligence to see clearly into this matter , liberty will be a dead letter to thetu . A people depressed and degraded , may be roused up to a tumultuous and momentary effort to be free , bnt lacking a true knowledge of what liberty means , they are incapable of raaiEtaining it .
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HISTORIC PARALLELS . Buonaparte and O'Brien . —On the 25 th of May , 1845 , Louis Napoleon Buonaparte made his escape from Ham . On the very same day Smith O'Brien was discharged from the coal cellar of the House of Commons , after twenty-four days' imprisonment . In December , 1848 , Louis Napoleon is President of the French Republic ; Mr . Smith O'Brien a prisoner and all but forgotten . We copy the above from Douglas Jerrold's newspaper . It is easy and not very dignified to jibe over the fallen—and Mr . Jerrold , as editor of a Whig newspaper , which has quite enough serious business to do , if ic does it , cannot always forget the vagabond show-box , and Punch ' s grin . He must , therefore , be forgiven if he plav the fool over the
misfortunes of a brave man . Yet the above coincidence suggested to our minds a week or two since , when we had to chronicle the presidential election of the prisoner of Ham , very different reflections . Perhaps it would be better for Englishmen in general , and thOBe tinged with utilitarian Radicalism in particular , if they took a warning with their laugh . If Mr . O'Brien should hereafter attain the rank in his native land to which his courage , and sincere unselfish love of her entitle him , id would not be an event so strange as that the scapegrace of Boulogne , a vain , ambitious , selfadulatory man , shouldnow reign in the Land where so lately he lay a captive . In days like these there is no lease of empire ; and England is not so stable that she can afford to joke on her fall . —From the New York "People , " '
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The Biter Bit . —A few days ago a sheriffs bailiff , in the county of Sligo , arrested a man for debt , and directed his steps towards the county prison at Sligo . On the way they shortened the road by conversation , and , occasionally , a " blast of the p ipe , " entering now and then a house to obtain a " coal . " One of the cabins they visited for this latter purpose happened to be a shebeen house , and after a glass or two the prisoner remarked the potteen was so good and the road bo long they might as well have a bottle of the Stuff to keep their courage up , and the landlady securing the cork , the bailiff having a capacious coat pocket , he deposited it therein . Passim ? through the village of Skreen they entered the
revenue police-barrack to " light the pipe , and while engaged in this delightful occupation the attention of one of the " revenuemen" was caught by a very significant wink and a nod from the prisoner , which he read to bo that contraband goods were ' at hand . Directing his attention to the pocket of the functionary of the law he perceived an unusual projection , and , knocking against it accidentally , he demandod to sec what it was . To this the bailiff demurred , alleging it was a sample of turf he was taking to Sligo , but the revenue's sense of smelling was too keen , he hunted « p the game , and it unennstenea
pulled ont thccorK , pronouneea potteen . To pass over such a breach of the law on the part of one of the executive was not to be thought of , he accordingly requested the bailiff ' s nttondanco boforo a neighbouring magistrate , enforcing the invitation by a pair of handcuffs . It was in vain to say nay , the revenue was inexorable ^ and the " bailiff was " agreeable to go , " if the prisoner would accompany him . To this , however , the revenue officer objected , he had no charge against him and the debtor , with a peculiar application of his thumb to the tip of his hose , having wished the bailiff " the top of the morning , " proceeded on his - way homo rejoicing . — Mayo Cmiitution .
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LiBEmr . — " Shame , that any should have been found to speak lightly of liberty—whose worth is so tesutica—vfhoae benefits are so numerous and so rich . Moralists have praised it—poets have sung it-the gospel has taught and breathed it-patriot and martyrs have died for it . As a temporal blessing it is beyond all comparison , and above all praise . It is the air we breathc-the food we eatthe raiment that clothes us-tho sun that enlightens , vivifies , and gladdens all on whom it shines—without it what are honours , and riches , and all similar endowments ? What is slavery , an - what does it do ? It darkens and degrades the intellect—it paralyses the hand of industry—it is the nourisher of
agonising fears and sullen revegc—it crushes the spirit of the bold—it belies the doctrines , it contradicts the precepts , it resists tho power , it sets at defiance the sanctions of religion—it is the tempter , the murderer , and the tomb of virtue—and either blasts the felicity of those over whom it domineers , or forces them to seek relief from their sorrows in the gratifications , the mirth , and the madness of the passing hour . "—Dr . A . Thomson ' s Sermons , 1829 . PovKRTr axi ) Wealth . —If rich , it is easy to conceal our we ; iltli ; but if poor , it is not quite so easy to conceal our poverty . We shall find that it is less difficult to hide a thousand guineas than one hole in our coat .
A Great Fact . —The very worst Roman republican government that ever existed ( says the Morning Herald ) cannot be worse than the God-abandoned government of the best of the popes . A Great Tuuth . —The parent who would train up a child in the way he should go , must go in the way in which he would train up the child . A Comkoht . ' —A dying West India planter , groaning to his favourite negro servant , sighed out , " AU , Sambo , I ' m going a long—long journey . " " Nebbor mind , Massa , " said the nigger ' coaxingJy , " him all down hill . "
A Tbifling Mistake . —A good lady who had two children sick with the measles wrote to a friend for the be _ st remedy ; while the friend had just received a note from another lady inquiring the way to make pickles . In the confusion the lady who had inquired about tlve pickles received tho remedy for the measles , while the anxious mother of the sick children read the following ;— " Scald them three or four times in hot vinegar , sprinkle them well with salt , and in a few days they will be cured . " The Saturnalia of Crime . — " Tho assizes , " remarks the Gloucester Journal , " are the saturnalia o { crime . Tradesmen count their gains ; the inns resound with jollity ; the streets are merry with music ; and 'the founders of the feast '—the thieves ,
rufiians , and nianslaycrs—caught in the drag-net of the law , are torn with expectation , or overwhelmed by despair . " Choose your Company . —An amusing incident occurred some time since at the city clerk's office . A stout Irishman came in at the same time with an enormous dog , and said to Mr . M'Cleary , who sat at his desk , " May it plaze yoar honour , I want a licence . " Mr . M'Cleary quietly wrote out the licence , and handed it to the man . "And how much am I to pay ? " " Two dollars . " " Two dollars ! A friend of m ' mo got ono here only a day or two ago for fifty cents . " " It must be a mistake , " replied Mr . M'Cleary : "I have been a great many years , and never issued a dog licence under two dollars . " " Dog I" cried the Irishman ; " Jiang the doe . I never saw the baste before . I want to get married !"
Why anB Because . —Wh y is a hungry man waiting for his breakfast willing to be a martyr ?—Because he longs to go to tho steak . A Dauntless Patriot . —The Act for the Militia being passed ( 1059 ) , the command of all the forces and garrisons settled on Monk , and the fleet in his power jointly with Colonel Montague , the pretended parliament authorised their Council of State to provide for the public safety on all emergencies , and to dispose of affairs as th ' ey should think fit , till the meeting of the next parliament ; which , being done , and the House ready to pass the Act for their own dissolution , Mr . Carew , who had been as forward as any man in the beginning and carrying on the war against the late king , moved , that beiore they dissolved themselves they should bear their witness against tho horrid murder ( as he called it ) of the king . This unexpected motion prevailed with many
then present , to deny their concurrence to that act against the king , though not to reflect in the same manner on those who had been concerned in it . And one of them concluding his discourse , with protesting " that he had neither hand nor heart in that affair , " Mr . Thomas Scott , ( who had been so much deluded by the hypocrisy ot Monk ) in abhovrencoofthat base spirit , said , " that although he knew not where to Jay his head at that time , yet he durst not refuse to own , that not only his hand but his heart also was in it ; " and after he had pronounced divers reasons to prove the justice of it , he concluded , " that he should desire no greater honour in this world than that the following inscription should be engraved on his tomb : — ' Here lieth one who had a hand and a heart iu the execution of Charles Stuart , late King of England . ' "Ludloiv ' s Memoirs , 1693 .
The Season . —Old Candlemas-day was held in great repute previous to the change of style in the year 1752—hence the ancient rhyme" If Candlemas-day be damp and black , Id will carry cold winter away on its back ; But if candleraas-day be bright and clear , Tho half of winter ' s to come this year . " If this proverb be true , we may expect from the " bright and cleav" aspect of the weather ou that day , that " half the winter is yet to come . " Importan't to Lovers . —Rousseau says , that to write a good love-letter , you ought to begin without knowing what you mean to say , and finish without knowing what you have said .
Newspapers m the Reign of James I [ . —>< o newspaper was published oftener than twice a ¦ week . Xone exceeded in size a single small leal " . The quantity of matter which ouo contained in ; i year was not more than is often found in two numbers of the Times . After the defeat of tho Whigs , it was no longer necossavy for tlie king to be sparing in the use of what the judges had pronounced to be his undoubted prerogative . At the close of hi * reign no newspaper was suffered to appear without his allowance , and his allowance was given only to the London Gazette . The London ttazette came out only on Mondays and Thursdays . The contents generally vrcre a voynl proclamation , two or three Tory addresses , notices of two or three promotions , an account of a skirmish between the impori . il troops and the Janissaries on tho Danube , a description of a highwayman , an announcement of a grand cockfiglit between two ]) ersons of honour , and an advertisement oft'erinir a reward for a strayed dug .
Tub Free Tradk Cuked . —A Frenchman was seen bargaining for half a dozen sheep . '' What arc you about ? ' said a friend . "I have heard say , " replied Monsieur , " you must 'buy sheep ; md sell dear . ' I shall buy tie sheep and sell do venison !" A Co . njuoal Hist . —In former days , Sir . Graham was session clerk and parochial teacher of ; and although he faithfully and ably discharged nil the duties of his double offico , still he occasionally fell into the sin of drinking a little too much . His
spouse , as a matter of course , was sorry to witness this failing of her guidman , and often remonstrated with , him on the impropriety of his conduct . Hut the husband turned the point of her rubuke by simply exclaiming : — " True , I get mysel' whiles half fou ; but , do ye no ken , my dDav , that if it luulna been for that bit Fau'fc , ye ne'er wad hae been Mrs . Graham ? " . The Hop Tax . —Dancing with a sprightly niaiuen of fifty , while your charming Sophia is polkaing it with a handsome dragoon .
Sharp Practice . — On the 10 th inst , a man named Williams , the head of the Dudley scavengers was buried in St . Thomas ' s church , having previously " shuffield off Ms mortal coil , " to the groat affliction of his disconsolate helpmate , who followed his remains to their place of sepulture , like Rachel , " weeping bitterly , and refusing to be comforted . " On the next morning this bereaved and brokenhcavted Siobe donned , not her " kirtle green , " but her widow ' s weeds , and hastened to Sedgley parish church , where she was united in the hands ' of holy matrimony to a male friend who had mournfully joined the funeral procession on the preceding day . The widow had , haply , in mind Tom Moore ' s lines : — " Then waste not the time in digressions , For not to be blessed when you can , la one of the darkest transgressions
That happens' twixt woman and man . '" The Pope . —What a grand subject for a history the Popedom is ! The Pope ought never to have affected temporal sway , but to have lived retired within St . Angelo and to have trusted to the superstitious awe inspired by his character and office . He spoiled his chance when he meddled in the petty Italian politics . French and English Women . —A French woman in the decline of life is one of the most beautiful companions in the world . She retains a desire to please ( the real source of coquetry ) to the end of her days ; and this desire prevents her from being either cross or stupid . She dresses well ; that is to aay a woman of forty does not , in France , dress like a ' girl
of fifteen ; she takes care in the morning to arrange her blond so that the coming wrinkles may a \^ car but the shadow of the lace ; her figure is well sustained ; but by the aid of a little rouge and pencilling , her eyes the only beautyMn . a French face , look brilliant , and what is better still , good , natured , to the last . Our women in England at fovty or thereabouts , if they decline to act " miss in her teens , " take too long to whist and heavy dinners . We cut short half our days with this arrangement , and mistake stupidity for wisdom ; as if there was more wisdom required in counting the spots oncard-boarcis than in creating mirth or clipping the hours wings with diamond scissors . —Mrs . S . C . Hall . Vaxity — " There is not a mite in the world ( says Lavatcr ) , but what thinks itself quite the cheese , " .
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¦ ^—INQUIRY CONCERNING POLITICAL JUSTICE , and its influence on MORALS AND HAPPINESS . By William Godwi >\ London : J . Watson , 3 , Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternoster-row . The fourth edition of Godwin's Political Justice , in two handsome volumes , an invaluable addition to the excellent political works previousl y published by Mr . Waisoit . This admirable work was first published in January , 1793 . Tory terrorism was then in the ascendant in this country , and fierce was the persecution waged by hoth aristocrats and inobocrats against the few good men and true who dared to defend the cause of justice and proclaim the princi ples of equity . At the moment that the first edition of this work
made its appearance , the " Life-and-Fortune-Men" were forming associations and subscribing to public funds , for the purpose of prosecuting , persecuting aad' hunting flown every
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SUNSHINE AND SHADOW ; A TALE OP THE NINETEENTH CENTURY . BT THOMAS MAUTIN WHEELER , Late Seoretary to the National Charter Association and National Land Company . Chapter V . If to the city sped—What waits him there ? To see profusion that he may not share To see ten thousand baneful arts combined , To pamper luxury and thin mankind ; To see each joy the sons of pleasure know Extorted from his fellow creature ' s woe . Here while the courtier glitters in brocade , There the pale artist plies the sickly trade ; Here while the proud their long-drawn pomp display , There the black gibbet glooms beside the way ; The dome where Pleasure holds her midnight _ reign , Here richly deck'd admits the gorgeous train ; Tumultuous grandeur crowds the blazing square , The rattling chariots clash , the torches glare . Goldsmith . ' At the close of a fine July day Arthur Morton , the term of his apprenticeship having expired , after seven years' absence , once more visited . London . The beauty of the evening had drawn forth the myriads of the metropolis from their close-heated rooms and workshops to the streets and lanes of this giant-heart of the mighty centre of the world ' s civilisation ; and as he traversed suburbs , and mile after mile of glittering shops passed like a fairy scene before his view , he felt something like regret at the opportunities of acquiring wisdom and experience he had lost by passing his apprentice years at the small town of M , but with hearty resolution determined that future exertions should not be wantincr to distil the esaennn ot wisdom in
the vast human laboratory he was now entering . London ! thou mighty shroud for misery and vrant , and equally mighty emblazoner of luxury and pomp , who can look on thee after years of absence and not feel amazed at thy stupendous concentration of all that is rich and rare in talent , art , and science , and also all that is base , vicious , and degrading , so mixed and mingled together that it would take the wisdom of a . life to dissever the pure from the impure ? To thee fly the outcasts from all the nations of the earth . The tyrant monarch , driven from his throne , and the patriots flying from the despot ' s / age . Thou openesfc thy embracing arms to all ; genius flies to thee as the enlighteneS almoner to reward and extend her flight ; poverty rushes to thy
embrace , that it may reap the reward of toil or die in thy enfolding arms . In thy vast panorama what sudden changes of scene meet our view ; one moment the gorgeous palace , next the den of crimetire merchant's mansion and the debtor ' s gaol—the senate house and the gallows drop—the gin palace and the house of prayer . Each passing moment introduces new actors to the scene ; now the monarch groat in her high-sounding titles , next the infected courtesan , the titled lordling , and the adept in crime—the millionaire and the starving artizan—the Christian bishop and the Atheist priest . All—all find room in thy capacious bosom—all minister to thy greatness , and contribute to render thee a world in thyself—a complete microcosm of humanity ; thy
mighty arteries now bursting with excitement , anon gliuing with the langour of exhaustion , but , alas ! seldom pulsing with the healthful glow of serenity . With such reflections as these Arthur Morton pursued Mb way towards his uncle ' s residence ; but his reception there was so cold and chill , and the plea of having no bed aired so iced with inhospitality , that he gladly turned his steps to an inn for his night's renose , and , thrown on his own resources with but a guinea in his pocket , was left to struggle with the mighty crowu of tho mighty town . Oh , that cant phrase , " thrown on their own resources ! " how glibly it slides off the tongue of our sapient legislators , who never apply it but to the industrial classes , whilst not a law is mado , nor a custom enforced ,
but tends to dry up and cripple those resources . Ye legislators , wrapped up in the party-coloured raiment of your political economy ; ye idle drones in the world's great hive , the day will yet come when you will , indeed , be thrown on your own resources , and then will the miseries that you Lave inflicted on others , havo to bo endured by yourselves . Day after day did Arthur wander from street to street seeking employment , but in vain ; trade was unusually dull , and the country apprentice was not sufficiently initiated into the mysteries of London Trade Societies , to be a successful competitor with older hands acquainted with tho ways of town . His few shillings were now gradually sinking into pence ; starvation was in his thoughts and
approaching towards reality ; of friends he was utterly destitute , and his pride revolted against again seeking his unfeeling relative . Once his thoughts turned upon his old acquaintance ,. Walter North , but he was estranged and far distant ; the image of his sister , the lovely , the tender-hearted Julia , crossed his imagination—it had often done so during the long wearisome years of his apprenticeship—for she was his first and only female friend , but he shrank from informing her or her parents of his destitute condition ; and thus was he alone in that most lonely of ivll places to the poor and friendless—busy , bustling London . Oh , how changed was the current of his thoughts , from those with which he entered it but a few brief days previously . Hopes and
anticipations of profitable employment , and vague dreams of future greatness , were then rife in his mind ; now all was dreary and desolate , hope was sinking low in his bosom , and its reaction , despair , was fast usurping its place . London , the great nursing mother of the kingdom—he did not anticipate she would refuse to own and embrace him , and bitterly he felt his lot . Ah ! little did he know the fickle nature of this wizard mother ; she receives all in hop mig hty womb—on some she lavishes kindness and favour , but her lodging houses in her courts and alleys could tell a fearful tale of the thousands who have died from the neglect to give them proper sustenance ; yea , her pride , the mighty Thames , could give up hosts of pale and shrunken ghosts ,
who , neglected by this pitiless mother , have flown to her cold and watery embrace , from fear of that most direful of all spectres—famine gasping in the lap of plenty . Sad and awful spectacle . ' becoming , alas ! too familiar to impress us ¦ w ith allits liorribfc reality . Were it not so , we should rush to the rescue of sinking humanity , and indignantly demand that the guilty record should be blotted from the annals of our land . Would that the grave could give back its unburied dead , and their gaunt forms pass in review before the eyes of our legislators , shouting in their terror-stricken ears ,. '' Died from your neglect !" then mi g ht we wring from their fears that justice which tney havo denied to our repeated appeals . Ireland , thou scpuLure of famine's dead ! what a terrific host wouldst thou add to this muster roll . Numerous and havd-hearted as are thy enslavers ,
they would shrink before the host of their murdered victims , and thy dead children would burst those fetters which frantic efforts of the living serve only to strengthen and re-rivet . Let this Golgotha be removed from our sight . Humanity sickens at the scene—our chill blood boils in our veins—and we pray , as a last resource , that the wild justice of revenge may rid us of their and eur oppressors ; that the stain of thy blood—so deeply redly dyed—may be washed from our hands ; that the crimes of centuries may be forgiven , and that wo remain no longer the reproach and scorn of the world . Let the careless , and the lukewarm , bear in mind , that " He who permits oppression , shares the crime , " and awaken from their criminal apathy . Let not tbisjwithering reflection blight their Latest moments : that they might have saved their country—might , but would not . ( To be continued . )
"T/Anette*.
" t / anette * .
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I Apsis 28 , 1849 . ° THE NORTHERN STAR , 3
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 28, 1849, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1520/page/3/
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