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Northern Star (1837-1852), 2nd January 1841, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3, Untitled Article

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    • iBoetrn*
    • THOUGHTS ToR THE THOUGHTFUL. ( From ihe Chartitt Circular.J
    • THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 1841.
    • TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
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      THE CHASTER . ff he 5 tnrones shall ennoble and moulder to dust , And sceptres «>« M fill from tb « bands of the great , jjm » U the rich baubles a Monarch might bout , Shall vanish before the good sense of & state ; ffbea Lords ( prodotwd by the mandate of KingB ) , Kow prond and dominant , rampant -with power , Sbal ] be spoken of only as by-gone things That shall blast thia part of creation no more , ggjeij firm upon truth , the Charter shall stand Tte bad-mart of ages—sublimely grand !

      ffisi class-distinctions shall "wittier and die , And conscious merit shall modestly bear Ibe garlands -wrought hy its own industry , The proper rewards of labour and care ; yfhsa man shall rise to hi 3 station as man , To passion or vice no longer a slave ; % hen the march of mind already begun , Sail gathering roll liie avast mountain "wave , jbe Chari ^ shall stand the text of the free , Of s nation ' s rights the sure guarantee . So loc ? » s tyrannic oppression is found jo cos * blight o ' er the face of the earth ; Toiprswi its devastating iaflnence round , As& nip " patient merit" e ' en in its birth ; go ion ? w "we s £ e ^ ™ eafre array , Xfce " demons of want and misery and woe , In their direst forms stalk forth at noon-day ,

      Spreading havoc and death in their track as they go The Charter shall shine the pole-star bright . The hope of these victims of " might against right " So long as Justice impartially spreads The savour of truth o " er discard and strife ; go ions : as kindly benevolence sheds Her halo divine on tie dark pa-th of life ; go long as the thriee-halloWd sacred fires Of " love of country" burns in the breast ; So long as the impulse virtue inspires " Shall lead to relieve and support the oppress'd ; Soiong stall the Charter be deeply engrav'd On the high-beating hearts of millions enslav'd ! Joseph Ri . DFOE . xi Birmingham .

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      v INVOCATION TO THE MEMORY OF SIR WM WALLACE . BT " ABGCS . " Hail ! purest gem , thy country ' s pride , Hail ! first on nature's roll ; Hail : Scotland's land of heroes' guide , That led to freedom ' s goaL Hail ! patriot pure and undeSleS , Bail ! -wisdom ' s favoured choice ; Hail : justice , truth , and virtue ' s child , That still yars Scotia ' s heart rrjoice . Oh ' . that tiie sympathetic tear Could blot the stain thy -wrongs impart ; Oh , that thy spirit yet could cheer The gloom from Scotia ' s bursting heart Thrice dids't thou plant fair freedom's tree ,

      Thrice ditVst thou rend the despot ' s chain , Thrice did thine arm thy country free , And yet her saas are slaves again ! Oh , that thy courage still would meet Thy conntrys tyrants hand to hand ; Thrr . -srould thy dauntless spirit greet The myriads of thy £ s . ther-Land I

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      - ^* - EXTRACT FROM THE PLAT OF J 0 H > " FROST . SCENE , A DVXGEOS—PBOST BKAIUSG . " Blessed are the merciful , for they shall obtain mercy . " From whom shall they obtain it . '—not from man ! Man curses man ; cruel e ' en in his mercy . Me , merciful , they recommend to mercy , And -what do I obtain ?—not that , nor justice : I soughi for mercy for the suifring poor , And am eondem'd fort—aye , for that I ' m sentene'd to be hanged , be drawn , and quarter 'd—My sever'd limbs to bedisposed of—how ' :

      Sold , strewn , or eook'd , as pleases our good Queen To pity poor men's woes is treason now . The loyal laugh at them , axe thaak'd and knigntei God , thou art mercifsl ! have mercy on me ! On those who have more need of it than I , Because they ' re none on me . nor on the poor . Oi , God ' if 'tis expedient one man perish For tisy poor people ' s sake , I'll be that man : If I have erred , ' twas with no V > ad intent ; But strictest judgment they have dealt on me . Oh may my death atone ny sins in life . Ob , hear my prayer , Oh Or- > d ' acd pardon me .

      E 5 TEE . JAILOB . JiiloT—Her Majesty most graciously has mercy—She will not hang you , but transport you , Sir . Frost—Transport me . ' I'd ratLer die—I'd lather far be hang'd . Jsi'or—At y « Dr pleasure , Sir ; But you will be transported . Sir—not hang'd . I thought you would have lited 10 hear i :. sir . [ £ j- / . * jai ' er . j Frost "solus —TrsiLsportea : — 'tis to drag on death alive . Such mercy is the worst of eraelry . The Sends alone can call it merer . Oh , 'tis sardonic ! transport : aye . indeed ! Transport in penal flames . '—transported , ha !

      They'll next all hell , —heaven—devils , too . They'll christen angels—so , indeed , they are , Compar ed with th ^ ss who mak ? their hell of England Alas for me : —what shall a gocd man do ? Vice reigns on earth ana virtue is her victim . They sei 2 d ; ne , immured me—the very priests , Thai pray God ' s pity on poor prisoners , Made me a prisoner—vrsst to pray for me ? I -sras betray'd by mine own cooaseilors , And men , I saved , -witness'd against me falsely , Cvndemn' 4 their friend to shambles to be slaughter'd Mure liie a " o » ast for ir ^ rket thin a man . At : d coif Victoria ' s mercy for me is—Whzz ?—banishtueat to earth ' s remotest bounds , Par out of hearing of rtdress , or

      pity—Iherr to be ciain'd -with felons ' neatij the sun , A keeper o ' er me "with a -whip of wire , . Atv 1 when I g roan -with , ¦ anhabitnal toil , Or faint with thirst , ard hunger , or disease , To have the whip scourge off my biistere- skin , And be worse tortur'd for my cries and shrieks . > Tiy . when wom nature sinks in torpid sleep , As 1 dreaais of former life stir thoughts of home , To be awik'd and goa-ied 10 my doom , — I who ? - whole coarse of life hath run contrary , Si iha : my fate wili make itself more felt . I to spend life ' s latter days thus , —thus nameless , It is too dreadful fur my mind to brsr , How can n y body then ?—it must not be ' Tier czjiuo : m- ^ ui it , sure— j moment

      so" W ; : h sash coxpiaions ^ ad snch overseers , Is inch an irresponsive -wilderness , Where man is authoriz ed to zorzaie man , And so exults in his most savage powcr That wildest bc&sts grow tame aad lose their terrors Conipar'd wi : h him , arm'd with his racking engines , A moment of saeh life were like whoie years . And must I go with memory and spend The last grey remnant of my being thus ? I shall go mad , or worse , become a fiend—And this they cili th = ir mercy—r-.-yal ra-. rcy ! Be mercifaj . indeed , and give me d ' r-ath—OL , let jes die while yet I am a man—G : t £ me sosia chance of leaving earth for heaven . J . W

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      a Of all tfca ; is perrdc . or ! S in admiration , the admiration of heroes is the mo = ; pernicious ; aud how de-Ipsion should hav . _ made us admire what virtrie should teach us to iate and loathe , is-among the saddest evidences of human weakness and folly . The crici's of heroes seem Ion in the vac j r . ess of the field they occupy : a lively ides of the - isdiief they doof ^ ie misery ihey create—Scldum peaetrate 3 the mind through the delusions -with wh : ca thougbtless-Ees = and falsehood have surrounded their names and dcras . Is k that the m-iKtitude of the evil is too gigantic for entrance ? We read of tvren ; y thousand

      ttrn killed m a battle , iviih no o : her feeiings than thai i : wa > a g ; or ; cas viciory . " Twenty thousand , or ien thousaaa , w ^ it reck we of their suiF = rings The hosts -who perished are evidences of the completeness of the triumph , and the completeness of tas triumph is me increase of merit , a . iid the glory of the ^ onqaeror . Oar schoolmastcTf , and the immoral poc'ks they hare sp orten put imo our bands , have iDipired us Triih zu a £ .- « iou for heroes , and the tero is more heroic in pr- _ portion to the number of iis ; lain ; & . dd a cypher—cot one iota is added to our disapprobation , i ^ our or two figures give us no more sentiments of pain than one fi ^ are , while they add

      JaaxYcuously to the grandeur and splendour of our victor . Let as draw forth ote individual from those thonsands , or tens of thoc ? ands : —his leg has been Ehjverbd by one ball , his jaw broken by another , he is bribed in his own blooa and tha ; of his fellowslet he lives , tortured by thirst , fainting , famishing . ¦ He i * but one of the ' twenty tboniand—one of the fccuirs and sufferers iis the scene of the hero's glory : tod of the twenty thousand there is scarcely one * hose suffering or death will not be the centre of a Qrcle of misery . Look again , a dmirers of that hero I * -is not this wretchedness 1 Because it is repeated * Dj ten hundred , ten . thousand times is not thi 3 wretchedness V '—Beniham .

      ., Of the three reigning monarehs of Europe to * Bom I have now been presented , there is not one tfaoie natural dignity and personal fitness for his Ration have impressed me , in any degree , like that of our own venerable President . I have approached « ae former through . guards and mailers of ceremony * Kh all the splendidTparaphernalia of palaces aroond , i ~ ffiselves in the imposing dress of monarchs , stand-* H ui tiie sanctuaries of History and association . I caited . opoa ^ jj ^ tgr -wuhoot even sending np my

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      niunft , introdaeed by the eon of one of his friends , in the scarce-finished government-house of a new republic , and found him in the midst of his family , hardly recovered from a eeYere illness . The circumstances were all in favoar of the former , but I think the most bigotted follower of kings would find something in the simple manners and stern dignity » f the grey old «• chieftain "* that would impress him far more than the state of all the monarchs of Christendom . "— Willis ' s Penciltings by the Way . " A commercial crisis strikes first and heaviest on those who are the leas ; prepared to meet it ; that is , on the poorest class of the operatives . It is obvious that a proportionate reduction of wages is 3 measure very unequal in its pressure : take one-fifth from the man earning 03 . a-day , aud from the man earning la . a-day , the former oniy loses some comforts , while

      the latter is reduced to absolute destitution . But reductions ha-re not even the fairness of proportion ; when mills work half-time , or when their operations are suspended fora season , masters generally endeavour to find employment for their more skilful operatives , in order to secure their Bervicea for better times . It is on Ihe hewers of wood and drawers of water that the calamity comes , aDd , as in the best of days , they only earn a bare sufficiency for support : re-juctiou is , to them , another name for ruin . The same observation is applicable to an increase in the price of provisions ; it iails with its worst severity on ' . hose who have ; he lowest rate of wages . The difference of Id . or 2 d . in the price of a loaf will not be a great deal to a man who is earning £ 3 or £ i per week , but" to a man who does not gain doubie that number of shillings , i ; becomes a partial prohibition of necessary food . "—Athenceum .

      " It is a mistake to think our tuft-huntmgweauhy merchants and manufacturers , whose only ambition is to dine at a ' nobleman ' s table , or our snpple shopkeepers , who would sell their souls to Satan for one customer more , will ever achieve the recognition of the rights ofv % their order . " The privileged classes must trample us into asserters of equality . "—raid ' s Magazine . " We should defer our cavilling about niceties till the great" battle against usurpation and the general oppressor has been lully won . ' —Godwin . * General Jackson .

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      MEAKS OF EFFECTING A BLOODLESS REVOLUTION . All laws for the benefit of only a particular class , to the nation ' s detriment , fueh as Corn Lavrg , Game Laws , &c , should be repealed ; all Monopolies destroyed : Emails prohibited : allotments of the Crown land , of Church Ian is , aud of the va . s : tracts of waste Jand throughout the country , shonld be given in freehold to all whose incomes are below the sum sufficient to provide a comfortable subsistence ; a « cumulatipn of wealth restricted to a certain amount . These enactments -would prevent thelexcess of misery necessarily the consequence of partial laws , the concomitant of inordinate accumulation . Meanwhile , ihe moral elevation of the community steadily progressing , the iempiation to acquire a selfish gain at

      the expeEce of another ' s loss would be more easily resisied ; the crime frould be thought greater ; and encouragement btin ^ ' given by the government to the experiments of Socialists and otuer endeavours to deia-ch men from the present baneful thraldom of Commercial Competition ; trade , left free and untrammelled , aiding in the work of its own ruin ; the day would not be far distant , which would see so grea : a revolution ia the minds of men , that public opinion wouJd command Government to adopt measures ipr insuring the best bestowal of universal cooperation—the desire of selfishly hoarding passing away at the prospect of the vast advantages proved possible and ^ asy of attainment under a system of universal union .

      Ail these beneficial measures might be accomplished , without , at any time , causing to individuals anything like the amount of suffering now daily enduird , and inevitably Vo be endured , so long as the present disarrangement of society shall continue . Fevf of the present generation would suffer from the chaxge , while millions migh : be immediately beuefitted ; our children would pass through the transition state yet more easily , having the advantages of an education far superior to the training hitherto received by any , much of outward opposing prejudice circumstance being aUo cleared away , so that their way would be smoothed before them ; and our chiJren ' s children might possess their father-iand in pc 3 ee and happiness , a- brothers , aiding each other in the work of progression toward the tulfilmeat of man ' s high destiny—speeding the advent of that day " When every transfer of earth ' s natural gifts Shall be a commerce of good words and worts ; When poverty and wealth , the thirst of fame . The fear of infamy , disease and woe , War with its million horrors , and fierce hell Shall live bnt in the memory of Time ; Who , like a penitent libertine , shall start , Look back , and shudder at his younger years . " The National .

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      HUMAN MADNESS AND MISERY . Mourn I for tbe din of labour hath ceased , and the workman ' s hand forget 3 its cunning ; the spider builds securely in the idle loom , the ploughshare lieth f rozeD ia the furrow . Industry sueth for employmentiheTe is none ; bis bean sickens ; with clasped hands and tear-suffased eyes , he flingeth himself at the footstool of luxury—Give me bread!—the pampered slave sparneth back the unwelcome suppliaat ; the hand of Power gripes the throat of the dying one , and hurleth him to the bottom of a dungeon . There ii no crime like poverty .

      Mourn ! for the hu ^ and ' and father is torn from his family , the son from his widowed mother , tbe brother irom his sister , the lever from his betrothed bride : they must leave them destitute and friendless ; they must leave them to perish in want , or to pine in misery aud sorrow—and for what ] To murder their fellow-men , or with their own blood to manure the fi-id of slaughter ; to dishonour and insult the Eitrual Spirit or Peace , at ihe bidding of—a king . Tae fai * of , the iraUoni 13 weighed ; the balance is in the hand of aa i- ^ iot : in the cue scale lies the hopes and happiness of a vast empire ; the idio : flings his folly into the opposing scale , and the destinies of millions kick the beam .

      Mourn ! for ihe biood of maa is poured upon the altar of God : human flesh 13 seething in the cauldron ; the priest thrusts in the fieshhook and seizes his portion 0 / the Sacrifice;—who ? e ahall be the remainder ? It is a burnt oif > .-ricg for the God of Lore . Human bones are bfapeu before the gates of the sanctuary ; on the summit of tbe pile three seals are placed : who are they who sit thereon ? Know ye not tbe dark shade of Ignorance , with sightless eyeballs and hands tied behind his back , his feet resting upon a massive book bound wiih strong iron cia = p . s ? Pnesteraf ; and Tyranny have joined hands . Smite the oppressors to tbe earth ! Robbery sitteth in the high piaces ; murder hath usurped the throne of honour .

      Wisdom crieth in the streets ; but her voice is drowned in the jests of the tnfler , in the scurrility of the iojl . There is a jyetvord in the mouih of man , a term of cV-rision anci rt ; proa-: h , a stumbling-stone and rock of offence : that word is TRUTH . — The National .

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      THr Cab Dbiveb .. — " A few characteristic anecdotes of the genus may amus ? our readt-rs . Some one tell ? a » :-jry of a tVilow who , on grumbling at the shilling gratuity at his journey ' s e-d , said in a sly under tone , ' Faith , it ' s not putiiii ^ me off with this ye'd be , if you knew but all . ' The traveller ' s cariosity was excited . ' Wha : do you mean V 'Oh , faix ! that : ud be telling . Another shilling wa ^ tendered . ' AuJ now , ' asked iiil- gssuileajaii , ' what do you mean by saying if you k : is > v but all V ' ihat I druv yer honnur the last three miles -without a liDch-pra ! " We had ourselves once a touching application for the siring ot our cloak ' to he up a sraali bit of the harness that was broke up into tmishereens from the weight of the hilt . ' ' Will I

      pay the p : ko or drive at it , pla .-e yer honour 1 was ihe exc : ama : ion of a driver to his passenger , as hes \ idaeuiy -irv-w up 3 , ttw 5 arcs fiom ' . lie turupike gate . Une of the richest characters of me cias > , we encountered on the road man Ross to Wex'ord ; he void u- how he got his first situation : — ' The ma--1 her had two beautiful Encash horses , aud he wanted a careful man to drive them ; he was a nnghvy piea ^ autgintleman , and loved a joke . Well , there was as many as fifteen ai ' ther the place , and ihe first that went up to him , " Now , my man , " says he , " tell me , ' says he , " how near the edge of a precipice would you undertake to drive my carnage f " So ihe boy considered , aad he says , says he , " Within a foot pJasa vour honour , and no harm . "

      li Yery well , " says he , " go down , and I'll give ve yer answer by-and-by . " So the next came up , aid said he'd be bound to carry ' em within half a foot ; and the next said five inches ; and another—a dandyfied chap intirely—wa-3 so mighty nice , that he would drive n within ** three inches and a half , he'd go bail , " Well , at last my turn came , and when his honour axed me how nigh I would drive his carriage to a precipice , I said , say 3 I , "Plaze yer honour , I'd keep as far off it as I could" " Very well , Misther Byrne , " says he , ** you'r -my coachman , " savs he . Och , the roar there was in the kitchen whin I wint down and tould the joke !"

      When Mr . V , the Assistant Poor Law Commissioner , fir 3 t visited Cork , the coach by whieh he arrived set him down next door to the Imperial Hotel—his place of destination . Not being aware of this fact , he ordered a car , and gave his direction to the driver . The fellow conduciea him round the town , and through various streets and lanes , and , after an honr ' s driving , placed him at the hotel entrance , demanding and receiving a sum of five shillings , which his victim considered a reasonable charge . A faw minutes afterwards he discovered the trick that had been played upon him . —Ireland : iis Scenery , Character , $ c ., by Mr . and Mrs . S . C Hall . No- 2 .

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      The United States mint , is eog&ged in coining a new dollar . It is of smaller diameter , and consequently more convenient than the Spanish coin , and is altogether better executed . Itmay not be generally known that , three years ago , a new die was got up , the coins from which looked so bad that it was broken . The average value of the annual produce of the mines of the British Islands amounts to tba enormous sum of £ 20 , 000 , 000 , of which about £ 8 , 000 , 000 arise from iron , and £ 9 , 000 , 000 f .-om coal . Tae mineral produce of Cornwall and Davon alone has recently amounted to £ 1 , 340 , 000 . In this estimate the value of the copper is tasen in the ore before fusion ; and that of the iron , lead , zinc , tin , and silver , after fusion , in their first marketable condition—as pigs , blacks , and iugots—the coal is valued at the pit ' s mouth .

      Admiral Tchitchakoff , who commanded a division of the Russian army wneu Napoleoji invaded Russia , has recently taken up his residence at Brighton . Adhesive Labels . —It cannot be too generally known , that the very numerous cases of cancer which have lately prevailed are attributed by the faculty and scientific men to moistening the adhesive postage stamps with the tongue or lips . A little new milk is much preferable , and also causes them to stick faster , partioulariy on glazed and smooth letter paper . — Correspondent of the Liverpool Mercury .

      Queen Elizabeth ' s Wedding Dress . —March of Intellect . —At a shop in Wardour-street , Uxf ' ordstreet , London , is an old silk dress , rather quaintly embroidered , exhibited at the window . A paper i » attached to it on which is written— " This dress tcore by Q'jepn Elizabeth on occasion of her marriage , only £ 13 13 s . N . B . Aniient dresses broght , to aney amount . " The "learned cierke" iaila to inform us in what year the marriage of the " Virgin Queen" took place . A Machine has been invented at Manchester that

      will " braid a gross of whips in a day . " This flogs all that has hitherto been known in whip work . We do not see how the enlarged supply is to be disposed of , unless the demand for whips be very much increased . With the growing outcry against flogging this does not seem very probable , except the Poor Law Commissioners should be disposed to introduce the whipping system into union workhouses . A large order for " cat-o' -nine tails"from each Commissionee , would doubtless give a pleasing stimulus to this branch of manufacture .

      " Black Bottle" Cardigan had a palatable proof of the disgust his arbitrary temper has excited , at the concerts d'Hiver , Drury-lane , on Tuesday evening . Being pointed out in a private box , he bad the felicity of being so heartily hissed by the audience , that even he , case-hardened as he is to demonstrations of dislike , could not stand it , but was ultimately obliged to make what is vulgarly termed " a boh . " Those mcch-abused persons , the Poor Law Commissioners , hate lately taken upon themselves the benevolent offices of" inquiring into alleged cases of pauper ill-usage and starvation ; and have even gone so far as to censure and dismiss certain functionaries connected with the administration of the new law . Although this course of proceeding seems very like Sa ' . au reproving sm , wo do not object to their occasionally appearing in the character of

      redressers of wrong . There is novelty in the thing , if nothing else ; and people have been so much in the habit of regarding the Somerset-house functionaries as incarnations of inhumanity and oppression , that any change must be necessarily for tbe best . The pauper-oppressing officials connected with workhouses are , we dare say , much more astonished than delighted to find their superiors acting a new part ; and , && for paupers themselves , they must be surprised beyond mejfsure to see the Commissioners interfering ou their behalf . Neither paupers nor workhouse-keepers , however , have much cause to be frighitned : tbe humauity of the Commissioners will iead them , to no very alarming lengths ; they are merely too capricious to be always cruel ; there is no fear of tHeir trying to establish a character for kindness to the poor , by persisting iu what to them must be extremely strange and disagreeable .

      A vouMi fehale , only 20 , the daughter of a persou attached to the Conservatoire de Musique , was engaged to a young man , and was to be married to him about a mouth ago . Before the day fixed , he was arrested upon an accusation of forgery , and is still in prison awaiting his trial . Two days ago , the young woman not having qHitted her room at a late hour , her family went to call her . The door was fastened , and , oa its being lorced open , she was found dead on her bed , dressed in ber bridal robes , with the virginal crown on her head . In the room was a letter addressed to her intended bridegroom , declaring that , as her union with him had become impossible , she was resolved never to be married to another , and therefore would put an end to her existence . She had suffocated herself with charcoal . —Gaii $ nani ' s ^ Icssenger .

      Bapiism by Immersion . —A numerous assemblage of the parishioners was attracted to St . Mary ' s Church , Reading , a few days sinc \ to witness the novel and ( in that town ) unprecedented ceremony of a young lady , the daughter of highly respectable parents of the Baptist denomination , being received within the pale of the Church of England , by public immersion . The ceremony , which was performed by the Rev . C . J . Goodhart , the Vicar , was witnessed by the numbers who were present with the most profound attention . Tue whole of the service for " the ministration of Baptism to such as are of riper vear 3 , and able to answer for themselves , " was read by tbe Rev . Gentleman who officiated . The immersion look place in the Coley Chantrey of the Church , where a large v « esel was placed for the recipient , filled with water partially warmed . The ceremony , which took place at three o ' clock in the afternoon , occupied nearly an hour .

      A few nights ago , a quarrel having ari ? en between an Italian , who is a b . ackuig-maaufacturer , in the Rue a ' Aligre , aud his wire , the latter , after havL-iij ' been beaien , was thrust into thy street fcy her brutal husband , and iold not to aHcnipt to return . In this situation she wa 3 secn by a journeyman cabinet- maker . named Siller , who , knowing her , humanely inviud her to pass the night at the house of his mother . Whilst he was talking with her , he was overheard by eight men belonging to the class of dis-ipated workmen who haunt the barriers , and

      told to surrender the woman to them . This he refused to do ; and , notwith . ^ anding the number of his assailants , protected the womau , until lie was so severely bea ' . en that he could no longer resist . The ruffians left him for dead . He was picked up in the morning early by some persons going to market , and conveyed to the Hotel D . eu , where it was ascertained that , iu addition to other injuries , nis jaw had been broken . He died in a few hours . Tha police have succeeded in tracing and apprehending six ot his assailants .

      __ Coronebs' Inquests . —Shocking Death from Starvation . —Recently , an inquest was held ax the King ' s Arms public-houfe , Snu Tavern-field ; -, in the parish of St . George in the East , before Mr . Baker , the coroner , on view of the body of John Auger , aned 58 year ? , who came by his death under the following shocking circumstances : —Esther Hanns slated that on tbe day before , betwer-n the hours of nine and tpn o ' clock , shu calWl at th" house of Mr . Engleton , No . 2 , Philiip-street , St . George ' s , where the deceased lodged , and took a cup of coffee up stairs to him . He was in bed at the time , and did nor complain cf bsingjll , but said ho would get up and have his coffee . She then left him , aiid went up to his room a second time- in about an hour afr .

      erwaras , when she found him lying a ? she had left him , but quite dead . She , witness , instantly gave au alarm , and Mr . Gurtey , a surgeon in the neighbourhood , was called in , but he was past remedy . Witness had not perceived any marks of violence about the deceased , nor was the at all aware of his having taken anything to destroy life , nor that any person had injured him in any way . Mrs . Engleton deposed that the deceased had lodged at her house about a year and five months , and generally enjoyed a good state of health , but latterly had complained of beinj ; poorly . He was a basket-maker by trade , but did very little at it , and existed principally by his pension . The witnt-s , after corroborating the latter part of the

      te-tiinony of Mrs . Hanns , said that the deceased was exceedingly eccentric and filthy "in his manner , and would seldom admit any person into his room . He was also a great drunkard . Mr . John Gurney , a member of the Society of Friends , and surg ' . on , on his solemn affirmation stated that he had been called on the morning before to attend the deceased , and , on ^ oing to his lodging , he found him Lquite dead , and he appeared to have been so about teu minutes . On examining tbe body , he found it in a most filthy state , and literally covered with vermin of an unusual and almost incredible size , and it was his impresMou , nay , conviction , that he died of starvation . Juror—Is it your present opinion that the deceased died of starvation ? Mr . Gurney—I have no hesitation in saying that his death has arisen from destitution . It appears that when he received his pension , which was £ 20 a year , he almost immediately drank it out , and from thai time until the next payment

      beiame due , was left without a single halfpenny , and perfectly destitute . In reply to a question from the Coroner , Mr . Gurney said he was Dot aware , from his own knowledge , nor had he heard it from anybody , that the deceased had applied for parochial relief . The Coroner , in summing up the evidence , remarked that the case was one of those which not unfrequently came under his notice , wherein the deceased persons were alone to blame , as the wretchedness which led to their deaths was brought on solely by their own improvidence . There could be no duubfc that the wretched state of the deceased had , at le&sc , accelerated his death , and as there was no direct evidence before the jury * s * ° the precise cauee of death ., he thought their safer course would be to return a verdict that the deceased was iound dead in tha wretched state described by the surgeon . The jury concurred in thiB suggestion s and returned a verdict accordingly .

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      An old soldier , who had fonght in the famous battle of Fontenoy , died near Peri « neu . x , a few days since , aged 117 . His wife , who survives him , is 98 . Wibbech . —On Sunday last , a female , named Maria Tate , daughter of Captain Tate , of ' Wisbecti , took a quantity of arsenic , and , after lingering for several hours in great agony , confessed to her friends that she had taken poison . Erery means was used to save her life , but to no purpose : she died on Monday , in great suffering . It i » supposed that she took the poison owing to disappointment ia a love affair . —Stamford Mercury .

      Serious Affray in Jersey . —The Jersey papers received yesterday bring an account of an affray between soldiers of the garrison and civilians : — " A serious affray , which is likely to lead to very disagreeable consequences , took plane on Thursday evening , between several soldiers of the garrison and some public officers and other citizens of Jersey . It appears that two police-officers were in search of a man suspected of having fathered an illegitimate child on the parish of St . Helier ; two soldiers attempted to enter the room where the officers were . The centenier would not allow the soldiers to enter the room and interfere with his duty . A struggle ensued , and one of the police-officers received some severe blows . The soldiers were , however , mastered and ejected from the room . A rumour , however , spread in the town that some of the police had been murdered in George Street . Mr . Alexander , a most active police-officeraccompanied

      , by Mr . Le Neveu , hastened to Mr . Lloyd ' s , to render assistance if necessary , but before they reached the house , from 20 to 30 soldiers were seen rushing from the esplanade towards the house . In one moment they were on Mr . Alexander and Mr . Le Neveu , when Mr . AJezanderwassuddenly felled to the ground and beaten about tbe head with his own f-taff . Mr Le Neveu went to the assistance of his friend . One of the assailants cried out , " Drjjw bayonets ! " The order was obeyed ; Mr . Le Neveu was wounded and struck to the ground , bathed in his blood . Mr . Alexander ' s head was cut in four places . The court of inquiry has not yet closed its proceedings ; the members are stil ) coliecting evidence . In the meantime , we are happy to say that measures have been adopted to prevent the recurrence of a collision between the soldiers and the civil authorities . At one moment it was expected that the whole garrison were about to rush on the centenier and his officers .

      The Chartists . —Does a Chartist marry two wives , it is particularly noted that he is a Chartist ; scores of Professors of the Church of England , or of certaiu Dissenting bodies , and professing the ordinary run of political opinions , may commit the same offence , and no persons think it worth while to record what is their faith , either religious or political . The same fact is true of all other offenceB . If a Chartist gets drunk , or steals , or breaks open letters , or commits forgery , it is carefully chronicled that he is a Chartist , and the offence is imputed to . Chartism . Such a mode of proceeding is improper , and we are sure that it would tell much against the

      Church were every offender who professes its creed to be set down as a Churchman , and were his offence , as i 3 done with Chartism , to be traced to its religion . But while the Chartists alone are exposed to such observations , it follows that much more is expected of them than of other men . They are to be more virtuous than their noighbours , and set them a good example . This has always been the case with rising sects , both in religion and politics , aud the professors of Chartism will probably bear it in mind , and commit no moral offences which may be torturtured into reflecting disgrace on their political creed . —Sun .

      The Robbers at Rome , " says a correspondent of the Leipaic Gazette ^ " hare adopted a new mode of attack . Instead of assailing solitary persons ia the streets , they lay in wait tor them on the staircases of their houses . Three persons have thus been surprised and wounded in one of the'most populous parts of the city , and upwards of 16 " similar assaults have been made with iucredible audacity in another much-frequeuttd quarter . The young Marquis de Capegixa was attacked a few nights since in his own palace by tour men , and , as he defended himself , was killed . Some of those outrages are gaid to have been committed in opeu day . "

      A Bishop Disgraced . —I had an account on Thursday of the judgment that was given that day at Lambeth , when , a sentence » f deprivation was pronounced against the Bishop of St . David ' s , upon three heads ; simony , extortiou in taking exorbitant fees for his instruments , and giving certificates to persons of their having taken the oaths when they nad not . which in the canon law is called , forgery He is , besides , condemned to pay about jC 7 * KTfor costs . — James's Court and Times of William III .

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      THE VIRST PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT . It is a peculiar and ominous sign of the age that maiiy of the first English journals have lately been discussing , in their leading articles , the origin , theory , and framework of governments . The Times , the Herald , the Morning Chronicle , the Sun , and others , have respectively advanced their opiuions on the comparative merits of a monarchy and of a republic . What does this fact prove ? That there 13 a

      restless anxiety , a dissatisfied and discontented feeling , in the public niiud , which , on the one hand , has set afloat arguments in-favour of a pure democracy ; and , on the other , has made its opponents on the alert with their reasons to the contrary : it shows that the spirit of inquiry and of discussion is abroad ; that men must bp satisfied as to the grounds of tha institutions by which their lives are influenced , and that they will no longer be led blindfold iu supine listlussneBS and degrading ignorance .

      The truth is , that opinion is strongly excited with regard to the different modes of government . It cannot be denied that there is a strong tendency to republicanism throughout Europe and America ; thft reverential awe once felt for monarchical rule is gradually fading away ; the connection between the aristocracy and the people every day becomes weaker and weaker ; the democracy of every civilised country is gaining a giant ' s strength ; it has rapidly progressed in intellectual , moral , social , and political power , while the laws , the maxims of rulers , and the minds of the titled orders , have not kept pace with this advancement .

      Free and liberal seniiments have by degrees instilled themselves into the public character , and have at length taken so firm a hold that they can never be Rhakea off . During the reign of Elizabeth , aud previous to that period , we find thewhole nation generally ina dangerous and apathetic slavery ; all bowed their necks to the yoke without a murmur ; the will of the Sovereign was law and no one thought of questioning the right divine , the prerogative , and the authority of kings . The stand made against oppression , embodied as it was in the person of Charles I ., was the commencement of a continuous opposition to this state of things ; the nation conquered , the monarch fell , and it began to be known that even a crown , and what is

      more , the head inside it , may be rolled in the dust by the justice of the sovereign people . Again , however , the country slumbered ; at length , once more awaking , it drove James II . from his throne . Since that period Britain has chiefly been the spectator of events in other lands , and bj the light of experience and the progress of knowledge , has been formnig that new and powerful spirit which now exists . The French Revolution was a tremendous lesson ! It spoke audibly to the hearts of kings and people ; it shook monarchy to its foundation ; the pillars tottered , they did not fall throughout Europe , but they have never regained their strength and security . The effects of that awi ' ul appeal to a nation ' s will live , and must live for centuries ; they influence and colour the political aspect of every

      state . For years , also , we have been regarding the workings of the American Republic ; until the present time , it was not sufficiently established to form a sound practical basis for the support of theory , or to afford a safe and trustworthy guide for others . Now / , however , it may be fairly adduced » 3 a ground for argument , either , one way or the other , as the party may conscientiously believe to be the truth from a calm and unprejudiced

      . These , considerations plainly account for the present discussions and inquiries , and they trace with certainty the growth and formation of opinion . Long oppression has raised , up patriots ; patriots have instilled their noble aspirations into the minds of their oountrymen ; their countrymen have profited by the lesson , and become imbued with high and generous principles . We most confess that we are not pleased with the m « de adopted by our contemporaries of arguing the

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      important question of government ; the friends to monarchy bring forward a sentence from Abistoixb (!) to the effect that a democracy is the worst of all governments , and they add extracts from the work of M . de Tocqubvillb , decrying the American Republic ; their opponents generally answer them by a verbal quibble on the signification of democracy in the ti me of AbisicrrLjEj and deny the premises as well as the cf / nclusioasofM . de Tocqvbyille .

      We would regard the subject in a more general and useful form , by the light of reason and experience , hanging our faith on the individual opinion of neither this person n » that . From one principle alone , we feel convinced , may be deduced every rational and true proposition relating to a democratic government—and that principle is : — " The people are the source of all power . " Is this assertion well founded ? Let us try it by the common , yet excellent , hypothesis of a transition from a state of nature to a state of society . Men

      first unite together for protection and mutual advantage ; they feel the necessity of having some head , or leader , to controul tho vicious and reward the meritorious ; they , therefore , Sy the general voice , and for the general good , invest one or more of their fellow-beings with superior aatbority ; these persons , thus privileged , may admit others to their councils , and to a share ia their power ; bat yet this alters not the source of that power- it must , if traced up , be found to spring originally from tbe people , the public , the nation at large .

      From the establishment of the above truth flow many valuable maxims . First . All who are affected by this power are entitled to a roice in its creation . This assertion , so strongly supported by reason aud common sense , receives additional strength from the supposition , on which we are proceeding ; for , how can we conceive a body of men , just associated from a state of wild nature , all equal , all free , delegating a power to one individual above the rest , for the government of all , without at the same time believing that he was nominated and elected by all . To aver the contrary would be absurd aud contradictory to that self-interest which reigns so powerfully in the human mind .

      Secondly . Power springing from the people must be responsible to the people . In other words , the channels must be referrable to their source . We cannot fancy that any men would be such fools , and so blind to their own advantage , as to delegate tinlimited and irresponsible authority to any individual as to say , "Cut off our heads , spoil our property , ruiu the country ; we give all into your hands ; we throw ourselves upon your generous mercy ; we reserve no license of revocation to ourselves . " The Crown , the Ministers , and the Parliament , are all trustees for the nation ; they have peculiar privileges delegated for the sake of the prosperity of the country , not for their own sakes .

      Thirdly . Any power exerted to the disadvantage and detriment of the country at large is illegal , and without any authority . The people do not confer strength for their own injury , but for their own good ; they do not furnish weapons for their own destruction , but implements for their preservation ; they limit the power of their rulers to the wants of the ruled ; they bestow it for the general prosperity , and , therefore , them is no power delegated for injury and injustice . Many more important corollaries might be deduced , but these are sufficient for our present subject . Well , then , what government

      approaches most nearly to these necessary qualities of a free constitution ? Under the now existing forms we have no hesitation in giving the palm to a republic ; but if our constitution , in its mixed monarchical form , were to be rendered sufficiently democratic ; if every member of the State had a voice in its public affairs ; if Universal Suffrage prevailed , and the whole people were , in truth , recognised as the legitimate source of all power , then we believe the requisite advantages would follow , that their delegates would be responsible to the nation at large , and exert their powers , thus bestowed , for the good of the whole community .

      Let the wholo country ; let every class then be assured of this , that in the present age and the present character and opinion of the nation , the only means of avoiding a republic is by infusing the true spirit of rational democracy into our constitution , and giving to every Briton his rights as a human being , and his privileges as a freeman .

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      Madam , —In the conclusion of my last address , I was insensibly wrapt into the visions of the future . I found ray&ilf standing upon the elevated mountain ef prophecy ; and , in the glorious prospect of the future happiness and prosperity of my race , I lost , for thu time , all consciousness of the great and terrible wilderness through which we must take our weary journey before we can rationally hope to find ourselves the favoured citizens of the land of promise . From this delightful

      vision we must now descend into the vale . Lot us do so , however , animated with the assurance that the scene we have been contemplating is not a mere chimera or freak of the imagination , but a sober reality which shall speedily burst forth into actual life , when man in the complex shall learn to co-operate willingly with the benevolent designs of his Creator , and to sacrifice his infernal selfishness , consuming it to ashes in the fire of benevolence , while , with a truly expanded mind , he recognises in every human beingtwithout distinction ' of country , class , or party , a brother aad a friend .

      We have already seen that man is not now what he originally was ; and that in every stage of his being , as a citizen of the world , he is acted upon by hope and fear in one or other of their three degrees of developement . In pursuing the subject , let mo request your Majesty to bear in mind the fact , that in their lowest manifestations those faculties are only sensations , and that in order to their elevation into principles of life , it is necssaTy that the mind of man should be separated as much as possible from its material organ , by -which it exists in and acts upon the material world , ami through which it is again acted upon by the things of

      time , and the objects of external sense . I mean that man should be trained to look into himself more , aud out of himself less , than he has ever done within the period of recorded history . He should , that his hopea and his fears may really be what they ought to be , be led to contemplate his internal nature and his immortal destiny , that he may justly feel tha importance of a faithful discharge of his personal , domestic , and social duties ; sinca upon the right formation of his character here depends tbe nature of his state hereafter . The veriest heathens were not ashamed to recognise the influence of religion to sanction aud confirm their enactments . Lycurgus , Solon , and the compilers of th © twelve tables , have left us abuudant proof of this .

      They knew that the religious principle was deeply seated in the mind of man , and they also knew the salutary influence which that principle exerted over public affairs . They had nothing but the blind superstition and external ceremonies of Paganism to work with , and yet they found even that to be of the most essential service . We have the pure and snblime morality of Christianity placed in our hands , and yet practically we make less use ot it than the old Pagans did of their senseless mummery . Can it , then , be a source of wonder that our laws and institutions are of a nature rather to encourage crime than to repress it—to discountenance morality than to promote it . When , Madam , shall this foul reproach be removed from this professedly Christian land ?

      I am not now considering man in his individual capacity , but in his relations with society , by his connection with -which he becomes deprived , while his union with it continues , of some portion of his natural liberty , and in return acquires a right to enjoy all those good things , for the attainment and securing of which communities of mankind were established , and continue to exist . Society coheres together for mutual assistance , protection , aad support , and aa it ia impossible for good to be effected without some common centre of unity , the influence of which , like the main-spring of a watch , extends to every part ; the person or persons who execute the laws and "watch over tha interest * of the state , become in the wcial

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      machine that mam-spring and centre of unity . Here , then , we arrive at the point where we must ascertain what are the specific enda ot noetetj , and what line of conduct ia required on the . part of the governing power to secure tbe attainment of tfiow ends . I hare just said that society coheres together for tbe purposes of mutual assistance , protection aud support These are the generals ; but every general involve * » vast variety of particulars ^ some of which , at least , aw essential to he known . Thus , the general end of society which is called mutoal assistance nvolres ia it the derelopement of mutual wants , and , also , the

      necessity of cultivating a spirit of mutual kindness and good wiH . This general purpose of society , in * newly-formed slate , where the people are oniy jugfr beginning to emerge from a condition of savage life , is oaly required ia the cultivation of the ground , secttT ixg the crops , aad aiding each other i » the construction of rude , and , m general comfortless , dwellings . But as She state advances is civilisation and refinement ,, the calls for assistance become more marked andfrequent . The various raw materials of

      natureassume new forms- of' use and elegancs under th © - plastic hand of tbe artificer , and the comforts and conveniences of life become extensively diffused by » - general system of exchange and barter . Newenergies are displayed a » new wants make their appearance . Remuneration i » offered for work performed , that which was rude in one age becomes improved , in the next , and elegant j * the third ; and all thia trading and exchanging , this advancement and improvement , forms , as a- whole , what we oil mutual assistance , without whf « h society could not hold together .

      This is a pleasing anfcject of contemplation ; but permit mete remark , that it forms but a very small portion of the picture . Were all men good and virtuous , the necessity for mutual assistance would be the only bond requited , to bind nations together in an indissoluble union . Mutual love would render such , a thing as private property , using the word in its common acceptation , almost unknown . But we know , yes * Madam , we know , by painful experience , that this i » - not the case . Man has become vicious and degraded . He would gladly grasp at the enjoyments of which hewishes to partake without either rewarding those whose

      skill , ingenuity , and industry produced them , or acquiring a right to share in the eommon good , by bis own contribution to th » commen stock ; and as thi * vicious propensity would , if unchecked , speedily destroy society altogether , hence arises the necessity for the second general end for which society is established , namely , mutual protection . And this again involves several particulars ; as , for example , the enactment of laws defining the limita ef general liberty , and providing for the Bezurity of life and the possessions which

      have beea legally acquired by individual members of the community ; the . establishment of courts of justice and the investing of certain parties , in whom the public are suppesed to confide , with power to preside in them , t « carry the laws into execution , and see justice done between man and man ; and the establishment of such a civil force as shall be able to preserve generally the public peace , protect the honest citizen in the ptuv suit of his lawful calling , and restrain by their authority the evil disposed from committing acts of aggression upon their more orderly neighbours .

      AH these matters , and many others , are included in what I have pointed gut as the second head or object of society . - But , besides these , there is another bond—another end of society—which is of equal importance , and may , in some sort , be considered as embracing the other two , as without it they could have no existence . Men are united together for mutual support This general end combines the means employed for internal improvement and external protection . The community , in order to afford to each member of the state that support and stability wtiich each has a right to expect

      from his fellows , must , m all its pnblic acts , recognise , not only the security of life and property , but a fair remuneration to tbe efforts of industry , and the suppression , by a ¦ wholesome and -well-regulated system of penal discipline , all the attempts of lawless aggression , whether from within or from without , upon the peace and good order of society . Thus the end of mutual support connects itself with those which we have already noticed , but it goes much farther than the two first . They are principally tUe result of necessity . The understandings of men teach'theiu that mutual assistance ,

      and mutual protection - are needed ? and , therefore , human intellect and intelligence are employed to bring them into operation and use . But the principle of mutual support has its seat in the will ; is to a considerable extent the developement of voluntary choice F and hence , attaching itself to * the affections of the mind , creates and forms circumstances of its own ; and in many cases these circumstances are , independent of those by which society was previously surrounded , directed and influenced . Now , mark the exhibition of this third strand in the threefold cord which binds the social compact . When men begin , from ' choice , to wish mutually to

      support the interests of each other , that is , of the community at large , they soon discover the necessity of a tolerably correct acquaintance with the wants , desires , and capabilities of those who are members of the same national family ; and also . ef the way in which the capabilities of each may be most effectually employed in supplying those wants , and in gratifying those desires with the greatest possible advantage to the whole . And thus a system of education , suited to the state of the case , and more or less perfect as society ism-.. ; .- - > r less advanced in the true science ef human improvement and happiness , is gradually introduced . Then come the

      establishment of societies for the promotion and protection of various branches of trade ; and associations for the promotion of improvements in arts , sciences , and literature , spring up , people hardly know how . The rude inventions of one man are improved upon by another , and the sight of some effort of art , or of some phenomenon oi nature , calls up in some ingenious mind a train of new ideas which are pondered over , and dwelt upon till some result is obtained , big with the most important consequences to a nation , a > continent , oi a world . These and a thousand other things which men might do without , but -which are essential and indispensible to the

      improvement and perfection of the race , are involved in . that bond of social order yhich I have distinguished , by the title of mutual support . But there is in it one point to -which I am moat especially desirous of drawing the serious attention of your Majesty . In every social state in which the members are in a state of progression , events will frequently occur which will cause a temporary stagnation or -panic , by which members of the-industrious population will be for a time deprived of the means of support ; and this will be the case most frequently , when the advancement of the community is the most rapid .. Besides these , there will be

      in all states , s , number of persons rendered iBcapable , by old age , sickness , or accident , of obtaining a maintenance for themselves and . families ; and , in addition , we must couut upon a considerable number of children left destitute from various causes , at an age when they can do nothing fee their own support . All these parties , asthe children of the common Father of all , have a . right , A DIVINELY C&JiFERRED RIGHT ! ' , to life and liberty , and ,. consequeatly , to such a comfortable maintenance as shall render the life which God has given them a blessing , and not a curse . In , consequence of

      this right , which n » law or statute can take away , parties so situate are entitled , while the circumstance * supposed continue , to live at frea communion i they may take as much food and clothing as are necessary , not only for their subsistence , but for their comfort and convenience wherever they can find it , and erect for themselves a habitation with « uck materialaas they can get , and on any land on which they mayplease to locate themselves . This state of things , however , it is readily admitted , is incompatible with the security of society , and the rights of property . What , then , ia the

      alternative ? Clearly this ; that society ia bound to providft a comfortable habitation , decent and sufficient clothing , and plenty of wholesome and nutritious diet for all who , either by its own arrangements , or by the dispensations of Providence , are rendered incapable of providing for their own support . This brings us to the second point , whieh it is necessary for us to ascertain , namely , what line of conduct is required on the part of the Government , in order to secure the attainment of theBe ends . But this most form the subject ot another letter . lam , Madam , Your Majesty's faithful and obedient subject and servant , WUMA . London , December 23 , 1840 . *

      Iboetrn*

      iBoetrn *

      Thoughts Tor The Thoughtful. ( From Ihe Chartitt Circular.J

      THOUGHTS ToR THE THOUGHTFUL . ( From ihe Chartitt Circular . J

      The Northern Star. Saturday, January 2, 1841.

      THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , JANUARY 2 , 1841 .

      To Her Most Gracious Majesty The Queen.

      TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN .

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      , THE NORTHERN STAR . 3

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 2, 1841, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct360/page/3/