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O'CONNOR UPON THE SUNDERLAND RESOLUTIONS .
- ¦ ¦ ; tcTthe ^ boplb . 3 £ r Xsxssbs , —I . quite Agpee \ rith Mr . totpery that tbe ooluaiu . of tl » £ &r wpnldr be nrore beneficially « sop ied i& reportii > £ . £ bose > $ e * tfcer » iaterestiBg to the people " * amae . ihaii i » faueittngTn * tter 8 of a mere peraooal nstnre . - -HoweTa , tn » t- £ nmndj for departtrre frca this rule may justify ; aa . opjibnie coarse , and that pcnipM feelings alone are te | udge of those grounds , M / . I * ' * £ rv B ** & letter f «* itW ? nhe 8 a precedent . I jitaD be as brief &s the Qatara of the case-win aflmiJ in analysing the nature * f the three distinct ^ argea made : against the Star ,, tod reported fully ia tfeat paper of lart-tfeek . . iad first , io point of importance , comes thejesola-4 om passed at Sundeilwd , condemnatory flf the conduct of the Editor towards Mr . Deesan . " *
I al-ntjs bovr -with respect to tbe decision of -working mea ; hat from the Tery resolutions themselves , let me aee whether or not the fact of Mr . Tteegaa having impugned the Editor is not folly borne out Mr , Eirker , -srho moved the first resolution , said , in MpporSng it , thai -what Sir . Deegan did say respecting the Star being promised a report from the Times , -was -Tery different from the colouring given to it in the Star He ; Mr . KrftrrtheT asserts , that "what Mr . I > eegan did « sy was , that the Star should bavo had a reporter there . I \ ow , as this involves the character of the Star why did not any one bear in mind that the Leeds Time
acu the Mercury irere dependant npon the Star for * leport of the meeting held by the Chartists on the Moor on Thursday , and . for a report of the soiree held in the Music Saloon on Wednesday , the two meetings of most importance to the people ? and -why -were not tfce people told that tb . e Star alone hai -reports of those two ¦ meeting to get ready for its first edition , and tfcat two reporter * and several writers were engaged in getting the report op in time ? Does not every one inow that such a press of . reporting matter is invariably arranged by Editors of all local papers for their mutual - oBvenience ?
Sot wfa&t ctmtgrnn the spirit of a public meeting ? I faould say the resolutions and address of all , rather tbta the jpeecbes of any -, and why did it never strike , any one at the Sunderland meeting that the Star alone published the address and resolutions , which , although supplied to the Tiuus , were not published ? The Star pobttabed all the meeting * and the -address of the delegates ; no other psper did . £ f the Editor had got the Leeds Times report cf Mr . Deegaa ' s speech , Mr . Deegan's speech Tr&aMhave been published without any curtail-1 ment , if there had been room £ Q < i the Editor thought j it desirable . ¦ i Mr . K further asserts that Mr . I > e ^ aa did not j charge the Editor with haTing placed his name at the « bottom -of the list ; be only said that his same , to- ' gezhsi with those of iiessrs . ifasbn and Lowery * { wot there , but did notaayiy whom placed there . j
> ' ow , was there a man in Sunderland so * iliy as not j to kaow that no ene "but the Editor could hate ^ slaced ' them there in" the course of arranging the matter for J fee raper ? Who , then , but the Editor eould have : fc ^ n meant ? Mr , Beegan , he says , did say that it was not doing fr ft-m acd his ccnsStttenta justice not to insert his speech I more fally , ' especially as it was fully reported in the ' : JUm £ S . i
Weil , what must others feel whose speeches it did j not swt the Tvmn to report so fully 7 so that , in the 1 ersci of &e Star having got , and inserted , the Timer report , if Hr . Deegan had Lad more justice , greater ense of complaint would have been given to others . Mr . Williams said , that it was strange tkat no perbob tat the writer of the letter could remember the j y . T | rira-fl of Mr . Deegan ; whereupon a disinterested j witness started ~ cp , and said that" he would take an I oeih thai Mt Deegan contradicted the assertion of the ! Ecitor of the Star is to the promise of a report
yow I thisk that any impartial judge will at once i admi : that tMs is the weight of the charge ; tke one tiszxpattotoi , wiich iir . Williams says , even admiting ft to be xzz =, ci < i Bot justify the conclusion that iir . D&gm held up the Editor lo reprohadon . So then ! it ! is ao aecusition to call & gentlfman , who is not pre-: sent to defend himself , a Hsr ! and it does not at all i
dstrsct- from the tsefolness of a journal that all ihose , to wiose interest it is coialucted should be imprtE ^ ed ' with a cosrriciion thai the condnetor is nawortby of credit I Cin there be a word implying greater acorn or i ridicule than " liar ? " and can contradiction be more fat tbaa that which Mr . Willums freely admits Mr . \ Deegan to haTe giren to a plain assertion of the ' Editor '
The first resolution is matter wholly between Mr . Deegau a = d Mr . S&dley . The second resolution "waj lEOTed by Mr . Williams , and seconded by Mi . Austin , scd is as fallows : — " Test this ir . eetlsg expresses its Ecrprise , regret , and disapprobation ol the conduct of the E-. iitor of the Korihsm Star , is inserting a letter containing such stalemetis , from an indifidual of wh - ^ -se cupscky or OfecTDiiity b = inrw nothing , and fuunling ihcieun a ssTere ard ur-juit £ itack upon the gfcEeral and privitfi character of Mr . Deegan , introducing also charges and stareaifiis with whicii the public hare nothing in do ; aedthe publication of frbidi was not only uncalled for , but UEfeang . and unwise , atd most serious . y caicuiKed to iriare tie CbcrJst cause , without in U-e icait pramosing th = priTaie or public interest of its proyiictac t&d wmauctor . "
With respect to this ctsoluiion , I have or ! y to ask afam , if it wuaid haTe been wise or fteiicg to LaTe passed ore ? the part admitted by 3 Ir . Wiiliama to be , tme ? Bat the principal feature -wzs a remaik of 31 r . i hiilirr ^ s to ilie fo llowing laport : — "That the Star bad displayed a spirit , which , if submitted to , wou ' . d ersii ail iadepeaatnee of soul in the leaders of the p * opife ; that it might one daybecome a Tile heresy to . docbt its itfaliibility , or to differ in the & , i ^ ' ^ si df ^ ree , from the Hiaaaer in which , upon ary occasion , ; it was conducted . "
Mr . W . proceeds to sar , —in a mOd spirit of course , — j ttat he considers that iir . D . egaa had had less justice . than was eTen awarded to him upon his trial , when there were full reporters' uot « produced ajralcst hie .. ' JTow , upon this suhj ^ -rt , I mar * or ! y say that the Star has ; thrown off all that mystery with -which other piptra ; shield the yjrj caiae of proprietor , editor , and all in eonaeiion with it ; that Its columns , as I shall pre-¦ ectly show , haTe be « n epen as well to all charges fcgaisst the proprietcr or the Editor £ j against j the bitterest enemy of either of them ; and if ttsre is acy fg ^ ^ f «^ e $ 1 ^ b ^ oujju g B ^ aD . I gerous isstrciDest , it wi 2 i be when the people
h » Te jast Tea « cn for doubting the Tvradty of him ty whcin it is cenducted . The Star has net , iiie other papers , xaide use of " its terrific powers" to prepare in tie arms of the adTertising community , or even in the Section of a good report of the most comfortable of tt » working classes , any retreat from the poorest of fee poor . And , as to the standard of justice meted out & > 2 ir . Dregac , as compared to that measured by "Pfii g oppressors to Mr . Williams , he has made the aie slight oadaaioa of the fact , thit the Editor of the Siar was furnished with no direct charge , but was further denounced for laying the only one with which he * a » serred , not ia cotes , but in fall , before the public , « od accompanying it with his own defence .
I mast confess that 1 do not think Mr . Williams has teen Tery heppy in his case of the of the reporter and hu notes . Let me see if I cannot furnish him with one © ore in point—oppose then a resolution to the foi-¦ " ^^ pBr port : — •^ olTed , —That this meetingnnderatendiDgthst the f ^* fT <* " the Jaraen . Star has , in compliance with - « wjuest of the weekiug classes , sppointed a reporter * t ft il *^* disWrt ' ™ Sundetland and district . fa u ZL " ^ T ^ ^ P « annnin , for the pnrpose of %£ **? » U aad « oneet reports of aU Chartist and Mtt ^ J ?! ° ^ t 3 id * zp ° * ter to haTe attended C ^ , question , or , if unaToidably absent , to SdS ^ *«****** . I » * fcose capacity and ixuTZZZ *? P ^ ect conflvience ; and this meet-<* the ^ "ft rach aa oai « io n haa left the editor ? bo thouSAf ^ ot " 7 . *<» d- »« t «« l P «^ ° *** n * % m Proper to Bend •« *»^ rta n * vMcJI Mnm 4
, paper ^ W ^ ' tfaen * 7 doing serous injustice to the ^ ^ aSSSSJ ? ' andhaTiDg&ten - oat s ^ l ^ ' Wmhma ni * re d tiat i ^ solution withifcpjj ??!^ **** oae half the zeal a nth which he ii ^ Tbir ? l CeOanre u ? ° * e & ^ or , I think ptaaat ion w »! ^ animoasly adopted ; because ex"mffito s ** *? < & ** & > and I am astonishe . \ that Mr ** s ^ ' co b ^ ^^ ready to admit ^^ * " « ^ on ^ t of & " * *** M 6 er tiOD of the Ediu % never Htxnng tew Mr , Deegaa rot hi * in -fonaa-
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tien from the Editor of the Leeds Times ; so that the whole appears to be a playing off of the reracitj ; of . the * Editor of the Star , against the xmsopported allegations cf an interested psrtj ' . ' But as" to « EBy datiger to be a ^ Bresjended , Mr . Williams nay . rest " politically satisfied that no " false doctrine , heresy , or schism" in the $ lar , can do mucb damage , while H inserts such , resolutlonH , and pays £ 52 vyeat lor wpttrtinf them , There is not another paper Id . England that would have published those resolutions .
But let as now see if this be the first charge of & similar nature against both proprietor asd Editor , and from the same quarter , and for the same cause , of not reporting Mr . Deegan j and whether , in giring insertion to the resolutions of the Durham Delegate Meeting , in December last , the Editor , when censured by a resolution of a delegate meeting , etinced any Tery great pugnacity of- disposition . The following is tfee resolution to which I refer : — " The meeting expressed their disapprobation of the non-insertion by the editor of the NortfUrn Star of the report of the public tea g ' . 'ven at Sunuerland to Messrs
Byrne , Owen , and Deegaa , and of the explanatory remarks furnished by Mr . Deegsn respecting the foreign policy meeting at the same place ; and also of the appointment cf missionaries by Mr . O'Connor , or any other irresponsible party , the meeting being of opinion that all such appointments ought to be made by the people themselYes , or by the Executive Council at Manchester , who are the responsible servants of the Chartist body ; and that , if Mr . O'Connor be inclined t # contribute to the support of missionaries , to hand bis contributions over to the Execntive Council , to be applied by that body for that purpose . "
Now here is a vote of oensure in the strongest language , Mr . Daegan being one of the delegates , for the non-insertion of matter which the parties never eren took the trouble of enquiring whether or no it had been received , or whether it had been displaced for more important matter ; aod because the Editor did not insert Mr . Deegan's explanation , upon a subject upon which the Sktr and the Liberator were bestowing much attention . At the sam 9 meeting , a v » te of censure was passed upon me for giving my ewn money towards the support f tried men , who were recently enlarged from prison , subject to the approval and acplication of the voice of
the people of any district , whicn miy require their services : and how am I treated ? Why , I am told to send my money to the Executive , in order that they might dispose of it . >" ow , 1 might have asked if the Executive appointed Mr . Deegan , Mr . Mason , Mr . Bairstow , or any of those whose lectures appear to have given unmixed satisfaction . Here , then , was a vote of censure upon the Editor for not reporting Mr . Deegan ' s explanation , ar . d upon the Proprietor for offering £ i i week out of his own pockflF . subject to the people ' s approval &s to those to whom it should be expended upon , and not even the short hand notes sent to the parties charged , who learn it from the columns of another paper .
May I not , in pissing , ask whether the nicety of appointment and payment was as critically scanned in the ir ; stance of a whole horle ot gentlemen receiving immense aalarias fiom Mr . Urquhart , and appointed by him ? - "So ; but I am censuied for giving my own money , while the Editor is censured fo ? not publishing a justification for Mr . rrqnhart ' s delegates ; this , indeed , is novel justice . I must now rekr to a matter connected closely with the foregping . I ijive th 3 following transcript from the letter of a person upon whose veracity I have the most implicit reliance . It bears date , Newcastle , February I Oth , and , after setting forth the conspiracy which has been long hatching against the Star in that quarter , it states ss follows : —
| "Thfs party , through Mr . , called upon the Council of the working men to pass a vote of censure upon the Star , at the meeting on Tuesday night ; but , to their disappointment , they found tha Council unwilling to become their tools , and tbeir d-. mand was indignantly tpurned , to the great chagrin of . Mr . , who used many arguments to induce them to pass the r ? B 3 lution . Among the many petty charges against the Star is the following : — ' That Mr . O'Connor refused to lend £ 1000 to certain parties , without secuxitj-, to commence s newspaper ; ' this , and exp ° cting MfcSsrs . Lowery , Dessau , Ax ., to pay for SUra regularly , they represented as beintr mean . ""
Xow , let me state what my meanness and anxiety about my £ 1 , 000 amounted to . It appears that I required security ; well , who would not 7 What was tho security , and what the interest that I required ? Why . naturally to be paid bact my priacipal with ten per cent , WLJch I am paying for tfie Star shares . Now would this . bj unfair ? I say not ; but what was my proposal ? Why to give—noc lend—my thousand pounds , and neTer to see it again ; requiring that I should be insured against anv greater loss , in order to try th «
experiment for two years , satisfied to lose ten pounds I a week , for that period . : Kow , I was not applied to , it waa a voluntary offer , ! made in a private letter to Mr . Wiiliams , upon hear-I ing his intention from himself of establishing : a paper in the place of the Sot ' Jicjti Liberator . He ' has that letter ; 1 st eTiry word of it to published . So j much for what is expect- *! from me ; and now fur the rule which is observed towards me in a precisely ( simCar a . .
J ttxs g 23- ? nraged to establish a psper upon a promise cf £ i 0-j b _ -ing raLied , to wiiieh I wj _ j to add £ iJ 0-Little moT-i this £ duo of the £ 800 was raised , and a large portion of tha : has bcaa pad off . Two lawyers cpinio-s were takes on ibz- scatter ; z stamped deed wai executed ,. anI oas ^ aj igaorant attorney , at Halifax , told the shareholders that they wonlJ be liable for ail the debts « f the paper ; for all paper and stamps ; tor all 1-ibe ' s of ererj description , and so forth . Well , in this de * j , I am boani to pay ten per cent ., and ara nude personally lL > i > le , by my own desire , and acainst tils wi 3 h of the shareholders , for the f-rj ; : ci : ul , whitever ' - ecomes of the Star , which vras to hare been
a joint speculation . Now , I ask Englishmen if tbia Ls English fair-play That a gentleman is first to be frowned upon by every one of bis class , persecuted , and locked up in solitary c-sfLnemeut , and then p ^ ted with his own acts o . ' gererov . ty . - It is Tqry wcil to make the insertion or non-in ^ eition of matter the ostensible rause of complaint ; but I think I shall be able to put this question upon its right le ^ s , and to trace it to its origin . This conspiracy , ; htn , has its origin in the discomfiture of the Husso Chartists , who first nestled in the neighbourhood ' -f Newcastle and district , in
conseqs-vnee of Mr . AtfToo'I's local patronage and alliance ¦ K nth the party . Ths Slur , most property , checked the gasconading of a set of paid parrots , receiving enormous salari-s for repeating some very exciting stuff that they had learned by rote about Russia , Constantinople , Circassia , the Ottoman Empire , Francs , and God only kn <* ws what -, and of which they knew just 53 much » 3 a pig does of geometry . They were ail Chartists , and something more . Well , they threw out their feelers , for the support of the Star , in the greatest piece of political trickery ever attempted to bs practised ; the Slar would not bite , but exposed the whole jfikir . The consequence of which was , that they had the
ad ' . irass to persuade tiie ?\ orlJiirn Liberator , a paper ¦ sriih which tie Star had been in strict alliance for three years , that they we . - e strong enough to give strength to a journal . They assumed all tha mock pageant of a mimic court , and even sent ambassadors to France . Well , the Liberator , not knowing how to discriminate between the adopted conclusions of a hired parly and public opinion , took the bait , and immediately opened a fire upon the Star , by aa attempt . to make the question at issue one of mere Whig or Tory hatred . The Liberate ? said that the Whigs would be mightily pleased with an article ia the Star , supposing that popular hatred of Whkgery was greater thaa . hatred
of Toryism . Now , this was th « real test upon which the Liberator relied for success . Well , ths Star and the Liberator fought it out like gentiemen , till the Liberator , who commenced the battle , surrendered ; and what was the result ? Why , that the attack upon the Star , which was to have re-a-iimated the Liberator , produced its sadden death ; and so we lost the aid of that excellent paper , in consequence of its belief in the strength of a party , which was not even a good faction . Had the Star prostituted its columns to the support of ths Russian missionaries , it would have had s , good puffer in each well-paid agent , and , instead of votes of censure , we should have beard of nothing but "O ! Tead the Star / read the Star / " But periih the Star before it shall ever become the tool of faction , or the
jrop of deceit Now , it is all very fine to tali about injuring the cause , and the Star not being denounced by public speakers at meetings of working men . This is not the
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game . The real cause of the complaint from that quarter is , that the actors were not sufficiently perfect in all their parts to ensure s > good performance , before the working men : themselves began to smell » * at ; and , having leaned » lesson in diplomacy , from the Russo ministers , they , thanks to their honest Jbearts , met plot by countet-plot , and communicated truly , honestly , and punctually , every jump the cat took , and thus enabled the Star to nip the thing in the bud . Lord Barrymore has truly B * id , tia-t " ene enemy can do you more harm than a thousand friends can do good ; " and the 5 tor' was not likely to escape the wratb . of highly-paid missionaries , who had undertaken so distinguished a calling ; it is not natural to expect it
h either Mr . Williams , nor Mr . Deegan , are even hinted at in these remarks ; they apply exclusively to a set of my friend * in Northumberland and Durham , who have felt sore at a kick being put in tbeir gallop , and have met , like sneaking rascals , eaves-droppers , aa they are , and done all that in their petty wrath they could do , to undermine the Star , and its Proprietor , and Editor ; but I hurl defiance at them ; I dare them to come out of their hiding-hole , and face a non-paying meeting of real working men , and there denounce the Star .
And now they cry out , "Ah ! what a shame not to allow us to have gono on nicely and quietly in our own way , to render the Star a truly subservient organ . " In fact , it would appear as if the Star had no character to support , and that its editor waa to receive censure with cap in hand ; while any defence was to be met with , " O ! take care , you'll damage the cause . " The Star , since its birth , has had but one Proprietor ,
one Editor , one Publisher , and one Clerk ; and show me the man in the kingdom who has bees mixed up with the same ooLflicting parties , measures , men and opinions , as the Editor of the Northern Star , and who hzs more studiously avoided giving personal offence to the honest or the poor , while his proposed reward for six days of unremitting toil , endeavouring to do the best for all , is to reflect , on the seventh , upon the num . ber of votes of censure to which his labours have
entitled him . If the Editor was capable of being overawed by votes of censure for the proper use of a power , ot the application of which he must be the best judge , and for which he is responsible to the people , but not to a faction , what must be the result , I ask , if such a precedent was once established . ' Why that , after all , he could give but one Star , while six would be too few to contain the votes of censure for the omission of speeches , explanations , and letters ; and this would be freedom of the press !
Let me now show that 1 have , at all events , been consistent upon the subject of expensive national agitation , and that the Star was not governed by any wMm , caprice , or personal feeling , in its opposition to the Russo humbug . In August , IS 38 , I declared in the presence of Messrs . Attwood , Muntz , Douglas , Moir , Purdie , LoTclt , Vincent , Salt , Hetherington and others , at the house of Mr . Muntz , that the National Rent scheme would have precisely the same r % sult which a similar system had produced in Ireland , and which rendered that country the laughing stock of nations , the scoff of honest men , and a prey to political charlatans .
Now attend to this evidence , direct and circumstantial . I am ready to prove that one of my most constant personal friends ; one of the people's most zealous and unflinching leaders ; was offered to name his owa tenna fer writing me down , upoa his liberation , from prison . I give , not the substance , but his very words . I am prepared to prove that many provincial agitators of influence , have received letters from head-quarters , containing advice upon many subjects , aad concluding with the declaration that '' above all O'Connor and the Slur must be put down . "
2 s ow , couple uus direct testimony with the following circumstantial evidence . . Mr . O'Connell , in his letter to thts Leeds Rxform Association , insists , above all , upon the paramount n- ^ ccssity of -what the " lyin ' j * Editor of the Star tiuly designates aa a " knowledge depot , " the members to be elected upon the principles of the Association ; and lie says that tha Irish of Manchester or Liverpool will elect him . God help his foolish htad . Mr . Hume Bays that " tho leaders of the working classes , generally , have agreed to join in an agitation for his definition of Household Suffrage ;" Mr . Ilocbuck says that " an Association , ready to act in
concert ¦ with , the Leeds Association , is being hatched in London , " and is almost ready to leave the shell . Sow , then , couple the directeviuer . ee ¦ with the circumstantial , and can any man in his senses for a moment doubt that we were to be sold , neck and crop , and purchased with our own money ? What waa to have been the process ? Why , first , " O , there ' s no difierence Utwetn us and the Chartists ; -we ' re all Chartiststut we are practical men , and we dont -wish to frighten the tic :: u ; but jost let us get strength enough once , and then s » e bow we will make ministers step out . " Well , O'Connell says , you wouM git immense funds ; bvw it iiia : > exs not a farming wketiier you did or not ;
for such an association the treasury would bleed most freely . The favourite 3 of your order would get their own prica , as missionaries ; they would be paid out of the secret service fund , with your money ; and when the x > TCiS-JTe from within ha < l so far operated npon the pressure from without , as to get a lar ^ 'e majority of nun , all agreed up . m tha principle , you wunld have seven years of the nv ^ t corrupt parliaiiitut , tven worse than the present ; and then the few stage mountebanks , haring iDude their p ^ rty sufficiently in ' . ieprmlent of a few vote ? , tfuuM now ai . d tuen make a grand annual splutter ; would der-ouncy ministers ; bring forward extreme questions ; divide pretiy btroug . but always jjin to ktep ihe Tories oat .
This " C t p jI" was to have been the main-spring of pressure without , while a set of mountebanks , were to fu . m the nucleus of the pressure withia—the one , tho oiily , ot j « ct being to keep the iron hoof of Toryism off y-ur liecka tu leave more ro * m for theiroa hoof oi Whigficry . Well , the poor Star cannot be very popular witu the 8 Kell classes—the top-siwyers— " the "working men , wot dont wurk , " to havu snapped such a morsel from them . If the L&eds attempt had succeeded , a good deal of the machinery was nrranged , and , I hear , some of my friends won't forgive the disarrangement . However , I started wi : h the pooitst , and with them I am fully reso ' . ved , come what will , to die or conquer .
In justice to some of the very best of men , I deny Mr . Hume ' s a « 8 crtiun , that the leaders cf the working clasps , generally , had agreed to join for his definition . I £ . sstrt , upon behalf of two of the most leading men in London , that an appeal -was made to them , and that they unhesitatingly , unequivocally , and indignantly refused to join in any a ^ itatiwi which had for its object , directly or impiitdiy , the establishment of any other principle titan that Contained in the People's Charter . Now , J state this upon authority , and tiny were two who drew up the C arter . '
Gr-. Tit merit is mad « of not openly denouncing the Star ; but to whom is the merit due ? whether to those who are obliged to abstain for want of cause , or to the Star , which furnishes not even a pretext . O J if the Slur gave but a han * ile , what a hua and cry my friends would set up . Here is the plan of nibbling at the Star , and praising the speaker : — Mr . Chairman , — " I believe every man in this meeting will at once admit that I am the very last man in England who would wish to injure the Star , and that I have made as large personal sacrifices as any man of my class in pushj . no that paper . ( Hem , hem . )
But , tben , jt is our duty to point out its errors m a mild and forbearing spirit , as the best means of preserving it 3 usefulness to the people ; and I think we cannot do so In a more friendly manner than commencing by telling the editor that he ' s a liar , and the proprietor that he ' s a mean and spiritless fellow for having limited his losses , in the establishment of a paper , to the paltry sum of £ 1 , 000 , and in daring to give £ 24 for six weeks' pay to two missionaries , if the people wished for their services . Such acts , Sir , are eminently calculated to sow dissension in the Radical ranks—to injure the character of our tried friends , —and , finally , to destroy the ever-glorious cause of democvatio Liberty . "
Now , what is the real feeling in the mind of every man , calling himself Chartist , who denounces the Star ? Just this— " D n that Star ; but for it , I could do a bit ot fancy work in the trade , but that devil keeps me in the old road , like a horse in a mill ; and if I step only an inch aside , it bellows out , come back here , Mr . , I say come back , you ' re on the wrong read ;
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toefe s a great H-o-u-s-e—a Parliamentary H-o-u-iB-ebu ^ tt across ' that road * , ' * , ' . , , \ .: There never was a paper which . » q simplified the cause of the people as . the lSlfaiy and those who dow flghtwiftj It ; anii ' w / &orn It harkepfc in the straight road , will , ere Joi ^ bless It , Mdprayfos& , wfcen they , In the nataralcoursa « t events ,, shall be called npon , which they will , very speedily , to take a share in the administrafcio ' n -bt the State's affairs . Then will they say , "Bless the Slar , that snstained me In the days of my pilgrimage . I can new undertake , my office , pure and spotless , and without the heavy chain of apostacy hanging round my neck . "
The Chartists are nearer power than they : imagine , and no man , as long as I live , shall protract the period by stepping one inch out of the old Charter road , without being called after by name , and warned of his danger . I was sent here as a cocJS-shot for every blackguard ¦ who wished to pelt " me , from Fox Maule to the very lowest ; and therefore it is not likely that the opportunity should be thrown away . There cannot be a better mask than tilting the Star first , as that is my foundstion ; and that being gone , my head would come in for the next blow . But I hurl defiance at © pea foe and Candie FHiEND . I bavo left around my name a shield of poor man ' s love ; a barrier of the pauper's rich affection , which neither openvillany nor secret plot can break through .
You Russian rump J yon set of vipera t whenever you bave anything to say , give notice like men . Call my friends together , after their day ' s work , and then charge , and charge , and charge away , till you are black in the face and I defy you . I am not the only man in this kingdom in solitaiy confinement for nothing . No , no , my hands were not tied and my tongue gagged for nothing ; and I am not to be choked with butter . No man ever cries " stinking fish , " or offers a bad honse for sale ; and , of course , no one could do suoli a thing as abase , for abusing sake No , no its all for love . It appears Tery odd that every such attempt has the effect of enhancing the people ' s love ; but bo it is .
I am , Your faithful friend , 1 Feargus O'Connor . P . S . It very many inaccuracies occur in this letter , I beg to state , that although I have thought it an imperative duty to write it , , I have done so against the express order of the surgeon , who , in consequence of ray sight being much impaired , has ordered me not to read or write at all ; I have thought it my duty , hovrever , and for this reason : —Lord Coke has said that ,
" be who undertakes to plead his own cause , has a fool for a client ; " had the cause been my own , I should have left it to my friend , Mr . 'Hill , to defend me ; but knowing that his time will be sufficiently occapiad , in his duties to the public , I have thus , at all risk and pain , come forward to discharge a duty which can be better performed by an advocate than by the accused ; and , in conclusion , I havo only to say , that very many resolutions , complimentary to my excellent friend , have been to my knowledge displaced by him to make room for matter which he considered to be of more
importance ; while he appears to have gone to some inconvenience to give Immediate insertion to the only resolutions of disapprobation which , after many years of » well tried political life , have been passed npon him . He can well afford it . I am prevented from replying to many lettetn in consequence of my sight being much impaired . F . OC .
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WAKKFIKLD HELL . TO TJIE EDJTOJ ; OV THE NOUTHKRN STAR . Sir , —Some of your lefutevs nmy perhaps fee ? squeamish , about the Lfa < liu o' of theto losters , hut when they have rtswl tho statement contained ia this , they wil ] perhaps ; igre « whh n . etliut the title is very mild , when comyavtii with thu atrocities of the * ' system . " In my last letter it wa ^ cleariy shewn , that the ' rules" of the pJ .-ice are sheer hu : ; ib ! tg , drawn up for the purpose of imposint ; upon that portion of the public , who ar < - s . ; ftici .-iit ! y respectable , and Lave curiuaity enough , to inspect tUivt abode of n-i- > ery : ; ud torture . I will new gireafew specimens oftiie effects produced by the " silent system , " which ivili fully justify you ixi using the ttrm rua < i-l : ouso , » . e . a house for making men mad , not for vuring thewi . I know of nothing better calculated to cause Miotcy or madness than the discipline of Wakefield prison .
1 wiuh that some of our humanity mongers would demand an inquiry into the workings of the " silent sys > ttm , " \ but it -would not answer their purpose uulaas it took place at Jamaica , or tut Capu of Good Hope , ) if : > uch inquiry took i < n . ca it wouW be found , that hundreds have been totally lo > t to their families nwd friends on account of the cruel treatment they have received whilst in that prison . I was personally acquainted with two ¦ woolctfinbers at Bradford , aa turoiig healthy men as were to ho found in th « town , who had been bent to WakefU-M fur some trifling assault ; one of them a man who weighed about n £ t' ; en btoue , came out a living skeleton , covered "with bruises from head to foot , and raving mad , in which state he died shortly after . The othtr when I last saw him , was a drivelling idiot ; hundreds of men in Bradford who read this will know who I mean . Although I was not allowed to look either to the right or left , nor to converse or mako signs t « any of thts prisoners , jet with this drawback upon my means
of observation , I counted about UU in a state of idlotcy through close confinement , wont of air , ( being never allowed into the yard ,, aud continued silence and starvation . Tbera is no denying tUis ; aud I ain confident , that if the governor , chivplain , surgeon , keeper , and clerk , . < ¦ vie examined , they would at once admit it ; at least , a majority of them , for they have frequently done so wheu I conversed with them on tho subject . The surgeon has told me that he . would state what I have already adraaced , it txaiuined before a Committee of ths House of Commons . The chaplain lias told mo several times that six months of Bttcb treatment would send him to his grave ; I would , therefore , recommend my friends , at Barnsley , Bradford , and Sheffield , to get up a petition to the Honourable House , praying for an inquiry into the treatment of prisoners , and the effects produced on their constitutions by the ' silent system , " as practised at Wakcfield and other Houses of Correction .
As an illustration of its effects , I will mention the case of a man from Sheffield , confined for felony ; bis number wu 336 . He applied to the keeper to write a letter to his wife , at the same time that I was writing in the office . The keeper asked him how long he bad been in the prison ? as the rules state " that no man shall be allowed to write until he has been six months in the prison and only once a month afterwards . " He answered that he did not know , but he thought he had
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bafln three months ; he-was then ordered to auk the cterk . ly ^ hen he returned , he said , that the clerk told hlni oe had bean there eight months . I remarked , thati ij ; was very strange » man could not tell how . long he had been Buffering snch misery . The keeper replied , 'I That It was a common thing there for men to lose their recollection , and havo no knowledge of how their time passed . " I have frequently seen men pulled from their seats , when their time of imprisonment bad expired , although their numbers h 3 d been called several times ; All this can be proved , and will be admitted , by the principal officers of the den : in short , none but those who . have experienced it , can have Use slightest Idea of the cruelty and torture inflicted on both mind ahff body , in that infamous place , the very existence ofwhlch proves the brutality and bltodthirstineas of the " powers that be . " . I am , Sir , yours , truly , GKOitGij White . No . 3 Court , Essex-street , Birmingham .
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PUBLIC MEETINGS AGAINST THE POOR-LAW AMENDMENT ACT . —MEETING IN LITTLE BOLTON .
( From the Bolttn Chronide . ) A public meeting of leypayers , convened by the overseers , in consequence of a requisition numerously signed , ¦ waa held in the Town Hall , Little Bolton , on Wednesday evening last ; to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning both Hou&es of Paliament against tlie renewal of the Poor Law Amend ment Act The room was crowded to excess , but was vory orderly . On the motion of Mr . Thomas Myerscough , Mr . Gilbert Whalley , one of the overseers , was called to the chair . The Chairman \) t \ e&j opened the proceedings by desiring the meeting to be orderly , and give every speaker an impartial hearing ; having read the notice convening the meetinc .
Richard Marsden , a weaver , rose to move the first resolution , and said any old man present would not have believed thirty or forty years ago that a poor man , ' applying for relief , in case of distress , could not obtain it unlesa b . e went to the workhouse , like a prison-bouse , surrounded by walla , separated . from his wife and children , and fed oa gruel and food too scanty to preserve health and life . ( Hear , bear . ) In times like these too , of the severestdistress , to be separated from their families was a double infliction of injustice ; it was iu times like these that Hi an and wife required each other ' s presence , in order that they might afford each other more comfort and consolation ; but the bare idea of
having their children taken from them was maddening , and made the brain to wbirL If he were wealthy , and separated from his children , the hope of reward might influence their conduct in some degree , but not being so they would be reckless of the future , and require his protecting aid . Let the Hoo Union afford an example as to the manner in which children were treated . ( Hear , hear , hear . ) It was in evidence that in that Union the Governor flogged girls of fourteen and sixteen years of age on the bare back , and what rendered it tstill worse , women were . compelled to bold their arms while he performed the act of flagellation , ( cries of ahiiine ); a woman was separated from her child , and she said rather than be so she would cut her own
throat ; , but they enforced the order , and next morning she left the place , aud having no means of susteuauce and no prospect but the horrid bastile , she put a period to her existence . ( Hear , hear . ) As a woman said to him on Monday , " blessed is the womb that never bears . ' The inhabitants of Bolton had formed a committee which they called the watch committee , whose duty it vraa to inform the public when their rights or liberties were likely to be assailed . This meeting emanated from that committee ; and they told the public to petition , but would Government attend to their petition ? he feared they would not , from the thousands which had been already sent without avail . The committee saw the position in which , they stood ; they felt alarmed aud pointed to tho public view the
object about to destroy them . Could too people , however , avoid the calamity ? If they could not , it was not the fault of the committee , but the circumstances under which we were placed . Suppose a man was bound hand and foot to a tree ; a person placed at a short distance from him to warn him of danger ; aud if a lion or some other ferocious animal word to approach , and the man set to watch made an alarm what would it avail the captive who was bouud hand and foot to a tree , and could not move ? ( hear , hear , and cheers ) , why then inform hiin of his danger for " sufficient for the day is the evil thereof " unless it were in iiis power to afford him some relief ? Aud it was not less absuru to pray and desire the lion or , other beast not to hurt him than it wus to petition the House of Commons not to reuuw the
Ntj-w Poor La-w Bill ; they knew the Hon would seize upon the man , frani past experience ; ami the knowledge they had of the Houso of Commons taught them what to expect from there . Then , he said , way come thero ? He ¦ was asked not to come there to petition Parliament ; but to awaken the energies of tho people , and tell them boldly to bid defiance to tlioso who would trample upon them . ( Cheers . ) Let them only look at their real position . They had been contributiug for years to a fund for thetr relief in case of sickuoss and distress , and yet they hail no power over their own money ; it must be left to the management of others . For that he would not have cared one straw , if be must have had justice ; but he bad not . If tho money was appropriated to its legitimate purposes ,
instead of biding squandered away , lie would have been satisfied ; but h « found , ia the first place , that upwards of sixty thousand pounds a-year was paid to the Commissioners aud their minions , who were distributed all over the country , aud were shamefully muiiag away with the public money . These men , too , had exclusive power , and could deal with the public as they thought proper . Suppose , in the case of a benefit Kociaty , which had a committee acting for it who did not do their duty in a proper manner , the suciety were to appoint others in their stead , yet still thu okl committee refused to give up , and exacted the usual sums fi-om the members , what would be done with them ? Why , they would be taken to a court of justice , and iiuutsued for ivaud s but if they should fnil in obtaining
justice , they could leave the society . This Poor Law Committee , however , resoive that -weshall not k-ave it ; that we must remain members ; but , be it understood , only paying members . ( Hear . ) What must they do in a case like this ? Why , if they found they could not pay without distressing their families , ami they forced them to it , say " do it at your periL" ( Cheers . ) Did they think there was any other course ? He liked not violence , but he would say either give us the power to choose our own guardians , and deal with our funds as we like , or else give us the privilege of leaving the Suck-ty , or " we will not pay as usual . " ( Loud clieyrs . ) Their energies were great for the well-feeing of society , and in return they claimed the privilege of being well fed aud well clothed . The * speaker hero showed how rich men , as in the case of the members of the old corporations , would filch out of other people's property
when they had the power , as under the olu system . Tae old corporation of Bristol let the ¦ walls and qu . iys of thu Fronie and Avon to the society of merchants for £ 10 , and they let them again to a sub-contractor for £ 1 , 400 a year . ( Hear , hear . ) Again , a gentleman had occasion to go down to his vessel , which was utiloading at the time , on account of delay , and fcund , from inquiries made , that the parties who contracted for it only received 3 s . 6 d . for what be had to pay 16 s . He ui ^ ed them either to insist upon having justice dune to them , or no kmgor pay any rates . They must not suppose they could gaiu everything by a petition . It was like the waggoner in the mire , who lifted up bis eyes tvnil prayed to Jupiter to be extricated , wh « -reas , if he had placed his shoulder to tho wheel ami done it himself , ho might biive been successful . After some further observations , he concluded by moving the following resolution : —
" That this meeting having had notice of a Bill brought into Parliament by Lord John Russell , to continue and extend the unhappy operations of the Poor Law Amendment Act for the period of ten years , takes this opportunity of expressing its determined opposition to the said Bill , as being unconstitutional , anti-Christian , oppressive , and unjust . " Mr . Thomas Myeracough , in seconding the motion just made , observed that ho read in the resolution that tho Bill of Lord Tolm Russell was unconstitutional that it was su must be evident , because it to . k away from the people- the privilege of managing tht-ir own local affairs , and vested them in the hands of three nieu called Commissioners , who had power to make rules , orders , and re * - ulations , having the force and
effect of statute law . Every writer on the Constitution had clearly held that a truat cannot be delegated , &O that few , if any , have the effrontery to declare that the powers conferred by the Heuse of Commons oa the three Commissioners are right in principle . It was s ; ud , when the Bill was first passed , that the poor were eating up the laud , and that the rates amounted to £ " , 800 , 060 . He stated , some time ago , the amount collected iu Little Bolton U be , in 1838 , the sum of £ 1876 123 . 2 d . ; but of this £ 1121 17 s . 4 d . wuut to other essences , so that £ 754 4 a . lOd . waS all that Was applied t » the poor . The Commissioners had boasted that in one year they had made a saving of , £ 2 , 400 , 000 ; but if Little Bolton was any criterion to go by , of what the poor cost throughout the country , they never received more than £ 3 , 240 , 000 , as the remainder went in payment of cquuty rates , church-rates , constables , iiud other things , so that , if the account of tha Commissioners were true , the poor had only received about
£ 84 , 000 . The idea that the poor cost this amount frightened the Parliament , so they set to work in establishing the new law , which had cost upwards of £ 60 , 000 a year to carry it into operation , and if renewed , would next year cost more than £ 100 , 000 . ( Hear , hear . ) When one of the assistant Commissioners was before the House of Commons , Mr . Power , he believod it was , "who was formerly in this district , but we had now auotber called Mr . Mott ; when the former was before a Committee of the House , Mr . D . W . Harvey asked him how much he received per year , and bis reply was six or seven hundred pounds , and when he questioned him with regard to t-xpences , it appeared that those were six or seven hundred pounds or more also Tbisseemedanextiaordinarysum . andMrHaxveywished to know bow it was spent , and was abuut to obtain an answer , when he was stopped by the Chairman , this question being considered rather too close , because he knew it was r&ther too keen a bit for a commissioner to explain how he expended six or seven bundled
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pounds a yeafand only allow a poor man is . eAd a -weeBt to live upon . ( Cheers . ) It was said , thl 3 law was to lessen the expencas . of the different unions , but he would show-them , by an average taken three years preceding the operation of the old law , and three years afterwarda , that this was incorrect The average ex [ ~ r , cea in the Bolton Union , for ; three years , \ under the old law , was £ 9 , 365 per annum , and the expences for the firsfc quarter , after the new law came into operation , were £ 2 , 816 ; this " , second quarter / £ 3 , 68 *; . third quartos , £ 4 , 769 ; fifth , £ 5 , 1 « 2 ; and the last call wa » for £ ; i . coo ^ which , was at the rate of ; £ 2 M 00 a year . ( Hear , hear . ) This was a beautiful sort of decrease , to be sure . ' and it was a question ,, tot their consideration , whether , with all these stated amendment * , the poor were any better
fed and clothed than before ? It was quite certain tliey were not , and he had this from undoubted authority , for he had a-petition in his pocket , about to be sent to Parliament , by the Bolton Board of Guardians , which clearly stated " th * t tho rates are heavier and tho poor not better provided for . " ( Hear , hear . ) ' Mr . Ashworth , and others in the town , ( if it were true , ) had stated that the people , from inquiries made , were in a truly deplorable state , and was it net ixiouatrous that they should be so , at acost , too , of £ 24 , 000 a year to tha Union ? ( Hear , hear . ) The clerk to the board had stated that there was a saving of £ 800 a year out of £ l , 2 S 0 formerly , expended in the salaries of officers . But liow thw could bs was a mystery to Wm , wh ; -n be found that the dift ' ereut officers , including meaical
gentlemen , registrars-, &c cost the Union £ 2 , 613 in one year . He-was not against men being properly remunerated for tbeir labour ; but by tho new law their duties \/ ere so mixed up , one township with another , that it was impossible they could attend to them without considerable lota to the townships . How was it possible that thirty-two or thirty-three townships could be properly managed by five overseers ? Ha found , on examining the books of Little Bclton , that the last rate paid by Mr . Dawson , in 183 <> , at sixpence in the pound , amounted to £ 1 , 083 , aiid th » loss , in empty houses , removals , &c , amounted r > nly to £ 74 ls . 4 d . The next rate waa ninepence in tho pound , from the 24 th of Juue , 1 U 39 , to 21 st March , 18-io , amounting to £ 1 , 592 11 s . 10 jd ., and the amount
of loss in arrears , empty houses , removals , &o ., "was £ 288 7 s . lid . The next rate was one shilling in the pound , from the 21 st March to the 25 th September , 1840 , amounting to £ 2 , 389 33 . 5 M ., and the iosa , including arrears , in this instance , was the enormous sum of £ 782 16 s . lid ., which was more than all the money paid to the poor in 1838 . ( Cheers . ) He califd this monstrous , aad although termed by its supporters the perfection of wisdom , yet such were ita results ; and , further , ho believed that if tho accounts were examined , it would be found that a number of people ( he could give named , but would not do so at present , at the matter would unquestionably undergo investigation ) whose rates had beeu forgiven—people who were better able to pay than himself , and there were other
matters which , when brought to light , wituM exciva their astonishment . The new Bill had been put into his hands on that day only , and therefore he bad not had sufficient time to peruse it , to point out fully its iniquity ; but from beginning to end , it appeared to extend the power of the Commissioners , By one clause he noticed that , however poor a person might be , there could be no forgiveness of rates , not even by the magistrates , unless by the Guardians . This would be -all right it the Guardians were left to themselves ; but it so happened that they could do nothing m opposition to the will of the mighty Commissioners—every thing to be laft to the-three kings at Somerset House — ( hear , hear );—without , their approbation , the Guardians had not the power of turning eff even a
delinquent servant , and to suppose that the present men ia office would not carry tha measure into full effect was nexi to impossible . He had been told confidently that t » ne or two members of the Board of Guardians were in constant -cobdsjjcudenoe with the Coiujuis . ^ ii . ners , and were advising them to introduce the Jaw q :: i « tly , step by step . ( Hear , hear , and "Sliame . "; Now , if this w « re true , it only seemed still mote si ; imgly to manifest the disposition of Mr . Mutt , who had , of late , visited Great Bolton workhouse , and found fault with everything . ( Hear . ) They were living thero at the rate » f 2 s . 0 . ^ 1 . per head per week , how much lower Mr . Mott ' s die ' . ary table would be lie could nob say , but it was quite little euougo . Mr-Alott ' s next movement would be to enlarge the work- '
house ; and this new _ bill not only gave the commissioners power to do so , but also to classify the paupers . ( Hear , hear . ) What was still worse , whatever Lad created their poverty , no matter whether by crime or misfortune , they were all to share the same fat « , aud this was not to be-doubted , because Lord John Kursell himself had made the assertion ; and in S ' -m- ' parts , even now , this beautiful system of separation w .-. j going on , and in Kensington the . workhouses—fi-r , men , women , and children were distinct , in fuct , werr three miles apart , to prevent communication ov irsurconrse between them : so that a man waa prevented fiv ; r . seeing his wife and children . ( A voico here cnlini out " let ' em take one of mine and 111 fire into Viu . " | He held a document in JUis hand , the whole oi wh . ch he
should like to have read , but it was too loug . i r was headed in the following curious manner , — " s * iling English Chiliireu ,- ^ Solliug the bodies of the poor . — Incendiary fires . " He found , by this document , t ' iat there wa 3 a society , in London , calfeg it .-V . r the > " Children ' s Friend Society , " which had hetii for a considerable period , trafficking in poor d ^ : t ^ i ; : j children , out of workhouses , and sending them to thr Cape of Good Hoj-o and other distant colonies , and openly selling th « n in the market like cattle . ( Hear , hear , and shame . ) Tue fact was , they first taxed the people so as to make them , poor , and then punished th-. m for being so . To show the dislike parties entertained for the . bastiles , he might mention an instanra which he had seen in the paper : ; the other day , of a woman , who
was brought heftire tho magistrates charged with breaking a window . Mr . Wightnian found she was in a distressed state , and ordered her to the workhouse . She then stated that she bad been in tlia work'iouse . but had escaped from it to get into prison , in i ^ nkr that 8 he might receive better treatment . Mr . W'ghtman , however , refused-to convict her , aud sent a po . iv -man with her to the w ,. orkhouse ; but on ^ tlieir way she took up a stops aud threw ; it through another window , and was again obliged to be brought up . Mr . Wightman then informed her that he feiiouid be obliged to commit her lor three months . She leplied "the longer the
better" —and was committed . ( Hear , he . ir . i Mr . Wakley also had stated in a speech in the House of Commons , tha , t numbers had ( lied from starvation , rather than go into a , i * nion workhouse , and related a number of instances that had come under his nut'ue as coroner of Middlesex . And were woto hare iit « s like these thrust upon us ? ( No , no . ) Oae great evii w ; is , the amount of taxes "we had to pay . as wou-d be found by Cobbett's Legacy , a work which every man ought to have : for in the s . « ne pvoportirin as the Government taxes-increased , tho amouat of \ n <>^ uitcs increased and poverty along with them . He found in thi : j work thb foilowiug statement : —
' Poor-rates . Govern . txes * Reign of James II 16 M 0 O l . ; ru , ooo 177 G l , 4 <) 6 , !) 06 8 < " " " 00 1780 ; .. 2 , 250 , 000 ......... 10 tu .-, 00 1833 6 , 700 , 000 M , < ki » , i 00 When he was before a . committee of the House of Commons , on the Question of a minimum of wag * . * and which he coukl not 3 ? ree to , he was asked if he !; . ' . any other plan to propose , he replied that he had , t-. . ¦ ¦¦•' uce the taxea from 50 or-60 millions to something lil : ten or twelve millions ; and he also informed them tl . i . r . Mr . Preston had stated the truth to the House of Cva . uons ¦ vt hen he informed them that out of eveTy is-. ¦ . rned by the labourer 16 a . either directly or indirectly ¦ -ut in taxes ; but if instead , of that they would caii -v i > oor of
men ' s l ^ ousea and here and there a piece ^ on , tho pjoyle would not stand it . Along w . ; l : their poverty also they bad rural police , because i : was necessary to keep the poar quiet ; but the < r , ;¦ and safe way to quieten them was by giving them i-Unty of bread and cueese . . ( Cheers . l The o / erseers « i Great Bolton , a short time ago had sent a petiii :. to tho magistrates against the new police btiv ^ hich he would tend . [ The petition which w > . ,. ave before published was ' then re : vd . ] Tl ; u was an important document , arid shem < i i ; , em tbat the public were "not able to pay . Tb < .-.-. « - licts shewedtbat the New Poor Law did not , nor cm .-I it Work well , and th&t it was Anti-Christian as sti . r- d in tho resolution , no one would attempt to deny ; f .-rhe defied them to produce any passage from the i ^ ni . uing
to the end of the Bible , which did not call uj' -i' them to support the poor and needy , aud not to rob tin hireling of tiis wages ; and yet the measure was calculated to produce those direful effects which Mr . Mavsdui had detained . It was unnecessary to enlarge upon this subject , for any one who had token up a newspaper , must have seen evidence of its direful effects . The Utstiirdy clauses which had been spoken upon , had operated very ' . unfavourably in that township , for they eft unprotected the weaker party ,, and did not punish tbe guilty . Mr . MYERsCOL'Gtt again rose and read a conmiunication which had been received by Mr . Dawson , and accompanied by a copy of tlie same act , -whicli stated that he shoulrt be happy to receive any instructions or suggestions as to the course best to be pursued when the bill-was in committee .
The Chatbman then put the motien , which -was carried unanimously , amid loud cheering . Mr . TfiLLUJi Thiklwind , seconded the adoption of the xosolution and petition , which were carried with acclamation . Mr . Daniel DiGGLE . and others afterwards spoke , but not inaccordance witth the object for which the meeting was called . Meeting in Great Bolton . —On Thursday evening a si'r . ilar meeting was held in the Sessions Koom , Great Bolton , ' which was not quite so numerously attended as that in Little Bolton . Mr . Naieby vj as unanimously called to the chair .
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THE WANT OF " MOTHER GOOSE" AND THE WANTS OF OTHERS . TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN STAR . Sm ,-In your last , I saw an article headed " Wanted , a Horn Book for Blotter Goose ; " on reading which I could not ( from motives of puru charity d- > ofherwise than muke an attempt to supply tha . t desidtratum . I , therefore , went to work on the Lord ' s day , thinking it no sin to do an ^ ct of kin «; n ( -sa on that 'd ay ; particularly , as I cannot devote much time to D . itue Goose , save on St . Agnew ' B day .
In this Horn Book , Milter Goose will find tho Chartist alphabet , 'which sho never yet learned . There she will find some short words , frequently used by her , but of the aigniQcaUon ot which , she is entire !} ' ignorant , and she will also moot with some short lessons adapted to her wants , and the improvement of her scarcely unshelled charge . Thua , Sir , Mothei Goost and he ; - littleuns , may cease their whimperings , and rely upon the promise of tbeir wanis being spee .-Jily Mipptiwl . I don't ask you , Sir , to insert any portion of the little " wanted" in your columns , because there are other wants . Somrt want to Jo good by " exposing the villanies of those in power , and by pointing out the way of escape from the boniU ^ e in which tlie people are now held .
Some want to bewilder the people with inexplicable nonsense about old H-o-u-se-a , and undefined deviations of Household Suffrage . Others want to fiil your columns with censures for not catering to their whims . Others make cart-rope . speeches , nnd want you to give them to tbe pu ' Hc verbatim , because they want the public to call them clever . And others , who are paid / or spouting , want tfcelr
kdures \!) to be on every table , niiii # ining that tha produce of thuir brains is moat delicious fruit , aut > . ought to be tasted by all ; and , moreover , they want you to phco them on a pedestal , and to com ' uro thu people to fall down anil worship thes » gfiis . You , yods—they don't want to be known as hirtd cvotchetui'ingersv or as Sappers and Miners in the AVbig : nny , though they labour ( under coverl to sap the foundation of the Charter , and undermine your nruilyesiAblishe-. l journal , i
But 1 know they iio not want me to write in this style ; and , I suppose , you do not waut mo further to trespass on your space . Should your " ih-vil" want sonu thiii £ to light tho tire , ami you thir . k proper to uucoaiinoiiate him with this , I shall net want myfrion . ' . s ( though they amount to twenty-Utree ) to p ; iss a vote of censure upon you , and siy it was agreed to by the men of Leeds . Yuaknow your own busiuuss , and us scribaa and paid 1 arrota should not wnnt to diclato to you , and sing in your ears " ME first—don't place me at tho bottom of the list ; " for I am , i Your ' . ? , truly , An Old Radical . Leeds , Feb . 16 th , 1 S 41 .
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The Pabishioxers of St . George , Southwark , met on Friday at the Grapes Tavern , Suffolk-street , and passed resolutions calling on the Members of the Borough to oppose the clause in the New Poor Law Amendment Bill giving plural and proxy-voting for Guardians , several speakers condemned the bill altogether . — -The parishes of St . Paul , Covent Garden , and St . Luke's , Middlesex , also parsed similar resolutions on Friday ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 20, 1841, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct367/page/7/
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