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THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1841.
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8To 3&C8toex$ ««* ComjSjDMi fo*tte
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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LONDON . EXTRAORDINARY MEETING AND ? . -DISCUSSION . DEFEAT OF HETHEBINGTOJC LOTETT , AXD THE "NEW MOVE" HUMBUGS ! 5 " The lonr-expected discussion between Mr . W * tkms , newsWut , of No . 9 , Bell Yard , Temple Bar , and Air . Waison , bookseller , Cit y Road , came off « a Tuesday evening last , at the Hall of Sciences City Road ; and , such was the desire of the Chartists of London , to testify tbeir disapprobation 01 tie " new more" asd its abettors , that the place was crowded long before the commencement of the proceeding's . Just as the bnsisess was abont to commence ,
Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., drove up to the phce of meeting , to fulfil his promise matis at the Crown and Anchor on the previous evening , namely , that he would address the meeting . He wis immediately forrounded by several stonemasons and copper * smiths , who requested him not to interfere in tie matter . They also statei that it was absolutely necessary that the discussion should take place , as there was a number of people in London and the oountry who thought ihe " new move" party to be dimerous , whereas they were a mere fraction , chiefly composed of shopkeepers , and that it was the determination of me Marylebone Chartists to Bhow them up to the country in their true celours .
Mr . O'Coxxos stated his unwillingness to enter into the controversy , and took hi 3 leave , at the same time , expressing his regret that there should have been any dissension . The business was then commenced . Mr . Cameron was appointed Chairman on the part Of Mr . W&tkins ; Mr . Dyson on the part of Mr . Watson . The regulations as to the length of time for each of the gentlemen and their friends to speak , having been read , Mr . Gardner was called on to preside as Moderator . Mr . Watson commenced by stating that he four 4 himself placed in a very extraordinary position . He was labouring under peculiar disadvantages as regarded the charge . He had to perform a pleasing duty—that of vindicating , as far as he was able , some individuals with whom he had been connected
for a length of tiae , and who were , he believed , greatly misrepresented ; men he had acted with For years , ana of who 3 e sincerity he could no : doubt—whose truth , for a single moment , he could not question ; indeed , upon those men he had the ereatest reliance , ( Hear , hear . ) He was there to afifecd men charged with certain crimes , and this was his extraordinary position—the accuser would not Bake the charge . This was curious . A person wasput opon his trial , and no charge was made against him . ( Hear . ) He was to produce the evidence against the parties charged . He considered that the charges ought to be clearly brought home to the parties ; for they had been long before the public . ( Sear , hear . ) They had , for a number " of
jears , taken part in public discussions on the democratic side , the charges ought not to be made from personal motives but from thorough conviction , not from vindictive feeling . ( Hisses . ) He believed that the men who had been attacked , were advocates of the People ' s Charter and honest advocates ( Cries of pocket . ) He would at once enter into the question . He attended with a friend at a lecture room , in the Old B&iley , where a sectional meeting of the Chartists was held , he there beard certain charges made , and he challenged Mr . Watkins who Vfte the person who preached the sermon , if it could so be called—( hisses)—before that he had not a personal knowledge of Mr . Watkins , but he had read a series of communications that he ( Mr . Walking ) had
addressed to a popular journal ; he ( Mr . Watson ) therefore went to satisfy himself as to the . correctness of the reports he had heard , and likewise to see "whai the charges were , which were made against his ( Mr . Watson s ) friends . He was surprised- to find that charges were made without proof or foundation ; he ( Mr . Watson ) required proof , nothing less would satisfy him . Mr . Watson then referred to the Star of May 1 st , 1 & 41 , in which a letter from Mr . Watkins appeared . He likewise read an extract from the&arofMay 8 ; h . ( Cries of "Time . ") He ( Mr . Watson ) was surprised to find a man making use of such ss&iemeiiis . Mr . Watson then proceeded to read extracts from Mr . "Watkin ' s pamphlet , taking the following as bearing most upon the case :
— " Such men are respectable in private life , but that would not excuse their public delinquency . Kay they have great moral influence , that only makes their political influence more dangerous—the more fatal . " In answer to another extract from page 7 , Mr . Watson read a paragraph from Messrs . Lovett and Collins' pamphlet , to prove they considered that education , or non-education , ought no : to be the test of the franchise . He considered that the remarks made in that pamphlet were likely to lead to an injury being committed on the persons whom it denounced . ( Laughter , met with cries of " Hear . ") He would merely menlion that he had heard of one person in Finsbury , who was ready to carry oat the doctrine advocated in the pamphlet .
Mr . Watkins commenced by saying , that Mi . Watson had complained that he had been dragged into this discussion—but more truly might he , Mr . Waskuis , make this complaint . Mr . Watson had given the challenge , and though he ( Mr . Watkins ) was never forward to give a challenge , yet he would not be backward in accepting one . Mr . Wat-sou's name had not been mentioned in the sermon of which he complained . Mr . tVatson had not been alluded to—his name was not upon the new mova list . The meeting might ask what had made Mr . Watson the first to step forward—to step before parties whose names had been mentioned ! Why had he come forward to defend their characters ? Because they oould not defend their own ; and the manner in
which Mr . Watson was defending them might make them exclaim , " Save us from our friend ! " He ( Mr . Watkins ) thought there was little occasion for him to rise after Mr . Watson ; he almost took shame to himself for doing so , because Mr . Watson was cocfuered before the battle begun , and there is not much honour to be gained in triumphing over a prostrate foe . Mr . Watson hvi not been personally aimed at ; but he was one who formed a link in that trade union , that chain of trade combination which had loDg bound down the cause of Chartism in London , and prevented its free growth . It i ? an old adage " touch my purse , and yon touch my person . " This mighi explain the reason why Mr . W arson had interested himself so prominentlv in this affair . Mr .
Watson might be a fair-dealing man—he migh : be more honourable than the rest , and thus feel more sensitively on the score of character ; but why laic np the cudgels for osber parties—why be made a cat ' s paw by them ? They were no : content with proiit , they waat-ed honour too ; they wanted bo ' . h the money and the stuff . —but " yrhy shonid honour outlive honesty ! " Mr . Watson wanted him ( Mr . Wa-. kins ) to give a list of charges . The charges were in the sermon which had given occasion to ; he challenge . Did Mr . Watson want a fresh list o ; charges because he eould tind nothing to take hold of , nothing to make a-handle of against him , Mr . Ws ; - Inns t He ( Mr . Watkins ) was ^ not so simple as to give him taat . He had called the iJoveniies
trait-ors , assassins , and spies ; and he now reueraicthe charge , and would prove it . They were traitor ' s , inasmuch as they had betrayed the confidence reposed in them by the people ; they were assassins , BOt perhaps of individuals , but What wa . 3 i-Sniteiy worse—of the causs , the cause of all individuals , — they sought to stab the cause ; and they were spies , they had their emissaries , who came into every Chartist meeting to report for them , and to cause dissens sion , if possible . When he ( Mr . Watkins ) firs : came up vo London , he thought the reason why London was so far behind , why it was a disgrace to the cause—a dishonour to Chartism , lay in the apathy of the men of London ; but he soon found that the fault was not in : he men , but in the leaders . He had been invited to
assist in the re-organiainon of the Chartist associations in the several localities of London aud his first question naturally was , what disorganized you ? what caused you to break up \ and the invariable answer he received was the Lovettites ; then be always advised them that for the future they should avoid Lovetti = m . Lovett had obtained the confidence of the people and abused it ; he and Collins had been supported by the peopk- when m prison , bat were they to be sent there now would the people support them ! ( Xo , no . ) They had lost the confidence of the people . Lovett 2 nd Collins had had their courage cooled in prison by the cold baths ; they had been , convened and baptized in prison ; they had gone in Chartists , buj had come ¦ o ut Whig * . The LoTetrites call our associaiiocs illegal , they might as well call on Go Tern Meat to prosecute us . Dan O'Connell says Chartism is
illegal , is a tr&nspoTta&le offeac ? , that is—to frige ten others from joining us . These men are always boasting of their sufferings ; tkeir sufferings were lncky , and they may well boast of them . They published blasphemy for profit , and were Jesjrvedjy imprisoned for it . They never suffered for Chartismfor consience sake , no ; bnt for profit ' s sake . They went secretly to work , and they brag that we did not discover them sooner ; they work in darkness because their deeds are evil ; they exult in their secrecy , and defy us to prove them traitors ., but it is not necessary for us to prove them traitors ; they themselves proved themselves so—out of their own mouths they are condemned , they have done nothing bui act treason ever since their " new move" came out . Mr . Watkins next entered into a narrative of his Bufferings and sacrifices in the cause , and time being np ,
Mr . Watsos replied to Mr . Watkins , amid much confusion ; one party of the meeting seeming determined to hear no more , but to come to a vote . At last he was heard to declare , that he did not profesB himself a Christian ; but he would exhibit more ef the true spirit inculcated by that doctrine than iii the pamphlet before them . A 3 Mr . Watkins , being a bookseller , that he could not deny ; but he had a right to gain his living : he had commenced With the Poor Han't Guardian , and if this was &
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charge , Mr . WatkinB was as much to blame as he was , for , said Mr . Watson , holding upas advertisement , here he polishes to the world Sis eaUing and in the Old Bailey there is a placard stating Mr . Watkins to be the agent for the AfeMtow Star ( Hear , and laaghter . ) He then alhzded to the notice of Mr . Frost , in the pamphlet . ( At this moment the most discordant sounds were raised , and Mr . Hetherington , who was on the hustings , was pointed at , whilst calls of all descriptions were made n 3 e of . ) Mr . Watkins briefly replied to Mr . Watson . The noise was renewed , and" cries of ( " Who said he would put down the Northern Star ? " Hetberington" and other cries were raised . ) The scene baffled description , but was only a
prelude to more noiEe in the subsequent part of the evening . Mr . White , from Birmingham , rose amidst cheers . He said he bad much pleasure in addressing the meeting , especially » s it wa 3 a meeting of working rtren , for he was one of that class himself . ( Cheers . ) Ever since he had known right from wrong he had been an advocate of the principles of the People ' s Charter . ( Hear , hear . ) He felt pleasutt'in speakisg to the men of London . ( Cries of" You are paid for it . " ) He could appeal to Mr . Hethgrington , whether , seven yeaw ago , he had not at Leicester been a Fupporter of the the Poor ilfan ' s Guardian , and be had 1 ever continued to advocate the principles he then advocated . ( Hear , hear . ) He had Buffered much through his advocacy of the rights of working men through the Trades' Union . Mr . Watson had come forward to support his friend , acknowledging at the same time that his plan was too wide , and that it was impracticable to work it . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr .
White then took a survey of the conduct of Collins and O'Neil with regard to their charge of illegality . He said the Chartists , according to Universal Suffrage , had propagated a plan of organization , and the country ought to follow it out . ( Hear , and cheers . ) But , to suit Messrs . Collins and O'Neil , the country had been put to £ 70 expence . Talk of legality ! Were they to go to the Attorney-General and ask bis opinion before they formed a union ( Cheers . ) Look to his own cise of illegally being imprisoned on account of excessive bail , through a letter from the Solicitor-General . The Judge , a Tory Jndge , said it was shameful ; but could he get redress ! No . Why ! Unless a man had money there was no redress for him . ( Hear , and cheers . ) With reg&Td to the gentlr . men charged , he would just whisper " Farewell , a long farewell to all your farmer neatness ! " ( Cheers , prolonged for some time . ) He would conclude by moving the
resolution : — " That in the opinion of this meeting , { he charges contained ia -Sir . Watkins ' s pamphlet are fully established . " ( Loud cheers . ) Mr . Scott seconded the resolution . Mr . Foskett moved as an amendment : — " That the charges in the pamphlet were false and calumnious . " Mr . Moore seconded the amendment . He defended Mr . Lovert , detailed how long he had known him , under what circumstances , and , after passing a high eulogium on him , sat down .
Mr . Hbthsbtngtqj presented himself to the meeting , when a general uproar took place . He was assailed on all sides by cries of " traitor ! who would sell the Star 1 trading politician I" A conflict took place in the body of the meeting . Cheers were given for the Charter , Feargus O'Connor for ever , cheers for the National Charter Association , groans for the " new move . " Mr . Hetherington , after a Ungth of time fruitlessly } spent in essaying to Bpeak , sat down . Mr . Dtsox left the chair , Mr . Cambro . n , the othsr chairman , put the amendment , which was lost .
The original resolution was then put , and carried by an overwhelming majority . Three cheers were then unanimously given for the Charter , three groins for the " new move , " and a number of other cheers , and the meeting separated .
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" The Chartists have pboved thexseltes mobe acctrate calcclatq&s than the kibdlb classes . Whether their nostrum would have mended matters is not . now the question ; b ¥ t thb besult has shrw . t that they werb co&bect is theik opinion—that ix the present state op the bepresentation , it was va :. s to think or a sefeal of the cos * monopoly . ???*•?• Political potveb in this cotntby , though it resides in a comparatively small class , can only be exercised by the sttrerasce 0 ? thb masses . "Morning Chronicle ( organ of the Whig Ministers J , Friday \ July 16 * A , 1841 .
" JUSTICE'S JUSTICE . " Ever ready to render honour to whom it ia due , we seize gladly on an opportunity when such an one is afforded to u ? of chronicling the good deeds of either Whig or Tory , or the good words of their supporters in " the Establishment . " We find the following instand pertinent remarks in the Examiner of the present week , and have great pleasure in transferring it to our columns , as evidence of the right sense of justice entertained by oar
contemporary . " Some gentlemen having amused themselves at the risk of the public by driving furiously through Brentford , so as . to endanger the lives of persons on the'road , the police proceeded to apprehend them , upon which the efficera were resisted and assaulted , a 3 stated ia- the following evidence before the Brentford Justices : — Joseph Smith , T 60 , deposed to taking the defendants into custody . On getting into the pbuton to do jo , he 'was immediately cellared by Mr . R . Newton and the groem , -who struck him several times , and they both tried their utmost to throw him ont of the carriage . He then drew his staff , and in the scuffle struck which
Mr R- Xevrton twice over the arm . after ¦ he sent eff te the Station for assi .-tance , and , on the arrival of another constable , the inhabitants unhitched the horses and drew the pbseton to the station . The defendant Bijle , vrhile that "was doing , struck several persons ¦ who ¦ were pushing behind the carmee with his hat At the Station House , Mr . R . Newton and Mr . Boyle -Were very >" iibonlerly , to that before the charge could be taktn they vrere obliged to be plac-d in a all . They p-ullc-j the pens out of the sergeant ' s hands -while taking dovrr . the charge : called the police rogues r . nd Tasabonfls saving they wanted to rob them ; and the defendant , Goldsmith , swore if the police attempted to lay bold of tim ha -would knock them torn . They "wtrc all int&xicated .
' Cieri , a y ^ lice sergeant , T 15 deposed that -when brought to tie station the defenuants , R . N ' ewtun ana : he groom , refused to set out &f ihe pfcRton , but a ' last more constables were procured , and they -were dragged out . In the Etation-house they aH impeded tht chzxz , v beir . 3 taien by every means in Lbeir power , a : ui c ^ . Ile 4 him and the other constables all the foul name-s they cci ^ d lay thei r tongues to . "VVhan locked up in the cells , a little wicket-door was left o : en for air . when seeice a female cross the yard , they called her
a , and used other insulting words to her , after ¦ rc'hich they ! nn ' * .- ? d catcall and the cries of i . yi : ^ persons , besides hallooing out " murder" with all their might ; and at last , Eeeing the wife of the inspector pissing a windu" *? of the stition-house , they ru .-ule use of the most beastly and disgusting language , so that the female inmates of the station were c » mpt' ! lecl to be removed to ano ' . hc-r part of the premises , but an immense crotrd remnined collected round the station until part ten o'clock . ot the
• Mr . R >" c ^ tt , n inquired why som e femble ¦ wb o were so acoshed had not been produced . The fact was , that the principal damage done was to his own phss' . on , and no disturbance would have happaned had aot the p .-liceman , Smith , jumped into the carriage and Etruck L ' m twice over ; he snn , and abused him . ' Smith instantly i / enied that statement , and several respectable inhabitant on their oaths declared thrt there was not a word of truth in what Mr . R . Xewtor . had stated , and passed a warm euloginm on the j-olice for the temper and forbearance they displayed -under the insults and blows they received .
' The bench Baid the line of defence adopted by the defendants had more than anything convinced thsm of ! the truth cf the whole of the evidence against them , and the bench ih . en withdrew to another room to de-: liberate whether thty shou' d not at once commit the 1 defendants to hard labour in the Hous * of Correction for a menth , and , after ac absence of an Lour , on their : return in : o court , Mr . Biiilie said the bench had convicted the whole ef the defendants of the charges made against them . They had dune so after a most lengthened and patient investigation , and , being desirous of , administering the law without reference to the parties bftingrichorpooT . he hadhesitat » d for sometime , audhad ¦ very unwillingly given way , hia intention baTiBg been ' to commit each of them to the House of Correction for ¦ one month . Under the supposition , however , that i they were gentlemen , and moving in that station of I society in which such a punishment would be a slur
' upon them daring their fnttrre lives , he had consented 1 to the infliction of penalties , and the decision of the I "beach was , that Mr . ' Raymond Newton pay a fine of ' ¦ forty shillings for furious driving , oi one month's im-! prisonment ; also £ o for assaulting the policeman ' ¦ Smith , or one month ; £ 5 for the assault on pohceuum j Travis , or one month ; and forty shillings for disorderly ¦ conduct at the station , or one month . John Goldsmith , i for assaulting Mr . Ayres , £ 5 , or one month ; £ 5 for assaulting policeman Keywood , or one month ; and i forty shillings for improper conduct at the Station , j or one month . Ricfeard Boyle , forty shillings for ! assaulting policeman Keyword , or one mouth , and twenty shillings for kis conduct at the Station-house , ! or one month ; aad Mr . Henry Newton forty shillings , or one month , for disorderly conduct at the Stationboose . They had made a difference in the case of ill . Henry Newton , but tbey considered Mr . Raymond
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Newton ' s conduct well deserving of a committal to the House of Correction . Mr . B . Newtbs immediately pulled oat a roll of Bank of England notes , and paid the whole of the fines , &atoutiagtoi £ 3 l / "The Magistrate firsfc proclaims hia desire to administer the law without reference to the conditions of the parties , buiin the fery next breath he , says , that as they are gentlemen , he has been induced reluctantly to consent to the -infliction of a pen ^ ty He thus plainly avows that he distinguishes between rich and poor , against Mb sense of duty . But he is induced to deriate from his first intention to do even iustioe . by the consideration that imprisonment in
the House of Correction would be a elur on them for the rest of their lires . Aad if they had been poor men , or humble men depending on their characters for their bread , would not imprisonment have been a slur , and would the Magistrate have hesitated to inflict the merited punished , because it would carry with it the equally merited elur ! "To a poor man imprisonment is a far greater punishment than to a rich man . Imprisonment deprives a poor man of the exercise of his industry , and when he comes out of a gaol he finds that his place has been filled np , and the fact that he is come ont of a prison is a bar to his employment . The labouring man ' s imprisonment , moreover , is
tantamount to a fine of the amount of what his earnings would have been had he remained at liberty . But what Magistrate hesitates to commit the poor man to gaol because of the slur on his character , or the pecuniary damage attendant on his confinement ! The poor are told that if they commit offences , they must take the consequences , however ruinous they may be . To the rich another measure is dealt out . The Magistrate tells them what they have deserved , and he tells them that they shall not suffer what they have deserved , because the due punishment carries a slur with it . Why , the slur is as much what they deserve as the gaol . The slur is the due consequence of their conduct .
" For the full beauty of the Magisterial discrimination in the case before us , the groom should have been sent to take the slur of the House of Correction , while the master was indulgently let off with the tine . " As if with the desire to blazon the partiality of the judgment , thof Magistrate concluded most emphaticall y tnat one of the prisoners well deserved committal to the House of Correction , and so saying , he awarded the pecuniary penalties , so far short of the declared due punishment . The gentleman hereupon pulled out a roll of bank-notes , and paid for his
amusement in riot as he would have paid ungrudgingly for any indulgence for which he had a whimthirty pounds' worth of outrage . Had he been a labourer the fines would have taken the coat from his back , the bread from bis mouth , and sent his bed to the broker ' s ; or the imprisonment would have deprived him of the twelfth of his yearly earnings , and thrown his family on the parish . The fine to the gentleman , so indulgently spared the slur of the due punishment , is but a trifle taken from his means , and is paid with the zest of triumphing by force of wealth over justice .
" Let us turn to another example of law for the rich . w A person of great wealth is apprehended for a horrible offence . Mr . Jardine , of Bow-street , after hearing the evidence , said—* He had no observations to make about the charge , or the evidence in support of it . but to require bail , which would be in proportion to the prisoner ' s station in life , and that was , himself in £ 2 () f , and bis sureties £ 10 * each , to answer the charge at the next sessions of the Central Criminal Court ' " A poor miscreant in such a case would have been unable to find bail , and would have remained fast in the hands of iustioe ; the rich one will joyfully
give the £ 200 for his escape to the Continent . Dirt cheap to him is such a price for his impunity . And in requiring sureties so preposterously small and inadequate , the magistrate had the effrontery to talk of proportioning the bail to the prisoner ' s station in life . The accused , who has before been under the same charge , had , indeed , pretended that he was a servant , but he afterwards confessed that he was a gentleman of large fortune , and the magistrate was informed of his real name and condition . But at Bow-street , as in Brentford , there is doubtless a desire to spare the slur—that ip , in the case of the riah . "
We fully join in every sentence of the well-expressed indignation of the Examiner , at the infamous preference of the rich over the poor , evidently given by the administration of the law . But the different use we make of such instances of gross injustice is this : — The Examiner rates the magistrates and reprobates the practice ; we would go further : we use such facts as these as arguments for the necessity of that organic change , which by placing in the hands of the people a power over the law , will at the same time give them a wholesome and necessary controul over the appointment , and continuance in office of its administrators . So much for administration . But we maintain that the evil is not merely administrative : that the law itself is vicious and defective . We think this
is proved sufficiently by our contemporary s reasoning , in which he shews clearly , that the alternative offered to the rich man of evading punishment for money , is at once an indemnity for crime ; and , in fact , a premium upon its commission . Whatever alternative might be offered to poor men , Uo whom fines are really heavy punishments , and in the case of whom , incarceration often inflicts more punishment on a helpless and innocent family , than on the individual offender . ) it is clear that in the case of the rich offender , no alternative for personal punishment can be defended upon any just grounds of reason or argument . It is only in a sense of degradation or in actual privation that punishment
consists ; neither of which are inflicted upon the man who can pull out a roll of Bank of England notes to pay Sues amounting to £ 31 . Money is to him a mere nothing , and is paid , as our cotemporary well observes , ungrudgingly for the amusement , as he would pay for any other indulgence for which he had a whim . It is but a trifle taken from his means , and is paid with the zest and the air of triumph . There is no privation iu the matter . And for the sense of degradation we find that in the shameless assertion of the scoundrel before the Magistrate , that the principal damage done was to Li 3 own pli « t , on ; indeed to talk of any moral Bense of degradation affecting such doubly-depraved brutes as these and like specimens of " rank and breeding , " is just as ridiculous as to talk of £ b . being an adequate punishment for
; their effence agaiust society . The end of all pumsh' ment is the reclamation of the criminal , and the : restoring of him to hi 3 forfeited place in society ' ¦ by the correction of his evil habits . This can never j be effected in such cases as the present one , so j ' . oug as the law provides the odious alternative i which enables the rich blackguard to purchase its violation for money . i Not i week passes in which we may not notice ! numerous instances of like infamous partiality in ! the dealing out of justice , and it will never 1 be otherwise mini thuso who , as a class , are made t to suffer thu oiious distinction , through the power ' ¦ of the other c . i-i Jo mak ^ , as well as to administer 1 the law ? , . ¦¦ hall il jtcrmino to blot out the effjet , so disgraceful to humanity , by overpowering tho cause .
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A SEW MOVE AND A GOOD ONE . \ Tho following appears in the Morning Chronicle j of Friday : — " Wo learn tluit a ntynber of large and influential ! spinners and manufacturers had a meeting at Mani tLtstfer on Tuesday last , to consider the propriety of withdrawing their business from all merchants and brok-. rs in Liverpool who give their support to pro corn
law members of Parliament ; and that they came to the conclusion that such a course would be quite justifiable , and tlat they saw no reason for giving business to those ¦ who were doing their best to deprive , theni of tlitir means of living—no leasonfor increasing the wealth of tbvse ¦ who were reducing them to poverty . An- 'Ltr meeting cf tlie spinners and manufacturers of tLe town and neightwiubood of Manchester was tixtd fur Tuesday next , . " or the further considering the matter , and carrying it into Lffect . "
i Such are tne means resorted to by " the plague " for the carrying of their measure and the punching , of their opponents . < We congratulate , the Chronicle upon the new light j which has dawned upon it along with tho Baronetcy , j and the electoral intimation that the Whigs must " budge . " The " Bloodies" are now made to practice one of ' , their own favourite maxims : the late " guardians " ¦ of the Royal Workhouse are thrown upon their own | resources . And pretty pranks some of them seem ! disposed to play ! One hoists the red flag of i defiancewith the motto—** BREAD OR BLOOD V
, i Another gently intim&tea that the stature of Dr . ! Hook ' s wife and danghters might be redueed by
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loppiWp i £ Mjeir heads '; . w ^ jpf ^ f ^ ??**? ^« be £ tly Jisposed , of by being- ^ i » Uert ! WQngh ; tta dirt . " Hints like these are dwbtleBS valorous } , bnt as they havtf the merit of coming from ifibso Who shoot " privileged , " though poisoned arrows , from behind a screen , so they have the advantage of being ineffiedttae * from the characteristic cowardice of factiOff . - fhe ^ plagtae" men have no stomach for such ^ Ime ^ ut 'liko ^ of their nature in afornUeas hazardous . The ;
determine not to kill the Tories , but to prevent them from beifij ; able to . Ute . Vf fejpi ^ " ^^ 1 b the order ef the day * No / tory shall tough our money say the "plague" men . Of course , the coin has a reveree ; and the " move" will be met by the "friends of agrionltnre ' >' wiih a " counter move . " Thus , the beaten factions , finding that neither of them can longer gull the people , resolve , like Kilkenny eats , to worry one another . "Go it , gentlemen ! " we say ; and see that you do your work well .
Carry out your system of exclusive dealing ; make failures and bankruptcies to occur wherever and to what extent you please ; remembering always that this plum will suit a Chartist pudding just as well as a Whig one ; and that if you should find ( as we sincerely hope you will ) the people resolved to treat yon as yon treat each other , you will have no reason to complain . If to withdraw your business from all merchants and brokers who support Pro-Corn Law Members be justifiable , and if there be no reason for increasing the wealth of those who are reducing you to poverty , the same reasoning will surely justify
those whom you not only are reducing , but have reduced to poverty , in following your example . We have long reasoned in like manner with the people , but have never yot been able to induce the " level * ling , " " property-hating" Chartists to apply the reasoning practically . We do sincerely hope that now when our advice has been taken , and acted upon by the manufacturers and cotton spinners of Manchester , and when not only the expediency of such a course of procedure , but its justice , has been declared by such high authority , the whole of the " workies" will go and do likewise .
Let our readers weigh well this movement on the part ot " the Plague ; " for it is fraught with instruction of the most important kind . These gentlemen , " all honourable men , " of course , deem it just and right to withdraw their custom from all those merchants and tradesmen who voted at the late election for pj o-Corn Law candidates at Liverpool , * and , of course , the same principle will be carried out all through the kingdom ; and why I Because th « se said candidates were supporting measures detrimental to the general interests of the oountry 1 No ! but because the Cora L * m are
opposed to the individual interests of the said manufacturers and cotton spinners . Now we don't find fault with this ; but we say that | the Chartists have a better plea for commencing and carrying out the system of exclusive dealing than these gentry even pretend to have ; for the interests of the Chartists are not those of a party , or a faction , but of the whole people ; and we advise them at once to set about the work , and resolve that they will support no man by their countenance or custom who voted for candidates of either Whig or Tory at the late
memorable contest . They have a right to take this step and it will not only be perfectly just in them to do bo , but it will be manifestly unjust both to themselves , their families , and their country , if they neglect to do so . We have told them so , repeatedly , and we tell them so again . It is only through their pockets that the brains and feelings of the shopooracy can be approached , and this mode of attack should be commenced without delay , and persisted in till our just and inalienable rights be restored and seoured by the enactment of our glorious Charter .
It is , however , in vain that we thus urge the working classes to adopt the means of securing their political and social redemption , unless the people will become united and organised . By union and organisation everything not only may but must be gained ; without them nothing . Man must stand by man , family by family , and town by town ; and then the tyrants will quail before us . Let well-organised Joint Stock Societies be instantly established in every locality , and let no man be dealt with but such as give good reasons for their being tried and consistent friends of the people . Capital is all in
all in this oountry , and whence does that capital come , but from the labour of the working men ! You work hard , and your earnings are carried to support those who would visit upon you and your children the chains of an everlasting slavery . This must not continue . Reason , Christianity , patriotism and common sense alikeforbid it . Unite , organise , and put the profits now realised by the retail dealerthe wretch who sells the interests of his best customers at the bidding of the tyrant—into your own pockets . Thus will you create capital for yourselves , as you are now doing it for your oppressors .
Immense advantages would aecruo from a real national organisation , such as that we recommend . Such an organisation , firmly bound together by common laws and common interests , and carefully worked so as to secure public and general confidence , would enable the whole power of tho whole people to be brought at almost a moment ' s notice to bear upon any given subject towhich it might bo desirable to apply it ; audsucn a power so constituted , and so operating , would be irresistible . It would be the death note of faction , and tho subjugation of despotism . The paltry wretches who now dare to
insult tho people , and to endeavour to stifle the voice of public opinon , would bo made to feel their insignificance , and to hide themselves in the dust of their own meanness . Let the operatives in every town and village meet and form an Association , tho members of which shall pledge themselves to deal with no tradesman who will not pledge himself to support , by his vote and influence , Chartist candidates at the next general election . Let this be done throughout the kingdom , and the nest House of Commons will give us the Charter .
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THE " TORCH AND DAGGER" CRY . In another page wo give the letter of" a Repealer " to the Tuam Herald , iu which we find this passage : — " The grand let and obstacle to the amalgamation of the O'Conneilites and the O'Connorites is the oftenrepeated , but as often denied , charge of the torch and dagger . Let tUls one article be erased from the political creed of the Chartists , and both parties can then join hands , and proceed unitedly in the great work of political regeneration . "
Now , while we would shrink from any alliance with Mr . O'Connell with a strong feeling of abhorrence , we believe that many , very many , of his deluded followers are honest patriots , with whom it would give us heartfelt pleasure to join hands . And we have no doubt that the writer of this letter may be one of them . What , then , is the obstacle The writer says , it ia the " torch and dagger" doctrino of the Chartists . But then he admits that the Chartists repudiate this doctrine—that they deny it
and disown it . Then why persist in attributing it to them , if he be sincurely desirous to bring about a uaiou ? Why , above all things , persist in doing so , without offering proof ? He says , " Let this one article be erased from the political creed of the Chartists , and bosh parties can then join hands . " But how is it to , be erased if no credence is to be given to the Chartist disclaimers , and if the senseless cry is to be received as gospel , without proof or evidence , every time that the "Liberator" chooses to assert it .
No man knows better than Mr . O'Conneia that this never was au article of the Chartists' creed ; that the Chartists have uniformly and always deprecated it ; and that it has never been holden by any appertaining to the Chartist ranks who have not been subsequently disowned . Mr . O'Connem , is the oldest living advocate of the "Torch snd Dagger " doctrine , aud he still deals in it more largely than any other man . From him it was borrowed by the
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Birmingham fra jtoi ' s , who made the war , of Sootland tor ^ e jl muskets "of . the right sort" for 1 ^ . 6 dM mud whose adherents talked of "Mosoowing " England . With them the physical force mania of their Very few followers originated , and with their expulsion from the ranka by the just voice of popular indignation it died away , and has . never since , been heard of , save as f t bugbear cry in the mouth of O'Conhell and his clique to frighten the Irish people from examining the prinoiplea ! of Chartism , which they know would be the death of Humbug , and the destruction of the ** Rint Roll /* The assertion that theChartistB hold "physical force" doctrines , Is as false as is the assertion of O'Connkll at his "Loyal Royal" meeting the
other day , that « No man conld read five or six of Feargua O'Connor ' s papers without perceivings direct incitement of the people to agnominate him . " Large numbers of the Northern Star go weekly into Ireland ; and they tell their own story of the M assassination , " and the * torch and dagger" doctrines . Tho truth ifl , Dan knows , though his dupes do not , that Fbargus O'Connor and the Chartists would give the people of Ireland Repeal , which would spoil his trade of talking about it .
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MR . ROEBUCK , THE TIMES , AND THE NEW POOR LAW . On Monday , Mr . Roebuck gave notice that whenever the House should go into Committee on the Poor Law Amendment Continuation Bill , he should move that the Board of Commissionera be abolished , and that all the powers exercised by them which might be considered requisite to the working of the measure , should he transferred to the Secretary of State for the Home Department .
If we could have been surprised ai anything m the form of inconsistency coming from Mr . Roebuck , we should surely have been surprised at this . If we had any doubt of the justice of our suspicions that this Hon . Gentleman is waiting the chances of the market , the homage to the worst principles of Toryism contained in this motion would have gone far to the removal of that doubt , and to the satisfying of us that the " fair trial" which the Hon . and learned gentleman , declared himself determined to give to the new Tory Government was , in reality , a Mr trial whether his services might be thought
worthy of " a consideration . " Essentially despotic , arbitrary , and unconstitutional , as the New Poor Law is , we know but one improvement necessary to make it perfeot in iniquity , and that is just the improvement suggested by the Honourable Member for Bath . In its present form there is a sort of show—a kind of an appearance—of responsibility about the Cerberus in chief to whom its administration is deputed . That there is more of appearance than reality in the responsibility of which the Commisioners boast in their report , we are perfectly aware .
We adopt fully the sentiment and language of the Times , that with a strong cvrpa of dependent Assistants , whose manifest interest in framing exculpatory statements is not greater than the eagerness of a collusive Home-office to receive them , the alleged responsibility of the chief officials is really an insulting farce . Remonstrant boards of guardians have ever found it so . A more unmitigated and unchal-Iengable despotism than the Commissioners have uniformly exercised , clothed in the forms of legalized power , has never benn practised in any free country . "
That , however , which has never existed Mr . Roebuck , in his anxious devotednesss to public liberty , would fain bring into existence . He would throw off the mask and expose the Gorgon head ; and that which is now in its exercise an unohallengable despotism , through the collusion of the Home-office , he would make a pure , naked , and legally established despotism in the person of the Home Secretary .
It commonly happens , however , that anxious waiters upon Providence are too eager in their assuidities , aud Mr . Roebuck forms no exception to the rule . He has pushed the bar too far , and the Tories wont follow . The Times in commenting upon the Honourable Member ' s motion describes it as " in every respect an exceptionable one ; " and takes occasion to treat Mr . Roebuck and his proffered "fair trial" with a superciliousness that has roused that gentleman ' s sensitiveness to a pitch little short of boiling . The Times article appeared on Wednosday ; and , in a fuss , on the same evening , comes Mr . Roebuck to
the House of Commons , with the Times paper in his hand , exclaiming , " See , Mr . Speaker , what a shame , the Times calls me a Chartist and a one shilling gentleman 1 " and insisting on his right to bring the printer of the Times upon his knees before the House , and to horsewhip Mr . Walter . No doubt , it was very vexing to find proffered service thus rejected ; and it must have been very pleasing to Mr . Roebuck , after the kicking of the Times , to find himself laughed at by the House , of which not one Member agreed with him in opinion that its privileges had been at all violated by the " thunderer's" civilities .
We certainly think the attack on Mr . Roebuck in the Times was somewhat personal and scurrilous , and we thiuk Mr . Roebuck well deserved it ; not for his occasional interruptions of Tory Members in their diatribes , bat for the intimation , roundly given both in this notice of motion , and in his previous conduot on Mr . Crawford ' s motion , of a reudinczs to swallow his professions of all liberal sentiments , to give popular freedom the go-by , and to uphold despotism in its worst form . For this reason , we think Mr . Roebuck deserves all the abuse of the Times ; and for a-like reason we think the Times deserves all tho abuse of Mr
Roebuck ; of which , in his breach of privilege speech , it came in for no small Bhare . Arcades ambol Mr . Roebuck , on tho accession of a Tory Ministry , would sacrifice his hitherto unvarying support of the New Poor Law to an " improvement " in its constitution , couched in the pure spirit of despotism . The Times , on the other hand , seems not unwilling to abate considerably the strength of its hitherto unwavering opposition to the Poor Law , because of the same circumstances . We hear no more from the Times of a tearing of it from the Statute Book , of its utterly unconstitusional
character , of its anti-christian principle , of the impossibility of patching or amending it , and the necessity of its entire repeal and a return to the 43 d . of Elizabeth . Instead of all this , the Times now tells the Now Homo Secretary " on taking an intelligent retrospect of the larger experience which the country has now had of that law ' s objc 6 tionable character , may not be wholly indisposed , to remodel its structure , and to mitiyate its frightful rigours . " Very gentle language this for the Times
in reference to the New Poor Law ! We beg , however , to assure both Mr . Roebuck and the Times that no trimming policy , on either side , or by either party , shaU avail them . The time has gone by for it . The people are awake ; they know that their " privileges" have been invaded , and they will make b-: rth Whigs , Tories , and sham-Radicals to answer it with fear and trembling , and that speedily !
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7 THE FORCED ALLY . If anything could enhance the value of O'Connor to the people , it must be the terror he excites in both the factions , and the anxiety of each to fasten him on the other . On his first release , our neighbour Mercury , with hia accustomed accuracy and suavity , consigned "him to the Tories , whom , he supposed him to have just come in time to help to triumph over the common enemy , the dastard Whigs . In this day ' s ( Thursday's ) Morning Herald , we find the following elegant morceau , which we cannot withhold from our readers : —
Feargus O'Connor and the Whigs . —( From a Correspondent . )—The assigned cause for liberating Feargus O'Connor before his period « f incarceration in York Castle had expired was , that his health was so seriously affected that a longer confinement would have , perhaps , proved fatal to him ; yet , notwithstanding the alleged plea of ill-health , we find him , withiu a day or two after his liberation , with his stentorian lungs unimpaired , spouting , for three hourg at a stretch , to his disoiplea , at the Crown aud Anchor in the Strand . 'Tis true , that the Whigs might have been deceived
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-rtfiat toe ywrqmB op isorm&Dby might < h&v < j eon . posed the agitator t w | k 8 in ' dangerous health f but there is a story current that Feargus was ' let out ' just in the very nidt'eFtimeyby the defunct Cabinet upon the express understanding that he should do his best , throughout the country , in ' agitating 1 against the Administration of Sir Robert Peel , a * i ia stirring up the Chartists for the parpose « of annoy , ing , if not crippling , the Conservative Govern . ment . This rumour may or may not be truewe know that the . fallen faction are capable of almost anything ; but we can hardly Biv *
them credit for an ' arrangement , ' , the details of which can only be known to the liberated Chartist and his newly-acquired patrons . Of coursa O'Connor , to keep , up ' decent appearances' wm not fail , occasional ; , to bespatter the Whigs . The last two or three .. nem » ' of disbursement of the secret-service money would be worth a Jew ' s eye to have a peep at . The Whigs once had O'Connor in their clutches . Let them take care he does not entrap them into Au . The old * Newgate dodge' of * Honour among 3 t thieves , ' , may cot pass current upon this occasion . " . ¦ c < .-.. . ' ¦>
We esteem these the most honourable testimonials that could be borne to the \ character of the peopled champion . And we are quite Bure the people will think so too .
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We regret ranch that we cannet persuade our friends practically to observe the very clear and plain Qi . rections which we have so often given and repeated about the sending of matter for tho Star . The ex . tent of our circulation obliges us to go to press « a Thtnrsday afternoon ; and , therefore , our friend * seem to think thai if their communications reach tu by Thursday morning it is quite won enough . This Is a great mistake . They should remember that every word of the paper has to be put together by single letters , and the whole space filled before tra can go to press , asd it is impossible to do this in one forenoon . Our men ore busily employed ia filling up the paper with matter which , from one source or other , we aiust supply during the who , '«
week , and it seldom happens that more than one or two columns , besides the necessary space for editorial comment , remain to be filled on Thorsdav morning . This shews the importance and necessity f all matters" of news , occurrences of the move , ment , reports of meetings , && , being sent to us at qnce , immediately they occur . Instead of which , it often happens , that on Monday and Tuesday we have scarcely any letters , and on Wednesday con . parattoely few till the nigtA post arrives . Km craseqdence is , that those letters which do arrive io the early part ot the week ate carefully attended to and given generally at length ; while we are obliged to have recourse to the London papers , and variotu sources , for matter to . fill the remaining portion
of se many columns of tne paper as must be let Dp before Wednesday night Wednesday sight and Thmeday morning ' s po » te bring us a shoal of letter ) from all parts of the country ; these come npon tu just ia the hurry of writing and Attending to -what are called the ieadlog articles ; while in the early part of the week we have more time to attend to correspondence . The consequence is that one half of these letters are passed over entirely ; and the other half sompreMed into the smallest possible amount of space—and the next consequence is , that in the following Week we bare letters of complaint from various parties afotit their comnunications being treated with neglect . Some whose letters or reports may have been omitted for
want of space , refer occasionally to the police reports—the column of " varieties , " or some other portion of the contents of the 2 nd , 3 rd , Stb , or 7 th pages of the paper , which are always set up first—and ask indignantly if their communication was lees important than such or such a thine which appeared in the same paper from "which it was excluded " for want of space "—othen accuse us of partiality and unfairness in cutting down their reports to a mere annoucement , while those of other towns are given at greater length We have had many most angry letters of this description , the cause for which has rested entirely ¦ with the parties themselves . Now if our friends will bnt bear in mind that we are filling np
the paper every day ; that the same column cannot be filled twice over ; that we must give oat such matter as tee have just when the hei want it , or there would be no Star on Saturday , and that therefore we cant wait for the next post—we must go on ; if they woald remember all this , and send their communications promptly —in the early part of the week—all would stand a fair and a good chance ; and if they would also remember that we have only one weekly paper foi all England , Scotland , Ireland , and Wales , and that , therefore , no one place can be allowed to monopolize an unreasonable portion of the paper ,
we should have no complaints of inattention to any party—because we know there would be no ground for them . Oar anxious desire 1 b to make the Star a truly national organ , equally representing all ; but we cannot 3 « this unless the country will aid us rightly in the sending of their matters of communication . The above remarks apply , of ceurse , to news , facts , meetings of the people , Chartist intelligence , kc Original papers , letters to the Editor , personal correspondence , poetry , fee ., must be here at the beginning of the week , or we shall not held oar * selves bound even to notice them .
Daniel O'Connell has denounced the Rechabik Order . He says no one can be a RechaUU without being guilty of a transportable offence . Lobd FiiZHABDiNGE Behkeley has written to tht Morning Herald denying that he is the nobleman alluded to by Jumus , whose letter toe gave lad , week . T . C . Spencer wishes to call the attention of Mr , Bairstow to the village of Ticknall , in Derbyshire one mile from Melbourne ; a thickly populated village in which the banner of Chartism has not
yeH been erected . Wesley an Methodism . —Can any friend lend us a copy ef the Minutes of the last Wesleyan Cot ference , and furnish us with a list of the sub scribers , and the sitms subscribed respectively , io the Wesleyan Centenary Fund ? Victim Fund . —Thomas Otossley wishes us to sag that the Chartists of Sowerby have sent to Mr . Shorrocks £ 1 Is ., being 12 s . from themselves , and 9 s . from a few friends at Soyland Mills . A Chartist , but no Revolutionist . —We have no
room . L . D . — We cannot give a certain opinion upon ill , much depends upon the usages of the country . But we think that if he can prove the hirinq hi would command the ujages . J . Buckley , Ashton . — We have no room for hb poetry . ¦ ¦ Bosto . n ' . —The . Boston Radicals write its that they art anxious to join the National Charter Association , and much desire a lecturer to visit them for tht purpose of organising them . We commend them to the attention of the Executive . J . J ., Grenock . —His Temperance Story will not su \
Ui . T . Peaifield . —His lines are delined . . A Consta . vi Reader , Stokesley . —We do not , in tm absence of Mr . O'Connor , undertake to ansicer legal questions , or to give advice thereon , ^ ff . as we can judge from his statement , we sAoiim think his chance of success in any action very . small ; and if even he did succeed , we fear tht expences would more than swallow up all « rf gains . O'Connor ' s Liberation . —The reports from Burnleg Sutton-in-AnhJield , and several other places , of the proceedings on the 30 / ft of August , are a lilti *
stale : they should have been sent last week . ^ John Williams writes to congratulate Mr . O'Connor on his release , and in doing so remarks that the Charter can never become a panacea for the ills of the country without an issue of royal or national inconvertible paper money , which shall be a legal tender for the amount for which it is drawn . Belfast , Ikehnd . —Papers for Robert JSPGlashm arc to be directed to No . 38 , Bank-lane . Belfast —The rules and regulations next week . GiiACCHus . — We admire his patriotism more than ha
poetry . W . X . —His verses next week . Joseph George , Warjiinster . —We do not think he need fear the prosecution for libel . If his state-. ment wax true , the wretches will not venture on it : if otherwise , they will not think it worth their white . However , if the prosecution doet come , he can , of course , subpeena as witnesses , tn support of his allegation , all the parties named in his letter , and any others who know anything about it , though it will depend upon the kind of ¦ prosecution ( whether civil or criminal ) whetntf their evidence may be received by the Court . Thomas Mitton . —None can regret more than vie & the " bickerings" and contentions which occasion ' ally rise among individuals of the Chartist body . And what we regret most is , that persons professing Chartist principles , and avowing an anxietv to see those principles practically
recognised in the State , should act inconsistently twft their own principles by taking any steps to weaken the force of llwse united energies tchtcn are ail necessary to bur cause . Such mutt necessarily be the effect of all sectional movements apA separate societies having the * same avowed object as Ike National Charter Associalion , biit not & > operating with it . It is a loosening of the only bond wherein our strength lies , and must , therefore , produce the most painful excitement in tht minds of ( til such honest Chartist , especially jj resident in the locality , as take this view oftht subject . However much , therefore , we may regret the "intemperate language" and " personality" complained of by Thomas Mitton , we cannot less regret the injudioiousness—to sap iw best of it—which dictated the formation of tn * society agaiust which he describes it to have been fulminated .
The Northern Star Saturday, September 11, 1841.
THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 11 , 1841 .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 11, 1841, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct396/page/4/
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