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TilE JNORTHERIN STAE. SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 1842.
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8Ta Mzatiete anlr Correaaomrents^
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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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O'BRIEN ON THE MIDDLE CLA . 55 E 5 . SCHEMES OF RELIEF-UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE—RICH AND POOR . - We are on tbe eve of great changes . The present system is -worn oat , and must give way . Every reasoning man admits this . Ask any one whose station or experience gives turn the means of knowing what is going on in society , and he will tell yon . that the present order of things cannot continue . At the same time , while all agree that great changes most take place , there is no limit to conjectures &s to what those cfeaages are to be , and still less are people agreed on what they eught to be . Every " Statesman " has his own pocket code , and every political quack has his own favowite nostrum . One man is for H Equitable Adjustment" another for " An action on
the Currency" a third for abolishing Tithes and Lorn Laws , a fourth for sac a . & reduction in the government expenditure and public establishments of the country as woeld greatly diminish taxation , without impairing ptblic credit , ' a fifth for the rubstitation of & graduated property tax , in lieu of the present anomalena and expensive system of indirect taxation , a sixth for giving to manufactures the same artificial protection that agriculture derives from the Com Bill , Kiz , a tariff of protecting duties , a seventh is for the r-everse of this , his motto being ** a free trade , based on a free trade in corn" ^ an -eighth , is lor mortgaging the poor ' s rate , and shipping off the " surplus population" to Canada or to Van Diemen ' * Land ; a ninth for raising a -capital by
Joans or the issue of Exchequer Bills , and thereby locating the poor on the waste lands ; a tenth is for breaking np all monopolies , and throning , open the trade to India , by which aeans we are graved assured * that the National Debt may be paid off in eight years , out of the surplus profits of trade ; an eleventh laughs all these to scorn , as so many ricketty abortions , and maintains that all sehemes for ameliorating our condiuon must end in smoke , so long as the principle of competition governs society , —and that the only remedy for all evil is , the universal substitution , throughout
society , of the co operative for the competitive system , A twelfth , a thirteenth , a fourteenth—and so on to the end of the chapter—are for other and rarioas remedies , differing from one another in shade and degree , according to the different views and interests of the parties , bat almost all reducible to some modification of composition of those already enumerated . In this vortex of opinion , the readers of the Guardian will naturally ask what clue we would lecommend to guide them out " of this labyrinth of mazes , and restore them to the region of sunshine and safety- !— Our answer is ,
UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE 1 That is the only remedy we can understand—the © nly one we deem worthy the attention of the ¦ working classes . With the solitary exception of eooperatiqn , all the above schemes would ( unless accompanied by Universal Suffrage ) only aggrandize one class of non-producers at the expence of another , while , in the long ruD , they would leave the producing man just ¦ where they found him and as to co-operation , we deem its application utterly impracticable under the existing laws , or under any form of government other than a government of the people . A complete revolution of manners must precede any successful attempt at general happiness : —and this revolution must , as necessarily , be preceded bj an equality of rights , based on Universal Suffrage . The rich have no sympathy or
fellowfeeling with the poor . They never had any , and never can have any . The hL-tory of the world prores this to be the ease—and common sense shows it must be so , ¦ without the evidence of history . A xich man is a man who enjoys himself , while the poor man is toiling for Mm . From infancy he has been brought np to idleness and to certain artificial wants , which cannot be gratified without great toil and privation en the part of somebody . Now , as he ¦ will neither bear toil and privation himself , nor 10 without hiss expensive luxuries , it is plain he m « Bt have somebody io toil for him . But how is he to accomplish this , since every one thinks it quite enough to work for his own wants ! It is plain he can effect it but in one way , and that is , by usurping the whole power of law-making , to the exclusion of the poor man .
By virtue of this usurpation he first establishes dominion over the land ; and having once obtained this , he finds very liule difficulty in extending if to the capital and productive industry of the country . Once in possession of a power over these , it . seed 3 no penetration to see that he will never let go Ms grip oa the labours of the poor map , so long as the laws are strong enough to enforce his claim . He will give the latter jnst so mneh of the produce of his own earnings as will keep him alive , and able to go on prodacing ; or , which is the same thing , he ¦ will continue in existence only such laws and institutions as will nave this tendency . He will have laws of entail to transmit the land to his own heirs , and laws of usury to enable the capitalist to keep adding to his capital out of the labour of those he proscribes . In short , the laws and insti tations of the rich man will have no other object in view than to keep himself rich , and the . poor man the
poor ; or , in other words , to ^ keep poor man m such a state of dependence for his daily bread , that to exist at all he must oe content to produce ten or twenty shillings worth of luxuries for the rich man , before he is permitted to enjoy a shilling ' s worth of necessaries for himself . This being the case , then , ( and who will gainsay it ?} how absurd to think of forming co-operative communities under the existing laws ! The object of Bach communities being to establish for the workman dominion over the fruits of hiB labour , and consequently to cut away the ground from under tbe feet of the upper and middle classes , is any bofly fool enough to imagine that these classes would not employ their present exclusive power of law-making to . extin > gui&h the new heresy the moment it assumed a practical form 1 Common sense tells us they would not permit it to exist an hour longer than the enactment of a new law , or the formal execution of the old ones , might render necessary .
The case , however , would be quite different under a Parliament radically reformed . Such a Parliament would represent the interests of the workman , as well as of those who devour him ; and as the producers are at least as numerous as ike nonproducers , every institution tending , like co-operative communities , to protect the former from the avarice and ambition of the latter , would be sure to have its due share of legal protection . Besides , ¦ what i 3 of more consequence , a new public opinion ¦ would instantly spring out of Universal Snfirage-The workman raised to the same political level ¦ with his master , would not be longer the cringing
and timid slave he is now—and the rich-man , finding his artificial superiority gone , would be compelled to renounce the callous arrogance of aristocracy , and coun the friendly smile and the good will of his new equals by courtesy and frank manners . In fact , it would be thea his interest to cultivate friendship with those he now despises , for , having no exclusive property in the laws , the best security for his possessions , as well as for his happiness wonld be found in an afuble demeanour towards his poorer fellowcitizens , and a cheerful readiness to co-operate with them in all undertakings for the promotion of public utility , or general happiness .
But as the system works now , he can have no friendly feeling towards the poor man , nor , of course , the poor man towards him . He knows he lires by plundering ihe poor man of the produce of Mb toil , through the agency of the laws , which are hat mstraments 0 / robbery in his hands ; and that the poor man mnst naturally hate him for this injustice . There can , therefore , be no community of feeling or good fellowship bit ween them ; and the man who would preach it , while at tbe same time he advocates the system , is a rank hypocrite , or a wolf in sheep ' s clothing . As well might Ulysses entertain kindly feelings towards Polyphemus , who wanted to eat him , as the EEglish pauper to the lordly tyrants who ontlaw and devour him . The poor have a right to hate the rich , so long as the rich exclude them
from the r ishls of citizenship ; and whatever Lord Brougham ' s magazine may pretend to the contrary , they have also a right to revenge themselves whenever they can get the opportunity . It is not , however , because a man ia rich that ihe poor ought to hate him ( for many of the rich are excellent and . kind-hearted men ) , but because he is anenemy of ihe poor man ' s rights . Every rich mail is not OUT enemy , and therefore every rich man ought not to he hated ; but wherever we can distinguish between our friends and voluntary oppressors , we are justified before God and man in making the latter feel our vengeance in etery possible way we can reach
them r and though Tivers of blood were to flow in the struggle , the guilt could only lie at the doors of those whose aggressive injustice provoked it . Remember , fellow-countrymen , that to strip a man of his rights , is to strip him of his bread—of his clothes —of his ease—of hi 3 comforts—of Ms independence —of his self-esteem—of the power of acquiring knowledge—in short , of all those qualities of mind , heart , and person , which captivate beauty and constitute the charm of exist en oe . Liberty is not a mere sound —it is the meanB , and the only means , of happiness The man , therefore , who deprives his fellow-creatures of liberty , jb worse than a traitor or a murderer , and as such should he be dealt with in the day of retribution .
It may be asked , what danger is there that the middle and influential classes would sanction a military despotism in Englaad f Men who ask eucK questions as these know little of the state of society . Themselves sincere , they fancy that sincerity in the wealthier classes is tberule , and deceit the exception . Alas ! what » delusion ! These classes subsist wholly by lies . The bread they eat is the bread of falsehood—the wine they drink , and the carriages they roll in , are all the offspring of deceit . Their life IB a continued lie , and their language , as taught them from infancy , is that of conventional hypocrisy To live without work , and acquire fortunes out of the * ,. Hr . Backing am .
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labour of othera , is , in their n \ inds , the grand secret aad business of life . Brought np to artificial wants from their cradle—wajits that cannot be gratified without entailing tjx enormouB mass of slavery and misery on those , below them , they look upon every one who would , make a change in favour of the oppressed as theur natural enemy . Aocustomed to the cannibalism of artificial society , and finding , from history , that society has been always the same in principle , they cannot conceive any other state possible . They believe , accordingly , ( those of them who think at all on the subject , ) that men were made \ ike wild animals , to prey upon one another , the strong on the weak—the cunning on the simple—the leaned on the ignorant , &o . ; but
finding , from experience , that the men preyed upon cannot be reconciled te the system by mere brute force , they have invented ten thousand methods of bolstering it up , under the forms of law and custom , which it would take a man his whole life to find ont . Tbe priest , the soldier , 'the hangman , the banker , the iawyer , the exciseman—in short , all who live by the crimes and ignorance of society , are , under divers pretences , hired to prop it up , their salaries being the emoluments derivable from their swindling pursuits ( invented for the purpose ) , and their employers being the ruling powers of the aristocracy , or the great Btate-devourers . Even the shopkeepers and matter manufacturers , amounting ( with their dependants ) to more than six millions of the population , are more or less interested in the system , their business being to buy labour cheap from the poor , and sell it dear to the aristocracy ; they
are immediately dependent on the latter for support . Besides , taken as a body , they are the basest of society . Occupying an intermediate position between the workman and the aristocrat , employing the one and being employed by the other , they insensibly contraet the vices of both tyrant and slave : tyrants to those below them , sycophants to those above them ; and , usurers from necessity and habit , they prey on the weakness of the workman , while they extort all they can from tbe vanity of the aristocrat . Indeed , the middle classes are the destroyers of liberty and happiness in all countries . It is their interest ( under the present form of society ) that the poor should be weak , and the rich extravagant and vain ; and this being the case , the man who expects from them any real opposition to despotism from inclination , must be a fool or a madman . —Bronterre , in the Poor Man ' s Guardian .
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PEEL AND HIS OPPONENTS . THE INCOME TAX AND GENERAL TAXATION . Thb Ministerial projects progress towards completion . The New Corn Bill has been read a third time in the Commons , aid passed . It has been " debated" in the House of Xrords , and the second reading of it carried on Monday night last , by a majority of 102 ; the numbers being For the second reading 119 Against it 17
The resolution on which the Income Tax Bill is is founded , passed in the House of Commons ( Eome Bay by mistake ) without division ; and the bringing up of the Report" that they had so passed , led' to a long debate , which , as was announced in our last number , ended in the reception of the Report by a majority of 106 , and the rejection o ^ little Lord John ' s " amendment , "—the old
exploded contemned spitten-upon Whig Budget of 1841 . On Monday the Bill itself was introduced by the Feemieb ., and on the question of the first reading , little Lord John moved " that it be read that day six months . " This unusual course of opposing a Ministerial Bill in its first stage , led to a lengthy and worfiy discussion , which ended in a division , when it appeared that there
were—For the first reading 285 For little John's amendment ...... 188 Majority for Peel 97 The Tariff has also been reconsidered by the Government , and placed on the table of the House in an amended form . The alterations are not many , nor of much moment . Thus Btand the " measures
of relief" in the House of Commons at the time of our present writing . No doubt . exists in the mind of any . parties but that all the measures will pass into law . They may be slightly modified in their progress through Parliament ; bat it seems to be clearly understood , en every hand , that they will pass mainly in the form and Bhape as introduced by Pbel .
The threatened out-of-doors opposition to the Income Tax has been a signal failure ! Failure was never more complete ! Every effort has been used to get up the steam ; but all to no purpose 1 Where meetings have been holden , care has been taken to have them of the most select character . The getters-up of them have , in no one instance , dared to appeal to the people . And it is in very few places indeed , that even these select meetings have been called ; and where they have been holden , the proceedings have been so dull and tame , and , withal , so horribly selfish , as to have produced no other feelings , even in their own immediate locality but these of ineffable contempt and deep disgust !
How could it be otherwise ? Are not those who have so met and denounced Peel ' s plan of direct taxation been long known as the strenuous supporters of that system which has made the Income Tax of £ ^ 000 , 000 , and the direct taxation of £ 53 , 000 , 000 a-year , necessary ? Have they not been long known « as the violent persecutors of those who wished to do away with that " necessity , " and to reduce our public bnrdens to something like a bearable load ? Have they not raised and yelled onfc the cry of M public robber , " " cheat , "
" spoliator , " "thieP against every one who has proposed to reduce our expenditure , on equitable principles , to the means of the nation to pay \ Have they not been constantly vociferating , thai " national faith must be kept" . ' the army must not be disbanded , or even reduced" ! "the pensions and sinecures , and grants , and allowances must not be interfered with" ! " the salaries and dead
weight must not be reduced" ? J Have they not stoo'd forth on every occasion , and in every manner that insolence and bullying could suggest , to resist even to the death the many and continued efforts of the people to obtain justice in these particulars And is it wonderful that the people who have thus struggled ; the people who have been thus treated ; the people who have marked and experienced the insolent aDd aadacious conduct of the "middle-class-men "
when the "burdens . of the state" were alone upon the . 'houlders of the wealta-producers ; is it wonderful that persons so circumstanced should contemn and despise the selfish ontcries of these same " middle-class men" against the imposition of Peel ' s Income Tax , when they know that the necessity for the measure has been created by the course of conduct so unceasingly pursued by the now sensitively selfish opposers of taxation 11
Is it not shamelessly unjust and outrageously indeceBk , that the " middle classes" should dare to utter one word of complaint against taxation , in whatever shape , or in amount however great 1 Ib it possible to conceive of any thing so repugnant to the principle of fair-play , as the conduct of the " middle-class men" in opposing the imposition of a fax which will affect themselves , when they have mat * tained the iniquitous system which has rendered that tax necessary and jost ?
The opposition however , selfish and shameful as it is , has failed ! The Income Tax will pass ! And then—O then ! for a squeak ! The cry of the poor starved operative for relief from his tremendous Bhare of taxation ; the outry of the producers of wealth against ihe £ 53 , 000 , 000 , will be moderation itself when compared with the vehement denunciations of the " middle classes" against the £ 4 , 000 , 600 !
There is one thing which the people would do well to mark , in connection with this Income Tax . and the amount sought to be raised by it . Wert our Government what it ought to be ; were oui " engagements" what they ought to be ; were all parties disposed to look our difficulties fully and fairly in the face , and to apply the only efficient remedy ; were the Debt equitably got rid of , and the necessity for maintaining a standing army tc collect taxes to pay the interest , superceded ; were the pension list , and the sinecures , and the grants , and
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the allowances unsparingly pruned , as they ought to Ire ; were the salaries of the officers of state reduced to a just and equitable amount ; were those who have the power of taxation in their hands disposed to do justice to the people , the £ 4 , 000 , 000 sought to be raised by the Income Tux would be more than sufficient for all the wants of Government ' . The American Government does hot cost the States three millions stehuk g a yeab ! Why should onrs oofct more 1 What necessity is there for our paying £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year for the Government of England , when the Government of the
United States does not cost £ 3 , 000 , 000 \ Are we better governed I Are we mote powerful , either at home or abroad \ Are we better fed—more secure in our possessions—more comfortable in our several positions 1 The very questions area mockeryM We are not more powerful ; for these same States when comparatively weak , wrested their Independence from us . We are not more powerful ; for these same States , and this-less-tban-three-millions-ayear Government , have , since they forced us to acknowledge their Independence , proclaimed war against , and beaten us ! ! This same people , who
only pay £ 3 , 000 , 000 a-year in taxation , had a navv in 1812 which blew our thundering and "big" one out of the water ; and they had soldiers which drove ours out of their country into the sea ! O , no ! we are not more powerful than they are ! Our £ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year taxation does not enable us to fight better than they can : for they have beaten us twice I Our Government is not more respected at home than their ' s is ; nor are our people better satisfied with their condition under our dear Government . Why then should we pay more 1 and especially why should we pay so enormously
more 1 The fact is always overlooked , that the country governs itself , and pays for its own government , wholly independent of the Government np at London . Each county has a complete government in itself . It has a lord-lieutenant , a sheriff , justices of the peace , and all inferior officers . It has a militia , when the posse of tbe sheriff is found insufficient . It provides for all these by a tax called the countyrate . The counties pay , and pay well too , for the governing of themselves , just as the several States of America do ; and the one county of Lancaster pays mere for that purpose than any four or five of the American States . When the tax-eaters tell us , therefore , and when good , easy , foolish people adopt
the tale , that Goverment must be supported ^ the proper answer is , that the Government is supported in the counties , and in the cities and towns . But what these parties mean by " the Government , " are the fund-holderB , the dead weight , the pensioners , the sinecure-people , the haunters of the clubhouses , and all the swarms of idlers that devour the substance of the nation . These are what the taxeaters mean , when they raise the cry of " National Faith , " and " Government mnst be suppoited . " It is for these that the sum of £ 60 , 000 , 000 sterling a-year is required ^ and it is to keep up these that Peel finds it necessary to resort to the Income Tax , as the best and most equitable means of raising the required amount to pay with .
Tbe main portion « f the business of that which is really " the government of the nation , " being attended to and paid for in the several counties , it follows that there is really very little left for the general government to attend to , or pay for . There is the monarchy and its expenoes ; the officers of state ; the judges ; the ambassadors ; the navy ; and the contingent expences appertaining to this general government . These are all that have to be provided for ; all that are needed . To provide for these , and to provide amply , too , the sum sought to be raised by Sir Robert Peel , through his Income
Tax , is more than sufficient ! It would be extravagance to leave at the disposal of the Queen , for her own and her personal attendants , more than £ 150 , 000 a-year ; and it would not require more than £ 300 , 000 a-year for the salaries of officers of state , judges , ambassadors , and other contingent expences , if we only paid for services rendered . The whole of the navy during the last peace , cost little more than a million pounds sterling a-year ; we now pay the enormous sum of £ 7 , 000 , 000 !!! But then we have a " Na > al Academy , " oat of which all naval officers come . This * Academy" is
supported , it is needless for us to say , out of the taxes j and into it none can enter , unlesB they have interest sufficient with the " authorities . ' * One of the consequences of this system is , that a return laid before Parliament a few years ago showed that there were persons belonging to aristocratical families , who were become post-captains over the heads of thousands upon thousands of seniors in tbe service ! and that some of these post-captains were actually in the command of ships , having under them sailing masters and lieutenants , tcho mere serving at sea before these same captains were born ! I ! And it is
with stuff like this that we are to right Jonathan Our last disgraceful war with America was commenced by one of these sprigs of nobility , named Da cbs , a relative of tbe Lord of that name . Being a captain of a frigate , the Guerrierb ( which word , in English , means " warrior , " or "famous fighter , " or "hero" ) , and being in the West Indies , Dacre was dispatched to the coast of the United States . Recollecting the story of Van Tromp , he hoisted a broom at his mast-head , thereby notifying his intention to sweep the seas of the ships of the enemy . Jonathan went out with a frigate , called
" The Cokstittjtion , " commanded by a Yankee with the rough and patriarchal name of Isaac Hull . The two ships met , and Jonathan beat Dacre in ten minutes , and took him into port as a pr isoner of war , the broom still sticking at the mast head ! I ! The loss sustained by Jonathan in this engagement was , seven killed and seven wounded : while the beating , the smashing , the knocking-to-pieces , which old Isaac Hull inflicted upon US , involved the killing of fifteen ! the wounding of sixty-two !! and the loss of twentyfour others , supposed to have cone overboard with
the masts I' . ! Old Isaac contrived to kill and wound , and throw overboard to be drowned , a hundred and one men , OUR MEN . ; while he himself had only seven killed and seven wounded !! Good God ! what a smashing ! A Captain who had eome from before the mast , might have been unable to beat the Yankee ; but such a Captain would have gone to tbe bottom ; or , at least , laid his own body dead upon the deck ! Not so , however , the " aristocratic" Captain ; a sample of those turned out of the costly " naval academy . " He was smashed in a few moments , and led into port in the most lady-like manner !
Another of the consequences of the present system , is , that toe have two Admirals to every ship of the line !! Incredible as this may appear , it is the truth ! The fact is recorded in returns published by order of the Government ; and it is so monstrous , that it seems to call in question , not only the spirit , but also the sanity that permits an abuse so outrageous '! Need we wonder that £ 7 , 000 , 000 a-year are required to keep up a navy like this ! If we
have two admirals to every ship of the line , how many inferior officers have we to keep , either on half or full pay ? Of the number thus quartered upon us we may judge when the fact is stated , that of the seven millions paid yearly for the support of our navy , not so mock as a million-and-a-half goes to the seamen and marines !! 7 % dr wages amount but to the sum of £ 1 , 422 , 800 . Judge from this , what is squandered amongst the needy children of aristocratic corruption !
Bat suppose the maintenance of our Navy should now require the sum of £ 3 , 080 , 000 a year ; i . e . when the disgraceful state of things we have faintly hinted at are set right . Suppose this : and for that sum we cetild have a really efficient and all-powerful navy j a navy such as a nation situate and circumstanced as we are , should and must have , if we hope to maintain our standing amongst the nations of the earth . Suppose , then , that a really powerful navy would cost us £ 3 , 000 , 000 , still that would make
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the whole expenditure of the general government to be less thin £ 4 , 000 , 000 sterling a year . We defy any man to point put the necessity of atiy expenditure beyond this 1 The whole of the government expences of the United States ; the general government s with its army , navy , ambassadors , custom-house officers , and all put together ; and adding thereto the government expences of the twenty States of which the Union consists ; all these put together , do not amount to £ 3 , 000 , 000 sterling a year . Again we aski why should we want morel And if we do not want more , why should ' we raiBe more 1
"Ah" ! but whispers somebe-wiskeredandtno «« - iached dandy , who is irussed-up in a suit of regimentals , and who , because he wears a sword , dubs himself a soldier , " you have made no provision for the army ! England , or at least her government could not exist without herarmy ! That army now costs the nation £ 8 , 000 , 000 annually how could you maintain that army when you only propose to raise £ 4 , 000 , 000 for the whole expences of the general government ; Yoa must surely have forgotten the army , and the necessity there exists to provide for it . " O ! no , Mr . Hairy-face , we
have not forgotten the army ; though we have made , in our estimate :, 6 f government expenditure , no provision for its payment . And why should we 1 W hat is the army wahtid for ! We have already been at peace for a quarter of a century ; and every session of parliament brings with it the royal assurance that the continuance of peace with all those powers of the world that we need care for , becomes more and more certain . What , then , in Goi ' s name , do we want the army / or ? True , we are at war with China , and we aro sending a considerable portion of our army to India to
take * " REVENGE" upon a barbarous people who put some of our people to death , for invading their hearths , their homesteads , their country . True , that " glory" and . ? victories" are being achieved by " our arms" in the Chinaman ' s land ; and that " glory" and * Vvictories" are to be reaped in Afghanistan : but was for it for the purpose of forcing the Chinese to allow us to poison them with opium ; and was it that we might be able to invade the territory of the Affgans , and ( Christian-like !) "REVENGE" their ** barbarous " deeds of warfare consequent on thatinvasion ; w « $ it for
these things , that we hare maintained a standing army of 100 , 000 men for more than a quarter of a century ! If not ; then we again ask what is the army wanted for 1 We are aware that the common notion is , that the army is wanted to support the government . It is time that we had a clear conception of what the word government means . As we have Btated above , our government is to be found in each county ^ just as the government of the United States is to be found in each stata , with this difference , that their state governments are not near bo expensive as our county governments are . Let
us again look at our county governments , howeyer i which are in their form and manner ( stripping them of their abuses ) jutt what they were seven hundred years ago , and are the very best governments in the world . What is government f And what is its business '} Its business is simply to keep the peace ; to take care of men ' s persons and property ; and to give to the people all the enjoyments which nature tenders to them , as far as the mutual safety of the whole will permit . To effect these objeots , we have in each county a chief magistrate , called a lord *
lieutenant , appointed by the Crown ; and he has deputy-lieutenants appointed by himself . We have justices of the peace in abundance , holding their petty sessions in every small district , and bringing their collective wisdom to a sessions of the whole oounty once in every quarter of a year . We have , in case of emergency , a sheriff to call out his posse , to protect persons and ^ property . The posse being thought insufficient , we have one , two , or three battalions of militia in eaoh county , ready to be called out by officers already appointed .
Thxs \ s the Government of England . This is English Government ; and in God's name , what do we want with morel What do we want with an army to cost us , besides our county government , the enormous sum of £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year I God has drawn the waters around us ; and by all he has done for us , seems to have said to us , " be wise , and be virtuous ; and be the greatest , the freest , and the happiest people in the world . " What , then ! are we to cast these blessings from us 1 Are we impiously to reject them , and to encumber ourselves with this standing army ; with this burden which presses US to the earth , and which exists in open violation and defiance of all those principles which were the guide of our free and happy forefathers t
Blackstone , the great teacher of our laws , tells every student , that the < laws and constitution of England know nothing of a standing army ; that those laws hold barracks , inland fortresses , and every thing tending to make the soldier a character different from the citizen , in abhorrence ; that those laws , in their very principle , forbid any thought of keeping the soldier in a state of separation from the people ; that when men have arms put into their
hands , and are embodied for the purposes of war or defence against foreign aggression , they ought to be disbanded and become citizens again the moment the war is over ; that the character of a soldier can never be permanent , consistent with the laws of England ; and that , in whatever country there is a permanent standing army , there never can be , and there never was , anything worthy of the name of public liberty . ,
Such are the teachings of Judge Blackstone , the great expounder of English law . And it follows , as we said before , that either Blackstone did not know what English law was , or that our £ 8 , 000 , 000 a-year standing army exists in open violation and in defiance of the constitution of the land . Blackstone did understand English law . No one , not even the greatest stickler or apologist for a standing army , will dispute this position . That law distinctly layB down that every man between
certain ages , is liable io be called upon to take arms to defend his country from the invader , or to repell aggression upon our nationalhonour abroad . Many statutes appear upon the pages of the statute-book setting this foith , clearly and unequivocally . One of these , being Chap . VI . of the " Statute of Winchester , made at Westminster , " in the thirteenth year of the reigu of Edward I ., and in the year 1285 , is so apposite , so fully to the point , and so completely sets the question at rest as to the right of the people to have arms , that we quote it at length , as
follows : — And further It is commanded , " That every man have in his house Harness for to keep the Peace , > fter the antient Asaise : That is to say-- ; . /• ¦ ... ;¦ ; ; , " ¦> , ;/ V : ¦ ' ¦ .. ¦ ; . ' ¦ ?• Every man between fifteen years of age and sixty years shall be assessed and Bwora to Armor according , to the quantity of their Xanda and Goods . " That is to wit , from fifteen pounds Lands and Goods fourty marks , an Hauberke , a Breast-plate of Iron , a Sword , a Knife , and an Horae . " And from ten pounds of Lands and twenty marks Goods , an Hauberke , a Breaat-plate of Iron , a Sword , and a Knife .
" And from five pounds Lands , a Doublet , a Breast plate of Irohj a Sword , and a Knife . " And from fourty shillings Land and more onto one hundred shillings of Land , a Sword , a Bow and Arrows , and a Knife . ; : ; / ^ "And ha that hath leas than fourty shillings yearly Bhall be sworn to keep . Qisarms , Knives , and other less weapons . ' ; . ' :. / ' : ' : ¦¦ ,, \ . y . ' ' . .. . / , :. ' . ¦¦' ' . ' .- ¦ ¦ ¦' ' {'¦' . . " :: ¦" : " And he that hath less than twenty marks in Goods , shall have Swords , Knives , and other less weapons . " And all other that may shall have Bows and Ar , rows out of the Forest / and in the Forest Bows and Bouits .. ; . - ' ¦ ¦ . ¦ :. . , -. ^ v \ - V ; ' : : ' . '¦ ... ' ¦ ¦' : ¦ " And that view , « f Armor be made every year two times . . ¦ ¦ . : : ¦ ' ' ..:. ¦ '¦ " - ¦ ••¦ ¦ ' -: " ' .:: ' ¦ ' - ' .. ¦ ¦ : ¦
" And in every Hundred and Franchise two Conatables shall be chosenTto make the view of A * mo * . " And the Constables aforesaid Bhall present before Justices assigned Bnch Defaults as they do see in the Country about Armor , and of th » Salts of Towne , and of High-ways , and also shall present all such as do lodge Strangers la nplandiah Towns for whom they ¦ will notawweri ,
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" And the Justices assigned shall present at . every Parliament unto the King such defaults as they shall find , and the King shall find remedy theiin . " - Hero , then , we see that it is commanded that etebt mtishall have in his house aims suited tohis condition and standing in life . Other statute ? idirectly provide that at stated periods there fiaall be regular musters of all persons liable to bear arms , when and ' where they shall be examined and taught as te the use of them ; It is also provided that "the kings of the realm shall levy a number of their people and
subjects for the service of their majesties and of the realm in their wars , snob , as are most able and likeliest to serve in the same ; " and the 18 th of Edward the Third , cap . 7 ., passed in the year 1344 , expressly provides that tf men of arms , hoblera and archers , chosen to go in the king ' s service out of England ,- snail beat tbe king ' s wages from the day that they depart out of the counties where they were chosen ,, till their return . " This , then , sets the question at rest , as to the practice in former times , With respect to the bearing of arms . It was not then a " profession" / IV was a dutt imposed upon every one . The soldier was a citizen , and the citizen was a soldier . He was
required to learn the use of arms , and to hold himself in readiness to defend his common country ; holding himself in readiness , indeed , to defend his own possessions . When he Was called upon to go out of the country to maintain his country ' s rights or the national possessions , he was then " at the King ' s Wages ; " but these wages ceased the moment he returned , when the war wag over . And thus it is with the American States at this moment ! They have adopted this most excellent and liberty-preserving " English Institution ; " and while they preserve it , they may bid defiance either to attempted despotisms at home , or tyrannical invasions from abroad ?
But What is our praotioe ? Have we preserved this institution ?; Ho ! ! Our rulers have acted as if they were determined to leave nothing undone to make the government of England precisely the contrary of that which Blackstone and the ancient laws of the land say it ought to be . ' Not only have they made a permanent standing army in time of peace ; not only are they in time of peace continually augmenting that army ; not only do they , by means of barracks , fortresses , depots , and other establishments carefully keep the soldiers separated
from ihe people ; not only have they made it death by the law in any man to attempt to seduce a soldier from his duty ; not only do they keep up the enormous half-pay ; not only have they numerous bands of military officers on full pay , though engaged in no service whatever !; not only these things have' they done , and these things they do ; but they have establishments for the purpose of taking children from their homes at a very tender age , keeping them shut up in an enormous building , standing in the midst of the wildest heath in the
kingdom , at a great distance from all the habitation of men—there to be cut off from the rest of the people ; to have their minds formed in a purely military mould ; to imbibe no feelings in common with the people ; taken bo young" as to require nurses to attend them : an establishment , in short , the very outline of which conveys to the mind of every man who contemplates it a complete conviction , with regard to the motives from which this establishment , this " Military Academy , " was made * .
O , no ! we need make no provision for a standing army . A standing army is not of the "Institutions of the country . " A standing army is unconstitutional ! It is acknowledged to be so every year of parliament ; for the act by which it is kept in existence is only passed from year to year , solely on account of its unconstitutionality 1 J ! No ! no ! we shall need no standing army , when we have done justice to the people ! That army is only now required to collect at the poiut of the bayonet the
£ 60 , 000 , 000 a-year needed to support and carry on the present iniquitous system . When the debt is got rid of ; when the pensions , and sinecures , and retired allowances , and grants , and dead weight are removed from the back of the broken-down people ; when the salaries of the officers of state , the judges , and the ambassadors , are reduced to a reasonable amount ; when the civil list is placed on a proper footing ; when these things are grappled with , and equitably adjusted , tfien we shall have no need for a standing army !
The amount , then , sought to be raised by Peel , by his new Income Tax , would be more than sufficient for all the purposes of general government , were the expenditure of that government only that which it ought to be ! Let the working people note this fact well ! Let them hoard it in their memories ! Let them remember that an expenditure of that amount would give us a truly efficient and really powerful government ; efficient for all the purposes of protection at home , and powerful against all aggressors abroad . Let them treasure up these facts , and let them remember also how easily the required amount could be raised !!! A tax of three per cent , upon the Income of the
country would be all that would be required I ! Away would go all the old , expensive , and cumbrous machinery of indirect taxation ! Away would go the indirect taxation itself ! The £ 53 , 000 , 000 now raised by its means , would be left amongst the producers of Wealth ; to be enjoyed by them , instead of being , as now , niched from them by an unseen hand ! We should then be in a condition to bid defianoe to the foreigner and his foreign trade ; for we then should have amongst ub , at home , more than he gives us for the whole of our foreign trade put together ; and we should have , besides , the whole of the vast heaps of wealth we now let the foreigner have for an old song to distribute and divide amongst ourselves !!!
Working people ! do you now see where the pinch is ? Do you now see what ifc is that the Charter is mainly required to effect 1
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of ounces just specified . If the parcels are under sixteen ounce 3 , they will pass through the post-office' free : if they weigh KOBE they ' ¦ WiH bo charged to Mr . Doncombb ; and we have no right to tax the pocket of that gentleman , because he kindly consents to be the bearer of the people's petition into what should be the People ' s House . The last petition cost Mr . Duncombb many pouuda , from inattention to this particular . Mr . DuNcoMBB is again preparing to do his duly to the people . He has already given notice that he will present the National Petition , on thei 2 nd of ^ ay ; and that he will , On the following day , move that the House of Commons take it into
consideration ; and that the Pbtitiqners bb HEARD AT THE BAR IN SUPPORT OP THE 1 B DEMANDS , BY COUNSKL , OB BY THEIR AGENTS . Noif ' j then I working people of the United Kingdoms ! with you the ^ work rests ! It is your own , and for yourselves . You have a week to work in . Work as though you had never worked before Every hand , to the pump ! and- every fist to tfo Petition !!! The time is short : improve every moment of it 1 Lose not one »
SIGN ! SICrNJ' SlGNlll SIGNntl and then for the presentation on the 2 nd of May J J and the answer oi the Commons to the nation ' s demands !! The following is the PROGRAMME OF THE PROCESSION WITH THiE NATIONAL PETITION TO THE 3 HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MAY THE 2 nd , 1842 .
Marshals oh horseback . Instrumental band . Council of the National Charter Association of tho Metropolis . Female members of the National Charter Association of the Metropolis . Two marshals on horseback . - ...-. Instrumental band . Delegates representing Wales . Delegates representing Ireland . Scotch pipers . Drum and fife . Delegates representing Scotland . Brass band . .. ' .. '¦ Delegates representing England , From various parts of the \ Country . ; Marshals on horseback . Sword of justice . THE NATIONAL PETITION Borne by representatives of Trades . . Marshals on horseback . ! National Convention . Carriages . Band , The Metropolitan Trade ' s Association . Marshals on horseback . Favours to be tricolour for gentlemen , and white rosettes with scarlet riband for ladies . ...- ¦ •' . ¦ Councilmen to carry wands .
NOTICE . The members of the National Charter Association will assemble in a central position as early as eight o'clock , and march to Linooln ' s-inn-fields preceded by bands . A grand dinner will take place at the White Conduit House , on the conalusioh of the proceedings .
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Frost , Williams , and Jones . —Mr . T . P , Green , of Ifo . 1 , Bath-street , Birmingham , requests the relct ' tions , friends , neighbours , and' acquaintances in Wales , or those of any part of England , Scot ~ land , or elsewhere , to furnish him with as many particulars as possible of their life , character , political traits , biograpicat sketches , the political persecutions they have undergone in their locai situations , with any facts connected with the con ~ spirators who obtained their conviction , Govermenialoi'localagents , . < £ & , tc [ enableMr . Green to do full justice to the exiles . All communications to be prepaid . Any friend that may have been implicated in the Newport affairs may suppress their name , but furnish the facts , thai all tneans may be used to make the public acquainted with the grievous wrongs those then have endured . ¦ ..- . ' - . - ¦¦¦ ' •' . .. - . ¦ " : ; : : ' . . - ¦ -: . '•¦ ¦¦ ¦ •• • ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦
C . Bowman . —We have not by us just now the tables which would enable us satisfactorily to answer his question , . : ' ¦' ¦¦' ¦ '¦ . ' " ¦ - ¦' ; . ' : ; Depiford and Greenwich Chartists . —Mr . Morgan may send his money here , with the statement of the source whence derived , and the purpose to urfyich it must be applied . T . Preston . —His communication is an advertisement . ' ¦ ¦ '' . ¦ . ¦ ¦ - ' . ¦; . ¦ . " . ; ' . - . ' ; . ;¦ ¦ ¦' ¦ ¦ :. . - ¦ ¦ - ' - ¦ ¦ Hsnrt Burton . —Nothing can be further from our intention than to give offence either to individuals or societies . We would gladly afford space for all . the well written and well meant addresses of individuals and societies if it were possible ; but we assure Mr . Burton that if we did so , tee must excludefrom the ^ Stareverything [ else , and even then all could not be published . We are sure Mr . Burton would not wish to see the Star entirely
occupied with addresses such as that to which He refersin his letter ; while the complaint in this very letter ef hlis , that such addresses have appeared in our paper—one but a verp few weeks ? ff . ° —* f ° » evidence of the impossibility of selecting , without giving offence ) , as each party sending an address of course deems that address to be more important and necessary than the address of any other party . It was this very thing which obliged us long ago to ffive public notice , that in future we should insert no such addresses except fmrn important public bodies , such as the Executive , theQonvention . great Delegatemeeiings , orin special cases where we might have reason to believe that necessity existed for deviaiingfrom the rule . This notice Ms since been repeated several limes ; and we were therefore bound to suppose the Birmingham readers of the Star to"be acquainted withit . '• - ' ¦"¦ ' ¦ ¦ . '¦ " ¦ ¦ . ¦ . , . ' . ¦ ¦ ¦ "¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . - .. ¦ •¦ ' ¦ ; ¦ - ' •• - ¦ '
Timothy Thatcher . —We are not mare of having omitted to publish any list of subscriptions which we may have received from Mr . Heytoood * That gentleman has stated that he sent a list some time ago of the receipt of which we have norecolleetion , though it is quite possible we may have received it , and in ; the mass of correspondence which comes here , more than three-fourths of which goes to the >' devil "for lighting fires with , every week , it may by chance : nave been overlookedland destroyed ' . and this may account for ¦" the- ' ^ pleDy : of-tehU ! kt ^ Kii ^ - Ge ^ ge \ oti' Harae ' buck Chartists complain . B . T . does not seem to understand the driveller . His aredi object is (» obtain a notice in the Northern
Star , which would serve as an advertisement for his " spoiled tog . " We feel no disposition to oblige him . . V : ¦ William Greenwood . —Haworth is a township , situate in the parish of Bradford , in the West Riding of the county of York . It contains , according to the census for 1841 , « population of 6 , 302 . There are 1 , 348 houses , 112 ofwhusharet uninhabited . It \ also contains one church , or chapel of ease , seven Wesleyan , Methodists , Bapf ists , and other dissenting chapels or meetinghouses , in connection with which are eight Sabbath schools . In addition to the above there is also one free day school . John ^ ( D'Rodbke . —We can neither tay < * Yes " nor
_ . No' tilt we have seen the communication , j J . A . pfM . S . ~ Wehavenorooitt . Richabd Bates must refer to the advertisement .. James Duffy , of Sheffield , will receive a letter at the post office ^ Liverpool , on or before ike 1 o"t \ instant , containing the address ofhtStoh George * wife , who will leave Liverpool on the above date for'America . : A Walking Gentleman . —We have no room . Any Person in Brighton wishing to have > any Char * tisi scarfs may be suppliedby applyingtoMr .. iV . "¦ -. ' Af&rlin g . ' - (¦ ' ¦ ¦ - ;¦ ¦ - . '¦ •' . ¦ ' ¦ - ¦ : ¦ ¦ -. ; ' . ¦ ' / Mbs . FaosT ' a Estate Fund . —The balance-sheet next week .
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THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE NATIONAL PETITION . The Convention is fairly at work ! Let the reader carefully peruse the copious reports of their proceedings , which we this day present him with ; and let him firmly resolve to act up to the spirit there indicated , and turn not , either to the right hand or to the left , from the stra i ghtforward GHARTERhigaWay . Preparations are being made by the Convention for the presentation of the
GREAT NATIONAIi PETITION on the 2 nd of May . The members of that body are doing their duty to the country , by making all arrangements to give due effect to the National Witt . Is the Country doing its duty to the Convention ! Are all the signatures obtained to the Great National that can be obtaiued ! Have all the exertions possible been made in every locality to fill the ' sheets ? Is it not
possible to ADD to the muster boll of Chartism , during the eaeamg week , many and good recruits , who only want asking ? Let this be trjted ! f ! TM every shoulder be put to the wheel—every effort made , during the short period that will intervene between and the presentation of the embodiment of the people ' s voice to the " assembled Commons , " to swell the number of those who demand freedom for themselves ! freedom for their children !! freedem for their country !!!
As fast as the sheets are filled up , let them be neatly pasted together ; and rolled up into parcels with a cover on , ( but which cover must not inclose the ends of the paroel \ . they must ^ be left open , ) and forwarded , through the post , to the following address : — ' ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ ... ; ¦¦ ' ¦¦ ¦ .. ¦ . . ¦¦ T . S . Duacombe , Esq ., M . P . ^ ^ Albany , ( Petition to Parliament . ) London . ... ' Be sure , too , that each parcel weighs under sixteen ounces . It is easy to make two or more parcels f the sheetvj if they weigh more than the number
Tile Jnortherin Stae. Saturday, April 23, 1842.
TilE JNORTHERIN STAE . SATURDAY , APRIL 23 , 1842 .
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THE WORKING PEOPLE ; -THE TRUCKMONGERS j- ^ AND THE FRAUDULENT manufacturers . A REFKRNeE to our short report of the proceed * ings of the House of Commons on Tuesday last , will put the reader in possession of the fact that Mr . Bpsfield Ferrand then moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into the truth of his allegations , as to the extensive practice of the truck-system in all parts of the country
where the labourer is at the mercy of the employer ; and also into the numerouB frauds that aro committed by our manufacturere in the production of their goods , to the manifest and direct injury of the national character and name . We are sorry that we are not able this week to give the speech of the Honourable Member in making his motion . It is important that the working people should know the nature of his pleadings on their behalf t and wj shall endeavour , next week , to put those of that class who read the Star in possession of them .
8ta Mzatiete Anlr Correaaomrents^
8 Ta Mzatiete anlr Correaaomrents ^
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4 THE NORTHERN STAR .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 23, 1842, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct427/page/4/
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