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THE NORTHERN STAR. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1843.
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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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PROGRESS OF THE MOVEMENT . ppjjfjSG OP THB SOUTH I , Oy 3 > ON CHASTIST : haIX . T he above sp&doui Hall , capable of ho -ding © ae fckouMD d ex hundred person * , was opened-r & Monday eremu g , the 11 th inst ., by tke holding tJL a . grand festival and balL The placards convening 'ike "" gatheriBg -wmonnced-tb ^ i Alderman Hxunpheiy ^ Esq ., MLR , would take the chair . Before the comr . ieiicemen . t , he tent a Trritten apology by hi * clerk , stating that he ahonld not be able to Attend until ha ' xf-jwEt seven , as be was detained at the Old Bailey Scions . Xt seven o ' clock , Mr . O'Connor entetei the Hall , and proceeded to the platform , ar ^ id the acclamations of the assembled mnltitnde , "who toss to receive him . Immediately-after tea , Me . TSd'warda , of the London Bead , » as called to the thai ? , and gave , without comment , the first tosst , as follo w * 5— "
¦«• The people , taa legramate sonree of all power ; - and called on Mr . B . O'Brien to respond . He said the toast he proposed-ahouVl at all tunes command respect In consequence o ? the "want of " soverelgnlty" the people perish in thetoi&rt of plenty . In o&ex assembles the "Sovereign . ^ Quee ^ -would hiwe been given first ; feut he trusted tfo-y Trouid always have fiie good sense to respect tiesselres-and tout the " source" He ce « l sot tell them , Uat from the want of the popular sovereignity , ' ererj man -was ia slebt before he was born ; aadaltbon ^ h natives of a besutllnl soil , not a » od of it was 'theirs . It was so every where . In Paris th * "want-of it caused 60 , « 0 e soldiers to be kept to keep the .-people quiet 12 the people possessed TO-wex tt would not he » o » "Wien bostaB amiss threa
tened to vrerawe France , the people bad power and had food-j -wben they lost power they had no "bread to eat ; tbey vere starring . Is England a " woman had threehalfpenoe for makiBg a shirt . That-did not look jnaeb la&e " sovereignty . " He hoped : £ hey would soon resolve to-be " sovereign . " These waa feat one -way to accoHipiMhiti at the sort general election . Thesove irfgnty- « f = t 4 ie people meant ooe -roice for one man and so sisre . The majority ahocM ai&ke no lawa bat sach as would be binding on them as well as the minority . Act justly with ^ ll men . Know no man when he cornea before you ; hear all alike ; sad then the sentiment he had the honour to propose , '' the sovereignty of the people , " wouia ^ become a waltty . The tout was then gxvea . -with the -usual honocta .
Ifce-CHAiltMAS then gave the Becond toast , astol-Iowk— "The People ' s Charter ; may it speedily become the law of the land- " Be called on Mr . OtJonnor to zeBpond . ill . O'COSXOB . rose amid enthnoastic plaadits . He said it was the custom that & religions house should be consecrated fey a Bishop ; and sever did Bishop feel snore pleasure in consecrating a church to G-dd , than he did in consecrating that Hall to the service of the people . It was quite xight , on such an occasion , that men of various political -opinions should be invited ; and it was so fault of theirs that they were absent . When they looked arosnd , and feend their principles more popular than © there , they had a Tight to Bay—«« "We are the majority . " Wales had a turnpike gate ,
and Ireland an agricultural , Committee of . Inquiry , issued by Government . In England he thought they should haye a commission vl lunacy on the Govern * ^ npfr& ^ Afc the c ^ ttttti f ** c&Tn r ^ t of the revolution 'in France , the objection waa not against the rale of the 23 ng ; itwasagainBfc tie Ministry and their corruptions . So in England . The Minister had divided and nbdivided the plunder , wrung frem the sweat and blood © f industry , among his followers . It was against corruptions of this sort they contended . Mi . O'Connor tben took a rapid survey of the emigration and ether remedies proposed by Wnigs and Tories ; * ' but , " said Mr . O'Connor , " give 01 the CharterJ That 1 * the great Precursor J Prom it temperance , morality , honesty , peace , and prosperity would flow "—( great cheering ) .
Be attached great importance to the coming elections . 3 ? rom the exhibitions of power they had « een , much night be done . A friend asked him , as he was about to ester that TTali , -what mi going to be done Trite Inland , fie could sob answer that qaestion ; but be could grn an opinion . Well , then , there was j » w perhaps , what there never were before , a great majority in Tfrigiawd in favour of the tight * of Ireland ; and he thought such an expre « ion of public opinion irxeslstable—{ lend cheers ) , — and , theitfore , Bmchlmight be expected . Chartism was practical Bepublieani * m—flood cheers ) . He hoped at the s £ Zt election to show that they were oat Tory * Chartists -, but that as they had thrown out the Whigs , they would be able to cast out the Tories—( loud cheers ) . How was it that the Members of Parliament , and the Other premised viators trerenot there ? Becaaae iiiey
found this would be a purely Chartist meeting—( hear , bear ); and it did sol suit their purpose that the opinions spoken at such meetings should go abroad . The press joined with such roes and kept silent . They ft « ri much to contend ng ** n « fr , and still would have . For himself he much liked opposition to himself . He trusted that white they gave- a fair hearing to every man , they would stick to their principle * , name , and all—( enthusiastic cheeriag ); and if they did so , depend 00 it "the Charter was theirs when they liked to fetch it" He MtTery great pleasure in being present at the epemng of that ball ; and if at anytime their seeessities placed it hi any danger , and his purse was sot Jobs-enough , his sweat , which had often been &BB& ^^* &c £ eaS ~ n > S « au > t * , « bofc'sa' 1 >» t * . ttoiS * •** Tiee—Qoai and long contanned eHeering . ) TheT Benfimesi was given with three times three .
The Chajbjiax thea gave— "Civil and reUgious liberty throughout the world , ' which Mr . J . H . Parry responded to : be could bnt re-echo the sentiments of She last speaker , as regards the absence of those invited . If present , they wonld have found ao sentiment of rerro-IbSob ; BottiiBf gratiBf to their earti nothing that any man could fairly object to ; nothing hot what was sost praiseworthy—( bear , bear }—nothing but what even Alderman Humphrey might be proud of— - ( loud cheers } They would have learned much , and we should have had the honour « f teaching them . Why then were they absaat ? The Charter , as the last speaker said , bad a tewJeacy to repuWlcanisnr ; but then was aotbtng reTDlusJcmary in 11 . AH society from time immemorial tended to the same great end . They did
not ask for anything they were not prepared to give to aBother- >{ cheers > The WbJgi and Tories had pri-Tileges ; do they not priae them ? Thejooneyoency had privilege * r do they not prl » them ? Buttte moment the working classes sought similar privikfes ¦ what was the answer ? Why , " go tojyonrploaghj do not meddle with politic * . " Then why , he asked , did they middle with politics ? Simply that they might turn them to their own pecuniary advantage . He hoped the time was come when "free opinion" should mean "free opinion ; " for it was gross oppression to prevent any man from expressing his opinion . He hoped : that the freedom given by 6 od would not be attempted to be put down by any man ; but that they would go hand in band , and thus be
esablfed to right their oppressors foot to foot . Beligions liberty had its meaning too . Had not the j present establishment been met with persecution in its infancy ? There were also martyrs at the present time , whose martyrdom was caused by that very establishment—( hear , heas ) . There -were Borme there , no donbt , -who tho-osbVVbtj"hadB 0 lliia 8 to ( to with religion at rath sterOags . He thaught religious freedom had to do with all great meetings —( cheers ) . An infidel w&s purely a geographical character- A believer here was an infidel in Turkey ^ and vies versa . In Ireland political # pinion was attempted to be coerced . Why ? Because Englishmen had not the courage to say , ' I will not commit murder for one «^ i ^^ ing a day . " Aa
soon as they possessed tola courage , so soon must coercion cease—( loud cheers ) . Ireland demanded her rights , and we ought to say , " Irishmen , you iave acted nobly ; " and shake them by the hand , swearing by the God that made us we would stand by them to the last —{ great cheering ) . This hall would be of great use in the day of danger y whether caused by Whigs or Tories . Tkusit most - » erre a » e great caue of "Civil and Religions liberty "—( cheers ) . He would not give one flg for the Charter if they were to stand still afterwards—{ bear , hear ) . " On then , on for ever ;•* and when we have won the Charter , there are other fields to be won . He touted Englishmen would always be foramost in the battle for Civil and Religious Liberty . The sentiment -was given "with all the ssnal bonoms .
mi . CTCozzoehere took his . leave azsii thunders of applause . The CHA . r&KA 3 then gave " A ipesdy release to Frost , Williams , Jenes , and Ellis , and all political and religious victims , and called on ill . Buffy Ridley to respond . Mr . BtTTFT Ribxet * aid he wo » ld iat ocenpy one soment in requesting thdr condolence ^ for those who were drawing out a miserable existence in a foreign land . When they l » oked at that noble martyr Frost ;
when they heard he was " never" to retam to his BaSwBland , -was tiiece one who would not sympathise V ^ o" ? * " * thftra one ™ that ** & > * ho would » st awsfied until that " j oever !! " was retracted by the vuSTt ^ " ^ ^ -compatrioh to flie land of their ^ "u ui CheeiJS - ) "X ** * " ** & of those cbfcer * he trnsted JS tE ? ** 1011 * ja «»' « oH «« art ^ t who had aacri SStS ?* . r ™!^** « 4 eawBring fc gain their J ^ J ^ ud cheers ., The seatiment was draak in
TheiPHUBJUStflbaj ga- ^— " Access to ttis Ma aB Ot&er DemocnUc H * Hj , and tiaafa-to those who ba « aided tu by their donations .- ™ w Tfl 0 mra Mr . Matka ^ p responded . Be would bo * detain -them long , bafc . eonld net let Oit opportanHy pass -wtihost thanking ihoee who hadasakted than by their * ontribations and otherwise : and tiboigh he ooald not gm the reason whjjome of those who had engaged to be present were a&xpt , be hoped Mi some-faton time they would expiate the reasons for that absence He hoped the rion-atte&danee of the ILP . ' b would not deter them from their « sward course ; hat that they would rely on their own exertions ; and ihen they might net only finish thu Hftll but buOd tvaoty joore . AiAarmm Humphrey ^ d eck bad hinted that be ( Alderxnan H . ) had been deceived , sad thought the HaD was only for " educational parpoteav" That vu not correct The Alderman knewrery well it was for Pemoaatie pcrpoae *—( eb * er >) .
A vote of thanks to the Chairman was carried , and the ball commenced under Mr . Knighton as master ef the psremonie * . Theeanrert was given la an adjoining long room , Tbe eatertftinmentB "were kspt vp with spirit aad good imaVK tO 1 l » tO llOBi
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THE ADDRESS OF THE SOUTH LANCA / JHIHE DELEGATES TO THE CHAKTISTS OF THAT DISTRICT . r Buothkr Democbats , —It 1 * with ml » g ! ed * feelings of pleasure and regret that we once move address you . We feel pleasure at the proud position we occupy as an association of men combined together for the high and holy purpose of combating tj ranny in all ite varied forms , and thereby showing ' to the werld that we are actuated by a pure spirit d ; philanthropy and patriotism ; profing , inoontestably , that we have no other object in view but the emancipation of onreelves and fellow-countrymen from the thraldom under which we and they have so long Bntfered . But we regret the apathy manifested by the various localities in not sending delegates to the County Council , whose deliberatiens have hitherto given & tone to the Chartist movement throughout the empire .
Brethren , it is not unknown to you that this district has been lcpg looked to by the Chartists of England as the best organasd and efficient in . the movement . But Lancashire—die renowned Emporium of Democracy—has of late been apathetic in the cause . We ask bow this is ? There must be some cause , formerly the excuse was that we were without a-governing head or Executive Council ; such 1 b sot the case now ; therefore , there must be some other reason for apathy and neglect We implore you to shake off this disgraceful inactivity , and arouse yourselves to a sense of your duty;—that by your united exertions South I ^ ncashire may again assume its proper standing in the great movement for a nation ' s freedom .
Brethren , the task of addressing you on this important subject has so often fallen to our lot , that anything we can advance , by way of appealing to your love of country , would be little more than useless repetition . Oar business with you now is to point out the necessity of having J X > e ) egates present at the County Conference , in order to adopt some measure to secure that object which has cost us so much labour , money , and suffering to carry to its present state , and endeavour to make our association what it ought to be—a truly national one .
Brethren , " Coming events cast their shadows before ; " and if « ver there vras a time that required the lovers of freedom to be on the alert—this is the time . When we look around and take cognizance of what is passing in the political world , we behold a blood-thirsty and liberty-destroying Government endeavouring to take away the dearest rights of the British subject—the right to petition , by putting a step to the expression of public opinion in our sister country . Is this a time for us te be asleep ? Kuow we not that If they succeed in putting a stop to the Repeal Agitation in Ireland , that it will be our turn next ? It therefoie behoves us to be prepared for the worst , and be in a position to render assistance to our Irish brethren in this their time of need j alse to look to our own Interests .
Brethren , in conclusion , it is onr particular desire that each locality will choose a delegate te attend the Sonth Lancashire Conference , to be holden in Bolton on Sunday , the 31 at of December , at ten o ' clock in the forenoon ; when we trust this call will be responded to in a manner worthy of the men of Lancashire , and that each locality will not fail to instruct their representatives as to -what course they would deem it advisable to pursue , in order to carry out the views of the Executive CenntiJ as regards the sending out of mission aries to agitate the country .
The cause is worthy of your every energy . The stake we play for is the emancipation of our beloved country from the galling fetters -of a merciless oligarchy—the cold-blooded and grasping avarice of the Smokeocracy ; and the blighting influence of a pletborlo and intolerant priesthood . And as it is the intention of the Executive to divide South Lancashire into two districts—via , the Manchester and Liverpool districts , it is indispen sably necessary that this Conference be attended by at least one delegate from each locality , in order that the districts may be foimed in the most compact manner , and also the machinery prepared foi the -working of them with harmony and benefit to the cause of justice against injustice , and of right against might . Trusting that this call will be responded to in a man . ner worthy of ao good a cause ,
We are , Brethren , tn bonda , Tear * , in the cause of national redemption , a PiiB / atrick , J . Ashton , T . Butterworth , J > . Donovan , W . Davise , G . Marsden , J . Grime , J . Nuttall , G . Johnson , J . Simpson . S . Taylor . C . Tatlob ., President William Djion . Secretary
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THE PAST AND PRESENT . CORRUPTION v . REFORM . I ? we compare the prodigious improvements that hava tabtiU pWfiQ within &e last half © entury in the arts , the ecienoes , and all the means bj -which the slow process of manual labour has been compelled to yield to the present subject of an almost magical production , with the cautious , slow and niggardly improvement , —if indeed any has taken place , —in the legislation , by which alone all those vast changes , jumps , and improvements should have been made
nationally , instead of sectionaUj beneficial , rre shall at once arrive at the real cause , not onlj of the prevailing diBtress , but of the universally felt and the generally and fearlessly declared contempt for existing institutions . The Reform Bill promised to be , and ought to have been , the medium through which all those great changes should have been made national benefits . The Reformers complained that the whole government of the country being confined to a few lordly and aristocratic patrons , rendered it impossible for the friends of the people to make head against their away in the House of
Commons . They asked the people to join in a revolution against the system of patronage government , in order that the institutions of the country , being placed under vigilant popular COHtroul , might thereby b « made the means of conferring upon all a fair and equitable share of those improvements to a participation in which all were admitted to be entitled . Patronage then was the monster evil complained of ; and to destroy the monster was the object to which the moral and physical energy of the Working
classes -was directed . That tbej did destroy one description of patronage , —that which placed a large portion of representation in the hands of the few , — we admit ; while we shall now canvass the value of the change to the nation at large . In the olden times , if a borough had its patron , with him rested ihesole power consequent upon the monopoly : and thus we may estimate the number of individual pitrons at from three to four hundred : while the
effect of the Retorm 3 U 1 , by which the power ot patronage was to be destroyed , has been to create legions of eorrnptioaists from the ashes of each individual patron that has been destroyed . Hence we find expenses and local taxes , local abases , local bludgeons , local justices , local town councils , and local borough Parliamentary influences , as the result of the single destruction of the old Tory Corporate Monopoly .
These normal institutions were the means , by which the Whigs hoped to work the small wheels of Government ; the power by which the greater ones were to be kept in motion . As with boroughs , so it was with counties . There , too , the patronage of an iadividual being destroyed , the triumphant party were compelled to have recourse to a division of corruption as a means of preserving their influence against their beaten but still influential opponents . A similar system of multiplying patronage and cerraptioB , so thai a political ascendancy might be
secured , was the cause of the French Revolution . When the French showed the first symptoms of revolt , no European Prince stood higher in popular esteem thaa the reigning monarch ; bat so arifally had the aristocracy of thai day secured to themselves & monopoly of the government of the country , tha& Prance presented the anomalj of a popular , or rather inoffensive king , and a people infuriated and driven to revolution against the institutions of the eomntry , Such is precisely the situation of the ftueen
of England , amid the generally prevailing contempt for all existing institutions . She travels through the country enthusiastically welcomed by all who are allowed to see her : while even a majority of the favoured spectators openly express their contempt «* her Ministers and the institutions of the country . Xhuavtlie anomaly that presented itself at the close or the eighteenth century in Irance is now quickly sranifestuig iteelf in England ,-that of a popular monarch and unpopular institutions .
In ^ e manner , if we turn to Ireland we find that tie Reform KB , which was hailed in that COnntrj AS the means of destroying patronage , has led to lacft an extension of local coemption that the Irish peopk we aow as much arrayed against the
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power assumed by those new patrons , rendered necessary for the insurance of Whig asoendanoy , as they were against old abuses , which although pushed more prominently forward , yet by no means constituted an equal ground of complaint . "W e do not strain the point when we assert that this system of transfer from individuals to Clubs , has had the effect of giving us more than-one hundred greedy patrons for every gorged one against whose power the Reformers waged their war . Add to this multiplication of tyranny the fact that the old 'Squire or tho old Peer was not omnipresent : and if he had
the inclination , had not the power of working very general evil , * while , having no interest in the depression ot wages as a Magistrate and a Legislator , although politically arrayed against the political rights of the people , be at least administered justice between the employer and the employed . He was satisfied with such honours and distinctions as the Sovereign , through his ministers , was willing to confer upon him for the political support given to his party . A garter or a ribbon , although expensive baubles to himself , and although insignias of his own weakness and folly , cost the working classes nothing . He contended for a bishopriok ,
for a Bhip , for a regiment , or for a commissioner * ship for his family : but as long as we are blessed with bishops , regiments , ships , and commissions , the appointment was comparatively unimportant to the working classes . He shared the amount of patronage , which under the established system o ' corruption , was necessary to preserve ministeria harmony and party ascendancy ; and he shared no more . In truth , it was enough ; but we are Bhowing ' that it was patronage that was to be destroyed by Reform : and that the patronage substituted for the same purposes is of a more extensive , expensive , and destructive character .
The Clubs of patrons are omnipresent . They have a direct and a continuous interest , not only in resisting the people ' s demands for political rights , but in the destruction of their every social enjoyment . True , their ambition does not as yet lead them to aspire to across , a garter , or a ribbon ; but it does lead them to hopes and aspirations , the realization of which are muoh more expensive to those over whom they exercise their newly acquired power . As employers they establish the rate of wages ; as magistrates they punish for resistance to their own
decrees ; as corporations they have increased the taxes upon the people , in many instances three-fold , and without conferring a partiole of benefit upon the unprotected portion of the tax-payers . They do not contend against any single practical abuse which the Reform Bill promised to destroy , but which has been [ allowed to continue , * while they would still inflame the national mind for the purpose of con * ferring upon themselves increased powers , although we have shewn that their substitution for the olden enemy has been the means of multiplying , instead of destroying , corruption , distress and grievanoe .
The general effect of the Reform Bill has been ' to create two active enemies against the working classes ; while each party now possesses a certain description of power , equal ] y hostile to the rights of the people . The Tories have the distribution of all that remains after paying the expenoes of the country ; whilst the Clubs , however constituted , whether of Whiga or Tories , have the power to raise , in their corporate capacity , a larger amount of money than the whole revenue enforced by the Government amounts to . Not only do they thus more extravagantly tax the people , but they
furthermore use the funds so acquired for the purpose of increasing their own power , and of destroying that of the people . Moreover , the most deadly result of this transfer of power , has been to bring every act of the unrepresented working classes more immediately under the watchful eye and powerful arm of the class immediately above them , and who have the greatest interest in oppressing them . This extension of corruption and these increased powers vested in the hands of the newly created Clubs , has had the further tendency of so balancing the two contending factions , that henceforth their title to
power must lather depend upon their means and capability of extending patronage , than their desire or ability to reform the institutions of the country . Under these circumstances it is to the vigilance , the union , and the united action of those who have suffered from the extension of corruption , as a meanB of carrying on political warfare , that we must look for the destruction of that power by wbioh thiB double evil has been achieved . And muoh as the two satisfied parties may deride the attemptB of the now wholly shorn and unenfranchised people ; and however new and
stronger causes may have arisen to induce a union of Whig and Tory againBt the rights of labour ; we tell them that so general , bo odious , and bo extensive has their corruption become , that like a foul disease it muBt ultimately destroy them , although there was no visible opposition from the Chartist body . That opposition , howerer , from the causes we have stated , is daily and hourly gaining strength , not more from the sternness of our party , than from the dissatisfaction beginning to manifest itself , not only against the acts of the political Minister , but alw against theoruelty , the tyranny , and oppression of our local and irresponsible rulers .
These facts clearly prove that any change produced by the middle classes will be merely with a view to extend patronage to their own ranks ; and that the people have nothing to hope from—nothing to expect benefit from—nothing to rely upon protection from , but tboir own Charter , which will deBtroy expensive and unnecessary patronage , by throwing the Government of the country into the hands that pay for its support .
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THE COLLIERS . A MOST FOUL AND DAMNABLE CASE . We refer , our readers to a copious report given in another place of proceedings which took place before the Dnrham Magistrates , in connexion with the present differences between the Coal King Tyrants and their worse than Blaves . Before we enter into any consideration of the meritB of this case , we shall offer a brief observation or two upon the imperious , the insolent , and aithoritative manner in which the worthy chairman of the Bench dealt with tke proposed question of compromise . As a matter of coarse the tyrants being
the complainants , any compromise that took place could not have saved them from Magisterial punishment er the law ' s vengeanee ; as being sabjeot to neither , they did not Btand in dread of either . No Blatter how the stinging truths forced from a reluctant accuser may have placed the prosecutors in the wrong ; mo matter though the bond be illegal , and enforces penalties from which a eourt of law would release the bondsmen ; no matter -thosgh the conditions , one-sided as they are , have been violated by the wealthy contractors j bo matter though tke implied contract and the legal contract has been violated ; no matter { hough it has been admitted by the chief oath man of the Coal Kings , that it was bat just possible foragosd
workman to earn an existence , if the condition * of the bond were enforced ; no matter although those who h ^ Te tried it , swear that it is not possible to earn an exist ence ; no Hatter although thousands of honest hard-working Englishmen are prepared to swear that x'hey prefer the prison , with all its horrible diseases , to Kto bond with its still more horrible inflictions : ho . matter all this : neither one , nor all , of these consideration s -weighed with the village Dogbebbies , who Rendered aid to the tyrant masters to enforce a reluoh . at compromise from the men , under threat of victimising them to that state of H turbulence" which exists only in their own brains , and which dan be brought about only by the denial of justice . After hearing t £ e case , the Chairman spoke thus : —
" After some further discussion , in which some warmth waa shown , and angry expreasioas exchanged between the Beuch and Mr . Roberto , and propositions of adjourfl » ent and of
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ft ^ raement between the masters and men -were made , tb ^ Sw ^ ultimatel yadjourned till Friday , at ten o ' clock , in order iogive time for the parties to come to Borne arrangements or to proceed with the case ; the Chairman at the same time declaring , that m a case like this , where large bodies of men were banded together in'defiance of the law and of the peace of the district , and after what had come out in the case the Magistrates would still not hold themselves bound by any compromise which the parties might come tt . " w Open defiance of the law" indeed ! danger
to the public peace " . ; and all " proved by what had transpired during the hearing of the case" ! Yes , yes ; we admit that facts strongly urging to such anticipations and convictions did transpire : but then the masters are the law breakers , and from their tyranny only can any breach of the peace arise . What ! " danger to the peace" from men , who deolare that they are ready to go to prison ! The " illegality" of men who ask for compliance with the provisions of an Aot of Parliament ! The " turbulence" of a body , the members of
which , —as a man skilled m oppression says , —may possiblt earn a livelihood ! and jet the viewer who swears it arrives unmolested , swears without dread , and retires without molestation ! Pooh ! pooh ! The whole thing is nonsense ; foolish nonsense ; ignorant nonsense ; insolent nonsense ; nonsense , however , which is pre-eminently calculated to bring about those scences of disorder and turbulence which tho men dresssd ia ft little brief authority thus hope to { check by taking time by the forelock and the law by surprize .
We will now examine the case a little more in detail , commencing with the justices . Prior to entering , upon the hearing of the case , Mr . Roberts applied to the Bench for summongea against a viewer to answer why he had not paid Luke Shaw and another , 26 s . a fortnight , to which they were entitled under the bond , because they had refused to work upon a rope which they considered to be unsafe . " To this application , made in the very nick of time ; made at the very proper time ; nay , made at the only time when it should have been made , the dispensers of justice say" that they have met for an
especial purpose and cannot therefore comply with the application . " Thus the case opens with evil forebodings for the men ; while we think we do not ask our readers to strain their powers of credulity by joining with us in believing that if a similar appeal had been made upon behalf of the masters , the special proceedings which they had met to enter upon , would have been delayed for that then mote important purpose . Howerer , under such auspices the proceedings commence . Mr . Marshall opens the case , and calls one Hecci . es , a viewer , to substantiate his several allegations ; and it is therefore with this man ' s evidence that we have most to do—that the magistrates ought to have most to do , and upon which public opinion
will be unhesitatingly and unanimously expressed . Should any charge of intemperance , turbulence , or violence be made against the colliers arising out of the : present disagreement with their masters , let the evidence , the direct testimony , of Heccles be read . Not the damning barefaced crimes ; the commission of which was dragged from him by the able and searching cross-examination of Mr . Roberts ; but let his own testimony , pourtraying the constant practice of tyranny pursued by the masters and their subordinates ; let that be read , and every unbiassed man who reads it will arrive at the same conclusion as Mr . Roberts , that the masters should have been in the dock and the men in the witness box .
Let us select , though it is a disgusting duty , some of tha scabs from this rotten evidence . " I do not know that any man has been fined £ 1 2 s . 6 d , for ( too days ; but I don't doubt it . I believe men have heen fined 85 ., 7 s ., 6 s ., 5 $ ., 4 s ., and 3 * . for a day . That declaration has not been made yet t though it is intended to be . " What does the reader think of that open , that barefaced , and unblushing confession ! In an EngltBh Court of Justice , and in the Cathedral i City of Dnrham , too ! Why , if jusiioa had not fled the land , and if the Conservators Of the publio peace had done their duty .
and if the witness had received his due , the justices would have ordered him to be tied to the cart tail and whipped round the Market-place . What ! earn three shillings a-day , aud out of that pay 11 s ., 8 a ., 7 s ., « s ., 5 a ., 4 a ., or 3 s ., for fines ! Strange arithmetical process . O , for such a Chancellor to manage our Exchequer I The witness goes on to let out more of the pit secrets . The men are accused of a specifio crime ; the whole transactions connected with , which , should any be of a mitigating , exculpatory , or even useable character cannot , however , be divulged until after judgment and exeoution : for the oath-man swears : "We make the deductions
only when the wages become due , when the fines are increased . I think some of the men have been fined , but I cannot speak positively . I think they have been fined , for being absent on the day laid in the warrant . We have not fined them for that absence . They were brought up on the 2 ith oj November , and they were not fined for that day . THE PAYMENTS FOR THAT DAY ARE NOT DUE TILL TO-MORROW . " Now the inference , the
only inference , that can be drawn from this portion of tho evidence is this : that if the case had been ad judicated upon at the then sitting of the magistrates , a judgment of the Court would not have been final ; for the case would still have been pending , as far as the equity of it waa concerned ; inasmuch , as the men could not know their fate until the following day ; and could not , therefore , urge the further fines and stoppage of wages , for aots previously committed , either in extenuation or in vindication .
We trust that should the Irish Attornet-General requires precedents to prove the practice of English Courts of Law , that he will refer the Irish Queen ' s Justices , to the case of the Durham Coal King Justices ; and they will be found strictly analogous . The copy of the caption may be had by Mr . O'Connell and the other Irish traversers when they have been committed to gaol ; or perhaps , as
" with death envy ceases , " the mild and religious Irish Attorney-General may order a list of his murderers to be interred with the lamented Mr , Tyrrell . So precisely with the Colliers . They might have been consigned to gaol on Thursday ; and on Friday , fines of which they could not complain might have been levied upon them , and abstracted from their little earnings , while they were ekeing oat their time in a dungeon .
Here followB another portion of the evidence of the oath-ma * : — "If the bojui be put into full operation it is possible for average men to make a living out of it , provided the men do their duly . " This is not the evidence as reported by oua "toolt . " It is taken from the report of the masters' tool" and therefore cannot be supposed to be coloured against them . No matter by whoa it has been written , it has been sworn , and that too by a viewer . Let it be read by every honest Colliery-man in England . Let each say to himself— " What , then , does our very existence depend upon a mere possibility t
And are we for ever to strain our eyes—to work our every limb—to distort our body—breathe a loathsome air—liable to casualties against Which we cannot defend OHrselves—entombed in the bowels of the earth—our sufferings shut out from human eye , while the produce of our labour ministers to the comfort of all ; and yet to be told that , by a bond bearing the mark , but not the signature , of men to whom it may have been fallaciously read , that our very existence depends upon a bare possibility ^ and
that possibility a remote one , depending upon the softening of adamantine hearts V For out selves , we Bay—Perish the bond ! perish the obligation ! tear the inhuman , the tyrannical , the life-destroying document in little atoms ! give it to the " wild winds of heaven" ! and should one perceptible fragment of the unholy hellish contract meet the earth , let it be trampled upon and buried , in the hope that with it all recollection of suo . h slavery may perish , and for ever ! t If a testator annexes harsh or even uncomfortable conditions to aibequest , a 0 - of ; eqnity will re-
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lease the legate from the performance of those conditions ; and with these bonds , thus stamped as Jew bonda demanding the " pound of fleahV let Mr . Roberts , the able adviser of the Colliers , go forthwith into tlie Court of Queen's Bench ; and upon the evidence of JHeccles , and upon the face of " the blood-stained instrument , let the world , through tha press , know the hardships which those who warm us are subjected ] to . This will be the way tp have a hearing out of the Durham court . This will be the mode of giving it publicity , whioh will be all that it requires to give it its death blow . In order , however , to show that the oath-man is only the executioner of the tyrant ' s will , we submit the following passage from his testimony : — ( *
"Mr . Thomas { Wood is my employer ' , and he sanctions these proceedings . " [ MR . WOOD WAS PRESENT , AND ADMITTED THAT THE WHOLE OF THE OWNERS SANCl'IONED THE PROCEEDINGS . " ] i Upon this portion of the testimony , we will not , because we dare not , offer a single comment , further than if Mr . Wood had his due , he would be placed
in the stock ? , and pelted with rotten eggq , for daring to make ] such an admission in an English Court of Justice ! . No wonder that a gentleman of pride and feeling should have replied with warmth , as Mr . Roberts did ! And no wonder that the whole crew—bench and all , should have mutinied against this honest man ' s honest denunciation of such heartless and cold-blooded villany .
As of course the whole case will be read , and read with peculiar interest , we dismiss the evidence of the principal loath-man with a laugh at that part of his testimony in which he swears that the alteration ia the beam was made " to get a greater quantity of coal for tie money paid . " We can't say that the oathman did ] not believe this ; for that would be to charge him with perjury ; but we may say that so far from believing one word of it . we would lay a
round wager that Mr . Wood has put thousands upon thousands of money into his pooket by unjust weights and measures . How laughable to suppose for one moment that a Coal King would pay for more coals than I were produced ! If , however , the same beam which was imperfect , weighed the coals for the men , and the coals for tbo purchasers , we trust that every purchaser will nse the oath-man ' s evidence in an action against Wood and Co ., for deficient weights and measures . '
We shall give | a few extracts now from the case for the defendants gathered from the able and eloquent address of their advocate , Mr . Roberts . Before opening jtbe legal portion of hia case , he makes the following observation , which teaches us the mode uniformly practiced by the justices in such cases . He says : " But in every case in which he had appeared , except in one case at Gateshead , the prisoners had been committed to gaol . Was it always to be imprisonment , imprisonment , imprisonment , as if the men were all criminals , and the
masters all angels ! The complaint in this case was against the masters , and in favour of the men . He said that in this ] case the masters had proved themselves criminal { in the eye 3 of the law , and in fact ; and that if justice was done to them , they would find themselves within the walls of that prison [ to which they were so eager to send their fellow-men . " That's the way—that's the only way to speak to the clood-blooded ruffians . That ' s the great value of Mr . Robkbts to the Colliers' Movement ; The Masters' cannot buy him
off ; they cannot eat him off ; drink him off ; or frighten him off ; while , from his very nature , he himself cannot separate the feelings of the man from the duties of the advocate . Let it be observed , that this picture is drawn by the professional man who has attended all the oases , and drawn for those who had been parties in all the cases , and it stands uncontradioted . But to come to his legal defence for hia clients . He states three grounds : "That the agreement was unstamped and incorrect ; that the men could not under the bond gain a l ivelihood ; and
that the wages were not paid to the men as guaranteed bit Oi * bondl ^ at tha tint * wKen they Were Called On to answer * ' Those are the three points upon whioh Mr . RoBBBis relies : the first and third being legal points ; and the second a condition from which a Court of Equity would relieve the contracting , parties . We would also direct Mr . Roberts ' s attention to the fact , that only one of the partners appears to have signed the bond on behalf of the masters ; and , furthermore , that it merely bears the marks , and not the names of the men .
As Mr . Roberts' speech will amply pay for perusal , we now leave the case as far as the law is concerned , and turn to the consideration of the duties which the circumstances impose upon the Colliers . They have placed Mr . Robebts in a situation of great responsibility and not a little danger ; and it becomes our duty to speak of him as we gather his character from the press , added to our own knowledge of him . WhHe then we should feel as he feels , and fearlessly give expression te those feelings , it should be understood that when be speaks of the
men "preferring a strike to the longer endurance of those tyrants to whioh they are subjected , " that those to whom bis words expressed under such circumstances are j carried , are not therefore to imply that Mr . Roberts either directly or indirectly , has recommended or given his sanction to a strike . On the contrary , he is speaking bypothetically ; and uses the expression merely as a caution to the magistrates , and as i an hereafter justification for bis
clients , if they should be driven to the alternative . In this view and no other are his just censures and manly denunciations to be taken ; while upon the other hand the ; eagerness of the masters to push matters to an issue , should operate as a caution to the men , and tell them that a strike now , would be a master ' s strike to serve the master ' s purposes : a strike , whioh as ] announced in the letter of Dixon , and previous notices in the Star , has been concocted by the masters themselves .
The existing union of the Colliers , if judicially managed , may be made the most powerful auxiliary ever yet developed in this country on behalf of labour ; while , { if frustrated by the machinations of open foe or Becret friend , it may be made labour ' s grave . Independently , therefore , of our strong Bympathy for the Colliers themselves , we attach a general importance to their proceedings .
Theirs is work ] whioh cannot be efficiently performed by " knobsticks . " The pickaxe trembles in the hand of the nerveless operative . The atmosphere is certain death to those who have been accustomed to the jfeverish heat of a rattle-box . Let the Colliers , therefore , take care that the " Supply " bears some proportion to the " Demand , " aad , in the spirit of " Free ) Trade" and Political Economy , LET THEM NOT BO DRtfO IHB MABKBT WITtf THBIR
PRODUCE ! A 3 TO ENSURE A DI 11 ISUTI ©» IN THBiK wages . With a good bead , such as they have , to direct their united b » dy , they k&ve sothinR to fear ; and therefore , that all may move in unison and harmony , let the body cons » lt tke head . If it is possible , the power of wealth will be arrayed against the power # f labour ; . while the exparioteitta now being partially made * are merely for the purpose of testing the spirit , the ability , and union of the Collien . WJe tiast , therefore , ftat the support of those who hare been driven by the masters into a strike will become the duty of those whose very existence depends upon tne success or failure of those who have been , driven from labour . The
winter has hitherto been mild ; but a fall of brow , or a long frost would open the eyes of the tyrants to the value of their slaves . So successful has the Colliers union hitherto been , that the Tailors , inspired by a like energy , are about adopting similar means for the protection of their body . These signs are evident symptoms of the iResuscitati on of Trades Unions , in a more extensive form , and under more practical management than they have hitherto been conducted ; and therefore the Unionists must anticipate a corresponding { increase of vigour on t&e part of their opponents . ( "To be forewarned Is to $ e forearmed . " We haye means ot Jearniag the an . we-
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ments and machinations ! of the masters whioh the men have not ; and those we have never , kept secret from them . ' We trust that the forthcoming Colliers delegate meeting in Manchester , will be well attended ; and that the proceedings concerning which we now write , together with all others that may occur in the meantime , will be taken into the serious consideration of the assembled delegates ; and that none will be appointed to that high and important office except those in whose judgment and hononr the whole body , to whom they are fcnown , have entire confidence . Again we say , bo cautious ; be pruta «« » # - « j * , % -i # « - '
dent ; be forbearing even in the midst of oppression which it may be virtue to bear as a means of final correction . The fault of the working classes evet has been that they have confided the management of their affairs to mere red-tape-and-parchment attornies , whom the masters found no 4 ifnculty in seducing from the interest of their clients . In the integrity , the honour , and the manliness of Mr Roberts however rests their security and their reliance ; while without becoming obedience to his instructions even his services would be fruitless and impossible .
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THE BELFIELD FACTORY MONSTERS . In the Second Edition of our last week's paper we gave the particulars of the crowning act of Factory-Lord-tyranny that had ever come under our observation ; an act , which for malignity and pure divilism was never yet surpassed . When concluding our remarks we expressed a hope that some kind friend or other in Rochdale Would furnish us with the after-proceedings . That wish has been xveil gratified . A gentleman connected with Middle ton ; one conversant with the whole facts of the case , has kindly communicated with us , and enabled us to lay before the publio the additional facts that time has brought to light .
We must premise that our informant is not a , " ¦ Chartist . " We believe that he does not countenance the principles advocated by theNorthern Slai . But he knows and feels that gross injustice has beea meeted out to an honest and deserving man ; and he has seen that we have appealed to the public against the tyranny practiced upon the MONSTER'S victim ; and he has with alacrity and kindness furnished us with the additional particulars . We beg of him to accept our best thanks . The following paragraph , " set up" for another part of the paper , is from his pen . We give it here > that the reader may have it more prominently before him ; and judge of the importance . we attach to the
case : — ROCHDALE . —The Hard Case Again . —In our last , we gave an account of an hard case which had occurred in the neighbourhood of Rochdale , and which was copied from the Manchester Guardian of December Gth . A correspondent who has been present every time it has been brought before the Rochdale Bench , and who is also well acquainted with the whole of the case has furnished us with the following additional particulars , viz .: —At tho Rochdale Petty Sessions ,. on Monday last , the 11 th inst ., before Messrs . Clements , RoydS , Wm . Chad " wick , and the Rev . Mr . Cotton , magistrates , and & crowded court , Mr . Chadwick , one of the
magistrates , asked Mr . Hunt , solicitor , how he had gone on with the Haslingden magistrates respecting the hard case of Joseph Taylor , weaver , Middleton . Mr . Hunt said he went to Haslingden and Roesendale , on Tuesday last , to Mr . Booth , the inspector appointed under the Worsted Act , who , he found ,, was the acting constable in the execution of the warrant against Taylor . From him he demanded ( as Taylor ' s solicitor , ) a copy of the warrant , and wad refused ; and , from his refusal and after conduct , he found he was a partizan to the complaining party , Messrs . Benecke and Co ., of Belfield , one mile from Rochdale . He was then necessitated to apply to the Governor of the Gaol
of Salford , for a copy of the conviction , from which he found the sole charge against Taylor , is not as stated in our last , for embezzling the work he had in the loom , which had been stated by John Hudson , alias Hargreaves , putter-out for the above firm , on the Monday previous ; but it was worse than that ; it was for not bringing in his work , after notice so to do , and which he had been prevented from doing , because the ptitter-out had refused either toallow 01 sell him any weft ; and it was stated by two witnesses that he ' had declared he would punish him if he purchased from any other person . Mr . Hunt replied that tie should meet in Koohdale thai day with Mr . Turner , one of the committing magistrates . Mr .
Hunt did meet with Mr . Turner on Monday afternoon ; and our correspondent waited on Mr . Hunt , and he told him he had explained to Mr . Turner all the facts of the case , dwelling upon the refusal of the masters' patter-oat to supply the poor man with more worsted or weft , though he had offered to PAY fob it , and consequently it was impossible for him to take in the work which the masters were preventing him from completing , and yet they had sent him to prison . Mr . Hunt replied that Mr . Turner appeared to take the matter into hia serious consideration , and promised to confer with the Rev . William Gray , his brother magistrate , on the day following . We understand that if the
Hasiingden Bench refuse to liberate him , the respectable inhabitants of both Rochdale and Middleton will lay the who / e of the proceedings before the Secretary of State . Black as it appeared in our paper on Saturday , it was much underrated . Taylor is a Bilk-weaver and a llorist , or small gardener and he has maintained his seven children ,: and an aged mother , by his weaving and selling plants , Ac , without ever troubling the parish for relief . On Friday last it was found by some neighbours that hid aged mother and children were without food : however , poor as the neighbours are , they got them assistance , and applied to the overseer , who instantly gave them relief ; the Rev . R . Darnford has also
been kind te the children . It is well known that silk-weaving is the principal trade at Middleton , and at this time the weavers have not half employment , and hundreds are destitute . Had it aot been for Taylor ' s industry , in bis buying and selling plants occasionally , no doubt but he would have been obliged , long ago , to have had parish relief . Persons who know him declare that he was always a very quiet , harmless , sober , honest , and industrious man . The two cuts were arbitrated on , and the Rochdale Bench ordered payment- a few weeks ago , which
was 7 s . 6 d ., he having travelled backwards and forwards—that is , from Middleton to Belfield , the residence of his employers , upwards of UO miles , before he was able to get his wages . There is no doubt but the putter-out , or his masters , or some person , has taken advantage ( if so it may be called ) , in consequence of the Rochdale Bench ordering payment of the wages . Many persons have promised to subscribe , in order to bring the guilty party to justice ; and Mr . Hunt says he shali bring the inspector of worsted to justice for his conduct towards him ' .
One thing strikes us as rather queer about this business . The Manchester Guardian , from whose pages we extracted the original " case , " had , on Wednesday , no further " particulare" respecting it . He has not given the proceedings before the Rochdale magistrates on Monday last . Those proceedings were somewhat important . The " case" has made some neise in Rochdale . He did report it at first : how came he to omit the " furtker particulars , " & very interesting to the public ! Has he " put his foot in it , " by reporting the *• case" at all ! Was he in the wrong box , exposing , instead of defending , the gross oppressions of the Factory Kings \ Is this the cause of his silence ! Has the hint been gives him , or hie keen-stent&d nose apprised him , that he waa not " backing-up his friends" ? Whatever may
have been the oaute , certain it is that he is nt * silent , as far as the wrongfully-oppressed weaver i * concerned . But if he is ailent with respect to the man , sot so with respect to the masters . Though he etf bubkb the proceedings before the Rothdale Beeea on Monday last , he can give the MONSTERS 11 explanation" in th « following terms : —
To m ~ Editor of HI * Haacketitr Gwxrdiaa . Sib »—In reply to as article inserted in you 1 m WednesdayVffMTdMM , and headed "Hard Case , " *• beg to state , that Joseph Taylor having negtefted fe bring iabia work , o « r putter-out , without any directions from us , plaeod the wse in the bands of the inspector appointed by the worsted committee , who , a * having given Taylor the notice required bylaw , app » - bended Wm and took him beiore Oie magistrates « Haallngden : but we were not aware either of w
warrant being out against bim ; Spr of his being Uke *^ Haslingden , until the day following the commitment We also beg to state , that oar putter-out podtiJ assures us that he never did refuse to sell Taylor « & »> in order to enable him to complete bis pieces ; . and « which : ke wotald n » t have been abort , had be not * P ° <* v two former pieces . On the other hand , we are M ?*?' and believe Be was nrged by the Inspector to fetcn . «» weft and complete bis work , and that the inspector »»» informed him that if be would go for the weft fie ¦¦*«•» obtain it 1
We have enly to add , that on Taylor ' s being » * " * j feom confinement , we shall be glad to have the «»• fully investigated . We are , Sir , yoer obedient servants , Pet pro Wm , Benecke and Co . F . T . Phiufps , Belfleld . Hall , near Rochdale , 12 tb Dei , 18 < 3 .
The Northern Star. Saturday, December 16, 1843.
THE NORTHERN STAR . SATURDAY , DECEMBER 16 , 1843 .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 16, 1843, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct512/page/4/
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