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LEEDS AND WEST-RIDING NEWS
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THE NO RTHEfiN STAR.. SATURDAY, AUGUST 85, 1838.
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TO READERS & CORBLESPONBENTfl.
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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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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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A ¦ ¦ . ;¦; " ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦ ..-. S . P L E N D ID POET RUT ( FROM A STEEL PLATE , ) " . ¦ OF " ¦¦• ¦ ¦ ¦ : ' SIR W , MOLES ^ ORTg , BA&T ., OT . P . FOR LEEDS , Will be presented to our SCOTCH and other NORTHERN PURCHASERS of tbe ' STAR of this Day , Aug . 25 .
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unmusical to toe ears of those into whose pockets the proceeds will find their way ; Donhtlea the ple&rare i » as gmt » Of Wing cheated as to etwat . But , merciful Heaven , when will the Irish see through the dark cloud which obscures their reason P When will they begin to reflect , that the man who lives in troubled waters , would die . when the stream ceased to be agitated . How miserable must that country be whose laws are made by knaves and administered by fools . "When will the heart-stirring recommendation of Lord 2 ^ OBMANDY to the men oi
Meath , be acted upon ? He told them " that it was not in tbe power of any man U do as much for a people , as * people could do for tkemrires . " These words should be written in gold . Mr . O'Con-KEtL has paid the debt uf iypocrisy and treason . In the commeBcantnt of th « Sewion , tht Whigi used -him ' " -a tool to beat down the Tories , and at the close , they used tbe Tories as a tool to beat down O'Cowwbll ; and yet , i » the Bttltne * of his heart , he again Incomes the herald of Whiggery ,
and creates a deceptive agitation , m order to cover his own delinquencies , and those of his "base , brutal , and bloody" associates . Hovr have tbe mighty fallta ! Wkil » , this bloiterer speafcj of his power over the English mind , we dare him to present himself before any meeting of Englishmen or Scotchmen , without tbe presence of such a police gaard of honour as accompanied him into Stociport upon his last visit to that town . "While O'Connell has chalked
out his tourof agitation , Lord Do bham's good natured friend , HiRRY , means to try his hand farther North . The fact in , O'Conkell's popularity snuffed Brotjoham out ; and , now that Daniel has extinguished himself , tbe Agitating X . ORB means once more t o light his torch at tbe expiring blaze ol Daniel ' s pile . But the Scotch know Harry , and will deal with him accordingly . Tbns has theSesnion
closed , after a lavish expenditure of money , and a new mortgage upon tbe sinews of working men , in tie shape of Exchequer Bills . Our duty now in to meetSt . Stephen ' s itinerants upon all bands , and if in their capacity of legislator * they have for a reason triumphed , we shall teach tbem that if the sanction of a people is not necessary for the mating of laws , their concurrence becomes necessary before tbosr laws can be carriedinto ftff < . ct . All tbe Democratic
Associations throughout tbe country will be on their # uard , and be prepared to move and carry an amendment for Universal Suffrage , to any proposition proposed under the new Whig system of agitation .
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THF WEEKLY CHRONICLE AND THE BIRMINGHAM MEETING . "When we had noticed the Birmingham Meeting more than once , and promised again to serve it up to our rtaders , we were not aware that our friend ot the Weekly Chronicle would think the subject worthy of so much distinction as to bestow a second article upon its consideration ; * o it it , however , and a pretty mess our friend has made of bis aetoiid
attempt . After some puling lamentations for th > \ n <» of subscribers , to w hicb disiDTerestedne ** and lovr nf justice have vjhjecttd the ' Historian and Politician , " he proceeds thus : — " Tbe abolition of the Corn Laws , the protection of tbosr now intrusted wren the franchise , the p rogressive widening * of its basis , these are things which we understand and value . " So do we , Sir , but we have yet to learn how far " tbo » e now intrusted with the frauchise "
have gone to procure >> rrpeal of the Corn Laws , or " a widening of tbe bail ' s" of representation ; and bow they have shown their title to that irresponnibility which tbe " protection "—thatis , tbe Btvllntwould bestow upon them . It has been b y a reliance upon tbe exertions of such brawlers , that the people have allowed so many mortal stabs to htinBicted upon tbe constitution without resistance . It was because the people were deceived into a reliance upon tbe sophistry of O'Conxell , Hume , Warbueton , Ward , and the rt-st of tbe Malthusian- « , that the Whi g Government has been so often
successful in its attacks upon the liberties of the people ; and yet we are once more called upon to relinquish the substance for the shadow , and to forget tbe great principle in tbe detail absurdity ol the crotchet mongers . To show that th * people have few helpers in their great struggle , Lycubous goes on to say , " Look at tbe Press , daily and weekly , which of the papers , Libe-al or Radical , has ventured to unite with Birmingham in proclaiming Universal Suffrage ? " "Why every Radical paper in London has joyously reechoed the sentiments proclaimed at Birmingham . However , we can
pardon tbe Weekly Chronicle writer for not having read those other papers , aa writing is his forte , having commented upon Mr . Attwood ' s speech without having read it . "We are not , therefore , surprised at his not having read tbe Weekly True Sun , the Champion , or the London Dispatch : had he read those papers , be would have found that they , as well as we , " venture to unite with Birmingham in proclaiming Universal Suffrage . " But suppose that no paper , London or Provincial , had ventured to join
with Birmingham in proclaiming Universal Suffrage "—what then ? If tbe whole Press turn traitor to the people , is that a reason why the people should turn traitor to themselves ? The very fact of a great majority of the Press—tie Weekly Chronicle among tbe rest—upholding the partial interests of the factions in preference to the universal interests of tbe people , makes it so much the more necessary that by tbe means of Universal Suffrage , the people should be enabled to uphold their own interests .
Oar sage of tbe Weekly Chronicle goes on to moralize in tbe following strain : — " Most of our daily contemporaries seem to think that the less that in said upon tbe-sutjpct , the better . In short , the onlr jirarnal that tive » tbe wh ^ le hoe ( m the Yankees wonld call it ; is the Northern Star , which u the alter ego , the representative in print , of Mr . Fearing O'Connor . What weight the opinions of Air . O'Connor may derive from those of the paper , or tha opinions of the paper trom those of Mr . O'Connor , we cannot pn-tend 10 determine . Like Mr . Whittla Harvey ' s party in the Huoae of CommoiiB , thai never wan divided , beeanse it consist ed only of himself , they natttrallv rewind to
and re-echo one another . Yet even here th »> demon of discord hsa fonnd a loop-hole to creep in at , for in the Star of last Saturday , which announces in the most gr&ndibquent lone , that ' the Union it nov > the Government of the cevntry , dejure et de facto , and that the Northern Star is the Moniteur , the Qffieiul Gazette , of the new cabinet—a ) though-w » are assured that the executive is cordially united—that they have no differencesdd open question *—nothing that can impede the mo » t prompt and harmonious artion . —we find in the next paragraph , headed "The American Struggle , " that ftlr . FeaXgOA O'Connor and Mr . Attwood differ , and that , in as far as the Northern SUtr u > cnncenii > d . the currency question is to be thrown
overboard . Poor Mr . Attwood ! lhu » is the nnkindlieBt cat of " 7 . . la - ^ 1 notes , he lives , moves , and has his being . All his politic * are coLontrated in this one question . Yet Mr . Fearpn » O Conn < . r dares t » talk or the prBgreaa of the ' rag-money struggle , and punts to the triumph of the people over the nion .-yrn . u m the United State * , by the re-estobKahment of a meUlhc cun-ency , an a proof of the good working of Universal ;> DHraj ! e ! How the united » xwitive i » to accommodate snch a schi-m as ihu between two v ( itg leading members , we can-Jiot cunj-Ctnre : but ihe-e s \ xnptoms of that want of co-operatioji which serins to be the bane of all cabinet * , are very distnesaing , and-ouffhito be pnt an end to . "
Here we have a portion of the greatest rubbish and nonsense that ever emanated from the head of mortal man . What , in tbe name of wonder , has the state of America , with little or no debt , to do with tbe state of England , with her enormous debt , that our sapient friend should so far consider tbe position "f tbe two countries analagous , as to suppose that we could justify , under present circumstances , a like Currency for both countries . He is raving upon the Ballot and the Corn Laws , and has lost tbe " appropriation" of bis common senses . But then , he wen-Jew how Mr . O'Connor and Mr . Attwood can so harmonize with the Currency gulph between them . ' Now , if h ^ common reason had not the
power to attach importance to Mr . Attwood , his malicious ingenuity Da 3 aODe it effectually , and estaUwbra Mr . Attwood ' s character for integrity . Mr . ATTWOOD may , and probabl y does consider
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his currency scheme the grand panacea for all our evils ; but , with more honesty than other crptcnetmongersj jae says manfully , " So convinced am I of the value of my scheme , that I am ready to submit it to Universal Suffrage ; " while Mr . Ward and Mr . O'Connell chatter about the Ballot and the Abolition of the Gprn Laws , but would withhold the Suffrage , although by that alone could those other projects be effected . So much for the comparative honesty of Mr . Attwood and his revilers . Now , does not the Weekly Chronicle
scribe know full well that Mr . Attwood s currency plan forms no part nor parcel of the present agi-. tation ? is he not aware that the subject was not mentioned by Mr . Attwood at the meeting ? We venture also to inquire , has not he himself sbuBed , reviled , and blackened the present Government , because they oppose his Corn Law Repeal , hit Appropriation Clause , and bis Ballot project ? and yet , when a "job" it to be done , who is more , eady to sink those , Men trifling differences , and join in the suppression of liberty ? Mr . Ward
road * » furious nucecn against the Irish , and voted for the Coercion Bill ; yet did he vote for the Appropriation Clause for Ireland ? It does not seem to be a necessary understanding between the present Government and their servile supporters , that any farther unanimity should exist than that of keeping the Tories out and the Whigs in ; and yet the Weekly Chronicle is astoniched ( with the remote probability of an ideal difference between Mr . O'Connor and Mr . Attwood , ) that any union can exist between thone two gentlemen upon the
question of tbe Suffrage . He goes on , " Had wt had a little more vigour- a little more of unity bt plan—a little more of well understood and vrell regulated principle , in the present Administration- — the new Birmingham executive would never have been heard of . " If this be not a direct censure on Government for not having " vigour enough" to arrest Messrs . O'Connor and Attwood , and others , we know not the meaning of language . And although our friend endeavouw in his after clap to attach something like blame to the Whigs ,
we tell him that the sophistry and treachery of such scribw and ^ pporters , has gone far to embolden tbe Whigs in their transgressions , while , it has had the pernicious effect of throwing the Radicals off their guard . Now for the third course of the Birmingham glorious and nerer-to-be-forgotten meeting , rendered daily and weekly more important , in consequence of the abuse of tbe daily and weekly press . It now becomes the duty of every town , city , and village , in England and Scotland , to give effect to the exertions of the men of Birmingham . Preparatory
mettings have already been held at Manchester , Hull , Carlisle , Rochdale , Ipswich , Middleton , and other places * , and as we find that tbe August meeting wa * a God send for a week to the daily , and a month to the weekly papers , we will give them another windfall for the next month ; and ko on , shall we feed them during the dull season oftherecess . The Biiminjihana petition is being generally signed , and « eeins "o have g iven more sausi ' ac ; ion than any
public document ever presented to the people . Meantime , the Birmingham Union , backed by Mr . Salt , and his virtuous female staff , seem to have buckled on rheir armour in good earnest , and the Universal mnt'o i * , and ou ^ ht to be , onward ! onward ! Union , Universal Suffrage and Liberty , if we have but -ucb enemies as the Weekly Dispatch , and the Weekly Chronicle , to contend against , the victor ) is sure ; the battle is our own .
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PHYSICAL FORCE . Tbe baru mention of physical force seems to bare excited so much alarm of late among the nestlings .. f Whiggery and "Reform , " that we deem it not < tmis << to quote a few recent authorities upon the » uhj » ct . Hi >!< JitaTy bondsmen , know ye not Tb « "y who Honld be free , themselves most strike thfi blow . O'ConnelCs Motto .
" Sooner than see the grievances of my country continue , I would see her streams running blood , and her green fields crimsoned with gore ; and , though my arm U old , yet is it not too withered to draw a sword in my country's cause . "— O'Connell at the Drogheda Dinner . " What use are your petitions ; let me have petitions tbac will ran thus : —* We , , 000 f ighting men , do most humbly petition your Honourable House . ' Let the House know , that you are ready to fight , and then your petitions will be listened to . " —O'Connell at the Dinner at White Conduit House . We beard him .
" Oh ! If we-bad a Parliament in College Green , wonld ' nt the Kildire boys march in , some fine morning , with their short sticks , to teach their Members how to vote . "—O'Connell . " I hope the day is not far distant when all King ' s beads will be footballs for the boy * to kick in the gutter . " —Slashing Harry . " Should tbe Duke of Wellington attempt to force a Bourbon upon tbeFrench throne , in opposition to the will of the French people , it would justify a revolt upon the part of the people of England . "—Slashing Harry .
" We are ready to lead you , or to follow you to the death , in obtaining Universal Suffrage . "—T . Atticood at Glasgow . i ( The time raay not yet have arrived when we can repel force by force . "—John Fielden . " We will resist the repeal of tbe Union even
to the death . "—Lord Stanley . Then onward , the green banner Tearing , ! ' Go fleth every sword to ( he hill ; * On our nde is virtue and Krin , 1 On theirs is the parson and guilt . Moore . 11 They that be slain with the sword , are better than they that are slain with hunger ; for these pine away , stricken through for want of the fruits of the field . "—Lamentations , fourth chapter } ninth
verse . "I declare the man whe attempts to marshal physical force , to be a coward and a traitor . In every instance where it has been resorted to , the dupes always consider tbe last shot and murder as the completion of their object f whereas , it is the commencement of misery . Moral power is the
deliberative reasoning quality in man ' s mind , which teaches him how to bear , and when forbearance becomes a crime . Never will I acknowledge that you have used your full moral power , till every man works as I have done , and has the vanity to consider that himself , and himself alone , can gain tbe point ' , and then , should moral power tail , I will lead you on to death or glory . "^—Feargus O'Connor .
We give these extracts for the especial benefit of the Weekly Dispatch } who has called Mr . O'Connor ' s speech at Birmingham atrocious , because be quoted a stanza from Moore .
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THE PLEASURES OE CARRYING , OUT THE NEW POOR LAW . Lord Spencer , then Lord Althorp , one of the fathers of the New Poor Law , once observed in the House of Commons , that the unpopularity of a law was a sufficient reason for its repeal . Very different is the opinion , on the same subject , of Mr . Inoham . He feels , in popular discontent , a noble goading to "hi gh deeds of daring enterprise , and hero , ically stakes bis own ifibn . e / supported by those of any two individuals , who will join him in tbe "for lorn hope , " against the determination of ' the whole
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district in which bis residence is situate . Now , a Magistrate should" ^ e a , man 6 ?" sense ; and ; granting that Mr .- Ingham believes the principle of the New Poor Law to be good , we-would ask him what benefit he proposes to himself , or to -society , from the insane attempt he is now making to cram it down the people's throats ? It might be an act of charity to give a poor fellow a good warm new coatfora threadbare old one ; but ifhe had so great an objection to the new one as ttt tear it to ribbons , sooner than allow it to be forced upon his back , we believe all men of sense will allow that the best thing to be done would b « to let him continue to wear the old
one until his judgment could be convinced that the nevr one is preiferablei NpWj this is the ptari we recommend to Mr . Ingham , to Mr . Power , anil to Lord JqkNV Russell . If the New Poor Law be a "Boon to the ; pdor" show thejm wherein the . ' . ' Boon" cohsista ; show them how it will operate to tbwir benefit , and not to their prejudice , and then we engage that the poor will accept it joyfully , and return many thanks to their benefactors But we tell all these persons that it is out of THEIR POWER TO FORCE IT UPON THE PEOPLE
so long as the conviction remains upon tbe public mind that it is a diabolical plot to reduce them to , " a coawr tort of food . " And we tell them that this conviction is not to be got rid of by simply employing the blackguardism of the Globe in asserting that it is a lie—they must show proof—proof satisfactory to the judgment of rational and deep thinking men—that this new- law is indeed " a great boon to the poor . " Let them do this , and we promise , on behalf of the people , that they shall have no more , trouble in its enforcement ; but , as for
cramming it down oar throats by brute violence , we have simply to say upon that subjecr , that " / orce " is a game that two parties can play at , as wesuppose Mr . lNGHAM has found out ; and w ? really cannot conceive any gratification Mr . Ingham can derive from making the people happy , in Whig lashion , in spite of themselves , that can adequately compensate him for tbe mortification which must be endured by a gentleman , a magistrate—one who should be beloved , regarded and looked up to by his neighbours , at finding himself unable to stir safely frcm his own door without soldiers to escort him . How galling must it be to the feelings of such
a man to be compelled to quit his own home , and sc t refuge in a distant hiding place . Trul y , Mr . Inoham ha ? made a sad mess of his Poor Law patriotism . Upon this head , we must here give one word of caution to our brave Dewsbury friends . Let them beware of Mott . This tramping pauper tells them that there is no intention to carry out the law , but that the forms must be complied with of appointing officers , &e . Two years ago they were tuld , that the formation of the Union and the appointment of Guardians was only for registration purposes and not for the introduction of the Poor Law . Let them estimate the value of
this subterfuge , by that . We then told them that if they allowed the Union to be formed they would surely get the Poor Law in all its blessedness . W " e now tell them > hat if they allow this Mott to trick them out of their well-limed resistance , they will rivet its chains about their own necks . Let them PUT CONFIDENCE IN THE DEVIL OR THE Devil King , sooner THAN IN Mott . We refer them to our Bradford nfiws , where , under the head , "Give it a fair Trial , "they will there find an instance of the blessed workings of the " Boon " hat may help their confidence in Messrs . Mott and Power .
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THE FORTY-NINE . There is no subject of more vital importance at this morntnt to tbe people of these realms than a judicious selection of persons to represent their interests in the National Convention , which will sit during tbe approaching session of Parliament . On the choice nf these men the salvation of our father Iun 4 greatly binges . If men of courage and integrity
are chosen as members of the convention , this salvation will shortly be consummated . If , on the contrary , shamrpatriots of any description , should be entrusted with the confidence of the people , all will be lost , or , at least , the attainment of our rights indefinitely postponed . Let the people , therefore , look round them eautiou .-ly-r-Jet them select with judgment , and support with firmness , their representatives .
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TO THE ED 1 TOKS OK THE NORTHERN STAR . London , August 22 nd , 1838 . Mv DEAR Sirs , —Our cause will gain nothing by deluding ourselves or others . Why do I make this observation ? Because I have seen a eulogiam of Lafayette in one of your recent editorial article * , and because your paper of last week contains the following remarks , which I was sorry to see . Commenting on certain misstatements in the Weekly Chronicle , touching Mr . Attwood and the great Birmtrgham meeting , you go on to say ^—
"So much fp . tbe charge of dotard folly . Now for tbe wholesale bad principle of which Mr . Attwood is accused : and for on t more blow while we ha v e LycurgUj , upon bis back . The Chronicle goes on— ' Then a ain , what man in his senses ever thought of alluding to Robespierre as a fit type for an English Reformer ? Mr . Attwood desires to resemble him . ' Who , indeed , ever thought of
such a thing , but the writer in the Chronicle ? Not Attwood , as we shall prove by giving his own words from the very back of the ' History and Politics . ' Here they are— 'He would never be a Robespierre in his country . There should be no blood shed with his concurrence . ' Now , need we say one other word , further than to tell the Chronicle ' s scribe to read the speech of Mr . Attwood , which he has not done ?"
As a mere matter-of-fact refutation of the Chronicle ' s mifjstatements , these are very just and proper remarks . When a journalist is guilty of palpable misrepresentations , it is the duty of other and honester journalists to set him right , or father to set the public right in respect of his misstatements . But it is not their duty , while removing one
delusion , to propagate or countenance other delusions , as bad or worse than Ike one removed . You will pardon me , Gentlemen , lor saying that the above paragraph appears to me to have this tendency . You will pardon me for observing , that Lafayette was not the exalted patriot which you and Mr . Attwood would make it appear , ( for Mr .
Attwood reiterated your praise of LAFAYETTE at the Birmingham meeting , ) and that Robespierre , so far from meriting the character insinuated by Mr . ATTWboD , and propagated by you , ' was one of the purest , bnt of the most humane , ( aye , humane !) and one of the most enlightened Reformers that ever existed in the world ., These , I know , are only assertions ; but they are assertions which I am prepared to prove by a thousand in ' diaputabltf facts . Nav , I will go
further , I ¦ . will undertake to prove that La-FAYETTE was a cheat , a tyrant , a traitor , and a scoundrel ; and that RoBEfePiERRB waa ' not . only the opposite of all these , but that be actually did ancl suffered raorf ) for the cause of buiHanity , during his brief career , than any other statesman , legislator , orator , or public character , . to be Ibund in the whole circle of history . I care not with whom the comparison is instituted . I will give my adversary his choice of all PlutaRCH s
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heroes and statesmen . I will give him ; : ' a carte blanche to ransack the historic stores of Herodotus , TflTjcibybES , Polyb ius , JosEPHtrs , LiVy , Tacitus , and aa many more of the ancient » as he likes , or those of Rollin , RapIn , Voltaire , Gibbon , Humb , Robertson , and as many more of the Moderns as ^ ^ he likes ; or , coming to our own immediate time !' , I will" allow him to select , out of all the public characters that have figured within the last fifty v ears in France , England , and the United States , the
MAN who ) he supposes , has done most for the human race , and I will undertake to prove that Robespiebbb wss superior to that man , ai a benefactor to the human race . I do not ttay that Robespierre was at once the wisest , . the most intellectual , the most upright , the most disinterested , the most courageous , the most eloquent , tbe most humane , and the most benevolent man of whom history make * mention , but I do say I will undertaite to prove that he possessed a larger oroportion of these several qualities , ( taken ,
conjointly , ) than any other public man , of Ancient or modern times , known to history , This , I am aware , U saying a great deal , but let my advercary only name hi » time and place , giving me a month ' s notice , and , I will engage to meet him on the subject . I will only stipulate that , in case my challenge be accepted , the discussion shall take place publicly , in a building capable of holding five thousand persons ; that there shall be no charge for admission :
and that I shall be put to no expense whatever , beyond my travelliug or other personal expenses . That will be more than enough of expense for me , for , I cannot well afford even that . Should any friends or agents of the present Whig Government honour our proceedings with their presence , I should like them to be accommodated with seats in the most conspicuous part of the building , so that tneir countenances , ( supposing them to be able to keep their countenance * , ) intent be visible to the wjlole uf the assembly , during the whole of the
discus . I trust , Gentlemen , that you will do me more justice than to suppose , that the foregoing challenge is bat so much idle vapouring on my part . What 1 have said , 1 have said deliberately , and what I have engaged to do , I will do , to the best of my anility , in case the opportunity b : afforded me . I do nui say , that I will prove this or I will prove that . 1 only say that I will undertake to prove . Of the weight and value of my proofs , it will be for the audience , not for me , to judge . I will undertake to
prove that Robespierre Was as nearly as possible the opposite of what history has represented - him . I will undertake to prove that bt was an ' immeasurably superior man to Thomas Attwood , or to Daniel U'Connell , or to Fearous u'Cunnob , or to Caktwkiuht , Hunt , or CuBBett , or to Washington , Adams , Maddison , Jackson , Paine , or even Jefferson ; or to Burke , Fox , Pitt , or Chatham , or to any fileml ) er oi the present House of Commons , or to any Member of the House of Lords , or to any other public
character now living , or now dead . I will undertake to prove that he was , in a pre-eminent degree , patriotic , benevolent , humane , eloquent , eoaru ^ toud , well-informed , magnanimous , incorruptible * and laborious . I will undertake to prove that he made greater , wiser , and more successful efforts for humanity in five years , than any of the great names above cited made in fifty . I will undertake to prove that if justice were done to ROBESPIERRE , instead of being calumniated and execrated as he has been by knaves and fools
of all description * , monuments would be erected to him in every civilised country on earth ? I will undertake to prove not only that he was not the author of all , or any , of the horrors committed in the French Revolution , but that he laboured harder than any other Frenchman ef his day to prevent such horrors ; that throughout the whole of that eventful period , he laboured with consummate ability , and with Godlike perseverance , amidst the most bitter and discouraging circumstances ,-to reconcile the various conflicting factious with one another , and to reconcile ail of them , with reason
and with justice ; and that if be ultimately perished in the attempt , it was not in consequence of any crime he had himself committed , but through his incapability of committing even one crime , and of making head against the crimes of his destroyers . I will prove that all the crimes and horrors falsely attributed to him by history , were , in reality , committed or caused by the inhuman tyranny of the base Aristocracy , and of the baser middle classes of France , in whose interests all the histories , hitherto published , have been written ; and , finally , I will prove that it is all but certain that Robespierre would have
ultimately succeeded in regenerating France , in spite of all the factions , had he not been assassinated through the foulest conspiracy that ever disgraced the annals of political crime . You , Gentlemen , profess to be lovers of f air play and free discussion . You do more than profess ; you prove it , by throwing your columns open to the advocates of opinions different from , and , sometimes , the opposite of your ovrn . Now it is in the spirit of fair play and free discussion , and in that spirit only , I have ventured the preceding remarks , which , I am aware , will appear to most
people to be , in the last degree , extravagant . " No matter for that , they are my honest , well matured convictions . I do not ask you , or anybody else to bold my opinions without being similarly convinced of their truth , but I do ask , for the sake of the eternal interests of justice , that you will not propagate one set of opinions , even though jou should happen to hold them yourselves , without giving the lovers of fair play , holding opposite opinions , an opportunity of answering and refuting them , if they can . That you will do this . in the present instance , I need no other guarantee than your past conduct .
If I believed Robespierre to have been the blood-thirsty monster , he has lieen depicted in history , I would not be his eulogist . If I tnougbt , with you and Mr . Attwood , that Lafayette was a brave and virtuous patriot , I would not be an euemy of his fame . But , I believe neither the one nor the other . On the contrary , I believe that Robespierre was the best friend that France ever had , and that Lafayette was one of her worst
. Mr . Attwood says "I will never be the Robespierre of my country . " In that Mr . A . is ptrlectly correct , but when he coupled that asseveration with another about ll shedding blood , " he ought to have applied the latter to Lafayette and not to Robespierre . Robespierre never did shed innocent blood . Lafayette did . Lafayette was the author of the horrible massacre of
1791 , in the Champ-de-Mare—a massacre in whicn a multitude of person ? were cruelly and without cause put to death . Robespierre , not only had no share in the massacre , but had his advice been followed it would not have taken place . If Lafayette professed the same power in England wort ; , which , he did in France in the years 1790 and 179 J , Mr . Attwood and his brother Unionists would , to a certainty , have been cannonad ed at Hotlow . ayhead . Lafa vette destroyed hundreds of persons , during the Revolution , for language not theb-undredthpartso Radical or so violent as Mr . Att-
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wood is in the habit of asing at ^ is Unioia meetiogg , and had it not been for ^ , bra ^ Parisiaha , he wonld ^ vjb . destroyjed , tibe Jacobife Club , broken up all the popular societies , and annk ; hilated the popular press ; He made the attempt-, he made it with an armed face— -andi he made it under the authority-of a Martial Law of which hi was the principal author , ajidI which he alone ever dared to execute against the armed people . Talk of Lafayette a 3 a patriot , He was ani execrable tyrant . He voted for giving Louis XVL an abgo . lute veto on the laws—of giving him the power © t war and peace—for giving aim an enprmoiia fj ^ ril List , and for reinstating him on the throne after his abdication . He voted for Martial Law—bt voted against the independence of Belgium—he
advocated every legislative mtasure for excl uding ^ working classes from the National Guards—for ex . eluding them -from every political and muniei pal trust and franchise , for robbing tb « m of thsri jbl « f petition—in short , for every measure the Constituent Aj > semb 1 y decreed , with the vierr of making the ^ abject jilavet . He did more , he repeatedly tried t * leave them without a single political chik or defender , by openly attempting thV lurea * f ^ m ^ honest patriot that raised a voice in ; their h * wa . Andthis ia tha way Mr . Attwood praises ! whilst he excites horror against RoBESPiEBre , wht laboured to prevent all Lafayette ' s tyrannies . But after all Mr . Attwood is not to blame—h has been imposed upon by living , historians ana lying jourHaHsts . When he comes to know the troth be will think differently . He mil thank hii
stars that there are noLAFAYETTESin England , to proclaim and execute Martial Law against ttft honest Unionists of "Brummagum . " Having said so much of Robespierre ani Lafayette let me conclude with two paragraphi which exactly illustrate their respective acts and principles . Mr . Attwood will recognise one of them at any rate .
LAFAYETTE 8 PRINCIPLES . •' MURDER DEMANDS JUSTICE . " Brother Radicals , — -The memorttWe 16 th of Angnat , thai never-to-be-lbrgotten day in Wancheawr is near at hand , andwe call upon you once more to assemble on the plains of IVttrloo . and there prove to the perpetrators of that inhnman ~ x * eei tiiat jon have not forgotten * nor- will you ever forgive , unt 3 ' . Iamice' ha * been obtained . for the outrages that were committed on tt . at day . Shall the shrieks of the butchered childrtu—the piercing cries of the slaughtered women , and the dying gToans of the murdered men , be forgotten b y the Radical Keiormers of Manchester , for peaceably and legallj iuf « tn )« t <> pe \ itio » : for a TepeaV of the . lnfainous Cbril Laws and a Kadical Reform in the representation of the people a ih « Coiuuions' House of Parliament ?
Robespierre ' s principles . ( From Robespierre ' s Report tothe QmwrUvm on thelStk Plti verso of the lOthyearpt ' l / ie Republic . ) " We desire an order of thingBj in which all the mean and cruel pasaions shall be chained dowii ; all the beneticeni ani XeHerousp . isaions awakened by the laws ; in whithaii . bitia sirtill coHsist in the desire ot * meriting glory and servih g om country ; in which distinctions shall apnng but from equality itsflt ; in wUicti the citizen ahall be subject to the mugistmtei , the magistrate to the people , and the people to justice ; a which the country shall ensure the prosperity of
shall bt ; aggrandized by the continual mtercummuuication of Republican gRUtimenU , and by the wish to merit the esteem hi ugieiit people ; in which / thearts shall flourisb . as the itcoratioiid oi the liberty that ennoble them ; and in which commerce will be a source of public riches ' , and not of th in ustrutw opulence of a few great houses only . '' " We desire to substitute in our cbn&try morality for egot isiii , probity for honour , princi p les for usages , duties f « courty » ies , the empire of reason for the tyranny of lashiou , conti'iiipt ol vice for contempt of misfortune , m .. nly pride fix irisolence , greatness of soul for vanity , love ol" glory lor tis love of ninney , honesty lor respectability , good people for good Coiopaiiy , merit lor intrigue , peniufl for wit , truth for
display , thecharmH ot happineu * lor the ennui of peaiiire , the greatness of inan for the littleness of the great , a people inaguaiiiuHius , powerful , and happy , for a people amiable , trivuluus , and miserable ; inayyora we desire to substituted tbe miracles of the . Republic for all the vices , and all tte ridiculi-u . s fopperiespf ; the monarchy .:. We desire , in short , to fulfil the yows of nature , to , accomplish the -doctrines of humanity , to absolve providence from the long reign ol crime and tyranny- ^ thatKrance heretofore illnatrions amongst enaUtved countries , may , by eclipsing ail the free states that ever exi ted * become amodel lor nations , the terror ofoppretsors , the consolation of the oppressed , the ornament of the world—and that in sealing our work with our blood y we thij at least witness the breaking dawu of universal felicity . "
Such were the respective principles ofLAFAYETTB and Robespierre ! It is for Radical Reformers and honest men to say which they prefer . My life to a haubee that Mr . Attwqod , himself , willgjse the preference to ROBESPIERRE . Yours , &c . BRONTERRE .
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Mr . Brooke . —I should be most happy to defend the Anti-Pwr Law men anaI the poot insane woman , at Wakefield , but I cannot . LA those out plead for them ., by making the graft grow at the door of the enemy . Do not it frightened man ; no surrender . You wot right not to attend the board on the day of batik } for if you had , they would have shot you and a number of the poor people . I blamed you at first ; butf upon consideration , you were right . Yours most faithfully ,
EEARGUS O'GONNOB . P . S . If starvation is to be the order of the day it will starve Government find all out . To Mr . Titus Brooke , Dewsbury . Mr . O'Connor will have much p leasure in attending the Nottingham Meeting , and wilt see tht Birmingham Council on Monday the 2 . 7 th , and mention the circumstance required to be statedit them , and also to those other friends rmtioned .
Mr . O'Connor will be at Birmingham on the 29 M , and , consequently , must regret his inability & attend the Stockport meeting . Mr . O'Connor iciUshortly reply to his gooifnat at Colne , and will comply with their ¦ refiieH . He will give them sufficient notice , but hit time will be fully occupied for some time . R . Nash . —The Portraits will be given at SockW Kennedy , Ripon . —His Letter is not suitable fa our columns . We have handed it *¦'¦ * $ Society here , who will , doubtless , make gm use of it . ¦' . ''¦ " John Amhier . —We cannot insert his c < mm * f ^ ' lion . Polemics are altogether mit of our spherCr
Phito—Amicus—Verar—W . W . " K . and ? etet .-Their verses are consigned to the deadfil '' S . Swift . —It wont tfo . George Julian Harney . —We do not thinki . «? advisable t « point out individuals ¦ whom ; . «« people should elect . He will see that we W * adopted part of his letter under a tiffr *® form . : ~ We have to acknowledge the receipt of 17 t > f ^ Rochdale towards the Clapharn Fund ,
Leeds And West-Riding News
LEEDS AND WEST-RIDING NEWS
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- " IJSEDB * a :. - < : ' Inquest . —On Thursday night , an inquest wa > held at the Court House , on view of the body w > vfdman , named Maria Mallinsdn , resident in ' &&& Lane , who is suspected to have poisoned herself of taking arsenic . In consequent ; of the ^ absences of * material wiraess ,, the inquest was adjourned ; yesterday evening . " Social Festival . —We understand that another of those pleasing and rational entertainments « to take place on Monday week . We are glad of tbtf , because we think that the providing of active ana yet innocent amusement for the people wilr «' much to ameliorate the character of the worKiDg classes , and weaif them from thDse inwchievons a 11 " degrading habits which are at present too commoB among them . Mr . Fleming , of Birmingham ,. » expected to lecture on the-Sunday preceding » e fetival , and to be present at the festival .
The No Rthefin Star.. Saturday, August 85, 1838.
THE NO RTHEfiN STAR . . SATURDAY , AUGUST 85 , 1838 .
To Readers & Corblesponbentfl.
TO READERS & CORBLESPONBENTfl .
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4 - ' . -. . _ -, ; , - . . . .-. jll ^ & 6 ^ T& ^ , ; , ; , ,. ,.,. ,- ., ; .. ... , ; ,,.. , , ,,,- -, - , .- ; ^ " ~^ - ;~ $ *^^
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THE CLOSE OF THE SESSION . Thk Setsonis over , and the Imperial jnry nas teen dismissed hy her Majesty , much m the same atninu * judge takes leave of the gTand jury at the close of » n assize . Her Majesty recommended ha faithful servant ? , after the discharge of theiT lejiriatorial dude * , to wturn to their respective districu j there , as an executive , to carry their laws into 4 fect . -So fw so food ; \ m \ tioac gcatJemen will pereeiTe & Taat-dSerence between making law * and earrvhts them into execntion . In the firet instance ,
ike ioaanant par ^ , biwked by the merry cbero of &etioH , wt calmly enthroned in ell the conse-^ ptnoe of self ^ approfil ; no * ye to # can , 99 tongue to reproTt ; they represent themm&rt * and themselves only . Bat very different i their position when they come J » carry out their wessons . Then they meet tbe scornful glance , the fearless reproach , and the withering yell of jopnlar execration , which teaches them that they are but the tools of a faction j tie law maker * of a
partj ; the glares of the Minister ; not the serrantii « f the-people . "Whether the past session be reviewed by Whig , Tory , or Radical , the stamp of condemnation must be equally put npon it . We can neither recognise an honourable amalgamation of the three parties , nor yet the purity or distinctness of a gingle one . The session commenced , as all sessions do , -with a trial of strength between the lival factions . The standard of Radicalism was
¦ npreared ty"WiKLEY and Moleswobth , but was -abandoned the instant it appeared inside the House , b y those who had brawled matt loudly for it outside . To stifle every such effort was the firet object of both factions , and to the manner in . which Wak-XET ' s amendment was met , we attribute much of ihe agitation which has since taken place , much of the deep-rooted hatred of Whigg ery which
iaa been , engendered . The scheming of the out ' 4 oor " Liberals , "' who might , by better tact , have wheedled the nation for yet a little longer , -was seen through . The fabric of tbeir hope was pnlled down , and the O'Connells , Homes , Warbubtons , Grotes , Clays , and "Wards , were bnried beneath the rains . Ireland was again to be the battle field O'Conkell , with his " virtuous Queen ar . d Reform" band
of patriots , weTe tn be the national sentinels ; *^ jnsnee , " ample "justice" was to be done to Ireland . It was the last trial , tbe forlorn hope , —denial wa ? to be the signal for revolt , and Mr . O'Cosnell ' s desertion would have been the destruction of the Cabinet . Tbe Irish leader vras naturally supposed to speak the Irish mind . The Catholic ? had " 3 to 32 . The church of tbe few , paid for by the many , was the plagoe-fpot to be removed ; and yet we find the leader contending for an instalment , whilr the brave Irish are declaring against the priuciple .
AH the channels of justice are polluted by the « t > rruption of local institutions . Municipal laws , similar to tbo ^ e of England are demanded fur Ireland ; and yet we find a hase suh / ervjence upon the fVt of the ComrooDS , vieldJDg a readv submU « ion to meet the Lords upon the standard of Municipal franchise , which in Ireland would have Wn hi > : hfr than tbe Parliamentary franchise in England . In former Parliament ? the wedge of t-cclesiastica ) justice and equality had been got in . The Appropriation Clause was recognised , an-1 with it the principle oJ
tie total abolition of tith « - « , and the right of laymen , whether Catholics or Protestants , to dtal with Church property . The Whiys fought a desperate battle over the wedg * -, which they would not allow Sir T . D . Aclaxd to touch or withdraw with his polluted baDd , but waited tbe fitting time to make « rrender , with their own hands , of the only triumph ever gained by the DLt « entern , for the purpose of conciliating their old and inveterate Job . During the Session , Ireland has got a bad Poor Law Bill , a worse Tithe Bill , no Municipal
Bill ; but , in lieu thereof , has got an * " Arms Bill , " and will have a " Traded Combination Suppression Bill . " Had the Imperial Parliament shown any disposition to do justice to Ireland , . Irishmen might hare seen eaose for Mr . O'Coxnell ' s and the Irish Members' devotion to the "Whigs , but now -we can bat Tecognize 5 n their disappointment the iable of the dog in the manger ; as it did not suit iheir leader's purpose to raige Ireland to the level of other nalioni * , it seems to be tbeir determination to reduce all others to the degraded level of Ireland .
Hence we find the whole phalanx withholding their support from the negroes—ve find them wttJDg - tatddv by , while Canada ,- * hosepo > -5 t 5 on has been compared to that of Ireland , is being" coerced -we "ind them riveting the chains of the infant factory lave—we find them joining in the Bill for the registration of smithies in Ireland , for fear of the manuiacture of implements to punish tbeir treason— -we find them joining in a cra ? ade against the trades of the empire , and while they complain of Whig truculency and deceit , they grant Whig supplies , and present the hobgoblin of Torrwm as a shroud to
cover their cowardice and subserviency . While the Irish leader reviles tbe English Radicals for their Inkevrarmness toward Ireland , he presumes to judge of every English measure by the necessity of Ministers , and against the united will of theEnglish . Witness the confirmation of his treason against hi * ward . « , the infatjts , whose Lord Chancellor an < i Guardian he had promised to be . Mark h « disregard of pnblic opinion , as respects the Poer Law Amendment Act ; but above all , his attach npon the trade * , and his treason against the Canadians Good God ! our blood runs cold at tbe bare consideration
cf hi * conduct , from bpginning to end , on the . Canadian question I We shall now leave the party , after a single observation upon the advocacy of Ireland ' s Tights b y Mr . O'Cohnell , in order to consider that gentleman and his Malthusian twin , Slashing Ha'BBY , in their more appropriate eharaeters of agitators . Will any man open the Statute Boot , - , reviewing it since the time Mr . O'Connell -las had in ore Parliamentary power than man or Ministry ever possessed before , pat bis finger upon aay-oae act of Mr . O'CONNELL ' S , conferring abenefit ¦ even the most trifling , upon any , even the" smallest ,
lection of society . We shall be grateful for the anformation ; hut if none can be given , -we are entitled toasl , of what benefit Mr . O'CoKNELL has 2 > een to anyone but himself and a few babbling jycopbants ? We hiv e thus briefly-considered Mr . O * C . uvsEi . z .-asa le g isl alorj and now we are to -dew him in his chaiaeur of " Precursor . " Having failed to procure any benefit for Ireland , he returns to that unhappy country , packs a shilling jnry -oi his fashionable constituents , and then after the moaner of Job , indulges in a few lamentations descriptive of the sorrows which are of hw own
creation , and , iike a humane judge , gives his prisoner , ( for Ireland has been his prisoner , not hi * client ) a long day . Another ytar of trial , another * eas ; n erf agitation , profitable only to himself anu ihe traitors : of whom his staff is composed , and whose allegiance is purchased by a division of tht iund » - collected for the purpose of regenerating Ireland . Loyalty to his beloved < Jueen is -upon his lips , wteie treason to Ireland is rooted in his L-ean Sha&HaN CfiiWroED well cesi gnated the new convention , by the name of the " Humbug Association ;* ' bat no winder that the maul y charge was
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 25, 1838, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct529/page/4/
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